The Sky With No Stars

Prolouge

1st Year

Cassandra                                          

Cassandra Brener's life sucks. This is a statement she repeats every morning when she climbs out of her lumpy bed. But today, she tells herself, will be different. Because today is September first, and today she is going to Hogwarts.

The trunk was old and shabby. The leather worn and one side dented. The brass buckles were tarnished. It still had Athena's initials, as it was Cassandra's older sisters Hogwarts trunk first. Inside was all the things she bought secondhand at Diagon Alley yesterday. Books, quills and parchment. Sets of robes, her new wand (made of pine with a dragon heartstring core) and most importantly, her scetchbook. An old black book filled with charcoal drawings. Next to the trunk, a basket holding the gray cat Athena found in the alley next to their flat in Diagon Alley and gave to her for Christmas two years ago. Smoky.

A knock from downstairs caused Cassandra to squeak and run down the rickety spiral staircase, expertly jumping over the missing second to last step. "You don't need to knock in your own house!" She told Athena, rolling her eyes.
"When did my little sister get so snarky?"
Cassandra smiled, hugging her sister. "Go on upstairs and get your trunk, I need to talk to mum."

Cassandra was saying a last goodbye to her tiny bedroom, to the lumpy bed she hated, the old Wooden desk with one leg shorter than the others, and the mural of the sky she had painted on the wall when she was eight. Then a shout came from downstairs.
"I'm the one who has been taking care of Cassie all these years, you're too drunk to get off the couch!"

Cassandra rushed downstairs, pulling her trunk behind her. Athena and her mum were standing in the kitchen, clearly having just stopped shouting at each other.
"C'mon Cass, lets go" Athena muttered, grabbing Cassandra's trunk and pulling her out the door.

Evangeline

Platform 9 3/4 was packed. There were people everywhere, shouting at each other. Evangeline rolled her trolley through the throng of students and their parents. Some girl with auburn hair stepped on her toe, looking up from her redhead friend to apologize.
"Watch where you're going!" Evangeline snapped, earning an approving look from her mother beside her.
The scarlet Hogwarts Express was spewing smoke, causing vision problems. Evangeline rolled her trolley up to the edge of the platform, giving her mother a quick kiss on the cheek and promising to write. Owl cage in one hand, trunk in the other, she boarded the steam engine without looking back. 10:56. She should have plenty of time to find a compartment. Strolling down the train, Evangeline passed several compartments already full. Harry Potter's son, James, was laughing with friends in one. Rolling her eyes, Eva continued. Two identical twin sisters arguing in another, and in yet another she saw a blonde girl talking to a plant! Finally Evangeline settled in a compartment with two occupants, a small black girl she recognized as Arielle Zabini, daughter of a prominent worker at the ministry talking to a blonde girl, who turned to look at Evangeline, locking her in a ice cold calculating gaze.

Zoe                                                          

The girl in the doorway stared right back. Zoe smiled. "Have a seat."

Zoe Mason had not known she was a witch until two days ago, when a strange woman in severe dark robes had come to her door holding a letter. Little had Zoe known that this letter was her saving grace. The strange woman, who introduced herself as Adelaide Sinistra, a witch working for the Ministry of Magic. Of course, Zoe, being a smart little kid who gave up on magic and fairytales years ago, laughed in her face. The woman simply flicked the long piece of wood in her right hand and the umbrella stand floated into the air whimsically. Zoe's sharp glare quickly dissolved into a look of wonderment. "I can make the fire start sometimes." She said. "Just by thinking it." Adelaide Sinistra smiled and handed her the letter.