Cold Compartment PV Nicholas Kingsman

"Muggle?", he raised a brow, "What's that? Sounds wrong", he said without thinking, he suddenly perked up and started waving his hands towards Andrew while noticeably nervous again, "N-N-Not to say you're wrong! I-In any way! I just- I just thought out loud, I apologize", he sighed, thinking he had screwed up yet again. His more paranoid side started imagining all sort of stuff, even comparing himself to Baldwin, but he tried his best to calm down and try to fix the situation.

Examining both what Andrew said about his family, and Alix too about her brother and mother, he joined two and two and realized it probably meant 'People without magic', "Wait, does that mean Magicless folk?", he placed a hand behind his head, "I mean, Alix said before her brother was a muggle and called her a 'Magical Weirdo', so... That's what I can assume", he looked at Andrew now, with a doubtful look, "Why do you feel ashamed of it?"

Inside his mind, he was worried he had assumed something wrong, thought it might make him seem stupid and more lost than he already was. Just like Andrew, Nick had tried to read some of the books he had been tasked with buying, to no avail, because half he didn't understand, and half were too boring, even when talking about magic for his taste. But unlike Andrew, he hadn't even absorbed some amuont of knowledge, which showed as he didn't even know Magic World Expressions.

Andrew’s eyes jerked wide as he shot a stare – a bit weirded-out – in Nick’s direction. He hadn’t said any of his thoughts aloud. Was he really that obvious to read?

His stare at Nick lasted for a split second. Andrew flinched back and ducked his gaze, as if recoiling from Nick’s question. Ashamed? Why would Nick assume that?

Feeling the heat of embarrassment, unsure of how to answer, Andrew forced a sick cough into his sleeve. “Never said I was,” he replied with a lowered tone and a sideward glance, perhaps a little too defensively.

On a sensitive note, perhaps he did feel a little embarrassed to be Muggle-born. Not that Andrew really wanted to feel that way. He sure hadn’t felt that way in the beginning. He was told that blood status didn’t matter when it came to his magical abilities. Still, he couldn’t help but feel a bit self-conscious that he was somehow “lesser” than his wizarding peers, being a Muggle-born. He knew it was only a trivial insecurity. All he could do was shake it off, ignore the self-doubt, and put forth his best efforts in what was about to come. Above all, he knew his self-confidence and inner strength stemmed from his family, those that loved and supported him the most. Andrew certainly didn’t feel ashamed about that.

“But yeah… Muggles are people that can’t do magic.” Andrew directed his attention toward Nick, feeling a little better that he could share some of his knowledge with someone that might not know as much as he did – as little as it was.

He wanted to ask Nick and Alix more questions, but his cough was getting the best of him.

“Help me...” Andrew sagged against his seat, moaning to anyone that would hear. “Is there a spell for this?” Andrew pointed to himself and his ailment. He didn’t know if there was a spell to get rid of common colds, or maybe some kind of magical remedy.

He then remembered he hadn’t actually given Alix a cough drop. “You guys want some?” Andrew extended his packet of dwindling cough drops to Nick and Alix.

"Well, you seemed like so...", Nick commented, then smiled, "It's good that you're not, I mean, I've lived my whole life knowing magicless people, and most are pretty cool!", in his mind he hoped he didn't upset Andrew, because he kinda looked like so, and it wasn't his intention, the idea of being ashamed of not having magic just hadn't appeared on his mind yet.

Continuing the conversation, he frowned, "I wish I could help you, but I doubt you could consider medicine magic", the cough drops didn't seem to be helping him much and being sick was the worst, you can't do anything without feeling like trash, and even doing nothing makes you feel like trash, the absolute worst definitely, "Maybe Alyx knows something", he looked over at her, she came from a magical family afterall, well, half a magical family anyways, so she should know something.

He shook his head with a smile when Andrew offered him the cough drops, "I'm good, thanks, afterall, I'm not the one sick, you should keep them, they're at least making your situation a bit better, don't you think?", he laughed a bit when his stomach grumbled, "Oh darn, body's just reminding me I left without eating...", he looked over at both of his companions, "Hey do you know anywhere I could buy some food? I'm guessing this train has some sort of cafeteria right?"

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Jitters ran through Hailey's body like ants across the skin. She was on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, and it was more like a memory than a dream. She felt like she'd been there before—oh, right. She remembered when she first came, for her brother's first ride five years ago. Harrison was now in his sixth year and was very proud of that fact, even having the nerve to tease nervous Hailey about beginning her first year.

