Compartment 5 / Full Closed

He's ridden on trains before, the thunderous roar of the Hogwarts Express couldn't shake him. But what did rattle him slightly was the fact that he was leaving to a place far from home - from Derby. His hesitant posture was nothing short of fight or flight. In this case, it was the latter. The heavy hand of his father gently came down on his shoulder, shaking it ever so slightly as he turned the young wizard towards him. 

"You will be okay, there's nothing to be afraid of." His father's voice was heavy, thick in a Hungarian accent. His mother secured the rest of his belongings and turned back to the two of them, seemingly trying to hide the forlorn look on her features. "I know it was short notice Reid, but you'll like it at Hogwarts." 

The brown brows furrowed slightly, "But everything is so new." It was all so surreal, it was almost a sensory overload. This was magic, real life magic. His father gently patted his shoulder and crossed his arms across his chest. "There will always be change in your life no matter what, Reid. You have to adjust, just like me when I moved from Hungary to the United Kingdom." 

The young wizard pursed his lips, looking back towards the locomotive. He watched the kids all eagerly pile in, some chatting amongst one another. "I don't know anyone, I might never make friends" he blankly spoke. It was hard enough making friends at his normal school.

"You will, but you have to try." his mother coaxed. Reid softly inhaled, nodding as he turned back to his parents. He was then pulled into a tight hug, making his expression fold as he tried to hold his emotions back. "We love you. You will be all right, send us some letters and look out for our parcels." his father chuckled. Reid nodded and pulled away once he felt ready. How long till he saw them again? He didn't know for sure. "I'll write as much as I can."

After a few exchange of words, Reid said his last goodbye and hurried off towards the train. He noticed how some people knew one another - would he have to vie for his seat now? Either way, he found himself near compartment 5, empty as any. Lucky as he was, he slipped right in and fixed his robe. He pulled a half eaten candy bar from his robe and chewed on it, looking out the window. The amount of people on the platform made it hard for him to find his folks. But the young boy kept looking, craning his head in each and every which way. 

It was the day Aileen and her twin, Victoria, had been excited about for years yet when she entered platform 9 3/4 her face was sullen. "Don't worry. I'll come find you as soon as I can." A soft voice whispered to her. Aileen had a hard time looking up. Her blue hues met with equally blue eyes and upon the face, so very much like her own, rested sweet a smile. "Which might very well be never." Aileen grumbled. The smile faded. Oh, how Aileen despised it when her sibling looked at her with worry. Running her slender fingers through her hair, Aileen took a deep breath and forced herself to smile.

"Just look out for yourself okay? And promise you'll come find me whenever you are in need for something. And Tori..." She gripped her Victoria's arm and looked at her sternly. "I mean it. The moment something happens, the moment you feel uncomfortable or anything, find me. And if the punk treats you ba-..." 
"Oh come on, Alli. Nothing is going to happen. The Durmings are good people." Aileen found herself interrupted by her mother and she send a glare the woman's way. It was all her fault to begin with.  The Durmings were the twin's father most loyal costumers. They have spend enough galleons at their store to earn them a real VIP treatment. Apparently being accompanied by one of the Johnson's daughters was included because two days ago her mother came with announcement. 

Of course they had picked Victoria for this special mission. Aileen wasn't nearly as charming and with her mouth, she'd probably end up insulting them before the train had even left the station. And so she watched her mother dragging her twin away with much chagrin. "She means well, you know." Aileen turned around to see her father look at her, his expression a mixture of worry, guilt and sympathy. The girl shrugged and grumbled. "Whatever helps you sleep at night."

She didn't wish to make her father feel bad, after Victoria he was her favourite person in the family after all, but she could not help herself. A sigh left lips before she gave her father a quick hug. "Don't worry about it dad! I'll be fine." 

