Misadventures at Hogwarts: a Harry Potter RP

[Skye]

Yes....for those of you who remember the RP from long, long ago...it's back! I think it would be best if we all started over as first years however, and make a few more tweaks to limit some of the craziness that brought about the other RPs demise.

This RP takes place three years after Voldermort's second downfall, after Harry Potter has defeated him. (For the sake of the RP, we'll say Voldermort has been killed.) The wizzarding and even the Muggle world is still recovering somewhat from everything that transpired, but it has been a peaceful and uneventful time of healing.

Enter our characters, first year Hogwarts students. A fresh start for the young generation of would-be wizzards. It is here that we create our story. Let's begin in Diagon Alley. Please fill out your character form. I will try to keep an up-to-date list of the characters on this first post for quick referencing.

Here are my two characters (they should be familiar for those who RPed with me the last time!)

Name: Cassidy MacDouglas
Age: 11
Physical characteristics: a bit short but very strong and fit for an eleven year old. Cassidy sports a short, chin length bob of blond hair and clear blue eyes. She is fair skinned. When she is not wearing her Hogwarts attire, she can often be found in comfortable clothes: loose fitting pants and a comfortable shirt.
Personality: Cassidy is kind of quiet, but very focused and disciplined. She is the complete opposite of her twin, Andrew.
Hobbies/Interests: Cassidy plays bass guitar, a talent she likes to keep on the down low, and she is also an accomplished martial artist. She relies on her martial arts skills before her wizzarding abilites. She also likes to surf.
Pet: Kaze, an albino snowy owl
House: Ravenclaw

Name: Andrew MacDouglas
Age: 11
Physical characteristics: the bigger of the two twins, Andrew stands a few inches above his sister. He has short blond hair and blue eyes that match Cassidy's perfectly. He smirks more than he smiles, which refelcts his chill, fun-loving personality. When he isn't in school uniform, Andrew tends to dress casually, not really caring about what he wears.
Personality: Andrew is pretty outgoing and can be kind of obnoxious. He makes up for Cassidy's reserved nature.
Hobbies/Interests: Andrew is also an accomplished martial artist, and plays acoustic guitar. Andrew also surfs, quite a bit better than his sister, but her strength is in martial arts.
Pet: Kaze, an albino snowy owl (he and Cassidy share.)
House: Gryffindor


A note about posting: please make your posts descriptive and informative. Please also write in third person: he/she, as opposed to I/me.

After a few people join, I'll get this ball rolling!

[Mari]

Name: Sakura Mikage
Age: Ten, almost eleven

Physical characteristics: Just beside her chin, locks of auburn are present. Her vivid cerulean optics are most likely brimming with enthusiasm or with mischief. She is a tad short for her age, making her look like a mere child of seven or eight—she abhors being called short, by the way—and has slender, almost athletic frame. She is fair skinned and, if not clad in Hogwarts clothing, is always dressed in loose, boyish clothes; like her brother's shirt and shorts.

Personality: Sakura is always extremely hyper; she never loses her bounciness or her enthusiasm. She is more of a boy than a girl, too and simply loathes anything too girly—the only pink-colored object she likes is Cherry Blossoms.

Mischief is often visible through her eyes as she adores being an annoyance to others, and she is quite the daredevil, having absolutely no concern for her safety. She also has this tendency to act tough around others, but regularly fails, with her naivety and all.

But in spite of her uncanny attitude, her optimism is very contagious.

Hobbies/Interests: She is excels in the art of fencing and various types of combat styles. She prefers attacking physically, before resorting to magic since she isn't the greatest when it comes to that. Plus, name any kind of sport, and she'll most likely be fond of it.

Pet: Dark, a snowy owl.
House: Gryffindor [Meh, it ish the most similar to Mari. X3]
-~-
Name: Kosuke Mikage
Age: Eleven

Physical characteristics: Kosuke has short, unruly red hair and eyes the color of sea. He has a strong build and, as opposed to his sibling, is fairly tall. His eyes reflect his hot-tempered nature and the sneering grin he has portrays his slightly obnoxious side. He doesn't really pay any heed to his attire, so he basically throws on whatever he finds, but does care when Sakura takes his clothes.

Personality: Hot-tempered and awfully stubborn. He hates being proven wrong and has a hard time showing compassionate feelings, since he thinks it affects his pride. He is very overprotective of Sakura and would try and kill anyone who dares harm her, he just doesn't want to admit it. He can be very obnoxious though, and frequently pulls pranks on anyone he sees just for the heck of it.

Hobbies/Interests: While his sibling excels in fencing, he is exceedingly skilled in kendo. He shares her knowledge of various combat techniques, but favors magic than physical attack. He is a lot better in combat than Sakura and he knows it.

Pet: Li, a black kitten.
House: Slytherin

[Jesus Freak Josh]

*gasp* SKYE?! YOU'RE BACK?! YAY!!!!!!!!! Now why didn't you tell me, Josh, about this? XD

Name: Josh McScott (Not my real name [well Josh is] but McScott sounded cool. XD)

Age: 11

Physical characteristics: Has brown hair and blue eyes. Is quite tall but a little overweight. Has long nails, finger and toe, but cuts them occasionally. Hair needs to be cut as it is getting to the bottom of his neck.

Personality: Josh is pretty friendly, pretty smart but pretty agressive. Push him and you'll have nails dug into you. Josh is very good at technology which may be useless at Hogwarts but may be incorporated soon.

Hobbies/Interests: Josh likes to do technical stuff. That sort of thing. Technology isn't at Hogwarts which is a shame. But Josh may find a way around that... He likes to play Soccer and write stories.

Pet: Hoot the brown Owl.

House: Ravenclaw

Can my guy try and figure a way around the technical stuff not working? And Skye, why did you leave and why did you come back?

[~Ozy~]

Name: Mikhail Sorchevsky
Age: 11
Physical characteristics: Tall and well-built for his age, though this doesn't say a whole lot. Deep brown, straight hair lies cropped close to his skull and is seemingly always immaculate. Piercing black eyes. Typically wears a tight black shirt and loose fatigue pants (tucked into the combat boots he always wears) when not in school robes.
Personality: Mikhail is an odd one, to be sure. He's quiet and withdrawn, overall, quite studious, but intensely loyal to his friends and family. When angered, his demeanor changes completely and you'll find out why Russian fighters have such a wicker reputation. He's also quite easily frustrated with any mistakes he might make, particularly regarding his English, which he regards as inferior.
Hobbies/Interests: Mikhail was taught Command Sambo by his father, an ex-KGB agent. He's proved to be quite skilled at it as well. His mother imparted her cooking skills, though he's nowhere near as interested in the cooking as he is in his martial arts, or his own passion, the harmonica.
Pet: Vasilisa, a femal eagle owl
House: Ravenclaw

[Skye]

OOC: Okay....let's get started! More people are welcome to join, of course....but I'm wicked excited to get this thing moving!!

IC: The crowded streets of Diagon Alley left the fair skinned, blond haired twins silent in awe. The shorter of the two, the girl, drew a deep breath, her face becoming reserved in contrast to her brother's wide eyes.

The two of them had already said farewell to their parents for the afternoon. Neither of their parents had much interest in or knowlege of Diagon Alley, and preferred to stay at the inn. Andrew had dragged a reluctant Cassidy through the streets, pointing out all the sights he had heard or read about.

They made the traditional stops, Olivander's, robe shops, bookstores, etc. At last, with armloads of supplies, the twins found themselves at an ice cream parlor, and decided to go for a snack.

Cassidy sat quietly, her feet two inches from the ground, her legs swinging contently. Andrew's eyes were still wandering eagerly about their surroundings.

"Think we'll see any other Hogwarts students?" he asked excitedly, pausing only to take a lick or two of his chocolate ice cream cone.

"Probably," Cassidy shrugged, though it was easy to see she was just as excited. She leafed through a few pages of Hogwarts: a History, and smiled.

[Jesus Freak Josh]

A boy no older than eleven wiped his long fringe of brown hair out of his eyes so he could see.
Josh McScott had turned eleven and was going walking down the crowded streets of Diagon Alley with his supply of books and his wand as well as his robes which he was to wear at his new school known as Hogwarts.

As he walked through the streets of Diafon Alley, his blue eyes darted upon a boy and a girl who looked alike and were eating some ice-cream cones.
"Hi," he said walking to them. "I'm Josh McScott. I'm going to Hogwarts this year. You?"

[~Ozy~]

Father and I had long since finished our shopping. He was a great believer in getting work done early and was trying to impart that into me. Now he was off doing God knew what with Mother and had left me alone for the afternoon. I was sitting on the patio of Fortescue's ice cream parlor. People-watching, mainly. right now I was focused on what seemed to be a few of my fellow peers. I didn't want to try and speak to them, though, I'd probably slip up and make a fool of myself. My accent was still far too thick as well. Instead, I returned to my ice cream and kept watching.

[Skye]

Andrew was the first to notice another Hogwarts student approach their table. Cassidy turned her head slightly to look in the direction of the newcomer, watching the boy wipe some hair from his eyes. She smiled slightly, but felt her stomach tighten with nervousness.

"Hi," he said walking to them. "I'm Josh McScott. I'm going to Hogwarts this year. You?"

"Andrew MacDouglas," Andrew said, offering a handshake. "This is our first year."

"Cassidy," the girl said quietly, pausing from her reading to look over at Josh. Her blue eyes were clear and slightly curious, but for some reason, her attention turned to antoher person around their age sitting by themselves at a table. She finished the last bite of her ice cream cone, and watched the dark haired boy, who suddenly, returned her gaze. He seemed to be watching them too. Instead of feeling embarassed, Cassidy merely returned the genuinely curious stare, and found herself doing something very un-Cassidy-like. She got up from the table and walked over to him.

"Hello," she said, trying not to feel awkward. Her rather frail looking oval face attempted a slightly nervous smile, her blue eyes broadcasting every emotion she felt. They truely were a window to her soul. "My name's Cassidy. Are you a first year too?"

Meanwhile, Andrew was engaged in making conversation with Josh.

"So what are you excited about most?" he asked. "I can't wait to take Potions!"

[~Ozy~]

"Yes" I replied, a little hesitantly. I was probably going to look stupid. "I am Mikhail, by name. Who are you?" I cocked my head inquisitively, an old habit as I asked this girl my question. I wasn't used to people approaching me. Then again, these English, they had different mannerisms.

[Mari]

Walking through the busy streets of Diagon Alley, the siblings could barely move without getting bumped into. The older of the two seemed to be unbothered, but the other isn't quite alright with it.

"Brotheeer!" The younger of the siblings called as she inhaled a deep breath. "Can we please rest for a while? I'm really tired and it's too crowded here!"

As much as she was enthralled with everything they bought, she couldn't help but feel exhausted. They have been walking for almost four hours now…nonstop. She did hated shopping, even though this was fairly different from what she's used to. Her brother meanwhile, was in high spirit. Entering every single shop that sold anything Hogwarts related was bliss for him.

"No. Not until we finished visiting all the stores." Kosuke answered teasingly, his lips curving into a smirk.

"I know you like all these magic thingy but why do we have to go to every stupid shop you see?" She cried crossly, glaring at him. "We already have everything we need!"

He ignored her complaints and took hold of her wrist, dragging her towards another store. She gritted her teeth in annoyance and mustered her remaining energy to pull him back. She was almost going berserk when she spotted an ice cream parlor.

