GUYS. Stop talking about O.W.L.s. whenever Fifth Year is mentioned. Please. Leah frowned as Adi mentioned the tests. She just had to wait one more year, ONE whole year to be able to talk about them as if they were mere childhood memory. "How did you do?" she asked. Twelve perfect grades for sure mhmmm. "Yeah, you MUST help me okay? I really need the assistance." They were good Gobstones partners, they would probably be amazing study partners too. She could not help but wonder if hanging out with Henric would affect her studies. Why didn't she get to know him earlier?? Absent-mindedly, she nodded along to what Adi was saying. "Yes, he is pretty cool."

Wait... there he was! She turned around to see Henric's familiar face. "Hey Henric," Leah smiled, and if she said she was not blushing at all that would be a lie. "I did! Everything was just so much fun. How was your summer?" Did he know that one of the best parts of her summer was meeting him at Diagon Alley? She hoped he didn't.

Bryson followed behind his son quickly, trying not to stumble as he tried to manage the other nine as well. He sighed slightly at his large number of kids, "Samantha, stay back here by me." He frowned at his oldest daughter as she tried to run to catch up with Philipe, sighing as she moaned again asking why she couldn't go to Hogwarts this year. He frowned at the ten year old, "You have another year, now calm down, he's just trying to find your Aunt Elizabeth I'm sure." He took the young girl's hand and glanced around him wondering where his wife was as well.

Philipe looked around, very excited at the idea of being able to see both his aunt and uncle. He hadn't seen Mikael in months, same goes for his Aunt Elizabeth, and his father promised they'd both be there to see him off! Thus far though, the twelve year old had been unable to find them, he frowned, trying to find his family.

Jewel laughed, trying to keep the other nine in line as Philipe ran off. She smiled at her husband then chuckled at Samantha. "Dear... you will go next year." Jew nodded as they found Eliza, Mikael and Lucas. She smiled, "Lucas! Mikael!" She gave them hugs and kisses then glanced at Elizabeth, "Elizabeth..." Jewel stared at her as Elizabeth loved on her kids.

"Aunt Elizabeth!" Philipe beamed and hugged her, "I haven't seen you in forever!!!" He held her tightly and smiled, not wanting to let go until he felt a tap on his shoulder.

Mikael smiled at him and hugged Philipe as he jumped onto him instead, "Hey, big guy." He rubbed his back and smiled at him, "It's been a while."

He smiled up at his uncle and smiled then looked back to his parents and went to his mother's side again, not wanting to upset her too much with saying hello to the others and paying her no mind. He smiled up at Jewel before looking back over to his aunt and uncle. He didn't really pay any mind to Lucas, not wanting to talk to him.

Elizabeth beamed and hugged him back just as tight. "I miss you so much! I'm sorry that I haven't had time to properly come over and spend time with you all." Eliza smiled as Mikael and Philipe talked while Lucas hugged his mother, hiding in her skirts. She kissed Mikael's cheek and smiled at Philipe.

Jew smiled and hugged her son. "I'm going to miss you so much, Philipe... You write every week, ya hear?" She kissed his nose and tried to straighten his hair. Love shone on her face. "I love you... Be good and do your homework... Don't get hurt..." Jewel held him tightly, not wanting him to leave.

Bryson chuckled and went over to his sister and hugged her, "You should be very sorry, haven't seen much of you for a while." He smiled at his sister and then over at Mikael, giving his friend a nod hello.

He smiled and leaned into his mother and shook his hair back in place, "Come on, Mom... Leave it be, I like it the way it is." He looked up at her, nodding to everything she said, "Love you too, Mom." He hugged her again and looked at Lucas, frowning slightly at the baby hiding in his mother's skirt. What was there to be a afraid of? No one at Hogwarts bit... Sure you could get hurt every now and again, which seemed to happen to him a lot the previous year, but still... Why be such a child?

Elizabeth gave her brother a fake glare and hugged him. "Maybe I just don't want to see you." She stuck her tongue out and smiled as Lucas went over and gave Bryson a huge bear hug before turning to his father and hugging him. She smiled and looked over at Jewel who glared at her. She sighed and smiled over at Mikael. "I love you."

Jewel glared at Elizabeth then beamed at her family. She gave Bryson a kiss then looked at Philipe. Jew straightened his hair out yet again and gave him a light look. "Well, I think it looks messy that way... please just satisfy me this once and you can mess it back up again when youre on the train..." She sighed. "Watch your little cousin's back... make sure that no one picks on him, okay?"

