Seeing that look on West's face was quite amusing...and Dylan was sure he was thinking about the Championship game. Odessa had been...more upset about it than the Captain had been...which said something since the loss had been Dylan's fault. But...if he wanted to toss that reason around...There was no need to bring up his Ravvie-girl problems to one of his team members, anyway...

"Shacklebolt is the new Ravenclaw Captain." Yes, insert dark look here. Dylan just was not a fan. Dude had been the main cause of disrespect towards the Snake Head of House...and had been the second best player on their team last term. It all just clearly meant that guy needed to GO DOWN!

...

Abandoning his irritation for just a moment, he smirked at hearing Odessa's broom news. Two reasons......One, West would play better on something not school-issued............and Two, because he wasn't at all likely to destroy a broom that was his. Meaning..........Dylan might not get told off for Odessa's behavior this term.

Totally winning...

...And why was this other boy...waving at him? Did he know him from somewhere? His father's work, perhaps? Diagon Alley?

What a little weird-o...

He heard West make a snappy retort...and the other kid just seemed to take it in stride. A young Slytherin, perhaps?

*blinnnk*

Wait! Did he just insult my Chaser?

Aidan couldn't sit still for long. Especially a day-long train ride. So, basically, the boy made his way from the front of the train, and tested out various compartments (except for the one that said 'Prefects' because he did NOT want to associate with those BORING people that would probably just yell at him like the shopkeepers did) until he got...here.

He wasn't planning on paying any mind to those in the hallway, most seemed older and boring anyway, until he heard something very strange come from someone who didn't actually look very old at all. And, well, Aidan just HAD to comment. "Why would you scratch someone else's anything?" Especially something as icky sounding as a 'gesundheit', no matter how much of an affinity Aidan had with gross stuff, he wouldn't go around touching someone else's. So what was the deal here? Was the other boy incapable of scratching his own gesundthing?

POPULAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRR

^That is how Dustin was feeling because, boy, was it ever true. In response to the new being's question, he turned around, totally unaware of just how crazy of a look he had on his face. It was like a combination of a young wizard meeting his favorite quidditch player while simultaneously being charged by an abraxan and eating a donut. Kind of like this.

And yet, without missing a beat, his philosophical side kicked in. "Well....what if you didn't have arms and your arm was like REALLY itchy? he mused. Intelligence at its finest, no doubt.

Alex turned at the sound of a voice behind her. "Hi Kate, I'm Alex. Nice to meet you", she said. She entered th compartment and repeated her introduction to the girl inside. Turning back to Kate she said, "Are you new to Hogwarts? I'm a third year in Ravenclaw".

Thinking back to her first time on the Hogwarts Express, it was hard to believe that two years had passed. Alex was happy to be meeting new people already. This was going to be a good year.

"One of them?" *That seemed a little harsh, even for his cousin. True most of his family were a part of the snake house, Slytherin. But he hated being like everyone else in the family least of all like Cece. Maybe she had been dumped by huff back in school. Looking out the window he sat there wishing to be anywhere but here.*

Oh good. Because she probably would've stayed even if it wasn't okay with them. "Thanks." Penelope took a seat, and Spot jumped down from her shoulder onto the seat as well. She stared at both Dora and Coul, as if trying to figure out who they were. Penelope only briefly paid attention to what her cat was doing since Dora asked her about the trolley. "Some liquorice wands," she answered, then held said liquorice out to them both. "Want one?"

Alexa smiled, "Well I like the gold, I think it looks wonderful." but then her smile turned to a frown and she stood up. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to make everyone sad." This was no way to make any friends, good job Lex she thought. "Well it seems Bouncers doesn't want to leave you so if you want to keep him for a bit you can. I think I have over stayed my time here maybe I should head out." She looked at the three of them, already good friends what was she thinking coming to a school not knowing anyone and trying to friend older kids and now having a piece of their past that didn't seem to be a happy memory wasn't helping.

Maxwell shook his hand and stood, holding bouncers. "No, Alexa...don't go. It's not your fault." He took a deep breath. "She was my ex-girlfriend and she left really unexpectedly and it's just been an odd summer to say the least. But i'd like to get to know who my good friend bouncers belongs to now..if you don't mind staying." He said kindly, he didn't want to hurt this girls feelings just because he wasn't over Min and she had something that reminded him of her.

So this kid was odd AND didn't make sense.

Aidan blinked at him for a bit before rolling his eyes. "If you didn't have arms, they wouldn't ITCH." DUH. "Besides, you can scratch yourself with your feet." No need to TOUCH other people. Especially their gesundthingy. Personal space and all that.

Alexa tried to smile, but she still felt bad. "Well I really have no where else to go, so I guess I can stay if that's okay with everyone." She looked at the other two and then decided to just sit down. "So what year is everyone?" She wasn't sure what to talk about but she had to get off the girlfriend subject, it didn't seem like a good place for Max and she didn't like seeing people upset.

