Avalon had never been more excited to get back to Hogwarts. She usually enjoyed her time at home, but this summer had been more than boring. With both of her siblings traveling, she was stuck at home, by herself, with her parents. Don't get her wrong, she loved her parents. But spending several weeks straight with them in their Notting Hill townhouse was a little more "togetherness" than she preferred.

After boarding the train, she spent a few minutes wandering the halls, keeping an eye out for a compartment to join. Passing by a group of students that looked to be about her age, she decided to poke her head in.

"Mind if I join you?" Avalon asked with a smile, shifting her bag to her other shoulder. She had packed way too many belongings for the train ride. Did she really need a new outfit and a pair of boots to change into? For some reason, it sounded like a good idea when she was packing last night. "Everywhere else is full of first years," she added, somewhat jokingly. Not that she had a problem with first years. She actually quite enjoyed getting to know them and helping them around Hogwarts. But she also wanted to hang out with some people her own age. And she didn't think she had seen these students around before. Maybe it'd be a good opportunity to make some new friends.

Isla had mentioned another word Alexia had never heard of. Muggleborn. At least this one was easier to decipher than the last word. Kneazle. She still wasn't entirely convinced that kneazle was a real word! Although, she guessed if she had to describe the animal that Isla was pointing at, kneazle fit. But this word:

Muggleborn.

Born as a muggle.

A muggle had to be something that described her, but didn't fit Isla. Something you were born as. And something that she had been talking about this entire time for Isla to get it so quick.

Oh!

It was so obvious!

"Yeah, both my parents are normal -er- non wizardy people." Was saying normal like that offensive? Was it implying that they weren't normal? It felt oddly offensive. "No offense, but I'm kind of glad I am." Yes, Alexia knew how that sounded. Her point was going to make sense. She swore it. "You guys have like this whole world going on, so it's really cool to get to see that with, like, new eyes." Yeah, that didn't sound any better. "At least this way I can never get bored." She let out a chuckle and took a quick glance out of the window before looking back at Isla. How fast was this train going anyway? How soon would they be at Hogwarts? She liked talking to Isla, but she was getting slightly fidgety. She had to use the restroom. And the fact that she didn't eat a lot yet today was starting to make itself known in her stomach.

She decided to just focus in on what Isla was saying. There would hopefully be a bathroom and food when she got there. That was like, the law, right? There had to be bathrooms and food at school.

"Any house will do, I think." She giggled again. Alexia assumed that all of the houses did something for her education. So any house where she fit in. Fitting in was quite important, you know. "I'm kind of more excited about meeting the people." She kind of swept her hand across in a circle when she said people, as if highlighting a large group. The people she was going to have fun and good times with.

Alexia was glad that there were so many clubs and activities to do at Hogwarts. It would keep her from getting bored, and keep her occupied so she wouldn't get homesick. That was kind of her worst fear going forward. That she was going to get homesick and have to go home and then be the person who dropped out of a cool new school. That wasn't her.

"That's sweet, that the cat keeps you from missing your mom." She had something similar in her bag to keep her from missing her mother, folded up in one of her sweaters. It was a family photo, her favorite family photo actually.




Alexia was thinking about more things to ask about Hogwarts when she heard someone push open the compartment door. Not expecting anybody else, she turned her attention towards the door, where another person was standing. Was this one of Isla's friends?

"Oh, hi!" Alexia waved the hand closest to the newcomer in a rainbow motion, checking out her chipped green glitter nail polish as she did. It felt like it was on her nails forever by now. Why was it that the last bits of nail polish never wanted to go away?

Alexia didn't see a reason why this person couldn't join their little group.She seemed nice as well, if not nervous. Or was she fidgeting because she had to use the bathroom as well? However, it still felt polite to ask Isla. After all, she was here first, and she might have people coming later that she reserved seats for. She glanced at Isla, trying to gauge her reaction before she said anything

Uhhh...well, that definitely wasn't the reply she expected.

"Eleven," Ivy answered. "How old are you?" She certainly would've assumed he was the same age or pretty close...but what if he wasn't? What if he just looked really really young for his age, and he was actually a fifth year or something?

Probably not a likely scenario at all, but she thought it sounded cool!

