Natka walked down the train corridor, looking around for an empty compartment, or preferrably, some familiar faces to ease her back into the new year. She was keeping a particluar look-out for Clark, whom she hadn't seen the whole summer, but she couldn't see him anywhere. Their contact during the holidays had been scarcer than she'd expected, and she found herself hoping fervently he hadn't been forced to stay home and be home-schooled, again. No, she was sure she'd run into him. At some point.

Just as she reached this conclusion, a very familiar voice sounded from the compartment she'd just been about to pass. Sneaking a peek inside, Natka saw her first Hogwarts friend hugging... Chris, was that the boy's name? Natka thought she recognised him, but she couldn't be totally sure. In any case, there was Lizzie again, looking as friendly as ever.

Sliding open the compartment door, Natka entered and hugged her friend as soon as Lizzie had let go of the boy. Oh, she had missed this particular Gryffie a whole lot, too.

"Lizzie! How are you? It feels like ages since I saw you, we have so much catching up to do... she said excitedly, but her torrent of words faltered when she noticed Lizzie didn't look quite as cheerful as she usually did. Or maybe it was just Natka, seeing things and reading into them too much?

Hmmm...Better safe than sorry, the fourteen-year-old thought before opening her mouth again.

"Hey, is everything OK? You're usually way more hyper than this when we go to Hogwarts," she observed.

Well, close enough. Mina watched as Xylina perched herself on the other side, albeit in the corner rather than where the Hufflepuff had suggested. At least she wasn't doing the same thing she'd done last time, and simply walked out of the room without a word.

'My home?' she repeated, deadpan. 'Might I remind you that I don't have a proper home? I don't live with my dad, and I don't belong with Jake.' She shrugged, bending one leg at the knee and lifting it so she could play with the laces on her shoes. 'So I'd say it was okay.' She sighed. Why was she getting into this with Xylina again?

'Good,' she muttered quietly. 'I'm glad Si's learning. He's two and a half months now, isn't he?' She nodded at her own question regarding Xy's new brother.

But that staring ... it was creeping her out, as much as she didn't want to admit it. Dropping her bag to the floor and letting the cat inside hiss (like always), she frowned at her cousin. 'What's with the stare? Have I grown an extra head or something?' she asked, one eyebrow raised. 'I've spoken to Kari, and I know you guys listened into the conversation the adults and I had. It doesn't change a thing whether you know or not.' She examined her nails casually, like she couldn't care less about their opinions.

Inside she was freaking out. 'So, I know you and Briar listened in ... who else?' She wanted an idea of how many people knew. And then it would be time for some serious damage control. 'But you should know, before you spread anything, nothing's changing this year. I'm not leaving or anything.' I hope, she added mentally.

Sebastian did not care that Woodson didn't appear to be keen to use that hand-sanitizer. He didn't put it back on his pocket, he simply let it be on his hand as he rested it on his thigh. He would've bet his small fortune on own they would need that sanitizer soon.

He wished he could've been wrong, really. He did .. but then he felt a finger - a STRANGE finger - on his cheek and, eyes widening, Sebastian turned away from his brother to look at the girl. AAAH! What was it with this girl! She was touching him! Touching him!

... and he was simply there, widening eyes observing her? Heck, no!

With a huff of annoyance, Sebastian pulled his face away of the girl's touch, not bothering to hide the look of distate on his face. Aaah! And why did she keep on calling him Seb? His name was Sebastian, he had made it quite clear, had he not?

Opening the vial of hand sanitizer, Sebastian titled it and dropped a few of the liquid onto his hand, before applying it to the cheek that had been - yuck - touched. This was why he avoided girls at all costs. Were there no boys in this train?!

"For someone who brags about being so smart, you seem to have failed to assimilate the simple concept of personal space, Miss Touissant." Honestly, bragging was bad. Not smooth. At all. Even Sebastian knew it was rude. "Not to mention the fact I do not wish to be adressed to by nicknames."

