Seeing her new companion making herself comfortable, Reagan followed suit; slipping off her shoes and tucking her legs beneath her bum in the compartment seat. Man, she REALLY wanted a cuppa. It would've been perfect...curled up on the train with a steaming mug and her notes.

...Oh, Beauxbatons! She'd definitely read about the esteemed French school before though the details were vague in most books. Almost like they were protecting some deep, juicy secrets. The urge to extract information was strong...but Rea had promised to save it for when she officially got to school. Well, she'd promised herself...and a promise broken to oneself was the worse kind.

"I've heard it's gorgeous! What made you want to leave?" Assuming she'd wanted to leave and it wasn't a parental issue..."If you don't mind me asking, of course." Always smiling and polite, you see?...because Reagan Penrose didn't know how to NOT smile. She liked to think she was one of the warmest of the warm individuals. Like a REA of sunlight. "I left after my Third Year, but from what I remember, Hogwarts is a wonderful place. I've read in the Prophet that they've underwent a few changes, but I'm sure the quality's been maintained."...The Acromantula attack was clearly a misunderstanding. Animals were harmless...no matter what. It just took the proper care, patience, and communication.

#AnimalsAreFriends

"Oh, they're plant-based recipes. I'm a vegetarian."...and because she didn't share the vegan lifestyle with many people she knew, it was important to know how to prepare her own food. Honestly, Rea didn't mind. She even found it fun! In fact, she'd created some pretty interesting tasting things...Not all great interesting, but the ratio was more on the delicious side.

"So, what do you want to know? Ask me anything."

SPOILER!!: Angel

Angel slowly got up from laying down, she had a feeling she wouldn't be allowed to lay there all the time, she wished that she had her father or mother with her so she could get a hug. "Well this is a right way to start my exam year." Angel sighed as she dried her eyes, she knew that her face would be a right mess but at the minute she didn't care all she wanted to do was get to Hogwarts and get into her dorm, she could skip the start of term feast right? maybe she would ask the head or her head of house.

Angel looked at her friend. "I appreciate it Hady." Angel gave her friend a weak smile, then she went back to frowning, she seriously just wanted to go somewhere to sleep, but her friend was going on about the sleepover they never had last term. "I don't know, I'll get back to you on that." Angel didn't want to be the gossip at the party and she was worried everyone would ask her awkward questions.

Hady shifted a little on the seat moving to sit back against it. Pulling one of her legs up she tucked it under herself as she continued to smooth Hagan's fur lightly just to give herself something to do. There really wasn't much for her to say to Angel's comment just then and she had to keep herself from frowning at all.

"No problem," she answered quietly returning the small smile she had been given. Things would get better for her friend she knew that, it would take time. Time eventually healed everything especially for those like Angel. She was smart, social, and a great friend. Right now Hady knew her heart was in a million pieces but she was sure that in the end Angel would be alright. When Angel had said she wasn't sure about the slumber party Hady had been expecting that so she gave a nod. "That's fine. Would you like to be alone now?..or?" This was a question left open. Hady had no clue on which her friend would rather do now. Maybe she wanted some time to think or whatever.

Angel was staring into space, just thinking about everything that had happened this summer and then today and so when Hady spoke she got a little shock because she for a moment had forgot her friend was there. "Thanks for being here Hady." Angel sighed as she looked at her younger friend. "Your such an amazing friend." Angel was glad she had a friend like Hady.

Angel then heard her friend ask if she wanted to be alone and she thought about it, she had a feeling if she was alone the tears would come back as she thought about what happened. "Not really." Angel sighed, she wished her head of house was here. Seriously he was a Professor and so he should know everything right, like how to mend a broken heart. Maybe there was a book on it somewhere she could read.

"Though if you have somewhere to be, I'll be okay." Angel didn't want to stop her friend from going somewhere if she had to be somewhere else because that just wasn't fair on her.

SPOILER!!: Angel

Angel was staring into space, just thinking about everything that had happened this summer and then today and so when Hady spoke she got a little shock because she for a moment had forgot her friend was there. "Thanks for being here Hady." Angel sighed as she looked at her younger friend. "Your such an amazing friend." Angel was glad she had a friend like Hady.

