Hey everybody! It's late at night (I'm so glad it's summer!), but I wanted to update this story again! The more I write it, the more I love it! I hope you guys do too! Well, that's all I have to say, so enjoy reading the chapter! (Disclaimer in prologue)
Chapter 2: Knows Where to Go
The way you make me feel, you really turn me on, you knock me off of my feet, my lonely days are gone, rang throughout Susanna's room as she threw the last of her clothes in the worn suitcases. She tried to ignore the music from the other girl's rooms, but they seemed to ignore her whenever she tried to tell them to turn the music down. Susanna zipped up the last of her suitcases and piled it on top of the others. She grabbed as many as she could underneath her fingers and on her shoulders and began dragging the suitcases and bags to the front of the building.
Susanna had spent the past few days devouring all of her wizarding books, trying to make sure she wasn't very behind all the other students who were used to magic. She tried to make sure she could name all the ingredients for a boil-cure potion without mixing it with another potion. She was surprised that it was really simple to mess up a simple spell with the wrong wrist movements. The eleven-year-old was sure that she would fail at history, reading there were so many wars, battles, revolts, and other things to keep up in her head. But, she hoped the teacher would make it easier and interesting. After reading every book she had to buy, she hoped she was prepared but wouldn't seem like a bookworm or a know-it-all.
"Finally!" Susanna exclaimed to herself as she set the last duffle bag on top of the stack of suitcases. She could see other orphans walking by, the gossip girls smiling at her with happiness she was leaving. Susanna knew they were angry that they couldn't make fun of her anymore. She sat on the top suitcase, waiting for the person who was going to take her to the Hogwarts Express, her way to a new life. "Now, where did Professor McGonagall say the train would be?" She began biting her lip, trying to dig up the answer from somewhere in her memory. Her feet began tapping on the wooden floor, where Mrs. Forester made sure Susanna had cleaned before she began packing.
"Let's hope that you will be able to remember so you will be able to get out of my hands," Mrs. Forester commented as she walked up to the eleven-year-old. Susanna just bit her lip even harder to keep her mouth shut. "Hopefully the teachers will be able to tolerate you enough to let you stay and come back."
Rather be there than here and tortured by the Wicked Witch of the West herself, Susanna thought to herself, making sure to not say it out-loud. She just starred at the grandfather clock next to the stairs as Mrs. Forester began lecturing, again. After five minutes, the front door opened up to a person Susanna had never seen before. He was a taller, black man with broad shoulders and a bald head. Susanna was surprised at his long purple blue cloak that reached the floor. When his eyes landed on the girl sitting on the suitcases, he kindly smiled at her. Susanna became less nervous from his smile.
"Susanna Gates?" the man asked in a kind tone. Susanna nodded her head as he put his hand out in front of him, and she quickly shook it. He smiled at her as he let go. "I'm Kingsley Shacklebolt, and McGonagall sent me to take you to King's Cross Station."
"Good thing someone knows where they are going," Mrs. Forester whispered to Susanna quietly, causing Susanna to slowly roll her eyes. Kingsley gave Mrs. Forester a questioning look, which she did not see, but he ignored it. "Well, Susanna, time to go to school." With that statement, the orphanage owner walked out of the foyer to attend to something else. Susanna watched as Kingsley took some of her bags and opened the door. She grabbed the rest of the suitcases and followed him outside the door. The two began walking down the street, drawing many looks from the bags they were hauling.
"Are you excited to begin Hogwarts?" Kingsley asked, wanting to start a conversation with the girl, sensing she was a very shy girl.
"Yes, I'm just really nervous I will be very behind in the lessons," Susanna expressed, feeling she could trust the man. She kept on trying to tell herself that she would be fine, but it wasn't working yet.
"You will fine, Susanna," Kingsley tried to reassure.
"Is there anything I need to be aware of?" Susanna, wanting to make sure she would stay out of trouble, not wanting to give the teachers any reason to kick her out.
"Well, Peeves the Poltergeist is a prankster and troublemaker, so be aware of his tricks. The stairs move, so watch your surroundings," Kingsley began warning the girl. He then began telling her many stories, hoping to peak her interest in the school. He led her down to the same alley McGonagall had led her a few days ago. The two soon stopped in their tracks, and Kingsley instructed her to hold on tightly to the suitcases as he stretched his arm out. Susanna sighed as she held the suitcases tightly, took a deep breath, and grabbed hold of Kingsley's arm. The painful feeling of her insides twisting returned as she felt her body being spun around again. The first experience took a long time, but Susanna was surprised at how fast it went the second time. She still kept her eyes shut to calm her insides down.
