[IC] Harry Potter- Ignition Year one

[WanderingSpirit]

"Oh hello." He said slightly surprised, but calmness was still in his voice as he noticed the boy's hair chanced colors. He had read about people who could transform into animals but transforming one's own appearance was something that surprised him but he accepted that the Wizard World was going to be one weird place when he stepped onto this train. The train whistle had blew right before this and Alistair had noticed that the hallway in the trolley were beginning to be filled with students finding a cabin to stay in and it continued for several minutes before the activity died down. He had his wand in his hand, fiddling it with his two hands nervously as he started to greet Magnus who had introduced himself to the two.

His gaze had altered from Felix and was now onto Magnus. "My name is Alistair and If he wants, the other guy will introduce himself." He said not wanting to speak for someone else before coughing slightly. "Pleased to meet the two of you" smiling to Magnus as well as his owl before he looked back at Felix. He was nervous now that the other guy started talking it would become awkward but he would have to wait and see...

[TaliPaendrag]

Acacia was sitting quietly as the Hogwarts Express started to move, unsure where to take their current conversation. Perhaps she should just open her luggage and start reading through one of those books she bought. It would give her a head start over the other sudents, and she would gladly welcome any edge she could get. Plus, she was never one for this friendly socializing thing all that much. However, before she could act on her thoughts, a girl was shoved roughly into the room by some of the people outside that were still getting settled and trying to get to wherever they were going. Blue eyes, brown hair...sort of a vulnerable look to her, though that was probably just her imagination. Still, she got the feeling that she might not like this girl all that much.

She expected her to say something. That would have been the normal thing to do here. Acacia was somewhat surprised at what she did though, and a bit confused. The girl, who was apparently named Dani, took out a marker and began to write on it. Could she not speak or something? Maybe she was just nervous. She was sure there was some magic that could help with that. Whatever the case though, she supposed she should say something before the silence got awkward.

"Acacia Coronet," She replied with a friendly smile. "Pleasure to meet you, Dani." She wondering if asking about the board would be awkward or something. Not that she actually cared in the end, but she was trying to build a repuation here. Might as well see what happened at least. "So, if I may ask, what's with the board?" She almost added some snide remark about it, but managed to contain herself. She was trying to be friendly here.

~~~

"That's a pretty name," Dani wrote, a little surprised by how exotic it sounded. More than that, however, was the swirl of colors that it sent rushing through her mind when it was said out loud. A vibrant mix of purples, blues, and greens all flowing as if in a dance. Yes, Dani could say with a certainty that Acacia was indeed a pretty name. The girl's last name, Coronet, wasn't nearly as pretty as her first name was, though it did add a splash of warmth to the overall image, namely by adding a few orange and red shades to the mix.

"I suppose that I should say that my last name is Carson to be fair," Dani wrote, feeling that she didn't really give a proper introduction as Acacia had, being used to giving more informal introductions. Acacia certainly did have a... "proper" air about her. Hopefully Dani wouldn't be offensive to the other girl.

Acacia asking about the whiteboard kept Dani from really contemplating why the boy with brown hair hadn't yet spoken up apart from the thought that he might just be a silent kind of guy. "I'm mute, so I can't speak at all," she wrote after erasing the board. This time she made sure to show it to both of them, as answering the same question twice tended to get annoying fairly quickly.

"If you don't mind my asking," Dani wrote, "what are you looking forward to this year? I'm rather new to the whole thing." Dani did feel a little hesitant about admitting her ignorance concerning everything magical, but she figured that it would be better to get some insight from someone who seemed to know what was going on than to hold onto her pride.

[World Traveler]

The small trio including Devin had managed to survive their first introductions as they once again went in a short circle giving their names. Devin was starting to get conscious of his accent and was trying to speak as little as possible. This became infinitely more difficult when the boy named Jake brought up sports. Before he launched himself into a all revealing breakdown of his top sports he remembered what happened when he did that to his magical family on a day trip with his grandmother. The blank stares said all they needed. He also tensed up after hearing Jake use the word muggle. It was a term he found uncomfortable.

When the girl named Roze talked about sports he knew of he relaxed a bit. "I play a lot of baseball back home, but I also like American Football." Devin figured if someone knew about swimming they had enough to know what at least one of those were. The conversation then returned to school with the the topic of houses. Since his own opinion was completely based on what his grandmothers. He had talked to his dad about the houses and he seemed to like the idea of Ravenclaw since it sounded like the must academic.

