Disclaimer: I am not nearly as brilliant as J.K. Rowling; therefore, she owns Harry Potter and all its inhabitants…not I.

Chapter Seven: Interesting Encounters

I could hardly seem to keep my balance as we pushed our way through the crowded train whilst everyone tried to settle into their individual compartments. Plenty of times, I had been on a train with mother and father, but this train was unlike any other I had been on before.

Benjamin and I stayed close to each other and found that by the time we were able to familiarize ourselves with the surroundings, only a single compartment was left. Before opening the door, we noticed a boy sitting beside a girl in the compartment, they looked to be talking casually and it only took me a split second to recognize the boy as Percy from the bookstore.

Percy was a very interesting character, indeed. I had rather enjoyed his company at the bookstore and was, at first, looking forward to sitting next to him on the train ride, but after only a few moments after we had been reunited and reintroduced to one another had I realized my mistake.

"And that is when Aspen wood is one of the least common forms of wands, unless of course you are a…." And so he drawled on to Benjamin and the girl beside him, whom I later learned to be Penelope Clearwater, a girl from Ravenclaw, another house at Hogwarts.

Benjamin instantly clicked with Percy and seemed to make his acquaintance rather easily. I, on the other hand, found myself nodding in and out of sleep for the entirety of the train ride that I spent with them. After another student had stuck her head in to inform us that we were halfway to Hogwarts, I found that it would not harm the social aspect of the compartment if I simply led myself out of the compartment to…"get some fresh air".

After excusing myself from the intense conversation, I found myself in the corridor of the train that seemed to be the main passageway. Nearly instantly, I was ran into by an older student who, seemingly, had no concern for any other person. Just after hitting the side of the train with a harsh thump, no major injuries, but simply offended, I turned my head to see just who was so rude as to care so little of others in the corridor.

A boy with black, greasy hair and matching black eyes met my glance with a rowdy, smile showing all of his crooked teeth. I noticed that his robes were lined with green and as he turned, the chest emblem had, no surprise, a snake sewn onto it.

"Marcus!" One of the older girls, who had just entered only to see the scene, yelled at him sternly. "Apologize. Now."

He turned his lip up at the girl, almost in a snarl, before reluctantly turning to me and spitting out," Sorry."

Immediately, I disliked this boy. Perhaps, I would have been able to let the incident slip had he genuinely felt bad about pushing me into the wall, despite the fact that it hadn't hurt me any. The look of his greasy hair and crooked smile simply made my insides turn, even though I didn't even know him. It only went to show that first impressions were very important.

The girl who had scolded him looked down at me," Don't pay him any attention. He's a little stuck on himself, if you can't tell…no one's really figured out why…it's not like he's got much going for him."

I gave this girl a small smile before saying," Well, thanks, nonetheless."

"Anytime," She said and I noticed that she too was already in her robes, lined with a canary yellow. I knew enough of Hogwarts to know that this meant she was in Hufflepuff.

Just as I turned away from her, she grabbed my arm," Wait a minute! You haven't told me your name."

"And you haven't told me yours," I said with a smirk as I moved toward her compartment where several other Hufflepuff were sitting inside, chatting casually.

"Well, I'm Nymphadora Tonks…and please, just call me Tonks. That's only best for both me and you," She said with a smile, but I didn't know whether or not to be slightly frightened by this girl. "I'm in my fifth year here. Hufflepuff," She said with a nod to her canary yellow emblem on her chest.

Plesantly, she stuck her hand out to me which I gladly shook before saying," I'm Lana Stockholm."

She smiled back and before there was much time for a silence to fill the gap," Since you're new at this whole Hogwart's thing, here's a little bit of advice: when a Slytherin tries to treat you like dirt, just give a little back. It can't hurt their abundance of pride they seem to have. That's Marcus Flint, he's just two years under me, but don't let him pick on you, alright?"

"Alright," I said, nearly too in awe still to say much else.

Just as I opened my mouth to part ways with her," Oh and by the way, Lana, you might want to change your clothes. We're probably getting close now."

"Oh, right," I said with another small smile. "I'll do that."

I turned away from the fifth year girl with a quirky aura, brown hair, and pleasant personality. And before I could completely be broken from her conversation, she called to me one last time," Hey, Lana! Anytime you have any questions…just ask!"

"Thanks," I said, nodding appreciatively to her before turning my back one last time to head back to the intense conversation being held between Penelope, Percy, and Benjamin.

As soon as I opened the compartment, I found that there was nothing that I seemed to miss. In fact, I believe that they would not have even noticed my re-entering had I not nearly dropped my entire trunk on Penelope, who elicited a small squeal when she looked up to see my losing grip on the suitcase.

"Be more careful, won't you?" Percy demanded, showing a sudden protectiveness over this girl.

I thought him to be joking at first, but after a moment or so I realized he was very serious indeed. I apologized softly before looking to Benjamin who seemed to be stifling a laugh. At least one thing was for certain, Benjamin wasn't going to be a total "stick in the mud". Badly, I wanted to laugh at the whole ordeal, but with Percy's eyes burning a hole through me, I grabbed my cloaks and made my way to the loo.

The line to the loo was nearly intolerable and I chatted with several of the girls waiting to change. I saw all that I had been missing by staying and trying to entertain myself with Percy's conversation. Granted, I did not want to completely take away from Percy because he had been one of the first to ever approach me, but I most definitely needed to make other friendships, as well.

Girls from all over spoke to me, many of them first years such as myself, but some of them were older and were able to provide a peace of mind to those of us curious about how we were going to settle in to Hogwarts.

