Aurora nodded, frowning slightly. "Yeah... I heard that." Urgh, and she hated studying... all those words morphing into alphabet soup... how helpful. "That'll be me next year." she said. *Shudder* NOT looking forward to THAT.

There was no going back now. Valentina Kelly had boarded the train, she was going off to a school. She was going to be properly taught and not just homeschooled and goodness, she was excited. Excited with a mixture of fear, naturally. She barely knew anyone and now she was on this train without really anyone. Everyone else would be in the compartments with their friends from past years but she did not have those. She was a new student this year.

So instead of sitting with a large cluster as friends as she wanted too, she was sitting alone.

The heels of her shoes clicked as she walked through the train, trying to find an empty compartment. She found one quick, one of the first few compartments actually. The brunette let out a sigh of relief before closing the door. As she sat down the little braid flicked off her shoulder slightly. The noise from outside the compartment could still be heard and Val couldn't help but scrunch her nose up. Goodness, did people know how to control the volume of their voice?

Hmm. Well, at least she had a lot of room in her compartment.

Arabella-Marie smiled and said "Yeah i know just try not to think about it Aurora and just poke me if you ever see me stressing out during the year"

Jared slowly made his way through the train. He remembered what his siter told him before dropping him off. He laughed as he thought of her face when she learned what he was planning...

Anya grinned. "Carter kept going on and on about the potatoes. Something about them being the best. I bet all the food is good." How could it not be? It was magical right?

Everything about Hogwarts was supposed to be magical.

She pet the... err... puff ball in her lap. She forgot the name of the thing again.

"I can't wait to see the lake. There's supposed to be a squid in it! A GIANT squid! Can you imagine?"

"Oh! And quidditch!" she said. She stopped suddenly and dug through her bag before handing Alec a book. "That's the book I was talking about. Quidditch Through the Ages. It's how I learned."

"Have you looked in any of your textbooks yet?" she asked eagerly looking between the two boys. She was probably the most excited about Care of Magical Creatures. There were tons of cute animals that she had never heard of that she just had to meet!

Aurora chuckled, "I'll do my best. But isn't it dangerous to poke a stressed lion?" she teased, grinning slightly. She wasn't the sort of person to initiate conflict... most of the time...

Cornelius was late! He was late and he didn't realize entirely how late he was until he had jumped onto the train just as the last whistle blew. And then, with surprisingly perfect timing, just as both of his feet landed securely onto the Express's floors, the train began to move, picking up speed as it started its journey. Whew! That was close. Shrugging his duffel bag further onto his shoulder, Cor's eyes widened as he spotted a train attendant coming towards him, undoubtedly to scold him for his tardiness and probably unsafe way of boarding the train last minute. Glancing around himself momentarily, Cornelius darted around the corner and into the hallway with a brief sigh of relief and a need for a seat.

Worried that the train attendant was right behind him, Cornelius didn't have much time to have his choice of seats, and instead darted into the compartment nearest to him, which was nearly empty. He opened the doors swiftly, glancing over his shoulder like a muggle movie action star before throwing his duffel bag unceremoniously onto the floor. He did a quick hop into the compartment, and shut the doors behind him with a snap. Breathing a bit heavily, he ducked just slightly as he peered through the little window to the hallway, watching as the attendant passed by the compartment, suspecting nothing. Letting out a sigh of relief, it was only then that Cornelius realized he wasn't in the compartment alone, and had just barely seen someone sitting there before he had whipped around to look out the hallway.

Oh. Oops.

Cornelius slowly turned around, a weak smile on his features as he was met with the sight of a girl who looked about his age, alone. "Hi," he let out in a breath, his two hands still tucked behind him, holding the two small compartment doors together as though afraid the attendant would come back and demand to see him. Not knowing exactly what to say, Cor just flashed the girl a large smile.

Grayson allowed his smile to spread across his face. "Do you mind if I sit down? I am rather intrigued by your forwardness." he remarked smoothly. It was not his style to be taken aback but to turn a phrase for his own amusement.

"Yes I did just say that. Does my honesty offend you? I merely say what I see." he said. Grayson was like a big cat from the wild, prowling calmly.
He looked at her stance and said,"You look like you're expecting a fight any minute. We're going to school not to war, relax." as he ploughed his hand into his thick black hair.

