My Incredible Journey

My Incredible Journey

I remember it well. I spent most of the previous day getting ready; making a list, checking it twice. But I wasn't helping Santa at Christmas- I was about to embark on the longest journey of my life...

I slept late that day - a Monday if I remember. Tea and toast were the breakfast special that day - the first day I got breakfast in bed while free of sickness or birthday celebrations. I didn't have to leave till late afternoon so I spent my last few hours saying - and crying - my remaining goodbyes and getting my last few items together. All clothes, gear and rations had been bought and placed in the small vehicle. And so, on that late autumn afternoon I set off, with my four companions on the longest journey of my life...

My driver told me of a similar journey he had made several years before - his journey had lasted seven years as, he added, mine would too. With this disheartening fact in mind, I sat back and resigned myself to staring out the window at the fleeting landscape I had known for so long - it was all rushing away, just like the life I had known; my friends and family all the places I had known so well. My life was rapidly changing direction and I wasn't at the steering wheel...

We gradually entered the new, uncharted area. The roar of the near-antiquated engine was matched only by the silence inside the car: both were deafening. Any stab at conversation was squashed by a monosyllabic answer.

We gradually ventured nearer. The beautiful countryside gave way to a city, which gave way to an endless array of high concrete monsters. It was a route we were to never take again as, the next time we came, my driver found another, shorter route, making this journey even more special.

As we entered the penultimate stage of the first leg of my journey, I began to think about what lay ahead for me - about the people I would meet, the friendships I would forge and the friendships I had left behind. I would spend the next few years of my life with these people - what would they be like?

All these questions and more were buzzing in my head as we drove on. The buildings flanked us on either side like tall, bad tempered soldiers, blocking all light. Just as it seemed we were lost, a wrought - iron gate came around the corner, flanked by a sign reading "Kings Cross Station".

We drove through the gate. The swarming mass of people amazed me - I didn't think this many people would be making the next stage of the journey with me. We parked our vehicle and put all my equipment in the assigned spaces. I thought of the other people with me - some of them had begun their journey already and I was eager to get tips from them, dare I say it - make friends with them?

I was pondering this when my brother started crying. So, with a wave and a few tears, I said goodbye to my family and turned to start the longest journey of my life..

...wizarding education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry