July 14, 2019
8:00 a.m.

With @Erin Ryan and @Arc Perscivious  

Raine sighed as she stared at the train sitting idle in Hogsmeade station. She was finally going home. She would get to see her parents and her little brother and she just couldn't wait. She was also hoping that she would be able to convince her mother to train her in more magic over the holiday, as she planned to learn more about dueling and the Charms and Jinxes that would be possible for her to use. 

'Maybe I'll even get Professor Vernatis to give me extra lessons come September.' 

With that idea in her head, the Gryffindor boarded the train. Moving through the train and its various cars, she saw that quite a few compartments were filled already with either sleeping students or groups of students gathered together. 'I'm surprised that there are so many kids leaving the school today. I would have thought most of them went home and didn't bother with summer camp. Guess everyone wanted some extra time with their friends.' she thought as she continued to look for an empty compartment. Eventually, one near the very back of the train popped up and it was completely empty. Smiling, Raine stepped in and sat down by the window, tossing her bag into the seat next to her. 

As she sat waiting for the train to move or for someone else to join her, she thought about this past year and all of the crap she suffered and went through. But she also remembered the fun times... wait...no fun times...there was never a fun time in her first year. 

The girl sighed. "Hopefully next term will be much better and less dangerous," she said to no one. 

'One can only hope.' 

Reducio

Ability: Fearless

Also, sorry for the short intro to the train ride. It's late and I'm exhausted. 

Interacting with @Raine Sage

Ottaline Gambol was a genius. She was way ahead of her time. And Arc would call her a visionary. Without her, Hogwarts Express might have never been built. And without it and its trains, transporting hundreds of students to and from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry would still be a huge problem and certainly one heck of a mess. The train was a much more comfortable and secure way of travel than Portkeys or other means of travel...

As the dark-haired boy pondered about Hogwarts Express and the newest model of locomotive engine, he walked through the cars looking for his best friend. He was pretty early, though, and so far, all he saw was mostly empty compartments. Hadn’t she arrived? Hm. Maybe. He would have to pick one of the empty compartments if he did not meet her until the end of the train. The boy did not want to scare off students already settling in peacefully in their compartments if he could help it. It was a joyful day and he did not want to ruin it for others.

Alas, even his peeking head already jump scared a few students. Arc was all smile but even then, people still found him randomly frightening. His ‘ability’ -if he could even call it that- had been running amok for quite some time now and it had no sign of wearing off. As his smile was about to falter a little bit, he found just the person he was looking for.

Raine Sage.

“Heiya, Sage!” Arc said with his utmost beaming, charming smile. It was a happy day and he was truly glad to see her. She seemed to be distracted right before he greeted her, though, like she was pondering something serious. “What were you thinking? You don’t need to plan this Summer vacation that seriously.”

The boy sat right in front of her, putting his trunk on the floor, while still smiling at her from ear to ear. It was going to be a fun ride back! He just knew it.

Interacting with @Arc Perscivious

Raine saw the boy's reflection in the glass she was looking out of before he even opened the door and smiled softly as Arc entered the compartment, greeting her cheerfully. "Hey there, Arc. I'm not planning much, actually. Just sitting here thinking about the past year and the last few days. Did you have fun these last two weeks at camp?" she asked as she watched him sit across from her on the other bench. 

She sighed as she commented, more to herself rather than to Arc himself,  "My last two weeks were uneventful, thankfully. But that also means that they were quite boring. Do you think that maybe I have gotten used to the chaos that is Hogwarts and that I'm now craving some form of danger?" 

'That's worrying.' Raine thought as she waited on her friend's answer to her question. If she was truly not concerned about all that had been happening at Hogwarts pertaining to danger, that meant that she was desensitized to it all. And it only took two events to put her in this mindset. The Blossom Ball was an adventure she would rather not deal with again and she would rather not remember the damn Hag incident. Nearly losing her own life for an idiot girl who chose to follow after a stranger. Granted, both she and Arc were strangers too, but one would only have to look at the two kids and see that their actions were genuine. That other boy, who turned out to be a half-giant kid who didn't even go to Hogwarts, seemed sketchy from the very beginning. Then there was the subsequent chase into the woods that Raine definitely didn't wish to remember. 