Damon nodded, "I'd like you to stay... And sorry, Min was my best friend before she'd left... But I'm a sixth year Hufflepuff." He looked as Pixel finally got the courage to go over to the new puff, jumping up beside Bouncers, looking at him curiously.

Maxwell nodded. "Good." He sat back down. "I'm a fourth year Gryffindor."

Awar felt super connected with Ari and Silvia already. "8? How cute! How older is your sister and Silvia, how old is your sibling?" Awar shook her head no. "Manolo is my only brother."

Bouncers moved closer to Max not sure of the new puff, but then sniffed at it and squeaked. Alexa tried to smile at the boys, "Well she sounds like a lovely girl and I'm sorry I never met her. So your in two different houses and friends, that's good to know. I just want to get the house sorting thing over with. I feel like I'm extra behind being a second year and not even having a house."

Maxwell let bouncers back on his lap. "Getting sorted it cool, and your house becomes like your family, you all live together..but there's still great friendships to be made outside your house, most of my friends actually aren't Gryffindors." He said with a shrug, happy for a change of subject.

Silly? Alec shook his head. "They're not silly. They're just... unique. Yeah... like the nickname Ellaphant," he said, nodding his head. Except... to him, Ellaphant was more awesome than gummy worms. Yeah. He grinned as the girl started eating an orange gummy worm. He... didn't really need to be told which flavour that was. It was pretty obvious, right? Right. "Oh! Well, thanks!" GRIN. "Hey, do you think there are black gummy worms?" Because if you put the black and the yellow ones together, then they would make the Hufflepuff colours. And, really, Ells was practically an expert on all things to do with gummy worms.

Logan... that name sounded really familiar. Hadn't Ells told him and Alice about this Logan person one day? Something to do with a... a kiss? And something to do with... the first guy she has ever kissed? Alec blinked. Yeah... he needed to change the subject! This might make Ella sad and he really didn't want that. "I bet you're pretty great at it," NODNOD. "Erm... do you think they'll make a Quidditch video game?" You know... for witches and wizards only. Except... he didn't know how many people would buy a video game like that. He would, sure, but... how many magical people liked playing video games? Yeah... this was confusing.

"Yeah, he's really awesome!" he said, nodding his head. The guy was one of his best mates ever. And- wait, WHAT?! "An entire chocolate frog?! Really quickly?! I... do you think he'll be able to do it again?" Because Alec kind of wanted to see this happen. It would be awesome to see! ... Alec ruffled his hair as he looked at the blonde girl sitting opposite him. In all honesty, he didn't really have a proper answer for her. He hadn't been in contact with Messy since the End of Term Feast last term and that was two months ago! "Erm... he has to. I mean... it's Hogwarts! Who doesn't like Hogwarts?" Yeah... yeah, that was right. "Yeah... Erm, he did say that he was babysitting his little sister during the summer..." Yeah, that could have kept him really busy and that's why he didn't have time to contact anyone. "Erm... thanks! Dinosaur... I bet you two make a great pair," he said, smiling, "Erm... I... me?! Funny?!" Really, no one had ever said that to him before. "Erm, thanks Ells!"

"Yeah... yeah, maybe he's not," Wait, MEAN?! "Erm... is he?! Like... the meaner version of Theodore?!" This didn't make a lot of sense. Usually, from the stories he read, twins were pretty similar. They both liked to cause a lot of trouble by working together but... maybe that was all just in books. And in real life, twins were more like Theodore and Casper. "I... what?! Freaks?! But... magical people aren't freaks!" he said, blinking hard. This... wasn't true, right? Because magical people were... well... magical. And... then there was the talk about the hug. Alec was slightly embarrassed about everything that had happened at the bookstore. Couldn't he just wipe it all away and never talk about it again? "I... I didn't mean to! I mean... I thought he was Theodore..." His voice trailed off as he watched Ella as she started giggling. Maybe all of this really was funny.

"Yes, one of them." It was bad enough that Waylon had to be know as one of them for the rest of his life. She didn't want that to happen to her cousin... who was now staring out the window like a pouty little baby. "You know what, if you're so damn unhappy being in this compartment with me then go, get out of here." They were already on the train and it was moving so it wasn't like she had to worry about him getting off it. "Just TRY to keep yourself out of trouble." Because if he did anything to get himself in trouble before they even got to school...

Let's just say he would see just how mean his cousin could get.

Alexa smiled, "Well I guess that's good and a group of people living together seems fun. I'm use to it being just mum and dad, so more will be fun I hope." She thought about having a bunch of people around her living spaces, could she handle that many people. Well it was going to be a change. "I like that you can be friends outside of your house as well." That was nice to know, "So what do you do for fun at school, or do classes take up to much time to have fun." she really hope not, because she hated studying.

