Banner credit to: Erendriel Ravaxidor

June 30th, 2025	Hogwarts Express
“English”	“Gaelic”

Alyss had never appeared to be more popular. There were other students swarming all around her, and for a moment she could delude herself into the notion that they were there because she was important and extraordinary, meaning everyone wished to meet her. Unfortunately for Alyss, this was very much not the case. Rather, they were all clambering to find their own compartment, something Alyss herself was doing.

Now that everyone had been at school an entire school year, they had established friends, and therefore this train ride would likely be more high stakes. She couldn’t simply sit in a random compartment this time around, as that would come off as desperate. Thankfully, Alyss was not the friendless nobody she had come into Hogwarts as. No, she had made friends, meaning that unless they truly had the worst luck, she would be able to secure a compartment for herself and hopefully one of her best friends thus far: Evpraksiya.

The two had coordinated prior to the actual day, deciding to sit in the same compartment, knowing how the crowds of Hogwarts seemed to specialize in stealing the ability for friends to navigate properly. They had been separated almost immediately upon arriving at the doors to the train, with Evpraksiya needing to be stopped for some reason or another. Something to do with luggage? In fact, the train ended up being a bit of a mad dash, as many passengers were simply longing for home. Alyss found herself among them, though also missing the warmth of her best friend by her side as she tried her best to weave through the groups of students congregating on the edges of the train’s corridors, before at long last selecting a compartment. It was perfectly fine appearing to be up to the standards of the Slytherin.

A smile made its way into Alyss’ expression, proud of herself for this accomplishment. She’d found an empty compartment, and judging by the fact that she peered into each compartment along the way, searching for Evpraksiya, it seemed that she had done it. She had actually done something helpful for her friend, and more quickly than her counterpart. That never happened, Evpraksiya was basically perfect. Alyss fully stepped into the space, and gazed at the layout, an exact replica of nearly every single other compartment throughout the entire train.

Hauling her trunk into the compartment, Alyss moved to stand atop the chair, as to shove the trunk into the dedicated space just above the seats, before remembering that she literally had a wand. And magic. A wry smile found its way onto her lips, and Alyss plucked her wand from her pocket, pointing it at the solid brown trunk sitting on the ground.”Wingardium Leviosa.” Alyss said aloud, neither exclaiming it loudly nor whispering it. It was simply stated as though a fact, an unwavering truth in the world. This was accompanied with the appropriate wand movement, and lo and behold, the trunk floated from its resting location in the ground and was soon guided into the appropriate position for their train ride.

Finally, Alyss sat. Although her feet didn’t necessarily hurt, they had begun to ache, which meant that she may had walked too much in the past few days. But alas, it wasn’t her fault that she wanted to imprint the last memories of this school into her mind as she went home for the majority of the summer. It was simply part of who she was; goodbyes were difficult.

Her blonde hair was a little wild, refusing to be properly tamed, as per usual. The sunlight streamed in through the window, illuminating her chocolate brown eyes, that were staring out the window of this train. Her outfit consisted of a casual dress that was about knee length, a type of clothing that she had begun to enjoy wearing. It was a cream color with little yellow floral designs that could be found all along the dress. It was one of her favorites, reflecting her love of the sunlight and bright colors. Her shoes were the only nice ones she owned, which happened to be black flats. Although the two really didn’t go together, it was alright. Alyss wanted to show her parents that Hogwarts was good for her, including for dressing, considering her lack of consideration for fashion or dress code had always bothered them slightly.

Now, all that was left was to await the arrival of her dear friend. And possibly brag that she had gotten there first. Ah, yes. Friendship at it’s finest.

Banner credit to: Erendriel Ravaxidor

June 30th, 2025	Hogwarts Express
“English”	“Gaelic”

Perfection: the condition, state, or quality of being free or as free as possible from all flaws or defects.

As far as Alyss knew, Evpraksiya, her dear friend, was quite literally the embodiment of perfection. The bright, verdant green of her eyes, shining with humor as she strolled through the doorway, hair remaining free of any flaws, and smile teasingly tilted as she spoke, the lilt of her voice on adding to Alyss’ delight. She stood as if commanding the room, her very presence adding a sense of intention. Everything she did was with a purpose, even down to the twinkle in her brighter left eye.

“Greetings, dearest friend,” Alyss smirked in response as she turned from her perch beside the window, eyes lighting up and immediate happiness extending beyond just her facial expression, with her body language falling into the familiar sense of comfort. “Perhaps I can deal with your presence for an undetermined amount of time.” She gave her good friend a playful giggle, before rising from the seat and striding over for an embrace. The compartments could seemingly fit four people comfortably, so the pair of girls would be perfectly well equipped for the journey away from their home of ten months.

Alyss took a moment before truly looking at Evpraksiya. Dressed in all white, she almost looked like an angel, simply dressed and polished as if human. “What took you so long? I was certainly kept waiting!” Alyss teased, playful expression gracing her face as she stuck out her tongue, the goofy confidence she gained around her friends beginning to surface. She was truly at her happiest and most carefree when with friends, and with Evpraksiya especially— there was something about her want to be precise that made Alyss’ reckless nature surface all the more easily.

Moving to return to her seat, Alyss offered a grand gesture to the seat beside her, grinning as her hands moved to smooth down her skirt and adjust it so that she was sitting properly and comfortably. It was still something she had to manually fix when she went about the normal task of sitting, something that felt unnecessary and strange. “Isn’t it so odd to finally be leaving? And to think that we have six more years of this?” The Slytherin sighed, her eyelids shutting briefly as she tilted her head, opening once again to gaze at Evpraksiya. Perhaps their very first meeting hadn’t been the most ideal, but it was memorable. And now? With the rare exceptions, she felt almost inseparable from this human. And it just felt… right.

Evpraksiya had always appeared different. Well-spoken, intentional, and truly brilliant, she was awe inspiring. But it was her kindness to Alyss that made her such an outstanding friend, one that Alyss felt undeserving of. Thankfully, the thought hadn’t seemed to have crossed the elegant girls mind, and she remained a steadfast voice in Alyss’ constant motion of existence. Her fingers moved up to smooth down the strands of hair that were stubbornly refusing to cooperate as she sat upon the slightly cushioned seat. Perhaps still a bit stiff, it was manageable. She then let out a yawn, mouth widening in show of just how drained she was becoming. Or perhaps just of how dramatic. Patting Evpraksiya on the arm, Alyss leaned back and shifted, so that she could see both her friend and the door. This way, she would be hyper aware of the arrival of the candy trolly. Alyss then sent her eyes back at Evpraksiya, ever her muse, as she directed her full attention to the girl.