"I know you'll make us proud, Son." Hollis nodded in agreement as his father imparted a last few words of wisdom. Hollis gave one last hug to his parents before turning towards the train. Up and down the platform there were tears and hugs as good byes were being said. Hollis started towards the carriage. He looked around at the others who were boarding the train. Seeing another approaching him he held out his hand; "I'm Hollis, you a first year too?"

Rachel stood on the platform. Her mother had already hurried off, stroking Rachel's hair after a quick kiss. Now she just had to work her way through the crowd- her chest tightened with anxiety as she scanned the area.

Merlin, could you believe it? Hugo was a fifth year, not a firstie, a FIFTH year. Maybe it wasn't a big deal for someone else but for HIM, man, this was huuuuge. Okay maybe not that huge but still he felt pretty awesome, he was now a grown up, a responsible young man, good looking and all the good things. Heh.

The only tiny detail he wasn't very excited about was the OWLs. No, sir that was boring and exhaustive and just not cool. But oh well. The boy just said goodbye to his mom and dad and headed to....to walk around King's Cross 'cause there was plenty of time before he had to leave.

Jenna was here pretty early, which was kinda annoying but also a good thing since it meant the crowd around and inside the train wouldn't be too large yet. Which meant it wouldn't be too hard to find a compartment that she wanted and get settled in, and she wouldn't have to deal with the stress of finding one when a billion others were in the way.

Because of this, she also wasn't feeling too stressed about finally going back. That feeling would probably hit later on sometime during the trip, but at least right now, she didn't feel like running away and hiding in her room, so that was nice.

Now just to decide which part of the train to get on. Maybe somewhere in the very front would be best? Or the very back? But then she'd have to drag her stuff all the way to the other side of the platform...

She sat on her trunk for now, trying to decide. Because where she sat on the train for such a long trip was definitely a big important decision.

Kaleb was not prepared for this.

Not. In. The. Slightest.

There were already more people than he would of liked and he was feeling more anxious than ever and his brother's excitement was not helping. "Ben please just...calm down." The first year was like a firecracker and the complete opposite of his older brother who hated this whole public school thing. "i don't know why we couldn't just be home schooled for forever and idon'tlikethis." He didn't like it so much that in the process of trying not to lose his brother he tripped over his own two feet, which wasn't new, and ran into an oncoming boy (Hugo) and recoiled backwards and landed on top or more landed face first into a girls (Jenna) luggage cart before sprawling out on his stomach on the dirty train station floor. He groaned loudly. That wasn't supposed to happen..........." ow.... maybe he broke his face and he could just go home.. that would be lovely.

They were going to Hogwarts... TOGETHER!!!! He couldn't wait to get there! His brother was transferring and HE was going fo the first time ever! "Can I get my wand out now? Can I put my robes on? When will we get on the train?" Hearing his brother tell him to calm down, Benton took a breath and tried to do what he was told, "Sorry, it's just so exciting."

O_o

What was his brother now doing? He couldn't help but chuckle as his brother so gracefully just fell into not one but two people. "Kaleb, are you alright?" He rushed over to see if his brother needed some help.

"Are you two okay?" He looked at the boy and the girl. "I'm Benton and this is my brother Kaleb." Were they going to school too? This was so fun!

All was relatively quiet and peaceful for Jenna as she considered her options...

Until.

Chaos happened.

Someone rammed right into the cart she was sitting on. Jenna lost her balance and was knocked right off, though fortunately managing to soften her fall a little by landing on her hands. So no bumping her head or anything, thank Merlin.

Might not be able to say the same about the other person groaning on the floor though. Erm.

She pushed herself to her feet, dusting herself off. "I'm okay...I think. Are you all okay?" The kid - Benton? - looked unharmed, it was Kaleb and the other boy that she was somewhat concerned about.

"I'm Jenna," she added, since the younger boy had introduced himself and his brother.

Azura swallowed a bit heavily as she looked around at all the other kids that were on the platform! These would be her classmates.. Now, she needed to walk normally and not fall! Her parents had just dropped her off, so it was up to her now! To go on her own brave little adventure.. and not be made fun of because she was clumsy!

She pulled her stuff along behind her and bit her lip.. her purple eyes wide with nervousness!

All right Azura.. here goes nothing.. and no tripping!! She mentally chided herself as she walked forward.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MunchyBubbles

Azura swallowed a bit heavily as she looked around at all the other kids that were on the platform! These would be her classmates.. Now, she needed to walk normally and not fall! Her parents had just dropped her off, so it was up to her now! To go on her own brave little adventure.. and not be made fun of because she was clumsy!

She pulled her stuff along behind her and bit her lip.. her purple eyes wide with nervousness!

All right Azura.. here goes nothing.. and no tripping!! She mentally chided herself as she walked forward.

