Hogwarts Express: Middle Cars

[Wilber Winterbottom]

If you suffer from FOMO or just want to be in the involved with everything, then the middle passenger cars of the train are for you. Just like the other cars, a long corridor provides access to the many compartments, each labelled with a letter, available for you and your friends to hunker down in until the train has come to a complete stop. Cushioned seats and large windows, allowing perfect views of the British scenery on your journey, await.

Well, what are you waiting for? Slide open a compartment door and make yourself at home. Place any of your belongings not in the luggage car on the racks above you. Chat with your friends about what your summer plans, enjoy munching on the snacks you bought from the trolley lady, get ahead of the game by exchanging addresses, or take a long nap as the train travels over numerous hills and mountainsides. Whatever you do, exhibit your best behaviour -- the prefects will be regularly patrolling the corridors and poking their heads inside your compartment to make sure you are doing so.

[Kolyander]

This was a very big year. It was the first year that Vasco and Vera weren't getting onto the train alongside her. She was stepping onto the train as a fifteen year old, a fifth year, one of the older kids now ANNNNND she was going to have her OWLs exams at the end of the year. She also was Eli's girlfriend but he was still ALLLLLLLL the way in America but that was okay! because they were doing fantastic! There was also the biggest new thing about this year... It was the baby brothers first year! Now it was HER turn to show him everything like Vas and Ve had done for her.

"Where would you like to sit? You can pick." Vesper smiled bright at Vi, reaching out a hand to ruffle his dark hair. Their luggage had been stored away already and all she had with her was her small bag that she kept a few things for the train ride. "Do you want to get some snacks first or do you have enough from papa?" If she knew papa, and she did, both of their bags had lots of sweets and chocolates packed inside but also healthy foods too.

[FearlessLeader19]

SPOILER!!: Vesp! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kolyander

This was a very big year. It was the first year that Vasco and Vera weren't getting onto the train alongside her. She was stepping onto the train as a fifteen year old, a fifth year, one of the older kids now ANNNNND she was going to have her OWLs exams at the end of the year. She also was Eli's girlfriend but he was still ALLLLLLLL the way in America but that was okay! because they were doing fantastic! There was also the biggest new thing about this year... It was the baby brothers first year! Now it was HER turn to show him everything like Vas and Ve had done for her.

"Where would you like to sit? You can pick." Vesper smiled bright at Vi, reaching out a hand to ruffle his dark hair. Their luggage had been stored away already and all she had with her was her small bag that she kept a few things for the train ride. "Do you want to get some snacks first or do you have enough from papa?" If she knew papa, and she did, both of their bags had lots of sweets and chocolates packed inside but also healthy foods too.

And so continued the new chapter in his life.

Viano Valentino Thanatos-Misra was finally on his way to Hogwarts and he had the best sister ever to show him around Hogwarts Castle. But first, they would start with the Express. Duh. Despite his eagerness, Vi was already missing Papa Renner and Daddy Raju. And Diego. One could not forget his other best friend {because Vesper was one also!}. Vi had been ever so often in the company of his fathers during the year and a half that he had joined the family, and Di was the first true friend that he had allowed himself to have.

It sure felt weird to have persons to miss.

{"How about this one?”} Vi asked, switching, as he did when it involved Vesper alone, to his native Italian. There wasn’t any particular reason he had chosen that compartment other than the fact that it was empty. He then squinted upwards, as though he could see the top of his head. {“I can just tell that you’ve made it messier!”} he said in delight. Because Vi liked his hair being messy. {“No, papa packed so much, I think that he was trying to give me enough to last until we’re ready to go home for Christmas. I bet dad made him pack a ton of white chocolates too.”} Talking about his fathers made him suddenly a little too emotional for his liking, and his voice cracked just a hint. He would chalk that cracking up to early puberty! Yes, he would!Vi cleared his throat and slid the compartment door open. He immediately moved to sit next to the window and pressed his forehead against it.

[Kolyander]

If anyone understood what it was like to miss their papa's, it was this girl. Okay well, she knew what it was like to miss her papa each time she returned to Hogwarts BUT now there was also papa Raju as well. Sweet little Vi was right, it was quite difficult to miss a lot of people. He wouldn't be alone though, he had the bestest sister here to help him handle it all after all.

{"This one is perfect."} Each compartment was the same inside so it didn't really make much difference where they sat. {"You're welcome,"} the teen laughed, grinning at her younger brother. The messy hair look suited him very well. Ves nodded her head knowingly. {"That's likely very true and he'll still owl you even more if you ask for it."} This was something she knew for a fact. Not to mention she also knew how to make some chocolates and sweets as well if they every wanted to do so. But wait a minute... Something was off. The way Vi's voice cracked and how he cleared his throat immediately after only to very quickly make his way to the window. She knew that response. Big sister mode activated.

Slipping into the compartment, Vesper slid the door closed behind her and dropped her bag down on the seat before plopping down beside Viano. Without a word her arm went around him, giving him a gentle squeeze. He didn't have to say anything.

[FearlessLeader19]

SPOILER!!: Vesp! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kolyander

If anyone understood what it was like to miss their papa's, it was this girl. Okay well, she knew what it was like to miss her papa each time she returned to Hogwarts BUT now there was also papa Raju as well. Sweet little Vi was right, it was quite difficult to miss a lot of people. He wouldn't be alone though, he had the bestest sister here to help him handle it all after all.

