"This is going to be a very lengthy process" I muttered to myself. I would be leaving for school tomorrow morning and I was nowhere near being ready. I had bought my supplies weeks ago, but I had left them all in a neat pile next to my desk. I sat in the middle of my bedroom floor staring at my school trunk. The wood had a dark stain on it and a glossy finish. The gold buckles that held it shut matched the letters "N" and "K" that were on the front. The trunk screamed luxury, just like everything else I had owned. My parents were very wealthy, and they wanted to make sure everyone else knew it.
My mother Alice Kensington came from a wealthy muggle family. Her father owned several luxury hotels throughout the world. Despite being an heiress, my mother made her own fortune as an interior designer. She designed most of the luxury estates for members of royal families all over Europe and for government officials. My father also came from a wealthy family, but he had built his own empire. My father, Edward Kensington controlled two of the world's largest diamond mines. His empire dominated both the wizarding world and the muggle world.
I grew up in a life of luxury. My parents sent me off to a prestigious prep school when I was little. I would've gone to a boarding school, but I followed in my father's footsteps and was a witch. He was so proud when my letter arrived in the mail. My mother however, was less than enthused about my acceptance letter. She had her heart set on me attending Cambridge. Despite my mother's protests, I started Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the fall after my eleventh birthday. Although she would never admit it, my mother has resented me ever since I started Hogwarts.
Since my parents were almost always traveling, my mother's resentment never bothered me much. I only saw them for about a week over the summer, and they were home when I came home for the holidays. Other than that I had the whole house to myself, which I enjoyed for the first week of summer vacation and then it got boring. My mother insisted on hiding magic in the house. None of the pictures moved, there was electricity and Wi-Fi. I kept in touch with my father the traditional way; I had an owl that delivered my handwritten letters. My mother preferred muggle communication. She bought me a cell phone that I was required to use to text her and to call her. Other than talking to her, I rarely used the stupid thing. I would text my chauffer to ask for rides and the household staff when I had requests for dinner and groceries but that was about it.
Once I opened my trunk, I realized that I never finished unpacking it from last year. There were some extra rolls of parchment, some quills, my quidditch robes and broomstick, socks, a few cat toys, and some pictures. I smiled as I shuffled through the pictures. My favorite was the one of my two best friends, Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet and I sitting by the lake. I smiled as they waved to me. My mother made me hide all of my wizard pictures. She didn't want any of her muggle friends to accidentally stumble into my bedroom and see them. Underneath the picture of my two friends was a picture of me standing next to my ex-boyfriend. I immediately pulled the picture out of the frame and ripped it to pieces.
I tried to hold back the tears as I stared at the torn pieces on my floor but I was unsuccessful. I leaned back against my bed and started sobbing. Scott McLaggin was my first boyfriend and he had completely destroyed me. I hated myself for falling for him. He was fake, abusive, and a liar. I was so angry that I had fallen for his lies, and even angrier that it still made me cry. I walked over to my bathroom and wiped my face on a towel. I stared at myself in the mirror for a minute. The towel had smeared my eyeliner and mascara all over my face. I turned on the water and washed my face clean. Once I dried my face off, I picked up the pieces of the photo and put them into an envelope. I took the envelope and marched downstairs.
My mother sitting at the kitchen table caught me off guard and startled me. She had papers spread all over the table and was focused on her laptop. I stood there quietly for a few minutes as I watched her work. I wasn't sure if she noticed me or not. I stuffed the envelope into my back pocket, hoping she hadn't noticed it yet. I hadn't told her about my breakup with Scott yet, and I wasn't planning on telling her for awhile. I wasn't mentally prepared enough to deal with it. I made my way to the fridge and grabbed a sparkling water; I was almost to the hall when she decided to speak up.
"Well hello to you too Natalie. It's so nice to see you" she said angrily. I turned around and walked back into the kitchen.
"Why hello mum! I didn't think you were going to be home" I said. It was rather odd that she was home; I was worried that something was wrong.
"I'll be gone first thing in the morning. My plane leaves at nine o'clock" she said as she continued to type on her computer.
"Oh. Well have a safe trip" I said as I started to head back upstairs.
"I wasn't done talking to you" She barked. I rolled my eyes as I walked back into the kitchen. "Why are you hiding in your room? We only have a little bit of summer left, I'd like to spend it with you" She added. I raised an eyebrow at her and chocked back some laughter.
"My train to school leaves at eleven tomorrow" I replied calmly. "I just started to pack my stuff."
"Will you be busy for awhile?" She asked. I hesitated for a minute. I was nervous about what she was going to say. I figured it would take me at least an hour or two to pack everything.
"I'll probably need at least an hour and a half" I replied. She was up to something. I was sure of it, but I didn't know what her plan was.
"Would you like some company while you pack?" she asked and then closed her laptop.
"Uhh…" I started to say. I was so confused by her request. Normally she avoided anything that was associated with Hogwarts. I studied her face and I could see a hint of sadness in her eyes. "I guess. I haven't got much work done."
"That's perfectly ok Natalie" she replied with a smile. I raised an eyebrow at her. I was very confused as to what game she was playing. I kept the envelope in my back pocket and then started walking upstairs with my mother following behind me.
Before I started packing, I always took everything that I definitely was bringing with me and folded it neatly in piles on the floor. First I folded all of my school uniforms. I had six gray skirts and six white shirts to match. I had four sets of black robes that were made out of a light material, and four sets that were made out of a thicker material. The castle was always cold during the winter despite the giant fireplaces. Next to my black robes were my scarlet quidditch robes. I had black pants and a scarlet shirt that I wore underneath them. Folded up in my robes were my arm pads that I wore. They were made of black leather. They looked bulky but I still had great flexibility, which was important for a chaser.
