Keith sighed as he didn't want to leave Hogwarts, for he was already at Hogwarts already, how ironic. How this came to be was his family came to Hogwarts asking for Keith to personally stay and watch over Hogwarts while he continued his studies there. Yes, his oh so loving family upon the last day of school, came to the headmaster of the school and asked. Which they agreed, knowing that Keith was a perfect and already determined to be the Head Boy of Hogwarts next year. On top of the promise of them covering any damage that may occur, the school agreed and left Keith at Hogwarts while his own family went on their vacation.

He laughed at his situation, at first before he went back to his studying with zero fucks literally given. He review the seventh year material in the first few weeks and reviewed the spells as well making sure he knew them all. Along with reviewing the previous years material to solidify them, he soon got his academics out of the way. Left to his own devices, Keith wandered the school testing his silent casting on simple spells like accio, lumos, and reparo before moving on to review bigger spells like bombarda and reducto. Making sure to repair his mess properly and leaving no trace, he grew bored with little to do at the school. Often going into the library to statisfy his boredom and wandering in the forbidden section safely of course.

As time flew by, the time for his seventh year grew closer and he grew accustomed to the lazy life he had at Hogwarts. The daily ritual of grabbing food, practicing spells or reading a book and review his books before sleeping was a simple one. During his time at Hogwarts alone, he practiced making a wide area protection spell which he quickly took down as the days for Hogwarts to start again neared. Along with the few craters from his Bombards Maximas were repaired as well and whatever mess he did was cleaned up long before teachers came back to Hogwarts to prepare for school once more.

His disgruntled appearance was evident on this day but under the surface, as breaking his ritual for the other students that were finally coming back to school was not fun. Bidding his room goodbye for the moment, he sighed as he was quickly prompted to get on the train so he could command the perfects. An annoying task indeed but he obliged and appirated a few times before he reached his destination with a 'boop' as he suddenly appeared as one of the trains left the station next to the sign 9 3/4. His presence was ignored for he wasn't dumb enough to come out of nowhere in a station with muggles. He before he left casted a simple charm which cause the attention of the muggles to simply avoid noticing him, a neat spell more students should use really. Either way his presence was ignored by the muggles but the other wizards... well who cares what they thought. He continued his way and entered the platform as once on the other side saw the train for Hogwarts. Entering it quickly, he didn't want to be late for his job as Head Boy and sighed once inside.

Now it was for the hard part, he sighed as he recalled the names on the list of the perfects for the 6th year. Entering each cart, he polity asked for their name and continued through he cart until he rounded those scoundrels up. Telling each and everyone of them their duties before telling them that afterwards they were free until they got back to Hogwarts. It was such a simple task but he was forced to travel all the way back for this. He sighed as he might as well enjoy the traditional experience of the Hogwarts Express.

Looking around for a room to join, he didn't even give a second glance to the others once he saw the note that made him grin "Do Not Enter" oh boy, Keith liked to see who was in there and opened the door. Looking at the sole inhabitant of the room, he grinned before closing it behind him and sat directly across from the boy. Briefly looking over the boy, he had an air of... 'purebloodness' that radiated off him, in contrast to Keith himself was like the hipster of the muggle world. With tattoos dawned on him and plugs on his ears, his clothing even said he was so muggle-washed. Oh God, the irony was killing him as the more comparisons he made the trench grew wider. Letting out a chuckle, "So stranger, any chance of a name?" He asked with a fox-like grin mischievously looking at the other wondering his reaction of someone like Keith himself entering the space which the other so intended to lure people in. And honestly, he knew the Slytherin boy as the Head of the stupid sports team along with the Charms and Astrology club, but he just wanted to see an reaction.

((Actions made by Demetria Graves have been approved by @Dirty Pretty Lies))

The drive to the train station was miserable. His mother and father said they had to blend in with the muggles, so every year they rented a car. Cal put the sleeve of his jacket over his nose, trying to bear the horrid smell that emitted from the car. The seats were decorated in stains, and the car smelled like something rotted in it and died, and by the looks of the shady place they bought it from, something probably did. Cal put his knees up to his chest, having his feet avoid the pile of green slop on the floor, and he was sitting forward so his back didn't make contact with the stain on his seat. Cal was glad when he got out of the car, and was able to stretch out his sore body.

He hastily opened the trunk and grabbed his bags, eager to start heading off to the station before his parents followed him. He hurried off across the street when his dad called out after him.

"Callum! You don't want us to come with you? It's your sixth year here!"

