POV: Natsuki.

Am I doing this right?

I shot a few glances around the place, taking in the almost overwhelming amount of people bustling about King's Cross, the massive train station I found myself in.

I'd never really been in a place like this before, surrounded by so many of them. Was it just my imagination, or did some of them send strange looks my way? Were they on to me? Had I messed something up in my preparations to fit in?

I steadied my trolley, loaded up with the three heavy trunks of luggage I'd require for my trip, and stopped in a not-so-busy spot where I wouldn't get in the way of the people passing by. I then looked down my front, reaffirming and comparing my choice of outfit.

I felt my heart starting to beat a little faster. None of the people around me were wearing the same kind of frilly, pink skirt, nor the white, sleeveless blouse with a pink cat-face to the side. Mostly, they just wore these plain, tight suit-thingies in shades alternating between gray so dark it might as well be black, blue so dark it might as well be black, or just plain black.

Had I picked the wrong kind of clothes at that store? Would they know I wasn't really one of them just from that? Was I endangering my entire race by bringing us to the brink of discovery?

Get a grip on yourself, dummy. I thought to myself, drowning out my panic with a frown, and stood up a little straighter.

Whatever. I'd bought these stupid clothes from one of their stupid people in one of their stupid shops! If that was enough to breach some stupid Statute of Secrecy, it sure as hell wouldn't be my fault!

although Papa probably wouldn't be too pleased with me regardless. I shivered slightly.

I opened my eyes again, burying the last of my feelings and furrowed my brows in determination.

Come on, don't be nervous. Nerves are for losers.

I kept my eyes looking dead ahead of myself and started pushing the trolley into motion again. I ignored the people I walked past, keeping my focus trained on the objective.

Get to the entrance, walk through without being seen, get to the REAL station and board the train. Easy peasy.

Repeating this simple mantra in my head managed to keep me going all the way to the ticket booth serving as a barrier, separating platform nine from platform ten. I'd arrived at my destination.

I steadied my trolley again and stopped, hesitating a bit.

Okay then. What's the best way to go about this?

The area was still completely packed with their kind, the closest ones being less than three feet from the entrance. How the hell was I supposed to get through with this gigantic trolley without being spotted?

I glanced up at one of the clocks mounted on the walls of the station.

Twelve minutes to eleven. I really didn't have a lot of time left.

Whatever I was going to do, I had to do it fast, or the train would depart without me. I had to figure out some kind of way to get through unnotic-

"Out of my way, shorty." I heard an impatient, drawling voice from behind.

I only had a moment's warning to move out of the way before a rather pale, blonde boy pushed past me, steering a trolley of his own packed with trunks of similar size as mine, with the extra addition of a cage containing a brown-feathered, eagle owl.

I was just about to give whoever this jerk was a piece of my mind (I wasn't even that much shorter than him!) but was caught off guard when seeing his choice of attire. It was… just straight up the standard black, flowing uniform robes of the school we were both apparently going to! Not even an attempt had been made to disguise himself!

I stared after him in stunned disbelief as he kept walking briskly towards the entrance without sparing the people around it a second thought. Moments before his trolley would have made contact with the booth, it had vanished on the spot along with the boy.

I blinked a few times, glancing in mild concern at the people standing around the entrance. None of them had batted so much as an eyelash at what had just happened before them.

I clutched the handle of the trolley a little harder, feeling my face starting to heat up. I wasn't sure if I was feeling more embarrassed or angry at the moment. Although anger was usually a safe bet with me.

O-kay. So, it turns out Muggles are actually just completely blind, and I dressed up in this ridiculous pink costume for no fucking reason at all! Bloody brilliant!

Finding no reason to attempt keeping a low profile any longer, I pushed the trolley into motion again, ignoring the people around me again as I trotted directly towards the ticket box- and found myself at a completely different train station moments later, facing a wrought-iron archway upon which were the words "Platform Nine and Three-Quarters."

I looked to my left, where the brilliant scarlet steam engine could be seen resting on the tracks, looking like it might start going into motion at any second.

Even without the huge, golden letters engraved on its side, this train would have been completely unmistakable. It was simply too iconic not to recognize immediately.

The Hogwarts Express. At long last, after eleven long years of waiting, I was finally going to ride it.

Assuming it didn't leave without me because I was too busy ogling, of course.

I hurried along the platform, past all the people dressed so much more normally than the other place with their vibrantly coloured robes and pointy hats. Most of them seemed to be parents waving goodbye to their children who'd long since boarded the train.

Must be nice.

I didn't bother finding a place to deposit my trolley, just hastily grabbed a firm hold of the straps of my trunks, and, with my knees buckling dangerously beneath the added weight, I boarded the train.

I lowered the heavy trunks to the floor, allowing myself a brief sigh of relief for managing to get on board. Then, I steeled myself. Now came the truly hard part.

I was gonna have to find an available compartment to sit in.

Releasing an exhausted grunt of effort, I heaved the trunks into my hands again and walked down the cart, past the rows of transparent glass panes giving way to the train compartments. As I moved, I made sure to cast quick, appraising looks at the people inside, ruling out the compartments I absolutely couldn't enter under any circumstances. As was always the case, I would of course be as fair and unbiased in my judgments as possible.

