【 CHAPTER THREE 】
the summer
( —  UNBELIEVABLE SIGHTS
INDESCRIBABLE FEELING )

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Miri had been walking around the London wizarding shopping district with Liam, Maria and her mother, purchasing her school supplies. So it probably shouldn't have shocked her that much to see a 20-foot-tall robotic ginger-haired man on the front of a building. But in her defence, everything else was comparatively drab and dull to the explosion of laughter that came from the shop.

Miri shook her head at the extra-ness of it all, staring gobsmacked as the robot-man lifted his hat to reveal a rabbit on the top of his head. He lowered the hat and then lifted it again to show that the rabbit had disappeared.

She tapped her mother's shoulder. 'Hey, mom? I'm gonna go in there and look around, okay?'

Her mother barely glanced at the shop, still trying to convince Maria that No, you don't need a protection amulet from a shady store vendor. 'Okay. Don't wander off.'

Entering the shop in a trance-like state, Miri stumbled at the bright colours of its interior that assaulted her eyes with all its glory. The absolute chaos everywhere was spectacular, and Miri couldn't help but wish that she could stay in this moment forever.

'This,' said Miri breathlessly over a loud bang, 'is what dreams are made of.'

'Why thank you,' a sudden voice behind her said, making her jump. 'Always happy to see the young ones showing their love for mischief.'

She turned her head to see a man dressed as vivid as the shop. His hair was a startling red that contrasted dramatically with the magenta robe. Miri absentmindedly wondered why everyone in the Wizarding World had a) no fashion sense, b) colourblindness and c) both.

'Mr Weasley, at your service miss,' he said, bowing lowly. 'Anything I can help you with?'

Miri chuckled lightly. 'Thank you, Mr Weasley, but I'm just browsing. Besides,' she added, noticing something in her peripheral view, 'I think that someone's trying to nick something over there.'

The man cursed and raced over to a young boy who was attempting to sneak something into his bag.

She started to scan the shelves, mesmerised by the sparks some of them gave off. She stopped to examine one particular product. It was a red gift-box complete with a bow and had sweets with weird names. She picked it up to look at the description.

THE SKIVING SNACKBOX

RANGE OF SWEETS TO MAKE YOU ILL!!!

...NOT SERIOUSLY ILL. JUST ILL ENOUGH TO GET YOU OUT OF TROUBLE...

Huh, she thought. This could be useful. While Miri didn't need magical sweets to have unpredictable nosebleeds, the Skiving Snackbox seemed like something that would benefit her greatly.

She held on to the box as she made her way to the front of the store where her mother was browsing.

'Mom! Can I get this?' She gave the box to her mother to inspect.

'What is it and how much is it?' Then, reading the description, Caroline raised an eyebrow at her daughter. 'Miri, no. It literally says here that it helps you skip classes. It's not something you need and the price is unreasonable.'

'But mom-'

'No, Miri. Not unless you can buy it with your own money.'

Miri checked her purse. No luck.

Caroline smiled at her daughter's disgruntled expression. 'Come on. Go find your siblings and we'll get ice cream as a treat.'

'Yes!' Motioning for her mother to cover her ears, Miri inhaled and prepared herself.

Caroline grimaced and sent a silent apology to the strangers around her.

Not caring for the fragile eardrums of nearby people, Miri bellowed,'LIAM! MARIA! GET HERE THIS INSTANCE! WE'RE GETTING ICE CREAM!'

The effect was instantaneous. Two simultaneous crashes sounded around the store and her grinning siblings appeared by her sides in five seconds flat.

Oh, and the entire store went pin-drop silent as well. Probably because no one was prepared for the deafening shout that came from the young girl.

'Ice cream?' Maria jumped up and down as the family headed towards the nearby ice cream parlour. 'I want chocolate!'

'Aww... I wanted chocolate...'

Miri stared at her brother. 'We're all sharing, Willy. Or have you somehow forgotten that we've always shared our food since the pretzels last week?'

Liam pouted. 'Well, yeah. but there's just something about putting in the order for myself than sharing it with the both of you. And besides,' he shuddered, 'saliva.'

