Roy stepped through the barrier and out onto Platform 9 3/4. He smiled, taking in the familiar sight of all the students as well as the enormous scarlet engine ready to take them away for another year at Hogwarts. Behind him, Nolan stepped onto the platform wheeling his cart before him. Fletch hooted in his cage quietly but clearly irritated. Between being caged up almost all day and all the chaos, the owl had grown to hate this day over the years. Nolan nudged him from behind with the cart.

"You're blocking the way. Quit trying to figure out how to turn the Hogwarts Express into a serpent and get moving!" 

Roy smirked at his brother's quip and began pushing his own luggage cart. "Serpent? Please, that's such amateur work," he laughed. "I was thinking a dragon or a giant broomstick." The two moved their way through the crowd. Platform 9 3/4 was its own contained pocket of chaos. First years giving their tearful good-byes, girls catching up on all the gossip from the holidays, mischievous boys planning and executing pranks, siblings arguing about one thing or another, parents scolding their children for forgetting something at home, and of course there was the combined sound of all the various pets. An older girl just ahead of Roy managed to spill an entire set of potions ingredients and he had to carefully maneuver around it. Luckily, most of it could be salvaged if the girl acted quickly. Still, it was a bit unnerving and he stopped to check all the latches and zippers on his luggage. He didn't want to spill all his paint. He'd have to make all this disorder the subject of one of his paintings. It was beautiful. 

The two kept their eyes open for friends as they walked, as well as their older brother Judoc who had run ahead. The third Archer brother had just finished his seventh year, but had eagerly volunteered to bring out his younger brothers in order to be able to see off his girlfriend. Their parents had had some business come up and couldn't quite make it. They'd said their good-byes earlier. It was a quick, but warm good-bye. They'd seen off their share of sons. Even Nolan, who in his first year had pleaded for his parents to stay until the train left, had been relieved not to have to say a long good-bye at the station. The boy had grown quite independent over the past year. 

The two proceeded to the luggage car to load their luggage onto the train, Roy hoping to find one of his friends or at least a girl to chat up. Remington was usually here by now. His fellow Ravenclaw was probably already either getting told off by a prefect or trying to steal a kiss off some unsuspecting young witch. Roy and his brother loaded their trunks, glad to not have to worry about them until after the feast. 

"All right Roy. I'll see you," Nolan said when he spotted a couple of his Slytherin friends. He called back as he ran over to them, "Why don't you go find Angela?"

Roy's lip tightened but then he just laughed at his brother's teasing. [I]Oh no, we're not going there again.[/I] he thought. Angela was a rather attractive brunette, a year ahead of Roy. They'd run into her when on holiday in Italy. Roy had spent quite a bit of time getting to know her during that time. Unfortunately, she hadn't taken it too well Roy chose to refocus his attentions on a local Italian girl. Oh well.