Reducio

@Liana Kerr, @Aspen Fernsby and @Hydro Maniac

First of September, 2021

One year ago her journey had started right here, in the Hogwarts Express. Samantha remembered that day well, she had almost missed the train back then. Now she was one of the first to be in the train, so she had many compartments to choose out off.

Sam picked the first empty compartment that she saw, it was very close to where she had got on the train. She opened the compartment door and threw her bag on one off the seats and placed her large suitecase on the luggage rack. After she had done that she ran back to the entrance to say her last goodbyes to her family and take her new pet with her.

She quickly hugged her mom, dad and sister and took Amenadiel's cage out of her sister's hands. "Bye! I'm going to miss you guys! I will send you a letter as soon as I arrive, I promise." She gave her parents a little smile, trying to blink away the tears that formed in her blue eyes. She waved at her parents and quickly made her way back to the compartment where she had left her stuff.

The compartment was still empty as the second year sat down. She placed the cage she was holding on the seat next to her. In the cage was a little brown owl, he was the same size as Samantha's hands if not smaller. "We are very early, I know." Samantha told her little friend. She had been the proud owner of the little owl for 10 whole days now and she started to care for him really much. Samantha had never been a pet person, but now she loved Amenadiel and she wouldn't be able to live without him.

She was very proud of her little owl, and the little one himself was also very proud. He didn't like to be called cute, something he and Samantha had in common. Sam had been spoiling her new owl so much that he thought he was better than every other owl. The young girl was really excited to show her owl to her friends, especially her best friend, but she had to wait until they were at Hogwarts. Vivian, her best friend, already was at Hogwarts for summer camp, just like most of Sam's other friends.

That was why the small girl was sitting all by herself. Almost all of her friends were already at school. Some people might hate the idea of having to meet new people and make new friends, but Samantha loved it. She hoped that some strangers would come into the compartment and that they would leave as new friends.

Reducio

Outfit:

The passing Muggles were giving her strange looks. They probably sensed that she was different. It was all Liana could do not to squirm uncomfortably under the scrutiny of their eyes, although in reality the people were just glancing at a weirdly-dressed girl and then dismissing it as childish sense of style. There was only a mild suspicion in the girl's mind that it was not normal for a person to wear a dress over a hoodie, and to top it with a furry jacket with imitated leopard spots. Her father, who walked right beside her, was not attracting so much attention, having donned an official-looking suit to blend into the crowd, although he did not look happy doing it, much preferring his usual robes. As, in fact, did Liana. These Muggle clothes were uncomfortable to wear; the robes gave so much more freedom for movement.

As they approached the wall between platforms 9 and 10, the girl felt a tingle of excitement. Here it was! The gateway to her future! The two of them, father and daughter, paused next to the wall, waiting for the surge of passing travelers to thin so they could walk through a brick wall without being noticed by too many non-magical eyes. Liana wanted to cherish the moment when she stepped through, it had held a symbolical significance in her mind the whole summer, but the girl was simply unceremoniously shoved through the hidden entrance by Marcus Kerr the moment he felt nobody was looking. The redhead would have felt disappointed at that, but the sight that met her - the gleaming scarlet Hogwarts Express - replaced the budding negative emotion with a wave of glee that threatened to overflow her chest. The young girl wanted to just skip towards it and jump in, but she restrained herself and calmly paced beside her father until they both approached the steam engine. At which point Father passed her the heavy trunk that he had been effortlessly drawing behind him during their trip through the Muggle section of King's Cross.

''Do write to me this weekend, Lady Ophelia and I will want to know how you're doing at school,'' he said, although Liana really doubted if his recently wed wife cared that much for her step-daughter's education, having not even bothered to come and see her off.

''I will most certainly do so, Father,'' she promised nonetheless, and proceeded to try embarking the train with the heavy luggage. However, the petite eleven-year-old could not seem to even lift if off the ground, let alone hoist it into the wagon. After a couple of unsuccessful attempts, a bit disheveled and huffing with exertion, Liana looked back to her father imploringly and was met with a gaze of cold amusement.

