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Suddenly, the train lurched to a halt. The compartment lights flickered off for a brief moment, before becoming illuminated once more. Everything was bathed in a ghastly green glow. The compartment doors all slid open, a silent whoosh traveling across the train. The air then began to crackle, as if some sort of static electric charge was building up all at once.

"Pardon 'he in'errup'ion, folks," the conductor's voice boomed in an atrociously thick cockney accent, filling all of the compartments at once. "Some auraws from 'he ministry are 'ere 'o make sure every'hin is safe. It'll be a few befawe we con'inue on 'o 'ogsmeade s'a'ion."

The trolley witch grimaced. She had hoped with the downfall of You-Know-Who there would be fewer instances of aurors stopping the Hogwarts Express to search the train for fugitives - it always upset the children. But she also knew better than to protest. If there were dark wizards on the train, she'd rather the aurors chased them out before they reached the village. "All of you, get in your compartments, nothing to fuss about," she said.

Within compartment 15, Barnaby Lee glanced up and couldn't help but be surprised to see Elizabeth wanting to join in. She hadn't exactly been the kindest person to him during his time at Hogwarts. "Uh, sure, come on in?" he said, looking a little bit confused. With the exception of Andre, the other players that had gone out to get food had returned to the compartment.

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Hearing the conductor's announcement and then the trolley witch's instructions to get back into their compartments, Andre decided to take a leap of faith. Rather than returning to his own compartment to keep on playing Exploding Snap, he entered compartment 13 and took a seat next to Zelda. "You know, I could always make a costume for Goose," Andre mused. "I fancy he'd be a smashing mascot for the team."

Paige rolled her eyes slightly. She knew that Zelda had a crush on Andre and had she anywhere else to go, she would have scooped up Hestia and headed into a different compartment. She almost wished that Merula would come back, as it least it would give her somewhere else to talk to. But she took her seat again in compartment 13 and picked up her n-melt ice cream, taking it out of the plastic packaging and licking the cone as she tried to think about anything but Andre and Zelda flirting in here while she was stuck at the third wheel.

The news that aurors were searching the train was enough to occupy her mind for now. In her opinion, only an idiot would come to the conclusion that they were looking for anything other than the escaped Death Eaters. Maybe Zelda's parents were about to board. They were nice enough, since Paige had met them a few times during summer holidays. "You two chat Quidditch and dresses all you want - I'm chuffed with this," Paige said, licking her cone as she dug her diary out of her bag and began to write an entry. It was pure stream of consciousness, as well as pure anxiety over the thought that maybe dark wizards were on the train.

Maybe her brother was here.

Maybe the aurors would question her and rumors would spread about how she had a dark mark underneath her robes.

Hestia meowed, butting her head softly up against Paige's hand, causing her quill to fly across the page and ink smeared on the side of her palm. "Hessie, why..." she grumbled. The unnatural green light caused Zelda's skunk streak to look mint-green and the pages of Paige's diary to seem mossy.

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She was reminded that not only would the Celestial Ball be a thing, but she would also be playing Quidditch. She had a full caseload for sure. The practice would no doubt start up soon and she was determined to make sure Hufflepuff has a fighting chance of winning the cup. "That would be rad! Let me know if you need help with it." Georgina always liked helping. It might seem pushy to some, but she would rather ensure that the person got what they needed done.

She waved Mary's concern aside. "Honestly? I'm just glad it wasn't worse. I'm sure the others out there are in for more than you, but if that is not the case, let me know. I'll be there with you when you talk to Professor Flitwick." Soon, talk sprang up on the theme for the Ball (Halloween) and what they were most looking forward to. "Halloween would be such a fun idea! I'm sure everyone will be on board with it. As for what I am looking forward to? Defense Against the Dark Arts, of course. Have to brush up there a bit. I've been slacking this past summer."

Before she could continue on, the train lurched to a halt. Georgina steadied herself as the announcement sounded. Aurors on board? What could....and then she remembered. The escaped Death Eaters! Were the Aurors on board in search of them? "Aurors on board? This I have to see." She remained in the compartment, but slid closer to the door to see if she could hear anything.

