Lauretta's chest felt tight, compressed, as if someone was holding her lungs in their hands and squeezing. She shuffled through the train, desperately trying to find a free compartment. She had gone to a muggle school all her life, she didn't know anyone at Hogwarts, and she wasn't sure she wanted to meet anyone before she could get used to the new environment of the school. The problem with that was she had to make it there first. She pushed her glasses back up her nose, took a deep breath and kept walking through the train.

After an impossibly long walk through the train (is the train bigger on the inside?), Lauretta found an empty carriage and set down, the weight on her chest lifting slightly. Her mother had told her all about the wonders of Hogwarts, but she still felt anxious. Thoughts spiralled through her head, most about what would happen with the sorting. She did not want to be sorted into a house that would not make her mother proud. Her mother spoke with disgust about those in Slytherin (prideful, evil and pompous), and with an almost as strong dislike for those in Gryffindor (boastful, risk-taking and stupid). Lauretta was almost certain she would be sorted into Ravenclaw, she had always had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, but countless "what ifs" plagued her thoughts.

Some time later (because of course she was early), footsteps seemed to interrupt her train of thought. She looked up at the entrance to the carriage. Was someone coming?

Luma groaned as she rushed through the train, glancing into the seating compartments. Full, every one of them. Great. She had been late getting to the station, she had been late getting to the platform and she had been late getting on the train. Now she had to face the consequences of what really wasn't her fault.

Her younger siblings had broken the window of one the shops while Luma's family was doing some last minute shopping in Bristol. Then once they got to London, they were delayed because of her older brother. Once she was finally to the platform, Luma had just barely made it onto the train before the doors closed. Now that she was finally on the train, it seemed it was full. Walking through each carriage, Luma tried to find an open compartment.

Huffing as she caught her breath, sheesh the train was long, Luma stepped into the next carriage. Glancing around, relief filled her as she spotted a compartment that still had room. Hurring over she smiled brightly at the only occupant, a pale, red haired girl wearing glasses.
"Thank goodness there's still room, I thought I'd have to stand in the corridor the whole trip. Sorry, do you mind if I sit here?"

Lauretta took another deep breath and looked up at the girl who had walked into the carriage. She seemed confident, but not arrogant or hateful, so she silenced her thoughts of apprehension of the Hogwarts students and mustered a smile:

"Oh not at all. Please come sit here."

She silently cursed herself and made a note to be less formal, hoping the girl wouldn't notice. She seemed so nice, her face practically screamed friendly, and Lauretta desperately wanted to have friends at Hogwarts. Her last 11 years of life had been spent without any long lasting friendships, and she longed to share her life with others.

"Um..." she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, fiddling anxiously, "...I'm Lauretta. I don't really know anyone here, what's your name?"

As she spoke, the train began to move, and the new girl moved into the carriage to sit down.

Stepping into the compartment, Luma grinned at the girl as she sat.

"Thanks, I'm relatively late getting here so all the other compartments are full. I'm glad I found this one. My name is Luma, it's great to meet you Lauretta. I don't know anyone else here either so we're in the same boat."

As the train began to move, Luma studied the girl for a moment, a habit that she had when meeting new people. Lauretta was tall, about Luma's height and had an intelligent look about her. Luma nodded slightly to herself, she liked the girl and was glad she had found someone nice to spend the trip with. As the train slowly began picking up speed, Luma relaxed into her seat and glanced out the window. Excitement buzzed through her at the thought that she was finally going to Hogwarts. Ever since her first magic, she had been imagining everything that she could experience at the school. Turning back to Lauretta, Luma let out a soft sigh of happiness.
"I can't wait to get to Hogwarts, my parents have told me a lot about it but I'm excited to experience it myself. What about you, are you excited? What house do you think you'll be placed in?"

Lauretta beamed back at Luma, then turned her attention to the window, and the outside world beginning to move. She could feel Luma's eyes studying her, but she didn't mind. She glanced sideways at Luma; observing her as she would any other new thing (person - not thing she reminded herself).

Luma was about the same height as her, and maybe a few months older. She had dark red hair, braided loosely, and her eyes glimmered with a warmth Lauretta was not used to seeing in her peers, and she felt herself relax, leaning further into the oddly comfortable seats of the carriage.

Lauretta stared out at the landscape, transfixed by the terrain whizzing past, faster and faster. Her thoughts felt like that too - countless questions sped through her brain, almost too fast for her to comprehend them. She wondered what life at Hogwarts would be like, what her classes would be like, what the people would be like.