"Ice cream!" She exclaimed animatedly, immediately retrieving her spirit. "Let's go buy some!"

Kosuke exasperatedly breathed out a sigh and followed her shortly. He took note of a girl and three boys; they appeared to have all the necessities required for Hogwarts. Perhaps later he could speak to one of them.

[Jesus Freak Josh]

Andrew had asked Josh what he class he was most excited about.
"D.A.D.A," he said to Andrew. Josh slightly turned his head when he heard what tio be an annoyed boy and an extremely hyper girl but turned back to Andrew again. "Defence Against the Dark Arts. Who knows when it might become useful. I also heard they have a Dueling Club there. I might check the place out after a coulple of days."

[Skye]

"I'm Cassidy," she replied with a small bow, taking notice of Mikhail slight nervousness. She was as good at reading other poeple's emotions as she was broadcasting her own, whether intentionally or not. "If you want, you can come sit with us. It must be kind of lonely sitting by yourself eating ice cream?"

She folded her hands carefully before her loose, blue, long-sleeved shirt, and smiled a little meekly, waiting for his reply.

Meanwhile, Andrew was still busy talking to Josh about classes.

"D.A.D.A. sounds exciting," Andrew agreed, nodding with approval. "Dueling would be pretty cool too!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Andrew spotted another pair of siblings getting ice cream. He smiled at them, hoping theyd join the table.

OOC: Quite a change from the Andrew in the last MaH, ne, Mari-chan?

[Mari]

"Here~!" It was her undying optimistic, high pitched chirp. It gets really annoying quickly. "Yours is the one with one scoop, mine has four!" She exclaimed chirpily and braggingly.

Kosuke simply rolled his eyes, then arched a brow. "You aren't allowed to have that much sugar, remember?" He asked tauntingly, his hands slowly reaching for her ice cream cone. "You'll only get more hyper than you are now!"

Instinctively, Sakura slapped his hand. "No! That was only for last year!" She stuck out his at him and then dashed towards the two chatting boys, using them as a shield from her now enraged brother.

The older, face brimming with annoyance, gritted his teeth and ran after the girl. "Come here, shorty!" He bellowed crossly, letting out a slight snicker at Sakura's extremely furious visage.

"S-shorty?!" There it was. Give her a second, then she'll go berserk. "Why you annoying, mean, stupid—" She cut herself off, noticing that Kosuke stopped his teasing for a moment—he wasn't even paying attention—and was instead glancing at the four, seemingly, eleven year olds.

"Brother?" She inquired, her voice a little more calm.

"Quiet." He muttered as he listened to the two boys' conversation. "D.A.D.A. sounds exciting."

D.A.D.A., that's Defense Against Dark Arts. That's it, no doubt! They are students of Hogwarts! His face quickly lit up; finally, people who actually cared about Hogwarts and sorcery...unlike that sister of his.

"'scuse me," He stated a little hesitantly as he wasn't good at being polite and all. "But I couldn't help but hear—" He groaned irritably when the familiar voice spoke. Sakura again.

"It's because you were eavesdropping." Sakura muttered incoherently, rolling her eyes.

Kosuke stepped on her foot and continued speaking to the boys. "Anyway, you two, you're first years too, right?"

//ooc: Hai~! He ish so different. X3

[Jesus Freak Josh]

Josh looked up at the boy who appeared to be the brother of the hyper active girl. "Excuse me this was kind of a private conversation. But I guess you do what I do and can't help overhearing while you were eavesdropping," he paused thinking what to do next. "Pull up a chair and sit down. We were talking about Defence Against the Dark Arts and a Dueling Club they assumingly have," he lowered his voice. "Look what I picked up," he showed them a piece of paper. "It's assumingly a list of passwords for portraits at Hogwarts. Any room to any floor."

[~Ozy~]

"Perhaps" I said quietly. "I am not the most..." I trailed off, looking for the right word. "Sociable person, do you say?" I went on anyway. "I am not the most sociable person you will ever meet" I sighed and got up nonetheless, saying, "But I might as well join you. I will have to associate with some of you sooner or later."

[Psychotic_Demon]

Name: Saphira Demonte
Age: 11
Description: Saphira is slender and tall, with the build of a gymnast. She has dark blue eyes that always seem to be hiding something, whatever that is. Her golden brown hair cascades to the middle of her back and she has tanned skin. When Saphira isn't in her school robes, she tends to wear blue and/or black. A black or light blue tank and dark, baggy blue jean are what shes normally in. A silver chain is around her neck, but she never takes it off.
Personality: A bit of a loner. Saphira never approaches someone first, nor does she ever speak first. She doesn't like large crowds or being around too many people at once. It takes a long time for her to trust someone.
Hobbies/Interests: She does have a strong bond with animals... And she love drawing. Wherever she goes, theres always a sketchpad and pencils near her. She does try not to boast, but she is kind of good.
Pet: A calico cat she found in Diagon Alley. Saphira calls her Kali.
House: Ravenclaw

It isn't too late for me to join, is it?

[Skye]

OOC: Jump on the bandwagon, Dark Espeon!

IC: Andrew smiled to greet the two siblings, and raised his eyebrow when Josh mentioned the list of passwords.

"Really?" he said mischeviously. "We'll have to make good use of them then!"

Meanwhile, Cassidy felt her face turning a little red.

"I am not the most sociable person you will ever meet."

Cassidy shrugged, biting her lower lip and averting her eyes for a moment. She rocked a little from heel to toe, her hands in her pockets, and looked back at Mikhail, a small smile forming at the corners of her mouth.

"But I might as well join you. I will have to associate with some of you sooner or later."

"I guess that's one way to look at it," Cassidy agreed, trying not to sound disappointed with what appeared to be apathy in his voice. She led him over to the table and sat down, her legs swinging freely an inch or two above the ground. She looked over at her twin, who was engaged in what looked like a scrap of paper. Her eyes traveled to the pair of siblings before them, and she smiled a hello before turning back to Hogwarts: a History.

[Jesus Freak Josh]

"Yep," Josh said wiggling them around in his fingers. "Unfortunately, since the main portraits, the ones to each Common Room, have a different password each week, there aren't any. So I can't be a cheeky bugger and go to Slytherin, that's of course if I'm not in Slytherin, and play silly buggers on them!"

OOC: Will we be allowed to introduce new characters further in the RPG?

[Mari]

"Excuse me this was kind of a private conversation. But I guess you do what I do and can't help overhearing while you were eavesdropping,"

Kosuke strained to prevent himself from rolling his eyes. Oh wow, a know-it-all. He managed to put a friendly smile on, and nodded to the twins, as he assumed, as a greeting. He sat down on the chair the boy had gestured and sat quietly, just listening to their conversation.

He glanced at Sakura every now and then, to see if she was up to no good…as always. She seemed rather interested, though. But only at the topic of pulling tricks on others, specifically the Slytherin.

"If you aren't planning to be in Slytherin, then what do you have in mind?" He asked curiously. He already guessed what it was though; something fitting for him.

Ravanclaw.

[Jesus Freak Josh]

"I'd rather Ravenclaw," Josh said at the boy who was now questioning his motives. "i'd rather be smart and a play a few jokes over a ton of jokes and possibly some intellegence," he looked at his watch. "Still got a heap of time. Too bad we can't use muggle technology at Hogwarts. It'd really be useful."

[Psychotic_Demon]

Saphira sat at her table alone, thumbing through some of the books she had recently purchased. A few tables away she could hear people talking with each other, interacting with each other. She wasn't too good at that. For what she had accidentally heard, she could tell they were headed for hogwarts, like she was.

[~Ozy~]

"I am not familiar with these Houses" I said, trying to jump into the conversation for once, Cassidy had seemed somewhat dissapointed. I rather liked her, she'd bothered to approach me. I added "Could one of you familiarize me with them? I would be indebted."

[Jesus Freak Josh]

"Bravery, Gryffindor," Josh said. "Intelligence, Ravenclaw, Evilness, Slytherin and miscellaneous, Hufflepuff," he paused. "I don't really care what I'm in. Just as long as I have a couple of friends with me I won't really care," Josh ate the last of his ice cream. "So how long until the Hogwarts Express?"

OOC: Skye can we get this moving?

[Skye]

OOC: Patience....some of us have a heavy workload. ^_^

IC: Cassidy listened quietly to the conversation around her. She bit her lower lip, somewhat nervously, and closed her book. Tucking her things away into various bags and packs, she looked over at her newfound friends.

"What time does the Express leave?" she asked, eyeing Andrew inquisitively. She tried to keep from looking over at Mikhail.

Andrew glanced at his watch casually, and his eyes became rather large with suprise.

"It leaves in half an hour....we'd better meet Mum and Dad!" he exclaimed, throwing his things together.

Cassidy got up slowly. Every movement had a purpose for her, carefully planned and executed. She pulled her things along behind her brother, throwing a glance back at the fellow Hogwarts students they had met. Her short blond hair flew about her face wildly in the bustle of the crowds.

"See you at the station?!" she called, a small smile crossing her face. She hurried to catch up to Andrew.

A little while later, the twins were saying farewell to their parents, who hugged them goodbye and watched them board the train. Kaze, the twins' albino snowy owl, sat perched on Cassidy's shoulder, looking around in a very alert, almost nervous way. Andrew selected a compartment towards the back of the train, and plopped himself down in the seat across from Cassidy.

"So who was that boy you were talking to?" he smirked at her. "Betcha think he's CUUUUUTE!"

Cassidy's eyebrows narrowed, and she threw her shoe at him. He caught it, his reflexes suprisingly quick, and hurled it back at her. Cassidy easily sensed her brother's movements, and caught the shoe as well, mirroring his concentrated expression.

"It's going to be an interesting year..." Andrew musied, feeling the tension in the car ease a little. The twins were always competative, and quite equally matched as Cassidy was the better martial artist, but Andrew had a few inches and pounds on her.

Cassidy glanced out the window and nodded, hoping that their friends would show up soon.

[Jesus Freak Josh]

"Bugger!" Josh yelled. "You're right!"
The boy ran towards the Leaky Cauldron on his way. He accidentely hit a girl while he was running. "Sorry!" he called. From what he saw, the girl looked around his age.

***

Josh was at the station with all his luggage and his pet owl named Hoot. He climbed onto the train and tried to find an empty compartment.

[~Ozy~]

I watched them all leave, then ambled off slowly myself. Moter and Father would be at the Leaky Cauldron, probably. Along with my younger sister.
***
"Dasvidanya" my mother whispered, wrapping my in a tearful hug on the platform itself. I looked around anxiously, all embarassment aside, I wanted to keep as many people as possible from knowing my heritage. My father shook my hand once and I gave my sister a last hug, picking her up and spinning her around before I boarded the train. Once aboard, I began searching through the compartments, looking for Cassidy's face. Or tha face of any of the students I had met, but her in particular.

[Psychotic_Demon]

Saphira sighed picking up her things and walking back toward where her parents were. She wished she could have friends and joke and talk and do whatever, but for some reason she couldn't figure out, she didn't.

~*~*~

The train station was crowded with students and parents, saying their goodbyes, giving students last minutes supplies and presents, having fun. Here Saphira was, all alone, excluding her pet calico, Kali. At least she had someone to talk to. Kali meowed quietly, and squirmed a bit in Saphira's arms. She was nervous.

