“Are you two alright?” Silvia asked. She was about to get up and peek her head out the compartment door, but just then she thought she heard someone calling down the corridor through the opening Ari had made for them to remain sitting and keep their wands put away. So Silvia remained in her seat. Her wand she reluctantly hid away in her holster, not wanting to get in trouble for having it out if any of the prefects or members of the Board of Governors came by. But if trouble arose, she wouldn’t hesitate to bring it back out if needed. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.” She felt anxious, but kept calm. It would do no good to panic. But she hated being made to sit and not do anything, she hated it. Her natural tendency would be to sneak out quietly from the compartment and investigate the situation. But she wasn’t going to risk getting in trouble before the term even officially started. By now Ptolemy had quieted down, but remained alert. Silvia kept glancing between the window and the door, still unsure of what to make of all the chaos. This already looked to be one interesting school year.

"I was looking for you after you disappeared to attack some poor person" he said mockingly though his eyes had narrowed after he heard her say ow. Looking over her again he looked carefully at her expression, trying to work out what was wrong. "Did you hit your head?" he asked, noticing how she hadn't tried to stand up yet and offered a hand in case she needed help to get up. He'd prefer it if she was sitting next to him rather than on the ground to be honest, there were higher chances he could help her.

He noticed the look in her eye though, the way she twitched and flinched at things, she was scared. But then again if he wasn't fussing over her he was quite sure that he'd be scared as well. So he decided he'd let it go for now and not tease her, all it would do would be get her annoyed, and he actually disliked annoying her despite popular belief.

After jumping aboard the train, Armen Recard made his way into the back section with his wand lit in one hand to shine his way through the dark compartments. When he entered the place he could see that chaos had begun to ensue, naturally, and that the students were all currently sitting in the floor and standing around, eyes wide.

"Hey kids, Armen Recard Department Head Of Magical Transportation for the Ministry here. Your Headmistress summoned me to help out with the Train problem and well...we can't fix it so we will be travelling by Portkey this evening." He dropped the sack of objects onto the floor infront of him. "Don't worry, it's perfectly safe and if you are new to it, just watch what everyone else does."

The Ministry official pulled out an old leather boot, a broken alarm clock, a rubber duck, a baby's pacifier, and toothbrush. "Everyone gather around one of the items here and make sure you touch it in order to be transported. We are meeting up at the Hogsmeade train station like normal. Don't leave the platform until we all arrive."

And with that the items began to glow BLUE ready to take off.

OCC: What he said guys! Go ahead and Rp your charrie touching a Portkey object and your charrie can disappear. You will soon see where you should post next.

Trying not to think about the horrors that could be attacking the train (he'd heard stories!)...Dylan focused on Sierra. Which was easy...because she had nice hair...and a pretty awesome face. Of course, what she said had color quickly filling his cheeks. The Captain had hoped his Beater hadn't seen that...awful, panic-stricken moment. Wow, that was kinda embarrassing...

Not that he didn't try to recover. "Well, would you have rather me cling to things,,,or fall in your lap?"...because had he not thought fast, Dylan would have ended up on top of the Prefect. And she probably would've punched him in the face. Greingoth was dangerous...but he simply offered her an equally playful smirk to match her playful tone.

He could tell she was a little freaked out, too...just by her line of questioning...Mechanical issue? Dementors?! Sweet Merlin, she'd read the same books. Mechanical issues could be fixed easily...but a dementor attack? He couldn't produce a corporal patronus yet...Mainly because he didn't have any thoughts happy enough. Something he was NOT admitting to anyone. "I think it's just an old...old, OLD train...and is finally breaking down." Yes. So, mechanical issues. Basically.

Then she was messing with something...

Oh, there's Odessa! Yep, to hide from some of his earlier embarrassment...

He couldn't help but be a bit disbelieving about his sister passing them information...but Dylan definitely had to scoff at something the younger boy said. "He is NOT better than you." Pfft. Shacklebolt WISHED.....Could you sense the team pride? *SMIRK*

"When this mess gets sorted, I'll take a look..." Yes, right now I'm trying to stay strong for you...and Greingoth..and other kids. GAH!