Angel then heard her friend ask if she wanted to be alone and she thought about it, she had a feeling if she was alone the tears would come back as she thought about what happened. "Not really." Angel sighed, she wished her head of house was here. Seriously he was a Professor and so he should know everything right, like how to mend a broken heart. Maybe there was a book on it somewhere she could read.

"Though if you have somewhere to be, I'll be okay." Angel didn't want to stop her friend from going somewhere if she had to be somewhere else because that just wasn't fair on her.

Amazing.

Her.

Nah. Hady was just...Hady.

"Anytime. Really. If you need me you can always find me." She had no problem at all being there when a friend needed her. They'd do the same for her and deep down she did know that even if she wasn't always one to search out her friends if she had something on her mind. Well not all her friends...maybe there was one she would look for.

When the brunette heard Angel say she didn't want to be alone she was sure she knew why. With a small smile she reached forward and laid a hand lightly on the other girls arm in a comforting manner. "Then I'll stay here." Angel needed her. Therefore anything else could wait a bit. There would always be time later on to say 'hello' to everyone else. She gave her a small grin before once more glancing at her lap her grin widening just a bit when she had a thought.

"Have you ever met Hagan?," she asked gesturing to the ball of cat fluff resting on her lap. "He's really quite smart and likes to give hugs." Well maybe he didn't 'give' hugs but he did like to get them. And he was soft, fluff and warm. Perfect for cuddling and making someone feel better. Hady didn't do it often but she'd let her friend hold Hagan if she liked, if it would help at all. Even just the tiniest of bits.

SPOILER!!: Olly!

Quote:

Originally Posted by littledhampir

Alright fine, Olly supposed that made sense. Though he still did not think it was fair that this kid was able to go to multiple different wizard schools. Maybe Olly would too, or he would go to THREE just so he could be the winner. Not that he wanted to go anywhere other than Hogwarts but that wasn't the point. The point was that he liked to win.

Kudos. Olly didn't know what that meant. Was it a kind of candy? Was Colt going to give him candy? When the moment passed and the first year was not given any candy he was a little disappointed, but it didn't last long because he reminded himself that he had plenty of candy packed away in his own trunk. More than his dads knew about that was for sure. He dragged his thoughts away from candy and smiled at the boy. "Hello Colt." It was a short name. Four letters, just like O-L-L-Y, the shortest version of his own name. Olly eyed the boys hand. He wanted a handshake now? Olly had offered his hand right away but had withdrawn it because Colt had not shook his hand. He wanted to NOW? Perhaps Olly hadn't held his own hand out long enough, he had been known to be a little impatient. In any case, he gave the older boy a firm, enthusiastic handshake.

"There's a GIANT SQUID!" Did Colt know about that, huh? "It lives in the lake and eats fish and stuff. Do you think there might be mermaids in the lake, too? Or sharks? I don't think there's a Dragon because it might breathe fire and burn down the whole school." That would be very, VERY bad, so Olly didn't think the professors would keep such a dangerous animal around. "There are probably lots of secret passageways beneath the castle and stuff." It was SO OLD, there were probably tons of places nobody even knew about anymore.

Colt saw Oliver hesitate to shake his hand at first and then he felt him shake his hand with enthusiasm. Man this kid was a live wire. He chuckled at his energy and then he heard him yell there is a giant squid. He raised his eyebrows at this and was impressed. "Woah now that sounds cool. A giant squid huh? Is he nice to the students too?" I mean come on some of the students must have seen it. He was trying not to laugh at his other two questions. "I think there might be mermaids but I highly doubt there is sharks because they would eat the students. I am pretty sure the boss would make sure about that." He assured the little dude. The little dude had a point. If there was a dragon he/she could burn down the whole castle. "Well I hope we can meet some dragons one day.." he thought out loud. "I wanna see one before I graduate."

"Do you think the secret passageways lead to places like the Shrieking Shack? I heard that place is rumored to be haunted." He heard about that from his cousins and he wondered what this little dude thought of the rumors.

"I don't know, I've never met him. He must be nice or the professors would make him leave." Unless he was a GIANT, POWERFUL evil squid. That might not be a very good thing, but Olly did think it would be cool. "Maybe there are nice sharks, like the nice squid." This was Hogwarts after all, so who knew what could be there. For some reason that even he couldn't put his finger on, Olly really hoped there would be sharks. That would be cool.

