"Ha ha! Yeah, SSOM. Every good pranking group has to have a good name. Like the Marauders. But we're totally better!" James said, grinning. This was going to be a good year.

"Uh, yeah." he said. Puffing his chest out, he tried to act more confident than he felt. "So, excited to see what this year has in store for you? A year at Hogwarts in never uninteresting. And this year," James said, looking towards Louis and Fred, "Well, this year, I can tell you that Louis and Fred and I will definitely be adding to the level of interesting-ness. It's gonna be awesome. It's our last year, after all, so we have to make a good impression. he explained.

"Yes, they'll never find out. It will be a mystery to all! And everyone will fear the abbreviation SSOM, because no one will understand it! Muhahaha!" James replied, laughing evilly.

"Thanks," Molly grinned and accepted the chocolate. One bite and the gnawing feeling in her stomach was dispersed, replaced with a glow. She smiled again. "Good stuff," she said to her cousin, "Where'd you get it?"
The carriage jolted over a pothole and Molly coughed as a piece of the chocolate went down the wrong way.
"Ugh, what a day."

Alexander felt that Piper had gotten closer to him, or was that only his imagination? He had never been this close to a girl before, other than his sisters, of course, but this was somehow different. He smiled, having Piper close to him somehow felt right. "Just relax and don't worry. Trust me," he said softly. "I'll help you get through this, I'll be right here for you the whole time."

"All hail the awesomeness of SSOM, a force to be reckoned from now until the end of the world!", cackled Louis, really getting into the spirit of things. He really enjoyed James and his other guy friends, and now it looked like they might have some girls involved in their plots, as well. This was so going to rock!

Piper smiled and, only with great difficulty, refrained from moving any closer towards Alexander. She smiled up at him, I trust you. And just know that if I don't take my eyes off of you the whole time I'm in front of the entire school, it's not because you have anything on your face, just for nerves. She smiled again and fake pondered this for a moment. Or maybe because... I just like looking at you. Piper's rosy cheeks turned slightly awkward-ly blushed.

Lysander smiled playfully at her.
"That was a good time, he was really quite friendly. He loves toast and soda cracker." he said with a laugh. Maybe he would have to go out and visit him again this year...

"Oh you think so do you?" Lily said teasingly.
"Well Scorpius Malfoy you underestimate me on a broom." she said with a smirk.

Lorcan almost did a double take. Those words sounded like something that should have come out of his mouth. But they came out of Dominiques. And he loved it.
'Well you won't catch me complaining about that." he said, flashing her a dazzling mischievous smirk.

Addy smiled at him.
"I really hope so." she said, but looked away, not sure how much meaning she should put into those words. She felt the carriage start to slow.
'Looks like we are here, finally." she said.
The day had gone so slow, and yet so fast, all at the same time.

"I'm glad" she said "but you look surprised, don't think I'm naughty enough to disobey?" she asked him as if she was offended, but she really wasn't.

"I've never underestimated you on a broom" he said indignantly.
"I think your really good, so is your team, but I'm just better" he said plainly to Lily as if this was really obvious.

Laughing Roxanne rolled her eyes "well that's good" she said sarcastically "because if you ever have a pet Giant Squid you'll know what to feed it" she joked to him.

Turning her attention to another red headed boy who was not Louis or Fred. Gosh how was she going to keep trakco f all of them. Listening with interest she asked curious "So your the one responsible for all the pranks in the squadron of mischief going ahead, undetected? And for saving Louis and Fred from getting caught by professors?" This boy was a little too arrogant for her taste. And a bit selfcentered too.

Everything couldn't be because of him? Bella studied and listened wondering if the boy was saying more than he should to a girl he didn't know. She liked to get into the mix of things, but how much she wanted to get involved in the prank squad was to be seen. Maybe she would only join because of Louis. James Potter II, and the introduction was as flashy as his other talk. Extending a hand she smiled and said "Nice to meet you, James. I'm Isabella Gonzalez! Bella for short."

Perla saw how Alexanders expression changed from happy to worried about little Arianna. Nodding she said "I hope, i'm wrong too." Playing around with a blond lock Perla added "If we can't find her after searching around the school with other students helpm and professorsm then we need to owl mum and dad." She sure hoped that it wouldn't come to that.

