Heya, everybody! Today, I want you to think back to your very first glimpse of our beloved home, Hogwarts Castle. No matter how excited, apprehensive, eager, nervous, or downright scared to your toes you were about getting Sorted, that first sight of the massive building aglow with soft lights in the windows and backlit by the moon (at least, my first view was this way. If it was pouring on your first day, I'm truly sorry!) was enough to make you gasp in wonder. Everyone I've talked to about this agreed - the very best way to see Hogwarts for the first time was in that fleet of tiny boats that crossed the Black Lake from Hogsmeade to the school.
So I thought about this. Is there an even better way to encounter Hogwarts, perhaps? What's so special about the Black Lake? Why not, say, fly them across? Let the first-years have an aerial view. Isn't that equally splendiferous?
Sadly, I came to the conclusion that flying actually might be more terrifying in and of itself for some of the new students - enough so that they would miss the impact of the castle. And that would be a shame, for the glorious view of our new home really helps set the stage for a successful transition to school life. As much as I adore flying - and I do, just ask Kalina or Tabitha or Jade - there's a lot to think about the first hundred few times you do it. Not much sightseeing goes on from a broom or hippogriff unless you're truly comfortable in the air.
But what about the carriages that take the other students? Wouldn't that do just as well or better?
Well, no. First off, everyone else goes that way - so it wouldn't be something special. The timing would be off, as well, since the carriages go faster than the boats and the other students can get in and to the Great Hall before the first years are at the steps. Finally - the route is all wrong. The carriages take them to the gate - and the view head on isn't nearly as impressive as it is from the water. It's still grand, mind, but not at all the same as seeing the castle in profile, with all its wonderful nooks and crannies exposed.
So the Black Lake it is - and how magnificent a crossing that is, no matter the weather! The boats are serene enough to glide in good weather and sturdy enough to withstand choppy water in bad - and its denizens are on hand for the odd reckless student overboard, so it's perfectly safe even if one cannot swim. The boats go slow enough to allow time for everything to be prepared, or nearly so, once they land and everyone disembarks. They also allow for a sense of awe and, well, preparation. I don't know about your class, but after the clamor of the train, the quiet of the boats was almost contemplative in a way. We didn't really talk much, but there was sort of a silent bonding that started then and continued as we waited to be Sorted.
I've gone back to the Black Lake many times since then. Sometimes it's as quiet and serene as it was that first evening. Sometimes it's as rowdy as the Hogwarts Express on the way to school. But always, if I find myself in the middle of the lake looking back at Hogwarts, there's that sense of awe and wonder. I'm glad Hogwarts is my home, and that my House is closest to the lake!