finished into the new world solo

It appeared a tad bit strange to Venus that she would have to go through the trouble of traveling all the way from Scotland to London, only to get right back on a train to Scotland. "It has been a tradition for a long time," Her mother had answered her question, her tone stiff with tired contempt, "Besides, don't you want to have the experience of the Hogwarts Express? It is considered a right of passage."

Venus did want to experience the Hogwarts Express. She had never been to London proper, not counting Diagon Alley. Perhaps she could get a glance at the Ministry before she had to go to King's Cross. She had always wondered about city life. It was hard for a country girl like her to picture anything else other than green meadows and acres of woods surrounding her on a day to day basis.

However, Venus's travel companions were set on a goal: arriving at platform 9 3/4 before the train arrived. If only Dad and Mars had come... They would have been up for more of an adventure. Unfortunately, she was stuck with only Mom and an incredibly sullen Mercury. What a joy.

The week prior, after the annual school shopping trip to Diagon Alley, Mars had concocted a somewhat hair-brained scheme and released over 100 caterpillars that he had captured in the garden into Mercury's bed. These caterpillars feasted on the paper of her brand new books until all that remained were telltale scraps of the crime. Normally, her parents would have let him off the hook but Mercury insisted that he be punished for once "or else he will stay a rotten brat forever."

The punishment seemed more like a punishment for her than a punishment for Mars. After all, it was her Hogwarts send-off that he was being forced to miss. That also meant that Dad couldn't come either. She did take the chance to kiss him goodbye before leaving Scotland and she understood that it was a terribly stupid idea to leave Mars on his own recognizance for more than a minute, let alone a whole 5 hours. Who knows where he would have put the caterpillars this time. A shiver crept up Venus's spine as she thought about the idea. Given that he had already pranked Mercury, she was the next target.

Mercury most certainly knew that too... That meant she had planned this situation out beforehand. She had been tempted to slap Mercury as they were packing their trunks but she resisted the urge. It was a bad idea to have her older sister looking to take revenge on her on her first few days of Hogwarts. She was equally as adept at causing Venus annoyance as Mars, however, the difference is, with Mercury, someone else always was blamed for what she had done. Ravenclaws were too smart for their own good sometimes...

Venus set aside the vengeful thoughts. There was no use being negative, she was going to Hogwarts! The magic that she had seen around her all of her life would finally be at her fingertips. She had her very own wand! It was sitting in her trunk just above the pajama sets and next to her textbooks. Hogwarts would be the first step on her journey to becoming an Unspeakable after graduation. Every time she mentioned it, her parents and grandparents were quick to remind her how hard it was. That didn't mean she had given up. She still had her heart set on it and nothing else.

How was the train not there yet? Venus traced shapes with her foot as she listened to her older sister talk to her mother about Christmas plans. She knew they would be having roast beef. They have always had roast beef. No matter how many vegetarian alternatives Mercury proposed, she knew Grandma would never change a tradition. That was scandalous and against Adair family rules.

Eventually, after what seemed like a billion hours, the sound of a chugging steam engine grew louder and the picturesque Hogwarts Express pulled into view. Venus snapped out of her daydream and grabbed her trunk. Why was it so heavy? She hadn't packed everything. She had even put some things back after her mother insisted that they wouldn't fit into the small-sized suitcase. Venus heaved it over her shoulder before turning around to kiss her mother goodbye.

"Do well out there, okay? Don't forget to owl!" Her mother's voice was loud enough to distinguish over the other family members bidding their children farewell. She would do her best.