It was Kasey Clarke's first day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and
Wizardry. Her mum and her dad were to take her to Platform 9 ¾, where she
would get on the Hogwarts Express, and soon arrive at her new school.
You'd think she'd be quite excited, wouldn't you? New school, new friends, and best of all, she'd learn all about magic! Who wouldn't be excited?
I'll tell you who:- Kasey Elise Clarke.
You see, Kasey was a rather shy 11-year-old. She couldn't mix with other kids her age, she didn't like meeting new people, she could barely be seen out of the company of her parents, didn't approach people while by herself, and talked very quietly. So, of course going to Hogwarts all by herself, to meet new people, possibly nasty, spiteful people that could become her enemies, and having to live with those people for almost a year, was Kasey's definition of absolute agony and torture.
"How could you make me go to this stupid school?" Kasey whined to her parents, as they walked through the train station, looking for Platform 9 ¾. "I'll never fit in. I know the kids there will find something to tease me about. Nobody ever likes me." Kasey trailed off, forcing a tear to creep out the corner of her eye.
"That's because you don't try to fit in." Mrs. Clarke told her. "You just stand around, shuffling your feet and looking like you don't even want to make friends with anyone."
"That's not true!" Kasey protested, even though it was.
"Oh, yes it is." Mr. Clarke, put in. "You know, Kasey, sweetie, maybe if you were a little more confident in yourself, you'd have more friends!"
"It's not that simple, dad." Kasey rolled her eyes, but lowered her voice as a large family of redheads, one looking the same age as Kasey, passed. "You can't just be shy one day, and then over confident the next."
"I didn't say that-" Mr. Clarke sighed. "Kase, just promise me one thing, that you'll at least try and come out of your shell, during your stay at Hogwarts?"
"Daaaaaad." Kasey said, rolling her eyes again. "Ok, ok." Mr. Clarke said, holding up his hands defensively. "Just, please try.?"
Kasey didn't answer him, as she'd stopped suddenly, just before Platform 9. "Mum, dad." She said. "Where exactly is Platform 9 ¾? I don't see it anywhere."
"I don't exactly remember, it was quite awhile since you're your dad and I were here." Said Mrs. Clarke. "But I think it's there." She then pointed at a wall between Platform 9 and Platform 10. Kasey frowned.
"I don't see it." She told her parents. "All I can see is a brick wall."
"That's Platform 9 ¾." Mr. Clarke said, ruffling Kasey's shoulder- lengthed brown hair. Kasey's eyes widened, and she looked incredibly confused.
"Here's what you do, hun." Mrs. Clarke said, crouching down so she was as short as Kasey. "Walk straight for the wall, but don't stop once you think you're going to crash. Just walk straight through!" Kasey looked horrified.
"But-but-but." She stammered. "What if I do crash?? I'll make a fool of myself! And in front of my future classmates, as well as some Muggles!" Muggles were what magic people called non-magic people.
"You won't." Mrs. Clarke assured her. "Now, go! We'll meet you on the other side. You might want to run, if you can."
Kasey nodded, a rather nervous, shaky nod, I might add. She took one step forward and stopped, turned around and gave her parents a nervous glance. They grinned and nodded encouragingly. Kasey nodded back and ran straight for the wall, the trolley she was carrying that contained clothes, books and her pet kitten Kristy, rattling loudly with every step she took. She was getting closer and closer to the wall, so she decided to run for a bit, taking her dad's advice. The next thing she knew, she was actually on the other side of the wall! Yup, she was at Platform 9 ¾.
"Wow." Kasey sighed. She took a deep breath and pushed her trolley forward a bit, till she found a chair. She sat down and waited for her parents to come through.
Which wasn't a very long wait, as her parents had just entered Platform 9 ¾ as soon as Kasey'd sat down.
"Hi, sweetie." Mrs. Clarke said, as they saw their daughter. "Well, there's the Hogwarts Express." She then pointed at a huge, red train, with the words Hogwarts Express painted on in gold, uppercase letters.
"Wow," Kasey said again. "It's big!"
"This reminds me of the time I first met you." Mr. Clarke told Mrs. Clarke. "Remember? I was in 2nd year, and you were in 1st year, on your first day at school. You and your friends were looking lost, and I came along, like your knight in shining armor, and showed you both where to go."
"And after that, I had the biggest crush on you." Mrs. Clarke rolled her eyes. "You were so cute then. Whatever happened?" Kasey giggled, as her dad looked at Mrs. Clarke in mock horror.
