Last Year to Ponder

Throwing his last suitcase on the racks above him, Dean took a seat and looked around the small compartment. Sitting opposite of him was his younger brother, Sam. They had been some of the first students to board the Hogwarts Express. Other teenagers were looking for a place to sit, chatting, and chasing around the trolley for food. Stretching, Dean smiled. “Well Sammy, here it goes. This is one of my last trips on this train.”

“You still have the ride back.”

“True,” Dean muttered. He was currently about to be in his seventh year at Hogwarts and he couldn’t believe it. It had felt like yesterday when he got his letter inviting him. “Well how ‘bout you? You’re about to be in your fifth year.”

“I know!” Sam said loudly. His brown eyes had a sparkle in them as his bangs flopped down. “I’m excited but a little nervous as well. I know I have upcoming O.W.L.’s this year. But of course, I started studying over the summer so I would be well prepared.”

Dean snorted. “You’ll do fine bro. You’re smarter than me and I know two years worth more of magic than you do.”

Sam was about to reply when suddenly a knock on the compartment door was heard. He turned his head and smiled. “It’s Cas!”

Dean immediately got up and opened the door. “Cas! I’ve missed you!” He wrapped his arms around Cas and squeezed tightly. He let go and let the other boy walk in and take a seat. Even though they had hung out a few times over the summer and written a ton of letters to each other, Dean always loved when a new term started so that he could always hang out with his best friend.

“I’ve missed you too Dean,” Cas said. He turned to Sam and grinned. “You too Sam. I see you still haven’t got your haircut.”

Sam blushed. “I like it like this.”

“I’ll tell you a secret. As much as Dean disagrees, I think it looks good.”

“The only reason Sam keeps his hair like that it to attract the females,” Dean said with a smirk. “Not that it seems to be working.”

“Oh really?” Cas asked with a frowned. “What about Jessica?”

Sam looked down. “She doesn’t know I like her.”

“I don’t know why not. You make it so obvious.”

“Don’t be so harsh to your brother, Dean.”

“Sorry dude, but I just want my baby brother to be happy. Even though I think I know a way we can make that happen.”

“What do you mean?” Sam questioned.

Dean put an around Cas and gave a small shake. “Well, Mister Novak is quite the wiz in potions.”

Cas’ face reddened and he coughed. “You know that there are other people better in potions than me.”

“Oh don’t be so modest.”

Sam was about to say something but then he turned his head to the left and his eyes widened. “Oh crap.”

“What was it?”

“It was Jessica and she was walking with some seventh year Slytherin!” He explained, completely flabbergasted.

“Did you see what he looked like?” Cas asked. “I know most of the kids in my year and it seems like none of them would want to go out with her. Am I right Dean?”

Dean nodded. “Yeah, most of the guys in our year try to hook up with the professors.”

Sam made a disgusted look. “She’s so much better than that.”

Dean hated to see his brother down. But he just didn’t no any advice he could give. Being in relationships was never his strong point. He turned to Cas and gave a silent look asking for help.

“Sam,” Cas began. “If you want Jessica to start hanging out with you and more, always be by her side. Help her with her homework, go to Quidditch matches with her, plan Hogsmeade dates with her. It’s just like being a friend, but on a different level.”

“You’re right Cas,” Sam said with a small grin. He then turned to his older brother. “You’d probably be dead without him.”

“Well, I did once save him in Transfiguration one time when his disfigured bird began pecking him viciously.

“I remember that all too well,” Dean said. “I swear I have an impression of a bird’s beak on my palm.”

The three boys began laughing. Once their laughter died down, they looked out of the moving window and saw that they were approaching Hogwarts rapidly. They decided to go ahead and put on their robes and get their luggage down. As Dean and Cas pinned on their Gryffindor badges, Sam proudly put on his new Ravenclaw prefect’s badge that brightly shined against his dark black robes.

“I almost forgot that you were made into a prefect,” Dean said. “Oh wait, how could I when you bragged about it ever day?”

Sam stuck his tongue out and Cas laughed. “You’re just jealous because I’m the baby brother and get all the attention from mom and dad.”

“Only because you got the brains. I, on the other hand, got the looks.”

“Jerk.”

“Bitch.”

“You shouldn’t cuss around your baby brother,” Cas said sarcastically before laughing one again. “On a serious note, I saw the other prefects walking out already. I thought you were supposed to do something before you got on the train though.”

“We were, but they decided to change it this year. They’re doing something new this year and they just wanted the prefects to stay on the train. I think it’s just to keep everybody together and make sure nothing weird happens.”

“Yeah, I expect a train full of witches and wizards to be completely normal,” Dean said.

Sam looked like he wanted to say something, but instead he refrained. “Well, I’ll see you two guys later. I’m going to go see what’s going on with the other prefects. Oh, and if I forgot to mention, Jessica is the other new prefect in my house,” he said happily before nearly tripping on his robes when he walked out of the compartment.

“What a nerd,” Dean commented.

“You two are total polar opposites,” Cas said taking Sam’s old seat and stretching out. He propped his feet against the wall and relaxed. “I can’t believe we made it this far Dean. This is our last year. We should make the most of it.”

Dean got a funny feeling in his stomach as he looked at Cas all laid out. He licked his lps and took a deep breath. “You’re right dude. We’re still going to be best buds after it’s over though.”

Cas turned his head and looked at Dean with his wide blue eyes. “Amen to that.”

The train soon came to a stop and the two boys stood up. They immediately began patting down all the creases in their robe and dusting away any lint. They grabbed their wands and walked near the door.

Dean grabbed the handle and gave Cas a look as he opened it. “Well, here goes nothing.”