The American Badger and Her Lion

Talking Hats? England is Weird

Everyone began to file out of the train in a not-so-orderly fashion. The other first years had no idea where we were going. I watched out of the corner of my eye as a couple students in green sneered at the slower students.

"Firs' years! Come this way!" A loud voice boomed over the scattering of children. Nate grabbing my hand made my thoughts come back to reality as we started walking towards a tall figure. That was where the voice was coming from.

The group of first years began walking down to the bank of the lake where there were multiple boats. Behind his mustache, the figure boomed again, "Everyone get into a boat. An' four in each boat please!"

Me and Nate looked around for a boat when I noticed a familiar face. I waved frantically to my friend Juliette Chang and dragged Nate to the boat she was already in.

"I'm so glad I spotted you in the crowd. It didn't look like there were any more boats," she said with a smile. There was another first year beside her, a boy with dark curls and dark eyes. He gave me a polite smile and I sent him one back.

"I can't explain how relieved I am that I saw you!" I grabbed her arm, shaking it a little too excitedly. She chuckled nervously. Julie was much more shy than I was. Her round, pale cheeks and long dark hair heavily contrasted my light brown hair and freckles.

"Oh! Nate, this is my friend Juliette Chang. We live in the same wizarding village so we met a few weeks back." He reached out to shake her hand which she took, a little hesitant.

He was grinning, his lip curled up charismatically. "And since my new friend can't properly introduce me, I am Nathaniel Vaughn."

Julie's smile dropped at his name, and she immediately let go of his hand. A silence stretched out for a moment too long before the boy next to Juliette spoke up, "I'm Robert Bonley. But just Robert is fine. Or Robbie. I'll respond by either one."

I gave the dark-skinned boy a polite smile before looking at Nate from the corner of my eye. Why had Juliette reacted to his name like that? There must be something I'm not understanding.

Me and Robbie went back and forth with small talk until our boat abruptly hit the shore, the boat jostling slightly. The large man stepped out of his boat; he was too huge to share a boat with any students.

"Firs' years!" his voice bellowed. "Follow me." We all scurried to follow his long strides. If someone were to look down from the castle, they would see what looks like a herd of ants following after a significantly larger ant.

It was then that I finally looked up at the looming castle. I knew England had castles; I'd seen plenty of films and we even toured some in Ireland. But this was entirely different. Every window was lit and the towers reached for the stars, almost like a fairytale. I would've tripped over myself if it wasn't for Nate's grip on my arm.

The large man spoke again, "This castle you're lookin' at is Hogwarts. It'll be your home for the next school year." I looked back up at the castle, taking in its size.

When I was younger, my mom took me to this huge mansion in North Carolina. It was a huge estate called the Biltmore. I thought that would be the largest house I'd ever see. The Biltmore was an apartment compared to Hogwarts.

We continued up towards the castle. I could tell I wasn't the only student staring up at the castle in awe. Finally, we were standing before tall, wooden, double doors. The large man, having introduced himself as Hagrid on the way up, knocked softly on the door.

A stern-looking woman opened the door, peering at the mismatched group of children and Hagrid. She had graying hair, a few strands falling from her bun. However, her face melted slightly and she smiled, "Come along, first years. We've been waiting for you." Her gaze moves to Hagrid. "Thank you for bringing them here." He nods before walking back into the darkness. I wondered for a moment where he was going.