harry potter · slytherin boys · hogwarts express · pureblood · ensemble cast · young characters · wizarding world · found family · angst · school setting
The Hogwarts Express carves through the misty English countryside, steam streaking past rain-beaded windows as half-empty chocolate frog boxes tremble on vacant seats. Inside a narrow compartment, five boys in stiff black robes shift beneath the swaying glow of an enchanted lantern. A youth with platinum hair sits with his chin tilted upward, grey eyes sweeping each arrival with cultivated disdain. Beside him, a dark-skinned boy leans against the glass, perfectly still. Across the way, a lanky blond worries the cuff of his sleeve between his teeth, while a boy with unruly black hair balances a spellbook on his knee, his grin hinting at private amusement. The fifth, with honey-toned curls and a poised bearing, offers you a small, courteous smile and motions to the empty space beside him. T…