Exploring the Train [open]

[Harry James Potter]

((This takes place after he meets up with Ron, and before he knows he's a Gryffindor))

Harry had just boarded the train. The Weasley's seemed like nice people, and they helped him out. Thing was that he wasn't used to being asked all these questions about himself, and being stared at.

After he was offered Ron's compartment, because it was the only one open, he felt he finally had a friend. Harry had bought a lot of things off of the trolley, but they ran out of chocolate frogs. Harry offered to get some more, and headed out of the compartment and walked down the aisle to look for the trolley lady.

It was actually fun to just walk down the aisle and look at the various people, almost to the point he forgot what he was doing.

[Neville Franklin Longbottom]

Neville settled into a compartment on the train. He was very nervous about starting at Hogwarts. Sure, he actually had magic. He proved that after the window incident. But that didn't mean he'd be any good at it. And he'd still have to deal with the whole student body.

I'll probably be the worst student there, he thought. He tried to shift his mind to other things, like the new plants he started in his greenhouse last week, but nothing worked. He could only think about how stupid he'd look in front of everyone once they got to the school.

His grandmother also didn't help his anxiety. He knew that she wanted him to be in Gryffindor like his parents. Neville, however, didn't think that would happen. He wasn't brave enough for Gryffindor, or smart enough for Ravenclaw.

I'm going to end up in Hufflepuff, he thought, glumly. He didn't have anything against that house. It's just that he didn't want to disappoint his grandmother again. He did way too much of that already.

He tried to shift his mind to happier thoughts, such as his garden and Trevor. The garden was coming along pretty good, and Trevor was doing well. It was then that he noticed the absence of a weight in his front pocket.

Neville groaned. Why did Trevor have to keep wandering off? He thought back to when he last saw his toad. He was pretty sure Trevor was at least on the train. He was in his pocket when those older students were helping him with his trunk. This was really a bad start to his Hogwarts school days.

Neville sighed, and exited the compartment. Hopefully someone on the train had seen Trevor. He didn't know what he'd do without his toad. He started wandering around the train, checking closely for any signs of his toad.

[Harry James Potter]

Harry Potter was wandering down the aisle of the train, looking for the trolley lady, when he spotted another boy, probably around his age or around it at least. Harry smiled thinking that at least he wasn't the only one who was out here wandering around.

Now Harry didn't know very much about the magical world, like if there was some way to spot what he heard were called muggle borns from the other wizards. If that were true, then he probably looked like a muggle born, lost and confused. Of course at the moment Harry was simply looking around, and not really worrying about where he was going.

Harry slowly approached the boy and smiled at him, though he bet he looked weird just standing and smiling, his uncle probably would have smacked him for that.

"Hi, ummmm... I'm Harry Potter. Just thought I could.... you know introduce myself... don't know very many people, so I thought 'why not say hello' ," Harry said nervously knowing he just sounded like an idiot.

He wasn't used to introducing himself. Most people stayed away from him, fearing that Dudley would beat them up if they came too close. But of course here he was famous.

The complete opposite effect took place. Everyone knew him, and wanted to talk to him. He didn't really like that too much, but it was a whole lot better than what he had before at the Dursley's so he wouldn't complain much.

[Neville Franklin Longbottom]

Neville continued his search for Trevor, but wasn't having any luck. Normally, Neville wouldn't be as worried. The toad had wandered off loads of times before, and always came back in one piece. The main cause of his worry was that this happened on a moving train, and that he might not see his toad again.

Neville then spotted a dark-haired boy around his age walking around. He paused, wondering whether to say something. On one hand, he might have seen Trevor somewhere. But on the other hand, he didn't want to look stupid in front of another student this early in the year.

Of course, the dark-haired boy introduced himself, taking the choice out of his hands. Looks like it was option one of asking about his toad, and looking stupid. Wait a second, did he just say he was Harry Potter?

Neville had heard all about the Boy-Who-Lived, of course. Most purebloods and halfbloods did, after all. But somehow, with all the preparations and his nervousness, he forgot that Harry Potter was starting at Hogwarts this year. Great, just great. Now I'll make a fool of myself in front of him of all people.

"Uh...hi," he replied, nervously. "I'm..uh..Neville Longbottom." Great, he sounded stupid already. "And yeah, I..uh..don't know too many people here either." He paused a bit, wondering how to ask about Trevor. "I was...uh...looking for my pet toad...um...Have you seen one anywhere? It's fine if you haven't."

[Harry James Potter]

Harry nearly laughed as he noticed that the boy he approached was also nervous, probably not for the same reason as he was. It was probably the famous thing again. When he met Ron, not too long ago, Ron didn't seem to act like that, but that was probably because he was more used to things like this.

With the current attitude he was sure he would wind up in Hufflepuff, full of... what did that boy say, duffers? Something like that. He didn't want to be a Hufflepuff. Harry took a deep breath in before replying.

"Neville Logbottom? Cool, nice to meet you Neville... Pet Frog? I haven't seen one, but I could help you look," Harry offered. Yeah, that didn't seem duffer-ish right? He hoped not.

