The In Between Train
Mentions: @Sabrina Lyons
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Reyna didn't want to go to school. The feeling had settled in sometime over the summer, after her grandpa died, and it hadn’t left since. Each day she dreaded the day where she would have to head back to Hogwarts. That was today. For the longest time, she had pushed the thought that she would even have to come back out of her head. She hated the thought of having to attend classes, of having to socialize with others. All she wanted was to hole up in her room and drown in her music and thoughts. Not forever, she told herself that much. She did want to get better. She just didn’t know how. And every time she tried to start, it felt like too much. Too hard, too difficult, like her heart would just tumble out of her chest and everything inside her would give out before she got anywhere close. The only productive thing she had done was reading her grandpa's journal he had left for her. Each little note he had left for her made her feel a little bit better. But only a little. The most intriguing thing she had found was that there were pages ripped out, burn marks and words crossed out like they were not supposed to be read which scared her. She tried to tell herself it was just an ordinary journal. But that was very obviously a lie. Every day she wondered whether she was holding something forbidden in her hands. This was exactly why she told no one. Absolutely no one. No one would ever know. She didn't always act and feel this way. Before her grandpa had died, she had been the most happy and cheerful girl known to existence. Her friends would agree. No one would even recognize her anymore. Her wardrobe had changed. Her personality had changed. Holeing up in her room and writing was so much more fun than socializing. Maybe that would change when she went back to school, though she highly doubted it. Reyna stared out the window of the Hogwarts Express, not daring to pick the journal out of her backpack, no matter how much she wanted to. She wanted a distraction. She needed a distraction. Someone to get into a fight in a nearby compartment. A beautiful view. Anything to pull her away from her thoughts. She had already drowned in them too many times and barely made it out. She couldn't sink again. But how could she stay afloat if she couldn't swim? |
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Word Count: 378/200
Last edited by Reyna Evergreen on 28 Aug 2026, 03:02, edited 1 time in total.
The In Between Train
banner by Valour Argentum
@Reyna EvergreenJust like the few times she had boarded it, Sabrina hopped on the Hogwarts train amongst the last students. This time it took a lot of tight hugs and encouriging words from her father to even get her on it, her fear of the magical school almost rooting her feet to the train station. But alas, with a trunk in hand and satchal swung around her shoulder, she trudged on.
Walking through the train's narrow alley, the witch walked past many compartments buzzing with sound. New students making friends, old ones reunititing, all happy and easy. Man, did everyone find this easy but her? Whatever the case, her stride didn't slow to even consider joining them. Almost at the end of her first wagon, Sabrina suddenly halted, stumbling two steps back to face a door that caught her attention. Not because she recognized one of the voices behind it, but because there appeared to be none at all. After she had confirmed her assumption by pressing her ear to the door, she backed away from it again, reaching for the handle with a light smile. Quiet meant that the space was empty, or occupied by an individual, alone or not too keen on socialising. Either way, the odds of her having a pleasent return to Hogwarts increased.
Sliding the doors open revealed another girl sitting inside, prompting Sabrina's smile to widen. The less ideal scenario of the two, but still managable. The brunette looked vagualy familiar, but not enough for the raven to assume they've had a proper introduction before.
