Disclaimer- JK Rowling is the one and only person who owns the rights to Hogwarts and anything associated with it.
Empty Thoughts
The months before fall dragged on until Jessica could barely take it anymore. With a convenient smudge on her birth date, she managed to land a job as a waitress at a local restaurant. Last year she would have spent the money she was making immediately, on new clothes, CDs, makeup, and God knows what else, but she needed it for something much more important this year.
Not only was she getting kicked out her house (her father promised to find a place for her and continue to support her, which she was thankful for,) but she would also have to support her own education. Her last trip to Diagon Alley, which had also been her first, had cost her a pretty penny. In fact, it had cost her a numerous amount of them. The savings she had worked so hard not to spend had been dwindled down to nothing in a matter of hours.
She wasn't upset about it. She felt they were some of the best purchases she had made. When not in school, purposely avoiding her friends, or slaving away at her job, she was locked up in her room practicing spells. Once the summer months came, and she, just like any other Hogwart's student, was forbidden to use magic, she read and reread her school books.
The once fun-loving, caring, and emotional girl had been turned into a block of stone. Well, a block of stone with occasional outbursts of violence and shaking. Her mother's hatred had radiated to her. Only the promise of Hogwarts, where things promised to be better, kept her alive.
So, when the day came for her to leave, she was understandably relieved. She stood with her arms at her sides while her younger siblings hugged her, sobbing and asking her why she had to leave. When finally they let go she didn't so much as acknowledge her parents and watched as the hired taxi driver lifted her luggage into his trunk (with a few odd looks. What kind of girl owned a cauldron?) Once he was finished she slipped into the seat, shutting the door and letting her face drop into her hands.
She dozed off nearly half a dozen times during the drive to the airport, and once on the plane did so again. She was awoken by a curly haired flight attendant hours later and transferred planes. The staff whispered about her in the back. She was a pretty thing, surprisingly grown-up looking in her black dress pants and white blouse, but they had all noticed a profuse sadness about her. They wondered what it could be. An abusive father, maybe? Perhaps someone close to her had died? No one knew for sure, since as she stared off into the clouds, she was silent. They surely had fun entertaining themselves with the possibilities, though.
When the plane landed she slipped into another taxi, waiting for the driver to toss her luggage in the back. As she looked out the window at the gloomy gray sky, she smiled. She was almost there.
Her mood instantly lifted at the promise of the nearby school. Her clothes were slightly more rumpled than they had been when she left, yet no less flattering, but the most noticeable difference was the peace in her eyes and the smile on her face. She managed to make conversation with the driver on her way to the train station, becoming more and more happy as the mile sepd by. She laughed at his inquiries about her "curious luggage" and told him about her old friends at home, realizing how much she would miss them and that she regretted avoiding them for the past months.
As the taxi stopped to let her off at the train station, Jessica looked out her window. The platforms were packed with wall to wall people. She spotted an abandoned trolley and had the cab driver assist her in getting her luggage on top of it. With a final wave to her new friend, she pushed her way through the people towards platform 9 ¾. As she reached platform 9, and then platform 10, she decided to take another look at her ticket she'd recieved from Dumbledore. 9 ¾ was certainly the platform she was to find, but there was only one problem. Where was she to find it?