Front of the Train
 

The driver and snack lady sit up front in the driver's cab, but there are plenty of other compartments up here. Prefects have their very own!

Damon quickly got on board the train, he was so eager to leave as soon as possible and get to his home away from home, he also wanted to see if he could make at least a few friends this term... He found a good empty compartment which he noticed was rather dusty and he was not sure why that was the case... Putting his trunk in the little space above him he sat down and tried to relax but with him being so excited he was sure it would take a while to settle down.

Anyone wanna join a hyper Slythie? >w<
 

Selena had brought a pillow on board. She had learned after three terms that the Hogwarts Express was a great place to be comfy, talk, nap and eat. So should she get bored of talking, she was going to take a nap with her polka-dotted pillow. Selena opened the door of a compartment and sat herself down, excited to be back at Hogwarts in a few short hours... if the company was good, that is.

She dropped her bag down on the seat next to her and unwrapped a giant lollipop. Sel liked lollipops, especially the big ones, they were colorful and pretty and sugar-filled lovelies. Mmmhmm. As she looked outside the window, she saw students buzzing around. Ahh... Hogwarts, the term was going to start again soon and Selena couldn't wait.

Isabelle boarded the train and looked around for a spot. She found a boy nearer the front of the train and walked over. He looked her age. "Excuse me, do you think I might be able to sit here?" Isabelle was surprised she sounded very French after a summer in France. Normally here she sounded British. She was extremely excited to get back to Hogwarts.

Damon saw a girl about his age open the door and his heart gave a short beat.. "Hi, come on in all the seats are open.. Im Damon by the way." Damon nodded courteously at her.

Pixie~
 

Haha. Hyper Slythie ftw! XD Mind if I join? :3
 

Alright. So she had been excited to go to Hogwarts. Like, really excited. But this? This crowd and all the pushing and shoving and screaming and crying children......alright maybe not so much crying, but her ears were ringing from the noise.

And there was a fine headache that was starting to prickle along with her frustration after struggling to get her trunk loaded. Thank Merlin's fluffy beard it was just her backpack, her half-grown crow with his bent and off-kilter wing that complimented his balance, and her peering eyes. Which searched for a compartment. One that preferably wasn't filled to the brim, which she wasn't exactly counting on.

But then she saw it. Her salvation. Poka-dots and lollypops she was so in! Poking her head into the semi-occupied but still spacious compartment, Charner squished her body against the door to avoid behind flattened by the mad rush of students. "Do you have room for one who shares your enthusiasm for all things wickedly-awesome colored?"

Aviva pulled her bags into the train, lugging her owl cage and large trunk behind her. Aviva shoved her things into one of the cartons, ignoring her owl's frightened squawks, she knew he'd be all right. Aviva found an empty compartment and sank down by herself, pulling out one of her new books. It wasn't a school book, but it had looked interesting. It had some old muggle legends in it, tied to Wizarding history. Aviva didn't know much about Muggles, but she was curious. She would never read a book solely about them of course, that would simply be a waste of her time, but when it was tied to history like this, she had no need to feel guilty. She was still learning, after all.

The pygmy puff balancing on her head was probably going to fall any minute now, but Sel didn't mind. She was fairly certain Kent wouldn't mind either. However, she was shocked when she saw a girl squish herself into the compartment and Kent fell onto Selena's lap. The four feet, five inches tall girl's legs barely touched the ground as she looked at the taller person with wide eyes. Selena pet Kent then held the lollipop in one hand, so she could speak and smile.

Slowly, Selena smiled warmly at the girl. "Feel free to take a seat, awesometastically colored things are cool and since you like it... you're cool," Selena decided with a nod of her head before beaming. "And since you like awesometastically colored things, you need a giant lollipop-pop-pop too," she added, pulling one out of her bag and holding it out to the girl with her not eaten lollipop hand. Giving the girl the lollipop that she had eaten was gross.

"I'm Selena Zabini-Riddle and I'm awesome," Selena said, introducing herself.

Isabelle smiled and stuck out her hand. Not for a kiss as in French custom but a nice proper British shake. She found some French customs weird, maybe that was why she liked Hogwarts and England better. "Isabelle, 6th year Slytherin," Isa said sweetly as she began to lift her trunk up.

tehehe!
 

Making her way back from the food trolley, Kurumi decided to delay her inevitable arrival at the prefect compartment by making the rounds around the train and looking for any of the first years she had met on the platform - especially Chris. She was afraid that some overbearing students might take advantage of the poor boy.

Kurumi spotted a boy sitting alone in a compartment, looking as though he had already paid the food trolley a visit by the way he was bouncing, and decided to take a peek in.

"See anything good out there?" she asked a little nervously from the doorway.

Damon shook her hand as well "Sweet name Isabelle. Im a 6th year Ravenclaw and i have to say i do like your accent, it is very interesting. I bet you are way excited to go back to Hogwarts, would you like help lifting your trunk? Damon asked?"

Well, did she pick a good compartment or did she pick a good compartment.

With a wide grin, Charner slipped into the space and closed the door behind her. Stupid noise. Stupid loud people. Ahhh. Nice and quiet in here. Providing the crazyness outside didn't end up bursting through the door.

But there were more important things to consider right now, like the awesometastically colored things. Being awesome. Meeting another awesome. And just, a compartment full of awesome-winness. And the lolli-pop of course.

"Of course your awesome." She replied with a grin. "First of all, there's your name." Dropping her bag on the seat beside where she plopped herself, she accepted the offer of the lolli-pop with a nod of her head. "That is simply epically awesome-sauce. Selena Zabini-Riddle. Catchy. Cool. Unique. And graceful. Then there's your pillow and lolli-pop, which thank you for by the way." Those things went without saying, so she spent no time on them. "Then there is your archive of words. Awesometastically is just...awesometastic."

Thrusting her hand forward, she offered it in greeting; something her brother had taught her in the realm of manners. "I'm Charner Hope Rainbow, and I believe I just entered the best compartment on this train." They should start a club or something.

Isabelle laughed. "Thank you, and this accent turns more British after awhile. I spent the summer in France with my family," she was extremely surprised she sounded French now. At the beginning of the summer mum and dad and Gabii were commenting on how here accent sounded British after a year here. "I am extremely excited to get back," Isabelle had been excited all summer to come back. Was that nice boy asking if she need help? How sweet. "Of course!" she smiled accepting the help.

Carson speedily got on the train 'Wow, this train is HUGE.' He thought to himself. He was wearing his school robes already, to avoid he rush of changing on the train. His wand was tucked away in his robe pocket. In his hand, he was holding the cage for his newly bought barn owl named Wallace. He remembered his parents' words to him. From his mom, "We'll write to you every day! We love you! I am so proud of my little wizard!" Aw, even though she was a muggle, she knew just what to say. Fro his father, "I know you're capable of great things. Maybe one day, seven years from now, We'll be working together in the Auror's office! Good luck, Carson!" He looked around for an empty compartment, but eventually gave up. He looked at a girl (Aviva) in the nearest compartment. "Excuse me, are any of those seats taken?" He asked

Damon lugged her trunk and put carefully on the luggage space above their seats. "There, i hope that will work, I dont think it will fall out unless the train has to put on the brakes suddenly. So where you from originally?" he asked her.

Aviva looked up from her book in surprise, to see a boy about her age standing there. She shook her head, "No. The seats are all free. You can sit here if you'd like. I'm Aviva, Aviva Rose. And you are? It's a pleasure to meet you."

Aviva attempted to smile friendlily, standing up and offering him her hand. She shook herself. What was she thinking? This was why she had no friends. Dumb down, dumb down, dumb down. What do cool kids care about?

"So, some Quiddich season, huh?" Aviva offered awkwardly.

