Summer was over, it was a cliched thought and Aslan was well aware, but that hardly revoked the truth behind it. Summer was over, Egypt was now a craving instead of a dream and the money she had spent the better part of last term gathering up was, well, spent. Gone. Poof.

In retrospect she considered herself immensely foolish for not accepting Bastien Toussaint's monetary gift, if she had said yes... She would have felt indebted, and poor, and foolish in ways she would never have forgave. No, it was better this way. Better to be broke and have kept her shredded dignity than to be owe a friend what she might never be able to return (even if it meant less money for Adrastos to spend on Honeydukes).

Indebted. Indebted. Everyone was indebted in one way or another to the people around them. Friendship was a debt to be repaid, or that was the way it seemed to the Laconic Gryffindor. She had participated in many friendships over the course of these five years. Many had faded, some had endured, but all were a battle of give and take. It was fascinating, occasionally frustrating and in certain cases... Comforting.

Aslan reached up, her small fingers itching to busy themselves with her hair, the string of her peasant blouse, or the small garnet dangling from her choker, but she stopped herself, instead sticking her hands back into the pockets of her jean shorts as she walked in search of Brian Woods, Hazel Haddock or even Esme... Whatever her last name happened to be. She had left Adrastos to his own devices and despite being a solitary creature, Aslan felt her time on the Hogwarts express would be best wasted away in the company of another.

Peeking into compartments, she found most to be empty or at least, empty of those she hoped to find.

Clucking her tongue, she carried on in her search, her foot falls light, her mind heavy.

There was only one person she wished not to meet, but soon she would see that Fate had other ideas.