"I SAID LEAVE US ALONE, TAIKI!" Noriko shrieked as she slammed the door closed to the compartment, right in the way of her middle brother's face.  The door shuddered as he rebounded against it, and then wobbled as he tried to jiggle the handle from the other side. 

Scowling, Noriko quickly cast a Sticking Charm, temporarily sealing it against his efforts.  It was good to be going back to Hogwarts again, where she could use magic without risking getting in trouble.  Heaving a sigh, she slumped back on one of the seats, winded from their dash to the compartment.

On the opposite seat, her other younger brother, Daichi, was curled up into a ball.  He was still whimpering quietly to himself,  face streaked with tears.

Stupid Taiki.  They hadn't even made it to Hogwarts yet, and already he was terrorizing the newest student in the Wakahisa family.  Scowling, Noriko reached across to pat her younger brother comfortingly on his knee.

"It's okay," she confided.  "Don't worry.  I cried on my first train ride to Hogwarts, too."

Sniffling, her youngest brother looked up at her through his tears.  "Really?"

"Really," Noriko assured him, craning her head  as she listened for sounds of Taiki on the other side of the door.  It sounded as if there were sullen footsteps, stomping away.  Thud, thud, thud.  Noriko let out a sigh of relief. 

The worst part about Hogwarts by far was having to share a house with her middle brother.  Taiki was a terror, and Noriko had spent most of the past year in a panic that he was going to do something awful and lose points from Slytherin.  Sometimes it felt as if she spent all of her free time hovering around him, stopping him from setting his bedspread on fire or jumping in between when he got into fights with some Gryffindor.  Sometimes it felt as if all he were doing was trying to make the rest of her years at Hogwarts as miserable as he could.

But Hogwarts often turned out okay, regardless.  Last year, not even Taiki could prevent Slytherin from winning the House Cup.  She had managed to pass all of her classes without splinching any professors or having her bum exploded.  And this year, Dai would be there too, for her to protect and shepherd as any big sister should.  Noriko was determined that it would be a great year.  And maybe, she thought, with a hesitant determination, maybe this year, I'll even try out for --

"...what if I'm not?"

Noriko blinked, looking back at Daichi.  Her younger brother was staring up at her with a tear-streaked face.  "What, Daichi?"

He sniffled.  "What if I'm not put in Slytherin?" he asked, his voice trembling.  "What if I'm not with  you?  Taiki said I'm stupid, so I'll probably be a Hufferpuff."

"Hufflepuff," Noriko corrected automatically.  She gave an internal sigh.  Stupid Taiki.  She spent far too many days wishing he were in Hufflepuff, although she would never actually wish that on Pax. 

"Don't worry," she said, patting Daichi on the shoulder.  Her parents would be so proud of her if they saw what a responsible big sister she were being.  "You'll be in Slytherin.  It runs in our family, after all." 

Suddenly, the handle on the door began to jiggle again.  Daichi's eyes went wide, and Noriko leapt to her feet, her wand in hand.  Her sticking charm must have already worn off.  Scowling, the young Slytherin scrambled to face whoever it was that was trying to enter.

"GO AWAY, TAIKI!" she shouted, just in case.

"STOP IT!"

Frank rattled at the handle with one hand, and tried to fend off a small swarm of exploding bees. They didn't sting, they just flew at your face and then popped like firecrackers.

"TAIKI, STOP IT!"

He was about to try the next door when the handle suddenly worked. He stumbled in, and slapped the door behind him. A single exploding bee popped him in the fast one last time. But when he opened his eyes, the third year Ravenclaw was face-to-face with Taiki Wakahisa's formidible sister Noriko.

"Look -" he began, his hands up, ready to have to move along. It wasn't that there was anything especially wrong with Noriko, but older girls were not keen on spending time with the "little kids" and usually not those in a different house. He didn't even see that there was a tinier Wakahisa sniffing near the window.

