"I can show you if you want." Taylor smiled, "I'm going there now actually." She paused for a second, "Oh and nice to meet you Aki. First year?"

Vlimia walked with her family... well, most of her family. Her older brother Hades had gone off through the barrier the first chance he got; probably to pig out on stuff from the trolley. When Hades had come back from his first year, all he talked about was the food trolley on the Express. And every year it seemed that the food got better. Well, Vlim would try it out, but she wasn't promising that she would come home gushing about sweets. That was childish.
Vlimia adjusted her simple white blouse and walked along with her parents and her younger sister Scarlett. Scarlett and Vlimia had made a pact to take care of the house when Hades was gone, so now all the responsibility was on Scarlett. Vlim hoped Scarlett would do her proud. She had read that sentence in a book somplace, and thought it made it sound very much like one was talking about their apprentice without actually saying it. And that was precisely what Scarlett was - an unofficial apprentice. Vlim vowed to tell Scarlett to 'do her proud' sometime that year.

Amelia had left her parents and Harper the night before. They were unable to accompany her due to unexpected complications that needed to be dealt with as soon as humanely possible and so Amelia was facing her first day at Hogwarts with little to no support. Although she was used to being independent that fact scared her somewhat. She knew some people yes, but she didn't know when she was going to see them and so now she was at an unfamiliar train station with no parents to help her. Not to mention the fact that the crowds were beginning to freak her out a bit.

Taking a deep breath Amelia shut her eyes to calm down slightly before blinking them open once more. She could do this. It was easy. Nothing at all to fear. She just needed to push her trolley until she reached her destination and hope to see a friendly or familiar face. She also hoped that she'd get to see Isaac again soon. She'd missed the older boy, which was strange considering the short length of time she'd known him for. Then again she liked him so missing someone you liked wasn't strange...

Having actually just seen his parents off Isaac was coming from another train pushing his cart when he saw Amelia not far away. She looked like she might be ready to faint again! Merlin! He pushed his cart towards her quicklike. He said her name quietly "Amelia?" Hoping not to startle her. Was she ok? Was it the crowds? Or seeing her family leave? Maybe it was his imagination...she had her eyes closed though.

He'd not seen her the last few weeks with him having been in Scotland searching for the Loch Ness monster again, he was happy to see her. Just hoped she was okay! "Amelia are ye alright?" he asked just as softly as when he'd said just her name.

Amelia thought she heard someone call her name. But it was so soft that she must have imagined it. Or they were talking to someone else. Like that other girl she'd met in Diagon who'd been called Amelia. That girl was nice, what with sharing her candy and everything. Shaking her head, Amelia decided that she was just hearing things because she wanted to have someone with her.

Sighing she was about to walk away when she heard her name again, followed by familiar words, spoken in an even more familiar accent. Finally turning her head a bright smile lit up her face as she spotted Isaac.

For a moment she just stood staring at him before as if realizing that, that was kind of weird, she launched herself at the boy, throwing her arms around his middle in a tight hug. Remembering that he'd asked her a question she shook her head emphatically and mumbled a, "no," against his stomach. She was far from liking it here and she had no idea how she was going to react when she actually got on the train, knowing she wouldn't be able to get off until they reached Hogsmeade.

The trolley which had three large suitcases and a spectacled owl in a cage was pushed by a boy in his teen. He had messy blonde hair and blue eyes. He didn't look happy like he was back in Diagon Alley. Instead, he looked really upset and he was frowning. Right behind him, a young man perhaps in his late teen or early twenties resembled him very much.

"I'll see you on Christmas then," said the elder of the brothers, Phanes. He was smiling at his younger brother who didn't return the smile. Instead, he received a glare from the other boy.

The corner of Hades' mouth twitched. "I'm not coming home on Christmas," he pushed the trolley leaving Phanes behind. Why should he come home on Christmas? Dad will be on business trip again, mum will spend her Christmas in Beauxbatons and he definitely didn't want to live with a werewolf when he can't use magic outside of school.