Gwen had been worried for nothing. Her name was ok. 'Don't mention it.' As in, don't worry about it, not don't ever say it again. It was wonderful to know that she could count on her friend no matter what. They really were best friends. Leaving the Ravenclaw with her thoughts for a while, Ari hoped she could relax a bit too, but no such thing happened on the train corridor. And now she was eager to tell Gwendolyn all about it.

Her head was red and swollen with excitement by the time Gwen finally asked what happened. A moment longer of keeping it in and her head would've exploded like a Blast Ended Skrewt. 'You won't believe it. I went to find the trolley lady and met a boy who owns a rat, who shoved the creature in my face.' Gwendolyn knew Ari hated the things, right?

'Then, I almost fainted but the boy was much younger so I tried to maintain my composure so as not to embarrass myself.' Ariadne wasn't sure to what extent she had managed that. 'And when all that was over, I somehow found myself running after the Head Girl's cat, who likes to chew shoes. The cat, not the girl, that is.' Hey, she was in Ravenclaw, like Gwen.'You must know her. Louisa?'

Since Gwen was going to go to all that trouble for her and talk to Jory, she could at least join her in the lab. Maybe she could earn some points in the process. 'Deal.' Divination wasn't that complicated like Gwen made it sound. 'See, here's where you're going wrong. You're too concrete in your predictions!' Someone as scientific as the Ravenclaws usually is. 'Instead of saying you're definitely going to get a T, you should say something baffling, like My chances of getting a T may or may not be higher than the possibility of me getting a greater mark, but I wouldn't exclude the likelihood altogether. Come on, you're good at that stuff.' Ariadne winked. She had witnessed a demonstration not much earlier.

Yes, her bestie was right! They were almost at Hogwarts. 'Are you joking?' Ari raised an eyebrow. 'I can't wait to see the Sorting!But only if I sit next to you.' Become a Ravenclaw for the evening, hehe.





No sooner had Gwen mentioned that they were supposed to arrive soon that problems began. What was going on with the lights?

'Gwen?' Ariadne started, uncertain. 'Is it just me or is the train moving slower?' Think positively. Maybe they were there already. Not that she could see the station, but perhaps they were too far in the back?



Wh-what? Before Ariadne could figure out that this was the new Headmistress, the woman had moved forward. But she did say something along the lines of 'Remain seated', as far as Ari could tell. This was good news, right? Someone was assessing the situation and was going to get them to school. Soon.



Seated, huh? Easier said than done. 'AAAARGH!' Ariadne yelled when the train stopped unexpectedly and she was pushed forward. A loud MEYOW! could also be heard in their compartment. Pluto was on the floor.

'Sorry.' Ari excused herself for poking Gwendolyn in the ribs during her fall. Then she gathered the cat in her arms and placed it back in its cage. 'Well, now I'm worried.' she looked at her best friend and waited for new instructions.



And new instructions came, as she expected. Her face fell when the ministry official announced that the problem couldn't be fixed. See? She didn't hate trains for nothing. How were they going to get out of there? Before she could worry some more, the man announced that they would be using Portkeys.

'Gwen, let's go!' Ari was ready to get out of this mess. Grabbing Pluto's cage in one hand, she touched the alarm clock with the other and waited for it to turn blue and transport them away.

Psh. Please.

Surely she wouldn’t mention that again. Even though Ari said it wasn’t terrible, Gwen had hated that middle name until now and wasn’t going to just give up just like that. But Ari’s ‘don’t mention it’ wasn’t about the middle name, so Gwen didn’t reply anything. She just gave a small nod, appreciating the way her bestie was handling it all.

So now… what happened on the train corridor?

Gwen eyed her friend suspiciously, expecting something grand, but her face just dropped a little when Ari mentioned the rat. That… was it? Gwendolyn just raised an eyebrow at the girl, but immediately stopped. She knew how much Ariadne hated rats and creatures with no feet. But despite this, she was aware that she couldn’t reply something without bursting into laughter. Better shut up, then. Though, she thought she was the one who presented events in a very interesting way, but Ari was outshining her with this one. Heh.

‘That sounds like… a lot’, the fifth year commented, actually surprised to find out how much the Gryffindor managed to do in such short span of time. ‘Oh, yes. I do know her’, she answered simply to the question about Louisa. Wait… she was the new Head Girl?

