1st September 2026, The Ride to Hogwarts Open

Lucy listened carefully, she tilted her head slightly as Zara explained the whole umbrella term thing and why they used it. She looked down at her book for a second, then at Zara. That made sense. Kind of, she thought and nodded once.

Then as the question about Scotland landed, Lucy began to shrug but paused her shoulders up for a moment. Her eyes turned on the upper left corner of her eyesockets as if she was searching her brain. After a quick second she just rapidly nodded a couple of times before relaxing her shoulders. She was pretty sure that was it. Yep, that’s the basic syllabus so to say.

The advanced syllabus of it wasn’t quite as interesting to Lucy as was the mention of a BOOKSTORE! Imagine living IN A BOOKSTORE, just above one, but that’s basically the same thing! She pointed at Zara, then closed her book just to open it slowly again, as if to mime starting to read something. She lifted her eyebrows and just stared at Zara in awe.

Almost immediately, Lucy raised a hand to stop Zara from responding and started to scribble fast, her tongue poking out on the right side of her mouth. Once done, she flipped the book around and held it really close for Zara to read.

DO YOU GET FREE BOOKS?

Zara laughed a belly laugh,"Yeah basically! Any extra books, mom and dad let me, Esme and Leo keep. But if we help in the store, we get to read ANY book we want. If there is a book on the store floor we want, we still pay for it but its MUCH cheaper! Do you like to read, Lucy?" Zara asked curiously.

"I love to read! It is one of my favorite things to do! I read all the time. My absolute favorite book is Keeper of the lost cities! Have you heard of that one?" Zara asked excitedly. Zara again takes a breath to slow herself down a moment.

"Reading is the one time my brain likes to go slow. When I read my brain just, breathes and takes everything at half speed instead of speeding up to 1 and a half speed" Zara explains. This is exactly how her father explains his own mind and Zara could not help but to show pride for using her fathers words. Even if the girl in front of her did not know this or even be able to pick up on why she suddenly was beaming with pride. Zara was just to proud to be think of that.

Lucy’s eyes widened the further Zara explained. Extra books were free. Any book in the store was free to read when you helped at the store, and discounted prices in general. That was pretty much cheating. If you liked to read, anyway. Lucy did. Very much so. She stared at Zara for a moment like they had just revealed some great secret of the universe before slowly lowering her book. Living above a bookstore was already unfair enough. This made it worse.

Lucy nodded immediately at the question about reading. She flipped her book back up and opened a spread from the very beginning. The spread had words. A lot of words. Some that were circled around and some underlined. Some were underlined more than others. She then turned it toward Zara and pointed at the following words in order.



Lucy then started over. She first pointed at herself, then…





There were books everywhere at home. Bookshelves, piles of books, books that were supposed to be in one room but were in another one. Mostly boring adult books, but there were many that Lucy liked too. Keeper of the Lost Cities, though? Lucy didn’t think so? She frowned slightly at the title and shook her head. Nope. She didn’t recognise the title.

Lucy opened a fresh spread and scribbled quickly.


She held the book toward Zara, then paused when Zara started explaining why she liked reading so much.


Lucy looked thoughtful. Her eyes moved off toward the window for a moment before returning to Zara. She kind of understood what Zara meant. Maybe not the exact same way, but reading did make everything else disappear for a while. There was only the page and whatever was on the page. Lucy gave Zara a small nod before scribbling some more underneath the previous yet unanswered question. She turned the book back for Zara to read.


Then, after a second, she tapped the first question with her pencil twice. It was an important question.

"It's about a girl who finds out that she is a elf and she has to leave the normal society she has grown up with and she goes to find the hidden Elf Society!! I brought it with me, you can probably borrow it if you want!" Zara exclaimed. She loved when someone matched her excitement. It was even better when they asked her questions or to explain something.

"What about you Lucy? Do you have a favorite book?" She asked turning more to face her. Zara then remember how excited Lucy got about the free books,"If you want, maybe over a break or something you can visit my families book store and I can give you a free book?! I'm sure my parents will be okay with it! They give my Brother and sister's friends free books all the time" That statement was slightly true. They were given at a discount, yet in Zara's mind it was considered free.