"So,what year are you in?" he asked, as his smile shrank to a smirk.

Katrina settled into her seat and got comfortable for the long journey ahead. The train ride could really drag from what she remembered, so it was nice to have some company for the duration.

It was difficult to ignore quite how much Bradley had changed since the days of running around with Tom and the other lads, probably causing trouble around the estate. Her eyes fell to her lap, to the little fluffy dog and she stroked his soft head. He'd already fallen into a deep sleep. Raising her eyes to Bradley again, she smiled shyly at his compliment and her fingers began twiddling with her hair making her resemble a child rather than a fifteen year old teenager. “Fanks.” She replied quietly, her pale cheeks pinking slightly. She wasn't used to being complimented in such a nice way by a boy. “So.. so do you.” She added. And he did. A lot better than the rough looking lads on the estate. His new life away from the concrete jungle of tower blocks obviously suited him.

She smiled softly as she listened to him. She could remember what a shock she got when she took Freddie's wand when he wasn't looking and managed to get it to work. Her dark eyes widened to orbs when Bradley confessed it was his first year at Hogwarts. “You're late to magic too? Like me an' me brothers.” But Bradley would be fine, wouldn't he? He wasn't stupid and he would have Katrina to guide him, with what little magical knowledge she had, if needed. “Ohh.. are you nervous?” She asked, leaning forward a little and crinkling her nose. “'Ogwarts is amazing. You'll be fine there, Bradley.” She assured him.

So Bradley had already seen Thomas. She grinned and nodded. “I.. kindah took a year out. Buh, I missed it. You dun' realise 'ow much you need somefin' until it's gone sometimes.” She was happy to be going back. She wasn't sure why, but it felt right this time. Perhaps it was her confidence, she had been so timid the last time she did this journey.

She giggled and sat back. “It's great to see you too! If you need anyfin' at all at school, I'll try me best to 'elp.” She told him with a nod of the head.. although she was sure there were much better students to go to for help.

Arabella-Marie grinned and laughed and said "Yeah probably is but i will need to get poked from time to time so i can focus on my studies"

Alec blinked at the two people he was sitting with. What was this about a feast? "Hogwarts has a feast?" As in, long tables that were filled with food? Delicious food? Like pizza and chips and spaghetti? Alec found himself being more and more excited about Hogwarts now.

And now Anya was talking about some sort of lake. Alec's reaction to this was similar to his reaction to Miss Louisa's talk about the grounds. He had thought Hogwarts only had a castle and some grass here and there. But he hadn't said that to Louisa so he wasn't going to say that to Anya and Asher. But he had to say something about this squid. "Do you get to meet this squid?" he asked, looking between Anya and Asher. He wanted to meet this squid with a five foot metre stick.

Then Anya mentioned something he could get very excited about. "I can't wait for the flying lessons!" Flying! Can you believe that? On brooms! But Anya and Asher both knew about this Quidditch thing. He needed to learn as well. "What does the book say it's like?" he asked. If it wasn't too dangerous... he might just try out. Might.

Alec blinked again, Looking through their textbooks? "Erm, i looked through the one about the History," Or something. "And something about dangerous... arts? Dark Arts! That's the one. What about you two?" They had probably read more than him. He was more concerned about the sports.

It didn't take long for someone to wander into her compartment. Valentina hadn't expected the loneliness for too long though. The school had a large number of students, didn't it? The idea that she could actually manage to sit alone seemed almost silly or preposterous. She just hoped it was someone who's company she would actually enjoy, someone who wasn't a younger student. Valentina did not deal well with those younger than her. Perhaps due to the fact she never really was around those younger than her? It happened when you were an only child. You got used to being the only one, you never had to deal with the annoyance that a younger person could be.

Luckily for her the person wasn't younger than her, at least he didn't look it.

Valentina played with the end of her braid, running her fingers along the fine ends. She wasn't watching her hair though, she was in fact looking at the boy who had greeted her with a hello. It'd be rude to not return it, wouldn't it? So the girl smiled back at him, her eyes squinting together in the process. "Well, hello there?"She raised a brow now before she eyed the boy for a split second. He had appeared so suddenly and honestly looked a bit out of breath. Valentina, being the naturally curious person she was wanted to know what had happened to make him so out of breath. She didn't ask though, she'd save it for later. It'd be rude to ask without even knowing the boy's name, wouldn't it?

