Hogwarts was an elite boarding school, with an advanced and unique programme for mental health care. It was renowned for successfully rehabilitating and caring for students struggling with a variety of disorders and problems, and for high academic achievers.
The school was located in remote Scotland, inside a renovated castle that was several hundred years old, and surrounded by woodlands and a lake. It was too far into the country side for phone or internet service, and was best accessed by rail as the roads leading to it often were inaccessible during harsh winter weather.
Their objectives as a school were to combine old fashioned values like hard work and commitment with modern values like acceptance and equality.
Their classes included tending to the vast gardens and caring for the horses kept in the large stable on the grounds.
On top of this they had many programmes designed for youth struggling with a variety of mental health issues.
Many considered the school a huge step in the right direction, and the waiting list for attendance was years long. Tuition fees were very expensive and only one scholarship was given out per year.
They offered four years of study, accepting students from age 15. The extra year of study was unusual, most schools offering graduation at 18, but Hogwarts's curriculum was curated the extra age, trying to reach as many students as possible.
And though they were a school, they didn't keep students on once they had recovered, they were chiefly a rehabilitation centre, their goal to heal the broken, and send them back into the world as whole people again.
Because of this there wasn't a class graduation as such. Many students were released and returned after relapses, students who had already attended were always accepted over newcomers.
The Headmaster of Hogwarts, the aging Albus Dumbledore, a mysterious but kindly figure, ran the school with great passion and integrity.
The school required hired a large staff, this included tutors, medical and psychological professionals, janitors, groundskeepers and an entire kitchen staff.
The school had around 200 students when the school year started, their first term beginning on the first of September, right on the cusp of the changing season.
Students arrived either by the school owned train, the Hogwarts Express, or were driven by their families. Despite being only the first day of autumn, there was already a chill in the air. It hadn't been a very hot summer and a harsh winter was predicted.
After5pm, by when all students were expected to have arrived, most students were catching up with one another, unpacking their trunks and filling with air with a lively atmosphere.
Promptly at 6pm the dinner gong sounded and the students, in smart casual wear, filed from their dormitories and common rooms into the Grand Hall.
They stood at assembly while Dumbledore gave a welcome back speech, taking special care to welcome their four new arrivals, and make a few miscellaneous announcements.
The school was divided into four Houses.
Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin.
The students were sorted at random, and the houses served as a way to teach teamwork and for healthy competition. All school sports and any school competitions were always divided by house. Each house had their own table in the Great Hall and their own dormitory. Classes however were shared.
On top of this students competed for the House Cup each year. For doing well, successfully completing things, good behaviour and general achievements, the tutors, or Professors, as they called them, could award House Points. They could also take away House Points for misconduct and for breaking school rules.
Once Dumbledore had finished his speech, the students were seated at their House tables, which were laden with a lavish feast, a generally positive hubbub filled the room as everyone began eating and chatting together.
At the head table, where all the professors and the Headmaster ate, quiet talk of the year to come was had between mouthfuls of sweet vegetables and soft meats. Dumbledore sipped his pumpkin juice and looked out over his students with twinkling eyes.
He wanted to save each and every soul in front of him. And he was determined he would.