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"Oh I know you are, i'm just annoyed you didn't write back to some of the letters I sent you." Madalyne said jokingly towards Fae, knowing that her friend could take a joke every now and then. She did always feel more relaxed whenever she was around Fae, her attention turned towards Elizabeth when she spoke up again. Biting her bottom lip for a moment resisting the urge to still try and convince her to take the higher road. There were always different ways to try and get back at them, but she couldn't really force her to try and listen to her anyway. Though she believed that she could get along with Elizabeth anyway, she was friends with Fae after all and Fae always did try to drag her into something, but it was also fun. "I wouldn't mind joining you guys." Madalyne said softly.

As Madalyne was moving forward, towards the compartment with the others she felt the train coming to a sudden halt, and the lights flickering slightly. And then all of the doors to the compartments were opening up, when the conductor spoke, saying that some Aurors were coming onto the train to search for some of the fugitive Death Eaters that escaped which she had read about. Felix letting out a little hiss and growl at the eerie green glow. Madalyne looked at Elizabeth and Fae for a moment, she did hate leaving her friend again, unless Fae decided to join her in Compartment One. And hearing the trolley witch requesting everyone to return to their compartments as we, she didn't want to get in trouble or be in the way of any of the Aurors boarding the train. "Hey Fae, i'm going to head back to compartment one unless you want to come with me? Or we can actually hangout at dinner." Madalyne offered, and started to make her way back towards her compartment where her things were as well.

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Mary was excited to talk about the Celestial ball. And she was having a font of ideas. She wondered if she could convince Flitwick to help her do a memory charm on top of a masquerade style ball. The memory charm would last only the night and everyone would forget which house they belonged to. It would mean people could form friendships outside their normal houses. She could see some flaws in it. Like what if she made friends with Paige or Merula. She cringed at the idea, but it could be interesting. She was about to tell the group her idea when the train stopped and the conductor informed them Aurors would be on-board.

"Oh you two don't get the news right? I didn't expect this, but can't say I'm not surprised. There were some Death Eaters that escaped. They probably are checking to make sure none are hiding under the cloaks of their children." She gave a frustrated sigh, but in reality she was thankful for the precautions. And more thankful she kept her history hidden. "Though I am surprised we weren't warned when we had the prefect meeting." That seemed like something the Head students should have informed them about.

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“You’re my favorite twin? Oh bugger, it totally slipped my mind!” Arty exclaimed, nudging backing at his sibling’s foot. “Don’t bother yourselves too much about it! I’m chuffed you want to help but I have to like at least try on my own! Buuuut, I’ll totally take your offers to bother you at 3am before the Quidditch match and the sign is bloody spazzing.” Arty chuckled. It really was nice of them to offer but Arty wanted to do it himself.He wouldn’t really wait until the night before to ask but he’d try! Hopefully, with the prefect duties and volunteering to organize the celestial ball wouldn’t interfere too much. He’d be totally gutted!

As the Hogwarts Express lurched to a halt, Arty threw himself into the corner as he splayed out like a starfish until the train settled. “Aw, they couldn’t skive off one bloody year? I thought everything was aces, done and over and all that.” He instantly complained, not moving until Georgina moved and he pressed right up to her, trying to peer over her shoulder far less subtly than his best friend. Mary’s comment made him look back over, squinting as the eerie green light bothered his eyes. ”But Mary, they can’t tell us about inspections! What if the head boy or girl were death eaters and they used magic to make themselves look like them? I don’t know if that’s possible but I’m totally sure that magic can do basically anything. I’d blame the slytherins but that’s a bit on the nose, don’t you think?”

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Zelda was more then a little surprised that Andre had decided to stick around in their compartment. She had partially expected him to go back, since they'd be able to talk at the school later since they were in the same house after all. Goose walked back over to where they were and jumped up onto her lap, the cat was still happily purring in her arms. "Not sure if the cat would approve of that sort of thing," she said with a laugh, shaking her head and smiling slightly at him, "He'd probably be really cute in a costume, but he'd probably glare at me for weeks."

Hearing the announcement about the train being searched by Aurors made her smile more or less disappear. She did not want to see if her parents were among the group of Aurors, even though odds were that they would be there, especially considering the fact that she got stuck with April taking her to the train station. That never was a fun thing, not to mention the fact that her parents didn't tend to hang around for long sometimes considering they were constantly working, "Great, just what I wanted, to see if my parents decide to show up or whatever... Also Paige you should learn already that cats like to literally knock everything over when they want attention. Reason why they get up on tables and even with you watching they'll knock things off. I should know, I can turn into a cat."