She must not have heard him the first time he realized, but when she launched herself at him he took her into his arms. He knew about her claustrophobia and had tossed a few things into his sack that sat ontop of his cart. But right then he wanted to make sure she'd be alright. He couldn't help smiling inspite of himself, because he was certainly thrilled to see her. He couldn't wait to catch up either!

Squeezing her gently, he kept his arms around her. He knew he probably didn't need to but he liked the feeling of her being there. "What's wrong?" he asked quietly looking down at her. If it was the claustrophobia he could try and help there. If it was missing her family, he totally got that too! He missed his, this would be the longest he'd ever been away from them. Four whole months til Christmas!

When Isaac wrapped his arms around her Amelia's immediate reaction was to tense slightly in shock before relaxing and tightening her own hold on him. It was nice to be held in his arms she decided. Even though she still felt trapped and as if she was going to have a panic attack she also felt somewhat safer. And she was less embarrassed then she thought she would have been about being on the verge of an attack in public once more. Maybe because she knew Isaac wouldn't draw attention to them and because she could hide in him even if for just a few minutes.

"I just feel trapped here. Like I can't get out with all the people around. I know it's illogical but..." Because she really did know how illogical her reactions to crowds were. She just couldn't help them though. And feeling helpless about it certainly didn't help. "And I was all alone and... I dunno," she admitted quietly, burrowing her head even further into him.

Amelia didn't want to look around and see the crowds, it'd only make things worse, and here with Isaac she felt safe. It was illogical but true. Then again she'd felt safe with him the first day they met and he'd been able to coax her out of an attack before she even knew his name.

"How were the rest of your holidays?" she asked, as she tilted her head up so she'd be able to see his face, still not removing her arms from around him. She was attempting to distract herself from the crowds, but she was also genuinely interested in how he'd been.

Feeling her tense his immediate reaction was oh crap. Maybe he should have asked if that had been alright. Perhaps he had stepped too far and shouldn't have. But then she relaxed before he could even react. Just letting her stay like that as long as she needed he waited for her to answer. As she did, he understood what she meant. "Well I'm here now." he said softly. If he'd known she'd be there earlier then he, he would have tried to get there sooner. Well that wouldn't have worked well but he could have met her near where his parents train was leaving. Then she would have had a place to immediately go instead of being alone.

"Let's take this step by step." he said softly again but calm and soothing too. "Right now we're here, but the train don' leave fer awhile." There that was one step right?" He inhaled her scent with her so close and he liked that smell he had discovered. He'd missed it too! Kissing her head softly he brushed some hair from her face.

As she looked up at him his face lit up even more finally able to look at her better. "It was well. I went te Scotland again with me parents. Yers?"

Amelia wasn't sure what she'd done to deserve Isaac but apparently it was quite a bit because he just got better and better. He didn't even seem to mind that she was clenching his shirt in her hands tightly enough that she was sure it would be wrinkled. Then again he hadn't seemed to have a problem with being close to her before so why should he now? And how was it that just his words made her smile a little brighter and feel a little warmer inside.

His voice was so soothing that Amelia found herself relaxing her grip slightly. She wasn't going to let go though because she liked being in his arms. Therefore unless Isaac told her she had to let go she wouldn't.

"I suppose. Honestly though I've been trying to put off thinking about having to actually get on the train," she admitted quietly. She didn't want anyone else to overhear after all. With Isaac she felt she could be honest about her irrational fears but she didn't want anyone else to know about them. In fact she usually tried to hide the fact that she was claustrophobic until she had to admit it.

The press of Isaac's lips against her head, and the way he brushed the stray strands of hair from her face had Amelia biting her lip shyly. It wasn't something she'd been expecting him to do but she certainly wasn't adverse to him doing so again. Because, those gentle touches felt normal, natural, just like spending time with him was.

