It had taken more than a few minutes to shake off her muggle mother's clutching hands at the station- not that Sinead wasn't sorry to say goodbye. She was just more interested in the future which finally awaited her after years of awaiting Hogwarts, tantalised by the weekend visits to her father's house, which to her was a place filled with unimaginable magical wonders. Her stepbrother hardly helped matters, teasing her with mentions of Hogwarts and his everyday magical life. That wouldn't matter anymore, though- she was here now too, and everything would change.
Her arms hardly wrapped around the cage of her new pride and joy, a silvery Abyssinian cat her father had brought her as a present for starting at Hogwarts. That seemed beyond bizarre, that she could bring a pet to school with her- yet as she boarded the train, she could see that she was far from the only one dragging a cage along with them.
It hadn't really occurred to her until this moment that she was going to have to find some friends- namely, right now, other first years to sit with. Trying to be subtle as she peered into the compartments she passed was an impossibility, but as luck would have it, not too far along she overheard the snippet of a conversation as three boys disappeared into their own compartment- two of them had just identified themselves as first years.
Stepping up behind them, she shifted her grip on the cat cage so it didn't obscure quite so much of her face and peered into the carriage with an unconscious frown.
"You're other first years? May I join you?" Her voice was quiet but assured until she realised that she wasn't sure of their connection to the older boy. She didn't mean to stare, just a quick glance to see if he looked welcoming or- well, she didn't really know what else. Either way, though, she was fascinated to get the chance to study another Hogwarts student besides her stepbrother, as well as by the book he was holding. Her first year textbooks were fascinating, but she could bet that whatever he was reading would trump them easily. |