Evelyn blinked.

She was early. WAY too early. But, reaching the station early was better than staying at home and listening to her parents go on and on about how crazy she was. Was she crazy because she liked to use magic? Not really. But, her parents seemed to think so. That was the reason why she came to the station alone, unlike most students who came with their family. In fact, her parents didn't even bother to offer to come along with her. Nice family she had, eh?

Although, she did have a pretty good summer..even if she couldn't go to France and meet up with her friends. She spent a lot of time wandering around Diagon Alley, meeting people, shopping..heh. It was fun and yes, seeing Trey again was fun too..she turned slightly pink at that thought. Erm, anywa. It was a good summer.

Anyway, she was really happy that she was now on her way back to Hogwarts with her prefect's badge that sat shining on her robes. Heh. She was really looking forward to her final term.

With an excited smile on her face, she dragged her luggage to a nearby bench and sat down. Now, to wait for people she knew to turn up.

Kurumi's father had walked with her all the way to the barrier and had actually insisted on coming with her through it, but it had been Kurumi to be the one to drop their hands and insist that he stay behind. He wasn't going to be there to help her through the term, so she figured that she ought to make the separation sooner rather than later. So alone through it she had gone...unlike last term where she had gone through with Lewis....

...who she was still hoping she would run into on the platform.

With her cat following close behind her, Kurumi tugged on the sleeves of her red sweater, having actually put a little effort into her appearance for the first time since her mother's passing, and made her way through the almost empty platform. Maybe this term wouldn't be as hectic prefect wise as it had been previously?

It was then that she noticed someone, a Hufflepuff girl who she hadn't had the best first encounter with...but that wasn't either of their faults. Professor Williamson was just very protective of his creatures - as he should be. "Hello...Evelyn," she said with a polite bow, immediately taking note of the badge pinned to her clothing. Oh! The new Arya! "On, congratulations!"

Not an awkward start to their first normal conversation at all. Nope.

Evelyn still had the smile on her face when she noticed someone walking towards her. Oh. It was the Gryffindor girl she'd seen in the sanctuary..who had looked like she was about to cry when Willy carried the lobalug away from the sanctuary. Her smile widened slightly when the Gryffindor greeted her and...bowed.

Erm. "Hey Kurumi." Evelyn said, with a small bow of her own. Heh. She didn't know people bowed nowdays. Weird. Oh, right. Evelyn shifted slightly, when she realized that it was starting to slightly awkward. Why? She had no idea. But..before she could say anything, the girl congratulated her. It was for the badge, right? "Thank you." Evelyn grinned, the excitement clearly showing on her face. She brushed her hair back from her face before she asked politely, "Did you have a good summer?"

Had she said something weird? Was there something on her face? Or maybe the seventh year was just subconscious about the badge? Kurumi had been that way her fourth year and had kept her badge tucked in her pocket for most of the first part of the term. Wait, if Evelyn was subconscious about the badge...then she wouldn't have it out there for people to look at, right? So, that meant that Kurumi had something on her face.

"Summer was...." Kurumi began, rubbing her cheek as she tried to figure out how to put it without bringing herself to tears. She was going to have to get used to answering this question, but it was hard. Her summer had been awful. Nothing was worse than having your heart ripped out of your chest as you watched the life leave someone's eyes. "...alright." It was one of the first flat out lies the Gryffindor had ever said. "What about you?"

Alyssa crossed over with her trolley and looked around. She could see Kurumi talking with an older Hufflepuff girl who was wearing a Prefect badge. 'Guess she must be our new House Prefect. Maybe I'll go say hi to her later.'Alyssa thought to herself not wanting to interrupt the duo talking. So she just pushed her trolley further down the platform and sat down on her trunk and waited for someone she knew to show up.

Lily pushed her trolley along the platform walking past a couple of older students before finding an open area. Here she stopped and turned to her cousin. "Benjy, don't forget to send me pictures of Lupin... especially the moving ones. And give my mom this letter and a hug from me." Beaming, she handed him the letter. "Oh... and thanks Benjy!"

