RUN - James Potter

Chapter 3

The early mornings of Diagon Alley was usually never quiet, but today? It was the quietest day of the year. With children going back to Hogwarts, adults starting their 9 to 5 jobs again, and the rest enjoying the howls of the warm winds. These where the mornings she missed the most when she first started Hogwarts, a moment of silent relaxation. 

Like every other year, but her first, she was the first to arise from her bedroom and creep into the kitchen. Finding her glass of water from the night before, she sipped on that until she heard the creaking door from her brother's room open up. He was always a morning person, waking up to see the sunrise. 

Florence took a seat on the orange velvet couch, directly opposite to the seat Antonella sat on at the dinning table. They stayed in the whimpering silence until Florence spoke.

"I will be taking you to the platform..."

Antonella's eyes dropped.

"Mamma... isn't... y'know..."

The silence stayed that way, with the only noise being that of footsteps and the small purrs from Mr. McFishy, who sat at the bottom of her feet. Since her first year, her mother never took her to the station - neither Florence or Antonella knew why, but she refused. This year, Antonella had hoped that just maybe... she would take her to Platform 9 3/4, she was happy now.

Why wasn't she able to take her to the station?

Still in her clothes from yesterday, Antonella dropped the glass of water back onto the table and walked towards the door. She could see in the corner of her eye... her mother, who always left her door wide open, still sleeping. She wanted to loath her mother, to be so joyful of her becoming prefect to only refuse to take her to the platform; to even say goodbye.

Why couldn't she just say good-morning?

Reverting her eyes back to her room with a sigh, she reminded herself, To stay out of trouble meant to never ask questions, and that meant not questioning her mother. With her clothes already laid out over the end of her bed, Antonella begun to dress her. Her friends loved to remind her that she dressed more modestly than Narcissa Black, the embodiment of pure-blood women. Her black stockings complementing the black pleated skirt - similar to that of the Hogwarts uniform, a white blouse and her lavender vest on top. She dressed this way because it made her proud of herself, it made her comfortable in her own skin - she rather her peers tease her endlessly for dressing like a bookworm, then the small fat around her fingers. 

The only item of clothing she was never teased about was her shoes, her pride her joy. She owned heels that Elizabeth Edwards wanted, a sneaker collection bigger than Rupert Henry and the Australian thong - a rare commodity in the British wizarding world.

With time not on her side, she slipped on a pair of black heels - a stock standard pair that Hogwarts approves on, and picks up Mr. McFishy from her bed. She was to leave the house by 9:30am, allowing plenty of time for Antonella to find a compartment that hasn't already been taken up.

With the sleeping ginger and black cat in her hand, she quietly closed her door and not glancing back at the dolled up purple room. It was still painted as if she was 7 years old, with white cupboards and bookshelves. It was her innocence, locked up next to a grieving mother. Antonella did not know that this would be the last of her innocence, and the last of Antonella.

Rushing out of the house, her brother levitating her trunk, they made it to the public floo station... as their own place did not have a fireplace. Arriving to a silent station, there was very few parents and students at the Hogwarts Express this early in the morning, but it was a necessity for not only finding good seats - but to open the store by 10am... a rather late opening.