Steam filled Platform 9 ¾ as the scarlet Hogwarts Express was making its final preparations for departure. Overall, the parents on the platform were much less prepared than the old steam engine train, and though there were tears among them, the time had come to let their children go.
Many older students were already aboard the train, and soon it was mainly First Years, whose parents were most reluctant to let them go, scrambling to find compartments.

Dana Albright, a meek child with an owl’s cage in his arms, was being ejected from the third compartment he tried to enter, to the mixed amusement and annoyance of the Sixth Year occupants. His older brother, Jackson, had boarded nearly ten minutes before Dana managed to get away from their doting single father. So far he had had no luck in finding the compartment that Jax had taken up, and he was running out of cars to check. He was just moving on to the next car down the line, when he felt the train lurch under his feet. They were under way.

In all of the excitement, Beatrice wanted to be quiet. She was leaning on the glass of the window looking out onto the platform. It had taken her a while to get to this spot... many of the other, more desirable seats had been taken, so she didn't expect her parents to see where she was. Beatrice watched for them anyway.

The door to her compartment was firmly closed as to keep Tanino inside. The young tom cat wandered around the small area and sniffed under the door. He was curious and cautious about this whole new experience. He began to stick his paws under the door in attempts to play with a loose string in the carpet on the other side.

_{Interacting With: @Gisk}

Michelle had little to no trouble finding an available compartment, due to being one of the first of the first years to board the train. Unlike the other first year parents, Julia's parents did not care to spend the "unnecessary time" hugging and kissing on their daughter before she went off to school. They'd never been as affectionate or tender as other parents, but Michelle knew that they loved her, nonetheless. Instead, Michelle received two quick hugs and a slight nudge towards the train. By the time she'd found a compartment and looked out of the window, her parents were gone. "Whatever," Michelle said with a roll of her eyes, reaching out to scratch her cat behind his ears. She'd decided against keeping the black cat in a carrier; Salem liked to roam freely. "We're going to have a great first year, isn't that right, Salem?" The cat purred in response and settled into the empty space next to her. "I'll take that as a yes."

Michelle looked out of the window in silence as parents said their final goodbyes to their children. Students started boarding the train, filing into their respective compartments. She couldn't help but chuckle a bit when she heard one of the other first years being rejected from the car across from hers. It was a good thing she'd arrived earlier, or she would have been in the same boat. Seconds later, the train lurched forward, and Michelle opened the compartment door just in time to see the pale young boy standing in the isle, making his way towards her car. "Hey, you can sit in here," she spoke to him, nodding her head towards the empty seat across from her, "that is, if you want to."

Dana had his hand on another compartment’s door(this one with someone closer to his age in it) when Michelle called out to him.

“Oh, uh, well,” he teetered for a moment, his hand still on the door. “I might, only I am looking for my brother, you know. He’s two years older, I’ve nearly searched the whole, train, I’m sure I’ll run into him…” he was opening the door now, to see if Jax could be found in the corner of the compartment, where Dana couldn’t see from the window. When the door opened, a striped cat pounced out, attacking a loose carpet string. Dana stared down at him, then looked into the room’s occupant. “Sorry! I’ll just grab him…” he bent down, and the owl he kept in the cage flapped his wings indignantly, startling the cat. The cat ran down the aisle, into the next car.

@mskennedy615@Hidden Lilly

Skye stood on Platform 9¾, holding her suitcase and her cat's cage in her hands. She still couldn't believe it wasn't a dream and she slightly wanted to back out. However, she couldn't go back now. Her mother and brother left 3 minutes ago, hoping that she would take care of herself. Noticing that the train was making its final preparations for departure, she quickly strolled in looking for a space to sit.

After a while, she found an empty compartment.Leaving the door open, Skye sat down and took out her notebook, proceeding to work on a sonnet she started a few days ago. She also opened Amelie's cage, letting her kitten stretch on the seat next to her. Luckily Amelie was well behaved and she wouldn't leave the compartment without her owner.

@Gisk@mskennedy615

"Oh." Beatrice breathed as a boy her age opened her compartment door. "Be careful, Tanino is still a-" she said, standing up abruptly. The cat was out and startled. Beatrice rushed past the boy and exclaimed on her way "Tanino!" She left the door open, all of her things exposed, and an ornate looking book on the seat. Clearly, she was more concerned about her cat. Speeding down the hall, uncaring of the noise she made, Beatrice called back to the boy "Are you going to help or not?"