This. Felt. WEIRD!!

Last year, which was a sad thought in itself, but she was IN the Prefects Compartment. She had a badge proudly displayed on her robes and.. well.. she was Head Girl! The Slytherin took a small shuffle into the Compartment only to notice there was absolutely no one there. Well, fine she didn't mind being on her own for a little while.

Okay, yes she did. *Pout*

Deciding that it couldn't be TOO long before someone came along, Trixie sat down in the middle of the seats and stared at her feet. Gah she missed him already. One step onto the train and already she missed her bestie like mad. It would be ages until she saw him. Absolutely AGES. How was she meant to survive this term at all?

*SIGH*

Ah, the train, eh?

It had come, finally! What took this bright scarlet engine so long? No matter. It is here now.

With his badge pinned on his robes already, Cedric boarded the train animatedly. This would be the last time he'd ever set a foot on Hogwarts Express... no, the second to the last. He looked forward on graduating but it would be dishonest of him to himself if he didn't admit he'd definitely miss the train, his so-called friends, professors, Hogwarts in general. Time flied so quickly.

He would, therefore, make the most out of his seventh year. It was his last year anyway.

Cedric made his way to the Prefect's compartment. Being in that very place wasn't that awkward and foreign to Cedric anymore. This time he was THE one who wasn't a newly-appointed prefect... not THE one who would sooner or later get the raising of eyebrows and skeptical scrutiny of the old-timer prefects.

He entered the compartment, sliding the door open. No people yet? Waiiiiit, there is someone already. Trixie? Ah... great!

"'Ey, Trixie," Cedric smiled his cool, lopsided smile. He landed with a thump as he eased into the seat opposite where Trixie sat. He looked intently at the door, waiting for the new prefects! The very atmosphere seemed clogged with excitement and suspense.

Yeah. Starting to get a little bit lonely here.

She was already feeling incredibly down, along with a load of other mixed up emotions and a fair amount of excitement, being left alone wasn't exactly going to do a lot for her. She'd just lost company so now, she needed more company to replace, well not replace just fill in the company, that she needed. *Pout* Did her fellow prefects just take ages to say goodbye to people? Trix hadn't stayed on the platform for long, it would have only made her worse.

Her eyes flickered upwards as she saw, or rather heard, another person entering. Hoping that it was a fellow prefect and not just some needy or lost first year, she turned her whole head to face them. Ah, it WAS a prefect AND one whom she actually knew. Perfect.

"Morning Ced" the seventeen year old smiled halfheartedly as her eyes followed to where he sat, opposite herself. She lifted her knees up to hug them and placed her chin on top of her kneecap. There. Better.

Hmm. There was a special compartment for prefects? Well that was interesting. It would make a change as well, do Finn moved along the train, trying to find this compartment. At least he'd have some where to sit if Jimmy was going to be with Marie for the whole train joruney.
Ahh. There it was. He pushed the compartment door open, to find two other people with Shiny badges on their robes. Yes. this was definetly the right compartment. "Hey." He nodded at them as he sat down, kind of near the door.
He did kind of not want to spend the whole train journey with people that he would probably not know at all. He had friends to see, and girls to snog. Hmm...

Where were the other prefects? Tardiness? That's no, no.

Cedric's attention was on Trixie now. A while ago he was preoccupied glancing at the window, having some daydreams, hoping he'd have a merry year, wishing that Danika was unceasingly thinking about him... and then, Trixie caught his attention. She looked somewhat nervous... or so her gestures suggested. Anything Ced could help her about? Or maybe, make her feel better? And that glinting badge, it must be that thing that fully caught his attention.

She almost looked like she was in the brink of crying... a little bit. D'aww. Just when you thought Cedric would try to console her, he didn't bother, however.

"Trixie, you're Head Girl. You'll do perfectly fine," Cedric told her, his tone monotonous, as if it was the most customary remark to tell an acquaintance or a friend, maybe.

...and excellent timing for an arrival of another person. Great for a change of subject. As the guy's badge suggested, the guy was Ravenclaw prefect so Ced expected him to be sensible, normal, easy to get along with.

"Hey, I'm Cedric."

Leaving her father on the platform Sophie pushed her heavy trunk onto the train. On her chest her new prefect badge glimmered. The brunette made her way towards the front of the scarlet train. It was part of her first prefect duty to report to the mystical prefect's compartment behind the driver.

