The Experience of the First Ride Home (Esmerelda))

[Zeak Nitesh G2]

Zeak struggled with his trunk. The large bulky item was proofing diffucult to cart through the winding staircase of the castle as he made his way toward the Hogsmeade Station. Gizmo sat in his cage, hooting his complaint everytime Zeak bumped his cage, which happened a lot. He was nearly out of breath, and he hadn't even made it halfway down Gryffindor Tower yet. He sighed as he set his stuff down, wiping a bead of sweat off his brow. "This was a lot easier at the beginning of the year." He remarked, although he remembered that he had not been the one to carry up his stuff. It had magically appeared in the room and was waiting for him to show up. Zeak's mind had been blown, this had been his first year at Hogwarts and oh what a trip it had been. Zeaks one regrett was that he never actually got to see the wonderful sights, but he had experienced them, and done many awesome things himself. That alone, was enough to make him happy.

"Need some help with that little guy?" He heard behind him. Zeak jumped as a older boy joined him. "Locomotor Trunk" Zeak heard and could feel his trunk begin to levitate. "Come on kid, this way. Before the train leaves ya." The boy chuckled and Zeak actually entertained the idea of hanging back and letting the train forget him. It was the image of his family that made him fall into step behind the boy and join the large crowd at the station. Zeak heard his trunk being set down. "Thank you." He managed to say to the boy before the boy bade him farewell and was gone. Now that he was here Zeak had a much easier time in carting his stuff.

In no time he had his trunk loaded and was inside an empty compartment. Zeak felt the train give a tug as it began its journey. After a few minutes he allowed Gizmo out who perched himself on the window sil and hooted excitedly everytime something new popped up outside the window. Zeak leaned back, placing his head against the window and smiling as he listened to Gizmo's excited hoots, wishing that he was able to share in the sights that his best friend was viewing. Zeak lost all track of time and had no idea how long the ride had been going when he heard the door to his compartment open.

[Esmeralda Mendez]

Ezzie was fuming. That stupid Slytherin had really gotten on her nerves, and she was going to pay for it. Ezzie knew she wasn't going to be the one to make her pay, but it wouldn't take long for someone with a lot less patience than her to slap her across the face a few times. And then maybe a tongue tying curse, to keep her smart mouth shut. That would be perfect for that stupid girl. Ezzie smiled as she imagined the girl trying trying to undo the curse, but not being able to say it. She chuckled a little as she noticed a slightly empty compartment near the front of the train. There was only one boy there, and he seened to be a first year in her house. She smiled kindly as she opened the compartment door and sat down across from the boy.

"Is it okay if I sit here?"She asked the boy politley. She remembered her trunk and other things were still in the other compartment. She sighed as she drew out her wand.

"Oh, hold on just one moment." She rolled her eyes thinking about the girl back in the other compartment, chuckling, thinking how cowardly this Gryffindor was, not to go and get her stuff herself. Ezzie just wasn't in the mood to have another row with the ugly leech, and she was too lazy to lug her trunk all the way to the front of the train, anyway.

"Accio trunk!" Ezzie said clearly. She heard a couple of bumps, crashes and giggles coming from the corridor outside as her trunk came thumping along into her compartment.

"I'm Ezzie, by the way. Ezzie Mendez. I'm a Gryffindor, just finished my third year." Ezzie tried to shake off her angry expression. She smiled. "What about you?" Ezzie settled herself down as she picked up her cat and scratched behind her ears. She waited for the boy to reply.

[Zeak Nitesh G2]

"Huh?" Zeak mumbled as he stood up straight as he heard someone enter his compartment. He had nearly been dozing, a small line of drool had actually escaped the corner of his mouth and he quickly wiped it away. He had just recovered when the girl asked if she could sit here. Zeak merely nodded, being at a loss for words having been caught by surprise by the arrival of the girl. She quickly said a spell, Zeak knew it and knew he wasn't able to do it quite yet. Luckily he had recovered enough and was aware enough to shoot a hand out and snatch a hold of Gizmo's leg before the owl gave a shriek of surprise and attempted to flee as the trunk bounced into the room. Zeak sighed and allowed the owl's hysteria to play out before Gizmo settled himself back down on the window sill, still watching the new occupant warily.

"Sorry about that." Zeak said as the girl introduced herself. He was glad the girl was a Gryffindor, he found that his experiences with other Gryffindors usually ended well. Ravenclaws tended to be a little overcurious about his conditions, and Hufflepuffs tended to pity him. He gulped a little as he thought over the mean and snide remarks that the Slytherins threw his way. He was glad that he had at least escaped these prejudices on his ride back home. It wouldn't do good to have a bad experience right before seeing his family once again. "Its nice to meet you." Zeak cocked his ears, listening to the tiny sound of scratching and purring. The girl had cat with her, no wonder Gizmo was still being a bit edgy.

