Alex nodded, the picture of a meek daughter. "Yes, Father," she replied, inwardly seething.
He nodded, looking calmly at her, before smiling at her, a slightly aggressive smile that was too close to a smirk to really be called a smile. He held out his arms to her, saying, "A goodbye hug then? I assume I won't be seeing you at least until Christmas?"

She nodded, thinking that if she had anything to do it, it would be long after Christmas, before stepping forward and giving him a perfunctory hug before letting go, but he held her in.

"Alexandra," he muttered, deliberately using her full name, "If I hear that you have disobeyed me, I will not hesitate to punish you."

Well then, Alex thought mutinously, I'll just have to make sure you don't hear about it.
"Of course, Father," she replied, extricating herself from his grip, "I understand perfectly." Her tone was the same one she always used when she spoke to him, her face schooled into an expression of affection which she always used when around her Father in front of others.

"Well," he said, resuming his role as kind/caring Father, "Have a nice year at Hogwarts. Enjoy yourself, and keep up with your studies." If Alex hadn't been so angry, she would have been inclined to think that he could become a very successful actor.

"Of course, she repeated, "I'll see you at Christmas, Father," If I can't avoid it, she added mentally.

"Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Her discussion finished, she turned and walked towards the nearest opening of the train, fury barely contained. It wasn't so much that it was such a terrible order, in fact, it was no worse than many of the others she had been given over the years. It was more his incessant, insufferable interference in her life that she couldn't stand. That she was repeatedly forbidden from doing things for no reason whatsoever. Irritation from countless minor encounters was bubbling up, turning into anger. She knew that she would appear like just another melodramatic, pathetic teenager, but she didn't care.

Her eyes were blurring with tears of frustration as she heaved her luggage onto the train, ignoring the hoots of discontent from Alba and the pain in her shin from a less- than- carefully handled suitcase. Luggage on board, she stepped up and towed her luggage into the narrow walkway that ran along the carriage. She was blazing with anger, tears continuing to fall.

"DAMN IT," she screamed, ignoring the shocked looks of some third years who scuttled past, looking at her as though she was some kind of dangerous animal. The urge to hurt someone- anyone, to scream and break things and to let it all out was rising, and but she pushed it down, pulling deep, shuddering breaths, and wishing furiously that she had a different Father-or no Father. She wiped the tears away, feeling thankful that at least she didn't get red eyes or blotchy cheeks after crying.

She was still furious, but at least she wasn't crying any more. She had planned to sit with Ligeia on the train, but she didn't think that she would be able to see anyone without hexing them and smashing everything within reach. She sat on her luggage, glaring at the wall and hoping the anger would subside.

"Well," Alice said smiling. "I guess this is goodbye!" She was not going to cry. This was a happy day. A day for excitement and cheer.

Her mother pulled her into a tight squeeze. "Goodbye my little angel! You are going to be amazing." She looked into her eyes. "I know you are." Alice laughed a little and hugged her once more.

Next up was her dad, Franklin. He crouched down to her level and put his big hands on her shoulders. She smiled the kind smile she had gotten from him and placed her hands on his shoulders. "I want you to do one thing, sweetie. I want you to go to that school, and excel. However you excel doesn't matter. Just that you do." She nodded, and they brought their foreheads together gently. He kissed the top of her head before standing back up and straightening his tie.

Jane, who had been sulking in the back ground, walked up. "Alright mei mei, you know I love you, even if you get on my nerves more than you rightfully should," Cynthia looked at Jane, glaring. "I still love you. Go and learn a few things, you squib!"

"JANE! DON'T SAY THAT!" Cynthia yelled. Alice laughed to herself as Jane gave her a hug and rustled the top of her head.

Suddenly, little Colin ran up to her and grabbed on to her leg. "My sister." He said in a possessive tone. She picked him up and placed him on her hip before kissing his cheek, surprising him. He giggled cutely. "I won't be gone long. I'll be back for Christmas, and I will have a present for you!" She said with a smile. He gasped happily. "I love you, buddy." She said as she put him down.

Then, Mark came up to her. "Well Alice, I never thought you and I would be this position. I mean, last I checked, you were six." He laughed and looked at his feet. "Be good okay? Learn something, make friends, stand up for yourself, I don't know. Take advantage of these 7 years. They will be the best of your life. And I'll send you letters."

"Every day?"

"Every day."

Alice hugged him tightly and he hugged back. She whispered in his ear, "I love you." He smiled and whispered back, "I love you too."

