Station 9¾
We finally arrived at the station, and I was looking around frantically. It didn't look very special, or magical by that matter, but I decided not to judge a book by it's cover. I followed my parents obediently, since I didn't want to get lost or miss the train because of any dumb mistakes. I knew already that station 9¾ was hidden from the muggle world, so I wasn't surprised when in between the station 9 and 10, there was no other.
“So... how do we get there?” I looked at my parents curiously.
“Well, running through a brick wall, of course!” My father said while laughing. I didn't take him seriously, because I was used to him making jokes, and I rolled my eyes. Then, I looked at my mom.
“He's serious, (Y/n).” She smiled at me amusingly and I still couldn't believe it. It showed on my face, because my dad weezed at my reaction and my mom let out a soft sigh. “Here, I'll go first, then you go, and your dad will follow you, yeah?” She turns to one of the columns.
“If you crash I'm pretending you aren't my mom.” She chuckled and rolled her eyes, then started running towards the wall. I covered my eyes, not wanting to feel embarassed, but I never heard a crash. I looked again, thinking she might've stopped, but she was nowhere in sight. I looked confused at my dad.
“Aw, come on! You totally missed it!” He complained. “Go on then, your turn.” I looked at him skeptically and then at the wall.
“But- what if I actually crash into it?” He sighed at my question.
“That's why you should have looked. And I can't leave you here alone, what if something happens? So go on now.” I gulped at this, still looking full of doubt.
I grabbed my cart with all my stuff firmly, and started running towards it. I closed my eyes, but never bumped against anything. I opened them, and looked around, the number 9¾ could be seen close by hanging on a sign with ‘Hogwarts Express’ written next to it. I stopped running and held my cart tightly for it to not ride away, and I tried not to bump into anyone. Luckily, no one dared to stand around there for too long as they knew people would come running out of it. I saw my mom waving at me from a distance and I walked towards her, as I heard my dad arrive behind me.
As I handed my mom my cart with all my stuff –excluding KitKat and some things I wanted to take with me in the train– she walked away and put them where they were supposed to go. I looked behind me and saw my dad, who put a hand on my shoulder.
“Well, (Y/n), I guess this is a farewell for some months.” He said formally first, with a chuckle, but then looked at me with worry and pulled me into a tight hug. I hugged back and enjoyed the moment, but as my mom walked back he pulled away quickly. “Have fun, yeah? Knock their socks off!” He said, with tears threatening to come out of his eyes.
“Yeah, yeah. I'll be back, you know that, right?” He smiled and ruffled my hair, but I wasn't allowed to react since my mom pulled me into a deep and warm hug.
“Mmm, be careful. Don't get into trouble.” I smiled, and after some time pushed her softly to let her know I was done with the hug. She looked at me with a mischevious grin on her face. “Although sometimes, you gotta do things that aren't allowed.” I snickered in response.
They both gave me a kiss on the cheek and we said our farewells once more. Right now, I didn't care much. But I was sure I may start feeling homesick once I've spent some time there. I got in the train, rushing in scared they might close the doors on me, and started looking for a compartment. I hoped to find one that was completely empty, or to find someone I knew to invite me in. I wasn't really one to want to disturb people, and I'd hate to intrude in someone's friend group or bubble and make it awkward. As I walked down the hallway of the train, I spotted Draco in the distance. We exchanged glances and he grinned at me, which I smiled politely back to. I looked at the compartment next to me and found it was empty. I cheered silently and entered, sitting on the seats and sighing in relief. I let KitKat down on the comfortable cushions as well, next to me, and she curled up and closed her eyes ready for a nap. I patted her head softly and decided to look out the mirror, watching as the train started moving.
After some seconds though, a boy shyly opened the door and I turned to look at him. “Um, can I sit here?” He muttered out, which I smiled sweetly and nodded to.
“Sure!” He sat in the seat in front of me, close to the window.
