The Train Ride to Hogwarts

Aldric jumped as the train started moving. He waved one more time at his parents and his sister, an then climbed in as he inhaled. He was super excited... but also deathly nervous. He couldn't believe he was going to Hogwarts. He turned around and followed his sister and brother. His sister went into a compartment, but before Aldric could follow her, she slammed the door!

“Oh well” he thought. He wouldn't want to sit with HER anyway. He walked some more until his brother got into a compartment with his friends. Aldric started to follow until his brother give him a weird look.

“What are you doing” Alfis (his brother) whispered.

“I don't know” Aldric replied. He truly had no clue what was going on. IT WAS HIS FIRST DAY! everyone kept forgetting that! Then his brother gave him a pouch with money in it.

“Here you can use this for when the Trolly Witch comes” his brother said

Aldric took the bag and then his brother closed the door. He had no clue what the trolley was, but he needed a seat. Aldric walked some more and couldn't find an open compartment anyware! That meant He would have to share. He didn't want to bug that many people, so he hoped he could find a compartment with only one or maybe two people.

Then he saw an empty compartment, or so he thought. He opened the door and climbed in. Then he sat down with a big sigh. Only then did he notice the other girl in the trolley.

“AHHH!... Oh, I mean Hello my name is Aldric. Umm... how are you doing?” That was the most embarrassing thing that would happen to him in his life! He couldn't believe he had gotten scared! Hopefully he didn't start off with a bad impression...

308 words

Date: September 1, 2025 Location: Hogwarts Express Outfit: x

| ✮ |

Dialogues: #3c5d4c | Thoughts: #167515 WC: 214 words Mentions: @Aldric Thorne

As the train left London, nearing the Scottish Highlands, the track elevated, and the air became cold and rather misty. The scenery, though rather clouded, was pleasant to look at, growing wilder with each turn.

Her thoughts suddenly drifted towards home. Papa would have opened the bakery late today. A lady from down the street had offered to help him in place of Amalie. Mama had said she wouldn’t go to work, because she would miss her "petite ange" little angel and needed some time to take in the fact that she wouldn’t be home. Amalie knew she would pop into the bakery in the afternoon, as she always did when she took a day off work.

Amalie had been zoning out when the compartment door suddenly opened, without a knock or warning of any sort. A pale boy walked in and sat himself down on the seat opposite her. Only then did he become aware of Amalie’s presence. She herself was startled by his yelp of surprise.

She had hoped for a quiet, peaceful ride, but oh well. He seems like a nice guy anyway, and I might as well make a friend.

Grinning at his flustered greeting, she said "Hello Aldric. I'm Amalie, nice to meet you. And umm, I suppose I'm doing good"

Aldric signed with relief as she responded. So she wasn't totally horrified at his arrival. He smiled as he took in the compartment. It had deep dark red leather seats. The seats were soft and comfortable. He glanced out the window and saw the beautiful countryside fly by as the train rode past it.

Then is gaze went onto the girl. Er, no she said her name was Amalie. She looked English and French, had pale skin, and stormy blue eyes. He thought she looked like a kind person, and he hoped so too. Then he was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Anything from the Trolley dears?" A older witch asked.

Aldric's mouth fell open as he looked at the trolley. It was covered in treats of all kinds. He had no clue what the candies were, because (despite being a pureblood) he had never eaten one. His parents had been strict on their diets so they would "stay healthy." He assumed that's why his brother saved some of his coins, to get stuff from the trolley. He then remembered he had the coins! He had no clue what to say so he looked at Amalie hoping she would speak first.

203 words

Date: September 1, 2025 Location: Hogwarts Express Outfit: x Dialogues: Trolley Witch - #5f2c6d

| ✮ |

Dialogues: #3c5d4c Thoughts: #167515 WC: 209 words Mentions: @Aldric Thorne

Amalie’s attention shifted from Aldric to the door as a knock sounded. It slid open, and a witch, presumably the Trolley Witch according Adrian’s description, pushed in a cart brimming with neatly arranged sweets and pastries of all sorts. The aroma of baked goods drifted into the compartment, oddly comforting.

Seeing the spread reminded Amalie of her occasional trips to Honeydukes with her papa. She pushed the thought aside, focusing instead on the trolley. Adrian had mentioned the variety, of course, but seeing it in person was… different.

“I’ll have a pumpkin pasty and two chocolate frogs, please,” Amalie said politely, reaching into her purse for the money. She handed over the coins and accepted the small paper bag.

“Will that be all?” the Trolley Witch asked, turning her gaze to Aldric.

Amalie followed her gaze, tilting her head ever so slightly. “You’ve never bought any of these before, have you?” she asked, not unkindly, not judgingly, just observant. A thought entered her head, but she immediately discarded it. No, he didn't seem like he needed it.

“They’re quite good, from what I’ve heard,” she added after a moment. “If you’re not sure what to get, the chocolate frogs are a safe start… or a pasty, if you’re hungry.”

Aldric just stared at the trolley for a while. The food looked so good and he wanted some so bad. But, he didn't want to embarass himself so he wanted to wait until Amalie ordered. Then he noticed both of them were looking at him.