"Yeah I know it's my sixth year here! Ever the more reason for you not to come with me. Bye!" He waved at his mother and father, and headed off for the train. But it wasn't only because he was in his sixth year that he didn't want his parents to come with him. Towards the end of fifth year, him and Demetria Graves had gotten together, and Cal's parents weren't exactly the people who make him feel comfortable when around girls. They would always poke fun and make him nervous and uncomfortable, and he definitely didn't want that happening now.

Platform 9 3/4 was right in front of him. He made sure there weren't any muggles eyeing him, before bounding through the wall, and appearing on the other side. As he was going through he heard some of the first years gasp, which was what Cal did when he first came here. But he had now walked through the barrier eleven times, and he had gotten used to it. Even though Cal had seen the train countless times, it was still magnificent. Steam rolled of its Crimson body, disappearing into the sky above. Taking his eyes off the train, he set them on Demetria, who stood waiting for him by the train. He took her hand, and she put her head on his shoulder. He walked through the train. He forgot how small and ignorant he was when he was a first year, as they ran through the corridors carelessly, yelling.

They eventually found and empty compartment where they could sit and wouldn't be bothered. He set down with her at his side. She ventually put her arms around his neck, leaned into him and gave him a kiss. Cal kissed her back. He put her arm around her and she settled into him. Cal didn't want to leave a blank space of silence.

"It's good to finally be back with you." Cal gave her a warm smile and gently pulled her into him more. "How was your summer?"

“So tell me again, why couldn’t eomeoni come see me off?” Mina groaned, her expensive heels clacking on the ground as she walked through the muggle train station. Min-woo stood next to her, easily strolling with his hands stuck in his pockets and a serious look on his face.

“Mina-ya, she’s busy with the shop.” Min-woo answered, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders. “She says she’s sorry, she really wanted to come see you, but…you know how busy she’s been.”

Mina pouted, her eyebrows furrowing and she sighed out of her nose. Min-woo smiled reluctantly, ruffling her perfectly styled hair and she glanced at him out of annoyance. Too soon, they arrived at their destination, and Mina stared at the brick wall that separated the muggle world from the magical world. In that moment, she couldn’t but think about how Min-woo has never stepped through that barrier, has never witnessed the miracle that was Platform 9 ¾. Mina thought about inviting Min-woo to come see her to the train, but she thought of it as unusually cruel to force him to see the train he could never board. However, Mina was an open book, and her emotions easily flitted across her face. Min-woo pressed his lips together in a forced grin, squeezing Mina closer to him as he pressed a kiss onto her forehead.

“Want me to come in with you?” He asked, fixing her hair absentmindedly.

Mina bit her lip hard, before shaking her head, her glossy locks twirling with the adamant, fervent movement. “No, it’s okay. I can go...alone. Usually eomeoni comes in with me.”

“Mina-ya, stop pouting.” Min-woo scolded, pushing Mina’s head away from him. “You’ll get wrinkles.”
“Oppa!” Mina flattened her hands against her hair, brushing her locks down.

There was an awkward silence between them before Min-woo gestured vaguely behind her. Mina made a sound of recognition before grabbing Min-woo into a hug, her arms wrapping around his shoulders and squeezing so hard that he couldn’t move his arms too much. Her older brother gave her small pat on the shoulders, as he couldn’t do much more, and before she started crying, Mina left, running into the partition and into the platform.

Her heels clacked against the floor as she dragged her bags behind her (the bags with the more important stuff was shipped to Hogwarts). She grabbed at the railing as she climbed the stairs onto the train, peering into compartments to see if any of her friends were in there. Eventually, however, she came to a sign which read “Do Not Enter” hung onto the door. Mina almost snorted in disbelief.

Out of anger, she grabbed the sign and slung the door open, showcasing the paper to the two boys inside. “Hey, I noticed your sign here. I think you forgot to put ‘Warning: Arsehole Inside’.”

She balled up the paper in her hands, releasing all her pent up frustration into it, until it was a tight marble. Afterwards, she tossed it towards the boys, and smiled sarcastically at them.

Sienna shouldered her totebag as she approached Platform 9 3/4; grateful, not for the first time, for her proficiency at performing both the Summoning Charm and the Undetectable Extension Charm. They’d come in handy when she needed to collect all of her stuff from the home she’d been kicked out of. Now, all she appeared to have was a rolling trunk, a totebag, and an owl cage containing her best friend, Dally; although the totebag contained considerably more than would normally fit into it.

