Approaching lunchtime. Open for anyone to assume they're in the compartment too!



“She’s two compartments away now!” Eta Pepper reported, poking her head back into the compartment from her lookout, stood in the sliding doorway. The Hufflepuff had her wand tucked in her elaborately plaited hair, despite her cousin’s suggestion that it was a bad idea. Eta was just happy to be able to wield it again after a summer wandless.

Tim looked across at Akira, his fellow Ravenclaw, with a knowing smile.
“You can’t buy the whole trolley,” he insisted. “For one, there’s no room in your trunk to fit any more.”

Akira’s trunk had burst open on the platform, and although Auror Pinn had helped her piece it back together, it had been Tim who had hopped out of the train with Eta to help her wrestle her stuff onto the train and join their compartment. Thankfully Akira's owl had also made it back into the cage too. Just before the train had pulled out of the station, their parents had bid them goodbyes. Tim’s newly wed father and step mother had brought his new little sister Amelia, a bundle for other adults to peer at and coo over.

“Looks pretty full, still.” Eta interjected, her hands grasping the frame of the door as she leaned into the corridor, playing devil’s advocate, as the trolley rumbled closer.

Akira rolled her eyes and relaxed back into her seat. "I'm not buying everything. Don't have the money. Likely will get alot of chocolate frogs though. I want the cards. However I'm not so keen on the...eating a moving frog part." She offered a Freddo to both. "This is a much easier frog to eat though. And it doesn't look like Game of Thrones when you do eat it."

Despite trying to act like she didn't care much for the trolley, she was leaning about alot to see if it was coming even with Eta's help. Her bag of coins gripped tightly as she did. Kūki let out an annoyed noise from her cage which made Akira glare at them. "Quiet you. Or I will put a cover over the cage and you won't be able to look out the window."

Akira protested Tim’s claims that she was going to buy the lady out of sweets from the trolley, even though they all reckoned she had a magically replenishing supply in there.

“This is a much easier frog to eat though, and it doesn’t look like Game of Thrones when you do eat it.” Akira extended both hands with a small purple packet towards the two Pepper cousins, who reached out with curiosity to examine the Muggle version of chocolate frogs.
“Thanks,” Tim replied, peering at it more closely as the trolley stalled at the next compartment along, where someone was definitely trying to buy the lot, by the way Eta was huffing. Akira’s owl hooted from her cage stowed in the corner of the compartment by the window, and the Ravenclaw snapped at her.

“You’re getting along well, you two…” Tim ventured, thumbing towards the bird. “Escaped on the platform, threats now. Sounds like love at first familiar.” He shrugged, poised on the edge of his seat for the trolley’s arrival. “You ever had a owl before? They can be right temperamental.”

Akira shook her head a little and before she relaxed back, with a small smile like she missed the feel of the train. "Hhhm, yeah first owl. My mother came with me to Diagon Alley, she bought her for me. And we aren't in love. We just appreciate eachother." As if to agree with her point Kūki gave a hoot. "Just, she could just be...less aggressive and more friendly. More trustworthy also, and a better owl altogether." She reached a finger into the cage to stroke Kūki who responded by pecking her finger. Akira attempted to hide it afterwards however by covering her mouth after the yip of pain and attempted to make it seem like a hiccup. "Yup. Such a....good bird...a good...stupid...bird." She said into a muffled hand.

Suddenly Akira's eyes widened as she looked at Eta. "Oh, I'm so sorry! In all the hurry to get stuff onboard and all. I completely forgot. Um, I'm Akira. Unless we have met before...in which case I'm even more sorry. I've been...doing alot during the holiday. So I may of forgotten some people I didn't speak to much." She offered a hand towards Eta, the one that the bird didn't bite.

“She could just be less aggressive and more friendly.” Tim was pretty sure that’s what the older Ravenclaw boys often said about the more tenacious girls at Hogwarts. As the bird pecked at Akira, Tim exchanged a dubious look with his cousin, Eta, and pretended not to have seen when Akira looked back.

“Hello!” Eta greeted, with a friendly smile, “I think I said hello to you at the wedding, but you probably met like, everyone in our family that day, so no offence.” She let go of the doorway to shake Akira’s hand but kept hold of it, flipping it over to examine the palm with sudden interest, gripping the end of the Ravenclaw’s fingers.

“Ahha…” Tim interjected nervously, realising that doing it to a relative stranger might end up startling Akira as Eta leaned over. “It’s alright,” he assured Akira, “she’s really into divination,” he shrugged his thin shoulders and glanced to the door as the noise of the trolley drew closer.