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Apollo turned with a smile to Georgina as she mentioned Defense Against the Dark Arts. That was another fun subject to practice, though if you asked Apollo most all subjects were a blast. "I wouldnt mind practicing with you if you dont mind? Seeing someone else inact a spell has always helped me learn how best to do it." His smile grew into a smirk as his twin teased him and insisted that he could do the charm on his very own. Apollo didn't need divination magic to know Artemis may have his hands full with schoolwork, the ball, and prefectdom to be able to perform the charm and learn it. But he would ofcourse allow him to try and wouldn't press any further.

Suddenly the train lurched forward, causing Artemis to flail in a dramatic display, as Apollo quickly reached up and gripped the bars above him to help steady himself for the abrupt stop. Soon the lights flickered and green permeated the air as an announcement came, Mary clarifying what the commotion was all about. "Right...I'd almost forgotten. Georgina had mentioned they escaped earlier after I got a rather nasty reading from my cards. I dont suspect anyone here has but...they could've used a polyjuice potion to pose as any of the students. They dont last terribly long unless they managed to keep a stash on them but...that's not likely right?" As the three were nearing the door to catch a glimpse of Aurors, Apollo slid back into the corner, wand out in the ready in case of a Death Eater attack.

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Fae's lips parted to reveal a toothy grin, giving Madalyne a light nudge with her shoulder as her only reply to the girl's minor teasing. When Elizabeth started leading the way to their previously decided destination, Fae didn't hesitate to follow her, walking down the hall side by side with Madalyne. But as soon as the group made it to the compartment, after Elizabeth gave a friendly greeting to the small crowd of nerds inside, one of whom responded with clear skepticism, the train came to a sudden lurching halt. The sudden stop robbed Mintfree of her balance, sending her stumbling back into the door of the compartment across from fifteen. She managed to regain her footing just in time, pushing herself away from the door as it automatically slid open. Fae's nose wrinkled in distaste as she looked up at the green lights now filling the train, eyes narrowing into squinting slits.

"You'd think they'd pick a more pleasant color, but apparently not..." she mumbled aloud, as much to herself as to her friends. She didn't react at all to the familiar voice of the trolley witch, instead walking forward a couple steps towards the Snap compartment. But she stopped when she noticed Maddie begin to walk back the way they came. A small frown adorned Fae's lips as her friend explained where she was going, even being so kind as to invite her. But even so, after a few seconds, Fae shook her head, a smile replacing the disappointed look that had been there. "That's probably not a good idea. Me in a room full of uppity prefects? It's a recipe for disaster. But there won't be any escape from me at dinner, ya hear?" she said in a chaffing tone as her friend walked away. She proceeded to step into compartment fifteen, standing next to and a little behind Flame. "Don't mind us. We were just fuckin' bored, so we thought we'd come watch your game."

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At the end of the train, near compartment 30, there were five loud cracks! as the team of aurors apparated onto the halted train. These five were being assigned to track down the escaped Death Eaters and while no evidence indicated any of them were on the Hogwarts Express, they were not going to risk the children's safety. The team consisted of Lyra Burke, a former Head Girl and Quidditch Captain; Bonnie Flynn, another former Head Girl and Prefect; Frederick Flynn, a former Slytherin; Lionel St. Willfold, the senior auror of the team; and Callum McFenwick, a former Hufflepuff.

Bonnie pursed her lips, gazing down the corridor, the ghastly green light still shining. While only one of the children on the train was her daughter, she was already prepared to protect them all as if they were her own.

"Shall we?" Burke asked her companions. She pulled what appeared to be a spray bottle from her pocket. It contained the same mist used at Gringotts as a security measure against Polyjuice Potion. All of the aurors had their own individual bottle today.

"Yes, let's," Bonnie agreed, producing her own bottle. She opened up the door to compartment 30 and sprayed the mist. Bukre did the same in compartment 29, Frederick in 28, St. Willfold in 27, and McFenwick in 26. No Death Eaters were there - the closest thing was Merula and her gang.

