White smoke chased between the people on the platform and Marigold's trunk was heavy as she pulled it down the walkway. Black cloaks swished past her and ties of green, red, blue and yellow flickered in the crowd.
The train's whistle carried over their heads, the five minute warning for the last of the students to get onto the train before it leaves.
For the first time in weeks, a flame of excitement was growing in Marigold's belly and a small smile broke onto her face.
Her mother pulled her gently by the elbow into an alcove in the station wall, out of the way of the flow of people. She leaned down slightly, "Pumpkin, are you going to be alright?"
Marigold's eyes connected with hers and she nodded, "Yes, mum."
Fiona's hand stroked the side of Marigold's head, sighing. "Are you sure you have everything? If you forgot anything, I'll post it. You just need to write and say you've forgotten it. Please tell me you've packed Spider's food--"
"They have cat food in the common room, mum--"
"You know Spider likes the one we buy him, they only sell it at Magical Menagerie--"
Marigold grabbed her gently by the hand, "Mum. Relax."
Fiona looked into her daughter's eyes, eyes that had remained elusive for weeks. She nodded.
Marigold smiled at her mother, "Everything is going to be okay. Spider will eat the food at school. If he doesn't I'll write, but he's a pickier eater than any cat should be."
She looked down at the cat basket where Spider was avidly watching the people pass by.
"Alright." Her mother pulled her into her chest, squeezing her tightly.
The train whistled again. One minute.
Marigold pulled off her mother and gave her a meek smile, "Bye, mum."
Fiona kissed her forehead and they rushed to the nearest open door of the train: Marigold jumped on and managed to grab her broomstick out of her mother's hands a split second before the door sealed shut.
The train began to move and from behind the door Marigold heard her mother faintly shout for her to write. She would, she always did.
The weight of the broomstick in her hand felt familiar, she glanced down at it. The handle was still pristine, although slightly dusty. It had been weeks since she'd polished it. In fact it had been weeks since she'd even looked at it. Now with it in her grasp, it hurt like she always knew it would.
Cedric always used to carry her broom onto the train, both his and hers under his one arm.
"Goldie!" A voice pulled her out of her thoughts, she way still standing in the doorway.
Marigold's gaze turned away from the window onto the tall Gryffindor nearing her, "I've been looking for you everywhere!" She grinned.
Angelina was just as beautiful as the last time Marigold saw her. Perhaps more. She was pulled into a tight hug, her chin resting on Angelina's shoulder.
She chuckled and squeezed her back tightly, "I missed you, Ang."
Angelina smiled and pulled away to look into Marigold's eyes. "I missed you more."
All at once, her best friend's face smiling down at her made Marigold feel nauseatingly guilty. She'd barely written her all summer and they didn't go visit Angelina's grandparents' house by the coast like they were supposed to.
"I'm sorry, Ang." She said solemnly, "I know I should have written more."
Angelina found it hard not to look at her with sympathy, Marigold always hated that. She shook her head, "I get it, it's okay."
Marigold nodded, shrugging it off before she could think too much about him. "Have you guys gotten a compartment?"
Angelina straightened up, "Yeah, we've been looking up and down for you. Grab Spider, I'll get the broom."
Marigold struggled to keep her balance between dodging first years and lugging her trunk down the narrow passage as she followed Angelina. After what felt like forever, Angelina slid open the door to a compartment.
"They're called probiotics, you want one?" Elin's voice carried from inside the compartment and Marigold couldn't help the broad grin that crossed her face.
"Look who I found hanging by the back of the train."
Marigold stepped into the doorway after Angelina, dropping her trunk as Elin came hurtling towards her. She was greeted by a tight hug and a chorus of "hey!".
Elin squeezed out the last puffs of air in Marigold's lungs and she laughed.
"Ey," Diego poked Elin's shoulder gently, "Leave some of her for the rest of us."
Elin let go of Marigold, who could finally get a look at the faces she hadn't seen in almost three months.
Diego pulled her into his broad chest. "A whole two months and you haven't grown a single centimeter taller, Goldie."
She laughed and shoved him, "Says the one who tried to cook a growth potion with half the ingredients."
"Hey, hey! That was second year, no need to air dirty laundry."
Winslow got up from his place on the seat, "Diego, shut up."
Marigold smiled up at him, "Hey Win."
He looked down at her and hugged her too, "Hey Goldie."
Winslow caught site of Spider's carrier on the floor beside her, "There's my favourite lad!" He said before sweeping the cat-carrier off the floor, bringing it to eye level. Spider's tail swished happily against the inside of the carrier.
Marigold huffed before falling into the seat besides Elin, "You'd swear he's happier to see the cat then he is to see one of his best mates."
Elin shrugged, adjusting the way she was sitting. "You know, the number of deaths due to cat allergies have gone up by 5% in the last year."
Angelina rolled her eyes, "None of us are allergic to cats, Elin."
"You never know! Sometimes allergies can develop. That's why I take one of these every day." Elin pulled out a clear tube, among the many, from inside her bag, and flashed it for them to see. Elin's mum was a Muggle, a doctor by profession. She had Elin on so many pills, it was hard to tell if Elin was ever completely sober.
"I'm sure we'll be fine, El." Marigold reached to shut the door before opening Spider's carrier: the black and white cat leaping gleefully out onto Winslow's lap.