Her face morphed into a pained expression. 'We'll get them in cups. So individual spoons.' Grinning teasingly at her sister, she said, 'Besides, I doubt that Annie here can keep hers from dripping if we get cones.'

Maria stuck her tongue out and put her hands on her hips. Miri returned the action. Liam just rolled his eyes.

'Day 76. Miri-59, Maria-17.'

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You know the feeling of wishing for something for so long that you don't know what to do when it finally happens? That was exactly how Maria felt. Right now. Because of the summer holidays.

Her solution: Annoy her older sister.

How?

'I'm so bored,' she groaned. 'BOOOOOOOOOOOOOORED.'

'So read a book!' Miri snapped, irritated at her sister. 'Or ride a bike or go to the playground or play Monopoly with Liam or something. Just don't bother me.'

Maria fluttered her eyes delicately. 'Who, me? Bother you? Never.'

Miri rolled her eyes. 'Ugh.'

The girl was flicking through her magical plants textbook, trying to understand what the old dead guy was going on about and it was hard enough without any distractions. To her, they were all just plants. Dangerous, yes, potentially fatal even, but still plants. And Miri was never one to get her hands dirty without a good reason.

Luckily, since there was only a minor-ish age-gap between her and Liam, they had the same syllabus and thus, the same textbooks, saving her mom from having to buy new ones for Miri. The same went for robes, though they had to write to one of Liam's friends to ask his father to charm it to plain black ones. This way, they'd only really needed to get her magic chemistry things and a wand. The rather eccentric woman she'd met there said something about her wand being made of alder and a dragon's... heart which - could be not have had been easy to get.

Though, Miri thought, plucking the wand from its case to study it, it kinda just looks like the product of a bored teen with a heck load of free time and a knife collection.

Shrugging, she placed the wand back into its box and returned her attention to the textbook. She was trying to at least grasp the concept of the school's subjects since, unfortunately, she would be at a huge disadvantage compared to the other students what with her trouble remembering recent events and stuff.

Add in the factor that she was going to have to learn about totally new things, instead of, oh, I don't know, History or some other subject she already had a basic understanding of, she really wasn't looking forward to the new school year.

(Not to say that she would've looked forward to it if she was attending regular non-magical school, but at least then she might've already known some of the things they were talking about.)

Miri shifted in her seat, eyes scanning the same paragraph for about the fifth time trying to comprehend whatever the book was trying to say.

Note to self, Herbology sucks.

Maria groaned again, secretly pleased at how her usually couldn't-care-less-about-my-grade older sister was struggling with schoolwork. Most of the time, Miri would only revise her notes for the exam the hour before the test, (the night before, if it was Maths), much to their mother's distress. Miri claimed that it was effective and just the way I am and no one can stop me because this is my life, not yours.

Before she could mentally cheer at her sister's distress anymore, Maria's arms were abruptly pulled forward, making her whole body follow suit lest she wanted to lose two very important limbs.

'Out!' said Miri, pushing and pulling her sister out the door. 'I need to study and you're annoying me. Out!'

'But-'

'Out!' She shut the door and put her whole weight against it, quickly locking the door as she did. Victorious, Miri smiled at the peace and quiet, returned to her desk and picked up the book once more.

She reread the paragraph, closed the book calmly and hit her forehead with it. Then, without hesitation, she flung the book onto the floor before burying her head in her hand, letting out a long muffled scream of despair.

She knew that she was going to regret not brushing up on the subject, but that would come later when she had the mental capacity to give a damn.

Some things just weren't worth losing her sanity over.

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'Miri, could you help me sift the flour, please?' asked Susan Murphy.

'Sure.' Miri smiled at Kenneth's mom.

'And, Kenneth,' the older woman turned to face her son, 'can you help me butter the pans?'

Kenneth picked up a pastry brush and dipped it into the melted butter. Brandishing the brush like it was a sword, he replied grandly, 'Yes, Ma'am'.

Snorting slightly at his antics, Miri focused on making sure none of the flour dropped onto the table.