{"This one is perfect."} Each compartment was the same inside so it didn't really make much difference where they sat. {"You're welcome,"} the teen laughed, grinning at her younger brother. The messy hair look suited him very well. Ves nodded her head knowingly. {"That's likely very true and he'll still owl you even more if you ask for it."} This was something she knew for a fact. Not to mention she also knew how to make some chocolates and sweets as well if they every wanted to do so. But wait a minute... Something was off. The way Vi's voice cracked and how he cleared his throat immediately after only to very quickly make his way to the window. She knew that response. Big sister mode activated.

Slipping into the compartment, Vesper slid the door closed behind her and dropped her bag down on the seat before plopping down beside Viano. Without a word her arm went around him, giving him a gentle squeeze. He didn't have to say anything.

Indeed the messy hair suited him. In his opinion, it enhanced his wonderful facial features. {“They really mean to continue spoiling me, don’t they?”} Not only the papas but also Vesper. Who knew that he would have found a group of people to care for him so much? He had spent a greater part of his life telling himself that no one was going to adopt him, and the older he had gotten, the more he believed it. But that had changed when papa Raju had talked to him about potentially adopting him.

He was fine. This was all fine.

No, it was not.

The thing was, Viano did not know how to deal with these new emotions. He didn’t even miss anyone at the orphanage in Italy. But he had gotten soft when it came to his family which made this new emotion a struggle. When the big sister hugged him, he honestly felt like he wanted to cry. UGH! Who cried on their way to Hogwarts?!!! Vi dug his fingernails into his palms, a trick that he had heard that helped to keep tears at bay. To his surprise, it actually worked.

{“I’ve never had anyone to miss before,”} came his admission as he watched the scenery outside zoom by. {“I also miss Vera.”}

[Kolyander]

As his big sister, she wasn't just saying that, it was quite true. There was no denying how adorable he is. {"Of course they don't. I'm older than you and I'm still spoiled... Annnnnd Vas and Ve are even older than I am AND they're both still getting spoiled!"} she laughed softly, grinning at him as she hoped to have made a very solid point. As for her spoiling him, absolutely. Little bro could do no wrong in her eyes.

Hey now, where did he get this idea that he couldn't cry? If he needed to cry around her, he could. Keeping her arm around him, Vesper leaned her head against his. {"It's a lot, isn't it? I cried all the tears when Vera and Vasco came to Hogwarts without me.. and then I cried when I came to Hogwarts and was without papa cause I was so used to it being me and him at home."} It was different than what Vi was dealing with but also similar in some ways. {"I miss her too.. but we can always mirror her tonight or in the morning and papa's and Vasco too."} He would see that everything was going to be okay, she would make sure of it.

[Emzily]

Summer had been a whirlwind but in mostly good ways. Solomon had even managed to cram at least an hour or twos studying in about a week ago - a smart choice to keep certain subjects fresh in his head during the break. The older he got, the shorter the breaks felt. A painful reminder of getting old. The brunette certainly didn’t feel like a seventh year student, although he was perfectly capable of sneering at a few rising first years upon platform 9 3/4. All for show, of course. Anyone that knew Solomon would know he was a little pussycat at heart.

He searched for sneers as well as providing his own, obviously looking for his friend, Sage. They’d planned to spend the train ride together, and he had hoped that he would find her beforehand so they could handhold down the corridor, but here we are. Solly found himself an empty compartment that he would intend on keeping empty until she found him. The handholding could wait until they got there, he supposed.

His hair in a bit of a ruckus, Solomon fixed it with a hat, and stared at the window as he waited for the train to start moving. Shouldn’t be long now as the clock was ticking towards 11am. In the meantime, the Slytherin pulled out his notebook and started scribbling and scratching words down. A picture of of calm and collected once more.

[FearlessLeader19]

SPOILER!!: Vesp! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kolyander

As his big sister, she wasn't just saying that, it was quite true. There was no denying how adorable he is. {"Of course they don't. I'm older than you and I'm still spoiled... Annnnnd Vas and Ve are even older than I am AND they're both still getting spoiled!"} she laughed softly, grinning at him as she hoped to have made a very solid point. As for her spoiling him, absolutely. Little bro could do no wrong in her eyes.

Hey now, where did he get this idea that he couldn't cry? If he needed to cry around her, he could. Keeping her arm around him, Vesper leaned her head against his. {"It's a lot, isn't it? I cried all the tears when Vera and Vasco came to Hogwarts without me.. and then I cried when I came to Hogwarts and was without papa cause I was so used to it being me and him at home."} It was different than what Vi was dealing with but also similar in some ways. {"I miss her too.. but we can always mirror her tonight or in the morning and papa's and Vasco too."} He would see that everything was going to be okay, she would make sure of it.

Vesper’s answer got a hearty laugh out of Viano. {“Yes, I see that now that I think about it. Sometime, we have to do something for the papas to show our appreciation.”} He still couldn’t believe his luck that such a wonderful family had wanted him. Not only that, Raju had been his Quidditch idol all his life and to now be able to call the man one of his papas? Talk about a dream come through!

