The Journey begins

Charlotte pushes her way through the aisles. Children are running around everywhere, looking for an empty seat. Charlotte smiles. Finally, she's among people again. After her father brought her to London to that dreary villa, she'd mostly been very lonely. But that's over now. Humming cheerfully, she continues on her way. Charlotte looks into every compartment, but everywhere all the seats are taken. When she still can't find a seat after some time, her melody fades away. The bag in her hand grows heavier and her legs more and more tired. She mutters to herself, "Oh, if only I'd been more punctual." She continues her arduous walk. But suddenly, she stops. Right in front of a compartment door. The compartment is empty! Relieved, she opens the door and collapses onto one of the seats. Charlotte takes a deep breath. Now she just has to get through the long, lonely train journey. She looks out the window. Trees, fields, and houses flash by. The warm autumn sun shines directly on her face. Charlotte begins to smile again. "It can't be that bad. With this view!" She says out loud. But then she realizes how bleak it sounds. An eleven-year-old, friendly girl, alone in a compartment for hours? That sounds terrible to Charlotte. Even though she had a hard time making friends after the move, she was never truly alone thanks to her little brother. Charlotte sighs and pulls her book out of her bag. The family chronicle. Her father gave it to her for her tenth birthday. Charlotte opens to the page with the bookmark and immerses herself in a new story about one of her ancestors at Hogwarts. Just as she reaches an exciting part of a wizarding duel, the door moves.