Perla pulled her legs up under her on the seat saying "Its not like Arianna to miss the train. Well lets not jump to conclusions. For all we know she can be sitting outside the Hogwarts gates waiting for us, right now." Perla was getting quite worried too. Looking up at Alexander she said "When we get to Hogwarts find Scorpius and get him to help us search for Arianna. He can be without Lily for as long as it takes to find Arianna. Say that its a family emergency and then come find me. This is something we need to do as a family."

Bella turned her attention to Louis gladly since James had been a bit too much for her to take in. Smiling at him she asked curious to his answer "So, um can you teach to be a pro pranker?" The next thing Louis said warmed Bella inside eventhough he said it partly as a joke. Looking into his eyes she replied "Well there is something special and likable in you too, Mister Weasley!" In her mind she said I hope i get sorted into Gryffindor house so i can spend more time with Louis. Maybe he can teahc me to fly?

Perla knew that Noah was probably stunned that she actually was making an effort to be nice. Thinking about his question she said diplomaticlly "I don't know which house will win. Its a though race between four strong houses. It would be nice if Slytherin won in my last year at Hogwarts, but that's all in the heavens." Shifting around in her seat Perla added "So who do you think will win the house cup?"

Noahs last question she needed to think about for moment. She wasn't going to tell him what she wished most for this year just like that. He was Alexanders friend, but not a Slytherin. After a few minutes she looked across the carriage saying "I would like to graduate with honours and top marks in all my classes and also play quiddich for Slytherin which i haven't done since second year. And you, what do you want to achieve this year Noah?"

Bella was relieved when Ella offered to show her the way if they couldn't find Lily. Scratching he hair a little she asked "Is running off without notice something that Lily does often?" Maybe that was something which Bella should know for future referance if Lily became her friend. Thinking she asked "Ella, whats it like growing up alongside so many red heads?"

"Well, if it makes things any easier for you, then go ahead and stare. I won't mind a bit," Alexander promised. You can go ahead and stare at me as much as you want, he thought to himself.

"It will. And yes, we are here," Albus said. That ride had passed all too quickly, far too quickly for him. Did he sense uncertainty in Addy? He hoped not. He was feeling very attracted to her in a way he didn't recall ever feeling with anyone ever before, and wondered if she was feeling the same things.

"Right. I'm on it right away," Alexander said, looking around nervously for a sight of either his little sister or his brother. "I just hope she is around here somewhere. I don't know what we are going to do if we can't find her, we're going to have to get in touch with mom and dad and let them know if she doesn't show up, probably grandfather and grandmother, as well." Alexander hated to even think about that. He didn't want anything to happen to his baby sister, and he didn't want to worry his family, either. Please let Arianna be there, he prayed silently.

Louis smiled mischievously. "Perhaps in due time," he replied. "Just stick with me and I think you will find things are somewhat enlightening." Louis wasn't really sure what he meant by that statement. He only knew that he wanted to spend more time with Bella. Maybe she would be sorted into Gryffindor along with him, that would be wonderful indeed! All the great pranksters were in his house, and she would fit in quite nicely. There was a lot he could show her, so many things. He was looking forward to it, indeed.

Arianna sat outside the gates to Hogwarts on her trunk thinking about what her parents and siblings would say when they heard that uncle Lucius had side-along apparated her to Hogwarts. And that she had forgot her favorite stuffed snake at home.

Starting to get cold Arianna decided to take a walk around the grounds in hope of getting up some heat. In only her Slytherin robes and gloves she left her trunk outside the gates visual in the dim lights coming from the castle and dissapeared into the dark night. If Perla had been there she wouldn't have gone, but her sister wasn't there and Ari felt alone, nervous and cold.

The blush disappeared though the rosy-ness remained. Thanks. That's really nice of you. Something Piper had been wanting to say finally found its way out of her mouth... Hey, did you ever get that kinda feeling when you first meet someone that you've known them forever? Like in kindergarten, when someone would say 'hi' to you and you'd walk away best friends? What was she thinking? He was a pure-blood wizard and probably had no clue what she was talking about.

