Kimberly made her way through the corridors, heading towards the middle of the train. She hadn't seen where Lucas had run off to, but that was fine with her. She doubted either one of them wanted to spend their first train ride to Hogwarts sitting with the other.

Finding a compartment, Kimmie slid the door open and entered, perching herself by the window so she could see outside. Looking out the window at the crowded station and all of the students and parents saying their good byes while the kids continued boarding. The finality of her transfer suddenly struck her, and for a brief moment, she realized she might actually miss having Lucy and she realized how glad she was that Lucas had decided to transfer as well.

She waved off the thoughts of her family and focused on surveying the little compartment she was in as she settled back into her seat to prepare for the long trip to Hogwarts.

With her black kneazle tucked carefully in her arms, Isla Bellchant made her way past the front part of the train, past the middle part of the train, and toward the back part of the train. This was where she sat on the ride home just a few months ago, when she'd finished up her first year. She peeked around but the first few people she saw were all seventh years now, and she knew the last thing they wanted was a second year joining them.

She turned on her heels and headed back to the middle compartment, where she took a seat in an empty compartment. Maleficent let out a mew, and Isla took it as a sign that she was ready to be let down. Once the door to the compartment was closed, Isla sat the kneazle down and let her stretch her feet. She smiled when the first thing her new familiar did was rub its back against Isla's legs. The now-second-year sighed and looked out the window. It was going to be a long trip to Hogwarts if she didn't find anybody else to keep her company other than the kneazle.

It's been literally fifteen minutes, or less, and Ilya had to run down the corridor looking for his purse. His hair had already changed colour to flaming red, not because he was angry he totally was but because he didn't want to lose a perfectly good compartment back there. He definitely made a ruckus outside one of the compartments before he slid the door open. "Excuse me, have you seen a small pink purse around?" He asked, standing at the door frame.

Did... he know this girl? He couldn't make out her features yet until she turned completely to face him, then he may recognize her.

Kimmie gave a small jump in her seat when she heard a whole lot of noise outside of her compartment. She was going to get up to look to see what the hulabaloo was about, but as she reached out to slid the door open, it slid back and someone appeared in the door way.

K blinked at the boy in the door, surprised by the sudden intrusion, but not unwelcoming. He was looking for a pink purse? She glanced around the compartment, leaning forward to glance under the seat across from her. "Sorry, I haven't come across one. Do you need help trying to find it?"

Alexia usually wasn't one to get anxious. She liked to think she was immune to fears and anxieties. The fears that other people felt before a big test, or game, or even in general just didn't really come to her. She liked to think she was fearless.

She was wrong, but it was what she wanted to think.

Of COURSE Alexia had fears and anxieties. All people do. She wouldn't have been human if she didn't feel fear some of the time. She was just good at acting in spite of those fears and anxieties. Fear of giving a report in class? Be the first to give it, sit down and let it be done with. Fear before a big game? Give a pep talk to the team and watch their faces change. Afraid to go into the crowd at a concert? Lead her friends through so that she knew there were confidants by her side.

This day, she wasn't doing too good at acting in spite of her fear. She woke up with a stomachache that was not quenched by her orange juice and toast. Maybe it was because this was a whole new world, or maybe it was because she was away from her friends for the first time in a long time, but Alexia was feeling the nerves.

She walked around, hoping she didn't look like a total doofus, looking for someone that looked friendly enough to sit next to. Alexia really didn't want to spend her first train ride, and her first train ride to a brand new place to be alone. That would make her feel totally lame.

After some searching, she found a person sitting in a train cart alone. Well, alone unless you counted the creatures. What WAS that thing? It looked cool, but Alexia was pretty sure she never saw someone keep one of those as a pet before. Anyway, she should probably introduce herself. She swallowed the nerves and opened the compartment door slightly, smiling her best, friendly smile. This person wasn't going to bite. The worst they could say is no.

"Hello." She cleared her throat so that her voice would be clearer. "You're sitting alone, do you want some company?"

