Chapter 21 - Hogwarts Express Ⅲ (1/2)
The 1st years push their way out into the train corridor as they anxiously wait for the doors to open. Rowan motions for them to wait until the door open as the 1st years rush out onto the tiny, dark platform. When the crowd begins to thin, Rowan and the rest make their way out onto the platform. The chilly night air brushes their hair causing Lily especially to shiver with cold. A single lamp can be seen bobbing overhead as a loud, male coarse voice calls out, ”Firs' years! Firs' years over here!”
Towering over the heads of the sea of students, a tall and lofty man could be seen smiling overhead. Rowan eyes glimmer in recognition at the much younger, Rubeus Hagrid, the groundskeeper and keeper of keys of Hogwarts.
”C'mon, follow me — any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!” Everyone follows Hagrid down a steep and narrow path while slippering and stumbling every so often. It was quite dark on both sides of the road as Hagrid calls out over his shoulder, ”Ye' all get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec, tis jus' round this bend here.”
There are loud, Ooooh's and Ahh's made as the lake leads them to the edge of a giant dark lake. In the nearby distance an enormous, majestic glittering castle can be seen lighting the dark sky with the shady figure of mountains being seen in the background on the other side of the lake. Some of the students eagerly point as Rowan calmly turns towards the fleet of boats by the lake shores.
Hagrid points to the fleet of boats on the lakeshore and in a loud, booming voice says, ”Alright, no more'n four to a boat!” The students instantly surge forward as Rowan clamps firmly onto the shoulders of Lily and Severus and shook her head at them as James Potter and Sirius Black end up in another boat. The three of them wait for a second as the rest of the boats quickly fill up, before Rowan nimbly grabs a boat with only a single occupant a nervous young witch. They nod rather friendly at the nervous young witch as the girl faintly smiles back in reply. But before they have a chance to introduce themselves, Hagrid bellows from his own sturdy boat, ”Everyone in?”
A chorus of shouts echoes in the night sky in reply, ”Yes!”
”Right then…FORWARD!” Hagrid proudly said as the boats instantly push themselves off the shore. The students excitedly fixate their gaze at the glowing castle before them as they glide across the mirror-like lake.
To Severus's surprise, he finds Rowan's gaze fixated on the sleek dark lake beside them instead of the castle before them. ”What are you doing!” Severus softly hissed causing Lily and the other witch to turn to awkwardly gaze at Rowan and Severus.
”Did you know that there are mermaids living at the bottom of the lake?” Rowan darkly remarked. ”I am just calculating the odds, that today of all days they decide to finally rebel and drag us down below to drown before ultimately feasting on our drowned corpses.”
The young witch instantly snatches her hand back from the side of the boat and shivers with terror as Lily fervently whispers, ”Don't jinx us, Rowan! I'm sure that won't happen!”
”I'm sure that's what their last victims said too,” Rowan ominously said as she solemnly looked up from the lake at them.