The Journey
Wednesday September 1, 1971
Marlene was pushing a trolly which stored all of her suitcases- which seemed to weigh more than two of her- and her cat. It was a grey cat, and she had named it Whiskey. Danny hated the cat more than she could imagine, but it was her most beloved possession.
She was on Platform 9 ¾ now, staring at the other children. The younger ones looked just as exhilarated as she was, maybe even more, while the older kids just looked frantic to get away from their parents.
And there it was, the Hogwarts Express, in all its glory. The blazing red shone bright in Marlene’s blue eyes, and she tried not to let her mouth fall open.
Marlene looked to her own mother, who’s hair was in a mess and makeup didn’t seem to have been done right. Her blazer was wrinkled, and her trousers were a bit too high than they were meant to be. She could tell her mother was stressing. Robert, however, was more than jovial at Marlene’s departure. She didn’t ponder on that for too long, though; she was just as happy to be leaving as he was to see her go.
“You’ve got everything?” Marlene’s mother asked, reaching out and messing with the ponytail Marlene’s hair was pulled back in. Marlene ducked out of her mother’s grip. “Clothes, books, wand, Whiskey, everything?”
“Yes, yes, Mum, I’ve gotten everything,” Marlene confirmed, shaking off her mother’s hands from her clothes. She was so clingy today. The Express then let out a little hoot. “Mum, I’m going to miss the train.”
“Are you sure you’re ready for school?” Her mum asked, biting at her nails. Marlene saw Danny roll his eyes from behind. “If not, you could always stay home for another year. I could homescho-“
“Mum, enough!” Danny exclaimed from behind, stepping up and grabbing his mother’s arm. “Please, let her go to school. Don’t project your worry onto her.”
“Oh, I assume you’re right,” the woman sighed, tugging at her blonde hair. Marlene grinned at her, reaching out for a hug. Her mother whispered, “how I’ll miss you so,” before Marlene let her go and turned to her brother. He wrapped his arms around her tiny body and nearly picked her up, holding her tightly. Giving her one final squeeze, he released her and passed her along to her stepfather.
Robert reached out, taking Marlene’s hand in his and shaking it. Marlene gave a tight-lipped smile, pulling her arm back. He gave one last unnecessarily tight grasp before letting go.
“Be good, Marlene.” He demanded, his eyes boring into her own. She gulped and nodded.
With her final farewells to her family, Marlene took her things and headed onto the Express, the steam fogging her sight. She refused to turn back and look at her mother, sure that if she saw her crying, Marlene would burst into tears as well. She wasn’t in the mood for that at the moment.
She walked slowly down the corridor of the train, searching in each compartment to see if there was one unoccupied. Finally, near the end of the train, Marlene discovered a vacant compartment. Sighing, she put her luggage on the racks above her head and flopped down on one of the seats. She was nearly ready for a nap; the night before she’d barely slept from the nerves, and Marlene could now feel her eyelids begin to feel heavy.
The life that awaited her was flashing through her mind. Magic, potions, wizards, witches, everything. She could feel adrenaline pumping into her heart. Marlene was about ready to doze off, sleep knocking on her doorstep, until-
“Hello,” the door of the compartment slid open, revealing a girl with olive skin and dark, thick curly hair, “would you mind if I joined you? I’m sorry, it’s just- it’s my first year, and you looked the same age. If I’m a bother, I won’t stay-“
“No, not at all,” Marlene insisted, ushering the girl in. Sheepishly, the girl entered the compartment, sliding the door shut behind her and placing her luggage on the other rack. She sat down across from Marlene. “I’m a first year, too. My name’s Marlene.”
“Emmeline,” she replied, sticking out her hand for Marlene to accept. Her voice was rough and deep, a bit of an unfamiliar accent layering her words. “I’m sorry for intruding. Every other compartment was taken and it seemed to be that even the first years knew people attending Hogwarts.”
“Really?” Marlene asked. A dread filled her stomach. She didn’t want to go to school without knowing anyone and everyone already knowing each other. She’d feel so left out, and then all these years of waiting would’ve been for nothing. “How do they already know?”
“Maybe their families know each other,” Emmeline suggested, shrugging. “I wouldn’t know. I’m a muggle-born. I was so nervous about coming here. At first, I thought everyone was like me. I didn’t know people were born knowing all of this magical stuff. When I found out there were such things as Pureblood families, I almost had a breakdown. I thought everyone would be confused together, but people already had practice in advance. Are you Pureblood?”
“No,” Marlene told her. “I’m only a Half-blood. My dad’s a muggle.”