The door swung open, and Noriko drew herself up to her full height, wand in hand and ready to hex.  But then a boy stumbled in, with shaggy blond hair instead of Taiki's close-cropped black. 

Noriko instantly went bright red.  "I'm sorry!" she squeaked, trying to shove her wand out of sight behind her back.  Standing up against her horrible younger brother was one thing.  Terrorizing some other poor student was quite another, especially if there was a chance that she might get caught and lose Slytherin points. 

Already, she could picture it.  She'd get off the Hogwarts Express, and instead of being ushered onto one of the carriages with the invisible horses, Professor Storm would be standing there waiting, his expression as grim as Noriko had ever seen it.  ONE HUNDRED POINTS FROM SLYTHERIN, he'd boom menacingly, and she'd stand there, shaking and crying, with everyone else circled around her, pointing and laughing...

"Sorry," she said again, quickly, before the boy who'd stumbled in could run and go tell on her.  He was a Ravenclaw -- one of Eirene's housemates.  She didn't remember his name, but she thought he was younger.  "I thought you were my brother.  He's been picking on poor Daichi," she said disapprovingly, shooting her other younger brother a sympathetic look. 

Daichi was still curled up, his face still tear-streaked, but he had stopped crying now, watching this new boy with wide-eyed interest. 

Where was Noriko? Eirene levitated her small, enchanted suitcase down the hall, bumping it into those who were too foolish to move. She had places to be, and luggage to not carry. She had professors and peers to impress today, and she walked with her wand held out, and chin held high.

There! Noriko's voice, squeaking out a sorry.

Eirene cleared her throat, and poked her head into the compartment, which was blocked by a boy with shaggy blond hair.

"Pardon me, Frank." She smiled quizzically at the younger Ravenclaw, looking past him at Noriko, wondering if perhaps Frank Sellaphix was assisting her friend with something and then would be on his merry way. He was younger, he knew how this worked. Her smile faltered at the sight of Noriko's much younger baby-faced brother curled up by the window.

Oh no, not Daichi!

It wasn't that Daichi was a bad person, or a bad brother to Noriko, not like Taiki. But he was so young and sniffly. And he was sitting somewhere that could be used for Eirene's smaller luggage, or stack of books, or used handkerchief. She had so much to tell Noriko, and his very presence required her to temper her gossip and language and all the very important things she had to say.

Also, he was crying! Or had been. She did not want to deal with a child crying. She was the grand age of fourteen. She was growing taller by the second, her mother said so.

"Noriko!" Eirene exclaimed, pasting on her smile again and moving into the compartment. "I just scolded your terrible brother for you in the hallway. He told me he had stuffed you into a suitcase and left it with the muggles. A suitcase! Muggles!"

She gave a dramatic eye roll and included Frank graciously in this, because he would surely understand.

Eirene flounced over and sat next to Noriko, levitating her small piece of luggage to land on the seat right next to Daichi. It nudged him a bit, as if telling him to budge up, and then opened to reveal Eirene's books, tea set, and bullet journal/appointment book/planner binder. Necessities.

Frank was relieved when the situation immediately disarmed itself; Noriko had no intention to hex him and they all seemed to be seeking temporary refuge from the manic and over-done Taiko.  He just tries too hard? Actually, it was a little much?  He was ready to let Noriko know everything was fine and share his thoughts on Taiko, but - bump!

The door opened and Eirene Antonopoulos pushed her way in.  "Um," he said.

He thought of leaving the girls alone, since Eirene claimed to have handled the Taiko situation, but he was sure the compartments would be filling up and didn't want to be stuck with people he didn't know.  So he set down his new bookbag (which has a scarab embroidered on the flab) and squeezed in on the other side of Eirene's suitcase.

"Hi, Daichi. I'm Frank. Actually, Frank Sellaphix, but you can just call me Frank. You're a first year, so this is probably your first time going to Hogwarts  Don't worry about it. All the houses are good, no matter what anyone says."

