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Mike woke to something hitting his back and a muffled shout that [i]might[/i] have been his name. His head popped up sleepily from where it had been half hidden under his incredibly [sub](read: magically)[/sub] soft pillow and glanced drowsily around at his surroundings. Angie's room, he remembered, not the Hufflepuff dorm. He had a comfy pile of pillows and blankets on the floor, a spot that had been his the entirety of the break, and thanks to magic it had been the most comfortable place in the world, or so he liked to think. Oliver- or a number of other talented students he could think of - could probably cast better cushioning charms than him, but he made up for it by casting twice as many as necessary.

His eyes landed on the rubber duck that had rolled off him when he moved, and he assumed this must be what had hit him and woken him up. He glanced at the room's doorway to see Angie standing there with a small smile on her face. She was clad only in a tightly wrapped bath towel, her curly black hair dripping water on her shoulders. Mike stared at her in confusion, [color=#eeba30]"What?"[/color] he asked, blinking away sleep.

[color=fff200]"I said get up,"[/color] she said, obviously holding back laughter, [color=#fff200]"only I said that half an hour ago."[/color] She smirked at him in amusement, but for the life of him he couldn't grasp what was so funny. Seeing he wasn't getting it, she clarified; [color=#fff200]"Have fun with the cold water."[/color]

Mike groaned, burying his head in his pillow for a second while Angie laughed at him. He muttered something under his breath she couldn't catch, but she knew him well enough to guess and grinned again. She stood by the door, waiting for him as he dragged himself out of his comfy pile of blankets. Angie was unreasonably patient for a sixteen year old, but Mike just counted himself lucky, he wasn't nearly awake enough to do anything at speed.

An hour later he was out on the streets again, pulling his jacket tighter around himself against the early morning chill. Today he would be returning to Hogwarts, and he was excited to see his friends again and get away from the stress of his family. His mother wasn't so bad anymore, but that didn't make their interactions any less awkward, and he couldn't wait to get away from his father, the man was an idiot.

His home wasn't far, just down the street from Angie's, and soon was walking through the door and unsheathing his wand. He fired a cleaning spell at his feet, cleaning his shoes before coming inside. His mother used to make him do it, then they'd fallen out and he'd stopped just to spite her, but now he was doing small things like this to make it up to her. [color=#eeba30]"Mama?"[/color] He called, knowing she hated when he called her mum.

[color=aba000]"In here, Mika!"[/color] She called from her room. [color=aba000]"Just a minute, puiule!"[/color] He passed her room unhurriedly, deciding to just go upstairs to his room and grab his trunk. He'd packed it yesterday before going to spend the afternoon with his muggle friends, so all he needed was his mother to take him to the platform.

He barely spared his room a glance, it wasn't worth looking at really. A few posters were pinned on the wall over his bed, only two of them moved. A computer was on the desk by the window, but it was plain and undecorated, the area around it clean and new-looking. He'd slept in his room only a handful of times since coming back, but he had always come home during the day. He was worried about bothering his friends and their parents if he stayed with them too long, so he ate his meals with his family when he couldn't afford to buy something himself. Regardless, the result was a clean, boring, disused bedroom with a neatly packed leather trunk on dark blue sheets, ready to go.

He lifted the trunk with ease, unwilling to cast a levitation or lightening charm. It was already enchanted, by itself it weighed nothing, it was the contents that made it so heavy. He didn't think it was too cumbersome though, easily something he could deal with. He silently thanked his muggle friends for being health nuts and going to the gym as often as they did, he almost always got dragged along with them and he was happy with the results.

He came down stairs just in time to see a half dressed man slip out the front door with a bundle of clothes in his arms. Mike's eyesbrows rose in surprise, jumping to the only conclusion that he found plausible. His parents were fighting, his father was always out, was his mother so unhappy she was [i]cheating[/i] on him? Apparently so.

Mike schooled his features when his mother stepped out of her room, dressed up like a proper pureblood witch, he doubted anyone would even guess she was a muggle if they saw her. He pretended he hadn't noticed the escaping bedpartner, deciding to deal with that later, if at all. [color=eeba30]"Ready, Mama?"[/color] He asked, forcing himself to smile.

His words and expression settled his mother's nerves as she came to the conclusion he hadn't noticed anything and she smiled in relief. [color=aba000]"I'm ready."[/color] She confirmed, but she looked doubtfully at his muggle clothes. She didn't get that changing into his Hogwarts uniform on the train was part of the tradition. Others had broken it, showing up at the station dressed, but not Mike. [color=aba000]"Do the honors?"[/color] She prompted.

Mike stepped forward and tapped his wand to his mother's head muttering the incantation that would disguise her from muggle eyes. He'd always found it weird how his mother had embraced wizarding culture, preferring to dress like a witch rather than the muggle she was. She looped her arm around his when he stashed his wand away, and for a moment Mike wondered if he was okay with that, but ultimately let it go. Clearly his mother was happy, or on the way to happiness anyway, and he had no desire to ruin it for her.

They walked into the city at a reasonably fast pace, it was a bit of a trek to the station, but it didn't warrant calling a taxi. They didn't talk, which was the way Mike preferred it, but his mother seemed to be enjoying herself anyway. It wasn't long before they reached the station and he prepared himself for a long drawn out goodbye. He stopped a bit away from the barrier, his mother had only been beyond it once and it hadn't gone well, so they stayed outside. 

To his surprise, when he turned to face his mother she looked worried and uncertain. He paused awkwardly, unsure what to say himself. [color=aba000]"You know I love you, right Mika?"[/color] She asked him seriously. [color=aba000]"No matter what?"[/color]

Well. That wasn't worrying at all.

Mike hesitated, wondering if he [i]did[/i] know that. After a moment he nodded, he wasn't sure if it was true, but it was what his mother needed to hear. He decided to cut it short, uncomfortable with the idea of holding what was sure to shape into a dramatic and emotional conversation. [color=eeba30]"I'll write."[/color] He promised, knowing that would be enough. It was, she smiled gratefully and sniffed, wiping at her watery eyes. Despite his effort to be brief, it seemed to have gotten emotional anyway.

[color=aba000]"Have fun, Mika."[/color] She told him softly. Mike ended it there, nodding quickly and heading through the barrier. He felt unusually detached about his mother these days, but at least it was an improvement. Still holding his trunk, he finally gave in and cast a levitation charm on it, using his wand to steer it through the crowds so he could board the train.

He entered at the front and started checking compartments for anyone he knew- well, that included all of Hufflepuff House and he was [i]not[/i] sharing with anyone below fifth year. He mentally amended his search to only include anyone he knew who wouldn't annoy him. Lucky for Mike, he found a familiar face fairly quickly. He maneuvered his trunk so he could open the compartment door and direct his levitating trunk into the raised storage areas. [color=eeba30]"Hey, Oliver."[/color] He greeted casually, stowing his wand away again and sinking into the seat opposite of the older Hufflepuff. He briefly wondered if he should have asked if it was okay to share before making himself at home, but it was too late for that now.