“Thanks.” He said nervously. “I'm Neville, by the way. Neville Longbottom.” He presented himself, fiddling with his fingers.
“I'm (Y/n) Elsher! Nice to meet you.” I didn't reach out my hand for him to shake, since I wasn't too sure if he was comfortable with that. But I smiled brightly instead, which he returned in a shy way, cheeks turning slightly red as he avoided my gaze. I wondered if I made him uncomfortable, after all...
Not long after, a girl opened the door again, and instead of asking, she straight up walked in and closed the door behind her. “Sorry, the rest is full.” She had bushy curly hair and a stack of books in her hands. She looked around, and turned to Neville. “Excuse me, can I...” She motioned with her books in way meaning she may want a seat for herself as to place her items beside her, and though I didn't fully understand, Neville sure did.
“O-oh! Yeah, sure.” He stuttered, and stood up, making his way over to me. He sat next to me, looking curiously at my cat that left enough space for him to sit.
I smiled at him again. I had this thing where I'd smile over the simplest of things. Someone talking to me, interacting with me, was one of them. I don't know where it came from, but even if I disliked the person who approached me, most of the time I'd find myself forcing away a smile that just turned my face into an awkward expression. That wasn't the case, though, so I let my face expressions run freely. Again he blushed slightly and quickly turned away, putting both hands on his cheeks. I just freezed there, kind of confused. The girl saw this and chuckled lightly at the situation. I was overthinking again, but it was over nothing, as little did I know he just thought I looked cute and couldn't find a way to not make it look evident. But lucky for him, I was clueless.
“Ah, my name is Hermione Granger, by the way. It's a pleasure to meet you.” She smiled at us, which I giggled back to. She had presented herself almost the same way as Neville did, with the 'by the way' on the end, and I found it funny.
“(Y/n) Elsher.” I said happily.
Then, silence formed for a few seconds and we both looked at Neville, who was still facing the other way, looking dazed out of the compartment window of the door. He felt our staring, I supposed, and looked backwards. He looked confused and nervous when he saw us staring but quickly reacted.
“Uuh, Neville?” He just said, and we both laughed at this lightheartedly.
After that, everyone went back to their own. I stared out the window, sometimes playing with my cat; Neville just sat there, lost in his thoughts; and Hermione was reading a book. Some time passed, and Hermione sighed to put her book down and started watching out the window, just as I did. Then, she looked at me and randomly started talking to me. I didn't mind at all though. Soon I realized she knew quite a lot, and although other people might call her a 'know-it-all' I found her random facts and knowing of certain spells quite interesting. She did most of the talking and I listened eagerly, sometimes commenting on something she said. We ended up talking about the topic of our pets, my cat piking her interest, and this caused Neville to join in on the conversation. He was about to introduce his toad, as he realized something, and a terrifying look spread accross his face.
“Neville...?” Hermione questioned, a worried look on her face while I didn't know what was going on. “You did not-” she couldn't finish as the boy interrupted her.
“Oh Merlin! I lost Trevor!” He said in a panicked tone while he started frantically looking across the room. Hermione sighed to this, and stood up ready to help him look.
"How about me and Hermione look around the train and you search here?" I proposed. The girl looked at me and nodded, commenting it was a good idea. I peaked outside the compartment and quickly decided to choose the shorter side. “You go that way, I go this way.” She looked at me confused.
“Why do I get the longer side.” I pondered and then answered.
“Because we'll probably have to ask people if they've seen a toad, and I'm socially awkward. You aren't.” I smiled doubtfully wondering if she'll buy it. She just chuckled in response.
“Alright then.” And we parted our ways.
Honestly, it wasn't as embarrassing as I thought. I'd just knock on a door, open it, apologize and ask if they've seen a toad or frog somewhere (maybe they mistook it, had to take chances), and they'd all respond with something similar to a ‘no’. I sighed, opening another door, this time without knocking as I was getting tired of it, and when I looked inside I saw Draco sitting there. He looked at me with an annoyed expression but when he realized it was me, it changed to a normal one.
