"What do you mean?" Summer's expression was somewhere between amusement and curiosity.

Summer had beforehand supposed that wizards might know more about the true nature of the Universe than muggle scientists, but the idea that they were better at ordinary science and technology, that came as a surprise. And it didn't seem true, in her father's opinion, based on everything that they had read.

Summer briefly wondered if, although it wasn't obvious in any of the books, wizarding science might actually be closer to her father's approach to science, which was somewhat... unorthodox, to say the least, compared to the mainstream muggle scientific community.

For one thing, her father believed that in many cases, you didn't actually need to conduct experiments in order to form tentative conclusions that some hypotheses were more likely to be true than others. Modern science had moved too slow in his opinion.

Her dad's concept of the way science should be done was in fact part of a larger system of thought which he sometimes called the "martial art" of rationality. Could it be true that these methods of rationality had been a primary element of wizarding culture, and if so, why didn't they have a textbook for rationality?

Summer suddenly remembered something important, and she felt monumentally stupid. "I just realized something," she said with a serious look on her face. "Ghosts are real... and that means there's an afterlife, is there?"

"What do you mean?" Summer asked, and Miranda noticed - to her relief - that she didn't seem mad.

"Well, if muggles are so advanced, wouldn't they have discovered the existence of magic yet? And we've managed to meld magic and technology to do things your muggle scientists couldn't dream of doing." Was that too far? she wondered suddenly. I hope not...

Summer seemed to think about that, or maybe she was just lost and thought, but then something seemed to strike her. . "I just realized something," she said with a serious expression. "Ghosts are real... and that means there's an afterlife, is there?"

"I honestly don't know," Miranda replied. "None of the ghosts I've spoken to have ever mentioned visiting an afterlife. I think that even if there are ghosts, that doesn't mean there's another world after death, at least, not necessarily. If you ask me, just because some people leave an electrical imprint of themselves behind when they die, with their soul still tied to it, that doesn't mean anyone who doesn't do that is in an afterlife of any kind."

She paused for a moment, her eyes becoming distant. "Although then again, maybe not." Miranda sighed. "I guess the answer is that no one knows, since we can't bring back the dead."

"I mean, the important thing is that... there's life after death, isn't there? That, you know, souls are a thing that are real... Well, I guess, in your opinion, are ghosts really the same person, I mean, you know, are they conscious?" Summer asked.

"They're conscious all right, and if they're really old, they can get super-annoying. I don't know if you've ever talked to one, but in my experience, any ghost older than two hundred years will just bore you to death about either their fabulous deeds or what their times were like. It is so annoying!" Miranda finished her little rant with a semi-embarrassed expression. "Sorry, you probably don't really care about that."

She's going to thing I'm some strange weirdo. Most Wizards haven't even met a ghost at my age, let alone five of them. They wouldn't know how crusty and loud those geezers can get. Well, except for Antharel. He was pretty good. The others, though... her thoughts trailed off, and she shook her head with a disgruntled expression.

Miranda found herself remembering every conversation she'd had with the four ghosts that had gotten on her nerves. They'd come to her family's farm all at the same time, and when she'd shown interest in them, they'd spent the next week trying to win her attention from their fellows. In the end, her parents had had to drive them off. Ever since, whenever a ghost came for temporary shelter, her mother and father always kept careful tabs on them, and were sure to make the fact that any that bothered their children would be thrown out. That had almost made the annoyance of the four ghosts worthwhile.

"No, no, it's okay," Summer said, shaking her head very slightly. Miranda seemed like a bit of a nervous girl. "...And no, I've never talked to a ghost before..." Summer seemed to be staring up and off into the distance as she said this. "...but it seems like... it would be interesting to talk to one even if they are as annoying as you said..."

Summer wasn't personally sure if she would have been annoyed by what the ghosts were described as doing. In any case, when she was annoyed, Summer didn't usually let it show or talk about it, because it seemed mean to her, and it seemed like most things that annoyed people could be ignored rather easily, but she also tried not to judge other people who talked about things that annoyed them. Even so, she liked to think of herself as a tolerant person.

"...because... you know, I'm muggle-born and... the oldest people in my world are... just a hundred." As a matter of fact, Summer did not personally know anyone that old; the oldest person she knew was her grandfather Andrew Buchanan, who was just 75 years old; he was born on the 9th of August, 1945.

"...because... you know, I'm muggle-born and... the oldest people in my world are... just a hundred," Summer said quietly.

"Well, trust me, ghosts like the ones I met will pounce on the chance to talk to anyone if they show even the slightest interest. And because they don't need to eat or sleep, they can keep it up an awfully long time. I know I sound like I'm complaining, but it's truly horrible to wake up at midnight because one of them shows up and decides it's a great time to recount their childhood or how they helped orchestrate a great battle or revolution." Miranda slowly shook her head, then smiled.

"I know I probably come off as strange, and I don't mean to be rude, but you wouldn't understand if you haven't met a ghost in person. I'm sure there's perfectly nice ones out there, it's just that most lose touch with what being a human actually entails. They don't understand our needs as well after a couple hundred years being neither alive nor dead. I take it it's very confusing."

Outside the train window, a cloud passed in front of the sun and the small compartment grew noticeably darker, even with the lights. Miranda squinted as her eyes adjusted to the dimness, then blinked rapidly as the light came back. They were moving so fast that no cloud stayed overhead for long.