He just… Vi didn’t know. He just hated being so feelsy. And he most certainly did not want any other student passing through the corridor to see him crying. The last thing this little guy needed was his new nickname being ‘Cry baby’. Ugh. No thank you! {“I do believe that. You’re such a softie,”} the eleven year old teased, doing his best to turn to face Vesper in her hold. {“So you understand why I miss our papas so much. It was just us while you, Vera and Vasco were away.”} Vi looked suddenly hopeful. {“Can we? I know Britain is five hours ahead of Venezuela so Vera just might be able to chat with us."} He really hoped she liked studying in the country. {“Then we can mirror papas and Vasco. And Diego too.”}

[sweetpinkpixie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emzily

Summer had been a whirlwind but in mostly good ways. Solomon had even managed to cram at least an hour or twos studying in about a week ago - a smart choice to keep certain subjects fresh in his head during the break. The older he got, the shorter the breaks felt. A painful reminder of getting old. The brunette certainly didn’t feel like a seventh year student, although he was perfectly capable of sneering at a few rising first years upon platform 9 3/4. All for show, of course. Anyone that knew Solomon would know he was a little pussycat at heart.

He searched for sneers as well as providing his own, obviously looking for his friend, Sage. They’d planned to spend the train ride together, and he had hoped that he would find her beforehand so they could handhold down the corridor, but here we are. Solly found himself an empty compartment that he would intend on keeping empty until she found him. The handholding could wait until they got there, he supposed.

His hair in a bit of a ruckus, Solomon fixed it with a hat, and stared at the window as he waited for the train to start moving. Shouldn’t be long now as the clock was ticking towards 11am. In the meantime, the Slytherin pulled out his notebook and started scribbling and scratching words down. A picture of of calm and collected once more.

Sage had not been able to cross of the entirety of her summer to-do list, the most infuriating of those items being her lack of improvement in wand identification, but it had been a very good summer indeed. It was also also quite nice to be heading aboard the Hogwarts Express and not having to worry too much about who she would sit with. However... this rarely was a serious concern since she always had her sister to sit with but she was choosing to ignore that technicality at the moment. It would have been nice to have walked the platform and corridors WITH him, but these back to school traditions were more family centric and she really wasn't too keen on subjecting Solomon to interrogation from papa and dad. She would see how things went until the winter holidays and reevaluate.

With a magazine tucked under her arm, Sage boarded the Hogwarts Express and started the task of finding Solomon. Really, it would have been so much more gentlemanly if he had just waited for her at the entrance to the back cars but she supposed she could appreciate his initiative in securing them a compartment - which meant that she was, once again, impressed by his ability to plan ahead. While not as anxious as she had been for their zoo date, the seventh year had made the mistake of doing research in the form of quiz taking once again to find out what sort of cuddler she was. According to her results, she was a Sweetheart Cradle Cuddler (which was equiparts embarrassingly named and giddy inducing) and the description of what this entailed had presented her with entirely too many visuals and she did not know what to do with them all. It also seemed a lot for a first outing at cuddling with Solomon but also the idea of his head in her lap or her head in his lap was tempting and very much so. Another result had been the more basic Arm Draper Cuddler and that result felt like a more achievable entry point into their cuddleship.

But heads in laps and playing with hair..

"There you are, finally," she groaned while weaving around a pair of energetic first years chasing chocolate frogs down the corridor and practically bouncing off the walls themselves as the train departed King's Cross. Thankfully the eagerness of younger students to be returning to Hogwarts had her exasperated enough to forget how nervous she was and she quickly slid the door shut before joining him on the seat and plopped the magazine on her lap. "You writing sonnets about me already?" she teased with a little nudge of the shoulder and as her freshly lip glossed lips curve and lashes fluttered.

[Emzily]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

Sage had not been able to cross of the entirety of her summer to-do list, the most infuriating of those items being her lack of improvement in wand identification, but it had been a very good summer indeed. It was also also quite nice to be heading aboard the Hogwarts Express and not having to worry too much about who she would sit with. However... this rarely was a serious concern since she always had her sister to sit with but she was choosing to ignore that technicality at the moment. It would have been nice to have walked the platform and corridors WITH him, but these back to school traditions were more family centric and she really wasn't too keen on subjecting Solomon to interrogation from papa and dad. She would see how things went until the winter holidays and reevaluate.

With a magazine tucked under her arm, Sage boarded the Hogwarts Express and started the task of finding Solomon. Really, it would have been so much more gentlemanly if he had just waited for her at the entrance to the back cars but she supposed she could appreciate his initiative in securing them a compartment - which meant that she was, once again, impressed by his ability to plan ahead. While not as anxious as she had been for their zoo date, the seventh year had made the mistake of doing research in the form of quiz taking once again to find out what sort of cuddler she was. According to her results, she was a Sweetheart Cradle Cuddler (which was equiparts embarrassingly named and giddy inducing) and the description of what this entailed had presented her with entirely too many visuals and she did not know what to do with them all. It also seemed a lot for a first outing at cuddling with Solomon but also the idea of his head in her lap or her head in his lap was tempting and very much so. Another result had been the more basic Arm Draper Cuddler and that result felt like a more achievable entry point into their cuddleship.

But heads in laps and playing with hair..

"There you are, finally," she groaned while weaving around a pair of energetic first years chasing chocolate frogs down the corridor and practically bouncing off the walls themselves as the train departed King's Cross. Thankfully the eagerness of younger students to be returning to Hogwarts had her exasperated enough to forget how nervous she was and she quickly slid the door shut before joining him on the seat and plopped the magazine on her lap. "You writing sonnets about me already?" she teased with a little nudge of the shoulder and as her freshly lip glossed lips curve and lashes fluttered.