As he spoke his face was bright and animated, but it had been so before he'd replied to her question about his holidays and Amelia's heart fluttered slightly, her own face mirroring his, with a touch of satisfaction in the slight curve of her lips. She'd gotten this reaction from him, and without even really trying. It was nice to know she could inspire in Isaac the reaction he inspired in her.

"Scotland huh? Mine were okay. My little brother has finally learnt how to say my name properly. We actually went to our house in France for his first birthday and I wore the turquoise robes I got. It was lots of fun, although I hadn't actually been there since I was young..." And that was a time she really shouldn't think about. But even then it was fun, and had been an adventure. She had a lot of photos from those two weeks that she still had to arrange into scrapbooks.

He hadn't realized how tightly she'd been gripping his shirt until she relaxed a little bit. That made his smile grow a bit more. Though it was more because he'd managed to get her to relax even just that tiny bit. "Then we're not going te think about getting on the train right now." he said without another thought. They had at least an hour, and it wasn't the next step anyway. The first step was to relax her then getting through the wall. They could always do the floo network he was sure. But wasn't that an even smaller enclosed space? He'd never used it, but heard some about it.

No, this would be the easiest route, because then they could travel together and keep each other company. But he wouldn't force her on the train either. Watching as she smiled just a little he listened as she spoke of her little brother. "Oh sweet!" he said the smile growing on his face. How cute that he'd learned to say her name properly! "How lovely, I bet they looked fantastic te on ye." he said softly as he looked into her eyes. "I can' say I've eva been te France meself. But I've heard it's beautiful."

[spoiler= Skylar Clan] Christopher rolled his eyes once more as Selina yelled at him. Ruin it for her? Ruin what!? Running through the barrier? Yeah. He didn't think so. She could be so demanding sometimes! "Oh come off it, you don't scare anyone." Actually, that was a total lie. Even at about five foot, the redheaded girl was scary. You would never think so by just looking at her, but she was actually quite terrifying sometimes.

After a few more yards of shoving, they finally made it to the portal between platforms 9 and 10, to 9 3/4. First Selina ran through like a maniac, then a chuckling Mr. Skylar, and an irritated Mrs. Skylar. Giving his sister a knowing smile, he followed suit and ran through the portal, Elyon clinging for dear life to the cart.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassandra

"I can show you if you want." Taylor smiled, "I'm going there now actually." She paused for a second, "Oh and nice to meet you Aki. First year?"

"Really?" Aki's eyes glittered with excitement.

"Thank you, and yes I'm a first year." she continued.

She smiled at the girl,

Wow!She's nice, wonder what other students are like?? she thought.

TAylor nodded, "Anytime." She smiled, "I'm a second year, if you want you can sit with my group on the train even." She began to walk to platforms 9 and 10.

"Okay..." she said and smiled.

She followed the girl,

"Whoa! You're going to walk towards a wall...You've got to be kidding me.."

"Okay," Amelia agreed, hands moving automatically from around Isaac to his front. Hugging was nice and all, but as she was being slightly jostled by other people she was very aware of the crowds and the fact that a hug that long would seem unusual. So instead her fingers tangled lightly in the front of his shirt as she stepped a tiny bit back, which also made it easier to look up at him.

"Although I am slightly looking forward to the train. I mean at least I get to spend some more time with you..." she said, looking down at her hands and then back up at Isaac. It was true though. The thought that she'd get to spend time with the Irish boy was making the prospect of the train ride a little less daunting. As long as he didn't mind sharing a compartment that was... Although Amelia didn't think he'd mind he may have made arrangements with others. Because surely he'd met other people.

Amelia's eyes lit up at the compliment, he sounded sincere after all, and she murmured, "thank-you Isaac. I've gotten the green ones I ordered as well. I just hope I get to wear them at some point this year. It would be a shame not too," also because she thought she looked stunning in them and for some irrational reason she wanted Isaac to see her wearing them and think so too.

