The Choice Is Yours // a.lightwood

[03]

The bright moonlight peered into the greenhouse windows as the clock began to chime. Daniel sat down his book and went to his room to finish his last minute packing. He would usually be sleeping at the moment but he had to be up early, in order to catch his train on time. He yawned rubbing his eyes, as he walked down the stairs of the institute with his trunk trailing behind him. He sat his trunk down and ran back upstairs to say goodbye to Isabelle.

It had been a week since the two had last talked after the argument that had gotten into. He lightly knocked on her door, trying not to wake everyone up but there was no answer.

He knocked a little bit louder, "C'mon Izzy."

He heard a muffled "go away," and he left going down the hall.

He found Church asleep on the floor, in front of the library and Hodge sitting at his desk. When he was unable to sleep, he always found Hodge in the library or in the greenhouse. He stepped over the feline and into the library, going over to the books.

Hodge looked up from his paperwork and at Daniel, "What are you doing up so early?"

He shrugged, "I haven't really slept and I have to leave soon."

"Are you excited?" Hodge asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Just a bit nervous of what people will think of me." He said, sitting in the chair beside him.

Hodge yawned, "If you're anything like your mother, I'm sure you'll do just fine."

Daniel couldn't help but smile, he hadn't heard a lot of things about his mother. All he had left of her were a few pictures and the memories of when he was younger.

"How do you know so much about my mother?" He asked, tilting his head a bit.

"That's a story for another day, but now you should get going."

Daniel nodded, standing up and walking out of the library. He tripping over Church and fell flat on his face. He pushed himself up, with the help of the wall that was near him and walked to his room. He opened the door, rubbing his forehead and grabbed Bean's terrarium. With the terrarium and food in his hands, he made his way downstairs.

He grabbed the handle of his truck and made his way to where he was supposed to meet Magnus. He sat out on top of his truck, waiting for Magnus to pick him up. He wasn't sure how he was going to get to the school but Magnus said to leave it up to him. Daniel trusted that Magnus would keep to his word and keep him safe, so he didn't worry to much. Magnus soon arrived and Daniel left the protective gate, locking it behind him.

They hailed a cab and Daniel instantly fell asleep, once they got in. Magnus felt uneasy as Daniel leaned his head on his shoulder. Though he had been alive for over 300 years old, he's never had been this close to a child. Many of them seemed to fear him, without even knowing who he really was. He softly shook the child when they arrived at their destination.

Daniel squirmed around in the seat, not wanting to wake up. Magnus let out a small laugh and shook the boy for a second time.

Magnus continued to try and wake him up, "You don't want to be late, do you?"

"Could you hurry up, I don't have all day!" The cab driver snapped, looking back at them.

The obnoxiously loud voice caused Daniel to jump and hit his head on the roof of the cab. The cab driver groaned, getting out of the car and taking Daniel's trunk out of the back. Setting the down on the sidewalk in front of the subway station and walking back over to his car. He held out his hand for his pay and got back in the car, slamming the door behind him.

"The nerve of some people." Magnus mumbled as he helped Daniel with his things.

Once they made their way down the stairs of the crowded subway, Magnus looked around for the barrier. When Dumbledore agreed to let Daniel into Hogwarts, he assured Magnus there would be a barrier installed to connect them to Platform 9 3/4.

Magnus smiled, feeling along the platforms. "Ah, here it is."

"How exactly do we get on to the platform?" Daniel wondered.

Magnus pointed at the wall, "We go through the barrier."

"I may be tired, but I'm not stupid." He said, stomping his foot on the ground.

Magnus shook his head, lightly chuckling. "I never said you were. In order to get on to the platform, we have to run through this barrier."

Daniel had a worried look on his face as Magnus grabbed ahold the cart and gave him a reassuring nod. Daniel didn't know whether to trust the warlock, or think he was a complete lunatic and run back to the institute. Before he could protest, they were already running towards the barrier on to the platform. He was expecting to hit the barrier and tumble backwards on to the ground but instead they went straight through.

"By the angel!" He yelled, with a smile on his face.

Daniel realised that maybe he said that a little to loud, because everyone around him was staring at him. This was the last thing that he wanted, he didn't want to be the center of attention. He brought his hand to his mouth, trying to contain his hiccups and biting his thumb nail. Whenever he was nervous or worried about something, his body always seemed to know and he would get the hiccups.

Magnus smiled at the small boy, who was looking around in awe at the platform. "Fascinating isn't it."

Daniel was so excited to be in a new place, that he had completely forgotten that he was tired. He wanted to get on the train as soon as possible and try to make the best of this situation. He hoped he was able to make friends at the school and wondered what would happen when he got there. Magnus fixed Daniel's jacket, that was hanging off his shoulder.

"Do you have everything?" He asked, causing Daniel to nod.

He smiled at the warlock, "Yes. I triple checked."

Magnus laughed, looking at Daniel who was looking at the ground, twiddling his thumbs. He could tell the boy was no longer excited and was more nervous about attending a school so far away.

He half-smiled, "What if they don't like me?"

"In our lives we all encounter people who may not like us, but the best thing to do is to ignore them and focus the positive side of the situation." Magnus tried to explain, hoping it made sense to the boy.

Daniel nodded, somewhat understanding what what the warlock was saying. He took a deep breath before giving Magnus a hug, almost a little to tight. Magnus slightly pushed the boy away from him, trying to regain his breathing to a normal state.

Daniel frowned and muttered a solemn, "Sorry."

"It's okay, now hurry up before you miss the train." Magnus said, brushing off his jacket.

Daniel fake smiled, eyes darting around before he slowly nodded grabbing his cart and heading towards the train. He turned around to wave goodbye to Magnus once more but only came to realise that the warlock was already gone. He hesitated going towards the train, slowly dragging his feet along the ground. Daniel smiled, giving himself a small pep talk before getting aboard the train as the last whistle echoed throughout the platform.