Samantha stared into Raymond's eyes while smiling. It has been so long that she hasnt seen him and she has a feeling that this year will be the best year ever. She had her friends and boyfriend by her side. Aaaaand she had her
cat. It was going to be a perfect year, hopefully. Samantha looked at Raymond as he kept speaking she yawned, because she was incredible tired and she wanted to sleep a little. Squeezing Ray's hand softly she rested her head on Ray's shoulders. "Maybeeee, we should all just leave and let her be alone here. " she said now looking up at Willow smiling. "Yes. We should do that. Willow must be tired and she wants some alone time. Soo off we go
guys." she smiled at them still holding Ray's hand.

Artemis glanced up once he saw Casimir leave the room. The male was probably going to check on the cause of the explosion - and hopefully stop it from happening again. He let out a small gust of breath, leaning his arms against the table and flipping his wand through his pale fingers. "...Avis." A large flock of magical, glimmering white and black birds shot out of his wand, and Artemis twirled his wand once more, aiming at the row of birds, "Animalancea." His wand glowed an ominous blue-ish white before a long, spear-like bolt of sharp white light blasted out of his wand, piercing through the row of birds's chests and causing them to disappear silently with a puff of smoke.

"Hm..." He took out his notebook and began writing once more.

Willow's head was spinning. Yeah, she wanted some alone time (more than anything!) but at the same time, she couldn't just kick everyone out it'd be rude and they'd probably hate her later. And why wasn't the boy taking her licorice? Did she offend...what if he's allergic to licorice?! Oh gosh, Willow, you goofed up again! You shouldn't have helped that girl in the first place, you should know better than to interact with others, it just causes trouble! Who knows how many others got affected by the explosion?

Willow held her hands out, "N-n-no it's alright, you can all stay!" But is that really what she wanted? What she wanted right now was to just get to the castle and sleep! She felt completely cornered... How many people were there even? Five? Six? Faces began to blur as the walls started closing in around her. Has the train started moving yet? Why was everyone looking at her? Oh dear....

The licorice wand dropped from her hand, onto the floor, quickly followed by Willow's body hitting the ground.

Herbology was one of the easy classes for Frankie; it didn’t take much work. It was just straight up memorization, but it was not her favorite. It was boring and entirely too easy for her. “I guess my favorite class would have to be Transfiguration. I can’t wait until we learn about Vanishment this year.”

Frankie was about to say more when the door slid open and she was greeted with an unfamiliar face requesting a compartment she could stay in. The Ravenclaw shrugged, “Sure, you can stay as long as it’s okay with Fall” – she hoped Augustus wouldn’t mind her little nickname – “as he was here first.”

“What’s your name? I don’t know you, so you’re probably not very popular.” Frankie really had no mind-filter.

(Sorry it's short.)

Oh dear. The girl looked like she was about to die of fright. Acacia had to resist giggling at that. While it would be hilarious to see happen, she should probably try to prevent it. They should probably all give her a little space. She wasn't used to so many people after all. She stayed silent though, as she wasn't really sure how to diffuse this situation. Leaving seemed like a good idea, but Willow might think it would just be inconveniencing them - something that the girl would definitely not like. So she picked up a Licorice wand and opened a bottle of Pumpkin Juice and stayed quiet.

That was, until the licorice wand fall from the girls hand, followed shortly by Willow herself. A brief look of surprise crossed her face as Willow fell. She was exaggerating earlier, she didn't actually think this could happen to someone. She could use this to her advantage though, oh yes, she could definitely use it. She went from surprised to a mix of concern and determination. First order of business, getting everyone out of the compartment. Willow needed some breathing room. Acacia stood up and put her Licorice wand and Pumpkin juice down.

"Alright, out! Everyone out! Give Willow some space!" She commanded, pointing everyone towards the door.

"my favorite positions are chaser and seeker, but I'd be fine with any position except keeper" Isaak said to Raymond. he didn't mind keeper but he did know that he was not very good at intercepting shots fired at the goal. he then smiled when Verlin called Perun cute, and he was glad to see that Ester started to nuzzle the ferret which was a sign that she liked his pet. Perun began to make dooking noises which were like a cross between giggling and chattering, it was noise that was a sign to show that he was happy.