Then Luma's voice cut through the fog, granting her a welcome break from her racing thoughts. She grinned just at hearing the other girl's voice - an odd experience for her, as usually other people (especially new ones), filled her with dread. She hoped Luma would be friends with her for longer than the train trip, maybe they could even be in the same house!

"I can't wait to get to Hogwarts, my parents have told me a lot about it but I'm excited to experience it myself. What about you, are you excited? What house do you think you'll be placed in?"

asked Luma.

Lauretta paused to think, and then grinned, reminded that not all of Hogwarts filled her with dread. She got to learn magic, real magic, not just the kind where she accidentally moved some bowls around.

"I am so excited," she began, feeling herself able to talk freely, another new experience for her, "I really want to check out the library, the thought of so many things to read and learn is... one of the most amazing things I can imagine." She said, grinning so wide she felt it must be tearing her mouth open. She chuckled, "I think just from that you can probably tell what house I think I'll be in. What about you? Any ideas on your house placement?"

Luma grinned, Lauretta's smile was contagious. "Same here, I can't wait to learn everything about magic, especially potions.. oh and also studying all the magic creatures" Taking a breath, she continued excitedly "I've heard there are thousands of books in the library, so many that it would take multiple lifetimes to read them all." The thought alone made Luma sit up in anticipation. She'd always been extremely curious about magic and how it worked. So much so, her Mother often joked that even as a baby Luma's dreams were about magic and Hogwarts. When it came to potions, she had always been intrigued by the thought of turning strange ingredients into a potion that had magic properties. She was especially excited at the prospect of learning what effects differnt combinations of ingredients created. Though her true interest was really in the studies of magic beasts.

Turning her attention back to her companion, Luma nodded in response to her words.
"You'd be perfect as a Ravenclaw, you seem really smart and you have the Ravenclaw air about you." She hummed thoughtfully, "My mother's a Slytherin and my father and brother are Gryffindor so I really have no idea what I could be. Though personally I don't think I'd fit in well as either of those." She beamed at Lauretta, "maybe I'll be a Ravenclaw too, that would be pretty awesome.

Lauretta's face felt as though it must be splitting in half, but she continued smiling. 'She likes books! She doesn't just think i'm weird and awkward!' she thought, absolutely enthused by this conversation.

"Oh my gosh, I completely forgot that we get to see real life magical creatures!" she exclaimed, not even worrying that Luma would judge her for being raised in a muggle area. Her thoughts were filled by thoughts of libraries, of the smell of old books, of magical creatures large and small. Lauretta wondered what sort of animals they would be studying, considering they were only first years. 'Surely they wouldn't make us do anything dangerous,' she reassured herself, feeling the anxiety slip away in the presence of Luma.

Lauretta was so lost in her own thoughts again that she didn't fully register that Luma was still talking, and she only managed to catch the last few words:

"Maybe I'll be a Ravenclaw too, that would be pretty awesome."

She hoped the rest of her statement had not been too influential, and found herself agreeing wholeheartedly with what she had hear. "I hope so too! It would be so amazing to share a house with you." She grinned again, tucking her hair back behind her ears, no longer feeling as if she must hide (for now). "I hope we at least share some classes, it would be awesome to do potions or magical creatures with you, because your enthusiasm is really infectious," she admitted.

As they were talking, the train began to slow down, and while Lauretta was still apprehensive of the Hogwarts environment, she was happy she now had a friend. As the train came to a stop, she stood and held out a hand to Luma.

"You coming?" she asked with a smile, putting on a much bolder face than how she really felt.

She nodded eagerly at Lauretta's words, it would be great if they at least had classes together. The thought of how much fun they would have learning about all the different subjects made Luma grin with excitement. As the train slowed, Luma felt a fresh wave of anticipation rush over her. She was almost there. She would finally be at Hogwarts and she would finally be sorted into her house. After that who knew what would happen. She might one day join quidditch or dueling or maybe even become a prefect. So far her first year was going better than she could have imagined. She had actually made it to the train before it left and managed to find a place to sit. Best of all, she had already made a new friend. If things continued with this trend she couldn't wait to see what her next few years would entail.

Luma snapped out of her thoughts as Lauretta stood. Glancing out the window, she realized the train had stopped and they were finally at the station. With excitement dancing in her eyes, she took the other girl's offered hand and got to her feet. "Ready, let's go" She responded, then followed her new friend out of the compartment.