Citrus-y (open to all Hogwarts students)

"Ooh thank you so much!" Mimosa replied as the redhead gave her the belated birthday present. "And I have one for you too though the palace sent it directly to Hogwarts," she explained, making sure Loni knew she hadn't forgotten about her. In truth, someone at the palace was in charge of remembering everyone's birthday's for Mimosa so the witch could pick out adequate presents in time for the occasion. She had a feeling Squid Boy's birthday was also coming soon, maybe in December? Or October?

When the Greecian witch had squeezed herself in, the game began anew, this time with Squid Boy picking the thing he had never done. When he finally managed a thing, Mimosa spoke up indignantly, shaking ehr head which made her hair tumble backwards, tickling the older male's nose.

"That's because dragons aren't real," she proclaimed which spurred a rousing debate, much of which the young brunette did not hear. In the end, quite a few people were forced to take a drink or pick a sweet.

After Squid Boy, it was Emily's turn, who started the session with a wicked grin on her face. "Never have I ever spoken to Jacques Clement."

Almost the entire unit of girls in the compartment groaned, each taking a sip of picking up a disgusting flavored bean. Mimosa herself picked a bean carefully, making a face as she squirmed where she sat before closing her eyes and popping it into her mouth.

It didn't taste disgusting though. Just her luck that amongst the earwax, bogey, chilli and blood flavors, she had gotten caramel. But of course, she was Mimosa Harrington, luck simply followed her around. "Mmm yummy," the witch sighed happily, leaning back into Squid By as she sucked on the bean happily.

"Let Loni go next," Karan encouraged from the floor, his soda can spiked with Vodka almost half empty at this point. "New entry privileges, come on, make them all drink!"

As one, the compartment turned to Apollonia, waiting for what she would say.

The summer had been eventful, to say the least. The Quidditch World Cup had been spectacular, even if Mercy had been disappointed by the end result. Ireland had at least made it to the final match, and Mercy had actually gotten to meet - and take photos with - Fiona MacNamara (whom Mercy firmly believed was the greatest seeker in the world, no matter what had happened in the Malaysia game). That weird chant the crowd did when the Malaysian seeker dove had to be some kind of cheating.

Still, Mercy wasn't super bitter about the outcome. She actually really liked the Malaysian team, considering they were the first all female team to compete in the World Cup and they'd taken it by storm. The only thing she wasn't happy about was that Squid Boy had bet money on them - and won. As if Squid Boy hadn't won enough already.

Other than that, the entire trip to Italy had been fantastic. Well, maybe not the entire trip. Spending time with Mimosa had been a priority, but it seemed everyone else had the same goal - the younger witch was never left alone. Her Austrian friends, the Zeverais, had been particularly annoying (not that she would say as much to Mimosa - they were her friends, after all, and Mercy didn't want to hurt her feelings). Something about them just rubbed her the wrong way was all. The way they spoke to her like she didn't belong in their group, talking about things that went straight over her head - like they knew she didn't understand and they took pleasure in watching her struggle to keep up - it made her angry, but she shoved it down for Mimosa's sake. She was grateful Mimosa hadn't turned out like that. She was rich too, and sometimes she said and did things that were alien to Mercy, but she didn't let it go to her head like her friends did.

Jaime especially irritated her with the way he kept trying to get Mimosa's attention. And the way his sister kept making comments about how cute they were together. It wasn't cute at all - it was embarrassing. Mimosa clearly wasn't interested (or at the very least, oblivious), a fact in which Mercy took some pleasure. She was grateful when they finally ditched the pair.

Only to be replaced by Squid Boy, who was, if possible, even worse. He'd come to their booth for the final match, and Mercy had done her very best to ignore him entirely. She had nothing nice to say, after all, and her mam always told her that meant she should say nothing at all. Just seeing him and Mimosa in such close proximity made her bristle, however, as she remembered the scene they'd made at the end of the year. She still hadn't really talked about it with Mimosa. She wasn't sure how to bring it up. But if Mimosa had enjoyed kissing him, surely she would have mentioned it?

That's what she told herself anyway, as she adamantly stood between the two of them, hand securely tangled with Mimosa's to prevent the pair from getting too close. Thankfully, the match provided an adequate distraction for all of them, and even though Squid Boy's team won, he took his obnoxious self away to celebrate without Mimosa's help. If he'd made a move, Mercy thought she might have punched him then and there.

But they parted ways with him too, and at last they spent the end of the trip in relative peace and comfort. Except for the waxing moon, which always seemed to have the worst possible timing. By their final day in Italy, Mercy was feeling sluggish and fatigued, her appetite diminished and her head spinning. And yet, Mimosa begged her to come to France, just for a day, to attend the Clements' anniversary party.

She wanted to say no. She should have said no. She did say no at first, but Mimosa pouted, and "No" quickly shifted to "Maybe," at which point the cause was lost and "Maybe" turned to "Alright, sure."

What could she say? They'd barely had any time alone together the entire trip, and a private jet ride to Versailles with just her and Mimosa sounded amazing even when she felt like she'd just been thrown off a broom. So she went.

