Chapter Text
Laura Hollis stood between platform 9 and 10 at the Kings Cross station and checked her watch. Carmilla had disappeared ten minutes ago muttering something and had yet to return. As a prefect Laura was meant to help the students organize themselves on the train and starting her sixth year late wasn’t really the best way to go.
She spotted Carmilla dodging through the crowd and relief flooded her system. Then Carmilla held up a packet of her favourite chocolate chip cookies and she smiled wide.
Okay, she probably should have given her more credit.
“Okay Dad, we have to go now.”
“Are you sure you have everything?” he asked, eyeing both of their trolleys. Carmilla had far less belongings than Laura, and in a much better state, barring the cat scratches on one corner of her trunk. Carmilla’s cat Lestat blinked at Laura’s owl Thorondor then turned in his carrier and curled up to sleep.
“Yes, I’m sure.” She brought her dad into a tight hug.
He had let Carmilla stay over the holidays thanks to her… complicated family situation. With her step mother a wanted fugitive, her step brother missing, and no other living relatives it hadn’t been difficult to convince her dad to let Carmilla crash.
The fact that he’d found them in a compromising position in the first week of holidays had, luckily, not changed his mind. Although, Carmilla had been promptly moved into the spare room and an open door policy had been instated. And he’d had a long conversation with Carmilla about what her intentions with Laura were.
In short, it had been completely humiliating.
“Alright, be safe L Bear. I love you.”
“I love you too Dad.”
Carmilla arrived and her dad let her go so that he could pull Carmilla into a hug. Carmilla tensed at first but relaxed soon after. Laura smiled; she was relaxing quicker these days.
“I love you,” he said into her hair and when he pulled back he gave her a stern look. “Now, you make sure you stay safe, okay?” His face twisted with concern. “Are you sure that you don’t want any bear spray?”
Carmilla looked amused at her father’s fussing, which was better than the annoyance that Laura thought she might have felt.
“I can turn into a giant panther, Mr Hollis.”
This wasn’t the first time that Carmilla had dropped the fact that she was an Animagus. That had been during one of her dad’s safety rants and it had made him stop talking mid-sentence and stare at her openly. He then asked her to show him and yelped in surprise when she did. Laura didn’t blame him for not expecting it, it was kind of difficult to tell when Carmilla was being sarcastic. Now he simply nodded as if he’d forgotten a common sense fact. “Right, right.” He clapped his hands. “Okay girls, have fun at school, I expect letters from both of you, and good luck on your N.E.W.T.s, Carmilla.”
Carmilla shrugged a nod as if the Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests would be a breeze and they both farewelled him, took a hold of their trolleys and went through the barrier.
Laura let out a breath as they arrived on platform 9¾. While she did love the non-magical world (because, hello, internet?) she felt more at home in the wizarding world. Like she could truly be herself.
“Laura!”
Suddenly Laura found herself being pulled into a hug by Perry, getting a face full of her bouncing red curls in the process. Even though they had spent time together over the holidays, it was nice to see her again. LaFontaine stood behind Perry and greeted Laura with a wave and a lopsided smile. Once Perry was done hugging Laura, LaFontaine jumped in and Perry tugged Carmilla into a hug.
Carmilla grunted and rolled her eyes. “We saw each other like a week ago.”
Perry ignored her as she continued to hug her. “It’s nice to see you too, Carmilla.”
Once greetings had finished Perry pointed out, “You’re late.”
“I know, I’m sorry, Carm-”
“Was being like super thoughtful and buying you cookies?” Carmilla inserted.
Laura smiled charmingly at her and pecked her on the lips, taking the cookies from Carmilla’s grasp while she was distracted. “Exactly.”
Perry watched their interaction with barely concealed happiness. “Alright, come on Laura, we have to sort everyone out on the train.” She gestured around them to the platform that was bustling with people catching up over the holidays, parents fussing, and tiny, wide-eyed first years.
“I’ll see you at school,” Perry promised LaFontaine and gave them a quick kiss.
Carmilla kissed Laura on the cheek and muttered, “Say hi to the dudebro for me. And ask him how his leg is.”
Laura beamed at her and then left with Perry to perform their prefect duties.
“So are you a front carriage or back carriage kind of girl?” LaFontaine asked Carmilla once both of their girlfriends had left. Carmilla shot LaFontaine a look.
LaFontaine shrugged. “I make no assumptions.”
“Come on, Ginger Snap.” Carmilla started making her way to one of the rear carriages. She glanced back at them and narrowed her eyes. “Did your hair get shorter?”
LaFontaine grimaced. “I was trying out a new potion method and I burned it off.”
Carmilla raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment any further.
---
The moment Kirsch spotted Laura on the train he bounded over to her and lifted her into the air with a powerful hug, making her squeal and giggle. Then he offered Perry a low bow, complete with a flourish of his hand.
“You’re in a good mood,” Perry observed.
“Hell yeah, I get to see you guys, what’s not to be in a good mood about?”
“Perry’s right…” Laura examined Kirsch closely. “Did something happen with Danny?”