"Its alright, Kal. We'll be at Hogwarts soon."

The train was up ahead, filling up quickly. Saphira headed towards it, finding a seat quickly.

[Mari]

"See you at the station?!"

Kosuke breathed out a sigh as he watched the twins leave. Oh, great. That'd mean that he'll be stuck with annoying little Sakura again. "Well, let's get going half-pint." He stated teasingly, smirking at the girl.

"Okay." She whispered, nodding meekly.

His eyes quickly softened, filling up with worry. Whenever she didn't get all mad after being called short, he knew there was something wrong. "What's with you?" He asked, masking his concern with forced sternness. He examined her for a few minutes before he gritted his teeth, finally understanding what was bothering the younger girl.

"...we'd better meet Mum and Dad!"

"Why are so sad about it. We didn't mean squat to them!" He cried crossly, absent-mindedly clenching his fists. "Let's just go. Grandpa will get mad if we don't go home soon."

"That's not true! I know I don't remember much about mommy and daddy, but I'm sure they loved us!" She protested. She never wanted to believe that they just abandoned them, just like that.

"Believe whatever you want, but I know what I saw." He grabbed her by the wrist and headed off, nodding a goodbye to the other two. "C'mon."

-~-
"Bye-Bye, grandpa~!" Sakura chirped happily, kissing him on the cheek. "I'll remember to send you cards!" She patted Dark who was perched upon her shoulder and skipped happily towards train. "Better hurry up, Brother!"

Kosuke nodded and told her that he would follow them shortly. He grabbed his cat and bowed politely to his grandfather. "Bye, grandpa." He stated, in an oddly civilized demeanor.

"Farewell. I'll see you two soon." He smiled, patting his head. "Take care of that bouncy one, okay?" He said lightheartedly, his smile as kind as ever.

"She's just trouble." He waved a goodbye and dashed off to the train, following where she went.

Thanks to Li's uncanny sense of smell, he was able to find Sakura, who was seemingly searching for her friends at Diagon Alley. He just rolled his eyes, it was a habit of his, and followed her steps.

"Found them~!" Sakura exclaimed blissfully as she waved at the twins. "Hi, you guys! Do you mind if Brother and I sit with you?"

[~Ozy~]

My eyes caught on one of the people I'd met. I didn't know either of their names, but they were better than nothing. walking over, I said "Hello. I believe we have seen each other before, have we not?" I cocked my head a little to the side as I asked and added "Though we have not been formally introduced. I am Mikhail."

[Skye]

Andrew's head snapped in the direction of the door of the compartment. The siblings they had met in Diagon Alley stood before them, and Andrew motioned for them to enter. Cassidy had a small smile on her face, but her cheeks heated up slightly, illuminating the smile, as Mikhail entered the compartment as well.

She caught Andrew smirking, but found her eyes focused on the floor as her face cooled down. Kaze hooted softly from her shoulder, giving her some kind of assurance before launching himself to the brass railing of the overheard compartment. Cassidy folded her hands in her lap, her blue eyes quietly alert.

Opposite her, Andrew was busy making conversation.

"I'm Andrew...or Andy if you want," he said with a casual shrug. "Nice to meet you all. THis is my sister, Cassidy. We're both just back from Japan. Our Dad fot stationed there so we went to school there and stuff, but boy, were my parents suprised to get the letter from Hogwarts! Mum convinced Dad to let us come, but they're both going back to Japan. I expect we'll probably be at Hogwarts all year, eh, Cass?"

As if from a daydream, Cassidy brought her eyes to his. The mention of their parents rinsed the smile from her face, and her body appeared to tense slightly. She nodded, feeling somewhat awkward, and turned her attention to the rest of the compartments inhabitants.

"Where are you all from?" she asked quietly, her voice quiet, but far from light. An unknown weight tugged at it, easily mistaken for homesickness...

[Mari]

Sakura thanked the twins and entered bouncily, dragging her impatient brother along. She smiled at the newcomer as well, and greeted him politely. Kosuke, on the other hand, merely nodded at the occupants and just stared at the window, patting Li every now and then.

"Hiya, Andy~! Pleasure to meet you. I'm Sakura, and this is my mean big brother, Kosuke." She giggled childishly. "You guys are from Japan, too? That's so cool~!" She chirped as cheerily as ever, "Brother and me were born in Japan, but then," She halted slightly, briefly looking down, then tilted her head upwards again, her grin still present. "But then, something bad happened so we had to move with Grandpa to England."

Kosuke tapped his foot in a sort of anxious way, gritting his teeth. "They don't need to know out life story, so quit talking about them." He stated to her irately, his eyes still steadied at the window.

[~Ozy~]

"I am from Mos Rus" I said without thinking. Blushing, I corrected myself as I took a seat, saying "Russia. My father worked for the government. He is a... Muggle, you say? My mother, she wanted us not to go to Durmstrang. So, we moved here, and now, I am to attend Hogwarts." I nodded as I finished my own small tale. Chancing a glance at Cassidy, I said to her "I apologize for eearlier. I am told I am not an easy person to approach."

[Skye]

"Cool!" Andrew exclaimed, learning that the other set of siblings were also from Japan. "Where abouts were you? We were in Okinawa."

Cassidy slowly brought her eyes to Mikhail when he spoke to her. She smiled a little and swung her feet contentedly a few inches above the ground.

"Don't even worry about it," she said, almost cheerfully. She glanced up at her luggage, where Kaze was busy ruffling his feathers and looking important. It was comforting to know that in a few short hours, she would be unpacking her things, tucking her gis neatly away in her trunk, her bo and numchaku hanging at the ready above her bed. She looked foward to getting up early in the morning, suiting up, and heading to the rolling hills by the castle that her mother had told her about. She could almost feel the morning dew, quite chilly beneath her feet, the blades of grass sliding between her toes. She imagined herself drawing into each stance, each movement fluid and practiced...

Her mind snapped back to the present, though only gone for a few moments. She looked over at Mikhail.

"I guess I'm not that easy to approach either..."

Andrew smirked from across the way, but Cassidy paid no heed. Kaze hooted at her from the luggage above, and Cassidy allowed a genuine smile to cross her face.

[Jesus Freak Josh]

Josh looked around the train. He could sit near the twins, or he could sit alone. He decided to sit alone.
A little while later a girl came up to him. "Can I -?" she looked at him. "Wait your that guy I ran into at the Leaky Cauldron!"
"Sorry about that," Josh said. "I was in a hurry to get here."
"Oh okay," she said. "I forgive you. Can I sit here?"
"Sure," Josh replied. She sat across from him. She had long red hair and green eyes.
"I'm Lauren," she said.
"I'm Josh," Josh replied.

[~Ozy~]

<OOC>*giggles* Just had to say it, early morning training rocks! I seem to remember you practice Shotokan as well, Skye. Am I right?<OOC>

"Very well" I said, laughing a little. "It seems we fit well, together, do we not?" A real, full-fledged smile broke out on my face. It had been years since I'd smiled in truth, in fact, this was the first time since our family had moved to England.

[Skye]

OOC: Aye, I do, though I've been out of practice for a few years now unfortunately. I can't wait to get back into it...

IC: Cassidy felt her cheeks flush at Mikhail's smile. Andrew was now chuckling softly across from her. She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them, feeling awkward and insecure. Her purple Converse sneakers were nearly hidden by the hem of her baggy pant legs. She let her hair fall into her face.

Andrew reached into his coat pocket and withdrew an apple, which he chucked at Cassidy's head. Without any inclination that she had seen the throw, she instinctively reached her hand up at precisely the right moment and caught it. She tossed her mane of thick blond hair, her clear blue eyes gleaming with a hint of a mischevious side yet to be seen by the present company.

With a soft crunch, she bit into the apple as Andrew pulled out one for himself, and looked over at Sakura, Kosuke, and Mikhail.

"Anyone else want one?" he offered.

[~Ozy~]

<OOC>*giggles* Yay! A fellow Shotokan geek!<OOC>

I raised an eyebrow at Cassidy, my smile quirking to one side in a slightly bemused grin. Without taking my eyes from her, I said to Andrew "No thank you. I am good."

[Raichu Master]

Wow...the 5,000th revival of this rp! Will the madness never end? XD

Unlike Skye...I'll be makin' up a brand new character!

Name: Alvender McCollan

Nickname: Al

Personality: Alvender is a very reserved and conservative individual, although he is often shy around everyone, he doesn't back down from sticking up for what he believes in. He has almost no self-confidence and is the biggest chicken most of the time, also one of the biggest nerds you'd ever hope to meet. He often screws up spells and spells mostly backfire to cause bodily harm to him.

Description: He normally wears baggy black pants, and a black t-shirt that is covered by a short-sleeved black buttondown shirt that is unbuttoned. He also wears big thick black glasses, and his hair is combed neatly and...you guessed it...black. As far as complexion goes he's almost paper white, he finds it difficult to tan and often burns instead. He's as skinny as a rail, and spends most of the time on his laptop or writing books. Needlesstosay he's a mud-blood, and is often teased about it because it's obvious by the way he dresses.

Hobbies: Writing books (Which if I may say so, he's written several successful Fantasies in the muggle world), playing video games, and visiting online forums.

Pet: none
House: Slytherin

***

Can't forget Johann! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You thought I'd forget about him! Well you're wrong! *insert another evil laugh* XD

And for all who don't know him! Here's a profile just for you! Enjoy! ^^ XD

Name: Johann Sebastian Bach

Nickname: JSB, J, Johann

Personality: Cocky, and when I say cocky, I mean annoyingly cocky! Cocky...and compassionate...but mostly cocky. Well actually...cocky...period...end of discussion! He loves causing mischief and will do almost anything for kicks.

Description: He wears bootcut blue jeans that grip to his thighs, he has to show off his riding fit legs! A short-sleeved red plaid designed buttondown shirt, and leather boots. Who can forget his cowboy hat? He never leaves home without it! He's well muscled for an eleven year old, and often gets into fights, and comes out the victor (which explains his cockiness). He's pretty much the typical cowboy bad-a**. He has the basic hazel eyes (green/brown), and dark black hair, that has hightlights through it but you can only see them when he takes off his hat. He has a farmer's tan, which stops at his short sleeved shirt. As for hair style...two words...hat hair (or is that one word or is it seperated by a dash? Either way, you know what I mean!)

Hobbies: Going around causing mischief and getting into fights. He often gets detention easily and gets people ticked quickly. Needlesstosay, most people don't hang around him, he has very little friends, but the ones he does, he shows an uncharacteristic humility and loyalty.

Pet: A horse, but they wouldn't let him bring it along so he brought his dog that he raised from a small baby, that was left from his father's dog's litter, from his families ranch.

House: Ravenclaw surprisingly!

Friends: Alvender McCollan

***

IC: "So this is the train?" Johann asked dully as he looked over to his best friend, Alvender McCollan. Scratching his head, Johann took his chest and moved tried to find an empty cart.

"It looks that way," Alvender answered as he fixed his glasses, which were slidding down his face. Alvender stared in disbelief, there were more people than he had anticipated. As his knees buckled weakly underneath himself, he could feel Johann's solid hand on his arm, coaxing him into the train. "There's...alot of people here..." Alvender said lamely as he aloud himself to be dragged by his friend.

Johann turned to regard his friend with a wink, and a broad grin. Alvender knew it could only mean one thing...Johann was planning something. "The more fun we can have," Johann replied with a sly look in his eyes and then slid into the train with Alvender following at his heels.

