Emma reluctantly stepped on to the Hogwarts Express. Though she was excited, a part of her still felt as if she belonged to Beauxbaton and not to Hogwarts. After all, there had been dangerous rumors in The Daily Prophet about the critical hazards at the school of Hogwarts. She waved goodbye to her father and grandfather, they were the only people that could be there for her. Part of her wanted to go and jump off the train that was almost about to part, but the other half told her to go and find a vacant seat.

You'll be fine, just find a seat, sit down, and avoid as many eyes as you can. If she would have said it out loud, a definite sarcastic tone would have been present. As she strode down the aisle, she couldn't help sneaking a peek at the nearby compartments. Sometimes she felt a good, bright aura, and then sometimes a dark one, she wasn't looking forward to facing the 'dark side' of Hogwarts, not in her first year anyway.

When Emma finally found a seat, she threw her trunk into the overhead and crashed out on the seat, shutting the door at once. Her father had always told her about the food trolley, or Honeydukes Express, she was craving a Cauldron Cake, maybe even a Chocolate Frog if she hadn't crashed out on the plushy seats, this was a train unlike no other.

She began to fidget with her bracelet as she heard footsteps up and down the aisle. Emma decided to leave the curtains ajar, maybe she might have met a friend, or worse maybe an enemy. She pushed this thought out of her head.

Dinah had been stood on the platform nervously awaiting the moment when she would board the train and disappear to the infamous Hogwarts School. With nobody there to wave her off, she had instead taken to watching the other families on the platform. All around her other 11 year olds were being reminded by their parents to ‘be good, don’t forget to do your homework and remember to write to us!’. 
She half wished she had someone there to tug her robes into place and wipe the smear of dirt from her cheek, someone to miss her. 

Dinah pushed the thought to the back of her mind and instead focused on lugging her large trunk up into the train. Once in place, she began to make her way down the winding train in search of a seat. 
At best she would find an empty compartment and could pull out her book and read in peace till they reached their destination. At worst she would have to join an already full compartment full of people she did not know. 

As she began to reach the end of the train, Dinah was certain there would be no empty compartments left. She decided the next best thing would be the one next to her that appeared to only have one occupant. 

Dinah peered through the window, assessing the other person carefully. It seemed to be another first year, a young girl with long brown hair. She was fiddling with something on her wrist and didn’t look too mean or threatening so Dinah decided to chance it and pulled open the compartment door. 

It slid open with a soft rattle and Dinah bobbed her head through the door. 

“Do you mind if I sit in here? Most of the others are quite full.” She explained, keeping her voice level. 

The girl appeared to be slightly sprawled out over one side of the compartment, thoroughly enjoying the comfort of the trains seats. Dinah couldn’t help but admire just how relaxed she looked, while Dinah herself felt so tense. 

"Oh- huh?" Emma replied slightly taken aback and bolted up. Her brown hair flew on to her face and she brushed it off absentmindedly. She hadn't had heard the door slide open, though it wobbled and squeaked. She snuck a brief peek out her window, looking at her fellow first-years, most of them were purebloods. Emma considered them lucky to have both of their parents there to watch their special little moment. When the sounds of 'goodbye' and 'be good' stopped running around in her head she answered.

She turned back to her and answered, "Yeah, uhm, sure." From then on, she sat up the rest of the ride, here and there taking glancing back at the window. The watched mountains glide by and the pure white clouds gently exit the picture frame that was the window.

It had been a while before Emma decided to ask a question she figured she was being quite rude. "Do you want a chocolate frog?" She said pointing to a stack of them on the table. "We could play with them too if you want." She said imagining the game where you'd release the milk and white chocolate frog but you'd only want to get the milk chocolate frogs.

The other girl seemed momentarily shocked to see Dinah in the compartment but quickly recovered. 

“Yeah, uhm, sure.” The girl said in answer to her question. 

Dinah took a seat opposite the girl, making herself comfortable on the plush train seats. She rested her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. The train tumbled to life and slowly began chugging along the tracks. The rumble of the train and the vibration of the compartment beneath her made Dinah feel exhausted. However, she didn’t want to fall asleep. How many times in your life did you travel on a steam engine to a magical wizards and witch school?

