A Long Ride Closed

Adriel's head turned in the direction of the door. In it stood a new potential friend. She had fair skin and fiery red hair but she didn't seem to be a first year how exciting. "Do you mind if I join the four of you? It's getting terribly crowded quite quickly." The new arrival asked with a friendly smile. "I'm sure we can make some room." Adriel said cheerily. "Come on in we're currently discussing what house we think we'll get. It's sure to be a riviting conversation. My name is Adriel what's yours?" She asked with an extended hand smile never wavering. Their little compartment seemed to keep growing. Not that it was a bad thing but Adriel wondered: just how many students are on the train.

The new arrival did say the place was filling up quickly. There must be quite a lot of students onboard then. After all from the outside the train was just as large as any other train on the platform. Maybe the train itself will need to be magicked into growing larger in the coming years. The wizarding world can only grow! Adriel began to daydream about what a larger train may look like. Would it have bigger compartments or would it just grow in length? Would the train be refurbished? Everything is subject to change so it's possible.

Veronica smiled towards the first year. It was great to see that they were inviting towards her. He accepted Adriel's extended hand and gave it a firm shake. "My name is Veronica, but you're welcome to call me Roni if you wish." She giggled a bit, taking a seat next to Adriel. "I remember talking about what house I thought I'd end up in last year." She gave a soft sigh, remembering her first train ride. "I ended up being sorted into a completely different house than what I had originally hoped for, but I'm thankful for where I am. The sorting Hat can always see deep within you, and place you in the house that will allow you to thrive."

Her smile never left her face as she looked around the room. "Oh, I'm a second year. I probably should've stated that earlier when I introduced myself. Oh well, it's too late now." Roni rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. Something about these girls put her at ease. It was strange, but she felt safe with them. Like they've known each other for years. "So how many of you are new to magic?" She remembered her conversation with a friend from last year, and how she had become more open to Muggles attending school. Growing up with them, she should've been open from the start, but that wasn't the case. Thankfully, now, she was friends with more Muggles than Pure Bloods.

Summer settled herself into the plushy seat. Slowly but surely, the compartment filled with other girls. She felt rather awkward sitting there and was thankful when one of the girls asked a question. “I honestly don’t know which house I want to be in. I think I’m probably rooting for Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw, but Gryffindor or Slytherin are fine as well.” The second year, Veronica, seemed to be smiling almost constantly and Summer decided she liked her. “So how many of you new to magic?” Veronica asked. “Well,” said Summer, “I’ve been around magic my whole life, both my parents are pure bloods, but I honestly don’t know too much about. My parents never really used their magic unless it was necessary.” She didn’t know why, but Summer felt more comfortable with the five girls she was talking to than she normally did with new people. They all seemed kind and were making her feel very comfortable and at home. Hopefully, she would keep talking with them once she arrived at Hogwarts.“So what part of Hogwarts are you guys looking forward to? I’m excited to go to Hogsmeade when I’m old enough, and to see the library!” There was a note of awe in her voice when she mentioned the library, and her excitement was rather contagious.

Adriel smiled at the firm handshake. Her father always told her you can learn a lot about a person by their handshake. "My name is Veronica, but you're welcome to call me Roni if you wish." Adriel smiled and gave a small nod. Veronica was a very elegant sounding name and she adored the nickname Roni it sounded so fun. She settled back in her seat as she listened to Roni strike up conversation. "Oh, I'm a second year. I probably should've stated that earlier when I introduced myself. Oh well, it's too late now." Adriel chuckled slightly by how sheepish she looked Adriel felt the same way minutes ago. She also felt pretty proud deducing that Roni wasn't a first year. "So How many of you are new to magic?" Roni asked Adriel pondered on it for a moment listening to one of the other girls speak.

"Well, I’ve been around magic my whole life, both my parents are pure bloods, but I honestly don’t know too much about. My parents never really used their magic unless it was necessary.”

