Journey to Hogwarts

[ELIZA MARIE CUNNINGHAM]

TIME: September 1, 2026

It was the beginning of September and Eliza was in her office, prepping for the first day of school. Actually, she had been running around the school all morning sorting things out. A lot had to happen before the students graced the steps of Hogwarts. But all of them were oblivious to that as they gathered at Platform 9 3/4 to get onto the Hogwarts Express.

Many were saying goodbye to their family and excitedly trying to find their friends on the train. Although there were also a fair amount of students who would be first years and were about to make their first friend at Hogwarts!

The train set off on time and all of the students found a compartment to sit in. They only held about 4 people each, but some were also going around to see where their friends were and socialize during the long train ride to Hogsmeade. It would be dinner by the time they arrived, but there always was the trolly lady who came by with some snacks for those who could afford it.

((Not going to have specific compartments. Just try not to have too many people sitting alone in a compartment or more than 4-5 in one (5 would be squishy, though).))

[ROXANNE VOGEL]

It was Roxanne's last year at Hogwarts and the Hogwarts Express felt a little bittersweet. She was excited to see certain people after the holidays, though. That was the same as every year. But she would miss this yearly ritual. And this year, she would be quite busy, organizing the Prefect schedule with the Head Boy and all of the extra duties she had. But she was very happy to be Head Girl and felt that she could handle it.

They would be having a Prefect meeting on the train later, but for now, Roxanne settled in a car near the back of the train. She wanted to leave the front cars for the younger students who might not want to walk all the way to the back of the train to find a seat. She took out a book for now and started to read until more people came onto the train.

[DORIAN HUDSON]

Every year, summer holiday got a little tougher. Dorian's muggle friends seemed to be drifting apart from him a little more this year. They still caught up and hung out and played video games (to which he was terrible now at the new games), but their lives were so different since getting into high school. Dorian's was too but he couldn't really talk about that. It really was a shame 'cause he loved just hanging with his mates but their lives were so different.

Going to the train was a bit of a different feeling. Dorian missed Hogwarts not just for the people but also how at home he felt there. He loved his family too, and he definitely felt at home there, but it was in a different sense that he couldn't quite explain.

He found a compartment near the middle of the train and hated being so early. He liked to walk in fashionably late and find his friends there already and join them. Oh, well. He didn't get too comfy in his compartment, though, in case he heard his friends in the corridor and would want to go hang with them in their compartment.

[YUMIKO SHIRAKAWA]

It was Yumiko's second year at Hogwarts, but her first year without her older sister Riko there with her. It would be a little strange, but also not. They had such an age difference that they didn't end up seeing each other a ton at Hogwarts anyway. Different schedules, different interests... They usually only saw each other in the common room sometimes or at meals. Sometimes they hung out during free time, though, but Riko had been so busy all the time. Yumi wondered if she would be like that when she was a seventh year.

She said goodbye to her family and promised to write soon and embarked onto the Hogwarts Express. She wasn't quite sure where to sit so she found a compartment near the front of the train. She took a window seat and looked out at the people also saying goodbye to their parents. There was a sense of excitement in the air, though, and she felt it too. She was definitely excited to get back to Hogwarts, even if her first year had been rather dangerous with the petrifications happening all over the school. But that seemed to be dealt with now and hopefully Hogwarts could get back to normal, or whatever counted as normal for Hogwarts.