Dora grips her suitcase as the cacophony swirls around her. Platform 9 3/4 is more crowded than Diagon Alley was, and it's quite overwhelming. She receives a quick pat on the shoulder and turns to her Uncle Harris, who looks to be in a hurry. "Well, now, there you go. Just pick anywhere to sit, and make sure you're changed into your robes by the time you arrive." She nods, adding a quick thank you before he disappears through the wall. He took time out of his day to bring her here, so she mustn't be rude.

As she steps aboard, someone nearly runs into her as they rush through the hall. So many kids are chatting and laughing excitedly, forming groups almost effortlessly. Dora's suddenly struck with a queasy feeling and pushes through the crowd until she finds an empty car. She ducks inside, shuts the sliding door, and sinks into her seat with a sigh.

To calm down, she unpacks her most precious possession, a worn copy of Beedle the Bard's stories. Whenever the outside world becomes too much, it's nice to slip into a familiar fairytale. But despite her fear of the people outside, she's lonely. At least at home she had Epi, a stray black cat, to keep her company. At Hogwarts, she knows no one.

Aspen was quite the ball of nerves. As a muggleborn, he had very limited knowledge of the magical world, but he and his father had managed to find other witches and wizards to help them through the platform.
His father could always sense when Aspen was feeling nervous, and offered him a gentle smile and a hand on his shoulder.
“ I know you’re nervous, kid, but you’ll do great. Me and your dad believe in you. Make sure you write to us, too, we want to hear about all your adventures and classes, okay?” Mr. Chestnut said, pulling Aspen in for a tight hug. Aspen returned the hug, almost just as tight.
Gathering his things with him, Aspen bid his father a good-bye, promising to write. He stepped onto the train, overwhelmed with this new experience. There were so many witches and wizards, and he felt out of place amongst them all.
He passed through several full cars, looking around for one that was empty, or at least partially. He found one eventually, there was a lone girl there and he poked his head in. “ May I sit with you?” he asked, “ Everywhere else is full,” you could tell he was nervous with the way his voice wavered when he spoke.

Dora's eyes shoot up to the newcomer. She realizes it would be very impolite to keep the cabin all to herself. So, she scoots closer to the window and nods. "Yes, of course."

She doesn't really know what to do with herself as the boy enters. He looks to be her age, but if she asks him that and he's actually older, he might be offended. She awkwardly straightens her black dress, then notices she still has her book out. A children's book! She scrambles to tuck it away, hoping he didn't catch a glimpse of it. What would he think?

She can practically hear Grandmother's voice now. "How can you read such a childish thing? And in front of another, no less. You have a reputation to uphold, young lady."

Yes, the Everridge family reputation. She can't give off a bad impression to anyone, including this boy. So, she straightens in her seat, trying to posture herself as gracefully and dignified as possible. She overdoes it, though, sitting unnaturally alert with her hands gripped in front of her rather than delicately laced together. She is no lady.

Disappointed with her own showing, Dora keeps her eyes down, awaiting the mocking words sure to come from the boy.

Aspen gives her a look of relief, entering the car and plopping himself on the seat across from her. He did notice the book, he liked to read, too, and didn’t think much of it.
“ Sorry if I interrupted your reading.. what book is it?” Aspen finally broke the silence, he noticed how high strung she was - maybe she was just as nervous as he was? He offered her a friendly smile. Maybe it was both their first times going to Hogwarts, he’d ask once the air around them got less tense…

“ This is my first time coming to Hogwarts, is it yours too?” He added along with his first question about her book.
“ My parents were surprised, since we’re not a wizard family,” he started chatting, already getting himself comfortable around her. He had always been more comfortable around people, he was drawn to them and was often known for putting people at ease. Muggleborn, is what his kind was called. He must have some sort of magical family somewhere in his line, but he couldn’t say for sure; he’s never met his biological parents, and he didn’t care to.
But perhaps, this wasn’t a bad thing if he ended up here with her…

When he asks about the book, she freezes up even more. But then he keeps talking, and she can't help her surprise when she hears "We're not a wizard family."

Could he mean... muggle-born?? Or even stranger, half-breed? Dora remembers her grandmother upset about the new Hogwarts policies on half-wizards. Dangerous vampires and giant-blooded students that Dora is meant to steer clear of, for her own safety of course. But the boy before her doesn't have fangs or any other tells that he isn't fully human. He's actually quite sweet looking, with a bright smile.

That means he must be muggle-born. From his strange clothes, he must be. She instantly pities him for it, knowing that his magical potential must be so much lower than other wizards. Just as hers is, for being half-blood. But she also has an unexpected feeling, one akin to relief. All this time she'd been dreading the pure blooded students sensing something off about her, but that fear isn't present now. She's found a similarity between her and this boy that brings her guard down slightly.

"Yes, this is my first year." She replies quietly, still quite nervous. "Sorry, I've.. I've never met someone muggle-born."

