Chapter Three
It was the night before Eloise's big day. She was finally going to Hogwarts and she couldn't have been more excited. That night she was greeted by April and Victoria in her room with an album. Victoria patted the bed, opening her arms wide. Eloise immediately ran up to her aunt and hugged her before settling down on the bed.
Eloise took her curly hair down from her ponytail, the long curls resting on her face. She leaned against April as she smiled at the moment.
"Your mother would have been so proud of you, my love." April whispered as she combed through the young girl's hair with her fingers. It was often that April saw her sister in Eloise, and it saddened her immensely.
"What was mama like?" Eloise asked, her doe brown eyes resting on her wall.
April and Victoria glanced at each other as they tried to describe Elena to the best of their abilities. "She was so beautiful. She looked like you when she was younger." Victoria smiled. "Elena was just this inevitable force of power, she knew what she was doing and how she was gonna do it."
April nodded at her sister. "She liked to invent things just like you, Eloise." April pulled out the photo album. "She wanted you to have this when you were old enough, I think you're old enough now.
The album was purple, it had a green spine. Eloise felt the indent of the pattern on her hands. As she opened it up, there was a picture of two girls.
Two identical girls.
"Who are these girls?" Eloise asked, tracing over the faces with her thumb.
"That's your mother and her twin sister." Victoria smiled. "Elena and Elara. Elara passed away before you were born, it gave Elena such a heartbreak."
"I- I was named after her?" Eloise looked up at her aunts. "My middle name, Elara."
"Yes, you were. Elena wanted to honor her twin." April smiled sadly. "It's getting late, and you have a big day tomorrow. Sleep tight, kiddo."
"Goodnight Auntie April, Auntie Tori." The young girl replied as April closed the door.
Eloise sat up in bed as the morning sunlight fell upon her. She rubbed her eyes as her feet hit the wooden floor. She yawned as she shimmied out of her grey striped pajamas, changing into a purple sweater and jeans. She brushed her hair to the best of her ability, putting it into a messy ponytail.
As she walked down the stairs, she smelled the aroma of pancakes and bacon. She smiled happily to herself as she walked down the remaining stairs. As Eloise skipped into the kitchen, she greeted her family. "Good morning, everyone!"
"Morning, Elle." Carina sat in her usual chair looking through a newspaper. "How do you feel?"
"I don't really know, Carina." Eloise shrugged. Truth be told, she knew exactly how she felt about attending Hogwarts; excited, scared, and courageous. She knew that it was going to be hard for her, never being exposed to such a magical world, but she was ready to take the challenge.
"My days at Hogwarts were some of the best days of my life." Carina smiled.
"I'm trying to have an optimistic outlook on this." April appeared from the kitchen."My baby is leaving me!" She threw her arms around Eloise.
"Quit it, April, she's growing up." Victoria laughed, bumping her sister with her hip. "Speaking of which, you need to get to the station to catch your train."
Eloise and Carina apparated, something Eloise was not quite used to. "I would tell you to study and not get detention, but the point of your first year is to have fun and explore."
Carina smiled. She often found herself in the curly-headed girl. "Like I said earlier, I made some of my best friends in my first year, so don't always keep to yourself."
Staring ahead in order not to run anyone over, Eloise smiled as she found Hades and Phoenix. She ran over, stumbling on her shoelaces. "Hey Hades!"
"Eleven seconds early, not too bad." Hades teased. "So have you ever been no this station before?"
"Load of times! I actually went–"
"ELLIE!" Phoenix screamed. Eloise turned wide-eyed at the young girl.
"Maybe not so loud, Nixie." Eloise and Hades laughed.
"While I hate to interrupt this reunion," Carina started, "You two have a train to catch." Nicole and Solara walked ahead of the children, while Eloise, Hades, and Phoenix chatted about what Hogwarts was going to be like.
"Maybe you have to wrestle a dragon!" Phoenix grabbed Eloise's hand. "That would be so cool!"
Hades and Eloise looked at each other with terror in their eyes. "How about no, Nix." Hades shook his head at his sister. "I'm sure they'll just sort us based on our personal characteristics."
"Hurry up, you slowpokes." Solara laughed.
The group paused in front of a barrier, the carts screeching to a halt. Solara and Carina turned to the group of kids. "Go ahead, run through."
The children looked at the adults as if they were maniacs. "I'm sorry, what?" Hades asked. "Did you just tell us to run through a brick wall?"
"Why, young Hades, yes we did." Carina nodded, smirking.
"This is a wall, Carina. Are you daft?" Eloise stood with her hands on her hips. She walked up to the wall and put her hand on it. "See, this is nons–" But, Eloise didn't get to finish her thought as she went through the wall.
She looked up and saw a crowded platform.
Children and teenagers of all ages hugged their relatives and guardians saying their goodbyes. Some people remained on the platform, while others started boarding the train.
The train itself was an absolutely breathtaking sight. The scarlet train shone in the sunlight, its black roof glimmering. Steam rose from the pipe as the conductor honked the horn.
"Ah, Ellie! You made it to the other side." Carina stifled a laugh. She pushed Eloise's cart towards the loading deck to board it on the train. Eloise had her carry-on bag, a small backpack containing her uniform and things to do on the train. "Are you gonna get up off the ground or..."
Eloise got up off the ground, dusting herself off. Hades came up behind his friend, patting her back. "There, there."
"Hades!" Solara called with open arms. Hades gave one last smile to his friend before walking to his mother.
"How do you feel, Eloise?" Carina asked, giving an encouraging smile to the girl. "It's not every day you get to go to a magical school."
"Carina, I didn't go to a school at all, April homeschooled me, remember."
"Right." Carina laughed. "You got this, girlie." The two cringed as Carina said that.
Hades came up to Eloise, putting a hand on her shoulder. The train whistled, a final warning signal for all students. "We must go."
Eloise quickly hugged Carina, who placed a small kiss on her head. Carina, Solara, and Phoenix waved goodbye as Eloise and Hades left for their adventure at Hogwarts.