Setting The Scene: Hogwarts Express

[Lucia Dinapoli]

Students, new and returning, gathered most excitedly for another year at HOL. September had arrived and so had their transport. The Hogwarts Express. A scarlet monster of a train, steam billowing buckets from busy platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross all the way to stunning highlands of Mallaig in Scotland. The whistle of the engine bounced of cobbled brick walls. The hurrying students, and even some professors, finally made their way on board...

 

 

Welcome to the first monthly role play prompt. You, or your character, are starting a new year at HOL and have arrived on the Hogwarts Express. RP below to your heart content. There is no word limit, you may write as much or as little as you like, just as long as you stick to the rules. You will earn 5 scales for posting your roleplay below and an additional 5 scales for interacting with someone else. There is no due date, you may jump in and out whenever you wish!

 

Remember:

•  Only speak for your character, no one else's.
•  Write in third person, past tense, full sentences, proper grammar etc. You are world building remember so no asterisk and the like.
• Keep everything G rated and follow the HOL rules.

Go HERE to read the RPG Guidelines if you need to refresh yourself on the RP rules or if you are new to roleplaying. 

 

[Lucia Dinapoli]

Lucia made her way happily on board, Murdoc curled up sleepily on her shoulder and her newest Flitterbloom wiggled contently in her arms. She silently thanked Merlin that Murdoc was fast asleep for he had purposely been trying to fight her Flitterbloom for the past few weeks of the Summer Holiday; she really could do without clearing up soil from the Express in the event of a fight. 

She stayed near the open window, just in view of her mother and father who waved her off happily. I wish Nashira and Alexei where here to wave me off too, she thought glumly. Lucia shivered a little as the cool September air started to pour in from the window. The train made its way out of the station. The new adventure could begin.

Finding an empty compartment, Lucia made herself comfortable…

5 scales awarded

[Aurelia West]

Aure grumbled quietly as they maneuvered their trunk onto the train and down the small hallway. They swore the thing got heavier each year. That would make sense considering how much more I've acquired, they thought absentmindedly. Their barn owl companion, Weldis, hooted softly from the cage perched precariously on top of their trunk and Aure nodded quickly at him offering a wry smile. "Once we're safe in a compartment, I can let you roam free for a bit," they promised.

As they moved down the line, they saw their friend Lucia seated in one of the compartments. Dodging a couple other students who had begun a chat mid-corridor, Aure slid open the door and stood in the doorway. "Mind if I join you?" they asked, sending Lucia a smile. They pulled their trunk in about halfway in order to get it out of the way of others coming down the hall.

5 scales awarded

[Lucia Dinapoli]

Seeing the familiar face of her friend made her own face light up with joy! Her flitterbloom practically jumped in her lap as she whipped her head towards the door.

“Oh Aure,” she laughed happily, “How wonderful it is to see you. Come in, come in.” Lucia beamed, welcoming her friend in and away from the stampede of passengers. If anything made her adventures at HOL exciting it was the people, and Aure was such a wonder that Lucia couldn’t help but feel as though their presence was a good omen for the new school year. 

Murdoc meowed excitedly, “I think Doc has missed seeing you and Weldis too. How was your Summer? I feel like we have so much to catch up on.” 

Lucia patted the seat next to her.

5 scales awarded

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

Tarma had watched a bit as all the students clambered, jumped, stalked, ran, or walked down the railway station and boarded the train. Then she boarded it, grateful that she didn't have to deal with any luggage besides her backpack. She made her way down the aisles, and settled into a compartment towards the back of the train. Why had she decided to get back to Hogwarts via train? she wondered to herself as the commotion and noise level seemed to increase rather than decrease as the train left the station.

Ah. That's it .... she sighed contentedly to herself, as she settled back on the bench seat and looked out the windows at the changing scenery. She loved traveling by train and watching  as the view out the window changed from city and town to rural and wild. 
 

5 scales awarded

[Willow Carter]

Willow sighed as she heaved her moderately heavy trunk onto the Hogwarts Express. She dragged her trunk across the train to an empty compartment. She then made her way back to platform 9 3/4 to meet her parents and say her final goodbyes. She was completely overwhelmed by the noise, the colors and the storm of Wizarding Students, like her, and their guardians. She still hadn't completely believe the fact that magic exists and she is a witch. Half expecting a loud noise to suddenly awaken her from the splendid dream. 

