He wasn't old, sure, but that didn't stop Alec from wandering down the corridor of the train slowly. It was more in a taking things in sort of way than a being tired way. He was emotionally tired, though, and all the Head Boy wanted to do was get some rest. Or be alone for a bit. But... he knew that he couldn't do that without talking to the other Student Leaders first so... here he was.

... Oh. There was no one else here? Awesome.

He let out a sigh of relief, the fake smile dropping and disappearing. He wouldn't need it in an empty compartment. Sidling inside, Alec headed over towards a seat and sat down, his bag dropping to the floor by his feet. Sitting alone was becoming tiring too. And weird. His grey eyes kept flitting up towards the compartment door, hoping someone would come in as the seconds ticked by. He just... had the funny feeling that being left alone wasn't... good for him. Not now.

Needing something to do, he reached into his bag and pulled out one of the last packets of sweets he had grabbed from the seventh year dorm. There. Good. This was... much better.

Sure having your great hair back and all was awesomely awesome and all. But merlin this train ride back was going to be depressing in this compartment. But it was the best place to take a nap through the train ride and not deal with younger students. Win Win, right there for Nigel. Besides having to do rounds of course. But meh.

With a giant yawn Nigel opened the compartment door to see who was in here before him. Weird it was empty except for Alec. Early again. Nigel really has to stop doing this. It just made thing awkward for him especially because his hair was still in a fishtail braid courtesy of Schuyler.

"Hey"

Nigel had to say something while putting his luggage away. Now where were those fizzing whizbees. He knew he had some on him.

Ella wasn't even sure she was supposed to be in the prefects' compartment given she wasn't a student anymore but there were people there she wanted to see and so the eighteen year old made her way there, her elephant backpack hanging loosely off her shoulder.

She paused at the door to take a deep breath and plaster a smile on her face, one that didn't quite meet her eyes. She probably didn't need to pretend with these guys but bringing other people down wasn't something Ella liked to do so she'd fake happiness until she could be alone. That was the plan, anyway.

Slipping inside, the blonde noted the two who were already there as she stuffed her backpack onto the luggage rack. The boyfriend person had food so she inched towards him, taking up the space beside him. "In a sharing mood?" Because sweets could only help her at this point. And Nigel. The Ravenclaw got a smile and it took a lot to stop herself from reaching out to touch the younger boy's hair. Pretty hair was pretty once again and braided too which amused Ella. "That's a good look for you, y'know." Had he done that? She wanted one too.

Nothing like hair and sweets to distract you from your sad feels.

Theo had followed Ella into the Prefects' Compartment, since he hadn't seen her at the feast and he wanted to say goodbye. Otherwise he wouldn't have bothered coming in here at all because he RARELY had a good time riding home with the fellow student leaders. His face went a bit sour when Alec had beaten him to a seat beside her, but he took a small breath and didn't make it obvious, because he didn't want to be a jerk on Alec's last ride home either. Instead, he sat opposite the love birds and smiled a bit at them. "Hi. How's it goin'?" You know, last train home and all.

It generally felt like the graduates were upset about leaving which baffled Theo a little. School was officially out for them which is a good thing, right?

Sheesh, and people thought THEO was the miserable one.

Theo gave Nigel a small nod and some sort of awkward wave, thing... and then he looked out of the window with a dramatic sigh. Yes, he would appreciate this train leaving right about now, please.

Alec never thought he'd see the day when Nigel Barrington would sport a fishtail braid.

The boy tilted his head as he watched Prefect Punny enter the compartment. Sure, his eyes were on the hair and the hair only -- because... let's face it: Nigel had great hair. "Hey! Nice braid," he said, trying to smile and nodding over at it. It was a shame Nigel hadn't been on the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team last year; he had a funny feeling Curly Wade would have enjoyed braiding that hair.

Then came someone else with great hair.

Still smiling, he looked over at the blonde when she asked... about sharing? The sweets, right? "'Course!" He ripped open the packet and held it out to her. "Hey, by the way. How are you feeling?" Because she had looked pretty upset back at the boats... which... was understandable. Yeah. So he was asking.

