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"Okay, ready set-" Richie sprinted off into one direction. "GO!" He yelled as he ran.
Stanley rolled and pushed his cart while he dragged Richie's behind him. He never agreed to a race. He wasn't sure what was going through his friend's head. If their parents found out they were acting this way, they would surely get in trouble. But Richie knew nothing of consequences.
Their parents weren't there to say goodbye to them due to busy schedules and lack of effort. But if some bystanders recognized them, there could be a chance they would report that to their parents. It was a sight to see purebloods acting nonsensical.
Richie came running back, his black robe flowing behind him. He had a lopsided grin on his face that went well with his unkempt hair.
"Y'know, you're supposed to run too," Richie said, his finger pushing his thick glasses back upon his nose.
"You're also supposed to be taking care of your own things. But I don't see you doing that." Stan said. He let go of Richie's cart and began to push his own cart towards the train.
Richie quickly tugged his cart and caught up to Stan. "Come on, be more positive, Staniel!" Richie exclaimed, "We're going to Hogwarts! What isn't there to like?"
"Rich, you're acting stupid here. We're gonna get in trouble." Stan said, loading his trunks into the train. He didn't mean to be a Debby Downer, but he really didn't want to risk a letter from his parents.
Richie sighed dramatically, doing the same with his luggage. "They're not even here. That's what's great about being away from them. We get to do whatever we want."
Stan narrowed his eyes at him. "Do not do anything dumb while we're there unless you're sure you can get away with it." He waited for Richie to place his stuff in the loading area of the train. The fact that Richie threw everything without care made him cringe.
"I know, I know," Richie grumbled, "But that's what you're for. I do dumb things, you clean up my mess." Richie grinned at him and skipped to the entrance of the train.
Stan stood there agape, his fists clenched. "That's not fair. This is supposed to be a mutual friendship!" But Richie couldn't hear him. He was too far away already. Stan groaned and followed.
The two walked down the aisle, looking for a free compartment. It wasn't hard. Most of them were empty since Stan insisted that they'd arrive early just in case. Richie didn't know what the "just in case" was, but he knew Stan well enough to know that the answer would be irrational.
They decided on the compartment in the back because Richie wanted to be cool. Richie instantly made himself at home on one of the benches. He leaned back against the window, his feet stretched across the rest of the bench. Stan, however, sat in the other corner, making himself as small as he could. The one sitting more normally pulled a book from his robe and began to read.
"You just have a library in there?" Richie chuckled.
Stan gave him a quick glare and went back to reading. Richie began to talk about something, but Stan wasn't really paying attention. Neither did Richie, to be honest. The topics change too much, and it takes him a while for his brain to catch up to his mouth.
This went on for around 20 minutes before their compartment door slid open. There stood two boys. One was short with muggle clothes on from what the two purebloods could guess. The other was taller by a good couple of inches, but he had robes on.
"C-Can we sit here?" The taller one of the two asked.
"Why yes of course!" Richie smiled. Stan rolled his eyes at his attempt of a British accent.
Richie moved his feet so there was more room. The short one sat next to him, while the other one took a seat next to Stan.
"I'm Richie Tozier, and that's my best friend in the entire world, Staniel Urine." Richie introduced proudly.
"My name is Stan Uris. Not the abomination of a name he just said." Stan corrected.
"You wound me, my friend,"
"That's what I was going for."
"W-Wa-Wait, you guys are Tozier's and Uris's?" The boy sitting next to Stan questioned.
"Are we that famous?" Richie said.
"Infamous," Stan mumbled quietly.
"Don't worry. We're not gonna bite." Richie reassured, "At least, I won't. I don't know about Stan. He can get pretty scary sometimes."
"Are you guys famous or something?" The short one asked.
"Our families are some of the most powerful wizarding families." He shrugged, "Personally, don't like to associate myself with them cause... yikes. So who are you guys?"
"I'm Eddie Kaspbrak," The short one said.
"Bill Denbrough,"
"What houses do you think you'll get in?" Richie asked, making conversation. "I want to be in Gryffindor. They seem fun."
"G-Gr-Gryffindor, too," Bill said.
"Ravenclaw," Stan said, keeping his eyes on his book.
"Houses?" Eddie furrowed his eyebrows. "This seems very culty to me."
"Hogwarts is split in four houses, all divided by personalities." Stan explained, "There is Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin."
"I say he'll be a Hufflepuff cause he's short." Richie looked Eddie over, his fingers on his chin. "Yep, I stand by it."
"I'm not even that short. I'm 5 foot and 11 centimeters!" Eddie defended
"The only people that count centimeters are short people, Eds."
"No, they d- Don't call me that!"
"What? Eds?"
"Yes, that's not my name."
"It's a nickname,"
"Eddie is already a nickname." He pouted, crossing his arms.
While the two argued, Bill turned to Stan. "What're you reading?" He asked
Stan looked up at him, a little startled somebody was asking him about his books. Nobody has done that before. "The Sibley Guide to Birds," Stan answered.
"Oh, t-th-thhat's c-cool," Bill said
"Really?"
Bill shrugged, "Yu-yea, b-b-b-but I've never read anything about birds. I c-could only list like three birds. H-How many can you list?"
"I don't know. A lot,"
"Y-you seem smart,"
Stan felt his face heat up. "Thanks,"
"Wh-what's your favorite bird? I like pigeons. I th-think they get too much hate."
"You want me to talk about birds?" Stan asked in near disbelief. Nobody cared about his interest in birds.