"My grandma said she thinks I'll be in Gryffindor, but I think my parents want me in Ravenclaw." Devin said this with a shrug. He knew the fact that so often the topic of houses was brought up that they were important ; however he just couldn't seem to get excited about it. Maybe it would change when he put on the hat. "Jake is from a family of Gryffindor so I think that is his goal."

[MiddleEarthRoze]

Again, Rozalia kept her rather negative opinion of the sports mentioned by Devin to herself, not wanting to offend him. However, she did brighten up at the mention of Ravenclaw.
"Ravenclaw sounds interesting. My big brother was in Gryffindor, and my Mum was in Hufflepuff. Other than Ravenclaw, I don't really have a preference." She said honestly. She hadn't even thought about the others all that much. She supposed Slytherin would be interesting too, considering no-one in her family had been in it as well as Ravenclaw... but the house of the witty sounded like the right place for her.
Scratching Sora's ears absent-mindedly, she peered out of the window. It was still around noon time, with the sun high in the sky.. In no time at all, she as sure it would soon disappear beneath the rolling hills and farmer's fields that they were passing by in a green blur. Speaking of noon, her stomach growled quietly. Her breakfast seemed like it had been years ago by now - she wondered idly when the sweet cart would come buy. She'd brought some more traditional Muggle snacks with her - Doritos, Pepsi, Minstrels, stuff like that - but she was interested to see what Magical treats would be on offer. Although being a half-blood, she hadn't seen nearly as much of the Wizarding world as she would have liked. She supposed she couldn't blame her family though. The only person with wizard blood left in her family was Leo, and he had to work nearly all the time. Her Dad couldn't get into Diagon Alley without Leo, and even when Roze's own powers had shown up - and she was able to go to Diagon Alley herself - her Dad had started working again.It had been hard for them all, these past few months... but now she was going to Hogwarts, making it easier on everyone.
In her silent musings, her hair died down from it's vibrant blonde to her usual chestnut brown, her eyes swiftly matching it. It took her a few seconds to notice the stares she was getting from the boys, but she didn't say anything. Surely, they must know what a Metamorphagus was?

[Turtles]

"The wandmaker said it was cherry wood with a phoenix feather core. Pretty average." Felix was wondering if the other boy would ever talk. Suddenly, the quiet boy introduced himself as Magnus. "Hello Magnus. My name is Felix. Pleased to meet you." Felix said as he begins to stroke Norman's fur.

Felix got very excited as the train began to pull out of the station. In a few hours, he would be at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He began to day dream about being on the Quidditch team. The crowds were cheering, and he was playing as a keeper in the championship. Felix snapped into reality as Norman scratched at him, wanting more attention.

[WanderingSpirit]

Alistair smiled at the boy's wand thinking curiously wondering that they both had the same wands but he wouldn't tell the other boy yet as he looked at Magnus. Wondering if he had noticed that his hair had changed colors, but he awaited for when he did, as he looked out the window staring deeply into the scenery. He sighed as he looked away, thinking about how this was going to be a long journey and glanced at his cabin mates. Thinking about a question to ask them that would make everything not seem so quiet as it grew boring at times staring out of his window.

He slouched on his seat as he did he held his wand in his hand. He earlier was fiddling around with it but now he wanted to do something with it, but he wasn't sure if it was allowed but he was willing to get in trouble to see what these other students knew. It would be nice to see if anyone else studied the spells before they came to the school, cause for all he knew it was just himself so far. And he didn't want to talk to 2nd years about spells because that would be awkward... But he put that though in the back of his head for now... and asked a different question, one that would sooner or latter bring the magical spells into the conversation.

"How long do you think this will take to get us to Hogwarts?" He asked nonchalantly, he already knew how long it indeed took but was wondering if the other two boys knew anything about where they were going. Since the two didn't seem to talk much about Hogwarts he might as well introduce the topic so at least they had a subject to talk about, making this conversation easier at least. Meanwhile, he put the wand back into his pocket and got out his notebook beginning to study the spells that he had jotted down in them and silently read them back to himself.

