The Journey From Platform Nine And Three Quarters
Some weeks passed in July until Arthur's eleventh birthday came on July 31st. Arthur enjoyed it and it even eased his mind about the fact that he'll go to wizarding school in September.
Whenever he didn't hang out with his relatives, he'd be in his bedroom, reading all of the books he got at Diagon Alley. He'd lay on his bed, reading even into the night. The one he re-read the most is Fantastic Beasts, having been fascinated with the various creatures in the book. Next to it was History of Magic, he may as well familiarise himself with the wizarding world.
Arthur also formed a really tight bond with his new owl, Athena. He let her fly and spread her wings and gave her treats, ensuring she's well fed and that they like each other. His relatives also liked Athena, which relieved Arthur.
Along with all of this, Arthur started growing anticipation for going to Hogwarts, ticking off one day after another through July and August. He looked at his ticket, seeing that it was for the Hogwarts Express and that it was at Platform 9 ¾. He found that odd yet fitting considering how different the wizarding community is compared to the Muggle world.
He asked his aunt and uncle if they could take him to King's Cross on September 1st towards the end of August and they said they would. Patty has even been there herself, saying that what he'll see will be amazing. It turns out they're heading into London anyway on September 1st since they're going to an event as an early birthday present for Deacon.
When the day finally came, Arthur woke up earlier than normal, at five o'clock, being too excited to continue sleeping. He became so excited in fact that he got dressed in a plain grey t-shirt, jeans and trainers, knowing that if he went to King's Cross in his wizard's robes, he'd be made fun of, so he'd change when on the train.
To make sure he had everything, he went over the list and checked Athena's cage to see that she's shut safely in her cage. He then sat on his bed, waiting for his relatives to wake up.
Two long hours later, Arthur's large and heavy trunk was loaded into the Dentleys' car and all four entered the car and had set off to London.
Come half past ten, they reached King's Cross. Nicholas helped Arthur load his trunk onto a trolley while Patty placed Athena on the trolley as well. Patty then led her nephew into the station and stopped when they faced the platforms.
"It's between platforms nine and ten. There'll be some wizarding folk here as well so keep your eyes and ears open for them if you're too nervous." She advised him before hugging him.
"I'll miss you." She whispered, kissing the top of his head.
"Don't worry, auntie. I'll write you all a letter every month." Arthur told her as they parted, seeing her eyes well up. She wiped her eyes and waved before walking back to the car to her husband and son.
Knowing that the train to Hogwarts would leave at eleven o'clock, he looked around to see if he could find any magical folk who were also heading for Platform 9 ¾.
He was growing more worried as time went on, scared he'd miss the train. His aunt said it was between platforms nine and ten, yet she didn't specify anything about that. But then he heard a group of people pass just behind him and was able to hear a few words from who had to be the mother saying:
"...packed with Muggles, of course…."
Finally. He swung around, seeing that the person who spoke was a rather strikingly beautiful woman talking to four boys, all of whom had striking silver hair. They all pushed trunks like Arthur's, even having owls.
With his heart beating quickly with joy, he followed them, stopping when they did. He stayed close enough to overhear them.
"Now, what's the platform number?" The boys' mother asked a girl, who had the same silver hair as the boys and their mother.
"9 ¾." The girl replied, holding her mother's hand.
"Okay, Sam, you go first." The mother said to the oldest of the boys, who marched forwards towards platforms nine and ten. Arthur watched very carefully, not even blinking. But as he saw the boy reach the divide between the platforms, a large crowd of tourists swarmed in front of him and once they were gone, the boy seemed to have vanished.
"Jack, you're next." The mother then said, looking at the twins, which was clear because they're the same height and looked exactly alike from where Arthur was.
"If you say so, madam." Jack remarked before going on, with his twin right behind him. The two suddenly disappeared like Sam before them. Arthur needed to know what to do.
"Excuse me." He said to the woman.
"Oh, hello, there. First time at Hogwarts? So's David." She pointed at the last and clearly youngest of her sons. He was slightly taller than Arthur and a bit more slimmer. He of course had silver hair as well as electric blue eyes.
"Yeah. I just don't really know how to…." He admitted, feeling awkward for some reason.
"How to get onto the platform?" She asked kindly. Arthur nodded.
