"how is it so easy for you to be kind to people he asked
milk and honey dripped from my lips as i answered
cause people have not been kind to me"
-rupi kaur
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September 1, 1971
King's Cross Station buzzed with swarms of people shoving and bustling past each other. Children trailed behind parents dressed in suits speaking anxiously on their phones. An ear piercing whistle from a departing train fell deaf to London's ears. Everybody was too busy to notice. All except for one.
Edith Rosier jumped at the unfamiliar noise, her curious eyes full of alarm, "Keep up, Edie. We're going to miss the train," the even tone of her brother brought her back to the task on hand. The small girl jogged to catch up with her family, careful not to wake the orange tabby cat perched atop her cart of luggage.
The family of four must have looked strange to any passing bystander. Their platinum blonde hair was blinding and their striking grey eyes could make anyone cower away in an instant. The young boy and father were both dressed in suits, not a single crease in sight. The girl and mother wore dark colored dresses, contrasting the paleness of their skin. The mother's hair was slicked back into a tight bun and the girl's tied back with a pale blue ribbon. They looked like a family of porcelain dolls. Yet no one seemed to pay any attention to the peculiar family as they rushed through the traffic towards Platform 9 3/4.
The mother, father, and son halted abruptly in front of the column between platforms 9 and 10. The young girl, so intent on catching up, didn't realize they had come to a stop. Her trolley of luggage would have gone crashing into her older brother had she not swiveled it at the last minute. Instead, she crashed into her mother.
"Edith, be careful," the sleek woman snapped at her daughter before turning to her husband to mumble, "I can't believe we're letting her go. She won't last a week without Evan's help."
The girl's shoulders slumped at her mother's words, her head hung in shame. Today was meant to be a happy day-- the best of her life. She was going to Hogwarts, for Merlin's sake. The lurking guilt vanished as she watched her big brother run straight through the column, her parents on his tail. This left Edith Rosier alone. Her 11-year-old brain swirled with excitement. This would be the first of many times she'd be going through that column. Edie took a deep breath in, wiggled her fingers, and steadied her feet before finally darting through the column.
A giddy grin took stretched across her face at the scene before her. The station was full of children like her bidding their families farewell, trolleys of luggage, and the screeches and meows of unusual pets. Before she could even begin to look for her family, her upper arm was snatched harshly.
"What do you think you're doing? You were supposed to be right behind us, Edith. Follow instructions," the shrill voice of her mother caused her to cower back.
"I'm sorry, Mother I was just-"
"Come on, the Blacks are waiting for you with your father and brother. Don't make them wait any longer," she pulled her daughter along. Edie struggled to push her cart with her one free arm.
