September 1st, 2019.

Finally. Saying goodbye had taken way too long in Clarissa's opinion. Her mother had asked her 4738 times whether she had packed everything, while her father chatted with his mother and proudly watched Clarissa from a distance. The Rose heir, on her way to Hogwarts to continue the successful Slytherin legacy. Clarissa sighed. She just wanted to leave. After several goodbye kisses, a rare gesture in the Rose family, Clarissa picked up her luggage and set foot on the Hogwarts Express. No, the train wasn't going to depart just yet, but she just couldn't wait anymore. Besides, what if the compartments were already full by the time she got in? She thereby didn't want to end up together with some noisy over-excited first years. She was excited as well, but she didn't feel the need to throw her happiness in everybody's face.

Clarissa hoped all the stories were true. She was totally ready to get sorted into Gryffindor, make life-time friends, become the best witch of her year and experience adventures like nowhere else. She was certain Gryffindor would the house for her.
As the Hogwarts Express finally began to move, Clarissa watched her family smile on the platform. Her mother was subtly waving, and Clarissa nodded gracefully as a last farewell. Finally. She could breath again. The forced encounters with her family came to an end. For now. She was happy to be away from home. To be free.

The train was now rushing through the mountains at a constant pace and Clarissa took a book out of her trunk to kill some time. She was still alone in her compartment, but she secretly hoped someone would come visit her soon. What if she didn't make any friends this year? Didn't all good friendships start on the train to Hogwarts? Clarissa definitely thought so. She definitely wasn't the only first year that didn't know anyone, so perhaps she'd find a companion soon.

It was not long after finishing the first chapter of her book, that the door to her compartment slid open. A black-haired girl stood in the doorway. Clarissa looked up at her, but didn't put away the book just yet. Was she in need of anything? The train had been moving for quite some time now, so Clarissa was surprised when she asked for a sitting place in the compartment. There was still more than enough space, as Clarissa was sitting there all alone, so she couldn't see why not. The girl sounded friendly and Clarissa was even more pleased when the girl noted that it would be absolutely fine if she rather sat alone. It made her smile. This was the kind of company she did like.
“Of course! You're welcome here,” she said as she calmly closed her book and put it away. “Oh, and my name is Clarissa Rose,” she quickly added. It was an indirect question for the girl's name. She obviously wanted to know who she was talking to.

Now that she had put away her book, it would be kind of silly to just sit there and look out the window. To break the silence, she finally asked: “Are you a first year as well?”
The girl at least looked like she could be of Clarissa's age, and otherwise she wouldn't have gone to a random compartment. She would be sitting with her friends. Clarissa hoped she was right, because she wouldn't want an older student to take it as an insult and get problems already. Especially not now.

"Ouch-- Careful! Excuse me, sorry--"

Madeline had just managed to yank her trunk onto the train when it lurched forward. People pushed past her rudely and seemed to be calling out to people they already knew. Madeline pressed herself in a small open spot near the front, as the crowd of students filtered into compartments. Once she could breathe again, she started walking tentatively down the hall. A lot of compartments were either filled to the brim or otherwise contained a single person. Madeline wasn't sure what the etiquette was for the train, so she decided maybe a compartment that was empty was best? Then again, meeting other people her age was something she was looking forward to all summer. But she really should be trying to find pure-blooded students to sit with. But for the life of her, Madeline couldn't remember them now from all the commotion.

While struggling down the train cabins with her trunk, Madeline froze as her ears pricked up. Someone asking to sit in a compartment. Maybe they would have another seat open? She peered into the door and saw two girls sitting and talking. Madeline took a steadying breath, her heart pounding in her chest. 'Really now, of everything to make me nervous...' She suddenly felt very aware of how overdressed she was from what everyone else seemed to wear. When did they change into the uniform? She straightened the wrinkles out of her fashionable muggle dress, corrected her posture, ran her hands over her hair, and went up to the door. Two people were inside, one was currently in lively conversation, something about being sorted? Another deep breath, two confident taps on the door, she slid it open and gave a brief bow.

"Excuse me, sorry to bother you. Would you mind if I sat with you?" She looked between the two girls and flashing a quick smile, "I got on a bit late... most seats seem taken."