Bella returned the smile eyes glittering "I will do my best to learn from a talented prankster. And maybe i can end up teaching you something too." One thing was sure Bella was going to try to spend a lot more time with Louis. And the first step to do that was to get sorted into Gryffindor. It sounded like a small thing, but where she was placed wasn't in her hands. Hopefully the good old sorting hat would see her desires and sort her a lion like Louis.

Perla nodded and started to search for a sight of her baby sister as the carriage continued on its way up to the castle. The sun was setting and it was getting dark. With Arianna's hair color being black it was going to be hard to spot her. The carrige finally halted infront of the castle. Jumping down from the carriage Perla called out "Arianna?, Arianna?" Turning to Alexander she said "Go fetch your brother. I'll keep calling for her. If we don't find her, then yes we have to owl mum and dad. But lets not think about that now." Leaving Alexander she walked off a little ways from the carriages searching everywhere for a sign of her baby sister. Please, let her not be hurt. "Arianna? Arianna where are you?" No answer.

Alexander was calling out his sister Arianna's name, wondering where on earth she could be. Unlike any of the other Malfoy siblings Arianna had taken on the looks of her mother rather than her father, her hair was dark, a trait which could have even been inherited from her grandmother. The Blacks often had dark hair, although their grandmother had been the one blonde in that family. Alexander thought that was interesting, one blonde in the Black family and one brunette in the Malfoy family. He needed to keep his mind on something to keep from getting too upset or scared.

Alexander stopped and thought about that question for a second. "Actually, I've heard about that kind of thing before but I never really experienced it for myself. That is, not until just recently." Just very recently, he thought to himself. The first time he had ever experienced anything like that was now, meeting Piper.

"I am looking forward to having you as a student, then, and to learning from you," Louis said, more curious than ever about what Bella could have to teach him. Whatever it was, he was intrigued and really hoped that she would make Gryffindor. "Let the sorting hat see that your motives are pure, not for yourself. Let it see how brave and strong and courageous you are and you will be fine." Louis thought that Bella was already showing those kind of traits and that she should have no problem making Gryffindor, but it was important not to concentrate too much on her desires. The ones who did that always ended up in Slytherin, he thought with a sigh. Louis didn't really dislike Slytherins, he just hadn't had a really good experience with any of them yet and they were usually the subject of his prankings, second only to the Hogwarts staff.

Alexander could hear his older sister calling out for their younger sister at the same time he was hunting. He was really getting worried now, and began to wonder what they could possibly do. They were going to have to let their relatives know, he was sure. First, they would have to tell Scorpius, maybe he might have some idea where Arianna had gone, he hoped.

Piper smiled, hoping that the underlying theme that she detected under what Alexander was saying was actually there. The carriage bumped to a stop, and she looked around for a moment before grabbing her luggage and stepping onto the hard ground. She waited for Alexander for a moment and then began walking. So you have siblings right? Good conversation starter, she thought.

Alexander smiled. "Yes, I certainly do. I have an older brother Scorpius and an older sister Perla, they're both a year older than me. Then I have a younger sister named Arianna as well. We're just trying to find her right now, she wasn't on the train." Alexander didn't want to make a big issue about Arianna being missing, but maybe Piper might have some ideas on finding her. It was worth a shot!

Lysander laughed.
"I think I might plan on petting it again this year. He is really very friendly. Wanna come with me?" he asked, noticing that they had now arrived at the school. He opened the door, stepped down and offered her his hand to help her out.

Lily smirked at Scorpius.
"It's a good think we don't play the same position then, because we would be here all day arguing about this." she said teasingly, not that she would mind spending so much time with him.
The carriage slowed and students started piling into the Great Hall. She sighed, this meant that her time with Scorpius was almost up. She couldn't sit with him in class, in the common room, the Great Hall, nothing.
She stood slowly, stepping out of the carriage, waiting for him to follow.

Lorcan chuckled quietly at her, an amused smirk on his face.
"Surprised yes, but in a good way. In a happy surprised way. Apparently I still have a lot to learn about you." he said with a smirk.

Addy stood up and stepped down from the carriage. A strong gust of wind blew her long hair around, covering her face. She ran a hand back through it, looking up at the great castle before her with a sigh.
"Here goes another year." she said, looking back over her shoulder at Albus. She smiled at him, then looked back at the castle.
"Let's hope its better than last year." she mumbled quietly.
But somehow, the presence of her new friends and Albus promised the year to be more than just better than last year.

