After saying goodbye to her family, which had been rather emotional because she really did miss them a lot during the school year.. wait, was it wrong to miss her family? Etta didn't think so.. but anyway, she boarded the train. The girl made her way to the front, clumsily dragging her trunk along and accidentally bumping into a couple of students on the way. Whoops. Sorry about that.

After what felt like ages, Etta finally entered the prefect's compartment. She placed her trunk on the baggage shelf at the top before plopping down next to the window with a book in her hand. Pulling out a bag of chocolates, she opened her book and started to read, occasionally popping a candy into her mouth.

So luckily, Noelle's mom didn't make her wear a dress like she had last term. She was in her regular clothing, which made Noelle feel comfortable as she headed on to the train.

Her eyes looked around, trying to see if several people were already on the train, and trying to glimpse others. She'd be able to look around more and socialize more once she met up with the other Prefects and Head People.

Heading into the compartment, Noelle grinned when she saw Henrietta. "Merlin! You're a prefect!!!" Going over to her, she hugged her in a congrats hug. "I wonder who else is prefect this term." There were seventh years last term so there had to be a few new faces. Noelle was glad Henrietta was one of them. Olly was a prefect this term too. Noelle wouldn't spoil the surprise though.

Sitting down into a seat by her, she waited for others to show. "You ready for this term?"

With his belongings squared away at the luggage car and his being looked after by the best pet-sitters on this trip-- aka his besties, the Gryffindor Prefect made his way quickly up the narrow corridor. He wanted to make sure he was early this time, and not lost or the train engineer giving him death stares.

He peered through the glass windows of the Prefect's compartment to see that it was mostly empty-- save for a couple of people-- one of which he recognized instantly. Sliding the door open he greeted them "Hey there Noelle!" he sang in a tune. His blue-green gaze shifted to the other person in the compartment.... "Etta?" was she Noelle's guest? Given where he stood he didnt understand why the Hufflepuff brunette was there.

Henry wasn't planning on staying in the prefect compartment for the entire train ride, but he was definitely going to go there first for a little bit. He was rather excited to get started officially as one of the Hufflepuff prefects, but also he thought they might have a meeting, plus he wanted to see who else was there and hang out with them, considering he was pretty good friends with some of them. He also was curious to see who some of the other newly appointed prefects would be, though he realized he knew who pretty much all of them were, except for the female Slytherin one, and also Head Girl and Head Boy, though he had a suspicion of who the latter might be.

With his felines squared away for the time being, the sixteen year old followed Tenacius inside. "Hey, you guys," he grinned as he moved past his Gryffinpal and slid into the seat on the other side of Etta. He had seen all three of them at some point during the summer, so no real need to ask how their holidays were. "Ready to head back to school? I think this will be a good term." He hoped. Really, really he did, or he might not have come back. All thoughts of scary monsters and kid-snatching portals were pushed deep into the recesses of his mind so no trace appeared on his face. But at the first sign of weird, he was writing his mum to get the board involved.

Kitty was officially ready for the start of term. No matter what challenged lay ahead, she was certain they'd be able to handle it, no way could it compare to what happened last year. Besides, she was really excited to continue her perfecting and activism.

Taking off her reading glasses before stepping on the train (this summer she'd realized she needed them when reading), she made her way to the prefect compartment. Then she pulled open the door and entered to greet her fellow prefects.

"Congratulations Etta! You too, Henry." She smiled at the two new prefects, wondering who else had been promoted to prefect hood. "Hello Noelle. Hi Tenacius!"

"How have your summers all been?" she asked as she moved to sit down, smiling again at Tenacius. They had spent lots of time together this most recent summer, and she loved every moment of it.

Today was a happy day for Olly. Sure he had to say goodbye to his crup, and his dads, and his brother, but he wasn't focusing on those things. He'd had a pretty good summer, especially the end. He was still a bit tired after a hectic last few weeks with the opening of the play he had been working backstage on. But he'd done his best to rest up to come back to Hogwarts with a lot of energy. And he certainly did have energy today. A lot of it was nervous energy. Today would mark his very first official day as Slytherin Prefect and he didn't know if he was ready for that. What if he didn't do a good job? He would try his best, of course.

