9:30am, Ravenclaw Commonroom

"Train leaves in 30 minutes! We need to clear out in 10 minutes! Unless you want to stay here, get your bags and get downstairs!"

An older student was impatiently trying to wrangle the younger students as Frank Sellaphix tore down the winding steps from his dormitory, laden haphazardly with bags, loose clothing and books.  "Co-oo-ooming!" he shouted as he bounced down the steps two at a time.  When he made landfall he dropped a book and in bending down to pick it up, dropped a few others and a sweater.  And at that point, he thought it best just to drop everything and regroup from there.

He was blocking the stairs rather effectively as he knelt down to try and stuff everything into his bookbag and extra duffle.  They'd been advised there was no need to bring home their whole trunk since they'd be back in a few weeks.

As much as he'd loved his first term at Hogwarts, the excitement of returning home and getting to see his mom and big brother again and ah! He had so much to tell them! He had learned scads of spells and he couldn't wait to show them off.  And also - CHRISTMAS.  If he was honest, he was nervous about what it would be like to be home again with his dad still in prison - he just didn't want to think about it. 

"Wait!"  he suddenly looked up from what he was doing.  The diddly-bob on his zipper was gone.  He couldn't zip his bookbag... he looked up and around.  There were people rushing around, stepping over him.  He was going to miss the train!

He got up and sidled up to a second year.  "Hey - hey, hey the doohicky thingy is gone," he pointed vaguely at his pile of stuff at the foot of the stairs.  "Can you fix that? I mean, is that the Reparo one? Or is there a better one for those things?" 

Wow was Remi not ready to leave. His family was becoming more and more quiet. Letters appearing less and less, with a decreasing amount of words in each letter, what was going on at home. He was fully packed and began to talk to his wand again," Things at home seem different, I just hope nothing bad happened." Many would think that he was just talking to himself. Remi didn't care, his wand was everything to him.

He saw a pile of books fall from somewhere but he didn't really pay attention, he was going to be late. He was almost down the stairs when a first year walked up to him.

"Hey - hey, hey the doohicky thingy is gone," What on Earth was this kid talking about? Remi didn't particularly care for anyone his age or younger. They're all pushovers in his mind, he was too mature for them.

"Can you fix that? I mean, is that the Reparo one? Or is there a better one for those things?" Oh the zipper is broken. Well Remi didn't want to make the little kid whine and cry like most of them do so he quickly emptied some contents in one bag and moved them to another. There were too many people around to use a spell, he might get his wand knocked out of his hand. He tossed the little kid his empty bag. "Here use this, just give it back after break." Remi didn't have time for this so he just kept moving along.

"Thank you!"  Frank took the bag and knelt down quickly and started stuffing his things in it.  Quick as a wink his problem was solved and he was on his feet. 

"Wait up!  Your name is Remi, right?  I'm Frank," he said walking right up next to Remi as they made their way across the  commonroom, winding between knots of other Ravenclaw trying to get things packed last minute and chattering loudly about holiday plans.

"Thanks for the bag - it's not expensive I hope.  If you want I can just owl it to you when I get home if you need it.  What's your address?  Really is a life saver.  If I didn't have it, I'd probably be okay I suppose. I could maybe use my shirt and bundle up the books in it and use my socks to make a strap, all tied together.  Are you sure you don't need it?  We could share it and then swap it out at the station.  Who's picking you up? Maybe your family and my family could share a cab.  Do you take cabs?"

Frank, in his eagerness and excitement for the day, was rambling on.  He'd never really noticed Remi before.  There were a lot of people he hadn't met yet and lots of the older years were kind of intimidating, but Remi seemed smallish and quiet and hey - really friendly apparently, giving Frank his bag like that.

"I haven't seen you much before - have you been sick with Dragon Pox or something? You can die from that, you know."

Oh dear God not one of these kids. While they were both walking along he just had eyes locked straight ahead of him and an emotionless face, basically thinking "MAKE IT STOP!!!" He was taught to be nice, but he hated having attention afterwards, especially from a first year.