Nope. He hadn't seen her before, and she didn't seem like a first-year so she must be a new transfer. "Oh great. I'll have to make it all the way to the back cars now." He grumbled, huffing and taking a peek backwards where students were still making their way across looking for compartments, so it was pretty busy out there. "Yeah, maybe. The thing is, my grandmother actually enchanted that purse to start screeching if it was lost for too long. " See his dilemma now?

"I'm sorry, I don't think I know you. I'm Ilya Belrose." He informed her. He didn't shake hands or anything, what were they, business partners.

Kimberly blinked at him as he explained the enchantment placed upon his purse. Did he say it would screech? Slowly her face stretched into a smile."That's brilliant! The screeching will help you locate it better!" Which she was sure was the whole purpose of the enchantment, which sounded incredibly useful. And even if he was too far away from the purse to hear it, someone would probably be annoyed enough by the noise to start looking for it's owner.

Hearing him introduce himself, Kim gave a small wave in greeting before introducing herself and giving a brief explanation for why he wouldn't recognize her. "Kimmie Amstern. I just transferred from Ilvermony. It's nice to meet you Ilya."

With a backpack filled with delicious snacks, Noah now thought it'd probably be a good idea to go find somewhere to sit. He was certain that procuring snacks was a smart move to make on his end. Firstly, he had snacks and he was an ever hungry boy. Secondly, he could share them with potential new friends. Yep. It was the move and he was pretty proud of himself. No---heh- he felt invincible in this moment.

With an upbeat skip in his step, the boy entered the Middle Cars. Now where to sit? He passed a few compartments before noticing a boy standing in an open compartment with... wait was that... "Kimmie?" he called out/asked as he wasn't completely sure. He thought he recognized her but who knew- maybe she had a doppelgänger or something...? When he got closer, he noticed that it was her indeed. His face lit up with a happy smile. He was happy to have found a friendly face.

"Hey! Mind if I join? I brought snacks?" he proclaimed and was about to introduce himself to the boy who he assumed was a friend of Kimmie's before pausing in his tracks. Wait... He noticed that the guy seemed a little... concerned, perhaps? Err... Noah stopped in his tracks. "Um... is everything okay..? Who's in trouble?" he asked, immediately ready to volunteer to help. A friend of Kimmie was a friend of his. Yep.

Kimmie was still trying to understand exactly why the boy in front of her was so nervous about the screeching enchantment, as she currently could only see the benefits of his lost possession making such a loud noise, when she was suddenly distracted by a voice calling her name from behind Ilya.

K's mouth stretched into a grin when she saw who was behind him, and she waved at the fellow transfer. "Noah! I was hoping I'd run into you on the train!" And not just because he was one of the only people she knew, but rather because she enjoyed his company.

"You would be welcome to join even without food, but snacks is always appreciated." And she was totally going to steal some because she was a glutton. Hearing him question if everything was okay, she gestured towards Ilya. "This is Ilya, he's looking for a small pink purse. Have you by chance seen one around?"

Isla had only halfway expected to hear the compartment door open and have someone come inside. Maybe Blake or Bernie or even Claudine? After all, she had sat with the last two on the ride home last school year. What she wasn't expecting was a girl she'd never even seen before. She sat up a little straighter, seeing as she had been lounging around, and nodded her head.

"Yeah, sure," she said. "So as long as you don't mind kneazles." As if on cue, Isla's pet black cat mewed again. Maybe she was just hungry? Who knew. "This is Maleficent, and as far as I know, she won't hurt a soul." Granted she'd only owned the cat for a month now, but that was enough time to tell what most of her personality would be like.

"I'm Isla," she continued. "Second year Slytherin." She gave the girl another glance and decided that she'd indeed never seen her before. "Are you new to the school?" Sometimes it was hard to tell. Isla had only been a first year last school year, so she'd only had a year to try and remember all the faces and names she could. One thing she was sure of was that if this girl had been to Hogwarts before, she hadn't been a Slytherin.

And it was Kimmie! Cue bigger smile. Yes, yes. Very happy to see a good friend - especially one who was an ice cream fanatic just like he was. He could have nearly B L U S H E D over here next words but tried his best not too he failed. He was very happy to hear that someone enjoyed his presence.

