The ride to Hogwarts
Reducio
Some notes:
This is a private thread with @Ōkami Faoláin and @Kai Taylor.
This post is forward dated to 1st September 2026.
Words: 477 words.
Edits have not been made to the story, just to the notes here. Some formatting edits may be made down the line.
Some notes:
This is a private thread with @Ōkami Faoláin and @Kai Taylor.
This post is forward dated to 1st September 2026.
Words: 477 words.
Edits have not been made to the story, just to the notes here. Some formatting edits may be made down the line.
"Alone at last"
These were the first thoughts that came to Aaron's mind after the Hogwarts Express left Platform 9¾. The entire week his parents were on top of him, reminding him to pack his books, clothes, wand, remembrall, and his potions stuff. His mother had confiscated all his books knowing that Aaron would read them and try to learn magic earlier than the rest. Of course he was going to do it, how else will he get time to practice the swish and flick moment to cast Wingardium Leviosa. On the drive to the station, they kept on telling him stuff, reminding him what to do and what not to do.
His father was worried since he was a Muggle and didn't know much about Hogwarts. His mother was even more worried since she fondly remembers the tales of Harry Potter and his friends, who graduated Hogwarts just before she joined. The professors had often told her batch the tales of Harry, Ron and Hermione, which she later told him.
At the station, they began to fuzz over his looks. He always looked good, whether he put in the effort or not. But now, finally alone, he realised one thing: he was alone. No one was with him.
Aaron was about to go down a downward spiral of negative thoughts when he remembered the story of how the trio met in the train. Maybe his luck would fare the same as Harry and he would meet someone on the train to Hogwarts?
Aaron began to look into each of the compartments. They were either full, or consisted of people clearly older than him. At last, he found an empty compartment. Aaron hauled his luggage in and kept his stuff neatly in the compartment as he was often told to do so.
It was strange. This was one of the rare moments he was completely alone. No people, no gadgets, nothing. His mother had said that Muggle technology doesn't work at Hogwarts, so there is no point of taking it, not that he was interested in taking his laptop and phone. No books were available for online reading, nor was there anything else mentioned about Hogwarts online that others didn't know. Maybe he could persuade the Librarian to consider an online library? This way the old books can be saved from the students. A discussion for another day.
"Time to wait for the trolley lady I guess."
He wasn't sent without money. After much persuasion, he was given some money, enough that he can get something every now and then, even then, he needs to send a monthly owl detailing his transactions for the month, which he thought was a waste of time.
Looking at his watch, Aaron realises that barely any time has passed since the train started.
"This is going to be a long journey."
Last edited by Aaron Schwartz on 9 Jul 2026, 20:32, edited 1 time in total.
Aaron Schwartz
Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure.
The ride to Hogwarts
Mom had walked me to the train platform. She was holding my hand tenderly. Even though she seemed confident about me, I knew she was worried. These would be my first full moons without her. On top of that, I felt like everyone on the platform was staring at me; during my last full moon, the large scar on my face had split open, and the blood would sometimes start flowing for no apparent reason—mostly when I was stressed. I could feel my skin cracking right then, so if I kept stressing the way I was, I’d probably start bleeding during the train ride. Mom gave me a gentle push, urging me to board the train. I hugged her and made her promise to give big kisses to my four older brothers. I was going to miss them all.
I boarded the train with tears in my eyes. I waited near the door to wave goodbye to Mom, and once the train pulled away, I went looking for a carriage where I could have some peace and quiet during the long journey.
But after walking back and forth three times without finding a single empty carriage, I had to look for one that wasn't too crowded. That’s when I stumbled upon a carriage occupied by only one person... a young boy. I sighed; of course I’d have to be sociable with someone, especially when my scar was acting up.
I sighed again, but I opened the door and sat down across from the young man, saying in a bored, weary voice:
"I hope you don't mind if I sit with you; all the other carriages are full..."
@Aaron Shwartz, @Kai Taylor
Last edited by Ōkami Faoláin on 9 Jul 2026, 22:50, edited 1 time in total.
The ride to Hogwarts
Reducio
Some notes:
Some notes:
- Statements that Aaron says in italics are his thoughts.
- Statements that Aaron says in italics and quotes are verbal and can be heard by others. Additional notes (such as loudness or clarity) will be mentioned above or below the quote.
- Statements that someone else said (either with their permission or copying from another post) will be written in the same code as they wrote as.
- People in bold are dNPCs in Aaron's life. They may have helped in developing his character. These people are only bolded when mentioned the first time.
- Word count: 338 words
Before Aaron could think of looking for someone to sit with, the door opened and a girl came in and sat across for him. Before he could react she said,
"I hope you don't mind if I sit with you; all the other carriages are full..."
Aaron was in a shock. He didn't mind someone barging in and sitting opposite him, rather he was expecting something like that to happen, but her face. The huge scar.
Aaron was scared to bring up the scar, or the slight impressions of blood. Was that fresh? And his communication skills with girls wasn't top notch either. The final conversation with Elisa he had yesterday was the best proof of that. That couldn't have been his fault entirely though, right? How can you expect an 11 year old to explain your situation when many adults face this issue on a daily basis?"I don't mind at all. In fact I was hoping that I don't have to do this full day journey alone."
