The Celestials

Chapter one - New Beginnings

They walked along the platform with the luggage on a trolly, trying to avoid bumping into people. Mallory pushed her trolly behind her brother and dad while her other dad walked next to her. It had been a week and 3 days since she got her letter and now she was walking up to the train for Althea's School of Magick Arts. Children and teens yelling for their friends or family, and parents making sure their kids had everything they needed. Mallory felt a tap on her shoulder and looked up. Her dad looked down at her with a soft smile. "Have you got everything you need?" he asked. "Yes dad" she replied. "Good. Now if you need anything, just send a letter through your raven and we will reply as soon as possible." He said. She nodded up at him with a blank expression. Mallory was thinking about how awful this year was going to be. The most likely option was that she was going to be picked on again, just for being a bit different. No one at her old school really treated her as a human, most treated her as a robot only meant to fulfill their wishes. Her other dad walked over with her brother, snapping her out of her thoughts. They all said their last goodbyes to one another before she and Olly walked over to board the train. "Have fun kiddos! We will see you for Christmas!" Their dad called out to them. Mallory quickly turned around to wave at them. She turned back to put her luggage in the storage area before getting on the train. She seemed to have lost Olly but he was most likely finding his friends.

She walked along the thin corridor, trying not to bump into anyone. Most of the compartments were full and she was trying to find an empty one so she could read. She eventually did find one and opened the sliding door. She shut it behind herself and sat down by the window. She rummaged through her bag, pulling out her book. Opening her book to where she left off, she began to read. The silence was soon interrupted when there was a knock on the door. She glanced over. It was Olly. He opened the door to talk to her. "Hey Mallory," he said. "What do you want Olly?" She asked. "Just wanted to see if you wanted to come to sit with me and my friends," he said, putting his hands up in defense. "No thank you. I'd rather read and enjoy the peace and quiet," she replied. "Suit yourself then," he said, shutting the door. Mallory sighed before turning back to her book.

The silence was interrupted again when two girls opened the compartment door. One had raven black hair, dark brown eyes, and light brown skin. The other had chocolaty brown hair with brown eyes to match and tanned brown skin. "Can we sit in here? Everywhere else is full," the raven-haired said. Mallory quickly nodded before turning back to her book. "Thanks!" the brunette said. They both walked in, shutting the door behind them. They sat down opposite Mallory. The brunette glanced over at the book she was reading and said "Have you read it before?" Mallory looked up at her. She blinked a few times before saying "No I haven't. Have you?" Her eyes lit up. "Yes, I have, I enjoyed it very much," she said. "How far in are you?" she added. "I'm on chapter 7 so far" Mallory replied. "That's my favorite chapter!" She said. "If you guys are gonna keep talking about books I might as well die of boredom," The raven-hair sighed dramatically. The other laughed. They were interrupted by a knock on the door. It was a blond-haired girl with silvery-blue eyes. "Mind if I sit in here?" She asked. "Sure!" The raven-haired said, perking up a bit. "Thanks, I got told to sit with my brother and cousins but they're all assholes. Only caring about how 'pure' you are and how high your rank is of course." she said as she shut the door. She took a seat next to Mallory, facing Alma. "Sounds miserable, I'm Alma by the way." the raven-haired said. "Nice. I'm Naomi Winter," the blonde said. "This is Amber, we've known each other for years," Alma said, gesturing at the brunette. "Hello, it's nice to meet you, Naomi," she said. "And this is...I never got your name, what is it?" Alma asked, looking at Mallory. "Mallory Crux," she said. "Oh, my mother said to stay away from you and your family. She's not a massive fan of people dating the same sex but I honestly couldn't care less about what she thinks. You seem cool" Naomi said, smiling. "I'm not that cool, I'll bore you all eventually," Mallory said, avoiding eye contact. "What makes you say that?" Amber asked. "I can't feel emotions like everyone else," Mallory said, looking out the window. "I'm sure you're not that boring, you seem interesting to me," Naomi said. Mallory looked at her. She had a smile on her face. Mallory felt something in the pit of her stomach. She wasn't sure what it was but it felt right.

.The group of girls continued talking for a while. Mallory was also included in their conversation and for the first time in a while, she had something good to say about the school. It wasn't long before they reached the end of the journey and had to exit the train. "What do we do about our things?" Alma asked. "My brother said that some of the staff bring it up after the sorting," Mallory said. "Oh alright then," she said. "Let's hurry, or all the nice carriages will be taken!" Naomi said to the others.

Outside of the small train station were some small carriages, waiting to take the students to the school. The girls quickly picked out a carriage. Lucky for them it was empty so they all sat down and waited until the carriages started to move. They continued talking until they arrived. The castle was just as Olly had said it was, it was massive. Vines crawled up the towers and some even had roses on them. The next thing they knew and the girls were outside the school gates. The older years had already gone inside to the great hall, waiting for the first years to be sorted so they could finally eat. All of a sudden the doors to the castle swung open. A woman who looked like she was in her late 40's walked out holding a scroll. She had scarlet red robes that swished around her ankles. Her fiery red hair was tied in a half up half down bun. "Good evening first years." She spoke with a heavy Welsh accent. The chatter died down at once. "I am the deputy head teacher and head of Phoenix house, Professor McKenna. I will take you to the great hall now where you will be sorted into a house. Follow me!" Everyone did as they were told, not wanting to get into trouble on the first day. Mallory wondered what house she was going to be sorted into. She caught Naomi's eye and looked at her. Naomi smiled at her before turning her head around again. Maybe this wasn't going to be as bad as Mallory thought.