September 1st had finally arrived, the great and dreaded day. Esme and Mr. Brown were unable to fall asleep the previous night, but for vastly different reasons. Esme was filled with a mixture of excitement and nervousness. Excited to officially start her magical journey but nervous about the fact she would be gone for so long. Mr. Brown was just plain old worried. Worried that his daughter would get hurt, worried that something would go wrong, worried that this was some bad prank that everyone around him was on… To his dismay, it wasn't. The alarm woke him up just as he was starting to rest his eyes, but he got up to greet the day regardless.

Meanwhile, Esme was already showered, dressed, and excited to start her morning. She figured that if she couldn't sleep, she might as well be productive. Esme had most of her books packed with her clothes, telescope, cauldron, vials, and scales. In the end, her trunk was about half as heavy as she was, making her grateful that it had wheels on it. After packing her trunk, she turned to the objects that she left out. Two of her favorite books, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by Newt Scamander and "1,000 Magical Herbs and Fungi" by Phyllida Spore. She also had her wand, which she had left in the box she received from Mr. Ollivander, and her golden round reading glasses in their maroon case. She had figured that these would be the items she would want to have out in case she got bored on the train ride and wanted them to be readily available at any moment.

She took a moment to decide where she was going to keep her items, when an idea came to her, "I could use dad's satchel! That way I have a little memento from home to keep me company," Esme smiled as she gently put her books and wand in the slightly worn satchel. It felt nice to take the satchel on another adventure as she did when she was younger, only instead of exploring the forest for a family of squirrels or the lake to see the guppies, she was going to the best wizarding school in the world. She clutched the satchel to her chest as she flopped backward on the bed, "Wow… I'm going…" The uneasy feeling started in her stomach and then branched out into her arms and legs, making her limbs stiffer by the second. "I don't think I should be so worried… I am sure other people are nervous as well…" But the uneasy feeling continued to worm its way into her thoughts, 'What if I am no good? What if I don't find anyone like me? What if I don't meet their expectations?'"

A sudden knock at the door brought her back to reality, "Esme, sweetheart? Are you up?" Esme sighed in relief as she slid off the bed and opened the door, "Good morning momma, I didn't wake you did I?" Mrs. Brown had put her dark blonde hair in a high ponytail and was wearing a simple green dress with simple, silver, dangling earrings, "No you didn't, we were up half an hour ago. But by the looks of your room," she glanced behind Esme at the trunk, "You've been up for a while as well." Esme's cheeks went pink, "I thought I should get my packing finished first," She held up her satchel, "I think I got everything," Mrs. Brown smiled. "That's great to hear, my little one. Are you excited to go, or do I have to be excited for you?" Esme laughed. "Don't worry momma, I am excited. Just… nervous," Mrs. Brown bent down to be at eye level with Esme. "Just remember, you can call us whenever you want, I will be checking the answering machine every day, sweetheart," Esme giggled, "I don't think they have phones at Hogwarts, mom, but I'll make sure to write just in case," Mrs. Brown hugged her tight, "I'm going to miss you so much!" Esme hugged her mom back, "I will miss ya too… But-"

Before she could finish her thought, a curt knock came from the front door, "I'll get it!" Mr. Brown yelled as Mrs. Brown helped Esme bring down all her luggage. Mr. Brown meanwhile opened the door to find the one and only Madam McNutly on his doorstep. She gave him a professional smile and spoke calmly, "Good morning, Mr. Brown. It's… It's good to see you again. How has Esme been?" Mr. Brown looked like he was doing his very best to keep his composure, and seconds away from blowing a gasket, "She's… Fine…" A tension-filled silence had descended on them as they waited for the other to speak. Thankfully, Esme and Mrs. Brown had made their way down the stairs with Esme's luggage. Esme saw Madam McNutly and ran over excitedly, "Madam McNutly!" she cried as she gave her a hug around her midsection.