Mere moments had passed, and barely three words that-at the time-he’d felt worked well together had been written, before he briskly closed the notebook and kept a hand on it. It was a silly time to get it out, he had now realised, though he hoped Sage wouldn’t press to see what he was doing, because he’d sooner throw it out of the now moving trains window than show her. Solomon smiled wide but closed mouthed, as she joined him in a flash, his heart racing a little at her sudden closeness and touch. Much closer and he’d certainly break a small sweat.

In his defence, he had tried to wait for her, and he would defend that later. Luckily they had an entire school term now to… hold hands? Cuddle? What even was this? Solomon had given it a lot of thought, and would likely ask Aurora or Anna about what to do next in the near future. As long as none it involved studying together.

“There you are, you mean. I looked everywhere for you.” He lied right off the bat. It didn’t help that he was starting to really tower over his friends in height and everyone smaller than him just blended together into a blur. Solly gently sent her nudge back before smirking. “Wouldn't you like to know?” He teased as he buried his notebook deep into his rucksack that was resting between his feet. Out of sight. “Would you like me to write a sonnet for you?” A small attempt at flirting, and he traced his finger lightly along the top of her closest hand. An indication that handholding was imminent.

[sweetpinkpixie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emzily

Mere moments had passed, and barely three words that-at the time-he’d felt worked well together had been written, before he briskly closed the notebook and kept a hand on it. It was a silly time to get it out, he had now realised, though he hoped Sage wouldn’t press to see what he was doing, because he’d sooner throw it out of the now moving trains window than show her. Solomon smiled wide but closed mouthed, as she joined him in a flash, his heart racing a little at her sudden closeness and touch. Much closer and he’d certainly break a small sweat.

In his defence, he had tried to wait for her, and he would defend that later. Luckily they had an entire school term now to… hold hands? Cuddle? What even was this? Solomon had given it a lot of thought, and would likely ask Aurora or Anna about what to do next in the near future. As long as none it involved studying together.

“There you are, you mean. I looked everywhere for you.” He lied right off the bat. It didn’t help that he was starting to really tower over his friends in height and everyone smaller than him just blended together into a blur. Solly gently sent her nudge back before smirking. “Wouldn't you like to know?” He teased as he buried his notebook deep into his rucksack that was resting between his feet. Out of sight. “Would you like me to write a sonnet for you?” A small attempt at flirting, and he traced his finger lightly along the top of her closest hand. An indication that handholding was imminent.

"Ugh, technicality of perception," she replied with a roll of the eyes as she slipped her own bag off to join his on the floor, one hand clutching the magazine so it didn't slide off her lap and open to the dog folded page where the cuddler quiz was. "I do want to know, hence the asking, but you're being a terrible tease about it and out of sight certainly doesn't mean out of mind when it comes to my inquisitiveness." But she could be patient and polite and wait, even if he did have the uncanny knack of trying her patience. "Is it your diary? Or do you prefer the word journal? Hence the necessity for you to hide it away so quickly." She paused, cheeks puffed with pride for her deduction skills. She was speaking from experience of sorts, herself behaving similarly whenever dad or papa walked in and she was writing in hers. "Hmm, I would be impressed but it isn't a requirement," she mused while looking up and showing his hat a bit of admiration with her usual playful flick. Her hands both back to holding the magazine in place, his featherlight touch made her skin all tingly and she turned her hand over as a subconscious invitation.

All the attention on her hand was making her even more aware of the object beneath her hands and she regretted doing research. Usually it was a very good thing to be informed about something going into it for the first time, but not this time. Maybe it would have been better if she had taken the quiz after achieving some experience and she thought that it would have laid some solid groundwork for a starting point but, well, now she had the completely nonsensical thought of yanking his arm hard enough so he toppled over on to his side with his head in her lap because that had been the image in the magazine. Ugh, her and her stupid incessissant need to be well informed on things of interest.

It was a really really good thing she given the 'what kind of kisser are you?' one a whirl as well.

"So..." she piped up after what felt like a prolonged moment of silence as she scooted just a little closer to him on their seat.

[Emzily]

SPOILER!!: “meep:3”

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

"Ugh, technicality of perception," she replied with a roll of the eyes as she slipped her own bag off to join his on the floor, one hand clutching the magazine so it didn't slide off her lap and open to the dog folded page where the cuddler quiz was. "I do want to know, hence the asking, but you're being a terrible tease about it and out of sight certainly doesn't mean out of mind when it comes to my inquisitiveness." But she could be patient and polite and wait, even if he did have the uncanny knack of trying her patience. "Is it your diary? Or do you prefer the word journal? Hence the necessity for you to hide it away so quickly." She paused, cheeks puffed with pride for her deduction skills. She was speaking from experience of sorts, herself behaving similarly whenever dad or papa walked in and she was writing in hers. "Hmm, I would be impressed but it isn't a requirement," she mused while looking up and showing his hat a bit of admiration with her usual playful flick. Her hands both back to holding the magazine in place, his featherlight touch made her skin all tingly and she turned her hand over as a subconscious invitation.

