His fourth year of Hogwarts was just wrapping up and he enjoyed every minute of it, even though he was an expert at slacking off in his classes and in general. But he got better as the year went along so that counted for something right?

It was time to get back on his favorite train in the whole wide world, The Hogwarts Express. He was soon to be joined by his mother and father in London. He thought to himeself, I can't wait to see Mom and Dad. Although he loved being at Hogwarts, it was something about being home that made him feel complete.

Until then, Jordan found an empty compartment in the back car section of the train and put his luggage in the proper luggage compartment and took a seat by himself. "Hopefully more people get on here, a train ride by myself would be very boring." Jordan said imagining having nothing to say to anybody.

It was hard for Clara to understand how she was feeling because she was feeling so many things at once. Sadness at what had happened between herself and Phoenix and sadness at having to go home to her foster parents (despite being able to stay with Eden for a week prior to that). Then there was happiness at being able to escape the sight and reminder of Phoenix, though she'd definitely miss it. Relief at having finished her OWLs. Worry at not having done as well as she'd hoped.

There were all of those feelings mixed together with many more.

So, Clara did what she often did when she was upset or anxious: she got out her sketchbook and outlined the scene. Herself, the train, and miles and miles of tracks ahead of her. Time to think.

Gabe really didn't like the increase of people towards the back of the train...but he was looking for someone in particular and it couldn't wait. See, he'd seen Clara at the feast...though, she hadn't really wanted to be seen, maybe. She'd been looking at him, he knew...but he wouldn't have talked to her in such a populated area. Gabe had his reasons.

The train, however, was okay.

Opening the door to her compartment, he took a seat....carefully, mind...and looked at her. Clara was sketching. That could only mean she was stressed or near and anxious break. He'd spend a whole year in Ravenclaw with this girl. Gabriel knew things about her.

"Clara."

Promptly after sitting down, Dormouse Gus leapt down from Adi's shoulder and hopped over to Conrad's cage. "Don't those two ever run out of things to talk about?" he wondered aloud. There the two creatures went, croaking and hooting away. Adi turned to look out of the window. OOOOH! Bad idea. It was super bright out there causing him to wince in pain and shut his eyes. Why did that hurt so bad? O__O

"Hey, Angelfish,'' Adi said, sloooooowly opening his eyes and peeking up at her. "I dunno... she hasn't found us yet. I suppose she'll be here any minute though.'' He shut his eyes again and leaned back in his seat, praying that he wouldn't get another headache.

Sure enough, AJ was there. He could feel her arms around him. "Hi, AJ,'' Adi said, opening his eyes again and smiling at her. He hugged her back. "Why are you always so late these last few days?'' he teased.
.............................

"Jordy!'' Adi spotted his new friend in one of the compartments. ALONE. Why was he alone? Being alone wasn't nice. No worries though. A friendly Puff was here to save the day. Hehe. He slid open the door then plopped down on a seat without asking if he could. He was that comfortable around the Lion. "Hello. Where are your friends? Anxious to get home?" Questions! Adi always had 'em.

Angel didn't know what to say... so she was still reading her book when her sister came in... well now was a good time to give her the present she had been holding for her. "Here you go sis." Angel beamed, she didn't know if her sister would like the mint chocolate chip lip-gloss she had found for her.

Angel decided that she would cuddle up to Benny whilst she read the book, she was feeling a bit sleepy, she rested her head on his shoulder and then just got back on with the book that she was reading.

The four of them weren't the only friends hanging about. Gus the toad had joined Conrad the owl and Benny inwardly chuckled before hearing his own bestie's musings. " Don't think so...bunch of gossips." He could only imagine what the two could possibly be saying to each other and Conrad at least had the ability to see much without notice from the air.

Noticing the way Adi reacted to looking out the window, he couldn't help but frown slightly. "You okay?" The other boy seemingly prefering to keep his eyes closed at the moment. And was it him or was he a little more subdued than normal? Well, mostly until AJ came into the mix.

His attention returned to Angel when he suddenly felt a little pressure on his shoulder only to find she had leaned against him as she read. Careful not to disturb her...too much, he shifted his arm so she was inside his shoulder not outside and they could both be comfy. His own arm now alongside her as she leaned.

Jordan recognized that voice. He looked up to see his Puffy friend, Adi. "Hi Adi. And I'm not quite sure." Jordan said jokingly trying to hide the fact that he actually didn't have too many friends besides Dylan and Adi. That was one of the things he regretted most about this year, his lack of motivation to get more friends at Hogwarts.

