Of all the magic in the wizarding world, of all the powers granted by wands and mystical artifacts, the only bit of arcane trickery Eric Makanahra really cared about was a fizzy green soft drink with tiny white beads bubbling upwards. Wizz Pop, a true drink for wizards and witches, was somewhat of a comfort food for Eric. Trains had always made the first year nervous so having the rich beverage at the ready was always a God send for the boy. With a sigh, he opened the bottle, which hissed like a cat, as tiny spurts of liquid sprayed outward and foam bubbled up to the cap of the bottle.

The boy was short, with brown hair that was combed over neatly behind his ear. His frame was nothing special to look at, rather skinny and frail, but he did have a pointed face and nose that seemed to extend far longer than a normal nose would allow. His permanently furrowed eyebrows made it look like he was thinking about something intensely, and as far as Eric was concerned, every thought that ran through his head needed intense thoughts. He wore a maroon collared shirt that he had haphazardly tucked into a pair of khaki pants. But the most striking thing about the boy, however, was the set of golden irises that seemed to be intently focused on the Wizz Pop in front of them.

Eric took a swig. He had a lot of things to think about this week. Which house he would be joining, when he would get his wand, or even the comfortability of his homeroom. All in all, Eric was excited about joining Ilvermorny.

Ilvermorny was the most prestigious wizarding school in North America. It was also the only wizarding school in North America, renowned for how persistent it had become in the wizarding world despite it being the newest school. It's halls had produced several of the greatest witches and wizards of all time. Porpentina Goldstein, Seraphina Picquery, and Thomas Edison were all well known and famous graduates, and now that Eric was eleven, he was allowed to hop onto the engine, Trostenwald, and make his way to the castle.

He looked up at the seat across from him, it was empty except for a small cage with a black owl sleeping soundly inside. Her name was Luna and she had been Eric's best friend and companion for several years. The boy smiled a bit as he watch his bird's chest puff in and out with each breath. He breathed a stream of cool air on his hands to fight against the stuffy air in the tiny box car.

The room itself was mostly orange and red. The curtains were persimmon, the seats were scarlet, and the carpeting was cinnabar. All of which Eric didn't like. It was too warm, too stuffy. He felt as if the train itself was boiler, and the constant rocking back and forth of the wheels didn't help his feeling of uncomfort either.

"Like a coffin" He thought.

He took another drink of his Wizz Pop and the world corrected itself. The golden eyed boy rubbed his face with his free hand as he placed his drink in one of the cupholders that divided his seat into three separate pieces.

The boy groaned once as he lifted his head to look squarely at the suitcase that was place on the luggage cage above his head. He half considered changing into his school uniform. A black robe with copper lining that was only slightly more attractive than his sister's face when she had just woken up at six in the morning earlier that day. So of course Eric hated his robes. Though that didn't matter, if robes were the biggest problem with Ilvermorny than school was going to be a breeze.

But all thoughts of changing were quickly dashed when the door to his room slid open and a boy put his head through the doorway.

"Hey, uh, do you mind if I sit here, most of the other rooms are taken and I don't know where I should be sitting"

Eric scanned the boy for one moment. He was tall and lengthy, to the point where Eric had to crane his neck up at him. His black hair was a complete mess, contrasting the tidy comb over that Eric was presenting. His face had almost no traces of frown or scowls, his eyes were dull blue gray, and he was already wearing his school robes.

He was, appearance wise, the exact opposite of Eric. This made the golden eyed boy shift uncomfortably in his seat as he tried to avoid eye contact with the taller student all the while mumbling, "yeah, sure"

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear that, can you say it again?"

"Yeah, you can sit here" He said it louder, but still not making eye contact with the newcomer, and instead choosing to look back down at his Wizz Eric's dismay, the taller boy flopped down directly next to him not bothering to put his suitcase on the rack above his head, and just held it in his left hand. His right hand he stuck out for Eric to shake.

"I'm Percy Zaayer, nice to meet you" The boy wore the brightest smile that Eric had ever seen on a man, which turned Eric's uncomfortable expression, to something more akin to surprise. Slowly, Eric lifted his hand and shook Percy's.

"I'm Eric, Eric Makanarha"
Percy chuckled.

Eric turned his nose up. "What. Don't like my name or something?" He asked defensively.

"No! Nothing like that, you last name's just a little bit unusual, that's all. I like it" Percy answered as he started to open his carry on. He pulled out a small leather pouch that rattled with small metal parts inside. He started to dump the contents out onto his palm, which contains, three marbles, a handful of coins varying in shape and color, and a twenty sided die. There were more coins left in the pouch. One by one he put the knick knacks back into his sack and started counting through his change.