"You can open your eyes now," Kingsley suggested, surprised she had not gotten sick. Susanna slowly opened her eyelids, and her steel blue eyes were amazed she was in a large train station. People from all ages were walking all around, entering and exiting the trains, walking up and down the stairs. Susanna looked in every direction, trying to see where Kingsley disappeared to. After turning around at least five times, she saw Kingsley walking toward her while pushing a trolley. "This might help out a little better." He stopped, and Susanna began stacking her suitcases on the trolley. She never fully realized how much she had to pack, feeling like she was doing some heavy-lifting. "I'm sorry, but I must leave now. It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Susanna. Remember, Platform 9 ¾ where the Hogwarts Express is, and it leaves at 11:00." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ticket with the trains' location written on it. "Be careful not to lose it." He waved goodbye before disappearing.
Susanna sighed, placing the ticket in a safe pocket. She placed her hands on the trolley, rubbing in circles around the cold metal. She began reading every single sign she could find, hoping one of them would say 'Platform 9 ¾'. But she could not find a single sign with those words. She looked at a nearby clock and became worried when it read 10:45, thinking she wouldn't be able to find it in time. She looked down the platform and saw a guard standing against one of the barrier. She pushed the trolley toward him, hoping he would know the way.
"Um sir," Susanna began as the guard turned to face her. "Do you know where Platform 9 ¾ is?" The guard's face changed into confusion, wondering what the girl was talking about. He then began laughing at her.
"Sorry dearie, there is no such thing as Platform 9 ¾," the guard told her, placing a hand on her shoulder and bending down to her eye level. "The person who told you that was lying to you sweetie." Susanna noticed he was talking to her in a tone that suggested she was not very smart. "Now, stay right here and someone will take you to the office to wait for someone to pick you up." He took his hand off her shoulder and began walking down the platform, leaving Susanna alone with her trolley. She began looking around in every direction, seeing no sign of a Platform 9 ¾ anywhere. She suddenly felt gullible, thinking she had been joked on.
"Packed with muggles of course," a motherly voice told someone nearby. The word 'muggle' peeked Susanna's interest, and the eleven-year-old girl turned in the direction of the voice. She instantly saw a mother walking with five children next to her, all having flaming red hair and freckles. What sparked Susanna's attention was the four boys were pushing trolleys in front of them with lots of suitcases on top, and one of them had an owl on it. She knew instantly they were wizards, heading to the Hogwarts Express. She began to slowly follow the wizard family, putting some distance between them. They were quickly walking down the platform talking amongst themselves. Susanna noticed one of the boys seemed to be her age and was chatting away about Hogwarts, avoiding jokes from his other brothers. At least I found someone who knows where to go, Susanna thought as they family stopped near a barrier in the middle of the platform. She saw something moving toward the group out of the corner of her eye. She looked to see a messy, black haired boy who had worn clothes on his skinny body and round glasses also her age moving a little closer to the family, holding tightly to his trolley. He looked just as lost as she did, so Susanna backed away a bit to let the boy get closer. He seemed not to notice the blonde-girl nearby as he moved a bit closer to the red-headed family.
"Now, what's the platform number?" the mother asked the children. The little girl, who looked to be the youngest, lit up at the question.
"Nine and three-quarters," the girl answered excitement in her voice. "Mum, can't I go?" Susanna held in her laugh as the girl began pleading and begging with her mother.
"You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet," the mother instructed, but the girl still pleaded. The mother simply ignored her daughter and turned to the oldest son. "All right, Percy, you go first." Susanna watched as the boy pushed his trolley to the center of the platform where it was even with the barrier. The boy sighed before taking off running. Susanna held her breath and closed her eyes, waiting for the sound of the crash. Surprisingly to her, it never came. Susanna opened one of her eyes and was shocked the boy was gone with no sign of him. She figured there was some magic behind it. She could see the black-haired boy next to her also in shock at the sight.
"Fred, you next," the mother told another boy, who was standing next to his twin.
"I'm not Fred, I'm George," the twin told his mother, acting shocked. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you tell that I'm George?" His mother sighed at his antics, while the other siblings left began chuckling.
"Sorry, George, dear," the mother apologized. "Fred" began softly laughing as he moved his trolley in the center, ready to start running.
"Only joking, I am Fred," he said to his mother before running toward the barrier. Susanna flinched as she watched him disappear into the bricks, still thinking there should have been a crash. As soon as he disappeared, the other twin who Susanna figured was George followed his brother into the barrier. Susanna could see the black-haired boy deeply sigh and push his trolley up to the mother, daughter, and son.
"Excuse me," the boy announced, in a scared voice. The woman turned to the boy and smiled as he approached her.