After he rather dryly told her that, he turned to his twin, closing the lid of the sanitizer. Woodson better not be all offended at him for setting that girl straight!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zoerawrr

Feeling increasinly uncomfortable, Jake suddenly stood up, remembering about Lolcat sleeping on his lap just in time. He grabbed the cat and hitched up his large jeans, giving no explanation to where he was going other than a quick, "Bye."

Okay, now Blake and Shana could have some aloooooone time.



And Jake stepped out into the corridor... immediately realising that he did NOT want to be walking around. He wanted to sit somewhere, so his jeans weren't in danger of falling down.

Again.



Moving down the train and seeing a slight commotion up ahead, hearing the name 'Willie' mentioned, Jake went ahead and veered straight into another compartment, where he saw a girl staring out of the window.

...

...

"Hai!"

Sabrina lost track of how long she had been staring out of the window and neither did she realise when Snowball, her fluffy white cat, had settled himself in her lap. So really, when she heard a ‘hai’, the blonde jumped in her seat, almost throwing Snowball off.

To be perfectly honest, she wasn’t sure how she felt about company right then and when she turned her head, she was really doubting whether she wanted to see that boy right then. Wasn’t he the guy who had basically sealed his doom when he had jumped into Willow’s lap last term? He was still alive? Sabrina hadn’t stayed there long enough to see if Willow had managed to kill him, but then again since her friend was still the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain and certainly not locked up in Azkaban, she really should have realised that she hadn’t committed the murder. Good for her. And for the boy.

“Heeeey!” The seventeen year old cocked her head at him, wondering if he was just passing by or intended to stay. “Do you want something?” She asked as Snow eyed the cat in the boy’s hands. Sabrina wasn’t really sure if her pet was approving or disapproving of the creature.

"Erm, erm, erm, erm, erm..." Jake scrambled around for something to say as looked from the girl to the cat and back again, over and over, as if asking them both for permission to stay. "Hiiiiii," he said again, softly this time. "Ermm... d'ya mind if I stayed in here wid you?" Jake asked, momentarily forgetting the basic rules of speech. "There's just... a guy out there who... well, I'd rarver not encounter him again, see?"

Anddddd I'm loooooosing mah pants.

Jake could indeed feel his jeans start to slide, and hitched them up even further. Just because he WAS thirteen didn't mean he was the SIZE of one. Sheesh. "Please?" he asked, trying not to sound too urgent. But, you know, nobody else needed to see his rainbow boxers today.

Apparently Willow Kovac and her friend Evolette McKenna were completely blanking them now. Well, that was their loss, wasn't it? And Daphne Hopton.. Woodson didn't have the foggiest idea where she had gotten off to.

His biggest concern right now though, was Sebastian.

It was almost like that girl, Miss Celandine was provoking him. She spoke about being smart. Provoking a Whitcomb was NOT smart. Not smart at all. Sebastian was fuming, he didn't need twin senses to know that much.

"We've studied Astronomy, yes," the fifteen year old informed politely, hoping he could at least calm his brother down with his calm demeanor.

Study groups? He thought not.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zoerawrr

"Erm, erm, erm, erm, erm..." Jake scrambled around for something to say as looked from the girl to the cat and back again, over and over, as if asking them both for permission to stay. "Hiiiiii," he said again, softly this time. "Ermm... d'ya mind if I stayed in here wid you?" Jake asked, momentarily forgetting the basic rules of speech. "There's just... a guy out there who... well, I'd rarver not encounter him again, see?"

Anddddd I'm loooooosing mah pants.

Jake could indeed feel his jeans start to slide, and hitched them up even further. Just because he WAS thirteen didn't mean he was the SIZE of one. Sheesh. "Please?" he asked, trying not to sound too urgent. But, you know, nobody else needed to see his rainbow boxers today.

Sabrina was wondering why the boy was looking between her and her cat desperately as though a hunchman was out to get him and then it took the seventeen year old a few moments to understand what the boy was trying to say. There was a guy outside whom he'd rather not encounter? "Umm, sure, I guess." She shrugged. She was saving this boy from his doom. It seemed like a good enough reason to let him in. It wasn't like she would have refused anyways.

Besides, the boy looked desperate.

