’This… is amazing,’ thought Robin, eyes darting to take in the entirety of the train. As soon as she stepped through the brick wall, she couldn’t take her eyes off the assortment of activities taking place. Determined to find a seat early to ensure she could have at least a moment to gather her thoughts, Robin put her head down and directly made her way to the train.

A student introducing himself as a prefect helped Robin put her things in an empty compartment and was nearly immediately swept away to help another first year. Robin sat on a seat directly next to the window and allowed herself to look out over all of the families streaming through the station. She was grateful her mom didn’t insist on coming into the platform with her, otherwise she would’ve had to been one of the poor blokes getting suffocated in front of the entire school body. Robin wasn’t one to get embarrassed easily. People make mistakes, and failing is the only way you can learn from experience. No, she just didn’t want any big scenes before she could settle herself into her new surroundings.

Turning her attention away from the students streaming outside, Robin looked into the corridor of the train, the door still cracked open. She didn’t know exactly how she would feel if someone were to join her in the compartment. She figured it was inevitable, and of course wouldn’t mind someone decent to keep her company. She just didn’t know what kind of indecent there was in the wizarding world.

See, Robin was a black girl. Not only that, she was a muggle-born black girl. She knew what being a black girl meant in Wales. There weren’t a lot of people who looked like her, but there certainly were enough that she wasn’t actively hated against. Sure, there were issues with societal and institutionalized racism, but for the most part she knew what to expect. The kind of comments she’d receive. The reason people look at her differently. And she has always had full confidence that anyone who judged her for the color of her skin wasn’t even worthy in her eyes to be judged by her. She just didn’t care about what they thought because she knew it was an illogical and oppressive mindset that furthered their agendas. So she was absolutely used to judgement over something as trivial as her race… now her blood status. That was a situation entirely different.

Robin knew through reading “Hogwarts, a History” that one of the founders of Hogwarts, Salazar Slytherin, has been prejudiced against muggleborn students. Apparently, he had been cast off due to this and had left the infamous “Chamber of Secrets” in order to “purify” the school in the years to come of people like her. That part of the book truly intrigued Robin, but there was no other information regarding this secret chamber or what happened to the prejudiced founder. She hoped to learn more at Hogwarts, one of her first stops being the massive library she also read about.

She also read about the second wizard war in “A History of Magic” that ended with an insane battle that actually took place at Hogwarts. This war was also about blood status, apparently led by a violently prejudiced cult leader that was taken out by this “chosen one” bloke named Harry Potter.

Now, it wasn’t the fact that there were people that thought she was less for her blood that made her nervous. It was the fact that she didn’t understand why they thought that way. Was there any kind of merit to the idea that pure-bloods could have more power than her? What if big family secret spells were passed down from wizard to wizard and they all had some kind of tactical advantage over her?

Robin stopped herself in her tracks.

Did it even matter? She got a letter! So that means that whatever magical standards that there were out there, they deemed her worthy. That’s all that mattered to her. She belonged. And she was more than capable of proving it to anyone who doubted her. Maybe she couldn’t outdo them in magical prowess alone, but with her work ethic and determination she had no doubts whatsoever.

Robin couldn’t imagine a world that was completely free of prejudice, so she knew she was more than likely to encounter people who didn’t like her for something as stupid as the fact that she didn’t have a magical bloodline. She truly didn’t care, but she was glad that she wouldn’t be taken off guard. Maybe she could use her absolute indifference to disarm someone someday… could be entertaining.

Robin didn’t have a lot of money and had brought a few snacks for the trip along with one of her favorite fantasy books that she’s read a billion times. It was her favorite copy of a fictional book series called, “The Lost Years of Merlin” by T.A. Barron. In the book, Robin follows a young Merlin about her age getting thrown into the middle of a mist-like world and is pressured with the enormous task of saving this magical world, Fincayra.

It was one of her favorite books because no matter how many memories and friends that were stripped from Merlin, he still continued to make new meaningful connections and honor his lost friends. The thought sits comfortably with Robin, who had never known the loving connection of being known by a “friend” and knowing them right back. Perhaps she, too, could find her “found family” in the depthless halls of Hogwarts…

It didn’t take long for Robin to peacefully drift off, head lulling against the back of the headrest, book fallen flat on the floor, and the soft sound of the Hogwarts Express finally taking off toward its destination… her new home.

