Scott was too nice. Elijah knew all too well the downfalls of being too open, too comforting, but in this case, Scott was being helpful. He cared, which was rare in today's day and age and was altogether a good ally to have on his side. Biting his lip thoughtfully, he tried to conjure up some vague information he'd heard from Celestine. At least that much was true- she had told him loads about the school through her letters, and was quite thorough with her descriptions of his future school.

"She said Transfiguration had the hardest courses, but Herbology was hard to get an O in; one of the stairs has a missing step; most of the stairs move, apparently... what else?" Tapping his chin with his index finger, he dredged through his memory for more information to feed Scott, while trying to revitalize his own thoughts on the school. "The grounds are fantastic, the Quidditch pitch even more so; and the food is a feast fit for kings, apparently."

That seemed like all of it, but the words were flowing out of him now, and he couldn't stop them. "There are these bathrooms, apparently, that are usually all abandoned and decrepit, but people still go in there all the time; the ghosts are friendly, but don't continuously remind them that they're dead; most Hufflepuffs apparently hate the color yellow; there's a random corridor no one ever goes down during Christmastime because it's always covered in mistletoe..." He slowly trailed off, realizing he inevitably sounded a little crazy. There was more, however- loads more. He could honestly probably accurately describe every inch of the castle, simply based off of his sister's letters and ramblings when she came home.

From the way she described it, Hogwarts really was home. Scott seemed confident that his future housemates, those who wore the green and silver, would always have his back, but Elijah wasn't too sure about that. He was a difficult person to jive well with if he wasn't lying through his teeth constantly. He was of the brooding breed, and easily turned snappish when someone invaded his personal space.

But Scott had confirmed that he would be a valuable ally, an undeniable asset in the months to come, which Elijah was grateful for. An older boy who would be able to look out for him was a looming threat should someone choose to pick on him, not that he was a tattletale- no, but if he let himself get beat up badly enough and encountered Scott, he was sure that the Gryffindor wouldn't hesitate to throw himself at the offender out of loyalty.

Really, Scott should've been a Hufflepuff.

Elijah couldn't help but laugh at his quick diversion of attention, mere wildlife tearing his attention away from the conversation- not that he minded. It was sweet, and it made him think of Scott in a pitying fashion- a boy so easily distracted, a boy so innocently naive. It almost reminded him of Celestine, which amused him to no end.

"What's your favorite part about Hogwarts?" The question slipped out suddenly, without him even having to dig for it. Scott was easy to talk to, though, and he had a feeling that the older boy truly enjoyed answering these questions about a place he obviously felt close to. He knew that in his place, he would've.

“What’s your favourite part about Hogwarts?”

Scott exhaled humorously through his nose and crossed his arms, looking curiously to the ceiling of the train. It was a good question. When Ami had asked him the same thing in the ballroom he had replied with the classes, but he figured he’d take this opportunity to answer with something better.

“Well.. I could start with the things your sister has apparently told you! What was her name, anyway? In case my brothers know her? Right. I recognize most of it myself.. transfiguration and herbology kills me, yes, and the feasts there are some of the best I’ve seen (and I’ve been to my grandmother’s house).. Now wether or not Hufflepuff despise the color yellow I’ll have to ask..”

Scott smiled. “Though my favourite part.. why it’s got to be exploring the castle. I did it almost all of last year but I’m not finished, it’s big! And there are so many places I’ve yet to see.. there are even rooms I’ve heard of that I don’t think I could even find, should I try. That’s my recommendation, anyway! I bet you’ll find many things to do and all, but no matter if- that’ll always be an option. Getting lost is a lot of fun once you know you won’t get hurt.”

Scott looked back down and at his friend. “What are you looking forward to most, then?”

"My sister?" he asked, starting slightly. Well, this was news, indeed- now he knew that Scott had brothers, multiple of them, who were all older. "Her name's Celestine- Celestine Huang. She graduated three years ago." The age difference between the two siblings had never seemed particularly large, but as the words came out of his mouth, he realized just how old Celestine was. She was twenty- she had graduated Hogwarts before he had even started.

The castle, of course... even Celestine had admitted that she had felt that there were parts of it that she hadn't explored yet. Maybe he'd finish her work for her, explore every nook and cranny that she hadn't had the chance to. He doubted that the castle could (or would) do anything to seriously harm him, so exploring around certainly couldn't hurt- so long as he had the time to do so.

