Dylan listened as Alexa spoke to Ariella defending her owl's noisy actions, as well telling Felix that they were friends. "I agree with you Alexa, these three need to learn to be friends now, cause they will be seeing alot more of each other" he smiled knowing that they would probably hanging out now that they knew each other. Which was pretty good cause fun with friends was much better than on your own.

He smiled as Alexa seemed to share his excitement about the monsters in the lake "I think I can say that we are all hoping those monsters show up, cause I agree with you Alexa it would be amazing" he chuckled as he imagined seeing those monsters emerge from the lake as they passed over it.

Dylan looked at Ariella as she called him music man, at first he was surprised and not amused but as he thought about it was quite fitting due to his nickname that he preferred to be called by, and he smiled at the name he actually kinda liked it. He nodded "Oh yeah! always! If I could I would have adventure as my middle name" he chuckled how could he not be up for an adventure? those were awesome!

He then nodded "Yeah it can be fun! Yeah my dad used to take me with him whenever he needed to visit Diagon, thats why I couldnt wait to get my letter and my wand and stuff. " he smiled knowing that very soon he could be casting spells and things with his new wand "Thats cool! It must be cool living near the sea right? Can you see any sea creatures swimming there?" he asked wondering if like the lake she could see the creatures that dwelled within the water. That would be pretty awesome to wake up and see those creatures swimming around.

Nell listened to the two boys with a mixture of confusion and worry. Was this about splinching then? She bit her lip in thought while they bickered. Time was running out and they had to get Ed through the wall. The look of panic in his eyes made her heart clench. She had another idea but did she have the courage?

Taking a deep breath Nell leaned in....and kissed him. Nell slowly straighten so that he would be forced to stand with her. It was difficult to remember what her plan was exactly....kissing him was amazing! Slowly she took two steps back taking him with her. At this point Nell was completely oblivious to there audience.

Adventure was his middle name? Well then, they've got something in common...

"It's tons of fun! Its the most peaceful place that I now of," Ariella always spoke fondly of the sea, "Sometimes you see some magical creatures in there but they're a little shy..."

Ariella noticed that they had been standing by the wall for a while now and figured they should get a move on into the platform, wouldn't want to be one of the last ones. Besides, Archer was getting restless.

"Should we go through the wall?" Ari asked and then without waiting for a reply she started running at the bricks and disappeared...

"There is, your experience was completely different. Mine was caused by one of these." He scowled once more. This was why his dad had been vague about how they got to Hogwarts. Feeling a rush of anger, Edmund decided to send an angry letter from the train - if he ever got on it, that was.

"Then they can come and get me. I'm not going through that." In his own mind, he knew he sounded crazy, but he had an irrational fear instilled in him and he couldn't help it. He lifted his head to tell them to go without him, but was silenced by Nell's unexpected kiss. His eyes widened in surprise and as he finally wrapped his mind around what was going on, he realised he was now standing.

Yes, this kiss was kind of relaxing and TOTALLY unexpected, but he was too aware of the wall. He broke the kiss off what felt like a couple of seconds too early and wrapped his arms around her, holding her where he was stood. "I can't, I'm sorry." he shook his head and ran his hand over his face in frustration as he moved back a step in case she was mad.

Now was his chance! She'd gotten him to his feet and he'd even moved forward a bit just enough to give Isaac a bit of room to get in there. He knew his friend would probably be mad and never speak to him again, but he wasn't going to let him miss the train because of his irrational fear. Hissing to Nell to move he came running at Ed, full blast and kept moving towards the wall going through.

"We aren't leaving without you." Nell let him take the step back but she felt the absence like a blow to the stomach. She wanted to claw him back to her and chain them together. He was being ruled by his fear at the moment though so she gave him his space. Nell was trying to come up with another plan but he look on Issac's face had her pausing.

Nell realised what he was about a split second before he hissed at her. She managed to dive out of the way of Issac bull rushing Ed like a linebacker. Picking herself up Nell dusted herself off and grinned at the sight of the two of them disappearing through the barrier.

Alexa listened to the two speaking and found herself fascinated by the conversation. She was learning abit more of them and that was great! She also found it funny that Dylan wanted his middle name to be adventure!!

That was classic.

She was about to say something when Ari suggested that they go through the wall. That was when she remembered that they were still on the wrong side of the platform. She watched Ari go then she decided she would go next. Her father and Amanda would catch up in their own time.

Once Ari had disappeared into the wall she gave Dylan a quick smile and a nodd then she took a deep breath and rushed through the way.

Dylan smiled as Ariella talked about the Isle of Wight "You do? awesome! I guess thats the place I need to see after I have seen the lake! " yup he was always interested in seeing those magical creatures they were amazingly awesome.

