Written for the Ascend the Ladder (A beautiful view)
-oOo-
Hermione Granger
She'd seen paintings and photos of the school. The moment she'd gotten her hands on 'Hogwarts: A History' and seen the illustrations, she'd been day dreaming of the school. Scribbles of the castle took to her notebooks and the corner of her desk. Every building she looked at from that point was dull compared to the idea of this magic castle.
And when Hermione saw it for the first time, she came to the conclusion that all the images of it on the book, did not do it justice.
It loomed over them, a majestic titan that stretched high into the night sky. She was reminded of the castles in old fairytales. And she wondered if this was what Cinderella must have felt when she first visited the palace that night of the ball. Was she too taken back by the sheer glamour and grace that the stone building held?
Either way, Hermione couldn't speak as they grew closer. For her, being speechless was an accomplishment.
The castle was just such a gorgeous sight.
-oOo-
Neville Longbottom
His relatives had told him all about the castle. They had said how big it was. How grand and amazing. They'd also more often than not teased him that he would never see it unless he got some real magical potential. He'd been scared for so long that he would never have made it to this castle.
So seeing it was like a dream come true. He didn't care how large it was. The design of the towers or how many halls there were. It was trivial thing that meant nothing. He didn't care what it looked like.
All he cared about was that he would be stepping through the doors soon. That he was good enough to be part of this magic.
He tried to get the boat to move quicker, he'd swim if he had to - no he wouldn't, the Malfoy boy had told him what was in the lake, and that they liked to eat chubby little boys. But the fact remained that Neville wanted to get to that castle faster than they were going.
-oOo-
Ron Weasley
He'd seen that castle before. He'd managed to tag along for Charlie's graduation, but they'd gone through the front, and he'd paid very little attention to the castle, more excited for the cookies and punch that he was told waited inside. He had so many brother enter this castle before him, so he had been told a thing or two on what to expect.
But still, they didn't tell him this. The castle was frightening. It was so tall, and dark, and he'd heard so many stories about moving staircases and talking portraits and the closer they got, the more anxious Ron became.
He was the hundredth or so Weasley to cross this lake. All of his older brothers had already done so, three of them sitting inside the school waiting for him to enter. But he wasn't sure if he was really ready to face what lay ahead.
As it was, while everyone took in the beautiful view, Ron Weasley gulped at the sight.
-oOo-
Draco Malfoy
Draco knew what to expect long before he'd even sat in his boat. His parents had told him all about the castle, and he'd seen it a few times before whenever accompanying Professor Snape on runs, so he knew what was coming.
When everyone gasped at the sight, he kept his face straight, as if not impresses. That was a complete lie, Draco was already in love with the school.
It was magnificent. He couldn't wait to play in the classrooms, explore the library, and take his broom around the towers.
Although, to any one looking at the Malfoy heir, they would think he was unaffected by the beautiful scene.
-oOo-
Harry Potter
He was going to fall out of this boat if he leaned any further forward. But Harry couldn't help it. He'd been raised to not believe in any of this magic, so seeing it now really was a treat.
The building, he knew was just a building, but it seemed so much more. He swore he could see the magic radiating off the bricks. He could feel it drawing him closer. He wanted to be inside the halls so bad and it was killing him to have to wait.
Sure it was a beautiful view they had, but Harry really wanted to experience the castle, not just the view of it.