Chapter Text
“Mum… Do I look funny?”
“Funny?” said the girl’s mother with a frown “What do you mean, Dina?” The little girl wrinkled her nose and thought a moment. What did she mean?
If anyone were to really look at the girl, they might have said she was dressed a little oddly. She wore a uniform that consisted of a thick grey jumper, shirt and tie, pleated skirt and long grey socks with a pair of shiny buckled shoes – nothing out of the ordinary. However, it was the yards of thick black fabric settled about the girl’s shoulders that would have caused people to stare; there weren't many eleven-year-old girls who wore a cloak to school.
The Fortune Family had managed to find a parking spot at the rear of King's Cross Station; it was extremely busy and yet, out of all the people pouring in and out of the station, young Bernadine Fortune had yet to see anyone dressed as she was.
“Well- look at me.” she said, following her mother outside to the back of the car “Isn't this -” gesturing to the cloak “-a little weird? It’s nothing like my old uniform and it’s so long I can barely walk.”
Mrs Helen Fortune looked down at her eldest child and smiled.
“You look different, sweetheart, but that’s nothing to worry about. I’m sure you’ll get this new uniform as mucky as your last one in no time.” Dina eyed her mother with a hesitant smile, but she didn’t feel any better. “Besides,” her mother continued as she started to unload the contents of the boot “I took the hem up an inch or two, so you shouldn’t trip over it now.” Dina was not convinced. She was certain she would end up falling over at some point - and she hardly needed a cloak to help her with that.
Dina didn’t think she looked much like her mother. Helen Fortune had a round face, round eyes and chestnut hair, styled in a loose bob; Dina’s hair was lighter and toffee coloured, much like her father’s, and was often plaited over her shoulder or down her back. She also had cool sage coloured eyes, unlike most of the family- her dad always said they were an ‘old family trait’ from his side.
“Are you sure I’m not a muggle?” She added a little nervously. Her mother froze. Dina swished her cloak in agitation “I don’t really feel like a witch...”
“Did your grandmother tell you that word?” her mother asked sharply.
“What word?” Dina asked, instantly regretting ever having said a word about it.
“Muggle.” There was something in her tone. Dina’s eyes flicked away, refusing to meet her mother’s as she fiddled with her cloak once more.
“She didn’t tell me…” she mumbled. It was the truth; her grandmother hadn’t told her the word. “I just- you know- overheard it... somewhere.” Mrs Fortune gave her daughter a questioning look but decided it wasn’t worth pushing for and dropped the topic, to which Dina was incredibly thankful for. She hadn’t told either of her parents what she had overheard at her grandparent’s house, and she wasn’t about to now. There would almost definitely be a row if she did. She would have caused another row - and lately - she was all they ever seemed to argue about.
“It will take awhile to get used to, love.” her mother sighed, back on topic “But , if you don’t like it, you can always come home and go back to school in the new year.” Dina’s eyes narrowed. That sounded reasonable enough - but she didn’t think her grandmother would like it. She didn’t like upsetting her grandmother; if she was honest, she didn’t like upsetting anyone, but the thought of upsetting her grandmother was more terrifying than guilt provoking.
“I’ll have missed months of school...” She said weakly. Her mother laughed suddenly.
“I remember when a few months felt like forever-” Her mother smiled wistfully and shook her head. It was at that moment they were interrupted by a loud slap from the passenger window of the car. Dina turned to find her little brother, Oscar, banging on the glass, his face pressed up against it.
“Muuuummy!” he whined. There was a loud ‘thunk’ as his forehead hit the window. “Rosie says i’m no’ big-i-nuff to go on the pla’form!” Rosie...
Her little sister, Rosanna, always managed to find someone to argue with; it didn’t help that the eight-year-old girl liked to boss people around. There was a squawk as Rosie sat up, pushing her brother’s head out of the way to catch her mother’s attention.
“He always wanders off!” Rosie said in justification. “He’d wander off a cliff if somebody didn’t stop him.” Dina could see the frown starting to slip from her mother’s face. Stifling a laugh, she quickly helped her mother unload her large, dark blue trunk out of the car and onto one of the stations trolleys; it was pretty big - bigger than Rosie - and filled to the brim with clothes, school books and equipment Dina had never even heard of until recently. She then went and opened the car door, barely catching her two younger siblings as they tumbled out of their seats.
