Hogwarts Express, Sep 1st 2021

Vivianna had managed to grab an empty compartment. That pleased her, she wasn't sure that she could deal with playing nice with people right now, especially if she didn't like them. Her knees were bent up to her chest, her back flat against the closed window. She was facing the door, and eyed it warily, as if a monster could jump out of it any moment. Her kitten, Strike, was quite content on the bench parallel to hers. Ever few minutes he would uncurl, stretch, and place a paw on the windowsill so he could watch as the trees rushed by. Moment's later, the fluffy brown and black creature would curl back up again. Vivianna was certain he was the strangest cat she'd ever seen.

The young witch was nervous, she had no idea what to expect from Hogwarts. It wasn't like her parents told her anything about the school they had both attended. Her uncle had be home-schooled, and her aunt had attended Beauxbatons. Due to this, the girl had read all she could on the subject, needing to know for her own peace of mind what to expect.

The house system she'd read about troubled her, she just wasn't certain where she would go. On the platform the girl had heard many a student bragging about how they would win the house cup this year, or were certain to be a Gryffindor. Vivianna just wasn't sure. It hadn't taken her too long to narrow it down to Slytherin and Ravenclaw, but between the two she was stuck. The eleven year old was rather witty for her age, and was fond of books and knowledge, she was told these were classic Ravenclaw traits. The girl knew she could be cunning and sly though, she'd been tricking her parents easily for years. She was ambitious too, she wanted to make something of herself. It was a confusing cycle that the girl had lost track of time whilst pondering.

"C'mon Dylan! We have to get going!"

"I'll be right down Mum!"

Dylan rushed out of his room with his shirt half unbuttoned and a beanie on his head that nearly fell off twice as he slid down the railing of the stairs connecting the first and second floors to make it to the door. His hair was sticking out from under the beanie and he worked to try and make it flat so he wouldn't look like a girl.

"Honestly Dylan, what do you do up there that takes so long?"

"Sorry Mum, I overslept and tried to get ready fast."

"That's why you have to get to bed earlier."

Dylan sighed. It was possible to go to bed early and wake up late. It happened to everyone, he just hated that it had happened to him today. September 1st, the day he'd been waiting for the entire summer. This was the day he was finally going to be able to go Hogwarts. He smiled at his mum and dad as they glanced back at him going to their car. He looked around and didn't see his sister anywhere.

"Where's Arte?"

"She's already in the car. She's excited about seeing the Hogwarts Express."

"Oh."

Dylan smiled again. He was excited about seeing the train too, but he was a little sad about leaving his sister for the year. Who was going to watch her while he was gone? He bit his lip and looked up as his mum said something.

"She's going to be fine Dylan. Don't worry."

He nodded and they headed off to the station. When they arrived, Artemis and Dylan ran to Platform 9 3/4. They made sure no muggles saw them and they went through the barrier. The two Davies children stared at the Express and Dylan smiled widely. He couldn't believe he would get to ride in it this year. Artemis looked a little down and he knew exactly why.

"Arte, look at me." The girl looked up. "You'll be okay. I'll write to you every chance I get. I promise."

"I don't want you to leave."

Dylan saw the tears in her eyes and he hugged her. "I'll be back for break, okay? I'll see you then."

She nodded and the whistle blew. That meant he had to go. He hugged her again and waved goodbye to his parents and boarded the train. Most of the compartments were already full and he was having a hard time looking for a place to sit. He carried his pet in his cage, and gripped th handle tightly. The little toad looked around at everyone that passed by and Dylan finally came upon a compartment with only one person in it. He knocked and opened the door.

"Er.. Hi. Mind if I sit with you? Everywhere else is full."

Vivianna snapped out of her thoughts as someone knocked on the door before opening it. It was a boy who looked to be around her age, and was carrying a small toad in a cage. He looked and seemed nice enough, and Vivianna wasn't sure what impression it would give off if she said no. No matter what happened later, the girl was certain she didn't want any sort of bad reputation before her first year even officially started.

"Uh, of course, sure, take a seat," the girl said, eyeing the newcomer. Noticing that her kitten was on the opposite bench where to boy would likely want to put his toad, she reached over and scooped up the furry bundle. The kitten wasn't happy about being disturbed, but quickly cuddled up to his owner, eyes glued on the pet of the other student.

Vivianna just watched in silence as the boy got himself settled, internally wondering what house he would end up in, if he was a first year like she thought. With an inward breath, the girl figured she'd ask him herself.

"I'm Vivianna, first year, how about you?" she asked, hands softly stroking the bundle on her lap. She twisted the gold ring on her right hand nervously for a moment before asking, "what house do you think you'll be in? I'm not quite sure between two, but everyone else seems to know where they'll end up."

The young girl shifted slightly in her seat, she'd been more comfortable when she was alone. One always knows what to expect then, but as soon as another person is thrown into the equation, events become unpredictable.

Vivianna liked being able to predict things, it gave one an element of control that wouldn't have otherwise been had. But she didn't know this boy, she had nothing to base his possible reactions on, no way to tell what he'd say or think. This bothered her, more than she was willing to admit, even to herself. So she placed a slight smile on her face and waited for the boy's answer.

"Thanks..."

