//Bellatrix//

The compartment was silent for a few seconds after the girl left with her still panicking animals. Then someone said, "She had a wand and... didn't know how to use it?" and they all erupted into laughter.

"Mudblood, definitely," Evan Rosier said, smirking from underneath the golden-blond hair that hung over his eyes.

"Or a first year," Regulus pointed out, quietly, from his corner. He was the youngest of the group, and had therefore made himself as small as possible next to the door, intimidated by the others' size.

Bellatrix rolled her eyes. "Reg, darling, what eleven year old pure-blood child doesn't know how to use a wand by the time they get to Hogwarts?"

"No, he's got a point," Lucius cut in calmly. "Not all families are as lenient as ours." He paused for a moment, and looked smug. "That being said, of course..."

They all sniggered again, though they sobered up quickly when the food trolley rolled to a stop in front of their compartment. The boys made a rush at the door, and in the midst of the jostling to be first in line Bellatrix noticed a number of pumpkin pasties and chocolate frogs vanishing off the trolley. She sighed and shook her head, then kicked Lucius- lightly- in the ankle.

"We ought to give them detention," she said in an undertone. "Nicking food like that. It's shameful." She grinned.

Lucius grinned back. "I see you're going to be thoroughly abusing your Head Girl status," he muttered back. "Good to know."

"Get me a cauldron cake, will you?" Bellatrix replied. "And I won't take off any points."

"You wouldn't anyway, not from your own house..."

A few minutes later they settled down with an enormous pile of snacks, and the first-year with her terrified pets were quickly forgotten.

//Marina// 

The compartment was getting a bit crowded. Well, not crowded exactly, but Marina wasn't used to being in enclosed spaces with more than two or three people at once. She spent most of her time in Greece on her grandparent's private beach, which was always completely devoid of company. Human, company, anyway...

She snapped back into focus when one of the girls-- Becca-- said her name, and smiled vaguely at the girl she was being introduced to. "Hi," she said, feeling uncomfortable. She wasn't used to conversing with people she barely knew, either. Her mother always lectured her that she ought to socialize more, but Marina had always felt that the friends she had were perfectly fine and there was no reason to find more. Admittedly, she barely knew anyone at Hogwarts, but she got probably more post than any other student in the school.

As Becca and Lily began to discuss the various failures of the Quibbler as anything but a useless, vapid tabloid, Marina let her mind wander, staring idly out the window but not really seeing the increasingly wild country flying by. She thought of clear, blue water and beaches with white sand, of the hot sun, and seafood. Seafood was a depressing rarity at Hogwarts. A couple of times last year she'd gone down to the lake and enquired after the underwater cuisine, but the samples the merfolk had presented had been... less than palatable, and Marina had given up after the third try.

"You've got your OWLs this year, Marina, haven't you?"

Marina started and turned away from the window. Lily was looking at her, looking a bit concerned. Probably worried that I feel excluded or something, Marina thought. Aloud she said, "Yeah. Should be fun." She rolled her eyes.

"Are you nervous?"

"Not really." Marina sighed. "I find that stressing over upcoming tests never helps. And they're not till the end of the year anyway."

"Oh. That's good."

"Mm." She smiled, uncomfortably. 

((Can I have Sirius, if no one else wants him? Thanks! *rubs hands together* This'll be fun.))

//Sirius//

I sigh as Moony discusses Greek history with the first-year girl. I didn't know he was interested in that, but apparently he is. So much that he actually shut his book. Shocking, really. He's really smart, reads a lot. Great guy, though. Really great. I feel bad for him.

Across the hall, I see Evans get up and leave her compartment. Now she's coming towards ours. She's really pretty. I can kind of see why Prongs likes her. Not that I like her, though. I wouldn't want to compete with Prongs -- he's my best friend.

The door slides open, and Lily comes in, red hair swinging behind her. "Hello, Potter," she says, her voice sickly sweet and slightly sarcastic. "May I help you?"

Prongs is over by the window, explaining enthusiastically to Wormtail about his new broomstick. He doesn't notice her right away. I lean over and poke him. "Hey, James," I say. (We never use our Marauders nicknames in front of other people. The last thing we want is awkward questions.) "Looks like you've got a visitor."

He turns his head. "What --" Then he sees Evans, and an expression of shock comes to his face.

//Becca//

Lily crosses the hall and goes into Potter's compartment. I can't tell what she's saying to them, but I feel bad for Potter. She's not likely to go easy on him.

Marina is staring out the window, with a firm "don't talk to me or look at me" expression on her face. I can understand -- I'm not exactly what you'd call social myself. Although with someone like Lily, who I know well, I'm okay. It's nice to be abusing the Quibbler with her again. I can't say anything bad about it at home, because Mum's a writer for it, and takes it very seriously. Dad writes for the Prophet, which is often little better.