Noah remained quiet, listening to both Kimmie and Ilya as they went back and forth. A smile formed on his lips when Ilya answered the earlier question about being a metamorphagus. He nodded after Kimmie’s exclamation as if to say he too thought it was cool. “Nope. Don’t apologize.” He paused, wondering if Ilya’s hair changed on his own whim or if it had to do with what kind of mood the boy was in. A question fit for the books indeed as he was mindful that perhaps the other boy could feel uncomfortable by all the questions that people could ask him about his ability.

Noah shared Kimmie’s sentiments once more. “Agreed. Join us. Plus I have plenty of snacks to share and I doubt Kimmie and I could finish them but I think we have a pretty good shot between the three of us,” he said as he unzipped his backpack to reveal all the goods that he had procured along with a couple of rice cakes that his mum had made.

Now.. was he excited for the school year? “Yes though to be honest – I’m a little nervous too. Brand new school, new house to get sorted in… but at least the people I’ve met have all been pretty welcoming.” They all had been polite and quite civil – besides, he had already made a couple of friends in Diagon Alley. Now the unknown factor of what house he’d fall into was the worrisome thought plaguing his mind. "And you guys?"

Kimmie was watching both of the boys waiting for their answer regarding the school year, as well as hopeful pester Ilya with questions regarding the best places to hang out at Hogwarts being a newbie to the setting herself, when she could hear another voice from the doorway. Turning she could see another girl, probably same age as at least one of them, and Kimmie smiled slightly and gave a small wave. Could she come in? K glanced around, before nodding and waving her in. "Absolutely. We still have plenty of space it looks like."

A bunch of first years? Kimmie chuckled slightly before giving a small shrug of her shoulders, "I for one might not be much better than a first year. It's my first time to Hogwarts too so I'm probably just as awestruck as most of them. I'm Kimmie."

K didn't bother voicing how much she could in fact put away, considering she did want Ilya to stay and that sounded rather contrary to the idea. Also, how attractive really was it to brag about how much food she could put away? It was a fine competition amongst her siblings. Maaaaybe not in front of new friends.

She nodded, pretty much agreeing with everything Noah was saying. There were definitely nerves to be had with attending a brand new school, but there was also a lot of excitement. New people, new places, new teachers and new curriculum not that she was planning on studying much. "I'm definitely excited. I like meeting new people, and Hogwarts is full of them." BEAM.

Avalon puffed out a sigh of relief. "Thanks!"she said with a grin, sliding her bag onto the rack and plopping into a seat. She hadn't seen any of her friends board the train yet, so she figured she would just meet up with them once they arrived at school. These people seemed nice enough, although she didn't recognize any of them. She nodded in realization when the girl introduced herself. "Well at least you're my age! There's a big difference between an awestruck first year and an awestruck transfer student," Avalon said with a laugh.

And was that an American accent she heard? "I'm Avalon Sinclair, by the way. I'm a fourth year Ravenclaw. Are you from Ilvermorny? My brother, Archer, went there. He graduated a few years ago, so you probably wouldn't know him. But he was a Thunderbird." She wished she had been able to visit him while he was still in school, but she never got the chance. Ilvermorny looked absolutely beautiful from all the pictures.

Eleven... like Michael. Which made him... not very special. Hmm.

"Are your parents wizards, then?" He didn't even hear her question. The girl was still standing by the door, and Michael still didn't invite her in. Which was very, very rude, his mum would have scolded him a million times; but she was far away and Michael had to know his status before arriving at school.

He asked a lot of questions.

Not that Ivy blamed him because she did too a lot of the time. And so she also noticed that he had yet to answer any of her questions, which made her even more curious...buuuut also less inclined to continue answering. She didn't wanna just hand out a bunch of information about herself for free. Even if it wasn't all that personal so far.

And she also decided she wasn't going to just keep standing in the doorway, so she stepped inside.

"Maybe," she said, taking the seat across from him. "Why do you want to know?"

There was a moment's hesitation, in which Isla questioned if she'd said something wrong. But then Alexia carried on the conversation as if nothing out of the ordinary had been said. She smiled. "That makes sense then. I mean, you seemed so confused with the kneazle and all," she explained. A thought came to her mind, and she decided that now was the best time to ask about it. "So what's it like when a muggleborn finds out about Hogwarts? I'm a pureblood, so everybody on both sides of my family knew I'd be going to Hogwarts." She thought it'd be kind of amusing to watch when a muggleborn found out they were magical.