Though… what Ari said next made her laugh. ‘I couldn’t have said it better myself’, the Ravenclaw chuckled, after having heard what her bestie said about the possibility of getting a T. Hmm. True. She was good at that stuff, just when she wanted to avoid the subject. Otherwise, her answers were rather short and concrete.

Hmm. The sorting. Ari wanted to come sit with her. ‘Fine’ It was actually better than fine. That would at least take her mind off the firsties, who, she feared, were going to be noisy, nosy and hyperactive. Hmph. She then wanted to draw her attention to the window, when the train stopped...


Errrr.

What was going on?

Before she could even come up with an explanation for that, the train already started moving. So they hadn’t arrived yet, it seems. Hopefully there wasn’t something wrong with the train. Surely things were not going to get any better. Right. In the next moment, the train stopped again. ‘Impossible to be already there’, the Ravenclaw said.


She then drew her attention back to Ariadne, and wanted to ask something, but heard a voice… ‘This can’t be good’, she said. No one said ‘remain seated’ unless it was something bad. And since they had to sit, that meant they weren’t back yet. Gwendolyn crossed her arms, waiting curiously for someone to explain what happened, or better yet… for the train to move.

No such luck.

Looks like the train wouldn’t be going any further. ‘I wonder why…’, she mused. Yes, Gwendolyn. This is the right time to ask questions. The fifth year just wanted to roll her eyes at herself. Pft. Stupid question… but really now… she was one curious Ravenclaw. Just as she was thinking about what was going on, the train stopped again. Because of her phenomenal reflexes, the fifth year nearly lost her balance. Though, she managed to avoid hitting something. Not what she could say about Jinx, who just fell from the seat beside her. After taking the cat in her arms, Gwendolyn looked at her bestie.


What next?

Once again, when she was wondering what it was that they stopped for, or what defection it was with the train, another voice started announcing something. ‘Seriously?’ The problem couldn’t be fixed? Couldn’t be fixed with magic? Well… that was bad.

But then, the person announced something about Portkeys. Gwen had nothing against those things… as long as they were working. ‘Right’, she mumbled, standing up as well, ready to use the Portkey and get away from there.

"A kazoowhatsit? I don't...'" Dustin started. But before he had time to ruminate on what a goozinditekazoowhatsit actually was, the kid went off and broke his concentration by introducing himself. The only consolation was the possibility of receiving a chocolate frog.

"Er...I'm Dustin. Is your last name like...North? Or East, maybe?" Little Ashby certainly had a certain skill when it came to associations. And people.

Distracted by the notion of food, he quickly changed gears. Again. "Do I like chocolate frogs?!" he practically sqeualed. "Is the sky blue? Is the grass green? Are you wearing pants? Am I wearing pants? Who came up with the name for pants? If you really think about it, pants is such a strange word. Pants. Paaaaaaaaannnnntttssssss. Huh."

Just then, the #veryimportantlooking red head lady came barging in, looking all important and adulty. Dustin was just about to comply when the train...

...came to a quick stop and sent Dustin straight to the floor in a crumpled heap. His face was on the floor and his bum was where his knees should have been and his knees were where his feet should have been and his feet were....actually they were in their rightful place on the floor.

OOMF.

Attempting to right himself, he rolled over onto his side and sat up, his head spinning. Through swirling images, he managed to make out the shape of a man - a BRIGHT man - coming into the compartment.

Not one to completely ignore instructions, Dustin fumbled along the floor until he managed to touch the toothbrush, waiting to be whisked away.

Kate smiled as she followed Alex into the compartment. "Hi! Yeah, um, a first year. No house yet. So, how about you?' she turned to address the other girl in their compartment.

She was just setting her trunk down when the lights started.. flickering? Okay, that was odd. They flickered again. Really odd. "Is it, er, just me? Or are we... slowing down?" She tried her best not to show how freaked out she was.

She sat in silence for a bit, trying to calm down. If anything wanted to get them, they would have already done so. Wouldn't they?

It seemed not long after that that a woman's REALLY LOUD voice was heard. She clutched her ears in mild pain, before sitting down immediately. Well. She was already sat down, so she basically stood up and sat down again. Right.