"Uh,"Her eyes flickered down to her shoes for a split second before looking back up at him. The smile returned as she figured out what she would say,"Do you need a seat?"Her tone was sweet, friendly as she wanted it to be. She eyed the glass behind the boy for a second,"Cause I'm pretty sure you're going to have hard luck finding a seat now..."Unless he had other friends which he probably did, other friends who were probably holding a seat for him. Still though, she'd offer him a seat and if he rejected it, she'd be content. More room for her in the compartment. though the company would be nice

He had to be out of his bloody mind. Honestly, not only did he make that original comment but he kept talking about being intrigued by her. Either he was off his rocker or he believed that he was being smooth. She sat back in her seat and kept her arms crossed. Eying him oddly she finally gestured to the seat across from her allowing him to sit, "You can sit... just cut it out with all of your comments, I have a boyfriend."

As soon as he sat he continued on talking about what she had just asked him not to talk about. He was merely saying what he saw? What did he see? She was sitting on a train reading a book, nothing remarkable. He was very odd and she was certain she had never seen him before. So who was this Grayson person?

And she looked like she was expecting a fight. She was not! She sat up a little and looked at him, "I'm not expecting a fight. Just, please, don't talk to me like that. I have a boyfriend." And a rather great one at that.

Finally he asked her a normal question, "I'm a fourth year. What about yourself?"

"Maybe you should ask another Gryffindor... they might be brave enough to try it." Aurora observed. "Anyway, I'll hardly see you - you'll be locked away in your common room, studying!"

Arabella-Marie laughed and said "Well yeah but i am planning on escaping the common room for the peace and quiet of the library because well i like to study when it is quiet and sometimes the common room is too noisy to study properly"

Cornelius's eyebrows rose just slightly as the girl asked if he needed a seat, mentioning that it would probably be difficult finding a different seat somewhere else now. He glanced over his shoulder as though expecting to see a thousand students in the hall of the train, rushing to get to their seats. "Well, this seat looks as good as any," he announced, turning back to her with a grin and plopping down into the seat directly across from her. It was the truth though, even if there were open seats, this compartment looked nice, and it would've just been rude to leave the girl after barging in so abruptly.

"I hope I haven't taken up a seat or something that you might've been saving for a friend," he mentioned with a weak smile as he settled into his seat, unsure if the girl had more people coming or not. Afterall, she was in the compartment alone, so it wasn't ridiculous to think he was taking up an important spot that could've been given to one of her friends.

"Oh!" he yelped, jumping to his feet as though remembering something. Letting out a small laugh, he gently swung his hand out before the girl for a handshake, flashing her a warm smile as he stood before her. "I'm Cornelius, I nearly forgot," he explained with a shrug. His eyes widened. "To introduce myself, I mean! I-I know my name..." He let out a soft chuckle, "I'm new this year, so you'll have to forgive my frantic-ness."

"Okay," Isobel said with a small smile. She was still a little shy, because she did not really like talking to people she did not know. Unless they were a Slytherin, and she was hugging them. "If it's okay with you. My best friend is completely opposed to nicknames." Isobel kind of wished she had a nickname, but she had always been Isobel and only Isobel.

Isobel nodded, because she completely understood. She was a little sad that she would have to leave Hogwarts soon, and she was only a sixth year. And then things got weirder as the similarities between the two of them grew. Their names were similar, and they had both transferred from Beaubaxtons. "I went to Beaubaxtons too; I transferred here for my third year. I really miss it there; and I almost didn't come back to Hogwarts this year." Ultimately, she decided to stay because of Maybelle and Damien. However, both of them would be graduating at the end of the term and she had no idea what she would do then.