It was slightly surprising when she mentioned that any house would do. In the end, Isla felt the same way, but seeing as her mom was a Slytherin, and her dad was a Gryffindor, she'd kind of expected to be in one of those two houses. Granted she'd thought it'd be Gryffindor for her, but Slytherin wasn't a complete shock. She was still waiting for all those 'cunning and ambitious' traits to show up.

They were so deep in conversation, that when the compartment door suddenly slid it open, it ended up startling Isla. Not too much, though. She didn't jump or anything like that. However, their new companion did look a little nervous, so Isla tried to give her the most welcoming smile she could. "I'm Isla," she said, not offering her full, entire name like the girl had. "Second year Slytherin." She gestured for the girl to come on in and even scooted over a little, so she could sit down. "You new to Hogwarts?"

What was she thinking?

She realized she made a complete fool of herself there. She wanted to slap herself.

Lou Ysobelle Hopkins? Not a very great way to make a first impression.

Why was she nervous all of a sudden. She had no idea. Perhaps the thought of not fitting in hit her the moment she slid the door. She seemed to have startled them, how rude of her. She could have knocked. Well, you could have knocked, Lou Ysobelle. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to regain her sense of normalcy.

Hold yourself together! She thought.

She felt like a fool but she shook it off her mind. It's not her usual self to be this nervous. She's usually a bit more comfortable. She loved being around people. Not a lot of people.

Lou was glad when she heard the two girls respond to her despite all of her awkwardness. The wave, the hi's, the smiles. They felt warm and Lou began to ease a bit.

Lou didn't get the name of the girl who waved. Did she say her name? Or not? With all of Lou's nervousness, she didn't know. The other girl's name is Isla. Isla! She was taking a mental note in her head.

"I apologize for just barging in," she smiled back weakly. "I didn't mean to startle you guys."

Isla is a second year. A second year what? Something S. It sounded like sliding or something. Lou went to seat beside Isla and spoke, "I'm sorry but you are a second year s..sl... Sli..." She couldn't say it. "I didn't quite get that last thing you said. Sorry!"


She has so much to learn about this new world. She didn't bother learning her books before this. She opened some of them but she just couldn't remember all of the things she read. Was she the only one out there who is non magic? She didn't know.

They were so nice trying to accommodate him and make him feel involved and welcome. Ilya took a seat on the edge of the bench, ya know, not settling in in case his purse started screeching. "Thanks," simply replying to both Kimmy and Noah for allowing him to join them. As for the question Kim had on his hair, "Yeah. A little. It's like trying to catch air." Which was why he had a transfiguration tutor during summer. "My tutor says it'll get better as I get older, though. And he said if I work on it well, I can change at will and more than just the colours of my hair and eyes." Okay, yeah, that bit made him quite proud of himself...?

Ilya fell silent when the first year came in. Wow, were they always this small and chatty? He offered the boy a small nod and a smile. It was obvious that Ilya wasn't the typical friendly boy, but he knew what politeness was and its importance in Hogwarts. Professors here were kind of jerks sometimes. So, he sat in silence for now.

Noah nodded, listening to Ilya talk about how difficult it was to control it and the coaching his instructor had provided. WOW! More than just hair and eye colour. "That's so cool!" he exclaimed. Noah, himself, had ambitions to learn how to be an animagi. To transform into another creature would be incredible. To change your looks - that would be extremely helpful if you were an Auror or running from the Auror's - heh. "What's your favourite hair colour?" he asked curiously. Noah had been wanting to dye his own hair for a while but hadn't done it just yet. Maybe this would be the year! New school. New hair... colour? Who dis?

Noah offered Kimmie a smile when she said she was excited to meet more people. Her enthusiasm was infectious and he kept on feeling more and more excited just by talking with her!

Then here was another person that joined them. She looked to be around her age and he chuckled when she mentioned that she had been trying to avoid first years. "They're like that Ilvermorny too. A bag of mixed emotions. Happy, sad, bewildered, bouncing off the walls because they've had waaaaaay too much sugar." He offered her a smile, nodding as Kimmie welcomed the new girl in. Of course she could join them! It was more people for Noah to meet which Noah actually was enjoying meeting more people. And then the girl introduced herself. What a nice name - he'd definitely remember a name like Avalon. "Nice to meet you, Avalon. I'm Noah Nam. Fifth Year Transfer. Former Pukwudgie."

