| July 1st |

| @Griseldis Edelhardt |

| Open to 2 more |

(Reminder: You would need to have been in Hogwarts last year, so second years and up only. Please let Gris post first as well.)

Opeila felt like she had only gotten out of the train to start her second year mere weeks ago and here she was, boarding the train again. How did the time fly like this, while at the same time so many things had happened? The train crash, the dungeons, the balls... Opeila felt like once more the year had been filled with enough drama for three. Last year she had gone home with a stomach ache- To her parents' house, knowing what would await her: Her grandmother asking questions the young girl didn't want to answer and her dad, who pretended like she had been to some muggle bording school and didn't return as a different person.

This year was different. Her parents' house was gone, her parents and grandmother were gone, instead the young Slytherin would get picked up by a houseelf at the train station and go back to Finland. To a family she didn't know. But somehow, she went with less fear than last summer. She knew that her future was certain this time. Last year Opeila had kept secrets, fearing that her father would forbid her to go back if he heard what happened to her. All summer she had worn long sleeves and trousers to hide the black marks and luckily none of the adults had commented. This year she could show it all. Maybe the family would comment on her appearance but at least it was inevitable that Opeila returned to Hogwarts, that was now more home to her than every other place.

The former second year stopped in the entrance of the train and turned around once more, let her gaze wander over Hogsmeade Station and up to the castle. For a moment she simply stood there and looked at her home that she would surely see again in a month. They had to let her go back for summer camp, right? They wouldn't want to be bothered with her for too long, right? A strange child, the lost granddaughter of a dead friend that didn't seem to belong anywhere. A charity case at best and who liked those...

Opeila boarded the train and walked through the wagons to find a free compartment. She had been rather quick getting rid of her luggage, one of the first people in the queue, only the transport box with her moody cat in it was with her still, along with a book. It didn't take her long to find a seat, most were still empty. Opeila sat down on a seat next to the window, put down the cat transport box and let Loras out. "Don't be a nuisance.", she calmly told him before taking off her shoes and pulling the feet up onto the seat. Loras jumped up as well, curling up next to his mistress, who was holding the book in her hands but still staring out of the window, taking in the last minutes they were still here.

It was no question, Opeila would miss Hogwarts dearly. But this time she was at peace with what was to come.

Interacting with @Opeila Winters

Time certainly flies, Griseldis thought to herself while making her way to the Hogsmeade Station. She was wearing a red ruffle summer dress with white sandals. The perfect summer outfit where she could feel the warm breeze on her slightly tanned skin. Sure, a lot of things happened this semester, and most of them weren't that pleasant, which she really didn't want to even talk about it...but there were still a few good things happened. For example, she had a fateful encounter with her childhood friend in the Girls' Lavatory, who she thought she would never have heard from her again. No one could imagine how surprising it was for her to discover that her childhood friend wasn't a Muggle at all, but a witch like her! Which was wicked, of course! And her team won this season's Quidditch game miraculously. Last season, they were literally Underdogs, but with new talented teammates and lots of harsh training. The Gryffindors truly pulled it off with a winning streak, and she had never been so proud of herself and her team as well. Honestly, Griseldis didn't really expect it. Regardless, she would be super excited to tell her family as soon as she return to her lovely hometown, Bridgwater.

There were a few students who asked her if she would like to stay in Hogwarts and join the Summer Camp this year with them. Griseldis knew it would be fun, however, due to part of her Chinese culture, family would always be first, so she had to politely refuse the idea of joining the Summer Camp and would rather see her family during the Summer holidays. Hearing the hooting sound of her owl, brought her back to reality. Griseldis didn't realize she was so deep in her own thoughts that she was still standing in front of the train. "Oops, I better board the train right now before all the compartments are full.", she said to herself sheepishly, then quickly hopped on the train.

While walking through the wagon, she did notice a few people looking at her with a strange and unreadable expression on their faces. Well, she wouldn't blame them, since it was kind of weird to see someone having an owl on their shoulder. Normally, owls would stay in their cages, but Crystal was not a normal owl. She hated being in a cage. And Griseldis wasn't the type who would care what others think of them anyway, it never bothered her much. She stopped when she heard a calm voice beside her, "Huh?", out of curiosity, she gently slid open the compartment door to take a peek and saw it was a brunette letting out a small cat. Griseldis immediately recognized it was Opeila and her cat, Loras.