The goodbye was, without doubt, tearful. On Willow's mothers' part, that is. She had never gone off somewhere alone before and both of them were more than a little frightened. Also, seeing their daughter leaving reminded very much of their older daughter, who had run away a little while back, never head from again. 

Willow heard the train's finale whistle and rushed out of her mothers' arms and onto the train, scooping up Opal as she went. She waved out of the window until her mothers were both just distant dots. Losing sight of them, she walked swiftly towards the compartment she had stashed her trunk in to find a girl, about her age, sitting there.

"Hi. I'm Willow. You don't mind sharing the compartment, do you?" She asked the other student, her voice not nearly expressing the nervousness she was feeling. 
 

5 scales awarded

[Aurelia West]

Aure continued smiling as they fully entered the compartment. They were glad to see Lucia on the train to school this year and had missed their friend dearly over the summer holidays.

“It’s great to see you and Murdoc too! And of course your lovely Flitterbloom,” they said as they began to situate their large trunk. After the trunk was squared away and the door to the compartment firmly closed, they unlatched Weldis’ cage and urged the owl to let his wings extend as he flew freely about the compartment. He let out soft, happy hoots as he did so and playfully flew as close as he dared to Murdoc who was resting on Lucia’s shoulder.

“Weldis, you’d better be careful,” Aure warned as they took a seat by Lucia, “I know you and Murdoc are friends but no one likes waking up from a nap.” They laughed at the owl’s antics as he sprung about the compartment.

“My summer was nice. Not too busy, but I went camping with my family once or twice and read some really great books!” Aure smiled as they thought about the great time they’d had. Though they loved their school with all their might, it was hard sometimes only communicating with their family via Weldis for such a long period of time. Some rest and relaxation was very nice every now and then. “And how was yours?” they asked their lovely friend.

5 scales awarded

[Lucia Dinapoli]

Murdoc wriggled restlessly against Lucia’s shoulder, eyeing Weldis as he fluttered above them. Lucia gave Aure a small smirk as she listened intently to her friends holiday adventures.

“That sounds wicked,” Lucia responded, “There’s always so much noise at my house it’s hard to find time for books. Hopefully I can catch up on my reading when we get back.” She had certainly missed the Library, it’s creaking floorboards and withered textured books that smelt old and smoky. ‘They’d certainly have collected a layer of dust over the holidays’ she thought. “Mine was same old. We did some hiking up in the Dales. Dad took his old broom out and fell in a Lake which was absolutely hilarious!” 

Lucia giggled at the memory, vivid images of her father trudging out of the lake sopping wet through with a hearty laugh to match his beetroot red face appeared in her head. Her memories faded then as she briefly caught site of Professor Tarma through the compartment window finding her own seat before the train pulled off. ‘I wonder if I’ll take one of her classes this year? I sure hope so!’

”You got any good book recommendations for me then?” Lucia asked, opening up her hand luggage, it’s Slytherin engraved emblem now starting to become a little worse for wear, “Here, have a chocolate frog! Mum bought me a few for getting promoted to Prefect so I can’t not share.” Lucia passed Aure the purple packaged wrapper as she tore open her own and fiddled with the charmed candy until it was safe to eat.

[Prof. Will Lestrange]

Normally Will would have stayed in the castle awaiting the new students, but the rules were clear:  “At least one professor from each House must ride the Hogwarts Express in case students have a question that cannot be answered by the Prefects.”  So this year the responsibility fell onto him to be the designated Slytherin Professor on the train.  He had Apparated from Hogsmeade Station to King’s Cross that morning, and now he found himself back on the train (thankfully without having to deal with any luggage).  Now on the train, Will decided to take a walk through the train to see how his Slytherins (both old and new) were doing... and wondering if he was going to be able to remain undetected while doing so.   Will wasn’t expecting anything to go wrong on the train, but he had to check just in case!

5 scales awarded

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

Tarma was watching kids as they settled down (or didn't) on the journey, in between watching the scenery and everything as the train chugged along. (Oh, look, was that a deer? ! ) She was happy with a thermos of hot coffee and a small sandwich which she'd had the foresight to bring along with her in her backpack.  Sure, she might get something from the trolley, but sometimes the offerings there were not necessarily what she wanted!  Watching, she thought she saw a familiar figure walking down the train. She decided she'd wave if it was really Will; maybe she'd even offer him a sandwich.

