Walking through London's famed Kings Cross Station and into Platform 9 ¾, Adeya Charlotte Lancaster was certainly less than amused. The eleven-year-old girl ignored everything: the seemingly endless stream of families weaving around the station, the joyous noise of laughter from reunited friends, and the dull whirring of the train as it prepared to depart within the next ten minutes. Adeya ignored all of it petulantly, turning her nose up at it in protest as her last form of rebellion, an act that did not go unnoticed by the adults walking with her. She pouted, crossing her arms over her chest, her brows furrowed something fierce.

The tall man next to her sighed deeply, placing a hand on her head affectionately. "C'mon, don't be like that, Lottie," he father said, chuckling lightly when she bats his hand off her head in irritation, her frown pulling deeper.

A feminine voice chided her lightly, "'Deya, please," Oya stressed, her hand grabbing the girl's chin between her manicured fingers and turning it upwards so her gaze was off the ground and on her face. The woman's smart grey pantsuit caught the eye of several other families, clearly marking her as something decidedly foreign in a sea of robes, inciting excited whispers where she was recognized. "Your father and I understand that this is an adjustment, but do try to do your best this year, if not for us than for yourself. You represent our family while at Hogwarts and it would do you well to remember that."

Adeya stared pointedly away, fixing her eyes on the rim of her mother's glasses stubbornly. Oya narrowed her eyes, her face matching her daughter's before Adeya groaned in defeat, crumbling under her mother's onslaught of 'the look'.

"Yes, ma'am," she chorused obediently, much to her mother's pleasure and father's relief at the lack of an argument. His handsome face pulled into a grin and he ruffled her carefully styled coils carelessly, receiving an indignant squawk from Adeya herself and a dangerous glare from Oya who had done Adeya's hair herself for this occasion instead of having it done professionally like she usually did, having perfected each curl herself through products and faith.

Jasper Lancaster held his hands up in mock-surrender, a sheepish smile in place of a white flag which seemed to appease Oya's oncoming wrath. Oya's expression turned fond as she beheld her daughter on her first day of Hogwarts, pride making her eyes twinkle. "Babygirl, you look so darling," she said, clasping her hands together and resting her head on her husband's arm. His arm immediately went around her shoulders in response and he cracked a grin as well.

Adeya's face warmed at the attention, a protest on her lips.

"Write us every week, do you hear me? Oh, and do stay out of trouble while so far away," she instructed sternly, leaning forward and pulling Adeya into a fierce hug, her husband quickly following suit.

"Mom," she complained with no real heat as she melted into the embrace. "You're embarrassing—"

"Oh hush, girl," she interrupted, having none of her complaining, her grip tightening. "And fix your face. It's going to stick like that if you don't."

Adeya scoffed, but found comfort in her mother's scent, the tropical fragrance of her hair products calming the roaring sea of nerves that had found residence in her stomach since her parents told her the news about three months prior: that they were moving from America to England because of her mother's job and instead of going to Ilvermorny like she'd dreamed of since she knew she was a witch, she'd be going to Hogwarts.

Away from literally everything she'd ever known back in Houston.

Of course, she'd been excited that her mother was moving up in MACUSA, as being promoted to an official ambassador to England would only help strengthen the relationship between the two countries and to have the ambassador's daughter, a member of magical high-society in America, attending their school would only bolster the confidence and trust between them and make their family look good if Adeya excelled like they expected her too. With England's backing and foreign connections, it would only make her mother's bid for the Presidency within the next few years even stronger. Adeya knew these things, but she was sure if it was worth the expense of going to Ilvermorny like her parents had.

She'd tried. She really did try not to throw a fit about it, but she had warred with her parents about it for weeks, being the cause of many arguments and on the receiving end of several punishments of varying severity until Adeya realized that her throwing temper tantrums only made things worse; they were still moving to London, it was just a matter of if she'd show up there without being grounded until she was thirty or not. Knowing when she was beat, she laid down her weapons in July and a truce was finally called between them as Adeya agreed that she would willingly attend Hogwarts if that's what they wanted her to do. She'd be the dutiful daughter they needed.

But that didn't mean she had to be happy about it.

So here she was, standing at Platform 9 ¾, feeling like an idiot for ever even agreeing to this in her stupid, perfectly pressed uniform and brand-new flats with her dark curly hair pinned painstakingly away from her face, her appearance screaming 'money' in a world where she kinda just wanted to blend in for now.

