"Alexia Starre, you get up right now, young lady!" I groan as my
mother's voice carries up the stairs. "Alexia, don't make me…"
"I'm up, I'm up…" I say groggily, wiping the sleep from my eyes. I stumble over to the bathroom and turn on the water faucets. They don't work, again. "Mom!" I call.
"I'm coming," She sighs and grabs her wand. I can hear her from upstairs, turning the lock on her French cabinet door to get to the maple. She ambles up the stairs and steps into the white-marble bathroom. Muttering a spell under her breath, she waves her wand. The water starts running slowly.
"Thanks," I smile. She does what I assume is a smile, twitching the corners of her mouth up, and then goes back downstairs. I slip off my silk nightgown and step into the warm water, letting it wash away my sleepiness. I wish I could stay in the shower forever, but my stepfather would find me, which I can't allow. I step out and towel my baby-soft tan skin off. Stepping in front of the mirror and sink, I plunge my face into cold water to make sure I am awake, and then tie my coiled dark-brown, silver-streaked hair into a messy bun. I put on some clear pink lip-gloss and mascara, and walk downstairs for breakfast.
"Morning, Alexia." My sister smiles and says. She's 20, and just graduated from wizardry school at PearlWand School. I suddenly remember what today is, and why it was so important to wake up early. Today was the first day of my fifth year, and I was at a new school—Hogwarts.
"Good morning, Olivia!" I say, too cheerfully. Mother gives me a strange look and plops down a breakfast of bacon and eggs in front of my face. I pick up my fork and take a tentative bite—it's cold. 'I should have known it would be cold,' I tell myself. 'It's always cold for me.' I finish all I can of the meal, and excuse myself. My mother doesn't say a word, and I slide back my chair softly. I run upstairs and get my silver trunk. I like silver, a lot, if you can't tell. My stepfather hates my hair now, because I streaked it, but I think it's nice.
I hope Hogwarts is nice.
I hurry and pack my favorite books, my broom, my pillow, my school things, my unicorn-hair wand, my favorite clothes, my robes for Hogwarts, my makeup bag, and a few other necessary things. I pick up my beautiful tortoiseshell kitten, Lotus, who snuggles into my arms, and then get my trunks. As I walk through the doorway, I bump into something hard. I gulp and look up.
My stepfather grins angrily at me. I look into his face and know he's drunk. "Hello, Alexia." He says slowly, dangerously. I shiver in spite of myself. "You didn't think you could get away from me that easily, did you?" He says. I shake my head feebly and look up. I hate being terrified of him, but I don't have much of a choice.
"Good, because you can't," He sneers. I almost laugh at him, because he's a muggle and I'm a witch. But then, I remember that I can't use magic outside of school grounds. I always seem to forget that. Shit.
He takes me by the arm and flings me across the room. I hit my wall and slump to the ground, almost unconscious. I hope he'll stop at that, but I know he won't. He takes off his belt and whips my arms and legs with it. "Fucking slut," He strikes me again. "Slutty little witch. There's no reason for your kind here, freak," I whimper in pain, and he hits me harder.
"Alexia, let's go!" My mother calls from downstairs. She starts coming up the stairs, and my stepfather panics. He runs out of my room as my mother walks in the other door. "What happened?"
"Lotus got a little scared about the trip," I lie, hoping she won't notice.
"Oh," She says. "Are you packed?"
"Yes," I say. Olivia steps in and looks at the red welts on my arms and legs. Her eyes get a look of pity on them. 'She knows!' I think to myself, in shock. 'She knows about Trenton.'
"Let's go." My mother says. I pick up Lotus, and Olivia picks up my trunk, probably knowing I can't carry it with my arms like this. In silence, we walk downstairs and out the door. My mother puts my things in the trunk of her blue Jaguar. I get in the tan-leather backseat. Olivia gets in the front. "Mom, I could drive her, so you could get to your chores." Olivia says, acting like the caring daughter.