"Yes, I love being at Hogwarts but I love home with my parents!." Jordan's parents lived not too far away from London but also lived far enough to not be disturbed by city people. It was as if they lived on a farm or some open land.

"What about you? Ready to be home for the summer?"

Angel smiled as she felt herself being moved by Benny and she must admit that this was much more cosy that it had been. "Awe!!! cutie-pie, this is so cosy." Angel smiled as she flipped the page over. "You do realise I'm going to miss you a lot this summer and I have no idea what to do." Angel was finally saying what was bothering her. "I know we can owl and stuff but it's not the same." Angel knew Benny was wizard kind so he probably didn't have a phone.

AJ situated herself so that she was sitting as close to Adi as possible without actually sitting on his lap. Her eyes flitted down to Adi's present that was still where he left it. It was perfect. Movement caught her eye, and she lifted her head. Her sister had finally acted like she was dating Benny, but she still had her nose in the book. AJ was just about to call her Abby when she spoke up about a present. "I was just kidding at the feast, you know." But, PRESENTS!

She stood up and accepted the gift from her sister. Lipgloss... AJ didn't wear make-up. It was then that she realized the flavor and a smile slowly played over her lips. "Thanks sis." It was actually pretty perfect. AJ unscrewed the lid and ran the brush slowly over her lips... a girl had to make sure that you didn't miss a spot.

A few smacking noises were made with her lips, and she plopped herself back down beside Adi. AJ looked into his eyes and winked before looping her arm around his and laying her head on his shoulder, mimicking her sister.

"I suppose so,'' Adi said in amusement in reply to Benny. "I bet they've had a long talk about how crazy Conrad's owner got.'' Hehe. That was so not Benny's fault but it was something Adi would never forget. He missed being pestered about tea parties, scones and tea in general.

Adi's left eyelid flew open so his eye could focus on Benny. Of course the bestie's question was directed to him. Yeah... Adi hadn't been discreet about the light hurting his eyes just now. He hadn't told anyone that his headaches had started to increase over the last few weeks. Headaches caused by bright light. "I'm fine,'' he mumbled, not wanting to bother anyone with a pain he was experiencing. "The light just hurt my eyes but it'll go away... when did it get so bright, Benny?''

The Hufflepuff watched AJ collect Angelfish's gift in amusement. Makeup. His AJ didn't need any but he watched her put it on anyway. And the wink... he had no idea what that was about. He hadn't realised what flavour the lip gloss was, you see. Adi took the hand AJ had looped through his arm as he thought of the summer ahead. He'd miss them all... especially AJ. But they'd see each other in DA so that was something to look forward to. Oh yeah. That reminded him...

Adi reached into his pocket and pulled out a slip of parchment. On it was written two phone numbers. One for his house and another for his cell... which was probably lying dead somewhere in his room. Heh. "Here you go, AJ. Best give you this now before I forget later on.''
.....................

Adi wondered if Jordy was one of those types who had the misfortune of not having lots of friends. No matter. Adi was a good friend. Hehe. "I don't blame you. I miss mine too. In my first year, I kind of had a hard time adjusting with out them." Not that he had let anyone know that. But it had been the first time he had spent such a long time away from home. "What are your parents like? Are they wizarding folks too?'' He was curious about Jordy's life.

"I'm looking forward to it, yes, but not as much as the others before. But it'll be great to see everyone back home.'' Not to mention the endless hours of cricket he would be playing.

Dec's body relaxed with Char's comment about it 'being cool'. He had been really afraid that she wasn't going to be very happy about his decision. Especially it being so far and everything. Then, she started rambling about her decision. What'd she mean about that?? Char still had another year to go.

Trips?? Now, he knew she had absolutely no clue what he meant by Oregon. "No, Char. We can take trips, but that's not what I meant, love." He stiffened back up, "I was talking about university."

University?! Charlotte had known Declan was going to university, they had spoken about it before, but she had no idea that he'd gotten accepted to Oregon, poor anywhere else for that matter. And she wasn't even considering the fact that it was on the farthest side of the united states.

She let go of him and sat up straight, trying to figure out how not to sound upset. "I didn't even know you'd gotten any replies from universities... " Sure, she had been sick for a while, but it wasn't like she was on her death bed or anything.

And there it was...