Wait - she entered the compartment without his leave! Michael flinched, as if for a flicker of a second he was going to get up and block her way, but then he just frowned.

"I didn't let you in." Yeah. So NO answers from him! And here he thought, the wizards were nice people. Hmpf!

It was funny. Alexia never thought that her perspective was that much different than anybody else's until now. Instead of thinking about what Isla had asked her, she got distracted and began thinking about what this whole adventure was like from Isla's point of view. Was it just like going back to normal school? What school did she go to before Hogwarts? Alexia had gone to public school before this, and played on several sports teams before getting her letter. Did Isla do the same? Was it possible that Alexia had seen her in the shops, or at a school dance and just never noticed? Did they message each other on some kind of social media, or was she a friend of a friend of a friend of a fried? Or were they in their own little underground world, hidden to the rest of an unsuspecting civilization? She felt a curiosity about Isla that she was sure was similar to the one that Isla felt about her.

Could they really be that different though? They were both preteen girls, going to the same cool magical school, and learning the same cool magical stuff? Maybe Isla had more up front knowledge about what was happening, but they both knew the same fairytale. And they both liked cats. And they were both about the same age, sort of. It wasn't like they were TOTAL opposites. She was surely being overdramatic. Or was she being underdramatic? The right amount of dramatic?

She turned to Lou again as she spoke, looking at her with her brown eyes. She seemed nice as well, if not nervous. But who could REALLY blame her? Alexia was nervous as well about getting on the train to her new school. She was nervous about looking like a dork in front of these new, cool, people.

"Don't worry about barging in, I did the same thing and startled her too," She said, smiling warmly in response to her weak smile. Alexia wanted her to feel comfortable around herself and Isla. After all, she couldn't speak for Isla, but she wasn't going to bite. ESPECIALLY after getting her braces off in May. All that dental work ruined by unnecessarily biting another student? No thank you. "I guess you gave me a taste of my own medicine!"

Alexia's interest perked up slightly when she heard Lou trying to pronounce the house that Isla was in. The one that Alexia couldn't pronounce herself. Did that mean.....? Was Lou a muggleborn?

Excitement hit her internally, the kind she got when she entered the field for the first pitch of the game. Not only had she met another Muggleborn who would fully understand how cool and yet weird this all was, but she used the word Muggleborn correctly. She felt so ahead of the game right now! She started playing with the ends of her grown out, box-dyed, pink hair as she spoke. Normally, she was a lot cooler than this. She swore. But this was an exciting day! A very exciting day.

"Wait, Lou, are you a muggleborn too?" It was a hunch, but a hunch Alexia felt strongly about. She didn't really understand the name of Isla's house either. Of course, she could have just been nervous and missed it, but Alexia thought her answer was more likely. It was like that guy's razor theory that her dad told her, 'whenever you take away all of the possibilities, whichever one was left was the answer.' Ew, she actually remembered and quoted something her dad said.

Remembering that Lou might not have learned that word yet either, considering she just learned it today, Alexia continued.

"It's not like, a bad thing if you are, it just means that you're born to normal parents. I am too." Sorry to Isla for butting in, but this was exciting. She wasn't sure that she met another Muggleborn until now, and now there was someone who shared her perspective! She had a habit of interrupting and talking over people when she got excited that she really had to work on, but that was for another time. "Oh! And if you are, don't worry about the kneazle, I don't believe it's dangerous." She had to flex a little knowledge there. Knowledge that she just learned today, but still.

Kimberly chuckled softly, nodding her head in agreement as Avalon pointed out the distinct difference between a transfer and a first year. First years were little and cute and sometimes this was their first time experiencing magic EVER. A transfer student had at least experienced school and boarding before. "I guess that is slightly better."

Hearing her question her accent, Kimmie nodded her head in answer to her question. "Yeah, I just transferred from Ilvermony. I was a Wampus, although one of my older sisters was in House Thunderbird up until her 5th year. She graduated 2091." Aaand because she was a terrible sister, Kimmie couldn't even remember what house Regina had been in as well. Because she stinks. "What's the top things I should know about Hogwarts?" Because she'd been dying to ask someone who had already gone there.