Benjy followed behind Lily until she found an empty spot on the platform. Then he crouched down so that he was her eye level. "I'll make sure that I take a bunch when I visit with them, and I'll do that for you." Standing up, he grinned and patted her shoulder. "Have fun and I'll see you around Christmas." With that he turned and headed off the platform leaving Lily alone with her things.

Once Benjy left, Lily took her trunk and owl off the trolley and placed them on the ground before returning her trolley. When she came back, the little ravenclaw took a magazine out of her rucksack and took a seat on her trunk waiting until it was time to board the train.

Evie was already ready to cry. She'd been left by both her older siblings so they could go and find their own friends, and she'd promised her Grandaddy she wouldn't need him past the barrier because she was a big girl. And she was planning on meeting Anton there. Although, she hadn't found Anton yet, and she was busy trying not to lose Bearby and her new kitten. Of course, her bear was being a pain and making her want to bop people with it, and her UNAMED kitten was being terrible and squirming in her arms.

Alyssa was playing with Nerfball, her Pygmy Puff when he jumped out of her arms and rolled to a little girl who was all alone by herself. Who would leave her alone like that, Alyssa frowned to herself. No wonder she looked like she was about to cry. Lyssie quickly ran after her Pymgy Puff, who conveniently stopped in front of the girl. "Now Nerfball, what did I tell you about rolling away? You could get trampled here. Oh hello there. Are you alone by yourself? My name is Alyssa and this is my friend, Nerfball. Do you need help holding either your kitten or your bear?" Alyssa smiled gently at the younger girl.

Nope. She would not cry. Evie would not cry at the fact she wanted her old Grandaddy here with her, and coming to school with her. She probably wasn't ready to go. Especially if she couldn't handle a few minutes on her own. It wasn't that she was scared of being at school, it was more so now that she had to deal with the fact no one would be at home with her amazing Grandaddy Conrad, and he'd be alone. Because Hogwarts had Hollis, Taegan and Evie. "WHAAAA!" She squealed, almost dropping Bearby when someone stopped infront of her.

Now, she was definitely scared.

"I...uh...My brother and sister...they..." Deciding not to verbally communicate, Evie just pointed her hand in the direction the twins had headed and looked up at the girl. "I'm Evie... and this is Bearby, and...no name." She wanted to brainstorm his name with her best best BEST friend.

"Hello again Evie...and Bearby....and no name. I know that you don't know me, but could I sit with you for awhile. I'm alone by myself and I'm feeling a little sad myself. I'll leave once your brother and sister come back."Alyssa asked Evie, not wanting to make it obvious that she was going to keep watch over her until her older siblings came back to take care of her. To be honest she herself felt sad and alone and needed the company.

William, being frail and sickly and all, was running out of energy from pushing his heavy trolley. Since the Hogwarts Express had yet to arrive, he found a vacant bench and collapsed onto it, breathing slightly. Hopefully someone he knew would come by while he waited for the train.
"ACHOOO!" he sneezed violently, knocking a parcel over and upsetting Charles, his great horned owl. Someone must have been nearby who had a cat, which William was severely allergic to. The third-year Ravenclaw picked up the parcel and sniffled.
"Sorry Charles," he said, rummaging through the pocket of his bag for an owl treat. He pushed it through the bars of the cage before sitting back down on the bench, sighing.

Evie's eyes fell to the fluffball that the girl owed, and she stared cautiously at it. "Do you ever brush it?" So it didn't get knotted or anything? Evie'd brush it. She'd brush it, and spike it up and do ALL sorts with it! And then she'd cuddle it and stuff, but the main thing was brushing. DID ALYSSA BRUSH HER FURBALL?!!! "You can sit with me!" Or, infact, Evie could sit with her, seeing as it had seemed Alyssa had came from a direction a bench was in.

Coming back? Evie giggled at the thought, and shook her head. "They wont come back! They'll be too busy with their friends! Especially to worry about their little sister. Who just giggled and held their hands and squealed.

Crossing the barrier, Zeke continued to walk and push his trolley, aiming towards the north part of the platform. Surely there were more people here, but he had no plans of talking to them at all.

While walking, he saw Evie....with Lyssie. Guess the little girl found herself a friend then. Sigh. Zeke pretended not see the little girl whom he considered a little sister before. Maybe not anymore.

