Akira looked up at Jonas as Nadine walked off, having let off a small sigh from the awkwardness of it. "Um..." She looked at someone in the distance and smiled, giving a little wave. "Um I should be fine. I think." She offered the Freddo to Jonas. "Thank you though. I think I see a friend just over there, they will be able to help and I don't want to waste your time. But again, thank you." She closed her eyes and started muttering a spell as if to get the pronunciation correct before placing a marshmallow from her pocket onto her trunk, she then produced her wand and lifted the marshmallow into the air where Kūki noticed it. And before they knew it was a trap Akira made it drop down into the cage and closed the door on Kūki. "Stupid bird, you are mine. Forever." She smirked and taunted her owl.

“We live in a Muggle neighbourhood though, so my parents never let us do anything fun.”
“Rubbish,” Aoide sympathised. “We’re at Godric’s - so not too bad, like, just have to be careful out and about that the Muggles in the village don’t notice odd stuff.” Godric’s Hollow was a mixed settlement, with Muggles as well as a lot of magical people living there.

“Rex, we best get Aoide’s trunk on the train.” Her mum was back, chivvying them to move as it was almost eleven o’clock. Aoide’s stomach gave a nervous lurch. This was it, the last few minutes with her parents before she went off to Hogwarts. The moment was finally here. She heard Mr Trevelyan and Gwenna confer about her luggage and greet her father a cheery goodbye.

“… Do you both know where to go? C’mon, we can find a compartment!” Gwenna asked. Emrys either twigged Aoide’s nerves or wanted to space, as he added,
“I’ll go find a compartment if you want to stay out here for a bit… I mean, if you want.”
“No, no it’s ok, let’s find a compartment,” the first year witch agreed, mustering a smile and mirroring Gwenna’s Gryffindor confidence.

Her mum and dad helped her get her trunk on, and she let Emrys and Gwenna go ahead to grab one of the last compartments while she got it over and done with, with the awkward goodbyes.
“Remember, whatever house you get sorted into, we still love you,” Her father reassured her, delivering a rib-crunching squeeze and a kiss to her forehead which made Aoide wriggle with nerves, her eyes pricking.
“Work hard, write often. We’ll be here to pick you up at Christmas,” her mother followed, and Aoide buried her face in her robes for a second, breathing in the smell of the washing potions and her perfume.

The sound of the guards slamming the doors interrupted the goodbyes, and her parents were shuffling off the train onto the platform with the other parents. Aoide joined the masses waving out of the window before she bounded down the train corridor to Emrys, Gwenna and whoever else they’d got, and exclaimed, full of nervous excitement and energy,
“OH MY GODS, WE’RE GOING TO HOGWARTS!”

“Yes, we ought to do the same,” Jonas agreed, offering his daughter some help. Unlike Aoide, who knew better to reply in such a manner, Gwenna was quick to brush it off.
“… I’m fine.” Nadine raised her eyebrows to the two wizards with her, but felt Gwenna mildly redeemed herself with asking the two younger ones if they knew where to go.

“Hope yours never turns thirteen,” Jonas exchanged a look with Rex,
“I know, eh? Been through that already with Ariadne.” Only she’d been able to claim Rex wasn’t her real dad, and they’d had Orion to palm her off on when she got truly difficult. Aoide would never be like that, Nadine was sure. Aoide was perfect. She listened to all their advice as they said their goodbyes, and would make good friends and come back with a good set of marks for her first term. Nadine was absolutely sure of it.

“Have a good term,” Nadine called, waving, as she and Rex returned to the platform with the other parents. Her partner put his arm around her, feeling that twinge of sadness as they waved off their daughter for the first term. She really did hope that Aoide had a good first term. It would feel both a lifetime and a moment until they saw her again.

“My money’s still on Hufflepuff,” Rex smiled as they waved.
“However much I hate to think of it,” Nadine replied through gritted teeth, “I have this horrible inkling you’ll be right.” She waved, “It’ll be everything yellow at Christmas. At least it’ll be a break from red…” Nadine shrugged as the train began to pull away.

Other children were leaning out of the windows of their compartments, yelling out final farewells to their family.

Feliks Spectre had given both papa and Johann another hug after they had helped with the luggage - but now he found himself walking down the passageway of one of the carriages, nervously looking into each compartment at the groups of students reuniting after their holidays. It seemed like almost everybody already knew each other; so many of the seats were already taken and nobody paid attention to him as he wandered by. He already missed his... his parents.