I open my box of Bertie Bott's. I like them a lot.

I'm really looking forward to this year. I love my classes -- well, all but Divination. I only took it because Mum thought I should. Professor Trelawney drives me mad, the way she goes around being tragic and predicting deaths. I've heard that she picks a student in every class to predict the death of. In my class, I'm that person. "Oh, my dear! In your teacup I see ... the Grim." Delightful.

My favorite class is Transfiguration. I found out last year that Professor McGonagall is actually an Animagus. That is so cool. I've read that it's a lot of work to become one.

I sigh and eat a jellybean. Spinach.

"Hermes, come back!" I raced down the hall, after my cat. Just then, the train lurched to a stop, and I fell flat on my face. "Great." I muttered. Hermes jumped onto someone's head, and they waved his hands above his head and flicked him off. "Hermes, you nutty cat! I'm so so so so sorry!" I apologized to him, but he was already off down the hall. I collected all of my stuff, and ran towards the first-year boats. 

"Hermes, come back!" I raced down the hall, after my cat. Just then, the train lurched to a stop, and I fell flat on my face. "Great." I muttered. Hermes jumped onto someone's head, and they waved his hands above his head and flicked him off. "Hermes, you nutty cat! I'm so so so so sorry!" I apologized to him, but he was already off down the hall. I collected all of my stuff, and ran towards the first-year boats. 

I smiled at the look of suprise on The Creeps face. Little did he know that I wasn't there to make his day. I was only there to make it worse. I smiled at him, trying to imitate the fan girls that gathered around him. It made me want to throw up, but I did it anyway. "Hi Potter," I said trying to smile shyly.

I'm such an idiot. Please ignore what I wrote about ignoring, please. And as it turns out, I don't want anything removed. Sorry for the confusion. I think I must've gotten a Wrackspurt, that's the only explanation.

I'm going to post more as Sirius and Becca, but I want to wait for BananaBerry's post to come up.  

"Hey Evans." I said to her, taking a look at my hair in the window reflection as the first year ran out of the compartment and down the compartment.

(never mind my last post!) 

I stared widly about the room, trying to find something to stall time.  A shiny new broom caught my eye. "Wow!" I said sweetly, putting way more gush into my voice then maybe was necessary "Is that a new broom? It's so beautiful. May I hold it?" He didn't seem to notice the gush. Oh his stupid hair. my revenge would be so sweet.

"Of course! Be right back, guys!" I followed Lily out of the compartment and into the hallway.

I grabbed my cat and walked down the hallway. I bumped into a Slytherin, watching a boy from my compartment and a girl. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I'm a mess today!" He was tall, and had a pointed nose, greasy hair, and a Slytherin robe. "What is your name?" he asked. "I'm Areena. I'm a first year." I started talking in Ancient Greek, the way I do when I'm really nervous. "Stop! I see your from Greece. Welcome to Hogwarts. Make sure that you never bump into me again." "Yes." and with that, I raced down the hall to my compartment. Outside, Potter (was that his name? I forgot) was talking to a girl. "Hi there!" I said to him. "Not now!" he mumbled under his breath. "Is that the girl that you were talking about earlier today?" I mumbled back. In my regular voice, I said to the girl. "Hi! I'm Areena. I'm a first year, and I just bumped into a boy who was watching you. Do you know him? I think that he was a Slytherin, because he was wearing the same robe that the mean boys who jinxed my pets were wearing. Do you have any pets? I have an owl and a cat." I continued to talk, but Potter pushed me away and into the compartment. "Whoops. I think that I just embarrassed him. Oh well. He has all year to make up for it!"

//SNAPE//

I see Lily disapear into Potter's compartment.  She told me that she didn't like him! That she thought he was an annoying idiot. I guess she lied to me. But why? I am so upset that I blow up at a sweet first year who bumps into me.  I really shouldn't have.  But I can't blow up and Lily. I wander around trying to find the other Slytherins. Maybe talking with them will make me feel better.

//LILY//

As Potter steps out of the compartment behind me, a young girl comes up. A first year.

"Hi there!" She says to Potter. They seem to have met before. Potter hisses something at her and she mumbles back. Then she turns to me.

"Hi!" She says 

"I'm Areena. I'm a first year, and I just bumped into a boy who was
watching you. Do you know him? I think that he was a Slytherin, because
he was wearing the same robe that the mean boys who jinxed my pets were
wearing. Do you have any pets? I have an owl and a cat." I just stare at her. Processing her first question. She  continues to
talk, but Potter pushed her away and into the compartment. She means Sev! "What was that for?" I-almost-snap at Potter I catch myself just in time.

