Disclaimer: Don't own any of the HP franchise but I do have a plan to go about kidnapping a certain potions master and a lovely beast of a black dog ;p
Chapter One
"What don't you get?"
"Uh, maybe the part where you're planning to leave me behind…yet again I might add!" My face felt flush and I could practically feel the blood racing through my veins; on account of my heart beating about ten times its normal speed. I couldn't believe that I was going to be left alone while everyone else got to go off on this foolish trip.
"You know why we can't let you go-"
"Would you please keep the patronizing tone to a minimum? I'm a bit too old to be fine with the same speech as reason for me to miss out on everything!"
"And yet still to young to realize why we keep saying it!"
Ugh, I've had enough. I stormed out of the room. I needed air…they had clearly sucked all the oxygen out of the room and I found it unbearable. I needed space to think. Once outside the house I ran. I had no place in mind; just needed to run for the sake of running I guess.
Colette, the youngest of her family, felt the world was a great injustice to her mental state. After all 'her sister got to go off and do whatever she pleased. Always traveling the world, she isn't THAT much older'. But that's just the way her life is; hidden within her sister's shadow, constantly overlooked… looked down upon when they did deem her worthy enough to bother with.
'Speaking of my sister… where is she at the moment? I could have sworn they said she would be coming home today…' Colette's thoughts trailed off as she heard a car door from outside. Rising off the bed she took a few steps to the window and looked out. Her sister was standing halfway up the walk looking up at the sky. Colette's gaze followed in the direction the older girl was looking. Some sort of bird was flying around coming to a stop on a tree across the street from the house.
'Weird. and I thought owls were nocturnal creatures. OH! She saw me.' Colette couldn't help but take an unconscious step away from the window when she looked back to her sister's motionless figure and a saw that she was now looking up at Colette. With a sigh of contempt mixed with eagerness, she walked out of her room and down the stairs to greet her favorite person in the whole world.
"Where exactly are we going? Helloooo! Earth to Livia!" I tried my hardest to get Livia's attention, but to no avail. "Fine then don't talk to me see if I care. Two can play at the game you know!" I turned, as haughtily as I could, to stare out the window of the taxi. Since the moment she returned home; she has done nothing but avoid me.
"I'm sorry what were you saying?" Livia asked in an offhanded manner.
"If it's not too much trouble, I was wondering were it was that you're taking me? Why do I have to go away to some school anyways? I don't wanna go I have friends here."
"For someone who always complains about having to stay home and never getting to go anywhere you sure do complain a lot," a smirk played across Livia's lips for the briefest of moments before she became lost in her thoughts yet again. "Just sit back and enjoy the ride, I'll explain things better when we're almost there." She added.
"You can be so …UGH!"I decided to travel the rest of the way in silence and stared out the window hoping we would hurry up and get to where ever it was that we were going. I hate this, perhaps more then anything else, about Livia. She was always so… vague and secretive with me, like she couldn't trust her own flesh and blood.
The taxi stopped outside a bustling train station. Colette had to admit she kind of regretted that the drive was over; she was just getting into watching the scenery flow past in a never ending blur of color. She had never been out of the state let alone in another country and England was one of her top 'must visit when I'm rich and famous' places. And here she was, her dream come true… except the rich and famous part, and she had no idea why. It's not like her sister was the type to just up and take her on an overseas trip. She never even took her on a road trip around New York. It wasn't that her sister was cruel, or mean even, she was just… one of those people that preferred to keep to herself; more so lately.
"So uh, what now?" She looked toward Livia but her sister was already walking briskly into the station.
"Your luggage miss," the taxi driver had her things already loaded up on a little cart and was sliding it toward her.
"Thanks!" She took the cart from him and hurried after her sister before she could lose her in the throng of people heading this way and that. Colette lost sight of her for a moment and nearly panicked but let out a sigh of relief as she saw her sister standing near, between two platforms waiting.
Livia's eyes flicked from left to right before resting fully on her younger sister. "Ready?" She asked as she stepped behind Colette and put an arm around her shoulders.
