She stood before the Hogwarts Express, eyeing the few fast-pass people in line ahead of them. Hogsmeade awaited, although they'd taken the train once before, they'd had little time to wander about and explore. Today was a whole day focused on Hogsmeade, and that started with taking the train over to the station.

Alex had gone through the King's Cross station like everyone else, finding clues of the Wizarding World hidden all around the station. One of the coolest parts was getting to Platform 9 ¾; going through an illusionary wall. If you stood on one side, and someone went through the barrier-wall, it would look like the wall had swallowed them up and eaten them.

Surrounded by brick and globe-lights, Alex wound her way through the queue barriers, snapping a picture of the Make A Little Magic ad displayed on one wall.

"Divine Magic," she snorted to herself at the hidden joke, taking in the brown-haired beauty on the poster board and the fancy perfume/lipstick next to her.

The platform was covered with sprawling barriers and fake luggage props, even a still owl in a cage utop a mountain of Hogwarts trunks. Alex stepped up into the train and thanked the attendant who guided the six of them into their carriage. Part of her hadn't believed that a theme park would have a functioning train, but here she was, sitting in it.

The engine and the coal carriage preceded the passenger carriages, with large red bodies glinting in the sunlight. A whistle went off, signaling their departure, and the train began its rhythmic chug over to Hogsmeade.

"A train," Bear breathed in amazement, leaning back in the grey-blue seat. "How much does this cost? How does it run? How much profit does it make, or is it just for the experience?"

"Get a job here and find out," Alex teased, glad to see that they were enjoying it. Kaiden looked a bit green at the rocking movement of the train, but aside from that, the others were eagerly taking in the carriage and the window. Olds photos of Hogwarts and its surrounding grounds decorated the walls of the carriage, but the most interesting thing was the window.

The further and further they got from King's Cross, the more and more fascinating the window 'view' became. Alex saw Harry fight off ghastly Dementors with a powerful Expecto Patronum, chasing the dark beings away. She saw Hogwarts, cruising far around the lake line to see the castle glowing at night. She even saw quidditch players swoop down and grin at them from outside the carriage, spiralling off into the air in their red and green jerseys.

The second she stepped out of the carriage, Alex was greeted by an airy, red-wood beamed station that was quaint and quiet compared to the King's Cross. In the peaceful moment that no one else had exited the Hogwarts Express, Alex could see the beginnings of Hogsmeade village already, tall trees, just the tips of the towers of Hogwarts, roofs and windows and a place bursting with life.

Going down the ramp, she found herself in a small alcove where she was treated with an amazing view of the Hogwarts Express, even better, she could get up super close to it and see the amount of detail put into it. Then through a short passageway under a bridge with everyone chatting behind her, Alex walked through a border of tall trees until she hit a signpost.

It read Hogsmeade, and just behind the black and white sign sat an impressive stone arch that was the gateway to Hogsmeade. Covered in snow year round, Alex stepped into Hogsmeade with her hand entwined in Kaiden's. Although it was magical at night, in the daytime it was still a pretty palace decorated to the highest degree.

Zonko's, Honeydukes, Three Broomsticks and others on her left, Owl Post, Dervish and Banges, and others on her right.

"My wallet is already crying," Kaiden remarked with a half-smile. "Hey, at least we have those Gringotts coins we got!"

"Buy me a Butterbeer with them first and I'll see if I agree," Alex laughed, tugging him along. "Look, I can already see one of those cart things!"

Post cold-Butterbeer (it was warm in the daytime, cooler at night), the gang decided Honeydukes would be a good first stop since they had long finished their candy stash from Diagon Alley. They also planned on getting candy and chocolate as part of the Freyan gift bags they were taking back for family and friends, and Alex had already gone shopping outside the resort for some Freyan stuff her parents needed.

Doing that felt a bit like being an online shopper but across dimensions, but she didn't want to deny them that, after all, she was the one who landed them in Medora with little access back to their home world. Whatever they wanted that wasn't in Medora, she'd get for them. As long as she wasn't woken up in the wee hours of the morning for cheap supermarket cookie dough, she'd do it.