[Rune_Alchemist]

So the girl was mute. It could be fun to toy with her if Acacia could get on her good side. After all, it wasn't like she'd have much...say in the matter should someone take away that little board of hers. Should be easy to fake an 'accident' with it that could get it damaged beyond use. Until she learned some other way to speak using magic, at least. She was quite certain there were a few spells that could help with that, and since this girl didn't know of any it was likely she was a muggle born who didn't have any experience with magic at all. The girls question merely confirmed her suspicions. Well, what better way to start a year than to toy with a first year? Acacia turned to Dani and gave her a friendly smile before answering her question.

"Me? Hrmm...I want to finally learn some spells!" She excitedly stated, a huge grin coming across her face, leaning over a bit and possibly getting a bit to close to the other girl. Oops. "I mean," She continued, shaking her head and blushing slightly, looking back out the window. She hadn't meant to sound that excited. While she certainly was excited for that, there was no need to advertise just how much she was. "My older brothers talk about how great they both are, so I'm glad I'm finally going to get a chance to show them who the real boss is around the house." She chuckled mischievously, turning back to Dani. "That, and I'm just glad to get away from them and my parents. I'll show them I'm ten times better than they are." Her tone suddenly took a slightly darker tone as she said that last bit. "They just better hope I don't end up in Gryffindor..." She muttered, again expressing her distaste for the house.

"Enough about me though!" She continued, whatever dark tone she had taken vanishing in an instant and replaced by her usual cheery tone. "You're not from a magic family then? Well, I can tell you a lot of stuff if you have questions. My family has been coming to Hogwarts for generations and I practically know everything they do here. You know about the houses? Luke and I were discussing which ones we wanted to be in before you walked in on us."

[Eyeris]

Caelum was engrossed in her task. Using the darkest pencil to press and shade the curve of the wheel, then the grey and white to scrape into existence the smoke of the steam engine. Her pencil stopped mid-stroke whilst outlining the conductor when she heard a noise at the door.

Caelum looked up into a pair of blue eyes, set upon a pale face framed by wild black curls. Perfect curls. Cae’s eyes quickly traveled up and down the girl’s body, like a machine scanner in a movie. If Cae were older it might look like she was checking the other girl out, but it was nothing of the sort. It was a wardrobe evaluation.

Caelum was impressed, it was a very well put together outfit, the hat especially was super-cute. Clean, nice brands, well cared for, ironed and hemmed properly. The girl even wore a bit of makeup, something unique for their age group, but not unheard of at the first day of school. Caelum wondered if she wore makeup all the time.

Caelum was reminded, and disheartened, that Hogwarts had a uniform. Floor length plain black robes. Dour, drab, dark, and worst of all exactly-the-same-robes-that-everyone-else-was-wearing. Caelum wondered how strict the policy was, different schools had different levels of dress code enforcement. Perhaps she could distinguish herself with makeup or earrings, her hairstyle or even it’s color! She had already spotted a few students who had dyed their hair bright colors.

The girl sat down, before Caelum had the chance to respond to the question. She was bold, Caelum appreciated that the girl was taking the lead in their social interaction, she even offered Caelum a mint.

“Thank you.” She responded, setting down her sketchbook and reaching into the mints. She was careful to only touch the one she was taking. “My name is Caelum. Your hat is super cute.” Caelum smiled at the other girl, inwardly admiring her eyes and curls.

[Avanhelsing]

Jake listened as they both talked. He might be a bit loud but he was clever. He could tell that Devlin did not care for the word muggle, which confused Jake to no end. That was the proper term wasn't it? Muggle was more polite than the other words he had heard. Why them would Devlin be so quiet? He acted like he was being interrogated. All Jake was doing was asking him simple questions. He was being better than his brothers would be in this situation. They were far more loud than Jake.

Jake scratched his head. "Wait baseball? I've never heard of that game? Is it fun? I haven't heard of American football. I know Football since I learned how to play with the non magical kids in the village. I've never heard of an American version. " He said confused. He clearly was not all that knowledgable in muggle things. His partners however seemed quite knowledgable. Martin purred in his sleep as he calmy sat in his lap.

He watched Roze 's hair change color and comprehension spread across his face. "You're a Metamorphagus! "He said quickly. "My brother Henry works with one at Auror's Office. They can change their looks." He quickly explained to Devlin. "It's really rare. " He said in awe. He had never seen one before and thought Henry was lying about them. Roze proved that wrong.

