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Coraline and Wybie were the first to arrive. Coraline’s parents took them, since it would be hard for Wybie’s grandmother to get him to the train station. So here they were, ten minutes before the train was due to arrive. Mel and Charlie Jones were talking amongst themselves, probably about work. Wybie was checking over all of his belongings once again. Coraline noticed and rolled her eyes.
“For the last time, Wybie. You have everything!”
“You keep telling me that, but I can’t help it. I can't help thinking I forgot something.” He looked up at her as he finished checking his backpack, slinging it back over his shoulder. “Besides, it’s helping get my mind off all of this nervous energy I have.”
Coraline arched an eyebrow, placing her hands on her hips. “You’re nervous?”
“You’re not?” He shot back, mimicking her pose.
Admittedly, she was. Being a pureblood, she had a lot expected of her. It was a little daunting. Like she was going to let Wybie know that though. She scoffed, crossing her arms. “Of course not. I'm excited to cast some spells, show off a little.”
Wybie stared at her, obviously not believing her, but he let it slide as they heard a train whistle.
Coraline’s parents looked up at the approaching train before looking back down at their daughter. Charlie kneeled, resting his hands on Coraline’s shoulders. “Now, you be good, kiddo. And have fun! Some of my best years were at Hogwarts, you know. It’s where I met your mother.”
Mel rolled her eyes, fond smile on her face. “She knows, Charlie. You’ve only told her about a hundred times.”
“Only because it’s such a good story!” He chuckled, pulling Coraline into a hug. “I’ll miss you, my little sweet pea.”
Coraline giggled as she hugged back. “I’ll miss you too, dad.”
Charlie gave her one, final squeeze before pulling away and standing up. He flashed a smile over at Wybie, ruffling his hair. “You have fun too, Wybie. Watch after our little Coraline, alright?”
Coraline gave an indignant huff while Wybie laughed. “Will do, Mr. Jones.”
Mel gave her daughter a hug, stroking her hair. “Just ignore them. You have a great time! And try to remember to write.”
“Yes, mom,” she groaned out, hugging her. She pulled back, grabbing her bag as she looked between her parents. As distant as they could be sometimes, she would still miss them. “Love ya guys.” Not wanting to be too emotional, feeling tears threatening, she took a moment to compose herself. “Catch ya later!” She gave one final wave before turning and ascending the steps to board the train.
Both of her parents called out their own ‘I love you’ after their daughter, and giving a smile and wave of their own to Wybie. Wybie returned both, before turning and following Coraline.
When they found an empty compartment, they put their bags away and sat opposite each other, grinning.
“You ready for this?” Wybie asked, leaning back against the seat.
“Oh yeah. Hogwarts won't know what hit ‘em.” Crossing her arms, she leaned back as well, smirk slowly forming. She just had a feeling that this was going to be a great year.
----------------------
Norman and Neil arrived shortly after Coraline and Wybie. Neil tagged along with Norman since his brother, Mitch, and their mom was too busy to take him. Neil didn’t mind though, he was going to Hogwarts with Norman! Neither of them would have to be alone, left to face the adventures Hogwarts had to offer by themselves. He was practically bouncing with excitement.
“Aren’t you so hyped!?” Neil beamed at Norman, bouncing on the balls of his feet.
Norman hunched his shoulders as he gave a weak smile. “Y-yeah. Super excited.” He really wasn’t. The nerves were threatening to kill him. He was nervous about how people would react to his ability. Sure, it was a school all about magic, but that meant nothing. Then, there was just the whole going to a new school thing. He was grateful to have Neil with him at least. Someone he knew. Someone he could trust. Though at the moment, he just felt envious of him. He wished all he felt was excitement. “So, you aren’t anxious, like at all?”
Neil stopped bouncing, staring at Norman with a quizzical gaze. “No… should I be?”
“No, I guess not.” Sighing, he readjusted his backpack. As close as he was to Neil, sometimes, he felt alienated from him too. It got to be draining, and lonely. His thoughts seemed to be written all over his face as Neil rested a hand on Norman’s shoulder, serious look on his face.