"Okay, so, I've got the lists ready for the gift bags. We have all of the Diagon Alley stuff like the jumpers and merch and whatnot from those specific shops. Just get whatever candy you think they'll like and we can sort it out once we're back at the hotel, okay?" Dix ordered, hands on her hips.

"Yes ma'am," Everyone snapped to a mock-salute and giggled at her all-too tired sigh.

Honeydukes was a whirl of mint green paint and pink highlights that housed the most extravagant displays of chocolate and candy that Alex had ever seen. She picked up a few Chocolate Frogs for her parents, Fizzing Whizbees for Evie, Cauldron Cakes for Marselle, Exploding Bonbons for the Ronnigan brothers and all the rest she had in mind.

In Zonko's, they found Extendable Ears she and Jordan planned to use on SAS missions (if they even did work in Medora), Fainting Fancies she wondered if Karter would believe, and Fever Fudge to offer Finn. They passed Three Broomsticks but decided the tavern would work for lunch. They had more shopping to do.

Venturing into Gladrags' Wizardwear, Alex discovered the perfect matching sock set for her parents and the most adorable all-houses necklace for Evie. Then for some of the staff she bought sweaters and scarves for the cold season, and they left the clothes shop with their bags full.

"Ugh, only if one of us had, like, an ability to open up a void with a locker in it," Jordan groaned under the weight of all the bags.

Kaiden cleared his throat discreetly, "Actually, I met a person with powers like that at an Akarnae alumni reunion Jeera went to."

"Jordan—no—we can't use our powers out her, especially in public," Dix hissed. "What about the lockers? We can finish shopping now, dump our stuff there and go ride everything before we pick it up again."

"Sounds good to me," Jordan agreed readily.

At Dervish and Banges, Alex purchased a pair of Spectroscopes for Pip, a whole broom for fun because why not, and the Monster Book of Monsters. The Owl Post sold stamps useless in Medora but really quite pretty, and some postcards she planned to keep for the photographs on the back. She even bought the King and Queen of Medora matching pens; doubtful they'd used them, but it would be a nice gift nevertheless.

They all dropped everything off at the lockers, relieved at the little weight they had to carry now, and headed for the Three Broomsticks. The tavern sold similar food to the Leaky Cauldron, so everyone was semi-familiar with British food when it came to ordering. They'd spent three whole days in Diagon Alley, and today was just the first of three Hogsmeade days. Google said two days was the bare minimum for experiencing the parks, and they were spending three times that.

After lunch was the Flight of the Hippogriff ride, something nice and easy on their stomachs after a full lunch. Then came snacks because Jordan and Declan were already hungry, and then Hagrid's Motorbike Adventure. It had replaced the Dragon Challenge which Alex was sad to see go, but whirling through all of those magical creatures, forests, huts, caverns, and open air on the track was an exhilarating experience she knew they wanted to do again.

The finale for that day came with the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride that took place in Hogwarts castle. An impressive build that Alex couldn't quite believe sat on a large hill, gates flanked with stone statues, and in daylight, it was as daunting and regal as ever. The gang had to wander through Hogwarts' maze of corridors and passages, passing Dumbledore's office, the DADA classroom, the Gryffindor common room and the Room of freaking Requirement.

Every last detail had been squashed into those rooms, with stray beanies, textbooks, magical instruments and desks making the experience all the more captivating. The ride itself was a whole other experience that had the gang shrieking and screaming through Hogwarts, chased by Dementors and other magical creatures, zipping along the pitch, the open air and dark rooms. Alex's legs hung free while the ride tugged them this way and that, shoved them into the faces of magical animals, held them over certain death and made sure that this ride lived up to its name.

A/N: i didn't describe the rides because im feeling super tired rn but if anyone wants to look them up and watch the videos, go ahead, because they're all amazing. I haven't ridden the motorbike adventure because when i went the dragon challenge was still there and i loved that ride even though i had my eyes shut the first time. One more chapter of writing to go before the epilogue folks!

-dommie out