Clarissa straightened her back as the girl sat down on the seat across from her and introduced herself as Selene Beltran.
“Yes, I'm a first-year as well,” Selene answered and Clarissa nodded understandingly as the girl told her about how excited she was to go to Hogwarts. She didn't agree on the part about missing her parents, but Clarissa didn't consider it relevant and listened in silence.
Clarissa dreamily smiled as she thought about Selene's question. “From what I have heard, the food is amazing,” she jokingly said. “I am really looking forward to seeing Hogwarts for the first time, rising up from the lake. It must be breathtaking!” The overwhelming feeling of arriving at a castle that was so big, Clarissa couldn't imagine. She was used to the spacious environment in the Rose Estate, but Hogwarts was still a whole lot bigger.
“Hufflepuff? That's great!,” Clarissa spoke friendly. She could imagine seeing the girl getting sorted into the house of the kind. “I'm guessing Gryffindor for myself, but of course, the Sorting Hat knows best.” The last part, she quickly added. She was more than sure Gryffindor was the house for her, but for the sake of the 1 percent chance she wouldn't be right, she gave the diplomatic answer. It would be pretty embarrassing to scream around your prediction, and then not get sorted into that house. “My parents were both in Slytherin, though.” But she didn't want to be like them.

Their conversation was interrupted by another polite knock on the door. The door slid open and there stood a black-haired girl in a dress. Looked like Clarissa was getting even more company.
“Sure, take a seat. We don't mind,” she welcomed the girl. Clarissa assumed Selene didn't mind at least. “I'm Clarissa.”

Madeline felt herself relax slightly as she was welcomed in. "Thank you very much, Clarissa. Selene. Pleasure is mine." She smiled, as she wheeled in her trunk and slid the door shut again. She cracked her trunk open, taking out a smaller silken bag inside that contained some general items like money, as well as her uniform and wand box. Awkwardly as she struggled slightly to push the trunk up into the shelving above, and lightly sat down in a seat by the door. Quietly catching her breath and feeling warmth in her cheeks. She finally had a moment to take in the other two, briefly looking them over as she adjusted in her seat. Neither seemed as overly formal and proper as Madeline was, so she made a mental note that maybe Hogwarts was more casual than she had imagined. Selene seemed very warm and friendly from first impressions. Clarissa was harder to size up. She was nice and welcoming but also had a strong and sharp sense to her.

"It's lovely to meet you both," she gave a small nod them each and quickly remember to smile again, "I'm Madeline. Madeline Doe. First-year, er, obviously. I'm new to the area as well, so sorry if I come off a bit formal." She remembered she was to speak clearly and keep her posture straight. "I'm a little surprised they use a train to get us to Hogwarts. I assumed that we would be arriving in a more... magical way I guess. Do you both know anything about Hogwarts? I'm not from the area, so my family doesn't know much about the school yet. Only that they allow more than pure-bloods, so it must be very big." She said as she took out her uniform and neatly placed it to the side, and her delicately removed her wand from the box. Which she didn't really get to look at after they bought it, since her mother hoarded everything to pack it for Madeline. She admired it as she spoke, waving it gently through the air to get a feel for it. "I'm excited to finally use magic properly. I want to be the best in my classes." She said with a genuine smirk.

Selene had obviously noticed Clarissa's embarrassment regarding her parents's former house. It was very sweet of her to try to comfort her, but she found it also pretty bold of the girl to insinuate she would get sorted into Ravenclaw. Clarissa raised an eyebrow and said, “Thank you. I do like to read.” As if that meant she was a Ravenclaw! She wasn't going to say anything about Selene's possible house, but she guessed the girl was right about Hufflepuff and decided there was hereby said enough about the topic.

The black-haired girl smiled friendly as she entered the compartment and sat down after having put away her things. She said her name and told them she was a first year as well. Clarissa was excited to meet more people in her year, but two at once was enough for now. She was a little bit overwhelmed by Madeline's stiff posture. It was how Clarissa's grandmother wished she would behave.
Clarissa nodded understandingly as the girl spoke. “I hadn't even thought about that before,” she said as Madeline mentioned the train they were in. “It has always been a normal thing to me. But as long as its efficient, I'm fine with the Hogwarts Express.” The thoughtfulness of Madeline's note had granted her Clarissa's respect.
“My family has been going to Hogwarts for generations, so you could say I know some things about the school... We are in our first year as well, though.” Clarissa was surprised about Madeline's next remark. Did pureblood-only schools exist? If they did, she wondered why her family hadn't sent her there instead. They were obsessed with blood purity. “Where are you from, if I may ask?”
Clarissa silently watched as Madeline took out her wand. It was an unexpected gesture, and she couldn't help but slide her fingers over the contours of her own wand through her robe.
“Me too,” Clarissa reacted and she left it up to her collocutors to guess whether she was talking about using magic or becoming the best.