Moving as fast as her legs could carry her, along with her things, she bolted towards the train. As sad as it was going to be to leave her friends for the summer, she was overjoyed to be spending it with Kay. Her heart pounded with excitement as she loaded her items and climbed aboard. She was very aware that getting on the train early wouldn’t actually get it going any sooner, but it felt good to bet on the train and watching the other students scurry about.

She made her way down the corridor, poking her head in compartments as she went, looking for the perfect spot to sit. She wanted to make sure she could see when Maddie and Daisy got on the train, and even hoped that Derf, Charlie, and Bel would at least pass by. She didn’t expect the older students to sit with her, but she still wished to see them one last time.

About half way down the front cars, she entered a compartment and got settled in. She felt fairly confident that her friends would be able to find her, but just in case, she sat towards the compartments door.

Daisy liked sitting at the front of the train and was carefully searching the various compartments until she spotted Emmalyn sitting in one of the compartments. Daisy opened the door, closed it behind her and sat down near the window.

"Hello, Em!"

Nettie couldn't believe she was already headed HOME for the summer! She had so many things she wanted to do this summer - work on her quidditch and maybe join a league, read up on some of the subjects she hadn't done SUPER well in this term (looking at you, History of Magic) and of course hang out with her brothers. Royland was coming to spend the WHOLE SUMMER with them, because apparently he'd quit his job, and while that wasn't great for his finances, that was great for HER because she'd get to see him!

Thinking about how GREAT this summer was going to be, she plopped down in an empty car near the front and pulled Rudy out of his cat basket. The little kitty promptly curled up into a ball in her lap, snoozing away almost immediately.

The train was slowly starting to fill and she was starting to wonder if her friends would find her. Before she had a chance to worry, Daisy appeared. "Hi, Daisy! Are you as excited as I am for summer holiday?" Warm weather, lazy days, back to school shopping at Diagon Alley...all things she was looking forward to.

Her eyes traveled towards the window, willing the train to start, but there were still several students not on yet, so leaving early didn't look like it was going to happen.

"Well, I am happy to be spending my summer holiday at home. My aunt Helena might be visiting. I am going to be recuperating. Will you be trying out for the Quidditch team next term if there are tryouts? It is just that I have no use for my broomstick so I thought maybe you'd like to have it. It is a Firebolt X-treme."

It broke her heart to think about being on the team without Daisy. They had played together the past two years, every year that she had played on the team, and it wouldn’t be the same without Daisy. Emmalyn tried to think of a way sound excited about playing, but not so much that it made her friend sad. Plus, she wasn’t sure if she’d even make the team again.

“That’s nice your aunt is visiting.” Then, she remembered that Daisy’s father had passed away the first part of the year. “I guess your summer will be a bit different without your dad around.” She wondered if she should have brought it up. Maybe Daisy didn’t want to talk about her dad. Trying to offer an out over family talk, she quickly added “Thank you so much for offering your broom. Is it okay if I let you know closer to school starting?” She pointed to her bandaged arm “I need to see how well my arm heals before I know if I can try out for the team." She was expecting a complete recovery, other than a few scars, but the healer hadn’t been very specific about when she would be able to play quidditch again.


She rubbed her arm, "Does your leg still hurt? My arm is still a bit sore, but I didn't get hurt nearly as bad as you." Her head shook thinking about that night. The Inferi attack would haunt her for years to come.

Daisy nodded. "Summer will be different. Probably be more magical since my mother and aunt are Pureblood witches."

"You can let me know when we get back to school. I'll be bringing my broom in case you're able to try out. I hope your arm heals quickly. My leg has been permanently damaged and is still very sore. The Healer said that I won't able to walk properly and Quidditch is out."

Daisy's lower left leg was bandaged to protect from any infection and to try and ease the pain.

Josie came running onto the train, actually really eager to get home. She'd missed her mom and dad more than usual this year, and wanted to just get a big hug from both of them. Plus, their family all said they were visiting Italy this summer and she was actually super eager for the trip, so long as she didn't get stuck babysitting the other eight children that were going with their family.

She glanced around the compartments, not really sure where to sit. It had also been another long year of not talking to anyone because she was way too shy... maybe now was the time to at least try to be social... So instead of going and hiding in a compartment by herself she glanced around, hoping someone would acknowledge her and invite her to join them and their friends, because she certainly wasn't going to be the one to just go and sit down and join the conversation without asking.

So... just standing... in the middle of the hall... hoping some one would notice her.

Emmalyn hadn't realized that Daisy's mom and aunt were pureblood. That was kind of cook, especially since both of her parents were muggles. "I hope you get to do a lot of fun things with your Aunt. I'd love to meet up with you at Diagon Alley for ice cream or some back to school shopping."

As she was about to continue chatting over summer plans, she noticed Josie standing in the corridor. "Hi there. Are you looking for a place to sit?" She stuck her head a bit out into the corridor and caught sight of Nettie. "Hey, Nettie." She waved at the girl and her cat. "Why don't both of you join us in here? There's plenty of room." Emmalyn moved over so the bench next to her had more than enough space for two more. "We were just talking about summer plans. Either of you have anything fun going on?"

She loved hearing about what others had planned for their summer holiday. It always gave her good ideas for things to do, plus it helped her feel more connected to the school, even when they had to be away for the summer.

"I would love to meet up with you for an ice-cream in Diagon Alley or to do some shopping, Em," Daisy replied with a smile.

She then spotted Nettie and Josie. When Emmalyn invited the two of them to join her and Daisy, the older Hufflepuff replied with a smile and a, "Please do join us. There's plenty of room."

Nettie had just closed her eyes to take a little nap, just like Rudy, when she heard someone calling. She sat up and peeked out into the corridor and saw Emmalyn calling for her. She grinned and nodded, picking up Rudy (who was NOT happy about being awoken from his nap) and moved her stuff into their compartment.

"Thanks!" she said as she plopped down, setting Rudy down and letting him roam around the new compartment. He didn't go far - he just moved to the edge of the seat and sat there, watching everyone.

Summer plans? Nettie shrugged. "Maybe, I'm not sure. My brother is coming home from France so that'll be nice," she said with a soft smile.

Maddie sighed. She figured the train ride was coming to an end soon, and she still hadn't managed to find her group of friends. She had found the food trolley, though, which was nice. She chomped on a chocolate frog as she wandered into the front part of the train. Just as she did that, she caught sight of Nettie slipping into a compartment.

NETTIE!

There was one of her friends, and she figured whoever Nettie was sitting with was probably Maddie's friend, too. She headed straight in that direction, all the while enjoying the goodness known as CHOCOLATE FROG.

Peeking into the compartment, she saw Nettie, Emmalyn, Daisy, and a girl she knew from around the castle, although not well enough to know her name. "There you are!" she said to the group as a whole. "I've been looking for you for...well...hours!" She didn't even ask if she could join them. She knew they wouldn't mind. She sat down on an empty seat, glad to have someone to talk to for the rest of the ride.