Your Own Compartment on the Hogwarts Express

After a lengthy argument with several prefects and a rummage through your trunk for a letter signed by the headmaster and the head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, you have finally convinced the train's senior conductor that you have been granted special dispensation to bring Angus, your Scottish Wildcat, with you to Hogwarts. Your trunk is dragged off to stowage by an exasperated porter and you scramble aboard with your schoolbag slung over your shoulder and Angus growling inside his carrier.
You've been directed by the conductor to find a seat /immediately/, but every compartment you pass is full. Your friends shrug helplessly as you peer hopefully into your preferred compartment. A first year boy is occupying your usual seat - looking absolutely terrified. The cheerful little witch who sells sweets and snacks is making her way down the aisle with the tea trolley. With your luggage and her cart, she'll have a terrible time trying to make her way past. You groan and reach into the brass cage to retrieve a now quite irritatable Angus. Opening the sliding compartment door with your other hand, you shove his carrier into your friends' compartment with your foot and flatten yourself against the wall to allow the tea witch to pass, stammering apologies to everyone.
The train whistle blows and you can hear the engine as the train pulls away from Platform 9 3/4. With Angus in your arms and your book bag smacking the back of your knee with every other step, you hurry all the way to the back of the train, hoping you won't be spending the whole day's journey standing in the corridor clutching a furious cat and being repeatedly pummeled by the tea trolley...
As you reach the very last compartment, you find it utterly, unbelievably empty. With a sigh of relief, you slide open the door and find a cup of piping hot tea and a plate of gingersnaps waiting at the seat beside the window. You allow Angus to hop into a seat of his own, set down your bag, and drop into the window seat. Angus curls into a striped ball and purrs loudly. The steam from your tea cup makes a little fog on the glass. The train is moving fast and the sights of the city give way to autumn countryside. You pull out a book from your bag and settle in to read. You can hear conversation from other compartments, laughter, and the occasional ill-advised attempt at a spell as the train clicks along and the north wind howls. Dipping a gingersnap into your tea, you wonder if this might not be the start to a very good year.

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