Despite the distance, there was no doubt about it, Saskia was staring at Aubrey; her piercing gaze boring into her. As she realised Aubrey was looking back, a curious smile crossed her face which was followed by a half wave. It wasn't a sinister gesture by any means but Aubrey was eerily captivated.

"Aubrey?" She barely registered her surroundings, Lexy's hand on her shoulder meant nothing, Fred's voice merely a distant echo at the back fo her mind. Saskia didn't move or say anything but she didn't have to. The eeriest occurrences often lay in silence.

A loud train whistle suddenly sounded, jolting Aubrey back to the present with a start.

" - we need to get on the train," She became aware of Fred talking at her, looking down she found his hand gripping her arm, "Aubs, what happened just now? You were out of it..."

All three of them, including an incredibly confused George, waited on her reply. Shaking her head to straighten out her thoughts, Aubrey turned to the girl, "It's her, the weird girl I was talking about ... she's over there."

As if sensing her name, Saskia gave a little half wave which Aubrey found herself unintentionally returning. Lexy quickly looked between the two girls, grabbing Aubrey's waving hand, "Well, don't wave back!"

"But ... she waved."

Lexy tutted, "Oh Aubrey, if I jumped into the Black Lake, would you do that too?"

"You did and I followed, remember that?"

"Oh," Lexy hadn't been expecting that, "For God's sake, all the examples I could have picked and I go with that one..."

"What the devil is she doing here?" Fred asked, his lips upturned into a half-amused smile, "Hogwarts doesn't usually take new students after first year especially not in seventh."

"Who are we looking at?" George asked although Lexy simply said she'd explain on the train.

Another train whistle blew, a sharp reminder that she actually had a trunk to haul onto the train.

Fred, half perched on the steps, took her trunk from her as she followed idly behind. It wasn't like her to let him do the work but right now, she found her gaze drifting back to Saskia who was still standing there. A sudden look of panic crossed Saskia's face and it took Aubrey a moment to realise it wasn't just because Aubrey was leaving: her trunk was stuck. 

"Come on, let's - Aubrey where are you going!"

She wasn't sure what had possessed her but Aubrey unexpectedly leapt off the train steps and made a beeline for the struggling Saskia. Behind her, she heard footsteps and turned around to see Fred running after her (even further behind, she made out the figure of George now struggling with three suitcases).

"Aubrey ... it's so heavy!" Saskia wailed as they drew closer, "I'm going to miss the train!"

"Why are you getting on the train anyway?" Fred asked as Aubrey desperately tried to remember the necessary spell. The train doors were close to shutting now, steaming slowly billowing out from the funnel, "Aubs, levitate it!"

"But I don't do Charms ... oh right, I did," The knowledge from last year came flooding back to her as Aubrey swished and flicked her wand, the trunk wheel dislodging from the grate and floating up, "Come on!"

The three of them made a dash for the train, the trunk following like a phantom stalker. Saskia sprinted on ahead with ease, waiting at the top of the stairs to receive the trunk as Aubrey floated it towards her.

"Aubrey, quick, I don't want to have to steal a flying car again," Fred joked although there was a genuine note of stress behind his voice. The final whistle blew so with a heave, Aubrey shoved the suitcase onto the train, making Saskia barrel backwards as she simultaneously pulled Fred up through the doors just as they closed. The three of them landed in a heap, Saskia bearing the most weight under two people and a trunk.

"Um ... Aubrey, is it rude to ask you two to move?" Saskia squeaked to which Aubrey shook her aching head. A sigh of relief passed through her as the train set off.

"No, hon, not at all," She sighed, using a mixture of Fred's head and the storage rack to get up. Although it would be rude to say anything, Fred gave her a look which loosely translated to 'Tell me everything later!'. Interpreting it brought a small smile to her face, bringing back vivid memories to his voice around her head.

Saskia's eyes widened as she turned to Fred, "You're hair ... it's so orange."

"Weasley charm," He replied wryly.

"What's a Weasley? ... Aubrey, was that rude to ask?" Aubrey shook her head, nudging a vaguely bemused Fred, "I wasn't trying to be, it was just an observation. Orange is nice, carrots are high in sugar," They suddenly realised she hadn't moved since they'd boarded the train, still stuck underneath her heavy trunk.

"Would you like a hand up?" Fred asked to which Saskia quickly nodded. Aubrey and Fred cooperated to levitate the trunk and pull the smiling girl from the floor. After she was up, Saskia giggled despite the fact her rib cage was most likely completely crushed.

"Good thing you helped unstuck my trunk otherwise I would have to live on the platform. I most likely would have died of hypothermia or ever starvation!" She let out a shrill giggle although this quickly faded away as she realised she was laughing alone, "It was a joke!"