He nodded to Ilya as a form of greeting when Kimmie briefly explained who the boy was before elaborating on what said problem was. Noah frowned. Oh? Seen a pink purse? Hmm.... He had just been at the food trolley prior... Sure he'd seen loads of bright colours but pink didn't scream out to him as one of those colours. He bit his lip and reflected on all the locations that he had visited. Sadly, he couldn't think of one place. He shook his head. "No, I haven't. It wasn't at the food trolley- I can assure you of that. Are there any details on the outside of the wallet? Embroidery? Also.. is there a way that we can send a mass announcement on the train? They must have some form of speaker to make announcements?" he asked, letting his muggleborn knowledge flow through. Of course, as soon as he said it, he knew there was a spell to project your voice. Ehh... oh well.

Alexia couldn't help but pause for a second. A kneazle. There was no way that a kneazle was a real word. She had never heard that word in her entire life. Was that like a Hogwarts thing? Could she get one of those? Were they dangerous?

"Thanks." She stepped into the compartment, shutting the door behind her. If a kneazle was dangerous, she was now trapped inside the compartment with it. Although, this stranger was traveling with one, and she didn't seem to have any problems. Maybe it was an attack kneazle? Was that a thing that existed? She was really going to have to start cracking open those books that she bought.

The unmistakable mew of a cat interrupted her train of thought. It was a good thing too, because her brain felt like it was going twelve million miles per minute to capture her surroundings. But a cat, she could deal with a cat. Alexia loved cats. She used to feed the strays that lived in their neighborhood, much to the dismay of her mother. One of the many dramatic moments from her mother. She gave a little wave to the cat, even though she knew it was goofy.

Feeling more confident. she took the empty seat across from the other female, picking a fuzz ball off of her green sweater once she was seated. Darn sweater was cute, but always giving her trouble.

"My names Alexia." She paused again. Her full first name felt so formal. She almost wasn't used to it. "I really go by anything, though." she lifted her shoulders into a shrug. She was easy going, most of the time. Okay, some of the time. Okay, a bit of the time. She wasn't perfect. "This is my first year going here, so I guess I'm pretty new." It was going to be an exciting year. Her first year learning spells in a cool new place. With cool new people. It was.... cool!

"I like your cats name, Isla. Maleficent. Where did you come up with that? I always named my cats really basic names like Spots." She did take care of a stray cat named Spots at one point. Last she heard, it got picked up from the streets and went to a nice family that had a mother that wasn't allergic to felines. She missed that cat. That cat had really pretty eyes. The cat had the same color brown eyes as her mother.

At least she liked the idea of the enchantment, Ilya thought it was a bit too grandmotherly for his taste. It was like knitting your name on all your clothes. Embarrassing! "I'm glad you like the idea. But yeah, you're right." Soon it would start screeching and he would probably be kicked out right here in the middle of the journey, ugh.

Before they decided on their next steps, a boy joined them who very promptly seemed to be a friend of Kimmy. Ilya waited out the brief conversation, noting the blushing on the boy's cheeks, how did girls miss those signs was beyond him. But then again he always applauded himself for how observant he was, HEHE.

Finally, he nodded when he was introduced-- when he and his purse problem were introduced. Ugh. He tried his best to keep his embarrassment at bay, but a few strands of his hair did change to black. "Uhm, yeah, I'm sure they do have announcement system here. But I don't think we need it... my purse screeches when it's away from me for a long time." Also, he didn't want to track attention to this by the prefects and whatnot. it would be TOO embarrassing. "Do you think we should just wait until it does?"

Kimmie beamed at her friend, giving a small giggle as he face flushed slightly but not making any other verbal mention. She listened as Noah brainstormed other ways to try to locate the missing item, nearly face palming as he mentioned some type of PA system in order to locate it. "Duh. That's a brilliant idea, Noah! Could definitely find it in no time that way!" Because even if they didn't have an way to make an announcement hard wired in, there was probably something that could be used magically.

Focusing her attention back on Ilya as he spoke, K tilted her head for a second in thought. "Any chance you know how to cast the enchantment your grandmother used?" Or could he at least point her in the right direction? Because enchanting objects to screech when they couldn't be found seemed like an amazing prank to play on her siblings. Heh.