''You are a witch, Liana. Quit trying to perform a task like some hapless Muggle,'' he chided. The girl looked at him with wide-eyed confusion, a realisation dawning slowly on her. ''Using magic on Hogwarts Express is permitted,'' Marcus Kerr confirmed, seeing the questioning expression on his scion's face.

It did not take the girl long to unclasp a side section of the trunk and procure a narrow elongated box from it. Liana opened it and took out her wand almost reverently. She was about to perform her very first spell! And she knew which one she would be using - it was, after all, in the Chapter One of her Charms textbook that she had leafed through keenly. Not to mention that this particular piece of magic was performed quite frequently within the wizarding world, the Kerr household included - levitation was bread and butter of the magical folk, after all. She poised the wand at her luggage.

''Wingardium Leviosa!'' she incantated, carefully producing every syllable and repeating the swish-and-flick pattern that had been portrayed in the book. The heavy trunk rose a few feet from the ground, making Liana feel giddy with joy. Her very first act of intentional magic had succeeded! She glanced at her father, who nodded in approval, looking like he was on the verge of producing a smile. He didn't, however.

''Go on now, get into the train and try not to associate with the Muggleborn,'' he said, enunciating the word in a way that made it clear he had a different term in mind but was not willing to use it in a public place.

Obediently, the girl guided the airborne trunk into the train and stepped in after it. It wasn't too cramped just yet, but each compartment she passed contained at least one person, and she was anxious about having to approach somebody first. Therefore, Liana paced the whole length of the wagon she had boarded, and was about to enter the next one when she noticed her trunk wobbling unstably in the air in front of her, the magic that was keeping it afloat not strong enough to handle the weight for a long period of time. Reluctant to have to drag this heavy thing physically, the girl resigned herself to having to share a cabin with a stranger and backtracked a couple dozen paces, to where she had spotted a girl that looked to be about her own age sitting alone. Perhaps she was also a first-year, and they could share their excitement and predictions about the famous school they were going to. She slid the door open, smiling timidly at the other girl.

''Hello, is this reserved for somebody or can I join you?'' she asked, standing uncertainly in the doorway. Just then, her trunk came crashing down behind her with a floor-shaking thud, making the young girl yelp in surprise. As she turned, she saw that the trunk had snapped open and some of her clothes had spilled out on the floor. Good thing Father did not see it was the first thought in the girl's head, as her cheeks turned lightly pink at the shame, and then threatened to turn fully red when she caught sight of an approaching student who would not be able to pass - the narrow corridor of the wagon was fully blocked by the first-year's trunk.

''I'm sorry!'' she called out, hurriedly picking up the robe, a pair of gloves and a hat that had fallen out, jamming them back into the trunk messily and pulling the heavy object into the cabin, her muscles powered by the sheer desire to remove herself from the embarrassing situation. She looked up desperately at the space above their heads meant for the luggage. No chance she could lift it up there. Should she try the Levitation Charm once more? Or would she just disgrace herself again?

Liana sighed and pushed the trunk under the seat as far as it would go. It still protruded quite a bit, but it was mostly out of the way. Then she plopped down on the window seat, opposite to the other occupant of the cabin.

''I'm Liana, by the way. It's my first time in Hogwarts. Are you new, too?'' she inquired, hoping to put the whole ordeal with the trunk behind her. ''Ooh, that's a very pretty owl!'' she exclaimed, noticing the pet for the first time. ''What's its name?''

Interacting with @Liana Kerr

The door was opened by a young girl with a smile on her face. The outfit of the girl was, well, nicely said interesting. Samantha had never seen anybody wear a dress over a hoodie. The outfit showed a lack of knowledge about muggle clothing which made the brunette assume that the other girl must come from a wizarding family, probably pureblood.

Samantha grinned when she saw the outfit. She herself had a horrible taste of fashion, but she could safely say, she wasn't that bad in picking outfits. But the smile that was on her face quickly replaced itself for a concerned look, once she heard a loud bang. She quickly stood up to see what had happend.

Apparently the new girl had dropped her suitcase. "Don't worry, I will help!" Samantha hurried to help the girl pull the suitecase into the cabin. Sam looked worried at the new girl: "Are you okay?"

