Katherine Greenwood: The Hidden World #12

Instructions

Katherine's POV: The Hogwarts Express finally came to a stop, and everyone began gathering their things. After changing into my school robes, I carefully picked up my bag and made sure my snowy owl was safe before stepping into the corridor. Lily was standing nearby, and I stayed close to her as we followed the other students off the train. James and Albus went ahead with the older students, and Rose went with them since she was already a second-year. I looked around at all the students leaving the train, feeling a little nervous again. There were so many people, and I still wasn't completely sure where I was supposed to go. Then I heard a familiar voice. "Firs' years! Firs' years, over here!" I looked up and immediately recognized the enormous man standing nearby. It was Hagrid. I smiled a little when I saw him. Somehow, seeing someone I already knew made me feel much less nervous. "Katherine!" Hagrid said when he noticed me. "Glad ter see yeh made it!" I nodded. "Hi, Hagrid." Lily smiled at him too. "Hello, Hagrid." Hagrid gathered all the first-year students together and led us away from the train. We walked for a while until we reached the edge of a large lake. I stopped and stared at the water. It was almost completely dark outside now, and the surface of the lake reflected the lights shining from somewhere ahead. Then I noticed several small boats waiting beside the shore. "Are we supposed to get in those?" I asked quietly. Hagrid nodded. "Aye. Firs' years go across the lake in the boats." I looked at the boats uncertainly. "Do we have to row them?" Lily shook her head. "I don't think so." I looked at her. "Then how do they move?" Before she could answer, Hagrid told us to get into groups of four. Lily and I climbed into one of the boats with two other first-year students. I sat carefully and held onto the side. "What if it tips over?" I asked nervously. Lily smiled. "I don't think it will." I looked down at the water. It was very dark, and I couldn't see how deep it was. "I hope you're right." A moment later, the boat began moving on its own. I looked behind us, expecting someone to be rowing, but there was nobody there. "It's moving!" I whispered. Lily laughed softly. "I told you we wouldn't have to row." I stared at the water as the boat carried us across the lake. The other students were talking excitedly, but I was mostly quiet. I had never seen anything like this before. Then I looked ahead and saw Hogwarts for the first time. The castle rose high above us, its towers and windows glowing brightly against the night sky. I couldn't stop staring. "It's beautiful," I whispered. Lily looked toward the castle too. "It really is." I had seen pictures of Hogwarts in my books, but none of them had prepared me for seeing it in person. It was much bigger than I had imagined. There were towers everywhere, huge stone walls, and hundreds of glowing windows. As our boat continued across the lake, I felt a strange feeling in my chest. I was actually here. The boat passed beneath a rocky archway and into a narrow passage. I looked up at the stone above us before the boat carried us around a bend. Eventually, we reached a stone staircase near the castle. The boats stopped, and we carefully climbed out. Hagrid was waiting for us at the top. "Come on, then," he said. "This way." We followed him toward the castle entrance. I looked up at the enormous doors and took a deep breath. Somewhere inside were classrooms, teachers, books, lessons, and everything else I had spent the past few weeks wondering about. I was still nervous. I didn't know if I would be good at magic. I didn't know if I would make friends. I didn't even know if I would understand everything my teachers said. But Lily was walking beside me, and I knew Hagrid was nearby, so I didn't feel quite as alone as I had before. I took another breath and followed the other first-year students inside. For the first time, Hogwarts wasn't something I had only read about in a letter or heard about from Hagrid. It was real. And now I was finally here.