The Serpent and The Bird

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Lilah

    My fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry started tomorrow. And I still wasn't sure if I had all my things. I was in Ravenclaw, the same as my older sister Sunset. I did well in school, my best class being Potions. I didn't know who this years Defense Against the Dark Arts professor would be, but I did know that how well I did in that class was usually determined by who the teacher was.

    "Lilah!" I heard my sister Ella's voice through my slightly open door. "Dinners ready!"

    "I'll be down in a couple minutes!" I called back, folding my robes and tucking them in my trunk, setting my shirt, pants and tie on top of it. Technically the uniform had girls wearing skirts but I started wearing jeans in third year. I double checked to make sure I had all my books. Advanced potions, Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology, Defense Against The Dark Arts, plus electives. Arithmancy and Divination. I was excited honestly. But I was also afraid after what happened last year in the Triwizard Tournament. When Cedric Diggory had been killed by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. According to Harry Potter at least. Most people didn't believe him but I did. I knew I was scared but I definitely wanted to keep going to school. I shook my head, setting my extra quills and parchment in the small box I kept them in, wedging bottles of ink into my clothes to keep them from bumping around and ruining my uniform. I left the rest of my things on the end of my bed, planning on packing them after I ate. I shrugged on my sweater and wrapped it around myself before leaving my room, pulling the door shut and sliding down the railing of the stairs.

    "Lilah you're going to fall at some point if you keep doing that." James chuckled, watching me. He had his own place now that he was twenty three, but he came here August 31st every year and stayed the night so he could take Sun and I to Kings Cross and the Hogwarts Express. He's been doing the same thing since Sun and I started at Hogwarts.

    I just laughed softly, hugging him. "Hey James."

    He smiled, hugging back. "Hey Little Fox." Foxes were my favorite animal, and my patronus was an arctic fox so 'Little Fox' was James' nickname for me. "Ready to go back to school?"
I nodded. "Mhm. Em's been owling me non-stop over the summer so."
He chuckled softly and nodded. He had been in Ravenclaw, just like Sun and I were. Emily was a Gryffindor so sometimes people seemed mildly confused when we studied together or just hung out.

    "C'mon Li. Before dinner gets cold and so you can get to bed at a decent time. Wouldn't want to miss the train." He chuckled softly and walked into the kitchen where we all usually ate. It was mostly quiet, save for Sun and I mentioning something about school every few minutes. I helped clean up before heading up to my room. I picked up my other books off my bed. The muggle books I preferred to read during my free time. I set them in my trunk followed by a couple sketchbooks. Sitting on my bed I gently picked up the white kitten that nuzzled up against my leg. Rowan was his name, after the book character because the kitten had green eyes and black markings on the side of his face. Just seemed to fit. Picking him up I closed my trunk and curled up on my bed, not bothering to change. I was definitely excited. But definitely a little afraid as well.

Spencer

    Fifth year at Hogwarts. Fifth year of being called a 'Blood-traitor.' It didn't help that I was in Slytherin, same as most of the others with 'pureblood.' My parents, Kiera and Torwin, hadn't joined the Death Eaters in the first Wizarding War. Which immediately marked me as a target to those who recognized my name. Only three more years until I could escape the school bullies. Yeah that seemed like a while but to me, that could almost be the blink of an eye. Luckily for me I had at least one person that definitely didn't seem to hate me. Will Soot. I'd met him on the train in my first year, though he was one year ahead of me. In a way he took me under his wing when I didn't actually have anyone, and we're still friends now. Honestly I was happy with it, not having a huge group of actual friends. A few of the other Slytherins in my year hung out around me, though it was more that they were friends and I'd end up tagging along on occasion. Though more often then not, when I would get dragged out of the common room, I'd break off to find Will. I'd probably just spend more time hiding in the common room and writing once he left and I was still in school. Honestly wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary for me. I sighed and glanced at my half packed trunk, then to the pile of things sitting on my bed. My cat Ranboo, the fur on his face black on one half and white on the other, was curled up on my pillow. Running a hand through my hair I picked up a pile of my clothes and set them in my trunk, as well as my notebooks that I wrote in. After a few minutes of rearranging and fitting almost everything in my trunk, there was only one thing left on my bed. A framed picture of my parents. It wasn't a normal muggle picture, so I saw my parents, smiling and laughing with each other. I hadn't seen them since I was ten, I still didn't know where they were. If they knew where I was, they hadn't come. Currently I was staying with Will in the spare bedroom. His parents had basically accepted me as one of their own. Will's little brothers, Tommy and Toby, basically acted as if I were their brother as well. Aside from the photo, I had only two other things left from my parents. A vault at Gringotts, and Ranboo. I'd tried to send them letters, but I didn't know if they ever got them. I set the picture between some of my clothes, not wanting to break the frame or glass, before shutting my trunk and sitting on the edge of the bed.

    A knock at my door. "You better get some sleep Spencer." Will's mother, Kristin.

   "I will Mrs. Soot." I called, gently picking up Ranboo and setting him in my lap.

    "I've told you to call me Kristin." A soft chuckle. "Good night."

    "Good night." I heard her footsteps fade as I laid down, curling up and eventually falling asleep.

Emily

    Hogwarts started tomorrow and I couldn't wait. I'd been owling Lilah basically none stop all summer. It did occasionally scare my mom when an owl would fly in our kitchen window over breakfast, seeing as she was a muggle and wasn't quite used to the wizarding mail system. I flopped on my bed and glanced at my less than half packed trunk. Honestly I'd barely started packing yet, though everything was already out. My broomstick included. I was a Chaser on the Gryffindor team, and I did hope I'd keep my position on the team this year. Li said she thinks it's the only way I can get my energy out. I grumbled and got up, walking over to my trunk and started basically throwing things into it, though actually being careful with anything that could break. I grabbed a folder full of sheet music and tucked it into the trunk, as well as a small bag that held guitar picks and extra strings. A school full of magic and yet no one new a spell to properly fix a guitar string. Kind of annoying honestly. I grabbed my guitar case from in my closet and set it on my bed before walking over and grabbing my acoustic from it's stand. The back was painted with a lion design, then a rainbow of colors. Lilah had painted it for me for my birthday last year. I set it in it's case, closing the lid before picking it up and setting it next to my trunk. A bunch of stickers were on my trunk and case, most of them band logos or book related images. As well as my initials painted across the front, courtesy of Li. I felt something rub against my leg and looked down, seeing my orange cat Bandit. He mewed at me so I picked him up, which immediately made him purr. I chuckled softly and scratched behind his ears, letting him jump onto my bed. I brushed a hand through my hair and looked around my room, making sure I had everything packed. Minus my uniform, which was in a smaller bag as well as some money for candy and snacks on the train. It made it easier to get to so it made sense to me. I sat on the edge of my bed and leaned back, blowing my bangs out of my face. I couldn't wait to see Li again. We lived far enough away from one another that we rarely saw each other during the summer. Seeing as my mom would probably freak out if a few witches and wizards just appeared in our fireplace. Not that she had anything against them, she just wasn't used to the wizarding world yet. Not that I blamed her honestly. Some things still confuse me about it. Bandit mewed at me, nudging my arm. Chuckling softly, I reached over and picked him up, setting him on my chest. He curled up and almost immediately dozed off. I smiled and stroked his head, slowly dozing off myself.