To Brave the Unknown PV Closed

After Cassie introduced themself, open their black robe and fold it neatly then put it beside them. Their mom did not teached Cassie as a slob. Cassie took the empty seat in the compartment. Cassie still look at the other two. The redhead and the blond one. The curly hair girl, introduced herself as Clay.

Cassie relax into the seat but remain poised. Clay asked to Cassie and the blonde girl what she can expected. Cassie take a deep breath and begin to explain. "Basically when we arrived we will be escorted into the Great Hall. Inside the Great Hall there's four long tables belong to the four houses. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin,"Cassie said.

"Gryffindor House value are the one that are brave at heart, courage and chivalry. Hufflepuff House value are the ones that are just and loyal, patient, unafraid to work hard. Ravenclaw House value are wise, smart, got a ready mind, witty and always hungry for knowledge"Cassie look at Clay and the other two girls to see if they followed what Cassie said. "And for the Slytherin House itself,"Cassie paused and smirk.

They feel proud for being just mention the name of the House itself. "Slytherin House value are ambition, a true born leader, cunning, which basically Slytherin students can be so full of themself but not all of them are bad"Cassie added. "Then the sorting ceremony begin. They will put a sentient hat on top of our head to see our deepest desire and thought. The hat itself determined which houses we got sorted into,"Cassie explain.

"Then after the sorting ceremony done, the Headmaster will tell all the students the do's and dont's for First Year students. Some area on the school are forbidden for First Year students"Cassie stated. "After that where the fun begin. The feast. On the table there a lot of varieties of food you can imagine and choose for. It really the meal for kings and queens"Cassie chuckles. "Any questions?"Cassie inquires as they look at Clay, the redhead and the blonde girl.

Interacts with : @Alexa Mackenzie | @Meredith Ready | @Clay McGlinchy

Once again, Alexa was startled when the compartment door opened and a new person appeared. Did everyone want to sit in here? She wondered, slightly amused. The new girl introduced herself as Cassandra, or Cassie, after making some seemingly disparaging comments towards Meredith, about not mentioning one's blood status in an introduction. Alexa thought it was funny that, though Cassie said she wouldn't normally state her blood status right off, she did anyway.

But that gave Alexa another thing to think about: blood status. This girl was a "pureblood" which left Alexa to wonder what she was, as a Muggle-born. Certainly not a pureblood, she thought, wondering once again how she could belong to this magical community with her background.

Cassie sat herself down and carefully explained the system of sorting and the Houses of Hogwarts. Alexa could only stare in amazement, green eyes wide. In front of the whole school, they would be sorted? What if she didn't like where she ended up? But then, she thought, how could she dislike any of these Houses when she knew so little about them? It sounded like they all have their merits, though she thought Clay was right in mentioning that Slytherin seemed a little sketchy… But what did she know?

"Thanks for explaining everything, Cassie," Alexa said quietly. "I'm Alexa, and this is Clay, and this is Meredith," she added, as the new girl had not inquired who they were.

She turned to Clay. "So are you a Muggle-Born as well?" She hoped it wasn't rude to ask.

All Meredith needed to hear was sweets and said to the trolley witch," I would like two chocolate frogs and a licorice wand please and thank you." Meredith had a rather large sweet tooth when it came to the magical sweets and candies. "You know a lot about Hogwarts and the houses." She said turning to Cassandra. "What house do you want to be in? I would like to be in Slytherin because my father thinks he can tell me what house is the best. But also to annoy him since my father wants me to be in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw because he was in Ravenclaw and my mother was in Hufflepuff but that was a really long time ago so the houses are probably differently based and stuff like that." Meredith tried to keep the subject off of her history and her mother who had died when she was little from a accident with a weakening charm which took her to death. Meredith from then on never tried a spell without adult supervision and high quality training because she did not want to fall down the same path as her mother. "I should probably stop talking now. Before anything happens. Meredith thought trying to remain calm as she thought about her mother's death.

So...they were going be sorted like a personality test, essentially. It made sense to Clay, grouping like-minded people together but it was a little strange. She wondered if the school was going to be competitive, with it separated into quarters. With this so called broom game called Quidditch and something else called House points—both of which she had heard about from her cousin—it was no wonder why he was bent on sticking to his on crew, the Slytherins. Clay didn't like being in groups, really, which is why she was determined to make friends with the other houses as well.

Alexa asked her about being a Muggle-Born. "Yeah, both of my parents are non-magic—" She stopped for a moment, catching herself using present tense like they were still both around. A dark expression flitted across her face before she continued. "And so is my, uh, grandmother. But my cousin and his parents are magic, so I learned a little from them..."

Like Meredith, Clay liked sweets a lot, too, but she had brought homemade ones that she and her grandmother had made over the weekend. They were meant to be shared but Clay was still weary of them so she kept her stash hidden in the depths of her pockets. Alexa was decent but the other two were a little intimidating, and she didn't want to be a suck up or seem like she was choosing favorites. Not that I care what they think..., she told herself.

