September — Platform 9 ¾ , London

Here you were, alive and well, all ready for your seventh year at Hogwarts. Nearly half your life spent dashing across corridors and sneaking up towers to skip class.

You boarded the Express with caution, no one else but your father standing at the platform to wave you goodbye. Still, it was better than nothing. Your stepmother must have yet another obtuse explanation as to why she couldn’t make it. Not that you minded her absence.

After that long, horrible summer, boarding the familiar train made you feel safe and more at home than your own house ever did. But you were forgetting one important thing — perhaps the most important. The one thing, no, the one person you were looking forward to seeing.

Your large trunk weighed you down as you travelled down the train, several faces greeting you, happy to face another long year together. However, just as you were about to enter your usual designated cabin, a firm hand took hold of your wrist, dragging you into the bathroom. You gasped, feeling a sense of guilt nestling in your chest.

“I hope you have a good excuse prepared to make up for the absence of your letters.” Regulus narrowed his eyes as he shut the door, the cramped space making it hard to move. His eyes scanned your face, his fingers softly touching up the new hairstyle you’d experimented with this morning.

Regulus, your dear boyfriend that you hadn’t written to all summer.