“Elsher? Look, this is the person I told you about.” Two –a bit more chubbier– boys, who honestly kind of looked like bodyguards next to the blond one, looked at me. I waved at them with a small smile, and they waved back returning the expression. “Elsher, Crabbe and Goyle.” He said introducing me to his friends. I was about to ask ‘you've been talking about me?’ but decided not to, maybe it'd make things awkward. He was probably just bragging about how someone called him goodlooking, he seemed like the guy who'd do that.
“Just call me (Y/n).” I said, actually more directed to Draco, but deciding to speak generally. “Hey, um, have you guys seen a toad? Some boy has lost it and I'm helping him look for it.” Crabbe and Goyle just shook their heads while Draco chuckled.
“Seriously? Already? Wow.” I smiled awkwardly at him.
“Yeah, it'd be a shame if we actually couldn't find it. I feel bad for him.”
“That's kind of you, (Y/n). I'd just tell him to go look for it himself, if he asked me to help.” He grinned and looked at his friends, who just snickered.
“No, actually, it was me who offered.” Draco looked at me with a surprised and confusing look on his face, just replying with an ‘oh’. Then, I remembered the talk we had in the pet shop and I decided to bring it up. “Oh, by the way, I'm not sure I'll get in Slytherin but I hope we can still be friends.” I smiled softly at him, and he looked at me with a soft –actually normal, but considering it was him I'd say soft– expression on his face. Then, he smiled softly back.
“Of course! As long as you're not in Gryffindor. Those people are just, ugh.” He rolled his eyes while expressing his disgust. My parents had informed me about the houses and I knew of the tension between Gryffindor and Slytherin, so I laughed a little at this.
“Sure. I hope we'll get along.” I smiled brightly, shyness sliding off of me slightly. “Gotta go now, bye!” As I closed the door I saw Draco smiling back at me, and then returning to chat with Crabbe and Goyle.
I continued asking a few people, looking around in compartments and in the hallway, but couldn't find anything. I walked back to mine, still aware of my surroundings for if I spotted something toad looking, but when I reached my compartment I hadn't found anything. I open the door and see Neville restlessly waiting, but I don't see Hermione.
“She isn't back yet?” I question, and he shakes his head. I notice his bouncing leg and trubbled look on his face. “You haven't found him, I assume?” He shakes his head again, playing with his hands and looking at the ground trying to calm himself down.
KitKat comes closer to him and sniffs his hand, trying to comfort him I guessed, which he smiled softly at. I looked at him with worry and sat down next to him. “Hey it's gonna be okay. Did you get Trevor on the train?” I asked with a soft voice. He nodded.
“I'm sure.” He added, and I smiled.
“Then he's probably still on it. He couldn't have jumped out a window since he can't open one. Imagine!” My voice raised a little, but is still soft. Neville giggled at me and looked me in the eyes. “When the train stops and he gets out, I'm sure someone will find him and turn him in, or you'll find him inside Hogwarts hopping through the halls even. If he stays inside, I'm sure the train staff will report him and hand him in to Hogwarts as well and he'll eventually get back to you. Don't worry, it will turn out fine.” I reassured and gave him a light push in the side, trying to cheer him up. He showed a smile, a bit livelier than before, and whispered a ‘thanks’.
Then, Hermione walked in. I asked her if she had found him and she shook her head. I patted Neville's shoulder to comfort him, and although he did blush –again– he didn't look away this time. Hermione did start talking about how she encountered the oh so famous Harry Potter, and I smiled sweetly at her rambling and listened intently. She took notice of this though, differently than when we were chatting before, and stopped rambling but did smile at me softly with a light tint of pink on her cheeks. She then informed us that we were getting close to Hogwarts and that we should change into our robes, which we did. Giving each other the privacy we needed, of course.