Winslow began scratching him behind the ear before Diego swatted his hand away from the cat.
"Hey! Focus on the game." The Wizard's Chess Board trembled dangerously from the motion of the train.
Marigold took them in for a moment. The last time they'd all been together like this was at Cedric's memorial.
The six had them had gone down to the Black Lake and buried his Captain's jacket under the tree where they used to sit in the summer. She couldn't remember much of the rest of that day.
A warm hand on her knee pulled her back to the train, it was Angelina's. She didn't say anything but offered Marigold a concerned glance. Marigold placed her hand over Angelina's and shook the look off, "I'm fine."
"Where's Bernie?" Elin asked before taking a sip of her multivitamin juice.
Marigold nodded, "Yeah ... where's she?"
Angelina huffed, "Merlin's beard, if she's found another boyfriend we'll have to disown her."
"I saw her this morning," Diego interjected without looking up from the board, "But she was gone before I could catch up to her."
Bernie didn't show up for the rest of the train ride, but she was sure they would find her when they reached Hogwarts.
Marigold tried to busy herself, not allowing her mind to wander where she knew it wanted to go: something she'd been doing for nearly three months now.
She played Angelina and Diego in games of Wizard Chess, she beat Angelina but Diego was just too good. Elin spent most of the ride reading facts off the packets of Droobles Best Blowing Bubblegum and popping bubbles. Winslow was preoccupied by Spider for the most part, but when Marigold lost to Diego for a third time, she slid over to where he was sitting by the window.
"He must be cheating," She declared and Diego grinned triumphantly.
Winslow chuckled, "I wish he was."
Spider curled into the space between them, rubbing a patch of black and white fur into the seat. There was quiet for a moment.
"You barely wrote, Goldie." He said quietly.
Marigold froze, but then nodded. "I know, I really am sorry." She said, avoiding looking at her friend directly in the eyes.
Before he could reply, there was a rap on the compartment door, "Anything from the trolley?"
Marigold jumped up before Winslow could reply, "Can I get you a pasty?"
Winslow sighed and shook his head.
__________
By the time the Hogwarts Express rolled to a stop at Hogsmeade Station, the sky was dark and their trunks had long since dissaparated from the train to their dormitories up in the castle. The only things Marigold had left to carry was Spider and her broom.
"Is it just me or are they breeding first years more irritating each year." Diego complained after a first year ran head first into his owl cage as the child chased down the platform.
"They sure seem to be getting smaller each year..." Marigold mumbled in reply as they passed a group of them.
Angelina found them a carriage and soon they were unloading at the Hogwarts steps.
They left their things near one of the classrooms before following each other into the Great Hall. Marigold was convinced that she would never get over it's beauty and she felt high off the giddiness in her stomach.
"Well," Diego announced as people filed past them to find seats, "It is time for the very final round of Table Wars!"
When their group of friends had originally formed in first year, it was always an argument of which table they all sat at together. With houses dividing the members of the group, the only way to make everyone happy was to choose one house table and sit there the whole year.
Winslow had taught the group a muggle game called "rock, paper, scissors" and it had since become the ultimate test of which house table was most worthy.
First year, Hufflepuff won. Second year it was Gryffindor. Third and fourth were Hufflepuff, fifth was - by some freak accident - Ravenclaw (Winslow, while the teacher of the game, was notoriously bad at it - though not nearly as bad as Elin was) and sixth was Hufflepuff.
In contrast to Winslow, Cedric had always been quite good and held Hufflepuff as the group table for four out of six years.
"But Bernie's not even here!" Elin whined.
"We have to sit soon, El. If she snoozes, she loses." Angelina replied.
Diego grinned, "Ravenclaw versus Gryffindor first."
Winslow stepped forward, Angelina grinned as she brought up her hands.
"Rock, paper, scissors!"
Paper to Scissors. Winslow lost. "Bye, birdie." She smirked.
"Alright, alright." Diego interjected, loosening his red tie. "Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff."
Marigold exchanged glances with Elin. Cedric wasn't there anymore.
Elin almost stepped forward when Marigold grabbed her by the arm, "I love you El, but you couldn't win a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors if you were playing against a rabbit."
Angelina laughed and threw her arm around Elin's shoulder as she pretended to sulk.
Diego grinned menacingly at Marigold.
"Rock, paper, scissors!"
Paper. Rock.
"Damnit!"
"Aha!" Diego yelped, "The ultimate winner of Table Wars is Gryffindor!" He high-fived Angelina.
Marigold looked back at Elin with a sheepish smile.
Elin rolled her eyes, "If only Diego were a rabbit, hm?"
Marigold laughed, "Yeah, alright. I'm sorry. It's not so bad though. At least it's not Ravenclaw again, I always feel so stupid sitting there."
Before they could bicker any more, Dumbledore's voice carried over them.
"First dinner is always at your own table," Winslow reminded them, "I'll see you guys after."
Winslow retreated to the Ravenclaw table alone and Diego walked with Angelina to the Gryffindor table where they would no doubt find Bernie.
Marigold took Elin by the hand, they exchanged glances. They both felt it, that feeling that there was something, someone, was missing. Neither mentioned it.
"Let's go." Marigold said softly and Elin nodded, squeezing her hand tighter.
__________