Meredith asked Cassie which house she wanted to in. As they talked, Clay pondered over her own choice, if even had a say in process. Like before, she didn't care which House she'd get into but she was liking Slytherin less and less, especially given how her cousin and these two girls were. While Cassie and Meredith weren't bad, Clay didn't think she was anything like them, regardless of their...bloodlines. Now that she thought of it, Clay wondered if being called Muggle-Born was some type of derogatory term in this society, because it didn't exactly sound like it was highly respected to not come from a wizarding background.

Since Alexa had asked about her, Clay questioned the redhead. "Which house do you think you'll get into?"

Alexa watched Meredith carefully as the girl selected her candy from the trolley. She was intensely curious about everything on the trolley, but decided to hold back for now, returning to her seat. She realized she had asked Clay a question and then immediately gotten up to go to the door, and flushed with embarrassment at her rudeness. Hopefully she won't notice, Alexa thought.

As Meredith began chattering away to Cassie, Alexa turned back to Clay as the other girl answered her question. She saw something… Strange cross Clay's face when she mentioned her parents, but decided not to ask about it. That seemed like it was too personal a question for someone you just met.

When Clay asked her about what House she might get in and like, Alexa opened her mouth to answer, and then closed it again. What house would she like? What did she think she would be sorted into? What if what she wanted and where she ended up were different? It didn't sound like she had any say in the matter, from what Cassie had explained. But maybe…?

There was one thing she was getting more and more sure of regarding the Houses, though. While she didn't at all mind Cassie and Meredith, she didn't think they were destined to be lasting friends; they were very different from she. And she wasn't at all sure she liked all this talk about "Slyths" sticking together. Couldn't everyone be friends with anyone they wanted at this new school?

With these thoughts in mind, and the other girls distracted by their own conversation, Alexa leaned forward to close the distance between her and Clay, and whispered, "Not Slytherin." She sat back and blushed. It was unusual for her to be so forward, but she was kind of glad that she had been!

Cassie look at the redhead, Clay and the blonde hair girl faces one by one. Waiting for either three of them asking a question or do they understand their short lesson about Hogwarts. When the redhead speak up to saying her gratitude because Cassie explain it briefly, she finally she introduced her name.

She said her name is Alexa. Alex introduced the other two. Clay and Meredith. Cassie nodded at that. Then Alexa asked Clay whether Clay is a Muggle-born like her. Clay talk about her family, Cassie nodded at that. Cassie aware how Clay stopped for a fleeting moment to catches herself and how the way Clay talk about her family but did not ask it. "I know this new thing is a bit overwhelmed for both of you and I guess both of you confuse about the blood status deposition. I try to explain it briefly"Cassie started their statement.

"So, in this blood status, It is divided into three. Pureblood, Halfblood and Muggle-born. To put it simply Pureblood is a person who always have ancestors in magical world, there's no Halfblood or Muggle in their family. Halfblood is a mixed between pureblood person - it could be your mom or dad - and halfblood person. Whereas for Muggle-born both of your parents are muggle or non-magical people"Cassie wrapped up their explanation.

Meredith speak up about Cassie knowledge regarding Hogwarts and its houses. "Well, mostly I knew it because my Mother and Father. Other facts about it, I read Hogwarts: A History by Bathilda Bagshot."Cassie said. "I think I will be sorted into Slytherin"They answered. When the trolley witch rolled in with her trolley, Cassie said they want cauldron cakes, chocolate frogs and pumpkin juice (ice cold).

The trolley witch gave Cassie the things from her cart and Cassie say thanks to the friendly witch. "You want anything from the trolley?"Cassie offers to Alexa and Clay.

Interacts with : @Alexa Mackenzie | @Meredith Ready | @Clay McGlinchy

After her whispered confession to Clay, Alexa sat back slightly and smiled. "What about you? Do you have a preference for a House?" She asked, feeling more and more at ease talking with the other girl. She had been afraid that this train ride would be a lonely one, so it was really nice to have Clay to talk to. Even to have Meredith and Cassie around, because she was undoubtedly learning things about this whole wizard's world hidden within the non-magical world.

Speaking of learning, Cassie quickly explained the meanings of the different "blood statuses" of witches and wizards. Alexa was slightly baffled. The way Cassie explained it somehow made it seem like being a pureblood was better than half-blood, and that a half-blood was better than a person with non-magical parents… A Muggle-born. She wondered again if the term was offensive, and if so, why?

Why wouldn't all wizards and witches be equal simply in their ability to do magic? Didn't that make all of them special, no matter their "blood status?" Her brow furrowed in thought, and Alexa grew quiet for a moment after the explanation ended. She turned back to Clay, but addressed her question to the compartment at large: "But does it really matter? This whole blood status thing, I mean?" She felt stupid for voicing her question; it just reinforced to her and everyone else how little she knew. But she couldn't help but be curious.