"Thank you, Olivia!" My mother exclaims. "You were always such a perfect little girl," She says, with happy tears in her cloudy green eyes.
"No problem, Mom." She says. My mother leaves, and Olivia invites me to the front seat. I bring Lotus with me.
Olivia starts the car. "Why haven't you told anyone about him, Alex?" She asks me, with concern in her eyes.
"Told anyone about who?" I ask, trying to act oblivious.
"You know who I'm talking about, Alex. Trent."
I look at the floor. "Because, he'd hurt me more." I say.
Olivia looks like she'd want to give me a hug to comfort me, but she's driving. "No, he can't." She says softly. "He didn't."
I look at her, then at her neck. I had always saw the deep scar there, but she lied about it, and said it was a skiing accident. "Trent hurt you," I state.
"Yes," She says, tears welling in her eyes. She wipes them away after she shifts. "He did. But he can't anymore, if you tell someone."
"He can," I argue, being my sixteen-year-old, quarrelsome self.
"I'm not going to argue with you, Alex." She says. "Hey, what time is it?"
"9." I tell her.
"The train leaves at 11:30…let's go get some ice-cream!" She grins. Olivia can be such a child sometimes, but we all can.
I smile back as she pulls into a Haagen-Dazs. I sigh at the muggle- ness of it all and wish we could go to Diagon Alley to get ice cream, but she likes it. I get out of the car and go into the parlor. "A double chocolate cone," Olivia smiles to the guy behind the counter. He stutters something, and I know yet another guy has fallen for her. She doesn't notice, however, and I order a single scoop vanilla cone. He gives us our ice cream and Olivia fumbles with the muggle money, obviously unsure how many little papers she has to pay. He takes the amount it costs from her, and we leave.
"So, what platform do we go to for this school?" She asks, eyes on the road.
"Hogwarts. And platform 9 ¾." I say, licking my cone. Olivia spelled hers to not drip and stay cold, so she put it down.
"Okay. I heard Dumbledore is the headmaster there," She says, trying to make conversation.
"Yeah, he is."
"Harry Potter goes there, too, doesn't he?"
I wasn't aware of this. I knew Potter was in the area, but I wasn't sure where. "Oh." I reply. I know I'm breaking her attempts for conversation, but I also know it will steer back to Trenton somehow.
After about an hour of silent car-ride, we reach our destination. I step out of the car and stretch my tired legs. My jean lace-up miniskirt flutters in the light breeze, which also ruffles my hair. I notice my hair is incredibly disheveled from being thrown against a wall, and I take out my wand to fix it.
"Alex!" Olivia exclaims. I drop my wand, remembering the rule.
"Can you fix it, then?" I ask her, knowing she can because she's graduated already.
She fumbles around in her purse and takes out her yew and dragon- heartstring wand, waving it towards me and mumbling a spell. I feel my hair fall to my shoulders and makeup being applied to my face. "There you go. You look beautiful." She smiles. I look in the car window and am surprised and my hair, down—it's just wavy enough to create a mermaid effect. I look at my face, now like a supermodel's.
"Thank you so much!" I squeal and hug Olivia. She smiles down at me.
"I only put foundation and eyeliner on your face, and took down your hair. You always look like that, Alex." She says.
I look at myself again. Is she telling the truth? I can't tell, so I just smile at her and grab Lotus, who decided that vanilla ice cream is very delicious. I laugh at the sight of her finishing off my cone, and pick up her little frame. She purrs and snuggles against my chest. Olivia grabs my trunk and we go to the station. "9…10…" I look at the numbers. "Where's 9 ¾?"
"Are you a first year?" A boy asks me.
"No, I'm a fifth year, but this is my first year at Hogwarts." I tell him.
"I'm a fifth-year, too!" He says. I look at him, and smile to myself. He's cute.
"Cool. My name's Alex…Alexia Starre."
"Mine's Ron. Ron Weasley." He smiles. His red hair falls over his forehead. We start walking towards the gap between 9 and 10, which happens to be a wall. He senses my discomfort. "Just keep walking, don't be scared." He says. I try to appear brave.