Ugly. I determined, walking past a compartment containing three older witches and wizards. I kept moving, turning my head left and right.

Too packed. Looks like idiots. Packed. Packed. Idiots. Packed. What IS that haircut? Packed, AND looks like idiots, yikes. Pac-

There was a sudden jolt as the train set into motion, nearly toppling me over in the process. Keeping your balance on a moving train was already a task in and of itself, and carrying around trunks of luggage I could barely even lift only added to the challenge.

Maybe I shouldn't have packed my entire Parfait Girls collection. I noted, feeling the most strain on the arm holding the grey trunk containing all my books.

But I knew why it'd been necessary to bring them. Aside from just being great entertainment to keep me from getting bored staying at a school for a whole year, there was no saying what would have happened to them if I'd left them home alone, with him.

Somehow, I managed to make my way to the very last cart of the train, slight desperation starting to creep up on me. I was very steadily running out of options to sit down on this ride.

But then, just as I was about to give up, turn around and walk back to one of the idiots, I saw it. There, just to my side, was a nearly empty compartment with two boys looking roughly around my age inside, chatting with each other.

One of them was lanky, with red hair and a face covered in freckles while the other bore glasses over a pair of vivid, green eyes with a head full of unkempt, black hair. By his side was a cage containing one of the most beautiful owls I'd ever seen, with almost completely snow-white feathers.

I hesitated, considering my options. While they were boys which naturally detracted some points, they didn't look too bad. Well, the one with the glasses had this kinda "clueless" aura about him and the redhead seemed to have some dirt on his nose for some reason, but all in all, they weren't triggering my "total idiot" senses. I raised my arm to open the glass door and ask if the empty seats were available-

-and then quickly retracted my hand again when the red-haired boy suddenly reached into his pocket and pulled out a big, fat, rat.

Yeah, okay, NO.

I turned on the spot and walked away, perfectly aware of my lack of options as I'd reached the very last cart of the train by now, and only had about two compartments left to pick from, most likely already filled to brim. But that was okay. Anything would beat sharing seats with "rat-boy."

As I'd expected, the last compartment to my left was completely packed with teenagers, fifth-years if the pimples on their faces were anything to go by. The glass door muffled their roaring voices a bit as they loudly laughed at something idiotic.

Sighing in resignation, I peered to my right, already preparing myself to go back to the compartment with the third-year I'd caught in the process of eating his own boogers-

-and then did a double take when I saw that this last compartment was nearly empty, occupied only by a slightly tall girl with long, waist length raven-black hair, sitting by the window as she read a book. Like the blonde jerk, she was already wearing her school robes.

Hardly able to believe my luck, I lowered my luggage to the floor in order to pry the door open. Unless the girl kept any giant spiders within her pockets, this compartment was easily the best option I'd seen thus far.

"Oi!" I exclaimed, catching the girl's attention as she quickly raised her head from the book to stare up at me with wide, grey eyes. "These seats taken?"

Looking as if I'd just commanded her to hand over all her Galleons, the girl fearfully shook her head and returned her attention to the book.

Feeling triumphant, I tried stepping through the tight entranceway, only to accidentally bang my trunks against the glass door in the process, and dropping everything to the floor.

Letting out an exhausted groan, I sent a look towards the girl who just kept on reading, not even raising an eyebrow at my struggles.

"Hey, d'you think maybe you could give me a hand with this?!" I raised my voice slightly, finding this girls' complete apathy incredibly frustrating.

The girl flinched and looked up again, looking utterly bewildered until I made a gesture to my dropped luggage. Her eyes widened.

"O- oh, uhm, o- of course, sorry!" She blurted out in a low voice, quickly rising from her seat, revealing herself to be almost half a head taller than me.

With hands shaking in apparent nervousness, the girl grabbed hold of the trucks and effortlessly lifted them into an empty corner of the compartment. I opened my mouth to say something, having just wanted a bit of assistance, not her doing all the work for me. But before I could voice a protest, the girl had finished and settled down in her seat once more.

"Thanks." I muttered quietly, taking off my rucksack, and took a seat on the opposite side. In return, I received a brief "Mm" as the girl returned to her book, idly adjusting one of her long hair strands contained within a simple purple hair slide.

Finally allowed to relax somewhat, I looked out the window to my side, ignoring the green landscape traveling past us and focused instead on my own faintly visible reflection. I hadn't gotten much of a chance to set my hair this morning before having to leave for the train, so I was pleased to discover my blonde, chin-length locks seemed mostly in order today.

Just to make sure they weren't in danger of falling off however, I reached up to tighten the two red ribbons around my ponytails, and finishing my adjustments off by swiping the front bangs further to the side, briefly making physical contact with my red, hourglass-shaped hair clip.

"Be a good girl, Natsuki."

I sighed briefly as the faint memory from my childhood drifted away, and returned my attention to the girl once more, wondering if I should attempt getting a conversation started between us.

"So… I see we shop at the same place." I tried awkwardly, gesturing to the purple rucksack idly slumped over by her side, completely identical to my own. "Flourish and Blotts, right?"