"It is beautiful. We used to live there when I was little. Unfortunately there was a fire in the house when I was two or three, I can't remember which, just that it was close to my third birthday... The fire had been in my room and I'd been trapped. Because of the damage my parents moved us back to Wales while they were fixing the house up and then we just never moved back. I think it was too painful for them..." Amelia whispered. She didn't much talk about that period of her life, mainly because the memories were so hazy, but also because the ones she did remember clearly were slightly chilling. One thing she did know was that it was that event that triggered her claustrophobia.

"But you should go sometime. It's really very pretty. I love going to the vineyards and the countryside is amazing. It's just really picturesque," she added, voice going from melancholy to happy again. Her eyes were still slightly haunted, and going to her family home there would always be marred by that time, but she could still appreciate the beauty that France had to offer. The sadness had been tempered by time even if her irrational fears had not.

It was that time already. Time to head to Kings Cross and catch the train to Hogwarts. Stella was excited to be going back, especially as she had a term before having to worry about exams again. She'd told Matt she would help him study, but at least the weight was off of herself. She just had to focus on classes and earning points for Ravenclaw again, trying to keep her position as one of the top earners. Talia had found that amusing, when she'd found out early in the summer, but Stella knew her sister was proud of her too. Proud that she'd managed to assimilate so easily. Of course, having Matt there hadn't hurt either, even though he was a Slytherin. She'd had that support anyway, and she wasn't one to slack off.

Her sister hadn't joined her at the station this year, though. She was by herself, which was both amusing and a bit frightening at the same time. Last year she hadn't really focused as much on how big Kings Cross was, but then at least now she knew people. All she'd have to do was find any of her friends from last term and she'd be fine. And then everyone would be on the train and she'd be in a compartment with Matt again like they'd discussed. As such, she headed inside the building after only one more moment of curiosity about what was ahead. She'd deal with whatever when it came, and at least she knew the term was going to be fun.

It was time to go back! Jory was excited to start his third year at Hogwarts and eager to learn everything. He had thoroughly enjoyed his first and second years and had no doub his third year would be no different.
Looking around, he saw other students getting ready to go through The Wall. He saw some nervous looking first years. "Had I been that short in my first year?" the boy wondered chuckling to himself as he started to check that no Muggle was watching him or the Wall. "Here we go,'' he said to himself, leaning casually against his trolley.

Laura smiled at Damon. "I'm great, I've been having loads of fun lately." She smiled as she looked back towards her mother, she could see her so surely she wouldn't be in trouble and when she saw her mother smiling she knew she wasn't in trouble, the only thing that would make this better was if Lana would come and say hi to Damon.

"I'm not sure in some ways I think it will be fun but in other ways I'm not sure, with the old students they might want to kill you just for looking at them funny or shouting at you." Laura sighed. "We came by car, it was a great ride down here and I want to go on that ride more oftence." Laura giggled.

"I'm hoping for Hufflepuff." Laura said truthfully. "What about you? and how did you get here?" Laura smiled at Darwin, she had missed him and was hoping she could meet Brooke sometime soon.

Seriously where had the summer gone? It seemed like just yesterday that the train was stopping here and everyone was going back home, but yet the train was soon coming back to take students back to Hogwarts. Honestly Matt was both happy to be going back to the school and sad since it was his last term which also meant the whole trip to France was approaching quickly. So many conflicting emotions passed through his brain as he headed through the station, the question still remained as to where some of his friends were since the last time he saw most of them was at the housewarming party that he had had back in July; though he wasn't exactly all that concerned to find them at this moment. No, there was only one person that he wanted to seek out right now. Dude I didn't think this was turning into a massive game of hide and seek. Well in a sense it was though. Sorta a giant wizarding version of that game. However it seemed as though the very person that had been looking for was not that far away and a devious grin crossed his lips as soon as he came up with an idea. Slowly he walked through the crowds and stopped in front of Stella, well that wasn't his original idea however it did work nicely either way. "Hey there, long time no see huh." He chuckled after he spoke since he had in fact spent a lot of time with his girlfriend as soon as she had come back to London.

