Open To Anyone
September 1st 2020

A young, rather scrawny-looking boy climbed into the whistling train, turning around to wave at his parents one last time before the train departed. Both the boy's smile and his raised hand fell when his eyes found the back of his parent's heads, the two figures rushing into the crowd of tearful parents and family members of other soon-to-be students.

The now-frowning boy stared after them for a moment, before almost falling over from the train suddenly lurching forwards, starting to depart on its long journey to Hogwarts, his new home. The sudden movement snapped the eleven-year-old out of his melancholy trance, and he finally began to move down the train's tiny corridor. His trunk clattered behind him with every step, his messenger bag scraping along the walls of the train annoyingly.

Eventually, after a long five minutes of searching, he came upon an empty compartment. With a quiet sigh of relief, the boy shoved himself into the compartment. He made a mental note to never, ever get on a train again, despite the fact that he would have to leave on one at the end of the year and shoved his trunk under the seat.

The brown-haired boy flopped down near the window, pulling out the foldable table and propping it up, before unloading one of his many books. The compartment went quiet, besides the rattling of the train and the turning of pages. Every so often the young boy would look out the window at the passing scenery, but that was about all the movement coming from the compartment.

He wished someone would come talk to him.

Word Count: 276

https://open.spotify.com/track/1wAj295BWDUClM0Ndecs4o?si=d333224bd0e849d8

Interacting: @Jackson Gold

Mentioning: Her fam Eyes forward, the past is behind you

Most muggle-borns would be surprised to be in a situation like this. They'd expect it to be a joke, a prank, and reluctantly say goodbye to their families. Bla Bla Bla. Well forget normal muggle-borns! I'm not like them! Indeed. Paige had an early exposure to the wizarding world when she was bitten by a werewolf. It was kinda forced upon her.

She was most surprised that this magic would be more involved in her life than the werewolf thing. She was a witch, too? Yes, yes I know. She's amazing. She hugged her family, and her parents were, of course, crying. Her mum planted a big, wet kiss on her cheek as her brother awkwardly stood, holding the baby. "moooom..." But she hugged her back and said her goodbyes.

She ran onto the train. This is where most think, wow, Paige, you were so eager to leave your family. No. She was eager for adventure! She walked on the train sliding open doors and stopping to listen to see if there was room anywhere for her to sit. She had spent most of her time trying to say goodbye instead of finding a seat, so most were taken.

Debating between standing there or squeezing in with some strangers, she found a compartment that had but one person. "Ah-ha" She said, sliding it open. She stuck her head in. "Hi, mind if I sit here?" She said, walking in anyways. She took her suitcase and shoved it on the rack before plopping in a seat across from the boy. "I'm Paige."

The sound of the compartment door sliding open made Jackson jump just a tad, although he would never admit it. Maybe the incident with his parents earlier had made him on edge, or at least, warry of his surroundings. A girl that looked to be around her age shoved her way into the compartment, asking if she could accompany him on the train ride.

"Ah... sure-"

The girl had already thrown her trunk up onto the overhead rack before he could even start speaking. After his heart rate had returned to its normal pulse, Jackson took a better look at the other student that had situated themselves across from him. She was.. well, dare he say pretty? Big round glasses, curly hair, and oddly kind eyes. Such a contrast to his pale complexion and mop called hair.

After a moment of what was probably rudely staring, he snapped his head back down to his book, not breaking the silence himself. Of course, he didn't need to, for the girl across from him spoke up again, introducing herself to him. Jackson looked up again, bleak eyes meeting kind ones. He blinked for a moment, before glancing away, not wanting to make the girl uncomfortable with the unnecessary eye contact.

"uh... 'ello." Jackson replied, bookmarking the book's page with an extra quill he had. "Nice to, uh, meetcha, Paige..."

Jackson trailed off, an awkward air hovering for a moment before he remembered he was supposed to introduce himself as well. He flushed a bit, embarrassed, as he scrambled to fix his mistake.

"Sorry, I'm not the best at small talk, my name's Jackson." Jackson stumbled over his words a bit. So much for being "charismatic" like Ollivander said. "uh.... is this your first year at Hogwarts as well?"