The past week or so staying at the Leaky Cauldron hadn’t been unpleasant at all. Initially, Sienna had worried about not being able to pay for her needs, but she soon remembered that she had a small fortune stored in the savings account her father had started for her at Gringotts when she was 11. Because it was in her own name, and she was a legal adult, her father wouldn’t be able to freeze the account. Sienna wouldn’t have to be concerned with her finances for a long time; but she still intended to use it sparingly, since she had no idea how soon she would find a paying job after graduation.

She did, though, splurge a little to pay for her new tattoo and piercings. They were a way for her to completely separate herself from the family she was now actually separated from. Sienna knew she would get some strange looks from new students and even from many of the students she’d grown up with; but they couldn’t be much different from the looks she’d gotten almost her whole life, due to her long grey locks of hair, caused by the unstable magic and uncontrollable grief she’d experienced as a 6-year-old girl who lost her mother.

“We’re going back to Hogwarts for the very last time, hermanito,” Sienna said quietly to the tawny owl she held in its cage. “Unless I end up becoming a professor there, of course.” Dally cooed softly back at her, and she ran at the barrier, emerging on the other side just in time to hear the train’s warning whistles echo through the station. Sienna made her way to the Hogwarts Express and boarded, handing her luggage off to the attendant, but keeping her totebag and Dally in his cage. She walked down the long line of compartments, ignoring the first years that first stared at her septum ring and grey hair, and then scooted past her guiltily when they realized she’d caught them staring.

Sienna came across a compartment that appeared to have just been barged into by Mina, one of Sienna's friends from choir who was little and sweet, but unafraid to speak her mind. She glanced in past Mina to see a strikingly handsome boy with carelessly perfect blond hair, and another young man who in appearance and style seemed to be his exact opposite; both of whom she recognized to be in her year, but not her House. She smiled hesitantly, not sure if any of them had noticed her standing there, and moved on.

Next, Sienna passed a compartment that held Callum—a sixth year Ravenclaw she’d spoken to a few times over the years—and his new girlfriend, a pretty Gryffindor who was the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, if Sienna remembered correctly. Not wanting to bother the two of them, Sienna gave a small wave to Callum, who was probably too busy catching up with his companion to wave back at her. Sienna wasn’t bothered at all, and kept going until she found what might possibly have been the very last empty compartment. Sitting down with a sigh, she set Dally down next to her and fed him a small owl treat before rummaging around in her totebag to find her dog-eared copy of Clockwork Angel. Sienna already felt better about her situation; but she knew that she would truly be able to breathe and relax once she arrived back at Hogwarts—her true home.

A night at the Leaky Cauldron would have been better if it hadn't included his father showing up to drag him off to Knockturn Alley. It wasn't a place he particularly liked showing his face, mostly because he was fighting so hard to not appreciate what it had to offer. Yet, like always, he found something he just couldn't resist getting - another proverbial nail in the coffin of the fate his parents desired for him. This tome, much like the others he had purchased down the dark alley, contained many spells of interest - not all dark, and some quite useful for dueling.

Yet another sleepless night found him already thumbing through the pages of the book, listening to the snores of his father and the soft purrs of Argint that followed the timing of his absentminded petting. If he couldn't find a seat on the train with anyone willing to engage him, this at least would make for good reading he decided.

So, making sure to leave before his father woke, Wayne kept the book in his small carry on trunk. Argint kept pace at his side, showing off his height of nearly coming to Wayne's knee. The silver coat stood out against his dark jeans; the trunk - looking more a briefcase than an actual tote - hung comfortably from his opposite hand to leave his left free to take hold of his wand, hidden in what equated to a holster, on his right hip. Not that he thought it would be needed, but he felt too anxious without it readily accessible.

A smile remained plastered on his face as he walked the train; he offered a nod or passing hello to every student he passed, especially every nearly full car he peeked in. He stopped for the briefest of moments to greet Demi, and by extension Cal, mostly because she was a housemate. The thought passed through his mind to sit with them - it was only the two - but it passed just as quickly; there was no way he was risking a conversation about Quidditch arising. Not after having to listen to his father converse about it last night with others that still remembered his glory.

Pressing on, he stopped beside another closed door hosting just two individuals inside and another in the hall. "Princess," he started as his greeting; he knew the Hufflepuff enough to remember she didn't like getting dirty, though he couldn't place her name for the life of him. The smile blossomed into a full out grin, flashing a small sign of his teeth. "Get kicked out of the boys' club, eh?"