Dashing into the first empty room he could find, Johann waited for Alvender to scurry into the boxed room before he shut the door. "Ok...I don't see the point in this..." Alvender sighed as he often did when Johann was making a fool out of himself. "What are you planning?" Alvender asked as he grew worried at the excited look that spread acrossed Johann's face.

Johann looked like he was hurt by Alvender's words and then replied almost in a whisper, "You'll find out soon enough!" With another sly wink, Johann slumped back on his bench as he pulled the tip of his cowboy hat over his eyes. Throwing his hands behind himself, Johann gave a big sigh and soon fell asleep.

Alvender just shook his head, and slammed his head off his laptop. He couldn't believe Johann was being this stupid! Then again, maybe he could. Either way he just shook his head and opened up his laptop. "Johann, why do you have to act so childish and stupid?" Alvender asked as he peered at Johann from behind his laptop. When know answer came, he continued to type away at his computer.

"Because I enjoy being this stupid!" Johann replied as Alvender felt Johann's leather boot hit his face. Johann had taken off his boots, just to throw it at Alvender! With a irritated grunt Alvender didn't give his friend the satisfaction of anything other than a grunt.

Johann chuckled to himself, and got to his feet after putting his boot back on. "Where are you going?" Alvender asked as he once again shot Johann an icy stare.

Johann shrugged and looked at the door, and then sighed, "Going to look around."

"Then why did you shut the door?" Alvender asked, disdain obvious in his voice now, as he was getting frustrated with Johann's stupidness.

"How long have you known me?" Johann huffed as he crossed his arms, and leaned on the door.

"Since we were babies, why?" Alvender asked, completely shocked and confused by Johann's counter.

"Good, then you know I'm spontaneous!" Johann said with a wide grin and then slipped out the door. Alvender slammed his head off his laptop again and moaned, as he shook his head and went back to his laptop.

Walking down the hall, Johann shoved his hands in his pockets and tilted his cowboy hat down to block his eyes, wearing a sneer the whole time as he peeked into open rooms to see what was going on and then passing by.

[Skye]

Cassidy turned to look at the scenery passing by as the train chugged steadily along. Rolling hills and a few sparse trees dotted the landscape. They were quite possibly nearing the castle soon. She returned her attention to the compartment's inhabitants. She saw a boy in a cowboy hat saunter by, but paid little attention to him. Instead, she finished her apple, core and all, and tossed the last piece up to Kaze, who hooted greatfully.

"I think we're almost there," Andrew said, standing up to grab his bag. "We probably ought to change into our robes."

Cassidy nodded and stood on the seat to get her bag as well. The twins left the compartment to go change, and arrived back a few moments later, both looking rather important in their new robes. Andrew plopped down in his seat, pulling out his wand and admiring it for a while. Twelve inches, mahogony, and a dragon's heart string for a core. Cassidy was reluctant to take hers out. She thought it was rather ironic that their wands were very similar: the same length, the same core, but hers was made of willow, a lesser wood...a weaker wood.

Cassidy noticed that most of the students were passing by in uniform now, chatting excitedly. She bit her lower lip nervously, and kicked her feet, her shiney black shoes reflecting the light in the car.

[Raichu Master]

Johann's dog, Logan, saw a girl finish her apple, and trotted into the compartment to see if she'd give him a bite. When he found that she already fed her pet bird, Logan squirm and wined nervously.

Johann who had passed the compartment up, found that his dog wasn't at his heels like he normally was. Lifting his hat above his eyes he looked around to see where Logan might have gone. "Now where is that dog?" Johann muttered to himself as he backtracked. Hearing Logan's wines and the dog's tail pounding uncontrollably on the floor, Johann entered the compartment to find him begging for food. "Logan heel!" Johann said as he stomped his right foot on the floor and pointed down to his feet. Logan snapped his head over to face his master, then trotted over too his master's side.

"Sorry about the trouble, miss. My dog has a big stomach like his master," Johann sighed as he looked down at his dog and shook his head, chuckling to himself. Logan just stared innocently back at his master like he did nothing wrong. "His name's Logan, I had him since he was just a small pup," Johann added as he patted Logan on his head.

"Oh how rude of me!" Johann said as he smacked the palm of his hand against his forehead after a long moment of silence. "I barged in here without introducing myself. My name's Johann Sebastian Bach. My father is a cowboy in he United States, and my mom was originally from Germany, which explains the german name."

[Psychotic_Demon]

Kali trotted out of Saphira's compartment with out her noticing. She poked her head into every compartment, checking the train out. She watched the students intently, tilting her head, before moving to a different one.

"Kali, what do you think... Kali?" Saphira said quietly, putting the book she was reading down. She was alone now. "Where'd you go?" As if Kali would answer.

Sphira stepped out into the hallway, trying to spot her cat. She couldn't figure out why Kali loved to worry her. It was- There! She spotted a flash of orange black and white.

Kali examined the next compartment, and froze. There was a dog. A big dog, compared to Kali. She uttered a starnge "Merorw", which seemed like a cross between surprize and fear. Kali bolted, running straight past Saphira who was only a few steps away.

[~Ozy~]

I stood, a little uncomfortable around the new arrival. Not unusual for me, but... I blushed a little and said (accent thicker than usual) "I must go change. Excuse me." I hurried out the door and found a small, secluded corner where I pulled into my school robes. They were a little tight around the shoulders, Father had gotten them several months in advance. I had no idea why.

I returned to the compartment, returning to my seat. I nodded cooly to the new arrival and said "I am Mikhail. I am pleased to meet you."

[Raichu Master]

Alvender looked up from his laptop to see that Johann hadn't returned yet. With a sigh of frustration, Alvender shut the room's door and proceeded to change into his robes, they were nearing the castle and he needed to get everything going. "Well...here we go..." Alvender said as he unlocked the compartment door, but didn't open it. he sat back down with his hands folded on his lap and waited nervously to get off the train.

His father was the wizard in his family and he wanted Alvender to go to Hogwarts, like he did. His mother, who was a muggle, didn't like the idea of sending her son off to some far away land. Alvender had always written about magic and mystical beast, now he could get a hands on feel for it!

So why was he so nervous? The answer was obvious, at least to Alvender, he was homesick, and wanted to be back in his warm house with his loving parents. Large crowds, and people in general intimidated him, and he wasn't too fond about being jammed in with a train load of other students.

Nevertheless, Alvender was glad to find some private time to just sit down and get lost in his own thoughts. Something he hadn't done in awhile, since he found out that he was going to attend the wizarding school. It felt soothing to be sucked into the deep depths of his mind and just relax as he let his imagination run wild.

[Jesus Freak Josh]

OOC: Whatzizname's laptop will die at some point. Remember electricity goes haywire at Hogwarts. I'm sure him and Joh will get along.

BIC:
After a while of Josh and Lauren talking, Josh got the urge to take a walk around.
"I'll talk to you soon and be back," Josh said to Lauren.
"Bye," she said.

Taking a look around, Josh noticed a boy and his laptop.
"Neat," he said walking over to him. "I'm Josh. You into computers too?"

[Raichu Master]

OOC: Whatzizname's laptop will die at some point. Remember electricity goes haywire at Hogwarts. I'm sure him and Joh will get along.

BIC:
After a while of Josh and Lauren talking, Josh got the urge to take a walk around.
"I'll talk to you soon and be back," Josh said to Lauren.
"Bye," she said.

Taking a look around, Josh noticed a boy and his laptop.
"Neat," he said walking over to him. "I'm Josh. You into computers too?"

OOC: Alvender and Johann are best friends.

And his dad's a wizard, he wouldn't let Alvender bring his laptop just to have it cut off. The internet and his IM might not work but he'll at least have Microsoft word and Solitare to work with. XD

[Jesus Freak Josh]

OOC: But everything goes haywire if it's electricity. If somehow laptops DON'T get cut off *turns to Skye* can my character have one?

[Skye]

OOC: I don't see why not...but Batesy does have a point...electricity does go haywire at Hogwarts...that way Muggles can't find the castle or use their technology to do so. Might make an interesting plot twist though...I'll allow the laptops! :-P

IC:

"I think we're slowing down..." Andrew said, excitement rising in his voice.

"We must have reached the station," Cassidy agreed, and stood as the train pulled to a hault. She gathered her things as Kaze perched on her shoulder. Andrew followed suit. Cassidy tossed a small smile back at Mikhail before she found herself leading the group out of the train.

Making her way through the crowd of students, Cassidy found herself finally out of the train, and face to face with a huge, bushy-haired man with black, beady eyes.

"'llo there, little one," he said, laying a heavy hand atop her head. He smiled, but Cassidy was nearly sent to the ground with the weight of his massive hand. "You mus' be a firs' year, eh? Right this way then. By the by, the name's Hagrid, keeper of grounds and keys at Hogwarts."

He steered her through the crowd, Cassidy throwing anxious glances back to see if Andrew or Mikhail was following. Hagrid led her to the edge of the platform, a relatively clear spot. She watched all the veteran Hogwarts students make their way off the platform, and all the nervous first years standing around and looking awkward.

"All firs' years over 'here!" Hagrid's large voice called over the clamor.

Cassidy spied Andrew heading in her direction, wearing an excited grin. His eyes became huge when he saw Hagrid, but he approached the giant eagerly. Cassidy smiled with relief at having her brother at her side again. Despite their obvious differences, Cassidy loved him dearly.

Some more first year students made their way over, and Cassidy's eyes sought Mikhail. She hoped they would have a few classes together at least, maybe even be in the same house. There was something about him that she felt she could connect with...some kind of a mutual understanding on a subconcious level.

Kaze hooted softly in her ear, and Cassidy smiled. She sat quietly on her trunk, filled with uniforms, street clothes and gis, and waited patiently beside Hagrid and her brother.

[~Ozy~]

In the confusion, I'd lost Cassidy briefly. Tho others, they were nice enough, but she... She, I knew I could trust above the others. I couldn't explain how I knew this, but I could. That much, I felt sure of. I followed the cries of a large man I assumed must be Hagrid. Father had complied a briefing for me. Perhaps Cassidy would be over there. Thankfully, she was. I smiled as I saw her, relieved.

[Jesus Freak Josh]

Josh walked back to Lauren as he felt the train stop. He quickly ran to Lauren. "We gotta go!"
"Why?" she asked.
"We're there!"
"Oh," she said noticing Josh start to walk out. "Don't you need your stuff?"
"Nah," he said. "They have someone take it."

The two walked out to see group of first years. He could tell it was them because he could hear a loud voice telling them to gather around the giant who owned it.

[Raichu Master]

OOC: I did hint at the fact that his father tweeked it. And I also said that Alvender would only be aloud to use microsoft word and salitare.

IC: Seeing that the girl completely ignored him, and walked passed him like he never even existed, Johann sighed and mumbled softly to himself. He hated being ignored, and made his way off the train.

Catching up with Alvender, Alvender noticed Johann's frustrated face, and asked, "Something wrong?"

"I tried to introduce myself to this one girl, you know tried to make a friend or two. The train stopped and she completely ignored me like I never even existed," Johann huffed sourly as he pointed into the direction of the girl.

"I heard someone address her as Cassidy. I could be wrong but that's what I heard," Alvender shrugged then added, "This is a big place, you'll be heartpressed to find anyone that ecknowledges you."

