“There,” Kai’s father said as he levitated her luggage on the train. “Start writing to us right after getting sorted, okay?!” He seemed even more excited than she was about the Sorting Ceremony.

“Will do, Dad! See you all at Christmas!” Kai waved before walking away from the door. Since she had never been away from her family before, her heart was pounding in her chest, more from excitement rather than fear, but mostly because of all the students pushing around to reach a compartment.
She could still hear the overlapping voices of people talking, laughing, or crying from outside on the platform while more students were getting on the train. Kai was hoping to find an empty compartment, or maybe someone she knew, having almost forgotten that a few of her friends were also starting Hogwarts.

Heading down the corridor, Kai finally reached near the end of the hall when she found an empty compartment. She walked in, shoved her luggage under the seat, and looked out the window. The train wasn’t leaving Platform 9 ¾ for like 2 minutes, so she wanted to see if her parents and brother were still there. And of course, they weren’t leaving until the train left. Kai waved at them the second they spotted her.

Suddenly, the train’s whistle blew, and the wheels started moving. With a jolt, the train pulled out of King's Cross. Kai didn’t stop waving till her family was completely out of sight. In a few seconds, the view from the window transitioned from the dark brick walls of the station to the wide, open greenery of the countryside.

The train had already begun picking up speed when Alexander finally left the corridor.
Unlike most students, he wasn't rushing from compartment to compartment looking for friends. He had spent the last several minutes helping a nervous first-year who couldn't figure out where to put her owl before quietly excusing himself. With a worn book tucked beneath one arm and a chocolate frog in the pocket of his robes that Nikolai had insisted he bring, he wandered down the train in search of somewhere peaceful.
Most compartments were already loud.
Laughter spilled into the hallway. Someone further down was trying and failing to perform a wand trick, earning groans from their friends. Alexander instinctively kept walking. He couldnt wait to see Robin Lockett and Corrine Aelina they hadnt talked much last session but he will change that now being a second year his planning to force himself to get out there more! he hoped they were still friends.
Near the end of the carriage, he noticed a compartment with only one occupant.
A girl sat by the window, watching the countryside replace London's buildings. She looked about eleven still clearly a first-year. For a brief moment, Alexander considered continuing down the corridor. He didn't want to bother anyone.
...But he also remembered how overwhelming his own first train ride had been crying and hugging himself wanting to go home.
After a small, almost hesitant knock against the compartment door, he slid it open just enough to peek inside.
"Um..."
His dark pink eyes met hers before quickly flicking away again.
"Is... uhm this seat taken?"
He shifted the strap of the satchel resting on his shoulder, standing awkwardly in the doorway.
"I don't mind finding somewhere else if you'd rather be alone....."
His voice was soft, almost shy, and despite being a second-year in Ravenclaw robes, there wasn't anything intimidating about him. If anything, he looked as though asking had taken a considerable amount of courage. He is still him after all.

@Kai Hepner

Kai stared outside as King's Cross Station vanished from view. She didn't find herself being very scared about not having her parents around for almost a year, but she sure did know that she was going to miss them a lot.

What if something awesome happened back at home and she completely missed it? Eh- not happening.
Or what if something horrible happened instead and she wouldn't be there to know? Nah... not happening either. Oh, or what if Uncle Nilesh visited out of nowhere and brought them those-

The quiet stillness of the compartment was suddenly interrupted by a hesitant knock on the glass door.

"Um.... Is... uhm this seat taken?"
The boy with jet black hair and dark pink eyes, already in school robes, probably a second year since he was in Ravenclaw robes, stood awkwardly in the doorway. Wait- did everyone change already?
"I don't mind finding somewhere else if you'd rather be alone....."

Oh uh- "No this seat's not taken, you can sit here if you want to."
Kai was hoping to save seats for her friends, but they probably wouldn't be showing up any time soon, especially if they were in another part of the train... plus it wouldn’t hurt to share a compartment with someone new who seemed friendly and just needed a seat.

“Thank you”

“No biggie”, Kai replied before he set his belongings in the compartment, her voice coming out a bit too eager, almost a little clumsy, as she tried to make sure she didn't sound mean or unwelcoming.