Jake was going to say something when his stomach rumbled. Meals at the Masters house were always insane so Jake had learned to cook for himself. He had a peanut butter and jelly sand which in his bag. He had started to like them when he went into the village. He also had a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean box in there. His father had a sweet tooth and had given it to his youngest. Jake pulled out the strange shaped box and smiled. "Either of you want one? I love these things since I'm usually lucky to not get a vomit flavored one... Oh they are Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean. They do mean every flavor. Henry once got a troll bogey one. His face was classic. " He said laughing offering the box to the two of them. Once they were done he would take the box back.

[MissCapnCrunch]

As the girl used her petite fingers to grab out a mint, Pearleane's dark almond eyes creased into small slits as she nodded, happy that the girl took her up on her offer. Her pudgy fingers closed the tin with a small clinking noise, as she placed it back into her purse. Most of the contents of her purse were various snacks, some tissues, and a note from her mother to be good, and to have some fun.

“My name is Caelum. Your hat is super cute.”

Pearleane gleamed. She took great effort and thought into her outfits, though her mother did most of the work. The young girl thought it was very important to look presentable at all times. She wasn't vain nor high maintenance, but a small bit of lipstick and a well designed jacket said a lot about a person versus someone that didn't care. "Thankyou Caelum!" Pearleane gushed, taking her hat and examining it for herself as if she hadn't noticed it before, she placed it on the arm of the seat once she was done, looking back up to the girl. "I'm Pearleane Pompaque. You can call me Pearleane though." the girl started, "Before you say it, yes, my initials are PP, please don't tell everyone that though." she pouted, the top of her boot scuffing along the floor. Pearleane was quite the air head when it came down to it.

"What are- were, you drawing?" the girl asked curiously, not concerned about the girl's privacy in the slightest.

[reem]

Luke had kept quiet, lost in his own thoughts. The new girl wasn't even nearly as cute as Acacia was. She was the kind of girl, a "kick me" sign could be taped to. He ignored the mute girl for the most part, not that it was hard to do, until she had started sharing her board. Dani asked what he was looking forward to the most. Luke thought about it for a moment, before speaking up. He decided to play the friend card in his best interest.

"I'm looking forward to meeting new people," also to be able to control other people he thought, as he let Acaia talk to Dani. When Gryffindor's name was thrown out there Luke got excited, he wanted to prove himself better than any Gryffindor, and his real challengers. It was something he was really looking forward too. It was time to make more friends, he thought.

He got up and straightened his suit. It was game time. He looked at the girls and wondered if they would join him.

"Well, I'm officially bored... I'm going to check on the other students. Would you ladies be interested in joining me?"

[MiddleEarthRoze]

Roze smiled somewhat wistfully as Jake blurted out her power.
"Yeah... I'm not a full one though. No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to change my appearance on purpose." She said, then paused, frowning slightly. "No, wait. I'm sure one day I concentrated really hard, and my eyebrows became huge! But they went back to normal pretty quickly." She said, swinging her legs slightly on the chair. "My hair and eyes change according to my mood. I can't control it, so it makes me an awful liar." She said with a sheepish grin.
However, the grin gave way to suspicion as she peered into the box Jake had offered. She'd heard of these before - although never allowing her to try any, Leo had brought some home every summer along with the rest of the wizarding sweets. Exclamations of disgust and retches often came from his room when he partook in Berty Bott's every flavour beans.
"I suppose one can't hurt." She said with a grin, reaching forward and taking a dark red one - it looked somewhat familiar to a kidney bean, but less brown. Hoping it wouldn't taste of kidney beans - god, she hated those monstrosities - she placed it in her mouth and chewed hesitantly. It tasted funny, not the strawberry she had been hoping for. A coppery, salty taste filled her mouth, and she swallowed with a shudder.
"Ew! I got blood flavour. Yuch!" She laughed, sticking her tongue out at Jake. Grabbing her bulky knapsack - a white colour that she had doodled on over the weeks after the purchase with various coloured sharpies. giving it an almost rainbow hue in the cavalcade of swirls, clouds, explosions, and other various things - she began rummaging inside it. Tossing aside a bag of cat treats - which Sora began to paw at almost immediately - , she finally found what she was looking for.
"Ahah! Ever tried one of these?" She questioned the boys, taking out a box of Oreo cookies. Opening it and placing one in her mouth - hopefully it chased the blood taste away - she offered it to the boys.

