Roy stepped through the barrier and out onto Platform 9 3/4. He smiled, taking in the familiar sight of all the students as well as the enormous scarlet engine ready to take them away for another year at Hogwarts. Behind him, Nolan stepped onto the platform wheeling his cart before him. Fletch hooted in his cage quietly but clearly irritated. Between being caged up almost all day and all the chaos, the owl had grown to hate this day over the years. Nolan nudged him from behind with the cart.

"You're blocking the way. Quit trying to figure out how to turn the Hogwarts Express into a serpent and get moving!"

Roy smirked at his brother's quip and began pushing his own luggage cart. "Serpent? Please, that's such amateur work," he laughed. "I was thinking a dragon or a giant broomstick." The two moved their way through the crowd. Platform 9 3/4 was its own contained pocket of chaos. First years giving their tearful good-byes, girls catching up on all the gossip from the holidays, mischievous boys planning and executing pranks, siblings arguing about one thing or another, parents scolding their children for forgetting something at home, and of course there was the combined sound of all the various pets. An older girl just ahead of Roy managed to spill an entire set of potions ingredients and he had to carefully maneuver around it. Luckily, most of it could be salvaged if the girl acted quickly. Still, it was a bit unnerving and he stopped to check all the latches and zippers on his luggage. He didn't want to spill all his paint. He'd have to make all this disorder the subject of one of his paintings. It was beautiful.

The two kept their eyes open for friends as they walked, as well as their older brother Judoc who had run ahead. The third Archer brother had just finished his seventh year, but had eagerly volunteered to bring out his younger brothers in order to be able to see off his girlfriend. Their parents had had some business come up and couldn't quite make it. They'd said their good-byes earlier. It was a quick, but warm good-bye. They'd seen off their share of sons. Even Nolan, who in his first year had pleaded for his parents to stay until the train left, had been relieved not to have to say a long good-bye at the station. The boy had grown quite independent over the past year.

The two proceeded to the luggage car to load their luggage onto the train, Roy hoping to find one of his friends or at least a girl to chat up. Remington was usually here by now. His fellow Ravenclaw was probably already either getting told off by a prefect or trying to steal a kiss off some unsuspecting young witch. Roy and his brother loaded their trunks, glad to not have to worry about them until after the feast.

"All right Roy. I'll see you," Nolan said when he spotted a couple of his Slytherin friends. He called back as he ran over to them, "Why don't you go find Angela?"

Roy's lip tightened but then he just laughed at his brother's teasing. Oh no, we're not going there again. he thought. Angela was a rather attractive brunette, a year ahead of Roy. They'd run into her when on holiday in Italy. Roy had spent quite a bit of time getting to know her during that time. Unfortunately, she hadn't taken it too well Roy chose to refocus his attentions on a local Italian girl. Oh well.

"And you're sure you've got everything?" Mr. Webb asked his daughter for the fifth time that morning, causing Rhea to give a deep sigh. He had been like this all morning, as he had been every day when she was to start a new year at Hogwarts. He would wake her up at 6 o'clock in the morning, her breakfast half-ready on the kitchen table. He appeared jittery, nervous, always fiddling with his glasses, talking on and on about how proud of her he was, while simultaneously reminding her "If things don't work out, you can always give us a call", seeming to forget that mobile phones did not work at Hogwarts.

Rhea's mother, Mrs Webb, however, was the opposite. As the three of them stood outside the entrance to Platform 9 3/4, Mrs Webb had a huge smile on her face, a smile that seemed just a little too wide. "Oh, she'll be fine, Mark," she said, giving her husband a pat on the shoulder before turning to Rhea. "Remember to say 'hi' to Phelix for me," she said.

Rhea gave a slightly strained smile. "Yes, mum," she said. She noticed two boys heading through the barrier and gave a slight sigh, anxious to join them and the rest of the students on the platform and get away from the stifling atmosphere that both her parents were producing.

It had been, overall, a very tiring and awkward summer for Rhea. The first couple of weeks had been lovely, of course. Her mum was excitable, as usual, desperate for Rhea to show her what she had learnt that year before sadly remembering that Rhea wasn't allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts. Her father had been as happy and welcoming as ever, obviously grateful to have his daughter back, and even her older brother Robert had seemed to be in a good mood. However, as the weeks went on, things had become a little sour. Rhea had gone to visit her old school friends once and the whole event had been a mess. They had acted strange, as if they didn't really know who she was. She felt they were whispering behind her back, and when she had called her friends out on it, Amy, her former best friend, had said, "Well, you know what they're saying about witches these days." The whole experience had left Rhea with a bad taste in her mouth and she had refused to pick up the phone to any of those friends for the rest of the summer, spending most of her time in her room reading her potions book and longing to be at school where she could practice making some of those potions for herself.

Even her brother had been acting a little strange during those last two weeks. One he had come back with a black eye. "It's nothing!" he said forcefully to Rhea when she had asked him, then he locked himself in his room for the rest of the day. Mrs. Webb had asked if he wanted her to fix the bruise, only for Robert to flinch away as if he were terrified.

I shouldn't worry about that anymore, Rhea thought to herself as a few other students made their way through the barrier. "Dad, do you want to come through with us?" she asked. She knew what the answer would be, but she asked anyway.

Mr. Webb smiled. "Not today, pet," he said. He then gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Take care now."

"Are you ready?" Mrs. Webb asked her daughter, also now seeming anxious to move on.

Rhea sighed. "Ready," she said. She glanced at the cage on her trolley, in which a small but fairly handsome barn owl was placed in. "You ready, Ash?"

The barn owl, Ash, was already biting at the bars, as if to say, "Get me out of here already!"

Rhea smiled before making her way through the wall. She charged through the barrier and ending up on Platform. Her mother followed soon after her and the older witch looked around at the students with a sigh. "How nostalgic," she muttered, before eying the Hogwarts Express wistfully. "I do hope you write to me often," she said to Rhea. "Tell me all about the things you learn this year."

