Blackthorn Academy - 1 - In progress

5 - Platform 1

Aurora opened another letter that had been delivered to her the day before she was due to hop on the train to Blackthorn Academy.

Dear Miss Aurora Moody-Walker,

Term Start Date:

Tomorrow is the first day of the new term. Students are expected to be at King's Cross station, Platform 1. The train leave's at 10:00 AM sharp and will not wait. Arrival at Blackthorn Academy will be approximately 15:00 PM. 

Arrival Instructions:

First year's will be directed by their House  student Head's. They will be gathered by the edge of Nightshade Grove. House Wardens are expected to help with the getting other year's in house and year lines.

Uniform and Materials:

Students are allowed to wear anything they want on King's Cross Station, however, at 14:00 PM Wardens will knock on the train carriages, requesting all students to be wear the Summer Uniform, as well as their black house robes with house badges pinned. 

House Assignment:

The Head Girl and Boy of each house will be announcing First Year's names. Once your name is called, first year's are required to make a line in front of the House Head Faculty. 

Academic Schedule:

Your class week schedule will be provided by Warden's once the Beginning Ceremony closes. Warden's will follow the Head Girl and Boy of their house to the House Tower, which they then will give a brief reminder of curfews, out of bound areas and rules. Other year's will depart to their common rooms, which then will have dorm rooms of 5. First year's will wait outside of the Tower, where the Wardens will grant access via finger prints for each student. 

Important Reminders:Please pack all uniform, stationery, room decor, clothes and any other items in a standard trunk. Before the Blackthorn Train leaves Platform 1, please name your trunk and leave it at the Baggage Area, sorted into Houses then Year Groups. These will be loaded into the back storage, then delivered up to each common room. The Head girl and boy will explain what is out of bounds and for the first week, Wardens have been excused to escort first year's to their studies.There will be 1 main house common room and 3 common rooms per House Year, 1 for females, 1 for males, 1 mixed. Males are allowed into female common rooms or dorms with FULL CONSENT, females allowed on knocking terms.

We are thrilled to welcome you to Blackthorn Academy tomorrow and look forward to witnessing the growth of your talents. 

Professor Marlene Morrison
Deputy Headmistress
Blackthorn Academy

Aurora read through the letter, then stuck it up to the window. 

Alright, trunk first, Aurora decided, then marched towards the cupboard and slid the door open, rummaging through a bunch of useless stuff until she found a dusty, leather trunk. She dragged it across the floor, then grabbed a nearby cloth and wiped off all visible dust, coughing and choking along the way.

Once cleaned, the leather trunk lay in the middle of the room. Along the opening handles as the smallest detail was CRW threaded in gold. Aurora ran her fingertips over the lettering, almost connecting with her mother. 

After a few minutes Aurora sighed, then started packing. She set aside her summer uniform including her badge attached to the robes. She fiddled with the badge, procrastinating. 

She messily folded, half chucked her clothes in the bottom of the trunk, stacking the stationery in the bottom corner. She tried her hardest at folding the uniforms, with the end result looking like a scrunched up piece of parchment. She then gently put down the stand of her framed photos, layering them on top. Posters and more pictures were layered down, as well as a few other small items.

Aurora pulled out her matte black satchel with a cherry red strap out, then added the small cherry red figurine she was given with her starting package. Inside, she tightly folded the summer uniform with her robes and badge, as well as socks and her black trainers. She placed her gold, metal water bottle inside, as well as a small thing to fidget with.

Nearly everything was packed, except two things: her black guitar and her dad's old cherry red one.

Gently lifting them off the wall, she placed the first one on top, chords facing down, and placed the red one next to it. She placed the small bag of coloured and used picks down a gap in the side. 

And with that, Aurora gently shut the trunk, closing the clasps with a satisfying click. The trunk was a chestnut shade, the straps a light grey for her mother's initials to pop out. 

She looked around. The floor of her room was now spotless, her walls bare and dull. The only things that remained were the furniture items, and a few clothes in her wardrobe.

Aurora went to her bathroom, washing her hair and preparing herself for tomorrow. 

As she went to bed, sleeping in a ratty oversized t-shirt and a pair of shorts to small, her eyes suddenly popped open, and she turned on the lamp, jumping up to get a spare quill and parchment, hastily writing a note to put on top of the trunk as a reminder, only to get to the ink pot and forget what she was going to right.

Desperately, she tried to remember what she was going to write, something, anything,

But no memory came.

Just around the corner sat another young boy, biting his nails, studying, wondering if he would be smart enough. His honey brown eyes were filled with worry, his leg bouncing up anxiously, his forehead creased. Sandy blond curls hung across his eyes, his trunk packed away neatly in the corner, his satchel on top. 

A small wooden box containing the letters he received was settled on the floor next to it, almost a waiting for Oliver to do something, anything, nothing.

He twisted his long torso, adjusting his posture, stretching his even longer legs. 

Running a hand through his curls, he put down the essay he was reading, which was 2 levels above his current year.

Tomorrow would be a new start, he thought.

Elsewhere, Aurora and many others thought this too.