Fighting Fate (Draco Malfoy x OC)

Badger vs Snake

The morning of September 1st, Faye was woken up by Mrs. Granger. Living closer to the train station, the Grangers offered for Faye and her family to spend the night before in their home, to avoid the hassle of an early morning rush around the house and a long drive. Hermione being a human encyclopedia of Hogwarts knowledge provided her with a useful distraction from her own paranoia.

In the weeks since visiting Diagon Alley, Faye was plagued by the memory of what occurred in Flourish and Blotts. It was a central part of her recurring nightmares, overtaking the ones of the night of her mother's murder. Unlike those vague recollections, these dreams were vivid, like she was being transported into that memory night after night. The single difference was, as the crowd remained still as statues, she was drawn to Ginny's cauldron, a whisper from inside rising to a crescendo moments before she was roused from her sleep.

Her original plan was to speak with Mrs. Beaumont, who was well-versed in runes and had become a source of comfort for Faye during her few troublesome experiences at Ilvermorny. With the advent of a new term, her former headmistress was inundated with the responsibilities of being in charge of a school tasked with educating hundreds of students from across the widespread continent of North America. Absolutely refusing to entertain the idea of seeking Jaxon's help, despite knowing that his expertise with runes surpassed any of her Ilvermorny friends, she resorted to bottling it up, a flawed strategy. As if their minds were linked, Jaxon lurked in the background whenever she was talking with Charlotte and Reese through the enchanted mirrors.

Any hypotheticals she posed to her friends or Hermione were more to keep her from going insane than to get actual answers. Faye resolved to seek advice from Dumbledore, once she was officially at Hogwarts, if the dreams persisted before she had a chance to consult Mrs. Beaumont.

Her trunk in one hand and Nyx's cage in the other, she descended down the staircase. Hermione and Marco were at the foot of the stairs, Hermione telling him about the magical barrier that concealed Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, where Hogwarts students gathered to depart on the train. It was comparable to Ilvermorny's method of travel though instead of a disguised platform, the MACUSA officials bewitched the station workers to disregard the addition of another train to their schedules and cast anti-nomaj protections on the platform.

"Everything packed?" asked her father, leaving the kitchen. "I'll get that for you. It's chilly. Don't want you getting cold."

He zipped her jacket until the zipper pressed into her chin and pulled the hood over her head, covering her dress. "We're going to London, not Mt. Everest. I'll survive. Marco's not wearing a coat."

"Your brother won't get hounded by teenage boys with no manners," he said, as she lowered the hood.

"He could," she countered. "You should be openminded, Papi."

"You can't deny I'm a catch," Marco concurred, flexing his biceps.

"Modest," her father said, sarcastically. He grabbed her trunk. "Let's get a move on. We don't want you girls missing the train.

He ascribed to the motto Being on time is being late and being early is on time. Taking Hermione's trunk, Marco hinted at the chance to drive to the station ("Twenty minutes is nothing.") but her father would sooner sell his organs, not trusting a thirteen year old whose driving experience amounted to hours of video games. Her brother was silenced by her father sticking Nyx's owl treats in his mouth.

They reached King's Cross with a half hour to spare and her father and Mr. Granger retrieved carts for their trunks. Hermione at the forefront, they traipsed through the station, past locals and foreign tourists, until they were at the metal barrier dividing Platforms Nine and Ten. The process was straightforward ("Some run at it but I find it's safer to lean on it") but complicated by Hermione and Faye having to physically guide their families though the barrier. They watched a few families, likely purebloods by how poorly the parents blended in with the nomajs, blend into the crowd before disappearing into the barrier, to ease Claire's anxiety before they decided to 'take the plunge'.