"This is a muggle station, I assume, then." I say as we near the wall. He nods and starts to run. I follow his lead. It feels as if I am plunging as I break through the barrier to the station. Olivia pops out of the brick wall, and smiles.
"That was fun," She says.
Ron laughs, and so do I. A girl with bushy hair approaches us, and Ron becomes more serious. I wonder who this girl is—is she his girlfriend? She doesn't seem attractive.
"Hello," She says, eyeing Olivia and I suspiciously. "Who are you?" She asks, in a not-so-polite manner.
"Hermione, don't be rude." A guy says, approaching us. He's a few inches taller than me, with just-out-of-bed hair and amazing green eyes. His glasses give him an intelligent but alluring look. "This is Hermione Granger, and I'm Harry Potter. May I ask your names?"
"I'm Alex Starre." I say sweetly, "And this is my sister, Olivia Starre."
"Blood?" He asks. Usually I would find this rude, but I don't at the moment.
"Pure, but we have a muggle step-father." I say. My eyes must look hurt as I mention my stepfather, because Harry steers away from that subject.
"Hermione is sorry for being impolite, aren't you, Hermione?" Harry says sternly to Hermione.
"Yes," She says. Her eyes are pretty, I note.
"The train will leave soon, I think. Let's board." Ron says.
Harry flashes me a pure-white smile. "I'll take your trunk for you, Alex." He says.
"Thank you," I smile back. I notice a hint of jealousy in both Hermione and Ron's eyes. Harry takes my trunk along with his, and I see his muscle. I always thought he was scraggly…
"So, Alex, what house do you think you'll get into?"
"Oh, I don't know." I say. I really wasn't sure of the houses here, even though it was a very famous school. I only knew Harry was in Gryffindor, so I hoped I'd be in it, too.
We get onto the train, and look around. Finding an empty compartment, we all go inside—I sit across from Harry and next to Hermione.
A few minutes later, the train jerks. Too late to turn back now.
"I'm up, I'm up…" I say groggily, wiping the sleep from my eyes. I stumble over to the bathroom and turn on the water faucets. They don't work, again. "Mom!" I call.
"I'm coming," She sighs and grabs her wand. I can hear her from upstairs, turning the lock on her French cabinet door to get to the maple. She ambles up the stairs and steps into the white-marble bathroom. Muttering a spell under her breath, she waves her wand. The water starts running slowly.
"Thanks," I smile. She does what I assume is a smile, twitching the corners of her mouth up, and then goes back downstairs. I slip off my silk nightgown and step into the warm water, letting it wash away my sleepiness. I wish I could stay in the shower forever, but my stepfather would find me, which I can't allow. I step out and towel my baby-soft tan skin off. Stepping in front of the mirror and sink, I plunge my face into cold water to make sure I am awake, and then tie my coiled dark-brown, silver-streaked hair into a messy bun. I put on some clear pink lip-gloss and mascara, and walk downstairs for breakfast.
"Morning, Alexia." My sister smiles and says. She's 20, and just graduated from wizardry school at PearlWand School. I suddenly remember what today is, and why it was so important to wake up early. Today was the first day of my fifth year, and I was at a new school—Hogwarts.
"Good morning, Olivia!" I say, too cheerfully. Mother gives me a strange look and plops down a breakfast of bacon and eggs in front of my face. I pick up my fork and take a tentative bite—it's cold. 'I should have known it would be cold,' I tell myself. 'It's always cold for me.' I finish all I can of the meal, and excuse myself. My mother doesn't say a word, and I slide back my chair softly. I run upstairs and get my silver trunk. I like silver, a lot, if you can't tell. My stepfather hates my hair now, because I streaked it, but I think it's nice.
I hope Hogwarts is nice.
