Hogwarts the Hogwarts Express that students take at the start of each school year. Students board the train from the also fictional and hidden Platform 9¾ at King's Cross station in London. The train arrives near Hogwarts, some time after nightfall. From there, first-year students are accompanied by the "Keeper of the Keys, Game and Grounds" (which was Hagrid during the first novel) to small boats, which magically sail across the lake and get them near the entrance of Hogwarts. The older students ride up to the castle in carriages pulled by creatures called Thestrals. When the first-year students initially arrive
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery featured many components found in freemium (free-to-play) games, such as microtransactions. Following backlash from fans, many of these microtransactions were reduced in price. According to Metacritic, "Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery" received "generally unfavorable reviews". Marc Hewitt from Gamezebo praised the concept of a "Harry Potter" mobile game and stated that "Hogwarts Mystery" "largely lives up to the hype". Christine Chan from App Advice commented that "Hogwarts Mystery" is a "nice representation" of the world set out in "Harry Potter", and commended the game for letting her "live out [her] Hogwarts dreams". However, the use of "energy" and frequent enticements to