“I’m Zolotov. Alexander Zolotov” The boy introduced himself after sitting down.

"That's a really cool name..." And an important sounding one too...
"I'm Kai. Hepner", she quickly added. His name definitely sounded fancier and more important than hers.

An awkward silence settled over the compartment for a moment.

“I remember my first train ride. It’s… a lot. So, um yeah. Thought I’d check if you wanted company. You probably don't feel like that but you know its nice to have company I guess...”
He glanced at her and then looked away again.
“I can leave if you’re waiting for friends though. I don’t want to… take their spot.”

"Wha, no you're fine,, you're not taking anyone's spot."

She leaned slightly against the seat, looking out the window for a second before looking back at him. "My friends are probably somewhere else on the train anyway. One of them is a senior, so she probably wouldn't want me around her other friends..." Kai said, looking down at her shoes. Not that Kai could blame her; she would probably just find a way to embarrass herself and her friend in front of the older students. "So yeah…” Then, she looked back up. “The company's nice. I was honestly just getting bored sitting here by myself." More like thinking about unlikely scenarios... Said the little voice in her head.

Another awkward silence...
Kai scrambled for something to keep the conversation going before it got too weird.

"What was your first ride to Hogwarts like?" she asked, breaking the silence. "Your first time at Hogwarts in general?"
People love talking about themselves, surely this time couldn't be any different? Plus, Kai would know what to expect there.

Alexander blinked when she called his name cool.
Nobody had ever really said that before well not to his face anyway.
A small, almost embarrassed smile tugged at the corner of his lips before disappearing just as quickly.
"Thanks...I guess" he murmured.
He listened while Kai explained about her friends, giving a small nod.
"Well... I'm glad I didn't accidentally steal someone's seat then."
The compartment fell quiet again, though this silence felt a little less uncomfortable than before.
Then came her question.
"What was your first ride to Hogwarts like? Your first time at Hogwarts in general?"
Alexander looked down at the worn cover of the book resting in his lap, absentmindedly tracing one of its corners with his thumb.
"...Honestly uhm?"
He let out a quiet, sheepish laugh.
"I cried."
His ears turned slightly pink.
"Quite a lot, actually."
He rubbed the back of his neck, looking mildly embarrassed.
"I... don't really like new places like at all didn't go out much really and or lots of people people can be overwhelming sometimes."
His gaze drifted back to the passing countryside outside the window.
"My older brother had to practically peel me off him before I got on the train I have a strong grip."
He scratched the back of his neck " or so I have been told"
Another small laugh escaped him.
"I think I spent half the journey wondering if I could somehow go back home without anyone noticing."
He shook his head at the memory.
"But..." he said after a moment, "it wasn't as scary as I thought it'd be I had emo scenes but most 11 yr old quistion there existance."
A faint smile appeared again.
"The Sorting was probably the worst part because everyone was watching... but after that..." He shrugged. "...it got easier not all at once but eh you know."
His dark pink eyes finally met Kai's.
"People are... nicer than I expected."
There was a brief pause before he tilted his head slightly.
"What about you?" he asked softly. "Are you excited... or mostly nervous? oh and what house do you think you will get into and what's your blood statues if your comfortable sharing I'm I asking to much? I feel like I'm talking to much I'll shut up now?"

