A Fresh Start

[Thomas]

((Congrats Lauren! I meant to reply but never got to it... been painting our new house everyday and it's taking ages! Sorry I'm too tired to reply now you two :/.))

[Thomas]

Nell snapped the door shut behind her.
"Get a grip Pennington and stop gawking." She barked out and grinned wickedly enjoying watching Alexis realise that she had been spotted.
Stepping across the carriage she quickly headed towards the window.
"So Penny... you really like him huh?"
The platform was empty now, whoever it was must have boarded the train. Not that she'd let that get in the way. Alexis didn't know she hadn't seen him and maybe she'd unintentionally let slip who it was.

[Nicci]

Wrinkling her brow and screwing up her nose, Alexis bolted upright and gently shook her head repeatedly in a horrified, unbelieving manner staring straight at the new arrival in the compartment. It was like she had just sucked a sour lemon. Who the hell did this newbie think she was talking too? And what was with the common shortening of her surname? She was a pureblooded heir not some low mannered muggle born.

“Excuse me!” she stated sternly back in Nell’s direction “Hello!.... Firstly I thought maybe with you being new to this school might explain your whole attitude.... thing you’ve got going on but clearly you just have no regard for the general social hierarchy. Secondly do you really think I would harbour such shallow emotions like that on my sleeve so that everyone can read? I’m not a Hufflepuff you know?”

“Whilst I’m quite impressed that you at least attempted to remember my name, yours I can’t say left as much of an impression. For the record I’m Alexis to you and your...kind, maybe we could always consider something friendlier but I don’t envision that happening in the near future somehow”.

[Jazzie C]

Jey sighed, already bored of the staff compartment of the train, filled with snoozing, middle aged bores in robes. She stood up, carrying a mug with her, filled with hot, sweetened tea, scented with peppermint and left the compartment gracefully, to walk up the train and pass the time. For such an old train, she noted, it was incredibly well kept... She sipped slowly on her tea as she walked the length of the seemingly never ending, red snake.

In spite of her dark purpose, she was excited to return to the only place she had felt at home. The castle was waiting for her, filled with secrets and knowledge and she itched for the journey to be over.

[Thomas]

Nell cackled, she was loving how much she had riled Alexis.
"Yeah actually I can read you like a book." She watched her intently, her head cocked slightly to the side.
She knew she was infuriating her and soon she'd reach for her wand.
"Of course I know your name", she scoffed "You prance around like you own the place, which is just hilarious because-" 
A crowd had started to gather at the door... this had kind of escalated quickly and Nell didn't really feel like humiliating someone in public - that really wasn't her thing. She grabbed the door handle to leave.
"My kind??? Whatever Pennington. I'm purer bred than you princess."  

[Nicci]

Heavily pacing down the aisle of the train in the direction of the prefect carriage, Heath quietly contemplated his thoughts about the journey so far. Not even that far out of London and already two of the new first years had gotten travel sick, he had gained a bulging pocket of contraband joke items and he hadn’t even started looking for the student he had promised the teary blonde haired girl he would find.
‘Oh for the love of Merlin…what now’ he thought to himself as he collided with a mass of students trying to smear their faces and ears up against the frosted glass of a nearby compartment door window.

“Alright break it up, get back to your compartments…nothing to see here” he bellowed sternly in a cold tone of authority, gliding his way effortlessly through the group like a hot knife in butter, with a good head height over some of the youngest.
“Don’t think I wont remember who to deduct house points from…”

Pausing as he reached the door, he observed the standing female silhouette and gently knocked on the glass, even as a prefect he still had to uphold the common decency of privacy and morally he couldn’t just barge in uninvited because of a few raised voices.

**********************************************************************

Infuriated Alexis’s blood boiled, she couldn’t actually believe there was somebody more obnoxious then she was. If it had been anybody else from the student body that she had spent years getting to know she might have been more eager to put them back in their place but a recent transfer student was verging on risky. She didn’t want to possibly make a mistake and end up looking stupid, but there was no way she would let this go. Slytherin’s didn’t do that.

“Because what, it’s actually true… speaking of books maybe next time when you borrow one of the new ones from the library you’ll value what a generous donation my father made to bolster your education.”

Smug with her answer, Alexis raised her eyebrow and shuffled back comfortably into her chair as a knock came on the glass.

“That must be your rock calling for you to go crawl back under”.

[Thomas]

Nell gasped in mock reverence, though she wasn't entirely sure Alexis would pick up on it.
"All those precious books? Your father must really care about our education"
Hearing the knock on the door she opened it and came face to face with the Heath.
Looking him up and down she stood with her hand still on the doorway and her head cocked to one side.
"Yeah?"

[Nicci]

Filling up a vast majority of the doorway, Heath maintained his confident composure and icily looked back at Nell. He didn’t need to look her up and down for she was a lot shorter than he was and her face like thunder clearly spoke volumes. She wasn’t impressed, but neither was he.