"I wouldn't mind visiting the squid, as you love him so much" she said grinning and grabbed his hand and got out of the carriage.

"yes, a very good thing" he said wishing the ride went on longer so he could have had more time with her. Scorpius followed Lily out of the carriage and started walking to the castle "do you want me to send you a note so we can met up?" he asked Lily because him being in Slytherin did make it harder for him to see Lily.

"I'm glad you like it" Dominique said, "there is still a lot I would like to learn about you too" she said, and with that she stood up and got out of the carriage waiting for Lorcan to follow.

Albus felt a strong gust of wind, and saw it blow Addy's hair across her face. My, she had pretty hair, he loved girls with long hair and it looked especially good on her. Wait, what was he thinking? "Yes, let's hope for a much better year," Albus agreed. "Gryffindor for the house cup!" He waited for Addy, ready to walk with her the short distance to the castle.

Piper's step faltered for a moment, but she was quickly back in stride with Alexander. She wasn't on the train? Oh, dear. That could be problematic. Are you sure? Perhaps you simply didn't see her. Piper peered around fruitlessly as they walked up the steps toward the school. Did you want to stay outside and look for her? She drew her cloak tighter around herself.

Lysander smiled at Dominique.
"I would like that very much."
He was excited at the prospect of spending more time with Roxanne.

Once, out of the carriage, Lily spotted a couple of her Gryffindors ahead. A group of big Slytherins was also approaching them, and she didn't want Scorpius to have to deal with their taunts if he was caught with her.
She turned to face him, her eyes sad.
"Ya, send me a note. The Room of Requirement seems like the safest place, or out of doors somewhere?" she said.
She quickly threw her arms around his neck, giving him a quick hug. She then did something she hadn't expected, she kissed him on the cheek.
"I'll talk to you later." she said; the Slytherins were getting much closer.
She turned and jogged quickly up the path.
"Ella, Isabella! Wait up!" she called, her long legs catching up with them quickly.

Lorcan hopped out of the carriage enthusiastically, landing lightly on his feet beside Dominique.
'Shall we?" he asked, heading up to path to the large oak doors in to the Entrance Hall.

Addy hopped out of the carriage after him, with surprising ease. No falling on her face there.
"Go Gryffindor" she said, catching up to him.
They headed up the path into the Entrance Hall which was crowded with many students. Addy groaned, she hated crowds. Her eyes quickly darted around for any large burly Slytherins.
"Feel like leading again?" she said, flashing him her cutest, pleading face.

Bella smiled now he was as interested in her as she was in him. Maybe this wasn't going to be a bad year after all. Listening to Louis give her advice she felt her nervs and scares start to form in her head. Looking up into his eyes she said "Um, Lily is going to show me to the headmaster to get sorted after the feast. But could you come too. I'm a nervous and a little scared. I've never been sorted by a hat before. At Beauxbatons they sorted us in another way. Please?"

Perla heard as started her search around the castle gates that Alexander too was calling Arianna's name. It was getting darker and there was no sign of Arianna at all. Calling over at Alexander she shouted "Find Scorpius! He has to help us, otherwise we wont find her before its too dark. The other carriges have just arrived so he should be here, somewhere."

Perla turned on her heel and started searching again. Where could she have gone? Arianna was't the type to just wander off at night. Walking along the gates she felt that she stumbled over something. Getting back on her feet she found her sisters trunk with her warm coat hanging over it. Perla searched the faces and called out "Alex, i've found Ari's trunk. She's left her coat. Now we really need to find her and fast."

Isabella stood beside her carriage listening and seeing how to students in green robes went around calling for someone by the name of Arianna. As Lily came into view she asked "Who is Arianna? The two students over there are constantly calling her name?" Bella gestured toward Alexander and Perla. Looking back at Lily she asked "Has someone gone missing?"

Alexander saw that Piper was shivering, and it really was freezing out here. "I tell you what," he said. "It's really cold out here and I don't want you getting sick. This is really my problem, and I really want you take care of yourself. Go ahead and go in where it's nice and warm, in the Great Hall, and I'll be right in to join you soon, I promise. Alexander hoped it would be really soon, but he didn't want to see Piper getting sick. Where on earth could Arianna be? This was not a good start to the school year, despite the happiness he had just been experiencing with Piper.