'I'm definitely not telling mum and dad about that. Dad would go mad and try to pull me from Hogwarts and mum would go to the school and tear the Headmaster apart. No, best to keep this information between Arc and myself.'

Pulling herself from her thoughts, Raine turned another smile on the boy across from her. "So what are your plans for the rest of summer? I think I'm going to make some personal changes. Probably study up on some more spells so that I can be prepared for next year. Maybe even try to convince mum and dad to let me take some weapon training. I know, it sounds weird, but I just want to have other ways to fight other than magic." 

OC: Sorry for being incredibly slow, things have been... real. That and I totally wrote a post for here, i do not know where it is.

IC: She would have much rather been allowed to use the Headmaster's fireplace to enter the floo network and be where she wanted to be already. This pedestrian means of transportation should be reserved for the muggle-born students as the world had intended. It was her damnable luck that she would have to spend the day on the Hogwarts Express once again. The crowded cars with those 'cozy' (cramped) seats packed with adolescents, their awkward poses and hesitant conversation. There was even a smell to them. The Slytherin crinkled her nose, the train was already in motion. Erin was walking the narrow aisle of the car, peering into each compartment as she passed. She was uninterested in most of the passengers, there was nothing there. Well, there were people, these hollow husks of living beings that existed surely but little more.

Erin would pass them over, coming to a stop before this compartment. There was something of interest within the confines of this small space -- Arc Perscivious and that bland girl from the grounds. Oh really now, she had a smirk on her face as she lingered on the other side of the closed door for a few moments. They were in the midst of a discussion she would not hear. With a turn of the knob the now third year would enter their shared compartment. She would take a seat next to Arc unless that was occupied by Raine. She would have considered sitting on Arc's lap just to get a rise out of Raine, not Arc. In fact she would do more than think about it, she would almost do so before she thought better of it, choosing to sit either next to the Ravenclaw or directly across from him. 

"Hi Arc," the Slytherin would greet him as casually as any student would. While Arc had this terrible presence about him, this perpetual sense that something was wrong or even dangerous, the fearless youth lacked this most basic sense of hazard. "Is that your girlfriend?" She asked pointing at Raine for additional clarity. She knew damn well that was probably not the case, and considering the Gryffindor's reaction as she left the BBQ that day, there was almost no chance that she had confessed to him yet (or likely ever). She was just going for that same rise without risking Arc's offense. For some reason the boy seemed to be immune to the effect of rumors, those being the unfortunate yet true ones about Erin being some sort of monstrous teen. He even helped her when Howard cut into her, something that he never had to do and considering the aggressive nature Howard White has developed over the past year, a more rational student would have ran for it. She was not going to forget that act of needless kindness.

"I'm Erin," she claimed actually using her real name as she addressed Raine. "I am a friend of Arc's" she added. Friend being a strong term but she had decided that was going to define their relationship whether Arc consented to it or not. 

Erin had no luggage with her, she just had a small satchel that could be better defined as a purse because it was a purse. In fact, she looked almost normal less the obviously dyed purple hair. A simple plain white dress and strappy brown sandals, she almost looked like a muggle on a day-trip to the city rather than a student returning home for the duration of the summer holiday. That was because she had no intention of returning home, she was going from London to Ireland as soon as she had access to the floo network but not to her home city. There were people she needed to meet (or in her case try to meet) during these weeks of recess. 

Reducio

OOC: I decided to join in, hope you guys don't mind

Griseldis decided to take the 2nd train to leave Hogwarts, she couldn't wait to see her family and her Muggle friends there again. It would be really lovely to spend her summer holidays back at home. She had so many things to tell but of course, she could only tell her Muggle friends that she was at a private school and not some magical academy studying magic and potions because Muggles aren't supposed to know about the wizarding world. She would just tell them it was wonderful there and made a few new friends (which was true). And as for her family, Griseldis was pretty sure once she arrives home in Bridgwater, she wouldn't stop talking about all the subjects she learned in Hogwarts, the Professors, and friends. She honestly had a great time in Hogwarts, although she briefly heard from other students about the horrible incident in the Blossom Ball, well...lucky that she never had the time to participate it. She wasn't even interested to go to that Ball anyway.

