Evelyn Rivers had lived by the sea for as long as she could remember. Her grandparents had the most wonderful quaint little cabin by the seaside and it filled her with such joy she could barely contain herself. Never was there a moment in which Evelyn couldn't look out of her bedroom window and not be greeted by the sweet smell of the sea rolling in. It was something Evelyn adored so much that her bedroom window was rarely ever closed, much to the dismay of her grandparents who often complained about the freezing temperatures.
When Evelyn awoke on September first, she awoke with a spring in her step. As much as she adored being by the seaside, there was something about Hogwarts that simply made her feel safe, like nothing bad could ever happen to her whilst she was there, it was a feeling she hoped would last forever.
"Evelyn, you need to get going." She heard her grandmother call from the kitchen in her usual hushed voice.
Coming!" Evelyn called back as she glanced around her room one final time. "Trunk, wand, robes..." She repeated to herself, mentally ticking off each item as she spotted it around her bedroom.
"Hurry up! Your bus goes in ten minutes!" Evelyn sighed loudly, she did not enjoy being rushed. She knew she would make it to Hogwarts one way or another.
She stuffed her wand into her jacket pocket, grabbed her trunk by its unstable handle and made her way into the kitchen. "Okay, I'm ready."
"Say goodbye to your parents first!" Her grandmother reminded her, causing a lump to form in Evelyn's throat, oh how she missed them.
Evelyn dropped her trunk in the kitchen with a loud thud and made her way out of the cabin into the back garden. Instantly, the smell of the salty sea grew stronger and Evelyn knew she would miss this place greatly. She made her way towards the rose garden her grandmother had planted in her parents' name and crouched beside the largest bush. She placed one of her hands in the soil and closed her eyes. "Goodbye, mum and dad. I'm going to make you proud this year, I promise. I'm even a Prefect, just like you were." She smiled as she felt the pin in her trouser pocket. "I'm going to get top grades in my OWLS so I can become an Auror just like you were." Evelyn stood up, opening her eyes with one last smile. "I'm going to make you proud."
Evelyn wiped the soil off her hand onto her trousers and returned to the kitchen. "I'll be back before you know it," she smiled at her grandma.
"I know," her grandma paused, "it's just hard to see you go. It will be strange to have the cabin to myself again."
"At least you won't freeze to death anymore," Evelyn chuckled.
"You did close your window, didn't you?"
Evelyn had, of course, not closed her window, but that was not something her grandma needed to know. "Yes. Now I have to go, I can't miss the bus or I'll never make it to Hogwarts!"
"Alright!" Her grandma took her in a warm embrace, rubbing her dainty hand across Evelyn's spine. "Make them proud for me," she released her granddaughter.
Evelyn lifted her trunk from the kitchen floor, "I will." She smiled one last time at her grandmother before making her way out of the cabin and onto the country roads. Evelyn knew that she only had a few minutes until her bus arrived but she could already see the shelter just a few hundred yards in front of her. By the time she made it to the shelter, the bus was already pulling up behind her, her favourite bus driver sat in the driver's seat, beeping his horn at the sight of Evelyn.
"Where to this time?" He smiled as he opened up the doors.
"London Kings Cross, but I have baggage," Evelyn nodded at the hefty trunk she had been lugging behind her.
"No problem, take your seat and I'll get it sorted for you." He took the money she had offered in her extended hand, not bothering to count it before he pocketed the cash. Evelyn made her way down the aisle as he sorted out her baggage, making sure she found a seat by the window so she could admire the seaside as they drove.
With a quick beep of the horn, the bus driver was off and Evelyn began her journey to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Although Evelyn had taken this bus before, she had never stayed on long enough to reach Kings Cross in London, she had only ever used it to get into her local town to say the butterflies were fluttering around in her stomach would be an understatement. By the time Evelyn was entering the outskirts of London, Evelyn was no longer sure if she simply felt anxiety, or if she was about to be sick all over the bus, hoping it was the first option, she closed her eyes and drifted off to a peaceful slumber.
"Evelyn, this one's you," called out the bus driver from the front, awakening Evelyn with a start.
"Coming!" She replied, checking her pockets to ensure she hadn't forgotten any of her belongings on the bus before making her way back down the aisle.
"You off to that boarding school of yours your grandma always talks about?" He asked, his accent becoming more prominent the closer Evelyn got to him.
"Yep, I won't be back until Christmas." Evelyn smiled at the thought of an uninterrupted term at Hogwarts, it was something she urgently needed.
"Well, best of luck to you." He gave her one last smile as she exited the bus. Evelyn quickly lifted her trunk out of the bus and made her way into the bustling crowds heading towards London Kings Cross station. As much as Evelyn usually enjoyed the peace and quiet of being by the seaside, she had to admit that the crowds in Kings Cross were somewhat beneficial to her. Whilst most individuals at the station were commuters or businessmen, Evelyn certainly was not and her aged trunk stuck out like a sore thumb amongst them, but with the crows, Evelyn was able to blend in and only earn a few dirty looks from those around her.
With a toothy grin on her face, Evelyn made her way deeper into the station until she found herself between platforms nine and ten. As Evelyn mentally prepared herself to run at the wall, she took several steps backwards until she stumbled into someone.
"Evelyn! It's so good to see you!" She turned around to see one of her closest friends Lily stood behind her, carrying a strangely small, black kitten. "This is Midnight, Jack got him for me, so I had a pet at Hogwarts, isn't he beautiful?" She cooed down at the creature lying in her arms.