Second year, here she comes!!

Ava couldn't be more excited to be back at Hogwarts. Sure that summer holiday was so lovely but now it's time to back to school! All her stuffs already packed on the trunk and her Russian blue kitten was safely secured on his cage. After saying goodbye to Dima and Zhenny, the young lioness pushed her cart excitedly and crossed the 9 and 3/4 platform.

It seemed like she was a little too much excited. Ava seemed lost control of her cart...... "WATCH OUT!!!!" She screamed to the girl who was in front of her but too late... She already bumped into her. Ouch. OH NO!!! WAS THAT GIRL OKAY? DID SHE BROKE HER BONE??? SHE WAS STILL ALIVE, RIGHT??? "Stupid cart!" She mumbled. "Are you okay?" The young lioness asked to that girl.

The place started to get more crowded, Hugo expected to see a familiar face by now but no luck. Well, he would see them on the train anyways.

Everything was fine except that a guy ran into him and then fell down. Luckily nothing happened to Hugo but what was wrong with the guy? Did he fainted? "Hey mate, are you okay?" before he could offer him a hand, his brother came to help him. Hugo nodded, "Yeah I'm good. What about him?" asked. He had never seen them before, maybe this was their first year at Hogwarts?

And there was also a girl. Were they doing introductions? Apparently. " I'm Hugo" Hi, hello.

She had made it through the barrier. Rachel was proud of herself. She hadn't needed her parents help though they had offered to come with her. She knew they had to leave shortly for another expedition so she didn't want to keep them back and this time they were going together since she would be away at Hogwarts.

Rachel turned in the direction of the wall she had just come through, her mind still on Phil and Mae Watson. She missed them already. Her nerves and excitement were at that moment replaced by sadness that she could not help. It would be a long time before she saw them again.

Genny was finally heading off to Hogwarts. It was the theme of this year's summer in the Tate household (and Silvetti's because Giuseppe sure heard A LOT about it, too). Even now when she made it through the wall and was bouncing on her feet waiting for the Hogwarts Express to materialize, she couldn't believe it! Away from home, away from chores, away from the younger kids with sticky fingers.

Insisting on dragging the big trunk herself, Genny was walking next to her dad. Her tabby owl was sitting quietly in his cage, probably sleeping. It was the most boring pet ever. Genny originally wanted something cool like, like... an Augurey, or an Ashwinder! Something challenging. Sigh. She gave the sleeping owl a stinky side-eye.

Azura was still looking around when suddenly she heard someone yell watch out and before she had time to react.. A cart hit her in the back of the knees and she went flying forward over her own cart!

She stumbled and fell into her own cart and smashed her face on her suitcase! EEKK!!!

She groaned as she tumbled to the ground and she looked up at the girl as she came towards her and she raised her purple eyes to the girl.. Was she okay?

"I.. think I'm okay.." Though her nose was hurting a bit.. Was she bleeding???

Haddie stopped when got through the barrier, taking in the sight of Platform 9 3/4 for the first time. Except for the old steam engine, it looked like a regular platform for the most part.

The platform was packed with families saying their good-byes, find their friends, etc. She scanned the crowds for Rachel, Mason or Hope, but it was too crowded to spot anyone. "I can't see them," Haddie complained as soon as her parents were next to her.

"They'll be here, don't worry. If worse comes to worse, you'll find them on the train, okay?" The girl looked up at her mother, a face full of nerves, and nodded. Her eyes glistened with tears she was trying to hold back, which she turned away to wipe, least someone see her eyes watering. When Haddie turned back around Amanda kissed her forehead gently. "It will be fine. You'll be fine and have fun."

James grumbled slightly at that. He still wasn't thrilled about sending his daughter to Hogwarts, but that was a battle he had lost. "I'm going to go find out where we're supposed to be." He headed off into the crowd, still grumbling.

Haddie watched her father disappear in noise and bustle of Platform 9 3/4 and turned to her twin. "I'll miss you," she said, hopeful and gave Natalie a hug.

"Whatever," Natalie said after the hug was over. She spun and marched back through the barrier.

"Natalie Lynn Denaker, you get ---" It was too late, Natalie had vanished through the barrier. Amanda sighed, and gave Hadley a sympathetic look. "I have to go after her. Mark watch your sister until your father or I get back, please." She gave Haddie another sympathetic look. "I put a special birthday present in trunk." Then Amanda rushed off after her other daughter, back through the barrier.

Haddie didn't try to hide the fact she was wiping away tears this time. "I didn't even get a chance to give her my present."

"Give it to me," her brother said, "I'll see she gets it." He paused and shifted awkwardly. "Natalie is just... She's... She'll get over it, you'll see."

