When Kelsey was woken up the morning of September 1st by Remus Lupin, her stomach automatically started to turn upside-down and sideways inside of her. She knew the school would be good for her, her godfather said so, but she was still nervous. Will I get along with the other students?
Will I make any friends?
She had never been around kids her own age before, so she was absolutely clueless when it came to how to even make a conversation with someone.
All of her stuff was packed. Everything she needed for the year, she had. Aquilla was safely in her cage. Still, she did not want to let go of her godfather's hand when it was time for her to get on the Hogwarts Express.
"Alright Kelsey," Remus kneeled down to meet her height, holding onto both of her hands.
"I-I changed my mind, Uncle Moony. I don't wanna go." she looked down at her feet.
"But now all of your professors and classmates are waiting for you." he tried to reason with her.
She looked back up at him and the shine in her eye stroke him like nothing else in the world.
"I'll miss you a lot, Uncle Moony."
He swallowed hard. He was about ready to give in, to take her stuff and just go back to their house. He knew it wasn't right, but how could he argue with her?
They saw a flash come from their right and looked up to see none other than Beth standing there, camera in hand.
"Aunt Beth!" Kelsey ran to hug her godmother.
Beth looked down at Remus, who was silently saying I owe you.
"Hey kiddo, ready for Hogwarts?" she asked, eyes finally meeting her goddaughter's.
"No," Kelsey said quietly.
"Come on, you'll have a grand time."
As Beth took the eleven-year-old's hand and led her towards the train, Remus lifted Kelsey's trunk onto the train for her.
"You can use Aquilla to contact us whenever you want." Remus added. "And you can come home during the holidays."
"It's so far away though…" Kelsey looked towards the ground again, very unsure even with her godparents' words.
Remus and Beth looked towards each other before guiding her closer to the red train.
"You'll be back before you know it." Beth smiled. "We'll be here first thing when the holiday train comes in."
"Promise?"
"Promise." Beth and Remus assured in unison.
Kelsey turned to look towards the red train. She knew she wasn't going to get out of this.
"Now come on, stand next to Uncle Moony and give me a smile."
After many pictures were taken, Kelsey knew she couldn't stall anymore. That the train standing a few feet was waiting to welcome her aboard. And she would be there for the ride whether or not she wanted to be.
She turned her back on the train one more time to look at the encouraging smiles of her godparents. Kelsey took one last deep breath of the life she knew before stepping onto the red train that would lead her to a new part of her life.
Remus sighed in relief that his goddaughter actually got on the train, while Beth laughed at him. She put a hand on his shoulder, comforting him.
"She'll be okay, Remus."
He could only nod as they stayed there, in that very spot, waiting for the train to move to say their final goodbyes to Kelsey.
Kelsey maneuvered her way through taller students before she found a nice, empty compartment. As she sat down, she took a look out the window at families still saying their last goodbyes. Her eyes finally landed on her godparents and she waved, but they didn't see her.
Kelsey thought about a lot of things. Her name, for one, would take some getting used to. Remus had gone over her name with her. Though she's a Black through and through, she knew what everyone else thought of her father. It wouldn't be good if everyone knew who she really was.
Kelsey Scott. She told herself. I am Kelsey Scott.
It wasn't that she was ashamed of being her mother's daughter either, it just wasn't her.
Suddenly, the train door whistled and was starting up, so Kelsey moved back towards the window and tried once more to catch the attention of her godparents. A few students were rushing to get on the train, but Kelsey's eyes were fixed on Remus and Beth. As the train started to move, Beth finally saw her. She got a hold of Remus as they both waved. Kelsey waved back until they were completely out of sight.
It wasn't until then that her heart really started to stutter with nerves.
"Thanks for making us late," a loud, annoyed voice said from outside Kelsey's compartment.
"It's not our fault!" two voices said in unison.
"Guys, shut up." the oldest voice said.
Suddenly, the door opened to Kelsey's compartment, which made her jump.
Four red-headed boys were standing in the doorway.