Dandelions

AN END AND A PROMISE

It was the morning after the Leaving Feast, and there was little more for the boys to do than gather up their luggage and make their way down to the carriages. Rory was shocked by the amount of kids who seemed genuinely happy to be returning home for the summer holiday, excitedly asking for their friends addresses and if their fireplace was connected to the floo network or not. He had no idea what 'floo' was, and frankly he didn't want to know at all.

Since he was younger than sixteen, he still had the trace on him anyways--as he'd learned just yesterday according to Maggie. No magic outside of the wizarding world, if he even thought about performing any, the Ministry would know right away--and he could lose the privilege of using magic forever.

That seemed like a silly consequence to give a twelve year old, but Rory wasn't about to begin questioning it.

Going down to the grounds didn't feel the same as going away for the Christmas holiday, there was a certain frustration Rory felt regarding the idea that he had to go away at all. Wasn't this a boarding school? Couldn't they just be...boarded for the entire year? If he had his way, he'd probably never return home again.

Regardless of his teenage angst and annoyance, the weather was perfect for a train ride, and the breeze blew all around the boarding platform outside of Hogwarts. Rory's feet had felt heavy the entire time they walked down the long flights of stairs to reach the carriages, feeling a bit glum since the moment he'd opened his eyes that morning.

Today wasn't a very happy day, in his opinion. Despite the fact that the twins were more jovial than ever, Lee was cracking jokes every five minutes, and Maggie just couldn't seem to leave his side--all he could focus on was the fact all of this would suddenly cease in just a few hours.

"Try not to look too depressed," George whispered, nudging his shoulder once they were sat beside each other on the carriage, "Maggie'll get worried."

"Mm," Rory hummed, grimacing in his attempt to smile. Even the typical distractions, like George sitting right beside him, didn't have their usual effect.

He tried to get caught up in the way George's dimples showed when he laughed, or how his eyelashes fluttered while looking down at his lap, but nothing really seemed to work. Imagine that, getting frustrated because his normal irritations weren't even there.

"I said look less depressed," George suddenly whispered, leaning over toward Rory, "Not cross."

"I'm not really feeling the teasing today, George," he answered, mumbling.

"It's only two months," the twin responded, "I promise you'll live, alright?"

"Your comfort really is rubbish, y'know?" Rory couldn't help but smile a little as he looked back over at him.

"But I got you to smile," he countered, "I'd say it's pretty good, then."

"Alright, you win," he sighed, leaning back and feeling the rhythm of the carriage rocking back and forth.

He was lucky enough to be on the side that allowed him to look past Fred and Lee's heads to the lake, and he took full advantage of that by moodily staring across it. It wasn't thinking about everything that'd happened this year that was plaguing his mind now, or even the loss of friendship--he was just mad. And the fact he couldn't really tell why he was mad made him even more upset.

"If you're this moody on the train ride back, we're quarantining you in another compartment," George snarkily said once they reached the Hogwarts train platform.

"If you're gonna bother me so much, I don't wanna sit next to you," Rory snipped back, giving George some side eye. "Let me be moody."

"Ooh, alright," he snickered, "Drama queen."