He then nodded as he too looked towards the wall "Yeah I guess we had better go." he chuckled as he watched both girls go through the wall before him. He then decided to go too and went through the wall at a bit of a run and soon he disappeared.

Chace was a brave person, and he liked a challenge like everyone else, but he had to admit the concept of running through a seemingly solid brick wall all to get onto a hidden platform seemed like an unnecessary risk to him. After all back in the states you merely went through a door that muggles couldn't see to get to the train that took you to the academy back in New York and that was the end of that. Well...he supposed that's what he got for having parents that thought he partied too much. Stupid brick walls that you had to run through.

Chace looked down at the little piece of paper with the platform written on it one last time before looking up at the wall. Well...here went nothing he supposed.

OMG, why was her mom embarrassing her? Couldn't she see that her tagging along and being all motherly was uncool? After finally kissing her mom GOODBYE, Valerie continued on toward that stupid wall thing that she was supposed to run through. This thing better not send you into some whirlwind that was going to mess up her hairsssss.

Oh, oh! Cute boy, cute boy. This called for Valerie tactics. So, she 'accidentally' knocked her Louis Vuitton baggage forward, right in front of this boy who was about to run through the brick wall. Siiiiiiiigh. What a shame that he would have to pick it up for her.

Chace was in the process of getting his things situated to run for that damn wall when he heard a loud thud on the ground in front of him. Looking up Chace spotted a rather large bag that was clearly designer he came from New York, he should know that had definitely not been there a second ago. Shifting his eyes Chace spotted a rather attractive girl that looked to be around his age. Chace smirked at her for a second before bending down to pick up the bag.

"I think you may have dropped this?" Chace said with a bemused smirk as he handed the bag out to the girl. Was it just him, or did girls that fashionable and attractive looking not usually drop their designer luggage?

Considering the fact that she'd been born at Hogwarts and had lived there several years, it was just silly that Genevieve had no earthly idea how the barrier worked. Her school year started at the same time as her twin's, so she'd never been at drop off, and she'd been too... grown up to ask her mother's advice.

Her mother... the woman would be along shortly, and Genevieve had no desire to be standing around gawking at walls when her mother showed up. She eyed the boy waiting with a broom in hand... definitely not a Muggle, so she must be close.

She'd just... lean against this wall here. Yup. Genevieve leaned. And leaned. And leaned. Nothing happened. She gave the wall a sharp jab with her elbow.

Yup. That hurt. And it was not the entrance.

Oh, gee, would you look at that? The sweetie picked it up for her. Heh, just as plaaaanned. "Oh, thank you! The wheels don't get along so well with this cement." NOT. She wanted his attention, that's WHAT. She took the handle from him and flashed a pearly white smile.

She clicked her tongue and sized him up, head to toe and back to head again. Check, check, check. "You go to Hogwarts, handsome?" No doubt. He had luggage, after all. And he was going through Platform 9 3/4.

Chace surprised the urge to laugh, but he could feel that his lips might have been betraying him a bit. "If we didn't need so much crap for school, I would just bring wheel-less luggage," Chace said with a little grin. Chace couldn't help but keep his eyes on her teeth for a second as she flashed them at him. How did she manage to keep them so white?? Chace felt like he took pretty good care of his, and tried to avoid the stuff that stained them, but still. Chace had never seen such a white smile in his life.

Chace merely stood there was a bemused expression as she not so subtly looked him up and down...not once, but twice. She obviously liked what she saw, but then again what wasn't there to like? "Yes, I do," Chace said with a smirk. "Chace Denver," he said extending his hand towards her. "I'm going into my seventh year, but it'll be my first at Hogwarts. And yourself?" Chace asked, biting his lower lip slightly as he wondered if his prediction about her age was going to be right. Under different circumstances Chace probably would have been flirting with this girl right now. After all she was very attractive, but Abby popped into his head, and the thought of her wiped the idea away completely.

Gideon had been fiddling a little with his broom as he paused leaning against his cart as if waiting for someone. The most likely excuse if one of the non-magical folk bustling around happened to be curious as to his presence there. It was then as he looked over at the barrier wall that he noticed someone seeming to struggle with the whole 'go THROUGH the wall' trick. Though not a first or second year as suspected but an older girl who had been nearing his own age.

"Not certain that attempt will exactly work for ye," the Scottish curly-haired boy remarked straightening up to his normal stance. "Especially seeing as ye need to go through the middle of THIS side," Gideon informed her, absently pointing at the wall on the perpendicular side to where she had been aiming for.

"Though not yer fault. They really should give instructions in yer letter. Make things easier for the first time." Sure would help keep the injuries down if not the anxiety or vice versa.