Eric's eyes began to widen as he saw just how much money he had in his pockets. He could buy a new broomstick with that kind of money.

"So, um…, I heard there was this candy trolley, how much do you think a Crunch Bar is?" The boy asked. Eric took a moment to refocus from the pouch back to Percy. He looked at him confused as if he had misheard what the taller boy had said. Crunch Bar? What's a Crunch Bar? A candy bar that was crunchy? But that describes a lot of candy bars. What was this guy trying to say?

"What's a Crunch Bar?" Eric decided to ask. Percy reeled back in surprise. He looked down at his fistful of coins, and then back up at Eric.

"So what you're telling me is, that not only are there wizard coins, but there are wizard candies as well?"

"I guess, I don't really know that much about no-maj cuisine to say if we have certain candies or not" Eric shrugged.

"You got Kit Kats?"

"No"

"Milky Ways?"

"Nope"

"Reese's?"

"Nahdah"

"Please tell me you have Snickers"

"Sorry"

Percy threw up his hands in defeat, still making sure to clutch onto his coins. He sighed as he looked at Eric in his golden eyes.

"So what do wizards have for candy, and how much would it cost?" Percy asked defeatedly. Eric had to think for a moment.

"Well, there's Bertie Botts Every Flavored Jelly Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Cauldron Cakes, Choco Puffs, Pixie Puffs, Ice Mice, Sugar Quills, and toffee. As for the cost, you probably won't need any of the galleons, unless you plan on buying a lot of candy" He explained. Eric turned to Percy to see if he understood. The taller boy was hanging onto his words as if he was preaching the gospel.

"Um, the galleons are… These ones right?" Percy held up a golden coin that was about the size of a suit coat button. Eric nodded.

"I haven't heard of any of those candies, are any of them good?"

"Just don't get the Every Flavored Beans and you'll be fine"

"What's wrong with the jelly beans?" Percy questioned.

"When they say Every Flavor, they menad Every Flavor, you could have grape, watermelon, or banana sure; but have you ever eat lawn clippings in bean flavoring?"

Percy's eyes darted around the room unsure of how he's supposed to approach this question.

"N-no?"

"And you never, ever, want to" Eric insisted.

"Than what should I buy?" Eric looked at the small fortune of coins in the boys hands, and then the other large pile of coins in his leather pouch.

"The entire cart" He answered flatly. Percy laughed. His laugh was pleasing to Eric. It reminded him of his mom's. Without thinking, Eric gave a small smile, which instantly faded when he heard a small chirp from the seat across from him.

"What is all this blabbering about when I'm trying to get some sleep?!" Despite owls not being able to glare, Luna was doing a damn good job at it, as her head swivelled back and forth between the two boys.

"Oh, sorry. I was just showing Percy" Eric pointed towards the taller boy, "How currency and food works here, I believe he is a no-maj born"

"I don't care if he is the Minister of Magic's, sister's, cousin's, roommate's, dog's old owner. If he's disrupting my nap he's gotta pay the price"

"Oh, and what would that price be?"

"Mice"

"Um, I'm confused. What's going on here? What are those noises you were making?" Percy was looking at the exchange between Eric and Luna.

"Oh, um… This may sound a little strange but, I can speak to owls" He paused to make sure that Percy wasn't going to react strangely to the information, "I make the same noises as them too"

"That's so cool! Can all wizards do that. Can I do that?" Percy's smile was almost as wide as their eyes. Eric stifled a laugh.

"Heh, no. Just me. I'm a dyrlingualist, I can learn how to speak to animals. Granted I do have to learn their language first, but I am fluent in owl, squirrel, and know a tiny bit of ostrich"

"That's amazing! Do I get any special wizard abilities like that, can I fly? Turn invisible? Shoot lasers out of my eyes?"

"Maybe, who knows. There are lots of genetic abilities that wizards inherit, except for the lasers part. You...you can't do that"

"Aw" Percy lowered his head in disappointment

"Um, hey. I still don't have any food over here" Luna squawked. Eric rolled his eyes.

"The candy cart should be coming around soon, I'll get you some cauldron cakes"

"Fine"

Not two seconds later there was a knock at the door, and a guy stood there, with a cart full of candy silhouetted behind the window. The man behind it didn't bother to wait for the two boys open the door, and just slid it open himself. He wore a pin striped vest with a matching conductor's hat, and his face looked as if he would rather be swimming in a garbage dump than doing his job.

"Ya, want any candy from the trolley?" The man spoke in a thick New Jersey accent. Percy looked up from his seat. He looked over the items in the small metal push cart that the man was leaning against, and frowning as he did so.