"I will, mum," Rhea said.

Mrs. Webb smiled down at her daughter, an expression that was curiously filled with a lot of sadness. "Rhea?" she said. "You do know that I love you?"

Rhea looked up at her mother. "I love you too, mum," she said, and she meant it. She took her hands off the trolley for a moment and put her arms around her mother in a big hug, not at all embarrassed about what anyone else would think. As much as her mother annoyed her, she knew that Mrs. Webb was really lonely at home. Being a witch in a Muggle family was not an easy thing, and Rhea knew it well.

They held that hug for almost three minutes before Mrs. Webb let go, making some mumble apology about embarrassing Rhea and pushed her daughter towards the train. "Be good!" she called. "Always do your best!"

"I will," Rhea replied before steering her trolley towards the train. She thought about looking back at her mother for a minute and giving one last wave, but decided against it. She was afraid if she allowed herself to look back, the two of them might end up bursting into tears.

Astrid was walking a step faster than her sister, Terra, holding her hand. Astrid's eyes were shining as she soaked in all the sights. The twins had never been to King's Cross before. Terra glanced around taking in the sights as well, but not with as much energy as her sister.

"Astrid, how are we supposed to get onto this train? I don't see-" Terra was cut of as they watched someone disappear through a solid brick wall. "Did you?" The twins asked each other wide eyed.

"Where are you supposed to go?" Their father, Jacob, asked. His voice was gruff and he looked agitated glancing around the station as if he expected someone to start shooting. Terra pointed at a solid brick wall dividing two platforms. He snorted. "Yeah that'll work." Astrid glared at him, but didn't say anything. Terra hid a frown, but watched someone else step through the solid barrier. The girls shared a look.

"All right dad, we're going to to go to the station now. We love you." Astrid let go of her sister's hand and hugged Jacob. Terra hugged them both.

"I'll miss you both." Jacob said as he hugged his daughters. "You'll write to me?" The man knelt down so he was eye level with the twins. "You two stay out of trouble. Terra make sure Astrid doesn't do anything out of line." He gave Astrid a small smile. "You go on and learn how to use magic."

"Bye dad." The twins said in unison. After one more quick squeeze they pushed their trollies to the barrier. "All right how are we supposed to walk through a solid barrier?" Astrid asked Terra.

"First year?" A tall black man wearing what looked like a military jacket smiled down at them. The girls nodded. "I'm Professor McCarthy, I'll be teaching you this year. Just close your eyes and walk through the barrier." He pointed at the wall the twins had seen people disappearing through. The twins shared a look and nodded.

"Thank you Professor." Astrid said and then walked right through the platform barrier. Terra watched her then took a deep breath then closed her eyes stepping through the barrier.

Professor McCarthy watched them and nodded. He kept an eye out, watching to make sure all the students made it through okay. He was worried that maybe some protestors would show up. Years of training made him alert and ready for anything

Once on the other side of the barrier the twins stowed their trunks and found seats. The spoke quickly to each other with no intonation in their voice, the words didn't sound like English.

Mark Crane appeared in a stall in the bathroom in King's cross station carrying only his laptop bag. Luckily, no one was in it at the moment, or he'd be force to erase another muggle's mind.

He walked out of the bathroom and down the hall. When he got to a certain place he walked directly at a pillar and through the other side. "Uncle Mark!" he heard an eleven year old girl call before it ran at him to hug him. "It's been so long." The girl's long hair was pinned up by her wand, the same way her mom wore hers. The wand was a gift from her uncle, made by him of Oak and bear tooth while he was in America studying under a Cherokee wandmaker.

"Hello Rose." he said, hugging her back. "You ready for your first year?" He looked up to see the girl's family standing there, her parents, Philip and Violet Green. Missing were her Sister, Magenta, who got called away on ministry business to arrest someone for underage wizardry, and her brother who would have been starting his sixth year at Hogwarts if it wasn't for being kick out for the same thing. Now he was in a nice muggle high school and was being tutored by his mom so he could pass his OWLs.

"Do you mind if I ride with you to school, Uncle Mark?"

"Sure, Rose. You can ride with me. Do you have all your stuff?"

"Yep," she said, holding up an old purse of her mom's. A typical magical bag, because of her love for muggle television, however, she referred to it as her TARDIS purse.

"How 'bought you?"

"I already took it to the school. I just came here so that I could see you off to school."

"Good," she said, then sneezed as someone with a pet cat walked by. "Sorry, I think I'm allergic to cats."

"Here," Mark said, reaching into his pocket. He handed her a bottle of Anti-histimines. "Take one of these every morning. It should keep you from being allergic."

"Thanks," she said, swallowing one of them.

Mark stood and greeted his cousin and his cousin's wife, then grabbed Rose's hand. "Well, we'd better board the train. Don't want to miss it." They said goodbye and boarded. They walked down the hall until they found an empty room and went inside.

Cleo

It was that time of year again. The time of year when kids were going back to school, Some excited while others dreading the impending work load. Cleo was one of the excited ones. Getting to go back to Hogwarts for her last year and meet all her friends was going to be great. And when she was finally done she could start her own life in the real world. The bonus to that was that she would be able to freely use her magic that she had been learning to control since she got her first letter to Hogwarts seven years ago.

Reaching over her her Cleo grabbed her laptop and swung the strap over her head. The rest of luggage had already been shipped over to the school, including her bird Snowball. Cleo couldn't wait to get there and see her bird again, even though they hadn't seen each other for only a couple days. Already having said goodbye to her parents, though many tears and hugs, Cleo pulled out her wand and prepared to leave. Closing her eyes she began calmed her breathing and focused on the train station that she had so often visited. She pictured the bustling people mulling around, ignorant of Platform 9 3/4. The wall that people walked through to get in could be envisioned perfectly in her minds eyes and she focused in on it. Taking one last deep breathe of her familiar home's air she apparated into the air with a sharp crack. The sound, much like the cracking of wood, rang out throughout the house, letting her parents know that she was finally gone.