As the other girl sat down by the window, Samantha quickly placed her bag under the seat so it wouldn't take up any more space. She had already claimed 2 whole seats, one for her and one for her little owl.

"Are you new, too?" Samantha let out a giggle. She understood the girl's mistake. Samantha looked younger then she really was. She had a round babyface and her length didn't really help either.

"No, I am not. This is my second year actually. I'm Samantha Salwis, second year Ravenclaw." When she told Liana about Ravenclaw she straightened her back and looked at the first year proudly. Her house was really special to her, she loved it and would never trade it for any other house. Samantha wondered in what house the other girl would come. The first year would get sorted after the train ride. Sam would love to have a new eagle join the flock.

When Liana started about Amenadiel, Samantha smiled. She loved talking about him, she loved talking in general, but talking about her little owl was even more fun. "His name is Amenadiel, my sister came up with the name. I do really like the name, it is just a litlle long. So I have been thinking of a nickname, but I can't come up with one."

"I actually just got him, my parents gave it to me for my birthday! He is amazing, better then any other animal. Aren't you, little one?" The last Samantha told her owl. She smiled to him totally in love. Amenadiel just hopped around in his little cage looking at the new girl. He hadn't been in a train before and he had also not met many new people. Samantha had kept him to herself for the last 10 days, praising her little friend and keeping him safe.

"Do you have a pet?" she asked the other girl.

Reducio

Outfit:

The linear path offered once one got on the train did definitely not serve with enough mobility to pass through properly. Truth be told, even if it was ten feet wide the boy would have still bumped into each and every other person in his way. At one point, he accidentally stepped on some much-taller boy's foot, headbutted a compartment's door and intentionally licked the window of another compartment filled with four students who all looked the same. Their reaction was mostly dull as Enrico expected them to chase him for his foolishness, but they remained seated looking all dull and grim. It wasn't very exciting to know that wizards and witches could be just as boring as his muggle siblings.

Alas, as he made his way to find a seat for himself, the boy realized that the lot was mostly already occupied. That did not matter, however, as Rico was the perfect candidate to barge into places where he was uninvited to. The idea struck him like a lightning bolt as a concerning smile found its way across his lips. The urge to start laughing maniacally - and the base idea of it - was appealing, but before he could even think about which compartment was perfect to disturb, Enrico found the answer before asking for it.

In front of him were a couple of girls, one seemed to have already settled in comfortably, a birdcage occupied the seat next to her. The other one sitting on the opposite seat, the two were sharing a conversation but about what, Enrico couldn't hear. Usually, he would have blamed it on all the ear wax stuck inside his head, but the loud rambling of other children and the train chooing every five seconds made it difficult. Regardless, he peaked his head in trying his best to look all innocent and sweet.

"Can I join?" He asked politely, a smile wider than the seat he was approaching, inviting himself in before any of the girls could actually grant him permission.
"Thanks!" He yelled enthusiastically as he sat next to the redhead.
"My name's Enrico! Enrico Gathorne! This is my first year at Hogwash... Hagwelsh? Whatever, I'm very excited, just in case you couldn't tell." The boy had the tendency to talk loudly, even in the quietest of places, and on top of that, given his uncomfortability of having his teeth be held by a strap of metal (which was very apparent), there were occasions where he discharged his own saliva upon whatever laid in front of him while speaking. Though he was unaware of it, so it never became his problem.

Suddenly, he spotted a rather unique sighting. The owl. He was aware that wizards and witches could get them as pets, and naturally, this was not normal in Enrico's life before learning of the magic that resided inside of him. In fact, he had seen them during his necessary shopping spree at Diagon Alley, but his mother was persistent on not allowing him to get any more animals. Her excuse was reasonable, claiming to have already enough responsibility with the animals that needed caring back home. She wasn't wrong, but Enrico was too stubborn and supportive of his own desires. Unfortunately still, he did not get his hands on a pet... for now. Naturally, seeing an owl so close to his perimeter made him jump from his seat, leaving all his belongings on the floor instead of piling them up above where he sat. He got down on his knees and crawled to stick his nose against the cage, with his eyes wide open and glasses clinking against the metallic lining that kept the creature inside.
"Is this yours?! It's so adorably cute!" He was almost on the verge of annoying the bird by sticking his finger in the cage, but he knew that that was inappropriate, so instead he made smooching squeaky sounds hoping to show his affection that way.

