The Journey
The girl with the blue hair looked polished in a way Vi could never pull off—long, dark hair neatly braided over one shoulder, her uniform already on, and a book resting in her lap. On the seat next to her sat a caged tawny owl. The girl glanced up as Vi slid the door open.
“Mind if I sit here?” Vi asked.
The girl studied her for a moment, then nodded. “Go ahead.”
Vi hauled her trunk into the overhead rack and flopped into the seat across from her. “Thanks. I’m Vi.”
“Caitlyn Kiramman,” the girl replied, closing her book.
Vi raised a brow. “Fancy name.”
Caitlyn smirked. “My mother would certainly think so.”
Vi chuckled, remembering the hardened look she had seen the girl’s mother wear during their first encounter. “Are you in your first year?”
“Yes. You?”
Vi nodded. “Yeah. Whole thing’s still kinda crazy to me. Magic and all.”
Caitlyn tilted her head, recognition dawning. “Right, I saw you in Diagon Alley. You’re the Muggle-born that my mother was, well, rude to?”
“Yeah, that’s me,” Vi answered with an awkward chuckle, rubbing the back of her neck nervously.
“I do hope you found Gringotts alright,” Caitlyn added. “I tried to mouth directions to you.”
Vi hesitated. She didn’t technically find it because of Caitlyn, but that was semantics. “Yeah, we found it alright,” she said with a smooth smile.
Caitlyn smiled brightly, her eyes twinkling as she glanced out the window.
A few moments passed in comfortable silence before Caitlyn turned back to Vi. “Have you read much about Hogwarts? The houses, I mean?”
Vi scratched her neck. “A little. Gryffindor’s the brave one, Slytherin’s the ambitious one, Ravenclaw’s the smart one, and Hufflepuff’s… the nice one?”
Caitlyn huffed a quiet laugh. “That’s a very simplified way of putting it.”
“Hey, I had, like, a month to process all this.” Vi grinned. “What about you? Got a preference?”
Caitlyn hummed, considering. “Ravenclaw for sure. My parents expect Ravenclaw. I don’t suppose they’d be too happy if I weren’t.”
Vi raised an eyebrow. “And what do you want?”
Caitlyn smirked. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
The train ride passed in a blur of chatter and the occasional glimpse of the countryside rushing by. Vi and Caitlyn had settled into an easy conversation, interrupted only when a lady with a cart full of sweets stopped by their compartment. Vi, who had never seen so much candy in her life, had stared wide-eyed at the selection. Caitlyn bought a bunch of sweets for Vi to try. Vi’s favorite was definitely the pumpkin pastie, but they passed time trying every flavor beans and chocolate frogs.
“So, what’s your owl’s name?” Vi inquired through a mouthful of fizzing whizbees.
“This is Hex,” Caitlyn explained as she idly brushed the bird’s beak through the bars of its cage. “He’s quite the love.”
Hex hooted as if he understood Caitlyn was praising him.
“Wicked,” Vi replied with a grin. “I’ve only ever sent one letter by owl, when I had to send back my reply to my acceptance letter. Took us a bit to figure out how, but then one appeared on our windowsill one day and wouldn’t leave until I had attached the letter. Powder thought it was so cool.”
“Well, at school there’s the owlery, where you can use a school owl to write home,” Caitlyn explained. “If you want, that is.”
The rest of the train ride passed quickly, and before they knew it they were almost at their destination.
As the train slowed, students started pulling on their robes. Vi hastily shrugged into hers, the black fabric feeling unfamiliar and stiff against her arms.
“We’re here,” Caitlyn murmured, peering out the window.
Vi pressed her face to the glass, catching sight of a tiny village nestled against a dark lake, glowing warmly in the dusk.
Hogsmeade.
Her stomach twisted—part nerves, part excitement—as she followed the crowd onto the platform.
“Firs’ years! Firs’ years over here!”
Vi turned toward the voice and—damn, that was a huge man. And her dad was Vander.
A towering figure with wild hair and a massive beard stood near the edge of the station, waving a lantern. Vi swore he was at least eight feet tall. Powder would have lost her mind at the sight.
“C’mon, Vi,” Caitlyn nudged her, already heading toward the group of nervous-looking first-years.
The man grinned as they approached. “Welcome to Hogwarts! Name’s Hagrid. Right then, follow me—mind yer step!”
Vi glanced at Caitlyn before following the group down a winding path. The air smelled crisp, tinged with pine and something almost electric.
Then, the trees opened up.
Vi stopped dead in her tracks.
Ahead of them, across a vast, glassy-black lake, stood the castle.
Hogwarts loomed over the water, its many towers rising into the darkening sky, windows glowing gold against the twilight. It looked like something out of a dream—or a fairy tale.
She barely registered Hagrid’s next words.
“No more’n four to a boat! Off yeh go!”
Vi blinked, dragged back to reality. Students were clambering into small wooden boats lined up at the edge of the lake.
Caitlyn grabbed her sleeve. “Come on, before we get stuck with someone awful.”
Vi grinned and followed her. They clambered into a boat, and two other students quickly joined them—a nervous-looking boy with glasses and a grinning girl with short, reddish-blonde hair. Something about her very presence set Vi’s teeth on edge. Maybe it was how stupid her hair looked, Vi thought to herself, before deciding that she should at least try to think positively.
“All set?” Hagrid called. When the students gave their confirmations, he raised a massive hand—
The boats moved on their own.
Vi sucked in a breath as their little boat glided smoothly across the water.
The castle loomed larger with every second, its reflection shimmering across the inky lake. The sight was breathtaking—but Vi couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling curling in her stomach.
The closer they got, the more real this became.
She was really going to Hogwarts.
Was she ready?
No time to wonder.
The boats slid beneath a large stone archway, leading them into a cave-like tunnel beneath the castle. They came to a smooth stop near a dock, where Hagrid ushered them out and led them up a set of stone steps.
A massive set of wooden doors loomed ahead.
Vi’s breath caught in her throat.
This was it.
The doors swung open, revealing a tall, stern-looking woman in emerald green robes. She regarded them all with a sharp gaze.
“Welcome to Hogwarts,” she said. “I am Professor McGonagall. In a few moments, you will enter the Great Hall and be sorted into your houses.”
Vi barely heard the rest.
Her heart pounded.