Appearing in Platform 9 3/4 off set, Cleo nearly fell over. Apparating was something that she was still new to and getting used to. At least she didn't throw up like the first time she apparated. That had been quite embarrassing for her and her mother. This time though Cleo managed to grab onto a nearby wall and lean against it. "Oh god i'm so freakn' dizzy." She rested there for a moment before regaining her breathe. Thinking she was strong enough to stand on her own again she pushed off the wall and got a good look around the familiar place once again. There were the many new faces of first years, crying for their parents, second years running around excited to find their friends on the train, and the rest of the students acting a little more maturely, yet still infected with the bubbling passion that seemed focused around the idea of learning to magic. Straightening herself out Cleo headed for the train, hopefully there would still be an open cart for her to join in that had her friends in it.

Remington pushed his trolley, sighing and rolling his eyes at Ava's slow pace behind him. She was young, and tiny, but she had to hurry or they would miss the train! He stepped up to the barrier of the platform, and glanced around. To his left, he noticed a couple of muggle boys standing there, watching as people approached the wall. They were sneering in a way that caused Remington to become a bit defensive, and hard to control his temper.

"Ava…stay close.", he murmured to his sister. Her tiny body came to stand next to his, as they waited for their father to catch up. He was a muggle, himself, and a very nervous muggle at that. He knew what the world thought of his children, and his wife (rest her soul). As he caught up with them, he too noticed the boys.

"A-are we sure she's ready, Rem..?"

"What do you mean? She's eleven. Of course she's ready.", Remington answered, his eyebrows coming to almost touch each other. He frowned at his father, and then glanced back to the boys, "You really want her out here? She's safer at Hogwarts. They can teach her to control her…outbursts…"

"But yours were hardly the same. Yours weren't as powerful."

"Because she blew up a gas station? Things happen!", Remington argued, suddenly growing frustrated with his father. It was true. Ava had become angry and frustrated, while sitting in the car one night. Remington and his father were crossing the street from the movie theatre to get cheap treats for the movies (as they weren't particularly wealthy). Frustrated, Ava accidentally channeled her her anger on the gas station they were headed to. It exploded suddenly, due to a small fire she had started. No one was killed, but a few people were seriously injured, and her father became forever afraid of her.

"She could have killed someone. WITH HER MIND! She needs help…not some quack teaching her magic tricks that could very well get her killed. If you haven't noticed…your kind isn't exactly accepted in our world."

Remington was finished. He sneered once more at his dad, while Ava stared on, her eyes threatening to break over with tears. Her face remained straight laced, however, no matter how hurt her feelings were, and she stared off into space, looking for anything that could make this argument go away. Remington leaned down and lifted her trunk, with effort, slamming it down on top of his on the trolley. He grabbed her owl's cage, which was considerably smaller than his own, and squished it in next to it, and then grabbed her wrist.

"Don't expect an owl…", he muttered, before dragging Ava toward the wall.

"Remington don't. You know how I get when I'm stressed. REMINGTON!", their father yelled after them. Remington ignored him, dragging Ava so fast her shoes slid across the concrete as she stared back at her father and waved. They vanished through the wall, and onto the platform, leaving him sobbing.

Once on the platform, Remington took a second to breathe, a few growls of frustration leaving his throat, before a belt of arms wrapped around his waist. A small, puppy-like sob against his skin caused him to close his eyes, his right hand coming down to smooth Ava's hair down. Taking another deep breath, Remington pushed her away and then sank to his knees. His hands brushed her hair back, and his thumb whisked a tear away from her eye.

"Listen to me. You're not weird or abnormal. He doesn't know what he's saying. He's scared…they all are. What happened that night was just…", he broke off and sighed, not knowing how to explain her powers to her, "It was my fault. I should have let you come with us. With things the way they are now, I was scared people would see what you were wearing. You know how the muggles are, now."

Ava looked down at her outfit, the same one she had worn that night, and sniffled, "Is it obvious by my outfit?"

Remington sighed once again, running his finger across the Ravenclaw shield that adorned her too small tshirt. The muggles had learned their artwork and their symbols. They had learned to spot wands and to spot magical artifacts. Looking down at the ground, Remington nodded slightly, "Yeah. Ravenclaw is nothing new to them…and we should have taken it off of you or wrapped you in a jacket. You were frustrated. He doesn't really blame you."

"Yes he does, Rem…He hates me."

Sighing through his nose, Remington closed his eyes, "He does not. He misses mom…just like I do. He might hate me for bringing you…but none of this is your fault. Know that, alright?"

He whisked another tear from her cheek as she stared at the train, and all of the students along the front of it. Glancing toward the train, he smiled, "Let's go. We don't want to be late."

Not saying another word, Ava placed her hand back onto his wrist, and the siblings boarded the train, somehow finding a cabin that was completely empty.

As Rhea headed for the train, trying to push the sad thoughts from her mind, she couldn’t help but note a few First Years around her. The ones that stood out the most to her were a couple of girls, twins by the looks of them, who had just come through the barrier. They had red hair like she did. She watched them get onto the train and gave a small and nostalgic smile.

First year... that had been a great year. The feeling of anxiety and excitement that built up in you once you ran through barrier, the butterflies in the stomach as you rode the train. She kind of envied them for getting to experience the wonder for the first time. Still, as a student in her third year, she was going to get to experience some new things to. She was really looking forward to her new subjects. She had chosen Divination and Care Of Magical Creatures for hers. She wondered what the teachers would be like.

But most of all, she was really looking forward to Potions...

