Chapter Six: September 1st
After we returned home and the magic from the trip to Diagon Alley had come to a cease, my mother immediately sorted out all of the supplies bought and began to find the proper cases for all of them to be contained in. I tried speaking with her, casually, as we always did, but it was very strange how she managed to put me off time and time again. By this time, I was smart enough to know that mother must have been bothered with something. Something that Mr. Ollivander must have said to her.
Nevertheless, I played her little game and went out to the back yard to talk with Benjamin, mostly talk about the events from the day.
It wasn't until the end of the day, after the Flocktons had left and father had returned home when I was finally able to receive some insight as to what had been said. Mother and father were under the impression that I was asleep in bed and comfortable, but what they didn't know that in the shadows just outside their closed door was their concerned daughter, who wanted nothing more than to know what was bothering them, or mother at least.
"Richard, why would he say this?" I heard mother whisper, but her tone was much more than a whisper. She was angry, furious even as she growled at my father.
"Mary, I haven't any idea as to why he would say this, but I say that we merely take this one day at a time…which means that-" He started to say something, but she interrupted.
"Don't tell me what I think you're going to say…" She pouted and I could imagine the look on her face through the door.
"Cut off all contact with Peter Pettigrew," Father said, nearly under his breath.
"Oh, please Richard," She sighed as I heard her footsteps come dangerously close to the door. "He's barely intelligent enough to know up from down, do you really think he intends to go through with? Plus, should he ever try to do such things-"
She trailed off, seemingly lost in the moment as father picked up on the silence.
"You don't know what you'd do. Peter has been a good companion, but we still don't know what exactly happened with the Potters, Mary. Do we really want to be associated with-" Father tried, but she stomped her foot down hard.
"Are you daft, Richard? We were told to believe that Sirius Black betrayed the Potters…how dare you even mention else wise. I would not want to tempt the powers who threatened us," She muttered to him and I, even though I was not in the room could feel the tension between the both of them.
He let out a rather loud sigh before I heard the springs of the bed depress, presumably under his weight," Mary, our daughter may be at risk. Why are you holding on to a friendship that doesn't even benefit us? It's dangerous. Especially after knowing of this wand choosing Lana."
"He said that it doesn't necessarily mean that she will be attracted to the Dark Arts," Mother said, or whimpered rather.
"You're changing the subject," Father growled at her.
Mother continued, nevertheless," It could only mean that she had the potential to be drawn to the Dark Arts…or rather she could simply be a brilliant potions student."
"Mary…" Father still said with a dark tone to his voice as I heard his weight shift on the bed. "Just don't communicate with him. Let's not be irrational."
"I'm trying to be rational! I'm trying to show you that this wand lore could simply be wrong or just a load of hogwash!" Mother exclaimed, a little louder than the typical tone of the conversation thus far.
"Wand lore is something I find to be very reliable, actually. Wands directly reflect their wielder and one of two things could come of this, since the wood that Lana's is made of is very susceptible to the Dark Arts, she could be drawn to those that linger in the dark, but if we are to keep a positive light about us then she will be just fine. Mr. Ollivander did not mean to frighten us, but simply warn us of what could happen if we are not protecting her constantly," Father said, his tone much calmer than it had been before and almost comforting as I heard mum's footsteps walk over toward the bed and place her weight upon the bed.
"Do you genuinely believe that Peter is corrupt?" She asked, her voice shaking.
"I do not know for sure, but I want to not play with our chances," Father answered, I took a step closer to hear him more clearly.
It was then that the conversation took an entirely different turn and I heard my mother sobbing," I don't want her to follow in her the footsteps of my mother, Richard."
There was another silence and I nearly pressed my ear to the door to hear what was said next by my father," She doesn't have to."
I could have listened for much longer, but I found that there was little that would benefit me any. Silently, I tiptoed back to my room and pressed the door shut behind me. Slowly, careful not to make any floor boards creak, I stepped into my bed that I had left made down and before laying down, pulled my knees to my chest and allowed for the words said by my parents to sink in.
I looked over to where the wand box sat on my desk with the moonlight shining down on it.
Maybe, I didn't necessarily understand why this wand had chosen me or why my parents were so concerned about this wand lore, but one thing was for certain…I would never allow for the consequences that they mentioned occur.
Before any of us could blink, it was September 1st.
"Lana! Wake up!" Mother threw the door open and nearly skipped across the room to pull open the curtains.