"I mainly know about magic from my books. I'm a half blood and of course my father practiced some magic in my presence but I've never learned how to do it myself. That's probably what I'm most excited about at Hogwarts. Learning how to harness my witchly abilities" Adriel said with a chuckle. She couldn't wait to start learning new spells, and even dueling with them. There was so much to learn. "I wonder what it will be like the first time I cast a spell. What if it goes horribly wrong or nothing happens at all? Well there is a reason for the saying 'if at first you don't succeed try, try again'." Adriel kept getting lost in her own mind. She was beyond excited to begin her adventure at Hogwarts and learn more about herself, and the wizarding world. She shook her head some to calm her thoughts so she could focus on the conversations at hand.

Aoife watched and smiled as all the other girls filtered in. It seemed like a whole bunch of them at once! The place clearly filled up pretty quickly. A bunch of first years and even a second year! Wow. She listened excitedly to everyone else, thrilled to finally be in a conversation with other kids about magic and Hogwarts.

"Well.. I'll probably be in Hufflepuff," Aoife said with a shrug. "That's what me Ma was and she said it'd suit me best. Don't know what she means by that." It was just a presumption she'd carried most of her life. Ma was a Hufflepuff and I'll be too. It felt as certain as the sky being blue, the grass being green and boys being weird.

"Hm? Oh, Ma's the witch in my house. Dad's a Muggle, but he doesn't seem to mind much. I think he was a little bit disappointed when me magic came in but only cause he wanted me to go to Muggle school," Aoife said with a small frown. "As if, though. Put up with enough of that before now."

She ruffled through her bag as the others talked, searching for her robes again. Just in case. Her mum'd told her to fold them up neatly so they wouldn't get crushed, so Aoife had obviously shoved them in her bag without a care. She was regretting that now, looking at the tangled mess.

"Hogsmeade sounds like loads of fun but yeah, we're not gonna be allowed to go forever..." she sighed, imagining two long years before she'd get to go there. "But I just wanna explore everywhere. Find every nook and cranny. All the secret hiding spots and best places to hang around." There was an implicit mischief to her words, as if the phrase and find the best jokes to make and trouble to cause was attached wordlessly to the end. "And y'know, do some proper magic now, finally."

Piper felt herself slowly adjust to the conversation. It was quite fun, actually. The long ride was turning into a quick one as the girls conversed excitedly about the coming year at Hogwarts.

As the girls chatted about magic and houses, Piper fell deeper into the conversation. "I don't know what house I'll be in. As a muggle-born, I have no expectations. It's hard to guess too. If I really think, I could fall under any house," she said, playing with her hair. She tended to that when she was thinking. When she was doing anything really. Thinking, playing, when she was nervous or mad, sleeping, literally. It calmed her down and helped her think. It helped do anything really.

"So how many of you are new to magic?" Roni asked.

"I'm very new," Piper replied. "For 10 years I didn't think it was real," she chuckled lightly.

“So what part of Hogwarts are you guys looking forward to? I’m excited to go to Hogsmeade when I’m old enough, and to see the library!” She heard Summer say.

"Hogsmeade sounds like loads of fun but yeah, we're not gonna be allowed to go forever..." She heard Aoife sigh. "But I just wanna explore everywhere. Find every nook and cranny. All the secret hiding spots and best places to hang around."

Piper smiled excitedly. "I heard theres a bunch of secrets in Hogsmeade! Secret rooms and corners! The castle is full of them too. There's disappearing rooms, secret hallways, hidden passageways," Her smile quickly faded into a frown. "It's not like the teachers will let us go. It's fine though. We'll find a way."

Her smile came back and she turned to her friends for a reply.

Word count (not including this and quotes): 203 words

May I add you guys to my acquaintances on my encyclopedia page?

Adriel nodded along "I've heard the castle has all sorts of secret areas. I'm tempted to say it would be impossible to explore the whole place. But with a proper plan and maybe a map of where you've been I'm sure you can explore everything! I wonder what untold secrets are behind each tucked away door. Oh just imagine the things that you could find." Adriel gushed out. Her eyes were wide in wonder and her whole face lit up. Nothing enticed her more then discovering the unknown. She packed plenty of notebooks to document everything she found even remotely interesting.