"Yeah, just like Dad and Uncle David did?" Mark shifted uncomfortably. There was nothing to say to that. Dad twin brother that he never spoke to or saw. None of the kids knew what caused their falling out, but it was clear it wasn't going to be patched anytime soon, if ever. Haddie had been seven the last time she'd even seen Uncle David and his family, for the second time in her life, and even that visit had been cut short.

"It's not like that," Mark insisted, but even then he looked uncertain. Haddie fetched out the birthday present she'd gotten for Natalie and handed it to Mark. "Oh, I almost forgot." He set down his backpack and opened it. "I got you one last present. Thought he might help keep you company while you get settled. Mom helped me stitch him back up." "He pulled out a stuffed rabbit, with a large, obvious stitching job running up the side of it's face, like a horrible scar.

"Mr. Poppy!" Haddie threw her arms around the rabbit and pulled him into a tight hug. "Thank you! Where did you find him?"

"He was in one of the boxes from the move last year," He shrugged and then ruffled Haddie's hair. "Let's go see if we can find your friends."

She was so excited. Too excited. She felt like she was going crazy with all the anticipation. In about nine hours she would know what house she was going to be in and she was going to meet friends! Mel grinned and looked around the train platform for any of the kids she had already met before and well…of course for Ten and Sam.

“Where are they?” She chirped as the short girl jumped up in order to get a better vantage point. These people were too tall for her, seriously. She was going to have to fix that. With careful footing she pressed her trolly against a wall and began to climb up the wobbly moving contraption. She was going to see her friends. Even if she had to traverse the mountain of things to do so.

“SAMMY? ACE?” She called loudly as she continued to climb onto the trolly.

. . . Katherine didn't remember closing her eyes, but she had to open them as soon as she realised she had MADE IT in another place. Slowly, the eyelids were lifted and...

!!!!!!!!!!!

SHE DID IT. S H E D I D I T ! ! !

She stepped aside quickly to leave space for her family and looked around. The Express was there with all its glory. She wanted to touch it, but it was probably forbidden or something. She heard her family coming through, but she was too engrossed in examining the platform to look at them. There were kids and families everywhere. Her eyes were back at the red train, The Hogwarts Express. She barely heard her mum gasp and mutter that it was true, after all. Of course it was! She felt so HAPPY just being there, being among all these students, on this Platform. She belonged to somewhere at last. She wanted to meet more people... but she also wanted to make most of her last moments with her family, so she finally turned towards them once her initial inspection was over.

"You be a good girl," her mum said, "and you know what you need to do. Study, listen to your teachers, follow the rules - you have memorised them, right?"

"Yes, mum."

"That's my girl! Yes, obey, stay away from the troublemakers, stay away from trouble... be the best as you always have been."

Katherine nodded obediently and smiled. She WOULD be the best, no doubt about that. As for the troublemakers, she could sniff them from a kilometer. "Of course, mum." She needn't worry. She got this.

It wasn't time yet, so she decided to stay with them for a little while longer as her mother went on about what she should do and shouldn't do.

Naturally Charlotte Kettleburn was leading the way. She was also RUNNING. FULL TILT. She might not have been physically bigger than a good amount of the first years that were starting to show up, but she took up about three times more space than most people just from sheer energy alone.

"CALLUM! We HAVE to sit near the FRONT so that you can SEE EVERYTHING before ANYONE else!!!"

This was important, obviously. And equally as obvious, they would be sitting TOGETHER.

____

Celandine had left the luggage to her husband, of course, but she had her hands full enough with children. One hand held her youngest daughter Chloe's, and the other her son Callum's. Charlotte... well. At least she was in sight?

"Charbear, slow down. There's plenty of time. Help your dad with the trunks."

#GryffindorChildProblems

Final year. And first year that her family did NOT escort her to King's Cross, for which she was semi-grateful for, but also kind of sad about it too. Sure she was technically a legal witch, but the fact that her family did not escort her meant that this was truly going to be her final year at Hogwarts. And she was going to make the most of it, that was for certain. If it was the last thing she did. Sure, she had NEWT exams to do well on, but that didn't mean she was going to have a repeat of her OWL year and lock herself in her room when not in classes.

She was planning to enjoy her final ten months of school, which meant starting now.

With a young girl who looked as if she just lost her favorite teddy bear and was petrified.

"Hello there." Tia smiled warmly at the girl who couldn't be more than eleven or twelve. "Are you alright?" She made it inside the wall, so that was a plus, but if they stood there too long, someone was bound to crash into them. "We should move away from where more incoming students are coming through." She inclined her head slightly for the girl to follow her away from the wall and towards the scarlet train.