Was there a word for being terrified and ecstatic at the same time? Theo had never left for something like this, going far away and knowing he wouldn't be back home until the holidays, at least. But at the same time, there was so much to be excited about - magic, magic! And the real kind, too, not the little tricks he did by accident when he was scared or frustrated.

And his cousin was coming right along with him, Theo's best friend as far as he was concerned - they lived hours away from each other, but it felt like one was almost always visiting the other, especially considering Gem's parents' preferred method of getting rid of their son for the summer was to send him to Theo's.

Theo's mum had taken them shopping for school supplies, and was the one leading them through the platform as well, the two of them following with their doubly overburdened luggage trolleys. Theo had wanted to bring a pet, had absolutely begged for a frog he'd seen in the window of a shop, but no, his mother had said, they didn't have the money. That wasn't accurate, in Theo's opinion, but she hadn't budged, not even when Gem had joined in on the pleading. Whatever, Theo would just save up and buy one with his own money, he was determined.

The school year didn't start until September, but neither Theo nor Gem were exactly known for being patient - as soon as they'd heard Hogwarts had a summer camp, any possibility of them waiting until the fall had been erased entirely. Spending the last month of summer on a magical campus, with no classes to worry about? How could they say no?! Theo's mum was the only one who'd been a little reluctant, unwilling to send her son away early, but eventually she'd been convinced. After all, it'd give them time to settle in, get to know the campus, make some friends.

Theo and his mother shared a bone-crushing hug before the two boys boarded the train, shuffling down the narrow hallways until they found an empty compartment to sit in. For Theo, the term "sitting" was relative. His butt was touching the seat, sure, but the rest of him was bouncing around like a hyper puppy, glancing out the window every ten seconds to see if the train was about to go yet. "How long do you think the train ride'll be? And how much longer until it starts, you think? I wonder how many more people're gonna get on," he spouted at his cousin, rapid and excited.

When Gem had discovered the fact that Hogwarts had a summer camp, he was reluctant, to say the least.
If it had been entirely up to him, he would appreciate a summer spent at home, normality, but Theo had a way with words, (and some ace puppy dog eyes) and he was finally convinced. How bad could it be? He had his cousin with him-- his best friend, what more could he ask for, right?

There was a gut-wrenching moment while he watched Theo and his mother share a tight embrace, feeling a bit awkward standing between them, scratching the back of his head to somehow avoid the tension that really only grew for him. As much as he'd wished his own mother (or even father) were there to give him the support Theo's did, not everyone was that lucky-- he did get a good luck through an owl from his mum, though. That was nice. He ended up getting a departure hug from his aunt, a sweet hair-ruffle and nothing more. He didn't say anything while they boarded the train, his mind racing with anxiety-- crap, maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe he should've just waited, maybe--
He was abruptly pulled out of his thoughts when Theo grabbed him and pulled him into an empty seat compartment, stumbling into the seat across him, eyes bulging.

"Um, probably not many--" Gem swallowed thickly, doing his best to respond to Theo's rambles when his head felt like static, glancing out the window at the people surrounding the train, the muffled chatter... he used public transport all the time, had no true reason to feel anxious, but he found himself wiping his hands off on his trousers a few times to try and get rid of the clamminess. "Or... you know, a lot. An ungodly amount, even." His voice came out like a wheeze, babbling quietly like a stupid baby; that was his first signal towards himself that he needed to try and relax, there was no reason to be this nervous, there was nothing bad that was going to happen, just relax...

He started to feel better once a couple of seconds had gone by, doing those breathing exercises his neighbor told him about. Huh, they actually worked. He turned back over to his cousin, grinning a bit stupidly when he noticed that he was still bouncy and excited. "What if we, ehm... you know, end up finding frogs out at Hogwarts?" For whatever reason, his voice had fallen to a whisper, his head leaning closely to Theo's. "Imagine if there was a spell that made frogs appear whenever we wanted... We could create an empire. It would be anarchy, Theo. Anarchy. Not a single soul would be able to stop our forces."

His parents, Aleksander and Mare, had wanted to send him to the Hogwarts summer camp so that they could get some time without him. It was not that they didn't like him, but that his parents had a lot of work to do right now and they didn't know anyone that could watch over Halden. His mother's parents lived in Scotland and his father's parents lived all the way up in Scandinavia. The summer camp had seemed like the perfect plan for everyone in the family, Halden got to have fun and his parents could work while not having to worry about the well-being of their son at home.