Ash gave an irritable sound from his cage. “Alright, alright!” Rhea told the bird and headed into the train. On her way, she saw a young girl, presumably a first year, talking with her older brother, and felt a small pang of sadness in her stomach. I wonder how Robert’s doing, she thought as she got the train.

Unlike most of the students, who stored their trunks in the back, Rhea brought her trunk and owl with her and found seats in an empty car, where she could read her new books in peace. Plus, she liked having Ash with her at all times, making sure he wasn’t getting up to trouble. She remembered how, in her first year, he had managed to escape from his cage once, and she didn’t want the same thing to happen this time.

“I’m watching you,” Rhea warned Ash as she unlocked his cage and placed him on the seat next to her. Ash simply tilted his head innocently to one side. Rhea then took out her potions books and began to read. “‘The Wiggenweld potion’...” she began to read aloud. “‘Is a healing potion with the power to awaken someone from a magically induced sleep. The ingredients for this potion are as follows’...”

McCarthy had seen enough lately of the protests and all the issues to spot someone out of the ordinary. He was on edge from the conversation two kids had had with their father already. It seemed like he didn't want them to go to Hogwarts, but at the same time he was scared of his own children. That angered Kyle, but he had a job to do. A couple kids, clearly muggles, were loitering too close for comfort to the platform barrier. He watched them, as kids filed at irregular intervals through the barrier. Kyle was tempted to do a Confundus charm on the boys, but they weren't doing anything bad, yet. He decided best was to place himself between the boys and the platform barrier. He was imposing, had purposefully dressed ex-military, just to give the air of someone who knew what they were doing and weren't afraid to do it. He wouldn't act first, but his reaction would be nearly instantaneous if anything extreme happened.

Astrid picked a car out and flopped into a seat. "I wonder what Hogwarts looks like?" Her voice was wistful. The twins had switched back to speaking in English instead of their made up language. "I wonder a million things about magic and school. I wonder about mom..." She trailed off as someone passed their car. "Shut the door Terra." She frowned. Terra shut the door to the car.

"We'll be safe there." Terra spoke, her voice was much quieter than her sister's. "There won't be protesters. Dad won't have to move, again. He'll tell the neighbors that we went to some fancy boarding school, and we'll have each other." She gave her sister a pleasant smile.

"You don't have to be scared." Astrid grinned. "You'll be fine there. You're smart, and besides I bet we can't be that far behind other first years, not with all our practice." Terra sighed and sank into her own seat. The girls looked at each other for a moment a play of emotions across their face - and then the door to the cabin opened.

Richard frowned. The train’s whistle blew as students filed onto the impressive red locomotive that seemed to have jumped straight out of the 1860s. His mother had a hand on his shoulder as she pressed him steadily forward. She was nervous and the reasons were plain. They were the same reasons that his father had been putting an inordinate number of hours in at the office. The hushed whispers and muttered breathes were impossible to block out. Richard had done his best to ignore them, and he and his mother hadn’t lingered long enough to hear what the actual words were. Likely they were of an ugly sort. Mean words aside, Richard was still excited. It was going to be his first year at school and he wasn’t going to let this lot spoil it for him.

His mother hadn’t let him linger long enough to hear anything that anyone said. They had navigated quickly across the bustling platforms of King’s Cross and passed straight through barrier. He eyes went wide as they absorbed the crowd.

“Your father’s going to be disappointed that he couldn’t make it, but you-”

“I know,” Richard said, cutting his mother off. “I understand, Mum. You don’t have to worry,” he reassured her. She stroked his hair and they briefly embraced. He squeezed her tight, somewhat afraid to let go. Most of his friends were a year or two younger than him, so for the first time in a long time, Richard was going to be by himself.

“Be sure to write,” she said.

“Or course.”

“Alright. Well off you go then!” She smiled and urged him toward the express. Richard nodded, hefted his trunk, and walked towards the train. An older boy, probably in his last year lifted the trunk from his hands and let him bored before handing it back to him. Richard nodded thanks, but the tall boy seemed preoccupied looking through the crowd. There was a badge pinned to his chest with the letters HB emblazoned on it.

Richard passed through the carts and made it to a compartment that looked as good as any other and opened the door up. Two girls, mirror-images of one another, looked up at him. He scratched the back of his head. They looked about his age, maybe this was their first year too. “This compartment isn’t full, is it?”

When Richard spoke the girls glanced at each other. "Just us." One of the twins responded. She sat up and held out her hand. "I'm Astrid. This is my sister Terra. This is our first year at Hogwarts. You?" They wanted to pilfer his brain for any information he had about the school and the magical world. They didn't know if he was muggle born or not. Astrid also didn't want to volunteer the information that they were muggle born. The issues back home had made both girls nervous enough about being magical that they were unsure how the magical community would deal with them. They wanted to understand the environment they were going into.

As Rhea sat there, continuing to read her potions book to herself, Ash started to get a little bit fidgety. While Rhea had closed the car door, she hadn’t closed it all the way and the young owl, eager to stretch his wings, eyed it curiously. He glanced cautiously at Rhea for a moment. The girl was still engrossed her book, as always, and Ash found this as the perfect opportunity. He liked Rhea, of course, but she could be sooooo boring sometimes.

Time to liven things up a little, he thought to himself. He hopped down from the seat and made a break for the gap in the door. Rhea, sensing the movement in the corner of her eyes, glanced to the side. Her eyes widened.

"Ash!" she shouted. "What are you doing!?"

Uh oh! the little owl thought. Bust-ed! Without another thought, he jumped out of the cabin, up into the air, and began fly through the train.

"Come back!" Rhea shouted, tossing town her book, getting up and charging after the little idiot.

Ash flew for a bit until he spotted an open cabin door where the two siblings she had noticed earlier (Ava and Remington) were sitting. For some reason, he stopped, landing on the floor, and made his way into the cabin. He couldn't quite understand, but he felt a bit attracted to the girl. She seemed... nice. He hopped over to her feet and made a small noise.

