Hogwarts Mystery [HP APPLY FIC]

year one, chapter one

Standing on the train's platform, amongst the busy travellers and bustling crowds, Winnie had never felt so small and insignificant. 

At home, she may have been overlooked alongside her four older siblings, but her family name was respected, and recognised. Here, she was just a scared little eleven-year-old like the rest of the first years at the station, and to be quite honest, it terrified her.

She didn't know what to expect of this strange place, mere metres away from the train that would take her to the next seven years of her life.

The locomotive's doors opened with a soft swoosh, only adding to her apprehension. People began to push past her, hoping to grab a good seat before the train started moving again.

Winnie watched some of the other first years she'd noticed on the platform earlier make their way to the back of the train and she followed suit, careful not to drop any possessions as she stepped over the gap.

As she worked her way through the narrow corridor that separated the carriages on either side, she almost bumped into someone coming the other way.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" Winnie snapped, taking her nervous energy out on the person passing by.

"Sorry," the girl laughed nervously, moving past Winnie to duck into the nearest carriage, closing the door behind her. "That was close."

"You alright?" Another first year (who she hadn't noticed already sitting in the carriage) looked up at her, slightly bemused.

"Oh, yes, sorry, I thought it was empty," the new girl smiled sheepishly. "I'll leave."

"There's no need. I'm Delilah, by the way. Delilah Nott." She offered her hand out to the other girl, who took it, smiling properly now.

"Nadine."

"Nice to meet you, Nadine. Are you going to sit down? The train will start moving soon."

"Oh! Of course," she moved to place her trunk in the overhead cabin, struggling with its weight before managing to slot it inside. "Okay. Where was I? Sitting down. Right."

Their fellow students were still rushing about in the passageway, but the train begun to move too, chugging as it gained speed.

"We're moving!" Nadine gasped, watching the station fade away into the blurred landscapes of everyday London.

Delilah laughed, watching Nadine as she pressed her face against the window. "It's almost like we're on a train."

Nadine blushed, settling back into her seat, and instead distracting herself by getting to know Delilah better.

"What house do you think you'll get into?" Nadine asked Delilah between bites of her pumpkin pasty.

"Slytherin, hopefully," she answered.

"Really?" Nadine wrinkled up her nose. "Isn't Slytherin...?"

Delilah rolled her eyes. "I know, but my entire family got into Slytherin, so it's kind of expected. What about you?"

"I think Hufflepuff is kind of cool!"

Delilah snorted. "I can see that."

"Let's promise each other one thing though, okay?" Nadine suggested.

"What?"

"We'll stay friends. Even if you're put in Slytherin and I'm put in Hufflepuff. Yeah?"

Delilah laughed. Even as an eleven-year-old, she knew that wasn't how the world worked.