For the past 2 journeys, Vera had been full of excitement which had left saying good bye to Papa and Scoot far more manageable. But on this third journey, she wasn’t feeling the greatest, so the new third year had held on a little longer to her father. Until the last call for boarding sounded and then she sneaked in a tighter squeeze to her little sister over years passed. It was hard not to want to cry at this particular parting, but she did not like to show weakness - it was why she was so silly all the time.

So she pasted a smile on her face while she pushed through the crowds, glad for the new cosmetics that could be used to put some color in her cheeks, until she found an empty compartment in the front of the train. It felt like she hadn’t been there long, having just pulled on the larger comfy sweater of her brother’s she’d nicked, until she heard the melodic voice of the Trolley lady and stood to move out to the corner to join the line. She and Maria had owled and planned to meet at the Trolley to then ride the trip together. They could figure from there if they wanted to keep quiet in the compartment she’d found towards the front or if they should explore and look for anyone else.

Joining the line for sweets, Ve kept waving anyone else in front of her while she waited for her favorite Badger.

Seventh year.

He supposed that ought to carry some sort of weight to it but, if anything, all Atlas felt about it was apathy. Okay...maybe a little resentment but mostly apathy. A third apathy and two thirds other unsavory sentiments. Boarding the train had been harder than usual, and not because he had neglected to administer a Featherlight Charm to his loaded trunk (heavier than usual even thanks to the trinkets he had procured over the summer), and it was the first term he had not looked back over his shoulder for a final wave or eyeroll. He had simply trudged onto the train alone, adjusted his cap so it sat backwards on his head as per usual, and nearly tripped over the final ascending step in his melancholy.

Not even the self promise of experimentation exited him at the moment and the bucket list he carried in his pocket felt like lead.

So, little Vera, you certainly were not alone in the lack of enthuasism.

His ladybug coin purse light and with barely enough coin to purchase a single chocolate frog, his intended purchase for the train trip, Atlas waited in the queue with a mustard yellow book (the makings of a grungy looking smiley face) in hand...but upside down. Which would maybe not be so humiliating if he were not positions to appear as though he were reading said book. Alas, his eyes were mostly glazing over the upside down words on the page while his thoughts waxed and waned from one empty thought to another.

At least he DID have enough awareness not to bump into Vera - who just so happened to be in front of him in line.

For some reason saying goodbye to her dad's had been harder this time than the two before for Maria. Luckily her makeup concealed her tears as she boarded the train in search of Vera. She needed her girl friend right now, or she wouldn't make it through his train ride without shedding more tears. With her trunk left in the luggage compartment Maria headed off in search of the Trolley lady and hopefully Vera. She plastered on a smile as she passed peers that she greeted with a 'hello' or a wave as she walked from the back towards the front.

Hearing the melodic voice of the Trolley Lady asking 'Anything from the cart dears?' made Maria let out a long sigh of relief. Speeding up her steps as the trolley, and Vera thank merlin came into view as well as a tall blond seventh year boy behind her in the line. "Hi Vera! Have you snagged us a compartment yet?" She called over excitedly as a genuine smile formed across her lips. Pushing some curly black strands of hair out of her face Maria stopped behind the boy in the line being careful not to bump or brush into him.

Atlas' approach was so quiet, it was only because Vera was keeping an active watch behind her that she even noticed his arrival. Her usual instinct would have been to ask where his girlfriend was, but considering how much trouble that had caused at the beginning of last term, mixed with the fact she just wasn't in her usual mood, she decided to skip it. And truthfully... he didn't see much in the mood anyways either, not that she really knew him but an upside down book certainly seemed a good indicator.

Did he mean to be reading that? Was this like... a special edition of the Quibbler type of book? "....Interesting book?" She'd considered leaving him alone about it but... she was too curious to do so.

Hearing her name from around Atlas, Vera poked her head out around the older boy and gave a small smile and a wave, before looking back at the taller student. "Do you want to go ahead of me?" Instead of her trying to have a conversation around him, plus since she and Maria were going back to a compartment together it only made sense. Without waiting for an answer, she squeezed herself between the wall and the seventh year before making it out to the other side near the Badger. "Hi Maria! How was your summer?" [/color]

Rule number #1111 that seems to always be broken, never go through your stash early. While he only ate a small portion of the sweets, he didn't want to waste any more candy outside of the train ride. So here he was about to get in line when he spotted the familiar figure in between two younger girls (Vera + Maria) who seemed to be debating on how to stand in line.

"There you are, Atlas!" Freddie his voice likely booming in the vicinity, earning him a look from the Trolley lady that made him blush, "Sorry," But wait who was standing in line first? "Hello! Pardon me, ladies semi-business partner emergency," He said. Not really standing in the line but to the side of where Atlas was so not to disturb the structure... much. "Did you go through your candy too?" He said peering from the side behind Atlas taking a peak at what he was reading.

'Pardon me, ladies.' Who called her a lady? Turning her head around to look at another tall seventh year boy (Freddie) she moved to the side. "Sure, you can go ahead in line, and buy your candy."Turning her attention to Vera as the lion came up beside her she nodded excitedly. "Yes, my summer was lovely Vera. My dads got married and we hade a familymoon just the four of us. It was great. Daddy wanted us to stay local after he had been mernapped, and everything." It had given her lots of time with her daddy that she had missed and worried about and that had wonderful. She could lay her feelings away.

"How was your summer Vera?" Maria wondered before gesturing to the trolley up ahead if the seventh year boys could buy their candy already. "What type of candy are you getting Vera? I want jelly slugs and possibly pumpkin pasties?"

Thank Merlin she had not.

