Welcome to Hogwarts

The Hogwarts Express arrived at the station at Hogsmeade Station several hours later and the students inside gathered their belongings.

Throughout the long ride, Alexia and Neville were searching for Trevor. Hermione tried to help them for a while but she went back into her compartment to study more about magic to prepare herself.

Alexia and Neville were alright with it, however, and decided to stop the search after an hour. The three of them even used the rest of the time to get to know each other and Hermione even talked about spells she knew how to do.

Alexia showed off some of hers and even learned some new spells, thanks to Hermione.

When the Hogwarts Express reached its destination, Calista stood inside the restroom and checked herself in the mirror. She cleaned off the doodles from her face and made sure the smudges she left were cleaned off.

Twigs stood on the sink and watched her curiously. He chattered to get her attention and pointed at her chin.

She looked at him and lifted her head to see she missed a little under her chin. She groaned and wet down her wash cloth. "I'm gonna kill them," she muttered and wiped her chin down. "Nothing's coming off."

He chattered at her in response and idly poked the water pouring out, playing with it.

"I know it's fading," she whined and groaned. "But that's as good as I can get it," she added and sighed. "I tried to use my ability to get rid of it but it didn't work."

"Callie, we arrived at the station," Cedric called and knocked on the door. "We gotta go."

"Yeah, come on," Nymphadora chimed in. "He told me you've been in there for forty minutes. If you come out, I'll help you get those pesky twins back."

Calista stared at the door through the mirror and closed her eyes in annoyance. She turned off the sink and turned to open the door as Twigs hopped onto her shoulder.

Cedric and Nymphadora stared at her. They examined the markings and he shook his head. "I can barely see them," he reassured and shrugged. "It's not too bad, Cal."

"Yeah," Calista sighed and folded her arms with a frown. She furrowed her eyes and gave Cedric a pouty look. "But they're still there."

Nymphadora laughed and pointed at her. "You look like a walking drawing board."

Callie grimaced in frustration and narrowed her eyes as she glared at her. "That's not funny, Dora," she grumbled and wiped off her face. "It's embarrassing."

Dora smiled and chuckled before placing a hand on her shoulder. "Alright I'm sorry, it's not too bad. I was joking."

The trio heard laughing and Calista turned to see Lee Jordan pointing at her. "They did it," he exclaimed in between laughter and continued to walk. "They'd actually gone through with my dare!"

She watched him walk away and shook her head. She rolled her eyes and went back to her compartment to grab her trunk as the two followed her.

~*~

Outside Hogwarts gates, Elizabeth stood with her broom in her hand and propped it beside her properly. She stared at the castle a short distance away and idly drummed her fingers on her broom.

She felt a cold chill run down her spine and excitement at the pit of her gut. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, mentally preparing herself.

Elizabeth was really fond of her Hogwarts school year and had been looking forward to working there. She had been writing a letter to Dumbledore to check in and did mention she wouldn't hesitate to work there if there was an opening.