"Oh, don't worry. You just have to walk straight at the barrier between the platforms. Just don't stop and don't be scared to crash into it. In fact, do a run if you're nervous. Why don't you go before David?" She told him.
"Alright." He pushed his trolley round to face the barrier, looking really solid. He took a deep breath and then ran to the barrier, people jostling him at the same time. He thought he'd smash into the ticket box and so he closed his eyes, ready for the crash and yet… it didn't come.
He just kept running until he stopped and opened his eyes, resulting in his jaw dropping.
What he saw before him was a scarlet steam engine waiting next to a platform that was packed with people. There was a sign overhead that read: Hogwarts Express, 11 o'clock. He looked behind him and saw a wrought iron archway where the ticket box would be that had the words Platform Nine and Three Quarters on it. He had done it.
The smoke from the engine was drifting over the heads of the crowd as cats of every colour weaved their way between the legs of the crowd. Owls were hooting to each other over the babble and scraping of heavy trunks.
Arthur saw that the first few carriages were packed with students, some of which were hanging out of the windows to talk to their families and some fighting over seats. He pushed his trolley down the platform, searching for an empty seat. He even passed a round-faced boy, hearing him talk with who was his grandmother.
"Gran, I've lost my toad again."
"Oh, Neville." The woman sighed.
Arthur then noticed a black boy with dreadlocks being surrounded by a small crowd.
"Give us a look, Lee, go on."
Said boy lifted the lid of a box in his arms and the crowd shrieked and yelled when something inside poked out a long and hairy leg. Not wanting to see what it was, Arthur continued on until he found an empty compartment that was near the end of the train. He first put Athena in and then he struggled to get his trunk through the train door. He tried lifting it up the steps but all he did was make it drop onto his foot, which hurt immensely.
"Need a hand?" One of the silver haired twins asked him.
"I'd appreciate it." Arthur panted.
"Eh, Kevin! C'mere and help!" The twin yelled, clearly Jack.
With their help, Arthur got the trunk tucked into a corner of the compartment.
"Thanks for that." He said to them, wiping the sweat soaked fringes away from his eyes.
"Hey, what is that?" Jack said. He knew it was Jack because he had brown eyes whereas Kevin had the same electric blue eyes David had. Also, Jack's hair was spiky while Kevin's was messy and had a parting on the left of his head. The twins started staring at Arthur's lightning scar.
"Holy…." Kevin gasped, knowing who he and his twin just helped.
"Arthur Pendergast?" He then asked for confirmation.
"Yes." Arthur nodded. This made their jaws drop, which made the boy look away from their gawking.
"Boys! Are you there?" Their mother thankfully called for them through the train door.
"Coming, mum." They replied, taking one last look at Arthur before hopping off the train.
Arthur sat down right next to the window where, being half hidden, he watched the silver haired family on the platform, hearing what they're saying.
"Where's Sam?" Jack asked, looking around.
"Here he comes." Their mom pointed past him. The oldest boy arrived, already changed into his Hogwarts robes, seeing a crest over where his heart is and saw red on the inside of the robes. Arthur also noted a shiny red and gold badge on his chest that had the letter P on it. Arthur also noted that he wore what looked like a uniform underneath the robes instead of regular clothes.
"I can't stay long, mum. I'm supposed to be up front with the other Prefects." He informed everyone.
"Just don't let it get to your head, we don't want to deal with an egocentric brat." Kevin joked.
"Oh, shut up." Sam rolled his eyes, though he was amused based on the tone of his voice.
"By the way, that boy we met earlier? That was Arthur Pendergast." Jack revealed to everyone.
"Really?" The girl asked, clearly in awe.
"How do you know?" David asked his older brothers.
"We saw his scar and asked him. It looked exactly like a lightning bolt." Kevin told them all.
"Oh, my… He was so polite when he asked how to get to the platform. But why would he be alone?" Their mother questioned.
"Could it be because he was raised in the Muggle world?" Sam asked.
"That would explain why he was shy." Jack agreed.
A whistle then sounded, indicating the train was about to get going.
"Alright, you lot, hurry up! And be good, you two!" The mother called to all of her sons, who entered the train, calling out the twins in particular with the last point.