Rhea came charging into the cabin soon after. "There you are!" she shouted at Ash. She then noticed the two other students. Her cheeks coloured slightly. "I am sooo sorry about this! The little idiot got away from me!" She marched into the cabin and grabbed for Ash, the little owl fluttering in her grasp, giving pleading looks at Ava.

David Saint-Vincent

David ignored the looks the Muggles gave him as he walked through King's Cross Station. To be fair, he did have a wand in his hand and a book on "The Last Words of A Dying Wombat" floating in front of him as he ate an apple. His luggage followed closely behind, the cart following him of its own volition.

"Freak," a young voice said as someone knocked past him, shoving in elbow into his side. David grunted slightly but didn't yelp. His book fell to the ground near a man wearing a sort of vest. David looked back to see who had shoved into him. He saw a boy sneer at him before disappearing into the crowed. After a few seconds, he realized that his hand had clutched his wand harder. He loosened his grip and turned back to retrieve his book from the ground. He recognized McCarthy, of his professors. David flicked his wand and his book lifted itself and placed itself in David's book bag.

David looked toward the individuals McCarthy was watching, feeling slight apprehension.

"Pretty soon we'll be needing a Defense against the Muggles class, professor," David said. His Brittany accent not exactly French, but more of a meld of British/celtic and French unique to Brittany. "See you at school professor," David said, before moving around his cart and pushing it and himself through the wall and onto the platform. The sound of whistle was deafening. He waved his wand and his book back lifted from the cart to float beside him. An attendant smiled as they took his cart, "Welcome to Platform 9 3/4, young wizard. Please join your comrades on the train," she said, "don't want to be left behind." David smiled at her and boarded the train.

Once again his book was in front of his face, floating, the pages turning as he finished a page. His Raven, which had been sitting quietly on his shoulder, started to get excited slightly. "Calm down," David muttered.

Then suddenly an owl burst out, came towards him, then flew into the compartment he had just about to enter, knocking his book to the ground for the second time. Singer glided down next to the owl, and approached a young girl sitting in one of the seats.

"I greatly apologize," David said. At least Singer hadn't- the raven suddenly burst into song, the annoying tune filling the entire compartment and the train cart. David snatch the bird away and placed a hand on the birds beak, "oh you are so going to get it." He looked at the others in the compartment.

Great first impression. His face was utterly red.

"Are students mean there?", Ava asked innocently, watching people file up and down the corridor outside their door. It was almost her biggest fear for someone to open the door and file in. She wasn't really ready to meet anyone. Then again, she knew that if she didn't make friends, she'd likely spend the year alone, since Remington was a fifth year.

"Only some of them. You can steer clear of them. They're…predisposed to be that way."

"Slytherins…", Ava murmured, biting her lip. Remington frowned and tilted his head in a way to say that it was on both sides of the fence.

"Not all of them. I have a couple of friends from Slytherin, actually. But mom…", Remington cut off as his memory of his mother flashed in his head. Part of the memory was good, but it quickly faded to terrible. As he opened his eyes, he noticed Ava was fixated on the window, her whimsical nature taking her straight out of the negative and into something beautiful that he couldn't see, nor could he fathom. A smile spread across her face as she watched the window, "What do you see?"

"I don't know what they are…", she whispered, pressing her face further into the glass as the things whisked out of her sight and over the top of the train, and then back in front of her, flying right in front of the window, "Look!"

Remington frowned, a bit concerned as he stared at the direction she was pointing. She plastered her hand to the window, as if trying to interact with the thing.

"Um…Ava…", Remington stuttered as more students passed, and an owl suddenly staggered in, and began loving on Ava. Much to Remington's relief, the bird took her mind off of whatever it was she was seeing out the window. She reached down, cooing to the bird as she petted his head lovingly, and scratched under his jaw. As he fluttered to get away from Rhea, Ava reached for him and giggled.

"He's fine! He's so pretty…", she quipped, nuzzling his beak. She sat him down on the seat next to her with a smile as the Raven suddenly flew in to meet them. Her face spread into one of pure delight at the sight as she reached out to pet him as well. When he started singing however, she jumped but only frowned when he was silenced, "How exciting. Everyone has animals!"

Remington sniggered a bit as he watched his sister possibly make friends, because of her gift, something she truly needed to happen. Otherwise, she would end up a freak at the school…

"It's quite alright…", he answered, speaking to both students, "Guys, this is Ava…she's a first year."

It would have been easy for barely eleven, rather tiny Emma Snow to get lost in the crowd as she was dropped off at the King's Cross. The place was bustling, and everyone seemed to be rushing to their destination. She was all alone, too. Her father had been out of town filming and her mother was in the middle of an important case, so it was all up to her to figure out how this so-called Platform 9 ¾ worked and where it was located. It wasn't like this was any different from usual, though; her parents were always too busy to share little moments like this with her. She was used to it.

Upon arriving inside, Emma had asked the officer at the front of the station for directions, but he had merely given her a look of disdain and began to shoo her away, mumbling something about not wanting to mingle with abnormal creatures. He was about to leave, but she had tugged at the man's shirt and looked up at him with slightly watery puppy dog eyes. She started sniffling, and that was all it took to change his mind. The officer begrudgingly led her there and even pushed her trolley for her.

"Thank you, sir," she said, smiling sweetly. The officer grumbled and gave her a noncommittal nod before walking away.

Emma's smile vanished as soon as she was no longer in the officer's field of vision. She stood a few feet away from the platform, watching as other students went through, her lips curving into a small pout. Now, getting a surprised visit from someone who claimed to be a magical Professor in some magical school and having him tell her she was magical, despite not having any known descendant with such capabilities (though it wasn't like they were close with their family, anyway), was exciting. It explained all those eccentricities that were all too common in her childhood and introduced her to an entirely new world to explore. Her trip to Diagon Alley was fun; she had gone there alone, but she left with a handful of new friends afterward, including the most adorable spoiled cat ever. After all that buildup, of course she expected more, like super secret passageways that need specific wand movements and incantation to unlock. But so far, getting onto the train seemed a little underwhelming. It was all a lot less grand than she would have liked, though she supposed going in between two platforms was a cute touch.