Realizing that he was most probably dragging the attention of both girls onto him, Enrico made a quick retreat to his seat, crossing his legs once he had sat down rather than keeping them on the floor. He coughed awkwardly - not covering his mouth while at it - trying his best to make the situation less embarrassing.
"So uh... do you have any idea of how long it takes to arrive at the castle?"

Having received a helping hand in a time of need (even if that need was to get out of an embarrassing situation), Liana immediately felt a closeness to this girl she had never met before. First impressions were peculiar like that.

''Yes, I'm good. Thank you so much,'' she reassured. And she really was. The ordeal with the fallen trunk ended, and a spectacular day resumed. She was going to Hogwarts, finally! There would be so many new experiences, she would get to use magic, actually meet magical animals, take care of magical plants, brew potions... The possibilities were invigorating. Unfortunately, they could not really share the same level of excitement, nor predictions about the future at the school, as her trip companion turned out to be a year older. Well, no matter; Liana could instead inquire about various aspects of life at the educational institution they were headed for. ''Well, nice to meet you, Samantha. I think my mother was a Ravenclaw? Anyway, it's a great place for those academically-oriented. Do you have any house traditions relating to books or learning?''

The second-year introduced her pet, and Liana raised her eyebrows at the bizarre name, wondering if there was any meaning in it. Was it from some unknown foreign folklore? Or was it from the Muggle culture?

''It does sound a bit hefty. Could it be Amie? Or... Amen?'' the girl suggested, unaware of the religious connotations the latter suggestion carried. ''But yes, he seems like a wonderful bird. And will be useful as well - you can send letters home! I mean, you also can with school owls, but I'm not sure they're always available, and this one will only serve you. And no, I don't have a pet yet, I didn't really think about getting one yet,'' she admitted. Why hadn't it occurred to her to ask Father for an owl? he probably would have purchased her one, if she reasoned it convincingly enough. It was too late for that now. Next year, perhaps.

As the boy barged in, his curious behaviour and lack of knowledge almost immediately identified him as a Muggle-born. Exactly the type of person she was quite directly told to not associate with. However, she had also been taught to be subtle about such matters, since traditional ideals were not as appreciated nowadays as they were in the past. Hence, she greeted him with a polite smile.

''Hi! Of course you can join, we still have plenty of space,'' she permitted, although there really was no need for it since the boy was already sitting down next to her. ''I'm a first-year too, Liana Kerr. I think Hogwarts is what you mean?'' she supplied helpfully. ''I'm guessing you only heard about the school a couple of weeks ago?''

The eccentric interaction with Amenadiel that followed semi-permanently marked Enrico as an oddball in Liana's mind. Was he... was he trying to communicate with the owl? By sounding like a bird himself? Wasn't he worried he could get pecked in the face if he startled the feathery creature? She glanced at Samantha, baffled, seeking to see if this behaviour was confusing the older girl as well. It was her bird, after all. Would she perhaps take it as animal harassment?

To her relief, the boy deigned to settle back down, although his manner of sitting was also somewhat... outlandish. Raised in high pureblood society for most of her life, she had never encountered people sitting like that. This must be a Muggle thing, or... or could this just be a children thing?

''Um... I think the train leaves at 11 a.m., so very soon, and arrives in the evening, because that's when the feast takes place. So I'd say the ride will be fairly long. Some eight hours, likely more? I'm actually not sure,'' she confessed, unpocketing her train ticket to verify whether the arrival time was imprinted on it. Alas, it was not. ''This doesn't say when we'll arrive. But yeah, it should already be dark outside by that time, from what I've heard.''

The redhead placed her slightly crumpled ticket back into the pocket of her leopard-spot jacket. She glanced longingly at her trunk, considering breaching proper etiquette (which was already breached, and quite badly, by the boy) by replacing her current outfit with the wizarding one, right here and now. She felt both physically and mentally uncomfortable wearing these strange garbs, not to meantion that she was starting to feel hot in the multitude of layers.