I groaned, temporarily oblivious to what day it was and how big of a milestone this was in my life. The main predicament I was in was the fact that I lacked sleep and it was much too early for me to be awake. However, after a yawn or two and stretching to the ceiling, I was then able to join in my mother's excitement.
"Can you believe this day has finally come, love?" She asked, leaving the room, but still talking to me as she entered into the washroom across the hall.
"Hardly!" I replied, with a
Smiling, I turned to my dresser and pulled open one of the drawers, carefully picking out a pair of brown trousers and a rose pink shirt. Quickly, I dressed before looking outside to see that it was a cloudy day in England, despite the phenomenal event occurring on that day. Just as I was leaving my room, I pulled my single white scarf off of the hook on my wall where it sat next to my blue jean jacket. Realizing how chilly it would be, I pulled the jacket off as well before continuing over to the washroom where mother seemed to be carefully packing nearly everything I would need.
Clover passed by me, very slowly as I came to the door frame. Originally, the cat was going to accompany me to Hogwarts, but after many weeks of seemingly dragging herself around the house, mum and father found it would be in the best interest of myself and Clover that she stay home. As if she knew I were thinking of her, she looked up and let out a lazy meow.
I bent down and pet her gently as she continued down the hallway before curling up at the end in a ball and presumably falling asleep.
Just as I entered to look in the mirror, she let out sigh as if she were doing too many tasks at once.
"Mum, do you need any help with anything?" I asked her as I searched for my brush profusely before realizing it must have been packed away in the satchel of personal supplies sitting on the toilet lid.
Careful not to disrupt her special arrangement, I pulled open the strings and found my brush sitting at the bottom of her specially arranged tower. Quickly, I brushed out the kinks in my hair, which took little effort because of how little volume my hair naturally had. I placed the brush back into the bag and pulled the strings closed just as I looked in the mirror one last time, to check one last time.
I took a moment to simply look in the reflection and let out a deep breath to take in the moment.
This was actually happening.
I was going to Hogwarts!
I looked around the little washroom and was hit with the reality of the moment. This would be the last time I would be in the washroom until Christmas break. I was about to leave home for the longest period of time that I had ever been away from home!
I could hardly stay anxious about this for long because all at once I had a rush of happiness flood over me and released an involuntary giggle in pure excitement. Mother happened to walk in just as I did this and I felt my cheeks instantly heat up.
"Excited, are we?" She asked, chuckling slightly as she pulled the satchel over her shoulder.
"You could say that," I said quietly, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, embarrassed.
My mother smiled and placed a hand on my shoulder," Well, while you're still under my roof, why don't you sit down to breakfast and I can tell you where I've packed all of your necessities."
She exited the bathroom and I followed close behind her as I shut off the light switch. How strange this was…in a matter of hours, I would essentially be caring for myself. I would be living on my own away from home, but that hardly mattered because I would be in a place where I was sure to make plenty of fond memories.
Breakfast was much more stressful than it had ever been in my entire eleven years of living with my mother and father. Not only did I have to listen to mother gabbing at me about where each and every single one of my articles of clothing was located in my trunk, but she also proceeded on to explain every other little trinket that she had packed in either my toiletries bag or personal bag. In all honesty, I was spacing out after she was two shirts into trunk number one.
My father, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. He seemed to simply add in his input between my mother's long spiels. He would throw in some random fact about Hogwarts or tip that I should keep in mind while changing classes. It was all a little hard to swallow…especially when they started talking at the same time.
There came a point in time where my crumpets and tea simply wasn't enjoyable anymore because of their jabbering at the same time, seeming oblivious of the other.
"Now Lana, look here I've got this packed in the third pocket in the front-"
"Lana, keep in mind that when you take your flying lessons the best thing to do is stay calm-"
"Lana, dear! Listen to me, I've got your toothbrush in this pouch-"
"Simply pay attention to the stair patterns…they like to change up-"
Before either one of them could speak again, I finally couldn't take it any longer and outburst.
"Mum! Father!" They both look at me like a deer in the headlights. "I understand that you both want the best for me…but could you please give it a rest? I think that I could recite where each and every one of my items are in that trunk and dad, I'll make sure that I follow all of your tips."
Mother closed the trunk with thud before nodding simply and forcing a smile to her face," Of course, darling."
Father took a sip of his tea before agreeing," Of course."