Griseldis seemed to be the last person to board the train in time. The moment she entered, a very loud horn sound could be heard from outside and the train began to move in motion. She looked around the area then started to walk forward in the car, peering at each side of the compartment. It was quite obvious that most of the compartments were already full. Griseldis did try to come early but failed due to forgetting a few things and had to go back to the Dorm room again.

But Griseldis wouldn't give up, she continued to look for a compartment that had at least a room for one more person to sit. One of the compartments on the right side, Griseldis saw a girl with dark wavy hair and that got her attention, "This girl seems familiar...". It took her a short while to remember that this girl was the girl she met in the corridors that day, she was a very brave Gryffindor girl who wanted to help calm the Ravenclaw boy down and even made sure she would tell him that she didn't mean to bump into him. What a nice coincidence! Griseldis thought happily, she really wanted to get to know her. There were also other two students inside. A boy with short dark hair, he somehow had an odd presence around him but due to her fearless ability it didn't really bother her that much and the boy seemed to be friendly. Then there was another girl with very unusual purple hair color. Grisleids hoped they wouldn't mind. She gently knocked on the door a few times, then opened it to show herself with a smile, "Hello there, sorry to interrupt but it seems you still have a room for one more person so...erhmm...may I sit with you guys?" Griseldis asked them politely.

Interacting with @Raine Sage, @Erin Ryan, & @Griseldis Edelhardt

"Hey there, Arc.” Raine answered him. “I'm not planning much, actually. Just sitting here thinking about the past year and the last few days. Did you have fun these last two weeks at camp? My last two weeks were uneventful, thankfully. But that also means that they were quite boring. Do you think that maybe I have gotten used to the chaos that is Hogwarts and that I'm now craving some form of danger?"

“Eh. I read some books, swam in the lake, met some people… I tried to sunbathe once! That was sort of exciting. But overall, it was uneventful for me as well. Which was good, I did manage to finish two books in my Summer reading list.” The boy remembered something he had kept forgetting to ask the girl these past two weeks, but they had all train ride together so there was no rush. One of the perks with Arc’s weird ability was he could talk to Raine without anyone bothering them. “And I’m sure you’re fine.” He scoffed it off with a wave of his hand even though he was not sure himself. Should he be worried?! “There’s nothing wrong with a little thrill seeking. As long as you don’t drag me and kill me off along the way.” Arc deadpanned before finally laughing. “I’m just joking, promise me that you would always tell me first if and before you’re going on a dangerous adventure.”

There was a lull before Raine continued. "So what are your plans for the rest of summer? I think I'm going to make some personal changes. Probably study up on some more spells so that I can be prepared for next year. Maybe even try to convince mum and dad to let me take some weapon training. I know, it sounds weird, but I just want to have other ways to fight other than magic."

“Oh-oh, wow… Learning more spells and weapon training?! That sounds mighty interesting.” And dangerous. “I can accompany you if you want to. At the very least I can watch and make sure you don’t hurt yourself. I hope your family is fine with me coming over, though. My…presence had been getting worse after the…Blossom Ball." Arc sighed a little at that. It was bothering him more than he thought it would. He was not much of a people person. One could even call him an introvert. Or book nerd. Yeah. One might definitely call him that, But it would be nice to have some people to talk to without having them avoiding his eyes or even his shadows. What was up with that anyway? Did his shadow bite or something?!

“Anyway, other than that… Same old, same old, I guess. Read more books, go to the park with my brother, pick some herbs with my father, you know the drill.”