I hurry and pack my favorite books, my broom, my pillow, my school things, my unicorn-hair wand, my favorite clothes, my robes for Hogwarts, my makeup bag, and a few other necessary things. I pick up my beautiful tortoiseshell kitten, Lotus, who snuggles into my arms, and then get my trunks. As I walk through the doorway, I bump into something hard. I gulp and look up.
My stepfather grins angrily at me. I look into his face and know he's drunk. "Hello, Alexia." He says slowly, dangerously. I shiver in spite of myself. "You didn't think you could get away from me that easily, did you?" He says. I shake my head feebly and look up. I hate being terrified of him, but I don't have much of a choice.
"Good, because you can't," He sneers. I almost laugh at him, because he's a muggle and I'm a witch. But then, I remember that I can't use magic outside of school grounds. I always seem to forget that. Shit.
He takes me by the arm and flings me across the room. I hit my wall and slump to the ground, almost unconscious. I hope he'll stop at that, but I know he won't. He takes off his belt and whips my arms and legs with it. "Fucking slut," He strikes me again. "Slutty little witch. There's no reason for your kind here, freak," I whimper in pain, and he hits me harder.
"Alexia, let's go!" My mother calls from downstairs. She starts coming up the stairs, and my stepfather panics. He runs out of my room as my mother walks in the other door. "What happened?"
"Lotus got a little scared about the trip," I lie, hoping she won't notice.
"Oh," She says. "Are you packed?"
"Yes," I say. Olivia steps in and looks at the red welts on my arms and legs. Her eyes get a look of pity on them. 'She knows!' I think to myself, in shock. 'She knows about Trenton.'
"Let's go." My mother says. I pick up Lotus, and Olivia picks up my trunk, probably knowing I can't carry it with my arms like this. In silence, we walk downstairs and out the door. My mother puts my things in the trunk of her blue Jaguar. I get in the tan-leather backseat. Olivia gets in the front. "Mom, I could drive her, so you could get to your chores." Olivia says, acting like the caring daughter.
"Thank you, Olivia!" My mother exclaims. "You were always such a perfect little girl," She says, with happy tears in her cloudy green eyes.
"No problem, Mom." She says. My mother leaves, and Olivia invites me to the front seat. I bring Lotus with me.
Olivia starts the car. "Why haven't you told anyone about him, Alex?" She asks me, with concern in her eyes.
"Told anyone about who?" I ask, trying to act oblivious.
"You know who I'm talking about, Alex. Trent."
I look at the floor. "Because, he'd hurt me more." I say.
Olivia looks like she'd want to give me a hug to comfort me, but she's driving. "No, he can't." She says softly. "He didn't."
I look at her, then at her neck. I had always saw the deep scar there, but she lied about it, and said it was a skiing accident. "Trent hurt you," I state.
"Yes," She says, tears welling in her eyes. She wipes them away after she shifts. "He did. But he can't anymore, if you tell someone."
"He can," I argue, being my sixteen-year-old, quarrelsome self.
"I'm not going to argue with you, Alex." She says. "Hey, what time is it?"
"9." I tell her.
"The train leaves at 11:30…let's go get some ice-cream!" She grins. Olivia can be such a child sometimes, but we all can.
I smile back as she pulls into a Haagen-Dazs. I sigh at the muggle- ness of it all and wish we could go to Diagon Alley to get ice cream, but she likes it. I get out of the car and go into the parlor. "A double chocolate cone," Olivia smiles to the guy behind the counter. He stutters something, and I know yet another guy has fallen for her. She doesn't notice, however, and I order a single scoop vanilla cone. He gives us our ice cream and Olivia fumbles with the muggle money, obviously unsure how many little papers she has to pay. He takes the amount it costs from her, and we leave.
"So, what platform do we go to for this school?" She asks, eyes on the road.
"Hogwarts. And platform 9 ¾." I say, licking my cone. Olivia spelled hers to not drip and stay cold, so she put it down.
"Okay. I heard Dumbledore is the headmaster there," She says, trying to make conversation.
"Yeah, he is."
"Harry Potter goes there, too, doesn't he?"