She was glad that she was able to see a familiar face so soon on the train and so, she decided to greet her with the brightest smile, "Opeila! Hi! Mind if I join in and share a compartment with you?" Griseldis would ask the young Slytherin girl's permission first before she could take a seat in the compartment.

@Griseldis Edelhardt

Opeila had continued to stare at the distant castle for a while, before she finally turned her face away from the window, leaned the side of her head against the glass and started to read. The young Slytherin was really early, most students were still getting rid of her luggage, so the train would still be standing around for a while. She didn't expect company, at least not that early, most compartments were still free so there was no need to ask strangers for spare seats, but soon the door opened.

"Gris!", Opeila called out happily, "Yes, definitely, come in!" Her cat reacted to the unexpected company as well. The yellow eyes were staring at the white owl on Gris' shoulder and Loras hissed menacingly. After the realization that owls were not as inferior as he had thought, the young cat had become rather careful around the birds. Opeila stroked his head, tightening her grip below his ears for a mere second, a gentle warning. "Be nice.", she told him.

Opeila herself was very glad that the Gyffindor had decided to join her. On her train ride at the beginning of the year she had been sharing a compartment with Willow, Sylvain and Flash, which had been very enjoyable despite the short mention of unpleasant topics. It was nice to be with a friend again, especially as she felt that she had barely spent time with Gris this year. Opeila definitely intended to change that next year, maybe they could go to Hogsmeade together sometime! The Slytherin would finally have permission to go there.

"I like your dress.", she told her friend. Opeila herself didn't wear dresses very often, not that she was opposed to them, but for one she didn't own one and then she also didn't get many occasions to wear them. Often dresses seemed like the impractical choice and when there was an occasion, like today, they were already packed and buried below everything in her trunk when Opeila realized she could have worn them. So there she was, wearing a rather simple outfit, a black jeans that was a little too long and big in general- her dad had assured her that she would grow into it over the year- and a white cropped shirt. Comfortable enough to survive in for the next hours.

The Slytherin looked out of the window once more, lowering the book and putting it down on her legs. "It's only a month, but I'm gonna miss it anyway.", she said, "Are you coming back for summer camp?"

It is still possible to join!

Third year had gone far more smoothly than Thora had expected, in all honesty. In fact, it'd been almost as uneventful as her second year had been eventful - while her second year had been fraught with danger, encompassing two disastrous balls, an attack on her house, and a whole lot of fruitlessly pursuing fragile information, her third year had seen only one ball - she'd purposely skipped the other -, which hadn't seemed all too dangerous (perhaps she just hadn't been in the right place), and no shadow spiders. That wasn't to say that it had been completely void of some threat - threats were practically commonplace at Hogwarts, at this point - but overall, she'd enjoyed it.

She'd also been promoted to first string chaser, months of patience and practice having finally been rewarded, and Slytherin had won a majority of their matches this year. It hadn't been nearly enough to clinch them the overall victory, but their performance had been considerably better than last year's, and surely this was only the beginning of further improvement. Aside from that, she'd maintained consistency academically, and most importantly, she'd physically survived another year at Hogwarts.

Overall, it'd been a fairly enjoyable year, and Thora was sad to see it draw to a close.

But on the bright side, its conclusion heralded a return to her home, to the rolling landscape and faces she'd missed so dearly throughout the weeks and months that had passed since winter break. It had been a fair while since she'd last felt this way about home; last summer's vacation had been tense and winter break only slightly less so, but the girl still felt as if she'd gained back her family's acceptance and trust in the days leading up to her return to Hogwarts back in January, and the warmth between them all had finally resurfaced. Once again, she was excited to see her family, to hear their voices of welcome. She wouldn't be staying for long, as summer camp would kick up in a month's time, but an entire thirty-one days was still a considerable length of time and she intended to make good use of it.

As she lingered around Hogsmeade Station, awaiting an opportunity to board the Hogwarts Express, she glanced wistfully back up at Hogwarts' looming figure, still visible in the distance. Despite its dangerous shortcomings, it'd been one of the few places she'd ever felt welcome, and it hadn't taken her long at all to assimilate into the student body. And by now, she considered it her home more so than her family's homestead, an idea she'd never considered possible upon her arrival, a tiny first year with few expectations and a helping of nerves. Only a month would be spent away, but she would certainly miss it, from its halls to the Quidditch Pitch.

