New School Year, New Friendships

date: September 1st, 2026 time: 11am location: The Hogwarts Express

mentions: Reducio @Lenora Grace

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Minyu felt more alone than ever, entering the Hogwarts Express. There were still many people on the platform saying goodbye to their families and greeting their friends. As a first-year student - and knowing nothing about the magical world, she frankly found the whole thing overwhelming. She had tried her best to read ahead in some of the books she had purchased at Diagon Alley, but it was all so much, and she honestly still had trouble imagining that it was all real. She knew about some of the houses and the classes she would be taking, but she had no idea how any of it would work in real life. The train was huge, with lots of different compartments. As she walked down the narrow corridor, she quickly noticed how full the compartments were already getting. She couldn't possibly interrupt a big group, but she also didn't want to sit on her own the whole way. Her head was filled with anxious thoughts, so she took a deep breath and decided to keep going. She walked past an empty compartment to her right and was almost tempted to go in and hide by herself for the rest of the trip to Hogwarts, but then she looked to her left. In there was a girl, all by herself, accompanied by a cat. That didn't seem so scary. Minyu carefully opened the door and smiled at the white-haired girl. "Hello, do you mind if I sit here?" Minyu said, trying her best to sound as confident as possible. "My name is Minyu, and you?" She asked. She put her suitcase in the overhead compartment, and sat down right from across the girl.

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WC: 280

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Pre-grammarly:
Minyu felt more alone than ever, entering the Hogwarts Express. There were still a lot of people at the platform saying goodbye to Minyu felt more alone than ever, entering the Hogwarts Express. There were still a lot of people at the platform saying goodbye to their families, and greeting all their friends. As a first year - and knowing nothing about the magical world, she frankly found the whole thing overwhelming. She had tried her best to read ahead in some of the books she had purchased at Diagon Alley, but it was also much, and she honestly still had trouble imagining that it was real. She knew of some of the houses, and the classes she would be taking, but she had no idea how any of it worked in real life.

The train was huge, with lots of different compartments. As she walked down the narrow corridor, she quickly noticed how filled the compartments were already getting. She couldn't possibly interrupt a big group, but she also didn't want to sit on her own the whole way. Her head was filled with anxious thoughts, so she took a deep breath, and decided to keep going.
She walked by an empty compartment to her right, and was almost tempted to just go in there and hide by herself the whole time, but then she looked to her left.

In there was a girl, all by herself, accompanied by a cat. That didn't seem so scary. Minyu carefully opened the door, and smiled at the white-haired girl.
"Hello, do you mind if I sit here?" She said, trying her best to sound as confident as possible. "My name is Minyu, and you?" She asked. She put her suitcase in the overhead compartment, and sat down right from across the girl.

Lenora turned her head towards the door when she heard it open. It was a girl with fair skin and short, dark brown hair. She thought the girl was a little younger than herself, so she assumed it was her first year.

"Of course you can sit down. It's no problem for me."

As the girl settled in, Lenora also lifted her head from Pixie's toy and watched her, then continued playing with the toy with her paws.

"Nice to meet you, Minyu. My name is Lenora. My cat's name is Pixie. I think this is your first year. Am I right?"

While Lenora was speaking, she had shed some of the withdrawn attitude she had shown the previous year. Just thinking about it caused a flush to appear on her pale cheeks. She remembered the times when she couldn't get used to this magical world. 'Perhaps she might need some help. Maybe asking would be a good idea.' she thought.

"I'm a half-breed. What bloodline are you?"

'It will always be strange for me to ask this,' she thought. When Pixie dropped her toy towards Minyu, the cat jumped off the couch and went towards Minyu's leg. The train started moving.