Olly nervously straightened his shiny new badge and made his way toward the prefects' compartment. He was glad to find that Noelle was already in there and send her a sort of relieved grin when he arrived and moved to take the seat next to her. And of course there were others in there too. There was Henry. Remy had already told him about Henry getting the badge. The other Hufflepuff prefect he hadn't known, and actually he didn't really know her. Her name was Etta or something, right? And the other two who had already been prefects, Kitty and Tenacius. Who was still missing? He was not really looking forward to the arrival of Rooney.

"Hello everyone," he said with a smile.

After saying good-bye to her family and then letting Junia and Abey wander off down the train to find their friends and a compartment to sit in, Rula headed toward the prefects' compartment, feeling something between nervous and excited. The term was just beginning, and there were so many exciting new possibilities and opportunities ahead, especially since it was her last year at Hogwarts. But there was also the possibility that things could go wrong, but she was trying not to think about that.

Today was a good day. This term would be a good one. She was determined to make it so.

Pausing outside of the compartment door, she pulled out a little compact mirror to check her appearance, making sure she didn't have any random hair strands sticking up or food in her teeth or anything else that would make her look silly and unprofessional. Once satisfied with that, she adjusted her badge for the millionth time, twisted her ring around her finger once (a habit that she had acquired over the past several months), took a deep breath, and then opened the door, a bright smile on her face.

"Hi, everyone!" She greeted them all. "Did you all have a good summer?" Oh! Etta was here, and Henry too! And Olly! So he was going to be her fellow prefect for Slytherin? Nice!

Now...where to sit? Were there seating assignments? Should she sit next to her co-prefect or the Head Boy? Were they even going to be sitting here for very long? Half the train journey? Most of it? Less than that?

Was she over-thinking this? Probably.

Etta had just gotten to the interesting part of the book when she looked up to see Noelle entering the compartment. She started to smile when the other girl gave her a hug.. which was a surprise. A good surprise. She wasn't used to people surprising her with hugs. "Yes. I'm very excited." .. to say the least. She closed her book and dropped it into her bag, she'd have to finish reading later.

Ready for this term? Etta considered the question for a moment or two before giving a light shrug of the shoulders, the smile on her face turning into a grin. "Yeah, I think so. I feel like it's going to be a lot of fun.. I think I'm ready. How do you feel?"

-- and then someone, who did look vaguely familiar, was standing by the door. "Hi?" Etta was pretty sure his name was Ace or something like that.. She frowned momentarily, a little confused by the expression on his face. "I'm the Hufflepuff Prefect." She added rather abruptly.. but offered a smile. After all, she couldn't expect everyone to just know she was a prefect, right?

OHHEY. She grinned as Henry joined them too, glad to see his face again. He did have a nice face too, which helped. "Hi, you." She shifted a little in her seat to make more room for him before leaning back, absently playing with the ends of her hair. "It will be a good term. At least, I hope it will be." It wouldn't be anything like the previous term, anyway. The whole monster/portal situation was sorted out so they would be safe.. right?

Etta looked up at the other new entrant, greeting her with a smile. "Hi, Kitty! Thank you." Kitty seemed rather nice and interesting, except for that one episode in class last term. How could anyone forget? "Summer has been lovely.. more enjoyable than I had expected. How has yours been?"

Ooooooh. She curiously studied the boy who had just entered the compartment.. Hm. The Slytherin prefect. Etta didn't know his name or hadn't even met him as far as she could remember but better late than never, right? "Hi, I'm Etta." She greeted him with a warm smile and extended a hand for a formal handshake.

