The End of History and the Last Man
King's Cross Station, United Kingdom, 1992.
The Soviet Union was gone, collapsed into chaotic fire. East Germany has been annexed by its western counterpart. And Katarina Lessmann was going to be attending school... at Hogwarts. In Britain, still visibly crippled by Thatcherism. She already hated it here, standing between platforms nine and ten with her mother, Frida, a woman of about fifty years. She managed to secure a job with what was the West German ministry, though now it's the only German ministry, as an ambassador to the British. Most of her former colleagues didn't share her luck. And, in the Ambassador's infinite wisdom, she brought her daughter along to her posting. And that meant going to a different school. A British school.
"What's the matter, Kati? Isn't this exciting?" Her mother always had a hard time knowing what was swirling through her head.
"I feel like I'm in hostile territory, mother... Besides, I can feel the others staring at me. Like they can tell I don't belong here, just by looking at us. Besides, my English is-"
"Your English is more than good enough... I think you're just anxious." An accurate read, but not the whole truth. She was Fifteen now, and believed her mother was still ordering her around like a baby who can't make her own decisions. She could live on her own at Durmstrang, even if things have... changed there since Karkaroff's takeover and the fall of the Wall.
Katarina knew there was really no fighting her mother on this one, and so she'd have to acquiesce. So she grabbed her backpack and suitcase, took a deep breath, and ran through the pillar. To reach Platform 9 and 3/4ths. At least that's what the sign said. Why wasn't it 9.5, she thought, since it was in the middle of platforms 9 and 10, and fractions were always a bit crude to her. But she sighed a little, adjusted her bag... and placed her FDJ lapel pin on her uniform, right next to the Hogwarts coat-of-arms. She felt like she could hardly breathe in this uniform, even if it was a lighter material than what she's used to. Still, she didn't like the idea of wearing a tie very much. Or having to be sorted. It was strange hearing all the British kids so excited to have a ratty old hat act as their fortune teller, for their entire high-school career. At least the Hogwarts Express was much more impressive than the ship that she grew used to taking to Durmstrang.
Eventually, she was able to climb onboard, stow her baggage, and find a place to sit. She mostly expected, and honestly preferred, that she'd be left alone. The weird 'new girl' from the Eastern Bloc who wasn't quite used to the situation she finds herself in. And for about a quarter of the train journey, she was right. But Kati's solitude wouldn't last, as a girl with a green tie sat with her. "Everything all right?" She had hair as black as the night, and spoke with a thick, but pleasant, Irish accent.
"Oh, ja, all is good." Katarina responded, just trying to make small talk with this girl... but there was something about her that made Kati feel more comfortable, somehow. "My name is... Katarina Lessman. Fourth Year. Yours?"
"Amelia Morrin, Fourth Year also~ Hey, wait, you must be new, you haven't been sorted yet!"
"Uh, I've just transferred here from Durmstrang..." She got a little worried... Kati knew her school had a bit of a bad reputation in different parts of the world - but especially in the United Kingdom and United States. The western Capitalist states that were on the other side of the Iron Curtain.
"Really? Wow, that's kinda bloody cool, actually. Mind if I sit here for a while?" Amelia's smile was so sweet... And it made Katarina's heart pound a little harder. Was she developing a crush on this girl? Already, on her first day of going to Hogwarts? Keep it together, Kati...
"Oh, if you could, I wouldn't mind at all?" She really hoped she used the right phrasing. She thought she did, at least.
"Awesome~ Hey, it's nice to see someone else who's not a brit here, y'know? Most of them treat me like an outsider, too. Like I'm not supposed to be here. Oh- Pardon my manners! Where are you from?" She seemed so excited...
"Leipzig... East Germany." Even though they both knew that was a country that didn't really exist anymore. It didn't matter to Kati. The German Democratic Republic still lived on in her heart. "And you? You said you are from... Ireland?"
"Yeah, Belfast." Still technically part of the United Kingdom, but she must have grown up during the Troubles. How does one get to be this cheery while living through a civil war? Kati had absolutely no idea how that situation could create someone like Amelia. It was odd, but she really felt like she liked this girl. Maybe one day she could be her friend. Maybe more. She had to stop her brain from wandering that far, though. "Hey, I hope you get into Slytherin, like me. Then we can hang out a lot more in the dorms together. Wait-- Do they even have houses in Durmstrang?"
"No, no... The whole thing seems a bit odd to me, in truth." But... Slytherin. Named after one of the legendary founders of the school. They wear green and have the symbol of the snake. Duly noted. "I... hope I get into Slytherin too, then. I don't want to lose out on any friends." She tried to smile, but it was hard to. Despite her mask of toughness and discipline, Katarina was... afraid of being here. Afraid of getting close to someone, afraid of fucking up tremendously. But things all depended on being psychoanalyzed by a hat, something that could almost be likened to random chance. Random chances that might channel her into one way of study or another. The roll of a die. And perhaps it was already cast.
"Well, if you do, maybe we could sit together? You, me, and a couple of my friends? I know a couple girls in Slytherin and Ravenclaw, and we usually eat together. I think they might like you, too." Kati wasn't so sure, but... she was willing to give it a shot. "Oh, uh, Brackenreid is a Prefect, but don't let that scare you, she won't bite!" The girl in question was probably a year above them, that's what made sense...
They would end up spending the rest of the train journey talking to each other, and... Kati could feel herself becoming more relaxed around this girl. Only time would tell if that would soothe her anxieties about the apparent end of history... But they'd eventually reach Hogwarts Castle. It almost looked like Neuschwanstein to her, a castle she'd only seen pictures of, built by a deluded monarch obsessed with a mythical past. But this place was actually, truly magical on top of it all. It was almost amazing, but it also felt too wasteful to her. Who had to suffer and go without to build and maintain this place? House Elves, probably. Why they allowed such injustices to stand... the socialist mind could not comprehend it.
But while the parade of eleven-year-old neophytes were getting sorted, her name was eventually called. "LESSMANN!" And as the hat was put on her head... It was a bit of an odd feeling, having her mind read. Especially since it was so fast! The hat had decided upon "SLYTHERIN!" almost immediately. It barely even deliberated. So Kati got up, thanked the hat - which confused the Hogwarts students - and left to find Amelia and her friends. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad for her. But it was still Britain, Thatcherite Britain to be specific, and she was very far out of her element. But... The Cold War was over. Maybe she just needed to relax about things like that.