Chapter One
“..this was the beginning of the end.” What a crappy ending to a book. I despise cliffhangers I thought, as I looked out the car window. The rain only fell harder as I watched the raindrops slip their way down the glass.
“Hey, Twyla dear we’re almost to Kings Cross. How’re you feeling.” My mom asked.
“I’m fine. I answer.
“Are you sure because I know switching schools can-”
“I’m FINE!” I cut right through her. I don’t feel bad about it either, this is all her fault. It’s her fault we had moved so far away and it’s her fault I hardly get to see my dad anymore.
“I’m sorry.” She sighs. And we’re quite the rest of the way there.
When we walk into Kings Cross my mom takes my hand in hers and I let her while the attendant takes my cart. I’m a lot more nervous than I thought I would be. The train station is huge and noisy. There are muggles everywhere, family members saying goodbye, and tears being shed. I hope my mom doesn’t cry. I look over at my mom and she has a sad smile on her face, it gives her wrinkles and makes her look 15 years older. She’s too pretty to look sad so to cheer her up I squeeze her hand 3 times, signaling “I love you." She squeezes my hand back. When we finally reach platforms 9-10 my nerves are shot and her eyes are sparkling with unshed tears. I lean forward and plant a kiss on my mom’s forehead whilst I pull her in for a hug.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers “I know you’re upset about all this but maybe it will be good for you?” She says it as more of a question than a statement.
“Yeah, maybe. Don’t be upset and don’t be sorry. Everything will be fine.” I hate having to reassure her when that’s supposed to be her job but it’s just what I’m good at. I’m the caretaker. I’m the fixer. I tell my mom goodbye with a hug while she cries, and I walk through the wall to the platform without a look back.
Holy shit I thought. The platform is so jampacked I could hardly push the cart with my trunk on it through to the train. The Hogwarts Express is a huge scarlet train that’s billowing with so much smoke it’s fogging up the whole platform. I walk to the last train car and open the door. An attendant puts my trunks in the luggage rack with a flick of his wand, I say thank you and climb onto the train. The inside of the train is old with a smell of something sweet mixed with a bit of mildew. The cushions have an old design on them that reminds me of my gran's house, but overall it's a comfort to be going away from my normal life. As the train starts to move I pull a book out of my bag -wuthering heights- and start to read. I have already read and reread this book and annotated it tenfold but, it’s a comforting read. “1801- I have just returned from a visit to my landlord..”
“Is this seat taken?” said a voice from the door.
“No, you can sit,” I say as I pull my book down from my face. The girl who asked to sit was enthralling, she had ashy blonde hair and slivery, misty eyes. She was wearing a bright yellow dress with black and blue robes over it and had a pair of funky glasses hanging from the front of her dress. As she sat down she asked what book I was reading.
“Oh, it’s nothing special,” I say. “What kind of glasses are those?” I asked.
" They’re called Spectrespecs. They can make wrackspurts visible. My dad put them in the latest edition of The Quibbler.”
I have no idea what a wrackspurt is. Should I?
“What’s your name? I asked changing the subject. “I’m Twyla Gardener.”
“I’m Luna Lovegood, it’s nice to meet you.” She says as she pulls out a rolled-up magazine that I’m going to assume is “The Quibbler.” As she hums to herself I go back to my book and read only the sad parts of the book I annotated. I don’t know why I like the sad parts but I do. They bring me familiarity and ease. It’s like listening to sad music even when you’re happy it just makes you feel good.
About 30 minutes later the door opens again and three kids walk in. One boy with messy dark hair, another boy with shaggy red hair, and a girl with fluffy brown hair. They walk in and seem to be bickering something about prefects and not finding anywhere to sit with each other.
“Hey Luna, do you mind if we sit.” asks the messy-haired boy. Luna motions them to come and sit and they do. Luna moves to sit next to me and the other three sit across from us.
“Who’s your friend Luna?” The red-haired boy asks her.
“I’m Twyla Gardener, I say as I take Wuthering Heights away from my face. “And you are?”
“I’m Ron Weasley, this is Hermione Granger and Harry Potter.” The red-haired boy says while gesturing to the two others with a goofy smile on his face. I stare at him a second too long while wondering how long it’d take to count his freckles-it’d take way too long.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you guys,” I say.
“So where did you transfer from.”
“Ilvermorny, obviously.” Says the girl called Hermione.
“Wait. How’d you know that?” I asked with a definite look of confusion on my face.
“The “American” accent gives you away.”
“Oh yeah of course,” I sigh out with a nervous laugh.
I obviously have a different accent than them. Duh.
“Everyone should probably put their robes on, we’re gonna be there soon,” Luna says in a dreamy sing-song voice.
When we finally come to a stop I know everything I need to know up until I’m done in the great hall, thanks to Hermione. My trunk will be taken to my dorm and I won’t have to worry about it. I’ll follow Hermione, Ron, Luna, And Harry to the carriages that will take us up to the school. Then I go get sorted and eat in the great hall. But after that, I’m gonna be lost.
In the carriage, Harry and Luna are talking about thestrals; I know what they are I just can’t see them. You can only see thestrals if you’ve seen someone die. Ron and Hermione are on a totally different subject. Hermione is criticizing Ron for having not read A history of magic. I have a feeling this is a common thing.
“So what houses are you guys in? I’d just really like to be in a house with someone I kind of know?” I say
“Harry, Ron, and I are all in Gryffindor.” Hermione says with a dignified smile.
“Yes they’re in Gryffindor but I’m in Ravenclaw, I quite enjoy Ravenclaw House. And even if you’re in neither of those we’ll still be your friends.” Luna says matter-of-factly. And everyone mutters their agreements with a nod of the head.
As we inch closer to the castle I see how huge it actually is. It’s magnificent, to say the least. There are lights on all over, giving the castle an orangish glow that makes the scene all the more magical. When the carriage stops we get out, Luna takes my hand and drags me along with her to the front of the castle. The man standing in front of the door -Luna says that his name is Filch- is telling everyone that when he opens the doors there should be no running and pushing. When he finally opens them he realizes that was a waste of breath, everyone is running, pushing, and punching their way through- even Luna and me. When we walk into the entrance hall I see all these portraits, knights, and swarming groups of students. I see a ghost who is chucking parchment balls at the children. It’s all so amazing, I thought Ilvermorny was grand but this- this is insane. Maybe Hogwarts won’t be so bad.