''Would it be alright if I changed into my robes? This Muggle attire is a bit strange, and I'm not sure I'm even wearing it right,'' she confided, looking down at her brown dress drawn over a green hoodie. ''It will only take me a moment,'' she promised, hastily getting off the seat, pulling her trunk out from under it, and uncalsping its lid. The school uniform was right on top of the pile. She avoided meeting the eyes of either of her companions as she hastily removed the furry jacket, oversized dress and emerald hoodie. It felt quite awkward to strip in front of people - a male person especially, - even if she intended to leave her pants and tank top on. The girl pulled the plain black robe over her shoulders, buttoning it swiftly. She felt better immediately.

''Sorry about that, I, uh- it just feels so much more comfortable to wear robes,'' Liana explained herself, still a bit flustered, shoving the Muggle clothing into the trunk, shutting it closed and pushing it back into its original place. ''Anyway, um... Do you know anything about the sorting system in Hogwarts? I mean, the four houses?'' she asked Enrico conversationally as she settled back into her seat.

Interacting with @Liana Kerr and @Enrico Gathorne

"Yes, it is, " Samantha answered to the comment about Ravenclaw being a great place for the academically-oriented. She had been really happy when she got sorted into Ravenclaw, it fitted her perfectly. "Well, our house doesn't have the tradition, as some don't like books. Some Eagles like to be creative and hate reading. I am quite the opposite of that, I am not creative, but I do love books! Anyway, there is this new dorm system and the dorm I picked does have traditions regarding books. As I said it are new dorms, so I don't know a lot about it, yet."

The other girl also wasn't shy of talking, something Sam liked. The first year seemed nice, Samantha was happy that the girl joined her compartment. "Most of the time you can use school owls, that is what I did last year. But my parents didn't really know how to use owls, they didn't understand them. So now I got my own owl, and he can stay with my parents sometimes. They can use him to send letters back, because we don't have a family owl. Not that my parents would need an owl, I am the only one they owl with." She giggled, the idea of her muggle parents owling instead of texting their friends or even send an owl to work was crazy.

A cheery boy joined the two girl. Samantha didn't even have the time to say anything, he already sat down and introduced himself. When he didn't know the name of Hogwarts, Samantha couldn't stop herself from correcting him. "Hogwarts, it is Hogwarts." How ignorance was the boy, how couldn't he know the name of the place he was going to stay for a big part of his life. Sam shook her head.

Liana also helped Enrico with the name of the school. Samantha didn't know what to think of the boy, he was weird, according to her. How didn't he know the name of his school! She had learned it right away when she knew she was a witch.

Ater Liana had introduced herself Samantha followed. "I'm Samantha, this is my second year." She smiled, she liked being older and probably wiser then the other two. She already had been going to Hogwarts for a whole year and these other two were just little newbies.

The little owl shot back in his cage as he saw the boy approach his cage. Amenadiel was just a few months old and he still wasn't used to many people. The little owl looked scared at the face of the boy that took up his whole view. Enrico didn't only call him cute, he said adorably cute! How rude! The owl screeched, he was offended.

"Yes, he is mine, but he isn't cute!" This was a sensitive subject for Samantha. She herself was small and got called cute all the time. She hated it, she wasn't cute (according to herself). Sam reflected the way she felt about herself on her pet. "He may be small, but he is not cute. He is beautiful and perfect and can do anything he wants!"

When the boy started to make squeaky sounds trying to communicate with her owl, Samantha realized he meant it well. She might have overreacted a little bit. She shouldn't judge the boy to harsh. He probably just was nervous about school and not everybody can learn a name of a school as fast as she could.

Samantha was checking up on her little owl, when Enrico asked about the time that they would arrive. Liana already replied to the boy, so Sam focused on her pet. She wanted to know how he was doing, as she knew it must have been a big shock when the boy suddenly approached his cage. She carefully got some of the owls food out of her bag. It was a round little plastic box with a few earthworms, who were moving as the were still alive.

