paigesweetheart said
Breathing heavily, Samantha woke up gasping for air. She had a nightmare but she didnt understand what was it.....She looked around and noticed no on, looking at the Window she saw the kids getting off. "Oooh." Samantha was going to be alte! "Waaaait!" She yelled so the train wont leave her. "hold on. One more person is hereee." She looked up to grab her bags but it looked like it was already sent to her Gryffindor dorm. Samantha ran out and her cat behind her as she fell on the ground dirting herself with the dirt. "Awwww." She stood up looking around trying to find one of her friends or boyfriend. Samantha continued to walk brushing the dirt off her clothing. "Lordddd. I really need to stop sleeping..." she noticed Willow sitting on a Carriage she was going to go but she wanted her friend to have some alone time. Besides Willow might be Samantha's roomate. She looked at Raymond and walked towards him sitting next to him, coughing. "Im so sorry, I didnt know what happened to me earlier on." She said fixing her hair and dusting the dirt. Her cat now sitting next to Samantha. "Ray....im sorry for kicking you out earlier. I just wanted Willow to be alone."

When Raymond saw Samantha he stood up, concern on his face. She was covered in dirt and coughing. "Are you alright?" He asked, helping her up. When she apologized Raymond waved the thought away. "You don't need to apologize, love. I understand. I should have realized Willow would have been overwhelmed. And i think it was better that you stayed. Griffyndors look out for each other... I don't think i can say the same for Slytherins looking out for us... Its funny to think that Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin used to be very close friends... and one single point of view is handed down for so long that even their houses have had some bad blood..." He said watching Acacia and Willow climb in to a carriage. Don't get him wrong, he had some good friends in Slytherin house, but there were always the people who make each house look bad, he guessed Slytherin had more of the loud mouthed ones..

He took Samantha's hand, and gave her a smile. "It's good to be back. and we can always check up on Willow when we are in the dorm." He said with a smile, giving her another kiss on the cheek. He was excited for his classes. He had the mandatory transfiguration, charms, History of magic (Raymond loved history), Defense against the dark arts (his favorite), astronomy and herbology (taught by a war veteran Professor Neville Longbottom). He also chose Study of Ancient Runes, and Care for Magical Creatures... his mother was upset that he didn't choose muggle studies, but he felt like he's been taking 16 years of muggle studies.

"I haven't been able to talk to you about your summer!" He said, how was it?" Raymond asked, taking one quick ook around to see if he could see any other familiar faces before Samantha started talking.

Samantha looked up at Raymond. "Yeah. Fine, dont worry about me baby." She smiled at him coughing a bit more as she cleared her throat and continued to speak to Raymond. "I know. I just wanted Willow to be alone and just think stuff through. She wasnt being herself earlier on. And yes. Ofcourse we have to stick together." She said about the Gryffindors always being there for eachother and she continued to speak. "And, Ima be honest but I have a bad feeling about that Acacia chick. She is all." Hairflips and changes her voice almost similar to Acacia. "Its soo hard to be popular, with so many people greeting me." Samantha rolled her eyes raising a leg ontop of the other and going back to her regular voice"I mean..Acacia is popular and all but she is too.....ummm concieted!" She shooked her head and sighed resting her head on Raymond's shoulder. "Im just keeping an eye on her." She blushed when Raymond kissed her and grabbed her hand. "My summer? It was great. Me and my aunt just focused on potion making, which im good at now. Aaand you know how my mom is...i havent seen her in years, so i dont know about her. I didnt go out much though. What about you?" She said leaning forward and giving Raymond a peck on the lips and waited for his response.