K watched the interaction between the others in the compartment, shuffling slightly again to get herself more comfortable. Where the train seats always so stiff feeling? Returning her attention to conversation, she zoned in on Ilya once again as he spoke about his transformations. While it must be weird to not have control over transformations while young, how cool would it be once he had mastered his ability. "That's really awesome, even if it sounds like a road to get there."

K shot a quick smile at Noah as he introduced himself to their newest traveling buddy. She was so glad she had been lucky enough to meet another transfer that was not her brother in Diagon Alley. "We sound like Ilvermony is slowly set to take over Hogwarts." But that was fine, because at least the two of them were awesome.

"How many questions were you going to ask before you actually answered me?" Ivy asked, crossing her arms, though she wasn't upset or anything. This boy didn't make sense to her at all. He kept not answering her questions, including the first one she'd asked about whether she could sit here with him, and that made her want to know why. "Do you have something against eleven-year-olds or whether people have wizard or Muggle parents?" Was that why he was asking those things before even letting her in? That would be ridiculous, in her opinion, so she hoped there was a better reason than that.

Avalon chuckled at Noah's comment about first years. He was so right! But on other hand, she couldn't really blame them for their eagerness. She was just as excited for her first year at Hogwarts. And she supposed it was nice to have some bright, new faces in the castle each year. "Nice to meet you both! Where you from?" She figured it would be somewhere in the States, since they both went to Ilvermorny. "America is so cool! I've only been twice, and both times to New York City to visit my brother. But I'm dying to see more of the country."

She leaned back in her seat, settling in for the ride. Crossing her legs together in her lap, she replied to the girl's question, "Hmmm, there's so much to know!" She figured she should hold off telling them about the crazy events over the past few years - like the freaky mist, having to spend an entire term at Beauxbatons, and the portraits basically going crazy. If they hadn't already heard about it, it might be enough to completely turn them off to the school.

"Look out for the staircases. They're always moving - and sometimes the steps disappear!" In other words, don't go walking around, nose stuck in a book, attempting to absorb every last word of Numerology and Grammatica before the Arithmancy exam. With a cringe, Avalon remembered her foot getting stuck in a half-vanished step last year. "And be nice to the portraits. Some of the witches and wizards in them are....uh....a little testy." As in, they'd scream and wake the entire castle up if you upset them. "Oh, and watch out for Peeves. He's the school poltergeist, and he's wicked annoying. Especially to first years and transfers. I'd hate for you to get a spitball in the face on your first day at Hogwarts!" she added with a laugh. Luckily, Avalon hadn't seen the ghost much last year, but she knew he was always sneaking around and looking for trouble.

This group was not necessarily making him feel as embarrassed as he used to feel about the whole metamorphmagus thing. "Thanks... I guess," for saying it was cool. For humouring him with the conversation and stuff, too.

So basically everyone in this compartment was new to Hogwarts? From Ilvermony, too. All the way from overseas. Interesting. "If you guys need a tour around the castle or anything, have one of the ghosts do it. I recommend the bloody baron." Ilya's mouth turned into a small smirk. The bloody baron was hilarious, he would NEVER give a tour to a bunch of kids... which was why he recommended him. Ilya had a bit of a weird sense of humour.

"Maybe a hundred, maybe just three." Michael answered in a defiant tone. He could ask as many questions as he wanted, okay!? He crossed his arms too, and looked out of the window, sulking. He was being immature, but he was too young to really understand that. And so, he completely ignored her other remarks. Clearly she wasn't like him; otherwise she would have been much more curious, like him. She wasn't in a position to demand anything at this point, okay?

Still sulking, he positioned his coat to make a pillow, and started sleeping. Hopefully, she'd take the message and just leave!

WELL THEN.

His defiance and evasive answers made Ivy think even more that he was hiding something. Something besides just information about himself. But what could it be?

She needed to find out, but it was clear she wasn't getting anywhere with him right now, so she'd have to try another time.

But now she had to decide... Did she want to leave and find someone more pleasant to spend her train ride with? Or did she want to ALSO be defiant and ignore him while she remained in her seat?

Hmm.

As entertaining as that second option sounded, this was her FIRST train ride to Hogwarts, and Ivy didn't particularly want to remember it as the one where she was stuck with an annoying boy who ignored her.

So she got to her feet and opened the door. "Fine then. Be that way." And she left, not even closing the door on her way out. He could get up and close it himself if he wanted to be alone that bad.