Harry wondered if he would see that blond boy who told him about the duffer-ishness of Hufflepuff, but he didn't dwell on it. From what he heard of the houses, he felt he would be puff, even if he was kind of brave, and a little bit talented, like that time he wound up on the roof of a building when he was littler.

Harry looked around him, unknowing if the frog was nearby or maybe a compartment or two down the way. This boy seemed nice so far, but nervous as well... stupid scar.

[Neville Franklin Longbottom]

Neville looked at Harry, surprised. He never expected Harry to actually help him look. People were usually inclined to either make fun of him, or find an excuse to leave the conversation. It met a lot to him that someone was actually being nice to him.

"Thanks," he stuttered out. "He..uh..has a habit of wandering away from me sometimes." It was actually kind of weird. He couldn't understand Trevor, obviously, but he always thought the toad was happy with him. He could see the new environment of the train scaring him, but he'd wandered off back at the house too. "Hopefully he shows up soon," he added as an afterthought.

Harry Potter definitely surprised him, but in a good way. The boy was nice, and actually wanted to help him out. He never thought too much of it before, but maybe he could actually have a friend at Hogwarts.

[Harry James Potter]

Harry smiled to himself. He wished sometimes he could get lost, especially when dealing with the Dursleys. Harry was fairly certain it wasn't the same situation, since he doubted Neville mistreated his toad... well who knows really, Harry just met him. At least from first impressions Neville seemed like a cool person.

"It's a good thing he's not a cat, or his curiosity might kill him!" Harry replied smiling slightly. That was kind of lame, but Harry went along with him. That could just be what the toad wants. Maybe Neville didn't walk the toad enough... or the toad just was curious about it's surroundings.

The eleven year old really didn't know about the animals not thinking as well as humans did. He of course knew they weren't as smart, but he still believed that the toad could think words, just not say them. He could imagine it now. The Amazing Talking Toad Trevor! Standing up on two legs and all!

((A bit insane, but I am tired lol))

[Alyssa Matthews]

[Hmm can I just jump in?]

Alyssa Matthews, like some young witches, was a pureblood. Therefore automatically attacked by the future Slytherins, who were also purebloods. Shifting her positions she nodded as if she actually cared what they said. Alyssa then looked up at the question everybody had answered at least once So wha house do you want to be in? blinking she thought for a moment. In her point of view all the houses were great, though honestly she couldn't picture herself in Slytherin robes. Maybe Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Gryffindor. But she knew what they would say if she even mentioned not minding Hufflepuff or Gryffindor. Unsure of what to say she stood up. "Erm...I'm going to go find....A friend of mine..." and with that she rushed out. Having no intentions of finding another unexistant friend.

Walking down the train she kept to herself. Her hand on her pocket. Her new wand sitting there, soft and delicate. Smiling she let her thoughts wander. How great was it she was a witch and not a Muggle? Sure it was expected. She was a pureblood. But something could have gone wrong in her genetics. Their were numerous possibilities. So many she felt like she didn't want to speak of it.

As she continued her walk she kept her brown eyes on her nice shoes. Thinking about everything, how unfair her father's death was, how interesting it would be to enter Hogwarts and follow in her father's footsteps and go into Ravenclaw. The girl, Alyssa, was so preoccupied in her thoughts that she nearly ran into one of the two boys. Blinking she froze. Her words falling out like a rushed apology "I'm soo sorry, I didn't mean to run into-" then she registered Harry Potter's face. Smiling she then said "Hey you look familiar, I think i've seen your face before!" then studying Neville she shook her head. "But I don't believe I have seen you before," realising they didn't know her name she felt a wave of embarrassment. "I'm really sorry, I'm Alyssa Matthews,"

[Neville Franklin Longbottom]

((Of course you can. =P More people is better))

"True," muttered Neville, happy that Harry was at least trying to talk to him. Though it was a decent point. Maybe Trevor just liked exploring new environments or something.

Suddenly, a girl showed up, and nearly ran into them. Neville just stared in shock. Most of the students were in their compartments, probably just socializing with one another. So far, Harry was the only person he ran into, though it was possible they'd see some more later.

The girl then started apologizing to them. Maybe he'd get another nice person to talk to. He still wasn't sure what Harry was. The boy was nice so far, but he wasn't sure if they were actually friends or not. Of course, that girl heard of Harry, but not him. He'd pin her as either a pureblood or halfblood, though he didn't really care about stupid blood. He didn't recognize her surname, but that was a given. Neville was bad at memorizing that sort of stuff.

"Uh..." began Neville, getting way too nervous again. Why did he have to have so much trouble talking to people? "I'm Neville Longbottom. And it's uh...okay. Um...Just..be careful" He wasn't sure what else to say, really. Harry could introduce himself, after all.