"I'll take a…" He turned back to Eric for a moment looking for him to answer.

"He'll take about four chocolate frogs, some sugar quills, and a two cauldron cakes" The man nodded and reached the far corner of the cart where he pulled out for triangle shaped boxes with stripes resembling that of a circus tent, along with a weird baked cakes with frothing green liquid inside.

"That'll be two sickles and four knuts" The man said. Percy looked down at his coins before looking back at Eric.

"Do you want anything?" He asked as he received a bundle of sugar quills from the man. Eric considered the cart for a moment, than shook his head.

"I got my Wizz Pop, I should be fine" He said with a smile. Percy nodded and handed the man his coins.

"Thanks" The man said indifferently as he pocketed his money in a small pouch that was hanging off of his belt. As he pushed his cart farther down the hall, Percy popped open the top of his first chocolate frog. The choco filled reptile hopped out of its box and onto Percy's hand. The boy's eyes went wide as he stared at this life like candy in his palm.

"Eric! What do I do?!"

"Eat it?" Eric raised his eyebrow, "What else would you do with it"

Percy looked down at the frog.

"It's so cute though, I don't know if I can"

"It's not even alive, its literally made out of chocolate"

"I don't care, it's adorable" Percy was now petting the tiny frog on its head. The frog seemed to be enjoying this.

"It'll melt" Eric insisted, but Percy was no longer listening. Eric let out a sigh of frustration, and picked up his Wizz Pop. He slammed the rest of the drink down, and placed the empty bottle back in it's cupholder.

"Don't worry about it, he'll realize how stupid he's being eventually" Luna reassured.

"Hopefully" Eric leaned forward, and stared at Percy's chocolate frogs, hungrily. He closed his eyes and sighed once again.

"You know, the chocolate frogs come with trading cards, if you're interested in that kind of stuff"

Instead of responding, Percy looked down at the chocolate frog box and reached inside. Wedged between his middle and index fingers, he pulled out a rectangular piece of paper that was colored dark blue and purple. In the center of the card was a white box with a middle aged man who was smiling and doing funny little poses. The man had untidy black hair that stretched down in a scraggly beard, a pair of green eyes, and a lightning bolt scar placed in the center of his forehead.

"Sweet! The picture's moving!" Percy exclaimed, analyzing the card. He had now placed his pet frog onto his lap.

"Yeah, most the pictures wizards have do that. It's a special type of film we have"

"That's so cool! I should really learn how to do all those kinds of things, it's so weird thinking of myself as a wizard, like I've just been placed into some fantasy game"

"Heh, yeah. It's kinda normal for me at this point. I've lived as a wizard most my life, trust me when I say it's not all it's cracked up to be,"

Percy's face fell a bit once hearing this. The boy stammered for a bit before ignoring Eric's warning and returning right back on track.

"B-but um… anyways, it looks like you got a Harry Potter card" Eric said pointing at the slip of paper still in Percy's hand.

"Oh yeah, who is this guy?"

"There should be a description of him at the bottom" Eric informed. Percy looked at the card once more, and upon seeing the black letters beneath the picture, he started to read aloud.

"Harry Potter, born July 31st 1980 has been heralded as the man who saved the Wizarding World from You Know Who-"

"Shit!"

"What?"

"Nothing, you got an old card, their still referring to Voldemort as You Know Who, that was kind of a ninety's thing"

"Okay, so um… He has also known as the only ever living person to survive the killing curse. He is now currently working as an Auror in the British Ministry of Magic" Percy set the card down on the seat.

"Who is this Voldemart guy?"

"Some asshole who tried to subjugate the Wizarding World under his rule by dictating who wizards could and couldn't marry"

"So Harry Potter saved the world?!"

"Yep, it was a pretty boring story actually, Voldemort pops up and threatens Harry and his friends, and then some the titular asshole with a scar comes up,destroys his ability to cast magic, and smacks the shit out of him. Twice"

"That was a very vague explanation" Percy admitted.

"Doesn't matter, he'll come up in conversation eventually, people cannot stop talking about the guy. As a matter of fact, he has about three different cards"

"Oh, that's neat, do you collect?"

"I used too, but all of my cards got lost when I moved houses"

"That sucks" Eric just shrugged at that. He had already accepted the loss of his chocolate frog cards, and was long since over it.

"Life happens, shit happens, shitty life happens"

"I guess so" Percy responded unconvinced, though Eric couldn't really tell what he was serious or not as the boy was now chowing down on a sugar quill.