"Don't worry, mum, we know when something's too far." Jack reassured her.
"We'll send you loads of owls, as well, Mary." Kevin said to their sister, who Arthur realised must be at least ten years old and therefore, too young to go to Hogwarts.
The train then started moving and Arthur saw their mother waving to her sons, her daughter also waving goodbye until he could no longer see them due to the train leaving the station.
Arthur properly sat by the window, watching the houses blur past the window. Arthur was now able to feel excitement truly bubble up and consume his whole body. This was it. He'll finally go to the same school his parents went to and he'll learn so much cool stuff.
He then heard the door to the compartment open up and he looked to see David standing there.
"Hi, is it alright if I join? Everywhere else is full." He asked, pointing at the seat opposite Arthur.
"Go ahead." Arthur nodded to the seat. David sat and he seemed awkward, looking down at his hands before he looked back at him.
"Is it true? That you're Arthur Pendergast?" He asked. Before Arthur could answer, he saw the twins appear in the corner of his eyes.
"Hey, David." One of them said. Both boys looked at them.
"We're gonna go to the middle of the train. Lee has a large tarantula." Jack informed his younger brother, whose eyes widened with a look of fear, no doubt afraid of spiders. This also made Arthur glad he didn't see it earlier, not being a fan of spiders himself. Also that surname, Merlon, to Arthur sounded a lot like Merlin.
"Thanks for the word of caution." David replied.
"Hi, Arthur. We didn't really introduce ourselves. Jack and Kevin Merlon. Of course, you've just met our younger brother, David. See you later." Kevin greeted, even though Arthur knew their names already, but he didn't mind.
"Bye." He replied, watching them slide the compartment door shut and continue off down the train.
He then looked at David, whose eyes widened with confirmation.
"So you're really Arthur Pendergast?" He blurted out.
"Yeah." Arthur nodded.
"Wow… I at first thought that Jack and Kevin were just joking around. So you have… you know?" David then got nervous, wanting to ask about Arthur's scar. Knowing this, he moved his fringe to show the scar.
"Wow." David said, both in awe and fear.
"So that's where Voldemort marked you?" He then asked, being the first person since McGonagall that said his name.
"Yeah. But all I can remember is a green light." Arthur explained, not wanting to mention that laugh he knows for sure came from Voldemort.
"Wow." David said.
"You said his name, too." Arthur pointed out.
"Yeah, my parents felt that we shouldn't be scared of a name. Especially since they think he'd come back eventually." He admitted. Arthur nodded, seeing the logic behind it all.
"So is your entire family magical?" He decided to start a more casual conversation.
"As far I know, yes." David nodded.
"Are you and your family related to Merlin?" He then asked the silver haired boy, whose cheeks started becoming red.
"Yes, me and my family are descendants of Merlin." David admitted.
"Wow." Arthur gasped. To meet an actual descendant of the famous wizard. No doubt the Merlons are one of the old wizarding families that the pale boy referred to.
"Apparently you live with Muggles. What were they like?" David shifted the conversation.
"They're nice. They're actually my relatives…." Arthur replied, kickstarting a whole conversation where Arthur learned that David actually has five siblings, making there be seven siblings. The two he didn't see were Robert (Rob) and Kenneth (Kenny). David explained that Rob was Head Boy and that Kenny was the Captain of the Quidditch team.
Sam is now a Prefect and both Jack and Kevin are considered the jokesters at Hogwarts. They still get good marks and everyone likes them. David also explained how he's yet to figure out what he's aiming for but he still had time to figure that out.
"Oh, and this here's my pet, Scabbers." He pulled out a rat from his pocket in his jacket.
"He's a bit useless but that's his charm. He hardly wakes up. He actually belonged to Sam before he became a Prefect. He has an owl now and I decided to have him." David explained some more.
Arthur then started explaining what his life was like growing up, noting all the magical things he unknowingly did, some of which David found funny. Even how his aunt and uncle didn't really tell the truth about what happened to his parents.
"...so until Professor McGonagall and Hagrid arrived, I didn't know I was a wizard and that my parents were killed by Voldemort." He finished off.
"I see you say his name as well." David noted.
"Yeah, I personally find the name a bit stupid, but that's just me." Arthur shrugged, making David shake his head in disbelief.