"Haunted? Like with ghosts? But aren't there already ghosts at Hogwarts anyway?" Why was the idea of ghosts in other places scary? Maybe there were only nice ghosts at Hogwarts, but in the shrieking shack there were evil ghosts. "Do you think we'll be able to go in the shrieking shack when we go to Hogsmeade?" If it was an option, Olly would totally be there. He'd prove that he wasn't afraid of something rumored to be haunted or whatever.

The kid had a point. He agreed one hundred percent. "Yeah I heard from my cousin you can even swim with the squid too which I am stoked for.." Colt had never done it before and it was gonna be checked off his bucket list. Colt shook his head and chuckled. "Yeah I mean there could be nice sharks but I think seeing you as food will change their minds very quickly." he advised the young one. Colt nodded and if he knew one thing is he was told about the Hogwarts ghosts from his family. "Yeah there is ghosts for each house. I kind of want to meet the Bloody Baron. He is the most feared ghost of them all. I guess the name Bloody Baron sounds kind of scary in itself..." he thought out loud. "What house do you think your gonna be in?" He just was curious is all.

Colt thought about it and nodded. "Yeah I can make it happen. I think it is blocked off but I can make it happen." he winked and assured him with his breaking and entering skills he learned from the city when he was younger. "As long as your not too scared.." he warned him.

"WITH him? Do you think he would even want to RACE?" Olly loved to swim. He wasn't necessarily good at it like some people, but he was good enough to not drown. The thought of being able to swim with a giant squid was even more exciting. Hmph, no sharks. Fine. Olly supposed he could live with that. His mind was focused on the giant squid for now anyway, so he was willing to swim without the sharks, even if they would be nice.

"BLOOD? Like real blood?" But he was a ghost, so there couldn't be real blood, right? "If you touch it, would it feel like real blood? What do ghosts feel like when you touch them?" Was there anything solid? Or would your hand keep moving like there was just empty air? Olly decided that he would have to test it out for himself at some point during his years at Hogwarts. Hopefully sometime soon. "I'm going to be wherever my sister is," Olly declared. Though he didn't have an idea as to what house that would be, it didn't really matter. "How about you? Are you going to be sorted with the first years?" Olly was curious as to how transferring to Hogwarts worked.

GOOD. Whether or not they were allowed to enter the shrieking shack was not a concern of Olly's. As long as he could get in, he wasn't going to be picky. "You pinky promise?" He extended his hand toward Colt, specifically his pinky. A pinky promise meant he could not back down. He would HAVE to get Olly into the shrieking shack, just like he had said.

Kate smiled at the word roomie. "It's awesome, roomie," she replied. She and Janelle had been the only two Ravenclaw girls since they'd been first years. It'd been just the two of them in their little dorm room for years. "Maybe we'll get a third roomie this year," she added. "It'd be cool to have another girl, but then again, I've gotten so used to being with just you!" She gave her co-roomie another smile. Kate had no idea why they weren't closer. You'd think with being the only two Ravenclaw girls in their year they'd be inseparable. Kate made a promise to herself then and there to try and hang out with Janelle a little more this year.

She nodded in reply to Janelle's second question. "Yeah, I guess. I'm really excited to try and make more friends this year," she admitted. "I'm getting a little bored of hanging out with myself all the time." She gave a light laugh at that last comment. She shook her head at the offer of chocolate. "I love chocolate, but I actually remembered to stock up on candy right before the ride. You can have some of mine, too, if you want." She showed her stash of candy to both Janelle and Cinna.

"Australia?" she asked, looking at Cinna. "That sounds really cool! What kind of internship did you have?" Kate remembered that Cinna was about to graduate, which was both kind of cool and sad at the same time. Cinna seemed kind of sad about her graduation, too, so Kate just nodded along to her comments but didn't say anything about it just in case. Janelle had asked about Australia, too, and then brought up professors and prefects. "I don't know, but I heard it from a friend who heard it from a friend that we had more professors leave over the summer. I'm expecting at least half of them to be new." She guessed the spiders had affected people more then she thought.