At least she got to be a superhero for someone. Or was she a superheroine? Supergirl?

Picking up her forgotten bag of chocolates from the seat next to her, Sabrina offered it to the boy after picking a chocolate frog out for herself. "So," She glanced out of her compartment for a second, as though hoping to get a glimpse of the boy this Hufflepuff was running from. "Why are you running from this ... guy?"

She was curious. Besides, it should take her mind off Samson. She didn't need to be gloomy because he screwed up. Really, she didn't.

Celandine watched curiously as Seb put hand sanitiser on his face.

Fascinating. He was like a weird combination of her brother Nico and Dom-in-ick Denton.

"Oh that wasn't bragging." Cela answered cheerfully. "It's all true. Fact even. You know what I suck at? Quidditch!" Celandine laughed a little, even though the memory of her smooshed and bruised face was painful, she had enjoyed the entire experience.

"Only the one nickname, Seb. And it's totally on account of your name being long like mine. Sea-Bass-Tea-On. It's like... fish for dinner."

"Studied it, but are you any good at it?" That was the important part of course. She offered a cheerful and encouraging smile and looked up, trying to see where Daphne went. She gave a tiny shrug and smiled at Woodson again.

Gee they were so nice weren't they? Cela stretched her legs out in front of her and leaned forward to rest her arms on the tops of her thighs. She looked up at the compartment door again when she head Daphne answer her.

"Is wha... oh! It is! How..." Cela straightened and suddenly sprang to her feet, managing to keep her balance despite the height of her shoes.

She took her bag and leaned out of the compartment, holding the doorframe for support and bending at the waist to peek out at whatever Daph was doing.


O_O

Cela gasped audibly and drew her wand, immediately marching just outside of the compartment and pointing it at this MEANGIRLWHOWASBEINGMEANTOWILLIECROCKER!

"If you hit one of myyyy Crockers again I'll totally like, takeyoudownandstuff!" Cela lifted her chin stubbornly and pointed her wand unerringly at the girl, her now returned purse slung over Cela's opposite shoulder.

Smiling in relief, Jake deposited his cat on one of the seats and shruged his jacket off, making a nice little bed for the little puddy tat. "Thank you," he nodded, moving over to sit next to his cat and just about catching his jeans, but not before they showed the waistband and little more of his delightful undergarments.

Not realising this had in fact happened, Jake collapsed down on the seat and got nice and comfy. He smelt the sugar before she held it out to him, and immediately managed to stop himself. "I'm allergic to sugar and the like," he explained, giving a devillish smile as he said it. "The stuff makes me absolutely insane."

It really did. He'd been sent to St. Mungo's last term after he'd acted all crazy. Bwaha.

But he was fine now.

Twitch.

"Oh... Willie?" Jake asked, glancing quickly into the corridor. "Well, I kind of tackled him. And then he kicked me, and got my other jeans all dirty, and I had to runnnnnn and all sorts. But I only tackled him because he was going try and practically kill a first year," Jake rambled, trying to stress that he didn't go around tackling randomers. "I share a stupid dormitory with him, too. I dunno how I'm gonna stay safe all year."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zoerawrr

Smiling in relief, Jake deposited his cat on one of the seats and shruged his jacket off, making a nice little bed for the little puddy tat. "Thank you," he nodded, moving over to sit next to his cat and just about catching his jeans, but not before they showed the waistband and little more of his delightful undergarments.

Not realising this had in fact happened, Jake collapsed down on the seat and got nice and comfy. He smelt the sugar before she held it out to him, and immediately managed to stop himself. "I'm allergic to sugar and the like," he explained, giving a devillish smile as he said it. "The stuff makes me absolutely insane."

It really did. He'd been sent to St. Mungo's last term after he'd acted all crazy. Bwaha.

But he was fine now.

Twitch.

"Oh... Willie?" Jake asked, glancing quickly into the corridor. "Well, I kind of tackled him. And then he kicked me, and got my other jeans all dirty, and I had to runnnnnn and all sorts. But I only tackled him because he was going try and practically kill a first year," Jake rambled, trying to stress that he didn't go around tackling randomers. "I share a stupid dormitory with him, too. I dunno how I'm gonna stay safe all year."

