(I stupidly refreshed the page when I had a WIP reply... Meep I'm an idiot)

Sherlock looked up from his book at John when you woke, frown crossing his lips. The other boy had obviously woken from a nightmare. A quick survey of his body language, everything, told Sherlock that this was a regular occurrence. How had he not noticed that before? Regular nightmares was something he should be able to easily deduce upon first meeting someone. He was obviously a bit out of practice. Well that would have to be sorted. Sherlock himself didn't sleep all that much, doing so at odd hours here and there. Often there were more important uses of his time. Like experiments, or research, or learning spells. Which was difficult, first due to not having a wand and now because of the stupid underage magic law. Pretty annoying. But he chose not to sleep. "Do you... Do you want to talk about it?" he asked hesitantly, speaking about John's nightmare. He wasn't really sure what to do in this situation. Was he supposed to ask, try to make John feel better? Or just let him think it out himself and leave him in peace? He didn't know, he'd never had friends. This was his first day having a friend. So he wasn't sure. He bit his lip and stared at the words on the page he had been reading.

John blinked in surprise, but smiled. "No, it wasn't... horrible." He said, though it obviously had been. He chuckled a little. "I'd rather not depress you, to be honest. But I'll probably have to stay up for days at a time Hogwarts. If I don't sleep for a long time, and than fall asleep, I don't dream at all. And I'd really rather not wake up everyone because I'm screaming over something stupid." He chuckled a little again, fidgeting a bit. "Unless there's a spell or something that can help me. But I doubt that's possible." He smiled a little. He cleared his throat, looking out the window, and than glanced back at his book. "What are you reading? It doesn't look very... magical." He said, with a teasing little smirk.
He was still calming down from his stupid nightmare. Of course the school would never explode - they wouldn't let kids go there if it were that dangerous. He wondered what it was going to be like. He faintly remembered seeing a picture of it, and it actually looked very old but grand, if a bit... intimidating as well.

"Right," Sherlock replied, tilting his head. It was obvious that he didn't believe John one bit. But he didn't want to push the other boy into telling him anything. He didn't want to ruin their friendship or anything. No, not at all. That would be terrible. "If you say so. And you know, I don't sleep much so we could always sneak out and do something." A mischievous smile framed his lips. "That would be fun. And against the rules. So double the fun! I doubt it would be hard to get past whoever patrols so we'll won't be caught. I think prefects patrol sometimes... So if its Mycroft or Greg even more fun because we can prank them!" He was getting all sorts of ideas. It would be great. And hopefully John would have fun and it would take his mind of nightmares. Hopefully talking would take his mind off it. Because, unfortunately, there was no spell that stopped them. Which was a shame. "I am reading Forensic Science: An Introduction to Scientific and Investigative Techniques. It's one of many books I brought with me. Took up most of the space in my suitcase, along with all the school equipment." He shrugged with a smile. "It's interesting. And muggle crime solving techniques are surprisingly good. Its not wonder aurors are so bad at finding wizard criminals. If some of these techniques were employed they would all be much better at their job. Criminals with magic are always prepared for the magic that will be used to track them down." He rolled his eyes slightly, but smiled at John. The eleven year old seemed surprisingly knowledgeable about crimes.

John laughed, grinning. "That actually sounds great. We'll have to find somewhere to meet up, find all of the good hiding places." He said, actually getting a gleam of excitement and mischief in his eyes. He watched Sherlock as he spoke, still smiling. "That actually sounds kind of interesting, Sherlock. So you want to be a... detective?" He didn't know what they were exactly called in the wizarding world. "Or... what are they called? I swear I've seen the term in a book somewhere." He said thoughtfully, searching back in his memories for the book he had read. It started with an 'a', hadn't it? "I guess you are right, though." He said with a smile. "If they don't expect it they can't really prepare for it. They'd probably be completely oblivious to what you're doing."

"Yes, it'll be an adventure," Sherlock grinned. "When we find the best hiding place we can stash stuff there and it can be like our base camp." He looked quite excited about this all now, eyes lighting up at the prospect. Yes, it would be fun. He was looking forward to his time at Hogwarts now. "And it is. And auror, that is the word. And... sort of. I don't really want to become an auror, well I don't want to have to work for the ministry and do it their way. I want to do it my way and only work on the cases I want to. I guess, kind of consulting. Aurors come to me for help when they're stuck or something." He shrugged. "Years to think about it. I'm only eleven after all!" He laughed. Not like he ever acted like a normal eleven year old. It wasn't exactly in his nature. "And of course I'm right, I'm always right," he smirked slightly though it was hard to tell whether he was joking or not. "And yes, that is why I would be the best."