He turned slightly, not really waiting for her response, and opened the door. Of course, yet another Quidditch captain was there - but so was Murry, whom he only knew as the head of the Hufflepuff Dueling Club. That was where he turned the majority of his attention. "Well, you gents seem to have claimed quite the nice compartment. Nice to see you on the train, Murry. You know, this will be the year I best you in a duel - your club or mine."

@HushedWhispers @BubbleGumKing @Apokalipse

As Morgan entered her compartment, Sienna noticed that he was trying not to stare at her new piercings while he set down his trunk, sliding it under the seats with care. He sneezed upon catching sight of Dally in his cage, and Sienna briefly wondered if he was allergic to owls.

"I'm sitting here. I hope that's acceptable," Morgan said cordially, sitting with a flourish and crossing his legs. Sienna shrugged, not particularly minding. A few years ago, being alone in a small space with a guy would have been terrifying; but now, she only felt slightly uncomfortable because she didn’t know him very well. What little she knew was that Morgan’s family vehemently opposed anything even slightly related to the Dark Arts, despite Morgan’s own brother becoming a dark wizard; and Sienna only knew about that because of her father’s late night conversations with various shady characters that had passed through the Rodriguez Manor over the years.

In fact, few people who weren’t dark wizards even knew that Luis had slipped back into his old ways after his wife’s death. He kept up a perfectly normal pretense with his job at the Ministry and his charming Hispanic accent and proper demeanor. He kept his dark dealings confined to the time he spent at home; grooming her now 20-year-old brother to become a powerful dark wizard, as well as the heir to the estate.

Sienna bent her head over her book, trying to lose herself in the words she knew so well. She needed to stop thinking about her father and brother; stop feeling dragged down by the mistakes they’d made, and make a new identity for herself.

Morgan kept looking over at her; dark brown eyes darting curiously from her piercings to her hair. Sienna supposed much of the beginning of the year would be like this, but that was all right. Anything to distance herself from her former family.

Sienna decided to make an attempt at conversation, since they would be sitting here together for the rest of the long train ride.

“You’re Morgan, right?” she asked, holding a thumb to the page she was on, so the book wouldn’t snap shut while being jostled by the train’s slight movements as it rattled along. “If you’re allergic, I know a charm that could help,” she told him, gesturing to Dally.

Air pushed against her face as the door slammed shut; Mina reared back her head, pinching her eyes together in a flinch as the irrational fear of her nose being hit overcame her. Once it was closed, she opened up a single eye, glancing at the closed compartment door and she scowled. Her face, one that showed every emotion that flitted over her face, displayed anger as she bared her teeth in aggravation and clucked her tongue. How dare those arseholes shut the door on her? How rude! Mina crossed her arms and tapped her finger against her forearm, thinking hard about whether she should retaliate or be the bigger person and leave. The idea came over her mind to get out her wand and work a little magic, but the image of Min-woo shaking his head at her in disappointment popped into her mind and that only served to make Mina madder.

Mina slapped her hand against the door and shouted in irritation, “Yah! Jugeullae?”

When the temper didn’t falter and still rose in her stomach, boiling over in her, Mina impulsively decided to kick the door. Her heeled foot slammed into the bottom and almost immediately, her bare toe jammed against the hard door. Mina reeled backwards, hopping on one five-inch heel as she grasped at her foot, blowing air between her teeth as if it would lessen the pain somehow.

“Shibbal!” She gasped, almost falling over, out of balance, but her forearm slammed into the corridor wall, holding her up. “Damn, that bloody hurt.”

After a moment of hissing, Mina released her foot and regained her composure, glancing down both corridors to make sure that no one had noticed her awkward pain. She gained her composure in the nick of time as some boy ambled over to her, talking down to her as if she were some common bitch – Mina was not a princess, she was a queen. Mina balled her hands together into a fist, prepared to give him a piece of her mind when he shifted his attention to the door. He opened it, glancing inside and saying something or other about something or other (she really, really didn’t care at this point). Honestly, Mina was at a loss of words and at her wit’s end. How could there be so many douchebags at Hogwarts? With nothing more to say, all Mina could offer was an exasperated groan at the look of all three douchebags together at last.

“It’s like a reunion for bloody prats.” Mina said, mostly to herself than them, and she had half a mind to leave then; but, honestly, she wanted to have an excuse to slap the shite out of them.

