Since not all of Phoebe's PEOPLE had made it back to Hogwarts this term, she wasn't quite sure what to do with herself. Find a car and pout? Find a car and wait for the scraps of her group to pull themselves together? Jump off the train and head for the Stark house? She settled on finding Kizzy, since she needed to make sure her little sister wasn't crying in a corner somewhere. The train was STRESSFUL and had made Teddy cry a lot.

She nearly ran over Josh when he stopped in the door of a car where she could VERY CLEARLY see her baby sister over his shoulder. Do not STOP, Josh, or suffer the consequences of a James' boot to the bum. "Keep moving, you prat, this isn't standing room only. And don't look so hard at the babies or HOLY MERLIN IN A HANDBAG." Josh's head was in the direct path of a dragon, albeit a toy one, and it looked menacing and ferocious... in a smaller scale.

Phoebe threw herself at the boy, hoping he'd view this as an effort to save his life and not as an assault on his person. And if the dragon got out the door, that was now on Emm to resolve, because WHO DIDN'T LEASH THEIR DRAGON?

Josh knew drama and dramatics. He had a rather intimate relationship with the both of them, truly, but TRAMPLED was a TAD dramatic.

Gobsmacked and sort of just half leaning against the compartment door when one of the girls started yelling about the window - WHICH had NOTHING to do with him, for the record. The door though, yeah, he had everything to do with the door and absolutely totally not on purpose. "Oi! I know how to shut a door. No need for th---GAH!"

There were actually two 'gah's on record but the Gryffindor only really registered one of them and that was the initial one of the dragon that he hoped was fake - because WhY wOuLd SoMeOnE bRiNg A dRaGoN tO sChOoL aS a PeT?! - but turned out to be anything BUT it. At least as far as though claws and teeth were. A bite to the nose and some scratches around his face, Josh had the complete opposite reaction to things flying at his face and rather than ducking his arm was reaching up to try and snatch the little creature out of the air....like a snitch.

See pops? He KNEW quidditch would be the death of him.

..........speaking of dramatics.

But you know why he didn't actually have a successful catch of the snitch dragon? Because something was coming at him from behind like a bludger and KnOcKiNg HiM tO tHe FlOor! He was a man. He could only focus on one thing at a time here, okay? Especially if that thing had teeth and claws. To add insult to injury...NOW he nearly trampled the two girls as he was knocked forward, which did little to make light of those claws on his face and he likely looked like a kneazle had mistaken him for a scratching post for a hot minute.

Hitting the floor of the compartment with a low UMPH and just managing to catch himself with his palms, Josh caught himself in a stiff push up position and with absolutely no idea where the dragon now was in proximity to his head, the door, or the apparently opened window.

tHis WaS fInE

So this was the floor. Nice floor, very hard and cold and bruising to both elbows and egos, but at least her fall had been cushioned by this brave young chap who didn't know how doors worked. Her elbows might be bruised, but her tailbone was save and only one knee had snagged the doorframe on the way down. All in all, not even the worst fall she'd had today.

Oh, it was JOSHY who she'd squished. Hello, sixth year stud. Explained why he made such a good cushion with all those Quidditchy muscles. Phoebe gave his arm a friendly patpatpat and cuddled against him for good measure. She'd just saved his life, after all. "Hi, Joshy. Your face is just wrecked by that awful dragon beast. Here, let me just..." She brushed her thumb across the bite mark on his nose (just to make sure it wasn't ACTIVELY bleeding) before giving it a gentle All Better (tm) kiss.

Ingrid just laughed as he mentioned all of her knowledge on Kneazles. It was safe to say that if something interested her as most things did, she’d end up remembering it rather easily. “I mean, I’m not going to now that you’ve jinxed me” she replied, a teasing smile on her face as she looked at the other girl. “You can borrow this copy if you want? I have an older copy in my trunk”. Closing the book, Ingrid simply slid it across to the other girl and turned back towards the tabby cat.