Dylan said timidly, stepping inside, closing the compartment door behind him. His grip on Javy's cage tightened when he noticed the girl's cat staring at his pet. It would've been easier to get a cat himself. But he'd liked Javy and he wouldn't trade him for anything in the world now. He was going to stick with his pet for the next seven years, no matter what happened. He sighed softly, sitting down across from the girl and her cat, placing the cage closely next to him.

She introduced herself and he was relieved to find out that she was a first year like him. So she didn't know exactly what to expect from Hogwarts either, though she probably had a better idea of what to except than he did. Dylan was completely confused on what to expect, especially if he was placed in a different house than either of his parents. She also asked what house he thought he would be placed in and he thought for a moment. He wasn't a Hufflepuff. He knew that, and he wasn't a Slytherin, he wasn't as ambitious as they are.

"I'm Dylan, I'm also a first year." He told her softly. "I think I'd either be a Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. I'd prefer Ravenclaw though, I'm not as brave as Gryffindors are said to be." He said shyly. "W - What about you? Where do you think... You'll end up?" He stuttered, clearing his throat afterwards, cursing inwardly to himself for being so shy.

Vivianna's hands tightened slightly on the creature in her lap. There was no way that she was going to let Strike trash this for her, no matter how much he wanted to go after that toad. It would be nice to at least know one person before school properly started, and this might be her only chance.

The girl nodded slowly, absorbing the boy's choices. He did seem a bit shy, for a Gryffindor, but hidden depths were always possible. However, if she ended up in Ravenclaw, there was a chance they could be housemates. It was an interesting thought.

"Well, from what I can tell it'll be either Slytherin or Ravenclaw for me," Vivianna announced as if stating a fact. "I just don't know which though, and I can't stop thinking about it!" she added, the slightest hint of exasperation seeping into her tone.

As Strike struggled against her again, the witch let out a soft sigh and stood. Opening the compartment door with one hand, kitten still in the other, she allowed the creature to jump from her arms to the floor. "Now you better be back before the train arrives, or I'll get an older student to accio you," the redhead scolded the kitten. She hadn't wanted to let Strike run loose like that, but she really had been starting to worry about the wellbeing of that toad.

The first year boy watched Vivianna as she let her cat out of the compartment. He wondered if she was doing it for the safety of his pet and he smiled slightly. The smile quickly faded though as he glanced out the window and watched the quickly passing trees for a few moments before looking at the girl again.

He looked her over and tried to decide what house she would be sorted into when they got to the Sorting Ceremony. "Hm..." he said softly, "Y'know... I think you'd fit into Slytherin." he said softly. "That's just my lame thought though, maybe you'll be a Ravenclaw." he shrugged, and looked outside again.

Javy croaked and Dylan looked down, away from the window, at his little pet. "Alright..." he said and he opened the cage, and took the toad out of the cage. The soon-to-be Ravenclaw put Javy on his lap and looked down at him. He stroked the smooth skin and chuckled softly. "You feel weird... Then again, you are a toad..." he said softly.

When Dylan admitted that he thought Vivianna would end up in Slytherin, the girl tilted her head to the side in consideration. "Thanks," was her soft reply. The girl figured some wouldn't mean it that way, but the girl would take it as a complement.

"I'm not sure where you'll be put yet, I don't think I know you well enough," the eleven year old figured that she'd been pretty blunt so far, and therefore decided to continue to go with it. Regarding Dylan, eyes soaking up little details that could help her figure out what colour tie this boy would be wearing for the next seven years, the girl began to tap her fingers against her leg in an endless pattern.

"May I pet your toad?" Vivanna asked innocently, out of the blue. She'd never touched one, and had always been curious about how the reptilian skin would feel. She supposed that some would make fun of the boy for bringing a toad to school. Agreeably, it wasn't the most practical of pets, but at least he wouldn't have to worry about it eating other people's.

Dylan chuckled softly and grinned slightly at Vivianna. "I don't really know you well enough to know where you'd be placed either." he said. "I'm just making a random guess." he added. He looked down at Javy again, who glanced up at him and then just looked straight ahead of himself, not looking at anything in particular.

The eleven year old boy looked at the girl and smiled, before nodding and holding his pet out to her slightly. "Yeah, I'm sure he won't mind it. Javy likes people." he stated softly and kept his gaze on his toad.

Dylan always had to keep an eye on his pet. If he didn't Javy would always try to hop away. It wasn't that he wanted to get away from his owner, he just liked to look around a lot. Toads were intelligent creatures, even if most people didn't believe they were.

"Fair enough," the girl announced with a shrug. Inwardly, she was trying to figure out the probability that Dylan had lied to her. Unlikely, she decided upon, and that was good enough.

"Thanks," the girl said with a smile as the other soon-to-be student offered his pet. Gently scooping Javy up with one hand, cupping the other hand over the creature to make sure it wouldn't fall as she moved, the girl brought the toad back to her lap. Gently stroking the amphibian with one finger, Vivianna began to giggle softly. "Javy's a cool name," the witch told her compartment mate, not looking away from the pet.

Glancing out the glass, she froze for a moment. Turning to Dylan, Vivianna said, "you might want to close the window." The girl would hate for something to happen to the toad. She would hate even more for another's pet to die on her watch, with the speed the train was moving there was no way a toad could survive the impact.