“Anything off the trolley, darlings?”

Akira nodded slowly, she did seem a bit hesitant and nervous when the girl randomly flipped her hand over and started looking at it, upon hearing Tim though she calmed a little. "O-oh....ok. I haven't...done any divination obviously...Transfiguration seems more interesting for me...but I guess its always useful." She looks at what Eta was looking over on her hand. "I mean only if partly true or not fully accurate...being able to read the future is cool." She gave an awkward smile. "I'm not great at parties or those things...I mean even with my mother being a witch and so is my Sister. But we are cut off pretty much from everything magic. So really except from Tim and the professor. I didn't know people really...and even then when at things like weddings as I been to a couple its usually family you never met which makes it weirder." Then the Trolley lady made the mistake of appearing at their compartment. Her face lit up in excitement as her pecked hand reached into a pocket, pulling out 1 Galleon and 5 Sickles. "Can I have 2 Bertie Botts, 6 Chocolate Frogs and some pumpkin juice please?" She started fiddling about inside her pocket as she tried getting more money out, although having difficulty with the position she is in as she did her best to keep her hand totally still for Eta.

With the money out she started sorting it to what she thinks she had to pay, one packet of Bertie Botts is 6 Sickles, so thats 12 Sickles, which is almost a Galleon. So she needed atleast one Galleon for the beans. However the frogs are likely more then that. So she takes out a couple more Galleons. The Pumpkin juice hopefully isn't much. So only a few Sickles. She appears deep in thought over the logistics of buying sweets. She almost looks more deep in thought and paying more attention to buying them then she does in some of the lessons or even when studying.

Sweets is serious business.

“But we are cut off pretty much from everything magic. So really except from Tim and the professor…” He glanced curiously at his housemate, not sure quite what she meant.

Eta released Akira’s hand, distracted by the trolley too, enough to stop trying to scrutinise the heart and head lines of Akira’s hand, it seemed. Tim let Akira order first, which was perhaps a mistake, as she began to list everything she wanted. The lady with the trolley seemed entirely unfazed, used to children spending a whole term’s money on her little trolley in the corridor on the way to school. It was a tradition for some families!

“Pumpkin pasty and a bag of sherbet lemons please,” Tim asked politely, preparing his coins after Akira, while his cousin crouched down to look at the lower shelves of the trolley with extreme interest.

“Got any jelly slugs?” Eta asked, knowing that they could sell out.

Eventually the three of them were clutching their purchases, and the compartment door slid shut. It was altogether quieter, apart from Akira’s owl. Eta sucked on the tail of one of her jelly slugs as it wriggled.

“Akira,” Tim asked, confused, “Who did you mean by me and the professor? Do you mean that’s everyone you knew at the wedding?” He asked.
“She knows me now too.” Eta shrugged, pleased with herself.
“You live the muggle life in the summer?” Tim asked, drawing conclusions from the abundance of muggle sweets she’d been carrying.

Akira happily took her sweets from the trolley lady and gave a very warm thank you to her. Then got to work on making sure she can stop the frog from moving, she appeared a little grossed out by it moving but managed to bite into it enough to make it become normal chocolate...not moving about and acting like a real frog. Kūki gave off a hoot at the frog and then looked away, apparently annoyed and thinking Akira has food that she won't give to her it seems.

Once broken into and Tim started asking she looked up awkwardly. "Well yeah and Eta now...I think I saw what I think is your brother? The one who called me your..." She glanced awkwardly downwards. "Your girlfriend. That one." She returned her look upwards before inspecting her card. "Ooh. Ron Weasley. Haven't had this card yet." She took a small folder out of a bag and opened it, she looks like she is definitely serious into her collection of all the Chocolate frog cards but only has a few so far.

"Yeah, I live a muggle life during the summer. And most of my life. My mother was a witch, however awhile ago...year before I was born she gave up on the wizarding world. She lost a friend during the battle of hogwarts...Considering that during the time everything was...rather bad. Even though she was on the winning side. She decided that was enough. She's a police officer now. The rest of my family are still into magic though." She bit into the leg and broke it off with a nice snap noise.

"My sister graduated years ago and mostly explores the world. She said she will try to come home however whenever I'm home. My aunt makes spells I believe. My cousins are studying here but I haven't seen them, they're twins. My uncle is...dead. I don't know what happened to him for it though...it was a few years ago." She seems to be getting sadder now. "My dad...I don't know...Mother says he ran away...my aunt hates him. My sister won't tell me." She sighs and breaks another leg off. "Sorry I know it isn't a happy subject too much. And that I sort of just went into...a big thing."