And Nigel could have some too, if he wanted, along with...

... Oh.

"Hey... Theo," Remain cool and casual, Summers. By smiling. Yeah. "Good, I guess. It's just... weird to be going home one last time. You?" He would have mentioned something about the toilet incident but... Ells was here so, instead, he held out the bag of sweets towards the Slytherin Prefect. Cool and casual, that was him.

The soon to be seventh year took his normal spot on the edge of the compartment. Nigel did not have a problem saying no to requests. Like having a fishtail braid. It is not a problem if you are awesome at it. And when will he ever have a braid during the train ride home. Huh, a good look. "Well this is better than dreadlocks that is for sure" Even Ella was noticing it. Well it was not like he could hide it.

He did not even know how to remove it.

"They make your hair smell and all. No Thank You."

And following Ella it was Theo. No mistaking him. Nigel nodded back and started to wonder if he was doing the quidditch thing like Mo and Nigel assumed West was doing and what Dora was going to travel to.

Ella wasted no time helping herself to sweets, a faint smile playing on her lips as she did so. "Thanks." For sharing and for the boat thing earlier. She was glad Alec had been there, made things a bit easier to deal with. "Okay, I guess. It's just weird. This whole thing feels weird." He got that, yeah? "What about you?" Was he okay?

Wait, dread locks? Ella tilted her head and studied Nigel and his hair. "You could pull them off." But ew, no, smelly hair wasn't good. The eighteen year old wrinkled her nose at that. "I'm sure Blue likes it best when your hair smells nice." Speaking of, would it be weird to ask what his hair did smell like? Maybe the boyfriend would inquire for her. He was a hair enthusiast too and that seemed to be something they all shared.

Theo!

She was happy to see him, okay? Something which was probably evident in the way she smiled when he entered the compartment. Truth be told, she was worried she wasn't going to get to talk to him before they got to London. But yeah, she was glad he was here. "Theoman." Yes, she would forever be calling him by his superhero name. He needed to just accept this. Just like she needed to accept that things would always be weird between Alec and Theo. At least they were trying, that was something. She listened to Alec's reply before offering, "I'm excited to see my family. ...Sad too. But summer should be nice." And that was something to look forward to. "Will you be at Diagon at all, Theo?"

He wasn't planning on hanging out there for the whole time... but wanted to wish certain people luck and all that, so West headed on into the prefects compartment. He didn't interrupt any conversations or anything, just smiled around at people -they were all worth a smile- and found his spot.

Sup.

Did she still count as a student leader even though she'd graduated? Alice had nowhere else to go, so she would assume so. Entering the Prefect's Compartment alone, having left her ocelot in the luggage compartment to terrorize whoever dared come near, she slipped into the seat beside West.

The seventeen year old wasn't one to pretend; she didn't try to look overly happy or say anything. Instead, she remained quiet... and gave the former Head Boy expectant looks. Ahem. Where was HER share of sweets? Share, Alec, share.

Perhaps Mo was moving slower than usual, which was to be forgiven since he was still recovering from a bout of old age, but most of the seats in the Prefect Compartment were already filled. He paused in the doorway, trying to decide where he ought to sit. By Nigel, probably, although... the braid? What was happening there? The Head Boy and Girl were making sad faces at each other, Theo was... what was he doing?, and Mo wasn't sure what the rules were when it came to sitting with West and Alice.

Standing was good too. At least until he got used to Nigel's braid.

"Anyone want something off the trolley?"

"I want something off the trolley." Lex said, falling next to Mo by the doorway. He'd asked and she was answering but had he picked up extras off the trolley he was itching to be rid of or was he offering to go find the lady? And why were they at the door? She gave him a little bump before looking around. No Cassia yet and she was one of the only reasons the Gryffindor would stay in this Compartment when you had certain other people with just as much right to be here.

She shifted her kneazle from one hand to the next, taking in all the faces, mostly the ones leaving. Only one ride with them in this posh Compartment and that was it. Kind of a rip off if you asked her.

