Amelia Merlin

Part Eleven: Train Ride to Hogwarts

"Amelia, what is taking you so long?" Her mother shrieked from the bottom of the stairs. Amelia had slept in and was now rushing the packing process.

"I'm coming!"

"We will be late! And then I'll have to escort you to Hogwarts myself and I don't think anyone wants that," Amelia shuddered at the thought.

"I'm coming!" She repeated.

"Your hair is a mess, and look at your robes, you obviously didn't iron these. Did you brush your teeth? I can see a bit of jam on the corner of your mouth," she dabbed at Amelia's face, which squirmed underneath the harsh hand. "You should really consider starting to wear makeup,"

Amelia had no response to that. She was unbelievable, her mother. The entire trip to the train station was pure hell. Her mother talked non stop about every single one of Amelia's flaws. Just as she was about to backhand her mother, they arrived.

"Thank god," she mumbled under her breath.

"What was that dear?"

"Nothing," she said quickly. Amelia powered through the station, not caring if she had to elbow someone out of her way. She needed to get on that platform and the sooner, the better. After five minutes of dodging through strangers, she reached the barrier.

"Well here I am!" She was breathless and her hair was strewn across her face.

"I suppose I could see you at Easter then?" Her mother asked.

"Yeah but I might have a lot of studies," strangely, her mothers face fell slightly.

"Yes of course,"

"But I'm smart so I could probably make it!" She reassured her quickly.

"That would be lovely. Now off you go!" She rushed her towards the barrier.

"Bye mother!" Amelia called over her shoulder.

"Maybe you could write to me? If you had the time that is," she blurted out. Amelia was stunned, who was this women and what had she done with her mother.

"Yeah definitely," Amelia smiled at the women who raised her, then ran through solid wall. She literally crossed into a whole new world, and she couldn't help the grin that was spreading across her face. She loaded her trunk and boarded the Hogwarts Express. She found her other friends who had gone home for the holidays in a compartment towards the back of the train. Amelia sat with Dean, Seamus, Lavender, Padma, Parvati, and Neville. They laughed and chatted about their time at home, She kept quieter than usual.

"-and then he punched Richard in the face and called Auntie Rosy a whore." Seamus was telling an animated story of his holiday. "Best Christmas ever."

"Is your Auntie Rosy a whore?" Lavender giggled and tossed her curls to one side.

"Yeah. But she's insanely good looking so I can hardly blame her for taking advantage of that." Seamus shrugged. "She's got massive boobs."

Dean high fived him and the girls all rolled their eyes in unison. 

Amelia wanted desperately to tell her friends about what Jeremy had taught her, but she'd made a promise and she had to keep that. She stared out the window at the countryside zooming by, her forehead pressed against the cool glass. After a few hours, everyone had fallen asleep, including Amelia. But unlike the others sleeping around her, Amelia's slumber was far from peaceful.

"Amelia!" her father's voice sounded from the head of the dining table, "What have I told you about holding your fork like that?"

"To not to," her voice came out weak and pitiful. She kept her eyes glued to the dark wood of the table.

"So why do you insist on bothering me? Why do you always have to get on my nerves?" he raised his voice and she winced slightly, which didn't escape her father's notice. "Are you afraid Amelia?"

"No," she whispered, her little fingers gripping the edge of the table.

"I think you're lying," when his voice sounded this time, it was quiet, and controlled. "and I hate liars Amelia,"  A small whimper escaped her lips, and she couldn't stop the tears from drowning her face. "Get up!" he was yelling again, but Amelia stayed rooted to her chair. "I said get the fuck up Amelia!" He wrapped his hands around her skinny little arms and dragged her to his study. "You know what's going to happen when the Death Eaters return? When they come after you because you're a Merlin? Wanna know what the fuck they will do to you? They will torture you, and hurt you, and everyone around you. And if you act like the little bitch you are, then they will kill you, in the most gruesome way possible. And no one will be there to save you, because they will all be dead. So we are going to practice, so when that day inevitably arrives, you will be safe," His voice was kind, but his words were terrifying.

"Please daddy, I promise I will be tough when they come for me, I promise you," she moaned, but her father just shook his head with a melancholy look on his face.

"There's the problem Amelia, you think you're ready but you're not. And it's my duty to prepare you," He raised his wand and she recoiled, sobbing into her hand. "It's because I love you Amelia," he whispered, "Cru-"

Amelia woke up, her body was cold on the outside layers, so she had goosebumps, and yet she was so hot every pore on her body was oozing sweat. She jumped out of her seat and left the compartment. Her body was shaking and her breath was shallow. She hadn't had a nightmare like that for years. Why the hell were they back?

"Please, god. Please don't let them be back. I can't do it anymore, please god. I don't want that, get it out of my head," she crouched in a dark corner in the bathrooms at the back of train, whimpering to herself. Amelia's breath came faster until she started hyperventilating. "Calm down Amelia, please I'm begging of you, calm down,"

She opened the window and closed her eyes. "aperire animo, aperire animo," the wind entered the bathroom and wrapped around her, forming a warm blanket. She felt her mind calming and her breathing returned to normal. She felt a sense of pride rush through her, she could finally control herself. Forget about the nightmares, she could control herself. And that was bigger and more exciting than any bad dream she had.