"He likes your cat" he told Verlin with a smile. when he saw Willow returned to the compartment, he mentally groaned, the fifth year must be on the verge of a panic attack with all the people in the compartment. when talk about leaving the compartment came up, Isaak decided that he would leave with Verlin to find a compartment of their own. he would also use to the chance to discuss with her the possible problem that Acacia could pose during the school year.

"well, i guess I'll leave with Verlin. it was good getting to know you all" he said to everyone as he stood up with Perun held in his arms, and waited for Verlin to exit the compartment. he hoped that their cramming of the compartment hadn't completely frightened the shy Gryffindor fifth year. then to his shock, he saw Willow faint and he rushed over to see if she had not received a concussion from the fall.

when Acacia commanded them to leave, he asked "is she alright? has she gotten a concussion?"

-AcE- said
Willow's head was spinning. Yeah, she wanted some alone time (more than anything!) but at the same time, she couldn't just kick everyone out it'd be rude and they'd probably hate her later. And why wasn't the boy taking her licorice? Did she offend...what if he's allergic to licorice?! Oh gosh, Willow, you goofed up again! You shouldn't have helped that girl in the first place, you should know better than to interact with others, it just causes trouble! Who knows how many others got affected by the explosion?Willow held her hands out, "N-n-no it's alright, you can all stay!" But is that really what she wanted? What she wanted right now was to just get to the castle and sleep! She felt completely cornered... How many people were there even? Five? Six? Faces began to blur as the walls started closing in around her. Has the train started moving yet? Why was everyone looking at her? Oh dear....The licorice wand dropped from her hand, onto the floor, quickly followed by Willow's body hitting the ground.

Well.... that was certainly an interesting response to Casimir's light response. Knowing the nature of this girl, she had probably been on the verge of fainting long before he even showed up. There were way too many people crammed in the room of someone who was known for excess timidity, so Casimir figured Willow had been stressed out to reach such a point. Even if she wanted all these people gone, she wouldn't have said anything out of fear.
A rather weak will there, Casimir thought to himself. No matter, he knew will enough that such a thing sometimes needed to be developed, or forced out. Using his wand, Casimir used its invisible power to shove aside others from the seats to create free space. Then, he used the wand to lift Willow up and place her in the spot comfortably.
Now, just who was responsible for this crowd? Not hard to spot that, it was probably Samantha. Typical. That bubbly and popular girl had probably been the cause of this, as well as a few others who were considered popular.

"It's quite obvious that Willow isn't much of a person to be work well in a group of this size, particularly with people who are mostly strangers to her. I suggest you all leave her alone for the time being, particularly those of you known for attracting large crowds."

Casimir eyes shifted over to Samantha and Raymond before glancing over the others. Acacia was commanding others to leave as well, so that was good. He'd leave himself soon enough, as soon as everyone else followed up with his and her commands.

The conversation was interrupted when the door to the compartment slid open. Standing at the door was a girl from Hufflepuff... if he remembered correctly. Gus had seen her sitting a good distance down from the house table in the Great Hall a couple of times, so that only confirmed his suspicions. Through the door, he heard some sort of commotion coming from somewhere done the corridor. It was muffled, but he could just barely make out what the voice was shouting about. Something about clearing out a compartment? He didn't think too much of it, though. Maybe it was a spell gone wrong. That was actually something that happened quite often. To put it gently, the wizarding world was a health and safety nightmare. Turning his attention back to the situation at hand, he said a quick greeting to the newcomer before welcoming her in.

"Sure, come on in. There's plenty of room." Gus smiled, briefly glancing at the long-haired calico currently sprawled across a good portion of the seats. "Mind the cat, though. She gets scratchy sometimes."

Honestly, he barely even noticed the nickname Frankie had just came up for him. In his mind, it was like they had already been friends for years. Which was obviously not true, since their first meeting was less than ten minutes ago or something to that degree. Gus vaguely pondered whether he should invent a little nickname for Frankie. But then again, Frankie was pretty much already a nickname in itself.

"What's your name? I don't know you, so you're probably not very popular."

