Challenge: 30 Harry Potter Prompts
Character/Pairing: Train Director
Summary: A complete (hopefully) collection of all things Harry Potter!
A/N: I'll put the prompt, as well as the word count at the end of the page. Hopefully, I'll update every day. This will feature all kinds of pairings! This story has no real "pairing" but it stars the invisible train director who drives the magical train to Hogwarts!
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No one ever did notice the train director. Everyone was always too busy saying good bye to parents and relatives-whether tearfully or stoic- and saying hello to friends that they had not seen over the summer. With all the hugging and kissing going around as first years boarded with apprehension, and seventh years bouncing in, excited for their last year before heading out into the real world, it was no wonder why no one ever paid attention to who was actually driving the magical train.
As the smoke billowed out of the engine, train rolling smoothly on the tracks into the platform, the director just watched, staying in his own little compartment, content to just watch as students and teachers clambered in, laughing and chattering excitedly. Parents smiling and giving last minute advice, young siblings crying and waving as their brothers or sisters boarded, all the director watched with impassivity. If anything, the graying man might just be one of the most powerful men out there.
People never did do the train, or director, justice. He was always there, without fail, at Platform 9 ¾ every year, waiting to pick up all the students who came to Hogwarts after all. No one stopped to wonder, without a train, what would happen? This old man was always there to make sure the train ran smoothly, polishing its blasting engine, doing test runs around the castle, and cleaning the compartments for the next year of students.
Even when the Demetors attacked the train, in search of the infamous Sirus Black, even when the Death Eaters took over, the train was always there. And with the train came the director. Always there, always waiting, ready to embark on the trip back to Hogwarts.
...
The oncoming war had no affect on him as he made the yearly journey back to the Platform. No doubt a good half of the students would not be attending school this year, and the other half would make the train deathly quiet, but the director still pulled in and waited, as slowly and surely, the kids started drifting in, parents at the back. The adult's faces were tense, as if expecting a Dark Wizard to spring up any moment as they ushered reluctant students onto the train. So this year, the director did things a little different this year.
He stood at the entrance, in the shadows, nodding to any who noticed him lurking as he watched each student, making sure they all boarded the train safely. Only a one redhead boarded the train this year, not noticing his presence, as she rushed in, in search of an empty compartment. A mere scrap of a boy with the whitest hair he had ever seen stalked in, head held high, but his eyes spoke a different story. The ethereal grey eyes were wary as he rushed in, and into the compartment that just happened to contain the youngest Weasley girl. The director couldn't help but grin, turning to see a boy running with a blonde-haired girl in pursuit. A spacey blonde strolled through at her own pace, lost in her own fantasy as she turned and greeted him with a soft smile. The trains whistle blew for the third time, so he hurried away from the girl, leaving her to drift away in search of another.
As he drove the magical train back to Hogwarts, the director couldn't stop grinning, for reason unknown to everyone, but himself. Oh, this year would be different, there was just no doubt.
And in the compartments, students whispered uneasy questions, letting soft voices float through the train. No one knew the definite answer, Why was Filch there to greet the students this year?
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Prompt: Platform 9 ¾
Word Count: 619