date: September 1st, 2026 time: 11am location: The Hogwarts Express

mentions: Reducio @Lenora Grace

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The train had just taken off, and Minyu could already feel her suitcase rattle above her, and curiously looked out the window. Sadly, she saw nothing out of the ordinary, just yet. "Oh, your cat is so cute!" Minyu exclaimed at the girl sitting across from her. Lenora seemed nice, and Minyu's anxiety was immediately lessened when she started speaking. It eased her nerves even more that Lenora had brought a feline friend with her. "And yes - I am a first year." She replied while wondering if it was really that obvious. She assumed the girl might be older. Minyu hadn't thought about it at first, but she thought that Lenora looked like she had been in this situation before. Maybe that was for the best, and maybe Lenora could help prepare her a bit more for Hogwarts. Minyu thought it would be nice to have at least one friend once she got to school. "I'm a half-breed. What bloodline are you?" Lenora asked. Minyu had to try her best to remember all the different wizarding terms she had read about in her books. The cat, Pixie, was playing on the floor around Minyu's leg. Minyu looked up at Lenora for approval, gave her a quick smile, and bent down to pet the small animal. Stroking the soft fur had an immediate calming effect, and she was happy that the cat was letting her pet it. "Oh, I'm a muggle-born, I think. I was adopted, so I'm not really sure..." She replied, and quickly tried to avert her gaze towards the window. She immediately felt insecure about her response. Back at her old school, she never really had to tell anyone that she was adopted. The whole town already knew. She wasn't sure if opening up, was too much. "I'm sorry - I'm still new to all this wizard stuff, so forgive me - what exactly is a half-breed?" Minyu asked, hoping that her question was not rude, and, if it was, that Lenora would not judge her too harshly.

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Seeing Minyu stroking Pixie's head made Lenora involuntarily smile. She hadn't adopted the cat long ago, but she was already very attached to her. Pixie purred at the head stroke and pulled her head higher for better access, rubbing against the girl's leg.

When Minyu described it, Lenora saw a resemblance to herself. Lenora had also been abandoned at the hospital when she was born, so she knew this situation very well.

"Half-breed also means having blood from one of the races like Dhampir or metomorphmagus in your ancestry."

She had tried her best to give the correct definition. In doing so, she remembered her conversation with Emiline in the common room the previous year. She had asked the same question herself.

Lenora placed her bag on the seat and leaned forward to get a better look at its contents. Recognizing the familiar package inside, she pulled out the cat treat and offered it to Minyu.

"Would you like to feed Pixie?"

Pixie's eyes lit up when she saw the cat treat, and she looked at Minyu with curiosity.

"If you have any problems, I'd be happy to help, but if anything else happens, you can come to me anytime at school. It's fine if you want to."

She are talking to @Minyu McCullen
@Emiline Hunter name is mentioned.

date: September 1st, 2026 time: 11am location: The Hogwarts Express

mentions: Reducio @Lenora Grace

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Minyu nodded along to Lenora's explanation. She had no idea such things existed. She wanted to ask more, but decided to wait. She didn't want to overwhelm her new friend with too many questions just yet. She was nervous that Lenora would find it annoying, although she didn't seem like the type. She tried to remember the words 'dhampir' and 'metamorph', so she could find them in her textbooks later. The train was still bumbling ahead, although they still hadn't gotten very far yet. Lenora pulled up her bag, and Minyu curiously tried to get a look inside. She figured that maybe she would pull out some strange, magical item. To her surprise, it was just a cat treat. "Would you like to feed Pixie?" Lenora asked. Minyu eagerly nodded. She had no pets at home, herself, as her mother was extremely allergic. She wondered if perhaps she could learn to cure it at Hogwarts, and finally get a pet of her own at home. Lenora handed Minyu the treat, and both girls turned their attention to the cat. She bent down to the compartment floor and carefully held out her hand for Pixie, who immediately got excited and snatched it up out of her hand. Minyu couldn't help but let out a giggle. She looked up at Lenora once again and thanked her for letting her feed the cat. She was glad that they could bond over this. Animals always made things easier. "If you have any problems, I'd be happy to help, but if anything else happens, you can come to me anytime at school. It's fine if you want to." Lenora said after a while. The offer instantly brought a smile to Minyu's face. "Oh, thank you, Lenora, it's so nice to have a friend already! Do you think you could tell me a bit more about Hogwarts? I don't want to be totally clueless when I arrive. Did you feel like this, too, in your first year? And what house are you i- Sorry, am I asking too much, already?" Minyu had trouble stopping herself from speaking, now that Lenora had offered herself. She hoped that the girl didn't mind it too much; she was just so eager to learn about the magical place she was headed towards.

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WC:382

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Pre-grammarly:
Minyu nodded along to Lenora's explanation. She had no idea such things existed. She wanted to ask more, but decided to wait. She didn't want to overwhelm her new friend with too many questions just yet. She was nervous that Lenora would find it annoying, although she didn't seem like the type. She tried to remember the word 'dhampir' and 'metamorph', so she could find them in her textbooks later.

