CHOCOLATE HEARTS || remus lupin

iv. purebloods and the hogwarts express

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THE TRAIN station was bustling with other people, both muggles and wizards alike. Of course, I couldn't tell which each person was but I knew there were many wizarding folk heading for the exact same place my family and I were.

I followed my mother as she weaved through the crowd with Elora in tow. My dad and I were trailing after her until we reached the very solid looking entrance to platform 9 3/4. I was unsure of how it worked but nothing made much sense in the wizarding world, I'd learned.

"Just run into it," Mum instructed, pointing, "Don't hesitate, it makes it much harder. Okay, darling?"

I nodded and started forward, pushing my cart in front of me, then started to go faster until I was sprinting towards the brick. I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for impact, but it never came. I opened my eyes and my jaw fell, amazed by what I saw.

The platform had a bright scarlet steam engine, the Hogwarts Express, with many wizards milling about. Mum followed through moments later and tugged on my arm, insisting that the sooner I found a compartment, the better.

I walked alongside her as she peered into the windows, looking for an empty one. Elora tugged on my sleeve as we walked, whining loudly or asking a lot of questions I didn't have the answer to. I was unsure of where Mum had went until I heard her call out, "I found one!"

I hurried up, leaving Elora with Dad, and found Mum proudly standing in front of an empty compartment. She grabbed my trunk and helped me push it in then stood outside, her eyes teary.

"Are you ready?" Dad asked, holding a tired-looking Elora.

I shrugged, "I suppose so."

Mum pulled me in for a tight hug, "Stay safe, we'll write often. You better write back." She laughed against my hair, though it sounded a little sad.

"Of course, Mum," I squeezed her then stepped back, giving Dad a quick hug before I entered the compartment and waved at them through the window, "I'll tell you what house I get into!"

I watched as they disappeared into the crowd, Elora once again complaining loudly about something. The train was quieter than it was outside, since most people were already in compartments or still outside.

I spent the time daydreaming, though I was already technically living my daydreams. I had been so sure that the period of time to receive my letter would've come and gone without the wax-sealed letter but it hadn't.

The train would be leaving soon and I'd really be headed to Hogwarts.

The door slid open and I glanced over, seeing a girl my age. She looked a bit uncomfortable and unsure of herself. She had a pretty face and long dark brown hair, which was carefully braided in a crown around her head.

"May I sit here?" she finally asked, "There's nowhere else to sit."

I nodded, "Sure."

She smiled, a small one, and stepped inside, closing the door behind her. I watched as she pushed her trunk into the overhead storage and sat down across from me, looking out the window.

"What's your name?" I asked after a bit, curious.

She held herself with a trained kind of politeness, as if she'd been taught how to seem more pleasing. Her way of speaking was a bit formal, too, "Charis, Charis Avery. Yours?"

"Jaci Thompson," I replied, watching her. She blinked slowly, I noticed, as if thinking deeply or saddened.

"I've never heard of that name, is your family pureblooded?"