Emilie hugged her father goodbye, clinging for longer than normal 'It's okay, Chipmunk, you're going to be fine, I am so proud of you' He whispered into her hair. A soft sniffle left her as she let go and turned to hug her grandmother. 'You behave like a proper young lady, you hear?' her grandmother said, squeezing the girl.

She had dragged herself from her family, blinking rapidly to avoid tears. She wasn't sure if she was ready for this new adventure; she had never been away from her family, ever. That morning, she had stared at herself in the mirror, giving herself a stern pep talk. 'It's going to be tough, goodbyes are hard. But you can not be the kid crying on the train; everyone will think you're a baby. Do you understand Emilie Sparrow Towers?' She had nodded to herself and set a brave face, but now, now she wanted to cry and beg her daddy to come with her.

She took a deep breath and pushed her trunk into a compartment. Someone looked to be deep in their own thoughts, so she decided that if they didn't want a companion, they would tell her when they came back to the present, and she took a seat before realizing something was wrong.

'Oh my god MINKS!' Emilie panicked as she shouted and looked around at her belongings. Her bunny, her best friend, wasn't with her. She stood up and ran for the train door only to see her father standing just outside. 'Almost lost him, Chipmunk.' Emilie took hold of the old stuffed bear before throwing her arms around her father one last time. 'Off you go' He said as he placed her back on the train. Emilie gave her father one last smile before running back to the compartment.

Shelowyn sat with her head down. Her foot bounced, anxiously waiting for the train to leave. She was briefly aware of someone else entering the compartment but her mind was mostly elsewhere.

"Oh my god, Minks!"

Shelowyn sat up, knocked from her stupor. Her eyes flicked about the small space and landed on her trunk which she had carelessly left on the floor. 'Oops. How rude of me.' She stood, grasped her trunk and flung it overhead. Shelowyn found her seat again. It took all her willpower to avoid looking out the window. Dad would be standing there crying. A rare sight she refused to see. At least, not until they were leaving. Otherwise she might find herself driving back home instead of discovering this new world and all who dwell in it. Her birthright, as her father called it. Instead her gaze was locked on the door. She was rather curious as to who would be keeping her company.
A young girl entered the room, a head of brown bouncing curls. Clearly Shelowyn's age despite the height difference. She was brazenly oberserving her. Her brows furrowed closely together. The moment she realized she could be making the girl uncomfortable, she flashed a big smile and a small wave.

"H-hello." Shelowyn tried not to roll her eyes as she stuttered. 'Great first impression, Shelowyn...'

Emilie blushed deeply as her attention was drawn back to the girl in the compartment; her hand holding Minks quickly went behind her, hiding the stuffed rabbit. Her cousins loved making fun of the fact that Emilie still carried that ratty old bunny around like a toddler, and the last thing she wanted was anyone at school knowing her dark secret.

'Oh. Hello' she said, not mentioning and trying not to give a hint that she noticed the stutter; she wondered if the girl was as nervous as she was. 'Sorry for the chaotic entrance,' she said with a smile, but quickly turned and stuffed the bunny into her bag she had dropped on her seat as she had run off to find her lifelong friend. She finally turned back around, still smiling. 'I'm Emilie, first year,' she stepped forward, feigning confidence, and extended her hand. 'I would say which house, but... You know... first year.' Her sentence ended in a mumble as she heard herself. Always the awkward chipmunk, she thought to herself as she tried to keep her hand out. 'Is it your first year too?'

She winced a little. She hated when people thought she was 7, and now she was assuming someone was a first-year just because they looked young too. 'If you're older, that's good too.' She added her voice, getting a little higher, her talking getting a little faster as she stressed.

@Shelowyn Bloomthorn

Shelowyn swore she saw the girl hide something behind her back. In the end, it wasn't any of her business. She kept her eyes locked on the girl's brown pair.

"Oh, hello. Sorry for the chaotic entrance."

Shelowyn lifted her left hand in a dismissive gesture, "no worries." When the girl turned around, Shelowyn took the opportunity to run her hand over her face and through her hair before resting her cheek on her hand. Unbeknownst to her, the blonde hair now sat slightly askew. Her smile softened before the girl turned around and their eyes met once more.

"I'm Emilie, first year," the girl, no Emilie's hand was now held out to Shelowyn, "I would say which house, but...you know...first year." Shelowyn bit her cheek to hold back a chuckle. Emilie seemed just as nervous as Shelowyn felt. Plus she was a first year too. Shelowyn felt lucky to meet a possible friend. The first witch she has spoken to that was her age. Shelowyn's nervousness turned into excitement which just made her all the more anxious to NOT screw this up. "Is it your first year too?-If you're older that's good too." This time Shelowyn did quietly chuckle and nodded. Silence filled the air a moment too long before she realized that she needed to actually say something. Emilie's poor arm must be getting tired after all.

Shelowyn quickly took Emilie's hand, aiming for a firm handshake. "Shelowyn Bloomthorn. First year too. I still don't know much about the Houses, otherwise I'd at least try to guess." She leaned back into her seat. "Well I guess I've heard a lot about Gryffindor. Pretty sure everything I heard was pretty biased though."

@Emilie Towers

Emilie blushed, hiding a smile as the girl seemed to laugh at her nervousness. She didn't take offense as she was being a bit chaotic, very chipmunk of her, as her father would say. When she genuinely felt like the girl wasn't annoyed with her chaos, she had extended her hand, and she smiled and relaxed as Shelowyn introduced herself and returned the handshake firmly.