Tori watched her cousin disapparate with a little sigh, turning away from the window and tucking a strand of hair behind one ear. She headed down the corridor, wondering which compartment she should sit in. Were they supposed to sit by year? Would she be able to find Hateya and Taryn? Hmm.

Sighing again as she passed loads of students, all of whom seemed to know each other already, Tori frowned. She was going to have to get to the middle of the train if she wanted a compartment to herself...

He wasn't gonna look away from the window.

He wasn't gonna look away from the window.

He wasn't gonna look away from the-

Chick.

Salariel's eyes immediately pulled away from the window and settled on the girl in the doorway. She looked pretty young, which was an immediate 'er' in his head, but... hello there badge.

A badge made her older and clearly interesting. Salariel's leg stopped bouncing immediately, which his poor little pocket pet probably appreciated, and a grin crossed his face.

"Nothing yet... you know how long it takes to get to Hogwarts, Pretty Miss Badge? I don't wanna miss it."

Isabelle smiled and sat down with a laugh. "And lets asume that will not happen," Isabelle said that would for sure not be good. "Well..." she began. "I am from France and went to Beauxbaton up until last year when I transfered here, well exchanged with a girl who went here and I have loved it," Isabelle explained.

"I admire Beauxbaton's way of learning or so i have heard from other students who went there originally, I was born and raised here in England, i wouldn't want to be anywhere else at the moment, Hogwarts always makes me want to stay no matter what happens, both of my parents are in Peru at the moment doing an expedition for the Peruvian Ministry for Magic, so far they have done pretty well." Damon smiled at her a bit. "I live with my Uncle Darien at the moment but he is always out all the time" Damon explained.

Mathias walked slowly through the train corridor, dragging his wheeled trunk behind him with one hand and carrying his newly-bought owl in cage with the other. His apprehension mingled with excitement about starting a new school where he knew absolutely no one had not subsided in the least as he peered into compartment after compartment, looking for a place to sit. Each and every one seemed to be filled with students much older than him and the young blond was somewhat intimidated in sitting with older kids, so he kept walking, looking for either a compartment with kids his own age... or an empty one.

It wasn't long before the first year came upon a compartment that seemed to sit two students who looked about his age - a boy and a girl. He looked through the window for a moment to confirm that they were indeed close to his age before stepping through the door. "Do you mind if I sit here?" he asked the two already present, but he didn't really wait for an answer before sitting down on an empty spot on the bench. He wasn't about to leave and have to share a compartment with a bunch of 6th or 7th years - a little too scary.

LMAO. Chick? Kurumi would die if she knew she had been referred to as that xD
 

Kurumi wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing that the boy had suddenly stopped bouncing. Was she scary looking? Was her hair doing something weird? Funny how the latter of those almost always immediately popped into the forth year's head. She really should have spent more time with her father over the summer learning how to control it so that she wouldn't need to worry about it anymore....what was she saying? She had been gone most of the summer and the time she HAD been home there had been an unexpected visitor.

"It will be a few hours. Most of the best views won't be seen until we are about an hour into the trip," she smiled before her cheeks flushed a rosy pink. Right, she had put her badge on after talking with Cookie Hater at the food trolley. "And please, call me Kurumi." Not Miss Badge or anything that drew attention to it.

Kurumi began to tug on her long black pony tail, feeling rather awkward about the whole badge wearing already.

Isabelle smiled that was exactly how she felt. "Exactly, my parents asked me if I wanted to go back to Beauxbaton. I just stared at them in awe. I love Beauxbaton, don't get me wrong. But Hogwarts is much better," she smiled and listened to his story. "Peru cool. My sister does lots of traveling for the French Ministry of Magic and I think she has been there."

Tonya kept bumping into people on her way down the corridor... This was no way to travel. Honestly. These people were all magic, why couldn't they use portkeys like Bogdan. And to make things worse, she didn't have Silviu walking between her feet, keeping her safe from.

And Daddy had run off before they even got on the platform, because Răzvan needed to be helped out of yet another illegal experiment.... really at some point that boy was going to Azkaban, and there would be nothing Daddy could do. His Political influence could only go so far... and Toni may see to it, cause she would not stand Daddy constantly running off on her cause of her crimonal of a brother.

Toni decided after bumping into a big older student, and hoping they wouldn't punch her, that she should seek coverage in a compartment.

The First one she passed, Toni stopped and took a breath. She brought her hand up from her bag, and knocked twice before sliding the door open to see who she was walking in one, hopefully it was empty and she'd have a lucky break.

Instead she saw an older student, who looked like a seventh year.

Ooops.

"I-I-I'm sorry." she said extremely quietly and nervously. "C-Can I sit here?"

Wrong Compartment to pick... but she was here, she couldn't go back now. She simply bit her lip and hoped older girl would turn her away.

"TORI!" Taryn may have bumped into someone or other as she hurried by, trying to reach the girl before she disappeared from sight. She managed to catch up to the girl, the little pink cage that housed Vivian, clutched to her chest.

"I was hoping to bump into you." Grin, "Want to sit with me?"

Aviva turned carefully to keep both boys in view and tried to keep the smile on her face. She could do this. She could hold a normal conversation with other kids. They weren't out to trip her or laugh at her or tease her. She just had to smile and be polite, "Of course not, as long as it's okay with you that is," she said with a look towards the other boy (Carson), "I'm Aviva Rose and we were just discussing...quiddich, I believe. What are your opinions on the current season?"

Hopefully both of them had long, detailed opinions as Aviva knew nothing about the sport, but she wasn't about to admit that. She had brought it up, after all. And it seemed to be a popular topic of conversation, amongst her cousins, at the very least.

"Had i been born in France i probably would have ran away and gone to Hogwarts at any rate" said Damon "You say your sister has been to Peru? its always filled with rain forest, I would probably only live in South America if i could get a house next to the beach out of sight of muggles, how is life in Slythie land?"

Aurora wandered into the front of the train, looking for somewhere to sit or someone to sit with... when she couldn't see anyone she knew she just opened a compartment door and flopped into a seat, pulling out a paper bag and popping a jelly baby into her mouth. She produced a piece of parchment and a quill from her trunk then locked it and lifted it into the overhead storage. Sitting back down again she began to scribble down something that resembled a lot of black dots drifting around a few lines. In reality it was a little violin piece that she had been working on for a while and wanted to get finished as soon as possible.

Carson sat down and put his Owl in an empty seat. "Haven't really been paying attention yet." He said. "But i hope that the Scottish team goes all the way this year. After all I was born in Scotland. Did my accent tip you off?"

I'm going to do my best!
 

Lulu resented the front of the train. She also resented the back of the train. She'd resent the middle of the train if she had any resentment left in her but the spare ounces of that was used to resent her growing body and the hormones that sought to ruin her life forevermore.

Dramatic? Maybe, but it sure wasn't as dramatic as her pet ferret was being at the moment.

"Enough, Sir Robin," spoke the girl as she tried walking down past the compartments with a black-footed ferret attached to a calf. "We'll sit where I say not where you think you smell ferret-girl the most."

Distractedly, Lulu walked past a confused looking girl (or lost? really, the expressions were so similar) before back tracking. She walked backwards until their shoulders met somewhat. Patterson observed her through a sidelong glance.

"I reckon yer lookin' for a compartment, eh?" she asked with a raised brow. "Ye ain't gonna find any at the back of the train. Ye can try here or maybe later on in the middle but only the boring goody goodies sit over here, ya know?"

A few hours? Clearly he should have looked up just how long this trip was supposed to be, he'd been under the impression that it wouldn't be that far. Why didn't Hogwarts have an address he could look up?

...clearly he needed to read that Hogwarts history book he'd picked up for school.

"Kurumi, then," he said with a slight shrug, smile lingering on his lips. She'd be Miss Red Badge in his head forevermore, because those badges were marks of importance, and he needed to remember who they belonged to. For future... er... issues.