“Watch out for the trolls,” he chortled, elbowing his friends. “They hang around the girl's bathroom and use human hair as their clothing.” Hailey gave him a look but touched her own hair when he wasn't looking.

Hailey turned to her parents, particularly focused on her mother. She wore a stunning blue dress; of course everything looked great on her mother, because of her long, curly golden hair and beautiful blue eyes. Some people called her the Angel of England, and Hailey had no doubt of why, she was so pretty to look at.

Before she could open her mouth, as if she had read her thoughts, her mother said, “Well, we have waited long enough, don't you think? Eleven years, wasn't it, Jacques?” She gave Hailey that pearly white grin with twinkling eyes, as if she were truly proud that she was heading off to Hogwarts. Hailey returned the smile and hugged her mum goodbye.

Her father came over and grabbed them both into a bear hug, lifting them up high. “My two—no, three ladybugs!” He picked up the youngest, Harriet, and added her into the huddle. Hailey noticed that her brother just happened to be absent and shook her head with a grin.

Grabbing her things, Hailey made her way towards the Hogwarts Express and stepped on. Looking back, she let go of one of her bags to make a quick wave to her family. Out of the corner of her eye she saw someone watching her and turned her head to see her brother staring at her. She lifted her eyebrows and he nodded at her parents. When she looked she saw her mother staring, but it was a strange stare. Hailey gazed back for a brief two seconds but felt too intimidated to continue. The train began to move so she went on walking through wondering what the look had meant.

Harrison had disappeared so she was on her own to find someone to sit with. This made her happy, it was her first task to do pertaining to Hogwarts, not including the school supplies and actually getting to the train on time. She wore a half grin on her face as she put her things away and started looking for a place to sit.

Each compartment was okay but she kept feeling like it wasn't the right place, so she would always keep walking. Some looked like they were clique-only, first-years not allowed, or just too exciting for Hailey. She didn't want to just hop in mid-conversation, that'd be weird.

Hailey's smile began to fade into a small frown until she heard coughing in a nearby compartment. Curious about who was sick on such an important day, she made her way down the walkway until she was able to peek through the window unseen into the compartment filled with three people. It was two boys and one girl, and one of the boys seemed pretty sick...no, that was an understatement, he was very sick. She wondered why his parents would let him go to school but maybe they were like her parents; they didn't care about anything concerning her education unless she was dying or dead, and for that Hailey truly felt sorry, he looked terrible.

Easing her way to the doorway, Hailey poked her in with a dimpled grin, shining her pale green eyes around the little room. “Hullo, do you mind if I join you guys?” The only available space really was the one next to the sick boy. She realized, though, that she didn't particularly mind and she'd sit with him, as long as he didn't do anything nasty like sneeze or put a tissue on her. She glanced at the seat and then back at him, letting him know that's where she was planning on sitting.

In response to Nick’s question about where food might be found, Andrew shrugged blankly. “No idea.” He didn’t know if meals would be served to the train’s passengers, like on airplanes, or if there was a counter with snacks available. He wouldn’t be surprised if there turned out to be a magic door that led to a school-sized cafeteria room, on board. This was a “magic train” after all. Anything could be possible, from what he had experienced as of late.

He was surprised when another girl appeared at the doorway of the compartment, asking if she could join them. Andrew couldn’t fathom why she – or even Nick and Alix – would want to sit in this compartment with him in the first place. Perhaps he ought to feel flattered. Oh well, then. They signed themselves up for it. He didn’t ask for them to stay, so it wouldn’t be Andrew’s fault entirely if they got sick from him.

“Sure.” Andrew smiled invitingly at the new girl before covering his mouth in another cough. "Come on in." Deep down, he desperately wanted to say “no”, if anything for the sake of her health. He wouldn’t protest if the girl sat next to him, although Andrew would try to scoot himself as close to the window as possible, to shield his cold from her.

Nick realized that, being his first time on this train, it was most likely that Andrew indeed didn't know that sort of information, which made him mentally facepalm, "Well, guess I'll go scouting or something", he got up and was going out when he got an idea, turning around with a bit of a blush, "Hey Alix, you wanna come with me?", he asked, realizing soon that he was leaving Andrew out, "You too Andrew, of course".