“You look funny Dee-na!” Oscar giggled as he tugged on her sleeve.
“I look funny?” Dina gasped in ‘mock’ outrage, though the comment had stung a little. She ruffled her brother’s soft mop of hair and grinned at him anyway. “I thought I looked smart.”
“You have to say she looks smart, Oscar.” Rosie whispered loudly, pulling at the four-year-old to stand still and listen – like that was ever gonna happen. It was at this point, Mrs Fortune called to her three youngest children and told them it was time to go.
Dina sucked in a breath. This is it, a new school... She straightened up and took a long, determined step forward – only to immediately fall backwards. She heard a few giggles, and noticed that her cloak had caught in the car door.
Dina didn’t like Wizarding clothes. How was she going to survive seven years of them?
…
“He was very helpful.” the girl said sarcastically.
She had cheerfully asked the nearest ticket officer for the direction to platform ‘nine and three quarters’ - to which she received an annoyed face and a rude warning to not ‘waste his time with nonsense’.
“Muggles.” Miss Hinkley, grumbled. “They are always so- “
“But, aren’t you a muggle?” The girl asked simply. The remark was inoffensive but nevertheless, it brought a frown to the old woman’s face.
“Not by choice.” Miss Hinkley sighed irritably. The girl cocked her head - she hadn’t the faintest idea what that meant but she let it go, knowing from experience she’d probably live longer by not pressing the old woman for explanations.
It was very clear if anyone were to observe the woman and child that they were not related. The woman was stiff-backed and held herself very tightly, while the girl seemed high spirited and relaxed at the same time, looking curiously around the station. If ever there were too people less alike, it was the pair that wandered into Kings Cross station that early morning.
Miss Hinkley had long, heavy looking hair that fell past her shoulders and wore a smart dress suit. She was quite a small woman, and her clothes did nothing to hide this; if anything, it made the woman look smaller. Contrastingly, the girl was rather untidy. She wore a simple striped jumper with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, paired with some scruffy second-hand jeans and a set of old trainers three sizes too big with mucky laces that trailed behind her.When asked to describe the girl, people would hesitate. She was small with tanned skin and warm brown hair that could only ever be described as wild - nothing odd about that. Her eyes, however, were a different story. It wasn't that they were particularly large, which they were, or because they had oddly full lashes, which they did. It was their colour. If she had to use a word to describe them, she would have said - unnatural. She’d never met anyone else with weirdly bright amber eyes before, and she doubted she ever would. In addition to this, they were also framed by fiery flecks of red and gold that made them all the mesmerizing, enough to gain a second glance from anyone who saw them. Hopefully, this wouldn't be a problem from now on, considering the company she’d soon be in - it would be unfair for ‘magical people’ to call her weird.
A big grin stretched across the girl’s face. “I still can’t believe it-” she said excitedly “This is really happening! I’m actually going...” Miss Hinkley looked down at the girl and put on one of her rare smiles.
“Well- you should be very grateful.” She replied “Not everyone is lucky enough to be given such an opportunity.” There was something in her voice that caught the girl’s attention but before she could say anything, she saw something across the station.
“Look! Miss Hinkley- over there.” She pointed to another girl on the farthest platform. She was pushing a trolley with a large trunk and bags on top, followed by two small children and a woman. Nothing out of the ordinary - except for the girl’s bizarre uniform. There was no doubt about it, she had to be another student.
…
“There’s my little witch!”
Dina stopped, completely bewildered. The words were strange and loud, but the voice was extremely familiar. The four members of the Fortune family had made their way through the busiest portion of the station and were nearing the required platform when they ran into an unexpected sight.
“Dad!” Dina said in delight. A smartly dressed man, wearing a blue pin striped suit walked in their direction.
“You look surprised, sweetheart. Didn’t your mum tell you I was coming?” He winked. He scooped up his eldest child and hugged her. Dina was thrilled; Mr Fortune had been away on business this past week, and Dina had been distraught, thinking he would miss seeing her off at the station.
“It must have slipped my mind, Edmund.” Her mother said, leaning forward to kiss her husband. “Darling- what’s she doing here?” she said glancing at the figure behind him.
“I’m sorry, she wanted to come- Ooof! Hello munchkins!” her Dad grunted as his two smallest children launched themselves at him.