Most of them got smiles and small waves before she realized the important; Alec was sharing sweets from what she could tell with her late arrival. "Those for everyone?" It was mostly a greeting, one that didn't sound all that convincing to begin with. Not having Hair Boy at school would be WEIRD. It wasn't meant to happen. Not having any of them would be hard to adjust to because of how much she'd come to know them.

Not knowing much of what they were talking about Lex fell silent, waiting for something to give her a hint as to where the conversation was coming from and where it was going.

She might have taken more time than needed to put away the luggage as well as the annoying owl's cage. It was surprising how much the choice of where you trunk was set could be hard to decide. She had some valuable stuffs there and she needed to ensure no one snooped around or got curious or anything. Maybe she should perfect that spell to lock her trunk and set up a prank or something.

After she was finally done, she headed towards the Prefects' compartment. Nice to know she had a seat saved there for her and all. Wouldn't be nice if she ended up standing in the corridor for the rest of the ride.

Sliding the compartments' door open, Cassia noticed that it wasn't closed all the way in the first place and Mo and Lex were standing in the doorway. What? No more seats?! She should have come faster. Darn!

Though, after she looked around she could see available seats.. Oh, phew."Hi, everyone," she said to pretty much everyone as she slid between the two standing ones grinning at the Gryffindor in the process. Was she no staying?

"Nice to see you all young and fit again," For those who got cured and all. Wasn't that great?! She almost forgot how they looked without the grey hair and wrinkled skin.

Plopping next to Theo, the blond took in the faces. She noted the ones' who were leaving for GOOD and felt awkward for no specific reason. What to say? Nothing would probably be best for now. Ugh, awkward situations. Spending the rest of the ride in the corridor was sounding to be not so bad of an idea now.

Better than dreadlocks? Alec tilted his head as he tried to imagine Nigel sporting some of those matted coils of hair. "Don't... they take a really long time to form, too? Dreadlocks?" And your hair would come out looking a lot curlier. Shrug. "'Least the pickle cereal's been working." Which made the boy miss Curly Wade even more.

"Anytime!" Alec understood the faint smile and the fact that this was going to be weird. It was like she said in her letter, yeah? Changes. He nodded a little at Ells before saying, "It does feel weird, yeah. I think... we just have to remember that there are some great things coming too?" Bright side, you know. "I'm... okay, yeah."

He was also starting to feel uncomfortable with stuff so... he reached into his packet of sweets and took out a gummy one that was shaped like -- and looked like -- a tiny omelette.

And people were coming too, which meant that the small smile had to stay. "Hey West! Hey Alice!" ... Who... was giving him looks. BLINK. Had he done something? Was something in his hair?! A quick glance over at his reflection told him no. Confused, he looked back at her and held out the packet of sweets towards her and the Slytherin Captain. Because sweets could make people feel better. Here's hoping.

Something off the trolley? "Maybe... some chocolate frogs or cauldron cakes if everyone's hungry?" You know, as a last little picnic in a compartment. And he'd pay. ... Pause. "Wait... you're not staying?" Big, grey, sad eyes for you, Marcus Branxton.

... And the grey eyes only got bigger and sadder when he saw who came into the compartment next. The smile stayed on his face but the familiar tugging at his heart was back. This was hard. "Yeah, they're for everyone," he said, nodding at Candy Girl, "You three can have some, if you want." Three because...

... look who else had walked in! "Hey Cassia!" Smile. "Yeah... I don't think being old at this age suited anyone. It feels better to be young again." And... why were the other two standing? Were they really no seats or...?

Alec was offering him sweets? Naw... that was nice. Theo didn't immediately hear what the Head Boy had said because wow sweets were a distraction, but he nodded his head as he reached out his hand, and he did catch the end. "Yeah.... yeah, I'm alright. Glad to be going home." He dug his hand into the bag of sweets and pulled out just one. "Thanks." He looked at it just to make sure it was clean, he supposed, then popped it into his mouth.

