This was a train. THE train. The one taking Dot Wojack away to Hogwarts. She'd hurriedly kissed her Oggie and Mum goodbye on the platform and hurried onto the train, eager to find a seat and her friends and be a Hogwarts kid once and for all. Except now she was here, and Dot had no clue where she was meant to sit. What if Dima had a place he liked to sit, and she sat in the wrong place and no one ever found her?

She planted herself in the middle of the corridor, clutching her kneazle to her chest and wondering where to go. Did anyone need to get by? OH WELL. This second year was just going to stand here and block traffic for a while.

Not much people were around yet, so that meant only one thing. Jun skateboarded along the corridor of the train, nomming on some fizzing wihzbees. With Charmander on his shoulder, the boy skated side to side and noticed more people coming in. Ew, no. Can't they all just head into their own compartments already? Quickly noticing they were all actually filling up, the older boy darted towards an empty one and jumped into it. Too bad for those younger years who were about to get it. Better next in a few years when you're taller. Jun closed the door in their faces and waved as they walked away. Pfft. Setting down his board and ferret on the the seats, he flopped down and took up one entire side. Poor lad had grown another inch over summer. Not that he was complaining or anything, he just didn't want to be as tall as his brother.

Feeling Charmander moves around above his head, Jun fed him a treat and closed his eyes. Least it was quiet in here.

Rob stepped up onto the train and nearly bumped into a young girl but rather than stand there and wait for her to move, he stepped onto a seat and around her and passed her heading toward the back of the train section and waiting to see if any of his new friends joined him, or if he made even more new friends. He was so excited to be going to Hogwarts and as soon as possible he changed into his school robes and He took a yowling Tigger out of his cage and petted him to calm him down.

Rob sat next to the window and waited to see who came along.

He had, once again, begged his mummy to come see him off to no avail. Lydia didn't like him anymore (not that she ever had) now that there were three little girls with whom she could play dress up, so Dima received even less attention than usual. Which wasn't much to begin with.

But that was OKAY, 'cause he had a Daddy and Angelo. And also Olly and her toad, who were really the hardest to say goodbye to. XO JULIAN.

At least his friends would give him more attention than his mum, right? The only issue was that Dima was having quite a lot of trouble finding them. Or two of them. Because the instant the first second year stepped into the corridor, his favorite, unmistakable mane of red hair caught his eye.

"DOT!" Was that her? Of course it was!

Like any good friend would do, Dima began vaulting over other students' trunks to reach her.

With his luggage all stored in the right compartment, and Bludger roaming freely around the train, Toby was now making his way up the train, looking for a compartment. Not an empty one, of course. After what had felt like a bizarrely long summer, Toby had been looking forward to catching up with whatever friends he had left at Hogwarts or even forging some new connections. He skirted around some younger kids who seemed a little miffed about something, and continued on, glancing into compartments as he went by and conveniently ignoring the fact that he'd just passed what looked like a couple of third years who were at least as tall as he was.

Toby was starting to wonder how long it would take before he ran into someone he already knew, someone he was already on train-sitting-terms with, when he found himself stopping in the corridor. It took his brain a half-second to catch up with his body, but the Hufflepuff soon realised he'd found a very suitable compartment indeed; he was looking through the door at an older boy he vaguely recognised as belonging to Ravenclaw house. In his experience, Ravenclaws tended to make some of the best friends, so Toby knocked on the glass and slid the door open.

"Hey," he said, aiming to go for his usual bouncy, friendly tone but not entirely able to tell if he managed it. "D'you mind if I join you?"

A second later and Toby's gaze had fallen on the skateboard and then the ferret, and his eyes seemed to light up, just a tiny bit. He looked to the older boy again.

Rob looked up and saw his new friend coming up the Aisle. He waved at him. "Hey Toby!"

DIMA! Dimadimadimadimadima. Dot did a very happy, flaily sort of dance right in the corridor, which was not normal so no one get used to it, k? But she danced, and then she jumped on him as soon as he was within reach. Bestest and favoritest Dima!person was there.

She wanted to tell him all the things that she'd been saving since she saw him last, like about her kneazle and about going to Diagon by herself and about how her mum cried again like last term, but Oggie hugged her. And she wanted to ask about the babies and about 'Gelo and about Dima!daddy (but not about his mum who was a hideous she-beast).

But she didn't, 'cause there were too many people around for Dot to feel comfortable chattering. Instead, she just held on tight to her Dima and whispered, "I'm going with you."

Jeremiah liked being one of the firsts on the train because then he got to a choice in alll the empty compartments. He was a fan of choices. With his The Return of Sherlock Holmes book in hand, which he had easily read over a dozen times already he peeked into an empty compartment and chose it. This was the lucky one that would hold him today, hopefully only him because stranger's we're creepy and no, just no. He figured that Beverly wouldn't be joining him and if she did it wouldn't be until later, Prefect duties and all. He was so proud of her. No one deserved that more than she did and he was proud, so so so proud.

