Flapping.
My family kept their eyes trained on their plates, saying the evening prayer before dinner.
But all I could hear was the flapping.
Looking around the table, everything was normal: father at the front, mother at his right, Caleb at his left, and I at the end. Our house was plain. No decorations or entertainment outside of what was needed. It came along with living under the church of Abnegation. We simply had the small wooden cross behind father on the wall. None flinched as the flapping got louder and louder.
I couldn't bear it. I let my hands slip from their grasp and covered my ears, interrupting the prayer.
My father looked up at me. There were consequences for interrupting a prayer.
But I couldn't think. There were only feathers.
"We're here Beatrice," his voice rang in my head.
I woke with a start.
We made our way through the train station. Some bumped into us as if we weren't there, but that wasn't unusual. The Abnegation weren't treated with extreme kindness. And we stuck out in our all-gray attire.
I made my way through the crowds, clutching my little envelope. I had read it a hundred times. I knew its words by heart.
Dear Ms. Prior,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The words trailed in my mind. My mother had contacted this Minerva McGonagall about supplies. We lived in a religious base, and had no true money or possessions to get myself what I needed to attend Hogwarts. She happily came to visit us, arranging to have things for me when I arrived. So I walked in the station with nothing but my Hogwarts robe in a small bag that was allowed to me.
We reached platforms 9 and 10, and stood in front of the brick wall. I felt a creeping up my spine. What if she had lied to us? What if magic was not real? I would just run into this wall and likely hurt myself. My family and I would look to be fools. I didn't have much time to speculate before my mother took my hand and ran towards the brick wall. I held my breath for impact.
And we went straight through.
The air was sucked from my lungs as we passed. I stood with her for a moment as we caught our breath. But it wasn't easy with the crowd. We made our way towards the train. She turned and put her hands on my shoulders.
I knew the Abnegation weren't supposed to keep you long to say goodbye, because that would be selfish. But my mother smiled at me. I handed her my letter as a keepsake. She took it and hugged me. I don't know if my mother had ever hugged me before. But I accepted it. Then I turned and left her.
In my teachings, I was told to not hold onto people, because God could take them back at any time. I should only appreciate them as they came to me. But I held onto my mother's smile as I stepped on the train.
I had never been on a train before. It was longer than I expected it to be. And it had compartments. Most in the front were full. So I started towards the back. The compartments were not getting any less full the farther I went back, and my heart sank. "Oh look," a voice rang from behind me, "we have ourselves an ickle firstie!"
My instinct was to spin on the attacker. But I leveled my rage and kept walking. Because that's what I had been taught. There would be consequences if I didn't. "Where you going little Stiff?" the voice continued, "There's plenty of room for you up here!" I stopped walking and huffed. He didn't need to call me a Stiff; that was a rude slang term for Abnegation. I couldn't let him pick on me, or I'd turn into a punching bag. "Oh, you don't like being called Stiff, do you Stiff?" I felt anger boil inside of me. With a start, I realized that I wasn't on the compound anymore. I was no longer constrained by my family's beliefs. My bag dropped out of my hand and I turned quickly, storming towards my attacker.
He was standing in the middle of the train. He had messy red hair, and a crooked smile. I wanted to hit that stupid smile off that stupid face. He was much taller than me, but I wasn't thinking about that. Right when I was about to wind up for a swing at him, someone grabbed my arms from behind and held me. "Stop!" I yelled, "Let me hit him!" my legs flailed as I tried to reach even footing. The arms behind me only held me harder.
"You don't want to get expelled on your first day, do you?" a voice came from behind me. I grunted in frustration. I heard something creak above us. Everyone's eyes shot up to a light over peter's head. It sparked with a loud pop. Then fell on his stupid head. I smiled.
The arms behind me pulled me into a cart and placed me on a bench. I crossed my arms with a grin for my restrainer. He backed into the cart, tossing my bag at my feet. He closed the doors and took a seat across from me. I was suddenly struck by his strong features. He had a sharp jaw line and dark eyes. Dark hair shaved down and muscled arms. He looked like just the boy who wanted to protect a little girl. I immediately didn't like him. "I didn't need your help, you know." I snapped, looking out the window. The train was just starting to leave.
I heard him chuckle. "Obviously," he mumbled. I ignored him.
Suddenly the cart was alive with movement. I scooted myself in the corner to make room for the three newcomers. One fell across my lap. "Hello little girl!" He grinned broadly, eyes crinkling at the corners, "They call me Uriah." He was pushed onto the floor by the second.
"Let's not intimidate the poor thing," she teased, "My name's Tori." The first thing I noticed about her were the sleeves of tattoos up her arms. They were stunning. The third just stood against the door as he closed it, the corner of his mouth perking up to a smile. He stayed silent.
"Well, that's Eric," Tori rolled her eyes. "Uriah here is a first year, but we're looking after him because he's Zeke's little brother." She rubbed his head affectionately. "I don't know if your 'savior' introduced himself, but we call him Four." There was pounding at the door. Four simply nodded at me. I looked up to see a woman hitting the glass, yelling at Eric to let her in.
"Too full!" He yelled back at her. Tori rolled her eyes.
"Marlene is the one behind the doors." She grinned at me. I smiled back. She was very kind.
I briefly wondered why they called the boy in front of me Four. I had hoped, for his sake, that wasn't his given name. Nobody gave any hint of an explanation. They simply went on briefing me about Hogwarts. I put my feet up and got ready to enjoy the long ride.
Author's Notes: Hello! I am so very glad that you opened my silly little story. I just got the urge one day. I obviously hope to keep up with this, like all of my attempted stories. I hope I can keep myself motivated and keep readers interested in Harry Potter when I connect it with possibly my favorite heroine of all time. I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope I keep your Harry Potter world alive. Please leave me encouraging notes! They're nice surprises, and it keeps me writing. Thanks again. (: