Parker looked left and right before darting out of the luggage cart. The coast was clear....for now. Carefully he made his way back to the passenger cars, tiptoeing past the one with the older students. They were prefects or something. Stilling when he heard a familiar shout, Parker's eyes went wide then he ran.

Slamming open the first door he saw, he clambored on the seat. Jumping a couple times, he just managed to pull himself up onto the rack when the stampeding footfalls neared. Pushing a bit at the trunk already taking up space he squirmed and wriggled until he was safely hidden behind it. Holding his breath daring not to breathe, he waited as he heard his pursuers come to the car. They after not seeing him took off and Parker's shoulders relaxed as he started to breathe again.

Until he heard the door shut. Eyes going huge as he held his breath again, Parker wondered if he'd been found out. But it hadn't sounded like them. Shifting, he poked the top of his head around the trunk. Only enough so his eyes and part of his nose was visible. "Are they really really gone?"

Ryleigh had bid her parents a teary farewell, hugging the twins as they pulled her braided pigtails rather painfully, before she climbed aboard the Hogwarts Express and started searching for a compartment. It seemed like each one she came to already had people reuniting happily inside, and she didn’t want to intrude. It wasn’t as if the young Ravenclaw didn’t have any friends. She just… didn’t have many. Okay, so she had a few acquaintances and mainly seemed to assume she was friends with people only to find that she actually annoyed them to no end.

Letting out a sigh, she continued along the aisle to the first empty compartment. Or, at least, it seemed empty. She opened the door with care, slipped inside, then slid the door carefully behind her. She didn’t mind if someone joined her, but she also enjoyed the quiet of the closed compartment. It was one of her favorite things about the train. That and the scenery.

The petite girl was about to sit down and find a book to peruse when she heard a shifting above her, then looked up to see two eyes staring back at her. She jumped back, holding her hand on her chest and willing herself not to scream. Instead, she let out a startled squeak and breathed deeply, staring at the partially exposed face with wide, shocked eyes.

“Um…” she started, finding her small voice and looking around as if searching for the mysterious ‘they’ who the boy referred to. “Yeah, I guess. I mean, they must be gone. I’m the only one here.” She smiled at him then, trying to figure out just how and why he got up in the luggage rack. “I’m Ryleigh. What are you doing?”

"I'm hiding form the freakishly large monkies," came the reply. Wriggling, fingertips gripped the edge of the rack as Parker pulled himself a might closer to the edge. Resting his chin on the lip of the luggage rack his eyes darted to the door of the compartment and back to the girl.

"It was accident but I couldn't help it! If its anyone's fault I think its my mom's. I think she's maybe half Irish or something."

Determining it was safe, Parker was able to shimmy out from behind the trunk. Dropping down from the space above like a caterpillar from a twig, the shaggy blond haired boy let out a soft "oomph!" as he landed on his back on the seat below.

She blinked as the boy tumbled to the seat and explained something about having an Irish mum. This didn't really seem to explain anything, but Ryleigh wasn't sure how she could nicely point this fact out. Her eyes were still rather wide, though her reading material was forgotten as she sat in the unoccupied seat across from the younger boy.

"Monkeys?" she asked, furrowing her brow. Did this boy know how very little sense he was making? Ryleigh was so confused, she actually scratched her head in a rather primitive manner. "How is it your mum's fault for being Irish? And what does that have to do with animals? And accidents?"

She shook her head, her braids hitting her gently in the cheeks. "Start over, I'm confused. What are you talking about?" Maybe it was rude to make the boy repeat himself, but this story was really strange. If Ryleigh was going to have any sort of understanding, the kid was going to have to start over with more details. "Oh, and are you alright?" she added hastily.

Twisting so he was sitting the right way up more or less, Parker blinked owlishly at the girl. It had made perfect sense to him, but then,he had been the one to live it. Shrugging his shoulders, Parker wondered if he could get her on his side. That way if the thundering herd came back he wouldn't be alone. At the very least she could help him hide again amd tell them he went somewhere else.