Compartment 1 -

Clearly, the prefects had not been alerted in advance that the train was going to be searched. Talbott had pulled out a Sneakoscope from his pocket and placed it in his lap, watching it attentively. It had been still the entire train ride thus far. And now, it was whistling, lit up and spinning. His eyebrows were furrowed as he studied it.

"...Is it broken?" Penny asked timidly. Her baby sister was off somewhere else on the train and she stood up, instinctively wanting to go to Beatrice but they were forbidden from leaving their compartments during the search. "Madalyne - please tell me you saw Bea, is she alright?" Penny asked her fretfully.

"There's a dark wizard here," Talbott muttered, finally tearing his gaze away from his dark detector.

Compartment 15 -

Some of those in the compartment must have been first years, as while they were in their Hogwarts uniforms, they didn't have any house colors yet. Two of them were girls - one of them with short blonde hair and a striking resemblance to Penny Haywood, another with almost pure white hair and a moon pendant on. The latter seemed rather withdrawn, having pulled the sleeves of her sweater over her hands.

"It'll be fine, the aurors are going to keep us safe - they'll take care of any Death Eaters and throw them in Azkaban," Barnaby reassured the frightened kids. "They can even say hullo to my parents," he joked.

"Aren't you two scared?" the blonde girl asked Fae, tilting her head slightly. "Are you.... Mintfree?" she then asked hesitantly. "I'm Beatrice Haywood. My sister's mentioned you."

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Paige forced an exaggerated grin on her face, as she rolled her eyes at Zelda. "Very funny, Zelds." She snapped her diary shut, not wanting to get more ink on Hestia's paws. Snape would kill her if she let Hestia wander all over the Slytherin Common Room with a little ink trail of kitty paw prints. She could just imagine seeing the paw prints on the glass that let them see underneath the lake, with the majestic Giant Squid obscured by Hestia's handiwork. As she went to put her diary back in her bag, though, she noticed a faint whistle. Her eyes narrowed slightly and Paige dug around in her bag, until she found the source of the problem.

Her pocket sneakoscope was lighting up, spinning, and whistling like crazy. She hadn't seen it behave like that since... well, since her brother had last come home. It didn't even behave that way around Merula and her goons. Hestia hissed at the device, batting at it with her paw in an attempt to shut it up. "Uh, guys?" Paige piped up, glancing up at Andre and Zelda.

Andre had been petting Goose, pulling his hand back with confusion. He hadn't seen a pocket dark detector before, even with attending Hogwarts during the war. "Paige... Is that a new game or something? Did you pick it up from the muggles?" he asked, obviously confused. He knew that Paige's father was muggleborn and that she lived in a predominately muggle area.

"Not even. It's a pocket sneakoscope. When it lights up like this and spins and makes noises... it means someone untrustworthy is about."

The Quidditch star forced himself to relax slightly. "Oh well, Merula is on this train, right? It's probably just her - I bet the aurors are just here to take a break from looking for the dark wizards, convinced their bosses to let them hang out on the train for a bit."

"If it were Merula, then this would have gone off earlier when she was in here," Paige reasoned. "And since I share a dorm with her, I'd never get a wink of sleep." She then rose to her feet. She had promised her father that she wouldn't get in trouble. And she knew that it would be incredibly stupid to go out looking for it right now. She walked over to the open compartment door and poked her head outside, looking up and down the hallway. There were a bunch of adults down at the very end, but otherwise, she didn't see anyone.

"They've got to be close by... Maybe in one of the compartments near us," Paige reasoned. Pulling out her wand, she twirled it around herself and whispered the incantation for the disillusionment charm. She shuddered instinctively, as it felt like someone had cracked an egg over her head, but it worked. Paige was blending perfectly into her surroundings. "Come on, let's go," she whispered, before leaving the compartment.

"...Paige, don't!" Andre shouted after her. Hestia meowed loudly and tried to jump into Zelda's lap. The sneakoscope was gone - Paige must have taken it with her.

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Looking up towards where the conductor's voice came from, Elizabeth grimaced for a moment. Whatever reason they were here, it couldn't be good. The Ministry probably didn't make a habit of wasting the time of their Aurors, or of Hogwarts. The only thing she could think of, would be that those Death Eaters were somehow on the train. That seemed impossible, but she knew there were ways for people to impersonate others, namely, Polyjuice potion. If the Death Eaters were so inclined, she knew they could get themselves on the train with relative ease. That was something that worried her, the thought that anybody here could be somebody out to kill her filled her with a kind of indescribably dread.