He kinda hoped Miss Green Badge wasn't too pretty. Hitting on them too much could backfire.

"I'm Salariel." He saluted her briefly before gesturing to the seat opposite him. "You wanna sit, or you got some place to be?"

Isabelle laughed at this remark. "Well I wasn't as knowledgable of schools when I was 11," Isabelle smirked at the boy. "I found out how amazing Hogwarts was in my 3rd year when there was a transfer from here that raved avout it so I begged my parents to let me come. They gave in at the end of my fourth year," Isabelle remembered this very well it included a broken chair and two broken fingers on her part. "Well I don't remember where she stayed but I know it was nice with the Peruvian minister and other people from France. Slythie land is quite great. I was very focused last year because of OWLS though and haven't meet any great friends yet."

Oh, good, they didn't seem to mind him joing them, or at least the girl didn't as she introduced herself. "Hi, Aviva Rose," Matty replied, thinking that she went by her first and middle name, not knowing it might be her last name. "I'm Mathias," he said, figuring the boy would be the next to offer his name. The 11 year old got to work putting his trunk in the upper storage area since it seemed his stay in the compartment would be permanent, then froze as the girl mentioned Quidditch - a subject he knew pretty much nothing about. But he wasn't going to let his compartment-mates know that. No need to appear stupid on the first day - not to people he's just met. "Uh... Quidditch?" he started as he turned back around , before hearing the other boy's answer. "Er.. yeah, I haven't been paying much attention either." Oh, so there was a Scottish team? Mkay... good to know and remember for later. There was so much he needed to learn...

She was making him have shortness of breath... Must be because of how nice she was. "So you damaged things at home because you wanted to go to Hogwarts so bad? I had to set my 2 cats on my parents to get them to give in because as it is my Mom and Dad both have lost a bit of their mind on how to do magic." Damon said.

"Nice to meet you both. y nae is Carson. " he said, glad he's already making new friends.

Isabelle laughed because it was like he read her mind. "Yeah I broke a chair, two fingers, oh and my sisters favorite necklace. She was so mad even though it could be repaired right away," Isabele still couldn't get her sis's scream out of her head. Gabii never screamed at her. "Two cats..." Isabelle stifled laughter. "What did you want so badly?"

Aviva leaned back as both Carson and Mathias claimed to know nothing about Quiddich. Well, there's one topic down, and at least they'd never figure out that she was no more informed, "Well, good luck to the Scottish team then. Are they any good?"

Aviva smiled contently as she tried to find another topic, this wasn't going too badly so far, "How did you two do shopping? Diagon Alley is incredible, isn't it? I don't understand why my mum wouldn't let me go before. It seems perfectly safe. And utterly fascinating. Who knew there was so much...stuff out there?"

Anyone? Anyone at all?
 

Third year at last. The first time Nika walked into this very train she was only eleven. A shy, confused, and wowed first year. Now she enters as a "grown up", by her standards at least. She's officially a teenager and officially ready for her third year of Hogwarts.

Nika dragged her trunk around looking for a compartment filled with her friends. Well the friends that she was in the mood to talk to. She poked her head into a few compartments along the way, but noticed that most of them were empty. The other students probably weren't situated yet either... So Nika continued to make her way from the very front of the train to the very back of the train to find someone to sit with. No such luck. So instead she let out a over dramatic sigh and dragged her trunk and her feet back to the front of the train. Finding a nice empty compartment she opened the door with a small yawn. She put her trunk away and decided since she was alone she'd just lie down on the seats. Maybe she could even get some sleep?

So there in one of the very front compartments of the train Nika was stretched across the seats of a small, empty compartment. She looked around before sleepily closing one eye and then slowly drifting into a nice sleep. If she needed some extra energy later on she had her stash of chocolate frogs to make her hyper like she normally is so no harm done.

Tori had just about given up on finding an empty compartment and opened the door to a new one when....

She almost tripped over a girl with a... skunk? A weasel? A furry thing attached to her foot. "Um," she started, pointing at the girl's leg. Maybe she just had a lead leg? EWW. Now Tori was trying not to stare even as she realized that the girl was actually talking to her.

"Yeah, yeah I am. So... I shouldn't bother with the back, and I can't sit in the front," because obviously she was no goodie-goodie... "So I should just go for the middle?"

Well then, she was heading in the right direction. "And you have something attached to your leg, by the way."

Tori turned and started down the corridor again, starting to sigh until she heard her name being shouted.

"TARYN!" The ginger turned and grinned at her friend and her pygmy puff. "Oh, and you brought Vivian! I left Simba in the luggage compartment; do you think he's safe there?!"

But of course she wanted to sit with her friend! "Yeah, this girl here," she tilted her head toward Ferret Legs, "says we hafta go to the middle, so..."

"It was a hassle to get all my supplies, but hey, it was brilliant. My mom is a uggle, so she didn't really do much of the shopping"

"I wanted to go to Hogwarts" Damon said "at the time my parents wanted to send me to a magical school in Iceland which approximately 3000 or so students attended, I said i didn't want to go there because Hogwarts had better teachers and classes."

And AMA too.
 

Taryn shook her head quickly, "I'm sure he will be just fine." She hadn't even thought of leaving Vivian there, but everyone else seemed to have their pets with them, so she supposed it was okay for her to have hers as well.

Like this girl who Tori was mentioning. How lovely! A ferret! Not Taryn's first choice in a pet, but nice anyway. To each her own.

"The middle is fine with me." Of course. Taryn wasn't too keen on the front anyway, everyone knew that was where the goddie goodies sit.

"Hi, Carson," Mathias gave a friendly nod in the other boy's direction as he gave his name. He breathed a sigh of relief as the topic changed from Quidditch. Apparently the other two either weren't big fans or didn't know much more about the sport than he did. Either way was fine for Mathias as he did not want to appear unknowledgeable.

The 11 year old glanced over to Aviva Rose as she talked about Diagon Alley. He guessed that she was a first year as he had originally thought since it seemed that it was her first time shopping there. He wasn't sure what to think of the magical shops - amazement, curiosity, and a little bit of apprehension.

"Fascinating..." he repeated softly, musing almost to himself. "Yes, it is quite a bit to take in, isn't it?" he added, louder now to address everyone in the compartment. "Very busy though... Did either of you go to the carnival while you were getting your school supplies?" he asked both the kids.

Isabelle smiled. Well of course it was to go to Hogwarts. "Of course. But Iceland that is quite interesting and far away. Why did they want you to go there?" Isabelle questioned him. That sounded cold and far. She was glad her parents didn't send her there.

"Your mum's a Muggle, Carson, really? Cool. What's it like, living with her? How does she keep up with magic? Does she tell you stories of what growing up from her was like? Or Muggle fairy tales? That must be fascinating, learning about both worlds," Aviva asked excitedly, before calming herself. Right, it was unseemly to show such concern with Muggles. Their world was separate for a reason and not for her to wonder at. She was a Pureblood Witch and needed to conduct herself as such, as her mother always told her. But maybe Carson would tell her some more anyway. Oh, she hoped so.

"And no, Mathias, unfortunately I didn't have time to stop by the Carnival on my own and my mother had work to do, so we had to go back home as soon as I was done shopping. Did you get to go? How was it? I heard it was wonderful. What about you, Carson? Did you go with your mum? What did she think of it? Did she compare it to Muggle carnivals? How do those work anyway? The rides must be awfully boring without magic to power them."

Kurumi smiled. Good. No more Miss Badge or Miss Prefect. At least for the time being. It probably wouldn't be long before another first year said the same thing. At least it was better than being known as Seeker Hollingberry? At least Kurumi hadn't broken out in a rash this time, so that was a good sign.