Suppressing a chuckle Zeak turned his face toward where the girl was sitting. Easily locating her by the sound of her scratching her cat. "My name is Zeak. I'm also in Gryffindor. This was my first year." He grinned as he reached a hand up and gently stroked Gizmo. "I'm a.....a....." He searched for the word that they had used in school. "Mu...gg..le born?" He said in a questioning tone and paused, finally deciding it was the right term. "Yea, Muggle born. So all of this was pretty new to me." He chuckled. "It's safe to say that my mind has been officially blown."

[Esmeralda Mendez]

Before long, the trunk flew into the room, coming to a halt right in front of Ezzie, who gave her wand another lazy flick and it flew neatly into the rack above her. She smiled at the boy who looked utterly confused and slightly frustrated at his owl who was hooting around the compartment making a lot of noise. She giggled as she saw the owl looking nervously towards Nena who seemed amused by the owl's attitude.

"Sorry about that." Zeak said after Ezzie introduced herself. "Its nice to meet you." Ezzie liked that this boy was polite, not sassy and back talking like most of the first years that thought they were the top of the universe for getting accepted to Hogwarts. He wasn't too timid either, like the other firsties who ran at the sight of older students.

"My name is Zeak. I'm also in Gryffindor. This was my first year." He grinned as he reached a hand up and gently stroked his owl.

"It's nice to meet you, Zeak. Who's your little friend over there?" Ezzie said, nodding her head towards the boy's owl.

"I'm a.....a....." He paused for a minute, trying to figure out which word to use. Ezzie could tell Zeak was very new to Hogwarts and the world of magic. She remembered being the exact same way, fumbling for words and looking surprised everytime someone said a spell, or when the paintings talked. She even laughed when her prefect told her the stairs like to move, and screamed when they did. "Mu...gg..le born?" He said in a questioning tone. He nodded, reassuring himself he had used the correct vocabulary. "Yea, Muggle born. So all of this was pretty new to me." He chuckled. "It's safe to say that my mind has been officially blown." Ezzie laughed too. This boy was just like Ezzie in her first year at Hogwarts. She gaped and gasped at everything magical and kept pinching herself to tell her body this dream was amazing, but it was time to wake up and get back to the real world, where she lived in a homeless shelter, not a castle. She was always surprised when she didn't wake up from that amazing dream, and she's been living it ever since. Of course, there were downsides to being a witch. Her parents thought she was evil and tried to drown her, Ezzie couldn't forget that. That was the very reason why she was forced to live at the shelter, working fifteen hours a day, six days a week.

Ezzie smiled, despite her painful memories. "I'm a muggle born too. I remember my first year. I gasped and giggled at everything, and kept pinching myself to see if I was dreaming." Ezzie laughed a little.

"So besides being blown out of your mind, how was your first year in the magical world, Zeak?" She asked, tilting her head a bit.

[Zeak Nitesh G2]

Zeak continued to pat Gizmo who, after a few pats, took flight once again and moved to land on top of the luggage rack. Zeak sighed and dropped his hand into his lap. "Stupid owl." He muttered. Gizmo seemed to hear and understand this and gave a disgruntled hoot aimed at Zeak. Zeak merely ignored the owl, probably still a bit wary of the cat, and turned his attention back toward Ezzie. He chuckled as he listened to her describe her first year and than asked how his had gone. "My first year?" He thought back, he had had so many experiences. Many good, many bad, and many in between. It was hard to sort them all correctly.


"I suppose you can accurately call it a healthy mix. I have some great memories of meeting other Gryffindors. They seem to the be nicest of all the houses so I'm glad i was sorted there. Even the upper years treated me kindly." He chuckled. "Ravenclaws, ever curious, a little like me I suppose. They couldn't help but poke and prod me with questions and studies. The Hufflepuffs weren't bad, although I've never been one to like being pitied so much." He sighed, his happy memories stopped with those houses. "But the Slytherins, they were the worst. First were all the comments and jokes about my blood, and my condition."

A certain memory infiltrated his mind. One of meeting a Slytherin Girl by the name Of Ash who had hexed him and than dragged him outside and than began to dunk him in the lake. Threatening to let him drown, or giving him up to the squid. Zeak shuddered at the thought. "Or just plain old bullying from higher years." He sighed. "All in all though, I believe the good experiences far outweighed the bad ones, and I wont let them stop me from achieving my dream." He grin triumphantly and even managed to pump a fist into the air, until he realized the childness of his action and quickly replaced the hand to his lap.