Ahhhh, superhero names. As soon as she addressed him as Theoman, his insides started to get all sad because Ella was leaving. She'd been here since he had started so it would be weird without her. "Ellawoman." He gave her a two-finger salute. "Sure, yeah, summer'll be great." He nodded all eagerly when she asked about Diagon Alley. "You bet! I have an internship again." Why? MERLIN KNOWS. "Are you?" Better be, Bishop!

Theo smiled WIDE at West, ignored Alice, acknowledged Mo, ignored Alexa, and then gave all of his attention on Cassia who had sat right next to him. Good, he was getting cold.

"Hey." He said quietly and gave her a little shoulder nudge.

Ella wasn't particularly good at looking at the bright side these days so she merely nodded at Alec. Sure there were good things to come but there was also the whole distance thing tied into that and she couldn't wrap her head around that just yet. Nope. Instead she stole another sweet and glanced out the window, eating absently. This was going to be a long ride.

...A ride that was going to be made longer if the boyfriend's uncomfort continued. Yes, she'd noticed. She knew why too and so she reached for his sweet-less hand, lacing her fingers through his. Smiles were given too because he had no reason to feel bad, yeah? Exactly.

Theo's two finger salute caused Ella to laugh and she returned the gesture with a mock!serious expression. Superhero names were no joke, after all. As for his internship, that was exciting news. The blonde smiled a little and tilted her head. "Where will you be working? I'll come in for a visit, yeah?" Which meant that yes, she'd be around the alley too. At least a little bit.

Hulk and West got smiles but no words just yet. Neither of them seemed particularly talkative and Ella got that. Smiles were enough for now. As for Mo and his question, the blonde shook her head. "No thanks." She'd just continue mooching off the boyfriend person, okay? He'd get paid in kisses later so she didn't feel too bad about that. And Lex got a smile before Ella turned her attention to Cassia. Alec's statement was exactly what she was thinking so she smiled and simply said, "What he said," Giving the hair whipper a nudge in the side. Seriously, it was nice to be young. She even tugged on a strand of hair absently just because it didn't make her sad anymore, the hair thing. It was shiny and blonde again, had anyone noticed?

"I think you are right. Don't really know. I just did not want my hair to smell." Simple. Nigel had to smile at that. Alec was right the pickle cereal was working. "True and it kind of makes your hair smell a tiny bit of pickles. Which surprisingly smells pretty good." It actually smelled pretty good combined with his hair products. Now Nigel had to ask himself the question. Could he really pull off wearing this braid. It could just be sarcasm. If Theo was the one saying it. Of course it would be sarcasm. But with Hufflepuffs you just never know. Now that was 100 % true. He did not like his hair smelling at all and only can imagine if Blue found out his hair stunk.

"Agreed. Best keep my hair smelling like it usually does."

Everyone was making there way into the compartment. Even though it looked some would rather be some place else. West and Alice were next and went quietly to sit together. Then came Mo and of course Nigel would have to say something to Mo about the braid. Since he stared at it for a couple seconds. Nigel just pointed at it and said "Schuyler" Mo knew that he could not really say no to Blue or Schuyler.

No it was not a problem, since he was awesome at it. He will just keep thinking that until it becomes true.

Dora had considered spending her time in the luggage compartment like she had the last train ride home, but all things considered and all the faces she would miss - all of whom were student leaders save for one - the prefect decided that it would best be spent with them.

She had to nudge past people to get in, and wasted no time in taking the empty seat beside Alice, her body practically conforming to it. Should she say something to everyone? Hmm. Meh. "Hey."

To everyone.

"No, not staying," Mo leaned against the door and let people slip in around him, since no one had budged over to make him any space and he wasn't going to sit on anyone this time. Seventh years didn't sit on people anymore.

But Merlin, this car was SO depressing this time. Like, fine... yeah, Mo hated the idea of being without Alice and the gooey Hufflepuff duo, but the term had been kind of miserable at times and this was dreary... he couldn't handle dreary right now.

"Too many long faces in here. I'll be back with Cambridge's weight in chocolate frogs." And maybe people would be smiling by then.