Wheel-less luggage? Was this boy crazy? Valerie gave him a look that said about as much. "I would never do that," what with all the clothes she had to pack. Even if they did have to wear lame robes most of the time. "But I guess it wouldn't matter much for muscly men." She wouldn't mind some extra flexing.

Chace Denver. Okay, that was a good name. Nothing scarring, like 'Theodore,' or something. "Valerie DeWalt," she replied, giving his hand a light shake. So, he was going into year seven. Okay, so he was seventeen, then, right? Seventh year... seventeen? Yah. "Fifth year, this year." Blah blah blah. They were close enough in age! "Weird, yah. This is my first time at Hogwarts, too. I went to Salem Academy in America. Now I'm going to school with all these accented people who balance tea cups on their pointer fingers." Because these kids seriously drank tea like water. Maybe they didn't invent coffee over here in Europe yet? Whatever. Those house elves could fetch some for her when she was in need.

Her elbow hurt AND some boy had witnessed her fail. It seemed Genevieve was in a perpetual state of pain and bad mood-ery lately... she should have stayed in France, perhaps.

She tried not to glare at the boy, if only because she didn't want him to know just how right he was. Just LEAAAAAAANING here. That's all. She stayed put, although the hand on her wounded elbow was a dead giveaway.

Sigh. Genevieve shoved off the wall and stalked over to pace around the boy. "Maybe they're trying to weed out those too hopeless to find the doorway. Natural Puffs, right?" She tilted her head and studied the broom and guitar he had. "What sort of broom is that?"

Chace laughed softly. That was true. Chace had a hard time picturing a girl like her carrying her own luggage around without wheels. That just seemed like something that would be slightly beneath her...not to mention based off of how many bags she had Chace was thinking she had brought the equivalent of his wardrobe times two and then some. In all truthfulness they could use some more muscly men around here. Chace felt like most of the guys he had seen were kind of weak looking. Then again, he hadn't really stumbled into anyone that looked his age so that was probably playing a large factor. "I could see how it might be a bit impractical for you, given the quantity of stuff you've got there," Chace said with another amused smirk, and a small nod of the head towards the pile of bags behind her.

Valerie DeWalt. That definitely sounded American. Ahh...so she was a Salem Academy girl. "Salem Academy, huh? I hear that's a good school...although reps like that can sometimes translate into meaning all work and no play," Chace said with a grin. "I went to an academy in New York for my first six years, and leaving there was definitely not by choice." Thank you over-involved parents. At the comment about people balancing teacups on their pointer fingers Chace laughed. "Seriously. I knew that British people were known for liking their tea, but they almost take it to a point of obsession." And for someone like Chace who didn't really do the whole tea thing, it was kind of overwhelming. And annoying. Mostly annoying really. "So, what brought you to the land of odd-speaking tea lovers?" Chace asked, pushing up the sleeves of his hoodie as he spoke. All these people coming just kept making this already stuffy and hot air, hotter and stuffier.

The look she gave was certainly interesting. What? He was trying to be helpful...if she didn't want his help then fine, she didn't need to take it. However she didn't stay quiet or still for that matter so Gideon simply paid attention to her to see what became of the situation.

He raised an eyebrow at her words, the remark making some sense at least to those who were said to be just a tad more cunning or knowledgable then others. "Perhaps so," Gideon in turn answered, the prefect watching the girl stalk closer to him as if examining him for something. His eyes finally followed hers to the broom he had reset back down ontop of his belongings.

"Its a Firebolt." A birthday/Christmas present from his parents the term before seeing as his own hadn't quite survived his fall during the first quidditch match. His sixth year had just not been good for his belongings.

Impractical? HELLZ YAHH. She would be carrying around, like, one million pounds of clothing on her back, and then she would soon end up like the HUNCHBACK OF NO TIRE DIME. Eww, ew. She did not want to think about that. "Yah, that'd be bad.." Ix nay on the carrying thing.

Val shrugged. All work and no play. AS IF. "If anything, it was no work and all play for me." She wasn't so hot on the classes and homework thing. Work was just so much.... work. Right? Like.. ugh. So much thinking. Anyway, he went to an academy in New York? "Oh, I love New York. Best part about the east coast." So, he agreed about the tea. Yes, he SURE agreed on that. Found it annoying, he said. "I think they probably have to pee a lot because of it. I just don't know why they would drink tea over coffee."

Her blue eyes moved down to his sleeves that he was pulling up. Why was he wearing a hoodie? It was still SUMMER. Silly boy. When he wasn't saying any more, she propped her hand on her hip and looked at him. "So, like.... is this your way of flirting, or something? Or.... are you just not good at it?" She cocked her head to the side. Or maybe he wasn't really into girls? Who knewwwww. Valerie just knew that EVERYONE flirted with her.

