Books in Advance {Open}

[Deleted]

Hestia was excited to get back to Hogwarts for her final year, so much so that she turned up to the station almost an hour earlier than what she needed to be. Partly, it was because she couldn't take anymore of her mother's shrill screams when she'd seen that Hes wasn't dressed up and putting make up on, but rather had returned to her usual choice of a checkered shirt and jeans. Her mother looked ready to demand that she change, but a bit of commotion from her sister's bedroom in the form of a boy quickly drew her attention away for her youngest daughter's choice of clothing.

She'd finished packing her last few things as quickly as she could and taken her case and carry on down stairs, popping back upstairs long enough to say a quick goodbye to her still ranting mother and ashamed sister, but the words were lost on them both. The only person who returned her goodbye was the boy in Gwen's room that Hes had never even met before, and it only inspired another round of yelling from her mother. Oh dear.

She goodbyes to her father had been just as brief since he was running out the door for work, but Hes was sure that in a few days, when everything had cooled off, she'd get a letter from them saying their proper goodbyes then. It wasn't even 10am when Hestia apparated into the hidden room at  King's Cross and headed for the barrier that would take her onto platform 9 3/4. 

Later, Hestia would have to go along to the prefect's carriage for the start of term meeting - something that was made even more exciting now that she was Head Girl for the year, and she was genuinely curious to find out who the Head Boy was that she would be working with this year. Until then, though, Hest found herself a compartment of her choosing, stored away her luggage, and pulled out a book. It was never to early to start learning.

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Outfit:Here!
Words: 343
Notes: Open to anyone!

[Adelaide Ingram]

Addie marched through the station for what would be the second-to-last time, but that was hardly on her mind. Two years still seemed like a long span of time, so she needn't worry about wars or jobs or moving out just yet. Two years, yet, of freedom, where her biggest worries were keeping up with NEWT level classes and when the next party was. She entered the platform alone; her parents, being Muggles, never really felt quite right passing through the barrier and experiencing her world. The first couple years, of course, they had accompanied their daughter to the train, but now that this was old habit, they let her go on her own. She'd given them a loving goodbye as they dropped her at King's Cross station, but entered solitarily. She would, of course, miss them dearly; she loved her family a great deal, but she was just as eager to get out from their watchful eye. They had been a bit more protective over their younger daughter, with good reason, but Addie had no desire to be babied. She wanted to have fun, and this year would surely be full of it.

There was no question to what house she belonged as she entered Platform 9 3/4. The only thing brighter than the red dress she donned was the gold accessories, and her golden heels clicked rhythmically on the hard floor as she walked. Of course Adelaide would take advantage of one of the last days of warm weather, before the cold settled in and made her don a little bit more. And also one of the last few hours before she would inevitably need to change into her Hogwarts robes, but she would delay that as long as possible in favor of her own wardrobe. It was obvious from her color scheme that she was a proud Gryffindor - why did she have to wear the official robes to prove it?

Addie was a bit early, but she spent a little time socializing on the platform before following the crowd onto the train. She dragged her luggage up the steps, and slipped into a compartment that she thought at first glance was empty. She simply picked the nearest one; odds are, she would end up wandering to find someone to talk to, or someone would find her. However, as it turned out, she had found someone unintentionally, because when she entered the compartment she noticed a familiar looking girl with her nose in a book. "Oh, I'm sorry, may I sit here?" she asked, quickly covering up for her blunder, waiting for a response before stowing her luggage up above.

[Deleted]

Hestia wasn't sure how long she'd sat there, but she'd managed to read at least two chapters of her book without being disturbed at all, and the train still hadn't started moving. She'd become aware of the increasing number of voices outside of her compartment but she didn't pay much attention, absorbed in the pages before her. 

Eventually, though, someone else entered the compartment she was in and Hes looked up, half expecting either a roommate had spotted her, or she'd see a scared first year looking for an empty space. What she hadn't expected was the girl that appeared there - a Gryffindor, if Hes remembered correctly, and in the year below her.

"Oh, I'm sorry, may I sit here?"

Hestia sent the blond girl a smile and slipped her bookmark between the pages of her book before placing it down on the seat beside her. "Of course. I'm only here until the prefect meeting starts, but company is always welcomed." She always liked to talk to new people, even if some people still took her for the quiet, solitary type. "How was your summer?"  

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[Adelaide Ingram]

Addie was inwardly very grateful that the person she'd intruded upon was so kind and welcoming to her mistake. It would've been awful to stumble upon a nasty Slytherin who would've made Addie pay for walking in on them. But she thought she recognized this person, from where, she didn't know, but her instinct told her that she was a Ravenclaw. She gave her wide beaming smile to express her gratitude as she lifted her trunk into the overhead storing space, and took a seat. As she did so, it became clear where she recognized this girl - a prefect, she said. Addie couldn't say she knew all the prefects, but it was definitely something that would stand out in her memory. She wasn't prefect material herself - maybe a little too reckless for the job, or too unstable - but this girl seemed nice enough, and she would love to start the year off befriending someone new.

"My summer was terrific," Addie answered as she settled in. Nothing remarkable had happened, but Addie just spent a lot of her time with her family and travelled a little bit. It was a standard summer for the Ingrams. And she wouldn't have it any other way; with all the stress associated with school, and the drama and misery overtaking the wizarding world, it was kind of nice to have those few weeks as a normal, Muggle family. "I went to Italy with my family, and other than that I did things around home or just relaxed. I wouldn't ask for anything more," she finished cheerfully before adding, "Yours?" as if they were two friends catching up after a summer apart. It made her wonder a bit whether she knew who Addie was, but Addie didn't know who she was. She racked her memory as to whether she knew her apart from being a prefect, but could not come up with anything.

Confirming that this was indeed their first meeting, Addie took the liberty of introducing herself. "I'm Adelaide Ingram, by the way," she mentioned as a proper introduction - before recommending her nickname. "But I usually go by Addie." she finished. But the compartment wasn't completely silent, because there was still the muted bustle of students in the hallway shuffling to find a seat. She looked at them through the glass for a moment before turning her head back to the inside of the compartment, and her eyes fell on the book that had been cast aside upon her entrance. "What are you reading?" she asked curiously.