Did they say something? Ahh! he wasn't listening! Then he looked at the trolley and noticed a box labeled "Chocolate Frogs" He then announced with confidence:

"I'll have a Chocolate Frog please"

He handed the witch his coins and took the box from her. He had tried chocolate once (not in the form of a frog,) and he had loved it. And it seemed like these were popular as he looked at the almost empty box. He opened the box as the trolley witch left, and a frog jumped at him! He yelped and tossed the box before he realized the frog was jumping away.

He scrambled towards the escaped frog and he accidentally knocked the door open. He almost caught up to the frog, but then it jumped out of the compartment, and he was too embarrassed to go get it.

"Well, that's ok," he said " at least I still have the box"

Just then he dropped the box and it bounced... right out the window.

"Um... never mind I guess" he said his face turning bright red.

The humiliation was almost too much to bear. He knew that, no matter what, he would never get a chocolate frog on a train again.

250 words

Date: September 1, 2025 Location: Hogwarts Express Outfit: x

| ✮ |

Dialogues: #3c5d4c WC: 224 words Mentions: @Aldric Thorne

Amalie couldn't help laughing as Aldric's chocolate frog jumped straight out and the box bounced right out the window. The boy seemed to curse himself. And then she felt bad for laughing at his misfortune when she saw his humiliated face.

“I think that frog just wanted a bit of air, after being cooped up in the box for so long. Here, you can have one of mine. I have more in my trunk, so it's alright. And be more careful this time. Oh, and you might just wanna shut the compartment door and window...,” Amalie said, the creases of a smile still on her face, handing him one of her chocolate frogs.

She opened the other chocolate frog, wondering if the Card would be a duplicate. She already had quite a few duplicates and hadn't gotten a new collectable in more than two months. She grabbed the chocolate frog before it could escape.

“That's how you do it. Oh, and you have collectable cards of famous wizards and witches in them. See, I've got Neville Longbottom. I already have a couple of them back home, so you can have this,” she said, holding out the card to Aldric, nibbling on the chocolate frog she held in her other hand. There was no hint of humour or mockery in her voice, just genuine warmth.

Aldric smiled as he took the chocolate frog box from her. Then he watched her take out the frog and eat it. First he shut the door and window, and then he copied her movements exactly and he grabbed the frog before it escaped this time. He nibbled a bit of it. Scrumptious! It was delicious.

Then he smiled again as he took the card from her. It showed a male wizard with the name "Neville Longbottom" in fancy font above the image. Then the wizard in the image disappeared. Aldric didn't know where he went, but due to his knowledge of magical portraits (his father had a few at home) The image had other places to be.

"Thank you" he said. "For the card and the frog."

He smiled as he finished the frog. He remembered reading somewhere about Neville Longbottom and how he helped in the second wizarding war, and was glad he got to honor him by keeping his card.

Then he remembered he also had a card hidden in the box Amalie gave him. He pulled it out and read the name "Merlin" above a image of a wizard with a white beard. The image smiled and then walked off. Aldric's smile grew more and more. Now he had is own start of a collection.

" Thanks again. Do you have a chocolate frog collection?" He asked. "What famous witches and wizards do you have in your collection?"

242 words

Date: September 1, 2025 Location: Hogwarts Express Outfit: x

| ✮ |

Dialogues: #3c5d4c WC: 208 words Mentions: @Aldric Thorne

Amalie hid a smile as Aldric shut the door and window of the compartment before opening his chocolate frog, as a precaution to avoid a repeat of earlier's misfortune.

“No problem! I do actually. I have nearly seventy cards back home and quite a few duplicates. Some of the best ones are Dumbledore, Morgan le Fay, Harry Pooter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, and Merlin, the on you got just now. Now I'm just looking for the rare ones. Next time I get a duplicate card, I'll save it for you, so you can start your own collection. If you have duplicate cards, you can trade them with others to get the cards you need to complete your collection. And according to Adrian, that's my older brother, students use them as a form of unofficial currency in the school, especially for betting. ,” Amalie said, regretting not having brought her chocolate frog cards collection with her. She made a mental note to write to mama telling her to send them over with her letters.

“Have you bought any food with you? It's fine you haven't because we can share mine. Papa loves packing excess food,” she asked, taking out the food packet papa had wrapped up for her.

Aldic smiled and nodded as Amalie explained the chocolate frog cards. He looked down at his start of a collection and smiled. This was a good start. He unzipped the leather money bag his brother gave him and placed the two cards in there. He heard them land as they jingled in with the coins down there.This way there would be no more "accidents"

He sighed as he thought about the cards. So they were like some cool trading deck. Nice. She had also said they could be used like currency by Hogwarts students. He smiled as he realized that Amalie knew more about Hogwarts than he did.

Aldric then watched Amalie open a food packet and he sniffed the air smiling. WOW! whatever was in there smelled so good! He didn't even know how to place the smell... it was just... Mouth watering. He had smelled all kinds of smells (including his brothers stench after his broom practice and bleh that wasn't pleasant) This was however the best smelling thing he had ever smelt. He smelled some more before he decided he should just open his eyes and find out what she brought.

" Wow, that smells delicious!" He exclaimed "what is it?"

202 words