A comfortable silence fell between the two girls, both seeming happy to let the air between them lie quietly. 

Dinah was wondering how long the journey would be. She’d never been on a train before but she was thoroughly enjoying the experience. She looked to her left to the window and watched the views pass by in a blur. Trees, greenery, fields, rivers and the scenery of the Scottish countryside. It calmed her, nature. 

“Do you want a chocolate frog?” 

Dinah looked away from the window and to the girl opposite her. Was she talking to her? Of course she was, who else would she be speaking to, there was no one else in the compartment. 

Glancing at the stack of chocolate frogs that lay on the table, Dinah considered for a moment. 

“We could play with them too if you want?” 

Not wanting to seem stupid in front of the girl, Dinah had half a mind to lie and agree. But how could she agree to something she didn’t know anything about?
Growing up in the muggle world meant that she had no idea what these strange wizarding sweets and games were. Chocolate was something you ate wasn’t it? Not played with?

“Uh...I’m not sure how...” Dinah admitted, ducking her head and rubbing the back of her neck absentmindedly. 

[font=Baskerville Old Face]Idiots. A bunch of bloody idiots, the boy mused as he sat deep in the corner of the compartment, holding himself dearly as if he might blow away in the wind at any moment. He couldn't quite understand why he had the innate ability to attract the likes of groups with this level stupidity at most junctures of school sociability; it was one of the clear reasons why he got into so much trouble during his earlier youth. These boys, however, were of a level that outshone all the rest from memory, as they clamored together like a group of monkeys, their garrulity extending to a sphere of noise that must, at some point in the last twenty minutes, have passed a world record for the loudest, most annoying pitched squeals of utter inanity. [/font]

[font=Baskerville Old Face]Thomas felt himself growing dim at the thought of having to spend the entire trip with this raucous debilitating pandemonium that was sure to cause some level of mental disintegration, which at the most would likely lead to a nervous collapse in the near future; if he had to suffer this for another hour he doubted his ability to make it past the Sorting ceremony without divulging into a tearful state of utter mania.[/font]

[font=Baskerville Old Face]He needed to leave. That much was obvious. But how should he go about it? He had his bags, trunk close, so all he would have to do is quickly dart out into the corridor and search for a new compartment. Of course that was easier said than done, especially as he wondered if such an act would be possibly insulting to the others here watching, and whether or not they would call him out on it. Does that really matter? No, he concluded. But he still found it nerve-wracking to simply get up, dust off his haunches, and then break off as he noisily lugged his trunk out with him, probably banging against the compartment doors. Not that they're likely to hear me if I made such noise, that is...  [/font]

[font=Baskerville Old Face]'GUYS! GUYS! GUYS!' One of the louder and thick (both in waist and mind) called to them all, flailed arms, gathering all their attention. 'I found out this really cool trick from a muggle I met last summer! Here, look; pull my finger.' [/font] 

[font=Baskerville Old Face]Thomas, without a word, as quick as a rat, was out, bounding through the doors, bags in hand, ignoring all that was behind him, careening into the corridor but he hardly cared; they'd finally crossed the line. But now, however, he found himself with another mission of almost epic proportion; to find an environment in which to sit where the possibility of reading or the simple act of staring out a window in quiet silence would be indulged.[/font]

[font=Baskerville Old Face]Moving down the corridor, he stared into the windows at all sides, determining through careful analysis which ones he definitely couldn't go in, and ones that he might. By the end, he found only one which seemed fit for what he'd searched for; two girls, quiet, unassuming, at first not talking, but then partaking in small chatter, both eyeing a pile of chocolate frogs, both seeming nervous, somewhat awkward. [/font]

[font=Baskerville Old Face]It wasn't the greatest of all choices, as his imagination had dreamt up of something much better, but it was the only one at hand that was somewhat close to his visualized depiction. He felt it would probably be strange, to just suddenly barge into a compartment, unload his bags, sit down and act like nothing was wrong. But...what else was he going to do? And after that stunt in the other carriage, he found himself with enough confidence to try this bold plan.[/font]

[font=Baskerville Old Face]So, one hand on the compartment door, thankful the two hadn't noticed him yet, he flung it open, instantly catching their attention, suddenly remembering he hadn't thought of something to say, now fumbling for words. [/font]

[font=Baskerville Old Face]'Ah, hello, good day!' The words were unsteady, almost too loud for the purposes of which he seeked to purport. 'May I sit here? I have been kicked out of another compartment for my unwillingness to participate in a...unsavory activity, I guess you could say.'      [/font] 

“Uh...I’m not sure how...”