Katrina was hurrying to the Train. A NEW YEAR AND IT WILL BE FUN! She's gonna see her friends again and meet new people in her house. OH BOY! The second year was excited.

She saw many people in the Public Square, searching for a friend...Hmmm...

Sierra Greingoth, dressed in her normal, everyday clothes and not looking very happy at all, was being ushered into the station by her father, newly-elected Minister of Magic, Alexander Greingoth. He'd told her earlier this morning that while it was unnecessary for her to ride the train, he thought she at least needed to go and see her friends off.

"What friends?" she asked under her breath, her voice sounding rather hissy. She wasn't being disrespectful to her father, no, but rather this was just the time she'd taken upon realizing she'd have to go communicate with someone.

Coming to a stop just inside the station, Sierra paused and took a quick look around. "Nope, no friends in sight," she said then attempted to turn around and leave. She was met with the very disapproving look from her father, so she sighed softly and turned back around.

"Eino?" she said, coming nearly face-to-face with the fifth year boy. It felt like she hadn't seen him in a year, and maybe she hadn't. They'd gotten...sort of...friendly with one another...during his third year. "Where have you been? It seems like I haven't seen you in forever." She looked around a little then finally glanced back up at him. "Who's Ino?" she asked. "Is he your little brother?"

Jessie, along with her brother, Ben, and their parents, made their way into King's Cross station. Their muggle mother was a little teary-eyed at having to put two children on a train to some unplottable castle in the middle of nowhere! The excitement of having bought all her school supplies and a baby owl was starting wear off as Jessie realized she would soon be leaving home until Christmas. She had never been away from home for that long, and the only comfort afforded her was the fact that Ben was going to be with her. He could be mean sometimes, and loved to play his fair share of jokes on her but she knew he wouldn't let her get scared about leaving home. Jessie could see the famous platforms 9 and 10 just up ahead.

Here João was, probably for the last time, in the King's Cross Station with one addition to the last year's company: his mother. He couldn't quite decide whether he should be happy to have her beside him, or suspicious that his mother and father were actually heading towards a friendship. Not that his mother was quite ready to be a real mother yet; she was merely with him there because she needed to visit England for a new deal between both countries. This trip to the station was no more than a coincidence that just troubled João. He didn't like this new friendlier mother.

The two men waited for the senhora to finish examining the architecture. João just wished she was done already. He wanted to bid them a goodbye and go at last. He had to examine around too, since it probably was his last year. His father'd never succeeded in staying in one place longer than 2 years.

"Impressionante!" muttered the woman, clearly showing much more enthusiasm for the station than in her won son. "Você não acha?" None of the men answered her, and she was soon bored. "Vamos!" she ordered, and soon they were in front of the magical barrier, waiting for a good opportunity to disappear.

Eino was about to make his way to the wall between platforms 9 and 10 when he heard his name. He knew who that voice belonged to even before seeing her, but was not expecting this encounter at all. He expected to run into a mountain troll before running into Sierra Greingoth, but he was much happier to run into her. As he came face to face with her, a genuine smile spread across his face, and he realized that he had never seen her outside of school. "Hello, Sierra." He said confidently. She had definitely grown a little over the summer, her hair pretty and shiny, her eyes were as big and sparkly as he remembered them, and her voice could put a siren's song to shame.

"I've been here, in London, all summer. What about you? I ought to say that you look exquisitely delightful." And he did say it, out loud so that anyone near them could hear it, but he wasn't too worried. It's not like he fully realized what he had said, but he meant it. This was one of those times when he spoke without filtering his thoughts. "Ino is my cat." He said pointing at the carrier, where the bald white cat was, laying down with her tail swinging back and forth. She wasn't too happy to be in the carrier, but rules are rules. "Are you boarding the train?"