The train hissed and groaned as it slowed to a stop, steam billowing around the windows. With a final jolt, the Hogwarts Express came to rest beneath the deepening dusk sky. All around them, the chatter of excited students rose like birdsong, echoing off the nearby cliffs.
Duchess stood up, smoothing the sleeves of her black robe. Melody bounced in her seat beside her, already reaching for her trunk.
“We’re here! Do you think the castle’s really as big as they say?” Melody asked, her eyes wide.
“Probably bigger,” Duchess said quietly, grabbing her satchel from under her seat.
Melody stopped tugging on her trunk and turned to Duchess. “Wait—where’s all your stuff?”
Duchess froze for a moment, her hand still clutching the worn leather strap of her bag. She remembered Hermione’s voice, firm and clear: “Never tell anyone about the satchel, not even your friends. It’s protected.”
Duchess pasted on a polite smile. “Oh, my mum sent my things ahead of time. She thought it would be easier.”
Melody blinked, then shrugged. “Wish my mum thought of that.”
Outside, students were hauling their trunks off the train, stacking them on the stone platform, and running off into the fog, their laughter trailing behind them.
A booming voice rang out over the crowd: “Firs’ years! Firs’ years over here!”
The sea of students parted slightly, and a woman nearly seven feet tall stood at the edge of the platform, waving one enormous arm. Her thick brown braid was slung over one shoulder, and her cloak flapped dramatically in the breeze.
“Oi, you lot! First years this way! I’m Olyvette—Olyvette Maxim Hagrid!”
Duchess and Melody joined the trickle of younger students moving toward her. Olyvette beamed down at them.
“My dad was Rubeus Hagrid,” she announced proudly. “He’s the one who saved Harry Potter when You-Know-Who first tried to kill him as a baby. Dad helped Harry through every year at Hogwarts—well, six and a half years, anyway.”
The kids around Duchess exchanged glances.
“Wait,” Melody whispered, “why only six and a half?”
“Harry left in the middle of seventh year,” Olyvette explained, clearly overhearing. “Ran off to help defeat You-Know-Who. But after he finished him off, Hogwarts gave him an honorary degree anyway. He earned it. Him and my dad are still mates. As for my mum—she was headmistress of Beauxbatons in France. Both retired now. They’re off traveling the world, looking for magical beasts.”
The students oohed and murmured in awe.
“Now then, follow me! Boats this way!” Olyvette said.
They trudged down a narrow path, the mist thickening the farther they went. As they rounded a bend, the lake came into view—vast, black, and eerily still. Small wooden boats bobbed at the shore, lanterns flickering on their prows.
Duchess shivered. The cold cut straight through her robe.
“You cold?” Melody asked, noticing.
“A little,” Duchess admitted. “I’m used to… well, it doesn’t really get cold where I’m from.”
Melody grinned. “You mean the Southern California place again?”
Duchess nodded.
They climbed into a boat with two other first-years. Duchess wrapped her arms tightly around her satchel, trying not to let her teeth chatter. The water beneath them was pitch black, like spilled ink, and Duchess could see nothing beneath the surface—no fish, no reflections, no light.
The boat rocked slightly as it moved, paddling itself as if steered by an invisible hand. Around them, dozens of boats drifted silently across the glassy lake. Above, the castle loomed—lit up in golden warmth against the navy sky, its towers and spires reflecting in the water below.
“It’s beautiful,” Melody whispered.
Duchess said nothing. She was too busy watching the water, hoping she wouldn’t see anything… or worse, that something might see her.
When they reached the dock, Duchess hesitated.
“C’mon,” Melody said, hopping out.
But Duchess’s legs felt locked. One misstep and she’d be in the freezing water.
“Need help?” Olyvette called from the front.
Duchess shook her head and stepped off the boat, careful to avoid the tiny gap between wood and stone. Her boots landed safely, and she let out a slow breath.
“Form two lines now! Let’s keep it tidy!” Olyvette called.
The students fell in line, and Duchess found herself walking behind Melody, the path winding slowly upward toward the immense front doors of Hogwarts.
The castle was close now, glowing in the mist like a beacon. Duchess tied her satchel underneath her robes, the only warm thing she had, and followed the others into the unknown.