First Ride To Hogwarts PV Finished

Oh, yes. He’s never blamed his birth parents for putting him up for adoption, he figured they weren’t able to take care of him, but he’d never know the truth- he’s never met them. He’s definitely happy where he is now, and has learned not to be too upset at the hands he gets dealt. He chooses to look at everything with a positive attitude, even if he’s nervous or unsure of it.
He’s not sure how well he’ll do with magic, as a muggleborn, but if others like him have gotten accepted into the school - maybe he’ll do alright.
He’s back to thinking for a moment, wondering what to ask about Hogwarts. There were so many things he COULD ask.
“ Well . . . Is it true they have ghosts?” He asked, shuddering at the thought. He’d read about it from the history book they were required to get, wanting to brush through some of the things. He skimmed through the pages, he didn’t read the contents to their full extent just yet.
Ghosts were something that were impossible in the muggle realm, or rather, most people were skeptical that they actually existed. Most of the time they were just stories, used to scare children.

Dora perks up a little. Being from a family that often deals with death, this question is right up her alley. "Yes! There are many ghosts at Hogwarts. Souls of witches and wizards that haunt the halls. I hear the reason there are so many at the castle is because a ghost haunts the place they are most attached to. The castle is, then, haunted by the spectres of students past." She stops herself, realizing that Aspen is shuddering. She inwardly scolds herself, getting carried away like that and scaring him.

"I hear most of them are quite nice!" She amends, hoping to quell his fears, "They'll direct students to class and chat with them and such. And each House has a House Ghost, a witch or wizard that used to be in that House. Really, I've met some ghosts in the graveyard by my home. They've all been quite lovely. Though, I suppose, if you're squeamish they can be a lot to handle. Sometimes they're covered in gruesome wounds, depending how they died-"

Dora shakes her head as she digs herself into a deeper hole. She's trying to be helpful, but she's just being creepy. "I'm sorry, you probably didn't want to hear all that.."

“ Oh, it’s fine! I just never think of ghosts as being nice,” He admitted, “Some of our books have depicted them as… evil? But it’s nice to know the ones at school will be nice and not too scary,”
He supposed it was fair, when a person dies and a ghost - a remnant of their soul - is left behind, it often shows how they died especially if it was in a gruesome way like she said. He wasn’t bothered by that, though, sometimes he had to help out with pregnant animals giving birth on the farm, so he’s used to seeing gross stuff.
“ It’s cool, really,” he said, he wasn’t very afraid of ghosts though it did seem strange that they existed here - but then, anything seemed possible.
“ I also heard that there are some pretty bizarre creatures in the wizarding world, I hope we get to meet some of them, it would be so cool…” he said, brightening at the thought. “ Like phoenixes! I’ve heard about those from myths, think we’ll get to meet one?”
He hadn’t meant to change the subject so quickly, her line of work wasn’t even scary or unsettling, he just runs his mouth way too much- and thinks about so many things; he can’t help himself. He hoped she hadn’t taken offense …

Dora's eyes lit up and she unconsciously leaned forward. "I hope so! It depends what's on the curriculum for first years, but I'm excited for Care of Magical Creatures!"

She's way too nervous for the classes with heavy wand-use. All those stories of wands not cooperating with a wizard who isn't pure blood... A part of her is scared she won't be able to make anything happen, especially with how long it took at Ollivander's to find a wand. Almost as if the other wands knew, and the last took pity on her.

But Care of Magical Creatures seems much more straightforward. Even if she doesn't end up being the strongest wand user, she can become an expert on magizoology! There's also the perk that animals don't mind blood status. A dragon wouldn't be too picky about whether to devour a wizard or a muggle, and there's something weirdly comforting about that.

Dora spares a thought for Epitaph, the black cat she loves. It was always easier to talk to Epi than anyone else. She could be herself around him.

It's funny. Aspen kind of reminds her of him.

"We'll probably start out simple, with Flobberworms or the like. But in a few years, we may work with unicorns, or hippogryphs... And there may be opportunities to see magical creatures in other settings. The Hexwizard Tournament, for example!"