McNutly smiled and hugged Esme back, "Good to see you safe and sound dear…" Mrs. Brown put a calming hand on Mr. Brown's shoulder and whispered soothingly in his ear, "It's going to be alright meu amor. Let's all try to get along today…" Mr. Brown took in a deep breath and visibly relaxed, then he tried smiling at McNutly, "Would you like to come in for breakfast?" McNutly gently let Esme go, "That would be lovely, thank you," She set her suitcase by the front door as Esme led her to the kitchen, "I just wanted to make sure that Esme was all packed and ready to go. The train leaves at 11 o'clock sharp and I wouldn't want her to miss it," Esme looked at the clock hanging on the wall, "But Madam McNutly, it's only 9:45, won't we be able to take the Knight Bus to the station?"

Before McNutly could reply, her father walked in and shut down the idea, "I'm not having my little girl be dropped off to a crack-'' Mrs. Brown gave him a stern look and he quickly rephrased his sentence, "What I meant to say, was that if you are going to this school… I want to make sure I'm the one who drops you off. In a car that I know is 100% practical and safe." Mrs. Brown looked from her husband to McNutly while Esme was plating breakfast for everyone in the kitchen. Madam McNutly simply shrugged, "If that is how you wish to drop off Esme that is fine by me. Most parents are rightfully worried about their kids and I completely understand your hesitation,"

"Well that sounds like a solution everyone can agree upon," Mrs. Brown stated cheerfully. Esme then walked into the room hesitantly, "I hope you like toast…" Madam McNutly chuckled, "I would love some toast, thank you, my dear."

All of them followed Esme into the kitchen where they found four plates each with two pieces of toast on them, "I didn't know how many everyone wanted, so I made two…" Mr. Brown walked over and grabbed his plain toast and took a bite, Madam McNutly meanwhile turned to Esme, "If you wouldn't mind fetching some honey for me, dear. I prefer it to jam or butter with my toast," Mrs. Brown laughed in surprise, "How peculiar, I use honey as well,"

The two women laughed together as Esme quickly went to the cupboard to grab the honey. She was relieved that her mom got along with Madam McNutly. Spending time with her at Diagon Alley had been a very interesting experience. Esme had learned quite a bit about the peculiar woman she called Madam McNutly, such as her love of the band "The Who's," the way her eyes sparkled when she explained the Wizarding World to her, and the fact that she was engaged to a Mr. Rogers, a coworker at the Ministry of Magic. Overall, she was a very kind woman and very fun to be around.

After everyone had finished their toast, the four adults helped Esme take her suitcase out to the driveway, where Mr. Brown's dark blue Audi Quattro was waiting in the driveway, "I will put Esme's luggage in the trunk, everyone else can get in my car," Esme nodded excitedly while Madam McNutly and Mrs. Brown smiled at each other, choosing their seats. After Mr. Brown came back while grumbling about how heavy Esme's suitcase was, the odd group was able to pull out of the driveway and head towards Kingscross station.

To kill the time, Esme, with help from Madam McNutly told tales about their time in Diagon Alley, "There was this huuuge ice cream parlor run by the nicest man I've met. He was a bit on the pudgy side and had quite the bushy mustache, but he had such a friendly smile and gave me free scoops on Wednesdays!"

"I believe you mean Mr. Fortescue, dear. Very kind man, did you know he is a Muggleborn?"

"Wow, I did not." Esme giggled, "That explains why he had so much advice for me,"

Mr. Brown looked in the mirror with a chastising look, "Esme, you shouldn't be talking to strange men. Especially strange men in strange places. That is bound to lead to trouble."

Esme slumped down in her seat, "Sorry father, but he was nice. Most of the people in Diagon Alley are very kind. Except for the people who came out of Knockturn Alley. Those people were very scary…"

Mrs. Brown turned around and put a hand on Esme's knee, "It's alright sweetheart, your father just wants you to be careful."

The car fell silent as a cloud of awkwardness settled in the atmosphere. Mr. Brown, unable to stand the silence, posed a question for Madam McNutly, "So… If you all are magical wizards, why not use something magical. Perhaps a flying carpet or broomsticks?" He chuckled to himself at the thought of the odd woman awkwardly sitting on a broomstick waiting for the traffic of broom riders to pass.