Kimmie was going to further comment as he continued to brainstorm on the best way to go about locating his property now, when she suddenly noticed his hair change before their eyes. She could have sworn it had all been red before, but now it appeared there were some bits of black as well. "Are you a metamorphagus?" Because that was really cool if he was. Or if he had just already mastered hair color changing spells, she also wanted to pick his brain on that.

"I think you're probably best off waiting for it to screech, but if you'd rather go look I'd be happy to help.

Isla saw the way the other girl hesitated, and she kind of put two and two together and realized it was because of Maleficent. "Are you sure you're okay with the kneazle?" she asked. If she wasn't, there was really nothing Isla could do about it but toss her pet out the window, and that wasn't happening. Maleficent was already on the train to Hogwarts, so she'd have to stay for at least a year. If she didn't end up liking it at the school, Isla could always bring her home during Christmas break.

Isla smiled. "Nice to meet you, Alexia," she replied. She usually went by anything? Isla guessed that might mean something like Lexi or Lex. Either way, she'd just met her, so she'd call her by the only name she knew her as for now. Alexia. "First year's fun. Let me tell you from experience, though. Try to get out as much as you can. Not leaving Hogwarts. That's not what I mean. I mean...don't make it all about classes and homework. Have fun with friends, too." That was the one mistake she made during her first year.

Well, that and running through the corridors with THE sword of Gryffindor...

The topic changed back to her kneazle and Isla ran her hand along the fur of her new pet. "Maleficent is a villain in some old Disney movies. Except, they find out at the end that she'd not really evil. Just misunderstood," she began to explain. "Anyway, people say my mom looks like the actress that played Maleficent. So in a way, she's named after my mom." It was kind of like having a piece of home with her at Hogwarts.

He smiled when Kimmie gave him encouragement with voicing his ideas. It was nice getting a compliment. Noah remained listening to Ilya discuss the purse. His eyes widened when he saw the slight change in hair colour. That was cool! Hair colour trick or metamorphagus – Noah was very intrigued. He wondered if the boy was a metamorphagus because that would be really awesome. He always wanted to dye his hair a different colour like bright orange. Hmm.. This was giving him some ideas.

OH? So, it would sound an alarm or screeching sound to alert its location? That was pretty good. Then perhaps waiting wasn’t such a bad idea. “I’d agree with Kimmie on that one butI wouldn’t mind going on an adventure to find it either. It could be fun!

"Yeah, kneazles are fine," Alexia said, smiling reassuringly at Isla. "I think. To tell you the truth, I've never seen one before. If you would have said you had a kneazle this morning, I would have thought you were making things up!" She gave a quick chuckle, not unkindly, and scratched a quick itch on her nose. How many... 'unique' words did Hogwarts have, anyway? Was this going to be an entire glossary? Was she going to have to start making a vocab sheet for all of the different terms?

" Nice to meet you too." It really was nice to meet Isla. She seemed like a friendly and sweet face, and Alexia would never say no to seeing another cat. And she knew more about Hogwarts than the younger would, so she might be able to give advice. Which Alexia definitely felt like she needed. This was certainly different than back home. This was new. And she wasn't entirely sure what she was doing.

She didn't think it was going to be much of a problem too squeeze in some fun with friends. Alexia was never one to exactly exceed in school, her grades were quite average back home. She went to study circles with her friends for the snacks and the company. She asked for the answers to the math homework from her friends. Which she was no longer going to be able to do. She was actually going to have to figure out the math HERSELF. Apology in advance to her Professors, because that was not going to be pretty.

"Yeah, so far first year seems fun." Not that Alexia DID much yet, she bought her supplies and got on a train, but this was already beating going back to public school for sure. Except for going clothes shopping with her friends. That was always super fun as well. "Is there a lot to do around Hogwarts, besides classes?" She wasn't going to SAY anything, but Alexia meant activities and athletics. She was always more of an activities person anyway, going to most of the school functions last year. When they weren't lame, of course. What were school functions like at Hogwarts? Were there like magical functions? She pushed a piece of her box-dyed pink hair behind her right ear, thinking about all of the possibilities of a magical function. It seemed like Hogwarts COULDN'T be boring, right? There was actual magic there.

