House: Slytherin
Category: Short
Prompt: Enochlophobia- the fear of crowds
Word Count:1202
Marilyn Clark was probably the only person who hated the thought of going to Hogwarts. First, there was Diagon Alley, the place she dreaded the most. Full of people- pushing, shoving, touching. Second, there was King's Cross Station at 9 ¾. Boy, did that sound like the most fun place to go. Marilyn was trying to avoid boarding the train, which would also be full of people. The idea of socializing with strangers wasn't helping the appeal either. Third, there was Hogwarts. The whole castle would be filled with groups of students rushing down the stairs and the halls. Any place that would contain any sort of crowd was not Marilyn's specialty.
She was trying to convince her mother, who worked at the Ministry of Magic, to homeschool her. "But Mum! There's gonna be people at Hogwarts! You know, people. People make crowds," Marilyn whined.
"Yes, I know. I also know that there's going to be people everywhere you go, at all times. You have to face them one way or another, Marilyn," her mother told her.
Marilyn sighed, defeated. "No one I know will be there. I won't have anyone to talk to if anything gets too intense," she murmured.
"You can do this. I know you can survive and excel at school, even if it's filled with dozens of crowds," her mother consoled her.
Shopping at Diagon Alley was a nightmare for Marilyn. Crowds upon crowds. Everyone squeezed together. The worst part of crowds, in Marilyn's opinion, was that she never knew who had good intentions and who didn't. Someone might be able to kill a person under their breath with a curse or something and no one would know the culprit because of the thousands of people. The thought terrified her, especially since she had no idea who any wizard was.
When entering the shops with her parents, she stopped midway into almost all of them. They were full of crowds blocking exits and filling up the room at maximum capacity. She had to back away from the doorway into the river of people awaiting her outside, which wasn't much help either. She had to lean on the wall, catch her breath, and compose herself before going back in or waiting for her parents to come out. It went on like this for the whole day.
That evening, the crowds died down a bit. She still got a bit short-breathed when she came upon a clump of people, but it wasn't as bad as it was in the morning. Her parents kept warning her before coming across groups of people, so she trailed behind them a bit. Finally finishing all of their errands and back-to-school shopping, Marilyn and her family left. It was her favorite part of the day- being able to leave the intimidating crowds behind, not having to worry about catching her breath when coming across people.
After a few days, the day had arrived when Marilyn had to board the train to Hogwarts. She thought about all of the things that could possibly go wrong on her journey aboard the train. But, the one thing that kept springing up in her thoughts was the amount of people at the station and on the train. One thing was the train station, bustling people with astounding amounts of belongings and the relatives that couldn't bear to part with their loved ones. All of the tears, whines, pushes, and shoves were too much for Marilyn. Too many things happened at once, echoing in her head.
She reluctantly made her way through the thriving crowds, avoiding any sort of contact with the people around her. Head down, she fixed her eyes onto her mother's heels, following the steps she took.
Marilyn reached the train, tears had filled her eyes as she prepared to board. "I can't d-do t-this…. there's too many people and t-the crowd-ds," she sobbed. Her mother looked back at her sympathetically.
"I know, love, I know. But, I also know that you're the bravest, strongest little girl I know. You've dealt with this fear for who knows how long. You've made it this far, love. You just need a gentle push," her mother reassured her, pushing her towards the train door. She led her to the entrance and went in. Once both inside, Marilyn's mother let go of her hand. The door closed, and Marilyn jumped to the door window, looking at her mother, who abandoned her inside.
"Please, please don't leave me. Don't leave me with the crowds…." she cried. Her mother gave her a small, sad smile as she watched the train move. Losing sight of her mother, Marilyn dried her tears on her sleeve quickly, not wanting anyone to see her crying. She started down the hall of the train, bumping against people and grimacing at the welcoming thought of the crowd.
She came across an empty car and went in. A couple of minutes passed when two girls came in. "Sorry, all of the other cars are full. Can we sit with you?" one girl asked. Marilyn nodded, becoming very mad at herself for doing so afterwards. The three girls struck up conversation quickly. They bonded easily. Marilyn had told them about her fear, when the question of what her fears were came up. She trusted them, and luckily, they supported her.
Arriving at the castle, Marilyn and her friends stayed together as they walked into the dining hall. She gasped when she saw the amount of people in the giant room. One of her friends, Lily, noticed and took hold of her hand, squeezing it to comfort her. Marilyn held her breath and tried to not make her look of surprise noticeable. Stopping in front of the sorting hat, the group of kids crowded below the stool, waiting for their name to be called.
When Marilyn was called, she slowly ascended the steps to the stool. She sat down and didn't dare look up at the alarming number of students in front of her. She could feel their gaze burning into her. She silently waited for the hat to make the announcement. With not even a second of hesitancy, the hat boomed out," Gryffindor!" Marilyn's head shot up and gasped as she saw the number of kids sitting in front of her, clapping. She got up shakily and crossed over to the Gryffindor table. She sat down, still fazed as to what had happened.
Professor Dumbledore had interrupted the ceremony and announced," Miss Marilyn Clark has been sorted, and it is a wonderful thing. Yet, there was a tragedy tonight regarding her. Her mother was reported a couple of minutes ago. She was found dead. We're terribly sorry at this loss for you Marilyn, but may your wound heal with your time here at Hogwarts," he said, sympathy tainting his tone.
Everyone's eyes looked at her. Tears had begun to fall on her face. She wiped them off. Her face changed to a determined expression. She was going to make her mother proud and show everybody just how much of a Gryffindor she was. She was going to face her fear straight on, her mother's words of encouragement echoing in her ears.