Taking a deep breath in, Parker started. "Well see, I think my mom might kind of sort of maybe a bit Irish. Everytime she cooks I turn green. And if you add in she drives like a crazy lady it really wasn't my fault."

He explained complete with hand gestures about how the meal and the drive to the platform did a number with his stomach. Then how he'd apparently said something wrong without meaning to to a couple of larger older boys. "If you ask me they looked like they could be related to monkies! The one girl could have been an orangutan's sister."

Unfortuantely it had turned out the monkey girl was dating the chimpanzee looking boy. "And well, my stomach decided it was confused too and I made a mess of their shoes."

"Oh!" It all suddenly made sense as the boy explained what he meant by the 'monkeys' and his mother. Ryleigh felt bad for the kid since it was apparent that his mum couldn't cook, but she didn't want to say that. It might be a bit rude to insult his mum when he hadn't even told her his name yet. She laughed a little at the situation, even though that might have been a bit rude too. Oh well, she couldn't be perfect.

She offered him a kind smile before she started talking again. "So, you told these older kids they looked like primates, then?" she asked with a sort of awe in her eyes. She'd never said that to anyone before. The worst she'd done so far was throw a fit and then yell at some older kids like she was their mum. That had been bad enough. She didn't even want to imagine actually calling them names. "And you got sick on their shoes?"

The blonde girl found herself laughing lightly at the whole situation. It might not be so funny to the boy, but it was amusing enough to her. "Do you know who they were? Or what house or year they were? It might be good to know for future avoidance..." There was the Ravenclaw in her, poking out its beak and telling her to think of the next ten steps. Hopefully the kid had figured out this meant she was willing to help him out.

"Kind of? I mean we're going to magic school right?" The place where they taught you how to put spells and enchantments on people. So it wasn't that far of a leap that they could make monkies talk. That was what Parker had thought. "So I asked what spell they used to make the monkies talk and how they got them to wear clothes."

It was a neat trick, only it hadn't been a trick. And he'd had to run away before they let loose their monkey rage on him. Giving an embarrassed nod, Parker cleared his throat. "You would have been sick too. I think my mom must habe wanted to be a race car driver when she was younger."

When she laughed, Parker found himself smiling too. It was funny. If it wasn't happening to you. Shaking his head, "I wasn't looking at their dresses. I just wanted away from their hands."

Looking at his own hand he wiped it on his sweater before sticking it out towards his fellow blond. "I'm Parker, by the way. That way you don't have to call me, 'Hey, you'."

Ryleigh found that she rather enjoyed this guy's company. She laughed at his jokes, mildly wondering if he meant them as jokes or if he was simply speaking his mind. Either way, he was entertaining and honest, and she liked that. "You actually asked like they were apes! That's great!"

Her laughter was musical in nature until she snorted. Then it was just ridiculous as it became even louder and she snorted even more. Oh, it was so embarrassing! "Sounds like quite a ride," she managed between laughing and clutching her stomach as her snorting subsided. This was much more of an exciting conversation than she was expecting for her train ride.

"Nice to meet you, Parker. Guessing you're a first year?" she asked as she took his offered hand in a friendly shake. "It's my second. I'm pretty happy to be going back, though I do miss the excitement of the unknown from last year..."

When she began to laugh so did he. And it became infectious to where Parker couldn't stifle it even if wanted to. His smile was so big his face began to hurt. It was nice to know not everyone were like those he'd met. What was so interesting about whatever was in the newspaper? He'd only ever seen his parents read it and his older brother had to for homework once.

"If you enjoy rollercoasters. My stomach didn't know if it wanted to be a trampoline or not." Which was one of the reasons it finally rebelled on him and sent sick all across those monkie people's shoes.

"Likewise," Parker shook the offered hand. "The unknown? Sounds fun. Isn't like that every year though?"

It couldn't all just pulling hats from rabbits. Or making making cut ties whole again. What about making fruit dance or turning people invisable or into furniture and toads? Or casting curses and and making bargains with normal people?