Still oblivious (and willfully ignorant) to such matter, Atlas had barely held hands with a potential person of interest...which queued up a little more bitterness and resentment and more things he was not acknowledging, his eyes continued to just glaze over the words on the page before him when his thoughts (or lack of coherent thoughts, truth be told) were interrupted by the little lioness. "Hmm? Oh, yeah. It's philoso---" Upside down. His book was upside down. "---phical science fiction," he explained while turning it right side up. "I've...er...only just started it." And not remembered a single word of what page he had read thus far, clearly. Before he could accept consider her offer to switch places in line (because clearly she was wanting to be with her friend), the air waves were rattled by the distinct voice belonging to Freddie.

His hand instantly reached up to keep his cap in place (because this WAS Freddie) and tried to pass off the gesture as adjusting it rather than sheepish paranoia. "Semi business partners?" he questions with a cock of the brow and his free hand moving to the spot between Vera's shoulders to give her a gentle nudge in the direction she had offered just a few moments ago. You know, because he was being considerate and letting her stand beside her friend to they weren't talking around him about their summers. Or worse...through him. He wasn't even questioning Freddie's use of emergency - it seemed inconsequential to the first bit anyway. "Not exactly. Been rationing it. I just was going to pick up a chocolate frog or two. Test them against the once purchased from Sugarplums against my own...enchantments."

Might be a bit juvenile and lame in some eyes...but it had been on the list. Chocolate frog race through the train corridor.

He swiftly closed the book when Freddie appeared to be reading over his shoulder, the inner monologue of Aaron Soto not being a topic of conversation he felt like visiting with others at the moment. Though a thought suddenly struck him and before he could let it simmer he was blurting it out. "...I can lend it to you once I've finished."

The book.

Book exchanges. He...missed doing those. A lot.

Norah had one mission when she got on the train: the food trolley. She had heard her father and uncle talk about it and of course Jackson too. Now, as a first year it was her time to shine. Norah had made sure she saved her money, not falling into her siblings betting tricks so she could maintain her own food trolley funds and not have to search out Jackson. She rolled her eyes just thinking of her older cousin.

Finally, Norah was the next person. "I'll have a pumpkin pastie, Bertie Bott's, and four chocolate frogs." She requested as she began digging for the appropriate coins. "Yes, I said four chocolate frogs." She added, not because she wasn't clear but because she wanted to make sure there was no missing the best part. Norah was even willing to share one of the chocolate frogs with Jackson if she saw him before she indulged in all four, it could be considered a peace offering of sorts.

The LOUD voice of the additional seventh year didn't make just the Trolley lady jump, as Ve gave a small squeak and blinked at the newcomer. Was it tradition for seventh years to go to the Trolley as soon as they boarded the train? You know, overlooking the fact that she ... a third year ... had done exactly the same. "Business partner?" She couldn't help but question, once she'd adjusted her large sweater to hang on her again and not continued to be bunched from her mini jump. "What is your business? ooooh, are you selling Atlas' cool inventions!?" Could she finally buy one of those cool mechanical bugs he'd created?! The possibilities of those being useful were endless.

Her interest momentarily returned to Atlas' book, eyebrow still raised as she looked at the now right side up book. "Philosophical science fiction?" That sounded.. well, boring. It sounded boring to her if she was going to be completely honest. Which... as a 13 year old with no filter, she was going to be. "Are you reading that for fun?" Wasn't that a Ravenclaw thing? She didn't put up any resistance when he lightly pushed her towards her friend, despite the fact she considered arguing that the arrival of his friend leap frogging over Maria now meant she was back two people. She might have pushed it were she feeling her normal fiery self, but it wasn't worth it. Besides, this was their last trip. Letting them both go first without an argument could be her very early going away gift of sorts.

You're welcome, boys.

Now next to Maria, she was able to talk easier anyways and not around two giants. She could even give her a hug, which she did so now. "Ooooh your dads got married!? Where did you go for the family moon? That sounds like SO much fun!" She'd not been following along with what was happening with the mer-nation when Maria's dad was gone, which probably made her a terrible friend. The idea of a mernap sounded cool in theory but... she imagined it had been very much not so. If something like that had happened to Papa she would have been a WRECK. "Is he okay now that he's back home with you guys?" She certainly hoped so.

"My summer was good! My Papa let us eat ice cream for EVERY meal for like... a week. But now I don't think I want ice cream ever again." She'd mourn that loss later when the sight of it didn't make her want to gag. "We didn't really do anything super special or out of the ordinary, except for celebrate my sister's birthday! she's 10 now!" Which meant only ONE more year until she'd be ushering Scoot onto the train too. "Are you looking forward to the term?"

Returning Ve's hug Maria beamed "Yes, they got married at the beginning of summer. I was the flower girl." So now Jerald was officially her dad too and she had been a pretty flower girl. "Actually we didn't go anywhere. We had our familymoon right here in London. Daddy thought I'd like that after everything...." Maria trailed off as she looked ahead at the two giant boys willing them to get their candy bought already so that she and Ve could buy what they wanted.

Feeling moved that Ve worried about her daddy too Maria nodded thoughtfully "Yes, thankfully daddy is totally okay, and happy to be home. Apparently the merpeople treated him pretty well when he was held captive in Atlantis." She had read too many news articles in the daily prophet about people that hadn't been so well treated in captivity. Many had lasting scars and ailments but her dad didn't and it was a huge relief.

Maria stared at Ve for a moment before shaking her head in disbelief at her friend. "You're not going to eat ice cream ever again? I don't believe you. You love ice cream." This was a vow that her friend wasn't going to be able to keep she imagined. Changing the topic she said "It's awesome that we'll get to take electives now, don't you think? Which classes are you going to take? I want to learn about runes, creature care, and muggles." They could sadly not take all electives after all like the famous Hermione Granger.