'And, Taliana?' added the Murphy matriarch as she left for the kitchen to check on Kenneth's siblings. 'When Miri's done with that, help her sift in the cocoa powder as well.'

'Okay.'

It was the last week before school, and, as per tradition, Miri and her friends were gathered at Kenneth's place. Out of the three of them, it had the biggest land, was practically on the borders of Highbury and Islington (making it the most convenient place to have gatherings) and (bonus!) it had adorable furry critters running around.

Currently, they were helping Aunt Susan to prepare three birthday cakes to celebrate all her friends'/siblings'/parents' birthdays that'd happened during the summer. Since they'd all been busy during the holidays, Miri and her friends had come up with this solution so no one had to purposely reschedule an important thing just to sing off-key and eat cake.

This way, they could catch up about their summer adventures without the ever-looming threat of a teacher breathing over their shoulders.

And besides, nothing could ever compare to the feeling of witnessing the expression on her friends' face when they opened their present to see the perfect gift lying inside. It was just... pure joy and elation with a handful of sprinkles scattered on top.

(It was also a gigantic ego booster but eh. Details.)

'Ken?' Taliana said as soon as there was no more flour in the sifter.

The boy grunted in acknowledgement.

'Pass us the cocoa powder.'

'Say please.'

Miri and Taliana both shot him a look but complied. 'Please.'

'Nope!'

Taliana glared at him while Miri's lips pursed in annoyance.

He finally looked up and grinned at them. 'You each have two legs. Use them.'

The girls shared a silent look. Miri nodded. Taliana grumbled as she walked to the end of the table and took the bowl of the measured ingredient, swiping at the back of Kenneth's head when she passed him.

'Oi!'

'Butter the pans, doll.' Taliana passed her the bowl. Miri began sifting the cocoa powder.

Kenneth glared at her. 'Don't call me doll! It's not my fault that you have me Ken as a nickname!'

Miri rolled her eyes. 'Whatever you say.'

'Doll.' Taliana smirked.

Kenneth growled but didn't retaliate. The girls shared a high-five.

'It's really not fair, you know,' he complained. 'It's always two against one. And it's always girls vs boys.'

Miri gave the sifter a few more shakes before putting it down. 'Tough.'

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The first of September dawned soon enough, and after a rushed morning and daredevil-level manoeuvring through the traffic (courtesy of their mom), Miri and her brother stood arguing in front of a stone column at King's Cross Station while her mother and Maria watched on.

'I am not going to run towards the wall like an idiot!' squawked Miri, unwittingly catching the attention of several passers-by. 'I don't know about you, William, but I quite like not being a pancake.'

Liam groaned with exasperation. 'Oh for heaven's sake you've watched me run at that wall for the past six years! What's so difficult about you doing the same?'

'The difference is that if you go comatose from running full speed at a freaking concrete wall of all things, I get to move into your room.'

'Oh- Just-' Liam threw his hands into the air. He looked at their mother, who gave him an I've got this look.

'Miri,' her mother said kindly. 'Why don't Liam go first, then you'll see that you have nothing to worry about, okay?'

Miri grumbled slightly but agreed.

After hugging his mother and Maria goodbye with the promise to take care of his sister, Liam adjusted his trolley to face the hidden entrance to platform 9¾. But then, he turned to Miri with an understanding look. 'Look, I know it's scary. And if it makes you nervous, then close your eyes and run towards it. That's what I did the first time.'

Liam faced the column. 'See you on the other side, Mimi.' Then, he casually strolled towards the brick wall that swallowed his form as soon as he touched it.

Miri watched in amazement. She never got tired of seeing her brother disappear into thin air.

'See? That's not so bad.' Her mother crouched down to look Miri in the eyes. 'Now come on. If Liam can do it, so can you.'

'Alright. But if I get a concussion, it's coming out of Liam's savings.'

Miri hugged her mother tightly. 'Bye, mom. I'll write to you soon! Even though I don't understand why I can't just text you.'