After the compartment where Willow had fainted in was cleared out, Casimir had promptly left the area and returned to his own room. He made some small talk with Artemis, bought a few things from the trolley, snacked, and then fell asleep. As far as he remembered, he slept for the remainder of the train ride, making the whole trip a quicker affair for him than usual.
Casimir, along with everyone else who was on the train, arrived at Hogwarts a few hours later. He unboarded the train and greeted Hagrid out of respect before taking the boats to the mainland. Now it was time to take a ride on the carriages pulled by seemingly invisible horses.... except they weren't horses. Casimir couldn't see them, but he knew what they were. Thestrals. They were creatures that could only be seen unless one saw death, which up to this point, Casimir had seen none.... Thankfully...? The Slytherin also knew that many of the people who could see the invisible creatures only could because they witnessed the death of a family member, usually after said person died after experimenting with magic. Casimir would honestly be crushed if any one of his family died, as it would basically make him start losing the only people he really had in the world.

"Only a bit more waiting to do before we finally arrive at the actual school," Casimir said as he took an empty carriage for himself.

Raymond couldn't help but give a small smirk as she mimicked Acacia. "Yeah... I didn't hear her talk much, but from what the second years said before they left, they seem to know something... I don't know. It isn't safe to go around pointing fingers. It can get someone in trouble." He listened to Samantha talking about her summer, smiling at the mention of potions, but a sincere nod when talking about her mother he was about to respond to her answer until she gave him a quick kiss. It had been too long since they were together, the sweet memories made him lose his train of thought. He laughed a bit and smiled, giving a quick kiss back.

"My summer was a typical one for us. My mom kept staring through a window at our neighbors, taking notes on their actions, going to parties and all that... forcing me to tag along so she can hear the 'teenager experience'... And when my dad wasn't away, he was helping me with my wand..." He didn't need to bring up his first year, where a simple "alohomora" spell turned to him burning a door to the ground. "We also traveled to my mother's family beach house up north for a few days... but it was mostly chores for the rest of the summer."

As he was talking the carriages started to move as everyone was in and ready to go. When he stopped talking, the carriages stopped at a bride suspended over a large canyon. Everyone started to pile out, Raymond still holding Samantha's hand as he started to walk across the bridge. He couldn't get the grin off his face as they got closer and closer to the huge wooden doors in the courtyard. Everyone was chattering loudly, eager to seeing who joined which house, and of course the delicious food.

The giant doors opened, the torches on the walls coming to life in to the main hall. Across the large room was the staircases, the always moving stair cases that lead everone to their house dorms. To the left was a doorway that lead to classrooms in the castle, and the right passageway lead to the dining hall. Once again the doors were opened to reveal four very long and large wooden tables with various amounts of food that looked absolutely delicious.

The ceiling of the room matched the sky outside. candles floated around, with light clouds, and mutliple stars in the black ceiling. Raymond smiled, and looked to see the head table which held the headmaster, the teachers and staff, and guests were not all filled yet. But the veterans knew the drill. They were to go to their designated tables, represented by their House banners over the tables. The students took their seats, waiting for the first years to arrive and the ceremony and announcements to begin.

Elina gets of the train being almost one of the last ''it was fun knowing you'' she said to augustus and gave a little wave while walking of to one of the carriages. She looks back at the train where a girl just fell down in all the hurry but didn't really care to help. There was one carriage that was not so crowded as the others, there was a man siting in the carriage, the man had grey hair so I reckon he is pretty old he also had a wooden stick with him but not much more then that. She ends up joining the man, she goes and sits on the opposite side of the man and tries to start a conversation ''Hi, umm are you new here I didn't see you around that much'' She tightens the grip around the fox that she held in her arms being a bit nervous.

Verlin listened to the boy tell about his uncle until he was done. She wasn't really sure how to respond to what Isaak was telling her. Instead she went up to him and wrapped her arms around him in a gentle friendly hug, and then pulled away. "Living honorably isn't a goal I often hear about. In the modern world honor has sort of become less important." She was finding herself liking Isaak more and more. "I can dig the whole honor thing. My ma enrolled me in some martial arts classes, and they taught me a lot about honor."