Once the little owl saw that his owner was getting his food he moved closer to the opening of the cage. He knew that Samantha would get him out of his cage and if he listened well, she would give him a delicious earthworm. But before his owner could get him out of his cage she got distracted.

The other girl asked if it would be alright for her to change. "Of course, no worries! And you are definitely not wearing the clothes the right way." Samantha giggled. She turned to the boy, "Do you want to give a worm to Amenadiel?" She had decided to give the boy a chance and that way he would be focused on the owl, giving Liana some privacy while changing. "You do have to be really careful, he is just a little baby." And she was really overprotected of her owl, but she didn't add that.

She opened the cage of her pet and held her hand in front of it once it was open. Amenadiel and Samantha had practiced on what he had to do over the last few days. She hoped the little owl still knew what to do. Luckily for her he did. He hoped out of his cage on her finger. Where other owls sat on their owners arm, Amenadiel couldn't. He was way to small. The little owl was now sitting on Samantha's finger screeching for his food. "Could you please open the box and carefully give it to me?" Samantha asked Enrico. The box with the 4 worms was laying next to the cage, just a little out of Sam's reach.

Reducio

Outfit:

Enrico was more than just relieved to hear that his adventure, and that of many others, was just about to start. With the train posing to leave soon, he wondered how majestical would it be to observe the scenery outside and view the vast countryside. Will there be flying horses? Fairies or some sort of winged, imp-like creatures? There was so much he imagined - his imagination was the only thing he had - as he had clearly already shown, lack of knowledge on the school he was going to attend was pretty clear. Not just the school itself, but this was a whole new world. A world which he was ready to explore, there was no doubt in that.

Not being one to make things less awkward, the short boy couldn't help but keep staring at the redhead. Not for any other reason than to see how she fit in her robes as he had been wondering about that ever since he got them. Did they catch fire once you put them on? What if they made the wearer fly? He read plenty of books that had characters wear magically enhanced pieces of clothing... maybe this was no different. He was still in his casual, colourful clothing anyways, so he had to put them on at a certain point. The flow of the robes and their colours truly made anyone feel like a whimsical wizard. He was excited, to say the least. Putting on clothes might have seemed like the smallest of exciting things, but with every step he took in this new universe, Enrico felt the need to let it all out with a scream. Luckily for the people nearby, he didn't.

But his willingness to pay attention to anything never really survived for much long. When the other girl had offered him the opportunity to feed her baby owl, he couldn't help but fuss over how much he was more than willing to do so. His brown eyes glimmered in awe, and his feet began to tap on the floor, knees jumping up and down. He followed the girl's instructions carefully, hoping not to make an embarrassment out of himself, reached out to grab the box, opened it and excitedly wiggled his fingers hoping he could grab the worms himself. But the peering eyes of the two girls didn't seem like they approved, so he stuck with the original plan and handed her the opened box.
"You know, cute doesn't have to mean weak! My mum calls me cute all the time, and I'm the strongest, shortest boy I know!" He said proudly, lacking no confidence in his voice, except for the crystal clear voice cracks.
"If anything, I meant it as a compliment! I'd never stop cuddling your owl had it been mine!"

It didn't take long for the conversation to start flowing, and for it to be taken towards several topics and further discussions. It was great, of course! Enrico enjoyed conversation and though he was perceived as weird, he liked to think he was gregarious when it came to socialization. Friends had never been hard to make, and he hoped that the Wizarding World wouldn't be any different.

"Four houses? What houses? Like buildings? I've only heard that it's a big castle, so I'm assuming you're talking about a particular location found within its walls, right?" Well, that was a stupid question. From very approximately correct mathematical calculations, Enrico confirmed that the castle was seventeen times bigger than his family's place. Fields and all.
"I don't know much if that's what you're insinuating though, just heard of some subjects that we might have to study. I've got mixed emotions about it. Sure I've always found mixing dish soap and milk interesting, but do I really want to spend hours reading books for it?" Rico had never been an A-student... or a B... or a C... maybe D... F? In between the last two for certain. Not that he never liked school, he was just academically... challenged. He wasn't stupid, just naive and too rowdy for his own good, his head always sinking in mud instead of books, quite literally sometimes.