"Eirene!" Noriko's face lit up at the sight of her friend.  She had had to go without seeing Eirene all summer, and now that they were back on the Hogwarts Express, she was certain that they had loads to talk about. 

A horrified expression crossed her face at the mention of Taiki.  He was telling people that he had stuffed her in a suitcase?  Never mind that Muggles didn't scare her as much now as they once had; Noriko still knew better than to be caught amongst them all by herself.  Taiki would never dare stuff her in a suitcase.  She'd tell on him immediately if he dared to try, even if it meant losing points for Slytherin.

"Thanks, Eirene," she said gratefully, sliding over to make room for her friend.  There was nothing more dire than a scolding from Eirene, except for maybe Professor Storm.  "He's been awful to Daichi since we started to pack.  Don't worry, he'll be in Slytherin," she told Frank knowingly, giving her younger brother a nod.  "Taiki and I both are.  It runs in our family."

Daichi stared at the third-year boy, his eyes still a little wide.  "Really?" he asked him timidly, scooting over to make room on the bench for both Eirene's suitcase and Frank.  "Wh-what house are you?"

With a swish and flick, Eirene levitated her giant appointment book over to rest on her lap, wanting to share her schedule with Noriko. She flipped it open and then looked up sharply. Oh how WRONG dear, sweet Frank was! Not all the houses were good. Everyone knew the best was Ravenclaw, then Slytherin, then Hufflepuff, then no good, terrible Gryffindor.

Eirene made a strangled sound in her throat. She looked at Daichi. He'd stopped crying. Perhaps this was one of those times when it was okay to lie.

"Frank's a Ravenclaw," she butted in with pride, answering for Frank. Poor, sweet Frank. "Our house is a wonderful house. The tower is calm and orderly and full of students studying. It's the best house to be sorted into, which you'll learn soon enough."

She glanced at Noriko. "One of the best, of course!" 

It was a testament to how much Eirene valued her friendship with Noriko that the lie slipped out of her mouth with a smile instead of a strangled sound.

Eirene snorted and Frank turned on her with A Look. What was she doing? Didn't she know that first years were the future?

"Actually, she means that Ravenclaw is the best house for us." He looked to Noriko for backup. "Right, me and Eirene are, like, intelligent so Ravenclaw is the best house for us. But if you're not, and maybe you like always being in charge of everything, you'll be happier in Slyth - oh wait, Eirene. Well, actually I guess Eirene's an exception to that ..."

Frank trailed off. "Okay, look - it's complicated, but you'll be fine. Just let the Sorting Hat figure it out."
 
He sunk down in his seat and tried not to make eye contact with the girls.

Noriko imagined Ravenclaw just as Eirene described it: not the cool leather sofas and eerie green light from the lake that marked the Slytherin common room, but rather rows of neatly ordered desks loaded down with old books and ancient scrolls. Students like Eirene and this Frank sat side-by-side in silence, until every so often, in unison, when they'd reach out to turn the page.  No talking; no whispers; no laughter.  Just earnest education.

It couldn't be the nightmare that she imagined as the Gryffindor common room, but still, it didn't sound fun.  Daichi would certainly be miserable there.

She would never say that out loud to Eirene though.

Nor would she laugh at Frank's comment, although she made a squeaky noise that was somewhere between a strangled choke and a giggle.  Eirene did like being in charge.  But as her loyal friend, Noriko would never bring it up.

"Well, technically Slytherin is the best now.  We did win the house cup," she reminded everyone cheerfully.  After two years of trying and having the Ravenclaws snatch victory away, she had been elated when Slytherin had finally won.  All of the screaming had left her throat sore for days.  "But Ravenclaw is good too.  If you don't get put in Slytherin," she told Daichi, sounding a little pained, "Ravenclaw would be alright.  They're much better than Gryffindor."

