Riding a train to somewhere that he would be spending more than a day at wasn't anything new to Richard, in fact it was rather abundant in his life at this point. He was never alone in any of the cases however, nor did he ever feel alone during any of it. He always found something better to do in the meantime, and he had his mother and stepfather with him at all times.
However even as Richard stared out the window as he sat alone in the compartment, his legs curled up and resting on the seat up against his chest… he couldn't help but feel nervous about all of this. His brown hair flickered in the wind from the open glass above his head as he leaned against the window peering out into the hills of England as the train moved through them. He let out a deep sigh as he turned back to his luggage up on the shelf, the end of fashioned wood stuck out of the lid.
Richard then turned to look down at the lazy old chaser curled up on his lap, its thin black haired tail twitching as it dangled over the edge of the cushion. Her sharp pointed ears alert and the small pink tongue flicked out of her mouth, as small thorns unsheathed from the end of thin black legs. Its tiny nose twitching as the lid to two large green orbs flickered open and it turned to look over at the shaded door to the compartment.
The entrance slid open as a small blonde boy stuck his head through, looking around warily before he spoke. "S-sorry to disturb, but… is there anyone else sharing this space?" he says as his wide brown eyes searched through the cabin as he slowly stuck his round head through the door, as he slowly came in his hand shook as one finger tapped the wooden frame. He had a small frame and fairly skinny with rather bone like fingers coming out of his palm.
Richard shook his head in response, but he curled himself up tighter as the blonde boy stepped inside and closed the door behind him and his luggage fully. "Oh thank god, I was thinking that there was some sort of cloak spell cast you know?" he says as he set his stuff up on the shelf and sat down on the opposite side of the cabin. Both boys fell silent almost immediately with the newcomer fidgeting slightly as he started counting with his fingers
Richard blinked as he looked back out the window, his arms coming to rest in front of his legs. Turning back to the other boy when he was messing with something in his pocket, sitting up Richard watched the boy carefully as he searched desperately for something. His breathing hitched very slightly as worry spread across his face. "I thought I put it here somewhere, my dad told me not to lose it… not like the washing pin, or the… ah here it is!"
Richard watched as the young boy pulled out a fine piece of birch wood out of his pocket, it held perfectly in the palm of his hand as he looked up at Richard's sticking out of his bag. "Well that's one way to get it lost, it will come out if you bump it on the door frame on your way out, better to keep it in your pocket as my ma told me." The boy commented as he started to fidget with the wand in his hand, before quickly putting it back in his pocket and looking down at the design in the carpet.
Richard chuckled, but as he looked up at the willow wand sticking out of his bag he shook his head and looked back to the world outside. As the lump of fur resting on his leg lifted its small shadowy face to look through half narrowed eyes at the blonde. Her mouth opening and the black noddle swishing back and forth as its hackles rose. But as one hand moved down to stroke the panther it rumbled once before leaning back against Richard's thigh, her green eyes slowly shutting to a comfortable close as the palm of her owner lovingly got behind her ears.
The blonde boy seemed a little taken aback but shrugged as he too looked out the window; silence befell them for only a moment before the other boy broke it again. "The name's Josh, Joshua Popham. What's yours?" he says in a rather cheery tone as Richard turned his head to look at the blonde boy. Both met eyes for a moment as an earie silence fell over the cabin once more, Joshua started to fidget and looked nervous in that time.
Richard sat up until his back was leaning straight against the wall. "Richard, Richard Rockwell." He answered as his gaze flickered to a group of shadows moving by the window looking in. Before turning back to Joshua who seemed to ease up at the response and sat up in his seat, Richard could see the boy's brown eyes soften as he let out a low almost inaudible sigh of relief. Richard turns to look down at the hairball that opened one of her eyes before closing them again as the young brown haired boy resumed his rubbing and stroking as was demanded of him.
"Nice to meet you Richard and what's his name, I wanted an owl but my dad wouldn't buy me one?" Joshua asked, pointing towards the shadow that flicked an ear as he spoke… settling his arm down as the cat's whiskers twitched slightly. "Sure must've been one hell of a bond you made when you bought him." he commented as the Bombay opened one eye to glare at him before it fluttered shut.
"Her name is Riley, and she's about as old as me and has been in the family for just as long." Richard answered as he looked down at the fur ball that opened an eye at the mention of her name. "Used to be a prized mouser in my family, now all she wants is cuddles and occasionally likes to run around outside and chase small critters." He answered as the housecat kept her lid halfway open but her tail still twitched as she looked at Joshua. "Arnold said that since we get along so well, I might as well take her along instead of spending more money to get an owl or something. Mom agreed."
Riley stood up on her paws and came to rest on Richard's lap, settling her head down and going back to her rest as the rumble of the train continued on. "Besides, she wouldn't cause too much trouble, hardly does more than swat at people and fall asleep on your lap." Richard chuckled slightly as the brown haired boy reached under and scratched the cat's chin, Riley tilted her head up towards the ceiling of the cabin before her green eyes flickered open and she turned her head to hiss at the door as her ears flattened and hackles rose. The sound of cart wheels rolling past the door caught their attention as the door slid open.