Taking a look around the room, she hoped she could gleam some kind of insight into if everyone here was who they said they were, but she couldn't get a pin on anybody. They all seemed to be acting natural as could be, given the situation. Now, she had to deal with the first years, and keep them from freaking out, so she took a knee and leaned up close to Beatrice. "Mintfree? Scared?" Elizabeth gave a playful scoff, "That lass is the toughest witch I know, and I'm me." She smiled at the girl, hoping to calm her down, "Now, I dunno why the Aurors're are 'ere, but I do know that they've got our best interests at 'eart. We're gonna be absolutely fine, 's long as you stay 'ere." Elizabeth stood up for a moment, before re-positioning herself in front of the exploding snap game, "Now, how's 'bout we get to playin'?"

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Madalyne took a moment and looked at the other Prefects in the room, mainly at Talbot and her friend Penny, and went to sit down while Felix trotted over and climbed up into Penny's lap. She did feel really bad for suddenly leaving Fae again all of a sudden like that which was now the second time that day. Madalyne turned to look at Penny asking if she had seen her sister, who she was familiar with though she hadn't seen her. Biting her bottom lip for a moment and shook her head slightly, there were thirty or so compartments on the train right now. She just hoped that there weren't any Death Eaters on the train.

"I didn't see her, does she like Exploding Snap?" Madalyne asked Penny. "I know that over in Compartment Fifteen had something going on like that from what Fae mentioned, i'm sure she is fine the Aurors will make sure that all of us are safe and sound to." Madalyne said trying to cheer up her friend, she watched Talbot pulling out his Sneakoscope which she hadn't seen before at all, Felix looked at it with a little bit of interest but was more content in just sitting in Penny's lap. "Are you sure that thing isn't broken or something, it could be detecting Merula or something maybe?" She asked, she really did not like the Slytherin who constantly did pick on her but then again that was most people anyway.

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Georgina's mind was wandering all over the place. If there were Aurors now on board, it stood to reason they were here for the escaped Death Eaters. Oh if only she could point them at Paige or Merula or any of them. That would nicely tidy up some things. She wondered if she knew any of them also. Her father was a pretty high-ranking and well-known Auror and she met many in her time. She also met many after his death. Paying their respects. Seeing that they were taken care of and provided for. Georgina didn't want their pity, their well-wishes, or their kind offerings to take her on a trip or to offer her a dinner with the family.

She wanted them to find her father's killer.

And since they hadn't, she had deemed it her mission to do just that. "I doubt they were on board already when we left. They are hardly inconspicuous and I doubt they polyjuiced their way here. I think they stopped the train. Which means there may be Death Eaters on board." She tried to hide her glee at that thought, all things considered, but it was hard. "I'm trying to listen for them, but I do not hear much. They are probably making their way through the cars." She creaked the door open slightly, enouh to poke her head out. She glanced both ways, where she saw general outlines of adults. That had to be them!

"I see them, they are down towards the other compartments," she said as she came back in the compartment and closed the door.

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"Oh there definitely is magic that does just that." Mary said. Mary's bag that she had squished under the seat started squealing loudly. She blinked confused trying to figure out why her bag would be freaking out. It wasn't sentient. Then she said "Oh!" and pulled the bag out. She opened a side pocket and pulled out her sneak-o-scope. Her father had given it to her nervously the night before. She understood where he was coming for and had promised to keep on her. Though her plan had been to toss it into her chest as soon as she got to school. Mary figured it would be mostly useless. Yet, here it was screeching, but only now. Why hadn't it gone off sooner?

"I am concerned. What if one of the Aurors is a fraud? It would have been going off before if it were a student right?" She asked her friends in a hushed tone, thankful it was just them in the compartment. She hated even suggesting it knowing who the Aurors were to Georgina, but it was suspicious that her sneak-o-scope hadn't made a noise up till that very moment. She shoved it back into her bag and wrapped it into a spare jacket she had in there.