“It’s going to be fine. Just another adventure we’ll face together, right? Who knows what kind of fun we’ll have?” His excitement started building back up, smile forming once again.
This was why they were such good friends. Neil could pull Norman out of his anxiety, his excitable, good willed nature too infectious. Norman gave him a stronger smile and a slight nod. Opening his mouth to respond, he found himself unable to as the train whistle cut through the air.
“It’s here, it’s here!” Neil actually began jumping a little as the train neared. He mock whispered, “We’re one step closer to our hero’s journey!”
Norman rolled his eyes as his father, Perry cleared his throat to get the attention of the two boys. “Now, kids. We hope you have a fun time at Hogwarts, but don’t have too much fun. Be safe. And try not to be
too
weird, eh? Don’t want to… isolate yourself from the others.” He awkwardly laughed, before coughing and averting his gaze.
Norman and Neil let out an awkward laugh of their own, not entirely sure how to respond. They figured it was just his attempt at a bad joke.
Sandra Babcock sighed, offering a soft smile to the two boys. “What your father means is, try to make some friends. You both are smart, caring boys that have a lot to offer. Try to put yourselves out there a little.”
“No, I’m pretty sure he meant to keep their weirdness to themselves.” Courtney looked up from painting her nails to look at her brother and Neil. “Seriously, you two are pretty weird. People can sense that kind of thing, makes them… uncomfortable.”
“Ignore her.” Sandra glared at her daughter before turning back to usher the two boys onto the train. “Just try to enjoy yourselves this year, alright? You both will be fine.” She looked pointedly at her son, hoping to get through to him. “I love you.”
Norman was more inclined to believe the words of his dad and sister over those of his mom, but he still managed a nervous smile, and hugged her. “Thanks, mom.” When he let go, and stepped back, he tried for a stronger smile, which he was sure looked worse than before. “Love you too.” He peered around her to say goodbye to his dad and sister, but the former was reading his newspaper again, and the latter went back to her nails and music. He flicked his gaze back to his mom. “Tell them I’ll miss them? And love them?”
“I’ll let them know, honey. Now, get going. Both of you. Don’t want to miss the train.” She shooed them off with a gentle wave of her hands and a warm smile.
Both boys returned it and walked up the steps into the train. They wandered through, until they found a relatively empty compartment.
“Mind if we sit in here with you?” Neil asked with a friendly smile.
The girl with blue hair nodded. “Sure.” As Norman sat next to her, and Neil across from him, she spoke up again. “So, I’m Coraline. That,” she pointed at Wybie, “is my friend, Wyborn.”
“Wybie is fine.” He shot a look at Coraline, who gave him an innocent smile.
“Oh, come on, Why-were-you-born, don't they deserve to know your full name?”
Wybie sighed, ignoring her, used to his friend’s antics. “What’s your guys’ names?”
Neil smiled wide and cheerily said, “I’m Neil, and he’s Norman.”
Norman gave a shy smile as he heard his name mentioned. He was still trying to figure out how this Coraline and Wybie person were friends. Maybe it was them bonding over having weird names, or something. Then again, could he really judge?
“So, are you first years or what?” Coraline asked, getting comfortable in her seat again.
“Yup, we’re super excited!” Neil started bouncing a little in his seat. “Right, Norman?”
“O-oh yeah. Totally.” He laughed a little, high pitched and squeaky from nerves.
Coraline arched her eyebrow. She could tell he was lying. She playfully nudged him with her elbow. “It’s okay to be nervous. We’re actually first years too.”
Norman flashed her a grateful smile while Neil started excitedly rambling. “You’re first years, too?! That’s great! We can hang out and be best friends, and we’re already making friends, Norman! Isn’t this fantastic!? Stupendous! Amazing! Other synonyms! Wait until I tell my mom about this…”
He continued rambling, no one willing to cut off his infectious, elated speech. Norman finally started to relax a little as he listened to his friend talk. Maybe this year wouldn’t be so bad.