"Is anybody allowed to leave the school, or is like home base, Alexia asked, putting air quotes around the words home base. It wasn't like she was planning on being a trouble maker and sneaking out, but Diagon Alley was calling her name. On the day she was getting school supplies, Alexia had missed her chance to go to the sweets shop, and she really wanted to check it out. So if she was allowed to go, that would be her first destination.

Disney movie? It sounded like an old book her mom used to read to her, but Alexia hadn't watched any 'Disney movies.' The story about the misunderstood queen sounded slightly familiar.

"That's cute! I love the idea of naming your cat after a family member." Like the squirrel in their backyard she named after her little cousin, because her cousin wouldn't stop annoying her. "Well, even sort of." Another giggle, that Alexia hoped sounded kind.

Well... these wizards were weird. A train from London to Scotland!? It was quite boring. They were still too lame to teleport. What good was a wand if it'd still take him hours?? Ugh... maybe they weren't so civilised...

He wasn't sobbing anymore, but he still sniffed as he slowly dragged his luggage. It was heavy and he was tired, but he couldn't find a suitable compartment in the front cars. Ugh. He hoped he could find one here... he looked around. Everyone had a friend and it looked like everyone knew what was going on. He was the only 11 year old without much idea of magic, it seemed. Maybe he was... maybe he was just called in, because for some reason all the 11 year olds died and he was the only remaining one... haha, that'd be funny. He grinned to himself at the thought, and plopped down when he finally found an empty compartment.

She was on the Hogwarts Express and officially going to Hogwarts!!

It was actually a bit surreal. It seemed like she'd been waiting forever for this to happen, where she could actually start learning magic. And also finding out what house she would be in!

Ivy knew Mum was hoping for Gryffindor, and Dad was probably hoping for Slytherin, but she was also pretty sure they'd be okay with any of them. All of them sounded pretty interesting to her anyway, especially the common rooms. She could be in one of the towers or on the same floor as the kitchens or in the dungeons! Which might've sounded scary to some, but she thought it would be cool. Especially with the view under the lake! Imagine all the creatures she'd get to see!

So maybe she was feeling just a little partial to Slytherin, just for the common room. But ultimately she had no preferences in this area. She just wanted to know what she'd be!

But there was still a whole train ride to get to, and so she needed to find a seat. Which was also a hard decision. Did she want to be towards the front or the back or somewhere in the middle? Probably didn't matter in the long run really.

She'd gotten on the train somewhere towards the back, and so far most of the compartments she passed had been pretty full. And none of them were anyone she actually knew. Maybe they were all towards the front?

Oh wait! Here was an empty -- er, no, not completely empty. There was a boy in there. But...maybe this was a good opportunity to meet new people? Yeah, probably!

Smiling, Ivy opened the door. "Hey, do you mind if I sit here with you?"

Isla paused and looked up at her new friend. "You're a muggleborn?" she asked. She didn't intend to sound so surprised, and she hoped it didn't offend the girl. It's just...now the hesitation about the pet made sense. She'd probably never seen or heard of one before.

She laughed when Alexia said something about first year being fun so far. "It's barely even started! The fun is yet to be had. Just wait until you're sorted!" she said, remembering how excited she'd been this time last year. "So which house do you think you'll end up in?" She kind of thought Alexia would be a Hufflepuff, but then again, she had been dead wrong about her own sorting, too. She nodded. "Oh, yeah, there's lots to do! There'll be Hogsmeade weekends, which are fun, and there's all sorts of clubs, too."

She smiled and petted the kneazle when Alexia said something about it being nice to have named Maleficent after her mom. "It helps me miss her less when I'm at school," she said, her voice a little lighter. "I have a sister coming to Hogwarts next year, and a brother a few years after that." Having Ava at the school would be a...different experience.

Kimmy definitely held him on a high standard if she thought he could cast a spell similar to his grandmother. Ilya didn't want to blatantly say no and come off as ignorant. "I mean, I wasn't there when she enchanted it, so I don't know..." He cleared his throat, keeping calm and trying not to expose his lying butt to the new peeps.