"Ready for what?" Colette asked bewildered by her sister's arm around her.
"This," With one last glance to either side Livia shoved her sister into the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. She pushed Colette's cart through after her and then proceeded to follow with her own. On the other side she had to bite back a laugh at the site of her sister sprawled on the ground a look of horror on her face.
Once I stepped outside the taxi I stretched and looked around. Too bad the ride's over. The country is so beautiful. "So uh, what now?" I look toward Livia but she is already walking away into the station. 'Damn when did she?... She walks too damn fast sometimes!'
"Your luggage miss," the balding driver already had my things loaded onto a cart and ready to go. After thanking him I pushed my cart as fast as I could, trying to catch up to Liv. I say 'trying' but it's more like 'hoping' to catch up. There really are a lot of people going this way and that. Oh no, I lost sight of her! Oh wait, there she is. Liv is up ahead standing near a barrier between the two platforms for 9 and 10. I sighed inwardly glad that I wasn't lost in an unknown place… that would have been horrible. Lord knows if that would have happened Liv wouldn't let me live it down, and she would probably never take me with her again.
"Ready?" she asked looking around. Ready? I look around trying to figure out what I would need to be ready for. There was no train yet for either platform near us.
"Ready for what?" Now I'm really nervous. Not only do I have no idea where we are going, but now Liv seems to have lost her mind. She is ACTUALLY being nice to me. Joking, Liv has her nice moments. It was just the way she asked if I was reading coupled with the fact that she now had her arm around my shoulders, had me ill at ease.
"This." I take back what I said Liv isn't nice…. She is indeed cruel. I mean who else would take their sister to a foreign country only to humiliate them in such a public way. For that's all I can think of; that or maybe she is trying to kill me because she shoved me rather forcefully toward the divider. There was too much force for me to try and stop myself so I clenched my eyes shut and prepared myself for impact. Instead there was a feeling of weightlessness as I lost touch with gravity. An involuntary shriek escaped my throat as I opened my eyes and saw the ground rushing toward my face. To add insult to injury my own cart slammed into me and rolled a ways to my right. I palm I used to break my fall hurt too much for me to care. What the hell was she thinking pushing me like that? If she wanted me to move she could have just said something I would have-
"Come on. Get off the ground already. You're in the way of people trying to get through. Why you're on the ground to begin with is beyond me." Livia had just materialized through what Colette had assumed to be a solid wall and walked gracefully passed her to the cart that was slowly rolling away of its own accord.
"I wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for you!"
"Please remember you're in public. You're causing a scene." Livia admonished her sister.
It was at that moment that Colette realized that the station was different as were the people milling about. The whole atmosphere seemed quite different as well. She looked around, mouth agape, at everything but before she could ask any questions her sister was already walking away in that brisk manner that she seemed so fond of these days. It was all she could do to catch up. In her haste she ran into a boy about her age that had just came through the wall moments before with a family of ginger haired kids.
"Sorry." She mumbled with a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure that the person with whom she collided was okay.
"Now we just have to find an empty compartment and wait for the train to take off." With a bit of difficulty Livia managed to get her trunk on the train and help her sister as well. They dragged their trunks along down a narrow passage, excusing themselves whenever they needed to pass kids talking with each other that found no place better to chat then in the way. "Ah! Here we go. I'm always lucky and can find an empty one that I usually don't have to share with anyone else," Livia beamed proudly. She ushered Colette in, helped her to get the trunks on to the racks above the seats and shut the door before sitting near the window. Colette stood for a moment longer before sitting across from Livia and waited expectantly for the long awaited explanation.
"Not yet," was all that Livia said, never once taking her eyes away from the window.
Knowing by the tone of her voice, and the now preoccupied look in her sister's eyes, that she wasn't going to get what she wanted out of her. Colette sat back in the seat and closed her eyes. She thought back to the events that lead up to this 'oh so exciting adventure' or theirs. It all started two weeks ago when Livia had come home for a 'visit'. Normally when you send your kid off to boarding school you expect them to come back for holidays and for the summer but somehow Livia had gotten mom and dad to let her stay abroad with friends.