Ellery had lost her brother aLREADY, but what else was new. She skipped along the corridor, peering into the already mostly full compartments, and eventually finding her brother. Olly was in conversation with a boy already, so she just smiled at him and continued along her way. She stood against the wall to let someone pass, then got an AMAZING IDEA. She was going to try to CLIMB to the CEILING.

She kept her shoulder blades pressed firmly into the wall behind her and shuffled so her bum and tailbone were on it too. She put her right foot against the opposite wall, and matched its height with her left. Her bum had come off the wall slightly, but she used the leverage of her legs to start inching up the wall. She was at about head height for probably the majority of students.

This was SUCH a good idea. Mental high five.

Oooh.

Going without shoes seemed like a fun idea, so Paulina did the same. It was times like this that she was glad for ballet flats because they were so easy to slip on and off. No fuss and bother, because shoes weren't the most important thing to her. She preferred spending her time writing!

Talking about Beauxbatons made her smile; she was sad to leave the place behind because of the friends that she had made there. Siigh. A question was a question though, and Paulina really didn't mind answering. It wasn't as if she never asked things herself. "It really IS beautiful there, but I had some issues that made going there not a good decision anymore." Blush. Did she really have to go out there and say that some of the other girls had started to bully her really badly?

Anywaaaays.

"Oh, so you left for a few terms?" That was interesting and she had to wonder why that would be the case. "What kinds of changes?" Nothing too crazy she hoped! Paulina didn't want to go to a crazy school. If anything strange happened could she transfer to Durmstrang?

Thinking that over, the word vegetarian caught her attention. "I'm a vegetarian too!" Huh. Small world because it seemed that most people ate meat. Paulina couldn't though; she couldn't eat anything that had been a living and breathing animal. "Is there really a hat that tells you where you are sorted?" Because if so, that was weird and interesting at the same time.

Rea smiled in approval as her new friend joined her in bare-footed bliss. They were still a ways away from the school...So, why NOT make themselves comfy while they chatted and shared stories? Oooh, and that gave the Ravenclaw an idea! Digging down into her floral satchel, Reagan produced two bricks of vegan peanut brittle and offered one to Paulina. "Would you like to share my snack?" It wasn't made with traditional butter because Rea did NOT approve of dairy products, but it was STILL delicious. And it had a sweet aftertaste, too...unlike the other kind.

...and that slip in information gave her an inquisitive ITCH...but with the way Paulina worded it, Rea understood it was a delicate matter. She could only speculate...a boy, maybe? Had a boy broken her heart? Or maybe a girl had. She didn't discriminate! Girls could break hearts, too...Or maybe it was something more. Either way, she wasn't going to push just now. In fact, Rea understood needing a clean slate. "Sometimes it's best to gain fresh perspective. As long as you stay positive, good things will happen, you know?"

Karma. She DEEPLY believed in it.

Perfectly okay with dropping the subject, she shifted around in her seat and began unwrapping her own snack. "Yes, my family situation is an...intricate one. Needless to say, I had a teenage!episode and went and stayed with my father, who lives in Russia......buuut, the vegan lifestyle is difficult there." She offered a sheepish smile. "I stuck it out as long as I could." Also, ANOTHER vegetarian! Yes, new best friend. Hey, hi, hello. "You'll have to forage for seaweed with me!" It'd be a relaxing time; wading in the lake, bare feet in the water, with the sun shining down on them...

Oh, and about the changes..."The Headmistress stepped down...but it's not been announced who'll take her place." If Reagan wasn't mistaken, the Deputy usually took over in that case and that was...Professor Bentley, if she remembered correctly...But she wouldn't speculate. Rea didn't want to seem like a gossip. She preferred facts, to be fair.

.

"Yes, there IS a hat that sort's you into one of four houses; Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin." There was a short pause as Reagan took a bite of her brittle. "I'm a Ravenclaw."

Angel gave her friend a weak smile. "Thanks, I appreciate that." Angel seriously didn't want to be alone after everything that had gone on and now she was thinking about the sleepover. "If we do have a sleepover then I'll make sure to bring loads of chocolates." Angel thought it probably was best to try and think about something else because at the minute her mind wasn't working very well.

