The rest of the world, the muggle world, ceased to exist in his mind once Thaniel stepped through the brick column leading onto Platform 9 3/4. He had never been to Kingscross Station before and up until then, had only dreamt of its glory. The station was loud with excitement and commotion as families pushed their loaded luggage carts down the platform towards the crimson Hogwarts Express. White steam bellowed from beneath the train and black smoke began to smolder from the engine at the front.

"Wait up, Thaniel!" his mother, Isla, called as she pulled herself through the bricks. "You're going to get lost."

"I'm not going to get lost! It's right there!" Thaniel's young voice protested. He looked behind him as he walked though, just to make sure she didn’t end up being right. He heard his mother call for him again as he bumped face-first into the forest green cloak of a tall wizard. He looked down to see the man holding the handle of a large iron cage with green leafy cabbages inside biting fiercely at one another. "Chinese Chomping Cabbages!" Thaniel said in excitement, the tall man staring at him confused. My grandfather used to keep them but my mother made him get rid of them when I was born." he explained without solicitation.

"And now you can see why." Thaniel's mother said, taking Thaniel's hand. "I'm so sorry, sir." she apologized politely to the man, checking Thaniel for injuries as if he had fallen face first onto the train tracks. The man wasn't so polite though and scoffed as he walked away towards the front of the train. "Well, I guess it's good you won't be sitting with him then, yeah?" His mother joked, smiling at him and rolling her eyes at the man's rude response. "We'll load you near the back. Come on."

Thaniel's mother squeezed his hand tight and he could see tears swelling up in her eyes. He wondered what she would do while he was gone, and he felt a lump grow in his throat as his mother tugged him along.

They pushed through the crowded platform and as they neared the back of the train, Thaniel heard a station worker exclaiming loudly, "Drop Off Your Luggage! Train departs in 10 minutes!" This made the lump in Thaniel's throat grow twice as large and he felt uneasy as his mom let go of his hand.

"Well, this is you, my darling," Isla said, kneeling on the ground before him. She tugged at his shirt collar and Thaniel saw her try to hide it as she wiped away the tears in her eyes. "You're going to be amazing."

"I know, mom. I'm ready to do this. Don't worry about me." The lump in his throat grew even larger as he fought back tears. He didn't want his mother to see him cry, much less everyone else boarding the train. "I love you. I'll be back in no time, I promise."

Thaniel's mother put her hand on his face and pulled him into one last warm embrace before kissing him on the cheek and releasing her grasp. It was time to go. With a push of confidence, Thaniel turned towards the train steps and pulled himself up by the warm silver handle. "Tell Dad I love him and I can't wait to see the garden when I get home! I love you!"

"I love you too, Thaniel!" his mom called out. But her voice was quickly drowned out by the bustling corridor of the Hogwarts Express.

Students were dipping in and out of compartments, pushing their belongings into overhead bins. Thaniel's sadness was replaced with an overwhelming sense of fear. There were so many kids; more than he had ever seen before. His parents hardly even let him play with other kids. He had only ever spent time with adults who talked about “investments” and “stakeholders”, and even then, he was expected to be seen and not heard.

He hesitated a moment and looked down the hallway which seemed to extend endlessly with hoards of children swarming like busy ants, his heart beating heavily with nervousness. With a deep breath, he gained control of his fear. He stepped forward to begin his search for an empty cabin before receiving an elbow to the chest as an older boy bounced joyfully down the tiny hallway shouting “Slytherin Pride!” and Thaniel stumbled backward into an empty train compartment.

Confusion fell over him as there was no way he had just landed in an empty compartment without even trying. But what was that smell? His nose began to burn as it seemingly screamed for help. His arm popped up to cover his face and protect his overly offended nostrils as his eyes began to search the cabin. "Oh gross..." His face melted as he discovered the source of the putrid smell. "Someone yacked!"

Thaniel gagged, fighting to look away from the chunky sick on the floor. “No wonder no one is in here!” he said, pulling himself back into the train corridor. He looked left and then right, his face melting in defeat at the sight of the hundreds of children still clamoring through the packed hallway. He looked back at the splattered vomit running up the back wall under the window. “Guess it’s you and me, vom pile.”