His smile seemed to grow brighter. “ Me too! Unicorns are real? No way! That’s so cool, I can’t wait to learn more about them!” He said, surprised. Another creature deemed myths by humans, though many his age tended to believe in them, even without ever having seen one. How awesome would it be, if he was the first out of his muggle friends to see a real unicorn. “ Hippogryph?” He’d not heard of them yet, but that’s to be expected.
He was nervous about using his wand, too- it took him a few tries to find the right one, he wondered if all those with human blood struggled with finding their wand. He knew there was a charms class, and he wasn’t sure he’d do too well with that.
“ Flobberworms?” He laughed a little at the name, he thought it was such a funny thing to name a worm. “ What’s that? Do they just flobber?” Whatever flobber meant, that is. Maybe it was the way they moved. In any case, he was looking forward to it.
It seemed like one of few classes that had actually piqued his interest, being somewhat of an animal enthusiast already.

"You know... I don't actually know." Dora says, struck by the question. It's the closest she comes to smiling when she smirks at the absurdity. "What does flobber even mean?"

She likes Aspen. His laugh is nice to listen to, and his curiosity is sweet. Moreover, she doesn't feel like she's being judged when she's around him. Of course, he doesn't know the truth. He doesn't know that she's not full-wizard. If he did, would the... metaphorical magic be gone? Would he abandon his interest in her and make better friends?

But he stays. The whole ride, which Dora thought would last forever, only seemed to last a short while. Aspen kept her engaged the whole time with his spirited demeanor, and even though Dora didn't speak as much, he didn't seem to mind.

Soon enough, it was time to change into their black robes, the train almost arrived at Hogsmeade. Before they separate, however, Dora wants to say something.

"Aspen?" She asks quickly, then hesitates. "It was... it was very nice to meet you."

No, she can't expect them to be friends. What would that even mean? They may not even end up in the same House. But still, there's some small part of her that hopes.. hopes that he could think of her that way. That she wouldn't be alone.

“ It was nice to meet you, too, Dora,” Aspen said with a smile. He held his hand out to her. “ I hope we can be friends.” He said, even I feel the sorting hat chose not to put them in the same House, he still thought it might be nice to have a friend.
Especially since she let him talk so much, and didn’t seem to mind that he did. He hoped she’d come out of her shell a little.
Even if she was a full wizard, Aspen would be her friend. And if she wasn’t, he’d still be. He wasn’t even a full wizard, he was mostly muggle.
His parents had taught him from a young age, not to judge. It was easier to get to know a person first, and then see where their actions lead. And so far, Dora seemed good. Nice.
He hoped they ended up in the same House, but who knows ? It didn’t seem likely, although he didn’t know how the sorting ceremony really even worked just yet. He hoped there’d be someone to explain it before it started. Aspen’s sure that even if they didn’t end up in the same house, they’d still have some classes together and maybe they’d even meet up in the courtyard or the library.
It would certainly be nice to start this journey with a familiar face.

"Friends." She says, breathlessly. "Yes. Friends."

She bids him farewell, already missing his smile as she goes to find somewhere more private to change. The sun is setting outside, and everyone in the hall is bustling around energetically. She notices the children with no colored ties, no signifier of House, and they are the most nervous looking. All probably thinking the same thing.

What will it be like? Hogwarts.

As much as she's read or heard about the school, Dora knows she doesn't actually know much about Hogwarts at all. About being a witch. A real witch. Not like her grandmother, not like her mother. So, how can she feel anything other than dread that in seven years she will be no more a witch than she is now?

But something has changed. She's excited, she's eager to learn all she can at Hogwarts. And, astonishingly, she's not as afraid anymore. Still plenty afraid, afraid to ruin her family's reputation, to let them down... more than she already has... But now she's not afraid that everyone will hate her because there's at least one person who doesn't. Aspen doesn't seem capable of hate. And even if they never speak again, that one long train ride feels like it's enough to last her a lifetime.

Dora takes a deep breath. It's time to go.

The nervous energy that had quelled when chatting with Dora has returned upon her departure, a frown plastered across his usually cheerful demeanor.
It had suddenly hit him, he would be doing this without going home to his family at the end of the school day.
As he changed into his robes and stepped off the train, he looked around one final time, catching sight of Dora.
He thinks about calling out to her, and bidding her a final good-bye for now, but ultimately decides against it. He looks down at the lake, he can see the school looming over it, wondering if they’ll have to cross the dark waters to get to it. He shuddered at the thought, who knows what creatures lay beneath the surface. As if on cue, someone called out to all the first years - leading them to boats. He’s trying not to let this bother him, it was a small part of an exciting new adventure ; he was going to be a wizard, to learn magic. To do things he’d never even dreamt of.
He takes a deep breath to calm his nerves, forcing his lips to twist into a smile, as he
plunges forward into the unknown.

. . . to be continued . . .