"Thank you," I said before taking another bite of my crumpet and feeling the awkward air settle in. I looked from the both of them as I finished my breakfast and placed the dishes in the sink. I smiled to the both of them before walking over to my satchel, looking for the second pouch on the right before pulling out my toothbrush, smiling at my mother and walking to my bathroom to brush my teeth.
King's Cross was one place that was a little too busy for my liking. I kept a close watch on my father, who walking in front of mother and I, pushing the trolley filled with my luggage. Mother had explained to me just before we left the house that the Hogwarts Express would leave from Platform 9 ¾ at precisely eleven o' clock in the morning.
As we pushed through the crowd, I noticed on my mother's watch that it was nearly ten minutes until eleven as we fought our way through the crowd. When we finally reached the platforms, it seemed as if there couldn't be more people around us. I knew that both of my parents were agitated and I simply tried to take in the moment. Despite being amongst a sea of Muggles, the absolute opposite of all things magical, I could feel something in the air that I never felt before.
"Okay, here we are," Father said to the both of us as we came to what appeared to be a stone barrier between platform 9 and 10.
I looked up to my mother, baffled, but before I could even ask her any questions, I found her grabbing my arm and running full-force toward this stone barrier. Instantly, I thought that one of two things was happening: I was either dreaming or my parents had gone mad because the last time I checked, not even wizards were invincible to running straight into a brick wall.
Just as I prepared for impact, I found that the pain was seemingly…well, not there. I opened my eyes and saw that we had gone…through the wall. With a shake of my head, I learned not to question magic and found this to simply be a Hogwarts thing because right in front of me stood a magnificent red steam engine with the words Hogwarts Express printed in gold letters across the front.
Father disappeared briefly to go pack away my luggage for me while mother and I made our way through a much less crowded group of people, but far more interesting. Just as we entered the crowd, I looked up to see a sign, similar to the one's dangling from the barriers in King's Cross, that said Platform 9 ¾.
This was finally real.
The train let out a long, loud whistle and I saw that many of the other students of all shapes and sizes were boarding the train. Father made it back just in time to embrace me one last time. Just after he pulled me tight to him, he placed his hands on my shoulders and said," You are sure to love it there, Lana. I don't doubt it one bit. Just don't forget about your mother and I."
I laughed at this before hugging him again.
"I love you, sweetheart," He muttered to me before turning me over to mother.
I looked directly into mother's hazel eyes and found that they were swelling with tears as she embraced me. I was proud that she was able to contain her tears however, but she kept her talking to a minimal even though I knew she wanted to say far more than just," I love you, darling. Be good."
I looked directly into her eyes, remembering her fears that she had many nights ago. For some reason, at that moment as I stared straight into her eyes, the words that her and father shared unbeknown to me, as well, crept back into my head.
"…our daughter may be at risk."
And for that one brief moment, a wave of chills was sent down my spine and a tad bit of fear ran through my blood.
"Lana!" I heard a voice call from behind me and instantly, I turned on my heel to find Benjamin sticking his head out of the window, waving elatedly to me. "C'mon, what're you waiting for?"
Smiling, my brief moment of nostalgia was replaced with excitement as I turned to my parents and said one last time," I love you! See you at Christmas!"
Quickly, as the whistle blew again, I climbed aboard the steam engine, hardly able to believe what was happening. As soon as I set foot on the engine, I found myself running to Benjamin at the window and looking out to where my parents stood, my father's arm draped around my mother as they waved to me.
I smiled to them while waving, watching as the last of the students said farewell to their parents and boarded the train. There was a congregation of parents, standing closely together and even pushing around one another simply to get that one last glance at their child before they were gone on the Hogwarts Express.
"We're finally here!" He said to me, hardly containing his enthusiasm.
"I know, can you believe it?" I exclaimed before turning back to the window, watching as parents called to their children, waving frantically. The Flocktons had found their way to my parents, they were chatting casually, looking rather calm compared to the rest of the mothers and fathers yelling last-minute reminders to their children.
At that moment, we all felt a sudden shift forward and realized that the train was in motion en route to Hogwarts.
I waved and smiled to my parents, as they waved and smiled right back. I could tell that they were trying to look calm and composed and they succeeded in comparison to the other parents. I waved until we were nearly out of sight and at that moment, as I pulled my head out of the window realized that the dream I had grown up with was, at that moment, a reality.
Author's Note: Thank you, thank you, thank you to the reviews! Love to you all and reviews would be very nice, if you have any spare time :) Let me know what you think will happen next…