The girl looked up, glancing at the two rucksacks before looking over at me in what could only be described as utter befuddlement. From her expression, it would appear that she had no clue why the fact of our similar taste in rucksacks had been presented to her, and even less of an idea on how to respond.

"…Yes." She settled on at last, and in a perhaps predictable move by now, buried her face in the book again.

okay, then. I blinked a few times, before shrugging and grabbed hold of my own rucksack.

While not exactly the reigning champion of social cues myself, it didn't exactly take a genius to tell that this girl wasn't much for conversation. Which was perfectly fine by me. I could do "quiet," no problem.

I reached into my rucksack which contained all the essential items I might need during the train ride, including a water bottle, my wand, and, most importantly, Volume 1 of Parfait Girls! I retrieved the book that I'd managed to keep in pristine condition ever since I'd gotten it almost seven years ago now.

Of course I'd read through it a bajillion times already, but it was always good for another re-read. It was the greatest manga ever made after all, and one that could definitely keep me well entertained while stuck on a train for several hours.

I glanced at the cover depicting the four brightly dressed main characters, bouncing on the page and waving energetically at me. A speech bubble appeared above Minori, my favorite character, containing the words "Welcome back, Natsuki! We've missed you!"

Blushing, I hurried to turn the page, trying to ignore the small twinge of guilt in my chest. I knew of course how dumb it was to feel bad about hurting the feelings of some fictional characters, and that they were just ink enchanted to greet me like that as a gimmick after writing my name on the intro page, but still… I usually always returned their wave.

I'll apologize to them tonight at school. I reasoned to myself. When no one else is looking.

Was it a childish thing to do now that I'd turned eleven? Maybe. Was I gonna do it anyway? Absolutely.

But then, before I could read so much as a word, I got the strangest feeling that someone was watching me. I glanced up, only to see that the girl across from me wasn't reading her own book anymore. Instead, she was staring directly at my manga, eyebrows vaguely furrowed as she inspected the cover pointed her way.

I felt my face flush up even more, and clashed the manga's cover against my knees, away from the girl's judgy eyes.

"Something the matter?!" I snapped at the girl, who at once got a very flustered look on her face.

"N- no, s- s- sorry!" She stuttered and collapsed her head into the book again, feverishly avoiding eye contact.

Satisfied with her scared reaction, I returned my gaze to page one of the manga, intending to finally start reading, when-

"Hullo! Can I ask if these seats are taken?"

Suppressing a groan at being interrupted yet again, I turned towards the new voice, seeing two girls standing in the open doorway of the compartment, both of them smiling with hopeful expressions.

The taller of the two seemed to be the one who'd spoken. Her hair was light brown, with a very long ponytail tied back with a big white bow. Appearing to be one of those students already dressed in their school robes, she was staring almost unnervingly at me with a pair of rather intense, green eyes, awaiting an answer.

I briefly glanced to the girl who'd originally been in here, thinking she probably deserved final say in this matter, but judging by the resolute, unwavering look in her eyes as she read her book, it seemed as if she wanted no part in this conversation whatsoever.

"They aren't." I sighed, taking on the responsibility. "You can sit here if you want."

"Well Sayori, there you go!" The brown-haired girl turned to smile at her companion, a slightly shorter girl with messy, chin-length strawberry blonde hair equipped with a bright, red bow near the top. Like me, she was dressed in a very distinct Muggle-made outfit consisting of a pink shirt and a pair of dark blue shorts.

Her wide, blue eyes seemed to lighten up as she smiled.

"Awesome!" She exclaimed, heading into the compartment, carrying two heavy-looking trunks with her. "Thank you so, so much Monika! I don't know what I would've done without your help!"

"Oh nonsense, I'm sure you would've been fine." The other girl said, apparently named Monika. "I just gave you a few nudges in the right direction."

"Nuh-uh! I would've never known to walk through a ticket box if you hadn't shown me, there was nothing about that in my letter!"

"Ah well, you're welcome in any case." Monika shrugged.

The red-bowed girl deposited her luggage in the compartment's corner, and plumped herself down in the seat next to me. Immediately, she held out her hand.

"Hi there, my name's Sayori and that's Monika! We're witches!"

"Uh, yeah. Me too. Hi." I said, silently wondering what else two girls on the Hogwarts Express would be. I awkwardly shook her hand. "I'm Natsuki."

"And what's your name?" Sayori addressed the quiet book-enthusiast across from us. She had to repeat her question before getting an answer.

"Y- Yuri." The girl managed to stammer out, without making eye-contact.

huh. I thought, only just now realizing I'd had no idea about her name, despite being the one sitting with "Yuri" all this time.

Maaaybe that should've been my first question, as well.

"Well, you should be good in here." Monika said from the doorway, motioning to leave. "I'll see you later at school."

"Huh?!" Sayori exclaimed with a frown, rising from her seat. "No, don't leave! There's room for you too!"

Monika's smile faltered slightly.

"Uh, I was actually supposed to sit with one of my own friends here…" She hesitated, looking conflicted.

"Pleeease?" Sayori pleaded in a high-pitched voice, making her eyes large and puppy-like.

