Modern Hogwarts

The Hogwarts Express

"Maggie!" her dad called her back before she ran onto the Hogwarts Express. Maggie looked back to her parents with a urgent smile. "Hug and kiss?" her dad requested.

"Sorry I forgot," Maggie laughed and rolled her eyes. She ran back and kissed her dad's cheek, then her other dad's cheek. They hugged her tightly and sent her off on the Hogwarts Express for the seventh and final time.

Maggie was tall for her age, but she didn't think anything of it. Her long chestnut hair was loosely held back by a raggedy blue ribbon and her figure was drowned out by the oversized blue flannel that draped from her broad shoulders. Not many people would call her a feminine lady, but Maggie chose to define the word entirely differently and knighted herself the most feminine lady on the planet.

Maggie lugged her trunk and owl cage through the train until she found an empty compartment and parked herself. While she waited for her friends to board the train, Maggie triple-checked her homework, highlighted the last section of her Arithmancy summer work, and cracked open her brand new copy of Dear Evan Hansen for the long train ride.

About ten minutes later, Emily appeared with her luggage. "There you are!" She smiled and huffed. "I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"The back of the train was the only place I could find an empty compartment," Maggie explained.

Emily sat down next to her best friend and they caught up after not seeing each other for two months.

Emily was shorter than Maggie, and had soft short orange hair. Untouched by the first September chill, she wore a shimmery tank top and light jeans. Emily, who cared greatly about and took pride in her appearance, had matching rosy makeup and earrings. But her biggest asset wasn't her beauty, it was her charming personality. To strangers, she was bubbly and kind. To friends, she loud and outgoing, always laughing.

"Really? Paris and Barcelona? In the same week?" Maggie's mouth dropped as Emily recounted her trip with Ben, her boyfriend of two years.

"Paris is gorgeous in the summertime," Emily gushed. "What did you do?"

"We went to the coast a few times," Maggie replied, slightly jealous that Emily got to leave home more often than she did. "There's so much do in London, so we don't leave it much. Though, we do visit the Potters and Weasleys most weekends."

"I bet those weekends are amazing, I mean, at least your parents are super nice and caring and actually spend time with you that doesn't involve critisizing your every choice," Emily sped off with distain. "My mum is horrible. I'm so happy I won't have to see her again till Christmas."

Maggie and Emily talked for a while longer, then sat in comfortable silence as the train started moving, leaving Maggie alone in self-reflection. While she didn't leave home enough to satisfy her adventurous soul, she was grateful for the men that adopted her. She had met Emily's parents and knew full well what kind of affect Emily's Mother's words had on her. Maggie changed her attitude from jealous to grateful as she replayed humorous memories she made with her family over the summer.

Emily, on the other hand, wasn't in such deep thought. Rather, she was relieved and felt like she could finally relax. She had spent the morning listening to her mother remind her of her boundaries while she was at Hogwarts.

"Remember!" Her mother's voice rang through her head. "You're not to be alone with Ben for one minute! Understand? I don't care what he says or does, you have to be in public if you want to continue seeing him!"

"There you two are," Martha muttered as she slid open the compartment door, interrupting both of the girls' thoughts. "I was starting to worry you two weren't coming back."