"Why'de you do that?" I ask slowly. I open the door of the compartment and stick my head in.

"Hi! Welcome to Hogwarts! I'm Lily! Yes I know him. His name is Severus Snape. He is in Slytherin. I'm sorry about your pets. I have a Pygmy Puff and an owl. See ya!" I shut the door, but only lightly. The broom had to not break anything, and turn back to Potter.

"OK! Let's go find the sweet lady."

I leaned against a barrier, waiting for my mother to come. I yawned, not bothering to cover my mouth, instead, petting my rabbit, Caradoc, who was actually quite strong for being just a rabbit; one day he wouldn't let go of my finger for ten minutes until I finally gave him more food and scratched him behind his ears.

"Gwent," I heard my mother say behind me. I knew for a fact it was my mother speaking to me because no one else would call me "Gwent". I would be okay with it if it didn't have a 't' at the end of it, but it does so it looks and sounds "stumped" as I call it.

Gwent Teyrnas, I thought to myself. What a stupid name. I always introduced myself to people as Gwen or Teyra. Never as Gwent or Teyrnas. Why oh why did I have to have a first and middle name that were both awful.

"Gwent," Mother repeated. "You can go now." I rolled my eyes. I could've gone anytime I wanted, but I would have gotten in trouble.

I walked, pushing my trolley towards the barrier beetween 9 and 10. I had always wondered what excactly would happen if I stopped in the middle of a barrier, and I wasn't going to find out today; today was too important. I always looked forward to the beginning of a new semester at Hogwarts.

I looked at the clock mounted on a wall. 10:53.

My mother gave me a hug. I blushed and she said "Be careful now. Write to me to say that everything is all right, all right?"

"And what if everything isn't all right?" I asked.

Mother smiled and I smiled as well.

"Still write." She gave me another hug and a kiss at which my cheek burned furiously.

"Hurry now," she said.

I nodded and ran to the train, handing my luggage and Caradoc's cage to the man beside the Hogwarts Express.

I jumped up onto the train, clutching my basket in which I carried Caradoc; I would pick up his cage when I got to Hogwarts.

I walked down the hall, peering into each compartment. I saw that in one sat an ex-friend that I had made last year. I didn't make many friends at Hogwarts and I had thought that I had finally made a friend to keep. But no, she acted like a friend for most of the year. But once she found more popular friends, she pretended I wasn't even there, swinging her hair behind her head every time I was near her so it slapped me straight in the face, whispering things behind her hand to her posse and then sniggered whenever I was there. I had sort of given up on making anymore friends. I was sick of being made fun of. I wondered to myself sometimes what was wrong with me? Was I ugly? I wasn't mean. Just sometimes I appeared a bit rude or inconsiderate. But it was hard having an older brother who was always dumping on me. If I got good grades he made fun of me. If I got bad grades I got a "lecture letter" from mom telling me to step it up. But I had finally decided that my brother was just jealous. He was never good at school. He was past being of age and had a good-for-nothing job in Diagon Alley and still lived at home.

He called me a loser. I thought he was the real loser.

I kept walking, not finding another empty compartment except for one in which sat the four astounding troublemakers of Hogwarts. Well actually, Sirius Black and James Potter were the troublemakers. Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew were just sort of there, though they were all friends and sometimes Remus or Peter would get detention along with Sirius and James.

It was either this compartment with the biggest troublemakers of Hogwarts, or the one where I would get made fun to a pulp.

I chose the one with the troublemakers.

I slowly slid open the door hoping that none of them would notice me. But of course they did notice me. They all stopped talking and looked up at me. I blushed yet again.

"There was nowhere else," I mumbled quietly, sqeezing myself into a corner next to Remus.

I was quiet as I could be and didn't look at any of them but they did not resume their talking.

"You're in Gryffindor, right?" asked Remus.

I nodded.

"And what's in the basket?"

"My pet rabbit, Caradoc." I tilted the basket slightly so he could see.

"That's a measly looking rabbit," said James.

I scowled, but on the inside I was smiling slyly.

"Just wait until you say the wrong thing sometime and just you wait. You'll feel Caradoc's teeth!"

They all seemed taken aback by my suddeness of speaking, especially something so... aggresive.

They were all quiet after that except for some whispering back and forth between Sirius and James. I wondered why they left out Remus and Peter from their conversation. Well, I sort of understood why they left out Peter. He was just, well, pathetic really. But I still didn't understand why they just ditched him. And why Remus didn't ditch them.

It was going to be a long ride to Hogwarts.

-☺☻