"Snap to the present, there is plenty of time to focus on the past."
Was the scar an old wound or a new one? Or is it a mark of some sort? Should he bring it up or leave it be? How should he bring it up? Should he ask about it or mention it? Either interaction will have interesting results that was certain.
"Bring it up it is."
And thus, Aaron speaks for the first time since he boarded the train,
Half a second pause, Aaron said in a hurried manner"I don't want to be rude or offensive, but if you don't mind, can I ask about the scar on your face?"
Aaron was sure he has said something wrong, just not sure what it was. He wasn't expecting his first interaction with anyone to be this weird and hopefully did his best to smoothly continue it. Time can only tell."But of course, if you don't want to talk about it, we can leave it at that. I am Aaron by the way. Half-blood. First year on the way to Hogwarts. You?"
Reducio
@Ōkami Faoláin and @Kai Taylor
@Ōkami Faoláin and @Kai Taylor
Aaron Schwartz
Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure.
The ride to Hogwarts
The young boy across from me, as I suspected, asked me about the scar on my face. Luckily, I don't bite and I'm not aggressive. Although it's true that my werewolf nature makes me a little bit aggressive, I'm generally calm and composed.
He asked if it was indiscreet and introduced himself. His name was Aaron, and thankfully, he didn't mind me sitting with him. No, of course not, no question about my scar was indiscreet. It must have been quite unsettling for many people to see an 11-year-old girl with a large scar on her face. To answer him, I only had two choices: either tell him the truth or tell him the biggest lie he could possibly believe. That's what I used to tell everyone in my elementary school class. I stumbled upon my mother's vase. But I decided to tell the truth, because Aaron is a Half-Blood and he must know a little about the magical world.
"My name is Ōkami Faoláin, I'm 11 years old, and I'm also a Half-Blood. Pleased to meet you. As for my scar, it's nothing complicated. I'm a werewolf, and the night I was attacked left me with many scars, including this one on my face. Does that answer your question?"
I answered in a monotone voice, the one I always used, and some people told me I was annoying, but I didn't choose my voice, and besides, I think it suits my personality. I'm quite proud of my voice, and if anyone has anything to say about it, I'll give them my icy stare that scares everyone. Anyway...I turned towards the window, refocusing on the landscape to relax so that my scar wouldn't open up any more.
The ride to Hogwarts
Kai stood on the Hogwarts Express relieved he had made it just as it left. Much to the annoyance and stress of Kai's father, they had just barely made it, mostly due to Kai's own fault. His procrastination for getting packed and ready along with mornings almost costing him once again.
Kai had been so concerned about missing the train while also thinking about all the weird and interesting things about platform 9 and 3/4, that he now realized he had to find somewhere to sit, and he had to keep carrying this trunk. There were still so many students in the corridors, some of them were so tall, kind of scary Kai thought, and he couldn't even look at his phone to pretend he was distracted. Somehow Kai thought he would wish he had a phone a lot during his time at Hogwarts.
Making his way through the corridors, Kai saw compartments packed with students, he supposed he deserved this for being so late, there was no way he would find a compartment alone.
Eventually he came across a compartment with just two people in it, a girl with long black hair, and a boy with black hair and glasses. They looked around his age at least, and two people was far less than every other compartment he had seen so far.
Kai opened the door to the compartment and asked with a calm voice and expression even if inside he was nervous.
"Hi, can I sit here, or are these seats taken?"
Reducio
@Aaron Shwartz, Ōkami Faoláin
The ride to Hogwarts
Werewolf.
Aaron knew that there were many people who would have run at this point, screaming their lungs out and getting help. He knew the moon wasn't going to be full tonight, so he was safe from being attacked tonight.
Aaron didn't have any experiences with werewolves himself, but he did hear stories from his mother from time to time. Being an Auror, she encountered a werewolf every month during the full moon. That was one of the busiest and riskiest nights of a month.
At home she told him stories of both types of werewolves: the friendly ones who either stayed out of harms way during the full moon or helped the Ministry at times; and the unfriendly ones, who caused more harm than could have been imagined. Muggle stories about evil werewolves come from the second type as the first one were hardly ever seen outside.
Aaron did begin to get a bit anxious, but the girl in front of him didn't seem dangerous. At least not more dangerous than he knows girls can be.
He hoped he was able to convey his thoughts clearly and they could form a beautiful friendship together. After all, how rare is it to say that your friend is a werewolf?"That does answer my question, but makes me a bit nervous not to lie. Not frightened, just scared."
Just after he finished his sentence, another boy came through the door, asking whether he could join them.
he said excitedly."Of course! Please do come in. I'm Aaron and this is Ōkami."
Of course it wasn't his call to state the werewolf thing, he barely knew the girl to start with.
Aaron asked, trying to make conversation with the new person."Are you also a first year?"
Reducio
Word count: 295 words
Some notes:
Word count: 295 words
Some notes:
- Statements that Aaron says in italics are his thoughts. They are in form: 4169E1.
- Statements that Aaron says in italics and quotes are verbal and can be heard by others. Additional notes (such as loudness or clarity) will be mentioned above or below the quote. The speech is in form:
946b2d
- Formatting edits were made.
Aaron Schwartz
Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure.