"My lord," Cyril hummed in reply. Theo always preferred this title.
Theo asked, referring to the future they all would be witnessing, "Are you okay with what tomorrow brings? It's like privacy being snatched away, and secrets won't be secrets anymo...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
It is nighttime at Hogsmeade station, the train blows its whistle and pulls into outside the station. Hagrid walks along the side aisle, with a lantern. People, in their robes, begin pouring out of the train.
"They're nearly there. I'm so excited!" Alice clapped her hands with giddiness. Frank wrapped his arm around her waist, gazing at her affectionately, causing her cheeks to flush with a rosy hue.
Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Harry heard a familiar voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?"
Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads.
"C'mon, follow me -- any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"
Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Harry thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much. Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice.
"Poor lad. This is precisely why I'm against keeping toads as pets. They're just too much trouble," Dorcas remarked.
"But, seriously though, that kid looks like you, Frank, mixed with Alice's shy and clumsy personality," Marlene noted. Frank and Alice exchanged surprised, shy, and delighted glances at each other.
Many from the future generation let out heavy sighs as they watched Neville.
"Ye' all get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."
There was a loud "Oooooh!" The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black take.
Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.
"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry and Ron were followed into their boat by Neville and Hermione.
As Lucien made his way towards the boats, he found himself waiting as the girl in front of him attempted to climb into one of them. His expression remained a mask of boredom, his gaze fixed on her with almost indifferent curiosity.
"Really? You found my misfortune quite entertaining," Eva commented with mock offense, only to discover him sound asleep. Her eyes softened.
With a somewhat clumsy effort, she managed to get herself into the boat. Lucien paused beside the boat, looking down at the other three students with his usual blank face.
"May I?" he inquired casually, gesturing to the vacant spot next to the girl.
The girl glanced up at him, her annoyance from earlier still lingering in her eyes. She gave a terse nod, allowing him to join her in the boat. Upon getting a nod in response, Lucien lowered himself gracefully, his movements fluid and nonchalant.