Ella thought about what Alec said about uniqueness. Hmmm. Maybe he was right! Not many people said lime-y, right? So in a way...it was unique. Yeah. Unique. That was a good thing, yeah? And Ellaphant was unique too? Ella smiled, nodding her head. "Yeah I um...I guess it is. And that's good, right? I mean being unique." It meant that you weren't boring or anything...that you stood out or something. At least that's how Ells saw it. And he was thanking her? He didn't need to do that! He was being pretty clever! "No problem. I was just...telling the truth." And she shrugged, smiling at him again. Oh! Black gummy worms? Ells stroked her imaginary beard, deep in thought. "You know...I don't think I've ever seen a black gummy worm!" She said, surprised by her own statement. "Strange that they would leave that color out...it's actually a bit sad." Maybe they could make their own black gummy worms! That would be cool! "What flavor do you think they would be if they existed...the black ones, I mean." Okay...so she was being Captain Obvious again. That wasn't weird or anything...

Ells smiled sheepishly at her fellow badger, feeling her cheeks grow a bit hot at his words. Her...great at playing guitar? It was a nice thought but she was hardly great. "I um...well thanks but I should really practice more." Then maybe one day she really would be great. She'd really like to be as great at something as Alec was at being a seeker. That would be wicked. And speaking of Quidditch...A Quidditch video game? That would be AMAZING! Yeah. She'd definitely want to buy that! "I don't know! I mean...it would be so cool if they did! Maybe you could invent it one day?" Yeah! Alec could invent it and be a famous video game maker or something! How cool would that be? And maybe he'd let Ells help design the game or something!

Alec seemed equally impressed with Tag's eating skills which made Ella grin even more. They were a lot alike, her and Alec. It was kind of nice knowing someone who thought the way you did about things. She bounced a bit in her seat, nodding enthusiastically. "Yeah...well it was actually a chocolate dragon but he like...he ate it SO fast! I bet he could definitely do it again!" That would be fun to watch! Hey! Maybe Tag could enter chocolate eating contests or something! Ella and Alec could cheer him on, too! That would be fun. They could be his cheerleaders or something...except Alec wouldn't have to wear a skirt. Obviously. Heh. And then the hair whipper was making a really good point. Everyone loved Hogwarts so of course Messy would be returning. He had to! It was HOGWARTS! "I bet you're right. I bet his sister kept him really busy and he's um...well he's probably sitting in a compartment with like...maybe Sophie or somebody!" And she frowned slightly, looking out the window. She missed Sophie A LOT. Anyway..."I hope we make a great pair." GRIN. Oh! And Alec was surprised about...being funny? Had no one told him that before? Ells smiled, nodding. "Yes you, the hair whipper! You're quite funny." Mhm! "Welcome!"

Ella was frowning now that she was talking about Casper. She felt...bad about saying something not so nice about Theodore's brother but he had been, in all truthfulness, unpleasant. "He um...yeah. He's not so nice." Which was actually surprising considering how awesome Theo was. And the freak thing...it was REALLY mean, yeah? Ella nodded seriously, her brow furrowed. "That's what he said and I...well I said that too. What you said, I mean. I told him we aren't freaks." Though she wasn't sure Casper believed her. And as Ells then continued to giggle about Alec hugging the wizard hater, she couldn't help but notice that he wasn't laughing. EEP. Was she being not so nice right now? Frown. She sat up straight, face flushed from laughing. "I'm sorry...I just...well after meeting Casper I just imagined his face after a hug and I um." And she really hoped she hadn't hurt Alec's feelings. She never wanted to do that. "You're not mad at me, are you?" Ells hoped not.

Damon smiled, "Well, unless you're in Slytherin you'll have one of us. Tay's a fourth year Ravenclaw." Pixel moved a little closer as well, sniffing and jumped up beside Bouncers, "Gee, Maxwell, you're the favorite of the puffs today it seems."

Taylor had zoned out of the conversation until she heard her name, "What?" Her face was totally blank as she looked at her boyfriend.

Bouncers looked at the puff and still wasn't sure. The last thing he tried to be friends with slobbered all over him. It was a gross puff, if it was a puff at all. Bouncer went forward closer to Pixel and sqatueaked a hello. Alexa smiled, "Well will be nice to know someone from my house if I get into one of them. So do you know any Slytherins? Are they nice?" She didn't know the houses that well, but if these three people seemed nice maybe the fourth house would have nice people as well.

Pixel squeaked a hello as well. "Know one? Yes... Nice, not so much..." Damon grimaced slightly at thinking about Ariana. He smiled at Taylor, "She asked what year we were all in and you zoned so I figured I'd let her know."

"Ooooh okay..." She smiled at him.

Sierra had heard the talk, but she just had to see for herself. Plus, that redheaded lady, whoever she may be, practically forced all the prefects out the compartment. Patrol, she would do.

...in just a minute.

For now, she found herself peeking into each compartment, looking for that face that was becoming oh-so-familiar. Finally, a peek into the next compartment showed her that the talk was true, Healer Tillstorm was on board.

"Knock, knock," she said, sliding the compartment door open. Oh, there was a Puffer inside, too. Hmm. "Room in here for one more?" she asked.