An active, character-driven Hogwarts experience set in the early 2000s. Unique items, plots, and features. Non-canon; this isn't Harry Potter's story, it's ours.
It was fully dark outside as the Hogwarts Express slowed along its track, then hissed to a stop at Hogsmeade Station. The train doors flung open by magic, and everyone was advised to leave their luggage and all other belongings where they were.
As students began to leave the train -- Hagrid, who was twice as tall as an average man, made his way along the platform with a huge umbrella. Fang wasn't with him, likely in protest of the weather.
'First years.' Hagrid's booming voice carried over the nervous chatter and delightful conversation. 'First years, this way.'
For those paying attention, there was some Ministry presence on the station -- Aurors, by the looks of it.
Unfortunately, it'd begun to rain sometime in the last half hour of their journey -- so everyone else were in a rush to get to the carriages, which would transport them along a long forest-side path towards the Hogwarts Front Gates, then the castle itself. Many chatted with friends along the way, exciting for the delicious feast that awaited them, or simply sat quietly to enjoy the ride.
It was a new experience for second years, who'd been non-the-wiser as to what happened next unless an older sibling had mentioned it in the past.
For those who were fortunate enough to not have witnessed death (and remember it well), the carriages that would transport them to the castle appeared horseless -- pulled, as many always assumed, by magic itself. Some who knew otherwise let them keep their blissful ignorance, or simply did not wish to draw attention to their own misfortune.
But, as Reena Ashworth in particular had now just discovered, the carriages were in fact pulled by horses. Spooky-looking, winged ones; not just any horses, but Thestrals. She didn't know that's what they were called, or much of anything about the creatures themselves -- though they seemed to match something Aubrey make quite a fuss about when Jaxen first got his wand. Whatever these things were, the hair of one resided in Jaxen's wand as its core. She was sure of it.
Meanwhile, students got into carriages (seating 4 each) -- which began the long journey to Hogwarts, which was as warm and inviting as always despite the dreary weather. It was as if it welcomed them home.
This thread is for leaving the train and heading to the castle. Using this thread, and to what degree, is entirely optional -- you're free to skip ahead to the Great Hall and start posting in the Welcome Feast thread if you wish. 2nd years, please keep in mind this is the first you're discovering the carriages, as well as experiencing things prior to the Sorting Ceremony.
Leave any and all luggage, pet cages, etc on the train as they'll be brought up while you're at dinner. All students must be dressed in full uniform by the time they reach the castle. House arrangement is shown in the Great Hall image, for reference.
Post by MJ Birdwhistle on Mar 3, 2023 18:41:33 GMT 10
MJ had rushed to change into her robes as soon as she noticed the train pulling into the station. She apologized when she bumped into her friends, all of them squeezed into one compartment. She was pretty sure she spilled a bunch of beans everywhere too...
It was surreal, leaving the train and not following the booming voice of Hagrid towards the boats. This year they would be taking carriages to school! MJ marvelled at them and the weird horses that were pulling them along.
She didn't dwell on it long enough and she noticed, to her disappointment, that there was only space for four people per carriage.
MJ didn't like having to pick between her friends so she got into one of the carriages and made sure that (at the very least), she kept a seat for Charlotte if she wanted to join her and they would enjoy the journey to the castle together.
Surely it wouldn't take that long anyway? MJ was looking forward to the sorting and the feast. Hopefully Ravenclaw would get a good batch of first years!
[OOC: Exit -- feel free to mention MJ in your post if you sat with her on the way to the castle!]
Post by Kody Ashworth on Mar 3, 2023 18:58:56 GMT 10
The rain didn't bother Kody too much but he was struggling to finish putting on his robes as he exited the train. Which was probably a terrible idea but they had arrived before he had a chance to get changed!
Okay, so getting distracted by chocolate frogs was probably his fault...
Regardless, he finished fixing his robes and double-checked he hadn't managed to somehow wear them inside out. Realizing he had to then snag a spot in a carriage, Kody rushed off towards them.
He loved the magic of carriages that moved by themselves!
Kody didn't bother to check who was in the carriage before he climbed up into it, nodding and smiling as he squeezed past to take a seat, "Thanks, sorry."
If they were bothered by him being here, they didn't say anything so he was in the clear.
Off to Hogwarts! And to the delicious feast that awaited them (Kody's brain helpfully skipped over the fact he had to wait through the sorting and the announcements before he'd be allowed to eat).
[OOC: Exit -- feel free to mention Kody invading your carriage if you like!]
Before he knew it the train was slowing to a stop and they had finally made it to Hogwarts! Felix quickly -- and a bit haphazardly -- changed into his robes as fast as he could. The young Gryffindor so excited to get to the castle he'd swim there if he had to. Even if there were boats available.