Would all of this mess with the dance? She certainly hoped it wouldn't make the dance be canceled. The escape had been so recently there was no way the school had made a decision on that yet. She had a feeling that Dumbledore wouldn't cancel anything if he could help it. What if the Death Eaters crashed the dance though? Worry dug into her stomach and she clenched her fists digging her fingernails into her palms trying to calm down. She took several deep breaths as Georgina looked down the hall of the train.

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Arty was going to dismiss the suggestion of a death eater on board as utterly absurd. This wasn’t the first time they’d stopped the train and it probably wouldn’t be the last. Arty wouldn’t admit it but it was reassuring that they did. You-know-who’s cult didn’t take kindly to “mudbloods” in their midst. More than once, he’d wondered if he could report Merula as suspicious but his brother said no. Bullocks because if anyone has death eater tendencies, its her. Without a doubt. One hundred percent. Arty leaned with Georgina as she poked her head out, trying to see around her but he side eyed the sneakoscope and sat back up.

“Aren’t sneakoscopes a bunch of cadswollop anyhow? Like, they totally go off at anything sneaky, right? Maybe someone’s mate is pulling someone’s leg around the corner or something or they’re bringing in something forbidden by the school?” Arty rationalized nervously. His leg bounced nervously as he spoke, a high pitched chuckle coming out awkwardly as his nerves started tightening. A death eater on board was a problem. He pulled his wand out of his robes, spinning it in his fingers. There wasn’t a death eater on board, there wasn’t, but if there was, Arty wouldn’t be caught off guard without a shielding charm in his lips. “Why don’t we just put that away and let the aurors clear the train and let us go? Then, everything will be totally aces and we can start planning the dance!”

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Zelda giggled slightly at Paige's reaction to her comment, but she fell silent as she heard the whistle of the sneak-o-scope as PAige pulled it out of her bag. "It could be picking up on just about anything... Who knows honestly right?" she said, shaking her head slightly, glancing over at Andre as he asked what it was and seemed to relax when Paige explained what it did. "She has a point... If it was detecting Merula as she said, it would have gone off when she was here earlier being her typical horrible self... So why would it start going off now... Though to be fair, those things are fairly finicky, not entirely trustworthy, so not really sure what we can do about it..."

Her eyes grew wide however when she saw Paige start casting a spell, deciding to go off and see what she was able to. Zelda knew that Paige could be a bit reckless, and tended to get into trouble a lot, and knew that there was a chance that she'd get into more trouble by herself more then anything. Once Paige was gone, she let out a bit of a sigh, before standing up and pulling out her wand. "I need to stop her from getting into too much trouble... I hate the fact that I'm going to have a chance of running into my parents... But she'll cause a lot more problems for herself if she's alone, so I'm going to try and get her to come back to the compartment... See you in a little bit Andre," she said, before she said the incantation for the disillusionment charm, blending into her surroundings like Paige did, and she followed after her out of the compartment.

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Curiosity was all well and good, and Apollo has certainly had his fair share of troubles because of his, but something about the idea of sneaking a peek at the Aurors who are looking for Death Eaters just churned his stomach. His mind went back to Boggart class when he saw his worst fears right before him, and now with these escapees it was closer to reality than he cared to admit. "Well, what's the 411? What're they doing? Are they casting spells, using some sort of magical device? Anything?" Mary's sneakascope began to go off and Apollos eyes dashed towards it as he began to wonder just how trustworthy that device could be. Artemis shared similar reservations about the device and made sure to vocalize them to the rest of the cabin. "Right. That's all well and good but hopefully it's going off because some student is tryin to startle their friend with this tension.

Any roads if these ash people were smart about their lives theyd of booked it by now and the sooner the Aurors figure that out the sooner we can get to Hogwarts and they can catch the blimey Death Eaters. In the mean time however." Apollo held up his wand, pointing it towards the middle of the compartment and swiped down with his free hand as he spoke the incantation Salvia Hexia. Nothing appeared to occur and he stared at the space for a moment before rethinking about what he'd read over the summer. It finally clicked in him that his motions had been reversed and he held his left hand out, palm outwards, whilst swiping his wand diagonally downwards before him. "Salvia Hexia" there was no visible tell that the spell had been placed, but he could feel the magic setting on and covering half the cabin for them. "I've warded the back half of this cabin against hexes. If anyone that isn't an Auror approaches us then you should all back away into the barrier to help keep us safe."