There was faint cough. They all turned.
“This is a surprise, Lady Fortune.” her mother said irritably. “What are you doing here-?”
“I think-” her father interrupted “- what my lovely wife is trying to say, mother - is that they weren’t expecting to see you here today.” Mr Fortune pulled at his collar, and glanced between his wife and his mother.
“And how could I not be here.” she replied “This is, afterall, my area of expertise.” Dina shifted uncomfortably - to be honest, she hadn’t wanted her grandmother to come either.
Lady Vivian Fortune was a very proud woman; she was tall and refined with a piercing demeanor. She had few wrinkles and greying hair that you could tell once shared the same toffee-colour as her granddaughter. Her Dad said they shared the same eyes as well, but Dina always thought her grandmother’s were colder. As she drew closer, Dina noticed she was wearing the same strange clothes she always did; today this consisted of a blue, full length dress with a high collar, black gloves and a silver pendent hanging around her neck, partially hidden by a heavy coat. Upon second glance, Dina realised it wasn’t a coat at all, but rather a long, flowing cloak that, to her dismay, she wore rather well - yards of long, dark fabric lying elegantly over her delicate frame.
“Hello Bernadine. I trust you are well?” Her grandmother asked politely as she walked over to her, a large trunk being pulled behind her.
“I- uhh, yes. I mean-”
“Speak up, dear.”
“Yes.” she said “I am well.”
“Do you have everything you need? We can’t have you unprepared for your classes-”
“Yes, she does.” her mother interrupted “It was very generous of you to get her supplies, Vivian.”
“Well, I’m not sure your currency would have sufficed, Dear.” she said “These are for you, Bernadine.” turning back to Dina once more “I hope they are not too outdated. I must admit, it has been a while since I myself have had any use for many of these. Nevertheless, they shall serve you well in Ravenclaw.” Dina’s eyes widened in amazement. Her grandmother opened the two doors of the trunk, revealing several shelves of old leather bound books. They were in pristine condition, with beautiful lettering across their broad spines. Dina didn’t recognise the peculiar names of the authors or the books’ obscure titles, but all the same she was intrigued. Before she could even open one, the books -along with the entire trunk-were gone. Dina spun round and realised they hadn’t in fact disappeared, but simply moved and joined the rest of her belongings on the station trolley.
“How generous, Vivian. I think you’re in danger of spoiling her.” Her mother remarked with a tight smile.
“I shouldn’t think a little education would do her any harm.” Lady Fortune responded simply. She then turned swiftly to her granddaughter and ushered her over to where the trolley was parked. “Now then, the train leaves at eleven o’clock sharp from... which platform is it this year, Edmund?”“Nine and three quarters.”
“Very well. We must not be late, Bernadine.” Her grandmother said without ceremony.
“Okay.” she said“Which is the school train?” She began looking around the station quickly for the other students; she half wondered whether they had already left without her.
“Sweetheart,” her father said amusedly “we need get on the platform first.” Dina stared back blankly. Now that she thought about it, she could see platform 9 and 10... but nothing in between.
“Umm- I don’t understand?”
“Dear girl, we need to go through the barrier.” said her grandmother, gesturing to the divide between the platforms.
“What?” She responded, no less confused as before.
“We have to go through the wall, Dina.” Rosie chirped, with a knowing grin. Dina looked at her sister in puzzlement. Rosie often said silly things, but on this occasion everybody appeared to agree with her.
“You want me… to go through a wall?” She looked at the solid brick wall in front of her. It sounded silly- and somewhat dangerous. She was met with a row of encouraging nods (and a slightly worried look from her mother).
“It won’t hurt, darling.” her father reassured her “Just do it at a run if you’re nervous.”
“Okay.” She replied timidly, turning her trolley towards the very hard -and very real – looking wall. She paused for a moment and slowly, began to move forwards. I’m running at a brick wall, she thought to herself. I am going to crash and this is going to hurt… a lot.
She closed her eyes, ran at the wall and did, in fact... crash - but not into the wall.
…
He was flat on his back.
He hadn’t been a second before, and in all honesty, it had taken him by surprise; but there he was - lying on the floor, his cloak carelessly strewn across the cobbles of the platform with his belongings following suit.