The knob would suddenly turn and a girl came in. She was wearing a simple plain white dress and brown sandals. And she had a purple hair. It was Erin Ryan. "Hi Arc," the Slytherin greeted after taking the seat next to him. "Is that your girlfriend?" Erin pointed to Raine.

Arc blinked to the question, looked at the pretty Gryffindor girl in front of him for a bit before turning his head back to the purple-eyed girl to answer. “Um. No. She is my best friend," in the whole wide world, "Sage.” Sometimes he wondered, though, did she truly feel the same way? Was he her best friend, too? Or did she just pity the scary lonely book nerd? She was amiable and funny, and she had a cute Glaswegian accent. She would have so much more friends if she hadn't hanged out with him through wizarding primary school. Was he just a bother to her?

"I'm Erin, I am a friend of Arc's." The older girl introduced herself to his best friend.

“Ah, yes. This is Erin, Sage.” Arc smiled. “And you are the very definition of “travel light”, Erin! Where are all your luggage?!” He was genuinely amazed.

The loud horn interrupted them and the train was finally moving. As Arc thought that there wouldn’t be anymore people joining their compartment, a knock was heard on the door.

"Hello there, sorry to interrupt but it seems you still have a room for one more person so...erhmm...may I sit with you guys?"

The girl had a tanner skin than he was. She had chocolate brown hair with golden stripes. And she had pastel grey eyes. Most importantly, though, she didn’t seem to be running away anytime soon. She was not trembling, she even seemed somewhat relaxed… She was not afraid of him. It was usually hard for the pale boy to find one person who was not scared senseless in a room with him. But now, in a tiny compartment, there were three of them? What were the odds?! Would the sun rise in the west tommorow?! Had the earth stopped spinning?

Well. Calm down. If you thought about it. It might just be the other way around. All the others were not even brave enough to check on this compartment and just moved along as they felt something was not right. And the ones left to occupy it were the one who had guts and courage. Wait. What was he then? A haunted house?!

“Ah, yes, please, sit down, take a seat, plonk oneself, plop in, whatever cool kids these days might call it.” Arc said to the girl. The only seat left was the one next to Raine. If she was brave enough to join the three of them and ensconce herself, then the boy would offer his hand for a handshake and introduced himself. “Hi, I didn’t quite catch your name. I’m Arc Perscivious, by the way, Ravenclaw, destination Wimbledon.”

She asked if Raine was Arc's girlfriend.

“Um. No. She is my best friend."

He claimed. Apparently it was one of those one-way relationships that involved a pair of binoculars and ended with a shovel.

"Sage."

Named after an herb.

“Ah, yes. This is Erin, Sage.”

Introductions were made, Erin had just met the girl that would probably murder Arc in a fit of jealousy one day. 

“And you are the very definition of “travel light”, Erin! Where are all your luggage?!”

She looked down at her bag. "I have clothes at home, this is just the stuff I only have one of," she answered simply. In truth, the stuff that she could not live without. Everyone had things they developed an uncanny attachment to, the Slytherin as of late being no exception. 

"I am a pure-blood," she reminded him. "I have better things to wear than wizard robes in Aylesbury," not that she was headed home. She was headed someplace in Italy unless she was otherwise distracted. 

A ginger would knock on the door and enter. She did not know the girl, but she seemed familiar with at least one of the riders. He, Arc invited her in with a slew of dorky statements. How can a guy with such a pretty face be such a dork? "Yeah come in," Erin suggested. "I was just about to tell Arc that a girl has a crush on him," she announced. She looked over at Raine, almost daring her for a reaction. 

Raine stared at the older girl across from her, her mouth gaping and her face heating up with embarrassment. Why did this girl always toss that in her face? Stammering and turning her head to look out the window, the young Gryffindor replied, "I-I don't have a crush on him! He's just...we're just friends!" She looked at Arc with a sideways glance before quickly averting her eyes back out of the window. In the reflection of the window, she could see the other girl who had entered the compartment standing around awkwardly and acknowledged her without actually turning around. Her face was still a bit flushed, after all. 