Weirded out by all the distractions, Kate went to put her brand new Hogwarts robes on. Then, she got out a book and began reading. She was just getting to a really good chapter, when herself and her barn owl Apollo were hurled violently to the floor. She got up gingerly.
Well then, first year begins.

Alexa grimaced at the thought of someone not being nice. She didn't have much experience with people so what would she do if someone was mean to her, she thought. Then she heard Maxwell's comment, "Oh you can pick the classes you want to go to? I really don't think classes are going to be my thing. I have never had to sit and just listen to someone talk it doesn't sound like much fun, well that's at least how mum explained it, but she could have been just trying to get me not to come." Alexa shrugged still annoyed at how much her parents wanted her to stay in the private classes and not make friends.



Alexa was about to ask another question when the lights flickered, "Does that always do that?" She asked her new friends, well she hoped they would be her friends. She looked around the compartment feeling nervous and began to twirl her hair. Alexa got up and opened the compartment door to look out maybe this was a normal thing, but Alexa wasn't use to a train. Just as she got the door open she heard some lady telling all the students to sit down. Sitting back down in the compartment she looked at the others, "Who is that lady and why is she telling us to sit down, do you think something is wrong?" Alexa didn't like having the panic in her voice, but she couldn't control feeling scared. Then a loud noise made her jump, "Wh..what was that?" she curled her legs up to her chest and looked around. "What is going on? Mum was right this place isn't safe." She felt the tears hitting her eyes as she was getting more and more scared. Then she heard someone else talking out in the hall about a portkey. "We have to take a portkey? Where, where is it going to take us? Does this happen often?" Alexa began rock back and forth terrified of what was going on.

Lily was busy chatting about her summer when the lights flickered. The third year Ravenclaw stopped talking and stared up at the lights. "What was that???" she asked her friend, pulling her feet up onto the bench. Her head shifted to look out into the hall, just in time to see some adult walking along telling people to stay sitting.... And then the train stopped completely and suddenly, causing Lily to topple off the bench, onto the floor. "Oof!" She muttered, pushing herself off her side so that she sat upright.

Rather than talking, she just sat on the floor staring out into the corridor, holding her right wrist. What was with all the adults on the train?...well, the two adults she had seen so far. And the second guy was talking about portkeys and what they were supposed to do. Lily carefully got up off the floor and slipped her pack onto her back and grabbed her broom with her left hand. "I guess we should go now..." she said taking ahold of the rubber duck and preparing herself to be taken to the station.

Damon shook his head to her question, "It doesn't... And the portkey'll take us to the Hogsmeade train station," He sighed, "Come on, we need to do what they said and get to a portkey... Though this is a new experience for all of us... Staying calm is kinda necessary."

So first the lights started flickering...not much to worry about, in Aidan's opinion. Those weren't magic lights by the look of it. And Muggle things weren't the most reliable. But then gesundude started...convulsing because of them...? WHAT was he doing?

And before Aidan could even laugh or wrinkle his nose (he was undecided) at the boy, some lady came running through shouting to sit. And he didn't understand why. So WHAT if the lights were flickering?

He, clearly, didn't notice the train slowing....until it BAM!STOPPED and he was thrown sideways, off his feet. Being the BOY that he was, the bumps and bruises he'd receive from the fall didn't bother him.

Nor did the mysterious man with the Portkeys that showed up. A Ministry dude, as he said. So Aidan trusted him. And, as his company were already all grabbing for a Portkey, he followed suit. "I want the duck!!" he announced, lunging at the rubber duck.

Alexa looked at Damon and didn't know what to do. She had just got to know these people, could she trust them. Finally she stopped rocking back and forth and looked around the compartment. "If you say we need to go, then I guess we should go." Alexa stood up shaking from fear and moved closer to Damon not sure what to do next. She figured he was the oldest she would just follow his lead and hope he would keep her out of danger.

Damon looked at her then Maxwell and Taylor, "Just grab hold of one of the portkeys, I'm sure they'll get our bags to us later," He lightly laid a hand on the broken alarm clock after putting Pixel inside his school robe for protection. He sighed, this was definitely odd... But he'd obviously been hit with much worse, even with only being sixteen. A train breaking down was nothing, just a little malfunction, even magical things screwed up sometimes.