Dora has never met anyone who talked so fast.. and so enthusiastically! All his questions blur together, Dora only catching some of it. His questions veer towards excitement about Hogwarts, and some questions about Dora herself. Once he pauses, she feels like it's her cue to speak. What did he ask again?

"Oh, um.. my family is the Everridge family." She realizes he most likely doesn't know of them and elaborates. "They're morticians. Our estate is right outside of London, in the countryside."

The carriage jostles and Dora glances outside, seeing that the train has begun to cross a bridge. The country out here is beautiful, hills covered in green trees, crystal clear streams, and in the distance, hints of muggle civilization. Muggle villages just out on the horizon, enchanted from being able to venture too close to the wizarding world. Aspen is from a place like that, a reality so different from her own it's hard to imagine.

Dora realizes that she herself has a million questions, mostly about his muggle family. What are their muggle jobs? What is muggle school like? How do you write without quills? But then she realizes her biggest question of all hasn't been answered.

"My name is Dora. What's your name?"

Aspen’s cheeks warmed with slight embarrassment, in all of his excitement , he’d forgotten to introduce himself first. His dads would be a little disappointed in him, it’s just good manners to introduce yourself to someone new. Dora . . . he thought it was a pretty name.
“ Heh, sorry, I forgot to say - I’m Aspen. Aspen Chestnut. Your family works with the dead, then?” Aspen said, not bothered by that fact. “ Mine owns a farm out in the country, we live in Essex.”
He wondered if wizard morticians were the same as muggle ones.
Aspen didn’t seem to mind that she wasn’t much of a talker, he could do most of it, anyway. “ You can ask me questions, too, if you want,” he gave her another one of his signature smiles.
He wanted to set her at ease, make both of their trips to Hogwarts better , and hopefully , the whole school year if they remained in good terms with one another.
The hum of the railroad tracks didn’t do much to quell the other chatter from students in different cars, but it wasn’t too loud, and being able to look out the window at all the rolling plains… it reminded him of home.

She nods as he speaks, and it's sort of refreshing to be talking to someone who doesn't know anything about her family. Almost everyone she's ever met has been a family friend, and for some reason she's never been able to relate to any of them. She's just gone along with the small talk until they get bored with her and move on. Maybe it's because none of them ever seemed genuinely interested in her.

Aspen seems to be genuinely interested in everything.

"You can ask me questions, too, if you want." He says, and she thinks for a moment.

"Perhaps... we can answer each others' questions?" She offers shyly. She can imagine that Aspen is a bit lost in the wizarding world. It would be easier for him, in the long run, to start learning about it now. Besides... and she'd never admit this to anyone in her family... she's quite curious about what it's like to be muggle-born.

"I was wondering, for example... how you discovered you were a wizard. And, how did your parents react? Were they scared?"

After all, muggles are historically afraid of magic, hostile towards it, even. Aspen's parents must have been shocked at the very least.

Aspen nodded at her suggestion, it would certainly help him out if he knew more about this world he was entering into. It would give him a little bit of a head start, considering he knew… nothing to begin with. He listened to her questions, thinking for a moment.
“ Well, I had a dream right? One where I was flying,” He began, “ It was nice, I felt .. free. When I woke up, I’d been floating off my bed and had hit the ceiling.” He said, rubbing the back of his neck. “ It must have been for more than a few seconds,”
He paused for a moment, thinking back to how his parents had first reacted to that. “ My parents didn’t believe me, at first. Thought it must’ve been part of the dream, but then my letter came. Some people and fancy robes came to the house, probably to talk to my parents . . . Next thing I know, they’re telling me I’ve been accepted into Hogwarts,” He said, “ They we’re just as confused as I was, but for the most part. . . They’ve been supportive,”
“ They want me to write to them about my adventures here, I’ll probably start when we get there,” he finished with his answers. “ They figure someone in my family’s got magic in the line, I’m adopted, see…”

Dora blinks. "Oh. Yes, that makes sense." She nods along. After all, doesn't magic have to come from somewhere? It's just a shame it's been diluted with non-magical blood. But none of that is Aspen's fault, or his parents'. In a way, it must be nice to not know the truth of things. Her mother's decision has been hanging over Dora's head ever since she could remember. Aspen seems so content, she doesn't want to dash his hopes. She finds herself reaching for something encouraging to say instead.

"There will probably be other muggle-borns at school. I'm sure the teachers must give you some time to prepare. Even... Even I'm not sure what to expect, even though my family has gone to Hogwarts for generations."

She leaves out that she's a half-blood, a secret she was asked to keep. She leaves out that, up until a few years ago, she was feared to be a Squib. It's strange, that despite coming from a family like hers, she feels as ill-equipped to handle magic as a boy from a muggle farm.

At least she knows some things, especially after reading some of Hogwarts, A History to prepare. "Do you have any questions about Hogwarts? I may be able to help."