But then, entered Hailey of course, another girl, another posible companion on this trip. Nick took a step back from the door that was opening then, turning around to meet the newcomer, she was a curly-blonde haired girl with green eyes, she also seemed friendly enough, "Hello there!", Nick answered too, "We- I mean, I, was just leaving to find any sort of cafeteria there may be on this place", now he wanted to stay on the wagon though, meet the girl, make a new friend, his hunger faded from his mind and he sat down again, "But I guess we can wait on that", he concluded, "I'm Nick Kingsman, these two are Alix and Andrew, what's your name?", he asked, wondering if she was muggle born, half blood or even fully magic, wondering if she had experience with the magical world like Alix and so could give them some amount of guide.

[font=times new roman]Hailey stepped into the compartment, standing close to the door for a hesistant moment before sitting next to the one who had invited her in. She was quickly introduced by the other boy and learned everyone's names, Nick, Alix, and Andrew. That should be easy enough to remember, unless she never saw them again. They seemed like an okay group of kids so she relaxed and moved around Nick to sit down next to Alex. She hoped it wasn't weird for her do that, she didn't want to make anyone uncomfortable.

While doing this, the one named Nick, who seemed to be the speaker of the group, mentioned something about food and cafeterias, which confused Hailey for a moment. She'd never heard of a cafeteria being on the Hogwarts Express, or at least from what her parents and older brother had told her. They'd only spoke about the Trolley Lady, which was this really ancient witch who rolled around offering for students to buy snacks and other delicacies from her cart. Her parents had given her a few coins to spend actually on this, which is why she was reaching into her pocket to double-check that they were still there.

With a slightly confused expression, Hailey said, “You can call me Hailey, if you'd like. So I'm guessing that none of you've heard of the Trolley Lady?” She pulled out a silver sickle and flipped it. “Well, she's where you get your food. She should be coming around any minute now.” It landed on tails. Hailey frowned and pocketed it.

She had the faint impression that she was hanging around people who didn't know much about the wizarding world but then again, they could be first-years who had next to no clue about Hogwarts except for what it said in the letter. That made her appreciative of her brother, who had the courtesy to tell her what she needed to know before she actually got there.

Suddenly there was a rolling sound outside the compartment and the Trolley Lady appeared, steering her cart. She gave a toothy grin and asked if anyone wanted some candy.

Hailey herself asked for chocolate frogs, a cauldron cake, and Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. She gave her money to the witch and thanked her. Before she ate, though, she glanced at Andrew. “You know, you don't have to worry about me catching anything. My mother gave me a protection charm against illnesses such as yours, the natural kind.” She unwrapped a chocolate frog and popped it into her mouth before it could jump away, then showed the little necklace underneath her shirt, a black crescent. “She's really protective.”

"Hailey! That's a nice name", Nick commented with a smile, he wanted to make sure to have a good impresion with her, this because of three things, 1. She was a girl, 2. She seemed nice and he wanted to make a new friend, 3. She seemed to know everything about the magic world, and those sort of friends were the ones Nick needed the most if he wanted to survive on this new place.

She then proceeded to explain the trolley witch, and that's when Nick's confirmed that having a friend like Alix or Hailey was going to be very beneficial to his knowledge. He felt his mouth water as she spoke about the different sugary treats the Witch would offer, and when the rolling noise appeared, he could only thank the Gods for this convinient gift.

Nick wasn't sure of what to ask of course, so he pulled out some of his wizard money and paid for some wizard candy from this wizard lady, he really felt out of his element. He ended up getting a three chocolate frogs, one Bertie Bott's Every flavour beans, some cauldron cakes, a pumpkin pastie and some iced pumpkin juice. He could definitely tell Wizards enjoyed pumpkins.

He payed for the candy, then thanked the trolley witch and looked at Hailey, "Thanks for all the tips Hailey, I'm sure we'll be good friends", Nick was feeling more confident than ever, none of this kids had heard whatever Baldwin invented, so he was clean! It was like starting again, and he felt amazing because of it.

“I’ll stay,” Andrew wavered with a cough, declining Nick’s invitation to accompany him on the scout mission for food. He didn’t feel in the mood to spend his energy in wandering around. So much for his first train ride, he sighed to himself with disappointment. Otherwise, he would’ve loved to go exploring with Nick and familiarize himself with the layout of the train.

Nick didn’t get so much a step out of the compartment when the other girl showed up. When Nick introduced himself and the others, Andrew gave a small wave gesture at the girl, showing he was the one called Andrew.