That was the word Johann used. A word that smelled of rich tobacco, tea, inky quills and musky colognes.

            "OH MY GODS, WE’RE GOING TO HOGWARTS!" a girl with wild hair came down the carriage with great energy, approaching two others just in front of Feliks. He stopped to stare at her. Were they all friends? At least two of them looked the right age.

With a halting jerk, the train began to move - Feliks was struck with the fear that he might not find a place to sit for the entire journey.

"Pardon," he addressed them and nervously pulled off his knit cap; it was much too big for him anyway. "Is there place to sit in your compartment?" And then, for good measure, he affected a little wave. "Um. My name is Feliks. First year. I don't know anyone." The truth seemed like a good place to begin.

“Is there place to sit in your compartment?”

Aoide stopped, hands in the air in celebration and nervous excitement, and spotted the lanky figure behind Gwenna and Emrys, complete with bobble-hat, long black hair and pale face. He had a funny accent and introduced himself as Feliks. He didn’t look dodgy, and in fact he looked pretty unthreatening.

“First year!” Aoide exclaimed and went to high-five him, complete with an enthusiastic jump. At the same moment the train lurched and began to pick up speed, and she was catapulted towards Feliks, which ended up in Aoide giving Feliks an accidental hug to stop herself landing on the carriage corridor floor.

“Merlin’s buttocks, I’m super sorry!” She squeaked, blushing crimson. They weren’t even clear of the platform and she’d already made an arse of herself, in front of two new potential friends and one sort of already friend. She got back to her feet. “Yeah sure, come, ehm, sit with us, right, uhm, guys?” She looked to Emrys and Gwenna who had found the compartment, and by rights she felt had control over who entered.

“This is Gwenna, and Emrys,” she introduced, “I’m Aoide, but you can call me Dee. What did you say your name was again? Phoenix?”

Somehow, she'd ended up surrounded by First Years, but Gwenna was so excited to be on her way to Hogwarts that she didn't care.  Finally, after a whole summer of suffering her parents and their oppressive tyranny, she was free!  She would have given a cackling laugh, except for the fact that it was far too early in their journey to be terrorizing younger students.

"Yeah, come on!" she said cheerfully to Phoenix, motioning him inside.  "We might have to squeeze in one more, though."

Since she was the oldest one present, Gwenna didn't ask before scrambling into one of the compartment seats nearest the window.  Craning her neck, she tried to peer past the others into the hallway, looking for a familiar face.  She hadn't seen Noah Pratt on the platform, but he had to be on the train somewhere.  Surely her best friend would be looking for her, wouldn't he?

"You can close the door, but keep an eye out for the tea trolley," she instructed the three younger students, clearly still peering past them into the hallway to watch for someone.  "You'll probably want to eat something when it comes.  It's a long train journey, and we won't get dinner until after you all get Sorted."

Feliks laughed in surprise as students all along the passage bumped into each other when the train moved, and he braced himself for the force of Aoide's accidental hug. She was apologetic. He didn't mind, he liked hugs and her hair smelled nice. Also, she was letting him sit in their compartment!

            "What did you say your name was again? Phoenix?"
"Um," he hesitated.
            "Yeah, come on!" The older girl corralled them in. "We might have to squeeze in one more, though."

The four of them took their seats, Feliks plopping himself down and tugging off his wool hat. This was only the second train he had ever been on. It was cosier than the one he had taken from Moscow. A tea trolley being mentioned reminded him that he was hungry, even though he had eaten before they came to the station.

He noticed that Gwenna staring out into the passage, preoccupied, so he turned to Dee. "Feliks. Not, um, my name is not Phoenix. Feliks Spectre. Do you know what they have on the tea trolley?"

They piled into the compartment, Gwenna snagging the end of one seat by the window, instructing them about the trolley.
"Thanks, Gwenna." Aoide smiled, feeling grateful for a bit of older student advice. Emrys had taken the seat beside Gwenna, with a book, leaving Aoide and the newly acquainted Phoenix to the other side of the compartment side by side.

“Feliks,” the boy suddenly corrected, having removed his hat, “Not, um, my name is not Phoenix. Feliks Spectre. Do you know what they have on the tea trolley?”