"Y-Yea. Wh-why not learn something new?"
The corners of Stan's mouth quirked up. He began to talk about his favorite bird. Every couple of minutes, Stan stopped to make sure Bill still wanted him to talk. And to Stan's surprise, he wanted him to continue.
That's how the ride went for the next 30 minutes. Eddie and Richie arguing about something, and Stan and Bill talking about birds. This newly found group was something else.
"So guys," Richie said, "What rules are we gonna break?"
Stan rolled his eyes. "Really?"
"What?" Richie defensively said, "I feel like we have something special here. And what should we use that chemistry for? Mischief!"
"I'm not breaking any rules," Eddie said.
"You're no fun!"
"Sorry I don't think breaking the rules is fun," Eddie grumbled.
"You're forgiven,"
Eddie glared at him, fully ready to break his glasses with a punch. But he wasn't going to do that. Yet.
"Richie, I already told you, you cannot go there and immediately break every rule," Stan said.
"I wasn't planning on breaking every rule." Richie said, "Only a few,"
"You should make a good impression first. Then do that,"
Richie groaned because he knew Stan was right. "But that's boring!"
"Fine, you can get expelled in your first week."
"You guys are all boring!" He flopped back in his seat dramatically. "Well, except you Billy Boy. Unless you also think breaking the rules is wrong, then you can join the two losers."
"I-I-I don't usually break rules," Bill said.
"So you do break rules, just not all the time?"
Bill shrugged nervously. "I-I guh-guess. Only when I need to."
"That's incredibly vague," Then Richie added, "and scandalous! Tell me more about your rebellion."
Bill shifted in his seat not used to this amount of attention. "I-It's nothing really. Juh-just small things,"
"Well, you're in luck because you've made friends with the biggest rebel out there!"
The rest of the ride, Richie talked about his 'greatest' acts of defiance. He got up and used his hands to help explain his stories that Stan could even vouch for. Eddie had a glare on his face the entire time finding it hard to believe anything he was saying was actually true. It didn't matter if Stan backed him up. Eddie barely knew the people. No reason to believe them. Although, he did like Bill, and Stan was growing on him quickly. Richie was a whole other story.
Stan continued to read throughout Richie's rants, approving the parts of the stories when Richie asked. It wasn't hard to block out his best friend's talking anymore. Now, after many years of knowing him, it's merely white noise. He was grateful for that ability because if he couldn't do that, he'd surely be sentenced to Azkaban.
Bill, contrary to the others, was actually enjoying the stories. They were interesting and sounded like bedtime stories parents would tell their children. Not that his parents ever did that. But now he had someone to do that. He hoped they stayed friends. All of them. From the things Richie has done, he knew this year was going to be anything but boring.
The tall tales Richie told did pass the time, and quickly, they arrived at Hogwarts. Getting off the train, they navigated their way through the crowd. They made sure to stick together. The group made their way to the front of the crowd in a short time. They stopped in awe when they saw the ancient castle.
"Wow," Eddie breathed in astonishment.
"It's beautiful," Bill added.
"Come on," Richie rushed. "We gotta get a boat together."
They made their way onto a boat, thanking Merlin that they were all able to ride together. Richie couldn't stop gushing about how excited he was. The others had no room to argue.
This to Richie was a way to be himself. He was finally away from his parents. Away from their judgemental gazes. Here, he could express himself how he pleased and they couldn't do a single thing about it. He would be able to move freely and not get berated for doing it too much. Not to mention, how many opportunities Hogwarts gave him. They ranged from the different rules he could break to how long he could sleep in on the weekends. He was going to make the most out of this year before he had to go back to his parents.
Eddie kept his hands clenched in his lap not daring to touch the boat. He didn't know where it's been. Now that he actually saw the castle, his eagerness turned into anxiousness. He'd be alone. His mom wouldn't be there to protect him. What if he got a cut and it got infected so he'd have to get that limb amputated? Eddie took a shaky breath looking down at the water. In the reflection, he saw a scared little boy. He didn't want to be that. He bit the inside of his cheek. Maybe this was a chance he got to be his own person. He'd get to make his own decisions. And if something happened, he had his friends. They were his friends. Right? They'd be there for him.
Bill dipped his hand in the water, watching the ripples he made. He turned to look back at the castle, then to the three others in the boat, a smile making its way on his face. He was surprised that he made three friends already. His parents- well, they wouldn't care. But his baby brother Georgie would. That was the only thing holding him back from fully enjoying this. He'd miss his brother dearly. But he knew he'd see him on breaks. Before he left, Georgie kept telling him to have fun and make friends. He was already doing that.
Stan wrapped his arms around his slim waist. He wasn't sure how to feel about this whole Hogwarts thing. He was ecstatic that he'd be away from his parents and their calculating looks, but everything here would be new. He wouldn't be in his own bed or even house. He'd have to make and adapt to new routines. Plus, he didn't want to be in a different house than Richie or even Bill and Eddie. But he didn't think they'd get into Ravenclaw as he would. They seemed like Gryffindor types. He couldn't do this.
He and Richie made eye contact and Richie beamed at him. Stan felt his chest warm up. From that smile alone, he felt comforted, reassured that he could do this. And Richie looked so happy. Stan fought the smile threatening to appear on his face.
The boat ride was quick, each one engrossed by their own thoughts. When all the students gathered at the entrance, a professor stood in front of them. She made a speech, but the four weren't really paying attention. Not even Stan. After she stopped talking, she opened the doors.
This was it.