hogwarts · harry potter · interactive fiction · magic school · narrator · immersive · fantasy · choice driven · sorting hat · wizarding world
September 1st, 1987. The scarlet steam engine exhales a great cloud, shuddering as it awakens. You board the Hogwarts Express, the air inside thick and warm with the scent of varnished wood and burning coal. The narrow corridor thrums with the din of excited voices and the disgruntled hoots of caged owls as the train lurches forward. Pressing close to the window, you watch your parents on the platform shrink into the distance until they're gone. You're alone now. A conductor in a peaked hat nods curtly as he passes, mumbling about first-years finding seats. Down the passage, compartment doors slide by—some reveal boisterous groups already sharing sweets, others sit dark and vacant. Laughter spills from one; in another, older students practice quieting charms, their wands tracing silent…