"Lovely to meet you Salariel," she smiled. She looked at the empty seat across from him and her smiled widened. "N-N-Not really," she said. She didn't HAVE to be anywhere. But she knew she had to show up in the prefect compartment at some point. Kurumi removed her backpack and set it on the floor in front of her seat before sitting down from across from him. "First time to Hogwarts I take it?"

She reached down and searched its contents for her tin of cookies.

"Oh muggles get along fine without magic. My mo is pretty fine with being married to a wizard. She's actually proud of having two wizards in the family. She likes being the odd one out from the rest of the muggle crowd. And my om stayed home. It was my dad an I that did my shopping. My mom did say goodbye to me as well as my dad back at the station." Wow, carson thought he was talking A LOT today

AND COLLEY. Include yourself here, pretty, I just can't quote all
 

Oh, she was new after all. Lulu smiled smugly at having guessed correctly. Her hands found their niche on her hips as she observed the girl in front of her. "If that's what ye want," clarified Patterson with a small tilt of her head. "It's up to ye, ya know? Free will and all that."

At the girl's observation, Lulu nodded without glancing down. "That's me ferret. His name's Sir Robin--well," paused the girl as she wound a finger in the air. "That's short for--" Patterson didn't get to finish her thoughts because another girl had appeared, out of the metaphorical bushes of the corridors of the Hogwarts Express. Lulu stood patiently (it was a miracle upon miracles), with her hands on her hips for her turn to speak.

"Well, you don't havta..." said Lulu again. Her brows shot up as she grew silent. The girls were obviously not wanting to be pegged as goody goodies which almost made them goody goodies in Lulu's book. "But if ye wanna!" Lulu trailed off to stretch her arms above her head. "I can try finding one for ye. Follow me or er....one moment!"

Lulu bent over to grab Sir Robin by the scruff of the neck. The ferret kicked his stubby legs in protest at first before going limp. "I can tell Robin to find one for us."

my last post b4 bed, will pick up in the am
 

Mathias grinned as Aviva Rose began to talk excitedly to both the boys. The girl was certainly a chatterbox, but that was okay with him. Better than awkward silence, right? He listened as Carson said his mum was a Muggle and Aviva Rose seemed so interested in that. "Yeah, my dad's a... a Muggle too," he told Carson hesitantly. He still thought that word was so strange.

Green eyes shifted to the girl as she addressed him. "No, I didn't get to go," he replied with a slight frown. "We were in kind of a hurry to get my supplies..." he trailed off. Going to Hogwarts was pretty much a last minute decision and they only had time for the necessary. Too bad, it looked really cool. "I wonder if it's something they have every year," he mused, more to himself than anyone else, though he said it loud enough for everyone to hear. It had been his first trip to Diagon Alley, after all, and he had no idea about the kinds of things that normally went on there.

"The fact that Iceland is cold, and for a fact winter is my favorite season and always will be especially up at Hogwarts. I can only hope that Hogwarts will get more snow than usual this winter because that is what keeps me going during the holidays and all that. I love cold weather its a fact" Damon said.

LOVIES. <3 last post before bed.
 

"I sure hope so." Tori bit her lip a little, wondering if there was enough dust and/or other pets' food for him to eat. She still hadn't seen the puff nibbling on anything, so she was guessing he was nocturnal.

Or something. "Okay, cool. I was just heading that way." Until she had run into the ferret chick, that was.

First of all, Tori had to ask this girl a question. "Okay I gotta know, what's with all the ye's, ya know? Do you say 'thee' and 'thou' too?" Was she Amish or something? Victoria had heard stories of those Muggle people back home in America, but not here... maybe she just had a really funny accent.

Anyway. "Sure, send.... Sir Robin on a mission." She giggled a little at the sight of the squirming ferret and hoped HE wasn't on a diet of pygmy puffs. "Lead the way, um.... girl."

"I'm sorry," Aviva replied, "Well, how good could it have been, right? And don't worry about rushing through Diagon Alley. You'll be back again next year and then you'll have all the time in the world. I doubt the carnival will be back, unfortunately. My cousins have never mentioned it before and they always brag to me about EVERYTHING."

Aviva listened to Carson as he talked about his mother. That was sad, that she hadn't come shopping with him. She remembered her mum's eager hugs and kisses upon seeing her wand and school books and exclamations about how big she was getting. It must be a shame for any parent to miss, "That's sad that your mum didn't get to go with you, Carson. Perhaps she'll come next year. I've seen Muggle parents going before and I bet she'd like it. What about your dad, Mathias, did he go with you?"

When Miss Red Badge sat down, Salariel shifted his feet, so they wouldn't be in the way. His pocket squirmed a little in protest, and he patted the bump soothingly, not at all bothered with it as he focused on the prefect.

She stuttered. He wondered if that was a normal thing for her.

"First time, aye," he murmured, settling back against the seat and letting his gaze flick out the window for just a moment. Nothing special out there yet. "Startin' late though, I'm not some little eleven year old."

Obviously. Did he look teeny tiny? Not at all. Salariel was a manly, grown up thirteen year old boy man.

"Guessing you've been out there your fair share of times?" they didn't give badges to young kids, right? Right. She probably just looked really young for her age. He let himself watch as she rummaged through her bag after something, interest only slightly piqued as he twirled his wand in his long fingers.

ooc: last post before bed

BIC: "My mom is still a very nie lady, and a for mydad, He works for the Aurors."

Ugh, final year to Hogwarts. Honestly, Stephen wasn't ready to leave school and have to at like a grown up with a job and paying bill and all those annoying things that made adults go broke. He liked being in school for the sole purpose of still feeling young. Even though teachers like to kill pranks and throw them into detention. But maybe it would be worth it on final year. Strolling along to find his friends and an empty compartment, Stephen still had Kat's little metal ball which he had no idea what it did still.

Oh well. Maybe he'll actually ask her later. Or not.

Aye...Kurumi suddenly felt like smacking her head against the window. This boy hadn't been taken over by some pirate lord, had he? He wasn't calling her a flobberworm, or whatever it was that Salander and Lexi had been calling her most of last term. But she was put at ease a bit when he continued talking and was making sense.

Her eyes glanced over at the boy's pocket and saw it...move...

But her attention was grabbed again when he asked her a question. "I-I didn't think you were a first year," she giggled through a slight stammer. "Your question implied that it was your first time on the Hogwarts Express though." She giggled a little more. "This will be my forth year," she continued, finally finding the tin she was looking for in her bag. Now, she didn't exactly have a good track record with Slytherins and her cookies, but it was worth a shot, right?

She removed the top of the tin to reveal a collection of pinwheel cookies.

"Here, have one," she said offering him the tin.

Mina was about to open another box of peppermint toads when she heard the compartment door open and then a voice. A faint voice, but a voice still.

Looking up, she smiled. It was strange to see another person in her compartment, but she kind of liked the idea at the moment. She had planned on sitting alone and eating all the chocolate she could, in turn making herself sick; but maybe having some company would be nice.

"No harm, no foul." she replied with her trademark friendly smile. "Sure, it looks like a battle zone out there and it's safe in here." Seriously, each year it seemed to get progressive more pushy out there and it wasn't a place for the younger students.

"Do make yourself at home," she added as she opened her treat and set her bag next to Diana's cage. The little owl hooted at the newcomer and hide behind her wing. "Don't mind her, she just restless to get out of her cage and be free to fly around again." The little scop owl was just missing her friends.

"Oh my, where are my manners?" she giggled before extending her hand. "I'm Mina. Jasmina Bennett, but everyone calls me Mina."

Yeah, the chocolate was starting to set in.

