Serenity | 1

SEVEN

"A Freak's Show"

The train jerked as it began to move forward. Serenity carefully manoeuvred herself and her rucksack down the corridor; she felt odd, going to Hogwarts alone, her entire life she'd always been to new places with her family and now she was being ushered away to Scotland to live and learn among witches and wizards she did not know. Of course, she was excited. After all, her Aunt Dara had always told her that her time at Hogwarts was where she made her fondest memories... and Serenity could do with some fond memories.

As she peered into each compartment she passed, she couldn't help but think about the conversation she'd had with her wand. She remembers the unusual experience and the sensation of being pulled from reality, it was a sensation she wasn't eager to revisit. Yet, at the same time, the conversation stuck with her and she knew what she wanted to take from her time at Hogwarts: she wanted to leave as the woman she wanted to be, not the woman she was expected to be.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Falling short of her movements, Serenity falters as she looks up at a taller girl. She was flanked by two identical boys, each of them with kind smiles on their faces. The girl held onto Serenity's arms as she steadied the eleven-year-old, "hi! I'm Lakita..." She shuffled slightly before releasing Serenity and stepping away ever-so-slightly, "you-you're a Rier, right? My mum told me that one of you would be coming this year." Serenity nods slightly with a small grin, tucking her hair behind her ears.

"Yeah, I'm Serenity, how-" glancing over her shoulder, unsure of where the conversation was going and why this girl was talking to her, "how did your mum know?" With a slight laugh, Lakita looks between the twins behind her.

"She was in your dad's year. You can ask him if he remembers her, her name is Julia Senate, well, she was Julia Penniman." The smile and Lakita's face never failed to falter as she spoke, suddenly, she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around one of Serenity's. "You can sit with us!" The two twins turned and began walking down the carriage and towards a compartment.

"Thank you," Serenity muttered, still confused, and motioned to the boys, "uh, who-"

"Oh! They're my brothers, Lucas and Logan- they don't talk much." As they took a seat in the square compartment Serenity couldn't help but notice the way the twins acted towards each other. They were turned to and leaning into each other as though they were sharing a secret, as though a conversation was happening but only they could hear it. Unwillingly staring, Serenity hadn't noticed that Lakita had locked the compartment door and drew the blinds. "So," the doll-faced girl asked, taking a seat beside the first-year, "is it true?"

"Sorry?" She looked the blonde up and down, her curiosity piquing at the unclear glint in her blue eyes. Her cropped blonde hair quivered as the girl giggled at the brunette's curiosity.

"Can you really do wandless magic? Just like your dad could?"

"Your mum apparently remembers a lot about my family." Serenity couldn't help but notice the twins watching her now, a look in their eyes that she couldn't quite distinguish; yet, there was something in their faces that made her reluctant to answer the question. Knitting her eyebrows together, she looks away from them and back to Lakita. Suddenly she didn't want to associate with this girl.

"Everyone knows about your family, silly! You're all the same, have been for generations, and I can only assume that you're like the rest... so can you?" The confrontation made her reel away and stand.

"I should, uh, I should go." Turning to watch the first year trying to pull the locked door open, Lakita shrugged.

"Was it something I said?" Lakita's eyes darkened slightly when Serenity ignored her and continued to pull at the door. "I don't even know why I asked if I'm honest," the brunette paused, listening to the blonde behind her, "you're exactly like your dad. Mum said they raise you all the same so you turn out the same, she said it's kinda like a cult." Serenity shook her head and closed her eyes, willing the anger in her chest to go away. "She said she wouldn't be surprised if you were involved in the dark arts."

"We're not," Serenity muttered.

"You sure? It's not easy for an adult witch or wizard to master wandless magic, you can do it already, right?" Serenity's chest heaved as the girl's words sunk in. Lakita leant back in her seat, crossing a leg over the other and smirking at her wide-eyed brothers. "Sounds pretty dark if you ask me."

"We're not!" Serenity spun around, the compartment door bursting open behind her, earning a shrill yell from the once-smirking blonde. The window completely smashed and the frame lying on the ground. Stepping away when she noticed what she had done, Serenity steps out into the corridor cautiously. The students in the carriage were now leaning out of their own compartments and gaping at the mess, even the trolley lady was watching in annoyance. Avoiding any eye contact with the gaping blonde, Serenity muttered an apology and waved her hand as she jogged away from the compartment with her shoulders hunched.

In her wake, she left the door to magically piece itself back together and fix onto its hinges once again. Lakita laughed shortly and crossed her arms,

"Touchy much?" She pouted at the pointed look her brothers gave her before turning her face to look out of the window, ignoring the voices trying to force their way into her mind.