Of course, his hair would change again. Ugh, it was like this summer's lessons were all trash! He couldn't control anything. "Yeah." He answered to the metamorphagus question. It sounded like he was confessing to a crime, though, because Ilya was not very fond of his uncontrolled yet changing phases. Imagine if his genes were to change his FACE, oh dear Merlin, he would melt into the ground in embarrassment. "Uhm, sorry. Don't mind it, I'm learning to control it, but sometimes I forget." To control.

He nodded, agreeing with both Noah and Kim about the waiting. "Okay, yeah, mind if I stay here? I think I lost it nearby." And his compartment was all the way at the front.

Lou Ysobelle Hopkins, you have to pull yourself together, she thought as she gladly made her way unto the station and hopped into the Hogwarts express.

A magical train taking me to a magical school, she silently squealed with her eyes beaming with excitement. Her heart is bouncing like it's about to burst because of joy. This is the day she had been waiting for since she received her letter apart from buying her school stuffs.

With her petite and small form, she easily squeezed her way through the throng of students forming along the train corridor, finding their way to an empty compartment, chatting with their friends and just watching others get settled in.

Where do I sit? she looked around. Do they need a seat number or they can seat wherever they like? What if there are no more seats for her? Where would she go? She had a lot of question in her mind. This is all new for her, but this is an exciting adventure. A whole new world awaits, dear Lou Ysobelle. Far from her old boring school filled with bullies.

Her bright round eyes peered through the front car compartments she passed by and found them to be taken by happily chatting students. She was hoping to find an empty one as she went along however it seemed hopeless with the growing number of students boarding. She continued to make her way to the middle part of the train with fingers crossed. She wasn't very fond of the thought of riding at the back.

Make some friends. Make some friends. She kept telling herself the idea that she needed to make new friends to be able to find a good seat. Okay. she was definitely talking to herself. However, come to think of it,
How awesome it would be to share the ride with some newfound magical friends, she thought.

So without any hesitation, she pushed open a compartment door and smiled at the two young students who are already comfortably seated. With a puzzling look in her face, she began to brandish her right hand to give them a friendly wave, however thought of herself like a fool so she had to stop it with her left hand. She hid her hands behind her and wringed them together.

"Errr, Hi!!!" She beamed and looked at the two girls. "Hello, I am Lou Ysobelle Hopkins," she nervously mumbled. "Do you mind if I join you?" she fidgeted. "I was hoping to find an empty compartment but I didn't really want to sit at the back car." The reason behind that, was one of horror movie she watched when she was young. She believed the train could get lost or lead them somewhere else, the people at the back of the train are usually the ones left and they'd be fed to a monster-like-being.

She caught a glimpse of a little creature that seemed familiar from one of the shops in Diagon Alley. She got a furry plump white cat and named her, Fia. The cat is sleeping in her bag, which made it a little heavy.

Michael wanted to read Hogwarts: A History, but it was also his first time on England soil, so he wanted to enjoy the scenery too. But sleeping was also a very, very good option. He yawned. Why weren't there... 3 of him right now? One could sleep, one could view the scenery, and one could read. He sighed. The weight of decision was too much on his shoulders...

Well, he didn't have to think for too long. Soon, the door opened and a girl was standing.

He didn't answer right away, but studied her face. She looked like his age. But maybe she was 12, who knew? He was going to know it, now.

"How old are you?" he asked directly in his thick Northern Irish accent, as if only a certain people could be admitted to his compartment.

Kimmie deflated a little when Ilya said he hadn't been there to see his grandmother enchant the purse, all schemes of pranking her siblings losing their bolster. But oh well, she'd figure out other ways. she always did.

But then he confirmed he was a metamorphagus, and her mouth formed a small o. "That's so cool!" But then he sounded like he was apologizing for it, which seemed weird that he felt the need to do so. She smiled slightly at him and shook her head, "No need for apology. Is it hard to control?" She was probably prying, but she was curious. She'd never really thought about anything but positives in regards to being able to change her appearance at will.

When Ilya stated he would wait for the noise and asked if he could join them, K smiled and nodded and she scooched closer to the window to make room for both guys to join her. "The more the merrier!" She smiled at Noah as welling, hoping he was of the same mind. She settled herself comfortable against the back of her seat. "Are you both excited for the coming school year?"