They continued talking some more, the train having carried them out of London by now. They talked about various things, like David's childhood and what the Muggle world is like. They were speeding past fields with cows and sheeps at half past twelve when the two heard a clattering out in the corridor. They looked and saw a smiling, dimpled woman who slid the compartment door open. She also had a trolley that was full of wizarding sweets. Arthur had to try them.
"Anything off the trolley, dears?" She asked them. Arthur got up and grabbed some money from his pocket and paid the woman, grabbing two of everything.
"Hungry?" David asked, sounding amused.
"I've had any of these, might as well try them out." Arthur replied, handing some to him, wanting to share.
Arthur couldn't believe how good these sweets were. He found them to be better than Muggle sweets. He especially liked the pumpkin pasties and Cauldron Cakes. They also had iced pumpkin juice, which was refreshing.
He then picked up a pack of Chocolate Frogs, wondering if it was just chocolate shaped like a frog and was enchanted to act like a frog.
"Don't worry, they aren't really frogs. Plus each pack has a card of a famous witch or wizard. I've collected around five hundred right now." David explained, confirming Arthur's suspicions.
Arthur opened up the pack, grabbed the Chocolate Frog, before it could leap away, ate it in one bite and then he grabbed the card to see who's on it. It showed an old man's face, wearing half moon glasses, had a long and crooked nose, long flowing silver hair and a moustache. And underneath the picture was the name: Albus Dumbledore.
"Huh, so that's what Dumbledore looks like." He muttered.
"I've got six of his cards." David said as Arthur turned the card of, seeing text that read:
ALBUS DUMBLEDORE,
currently Headmaster of Hogwarts. Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Professor Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicholas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.
Arthur felt he had to know about Albus' defeat of Grindelwald at some point. Either way, he turned the card back over and was surprised to see that Albus' face was gone.
"Where'd he go?" He questioned.
"Do you really expect him to just stick around all day? Besides, he'll be back. Bloody hell, I got Morgana. I swear I keep getting her over and over." David ranted. Arthur couldn't blame him, knowing Morgana was his ancestor's enemy.
Arthur had other Chocolate Frogs, getting such cards like Newt Scamander, Merlin, Miranda Goshawk, Andros the Invincible and Godric Gryffindor, which he learned on his card is one of the four founders of Hogwarts and founded Gryffindor House.
After collecting the cards, he grabbed the case of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans.
"I should warn you, every flavour means every flavour. You'd have ones like vanilla, strawberry and chocolate but there's also ones like dirt, soap and dirty socks. I've seen Kevin spit out a bogey flavoured one once." David cautioned.
They shared out of the case. Arthur was lucky, getting ketchup, toast, orange, caramel, chicken and bacon. David though wasn't as lucky, getting a few disgusting flavours like pepper, sardine and grass.
Eventually, the countryside flying past the window grew wilder, with woods, twisting rivers and dark green hills taking over from the neat fields.
Arthur and David were talking about what they were looking forward to at Hogwarts when they heard a knock on their compartment door and saw a round-faced boy, who looked tearful. Arthur remembered him as Neville, who he walked past earlier on the platform.
"Sorry, but have you seen a toad at all?" He asked the two. They shook their heads apologetically, which made Nevillie cry more.
"I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!" He then wailed.
"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll turn up." Arthur tried to make him feel better.
"Yes. Well, if you see him…." Neville said before leaving.
"Honestly, I'm not the biggest fan of toads but I do feel bad for him. I'd be upset if I lost Scabbers myself." David noted, looking down at said rat, who was still snoozing on his lap.
"He sleeps so much you think he'd be dead." He chuckled, stroking him.
The compartment door slid open once more, this time a girl stood there. She was already in her Hogwarts robes.
"Hi, have either of you seen a toad? Neville's lost one." She kindly asked them. She had crazy brown hair that was tied into a messy bubble and looked a bit like a book nerd to Arthur.
"We've already told him we haven't seen it." David told her.
"Oh, right." She then noticed the sweets.
"Is it alright if I have something?" She asked them.
"Sure." They both nodded and she sat next to David, taking a pumpkin pasty.
"I'm Chrysanthemum Ranger. You can call me Chrys if you prefer. I'm a Muggle-born. I was excited to learn I was a witch, even learning all of our set books by heart." She introduced herself at a rather fast pace, shocking the two boys into silence.
