I heard an extremely loud train whistle cut through the steam-filled room. There were people all over the place, bustling about trying to get everyone on the train. I looked over at my brother and grasped his arm again. I looked up at the clock. I had 15 minutes to be on the train, but I wanted to get a seat on my own, so I figured now was the time to say good bye.
I gripped him in a tight hug and swallowed to try to push the lump in my throat down. He patted my head and squeezed me. I sighed into his shoulder and stepped back.
"Good luck Deni", he said using his long-forgotten pet name for me from when we were really little.
"Thanks TJ. I'll see you at Christmas." I said grabbing my trunk and hauling the awkwardly heavy thing down the concrete floor of the platform quickly. I wiped my eyes and stepped on the train.
I headed straight to the back of the overly-luxurious train. I grabbed the second to last compartment before anyone else could snatch it from me. 'Cause I'm selfish that way.
I went back to one of the windows I saw in the hallway. I looked out it to see Taylor looking up at the train, shielding his eyes. I saluted at him and he returned it. From there, he turned on the spot and vanished. I smiled a little smile, and I went back to my compartment.
The compartment had plush, maroon seats with a peculiar little star pattern, and there was a window on the far wall, but all you could see out of it was the other side of the platform. Sitting on one seat, was an interesting looking girl. She seemed a little out of place in the compartment. She had a waterfall of blonde waves that came down to her small waist, and big, bright gray eyes set spectacularly against her pale skin. She was very pretty, and despite her awkward presence, I figured she would be a nice girl. She had her wand tucked behind her ear, and she was holding an interesting-looking newspaper upside-down.
"Hi", I said tentatively. This was the first girl I was meeting at Hogwarts, so I didn't want to screw this up. "I like your necklace."
She glanced up at me and grabbed her necklace of butterbeer caps. "Hello there. Thank you. What's your name?"
"I'm Adena Browning. What's your name? And what year are you in?"
"Luna. I'm a third year. Do you need a place to sit?"
"Oh, I'm a fourth year. My trunk is already on the rack" I said point up to my belongings.
"Oh, well, then let's sit together!" she said smiling. I smiled back at her, much more comfortable. She seemed to be a happy person, which would balance out well with my pessimistic attitude.
"Sure", I said reaching up for my trunk. I pulled out my Potions book and started reading where I left off. We sat in silence for a minute before I heard someone walk in. An awkward looking boy started to speak softly.
"Hello Luna"
"Hi Neville. How was your summer?" Luna asked
"It was alright. Gran didn't want to go to the World Cup, so hearing about it kinda sucks, but I think I'm going to go grab a compartment with Seamus and Dean. I'll see you later."
"I can imagine. Well, it was nice seeing you Neville. Oh, I almost forgot, this is Adena. She's a fourth year in Ravenclaw. She'll be going to school with us from now on."
Neville gave me a shy smile. "Nice to meet you Adena."
"It's nice to meet you too, Neville." And with that, he walked out.
When the train pulled in, I waited for everyone else to leave before I left. I quickly followed the crowd of everyone not in first year to these horseless carriages, waiting to take us all to the school. I found couldn't find Luna, so I found Neville, and we entered a carriage with two boys and a girl. I hopped in and sat next to Neville, across from everyone else. I decided to humor myself and make the first move. Seeing as this was unlike me, I was very proud of myself.
"Hello" I said nodding at the three sitting across from us.
"Hi, I'm Hermione. What's your name?" said the girl in the middle of the boys. She had poufy brown hair and her teeth were a little bucked, but she had glowing brown eyes that made her look interested in whatever she was thinking about.
"I'm Adena. I see you all are Gryffindors." I said looking at the patches on their robes.
"You bet we are. 'Where dwell the brave at heart'!" said the boy with the flaming hair.
"And, you are…?" I asked.
"Ron Weasley" he said grinning. The tips of his ears were a little red. It seemed as if he was flushing, but it was all going to his ears. I gave him a little smile back. That made his ears redder.
"And I'm Harry Potter" said Harry. He had a little smile on his face, too. He held his hand out, and I shook it. He had a surprisingly loose grasp, so I tightened my grip. He did, too. Then, I smiled.
"Nice to meet you all. I'm a Ravenclaw. Where dwell the witty know-it-alls." I said rolling my eyes. They all glanced at Hermione. I looked over at her, puzzled.
"Oh, I am not!" she exclaimed throwing her hands up. I looked at Ron, still confused.
"What's going on?" I asked with my eyebrows furrowed. I tucked my short red bangs behind my ear and sat back, folding my arms.
"Erm….Hermione is….very…involved in class. And she's good at it!" he said looking over at Hermione like she was going to hit him. She sighed and sat back also.
"I just love learning. And books" she said with an afterthought.
"Then why aren't you in Ravenclaw?" I asked curiously.
"The Sorting Hat did put serious thought into it. He just seemed to think it would be better for me in the end if I went into Gryffindor, and it's turned out alright for me so far" she said looking at Ron and Harry and in turn punching their shoulders. They both cried out.
"Was that your attempt at being friendly" asked an angry Ron.
"Yes, so get over it" said Hermione, looking out the window. I laughed and Ron looked over at me. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing" I said quickly and unconvincingly. Neville smiled at me, and began to explain the castle to me. He described it very well, and I began to get a picture in my mind of what we would be arriving to soon. His description could have never prepared me for what I saw when the carriages pulled up to my new school.