Packing Day
The very next morning, the Hufflepuff boys' dormitory was in absolute chaos.
Trunks lay open across the floor, socks and robes strewn everywhere like the aftermath of a minor explosion. Cedric sat on his bed, carefully folding his uniform—unlike the others, who were clearly past the point of caring.
Rowan held up a jumper with a horrified expression.
"Why do I have three of these and none of my clean socks?"
Tobias, rummaging through his trunk, froze. "Wait… whose underwear is this?"
Rowan squinted at it. "That's yours."
Tobias frowned. "No, mine has a tear on the left side."
Rowan flipped it over. "…Oh."
A beat of silence passed before both of them burst out laughing.
"So that's why I was missing a pair," Rowan said. "We've been sharing underwear this whole term and didn't even know it."
Cedric groaned. "I did not need to hear that before breakfast."
Across the room, Leo was sitting cross-legged on his bed, holding up a very expensive-looking sketchbook.
"I brought this," he said. "And this," he added, pulling out three different paintbrushes, "and this violin rosin I never used."
Cedric glanced over. "You also brought four scarves."
Leo nodded seriously. "For atmosphere."
Tobias snorted.
At some point, packing turned into reminiscing.
They laughed about Leo accidentally overwatering a plant in Herbology until it tried to strangle him. About Cedric getting lost on the way to the kitchens three times. And how Rowan and Tobias get chased by Mrs Norris just because they try to feed her.
Then—somehow—the conversation drifted to Quidditch.
"I'm telling you," Leo said, animated, "Hufflepuff's chaser formation is inefficient. If they angled the approach—"
Cedric cut in, grinning, "You're not even on the team."
"Yet," Leo shot back.
The four of them argued quietly, passionately, to the point that they didn't have time and
just put all their item at the trunk without care
They looked around the dorm one last time—the messy beds, the carved initials on the desk, the place that has good memory for four of them.
Hogwarts Express
On the platform, steam hissed and owls hooted as students hugged, waved, and shouted last-minute goodbyes.
Leo approached the Lee siblings and Tonks, shifting his weight slightly.
"Uh," he began, "would it be okay if I sat with my friends on the train?"
Lyra raised an eyebrow dramatically. "Oh?"
Vela crossed her arms, smirking. "So now we're second choice?"
Tonks gasped. "we were abandon. I see how it is."
Leo flushed. "It's not like that—I'll see you guys face all summer!"
Orion laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. "Go. You've earned it."
Tonks leaned in and stage-whispered, "Just remember who your family."
Leo grinned, waved at them and ran off.
The Compartment
The six of them crammed into one compartment—Leo, Cedric, Rowan, Tobias, Maribel, and Elowen.
The moment the train started moving, the talking never stopped.
They shared Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans—Rowan gagged after getting soap, Tobias somehow got cinnamon five times, and Leo pretended grass-flavoured was "refreshing."
They talked about:
What subjects they were most scared of next yearWhether Cedric would actually try out for QuidditchMaribel's plan to read ahead for second year to be like Leo and CedricElowen's excitement about being home to her catsTobias wondering if Hogwarts food had ruined normal meals forever
"I'm telling you," Tobias said, chewing a Chocolate Frog, "nothing at home tastes this good."
Cedric smiled. "We'll write, yeah?"
"of course," Rowan said immediately.
"And visit," Elowen added. "You all have to come."
Leo nodded, warmth spreading through his chest. "Yeah. We will."
As the countryside rushed past the window and the sun dipped lower in the sky, Leo leaned back, violin case resting at his feet, laughter filling the compartment.
First year was over.
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
Homecoming
The moment the train fully stopped at the station, the platform erupted into noise, parents calling names, trunks being dragged, owls flapping overhead. Leo stepped down with his violin case slung over his shoulder, already spotting familiar figures in the crowd.
The Lees and the Tonks's were impossible to miss.
Tonks barely had time to register her parents before she barrelled forward and wrapped both of them in a crushing hug.
"Hi Mum! Hi Dad!"
Andromeda and Ted hugged her back just as tightly—then, without warning, Andromeda grabbed Tonks by the ear and yanked.
"Ow—Mum!"
"You skipped Christmas," Andromeda hissed sweetly, eyes blazing, "because you are breaking school rules."
Ji-ho coughed into his fist, trying—and failing—not to laugh.
"It was last minute!" Tonks protested. "It was a tense time!"
Andromeda released her ear only to flick Tonks on the forehead. "You could have written."
"I did!"
"Three lines is not a letter and you send it on Christmas day, what do you think I would feel that morning."
Leo, Lyra, Vela, Orion, and Carina watched this with practiced stillness.
The Lees, on the other hand, maintained perfect poker faces—calm, composed, utterly unreadable to anyone who didn't know them well. To an outsider, they looked polite. Reserved.
But the moment they finished saying goodbye to the Tonks's and stepped away—
pop.
They apparated home.
The Lee Household
The second they appeared inside the house, the calm shattered.
Cheers erupted. Arms wrapped around shoulders, backs were patted, someone nearly tripped over a suitcase. Leo barely had time to breathe before he was pulled into a group hug that smelled like familiar soap.
"We're back!" Lyra laughed.
"Finally!" Vela added.
Carina bounced on her heels. "I missed you all!"
Leo felt something loosen in his chest that he hadn't even realized had been tight.
That night, the house filled with warmth—not just magic, but something deeper.
The dining table was loaded with muggle food, steam rising in fragrant clouds. Dad had gone all out.
There were sizzling stir-fries, rich curries, perfectly cooked rice, dumplings, noodles tossed in sauces that clung just right, and dishes Leo hadn't tasted in months.
Hogwarts food was amazing—no one denied that.
But this?
This was home.
Leo took his first bite and froze.
"Oh," he said softly. "I forgot how good this is."
Lyra smiled knowingly. "Castle food is impressive. But it lacks… soul."
Vela hummed in agreement, mouth full. "And spice."
Orion nodded. "And variety."
Carina looked between them, amused. "You all act like you were starving."
"We were emotionally starving," Orion said solemnly, lifting his chopsticks.
Laughter rippled around the table.
They talked over one another—about exams, professors, dorm life, ridiculous moments that hadn't made it into letters. Leo mentioned painting by the Black Lake. Lyra talked about Ravenclaw competitiveness. Vela complained about people panicking before exams.
Cassiopeia , ji-ho and carina was glad that they able to come home, but the neighbours who heard the commotion might probably think the opposite.
After dinner, Leo sat in the corner of the living room, violin resting under his chin, playing softly while the others talked around him. The music wove through the room, gentle and warm, blending with laughter and clinking dishes.