SUMMER ‘77
A week ago, students were disembarking the Hogwarts Express, owls and cats bustling in cages, goodbyes shouted to friends over the sound of laughter and riotous conversation. Now they are in their homes, with their families, a whole summer ahead of them, waiting to be enjoyed.
The MARAUDERS already have plans. To their friends, they send an invitation, scribbled on parchment in excited print. A beach party. No, better. A bonfire. Somehow, the word gets around to all of the soon-to-be seventh years, and many plan to attend.
On the night of, the wind blows and the ocean laps at the sand on the beach. Somewhere in the distance, there’s commotion: laughter and chatter from a young group surrounding a bonfire. Someone’s brought biscuits, and one of the muggleborns have brought marshmallows. Alice Fortescue has brought ice cream from her uncle’s shop. It’s somehow cozy and warm-tasting, and there are popping candies in it that shoot sparks from the mouth when they’re bitten down on. Some of the boys begin chasing the others with sticks draped with seaweed. It’s wild and silly and sure to be a good night all around.
The mood of the night changes when someone pulls out a trick charm from their pockets. It only lasts a minute, but for that minute, the bearer of it can only tell the truth. It gets passed around from person to person, but some refuse to hold it. Perhaps that’s a good thing.
Loose lips sink ships, after all.