Chapter 2
For several years, these six girls, Destiny, Jean, Alaina, Annabella, Laurie, and Danielle had to live their pitiful lives. None of them were quite personable because of the way their life flowed unnaturally. They all felt as though an impending event was about to happen, ready to drop on their heads. Sometimes, they dreamed of a different life, waiting to whisk them away. Nothing had happened in ten long years, until today, the second of August.
As Destiny came to collect the mail, she spotted four things on the doormat: a postcard confirming her mom’s dentist appointment, a car bill, and-a letter for Destiny. Her hands shook as she read her address. The envelope felt thick and heavy, and was in yellowish parchment. No one had ever written to her personally. True, she received angry letters from the library, but she was shocked. As she strolled into the kitchen, dazed, she handed the other mail to her mom, and cried, “Mom, there is a letter for me!” Disbelieving, she turned the letter to the other side, and saw the Hogwarts Crest.
Opening the envelope slowly, her mom said, “Destiny, you are a witch.” Her legs turned to lead. Was she dreaming?
“I can’t be. I have never showed signs of magic before.”
Surprisingly, her mother smiled. “Have you ever done something without meaning to, when you were angry or scared?”
Destiny had no idea what to say. She thought about it. “Well, I did accidentally turn my teacher’s wig purple when she gave me a D on my science test. And I did somehow end up on a roof when I was almost mugged while walking home.”
“You are making a transition from a little girl to a witch,” she said proudly.
* * *
On September first, her mom had escorted Destiny to the train station. Her heart skipped when she spotted the scarlet engine of the Hogwarts express. After they said their good-byes, Destiny began looking for a compartment to sit in. She spotted an empty one down the corridor, and made her way towards it.
While placing her trunk in the luggage rack above, a blond skinny girl appeared in the doorway, and asked, “Excuse me, is anyone sitting here with you?”
Destiny shook her head, and sat down. “I’m Destiny, who are you?”
Extending her right hand, she answered, “I am Alaina.”
“I don’t mean to be offensive or rude, but what happened to your arm?” Destiny wondered aloud curiously, as Alaina’s left hand was dangling beside her body at an odd position.
Suddenly, she appeared somewhat uncomfortable. “Oh, it’s nothing,” she muttered.
"What happened? I mean, I am sorry, I did not mean to pressure you. I’ll stop...”
“I was born with a paralyzed left arm,” Alaina said sadly. “I am made fun of a lot at my school for being different than everyone else. They always used to say that I wasn’t dexterous. This year, I want to attend to Hogwarts with a new image.”
Destiny smiled, and agreed. “I was sometimes teased because of my mom.”
Alaina chuckled, and asked, “Did she embarrass you?”
A knife went through her heart. Sure, her mom embarrassed her once in a while, but this girl had no idea what it was like to have a mom like hers.
When she saw Destiny’s face, her smile fell. “Are you okay?”
She took a deep breath, and plunged, “They tease me because my mom has on-and-off depression. They call her retarded in front of me. I hate going to school because their comments affect me. I never tell her, of course...”
Just as she finished speaking, a girl dressed in expensive clothes apparated into their midst. Her hair was rose red, and she wore heavy make-up. “May I sit with you two? Everywhere else is full.”
Without waiting for a reply, she took a seat on Destiny’s side, and proclaimed, “I’m Jean. Who are you?”
When Destiny and Alaina introduced themselves, a smiling plump witch appeared with a rattling cart, and asked sweetly, “Anything off the trolley, dears?”
Jean pulled out her money purse, full of jingling Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts. She purchased several pumpkin pasties, Chocolate Frogs, and Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans.
Jean ripped open the box of Bertie Bott’s, and she spotted Destiny and Alaina staring at her. When she offered the sweets, they gladly accepted.
Suddenly, three other girls asked if they could join their compartment. As Destiny peered out the window, she noticed the neat, tidy houses were now being replaced by green fields.
Annabella held several books in her arms, and she describing animatedly her latest adventure with Alaina. She appeared to be a plain, simple, and shy girl, but was considerate towards others.
Laurie was scrumptiously devouring Chocolate Frogs, as if she had never eaten in her life. Her clothes hung loose around her, and she had dark shadows under her eyes.
Danielle seemed to always smile, but Destiny felt that she was hiding a deep dark secret. As she was sitting by herself in her corner, Destiny approached her cautiously and learned that writing stories helped her to escape her horrible brothers, feeling as if she were not wanted. Daniella felt jealous of her care-free characters. She secretly said that sometimes she would tear her stories to shreds because she was so mad at the boys and girls in her stories.
However, the six of them enjoyed each other’s company, and they all wondered what they did to deserve friends like them.
Jean would watch the neat houses turn to green fields, and knew that her friends and her were in for a big adventure.
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