The air at King's Cross Station was thick with the noise of hundreds of families saying goodbye, but Lucan Hale barely heard any of it. His eyes were focused on the scarlet train before him, the Hogwarts Express.
His father knelt beside him to fix the strap on Lucan's trunk. His mother hugged him tightly, her hand lingering at the back of his head for a moment longer than usual.
"You'll make us proud, Lucan," she said warmly.
His father smiled, ruffling Lucan's hair. "Stay smart. Keep your wits about you. And don't get into too much trouble, at least, not the kind you can't get out of."
With one last look over his shoulder, Lucan pushed his trolley forward, walking straight through the barrier onto Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.
The train hissed and rumbled before him. Taking a deep breath, he boarded and quickly found an empty compartment near the middle. He heaved his trunk up onto the rack and sat down by the window, exhaling slowly.
He sat alone for a few minutes, the sound of students moving through the corridors filling the background. Lucan pulled out one of his new books, "Jinxes for the Jaded Beginner," flipping through the first few pages absentmindedly.
The door slid open, and a boy with sleek dark hair and sharp blue eyes poked his head inside.
"Mind if I sit here?" he asked, already stepping in.
Lucan shrugged casually. "Go ahead."
The boy sat across from him, his movements precise but confident. He adjusted his silver-trimmed robe and glanced around like the space wasn't quite up to his standards.
"Darius Selwyn," he introduced after a moment.
"Lucan Hale," Lucan replied.
Before they could say more, the door slid open again. Another boy, this one thinner, with sandy hair and a quiet, guarded look, poked his head in.
"This taken?" he asked.
Lucan shook his head, and the boy slipped inside without waiting for an invitation, settling beside Lucan.
"Cedric Greaves," he said shortly.
The train jerked forward, and the three of them glanced around awkwardly for a moment as the Hogwarts Express began its long journey north.
"So," Darius said, stretching his legs out, "First-years?"
"Obviously," Lucan said with a small grin, letting a bit of childishness into his tone. No need to act too serious yet. "Unless you're a very tiny seventh-year."
They passed the time chatting, nothing too serious. Favorite spells they'd read about, wondering which House they'd be sorted into. Lucan made sure to ask about them too, not wanting to seem too distant.
When Darius mentioned he came from an old pureblood family, he said it with pride but without the nastiness Lucan had expected.
"Most of my family have been in Slytherin," Darius said. "Not that it really matters. As long as it's not... you know, Hufflepuff."
Lucan leaned against the window and allowed himself a small moment of reflection, He thought back to his wand, redwood, polished to a deep, almost blood-like crimson, and within it, a rare thestral hair core.
Ollivander had spoken in hushed tones about it, saying that redwood wands were known for bringing luck to those who wielded them with cleverness, and thestral hair cores were among the rarest of all, responding only to those who had truly faced death, either through experience or spirit. Most wandmakers refused to use thestral hair at all, calling it unstable or cursed.
When Lucan had picked it up, it hadn't blasted sparks or made any great fanfare.
Instead, the room had gone oddly still, almost like the wand was watching him, weighing him silently before offering itself.
It hadn't made him stronger.
It wouldn't hand him victories.
But it would stay with him through anything, if he proved worthy.
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Hours passed. The sky outside turned from bright gold to dusky purple. The train eventually slowed with a great hiss of brakes.
Firs' years! Firs' years this way!" boomed a voice, a half-giant of a man waving a lantern over his head.
Lucan, Darius, and Cedric stumbled off the train along with the other first-years, excitement and nerves tightening in their chests.
They were led to the black lake, where small boats waited at the shore.
Lucan climbed into a boat with Cedric and Darius beside him. The wood creaked under their weight, and cold mist curled around them as they pushed off into the dark waters.
Ahead, Hogwarts rose into view, towering against the night sky, golden lights flickering in the windows.
This was it.
The start of everything.