Lana had a good summer break. Sure, she was dwelling on having detention for ages, and worrying about Jacob, but she was looking forward to seeing her friends again.
She'd grown a little bit taller over the holidays. Her hair was a little shorter than it was, as she had it cut, but it was still relatively long. Her face and body features were more toned and defined than last year - her body had become more womanly, and her face looked a little more mature, but still with a hint of mischief.
Seeing as it didn't work last year, Lana had arranged to meet Barnaby at the station earlier again. This time, she was prepared. She'd packed everything she could possibly need, and it was all ready to go.
The day came when she'd finally get to board the Hogwarts Express, and return to her second home again. She woke up and showered, before changing into some black ripped jeans, a white tank top, and a pair of black biker boots.
She applied a light layer of makeup and straightened her hair, before slipping on a black and white flannel and running downstairs, sitting on her trunk and munching on an apple she picked up from the kitchen on her way.
"Someone's eager to go!" her dad chuckled, gesturing to Lana's behaviour.
"Sorry!" she laughed, "It's just that last year, I was supposed to meet a friend, and I let him down 'cause we were late, and I don't want that to happen this time..." she explained.
"Ah, I see. Don't worry, kiddo. We'll leave in about 5." he smiled, kissing her head and walking away to find her mum.
Lana hadn't told her parents about Barnaby. Well, she had, but she didn't tell them that they were together. Given his background and parents, she was worried about the reactions her mum and dad would give. She didn't want to upset or scare them by saying his parents were Death Eaters.
"Honey? We're getting ready to leave now! We don't want to be late!" her dad called up the stairs.
"Ok, hun! I'll be down in a second!" her mum called back.
When they got in the car, Lana was getting more excited about seeing Barnaby again. It had been 6 weeks since she last saw him, and she couldn't wait any longer.
Finally, her dad pulled up into the train station car park, and parked the car. Lana immediately opened her door and ran to the boot, dragging her luggage out and holding it by her side.
"Do you want us to walk you in? Or can you manage by yourself now, Miss Fifth-Year?" her dad teased.
"Ha-ha." she playfully rolled her eyes, "I'll be ok - you guys get home and relax." she smiled.
"I'm gonna miss you, kiddo." he said, pulling her into a hug.
"I'll miss you too, dad." she smiled, hugging him back.
"Stay safe, sweetheart." her mum said kindly, hugging her as well, "And stay out of trouble!" she told her.
"I will! I will!" Lana told them.
"I love you both! I'll write to you when I'm at the castle." she smiled, waving goodbye to them and heading off to find Barnaby.
Lana pushed through the crowds of people in the train station, she found the entrance to Platform 9&3/4 and ran through the wall. She looked around to see if she could find the Slytherin boy, and that's when she spotted him.
He was leant up against a wall, hands in the pockets of his black jeans and looking down at the ground. His hoodie sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, exposing his strong forearms. Lana was sure he'd grown a few more inches over the summer, if that was even possible.
As she made her way over to him, she noticed more changes as she got closer. His already sharp jawline looked more defined, and he was lankier than last year, but just as muscular, if not more. His chestnut brown hair was slightly messy, and he looked pretty tired, but still as handsome as ever.
She finally reached him and tapped him on the shoulder. Barnaby lifted his head to meet her eyes, and his whole face lit up the minute he realised it was her.
"Lana!" he exclaimed happily, scooping her up in his arms and holding her close. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, clinging onto him tightly.
"I missed you so much!" she told him, snuggling into him.
"I missed you so much too." he replied softly, moving his arms up her back, supporting her better.
Lana lifted her head up and looked into his eyes.
"You've changed..." she muttered, stroking his face gently with her fingers.
"So have you..." he smirked, flicking his eyes down to her chest then looking back into her eyes. She noticed that his voice had gotten deeper, and it made butterflies dance around in her stomach when he spoke.
"Excuse me, sir. We do not support inappropriate behaviour here!" she said in a mock-teacher's voice, slapping his arm playfully.
"Well, I'm sorry, madam." he played along, "But am I not allowed to admire this beautiful girl in front of me?"
Lana blushed and giggled, "I guess that would be allowed..." she said quietly, leaning her face in closer to his.
Barnaby chuckled softly, and leant in also, placing his lips on her own. She ran her fingers through his hair slowly, kissing him back lovingly. His grip tightened around her waist as he deepened the kiss.