"You'd better go, Kasey." Mr. Clarke said. "Before the train leaves. We'll send you owl posts whenever we can!"
"And don't forget about the holidays!" Mrs. Clarke reminded Kasey.
"Make sure you take good care of Kristy." Mr. Clarke said, stroking the little, pitch-black cat. Kristy purred softly.
"Bye mum," Said Kasey, hopping up from her seat and giving her mum a little peck on the cheek. "Bye dad." She gave him a peck on the cheek also. "See you when I get back! Pleeeease don't forget to send Owl Posts!" She then got her trolley straight, and walked over to the train.
"We won't!" Mrs. Clarke called. "Have a great time at Hogwarts!"
Kasey rolled her eyes. "Don't count on it." She whispered to herself as she stepped onto the Hogwarts Express.
Soon enough, the train was ready to go, and Kasey was panicking, as she had not found a single empty carriage. She considered running out of the train, into her parents' arms and begging them not to make her go, but she knew what would come out of that:- complete and total embarrasment.
So, she took a deep breath and continued her search for an empty carriage. It was never found. Finally, Kasey took a deep, deep breath and went back to a carriage that had 3 boys, obviously alot older than Kasey, wearing Slytherin robes.
"Um, er, hi." She said, rather quietly. "Um, may I sit here?" The three boys looked at her blankly.
"What did she say?" Said one of the boys, a rather wide and muscular fellow, with a short, bristly haircut.
"I dunno." Said the blond boy, with grey eyes and a permanent evil smirk. "She's too quiet."
Kasey felt tears sting at her eyes. She wasn't even at Hogwarts yet, and these people didn't seem to like her allready!
"Can I please sit here?" She asked, this time more slowely and clearly. She hoped, so badly, that these people could understand her.
The third boy, who was taller than the first boy, also wide and muscular, not alot of hair on his head, not much of a neck and flat nose. Kasey blushed, and took that as a "whatever", and started to sit down on the empty seat, next to the blond one.
After a few moments of silence, the blond one finally spoke up. "My name's Malfoy, by the way. Draco Malfoy. This is Crabbe, and that's Goyle." Kasey bit her lip to hold back a snigger at all three names, and politely shook Malfoy's hand, then Crabbe's (who's hand was rather sticky, actually), then Goyle's. "You're new to Hogwarts, hey? Bet you've heard of Harry Potter, hey?"
Kasey nodded. Her mum had told her quite a bit about a famous wizard called Harry Potter. Apparantly, Harry would be going to Kasey's school...
"If I were you, I'd stay well away from him, and his friends." Malfoy continued. "One of them's a Mudblood, Hermione Granger, and a rather ugly one at that."
Kasey didn't know what a Mudblood was, but kept nodding.
After a while of dissing Harry Potter and his friends, Malfoy realised how quiet, shy and un-nasty Kasey actually was, and branded Kasey a looser 1st year student (though, he didn't actually tell her this, Kasey could just tell by the look in his eyes, the sneers and the occasional unbeleivably rude guestures), and stopped talking to her completely.
Kasey sighed, a very, very, deep and sorrowful sigh.
***
"We'll be reaching Hogwarts in exactly five minutes," Boomed a loud, echoey voice. "Please get changed now. Oh, and leave your luggage behind, on the train. It will be taken to school seperately."
"Er, Kasey, girl." Malfoy said, waving a hand in front of Kasey's face. "Don't you think you should get changed now?" Kasey, unlike the other three people in the carriage, was not yet wearing her uniform.
Kasey blushed furiously, and looked down at her green jumper and purple skirt. Not exactly the Hogwarts school uniform! She waited for Draco, Crabbe and Goyle to leave, so she could get changed, but they just stayed there.
Kasey shifted around uncomfortably. She wanted to just scream "Like, get out!", but she was far too shy. Plus, that would be rude, and her parents had allways taught her to use good manners at all times.
After about one minute of shifting around uncomfortably, worried that she wouldn't get into her uniform before the train stopped, she finally stood up and headed for the bathroom. As soon as she was almost out of the carriage, she heard Malfoy whisper to Crabbe and Goyle.
"What a dorky 1st year girl," He'd said. "I'd bet she's not even good at anything! She's probably even a mudblood!"
Kasey gasped. She sniffed and swallowed back a sob, before turning around and running out and to the bathroom, still trying not to cry as she passed lots of other Hogwarts students in their carriages.
When she finally reached the bathroom, she shut the door with shakey hands and got dressed, letting quiet sobs out.