Cece did NOT miss Jacen rolling his eyes at her, and if he did it again he was going to feel her wrath. "Go ahead Jacen, keep up the attitude with me and see what happens to you." She had no problem at all hexing him back to Sweden.

Hearing Sierra say she was amazing pulled her attention from her annoying cousin. "Thanks Sierra, but I'm sure you're the only one that thinks that about me." It was no secret around the school that Cece was not a well liked person. But she didn't really care about that. She wasn't there to make friends other than with Hecate, she was there to do a job.

Right, Sierra wanted to know how she knew Jacen. "Young Jacen here is my cousin. He's transferring from Durmstrang." That is if you can call getting kicked out of school actually transferring. More like he had no choice in the matter so his parents made him come to Hogwarts. She would have gone on to further embarrass the boy but the lights started to flicker.

JUST GREAT...

SOMEONE other than Jacen was going to be hexed back to somewhere if they didn't stop messing with the lights. Cece was NOT in the mood for these childish games.

Looking at Sierra she noticed the worried look in her eyes. "Don't worry dear, it will be alright." She put her hand in her pocket and wrapped her fingers around her wand just as......

Was that the new headmistress Cece heard out there? How had she missed that woman being on the train? Better yet, why was she on the train and why was she insisting everyone sit? It was just a few lights that flickered. Was the woman trying to scare the kids here or what?

And then the train came to a neck breaking stop. NOW what was the problem? This seriously couldn't be happening. This blasted train was the one sure way Cece thought she would be able to get back to school without any problems. She really didn't have time to think about that right now though, she had students there with her that she needed to worry about first. "Sierra, Jacen, you two alright?" And then Dylan and West were there too. Where did they come from? "Dylan, West, are you two alright?" Dylan seemed a bit shaken up there, although he was trying to put on a brave face it seemed.

OH FOR THE LOVE OF MERLIN!

Could this night get any worse than it already was? There was NO way Cece was using a portkey to get to Hogsmeade. That had been the main reason for her riding the train.

After making sure the students were alright she went up to Mister Armen Recard. "Um excuse me, but is this really necessary? Because there's no way I can use a portkey tonight." Couldn't they just fix the blasted train and get them back on their way? How hard could it be to get it going again?

"First year?, said Alex. "Oh you are going to love Hogwarts. It's really an amazing place." The words had just left her mouth when the lights started flickering on and off. "That's strange", she said aloud. Not wanting to frighten the first year, she kept her other thoughts to herself.

They sat in anxious silence as Alex peered out the window. Suddenly they heard a loud noise and everyone was tossed from their seats. "Are you all OK?", Alex asked as she picked herself up from the floor. Everyone appeared to be in one piece, but definitely shaken. They heard a voice directing them to find their way to a portkey. They would be making the final leg of the journey via this manner.

Alex addressed the other girls. "I guess we had better find our way to a portkey. This year is really starting with a bang!"

Lots of people were talking at him and West tried to listen but there was so much going on. He DID hear the healer say stuff though and blinked at her.

"Yeah I'm okay. What about my broom? I mean, that is, you could use it, Miss lady healer." He offered in earnest. Well portkeys sometimes made him sick TOO. So that was probably why she didn't want to touch a grotty teddybear or toothbrush.

"Its brand new and everything."

Cece turned when she heard the mention of a broom. Aww look, it was little West Odessa offering his brand new broom to her. A broom that would be a perfect solution to her situation here. "You would really let me use your new broom West?" Sure, he had offered but she wanted to make sure he wasn't just saying that to be nice.

Well it was better than leaving it on the train unattended.

"I'll go get it. I don't like portkeys either so I understand." Nod. He bounced off the wall and ran to the luggage car, jumping over dropped things. It really didn't take him very long, since he was already in the back of the train anyways and most kids already touched portkeys and were gone.

It was just a few minutes later that he was back, with his PRIZE POSSESSION, that he was holding reverently.

With a DEEP BREATH, he held it out.

Maxwell calmly followed Damon's lead. He looked to Alexa "I'm sure everything will be fine.." He said placing his hand on the portkey as well. Thinking to himself he had to write his dad, maybe he would know what was happening, being in the ministry and all. Maxwell grabbed his cat, Tiberius over to him, holding him as well, he couldn't have him running loose on the train.