“I’d advise that if you want to continue to have your current conversation you might want to tone it down a fraction unless you both…” he began, glancing back out into the corridor and spotting Professor Jey inching closer to them carrying her china cup and saucer before returning to finish his sentence.

“Yes that means you as well Pennington, don’t think I can’t see you in the corner.. you both want to spend the first night back in detention with the new professor who will be upon you in about two minutes. Maybe you can go to lengths in your essay to her about your differences instead of participating in the formal activities of the evening”.

He thought that was more than fair, with the professor on the prowl he could have left them to find out the hard way. Although it seemed like he had stumbled onto the lair of the Durmstrang Snow Queen, he remembered those soft grey eyes and how underneath this chilly ruffled exterior was a very intelligent young woman, who’s thirst for advanced knowledge greatly excelled that of the measly loud-mouthed 6th year that she was batting around like a cat toy.
Whoever presumed Nell was still innocent and new to the school was just ignorant; Heath had a terrible habit of observing people on his patrol routes or alone at the dinner table when Sporus was either above the bleachers or under them. Nell was never flocked by half-hearted friends but when she had a sharp mind encasing a sharper tongue did she really need the hassle?


**************************************************************************

With Nell distracted briefly, Alexis suppressed the overwhelming need to childishly mimic her quietly to herself and slumped loathing her company with a huff. Who did Nell learn her social skills from a Hungarian Horntail?
As the door opened, Alexis groaned. Great that was all she needed Mr Snitch to stick his beak in where it definitely wasn’t wanted. Heath was already high on her most disliked list for reporting her and Blake the year before, closely followed by Miss Goody Muggle Two Shoes Robyn and now HER who had dropped in uninvited the Queen of Sheba.

[Thomas]

Nell realised she was frowning. How had her playful tease ended in her getting caught up in a petty sniping session. She was slightly ashamed of her behaviour, she was better than that, and she shouldn't feel the need to have the last word. Actually why should she care? Hogwarts sucked and being back in Britain sucked. Why couldn't she have stayed at Durmstrang? How would she learn anything here?
Nell's thoughts turned back to the young man standing in front of her. He clearly thought he was trying to help. How decent of him. A surge of dislike pulsed through her.
"And I'd advise you to keep your nose out of other people's business, Berkeley but I know that'd be pointless."
She pushed past him into the corridor and felt her eyebrows knit together again. Real mature of you Carter. The mean girl attitude really suits you.


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Mark continued down the corridor looking for Robyn and the gang, a slim girl shoved past him, looking a little upset. The corridor ahead was filled with onlookers and he recognised someone standing in the centre.
"Heath?" He grabbed him by the arm "Have you seen Robyn? Wait what's going on?"
He looked into the carriage which he had assumed would be bunged but appeared to be empty. Then he saw her. His lip curled in distaste.

[Nicci]

‘Pointless?’ Heath quizzed himself as Nell pushed her way past him and disappeared down the aisle. He didn’t think that his shiny shield shaped badge automatically made him nosy, it came with upholding rules and responsibilities but he certainly didn’t choose to barge in on people’s conversations for the kick of it. Rubbing his forehead with his fingertips he was left considering the minor details of her actions; the tense hand gesture, the jerky flick of her hair and the swift sturdy flee on the front balls of her feet indicated to him that maybe there was something deeper bothering her.

It was the heavy clasp on his arm that snapped his thoughts away from any last minute consideration away from his idea to let Nell have some space. Coming face to face with Mark and hearing his urgent, desperate question the penny quickly dropped as to the identity of the girl who he had helped onto the train. He was Mark White... he should have known.

“Nothing...” he began, not too sure of the exact details himself as to why Alexis and Nell hadn’t hit it off “A misunderstanding I think... nothing too serious”.
Noticing the wave of displeasure pass across Mark’s face as he gazed into the near empty compartment, Heath tried to gently guide him away from the open doorway and into the direction of Robyn. Placing a solid palm of sincerity on Mark’s shoulder he began to lead the way by a few short steps.

“Robyn is fine; a little emotional, but I brought her safely onboard the train. She’s in the end compartment by the next main door up on your right. You can’t miss it...”
Feeling a part smile inch onto the corner of his lips he stopped and pointed down the aisle in the general direction
“She was worried about you..”

*********************************************************

Glad that Nell had finally somehow got the message to leave, Alexis didn’t think things could get any worse until the ring of Mark’s concerned voice filled the empty space in the aisle of the train beyond the open door. The swell of humiliation and abhorrence in her stomach left behind by her encounter with Nell suddenly switched to unpleasant nausea. If looks could kill, Mark’s lip curl of loathing would have left her in a crumpled mess on the train’s wooden flooring. In response all she could do was offer a pathetic glare before shifting to lean miserably against the window as he and Heath disappeared out of sight.
Alexis didn’t have to overhear the conversation to know where he was going, probably lost his Mudblood comfort blanket no doubt. Oh that Robyn...
Closing her eyes tightly she sighed, she needed a plan. Something to get her back feeling on top again, to be unquestionably superior to know it all newbies and something more than anything to get muggle loving Hufflepuff anybodies out of her head. That wasn’t too much to ask for now was it?

[Jazzie C]

Jey took small steps down the train, quietly saying hello to one or two students here and there, giving off a sense of authority that no professor her age did. Her long hair fell gracefully past her shoulders and she flicked it away from her face from time to time, plastering a pleasant and oddly perfect smile across her face. She lightly bumped into a boy, with a proud stance, chest poofed up high. "Do excuse me dear, this old train, as well kept as it is, does jerk badly sometimes, doesn't it?" She said lightly.

Passing him she looked into the compartments here and there, checking on the students and that none of them were doing anything... well, foolish... like children do. She came across an almost empty compartment and poked her head around the door. It was rare to find space on this train. She saw a girl, sat, pale faced and tired looking, so she leant in and smiled. "You alright over there? You look a bit queasy!"

[Nicci]

Still only a few steps down the train aisle guiding and talking to Mark, Heath briefly acknowledged Professor Jey with a ‘not a problem at all’ nod of respect and smiled before returning his attention back to the 6th Year Hufflepuff.

**************************************************************

Alexis looked up as she heard an unfamiliar voice, initially she braced herself for another confrontation but there was something much calmer in the professor’s tone of voice then she had expected...it was almost friendly. Jey didn’t look like an average tutor from Hogwarts, usually Dumbledore hired the oldest fossils he could find who were monotonous and considerably boring. Her long naturally wavy auburn hair and green eyes were exceptionally beautiful and there was something about her chiselled facial expression that made Alexis wonder if Jey had a sterner side that wasn’t to be messed with.

“I’m fine, thank you for your concern Professor” Alexis began weakly but politely, still dwelling on the hurt left behind by Mark’s piercing look. “I just don’t think I’m as looking forward to going back to school as I thought I was, I’m not even allowed to attend the formal this evening”.

In a way her answer was semi truthful but she couldn’t just blurt out to a teacher about her secret feelings or that her outlet for it was to bully around muggleborn students and act highly elitist because that was the only way she would get noticed. She missed not having her brother’s cool logic around to rationalise her worries and boost her confidence, they were born into this world as a pair and without him she felt considerably lost.

[Thomas]

Mark didn't really hear Heath's response, he took in the general gist, then pulled away. He had to find her. Pushing past people in the corridor he saw her ahead of him and pushed on.
"Hey" he called and caught her arm just before she went through the door.
Nell turned to see Mark, trying to catch his breath.
"Yeah?" She let the door swing closed and looked down at her arm as Mark still held on.
"Look Alexis is a piece of work. Don't let her get under your skin. She's just not worth it." Mark blurted out between gasps. He really needed to exercise more.
Nell narrowed her eyes, studied him carefully and then smiled "I wont. Thanks."
Mark stared at her for a moment, he hadn't seen her about before and her stark accent confirmed his suspicions. "I'm Mark, are you new?"

[Nicci]

Still alone with Aria in the train compartment, Robyn found it difficult to concentrate as she twiddled her thumbs and anxiously kept looking at the door. Even though Aria usually loved to talk no one could ever break her away from a new book for very long until she had completely read it from cover to cover and just as Robyn feared someone had provided her friend with new material this year also. Most of the time she had Mark for company on the train journey but with him notably absent and Aria not even the slightest bit interested in having a girly chat about pressing evening matters there was little she could do but worry.

What if he didn’t make it on the train? What if he was still back in London on the platform with his mother? What if he actually found someone else to take with him to the formal? And why was the knot in her stomach squeezing tighter and tighter the more she thought about him?
Tense, Robyn jumped as she felt a gentle patting sensation on her elbow. Of course it was Aria offering a sympathetic gesture as she glanced up briefly from her textbook.
As she’d clearly disturbed her friend’s concentration by mumbling again, Robyn smiled trying to absorb any fleeting reassurance. Mark would be fine, maybe when the tea trolley came past she could follow and glance into every open compartment to look for him....but that still wasn’t for a good while yet.

As Aria turned away, Robyn inhaled deeply and closed her eyes hoping that this wasn’t the foreboding precursor to the dreaded C word. Change did a hefty blow of damage the last time it reared its head in her life, it had already taken her mother away from her it certainly wouldn’t take Mark as well.