"Ahaha…" Monika chuckled lightly. "Well, I can't say no to that face. You win."

She stepped inside as well, settling her own luggage in the corner which included a cage with a large, reddish-brown Screech Owl, perched with its head tucked inside its wing, seemingly asleep.

Monika then took a seat next to Yuri, who at this point looked as if she wanted nothing more than to run away screaming, but was now stuck in place by the girl next to her. She settled for inching as close to the window as possible, instead.

"So, I'm guessing you guys are first-years like me and Sayori?" Monika asked.

"Yeah." I said, closing my Manga and deposited it back inside my rucksack. I could already tell I wouldn't be able to concentrate on reading with these two chatterboxes.

Yuri's head tilted slightly, which could be interpreted as an affirming nod.

"Oh, I'm just so excited!" Sayori exclaimed, bouncing in her seat. "I can't believe I'm finally going to magic school! I've been waiting on this day for so long!"

"I'm excited too." Monika smiled. "Been dying for a chance to finally use my new wand."

"Me too!" Sayori said, pulling out a long, thin wooden object from the purse across her shoulder. "I bought mine at Ollivander's just a few days ago!"

"'Course you did." I said, flinching away slightly, not entirely comfortable with how carelessly Sayori started swinging the wand around. "Every self-respecting witch and wizard buys their wands from him. It's like, the only sensible option."

"Mine's a Gregorovitch piece, actually." Monika smirked, reaching inside her robes to pull out a wand so pale it was almost white.

"Gregoro-what?" I said, frowning at Monika.

"I suppose he's probably not too well known here in Britain." Monika shrugged. "But he's a brilliant Wandmaker that my family's been buying from for years. Unlike Ollivander who's a stickler for tradition, he's a bit more flexible when it comes to custom jobs and special requests. For instance, my wand."

"What's so special about your wand?"

"You know how there's usually just three types of wand cores? Unicorn Hair, Dragon Heart String, and Phoenix Feathers? My core, is a Manticore Claw."

"…Manticore?" I repeated, eyeing the wand in Monika's lap suspiciously. "…is that safe, or should I be worried about it blowing all of us up in a few minutes?"

"'Course it's safe!" Monika giggled. "It's just like any other wand. Yew, ten inches exactly, very flexible! Just has a bit more of an unique core, is all. My family's been using alternative wand-cores for generations, and they've always worked impeccably!"

Well, aren't you fucking special.

Maybe it was the way she seemed to be dismissing Ollivander, or maybe it was the overly smug and overbearing vibe coming off of her. Either way, I wasn't entirely sure whether I really appreciated this Monika or not.

Which was… strange, for me. Usually I was instantly able to make up my mind about how I felt for a person at first glance.

"That's so cool!" Sayori exclaimed, looking at Monika's wand with awe in her eyes. "My wand's a… uh, what did he say… oh yeah, it was 'Cedar and Phoenix Feather, eleven and a half inches, lightly springy!'"

"That's awesome!" Monika smiled genuinely. "I'm sure it'll be a great wand for you. It's not like I'm saying everyone should go and get a super special core in their wand, this is just what's worked best for my family. To each their own."

I squinted my eyes, not sure what to think. I fully agreed with Monika's words, but the way she said them just seemed so… off.

"What about you, Natsuki?" Sayori asked. "Can we see yours?"

"What, are we comparing wands now? Thought only boys did that." I said, but reached into my rucksack all the same, smirking. Getting an excuse to show off my new wand was always nice.

"Wow, it's nearly orange!" Sayori's eyes widened. "So pretty!"

"Yep." I said, holding it up proudly for all to see. "First one Ollivander tried giving me. Red Oak and Unicorn Hair, thirteen inches, very bendy. Instant match."

"Nice." Monika said, nodding in acknowledgement. "Hey, do any of you know if we're allowed to do magic here?"

"Can't remember." I shrugged.

"We are."

All three of us turned to stare at Yuri, as surprised at hearing her speak up as the revelation that she'd apparently been listening this whole time. With how quiet and motionless she'd been, I'd almost forgotten she was even there.

"The Hogwarts Express serves as a part of Hogwarts itself." She went on, surprising us further. "It is completely undetectable to non-magical beings and is thus deemed an acceptable space by the Ministry for underage students to practice magic."

Nobody said anything, all of us still staring blankly at Yuri, who'd kept her gaze locked onto her book throughout her entire explanation.

"Oh. Uhm, well, thank you for informing me!" Monika was the first to recover. "Yuri, wasn't it?"

But Yuri, seeming to have noticed the attention she'd drawn to herself judging by the heavy blush spreading across her face, merely nodded vaguely and kept reading.

Taking the hint, Monika let her be.

"Well, how about we try casting some spells then?" Monika suggested, raising her wand.

"B- but I don't know any magic!" Sayori said, sounding nervous.

"None of us do, don't worry." Monika assured her. "We're all first-years here to learn, this is just for fun. Here, this is a simple spell my dad uses all the time. Lumos!"

She flicked her wand, and a faint light immediately lit up from its tip.