Kat walked around the front of the train looking for an empty compartment. She honestly didn't want to go back to Hogwarts seeing as this was her last year and she didn't want it to end. Unfortunately for her, she had to go back to living with her father after this term was over. Her father of course hadn't changed and was still the evil man he always was. That of course was a major drag and was the main reason as to why Kat didn't want to leave Hogwarts.

She spotted little Stephen walking ahead of her so she ran and jumped on his back. "Giddy up!"

Selina hopped aboard the train as it started to leave the station. While she was in the midst of speaking to a few friends the clock struck twelve and the engine of the train started to tug along. Trying to avoid missing the train Selina jumped up onto the train and entered the small hallway that led down the entire Hogwarts Express. As she moved along the hallway her shoes stepped in something chocolate, she could tell by the texture. She lifted her foot slightly to check what she had come upon to reveal a chocolate frog still in its wrappings. Thankfully because it was still wrapped up no harm was done to Selina's Shie, although Selina herself was looking a tad pale at the sight of the chocolate frog. She just couldn't stomach them anymore.

Then she caught sight of an empty compartment. She slid open the door and sat down. Alone time sounded very pleasant at the moment.

Tegz & students (will post again around 4 pm GMT)
 

Eddie boarded the train with his kneazle carrier on one arm and his backpack in the other. Calling behind him he asked "Althea, are you sure we are on the right train?" The new Astronomy professor was anxious and not a little nervous seeing as he had been talked into seeing Hogwarts from the student's view upon arrival. Having never gone to Hogwarts himself Edvard had thought it was a brilliant idea since Althea was going to act like his guide and all but now he wondered. With Tarzan meowing in his carrier, Edvard pressed on down the train corridor looking for an empty compartment.

Finding an empty compartment not too far from the driver's compartment Eddie held up the door for Althea "Think this compartment will do?" After Althea had stepped inside he followed and closed the door behind him. He had made it through the platform and onto the train. One obstacle down.

He shrugged his shoulder lightly when she continued talking; at long as she knew he wasn't some tiny firstie, he was okay. He wasn't sure he could take people thinking he was some little vulnerable kid when he so clearly wasn't.

"Fourth? You're younger than I'd pinned you for." He eyed her thoughtfully. If she was a fourth year, that meant that power rested in those near his age... he pondered that idea for a moment, still idly petting his pocket. If the badges were all fourth years, that... that was a double-edged sword. He could easily get in the good graces of some, but... if they were all young and he ended up on their bad sides, he was stuck with them until they graduated.

Hmm.

"'m a third year," he added belatedly, nodding to punctuate the fact. Eying the offered cookies, he leaned forward and took one, looking it over before taking a small bite. "Thanks. It's good."

Nothing he could offer to the creature in his pocket, but his own belly was getting a bit whiny with hunger. His little friend would just have to go back to sleep until later, wouldn't he.

Kurumi was about to respond that yes, she had heard she looked like a first year, when a smile tickled the edges of her lips. Older? He thought she looked older? Could she hug him? Would he freak out? Hex her? Well, he couldn't hex her because he was underaged and that would be against wizarding law, but he could freak out. Best to just sit in her seat and smile.

"R-R-R-Really?" she stammered as the flush in her cheeks grew a slightly deeper pink color. She quickly thought about ice to make sure her hair didn't do the same. "You...are probably the first person to ever say that to me."

She smiled as he nibbled on her cookie. "Thanks, I baked them myself just before leaving for Kings Cross this morning," she explained. "Are you a transfer from another wizarding school?" It always surprised her just how wide the wizarding world was. Also reminded her that she had so much to learn.

Then his pocket moved again and her eyes locked on it. Thank Merlin Walnut was still in his carrier in the luggage compartment fast asleep. The feline would have pounced on the boy so fast...

"You....have something in your pocket..."

Not one to be slow with his responses, Salariel gestured toward the red badge pinned on her. She still looked pretty young; had he not seen the badge, he'd have pegged her for a girl in his year at least.

"You gotta be older to have one of those, don't ya? You do look kinda younger, I guess... Youthful." That was the term for when people looked like kids but didn't enjoy looking as such, wasn't it? "You look like you're at most my age. 's not a bad thing... means you'll look pretty and youthful when you get old."

Miss Red Badge was a baker, huh? And she was pretty decent at it. He absently licked the squishy fruit paste in the middle of the cookie, slowly biting off the pinwheels to leave the center all on its own. If his sweet tooth ever acted up, he was sure he'd head off to her to get it satiated.

"I uhm..." He bit his lip and shifted a little. "Actually was in a wizarding school for my first year, when I was eleven, but last term my parents pulled me out and I had a tutor while they lugged me to some foreign country for their work."

He neglected to mention that they'd pulled him because of issues he'd apparently created at the old school, but that was none of Miss Red Badge's business. He wasn't gonna tell her anything that led her to believe he was anything less than a perfect little gentleman.

Salariel's pocket twitched a little again and he patted it gently. "Yeah. 's just Gemelli. He doesn't like it in my pocket as much as he likes it in his 'bed', but I wasn't gonna put him in my luggage."

Walking down the corridor India spotted a nearly-empty compartment. Nervously she knocked on the door.

"Excuse me? Er - might I join ya?" She asked, her accent hitting its familiar australian twinge as she spoke. It wasn't something she wanted to 'wear' as a badge. Transfer girl. Right that was lame she was nearly a seventh year and she was in a new school.

As she stood in the doorway she fidgeted with her necklace.

Raven was holding her owl cage and was hoping her trunk would be loaded into the storage car or into one of the compartments. She had just gotten on the train and was very impressed. She wondered how fast the train would go. She wanted to go into a compartment that had a good view. Most of the compartments were filled, she then found an empty one. Her parents had reminded her not to sit alone. She walked down the hallway, looking for someone interesting and someone who looked friendly to talk to. How do I start a conversation? she thought to herself. I know! I'll talk about quidditch. She couldn't remember any quidditch teams off the top of her head. Oh well, I'll just go to the dining car and eat something. I'm hungry anyways. She made her way down the crowded hallway looking for a new friend.

It wasn't that Thea didn't like kneazles, but she was pretty sure that Eddie's one was eyeing her up like it wanted to cuddle up to her and get her outfit covered in kneazle fur.

Please. No.

So Thea walked on Edvard's other side, a small carry on bag with her, as she didnt have a trunk. Why would she? Her things were already safely ensconced in her rooms at Hogwarts.

"Of course it is." She assured him. She hadn't forgotten, even if it was years since she'd been a student herself. She'd caught this very train fourteen times in her life. It wasn't something you forgot.

She gave him a brief but gracious smile when he held the door. "Looks perfect to me, closer to the front so you can peek out the window and see it all coming." She walked in and settled herself on one of the seats, the window seat of the one facing backwards, leaving the other window for Edvard, so he could see better.

Long legs crossed, hair fluffed, Althea extracted the latest copy of Achievements in Charming from her bag, but she didn't flip it open.

Finding an empty compartment ahead, Stephen headed that way. But not until a certain little someone jumped on his back. "You know, a 'hi' or 'Hello Stephen' would've been nice too," he laughed, and carried Kat on his back to the empty compartment. Pushing her off once inside, he laid flat on his back and closed his eyes. "Have you planned any pranks for your last year? Ones that'll actually get you in detention?" he asked.

Because being in detention at least once would've been nice.

Kurumi's cheeks were burning now and she felt even more awkward than she had moments earlier. "Y-Yeah..." Kurumi nodded. Trust her, no one was more surprised than she was when her father had practically cartwheeled towards her at the airport after coming home from her study abroad that summer and presented her with her badge on a silk pillow. The man had had tears of joy in his eyes. "E-E-Exceptions are made sometimes by the Heads of House....t-t-the current Ravenclaw female prefect was also a forth year when she got her badge."