Finally, she turned, pulling herself and her possessions onto the train - which was no easy task, what with her trunk and squawking owl, not to mention the fact that she'd never been particularly strong. The train was bound to depart in minutes, after all, and she needed that time to scout out a car, preferably with people she was acquainted with and definitely not chock-full of unfamiliar faces. This was also not easy, seeing as she rarely made both friends and acquaintances, never having been a socialite. Perhaps she would be left pacing the corridors after most, but she usually was able to locate someone she knew - they were all bound for the same destination, after all.

A single trip up and down the entire length of the train later, Thora was still without a car, though admittedly it was partially due to her pickiness in companions and the fact that she hadn't been able to locate any of her one few closest friends. But as she turned, continuing the other way, something caught her eye - two heads of brown hair, two familiar faces, two girls she'd met but wasn't as familiar with as she might've liked. If Thora recalled correctly, she'd first met Griseldis at an errand and later had crossed paths at the Masquerade, where the Gryffindor had immediately come across as a friendly soul, undeniably both brave and kind. She didn't know Opeila as well though they'd met by chance the previous year, but she seemed to be at the helm of several events Thora'd participated in, proving to be organized and also quite sweet.

Thora was certain they'd be good company, as their impression on her had been only positive, but still she hesitated, not wanting to extend her arm and reach for the handle. For one, the two had already appeared to have struck up a conversation, and she was loath to interrupt. Besides, what if she wasn't welcome- or worse, what if she was just a lost memory to them, swept away by the chaotic year that had passed since she'd last spoken to them? She wouldn't have been surprised if that was the case, honestly; a year could bring a lot, and their interactions had been both few and insignificant enough that they'd likely been long forgotten.

No, that couldn't be. From her experience, memories and acquaintances rarely faded in the span of a year, and surely her face would ring a bell, if nothing else.

It was almost laughable, how much social skill she lacked - already, she was fourteen, a rising fourth year, an introvert having survived the storm of a boarding school for three years. Though she had undoubtedly improved, it seemed she hadn't outgrown her insecurities, but only hidden them, never having truly cast them aside. And her comfort with social situations seemed to fluctuate over time, growing and shrinking over as time passed and circumstances came and left. She'd had plenty of time to grow used to conversation, to gain at least a little bit of comfort in socializing, but obviously, she still struggled in this aspect. Oh, why couldn't she just loosen up a little bit?

And she'd lost herself in thought again. It wouldn't have been noticeable, the girl having automatically glanced around as she wondered, but in any case, she'd been standing here long enough. Finally grasping the door handle, she pulled the door open, sticking her head in. "Hi, Opeila," Thora smiled at the younger girl, "and hi, Gris," she offered the Gryffindor yet another smile. "Would you two mind if I joined you? I wouldn't want to interrupt anything, but-" Thora trailed off, unsure of what she was trying to get across.

Frankly, even she didn't quite know why she was suddenly so nervous. Perhaps it was the sight of others who already seemed quite friendly with each other and a fear that she would interrupt the dynamic? Perhaps it was the fact that she'd have to wait with baited breath, not knowing the two well enough to know if she'd be welcomed or rejected?

Picking a train car should not have been nearly this difficult; honestly, she just ought to relax a little bit. It'd all be okay. Right?

Interacting with @Opeila Winters @Thora Larkston

Griseldis's smile grew wider when Opeila called her name with a happy expression on her face. Although her cat, Loras, not so much when he noticed Crystal on her right shoulder. Her owl simply didn't seem to care and just made a short hoot, then slightly turned her head to the side as if she was trying to ignore the cat that was hissing at her. "And hello to you too, Loras.", Griseldis still gave a friendly wave at the hissing cat. Even after their encounter at the Owlery, Opeila's cat was still kinda wary of owls or maybe other birds as well. However, she considered it to be normal for most cats, so she wasn't that much bothered by it either. When Opeila scolded her cat to be nice, she quickly reassured her, "Nah, don't worry about it. Crystal didn't seem to mind Loras's reactions towards her."