Sayori's jaw dropped as she stared speechlessly, looking like she'd never seen a wand light up before. She kept up this expression even as Monika's spell extinguished itself within the next two seconds.

"Cool, right?" Monika smiled in triumph. "Now you try, Sayori. Just try and do what I did."

"Oh, r- right, uhm, oh jeez…" Sayori sputtered nervously, almost dropping her wand as she swung it. "L- Lumos?"

Nothing happened.

"Ehehe…" She giggled softly. "It… didn't work?"

"I'd wager you need to speak a little more clearly, and wave it a bit more like this." Monika demonstrated. "At least, that's how dad does it."

Sayori tried again, nearly poking my eye out with a violent swish. Still, no light erupted from her tip.

"Aww…" She said, downcast.

"Don't worry about it." Monika said kindly. "It's different for every witch and wizard, I've heard. I guarantee you'll get the hang of it after a few weeks at Hogwarts."

"Thanks." Sayori beamed at her. "Oh! Natsuki, do you think you can do it?!"

"Guess I can try." I shrugged, copying Monika's movements as I raised my wand and cast my very first, intentional spell.

"Lumos!"

Light erupted from my wand tip, and I was satisfied to note that my wand shone brighter and lasted a whole second longer than Monika's.

Suck it, Manticore Claw!

I couldn't help smirking when I looked over and caught Monika's eyebrows raised high in what looked to be surprise and… something else?

The look vanished the next moment however, immediately replaced by another warm smile as she clapped cordially.

"Bravo!" She cheered. "Nice job!"

A sudden movement caught my eye, and I turned to see Yuri reaching into her robes, as if about to pull out her own wand. She then seemed to abruptly second-guess this action, and returned her hand to the book with the same air of someone gripping a tight hold of their safety blanket.

Before I could think any further about this, the door to the compartment suddenly slid open, revealing a plumb, kind-faced witch pushing around a trolley containing a large variety of sweets - although it seemed as if there'd been made quite a dent in the quantity already.

"I see you girls are having quite the light show in here." She chuckled at us. "Can I offer you some refreshments?"

I blinked a few times as I took in all the delicious food items presented to us, only just now realizing how starved I was. Even if I'd had the time to get breakfast this morning before having to leave for the train, it wouldn't have mattered since someone had forgotten to restock the supplies cupboard at home!

I almost just wanted to yell for this woman to leave at once, finding it near unbearable having to watch and smell all of this tastiness, knowing I wouldn't be able to get any- I couldn't even remember when I'd last gotten any pocket money.

"I'll have some pumpkin pasties, please."

I turned to stare at Monika, in the process of handing the Trolley Witch a handful of Sickles and Knuts, completely oblivious to the torture she was about to inflict by eating those pasties right in front of me.

No. Please, Merlin, no. This is too evil.

"Ooh, I'll definitely buy some too!" Sayori exclaimed by my side, rummaging around her purse. "I could really use a Kitkat right about now!"

Not you too!

While I didn't know what on earth a "Kitkat" was, I could guess it was probably another treat she was going to eat with my stomach remaining a black hole right next to her.

I was briefly shaken from my despair however, seeing Sayori pulling out a very strange, rectangular and faintly coloured piece of parchment from her purse, which she tried handing over to the trolley witch.

"Oh, I'm sorry." The witch said, smiling apologetically as she glanced at the parchment. "Unfortunately we only accept Wizarding currency here."

"Oh." Sayori said, awkwardly retracting what apparently had to be some sort of money. "R- right, I forgot. Dangit."

I would have probably felt bad for her if I hadn't been occupied watching the witch hand over a bag of pumpkin pasties to Monika, who licked her lips in barely contained anticipation. She pulled one out, and was about to bite down when-

I tried, I really did, but I wasn't able to suppress the intrusive and very audible growl of protest from my stomach at seeing Monika about to chow down on her pasty.

Monika paused to look my way, having clearly heard the noise. I felt my face flushing up, and quickly lowered my head in embarrassment, not knowing any way to play this off as something else. I could feel everyone's eyes on me, staring at me, judging me…!

"Hey… Do you guys want something as well?"

Huh?

I looked up to see Monika smiling warmly at both me and Sayori, having discarded the bag of pasties next to her while presenting us with another handful of Sickles and even a shiny, golden Galleon on top.

"W- wait. Are you…?" I stuttered, afraid I'd misinterpreted the gesture.

"I hate it when I'm out with friends and forget to bring gold." Monika explained. "Just having to sit by the side and watch as they stuff their faces. Ugh, it's the worst. So I'd be happy to get you guys a few snacks, if you want some."

I stared, not knowing what to say, trying to find the catch. Was she doing this to get us in her debt? Was it some kind of prank where she'd yell "as if!" the moment we tried to accept the money? There was no way she could be doing this just out of the "kindness" of her heart, surely. People didn't do that. And even if she did, I couldn't possibly accept her pity candy and look weak. It was completely and utterly out of the question-

"Oh my God, I love you! Thank you so much!" Sayori said, accepting Monika's coins without hesitation and began to inspect the various sweets stacked on the food trolley.

I blinked, hungrier than ever, then turned to Monika.

"Are- are you really okay using your money on us?"