5 scales awarded

[Astor Arensin]

Astor sighed as he flipped the page in his book entitled The Standard Book Of Spells: Year 2 by Miranda Goshawk. The term may not have started yet, but he prioritized reading ahead and doing well in his studies, he knew having a grasp on the content for the first few lessons in Prof. Tarma's second-year class would be beneficial, plus it would help him be a better class assistant! He smiled, amused by a passage he read, before he placed the bookmark on the page and set the book down on the plush seat next to him. Astor reached down to stroke the head of his pet Mini Schnauzer, Abellio, who was dozed off with his head nestled on Astor's feet.

5 scales awarded

[Prof. Will Lestrange]

Having seen that the Slytherins seemed to be getting along just fine (to no one's surprise), Will had reached the back of the train.  He was slightly surprised to recognize Tarma at the other end, but then again, if each house had to have one professor on the train, it wouldn't be that surprising that Tarma would be the Hufflepuff professor riding the train that day!  Will tried to think about the ridiculousness of everything, but ultimately turned back to Tarma and asked "so I take it's your turn to ride the train up this year?"

5 scales awarded

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

"Oh!"  Tarma grinned at Will and waved to invite him into the compartment. "I haven't the foggiest who the designated Professor is. Maybe it's Fels?"

She looked out the window as a particularly spectacular piece of scenery went by. "No, I just love riding on trains."

She pointed to her backpack. "Want a sandwich?"

 

[Louis Walles]

Louis sat down in an empty compartment. He sighted deeply enjoying the peace for a few minutes. He knew that it won't be long until Harry will come back from the toilet and join him in the compartment. As much as he loved him, he knew that the blonde boy loves to talk for hours on end.  Louis pulled out his notebook and pen. He started writing all the upcoming tasks he needs to do ASAP and shook his head heavily.

'Well...goodbye sleep' he said to himself. 'Better this than getting bored at home or...' - Louis quickly reminisced about his everyday grocery trips that Harry told him to do - '...worse'. He grinned and sat back. He was looking at the compartment door every few seconds while awaiting Harry.

5 scales awarded

[Emily Spencer]

Emily had setttled herself in one of the rear compartments, with her cat, Lucan, purring contentedly in her lap.  Petting Lucan idly, Emily was quite lost in her latest book, a rollicking tale of monsters and madness which her mother always stressed would give her horrible nightmares, but somehow they never did.  Emily knew that she should have joined some of ther mates, but she relished the quiet time alone beforthe hectic bustle of school began.  She was an establishe Prefect this year and felt a small twinge of guilt at neglecting her duties and making sure that the ickle firsties were settling down in an acceptable fashion.  She wasn't, however, in the immediate mood to soothe anxious tears or calm nervous fears, so she stayed seated.  Besides, she had spotted both Professor Will and Professor Tarma and figured them both quite capable enough of handling any emergency that arose.

5 scales awarded

[Prof. Will Lestrange]

Accepting the offer of the sandwich from Tarma, Will decided now was a good time to truly notice the scenery the Hogwarts Express was going past.  While Will was normally not a fan of taking the long, scenic route, he had to admit that the views of the Scottish highlands were pretty impressive.  Turning back to Tarma, he said "Are there any other magical trains you've enjoyed riding on or is this really the only one?"

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

Tarma dug into her backpack and got a (slightly squished) sandwich and handed it to Will.

"I just love traveling on trains. I don't know why. It's just sort of ...."   Her words trailed off as her attention was caught by something in the corridor.

"Who let a Niffler loose in here?" she exclaimed, as she watched it scurrying down the aisle.

 

 

[Emily Spencer]

Emily started as Lucan jumped from her lap and set off at a dead run down the corridor of the train.  With an exasperated sigh, she set aside her book and went to the door of her car, peeking out curiously.  

More to herself than anyone else, "What in the world has gotten into that cat?!"

She was just about to call out his name when she spotted what appeared to be a niffler racing by, Lucan hot in pursuit.  

"Well, I am a Prefect, I suppose I should do something about this."