Johann looked at his with that mischievious grin and sparkle in his eye, and Alvender muttered under his breath, "Unless you do something stupid..." Johann caught what he said and winked at him as the loaded onto the boats.

[Mari]

When Andy had asked where the siblings came from Kosuke reacted immediately and tightly gripped Sakura's hand. He vaguely shook his head and Sakura nodded knowingly. From there on, the two were as quiet as a mouse.

Not a moment sooner, the twins headed out to change, followed shortly by Mikhail. As soon as the twins had returned, already clad in their uniforms, Sakura and Kosuke went out and briefly changed. At their arrival, the train had reached its destination and all the students were already heading outside. The two merely tagged along whilst Sakura searched for her friends.

Her eyes twinkled as she spotted the vague silhouette of the two, and squeezed her way through the crowd. "Cassy, Andy!" She called ecstatically, waving her hand vigorously. "I thought we'd never see you again!" She giggled lightheartedly.

She gave a friendly wave to the said keeper of grounds and keys, and grinned oh-so-energetically. "Mm, I can't wait to get sorted! That would be so exciting!" She chirped, wrapping her petite arms on her brother's neck, nearly suffocating him. "Right, Brother?"

As if awaken from a daydream, Kosuke simply nodded. "Yeah." He cautiously eyed Hagrid, and then twins. His intense gaze seemed as though it penetrates into their soul. He wasn't usually cold towards his new friends, but no matter how quickly the younger got attached to them, he knew he had to be alert. There was something just…strange with them. Perhaps it was just him, but he had to be prepared. He had to protect her.

"So, you guys," Again, her voice was brimming with enthusiasm, "what house do you want to be in?"

[Skye]

Andrew was twirling his wand absent-mindedly between his fingers as Sakura, Kosuke, and Mikhail rejoined them. He had noticed on the way to their destination that Mikhail had taken a liking to his twin, and he was careful not to look too protective. Cassidy could hold her own against a fairly decent-sized adult, but Andrew knew her vulnerability lay in her big heart

"What house do you want to be in?"

Andrew pondered Sakura's question for a moment, and then grinned.

"Gryffindor," he said boldly, and nodded. "Definitely."

Cassidy, who seemed to have been rather distracted by her shoes, despite Mikhail's presence beside her, looked over at Sakura with a small smile.

"I don't know...I suppose I'd be put in Hufflepuff though. I don't know how good I'll be at this whole magic thing..." she trailed off. Her hopes were for Ravenclaw. She hoped that she was clever and resourceful enough...

"Firs' years, foller me!" Hagrid called, leading them to the boats. It was time for the first years to make their traditional journey across the lake to the castle.

The twins looked at each other and their friends, and headed towards the boats, still chatting excitedly.

[Jesus Freak Josh]

Lauren and Josh walked towards the boats and realised that there would have to be three to a boat.
Josh saw Andrew and ran over to him, Lauren walking behind.
"Andrew," he said. "Can me and Lauren go in a boat with you?"

[~Ozy~]

I followed in silence, moving off in my own little world towards the boats. With a start, I realized I'd been asked a question. I said "I do not know. This Ravenclaw, it sounds relatively befitting me. Or perhaps Gryffindor. It is all up in the air, is it not?" I fell into step beside Cassidy and asked quietly "May I share a boat with you?"

[Skye]

"Oh...sure..." Cassidy said to Mikhail meekly as she slid fliudly into one of the boats. Kaze hooted apprehensively on her shoulder. Cassidy looked over at Mikhail and smiled a little. A few other students hopped into the boat, their balance slipping occasionally. Cassidy watched silently as the boat filled up, hoping Mikhail would sit next to her...

Andrew meanwhile hopped expertly into a boat, looking back at his friends. He sat down, waiting as patiently as he could, and spied his sister in a boat across the way, looking at Mikhail. Andrew shifted warily in his seat, watching the two of them carefully.

[~Ozy~]

I slid easily onto the bench seat next to Cassidy. My tone, though, didn't match the ease with which I took my seat. I mumbled "Thank you," my pale cheeks stained pink. Another student sat down next to me, forcing me to scoot over a little bit. My leg gently brushed against Cassidy's, only serving to fuel my blush as I mumbled again "I apologize."

[Sumomo & Kotoko]

Umm, is it to late to join?

[Skye]

OOC: Jump on in, Raven! ^_^

IC: "Ah...no problem," Cassidy mumbled stupidly, feeling her defenses shifting. She folded her hands in her lap and bit her lower lip. Her eyes wandered.

She spied Andrew in another boat as they made their way across the water. She locked eyes with her sibling for a moment, and thought she caught a flint of warning in his gaze. Her gaze shifted towards her feet as the boats neared their destination, and she took a deep, cleansing breath. The water made her nervous...

The boats made their landing none too soon for her. She made her way out of the boat easily, Kaze nuzzling her cheek comfortingly from her shoulder. She looked back for Mikhail, her robes swirling and snapping around her small frame in strict obediance to the wind that had begun to kick up.

Andrew made his way out of his boat quickly, seeking his sister. He caught up with her, his demeanor brisk and agitated. He had to admit he was nervous and apprehensive, but that confession would remain his own secret. He bit his lower lip, a habit he shared with Cassidy, and watched as they large wooden doors of the Hogwarts castle creaked open...

[Jesus Freak Josh]

Josh and Lauren quickly reached the castle in their boat. It was a long and hard effort but the two made it.
They headed up the hills of Hogwarts and soon the large castle that Josh had read all about appeared before them in all its glory. The two walked up to the doors behind Andrew as they slowly opened.

[Mari]

Dragging his hyperactive sister to a boat, Kosuke gazed at the massive silhouette of the Castle they were heading towards to. He couldn't prevent the eager grin from forming on his face. He had been waiting for this day for…who knows how long? His grin quickly faded, though, when he caught sight of the now more hyperactive girl. She was fiddling with the water, her upper body almost touching the lake.

"Stay in the boat, shorty." He ordered irately, pulling her upwards. He was prepared to block whatever she was going to throw on him, but she was too preoccupied staring at the castle. They had arrived moments later and the two quickly hopped off their boat, more than thrilled to enter the castle. Sakura couldn't contain her excitement at the sigh of the colossal doors, slowly opening.

"This is so cool, Brother!" She exclaimed as cheerily as ever. She was grinning ear-to-ear already, and she wasn't even inside.

[Raichu Master]

Johann, who had the misfortune of sitting on a boat with the most hyperactive child he had ever seen. She reached over and almost fell into the water, bring the boats passengers with her! With a great sigh of relief Johann stumbled out of the boat, catching Alvender, right before he collapsed on the ground. "Alright there buddy?" Johann asked chuckling to himself.

"Not really," Alvender said weakly has he began to vomit. "I don't take boat rides well..." he added between gasps.

Johann scringed his nose back, he didn't like to see a person vomit, but it was his best friend, what was he supposed to do? Walk away? Not a chance! "Yeah, it wasn't the smoothest ride here was it?"

"No, it wasn't, I felt like I was going to die!" Alvender exclaimed, as he couldn't help but put a grin on his face when he saw Johann's goofy expression.

When the doors to the castle opened, both Alvender and Johann were at the end of the crowd, talking silently to each other about the different classes and what they were most excited about taking.

"Well here we go," Johann commented as the crowd eagerly shuffled into the castle.

Alvender then started to shake, he just realized the size of the castle, and the doors. He suddenly felt small and insignificant. His legs started to buckle underneath him, and right as he was about to fall, he was caught by Johann's reassuring arm. "Well we better get...um...going..." Alvender muttered nervously as he got to his feet and slowly followed after Johann, who was racing in like a child in a candy store.

[~Ozy~]

I stepped smoothly from the boat and followed in the wake of Cassidy's passing, arms tucked behind my back and crossed over each other. Once inside the castle doors, I bumped into a pair of boys, ones I'd seen on the train. They couldn't seem more opposite, but friendship took odd paths. Or so my father said. I said "excuse me" and bowed slightly in apology.

[Sumomo & Kotoko]

Really!? thanx! :D

Name: O'ren Ishii
Age: 11
Physical characteristics: O'ren Ishii (http://www.geocities.com/jimcon8@prodigy.net/Scan10002.JPG)
Personality: Serious and sarcastic. She makes fun of other kids but she doesn't mean to hurt them feeling wise.
Hobbies/Interests: Her interests are fighting (Jujutsu, Judo, and Aikido) and playing her violin.
Pet: A black rabbit named Keth.
House: Gryffindor

Sorry about the devil picture thats with my other picture.
I don't know really when to come in.

[Skye]

"First year students, follow me please!" a sharp, authoritative voice called from down the hall. A woman with a sharp face and tightly pulled back hair led them into a room. From across the hall, the first years could hear the clamor of the dinning hall. "In a moment, I'll be sending you into the hall to join your classmates, but right now, you'll all be sorted into your houses."

Cassidy found herself looking at a dusty old hat sitting upon a stool. It quivered at the mention of the sorting, or so she thought. The woman who had ushered them in went over to the hat and picked it up.

"I'll call you up by alphabetical order," the woman stated clearly, her voice reaching all corners of the room. "...Ishii, O'ren."

Cassidy looked over at Andrew, who had caught up to her. She smiled nervously at him and looked back for Mikhail. He bumped into a pair of boys, one of which she had seen on the train. There was something about the boy with the cowboy that was oddly familiar, like she had seen him in a past life or something. She shrugged, and watched Mikhail regain his steps, hopefully coming back to her side.

OOC: RP your character being sorted into the house. We'll go by alphabetical order. :)

[~Ozy~]

I slipped my way through the crowd until I'd rejoined Cassidy. I gave her a small, one-sided grin and whispered "I am sorry for losing you. This crowd, it is hard to follow people in. I trust you are well?" Alphabetical order. I'd be waiting a while, then. So it went. Besies, I was more worried about what they'd think of the "foreigner."

[Sumomo & Kotoko]

IC: O'ren walked up to where the women was standing with the hat. "Here, put this on, it will sort you to your house." O'ren put the very odd looking hat on. It started moveing. "Humm, this one will go in....Gryffindor!" the hat said loudly. The lady pointed to where the other Gryffindor's where standing "Go stand over there untell the rest of the kids have been sorted." O'ren walked over to where the kids were standing. The 'odd hat', as she called it, continued to sort the rest of the kids.

OOC: Lol, thats all I'ev got. :D

[Raichu Master]

Johann and Alvender sat by themselves, and a young boy who was stocking the girl called Cassidy around, caught Johann's eye, and he just smirked a bit, and went back to talking to Alvender.

OOC: I really have nothing to say so...*waits patiently*

[Skye]

OOC: Ack....Sorry RM...apparently I don't know my alphabet very well...forgive me?


IC: "MacDouglas, Andrew," the lady called. Andrew hurried up to the stool and took his seat. The sorting hat fell onto his head. He waited anxiously...

"Hmmm...this one belongs in Gryffindor!" the hat exclaimed, and Andrew felt a smile rush across his face. He hurried to join the rest of the first years who had been sorted into his house.

"MacDouglas, Cassidy," the lady called, though her voice was somewhat softer.

Cassidy had been trying to talk to Mikhail, and managed to say that she was, in fact, quite well, before she was called to the front of the room. She made her way deliberately to the front, each step purposeful and carefully placed. She sat on the stool silently, her head slightly bowed as the hat came down on her.