Shrugging, Emma followed after an older student who had just been roughly elbowed. Huh. So magical people could get bullied too. She thought they would just use magic to settle things, but it seems some things weren't as different in the wizarding world as she thought. Going through the platform was as adequate as she imagined—nothing too exciting, but still a new experience. Unlike the other students, her steps were slow and deliberate, and she lingered momentarily in between, just to see what it would be like. The other side of the platform was just as bustling, crowded with teary-eyed parents saying goodbye to their children, and after she had gotten her luggage all set, she was quickly being ushered onto Hogwarts Express.

The train was already filled with students of all ages, and even more were filing in, looking for seats. Emma passed by one compartment that had seemed like an aviary, although she supposed she was exaggerating. There were only like, two birds. She thought of joining in, to get a head start and find new friends, but as her Monty started clawing at his cage, seemingly eager to jump out at the raven, she knew it might not be the best idea. Emma instead turned to the compartment just across, which had only one other student inside.

Richard nervously shook Astrid’s hand and gave Terra a polite nod. “I’m Richard,” he said, lugging his trunk inside and stowing it on the compartment’s rack. “You can call me Richie though. This is my first year as well,” he replied. He took a seat across from the two girls and sighed. So here he was, on the train and already meeting the first of his fellow students. He glanced between their faces and tried to figure out if there was any way he’d be able to distinguish the girls, but there didn’t seem to be many differences, if any, between the two.

Silence. Richard didn’t know what to say. He looked down and played with a loose thread hanging off his jeans. “So, do you know anyone at Hogwarts?” he asked. He was somewhat hoping the answer was no and that they were in the same predicament he was.
~

Jeff watched the crowd from his position on the platform and was satisfied when it had appeared that most of the first years had made it onto the train. He noticed a few first time professors also board the train and a made a mental note on each of them. Things had been tense in the weeks leading up to the first day and it was noticeable on the face of each parent and student who passed through the barrier. It was going to take a serious adjustment period before things stabilized, but on the whole, magic’s revelation was going to be a positive. Of that, Jeff was certain.

Neither of his parents had made it out to see him off, which was fine. Both had been incredibly busy over the last few weeks and Jeff had needed to arrive early anyways. He had given out instructions, along with the Head Girl, to the prefects before patrolling the platform, but for the moment, things looked to be under control.

He recognized so many faces. They smiled, waved, and called out to him, and Jeff acknowledged each in turn as he passed by several compartments. He wanted to go meet with a few friends, but whenever he encountered a brief lull in his chaotic schedule, he mostly wanted to spend it relaxing. He had moved his stuff from the prefect’s compartment and had placed it one of the more isolated compartments towards the back of the train. He’d meet back up with the others an hour before their arrival, but for now he’d rather sit down and get into his new book. It was a strikingly relevant piece recently published by Hermione Granger muggle and wizard relations. He found it somewhat comedic that recent events had likely made it prematurely outdated.

As he was walking, he noticed a Ravenclaw girl in his year just ahead of him. He wasn’t extremely familiar with Cleo Bones, but if you go to school with someone for six years, then you’re bound to at least know a little. “Trouble finding a compartment?” he asked. “If so, there’s an open one a few carts down,” he said. “If you don’t mind sharing with me,” he added, the barest of grins on his face.

Astrid waited a moment before responding. Finally she said. "No we don't. We don't have any siblings or anything. Do you? What do you know about Hogwarts? Terra said that according to "Hogwarts a history" it is an ancient castle that was built by four wizards. Each house is named after one of the founders. I wonder which house we'll be in. Do you know?" Astrid spoke quickly but in a friendly manner.

McCarthy followed the kid who had knocked into one of his students with his eyes. At David's comment he gave a nod. He had been thinking the same thing. A 1st year followed David through the barrier. He saw some stragglers, and it was getting close to 11. He was ready for this to be over.

"Come on Mom! Come on Dad we're going to be -LATE-." On the steps of King's Cross station a young boy around 12 seemed to be practically dancing up and down with excitement, a huge grin on his face and a spark in his eyes. Still struggling up the ramp with a cart a man and woman just shook their heads at each other and after catching up the their son put an arm on either side of them as the walked in. The three didn't get a single glance as they made the walk to platform 9. To be honest they looked like any other muggle family. Being raised as such for sure helped blend in, and to be honest Toby was glad. He watched a few others run into the wall and gulped before his father bent him down and whispered to him.

"Now THAT looks like fun son." He winked at him and patted him on the head before giving the boy a hug. His mother on the other hand was a bit more dramatic moving his hair around trying to savor every last sight of him before he left for school. She did her best to not cry in front of him and instead finally gave him a big hug and made him promise to write to her at least once a week. Of course to escape the public affection Toby promised and situated his shirt. In the end he gave his mom a hug back and smiled at them once more before taking a deep breath and running right at the wall.

He tried, he really did try not to close his eyes but instinct took over and he did. The sight he saw when he opened them however was one of the best he could have ever imagined. He stood wide-eyed and in shock at the bustle and hustle and in so doing was sent flying by the next trolley that came out of the wall. He mumbled an apology and got his things back together ignoring the irritated meowing of his kitten and pushed himself to the beautiful train. Some older students helped him with his luggage and after taking Castiel from her cage he smiled and thanked them for the help before stepping into the corridor. "Time to make friends I suppose." He thought to himself.

He didn't walk for long before coming to a compartment with two red-headed girls and a brown haired boy. They all seemed pretty nice so he stood awkwardly in the doorway with Castiel clawing around his neck. "Mind if I join you guys?"

