Lauren and her father were now right in front of the famous wall every wizard had to go through before entering the platform. Lauren tried to calm herself down as she took quick inhales and short exhales besides her father. Gripping her trunk tightly with her sweaty hands, she looked up at her father who went on his knees to be at her height.
"This is it. All you have to do is cross that wall into the platform. You know I can't go with you and I'm sorry Lauren. Now go and make your mother proud ok?" When he mentioned her mother, the girl felt a knot in her throat and held back tears. I'll make mother proud and be sorted into Slytherin. Lauren nodded sharply before turning away from her father and walked through the wall a bit scared. As she walked right through, a rush of adrenaline made her cheeks go red. She exhaled loudly as she crossed the wall finally on Platform 9 and 3/4.  She grinned to herself and made her way onto the train, having to cross a whole crowd of students saying good bye, parents waving at their sons and daughters or younger siblings running around also saying farewell.

As she got onto the train she found the nearest empty compartment, knowing it was quite early and the train would only go in about 10 minutes. That said, she assumed her friend was probably still with her dad on the platform as she eagerly awaited for her.

@Lennox Knightley

Lennox felt knots in her stomach, looking around at all those who filled the platform, accompanied only by her father. Despite still being angry at her mother for the events at Diagon Alley a mere week before, she wished that her mom could have been there instead of her father.
The young girl looked up to her very stern-looking father, wishing he would give her some kind of heartfelt goodbye or a wish of good-luck. Instead, she got a firm hand on the shoulder and a nod. Of course. Why would he give her anything more? After a nod in return, Lennox stepped onto the Express, looking back into the crowd for a moment, wishing that her mother had chosen to break her father's wishes and be there. With no such luck, she felt tears well up in her eyes. Though Lennox would never admit it, she was scared. There was no book on how to act, how to make friends, or what to truly expect. It was unknown, and that terrified her.
But, Lennox was not known to show that weakness and squared her shoulders as she dragged her trunk through the train, looking for any sign of Lauren. Though they had only exchanged a few owls back and forth between their first meeting and the train, Lennox knew she would feel her anxieties subside just a tad once she saw a familiar face. After walking throughout the train, she was beginning to feel a bit discouraged and wondered if Lauren was trying to avoid her. She was pleasantly surprised when she saw the young Wildhawk sitting alone in a compartment, looking rather eager.
"Hey! I made it!" Lennox beamed, moving into the compartment with increased energy and feelings of relief. She was pleased that her mind had been proven wrong. "Are you excited? I'm honestly more nervous than I thought I would be.

The quiet Eleven year old awaited her friend patiently but starting to get a little worried she may not find her compartment. She began wondering any possible outcome that they wouldnt sit together 
Maybe she was late to the platform? maybe her father finally wasnt letting her go to hogwarts? what if she got lost in the train? what if she chose to sit with other students? What if she did not find the compartment I'm on? Maybe she was trying to avoid me? Calm down Lauren I'm sure she'll be here any mom- Her thoughts were caught off by  a very familiar voice saying hi. Her face expression changed from frowning to a huge smile as she greeted her back
"Hi Lennox! Its good to see you." She admitted getting up to help her friend in the compartment. The two girls sat down with a sigh of relief, as the train started to move away from the station.
Lauren replied to the questions she had been asked with enthusiasm 
"Yeah I'm excited! I can't wait to get to the sorting hat ceremony, Nervous? Well I can;t blame you, I am a bit too but it will soon go away! So did your mom see you off from the platform?" She asked trying to keep a happy environment around her.
@@Lennox Knightley

Lennox was refreshed when Lauren showed lots of enthusiasm as it showed that whatever happened at the Alley was long out of her mind. As they sat down, she listened intently to the girl's response, and couldn't help but smile. It was nice to have a familiar face, and felt herself calming down as Lauren spoke.
However, she did falter a bit when her mother was mentioned. Lennox didn't want to mention her mother had not been allowed to come by her father, as it would be quite embarrassing. "Oh, no.. She... She had work! She had work," Lennox tried to cover up her story by nodding, hoping it would make her look more confident with her answer. The young girl shrugged as if it didn't bother her, which was quite the lie. Though she and her parents were strained, she did love them terribly and knew she would really miss them quite a bit.
She shook it off, though, and looked back to her friend, trying to put a smile back on her face. "I can't wait for the sorting, I really wish I could know what the Hat is going to say already! It's so annoying that we really have no clue, I wish this would go by faster," The young girl gestured to the train, which was moving too slowly for her nerves to manage.