Angel suddenly heard Hady speaking about someone called Hagan and she looked down to see that a cat was sat on Hady lap. "There's a dog called Rufus at home, basically he the family dog and I love giving him hugs when I'm upset. He just sits there and I'm sure he cries with you." Angel sighed as she remembered a few years back.

Angel gave Hagan a stroke and then she pointed to where her owl was. "That up there is Airforce!" Angel actually managed a smile as she thought about how she named him. "You see I was only eleven and I though it would be cool to come up with a flying name and that was the only name I could think about and so that's how he got his name."

SPOILER!!: Angel

Angel gave her friend a weak smile. "Thanks, I appreciate that." Angel seriously didn't want to be alone after everything that had gone on and now she was thinking about the sleepover. "If we do have a sleepover then I'll make sure to bring loads of chocolates." Angel thought it probably was best to try and think about something else because at the minute her mind wasn't working very well.

Angel suddenly heard Hady speaking about someone called Hagan and she looked down to see that a cat was sat on Hady lap. "There's a dog called Rufus at home, basically he the family dog and I love giving him hugs when I'm upset. He just sits there and I'm sure he cries with you." Angel sighed as she remembered a few years back.

Angel gave Hagan a stroke and then she pointed to where her owl was. "That up there is Airforce!" Angel actually managed a smile as she thought about how she named him. "You see I was only eleven and I though it would be cool to come up with a flying name and that was the only name I could think about and so that's how he got his name."

She offered her friend a small smile. No thanks was needed. This is what friends did. They stuck by one another and helped each other feel better. If she didn't, what type of friend would she be? Certainly not a very good one. Oh! Awesome now Angel was thinking of the sleepover! Hady grinned nodding her head right away. "Definitely have to have chocolates. It wouldn't be a sleepover without those." Every girl liked chocolate right?

Hearing Angel speak of her dog at home and how she gave him hugs when she was upset made her smile. That's how she felt about Hagan. At being petted by someone new Hagan's head lifted to sniff at Angel's hand a moment before he set it back down once more, his back arching up into the girls hand as he purred contently. "Hagan's an attention hog. He enjoys affection." She smiled laughing softly. "I want a dog but my mother is allergic and doesn't want one...so maybe eventually I'll get one. At home though is my snake Aime and my owl Riddick." Maybe when it was just her and her father and they moved during the holiday then he'd allow her to get a dog.

There was pointing going on! And something about the Airforce? Wait...what? Hady twisted around to where her friend was pointing and ended up laughing. How she hadn't seen the owl earlier she didn't know....and how Hagan wasn't going after it she wasn't sure either. It was probably because she had been worried about her friend earlier. "Airforce, really? That's a pretty epic name actually," she agreed. She had a thing for unusual names.

Davie was munching on a chocolate frog leg, walking between the front compartments toward the back ones, when he spotted a... human spider? What in the world was this girl doing?!

He stopped before his head ran into her legs and then took another step back as well, to fully assess the situation. "Bend your knees more, so they don't lock in place," he offered, gesturing with his frog. "You must have really long legs." For a kid. He had no idea what year she was, but most kids were taller than him anyway.

Janelle laughed when Kate brought up the possiblilty of getting a new roommate. "Yeah, it might be nice to have someone new share a room with us, but I know that you mean." Maybe they should be careful what they wished for. She and Kate got along well and they knew each other's ways. What if they got a new roommate who didn't go along with the program? "I guess we'll just have to wait and see. We'll find out if there is anyone new soon enough."

Once Cinna had gotten her candy and Kate had declined, Janelle put her chocolate away. At Kate's offer of more candy, Janelle replied. "I might just take you up on that offer, but not right now. I'm pacing myself." She unwrapped a chocolate frog and took a bite. "Last year, I was starving at the feast. It took so long for the food to come. This year I'm better prepared."

Janelle listened to more talk of Australia. Just thinking about it made her want to go there even more. That was definitely one of her must visit bucket list places. She was determined to get there, one day.

When Kate dropped the bomb about more professors leaving, Janelle gasped. "You're kidding. I hope that that's not true. I really liked the professor's last year." Now Janelle's curiousity was piqued. Which professors would be there when they arrived at school and which would be gone? She was used to having changes in her life, but she was definitely not looking forward to this one.