Austin Ravenwood was from a long line of wizards and witches, all of whom had attended Hogwarts school. He knew the platform ‘nine and three quarters ‘well, despite having never seen it before – and certainly never from this angle.
He was told that once he got on the train, everything else would follow - he would go to a giant castle in the country, walk through the stone halls and into a great hall. In that hall, he would then be sorted into one of the great wizarding houses.
Hufflepuff, he had thought to himself. He would be sorted into Hufflepuff. It would certainly break his family’s tradition if he wasn’t. His parents wouldn’t disown him, like perhaps families belonging to Slytherin or Ravenclaw might, but a part of him did wonder what would happen if he was sorted into a different house.
Either way, he would then spend the next seven years at Hogwarts, learning how to become a respectable wizard. One that would make his mother and father proud and uphold his family’s reputation in the magical community. He would graduate and become a Mediwizard like his father, or a ministry official like his mother; something others would respect.
That was the plan- at least, that’s what everyone always told him.
He looked at the girl lying next to him and was positive he had met her before-
“Bernadine?” he asked curiously.
“Austin?” she twisted and looked at him in surprise, her cheeks turning a bright red in response. Austin picked himself up and extended a hand towards her.
“Do you need some help.” He said; she didn’t seem in any hurry to get up of the floor.
“Was it you I ran into?” She asked sheepishly- still sitting on the floor.
“Well, it wasn’t the wall if that’s what you were worrying about.” he responded, somewhat sarcastically. Austin couldn’t help feeling this was not the way a conversation was supposed to go, and yet, he found it oddly amusing. He smirked as he extended his hand a little further which, to his relief, she finally took and he pulled her up off the floor. They had started collecting their belongings of the floor and back onto the trolley when-
“Austin-darling? Are you okay, dear?” His mother rushed over to him, tottering precariously on a pair of white heels.
“I’m fine, mum.” he said flatly, sliding away from his mother’s hands as they dusted him off. His mother was impeccably dressed, as always. She wore the Lilac ensemble today; a trim lilac skirt and blouse, with a white-rose corsage and a string of pearls around her neck. Her hair was perfectly curled, and her lips were painted a soft peach.
“Just as well.” She clucked, though her eyes were still scanning over him all the same. She jumped when she caught sight of Bernadine and her hands dropped away from him immediately. “Oh- goodness, I didn’t see you there, dear!” she laughed and held out a manicured hand. "Miranda Ravenwood. What is your name?” The girl in question blinked and stepped forward shyly.
“Di- I mean, Bernadine. I’m so sorry. I must have- sort of, ran over your son.” She winced and tugged on her cloak. He noticed her uniform looked as if it had been ironed within an inch of its life. It looked very uncomfortable, especially with how tight the tie had been done around her neck. His mother laughed again as she patted Bernadine’s shoulder warmly.
“Oh, you mean the incident with the trolley. Oh, he’s fine, dear, don’t worry. You don’t mind, do you Austin?” His mother turned to him and gave him a nudge and a pointed smile. He hadn’t needed the nudge - of course he didn’t mind. He nodded as genuinely as he could and gave Bernadine a small smile; he was pleased to see her whole posture relax as she smiled back shyly.
“Who did you say you were again, dear?” His mother insisted, determined to know everyone on the platform.
“-Don’t you remember Miss Fortune, dearest? Vivian brought her to one of our community luncheons last month.”
Austin thought he looked more like his father. They both shared the same sandy brown hair and freckles, though he had his mother’s brown eyes. Like his mother, his father was also dressed very smartly; an emerald Doublet with long coat tails, pointed boots, and moleskin trousers with a long pocket watch affixed to his jacket. This was undoubtedly his mother’s influence.
“Oh yes, of course!” His mother responded, positively beaming as she took her husband’s arm. “How nice, you’ll have someone to sit next on the train, Darling.” She smiled sweetly, her hands reaching out to smooth his hair. As he fended off his mother’s fusing, something caught Austin’s eye. There was a cluster of people approaching them, their eyes fixed on Bernadine - this must be her family.
“There you are!” a smiley dark haired woman hurried over to her. “We wondered where you had got too, Dina. The barrier was nothing to be worried about now, was it?” She said with a grin, hugging her tightly.
“I suppose not...” Bernadine replied, her eyes shifting to Austin. He bit back a grin, both silently agreeing not to mention the mishap with the trolley.
