Boarding alone, staying alone? open

Edward nodded enthusiastically as Reynard talked. He knew too well because he was feeling the same. He started to really like Reynard and was looking forward to maybe do some learning together.

"I fully agree!", he sad with a big smile on his face. He hoped they would get into the same house. From what he was told by his father, students would learn with others of their house and year, or with one other house together but not all first years at once.

Edward had read as much about the houses as he could, of course. He had wished to get into Ravenclaw because he hoped to find people who read and learned as much as he does. But also Hufflepuff was towards the top of his list. His dad was a Huffle. Now he wished primarily to get into the same house as Reynard.

"What do you think, in which house you might end up?", he asked Reynard.

Of course it would not necessarily get the house they wished to get into but somehow decided. His dad didn't get into detail here. He had said he didn't want to spoil Edwards experience. But he was still hoping the decision process somehow considered his wishes.

"Which house?" Reynard heard him perfectly the first time, but he repeated it just the same as he mulled the question over. Asking someone which house he hoped to be sorted to was essentially asking them what they believed; which values were dearest to their hearts. He wasn't sure he was ready for that level of openness with someone he just met, as nice and forthcoming as Edward had been thus far.

His eyebrows furrowed, and he looked out the window as he considered whether or not he should answer his question. Ultimately, he decided, it didn't really matter. A few hours from now Reynard's heart will be laid bare by the sorting hat, and everyone at school would have his measure. Edward would only be the first to know. And why shouldn't he tell him, if he has already shown an interest in him?

"Ravenclaw" he finally said, which shouldn't have been much of a surprise considering they spent the last few minutes talking about books, and their excitement to start with their schoolwork. "Definitely Ravenclaw. But I'll be satisfied with Gryffindor, or Hufflepuff. Just not Slytherin. Anything but Slytherin"

The Slytherin house had a dark reputation, a blemish on its name that would be hard to scrub out. He wondered why the house was even still allowed to exist, considering what he read about their founder and his philosophy, not to mention the Dark Lord and almost all of his followers were also former members of Slytherin. It seemed like there wasn't a witch or a wizard who went bad who wasn't from Slytherin. Not the type of people he would like to associate with, or be considered a part of.

@Edward Foxe

"Cool! Me too!" Edward exclaimed happily. He did not have such an aversion against Slytherin though. Of course he had read about it and his father also had told him the major point. No details but he thought, Ed should be prepared.
However, to Edward it had been like all the bad things muggles did in history. It somehow did not touch him enough to make him feel ashamed or anxious. It had been awful people in the past.

But it was Reynards opinion and they were not so close that Edward dared to question it.

"Do you know how the houses are decided? My dad wouldn't tell me. He said, he didn't want to spoil the moment. But to be honest, I'd rather like to know beforehand. Do they perform a test or is it just random? It can't be random, can it?"
Edward really hoped that Reynard knew something about the ceremony. They were getting closer to the castel, he supposed, as it started to get darker outside. He hadn't notice the time passing by. He wondered how long their ride would still take. Even though, he was enjoying the ride with Reynard, he noticed that he started to get tired. It had been an exciting day already and quite long so far.

Only then he looked at the door and startled. He had not noticed the boy coming in. He looked about their age and just staring at them. This time, Edward didn't want to frighten away another new student, so he addressed the boy, asking "Hi, can we help you?"

Wouldn't it be great if both him and Edward got sorted into Ravenclaw? From what he read, Houses were like your extended family in Hogwarts. You took classes together, studied together, slept in the same dormitories. If they didn't get sorted into the same house, it would mean their paths were less likely to cross, and it that would be a real shame.

"No, it can't be random" he said without thinking about it too much "According to Hogwarts: a History, the founders picked candidates for their houses based on the traits which they valued, and even though I haven't finished the book yet, it doesn't look like things have changed much since. Maybe they make you take some sort of test when you arrive?" he conjectured "anyways, I hope they consider what we want when they do the sorting"

It WAS starting to get dark outside, which meant they probably weren't long for Hogwarts. It was a long travel, but now when they were approaching their destination he felt a surge of excitement running through his body.