As Cinna listened to the girls talk about the whole dormmates stuff, she realized that at least two of her own dormmates wasn't coming back. The two just happened to be her two favorites but shhhh don't tell the others. Not that she cared much about that. Everyone knew that the seven year had her people, her favorite people. If you were lucky enough to be one of them. Janelle seem like one that could be her people. Why hadn't she talked to the Ravenclaw before now?

"Australia was amazing. I had a great time. If you guys ever get a chance to go. Go." She really did have a great time and she was happy to get to talk about it. It made her happy, sad, excited and anxious all at the same time. She hated leaving mostly because leaving meant leaving Bart there. Beaming because the only other great thing about the summer was her internship she was sure Kate would love to hear about it. It was right up her alley. "I interned for O-star, the fashion line. I got to work with a real designer see next springs designs. It was great." For the forte time Cinna knew exactly what she wanted to do after this term. It was one of the best feelings in the world that she knew.

It had been awhile since there had been major staff changes at school and with last terms events she wasn't surprised by these rumors. Bunz was gone, that was already known but who else? Cinna sit quietly and munched on the chocolate frog that Janelle had given her while the two 'Claws discussed the staff changes. All long as it wasn't the good professors or the ones she liked she'd be happy. She did have NEWTs to worry about this term. Ugh. 7th year. She wanted it to be over with but at the same time she wanted it to good by slow. Such a confusing year, yeah?

Ellery was NOT expecting to hear someone so close to her, and she was pretty focused up until that point, so she immediately fell the few feet she had managed, onto her bum.

"Ow."

She got up, rubbing her tailbone ruefully, and eyed the boy in front of her. He was giving her tips on her climbing, which was nice, even if he didn't give her much warning. "I DO have long legs. It makes gymnastics hard but it also means I am really tall for my age." She demonstrated by stretching high and showing their height difference.

She maneuvered back onto the wall, stretching her legs as far as they could go, with only her head and shoulders on the wall behind her. Bending her knees meant that she actually had more movement. "Yo, thanks."

SPOILER!!: Olly

Quote:

Originally Posted by littledhampir

"WITH him? Do you think he would even want to RACE?" Olly loved to swim. He wasn't necessarily good at it like some people, but he was good enough to not drown. The thought of being able to swim with a giant squid was even more exciting. Hmph, no sharks. Fine. Olly supposed he could live with that. His mind was focused on the giant squid for now anyway, so he was willing to swim without the sharks, even if they would be nice.

"BLOOD? Like real blood?" But he was a ghost, so there couldn't be real blood, right? "If you touch it, would it feel like real blood? What do ghosts feel like when you touch them?" Was there anything solid? Or would your hand keep moving like there was just empty air? Olly decided that he would have to test it out for himself at some point during his years at Hogwarts. Hopefully sometime soon. "I'm going to be wherever my sister is," Olly declared. Though he didn't have an idea as to what house that would be, it didn't really matter. "How about you? Are you going to be sorted with the first years?" Olly was curious as to how transferring to Hogwarts worked.

GOOD. Whether or not they were allowed to enter the shrieking shack was not a concern of Olly's. As long as he could get in, he wasn't going to be picky. "You pinky promise?" He extended his hand toward Colt, specifically his pinky. A pinky promise meant he could not back down. He would HAVE to get Olly into the shrieking shack, just like he had said.

Colt shrugged and probably had a hunch the Squid would love to race. "I think we would love to swim with the students. I don't if he would race but I would try to ask and speak squid." he smirked. He wondered if anyone could speak Squid. Colt raised his eyebrows yet again at this kids energy. Man this dude had a lot of questions but he went with what his cousins told him. "Woah woah well first of all I don't think it is real blood actually. It is just the look on the ghost." That was his best explanation. Now onto touching of the ghosts. "Well if you touch one I heard it is like going into a bucket of ice water." If the kid wanted to touch one go for it. He wasn't gonna stop him. "Oh which house is your sister in? Who is your sister?" Now it was time for him to ask some questions.

"I actually have no idea. I think I might be sorted with the first years." His stomach plummeted because he had no idea what was gonna happen. He was gonna look awkward standing there with firsties and being sorted but I guess he gotta get the job done. He couldn't help but laugh at this kid's cuteness when he asked for a pinky promise. He held out his pinky and wrapped it around his. "Pinky Promise and I know you never break them.." he told him.

