Summary/Warnings: Dennis' journey from packing to getting to Hogwarts. Big thank you to Sky, Mumka and Aya for the betaing! AU, Dennis is one year younger than Colin. Word count: 1582 Written for THC October Challenge, MoM Magic Law Enforcer, and MC4A - Relevant information at the bottom.

Dennis Creevey stared out the window at the garden. The overgrown plants which had been left to grow out naturally over the summer made him smile. He had never been the best gardener, but had always enjoyed planting them with his dad. Now that he was going to Hogwarts, he wouldn't be around in the early part of spring to help with the planting next year.

He was going to miss it.

Hopefully, his dad would still plant them anyway. Maybe Dennis would help to maintain them this time instead of forgetting about them and ignoring them.

"Dennis! What are you doing? Hurry up!" his brother called for him quickly.

Dennis looked away from the window towards the door. "Coming!"

But the eleven-year-old didn't instantly move. He was going to miss his room, the view, his bed, and all of the muggle things that won't work at Hogwarts. He won't have his TV, his game systems, or even Tamagotchi.

Dennis walked over to his trunk and opened it again.

"Dennis!" his brother yelled.

"Coming!" he repeated.

Dennis packed the normal paper, pens, pencils and colours. He wanted a touch of his muggle home with him. Closing his trunk securely, something caught his eye; a set of playing cards.

Maybe he could teach his new friends some muggle card games!

"Dennis, you have one minute," his mother called.

Quickly, Dennis grabbed the cards and shoved them into his pocket before pulling the trunk off his bed.

"I'm coming!" he called as he exited his room.

"You're going to make us late!" Colin complained when Dennis got to the top of the stairs. "What took you so long?"

"I just needed to make sure I was ready," Dennis muttered, stepping down the stairs carefully with his trunk.

Colin ran out of the house towards the car, Dennis following at a slower pace.

"Come on."

Dennis lumbered into the car beside his brother. He was nervous. But what was there to be nervous about? Colin had only ever said good things about Hogwarts, and it did sound good. Dennis just couldn't stop this nagging feeling in his gut that something wasn't right.

"Can you go faster?" Colin complained, interrupting Dennis' thoughts.

Dennis looked out of the window to ignore his older brother and slipped his hand into his pocket to fiddle with the playing cards in there. He wanted to bring them out, but didn't want to drop them in the car and have to pick them all up. He did know that they were actually running late and that he wouldn't have time to diddle-daddle once they got there.

He really hoped somebody wanted to play cards with him on the train.

An excited squeal penetrated Dennis' ears.

Suddenly, he looked at his brother and then out of the windscreen. They got here quickly. How long had it been? Not the hours he expected? Right?

He looked at the time and realised it really had been hours.

10:52. They had eight minutes to get onto the train.

Dennis swung his door open and lumbered out, quickly going to the boot to grab his trunk, and followed Colin quickly.

"Do we need to run?" Dennis asked as Colin's speed continuously increased. "We have time."

Colin huffed. "Yes!"

Dennis groaned and looked at his parents who were walking briskly beside them; they had longer legs. Dennis held onto his trunk tightly with one hand and had the other over his trousers pocket to ensure the cards would remain safe. He felt himself bounce as he picked up the speed until he was running.

"Slow down," he called when he started to fall behind. His father's hand rested on his back, urging him to go faster.

"I'm not going to miss the train because of you!"

Huffing and breathing heavily, Dennis urged his legs to move faster. They ran through King's Cross station, weaving through the crowds of people. His dad stayed by his side the entire time, while his mum kept up with Colin, who was now out of sight.

"Are we going to make it?" Dennis asked, struggling to breathe properly.

"Yes. Keep going, Son."

Dennis took a deep breath. And then another. And another. And then a final one before they came to a gradual stop. There it was. The barrier.

"Ready to run through it?" his dad asked.

Dennis lifted his hand to read the time on his watch. One minute remaining. "Yes, we need to be quick."

His dad held his hand and they ran through the barrier together. This was it. It was time to start his magical adventure.

Dennis closed his eyes as they reached the brick and crash. He had run into something soft.

"Ouch!"

Dennis looked up at Colin, confused. Why was he standing at the entrance?

"The train isn't here," Colin muttered.

Dennis looked around at the packed platform filled with confused and angry students and parents. "It doesn't look like we missed it."

