"Mom! Come on they're going to be leaving soon," Tino struggled to escape his mother's grip. She had barely let him leave her arms since he had gotten the letter. Fawning over him and saying how proud she was.
"Oh baby, I'm so happy for you! It's your first year! I can't wait for you to tell me everything about what you've learned. Oh, I remember my first year at Hogwarts, so amazing!" His mother cooed.
"Okay mom, but you have to let me go first so I can get on the train or they'll leave me!" Tino finally managed to struggle from her grip and he gave her a quick kiss and jumped onto the train. He waved to her from a window, until the train gave a jerk of life and they were off. He watched as the train station melted away into scenery and sighed shakily. He couldn't deny that he was nervous and maybe a little scared, but he felt reassured by his family. Both his mother and father told him fun stories of his time at the school of witchcraft and wizadry.
Tino walked away from the window and went to find an empty car with avalable seats, only there seemed to be none. Finally he walked to the very back of the train to the second to last car, there sat a lone boy quietly staring out the window. He opened the compartment and walked inside.
The boy turned to look at him and Tino squeaked in slight fear. Though he seemed tall he couldn't have been much older than Tino himself. The boy's hair was a wheat blond that lay across his forehead and his eyes were relected behind wire rimmed glasses. His eyes, though, were like chips of ice, a strange cobalt blue. They were beautiful in a dangerous way. All together there was an air of intimidation around him that filled the car.
"I-Is this seat taken?" Tino stuttered out.
The boy shook his head so Tino sat down across from him. The two sat in an awkward silence that sat heavily in the air between them. The boy stared at Tino and seemed to be waiting for something, but what, Tino could only guess.
Desperation forced Tino to engage in small talk, "My name's Tino. What's yours?" He asked in a rush.
The boy turned to him completely and Tino shrank back a bit. Tino half expected the other boy to just ignore him, but to his surprise the boy answered him.
"Name's Berwald, it's nice ta meet ya," He said. His voice was very deep for somone so young and it barely held any emotion. Tino wondered where his accent came from, so daringly, he decided to ask.
"I-I noticed your accent," Berwald's eyes narrowed and he scowled a bit, causing Tino to flinch away even more, "I-I was just w-wondering where you are from?"
Berwald's eyes lessened in their severity but they were still stern. "'M from Sweden, and you?"
"O-Oh, well my family is from Finland originally but, we moved to England when I was about nine. Mostly because of dad's work, ya know?" Tino answered and blushed when he realised he was rambling. Berwald did not seem to mind though. He only nodded and hummed a little.
Suddenly a whirl wind of blond entered the car and jumped into the seat next to Berwald. The other blond frowned and scooted away.
"Hey Ber! Whatcha doin'?" The boy asked. Before Berwald could answer the other boy had turned to Tino and jumped up and walked towards him.
"Oh, I didn't see ya there! My name's Mathaius! What's your name?" He said energetically and stuck his hand out.
"My name's Tino, it's nice to meet you too," He said and shook Mathaius' hand.
"What're ya doin' here Mat? I thought you were sittin' with Lukas?" Berwald said with a slight frown and Tino got the impression he didn't like the boy very much.
"Well he left to go put his robes on so I thought I'd come and visit my old pal Ber!" He said and sat down next to him again. Then he pretended to look at his wrist like a watch and his eyes widened.
"Well would ya look at the time! I gotta go Ber, I'll see ya in the great hall," He spun to face Tino, "It was cool to meet you, bye!" With a wave of his hand he was out the door and down the hall just as quickly as he had come.
Tino sat in a stunned silence and wondered how anyone as boisterous and happy could be friends with the quiet and stern boy that sat across from him. Speaking of Berwald, he glanced towards him and started.
Berwald's eyes were soft and his mouth twitched into the barest hint of a smile. He sighed and shook his head.
"'M sorry 'bout that, he's not always that way. He's just excited to get ta Hogwarts," his voice was somewhat soft and fond.
It took Tino by some surprise that the boy actually had emotions. They sat in an almost comfortable silence until they pulled into the station for Hogwarts. They both stood and gathered their luggage.
"Uh, It was nice talking to you," Tino said. Berwald only nodded and opened the door for him.
They walked out together, once again in a somewhat comfortable silence. They entered into the darkness of the outside and saw a large harry man holding up a lantern.
"First years this way," He shouted so everyone could hear. They followed the behemouth of a man to boats on the lake.
Tino climbed into one and was almost happy to see Berwald climbing in behind him. He was glad to have made a friend, though he had been unsure of Berwald at first. Maybe they could get to know one another better.