Laying across on of the seats he looked at his book and admired it. The spine was cracked and broken and it was practically falling apart but he refused to get another copy. this was the first book he remembered falling in love with. It was what made him want to read more. It was more then just a book in ways to the Gryffindor. He flipped open to the first page and began reading.
'It was spring of the year 1894 that all of London was interested, and the fashionable world dismayed, by the murder of the Honorable Ronald Adair under the most unusual and inexplicable circumstances.' Yes. Now he was ready for this trip.

Jun tapped his feet on the seat and quietly sang to himself. He could hear voices getting louder outside which meant more munchkins were heading in. Hopefully he wouldn't get company that was too young in here. Or irritating. Like a certain Slytherin he was going to avoid all term and then never see them again. Oh, what a joy that would be. But then Connor and Vinnie would be staying behind. At least he got them both the same gift so they can stay in touch. Hearing a tap on the window, the older boy lifted his head up and saw someone open the open the door. There was just something about him that attracted Hufflepuffs for some reason. Why? Jun felt iffy about Hufflepuffs. But it was mostly about just one.

He smiled at the boy and nodded. "Go right ahead, make yourself comfortable, long ride after all," Which meant he had plenty of time to head into the prefects compartment later. Right now, Jun was just going to relax. Oh, where were his manners? "I'm Jun Kim, seventh year 'claw," He stuck out his hand to the boy. Should he mention the badge? Nah, it seemed too self centered if her did. Not like people found him scary in any way possible anyway.

It had been very hard for Isla to have to leave her parents behind on that platform. She quite honestly felt like one of the first years, and in some aspects, she was very much like them.

This was the first time that she was going to be away from her Mum and Dad for an extended period of time and she wasn't quite sure how she felt about it. Of course, this was an adventure. She was finally getting to go and experience life in a school. It probably sounded quite sad really, that she was genuinely excited about all aspects of her new school life. She didn't even know what it was like to have a formal lesson in a classroom, it was going to be a first for her. Her parents had been very well equipped to teach her though and so she wasn't behind academically.

However, socially, she probably was behind. She had friends, but not an army of them. It was nice to get to meet new people now, perhaps she'd remedy that situation.

As she made her way down the corridor, she nervously peeked into the different compartments. Right, now this was a bother. Where on earth could she sit? She didn't know any of these people and didn't want to get into trouble with anyone on her very first day. Undoubtedly there would be people whom wouldn't want her barging in and sitting with them in a seat reserved for one of their friends. And so, she kept walking until she found someone whom she happened to recognise. She knocked before slowly pushing open the door and peeking inside.

"Hi," she said softly as she pointed at the seat on the other side of the compartment. "Do you mind if I sit in here with you?" She didn't really wait for an answer before swiftly moving inside and plonking herself down on the seat. She ran a hand through her hair as she reached into her bag and pulled out a book to read. "Nice... cat," she complimented his pet somewhat politely. Although it was probably clear that she'd never really been too fond of cats; they were sneaky and one had scratched her rather nastily before. And so she tended to avoid them, which was probably understandable.

Rob looked up as the compartment door was knocked on then opened. He smiled as his new friend Isla entered the compartment. He had not seen her in a few days, well since the bowling game. Which he lost royally to her. He had been amazed at how good she was at it considering she said she was not so good. "Hi Isla!" He grinned a little as Tigger softly padded over to her purring and rubbed his little head against her hand saying hello before turning around three times and plonking down between them and immediately falling asleep. "Thanks! So how are you? Excited about school?"

It wasn't like Ruby was going to sit with her brother, not unless he freaked out and got to the point of begging her, then probably she would, so as soon as she could get on the express she had. (And she'd left her trunk for Gabriel to wrangle on board).

Okay WHY were the compartments so shabby? Like okay she knew the school had had some money difficulties a few terms ago but that didn't excuse the train not looking as if it had been refurbished in a hundred years. The fifteen year old walked along the corridor, eyeing the occupants of this and that compartment and so far choosing to keep going rather than join any of them. Either there were little kids (which she didn't mind but still, priorities) or they were too full for her liking. Finally she found one where there were only TWO occupants (three counting the cat), a boy and a girl, and they looked to be around her age and -bonus- the boy was cute enough to talk to. Ruby flounced inside, bright smiles at both of them and then she sat down, crossing her legs and then addressing the pair of them directly;

"This isn't a private compartment is it?" Hint hint. Not that it mattered, it wasn't as if she'd leave if it was. She'd leave if she got bored and no sooner.

Rob looked up as once again as the compartment door opened and smiled as someone new entered. He chuckled a bit at her question. "No, it's not private. Please join us. My name is Rob Triton and this is my friend Isla. The furry one is Tigger." He said kindly. It was nice to meet another potential new friend. He bit his lip, wondering if his french accent was too strong. His girl looked as though she was close to their age, grateful that the compartment was not being so far inundated with munchkins such as the one he'd practically had to leapfrog over to get the compartment... He noticed that her uniform had a touch of green here and there He'd noticed other students wore touches of other colors. Did the colors signal what house they were in?