When her eyes slowly opened, seemingly a few hours later, she noticed she wasn’t alone.

The train was bustling with all manner of people, but all Lia wanted was to find a mostly deserted place to sit in relative silence. or even make one or two friends.
She did eventually find one, though it had one person it was probably the best Kairilia would find.
Once seated she took in her surroundings, nice seats, large window, but her eyes kept travelling back to the sleeping girl, silently snoring.
She was pretty, medium brown skin, beautiful black curly hair. Lia couldn't distinguish much else, simply her appearance and the fact that she seemed at peace, a book by her side.
This girl most likely got here early to avoid the worst of the crowd.
If only I'd thought of that. But Lia's mother was a creature of habit, and that habit was being late, so here Kairilia was, sitting in a compartment, trying to get her brain off of the anxiety pooling in her stomach.
She had heard that some people would often discriminate based off blood purity. Though, Lia's father was a muggle so... that didn't make her blood pure, per se, but it mattered not. Just get through the ride and let your future self worry about that. A problem for future Lia.
She desperately wished she had her earbuds and some music of any sort. Classical would do. Perhaps musicals, rock if she was desperate enough. But nooooo, mum refused, say she must make friends and that she couldn't be a loner forever.
Lia passed a couple of hours, alternately staring out the window and writing in a journal. To be honest, it was more doodling, and daydreaming about the random-est of stuff. Boredom was quickly upon her, so she retreated into her mind dreaming up fictional worlds and characters, but that only amuses for so long.
A book would be good though. She was wondering why she didn't think to bring one when, to Lia's sudden surprise, the girl woke up. blinking her earthy eyes at her in what could almost be described as shock.

Robin's first reaction to waking up to another girl sitting in the compartment was to nearly fall out of her seat in surprise.

"OI! Shit - you scared me," She exclaimed, instantly feeling awake. "Get off on watching people sleep, do ya?"

Robin immediately recognized how rude that probably sounded and flinched. The girl sitting across from her looked nice enough and here she was, treating her like vermin for the "crime" of sitting in a compartment with a sleeping girl. Plus, Robin was sure she was making a spectacle of herself, probably snoring super loud and making a bad impression before she even woke up. Robin shook it off and smiled sheepishly at the girl.

"Sorry, didn't mean to come at ya. Just gave me a 'fright, is all."

Robin took a moment to admire the girl who shared her compartment. The girl had medium length wavy black hair and the most stunning green eyes. Robin couldn't quite tell what the girl's reaction to being accosted was so she decided to try and continue to smooth things over.

"Name's Robin, by the way, not that you asked but I'd assume you'd want to know the name of the person who you've been listening to snore for the past... wait... oh um, actually - do you know how long exactly it's been since we left the station?"

Clearly, Robin still wasn't completely awake.

Lia's knee was bouncing up and down to a song in her head, the now partially awake girl almost falling off her seat,"OI! Shit - you scared me, get off on watching people sleep, do ya?"
The girl woke up a bit more and smiled, slightly embarrassed it seemed.
"Sorry, didn't mean to come at ya. Just gave me a 'fright, is all."
Kairilia was having a hard time of coming up with something to say, bombarded by the brashness, but the girl continued to talk.
"Name's Robin, by the way, not that you asked but I'd assume you'd want to know the name of the person who you've been listening to snore for the past... wait... oh um, actually - do you know how long exactly it's been since we left the station?"
Finally, a question she could answer as opposed to something said on the defense.
"We've been on for 'bout three-ish hours, I don't have a watch but I've always been rather good with time. That makes it almost six more hours left, maybe five an' a half. You weren't actually snoring, well, you were, but not loud and annoying. A helpful reminder that you were alive." Lia smacked her hand over her mouth, "Sorry, didn't mean it like that, my name's Kairilia, or just Lia is fine, nice to meet you."
She took a deep breath, only now remembering to not bombard new people with words.
"Anyhow, what book do you happen to be reading? Must be rather boring if you feel asleep reading it."
It was a valid question and assumption but also a very awkward subject change, Lia decided her social skills needed some brushing up.