This was it. The very moment that he both was looking forward to and had been dreading at the same time since this had been the last chapter in his life at Hogwarts but Matt wasn't entirely sad that it was almost over. Like a novel, every chapter had to end in order for a new one to begin which was exactly what was happening now. As soon as he stepped onto the train, he immediately felt a slight sigh escape from his lips; that wasn't exactly the reaction that he normally would have given however this was a major exception given that he was officially a seventh year. The squawking sound coming from Gidget had quickly awaken him from the distraction of his thoughts while he had been wandering about the front of the train, well wandering wasn't exactly doing much good so he ended up entering the first empty compartment that was in sight and immediately set the owl cage down on the floor. He sat down on the seat that was behind him and like so many times before, grabbed his sketchbook and pencil so that he could distract himself once more with drawing before his girlfriend had showed up. You really think that sketches will help? Dude, they only stop the thoughts of what's coming at the end of the term for so long.

His eyes drifted over to her as he watched her cheeks turn pink. He couldn't help but smile softly at her reaction, and the hair twiddling was incredibly difficult to ignore. Kat had always looked pretty but getting older was definitely doing her justice. And despite the fact Bradley could tell that it was her after seeing her properly, there were a few things that were different about her, she was only 13 since they last met after all. "It's okay" he chuckled, glancing at the dog in her lap. More like a bit of cotton wool then a dog but who was he to speak? He had a bald cat for goodness sake and one that practically thought it was human. "Thanks" he mirrored her smile and glanced down at his lap. He had never been a great conversationalist. He was quite a nervous person at times.

He thought back to the football incident. It had been such a shock to see the ball suddenly fly across the room when Bradley had been thinking about playing. He wanted to get the ball but typical teenager, couldn't be bothered to get out of bed to get it. And suddenly it was by his feet, waiting. If he hadn't of seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed it. "Apparently. It ain't no big deal though right?" Because people could easily catch up on what they missed. "Yeah" he admitted shyly. "I ain't really sure what to expect" It could be drastically different from the muggle world or there could be tiny little changed. "I hope I will. I think I will" provided he had people there to enjoy it with. Which he obviously did have now. Though he relied on independancy at home and it was something he treasured. He hated relying on others.

"Yeah. Yeah I know" he smiled nervously, looking out of the window as the train pulled away. He didn't realise how much he loved the people on the estate until he had moved away and barely seen them. And the Broadmoor family were some of those people. "I've missed you all" he admitted staring over at his cat. His old mates would probably laugh at that statement and the expression on the boys face but he knew Kat wouldn't. She was the sweetest girl on the entire estate, one of the sweetest he had ever met.

"Thanks Kat. I appreciate it" he smiled genuinely. He really did. "How bouts we start with a tour when we get there?" his lips fell into a tiny smirk. It would come in useful in case he got lost.

The cat finally decided to make a move as she jumped off the seat and stared at the dog in Kat's arms. "Don't mind her. She's a bit weird but really friendly" The cat purred, wanting the attention for herself. "I think sometimes she thinks she's a dog or a human. Ain't a normal cat, I'll tell you that" But Bradley adored her.

Aurora nodded, "Oh... I don't go in the library if I can help it..." she said, frowning slightly. "It's too... quiet." And full of books... and words... Urgh. Dyslexic's hell. Even for such a mild case as Aurora's...

Would he leave or would he stay? Her lips pressed together as she waited for an answer, he legs crossing in a lady-like fashion. She hoped he'd stay, she wouldn't be desperate enough to ask the boy to stay cause then she would look weird and cling which was never good. She really hoped he would stay though, company was nice and she had heard the train ride there was rather long. Company made time fly, didn't it? Plus she needed all the friends she could get being a new student. Oh how she loathed being a new student. Everyone went through it, didn't they? Yeah but most did it when they were eleven not fifteen.

This seat looked as good as any?

She didn't try to even hide the happiness on her face as she heard his reply that he was indeed going to stay. In fact now he was even sitting down across her. The company would be nice, surely. "Even better because it's a compartment with me."A light chuckle left her lips as she finished. The boy could take it as a joke or take it seriously, Valentina wouldn't mind it. though she was totally serious Saving a seat for a friend? She waved her hand a bit, "Don't worry about it,"her slight Italian accent was exposed as she talked. "I'm not saving it for anyone actually...I..I'm new so I don't really know many people yet."No one she'd be willing to save a seat for, of course. Next year she expected she would be saving seats for friends though! Next year she was sure she would! She'd make friends and might people and people would like her and want to sit with her, dang it?