Her eyes widened at his next comments. If her cheeks had been burning before, they were causing an inferno on her face now. Pretty? Didn't matter that he was talking in future tense at the moment. She was still flustered. "I-I am rather young for my year I suppose. I just only just turned 14."

She listened intently as he explained his personal history a little. "Oh...I didn't mean to bring up a sensitive subject..." There she was, stick her small nose in other people's business. Although, he didn't seem too upset about it. "That...must have been hard..." Kurumi had never moved, not once in her life, despite the wish to do so.

"Well...if he doesn't like it in your pocket, you probably should let him out," she giggled.

William looks around the trian for his friends,

Miss Red Badge was quickly morphing into Miss Red Cheeks. Her entire face was sliding past pink and going right into tomato shades, and Salariel was fascinated. He considered pointing it out, to see if she'd go even more red, but that might make her all annoyed... too early for that.

"I turned thirteen in early August," he announced proudly. No more preteen, childishness for him. Nope. He was a full-fledged teenager, well on his way to being a full-fledged adult. As he was sure people could tell.

He twitched a little before brushing off the idea that his being tutored was somehow troublesome to him. He'd only minded when they'd gone to an entirely different country; he was sure he hadn't caused that much trouble, that it should require staying in a different country with his parents. But whatever. He waved it off, physically flicking his hand in the air to make sure it was thoroughly banished.

"It wasn't too bad. I got Gemelli, and my tutor didn't keep me in 'class' all day so I could run around as much as I wanted. And I got to see my parents more than I would have, I guess."

She... wanted him to take Gemelli out of his pocket? He looked down at the bump and considered the idea. What if she freaked out? Girls usually didn't take well to creatures like him... but... well Gemelli was calm and trained to not misbehave...

Leaning back in the seat, Salariel slipped his hand into his pocket and gently scooped up Gemelli, settling the fluffy creature on his chest. The bat stretched his wings and gave them a few flaps before curling them back up again and crawling around the front of Salariel's shirt, searching for a dark place to hide. Salariel stroked his back gently in apology for the filtered sunlight.

"...meet Gemelli. Or Gem."

And please don't freak out, Miss Red Badge. Gemelli was already unhappy because he couldn't find his cave.

Fee made her way through the front of the train.Maybe some of her friends were already there.Thanks to her brother the blonde was super early and most of the compartments were still empty.Loner train rides never were fun and the girl hated them.Come on there had to be someone.The Slytherin hadnt seen some of her friends in ages and maybe it was a nice time to do so now.

Pulling he trunks behind her the fourth year sighed a little.Glitter,why werent they allowed to use magic outside of the school?Seriously,those trunks were soo heavy and carrying them the whole could be quote exhausting.As the girl was about to give up and just wait for someone to carry it for her she noticed a red head sitting in one of the compartments.

Ohh wait,she looked familiar.Approaching the compartment door the blonde peeked through the glass and a huge smile apparead on her face.It was Nika.Yay.Opening the door the Slythern stepped in and plopped down on the opposite seat."Heeeyyy beautiful",she smiled,"how is it going?I missed you."

Fee sat in her compartment and watched all the later students trying to find their friends.With so much people around that was a real adventure.The corridors were full of people and you had to look that you yourself werent walked over.Noticing a little blonde boy looking aroudn the girl smiled and opened the door to her compartment."Hey Willy",she grinned,"want to join me?"

"Oh, well, Happy Birthday then," she chirped clapping her hands together a few times. Hopefully the gesture wasn't too embarrassing for Salariel. She knew that she didn't entirely like celebrating her own birthday and would rather the day pass by in silence rather than some elaborate party - which she had accomplished thus far.

"It sounds like you and Gemelli have a very close relationship," she smiled. Now she was even more eager to meet the...well...whatever the creature was. Kurumi suddenly had a thought. What IF it was a spider? Kurumi might faint right on spot. Perhaps it was worse...perhaps he had a pet cockroach! Kurumi probably wouldn't faint...she would most likely go into a coma from shock.

Kurumi was on the edge of her seat when the boy in front of her began reaching into his pocket.

Please don't be a cockroach...please don't be a cockraoch...

When his hand did emerge to reveal its precious contents, Kurumi nearly melted into her seat. White and adorable, Kurumi couldn't help but squeak rather loudly with glee.

"KYAAAAA!" she exclaimed, trying not to let her voice raise into too high a pitch. She didn't want to startle the poor thing...or hurt Salariel's ears. "Is that a Northern Ghost Bat? They might be one of the most adorable things I have ever seen! I've read that are the largest microbats in the world."

Ryan Quickly jumped aboard the train and found a compartment at the front.In their hopefully was his new friends he thought with a smile.

"Thanks..." He'd turned thirteen on 8 August, so it had been a little while ago, but better late than never. Even if he hadn't known her over his birthday, heh.

Gemelli's little bat ears perked up at the squeak and he started squirming around the front of Salariel's shirt again; the thirteen year old tried to keep the bat's little face shaded from the direct sunlight.

Miss Red Badge thought Gemelli was cute? And she even knew what kind of bat he was?! Salariel was taken by surprise and gaped at her for a moment, shock apparent.

"Yeah, he's a Northern Ghost... how did you know that? Nobody's ever guessed before..." He stroked Gemelli's back, keeping his hand hovering just off the bat's back so he wouldn't decided to fly away to a darker place. "He's a good pet... he delivers my mail for me and everything... he was one of the weirder pets in the shop, so I picked him up. Apparently they're local to that area where my parents were working..."

Gemelli squirmed around a little more. Salariel looked up from him to Miss Red Badge, reaching up to close the window shades with one hand. He'd only just noticed them, and they'd probably help a little.

"You wanna hold him? He won't bite you or nothin', he's a really good bat."

if anyone wants to play... ^_^
 

Oh dear. Was the SUPERADORABLEBAT squirming because of her squeak? She certainly hoped not. When she saw Salariel covering the creature's head, she made the connection that it might have something to do with the sunlight. Bats were nocturnal after all. "Oh...poor thing..." she said softly. "I-I-I didn't mean to startle you. I'm sorry." And she bowed her head slightly...to the bat.

"Besides baking, you could say that reading about creatures is one of my hobbies," she winked. "Brilliant! I've never seen someone with a pet bat before, especially not one as adorable as Gemelli." She leaned forward just a bit to look at the tiny white puff ball. "So...your parents were working in South America?" Kurumi had only just recently been to North America, but she assumed you really couldn't compare the two.

Her eyes widened and now it was her turn for her jaw to drop. "R-R-R-REALLY? Y-Y-You'd let me hold him?"

Could she also hug him? And, the him in that phrase being the boy, not the bat, and not to be confused with Batman.

Salariel shook his head. "Nah, you didn't do anything. He's just not used to the sunlight... he'd rather be in his cave but I didn't wanna put him in my luggage with it."

Gemelli settled against his chest again, squirming less than before, when the shades were pulled closed. The room was far from the darkness of a cave or nighttime, but it would do for him, it seemed. Salariel pulled him gently from his shirt and held him out to Miss Red Badge.

"They were workin' around Trinidad... I didn't know anyone there, an' I didn't know when they'd finish up with their work so it wasn't worth going out and making friends, ya know? So I hung out with Gemelli and my tutor the entire time, when I wasn't running around alone." He shrugged. It had been fun, and he'd gotten along just fine.

"Don't let him fly..." He glanced toward the door, to make sure it was closed. "He'll probably run into the walls or the window and hurt himself. He's a dingy bat sometimes."

She looked awfully excited about holding Gem... Salariel couldn't help but grin when he realised how much that helped his position in her graces.

Kurumi smiled. That certainly was a relief to know that she hadn't traumatized the poor wittle bat. "That must be nice, being able to keep him close to you all the time," she smiled, her violet eyes locked on the bat. "Means you never have to feel lonely."