Luckily, not many students were at the platform at 9am, as the train left at 11am, so nobody they knew saw them.
Lana pulled away from him and sighed dreamily. He chuckled and leant his forehead on hers, pecking her lips.
"I love you." he whispered, grinning.
"I love you too." she whispered back, kissing him again, before a familiar voice snapped them back to reality.
"Lana! Barnaby!" Penny squealed.
"Penny!" Lana squealed too, jumping off Barnaby and running to her best friend. Penny tackled her in a hug and they rocked side to side, laughing.
"Agh! I missed you so much! How are you?!" Penny asked with a wide smile when they broke apart.
"I missed you too! And I'm great, thanks! How are you?" Lana smiled back.
"Yep, I'm great! I'm ready for whatever this year throws at me." the blonde girl smiled.
Barnaby edged closer to Lana, standing behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist and leaning his chin on her shoulder.
"Aw, you guys are so cute!" Penny gushed, "Do you reckon anyone else will find out about it this year?"
"Well, we've managed to keep it from Rowan all last year, so I'm hoping that will work for this year too? I don't mind anyone else finding out, to be honest, but not her..." Lana replied worriedly.
Barnaby turned his head slightly to kiss her cheek, "Don't worry, love. We'll be fine." he smiled, and she turned her head to kiss him shortly, also smiling.
Penny squealed in excitement as they did so, and they just laughed at her.
************************************************************************
In the Great Hall, there was a little bit of time after the speech that everyone could catch up with their friends, and Penny walked over to Lana with a younger girl beside her.
"Lana! You never got a chance to meet my little sister Beatrice!" she smiled, "Ooo nice Prefect Badge!"
Lana got a letter in the summer explaining that she was to be a prefect for Gryffindor House.
"Hi!" Beatrice said excitedly.
"Hi, I'm Lana. So, you're Penny's little sister?"
"Yep! And now we're both Hufflepuffs! I was hoping for Hufflepuff, but I would have been happy with Gryffindor too." the little girl explained.
"Bea is a big fan of yours." Penny told Lana, "She's always asking me to tell her stories about my adventures with the famous Curse-Breaker, Lana Riviera."
"Now I can join you!" Beatrice squealed excitedly, "Will you take me on your next curse-breaking adventure?"
"Sorry, hun. I understand how excited you are, and how interesting you find the vaults, but it's so so dangerous. We've nearly died every time..." Lana explained, "I just don't want you to get hurt, and neither would your sister." she finished with a smile.
"Yeah, sorry, Bea. Maybe when you're a bit older." Penny added.
"You helped Lana with the cursed ice when you were a first-year."
"That's...true."
"Harry Potter defeated You-Know-Who when he was just a baby." Beatrice continued.
"She has a point..." Lana said quietly.
"There will be plenty of time for death-defying adventures when you're older." Penny told her sister sternly.
"Not fair. If Dumbledore was here, I bet he'd let me break curses with you..." Beatrice sulked.
"Why don't you show Lana what you made for her?" Penny suggested, changing the subject.
"Because you won't let me break curses."
"Come on, Bea. You spent all summer on it. She's very creative." Penny told Lana.
"Fine. I can't stay mad at my big sister, or her favourite friend...I sewed you a toy Puffskein. They're cute, but tough, just like me." Beatrice said proudly, pulling out a realistic looking Puffskein.
"Thanks, Beatrice! This is so cool." Lana smiled gratefully.
"It's made with real Puffskein hair!"
"She shaved our Puffskein every Sunday, and collected the clippings for your gift." Penny explained.
"Penny was upset because you can use their hair as a potion ingredient."
"Well, thank you, hun! It's amazing." Lana smiled again.
"Did you know Puffskeins eat spiders and moths?" Beatrice asked.
"Yes, I did know that. Our friend Barnaby loves magical creatures, and he's always telling us new facts about each one." Lana chuckled softly.
"Let's go and take a tour of the Hufflepuff common room, Bea." Penny told her sister, "I'm sure Lana wants to catch up with the rest of our friends."
Lana mouthed a "Thank you." to Penny, who giggled in return.
"Nice meeting you, Lana Riviera!" Beatrice said happily.
The two sisters walked off, and Lana found her other friends in a large group on the other side of the Great Hall.
"Hi, Bill!" she said excitedly, and Bill turned around and wrapped his arms around her in a hug.