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Fae flinched hearing Barnaby's dark attempt at humor, stifling a laugh as she looked to the fearful students before her, a number of them seeming to be first years. Her first inclination was to assure the kids that they were safe. That they most likely weren't in any danger, and that this stop wasn't the first time the train had been boarded by aurors. That the Ministry was most likely just paranoid due to the recent escapes. But any intention of doing any of that went out the window when the young, familiar-looking blonde girl said her last name. A massive dorky smile took residence on her face as she ran her hand through her short dark hair.

"She's mentioned me, has she?" Fae repeated, mostly to herself, her giddy grin glowing green in the gleam of the ghoulish glimmer overhead. Even with the fearful energy that filled the compartment courtesy of the scared younger students, Fae couldn't help but feel ecstatic at the knowledge of Penny talking about her on her own time. She wanted to press the girl for more information, but she stopped herself. This was not the time. She had to make sure these kids felt protected, every single one of them. But also mostly Bea. Fae had never been much of a schemer, but even she couldn't keep herself from thinking about Bea telling her sister about the brave Gryffindor upperclassman who helped protect her in the train. Her stance shifted at the thought, standing more upright macho stance, hands on her hips. A proud smile replaced her dorky one as her friend, the natural wingwoman, spoke of her with such high esteem. Fae wasn't the type to shy away from or deflect complements; she bathed in them. She stood behind Flame, and she placed a hand on her shoulder, nodding in agreement.

"She's right. And even if there were anything dangerous on this train, you've got two skilled witches right here to look after ya. Oh, and of course-" she said, waving a hand towards Barnaby. She was going to say his name, but she realized that, despite having seen him around numerous times, she didn't actually know his name. "I'm sure he's got some experience too, so there's nothing to worry about." Fae then took a seat relatively close to the door, eyes alternating between the door and the other students. "You can always wait to start the game back up until after we're moving again if you're too nervous to play. In the meantime, we'd be happy to answer any questions you might have about Hogwarts."

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The aurors were moving as quickly and methodically as they could, attempting to secure the train without causing too much of a delay to the students. Some of the students in the compartments were understandably terrified at the prospect of Death Eaters on the train - some of them were muggleborn, after all. "It's going to be alright, dears," Bonnie reassured those in compartment 25, her voice soft and soothing. "We're here to help."

Burke was handling compartment 24, misting the air to reveal no Death Eaters lurking in the eerie green light. The compartment was filled with a group of Slytherin seventh year students, some of them commenting that if any mudbloods got killed, they deserved it. "Enough of that - talk like that is disgraceful," Burke scolded them. "Another word and I'll inform Professor Snape personally of your racist attitudes."

Frederick handled compartment 23.

St. Willfold was not entirely happy that Bonnie and Burke had taken the lead on this operation, as they were the women of the group. He didn't care for Burke in particular, usually keeping a cautious eye on her. St. Willfold ended up sorting compartment 22, filled with some Hufflepuff second and third years, all of them staring at the old man with wide, scared eyes.

McFenwick was rather headstrong in his inspection of compartment 21, yet he still felt for the children. "Nothing to worry about, just a routine check," he reassured the students. Once satisfied that no Death Eaters were disguised within the compartment, he returned to the corridor and spotted Georgina at the front of the train. "Georgie?" he called out, before walking down to compartment 3.

Compartment 1 -

Penny nodded quickly, relaxing slightly as Madalyne mentioned she had seen people playing Exploding Snap. "Yes, thank goodness - did you see a little blonde haired girl? And another one with white hair? That's her best friend, Chiara... I really ought to go check on them once this is over. Chiara's painfully shy."

Talbott let out an irritated sigh. "If it were detecting Merula, then why would this thing only be going mad now?"

"Bah, I wouldn't get freaked over that," the Head Boy scoffed. "Those things go mental all the time. Someone farts and lies, saying it was their friend? Thing goes bonkers. They're just too sensitive to be of much use, Talbott."

"And the aurors will take care of it," Penny said, trying to reassure herself more than Talbott and the others. "I don't know why a Death Eater would want to hide on the train anyways... Hogwarts is the safest place in the world."