All the attention on her hand was making her even more aware of the object beneath her hands and she regretted doing research. Usually it was a very good thing to be informed about something going into it for the first time, but not this time. Maybe it would have been better if she had taken the quiz after achieving some experience and she thought that it would have laid some solid groundwork for a starting point but, well, now she had the completely nonsensical thought of yanking his arm hard enough so he toppled over on to his side with his head in her lap because that had been the image in the magazine. Ugh, her and her stupid incessissant need to be well informed on things of interest.

It was a really really good thing she given the 'what kind of kisser are you?' one a whirl as well.

"So..." she piped up after what felt like a prolonged moment of silence as she scooted just a little closer to him on their seat.

He mimicked her eye roll but coupled it with an infectious grin of amusement. “Well, I hate to disappoint you,” really, he did, “but it’s for my eyes only.” His smile fading as she called it a diary. HOW many times did he need to have this conversation during his school years? “No, it’s not a diary.” Solly snapped, letting out a puff of air that resembled a teensy tiny tantrum. “It’s just somewhere I write down… creative ideas, that’s all.” Solomon had dabbled in songwriting amongst other things but was certainly not ready to admit to that, because he really was no good. He relaxed into a smile again, “you won’t find I heart Sage written all over it, if that’s what you’re worried about.” He might have done something like that in his first year, in all honesty. If you’d told him then that he’d be this friendly with Sage, he would have laughed. Hard.

His touch was clearly accepted as she turned her palm to face him. He smirked subtly enough that she wouldn’t notice.

More delicate tracing of the creases of her palm, and he still wasn’t even aware of the magazine on her lap, despite focussing so much on his hand placement. He didn’t think he’d show much interest in it anyway, despite their past quizzes done together, because the advice some of them spouted were ridiculous. He may be curious about what nonsense she was reading about lately, though. Who’s my perfect man? Perhaps? He did wonder but not enough to ask in this moment.
The more he focussed on his dangling hand, the more his brain told him it was starting to get sore, so he soon stilled it into a stop and rested his whole palm on top of hers.

Her so… completely startling him, and he instinctively pulled his hand back to his own lap.

Solomon could feel his heart rate quickening again as she moved closer to him, quietly panicking over what to do. It felt natural to mould himself towards her, a little cosier. He cleared his throat and shifted so he could stretch and rest his arm on the back of the seat - the classic stretch over in the cinema move. He wasn’t sure how she would take it. But once he had committed, it felt less embarrassing as he very gently moved his arm around her. “So… seventh year, huh.”

A POOR. POOR attempt at conversation.

[Kolyander]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

Vesper’s answer got a hearty laugh out of Viano. {“Yes, I see that now that I think about it. Sometime, we have to do something for the papas to show our appreciation.”} He still couldn’t believe his luck that such a wonderful family had wanted him. Not only that, Raju had been his Quidditch idol all his life and to now be able to call the man one of his papas? Talk about a dream come through!

He just… Vi didn’t know. He just hated being so feelsy. And he most certainly did not want any other student passing through the corridor to see him crying. The last thing this little guy needed was his new nickname being ‘Cry baby’. Ugh. No thank you! {“I do believe that. You’re such a softie,”} the eleven year old teased, doing his best to turn to face Vesper in her hold. {“So you understand why I miss our papas so much. It was just us while you, Vera and Vasco were away.”} Vi looked suddenly hopeful. {“Can we? I know Britain is five hours ahead of Venezuela so Vera just might be able to chat with us."} He really hoped she liked studying in the country. {“Then we can mirror papas and Vasco. And Diego too.”}[/COLOR]

Vesper did the only thing she could do right then, she joined in on the laughter. They were all quite lucky honestly, they had two papa's that loved and spoiled them all continuously no matter what was happening. Viano's suggestion of doing something special for their papa's brought a wide smile to her lips. {"That's a fantastic idea. Perhaps when we get home for the holiday break.. that way we have time to figure something out and get it all planned out just right."} They could also inform Vera and Vasco about whatever they come up with too if they choose to do so. Sure, Viano had a whole lot to be thankful for but if she really truly wanted to argue things... So did she!

If he needed to get his feelings out, there wasn't a thing wrong with that. And should anyone walk in and even attempt to pick on him, well, they would have this girl to answer to. Feeling Vi move, Vesper loosened her hold on him a little. {"There's nothing wrong with that.. and someone in the family has to be."} May as well be her. One could be soft, strong and courageous all at the same time. {"I sure do. It's okay to miss those we love and all the good things we have."} It was okay. She was fine. There would be no crying! She had done all this before! {"I'm sure they'll all be expecting us to. They're going to be to know why house you got sorted into after all."} Vesper smiled softly at him. With any luck he would be a lion just like her.

[sweetpinkpixie]

Text Cut: Mr. Aspiring Poet & Song Writer

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emzily

He mimicked her eye roll but coupled it with an infectious grin of amusement. “Well, I hate to disappoint you,” really, he did, “but it’s for my eyes only.” His smile fading as she called it a diary. HOW many times did he need to have this conversation during his school years? “No, it’s not a diary.” Solly snapped, letting out a puff of air that resembled a teensy tiny tantrum. “It’s just somewhere I write down… creative ideas, that’s all.” Solomon had dabbled in songwriting amongst other things but was certainly not ready to admit to that, because he really was no good. He relaxed into a smile again, “you won’t find I heart Sage written all over it, if that’s what you’re worried about.” He might have done something like that in his first year, in all honesty. If you’d told him then that he’d be this friendly with Sage, he would have laughed. Hard.

