The Train
On the platform, Vi immediately began scanning for that cobalt blue she knew so well. Her scanning was only broken by the woosh of steam and the sound of a whistle. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was 10:59 and hustled to get onto the train before it began moving.
The Hogwarts Express was just as Vi remembered—warm and bustling with energy, full of familiar faces and the kind of excited chatter that only came with returning to school after a long summer. The platform had been a blur of last-minute hugs, trunks being shoved onto the train, and younger students looking around in awe as they prepared for their first journey to Hogwarts. But now that they were moving, the train had settled into a comfortable rhythm, the steady clatter of wheels against the tracks filling the air.
Vi dragged her trunk down the corridor, peering into compartments as she passed. Mylo and Claggor had said they’d find a spot near the middle of the train, but Vi hadn’t spotted them yet. Instead, she kept glancing over her shoulder, half-expecting Caitlyn to suddenly appear behind her. She still hadn’t seen her since they’d stepped through the barrier, and though Vi wouldn’t say she was worried, she didn’t exactly love the thought of Caitlyn sitting alone somewhere.
She didn’t have to wonder for long.
“Oi, Vi! Over here!”
Vi turned her head just in time to see Mylo and Claggor hanging out of a compartment, waving her over. Claggor grinned as he leaned against the doorframe, and Mylo smirked like he had some kind of joke already prepared.
“Took you long enough,” Mylo said as Vi shoved her trunk inside.
“Yeah, figured you got lost,” Claggor added.
Vi rolled her eyes.
She collapsed onto the seat across from them, stretching out her legs as Mylo rummaged through his bag for something.
“Where’s Caitlyn?” Claggor asked, glancing toward the door.
Vi tensed for half a second before answering. “Dunno. Just saw her with her parents.” She exhaled sharply, slumping further into her seat. “They seemed thrilled to be dropping her off.”
Mylo snorted. “Rich people.”
Vi huffed a laugh, but the uneasiness in her chest didn’t go away. She couldn’t shake the way Caitlyn had stood so still in front of her parents, or the way she had barely said anything before stepping through the barrier. It felt… wrong.
The compartment door slid open before she could dwell on it any longer.
“Mind if I join you?”
Vi looked up immediately, grin already forming at the sight of Caitlyn standing there, trunk in hand.
“Obviously,” Vi said, shoving Mylo’s bag off the seat next to her without hesitation.
Mylo muttered something about how that was his spot, but Vi ignored him.
Caitlyn carefully placed her trunk overhead before settling beside Vi, smoothing down her uniform as she sat. She looked more relaxed now than she had on the platform, though there was still something lingering in her expression, something Vi couldn’t quite place.
“Has the trolley come by already?” Caitlyn asked.
Claggor shook his head. “Not yet, but you better be quick when it does. Vi’ll buy half of it before you get a chance.”
Vi gasped, hand over her chest in mock offense. “I would never.”
Caitlyn gave her a knowing look.
Vi huffed. “Okay, maybe I would, but I’d share.”
“Sure you would,” Caitlyn said, smirking as she leaned back against the seat.
It was easy after that. The tension from earlier melted away, replaced by laughter and friendly insults. Mylo launched into a dramatic retelling of how he had almost crashed his dad’s broomstick over the summer, while Claggor kept interrupting with reminders that Mylo had, in fact, just fallen off instead. Caitlyn listened with amusement, occasionally shaking her head at Mylo’s embellishments, and Vi felt the tight knot in her chest loosen with every joke, every shared glance, every moment where it felt like they had never been apart at all.
Eventually, the trolley finally did come by, and true to form, Vi bought more than she should have.
She turned to Caitlyn, offering a Chocolate Frog with a smirk. “See? Sharing.”
Caitlyn took it, rolling her eyes but smiling. “I’m shocked.”
Vi just grinned and unwrapped her own, biting into it before the enchanted frog could escape. The train rumbled forward, carrying them back to Hogwarts, back to flying, back to late-night adventures and stolen moments between classes.
Vi was beyond excited.