Emma look at her curiously, her eyes narrowed a bit and her head tilted slightly. She knew it would look a bit strange to the new occupant of the compartment, but she still continued to look at her with a curious look. She wasn't pureblood, most definitely not, nor a half-blood like herself. Then a light bulb radiated inside of her head.

Emma struggled with a way to say this nicely, but not just plain rude. "You are Muggle-born? Aren't you?" After saying this, she still found it that even after all that curious she had tried to put into it, she still sounded a bit harsh. "Not that I'm against them or anything, I prefer Muggle-borns actually, well I like both... I don't really have a preference." Emma forcefully shut her mouth after this, she thought had said way too much for to like her.

Every once in a while she shot glances out the window, then back to fidgeting with her bracelet, that occasionally clicked with the other pearls. After a minute or to of breathable silence, she spoke once again.

"Anyway," She grabbed a chocolate frog package off the table and opened it. At once, a loud ribbit emerged from within it. Emma watched the frog's animated belly rise up and down, irregularly letting out that belching sound. Without warning, the frog jumped on to the table, Emma glanced at the compartment door, making sure it was shut, then slid over to give it one last heave to make sure it was locked in its place.

When the frog jumped into her lap, she let out a mix of a muffled scream and a laugh. Emma had had this happened to her before. She scooped up the frog, cupping it into her hands, most of her attention on it, making sure it didn't hop out. "If you're nervous about the whole, alive frog thing. Just imagine it as enchanted chocolate." Emma said finally looking into her eyes. "Well, they aren't alive... I don't think so anyway." She had forgotten to leave this out.

She heard a voice from outside the compartment door. 'May I sit here? I have been kicked out of another compartment for my unwillingness to participate in a...unsavory activity, I guess you could say.' Emma nodded and edged herself to the window seat.

"Sure," Emma said absentmindedly as she still cupped the belching frog in her hands.

Dinah squirmed uncomfortably under the scrutinising look of the other girl. Had she already managed to humiliate herself before she’d even gotten to the school? Cursing in her head, she wondered why she had not just lied and saved herself the embarrassment. 

“You are muggle-born? Aren’t you?” The girl asked, it clear in her tone that she was trying to be delicate. 

Dinah inhaled, thinking quickly through her answer. Who knew what she really was? She had never knew her father and her mother had disappeared too soon after giving birth for her to even get a name. She’d read somewhere in one of her wizards books that if you were what they called pure-blood, you were generally more respected in the wizarding world. Dinah was about to claim herself pure-blood in an attempt to impress, but found herself prevented by the girl who had begun speaking again. She was trying to explain that she wasn’t prejudiced to either heritage but the words were coming out almost rambled and awkward. The girl quickly shut her mouth as if to stop herself from digging herself into a hole. 

There was a small lapse of silence where the only sound in the compartment was the rattle of the train and the clicking of the girls bracelet. She kept fiddling with it and Dinah assumed it must have been an old habit of hers. 

“Anyway,” The girl started after a short while. She picked up one of the chocolate frogs on the table and ripped open the packet. 

Dinah felt her eyes widen as a loud ribbit erupted from within. Was the chocolate...alive?
She watched in awe as the milky brown frog jumped from the packet to the table and into the other girls lap. 

“If you’re nervous about the whole alive frog thing, just imagine it as enchanted chocolate.” The girl explained, a grin on her face. 

Dinah, still a little shocked, also felt the corners of her mouth turn up into a smile as the girl mentioned how she didn’t think they were really alive. Dinah hoped not. She didn’t think she could stomach eating a live frog - chocolate or not. 

As the thought ran through her head, the compartment door slid open and a boy poked his head through the door. He politely asked if he could join them to which Dinah nodded and the other girl moved over in her seat to allow him to sit down. 