---------------
Eggs and Kubo were the last to arrive, though they technically didn’t go together. Eggs had gone with a big group of kids from the orphanage, and Kubo had followed them after hearing one of them mention Hogwarts. When they all ran straight into a brick column, Kubo was worried they had go crazy. When they seemed to disappear into said brick column, he was worried
he
had gone crazy. Not knowing what else to do though, he ran straight at the column, bursting through to a crowded, busy train station. He blinked as he looked around.
He caught sight of a few interesting looking people. A girl with blue hair talking with a boy in a trenchcoat. An overly happy red haired boy talking to an overly nervous spiky haired boy. He really wanted to find that big group of kids again though. They seemed to know where to go, and were easy to blend in with. Pushing his way past other students and parents, he finally spotted the group, looking considerably sadder. He edged closer, peering around some of them to see a boy standing in the middle, trying to calm them down.
“It’s going to be okay. I'm going to be fine!” the boy insisted, hands up in a placating gesture.
One smaller boy pushed through, throwing himself at the other boy and sobbing. “We’re just so worried, Eggs! You’ve never been by yourself. You've never been apart from us! What if you get into trouble!? What if no one is there to help you!? What if you die and we don’t know about it and-"
“Shoe, calm down! None of that is going to happen. Hogwarts is a perfectly safe school.” The boy, Eggs, pat his head with a fond smile. “I’ll keep you updated on everything, I swear.”
A taller boy stepped forward, pulling Shoe away from Eggs. “We just worry about you, Eggs. But you are right. We should try to have more faith in you. You… are growing up…” He sniffled, hiding his face in his hands. “Just give me a moment.”
Eggs groaned. “Not you too, Fish! For the last time, I’ll be-" The train whistle cut him off. He glanced at the approaching train before turning back to the other kids. “That’s my train. Are you all going to be alright?”
“We should be asking you that question!” Shoe exclaimed, wiping at the tears on his face.
“You did. Many times. And my answer has been the same. I'll be fine!” Making sure he had his bag, and all of his meager positions in order, he offered them all one last soft smile. “I’ll miss you all. But I'll be back before you know it!” It was admittedly hard for him to leave them all. They were his family, after all. He saw he had to be the strong one though, as his parting words made many of them burst into tears again.
Realizing the train was here, and not wanting to be around the crying and weird names anymore, Kubo made to make his way to the train. He was stopped in his tracks when he heard someone call out ‘Hey!’ He turned back to the kids, locking eyes with Eggs, who was smiling and gesturing at him.
Kubo looked around. Surely he wasn’t calling for him. That seemed to be the case though as Eggs still maintained eye contact with him. Seeing no other choice, he began picking his way through the large group of kids, who began parting to let him pass. It honestly kind of creeped him out, these kids with big, puffy eyes staring at him as he passed. He finally made it to Eggs after what felt like years.
Eggs widened his smile, which Kubo didn’t think was possible. “I saw you around the edge of our little group, you looked kind of lost. Figured we could stick together.”
Kubo stared at him, mouth agape and eye wide. He could have sworn he was blending in perfectly. Apparently not if Eggs spotted him so easily. And he thought his group was little? He shook his head at that. His thoughts were going off track. What was he thinking about? Oh right! Eggs spotting him so easily.
How?
He couldn’t truly figure out an answer to that though as he felt Eggs beginning to lead him onto the train.
Eggs gave one last goodbye wave to his family before turning his full attention back to Kubo. “So, what's your name? Mine is Eggs. Weird name, I know. Kind of a long story.”
Kubo just continued to stare at him. Who was this person?
“Not much of a talker, huh? Don’t worry. I can talk enough for the both of us!” Figuring Kubo was just nervous, he offered him another smile as he led the way through the train, looking for a compartment to sit in. He finally came across one with only four people. He walked in, dragging Kubo behind him. “Can we sit in here? Almost everywhere else seems full.”
One of the boys, a redhead that Kubo swore he saw earlier, nodded enthusiastically. “Come on in! The more the merrier!”