Sabrina Evanstar was a lot of things. One of those things was being oblivious to her surroundings. But why was it that, when the blonde had just finished biting the head off her chocolate frog, she noticed the boy was trying hard to keep his pants where they were supposed to be AND noticed the bright colours of the rainbow as they, momentarily flashed when the Hufflepuff was trying to achieve his goal (that is, keep his pants in place)? Really, why was it that she found herself in situations when she desperately wanted to laugh but knew that doing so would not be appropriate? Like right now.

Still, Sabrina couldn't contain a giggle.

"Allergic to sugar?" Sabrina swallowed her chocolate frog and looked at him, her eyes wiiide.

Oh My God! Somebody existed in this world who was allergic to sugar? Of course Sabrina didn't notice the devilsh smile the boy threw at her nor the bit about it making him insane, she was too horrified with the possibility. Being a vegetarian, she would have been D.E.A.D if she was also allergic to sugar. Heck, she would have died even if she wasn't. How did that boy LIIIIIIVE?! Was he even alive? Or was he some kind of ... ghost?

Willie? Who was Willie? "You tackled him because he was killing a first year." Bet it was a Slytherin bully. Waait, WHAAAA?! Share a dormitory? He was a Hufflepuff.

Actually, Sabrina could believe that. She had had too many unpleasent experiences with Hufflepuff boys. They were all good for nothing i- Oh, wait. This one was a Hufflepuff too. He didn't seem so bad, except apparently he had a tendency to invite trouble. Like jumping into Willow's lap. Or tackling this Willie.

"You saved a fiiirstie? Good for you." Sabrina would have patted the boy if she could reach him, but as it was, the girl was on the short side. Her arms weren't exactly long enough.

Wondering why this girl was giggling, Jake stretched his arms and legs out, glad he was finally able to do that at the same time now. "Yeahhhh," he nodded in response. "It's a shame. I used to love sugar... had wayyyyy too much everyday. I miss it," Jake shrugged, gazing out of the window. "These days I have to take calming draughts twice a day," he added, rocking side to side on his chair. "'Cuz I'm hypah."

Suddenly reaslising he didn't know this girl's name, Jake literally facepalmed. "Toterly ferrgot to introduce myself. I'm Jake. Jake Upstead," he announced, giving the girl a wide smile. She was glad he saved a firstie. Reeeeesult! "It was nothing. I'd been in situations like that before. I remember, Jack Mosier... he..." Jake lifted both hands to his throat and wrapped them around it, illustrated how the boy had tried to throttle him.

Oog.

He was... Seasick.. Travel-sick.. Car-sick.. TRAIN-SICK!

That was the one he was looking for!!! Slumping wearily against one of the... WAAAH! Open windows.. Ashton quickly pulled his body back into the train and saved himself from being swept away with all the wind, debris, and all that icky stuff that was on the line when you flushed the toilets. Suddenly realising that he'd given a little "eeeep!" out loud, Ashton looked around him to make sure that no-one was sniggering at him, gave a large sigh of relief, and relaxed against one of the CLOSED windows this time.

He hated trains...

Actually, he hated all types of transport that wasn't a smooth rolling Mazda. Horses were alright, but after a while they started to hurt your bum. The saddles weren't exactly made out of feathers, neither were the horses' backs. But they worked alright.

IIIIIII. Still feel sick. Was he just really wimpy? Probably, yes.

GONNA HURL!!

Wait... No he wasn't.. Scrap that.

Sylvia nodded slowly, and kept the window open so the cold, clean air could circulate the compartment. "Any public transport. I hate them. Trains, those box things ... cars." She'd only been in a car once, and it was the word experience of her life. As long as she was near an open window, and she had the travel sickness charm on her, she was ok. Though the charm didn't really help that much.

"So you lied!" Sylvia lit up a little. "That present wasn't for Reese, it was for Brody? That little Pygmy Puff thing." Sylvia would never get one. Too annoying. She had her owl anyway, which she had managed to buy at the last minute.

