Seamus ducked his head under the doorframe as he climbed up the handful of steps into the bright red passenger car. Trunk under his arm, he turned to give one last wave to his mother on the platform, who had tearfully hugged him no fewer than three times before she had let him board the train with only seconds to spare. The steam engine lurched into motion, hot vapor billowing around the platform as the pistons roared to life, propelling the train out of the station and into the countryside. The large lad set one end of his trunk on the ground and dragged it behind him while he awkwardly side-shuffled his way through the corridor, searching for a cabin with a free seat.

He passed by full cabin after full cabin, the price to pay for being one of the last students on the train. Cliques of students past their first year had gathered together to catch up after a summer apart, and most other first-years had instinctively clung to one another to seek the feeling of safety in numbers. Finally, near the back of the train, he found a cabin with only one other occupant, a short girl with dark hair and… pointed ears?

Seamus’s heart leapt into his throat. Another half-breed. He wouldn’t be alone. Many wizards, particularly muggleborns and half-bloods, felt that they had a foot in two worlds, as they felt the pull of both the magical and mundane, but Seamus had always felt pulled in three separate directions at once. Between the former two and his giant blood, the lad had always felt like an outsider, even among his own kind. And now before him sat someone he might finally be able to relate to.

“Um, hi,” Seamus slid the door open a polite few centimeters and rapped a large knuckle against the glass, “are any of these seats taken? Unless you’d prefer a room to yourself.”

@Solana Valor

The crowded train station made Solana’s skin prickle with unease, surrounded by a sea of wizards who towered over her and threatened to step on the black cloak she had just purchased moments prior to arriving. She narrowly avoided colliding with several other first years as the part-goblin dodged luggage carts and weeping parents who clogged the flow of foot traffic. Following close behind Solana was her mother who tried to not lose her daughter in the chaos, her skirt clutched in her fists so she wouldn’t trip over the stampede of shoes.

Screeeeech, hissssssss.

Through the billowing steam a train emerged, bright sparks flying from the wheels as they squeaked to a grinding halt. With the arrival of the train, the crowd seemed to swell as the stragglers caught up with those who were early. Hoots and screeches from caged owls melded with the hollering of the students who jostled each other to board the train first. The part-goblin and her mother exchanged a brief hug and parting words with a pause in the middle so Damira could straighten the girl’s cloak and untamed curls. Solana watched as her mother disappeared into the sea of black cloaks, leaving the young girl stranded by herself in the masses that filtered by.

Just as Solana was about to pivot to face the train, a toad nearly ran across her foot, followed by its owner – a first year student who barreled into the young girl. “Watch it!” Solana snapped and bared her menacing teeth that came to a slight point, tugging her cloak from under the other student’s foot as he apologized profusely and quickly boarded the train. After brushing dirt off her cloak, the girl stepped onto the train, sea green eyes darting from side to side looking for an empty compartment. This proved to be a difficult task, as her short stature just barely allowed her to peer through the bottom of the windows. Each door she passed, she stood on the tips of her toes, trying not to lose her balance as she swayed.

Halfway down the fourth train car, there was a compartment that was void of any other students - perfect. Solana slid the compartment door open and claimed her spot on the left bench, laying out the cloak her mother had given her right before they parted ways right beside her. The part-goblin kicked up her feet on the unoccupied space, using the cloak as a makeshift pillow to rest her head on while her pointed hat laid over her face, leaving only her ears and tangled curls visible to those who peered in.

Just as Solana was about to drift off to a deep slumber, a low voice and a tapping of a knuckle against the door disturbed her. She lifted the brim of the hat, just enough so she could get a good look at the intruder. Although he towered over the other children that filtered into the train, he did not seem to be much older than her. Like her, there was no indication of him being sorted into a house. Was he really a first year?

Solana indicated with her thumb to the booth on the other side of her, “there’s an empty seat right there. I’ll let you stay as long as you keep everyone else out, but if you get on my nerves, I won’t hesitate to kick your giant arse outta here. Got it?” She smirked, revealing her menacing teeth again. “My name’s Solana, but you can call me Sol.”

The half-giant slid the door the rest of the way open and ducked through, closing it behind him. He was relieved that this stranger was willing to share, after all, he’d hate to have to spend the entire ride to Hogwarts standing in the corridor.

“I’m Seamus,” he returned the greeting, “and I’ll do my best to do both.”

With no visible effort, he shoved his trunk into the overhead bin and took a seat opposite Solana. He was unsure of appropriate avenues to take the conversation. After all, he had no idea what might get on her nerves, and his social skills were a bit rusty. She was the first new person he’d met since his isolation in the woods a year ago. He’d been allowed one excursion before he left: to say goodbye to his childhood best friend, whom Seamus told he was off to boarding school, which was technically not a lie. Besides that, his bloodline had caught up with him, and he had begun to grow at a prodigious rate that made it difficult to walk among muggles without drawing attention.

“So, uh,” Seamus began, hoping his brain would find the rest of the sentence somewhere along the way, “where are you from? I hope you didn’t have to go too far to get to London. Come to think of it, is this the only way to get to Hogwarts? But if Hogwarts is in Scotland, would a Scottish student have to go all the way here just to take the train back up north? Seems like an awful waste of time to me.”

Seamus cut himself off, realizing he was creating far too many new and hypothetical questions and he should probably let Sol answer the main one, lest he run this risk of approaching her aforementioned nerve. Small as she was, there was a certain energy about her that made it clear to him that on her nerves was not a place that he wanted to be.

@Solana Valor