I guess I never mentioned when I demonstrated that I wasn't a squib. I was six. My parents had taken my family to the beach, along with my Uncle Finley. Nothing unusual happened at all until Uncle Finley accidently pushed me off a boardwalk into deep water. I had never learned how to swim, but when my parents dove underwater to rescue me, they were surprised to find me sitting at the bottom of the ocean, surrounded by a pocket of air.
I felt trapped and alone, just like I do now. I'm standing in King's Cross Station, wondering how to get to platform nine-and-three-quarters. Both of my parents had a very busy day ahead of them, so they couldn't take us to the station. Kimberly and I had ridden there by the London Underground, with our trunks and owls. I was surprised nothing was stolen.
Several days before, we had gone to Diagon alley to purchase my school supplies. Stepping into the threshold from the Leaky Cauldron, my mother muttered, "It has been a while." After getting a wand, robes and a cauldron, my mother thought it was best to visit Eeylops Owl Emporium. I walked out with a new Barn owl, named Brittle.
Brittle screeched at me, gesturing with its nose to the clock. 10:50. I was going to be late. Kimberly, being her usual trickster self, had run ahead of me and had found whatever secret passage led to platform nine-and-three-quarters.
Sighing, I rested my head in my hands, just as a family of red heads walked passed. Noticing their use of the word 'muggles' I decided to follow them, only to find out that they had disappeared.
I told myself that I was in the right place. This family of magicians had just disappeared. I looked around, and leaned up against a wall, to think for a moment.
I was surprised to find out that the wall wasn't solid, and I fell through, leaving Brittle and my trunks on the other side. Looking up, I saw several people, including Kimberly looking down on me and laughing. My face grew slightly red, and a few of the other girls backed away, mostly because it wasn't the only thing that turned red.
Ah, yes. You might be wondering what I mean. Ever since I fell off that boardwalk when I was six, my hair colour changed every so often. My parents think I dye it differently everyday, because of the long amounts of time I spend inside the house. The truth is, I don't. It changes on it's own, and right now, it flashed red when I felt angry.
Kimberly thinks it is an extremely powerful curse or charm that someone put on me, but I don't remember it happening.
I got back up, just as Kimberly looked at me with a bit of confusion. She went back through the wall with me to help me get my stuff, and sat me down in a compartment on board the scarlet Hogwarts Express. She got up and continued walking out, before I stopped her, tugging on her black and blue robes. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going off to sit with my friends, I suggest you find yourself some," she replied as she shut the door on my compartment. She turned on her heel and disappeared, with a flash of her orange hair trailing behind her.
Kimberly was a Ravenclaw in her third year, something she bragged about a lot. She was an odd one, always coming up with brilliant and crazy ideas, like the time she wrote up an entire family contract when we couldn't get along.
So, I waited and waited. A few passed, looked into my compartment and kept walking. Most of them were clearly older years that wanted to avoid the first year. At 11:00, the train started getting under way, and I was starting to get worried that I would spend the entire trip alone. Most of the other kids were hanging out of their window, waving to their parents and relatives. Not me. I was quietly sitting, trying to tell myself not to be frightened of the trip ahead or the destination.
Suddenly, the door opened and a white haired kid walked in, slamming the door shut as the red haired kid from the platform tried to get in. The red haired kid shrugged and moved on to find a different compartment.
The new kid put his luggage on the rack and took a seat opposite to him. I was too shy to say anything, not to mention how intimidating he looked. I could tell right off the bat that that white hair wasn't natural.
"It is," the boy said.
I stared at him in confusion. "I beg your pardon?"
"You were wondering if my hair is natural or not. It is," the boy replied.
"May I ask how?"
"Nope."
I decided to leave it at that, sinking back into my seat, wondering if he was a telepath. He seemed to be content with staring out the window as fields and forests passed by.
I eventually worked up the courage to say, "Malcolm Hargreaves."
"Hmm?" he looked up.
"That's my name," I replied rather timidly.
The boy grinned and replied, "Allen Rhodes."
I was about to reply to that, when someone slammed into the compartment, scaring the living daylights out of me. It opened and he slid into the compartment, before being pushed in by a real mean looking blonde kid who walked passed. The knocked-over kid stood up and shouted down the hall, "I'd like to see you do that again Malfoy!"
He quickly shut the door and locked it. Turning to both of us, he waved politely and said, "Hi! You don't mind if I hang out here for the trip. I don't want to run into Malfoy again."
He seemed like a nice person, so I looked to Allen for approval. He nodded and then I nodded back at the new comer.
"Excellent!" he shouted, throwing his stuff on to the luggage rack and sitting next to me. "The names Gastan. Grayson Gastan."
"Malcolm Hargreaves," I replied politely.
"Allen," Allen introduced himself, as he leaned up against the window.
Grayson seemed to be in the wrong crowd. He was interested in talking. I was too shy to say anything and Allen just seemed like he didn't want to. "You hear? Harry Potter is on the train!" he exclaimed.
This seemed to perk Allen's interest, who looked up from the window for a moment to confirm Grayson's words. Grayson nodded.
I looked at both of them in confusion. Both of them knew something I didn't. Before I looked anymore stupid later on, I decided to break the ice, "Who's Harry Potter?"
Grayson looked at me with a confused expression, while Allen merely chuckled.
"What?" I asked.
"Harry Potter is only one of the most famous people alive today! How do you not know him?" he replied. I was slightly taken aback. "It doesn't matter, all that I can say was that he's the reason that some of us are still alive today. It was said that the you-know-who went to go kill him and his parents, but something happened that night. For some reason, you-know-who died. No one is sure why, but it can be said that whoever you-know-who decided to kill ended up dead, except for Potter."
I sunk back into my seat, wondering what it meant. All this talk of wizarding wars confused me, mostly because I grew up with eccentric parents. I decided not to indulge them in that just yet.
Suddenly, Allen perked up, looking at something above me and shouting at me, "Are you trying to mock me?"
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Your hair! It just turned white!" he replied. Looking at my reflection in the glass, I confirmed it; it was as white as his.
