Into The Unknown Open Finished

Astoria was over the moon and beyond the stars excited to be attending Hogwarts! The moment she had received her letter by owl, she cried and laughed with joy all at once. Is that possible? Any who, after celebrating with a grand dinner and her mother's famous triple chocolate cheesecake for dessert, Astoria and her parents started the next day of their weekend preparing Astoria for her magical journey. After traveling to Diagon Alley to purchase her supplies, she had her last night at home until she had to get on the grand Hogwarts Express!

Coming up to the train station, Astoria's excitement went to nerves. How could she leave her parents? She had no siblings, no animals, and all she had was a trunk full of magical possessions. Walking next to the train was a bit overwhelming for Astoria. Her new lifestyle was just beginning. Even though her parents were graduates of the very same school, and she had heard about stories, it was still a bit nerve wrecking for her. She clutched her father tightly, he whispering to her that it was okay. Her mother gave her a loving kiss and hug. It was time she needed to go.

Astoria stepped onto the train, waved to her parents but soon watched them disappear into the crowd. She pulled her trunk behind her and came across a compartment that had two girls. Everywhere else looked packed and it looked like this one was the last resort. She tapped on the window, then slid the door open. There were two girls in the compartment, perhaps both were Astoria's age as well? "Hello," Astoria greeted quietly Umm, any chance I could sit with the two of you?"

"Of course!" She smiled. Her eyes shimmered, scooting over. Her pale skin turning a shade of queen pink, on her cheeks and nose. "I'm Zelda." She half laughed. She pulled her trunk closer, a small stuffed wolf fell out of her bag. her face almost turned scarlet as she picked it up. "H-Heh..." She lifted open her trunk, quickly stuffing it away. " I thought I put that in the other pocket..." she muttered to herself. She stuffed her trunk under her seat. The train began moving....

She pulled down one of the armrests. She lifted her legs, putting her sweatshirt over her legs, leaving her feet visible. She grabbed her small, beat-up phone and a pair of earbuds. She plowed it into her phone and then stuffing one in her ear. She sighed, beginning to hum a little tune. " So.." She Said. "What's your name?" She asked, her eyes shined. "What house d'you wanna be in?" Zelda said, her eyes gleaming.


She looked at Carmillia, "Is something wrong?" She said, her voice comforting and sweet.

The window let sunlight gleam in, Her eyes reflecting it. Her dark brown hair parted through the side. She leaned back. her face showed boredom

[deleeted]

Astoria was greeted by one girl who granted her permission to sit with them. Lugging in her suitcase, the girl who first spoke to her was Zelda. She had introduced herself. “Nice to meet you Zelda. I’m Astoria.” Astoria lifted her luggage onto the seat and opened it up. She had pulled out an emerald green hard cover book that was lined with gold along its pages. It was her favorite fairytale book full of classical tales by the Brothers Grimm. Just as she closed and latched her trunk, there was a slight stumble as Zelda had dropped what looked to be a stuffed animal of a wolf. She looked embarrassed but Astoria only smiled kindly. “Not to worry, it’s cute! Reminds me much of the wolf from Little Red Riding Hood.” Astoria said.

Suddenly there was a jolt from the train and Astoria lost her balance. The clumsy girl that she was, she looked like a baboon flailing their arms in the air. She fell forward then fell back into her seat. “Oy! Sorry” she blushed.

Getting adjusted and feeling comfortable in her seat, she wishes that she could wave goodbye once again to her parents but they were already lost in the crowd. As the train started up speed, Zelda looked to have made herself comfortable as well as Astoria. She was asked what house she would have wanted to be in. “Well, my father was a Gryffindor and my mother was a Ravenclaw,” Astoria began “I would like to be in one of those two. Preferably Ravenclaw but my parents told me a little bit about the sorting ceremony and they want me to be placed where the hat puts me, not by what they were once in.” she then asked “what about you two? What are your preferences?”

"Hmmm." She paused, thinking. "I don't know... Heh!" Zelda smiled. "I think Gryffindor, but I don't know...." She smiled, her phone buzzing."Maybe Hufflepuff..." She picked up her phone, looking at the cracked screen. She turned pink, her eyes wide. She got a text that read "
Ó, Hey ... Tá áthas orm go ndearna tú é le Hogwarts" She began texting back "Ná bíodh imní ort, cuirfidh mé teachtaireacht ort gach lá! B'fhéidir fiú ag owl!"

She placed her phone on her trunk. Her eyes flashed with a small light. "I'm gonna try on my robes..." She said, standing up. She'd put her phone on the seat, opening her trunk, grabbing out the neatly folded robes. She slipped the sleeves over her arms. The robes were a tad big, but otherwise, fit well. She lifted her hand over the side. Wondering about what logo will be there.

Faster than she could say "Gryffindor!" her wand slipped out of her pocket, shooting purple sparks. "Ahh!" She squealed, swiftly grabbing it. Her face went almost scarlet. "S-sorry..." She said, her voice breaking with embarrassment. She swiftly, but gently put her wand in her trunk. She whipped back around, her eyes shadowed with embarrassment.

