One Year Down Open Closed

As he got back to his seat Kyle stopped just before the opening and he frowned slightly. Someone else was in there. He could almost swear he could smell scent he hadn't smelled before but he couldn't place it and even as he thought about he wasn't entirely sure if it was just his imagination or not. With a quick nod to nobody but himself he stepped forward and turned into the area where his and Illowy's seats were and he did indeed see somebody else there now. Someone he almost recognized. Had he seen this new girl somewhere before? Possibly around the common room in passing most likely. Regardless it was certainly not somebody he knew.

Kyle let out a scoff and plopped down into his seat before cocking an eyebrow at the new girl "Alright Magpie, whose the stray? Just because I was talking about running into more people didn't really mean you should just grab the first person who walks past our seats" There was a tone about his voice that while he didn't exactly sound friendly anyone who was used to dealing his with his level of sarcasm could tell he probably didn't mean Offense. or at the very least he didn't mean a lot of offense.

When the other brunette mentioned her instrument, Illowy's eyes flickered back and forth between the girl and the case for a moment as she nodded, "Um, yeah. M'mum had me playin' ever since I was old enough to hold it up proper." she explained.

Her attention was taken as Kyle entered back into the cabin, seeming to be instantly defensive of the new blood infiltrating their attempts at normalcy, Illowy rolled her eyes as he commented about the new addition to their train ride, crossing her arms over her stomach a bit, "Oh, lay off 'er, Mr Macho. She's no harm to anyone." the Slytherin chided, offering a small smirk.

It was wise of Millie to laugh off Kyle cold bit of sarcasm; after all the boy could come off as unwelcoming as Illowy could too. They were both the types not to show fear around, and though Illowy had allowed Millie to witness a more vulnerable side of her, to Illowy that might as well have been a lifetime ago. Now, Illowy certainly didn't feel right showing she was anything less then strong, both for herself and for her family after everything that had happened.

Was that a lot for a twelve year old to demand of herself? Absolutely; but Illowy couldn't get herself to see another option.

Kyle eyed the new girl with a slight scowl, his eyes flicking back and forth from her left eye to her right eye as if searching for any sign of weakness he could use to strike. The booth would almost seem to chill in preparation for whatever Kyle was about to do in retaliation to the stranger who had invaded his space. And then

A laugh escapes his lips and Kyle plops down heavily into his seat and shakes his head. "Welcome to the cool car, Any friend of Magpie's is a friend a' mine. Name's Kyle, but the lads back home call me Rook" he parroted the same introduction he always gave over the years with the inclusion of the lads calling him Rook. A brief flash of pain shot across his eyes as he remembered who exactly gave him that nickname, but as quick as it showed Kyle blinked a few times and offered his usually cocky grin and leaned back and looked out the window to the passing country side, hoping nobody noticed.

Kyle cleared his throat and looked back towards the girls for a moment. "Got any embarrassing stories about Magpie? I'm always looking for more ammunition"

@Kyle DeRook, @Illowy Magnard, @Euphrasia Millie, & @Carson Miller

After talking to Julie, Quinn, and Arthur, Carson and Maggie were still utterly luckless when it came to the Snitch flying around the train. Maggie thought that she’d spotted it, but then again, she was no Seeker, and the gold flint had just been the button of somebody’s coat.

They’d resulted back to going door-to-door, asking each compartment member if they’d seen anything, and to tell them if they did. Maggie had used the bigger portion of her spending money on that Snitch, and she wasn’t planning on losing it. Plus, this wasn’t so bad, was it? They’d already ran into a few familiar faces, and it was turning out to be kind of fun.

Maggie slid open the door of the compartment before her, her eyebrows raising in surprise and the tips of her hair turning white in surprise. Her hair quickly morphed into a warm yellow hue when she recognized one of her good friends, Millie, and the shock melted away into a warm smile. The surprising part had been the fact that Kyle DeRook was in this compartment.

Maggie supposed she’d run into him sooner or later, but she hadn’t imagined that, in a million years, Millie would be sitting with him. She’d heard stories about the things he’d done— a particularly nasty one from Carson who told Maggie that some kid named Arc had said Kyle had blown up a toilet stall. Apparently, people had gotten hurt, and it didn’t take long for the name Kyle DeRook to spread around campus after that.

Maggie could get behind a good prank— and she often thought that Kyle’s talents were misplaced. He would be an amazing partner-in-crime if it came to it, but he made Maggie slightly uncomfortable with the whole blowing-things-up tendencies.

The other girl was probably friends with Millie, as she seemed to be chatting with her kindly. Well, Millie chatted with everyone kindly, but Maggie rightfully assumed that she wouldn’t just sit down in a compartment full of strangers.

Maggie thought she recognized the girl from somewhere— probably the corridors, and she was positive that she was a Slytherin. She was quite pretty, too, with long silky hair that Maggie couldn’t help but envy.

“Hey Millie!” Maggie chirped, smiling at her friend widely, “Sorry to interrupt, guys, but my friend and I are looking for a Snitch— his dumbass let go of it and now it’s flying all over the damn train.”

“Have you lot seen it by any chance?”

Thank god for Maggie.

Not that talking to Kyle- Rook- or Illowy was a bad thing, it was just increasingly awkward. Millie stood up and stretched. "I've not seen a snitch, but if you guys want, I can help out?" She asked, laughing a bit.

She smiled slightly, flickering her purple eyes between Maggie and Carson. How had they lost a flittering gold snitch? More importantly- how had nobody seen it yet? It was a flashing gold color, and had wings for crying out loud! Sure, they were small, but someone must've seen it at least once.

Millie ran a hand through her long, black hair. She had felt a little bad about wanting to leave with Maggie, and leaving Illowy behind, but she knew the Slytherin probably wouldn't go anywhere with Maggie or Millie- they both were pretty extroverted. It probably bothered the Gryffindor more than anyone else.

It always seemed that way.

"How'd you guys even lose a snitch?" She asked, a smile perking at her lips once more. If Maggie and Carson just had to go compartment to compartment, then this story must've been one worth telling. Then again, Millie always loved hearing stories- whether they were good or bad. They just always seemed to be good to listen to.

Illowy blushed a bit when her cousin inquired about any embarrassing stories about her. Granted, the only story she could be sure Millie possessed was about her crying like a baby on the corridor floor, which to most would hardly be embarrassing considering the situation that it had been; however to Illowy it was utterly mortifying, being proof by her own admission she hardly had things as pulled together as she tried to appear, and that she was full of insecurity and doubt of her own intentions.

Thankfully, Millie didn't have much time to answer as another girl slid the door of their compartment open and peered inside. She didn't know the other girl terribly well, but she remembered seeing her around last year, "You lost a Snitch?" she questioned, though Millie beat her to questioning about how they managed to even lose a Snitch.

Her eyes flickered to her cousin for a moment, as though trying to ask him with her eyes Who in their right mind would loose their Snitch on a moving train? There were just some things that shouldn't be asked allowed though, for the sake of not trying to look too snarky in front of Millie's friends. After all, she had made a promise to herself to try to be a bit kinder in the hopes of making more friends this year.