"Oh no," said Summer, "er, no, I'm... I'm not saying that, er, you're, you're wrong for, for thinking they're annoying, but... I also have a perspective you don't really understand, because like I said before, I'm, I'm muggle-born. I just took it for granted before that, that everyone from ancient times is dead and gone." Summer briefly paused before continuing.

"I mean, there must be ghosts from the people who were living in the Roman Empire. I wonder what they think of the modern world."

Summer suspected that if she did in fact meet a ghost who lived a long time ago and they acted like Miranda described, she would be slightly annoyed but also fascinated by the fact that the ghost was essentially a living relic. However, the more ghosts she met, the more she would be simply annoyed. She would still make an attempt at being polite, however.

Summer briefly wondered what kind of great battles and revolutions the ghosts would talk about being in. There was a lot of history: the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, the Babylonian Empire, the Persian Empire, the ancient Greek city-states, the Roman Republic and Empire, the Chinese kingdoms, the foundation of Christianity, the Islamic conquests, the Crusades, the discovery of America, and the two World Wars.

But then again, that was all muggle history. Summer couldn't remember if muggles could leave behind ghosts. Summer knew a little bit about the history of the Wizarding World from reading A History of Magic, but it was limited.

"I haven't personally met a roman ghost, but they'll probably think modern times are too civil. All ghosts will find something to complain about, and about how everything was "so much better" in their time. Then they proceed to list every single thing they'd change in an exasperatingly large amount of detail." Miranda sighed. "I'm ranting again, aren't I? Sorry about that."

"Anyway, wizards in the Roman times were pretty rare, because a lot of magic was still suppressed then, and magic-users were often "weeded out". It wasn't pretty, from what the history books say." She sighed in regret, and then her face brightened. "However, I must admit, all of those ancient eras sound quite amazing, in at least some ways. They're mostly horrible, but they do have their merits, few as they are."

She knew her line of thinking was quite strange, but her curious nature made her wonder what it would be like to live long ago, when things had been different. Much different than they were now. Sure, things had been harder back then, but if would still be interesting if a person could travel there and return at their leisure, so they could experience the time, and return as soon as it became rougher.

Miranda sighed. "I'm ranting again, aren't I? Sorry about that."

"No, no!" said Summer. "It's okay. I think what you said was very interesting."

Miranda proceeded to explain how wizards were rare in the Roman Empire. Summer nodded along to what she said. "Yeah." She had read about this. It must have been a scary time.

Miranda sighed in regret, and then her face brightened. "However, I must admit, all of those ancient eras sound quite amazing, in at least some ways. They're mostly horrible, but they do have their merits, few as they are."

Summer hummed in agreement, and she was silent for a few seconds. Then she asked, "Who's the oldest ghost you ever met?"

She noticed that it was getting darker. They must've been close to Hogwarts now, she figured. Excitement was growing within her, but she brushed it aside to continue her conversation with Miranda.

She wondered what it was like to be old enough to have seen all of human history. Ghosts that old must barely understand the modern world and how much has changed since their lives.

Ever since he learned of the existence of ghosts, Summer's father had been of the opinion that ghosts probably weren't actually sentient, that they were just projections of the memories of the people who knew them. The explanation didn't feel quite right to Summer. Though she would have had trouble expressing this thought, she intuitively grasped that if this were true, ghosts would act differently to each person who saw them, and this fact would be discovered rather easily.

Summer made a humming sound, then began spoke again. "Who's the oldest ghost you ever met?" she asked.

Miranda thought about that for a moment before answering. "Well, I've really only met six or seven ghosts, but the oldest one would've been... probably Asterion. He claims he was a king of ancient Crete. I never bothered to verify that, though, so he might not be. He does seem older than average ghosts, and tends to use these ridiculous phrases that don't make sense when translated into English."

She shrugged, although her lips twitched like she was holding back a smile. "Most ghosts are like that."

A quick glance at the window showed her that it was rapidly getting darker, and Miranda couldn't help a broad smile splitting her face. They had to almost be at Hogwarts by now! She could not wait for her second year to begin! Summer, didn't seem nearly as excited, but that was probably because she didn't quite now what to expect. It was probably because she was a muggle-born who'd never heard mention of what a great and wonderful and amazing school it was. Briefly, Miranss found her thoughts wandering rovwhat her life would have been like if she were a muggle-born.

Summer nodded her head, and processed the information Miranda told her silently. A king of an ancient civilization (Summer didn't exactly know where Crete was) had spoken to someone she was talking to. She wondered exactly how old he was. 2,000 years? 3,000, 4,000, 5,000? The latter was the age of the oldest civilizations.

She saw Miranda's expression, and put her own thoughts aside. "I guess you're getting really excited, aren't you?" she said with a small smile of her own. She knew, of course, what the excitement must have been about. And it also confirmed her suspicions that they were getting closer to the school.

Summer had known what to expect of Hogwarts ever since reading Hogwarts: A History, but the book itself had surprised her with its description of what the school would be like. She was expecting either something like an ordinary muggle school or something not very much like a school at all, rather more like small gatherings of people with no formal hierarchy of teachers and students, with the aesthetics of how wizards and witches were usually portrayed in muggle books and movies.

As the first day of school usually was for Summer, it was exciting and scary at the same time. Well, these emotions were amplified by the fact that she had never gone to a school like this before.