"What classes are you taking?" she asked Eirene excitedly, changing the subject.  Protecting Daichi had been important, but now that her middle brother had been firmly scared away and her youngest brother's concerns had been addressed, it was time to move onto the most critical topic.  "Are you in Runes again?"

Eirene nodded, taking no offense at all to Frank's statement that she liked to be in charge. Of course she did! When people listened to those with superior intellect instead of voicing every daft thought that popped into their heads, the world was a better place. Frank understood.

Her appointment book nearly slid off her lap as Noriko blithely announced what Eirene had been trying to forget all summer. Slytherin had won the house cup. Slytherin. Eirene caught the book and clenched the edges of it. Her spine went rigid. She glanced up, her eyes narrowing. Daichi in the corner let out his own little squeak. She didn't hear him.

Breaaaathe, Eirene. Breathe in, breathe out. Don't self-combust. Don't snap at your best friend. One house cup win did not the best house make!

With great poise, Eirene opened the book to the page with her schedule on it, highlighted, with tiny pictures of each professor under each subject line and a bullet list of their favorite things. Professor Storm's favorite thing, for example, was making her cry.

"Yes," she said primly, pointing to the Runes table, sandwiched between her Arithmancy elective. "It's only a natural progression of my talents, and I find Professor Aldridge to be quite capable." 

Eirene had chosen Care of Magical Creatures as her third elective, but not because she cared to care for magical creatures. If she was going to be a Healer, she ought to know about any creature-induced injuries, and it was best to understand them from the source.

"Which classes did you choose, Frank? How exciting to be a third-year."

She gave his book bag an assessing look, scrutinizing the scarab.

"And are you still taking Divination, Noriko?"

Perhaps she hadn't forgiven Noriko yet for bringing up the house cup.

"Yeah, well..." Frank made a face. He was also less than celebratory about Slytherin's win. It was earned, but it was still annoying. Were they ever going to stop talking about it?

But then the topic turned to academics, a topic he was very keen on.  He dug out his schedule, just a little creased, and announced his own choices. "Ancient Runes, definitely. Muggle Studies, and Arithmancy. Care of Magical Creatures seems... well, mortally dangerous? Actually, I'm going to be an Apothecary like my parents when I grow up and yea, knowing about creatures would be good, but I'd like to actually survive to adulthood?"

He laughed a little too loudly at his own joke. His brother was the funny one.

Noriko could feel her cheeks getting hot at Eirene's comment.  Although she loved trying to read tea leaves and analyzing the intent hidden in a spread of Tarot cards, Divination was not on her friend's list of acceptable electives.  Noriko had made matters worse last school year when she'd spent a week absolutely convinced that she was a Seer, after a series of lucky guesses and a particularly well-designed astrology calendar.  She still secretly hoped that maybe she was just a late bloomer, and perhaps this would be the year when her predictive powers made themselves evident.

Luckily, Frank had cut in, taking the attention off of her and Divination.  Noriko's eyes grew wide, and she glanced awkwardly at Eirene.  Didn't Frank know that her friend was taking Care of Magical Creatures?

"Ancient Runes and Arithmancy are both good," she put in quickly, anxious to distract both from questions about Divination and from Frank's analysis of the risks involved in Eirene's third elective.  "You'll like Professor Aldridge -- just make sure you turn all of your assignments in on time, and pay attention in class," she warned.  Noriko made it a point to always do her work and listen to instructions, but she had nearly burst into tears in fear the first time she'd seen another student face Professor Aldridge's wrath in class. 

Noriko wrinkled her nose.  "I don't know if it's a very good idea to take Muggle Studies though," she confided, glancing at Eirene.  "Last year, they had to go on field trips.  To Muggle places.  What if you got lost?"

Eirene raised her eyebrows, impressed not so much that Frank wanted to run an apothecary, but that he already knew what he wanted to be when he grew up. Sometimes she felt like the only Hogwarts student with a ten-year plan.