"Oh...this one's a bit diffecult..." the hat mused. Cassidy bit her lower lip. "Though I do believe she'll belong in Ravenclaw!"

Cassidy hopped down from the stool as the hat was removed from her head, and went to join the rest of her housemates. She waited patiently with them, casting glaces towards her brother and Mikhail. Andrew seemed disappointed that they would not be in the same house, much to Cassidy's suprise. She tried not to think about how competative they would get over the next few months, and concentrated on the rest of the sorting.

[Sumomo & Kotoko]

IC: O'ren walked over to Andrew "Hi, I'm O'ren Ishii..." "as you heared from the loud lady up there with the hat" She said under her breath. "...and your Andrew I bleave. I was wondering if we could be friends?"

[Raichu Master]

OOC: That's ok! ^^ Johann's is technically at the beginning of the alphabet...but I really wasn't going to say anything, it's not worth it. So go on and I'll fit in wherever I can. But I have to get ready for school, anyother time I'd post something, but I'm pressed for time right now.

[Jesus Freak Josh]

"McScott, Joshua," the woman who was alphabetically getting the sorting of the children called out. Josh walked up and the hat was on his head.

'Interesting...' the hat said in his head. 'A bit of everything. You have the smarts. Even at those stupid Muggle laptops and computers. But you have that gentleness to go through to Hufflepuff. What's this? A bit of trickery? Slytherin, heh? Nah, ooh. A bit of courage and good heartness there. Alot of Gryffindor spirit...' without warning that hat shouted. "RAVENCLAW!"

The people at the Ravenclaw tables as Josh walked over.

"Niney, Lauren," the lady once again called.

As much as Josh would've liked to listen to this he was tapped on the shoulder by a black haired boy. He looked as though he were in fifth year. Although it showed he was at least that old since he had a Prefect badge.
"Hi," he said. "I'm Bob. Ravenclaw Prefect. I know you probably went to Diagon Alley. Correct?"
"Yes," Josh replied, still paying a little attention to Lauren.
"I dropped a bit of paper with a heap of words on it. Have you seen it?"
"This?" Josh asked taking the paper with passwords on it.
"Yes," Bob said. "You can keep it. Those are real passwords for portraits that I received in first year. You can keep them. You need them."
"Thanks, Bob," he said. "I hope I see you around more often."

"RAVENCLAW!" the hat yelled. Lauren jumped off the stool and walked to the table and sat next to Josh.

"Welcome," he said.
"Thanks," Lauren replied.

[Midori Chi]

OOOH! This looks cool! Is it too late to join?

[Raichu Master]

"Johann Sebastian Bach!" the teacher yelled as a loud cry of laughter broke out.

Johann sighed deeply, and started down the row and to the stool. Johann couldn't help but overhear some of the shouts, "Hey cowboy, can you play the piano!" and other shouts like it. Half of Johann wanted to grab at his cowboy and hide it under his cloak, and pretend that he wasn't what he was. The other half wanted to sucker punch the closest student. Johann decided that he wouldn't give them the pleasure of seeing either side, and continued walking pretending not to notice or care.

'First cowboy...' the hat said sarcastically as Johann muttered something inaudible. 'Easy there, lad! Just a simple jest. Let's see now...'

"Can you please hurry up?" Johann muttered to the hat as it combed through his memories, strengths, weaknesses, and personality. Johann could feel the stares of the other students, probably waiting to see which house got the loser cowboy with a composer name. At the thought, Johann left out a low and threatening growl.

'Well, I think I finally have it! You're blunt, and deadly honest, strong and there's a softness in you that can't be denied. A weakness maybe? A strength? You prefer fighting over diplomacy, and you're extremely rough around the edges. You'll be the first to stand up for what you believe in, that much is clear, but that'll get you in trouble soon enough. You don't take criticism well...and what's this? You don't like being a cowboy? Yet a cowboy is truly what you are. I'll leave you to that...but for now I say...' the hat started, the words seemed to cut Johann deep, and made him think, for the first time, about who he was. "RAVENCLAW!" the hat boomed suddenly, shocking Johann out of his deep thoughts.

Then came a mixture of laughter and applause as he got off the stool and headed for the Ravenclaw table, sitting at the far side of the half empty table, that was still waiting for more members throughout the list.

* * *

"Alvender McCollan!" the teacher boomed, after many other students had been sorted.

Snickers of laughter came from the slytherin table as they caught sight of how nerdy Alvender looked. Alvender turned bright red, he hated all this attention, and rather be curled up in a corner pretending not to exist! The only thing that kept Alvender moving was a voice that seemed to rise above the rest, it was Johann cheering him on. The only one here who was actually not concerned with the way he looked! He was truly a best friend!

'Alvender McCollan, you're a successful author that is for sure, many here enjoy your books, all are correct in their use of spells, and they way magic works. You'll be a fine wizard!' the hat said happily in Alvender's mind.

"Then why are they all snickering at me?" Alvender said in his usual shaky nervous voice, when he was uncomfortable.

'Tis only the slytherins! They wouldn't know a book if it him them in the face! That's it! I got it! You'll be in...' the hat added as it seemed to have taken a deep breath, preparing to yell something. "SLYTHERIN!" the sorting hat boomed.

Alvender could feel his heart sink as he looked over at the slytherin table...and with a deep sigh of grief, he shuffled over to his houses table.

[Mari]

"Mikage, Kosuke!" The lady had called out, hurrying him to the stool.

Kosuke lazily ambled through the boisterous crowd, paying no heed to the lady rushing him. He plopped down on the assigned stool and impatiently waited for the hat to be placed upon his head.

Hot-tempered now, are we? The hat stated in tone that really annoyed Kosuke. And quite obnoxious as well, that's a step closer to Slytherin. Alas, you are a very witty kid, perfectly suitable for Ravenclaw. Hmm, let's see now… The hat mused for what seemed like an eternity before shouting out "Slytherin".

He leaped off the stool and calmly walked over to the Slytherins. He briefly glanced at all the occupants sitting on the table before letting his lips curve downward into a grim frown. Certainly she would not end up with him now.

Shaking off his thoughts, he managed to put on a smirk at the girls who were oh-so-pleased to have him in their house. He also gave a nod at the sort of bookworm looking guy, and then switched his attention to the next first year to be sorted.
[:/~ /: ]
"Mikage, Sakura!"

It was her turn and she was brimming with enthusiasm, as always. She just about bounced through the hallway and immediately sat down on the stool. She beamed brightly as the sorting hat was position on her head and waited breathlessly for the outcome.

Calm down there, The hat said, apparently amused at Sakura's optimism. Clearly, you are very energetic, and I see audacity within you. Granted you are young, but it is apparent that you are none too bright, hastily acting without thinking, which crosses out Ravenclaw.

Sakura could see the sly look on her brother's face; she pouted. She perfectly knew what he was thinking, "That's right, I knew Ravenclaw would not be a choice for you."

The hat continued shortly, after pondering for a moment, too brave for a Hufflepuff and too naïve for a Slytherin, that only leaves…"Gryffindor!" Grinning, Sakura happily jumped off the stool and rushed to where the Gryffindors were, thanking all those who welcomed her. She then childishly poked Andy, thrilled to be with a friend.

"Hiya~!" She greeted, giggling like mad.

[Skye]

OOC: it's not too late....you can still join!!

IC: Andrew smiled as Sakura came to join him and the rest of the Gryffindors. He supressed a giggle when Sakura poked him, keeping his weakness hidden, at least for the time being. His fellow housmates seemed excited to have them, and he felt rather at home. He glanced over at Cassidy, who was quite busy biting her lower lip and looking at Mikhail. Andrew rolled his eyes and turned back to Sakura as the Sorting continued.

"I'm so glad I got into Gryffindor....how about you?" he asked excitedly.

[~Ozy~]

<OOC>Alright, I'm gonna go ahead and go, seeing as how Saphi hasn't posted in a few days.<OOC>

"Sorchevsky, Mikhail!" I groaned inwardly as I heard cackles from one of the tables. No hiding it now. I was foreign. A little angry, I shot a glare at the table that was busy laughing at me as I passed. Sitting on the stool, I settled the hat around my head. It was sized for an adult and slid down over my eyes.

Interesting... a voice resounded through my head. What?! I snapped back mentally, still a little angry. You too will laugh at my heritage? The hat seemed defensive as it said No, no, not that. That is irrelevant. What I mean is your mind. You seem... torn between a quiet scholar's life and the far more brutal path of a fighter. There's no doubting your mental capacity, but you don't seem to want to use it. So too, do you not give into your passions or anger, though your bonds to the few close to your heart are unquestionable. Still, I think that you know the latter. You would fit best in RAVENCLAW!!!

Sighing with relief that I wouldn't be stuck with the ones who'd laughed at my name, I got up and strode over to the Ravenclaw table, sliding onto the bench seat next to Cassidy, flashing her a quick grin.

[Raichu Master]

Johann glanced over with interest as a stranger was being sorted. The teacher had called him by Mikhail Sorchevsky. Looks like he was going to be sharing a dorm with the boy afterall. Johann had to admit, there was a reason he kept a keen eye on Mikhail, but he wasn't sure why he was being so cautious. I mean, he hasn't even met the guy yet!

Johann chuckled inwardly as Mikhail gave the Cassidy girl a quick grin. For one so new to the area, he was sure taking a liking to Cassidy.

With a sigh to regain his composure, Johann got up and dusted himself off, even though there was nothing to be found. He straightened his cowboy hat, showing to anyone who was watching, that he was proud of who he was. Then he started over toward Cassidy and Mikhail, although he was more interested in meeting the boy than the girl. He figured he might as well make some friends now, since Alvender was not in the same house.

"Howdy," Johann said as he sat down on the other side of Mikhail, hoping he wasn't interupting the romance. "The name's Johann Sebastian Bach, folks back home call me Johann!" he added as he extended a hand for Mikhail to shake.

* * *

Alvender caught the young boy's nod, and swallowed hard, hoping that that nod didn't mean that Alvender was the guys next target, as he knew that that was most of the Slytherins intentions. Still Alvender gave a polite nod, and wondered if it was worth talking to the boy, who he recalled being named Kosuke Mikage. With a sigh, Alvender folded his arms, and rested his head on them, watching as the other students were sorted.

[Skye]

Cassidy broke out into a broad smile as Mikhail was sorted into Ravenclaw. She watched him travel across the floor to the Ravenclaw table. She was glad that he retained a proud posture despite the snickers and chuckles that followed his name. She was reminded of her first day of school in Japan, and how everyone had snickered and looked at her funny too. She had vowed to herself never to treat anyone like that.

"Congrats, Mikhail," she said cheerfully, finally allowing her personality to show through her timidness. She spied the boy with the cowboy hat making their way towards them, and she raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

Andrew, meanwhile, sat at the Gryffindor table. He kept part of his attention on Mikhail and Cassidy, but most of his attention was on Sakura, hoping to make some conversation and get his mind off his sister.

[~Ozy~]

"Thank you" I whispered to Cassidy, then turned to face Johann. I took the hand he'd extended in a firm grip. "I am called Mikahil" I began. "But then, you alrready knew that did you not? My name it is about... Well, about as uncommon as yours."

[Raichu Master]

"I think we're going to have a rough year," Johann chuckled out loud with a grin on his face. "I really ain't complaining, it'll be entertaining to see how people handle a cowboy and a Russian." he gave the students who were still staring at him a wicked grin and winked at them. With another hearty laugh he looked back at the two. "So...Mikhail...do you fight?"