Ryleigh found the boy a bit confusing. He seemed unprepared for what lie ahead of him at Hogwarts, yet he didn’t seem concerned about that. It was odd. She’d been so nervous last year that she could barely function. The girl vaguely wondered what it would be like to not worry so much. To be so free like this Parker boy seemed to be.

“Well, there isn’t as much later on. Now, you don’t know what house you’ll be sorted into. You don’t know how you’ll get to the castle or about all the crazy things you’ll encounter…” she thought of the moving staircases and the portraits who heckled the students. Both had given her a mighty fright. “You don’t even know what you might face in classes or even just to get into bed!” The riddles to get into her common room had given her a bit of a headache her first month, but she’d gotten used to them, thank Merlin.

It was important for Ryleigh not to slip up and let the boy know about any of the tricks of the castle. She wanted him to be as shocked as she was, after all. That was half the fun. “So, do you know much about Hogwarts then? My daddy told me a little about it before I came, but he didn’t really say much, so I wasn’t at all prepared for the boats. Oops!” She clamped her hands over her mouth, angry with herself for ruining the surprise of the boat ride across the lake.

Blinking wide blue eyes at the girl he canted his head in confusion. He didn't know anything about houses. And it really was a castle they'd be staying in? Or did they just go to the castle for classes and to these houses when they were done? Sounded a bit like summer camp minus the castle. And why would he have problems finding his bed? Unless they were enchanted to or something?

"Boats?" Parker squeaked turning a bit green at the thought. He'd only ever been on one once. It hadn't been fun. He'd gotten sunburned, lost his lunch overboard, and had been very very bored. Fishing was not something he enjoyed. Suffice to say his cousin never invited him back.

"I know its a magic school? The person who came to tell my parents wasn't very clear about it. Maybe they were bad at explaining? Or they were scared they would melt because my sister dumped water on them to see if they would melt."

Lettie loved The Wizard of Oz. As the count stood, she had forced Parker to watch no less than fifty times. Maybe it only worked on witches? Otherwise he would have turned into a puddle of goo whenever he bathed. How did witches bathe then?

Jaeden bounced on the balls of her feet in excitement as she waited impatient to get into the train station. Her dad was currently loading her trunk onto a trolley and the only thing holding Jaeden back from running ahead of her family was her little brother's hand resting in here. "Daaaad!" The eleven year old half whined. "Ok, ok Jay. We're all set now." Her dad straightened up smiling at his youngest daughter and pushing the trolley ahead.

Jaeden and her brother fell in line behind their mother as their father brought up the read with the trolley. Jaeden practically skipped along into the station. Finally they were in the area between platforms nine and ten, but her ticket clearly stated platform nine and three quarters. "Jay, did your letter say anything about where or how to find it?" Her dad asked her, rubbing his chin. Jaeden shook her head at him, not trusting her voice.

Panic began to set in. What if it was just some cruel joke and someone somewhere was having a great laugh at her family's expense? Wasn't it bad enough that Nicole wasn't talking to her because of this? She wouldn't be able to take the gloating from her sister if this was all a hoax. Her sister wouldn't even come to see her off. Jaeden could feel the tears building up behind her eyes and did her best not to blink unless they should start falling.

Her mom saw through this charade and quickly went about reassuring her daughter. "Don't worry Jay, we'll figure out how to get to the train won't we Ralph?" Her mother spoke soothingly to her and Jaeden calmed instantly, taking deep breaths to rid her panic and rising embarrassment. "Yes, of course." Her father said. It took a while but eventually they figured it out thanks to the help of a wizarding family that was only too kind to point them in the right direction.

Taking her first step onto the platform Jaeden took in the scarlet steam engine and the crowd of witch and wizard children and fheir families with wide eyes. She was going to be apart of all this!

Her dad helped her get her trunk situated and then it was time to say goodbye. Jaeden didn't feel ashamed at shedding a few tears. This would be the very first time she was away from her family. She hugged and kissed them all and gave Joseph an extremely crushing hug before getting in the train and leaving them behind. Suddenly, she was a ball of nerves. She glanced behind herself once, as if questioning whether to go forward or back. Somehow she knew this was a life altering step, and even for a young girl of eleven it was clear that once that step was taken there was no going back. She did what any same person would do. She started down the train.