He bid farewell to Grace as he was swept into the crowd of students, faces blurring into just different colored robes. Were there more students this year? It felt like more. Felix almost instinctually followed Hagrid when he remembered he was a second year now. They took a different path to Hogwarts!
It was rainy and slightly hard to see but that path seemed to be carriages led by...nothing? How were they moving? It had to be some sore of magic of course but the curious boy had trouble wrapping his mind around it. It looked so odd yet so wicked at the same time. Magic was awesome!
So distracted by the invisible-pulled carriages he stepped up into the first one that he saw, which luckily still had space for him to squeeze in. The excited chatter filled the space, his fellow students just as excited for everything as he was.
His second year was about to start and Felix was beyond excited. It would be a whole new experience seeing the sorting ceremony from the other side. He couldn't wait!
Post by Martha Twiggs on Mar 3, 2023 19:19:29 GMT 10
Martha made sure to introduce herself to both Zack and Nette (especially since Zack had asked her name) before she exited the Faculty Carriage. She made a face at the rain and put her hat on, hoping it would save her hair.
She looked around for Amelia but the crowd was too great for her to even spot her twin, regardless of how noticeable their hair colour was. Martha sighed and motioned to the crowd of boys in front of her, "Make your way to the carriages, first years go to Hagrid."
They laughed and moved on, which made Martha both relieved and a little proud.
There hadn't even been a need to draw her wand, like Zack suggested. Then again, those boys hadn't been fighting. Just clogging up the platform with their conversation.
Orientation had gone well but Martha's head swam with all the information she needed to remember. She approached the carriages and helped a second year get into one before moving on and taking another chance to find Amelia.
Maybe her twin would find her before the carriage left?
Martha could only hope for that as she got into an empty carriage, waited for more people to join her and then watched out the window as they made the drizzly journey to the castle.
She would dry herself later when they got there.
[OOC: Exit -- Feel free to mention Martha in your carriage!]
Post by Thorne Perry on Mar 3, 2023 22:03:56 GMT 10
Somehow, despite all the snacks and treats Thorne had eaten on the train, he was still so excited for the feast. His stomach kept growling! He tugged his robes on, double-and-triple checking that they were neat (an action that reminded him of his granddad all over again), and hurried to tidy up his part of the train car before he followed the throng of students off the train.
In the general chaos of the departure, he got separated from most of them - though not without a wave goodbye! - and in the end, still riding off his odd confidence surge, he picked a carriage at random and scrambled aboard, settling happily (as usual) into a window seat.
....which meant a fourth year Gryffindor he vaguely recognized almost stepped on his toes when he joined the carriage! But he was polite enough to apologize, so Thorne just gave a friendly nod back, and tucked his feet in a little more, and settled in to enjoy the ride.
When they left the train, the weather was a disappointment to Kwame. But it couldn't fully damper his excitement to be back at Hogwarts, the place he loved most. He did notice some Aurors when they disembarked. Kwame thought it would be cool to be an Auror one day, but he would never be brave enough to fight bad guys.
He looked for Sinead and was happy to share a carriage with her to the castle. He began to talk to her about his book he had been reading, and all the potions that could be made with ingredients grown in Africa.
"You can borrow it when I'm finished, if you like," he said to her. "I wonder if Professor Snape would let us make any of these potions in class? If he had the ingredients."
Post by Lindsey Bryce on Mar 3, 2023 23:50:14 GMT 10
The story about Amara shoving a kid head into his porridge sounded like something she would do. She took little worth in people younger than her. Which is why Reena spending so much time with her was odd at the end of last year. Lindsey tried not to think about it before she headed towards the doors of the trains. The crowd of kids were thick and she heard the ever familiar voice of the groundskeeper, Mr. Hagrid, ushering the younger students to the boats.
Gosh, she missed that ride. A smile appeared on her face as she walked, but vanished at the carriages came into view. She had heard about Thestrals, but had never seen one in person... She swallowed the lump in her throat and looked around for anyone else who could see them. She tried not to let it slow her down, but she had certainly stopped at on the trail before finding a carriage to sit in.
She didn't know if Sinead would join her on the last leg of their journey, but she was quiet on the carriage ride, not wishing to say anything about the winged-horses.
She had swallowed when she heard the words 'Jake's Friend come from Duncan and she just nodded. Sadness swept over her and she looked out the window as the darkness began to take over the surrounding country around them. She knew it would come up, someone would mention his name. Amelia could feel the wetness of her eyes build and she focused to watch the land around before the train arrived in Hogsmeade.
Getting of the train was no easy feat, she she had to wade through the crowd of students and make her way to the carriages. She searched for her sister and friends, but they were lost in the crowd of students. Amelia was use to this and found herself pushing through the crowds until she saw the carriages and smiled when she saw one empty except for Martha.