One girl, in particular, was named Anna and she was a first year, like myself. We chatted and seemed to make each others acquaintance rather quickly. Anna had long, dark, wavy hair that reached down to nearly her lower back. She was from London and lived in a flat with her parents for nearly all of her life. It took very little time for her to admit to me that both of her parents were non-magical and that they were both far more interested in their work than her studies.

That being said, I had to put her on hold as I entered into the loo and came out several seconds later, clad in entirely black cloaks that nearly dragged to the floor. The feel of the clothes was still surreal, but seeing myself next to all of the other students gave me a sense of completion, or fitting in rather.

Standing outside, I spoke little to any others, but waited for my new companion to change before we began speaking once more.

"Since my parents didn't care much for this 'magic', they both thought it best I move in with my aunt who raised an entire wizarding family on her own out in the country. I haven't seen my family in quite a long time now, but that's alright I suppose. They say I can come back to the city for holidays and such," The blue-eyed girl told me with much expression. "And what of you? What is your family like?"

We walked down the corridor as I replied to her," Nearly all of my family members I can name or remember are magical. I've always been exposed to it and can't really imagine life without it much. My mother and father met at Hogwarts, they were both sorted into Gryffindor. They've been telling me about this school like it is some sort of…heaven or something," I said with a chuckle.

Anna nodded her head and laughed along before saying seriously," From what I've read, it is most definitely a safe-haven for all things magic which may be why it intrigues me so much and I haven't been able to stop reading about it since I received my letter."

Her words reminded me of Benjamin's actions," You sound like my good friend, Benjamin. He hasn't been able to put down the books. I started out reading them, but after a certain point, I was beginning to get anxious."

She laughed as we came upon the candy trolley and saw nearly all of the Wizarding candies imaginable stacked in a perfect manner before our eyes.

"Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans?" Anna asked apprehensively as she picked up the red and white box on the tray to examine it thoroughly before paying for it. "Is it possible to have every flavor?"

The attendant to the candy trolley, a rather plump, jolly woman turned to Anna and with a smile and a wink said," Why don't you try it and see for yourself?"

I seconded the motion before picking up a couple of chocolate frogs for myself. Anna seemed to find all of the candies very interesting and bought several different types. I couldn't necessarily blame her. Wizarding candies were very intriguing even after the first time of seeing them.

I had gotten so lost in the conversation with Anna and with the candy that I nearly forgot I was still holding my old clothes. Anna too had been lugging hers about with her and we both agreed we should probably re-pack them. She wanted to come along with me so when we re-entered the compartment, some introductions were in order.

I opened the glass door to interrupt another intelligent conversation between Percy and Benjamin, who looked up and paused just as I opened the door. Anna stepped in beside me and it was then that I noticed that she was quite a bit taller than I was, even for our age I was not considered short by any means…average or even above average would have been a better wording for my height since I took after my father, but Anna was quite a bit taller and much more lanky.

Perhaps, it was just the robes.

Nevertheless, I introduced her to them both.

"Percy, Benjamin, this is Anna. Benjamin, she is our age and from London!" I said pleasantly as I walked over to where I had sat my trunk on the seat and popped open the neatly arranged bag as I saw her wave casually to the two boys.

"Pleasure to meet you, I'm Percy Weasley, a second year student at Hogwarts, Gryffindor," He said, with a very professional tone to his voice.

"And I'm, uh, Benjamin Flockton," He said rather casually, after clearing his throat.

Anna conversed nonchalantly with the both of them as I re-packed my clothing and closed up my trunk once again before climbing atop of the seat and sliding my trunk atop of the compartment. Several moments later, I was standing at the door alongside her, as we decided that the next destination would be her compartment.

"It was nice meeting the both of you!" Anna said cheerfully as she opened the door.

"You too," Percy and Benjamin said nearly at the exact same moment.

"Bye!" I called soon after.

Anna and I made our way down the hallway to where she had kept all of her belongings. We chatted as if we had been friends for eternity and I still could not believe how much we enjoyed talking to each other even though we had plenty of opposite opinions and had very little similarities as far as our lifestyles went. She would tell me all about London, a place where I envied, while I would tell her about the country, where she had always envied.

It was rather strange, in a sense, but it worked entirely for the best, or seemingly, rather.

"You and Benjamin have known each other for long?" Anna asked as we made our way down the close train corridors.

"Oh, yes, we have practically grown up together!" I answered, smiling as I remembered all the memories we shared as children.

"That's very neat!" She answered, smiling before asking another question. "You are close friends?"

I swallowed hard as I recollected over recent events before answering," Well, we've discovered our differences, but I hardly think that takes away from the special bond that he and I share. It's almost as though we are siblings or something because we have-"

At that moment, we turned the corner and I had turned without properly looking where I was going. What happened thereafter only served me right because I felt myself, once again, colliding with a person. Words could not express how entirely stupid I felt as the person's book was knocked straight out of their hand. Releasing a gasp and feeling an instant flood of guilt rush over me, I bent down to get the book from the train's ground.

I noticed that the books title was, "Quidditch Through the Ages."

That titles was familiar to me and as I lifted it from the ground, I pondered just who I had seen with this book before. It didn't take long for as I looked up, my eyes were met directly by a pair of warm, brown eyes.

"Thanks," The boy said, his Scottish accent ever prevalent. He walked away without another word or second glance.

A/N: Thanks so much to all of the reviewers! I appreciate your support so much and I hope that you continue to review! It really does inspire me even further to write. Lately, I have been extremely busy beyond my beliefs due to school, but Christmas break is right around the corner (*squeal*) and I want to write and write and write over break so please bear with me! Lots of love :)