The Beginning

Platform 9 3/4~ *Caedis*

Platform 9 ¾

Caedis

“Mommy, are you sure this is the place?” 11 year-old Caedis asked her mother. She stood with her parents at the train station of Kings Cross in England. They stood at the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. Her ticket said her train was at Platform 9 ¾.

“Yes, sweetheart. We’re sure.” Her mother replied.

“Now Caedis, I want you to take your trolley, and run into that wall.” He pointed at the stone they were in front of. Caedis looked at her father with wide, bulging eyes.

“WHAT!?”

“Caedis, honey,” her mother soothed. “Listen to your father. He knows what he’s doing. We went to Hogwarts too.” Caedis gulped, but nodded; shaking her head as she backed up. She had her trunks in the trolley, along with her cage for her snowy owl Omi, who sat calmly in his little perch there, hooting softly. Caedis’s fingers tightened on the handlebars. She lightly pushed, and ran straight forward. She raced through the wall, closing her eyes shut, waiting for the pain of the impact. But it never came.

She heard a whistle blow,and her eyes flew open. Her parents stood beside her, grinning. Her father whispered “this is where it all started. For us, and now for our daughter.” to her mother. Caedis looked ahead and gasped. The platform sign read “9 ¾”. A scarlet train was on the tracks, Hogwarts Express printed neatly on its side. She barely noticed her parents hand the porter her luggage.

She saw a whole family of redheads, and a raven-haired boy board the train. She hugged her parents tightly, and kissed their cheeks goodbye. Her mother had tears in her eyes.

“I’m going to miss you so much!” She choked out. “Write to us!” Caedis nodded, feeling broken. This would be the last time she saw her parents for ten months! “Go, before all the compartments are full.” Her mother constricted her in a bone-crushing hug.

Caedis scurried into the magnificent train, racing into a compartment that had a window view of her parents. She waved frantically to them. Her mother smiled weakly as tears rolled down her red cheeks. Her father stood tall and proud, beaming and smiling as he waved goodbye to his little princess.

As her parents faded from view, Caedis relaxed back into her seat. She heard the slide of the compartment door, and looked up to see a girl with chocolate brown hair and brown-green eyes. She looked vaguely familiar.

“Can I sit here? All the other compartments are full.” The girl had an familiar American accent that matched Caedis’. Thank God, she thought. I thought I’d be the only one. If only my parents hadn’t moved to Florida right after I was born.

“Yeah, sure.” Caedis replied. The girl sat back in the seat across from Caedis. The girl suddenly leaned forward, inspecting Caedis’s face, confused.

“Caedis? Caedis Alder?”

“Helena? No way!” Caedis screamed excitedly. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t recognized Helena when she had walked through the door. Helena was her best friend in the muggle school she used to go to.

“CAEDIS!” Helena screamed just as loudly. They laughed, and sat back.

“You never told me you were a witch!” Caedis accused.

“You didn’t tell me either!” Helena pointed out.

“Touche.” Caedis pretended to stroke her non-existent goatee on her chin.

“Hello? Can I sit here? There’s only two other compartments, in one, the people are jerks, and the other, they didn’t notice me.” There stood a girl, about Caedis and Helena’s age, with her wavy red hair and green eyes. She was relatively short. Caedis and Helena nodded.

“I’m Caedis Alder, and this is Helena Reyes. We’re both entering our first year. You?”The girl smiled at them.

“I’m Zalie Violet, I’m also going into my first year.” Caedis noted the slight Middle-Eastern tinge in her english accent.

“How exactly were the people jerks?” asked Helena, interestedly.

“Well, I was walking down the hallway looking for a compartment and since I’m the only one in my family with magic, I don’t know anyone on the train and was just hoping to find an empty seat.

I passed one compartment and noticed there was only one girl with dark blonde hair sitting in it. She was immersed in a book. So, I slid open the compartment door. The girl looked up at me, her face expressionless.”

“Are you sure this is the jerk story? Sounds like she was ignoring you.”

“Yeah, well, I guess it was a kind of a combination. Anyway, then I said ‘Excuse me, can I-’ and was interrupted by two girls with dark hair sliding by into the compartment. The blonde girl smiled at them. And then she said, ‘Rose! Finally! Took you long enough, I was beginning to worry.’”

“And then the girl who was apparently named Rose was like, ‘You, worry?’ Then the blonde girl was like ‘Good point’ and laughed. Then, she asked the other girl, who had a pixie cut, who she was. The pixie cut girl said her name was Cassy Moon and then the blonde girl introduced herself as Celine La Rinx.”

“And all this time you were just standing in the door?” asked Caedis. Zaelie nodded. “Jerks...” Caedis muttered.

“Believe me, I know.” Zaelie said exasperatedly. “So, I left and then, my cat jumped out of my arms and I figured it would be better if I found a compartment before I went looking all over the train for Sussi.”

“Wow....you have a really good memory” Helena said, amazed.

“Keep in mind this happened like five minutes ago, Helena.”

“Oh yeah, right..” Helena muttered distractedly.

A girl suddenly opened the door to their compartment. She had bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth. “Excuse me, has anyone seen a toad? A boy named Neville’s lost one.”

“No.” said Zaelie, “Have you seen a cat? I’ve lost one.” The girl looked at her indignantly.

“Well, maybe you should take better care of your pets.” she said briskly.

“I believe then, that you are implying that Neville should too.” Zaelie said in a mock polite voice. Caedis and Helena snickered. The girl slammed the compartment door in a huff.

“Very well done miss. Why, I believe you should most definitely sit here. Am I correct, Helena?” said Caedis in a mock british accent in the same type of polite voice Zaelie had used just a minute ago to tell off the bushy haired girl.

A smile appeared across Zaelie’s face. “Right then, who wants to help me find Sussi?”