So now they stood at the station of the Hogwarts Express, ready to bid farewell. Halden had his trunk in one hand and his leather-bound sketchbook in another. A feeling of uncertainty washed over him, he had never pondered about how it would be to actually leave his parents behind. But now he gave them both and hug and his father patted him on the shoulder. He didn’t know what else to say so he simply tried to smile and then bid his parents farewell.

Halden boarded the train with a feeling of uncertainty but also with a feeling of excitement. He could finally start working on reaching his dreams and his goals! His ambition of one day joining the Ministry of Magic didn’t seem so distant now, though it would be difficult and it would require a lot of hard work. He opened the door to a compartment in the train and rested his trunk on the floor as he looked around inside. In the compartment he saw two other boys his age sit together, their shapes reflected onto the glass window behind them. Hal smiled cheerfully at them and asked: “Mind if I join you?”

Charlotte's parents were elated when she had received her letter, it was the final confirmation that she wasn't a squib (which they worried about way to frequently for it to be normal.) Her parents were very reluctant to let her go to this summer camp, they didn't want her to be so far away. The only way she was able to convince her parents was by telling them that Gem and Theo were going; in which she instantly got hit with "If Gem and Theo jump off a bridge, would you do it too?" to which she rolled her eyes.
After what seemed like years of convincing, they gave in and bought her all her supplies. Though she begged and pleaded for an owl of her own, they wouldn't let her get one. "You can just use the school's, there no use in unnecessary spending. And we expect you to write twice a week." She squinted at them and huffed, crossing her arms and walking off into the next store. "Unbelievable" she scoffed.

It was finally the moment Charlotte had been waiting for, standing in front of the Hogwarts Express, an unbreakable smile on her face. She turned to her parents, and hugged them, giving them both quick kisses on the cheeks, saying quick goodbyes as she ran onto the train. She didn't think she would be so happy to get away from them, but the coddling they did was unbearable most of them time. Sure, she did love them, but she didn't like them all too much. Too boring... and plain. They weren't any fun. She turned around while she was running, waving them off one more time; she knew she wasn't going to see them for a while to, say the least.

When she made it onto the train, she had two of her favorite books in her hands; Wuthering Heights and The Outsiders. If she couldn't find her cousins to sit with- which she knew she would. 'it's kind of hard to miss their ugly faces' she thought to herself- then she had a backup plan.
But alas! There they were, already with another person in the compartment with them. She shrugged it off, opening the compartment, not even bothering to tell one of them to move. She simply laid on top of Gem's lap.
"You look worse than the last time I saw saw you." Charlotte smirked as she patted his cheek lightly

@Theodore Martin
@Halden Frostulf
@Charlottle Marie Mahr

In the midst of Gem's angst-ridden thoughts, there was a spark of hope when he noticed there was another young boy standing at the doorway of the compartment him and his thrilled companion were comfortably situated in. He returned the smile, nodding quite quickly at his question.

"Yeh, of course, mate," He said warmly, nodding his head at the seat across himself. "Exciting, innit? Gettin' away from e' muggle world and all?" He wasn't sure if that was a question directed at the boy across him, or if it was one to try and convince himself that everything would be okay. His face felt warm, cheeks ablaze-- everything felt like it was happening so fast, he might just choke on the words he tried to speak. "Wos' your name then? I'm Gem, this is Theo..." He jutted a finger at his cousin, sniffing silently. There were people still boarding the train, little by little, pooling in and taking up seats. It was just nice that someone found their presence kind enough to want to be a part of.

Well, almost.
Gem was so caught up in speaking to his new friend that he didn't see the violently red presence of his other cousin, Charlotte, worming herself into their compartment. He was very happy to see her, he hadn't expected her parents to let her come along to the summer camp! They were always so... well, a nice way to put it would be clingy. He let out a grunt when she plopped herself down on him, wiggling around so she wouldn't cut off the circulation of his thighs and cause him to have his legs fall off. Once he was 'comfortable', (God, he never truly understood the relativity of that word until now) he smacked the back of her head, grinning playfully in return of her statement.

"Oh, ya think I'm bad? You're looking so shitty I didn't even recognize ye at first." That was an exaggeration. She looked the same. Exactly the same. He looked back over at the boy in the compartment across him, his smile less forced and nervous, and more genuine-- having more familiars around made him far more confident. "This is Charlotte Marie," he dragged her name out, making it sound as dramatic as possible. "She's another cousin of mine, but on me mum's side. Theo is from me pop's, and they're both me best friends..." He looked outside the compartment door, silently wondering when the train would get a move on. But for now, he'd have to ensue conversation without making comment on their surroundings. "Right, so you're goin' to the summer camp, aye? Wot year are you? I'm a first year, you sort of look like it too."