And she was going to be! She was Aileen Johnson after all. Taking her trunk she send her father a quick smile before hurrying towards the train. Once inside she noticed just how packed the train was. The corridors were filled with students trying to find a place and Aileen turned around, about to say something when she realized Victoria wasn't with her. Tears welled up in the girl's eyes. For the first time in a very long time she was alone. Feeling defeated, the female made her way until she found an empty compartment. A small light in her seemingly dark situation, she could have the window seat. Aileen had not even realized another person occupied the compartment, the girl was too caught up in her effort to fight back the tears.  

Eventually her eyes wandered around the small room and came to stopped at the boy in front of her. Tilting her head somewhat, she rose her eyebrows. She didn't hear him come in.  Had he been here the entire time? Her eyes widened. Had he seen her almost cry? No, that's impossible. The thought repeated through her head while she spoke. 

"Who are you?"

It was easy to get lost when he was so focused on looking for his parents, but he was yanked back to reality by the sound of a voice. The young wizard's head whipped to the source, brows furrowing in slight confusion. Who was he? Who was she though!? How long has she been there this whole time? Wasn't the compartment empty. What if she's a ghost? He shouldn't jump to conclusions though, that idea was a little far fetched. 

Reid shot her an awkward and confused smile - he was still chewing on his candy, "Em Weed, Weed Kovas." Oh, his mouth was still full. The wizard sat back on his chair and forced himself to swallow the blasted sweet treat. "Reid Kovacs, sorry." he sheepishly spoke. The boy slouched in his seat and glanced out the window one more time, they were probably going to leave soon. He slightly frowned and then turned to the girl with a bewildered expression, "Wait ... were you here this whole time? I swore this was empty when I got here." The young wizard sucked on his teeth, trying to get some of the caramel stuck from the crevices. 

He should have known better than to buy a handful of candy from Mr. Benning's store, especially caramel. However, his parents insisted it would keep his nerves still. It did that just fine, but he was sure he'd need to see a dentist soon. Were there doctors and dentists at Hogwarts? Maybe this girl knew, she seemed like she knew what this world was like. 

Her nose wrinkled up as the boy spoke, his mouth filled with whatever he was eating and rolled her eyes though the corners of her lips curled in a smile. The boy seemed to be rather simple minded, too focused on his...  Her eyes shifted to what the male was holding and tilted her head ever so slightly. A candy bar of some sorts?  Whatever it was, it was half eaten and clearly keeping the boy busy.

Kovacs,  the name didn't ring any bells for the female. Not that such a thing was surprising, Aileen was horrible with names. Her gaze shifted back to the boy's face as if she hoped to see something familiar in there. She didn't. Her lips parted as she was about to question his heritage but quickly closed it again. Questioning someone she had just met did not seem like a good way to start off a conversation. Then again, she wasn't particularly looking for conversation.

"Wait... were you here this whole time? I swore this was empty when I got here."

The words pulled away from her thoughts. Her eyebrows rose and she'd blink a couple of times. Was it her that had barged in on him? "I.. No, I mean... I thought that... Maybe.."  And this time the girl was rolling her eyes at herself. Great, she had now become a stumbling mess. A soft sight left her lips while her fingers ran through her hair. "I think you were here first, is what I mean to say. Would you prefer it if I find another place to sit?" Her eyes shifted to the door. She didn't feel like walking through the crowded the corridors once again but if the boy preferred to be alone, she was not going to argue with him about it.

At least she wasn't telling him to butt out and find a different compartment. He was about to ask her the same thing. He's never recognized her before, but she did seem more put together than he was. Almost everyone in England had some sort of accent, he was trying to figure hers out. His was easy and he made no motion to hide the East Midland accent he had, Derby if she's visited. Her frustration didn't go unnoticed and he couldn't help but smile slightly. 

It faded as he shook his head as a 'no' at her question, he wasn't that shy that he couldn't stand being around another person. The young wizard crookedly beamed, "No, no. Feel free to stay, doubt I'll be making use of much of this space anyway. I'm not particular." He had a very lighthearted demeanor, although it felt more of a way to cope with his unclear discomfort. The thought of being sent somewhere far away with people he didn't know was still fresh in his mind.

