Ride to The Castle For The Last Time ||OPEN||

[ZELLA HARRIET MOON]

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The first of September fell on a thursday this year. Zella didn't think it was too bad because it meant first lessons tomorrow and then the weekend. It was almost the perfect way to start back at school. She sat on the train alone getting changed into her uniform, her friends had wondered off as they'd changed earlier while she'd been reading. She'd listened to them talk and gossip, discuss which boys they fancied getting their hands on this year and who they thought might be successful outside of Hogwarts, the ones that would make 'good husbands so they wouldn't have to work'. Zella hated that sort of attitude but she said nothing. She was wanting a career of her own, she didn't want to depend on any man. That had been what her mother had done and all though t was expected of Zella, she was not going to fall in line. She had until the age of twenty-five according to her mother, to find a suitable man with whom to settle down before her mother interviened. This was generous as Zella's father had stepped in when her mother announced she would be setting her up with suitors this year. Zella absolutely adored her father and thanked him for the extra time because she knew when she became twenty-five, her father would convince her mother to just 'let her be' as he so often said. Zella had no clue what her sister Zelda was up to, whether she'd marry quickly, have mother set her up or stand up for herself. Zelda was the sort that enjoyed all that pure bloodedness but that just wasn't the lifestyle for Zella.

It was Zella's last year of school. She was actually looking forward to graduating but she knew she'd miss the special things about Hogwarts. The lake was always inviting, even in the middle of winter when the vast majority was frozen over. The skyline of the mountains were stunning all topped with snow and she'd miss viewing them for the towers. The grounds of the castle, no matter the weather, were enchanting, she always seemed to be suckered in for a walk to find what was new that day. Her favourite thing of all, that she would sorely miss, was the carriage ride up to the castle. It occurred just a few times year from your first year after christmas holidays onwards but to Zella the beginning of the year was the most exciting part of the year and the best part about being a Hogwarts student.

Zella was one of the first off of the train but she did not head to the front like most did, eager to get to the feast. After all the feast wouldn't start until everyone was there, the sorting had occurred and the speech was made. Zella chose to hang back and get in the very last of the carriages. Some said that was where the freaks sat but she didn't care, maybe she was a freak, maybe she'd meet some freaks, all she knew was that her journey was going to be over all too soon so she would enjoy as much of it as possible.

The carriages at the front were starting to take off which made Zella's stomach churn a little. Couldn't they wait just a couple more minutes? She looked about her carriage and it was still just her. Maybe she'd be alone, maybe she'd have come last minute company, whatever the situation she would enjoy herself and her final first ride of the school year to the castle. All her luggage would soon be on its way up to the castle and eventually headed towards her dorm and she would follow. The great hall and then her dorm to rest for a new day of being a Hogwarts student.

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tag: open
wearing: Slytherin Robes
comments: Zella's in a good mood! Not much could bring her down![/justify]

[LUCA ASH CARMICHAEL]

Luca huffed as she ran toward the carriages. Her lungs burned from the short sprint. She was incredibly unfit from lack of exercise over the summer, and now regretted the extra servings of ice cream. Thank god. The carriages were just beginning to leave. She drudged up to the end of the line, crawling into the last carriage. She hoped for an empty one, but alas, someone sat across from her with slightly raised eyebrows. "Hello, may I have permission to die here?" she gasped, plopping into the nearest seat. 

This wasn't the way she usually introduced herself, and Luca immediately started fretting over how her carriage-mate would see her. Sweaty, gasping, with her tie askew, she probably looked like a complete slob. She straightened her posture and looked across to see whose carriage she had intruded upon. Slytherin robes, blond hair, Zelda something-or-other. They had shared a few classes here and there over their six years at Hogwarts, but didn't know each each other past that. She seemed normal. 