Noriko's blush (her blushes varied and could be translated just like Ancient Runes) told Eirene that she was indeed still taking Divination, despite Eirene's sound advice to drop the class like a screaming mandrake. Hmph! Would Noriko ever listen to her?  Eirene shook her head and said nothing more about it. For now.

"Professor Aldridge is a cursebreaker," Eirene proclaimed. Daichi paled, and Eirene covered her mouth with her hand and laughed.

Eirene nodded, agreeing with Noriko. "I'm certain that some muggles are nice, but they wouldn't be able to help you find your way back to your class, and even if they could, they'd have to be obliviated afterwards. What's Hogwarts? What's a fireplace? Not helpful at all. Also, the Muggle Studies professor is supposed to be very sweet, but don't broach anything involving romance in front of her[1]. Certainly don't ask her how to make a muggle valentine with a muggle version of a unicorn on it, or she'll burst into tears."

Eirene pointed her quill at Frank as she imparted yet more sound advice. Not that Eirene knew anything about muggle valentines, oh no, of course not!

She flipped back to her schedule, worried about Frank's earlier comment. "You know who's teaching Care of Magical Creatures this year? Sylvain Onuris," she said the name with French flourish, then lifted her heavy planner to show them all a small photo she'd pasted next to his name.

"He graduated from Beauxbatons. No one who graduates from Beauxbastons would allow a ruckus in their classroom. They're all civilized, aren't they? He worked at the Ministry, and they follow a proper procedure for things. It won't be dangerous. You should switch, Frank. Switch from Muggle Studies."

Eirene nodded, tapped her quill against her planner, and nodded again.

1.	Lillian Honeysuckle

An injustice had been done, and Frank scooted to the front edge of the bench to tell Eirene that she was wrong about Muggles, that he lived in a Muggle neighborhood, and that his brother even had good friends who were muggleborn, and that Muggles had fireplaces too, that they just weren't hooked up - he opened and closed his mouth a few times ready to interrupt her. Afterall there was a kid listening! Noriko's brother needed to know the truth.

But then, Eirene showed them a picture of the new Care of Magical Creatures teacher and Frank's 'actually' was stopped short.  The wizard in the picture wasn't even old. Brown curly hair, kind eyes. Frank realized he was staring and sat up straight. His mouth was suddenly very dry.

"Um, yes. Actually. That might, be a good idea. I already know a lot about muggles and, actually, not much about armadillos. Or auks. Or augories."

"Why do you have a picture of him?"

It was good to see that Frank was taking their advice.  Noriko nodded approvingly, even if she wasn't quite as accepting of the safety of Care of Magical Creatures as Eirene was.  There were good magical creatures that seemed nice and huggable, like unicorns and Nifflers, but there were also plenty of terrifying ones.  Noriko certainly wasn't interested in signing up for a class if it meant she might have to come face to face with something like a werewolf or a giant spider one day, even if the professor proved to be the sort who didn't like a ruckus.

"Eirene has pictures of all our professors," she put in, giving her friend a loyal look.  What did Frank mean, why did Eirene have a picture?  It was just something that Eirene did.  Clearly, Frank didn't know her very well if he'd never seen her schedule before.

Now that they had discussed their electives, it felt as if the conversation topics that they might have in common with Frank were running dry.  What else was there to talk with third year boys about?  Noriko racked her brain.

"Did you get your Hogsmeade letter signed, Frank?" she asked curiously. That brought another idea to mind.  Noriko smirked suddenly, sneaking a glance at Eirene.

"Taiki didn't," she said smugly.  "Mum and Dad said that if he bit Daichi one more time, he wouldn't be allowed to go, and he did, so he's not."  That had been one of the best moments of her summer, even if she'd almost been similarly grounded at Hogwarts because she hadn't wanted to stop singing about it while marching in circles.  "So we'll still be able to go, and not have him ruin everything."