Finished On the way to hogwarts Open

interacting with @Kayla Smith

Kayla Smith was Alyssea's first friend at Hogwarts.

Okay, not officially. They hadn't even gotten to know each other fully yet. All she said was where she came from in England and where she was born (the fact always seemed to interest people. Australia? What an interesting place.)

"Do you remember Australia or not?" Kayla asked. Alyssea nodded. She had spent much of her childhood there, moving between there and Japan. A large portion of her life in Australia was spent in the local theatre halls. There she grew her love for theatre, particularly musicals.

"Is it really hot there?" Kayla asked again.

Alyssea shrugged. "Depends on where you live. In Sydney, it was pretty mild."

"Are there sharks?"

Alyssea shook her head with a laugh. "No, it's pretty rare. In Sydney, at least. They're more common further south."

Kayla then excused herself, mentioning she had never left the UK. It shocked Alyssea that a lot of people have probably never seen the world. She spent all her life travelling to different continents. It was part of her routine as a child. Never settle your heart in one place, her dad had said. There will never be time to settle.

Her brother eventually had to break off from the family and settle in America to attend Ilvermorny. That broke their mother's heart, but she understood the need for stability.

"So," Kayla began, "do you know what's gonna happen at this school? I didn't know that magic was actually real, let alone me being a witch." She laughed.

Alyssea shrugged. "My parents told me what their time was like at Hogwarts, but I don't know if things have changed since then. I definitely know we're going to be sorted into houses, stay in dorms, and go to classes during the day. I don't know about schedules or extracurricular activities."

Maybe that was the fun in going to Hogwarts. The castle, and all its history, was your home.

interacting with @Kayla Smith

"Cambridge University? That's a pretty good English school, isn't it?" Alyssea didn't think so much about it. With the prospect of attending a magic school, since her brother turned 11, she never thought about life beyond her primary years. Why bother if it'll never happen?

But she imagined what life would be like had she not been on this train. Where would she be? In 7 years' time, would she be in a school like Kayla's parents? Would she still be hopping between countries with her parents, never seeing her brother except for the occasional owl or fire-call?

Alyssea shook her head. No point thinking about what won't happen now.

Kayla asked her about the houses and she grinned. She loved talking about it. "So, there are four houses at Hogwarts. There's Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. They're all named after the four founders of Hogwarts."

Being a history nerd, she rattled off the different traits that the founders instilled in their houses. Bravery for Gryffindor, ambition for Slytherin, intelligence for Ravenclaw, and kindness for Hufflepuff. Her parents had been from different houses; her dad was a Slytherin and her mother was a Ravenclaw. Where would Alyssea end up? Her brother attended Ilvermorny, so she couldn't compare herself to him. The logical choice would be either Slytherin or Ravenclaw, but did she really fit in those house values?

"There's this thing called the Sorting Ceremony where they put a hat, called the Sorting Hat, on us and the hat decides!" Alyssea beamed. She loved spilling all her history knowledge. "If the hat spends more than 5 minutes on us, it's called a 'hatstall' and sometimes, we can give our preference to help the hat make a choice."

She saw Kayla fumble through pages from the required books and chuckled. "Hey, don't stress. It won't be that bad, I promise."

interacting with @Kayla Smith

Kayla's parents fascinated Alyssea. Scientists? People who studied how the world worked from mathematics right down to the chemical breakdown? They understood how to manipulate the environment using mixtures and machines, yet, they had a daughter who would be able to wield magic. What would the chemical makeup of magic look like?

The thought intrigued her. Perhaps it contributed to the reason why magic outside of Hogwarts and any magical institution was forbidden; it would change the trajectory of the world.

But Kayla didn't seem too avid about her parents. When she said she didn't see them often, she could understand why. She hadn't seen her brother since the summer she performed her first accidental magic. She had broken his speaker just with a little spark and the drives completely melted. He never came back after that summer, said he needed to spend the holidays studying for his exams.

She couldn't help but question their relationship after that summer. If they had settled in America for good, would she be there with her brother in Ilvermorny? Would their relationship be better that way?

The train came to a stop. Kayla jumped up and grabbed her trunk. Alyssea followed suit and took her suitcase. She clicked the handle open and lifted it up. She dragged it across the floor and followed Kayla out of the compartment. Together, they filed out of the train with all the other students, slowly trudging through bodies and trunks. The sign outside read 'Hogsmeade Station'.

Voices, presumably teachers, yelled instructions for the students. They were instructed to huddle together and follow the Groundskeeper to the next part of the journey. Other students, those returning to Hogwarts, were instructed to follow a different path.

Together, they walked down the shady path through the pine trees. Alyssea listened to the murmurs of the other first-years walking with them.

"We're going to ride boats to the castle!"

"What if our boat tips?"

"Why don't we get to ride the carriages to the castle?"

Alyssea turned to Kayla and whispered close to her ear, "Are you excited? This is really it."

They then arrived at a large lake. Across the lake was the castle at last, standing in all its glory just as the stories told.

They had arrived at Hogwarts.