𝖄ou woke up early that morning. This year's first glimpse of September sun cast a hazy line of blood-orange-coloured light over the slightly dusty floorboards. They had your naked footprints all over them.
You sat up in your canopy bed and reached for the still half-filled plate from even earlier that day. It tasted just as good.
After emptying it and staring into nothingness for a while, you got up, collected your outfit for the day and a fresh pair of underwear, and made your way to the bathroom.
As you wandered through the marble hallway, you thought yourself lucky to have woken up at the time that you did. This way, you would have enough time for one last bath and a final walk through the garden before having to say goodbye to Neekey. After that, you would have to leave for platform 9¾ to catch the Hogwarts Express.
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Time went by in a flash and, before your mind could catch up, you found yourself boarding the train. It was strange seeing all the young students cram themselves into the narrow corridors of the train, skimming the glass sliding doors for an empty compartment.
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The wagons and the train station seemed to be frozen in time — never-changing ever since you first laid eyes on them. The new first years, however, felt like freshly hatched chicks to you. They had never appeared that young to you, back then…
It didn't take long for everyone to find their seats, as their friends had saved them places in their compartments. Not for you though, so you were waved past until you reached the back of the express. There, finally, you were able to settle down.
It didn't bother you much, sitting alone like this. You'd have taken this any day over being in a crowded compartment with screeching and cheering children or some cocky teenage jocks.
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You relaxed into the plush teal upholstery of your seat and let your gaze wander out of the window. Houses and landscapes were flying past and you could hear the train's wheels rhythmically chugging over the tracks, soon lulling you into a peaceful slumber.
The clattering of the sweets trolley called you back to the waking world, after some time. You treated yourself to an iced pumpkin juice and a chocolate frog, then went back to staring outside. You could really use a cup of coffee right now, you thought. It wouldn't be long until you would reach Hogwarts station.
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It was dark out when the train finally came to a halt. You could still make out the half-giant Groundskeeper, however, seeing as Hagrid was not only double the size of your average adult man, but was also holding a flickering lantern in one of his ginormous fists. He was going to escort the recently enrolled first-year students to the castle, just like he did every year.
