The Final Day {Open}

[Dominique Keys]

The end of the summer holidays was finally upon them, and Dominique couldn't have been happier about that. For once, she was actually glad to be going back to school. Don't get her wrong, not returning home to her family was still one of the best, most exhilarating things she'd ever done, but it hadn't been easy. For a while she'd stayed with a friend, but that didn't feel right. What was the point of escaping one family just to impose on another and get stuck under their rules? No, that wasn't what she wanted. Most of her holiday had been spent going between different hotels and bed and breakfasts, at first staying in Hogsmeade until she finally headed back down to London.

Her Hogwarts letter had found her regardless of where she was staying, and it had been properly addressed to her there despite the fact she'd only been staying in that particular place for a day. Shopping hadn't been particularly easy without having access to the family account - not that she wanted to use their money, but she had to do what she had to do, and if she wanted to go back to school for her final year, she needed to find a way to get her supplies. Dominique put of the trip into Diagon Alley for as long as she possibly could.

One thing she hadn't been expecting was a letter from her father - it wasn't harsh or even cruel. He hadn't said anything degrading, he hadn't accused her of anything, hadn't demanded she return home... he hadn't insisted on her staying away and said they wanted nothing to do with her, either, which was truthfully what she'd been expecting. Instead, he'd ask that she write back to him at some point if she felt well enough to do so, and said he'd attached the key to the family's Gringotts vault, which she could use and then send back to him. It was the last thing she'd been expecting, but she'd hurried to the bank and took out what she needed, and maybe a little more, too. She had a bit of an IOU with some of the places she'd been staying that she needed to pay back.

Shopping done, and September fast approaching, Dominique packed her things and made her way towards King's Cross Station, hoping to find somewhere to stay. She found herself in a tiny hotel on the muggle side of London, and actually, it was one of the nicest places she'd stayed in so far. She almost didn't want to leave it.

When the morning of September 1st dawned, Dominique was up and ready bright and early, and checking out of the hotel before the clock struck 9. What was she supposed to do for two hours? There was nothing to it, so she headed into the station and towards the barrier, slipping through onto Platform 9 3/4 easily. It was eerily silent with not another person in sight. Peaceful. The most peaceful she'd ever seen this particular platform.

Dominique found a bench and sat down, her bags near her, and put her feet up. She pulled her new astronomy book out of her bag and started to flip through it, her mind not really on the words on the page, but now lost in thought. She didn't know how much time had passed, but she slowly became aware of the sound of footsteps, and the hushed murmur of voices from down the platform.