Starstruck

25. The Hogwarts Express

Albus

A sudden slam behind Albus made him almost jump out of his skin. As he whirled around in panic to locate the source of the noise he saw the doors of the scarlet train slamming shut one by one. Glancing wildly down at his watch, the time was 11:00 on the dot!

Heart in his mouth, and beating so hard it felt like it was about to bust, he felt his father pull him close for one last hug and then pulled away. Albus ran as fast as he could whilst lugging a heavy suitase behind him towards the carriage, blindly pushing through swarms of parents waiting by the platform. He finally reached the final carriage, out of breath as he stopped right behind a dark haired boy  boarding with a young girl. She looked to be around his age.

Albus exhaled as he jumped up onto the the train, heaving his case up with him as the final set of doors slammed shut. and slumped against them in relief. He'd made it! He stood in the same spot, panting for a moment or two until a jolt almost sent him flying to the floor. The train had begun to move!

Peering through the grimy glass, a whistle sounded so loudly that he was sure the noise would carry to the Muggle platforms, accompanied by another puff of smoke. Soon the platform was filled with fluffy white clouds as students began rushing to the windows of their compartments, fighting for a place as they stuck their hands out of the open windows to wave goodbye to their parents. Alone at the door and with no open window, Albus squinted desperately for his parents as the train began to gather speed.

"Hey Al!" It was Harry, waving furiously besides Ginny, Hermione and Ron. Lily and Hugo were nowhere to be seen, but judging by the lack of concern on his parents' faces they hadn't gone far. Albus didn't bother shouting back over the noise in the train; rather just grinned until his face ached and waved back as he felt the steady chug beneath his feat.

Half a minute later they had dissapeared round a bend and out of site. The train moved slowly at first, creeping shyly along as the last puff of steam evaporated into the autumn air. A gust of wind blew leaves in firey shades up into the clouds as they spiralled out of sight. This was it! At last. No turning back. For some reason a great wave of calm washed over his as he closed his eyed and tried to figure out where to go from here. He felt euphoric. It was as if all his fear had build up inside him until it exploded into something else entirely.

'I'm here now. I can do it. There's nothing to be scared about.' He told himself repeatedly as he checked his watch for what must have been around the 10th time that morning. 11:4, it read. Apparently they would only reach Hogwarts at nightfall; it was going to be a long journey and he would have to find somewhere to sit soon.  Everyone else had successfully found compartments, and he hadn't the faintest idea where Rose was...

"You idiot Al. What are you standing here for!?" Albus opened his eyes. Okay, maybe he did have some kind of idea. He grinned at the site of her, standing crossed arms in front of him looking both sceptical and amused. "Got on the train late. I wasn't sure where you were. How did you find me?" Rose rolled her eyes. "I had to knock on every single compartment door to find you, before I saw some someone slouched right at the end of the train holding an owl and knew it HAD to be you. Either that or you'd forgotten to board. C'mon you bludger brain."

Rose tugged his arm gently as she led him up the length of the entire train, past carriages holding dogs and giant spiders, people playing exploding snap or munching on food until they reached near the top. Rose clutched hold of the handle and the compartment door slid open, revealing the interior.

Rose

Two first years sat inside, a boy and a girl, who looked up automatically at Rose as she returned.

"Got him" she sighed and smiled at Albus. “This is my cousin, Albus” she directed at them. Albus raised his eyebrows beside her and gave a delibarate cough. “Oh alright then it’s Al, short for Albus" she corrected.

“Awesome” grinned the boy with the laughing eyes who she hadn't had time to ask the name of.  "Kind of unusual." Rose and Albus sunk into a soft,quishy bench the colour of plums opposite the boy and girl. She took in his chocolate tanned skin properly for the first time, and dark brown dreadlocks. He looked… well… cool, dressed in a silky smooth ripped leather jacket, tattered jeans and large lace up boots.

“I’m Lex by the way- Lex Jordon." Jordan. The name rung a bell for Rose for some reason but she couldn't quite place where she had heard it before. There was a pause, and the girl beside Lex opened her mouth to speak. She hesitated, then  inquired in the direction of Albus, “Are you Harry Potter’s son?"