"Sure." Monika shrugged. "I don't really care about it myself, so as long as it can bring some joy to others, y'know?"

I wasn't entirely sure if I really understood, or truly believed there wasn't some kind of catch to all of this. But another angry lurch from my empty stomach quickly put a stop to my hesitation.

"…the heck with it." I said, turning towards the food trolley where Sayori was already inspecting a tray of licorice wands. "Can I have some Chocolate Frogs?"

"Would you like something as well?" Monika asked Yuri who merely shook her head in response.

Things took a turn for the better after eating the frogs and discarding the cards in the train compartment's rubbish bin (only boys were stupid enough to actually collect those useless things.)

Now that my stomach wasn't completely empty any longer, I could relax a bit more with the other girls, even laughing along with Monika as we watched Sayori trying to eat her rather unwise purchase from the trolley.

I didn't understand why on earth she, or anyone else for that matter, would ever willingly buy a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, but seeing her reaction to popping five beans into her mouth at once and getting strawberry, chili pepper, cheese, pineapple and drywall, was priceless. I even thought I saw the corner of Yuri's mouth twitching upwards in amusement for a brief moment as Sayori reached for her water bottle, gasping hoarsely.

Luckily she'd had the forethought to actually pack a sandwich with her for the trip, so she didn't have to rely purely on the beans for sustenance. That, and Monika was sympathetic enough to share some of her pumpkin pasties.

We spent the next few minutes chatting idly among each other, talking about which subjects we were most excited to get started on when we arrived at Hogwarts. At one point some bushy-haired girl entered our compartment to ask if we'd happened to see a runaway toad anywhere, which led to me wondering why anyone would willingly choose a toad as a pet in this day and age. I supposed it was still better than Rat-Boy's choice, but not by much.

Then suddenly, just after the girl had left again with the plea that we'd come find her if we saw the toad, Sayori's whole body jolted, as if just remembering something.

"Oh!" She exclaimed. "Do you guys know if there's a telephone anywhere on this train? Only I promised my Uncle I'd call and let him know if I'd gotten aboard safely!"

I blinked and furrowed my brows in mild bewilderment, an expression echoed by Monika.

"Sayori…" The brunette hesitated, looking uncertain. "…what is a- 'telli-fone?'"

I was grateful that Monika had been the one to pose the question. I thought I might've heard the word before, a long time ago, but I'd be damned if I could remember any bit of context behind it or what it actually was.

Sayori stared right back at Monika, looking just as confused as her. Then, she giggled.

"Ehehe… you're having a laugh, right?"

"Uh… No?" Monika said, frowning slightly.

"Oh, come off it! Natsuki, you know what I'm talking about, right?"

"I literally have no idea." I shook my head. "Is it some kind of potion?"

"Knock it off!" Sayori exclaimed, her smile disappearing. "My Uncle might be seriously worried about me, so stop making fun of me and just tell me where the telephone is! This isn't funny anymore!"

"Sayori, we're not making fun of you, we really just don't know what a telli-fone is!" Monika said, looking upset.

"It's a Muggle invention used for long distance communication, powered by electricity."

All of us went silent, just like we had the last time Yuri unexpectedly spoke up. The raven-haired girl was peering over the edge of her book, making direct eye contact with Sayori.

"You will find no telephones or any other electronics on this train, or at Hogwarts." She continued, her voice quiet, but completely calm and modulated. "The overwhelming amounts of Magic flowing through areas with heavy Wizarding populations causes the wires to short-circuit and renders the devices completely inoperable."

I blinked, having no idea what several of those words meant, but they must have made some kind of sense to Sayori, who gasped in horror.

"You're kidding!" She exclaimed. "There's no electricity at all?! W- what about TV's, or videogames, or- or my Walkman?!"

"Sorry." Yuri smiled apologetically, and I noticed she was wearing braces. "I'm… afraid you will have none of those things. But, uh… if it helps, we do have radio!"

All life seemed to drain from Sayori's body as she slumped over in her seat, looking very pale all of a sudden. I didn't really understand what the problem was exactly, but evidently Yuri had just given her some pretty devastating information.

"Nooo…!" She let out a quiet whimper.

"Uhm…" Monika said, clearly not understanding either, but looking like she wanted to help. "…hey, if you wanna get a message to your Uncle, then I'd be more than happy to lend you Desdemona."

"Desde-what what?!" Sayori asked, looking utterly befuddled until Monika pointed towards the caged owl, still asleep in the corner.

Sayori looked between the owl and Monika a few times before it seemed to dawn on her.

"Ohhh!" She exclaimed. "With the owl! Can it really do that?!"

"'Course she can!" Monika said confidently. "She might be a bit too tired right now, but once she's finished napping, I'm sure she'll be up for the journey."

"Gosh, I would never have thought of that. Thank you so much!" Sayori said, beaming.

"Happy to help." Monika shrugged.

"No offense Sayori, but didn't your parents tell you anything about Hogwarts before sending you off?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

I'd been getting a very distinct "airhead" impression from this girl the more she talked, which would be perfectly alright with me in most circumstances. It wasn't like I was some jerk who expected everyone to know everything immediately upon meeting them.

