Lions Inside¹ | James Potter

one

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(Dog Days Are Over//Florence + The Machine)

1st of September, Saturday, 1973

"Smettila di preoccuparti," Marco Russo said to his daughter, shaking his head at her expression.

"But he should be here. I don't wanna go onboard alone," Andrea whined back, trying to look over the heads of the many people milling around the train platform.

Aisha Russo grabbed onto her daughter's shoulders and made her look up at her.

"Andrea, it's fine. You'll find him on the train." She gave her daughter a warm smile, making her beautiful features light up. Andrea had always envied her mother's natural beauty.

The dark curls she always styled to perfection, sometimes smoothing them down completely, and looking like running syrup. Her dark freckles lightly covered her cheeks and nose, adding to her natural beauty, and highlighting the fact that she barely wore make-up.

Aisha reached a hand up and ran it over her daughter's unruly hair, trying to tame it or perhaps flatten it a little.

"Mama! Leave it," Andrea grumbled, pushing her mother's hand away.

"I wish you would just let me use Fleamont's SleekEazy Potion on your hair occasionally. Your curls would be so smooth and beautiful."

"It's too much work," Andrea stated, finally managing to wrestle out of her mother's grasp.

She had inherited her mother's wild, crazy curls. Only instead of maintaining them as well as Aisha did, she usually left them windswept and messy. Her hair wasn't the only thing that differed her from her mother.

While Aisha stood at a tall 5'10, 13-year-old Andrea was still very short. And while Aisha's clothes always matched perfectly and looked ready to go straight from dinner to the office for work, Andrea always got mocked by her New York parents that she dressed like a 'California hippie'.

Her father had joked around with her all summer that her colourful, flare-ended outfits were more hippie than hipster. But she just accepted it, taking the comments for what she considered them, compliments.

The whistle sounded from the steam engine to the Russo's left and they all looked to the scarlet train before turning back to each other.

"Fretta. You don't want to miss the train," Marco told his daughter. He grabbed onto her heavy Hogwarts trunk they had bought in Diagon Alley the day before and started to heave it on board for her.

Andrea pouted and desperately looked around the platform one last time, hoping to spot her friend or his parents.

Marco took pity on his daughter and pulled her in for a gentle hug. He'll be on the train, cocca. But to see him, you have to get on board," he joked, kissing his daughter's temple.

Andrea reached a hand up and twiddled with the pink-beaded necklace and the gold chain around her neck, showing her nerves.

Andrea wouldn't call herself a nervous person but starting a new school already three years in, all alone, made her slightly nervous.

With his arm still around his daughter's shoulders, Marco guided Andrea on board the train to take her to her new school.

Andrea pulled both her parents into tight hugs before closing the train door and hanging out the window to say goodbye.

"Stay safe, write loads, study hard. Stay out of trouble! And keep that Potter in line!" Aisha called out to her daughter as the train slowly began to leave the station.