Sophie pushed her way past compartments with her kneazle Oliver meowing at her side. He liked being out of his cage, the little sucker for attention. She bent down to stroke him behind the ears. Straightening up she changed her grip on Loulou's cage before continuing on.

Finally she came to a halt in front of the prefect compartment. Taking a deep breath Sophie pushed open the door and walked in dragging her trunk after her. She deposited her trunk in the luggage rack and put her owl cage ontop. Lifting up her kneazle she fired off a bright smile at the other students in turn already in the compartment. "Hi everyone!"

This... was weird.

Being in the Prefects' compartment on the way to Hogwarts.

Iris smiled to herself as she made her way into the compartment. It was going to be a whole new bunch of prefects... and she didn't know who any of them were.

Well, other than Evan. Lafay really must be insane to have Badge'd him...

Seeing that Trixie was already in the compartment, Iris grinned at her. She was going to be a fantastic Head Girl, Iris knew it. "Hi Trixie!" The Slytherin then looked at the other people in the compartment. Cedric, she recognised. The other two, she didn't. "Hullo..." She waved a little at the other prefects, with a smile, then made her way to sit down.

....And then they started coming.

Well the Ravenclaw male prefect had arrived. She was pretty certain she had met him once before, Fin right? Something like that. Trixie smiled weakly but remained in her knee hugging position.

The Prefects compartment was beginning to fill up slightly, and a few proved to be familiar faces. But she wasn't in the sociable mood. All she wanted was a hug really. The seventeen year old turned back to Ced. "Um... thanks?" she stated almost questioningly whilst smiling wearily. It was't what she was.. all own about but it was a welcome comment.

It was then that someone she had NEVER met before walked in and the girl turned her head to look at them. Female company was most definitely appreciated. The Head Girl managed a proper smile to her, small but not half hearted. "Hey. I'm Trixie" she introduced herself before placing her chin on her knees once more.

And FINALLY someone whom she considered to actually be a friend, especially after what happened at the very end of last term. "Hey Iris" she smiled properly again, before making a very big sigh and clinging to Iris' arm. Gaaaah.

Sophie was just about to sit down near the boy close to the door (Finn) but stopped herself when the door opened behind her and revealed another blond (Iris) and by the looks of it a prefect. Flashing the newcomer a smile she said "Hello!" Changing the position of Oliver the kneazle in her arms Sophie sat down on one of the compartment seats next to the boy with a seamingly blue prefect badge which meant that he was a Ravenclaw. Clearing her throat she said to everyone in the compartment "I'm Sophie. Newly badged Gryffindor prefect."

Her eyes darted over to the spot where the other blond sat hugging her knees tightly. The girl who introduced herself as Trixie seemed to need a hug right about now. Sophie would have obliged since she didn't mind giving out hugs but in this situation she knew it probably wasn't appropriate. "Pleasure to meet you Trixie!" Stroking Oliver over his back she let him go when he started to move off towards Trixie's corner. He jumped up on the seat inbetween the two blonds and started to purr loudly in Trixie's direction as if to say 'If you need something to hug. I'm available.' Following her kneazle's actions Sophie commented "Feel free to pick him up if you want. He is very cuddely."

Sunlight filtered through the small train windows, the light glinting off the russet hair of a certain petite girl as her large iridescent eyes traveled the length of the compartment doors wondering which one she was supposed to enter.

Petite was a better word to describe her you see, considering Ivory Erised did not under any circumstances appreciate being called short. Height impaired perhaps, maybe even "not very tall" but never, ever short. That was a word reserved for objects, or when one didn’t have enough change...maybe even to children but certainly not to a 4th year such as herself. Certainly not when the young girl, young women mind you, now stood cheerily at four feet ten inches (Or eleven on a day she happened to wear height enhancing shoes)

Gone was the awkward preteen of lanky limbs and nonexistent curves and in her place was…well a not-lankier more feminine version. Not that she'd know that of course, the only change she was aware of was the fact that she'd grown a full two and half inches in height over the summer….and of course that her hair now fell in straight waves to over her shoulders. The longest she'd ever had it during her time at Hogwarts. However the most obvious change, the one everyone noticed first it seemed was the badge pinned upon the front of her robes. The new shiny badge that implicated a new year. A great new year.