[~Ozy~]

I raised an eyebrow at Johann and replied "Do I? No, not often. Can I? Yes. My father taught me Sambo, the Russian martial art." I glanced over at the students who'd laughed at me. Slytherins, I supposed. "If they harass me, I could give you a demonstration."

[Raichu Master]

'My kind of guy,' Johann said to himself as he just chuckled and shook his head. "They can't be that stupid to harass anyone right now, not out in the open. They'll corner someone and then start somethin'. That's just like folk like themselves," Johann said out loud to Mikhail. "I personally don't go looking for fights usually. But when someone rubs me the wrong way, it's a fight or flight. And I can guarentee the only ones that will be doin' the flyin' are my enemies!" Johann chuckled heartily, hoping that they shared some humor as well.

[Mari]

"Of course!" Sakura exclaimed loudly as ever, although a little calmer than before. "Gryffindor is my favorite out of the houses!"

She noticed that he appeared bothered with something; perhaps his sister? Curious, she briefly glanced at the Ravenclaw, checking if anything was muddled. "Did something happen with Cassy?" She asked, finally, unable to hold her teeming curiosity any longer. Cassidy was being very cheerful, that should be good news.


Kosuke, after shooting another glance at the younger Mikage, raised his eyebrow, rather tauntingly, at the boy—Alvender, was it? He found it rather amusing how he ended up with the Slytherins. Poor kid.

Granted he wasn't planning on doing anything to him, but it was worth seeing how frightened he will be with his gestures.

[Raichu Master]

Alvender sighed, he wasn't really paying attention to what anyone was doing, he was too busy playing with his food. Alvender silently hummed an irish drinking song, he was half irish and his father was a proud full-blooded irishman. He sighed once more missing his home, and waited to go to bed, he could barely stay awake.

[Skye]

Cassidy blinked a few times, suprised that Johann had asked outright about fighting. It almost made her cringe, discussing one's strength in front of others. She absently toyed with the potatoes on her plate with a fork, keeping her eyes on her food, but her ears open.

She looked over at Andrew and smiled contentedly at him. Though she was the older of the two by a few short minutes, Andrew had always taken to caring for her like an older brother, probably because he had always been bigger than she. He was just being protective...Mikhail was alright, and they both knew it. He just didn't want to see her hurt...

Her ears picked up a few sny remarks from the Slytherins, but she paid them little heed. She was looking foward to settling down in her room, and exploring the grounds a little bit early in the morning before classes started up. She took a few bites of potatoes and ham, and listened to the ripples of conversation around her.

Andrew, a little suprised by Sakura's question, brought his full attention back to her. Her question was like a snap back to reality. What was he so worried about? Mikhail seemed like a good person...he shook his head, and took a bite of potatoes.

"I dunno..." he half-mumbled. "Just over protective of her I guess?"

He kind of chuckled and looked over at Sakura.

"It's going to be a fun year though! I'm looking foward to it at least. Cass is a little worried I think, but she'll lighten up once she gets comfortable," Andrew shrugged.

[Raichu Master]

"Cassidy, is it?" Johann asked, the smile on his face disappeared, replaced with a serious, yet with a hint of respect, expression. "I tried to introduce myself on the train, but you walked passed me like I didn't exist. I figir ya don't like me much, do ya?" Johann added with a sneer. With a tip of his cowboy hat he got up from his seat and started, "While I'll see ya around Mikhail. I have no intention of stayin' where I ain't wanted."

With that he started off toward the Slytherin table, and toward his best friend. "How ya doin' there bud?" Johann asked as he sat down on the other side of the table, ignoring all the glares from the students.

"To tell the truth...these guys are scaring me?" Alvender admited under his breath, but loud enough so that only Johann could catch it.

"These guys can't do anything to you, Al," Johann started, but felt a tapping on his shoulder. Johann shrugged it away, and opened his mouth to say something but felt someone tug at him by his collar. With a sigh of annoyance, Johann let himself be forced to his feet.

"What do you think you're doing?" a boy growled, obviously from Slytherin by his dress, and obviously not a first year by the command in his voice.

"Talking to my friend. I don't want any problems here, but I'm warning you," Johann growled as his hands tightened into a fist, and his eyes narrowed.

A burst of laughter came from behind the slytherin, it seemed the punk had some goons to watch his back. "Warning me? What are you going to do, cowboy? Hog-tie me?" the boy countered, drawing laughs from half of the table.

Johann's head was now visible red, and his face was twisted at the slytherin's mockery. Anger raged up within him, at the very mention of his heritage, and he had half a mind to punch the living daylights out of the guy. That half of his mind got the best of him, and he let his right fist fly, straight toward the slytherin's jaw. It promptly stopped a few inches in front of the boy who had visibly flinched as he closed his eyes, perparing to be hit.

A firm hand had stopped him, Johann looked at his wrist, and found four slip pale fingers, that could only belong to one person. "Not here, Johann. You're an idiot to start something in front of the whole school," Alvender muttered in his ear, trying to calm him down.

Johann yanked his fist loose and growled angerly at his friend, even though he knew Alvender was right. "Fine!" he muttered and stared at the three boys to make the next move.

"Get away from here, cowboy," the slytherin sneered, obviously feeling the superior of the two. Anger burned in Johann's eyes, he had had it with this boy, and someone needed to shut him up. Johann turned around, and before the slytherin could counter, Johann's fist was in the boy's face.

Johann lounged forward as the slytherin stumbled backwards, attempting to finish what he started, but he frooze in mid-air. Johann managed to turn his head, and found a tall man, with a long silver beard, stand up from the middle of the teacher table. His wand was raised, and Johann knew that the wizard had paralyzed him, obviously couldn't conjure the spell in time to stop the punch so he stopped Johann before it could get any worse.

Johann let out another growl, as the half giant, Hagrid, came up beside him and wrapped his huge arms around Johann. Hagrid then promptly carried the cowboy out of the Great Hall, toward Professor Snape's office to be correctly punished after party, since Johann had attacked one of his students.

[~Ozy~]

I snorted with laughter, watching Johann. The Slytherin had deserved it, a pity the rules forced otherwise. I finally turned my attention to the food. Much of it looked too light for my tastes, but this English stuff, it was always like that. I loaded my plate with some mashed potatos and a steak.

Glancing over at Cassidy, I said "I am afraid, my friend, that I do not know much about you. So, might I ask, what has made you who you are?" It was akwardly framed, I knew. I kicked myself mentally for posing the question so poorly.

[Skye]

"I am afraid, my friend, that I do not know much about you. So, might I ask, what has made you who you are?"

Cassidy, who had managed to suppress the urge to roll her eyes at the scene that had just taken place between Johann and a Slytherin, found her attention returned to Mikhail as he posed the question. She looked rather thoughtful for a moment, biting her lower lip and pushing the food around on her plate.

"I guess...well..." she started dumbly, and tried to muster up some confidence. "I was brought up in Japan...Andy and I both were. My father was stationed there when we were five. I guess that's where I get my drive to succeed...it's kind of contagious over there. Everyone works so hard all the time...and the rest of me?"

She paused, her fork poised in the air near her mouth. She took the bite of potato, set the fork down, and returned her eyes to Mikhail's face.

"My father is a very accomplished martial artist, specializing in the area of Shotokan," she explained. I've studied under him since I could walk...I guess that explains the rest of me," she tried to brush it off as nothing, as simply something that she was, though it made up most of who she was, and made her quite the atypical eleven year old at that. She tried not to think about the black belt, neatly folded and placed in her trunk that awaited her arrival in the morning. She did not like to boast of her accomplishments. Her triumphs remained part of a very personal journey...especially after the incident that nearly cost her her life. She pushed the memory aside, not because it was painful, but because it was a mistake learned from. The knowlege had already been gained.

Her clear blue eyes had wandered again, looking off in the distance, as if at a fond memory. She smiled a little, and then returned to the present, looking over at Mikhail once more.

"That's all really, I guess," she shrugged. "I play a little music, and I surf..."

Feeling a little awkward, Cassidy returned her attention to her plate and hoped Mikhail didn't think she was too odd.

[Mari]

Sakura nodded, letting out another childish giggle. "That's a good thing, then! Brothers and sisters should always stick out for each other."

She took a quick sip on her drink and watched as she finally saw the little brawl taking place. A Ravenclaw and a Slytherin? She always thought that Gryffindors and Slytherins were foes, and that Ravenclaw are too witty to engage a fight.

She couldn't help but be thrilled as she watched the fight, and ended up pouting when the fight was stopped. "It seemed like a good one, too." She muttered to herself, watching as the boy was taken to obtain punishment. Shaking off her thoughts, she turned back to Andrew, beaming.

"Look at Cassy," She whispered softly with a slight giggle as she pointed at the Ravenclaws, "You don't have to worry. She looks like she's having fun."


Kosuke rolled his eyes at the Ravenclaw, mouthing "showoff". Taking a fight against someone, just moments after arriving at the school, that was smart. He rolled his eyes again, taking his mind off the rather idiotic play, and shot a quick glance at the ecstatic Mikage. By the look on her face, one could immediately tell how fond she was with her new found friends. He didn't like it one bit; they were still strangers.

[Jesus Freak Josh]

Josh and Lauren were getting pretty tired of the idiocy going around the hall. It was getting too tedious.
"I'm off to bed," he said. "Wanna come?"
"Nah," she said. "I'll come later. Good night."

Josh walked off, pulling the list of passwords out and taking a look at them. 'Okay,' he said in his head. 'One of these will take me right up to the Ravenclaw Common Room. Okay. Go to the painting with just plain bricks on it on the first floor.'

Josh looked around. He found it! It was pretty dull. Just plain bricks lying around. He walked up to it. '[/I]Three bricks up - two across.[/I]' he counted and tapped. The painting opened and Josh climbed into the dull entrance. He walked in through the entrance, up a flight of stairs, down a flight and up another staircase to achieve his destination of the Ravenclaw painting. It was a picture of Rowena in her early days.
"Ahhh..." she said in a common British accent. "Another first year."
"Yes, Miss Ravenclaw,' he said. "I'm Josh."
"Hello," she said. "Welcome to Ravenclaw. As you know I am Rowena. To enter you need a password," Josh hung his head down. How could he have been so stupid to not know to get a password. "But since you're new and I know you are in Ravenclaw I'll just give you trivia. Normally it's trivia and a password for extra security. But enough chit-chat. How many times did Gwendelin the Weird allow herself to be captured?"
Josh pondered this question. He had read it up before he had come. "Thirty seven?"
"You are correct."

Josh walked in to the Common Room. Some yellow chairs by the fire, two staircases on different sides of the room, and tables. Josh sat down and took out his own laptop. All it had was Notepad, backups of his school books, Anti-Virus, and alot of security so no one could hack. Josh knew alot about Muggle technology as he learnt alot at a Muggle school. He had also been on the internet and had it when he wasn't at Hogwarts. He was not stupid enough to post things about witches and wizards, and certainly about Hogwarts on there. He knew all Muggle technology went haywire when it was at Hogwarts. That's why, beforehand, he developed a chip to avoid that problem. It was lucky. He hadn't had a chance to test it before. At least he knew it worke.d

***

Lauren was finishing off her meal when she felt a sharp pain in her arm. She had aquired a bite before she had come from a wolf. She got the feeling it was a werewold, however. She walked up to a teacher. The same teacher who was sorting the students. She had her grey hair tied in a bun. Lauren knew this was Professor McGonnagal, the second one in authority next to Dumbledore.
"Professor," she said. "I have a sharp pain in my arm. A wolf bit me a few days ago..."
The Professor looked a bit grim. "I shall take you to the Hospital Wing."
"Thanks."