---

"The last time you drove me was the last time I ever wanted to be in a car with you," Tessa thought to herself after stepping out of the yellow taxi. Finding a way out of the house before her father tried a tearful goodbye was nigh impossible. It was leveled with a muggle attending Hogwarts. Her father watched her like a hawk, his protective nature in overdrive. The fear of her involving herself in another fight or being in one was constant. Once Kiara had discovered she was a witch and was suspended four times and expelled once, her attitude had changed. September 1st came as a relief to her mother. Tessa had grown used to over time but it never ceased to irk her deep down. Her mother also noticed the witches and wizards going to the platform and looked around in disgust. For Tessa, being a witch and attending Hogwarts had saved her life. It was a gratitude she never took for granted and cherished deeply. Nevertheless, she pushed it out of her mind and focused on the train station. Besides, her taxi driver's expression upon her slumbering owl was enough to break anyone's reverie. She kept it in mind as she dragged her luggage to King's Cross Station. A quick glance at herself reassured her she looked neat, prim and proper. Nothing like the mischievous girl she looked like before coming here.

Tessa set her earbuds around her ears so she could hear but trick her fellow Hogwarts students into thinking she wasn't able to hear them. It worked a vast majority of the time which she was thankful for even more so. Belonging to a house who valued pure-bloods and despised muggleborns was a challenge she accepted. It wasn't new to her and she felt as if she belonged to Slytherin house anyways. From day one until now, she told herself she wouldn't have changed her house if she could. Tessa looked around the platform then quickly sprinted into platform 9 1/3. Once inside, she gazed around at the students. She remembered how people found her gaze piercing and made an extra effort to appear friendly. Her earbuds slipped onto her shoulders and bounced there lightly. No music played yet the appearance there. A few students gazed at her earbuds in confusion - then disgust.

"Definitely a muggleborn," whispered a Ravenclaw girl to her friend.
She nodded eagerly. "Those things are ugly. Mud-blood,"
The two giggled to each other.

She continued to smile politely and moved onto the train. In the back of her mind, she took a mental photograph of those two. Later in the year she would find them again and defend herself. Now wasn't the time to start anything. Besides, casting a hex spell might do them some good - they looked as if they had crashed into the platform several times before making it through. The urge to cast a jinx was propelling her to remember a few off hand which ranged from mild to moderate- such as the Jelly hexes, Avis, and Conjunctivutius. However, she knew she wasn't in the position to use any of them. Doing so would ensue a fighter and she wasn't prepared to have one. Tessa sighed and took several deep breathes. Simmered down yet her temper flared, she held her head up proud. No-one, no-one, could ever make her feel anything less for her heritage. As she searched for a compartment while dragging her luggage and holding her owl's cage, Tessa remained impassive.

Tessa passed a compartment containing Demetria and Callum. She knew Demetria was the Gryffindor Quidditch captain. TJ knew Demetria was an excellent beater. Callum, on the other hand, was the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain. She smirked as she passed it, amused. It would make for an interesting Quidditch year for both two teams. When she passed by an emptier compartment verses Simon's full one, she sighed in relief. Inside sat Sienna and Morgan, two students she knew by name but not personally. She knew they were kind enough. Fortunately, Morgan was a fellow Slytherin as well. She knocked on the door and opened it slightly, lingering in the doorway.

"Mind if I join you?" She held her luggage and owl carefully.

@McHaggis @Potter

Sienna was relieved that Dally’s feathers weren’t causing Morgan’s reactions. She’d never heard of someone disliking animals so much that they sneezed and coughed from simply being around them, but, to each their own. Sienna fell quiet for a moment, watching as Morgan fiddled with his trunk to withdraw his seventh year DADA textbook. Morgan was in the middle of opening it when he spoke again, asking if her piercings had hurt.

His questions were interrupted briefly by the arrival of Tessa, a familiar Slytherin who was often the subject of discrimination because of her blood heritage. Sienna smiled warmly as she joined them, then turned back to Morgan, who seemed eager to hear the answer.

”Oh,” she said; slightly surprised that he was showing genuine interest. ”I suppose they did hurt a bit when they were first pierced; but because I got them magically done, they healed much more quickly than piercings from a muggle shop would have. Now they don’t hurt at all. I'm not sure what spells the artist used, but I'm sure they'd be easy to find if you did some research on Magical Body Art. If you're interested, I got them at the "Tatoo Artist" shop in Diagon Alley.” Sienna glanced from Dally to Tessa’s owl.

“That’s a nice barn owl,” Sienna said. “He looks sweet. What’s his name?”