OOC: I'm genuinely so sorry for replying so late. Life took an unexpected turn with university. I completely understand if you've lost the muse to continue writing this thread.

Even though slipping back into her usual garb gave immense relief and made her feel much more comfortable, Liana still found herself blushing. Partly because the boy kept staring at her, although that wasn't the worst of it. What caused her embarrassment was hearing a confirmation that she had been wearing the Muggle attire incorrectly. Being wrong about anything tended to sting both her pride and self-confidence. The redhead bit her lip. So, that emerald hoodie thing and a dress on top was not a good match. Was the jacket imitating leopard fur also odd? She quite liked how soft it was to the touch, although it did make her feel awfully overheated.

''So what would Muggle girls my age wear, usually?'' It was tough to get over her chagrin, and even tougher to force herself to linger on the subject in which she had embarrassed herself. But this was an opportunity to learn. ''Did I choose the wrong clothing articles altogether, or was it just the combination that was unusual?'' Father probably wouldn't approve of her current interest in Muggle fashion. But she wasn't exactly interested because she was attracted by their culture; no, she just wanted to avoid making a fool of herself in the future. Surely he would approve of that, at least.

While her companions were occupied with feeding the little owl, she folded her clothes carefully and placed them into her trunk. Those three pieces of attire will likely turn out to be her only remaining neatly-packaged belongings. After dropping her trunk and having to stuff half of her wardrobe back into it, she was only hoping that nothing had spilled or shattered. A cracked inkwell could do so much damage to her garments and textbooks! The redhead bit her lip, fighting the temptation to check it out right now. She was sure that if she didn't, she'd worry about it for the rest of the trip.

Luckily, Enrico provided enough of a distraction for her to snap out of fretting about tidiness and jump into her educational mode. This boy didn't even know about the Hogwarts houses! He had so many knowledge gaps to fill.

''Well, no, they're not buildings. It's four communities, one could say. All of them have different traits and values that define them. There's Gryffindor, for those who value bravery and chivalry; Hufflepuff, for those who pride themselves in being loyal and hardworking; Ravenclaw, for those who are curious, intelligent and academically inclined; and Slytherin, for those who uphold traditional values and are ambitious.'' She hoped that was a good enough summary. And that Samantha wouldn't get offended if she described Ravenclaw in too little detail, or chose the wrong words. There was so much more complexity to the houses, their histories and relationships within and without; but she felt like spilling it all out at once would cause an information overload for the poor initiate.

''Also, what do you mean by 'mixing dish soap and milk'?'' Was that some Muggle saying? ''It sounds a bit like you're referring to the Potions class. It's actually a fairly difficult and a very useful subject, as far as I know. Might be dangerous sometimes, too, if you add the wrong ingredients, or even the right ones but in the wrong order.'' She turned her gaze the other girl, who was the only one here with actual first-hand experience of Hogwarts.

''Which subjects would you say are the easiest and the hardest? And which ones do you find the most fascinating?''

OOC: No worries! Glad you're back again. Your writing provided enough hooks to revive my muse, too.

@Liana Kerr @Enrico Gathorne

Samantha smiled when Liana asked what girls usually wore, the first year seemed to be interested in muggle clothing or at least a way to look less unusual. "They can wear so many things, dresses, sweaters, pants, jackets anything you can think of really. It is not that you choose the wrong articles, it is just the combination. It is not usual to wear a dress and a sweater, I mean I have never seen anybody do that." Samantha wasn't the best person to give fashion advice, most of the time just wore a random pair of pants and a shirt of sweater.

Enrico seemed to really like the idea of feeding Amenadiel and Samantha couldn't help but smile. She still didn't really trust him to get close to her little owl, so she herself gave Amenadiel a worm. She had noticed that the boy had wanted to grab a worm and feed it.

It was only when Enrico talked confidently about how his mom calls him cute and he meant it as a compliment that Samantha allowed him to feed Amenadiel as well. "You know what," she said with a little smile, "you can also give him a worm if you would like, I am sure he won't mind getting two. He loves food."

