With only a couple days left in August, Alex and William spent their afternoons practicing their spells and waiting for the first of September to finally come. When they got tired of reading spellbooks, they would get the Snitch out and ride on their brooms, trying to catch it. They didn't have a quaffle or anything, so that was the only thing they could do. In the mean time, Alex trained his new snidget, Kaza, to carry notes. The first few times, it didn't work. Kaza would drop the note or it would fly back to Alex without delivering the slip of paper. Finally, after three days, Kaza managed to carry a note to William's house. Alex was so happy. For fast delivery, Alex could use Kaza instead of Aerawin. Kaza could also pass a note in class without being easily seen. After all, he was only the size of a walnut.
Days passed and the journey to King's Cross came near. On the night before the departure, Alex and William stood outside the grass, facing each other a couple feet away, wands raised.
"You ready, Will?"
"I've been ready."
"Alright, then. Expelliarmus!" White sparks came out of the tip of Alex's wand and hit William, causing his wand to fly into the air. Alex reached out and caught it in his other hand. "William, William, William. You really need to work on that whole 'losing your wand' thing. It's not really the best idea, you know." He gave the wand back. "What kind of wand is that?"
"Uh, thirteen inches cedar with dragon heartstring. What about you?"
"Mine's thirteen and a half hazel with phoenix tail feather," he replied, helping William off the ground. "I think that's enough for tonight. We're starting school tommorow. We need our rest. First impressions are very important, you know. I'll see you in the morning." Alex waved to his friend and they both went inside their houses.
Alex went upstairs to his room and began packing his things. He made sure to bring his Invisibilty Cloak and his Golden Snitch. The cloak, he definitely wanted to bring. He stacked his books over it, to make sure the cloak wouldn't get stolen or anything. He then, folded his robes and put them neatly into the trunk. He packed all of his other belongings and closed the lid. The emerald green case had his initials carved in black, AJL. He slid the trunk over into the corner and got ready for bed. To make sure he didn't forget his wand, he put it on top of the case and climbed into bed. He turned off the light and fell asleep as his head fell on the pillow.
The sun shone through the window, waking the sleeping boy from his slumber. Alex opened his eyes and felt the warm sunlight on his face. He smiled as he saw the blue sky outside his window. Feeling great, Alex jumped out of bed and got dressed. As he was pulling his jeans on, his alarm went off. Pulling on a red shirt, he turned it off. It was ten o' clock, which meant only one more hour until he was on the Hogwarts Express, heading off to his first day at the great school of magic. He couldn't wait.
Sliding down the banister, Alex made his way into the kitchen. The smell of pancakes met his nose and his mouth began to water.
"Pancakes smell good, mom," he said, sitting down with his brother and father, who were already eating. His mother came by and set down a plate of pancakes in front of him. Pouring syrup over them, he quickly ate them in about five minutes. "Thanks, mom."
He went upstairs and brushed his teeth, making sure to rinse his mouth out with mouthwash. Morning breath isn't excactly all that great to start the day. Minty fresh and ready to go, Alex went to his room and fetched his trunk and suitcase. There were light as a feather, thanks to the light-weight charm his mother put on them. Kicking the trunk and suitcase like pucks down the stairs, he carried his bird cage, which held both Aerawin and Kaza inside. Alex heard his stuff land downstairs and he ran back into his room to get his wand.
"I'm ready!" he yelled, coming out of his room, with the wand behind his ear and the cage still in his hands.
"Wait one minute," his mom yelled back.
Alex sighed. He literally couldn't wait. The train would leave in about thirty minutes. He took the wand from behind his ear and twirled it with his fingers. After a minute or two, his mother came from the kitchen, taking her apron off.
"Alright, dear. Let's go," she said, fixing her long black hair. She opened the front door and made her way to the car they hardly ever drove. It was a black Mazda that was still in pretty good condition, considering they only drove when they went to Muggle areas like King's Cross station, for example. She opened the trunk and went back to get Alex's belongings. Alex was still standing in the doorway, looking up at the sky.
"Hey, Alex!"
He turned around and caught a pouch his dad threw, hearing the coins jingling inside.
"That's some money for you to have, you know. Just in case," his dad said, giving him a hug and ruffling his hair.
"Thanks, dad," Alex replied, feeling the coins inside the bag.
"Come on, Alex!" his mom said, from the car. Alex let go of his dad and slipped into the passenger seat of the car, waving good-bye. The car roared off and they were on their way to the train station.