“What’s he think about all of this?” Emmeline asked her, a twinkle in her eyes. “My mum is very religious, so she was quite unsure about it. Finally, she caved in. I’m so grateful she did. I couldn’t imagine knowing I was magic but just sitting and not being able to do anything about it.”
“Yeah, that would suck,” Marlene said, rubbing the back of her neck. “Does your religion not allow magic or something?”
“Yeah, it isn’t permitted,” Emmeline said, a tone of something close to shame ringing through her words. “I didn’t mean to be magic, though, so I hope God will forgive me. Are you religious?”
“Nah,” Marlene told her. “My mum is Pureblood, so we don’t really know much about God.”
“What about your dad?” Emmeline asked. “He’s a muggle, isn’t he?”
“Well, yeah,” Marlene confirmed, nodding. She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. “But he isn’t around much. He left when he- um, when he found out Mum was magic.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, frowning. “I didn’t mean to overstep. I tend to be pushy-“
“No, you’re fine,” Marlene shook her head, brushing off the conversation. “Let’s just move on. Do you have any siblings?”
“Yeah, a sister,” she replied, fidgeting with the bracelet on her wrist. Marlene stared at it. “Her name is Marwa. She’s a year younger than us, so maybe she’ll attend next year. What about you?”
“I have a brother, Danny,” Marlene said. “He’s older than us by a lot, he’s already left Hogwarts. He plays Quidditch on a professional team.”
“What’s Quidditch?” Emmeline asked, tilting her head to the side.
“Oh, it’s a wizarding sport,” Marlene told her. “You’ll see it when we get to school, there’s four teams. Maybe next year you can try out.”
“Maybe.” Emmeline shrugged, and that was the end of their conversation.
Marlene studied the girl across from her as she stared out the window. Her thick curly hair was long enough to reach her hips, and it was pushed back with a black headband that matched her robes. Her eyes were round and a dark brown, matching the color of her hair. Her nose reached out straight, and there was a birthmark right above her nostril. Her lips were plump and pink, and as the girl let out a wide yawn, she noticed her teeth were a bit crooked. She was still very pretty, Marlene thought.
After a while, Marlene noticed Emmeline starting to drift off. The girl fell asleep, and Marlene found herself following in her footsteps. However, before she could fully go to bed, it seemed the universe was doing everything it could to prevent her from taking a few minutes of rest. A knock on the door was heard, and Marlene turned to the door. Emmeline stayed asleep.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” the girl whispered, peering at the sleeping girl. “I didn’t mean to wake you, I was just wondering if I could stay in here? I was sat with this girl Dorcas, but she left to meet with a boy she knew from back home or something. I can't quite remember, but I got bored of being alone and decided to look around for an approachable compartment. You guys looked approachable enough.”
Marlene let out a giggle, and the other girl smiled. As the girl took a seat, the two chatted away happily. She learned the girl’s name, Mary MacDonald, and that she was a muggle-born just like Emmeline. She had two sisters and one brother, but one of her sisters and brother were both older and never got the letter. Mary was supposedly the only one with ‘paranormal’ signs in her family.
Mary was very pretty, and it was clear she knew it. Her dark skin shone vividly in the light, and her eyes resembled those of a siren. Her lips were wide and full, glazed over with a coat of lip gloss. Her hair was even more curly than Emmeline’s, and was tied back into two braids. Marlene found herself envying the girl. How could someone so young be so gorgeous? It seemed that, while Marlene was going through an awkward phase of her life, Mary was thriving in all her beauty. It wasn’t fair for an eleven year old girl to look as dazzling as her.
Marlene couldn’t help but be jealous, and would be shocked to hear someone say they weren’t covetous of Mary’s looks.
Eventually, somewhere along the lengthy train ride, Mary had fallen asleep right next to Emmeline. Marlene, however, grew restless. Her nerves and excitement kept her eyes wide, staring out the window with a growing curiosity. Today would be the start of a life she had been anticipating her entire boring, magicless life. She would learn what she was truly capable of, and meet people just like her. Full of an ambition for Quidditch, family, and an overwhelming desire to find out what the void in her heart was yearning to be filled with, Marlene felt ready for the challenges that would occur in the future.
It felt as though the Hogwarts Express was bringing her to a new beginning. Hogwarts would teach her what the rest of her life held. The rest of her life was magic; her school was magic, her job would be magic, who she would fall in love with, her children, everything. Once she would open the book, she would never be able to close it. Marlene felt prepared for this outcome.