“Cats are still smart usually though. She doesn’t have to be part Kneazle and honestly, it may be for the best. They can be hard work at times”, her mind flashing back to the time one scrammed her father, leaving him scared. [/B]

"I don't need your book. I already have one." Ashley pulled a couple schoolbooks(mostly schoolbooks anyway) out of her bag. "Yeah, I'm sure Luna will be very smart and a great pet. I don't need a kneazle anyway. I probably can't handle one, and I'm just fine with having non-magical pets. Plus, my dad won't want magical creatures in his house." She paused, looking for something to say. "Hey, do you know what you want to be when you grow up? I want to be a lifeguard or a healer." She looked out the window longingly. It was a bit of a non sequitur but it was an interesting question to contemplate.

Ahhh, that would explain a lot. Eron only knew him from last year too...Well, not know-know him per se but he's probably too attentive to get to know people? Perhaps. Eron does have that kind of inclination to just learn people's name in general. He's kind of odd like that.

The seventh year nodded his head before returning his gaze towards Noah "Ravenclaw" he replied with confidence in his voice but a bit bit lower in pitch. Boy, he should have heard him introduce himself to family members when he was twelve. Perky and excited. "I'm graduating this year" he added, not that Noah asked but Eron felt like it. He liked the idea that now he is in seventh year. It sounds a bit cool if you ask him.

Eron beamed when the Gryffindor took a piece. "You like brownies? I mean, who doesn't?" he chuckled. Everyone loves brownies because it is not only fudgy and gooey but it is easy to make. Or so his sister told him. Eron cannot bake nor he tries.

Family secret? Perhaps it is. He nodded his head after Noah asked. "I guess" taking a big bite of his piece. "I don't know how to make these but we can ask my sister if you want to make them as well" Eron suggested. "Do you bake?"

"You're making it worse!" Emmerson huffed, stomping her foot in open display of her discontent. All that flailing he was doing was only aggravating her baby dragon more and--

"Phoebe, moooooove!" They needed the door closed. Thankfully, Kizzy had gotten the window but there were plenty others in the train. Plenty Artemis could find with the door remaining open like that. It was as if she and Kizzy were the only sensible ones left. You didn't leave doors open when you had frantic dragons.

Duh.

And then there was all that business of falling. First the big dodo, then Phoebe. Merlin's soggy beard. Emmerson reached forward, lunging over the pretzel pair and at the temporarily distracted dragon. She grabbed him firmly, being sure to fold his wings in so he couldn't continue flailing and carrying on like he was before. "Kizz, the bag, quick." Clearly her friend would be the only one of help. Kinsay James was the only one left to depend on.

Speaking of, Emmerson looked down at the fallen two again, wrinkling her nose at the kiss. "Some help you were. He could've escaped and gotten lost or fallen out a window then me and Kizzy would have nothing to train and send notes all term. Selfish. Selfish is what you are." She chided the boy. "Don't you know how to leave a locked door locked? You always go busting in to trample little girls?" Hazel eyes turned next to her older friend who thought he needed kisses. "You'll catch whatever he's got if you keep that up. Right, Kizzy?"

The boy's brand of stupidity was the last thing she assumed her best friend wanted her sister catching. Dangerous stuff, it was.

Poor baby Artemis was scared out of his little mind! And it was all HIS fault. Kiz made sure to keep her dagger eyes on the flailing boy who didn’t know how to use doors. If anything hopefully he’d feel just awful about scaring little Artemis and putting him in the direct line of danger! Kizzy knew how to give the meanest danger eyes because she learned from her momma. Her momma was the best at being scary, that's why she was an auror. All the bad guys were too scared to mess with her. So Kiz had obviously learned from the best there is.

Only when she heard her sister’s voice, all signs of dagger eyes were immediately replaced by a look of absolute delight. She forgot to be angry. ”Hi Phoebe!” Kiz gave her sister an enthusiastic—Oof! That had to hurt.