Chace smirked. He had a feeling that Valerie was definitely the kind of girl that knew how to have a good time. That assumption was based off of...well...the past five minutes of convo was pretty much enough proof needed to draw that conclusion. "Same for me in New York, which is the main reason why I am here about to run through that brick wall, and not in New York where people know what coffee is supposed to taste like," Chace said, eyeing a guy walking by with a rather large cup of tea. At the comment about tea making you have to pee, Chace started laughing. Uh...he was pretty sure that coffee made you pee just as much as tea...But it was fine. The lord giveth and the lord taketh away...

At her next two questions all Chace could really do was raise his eyebrows slightly. "Ha ha, uh, no. You would know if I am flirting with you. I'm very good at it." Chace responded with a little grin. "I mean, don't get me wrong you're very attractive, and I'm flattered that you picked me to drop your rather nice designer bag in front of, but I'm afraid I'm taken."

Hmm. Genevieve ignored the boy for a long moment, instead choosing to pinch-test the twigs and run her fingers over the too-slick-to-be-believed finish. She finally spoke, although her attention was still on the broom. "Spanking new, isn't it? Have you even flown on it yet?"

She pulled her own trunk up short and seated herself on it to continue a closer inspection. "Why are you hanging out on the wrong side of the barrier, anyway? Maybe you can't get through it either."

"Oh, good! Then I'm sure we'll get along," Val smiled. Heh. They'd get along juuuuuuuuuuust fine. Wait, what? He liked to party, so he went to Hogwarts instead? "I'm not following...... Hogwarts is, like.. really great, then?" Lots of fun? She grinned, though, when he laughed. Granted, she wasn't quite sure what he found funny, but who cared? Not Valerie.

Oooooo, looks like Val found a touchy spot. Poking his ego a little. Typical. Ahaa, so apparently he was a very good, very experienced 'flirter.' Then, WHY wasn't he flirting with her? He made no sense. And then he said some more stuff, yada yada yada, he was taken. Val waited for him to go on. She blinked. But nothing more came. Okay. So, that's why he wouldn't flirt with her? Because he was dating someone. "So?"

He was dating someone, big whoop!

Chace grinned. "I'm sure we will. I'm always down to hang with someone who knows how to have a good time." Chace looked towards the brick wall as some first year...well he looked like a first year...went pummeling through it. Out of all things...why a brick wall? "I'm not sure about Hogwarts being a party school, but it's not really the school so much as the people that can ensure a good time," Chace said with a bad boy grin. "My parents forced me to come here for my final year because they felt like my friends were a bad influence, and distracting me from my studies." Yeah. Like they would know.

Chace stared at Valerie deadpan a moment before laughing slightly. "You and I obviously have different ideas as to what comes along with dating someone." Don't get him wrong, Chace thought this girl was attractive, but not attractive enough to get him to mess things up with Abby. "And I'm guessing no isn't usually a word you hear from most guys, huh?" Chace asked with an amused chuckle. "I'm sorry to disappoint Valerie, but cheating is not really my scene."

Trunk and toad in tow, the Mancini clan walked into King's Cross Station. It had been a tense several moments as they had accidentally gone the wrong way underground. Well, it was tense for Mr. Mancini, at least.

"They really shouldn't have it connected to St. Pancras without good enough signs. All this 'Way Out' business... They're lucky we didn't get on a train to France, honestly!"

Mrs. Mancini, on the other hand, handled it differently. "Daniel, I tried to tell you I wanted to use Wizarding transportation. Then this never would have happened."

Meanwhile, first year student Logan Paolo Mancini kept checking his watch. We're going to miss the train if we're not careful. While his parents hadn't been looking, he had asked someone for directions, then quietly led them to where they needed to be. And so it was that the Italian bunch arrived at half ten in the morning. Now all I have to do is figure out where on earth my train leaves from. While his parents went to grab coffee at some French-sounding restaurant ("Pret a Manger! How continental!") the 11-year-old stood under the great white ceiling and stared up at the departures board, announcements about platform changes playing like a tape in the back of his mind.

"There is no nine and three quarters.." he murmured. But he reasoned that, since 9 and 10 were to his right and through the gates, he'd need to go that way. "And buy a ticket? What a ripoff!" His parents joined him and they made their way through to the trains together.

"There's nine and ten. Remember, we're meeting Auntie Fina at Diagon Alley for lunch, so we really have to run, dear. If you need help, just ask someone that doesn't look too much like a muggle. Come give us hugs."

He obediently embraced his parents, then watched them head down the lifts to the "Tube trains," as his father had called them.

Logan Mancini was alone, with no idea what to do next.