Isla smiled at the girl whom had just, well, pretty much flounced into the compartment. Not that she minded, not at all! She was a laid back sort of person, always had been and always would be. That probably wouldn't be so helpful when it came to getting her homework in on time though, although she'd cross that bridge when she came to it!

She turned and looked at the new arrival as she sat down before hearing her question. Rob got in there with an answer before she did but she nodded in agreement. "It's lovely to meet you," she went on to say politely. It genuinely was lovely to meet someone else though, and someone who also looked to be about their age.

It was always fairly nerve-wracking meeting new people, but she liked to think that she was fairly confident which would definitely help matters at a new school. Making friends was always somewhat of a challenge for anyone, let alone those starting a school at quite a late stage as the rest of the cohort would be well acquainted.

"So, what year are you in? And which house? My Mum's told me all about them." She couldn't help but ask the girl curiously, a big smile on her face as she did so. The girl hadn't quite had a chance to introduce herself quite yet but surely would do. Perhaps she would be able to give them some advice and so on! That would be massively helpful to both her and Rob.

Ruby looked between the two of them and relaxed a little. NOT private? Duly noted!

Rob, Isla... and Tigger. Got it.

"Pleasure." She said simply and fluffed her hair. "I'm Ruby." And suddenly she was getting all the questions and all the attention. Obvy she was fine with that. "I'm going into my fifth year only I don't know what house yet, my brother and I are only just beginning at Hogwarts, we were homeschooled before." PAaaaause. "But I know a ton about it already. My cousins went there AND one of my best friends in the world is a prefect." So she clearly had the inside scoop.

Gaaasp! Wait. Did that mean...?

"Are you both new too?"

Leah walked through the corridors, smiling. It was good to be back in the good ol' Hogwarts Express. The experience was different every time though, this year she was becoming a third year! Teenager and all. After being squeezed by a hundred people, she found herself in the middle compartments.

Time for cauldron cakes. Definitely.

Leah slided a compartment door loudly and was glad to see that it was empty. These past years she had been walking in on others' compartments which was mostly unpleasant. She took her seat next to the window and stretched. Yawn.

Abby was wandering trying to find any of her friends she stopped when she came across a familiar face and said "Hey Leah how was your summer?" Abby had been hoping to see Leah in Diagon Alley during the summer but hadn't been able to find her

Turning her attention away from the window, Leah saw a familiar face looking at her. It was.. ABBY! She had missed that girl so much, she could not see her much the previous term because she was mostly stuck inside her common room, and she did not see any of the triplets in diagon Alley over the summer.

"Hey Abby," Leah said, grinning, and gestured for Abby to sit down opposite her. "Summer was great. Met a couple of friends, took a good rest at home." She shrugged. Not all breaks have to be full of excitement after all. "What about yours? Er, how are your sisters?" The Hufflepuff was still awkward with Angel, but was still worried about her nonetheless.

Abby took a seat and "My summer was good, spent time relaxing and reading and met some friends and my sisters are good just haven't seen them since we got dropped off at the station" Abby was a bit concerned cause Angel wasn't herself

Leah nodded. Abby's summer seemed good too. Except maybe the reading part. She did not understand how people could actually read over the summer for fun. Ravenclaws probably did that often. She smiled at the difference between the younger girl and her.

"I see," Leah did not know if she wanted to meet Angel or not. Part of her wanted to just hang out with her like normal, and the other wanted to ignore her for the rest of her life. "Did you like last year much?" She said, chuckling. The previous year was fun, but not in a way people would expect.

Abby smiled and said "I enjoyed last year quite a bit apart from the cold, i am trying to think about what sort of mysteries are going to be launched at us this year"

"Me too," Leah agreed with Abby. It was quite disappointing how they lost both the house cup and gobstones cup to other houses, but at least she had contributed and tried her best to support Hufflepuff. Hmm, mysteries. "I'm starting to wonder if Hogwarts ever has a quiet and peaceful year." All her older friends had said there was never a term just like that, and so did her parents.

"I hope the cold has stopped, and nothing dangerous happens this year," Leah said. "The everlasting winter was simply NASTY." That was the word.

Abby shrugged and said "Yeah that everlasting winter was nasty and to be honest i guess we just need to wait and find out what happens and i guess that there can never be a peaceful year at Hogwarts"

Vinnie had overpacked....again. But a year was long and she needed all of her stuff with her. Even the things she hadnt used or worn in some while....what if she suddenly needed them and they werent there. That was a no go.

Unfortunately her boyfriend was ravenclaws headboy now so he probably wouldnt sit with her on this ride....and she hadnt seen him so far. So she had to carry her trunk by herself.She didnt mind too much but it was really heavy. Hopefully it wouldnt be too full, since she arrived early.

As the brunette couldnt find anything in the front cars she sighed. Please middle cars please...