Kinsay winced as she watched the two fall to the ground, only to snap back to reality when she heard Emm’s demands! Good thing Emmerson was always in charge. She was good at it. “On it!” She called out, grabbing the bag and hurrying to hold it open for Emm. This was a close one. And the boy totally deserved the lecture, so Kiz didn’t even feel bad for him. Instead, she stood just behind Emm with her arms crossed and nodded for the entirety of her friend’s speech. Super intimidating.

”Right.” It was all true. Can confirm. Kiz looked at Pheebs with all the concern of an eleven year old who idolized her older sister. ”Probably dumb boy disease, Fifi.” Luckily Teddy and Matty were immune to that.

There was a lot of sensory overload going on right now and the sixth year was still trying to process the fact that a few second earlier there had been a dragon flying in his face. Was he bleeding? He couldn't even tell but he sure felt the sting from some shallow wounds. Nothing to write home about and complain though. After all, he hadn't even written home - technically because he literally COULDN'T but that was beside the point - last term after Lark's meathead of a boyfriend and his gang had taken turns pulverizing him on the shores of the lake. Maybe he could get by without seeing Healer Recard this term? Or at the very least spare her the first night?

His thoughts briefly drifting to a very different girl, a brunette who had happened to find and scoop him off that shore, his little fantasy got very confused with reality when there was a mass against him and nuzzling him like a feline. Only there was blonde hair and then in the next blink the very same blonde in question was kissing his nose. "Uh... Phoebe, right? Hey. So...thanks...uh...for that but...think you'd better get off me now."

And then came the whirlwind of ... this girl. Who again was going on about windows which had nothing to do with him! Thanks. Whatever happened to owls? Owls and keeping them in their cages for the duration of the ride? The dramatics were there too but he was a little more focused on the fourth year snuggle bug he had somehow acquired. Not one for malicious comebacks unless under extreme pressure, which he did not feel right now and especially not to younger classmates like Thing One and Thing Two over here, he simply managed a slight eye roll at the other younger girl and her attempt at an insult.

It didn't really count as one if you had already heard it numerous times, did it? All water off a duck's back anyway.

"Too late. You catch that one by airborne transmission."

What a stroke of luck. Somehow there was still an empty compartment left even though Sophie had been among the last to board the train thanks to her mum's absent-mindedness. They had left the house and gone back three whole times before they'd finally got a move on. But here she was, on the train to her first term at Hogwarts, finally!

Ignoring the hustle and bustle of her fellow students, Sophie slipped inside the empty compartment and stowed her trunk, with some difficulty, above the seat. She set Persephone's cage down on the seat next to her. The tawny owl gave a soft hoot. Sophie stroked her soft feathers through the wire bars. "The adventure begins, Persephone," she murmured to her owl.

Sophie was the first of her siblings to attend Hogwarts. It was up to her to set the bar high. No doubt she would soon achieve great marks and be among the top students. She had everything all planned out...make prefect in 5th year, then Head Girl, graduate with top NEWTs, and then it was on to the Ministry! Her mum and dad thought she was much too ambitious, especially for an 11-year-old, but growing up in a cramped cottage where everything was purchased from thrift stores really ignited a fire inside Sophie. She would make it to the top, if only to help her family live the life she knew they deserved.

"If I was going to catch something from boys, I'd already have caught it, wouldn't I?" Phoebe gave up on trying for smooches and shoved off of Josh, stretching out to pull herself up on the seat behind her. Did nose kisses count? Did kisses taken without permission count? In the scheme of things, he didn't rank very high right now, but it wasn't as if that was his fault.

"Kiz, Emm, you can't have that thing flapping around in here where a prefect might see. He has to be secret until we get to school. They're absolute boogers about rules at Hogwarts, but that's the reason our parents agreed to the place... so all in all, a fair trade." Phoebe rubbed at her knee, which had solidly whacked the door frame, then gave up to hook both littler girls in a hug. Baaaaaaaabies. Hi.

"Oi, Josh, you want to move up the kiss list, you meet me in the Entrance Hall after dinner, ok? You're at the bottom right now, and I think you can probably do better. And if you don't show, no hard feelings." Extremely hard feelings.