Kurumi gasped when he held the bat out towards her. It's little black beady eyes were just like two gems, sparkly in the dim light of the compartment. She held both her hands out cupped like a small porcelain bowl for the creature to crawl into if it wanted. You shouldn't just pick up an animal, it had the right to come to you if it wanted.

"I didn't have any friends growing up either," she said with a slight frown on her face. "Actually, my only constant companion was an animal as well - my family's shiba dog."

She leaned forward and started making kissy faces at the bat. "Hello there, Gemelli. My name is Kurumi and it would mean so much to me if you would allow me to hold you."

Rachie <3
 

After speaking for a while with Matt, Kourtney bid him goodbye and started the search again for Indy or Brady or both. It had been a nice conversation. He seemed like an interesting boy. And they were both artists, which was really cool.

She peered into compartment after compartment, but could not find her friends. Where were they? Maybe they had taken a seat towards the back?

She continued her search, passing many a student. There were lots of people on this train. She wondered just how big Hogwarts was. There had to be plenty of room to hold such a large number of students. She would see soon enough though, and for that she was very excited.

"Ehh. I can't really carry him around like some other pets can be, cause he doesn't like the sunlight. And he's awake mostly when I'm sleeping. But he's great when I don't wake up to him hanging above me and staring at me with his big old eyes." Salariel half-shrugged and lowered his hands as the bat flailed forward into Miss Red Badge's waiting hands.

When she said something about not having friends, Sal bit his tongue. He'd had friends... at his old school... and around the neighbourhood. He'd been popular! He'd had lots of kids to boss around. But that hadn't lasted too long.

"What's a shiba dog?" He asked, blinking. Of course he knew dogs, but... breeds, they escaped him. Tell us about it, oh Miss Red Badge!

He couldn't help but watch the white bat as he spread his wings and flopped around in Kurumi's hands. He was being such a little ham, wasn't he... silly creature.

Was she... gonna kiss...

"You're not gonna kiss him are ya, because he flies around at night and Merlin only knows what he gets up to." Salariel would shove him down his shirt alright but he wasn't about to kiss him.

RP time... anyone?
 

11 O'clock but still tired, Scott found a seat on his own in the corner. He read an article in the Quibbler and found himself dozing from time to time.

Every now and then he'd check whether his friend Evangeline was in his carriage, but once well on the way, he stayed up so he could look out of the window and be amazed when he got there.

"I can't really carry mine around either," Kurumi giggled. "Walnut doesn't like to be treated like a baby, unless he feels that he is being offered worship." He cat was an odd one to be sure. She felt terrible for any Gryffindor first years that might just happen to sit on HIS cushion in the Gryffindor common room. It hadn't ended well last term and the guilty first year had left the common room with moist shoes...

"Aw, I'd love waking up to this precious little face," Kurumi said with a forced expression of shock on her face. She slowly used her thumbs to massage his little bat shoulders. Did bats purr? That would make it even more adorable if it did.

"Shibas are a lovely breed of dogs from Japan, where I'm from," she smiled looking at the bat for a moment before looking up at his owner. "They were originally breed for hunting and are extremely loyal dogs. I think I have a picture of my family's somewhere...."

While she continued to massage the bat with her left thumb, Kurumi ginerly removed her right hand and used it to search around her bag for a small wallet sized photo album. It was a little difficult to flip through the pages with only one hand, but she managed to and found the picture. "Here."

She giggled as Mr. Fluffball flopped around in her palm. What? It tickled!

"I am sure he is a gentleman while you are sleeping," she smiled. "Besides, how do you know he isn't kissing you?"

WELL. Someone make a decision for her! Front of the train, middle of the train, she was quickly finding that she didn't care! As long as it got her out of this crowded hallway.

"He can do that?" Taryn asked, amused and happy about it. How lovely!

And well, she was assuming that the ferret was a HE, it was rude to ask the animals, she knew. "That's nice of you to offer!" She nudged Tori. It was nice of her to help them, yes?

"I'm Taryn, by the way, and this is Tori." She gestured to her friend, "What's your name?"

Salariel couldn't help but chuckle. "Gem likes to hide inside my shirt... even when it's dark outside, if he wants Salariel time... he spends a lot of it inside my shirt."

She was actually really good with the small bat, Sal had to admit. He was prepared for most girls to run screaming; no matter how cute and fluffy Gemelli was, a bat was a bat. Sal's own mother still had issues with looking at Gem for more than a few minutes; he was sure that whenever Gem delivered letters for him this term, his mum would probably force his father to take them from the fluffy bat.

Without thinking, he reached to take the album and stared at the dog. Something about it felt vaguely familiar, but... no. Nope. He'd never seen one of those before.

"They look soft." Fluffy. Not like Gemelli fluffy but... yeah. Dog fluffy.

...had she just suggested that he might have been bat-kissed in his sleep? Salariel leaned forward and looked Gem right in the eyes.

"You'd better not have. You have bug breath."

"Aw, do you think that means he likes to be close to your heart? Perhaps hear your heartbeat to confirm that you are there?" Kurumi was notorious for applying human emotions and concepts to animals but, you know, animals have feelings too! Those who said otherwise had something in their pumpkin juice.

Both hands free now, Kurumi returned her other thumbs to his shoulder and began massaging again. She was sure that the little guy must be tired from all that flying and letter carrying. There really should be spas for animals to go and relax. Merlin knew that Walnut could have used a place like that too.

"Aw, I think you hurt his feelings," Kurumi pouted holding out the little bat. "Now I think you HAVE to kiss him." Kiss and make up, right?

"No biggie," Mathias shrugged, wanting to seem casual and not show his disappointment. Though it would have been nice to explore that new world a lttle more... "That's true," he added, his face brightening a little as Aviva Rose mentioned more time next year. He would have to go back year after year and that would give him plenty of time to see what the place was really about. I bet there's lots of cool things there, he thought to himself. Like that joke shop... "Did either of you get to go to Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes?" he asked both his companions. "That place looked like a lot of fun."

The 11 year old frowned slightly at the mention of the carnival. A one-time thing? "Oh, really?" he said, not hiding his disappointment this time. "That's too bad, it looked really fun... Did they get to go?" he asked the girl regarding her cousins. He'd at least like to hear about it if he didn't get to experience it... or maybe not. Hearing about how great it was might make him even more disappointed that he didn't get to go. "So, I take it you're a first year, Aviva Rose?" Mathias asked, pretty sure she was from the way she was talking. "What year are you in, Carson?" he asked the boy, thinking an assumption might be insulting as he couldn't tell if the boy was a first year or second.

The blond boy listened as the two discussed the other boy's mum, then shook his head at the question directed to him. "No, my dad really isn't into.. um, magic things," he answered slowly, trying to find the right words. Best to just leave it at that, he thought. "My mum took me though," he said quickly. "She seemed to know best what I needed for school." And then Carson said another word he was even more unfamiliar with - Aurors. Just what were those? Again, Mathias did not want to appear dumb, so he kept his mouth shut waiting to see if someone would say something more about them so he could figure out what that meant through the conversation.

For Gabbie
 

Marie had finally managed to calm Mia down and actually get a smile out of her. She really did feel bad for her friend having to go pretty much the whole school year without seeing her boyfriend, but she knew there was nothing she could do about it other than be there to listen to her complain about it every now and then. Which she would do.

For now though she was with Matty looking for an empty compartment they could share. Holding his hand she walked along the corridor until she found an empty compartment. "This one looks good to me." Opening the door she stepped inside and plopped down and stretched her legs to the seat across from her.

Anyone want to rp?
 

His second year was about to start. Daichi couldn't wait until the train reached the school and have some more adventures. Last year had been epic when Slytherin had won ...well.. basically EVERYTHING. And Daichi was determined that it was going to happen again this year. He still missed his best friend though who graduated last year. It was weird without Evan around but he figured that it would be a good time to make new friends. Even though he wasn't really the most social person to talk to right now....

