Dante was wasting no time this year finding people. They could fin him if they wanted to. He was going to find a compartment and relax. His summer was too hectic for his own good. His own fault visiting people and everything. Lets see. He visited Damien, Cutty and Grayson, then Hugo. And once January rolled around he would be able to apparate. Something he was looking forward to immensely. He plop down in a seat. He debated taking a whole row since hewas a sixth year. He only had to listen to seventh years and staff. Not like that he ever listened to kids older than him anyway.

But still.

He was trying to be less lazy. Shocking, he knows. Less time on the slytherin couch is going to be a tragic experience. He loves that couch. But better that than the library. He spent way to much time there last year. He cant even distracted himself with his toad. Hopalong Montezuma since he just died over the summer. It was tragic. Really it was.

Anyway, Dante just sat there and closed his eyes. Naps were fun until people arrived invited or not.

OMG SHE HAD GOTTEN FLOWERS!! Clutching them tightly, hair slightly a mess, face flushed she kind of just wandered into a compartment and plopped down. THIS WAS THE BEST START OF TERM YET!! Even if she had discovered she had been EXCLUDED by her "FRIENDS" over the holiday. . Nothing was bringing her down TODAY!!

Giggling slightly she stuck her face closer to the flowers... only to hear a small SNORE from across the compartment. Making her eyes go wide she reached across and nudged the sleeping Slytherin with her foot. Dante was his name, right? She had stared at him a lot last term. Heh. "Oi, Dante! Look at my pretty flowers! "

It would have been nice if he was having a dream. But nope he was just napping, nothing special, and now he was being rudely woken up. Why!! He was not bothering anyone or even talked to anyone yet. Sigh. Dante slowly opened his eyes and saw it was the girl with the tarantula and goggles.

What was she on about with flowers and more to the point why did she have flowers.

"Don't tell me those are for me?"

Oh ew. WHY WERE BOYS SO STUPID? "Of course they aren't. Why would I get you flowers? Someone gave them to ME. A boy. A SLYTHERIN boy! " Did he understand the importance of this now?! Totally with waking him up for yes?! ALSO DID HE NOTICE SHE HAD GROWN AND FILLED OUT AND WASN'T WEARING GOGGLES?

The tiny Ravenclaw moved into the back of the train, her purple eyes looking for an empty compartment.. She didn't want anyone to see her right now.. Her pale cheeks were stained with tears and she was shaking slightly.. Her Dad literally had to pry himself away from her and Wes had to practically drag her onto the train..

Why did she have to go back to school now? Only a week after that horrible day in Diagon Alley!

She didn't want to go back, she wanted to go to Germany to find her mother! She couldn't be dead.. She couldn't be!!

Azura choked on a sob as she found an empty compartment and slid onto the seat.. Before she lay down on it and closed her eyes..

Sleep was the only thing that helped lately.. At least when she could get it..

The worst part about the Hogwarts Express on September first? The obnoxiously loud first years littering the place. The best part? The obnoxiously loud first years who'd provide perfect test subjects for her potions once term started. Check her out, making light of the situation. Dot would be so proud.

Speaking of Dot, the brunette wondered what was considered the appropriate amount of time to stay in the prefects compartment before she'd be able to slip away and hang out with her. Kyroh, too, should be here. Dima. Thornton. The last causing a slight pang for obvious reasons. It was probably too early to mirror call him, yes? She'd wait until after the feast. She had promised updates, after all.

After scoring herself a compartment thanks to a particularly frightening look she'd been using on Benny's neighbor's kids over the summer, Maddie settled down by the window and took it all in. Last ride back, last term, so close to being free.

To say she felt ready for this would be an understatement.

"Because you like me obviously" Dante said smiling. He was kidding. Oooo a boy gave her the flowers. A slytherin boy none the less. Well it seemed like she was happy and not just staring anymore. Dante gave her a surprised look. Dante had one guess who. Okay not one guess. But he would think it was Phillip or better known as toilet paper boy.

"So a slytherin boy gave you flowers. Oooo does he like you. Did he give you a kiss on the cheek as well?"

Details Detail. Since she was tell him this already AND since he was up now.