The plane ride actually was pretty great, but it went downhill from there. The anniversary party was one day away from the full moon, and Mercy found it difficult to even stand for long periods of time. By the time she managed to slip away from the party, sneaking into the bathroom to chug the potion her mam had sent with her, she was feeling downright miserable. The only reason she'd come was to spend time with Mimosa, but the younger witch had yet again been swept away by multitudes of adoring strangers. Mercy couldn't even dance with her in this state, and if she had to watch one more boy spin her around on the dance floor, she thought she might throw up.

Well, she might throw up anyway, come to think of it.

So she had pulled Mimosa aside at the earliest possible convenience, and explained that she really wasn't feeling well and probably ought to go home. An understatement if there ever was one - she really shouldn't have come in the first place. But she could never seem to say no when Mimosa was the one asking.

Fortunately, Mercy made it home without too much trouble, and she spent the day in bed before undergoing the usual transition process. By the time she was feeling better again, it was almost Mimosa's birthday.

She'd been invited, of course. And she did want to go, at first, until her mam reminded her what a fiasco the last party had been. Would she really even get to talk to Mimosa if she went? She had so many friends vying for her attention at any given moment. Mercy would probably just end up miserable again, watching Mimosa from afar. And besides, she spent the better part of the year attached at the hip to the young Slytherin, wouldn't it be nice to do something as a family for once?

She really needed to practice saying no, anyway. At least it was easier over text than it was in person.

Of course, as soon as she said it, Mercy regretted it. She so badly wanted to be there, if only because she didn't want to miss out. As the day of the party approached, Mercy moped, fidgeting with her phone as she felt tempted to change her mind, to text Mimosa back and say she could come after all. Even though her mam had technically forbidden her from doing so.

In the end, Mercy's mam won out by surprising Mercy with an impromptu camping trip - somewhere far outside of town with no signal. And after the first day, Mercy actually started enjoying herself, forgetting momentarily about the party she was missing. She could actually have fun with her family for once and not think about all the drama with Mimosa and Squid Boy and the rest of their classmates. It was...weirdly liberating.

At least for the four days they were gone. Then they returned home and Mercy got to scroll through hundreds of photos of the party on social media because apparently everyone she knew had been there. Apparently it had been India themed.

Well, at least she could console herself with one thought: she had actually been with Mimosa in India, and that was way cooler than going to some party, right?

She didn't see Mimosa for the rest of the summer, though they remained in constant communication over text. The latter half of August passed by quietly. Mercy took one trip down to Diagon Alley to get her new books, and the rest of the month was spent at home.

She was spending more time in her room lately, talking to friends on her phone. That seemed to be where all the action was. Her parents occasionally lured her out to do things - getting lunch, seeing a movie, playing games - but for the most part, hanging out with them just wasn't as interesting as whatever her friends were doing. Some days, she only came out of her room when she was hungry.

And today, she'd accidentally overslept. She swore to herself as she scrambled out of bed, tripping over her packed trunk and grabbing a pair of shorts and a t-shirt from her closet as she heard her dad's voice calling her name from the bottom of the stairs.

"Coming!" she hollered back, tugging her clothes on and thundering toward the bathroom to comb her hair and brush her teeth. She rushed back to her room, tugged some mismatched socks onto her feet and shoved her trainers on, stuffing her comb and toothbrush into a side pocket in her trunk. She couldn't believe she'd slept through her alarm on the first day of school. She glanced at her watch, grabbed her trunk, and hauled it down the stairs to where her parents stood waiting.

"Ready?" her mam asked. Mercy nodded. "We're going to need to apparate or you'll miss the train. You're sure you've got everything?"

"I'm sure." Mercy quickly hugged her dad goodbye. "Love you. See you at Christmas."

"Love you too, a thaisce."

Mercy grabbed her trunk with one hand, and her mam's arm with the other, bracing herself for the unpleasant pull of sidelong apparition. With a snap, the pair appeared on the platform, just as the Hogwarts Express let out a warning whistle. Most of the students were already on board.

She hugged her mam as well, then hurried off to the train, shoving her trunk ahead of her and climbing aboard. She wandered down the corridor, scanning the compartments for any of her friends. Eventually, she reached the back of the train, finding a mostly empty compartment. A girl around her own age sat in the corner, writing in a journal. Mercy vaguely recognized her as one of the new transfer students from last year. A Hufflepuff who sometimes hung out with Squid Boy. Mercy glanced back down the corridor, then sighed and poked her head through the door.

"Hey," she said. The girl looked up, a little startled. "Is it okay if I leave my stuff in here? Everywhere else is full."

"Oh, um, sure. Go right ahead," the girl replied with a soft smile.

"Thanks," Mercy said shortly, shoving her trunk beneath a seat. She didn't look back at the girl as she left, walking back down the corridor and pulling out her phone.

Hey, just got on the train. Where r u?

She sent the first text to Mimosa. When there was no immediate reply, she sent a variation of the same message to Janine.

Team compartment. Near the front, on the left, came her fellow Chaser's response. Mercy hurried down the hall just as the train began the move, eventually reaching the right compartment and sliding open the door.

The whole of last year's Gryffindor team (minus the ones who had graduated) greeted her cheerily, and Janine slid over and patted the seat beside her. Mercy grinned, plopping down in the midst of her friends, most of whom she hadn't seen since May.

It was good to be back.