Evelyn had to admit he was gorgeous. "He does look like a perfect pet."
"Right we should go if we want to get somewhere nice to sit or all the first-years will take the good spaces thinking they deserve them!" Lily chuckled lightly, gesturing at Evelyn for her to go first onto the platform.
Evelyn closed her eyes and ran at the wall. She wouldn't have even had to open her eyes to know she had made it safely onto the platform, the smell of smoke from the Hogwarts Express was a dead giveaway.
"Take my trunk and I'll see if Sara is already on the train," Lily said, tightening her grip on Midnight as though she were afraid he would be stolen.
Evelyn took hold of Lily's worn-down trunk with her spare hand and began to make her way to the front of the train where the other students had left their trunks. She dropped the two trunks gently onto the floor in a safe-looking spot before heading towards the entrance to the train.
As soon as Evelyn stepped onto the Hogwarts Express, the butterflies in her stomach stopped. It felt as though the whole world was melting away, she felt safe inside her little bubble of Hogwarts joy. "Lily?" Sara?" She called out as she made her way throughout the train. It didn't take long before she found the pair inside one of the side compartments.
"Evelyn, ready for OWL year?" Sara greeted as soon as she spotted her friend at the door.
"Don't remind me!" Evelyn took her seat, dreading the idea of taking her exams in only a few short months. "I haven't even started revising yet!"
"None of us have, don't worry about it Evelyn" Lily smiled at her. "Here take Midnight, he'll calm you down." She thrust the kitten into Evelyn's arms.
Evelyn looked down at the kitten resting in her arms who seemed unbothered by the fact he had just been thrust into the arms of a stranger. "He's very calm." She noted.
"Oh yeah! Jack says he barely even makes a sound, he just sleeps and eats."
"Just like me!" Sara smiled.
"Well..." Lily began.
"You tend to do perhaps one thing more."
"Kissing barely counts, speaking of I need to find myself a new target for this term." She began with a smirk. "Anyone got any ideas?"
"Why don't you revise instead?" Evelyn suggested.
"Well, kissing helps me revise. I could find someone smart who can coach me after I finish kissing them. How about Daniel, I heard he was Prefect this year?"
Evelyn grunted audibly. "No! Merlin, I can't bear the thought of having to carry out Prefect duties with that!" She pulled out the Prefect badge from her pocket and fastened it to her jacket, ensuring it was completely visible.
"Looks good on you, maybe this year we will have a chance of winning the house cup?" Evelyn knew Lily was being far too optimistic, Ravenclaw was never in with a solid chance. It was always either Gryffindor or Slytherin and that wasn't about to change this year.
"I am not about to violate my position as a Prefect!"
"You're so boring," joked Sara, rolling her eyes at Evelyn.
"It's called following the rules, one of us has to do it." Evelyn was a stickler for the rules, she always had been. After all, rules wouldn't work if nobody followed them.
"Well, I think rules are made to be bent a little bit, where's the fun in following them?
"I'm with Evelyn on this one," Lily added, "sorry Sara, but we need rules, without them, chaos ensues."
Evelyn smiled triumphantly at her small victory. "Anyway, I have to go to the front cabin for a meeting with Headmaster Dippet, apparently all the Prefects have to go so I'll give you all the details on who we have."
"Well, we already know it will be the golden boy Tom Riddle."
Evelyn knew Sara was right. She passed Midnight back to Lily who remained asleep, despite Evelyn being rather awful at handling animals, and made her way to the front of the train. The trio had chosen a cabin at the front of the train, so Evelyn only passed a few cabins before she found her Headmaster beaming graciously at her.
"Miss Rivers, glad you could join us." He nodded at her as she shuffled into the cabin. "Now that everyone is here, I will begin. I won't keep you long, but I just wish to inform you of your duties as Prefects this year."
Evelyn glanced around the room at her fellow students who were all tucked rather tightly together in the cabin. Instantly she spotted the raven-haired Tom Riddle whom she knew would be chosen, but his house partner was none other than Astrea Black, a witch who would certainly not have been Evelyn's first choice. Beside them was a pair of Gryffindor twins, Freddie and Mona and tucked behind them was Eliana and Adam from Hufflepuff. Evelyn was lucky enough that her house partner Daniel was on the opposite side of the cabin or she knew all too well that his hands would be in places she would rather they were not.
"So, at the Welcome Feast, you will each be expected to lead the first years to their common rooms, help them settle in and answer any questions they may have. I expect you to treat them how you would have liked to have been treated as first years yourself." Headmaster Dippet took a deep breath. "After the Welcome Feast, I shall send you all timetables of when you will be patrolling the corridors after hours, anyone you find out of their dormitory without valid reason should have house points taken from them and their name reported to their Head of House, is that clear?"
Everyone in the compartment mumbled in agreement.
"How do we know how many house points to take from them?" Tom Riddle asked with his usual charming voice.
"Well Tom my boy, I should expect you will be able to judge the situation then act accordingly. You have all been trusted with this position and I expect you shall prove that you deserve that trust by acting appropriately within your role. I expect you to keep your house rivalry for the Quidditch pitches."
"Of course."
"Well then, that is all I have to ask unless anyone has any questions?" The students glanced around at each other blankly. "I assume that will be a no, so return to your compartments and act responsibly. You are Prefects now!"