Might as well have some fun.

"Bravo, Mads. Found a compartment, found a window, found some very cute shoes. I tip my hat at you, although obviously... no hat." Dot flounced into the carriage and tried to sit right on her best mate. That's what friendship was - seat sharing.

It was nice to get a few quiet moments together, although surely Dima and Kyroh would be along soon. And she'd have to make a point of finding Paige and Nat. And Zay. Merlin knew she didnt know actually having friends was so busy.

"Did you have a good summer? You look all tan and pretty and happy."

"I like yours. Also, not a cushion. I keep having to remind Freckles of this, too. Did you guys have a meeting and designate me a chair or something? I'm hardly comfortable." Bony, she was. The seventh year gave her best a squish and then wiggled under her. Dot was bony, too, and blocking Maddie's legs with her own. It was hardly fair as Dot's were some of the best in school.

"Great summer, actually. Mostly great. Traveling and beaches and snogs. Can't really go wrong where those things are concerned." She smiled, hoping much more of those particular things were in her future. She quite liked them. "What about you, ready to rule the school this year? You're a prefect AND a seventh year. Lethal combination, I've heard." Eyebrows were raised, mischievous looks were given. Maddie wanted to get into at least a little trouble this term and it was much more fun with company.

Dot slid obediently off of Maddie's lap to the seat beside her, accepting the squish with one of her own in return. "I like mine too. They mostly looked like this when I bought them, although I like changing the color and straps of shoes with spells. Makes them more versatile." She pointed a bootie at the opposite seat and admired it. Nice.

"I don't feel like ruling anything. I have to get my NEWTs under control and find time to dance, and that's it. The whole plan. If I have time, I'll be prefecting and bothering you. I'm not sure I have time to do any ruling." Although she wished she did... seventh year was supposed to be magical, and it was more likely to just be very very busy. "I'm not Head Girl. I guess small mercies, right?"

"Indeed. I can lead for the both of us, badge or no. Report back. Practice for the future." She wasn't deluded enough to think she could rule the entire world anymore but a small portion of it didn't seem that unrealistic. She'd arrived with a renewed sense of determination, it seemed. A summer free from angst could do that for a girl.

"Stopped by the prefects' compartment yet? I'm curious to see who else got badged."

Dora scrunched her whole face up at him. She did NOT like Dante like THAT! She gave her head a shake and then smiled a little at him. He was a dumb boy, but he smiled really nice, so she wouldn't be mean. Yet.

AND it was NOT Phillip. Nope nope nope! HEHEHEHE!!

Dora did the nodding now. And then a SHRUG... she knew he had said he liked her, but she was hard pressed to believe that. And then.. well she laughed and placed the flowers gently on the seat beside her. "We full on snogged! " HEHEHEHEHE!! Yep! DORA HAD SNOGGED CORBIN STEMP!

There was no doubt in Dot's mind that Maddie could rule the entire world if she put her mind to it. If that was how her mate wanted to spend the term, then Dot would do whatever was needed to make world ruling possible. That's what friends were for, right?

"Good. You take on that, and I'll be responsible for taking care of our NEWTs. I'll make study schedules for all of us, and I'll work in some fun time. Occasionally." She tugged her hair over one shoulder and studied Maddie from under her eyelashes. "Not yet. I'm taking my time."

Studying, yes. Maddie's nose wrinkled at the thought of just how much time she'd be dedicating to that this term. Seemed silly to her that her entire future be linked to tests. Not everyone was a good test taker. Like, she was, but not everyone was, and it shouldn't mean a large black cloud over your success if you did poorly. "How many are you taking?"

"You should keep me company for a while, then. I'm sure the first years haven't done anything too horrible just yet. If we hear screams of terror or smell smoke, then you can go." But she didn't have to go. Someone else could take care of it, too.

Ariadne was going to sit in the BACK of the train this go round. Why? Well, because she was now a SECOND year, not an ickle firstie, and sitting in the back of the train made her feel all grown up. She doubted she would stay in her compartment the whole time anyway, but seeing as she needed to at least get settled somewhere before roaming around, she decided to go claim a compartment.

