13 July, 2026 x •xOpenx • x London Heathrow Airport
And so, on a warm July morning, the students who had chosen the aeroplane route found themselves standing inside Heathrow Airport, surrounded by departure boards, rolling suitcases, bright signs, polished floors, Muggle families, business travellers, crying children, and the constant echo of announcements no one seemed to hear clearly the first time.
For Muggle-born and some half-blood students, this was the easiest extra credit they'd ever get. For the rest, it was a cacophony of chaos.
Professor Forrest stood near the check-in area in a pale summer dress and a wide-brimmed straw hat tied with a yellow ribbon. "Welcome to Heathrow,” she said brightly. She gave the group a moment to take in the terminal, though not quite long enough for anyone to become fully overwhelmed. "Right, now, let's go over the procedure again, shall we? You all have your passports, yes?" She eyed over the group to ensure everyone had theirs. "Good, good. Hold onto that now, yes? We need to get through security together, and then once that's done, you'll be at liberty to explore. Wands will be returned to you on our arrival in Istanbul." The caveat to going on this trip, much to some students' chagrin, was that they had to hand over their wands to the professor for the duration of their travel, because as they had learned many times, magic and electricity did not mix.
They made their way into the security line, the world entirely indifferent to the fact that a group of wix was attempting to pass as ordinary international travellers. There were conveyor belts, staff in uniforms, liquids in little bags, luggage opened and closed again, and several opportunities for a student to discover that “common sense” was not always common in airports. Professor Forrest stayed nearby, ready to redirect confusion before it became a scene.
Thankfully, the group made it through with little issue.
Beyond security, the terminal opened into shops, restaurants, waiting areas, more signs, more screens, and long windows overlooking the aircraft outside. Cecilia led her little ducklings to their gate before turning around to address them once more. "Right, now you are all at liberty to explore the terminal. You must be here in fourty-five minutes to board the plane, and if you are not here at precisely that time, you forfeit your extra credit. Understood?"
With that, she dismissed the students, allowing herself to "oo" and "ah" at the Muggle oddities herself.
When the time came to board, one by one, the students scanned their boarding passes and stepped through the gate. The jet bridge stretched ahead, narrow and humming faintly. Inside the plane, Muggle passengers were already finding seats, lifting bags into overhead bins, blocking the aisle by accident, apologizing, not apologizing, and performing the small awkward dance of air travel with varying degrees of grace.
Beyond the small oval windows, Heathrow stretched under the July sun as the captain's disembodied voice welcomed them onto their flight.
OOC Guidelines
This is an open, low-stakes travel thread for students who chose to fly to Istanbul with Professor Forrest instead of travelling by cabinet with Professor Malik.Your character can post at any point during the airport journey. They might be checking in, dealing with luggage, going through security, waiting at the gate, boarding the plane, finding their seat, or reacting to the flight itself.
Please keep the thread casual and flexible! Characters should not cause security threats, expose magic to Muggles, delay the flight, miss the flight, or generally create problems beyond what a normal teenager at an airport would.
There is no need to stick to a posting order. Feel free to write your character's experience in one shot, or go back and forth with someone else!
