Day 1 - The First Day
Day 1 of @cursebreakerfarrier‘s back to school challenge. Characters mentioned here belong to @thatravenpuffwitch and @lifeofkaze.
For many it was just another day at King’s Cross Station, muggles from all walks of life going about their business. A seldom few noticing an unusually high number of people pushing carts through the station that more often than not had an owl in a cage as part of the luggage.
For young Nick Willows, it was his first time at the station and while normally he would have been looking around to take in the sights properly. However, there was something far more pressing that was causing a knot of anxiety in his gut, today would be his first day of school. While the shopping at Diagon Alley had kept him preoccupied, now that he was actually approaching the platform, the reality was starting to set in.
His twin sister Robin was far more enthusiastic as she rushed on ahead, their father just about keeping pace with her. That left Nick with his own cart as well as his mum, who was laughing at the other two’s enthusiasm, racing towards the gap between platform nine and ten. An old flare of competitiveness lit up in her as she began to push the cart a bit harder, that was before realising Nick wasn’t enthused with the idea.
She took a quick glance at the clock, they had time before the Hogwarts Express would depart, “Stop a moment, Nick.” Merula gently commanded, the two of them and their luggage quickly coming to a halt. Even as David noticed them stop, Merula made a gesture to go ahead, largely to stop Robin accidentally careering into someone.
She got down to his level, “What’s wrong?”
“What if I don’t like it at Hogwarts?” He asked quietly, she gave him a puzzled look.
“Now why would you think that?” There was a pause in his response.
“I dunno…” Nick admitted, trying to find the words as he mumbled, “I might get homesick.” Merula’s look softened, even though the school would provide them with temporary accommodation, it wasn’t the same as their home in Wimbourne.
“I think you’re nervous,” She said, her tone full of understanding, though needed to think for just a moment as she thought over her answer, “You know, Hogwarts isn’t so bad. After all, it’s where me and your dad met.”
“That’s true.” Nick admitted.
“And,” Merula continued, “You also already know Dylan, and Reva is joining this year too. We’re always going to be there, so will Robin.” That got a good-natured groan out of Nick. Chuckling at that, Merula reached into her bag, producing a small yellow bag of sweets with multicoloured people every colour of the rainbow on it.
Nick perked up at the sight of the jelly babies as his mother explained, “We were going to give you them when we got to school, but you know what I think? Have a few now and keep them in your pocket, share them out, you might make some friends. And if that doesn’t work…” She briefly unlocked the chest containing his books, taking out a sleek leatherbound book titled Dragons, in Theory and Practice by Reuben Willows.
With that, he took the bag and book, happily munching on a few sweets with the book under his arm. They only paused as they finally reached the entrance to platform nine and three quarters. The platform itself was in full swing, thronging with students both new and old. The last calls for luggage ringing out.
With the time catching up with them, Nick was quickly ushered onto the closest carriage with a last minute reassurance that his mum would handle his things. Though he felt somewhat better, finding a place to sit was starting to be a daunting prospect. He scanned each room he came across, some empty, some occupied at some point even happening upon Robin who was chattering with Reva Amari.
“Nick!” He heard as he passed by room further along the hall, coming from Dylan Amari, “You looking for a spot?” With Nick nodding, he gestured to join him and his two companions. One, a blonde girl who seemed closer to Dylan’s age than Nick. The other dark-haired young boy who offered Nick a brief smile.
“Is that a copy of Dragons, in Theory and Practice?” The other boy asked eagerly.
“Yeah, I’m even related to the author if you can believe it. Do you like dragons too?”
The other boy’s jaw had dropped open at that, “No way, you’re a relative of Reuben Willows? I love his books! Oh, I’m Patrick by the way.”
“Nice to meet you,” Nick greeted, “Jelly baby?” He asked, taking the bag out of his pocket.
The other three soon took him up on his offer as steam rose into the air, the engine letting out a hiss as the train began to move on to Hogwarts, Nick began to feel that everything would soon be alright for him.