“… the one who called me your… girlfriend.”
“Yeah that’s Ambrose.” Eta agreed without looking round. Tim shrugged awkwardly at the memory from the leaving last last term. He settled back down to listen to Akira explain her summers.

“A police officer?” Tim asked, understanding what one was from his own upbringing amongst muggles, but amazed that someone would give up magic and do it as a job. “Wow, that’s a big family. I guess I assumed you were muggleborn when I met you.” He shrugged awkwardly again, feeling it was beginning to become his default around Akira.

“Does she use magic to solve crime?” Eta asked Akira, after saying goodbye to the trolley lady. She plonked herself down next to Akira and took out her wand to warm up her pumpkin pie before biting into it and regretting it.

“Eta’s mum’s a muggle,” Tim explained, as Eta was trying not to burn her tongue, “she’s an accountant. We’ve a few Muggle relatives too, and me and Ambrose went to primary school with all the kids in our neighbourhood. But since I started going to Hogwarts I’m kind of falling behind… like, what with the internet and stuff. I’m doing Muggle Studies but it moves so quick in reality.” Some of the Muggle Studies stuff at Hogwarts was old, and Professor Honeysuckle did her best to replace it all. Tim was rather fond of her.

“What subjects are you doing this year? I mean, what did you pick for electives?”

Akira shook her head at the questions about her mothers job. "No...as far as I know she doesn't. She doesn't like magic. She won't stop me and my sister from going into the life but she hates it...Won't use it at all really." She sighed then looked at Eta and giggled. "Try drinking some water so that you don't burn. Or..." She retrieved a piece of her chocolate frog then moved it to her mouth. "See if chocolate solves more then happiness. Plus it may taste nice." She smiled softly and lent back in her position, her other hand rested in her hoodie pocket.

She then looked at Tim and nodded. "The internet is great. You can watch almost anything on there if you search enough. There's a show that has been very cool. Its called Game of Thrones." She nodded and moved up to try to make herself appear mature, her arms crossed and nodding. "There's lots of adult themes and violence." She seemed happy though. "I've watched all of that holidays. And caught up with the first season. Although I couldn't watch Doctor Who all the way. That's running still...last episode was set in World War Two." She looked down. "So thats annoying. You seen either of those Eta?"

And during the last question by Tim she looked at Tim somewhat confused, her head tilted like a puppy and with wide eyes. "Huh? Electives? I'm only in my second year...Have you been hanging out with me and inviting me to stuff purely because of the fact you thought I was older?" She seemed annoyed and even went to take out her wand, but then giggled and hugged it. "Don't worry, I won't hate you. Just be disappointed." She then stuck her tongue out. Trying to reverse the look she had before of being upset from talking about her family.

“I think Dad accidentally broke the telly,” Eta admitted, still fanning her face with one hand as she got over her earlier bite. “But I’ve seen some of it. Man travels through time in a wardrobe. I can see why people say it’s like uncle Francis.” His cousin grinned, “Oh, I mean, Tim’s dad.” Tim shook his head, but laughed.

“Sorry,” Tim explained to Akira, “I got ahead of myself there. I don’t suppose you’ve even had a thought about what you’ll start to study too, in which case.” He shrugged, embarrassed at his mistake, and did his best to ignore it. “I do runes, arithmancy and muggle studies.”
“Me too,” Eta added between bites, “But not muggle studies, divination.”
“Everyone wants to do Care of Magical Creatures though,” Tim shrugged.
“Meh,” Eta interjected, “I would prefer to open my inner eye than do what Ambrose does.”

Tim gave his cousin a wary glance, expecting her to whip out a pack of tarot cards at that notion.

“Dad said something about McGonagall not being Head this year,” he added hastily, having sat on the information because he wasn’t sure he was meant to have overheard it.
“Well she is like ancient,” Eta protested, “I totally read that in my cards too.” She gave Akira a look that suggested it would be unwise for Akira to believe otherwise, even though Tim suspected it was bull.
“What do you reckon?” He asked his housemate.