If only Jane was still alive. The only person who ever really cared for him and him only. After a few more steps while pushing his trolley, he saw a nearby bench and went towards it. He sat down on the empty bench and looked totally absent-minded. Maybe early wasn't a good idea. He should've come late instead, it's not like he was gonna meet up with someone here anyway.

Tay was walking with Maxwell, smiling and laughing. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a guy she ran into at the end of year... Taylor tried to not glance over at him but it was a little hard since she kept remembering the day and how he seemed grouchy.

Here we go again, another year. Third to be exact and the blonde was ready to get back to her Slytherin family. Well and the rest of her Hogwarts family. It was already decided that this year would be devoted to more socialization, the blonde had already impressed her aunt enough with her grades last term. So she could slack off a little this year, right?

After crossing the over to the platform, the blonde Slytherin wandered over to the north end. Spotting an empty bench next she plopped all her luggage down beside it and sat down. A few minutes later she scanned the area for other students who looked to be about her age. Sigh. Most of them were all in groups, except for one boy who looked a bit sick and seemed to be waiting for friends.

Why again did she come here so early? Oh right, to get a head start on third year. Not that it seemed to exciting so far. Hopefully someone, anyone would show up to talk to.

Zhenya and her, now, large family got on from the North end of the platform. Zhenya didn't want to leave them again. The babies were only a few weeks old and she wanted more time to cuddle them.

She spotted a boy that sneezed. She was hoping it wasn't contagious, but she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small packet of tissues. Walking past him she handed them to him and said, "I hope you get better soon."

She crossed her arms as she continued walking, hoping that she wouldn't start crying. It wasn't fair that her entire family got to stay at home, but she had to go back to Hogwarts. The twins would be almost one when she got home!

Maxwell noticed the look on Taylor's face. "Everything all right?" He asked her hoping it was, but she looked distracted.

He felt a strange presence like he was being watched. Looking up, he saw a girl somehow staring at him. Zeke couldn't remember her name though. But she looked oddly familiar. Hmmm..where has he seen her before?

OHHHHHH! That girl from the courtyard. The one being chased by some kind of bird, though he didn't see any bird at all at that time. What was her name again?

................

He forgot. Oh well.

Tay glanced at Maxwell, "Yeah im fine." She shook her head, "Just having a flashback... i guess." Taylor looked over at the guy again then back at Maxwell, "Be right back." She went over to Zeke, "I really am sorry about that day.... are you waiting for someone?"

Marie saw Sophie talking to a boy. Running over there, a big smile on her face. "Sophie, I'm so glad I found you!" She stepped back, her face starting to redden. "Oh...you're not Sophie..." She tried not to giggle but she couldn't help it. Why oh why did she have to laugh when awkward things happened?! What would she do at Hogwarts....how would people treat her...what would Momma think?!?!

Tay glanced at the little girl, "Oh sorry little one. I'm not Sophie." She laughed and smiled at the younger girl, "I'm Taylor."

Blink. "Oh, that's okay," he said as he attempted a smile. Though it did look more like a smirk. "No, no one really." Not as if he had friends. Dear Zeke, I hope one day you wake up and get your life straight. He realized the irony behind what the girl-whom-he-forgot-the-name said. Waiting for someone...who could he possibly be waiting for? Zeke wished he had someone at least who needed him, but was too weak to admit it. Hmph, and you call yourself a Gryffindor.

He was just too concerned about not letting anyone break down his walls, not letting anyone gain his trust. Because that would only show his vulnerability and he didn't want everyone to see how vulnerable he was. Though the sadness was killing him yet he pretended to like it. Being alone. "Sorry, what was your name again?"

Tay glanced back at him and smiled, "Taylor Belle McIntrye." She did a curtisy and looked over at the guy she left standing a few feet away. Taylor looked back at Zeke. "Its..... Zeke.... right?"

Marie looked up into the eyes of this older girl. Little one? she wasn't that small. "Marie Shamira Faris, first year at Hogwarts. It's nice to meet you." Momma would be proud that Marie had never forgotten any of her 'Manners' lessons. "I'm so sorry I thought you were Sophie. I only met her a few days ago and haven't seen her since."

Marie studied the older girl. "What house are you in?"She asked.