“Nice to meet you.” Andrew flashed a cordial smile at Hailey.

With a blank expression, he shook his head “no” when Hailey commented if they knew about the Trolley Lady. How this girl was already familiar with the train’s operations, Andrew assumed she must have had some sort of wizarding contact. “Are you first year too?” Andrew asked her.

When the Trolley Lady stopped by their compartment, Andrew eyed the cart full of candy with peaked interest, yet he held back from inquiring about the assortment right away, if there wasn’t any point in him purchasing anything. He wasn’t sure if his taste palette would allow him to enjoy and critique any sweets. Everything tasted funky and bland when he was sick.

He watched as Hailey ordered her treats first, followed by Nick. Some of the items made Andrew scrunch and raise his eyebrows with puzzlement and curiosity. When the Trolley Lady turned her attention to him, Andrew gave a polite smile before unleashing another set of coughs into his sleeve. “I don’t know if I should...” Temptation was gnawing at him though. He had eaten a full breakfast that morning, but according to his estimate, it should be almost lunchtime. Plus, it was his first day! He figured his parents wouldn’t mind if he indulged himself this once. Perhaps a little something sweet would pep up his spirits.

He settled on a black Licorice Wand, which he didn’t think would hurt his immune system too badly in fighting off his cold. Wasn’t licorice root said to have health benefits? Unless if Licorice Wands weren’t made from ordinary licorice...

Remembering his money pouch he kept in his robe pocket, Andrew fumbled for his coins, taking his time in counting out the exact amount of currency he needed to pay for his treat (the whole knuts-to-sickles-to-galleons thing was still new to him). He decided he would purchase three more Licorice Wands, so he could share with the rest of his seatmates.

“Want one?” He offered a Licorice Wand to Nick, Hailey, and Alix. Even if they refused, Andrew could save the rest for later.

While nibbling on his Licorice Wand, Andrew listened as Hailey told him about her charmed necklace, which he thought was incredibly useful. If only he had a necklace like hers, he wouldn’t have gotten sick in the first place. No more need for cough syrup and cough drops!

“Lucky,” he commented. “Wish I had one.”

He watched Hailey unwrap her chocolate frog and blinked in stunned surprise when the frog came alive and started moving, before Hailey quickly ate it. Andrew twisted his face in a slightly grossed-out expression, alarmed by the thought of actual frog DNA being inside the chocolate. As for himself, Andrew was enjoying his Licorice Wand, which tasted along the lines of what he expected and had no magical surprises. The little burst of sugar revitalized him, supplying him with some much-needed energy to continue conversing.

“How’d you guys get your letters?” Andrew asked them. He was curious how all the other Hogwarts students got their acceptance letters – whether his own circumstance was unusual or not.

"Come on Andrew...", Nick tried to persuade Andrew, "You should do it! Sugar is good, I've always enjoyed a chocolate bar when I'm bedridden", even if Andrew refused to buy, he would share something, because when he was handed his candy, he realized just how much he had bought out of hunger, and he felt bad about eating so much.

In the end, Andrew bought a licorice wand, so Nick succeeded. Even further, he offered one to Nick, which he accepted with a smile, "Thanks Andrew", he smiled to him, fumbling with his own candy, "I said a bit of everything... But I didn't really grab everything, didn't want to pay all my money", he settled on grabbing one of the chocolate frogs, offering it in return to Andrew, "Here you go, now it's a fair deal", he giggled sligtly, "And don't worry about it, after seeing Hailey eat one, I'm kinda unsure about eating a moving frog made of chocolate".

With that done, he popped open the licorice wand Andrew gave him, tasting it and feeling his stomach thank him for the contents he was putting on his mouth. The sugary taste made him smile yet again, it reminded him of a certain candy store near his house, he and his mother would go every so often, enjoying some sugary treats of their own. Andrew's question brought him out of his mind, "W-What? Oh... The letter?", he took another bite of licorice, "You mean how it got to me or what happened for it to get to me?", he raised one finger, the index, "In any case, 1. It got to me through an owl that sat atop a flower pot my mother had on a window", he raised another finger, making, in esence, a peace sign, "And 2. Sent some wankers flying... Got in some amount of trouble for it, but it was definitely worth it", he smiled devilishly as he remembered Baldwin and his friends, screaming in horror as they flew across the sky.

He then looked at Andrew, "What about you?", he asked, with big eyes of curiosity.