She was deeply touched by the boy trusting her, and found herself revealing more than she would to most "My da died when I was ten as well.". After all Slytherin's as a rule weren't known for being open books. She felt a promise rise to her lips, and she tapped her finger against her lip as if debating how to say, but she decided just coming right out with it was probably the best choice. "I'll tell you what I'll try out for the team too." She blushed feeling a little embarrassed. "If I become a Beater I can at least protect you a bit." She chuckled a bit, and realized the symbol on her robes might carry a deeper meaning.

She also caught the part about people being manipulative and not being honest about who they were. Her face got serious as she thought about Acacia. "By the way I've been meaning to ask what did I interrupt between you and Acacia. She didn't give me that look for nothing." She paused debating if she was being paranoid. She closed her eyes, and felt the gentle rocking of the carriage for a minute. "That girl...She creeps me out...I don't trust her. I want to rescue that poor Willow girl from her clutches....I don't know why though.... She seem's friendly on the surface." She tapped her finger to her lips searching for the right metaphor for what she was thinking "But it's kind of like a stray cat who purrs, and acts friendly at first, but then scratches you."

Gus was one of the last people to get onto the Thestral-drawn carriages, having spent a good amount of time wrangling Charlie and trying to her back into her carrier for the time being. The cat had bolted as soon as the train pulled into Hogsmeade Station, and Gus had been forced to scour the vicinity for any sign of her. Thankfully, he'd been able to locate and recapture the long-haired calico before everyone had left without him.

When he actually managed to get to the carriages, most of them had left already. The only ones left were either empty or had tardy members of the school faculty in them. All Gus knew was that there was no way in hell he was riding with any of the professors. Especially not when he managed to miss out an entire month's worth of coursework due to his rather unfortunately timed injury the previous school year. Picking an empty carriage, it was soon time to take off. While he couldn't actually see the Thestrals pulling the carriages, Gus knew what they were. After all, they did cover the topic of Thestrals in Care of Magical Creatures.

As the multiple carriages glided through the air, Gus could see Hogwarts slowly coming into view. Silhouetted against the backdrop of the night sky, the castle was slowly beginning to light up. Soon enough, they had arrived at their destination. Students began to pile out from the carriages onto the bridge leading to the school. The chattering of excited students filled the air as everyone began to crowd into Hogwarts. At the corner of his eye, he spotted some of his buddies from the Quidditch team. Grinning, Gus made his way over to them, expertly weaving through the crowd.

Within moments, Gus and his friends were engaged in a conversation about anything and everything under the sun. They hadn't seen each other since for a long while and had a lot to catch up on. Finding their seats at the Hufflepuff table in the Great Hall, Gus spotted Grace; one of the prefects sitting at the head of the table. She was in the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, too. Giving her a little wave, he briefly turned his attention to the high table. The sorting ceremony was going to start soon, and he wondered which of the first-years would end up joining Hufflepuff.

Finch sat gazing at the Thestrals when suddenly he felt the weight of the carriages shift as if someone was climbing in, he turned eyes widening a bit in surprise to see a Young girl with long brown hair step up and into a seat.

''Hi, umm are you new here I didn't see you around that much'' The girl said.

A slight Smirk tugged at Finches lips, why we're people always to nervous when they met him? Finch extended his hand in greeting as a broad smile covered his face.
"Hello young lady, my name is Markus Finch."
"I'm here on special Auror business, but this is not my first time at Hogwarts, I used to go here believe it or not."
He chucked softly taking a glance around for any other students without carts, noticing a few he decides to wait longer.
"Now young lady... what is your name." He said, his smile dimming to a slight grin.

The arrival of two new girls took Frankie by surprise and at their request for a seat, she happily nodded. "Yeah, go right ahead."

Jabber squirmed a bit in her arms, anxious to explore, and began yowling obnoxiously. It only took a tap on his pink nose to make him shut up and the cat seemed to pout and sulk. Frankie shoved her hand into the air, offering it whilst introducing herself: "I am Frankie Blackwood from Ravenclaw."