He heard the footsteps in the corridor fade and the sound of compartment doors closing got closer. It must've been the conductor closing everyone's booth. If she was going to bolt, he figured that she would want to do it soon. It was a little naive of him, but he hoped others would come sit in five as well, but he wasn't going to push the idea. Reid realized he didn't even ask her name, prompting him to stop what he was doing. "Sorry, but what's your name? I should've asked." He folded the candy bar and put it back into his pocket, clearing his throat as he did his best to be attentive. 

Christy had to find the platform pretty much by herself as her parents were muggles and didn't know any better either. She was really nervous, but she eventually noticed how others got there, so she followed suit. 

She appeared on the platform and noticed the train - about to leave! "Oh, I better hurry and board, then," she thought to herself. She looked around at everyone else and boarded the train, nervously. All the cars seemed to be full until she noticed one with only two other people in it.

"He-hello... Um... D-do you guys mind if I...?" she nervously was trying to ask if she could sit in their car, but she looked at her feet and her face flushed bright red. She glanced up at the other two who seemed to also be first-years. "I'm making a fool of myself," she thought to herself before her face flushed brighter and she started to fidget with her robes.

This is gonna be fun.
Shut up, this is gonna suck.
Make some friends at Hogwarts instead of being anti-social and sitting in your room alone then. It won't be very bad if you have friends.
Sure.
The young wizard was pulled from talking to the voice in her head when her mother hugged her, smiling slightly, "Remember, make friends, try not to kill anyone, and make me proud," Her mother spoke, holding Kat in her arms.
"I'll try. I'll be sure to work harder than before,"
"Make friends, have fun, don't just worry about the work. That'll be no fun," The woman spoke, pushing Kat along gently as the train made noises, sounding as though it was getting ready to departure "You'd better go, dear. Send me an owl when you get there, I wanna know which house you get into, I'm still bettin' on Slytherin."
"Okay, mum! Well, I'm gonna try to get a compartment before the train sets off and I cant get one," With that, she set off, lugging her bags with her as she quickly clambered into the train, looking for an open compartment.
She saw the train conductor starting to close the doors to the compartments which sent a shiver of fear down her spine. She wasn't scared of the action, she was scared that once the doors were closed, the people inside wouldn't want anyone else in their compartment. 
Open one, number 5.
Thanks.
Kat hurried to the compartment, biting her lip, her nerves getting to her, "Ah, uh. Hey, I'm Kat, I was wondering if I could join you guys?' She asked, hoping they would let her.

Not one but two girls seemed to be eye-ing for the empty places in the compartment. Truth be told, Aileen wasn't too into the idea. It was bound to get loud and noisy with endless conversations going. Yet, being alone with the boy seemed rather uncomfortable too. She gestured towards the girls and then to the empty seats. "Knock yourselves out." Her gaze then moved towards the boy and smiled ever so slightly.

"Johnson. Aileen Johnson is my name." The boy had introduced himself when she asked, the least she could do was show the same courtesy. She spoke loud enough so their new companions could hear her as well. Her hues shifted to the right, her gaze focused on looking to the people on the platform. Thank god she had a window seat. This train is taking forever. If only Tori was here. If only... She stopped her thoughts right there and turned her back to the window, her gaze shifting towards her travelmates. Her twin wasn't with her and she should try to to make the best of her situation.

"So... Do you guys have any thoughts on which house you'll be sorted in? Father was a Ravenclaw, as is my older brother but Mother had spend her years in Slytherin. Personally, I'd prefer Hufflepuff. From what I've heard they are rather easy-going and Merlin knows, that's what I'm about." 

Perhaps she was rambling a bit. She probably was but she simply couldn't help herself. It was as if someone had flipped the switch and now all Aileen could do was talk. Besides, even if the girl had felt upset there was still that bit of excitement about going to Hogwarts. And if she could not share her excitement with her sister, these people will have to do.