Chapter 4: Stranger's Melancholia

Now Star was all alone in the train station. Great. Now what do I do? She went to the wall between platforms 9 and 10. No 9 ¾. Maybe it was all a joke, maybe she wasn't accepted to the school, maybe this was just a terrible, terrible joke. Star sighed heavily and leaned against the wall.

Suddenly she was lying flat on her back. She blinked up into the bright sunlight and noticed the masses and masses of odd looking people. All around she saw people lugging huge trunks and odd animals, talking about magic, holding wands, and all manor of things that made her heart leap to her throat. WTF. What just happened?

Something blocked out the light from above her.

"Hey, you okay?" Someone held out a black polished hand to her. Star took it and was pulled to her feet by a pleasantly plump, curvy girl with long black hair, green eyes, and some of the whitest skin she'd ever seen.

"Ya, I'm fine...thank you." She muttered, pulling her trolley the rest of the way through the wall. "What is that thing?" She asked, pointing to the wall. The girl raised her eyebrow.

"It's enchanted."

"Oh." Another intellectual reply ala Star.

"Did you transfer here from a different school or something?"

"No, well, sort of—" Star was suddenly embarrassed. This girl looked about her same age, but she'd been to Hogwarts for four whole years already. "I'm...non-magic. Well, til last March..." The girl's eyes went wide.

"Wow." Star busied herself with her squawking owl. Why is it short answers like that sounded so much better when they came from other people?

"Anyway, my name's Lucretia...but most people just call me Luci." She held her hand out again. Star looked back and timidly shook hands with her.

"I'm...Wystaer...but you can just call me Star."

Lucretia smiled. "I like that name." Then she asked a rather bold question. "Who was the girl I saw you with on the other side of the wall?"

Star turned red and was saved having to answer by a loud whistle from the train and a cry of, "ALL'ABOARD!!"

"Oh, we'd better get going! Come sit with me, you can meet my friend Sicilia." And so Star followed Luci.

They entered an empty train car and sat down.

"Silia and I always ride in this car..." She smiled wryly. "We put a hex on it so no one else could come in unless we were already in here."

Star sat down and stared at the window, but not without raising a brow at this strange girl. She curled up in the corner, wanting nothing more than to leap out of the car and run back to Tsu.

A few minutes later the door slid open and a tall, thin girl with long caramel colored hair entered the car. Her eyes were bright and smiley, colored a happy hazel. She looked like caramel ice cream; pleasantly colored, and enjoyable. Just the sight of her made her miss Tsu. Star looked at her hands and sniffed at them, trying to get a sense of how her magic could smell like caramel.

"Silia! This is Star; Star, this is my best friend, Sicilia."

"Hi, Star!" The new girl said with a bright smile. Star smiled and shook hands with her, but stayed quiet. Silia flopped down next to her and put her feet up on the seat across from her.

"So Star, what House are you in?" Luci asked. The color drained from Star's face. House? What was that!? Star curled further against the seat.

"H-house...?" She asked.

"Are you a transfer from a different school?" Silia asked.

"No, I—" Star didn't know what to say. She didn't want to be thought of as weak or lesser because she didn't know anything about this world, and was already too old to be a newcomer.

"What's your story?" Luci asked, perfectly friendly. But at the time, it just made Star feel more and more like a stranger in a place she shouldn't be. The train was already well on it's way; now it was impossible to run home to Tsu. She felt totally alone; the only one in her situation. How was she ever supposed to do anything right in this place?

Silia and Luci eyed each other and Star attempted to disappear into her seat.

"I'm...I only just got my magic a few months ago." Star explained in an attempt to convey her story.

"Ohhhhhh!" The two girls said together. Silia put an arm around Star's shoulders.

"That's all right!" She said, smiling. "My older brother's 20 and never developed any magic; mom and dad were pretty sad, but we sill love him." Star smiled. So she wasn't completely alone.

"So you're a Muggle, then?" Asked Luci.

"Muggle?"

"Yup. Non-magic folk."

"Oh." Gee, did Star feel smart.

"Hey, don't worry so much, Luci n' I'll take care of ya, I'm sure Dumbledore's got some plan for you."

"Dumbledore?"

"The Headmaster." Luci smiled. "You'll like him, he's cooky."

Star smiled, feeling a little better.

"Ooooh, I wonder what House you'll go to!" Silia cried. "I'm in Gryffindor, and Luci's a Ravenclaw."

"What are the houses?"

"Ravenclaw's the brainy house, Gryffindor's the golden house, Hufflepuff's the Italian mob house, and Slytherin's the evil house."

"So we're placed by our personalities?"

"And our potential." Explained Luci. "So far no one's ever been sorted to the wrong place..."

And such was Star's trip on the train. She liked these two girls, but she knew so little of their world to really feel she could befriend them. She was sure that by the end of the night, they'd hate her. Most people did. Except for Tsu. Tsu...God, did she miss Tsu. She felt so alone and strange without knowing she was near. What would she ever do without her?