The Scars to Prove It

The train whistle blew and Carina nearly jumped out of her skin. She was nervous as ever about boarding the train on Platform 9 and 3/4, simply because these people she was about to meet were going to be her peers for the next seven years. Well, she was usually terrified to do anything, simply if other people were involved, but this was much worse. She had to make an impression. She took a deep breath, and with wide eyes, pulled herself up onto the train.

She swung her head around to give a small wave to her parents. They stood together, scrunched in as if to keep anyone from touching them, yet tall and proud. Carina got her looks from her mother, who had high cheekbones, a wispy frame, strikingly pale skin, and pale green eyes -- eerily giving off the effect of a corpse. But her smile lit her entire face, so that the shadows disappeared and her startling appearance was only a memory, veiled by the beautiful woman standing in front of you.

Her father, on the other hand, was where her stark black hair was rooted. He rarely smiled, and when he did, it was a haunting experience. His face was usually void of emotion, yet that was almost always a good thing. He was well built, tall, and cast a shadow twice his size. Carina would know -- she’d been living in it all her life.

She gave a small smile to her mother, who was smiling widely, with pride tracing paths down her cheeks. Her father gave her a curt nod before Carina turned away. Even though she had never lived far from her parents, it would be nice to get out of their grasp.

As she turned away, she bumped right into another girl her height. Carina blinked a few times, a blush immediately rising to her cheeks. Still, she didn’t say anything.

The other girl raised an eyebrow. “Where I come from, it’s polite to say ‘excuse me.’”

Carina stuttered. What to say, what to say? “M-my father says not to apologize.” Stupid, stupid!

The girl snorted, and as she snorted, her hair turned a shade a violent shade of magenta. Carina’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

“Who is your dad?” she asked with a shake of her head, as if he was the most disgusting thing imaginable.

“R-r...” Carina cleared her throat. She had heard her father say their family name a million times, with power and authority. And her father had enough friends, Carina supposed...

“Rosier,” she announced, her eyes meeting the other girl’s in what she hoped was confidence. Carina had never exactly been confident before, so she could only base this emotion off what her father radiated.

The girl’s lip curled back. “So I supposed you can sniff the lack of blood purity in me, can’t you? Can’t you?”

Carina seemed to be taken aback. “N-no...”

The other girl had ignored her, and by now all the students in their hall had stopped to listen as the other girl raised her voice.

“I’m sure you’re going to be in Slytherin, just like your Death Eater father, eh? Going to murder some Mudbloods?”

All Carina could manage was to stare, while her face’s splotches of red only deepened.

The girl’s voice quieted, yet still dripped with venom. “Of course. You’ll be just like your father. Did you know he tortured my father? Under the Imperious Curse, my ear.”

At this point Carina backed away, her feet previously rooted to the ground. Clumsily, she turned and shoved past people to get as far away from the other girl as possible. She stumbled to wipe the hot tears from her cheeks.

Make an impression. Yeah, check that off the list.