"Oh, sorry. I get carried away sometimes. Who are you two, by the way?" She added, looking back and forth between them.
"I'm David Merlon."
"Arthur Pendergast." This made Chrys' eyes widen.
"Really? I've actually learned about you. You're actually in several books, you know? Though I am sorry for your loss." She said, self realising that she was initially coming off as insensitive.
"Thanks." He nodded as she was done with her pasty.
"Well, thanks for the pasty. By the way, I expect we'll be arriving soon, so you should change into your robes shortly." She told them before leaving the compartment.
"She was pleasant." Arthur pointed out.
"Yeah. For a second, I thought she'd be a bossy know it all." David shuddered.
"By the way, what house are your brothers in?" Arthur asked, Chrys' uniform reminding him of the Hogwarts Houses.
"They're all in Gryffindor. So were both my mum and dad. Thing is, Merlin was actually a Slytherin, so you can imagine how disappointed that house is. Of course, even if I was put in Slytherin, I'd rather leave the school." David said darkly.
"And to think Voldemort's also a Slytherin." Arthur added.
"Yeah, another reason why I wouldn't want to be put there." David replied.
"Moving on, with your brothers who left Hogwarts, what do they do?" Arthur changed the subject to something lighter.
"Kenny's moved to Romania, believe it or not, studying dragons. He's just obsessed with them. And Rob works for Gringotts, yet is in Egypt." David revealed. His eyes then widened, as though he remembered something.
"Oh! Speaking of Gringotts, someone actually tried to rob a high security vault. It's all over the Daily Prophet." He revealed.
"Seriously?! What happened?" Arthur wanted to know. Knowing how secure it's supposed to be, being second to Hogwarts, whoever broke into Gringotts must be really powerful.
"That's the thing, nothing. No one was caught. My dad suspects a powerful dark wizard was the one who got round Gringotts, yet they didn't seem to take anything, which is odd. Naturally, everyone's scared when something like this happens since Voldemort would have been behind it." David explained.
Arthur was thinking over this in his head, feeling a dash of both fear and anger whenever Voldemort's mentioned.
"Anyway, do you have a favourite Quidditch team?" David asked, wanting to move on from this dark subject matter.
"I… uh, actually don't have one. I'm new to the wizarding world, remember?" Arthur reminded him. This, though, led to David giving a truly enthusiastic explanation about the sport, with its four balls, seven players per team, their different roles, even describing the games he and his family went to.
He started going over the more finer details of the game when, once more, the compartment door opened.
This time, neither Neville nor Chrys entered. It was actually three boys. The one that stood in the middle was that pale boy Arthur met at Madam Malkin's. This time, when looking at Arthur, his face showed much more interest than before in Diagon Alley.
"Is it true? They're saying all down the train that Arthur Pendergast's in this compartment. So it's you, isn't it?" He asked.
"I am." Arthur answered, his eyes now on the other two boys. They were both thickset and looked mean. The way they stood on either side of the pale boy made them seem as though they're bodyguards.
"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle." The pale boy said with carelessness, noticing Arthur's looks.
"And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." He finally revealed his name, which Arthur had to admit found funny, though he didn't show it.
David clearly found Draco's name funny, too, since he made a slight cough to cover his snigger. This caught Draco's attention.
"Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Merlons have silver hair, blue or brown eyes, many children and accept those lesser." Draco talked down to him with hatred and contempt. Arthur's dislike for Draco grew significantly. Draco then turned back to him.
"You'll soon find out that some wizarding families are much better than others, Pendergast. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there." He said, holding out a hand to shake Arthur's, though Arthur didn't and just glared at him.
"I can already tell who the wrong sort are, and that's you." He coolly said, making Draco's cheeks go pink, pulling his hand back.
"I'd be careful if I were you, Pendergast. Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around riff raff like the Merlons and that Hagrid and it'll rub off on you." Draco slowly drawled, making both Arthur and David shoot up to their feet. David, in particular, had his fists shake in anger.
"Say that again, I dare you." He growled.
"Oh, you're gonna fight us, are you?" Draco sneered, getting on Arthur's nerves.
