The Stone

Chapter Three

Bella spent her remaining time at home in Florida before she went to school with her mother, step father, and father. She spent most of the time on the beach running around, splashing in the sea, and building sand castles with her family. They were creating memories as they wouldn't see each other until the Christmas Holidays (Bella wasn't coming home for Halloween, she wanted to spend it at her new school). Bella told Charlie all about her time back in Diagon Alley and even showed him her beloved Owl Hetty who's favourite hobby was sleeping with her head tucked under her wing. 

As September drew nearer, Bella, Renee and Charlie travelled to London and booked themselves in a hotel close to King's Cross station. Bella's train ticket said she had to be on platform nine and three-quarters before eleven O'clock as that's when the train leaves the station. This confused both Bella and Charlie as they knew there was no such thing as that platform, but Renee told them not to worry about it. 

Finally, the night before September 1st came and Bella wanted to stay in bed all day claiming that if she slept, the day would go faster and tomorrow would come quicker. Her parent's laughed but dragged her out of bed wanting to spend time with her before she leaves. They went swimming, went to watch a movie and had a lovely meal in a restaurant before they headed back to the hotel to pack Bella's trunk. The whole day they were all smiling and laughing and that didn't change as they were watching a movie before they all went to bed. 

On September 1st, Bella awoke way before her parents and alarm and jumped out of bed, rushing towards the small on-suite bathroom. She clicked on the light and shut the door behind her so she wouldn't wake her parents in their shared bedroom and looked at herself in the mirror with a grin on her face. Her brown hair was bushy from the night before and her tired eyes twinkled with excitement. She squealed before covering her mouth with her hand and pausing listening to see if her squeal woke her parents and when she heard nothing coming from the room, she let out a breath before turning on the shower. She quickly showered whilst thinking about all that could happen this year, all the stuff she was going to learn, all the friends she would make and most off, how much magic she would learn! Once showered, she climbed out and wrapped a towel around her body just before a knock sounded on the bathroom door. 

"Bella, honey, are you decent?" Renee's voice was mumbled due to the door being closed. 

"Yes, mum" Bella called back.

Renee opened the bathroom door and smiled when she saw her daughter standing there all showered. Bella didn't mind that her mother was seeing her in a towel, it's not like she hasn't seen it before, and she was glad that she awake because she needed help drying her hair. Okay, so she didn't really need help, she just wanted to spend time with her mother. 

Bella smiled. "Can you dry my hair?"

"I thought you can do it on your own now sweetie"

Bella looked down and played with her fingers. "I can, I just want you to do it"

Renee, sensing that her daughter just wanted to spend time with her -- and that made her heart swell-- nodded with a small smile on her lips. "Of course I'll dry your hair love, just let me get you some clothes. In the meantime, you can start brushing your hair"

Bella looked up and grinned as Renee left the bathroom closing the door behind her to fetch her some clothes. Bella grabbed the hairbrush from the counter and started brushing through the knots and tangles that had formed over night, by the time she was finished, her mum was back with her clothes but she couldn't tell what her mother had picked out for her as her mother placed them on the toilet seat behind them and started drying her hair. All Bella saw was pink. 

As her mother turned on the hairdryer, Bella watched her movements in the mirror and her heart clenched knowing that in a few hours she would be leaving her mum and dad until the Christmas Holidays. She had never been away from her family for a long period of time so this was a big step for her and she suddenly felt her nerves kick in. What if she doesn't fit in?