His touch was clearly accepted as she turned her palm to face him. He smirked subtly enough that she wouldn’t notice.

More delicate tracing of the creases of her palm, and he still wasn’t even aware of the magazine on her lap, despite focussing so much on his hand placement. He didn’t think he’d show much interest in it anyway, despite their past quizzes done together, because the advice some of them spouted were ridiculous. He may be curious about what nonsense she was reading about lately, though. Who’s my perfect man? Perhaps? He did wonder but not enough to ask in this moment.
The more he focussed on his dangling hand, the more his brain told him it was starting to get sore, so he soon stilled it into a stop and rested his whole palm on top of hers.

Her so… completely startling him, and he instinctively pulled his hand back to his own lap.

Solomon could feel his heart rate quickening again as she moved closer to him, quietly panicking over what to do. It felt natural to mould himself towards her, a little cosier. He cleared his throat and shifted so he could stretch and rest his arm on the back of the seat - the classic stretch over in the cinema move. He wasn’t sure how she would take it. But once he had committed, it felt less embarrassing as he very gently moved his arm around her. “So… seventh year, huh.”

A POOR. POOR attempt at conversation.

"Ugh, boring," she sighed over dramatically just so he knew she wasn't being completely serious but also she was a tad disappointed. "But fine fiiiiiiiine. Keep your secret diary...oh...I mean creative journal to yourself for the time being and I'll keep mine to myself too." There would, likely, not be too much judgement and teasing if she ever found out what exactly he was writing in those pages. BUT, she was in orchestra at Hogwarts as a percussionist SO she did have an appreciation for music - though her musical circles were pretty exclusive to jazz and there were no musicians in their realm that satisfied her tastes and therefore she leaned into the real vintage classics of the muggle world. "Aw, you didn't? Now that truly is a disappointment," she laughed. Considering their beginnings, almost an enemeies to friends and now...well...whatever they were calling this, it really would have been amusing if he had. She certainly hadn't written any 'Sage ♥ Solomon' on the margins of anything either - gosh, imagine how embarrassing that would be for someone to find!

There had been nothing in the quiz results that talked about hand cuddling but she decided she was a fan of whatever it was he was doing with his fingers on her palm. As someone who really enjoyed working with her hands and preferred it, mostly, to wandwork and it was nice (like, really nice) to have so much tender attention placed there. Soft Hand Cuddler? Did that seem like a good name for this vibe? She wasn't too satisfied because her own hands were not particularly soft thanks to all her climbing, wood whittling, and drumming...but she did what she could to keep them from getting too dry and calloused and whatever. Solomon had nice hands though, you know, as far as hands went.

Sage's nose scrunched when he retracted his hand as if her hands were ashwinder eggs, but the annoyance was temporary seeing as his arm was moving around her in the next breath or so. "The Arm Draper," she practically giggled under her breath as she took yet another scoot closer to him and positioned herself so there was so more lateral scooting to be had. "So...seventh year," she repeated with a nod and giddy breathy laugh. "So...are there any things that you want to make sure you do this term?" she asked as she look him up and down briefly to try and figure out what to do with her own hands that were just hanging lazily at her sides with her palms pressed against the seat - not a great idea because the magazine was starting to slip. His arm was a nice touch but like...then what was she meant to do with her own? A thought struck her and her gaze shifted to his hand resting on her shoulder so she could make sure her own hand wasn't grasping at straws while it attempted to weave her fingers together with his. There, this worked quite nicely in her opinion - a combo Arm Draper Hand Cuddler. "Like...you ever keep a Hogwarts to-do list in that journal of yours?" she mused while her arm closest to him folded against herself and that hand lay across her lap to protect the magazine from falling. "Aspiration Agenda...Adventure Anthology...Essential Endeavors....Hogwarts Targets...Milestone Map...insert some title of your choosing here where the alliteration is optional..."

[Emzily]

SPOILER!!: “Cutesy Sage”

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

"Ugh, boring," she sighed over dramatically just so he knew she wasn't being completely serious but also she was a tad disappointed. "But fine fiiiiiiiine. Keep your secret diary...oh...I mean creative journal to yourself for the time being and I'll keep mine to myself too." There would, likely, not be too much judgement and teasing if she ever found out what exactly he was writing in those pages. BUT, she was in orchestra at Hogwarts as a percussionist SO she did have an appreciation for music - though her musical circles were pretty exclusive to jazz and there were no musicians in their realm that satisfied her tastes and therefore she leaned into the real vintage classics of the muggle world. "Aw, you didn't? Now that truly is a disappointment," she laughed. Considering their beginnings, almost an enemeies to friends and now...well...whatever they were calling this, it really would have been amusing if he had. She certainly hadn't written any 'Sage ♥ Solomon' on the margins of anything either - gosh, imagine how embarrassing that would be for someone to find!

There had been nothing in the quiz results that talked about hand cuddling but she decided she was a fan of whatever it was he was doing with his fingers on her palm. As someone who really enjoyed working with her hands and preferred it, mostly, to wandwork and it was nice (like, really nice) to have so much tender attention placed there. Soft Hand Cuddler? Did that seem like a good name for this vibe? She wasn't too satisfied because her own hands were not particularly soft thanks to all her climbing, wood whittling, and drumming...but she did what she could to keep them from getting too dry and calloused and whatever. Solomon had nice hands though, you know, as far as hands went.