If there was any subject that Sienna didn’t mind making small talk about, it was animals and magical creatures. She felt calmest when she was talking to Dally or studying a new specimen in Care of Magical Creatures. Someday, she hoped to see a Phoenix in person—maybe even meet the one who had given the feather for her wand, if possible. But for now, she was more than satisfied with Dally’s company and with being able to spend time around animals both magical and non-magical.

---

---

@HushedWhispers

"The boy gave her a go-ahead which Tess eagerly took to come inside the compartment. On his lap was an open3ed DADA book that she found herself eager to red and study. Defense Against the Dark Arts was one of her favorite subjects, aside from Transfiguration. Even herbology interested her. Learning was something she loved and enjoyed, if only she could study at home. Her parent's didn't allow her to study because they didn't want any of their Muggle relatives or friends to find out. The owl she had explained already - the fascination remained but the questions finally died. For all they knee, she went to a boarding school. It was remarkable nobody had caught on yet. Tess raised her eyebrows in response to his sneeze but left it alone as she came back to reality. She smiled warmly and stuffed her luggage under the seat. Then, TJ sat down and held her owls' cage, listening to the conversation.

”Oh,” Sienna was saying as Tessa tried to join in and converse. ”I suppose they did hurt a bit when they were first pierced; but because I got them magically done, they healed much more quickly than piercings from a muggle shop would have. Now they don’t hurt at all. I'm not sure what spells the artist used, but I'm sure they'd be easy to find if you did some research on Magical Body Art. If you're interested, I got them at the "Tattoo Artist" shop in Diagon Alley.” Tessa's eyes lit up. Piercings were a stage her parents had coaxed her to go through and something she had regretted. She rarely wore the earrings so the holes usually closed up unless she had a spell used on them.

Sienna's attention was directed to the barn owl in her arms and she looked over at her. Her train of thought disappeared and she looked at her, blinking. Then she looked down at Cricket and back up, the corners of her mouth twitching upwards. "Oh, him? Yeah, he's awesome. His name is Cricket." Her expression relaxed. Tessa leaned back while holding the cage still, gently petting the owl. "I love him so much. And your owl is beautiful, yourself. What's his name?" Then she looked at them both as she tightened her jacket's grip around her. "I had my ears pierced with a needle when I was nine. I wasn't a fan of it and I don't recommend using the muggle techniques." She sighed to herself and remembered how she had cried. It wasn't something she felt proud of, either.And I have a tattoo which is placed on my shoulder. It wasn't as painful as people had said it would be, at least for me."

As they neared the old Hogwarts, she started to shiver from the chill. She looked over at it then remembered her old and wrapped her jacket tightly around Cricket's cage. "It's okay," she whispered comfortingly to him as she stroked his feather's. "It's okay." It was almost to herself, yet she kept it directed to the owl. Dementors were terrifying to her. Tessa hatred them - not like anyone particularly enjoyed them - but they were her some of her biggest fears in the wizarding world. Finally they left the area and arrived at Hogwarts. Tessa jumped up, hastily taking her jacket off and stuffing it in her luggage. Her robes were already on. TJ turned to the other two and smiled, nodding. Friendliness didn't come to her easily and she had to force it. Her gut feeling told her that they would probably notice, so she kept it simple and said, "I'll see you as the year goes on, Sienna. And see you at the table, Morgan."

Tessa stood up and nodded to them and then weaved through the crowd, dragging her luggage and carrying her owl. She was thankful that previous summer she had exercised. Once outside, a steward came and gathered their luggage. She stared in surprise but accepted the offer. Tessa hastily strode towards the school and to the Great Hall. A sigh of relief escaped her. Now she was home, her real home. She felt gazes pierce her as she sat down at the Slytherin table. As she Sorting Hat sorted new Slytherins, she welcomed them eagerly and applauded quietly to herself. As the Headmaster announced what he needed to, Tessa found her attention drifting. She stared up at the ceiling and wondered how Cricket was doing. She missed her owl already. Then a cough startled her and she turned back to face the headmaster, her heart hammering. A few people had snickered and she had trouble not laughing herself.

After they gave Profess Scorpious Malfoy III his introduction, Tessa looked at the dinner. She grinned to herself and began to fill her plate. The food was delicious here. She loved the food almost more than her studies. Tessa looked over as Simon joined her, asking her how was her summer and mentioning how he had missed her on the train. Meanwhile, she fixed himself a plate of food. Tessa looked up at him as she replied:"Not much, just pigging out. I love the food here. And my summer was fine, thank you, though I missed this school like crazy." Then, after taking a bite of her eggs and swallowing it, continued speaking."Yeah, I arrived late. Most of the compartments were full. I tried to look for you but it was just crazy. I'm sorry. But hey, we're here now, right?"She glanced at him and then began to continue eating so he could respond.

oh fudge cakes i'm tired sorry dear goodness ignore this

---

Wayne's brows rose when Simon complained about trash talk. That was just friendly banter; he was making a declaration. Well, he supposed - in the half second of thought he gave the comment - it could be seen as a bit haughty. Oh well. He chuckled softly, stepping to the side to give Murry a clear exit.

