Luminescence

Chapter One

Althea's POV

11 year old Althea Whitlock was absolutely mortified to say the least. There were a wide variety of emotions one could feel at the prospect of starting school, and out of all of them fear was the one that had happened to overtake the young girl. What if she did poorly in her classes? What if her professors were mean? What if the other students made fun of her? She was a shy girl, which made her an easy target for bullying. Her mother, though, had assured her time and time again that things would turn out just fine. It was just school. What was there really to be afraid of? Althea argued that it wasn't just school, it was the legendary Hogwarts, and just about anything could happen during her time there. And on top of that, there was the sorting ceremony to be worried about as well. There was nothing she dreaded more than being sorted into a house she particularly despised. That house, of course, being Slytherin. Her mother had warned her time and time again that Slytherin wasn't a house to be messed with, and those who belonged to the house all turned out to be dark and twisted criminals who deserved to be locked up in Azkaban.

Never mind that way of thinking though, if Althea didn't hurry up she was going to miss the train to Hogwarts, and then she'd never be able to discover what house she was to be sorted into. Ushered along by her mother, she ran into the wall that would take her to Platform 9¾, her mother following swiftly in her footsteps.

The young girl let out a quiet utterance of "Merlin's Beard," as she took in her surroundings. Everything appeared just as King's Cross Station did, except for the fact that it was bustling with young witches and wizards ready to board the train that would take them to the school Althea could have only dreamt of. She let out a shaky breath as she took a step forward, her mother in tow. "Mother, I'm not sure if I can do this." She spoke quietly, her voice a mere whisper amongst the chaotic atmosphere that was the train station. A hand was placed deftly upon her shoulder, and she spun around to face the woman behind her. Her mother was almost a spitting image of the young girl, with short brown waves instead of the long tresses Althea had, and eyes the same shade of cobalt blue. On top of that, they both had an assortment of freckles on their own respective noses and cheeks. The only difference was the length of their hair, and the fact that one was much, much older.

"Darling," her mother spoke in a soothing tone, "Of course you can. If I could do it then so can you." Althea shook her head, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "But I'm not-" she started, but was cut off when the train let out a sharp whistle. Her mother spun her back around. "Go on girl. Off you go."

And that was how the beginning of her year started.

Melanie's POV

Hazel-green colored eyes darted around the train station. The morning had been none other but busy for 11 year old Melanie Aubert. Nonetheless the girl had been delighted after receiving her Hogwarts letter. She was rather intrigued by what was to come in the next 7 years. Her life was a bit more than practically boring to say the least. Her parents were- let's just say very detached when it came to her well-being. The girl had grown to learn to be responsible for herself throughout the years of her childhood. Determined, she made a promise to prove herself as a witch.

Focusing on the task at hand, Melanie made her way towards the column with signs that held the numbers 9 and 10. To any muggle nothing would seem out of the ordinary with the bricked wall that stood before her. Any sudden thought had left her mind though once she heard the voice of her mother behind her. Edith Aubert was a quiet but frigid woman. The last name Aubert was well known in the Wizarding World like any Pure-blooded family. Blood status was something Melanie never cared for. Many Pure-Blooded families could say otherwise considering their prejudice towards Muggle-borns.