Albus was surprised to see so many students already there before them, he thought they had made it to Hogwarts fairly quickly and been among the first carriages. He didn't want to see Addy get hurt or jostled by any of these brutes. "Of course, I'd be happy to take the lead. In fact, why don't we make sure everything is okay," he said, grabbing onto one of Addy's hands and carefully leading her into the Entrance Hall.

Louis smiled. "Yeah, of course, I'd be happy to be there for you, too. That'd be great." The truth was, Louis was happy to be asked. It gave him a little more time to be with Bella. Even if she got sorted into some other house, even if it was Slytherin, he still wanted to spend time with her and get to know her better, he realized.

Alexander started calling for Scorpius again, seeing neither him nor Arianna anywhere. Then, he heard Perla yell something about finding Arianna's trunk. "Do you suppose she was here and something happened to her?", he asked worriedly. She isn't the type to just leave her coat and trunk lying out in the open. This is really starting to scare me! He didn't want to upset his sister, she was upset enough already, but things really were not looking good. He was now extremely worried.

Bella smiled warmly at Louis saying "Thanks, I appreciate it. I'm very nervous and scared about the whole sorting thing. They never sorted us using an old hat at Beauxbatons." Still hearing the voices calling out for a girl she looked up at Louis asking "Should we see what all the noise is about? Do you know who Arianna is whom the two green dressed students are calling for?" Bella shivered a little in the cold night but if someone was missing then she was going to do her best to help out.

Perla heard the worry in Alexander’s voice and looked up saying "I hope nothing bad has happened, but we can't be sure until we find her." Taking up Arianna’s coat from the trunk she held it to her chest saying "It isn't like Arianna to just go on a stroll in the night." Her baby sister might have changed, but she still had her creature phobia. Feeling very worried Perla looked at the grounds trail hoping to see her sister coming towards her. Arianna was though still not anywhere to be seen. Turning back to Alexander she said "Find Scorpius and ask if some of the other students would mind helping us find her. I think we will have better luck finding her if we are more than three looking and calling her name."

During this time Arianna was sitting under a tree looking out over the shimmering lake in the moonlight. As she sat there with her legs pulled up the giant squid stirred the surface with one of its tentacles. Sitting there she had no idea that Perla and Alexander where worried sick about her. Arianna was too absorbed with figuring out how she was going to tell her siblings about missing the train and how she had left Seviper at home. Feeling quite cold she decided that it was best to get back. As she was about to stand up she felt something sting and burn on her arm, but thought nothing of it. Arianna gave the lake a last glance before starting up the long trail to the school feeling a little disoriented.

Piper looked a little worried for a moment. Are you sure? Yes, I'm sure it is better I don't miss my opportunity to get sorted into Slytherin. She almost smiled despite the situation. Just be careful, okay? With a final brilliant glance of her green eyes, Piper turned and walked the rest of the way up the steps and through the open front doors where she began milling among the first year students waiting to be sorted and the older students (not unlike herself) walked past them into the Great Hall.

"How did they sort at Beauxbatons?", Louis asked, curious about any school that didn't use a hat for sorting purposes. Then he thought for a moment. "I'm not sure who Arianna is. I think she might be one of the Malfoy kids, though," Louis said, not sure if he wanted to get involved in any of this at this point. There were two many green ties around in that group.

"I keep looking for Scorpius and he isn't around anywhere," Alexander said. He began calling for his brother once again. "I can't believe she would wander off like that either." Alexander was almost frantic at this point, but was trying to hide his concern as much as possible. It was no good to upset Perla any further, they would never find Arianna that way, with both of them upset.

"Yeah, go ahead and I'll catch up with you later," Alexander smiled, hoping for the best for Piper. He had a feeling she would make Slytherin after all.

Noah was suprised by how much Perla carred for her sister biut well she was just a girl with predujace. He got out of his carrage and with his trunk started up to school just hopin that the girl would be found . He was half thinking of goiung to look for her himself it would stop house predujace but he didn`t know who to look for. So he headed for the great hall

Harrison too got out of his carrage he saw people walking around. Perhaps it was something new this year he thought and he too started venturing out thinking he was supposed to not knowing he was straying far from the feast