Luca finally glanced down at her watch. She wasn't late. In fact, this carriage probably wouldn't move for at least another quarter hour. How embarrassing. "Hi, I'm Luca." It sounded like a question instead of a definitive statement of her identity. "The door to my train compartment jammed shut after everyone else went to change into their robes. I managed to shake the thing loose after everyone had left the train, but I thought I was late, so I ran all the way here. Interesting start to the year, but hopefully the rest will be a bit calmer. " 

Luca reached up to re-tie her tie and fix her hair, watching the front carriages roll toward the castle. One by one, they began to stutter forward. Her breath had begun to return to normal pace, as well as her heartbeat. She calmed down, realizing that she wasn't going to miss the carriages, or the ride to the castle, or the first night or school. She had been doing nothing but worry since she got on the train. A flurry of what ifs floated through her mind. What if she flunked this year? What if she hadn't done enough reviewing? What if the train crashed and killed everyone inside? She had immediately pushed this last thought out of her head. The train had not crashed, and everyone, as far as she could tell, had gotten off unharmed. She knew that she shouldn't worry so much, but her overactive brain was busy compiling everything else that could possibly go wrong. It was her last year, and she wanted everything to be perfect and run smoothly. Unfortunately, starting it stuck in the train was not her idea of smooth. 

[ZELLA HARRIET MOON]

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Zella just loved the carriages, she was getting ready to lay back and look up for a moment when the door of the carriage opened up and in climbed Luca, a girl Zella recognised from her own year but hd never really spent much time talking to. Still company was welcome right now, it was always nice to enjoy special moments with people and if this person became a good friend then it was a good way for them to have met officially.

"Hey Luca, I recognise you from class. I'm Zella." It sucked the Luca nearly missed out on the way to Hogwarts because of a faulty train carriage door but at least she'd been able to get out, that was a good thing. "Damn, that sucks, you sure no one was pranking you? Seems like the kind of thing some of these kids would do." And that was probably one of the nicer things they could have done, there was a lot more sever pranks that happened at Hogwarts, it seemed nearly everyone thought themselves a master prankster.

More and more of the carriages were moving forward and excitement grew in Zella's stomach. She was looking forward to this year, soon they would be on their way up to the castle and she hoped she could make this carriage ride last a while. "Looking forward to this school year?" She asked Luca but she wasn't looking at her, she was too busy looking outside at the scenery, there was so much to take in, she half wanted a job at Hogwarts when she was finished but what could she do? There was no way she'd be in the library and she wasn't exactly the type to train to be a healer and taking care of the grounds was not something she could ever see herself doing. She supposed if she really knuckled down to her studies she could be a Porfessor but she'd need more life experience before she'd be accepted as a staff member in that capacity, maybe she could be the care taker of the castle or a teaching assistant? The classes were getting bigger and bigger as each generation birthed more children, perhaps it was times they had teachers aids at school.

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tag: open
wearing: Slytherin Robes
comments: How Zella really feels *Last year of Hogwarts, try not to cry like a little baby*[/justify]

[LUCA ASH CARMICHAEL]

Luca hadn't even considered that someone would purposely trap her in the carriage. It seemed like such a pointless thing to do. It wasn't public, and she wasn't the type to tell everybody about every little thing that happened in her life. It wasn't even a good prank. "I think,"  she said, still running through situations in her head "if someone went to the trouble of jamming a carriage door, they would have stayed to watch my panic. But I was definitely the last one off of the train" She continued to ponder possibilities. She had no enemies, and wasn't particularly interesting, even in a panicked state. It was too early in the year for pranks. 

The year? Luca hadn't given it much thought. "Sure, who isn't? It's our final year." she replied, slightly absentmindedly. She was excited for her final year, but at the same time, it was beginning of the end. She worried that after this school year she would be stuck with a boring desk job at the ministry or something to that extent. She tried to be optimistic about the future, but she still wasn't quite sure what she wanted to do with her life after graduation. Nothing felt right to her. She didn't want to teach because she didn't particularly like the idea of talking at teenagers for the rest of her life, she was too smart for a simple job at one of the shops in Hogsmeade, not to mention her lack of people skills. Being a mediwitch- she could help people, which would be nice, but she would have to deal with stupid people doing stupid things to themselves and others. There was absolutely no chance of her settling down and having a bunch of children right after school- she hated the things, and besides, eighteen was a bit young for settling, wasn't it? She supposed if she really couldn't decide what to do she could always spend a year dabbling in things. Her mother wanted her to spend some time doing muggle things- going to museums and the theatre and such, but she couldn't spend a full year doing that, could she? 

Luca looked out at the carriages again, slowly crawling toward the lights of the castle. It was a good night to start off the year. The air was cool and the sky was clear, allowing for a lovely view of the stars. It would be a good night for astronomy, but classes didn't start tonight. Besides, Luca hadn't signed up for astronomy this year. She had enjoyed the class in previous years, but it didn't feel very useful, so she had decided not to take it. 