"Do you like to do anything else? I like collecting small things to add to my trunk of small things! My mom calls me a niffler cause if there is a small trinket item around, I'll find it!" She couldn't help but chuckle at the nickname she was given.

Lucy listened closely as Zara explained the gist of their favourite book. An elf? Hidden society? Leaving everything normal behind after finding out you weren’t what you thought you were? That sounded very familiar for some strange reason. Not the being an elf part, obviously. But the rest of it.

Lucy’s eyebrows lifted slowly as her full attention was locked in on Zara’s exclamation until they mentioned having taken the book with them. Here. To Hogwarts. Lucy immediately looked toward Zara’s things, then back at them. To borrow it? Lucy nodded. Very quickly. She then nodded twice more just to make sure Zara knew she was interested. Even though she wasn’t quite sure if she was going to have time to read when there was going to be a whole magical world to explore, for real, soon.

Zara then asked if she had a favourite book. Lucy thought really hard for a second. Such a hard question. She wasn’t all that sure if she did. She had read books, sure, but she hadn’t really thought about ranking them before. There just were books she never cared to finish and books she was sad had ended. Different books were good for different reasons. Some were funny. Some had animals. Some had adventures. Some had pictures she liked staring at and some were better off without any. Or would have been. Then after a little while she grinned big. She lifted her notebook in the air with the stupidest smile. That was her favourite book. Not sure that counted but that still was her answer.

Then Zara mentioned Lucy visiting the bookstore in future. Lucy froze. She stared at Zara for several seconds, her mouth partly open, as she was processing it. She? Visit? Bookstore? The bookstore, with FREE books in it? Lucy slowly returned to her book and flipped it open and scribbled quickly. She then began to turn the book toward Zara but stopped to underline the question twice before finally letting Zara read it.

REALLY?

Almost immediately she flipped the book around again and started turning pages back. She kept going until she found an opening covered with little sketches. Birds. Flowers. A frog. A really detailed bug of some sort. A feather. A rock she had decided was worth remembering. She pointed at several of them, then at the window, then at herself, and at the things on the pages again. Then at Zara. She grinned as she scribbled something on the previously used page. Then she stopped herself again from turning it over and added something before finally letting Zara read again.

MAYBE I AM ONE TOO
What even is it? A Niffler?

It had taken her a good while to say farewell to her parents, and listen to the same concerns her mother had voiced maybe twelve times on the journey here. As a consequence, when she'd finally set foot on the train, trading the metallic smell of the station for the complex assault on her nostrils that was as if anxiety itself had an odor, everywhere she looked was packed full of students. Loud, boisterous and excitable conversations between those often much older than herself, along with the occasional strange noises the train made, would quickly turn into a cacophonous whelm of noise that affected any sense of focus she could muster.

She tried her best to hurry through the wagons in search of a spot, occasionally getting her bag awkwardly stuck in places, and muttering an unheard apology as she trekked along. Finally coming to the more enclosed compartments, she peered into one and saw a group of much older students in conversation, whom all turned to look at her as if she was being nosy. Quickly hurrying to another one, she tried to peer inside, only to almost end up on the wrong side of some troublemaker's experiment to see how fast they could launch their chocolate frog at the door with some contraption they'd made. *Splat!* The group of boys chuckled loudly at her wide-eyed expression, as she moved along from the chocolate-covered door, glad that wasn't her.

Finally, she arrived at one that didn't seem as crowded, with two girls that seemed just about her age, one showing the other a notebook for some reason. She took a breath, and tried to open the door, which stubbornly seemed to resist a little before she finally managed to keep it open. She spoke with a soft, yet melodic voice that had an Irish accent to it: "Sorry! Could I join you? Everywhere else seems full...", trying to muster her best pleading expression.

Zara laughed as she watched Lucy. She grinned widely,"Yeah Really!!! I would love for you to come to our store!! I'm sure my parents would be totally fine with it." Zara explained to her. When Lucy asked about a Niffler, Zara's mouth formed a long O. She absolutely loved Magical creatures so hearing someone not know what one was and getting to explain what it was is astronomical. Zara loved teaching people about her favorite things.