After being welcomed into Opeila's compartment, Griseldis first placed her own luggage up on the overhead racks and told Crystal to land on the seat beside her. And when she took a seat across the young Slytherin. She didn't expect Opeila to compliment her dress, "Oh, thank you. I actually don't often wear dresses, but my aunt from Shanghai designed this dress for me. I also like your outfit too, looks very comfy and perfect for summer." Griseldis's personality would have preferred to wear something similar like Opeila to be honest, but it wouldn't feel right to not wear her aunt's dress who worked so hard on it and even gave it to her as a surprise gift. It was her way of showing her appreciation.

She watched as Opeila looked out of the window for a brief moment, then she asked her if she would come back for summer camp. The Gryffindor nodded, "Well, yes. I had to because after my Quidditch team won this season's game, we'll need to prepare to win the championship against the other wizarding school. I'm super excited for that!" Last year, the Hufflepuff team won against Durmstrang after such a brutal fight. Hopefully, the Gryffindor team would be strong enough to face their new rival team, who happened to be from a different school. "And how about you? Are you also coming back for the summer camp as well?" Suddenly, someone pulled the door open before Griseldis could hear Opeila's answer. She was a bit surprised to see the person who opened their compartment door. It wasn't just anyone else, but someone she knew and hadn't seen for a very long time now. The girl first greeted Opeila, then her with a smile. "Hi Thora! Long time no see, and of course, please join us! I'm sure Opeila won't mind either, right?" Griseldis said to her with a genuine smile, then she looked back at Opeila to see how she would react and hoped she wouldn't mind since they seemed to know each other.

@Griseldis Edelhardt @Thora Larkston

Opeila was glad that neither Gris nor her owl seemed to mind her rude cat, but that was not the main reason for her to reprimand the animal for his usual aggressive attitude. She wanted him to learn to be more accepting. His attempts to scare everything around him off often ended with him getting hurt. "I'm glad. But he still needs to stop being so rude, he is like that all the time. I don't know why, do cats usually go through phases in their youth?", she asked, although Gris as a bird owner probably didn't know it either.

She smiled when Gris explained that she didn't wear dresses very often but that her aunt in Shanghai had designed it for her. "Your aunt is from Shanghai?", the Slytherin asked interested, suddenly feeling a little bat at the realization how little she knew about this girl who she referred to as a friend. Maybe she should really try and put more effort into her friendships in the future. She had been very occupied with her family issues this year. "Well, she's really good at making dresses!"

After the Viridian Vipers had won the Duelling Season, Opeila had been focused on her match that was coming in summer, it had pushed Quidditch in the background a bit. "Oh right. Congrats! Guess we're both winners of this year.", she grinned at her friend. "Good luck for the summer match!"
Opeila nodded. "Yes, we get to have a summer duel.", she told Gris, just when the door opened.

A girl stuck her head through the door, whom Opeila recognized as one of her housemates... Ah, what was her name again... She greeted the two of them and asked if she could join their compartment. Opeila was very glad that Gris greeted her first, saying the name out loud. Thora, that was it. "Hi Thora! Of course you can join us, there is plenty of space in here." She smiled at the older girl.

💙

As Koko made her way to Hogsmeade Station, she couldn't help but think she was ready to go home - or, well, wherever 'home' could be these days. Her aunt would be collecting her from King's Cross, which was fine and well, but then she would be spending time in France. It was almost as if Rioux-Martin was becoming a second home of sorts, and Koko - despite her initial dislike - found herself growing fond of her Leblanc relatives.

She would dare to say she was even excited to see her grandfather, even if that meant studying even more French.

Clad in a simple white T-Shirt and jeans, Koko boarded the train with a half-smile on her face. Her trunk was hefted in one arm, and her cat rested in the crook of her other elbow. He was almost too big to carry, Koko thought with a sigh.

She walked through the train first, checking that students were behaving, but since school was practically over, she knew it would be rude to issue a detention - and for what? next year?

Once she had finished glancing into compartments, she finally began to look for one to sit in. Her arm had begun to ache from carrying her trunk, and Jax was beginning to fidget.

Finally, she saw one with a few familiar faces.

'Hello... Do you mind if I join you in here?' Koko asked, her small half-smile widening.

Jax seemed to sense the excitement buzzing within her because he began to squirm more. Koko refused to reprimand such a cute creature, but she did glare at him for a moment before returning her softening gaze to the three people in the compartment.

Koko hoped her smile would be enough.

Reducio

OOC:
I'm assuming from the tags and first post that it's still okay for me to join. If not, I can just delete this post.