Robin, still half asleep only managed to pick up on half of the words that the girl had said. Though, she did get the information that she needed. Three hours of the train ride already gone in the blink of an eye. She supposed that it wasn't the worst way to start the trip - hopefully now the ride would feel exponentially less torturous. Robin also caught the fact that she wasn't snoring too loudly - thankfully. Her sister liked to claim on her restless nights that Robin was the reason she was up so late due to her snoring keeping her awake. Needless to say, it was a nice comfort to know as she sped right towards a place she would be bunking with a bunch of other people.

Lia had asked her a question, Robin remembered.

"Oh uh, it's called 'The Lost Years of Merlin,'" Robin told her, grabbing the book from where it fell and pulling down the tip of a page to mark her spot. "And honestly it never gets boring. It's written by a muggle author though, I'm not sure if you'd be into that." Robin's eyes flickered to Lia's to gauge her reaction.

Robin was suddenly reminded of the snacks in her bag when her stomach grumbled. She pulled out a bag of pretzels and handed out the bag in offer to Kairilia. "Want some?"

Robin turned her attention to look out the window to watch as the landscape went speeding by, green and brown flying by with speed that makes it difficult to pinpoint any solid shapes. She took out a few pretzels and began to chew.

"I've never been good with long rides - at least I was able to listen to some music on the way here in my Mams car. I don't know what else to do besides sleep and eat."

"The lost years of Merlin," Robin said. "And honestly it never gets boring. It's written by a muggle author though, I'm not sure if you'd be into that."
Ah, she's probably trying to see how I react towards muggles. Well, nevermind that, my father is and he's wonderful, nothing to fret about.
"Oh, I love reading books, by anyone, I don't discriminate by author. Or really anything. Seems good, maybe I'll read it sometime."
Robin seemed to remember something, and pulled a bag of pretzels out of her bag. "Want some?"
Lia shook her head, she was not all too hungry, and she brought some food for herself, not knowing who she would be by, or when she would get hungry.
"I've never been good with long rides - at least I was able to listen to some music on the way here in my Mams car. I don't know what else to do besides sleep and eat."
"Yeah, mum said I could not bring any sort of thing that played music, told me I had to 'be social'. Which, she's right of course, but I didn't even think to bring a book. So, yeah, sleeping and eating is pretty much it."
Robin was looking out the window, and so was Lia, watching the landscape meld closer and closer to Scotland. Closer to Hogwarts.
Maybe we will become friends. Possibly. Though, I know virtually nothing about this girl, only her name. And probably that she's either muggle born or a halfblood, like me.
"Sorry, I'm gonna have a random outburst, just what I was thinking about. I don't understand why people give a crap about blood purity, like so what if you're pure blood, you're just more likely to have magic, and if you're a muggle born, who cares, you have magic despite having no magic blood, if anything it should be a compliment. Anyway, sorry about that tangent, just what's on my mind."

Robin was grateful that Kairilia caught on to her discrete question. Satisfied, Robin gave the green eyed girl a small smile. Nodding her head towards the book laying on the seat next to her.

“You’re more than welcome to take a go at it anytime.” The only other person that Robin was used to sharing books with was her mother. They both had very similar tastes in genres and talking about their favorite books together was one of Robin’s favorite pastimes. Lia seemed nice enough and clearly hadn’t judged her for coming off so hot and heavy. Maybe they could actually be friends.

Lia seemed to pick up on Robin’s insecurities about blood status in the wizarding world, and she went on a tangent that helped put Robin at ease. If the other students had the same mindset as Lia, then Robin was sure that she would be just fine. Besides, Lia was right. She had magic, and any other arguments past that point didn’t matter to her. Robin immediately felt warm to Lia and hoped to learn more about her.

“My parents are both muggles, so all of this is so completely new to me. The only things I know about Hogwarts is what I’ve read in Hogwarts, A History. Do you know what house you’ll be in? I wouldn’t mind being in any of them, honestly. As long as I have a place.”