[Alyssa Matthews]

I'm Neville Longbottom... she recognized that name. His parents must have been the Aurors that were tortured. Feeling a pang of pity she tried to smother the grief by smiling. Their story wasn't uncommon, many wizards were tortured during the Dark Days, but still. The grief felt by their family members must have been unbareable, she knew just having her father bit by a snake was bad enough. But having him tortured until insanity? Now that would be something she wouldn't beable to stand.

and it's uh...okay... was he nervous? she wondered as she listened to him speak, he seemed nervous. Maybe it was easier for him to talk to the other boy...she thought. Smiling she listened to the ending. It's sound being somewhat humorous "Ok...I'll be more careful next time," the words amused her greatly. And she couldn't have pictured herself saying this in this particular situation, which made her quite joyous, and more open. A bit more relaxed.

[Harry James Potter]

Harry nodded and smiled. Suddenly a girl came and nearly knocked into Harry, and he just thought, Whoa a person! Harry nodded silently as Neville told her to be more careful. It didn't really matter. He saw a flash of recognition when Neville introduced himself... must be a pure blood or half blood, or something.

"Hi!" Harry replied cheerfully, at least a bit more confident than Neville did, but of course meeting people didn't seem to be Neville's or Harry's strong suit, "I'm Harry Potter, probably the reason you recognize me." He was already used to people knowing of him, even if he hadn't been with the wizards for long.

Harry still was waving towards, this is all a ploy by the Dursleys, theory. It seemed like a dream come true, literally. He finally knew what the green light was, or at least he thought he knew, and this explained his hair growing rapidly, him finding himself on the roof of a building by barely jumping, and the glass disappearing at the zoo; he had to admit the zoo one was extremely funny.

[Alyssa Matthews]

Harry Potter?!? the name spread through her like a excited buzz. But she still stood casually and still. Her voice being the only thing that let her shock, bewilderment, and excitement escape "I knew I have seen you before!" his face would have been in many books, so it was no surprise she had seen him before. Then realising she sounded way too excited she dulled down a bit.

"er...sorry, It's just I grew up hearing stories about you...And well I forgot you would be going to Hogwarts too..." this was embarrasing. Dreadfully embarrasing, she probably looked and sounded like a moroon. What would her father say? He was in Ravenclaw as a kid, and he never sounded as idiotic as she believed herself to sound. Her mother never did either, though she was in Huffelpuff...

And just standing there was begining to make her feel stupid. She nearly rammed into them, rambled on about names and face recognition and stood there like a idiot. Yeah great way to start the school year Alyssa! she thought sarcastically. Great way to increase her amount of friends on her way to Hogwarts.

[Neville Franklin Longbottom]

Neville watched as the girl...Alyssa, he reminded himself. He really needed to get better at remembering names. Well, that whole display made him feel a bit better. At least he wasn't the only one who forgot that Harry Potter would be starting school this year.

He felt bad for the poor girl, with the way she met Harry at all. Though really, despite that blabbing over those Harry Potter books, she didn't seem all that bad either. Then again, they only just met, so it was probably way too early to figure out what kind of person she was.

Neville wondered if he should try talking to her. She could probably use some company too, like him and Harry could. Then again, after what just happened, he wouldn't be surprised if she wanted to get away from them. Well, there was probably no harm in at least trying anyway.

"So, uh, what brings you out here?" asked Neville, not thinking of anything else to say. Stupid me, can't even think of a better conversation starter. Though at least it was somewhat valid, considering most students were in their compartments.

[Alyssa Matthews]

Alyssa blinked. Hearing Neville's question. Figuring a conversation would be nice she went along with it. And gave him the cold honest truth "Avoiding pure-bloods who put blood above everything else and think anyone not in Slytherin is worthless," or at least that's what it seemed like to her. She didn't hate them, but she didn't like them either.

Deciding it would be better not to end the conversation with such a spiteful tone she returned the question with the same kindness received "So what about you guys?" she doubted anyone would be rude, or annoying, or would try to involve them into any conversations about the stupidity of muggle borns, or half bloods. Since Neville's parents went to Griffyndor, and Harry's mother was muggle born. Yes, Alyssa was like a mini library. Soaking up information. Though she didn't remember much of it unless repeated to her.

[Harry James Potter]

Harry's cheeks slightly reddened at the excitement she had. He guessed he still wasn't used to all of this popularity. He wanted someone to be nice to him for who he was, not because something happened and his parents died, and somehow some weird evil person was killed. It was Voldemort right? Wasn't that what Hagrid said?

"It's ok, Doris Crockford was worse," Harry replied still slightly embarrassed himself, but he held his head up high. The first appearance at the Leaky Cauldron was the first dose of a wave of popularity, and quite frankly he just wished he was like everyone else here. He definately liked the magic, just not all of the attention.

After that Harry wasn't sure what else to do, so he just stayed quiet and waited for Alyxssa's...? answer to Neville's question. It seemed that he and Neville were not the best at conversation starting. Harry's mind went to Ron who was probably still just waiting in his compartment. Harry hadn't been gone for too long, so he didn't worry too much.

"Looking for the trolly..." Harry replied having not heard that about Slytherin, but he would keep that in mind.