｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
𝔦'𝔳𝔢 𝔡𝔲𝔤 𝔱𝔴𝔬 𝔤𝔯𝔞𝔳𝔢𝔰 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔲𝔰
un. — first of september!

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

An unusual chill was in the air that morning.

The train platform was littered with the stagnant bodies of students and parents uttering their tearful goodbyes, as the scarlet steam engine howled it's echoing warning.

Among the crowds an anxious girl stood, tapping her boot-clad foot nervously as she watched a taller blonde cling onto her mother. Her eyes flickered between the family and the train constantly as she noted more and more students entering the train.

As her sister separated from their mother, she found herself being bundled into a constricting hug. Before she could suffocate, her mother pulled back and held her face between the palms of her warm hands, "Remember to write this year, please. Adding your name to the end of Hannah's letters doesn't count."

A north wind passed between their bodies, "I will, promise." She placed her hand over her mum's with a slightly awkward smile, "We've got to go, or we'll miss the train. And I don't think Snape could handle a repeat of second year."

"Go on then you two." Her mother waved them off, "I love you both."

"Love you too, mum." Hannah called back with a wide smile as the two struggled to lift their trunks onto the train. As the doors swung shut behind them with a final thump, her sister turned to her — sunshine blonde braids twirling with her head movement, "I'm gonna go find Susan... did you want to—,"

"—oh no, it's fine! I better find Kai before he scar's some first years for life."

The two shared a slightly strained smile before heading in opposite directions. Mona sighing in relief as she dropped her forced smile.

Her trunk thumped ungracefully behind her the entire way as the train shook beneath her. The girl exhaling softly as she found a curly haired boy sitting in a compartment alone, his face smushed against the window as he scanned the platform.

"I'm surprised you're not scaring first years or stalking Zabini right now." His head snapped up, a bright sarcastic grin overtaking his features as he locked eyes with her.

He rolled his eyes as he noticed her struggling to reach the overhead luggage racks and quickly put her trunk up for her, "I see you didn't grow at all over the summer, didn't your ma tell you to eat all your veg so you'd grow up to be big and strong?" He narrowly avoided her kick from the seat across from him, "and some of us got here early, I've already managed to throughly scare the first years. And I couldn't find Blasie yet."

"I wonder why that is?" Mona enquired sarcastically.

"I have no clue!" Kai threw his hands up in frustration before pointing at her, "Now are we playing Exploding Snap or not?"

"What sort of question is that?"

The two shuffled down onto the floor and set the game up. Despite the floor being scratchy against her legs, and the air being a little stuffy from where Kai refused to have the windows open. Mona found she had missed this over the summer.

As the train ride carried on they found themselves being joined by Theo and Daphne, Blaise following not far behind. Coincidently when he arrived Kai started loosing more and more as he was distracted by the handsome boy. Mona absentmindedly wondered how Daphne had gotten even prettier over the summer, the nasty side of puberty seemingly skipping over the prim-and-proper girl. While Theo seemed to have grown at least four inches taller since she had seen him last, though his face still retained a slightly childish element to it.

Mona eventually zoned out of the conversation, her eyes settling on the distant horizon out the window — a book laying forgotten in her lap. The light of the sky was dying slowly, the periwinkle being overtaken by the darkened hues as summer drew to an abrupt close.

Just as her eyes were drifting closed to the sunset and echoing thumps of the train (WHAT A DISASTER THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN) the compartment door slid open with a louder than necessary whack against the wall. As she squinted with bleary eyes at the doorway Mona held back a groan, albino white hair immediately assaulting her retinas.

Draco sauntered into the compartment with an extra spring in his step, the look in his eyes more smug than usual as Crabbe and Goyle entered after him. Filling the rather small space to the brim.

As he began to thoughtfully ask about everyone's summers — that was never a good sign — Mona reopened the forgotten book in her lap. Immediately becoming absorbed in The Tales of Beedle the Bard. It was a worn copy, the edges of the paper fraying. While the margins were filled with faded notes and doodles.

"Abbott, what did you get up to this summer?" Mona lifted her eyes from the pages ever so slowly until she was eye-to-eye with the Malfoy scion. She did nothing but stare with an unimpressed frown, though she smirked a little on the inside when the boy flinched and looked away. Her eyes were such a dark brown that in some lights they appeared black, apparently her stare intimidated people despite her stature and overall unthreatening appearance. A feat she found herself most proud of.

"Well," he recovered in record time, clearing his throat, "I for one had quite the summer, although it won't be anything compared to what's happening at Hogwarts this year."

"What's happening at Hogwarts this year, Draco?" Daphne uttered with an exasperated sigh, already knowing what game he was playing.