Oh, it was going to be a LONG year, Kasey could tell allready!
You'd think she'd be quite excited, wouldn't you? New school, new friends, and best of all, she'd learn all about magic! Who wouldn't be excited?
I'll tell you who:- Kasey Elise Clarke.
You see, Kasey was a rather shy 11-year-old. She couldn't mix with other kids her age, she didn't like meeting new people, she could barely be seen out of the company of her parents, didn't approach people while by herself, and talked very quietly. So, of course going to Hogwarts all by herself, to meet new people, possibly nasty, spiteful people that could become her enemies, and having to live with those people for almost a year, was Kasey's definition of absolute agony and torture.
"How could you make me go to this stupid school?" Kasey whined to her parents, as they walked through the train station, looking for Platform 9 ¾. "I'll never fit in. I know the kids there will find something to tease me about. Nobody ever likes me." Kasey trailed off, forcing a tear to creep out the corner of her eye.
"That's because you don't try to fit in." Mrs. Clarke told her. "You just stand around, shuffling your feet and looking like you don't even want to make friends with anyone."
"That's not true!" Kasey protested, even though it was.
"Oh, yes it is." Mr. Clarke, put in. "You know, Kasey, sweetie, maybe if you were a little more confident in yourself, you'd have more friends!"
"It's not that simple, dad." Kasey rolled her eyes, but lowered her voice as a large family of redheads, one looking the same age as Kasey, passed. "You can't just be shy one day, and then over confident the next."
"I didn't say that-" Mr. Clarke sighed. "Kase, just promise me one thing, that you'll at least try and come out of your shell, during your stay at Hogwarts?"
"Daaaaaad." Kasey said, rolling her eyes again. "Ok, ok." Mr. Clarke said, holding up his hands defensively. "Just, please try.?"
Kasey didn't answer him, as she'd stopped suddenly, just before Platform 9. "Mum, dad." She said. "Where exactly is Platform 9 ¾? I don't see it anywhere."
"I don't exactly remember, it was quite awhile since you're your dad and I were here." Said Mrs. Clarke. "But I think it's there." She then pointed at a wall between Platform 9 and Platform 10. Kasey frowned.
"I don't see it." She told her parents. "All I can see is a brick wall."
"That's Platform 9 ¾." Mr. Clarke said, ruffling Kasey's shoulder- lengthed brown hair. Kasey's eyes widened, and she looked incredibly confused.
"Here's what you do, hun." Mrs. Clarke said, crouching down so she was as short as Kasey. "Walk straight for the wall, but don't stop once you think you're going to crash. Just walk straight through!" Kasey looked horrified.
"But-but-but." She stammered. "What if I do crash?? I'll make a fool of myself! And in front of my future classmates, as well as some Muggles!" Muggles were what magic people called non-magic people.
"You won't." Mrs. Clarke assured her. "Now, go! We'll meet you on the other side. You might want to run, if you can."
Kasey nodded, a rather nervous, shaky nod, I might add. She took one step forward and stopped, turned around and gave her parents a nervous glance. They grinned and nodded encouragingly. Kasey nodded back and ran straight for the wall, the trolley she was carrying that contained clothes, books and her pet kitten Kristy, rattling loudly with every step she took. She was getting closer and closer to the wall, so she decided to run for a bit, taking her dad's advice. The next thing she knew, she was actually on the other side of the wall! Yup, she was at Platform 9 ¾.
"Wow." Kasey sighed. She took a deep breath and pushed her trolley forward a bit, till she found a chair. She sat down and waited for her parents to come through.
Which wasn't a very long wait, as her parents had just entered Platform 9 ¾ as soon as Kasey'd sat down.
"Hi, sweetie." Mrs. Clarke said, as they saw their daughter. "Well, there's the Hogwarts Express." She then pointed at a huge, red train, with the words Hogwarts Express painted on in gold, uppercase letters.
"Wow," Kasey said again. "It's big!"
"This reminds me of the time I first met you." Mr. Clarke told Mrs. Clarke. "Remember? I was in 2nd year, and you were in 1st year, on your first day at school. You and your friends were looking lost, and I came along, like your knight in shining armor, and showed you both where to go."
"And after that, I had the biggest crush on you." Mrs. Clarke rolled her eyes. "You were so cute then. Whatever happened?" Kasey giggled, as her dad looked at Mrs. Clarke in mock horror.
"You'd better go, Kasey." Mr. Clarke said. "Before the train leaves. We'll send you owl posts whenever we can!"