Sage's nose scrunched when he retracted his hand as if her hands were ashwinder eggs, but the annoyance was temporary seeing as his arm was moving around her in the next breath or so. "The Arm Draper," she practically giggled under her breath as she took yet another scoot closer to him and positioned herself so there was so more lateral scooting to be had. "So...seventh year," she repeated with a nod and giddy breathy laugh. "So...are there any things that you want to make sure you do this term?" she asked as she look him up and down briefly to try and figure out what to do with her own hands that were just hanging lazily at her sides with her palms pressed against the seat - not a great idea because the magazine was starting to slip. His arm was a nice touch but like...then what was she meant to do with her own? A thought struck her and her gaze shifted to his hand resting on her shoulder so she could make sure her own hand wasn't grasping at straws while it attempted to weave her fingers together with his. There, this worked quite nicely in her opinion - a combo Arm Draper Hand Cuddler. "Like...you ever keep a Hogwarts to-do list in that journal of yours?" she mused while her arm closest to him folded against herself and that hand lay across her lap to protect the magazine from falling. "Aspiration Agenda...Adventure Anthology...Essential Endeavors....Hogwarts Targets...Milestone Map...insert some title of your choosing here where the alliteration is optional..."

He was extremely unbothered of the accusation of being boring. Solomon Duck was boring and proud of it, so he just shrugged. His brow twitched as she mentioned having her own diary, but of course, he wouldn’t press for more information on that because he’d be a total hypocrite. Images of loads of pink and purple hearts filled his head anyway, and he smirked at the thought. “Not a diary,” because she called it that once more, “but thank you for not being too nosy.” He definitely hadn’t written a sonnet for Sage. Songs? Meh, not really - mostly because his writings didn’t really tally up to a full song - more verses here and there that worked together. His perspective had changed over the summer, though, and you could say that Sage had a part in that since she was his first and only romantic interest ever. Every other person he had felt something for in the past had fizzled out by now, though had left a permanent imprint inside his confused brain. He wasn’t looking forward to seeing either of them at the start of term feast.

“I promise I’ll write you a sonnet.” Solomon meant it, too, mentally giving himself until Christmas break to declare it to her. His serious statement was soon coated with, “and you are going to SWWOOOOOOOn over it.” Over HIM. Hehe.

HAND CUDDLER.

If he had heard her thoughts, he’d have tipped his head back and laughed loud. It was true that he did seem to have a preference to the touch of hands. He wasn’t really sure on the reason, perhaps the gentleness and comfort it brought. But he hadn’t really had any experiences with it, nor anything other than frequent arm linking with Aurora and Anna. Two of his friends who he hadn’t seen on the platform, who he assumed would have sat together.

“What?” He said simply as she mumbled something all the while giggling. It was distracting, but felt like such an invitation. She really was making it easy for him to initiate all of these moves. He felt even more giddy himself as she linked their hands together. They were a picture of the cutest two people EVER, and if anyone tried to join their compartment now, Solomon would unleash some sort of rage upon them. He let out a relaxed sigh as he squeezed her hand. “Ummm… I guess there are a few things I’d like to do, as well as pass my exams, of course.” That was unlikely to happen. “Might have to etch my initials into a few trees to leave my mark. That’s if I’m not held back a term,” he finished with a short and sharp laugh. Laughing but it certainly wasn’t funny. “Have you?” Other than winning herself a boyfriend.

Wink wink.

[sweetpinkpixie]

Good, because every time he did not bend to her whim she was likely to call him boring…or at least do so until she found a word that pushed a different button that had a more amusing reaction. It really only was a matter of time for that to happen considering how natural they both were at finding those buttons on one another and pushing them just so. Calling it a diary seemed to be close to that satisfactory button so Sage would continue to accidentally call it that on occasion.There was nothing wrong with him having a diary, for the record. Sure, he hadn’t seemed the sort to keep any sort of thing like that so the fac that he did kind of excited her. “I’m restraining myself for the time being,” she shrugged nonchalantly, a bit of foreshadowing hidden between her words that it would not always be that way but there was a time and place for everything and now was simply not that time.Especially not now that he had promised her a sonnet. “For real? You’re serious?” she questioned with a slight lean away from him for the sole purpose of being able to see his face properly because she wasn’t convinced he wasn’t teasing her. Obviously she was not the swooning sort of girl but she would play along with his sarcasm. “Ooooh of cooourse. You’ll have to make sure to open a window and fan me with something or I may just faint from swooning,” she joked in an utterly atrocious accent that was trying to be both Shakespearean and flirty but sounding neither. She was a drummer, not an actress. “Or maybe mouth to mouth to resuscitate me.”