*Flashback*
Life for that short carefree while felt blissfully perfect, relaxed on their backs in the shade of a majestic Horse Chestnut tree that fine August afternoon. Whilst the record breaking sunshine made the air stiflingly unbearable pushing temperatures over thirty five degrees Celsius for the majority of the day, the shadow was a welcomed retreat especially when complimented by one of Steph’s home made frozen lemon ice lollies.

With her head resting on the inner joint of her best friend’s shoulder, Robyn’s wispy blonde hair cascaded over his arm as she gazed up into the rich, leafy green canopy overhead pretending to frame the unforgettable view with her thumbs and forefingers.
The dappled rays of broken light danced around the elongated broad leaves, whilst the odd protrusions of new emergent ovoid husks swayed softly along with the gentle breeze. Summers spent with Mark were always fruitfully full of activity and joy, but like the mighty Chestnut they too waited patiently for the arrival of the autumn faced with the ever pressing will of change.

Retracting her arms to quickly salvage the dripping ice lolly that she had clamped between her teeth, Robyn gasped as a sticky bead of liquid ran down her cheek and she giggled, bolting upright to wipe it away with the back of her bare forearm. Mark however hadn’t noticed, his eyes were closed and his finished lolly stick rested somewhere out of sight, she still couldn’t help but turn and smile at him though. Their lives wouldn’t change from this would they? Was the impending threat of growing up really so ultimately final?

Carefully leaning over Mark’s rhythmically respiring chest rising and falling as he peacefully rested, Robyn chuckled as she placed her sticky lolly stick on the end of his nose with a balanced precision. The backs of her shoulders and exposed calves haphazardly cross hatched with indented lines from the short grass lances caused little concern as she stared far too deeply into his opened dark brown eyes. There was no room in her life for anyone else; Mark knew all her secrets, her hopes, fears and even her dreams. Why would she ever want to share everything again with someone new?

Collapsing back onto the grass, Robyn’s cheerful laugh pierced the serenity as Mark shoved her playfully away and lightly complained using his rather masculine nickname for her. She would always be Robbie no matter the change; she didn’t know if she would she be able to find the strength to defend it and their bond of undoubted friendship when put to the test against it but for now that was a worry for tomorrow. Today they just had each other, the best of friends they could have ever hoped to find.

*****************************************************

Surprised that Mark had taken off in a different direction than what he had given; Heath furrowed his eyebrows with a simple perplexity before shrugging the care away. With the tight schedule now in full swing there wasn’t much he could do but head in the direction of the prefect’s carriage and get the first patrol out to escort the tea trolley.

As he strolled confidently with his air of authority hung around his shoulders like a fur robe, the scent of freshly heated pastries and the caramelising of nearly burnt milk froth flooded his nostrils. It would have to be the usual purchase from the trolley again this trip, the faculty standard filter coffee wasn’t actually that bad if drowned in a generous mix of ordinary milk and a couple of sugars. Plus it came with one of those little extra rock hard biscuits that were a welcomed freebie.
Of course he would have to purchase one of those foul apricot swirly things for Sporus, for whenever HE happened to show his face. Probably still preoccupied sucking the face off of somebody about the train no doubt and who would no doubt conveniently would turn up after the trolley had finished its rounds to complain that it had gone out early.

Tutting to himself about his friend’s tardy behaviour, Heath passed into the designated prefect’s carriage and surveyed his band of motley recruits.

“OK listen up” he commanded before streaming off a roll call of names in alphabetically order from small scrap of parchment from his pocket, ending on Blake as his final P. “You eight know what to do and know exactly what time to be back to swap over. Don’t on any circumstances accept any shenanigans!”

His keen gaze came to a firm halt over the rows of headrests and burrowed into Blake turning it into a warning glare of disapproval. The Pennington’s in the past had been a major pain in the behind but with Blake’s reinstatement to a prefect Heath knew he had to start somewhere in rebuilding his trust for the Ravenclaw sixth year.

“Pennington!” Heath began, trying to start the conversation on the correct foot complimented by an appropriate tone before being interrupted by Ducky insisting that Blake is now to be called Posh Penny...for all time. Whatever that happened to idiotically mean.

Coughing to regain composure, Heath placed a firm hand on Blake’s shoulder as he rose to his feet. Maybe a lecture could wait; maybe it was too soon to ingrain him about keeping Alexis under a vigilant watch. Instead he offered him a hearty welcome grip and congratulation before slipping into the vacated chair on the opposite side of the isle next to a familiar seventh year.

[Nell Carter]

Nell hesitated... he seemed friendly and kind, hardly a threat. He looked familiar too, she thought back to last year and then remembered he was standing there with a slightly confused expression so she stuck out her hand and smiled
"Oh I'm Nell, I've just moved here, well actually I moved here after completing my exams in Durmstrang - my family came back and they wanted me to come here - to Hogwarts. It's where they went to school you see."
She paused, hoping that had sounded friendly, then her eyes widened as she realised where she recognised him from.