It was a stormy September day, the rain battering the little car as it drove along the highway. Its occupants were crammed inside, along with two screeching owls and an angry cat who hissed every time someone other than her owner came in her general direction. The view from the rearview mirror was completely obscured by the car's trunk, which was held in place by several fraying ropes and a sticking charm, keeping the three trunks from falling out during the journey. In short, it was a typical drive to Platform 9 ¾ for the Shostokov family. Yelena stared out of the window and watched the Muggles drive by in their Volkswagens and Porsches, mesmerized by their sleek shapes and calm drivers. She wondered what it would be like to drive so serenely, comfortable in the knowledge that your car was warm and dry and that you were safe from your annoying family members. There was a leak in the roof of her father's Lada, and this meant that for the entire drive she had been trying to ignore the water dripping down the back of her shirt. She fidgeted, petting the jet black cat on her lap and trying to move away from the sharp elbow that belonged to her sister.

"Lena, stop!" Natasha groaned in irritation. "Stop pushing, I can't move over any more!"

"Well your elbow is stabbing me!"

Natasha rolled her eyes and resettled the owl cage on her lap. "You're so dramatic, I swear."

Their mother turned around from the front seat and fixed them both with a stern look. "Stop it, both of you. We will be there soon."

Yelena groaned in frustration. "Why don't we ever apparate or take a portkey like normal people?"

"Bah!" Her father exclaimed, his voice scornful. "Why miss chance to drive this little beauty? Katya has been around since before you were born! Take a port key? What insult!"

A collective groan arose from his daughters, who dreaded his rants about the superiority of Soviet cars, something that was a common occurrence every time they drove somewhere as a family.

"I think she's a really cool car, Mr. Shostakov!" Clint piped up from Natasha's other side.

"Suck up." Natasha said, punching him on the arm.

"Ah, you see, Clinton has good taste, girls!" Alexei said proudly. "You know, Clinton, that I have made many modifications? She has many wizarding channels on radio, invisibility setting, everything you need! I have also charmed tank, no gas needed. Impressive, да?"

Clint nodded as if he had not heard this every September for the last five years. "Katya's really something."

Yelena rolled her eyes and slumped down in her seat. "Please make him stop, Mama."

Melina sighed and turned the radio on in an attempt at drowning out Alexei's rambling. He continued, unperturbed, and the result was a cacophony of overlapping voices that gave Yelena a splitting headache. When they finally pulled up to the station fifteen minutes later, Yelena jumped out of the car as soon as they were stationary. With a sigh of relief, Natasha followed with Clint close behind. Alexei patted the car lovingly as he looked around for a parking meter, mumbling under his breath about capitalism and parking tickets.

Melina calmly began undoing the charms and ropes holding the trunks in place, Clint taking each trunk from her and setting it down on the ground. Alexei returned from the parking meter with a small paper, which he slid onto the dashboard of the Lada, and Melina grabbed a nearby trolley. After the trunks and pets had been secured, they headed towards the entrance of King's Cross Station. One by one, they walked through the brick wall as casually as they could, arriving at Platform 9 ¾. The trunks were quickly settled in an empty train compartment, and the little family dispersed to say hellos to old friends and colleagues. Clint and Natasha eagerly rushed to greet Steve Rogers and Thor Odinson, and Alexei loudly inquired which car Odin had driven to take his sons to the train, as Melina warmly greeted Edwin Jarvis.

Yelena hung back and looked around nervously at the hubbub surrounding her. She saw families hugging each other, younger siblings crying, students promising to write, and it all reminded her of the finality of this moment. She was leaving home, leaving Mama and Papa, and she would be so far away from them in a strange place with strange people. Would people like her? Would she make friends? What if she didn't like Hogwarts? What if she was no good at magic? She felt strangely out of breath, as if her lungs were no longer functioning, and her eyes pricked with unshed tears. Her surroundings were a blur of color and noise, it was too much, too much, too much...

"Lena!" A voice broke through her spiraling thoughts, a warm hand grabbed her own.

Natasha frowned at her, her eyebrows drawn together in concern. "Are you okay? What's going on?"

Yelena let out a shaky breath and moved closer to her sister. "I just, I don't know, what if I don't like Hogwarts? I don't want to leave Mama and Papa, and what if I don't have any friends?" Yelena looked down, and twisted her ring anxiously. "Я не хочу ехать, Tasha."

"Oh, Lena." Natasha smiled reassuringly, squeezing Yelena's hand gently. "I promise it's going be okay. You'll meet cool people and make the best friends ever, like I did. Yeah, you'll miss Mama and Papa, but you can go home any weekend you want, and they'll write you so much you'll get sick of it, believe me. I mean look at me, I left and I missed you guys like crazy but you wrote me letters all the time and I went home a lot, right? I saw you almost every weekend, and I made great friends like Clint, and Papa and Mama have basically adopted him now. You might be homesick but you're also going to have some amazing experiences, I promise."

"Yeah?" Yelena asked in a small voice.

"Yeah. And hey, you can always hang out with me and Clint and the rest, okay? You're not alone, Lena. Я буду здесь, всегда." Natasha touched her forehead to Yelena's and pulled her in for a hug. Yelena felt the panicked sensation leave, chased away by her sister's arms.

After a few moments, they separated, and Natasha tactfully looked at the train while Yelena wiped her eyes. "You know, you're right about Papa and Mama adopting Clint." Yelena said, giving her sister a watery smile. "We're never getting rid of him now, you know that? It's your fault Papa has an audience for his worship of Katya."

Natasha rolled her eyes, laughing. "Yeah, I guess you're right. You'll have to bring home a friend for them to adopt so that we have a sane person on our side. That's your job this year, deal?" "Deal." Yelena replied, giggling.

Melina approached them, her gaze flicking between Natasha and Yelena worriedly. "Everything okay, girls?"

Yelena nodded, and snuggled into her mother's side. "Да, everything's okay."

Melina pulled Natasha into the hug with a smile. "Clinton, Alyosha! Group hug!" She called, her daughters groaning in embarrassment as their father threw his arms around them all. After a few moments, they separated, and Yelena followed her sister and Clint to the train, just as the final whistle blew. They settled into their compartment as the train began to leave the station.

As Yelena leaned out of the open window, waving at her parents, she felt her nerves settle and excitement take hold. She was finally going to Hogwarts, and it was sure to be an adventure!