Eggs gave a friendly smile, as he dragged Kubo in fully, putting his things away before taking a seat next to the redhead.
Kubo nervously moved to put his things away as well before awkwardly sitting next to the spiky haired boy.
“So you know what this calls for? More introductions!” The redhead exclaimed, bouncing in his seat. “I’m Neil! That’s Norman,” he pointed as Norman gave a shy wave. “Coraline,” She gave a nod and smirk. “and Wybie.” He gave a small hello and smile. “Who are you?”
“Well, I’m Eggs and this is… Actually, he still hasn’t told me his name.”
Everyone turned to Kubo, who shrank back in his seat. This was all happening way too fast for him. And now he had all this attention on top of that? Feeling himself close up, he stayed silent.
After a few more moments, Coraline looked back at Eggs. “So, you don’t know who this person is? Do you even know if he speaks English?”
Eggs shrugged, “I couldn’t just leave him. He seemed lost.” Neil patted his shoulder, understanding entirely.
Coraline huffed. “Okay, let me teach you a few things about stranger danger, since you obviously never learned.”
“Uh, Coraline? This person looks about our age. Not to mention, he looks pretty harmless. I'm not sure if he’s exactly-"
“Anyone can be a threat, Wybie! And obviously Eggs here is too trusting. So, let me tell you a bit of how the world works.” She leaned forward, very serious look on her face as she started her lecture. Neil and Eggs listened with rapt attention, while Wybie just sighed, interjecting her lecture when he felt she was being too hyperbolic.
Norman sat quietly, observing Kubo from the corner of his eye. He just seemed like a quiet kid, probably a loner. Norman understood that. He was curious at to the story behind his eye patch though. It took Norman a moment to realize Kubo was staring back at him. He quickly blushed at being caught, mumbled out an apology, and turned back to listen to Coraline.
Kubo continued to stare at Norman. He felt he had to be careful around him. Norman seemed to be the observant type, sitting back and watching people, figuring them out. Kubo did not want that. So, he knew he would have to be a little on his guard around him. He finally tore his eyes away from him to look at the rest of them. They all seemed like nice people, and he was hoping for a change at Hogwarts, right? And for the most part, these people seemed accepting of him, and when did he ever really meet nice, accepting people? He honestly couldn't remember.
Finally finishing up her lecture, Coraline leaned back, crossing her arms. “And that is why you can't just trust anyone. Including this seemingly harmless kid right here.”
“Kubo.”
Everyone snapped their gaze over to where the soft voice came from, eyes wide.
Kubo flicked his gaze between all of them, not sure where to look. He gulped before continuing, “My name is Kubo.”
It took a few minutes for anyone to respond. Finally, it was Neil who spoke up. “There. Now, he’s not a stranger!”
The others let out a little laugh at that, offering warm smiles to Kubo.
“We all know each other’s names now! It’s time to move on to becoming best friends!” Eggs looked around, huge smile on his face. He was determined to make another family here, while his orphanage family was miles away.
“Speaking of names, what kind of name is Eggs anyway?” Coraline asked, as blunt as ever. Wybie glared at her as she just shrugged. “What? At least I didn't ask Kubo about his eye patch. I thought you would be proud of me for that.” Wybie facepalmed. Sometimes, Coraline killed him. Just killed him.
Eggs laughed, shaking his head. “It’s alright, Wybie. It is a weird name. See, I grew up in an orphanage. I was just left there when I was a baby. No one knew my name, but they saw that I used to always play with this box marked eggs. Apparently, I loved playing with that box. So, they named me Eggs, in honor of that box.”
“That’s oddly sweet, yet weird. I like it!” Coraline grinned at him. “You have my seal of approval.”
“That’s all I never knew I wanted! I think my life is complete now.” Eggs plastered a dramatic look of satisfaction on his face.
As the group let out a hearty laugh at that, they all felt much better about their time at Hogwarts than ever before. They just felt excitement, hoping to hold onto this quirky group of friends that somehow found each other. They were excited to face the school year, and whatever it had in store for them.