King's Cross was more crowded that I could've ever imagined. Owls were screeching, rickety carts were rolling, and everything settled into the hum of the atmosphere. People were appearing through the wall every second, each with a family that accompanied them to say goodbye. I had made this journey completely alone, and in that moment I was thankful. Navigating through the platform was difficult enough all by myself. Trying to keep track of others in this crowd seemed like a nightmare. I wove my way through the mass of people, getting shoved this way and that. A particularly rough shove almost landed me on top of a family of red heads, but I caught myself just in time to see a massive black dog put his front paws on a messy haired boy with glasses.
Finally I managed to make my way to the train. I was one of the first students on board, and I had no trouble finding an empty compartment. I put away my belongings and stretched out on the bench. I could hear everyone steadily boarding the express, and when I glanced up at the window in my compartment door, I saw students flitting by in both directions, desperate to find their friends as soon as possible. `I returned my gaze to the stark white ceiling and let my mind drift. I refused to think about the events of the last year, so instead I focused on my burning curiosity about Hogwarts. I was entering year five, and I had never stepped foot in the school. One of the only transfer students at Hogwarts in centuries, and the first half breed to ever be accepted to a European Wizarding school, I was terrified of what people would think. They wouldn't know of course. Dumbledore had arranged for Professor McGonagall to transfigure my more prominent elfish features into more human like traits. I had a temporary charm on me right now, but that would wear off before the night was over. I wondered how she would make me look. Would she take away my purple eyes, my sharp teeth? I knew my long ears had to go, but what about my waist length silver hair? What about my belly gem? I almost laughed aloud at the thought.
A wizard's magic couldn't touch an elven belly gem. They are pure, concentrated magical energy. Elves, the ancestors of all human-like magical beings, and one of the Elder Clans. Very few of the original magical clans survived throughout the millenia, the most prominent survivors other than elves were the centaurs. Wizards were nothing more than a half breed species that grew way overpopulated. How then, did they become the leaders of the magical world? The wand. Instruments crafted from the finest woods, wrapped around hairs and feathers and whiskers from purer magical beings. They managed to channel all of their energy through the wands, and then refused to share their secrets with the rest of the world. The wizard's stubbornness lead to three wars, and by the time the magical world was at peace, 6 of the Elder Clans had been wiped out, never to return.
A tapping at my door interrupted my inner history review. A pretty girl with curly brown hair was standing outside with an expectant look on her face. She waltzed in a plopped down on the bench next to me.
"My name's Hermione Granger, and I'm a prefect. They told us in the prefect cart that their was a new student- not like the first years- but one who was entering at a higher year, and we were suppose to introduce ourselves if we saw you, at least I think its you, because I know most everyone in our year and I don't remember ever seeing you. So do you have any questions about Hogwarts?" The girl, Hermione, finally took a breath. I had a feeling she was one of those do good people who wanted everybody to like her. She was still looking at me expectantly, and I remembered she had asked me something.
"No, Everything has been pretty much explained to me," I answered, wincing at my voice. No matter how much I could warp my physical features, nothing would be able to change my elvish voice and accent. I tried to speak more rough so my voice wouldn't be so airy. "Thanks for stopping by though. I'm sure you have some prefect stuff to do, so don't let me waste your time," I told her. I wasn't trying to get rid of her; I truly felt bad for taking up her time, but she just smiled and replied, "Actually, I've just finished patrolling the halls. Do you want to come with me and sit with my friends? They're in our year."
She looked so friendly, and she gave me hope that maybe this move wouldn't be all bad. I accepted her offer and followed her out of the compartment.
We entered a compartment that held a wide eyed blonde girl, an uncomfortable looking boy holding an exotic plant, a ginger, and the boy from the platform who was with the dog. "Hey guys," Hermione said. "This is our new transfer student... Erm, whats your name?"
"My name is Fenix Arrades," I answered.
"Feeenicks Erridiz?" the ginger boy repeated with difficulty, slaughtering my name.
"Ron, its pronounced Fenix Air ah dess. It's obviously Elvish," Hermione said, then she turned to me. "What does it mean?"
I was surprised she had recognized my name so easily. Yes, it was unordinary, but hardly identifiable as Elvish. "It means 'Warrior without a path'," I mumbled. They stared at me, and I could literally feel the questions behind their eyes. I didn't want to have to explain everything so soon. Luckily, my stomach rumbled loudly, and I had slipped out of the compartment with an excuse about leaving my lunch in my compartment.
I tried to go back to my empty compartment, but some students had migrated into it in my absense, so I ended up in a compartment with three terrified- and thankfully silent- first years. There I curled up in a corner and blocked out the world until I noticed the sky getting dark and I felt the train start to slow down. We were in Hogsmeade.
I got off the train and scanned the platform. He stood out easily enough. His all black cloaks and tall figure was easily distinguishable from the students. I cracked a real smile for the first time in weeks and ran toward him just like I did every year on my birthday when he came to visit. I reached him and threw my arms around his neck. "Hey dad."