Wow. That was very forward of her. Gus was just scarcely able to stop himself from clamping a hand over his mouth in sheer shock. Almost immediately, the inner-mediator inside him surfaced. He had to do something to smooth out this awkward situation.

"Well, I wouldn't put it that way." He quickly cut in. Oh god, what if the Hufflepuff girl started crying. That would be bad. Pushing that foreboding thought to the back of his mind, he opted to rationalise the statement. "There are a lot of people in Hogwarts."

Grace & Clarice, a compartment on the Hogwarts express

Grace enjoys a brief bit of small talk with
Clarice then had to excuse herself as she heard a shriek. She told Clarice to stay in the compartment as she slipped out to see what was wrong.

Soon she came across a young Ravensclaw 3rd year who told her of a Black dog wandering the train and pointed which way it went. She next found a group of girls an boys who say they just saw a black panther.

It is the last reported sighting that makes Grace sigh as it is a description she has heard numerous times. Abby her Maine coon has escaped her cage and is now seeking to make mischief.

Grace has to giggle as she encounters more stunned people along the way. Abby is a daunting animal if you've never seen her breed. At 15 pounds an 44 inches in length she is a ebony figure of epic proportion and a world class pain in the but.

Abby dislikes cages and shows it every time she has to travel in one. It's either escape and wander or she sulks for days afterwards.

Elina closes the compartment door behind her "Elina Hirasawa ,4th year Hufflepuff and this is my companion Semmi and no im not that popular" She looks down at the ground and bittes on her lip. "Well, I wouldn't put it that way. There are a lot of people in Hogwarts." She stops with biting her lip and looks at the boy. She gives a quick nod at the boy and lets out a little smile. The fox was sleeping in the cage which Elina held. She takes the fox out of the cage and places it on the seat next to the redhead. She moves the cage under the railing and stand on top of it to place her bag onto the railing. she pushes the cage aside. Elina sits next to the fox and places it on her lap and starts to pet it. "Most of the people know me because I sleep a lot and was held back a class, anyhow what are you names?"

God... They sure were friendly. Brutus could hear them talk from the different compartment, at least the one he sat in was quiet. He scooped his frog up from the floor and placed it back into his vest pocket, it let out another croak and appeared to get comfortable in his pocket. Brutus leaned back in his chair and stared out of the express' window. Another school year, and as a 6th year Brutus was waiting to just get it over with... He sighed and rubbed his temples before closing his book.

Brutus rested his head on his hand and resumed the rest of the ride just staring out the window, his reflection could be seen from the glass. As the woman with the trolled cart of candy walked past, he extended his hand without looking to grab a couple of sweets even if he didn't particularly enjoy it, Brutus would have to settle for it.

Ann was looking through for a compartment to settle in, preferably alone. When she spotted her brother, she figure it was probably the closest to alone she could get, she swung open the door, and plopped herself down next to Brutus. "Hi" she mumbled as she pulled out a bag of stolen candies from the trolley. "Want a chocolate frog?" she asked, lifting up a box and shaking it in his face. "I promise I didn't put any sort of spell on it, those are for everyone else" she reassured, chuckling. She plopped the box onto his lap, and then dug into a box of everyflavor beans.

Ann opened up another bag, which contained her prized possession. She had planned to look at it, alone, but she was with her brother, so she quickly closed the bag and laid back in her seat. "I'm looking forward to this Quidditch season, a whole new generation of first years to look up at me!" she bragged.

Samantha looked around seeing some of them still here. She didnt want to be mean but she did want them all to leave. Poor Willow just wanted to be alone! Was that tooooo much to ask for?! As Samantha stood up she noticed Willow acting a bit strange.....aaaand she fell flat on the ground. "Willow!" She ran to her and tried to help her up. She heard Acacia telling everyone to leave as Samantha looked up at her. "Yeaaaaah. Everyone leave. That's including you aswell, Acacia." She gave her a smile and looked back at Willow. "I got it from here. She is my friend and I am not leaving her. Also because she is one of us. Sooooo you guys can gooo." She said now turning to Willow. "Your gonna be okay. You just need some air to breathe, that is all."