She brought her one suitcase on to the train which had her little stuffed dog in it. While walking to her cabin, she bumped into a tall girl. Older than her. She saw an opportunity to make a friend. So, she stood in front of the girl and put on her brightest smile. " Hi there! I'm Alice! I am a first year, and I am so excited!" She smiled widely. "Do you want to be my friend?" She asked, her shoulders rising.

Alex turned and looked at the small, overly cheerful first year with disdain, thinking that, even if she had been in a calmer frame of mind, anyone who started a conversation with "Do you want to be my friend?" was practically asking for slow death. A moment's pause passed, but the irritating girl didn't seem to realise that the girl she was smiling up at was controlling the impulse to whip out her wand and silence her, so Alex decided that making it perfectly clear was the only option.

"How absolutely fascinating," Alex drawled, sarcasm evident, "I'm Alexandra Carstairs, a sixth year, and right now, I'm absolutely livid." She glared at the girl, glad that she seemed to stop being quite so happy. Alex smiled predatorially, anger rising.

"So, no, I don't want to be your friend. You seem to be offensively happy, lacking in even the most basic levels of perception, and unintelligent, in short, a number of undesirable qualities wrapped into one small and overactive bundle. Oh, and you like stuffed animals, a quality only acceptable in people who are below the age of nine. Need I go on?" Alex asked, beginning to enjoy herself. It wasn't nice to verbally abuse the first year, but Alex had never been accused of being nice, and the fury inside her needed an outlet. How convenient that the slightly pathetic Alice had arrived.

She wondered idly if she could get the girl to burst into tears.

She was taken back by what she heard, but she was destined not to cry. Today is a cheery day. I will not cry. "I am actually quite intelligent. My mother tells me I can be anything I want to be, and I am going to be smart." She smiled thinking back on her mother silently waving to her.

"And yes, I do love stuffed animals. My dad brought me one home every time he came back from a business trip." She giggled quietly.

"So Alex, I think you should try to be happier. My older brother once said, 'Happiness goes a long way.'" She smiled up to the sixth year a toothy grin.

Alex looked at the girl, wondering if she could get away with hexing her. Probably not, unfortunately, although she was beginning to think that the satisfaction of doing so would outweigh the punishments.

"How absolutely fabulous for him," she said, "I suppose that he has managed to attain a state of zen, but for myself, I am quite contented not to be happy. In fact, I would point out that sanctimonious and moralising statements such as that are more likely to provoke a feeling of self reproach, and irritation, than give anyone a sense of purpose."

She paused, then sighed, "Actually, why am I even bothering to tell you this? You'll find out soon enough that life is pain. Anyone who says otherwise is trying to sell you something,[1] not that it would be difficult to convince you to buy something."

Alex sighed again, bored of this, her anger fast dissipating. "Can you go and be pathetic somewhere else, please? Go latch onto someone else and pretend that they love you, since your precious family won't be at Hogwarts," she suggested, her tone bitter, "so you can't use them as your prop for your delusions of affection."

1.	princess bride reference

Alice backed up slowly. "Pa-Pathetic? I'm Alice Hunter. I'm- I'm not pathetic." Her eyes began to fill with tears. "You- You can't," She paused. Yes she can Alice. She's a higher class. Under her breath, she said, "You can say that to me."


You'll find out soon enough that life is pain.

Alice began to twitch a little, thinking back to the werewolf attack. Just the thought of not being able to do anything for Lexi made her begin to cry. "I AM PATHETIC! IT COULD HAVE BEEN ME. IT DIDN'T NEED TO BE HER!" She yelled, crying into her hands. She soon turned on her heal and ran for her compartment.

Alex watched the girl in shock. Well, that was unexpected, for certain. Unresolved issues, some kind of problem, doubtless to do with self- blame for some incident in the past, based on that melodramatic statement. It was pathetic, but not for the reasons Alice thought.

A twinge of guilt was shoved down, after all, how could she have known that the girl was so hung up over something?

She sighed quietly, exhaustion taking over, and she slumped down on the nearest seat. She had the entire train journey to try and attain the expected level of excitement, to try and put that irritating girl out of her mind. She leant back against the seat, staring out of the window as the train began to move, watching the scenery blur.

She wondered if she should regret taking her anger out on that girl, but she didn't think that she ever would. Better the irritating first year than someone she actually cared about. And if someone was that pathetic, so desperately reliant on others, they were doomed to failure anyway.