Walking down the corridors, she noticed that there were a lot of older kids back here. A LOT. She didn't feel so grown up anymore. She still felt ickle. At least she was taller this year, which hopefully meant she wouldn't be one of the tiniest. Maybe that counted for something. She stuck her hand into her pocket and felt for her coins for the candy trolley. They were all there. GOOD. As long as she had that going for her, it was going to be ALRIGHT.

She peeked into an empty compartment and deciding this one was as good as any, she ventured inside and took a seat.

For Carl, this year was quite different from the last. A year ago, he was a First Year. There was the exciting 'getting to make friends' process, the hyper 'omg what is going to happen when we get there' discussion and the food trolley adventure, among other things. This year, he was a Second Year. He was cool. Or so he believed.

Cool Carl walked down the corridors to the back cars and looked around. There were still many empty compartments, but he definitely did not want to be alone for the entire train ride. He grinned as he saw his friend Ariadne entering a compartment. Following her in, he took a seat across from her. "Hey, do you mind?"

Maddie obviously wasn't a fan of the studying plan, but it was a necessary evil. And Dot wasn't as clever as the rest of her friends, so she needed to spend more time deep in the books. She reached out to tug a lock of Maddie's hair. "Everything but Divi and Arithmancy. I might have to try to get into university if WADA continues to ignore my obvious skill." Or whatever.

It was nice to be wanted and not fighting her way through the firsties, or admiring the badge of whoever had been chosen Head Girl over her. Maddie was better company than anyone in the prefect compartment. "I'd like to stay." She paused. "Kyroh is being weird."

It didn't occur to Ariadne that entering an empty compartment might mean she would spend the whole train ride all by herself. That would be boring. And embarrassing. All thoughts of that kind of thing were abandoned, though, when the compartment door opened again, and Carl ended up joining her. "Oh, hey, Carl!" she said, surprising herself with her calm tone. A year ago, she would have been TOTALLY shy to talk to a boy. ANY boy. It didn't matter who they were or how long she'd known them. As long as they were a boy, she'd act shy around them.

Not anymore, though, apparently. She didn't know if it was just the fact that she wasn't the new kid or anymore, or if it was the fact that she was about to be THIRTEEN. She was changing, though. "Of course I don't mind. Actually, I was just sitting here thinking how lame it would be if I had to spend the whole train ride in here by myself," she continued. What would be even cooler is if she branched out and made friends with a whole GROUP of people. She remembered her older sister talking about how back in the day, they would PACK a compartment. Now THAT would be cool.

"So take a seat. Tell me how you summer went," she said. She didn't really have anything exciting to tell, but maybe he did!

Keeping his head down, the still tiny half-Japanese kid silently manoeuvred his way to the very back of the train where he hoped he could get a quiet compartment to himself. Jace figured he could use some quiet time to read...or make up for the lost sleep because of his jet-lag, before officially beginning his second term in Hogwarts.

Slipping into an empty compartment, Jace made himself comfortable by sitting...and scooting to the side, and eventually laid himself on the seat occupying it fully. He can still fit in one, making the second year grunt in disgust. At the very least, he probably grew half an inch over the summer.

What a bummer.

So, this was the ever so famous Hogwarts Express? Vivian was sort of glad that she was finally aboard it. She had really been waiting for this day so she could show to her sister how mature and grown up she already was. Poor Francine, though. She'd be stuck at home for three more years before stepping inside this train. Sucks for her sister, sort of. However, Vivi would really miss her and everyone else.

The eleven year old wandered towards the back cars after her daddy helped her out with her trolley at the bags compartment. She wanted to be the last one so she could still see them and wave farewell before the train moved. This was a very sad moment, she thought. She had all types of mixed emotions.

Vivian wanted to get a compartment of her own but then she thought that was pretty sad, and she didn't want to let her sad vibes get the best of her. She peered into some compartments - most with older students that she was a little bit too frightened to ask - so she settled for one with two students who were about her. She slowly slid the compartment door open. "Hi," the blonde said with a smile. She tried not to let it all seem awkward. "Is it okay with you guys if I share a compartment with you?" She wouldn't mind sharing her marshmallows, you know? She just had her stash refilled before she left home.