"What's going on?" Colin asked as he walked off, talking to another person instead of staying with his family.

Dennis looked up at his parents. "Has this happened before?"

"I don't know, bud."

"I'm sure somebody is sorting it out," his mother added.

Dennis looked at his watch. 11:02. The train was definitely late. Nobody was leaving, so perhaps it was normal for the train to be late. It seems that magic might not be as different as he had once thought.

A few people started making their way toward them. "Excuse me," an older gentleman said as he brushed passed, followed by a woman and a boy his age.

"Do we have to go?" the boy asked.

"I think we've been tricked. There's no Hogwarts. No magic. Just tricks."

The man walked into the barrier… and actually walked into it. He pressed his hand against it. "It's… brick?"

"Magic isn't fake, you know," Dennis spoke up. "My brother is in his second year, he went there last year."

"Did the train turn up last year?" the man asked with a frown.

"Yes. And it's always on time… I mean… I think."

"I'm excited to learn all about magic," the boy said. "I'm Albert."

Dennis grinned. "I'm Dennis."

A cheer interrupted them. Dennis peered around to see what was going on and caught sight of a scarlet red steam train heading down the track.

A giant voice boomed and filled every space on the platform. "Please may all students stand back while the train approaches."

Dennis listened to the commotion, catching that a lot of things being said were questions about why the train had been delayed.

"We apologise for the unexpected delay. Please stand back."

"It's here," Albert announced.

Dennis grinned. "Do you want to sit together on the train?"

Albert nodded. "Sure!"

Albert's dad sighed. "If you don't like Hogwarts, I will drive to wherever it is and pick you up, okay?"

Albert hugged his dad. "I know, Dad. I'll be fine."

A surge of movement made Dennis' stomach churn in excitement. Everybody started boarding en mass. Dennis clutched his trunk in one hand and hugged his parents one at a time. "I'll see you at Christmas!"

"Have fun, sweetie."

Dennis looked at Albert who was hugging his dad again and waited for him to detach. "Ready?"

"Sure am! Bye Mum, bye Dad!"

Dennis walked with Albert, passed the crowds of parents, and got onto the train. They looked into a few compartments before finding an empty one.

It wasn't long until other students joined them; a second-year Ravenclaw called Luna, another first-year called Patrick, and a second-year also in Ravenclaw called Ryan.

The excitement in Dennis disappeared when the train started to move and he couldn't find his parents. He stared out of the window for a glimpse but couldn't find them. Dennis bit his lip and looked down at the floor once the crowd was out of sight.

"This is going to be a lovely year," Luna sang. She smiled at them all. "What should we do to pass the time? It's a long journey."

"We could talk?" Ryan suggested.

"Or play a game?"

"What sort of game?"

Dennis looked up and saw thoughtful faces. His hand slid down to his pocket. "I have playing cards with me."

"I love card games!" Albert exclaimed with a huge grin.

"I've played a few card games in my life," Ryan added.

Luna smiled. "I'm happy to learn."

Dennis grinned and pulled the pack of cards out of his pocket. "We could play Go Fish? It's easy to learn."

"Sounds good."

Dennis grinned and pulled the cards out, shuffling them before dealing seven cards to each of them. He then explained the rules and they all started to play.

It wasn't long until other students began to mingle between the compartments, and the two second-years left to find their friends and another first-year joined them. It was fun and took Dennis' mind off missing his parents. He was glad he brought them with him.

Dennis was almost disappointed when they were advised to change into their robes as they'll be arriving at Hogwarts soon. However, once he was changed, there was only a short while until the train started to slow down.

"Hey Dennis," Patrick said.

"Yes?"

"I know we might not end up in the same house… but could we play cards again this weekend?"

Dennis grinned. "Of course!"

"Can I join too?" Albert asked.

"You all can."

"Great!"

This is written for THC October Challenge: Back to Hogwarts. Task: Write a student's journey to King's Cross (With a bit of focus on the theme of a delayed train.) Prompt: (Action) Running.

This is also written for MoM, Level 2, Magic Law Enforcer, Misuse of Muggle Artefacts office. Junior. Include a muggle item: Playing Cards.

This is also written for MC4A:

Individual Challenges: More Like Guidelines; Measuring the Marigolds; Lessons Learned

Representations: AU, Late Train, Teaching Card Games.

Primary and Secondary Bonus Challenges: Corvid Brain

Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenge(s): Mea (Rampant)