I wasn't aware of this. I knew Potter was in the area, but I wasn't sure where. "Oh." I reply. I know I'm breaking her attempts for conversation, but I also know it will steer back to Trenton somehow.
After about an hour of silent car-ride, we reach our destination. I step out of the car and stretch my tired legs. My jean lace-up miniskirt flutters in the light breeze, which also ruffles my hair. I notice my hair is incredibly disheveled from being thrown against a wall, and I take out my wand to fix it.
"Alex!" Olivia exclaims. I drop my wand, remembering the rule.
"Can you fix it, then?" I ask her, knowing she can because she's graduated already.
She fumbles around in her purse and takes out her yew and dragon- heartstring wand, waving it towards me and mumbling a spell. I feel my hair fall to my shoulders and makeup being applied to my face. "There you go. You look beautiful." She smiles. I look in the car window and am surprised and my hair, down—it's just wavy enough to create a mermaid effect. I look at my face, now like a supermodel's.
"Thank you so much!" I squeal and hug Olivia. She smiles down at me.
"I only put foundation and eyeliner on your face, and took down your hair. You always look like that, Alex." She says.
I look at myself again. Is she telling the truth? I can't tell, so I just smile at her and grab Lotus, who decided that vanilla ice cream is very delicious. I laugh at the sight of her finishing off my cone, and pick up her little frame. She purrs and snuggles against my chest. Olivia grabs my trunk and we go to the station. "9…10…" I look at the numbers. "Where's 9 ¾?"
"Are you a first year?" A boy asks me.
"No, I'm a fifth year, but this is my first year at Hogwarts." I tell him.
"I'm a fifth-year, too!" He says. I look at him, and smile to myself. He's cute.
"Cool. My name's Alex…Alexia Starre."
"Mine's Ron. Ron Weasley." He smiles. His red hair falls over his forehead. We start walking towards the gap between 9 and 10, which happens to be a wall. He senses my discomfort. "Just keep walking, don't be scared." He says. I try to appear brave.
"This is a muggle station, I assume, then." I say as we near the wall. He nods and starts to run. I follow his lead. It feels as if I am plunging as I break through the barrier to the station. Olivia pops out of the brick wall, and smiles.
"That was fun," She says.
Ron laughs, and so do I. A girl with bushy hair approaches us, and Ron becomes more serious. I wonder who this girl is—is she his girlfriend? She doesn't seem attractive.
"Hello," She says, eyeing Olivia and I suspiciously. "Who are you?" She asks, in a not-so-polite manner.
"Hermione, don't be rude." A guy says, approaching us. He's a few inches taller than me, with just-out-of-bed hair and amazing green eyes. His glasses give him an intelligent but alluring look. "This is Hermione Granger, and I'm Harry Potter. May I ask your names?"
"I'm Alex Starre." I say sweetly, "And this is my sister, Olivia Starre."
"Blood?" He asks. Usually I would find this rude, but I don't at the moment.
"Pure, but we have a muggle step-father." I say. My eyes must look hurt as I mention my stepfather, because Harry steers away from that subject.
"Hermione is sorry for being impolite, aren't you, Hermione?" Harry says sternly to Hermione.
"Yes," She says. Her eyes are pretty, I note.
"The train will leave soon, I think. Let's board." Ron says.
Harry flashes me a pure-white smile. "I'll take your trunk for you, Alex." He says.
"Thank you," I smile back. I notice a hint of jealousy in both Hermione and Ron's eyes. Harry takes my trunk along with his, and I see his muscle. I always thought he was scraggly…
"So, Alex, what house do you think you'll get into?"
"Oh, I don't know." I say. I really wasn't sure of the houses here, even though it was a very famous school. I only knew Harry was in Gryffindor, so I hoped I'd be in it, too.
We get onto the train, and look around. Finding an empty compartment, we all go inside—I sit across from Harry and next to Hermione.
A few minutes later, the train jerks. Too late to turn back now.