A new opportunity Closed

It was too crowded. Marcel could basically feel the din of excited students. He just wasn't sure what to expect. Sure, Michael, his older brother, gently grasped his shoulders as he was about to board the train, and said, "Good luck, Marce! Make some friends, bruv. You're going to do great!" before pushing him off to board, but it was still much... louder than he expected. Still, he wanted to make Michael, and his parents, proud, and he couldn't do that standing just inside the train as students flooded around him. Nervously pushing up his glasses, he headed down the aisle, searching for an empty compartment, or at least one that was empty enough. While he knew he had to make a friend sooner or later, surely that could wait until he was settled in, right? Sighing, he passed door after door of compartments packed with students, all chattering excitedly about the upcoming year. The ruckus wasn't too bad, he decided. So long as I'm not expected to participate in it.

After what felt like a lifetime of walking, he finally found a mostly empty compartment. Empty, save for one girl. He tilted his head a bit, noticing her reading. The reddish-brown color was almost certainly "Hogwarts: A History". He had read it twice over in the two weeks before term. He had never thought about reading on the train, much to his surprise. He shook his head, focusing back on the girl, realizing he probably looked creepy if he stood there longer. Hesitantly, he knocked, eyebrows furrowing as he noticed the flinch. He gently slid the compartment door open, nervously adjusting his swept black hair. "Um. Pardon me, I really don't mean to intrude. Would you mind if I joined you? It's rather full everywhere else." He adjusted his large, round glasses as he nervously waited for a reply.

Iris couldn't believe just how many students were boarding the train and she clung to her father's hand. She couldn't do this, it was very clear now, and everything in her told her to run back home where everything was familiar. Her father on the other hand was beaming like a proud parent, looking down at his scared child with love. "This is where you leave me little one." He said in his deep Romanian accent. Iris looked up at him, her green eyes wide and petrified. "Tată!" Her voice squeaked out before she quickly buried her face into his cloak. The fur lining always comforted her in her hours of need. "I don't want to leave." She mumbled into the cloak. Her father let out a rumbling laugh, helping her up onto the train with a soft smile. "This will help you little flower. Te iubesc."

Iris had watched her father walk away, still feeling the last hug she would receive from her father for months. "Te iubesc Tată." She murmured before she set off on her journey. The full compartments on the train immediately sent her farther and farther down until she spotted a boy she assumed was about her age. Out of habit she tried to duck behind the wall of a man she called her father, only to realize that he wasn't there, she would have to learn to stand on her own. She bit her lip, finding it rather annoying that this was indeed the last compartment and he looked as if he had come from the other side of the train. This seemed to be her only option, which was confirmed when she heard what he said. "Um. Pardon me, I really don't mean to intrude. Would you mind if I joined you? It's rather full everywhere else." Iris took a step forward, tugging at her scarf to make sure it was sitting correctly. She took a quiet breath before she spoke. "I would like to join as well, that is if it is allowed. I swear that I won't be a bother."