John laughed. "Oh are you?" He asked, a bit sarcastically, but he was smiling."I really doubt you're always right. Now it's my life goal to prove that you do get some things wrong." He smiled a bit, looking thoughtful. "And I do think I'd be up for n adventure every once in awhile, yes. All my muggle friends are boring, to be honest. You're the first actually interesting friend I've had in a long while. I bet Hogwarts is great place to have adventures, though. It's supposed to be huge, with all these hidden passages and rooms. I bet we could easily find a base to set up in. I saw a store called Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, I bet one year before school we could stalk up on stuff from there, and pull pranks on all the prefects, every night." He said, grinning. "And come up with some of our own pranks and such." He could tell this was going to be fantastic - Sherlock seemed like a really fun person to b around, and in such a big school like Hogwarts, they'd be practically unstoppable after they figured their way around.

"Yes I am," Sherlock replied smugly. "And I'd like to see you try... It's going to take you a long time to do so." He was teasing, now. Maybe he was sometimes wrong... But rarely. Very rarely. He didn't like being wrong at all. "Great! And most people are boring, so that is to be expected. You're the first interesting person I've met so I'm not really surprised... But I'm glad you find me interesting." He had looked a bit embarrassed when John called him a friend, but also pretty overjoyed. That was that confirmed. John was his friend. A friend! Yay. "And I heard about all the hidden passages," he smiled slyly. "Mycroft said about them but also said that he's never managed to find them. So we'll be doing something he can't! Because we'll be able to find them, we're smart. It's going to be great." He nodded vigorously. "I've seen it too, quite a few times. Mummy would never let me in there. She said I was enough trouble as it was without buying things to cause trouble." He pouted slightly. "But we will stock up sometime! For now we can make stuff up. Can't be too hard... I think there's a joke shop in Hogsmeade, the town near Hogwarts, but we can't go to Hogsmeade until third year..." He pouted slightly. But it was going to be great. Nobody would know it was them and they would be able to get away with so much and prank all the prefects and it would be so great.

John smiled brightly. "this is going to be great! I'd never get away with this at my old school." He looked out the window again, at all the green rolling passed. This was so great - he was beginning to love the idea of being apart of this world, it was really great. He still felt a bit overwhelmed by it all, but now that he had Sherlock and a plan, he felt like he could probably learn to fit in. He'd love to write his parents about Sherlock, Greg, and even Mycroft, just because the whole exchange had been pretty amusing. He looked back to Sherlock. "So, do you know if the professors are nice?' He hesitated a bit, looking thoughtful, before asking, "And is the school... dangerous?" Explosions dangerous? he finished in his head, but of course didn't say it out loud, because that would sound insane.

"Well you weren't friends with me, and I'm a genius so I'll keep us out of trouble," Sherlock replied with a wide smile. He was really looking forward to it all... Just him and John. It wouldn't even matter if they weren't in the same house. They would spend every night together anyway. And all their time when they could. It would be so much fun. He had a friend. When mummy found out she would be very happy. Her reaction would probably be quite embarrassing. He would write to her so he wouldn't have to actually tell her. Though he would like her to meet John. Maybe. It depended. "I'm not really sure... I think so, though they can be strict," he shrugged. "Never thought to ask Mycroft or Lestrade. And no, it's not dangerous. Its one of the safest places for young wizards. The actually school, that is. I think the forbidden forest is dangerous... but you're not allowed in there anyway." Although he wanted to go. It seemed like an interesting place. Why did all the best places have to be forbidden? He decided not to tell John about past incidents of danger in Hogwarts... It was mostly safe and anyway the basilisk that had been in the Chamber of Secrets was dead so nothing to worry about there.

John chuckled a little. "You have an ego." He said teasingly. "But alright. And I would like to explore this 'Forbidden Forest'. Maybe we could go there sometime?" He asked, smiling a little, with a definite gleam of mischief in his eyes. He looked at Sherlock, smiling a bit. "So, tell me more. I think I've heard something about a wizard named Harry Potter? Do you know anything about him?" He asked, tilting his head just a little in question. He was genuinely interested in anything Sherlock knew - John was a very good listener, he liked to listen to people. Especially Sherlock, though, for some reason. He liked his voice and his confidence, the only time so far he hadn't seen him confident in knowing what he was talking about was Quidditch, and it wasn't like that was all important for either of them to know. Although John would like to look into it, since he rather liked sports, including football.