"Eric. Food. Now" Luna commanded looking frantically at one of the cauldron cakes.

"What's the magic word?"

"Bitch" Luna yelled. The golden eyed boy rolled his eyes and slipped one of the cakes in between the bars of his owl's cage.

"Can owls eat those?" Percy asked. Eric nodded as he watched Luna peck into the confectionary, looking less like she was eating it and more like she was smashing it into the bottom of the cage.

"Yeah, they can"

"Oh that's nice, well I-" Percy started, but was cut off from the door to the room sliding open once more. Standing inside the doorway was a young girl. She was short, roughly Eric's height. Her unkempt red hair fell around her shoulders and around her ears. Her bangs were tied into a blue clip on the right side of her forehead. Her flannel shirt hung loosely onto her, with half of it tucked into her smudged up pair of blue jeans. This girl looked like she could take the entire train in a fight and still come out the victor.

"I was told to tell everyone that the train stops in ten minutes, and that you should get your school uniforms on"

"Thank you" Percy smiled. Instead of responding to Percy's gratitude. The girl nodded her head towards Percy and gave Eric a small smile before returning to her own train car.

"I think that's our cue"

"You mean that's your cue, I'm already set" And to make his point clear Percy waved his arms up and down rapidly causing his oversized robe sleeves to flop in the wind. He beamed towards Eric in hopes of a laugh, but was quickly denied as the shorter first year stood up without removing his normal stern expression.

The golden eyed boy pulled his luggage crate down from the carrying cage above the seats and layed down next to Luna's cage, the double locks facing towards him. He cleared his throat as spoke loudly and clearly.

"HOOTENANNY!"

Both locks flipped open with a satisfactory click. Eric opened the carry on and pulled out his school robe, which was neatly folded on top of his case. Despite it being clean there was a visible tear along the copper lining. He slipped the robe on over his casual clothing and closed his suitcase.

"Fugly looking thing" He muttered under his breath.

Percy looked up at him and smiled.

"You look nice" He said.

"Thank you" Eric looked up at Percy and shook his head from side to side as the train whistle blew.

The engine's speed began to lessen. The golden eyed boy started to pack up his things, making sure that both his carry ons, and the box car itself, were both left better than he found it. Meanwhile Percy was trying desperately to keep his chocolate frog from melting inside the humid car.

"Just eat it" Eric ordered.

"Never!" Percy exclaimed as he stuck the frog out the window in an attempt to get the cool air and wind to save the amphibian. As the train stopped at the Ilvermorny station, Percy's hand was covered in cocoa and his frog was nowhere to be seen. The boy looked almost distraught by the untimely death of his piece of candy. Eric slowly, and painfully awkwardly patted the taller boy on the back. This seemed to make Eric far more uncomfortable by his actions than Percy was sad about his frog.

The train let out a low wine as it settled into place. Steam rose out from around the tracks and obscuring the sight out of the windows. The older students started to file out of their box cars each of them continuing whatever conversations they were having before hand, but this time much, much louder..

"We should probably step outside now" Eric suggested. He had been patting Percy's back for far too long down, but couldn't really find the socially appropriate point in which he should to stop.

"Yeah," The black haired boy sniffled, "sure"

Percy picked up his rolling case and dragged it along behind him as he slid open the glass door to the box. It's handle was now covered in chocolate, but that was neither here nor there. Eric quickly followed behind him carrying Luna's cage, with Luna still inside, in front of his chest. They joined the much larger students in the small hallway who were all to happy to jostle the poor first years around the train as they rushed to get onto the platform. A chorus of angry yelling, muttering, and whining filled the stuffy air.

"Hey! That's my toes!"

"Watch it moron!"

"Don't touch me!"

A orange and green swirled hex was blasted into the ceiling, leaving a rather large scorch mark against the stainless steel. Neither of the two boys could tell where it came from.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of pushing, shoving, and trying not to get trampled from asshole high schoolers, Eric stepped down from the train's too steep, step ladder and onto the platform. He took a deep breath of what seemed to be the first clean air he had smelled sense he had stepped onto that God forsaken death box on wheels. And as the other students rushed past him, marching up the hill, eager to get through the doors of the castle. Eric had finally begun to realize that he had made it. He was at Ilvermorny. And as he stared at the school he set down his carry on and reached into a side pouch. Slowly, but surely he pulled out a tattered black book with gold lining. It was thick enough that Eric had to stretch his fingers as wide as they could go to hold onto the thing. In cursive gold letterings on the front cover was his last name. Makanarha. A family heirloom. Now all he had to do was get sorted and find his sister. Then he could finally find a place to hide his horcrux.