[soren]

Magnus looked back over at Alistair. "Oh Hogwarts. Well judging by our speed and I am sadly unaware of the distance but I will judge ab out two to three hours. Any more than that then they should have provided beds." He said as he observed the cabin. "The cabins are a wee bit small for a distanced ride more that of two to three hours as well and I hear from my foster parent that they offer sweets instead of full meals so yeah the ride shouldn't be over the estimation." He then pulled out some wizarding money and got up. He poked his head out side of the door. The trolley was coming there way and Magnus flagged it down. The lady smiled as asked what he wanted. "Well granny said I should try chocolate frogs, Bertie Botts Every Flavor beans, and I will take a pumpkin fizz for all of us." He said as he gestured to the other two in the cabin. He handed the woman the correct amount, having just learned a couple of weeks ago the ins and outs of the money. He then took the treats and sat back down. His owl Merlin chirped happily as Magnus opened a can of the pumpkin fizz and opened his beak. Magnus drew his wand and twirled it over the opening and floated a very small amount into the owls mouth. Merlin shivered with pleasure and nuzzled up to Magnus. "Here ya go gents. He said as he handed the drinks to the two and went to open a box of the beans. "I have heard that these are very good and very gross." He hesitantly picked up a bean and popped it into his mouth and chewed it....his face twisted into that of the thing he put in his mouth tasted nasty. "Ugh that was gross...I think it was rotten eggs..." He said as he pulled out a red bean quickly popped it in and chewed it. Thankfully it was tomato flavored. "Not great but this one is better. Oh I guess I should give a bit of back ground...I am not from the wizarding world originally. I am an orphan and until about a month ago I never knew who I was and what I could do. Childhood after my parents died was one thing after another. I am not even sure if my parents were wizards, but thanks to my granny Agnes and the letter I finally don't feel so odd. OH and in case you wondered why some of my features change, like my hair and eyes. Apparently I am something called a Metamorphagus. Normally people can like me can control their changes but my seemed to be ruled by my emotions. I am hopeing I might be able to change that why here at Hogwarts." He said then took a long drink. "So what are your stories?"

[WanderingSpirit]

Alistair smiled at the polite purchase Magnus had thanked him before he sat in his seat and drank the Pumpkin Fizz in silence. Magnus said that it would take several hours at least before they got to Hogwarts which was the correct guess considering 'we' didn't know much about Hogwarts since it was their first year. But after that there wasn't much, besides Magnus eating Bertie Botts Beans... a food that you should never eat even during a bet, because the flavors are unpredictable and thats what he hated the most about that. The Pumpkin Fizz on the other hand wasn't such a bad thing, he liked carbonated drinks and he didn't mind the unique flavor of it. It honestly wasn't too bad and he could get used to it... he sighed as after several more sips it was gone; he made a mental note for himself to order one before they got close to the train station cause he wanted another one before they left.

During him finishing up the Pumpkin Fizz, Magnus was telling his story of how he got here and it was quite interesting because it had explained a lot about him being able to change his appearance suddenly. He hard about Metamorphagus in one of the books he was reading but he didn't remember which one was it, the only one that interested him at the moment was the charms. He sighed as he decided that he too should tell them something about himself, but would it be true or false he couldn't guarantee but he try his best cause revealing too much would be a bad thing. Going back to his parents was a definetely a no-no. So he began...

"Well let me go after you then Magnus, and Thank you again for the Pumpkin Fizz. Anyways I am a... half-blood and... hmmm I came here by some of my friends. They were wizards surprisingly because I didn't find out about it for a long while, but I guess it would make sense since they don't want their presence as wizards to be known hm? They too were the one who gave me my letter to Hogwarts and allowed me to leave my home, my parents were proud of me for making in such a exotic school but that was the cover story that he made up as apparently I left the country" He said casually lying about the last part before continuing again " They also helped me buy all my school supplies and generiously bought me some other miscellaneous things like my note book here" Raising up his notebook from his pocket as he did so " But besides that I think that is all I am... Not much of anything else I think. What about you Felix?"

[Turtles]

Felix gladly took Magnus's generous drink, and thanked him. He took small sips, and listened intently to the story. It was slightly difficult to keep the Pumpkin Fizz from spilling as the train chugged along, and Felix would always change how he was holding it.

As Felix was about to start talking, Alistair chimed in. Still taking sips and listening, Felix once again started to stroke Norman's fur. "Those were both interesting. My story is pretty generic." He said as he took a long chug from his drink. "I'm a pure-blood, so both my parents are in the wizarding world, as well as my four brothers. Three of those are on this train. The other one, Ethan, works for the Daily Prophet. I've always been the outcast in the family, since I am really not good with magic. I'm more of a sports kind of person, as you might be able to tell from the broomstick under my seat."