Emilie took a dramatic plop into the seat across from Shelowyn and nodded in agreement to the bias of Gryffindor. "There is an awful lot said about them, isn't there?" Her little nose wrinkled as she thought about the very famous house. "To be fair, though, they are incredibly flashy. Or I guess bold is their preferred term." Emilie's eyes did a little roll as she thought about her various family members, who were once in Gryffindor. She loved them all, but where she was a firework of color, they were more like atomic bombs of glitter. "My gran was a Gryffindor; she always goes over the top." Emilie chuckled before she continued, "My mom was a Hufflepuff, all the stories I've heard say she was so nice and liked not being in the limelight." Emilie shrugged before pulling her feet onto the seat and hugging her knees.

"I just hope they don't feed me to the giant squid," she shivered a little as the fear showed on her face.

@Shelowyn Bloomthorn

Shelowyn felt much more relaxed after Emilie sat down. She almost looked out the window but stopped herself and returned her gaze to the compartment.

"To be fair, though, they are incredibly flashy. Or I guess bold is their preferred term."

Shelowyn listened attentively, her head bobbing in agreement. Her father was a Gryffindor and 'over the top' was one of the many ways she would describe him. It was almost like he was constantly on a stage, and everyone around him was the audience. She shook her head. 'Yeah, sorry dad. I'm nothing like that.'

"My mom was a Hufflepuff, all the stories I've heard say she was so nice and liked not being in the limelight."

Shelowyn leaned forward in her seat. This magical world was all new to her and hearing about it was beyond exciting. She wanted to know everything. 'Hufflepuff? Wow dad really laughed at them but they don't sound so bad...' She looked down, momentarily lost in thought. Her eyes growing anxious-

"I just hope they don't feed me to the giant squid."

Shelowyn slowly looked up at Emilie. She blinked a few times, her face blank.

"I'm sorry...giant. Squid? Feed. You?" She didn't mean to say it aloud making it sound almost like a broken recording. She reprocessed each word as she spoke them, her brows drawing together.
"Wait. Who and why would someone feed you to a giant squid? Is that normal here?" She spoke slowly. Her eyes emphasizing everything she said. 'What, what, what, what...what kind of school am I going to...?' Shelowyn could see how scared Emilie looked. She looked to the door then back to Emilie. It made her all the more nervous.

@Emilie Towers

Shelowyn's reaction to the idea that they might be fed to the giant squid was exactly how Emilie had reacted when her cousin told her about the sorting. She looked over at the blonde and tried to give her a reassuring smile.

'It doesn't happen often, but my cousin Gilbert says it happened in his first year,' she lay her cheek on her knees, trying to comfort herself as well as Shelowyn. 'You know how we get sorted, right?' she sighed. 'You put on Gryffindor's hat and it reads your mind and finds the house you'll fit into best,' she said matter-of-factly, trying to sound confident, but her fingers played with the trim of her shirt. 'Well, if the hat reads your mind and finds that your magic isn't strong enough or that you won't belong, well, they can't just let you leave because you might tell the muggles.' Emilie's voice had dropped into a slight whisper, almost as if just speaking the possibility would make it happen. 'So they cast a spell on you so you can't move, and then they throw you into the Black Lake and feed you to the giant squid that lives there.' She visibly gulped in fear. 'It's the only reason an ocean animal as big as the giant squid would live in a lake, even if it is a big lake.'

She took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves. 'But it hasn't happened in years, that's what Gilbert said. I'm sure we'll be fine.' Her little smile was a mix of a grimace and attempts not to look so scared.

@Shelowyn Bloomthorn

As Emilie began to speak, Shelowyn leaned forward slightly with her hands folded in her lap. She was perked up and eager to listen.

'You know how we get sorted right...' Shelowyn nodded along. Her father had told her about his experience. The hat didn't even have to touch his head before shouting, "Gryffindor!" She loved her dad greatly but the thought of being surrounded by very 'in your face' people did not make her feel comfortable. Her eyes momentarily squeezed shut as she barely shook her head. 'Shelowyn, you are being judgy. You sound an awful lot like mom right now. Everyone can't just be sorted into a few boxes or, in this case, houses. I'm sure there's a wide variety of people in each house.' Her attention fully returned to Emilie.

"Well, if the hat reads your mind and finds your magic isn't strong enough..."

Shelowyn gulped. 'Oh no! I'm half muggle! What if my magic is super weak and that's why it took so long to show up!' The color slowly drained from her face as Emilie continued on in a whisper. Shelowyn scooched forward in her seat to make sure she heard everything. She really WAS considering hopping off the train now.

"It's the only reason an ocean animal as big as the giant squid would live in a lake-"

'Well yeah. It sounds like he gets free food. I'd stick around too.' Shelowyn thought as she slowly fell back into her seat, sinking into the stiff cushions. Her ears were ringing, her cheeks tingling with numbness as she contemplate what was worse. Going home as a coward and never getting to know magic, or getting eaten by a squid. The choice was made for her. She didn't hear the parents shouting their last goodbyes or the train whistle. But she felt the lightness one feels when a vehicle begins to move. She pushed herself upright to look out the window. Seeing how sad her father was had guilt wrapping it's long fingers around her throat. She looked over at Emilie's forced smile and tried her best to return a relaxed one.

"Well, it sounds like Hogwarts will be full of adventures." She looked around the compartment then back out the window. Then pressed her cheek against the glass. "Hey, maybe your cousin was joking? I have family who would definitely say something like that to scare me..." Shelowyn suggested it in an attempt to comfort them both.

@Emilie Towers