An old lady stood on the other end with a large tray of treats being pushed ahead of her, poking her head and looking at he two boys on the inside. "Anything from the trolly dears?" she said in a rather cheerful tone, her hair in curls that moved slightly in the light air flow that passes around the whole train through the ventilation, her wrinkled face had a bright smile on display, with dark unseeing eyes hidden behind their lids.
Richard's stomach grumbled as he tried to lean forward and see what was in the cart, though most of it was blocked by the veils he reached into a pocket feeling for the bit of coin that he kept on his pockets. He pulled out a couple of sickles and sorted through what he had in the palm of his hand; before handing a couple over to the old lady. "What will that get me ma'am?"
The old witch took the money in her hand and turned back to her cart, shuffling through what she had and pulled out a small pentagonal box and handed it to Richard. "There you go, anything for you dear?" she asked looking inward at Joshua, who simply shook his head as his answer and she moved back and closed the door behind her to continue down the train.
"What card do you think you'll get? How many do you have?" Joshua asked as he sat up in his chair and leaned forward trying to get a good look as Richard unfolded the box to get to the laid flat brown frog that slowly rose up onto its arms and feet before bouncing out of the package. Startling the boys for a moment as it stuck and bounced off the walls and cushions.
Richard and Joshua scrambled around trying to get it, as Riley bounced up from his lap and chased after it all around the compartment. Eventually catching it before it could get out of the train through the window, pinning it down with her small black paws, flicking her coiling headless black snake behind her as she growled when the enchanted sugar was dying from her attempts to kill it like a normal prey. As Richard moved to grab it from her jaws she snarled even louder as it tried harder to scramble free from both of their grasps.
Finally Richard managed to free the chocolate creature from his pointed eared friend as he carried both of them back to his side of the compartment and rested Riley on his lap. The black cat stared up at him as he ate the moving creature which stopped as soon as it entered his mouth. Chewing it up nicely as the black ball of fur let out a low, "Mrrrow," of disappointment, turning her black head and narrow green eyes to look at Richard from over her furry shoulders.
Joshua pulled out of his pockets a couple of towelettes, handing them over to Richard to clean up as he made himself more presentable before tucking them away to throw away when he gets the chance. As he was finished he picked up the card from the package, it held the image of a red haired woman. "Morgan Le Fay…" Richard answered as he turned the card around to show Joshua.
"You got the shape shifter, the foe of woe to Merlin? Now that is a rare find indeed, I've only just started my collection but I haven't gotten any of the bigger wizards and witches yet." Joshua muttered as he sat up sighed as he crossed his arms and looked back out the window at the slowly disappearing sun over the Scottish highlands. As the train started to slow both boys got their robes on, and Richard picked riley up into his arms and carrying her with him.
Day had become night at that point, as Joshua stuck close behind Richard while their luggage was being taken off the train for them. Set off to the side of the platform beyond as Richard closed himself off in the tight and crowded corridor. So many fellow students, tall and short alike from all sorts of backgrounds, were almost shoulder to shoulder with the brown haired boy.
The chill in the wind ruffled the back of Richard's head as the people around him split up, one heading towards the forest entrance while the students gathered at the far end where a large giant stood holding a lantern. His large bushy black beard was grayer than its original color, he had a big bushy brown jacket that reached the platform and he was calling out to the first years.
"Keep your pets with the luggage, the water's cold and they won't thank you for getting wet. They'll be waiting after the meal." He yelled over the crowd before holding up his lantern and turning to head towards the lake at the far end of the platform. Richard held on tight to his cat before he reluctantly set it on top of his luggage, the willow wand tucked away in his pocket instead.
As Richard followed the half giant, he noticed that behind him Riley had fallen back asleep even as they got further and further away. As he turned back he nearly bumped into a lean black haired boy who stumbled forward, looking back at him a little annoyed. "Care to watch where you are going." He grumbled before turning back to face forward towards the darkness ahead of them.
Richard bunched up his shoulders as he looked up at the weaving shadows that blocked out the moon beyond, the place felt rather unnatural to him the more he looked at it. The place had an eerie feeling about it and it tickled the back of Richard's neck, it sounded like hooves were echoing through the large forest. But he shook the thought out of his head as the peak of the boat house appeared over the treetops.
The doors leading inside creaked and were worn out by years of age and slight decay, held together by strong and just as ancient spells as the half giant stopped at the edge of the line of boats. "Now everyone, four in a boat, I will be leading you across the black lake where you will get your first in person view of Hogwarts here in just a couple of moments.
Richard watched as everyone was shuffled into separate boats, as he was picked to sit in one with the black haired boy in front of him. Lucky enough Joshua was chosen to sit down behind him with a brunette girl joining the boat lastly. Her dark black like eyes reflecting the night sky as the half giant climbed into the boat ahead of the rest and the boats were pulled along behind it like a fleet across the dark lake that hid the