--- And the head girl. Junia had told her about Rula and Etta was so happy for the older girl, really. Rula seemed like an extremely friendly person.. a good person overall and the Hufflepuff was very sure she'd do a good job. Also, she was very pretty too. Did she know? "Hi, Rula. Congratulations!"

Soon after she'd settled into her seat, the compartment door opened and the two Slytherin prefects came in. She recognized both of them wand wasn't the least bit surprised that they were prefects. (and in Rula's case, head girl!) "Congratulations guys," she said, smiling warmly at both of them. "My summer was great," she answered vaguely (and truthfully) to Rula's group question. "How was your summer?"

Rula asked her the same question (how her summer was) and since it was direct she decided to answer with more details, loud enough for everyone to hear. "That's nice. My summer was also great. I visited with my new Muggle friends a lot more, and I visited Rooney and Tenacius. People hardly ever invite me to their homes, so that was great."

Clasping his hands together as he stepped into the Prefect Compartment, Rooney smiled. "And a Rooney makes eight. Which means we're all here!" He would have been here before them all, had he not stopped on the platform with his mother to properly apologise for the events of the summer. They had somewhat patched things up loosely in August in time for Kitty to come visit, but as soon as his co-prefect had left, he had returned to staying in his Aunt Elodie's boat house. With a fond nod to the returning Prefects, Rooney found himself grateful that their parents had elected to let them return to Hogwarts despite the events of last year.

And then there were the new pickings. He knew that Juno had stepped down to focus on her exams, and despite how he thought it was a silly decision...he appreciated that she was confident enough in herself as an individual to not need the badge to be successful. That, he admired about the Hufflepuff. And Miss Henrietta Kramer was a wonderful selection as replacement. Henry... well, Henry was Henry and Rooney had nothing but respect for him after things, but still he was certain that he would miss Brian Woods and his ability to say exactly what he was thinking, no matter the consequences. Oliver was another male that Rooney had had issues with in the past, but found no problem with him now and was definitely pleased for his school service to be rewarded. "Congratulations are in order, I see. Half of our team is made up of new Prefects and I speak for the rest of us in saying welcome and we're glad to have you here."

Ah. And Rula. Rooney took a moment out of being professional (he was doing everything in his power to be just that) and embraced the Slytherin girl. "And extra congratulations to you, Head Girl." He had always admired her as an individual and now to work alongside her was something he was happiest about. Had Juno not stepped down, he had assumed she would have been his partner, but Rula was everything he could have wanted in a partner. She was fair, brave and equally as big-hearted. He felt that they complimented each other in personality and now professionality.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, he grinned. "I've taken on the role of Head Boy for this year, following in the footsteps of Colt Winchester, Franklin Paton, Henric Nicolei, Yoongi Hyland, Zander Adair and many more. I hope that I can serve our school as well as those before me have and that I can lead all of you in the direction of success. I'm the longest serving of us this year, so I offer my assistance in any issues you have or questions that come to you. They'll be a welcome distraction to any anxiety I have about returning to the castle." His gaze fell to both Henry and Etta at that point, choosing not to acknowledge those that had chosen to enter the portal under their own wishes.

"A lot of students may not be returning this year, brace yourselves for familiar faces to be missing from your house tables. Following that, students that are returning may struggle to settle back into day-to-day school life. Our new first years and transfers may be worried about what they have heard. It's our job to show them that despite past happenings, we are still a cohesive unit and will do whatever we can to make everything right for them."

That was enough talking for his opening statements, right? He had plenty of plans to run through with them.

Olly smiled at the Hufflepuff prefect, Etta, when she introduced herself. "Hi Etta! I'm Oliver. Or Olly, whatever. Congrats on your prefect-ship. Are you ready for the new term?" He couldn't remember what year she was, but he was pretty sure she was a year younger than him? Which meant this would be her OWL year. Olly was glad that was over. He was also kind of glad that his first term as prefect hadn't been last term when he also had OWLs and things to worry about.