Smiling at her new friend, Paulina was feeling a lot more comfortable about the train ride. Even if she didn't make a lot of friends here, she would have at least one and quality was better than quantity in her book. Reagan seemed really nice.

She was even offering food!

Curiously Paulina took the offered snack with a 'thank you'. It appeared to be some kind of peanut brittle - but a lot better than any she had ever tried before. "Wow, this is really good!" Clearly she was very good at baking and that was wonderful since she herself was such a fail at anything in the kitchen besides noodles.

Finishing her peanut brittle, Paulina nodded at what Reagan said about staying positive. She was kind of glad that things weren't inquired into further, though she would have been totally fine with answering more questions. "That's very true. Sometimes it's hard, but I always try to see the good in people and life in general. I believe in karma." There were not many people that Paulina disliked.

Teenage episode though? That sounded rather serious. "Well, I'm glad that things worked out for you." It might be best not to pry into things too much even though she was curious. "How is Russia? It seems like an interesting place, but I've never been there before." Maybe she wouldn't go there if there weren't many vegetarian options for her to choose from... "But yeah, we can forage together! Is the lake huge and filled with interesting creatures?" Mermaids were probably in the water, but maybe there were other things that were more interesting as well.

"How come the headmistress left?" Was there something wrong with the school? Or did she just want to retire? Paulina was hoping for the latter because she wanted to graduate in one piece. Anything that could scare off the head wasn't good in her book... But whatever. The sorting hat seemed pretty cool. "Oh! I remember reading that Harry Potter was in Gryffindor." She had read up about him in some book a while back though she wasn't really big on history. Astronomy was more interesting in her opinion.

"But I don't know how to speak squid!" Olly's exclamation was followed by a gasp. He hadn't even thought about the issue of communication. A squid couldn't possibly speak English, could it? Perhaps this one could. Maybe it was magic. It did live at Hogwarts after all. The thought of a giant squid living just meters from Olly himself, but a squid with whom he would not be able to communicate, was unimaginable. It would be such a tragedy. But such a tragedy was quickly forgotten as the conversation switched back to one of ghosts. "Ice?" He grimaced. "I don't think I'd want to touch a ghost if they really feel like ice." But he still had to try at least once, just to try. Even if it was really cold.

OH THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT ELLERY NOW? Oliver grinned at the mention of his sister. He had seen her pass by the compartment just a few moments ago. She was off doing who knows what but he would catch up to her later. "My sister's name is Ellery, and she's a first year. Like me." With those last words, Olly pointed both of his thumbs toward his chest and grinned. "We're triplets, actually, but our brother Colin isn't coming to Hogwarts."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Casey O

Ellery was NOT expecting to hear someone so close to her, and she was pretty focused up until that point, so she immediately fell the few feet she had managed, onto her bum.

"Ow."

She got up, rubbing her tailbone ruefully, and eyed the boy in front of her. He was giving her tips on her climbing, which was nice, even if he didn't give her much warning. "I DO have long legs. It makes gymnastics hard but it also means I am really tall for my age." She demonstrated by stretching high and showing their height difference.

She maneuvered back onto the wall, stretching her legs as far as they could go, with only her head and shoulders on the wall behind her. Bending her knees meant that she actually had more movement. "Yo, thanks."

Gymnastics were definitely not something Davie knew anything about, nor was he particularly interested in learning the fine details of them. But if this girl knew what she was talking about, then he would just give her a quiet nod, his usual answer for when he didn't know what to say.

He waited a beat while she fell, caught herself, and then tried again with her knees bent. See? He'd helped. "You're welcome," the dark-haired boy responded politely, trying to decide how to get past her now. "Um... you are blocking the corridor though, just so you know." You know, and could move for people to pass?

"You can go under me," Ellery offered, poking her chin out to gesture to the open bit of space underneath her. "You'd need to squat, but like, it'll be FINE. You'll LIVE, and if you don't, I'll hide the evidence and make a concrete alibi."

She wiggled herself up the wall a little more.

"I'd probably go find my brother and convince him to back me up. To be HONEST…he'd help me bury a body if that ever was a THING. Y'know what I mean." What? They weren't just a family, they were a CLAN.