But still… Needing to send something to someone and not even considering using an owl? That was pushing the boundaries a little bit.

"Ehehe…" Sayori blushed, and awkwardly pushed her two index fingers together. "Well, my parents are sort of… gone."

An awkward, uncomfortable silence fell over the entire compartment, and I felt my face heating up. Immediately, I regretted saying anything.

"I'm… sorry." I apologized quietly, avoiding eye contact.

"Oh no, it's totally fine!" Sayori assured me, smiling brightly again, as if completely unbothered. "Honestly, I don't even really remember them anymore. I've been living with my Uncle Dan for most of my life, but I guess he's what you guys would call a "Muggle," so… yeah, I don't really know too much about anything."

I wasn't entirely sure how to respond. Despite Sayori's reassurances to the contrary, I still felt like I was probably the biggest piece of shit on this train for bringing up her parents like that so insensitively.

Thankfully, Monika was there to pick up the slag.

"Don't worry about asking us any questions you have, okay?" She said sympathetically. "No matter how silly or obvious they may seem, just ask and we'll do our best to answer."

"Yeah." I nodded in agreement.

Yuri said nothing, but I'd started to notice something about her supposed "reading." Despite having her head buried in the book for the majority of the train ride, I hadn't once seen her turn so much as a single page.

She was trying her best to hide it for some reason, but it was obvious she was taking in every word we said.

"Th- thanks, guys." Sayori said, blushing deeper. "Uh… so, d'you think we're gonna start learning magic immediately when we arrive?"

"Ugh, I sure hope not." I groaned at the thought. "Getting forced to sit on a cramped train for hours only to be whisked off to sit in a cramped classroom for even more hours sounds like actual torture."

"I'm almost certain it'll just be some general greetings today." Monika said. "Most likely we'll get some speeches, eat some food, and then they'll show us where we'll be staying for the year. Oh, and then of course there's the Sorting."

"S- Sorting?" Sayori asked, nervously. "What's that?"

"Hogwarts is comprised of four different Houses, each one with its own vast history and attributes, based on the original Founders of the school." Yuri spoke up before Monika had a chance to reply. "These Houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. During the Sorting, all new students will be assigned a House where they will stay for the remainder of their time at Hogwarts."

As with the other times Yuri had spoken, the compartment was momentarily silenced. But I thought I could see a kind of pattern to her "outbursts" now.

You can't help but speak up when someone mentions something you know about, can you Yuri?

"O- oh." Sayori said, blinking a few times. If I had to guess, she was probably trying her best to remember the names Yuri had just listed off. "That's… that's so cool! Hey, you guys wanna stay in the same House together?!"

"That's… not exactly how it works." Yuri said. "The Houses are assigned objectively, based on where we'll fit in the best. There's no choice on our part involved in the process."

"Aww." Sayori sounded disappointed. "S- so what will I have to do to get Sorted? Like you saw before, I'm not exactly the best at magic yet. S- should I try reading through my school books now to prepare?!"

"You won't have to do anything at all." Yuri replied. "They will place a hat on your head that's going to read your mind and determine the best possible place for you."

"R- read my mind…?" Sayori went pale.

"I am sure it will keep everything it sees in the strictest confidentiality, don't worry." Monika assured her.

"Plus, it's a hat. Like, do you think it's going to run off and tell anyone?" I asked, smirking. I hadn't actually known how the Sorting worked beforehand, and was relieved to hear it seemingly wasn't any harder than putting on a hat.

"Wow, okay." Sayori exhaled, looking overwhelmed. "Uh… so, I know we can't choose, but… which House do you hope you'll end up in, Yuri?"

"…uh, R- ravenclaw." Yuri said, losing her newly gained confidence once more. As expected from her by now, she returned her gaze to the "safety" of her book the moment the conversation steered away from the strict information exchange it'd been up until this point.

That figures. From what I've heard, Ravenclaw's the place with the Know-It-Alls.

"I… see." Sayori smiled, probably sensing that Yuri had talked herself to the limit for the time being. "Well, thank you so much for telling me Yuri, I really appreciate it!"

"…mmh." Yuri blushed, burying her face even deeper within the pages.

"What about you, Nat? Can I call you Nat?" Sayori turned towards me.

"Sure, whatever." I shrugged. "To be honest, I don't really give a damn which House I'll end up in, s'long as it's not Slytherin. I'd even take Hufflepuff over that place."

"How come?" Sayori asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because that's where all the bad witches and wizards go." I replied. "If you get selected for Slytherin, there's no way you can be completely trustworthy."

"Isn't that just a bit generalizing?" Monika asked, frowning vaguely.

"Maybe." I shrugged in response. "But it's not like I'm wrong. Can you name a single dark witch or wizard attending Hogwarts who wasn't placed in Slytherin?"

"I can name plenty of famous Slytherins who never turned evil at all."

"I'm sure you can." I smiled back. "But the fact remains that its always had way more shady types than any other House. I personally wouldn't trust a Slytherin farther than I could lift them with that levitation spell I always forget the name of."

"It- It's Wingardium Leviosa."

"Thanks, Yuri!"