[DIMITRI ARTEM DOLOHOV]

Dimitri's tongue flicked a droplet of blood from his bottom lip as his fist reared up to shoulder height before slamming into the nose of the Mudblood sixth year in front of him. The lad fell backward onto the carriage seat as Dimitri laughed out loud, momentarily distracted enough to allow one of the other blood traitors to ram into him from the side and knock him sideways into the carriage door, which swung open. Yelling obscenities in surprise, Dimitri clung to the side rail of the moving carriage, legs scuffling through the mud on the ground as he fought to stay on the vehicle to no avail. His friends were still inside continuing the rukus with the filth who had invaded their carriage, which now rocked from side to side precariously, causing Dimitri to lose his hold and tumble to the floor, rolling across the dirt and landing on his back, winded.

Cursing, he wiped a dirty hand over his mouth to get rid of the coppery blood that oozed from his lip, and prayed to all the gods that his friends would win the fight and have some decent news of it to tell him up at the castle. How dare filthy Mudbloods invade their carriage! They were so far beneath Dimitri, he couldn't stand to have their germs all over his body, let alone their presence in an enclosed space. He didn't understand why they were at the school. Or how they were magic in the first place, for Merlin's sake, they were just flukes! Absolute freaks of nature that shouldn't even exist. And Half-bloods weren't much better, worse in some ways! They actually chose to taint their bloodline. Chose it, like they had lost all of their marbles at once. Shaking his head in disgust, he pushed himself to his feet as carriages rattled past him, brushing clumps of soggy mud from his trousers and forming a quick plan. The final carriage in the line was coming up, and he ran to it, taking a leap of faith and jumping onto the side of it, clinging to the rail and using a foot to push the door open as he slid inside to find two girls.

Zella Moon was the same house and year as he, and she was of pure blood, so Dimitri nodded to her, at least affording her a small bit of politeness, though he had heard things about her that displeased him. The other girl was also blonde, and Dimitri knew she had tainted blood, whatever her name might be, so he merely glanced at her long enough to identify that she wasn't worth his time. "Ladies," he greeted, feeling his left eye swell up as he spoke. "Mind if I hitch a ride?" A charming grin flashed across his beaten features and he sat at the far side of the carriage, away from both girls, but closer to Zella, given the choice. She was also the one he addressed mainly, since he didn't really have the mind to afford too much attention on the Half-blood. "I seem to have misplaced my own carriage."

[ZELLA HARRIET MOON]

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Zella could have snorted and asked the girl if she was some kind of idiot but she chose to be nice. This was their last year and if the girl didn't know how pranks worked and what idiots were like then Zella wasn't going to take off hose rose tinted glasses. It would just be cruel of her to teach someone that the general student and prankster was actually quite a dick. They did things, laughed for a moment and then moved on, especially if there was a grand feast to be getting to. Besides, it may not have been a prank, perhaps there was someone that disliked Luca.

Zella mistook Luca's absentmindedness for snobbishness. Zella frowned a little and looked in a different direction. She had to share a carriage with Luca so she may as well make the most of it. This was her last school year and this was her last proper chance to ride to the castle in the school carriages. She wasn't going to let some snobby little so and so ruin her journey, she was going to HOLY F--- Zella jumped and took a deep breath as they were joined by Dimitri. Great. A pure blood extremest and a snob. Just the right people to share her journey with. Still, the ride was going to beautiful, she could block out these two and just look at the world around them as their cart was making its way up to the castle. It was a good idea to chose the last carriage still. She had longer to appreciate the sight of everything around her.

Dimitri sat a little closer to Zella than he did Luca which gave Zella the impression that Luca may not be a pure blood. Zella never cared about that sort of thing, though her sister did. It was funny how parents could influence so many small minds. People that weren't willing to think for themselves. People like Zelda and Dimitri. Thinking they were better because what? They came from a long line of magic? To Zella it was more impressive if you didn't come from a magical family.

"You misplaced you carriage?" She asked sceptically. "What a very stupid thing to do." Zella didn't care if she wound Dimitri up. She might be able to have a little fun on the ride up seeing as he was a rude so-and-so.

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tag: Lucille Ash Carmichael, Dimitri Artem Dolohov, Open
wearing: Slytherin Robes
comments: I get a Lucid AND a Page! I'm so lucky!!