"We'll find out soon" he said, just as he heard the knock on the panel of their compartment before it slid open. He kept silent, since Edward already greeted the boy looking at them from the opening. He'd probably have stayed silent if he didn't.

@Edgar Thorne
@Edward Foxe

For an answer, Edgar pointed out an empty seat next to Reynard and said, in an oddly toneless voice:
"I'll take that seat".

Darn it, that sounded rude, and he vaguely realized it as soon as the words came out of his mouth. Perhaps he should have been more polite and ask something like "Do you mind?" or "may I?" But it was too late to take them back now.
So, without waiting for either boys to reply, he stepped into the compartment, slid its door closed, dropped his backpack on the seat next to Edward without sparing a glance at them. But, instead of sitting down, he stayed up, started to undress, starting with his shoes and tweed jacket as if nothing was more urgent; then he pulled up his black t-shirt, exposing a somewhat skinny ribcage. The garments were disdainfully balled up and tossed next to the backpack or on the floor. He then opened his bag to take out a brand new, neatly folded black school robe which he eagerly slipped on, before unzipping his jeans. Only then he sat down to drop them down and kicked them away, then he looked up to each boy with a grin.
"Now, I'm ready! Why isn't anyone wearing their pointy hat? Is it only for formal occasions?"
This strange boy didn't even seem to realize that he hadn't even introduced himself, or asked about them, who had at least been kind enough to acknowledge his presence.

@Edward Foxe
@Reynard Rosier

Edward watched the newcomer with interest at first. But when he rather rudely claimed a seat for himself and then started to undress, Edward looked first at Reynard, then out of the window. He suddenly felt very uncomfortable and wished that he hadn't welcomed him inside.

After an initial feeling of unease, he started to rather be angry. "Who does the kid think he is, bursting into our conversation, claiming a space and undressing without even asking us?", he thought and his face contorted into a grimace. There were surely dressing rooms or a bathroom to change clothes.

When the new boy had switched into the school robes, he addressed the others asking "Why isn't anyone wearing their pointy hat? Is it only for formal occasions?"

Edward had worn his school clothes already the whole ride. The only thing that was missing was indeed the cloak and the hat, which he had decided to put on, when they arrived. He wasn't especially fond of the pointy hat. It had looked weird and he also didn't know for what occasion they had to wear it, so he just shrugged and mumbled a "Dunno", looking at Reynard again and avoiding to look at the new kid.

Edward hoped that they would arrive soon. He would definitely make an effort to meet Reynard again, even if they didn't end up in the same house. He was just hoping, that the new boy wasn't going to be in his house.

Reynard lifted his shoulders in a nonchalant shrug when the black-haired boy claimed the seat next to him. While it could have been more polite to introduce himself first, he did not take it as a sign of an intentional slight, but that of brusque conduct. That in itself, however, was still enough for Reynard to refrain from engaging him in conversation. He wasn't likely to get along with him, based on the short interaction they'd just had.

"Hey" he called out to Edward, to regain the boy's attention after he turned his eyes toward the window

"Good luck with the sorting tonight. In case we don't both make it, let's meet over the weekend. Exchange some stories. Assuming " he allowed a faint smile to cross his face "that they don't give us too much homework"

He had no idea when they would reach Hogwarts, but judging by the fact that it was getting dark outside, it couldn't be very long. Just the same, he reached back for his book and opened it at the marker. He didn't particularly feel like continuing the conversation with Edward now that they were joined by the gate-crasher.

He was sure he would understand.