Thaniel hopped up on the bench and peeked into the overhead bin. Crumbled-up Daily Prophets were smushed against the back wall from some previous occupant. He extended onto his tiptoes, pushing his fingertips to reach the back of the compartment to slide the wizarding newspaper towards him. “September, 2023?” He said with a puzzled look. “That was last year.”

He climbed off the bench and unfolded the newspaper before placing his arm over his mouth and nose again. “This should do…” He gently placed the wrinkled newspaper over the largest portion of the sick, giving the edges of the newspaper a gentle tap with his foot to hold it in place. He rolled his eyes as he realized what he had to do next. Trying not to breathe, Thaniel carefully leaned over the newspaper and grabbed onto the window seal above. He squeezed the latch of the windows near the top and nearly slipped as the glass pane sank beneath the wall, a breath of fresh air greeting him.

Thaniel wiped his hands and laughed at his first “job-well-done” as a Hogwarts student and his butt instinctively sank into the seat behind him. “Well this is going well.” he giggled under his breath.

The platform was filled to the brim with students, their parents, their siblings, their pets, and their enormous trunks. It was as if the entire British wizarding world had just been put into one tiny bit of land and forced to put their offspring on the train. Well, that was not exactly that far away from the truth.

"Now, don't forget to do your homework on time," Mrs Vesper, a diminutive lady barely taller than most of the children on the station, drilled her impatient daughter. "I know just how forgetful you can be, girl. We cannot have you tainting our family name with your laziness."

"Yes, and don't you even think to slack off any classes," Mr Vesper chimed in with his baritone voice, his proud stature upright as if he were making a presentation to his usual audience in the Ministry. "Especially not during your flying lessons. Mens sana in corpore sano*."

Oh, when will you stop? Pythia mentally lamented whilst her head kept nodding off to each remark. She had lost track of time at this point. Her parents had been lecturing her since the Middle Ages now. That's right, she could almost see the stubble on her father's chin breaking out -- it's not too long before he will be sporting a full beard like those ancestors on the walls of her house.

"Don't slouch!" Mr and Mrs Vesper snapped in unison, as the train's whistle accentuated their nagging. Naturally, Pythia's spine immediately straightened up on its own accord.

"Yes," the young girl tiredly repeated. "Can I go now? They will be leaving at any moment..."

Whether it be because of Pythia's exhaustion or the Express worker's call for boarding, the two aristocrats softened, the realisation of their little girl growing up finally hitting them.

"Aw, take care of yourself, won't you?" the mother frowned as she pulled Pythia for a tight hug. "Write us every now and then, alright?" the father added with a forehead kiss. For a second, Pythia almost felt sentimental herself. They helped her get her trunk up on the train and waved their last goodbye. Young Pythia realised only then how much she did love her family, despite the constant bickering.

"Good luck," they bid her, "and remember --"

"Never trust anyone," she finished with a chuckle before finally disappearing into the car.

That bittersweet mood was immediately ruined the moment Pythia saw the overcrowded corridors of the train. "Slytherin Pride!" some boy shouted in the distance, shoving everyone out of his way. Ruffians, the lot of them, Pythia scoffed. As she passed by compartment after compartment, she took in the sight of students all huddled up in their little groups, chatting their teeth away. How primitive, she thought to herself, totally not envious. Totally.

It was not long before the engine roared and the carriages began their way towards Hogwarts. That was a clear enough sign for Pythia to finally settle down. Seemingly none of the cabins were empty, so she simply decided to test her luck. She slid open the first door on her right.

"Hi, do you mind if I join -- eurgh!" Her face contorted in disgust at the sheer smell coming from inside. Her eyes immediately spotted the small pile of vomit barely concealed under some old newspapers. The window was open, but that certainly did not help her pristine senses. To make matters worse, the person sitting inside, this unremarkable first year like her, was actually smiling wide next to the source. What was wrong with him?

She looked out to check for any potential alternatives to this stinky old compartment, yet figured that most of them would be fully occupied by now. Alas, she had no choice.

"Are you motion sick or something?" Pythia addressed the boy. She tried to keep her appearance as neutral as possible, but her physiognomy was always too expressive for her own good.