Lauren saw a bit of embarrassment as Lennox responded about her mother. Even if she doubted her answer, she shrugged it off figuring there would be a goof reason why Lennox wouldn't say why her mother was not with her at the platform. Nonetheless the two girls continued chatting looking out into the window and noticing a full view of what Lauren would describe as paradise. Long and wide green fields spreading over hundred of kilometers! It was an amazing site to see!
"I agree with you, I can't wait to hear what the hat says. Oh and to get my blood pump through me as he announces the house and then a loud cheer from the other students! Ah I can't wait!! It is long but look on the bright side, We'll be even more pumped when we do arrive right?"Lauren knew Lennox was a bit nervous but so was she! She was dying to know which house she was going to be put in but also dreaded the fact that she may be put into Gryffindor or maybe worse... Hufflepuff. Her parents had told many storied (mostly from her mother) as those two houses and she didnt want anything to do with them. All she wanted was to be a Slytherin. A proud serpent just like her mother.  She pushed her mother away from her thoughts and shook her head to refocus on Lennox who was gazing out of the window. 
"It's beautiful isn't it Lennox?"
@Lennox Knightley

The young girl chuckled, nodding in agreement to Lauren's excitement.
"I suppose you're right. I can't wait to see the castle in person! I bet it's so much better in real life," Lennox beamed, looking out the window with Lauren. The scenery was beautiful, she saw what Lauren was admiring. It gave her hope, hope that maybe Hogwarts would be the start of a truly new life. A life where she was her own person, free from her parents.
"It is. I can't wait." She agreed, then looked over to the other girl. As they gazed through the window of their compartment, she thought once more about the Sorting, and looked back to the other girl.
"Lauren... Can we swear that even if we get into different houses, we will still be friends? We won't let our lives get in the way?" Lennox knew this was a lot to ask of someone, but she was so anxious to lose a friend. She enjoyed Lauren and didn't want to have such a silly thing like the House they were a part of ruin their friendship. Regardless, her mind had already wanted to retract the statement, afraid Lauren would think she was weird.

Lauren looked at Lennox smiling as they both stared into the peaceful land that stretched out into the unknown. The unknown was always something that excited Lauren when she thought about it. Discovering new things, land, creatures cultures and people!! She never really had it in her to tell others but to love for adventure was a vital peace of her spirit. 
As the ride continued Lennox became a bit quiet and nervous. She then asked if they would still stay friends even if they were sorted into different houses. The young Wildhawk grew big eyes and and has a shocked expression on her face. “Yes Lennox. We will still be friends even if we are not in the same house. I doubt we will be in the same house but we still have classes and the library! Also, lots of wizards and witches had friends that were in different houses!” She tried to cheer the nervous girl next to her by smiling huge kindest way she could at her. 
For the next few hours the girls talked about how excited they were for hogwarts, what classes they wanted to take, what pets they wanted after first year every thing that came to their mind, they talked about! Well, almost everything, of course both girls kept their secrets: Lauren with her mother. 
“Hey do you think our parents sent an owl each other yet?” Lauren asked interested but also in a depressive tone. She feared that her father would fall for Lennox’s mother even though she was married. She tried her hardest to push the thought of it away but couldn’t help it. 