"Hey, my little Curse-Breaker!" he laughed, pulling away from her.
"I hear you're a prefect! Welcome to the club." he smiled.
"Thanks! It's really cool that Charlie became a prefect too."
"Yeah, mum is over the moon. She has it in her head that every Weasley from here on will become a prefect. You and I should talk after Professor McGonagall's welcoming speech." Bill suggested.
"Ok, great! I'll find you later." she smile, before turning to talk to Rowan, Tonks, Tulip and Andre.
"Hey, guys!" she greeted.
"Lana! Hi! How was your summer?" Rowan asked the other Gryffindor.
"It was good thanks, you?"
"Yeah! I read up on-" Rowan didn't get to finish, as McGonagall walked up to the podium to giver her speech, "I'll tell you later." she whispered as they walked to the Gryffindor table.
McGonagall explained how Dumbledore was away on business, and that students should stay out of trouble - a blatant dig at Lana and the vaults. The fifth-years would be taking their O.W.L's, and the seventh-years will be taking their N.E.W.T's. Madam Rakepick was now the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.
After the feast, Lana spoke to Bill, who looked solemn.
"As if I wasn't stressed enough over my N.E.W.T's..." he sighed.
"Aw, you'll do great, Bill." he looked up and gave her a small smile, "What did you want to talk about?"
"Let's head to the library, Lana. We can talk while I study..." he replied, still worrying about his exams.
On the way out of the Great Hall, Barnaby saw Lana and ran over to her.
"Lana!" he called, "Where you going?"
"Just to the library with Bill. We need to talk about prefect stuff, and he's studying for his exams at the same time." Lana chuckled softly.
"Oh, ok! I'll catch up with you later." he smiled, kissing her cheek before she walked away with Bill, waving goodbye to Barnaby.
*********************************************************************
In the library, Lana was met with Charlie and another Weasley she hadn't met.
"Wow, I feel like an official Weasley." she chuckled.
"I though I'd get us all together since I need to study for my N.E.W.T's, and Charlie has to study for his O.W.L's. Percy...just likes to study." he finished.
"We haven't been properly introduced..." Percy began, "I'm Percy Weasley, future Gryffindor Prefect, Head Boy, and eventual Minister for Magic." he told her.
"Wow. Sounds like you have your entire life planned out..." Lana replied with wide eyes.
"If you let him, he'll tell you what to do with your life too." Bill said with a hint of bitterness in his voice.
"This is my loyal rat, Scabbers." Percy said, gesturing to a mangy old rat sitting on a book.
"Loyal? It runs off every chance it gets..." Charlie added.
"There's something off about that rat..." Bill muttered, and Lana felt it too.
"Ron likes him." Percy huffed.
"Ron is eight. He likes everything except spiders." Charlie said.
"What did you wanna talk about, Bill?" Lana asked, changing the subject to avoid any arguments.
"Can you study with us first, Lana?" he asked, "I won't be able to think straight until I finish this book on Ancient Runes."
"Of course! How could I turn down a Weasley brothers study session?" Lana giggled.
After a while of reading and taking notes, Bill spoke up.
"The Cursed Vaults don't have anything on the Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests..." Bill said.
"I don't care what I have to miss this year to study for my O.W.L's..." Charlie added, "I won't let anything stop me from becoming a Dragonologist."
"If you two were better at managing your time, you wouldn't be so stressed." Percy stated.
"Tell it to your rat." Charlie said bluntly.
"I want to find time to teach you a new duelling spell, Lana. It's quickly become one of my favourites. Who knows what we'll get up to this year. I want to make sure I help you as much as I can before leaving Hogwarts." Bill told her.
"Thanks, Bill. You're the best friend anyone could ask for." Lana smiled warmly.
Just then, Madam Rakepick approached the table.
"Mr Weasley?"
"Yes..."
"Yes?"
"Yes, professor!"
Bill, Charlie, and Percy all said, as there was more than one Weasley.
"William Weasley." she clarified.
"What is it, Madam Rakepick?"
"Professor Rakepick." Percy quietly corrected him.
"Right, I'll take some time to get used to that."
"Follow me." she told him, "You too, Miss Riviera. We have work to do..."
hi! welcome to book 2 <3
I hope you enjoyed it so far :) if y'all have any suggestions, don't hesitate to let me know!
anyway, thanks so much for reading!
vote and comment if you liked :)
byeee <3