Daughter of a Monster (A Marauders' Era Story)

Chapter 1: Platform 9 3/4?

Chapter 1: Platform 9 3/4?

Valeria Sunstone took her first step towards Hogwarts the minute she set foot in King's Cross Station. Her mother, Aria, stood beside her, holding a cage with a black owl in it. It's name was Luna.

"Why are you sending me to Hogwarts all of a sudden?" Valeria asked, looking at her mother with curious eyes.

Truth be told, Valeria had been trying to convince her mother for years to go to Hogwarts. Her good friend Camille, who has attended Hogwarts from first year until now, largely influenced Valeria's desire to go, but it was Beauxbatonsthat confirmed the decision. The girls at Beauxbatons made life hard for Valeria. She had never been the prim and proper girl that Beauxbatons was full of and was constantly teased for it. It was only in the past year, though, that Valeria told her mother about the teasing. After hearing about it, Aria began considering Valeria's suggestion to go to Hogwarts. During the summer after fourth year, Aria talked a lot with her friends, Camille's parents, who had gone to Hogwarts as kids. Upon hearing their praise for the school, Aria was sold.

Aria smiled at her daughter, "I thought about what you told me about Beauxbatons and thought that sending you to Hogwarts would be better. I've heard many great things about the school from Cam's parents, you know."

Valeria snorted lightly, "Yeah, I bet they told you the same things Cam told me."

"Watch your tone!" Aria scolded, though the corners of her lips were having quite a hard time staying down.

"Where do we find Platform Nine and Three-Quarters anyway? I don't think train stations have platforms like that," Valeria changed the subject.

"I'm not entirely sure myself, but that's why we're meeting Camille and her parents here," Aria smiled.

After receiving some strange looks from muggles (it wasn't normal to carry around an owl, after all), Valeria and her mother finally found Camille and her parents.

"Aria!" Cam's mother, Maurice, exclaimed, leaning forward to give her friend a hug.

"How do we get to the Hogwarts Express?" Aria asked.

Anthony and Maurice shared a childlike smile.

"Percy! Won't you come over here and show them how to get to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters?" Maurice called.

A young boy, looking to be in his third year, strolled up the them with his luggage cart. A mischievous smile flashed across his face and lit up his blue eyes, the same light eyes that Camille and his parents had. Percy, as the boy was called, prepared himself and made a mad dash toward the wall, his blond curls bouncing around as he did so. Aria gasped as Percy ran straight through the wall and out of sight.

"That was totally wicked!" Valeria exclaimed.

Camille's parents chuckled, "Camille is already on the platform. It's your turn."

Valeria gave her mom an excited glance before running through the wall onto Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. The three parental units followed closely behind. Valeria and her mother stared in awe at the bright red train before them.

"Wow," Valeria breathed. "It's amazing!"

Aria smiled and kissed her daughter's head.

"Have fun, darling. Make sure you write to me," Aria said, giving Valeria the owl. 

Smiling, Valeria nodded and yelled a "goodbye" over her shoulder as she ran toward the train with her luggage. After boarding the train, Camille found her. She aided Valeria into stuffing her luggage into their compartment next to Percy's belongings.

"I can't believe you're going to Hogwarts!" Camille squeaked, sitting down across from Valeria on the train.

At that time, Percy galloped in, a chocolate frog in his hand. It was times like this, when Percy and Camille sat next to each other, that Valeria could not believe they weren't twins. Camille had the same light blue eyes and blond hair. Camille's hair, however, had a tad more curls and reached her shoulders. Just as the train was taking off, a loud tap resonated from the closed compartment door. Valeria looked at the door to see who knocked.

A boy with long, black, shaggy hair peeked into the compartment. From ear to ear, a grin stretched across his face. His eyes twinkled with nothing but mischief. His robes were themed in reds and golds, presumably Gryffindor attire. Or, that's what Valeria guessed from the stories Camille told her of the houses.

"Oi, why aren't you and Percy with us - who's this?"