The train was still bumbling ahead, although they still hadn't gotten very far yet. Lenora pulled up her bag, and Minyu curiously tried to get a look inside. She figured that maybe she would pull out some strange magical item. To her surprise, it was just a cat treat.

"Would you like to feed Pixie?" Lenora asked. Minyu eagerly nodded. She had no pets at home, herself, as her mother was extremely allergic. She wondered if perhaps she could learn to cure it at Hogwarts, and finally get a pet of her own at home. Lenora handed Minyu the treat, and both girls turned their attention to the cat.

She bent down to the compartment floor, and carefully held out her hand for Pixie, who immediately got excited and snatched it up out of her hand. Minyu couldn't help but let out a giggle. She looked up at Lenora once again, and thanked her for letting her feed the cat. She was glad that they could bond over this. Animals always made things easier.

"If you have any problems, I'd be happy to help, but if anything else happens, you can come to me anytime at school. It's fine if you want to." Lenora said after a while. The offer instantly brought a smile to Minyu's face.

"Oh, thank you Lenora, it's so nice to have a friend already! Do you think you could tell me a bit more about Hogwarts? I don't want to be totally clueless when I arrive. Did you feel like this too in your first year? And what house are you i- Sorry, am I asking too much, already?" Minyu had trouble stopping herself from speaking, now that Lenora had offered herself. She hoped that the girl didn't mind it too much, she was just so eager to learn about the magical place she was headed towards.

Pixie went to Lenora's seat like she'd won an award and is happily eating it there. Lenora giggled at this.

"When you come to school, there's the Sorting Ceremony. There, the Sorting Hat will choose your house. There are magical classes, but there are also History classes, just like in Muggle classes. The stairs move."

She remained silent, and then an idea struck her. She took her sketchbook and pencil case from her bag and began to draw. She had brought the notebook closer to her eyes to see it better, so she had quickly lost touch with reality. Feeling Pixie's hand brush against hers, she remembered where she was when she arrived back in the real world.

"Well, I'm sorry, uh, I just got inspired." Lenora was certain that her pupils were twitching more than usual as she spoke.

At that moment, the dessert cart arrived. She thought Minyu wasn't sure which dessert to get yet. So, thinking she would like them, he picked two chocolate frogs and a packet of Jelly Slugs and paid for them.

"Before year, the thing that surprised me the most was the chocolate frog. You know, when you open the frog package, they try to run away. Would you like to try? If not, I understand."

date: September 1st, 2o26 time: sometime after 11am location: The Hogwarts Express

mentions: Reducio @Lenora Grace

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Minyu eagerly listened to everything Lenora was saying. Although she didn't really understand much of what she said, it all sounded so exciting, and Minyu couldn't wait to experience everything for herself. The sunlight flickered through the window, and Minyu noticed that they were finally passing through the English countryside. The girls sat in silence for a bit, and even though they didn't know each other very well, Minyu didn't find it awkward. In fact, it was a comfortable type of silence. Minyu had a lot on her mind, either way, so it was nice to be able to sit and think for a second. The landscape was beautiful, and Minyu couldn't help but look out in awe, now that they were finally past London. Lenora was drawing something in her sketchbook, and Minyu was curious about whatever it was Lenora was drawing. "Well, I'm sorry, uh, I just got inspired," Lenora said after a while. Minyu just smiled at her. There was nothing to apologize for, she thought. "That's fine, Lenora! It's good to get inspired." She said. At the same moment, there was suddenly a knocking on the door of the compartment. Minyu instantly turned her head, surprised as to what it could be. Before the two girls stood the trolley witch, who was rolling her dessert trolley along the corridors, letting students purchase magical treats. Minyu was unsure what to do, overwhelmed by all the odd candies and cakes. Lenora, fortunately, was of course more experienced and purchased some candies from the witch. "Before year, the thing that surprised me the most was the chocolate frog. You know, when you open the frog package, they try to run away. Would you like to try? If not, I understand." Lenora said, once the trolley witch had left the compartment. Minyu was instantly taken aback by this. She didn't understand what Lenora meant by 'run away'. Was she talking about a real frog? Because surely, a piece of chocolate would be unable to move. "Sure, I'd love to try!" Minyu said, trying to be polite, but was still worried about what this chocolate was truly capable of. She took the package that Lenora handed her, and stared at the oddly shaped pentagon box. Minyu looked up at Lenora a final time before deciding to carefully try to open the box. Although Lenora had warned her, Minyu instinctively let out a scream as the frog leapt towards her face! She tried to grab it with her hands to get it off her, but as she reached for her face, the frog had already jumped down on the burgundy seat, leaving a mark of melted chocolate. When Minyu tried to grab it once again, it had jumped on the window, and before she knew it, the frog had crawled out and flew out the window. She was relieved that the thing was gone, but still felt kind of bad that she had now lost Lenora's chocolate. "I'm sorry, Lenora! Do people really eat those things? How the heck are you supposed to do that?!" She said, noticing the second packet of chocolate frogs still resting in Lenora's palms. "Please show me!" Minyu said eagerly, hoping to get revenge on that stupid frog that already got away.

