Lone Wolf | SIRIUS BLACK

Chapter Sixteen

|  S T R I C T L Y P L A T O N I C |

September 1st, 1976

"I CAN'T find my robes!"  I shouted to Lily as I frantically tore apart my suitcase.  I had packed it so carefully, only to realize now that my robes for Hogwarts were missing.

How annoying that I could have something from an hour ago and not anymore.  And to add onto my frazzled state of mind, I was worrying over how much time we had.  After all, we didn't have Petunia's whining and foot-stomping as an excuse.

If that train left before we got on, we would be in some serious trouble from our respective parents.  Not to mention we wouldn't have a way of getting to Hogwarts.  It wasn't like there was a vehicle that could bring us there any faster — without causing me injury, anyway.  Brooms were an option I supposed, except the last time I'd been on one I was barely off the ground, fell, and sprained my wrist.  I didn't dare think of how I would fare up high above the clouds if that became our only option.

All this magical creativity and no flying cars invented.  What a waste.

"Well if we don't get out of here to leave in time, you won't need them!"  Lily called back to me from another room.  Our bedrooms were adjoined with a lavish bathroom in the middle so it made yelling to each other simpler than if we were on different floors.

"Where are they?"  I was close to ripping my red hair out strand by strand.  But I knew balding myself wouldn't help me regain composure so I took a deep breath to give myself the illusion that it calmed me and then kept scouring my bedroom for any sign of the robes.

Not under my bed and not tangled up in my bedsheets.

Not in the closet.

Not in the whole damn house.

Could my Hogwarts uniform even be in the U.S. at this point?

Simone probably stole it.  That cat hates me.  She probably plots my death as I sleep unaware next to her.  Do they have cat traps?  Oh who am I kidding, I couldn't outsmart her even if I tried.

Imagine that, I'm stupider than a cat.  She spends 99% of her day sleeping and another 1% licking fur and barfing it up.  How smart could she be?

Cassie!  Forget your evil mastermind of a feline and find your school robes!

I dropped down to my hands and knees to check some really hard to reach spots but there was no luck.  I was wasting time and I knew it.  I was ready to give up and go without them when I saw a glimmer of sapphire cloth stuffed in a dresser drawer.  The colourful neck of my robes caught my eye and I felt instant relief; it looked like I wouldn't be facing the wrath of my mother after all.

"Found them!"

"Oh thank Merlin," Lily exclaimed, pulling her trunk behind her.  I grabbed mine where Simone was curled up on it and yanked it along at top speed after putting Simone in the crook of my arm.  "Let's go."

If I was being honest, when we arrived at the train station, the scene looked a lot less dramatic than I made it seem.  There were still a few families milling around and sending their kids on the Hogwarts Express.  But my actions made it seem like we had no time left.