CHAPTER EIGHT
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-: seventh year :-
── IN WHICH THEY MAKE A BET
. . .
The Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmeade station with a great amount of smoke billowing out onto the platform. It cleared within a minute or so, leaving a sort of hazy cover over the first sets of students to exit the train.
The seven best friends stepped out onto the platform, seeming to tower over a crowd of first years, who were being directed by Hagrid, who towered over all of them, holding a glowing lantern up to the night.
"Alright yeh lot?" Hagrid asked, easily picking out seven faces from the other students. "Charlie, Kaida, Professor Kettleburn says he's got somethin' interestin' to show yeh two. I suppose he'll tell yeh more about it, but I can say tha' it's exciting."
"Thanks Hagrid - we'll come down for tea soon." Charlie beamed, glancing at his best friend then the Gamekeeper.
"Make sure none of the first years fall in the Black Lake." Kaida quickly said. "One of them dragged some pondweed in with him, and went to get treated for the tentacle brusies from the Giant Squid."
"Just 'cause yer in yer last year doesn' mean yeh can be cheeky, mind yeh." Hagrid said, despite his words he was grinning and shaking his head. "First years over here!" He bellowed, a crowd of small people scuttling over. "I'll see yeh after the feast, mind yeh don' trample on anyone Xavier." Hagrid shook his head once again, and the Miller boy laughed.
"Yes sir!" He joked, the boy having somehow gotten even taller over the summer, saluting before his twin dragged him away.
The seven of them were all smiles as they approached the carriages. "I'll take.. Tonks, Charlie and Xavier." Kaida quickly said. None of them could ever fit in just one carriage - they might have managed it in first year, but they could never now. And so it had become a sort of first-come-first-serve thing.
Who ever said who they wanted to share a carriage with first got them, and it seemed to be the Phoenix girl's turn, a satisfied smirk appearing on her lips.
"Shit, I wanted to take Charlie and Kai this year." Leo swore, rolling his eyes as Kaida stuck her tongue out at him, Charlie taking the more harsh route of flipping him off,
"You snooze, you loose, Abbott." Tonks smirked, pulling Kaida along with her, the first to seperate from the group into carriages. Xavier and Charlie followed along behind them, pulling themselves up the carriage behind the girls.
It was September and they were in Scotland - and whilst it clearly wasn't going to be the warmest of nights, as soon as she got into the carriage, Kaida opened the window beside her, peering out into the moonlit night.
"Anything interesting out there?" Xavier slid along the carriage seat beside her, arm wrapping around her shoulder, appearing to be using her in order to not slide off his seat - and it proved to be useful, as the carriage lurched forward.
"Not particularly. Just the moon." Kaida turned to him. "Xavier, you're a beater, surely you have better balance than me and Charlie have combined - I can't include you considering you're also a beater." Kai added as Nymphadora gave her quite the look.
"Fine, whatever." Xavier tugged his arm off. "So, Charles, why don't you think they gave Kai the captain position. I mean it's only fair. You got to be prefect and she should have a year as captain. Wouldn't you agree, Tonksie-Wonksie."
"Call me that again and I'll shove my wand up your arse." Tonks replied crudely, but Xavier didn't even look remotely threatened. "Besides, it makes for Charlie to get prefect, Bill was both prefect and headboy."
"But Charlie is nothing like Bill." Xavier continued, and Kaida and Charlie - the two people they were talking about - shared a look, knowing how this conversation might go.
"Either way, I bet they'll have Percy for prefect and head boy, skip on the twins and get both Ron and Ginny on it. It only makes sense. As for Quidditch.. Charlie was put on the team first." She said, forever the voice of reason when it came to these things.
Their friends liked to debate on it, but it had never been anything other than a joking jab for the two best friends. Charlie had decided long ago that Kaida was automatically his co-captain, even if it was his name in the records.
She would do things like warm-ups, organise and lead practises if he couldn't be there, or if she just felt like it. There had never been that sort of inequality between them. What the school had chosen was neither of their faults, if it was Charlie, it was Charlie, that was that.
The carriage pulled up outside of Hogwarts after what seemed like forever, and Charlie got out first, helping Kaida down as Xavier and Tonks still argued it. They moved out of the way so that they could wait for the other three, and Kaida had to drag the two arguing with them.
"How many times do you think we're going to hear about this this year?" Charlie asked, not even having to bother with whispering - Xavier and Tonks were too caught up in their argument.
"I'm thinking at least.. twenty eight." Kaida said, and in Charlie's eyes sparked an interest.
"I'm saying thirty four." He said. "Bet on it? Two galleons and two Quidditch practises to lead?"
"You're on." Kaida said, the pair discreetly shaking hands as Leo, Dana and Isla stepped out of the carriage. And together, the seven of them walked towards Hogwarts.
Back home at last.
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