One of the girls looked oddly familiar and Frankie struggled to put a name to her face. "Who are you?" She asked bluntly, pointing at the Slytherin.

there were some things that Isaak didn't expect to get from Slytherins, and one of those things was a hug. he was taken by surprise when Verlin did that, but it was a caring hug and a show of understanding. Aside from his family, not very many people gave him hugs and he never expected one to come while he was at Hogwarts, but it happened and he was glad that there were some Slytherins who were fine with showing kindness. when he heard her talk about joining the team as a beater to protect him, he smiled and responded, "Thanks but I don't think I'll need too much protecting, but I do think you should still try out for the team and we might be able to win the Quidditch cup for Slytherin this year."

it would be great to get on the Quidditch team together with a friend, and it would be an opportunity for the both of them to become popular among their house. he then answered Verlin's question about interrupting his and Acacia's conversation, "you didn't interrupt anything important, we were just talking mostly about our favorite subjects with the Gryffindors. i think she gave you that look because that Gryffindor named Willow is very shy of crowds and Acacia just wanted you gone. i also can tell that there is something off about Acacia, she is very manipulative and puts on a charade with the members of the other houses to become friends with them. i don't know why she is doing this but i too feel that we need to watch her and see if we can find out what her true intentions are."

the carriages soon came to a halt and it was time for them to get out of the carriage and head into the school. even before they entered Hogwarts, Isaak still marveled at the wonder of the castle and the mystical feel of it. upon entering the school, Isaak was met with the familiar sight of the beautiful interior of Hogwarts and memories of his first year came flooding back to him. it was just magical being able to once again attend the great school.

"It feels so wonderful to be back at Hogwarts again, don't you agree?" he asked Verlin with a smile. he was curious to see the how the sorting ceremony would go and then the feast would happen and there would be more food than he could imagine.

She gives Markus a gentle hand ,the hand was bigger and felt pretty strong. "Hi my name is Elina Hirasawa, im a 4th year hufflepuff." She carefully inspected Finch like she has never seen an old man before. The fox that she held with the other hand escaped from Elinas arm and jumped on the bench that Finch was sitting on, the fox started to sniff Finch and jumped back onto the other bench sleeping once again. Finch started talking again "I'm here on special Auror business, but this is not my first time at Hogwarts, I used to go here believe it or not." "I didn't hear of any dark magic crimes recently on Hogwarts ,Do you mind telling what your exactly here for?" She takes some strawberry flavored candy's out of her bag and opened it leaving a strong smell.

Samantha smiled at Raymond as he began to tell her about his adventures with his parents. Atleast he had fun day with his parents. All she did was make potions with her aunt and thats it. They were still holding hands and Raymond kissing her made her blush, she missed Raymond so much. He was the only one who understood her also Willow. Raymond and Willow were very important to her and she will do anything to help them in whatever. "Atleast you had a fun summer. I mean you got to go, to your mother's beach house. Haha. Dosent matter the chores, you had fun babe." As they were talking, the carriages started to move. "Finally." But suddenly stopped in the bridge. Both Raymond and Samantha walked across the bridge holding hands when the door suddenly opened. Due to her excitement she squeezed Raymond's hand softly. "Ah. Im so happy, Ray!"

As they walked she noticed the huge doors opening again as it revealed four long wooden tables for each type of class. Hufflepuff, Gryffindor , Slytherin and Ravenclaw. It was all so beautiful like how she expected! This was going to be a good year, she could feel it! Especially because she cant wait for her favorite class, "Charms." Following with Defense against the dark arts and history of magic, her all three time faves. She liked the others but these three were the best for her. Oh and ofcourse potion making! But she has became really good with it. As they walked into the room, she noticed students getting to their seats. She turned to Raymond smiling. "Well. I know you want to go with your friends to sit down with them. Soo I wont hold you back babe." She smiled kissing him on the lips. "See you later." She winked at him and went to sit down at the Gryffindor table, waiting for Willow if she was going to come.