"And don't forget about the holidays!" Mrs. Clarke reminded Kasey.
"Make sure you take good care of Kristy." Mr. Clarke said, stroking the little, pitch-black cat. Kristy purred softly.
"Bye mum," Said Kasey, hopping up from her seat and giving her mum a little peck on the cheek. "Bye dad." She gave him a peck on the cheek also. "See you when I get back! Pleeeease don't forget to send Owl Posts!" She then got her trolley straight, and walked over to the train.
"We won't!" Mrs. Clarke called. "Have a great time at Hogwarts!"
Kasey rolled her eyes. "Don't count on it." She whispered to herself as she stepped onto the Hogwarts Express.
Soon enough, the train was ready to go, and Kasey was panicking, as she had not found a single empty carriage. She considered running out of the train, into her parents' arms and begging them not to make her go, but she knew what would come out of that:- complete and total embarrasment.
So, she took a deep breath and continued her search for an empty carriage. It was never found. Finally, Kasey took a deep, deep breath and went back to a carriage that had 3 boys, obviously alot older than Kasey, wearing Slytherin robes.
"Um, er, hi." She said, rather quietly. "Um, may I sit here?" The three boys looked at her blankly.
"What did she say?" Said one of the boys, a rather wide and muscular fellow, with a short, bristly haircut.
"I dunno." Said the blond boy, with grey eyes and a permanent evil smirk. "She's too quiet."
Kasey felt tears sting at her eyes. She wasn't even at Hogwarts yet, and these people didn't seem to like her allready!
"Can I please sit here?" She asked, this time more slowely and clearly. She hoped, so badly, that these people could understand her.
The third boy, who was taller than the first boy, also wide and muscular, not alot of hair on his head, not much of a neck and flat nose. Kasey blushed, and took that as a "whatever", and started to sit down on the empty seat, next to the blond one.
After a few moments of silence, the blond one finally spoke up. "My name's Malfoy, by the way. Draco Malfoy. This is Crabbe, and that's Goyle." Kasey bit her lip to hold back a snigger at all three names, and politely shook Malfoy's hand, then Crabbe's (who's hand was rather sticky, actually), then Goyle's. "You're new to Hogwarts, hey? Bet you've heard of Harry Potter, hey?"
Kasey nodded. Her mum had told her quite a bit about a famous wizard called Harry Potter. Apparantly, Harry would be going to Kasey's school...
"If I were you, I'd stay well away from him, and his friends." Malfoy continued. "One of them's a Mudblood, Hermione Granger, and a rather ugly one at that."
Kasey didn't know what a Mudblood was, but kept nodding.
After a while of dissing Harry Potter and his friends, Malfoy realised how quiet, shy and un-nasty Kasey actually was, and branded Kasey a looser 1st year student (though, he didn't actually tell her this, Kasey could just tell by the look in his eyes, the sneers and the occasional unbeleivably rude guestures), and stopped talking to her completely.
Kasey sighed, a very, very, deep and sorrowful sigh.
***
"We'll be reaching Hogwarts in exactly five minutes," Boomed a loud, echoey voice. "Please get changed now. Oh, and leave your luggage behind, on the train. It will be taken to school seperately."
"Er, Kasey, girl." Malfoy said, waving a hand in front of Kasey's face. "Don't you think you should get changed now?" Kasey, unlike the other three people in the carriage, was not yet wearing her uniform.
Kasey blushed furiously, and looked down at her green jumper and purple skirt. Not exactly the Hogwarts school uniform! She waited for Draco, Crabbe and Goyle to leave, so she could get changed, but they just stayed there.
Kasey shifted around uncomfortably. She wanted to just scream "Like, get out!", but she was far too shy. Plus, that would be rude, and her parents had allways taught her to use good manners at all times.
After about one minute of shifting around uncomfortably, worried that she wouldn't get into her uniform before the train stopped, she finally stood up and headed for the bathroom. As soon as she was almost out of the carriage, she heard Malfoy whisper to Crabbe and Goyle.
"What a dorky 1st year girl," He'd said. "I'd bet she's not even good at anything! She's probably even a mudblood!"
Kasey gasped. She sniffed and swallowed back a sob, before turning around and running out and to the bathroom, still trying not to cry as she passed lots of other Hogwarts students in their carriages.
When she finally reached the bathroom, she shut the door with shakey hands and got dressed, letting quiet sobs out.
Oh, it was going to be a LONG year, Kasey could tell allready!