"You know another thing I'm really excited for is care of magical creatures. I'm used to seeing dogs, cats, frogs I want to see the mythical. Like a griffen maybe even a siren like from fantasy books. What about you all? Is there any classes your looking forward to?" Adriel looks at the other girls with a smile feeling happy that the ride so far as been fun. And of course that everyone was so friendly. She had agonized over the trip for a couple of days. She was anxious about being away from her father and kept having nightmares about everything possible going wrong.

((I don't know how to talk out of character is there a certain thing to push or is this okay? At any rate I would love to be an aquantaince!))

Piper smiled. "I'm dying to attend Defense Against the Dark Arts. I'd love to figure out what my patronus is, but that's 6th year. Imagine, 6 years until I can figure it out," she sighed sadly. "I'm looking forward to things like charms and transfiguration. I really want to know spells. A lot of the cool stuff is later into the years."

It was true. Piper was so excited to learn spells. It was one of the biggest things she was waiting for. She urged to take her wand out which sat inside of her trunk. She practiced a bunch of spells at home, using a stick, not a wand, of course. She was that impatient. She'd stay up all night to study her books, she was too excited to sleep anyway.

"Other than classes or Hogsmeade, what are you guys excited for? I'm excited for quidditch. I really want to play it. It sounds so fun. I also want to ride a broom. I wonder what it's like. Is it hard to handle? Is it like a bike?" She turned to her friends, hoping one of them had ridden a broom. Maybe they had one at home. Two or three of them weren't muggle-born, she knew that.

Word count (not including this): 208 words

You can talk out of character however you like, how you're doing it is fine. I use quote which it the little speech bubble button on the top right.

Veronica couldn't help but giggle. Everyone one of these girls were filled with wonder and excitement, just like she was last year. She had gotten a variety of responses to her question about magic. When Piper said that she was Muggle-Born, Roni's smile lessened slightly. She could see the nerves that each girl had, but it was clearly outshone by their desire for adventure. "I've heard the castle has all sorts of secret areas." She listened intently to Adriel as her eyes grew wide. Roni couldn't help but smile. "Seem's you all have the same ideas, just be careful! We wouldn't want you to get caught. I've done my fare share of exploring, and I still haven't seen every inch of the castle."

Sure Veronica wanted them to stay curious, but she also had heard of a few people who had been suspended because of them being out after dark, exploring the castle. "Personally, I love Charms. There's so many spells that you get to learn, It's amazing!" She giggled as she fiddled with the ends of her sleeves on her robes. "Honestly, you'll have an amazing time, no matter what house you're sorted in. If you've ever heard of the supposed 'rivalry' between Slytherin and Gryffindor, It's kinda outdated. I've got more friends who are in Slytherin than my own house."

I'm fine with that, honestly, I was gonna ask the same.

"I heard Transfiguration is really tough, so I don't know, maybe Charms?" Aoife said, shrugging some more. Though the challenge of the magic in Transfiguration did appeal to her, the honest truth was that she hadn't a clue. It was all half-truths and hearsay from other people until she'd experienced it for herself. She heard Piper talk about the cooler stuff coming later on, which she'd heard too. She turned to the darker-haired girl. "Yeah but, the only limit is how creative we can be. I can certainly think of a few uses for a good Levitation charm, I'm telling you now," she teased.

The thought of Quidditch was both exciting and scary for her. She'd seen a couple of Quidditch matches and they'd ended with a broken bone or two. Aoife didn't really like the sound of that, but the thought of soaring up in the air was pretty cool. "I tried my cousin's broom once. It was only like, an old Cleansweep, but I fell off and nearly shattered my elbow," she admitted, pulling a bit of a face. "I'd never be allowed to get a broom after that, not until I was like, seventeen or something." She leaned back, thinking of the vast hallways and secret rooms to explore... and the memory of falling off a broom filling her head.

I'm happy with that, if I can do the same!