Roy stood in the doorway looking at the group he and Raymond had just joined. Quite an interesting group of people. He wondered what circumstances had drawn such a variety of students into each other's company. The only one he really knew was Samantha. She and Raymond greeted in the usual way. "Oh. Hey." She greeted him. He returned the smile, "How are you doing." She was very friendly person, pretty girl too. Though he had to admit her way of talking sometimes grated on him.

He caught sight of some younger Slytherins, maybe they knew Nolan. There was some talk of Quidditch, but before Roy could really get into the conversation a jumble of things happened. The next thing he knew he was being shoved out by an older Slytherin. He didn't particularly take well to being handled magically like that. Though it was for a good cause, he let it slip. He would remember this older boy now. He decided to just stay out in the doorway. He imagined Raymond would still around as long as possible to make sure the girl was okay. In the meantime, he poked his head into the compartment across from the other.

There were a few Hufflepuff girls chatting over a pile of sweets. "Well hello there ladies. I hate to bother you, but do any of you have some food to spare to a starving artist?" A few confused looks. He pretended to sigh disappointedly, "I see my reputation isn't as great as I thought. I'm Roy Archer, Hogwarts's resident master of visual artistry." That got a few laughs out of them. "Tell you what, how about I prove it to you, and you share your sweets with me?" He picked up a chocolate frog card from the seat closest to him. "Hmm good ol' Dumbledore." He took a seat and opened up his bag pulling out a Muggle pencil and sheet of paper. "Just continue your conversation ladies, I'll be done soon." He went to his work, recreating the picture. The girls went back to their conversation, and he was pleased to see that more than one of them was eyeing him curiously now and then. Though the simple supplies weren't normally what he'd use, he wanted to finish quickly in case Raymond came around looking for him.

"She'll be fine Isaak, she just needs some room to breathe, so all of you need to leave." She said towards the people. "And thank you for getting her onto a seat, Casimir." She said with a brief nod of thanks to the other Slytherin. Her calm demeanor was slightly interrupted however, when Samantha told her she needed to leave. Of course someone would always be difficult and throw a wrench in her plans. No matter, it could be useful to have another person with them. Keeping herself from getting irritated, she turned to face Samantha with a frown.

"She's my friend too, Samantha, so I'm not leaving. Unless you plan on making me, I'm not." She firmly stated. It was obvious that she wasn't going to budge from her position on this matter. "But, i'm not going to argue with you. If you want to stay, you can, but no one else. Willow needs some space, and as it is everyone else needs to leave. NOW." Perhaps that last part was a bit more forceful than people would have normally given credit for, but she had to make it look like she genuinely cared about Willow. She hoped the rest would leave without issue, if not, things might get complicated.

Isaak was somewhat annoyed that Casmir had just whipped out his wand and forcfully moved them instead of just telling them to move. seriously does anyone know how to talk without resorting to magic anymore? ether way he decided it was time to leave and didn't want to get involved with the argument that the older students were getting involved with. before he did, Perun gave a hiss in Acacia's direction and Isaak smiled,

"it looks like animals don't like you Acacia, you know they say that animals can sense bad things in the air and bad things about people, but it probably is just a ridiculous superstition" he said in a sarcastic voice, and with those words he left the compartment chuckling.

"Why don't we go find a new compartment to talk Verlin?" he said back to the Slytherin second year. they had a good amount of things to talk about. he now was glad to have a friend who might help keep an eye on Acacia in case she tried any sort of retribution against ether of them. he held Perun comfortably in his arms and glad that the ferret would get along with Verlin's cat.

Ahhh crap... Raymond really felt felt bad now. Willow was sweet, and didn't want anyone to leave, but he knew she liked her own company. He gave a smile and nod when Verlin introduced herself, seeing her animal features, which was very unusual, but fascinating... And then Willow fainted, he was pushed back by a spell, and then he got orders from Acacia and the older student. He wasn't just going to leave her. Even though she wasn't a fan of crowds, they were still Gryffindors. They had to look out for each other.

