(Ok, this is my first fic, so sorry if it's bad! Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, not me. )
The platform was always the same. The same yowls of cats, the same shrieking of owls and younger siblings left behind. The same clacking of trolley wheels on brick. And of course, the same red steam engine, shining as if it had never once been used.
Alex tried to adjust her mind now to the idea of homework, so that it would not be such a shock to her system, but it still succeeded in catching her off-guard every school-year. Then she shook it from her mind—there would be a time for thinking about that, and the later it came, the better. She shouldn't start worrying earlier than she had to.
"Bye, Dad, bye Mum." Alex hugged them both tightly, then seized her luggage and towed it slowly towards the train. She reached the doors and pulled—it was stuck. "Help, Dad, please!" she called out to him. He and her mother hadn't left; typical parents. Her father walked, grabbed the other end of the trunk in his steady hands, and pushed up. Alex dragged it onto the train. "I'll be fine from here, thanks."
"You're welcome, Alexandra." He turned back to leave. Alex watched him go over to stand by her mother.
Alex pulled herself away and hefted her trunk down the train, glancing in each compartment to see who was there. Finally, her back aching with its weight, she found them, and dragged it in.
"Help, please?" she asked weakly. Alex, looking at the trunk, did not at first see who it was, and only felt half her load vanish. When it was safely stowed away, she panted and looked at her helper. "Hi, Harry," she said, "thanks."
"You're welcome, Al." He pat her on the back, and they both collapsed into opposite seats. "So how's your summer been?" he asked.
"Fine…" she looked into the air, as if she hoped fit find the right word hovering above her. She frowned. That was certainly true, but not thrilling. "Uneventful," she confessed. "And yours?"
"Fine. Been with Hermione and the Weasleys."
"Where are Ron and Hermione?" she asked. Only now did she notice their absence; being observant was difficult to do when you were struggling with a heavy object.
"Prefects," said Ginny. "They'll be here in a bit."
"Oh," said Alex. "I wonder if I'll be one next year… Oh, hi, Luna. Hi, Neville. Didn't notice you there."
Neville and Luna looked up from their mimbulus mimbletonia and Quibbler, respectively.
"Hello, Alex," said Luna.
"Hi," said Neville.
They had a wonderful rest of the ride, (except maybe for the part about the stinksap.)