August 1^ST

Opeila's heart was racing when the train finally came to a halt. The young Slytherin had already left her compartment ten minutes before their arrival, the cat carrier and her backpack ready to make a run for it. It would have to go quickly once the doors opened.

And when they did, Opeila jumped out the train. Her short hair would buy her some time maybe, Lysander would not be looking for it, so maybe, if she just kept her head low, it would be just fine. Opeila still made sure to stay hidden in a group of other students who were waiting to pick up their trunks.

When hers was unloaded from the train, she would pull it to the side and quickly look around her to make sure no one was paying attention to her. "Reducio.", she wispered, pointing her wand at the trunk. There was no way she would be caught here, too many kids and too many adults who were actually allowed to use magic. The trunk shrunk to a much more manageable size, Opeila grabbed it and quickly walked off, pulling the hood of her jacket over her head.

She could barely stop herself from breaking into a jog when she spotted Lysander in the crowd, hands in his pockets and stretching to find her. Not the plan, brother. Alone she would walk through the barrier between the platforms 9 and 10, then quickly look around to regain orientation. Vianne Ravensburg had given her the name of a coffeeshop that Opeila would have to find quickly. It was only a matter of minutes before Lysander would figure out that she wasn't there and she had to be gone by then.

There.
Opeila now broke into a run, sprinted up some stairs, clutching her trunk and cat carrier tightly. Loras made some unhappy noises inside it, clearly disliking the shaking, but she wouldn't slow down.
Vianne was there. It felt like a weight was being lifted from Opeila's chest when she spotted the redheaded woman who came towards her. "Hey, you must be Opeila. I am Vianne. I would love to talk, but we will have to postpone that a few minutes, we have a train to catch."

Vianne took the trunk out of her hand and beckoned her to follow. A little breathless Opeila did. "Another train?", she asked, feeling confused. "There are more wizarding platforms here. We are looking for platform 7 1/2, the train there travels all the way across Europe. We will have a lot of time to talk there." Vianne didn't slow down when she explained, instead she turned to jog down some stairs. A little further Opeila could see the sign that showed the number 7.

The two of them again passed through a wall between platforms 7 and 8 and then they were there. Just in time as a whistle echoed across the platform. Vianne sprinted forward and tore the door open, Opeila followed. "Come, come!"
In her mind, Opeila apologized to her poor cat who had never been shaken through the way he had during their hasty escape.

Vianne walked ahead and found them an empty compartment, just as the train left the station. "I saw Lysander enter 9 3/4, did he see you?", she would ask as she sat down. Opeila shook her head. "No. I just figured I should be gone before he figures out I am not there.", she explained, opening the cat carrier. With an angry noise, Loras jumped out and hissed before hiding underneath one bench.

"Oh, poor cat. That was quite the journey, wasn't it?" Opeila didn't bother trying to lure him out. "Loras is just sulking. Give him a few minutes, he'll get bored of it. So- where are we going?"
"So this train will take us through Europe and stop at some wizarding cities. In Toulouse we will hop off and my cousin will pick us up. Auline Blanchard, you will be staying with her, her wife and her daughter. You should be around the same age, her name is Valérie." Opeila nodded.

During the journey, the two of them kept the talk lighthearted. Both of them read a book, but Opeila felt Vianne's eyes on her a lot. She felt like the woman was bursting with questions and she was not sure if she was ready to answer them just yet.