Climbing into the Carriage, she smiled at her and sat down across from her. It was time to get to the castle and she watched as they headed in that direction, smiling towards the castle when it came into view.
Amber eagerly headed to the door of the train and made her way to the carriages.
Ambers view fell on the big castle and a smile emerged on her face. She really had missed Hogwarts. But the rain made her admiration short and she hurried to a carriage.
On her way she noticed the Aurors, but she couldn't wonder long about it, because she soon was swapped away by all the students in a rush to get on the carriages. She was lucky that she didn't lost Joshua on her way. And the journey to Hogwarts began.
Charlotte had dressed quickly, not wanting to be in the small crowd of others doing the same thing. Once she had gotten dressed, she had made herself as small as possible and plastered herself to the seat until the rest had finished. While she waited for the rest to finished, she opened up her box of beans and proceeded to try a few. The first two were fine, but she quickly spat one out when she got the taste of Black Pepper in her mouth.
A wrinkle appeared on her nose and she suddenly jumped when she heard the sound of the train whistle. She stuffed the beans into her bag she had brought and waited for the crowd to slowly die down. Once she felt comfortable enough to go out, she quickly rushed out, but felt herself faulter when she realized they wouldn't get on the boat.
But, where did they go? She looked around and hugged the plush closer to her when she realized that she would need to leave it with her bag. Putting it in the bag, she placed it with the other luggage and followed the crowd away from the train and towards the horseless carriages. She swallowed back the nerves, her fingers already curled into tight balls around the fabric of her robe.
When she saw MJ, she let out a quiet whimper and rushed to her carriage so she wouldn't have to ride with someone she didn't know. The absence of the plush was real and she hated it even more when the carriage started to move without anything pulling it. Magic seemed to always surprise her, but sometimes she wished it wouldn't...
Soon the train rattled to a stop as they arrived at the station. As Sinead stepped down on to the platform in the rain, the girl noticed there were Aurors present. The sight of them made the brunette uneasy, which caused her to nearly lose sight of Kwame and Lindsey in the crowd as she followed them to the carriages that would take them to the castle.
She followed Kwame and Lindsey into one of the carriages and sat next to Lindsey. During the ride up to the castle, Sinead chatted to Kwame about his book and accepted his offer of lending it to her when he had finished with it. It was nice to have a conversation with someone who had the same interest as her in potions and she hoped they would become good friends.
"Oh thanks that would be great. Hmm knowing my head of house, its unlikely but you could always ask though." The brunette replied in response to Kwame's question of whether or not Snape would let them try out the potions in class.
As they got closer to the castle, Sinead noticed Lindsey was really quiet and knowing how much her friend had been affected by the events at the end of last year, the girl gently brushed her shoulder against Lindsey's gently to remind her that she was not alone and had her support.
Last Edit: Mar 4, 2023 13:02:36 GMT 10 by Lena: Readability
The whistle of the train signaling the end of the journey made Alice excited to return to school. Alice stuffed her remaining sweets and cupcakes into her bag. Alice didn't mind if it was raining; she was happy to finally step into Hogsmeat village and make her way to the school.
Alice got off the train which her friends. Hagrid's voice reminded her of her first year. Last year, she also went with Hagrid. Now, there are new first-years who would.
Alice's eyes went to some people standing in the proper dress code. They do look like some important people, but she had no idea who they were.
Alice walked along with her friends toward the carriage. It was the first time she would ride those horseless carriages she had heard about last year. As Alice had expected, they were indeed horseless. She saw as one full carriage started moving toward the school. Even after living in a magical school for a year, everything is like something out of fantasy.
When the train whistle reached his ears, William took his eyes off the book to look outside. The Hogsmeat William was visible from the window as it was a couple of months ago. William bookmarked the page before putting the book in the bag. He had dressed in his robe only half an hour ago.
William wasn't in a hurry, and he let the running students move forward. There was no point in racing them as everyone would be out of the train soon.
Like every year, Hagrid was calling for the first years, but William's eyes went in a different direction. He noticed some Ministry Aurors standing at the platform. What business does it have here? The breakfast scene returned to his eyes before he pushed it away and started walking.
William walked toward a carriage and sat inside without caring who would join him next. He would prefer to get inside the school soon rather than get wet in the rain.
Post by Joshua Twiggs on Mar 4, 2023 6:09:05 GMT 10
Joshua still couldn’t believe he had lost the beans challenge. He had been certain he‘d get something disgusting like toe nail but it had turned out to be dandelion flavored.
He really needed to step up his beans game!
He still had some left so hopefully Arthur and Oscar would play again with him.
Joshua chatted exitedly with Amber as they boarded a horse less carriage together and headed up towards the castle.
00 | 
22 | 
20
December