Compartment 15 -

"Yeah, we can protect you!" Barnaby added, grinning a bit at the first years. Beatrice seemed to warm up to Elizabeth, giving her a smile - while her white haired friend continued to hang back shyly. She even moved back slightly as Elizabeth got close to Beatrice, as if to distance herself from human contact.

"She said you've gotten detention more than anyone else at school," Beatrice admitted, looking at Fae. Penny was the most popular witch in the fifth year - she knew more or less all of the gossip at Hogwarts, as well as everything there was to know about everyone who attended.

The white haired girl's face paled when Fae mentioned anything dangerous being on the train, as if she were hiding something.

"...So how does the sorting work?" Beatrice then asked. "Penny hasn't told me, said it'd spoil the surprise..."

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Paige had to force herself up against the wall and hold her breath, as one of the aurors inexplicably hurried down to the front of the train. He didn't seem to notice her sneakoscope's whistle, which was fantastic luck - she was doing her best to smother it with her clothing as he went on by. The other aurors weren't that far away from them, she even spotted who she thought was Zelda's father going into one of the compartments to check.

Her disillusionment charm was rapidly wearing off - she could see her hand plainly, it wasn't blending into the wall anymore. Her instinct was to go back to her compartment, wait for the group of aurors to pass, and continue her investigation - but all of the sudden, she noticed Barnaby Lee out of the corner of her eye in compartment 15. She internally swooned. She fancied him.

And a moment later, her charm had worn off entirely. She was visible. Acting on pure impulse, she slipped into compartment 15, seamlessly taking a seat down next to Barnaby, who greeted her with a grin.

"Paige!" he pulled her into a hug. "Where'd you come from?"

"Oh, uh, y'know..." she said, shrugging it off but her cheeks were bright red.

"Is that your sneakoscope?" Barnaby asked.

"...Yeah, I was about to go try to find the dark wizard myself, but the aurors were moving quickly and my spell wore off so... Gonna crash in here for a second before I motor, if that's cool?"

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Madalyne bit her bottom lip for a moment, she didn't really enter the compartment she just mainly knew that there was an Exploding Snap game going on over there. "I didn't get the chance to look into the compartment when the Aurors came on sadly." Madalyne said as she gently rested a hand on Penny's shoulder and gave her a slight smile. "But Fae is over there I saw her enter that compartment, I know she'd watch over your sister like a hawk and make sure that she is calm." Madalyne said while gently petting Felix and gave the purring cat a soft smile before turning to Talbott.

"Maybe Merula is scheming something, and that's why it set it off?" She said, they could be useful but also the many stories that they were unreliable a lot of the time as well. Madalyne ran a hand through her hair slightly and looked towards the opened compartment door, and then back over at Penny. "Once the Auror's leave and the train gets moving again want to go and check on your sister? Unless you have some kind of invisibility potion on hand?" Madalyne said jokingly at the last part, she knew that Penny was one of the best students in Professor Snape's potion class.

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"That's th' one thing we can't tell ya'." Eliza shook her head, "Sorry and all, but tradition is tradition, and trust me, you'll be glad ye waited." She wasn't about to spoil something like that for a kid, even if they asked for it. Sometimes kid's didn't know what was best for them, and she firmly believed this was one of those times. Any other day, she might mes with them a bit, and tell them they'd be sorted in a series of challenges, or some fun lie, but they deserved better than that right now. Aurors on the train was likely to scare any kid, and she knew there was a time and place for such chicanery. Instead, she continued to focus on deflection, wracking her brain for something to talk about.

"And ye, Fae gets in trouble a tiny bit, hair trigger temper and all." Elizabeth admitted, shrugging, "But she really 'as a heart of a lion, even fer a Gryffindor. Puts it to good work too." Fae was one of the few people that had Elizabeth's persistent and true respect, she's more than earned it by now, and she didn't mind letting people know that. "But, 'ere's a better question for ye kids, which house do you wanna be in?" That seemed like it'd be a good and fun way to break up tension. Her main goal right now was trying to move their minds away from the Aurors on the train, to try to keep them under control and from freaking out. She gave a comforting smile towards the white haired girl, seeing she was much more nervous than any of the others, "Ey, I don't think we got yer name. I'm Eliza, if ye haven't picked up on that yet. Eliza Flame."