Lacy stood in front of the train station, clutching a piece
of parchment and a suitcase to her chest. She couldn’t seem to get her heart to
stop fluttering. Taking a deep breath as well as she could manage, Lacy looked
once more at the letter she held tightly in her hand.

“Dear Ms. Marina,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all
necessary books and equipment.

Term begins September 1^st. We await your owl by no
later than July 31^st.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Headmistress.”

Lacy stopped reading and glanced back up. Until a few months
ago, she had believed that magic wasn’t real; it was just something that you
pretended you had as you were growing up. And now, well, she did have it! She
was magic! And she was going to school for it. Lacy took one more deep breath
and made herself step foot into the station.

It was crowded as usual, abuzz with adults in business suits
going to very important places. But not
as important as mine, thought Lacy, suddenly feel very satisfied with
herself. Lacy wandered around the platform, taking it all in. The smell of
perfume coming from ladies in pencil skirts, the sounds of tickets being
stamped at the window, it all seemed far too ordinary for where she was headed.

At last, Lacy arrived at the pillar she had been looking
for. According to her instructions, the platform to her school was…through this
pillar? Lacy shrugged. Perhaps magic wasn’t really supposed to make sense. Lacy
tentatively placed her hand against the pillar, but nothing happened. Odd. Did
she have the wrong one. Lacy tried again, this time smacking it gently. Her
hand went halfway through but bounced right back out.

“You have to run at it,” came a voice from behind her. Lacy
whirled around to see a girl with stark black hair and hazel eyes. She was
smirking…Lacy tried to push away the feeling of shame that was creeping along
her spine.

“I..I didn’t know…” Lacy stammered.

“Obviously,” the girl replied. “Watch and learn.” The girl
then took several steps back, clutched her belongings tightly to her chest, and
charged at the pillar. And then, just like that, she was gone. Despite now
having a example, Lacy could feel her nerves rising. What if she messed up and
ended up seriously injured? That wouldn’t make a very good first impression.

You can do this, Lacy
reminded herself. Following suit of what she had just witnessed, Lacy back up
as far as she could and then ran at the pillar. And then, just as suddenly as
the girl had done, Lacy was through to platform nine and three quarters. Now
the name made sense. Lacy opened her eyes-when had she closed them?-and met the
eyes of that girl.

“See? I knew you could do it. I’m Rana, by the way. Enjoy
the ride!” And the girl-Rana-walked off. Lacy had to admit, she really admired
her confidence. The train’s horn interrupted her thoughts, and Lacy hurried to
one of the cars. Using the rail, she swung herself on just as it was closing.
She laughed softly to herself. Maybe the magic that the school claimed she
possessed was just her good luck.

As Lacy stared out the window and watch the trees roll by,
she drifted into a daydream of her home. Her parents had no knowledge of magic,
and been just as surprised as her when they started getting mail through the chimney. At first, they had
thought that the whole thing was just a practical joke. The kids next door did
have a love of pranks.

Lacy had a feeling that her mom and dad still didn’t
completely grasp what she was doing, but they were trying, and she appreciated
it. Soon, her eyes began to flutter, and soothed by the sound of the train’s
engine, Lacy fell asleep.

The first thing she saw when she awoke was the castle. It
was magnificent, to say the least. Against the night sky, it just looked like
somewhere that magic could be found. After a few more minutes, the train
lurched to a halt and everybody hopped off. They then were all loaded into some
kind of dingy in order to cross the lake. Lacy had never seen a body of water that
was so beautiful.

If this is what magic
is like, she thought, then I never
want to go home.