Standing in front of the correct compartment door, her slim hand automatically came up to knock and then paused an impish grin on her face. Did she knock? Did she just walk right in? How did this work?

The 16-year-old stared with ineffable awe at the door before her, pitifully quaking in her black, one inch heel, "grown up" shoes.

It wasn't just any door, this towering entrance before her. Merlin knows, oh definitely not. More forbidden and exclusive than the Staff Room, though not nearly as much so as the Headmaster's office, only a few steps from the compartment she had shared with Jack and Reese her first year, this - THIS - was the door to the Prefect's Compartment.

Pale hand appearing to clutch the Hufflepuff crest on her undecorated school robe, she bit her lip, and gulped.

She could do this. She could do this. She could do this.

The Hufflepuff took a wobbling step forward.

She could do this.

She could

not.

She could not. She could not do this. The girl twirled around, ankle almost rolling in the nearly too large shoes.

Though lacking a watch, she knew it wasn't too late. She could jump off the train. Mother and Mr. Lawrence had undoubtedly departed, but surely she could walk home. She could drop out of school. She could - she could work at the corner muggle grocery. And smile at customers and bag and use the CASHREGISTER!

A glimmer of a nose-crinkling grin broke across her face but just as quickly flip-flopped. Letting go of her crest, moving her hands to her face, to her hair, digging her short, freshly painted nails into her skalp, she shook her head, dark, braided hair swinging furiously.

No. No. She had told them she wouldn't. She had said she would be a Prefect. She had promised.

And a promise was a promise.

She let out a gasp. Took a breath. Held it.

There could be no questioning, no fighting, no running away. She had to do this.

Turning back around, teetering over to the door, she took her place behind a petite girl with hair like her mother's dark-stained cherry wood china cabinet (Ivory).

Pained face going slack as she watched, her eyes widened. "Maybe," she commented, flinching as her voice came out in a hoarse squeak, "Maybe you need a secret password?" The letter hadn't mentioned one (and she would know, having memorized it), but still! It was a top-secret compartment. And everyone knows top-secret things have passwords.

Wesley nodded, knowledgeably.

Was it locked? Was she supposed to have received a key?

Ivory was still standing there hand in the air pondering how to go about getting inside, when she heard a voice pipe up behind her.

A secret password? A secret password! Yes, that made sense.

Grinning at her fellow prefect, Ivy brought her hand down to her side sheepishly before extending it in greeting. "That's makes more sense than a secret knock, that's for sure. Hi, by the way. I'm Ivory." She couldn't really take the small sound of relief in her voice, after all she was happy that she wasn't the only one that had no idea what aaall the ins and outs of being a prefect were. The small exchange alone made her feel a thousand times better.

Her gaze turned to purposefully glare at the door, as her mind whirled through possible passwords. " What sounds like a "prefect-like" password, I wonder?" Pine fresh? Tiddlywinks? Shinybadgedness?

Maybe she hadn't received one on purpose. What if she couldn't get in because it was all some big joke? A sort of , You prefect, HA moment. No, no if it was a joke it surely would've come out in the open by now, right? Right?

Shrugging her hair over on shoulder, she looked around deviously. "Would it be odd if we just....Umm waited here until another prefect walks up? You know, and then just ninja our way in as well??"

Having stuffed his luggage in some compartment, Evan Cartwright walked confidently up to the prefects compartment quite arrogantly while he passed through the corridors of the train. Yes, he might be slightly late. But only a little. And yes, that might be because he had chosen the back of the train intentionally to put his stuff in, only in order to walk all the way up to the front of the train with his badge SHINING arrogantly. But of course, everyone had to see that HE was a prefect. He. Evan Cartwright. Was a prefect. People ought to know, and be jealous.