Meredith stopped talking to Cassie and turned around to Alexa and said, " Well technically the whole blood status thing is the must important thing in the whole wizarding world says my father, but I think you are perfectly right Alexa." Meredith turned around back to Cassie and said to her, " So you think you will be in Slytherin, you will probably be best in that house then Gryffindor or Hufflepuff but it seems like Ravenclaw could work too because if you have already read Hogwarts A History then you have most likely read all of the other books that we have been assigned for this school." " Alexa seems a bit shy so she might be put in Hufflepuff but Clay seems like a Gryffindor or a Ravenclaw and Cassie seems to me like a Slytherin like she wants or maybe even a Ravenclaw but most likely me and Cassie will be the only Slytherins in this compartment." Meredith looked around and she felt like this so call magic school might not be to bad after all and who knows maybe this four girls will be really good friends and ride in the same compartment every year and be friends forever or something of the sort.

Apparently blood status was going to be a big deal in her world now, as dumb as that sounded. Clay didn't want to worry about whether she'd fit in with others just because of something she couldn't help, like who her biological parents were, but there wasn't anything she could do. If it was going to become a problem Clay would just have to prove herself in others ways, like getting the highest marks and flying the best. I can still do magic anyway so it really doesn't matter, she told herself. But she didn't feel so sure.

"Thanks but no thanks," she said to Cassie, who'd asked them about the trolley. She didn't say anything about her own stash.

Clay snuck a piece of chocolate from her pocket and faked a yawn as she popped it into her mouth. After chewing and swallowing quickly, she answered Alexa. "Honestly, I don't care which house I get into, I just want to have fun and learn things." And impress mum, she thought. I just want her to be proud of me.

Clay agreed with Alexa but she was starting to think that she shouldn't say as much around people who were Purebloods. She understood that they were probably raised to think a certain way and couldn't help it but it doesn't stop her from frowning in disagreement. Meredith claimed that whole wizarding world was based off of bloodlines, which sounded so ridiculous. Would she have to pay more or work harder just to get the same privileges as other students, or even people?

She suddenly recalled something her cousin has said once in a letter to their grandmother during his first year. He had been ranting about how some kids from his House had bullied his friends who didn't come from magic families, calling them Mudbloods. They word sounded like an insult and it made her angry just hearing it. Clay hoped no one called her that or there'd be punches thrown.

To Alexa's question Clay said, "It shouldn't matter but either way, I'm still going to become greater than anyone who treats me different because of where I come from, something I can't even help." She crossed her arms and sat back, eyeing the other two girls before looking out the window. She popped another chocolate into her mouth, this time not hiding it.

(I'm sure the compartment is full, but you guys seem like a fun group, so I just wanted to add a snippet:)

Clifton had been late catching the train. His parents hadn't taken kindly to the suggestion of their son charging into a brick wall. He hadn't been too comfortable with the idea himself. In any case, it was a good thing their friend Leo was there or he might have missed the train altogether.

"It's okay," his mom had said, probably more to herself than him as she straightened his hair and scarf for about the millionth time. "This will be good. These people know more. They can help you. Remember to call--er, I guess to write to us."

"Yes," his dad muttered, squinting up at the old-fashioned train. Then, suddenly coming back to the present and ruffling Clifton's hair back to how it had been: "Yes, you'll be fine, Cliff. It's gonna be lonely without you around, but you'll have a great time, I'm sure."

Clifton was certain of it. If he ever made it at all. The train was already chugging. He gave Leo a grateful nod. The man returned with a warm smile and then motioned for him to hurry.

He now clambered past full compartments, his mind buzzing wildly with what he'd already seen of the magic world. Questions that only branched off into more questions. And before he could puzzle those out, even more would unfold. His eyes widened at a chocolate frog climbing the glass door of one of the compartments. In another, he saw kids exchanging cards with animated pictures. And he had already seen at least a dozen weird pets.

"Watch out, dear!"
Clifton turned, but not in time to avoid crashing into some sort of snack trolley. He moved to catch himself, but that only tipped the trolley further, causing him to fall to the floor, wrappers, packages, jellybeans raining down around him.

"Sorry," Clifton gulped, dusting candy of his robes. He glanced over to see four girls around his age watching from behind the glass doors of the compartment at his left and he felt slight embarrassment color his cheeks. Nice going.

He began gathering what treats hadn't been smashed. "I can pay for--"

"It's quite alright," the older lady on the other side gave a patient sigh. "We'll get it cleaned up."

She pulled a small wand from her apron and gave it a small flick. Clifton watched in amazement as the trolley straightened itself and the snacks voluntarily returned to their respectful places, even stacking themselves to help the others up.

"Well?" she peered at him from over the cart. "I hope that's not where you've decided to take your seat for the remainder of the trip. It's quite a long way, yet."

"Uh, no. Sorry." Clifton scrambled to his feet, feeling like a complete idiot, and tried to forget the curious gazes at his back. The old woman gave him a kind smile and then handed him a chocolate frog as she passed.

"For good luck, my dear. Looks like you might need it this year."