Jaeden weaved and bobbed between the students still trying to find their friends or a place to sit. She soon found she wouldn't come across any empty compartments so it looked like she'd have to make friends this train ride. The young witch stopped outside one compartment that looked promising. There was a girl and a boy in there and they looked around her age. At least they didn't look like they would tower over her if that were any consolation.

Jaeden smoothed her see through blue tutu that she wore over her jeans, which were frayed at the bottom from her stepping on them so much. She had on a blue and black shirt with a peace sign in it and a pair of sneakers completed the ensemble. She drew a breath and entered the compartment with a friendly smile. [color=yellow]"Um hi? I was just wondering if maybe I could sit in here? Everywhere else is full. And when I say full I mean full of freakishly large kids who could probably toss me like a rag doll..."

The girl trailed off, realizing she was rambling. She bit her lip as she awaited their response.

This boy was funny. Ryleigh didn’t know what he was talking about with melting and pouring water on people, but the image was still amusing as it floated through her head. “So, you’re muggleborn then?” she asked, though it was more of a statement really. It seemed obvious now. Of course the kid wouldn’t know what to expect!

She was about to say something, when another girl entered the compartment and asked to join the compartment. The way she talked about the other students made Ryleigh laugh a bit more. “You know they won’t really hurt you, right? At least, most won’t. You really just need to avoid the Slytherins…” she trailed, motioning for the younger girl to join them.

Looking over the other two kids, Ryleigh stuck her hands in the pouch of her overalls and grinned. They were like the misfit squad. She rather liked it. “I like your outfit,” she said kindly. It was odd for the Ravenclaw to have such a true smile on her face for so long. Usually someone would have said something cruel to her by now and made her cry. Instead, she found she was actually quite enjoying herself, and that made her truly happy.

“We were just talking about how Parker here wasn’t really told much about Hogwarts. Something about melting? I’m not really sure…” she trailed off, tilting her head at the boy before turning back to the newly arrived girl. “I’m Ryleigh, by the way. Second year Ravenclaw, at your service.”

"I guess?" Parker tilted his head. No one told him what that meant but he figured it meant people that didn't go around with a staff or wand and turning people into toads. Or cackled over a boiling cauldron saying those funny words.

Turning to the new girl he goggled and tried to see around her. "You didn't bring the monkey people did you?"

If she had, he was ready to jump back up in the luggage rack and hide behind the trunk again. It had worked the first time. Maybe it would work again? He was distracted by the blond girl's comment and asked, "What's a Slytherin? Slither where? And why would they being slithering in the place when they can walk? And you don't look like a bird's foot?"

Peering closer at her as he leaned forward so much that he nearly fell off the seat. Was she not really a person then? An enchanted bird's foot that was now a person? Wide eyed, he stared at the tutu girl and wondered what she had been before. Freezing, he wondered if he was going to be turned into something once he got to the school? Maybe this hand't been such a good idea after all...

Jaeden smiled brightly at the other girl who introduced herself as Ryleigh, a second year Ravenclaw. Whatever that was. "Thanks!" She said happily closing the door behind her. "I'm Jaeden. But you guys can call me Jay. My family does. And um, no. No monkeys that I know of." She added on, plopping down on the seat next to the girl. Jaeden gave the boy an odd look, not knowing why there would be monkeys on the train. She hasn't seen any on the platform. Had she missed some awesome monkey display or something?

The more the boy questioned the more Jaeden looked at him oddly. He did have some good points though. "What is a Ravenclaw exactly? It's not, you know, an actual claw from the bird is it?" The young girl thought it would be awful to do that to such a pretty bird.