"Yes, I know, do you have a problem with it?" Sherlock smiled back with a teasing light in his eye. "Ooo, yes! I would like to as well. It is forbidden, of course, but I am sure we will be able to. Later in the year, I think, when we know more magic." He nodded. Definitely. He wanted to know what was in there that made it forbidden." He tilted his head at the mention of Harry Potter, nodding slightly. "Everyone knows about Harry Potter," Sherlock sighed. "Every child is told about him." He rolled his eyes. "Basically there was this dark wizard called Voldemort who was trying to take over the world and doing quite well. His followers were death eaters who also used dark magic, including the three forbidden spells. Voldemort seemed to be quite fond of the killing curse. He used this to kill Harry's parents and Harry was protected by his mother's love and sacrifice for him or some stupid thing like that, killing Voldemort and making Harry the boy the lived. Voldemort had actually split his soul in seven ages before and made what were called horcruxes that contained his soul in a way. He couldn't die until these were destroyed. He came back in Harry's fourth year and caused some havoc. Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts then, was searching for horcruxes. In Harry's sixth year Dumbledore took him to find a horcrux, drank some potion to get it and it did something. I don't really remember all the details. They then went back were Snape, potions teacher, killed Dumbledore at the orders of Voldemort. Harry didn't go to school for his seventh year instead hunting horcruxes. They got most before returning to Hogwarts for one. Here Voldemort came and there was a huge battle. Harry turned himself in and Voldemort killed him. Turned out Harry was a horcrux and that part of him was killed so when it wasn't expected he revealed he was still alive. Another boy destroyed the final horcrux and they killed Voldemort, winning the second wizarding war." He shrugged slightly with a smile. "Brief version, its all a bit boring and not really essential to know but its been drilled into my brain so much that I can't seem to delete it.

John listened, watching Sherlock raptly. "Hm. That's... interesting. So even the wizarding world has wars? You never really... hear about them. How did they keep muggles from being effected by it?" He asked, looking genuinely confused. You would think it would be well known that some strange explosions and such were happening all over the country - or the world, he didn't really know yet how far this war had stretched. What means did the muggles have of defending themselves, from powerful forces such as magic? He strongly doubted guns or anything like that would work horribly well against witches and wizards. It was also strange that a battle was actually fought at the school - the final battle, it seemed. He smiled a little. "Oh, and no, I don't necessarily have trouble with your ego, I guess." He said, chuckling a little. "Don't expect me to encourage it, though."

"Yes, we do, we're not exactly perfect," Sherlock replied with a nod. "We worked with the human government, I think, but mostly try to keep it away from muggles as much as possible. Most of the attacks were focused on wizards and witches anyway. If Voldemort had won the muggles really would have been affected by it." He frowned. He wasn't really sure how the muggles didn't know. Magic? He wasn't sure. He should know. But he didn't really. Mycroft undoubtedly would but Sherlock had no wish to ask him. "I glad you don't have a problem with it," Sherlock laughed, before pouting. "But John my brilliance needs encouragement!" He was surprised how easy it was to joke with John, just relax and sort of let go. Most of the time he was quite uptight and not exactly comfortable in other people's company. With John it was different, though. He felt completely comfortable and pretty happy. John was his friend. He liked having a conversation with John.

John laughed. "You encourage yourself. You don't need me." he frowned a little. "But that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. But hey, I guess I'll learn more eventually, right?" He looked thoughtful. "Although I might look a bit... stupid if I didn't know anything..." He looked to Sherlock again, smiling. "So thanks for at least a preview. I'll look significantly more intelligent." He said, smirking a little, using a little bit of a teasing tone. He reached for the box of beans Sherlock had gotten, putting a green colored one in his mouth - well, he thought it was going to be apple or something similar - but God was he wrong. He forced himself to swallow it, pulling a disgusted face and almost looking like he was going to throw up. "No, no, no, that tasted lie a frog and don't you dare ask me how I know what that tastes like, because it was a dare and I don't want to talk about it!" He said in a bit of rush, flicking his tongue in and out of his mouth, trying to get the taste away. "That was horrible. Don't blame me if I get sick."

"I guess I do do that," Sherlock replied with a smile. "And I apologise, it is not something I have ever looked into much and as a result do not have enough information to make a clear explanation. But yeah, I'm sure you'll learn everything." He nodded with a grin at John. "You would and will quickly pass fellow students as they are all really idiots, something which or are not. Mostly. But your welcome, though you are intelligent enough as it is without my help." Just not as intelligent as Sherlock. Sherlock prided himself as being a bit of a genius. The only person who could ever really make him feel stupid was Mycroft. It was probably why the two didn't get on to well. He looked slightly amused at John's outburst. "I did say that they were every flavour beans. And it means every flavour." He tilted his head. "I will not ask if you do not want me to." He wouldn't deduce it either. That would be going against John's trust in him. "Believe me, I know what its like to eat something that tastes horrible... I once ate a slug as an experiment." He made a face. "On the topic of slugs... Jelly slug?" He held the bag out, which had about two left in it. "Might take the taste away."