Gary stepped out of his mom's car, dressed in a white button-down shirt, a sweater vest, plain black pants, and black shoes, with a small luggage bag, a large bag of McDonalds (so stuffed that even the bag looked unhealthy), and a large Coca-Cola. He closed the door behind him with a thud, and his typical nonchalant look was broken with a smile as his sipped his drink. For him, it was another typical day of going to school, stopping by McDonalds for a quick to-go bag, and leaving his mother without having either side say a decent goodbye. What he saw when they drove by to pick up Vincent at his house was a long heartfelt farewell between Vincent and his mother, which should've been unsettling for Gary, being the emotional teen that he was, if he didn't disassociate himself from the scene.

Vincent slowly trailed behind. Also dressed in the same attire Gary was, he also had his small foldable box of McDonalds, specifically, the Mighty Kids meal, and a kids drink. Today's prize was a Pokemon card and a little plastic stand to put the cards in so he didn't have to hold his cards if he played. A collectible toy, sure, but not something someone could play without a whole set of cards.

Vincent was a little excited and a little scared, but was satisfied with how the day went so far. He could rest, knowing his mother was at peace with him as he left for Hogwarts. McDonalds came to him like a treat. He didn't remember the last time he went to McDonalds. He typically ate his mother's home-cooked meals, and when he heard that they were going to McDonalds that morning, Gary almost had to restrain him in the car.

Often neglected by his mother, Gary ate McDonalds almost everyday during his vacation. It's a wonder how he doesn't gain weight. He would attribute this to his high metabolism.

"Bye Gary, bye Vincent." His mother casually called out from the car, waving. After all, she had to go to work. "Love you, Gary."

"Bye Mum." Gary waved back. Although he heard his mother's last words, he didn't feel much loved.

"Bye Mrs. Shinawatra!" Vincent, the more loving one of the two half-brothers, said his good-byes more enthusiasticly, even if it wasn't his own mother.

Mrs. Shinawatra drove away, leaving the two to fend for themselves. Gary gestured for Vincent to follow him, which Vincent did, getting more uncomfortable with every step. He wasn't used to wearing these clothes. Up to that point, he had enjoyed the freedom of wearing casual clothes - T-shirts, jeans, cargo shorts...

Speaking of clothes, there isn't much in the luggage bag. Just Gary's Ravenclaw tie, and their robes, which they planned to put on later. They figured the robe would be really uncomfortable for Vincent if he was already struggling with his current wear. Like Cleo, the rest of their luggage had already been shipped, including Gary's ever-so-annoying Rooster Foghorn Leghorn.

Cleo and Gary were in the same house of the same year, so naturally they know each other. They're not at all close, though. They've only talked to each other a number of times. While they had before competed against each other in many things that ranged from reasonable to downright useless. She's more athletic and better on a broom, so he's a little intimidated by her.

They got to the platform and saw wizards running into the wall. Vincent took a gulp, panicking in his mind. What's this? I didn't sign up for this. he thought.

"I really don't understand why they try to run into it." Gary told Vincent. He sighed and took another sip of his drink. "Follow my lead." Gary walked over to the side, skipping the line. Of course, this brought them in closer contact with the protesting muggles.

"Faggot." another seemingly-young voice said as Gary was pushed. Gary was enraged. With his wand in his pocket, he didn't bother to reach for it, but rather swung a fist towards the man's head. It hit the man's cheek and Gary proceeded to slip in through the wall, pulling his half-brother with him before he could get caught.

Vincent was unimpressed by the punch. He sympathized with the muggle and his smile quickly turned into a frown. "Gary, that wasn't right."

"Well, it wasn't quite right for them to call me names, was it?" Gary rolled his eyes at Vincent's comment. Vincent had the wisdom to not continue the conversation and Gary calmed down, took a breath and nodded. "You're right. What I did was wrong." Vincent smiled and nodded happily.

When Gary saw Mr.-Perfect-Head-Boy Jeff Roberts talking to Cleo, his anger started up again. If it weren't for the fact that Cleo seemed a bit more attractive than usual, he wouldn't have a problem. What made her attractive was unknown. She looked the same as she always did. Pureblood... Gary was the type of guy who would, considering the existence of pureblood supremacists, would reverse the situation by despising purebloods himself. He looked away as he and his brother stepped into the red train.

Gary chose an empty compartment. In his anger, Vincent asked, "Can I see your new wand again, Gary?"

Putting his anger aside for a while, he took out his new Kaya-wood Krasue-entrail-core wand and gave it to his little brother with a forced smile. He then took another sigh and opened up his bag full of McDonalds food. He began to eat a McChicken.

"Wow... It's so cool." Vincent examined it closely, spinning it to see it from every angle. "I want a wand like this when I grow up." Vincent's wand began to warm up on its own in his pocket.

Cleo

Watching as people began to file into the train, Cleo forced down any remaining nausea and follow in suit. A smile quickly over took her face as she mingled into the crowd of kids eager to board the train. Excitement seemed infectious as she passed far above the tiny first years that were walking in a pack. Once on the train, Cleo looked through the compartments hoping to find one somewhat empty so that she could sit down and relax. Maybe she would even lay down and take a power nap, but she was definitely going to make sure she whipped out her computer and did some coding. Maybe she would make a breakthrough in the last bug she was having trouble with.

“Trouble finding a compartment? If so, there’s an open one a few carts down. If you don’t mind sharing with me,” Lost in her own thought Cleo hadn't realized that someone had snuck up behind her. Turning around in the corridor she caught sight of Jeff. Jeff, like her was in his final year of hogwarts, though they were in separate houses. This difference between them had led to a lot of fun competitions between the two of them, a few she won, a few him. She had always thought of Jeff as an to old to be going to school. Though they were the same age he somehow gave off an older vibe from himself, maybe it was his interest in politics. That stuff bored the hell out of her.