[Raichu Master]

"What were you thinking!" Professor Snape's voice yelled as he stocked into his office to deal with the young boy.

Johann's jaw was locked firmly in place, and he refused to speak a word. He didn't care that he was being punished, all he cared was that that slytherin got what he deserved! 'Besides the slytherin picked the fight...I was just finishing it...' Johann snapped bitterly, taking caution not to speak what he was thinking.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" Professor Snape went on after a few moments of silence.

'Yes,' Johann said in his mind, but put on a fake smile and said, "No, professor. He was harrassing me and I was just making him stop."

"100 points from Ravenclaw, for starting the fight in the first place and purposefully injuring a student!" Snape hissed. Johann let out a long drawn out sigh, to fake that he was dissappointed. "A semisters worth of detention with me, after school!" he hissed again after seeing Johann's reaction to the point deficit.

"What?" Johann snapped, to him it wasn't fair, the kid started it! "You aren't aloud to do this, are you?" he protested, jumping out of his seat.

Snape sneered at Johann in delight. "My students, my punishment," Professor Snape said slowly.

"I'll make sure to hit someone else the next time..." Johann muttered under his breath, but not soft enough, because Snape heard it.

"I'm sure the other teachers wouldn't be too happy if you did the same thing to one of their students. They'd probably more harsh than myself. So be lucky you only have me to deal with," Snape said in that cool wicked voice of his, which made Johann's skin crawled. "You'll stay here with me for now, I'll take you to you're house, before curfew," Professor Snape said with a wicked smile.

* * *

Alvender sighed, as he sat back in his seat and started to play around with his food. Why did Johann have to be so quick to fight? 'Johann should be in Slytherin, and I should be in Ravenclaw...but why did the hat sort us differently?' Alvender wondered as he got lost in deep thought and tried to find a reasonable answer.

"Excuse me," a voice spoke up, snapping Alvender out of his thoughts. Alvender looked up to see a girl standing on the other side of the table. Alvender had to admit, the red headed girl was pretty cute, probably a 3rd year, judging from the fact that she apparently looked older.

"Uh...hello..." Alvender answered, as a slight blush rose in his cheeks, he wasn't used to anyone but Johann talking to him, and seeing as how the only other person here to talk to him was of the opposite gende made him more than nervous. "M...may I help you?" Alvender asked as his eyes met the table, trying not to look into her brown.

"You're Alvender McCollan, am I right in saying so?" she asked, a confident tone to her voice told Alvender that she knew exactly who he was.

Alvender's eyes widened in shock as she slid a book under his nose, and when he looked up at her, he realized that the girl was a slytherin. What was a slytherin doing with one of his books? The sorting hat said that Slytherin were illiterate! Or was that just a jest? "Y...yes, I'm Alvender McCollan. The sorting hat...um...said that Slytherin's didn't read much. So excuse me if I seem a bit shocked," Alvender stammered, avoiding her gaze.

"'tis ok. Slytherin's get that a lot. Most of us are like that, but there are a few of us with a head on our shoulders," the girl replied, with a gentle smile across her face. "Can I have your autograph? I've read all of your books, you're a really good author. I always wondered if the author knew how to use magic, because it's all correct," she said this time it was her turn to show some hesitation, obviously she wasn't very good at asking questions, probably afraid of feeling dumb.

"Um...sure..." Alvender said, foreigning a smile on his face, to hide his nervousness, and to reassure the girl that it wasn't a dumb question. Alvender got a pen out of his pocket and looked up to her and asked, "What's your name?"

"Erica Vanquez," the girl said bitting her lower lip. "A couple of my friends would like to meet you sometime, we're all big fans of your writing," she continued, as she watched Alvender autograph her book.

Alvender looked dumbstruck, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He knew his books were good, he was one of New York Times best seller's, but it never really occured to him that he was famous, or even had any fans. "Sure, Maybe tommorrow at lunch, or breakfast, or...um...whenever," Alvender replied, trying to shake off his previous thoughts.

"Thanks! I really appriciate it, and I'm sure the others will as well," Erica said with a broad smile, but then her expression grew solemn.

"What's the matter?" Alvender asked, trying his hardest to come out of his shell.

"How was that guy you were with?" Erica asked lamely.

"Oh, that's Johann. He's my best friend," Alvender said plainly.

"He better watch out, there is a lot of talk that he might be put into the hospital wing soon. Some slytherin's are planning things," Erica admitted as she closed her eyes.

Alvender chuckled to himself, it seemed odd to laugh without Johann. "You don't have to worry about him. He may seem irrational, but he wasn't put in Ravenclaw for no good reason. Believe it or not there is a cautious side to him. He probably knows they're after him," Alvender said with a friendly wink. He wasn't worried about Johann, he was more than capable than handling himself.

"Well you might want to try and reason with some of the guys in Slytherin on his behalf. He may be a good fighter, but he couldn't possibly take on more than 2 or 3 at one time," Erica countered with genuine worry.

Alvender thought it odd that a Slytherin was this genuine, Slytherin's always were the sly type, so he wasn't letting his guard down for just a pretty face. Behind those eyes there had to be a sly motive. She had to be planning something...right...afterall she is a slytherin.

[Skye]

Andrew looked over at Sakura as she commented about the fighting. He scrunched his face in distaste at the fight. He wondered briefly how long he and Cassidy would hold out before they got into a tiff, but tried not to think about it.

"Look at Cassy," She whispered softly with a slight giggle as she pointed at the Ravenclaws, "You don't have to worry. She looks like she's having fun."

Andrew nodded, and took a bite of food. He chewed thoughtfully and tried to keep his attention on something besides his sister.

"What do you do for fun?" he asked Sakura curously, and noticed as he looked around, that the feast was beginning to wrap up.

[Raichu Master]

Alvender got out of his seat and started out of the Great Hall with the rest of the slytherins as they made their way to their dorms. A few girls and even fewer guys stopped him to ask him if he was the Alvender McCollan.

[~Ozy~]

I sighed inwardly as I too turned my attention back to my plate. Conversation had never been a strong suit of mine. I'd never really cared about that either, until tonight at leeast. I had an inkling that we both had much more to say than we let on. I transferred another hunk of meat to my plate and ripped into it.

[Skye]

Cassidy watched some upper classmen head out of the Hall, towards the dormitories, she guessed. The entire Slythering table appeared to be moving. She looked up at the staff table. Dumbledore was watching the students leave, a calming contentment in his eyes. He caught her eye and smiled, and Cassidy felt her cheeks flush pink at the attention. She finished the last of her food, and looked over at Mikhail.

"All first years, please follow the Prefects to your dormitories. Have a wonderful night's rest, and good luck with classes!" Dumbledore said cheerfully.

"Shall we then?" Cassidy asked Mikhail with a smile. She got up from the table, and feeling a bit more adventurous, she asked him, "so you study martial arts to? Are yougoing to practice at all while you're here at Hogwarts?"

[~Ozy~]

Standing, I fell into step beside Cassidy and replied "Da" without thinking. Realizing this, I shook my head and stuttered "I... I mean... Yes. Yes I am. Though I prefer other activities."

[Raichu Master]

Alvender settled back in a corner of the common room, his glasses began to slip down his nose, he didn't bother push them up, he was too stuffed to move, he was surprised he even made it up here. Moaning, Alvender took out a sheet of paper, and continued the next installment for his epic series The Barbarian Trilogy.

"Is that you're new book?" a boy asked as he walked up to the lone Slytherin.

"Yeah," Alvender sighed, not bothering to look up from his paper. The boy snatched the paper, or in this case, papers and flung them into the fire. Alvender jumped up from his chair and yelled, "Do you have any idea what you did!?" It was probably the first time Alvender has ever talked above a whisper, he even shocked himself, he was never known to yell.

"Only nerds right books. And if you're in slytherin, you can't be doin' that stuff!" the slytherin laughed. Looking around, he saw that the others were laughing also, but a few were on there feet outraged as well. He noticed that the group of girls that were staring at him from the other side of the room, were the first ones to their feet.

"How would you know, you uneducated illiterate baffoon of a human being!?" Alvender shot back. Alvender couldn't believe himself, was it really him? If it was, he was amazed, he normally would have crawled into a corner. He reasoned that some of Johann was rubbing off on him.

Alvender just bit his lip, it was too late to back down. The next Alvender knew, he had jumped onto his chair to dodge a blow to the head. He lost his balance and almost fell on his face, but he held strong and caught himself.

Alvender's eyes widened as the boy's fist quickly recovered, and was about to hit him square in the face, there was nothing he could do.

The girl that spoke up to him at the feast, stepped in the way and took the hit, falling hard to the floor. Before Alvender could stop himself, he found himself grabbing at the slytherin's collar. Although the boy was far too heavy for Alvender to lift, he felt he had a firm hold, to get his point across. "Don't ever, ever hit a girl again!" he roared in the boy's face.

Dumbstruck by who he hit, obviously his girlfriend, by the way he reacted, was in no postion to disagree with Alvender's reasoning, or in this case threat. He stumbled backwards, bringing Alvender with him. Alvender clumsily tripped over the girls fallen body and landed just as hard on her, drawing a moan of pain from both.

Alvender looked down at the girl, he eye was already black and blue, and her nose was bleeding. Alvender scrambled to help her up and get himself up at the same time, causing her to get to her feet, and Alvender to slip up and fall again.

Alvender sighed as he hoisted himself up, and dusted the dust from the floor from his robes. He was happy to her a giggle escape the girl, apparently he did something right.

[Skye]

Cassidy smiled as Mikhail replied to her in his native tongue. She wondered briefly how long it would take before she slipped up and starting speaking Japanese.

"Me too...but at the same time I don't think I could live without practicing," she said quietly, her tone somewhat serious. "It helps me focus, and keep in shape..."

She shurgged and followed the rest of her classmates through the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room. While most of them went to their respective dormitories, Cassidy found herself drawn to the fireplace, and looked over at Mikhail.

"I think I'm going to go practice early tomorrow before classes," she said, the glow of the fire playing softly about her fair face and hair. "You're welcome to join me if you want. Do you sparr?"

[Raichu Master]

Professor Snape dismissed Johann, after hearing word that a fight had broke out. Johann fell in line with the other Ravenclaws as they made their way to the common room. Johann didn't particularly care for anyone in his house at the moment. The only two people he met were Cassidy and Mikhail, but he decided not to interupt their conversation and kept on walking. He had enough attention drawn to him for one night, all he want to do was go to bed.

* * *

"What's going on here?" Professor Snape snapped as he entered the Slytherin common room.

"That Alvender boy punched Erica!" the boy who threw Alvender's papers into the fire replied.

"Don't lie!" came Erica's voice from the corner, from behind a wall of friends that were crowded around to see how much damage the boy did to her. "Jordan, threw Alvender's book he was working on into the fire!" Erica started pointing back at the boy. "As you may know Alvender McCollan is a very successful author!" Erica clarified.

"And so he took it out