Roy left, respectfully. He'll catch up with him later, and as Samantha started to talk, Acacia seemed to show a flash of frustration. She seemed to care for Willow, but never saw her spend time with her for four years until now... He looked at Willow, who was still passed out, but breathing calmly. He trusted Samantha, and Acacia's sincerity meant that Willow was in good hands. "Alright... I'll make my way out." He picked up some of the candy and other objects that fell on to the floor during that little scene. "If anything goes wrong, i'm always eager to help. Gryffindor's look out for each other." He said. Raymond gave one last smile and wink to Samantha "I'll see you in the Great Hall. Nice meeting you, Acacia." Raymond said with a nod and smile to the Slytherin girl.

He walked out of the room, tossing the trash away in a trolley cart trash cane that was passing by. He wondered where Roy went, or anyone else for that matter. He walked by a compartment, hearing girls giggling, and Roy's voice talking about his art. He laughed a bit, and decided to find another compartment with people he knew. Roy would be able to find him, and it'll be nice to catch up with him before school projects and activities get in their way.

Just as he sat down with a group of old friends from a variety of the houses, the Hogwarts gave one final whistle blow, indicating that it was 11:00, and it was on its way to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Fade to Black-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

.

"Yes let's leave Isaak." She looked at the scene before her her tail drooping like a scolded dog. She felt really bad that she caused the girl such distress. She looked at Willow and Samantha as she was leaving, and said "Tell Willow I hope she feels better, and I would be glad to talk in circumstances that better suit her comfort level." She gave a nervous chuckle. If she were actually a wolf her hackles would be full blown raised at Acacia. Leaving the girl with her DID NOT seem like a good idea, but Samantha would be there so at least there would be a buffer.

She turned her back on the compartment, but she didn't like having her back to Acacia at all. She couldn't place it, but that girl just gave her the hebejebez, She laughed in silent mirth at Isaak's last comment before they left. 'A boy after me own heart. I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees her for what she really is.' She thought to herself. Ester jumped into her arms, and gave one last hiss toward the compartment she had now closed the door on. "Yes sweetheart I feel the same way."

The next few hours were enjoyable for Raymond. He talked to friends about the summer, ate some candy, played some exploding snap (somehow they didn't get caught), and were taking about how eager they were to go back to Hogwarts. Raymond heard a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was here. In the fifth year, Raymond might be the most skilled in that field. It came natural to him, and although the written examns weren't the best for him, the physical ones is where he excelled, and he also showed that on the Gryffidor dueling team. He got them to many tournaments, winning only one last year. But after practicing with pronunciation and having his father teach him how to use his wand, Raymond was eager to try it in many other classes. After a few more rounds of Exploding Snap, using the bathroom, and checking to see if Willow was alright (Acacia shooed him away almost immediately...),Raymond fell asleep.

Raymond awoke to the sound of first years gasping and yelling in anticipation of Raymond ran a hand through his messy-perfect hair, and looked out the window. The sun had set, with Twilight orange filling the sky. He gave a smile as he saw the large castle on top of the hill, lights were shining in some of the ancient windows. You could tell though that most of the castle looked newer than the rest. Ever since the major battle that happened here, it had that ancient, natural look, but it still gave off a fresh look.

Arrived at Hogwarts

Students eagerly stepped off the Hogwarts Express, gasping at the view ahead of them. Raymond stepped out, landing on ancient cobblestone, grinning at the sight. "Al'right, ferst years er on the boats, ev'ry one else, on the carraiges!" A loud voice rang. A very large and tall man with a large thick black beard with graying spots stood before them holding a lantern. Hagrid the gamekeeper pointed people the directions they needed to go. Raymond enjoyed his class, he found the creatures of this world, fascinating, but he knew it was dangerous.

Raymond climbed on board of a carriage, his stuff already being sent to the front of his bed in the Gryffindor boy's dorm. He sat down, and looked around, trying to see if anyone he knew was coming his way.

Markus Finch, glanced up from the newspaper as the train jolted to a stop followed by a glance down at his pocket watch. He remains in his seat for a few minutes watching out the window as students get into their carts. After watching for a few minutes he slowly stands putting weight on his cane he slides the cabin door open as a few remaining students file past chatting. Finch grins as he steps down from the train onto the platform remembering the many times he had done this before. Finch limped over to an unoccupied carriage and took a seat watching students pile into other's.