Her mother kissed her forehead. 'Bye, Miri. I love you. And don't forget to do some revision every day, alright? Remember, if you don't understand anything, ask Liam or one of your teachers for help.'

Her mother smiled at her, 'And be good, okay?'

Miri smiled back but made no promises.

She hugged Maria, who'd been suspiciously quiet the entire time. Miri held her sister at arm's length and said jokingly, 'Marianne; my dear, beloved Maria; my lovely, lovely sister Annie; please, for god's sake, don't paint our room pink.'

Maria grinned mischievously. 'Well, technically it'll just be my room so...'

'You know what I mean!'

The first thing Miri noticed when she crossed the barrier was the humongous train. The second thing was the boy with blue-green hair. Coincidentally, her brother was chatting with him.

Miri made her way over to them.

'-can't wait to meet your sister,' said Not-So-Little Boy Blue. 'You said that she's starting at Hogwarts right? Where is she?'

Gesturing Liam to be silent, Miri tapped the guy on his left shoulder before darting to his other side. When he found no one there, Blue turned back to Liam, only to jump at the small girl who was grinning cheekily at him.

'Hi?' he asked, confused.

'Hi! I heard that you wanted to meet me? Well, here I am!' Miri pouted her lips and struck a pose like a model. 'No autographs, please.'

Blue laughed while Liam shook his head at her antics. 'So this is the famous Miriam Cheng. I'm Teddy Lupin. I'm friends with your brother.'

Miri glared at her brother. 'Really, Willy?' she deadpanned, ignoring Teddy's muffled laughter at her nickname for Liam. 'Really?'

Liam shrugged. 'I told him before you started going by Miri. I also told him that you might slap him for calling you by your full name but his Gryffindor roots must really be showing today. Lack of self-preservation and all.'

Although confused by the somewhat unfamiliar term, Miri snickered. She figured that if it was really important, someone could explain it to her later.

She turned back to Teddy. 'Please call me Miri unless you want to wake up with your tongue super-glued to something highly unpleasant.'

'Umm... What level of unpleasantness are we talking about here? Because I want to know if its worth it.'

'A-' Liam caught Miri's eye and gave her a Be nice! look. 'A- It's a surprise!' she finished brightly.

She looked at the blue-haired boy sternly. 'Don't make me actually carry through my threat. It's a lot of work and it's just ugh.'

Teddy nodded. 'Noted.'

With the combined efforts of two boys, they helped her get her (stupid, clunky, impractical) trunk onto the train.

Teddy slung a hand over Liam's shoulder. 'You'll have to excuse me for freaking out just now. Thing is, your brother didn't tell me what you looked like. And besides, you try having a random girl pop out of nowhere and disrupt your day. It's very unexpected and you can't blame me for almost screaming.'

'Funny,' Miri said thoughtfully. 'That's exactly how I felt when Maria was born.'

Then, she said to Teddy, 'Why do think I like doing it so much? It's interesting to see the different reactions people give off. So far, there's been ten people who reacted like you, five people with no reaction and thirty-three people who screamed to bloody Russia.'

She beamed. 'The screaming ones are my favourite. Best entertainment there is.'

'Errr...' Teddy stared wide-eyed at Liam. It was almost as if the boy thought of her brother as the prompter for his character. Miri almost expected Teddy's next word to be 'Line?'

Seeming to collect his thoughts, Teddy's next sentence was in fact, 'Okay. Have fun and don't do drugs and... all that stuff.'

Miri raised an eyebrow but decided not to question it. She curtseyed dramatically. 'Well, now that you have seen my glorious self, I must bid you adieu. Gotta get a headstart on being Queen Bee and all.'

As the warning whistle sounded, Miri skipped onto the train and started to look for a place to sit. Finally, near the back of the train, she found a compartment with only two people - a boy and a girl.

She opened the door and asked, 'Hey, can I sit here? Everywhere else is- OH MY GOD!'

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a/n
ooooooh i wonder what miri's managed to walk into.

ok, but in all seriousness, sorry for deleting this for a little while. i had to work on a few things.
i've edited the previous chapters to an extent and added a few new scenes as well.
please check them out.