As they pulled into the parking lot of the station, Alex saw a lot of kids his age, pushing carts filled with the same items that were in the trunk of the car. He figured they were all going to the same place he was. Alex pulled out all of his things from the trunk while his mom got a metal cart. Oddly, he didn't see William anywhere. Knowing William, Alex came to the conclusion that he was already on the train. They would meet up sooner or later. Alex pushed his cart as they entered the train station, looking for the platform he had to go to.
"Mother, what platform do we go to?" he asked, looking at where all the other kids were going. They seemed to be heading towards platform nine. Alex's mother pulled out the golden train ticket.
"Platform nine and three quarters, dear," she said, handing him the ticket.
"Platform nine and three quarters?"
"Yes, between platforms nine and ten," she explained. "Here we are."
A mob of children stood between the two platforms, all chattering with each other. Alex looked through the crowd and spotted William, standing with his parents. They made eye contact and waved to each other. Alex strolled his cart over and stood with them.
"You all ready to go?" he said, stopping the cart in front of them.
"Ready as I'll ever be," William replied.
"Well, how do we get to the platform?"
"Beats me."
"Come on, darling. All you have to do is run into the wall without stopping." Alex's mother said, pointing at the solid brick wall between platforms nine and ten.
"You're kidding me, right? You want me to run into that wall?"
"That's right, dear. Don't worry."
"Easy for you to say."
"Just do it."
"Fine. Here goes nothing!"
Alex pushed his cart around and faced the brick wall. At running speed, he charged , waiting to crash into the brick wall and look like an idiot. Oddly enough, he appeared on the other side, completely unharmed. Letting out his breath, Alex relaxed and stared at an enormous red train in front of him. Parents were saying their good-byes and hugging their children to death, not wanting to let go. Just then, William popped out of the wall and stopped beside him.
"Whoa," he said.
"I know," Alex said. "Let's get on the train before it leaves."
The two friends carried their luggage onto the train, trying to find a seat. Alex wondered if he would see that girl from Diagon Alley again and looked around for her, but didn't see her anywhere. They arrived near the end of the train, where a compartment was occupied by a single person. He had shaggy brown hair and blue eyes that looked like Will's, but lighter in color. He sat there, reading a Quidditch magazine. Alex and William put their stuff in the overhead compartment and sat down on the opposite side of the box. Alex decided to introduce himself and stuck out his hand to the stranger.
"Hello, name's Alexander Jacob Lancastler and my friend here is good ol' William Winchester. How are you?"
The boy looked up from his magazine. "Damien Wolfe. Pleased to meet you, both." He set down the magazine and the three of them shook hands. Outside the booth, more people began to fill the other compartments. A shadow came over their door as someone put their stuff overheaad. The door slid open, revealing another boy standing in the doorway. He was short and breathing heavily.
"Man, those bags are heavy," he said, accidently sitting on Damien's Quidditch magazine.
"Um, excuse me. Your'e sitting on my magazine," Damien said.
"Oh, terribly sorry." The strange boy pulled the magazine from under him and handed it back to Damien. "Name's Elliot McDren," he said and they shook hands. Elliot stuck his hand in front of Alex and William and they shook hands as well. They could hear steam escape from the top of the train and the intercom came on.
"Please be seated in one of the compartments on the train. We will be leaving shortly. Thank you," it blared.
"Finally," Alex muttered, "I can't wait to get to school."
"Yeah, I know what you mean," William said.
A very large boy walked by the compartment in a hurry, looking for a place to sit. Since all the seats were filled, he came back to the booth with Alex, William, Damien and Elliot.
"Can I sit with you guys?" he said, pleadingly. For a second, nobody moved, but Alex and William scooted over in their seats and let the blonde boy sit down beside them. "Thank you so much," he said, sitting down. "My name is Jack Flinten." Everyone introduced themselves, just as the train pulled out of the station.
The train was pleasant and smooth. The new friends talked about themselves and what they did over the summer and such. Elliot's father was a Muggle policeman for London and his mother was a witch who worked at The Three Broomsticks. He was the only other half-blood other than William. Damien was an orphan whose parents died before he could walk. He and his sister were placed in a Muggle orphanage until an owl came to the owner. Dumbledore sent Hagrid to pick them up and take them to Diagon Alley. Hogwarts was now their new home until they have to go back when the term ended. Jack had a total of six brothers. All of them were younger and had blonde hair. He was just glad he wouldn't have to see them for a while. As they talked, the food trolley came by and the door opened.