Walking into a compartment which he thought to be empty, Rayedem found a sick-looking, older boy leaning against the window. Geez, he must be so miserable, he thought, judging by his face he might have never been used to going to school by train at all. He decided to talk to him,

"Hey there, you ok? I've got some an--" he paused, realizing that some wizards may not recognize muggle medications. He decided not to offer him some anti-sickness tablets which he brought just in case he got sick. "I mean, you can try sitting down and relax a bit, would you like some warm water? It always helps with my sea-sickness." he ended, stretching a helping hand.

Poor Sylvia. "And they don't make potions that can help that kind of thing?" He had no idea. He never got motion sickness really.

And she was accusing him of lying? He was lost now. Then it hit him. "Actually, that Pygmy Puff is for Reese.. I got Brody something different."

With that he grabbed the box from his seat and moved over to Sylvia's side. He sat down beside her and opened the lid. "What you think? She will like this kitten?"

Xy fought the urge to roll her eyes as Mina's dramatic ideas about home. It was like that a lot - perhaps that was why she was always flicking around during the holidays? Who cared, anyway? Not Xy any more.

'Yes,' she answered fondly, thinking to her baby brother. It was good to get some males back into the family - there were a grand total of four to about sixteen girls now. 'Some of my cousins already staked a claim on him - Kali especially.' The five year old was hilarious.

She raised an eyebrow much like Mina's at her questioning. 'I'm not allowed to stare?' she asked coolly, crossing her arms across her chest and frowning. 'Wow. That's something I'll need to put in the rule book: Do not stare at Mina.' She nodded, making a show of reaching into her pocket to withdraw a notebook and self-inking quill, and pretending to scribble something down.

'So you know we overheard. That'd be me, Briar, Em and Le. Or, at least, that's those of us who understood what was being said.' She shuddered. 'But I'm just grateful the younger ones didn't understand any of it. If they had you'd be in serious trouble.' She swung her legs back to the floor abruptly.

She turned to the door, sliding it open. 'I need to take a walk,' she lied, sparing no glance back at the older girl. 'I'll ... I'll find you later.' She turned down the corridor, desperate to avoid her again. She didn't want another conversation just yet.

Sylvia rubbed her temple, and took out a bottle of water from her bag. "There is a charm, but it's rubbish." They might aswell have gotten rid of it, completely useless. "But I'm alright if say, my mind was taken off the motion of the train." She shrugged.

Sylvia raised her eyebrow, it seemed Torin's way of having fun and passing the time was to buy girls presents. "Oh?" Her eyes widened as a cat appeared in Torin's bag. Ok. "Well, it's cute. All girls like cute things." She smiled down at the kitten and tickled uder it's chin.

He watched as she tickled under it's chin. "So that means she will like it then?" He really hoped she would. "I really like her a lot. I don't want to do anything that will spoil this," he confessed to her. She knew Brody better than just about anyone. She would know if he was making the right moves.

"Bye Jake, see you at school." He called out from behind as Jake decided to leave him to die....alone. Erm, he had to do something quick because being alone in a locked compartment with Shana was highly risky now. She'll probably rip him apart, "I bite." He said, looking at Shana with a frown.

Oh yes, he is an excellent biter, he'll dig his teeth in your flesh and leave a lifetime long mark and if Shana decided to strangle him or something, he'll simply flash her his razor sharp teeth, raaawwr or ..... scream!!!

"Last one out of the compartment likes Jake HAHA!" Blake jumped to his feet, slid the door with full force and ran outside screaming, "HAAALLLPP ME"

Half listening to what Jake and Blake were saying she looked back up...Oh Umm Bye. she said,watching him walk out of the door.

I scratch. she said,looking down at her nails.Okay so they were like mager short but ...Okaaaay.Bye Blake. she smirked as he ran out of the compartment like a girl.

"It's a pretty safe bet that she will." Sylvia giggled, though it looked like she was talking to the kitten. "Aren't you a cutie?" She said in a bit of a baby voice, still tickling the cat. Maybe buying an owl wasn't such a good idea now?