The blonde couldn’t keep herself from laughing out loud at the ridiculous statements of the two younger children. Yes, clearly they had no idea what they were heading for. She hadn’t realized how unprepared the school left the muggleborns before their first year started. It wasn’t as if she’d had many people to talk to last year… She remembered when she had showed up early, leaving her parents to tend to the babies so that she could finally get away from the crying and tugging on her braids (a habit they apparently weren’t growing out of any time soon). She’d found a compartment and settled down, only to read until she fell asleep and wasted most of the ride. She’d been pulled out of her slumber by a Prefect warning her to don her robes in preparation for their arrival, and then the older girl had left. Not even an introduction. It had really disappointed the young girl.

Well, these kids wouldn’t face the same boring ride and lack of communication that Ryleigh had. She smiled warmly and decided it was time for a little crash course in Hogwarts before the two showed up without any knowledge. She wouldn’t give away any secrets. Just tell them what they could expect that the other first years would probably already know. Then, they might have an easier time enjoying themselves.

“First of all, I don’t think those monkey-looking kids know where you went, Parker. And second, we aren’t going to let them hurt you. The Prefects will make sure nothing happens to anyone on the train. That’s what they’re here for,” she winked at them, hoping they figured out what Prefects were. “Now, how about I tell you guys a little about the school?”

Ryleigh dug in her things and pulled out her robes, holding up the Ravenclaw crest for them to see. “This is my house crest. I’m in Ravenclaw, and no, it isn’t an actual raven’s foot.” She fingered the crest rather lovingly. At first, she didn’t think she fit in that well, but it really had grown on her. “There are four houses. Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, and Slytherin. You’ll be sorted into one of them when we get to the castle. It’ll be your home. That’s where your dorms and common room are, where your classmates will be, all that. It’s like your family away from home.”

The older girl wished that she felt like more of her house was her family. It was really a shame that she wasn’t closer with more of them. Maybe this year… Maybe she could turn a new leaf. “Um… I guess I should ask you what questions you have?”

"Okay," Parker agreed happily. He was glad to know that he was safe and that these two seemed like friendly people. Nodding at Jay letting her know he'd call her the name she wanted.

Paying attention, he kept to the edge of his seat as he watched Ryleigh. Peering at the crest he blinked in confusion and tilted his head. Didn't she say she was a Ravenclaw? So how come she had an eagle there? So a Slither had to be a snake. Was a Gryffindor a gryffin? That would be neat! And a hufflepuff....was that a wolf like in The Three Little Pigs or a dragon like Puff? And they were going to live in a really real castle?!

At the mention of family Parker sat back waving his hands. "I don't know... You've never seen my uncle Joe when it comes to holiday feasts or when Uncle Dennis has been in the beer."

As if remembering something he hesitantly asked, "What's a flapper?"

Jaeden nodded almost knowingly when Ryleigh explained about how the other students wouldn't hurt them because of these prefects. Of course, she really had no idea what or who a prefect was but she took the girl's word for it. How dumb could she have been to think there would be no one here on the train to make sure they didn't get picked on? In her mind Jaeden pictured these prefects as sort of hall monitors like she had had at primary school.

The young witch listened in in rapt attention with an earnest look on her face, happy to learn anything about the place she was headed to go. She felt extremely lucky to have entered a compartment with someone helpful rather than someone too intimidating to question or speak too. She looked at the robes and the crest the girl showed them with a lot of interest. "Brilliant!" She exclaimed with bright eyes. "I hope I'm in that house with you!" She said this as if it would be a great gift bestowed on her to be in the same house as the blonde girl.

Her attention was interrupted when the boy suddenly threw up his hands as if warding away some unknown person. Jaeden couldn't help but laugh at his statement. He must have an interesting family. She thought they probably shared this in common and felt a kinship forming with the other two. Her head tilted to one side as she confusedly tried to think of what a flapper was. "Maybe it's a chicken that flaps a lot?" She suggested with an unsure look on her face, turning to the older girl for confirmation.

These kids were really throwing Ryleigh for a loop. She had no idea that you could possibly know so little about the magical world before being thrust into it. It didn’t seem to bother them all that much, though, which confused the blonde girl even more. How could they be so okay with not knowing what they were in for? Her face broke into a huge smile when the girl, Jay, exclaimed her desire to be placed in Ravenclaw with her. Could she have actually made two more friends already?