Something...or rather...someone turned out to be Louis, one of her fellow Slytherin Prefects.  As luck would have it, she recognized him as she was hurrying past, intent on catching up to the racing duo of niffler and at.

"Louis, HEY LOUIS!  We have a situation here!"

5 scales awarded

[Louis Walles]

Louis looked up sleepily. He was just about to take a nap.

'Whats up? Did someone lose some jigsaw pieces?'

Emily laughed and said 'what? No it's something else. We have a-' 

- Well, no big deal then -he said and tried to fall asleep.

- Louis! Get up you lazy monkey! - she said loudly.

- Alright alright. What's the deal? - as soon as he said it, his ferret managed to escape her cage and ran outside of the compartment.

- hey Thunder! Come back! - Louis shouted but Thunder didn't listen. He looked at Harry.

- Don't look at me. I ain't running anywhere - said Harry while looking outside of the window.

- Lovely. - said Louis as he got up to chase after Thunder.  - Come with me Em. I am not the best runner 😂
 

5 scales awarded

[Prof. Will Lestrange]

Watching multiple animals, including several of the prefects' pets, start running all over the place made Will realize exactly why he was asked to ride the train back to Hogwarts this year.  He tried a Summoning Charm - "Accio pet!" but it didn't work, presumably because it would have only worked on a pet that actually belonged to Will (and not, say, one of the prefects of his house).  Casting a Sonorus so that his voice would be heard by everyone, Will tried to address everyone:  "Remain calm.  Lucan and Thunder are unable to leave the train - and when they tire themselves out soon, you will be able to get them soon enough.  Now what's this I heard about a Niffler?"

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

Tarma remained in her compartment, watching Will with great glee.  She was very happy she wasn't one of the designated Professors (although she could take action if needed).  It appeared, though, that Will was getting everything under control, so yay.

Then, as she moved a bit to look into the aisle, she saw what appeared to be a small dark creature running towards Will, and, even though it was still a bit away from the Professor,  it looked to be aiming to run either between his legs or to the side of them, and showed no sign of stopping its forward momentum.  She looked to see if the cat or ferret had also doubled back.

 

[Prof. Will Lestrange]

Was there a Niffler on the train after all?  Will had been a bit suspicious, but he knew what to do:  the proper way to distract a Niffler is to conjure up enough shiny objects to keep it busy.  So Will pointed his wand at the empty seat opposite him, conjuring a metallic cup.  He then invited his Prefects (along with Tarma) to join in by conjuring more shiny objects near the cup to create a large pile of these objects.  Meanwhile, while waiting, Will moved on to conjure an iron ring to place next to the cup...

[Emily Spencer]

Emily grabbed for Louis' hand as she ran past, practically pulling him with her.

"C'mon, Louis! We have to....."

She came to a screeching halt as she heard Will's voice booming throughout the train.  She raced toward him, Louis in tow and fumbled for her wand to join Professor Lestrange in conjuring up shiny bits of baubles to add to the growing stack.  She yelled out Lucan's name as he streaked past, but the pesky cat ignored her completely.

"Well, darn!"  

 

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

Tarma also caused shiny things to pile up, hoping to attract the Niffler, if Niffler it was. She was laughing, though, and her additions to the pile caused it to topple a bit from its tidy stack.  Then a cat streaked towards them ... passing Emily and Louis ...  and passing the Niffler? 

[Emelio Black]

Emelio poked her head out of her compartment to high-pitched screams coming from the Hufflepuff compartment beside her. She looked wildly around for a teacher, then slowly turned and noticed her pet snake, Archimedes, was not in his cage. It wasn't until someone shrieked, "SNAKE!" did Emelio finally understand what was happening. She walked into the Hufflepuff compartment, where she saw Arc slithering around, clearly enjoying the trouble he was causing. Annoyed, she strode over and picked him up. "So sorry. Archimedes likes to roam." Under her breath, she muttered, You're a dead snake Arc, in parsletongue. After returning to her seat. she glared at Archimedes. 

Oh come one. It was funny! He said after being locked in his cage again.

Not to those poor first-years.

You weren't amused?

Well...maybe just a little.

Aha!

Still doesn't make it right. She shushed him as Professor Lestrange came in.

"Oh hello Professor!"

5 scales awarded