(Sorry this took a bit. >.< We had a tornado warning for my city and I had to go down to the basement for a bit. :3)

John mumbled a thanks, taking a jelly slug. He still looked a bit sore from the bean, but he smiled again as soon as he ate the jelly slug. John chuckled a little. "I was just kidding. You can ask me anything, really. I was just a bit upset about that bean..." He said, pushing the box away a little. "I don't think I'll have anymore. I don't trust them at all." He said, grinning a bit. He looked outside as the sun began to set, shrouding the carriage in an orange-red light. He continued to smile a little. "So we really re going to get there at night? How are we supposed to find our way to the castle if it's pitch black outside?" He asked, looking over to Sherlock with a little tilt of his head, looking thoroughly confused.
Hadn't Sherlock mentioned something about boats? If it was completely dark, what if the fell in the water? And this was a magic school - there were probably some kind of monsters in the water, right? So what if someone was eaten? That wouldn't be very good for reputation... He thought, grinning.

(It's fine, don't worry about it!)

"So why did you know what frog tasted like, then? What kind of dare was it?" Sherlock tilted his head slightly, curiosity sparking in his eyes. He wanted to know. He wanted to know everything he couldn't deduce about his friend, actually. "The beans are good, in moderation. Although I can generally tell which one is which. Its amusing to specifically give horrible ones to Greg and other people." He smirked slightly as he took the box, looking around before taking out a yellow one. He popped it in his mouth, making a slight face. "I thought it was lemon... Banana isn't exactly bad though. Should have known, it was quite pale." Sherlock followed John's gaze to outside, noticing that it was beginning to get dark. They would probably reach the school soon enough. "Yup. And there are such things as lights, John. And lumos." He grinned. Not that any other first years would know how to use the lumos spell. "And anyway most take carriages and we're not exactly going to be left to fend for ourselves. Someone will lead us there. The groundkeeper I think, whoever that is. It's perfectly safe I think." He shrugged with a smile. "Anyway, boats will be fun! We'll be able to be in one together and stuff."

John chuckled a bit. "My friend Mike, he sneaked one out of the biology lab. He was a pretty good friend of mine, I guess. And he used a knife and cut out it's tongue, and... well..." He shuddered. "He just dared me. I was only 9, and back than I wanted to impress the girls t my school." He said, chuckling a little with a blush. It definitely wasn't like that anymore - probably because he wasn't... attracted to... girls anymore? It was strange, he didn't even really no why. He didn't tell anyone because he didn't really care, and actually believed it would just pass. And he most definitely was not going to tell Sherlock - what if he was some kind of homophobe or something? He'd just made this friend, he didn't want to lose him over something so idiotic. "I guess your right, yeah. And it would be nice to be in the same boat, but how do they choose who goes in what boat?" He wondered, looking a bit thoughtful.

"Ugh," Sherlock made a face. "Doesn't sound too nice. There are far more useful and interesting things to do with a frog than eat it. Loads of experiments can be done... So many experiments." The eleven year old seemed to stare into the distance for a few moment, looking quite thoughtful. He quickly snapped out of it though, attention moving back to John. "But why would you do it to impress girls?" He looked genuinely confused. Sherlock was yet to come across someone that he was attracted to. His mother believed that when he grew older he would come into it, but the whole idea repulsed him. He'd already classed himself as asexual. As it was he didn't care what other people liked, as long as he didn't have to see it. It was bad enough when Greg stayed over with them and him and Mycroft would hold hands and sometimes kiss and... Blegh. Not what he wanted to see. At all. "I think we get to choose. I hope so, and if we don't we can sneak onto the same boat or something. I don't want to be in a boat with someone else."

John watched him with an amused little smile. So he liked to experiment? That was... actually kind of cool. He looked at him fondly for a moment, and than shook his head, snapping himself out of it and easily pushing it all away. He flushed a little, and than remembered something - Sherlock's brother. He was in a relationship with Greg, apparently. And he seemed rather okay with it. John though for a moment, and than kind of flushed at the question. "Oh, uh... well..." He looked around a bit, shifting, but than looked at him, a bit frustrated that he couldn't come up with a good answer. "I really... don't know anymore." He said, shrugging a little. "I was young? And... I liked people easily?" He asked, frowning a little, but than smirked. ":And sneaking would actually be entertaining. They'd never catch us, we're way too sly." He said, his smirk turning into an amused grin.

(Umm... well. I hope you don't mind what I did with John? Like um... I don't really like the whole sexuality crisis thing, I guess??? But I can change it if you want me to, of course. :3)