It was strange to think that she’d gone from no one to three friends in a matter of weeks. And it was before school even started! What unusual good luck. “All the houses are great,” she said kindly. She meant it, perhaps with the exception of Slytherin. They tended to scare her. She laughed at the boy’s comments, thinking of her family and how normal they probably seemed in comparison. Other than the magic, of course.

“A flapper?” she tilted her head, confused. “Um…” she trailed. Jay answered and she nodded. “Maybe that’s it. I’m not sure.” Ryleigh made a mental note to ask Riley when they got to Hogwarts. She was sure the older boy would know what Parker was talking about. The blonde settled back in her seat, playing with one of her braids while she tried to think of something interesting to say.

"Okay," Parker answered not completely sure that that was what a flapper was. If it was how come his mother and father always found things for him and Lettie to do away from their grandpa when the old man started talking about them? Shrugging, the blond figured he could maybe ask an older person when they got to the school. Or he could just ask his mom if had anything to do with dancing chickens.

"Maybe they're dancing chickens then? Grandpa said he liked how they danced. They'll teach us how to do that at this school right?" Maybe he could surprise his grandp and cheer him up with a dancing chicken?

And he thought it would be great if he could be in the same house as these two girls. They were okay and he was having fun. "What else can you say about the school? Do we have to go by boat?"

Jaeden struggled to contain her laughter, she really, really did. But the boy's idea of dancing chickens had given her a visual of chickens doing a mambo number and she lost it. The young witch broke down into giggles as her laughter bubbled out of her.

It took a few moments for her to get ahold of herself and a few moments more to even out her breathing. Even then a small chuckle or two escaped as she clutched the stitch in her side. Jaeden smiled apologetically at Parker, not wanting him to think she was making fun of him. She just found him extremely funny, and mostly because the things he said he sounded so serious saying them. It was hard not to laugh. "I'm sorry. I promise I'm not laughing at you. I just think you're funny."

She really hoped she hadn't alienated the boy because she hoped they could be friends. Ryleigh too. Jaeden looked at the older girl to see her playing with her braids, and asked curiously. "Yea. What do the teach us anyways? Is it like those magic tricks you see on TV where they put the guy handcuffed under water and he has to get out with no help before he drowns?"

Jaeden looked a bit fearful even if excited. It was exciting to watch but she had decided she wouldn't want to have to hold her breath for that long. "Or do they teach us how to saw people in half?"

The Ravenclaw practically felt her eyes bug out of her head. Cutting people in half? Practically drowning for kicks? And randomly dancing? What? What the heck were these muggle kids talking about? To her, they really did seem like muggles, and weren’t they really until they learned a bit of magic? She tried to figure out how to deal with the two of them without either offending them or frightening them away from magic in general.

“Um… well,” she started, trying to keep track of all the things she needed to say. “First of all, there might be some sort of dance class. I’m not sure. I’m really too clumsy for stuff like that.” She laughed a bit at the thought of her trying to dance, then focused again on the children before her. “As far as this tv stuff, I’m not sure what you two are even talking about. Magic isn’t tricks. It’s skill. It’s… well, you’ll see I guess. I mean, it’s a lot more useful that silly tricks like that.”

She thought for a minute, then flashed the kids a large grin. “Not that there aren’t tricks, too. They’re just much better than what you two have mentioned.” She thought of something that might impress the two first years, and a grin formed on her face before she pulled out her wand and focused on the boy’s glasses. “Wingardium Leviosa,” she pronounced clearly, swishing and flicking her wand just the way Professor Flitwick had taught her last year. She smiled openly as the spectacles hovered away from the boy’s face, floating seemingly in thin air.

“See what I mean?” Her wand was still raised, keeping the glasses in front of the others for them to enjoy until Parker decided he’d like them back. She didn’t want to keep them away from him, but she didn’t want to spoil their fun either. She knew magic could be pretty crazy the first time it was witnessed, and she figured they’d want to really check out what they were seeing.