Finch listened to the girl ask about his assignment, nodding slowly as she did.
"Sorry Miss Hirasawa but I can't talk about it right now." He said in a gravelly voice, He reached a hand towards the Fox as it neared him but it leaped away before he could touch it.
"Lovely creatures Foxes, special to me specifically. " He said as he showed her the the head of his cane was a carved wooden fox head.
And as he did this the last of the carriages including theirs began moving towards the castle.

For the carriage ride, Willow remained silent, not wanting to draw attention to herself. She was content with listening to Frankie and Acacia talk. She wasn't paying much attention, however, instead watching the trees whiz by as the carriage pulled forward.

A smile spread across Willow's face as she entered the castle, taking in the paintings and the moving staircases. The large ceiling stretched above her as she walked into the Great Hall, tiny stars blinking against a dark sky. She scanned the table filled with delicious food, seeing all the seats being quickly taken. Willow recognized Samantha and timidly approached.

"D-d-do you mind if I sit here?" She asks, praying she won't be rejected.

Acacia stared at the girl for a brief second, processing what she had just asked. She wasn't used to someone not knowing who she was. Most students, even new first years had heard of her at least from their older siblings, if they had any. She supposed she shouldn't be that surprised that someone could not know who she was. The best course of action here, would be to simply reply to the girls question.

"Acacia...Acacia Cornet." She said with a friendly smile to Franike. "Fourth year Slytherin. And this here is Willow. Don't mind her though, she's a bit shy. Nice to meet you, Frankie."

As she introduced herself, the carriage began to move, carrying the three of them towards Hogwarts. The carriage ride, was, more or less uneventful. Her and Frankie talked for a bit, but for the most part they had remained quiet as the Thestrals carried them to their destination. It was a sight to behold, as always. Though, the view was lost on Acacia, who cared little for such things. It was a nice distraction, though. Soon, the carriage came to a halt, and she, Willow, and Frankie left their carriage. Acacia said goodbye to both of them, deciding it was finally time she had a break from the little klutz, soon finding her way to the Slytherin table.

"Hello, Acacia. We were wondering when you were going to show up." One of the other Slytherin students said as she took a seat. "So, some of us saw you with that useless Gryffindor. That idiot Willow."

"Oh, that sorry excuse for a pureblood? Yeah, I was with her." She replied to the group of Slytherins. "You hear about someone fainting on the train? Yeah, that was her, and I was there. Let me start from the beginning. It was hilarious. She trailed off, telling the other students about what transpired, and soon, most of table was laughing at Willows episode, more than a few throwing her a mean look as she walked into the Great Hall.

Ann ignored the person who had arrived on her carriage, like she did most people who weren't her brother. However, what was said about the fainting girl interested her. Oh how many wonderful pranks could be played on someone who could faint so easily. Of course, frog in the goblet wasn't going to be an option, as he had denied it. Oh well, she would just find some other frog that wasn't Brutus Jr. the reason why her brother named his frog after himself was a complete mystery to her,and she was quite frankly afraid to ask. Maybe he was lonely? The thought of her brother having a soft core like that creeped her out slightly, and she decided to stray from the topic. After all, she had Quidditch to think about.

Quidditch, her main sport, where she bragged she was highly above average, and this was the year she planned to become captain. After all, it was her last year at Hogwarts, and the trophy was nice but she hadn't been elected captain once. Probably because of her attitude towards others. No mind it, she would force them to vote for her whether they liked it or not. Not to mention she had practiced flying around her house during the summer away.

Samantha sat down looking at the others from her table chit and chatting about what happened in their summer. Samantha smiled at them, happy that the Gryffindors were the only ones who were laughing and just having a good time in their first day. She turned her head noticing Willow and asked her if she could have a sit. "Ofcourse you can! I was hoping you will. Im sorry that I left you earlier with Acacia." She smiled at Willow. "Raymond is gonna be sitting with his friends. Sooo its just you and me! Plus! We are roommates!" She giggled clapping with excitement. She was so happy! Samantha then noticed Acacia going to her table and then they all began to laugh and look at Willow mean. Samantha raised an eyebrow but ignored them looking back at Willow. "People so phony these days." She sighed shaking her head and looking at Willow. "Are you okay? Willow. I really worry about you. Sooo if you ever need me just tell me. On anything, ill be there.~" she smiled at Willow.