“You’re more than welcome to take a go at it anytime.”
I might just have to take her up on that offer sometime.
Robin seemed to be warming up a bit more to Lia, maybe she wasn't completely useless at social interaction after all?
“My parents are both muggles, so all of this is so completely new to me. The only things I know about Hogwarts is what I’ve read in Hogwarts, A History. Do you know what house you’ll be in? I wouldn’t mind being in any of them, honestly. As long as I have a place.”
Oh, good thing I'm not biased or anything, bullet dodged.
"Oh, my mum's a witch, and my dad is a muggle, but neither of them care. They love each other too much to care about who's magical and who isn't. And as for the houses, I don't know. probably Hufflepuff, like my mum. I'm smart, but not quite enough to justify Ravenclaw, I wouldn't say I'm brave, so not Gryffindor, and I like to think I'm more inclusive than the Slytherins. But yeah, anything would be good, pretty much."
There were a few moments of silence until Lia piped up again, "I don't know what house I'll be in, but I really wonder what house my little brother Cal will be in, he had his first magic a year or two ago. He's two years younger than me and the sweetest little dude you could meet. He will probably be in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. Do you have any siblings? It's just my parents, me, and Cal at home."

"That's proper tidy, that is! Your mother is a witch? I bet you know all sorts of spells already!" Robin was very excited to have met someone who knew a little bit more about the magical world. She hoped that she wouldn't scare Lia off with her wide-eyed wonder. The most magic she had seen up until this point had been when her wand reacted to her in Ollivander's wand shop. It was still quite hard to believe that everything she thought she knew about the world was all part of a lie - but this girl was raised by someone who had been taught at their very school! Robin couldn't help but lean off the edge of her seat, eyes wide and focused on Lia. Robin thought about Lia's descriptions of the Hogwarts houses and compared them with what she remembered from Hogwarts, a History. Supposedly Hufflepuff, the one that Lia's mother was in, was for the loyal. Ravenclaw was for the wise. Gryffindor for the brave, and Slytherin for the cunning. From what Kairilia had said about Slytherin, Robin gathered that a few of them tend to have the same views as their house founder, Salazar Slytherin. She thought about the houses for herself.

"Whatever house you end up in, I hope I'm in too," Robin smiled kindly at the girl. She was proving to be quite the useful friend, full of information that Robin wouldn't otherwise have had.

Lia told her about her younger brother, Cal, who also had budding magic and a future place at Hogwarts. Lia's love for her younger brother reminded Robin of her relationship with her younger sister.

"Oh, yes! I have four older brothers and one younger sister, Samantha. The boys are all losers, but Sam's truly my best friend, even though she's only seven... if she does have magic she wouldn't be at Hogwarts until my fifth year. None of my brother have a drop of magic - I'm the first." She finished, ending on a note of pride. She absolutely didn't think she was better than her older siblings for having magic but having been quite the underdog for the past eleven years it would be nice to have something to parade over their heads. Robin continued to munch on her pretzels and chat with Lia. She seemed to be enjoying herself, something she wasn't exactly sure was going to happen.

"That's proper tidy, that is! Your mother is a witch? I bet you know all sorts of spells already!" Robin seemed so excited at the prospect of magic, wide eyed on the edge of her seat. Though Lia would be too if she had never witnessed it either. "Whatever house you end up in, I hope I'm in too."
"Oh, I don't really know spells, mum wanted me to grow up less witch-y than I probably would have been if she wasn't a muggle born. She thought I shouldn't be influenced by the magical politics until I was actually part of the wizarding community. And I do really hope we are in the same house as well."
-insert Lia's speech about her brother and family and stuff-
"Oh, yes! I have four older brothers and one younger sister, Samantha. The boys are all losers, but Sam's truly my best friend, even though she's only seven... if she does have magic she wouldn't be at Hogwarts until my fifth year. None of my brother have a drop of magic - I'm the first."
"Whoa. I can hardly imagine that many siblings. You must be lucky. Though, your brothers probably aren't Cal, so I wouldn't know. But your sister seems nice! It's probably so cool to be experiencing magic for the first time. I guess it's just been a part of my life forever. There isn't much more that I know than you though. I just know what I need to know, that's it."
This ride was better than she thought. No snobby rich kids, just kind Robin who was already better than half the kids she saw at the station. A relief from what could have been if she were shoved into a compartment because there were no other available spaces. She wondered if the train was magical and it expanded to fit the passenger capacity.