Year Seven

Chapter One

King's Cross was unusually busy for September the first so it took Louis Tomlinson a bit longer than he was prepared to wait to get his trolley to pile on all his belongings.Not that there was much to add onto the cart, as Hogwarts students were only permitted a single trunk along with their caged animal of choice. Each year it was a struggle for the young lad to cram as much into his trunk as possible. And each year he tried taking out a few school books to squeeze in a few more things from home until his mum spotted them lying disheveled on the floor of his room and corrected his mistake.

Louis had his arms folded neatly across his chest and his foot tapped the floor impatiently while they waited in the somewhat impromptu queue to grab a trolley. When he finally reached for one, he pushed it over to where his mum and sisters were waiting, much more patiently than he had, for his return. Piling on his own luggage and then that of his sister Lottie's, his mum secured a large cage on top which housed a black owl, its head softly tucked under its wing as it slept. Louis had only just received the owl the summer prior, after receiving his O.W.L. scores in the post. He had received two Outstanding marks (in Charms and Care of Magical Creatures) and had managed to get by with Exceeds Expectations or Acceptable in all his other subjects with the exception of a Poor mark in History of Magic. But that was a rubbish subject if you asked him.

His sister had only just started at Hogwarts the year before, where she had been sorted into Ravenclaw, much to his distaste. How was he meant to keep an eye on her if they were in separate houses? Louis did his best regardless, and it helped a great load that two of his best mates were Ravenclaw Prefects, so as to keep an eye on the young girl when he couldn't.

Leading the way through the station, Louis pushed the cart with their luggage toward the correct platform, stopping near nine and ten. With a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure his family was just behind him, he straightened out the cart and began walking toward the barrier, quickening his pace as he approached it. He always wondered if it looked quite strange to see someone running toward a solid barrier and then have them disappear entirely, or if anyone even noticed. Probably not.

Once on Platform 9 3/4 he pushed the cart far enough from the barrier that everyone else after him would have room to get through, before stopping to wait. Shortly after, the rest of his family appeared and a smile graced his features.

While his mum cooed over Lottie, who despite it being her second year on the Hogwarts Express was still just as nervous as the year before, Louis knelt down on the cool ground and held his arms out wide for his two youngest sisters to move foward into them before they closed around their small frames. They were twins, and they had several years yet before it was their turn to head off to school. He knew how much they hated his departure, and every year was difficult for him. At least, until he was on the train back to school. He had another sister as well, though she was at that age where she didn't want to seem 'uncool' hugging her older brother in public, so he flashed her a smile accompanied with a wink as she stood behind.

Releasing his grip on the twins, Louis straightened back up and brought a hand to his hair, brushing a few strands out of his face and back into place as he moved toward his mum. She was already on the verge of tears after speaking to her eldest daughter, and now that it was time to say goodbye to her son, there was no hope of holding them back.

No matter how many times he went through this, it never got easier for Louis to see his mother in this state. A part of him was glad she still had three girls back at home throughout the school year, but he still hated having to leave her. He knew she got lonely, and he couldn't blame her for that.

After all, his father had worked as an auror for the Ministry of Magic, and several years after the twins had been born, there had been an accident. He would never forget the morning his mum shook him awake, much earlier than he was used to on the summer holiday, and sat him down in the living room with the rest of his siblings, including the twins who were much too young at that age to understand the situation, and tried her best to explain. Since then, he took it upon himself to be the man of the house, regardless of being only thirteen.