As he dragged his luggage the owl in his cage had started to screech loudly and Daichi wanted to snap and tell it to shut it so badly but he bit his lip and continued to drag. He didn't know when the headache had started but it was getting worse as the time progressed. The second year walked all the way to the front of the train ( because he wanted to get out and be at Hogwarts quickly) and found a compartment to sit ..or rather lay down in. But as he knew , the compartments were full and he knew laying on a couch was out of options. He sighed deeply as he grabbed the handle of the nearest compartment and opened the door.

"E-excuse me... uhm..." Being with new people always made him a bit shy and nervous but he REALLY needed to sit down for a moment. "Can i sit here?" he rubbed his temple with a slight groan and waited for a reply.

Blink. Blink.

Miss Red Badge was really touchy feely, wasn't she. Something else to note. Bats and heartbeats and stuff like that... Sal touched his chest and rubbed the spot over his heart. Gemelli had never really shown preference to that.

"He just likes being warm." He nodded. It was understandable; Salariel, too, enjoyed being all warm and comfy. He watched intently while she rubbed his little wingy nubs, chuckling at how much he seemed to like it. Indeed, he went completely still, letting Miss Red Badge do what she wanted to.

"Whut." No way. He was not kissing bug-breath bat-lipped Gemelli. Noooooope. Sal shook his head. "He eats bugs. I'm not kissing him."

"That would make sense too," she smiled. Must have been the week she had spent at Disney World over the summer. Her usually logical brain was slowly shifting towards the more fairy tale-esque explanations. Gently, she turned the creature over in her hands and started scratching his little fluffy belly.

"Of course you have to kiss him!" she exclaimed, pushing the adorable thing closer to the boy's face. "There is nothing wrong with eating bugs. They are full of nutrients. Besides, wizards eat them too. I am sure you have heard of Cockroach Clusters." Also, didn't he ever eat ants as a kid? Granted, her brothers had tricked her into eating some by covering them with chocolate and saying that they were raisins.

Just one post this morning then I have to go. Please wait for me!
 

"No, I didn't get to go to the Joke Shop. I didn't have time and my mother wouldn't have approved," Aviva shrugged. She wouldn't have approved either, if she'd been her mother. She was going to school to learn and bringing along items intended to cause trouble could only be bad news, "I guess it could be fun though...Did you get to go, Carson? How was it?"

Aviva's smile faded at the thought of the carnival. Her cousins had been insufferable, showing off cheap prizes and bragging about how brave they'd been to go on the rides and showing up to dinner with candy still smudged on their faces. They were never going to let her live this down. She'd just proved that she was a completely and utterly boring, they'd said, even if they hadn't known that before, "Yes, my cousins went. They said it was unbelievable and I'd probably never see the like again, but they were probably exaggerating. They do that. Do either of you have any cousins?"

Aviva was surprised Mathias' dad hadn't wanted to take him. It sounded like he'd been invited. Even if he didn't care about his kid, wasn't he curious about the Wizarding World? How could he not be? "Yes, I am a first year and that's too bad about your dad. Perhaps he'll come another time."

Aviva left it at that, getting the feeling it wasn't a topic Mathias wished to linger on, "What's your mother like? I take it she's a Witch. Where does she work? Perhaps my mum knows her. That's nice that she was able to take you. Was this your first time in Diagon Alley?"

The train was really full. Indiana wandered throughout the train, looking for her friends. She wanted to see if she could find Kourt, or Brady. They'd said that they would sit together on the train, but she couldn't find them yet. It was pretty bad. So she was looking for them now. Pink ted was in her bag, because she really didn't want to lose her on the train. That would be really bad.

But wasn't bad was that she could see Kourt infront of her. "Kourtt" Indiana shouted a little, before deciding that she maybe she shouldn't have done that. Indy giggled a little, as she pushed past a few people, to get to her friend. "hi"

"Hi! oh sure you could come in and sit down, you look really tired" Alexia said gently, making space for the guy. "Whats your name? You have a very cute owl by the way :)"

Mathias looked up as the compartment door slid open, noticing a dark-haired boy about his age in the doorway. "Sure, there's still room," he replied to the boy's question as he slid over on the bench to give the boy space to sit down. The boy looked a bit weary and Mathias was sure his companions wouldn't mind as they didn't when he entered. "I'm Mathias," he offered to the newcomer, after all it was only polite.

The young blond pursed his lips slightly as Aviva Rose responded to his question about the joke shop. She didn't seem all that impressed with it and gave him the idea that she probably wouldn't have gone even if her mother did let her. Really? He thought it looked pretty awesome and it was the one place he was truly disappointed he didn't get to see. Maybe it was just a girl thing to not like such place. Girls could be really weird sometimes.

Matty nodded carefully as the girl talked of her cousins' description of the carnival, then suddenly turned hopeful. Maybe they were exaggerating. "Well, maybe," Mathias started slowly, "it was such a good time and a great success that they'll start doing it more often. Maybe every year." One could only hope... And if it did happen again, he was definitely going to go. No matter what his parents said.

"I am too," Mathias replied as Aviva Rose confirmed that she was a first year. Though he figured that was probably pretty obvious. "Yeah, mum's a witch," he answered slowly, not sure if he should elaborate on how she acted more like a Muggle at least around the family. "I don't know..." he replied to the thought that maybe her mum knew his. He doubted it. "She's a teacher at a Muggle school." He still felt weird saying that word. He nodded that it had indeed been his first time at Diagon Alley, then asked, "What do your parents do?" Maybe it would give him more of a glimpse into the wizarding world.

"I would love to join you" William told Fee. " I think I should help yo uwith yoru bag" Willam said to Fee. "Sure glad I am a second year this term" William explained to Fee. " Why is it that both of us can not find our significant others on the train?" William asked Fee. Hugo for Fee and Witsy for William.

" We have a plce open here" Willaim called out to the boy. " My name is Willaim montcenaggio, but my friends call me Willaim Starr and this is my close friend Fee" he introduced them both to the boy. " Are you readfy for Hogwarts?" William asked the boy.

Rose walked up, looking for First Years to help. She just loved helping them, as she was helped when she was a First Year. She noticed one in a Compartment and walked in. 'Hello! I'm Rose Deluise, Second Year Gryffindor!' Rose grinned, knowing she could be a bit full on...

Daichi was glad that someone replied to his question. He really needed to sit down and he gave a soft smile as he entered the compartment. Sitting down next to the boy who introduced himself as Mathias , Daichi nodded his head at him but groaned again as the movement shot pain in his head. "I'm Daichi..." he mumbled and tried to give a smile but failed. He sighed deeply as he placed his luggage under the couch.

Seeing as the boy was already talking to another student, Daichi closed his eyes for a mere second when he heard another voice.

Daichi opened his eyes and saw a girl sitting in front of him. He nodded his head as he said that he looked tired. "I am" he sighed and rubbed his eyes. Well he himself wasn't tired but the increasing headache was making him tired. He couldn't wait to be lying in his good old bed at his dormitory. But he was still in the train and the ride was going to be looong. "I'm Daichi, second year Slytherin.. you?" he asked the girl. Normally he would have been polite, smiled and even bowed but he didn't feel like it now.

As she mentioned his owl, Daichi's eyes started to twinkle all of the sudden. "He's cute right?! His name is MinSu~" Well.. cute was an understatement because the owl he had bought was UGLY but Daichi thought it was super cute and hearing this from another student got his spirits lifted up a bit. He wished his headache would have been cured too but of course it didn't and he groaned again as he bend over to lay his head in between his legs. Maybe he was train sick ? But he hadn't been train sick last year. This was confusing him.