Masquerade (Discontinued)

Chapter XXV

Platform 9¾, King's Cross, London, England, Great Britain

Wednesday the 1st of September 1999

9:55 AM

September 1st, 1999.

Ariana thought she was a good person. She thought there was good in everyone, except for those inherently evil like Gellert Grindelwald—and maybe, just maybe, her Godmother, though she was holding out on that one.

Anyway, she had thought there was good in nearly everyone.

But, here she was, first day of her seventh and final year of schooling.

She looked around at all of the kids around her and she knew that they must have been innocent at one point like every kid, but all she could hear were the insults.

Freak.

Slut.

Stuck-up.

Dyke.

Whore.

Ariana rolled her eyes, and she grunted as someone elbowed past her. "Ugh!" she cried out. The enormous fourth year, glowered at her, and Ariana remembered something from Bella about keeping her head down. "Sorry!"

She thought about Bella who had told her to keep her head down. She glowered to herself as she thought about her untrustworthy Godmother. She sighed, shaking her head.

Welcome to Hogwarts, she sighed.

She was already counting the days down until graduation. Ariana didn't know what she wanted to do after Hogwarts, but she couldn't wait to get there. It would be paradise if she wasn't dead by June. It looked like she'd be dead soon enough.

Thanks to her Godmother.

Ariana tried not to groan again. She was being morbid again, something she had picked up from that no-good woman. She shook thoughts of Bella out of her head. She knew that life could be beautiful. Bella had taught her that too. She prayed for a better way. Everything could be absolutely beautiful.

Ariana boarded the Hogwarts Express and nearly tripped over a third year that had been knocked over by a few fifth years.

"Are you okay?" Ariana asked.

"Get away, weirdo!" the third year shouted. Ariana rolled her eyes.

She stalked forward. In times like this, she missed Durmstrang, which was something she'd never thought she'd wish for. Durmstrang was hostile, but at least it wasn't a petty kind of hostile. These kids weren't feuding because the outside war. They were feuding over stupid shit that didn't matter.

"Get out of the way, Hufflepuff!"

Ariana was pushed out of the way roughly as she watched the annoying Slytherin dart down the long hall towards his compartment.

Harper. Seventh year Slytherin. Giant dickhead.

"What did you say, bitch?" Harper barked before he could step into his compartment.