The world seemed to whirl past Carmillia. Before she knew it, two girls had entered her compartment and chaos and awkwardness was everywhere. She didn't even have time to invite them in before a stuffed wolf was revealed, a gorgeous book was placed on the table, and a bump had sent- Astoria, was it?- right through the air. Not to mention a wand that sent purple sparks everywhere.

It's now or never. Say something!

"Hello, my name's Carmillia, but you can call me Milly. And-um... what exactly are the houses? It's my first year and-"

She blushed, and looked down. She was embarrassed, but not altogether humiliated. These other magical people were not perfect and refined as she had imagined. They were quite human, actually. Carmillia slowly tried to interpret the events that had just occurred. She was in a compartment with two girls, Zelda and Astoria. Astoria liked fairy tales, Zelda had a stuffed wolf and a phone. But most intriguing to Carmillia was the fact that the wand had emitted purple sparks. It was the first time she had seen magic out of a wand and she was fascinated, even if it wasn't intentional. Hoping she had the situation understood (Carmillia hated not knowing things), Carmillia smiled and refocused on the question at hand: What are the houses?

"Heh, don't worry." Zelda comforted. "So you have never heard of the Hogwarts houses?" She smiled "Well there's Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Every house has their traits" She paused, lifting her arms, stretching

"Gryffindor values courage, bravery, nerve, and chivalry. Gryffindor's mascot is the lion, and its colors are scarlet and gold.."

"Hufflepuff values hard work, patience, justice, and loyalty. The house mascot is the badger, and canary yellow and black are its colors."

"Ravenclaw values intelligence, creativity, learning, and wit. The house mascot is an eagle and the house colors are blue and bronze ."

"Slytherin values ambition, cunning, leadership, and resourcefulness The house mascot of Slytherin is the serpent, and the house colors are green and silver."

She sighed; looking at Milly's face. "Don't worry, you'll fit in just fine" She gave a warm smile. "And if you have any questions, just ask." She put her arm on Milly's shoulder. "I'll help you if you need it"




DRIIIIIG DRIIIIIING The train chimed loudly. "Hmmmmm...Hmmm~" She began humming again.
Zelda Yawned. looking out the window. Her eyes beamed. "L-Look!" She sputtered with excitement. "We're almost there!" She started dancing with joy. "WHOOP!" She started to laugh, loudly.

She began coughing and wheezing, harshly. She stuffed her hand in her pants-pocket pulling out a small inhaler. She puffed on the inhaler until she started breathing correctly again.

Time seemed to have flown fast with these two and Astoria was actually more relaxed that she had met some kind girls. Maybe she is able to experience magical journey without her parents always by her side? She was curious to experience the sorting ceremony. The idea of sitting on a stool in front of all of Hogwarts, that would be a rush!

Zelda had brought up Hufflepuff or even Gryffindor as potential candidates for her sorting. Astoria nodded "My parents said a majority of their friends came from Hufflepuff. I wouldn't mind Hufflepuff too. I could see myself holding their qualities and traits of the house." She looked through her book and read a few short stories as time seemed to go on. Carmilla, the other girl sitting with them, had been asked the same question. Carmilla, however, didn't seem to have much knowledge on the houses. Zelda, was quite kind enough to go through each of them. Astoria then chimed in "I've been told each house has something special about them that separates them from the others. My parents told me that the reason there are four houses is because there were four witches and wizards who founded Hogwarts." Astoria wanted to know so much more about them. Like, who came up with the name 'Hogwarts', how did they create the staircase, or even how they came up with the sorting ceremony.

Suddenly, there was a chime and Zelda looked to have jumped from her seat. Astoria too was exited more than ever now! She too looked out the window. "Good idea, I better change too." Astoria pulled down her trunk and changed into her robes as well. This was becoming all too real! She packed up her book and locked her trunk. "How do you two think we will get to the school? Will the train pull right up to it? Or are we stopping at a station of some sort?"

"I don't know!" She laughed "Well, I can't wait!

"Heh!" She chuckled "If you were picked on the Quidditch tea-" She paused, looking at Milly. "Oh, yeah!" She laughed. "Quidditch is a game wizards' and very few witches' plays." She moved around her legs excitedly. "Matches are played on a large oval pitch with three ring-shaped goals of different heights on each side, between two opposing teams of seven players each: three Chasers, two Beaters, the Keeper, and the Seeker." She sighed "There are three different balls: the Quaffle, the two Bludgers, and the Golden Snitch."She said

"The Chasers and the Keeper respectively score with and defend the goals against the Quaffle; the two Beaters bat the Bludgers away from their teammates and towards their opponents; and the Seeker locates and catches the Golden Snitch, whose capture simultaneously wins the Seeker's team 150 points and ends the game. The team with the most points at the end wins." She smiled.

"I think I would make a great Beater or Seeker...." She giggled. "What about you two?" She said, slipping on her robes. she steadied her excitement. Although she seemed calmer, she beamed with excitement. Her excitement turned to nerves; when the compartment went silent. anxiety wrapped around her like snakes wrapping around a small mouse.

"H-heh..."