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Lenora involuntarily jumped when Minyu screamed, while Pixie hissed at the chocolate frog. After the chocolate frog jumped out the window, Lenora looked at the chocolate frog wrapper she was still holding. Her eyesight was poor, but she thought there was no harm in trying.

She placed the Jelly Slugs package beside her and carefully opened it. When the frog inside jumped out, Lenora was surprised when she snatched the chocolate frog with a sudden movement. She was certain that her pupils were trembling more rapidly.

She broke the chocolate mug in half and offered one piece to Minyu. "Which character came up on your card?" She put her own piece in her mouth and looked at her card. It turned out to be a wizard named Kirley Duke.

Feeling her skin burning, she realized her sunscreen had expired. She took out sunscreen from her bag and applied it to the burned areas before reapplying sunscreen. She wiped off the excess sunscreen with a tissue she pulled from her bag. "Do you want sunscreen?"

Pixie purred and came into Lenora's lap and fell asleep. "We have all kinds of students at school. Some first-year students are just like you, don't worry." @Minyu McCullen

date: September 1st, 2o26 time: sometime after 11am location: The Hogwarts Express

mentions: Reducio @Lenora Grace

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Minyu gratefully accepted the piece of chocolate. She felt a little guilty that Lenora had wasted so much of her candy on her. "Which character came up on your card?" Lenora asked. Minyu had hardly even noticed the card inside the box. She was much more focused on the frog. She picked up the box from before and noticed a weird piece of paper that kind of reminded her of the Pokémon cards she used to collect when she was younger. The only difference was that instead of an animalistic character, it was a witch who was moving around like she was really alive in there. Minyu picked up the card and stared at it in shock. She examined it thoroughly, but couldn't come up with a logical explanation as to how the witch was moving on the card. "Magic, huh... It says... Helga Hufflepuff..." Minyu said and turned the card around to look at the back. "Apparently, she is one of the founders of Hogwarts... You probably knew that." Minyu looked up at Lenora and smiled. "Hufflepuff... That's one of the houses, right? I remember reading that in one of my books. Cool!" She said, and neatly put the card into her pocket. This might just be the start of a long collection. The sunlight that had earlier just barely flickered through the window now stood high in the sky, burning right into the compartment. Lenora offered Minyu some sunscreen that she decided to accept. It was actually getting rather hot in there. She was grateful that Lenora was sharing so many of her things with her. "Thank you, Lenora!" She said, and put some on her bare arms and her face. Although Minyu didn't burn easily, it was still nice to be safe. "You have been so kind to me. I'm so happy to have at least one friend at Hogwarts now!" She said and smiled warmly at the white-haired girl. "We have all kinds of students at school. Some first-year students are just like you, don't worry." Lenora said. Pixie was sleeping in Lenora's lap. Minyu hoped that she, too, would return next year with an animal companion of her own. She thought Lenora and Pixie matched each other quite well. "Thank you. I'm not that nervous anymore. I'm actually pretty excited now! Do you think we'll get there soon?" Minyu asked and looked out the window once again. They were still driving through the countryside, but maybe they would be nearing Scotland soon? Minyu, being from Ireland, wasn't too sure. Of course, she had been to both England and Scotland before, but it wasn't nearly enough to know the ins and outs of the geography. "I hope we are, at least. I hope we'll still talk when we start school. Maybe I'll even be lucky and end up in the same house as you!" Minyu said, trying to remember the names of the other houses. Hopefully, she would pick everything up quickly once she got to Hogwarts. For now, she was still happy to be sharing the journey with her new friend.

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