He knew she was holding herself back and for that he was grateful. "I got a few. Three accepted. One denied." Readjusting himself, now that the hard train wall was becoming uncomfortable, he leaned a bit against her. "I didn't want to throw my problems on top of your sickly self, okay? Sorry."

With Ginger cradled in one arm and the other pulling his luggage behind him, Dylan searched the train for an empty compartment. It was really too bad Ginger had gotten distracted by a butterfly and jumped out of his arm on the way to the train...it had taken him forever to catch her! And now it seemed all the compartments were full. Sighing, he was about to give up when he spotted his friends Jordan and Adi both sitting together in a compartment. He beamed. Two of his good mates! Perfect!

Setting his luggage down, he slid open the door and waved. "Hey guys, mind if I join?" he asked.

How long had he known?! "Oh...well..." She had been in the dark this whole time, thinking everything was fine and Dec had just been studying hard for NEWTS the entire time she was sick. Did the entire school know about how choice?! She was the girlfriend, didn't that man she should have been the first to know??

And at upset as she was, she didn't even feel right getting mad at him because she knew how big this was for him! She'd just have to fake it all. And deep down inside she was really happy for him, but that was nowhere to me found at the moment


I'm really happy for you. She put on her best smile and kissed his cheek. "I knew you'd get in! "

He pressed his lips tight and scanned her face for any facade she was putting up. He knew this wasn't okay. Declan meant it all in good faith, he did. Pressing a hand to her cheek, he passed over it lightly with his thumb. "Sorry." He said again.

Charlotte shrugged and shook her head. "I don't know why you're apologizing. I was sick...why tell me, right? She let out a small laugh, trying really really hard not to be so mean. She took his hand off her cheek and linked fingers with him. "I'm proud of you. You deserve to go there."

Char patted his hand with her free one and started to actually think about what it would be like for him to be at school in Oregon for who knows how long. As clingy as she was, there was no way she'd ever be able to survive with him so far away.

"It'sreallyfaraway..." she mumbled eventually, pretty sure he was expecting her to bring it up eventually anyway.

Hard time adjusting without friends? That part was funny considering that Adi was the most upbeat and friendly person there. Sometimes he would just go up to random people and start talking to them, so that came as a shock.

"I'm actually a Half-blood so they're split. Dad's a wizard and mom's a muggle, but they both went to Hogwarts." Jordans Dad, Xavier, loved doing magic stuff with Jordy like going to Quidditch matches, flying on brooms with Jordy, and other stuff. "Cricket huh? I never really got into that to be honest. I'm assuming you like it then?" Jordy's sport was definitely not cricket, he would prefer watching the paint dry because Cricket could last for hours.

While talking with Adi, Jordy noticed someone walk in, he was even more excited when he realized that it was his friend Dylan, another fellow Hufflepuff. If some of his friends from Gryffindor came in, they would think that he'd be on the verge of a traitor. I guess that was one positive with not making too many friends with his fellow Gryffindors.

"Hi Dylan! How are you doing?" While Jordan stood up and reached out his hand for Dylan to shake as a proper gesture. Afterwards he sat back down and continued talking: "Are you ready for this train ride back?"

Three older brothers. Noel felt enlightened with this piece of information - it should have bothered the fourteen year old but he had other things on his mind."Well technically, you didn't snog - you got snogged" he said - wondering if that is how it actually worked.

When Maddie spoke next, Noel felt his ears burn and cheeks get warm. Did they honestly have to sit and compare notes? Clearly Maddison Cooper had not been able to connect the dots. He HADN'T kissed her for an experiment, he had kissed her because he wanted to. Like he had explained to her before.

WANT > Experiment

Oh, so she had tasted the mint gum he had been chewing all morning? AND OH? They should do this again? Noel gave her a small look, and actually sort of got taken aback noticing how she was staring at him. It was slightly unsettling how much she studied him at times. "Okay so, a) Uh thank you. b) I had a mint gum. c) Really?" he tilted his head slightly and watched her. "Did you not like the 'spontaneous' way it was done? If you had known I was going to kiss you, it wouldn't have been the same"

"Funny..." the Gryffindor said with a shake of his head. Yeah, him as the Mad Hatter was certainly gossip-worthy. As for Adi's discomfort he shruged the arm that wasn't under Angel. "I don't know...seems the same its always been." Not too overly bright but better than gloomy gray rainy Britain weather.