Her eyes quickly moved from the kitten to Torin's in a swift movement. Sylvia had never heard something like that before. Okay, so she'd heard some deep stuff from Miles about Vannie, but that was about it. Her lips parted and she began to smile a little. "That's really nice Torin." She said, genuinly meaning it. "I don't think I've heard someone say that before, especially a boy."

Evan's hope of being friends with Andy Aaron and Iris had been crushed with his lame sentence of "have fun." 'Have fun'! How would he talk to them, even if they wanted to talk to him. H needed to cover his mess, but how? 'But it's also their fault!' he protested in his head. 'If they weren't all kiss me hug me, I could go well...' But he had said it, and now he had to find a way to show them that he wasn't nuts.

He was to enter his compatment when something really fast hit his head.

"AAAH!"

And it hurt!

"OUCH!"

He turned around to see Lyra grinning evilly. He glowered at her for the first time. He thought of reaching to his wand and attacking, but thinking it all again, it was actually funny. He gave a half amused smile, his head hurt much, after all. 'With this, it makes two, attacks to my head.' he thought, and quickly started planning his own. He'd strike at school, with his wand. He knew some very good prank spells. Hehe.

Although it still hurt much, he removed his hand from the spot. He had to remove it, because he didn't want Lyra to think that he was weak or something. Then, to show that the strike was nothing, he chose a random topic to talk, the werewolf posters..

"So, what were you saying before I embar--before someone called me?" he asked innocently, trying to ignore the pain.

She's never heard a boy say that before? That was a good thing? He hoped it was. Even though she was it was nice he wasn't sure if she meant it. Then again there was no sarcasm in her voice. "Really?" He had to admit that that was a bit surprising. He had expected that more guys than just him would say something like that.

"Yeah, it's just so frustrating. 'cause of Shana and all."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zoerawrr

Wondering why this girl was giggling, Jake stretched his arms and legs out, glad he was finally able to do that at the same time now. "Yeahhhh," he nodded in response. "It's a shame. I used to love sugar... had wayyyyy too much everyday. I miss it," Jake shrugged, gazing out of the window. "These days I have to take calming draughts twice a day," he added, rocking side to side on his chair. "'Cuz I'm hypah."

Suddenly reaslising he didn't know this girl's name, Jake literally facepalmed. "Toterly ferrgot to introduce myself. I'm Jake. Jake Upstead," he announced, giving the girl a wide smile. She was glad he saved a firstie. Reeeeesult! "It was nothing. I'd been in situations like that before. I remember, Jack Mosier... he..." Jake lifted both hands to his throat and wrapped them around it, illustrated how the boy had tried to throttle him.

"So you don't have an allergic reaction to sugar?" Sabrina asked, cocking her head at him as she took in this new turn of events. Hyper.

Sugar caused him to be hyper.

So his face didn't go all blochy and weird whenever he ate sugar. It's just a sugar rush. Phew. Because really, who can survive without sugar? No one, that's who. "Calming draughts? Two times a day?" This guy must be really hyper, She thought, watching him rock from side to side. Well, maybe she should really not have chocolate in front of him. It'll make him want to have some.

Sabrina hid the bag of chocolates as the boy introduced himself and she smiled back at him. Know what? She might actually like this boy. He wasn't like those other annoying boys at school. He was nice. She even almost forgot about Samson talking to this boy. "I am Sabrina Evanstar." This boy does not know of Sabrina the teenage witch, does he? PLEASE!!!!

She'd heard it too many times before.

The blonde blinked as Jake suddenly grabbed his throat as though he was trying to strangle himself. WAS HE?! "Err ..." Was she supposed to guess what he was talking about? "Jack was strangling himself?" Or was Jake trying to strangle himself?

Whaaaaaat?

Okay, she didn't care if he heard about Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Sabrina liked this guy and would forgive him if he mentioned it.

He had almost reached the middle part of the train when he realized that Shana will be all alone now, that's bad. Walking backward quickly, Blake peeked inside the compy which Shana, Jake and him shared a moment ago.

"Yo Shana! so you like Jake, huh?" He leaned on the door with his arms folded across his chest, hmm if she likes Jake, he might help her..