'Hi, my name is Sabrina, Sabrina Lyons, Brie for short,' she introduced herself still standing at the doors, hand outstreched in an invitation of a handshake. 'Mind if I join you?'wc. 296
occ notes. Sabrina wouldn't remember, but the girls have shared a cabit whilst on the Beauxbatons trip
The In Between Train
Mentions: @Sabrina Lyons
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Reyna's distraction came as soon as she heard a light noise outside of the compartment door. Reyna almost perked up happy for a distraction. Was it going to be someone fighting. A few friends gossiping just loud enough that she could catch on to their conversation? What Reyna did not expect was a girl to come into her compartment. She had long wavy hair up to her shoulders and grey eyes that Reyna had never seen before. While Reyna had not anticipated talking to anyone this train ride, she should have known better. A quiet compartment was appealing, for the same reasons Reyna had entered this compartment. As the girl introduced herself as Sabrina, something clicked in her head. Reyna had definitely seen her before. Maybe in the common room because she was definitely a Hufflepuff or maybe somewhere else? She couldn't quite put her finger on it. Reyna extended her own hand to shake Brie's. "Hi, I'm Reyna Evergreen," she replied with a small smile, "Sure!" she added to Brie's response of whether she could join Reyna. Reyna wasn't in the mood for a ton of conversation but it seemed the only way she would get a distraction from her terrible thoughts would be to converse. "Are you ready for another year of Hogwarts?" she asked. A terrible starting question, she knew that, but Reyna could not think of anything else. And because Reyna remembered Brie from last year, she assumed she was not a first year. She hoped she was right about that assumption. She wondered if Brie remembered the old Reyna. The happy sunshiney Reyna. She wondered what she thought of her now. Trying to dispel those thoughts out of her head she added, "You're a Hufflepuff right? I think I've seen you in the Common Room once or twice." Reyna had to keep talking. It was the only way to get out of her head. And Brie seemed like a really nice person. All she hoped was that they could be friends and that she wouldn't sense anything off with her. |
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Word Count: 338/200
The In Between Train
banner by Valour Argentum
@Reyna Evergreen'Nice to meet you Reyna,' she leaned forward from where she stood between the doors, her nerves easing with each second spend in the girl's presence. Talking to people was one of those things the raven dreaded more than actually struggled to do, 'awesome, thanks,' she stepped into the space. Brows shooting up when the older girl's first question reached her ears, Sabrina took just a second before attempting to answer her it, 'Well - okay,' setting her trunk before herself, she took the seat opposite to the brunette, 'Not really. I am ready for the actual school part of it all - oh, I am so ready to finally do magic again but - mind your legs,' she added almost as an after thought, both her feet kicking out, topling her trunk over, their heels shoving it under the seats as they came down again, 'Otherwise, it's complicated. I always thought I liked spending time with people but, honestly? Group setting give me the creeps,' she admitted, perhaps to the first none-family member since finding out this fact about herself.
Maybe the lack of relations was why she felt so compelled to spill her guts out to the unknown girl, or maybe it was the long summer of mulling this information over, practically drowning in it, 'And, dear Rowena, I feel like I've lost like every friend since February? One, definitely, the others, probably. Not that I had all that many to begin with,' legs folding beneath her, cheek rested in her palm, the raven's gray eyes scanned the platform, searching for her father, 'Not one of them send an owl, or a muggle letter, throughout the whole summer. Which is like - I don't know. I just don't know. I have no idea how I'll survive this year with so many strangers and crowds everywhere,' she groaned, eyes falling shut for a moment as she grimaced.
'Nope, a proud raven,' she gave a small smile, glad for the topic change, 'but perhaps I have a badger doppleganger?' she attempted a joke before quickly adding, 'oh, and how about you? Looking forward to this school year? What year are you again?'wc. 335
so sorry for the long wait!
The In Between Train
Mentions: @Sabrina Lyons
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Reyna giggled. Sabrina had managed to turn the most boring question into an excited and interesting one. There was something about her, that just made Reyna want to jump with joy. She liked this girl. Somehow she managed to keep up with Sabrina's long train of thought, and process it well enough to formulate a response. "You know what," she paused, "I agree with you on that. Learning magic is SO much fun, but interacting with lots of people, can, well, be overwhelming. It didn't used to be." It was nice to bond over someone who agreed with what she thought. She loved her friends, but sometimes, nowadays, people were too much. Especially lots of people. She shook her heads. She was still traumatized from the funeral this summer. She could hear echoes of her mom yelling at her to greet more people, when all she wanted was to collapse on her bed. Large groups of people, weren't her thing anymore. "You know what, I believe you'll make lots of friends who will send you plenty of letters next summer. The first few years are hard. But it gets better." she gave the girl a small smile. But deep inside she was thinking the same thing. How was she supposed to survive the crowds, the people, when everything went back to that last moment when the smile had faded from his face, the life had been sucked out of her own Grandpa. It wasn't the same. Maybe to cheer herself up, or maybe to cheer Sabrina up she said, "This will be a great year. I have a feeling." As the topic changed, Reyna blushed. "Apologies. Maybe you do have a badger doppelganger. Or maybe I need to get my eyes checked." she laughed. "Honestly, everything you said is the same for me. I'm not looking forward to school. At least not as much as I was last year and the year before that, but I'm going to make the most of it. And hopefully learn something interesting." she sighed, staring out the window. She wasn't ready. But it didn't matter. Just like she had said, she had to make the most of it. "Oh I'm a fourth year!" she said softly, "How about you? Second?" she guessed. |
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Word Count: 378/200