And just like that the playfulness had turned on a knut and an intense crimson crept across her face from one cheek and over the bridge of her nose to the other cheek. She blamed the magazine and it’s quizzes with their pseudo advice for putting ideas in her head. Ideas that had her feeling a little impulsive too. Her impulses, however, were mostly placated by all the new kinds of touch that was happening with their hands and his arm being around her the way it was.”Huh? What? Oh, nothing. I didn’t say anything,” she deflected while sliding the magazine off her lap and to the vacancy beside her. No need to tell him about her research now or even have him take the quiz himself since he seemed to have this part all sorted out already. “Well, obviously. Me too. And I can help make sure you do pass.” Because him failing entirely and having to resit a year was just not acceptable and no she was not bitter still over feeling as though all her time and energy had been wasted on a certain former Hufflepuff crush of hers who had done precisely that after all their OWL preparation. “Would you consider stone instead of tree? I’d really rather you not have your legacy be connected to leaving an open wound that invites the possibility of diseases or pests to enter the tree because you decided to sever its protective layer with Diffindo.” She wasn’t meaning to chastise him exactly but considering her little protest at the zoo over the exploitation of trolls for entertainment and her rather visceral reaction to confetti used at the Hogsmeade Highland Games…he really shouldn’t be too surprised. “Besides, bowtruckles could attack you as well while you are busy leaving your initials because you just so happened to select their tree. Stones in the castle walls don’t have such defenses.” It really was a win win.

The blush that had faded during conversation brightened slightly as he turned the question back around at her. Yes, if he must know, one of those items on her little list did include something akin to what was happening right now - though when she had written that list it certainly hadn’t been Solomon she pictured beside her and now she couldn’t imagine it being anyone else - but there were a great many other things. “Well…I crossed the biggest one off my list last term,” she haughtily explained with a puffed out chest. “I completed my animagus training, mandrake leaf under the tongue and all.” Which had been the sole reason why she had denied certain people a kiss or two when they had asked her because she was not going to have her efforts go to waste. Eating and speaking were one thing and it had taken her three or four tries with an actual mandrake leaf before succeeding in the month timeline, but snogging was a whole other thing she could not let herself be distracted by. “It’s an Alpine ibex, for the record. The form I take. That was what…the whole hoof thing was about at the feast,” she elaborated while giving his hand a squeeze and trying out tracing his palm with her thumb a little. “Training under Professor Carton put everything else on pause for a couple of terms so…I intend to make the most of this last term.” Which included such items as going on a date (check), cuddling for the first time with someone not her family (check), having her first kiss…

Sage’s eyes shifted from looking out at the passing countryside to his face, those impulses kicking in and no mandrake leaf holding her back. Which is why she started leaning up and in to make good on that proclamation she had just made about the term…when suddenly she heard the door to the compartment fly open (because of course it did) and the sight of two girls (one with curls that looked as though they could swallow her entire head and a blonde girl who looked as though she wanted to be anywhere but where she stood now). Sage barely had time to glare or tell them to find another compartment when the blonde insisted they go check out the food trolley and then the duo disappeared from sight entirely. “...should have locked the door,” she mumbled mostly to herself before attempting to laugh it off and turned her gaze back to Solomon. “Anyway, as I was saying…wouldn’t you like to know,” she smiled, cheeks puffing and eyes squinting due to the exaggeration of said smile while she used his own words against him.

And he would certainly be finding out about a couple more of these items soon…as in…tonight, hopefully. Though she might leave him out of the loop with some of her more ambitious climbing and parkouring ambitions - those were just for her.

Heart racing still from the surprise (not to mention confusing) interruption, Sage rested her head on Solomon’s shoulder and decided to just enjoy her little mic drop moment for a little as the anticipation for the team ahead kept her heart racing and skipping occasional beats. It was surely going to be a seventh year to remember.

[Emzily]

His promise of a sonnet seemed to work its magic and Sage looked stunned. Solomon was once again smirking, enough that his face would stay that way forever if the wind changed. “‘Course I’m serious. When have I ever lied?” Solomon, a compulsive liar, asked. He would give it his all though, and even if words failed him, he’d have to pull out some of the silly song verses he had written over the last few weeks. All soppy, of course, but it was a nice contrast to his usual miserable text. A snort escaped him when she mentioned mouth to mouth resuscitation. “Pfft - you’d be so lucky.” He said, still laughing.

“Okay.” He said, though raising an eyebrow as he finally noticed the magazine as she slipped it aside. Obviously his thick noggin didn’t put two and two together and moved on immediately. Blllahhhh… she was talking about studying. He didn’t want to study with Sage. Period. How could he possibly concentrate with her around???? “Yeah, sure, but I could think of better things we could do than study.” He rolled his eyes, making a bet with himself that he could completely distract her from her studies, too. But that would be mean, and he wasn’t sure if it was even possible for someone like Sage.

“A stone, yeah, that seems more durable.” He was amused by her rambling on about it, as usual, but was much more interested hearing what she had been up to. Completing animagus training was something to be proud of! “Damn, that’s pretty awesome. You’ll have to show me sometime,” he suggested before focussing on her hold of his hand again. The electricity between them was incomparable right now.

She was now staring at him and Solomon didn’t need to be a neurosurgeon to work out these brain signals. She wanted to kiss him right here and Solomon was absolutely going to oblige despite the fear rising beneath him. His eyes closed as he leaned in towards her when the compartment door seemed to burst right open.

The Slytherin was seeing RED as he looked up. WHO dares interrupt an obviously tender moment???!! However his expression softening and blushing at the sight of his two best friends. He opened his mouth to say something but they both just… left without a word. It stung a little, though they probably felt just as uncomfortable as he did.

Eyes lingering on the door, Solomon relaxed back into Sage’s snuggle and he smiled a bit at her comment. Only a bit, but he decided to focus on the joy he’d felt a few moments before as opposed to the embarrassment and awkwardness that remained.