Little Bird

Chapter One

Eve

            "Do you have everything you need, honey? We've got to get going, the train leaves soon—"

            "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," I huffed, stumbling down the stairs and dragging my trunk behind me. My aunt was waiting at the bottom, holding onto her Muggle car keys and looking up at me anxiously.

            When I finally reached the bottom, my aunt grabbed the trunk from me and started to drag it towards the door, saying frantically over her shoulder, "Hurry, we can't be late. It's your first day and everything—oh God, what if we miss the train—"

            "Relax," I interrupted calmly, rolling my eyes and trying not to let my frustration show. My aunt was like this every year, but she was extra nervous because of the new school and everything. Honestly, if anyone should be freaking out, it was me.

            We made it to the car, and it took the both of us to shove my trunk into the back. I climbed into the passenger seat, and my aunt pulled out of the driveway, rambling the whole time about things I would need to know about Hogwarts. I sighed quietly as she went off on a rant about the classes I would be taking as a fifth year. I knew this already; she'd explained it to me multiple times over the summer, unfortunately.

            "—and remember, Evelyn, you'll have to be sorted into a House because it's your first year at Hogwarts," my aunt told me, repeating the same words she'd said last week. "You'll probably be the only one to get Sorted that isn't a first year, just so you know. You'll be in Gryffindor, of course, so—"

            "You don't know that," I said quietly, and this finally made my aunt break off and glance over at me.

            I kept my gaze focused out the window, so I couldn't see her expression as she said slowly, "Honey, I know you're worried about being put into Slytherin. But it isn't going to happen; your uncle and I were both in Gryffindor, and you're parents didn't even go to Hogwarts when they were younger. There's no way you're going to get placed in Slytherin."

            What I wanted to say was, 'But how can you be so sure? Both of my parents were Death Eaters...of course I'll be in Slytherin. I've got bad blood.' Instead, all I said was, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

            The rest of the car ride to King's Cross was spent in silence. I was grateful, really—my aunt could be overwhelming at times. She was great and everything, and we got along really well in our tiny flat in London...but she could definitely be a bit much sometimes.

            When we finally made our way to the space between Platforms 9 and 10, I was starting to get seriously nervous. Who was I going to sit with on the train? I didn't know anyone here, and I'd left all my friends back at Beaubaxtons. What if everyone hated me?

            As we lugged my trunk to the brick wall that led to Platform 9 ¾, I told myself to stop being so paranoid. I'd made friends at Beaubaxtons when I first started there, hadn't I? And besides, no one knew who I really was. No one knew that my parents were Death Eaters when they were alive, so I was completely normal to them.

            I repeated that to myself as my aunt and I rushed through the brick wall and onto the Platform, telling myself over and over that I was normal. You're normal, Eve. You are.

            "Alright, I think we're supposed to load your trunk over there." My aunt pointed, and the two of us carefully pushed our way through the crowds of parents and students to get to it.