We had arrived at Hogwarts, and everyone was rushing outside. I couldn't help but bump against quite some students. I was already clumsy and this situation didn't help me in any possible way. I held KitKat safely in my arms, protecting her head and body so she couldn't get hurt. I hoped she was agile enough to land safely on the ground on her own if I fell, but luckily that didn't happen.
At first I tried following Hermione and Neville around, but as I exited the train and stopped to look around –which was a mistake, I shouldn't have done that– I lost them in the crowd. Once everyone was out it wasn't as cramped anymore and I could freely move around, loosening my grip on the brown kitty in my arms, still holding her. I heard a deep voice not so far from me and I looked towards it.
“First years, this way, please!” It was a big man with a big bushy beard holding up a lantern that brighted up the dark surroundings.
Before I was even able to decide to walk there myself, I felt a hand grab me by the sleeve and drag me there.
“Quickly, come on!” I recognized that voice and bushy hair immediately: it was Hermione.
I smiled softly although she couldn't see it, happy she warmed up to me enough to go look for me and take me with her. I fastened my pace to catch up to her but she didn't let me go as she dragged me all the way to the front. I didn't think it was necessary but I let her do her thing anyways. When we stood right in front of the, who I supposed was, half-giant I quickly recognized Ron; it was hard to miss his orange hair anywhere. I leaned forward to look at him.
“Hi, Ron.” He looked at me and a small smile grew on his face, which I returned happily.
“Oh– hi, uuh...” I realized I hadn't introduced myself at all at the incident in front of Ollivander's wand shop.
“(Y/n).” I introduced, as his smile grew a bit wider and he nodded.
Hermione looked at me confused, wondering why I knew his name and not the other way around, while my gaze shifted to another boy next to Ron who was looking at me with a glimpse of curiosity in his eyes. I smiled at him and waved excitedly, which he flinched slightly to and then waved back with an awkward smile on his face. I leaned back, returning to the position I stood earlier, and looked up to the man in front of me who called us to gather before. I felt a tap on my shoulder and quickly looked sideways to see Hermione lean in to whisper something.
“That's Harry Potter, the boy you just waved to.” She showed me a small but excited smile, returning to her original position. I just responded with a small ‘oh’.
Before I could say anything else, the man before us spoke. “Right then. This way to the boats! Come on, now, follow me.”
We started walking behind him and decided to all get in the same boat. A fairy tail like castle could be spotted in the distance, on the other side of the water. It was a beautiful scenery and everyone looked at it in amazement. When I was sat in the boat securely I looked around to see if I spotted Neville, I did miss his presence a little and I was still worried about his toad. I ended up spotting him in a nearby boat sitted next to two other boys, with his back facing towards me. I started waving frantically to try and make him notice me, or one of the other people on his boat.
“What are you doing?” I heard Hermione ask next to me.
“Neville.” I just spat out, too focused on one task to also explain to her.
“Oh, okay.” She answered, still sounding confused, but she quickly turned to Ron and Harry and started talking with them.
Thankfully, one of the boys in Neville's boat noticed me and I smiled, which he waved awkwardly to. I pointed to Neville, and he seemed to realize what I wanted. He nudged him lightly and pointed towards me while saying something, and the dark blond boy turned around. I smiled and waved, and he looked at me excitedly, more happy than I remembered him. He raised his arms and showed me the toad he was holding in his hands. I gasped loudly and a wide smile appeared on my face. I showed him a thumbs up with both my hands and he smiled happily, turning around to what I supposed were his new friends.
“Neville found his toad!” I shaked Hermione lightly and she awkwardly smiled back at me, which I noticed, so I quickly calmed down and let her go in hopes to not make her uncomfortable.
Harry, who sat on the seats in front of me, smiled at me sweetly. “That's good.” I nodded happily.
Soon we were close to the castle, and everyone started gasping in amazement again. I couldn't stop staring at the building and saw everyone talking in excitement, which I smiled to. I was excited to get inside the school.