Samantha was quite impressed with the knowledge from Liana, who had never been to Hogwarts before. Of course it wasn't hard to look like you know a lot if there is a boy who doesn't even know the name from the school he is going to spend 7 years of his life at. "Being creative is also a trait from Ravenclaw, I am not creative at all, but there are a lot of students who are." Sam couldn't help but add a little bit more information, after all she was the one who was suppose to know the most about Hogwarts. "Liana, do you already have an idea in which house you will get or a preference? You seem to know well what all the houses mean."

"Mixing milk with dish soap?" The surprise was clear for anybody who would listen. She had never heard of such thing. One time when she was younger Samantha had mix all kind of shampoo's and other soap she could find together, but that stayed with one time, because her mom hadn't been to happy with the mixture.

Samantha took a moment to think before she answered Liana. "I personally think everything is quite easy, if you pay attention in class and do your homework on time and don't procrastinate. But some of my friends have a hard time with potions and an other one at charms, it just depends on who you ask and what you like. I personally love charms, because I have learned lots of spells there. My best subject is charms, so that's also why I like it."

One year ago Samantha had sat in this same train, only back then she was clueless about the magical world. Clara, one of her first friends, had learned her a lot about the wizarding world and now Sam was the one helping others. It honestly felt great, she loved helping and telling about her experiences.

Enrico was used to having a large, wide grin stuck on his face, the corners of his mouth inches away from poking at his ears. His bright smile got wider when he was finally given permission to feed the owl himself! He had always been one to get what he wants, whether it was his charming looks or irritating persistence, depended on the situation.

Without giving it a second thought (not that he had given it a first), Enrico leaned forward with his tongue poking out - as was his formality whenever he was genuinely focused on a task - and reached out to pick a worm with his tiny pink fingers. He tried to be as gentle as possible with the little insect, and once he looked into its non-existent eyes, he almost felt a sense of regret and guilt for having to give up an innocent creature to another. But that saddening thought soon faded away when he considered eating the worm himself; he always wondered what they tasted like. But today was not today, not while the girls watched anyways. He heard there was candy on the train and didn't want to upset his stomach before he even had a chance to taste anything from the lot.

"Come here you adorable little thing," he cooed, his eyes large and wide, as he leaned forward to place the worm in short-range for the bird to snatch, which he swiftly did, its beak pecking at the slimy creature.
"Who's a good boy?! You are!" Enrico finally exclaimed with his cheeks red from all the love. He then finally leaned back to sit, feeling his spine cracking as he straightened up. His eyes still persisting to observe and admire the winged creature. But finally decided to snap back into the conversation he cluelessly started.

The redhead seemed to be well equipped with knowledge about the school. That made Enrico feel like he was meant to know these things before he had even gotten on the train. But how was he supposed to learn all of this stuff, when he only recently discovered that magic - real magic - was not just a fable? The poor boy was still flicking sticks and branches pretending they were wands only but a few months ago prior to the arrival of the letter.
"Ooooh now that you've put it that way... that sounds like a completely different thing than from what I was thinking! Interesting." He spoke with a rather surprised tone, intrigued by what he was learning, and suddenly convinced of what house he was going to be placed in. From first impressions, he didn't particularly have a sudden favourite and wasn't specifically seeking a particular ambition.

"Sounds like I'm a Ravenclaw. Top of my class I am," his voice sounded a bit more serious than usual, almost like he was hinting at being a good student. "I'm sure they'll put me in it." Any doubt he had cleared up when the other girl mentioned creativity. Clearly, it showed when Enrico went on and on about how playing with kitchen equipment and using home ingredients was almost like what he envisioned Potions to be like.

"That's the one: Potions! Cauldron, flasks and everything, I'm excited about it. Far better than what I'm used to at home. Mixing dish soap and milk is only but one of my many creations. Tastes icky, but you'll get used to it eventually. Is there no such potion with such ingredients? I swear I read it off somewhere... do you guys maybe know a potion or two? What'd they do?"

This was exactly what the boy was so eager to learn about, it filled him with so much excitement he could literally blow up. The talk about charms was just as intriguing as well. The idea of casting spells and having things do they wouldn't normally do was magnificently appealing.