As his happy mood slightly faded when he realised he might make a bad impression if he was the last one to get in, he half-run the last few compartments in order to make it on time. (And even running with that badge was special, because it gave you a mystical air as if you were after a big thing.) He halted a few metres before though, and caught his breath, felt his badge again to make sure it was still there and that this wasn't a joke--he was SURE it wasn't a joke, who else could be the prefect but him, still though, being sure was necessary--and ran a hand through his blond hair. There, he was ready for his entrance. As he walked, he saw two girls waiting in front of the door and his face got pale. Had the meeting already started? But he was only a FEW minutes late! Did prefectness also meant being there on time sharp? Like the sharpest? He gulped. This wasn't supposed to be like that! It was supposed to--

"What are you waiting for?" he asked perplexed, cutting off all the worried thoughts in his head to focus on these two girls facing each other. He had seen their badge--it was almost impossible not to see them!--and he was sure this was their compartment. What were they waiting for? They were clearly not some students who needed help, they gave the help. Then, it occured to him that maybe they were late too, and that they were waiting for the meeting inside to be over. Although it was no big relief that they were all late, at least he wasn't the only one. At least he could cling to them if they were all going to face some consequences.

"Has the... meeting started already?" he asked, voice now a pitch higher with worry. Apparently, prefectness did mean being on time the sharpest, and now they were doomed.

Please, not my badge!

Wondering face lighting up to match the girl beside her, Wesley stuck out her hand with alacrity. Firmly taking the girl's hand in her own, she gave it a short shake, the perfected result of extreme practice. "My name's Wesley Reagan! Nice to meet you!" she replied, the words almost robotic but the tone definitely not.

Fear sliding easily into enthusiasm, she pondered the question with a serious face. "Hmmm, maybe Protect? Because it RHYMES!"

and was only two letters different.

Looking at the door expectantly, Wesley let out a small, dejected sigh when nothing happened.

Glancing over at the girl, she responded, "We could. That's what I did when it flooded and we had to stay with the Ravenclaws. Hufflepuffs don't have a talking eagle ... or a talking badger."

With that said, Wesley gnawed her bottom lip, silently thinking. Prefects were supposed to know everything. But Wesley didn't know anything. The tightness in her stomach returned, along with blurred vision. Hand finding her subtly bulging crest, she dug her fingers into the fabric, and the sharp piece of metal behind it.

"But...but," Wesley didn't want to be a failure, "We can't give up! Prefects don't give up! We just." Wesley pounded out the words with determined fervor, "have. to. think. harder."

Think Wesley, think!

Her deep thinking was interrupted by a masculine voice. Turning around, eyes wide, she relaxed slightly when she saw who it was.

Evan Cartwright. The boy who vomited in Divination. Sporting a green and silver badge.

"The door is locked! There has to be a secret password," she informed him, "But we can't figure it out!"

...

"THE MEETING HAS ALREADY STARTED?!" she gasped, going paler than she naturally was. Oh no, oh no, oh no. This was not good. This was bad. This was awful. This was TERRIBLE!

She had failed. Wesley had failed them. Dominic. Vanessa. Tammy. Torin. Sarah. Miranda. Lori. Cedric. Reese. Jack. Celandine. Oliver. All of those little first years who were looking up to her - who needed her. She had failed them all.

Her heart broke.

Iris looked at Trixie as she started to cling onto her arm, then smiled. The girl looked scared. And lonely. Iris wasn't surprised, either... What, with Oliver gone now. "Don't worry. You're gonna do great, Trixie." She said, honestly. And with that, she put her free arm out, to offer Trixie a hug.

As one of the other people spoke, Iris nodded. Sophie. Gryffindor Prefect. "Nice to meet you, Sophie. I'm Iris." She nodded slightly. "... Returning Slytherin prefect." Names... were something Iris was DEFINITELY going to have to remember this year... She's not good with names, though!

There were people outside the compartment. Iris could see the shadows through the curtains on the door. For a little while, she didn't do anything - or bring it up. They weren't knocking... so they clearly didn't need help. Besides, they might have just been some first years waiting for other friends.

But then, she heard someone yell something.

...

Why would anyone need to be shouting?

Iris looked at Trixie, then to the door. Shrugging Trixie off her arm, Iris went to the door and peeked through the curtain.

... They weren't first years.

They were prefects.

Grinning to herself, Iris rolled her eyes. Then she unlocked the door and opened it. Standing behind the door was Wesley, Evan and a Ravenclaw that she didn't know.

... WESLEY GOT PREFECTED?! Iris did not know that.

The Slytherin Prefect grinned at the new prefects, "Y'know... you could have just knocked on the door."

As the new prefects entered the compartment, a sheet of newspaper was scuffed up underfoot, floated into the air and came down on an empty seat.

It was the latest issue of The Quibbler.