"... good one!" Fred exclaimed with a little too much enthusiasm, "Um, Saskia, right?"

"It's a brilliant name!"

"That it is," Fred agreed, "Would you ... um, excuse us for a second," He took ahold of Aubrey's hand, already drawing her towards one of the communal carriages, "We'll be right back."

"Are you two going to shag?"

Aubrey and Fred practically choked on air. After regaining her breath, Aubrey shook her head, "In the communal carriage?! Obviously not! No, we're just ... talking."

Saskia's lips parted as she prepared to weigh in but her words were met with silence as Fred and Aubrey slipped into the next carriage. It was fairly busy but the pair managed to find one pair of seats which only contained one sleeping second year.

"She thought we were coming here to shag ... reckon we must look good together," Fred teased, "I mean, she picked up we were sort of a ... thing."

"I'd say we're just an old married couple at this point," Aubrey laughed, as Fred kicked his legs up and rested them on her knees, "Kind of hard for us to be just a normal couple after our ... intimate bonding last year."

"Still married couples still go on dates. How does Zonkos sound?"

"Utterly fabulous, hon."

The pair laughed softly before remembering that was in the past. They'd successfully switched back and now had to deal with a very clueless girl who shouldn't really be there in the first place. Aubrey wasted no time in telling Fred all that happened whilst he listened and also pondered whether it was deeply unethical to slip a ton-tongue toffee into the sleeping first year's mouth as a trial run.

Once Aubrey had finished, they realised that no amount of theorising would help them come to an answer to some of their questions. Their only choice was to ask the odd girl herself even though everything about her was a walking red flag. Still, they couldn't exactly leave her alone out there either, she'd most likely never leave.

Eventually, they came back through and Saskia smiled eagerly at them, like a dog whose owners had just walked through the door, "You two were gone a little while, over 365 seconds which means you were almost gone a second year."

"What?"

"Another joke."

Fred nodded, advising, "In moderation, Saskia, in moderation."

"Noted."

Aubrey was less willing to joke around, wringing her hands in anticipation, "Um ... Saskia, I don't mean to be rude but we - 

"AUBREY! FRED!"

All three turned around to see the figure of Lee Jordan standing in the doorway, "Aubrey, Fred, you both look absolutely ravishing today especially you Fred."

Fred grinned, "Cheers mate."

 Lee winked at Aubrey before tousling his friend's red hair, "New haircut?"

"Thankfully," Aubrey chimed in.

"Oi! I looked wicked with long hair!"

Lee and Aubrey exchanged a smile as Lee replied, "Yeah sure, in a sort of mop chic way. Not judging, not judging - merely stating."

Aubrey was so focused on Lee that she didn't notice Saskia sidling up behind her until she bumped her arm, "Aubrey, bear with me here but ... was what Lee said rude because nobody looks remotely angry yet it sounded so?"

"Um ... not really, more sarcastic," Aubrey replied.

"Oh, okay."

The two girls' conversation had alerted the attention of Lee who's gaze was flicking between the pair, "Oh, hello ... sorry, but you are?"

"New!"

"I meant your name ... unless that is your name. Unique, I like it."

For some reason this rendered Saskia speechless, her mouth suspended open in thought as if she were actually considering changing her name now. Quickly Aubrey answered for her, "Saskia, her name's Saskia Cyrus."

"Are you in our year? Hogwarts doesn't usually take new students."

"I ..." Saskia paused, eyeing all three of them up, " ... am your age so I am in your year and ... Dumbledore made an exception because of ... exceptions."

"Why are you in Hufflepuff?" The question came out harsher than Aubrey intended but it had been plaguing her mind since she'd spotted the girl on the platform.

"Did they have a portable sorting hat on the train?" Fred sniggered.

"No ... I am Hufflepuff because the colours looked so nice on Aubrey," She glanced down at her robes, "I forgot we had different skin tones though..."

This reply creeped Aubrey out to no end but Lee, unlike the other two, seemed remarkably chilled, "Good for you not seeing race, I guess? Anyway, I didn't come here just to chat, George and Lexy want to know where you've got. You made them carry four trunks by themselves - five when I added in mine - so they would like some explanation."

"Oh yeah..." In the chaos, neither Fred nor Aubrey had remembered they had other friends waiting for them, "I forgot about them. Well, Lee, lead the way."

"Can I come too?" Saskia asked, "It's okay if you want to say no, my legs are find standing."

It was tempting to leave her behind but being mean made Aubrey feel bad, "Come on then."

• • •

I was gonna publish the prequel but realised it actually spoils this book right from the literal intro page so I can't at the moment. It's a shame as I might be more in love with Jasper Jackson than Lee Jordan (kidding) - E x