Oh yeah. Jackson sucked at talking to people.

Word Count: 310

Currently Playing ... https://open.spotify.com/track/6OiRh4kt ... c6345f46fd

Interacting: @Jackson Gold

Mentioning: no one Eyes forward, the past is behind you

Paige wasn't one to stutter on her words, nor was she one to have perfect social skills. Most would politely ask to join this boy, only Paige had just kind of walked in. Hey, she needed a seat. The boy said Paige could join him, but she had already sat down. Either way, it was probably for the best that he agreed to her being her. If he said no, that would leave awkward silence.

She looked out the window.

Awkward silence. She fidgeted with the end of her jacket, waiting. She looked at the boy across from her reading a book. Paige wasn't much of a book lover herself. But this boy was. It already told her enough about him. She was interested. Sitting up in her seat, she looked at his hair. It was unkept- or maybe it was always like that. She couldn't speak for her hair, so she wouldn't judge. But hey, it was kinda cute?

Dunno. Paige never really got crushes often but she knew that wasn't what she had, she just had to admit he was a cute boy. She noticed him looking at her before he looked away. Weird. Paige tipped her chin. "And you are?" She said, not rudely, but to kindly remind him this is where he spoke. He got the memo. He seemed flushed as he introduced himself as Jackson.

"Hey, it's okey. Not everyone is." Paige said, smiling. "Yep. What makes you ask?" She said, smiling, to show she was only teasing.

@Paige Grant
September 1st 2020

If someone asked Jackson what word would he use to describe himself, his simple response would be "a mess."

And that was very apparent here, as Jackson fiddled with the feather of the quill stuck in his book, messy hair falling into his eyes. The book in question was called "The Year of Shadows" and had a dark matte cover, silver details, and trim lining the edges. The book seemed to be well-read, the corners of the pages folded over and creased. It was obviously one of Jackson's favorite books. The English countryside sped past as the train finally left London, rolling hills lined with cobblestone walls caught his eye for a moment, but he quickly turned his attention back to Paige.

He tried to return the kind girl's smile, but it most likely looked a little awkward and out of place.

"oh, uh, you have the same vibrance as all the other first years I've happened upon so far.." Jackson answered, wondering if he should have come up with a different response. He decided to continue, to add to what he was saying, as to sound the least amount of weird possible. "I was hoping I would be able to walk into the school knowing someone, even if it was just common pleasantries between people."

Jackson internally cringed. Great, now he sounded desperate or needy. The pale boy had half a mind to speak up again and apologize for how downright weird that sounded. But that would only make him sound even weirder.

This is why he never interacted with people, it was so hard to speak like a normal human.

Word Count: 274

Currently Playing ... https://open.spotify.com/track/6gpSU2C1 ... 1c64b54b56

Interacting: @Jackson Gold

Mentioning: no one Eyes forward, the past is behind you

Paige wasn't nosy. Her? Nosy? Never. She was just- curious. Nothing wrong with that! She stretched her neck to see what the boy was reading. What could be more important than, say, anything else? Why do people read?! HOW do they read? She squinted at the wor down book, clearly a book he liked to read, for the cover looked as worn down as a child's favorite stuffed teddy bear.

The boy only fiddled with the book. Speak. It'll help. She thought to the boy. You really need help with this. She looked at the boy's awkward smile, and decided he needed better social skills. Yes, I know, she's brilliant.

"Aw, I thought I was the special first one you met..." She said, putting on a joking pouty face before smiling once more. Gawd, her cheeks hurt from all the smiling.

Paige nodded to Jackson. She felt the same way, really, except she knew it would be either easier or harder for her than others because of her being a werewolf. She had half a mind to hold out her arms as if to say, surprise, You have ME! But she didn't. "Smart boy. Always have an ally of some sort. " She said, tapping her finger to her temples.