"Hello dear," she greeted. She immediately knew what he was asking. "First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new, too." Ron smiled and waved at the new boy.
"Yes," the boy answered, his voice very nervous and stuttering. "The thing is, the thing is I don't know how to…" Susanna thought he was very scared to ask the question. She was hoping to hear the answer so she knew how to get to the correct platform.
"How to get on to the platform?" the woman finished for him. The boy nodded his head in agreement. "Not to worry. All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a run if you're nervous. Go on, go now before Ron." The boy sighed and straightened his trolley. He took a deep breath before running and soon disappearing into the barrier. The mother, son, and daughter soon followed the boy into the barrier, leaving Susanna alone on the platform. She was surprised they had not seen her behind them, looking as lost as the black-haired boy did.
"Well, it's now or never," Susanna whispered to herself as she placed her trolley in the center of the platform. She took a very deep breath before racing to the barrier, hoping no one was looking at her like a lunatic. She closed her eyes as she rushed into the barrier and was soon glad when the rush was over. She opened her eyes and dropped her jaw at the amazing sight in front of her.
She was standing on a new platform, with the barrier wall behind her. Mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, grandparents, and all other people were walking up and down the platform. Kids were loading their luggage on the train and others were saying goodbye to their relatives. Owl screeches were sounding throughout the platform. Susanna admired the black steam engine train with the 'Hogwarts Express' written on the front. Relief followed through her body, glad she had made it on time. Susanna tried to find the red-headed family and black-haired boy but could not find them anywhere. The eleven-year-old pushed her trolley down the platform, hoping to find a space to walk in.
She walked past many families and heard many 'goodbyes', 'love you', 'we'll write to you' all over the place. Jealousy was beginning to form inside of her, wishing she had a family to say all those things to. More anger was created too with anger at her parents' abandonment, small tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Susanna sniffled them away, wanting to put on a happy face. She soon dropped her luggage off at the drop-off spot, but made sure to grab her backpack. She found an empty door and walked inside. She immediately noticed the crammed hallways full of students and tried to maneuver out of the way, not wanting to be a bother.
After five minutes of searching, Susanna finally found an empty compartment away from the crowds. She quickly opened the sliding door and closed it behind her. Plopping down on the cushioned seat, Susanna set her backpack next to and began searching through it. Before she left the orphanage, she packed an old backpack and filled it with personal, important items. She made sure to put her wizarding money on top for easy reach. Susanna had to sneak some Oreos from the orphanage's pantry so she wouldn't be caught. The cookies had been her pleasure and comfort food, and Susanna would not want to go months without having an Oreo. She also had packed some old journals, wanting to remember everything she would experience in the school year. Susanna gently pushed all the contents aside as she finally found what she was looking for.
The blonde-haired girl pulled out an old, worn out journal sized book. The binding was starting to tear, and the cover was coming off in certain places. Susanna could still make out the curled 'Magical Fairytales, Legends, Fables, Myths, and Stories' title above a wand with the magical dust around it. She gently opened it up, making sure not to rip the pages. Many of the worn pages were starting to break away from the binding, but the over one thousand pages were still holding on. The book contained almost every fairytale, legend, fable, myth, and childhood story known, from the classics and well-known to unknowns and the less than favorite. She had owned the book since as long as she could remember; it had been with her when she arrived at the orphanage.
Susanna turned to her favorite fairytale that she had memorized by heart, Beauty and the Beast. She loved every aspect of the story and always found comfort in it. Marking the page was an old envelope addressed to Mrs. Forester. It was a letter addressed to her from Susanna's mother, telling her to take care for her daughter and lovingly raise her. Susanna had read it only a few times, and some anger, sadness, and resentment formed every time she did. The letter brought many questions to her mind, but Susanna did not feel like dealing with it on the way to Hogwarts. So, she moved the envelope to the back of the book to avoid thinking about it. Her eyes moved to the first line of the fairytale, ready to be drawn into an adventure. 'There was once a very rich merchant' flowed through Susanna's eyes as she began passing the time until she arrived at Hogwarts.
Glad you made it down here! Hopefully it was okay, and Susanna's character, personality, and background are being developed and portrayed well. The next chapter will be the rest of the train ride, the arrival at Hogwarts, the sorting, and the events of the first night. 'Mum'will probably be some of the only British words or phrases I use in the story, sorry but it would be too hard for me to try to make everything British-ified (made up word). Everything else will be the American-English version. Hope I don't offend anyone for it! I will also try to incorporate as many direct quotes from the books and movies as possible, since the story will be a mix of the two.
Thanks to those who have reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story! Well, click on the review button and tell me what you thought. I'll be working on my stories a lot more now, so see you next time on whatever I update next! (Sorry for the long author's note)