She looks a bit dissapointed that he couldn't give any information away. "Lovely creatures Foxes, special to me specifically. " The wooden cane was in perfect state and the fox head was really detailed, that was no ordinary cane that you would see much around. "Why is there a fox head on your cane? you don´t see those much around, did you make it yourself?" She askes almost hanging over him. The carriage ride continued on with some fun conversations but nothing to special.

they were at the castle in no time. they got off the carriage and entered the castle through the large wooden front doors. "Goodbye mister Finch, ill see you around" said Elina in a bit of a high pitched voice. She takes out a small mirror out of her bag and sees that she is still a bit dirty from the explosion from before. Well hopefully nobody will notices it. She runned to the large table filled with all kind of delicious food, she stopped a minute and stared at it with big glassy eyes.

Then suddenly she sees Grace Goodspeed sitting at the tabel, a former classmate of her, they weren't that good of friends but they worked together sometimes. Elina stands tiptoed and waves at her but it doesn't look like she sees it. There is a small spot left between some students. She puts the fox back in his cage and sits down putting the cage and her bag both under the chair. She hears some rummors about a girl fainting in the train and that its fun to play prank s on people that fainted, being a bit frightend myself that someone would play a prank on me. Elina couldn't think of anything else till the opening ceremony began.

Acacia Cornet - of course Frankie knew of her, but she had never spoken to the girl. Frankie was one who was a bit below popularity standards: she was too honest, too out there, and always forgot names on a daily basis. She once became best friends with someone back when she was six and hadn't known her name for two straight weeks. So, Frankie never bothered with looking out for the popular ones. She enjoyed the juicy gossip they usually brought though. Acacia herself was never a part of anything bad, the epitome of perfection many in Ravenclaw had said (not that Ravenclaw worshipped her or anything). The redhead knew of a few people who talked to the younger Slytherin once or twice.

Hogwarts was a beautiful place, this was a fact, but Frankie preferred the pictures of the old castle. The two Hogwarts had the same layout and essentially looked the same, but the old Hogwarts had an ancient feeling to it. Looking at it, Frankie thought of the things that could've happened there - the excursions of Harry Potter, the evils of Voldemort; it was all exciting to her. Arriving into the Great Hall, Frankie found her Ravenclaw friends and sat down, quickly jumping into a tale of her summer of Shakespeare and Homer.

"I hate Romeo and Juliet..." Frankie began, anxious for the beginning of the school year.

Casimir let out a satisfied sigh as the carriages finally arrived at the great doors of Hogwarts. Other than the school year that was about to begin, Casimir was excited for the bountiful feast he was about to gorge himself with. Since day one at this school, Casimir would have his maximum fill with the food. It made up for all the hunger he had to go through during the day.

When he walked into the Great Hall, the Slytherin made his way over to, where else, the Slytherin table. He gave a few nod of respects to his fellows as he walked, but just when he was about to sit down, he heard a familiar voice. Acacia's. She was badmouthing Willow, making it evident that all that "care" she had shown her during the train ride was nothing but a spiel. This... irritated Casimir, something surprising for a Slytherin, and even for himself. He had no business standing up for the timid girl or confronting someone else for being manipulative. He was manipulative himself and even praised those who could manipulate successfully. However, this.... this was just sad. Willow, a girl who couldn't even keep her cool in a room full of people, being treated and used for this? That was a waste of guile, and frankly not fair to the timid Gryffindor.

"Oh, that Mother Hen attitude with Willow was a front like everything else I see. Great job Acacia, deceiving someone as frail and trusting as her is a wonderful accomplishment."

There was obvious sarcasm in his voice.