But wait, he was getting up? O_O

Her eyes doubled in size and her brain went into slight panic mode before...oh, he was just going to shake her hand. Okay, brain was off panic mode and her eyes returned to their normal size. "Oh, it's fine don't worry about it! Really it..."She laughed now, hearing him state he had not forgotten his name. Well, you kind of just said your name so it's rather obvious you didn't forget it. Plus, you're a teenage boy? My guess is you're 16? Anyway, it'd be rather idiotic of you to forget your own name."She stated in a matter of fact tone before shrugging her shoulders. He didn't look like the idiotic sort, he actually looked and seemed fairly intelligent, or maybe it was just Val hoping he would be smart so there could carry a decent conversation? Heh. "Pleasure to meet you,"She shook his hand now, friendly smile still etched upon her face."Cornelius, huh? That's a strange name."Not that she could talk much. It's not like there was many Valentinas in existence. "Valentina Kelly, Val please call me Val though I don't have any real problems with Valentina but Val's just..easier, I suppose? Wait, you're new?"She had rambled now, carrying on and finally pausing at this point."Well, maybe it's sheer luck you stumbled into another new student's compartment then."And not a kissing couple. WINCE.

Finally, she was on the train and headed to Hogwarts! Jezz looked into all the compartments and smiled and waved at the people she knew. She didn't know if she wanted to sit alone or if she would sit with others, but she would give it a few more compartment doors before she decided to sit alone. Who knows, someone may want her to join them.

After meeting up outside the station, Stella had somehow gotten separated from Matt. For now she was blaming it on her trolley, as maneuvering it through the crowds of people had been more difficult than she'd remembered from last summer. Of course, last summer she'd had Talia there with her to push her trunk around, and now she was asserting her independence. More accurately, she'd asserted her desire to spend more time with Matt without her sister's supervision, but then that couldn't really work when she lost him. She'd followed Gidget's squawking for a while, occasionally sliding her hand in her skirt pocket to make sure her tiger from last term was still there and hoping it would help her get to the Express. Granted, it wasn't easy to sneak around with her trunks, but at least maybe it could help her and Lyra get through the crowds.

Finally, she'd made it to the train, and carefully shifted her trunks off of the trolley and, balancing Lyra's basket on top, started dragging them onto the train itself. She'd lost track of Matt's owl's squawking, and that made her hope it wouldn't take too long to locate them. Her trunks were heavy, and her kitty really didn't like being so precariously perched on top. Glancing in every compartment as she passed them, occasionally shifting her attention to murmur something comforting to the quietly meowing cat, she smiled as she found Matt in a compartment near the front. Dragging the trunks inside, she stepped around Gidget's cage as Lyra jumped out of her basket to settle on one of the open seats, and dropped in to the seat next to Matt herself. "I thought I wasn't going to find you. At least you can use magic with your trunks," she said a bit breathlessly, craning her neck to try and see what he was sketching this time. He had to know she'd be curious.

Grayson laughed deep in his throat."You are quite amusing. I am not doing this on purpose. It's just me." he remarked with a smirk. She seemed to be getting a bit riled by his words and 'comments'. It made him have to bite back a chuckle.

"I wasn't asking if you had a boyfriend nor was I suggesting that you didn't. But clearly you feel some need to make that fact known." he continued. He was ruffling her feathers and she knew it.

"Oh that's wonderful. I'm going to be a fourth year as well. My parents got tired of me and sent my half way across the world." he said with a touch of sarcasm in his tone."So you say you play quidditch. What position do you play?"

Izzy smiled, "Don't worry, I'm used to it. I had plenty of nicknames when I was younger and at Beauxbatons. None here though," Izzy sighed. "I haven't really made any friends here yet." Izzy liked how polite Isobel was making sure Izzy didn't mind the nicknames.

Woah, was she really hearing Isobel correctly. Both their names were similar and they both came from Beauxbatons. "Weird," Izzy realized that she said that out loud. "Sorry, not you, just the fact of the similarities between us." Izzy explained herself, she didn't want Isobel to think that she was mean or anything. "So that means that we probably crossed paths sometime at Beauxbatons. Why'd you leave there?" she asked with another gulp of coffee.