“No unsavoury activities in here.” Dinah reassured him with a small smile. “I’m Dinah and this is...oh, we haven’t actually introduced ourselves yet have we?” 

“I’m Dinah and this is...oh, we haven’t actually introduced ourselves yet have we?” The girl named Dinah said.

Emma's eyes increased at once, concluding that she had been quite rude. She could have mentioned her name anytime in the silence of the train compartment. "Emma," she said almost instantly, introducing herself to both Dinah and the figure that had just entered their compartment. She smiled a bit shakily. "Hill," she finished. Emma felt kind of mad that she continued to squirm with the noisy bracelet of hers, allowing the frog to hop around the compartment, she involuntarily stopped and faced the two.

She dropped the elastic strand of the bracelet and it fell plainly on to her wrist with a loud snap. Emma jumped on the impact and pulled the box towards her to reveal what card she had found. She sighed, throwing her head up to look at the train's roof. "Another Ginny Weasley."

She wanted to throw the card down, but she stopped herself and placed the card down on the table showing it to Dinah. It was a picture of Ginny, her long red hair blowing behind her as if a fan were directly in front of her. "Just like a video on paper I suppose, always freaked my mum out." She laughed as she dived across the table to retrieve the frog that had come an inch close to jumping on to the floor. As she jumped to grab it, there were several mutters of 'stupid frog' and 'brainless amphibian'. She crashed into the red plush seats, the frog pushing against her hands. "Who knows what's been on this disgusting floor?"

[font=baskerville old face]Magic. Real magic. None of that phony Houdini crap. It alarmed him, surprised him, but also, more importantly, scratched a deafening itch in him he hadn't known was there until now. He'd already seen his first few stints of real magic before (from the passable wall on Platform 9 and 3/4, to all the things he'd observed in Diagon Alley) but for some reason none of that hit him as powerfully as what he saw now, this crazy chocolate frog jumping about the compartment, this brown haired girl chasing after it as if it were a long lost pet. There was something magical about the incongruity at hand, of such a simple and common action of behavior being intermingled with a higher realm of reality he wasn't accustomed to. And the girl -- Emma was her name -- performed it all with a look of annoyance than astonishment. Thomas had now forgotten his previous precept of finding a compartment of tranquility and peace; this chaos was at least far more entertaining than what he'd been subjected to before. He gazed over to "Ginny", the woman on the table, and wondered what she did to have been magically anthropomorphized onto a seemingly popular collector's card. [/font]

[font=baskerville old face]"I'm Thomas, by the way. Thomas Lurking. Or Tom, whichever you prefer." The boy said as he tried to stay out of the girl's groping attempts to capture the escaped frog. He wondered, once it was caught, if she was actually going to eat it. It seemed a morbid thing to do, to bite off a head of a wriggling and very much alive toad. Would it still be dancing about once you finally plopped it into your mouth? Tom, right then and there, decided that he'd rather not find out. [/font]

The card on the table in front of Dinah was moving. She watched, her mouth hung open slightly in wonder at the image that was moving on the card. 
Emma was right. It was just like a video on paper and Dinah kept watching, waiting for it to end but of course it didn’t. 

The woman on the card, an attractive redhead with the name Ginny Weasley, continued to smile up at her. Her hair blew in some invisible wind behind her and she waved up at Dinah. 
Very nearly raising her hand to wave back, Dinah quickly pulled her hand back to her side. Why on earth would she wave at the card? It couldn’t really see her...or at least she thought not. 

“It’s moving! That’s amazing!” Dinah exclaimed, looking up to grin at Emma. “Who is she?”

Just as she finished her question Emma dove across the compartment after her chocolate frog which didn’t seem to want to stay still. Stifling a chuckle, Dinah turned to the boy who had just introduced him self as Thomas, or Tom. 

“Would you like a chocolate frog?” She asked him politely, holding one of them out to him across the seats. 

She hoped that he wouldn’t be too put off by the hustle of Emma trying to catch her frog and by Dinahs clear lack of knowledge concerning everything magical. She had hoped she could lie her way through everything, come off as more magic savvy than she actually was; but clearly magic was not something you could blag your way through.