McNutly however, did not find his question amusing, "Well for starters, magic carpets are prevalent in the Middle East. Seeing as we are in England I doubt you would find a wizard who would want to obtain one. Also, they have been banned from Britain since the beginning of the century. Second, both options are much too flashy for transportation purposes. We have tried extremely hard to keep the wizarding world a secret from you muggles. Having hundreds of students flying to Hogwarts would not only be dangerous, but it would also take much too long for it to be a comfortable trip."

"How far is it to Hogwarts? " Mrs. Brown asked with curiosity. " It's in the Scottish highlands, so about a 9-hour train ride," Suddenly, Mr. Brown nearly swerved the car into oncoming traffic but managed to pull into a parking lot by slamming the brakes, which caused the wind to be knocked out of the passengers in the car. "NOVE HORAS MALDITAS! When was I going to be told this?" Esme had learned from a young age that when her father was beyond mad, he slipped into speaking his native Portuguese. Mrs. Brown did her best to soothe Mr. Brown's worries, "She will be perfectly safe on the train, we've taken longer trips before dear…" Esme was silently trying to make sure her items in the satchel were alright after noticing a slight buzzing coming from inside the box her wand was in. Eventually, Mr. Brown calmed down but said the discussion wasn't over, so they drove the rest of the way in silence.

Finally, they arrived and Esme couldn't be happier to get out of the miserable car ride. Madam McNutly got out of the car to stretch her legs, "I don't know how you Muggles constantly ride in such a thing. I would rather try to Apparate to Paris rather than go on a car ride again…" Esme followed her and muttered quietly, "Usually daddy is a bit more careful when he drives…" Mr. and Mrs. Brown followed suit with the former taking the lead, "We only have a short time before 11, so I will buy you a lunch to have on the train, Esme." Esme smiled in appreciation, "Thank you dad, but we got to go-" He simply put his hand on her shoulder and marched her in the direction of the nearest trolley station to put her luggage on.

Mrs. Brown sighed and turned to Madam McNutly mildly embarrassed, "Again, I'm so sorry about how my husband has been reacting. Lately, with all the hustle and bustle of a new school year, he gets wound up rather tight… You should have seen how he was when it was Esme's first year in kindergarten," Madam McNutly chuckled, which made Mrs. Brown smile, "I completely understand Mrs. Brown. I'm just glad that he was able to come to be here to support Esme." Mrs. Brown let out a long sigh, "He couldn't get a wink of sleep the first night Esme left, and considered it all his fault. The next couple of weeks he spent most of the day at the library reading books on science and its correlation with 'magic'. Benjamin tends to bury himself in knowledge trying to understand something he doesn't understand…"

Mr. Brown and Esme came back with a trolley for her things and a plastic bag that seemed to hold a sandwich, chocolate bar, and juice box. "I am just about ready to get this over with, da** Bucket Bars going up in price every day." Esme looked down at her trolley timidly, "I said I was fine without it…" Mr. Brown sighed and patted her head softly, "I know you have a sweet tooth so I was fine to let you have it… Now which platform is the train on, I want to see this for myself." Madam McNutly smiled politely, "It's platform 9 ¾, I'll show you the way." Esme gratefully trotted after her while Mr. and Mrs. Brown were left in surprise. "Platform what?" Mr. Brown demanded as he rushed over to Madam McNutly. She calmly looked him in the eyes and repeated her statement, "Platform 9 ¾. You run straight into the pillar between platforms 9 and 10 and you will be on the platform. This way witches go in, and muggles stay out."

Before Mr. Brown could argue with her, Esme had run past them straight towards the said pillar. "Esme don't!" Mrs. Brown yelled as she chased after her daughter. Suddenly both of them seemed to disappear, one moment they were running toward the pillar, and the next they were gone. Mr. Brown stood baffled, unable to comprehend what just happened. Madam McNutly however simply rolled her eyes and muttered something along the lines of "Muggles…" and followed the pair onto the platform, leaving Mr. Brown dazed and in desperate need of a drink.