Kai listened intently as Alexander told her about his first journey to Hogwarts and his time there.
"But... it wasn't as scary as I thought it'd be. I had emo scenes, but most 11-year-olds question their existence."
He smiled faintly.
"The Sorting was probably the worst part because everyone was watching... but after that ...it got easier, not all at once but eh you know… People are... nicer than I expected."
Oh right… I forgot the ceremony happens in front of a whole crowd of students…
Ruby had told her a lot about her first year and also the time she was sorted two years ago. It was slightly relieving to know that things get easier and that people are nice.
“What about you?” Alexander asked softly.
Kai had already prepared a sentence to reply to him with in her head—by force of habit—before Alexander’s sudden burst of questions caught her completely off guard.
"Are you excited... or mostly nervous? Oh, and what house do you think you will get into, and what's your blood status if you're comfortable sharing? I’m I asking too much? I feel like I'm talking too much. I'll shut up now?"
Kai took a moment to process the fast-paced words.
“Wha- No— you can talk as much as you want,” she said with a faint, reassuring smile. “I’m... maybe a little nervous? But mostly excited for Hogwarts... Both of my parents are magical, but I’m not exactly a pure-blood. Dad is a half-blood, and so is my grandfather. My mum, on the other hand, is from a pure-blood lineage. We aren’t really popular among strictly pure-blood families because my parents have good relations with Muggles… and honestly, almost everybody they know.”
She paused before adding, “As for which house I’ll get sorted into, I’m really not sure… Ma says I’ll do amazingly in Gryffindor; Dad says I’m a perfect Ravenclaw. They’re both probably just biased… But they also said that I’d do great in Hufflepuff or Slytherin too.”
Being around Ruby would be nice, but then again, what if she just embarrassed her in front of her friends?
“I feel like I have qualities from every house... so maybe the Hat will just get confused and make up a fifth one for me.” She added with a quick attempt at humour. “Did you want to get into Ravenclaw or did the hat completely surprise you? And what about your family?- You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to though.”

Alexander blinked a few times as Kai answered every one of his questions without seeming annoyed.
He was glad she didn't find him annoying he sometimes thinks his annoying.
A faint flush crept onto his face.
"Sorry..." he mumbled. "Nikolai always says my brain asks questions faster than my mouth can stop them." He nervously chuckled.
He gave an awkward little smile before listening quietly as Kai explained her family which was confusing but made sense and her uncertainty about the Sorting. His eyes lit up slightly at her joke.
A fifth house?.
He let out a small laugh.
"I think the professors would panic if the Hat suddenly invented another one haha."
Then her question came.
"Did you want to get into Ravenclaw or did the hat completely surprise you? And what about your family? You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to though."
Alexander fell quiet.
His fingers absent-mindedly rubbed the spine of his book.
"...I actually wanted Slytherin."
The admission came so quietly it was almost lost beneath the rattling of the train.
"As I said before my family's full of pure-blood. Most of them were in Slytherin... so I just kind of assumed I would be too I guess."
He stared out the window for a moment before continuing.
"When the Hat shouted Ravenclaw..." he laughed softly through his nose, "...I remember thinking it had made a mistake because me Ravenclaw? I cant see myself in here at all ."
His smile faded just a little.
"My parents were... surprised."
That was the nicest way he could put it without making them sound like bad people.
"They weren't angry exactly..." he corrected after a second. "Just... disappointed. They thought Slytherin would've suited our family better."
He shrugged lightly.
"It took them a little while, but they got over it."
A tiny smile returned.
"Now Mum mostly just asks if I'm sleeping enough, and Dad asks about my grades."
There was another brief silence before he glanced back at Kai.
"Honestly..." he admitted, "I'm glad it picked Ravenclaw now, it fits me more."
His voice had grown a little more certain.
"and I've met people I probably never would've talked to otherwise. They're... good people."
He looked down at the book in his lap.
"The Hat usually knows what it's doing."
A small grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"Even if it takes us a while to realise it."

"The Hat usually knows what it's doing... Even if it takes us a while to realise it."

There were another few seconds of silence.

"Well, I'm glad they didn't overreact too much..." Kai said with a small, reassuring smile. Hearing him talk about his family brought a sense of relief, even if the thought of expectations from her own parents still lingered in the back of her mind. "It sounds like they really care about you, even if it took them a minute to get used to you being in Ravenclaw."

She glanced past him toward the window, only then noticing how much the view had changed. The bright countryside had given way to long, deep shadows, and the sky was already turning a dark purple. Time had slipped away much faster than she realized.

"Oh uhm— speaking of the Sorting..." Kai stood up, looking down at her clothes before checking her luggage below. "The sky's getting dark. I should probably go grab my school robes and change before we arrive... Getting sorted in regular clothes-"

More like PJs, Kai thought, glancing down at her clothes for a second again.

"—probably isn't the best first impression to make in front of the entire school." She rubbed the back of her neck with a small, sheepish chuckle. "Anyway, I'll give you some quiet time for a bit. I'll be back in a moment!"