Any chance of anonymity was out the window seeing as though a couple of the other parents had already recognized her parents and were staring at the trio of them with interest.

The train's whistle blew, a warning sound that meant that she had less than five minutes before the train left. "Mom…" she reminded, tugging at her sleeve and looking towards where all of the other students were dragging their things onto the train and sitting down for the ride.

"I know, I know," she sighed as the both of them released her from the embrace. "Just… be careful, please? We're just a call away if you need anything." Oya straightened her daughter's blouse carefully while Jasper placed the charmed trunk into Adeya's awaiting hands, running a hand through his curly hair.

"You're gonna knock-em dead, Lottie," he states proudly, giving her a lazy salute and gesturing in the direction of the train dramatically.

Adeya nods, her heart swelling with unbelievably love for her parents.

"And remember," Oya begins, prompting Adeya to finish the saying together, the familiar words rolling off her tongue easily: "Quicquid capit."

Adeya dashes forward, jumping up to kiss both of her parents on the cheek in rapid succession before taking careful, even steps towards the Hogwarts Express, feeling their eyes on her back. Even as she disappeared into the train's interior, she still felt them with her and was comforted.

The girl felt the probing eyes of the students of Hogwarts on her as she entered the train, figuring they'd been watching her since she'd gotten there. She ignored it, used to the staring. She'd dealt with it fo the majority of her life so it wasn't exactly a surprise that she was going to have to deal with it at school. After all, it wasn't like she was a nobody around there.

All the newspapers could talk about for months was the American ambassador's daughter attending Hogwarts as she'd be the first non-British witch to attend the prestigious school in the past three centuries. The day her family had publicly met with both the peculiar Headmaster and the Minister of Magic himself at Hogwarts in June was broadcasted overseas and her face and name had been ingrained in the minds of the citizens indefinitely.

The buzz surrounding her attendance was only second to the excitement due to the famed Harry Potter coming in during her year as well, for which Adeya was grateful. Hopefully the Chosen One would take some of the attention off of her for a while.

Adeya wasn't too worried. She had her few friends back home that she adored, so she wasn't heartbroken at the prospect of not making any new ones while away at school. That wasn't what she was there for anyways.

This wasn't about fun or friendship or any of that flowery crap many of her peers believed. This, going to Hogwarts, taking the risks, and being the best was about winning. It was about making her family proud and securing her mother the best chance she could at becoming the next MACUSA President and if going to Hogwarts and being the best would help her do that, the damnit, that's what Adeya would do.

She had no other choice.

So even though when the train started to move, her stomach dropped into her shoes as her nerves flared up again, she'd push through it. Even though she didn't know a single person or anything about Hogwarts other than what she could gather from a cursory glance at Hogwarts: A History, she'd still have the highest marks in her class even if it just about killed her. Excellence and victory was in her blood; through pure grit and determination, she'd excel. Adeya was born for this. She wouldn't balk or shrink away from her task, nor would she do anything less than her absolute best. Lancasters didn't give a single inch to fear or doubt and they definitely didn't give up.

Her mother had taught her that in her relentless pursuit of political power and her father's unwavering support and resolve not to crack or falter in the face of the nation's scrutiny of their family.

This was nothing different, she assured herself.

Adeya Charlotte Lancaster straightened her spine and steeled her nerves, held her head up and met one of the older kids who had been rudely staring at her from the comfort of their compartment with a practiced cool glare. The boy looked away quickly, his gaze dropping to the floor and he slid the door closed. If they thought she was one to be trifled with, they'd have another thing coming. Nothing would stop her from being the best, save Merlin himself.

'Quicquid capit.'

Whatever it takes.

—

A/N: Haha hey, it's me. Should I be starting a new multi-chapter project? Absolutely not. Am I? Yep! This was inspired by a post I saw on Instagram by user dobbyisafreebitch and because I love Leta Lestrange so here we are. Our Adeya has a lot to deal with and a lot riding on her doing well at Hogwarts. Let's see who can guess which house she's gonna be placed in. Fun fact: Adeya means "A Gift from God has come" in Yoruba so yeah. If there are any glaring errors, please let me know so I can fix them. I literally wrote this in like two hours so it's probably going to have a few. I was just excited to post this.

Next chapter is where she meets some friends of ours and proceeds to raise hell accordingly.

Question of the Post: Who do you think Deya's going to sit with on the train if she sits with anyone?

Mkay, thanks, onto the next!