Finished Why can't we just rent brooms? PV Finished

Ella was just putting the finishing touches on her drawing when she heard the sound of the compartment opening. She looked up. There was a boy standing there. Oh. Yay. A person..."Don't think like that," Ella criticised herself inwardly. "He might ask if he can sit in the compartment. Instead of flat-out refusing, why not let him in? Julien says you need the practice, anyway."

Julien was always coming into her thoughts even when he was in another compartment on the train. Ugh. But Ella decided to follow "his advice" and smile warmly at the boy instead of giving him a look that could turn lava into ice. "Ciao? I mean Hello," said the boy, smiling. "Do you mind I sit in here with you?" Ella was a little taken aback by his accent, which was Italian, unlike a lot of the Brits she'd heard talking in King's Cross.

She thought that was a good kind of different. "Salut," said Ella, waving. Then, realising her mistake, she quickly switched to English. "Oh- sorry- I mean, hi. I don't mind if you sit here at all, go ahead." Ella laughed a little. She spoke so much French at home, that she sometimes forgot to switch when she was talking to certain people. Whoops. Ella went back to drawing, finishing her first art piece and flipping to another page of her sketchbook.

She took a long, hard look at the book, wondering if maybe she could draw him in her sketchbook. Then she remembered what Julien said back on Platform 9 3/4: "Promise me, Ella, that you won't like a turtle this year and get a life so that I won't go searching for one for you." Ella sighed, and, very, very reluctantly, put the sketchbook away. No observing. No drawing. Just conversing. Right. Ella had been preparing for this ever since she stepped onto the scarlet red engine. So where were all of those brilliant(English)words she was gonna use?!

Ella gave a slight smile at what the boy said next. She didn't really know Italian, but she did know that "Grazie" meant "Thank you". "Scusi Mancare, but may I ask what language that may have been?" the boy asked. "It was French," Ella answered. Then she decided to clarify further by saying, "'Salut' just means 'hi'. Ella didn't speak as much English as she should at home, but she figured she could start speaking it now.

The boy then asked if Ella was making art. "Yes, I was making Arte," Ella answered, using the Italian word for art as he had done. He palmed his forehead and said, "Scusa, what is your name Mancare? My name es Kyle, Kyle Diaz." "Ella-Margaux Dupuis," said Ella. "But...it's just Ella, really." The boy, Kyle, seemed to Ella like he was uncomfortable. Ella noticed that he kept changing his seating position and fiddling around with his robes.

Ella was about to ask him if anything was wrong, but then he asked another question. "Well, it's hard to say. I guess I'm kinda nervous, more than anything," Ella admitted, a little sheepish. "What about you?" She still felt kinda weird, talking to another kid her age. Well, more like another person in general. But Ella was going to try. She would look Kyle in the eye and not stammer. It really didn't matter that he had a different sense of fashion than what Ella was used to because she was kind of looking forward to making friends. And, who knows, maybe this would give her a confidence boost later on when she needed it.

Ella jumped at the boy's obvious excitement. She didn't know many energetic and/or excitable people, not counting her brothers(save Georges). Ella assumed that her train ride partner was excited about the fact that she was French(why?). "Oh, uh, yeah. I'm French." Ella felt like palming her forehead. Lame. So lame. The boy said something in Italian that Ella didn't know, but then he asked, "Can you cook food from Francia? I love cooking, I can teach you how to make Pasta and Italiano food!"

Oh boy. Ella blinked a couple of times. She didn't often cook, but she did like food. "Well, I can make a decent brine from the sea," she joked. Ella loved different foods, but she wasn't so big on the cooking part. "I can't really cook that well. However, I'm willing to give it a try. And Italian food does sound good..."

Ella didn't know if she was enjoying this, but she didn't hate it either. The boy then asked about her art. She didn't have time to answer because then he asked if he could see it. Ella didn't know...she didn't really like showing people her art. She was about to make a decision when the boy asked for her name and gave her his. Where exactly is this conversation going? Ella thought. She gave him her name, and he complimented it, which made Ella crack a small smile.

After Ella asked him how he felt about Hogwarts, Kyle thought for a minute and replied, "Ai, I am very very excited for ummm... the word... for new friends! But I am nervous because I am not the best Student, see?" Ella nodded sympathetically. "But SÌ that's what I think... I think?" Ella nodded again. She could relate, for the most part. A moment passed, and Kyle muttered something that Ella couldn't catch. He apologised(at least, it sounded like it)and told Ella that his clothes were very itchy, then laughed a little.

Ella nodded and gave Kyle a sympathetic glance. "Uh...I'm not sure how you'd make them more comfortable, but you could ask someone." Ella shrugged, then paused. "What house do you think you're going to get? At Hogwarts?" she asked, a little slower than she'd have liked. Ella was expecting Ravenclaw. She had no favourite houses, but she didn't mind any of them except for Gryffindor. She definitely didn't belong in there.

Honestly, Ella didn't know what to make of Kyle, but she was hoping that maybe they'd get the chance to talk more when they arrived at Hogwarts.

After Ella asked what house Kyle thought he was going to get at Hogwarts, he scratched his head and thought for a moment. He told her that he would probably get Gryffindor, but Hufflepuff and Slytherin were also options. He also thought that Ravenclaw was out of the question, though, but Ella didn't say anything about that. She thought that Kyle may have been accurate, though, minus the part about why he didn't think he would be a Ravenclaw.

"I think you'd do good in whatever house you're in," she commented. "But I think I'll get Ravenclaw since I kinda like to read...and I do like blue...but I think that Hufflepuff and Slytherin could also be options. Definitely not Gryffindor, though. Not the house for me." Gryffindor was where the brave and chivalrous and fiery were. And Ella was none of those things. But Kyle seemed like a very exuberant person to her, so he seemed like a Gryff.

"Have you chosen a career?" Kyle asked. "Yeah," Ella answered. "I think I want to be a potion-brewer. Making potions for a living sounds really great, and I really like potions, so I think I want to do that." Ella decided to toss out another question. "Um...do you have any brothers or sisters?" she asked. She didn't know many purebloods around her age who had siblings(mostly because she never bothered to ask). The perks of being forced out of your comfort zone...