I sat in my car, my trunk with my supplies in the backseat and my wand tucked in my sleeve. My dad was sitting next to me, whistling a tune which was something he did when he was nervous.
And something that's a little annoying...
But it's not like I could blame him. After my mom's strange comments... and that look that she gave me... he was confused and wondering the same thing I was.
Why?
She had ignored me the entire summer, kept herself in her room whenever she could... she couldn't even look at me for a second she was so disgusted... But the thing that confused me the most was that she had wanted to say goodbye to me. At first I had thought she wanted to say the good riddance kind of goodbye... but after that dull look and then other emotions coming through... I just didn't know anymore.
And those emotions... had I just imagined them? They had come and gone so fast... was it just wishful thinking?
That's what I dismissed it as. She wanted me gone and I was going... I didn't have to worry about this anymore.
I'm not ignoring it... I'm just accepting it... I guess.
Suddenly the whistling stopped and I looked up at my dad. He was looking at the road, focusing on lining the car up with some others. When he stopped, he looked at me.
"Well, A." he said smiling softly, "I guess it's time for you to go..."
"You're not coming with me?" I asked, rubbing my forehead slightly.
He shrugged and looked a little unsure. "I can if you want me to, but..." he paused and looked more than a little uncomfortable, "I guess I'd like to see what your mother's up to..."
He said this last part really quietly as if he wasn't sure he wanted to tell me this. Shaking his head, his hand moved to the car handle.
"It's fine, Dad. You can get home now." I said quickly. I didn't want him to stay if he didn't want to... and I know this confusion about what she did was getting to him. "I'll be fine."
He smiled at me as his hand lowered. "Thanks, A."
I nodded as I put my own hand on the car door and opened it, climbing out of the car. "Bye, Dad!"
I had only taken one step away when my dad stopped me while laughing. He opened the door of the car and stepped out, then opened the back door and dragged my trunk out. "Forgetting something?" he asked me while raising his eyebrows and looking pointedly at the trunk.
I sheepishly looked at him and walked over to take it, the expression never leaving my face.
I definitely didn't forget about it...
"Wait just a second." my dad told me, glancing around the street.
"What..." I started, but stopped as I saw what he was doing.
He looked at both directions and jogged across the road towards some trolleys that were there. My hand rubbed my forehead again as I rolled my eyes at myself.
I'm just forgetting about everything today I guess.
"I think you'll need this." he said, shaking his head at me while laughing.
"Nah, I was just going to drag my trunk to the station. It'd look perfectly normal and be extremely easy." I said sarcastically, my forehead still in my hands.
He nodded, looking very serious for a second. "Yes, I know."
We both started laughing at the same time, people passing by staring at us.
"Okay, okay." my dad said once he started laughing, "Arthur told me the train leaves at exactly twelve so you'd better get going."
I nodded, opening my mouth to speak but stopped. There it was again... the feeling I was being watched. I looked around me, my eyes narrowing, scanning my surroundings. There was nothing there.
My dad looked at me, a little concerned. "You alright, A?" he asked, looking around him to try to see what I was looking for.
"Yeah..." I said slowly, still scanning my surroundings.
Okay... I'm not making this up this time... what is happening?
My breathing grew heavier as I couldn't see anything. Nothing was there...
"Aelynn, what are you looking for? What's happening?" my dad asked, starting to sound worried.
I blinked a couple times and looked over at him. "Sorry... nothing. I guess I just... nevermind, it's nothing."
"Aelynn, if something's wrong..." my dad tried again, clearly not buying what I said.
I shook my head. "It's actually nothing, Dad. I guess I'm just nervous." I said as sincerely as I could, lying so I could get him to stop worrying. Anyway, the feeling had started to fade.
"Hey, A." my dad said, his expression softening. "It's okay to be nervous. I would be too if I were going to a magic school. But think... it's a magic school, you're going to have fun there."
His comforting words told me he believed my excuse, so I nodded while smiling. "I know. Well-"
My words were cut off by the sound of running heading in our direction. I turned to see a stampede of redheads rush at us in a hurried manner.
"Aelynn!" Mrs. Weasley huffed out, the family coming to a halt next to my dad and I, "You have to hurry or we'll miss the train!"
Still a little surprised at the sudden appearance of the Weasley family, and Harry who was with them, I just stared for a second.
"Come on, Aelynn!" Ginny said quietly, coming to stand beside me. "We don't want to miss the train."
"Yeah, just a second." I said, looking at my dad. "Bye, Dad."
He smiled at me and waved. "Bye, A. Have fun and stay safe." he paused for a second, looking a little unsure of himself. "...We'll miss you."
I froze for a moment then bit my lip. "Yeah... I'll miss you too."
Waving one more time and looking hopeful, I could tell my dad thought everything was getting better between my mom and I after what happened today... but I wasn't sure.
I'm not sure what happened today... but it was something and something's better than nothing... right?