[Eyeris]

Caelum smiled as the girl introduced herself… "I'm Pearleane Pompaque. You can call me Pearleane though." the girl started, "Before you say it, yes, my initials are PP, please don't tell everyone that though." Caelum nodded, pressing two fingers against her lips to suppress a giggle. Pearleane reminded Caelum of her mother’s friends, full of wit and unashamed.

"What are- were, you drawing?”

Caelum smiled and reached for her sketchbook. Setting it on her lap she opened it back up to the page she had just been working on, it was easy to find as the pencils were being used like bookmarks. The white pages, sturdy hot press watercolor paper, revealed the outline of the train as it sat in the station, proportions and perspective nearly perfect. Pearl might recognize that it was the very same view of the Hogwarts Express that anyone would see as soon as they emerged through the secret passage that lead into nine-and-three-quarters. Everything was in it’s proper place, pillars and the platforms edge, there were people milling about the train but they were a quickly shaded blur, and all the detail was on the train itself, which she had just begun to shade.

“It is not finished yet.” She explained her shortcomings to Pearleane. “What do think so far?

[World Traveler]

The one true personality trade Devin inherited from his father was that neither were complicated. They knew what they liked, disliked, and didn't care about. The problem with this of course was those tricky things where there was something he liked involved with something he disliked. Being pushed into the magical world crated a giant gap in this likes outlook on life. Devin was desperate to speak "wand talk" a term his dad came up with to describe magical conversations. The down side is he never really had a teacher for magical daily life so when it came up he felt like it was more or less a foreign language.

Devin wasn't surprised that Jake hadn't heard of the sports he mentioned. He had gotten even less of a response from his family in England. Still the other boy seemed to have some knowledge of world sports. Devin didn't test that knowledge as the conversation turned to Roze who in spite of his promise to not jump Leander back in surprise over her sudden change in appearance. He was relieved that this seemed somewhat normal to Jake who called her something that sounded like the Latin name for a lizard or something. He nodded along as the girl explained her limitations.

As the trio continued to chat the conversation was interrupted by the inevitable hunger of three growing children. Jake was the first to share his train snacks with the offering being a odd bag of what looked to be jelly beans. Jake explained that every one was a different flavor and this seemed accurate after Roze exclaimed hers was blood flavored. Devin hesitated to take one. It wasn't that he didn't trust anyone but more his past experience with magical food left little desire to test the cuisine again. His cousins gave him a candy that ended up being gag food that made his tongue shrivel up. It went back to normal after a few minutes but the whole thing scared Devin for sure.

Still, Devin wasn't about to let a girl take a risk and not him. It wasn't pride so much as Roze reminding him of a friend back home. One he had an almost unhealthy rivalry with where the two would dare each outer to do more and more crazy things. More then one dare ended with a broken bone. Taking the plunge Devin reached in and pulled out a bean. It was white almost pristine in color. He popped it in his mouth and quickly bit into it. To his relief the taste it gave was both familiar and enjoyable. "Mmmm coconut!" He said with a smile. This got even bigger when he saw Roze pull out a bag of Oreos.

Taking one gladly and thanking both Roza and Jake for sharing he took the Oreo and twisted the two cookies ides apart. He then gave the middle cream layer a nice big lick and enjoyed the sugar rush as it hit his taste buds. He then tossed the cookie parts in his mouth and chewed with a happy, content look on his face. It felt like it was just turn to share his goods so Devin reached into his bag and pulled out a small lunchbox. Inside was a tuna fish sandwich along with a coca-cola and some crackers with Nutella. "This stuff is great for dipping." He said as he opened the crackers and dipped one in the chocolate flavored deliciousness.

"Have at it." He said offering his desert to the group while opening his soda and taking a sip.

[TaliPaendrag]

Just as Dani began to feel that maybe she had made a mistake in declaring her ignorance of the magical world, Acacia surprised her by leaning into Dani's "bubble" so to speak and answering her question with excitement and, possibly excessive, friendliness. But Dani didn't really find it was weird as she found it sort of comforting. At least she hadn't offended Acacia, and it seemed as though they might actually become friends.

