The three of them chatted and snacked as they played, and time flew by without them realizing it.
"In five minutes, the train will arrive at Hogwarts. Please leave your luggage on board; staff will be responsible for delivering it to the school for you."
A voice echoed over the train's loudspeaker, signaling that the journey was almost over.
"Goodness, we're finally here. My back is numb from sitting all this way," Charles complained, stretching as he stood up.
Alan, meanwhile, efficiently packed his things, stowing the mahjong tiles and the leftover snacks back into his trunk.
The train gradually slowed to a halt, and the three of them exited the carriage. Outside, the sky had already begun to fade into a deep twilight. On the platform, Hagrid stood holding a flickering oil lamp, his massive frame towering over the sea of students.
"First-years! First-years over here!" he bellowed.
The crowd moved toward the booming voice. Alan and his group slowly approached.
"Hagrid, it's good to see you again," Alan greeted him.
"Oh, Alan! Good to see you, lad. I heard about that... that business. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have left you," Hagrid looked down, his expression crumbling into guilt. He had heard the details of the Knockturn Alley incident during an Order meeting and had been agonizing over it ever since. He felt responsible for letting an underage wizard face such danger alone.
"It wasn't your fault, Hagrid. I was the one being careless. Besides, I'm perfectly fine now," Alan interrupted, having no intention of dwelling on the topic. He didn't want to stir up trouble before even setting foot in the castle. Looking around the station, he realized that the children of Death Eaters likely walked these same platforms. He didn't know if the men he had incapacitated that night had relatives or children at the school who might hold a grudge. While he wasn't afraid of conflict, he saw no reason to go looking for it.
"That's good, Alan. Thank goodness you're alright. Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall gave me a real scolding over it. I haven't been allowed back to Diagon Alley since. You've no idea how bad I've felt," Hagrid continued, oblivious to Alan's subtle attempt to drop the subject.
"Can you relax now, Hagrid? I'm about to start school. Aren't you going to congratulate me?" Alan said with a helpless smile, steering the conversation away once more.
"That night?" Charles and Vivian exchanged curious glances. With so many first-years gathering around, it wasn't the time to pry, but they both made a mental note to ask Alan later what could have possibly happened to rattle a man of Hagrid's size.
"Hey, you! Big man! What are you standing around for?"
A sharp, rude voice cut through the air. A boy among the first-years was glaring at Hagrid. "Hurry up and lead the way. I'm exhausted. You're a giant oaf, but surely you aren't an idiot. Don't just leave us standing here."
Alan felt a surge of cold annoyance at the boy's tone. He glanced back at the speaker—a short, well-groomed boy with an arrogant tilt to his head and deep-set, gloomy eyes.
"What are you looking at? You and this brute are wasting everyone's time with your gossip, and now you have the nerve to glare at me?"
"Back off, Sampel Travers," Charles snapped, stepping out from behind Alan to confront the boy. "This is none of your business. If you're looking for a fight, I can help you find one."
"I was wondering who that was. Just another member of the cowardly McKinnon family," Travers mocked, a cruel smirk crossing his face. "What happened, McKinnon? Are you not going to hide behind the adults and cry like you did at the station this morning?"
Charles flushed with rage and started forward, but Alan caught his arm, holding him back.
"Don't let him get to you, Charles. He's doing this on purpose. Don't stoop to his level," Alan said, his voice low and cold as he kept his eyes on Travers. He could tell the boy was a provocateur; he had targeted Alan only because he was standing with Charles.
Before the tension could break into violence, Hagrid stepped between them, his massive shadow falling over the boys.
"No brawling before you've even entered the school. I have the right to send you straight home if you can't behave. You'll have to wait until next year to try again."
Hagrid's blunt warning worked, particularly on Sampel Travers. The boy scowled, realizing he wouldn't win an argument with the gamekeeper.
*The McKinnons are so predictable,* Travers thought bitterly. *One little push and they're ready to snap. If I could have just gotten him to swing first, I could have made him look like a fool in front of everyone. Pity that kid and the oaf got in the way.* He shot one last venomous glare at Alan and Charles before retreating into the crowd.
"That's Sampel Travers," Charles whispered to Alan, his hands still shaking slightly from the adrenaline. "Hogwarts shouldn't even let him in. His whole family supports the Dark Lord. They've got Death Eaters in their ranks for sure. This morning at the station, they were actually making fun of my injured uncle. They're despicable."
Alan silently cursed his luck. He was barely an hour into his school career and he had already made an enemy of a pure-blood fanatic. He realized his hope of staying out of the wizarding war might have been incredibly naive; even within the school, the battle lines were already drawn.
"Don't give him the satisfaction," Alan said, offering Charles a steadying look. "If you had attacked him just now, it wouldn't have mattered who was right. You would have been the one in trouble before even reaching the Great Hall. He just wanted to bait you. You have to be smarter than that."
"I know. I was too impulsive. Thanks, Alan," Charles said, taking a deep breath and gradually calming down.
With Vivian's help, they managed to put the encounter behind them. The first-years followed Hagrid down a narrow, winding path through the dark trees. Eventually, the path opened up to the edge of a vast, black lake. Across the water, perched atop a high mountain, sat the magnificent castle of Hogwarts, its windows glowing like stars against the night sky.