.

.

Maya glanced around. She knew many of the faces around her and a few waved as she passed by. She was a familiar face to any who ate at her mother's restaurant. Although many knew her, she never felt very close to any, so she opted to sit at the compartment at the very corner of the train. She passed a boy sporting a bowl cut, completely immersed in his spellbooks. At last, she found an isolated compartment and sat down. She looked out the window, eyes wide open as beautiful scenery flashed by. She pulled out her camera and started to take a couple shots. She took an exceptionally well shot of the train turning around the bend, and the purple smoke filled the room when she heard the compartment door open.

…

Riley had been wandering the corridors, wondering vaguely where Farkle was. She supposed he was sitting somewhere in the front of train, eager to be the first to spot the Castle, biding away his time by reading spellbooks. She wanted to stop by and say hi, but her feet were aching and she decided to find a compartment instead. Everywhere she looked, it was packed. Although her father, Mr. Matthews, was the head of the Department of the Magical Education, she wasn't very well-known among the children.

One of the compartment doors opened, and a rather nasty looking girl walked out, glaring at Riley. "You're in my way," she said rudely. "I'm sorry," she stuttered quietly, walking past her and stumbling on her way down the corridor. She could hear the girl and her friends giggling her from far away.

At last, she found an almost empty compartment at the end. Inside was the blonde girl she had seen earlier at the train station, the one that had been all by herself. Riley wondered if the girl would rather be by herself. But she turned back, and her heart dropped. The girls who had laughed at her earlier were following her. She took her chances and opened the compartment door.

...

Maya turned around to the newcomer, who started to cough from the camera's purple smoke. The newcomer fanned the air around her and after a moment or two, Maya was able to see her properly. It was the brunette girl who had been with the curly-haired father and kindly mother.

"Hi, I'm Riley," the girl introduced herself. "Mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full."

Maya paused for a moment in contemplation. "Sure, kid, go ahead" she said, grabbing her rucksack and making room. She hadn't planned on having any company but something about this girl, Riley, looked so timid and fragile. Maya smiled tentatively at her, suddenly feeling an inexplicable need to make the girl feel welcome.

As Riley sat down, she glanced at Maya's camera, and some of the photographs scattered around. "Woah!" She exclaimed. "Those are some really great pictures. You're really good at this," she declared enthusiastically.

Maya smiled. Maybe company wasn't so bad after all.

But she spoke too soon; not even had the thought entered her mind when the compartment door was wrenched open. Both the girls turned to the doorway, where Missy Bradford stood with a wicked smile on her face, flanked by two menacing-looking girls, all with wands in hand.

a/n: hope you guys enjoy! more to come soon! as always, lemme know what you think =)