invisible string! → ron weasley

i. the sorting

⋆☆.* ✧✰ .✦⋆*☆

IF THERE WAS ONE THING Katherine Kinley liked about her family, it was that wherever they went, they were always early. This meant that, after a lecture from her parents, she was able to board the train early, find an empty compartment, and watch everyone as they began to arrive on the platform.

Kates had ignored the lecture entirely, as she did with most of the things her parents said. It wasn't that she was a bad kid—because she was quite the opposite, and her Aunt Jackie had taught her from a young age to know her worth—it was that her family was awful. They were Blood Purists, and her father had even been a Death Eater back during the war. Her brother had the same attitude they did, too, and Kates still thought it a miracle that she came out with a mind of her own.

She supposed she owed at least part of that to Aunt Jackie, though whenever she told the woman that, she always modestly disagreed. "You're different than them," Jacqueline Kinley would tell her niece in a soothing yet decisive tone. "I'm just here to teach you that it's all right to be yourself." She was grateful to have spent so much time over the summer with her aunt, even though her parents hated the idea of their daughter spending time with her. Those moments were, without a doubt, the only decent part of her summer—and, really, her entire life thus far.

Her stomach did a somersault as she thought back to the occasion of the day: in just a few hours, she would be arriving at Hogwarts for the first time, where she would finally get to make a life for herself beyond what her parents wanted. She could be her own person, do as she pleased and speak with whomever she wanted, regardless of blood status. It was exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time, but she was ready and determined. She did, after all, have a very good feeling about it all, as she did with most things in spite of her rather dreary upbringing.

As her future classmates would come to learn, Kates Kinley was one of the most positive people on the planet. Her spirits were always high and she had a habit of looking on the bright side, even if it was a rough side to find. It was harder for her to be like that at home, but the more time she spent in the freedom of her Aunt's care, the more she realized that that was who she was, and she loved it. She had a knack for being kind, and that kindness, as she herself would come to learn soon enough, was not to be mistaken for weakness. She could just as easily throw a sharp retort at someone as she could offer them a smile. A perfect balance.

More people were arriving on the platform now, she noticed as she stared out the window of her compartment. Parents were hugging their children goodbye and some were talking through windows to people who had already boarded. Older students shared embraces with their friends as they reunited, leaving their families so they could catch up on the train. Younger siblings who were not yet old enough to attend the school watched in either awe or jealousy, staying back as their siblings went off to prepare for departure. Soon the platform was so full that were was hardly an empty space about; it was a sea of heads and trolleys, cages and trunks. Kates expected she'd soon have to share her compartment, but she didn't mind the thought at all—in fact, she rather hoped the time would come with much haste.

"Is this seat taken?" Kates' gaze was torn away from the window and to the compartment doorway, in which stood a boy about her age with dark skin and kind eyes. He looked nervous, but that was to be expected from the majority of her peers. He was probably a muggle-born, or perhaps a half-blood. The thought alone made her feel even better about what she was about to say.

"Not at all," she replied, gesturing for him to join her. He flashed her a timid yet grateful smile and slid into the seat opposite her, staying closer to the door rather than moving toward the window. Even so, he didn't busy himself with a book or anything, so she took it as a sign that she could speak to him. "I'm Katherine Kinley, but my friends call me Kates." It was a rehearsed statement, one she was elated to say for the first time. The truth was that she didn't really have any friends; the only people her family allowed her to associate with were far too professional or stuck-up for her tastes, and they all called her Katherine. Aunt Jackie was the only one who called her Kates...though that would soon change.