Though the potential discussion of spells interested her to a large degree, Dani figured that it might be best to stick to the subject she knew the most about, relatively speaking anyway. Her lack of knowledge wouldn't have made for much of a discussion anyway. "I don't have any siblings," Dani wrote, pausing to make sure that Acacia and Luke saw the board before erasing it so that she could write more. "Are they really that bad?" She had heard stories from some of her friends back home, but it has seemed as though there was no real consensus on whether or not siblings were a bad thing.

It was about then that Luke chimed in that he was looking forward to eeting new people, though he lapsed back into silence again and seemed to lose interest in the conversation until Gryffindor was mentioned. Though the man from the Ministry had explained to her what the houses were, Dani wasn't entirely sure what the differences between them were or anything along those lines. So, taking another chance of embarrassing herself due to her ignorance, she asked, "What's so bad about Gryffindor?" From Acacia's tone, whatever it was couldn't be minor.

Acacia's slightly-frightening, dark tone was replaced by her previous cheery one almost immediately after mentioning Gryffindor, offering to help explain some things that Dani might have questions about, particularly concerning the houses, as that was what her and Luke had been discussing before. "Well, I know about the houses, but not the differences," she wrote, feeling a little more comfortable exposing her ignorance now that there had been no negative repercussions for doing so.

Before Acacia could respond, Luke stood up and mentioned that he was bored and going to go and see if he could meet new people. Instead of responding, Dani looked to Acacia to see what she wanted to do. Meeting new people was always awkward for her, at least when she was by herself. If Acacia went, she would go because Acacia could tell people that she was mute and introduce her. But if she didn't want to go, then Dani wouldn't go.

[Rune_Alchemist]

Ignoring Lukes question at first, Acacia responded to Dani's questions about the houses and siblings.

"Gryffindor is full of nothing but self serving people who try to hard to be 'good and courageous' and end up failing miserably." That was just her own opinion, really. Which was probably slightly twisted by her own distaste for the house and her own family. "My idiot brothers are proof of that. Always going on about how great they both are." In reality, the two were hardly boastful about their exploits, but to Acacia, that was all she heard about growing up around the two of them. How awesome it was and how well they did. "Now, Slytherin, is full of people who want to actually do things instead of talk about doing them." That was all Acacia had to say on the matter of Gryffindor and Slytherin. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw...well, as far as she was concerned anyone part of those two houses were never going to be destined for anything great or notable. She would expand if Dani asked, but otherwise she wasn't going to mention them. She turned her attention to Luke, giving a thoughtful hum. She noticed Dani looking at her, probably wondering what her reply would be.

"To be honest, I wanted to just spend the ride reading up on the textbooks. We'll have plenty of time to make friends and meet others once were on campus after we get sorted into our houses. So I think I'm going to stay here. What about you Dani?" She asked the other girl.

[Eyeris]

Professor Sadria Quinn… Was roaming the Hogwarts Express. Now that they had departed, she took it upon herself to make a headcount of the students, and make sure that none were up to any trouble. Supervising the train was easy enough, sometimes she had to heard a few cats of other familiars let loose, or counter-hex the latest Weasley-Practical-Joke on the market. Despite the lighthearted atmosphere inside the train, she kept her her own face strictly drawn into a frown, and her shoulders square, as if there might be more serious trouble around any corner. She was the Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher, and she knew the Dark Arts worked best on the unaware and unprepared. Professor Sadria Quinn had long black hair, and a pale round face, and misty eyes that always seemed to be thinking of elsewhere.

She stopped by a cart, listening to the conversation inside. A group of first years, discussing the qualities of each house. Her flat red lips pulled into a small smile. It was most amusing to hear what trickled down from older siblings and hearsay. Would the first years assumptions prove true? Or would they be shocked by the true nature of Hogwarts…

One threatened to leave the cart, the others declined. She stuck her nose into the car. “If you are to move about move quickly, but don’t stand for long, the train will turn sharply in a few minutes. Soon after, we will arrive.” She spoke in a crystal clear, almost icy voice.

She had heard what they said of the houses, of Gryffindor and Slytherin, so much conviction before the hat had even touched their heads! She wasn’t sure if she should be proud or worried… She ultimately decided to feel neither, it was The Hat that had the final say… She said nothing about their conversation, not wanting them to know she had eavesdropped.

She stood in the doorway, allowing them the opportunity to ask her for any assistance they might need.