Considering he wasn't going to be chased away by a bit of attitude - if anything is solidified his resolve to take a seat here instead of just continue moving on - he came in and sat opposite Simon. Argint followed, hopping up onto the seat and laying his upper body on Wayne's lap. He chose his phrasing carefully, an effort to not start up a conversation by mentioning the one subject he despised almost as much as his parents. "I just survived a night with the most pretentious arse I know. A ride with you will be like a vacation, honestly." Not as good as actually being at Hogwarts, but close enough.

He offered Mina a smile and nodded his head. "In or out, princess. Unless you want to cross your fingers to find another compartment with seats."

With the darkness rolling in, his smile faded as his attention turned to the window. Careful study of the scene out the window when it started to frost over started to take his full attention. It wasn't the ruins that had his attention. Only one creature caused the kind of affect that seemed permanently cast over the old school. He wasn't exactly afraid of dementors - he wasn't his parents, he swore he wasn't - but they still made him uneasy. One would have to be daft to not feel some urge of caution around the things. Hell, he didn't even like talking about them, like one might sense it and show up. User of dark magic or not, they didn't exactly distinguish those that had a bit of darkness in them from those that actually gave into it.

---

He breathed a bit easier and managed his nearly ever present smile almost as soon as the darkness lifted. It was just his mind messing with him, he knew, but dementors showing up for him was something that came to the back of his mind every so often. He couldn't blame that fear entirely on his parents - no matter how much he tried. Like with every pass or even mention of the ruins, he couldn't pass the thought of how interesting and exciting it would be to explore them. There had to be lots of power soaked into that rubble, and just as much danger waiting for someone to find it.

With the new school coming into view, and the instruction of the professor, Wayne pardoned himself from the compartment; Argint followed without any instruction needed. He wasn't exactly looking to be punctual in getting changed into his robes. His new reading material needed to be properly concealed, least a professor or some nosy housemate stumble upon it. The last thing he needed was any kind of discussion with anyone about his interest in that kind of magic.

He decidedly took his time, more interested in continuing to socialize at this point than returning to a seat, putting the final touch of his robe over his uniform into place. The train came to a stop; his signal to finally get the garment in place while exiting the train amongst the flow of fellow students.

No matter how many times Wayne arrived, the school always astounded him. The vastness of the grounds and structure, the expanse of 'forbidden territory' begging for him to explore it, worked wonders to egg on his desire to skip the boring ceremony and head off for some fun and excitement. Like every other year, though, he followed along once he saw to his bags being attended. There would be time to lose points for Gryffindor later.

As soon as Wayne was seated, Argint sat between his feet. No safer place for the cat to be than under a bench and between his feet; a habit Wayne taught his pet ever since getting him. It also put the feline in perfect food sneaking position. Greeting the few new housemates, he piled some food onto his plate. After cutting up the chicken he took for himself, he started eating the roll he took while sneaking a piece of the meat down to Argint.

---

Victoria had arrived late onto the Hogwarts express, and found the train with most of its compartments packed with people. Finally managing to find an unoccupied seat in one of the cabin compartments, she sighed, her face downcast at the thought of not seeing her friends, Tessa and Morgan. Esepcially, Morgan. It has been a while since she last saw him, and would be thrilled to be see him once more. Taking out a book on Defence on the Dark Arts, Vickie began reading up on one of her most favourite subjects. Pouring over the content, page by page, without anyone to disturb her, time soon went quickly by, before she settled into a slumber, the thick book still in her hands.

She was finally roused from her sleep when cries of alarm spread through the crowded compartment. She jumped in shock, awoken by the sudden commotion. The book dropped onto the floor with a 'THUD', but the noise went unnoticed, the cacophony of voices overpowering it. The cabin had gotten darker than it had been and much, much colder, the windows frosting up as the train passed what seemed to be the old Hogwarts grounds with an army of Dementors, the source of all the darkness, frost and commotion. Several of the students were crowding near the windows, others were huddled by their seats. Victoria did neither, sitting in her seats as she observed both the reaction of her peers and the Dementors floating around outside.