If the prefect introductions get too boring, at least there'll be something interesting to read.

The prefect compartment...

Technically speaking, Aaron DID have access... But should I go in?

Yes?

No?

GAH! Why not???!!!!

Aaron walked down the hall of the compartment to see a bunch of other people standing at the door. There was Iris, and... WOAH WESLEY!!! .......... Evan???? EVAN got prefect????

Aaron didn't want to stand there awkwardly. "Erm, Hiya," he said to the bunch. He gave a look to Iris saying 'Figure'd I'd join ya.' Then he tried to get a look past his friends... and Evan... into the compartment to see who else was there, when he saw the Quibbler...

"Hey, who's that?" he said to everyone pointing to the magazine.

Cedric stared at Trixie. He hoped she would get used to... everything new to her, soon. He wasn't satisfied with her 'thanks' that quite sounded like a question more of a sincere answer.

And cue arrivals of yet another prefects.

Ooh, look, there was Iris. She was made prefect the same term as he. He kind of knew her. They hadn't spoken a word with each other, though. Well, not yet. "Hey Iris." Now they did. He smiled. He then shifted his attention to the girl who introduced himself as the newly-badged Gryffindor prefect. Pretty one. "Hi, I'm Cedric."

At first, Ced felt and thought it wasn't at all weird seeing newly-badged people but as they fill in the compartment and only few of them he knew, it was actually starting to feel weird now. But he couldn't be more certain that as soon as everyone knows everyone's name, getting to know each other and all that jazz, it would be like they were long-lost friends or acquaintances.

Ced watched a sheet of newspaper as it endeavored its way to an empty seat. "The Quibbler. What a pleasant surprise," he remarked as he took it, his eyebrows shooting half way up his forehead.

Perusing the Quibbler, he was disturbed and startled as he heard loud talking behind the compartment door. Were they first years arguing if they should ask the prefects about something? Hmm. Immensely possible. Relaxing with a sigh and then squaring his shoulders, Cedric decided to open the door but halted to do so as Iris stood up and unlocked the door.

There they were... the firsties... no, the other prefects! On edge. Tensed.

Ced grinned, as it was the most appropriate thing to do at the moment. "There's a password, Iris. You know there is. It's not a word or a phrase but a sentence right. 'Tis 'Please open the door', no?" He beamed at them, just... out of habit.

Was that Wesley? She would be his co-prefect this term? How lovely!

Hmm...

Shouldn't this train come with a directory of some kind or at least something similar?! Sierra thought all public means of transportation did. She and Alex had been forced to take the muggle tubes once, and there had been maps all over that place! Of course, they'd still managed to get themselves lost and gone completely in the opposite direction than the one they'd intended to; but yes, there had been maps there, nonetheless.

...and just how had she managed to get turned around in the first place? This was a train, for Merlin's sake! Maybe it had something to do with the fact that there were hundreds of people roaming up and down the aisles. Didn't anyone sit in their compartments anymore?! She'd be in hers, really, she would. Only, she wasn't quite sure where it was at the moment.

Oh, wait! This one, the one on the left--this one was the one she'd been in! She was sure of it now! With complete and total confidence, Sierra opened the door widely and stepped inside.

...umm, who were these people?!

Once again, the door slid open.

It was open by.... Sierra? Yeah, Sierra! The sweet clever little girl he met at Diagon Alley. Was she lost or something? Or maybe she just had something to tell them prefects? Hope it wasn't trouble.

Cedric beetled his forehead, ruminatively thinking what in the world had brought Sierra to the prefects' compartment. The best option to do was ask.

"Hey Sierra! How are.. what brings you here?" Cedric grudged a grin, trying to decode what her facial expressions would say about her or about the current situation she was in.

...and just how did this boy know her name, hmm? Instinctively, Sierra glanced down at her shirt, double-checking to make sure she hadn't worn something that displayed her name in some way. Nope, no name. So then how did--oh, wait! Of course! Sierra had nearly forgotten that she'd met this boy in Diagon Alley. He was the Puffer, wasn't he? His name had escaped her, though.

"Oh, hey, Puffer Boy," she greeted, stepping further into the compartment. "What brings me here? Uhh, is anyone on the train heading somewhere else besides Hogwarts?" What did he think she was doing here? Searching for gold at the end of the rainbow? Honestly. Hufflepuffs.