"So let me get this straight." Monika clarified. "You'd make a judgment about a person's moral integrity based purely on the Hogwarts House they get sorted into?"

"If that House is Slytherin, yes." I nodded. "And I wouldn't really call it 'judging' as much as just 'having common sense.'"

"…that doesn't sound like a great way to make a lot of friends."

"Fine by me." I shrugged. "In my experience, almost everyone I meet is a complete idiot anyway, so no great loss there."

"Rather bleak look on life, innit?" Monika asked.

"Yeah, probably. But not an inaccurate one." I crossed my arms, silently challenging her to keep going.

"What about us?" Sayori asked. "Are we idiots too?"

I turned to look at her, feeling a… strange sensation in my chest. For some reason, hearing Sayori's tone of voice… it actually made me feel slightly bad. As if I suddenly… cared about this stranger's feelings?

"…no." I said, hesitating slightly. "Or at least, I haven't seen signs of major idiocy from any of you yet. Although that could very possibly change within the next few hours…"

I looked pointedly at Monika, but was surprised to see her face split into a wide grin.

"Oh man. I would laugh so hard if you turned out to be a Slytherin at the Sorting. Just imagine the look on your face… Priceless!"

Feeling the familiar sense of anger rising, I opened my mouth to fire off a retort, but Sayori interrupted me at the last second.

"Well, I hope you get the House you want, Nat. And… and I hope I can continue to not be an idiot in your eyes."

There was something… off, about looking at those bright, genuine eyes, filled to the brim with such honest sincerity. I wasn't used to seeing that, and as such had no idea how to respond to it.

"W- whatever." I settled on, and turned to look out the window.

"Alright. How about you, Monika?" Sayori continued her interrogation.

"Well, now I just wanna answer 'Slytherin' because it'd be funny." Monika giggled, and I rolled my eyes. "But no, the truth is, I don't really think I'd mind ending up anywhere in particular. I think every House would be an interesting and unique experience."

I didn't miss the extra emphasis she'd put on the "every," but stayed silent.

If she wants another swing at me, she can go ahead and call me out properly instead of this passive-aggressive crap.

"Ahaha…" Monika giggled to herself. "Sorry, I know that's like, a super boring answer, but I just think they all have such a rich, interesting history. I can't make myself choose!"

"Well, I hope I'll end up in the same House as you, Moni!" Sayori smiled.

"Oh, for sure, that could be fun." Monika smiled back.

We kept chatting about the Houses for a while afterwards, explaining their history and the certain traits they valued to Sayori. It was mostly a discussion between Sayori and Monika, with me only chiming in every now and again to stress how Slytherin was bad news. I figured that if this girl should take away any piece of information, this would be the most beneficial.

Monika didn't look too pleased at this of course, but I found myself unable to care that much.

Eventually, Monika's owl awoke at about the same time as darkness began settling on the landscape outside, prompting a return to the previous topic of getting a letter to Sayori's Uncle.

Sayori accepted a piece of parchment offered to her, but used a strange kind of metallic, feather-less quill she'd pulled from her purse to actually write the letter. It was a perplexing sight to see someone writing without using ink bottles, but I just chalked it off as yet another absurd Muggle method she'd grown up with at her Uncle's.

Letting "Desdemona" out of her cage, Monika quickly showed Sayori how to fold up the letter properly and tie it around the owl's leg. She then opened up the train window, letting Desdemona fly out into the evening air.

"And you're really sure she'll be able to find my Uncle?" Sayori said, looking after the bird right up until it disappeared from view.

"Positive. As long as you got the address right, she can find anyone." Monika said, and stood up from her seat.

"Where're you going?" Sayori asked.

"It looks like we're gonna be arriving soon, and I'd really like to meet up with my friend before that. Hope you understand." Monika said. "I'd recommend putting on your school robes before we stop, I don't think the teachers would appreciate you wearing Muggle clothes at the start of term."

"Okie-doki!" Sayori exclaimed brightly, rising herself to shake Monika's hand. "Thank you so much for sitting with us!"

"My pleasure. It was really nice talking to you all, can't wait to see you again at the school!" Monika smiled, and exited the compartment.

Figuring Monika probably had to be right, I got out of my own seat with a begrudging sigh to join Sayori in acquiring my school robes from the luggage in the corner.

Next year I definitely won't be bothering with a disguise.

"Man, this is so cool!" Sayori spoke aloud as we pulled on the black robes. "Haven't even arrived at Hogwarts yet and I've already got three awesome friends!"

Freezing up momentarily, I turned to shoot a brief glance at Sayori, feeling a mild sense of worry swelling up inside my chest. I quickly looked away again, only to notice Yuri had raised her head from the book with a very similar expression on her face.

We exchanged looks, and I thought I could tell that this girl probably wasn't entirely comfortable with being labeled a "friend" so soon after meeting each other either.

Wonder how this is going to go. I thought as the train slowed to a halt at the station outside.


Thank you for reading this first chapter!

This is a project I've been planning out for a little over half a year now. I'm very excited and absolutely terrified to finally share it with the world. Hopefully people will like it, and hopefully I'll be able to do the idea justice.