"A Niffler is....well they are like moles but bigger and fatter. They have pouches like Kangroos but they NEVER end. And Nifflers usually go rummaging around for Gold and silver but if I was one it would be trinkets and books!" Zara exclaimed, giggling slightly.

When the carriage door opened, Zara's head whipped around. Seeing a girl stand in the door way, Zara smiled never faltered,"Of course!" Zara said excitedly.

She stuck her hand out to the girl entering the carriage,"I'm Zara!" She looked over to the girl next to her and nodded her head slight;y,"This is Lucy!! I'm sure we would love if you joined, right Lucy?" She asked her new friend. Zara's hand stayed outstretched even when she wasn't looking toward the new girl in front of her.

Lucy was still processing how exciting the bookstore invitation was when Zara started explaining what the Niffler actually was. Like a mole. Bigger. Fatter. Lucy nodded slowly, still thinking about the bookstore. Pouches like kangaroos. Another nod. They never end. Lucy stopped nodding. Wait, what? Never end? How did that work? Where did everything go? Eventually the Niffler itself became mostly pouch, right? That is unless the answer was magic again. That was becoming an increasingly likely explanation for things around here. Even though she had only gotten the very first taste of magic.

Lucy hovered her pencil over her book with a confused expression when the compartment door opened. She kept staring at Zara, trying to form the question she wanted to ask in her mind before writing it. Only after Zara began to talk to someone else did Lucy snap out of the chain of a thousand questions in her mind and turn toward the door where the new girl stood.

The new girl had asked if it was fine to join them. Lucy began to look around as if checking if there was any reason the new girl couldn’t. There was none. Zara had already introduced them both to the new girl and was looking toward Lucy for agreement. Lucy nodded as soon as she returned her attention to them. Of course.

Lucy pushed her own things further on her seat, making the available space obvious, then gestured for the new girl to come further in with her hand. Afterwards, she glanced at her book. She had almost forgotten. Almost. She scribbled quickly and showed it to Zara.

HOW DOES IT NEVER END?

Then she scribbled more underneath.

HOW DOES IT NEVER END?

DOES IT HAVE HOLES?

Then even more.
HOW DOES IT NEVER END? DOES IT HAVE HOLES? HOW DOES IT FIND ANYTHING AGAIN?

She held the book toward Zara and resisted further urges to add more questions. Obviously, she had more.

Morigwynn stared at Zara's hand for a good two seconds, before remembering to reach out her own hand to shake it, albeit weakly and in a bit of an awkward manner. "Thanks so much!", she blurted out as she began to drag in the large bag behind her. "I'm uhh... Morigwynn. Hello..."

Glancing upwards, she looked at the compartment where they'd stashed their own luggage with a grimace. There was no way she was getting this bag up there, and so just ended up tucking hers somewhat underneath the seat that Lucy'd just cleared out for her. Finally, with a soft sigh, she plopped down and took a moment to calm down from the long journey and the noise. It was a big relief to just be able to sit, for a while, and let it sink in that this was all really happening.

Her eyes slowly moved over the two girls, as if to take in who they were more than just a cursory glance, but she didn't say anything yet. She didn't quite understand -what- was going on, as Lucy seemed to be excitedly showing a notebook of sorts to Zara, and she hadn't meant to interrupt whatever conversation they were having.

Zara shoots a sweet smile toward Morigwynn before looking at the notebook,"I don't know how it never ends! I just know it doesn't end! It only has one hole on the top! And it finds things due to magic!" Zara explained excitedly.

She turned to Morigwynn,"You are probably very confused!" She laughed, not a mean laugh but the type of laugh that you would hear when someone realizes how silly they might sound,"We are talking about Nifflers, do you know what a Niffler is?"

"My mom like to tell me I would be a Niffler for books and trinkets! My parents own a bookstore so I LOVE books, do you like to read?" She asked Morigwynn.

Zara then very quickly and very briefly turns back to Lucy,"I saw a real niffler once! A man came into our shop and he had one with him! It was so cute! It tried to take the tips from the jar though! A couple of sickles I think!" Zara explained then turned her face and body back towards Morigwynn. She realizes in this moment that she did it again, her mouth just went on and on and on. Zara couldn't help it. Her excitement always got the better of her.