Peeking out the window, past his human company, Harry saw as they emerged from a tunnel and things got brighter. Beyond that, in the distance but closing quickly, was a great building. "Is that it?" He pointed a hoof at the stately looking affair. Was that? "Are they flying?" Did humans fly? They didn't look like they should. Magic!
The man leaned over to get the same peek. "Practicing for the next event, if I had to guess. But that right there? That's Hogwarts." He flicked a few fingers, though he clearly had seen it before, the sparkle of wonder not in his eyes.
Harry didn't have that excuse, letting out his breath in amazement. "Wow..."
"Don't you get hot?"
Harry was startled out of his mesmerized state. "Pardon?"
"Well, the way I'm looking at it--" He reached out and tapped Harry right atop his nose. "You have fur, kind of everywhere. Fairly standard as unicorns go. And you've gone and put clothes on top of that. Doesn't that get a bit overwarm?"
Harry had little point for comparison there, but... "It is a little warm." How could it not be warmer in clothes than not? "But I'm doing alright. I look the part, I hope?"
"A regular... wizard unicorn." He did not sound very certain of that statement. "Look, gonna be honest. Never saw a wizard unicorn before, so thanks for that." He pulled himself up to his feet. "And here we are."
There was activity and motion. Not everyone was standing up. Especially among the inhuman riders, plenty seemed ready to stay on the train and wait for the next stop, wherever that was. "Hogwarts," called out a human conductor. "All students off." The way the man was departing, clearly more than students could get off. Maybe it was against the rules for students to ride the train past that point?
Filled with curiosity, Harry did rise, sliding to his hooves and heading for the door in a great que behind others. Soon enough, he burst into fresh air, and a new world. "Woah..." He had to stop and just admire it a moment, the strange university/city that was Hogwarts, spread out before him.
"There you are," boomed a loud voice, an equally large man approaching him with a big shaggy face and a great smile. "Harry Potter, I presume? I thought they had to be mistaken, but here you are." The immense man waved a hand over Harry's everything. "A unicorn! Very rare creatures." He sounded like he was already in love with the idea of being around one. "Tell me-- Wait, can you tell me? I've been talking on and on and not letting you get a word in edgewise I have."
Harry inclined his head at the big human before him. "Nice to meet you, mister...?" He assumed they were a guy, sure sounded like one.
"Ah ha, you do talk. That'll make it easier." He clapped his hands together, his smile growing. "I'm Hagrid." His hands came to slap on his chest, as if to gesture at his being. "Caring for magical beasts happens to be one of my specialties, and you are one of those. And a student. You can be two things at the same time."
Beast? "I'm not a wild animal, Hagrid. I'm Harry Potter." Though Hagrid had already used the name, implying he knew. Still, introductions were important! "Are you a teacher?"
"Me? No." He shook his shaggy head. After seeing so many smooth humans, this was one that debatably had more fur than Harry did. "Long story we won't be getting into, but I do help out around here." He moved around Harry, placing a hand on his withers to guide him along like an agreeable horse might be led. "But you're a student? Never had a unicorn student to my knowledge. This is quite exciting!"
Harry looked sideways, his face forward, at Hagrid as they walked along. "What do you know about unicorns?" Having some idea if what they thought he was versus what he actually was would... be helpful, he decided.
"Oh, quite a number of things." Hagrid gestured off. "My home is over there, near the forest. Don't go in there, by the way. You may be a magical creature, but your safety is our concern. Now, unicorns, enchanting creatures. Some people confuse them for horses, but they're not. There are a few things that set them right apart at a glance."
"What would that be?" Not that Harry knew what a horse was. "What's a horse? If you don't mind my asking." He wasn't quite sure how to grasp Hagrid as a person so far.
Hagrid seemed uncertain a moment. "Well, now we're getting into th' thick of it! Right now, we have to get you settled in. Speaking of..." He gestured over other young people walking past and around them. "You're not the only fresh student by far, trust me on that."
Taking a moment to appreciate the crowd, he could see countless young faces, boys and girls, dressed properly. They had nametags on, much like himself, but they were all too busy moving to get much of a peek at them. "This is a large school then? I mean, I know it's large--" It was there, in front of him. "--but I mean it has a lot of students as well?"
"Quite a few on good years, which this year is, I'm told." He patted harry on his neck, treating him more like a horse than a sapient unicorn. "Now, I notice you don't seem to have supplies?"
"Oh, I do!" Harry quickly got out. "My owl brought them all. I bet he's waiting for me wherever I'm staying."
"Fantastic, really. I never imagined a unicorn would have an owl..."
Harry got a bit of a sly grin. "I know something that'll interest you." He could see Hagrid peeking over. "My owl is a very very special owl."
"How special are we talking? A forest owlet? You have to be mindful with the endangered ones." He sighed wistfully as he walked with Harry. "Even owning one can endanger the rest."