A young boy with curly black hair and pale skin ran through what he assumed would be a solid brick wall. His eyes were squeezed shut and his hand gripped the handle of his trollley with an iron like grip. The boy soon opened his eyes when he didn’t feel a painful impact and grinned at his older sister. The boy who went by the name of Anthony Thomas, looked in awe at the scarlet engine in front of him, his chocolate brown eyes wide with wonder. It was already thrill, running through the wall and now he had reached the platform, ready to begin his journey to Hogwarts. He was shaken from his thoughts when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Anthony’s eyes followed the hand up until his eyes met his sister’s warm smile. “Aye laddie” she said as she bent down to his height, which wasn’t that hard since the eleven year old was already at 5’5”. “You’re going to have a good year” Danielle said. Anthony nodded “aye Dani” he said with a grin. Danielle ruffled her little brother’s hair “don’t forget to write to pop, mum and i whenever you can” she said. “I won’t” Anthony replied. He looked back at the train when he heard the whistle and rocked anxiously on his heels. “Aye, skedaddle aff” Danielle said “you don’t want to be late on your first day” she said. Anthony nodded and hugged Danielle goodbye before running to the train. He hopped on and looked out the window, waving to his sister as the train lurched forward. ‘Now to find a compartment’ Anthony thought as he let out a breath and looked down the corridor. He walked down the corridor, looking for a compartment that was somewhat empty. He soon came across one with a boy and a girl that looked about his age inside. He gently knocked on the window and slid the door open “excuse me” he said timidly “I don’t mean to intrude, but do you guys possibly have room for one more in here?” He asked them.

Interacting With Everyone

A girl with wavy hair, white as snow and sort of pale skin walked down the corridor of the train after had boarded. She had been standing around for a while, unable to find a seat, but now her legs were begining to get weak she needed some place to sit. "AGH" she grunted as she fell forward ramming right into Anthony's side, knocking both herself and this boy over. "i-i'm so sorry... please do forgive me i-i was just in search of a seat.." she stuttered as she jumped up, reaching out a hand to help him stand. Winter isn't much of a people person but she wanted to work on that. Though this probably wasn't a good start.

Winters deep red eyes met with the boys for a second, before she turned her gaze to the other two students in the compartment. "o-oh uhm sorry to bother you a-all i swear i didn't mean to.." she said with an embarrassed look on her face from falling in front of so many people. She was just waiting for them to start laughing at her for being so clumsy. Was she to be bullied by these other students or was she to become friends? Only time could tell.

WC: 208

@jackson gold@paige grant@anthony thomas

Anthony suddenly let out a startled noise as something ran into him, knocking him onto the ground. He landed on his back, letting out a soft “oof” as he hit the ground. He heard a girl apologizing to him and opened his eyes to see her standing over him with her hand outstretched to help him up. He chuckled quietly and gently grabbed her hand, getting back onto his feet. “I’m alright, miss” he reassured her “tis only an accident” he said. His chocolate brown eyes met her red ones and Anthony smiled warmly. He heard her apologize to the other students and waited until she was done before speaking, “Aye, you don’t need to be so embarrassed Lassie” he said, “like I said, tis only an accident” he reminded her. “Tis partly me owns fault for standing in the middle” he said. “I’m Anthony, Anthony Thomas” he introduced himself, holding out his hand form the girl to shake. He was hoping they could become friends because Anthony didn’t want to be alone his first year. He wanted to make as many friends as he could and if an awkward run-in with someone was the way to do it, Anthony was all in.

Interacting: @Jackson Gold @Winter Wolfhartz @Anthony Thomas

Mentioning: no one Eyes forward, the past is behind you

The compartment only had two people in it. It had room for two more. "I wonder if anyone else will join us..." As if on cue, a boy with pale skin and black hair entered the compartment. He, at east, had more manners than Paige, because he actually would wait for them to answer.

Pffffft. Paige looked at the boy with kind eyes, and nodded. " 'course, we have room for more." Paige was about to get up to help them with their suit cases before she saw him fell along with another girl.

Now Paige shot up and ran over. "Oh my gawd, are you okey?!" She asked, helping the girl pull the boy up. "Nonsense, everyone is clumsy." She said. She turned to Jackson. "What do ya think, Jackson, we have room for two more?" Again, either he said yes or no, she winked and moved out of the way for the two to sit.

"So. I'm Paige." She said after the other two sat down. She looked at Jackson, hoping he was okay with the new people. It would have been so awkward if he wasn't, and she would have felt bad. She turned to the girl. "Can I just say I love your hair?"