Trying to answer as painfully as it was he replied in a calm manner," The bag was cheap, my town isn't really that rich. and I don't even know about anything else you said. For a RavenClaw you do talk a lot, I'd expect this from a HufflePuff." Remi did not like having conversations that were pointless. He assumed that most people gathered wisdom and knowledge from talking, he learned the exact opposite.

"My brother is a Hufflepuff," Frank said firmly.  "And he's a git, so..."

There was a momentary pause as they shouldered their way out of the commonroom portal bottleneck, but when they emerged Frank was still following Remi closely. 

"For a Ravenclaw you don't talk very much.  You don't sound like you have a lisp or anything.  What are you doing for Christmas? I forgot where you live - have you ever been to Diagon Alley at Christmas time? My family's apothecary si in Knockturn Ally but don't worry - it's safe.  It's just a really old shop and my mom says it wasn't always technically in Knockturn until they built that other building right next to us fifty years ago.  Diagon's amazing at Christmas.  I really want a new broom.  Hey, you're a third year, right? You have your own broom? Are you on the Quidditch team? I've never seen you out there."

Frank adjusted the straps of his bags on his shoulders and kept on after poor Remi - hey! Maybe they could sit together on the train!

Remi stopped walking, people pushing around him. He sat next to one the windows, looking back on everything. Frank talking about being so quiet an unnoticed in such casual conversation set off something in Remi. He began to flash back on his life. His muggle friends that he used to do anything for, always having to get out of peoples way because they didn't see him, his family drifting apart. Everything that Remi has done he's done alone.

He came back and saw Frank looking at him," Look kid give me the bag whenever you can... I really don't feel like talking to anyone right now."

Frank stopped when Remi turned suddenly sad-looking - what did he say wrong?  He followed Remi over to where he was next to a window, nodding to show he understood.

"No, it's okay.  We don't have to talk.  Totally, no problem, mate.  I'm just happy we're going to make the train in time.  My mum would absolutely dismember me if I missed the train.  So it was well lucky you had an extra bag.  So thanks really.  That's all."

A prefect walked by them.  "C'mon! Carriages are leaving in five minutes! Get downstairs, yea?"

Frank turned back to Remi.  "Aren't you coming? Carriages are leaving soon."

So much for alone time, now he to hurry down or else he'll be late. At least he could conjure his thoughts and ask questions to someone, maybe for once in his life talk about his problems to something other than his wand.

After a quick walk down a flight of stairs Remi asked,"How would you feel...if everything you've ever done in your life you did alone. No brothers or sisters or even parents to talk to?" This was probably a stupid question to ask someone, especially a younger student. This was perhaps, the first time that Remi was talking about his problems.

Frank's face lit up but he quickly hid it again when Remi started talking again.  Good! He hadn't said something stupid to put him off.  Frank already had loads of friends, but very few older friends - he could imagine that knowing someone like Remi could be useful.  He hurried after as the pair of them hustled down, down, down from high up on Ravenclaw Tower.  It was a long way to the Entrance Hall so they'd need to hurry.

"That'd be rubbish!" he answered.  "I don't really like it when I'm on my own - too quiet, you know? I have the Wireless on when I'm doing homework sometimes and my mum's like 'how can you even do that' but I'm all 'I like it better this way'.  I mean, it's nice to be alone sometimes.  My brother is pretty loud and can be a real arse."

They turned a corner and a pair of young Gryffindors nearly collided with them; they were rushing down from their tower commonroom as well. 

"Why do you ask? I mean we're at Hogwarts! There's always someone around."

Of course, after replies like that Frank wouldn't understand. Remi decided to shrug it off, like he did with a lot of his problems, and move on.