"Y-you're that girl from the hallway, aren't you? With Kaegan and the other Ravenclaws surrounding him? I've seen you in the common room." Raine did remember her but she didn't exactly remember the girl's name. "I don't mind if you sit with us either," she turned to look at the girl before she looked back at Erin and frowned. "I don't have a crush on Arc," she muttered. 

Even though the older girl was being a bit mean and annoying, Raine could feel something akin to a...like-dislike situation with her. She didn't hate Erin. Hell, she barely knew her. But she currently wanted to strangle the older girl who constantly teased her. 'If this is what it's like having an older sister, then I'm glad that I'm the older sibling in my household.' Turning back to the other Gryffindor girl, Raine re-introuduced herself. "Name's Raine Sage. First name's fine. Only this guy," she flicked her hand at the only boy in the room, "calls me by me last name. No idea why, though it does make me wonder if he is somehow reliving another life that knew me in another life or something." Raine cocked her head to the side as she took in the other girl and looked between her and Arc a few times before raising an eyebrow. 

"Do you feel a certain way being in here? Or do any of us make you feel uncomfortable?" she asked, wondering if the girl was somehow affected by Arc and his funky aura. Erin seemed unaffected, though Raine secretly wished the girl was, but it always irritated Raine to no end that people treated her best friend like some sort of creature just because his aura was a bit off. He was Arc and that's all he would ever be to her. 

The train began to move and Raine sat there watching the scenery fly by the window as she waited for the other girl's answer. Apart from the conversations going on around her, she was anticipating going back home to her family. She needed a break from Hogwarts. 

Reducio

OC: I am SO so sorry that I haven't been on to reply in so long! It was not my intention and though I'm currently applying to jobs, I don't think real life will get fully in the way again. I'm hoping so. Again, sorry for this extremely late reply. 

Interacting with @Arc Perscivious, @Erin Ryan and @Raine Sage

The dark-haired boy was the first who welcomed her. Despite his odd presence around him, his smile was very charming that Griseldis felt nothing negative about him. “Ah, yes, please, sit down, take a seat, plonk oneself, plop in, whatever cool kids these days might call it.” He said and offered his hand to her for a friendly handshake, “Hi, I didn’t quite catch your name. I’m Arc Perscivious, by the way, Ravenclaw, destination Wimbledon.” She accepted his handshake with a bright smile on her face and introduced herself as well, "It's really nice to meet you, Arc. My name is Griseldis Edelhardt, you can call me Gris for short and I'm a Gryffindor, destination Bridgwater." Then she looked at the two other girls and waved at them, she hoped that her voice was loud enough for them to hear her introduction.

The purple-haired girl who seemed a bit older than the rest of them, also welcomed her to come to sit with them, "Yeah come in, I was just about to tell Arc that a girl has a crush on him." Griseldis tilted her head and looked at her with a confused expression, "A...crush?". Well, she was never interested in romance or any other gossips, but the other girl who sat across her reacted at her words, it seemed that she was embarrassed about what the older girl just said. Her cheeks were somehow red and she protested, "I-I don't have a crush on him! He's just...we're just friends!" Before things began to get awkward, the girl with wavy hair finally acknowledged her, "Y-you're that girl from the hallway, aren't you? With Kaegan and the other Ravenclaws surrounding him? I've seen you in the common room." Griseldis's smile widened when she said that and nodded at her, "Yes, that's me, the silly girl who wasn't paying attention and bumped into him, I hope he's ok though." She was very glad that she remembered her and told her that she didn't mind her sitting with them.