"Oh, that isn't a problem." Harry's grin had turned into a more full-faced smile. "There's plenty where this one came from. But it's still a special owl."
"You're teasing me." He went to tussle Harry's mane, and almost knocked off his hat. "Oops, sorry." He caught it before it fell and set it back on straight. "Look at me, making a mess of things."
"Already giving up? You'll see when we get there." Harry lifted his head, confident that his owl would impress.
"Then we'll just have to get you checked in. Now, uh... Beggin' your pardon for asking. You sound like a wizard rather than a witch, but you're also a unicorn so I don't want to go assumin' what I ain't so sure of."
That was a lot of terminology that didn't quite fit together right. "Are you asking if I'm a boy or a girl?"
"Exactly that." He nodded towards two large parts of the structure they were approaching. "We have separate lodging for each. It's for the best, stops distractin' times."
"I'm a stallion, um, colt, technically, I guess..." He was getting close to full and proper stallion status! "Humans come in boy and girl, right?"
Hagrid boomed with laughter, drawing looks from many nearby. "That we do, Harry. And a few others and in between. It gets more complicated the more you dig into it, but boy and girl to start."
"Boy it is." And so he was directed that way.
"This is as far as I go, but you saw where I am, right? You come to me if you have questions or if the living arrangements aren't up to snuff for a unicorn." He swatted Harry's back end to get him moving forward. "You'll fit right in."
Harry let out an equine snort. Smacks on the rump were not polite! But he was also right in the thick of things and half-carried along by a lot of human boys. Many of them seemed to want to just shove past, but some were quite interested and he got petted and poked at.
"What are you doing in here?" asked one of the boys, looking at him directly instead of slipping past.
"I'm staying here." Harry stepped out of the direct flow of humanity. "I'm Harry Potter. Are you new here too?"
"New as can be." The boy thrust a hand forward. "Ron Weasley, and, forgive me for pointing it out, but most students are human to start with. Did you get into some kinda accident?"
Was that how he had become a unicorn? It could have been... Harry shook his head, hat wobbling on his head and falling over an ear that held it up. "I'm a unicorn." Even if he had, at some remote time, been human, it was so long ago it may as well have not existed, the way he saw it. He had been a unicorn all his functioning life. "Nice to meet you."
"Right back atcha." He took Harry's offered hoof and gave it a single shake. "Now, I see you got the clothes, and the tag... You got the rest of the supplies?" His tone implied doubt, perhaps wondering what a unicorn was doing there.
Harry considered the red... maned? boy. He was a gangly sort, but seemed friendly enough. "They should be waiting for me. My owl brought them."
"You already have an owl?!" He threw a hand high and wide. "Get out, that's fantastic is what that is. You gotta show me." He led, not with any hands on Harry as Hagrid did, but just walking and waving. "Right over, there." He thrust a finger at where Harry's name was listed with a number beside it. "That's your rooming."
"You're the best." Harry did a little dance in place. Ron seemed to really know his way around and wasn't shy about sharing. "Thank you."
But Ron did not fade into the weave of other hopeful wizards, instead following Harry towards his new room. "I've read about interesting creatures before, like unicorns. Most of them are, you know, less... human. You can't just have an idle chat with them. Well, I guess you can with elves, but they don't try to become wizards."
"What's an elf?" Harry got the idea he'd be asking questions like that a lot. "Sorry if I seem a bit daft, but this is all new to me..."
"I've got your back there," assured Ron without a hint of delay, a smile on his face. "Now where's that..."
But there was no owl. There was a large rabbit thing seated next to his bed, reared up so he could use his hands to read a book eagerly. There was another student in there, seemingly trying to ignore the presence of the huge rabbit thing. "Um... Is that?"
"Meet my owl, Arnavon!" Harry gestured a hoof at his friend. "Arnie! Glad you made it."
"Of course I did." Arnavon met Harry halfway through the room, the book abandoned on the bed. They crashed in a great hug of comradery. "Did you already make a friend?" He peeked past Harry at Ron. "Hi there!"
"Get out..." Ron shook his head, but was still approaching. "Crazy student with a crazy owl. Guess that makes sense."
"I'm not a crazy owl. I'm a tsuki owl." Arnavon bobbed his head with a big smile and floppy ears. "Thank you for helping Harry. My name is Arnavon." He offered a big fuzzy hand.
Ron was able to shake that hand a lot more naturally than he could a hoof. "Nice to meet you too. I'm Ron Weasley, just looking out for a fellow freshman." He leaned a bit to the side. "There it is." There was a great pile of books and supplies. "I was worried you didn't have it. That happens to some freshman, we have to scramble to get it."
"You're too nice." Someone new, already willing to hustle to make sure he had everything he needed. "Oh, hey, do we share any classes?"
"Bet we do." He nodded firmly. "Not like first years get any electives really."
They would have plenty of chances to see one another and learn more about each other.