Smiling cutely up at him she nodded, "Sure Jeff, long as you don't mind me working part of the time." She continued walking down until she found the compartment he had mentioned and opened the door. Just as he had said the room was empty. Thankful to sit down on the comfortable seats, Cleo tossed her computer case down next to her and leaned her head back against the cushions. "Oh man, that apparation shit is stressful." She opened one eye and looked at him, "You pass your apparation license test?"

Chase sat on top of his black trunk, twirling his wand between his thin fingers as he flipped through the pages of his scrapbook. Lucius pranced his way up the side of the trunk and came to nudge Chase's arm, begging for attention, "Go away. I'm reading.", he whispered as his father entered the room.

The older man reached his walking stick out, and flicked the book shut in his sons hands, causing a huff, "Don't huff at me, boy. You will stop this nonsense...We don't feel bad for what has happened in the past. We're Everwoods. We have the world at our feet and if you ruin what little reputation you have, going into this school, with your muggle this and your dopey looks, so help me I will...", their father started before their mother entered the room, causing him to close his lips tightly with a sneer.

Chase frowned, staring down at the worn cover of his book. He was always the one who got in trouble. He was always the one who didn't fit in. He wasn't born to live with this family, he thought sometimes. He was meant for something better...but what?

Syler listened to his father from outside his own room, and he shook his head at what he heard. He had told Chase time and time again to be careful with that book he kept. Their father was a prickly man and he did not like even the faintest reminder of the humiliation that shook the pureblood families throughout Britain. Of course Syler could sympathize with his father as he had worked tirelessly to keep the Everwood name well 'respected' and strong. But the man was -very- hard on his children. He decided to go inside to try and calm the situation.

"Oh, there everyone is. I believe everything is packed and ready to go father." Syler got a growl in return and the constant tap of the walking stick could be heard as he went down the hall.

Syler smiled at his mom and nodded politely even as she left as well with a grin on her face. Syler sat down beside Chase and gave him a one-armed hug, if any of his friends from school saw this they would never believe it but with Chase, Syler felt like he had someone that he could always talk to and he seemed to always do what he could to make his younger brother feel better.

"Put the scrapbook in my luggage, since you know father will look in yours." He smiled again and walked out to get the final things ready to go, his hawk Shruikan landing on his shoulder just as he exited the doorway.

Chase stood, tucking his scrapbook under his arm for the time being as he nodded to his brother, "Okay. I thought father was going to actually strike me this time...", he admitted, before following his brother with his trunk and cat in tow.

"How are we going this time, Sy? I don't want to use the chimney. Last time, I nearly ripped my arm off. Dad was so angry. Can we not fly or something?", he asked, his eyes like a puppies eyes as he stopped and his shoulders slumped, "I'm scared..."

Syler looked down for a moment and frowned. "We'll probably use the Floo Network, but I might be able to convince dad to show off his apparating, he was talking about it the other night remember. Let me handle it alright."

He smiled and ruffled his brothers hair before running down the stairs, his hawk a bit flustered but managed to stay perched. As he reached the bottom he waited for Chase then went into the kitchen where his father was standing. "Dad, I was talking to James yesterday and he was telling me how his father was taking him to the station by side-along apparating. Remember when I came home with the bloody nose, I kind of hit him for saying you couldn't do it. But I was thinking, i've never done it before..."

His father looked proud for a moment then thoughtful and just like that it was decided. He had the boys get their trunks into a neat row, while he stood behind Syler, his wife stood behind Chase and the two prepared to apparate to the platform.

Chase nodded to his brother, before following him once more down the stairs. Lucius jumped up onto his shirt and climbed his way up to his shoulder, where he held on, but didn't dig his claws into his skin. He simply purred in Chase's ear, which was oddly calming. As Chase listened in on his brother's plea to his father, he almost became jealous. It was so easy for Syler to bargain with the old man. His parents were so proud of his older brother, and the thought of never feeling that sort of adoration made him nearly sick to his stomach. As his father agreed, Chase pulled his clunky black trunk over, placing Lucius in his carrier on top and then stood in front of his mother, in time for them to vanish and end up on the platform. Chase felt queasy, but much better than he had via Floo powder. He stood, getting his legs back underneath him and then slowly opened his eyes, his breath taken away by the sight of the train.

"Stop staring like a mudblood...", his father snapped, slapping him on the back of the head. His mother quickly reached for him, pulling him into her chest.

"Listen. You be who you are. You're bright, and you're talented. You'll be a great wizard some day. Don't talk to the sorting hat...and you'll be fine, darling. Mama loves you...", she whispered, being the more reasonable of the two. Sure, in public she was an intolerable bitch, but to her children, she was the voice of reason.

Syler smiled as the feeling washed over them and as soon as the platform came into focus he was already stepping away from his father and next to Chase. As his father slapped his brother Syler felt a rage building but it was fought down almost as quickly.

He pulled Chase close to him after his mother did her spill and also whispered. "No matter what happens know I will do anything for you. Even if you somehow get placed in Hufflepuff." He smiled brightly and put his forehead to Chase's and then shook his fathers hand before stepping to the train and refusing help with his luggage, instead turning to help Chase. It was strange how protective and loving he was to Chase and cold-hearted and hateful he was to basically everyone else.

Chase calmed as soon as his mother started reasoning with him. His shoulders lowering just a bit and his eyes fluttering closed. However, it didn't take her long before she stood straight and joined her husband, letting her children go. She fought back the tears as she snapped her fingers at one of the conductors, and pointed to the luggage. She flicked the lock on Lucius' carrier, and let him run free. It didn't take long, until he was on Chase's shoulder, ready to go wherever he decided to. Chase leaned in close to his brother, taking in his warmth as he spoke to him. As he pulled away, Chase gave a small smile, but didn't turn to their father. He simply stood close to Syler as they entered the train, joining the other students.