"You look like a marble statue. You always do. You become the pinnacle of human beauty in anger, joy, and... grief."
Tarra Williams never thought that asking a little boy to play would change her life...
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Tarra had gone silent.
Her dad swerved a pothole and her trunks justled in the back of the car. Her mother kept a constant drum of conversation and the car hummed on as the Williams hurtled towards Kings Cross at seventy miles per hour (or however fast that is in km/h).
Of course, inside she was anything but silent. She scrunched her eyes shut and rubbed her temples.
Come on! She yelled at her brain. Show me something useful!
Her mind snapped and she stood in the yard of a ranch style brick house. A man snuck by the side door. His tongue darted to his lips. His dark brown hair rustled in the soft breeze. The door burst open. Pots and pans flew from the house.
"Whoever's out there leave now! Or you will regret it!" a rough voice shouted.
Oh, come on! She cried. What is useful about this? I want to see what house I am in, who my friends are or I suppose, more importantly, if I have any friends. Not whatever this is.
She tried to direct her consciousness to Hogwarts but it was rather like steering a carriage pulled by horses and very strong horses at that. They yanked her from the driver's seat and dragged her along the rocky ground.
Ow, ow. OW!
Her mind screamed at her.
When the rapid ride ended, she stood in a hedge maze at twilight. She felt battered and bruised and all so tired and what for? To see this maze and the glowing cup that beckoned her.
Forget it.
She forced her eyes open. The sunlight burned them and she clamped her teeth down to keep from crying out in pain. When they finally adjusted, London teemed around her. She wondered at the skyscrapers, so tall and so big, and the people, so small and so many.
She pressed her forehead against the cool glass. It justled her brain and vibrated her face. She pulled away.
Her father parked the car and started to unload her trunks onto the cart. Despite it being early, Tarra felt worn. She yawned as she fed Doris a part of her croissant at the train station cafe. Her parents noticed this and allowed her to have a cup of black tea which they later regret as she bounced up and down and dashed through the brick column.
She inhaled in excitement at platform 9 ¾. Students and parents bustled about and a steam train rested on the tracks. She nearly bounded to the train without saying goodbye to her parents, and without her school trunk.
But when it did come to goodbyes, Tarra hugged her parents longer than anyone else on that platform. If her parents hadn't teased her that she would miss the train, she would have hugged them until the last whistle but she mustered up the courage and wiped the tears from her eyes.