And also about ten more bags in her trolley. They would suffice her until the holidays, special thanks to Aunt Elise and Uncle Chris.

Hadley had reached the back cars, but was still feeling restless and wasn't quite ready to head back to her compartment up in the front. Asher, the ash colored ferret, was draped across her shoulders, content to be along for the ride. Every now and then, he would try to nibble her hair.

Both the ferret and Hads had changed a lot over the summer. Most noticeably, was the calmness. Neither the girl or the ferret were the spazzy balls of energy they where last year. Yet, the energy was still there, in both of them, menacingly just below the surface. More than that, Hadley looked different. She had grown another inch over the summer and now stood 5 foot 3, and with less than 24 hours until she was officially a teenage, she already looked the part.

Someone caught her eye as she passed another compartment and a bit of the old Haddie returned. Her hand slipped into her messenger bag, closing around the dreaded sharpie. The same one that had been used to decorate Rachel's face last year. She had planned to use it again on Jace the next time he pretended not to see her. Hey, if she was gonna be invisible, she might as well have some fun with it. Of course, naturally, the next time they were in the same place together, he had surprised her and acknowledged her existence for the first time, robbing her of her chance.

Let's see what happened this time. Especially with the shirt she was wearing. If anything would want to make Jace pretend she didn't exist again, it would probably be that. Hadley held up a finger to her lips, silently telling Asher to be silent. Believe it or not, it wasn't just for show. That had been one of the things she trained him on over summer. Together they slipped quietly into the compartment and sat down on the seat opposite of Jace--he actually fit in the whole length of the seat?-- and waited for the boy to realize he wasn't alone.

The cacophony of voices that floated around the train was enough for the tired boy to be lulled to a shallow sleep. His eyes were half closed, and his half-awake brain had spaced out. Letting the sliver of light from the compartment window illuminate his eyes, his thoughts wandered back to his last days in Japan wherein, he failed two tests in Kendo. He didn’t get his promotion, albeit Sensei Hollingberry’s observation that he was ready. He guessed, he was still too preoccupied with his defeat in the National Tournament that same month.

Sighing, he turned to his side, and was surprisingly not alarmed to find himself not alone anymore. He expected someone to sit with him at the back, and actually not mind him sleep for the duration of the trip...but this...person wasn’t just a somebody.

Klaxon bells ringed inside his head, and Jace immediately sat up from his seat, making his blood rush up to his head in seconds. The second year reached up for the back of his head, and pulled on his hair to keep his head from lolling sideways.

And...what does that statement shirt even mean? Is she trying to insult someone, or is it some form of crude joke? “Ohayo...” he said softly, and eyed the ferret on her shoulder. Now, what did Haddie want?

She couldn't help but smirk when he startled upon realizing who was in the compartment with him. Oh, he was fun to mess with. She made a silent vow to herself to mess with him more this year. "Uh, oh hey-o to you too." Whatever that meant.

Hadley removed Asher from her shoulders, gave the ferret's tiny head a gentle kiss, and set him down so that he could explore the cabin freely. The ferret didn't venture far from her though. They had really bonded over the summer. Occasionally the Californian would pet him, but otherwise she didn't say anything. Or do anything. Just kept regarding Jace with those blue eyes of hers. For a very. Long. Time. It was a struggle not to smile though. She was kinda curious how easily she could drive him batty. Oooh, there was a nickname for him. Batboy. Because he was blind as one last year.

Okay, maybe it was a bit mean, but it had been a long summer. The longest. And this was actually quite cathartic. She kept regarding him, without a word.

What did she want? Jace stared back, but did not crack a smile. He felt every bit insulted when she greeted him back. It came as a surprise though when he felt an instant sensation of lividness in his system. Such emotion was usually contained in a competition, and Jace did not expect himself to feel any hate towards anyone.

Sighing he brought his legs up to his seat, and sat in a lotus position and watched the ferret go about the compartment in a bored manner. His eyes were on Haddie's pet, but his tired brain tried to comprehend and understand the other occupant.

How in Merlin's holy name did Rachel Watson survived this person?

H O W ?