Kirsch reddened and looked around them to check if anyone had heard her.
Last year after the old Headmistress had fled the school grounds and Eames had been captured, Danny and Kirsch no longer needed to fake a relationship to explain her inclusion in their group. When Carmilla had pointed that out they had both, with painful degrees of awkwardness, discussed how to proceed. Kirsch had suggested that she break up with him so that the Summer Society girls didn’t offer her any pity (knowing how much she hated it); while she said that he should be the one to break up with her so that the Zetas didn’t start trying to get him a rebound (she did not say this last part out loud, but he had been as averse to this idea as she was).
In the end, they had both argued so much over who should break up with the other that they’d just remained ‘together’.
LaFontaine had tried to strike up another bet with Carmilla about when the two Gryffindors would get together, but Carmilla had waved them off saying that those two would probably get married and have kids before they’d actually admit to each other that they wanted to be together.
“No, why would something have happened with Danny?” Kirsch laughed nervously. “That wouldn’t put me in a good mood.” He continued to laugh forcefully and Perry and Laura traded a look. “I’m just happy to see my bros.”
“Right. Well let's keep going then,” Perry urged them on through the carriages until they finally had everyone sorted and headed to the prefects’ carriage.
Perry had been chosen to be the Hufflepuff Head Girl, which wasn’t a surprise given that she was a top student and a skilled Quidditch player. Being talented on the pitch made her well known and liked on principle, even if people weren’t always a fan of her personality. She greeted the other Heads and they began to discuss things as they waited for the other prefects to arrive.
“Oh! Carmilla says hi, by the way,” Laura told Kirsch over the table as they took a seat.
He looked completely surprised. “Really?”
“And she was wondering how your leg was.” Laura had no idea what had happened to Kirsch’s leg, but it was sweet of Carmilla to ask.
Kirsch was taking a drink of water while she said that and he choked on it, coughing several times and covering his mouth.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Kirsch wheezed. “I’m fine. Sorry. I’m fine.”
Laura made a mental note to ask Carmilla later about what had happened to Kirsch’s leg.
---
“You’re friends with Danny’s half brother?” LaFontaine asked through a mouthful of pumpkin pastie.
They had a cabin to themselves thanks to their seventh year status and Carmilla’s glaring skills. LaFontaine had practically bought everything off the food trolley and their seat was now covered in a collection of food ranging from savoury to sweet.
“Not ‘friends’.”
“Fine, whatever, pen pals?”
“My step mother hated his father, so when I was stuck at the Ministry I would talk to him to annoy her.” Carmilla spoke about her step mother more freely these days, although only with the group, and only in such a casual way that it made it seem like she hadn't almost killed Carmilla last year.
“And you’re both torturing Danny and Kirsch.”
“Only as much as they torture us.” Carmilla put the back of her hand to her forehead and blinked several times, widening her eyes melodramatically. “I hate you, I love you, will we, won’t we, oh God!” Carmilla swooned, falling backwards onto the seat and her eyes fluttering closed. After a moment she reopened her eyes and looked over at LaFontaine, who was giving her a hearty one handed clap against their thigh, their other hand occupied with a pastie. Carmilla sat up again. “Honestly, they need to both be slapped.”
“Like you can talk.”
“Like you can,” Carmilla shot back. “It took me less than a year to get with Laura, how long did it take you, Tweedle Dum?”
LaFontaine threw a Bertie Bott’s Bean at Carmilla, who caught it and popped it into her mouth. Carmilla chewed it slowly for a moment and then nodded. “Bacon.”
LaFontaine pouted. “Damn, I always wanted bacon.” They grabbed a similarly coloured bean from their packet and tried it. “Ugh. Pomegranate.”
Carmilla stole one of their chocolate frogs and ate it. “What’s wrong with pomegranate?” She checked the card that came with the frog and flicked it back over to LaFontaine.
“The seeds weird me out,” LaFontaine replied as they checked the card that Carmilla had flicked at them. Carmilla raised an eyebrow but didn’t mention that the beans didn’t have any seeds. “Dude, you don’t like Babayaga? Thought she’d be right up your alley.”
Carmilla shrugged. “Already have like ten of her cards.”
---
Perry looked around the prefects’ cabin with a bright smile. “So I believe that if all those rules are followed we will have a wonderful year.”
Robbins, the fifth year Gryffindor prefect, raised his hand and she called on him, “Yes?”
“Is it true that last year you stopped Eames?”
Perry’s eyes flicked to Laura and Kirsch before she said curtly, “I fail to see how that relates to your prefect duties.”
Robbins shifted uncomfortably in his seat and dropped his eyes down to the table.
“I am not interested in confirming, denying or spreading rumours about what happened last year,” Perry said assertively. “And this is the last time I will address it.” She made sure to look pointedly around the room before nodding and smiling again. “Alright, I think that’s all on the agenda.” She double-checked by glancing at the rest of the heads and then she nodded. “Here’s to a good and safe year.”
All the prefects around the table raised their goblets and said the school motto together, “Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus.”
And so began Laura Hollis’ sixth year at Hogwarts.