Noticing the magazine in his hand, she leaned over his shoulder and peered at what he was reading. "Uhh, what in Merlin's name is terminal degenerative dementia?" she asked, speaking out loud to herself more than actually asking any of the students sitting around. She scanned further down the page, her eyes getting wider as she read more and more. "Eww, removing a crup's tail? Gross. That's gotta hurt."

Puffer Boy? Really, Puffer Boy? That was.... MEAN.

Hufflepuff Boy would have been more suitable... and Hufflepuff Gentleman miles and miles more suitable.

He should have called her Perpetually-tangled-hair Girl! Negatively-charged Creature! Ickle firstie! Why, so suddenly, she was being mean now. Had she taken something bad? like Elixir to Induce Meanness or Essence of Ridiculous Disrespectful-ness? Who wanted to be addressed like that? Puffer boy, that was offensively punishable. Detention! Hehe.

But, as a relief to everyone around, Cedric wouldn't manifest his slight annoyance toward the little girl's actions. Well... just a little bit. He didn't usually get annoyed that fast. He wasn't his usual self... right now.

"Should you know, this is the Prefects' compartment," Cedric told her bluntly yet in a nice way... in a nice way because he was smiling.

Sophie was about try and opened up the conversation in the very quiet compartment when she heard first one then a second and lastly a third voice just outside the door. The first two voices she assumed were girls since no boy could really be squeaky. The third voice she recognized immediately though as it was Evan whom she had met in Slug & Jiggers over the summer and earlier today on the platform. Sophie wondered why they weren’t coming in. The door wasn’t locked or anything. Weird, looking around at the other prefects she wondered if one of them would react or if she had to. She didn’t want to break any sort of tradition or something, Merlin forbid, being newly badged and all.

Sophie beamed at Iris saying "Pleased to meet you Iris!" The blond was a returning prefect which meant that she knew the ropes of how to be a prefect and everything. Outside the door the voices remained talking in now raised tones. She was seriously considering standing up and going and looking out but Iris beat her to it. As the compartment door flung open Sophie saw Evan and two unfamiliar girls standing outside. The girls also had prefect badges. Flashing them each a smile she said "Hello, I’m Sophie, gryffindor prefect!" Turning to Evan she asked confused "What took you so long? I thought you were right behind me when we entered the train?" The brunette moved away from the silent Ravenclaw boy who she still had no name on to sit closer to the window. It was only to give the new arrivals more room to sit down not to be weird.



Sophie peered at the Quibbler that another boy with a captain’s badge held up. Did Quidditch captains also ride in the prefect compartment? She had never heard they did but on the other hand she had up till recently not paid much attention to this part of the train except if she needed assistance. Her father had said that the minister of magic had recently hired some new people to advise her but he had never mentioned any names. And if he had Sophie hadn’t put it to memory. Speaking up to the new boy she said "Hey, I have no idea who that man is. Doesn’t the article say who it is?" She didn’t want to act rude or like a know it all but reading the article usually helped.

Still a bit distracted by the Quibbler and the arrivals of so many new people Sophie at first didn’t register the older boy’s words. When she did she beamed at him "Pleasure to meet you too, Cedric!" As she saw he was reading the quibbler Sophie asked "Does the Quibbler have any interesting news?"



The compartment door opened for Sophie didn’t know what number in the order but now it was a younger brown haired girl that entered. If she ventured a guess on the girl’s age she would say probably a first year. The girl seemed to know Cedric already so Sophie figured that she didn’t need to step in and ask what they could do for the girl whose name was Sierra. Cedric was called a ‘puffer boy’ which he didn’t seem to like very much. Sophie hoped that Cedric would keep his cool and not manifest his clear irritation.

Hmm. Finn really didn't know any of these people. That was quite a bad thing, especially if he know had to work with them. So...keeping his cool Finn kind of just sat where he was, hoping that some of these poeple we going to like introduce there selves so that he would at least know there names.
Hmm. But why were they all standing outside? Couldn't they just walk in? These people obviously weren't very intelligent. And now there was someone who looked like they weren't tall enough to be a prefect appeared at door. But thankfully that other dude that had been there when he walked in was dealing with it.

Oh yeah. He was meant to be introducing himself. "I'm Finn...." That worked.