“Sorry!” Aoide apologised, “Feliks!” She put her hand to her mouth in apology for her mistake. “And er, I guess, food. We don’t get there until dinner time tonight. You have money, right?” She was keenly trying to place which of the Spectres he was related to. She’d met other Spectre children older than her when she’d been places with her mother and father. There were lots of Spectres and they all had Scottish accents, as far as she remembered.

“Where are you from?” She asked, “If that’s not impolite to ask?”

            "....You have money, right?"

Feliks nodded, pulling his backpack a little closer to him as he thought about the little bag of coins his papa had given. Money was... well he understood how it worked and they had been to many shops in Diagon Alley. But he had never been given his own money to spend before. It felt like a big responsibility.

This train of thought was waylaid by a very different question.

"Um. I don't know." Feliks stared at Aoide, who seemed very confident compared to how he felt. "I... um I mean I don't know if it's impolite," he blushed. "I am from... Siberia. Sort of. I live with my papa in Edinburgh now."

That was the truth, or at least enough of it. "My mama is dead," Feliks added, because he knew that was the best way to make people stop asking him questions he did not want to answer. "You are from London? Or somewhere else?"

“… I mean I don’t know if it’s impolite,” Feliks replied.
“Well, your accent. It’s not from round here.” Dee tried to quantify with upturned hands and a tight shrug. If someone had asked her on her face alone she might have stuck her tongue out.
“I am from … Siberia. Sort of. I live with my papa in Edinburgh now. My mama is dead.”

“Oh,” Aoide replied, uncomfortable at that information, not knowing what to say. Her parents were both alive and had just waved her off on the platform.

“You are from London? Or somewhere else?”

“Godric’s Hollow,” she answered proudly. “It’s a village in the West County. Uhm, like if London was here,” she pointed in the air before them, “and Edinburgh was here, my home is like, here. But I don’t speak with an accent from there. My mum made me learn how to speak without a strong one.” Aoide could still try to talk like her neighbours if she wanted to, but it sounded like she was making a joke.

“Wow, Siberia though!” Dee exclaimed. “That’s like… up north, really cold, right?” Her grasp of northern European and East of Europe Geography wasn’t her strength, admittedly. She’d enjoyed colouring in maps and diagrams but hadn’t remembered too much past climate about that area of the world. Sensing that Feliks wasn’t enjoying being centre of attention she turned to Gwenna and Emrys. “What about you guys?”

Still no sign of Noah.  Had he made the train?  Gwenna huffed, finally tearing her attention away from watching the door.  Either her friend was onboard somewhere or he wasn't; she'd likely see him at the Welcome Feast once they arrived at school.  If he wasn't looking for her, she wouldn't waste time looking for him.

Aoide's question pulled her back to the conversation.

"I'm from Exeter," she said matter-of-factly.  "We've lived in London for years, though.  Near Hammersmith," she added, as if all of the first years in the train car were surely familiar with the city's geography.  "I went to a Muggle school there before starting at Hogwarts, but Hogwarts is loads better."  For one, there was magic; for another, it meant she got to escape from her overbearing parents and go adventuring.

            “Wow, Siberia though! That’s like… up north, really cold, right?”

Feliks nodded, a little shyly, wishing he could say more - that as lonely as he felt at the Cottage, there was beauty in Siberia. All he had known. But he had left it behind and he could not speak about it without inviting more questions. So he listened to Dee and the older girl talk about where they were from. Godric's Hollow!

"That sounds like a fairy tale name!" he told Aoide with a grin. Exeter and Hammersmith sounded less whimsical but Feliks was suitably impressed by anyone who lived in London. Papa and Johann had taken him there to shop. It was big and busy and beyond anything he had ever read about it.

Going to a muggle school sounded strange. Did many people go? Feliks frowned, not sure if it was polite to ask. The Almasys would never do that, not even with the squibs. He looked out of the window at the passing landscape and thought about how it would soon give way to that of Scotland's. Both of his new homes lay in this direction.

“… we’ve lived in London for years, though. Near Hammersmith.” Gwenna chipped in. Aoide hadn’t the courage to ask what Hammersmith was.

“That sounds like a fairy tale name!” Feliks remarked about Godric’s Hollow. Aoide shrugged and laughed.
“I guess it does, doesn’t it?” She smiled, suddenly able to look upon her village’s name with a new perspective. It had just been normal all the time she was growing up.

“Hogwarts is loads better,” Aoide agreed with Gwenna, “and our day has finally come!”


End