Soon enough the train left the site of the old grounds, and with that the Dementors, restoring warmth through the length of the entire train. It wasn't long before they reached the new school grounds. Groups of students flooded out the various train compartments, starting to file into the great hall of the massive structure. Her own luggage was handed over to the stewards who came to handle the baggages, ridding the students of their burdens as they prepared for their dinner in the massive hall.

Students took up their place at various rows of long benches that lined the entire room, the upper years grouped up by their houses. The first years were gathered in front near the sorting hat, where they would go through their selection of the houses to come. Victoria finally arrived into the hall, following the rest of the Slytherin students making their way to an empty seats, or simply looking out for their friends.

She craned her neck out for such, looking out for Morgan and Tessa. She finally spotted them somewhere down the line in one of the tables not too far from here, and began walking towards it. As she approached them, Victoria took up a seat next to Morgan, with Tessa close by. She gave a friendly wave as she said "Well, look who it is! Morgan Pryde, It is GREAT to see you again!...And you too Tessa!"

---

“Dally. His name’s Dally,” Sienna said, in answer to Tessa’s question. She smiled, listening thoughtfully as Tessa told her and Morgan about her piercings and tattoo. Sienna glanced over to Dally, remembering why she’d chosen that name. When she was little, and tried to stretch out the time it took for her to be sent to bed, her mother would always swing her into the air and remind her not to dilly; to which Sienna always sassily replied, “That wasn’t a dilly. That was a dally!” It would turn into a huge tickle fight, and resulted in Sienna’s mother reading three more stories before Sienna finally fell asleep.

The compartment fell quiet as they passed the ruins of the old Hogwarts. Ice crackled at the windowpanes, and Sienna glanced first at Tessa, who was comforting her owl and herself, and then at Morgan, whose pale face seemed almost ghostly in the dim lighting caused by what lurked outside: Dementors.

Those dark creatures affected Sienna, as they affected anyone, but they weren’t as terrifying to her as they were to some people. Dementors made you relive your worst moments and brought on a wave of your most hopeless emotions; but Sienna had felt that way for so long that it hardly seemed very different. More intense, maybe. Probably the worst thing about being near them was that their presence made her very aware of the Dark Mark on her thigh. But she forced herself to look out of the window, where she could make out the faint shapes of the ruined castle down below, in the mist.

The sky brightened again, and the cold sense of despair lifted from the train. They arrived at Hogwarts, and were finally inside after a flurry of unpacking and moving luggage and students.

Sienna bid her goodbyes to Tessa and Morgan, who both headed over to the Slytherin table. It seemed like Tessa was trying extra hard to be friendly, and Sienna realized she probably didn’t have many people she could call friends amid the House that had many students who thought muggle-borns shouldn’t be allowed to attend Hogwarts. Maybe she would try harder to reach out to Tessa. Morgan seemed nice, too—he had spoken to her without even a trace of fear or distaste. Sienna resolved to talk to more fellow students of other Houses instead of just tolerating them or being aware of their presence. It was her last time here, after all; and she should make this year a good one.

Sienna clapped energetically for the new Ravenclaw first years, and politely applauded for the new students of other Houses. While Professor Alistair gave his welcome speech, she glanced around the table, trying to spot Cal. A few first years had tentatively taken seats near her, looking with wide eyes at her nose ring, but the spot right next to her was open; and she would appreciate some familiar company to talk to during dinner.

She was momentarily distracted from her search when Professor Alistair introduced Professor Scorpius Malfoy III. Cal sat next to her, and then when the dinner feast appeared on the tables, Sienna reached for the soup and salad bowls.

Sienna caught a flash of silvery white and black fur over at the Gryffindor table. The corner of her mouth tilted upwards as she noticed the sleek cat that was seated comfortably at his master’s feet, feasting on a piece of chicken handed down to him. Sienna’s gaze traveled upwards to the boy who was sitting there, and her small smile faded. Wayne made her uneasy—he was the type of guy who was very handsome, and knew it, and enjoyed finding ways to charm his way out of trouble that he had gotten himself into in the first place. She knew he was the champion of the Gryffindor dueling club, and always had a carefree smile on his face. Sienna found it easy to stay away from him, since they weren’t in the same year or House; but his cat quite intrigued her.

She realized Wayne might notice if she kept staring at him and his cat, so she started eating, wondering if Dally was settling in all right over in the Owlery. Sienna kept her eyes mostly on her plate, and also looked at Callum from time to time, smiling at his antics.