Ben was happy Angel seemed pleased with the new arrangement. A slight blush at the cutie-pie directed his way though. "Uh huh...I do," he confirmed as she read, having picked up the issue in previous conversations with her. Owls and other forms of distance communication weren't going to cut it for them, anymore then it likely wouldn't for the other couple in the compartment. "Well we can hang out...you can maybe come visit for my birthday..." he suggested before raising his gaze to look at all three.

"All of you can." A little planned gathering for the four of them for the month of August. Benny doubted his parents would mind. At least it would prove he actually had very good friends to them.

"So I'm in the clear, then. They might want to hex you, though." She grinned, eyebrows raised. Was he scared? He really shouldn't be. She wasn't ABOUT to tell her brothers WHO it was that had kissed her, JUST that he was a grade older because THAT would REALLY annoy them.

He was blushing, that was much was noted right off. Apparently kissing in general was an uncomfortable subject for Noel which made it all the more fun for them to discuss. Mint gum, too. That was important. She'd recommend THAT to Dima and Dot and Kyroh for when they decided they were ready to snog. Helpful friend, she was. As for Noel's surprise at her suggestion, Maddie simply nodded. "Yeah." They should practice. It wasn't really a big deal. "If you'd been a stranger, I'd have hexed you for that spontaneous snog." Just so he knew not to do such a thing to JUST any old girl in Diagon Alley. "But I know you so it wasn't necessary." Lucky him. "And do you NOT want to practice? Because that's fine and all. I'm just wondering why it is you kissed me NOW if you don't plan on ever doing it again."

So go on, Noel. Please explain.

Noel eyebrow pulled up - why were her brothers gonna hex him? And she was grinning! "Why do I feel you are going to enjoy that?" he asked her. He wasn't scared, nope - it seemed like a rational thing to do when you are big brother. He would do the same if Sunny tried anything like this when she was older. Double standards, yeah.

"Yes, but it was STILL spontaneous. And you enjoyed it, and I am pretty sure you wouldn't have if you had known I was going to do that" he countered, turning slightly on the seat so he could watch her properly.

"I did NOT say I don't want to kiss you again" he explained, cheeks still warm - eyes shifting from her face to the window. It was really hard - doing this staring game with her. "But practice? Don't you think that is weird?" Because if it wasn't, it would eventually get weird.

"Because you're a smart guy." Maddie would DEFINITELY watch if Noel got hexed. Mostly to observe the person doing the hexing so she could learn but ALSO to see how Noel handled the whole thing.

"You can't know that for sure. If you'd TOLD me you were going to do that and then did it the same exact way, I still would've enjoyed it." His breath would've still been minty and his lips still would've been soft. The only difference is that she MIGHT have reciprocated, had she known it was coming.

"So you DO want to kiss me again." Maddie smirked, raising an eyebrow of her own. Good to know. And no, she didn't find this at all uncomfortable. It was helpful to know there was a boy who wouldn't mind snogging her face from time to time. "Not weird. Practice makes perfect. If we practice together, we'll both be awesome at this snogging thing by the time we're older." Though if he wanted to kiss her again, she must be good already.

"Some friend you are, Maddison Cooper" he said, with a small grin.

"You just won't stop arguing, would you?" he asked, with a sigh. Because he knew where this was going. She would never agree to what he was saying. Tsk.

He gave her a slow nod at her next statement - why was she smirking? Wasn't it obvious? "I do"

He shook his head when she spoke next "Of course it would be weird - you just don't KISS somebody for practice, this is not science or a spell. For a kiss - you have to feel something you know?" Why did he have to get GOOD at snogging, anyway? Didn't she enjoy getting kissed by him? If she did, then it meant he was already good.

"MADDIE Cooper," She corrected, smiling a little TOO. He knew she preferred this and yet he INSISTED on calling her anything but. Some friend HE was, more like.

"But why would I want to stop? Arguing with you is quite fun." Didn't he know? Besides, she wasn't arguing. Maddie was simply proving why she was right.

The wheels were turning now that Noel was talking about FEELINGS and all THAT junk. So he had feelings, then? Feelings directed at HER that were the cause for him to kiss her? She didn't know how to feel about that. Maddie liked Noel and all but the reasons for wanting to kiss him were more based on the fact that she trusted him and knew he had good dental hygiene. They weren't on the same page with this...per usual.

"So what are you saying, exactly? You want to kiss me again but not for practice?" But SHE wanted to practice and he knew any kisses he gave would be that for her, right? They'd be practice.