"What are those for?" My mother asked, pointing to my quidditch robes.
"Those are my quidditch robes" I started to tell her. "I made the team in my 3rd year. That's why I asked for the broomstick for my birthday. The school brooms are damn near impossible to play on."
"Watch your language young lady" She scolded. "Quidditch. Yes, your father explained the game to me a few times. I didn't know you played."
"I've told you multiple times that I made the team." I said as I tucked my broom right up against the top edge of my trunk.
"Can you really fly that thing?" she asked, eyeing it cautiously. I couldn't help but smile. Despite being married to my father, she never had much of an introduction to the wizarding world because he was always on business trips.
"Absolutely! Would you like to see?" I asked excitedly. I loved flying.
"Not inside the house! I don't want you to break anything" she protested.
"No need to worry. We can step outside for a bit." I made my way out to the small balcony that was outside my bedroom. Once my mother got herself situated on one of the chairs, I placed the broom down on the ground. I wanted to show her the full effect. I stuck my right hand out over my broom. "Up!" I commanded. And just as the words were spoken, the broom shot up right into my hand. I looked back at her and grinned. She just stared in amazement. "Since it's still daylight, I won't fly too high or anything. I don't want anyone to see."
I mounted the broom and kicked off from the ground. It felt so good to be back in the air. I felt a rush of adrenaline through my veins as I took myself over the edge of the balcony. I shot upwards toward the sky and then dropped into a dive. I pulled back up and flew upside down in a small loop. I laughed as my mother screamed in horror. I flew in a small circle around the yard and then landed back on the balcony.
"That was brilliant!" she said and then clapped with excitement. I couldn't help but smile at her.
"It's much more impressive when I have a bigger space" I said as we went back inside. I put my broom back in its original spot and started packing my uniforms on top of it. Once they were all packed. I added all of the little necessities, socks, under garments, my gloves and my hat. Once they were all secured. I started to pack my books.
"What's your favorite class?" my mother blurted out.
"Transfiguration" I said without hesitation. "It's arguably one of the most challenging classes at Hogwarts. Mastering the art of transfiguration will really come in handy" I replied. I handed her my textbook from last year so she could look through it. Once all my textbooks were packed, I added the rest of my school supplies. My cauldron, which held my crystal phials and brass scales, rolls of parchment, a few bottles of ink, quills, my telescope.
"What is the telescope for?" she asked.
"Astronomy" I replied. "Wizards have been studying the stars for centuries." Once all of my essentials were packed, I tossed in a few cans of cat food. They supplied cat food at the school but I always kept a small stash on me, just in case. I threw in a few cat toys for Alchemy as well. He sat on my bed and silently judged my mother and I.
"What is going on in this photo?" I looked over and saw my mother holding a photo of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team.
"That's the rest of my team mates" I moved so I was sitting next to her. "That's Oliver Wood, our team captain. Next to him is Harry Potter, he's the youngest on the team but he's a brilliant seeker. The twins are Fred and George Weasley, they are hilarious. On either side of me are my two best friends Angie and Alicia. That photo was taken just after we slaughtered Slytherin. It was a great game".
"You look just like your father in this photo" She said with a smile. "Do you have any photos of just you?" she asked. My jaw almost hit the floor because I was so shocked that she would ask for something like that.
"The only one I have is the one my friend took while we were in the common room. I'm sitting by the fire polishing my wand" I started to dig through my pile of photos. I found the one I was looking for and handed it to her. She took the photo and set it aside after she examined it.
"It's perfect" she said with a smile. "Where is your wand?" she glanced back at my trunk.
"It's right here" I pulled it out of the front pocket of my hoodie. "I always carry it with me." I said. I didn't trust anyone and I didn't want any of the maids to stumble upon it. "Would you like to hold it?" I handed it to her. She held it in the palm of her had as if it were a bomb that was about to explode.
"What is it made of?" she started to examine it more closely.
"It's thirteen inches of holly wood with a dragon heartstring core" said proudly. I loved my wand; it was one of my most prized possessions. I was holding it up and admiring all the hard work I had put into polishing it earlier. I looked back at my mother and she looked like she was about to cry. I put my arm down and stared at her.
"I am thinking about leaving your father" she said sternly. She was trying to be strong but I saw right through her charade. I could see that it killed her to say those words. But before she could say anything else, her phone rang. She answered and immediately stepped out into the hall. Of course I took advantage of the opportunity and pressed my ear up against the door.
"What do you mean that it's there already? I'm not supposed to leave until the morning" she argued. She continued to go back and forth with her client before agreeing to take the next available flight out of the airport. As soon as she said goodbye I crawled back to the spot where I was sitting.
"Natalie…I am so sorry..." she started to say. She didn't even have to finish her sentence because I already knew what she was going to say.
"It's alright, I understand" I said. The past two years I had gotten myself on the train. It wasn't a surprised that this year would be any different. I stood up and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Have a safe flight. I'll send an owl as soon as I get to school. I love you" It took every ounce of willpower to keep myself from crying.
"I love you too. Have a good year at school" she hugged me back and then left.
The rest of the evening went by in a blur. I packed all of my school things and brought them downstairs by the door. I made sure Igor was aware that I had to be at King's Cross by ten-thirty. I was so upset I had skipped dinner completely. It was after midnight that I had finally fallen asleep.
A/N: Hi everyone! I recently deleted my stories and decided to start over. I know it has taken me very long time ( I'm sorry) but life turned into a nightmare for a little bit. I have finally started to write again and I am very excited to bring you new stories.