It was dark when the ancient locomotive pulled to a stop and the assembled passengers disembarked. A particular Muggleborn boy, hauling with him a smattering of luggage likely weighing roughly as much as he did himself, found himself smiling - despite the ever-present discontent born of being so far from his family back in Bristol, this was a pleasant surprise. The air was fresh here and smelled of the woods, the stars above them twinkled far more clearly overhead than they ever had in the city - like so much silver glitter upended over black velvet, and there in the distance, beyond the broad expanse of the lake they were being ushered towards, was a castle far grander than those in his wildest imaginings. Reluctantly, he set his belongings aside with those of his peers, though only after being reassured that the objects would find their way to his new accommodations. That said, the boy did take a few moments to stoop down and extract a small object from his suitcase and tuck it into the folds of the sweater he'd borrowed from his dad, before zipping it closed once again and stepping back.
Now, given Henry's general dislike of being shuffled into small spaces with his peers like so many sardines in a tin - he made a point of sticking towards the back of the group. He watched as his peers meandered into the many available awaiting vessels and sailed off towards the palatial academy of the arcane arts awaiting their arrival. Meanwhile, Henry was content rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet and waiting, hugging whatever it was he'd extracted from his bag. The wind was cool on his face, and it made him smile to himself as it tussled his unruly brown hair. The cool night air was something of a balm to his spirit, it smelled of rain, and brought with it a promise of imminent relief from summer's ruthless swelter.
Eventually, the masses had mostly begun their migration across the midnight blue mirror serving as the surface of the lake. Right then... better get a move on. He decided, as he idled up to one of the remaining boats and started hauling himself inside. Taking his time was one thing, but doing so to the point of being late to whatever this... Sorting nonsense was... no, that wouldn't do at all, now would it? He'd been raised in the better-three-hours-early-than-a-second-tardy school of thought, the concept of being fashionably late for something was quite alien in his mind. And he was quite certain if he'd managed to miss a single instant of his allotted tenure at this school - particularly if it was for something so silly as the abject horror of having to socialize with a new person - that his mother's crossness with him would be palpable despite the miles between them. So... if it was to be his lot in life that someone share his tiny boat with him after all, then... needs must, he supposed.