“Ah, Lady Fortune!” His mother announced anxiously. “How unexpected. Bernadine must be your-?”
“Granddaughter.” Lady Fortune replied, with the barest of nods. Austin hadn’t even grasped the fact that Bernadine was a Fortune - Damn. She would be sorted into Ravenclaw then, he noted disappointedly. Lady Fortune was a very notable Ravenclaw, and pure blood to boot.
“I do not believe we have met-” His mother said after a brief pause “Miranda Ravenwood. This is my husband Lawrence and our son Austin- we’re all delighted to meet you. You must be Bernadine’s parents.”
“That’s right.” Mr Fortune responded cheerfully, herding two small children through the bustling platform. “I see you all know each other.” Austin was a little taken aback. That had to be Lady Fortune’s son, except - why was he dressed like a muggle?
“Briefly, yes.” His mother said, glancing at Lady Fortune momentarily. “We hosted a little get-together last month. It was quite something and-”
“Bernadine and I were in attendance, yes.” Lady Fortune interrupted coldly. There was a whole beat where nobody spoke and just stood in awkward silence. Austin knew that his parents weren’t overly fond of Lady Fortune- and he was starting to see why.
“I remember Dina mentioning something like that- although I’m afraid I don’t remember all the details.” Bernadine’s mother said after a moment. “Sorry- Austin was it? I’m terrible with names.” She asked him with a laugh.
“Yes - nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you to” she responded, smiling warmly.
“Austin is off to Hogwarts this year as well.” his mother piped up. “Lawrence and I were just saying how nice it was to know somebody before hand. When I first went to Hogwarts, I remember being terribly nervous. Oh -and at that age I was so painfully shy-”
There was suddenly a very sharp train whistle. Austin looked up at the clock face and realised it was two minutes until eleven o’clock. There was a sudden flurry of activity. His mother eagerly scooped him into her arms and squeezed him; he hugged her back as best he could with his arms pinned to his sides.
“You be a good boy now, darling. I’ll write to you every week.” His mother trilled. His father settled for an encouraging pat on the shoulder.
“I don’t want to hear of any trouble, Austin. You’re a good lad and I suspect you will do very well. But remember to also enjoy yourself.” His father said confidently with a smile. Austin opened his mouth to speak, but his mother hastily cut him off.
“Oh! And Austin, to think you almost forgot Valentino!” His mother gushed, pressing a heavy cage into his arms. He grunted, and looked at the cage’s occupant warily. He could have sworn the owl was glaring at him. He shifted, getting a better hold of the cage and turned back to Bernadine and her family, who were also finishing saying their goodbyes.
“Remember, you can come home at any time.” her mother said softly, holding Bernadine tightly. He watched as each family member took turns to hug her, except Lady Fortune, she had settled to one side of the rest of the family. It wasn’t long before Bernadine turned towards him.
“Let’s go- Oh, is that an owl?” She asked in surprise.
“My mother insisted I take one” He responded grimly.
“Do you need a hand?”
“Nah, it’s okay. I’ve got him. Come on, there might not be any free compartments left.” He rushed across the platform to one of the carriage doors. He clambered onto the scarlet train, causing the owl to squawk as the cage jostled. There was a sudden jolt as the train began to move. Bernadine pitched sideways, smacking into him. “Sorry!” she squeaked
“Do you need a hand?” he asked slyly.
“It’s the cloak.” she replied defensively,“I’m not usually this, well - clumsy.” She went a very bright shade of pink, which Austin found rather funny.
“Sure.” he said with a smirk. Austin was glad he’d ran into Bernadine again, or more accurately he was glad that she had ran into him.
“The window!” She exclaimed suddenly. She rushed to the window, nearly tripping over herself again in her hurry to wave goodbye to her family on the platform one last time. Austin dumped the cage, and went over to the window himself. His parents were chatting to somebody he didn’t know, but upon seeing him they started to wave. His mother going so far as to press a large white handkerchief to dab her eyes. Austin waved back gingerly and sighed to himself.
Hogwarts. The word was heavy. He always knew he was going, but now that the moment had arrived, it meant something different. Austin took a deep breath and picked up Valentino’s cage once more. They should probably find a compartment and take a seat - it would be at least seven hours until they arrived, and he didn’t fancy standing up the whole time.