However, when the wavy-haired girl mentioned the name Kaegan, a flashback of a pale Ravenclaw boy with black hair came to her mind. Kaegan? Was that the name of the Ravenclaw boy I accidentally bumped into at the hallway that day? She thought for a brief while and missed the part when the girl muttered about not having a crush on Arc. She took the seat beside the girl who just turned back to face her and introduced herself, "Name's Raine Sage. First name's fine. Only this guy," Griseldis watched as Raine flicked her hand at Arc and continued, "Calls me by me last name. No idea why, though it does make me wonder if he is somehow reliving another life that knew me in another life or something." These two seem to really know each other, and it's a bit strange for him to just call by her last name instead. She did say they are friends after all. But then she watched how suddenly Raine cocked her head to the side looking at her between Arc. "Huh? What's wrong?" Griseldis was confused at Raine's action until she asked her did she feel a certain way being in here or any of them made her feel uncomfortable. She simply shook her head and said, "No, I don't feel anything uncomfortable here, I'm quite fine." Even though she still didn't understand Raine's question but she replied to her with a sincere smile. Maybe Raine was just worried about her well-being?

Griseldis turned to look at the older girl across them, it wouldn't be polite not asking for her name. "Hi, may I know your name as well?" She asked, waiting for her to reply.

Reducio

Ability: Fearless

OOC: It's fine, Raine. Don't worry about it

Interacting with @Raine Sage, @Erin Ryan, & @Griseldis Edelhardt

The new girl accepted Arc’s handshake with a smile and introduced herself, "It's really nice to meet you, Arc. My name is Griseldis Edelhardt, you can call me Gris for short and I'm a Gryffindor, destination Bridgwater."

Woah. She did not waver one bit and took his hand readily. She truly was not afraid of him? That was interesting. Was it because of her house? Hm. Arc might have to try visiting more of the lions to find out about that. But then again, that would just be a hassle and cut the time that he could be using on reading more books. He was already behind his reading schedule. Sigh.

"Yeah, come in," the Slytherin girl also welcomed Gris. "I was just about to tell Arc that a girl has a crush on him," she continued and looked at Raine.

Really? There was a girl that had a crush on him? And what was that look all about? Oh! Did Raine knew already? And she did not tell him?

"A...crush?" Griseldis asked, tilting her head with a confused expression.

"I-I don't have a crush on him!” Raine replied, stammering. Uh. What? “He's just...we're just friends!" She gave Arc a sideway glance before averting her eyes again.

Wait. Was Erin implying that Raine had a crush on him? That could not be right. Could it? Somehow it stung when she said that they were only friends, though. Not even best friends, huh? Ugh, what was wrong with him… He should have known already. It was good enough that Raine wanted to be friends with a freak like him. Arc should not have expected more.

"Y-you're that girl from the hallway, aren't you?” Raine spoke to the other Gryffindor. “With Kaegan and the other Ravenclaws surrounding him? I've seen you in the common room."

"Yes, that's me, the silly girl who wasn't paying attention and bumped into him, I hope he's ok though." Gris answered.

"I don't mind if you sit with us either," she turned to Gris before looking back at Erin and frowned. "I don't have a crush on Arc," she repeated.

Ugh. That hurt even more than the young boy thought it would. He had to use all his will to stop himself from frowning.

Griseldis took the seat beside Raine and the later introduced herself. "Name's Raine Sage. First name's fine. Only this guy," she flicked her hand at Arc, "calls me by me last name. No idea why, though it does make me wonder if he is somehow reliving another life that knew me in another life or something." Raine cocked her head to the side as she looked between Gris and Arc a few times before raising an eyebrow.

"Huh? What's wrong?" said the girl with the golden-striped hair.

"Do you feel a certain way being in here? Or do any of us make you feel uncomfortable?" Raine asked. Ah, that was a good question, Sage!

"No, I don't feel anything uncomfortable here, I'm quite fine."

That was good to hear. But also weird. Was his ‘ability’ just currently not working? Or were these three people just immune to it?

“It was just that I have this problem since I was a kid.” Arc felt that he had to interject. “I have this…weird 'presence' that makes people scared or uncomfortable around me. Raine was the only one besides my family that is 'immune' so to speak." He sighed. "In fact, it has been getting worse these past two weeks. I can even part a crowd just by walking towards them.” The boy bitterly chuckled, reminded by the memory of people scrambling away from him in the library. It was as if he had the plague or something. “So, you’re saying you don’t feel anything, Gris?” And then the boy looked at the older girl. “As a matter of fact, you as well, Erin?"