"Anything from the trolley, dears?" the plump woman said. Everyone reached into their pockets for money and bought snacks. Alex bought two bags of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, a pumpkin pasty and some Brimstone gum. William bought some licorice wands and a chocolate frog. Damien and Elliot each bought five chocolate frogs and Jack bought a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, five pumpkin pasties, three chocolate frogs, two licorice wands, and four Cauldron Cakes.
"You think you got enough food there, Jack?" Alex said, eating his pumpkin pasty. Jack wasn't paying attention. He was too busy eating the massive pile of food in his lap. Meanwhile, William was eating one of his licorice wands and Damien and Elliot were opening their packets of chocolate frogs. Damien took his chocolate frog and placed it in his open palm.
"Watch this," he said and pulled out his wand. "Animate."
The frog jumped to life and started doing backflips in his hand. Then, it stopped and started dancing. Everyone laughed and Elliot put his frog in his palm, too.
"Let me try," he said and pulled out his wand. "Animate." His frog twitched violently in his hand and vomitted all over his hand. Everyone jumped back in shock as chunky pieces of chocolate formed a pool in Elliot's hand.
Alex laughed. "Damien's frog was definitely better than yours, Elliot. You need to work on your magic a little." Elliot's face turned red and he left the booth, trying not to drip chocolate all over the aisle.
Finishing the last bite of his pumpkin pasty, Alex opened a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. He picked out a yellow one, striped with white.
"Mmm, banana split," he said, offering the bag of candy to everyone. Every took a few, except for Jack, who was still eating his food.
"I got cherry," William said.
Exhaling sharply, Damien said, "Mine's mint."
They went on eating the flavored jelly-beans, getting good ones like green apple and chocolate chip cookie and a few bad ones like grass and garlic. Finally, Elliot came back from the bathroom, wiping his hands on his shirt.
"God, I didn't know chocolate was so hard to clean off," he said, sitting back down and opening another chocolate frog. This time, he didn't try to use magic. He just ate it and looked at the card he got. "Godric Gryffindor. I only have one of these. Maybe it'll be the house I'm sorted into."
Alex scoffed. "What makes you think you'll be picked for Gryffindor? You don't look like the courageous type."
"Shut up. It's not like I'm saying I will. I just hope I will. What about you?"
"What?"
"What house do you think you'll be put in?"
"Ravenclaw."
"Ravenclaw?"
"Yes, you twit. You heard me. Ravenclaw."
"Why Ravenclaw? Don't you want to be in Gryffindor?"
"I'm not saying I don't want to be in Gryffindor. I'm just saying that I'll most likely be in Ravenclaw."
"Why? You think you're smart?"
"Smarter than you, obviously," he said, chuckling. "Now, be a good little boy and let me eat my jelly-beans."
Everyone held back their laughs, but it was all too much to handle. All of them burst out in giggles. Elliot sat there quietly, eating his chocolate frogs and collecting the cards inside. The intercom came on again.
"We are approaching our destination and will arrive shortly. Please change into your robes."
The sky outside darkened and the lights came on on the train. The new friends came out of the booth and got their trunks. They all changed into their school clothes and slipped on their robes. Alex looked at himself. He thought about his individuality, so he made a few adjustments to his uniform. He took off the grey vest and undid the top button in his shirt. He put the robe back on and looked at himself again.
"Much better," he said to himself.
"Did you say something, Alex?" William asked, puting on his robe.
"It was nothing. Don't worry about it," he replied, putting his wand in his robes.
At last, the train stopped and the intercom came on.
"We have arrived at Hogwarts. Please get your luggage from the overhead compartments and don't forget anything on the train. Hope you had a wonderful trip."
Everyone got their stuff and got off the train. They stood there as the train pulled out and left. A girl walked by and bumped into Elliot.
"Hey! Watch where you're going!" he said.
"Sorry," she muttered.
"You better be, you wretch."
She turned around and glared at him. Alex could see her brown eyes. They had gold specks in them that burned with intensity. She was holding a cage with a black veil over it. Whatever was inside, cawed loudly.
"It's ok, Edgar," she said, softly.
"Edgar? What kind of name is Edgar for an owl?"
The girl took off the veil, revealing a black bird inside.
"It's a raven, you moron. Not a stupid owl."