Putting on a very believable smile and happy reply of "Yeah I suppose...it is Hogwarts." He sighed, at least he was opening up to someone. "You're alright." This was Remi's way of showing some sign of friendship to someone. He was almost like the opposite of Remi, always talking, always making himself noticeable. Well as they say, opposites

Another group of students ran in between the two, quickly apologizing for not seeing them then running down the stairs. Typical, still not noticed, but now he could help Frank out.

"You need anything?" He decided to actually engage in Franks conversation.

There was a strangeness about Remi that Frank was picking up on.  Remi didn't seem like other kids somehow, but it wasn't something so horrible that set Frank off or anything.  He'd met a lot of strange people since he'd come to Hogwarts and unlike back at his primary school, people here came from all over the country from all different walks of life.  It really was different here and well, Remi seemed different too. 

Frank smiled at him. 

"Nah, I'm good.  Got some money for sweets on the train - saved it all term! Honestly, a bit sad to be heading back home.  It's going to be so boring after Hogwarts! And won't be allowed to use my wand.  Betcha my mum will let me, though.  At least show her some of what we've learned so far.  We learned one for moving things around from Professor Kesali - I really want to try and see if it'll sweep up for me!

"Do your parents let you use magic at home? They say it's not allowed but sometimes if you've got permission apparently it's no big deal.  Bit of sweeping won't hurt anything."

They were in the Entrance Hall now, their stream of students from upstairs now combining with those from below.  Outside the big doors there was a back-up of students waiting to load into the carriages, carriages with no horses that just moved on their own.

Remi could easily sneak a few free treats off the train, no one would would notice.

Then Remi thought about using magic outside of school, how his parents didn't let him last year. Letting the little kid ramble until he finally stopped, Remi just replied, "Nah my parents won't let me"

By now Remi was past small talk with the kid. "Have you heard of the mafia?"

Frank shrugged sympathetically when Remi said his parents wouldn't let him use magic.  Frank honestly wasn't sure himself if his mum would let him - he rarely saw Figaro using magic at home, but that could just be that his big brother didn't care about practicing.  But his brother was 17 now - he was allowed.

Queuing up to load into a carriage, Frank turned his head at Remi's question.  "Mafia? You mean like the Mafia? Or like mafias in general? Because there are all kinds of mafias, actually.  Lots of them - you mean like, the Russian Mafia? Or the Sicilian Mafia? Or," he started giggling, "someone wrote Hogwarts Mafia on the bathroom wall.  Yeah, right! Like there's a Hogwarts mafia.  What would they even do? Skip class and smoke cigarettes behind the greenhouse? Well hard, I'll bet.

"I wonder what mafia even means.  Is it Italian?"

Remi began laughing, He knew everything that went on around the school, it's what he does for fun. There was a Mafia forming but, it seemed to be unorganized for now. Besides, Remi could do almost anything he wanted and if they got on his nerves, he'd get back at them. If they ask him to join, he might.

"Yea kid, the Mafia. There's supposed to be some sort of thing going on Hogwarts but it's really bad right now. Wouldn't even consider a small gang."

Remi did struggle with these kinds of temptations before coming to Hogwarts, he just wanted to fit in and be noticeable. At least now there was someone that he could talk to openly, sorta.

"Maybe if they actually get their act together...who knows, I might join. It'd be fun sneaking around, getting tests for people and creeping through the halls. It's not like I don't do that anyway." 

This had just gotten about a thousand times more interesting.  Frank hissed, "What!" as he climbed aboard the carriage, Remi following after.  Other students were in the carriage as well, many of them older, so Frank had to keep his voice quiet.

"You'd join a mafia?" Frank whispered, his eyes wide.  "You'd help people cheat on tests? It's that allowed? How would you even do that? The professors here are really good at magic, you know."

Frank was both scandalized and deeply fascinated by what seemed to be happening right before his eyes.  He was already fanticizing about being sucked into some criminal underworld and discovering the mysterious of this ancient school and having to face life-or-death decisions and take bribes and make bribes and *gulp* risk getting an owl sent home to his mum.