The next arrival was Olly's fellow Slytherin prefect and it was Rula! And she was Head Girl too! Olly grinned at her. "Hi Rula! Congrats Head Girl. She totally deserved it. Then she was asking them about their summers and Olly smiled. "Mine was good. Lots of hanging out with friends-" He nudged Noelle at that. "Family, my crup, and lots of art of course." He was also interested in how other people's summers had went, of course. He smiled at Kitty, but then his attention was drawn to the newest arrival. Of course Rooney was head boy. That really wasn't surprising and, well, Olly supposed he was happy for him. He listened while he talked, and he said quite a bit. Olly simply nodded but didn't have a response when he was done. Was a response required? He wasn't sure what to say so he decided not to say anything but did listen intently, assuming that Rooney was going to go on to say more.

One by one the compartment filled up with the prefects and Head people of this term. Noelle grinned at each person as they came in. Noelle grinned at Ace as he sang her name. "Hey Ace!' She smiled warmly and looked from him to Etta. She was about to introduce them when Etta proudly told Ace she was the new Hufflepuff prefect. "I'm.... ready." Noelle told Etta to answer the question about how she felt. She was hesitant... but only because Hogwarts always seemed to have a surprise in store.

She waved at Henry, Kitty, Rula as they came in and greeted them with warm smiles. She'd seen almost everyone over summer but it was good to see everyone. She listened as everyone told stories of their summers.

Olly was next in and Noelle beamed proudly at that prefect badge on his chest. She was also glad he took a seat beside her. She took his hand out of habit.

Rooney, the new head boy came in last. It wasnt a huge surprise that he was Head Boy. He had a good head on his shoulder in times of trouble. She smiled in welcome to him and listened at his speech. She nodded at what he was saying, already hearing hushed whispers of worried parents while on the platform.

But this term was going to be one of the best. It had to be.

It seemed that no sooner had Henry sat down next to Etta than several more of the prefects filed into the compartment after him. "Hi, Kitty.. thanks!" He grinned at the Ravenclaw. And there was Olly. Noelle had told him that he had gotten badged too, so it wasn't a surprise to see him in the prefect compartment. "Hey, Olly. Congrats." He got a smile too, but then Henry looked up to see who else was coming in.

Oh! "Rula.. you're Head Girl!" Not that he was surprised, well maybe he was, but it was more that he didn't know who it would be. Well deserved though. "Congrats to you too." He also offered her a wide smile.

"Summer was great, really busy though," he offered to those who asked. He knew it was a general question though, so he wouldn't go into much detail unless someone really wanted to know. Most people knew how involved he was with Quidditch, plus he had plenty of other things going on.

And he was glad that Etta was trying to think as positively about this term as he was. "It will be," he confirmed again with a nod. He had to think that it would and wasn't even going to think differently. He couldn't right now. Henry was also glad for Kitty that she visited friends, but he couldn't help but to think that sounded somewhat sad, that she didn't get invited many places. He made a mental note to try to get to know his year mate a little better this term.

But he didn't have time to think on that or say anything else because one Rooney Bronwyn was walking in. "Head Boy! I figured you'd get that," Henry gave the other boy a small grin and nodded towards his badge. The obvious choice, really, but Henry thought it was also well deserved. And if he had taken a moment to think about it, he'd probably have figured it out before he stepped into the compartment.

Oh, okay, a speech. Henry settled in to listen to what Rooney had to say, though he averted his eyes a bit when the other boy's gaze settled to him at the mention of anxiety at returning. Well. He figured he knew why, though Henry had to deal with things in his own way and had nothing to say just then. He did make some good points though and Henry thought for a moment about the possibility of students not returning and what they'd need to do to put others at ease. Would it be easier or more difficult to do that because of his own personal experience? He wasn't sure yet.

But as Rooney finished talking, Henry looked up and nodded his agreement."We will. Hogwarts is still a good school." And if he did not really believe that, he wouldn't have accepted the badge and come back. Well, not that he was so sure that his parents would have let him do differently.