*So much had happened in such a short time. He gave Sierra a smile but it soon faded when he thought Cece would say something mean about him. But he was saved by... The lights? Still standing he went out to see what was going on.*
"I'll check it out..."
*Soon some tall redhead was yelling at him to sit down. Normally Jacen wasn't one to listen but he had a feel if he didn't Cece really would hex him back to Sweden. Turning around to find the compartment a sudden stop in the train made him fall forward right on his face.*
"Ow..."
*Getting up he opened the door to see more people inside. Falling on his face better not start becoming a habit at this school.*

*A port key huh? He turned to Cece knowing that wouldn't work for her. He had his broom though. He was about to offer it when some little kid offered his. Great, even when he tries to be nice a kid beats him to it.*
"I have mine so you won't have to go alone Cece."

Armen had been trying to restore some sort of order and introdude Portkeys to the students all at once when he was met with opposition, suprisingly not from the kids.

Who was this lady? "Oh um, ma'am. I assure you the Ministry's Portkeys are perfectly safe and Headmistress Truebridge said--" he started but a small child nearby gave her his broom. Armen looked at her nervously and then back down the train where the red headed woman was, licking his lips. "Umm fine. You are an adult and most likley know your way to Hogsmeade?" He assumed she was staff. "Be care full."

Another boy decided to try and give the woman his broom and then decided to accompany her on their's. "Um, that will NOT be necessary. Your Headmisstress's orders were for the students to use Portkey and you had best follow her directions." And his since he was a Ministry official afterall.

Well now, it looks like she had found a suitable means of transportation here.

Oh wait, West thinks she doesn't like to travel by portkey? But... forget it. They would just go with that reasoning. She watched as he ran off before turning back to Armon. "Looks like I won't be needing your services after all." Nope, she had twelve year old come to her rescue.

And people say Slytherin's aren't nice.

Once West returned... with broom in hand, Cece reached out and took it from him. "I promise I'll take good care of it for you West." Stepping in closer to the boy she did something she didn't do very often. She gave the child a hug. "Thank you for trusting me with your broom." She knew this had to be hard for the kid. Handing over his brand new broom for someone else to use.


And then Jacen returned... and now he was offering to fly with her? Really? Now he didn't mind being seen with her? "Thanks Jacen. I'll get it cleared so you don't have to go by portkey." Even though she was surprised at his sudden attitude change she was happy for it. She really did need to have someone there with her when traveling that far by broom.


Cece glared at this guy. "I don't care how safe you say they are. I will not be using one. I'll be using this broom." And if this guy thought he was going to stop Jacen from flying with her, she would be using that broom to smack him upside the head with something other than flying.

"I don't know who you think you are here but this boy WILL be flying with me. If you have a problem with that then you can just take it up with Minister Greingoth. I'm sure he'll have no problem with letting Jacen fly with me." She really didn't care right now what the orders were of the headmistress. Her cousin would be flying with her.

And that was her final word.

Oh. Gemini!

Elodie had lost her toad initially when the lights went out, but found him in her backpack, and there he was going to stay. But when the train came to it's halt, she forgot about her backpack and scrambled into the corner of the compartment, pulling her legs up to her chest and waiting for death.

It was morbid.
But she was going to die.

They were all going to die.

And she hadn't even eaten her chocolate yet. Was it a bad time to do that now?

Of course it was.

--

After a minute of so weeping slightly, Els grabbed her backpack, placed it on her back and moved herself outside of the compartment, her eyes widening at the slight fiasco that could be seen before her. No, no, she wasn't scared. Just mentally deciding how she would expect her siblings to orchestrate her funeral. She was tough.

Reverting into silence, she listened to what was being said, and followed some older students to atleast get herself out of here with someone she could trust right? She could trust some older students, she had to be able to.

Nope, she didn't like the sound of portkey travelling, or the idea of it at all. But if it was the only way out... Little hand caught onto something that was glowing blue, and then...

...the little group she was with was gone.

He was TOTES having issues and second thoughts, but when she took the broom and then HUGGED him, West just sorta stood there all bug eyed.

O_________________________________________________ ________O

"Its okay Miss Healer." Okay. "Don't die or anything." Or break his broom.

...And maybe when he got his broom back Healer Tillstorm could hug him some more?