Akira smiled softly and nodded. "Yeah, a giant blue wardrobe. Sometimes they find Narnia inside of it also, its the worst designed wardrobe really." She looked at them both hoping they got the reference, hopefully they did. Please don't make me seem mad. She listened to the explanation of the two's subjects for chosen lessons and nodded. "I think I'm good with muggle studies. I know what the muggles like. A copy of Skyrim, its coming out at Christmas!" She bounced up and down happily and excitedly. "Although I don't think I'm going home Christmas so I got it all stored until Summer!" She squeals and bounces more before relaxing and giving an awkward clear throat cough.

"So um...Care of Magical creatures? Why are people picking that? Get to meet magical creatures? Hhhm....is it the chance to be outside?" She rested her head back and then nodded. "Is it the Professor? Something about them?" She then looked at Eta and half expected her to do some sort of future reading trick also. "Just wondering, does Divination start in the morning or is it an afternoon lesson? If its morning and I take it I think all three of my eyes would be shut..."

She then looked at Tim. "Aaaw, thats a bit sad. Who do you reckon is going to be the head now? If it is Ignan..." She shuddered and hugged herself, remembered she had chocolate and popped a piece into her mouth she attempted to maintain the creeped out look. "Did your cards say who would be next head of hogwarts?" She asked Eta as she leaned towards her, seeming genuinely curious as to whether she did or not. Tim may suspect a thing but she seemed to be believing his cousin.

“Who do you reckon is going to be head now? If it is Ignan…”

Akira carried on while the Pepper cousins glanced at each other with bulging eyes, trying to suppress their need to explode.

“Did your cards say who would be next head of Hogwarts?”

“Did you-” Eta replied, “What did you call Professor Storm?”
“Merlin,” Tim exhaled with a shallow laugh, “He’s like part of our family now and we don’t call him that.”
“That name’s like taboo,” Eta squeaked, as if genuinely worried for Akira. Professor Storm had probably killed people in the past for less in Eta’s opinion. “They said it was someone familiar.” Eta nodded, though that still did fit the bill of the Deputy Headmaster.

Once the Pepper cousins got over their titters, Tim shook his head.
“I don’t think he went to Hogwarts. He’s not English, is he?”

She stared at them with somewhat confusion over their reaction to her. "I mean...he isn't here so its not like he can do anything about it...are you sure you two aren't just being paranoid over this?" She retrieved some food for Kūki from her bag and placed it into her cage. "I mean..can't you call him like Uncle Iggy or something now if he's family? He can't harm you as family, so you can call him whatever you like. Make something up that will really annoy him."

She looked over at Eta and thought. "Hhhm...maybe Professor Singh? Or...um....I can't think of any other teachers..." She looked down at her chocolate frog, having a genuine look of confusion on her. "Maybe...someone?" She nodded and looked up. "Yes, thats it. It will be someone." She then looked at Tim and shrugged. "Does the place of birth really matter? Isn't it the most qualified or the one voted in should be headmaster?" She ate a piece of frog and muttered under her breath. "I'm pretty sure a frenchman made chocolate frogs."

“-you call him like Uncle Iggy or something-”

Eta shrieked with laughter at this suggestion from Akira.

“… he can’t harm you as family, so you can call him whatever you like. Make something up that will really annoy him.”

“Ok, ok,” Tim relented, “now I can believe you really are a second year.” Eta was still chucking and muttering that she should go and find Zeta and tell her what Akira had said. “It’s tradition that the Hogwarts Headmaster is someone who studied at the school, Professor Storm went to Durmstrang. We’ve had what,” he glanced to Eta as he counted on his fingers, “Snark, Reid and McGonagall since he arrived, and he’s stayed Deputy Head. McGonagall was only doing it because they couldn’t find anyone else, my Dad said, he’s a governor, well, has been for a year or so.” Tim shrugged.

“And maybe Gabrielle[1] would send him howlers him if he harmed us, but he doesn’t have to harm us to make our lives miserable at school. He’s Professor Storm. He hung Ambrose up by the ankle from the classroom ceiling for getting his spells wrong, he had students almost killed by direwolves on detention, and the prefects almost kissed by dementors when they weren’t even on detention.”

“And your dad said he must be doing something right if Ambrose got Acceptable[2] for his OWL.” Zeta chipped in with a sage nod.

“You weren’t around when he arrived, he’s got a bit more bearable.”
“Speak for yourself.” Eta had hidden under the desks when they had faced their boggart lesson last year.

“But yeah, Singh’s lovely, he should be Headmaster. He’s always fair and he’s a good teacher.” Tim relented, “Gryffindors are good Headmasters.”

1.	Tim’s step-mum, Ignan’s cousin
2.	ref