Homework, after all, didn't complete itself.

Elijah contemplated Scott's question with a twist of his lips and a thoughtfully furrowed brow. "Honestly, I'm not sure," he admitted with a shrug. That was, actually, very true. He didn't know if he was excited to meet his housemates, excited to properly learn how to cast spells, if he was excited to see just what information he could glean from such a gossip-oriented, tightly-packed school...

No, that wasn't the point. Yes, the massive student body would be fun to pilfer information from, but he wasn't going to share that with Scott. "Maybe the history of the school- or, the wizarding world in general." Quite a lie, but he would manage to pull it off. "I know it sounds rather odd, rather... nerdy, but it's true." Definitely not true, but that was okay.

"Who are your brothers?" he asked, just out of sheer curiosity. Was he as close to his brothers as he was to his sister? Did his brothers actually know his sister? Imagine what a coincidence that would be, if the Alexanders and the Huangs had already met before...

Celestine. The name sounded familiar, and it did so in a very strange way that Scott wouldn't be able to explain. He could think of no face, and no situation.. He supposed the chance of her knowing one of his brothers was quite reasonable, as he knew for a fact both of them had many friends.. He could imagine Ben mispronouncing the name. Yes, that was a possibility.

Scott scratched his nose and kept thinking about it, curious as to why the name rang a bell, which was of course rude because Elijah was answering his question. In fact, he only snapped back to reality when he was asked something again in return.

"Who are your brothers?"

"My brothers? Yes! Well, Ben is a sixth year. He's in Gryffindor like me. Silas is graduated, like your sister. Three years ago as well.. At least I think so, because he's twenty. He's in Estonia now. Or rather, he will be in a couple of days again. He plays for a quidditch team there! Sends me treats whenever he can. Ben doesn't want them anymore because the packages have ribbons on and he thinks they look dumb when they arrive. That makes no sense, right?"

Scott laughed, and let his mind stray away from what had earlier been on it.

"If you want to find him then look for dirty, curly hair. He needs to cut it but won't let my mother do it anymore. Or you know, ask for Ben Jones. That's simpler..

It took him a moment and a happy sigh to realise this might need explaining, at which point he sat up straight:

"Oh he's my half-brother, they both are. My dad's name is Jones."

Ah, how common their names were. Was that a mean thing to say? Well, Silas was alright- it wasn't as plain and common as Scott and Ben were, but still- nothing quite as exquisite and beautiful as Celestine. He could judge all that much, however- his own name was Elijah, something seemingly straight out of the Bible. He was, however, named for Elijah Wood, or Frodo, from Lord of the Rings, not Elijah from the Bible... fortunately. 

"Quidditch," he said softly, tapping his chin with his index finger. "That's more interesting than most jobs. He must be quite good, then." Silas, Silas, Silas... he had heard that name somewhere. Where? Where had he heard it? His memory was usually sharp and clear, not all muddy like it was nowadays... Scratching his forehead absentmindedly, he ran through the towering filing cabinets in the back of his mind, filled to the brim with thoughts and mental notes and memories. Had he just read his name in the Daily Prophet about Quidditch? Was that it? No, it was more personal than that... He forgot faces, yes, but never names, and never words.

Where had he heard this name before?

"He sounds sweet- both of your brothers," he said honestly, the mention of small gifts and tokens hitting him in the heart with a pang of nostalgia. His sister had done the same when she had been at Hogwarts, especially once she gained access to Honeydukes- well, then, the sweets really came, along with doodles from odd scraps of parchment, detailed caricatures of the professors, and strange Quidditch manoeuvres he had never quite managed to figure out. 

It was the last name that stopped him from saying something sensible. "Jones?" he asked, a strangled noise that barely made it out of his mouth intact. "Your brother is Silas Jones?" Now he recognized the name. How many letters had he received from his sister, talking about a Jones on the Quidditch field, how she both hated and loved how good he was- how the letters turned from respect to doting, from doting to adoration... She had made him swear to never tell their parents about the British scoundrel she was so smitten with, and he had obeyed.

What had ever happened to those two?

"I- I know him..." he said softly, scared to even breathe. Well, this was quite astounding- so much more drama than he was used to, and all at once. "Or, at least, my sister knew him... and quite well, if I'm not sorely mistaken. I know of him- yes, that's more accurate."