"We will unless you get out now." Arthur warned him, not fearing Crabbe and Goyle.
"But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some." Draco bragged.
Goyle reached for a Chocolate Frog and right as David leapt to him, Goyle let out a yell because Scabbers bit and sunk his teeth deep into his knuckle. This made both Draco and Crabbe back away as Goyle swung the rat round and round, howling in pain. Eventually, Scabbers flew off and hit the window, which is when the three disappeared. Arthur amusingly thought that they assumed more rats lurked among the sweets. Though it could be because of the footsteps, since a few seconds later, Chrys arrived.
"What just happened?" She asked, looking at the sweets that were all over the floor and then at David, who picked Scabbers up.
"He fell back asleep. How does he do it?" He asked in disbelief.
"So you've met Malfoy before?" He then asked Arthur.
Arthur would go on to explain about their first meeting at Madam Malkin's.
"I know of his family. They were actually one of the first to come to our side after Voldemort disappeared. They said they were bewitched, but it's clear they lied. My dad said Draco's father, Lucius, didn't need an excuse to go to the Dark Side." David grimly explained. He then realised that Chrys was still there with them.
"Yes?" He asked, wanting to know what she had to say.
"I've just been up front and asked the driver, who said that we're nearly at Hogwarts. So I suggest getting changed into your robes." She told them before leaving the compartment.
The boys looked out the window to see that it was getting dark, with the mountains and forests under a deep purple sky and they noted that the train started slowing down.
So of course, they put on their black robes, David having taken his jacket off.
"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately." A voice echoed through the train.
Arthur felt butterflies in his stomach and David's hands were shaking in excitement. They decided to clean up all the wrappers and trash, putting it all in a bin that was there luckily. Soon, they joined the crowd that thronged through the corridor.
The train then slowed until it eventually stopped. People pushed their way through the doors on the train and got onto a tiny, dark platform. Arthur and others shivered in the cold air. A lamp then came bobbing over the heads of various students and that's when Arthur heard a familiar voice.
"Firs' years! Firs' years over here! Alright there, Arthur?" Hagrid called out, his large hairy face beaming over the sea of heads.
"C'mon, follow me. Any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!" He shouted, leading all the first years, who all slipped and stumbled down a steep and narrow path.
Because it was so dark on either side of the path, Arthur concluded that there were thick trees surrounding them. Everyone hardly spoke, so much so that Neville, who still lost his toad, sniffled once or twice, sounding louder than it normally would be.
"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec. Jus' round this bend here." Hagrid told the students over his shoulder.
As he said that, the narrow path started opening up onto the edge of a large black lake. And on the other side, perched atop a high mountain was a vast castle with many turrets and towers, its windows sparkling alongside the starry sky. Arthur considered this to be the most amazing sight he had ever seen.
"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid informed everyone, pointing at a fleet of small boats that sat by the shore of the lake.
Both Arthur and David sat in one, followed by Chrys and a black haired boy that Arthur had never seen but had exotic looking purple eyes. The boy seemed to be shy being in Arthur's presence.
"Everyone in? Right then, FORWARD!" Hagrid shouted, having a boat to himself.
The fleet of boats all moved at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was all silent, staring at the grand castle overhead. It towered over them all as they got closer and closer towards a cliff that the castle stood on.
"Heads down!" Hagrid yelled when the first of the boats reached the cliff. Everyone bent their heads as the boats carried them past a curtain of ivy that hid a large opening in the cliff face.
They made their way through a dark tunnel, taking them underneath the castle. They eventually reached what looked like an underground harbour, clambering onto rocks and pebbles.
"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" Hagrid asked, checking the boats as the students climbed out of them.
"Trevor!" Neville cried in bliss, grabbing his toad. Everyone then made their way up a passageway in the rock following Hagrid until they came out onto smooth and damp grass, now in the shadow of the castle.
They then walked up a flight of stone steps, crowding around a huge oak front door.
"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"
Hagrid then raised a large fist, knocking three times on the castle door.
Well, we've finally met some of the Merlon family and Chrys Ranger.
Btw, that boy with the purple eyes? He'll end up having a significant role later in the series.
It should also be noted that in terms of the sweets, uniforms etc..., they'll have the same looks that we see in the films, especially the uniforms.