@Edgar Thorne
@Edward Foxe

Unbothered by the two boys' sudden change of attitude, Edgar collected his Muggle clothes, negligently stuffed them in his travel bag and dropped in his claimed seat. He tried to find something to say. Talking casually seemed so natural to them; perhaps they already knew each other before boarding? In any case, his mind was as blank as his rolls of parchment that were safely tucked away in his trunk with his other school supplies… except for one book, “The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection”, which he took out and placed in his lap.
Like his traveling companions, he glanced outside. With the darkness and reflection from the window, there wasn't much to see. But he had noted the gradual change in the landscape as they had traveled northward; the orderly fields and pastures had gradually given way to marshlands and heather expanses, with the occasional forest chunk, and then to beautiful foothills that were enlightened by the setting sun. Now, they only could feel the presence of big mountains in a dark wilderness. Every now and then, the solitary light of a cottage slowly flicked past. It already felt like a sparsely populated area, and his father had explained the reasons to him. For the slightest instant, Edgar regretted not having yet started to read "Hogwarts, a History" instead of the DADA textbook.

"What's sorting?" he suddenly asked them both, once again totally oblivious of their discomfort and of the fact that he was literally butting in.

@Reynard Rosier
@Edward Foxe

Edward was glad, Reynard suggested to meet again. Seemed like he actually had made something like a friend and he had nod even arrived at Hogwarts yet. He nodded in agreement and replied more quietly than before the boy entered the room: "Thanks, you too. That would be great." He hoped, Reynard would understand he meant meeting again on the weekend with his last sentence.

As Reynard returned to read his book, Edward stared towards the window again, trying to recognise anything and hoping to see the school when they would arrive but there was only darkness now.
In the reflection of the dark window, he could see the other kid taking out a book as well. Edward recognized it immediately as “The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection”. He had read all of his textbooks already and was slightly scared of that one. He hoped that they would not encounter any dark magic at Hogwarts and he wondered whether the strange new kid had some connection to dark magic or really wanted to rather protect himself of it.

Edward was glas that everyone had turned to reading and he also took back the book he had read before interacting with Reynard: his father's copy of Hogwarts, A History. However, he could not really concentrate on the book anymore. Too much had happened and he was still feeling uncomfortable around the other boy.

Then the boy suddenly asked "What's sorting?"
Edward wished he could pretend to read but he feared the boy would notice, so he just shrugged again and said "Dunno exactly" and was relieved when a voice echoed through the train:
"Dear students, we will be arriving in 15 minutes. If you haven't done it already, please change into your school robes and get ready for our arrival at Hogwarts."

He got up to get his robe and pointy hat and put them on, tucked his book back into his bag and pressed his nose against the window to finally get a glimpse of Hogwarts but it was still just dark outside.

Because he couldn't help himself, Reynard curiously eyed the book the unnamed boy pulled out of his bag. He immediately recognized it by its cover. ' The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection' didn't make for pleasant reading. It had Vampires in it. Real, blood-sucking vampires. Werewolves who carried an infectious curse worse than rabies. Flesh-eating Zombies, and Hags that fed exclusively on young children. It was one of those books that made him queasy, and he could never finish more than a single chapter at the time before putting it back down.

It's not the gory description that bothered him. It was that the book existed, and that it was mandatory reading for first years at Hogwarts, which troubled him. How common were these denizens of the night, that schoolchildren as young as eleven needed to learn how to protect themselves from being preyed upon by those monsters?!?

Not something he enjoyed thinking about when he went to bed each night.

The book was left unopened on the lap of the young boy, who much preferred to look out the window, and Reynard couldn't help but wonder why. Why bother taking the book out to begin with if you're not intending to read it? Was it an attempt to impress them? Frighten them? Relate to them?

Finally, he decided he simply couldn't care enough, and went back to his own book - just as the boy asked the question following the conversation he just had with Edward

"They sort us at Hogwarts into Houses. Based on personality traits" he answered without lifting his eyes from his book, turning yet another page

"Dear students, we will be arriving in 15 minutes. If you haven't done it already, please change into your school robes and get ready for our arrival at Hogwarts."

Reynard didn't get up. He was already in his black school robe, and was determined not to put the ridiculous hat on until someone actually tells him to.

Fifteen minutes was a long time. He might finish reading an entire chapter before they arrive.

@Edgar Throne
@Edward Foxe