Lennox beamed, glad that Lauren had pointed out the flaws in her ever-anxious train of thought, and confirmed that their House wouldn't dictate their friendship. "Thanks for that, I really do appreciate it. I just get lost in my head sometimes..."
While they talked, Lennox was happy to feel like she had such a good person to click with. Everything under the sun was on the table, it felt like. The honesty and transparency was not something she was used to, coming from a home that was filled with locked cabinets and hushed whispers. She thought about this as they talked, but worked to remain on topic, trying to keep as out of her head as she could.
But then, Lauren asked about their parents' owling and Lennox was hesitant, not wanting to think of the idea that her mother could have been owling Marc. She sighed, and nodded. "If I'm honest, probably. I looked through some of my mum's things back home, and I saw her photos from Beauxbatons... Mr. Wildhawk was in a lot of them. They were good friends, it looks like. But my mum loves my dad, I don't think she would ever do anything to jeopardize that," Lennox wasn't sure who she was trying to convince: Lauren, or herself.

Having reassured Lennox, the girl nodded thankful and explained why she asked her question . 
“I get it. Don’t worry it happens to everyone I guess. Especially if they are used to having thoughts constantly in their mind” While she did trust Lennox somewhat, she wasn’t ready to wear her heart on her sleeves and just be an open book to her. She wanted to take baby steps to making her first real friend and it was going a little too fast but she really was interested about their parents so she kept pushing herself. 

Having no friends over the years was mainly a personal choice for Lauren. She would prefer trying to understand and communicate with creatures that were not human rather than actually talking. It was hard being able to stay still so that an animal would have the courage to maybe go up to her. But thought those long hours, patience settled in as she had calmed herself through just listening around her. She had a habit of going outside and just sitting there very still, closing her yess and just listening. To listen to leaves rustling and being shoved under and over in the fall, to feel the wind rushing past her right into her long hair, to taste the snowflakes that would fall into her tongue in the snow... all of those little noises and sounds a lovely forest made was right there and it filled her up with such calmness and happiness. 

Lauren finally being able to ask about their parents was trying to make sense of her father and Lennox’s mother
“You saw photographs? Wow, lucky. I would’ve wanted to see them but I’m not sure father has any. Lennox I want to clarify that I am not expecting our parents to mess up any marriages. I am asking because I am curious as to how close they seemed and happy that they found each other. Since the day my mother was gone, my father has-“ Lauren stop right in her tracks. There she had done it. She had gone too far for her liking. She had mentioned her mother. Tears began filling up her eyes as the eleven year old stayed quiet, her small lips quivering and her chest starting to rise and fall a lot quicker than her normal breath.  

As Lauren stopped in her tracks, seeming to start to cry, Lennox knew there was more to her mother than she had originally said, that she most likely wasn't on a trip. The young Knightley quickly looked into her pockets, finding the pack of tissues she had put in there in case she, herself cried.
"Here, take some. It's okay, I'm not going to ask you about her," Lennox spoke gently, offering a supportive smile as she tried to let Lauren know that she wasn't one of those people that felt the need to know everything. Trust was fragile, something you had to earn, and if Lauren had been hurt by something, she wouldn't trust easily, Lennox knew that much. So the young girl didn't expect to be told everything, especially something that affected Lauren as easily as this.
"She's on a trip, we can say that. You don't have to worry about it. And I don't think that your father would mess any marriage up... I just don't think my mom likes my father much," She laughed lightly, trying to make light of the situation at hand.
The girl then pulled her trunk over, flipping it up. She hadn't decided if she was going to give Lauren some of the pictures to look at yet, but she wanted to try and ease the other girl from being upset. She pulled out a wad of wizard photos, where those in it moved, as if giving a true glimpse into those moments.
She looked at the one on the top, of her mother and Marc. Her mother's sandy blonde hair was pulled up and away from her face, placed neatly into a knot on top of her head. Her green eyes seemed to have a twinkle, as she laughed, looking to Marc, then back to the camera, dressed in the blue Beauxbatons uniform.
There were many pictures in the pile, and she squared her shoulders as she handed them to Lauren, to give her a chance to look at this glimpse into their parents' lives.