Draco sighed in faux shock, "I'm not sure if I should, top secret Ministry business you see," his nose wrinkled and Mona got the distinct impression he was trying to emulate his father, "of course father told me all about it, honestly I'm shocked none of your parents trusted you enough to tell you."

"Nobody cares what you have to say." Kai uttered from his spot sprawled out across the seats with his head in Blaise's lap "Go climb back up your fuckin' ma, Malfoy."

Mona bit back a snicker as everyone else howled in laughter, Draco's cheeks flaming pink at the comment. It took him a few moments but he eventually gathered himself and pulled his lips down into a sneer that did not suit his schoolboy features, "Well at least I still have a mother, Rosier." The silence was echoing, "How does it feel knowing you own mother was so ashamed she off—,"

"—that's enough Draco." Theo, the quietest of their group spoke up.

Mona glanced up from her book, shutting it with an echoing snap as she saw the rage filled yet saddened look on her best friends face. "Malfoy, apologise."

"Excuse me?"

"You're not excused," her eyes narrowed into slits, the venom in her voice clear. "You can apologise right now, or I can recount to everybody here the dream you had last year involving a certain nemesis, a hippogriff, and a very strange damsel in distress situation — in full detail."

He opened his mouth to protest perhaps, but thought better of it and instead turned towards Kai, "My apologies, that was uncivilised of me."

Kai nodded hesitantly, before laying back down. His hands still clenched tightly, "Good! Now if we could have some peace and quiet for the rest of the ride — Morgana know's we'll need it to survive whatever stunt Potter pulls this year."

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

"Five galleon's, on Potter somehow getting into the Tri-Wizard Tournament." Kai laughed as the group of Slytherin's made their way down to the dungeons for the night.

Theo shook his head vehemently, "Easy money," he shook the other boys hand, "students under seventeen can't enter, remember?"

"Please, it's Potter — he'll find a way." Mona sighed out as they made it to the entrance of the common room, "Ouroboros."

Stepping through the portrait hole felt like finally being welcomed home after a long day. There had always been a disconnect between her and her family, made only larger when the girl was sorted into Slytherin instead of Hufflepuff. Nobody said anything of course, but she could see it in their eyes.

The disappointment.

Walking over to the glass wall that looked into the bottom of the lake she tapped her fingers on it gently, though she was unable to see anything in the absolute darkness of the lake it was a familiar and comforting sight.

"Night."

They all headed their separate ways. Daphne and Mona heading up to the girls dorm with tired steps.
Mona was relieved to find that Pansy and Tracy hadn't made it back yet — she didn't think she was quite up for one of the Parkinson girls infamous dorm rants tonight.
Changing into her nightgown, she gently set up her clock on her other pillow before pulling the heavy silver curtains of her four-poster bed closed and laying down.

( PINCH YOURSELF AND SAY 'I AM AWAKE' ONCE AN HOUR.

LOOK AT YOUR HANDS. COUNT YOUR FINGERS.

LOOK AT THE CLOCK, LOOK AWAY, LOOK BACK.

COUNT YOUR BREATHS. RELAX.

CLOSE THE DOOR. )

Opening her eyes, Mona allowed a rare blinding smile to overtake her features as she found herself in her mind scape as opposed to someone else's dream.

Her mind had taken her to one of her favourite spots, sat beneath a willow tree beside the black lake. The sun was shining, while the breeze brushed her warming skin. The only sounds to be heard was the gentle lapping of the water in the lake, as she laid back on the ground with her eyes focused on the soft clouds in the sky.

Mona's froze, an incessant tugging pulling in her chest. Sitting up slowly, her blood ran cold as she gazed out onto the lake. Stood in the middle of the lake as though it had always been there was a door.

A perfectly ordinary door.

Standing on wobbling legs, Mona walked till she was stood at the edge of the lake. Her gaze transfixed on the brown, wooden door. But when she tried to step closer she found her foot falling through the floor — her entire body jolting as dream and reality became intertwined.

Waking up in her bed, Mona felt her leg give an involuntary kick that caused an uncomfortable shiver to run down her spine. Rubbing her bleary eyes, Mona squinted at the clock resting beside her head.

3AM. The witching hour.

well here it is, the first chapter!! i'm not 100% vibing with my writing here so i might come back and edit it later but it'll have to do for now bc i'm just so excited to write this story.

mona and kai are my favourite besties <33

also i'm not here to bash characters and make them ooc, some will just be seen a certain way bc that's how the other characters see them. i wasn't sure what to do with draco but i see him as that overly dramatic annoying theatre kid that ur reluctantly friends with yanno?? those are the vibes he gives me lmaoo.

(also i completely forgot daphne greengrass exists so i've changed madelyn's character name to daria)

remember to vote, comment and or share if you enjoyed lovelies!! <33

unedited
—summer