Avice held back, fiddling with her hair a few more times. She wanted to make a good first impression for her first day back at school. She wanted to be thought pretty, she wanted to be liked, and regarded with respect. She wanted all these things from both her classmates, teachers, and her elder brother, Sorin, who stood just outside the carriage.

Avice jumped out of the carriage after her cousins. She wanted to embrace her brother, Sorin, but held back. Last year he had scolded her for being too childish and embarrassing with her affection. So, she grabbed the edge of her skirt and curtsied so deeply her knees trembled. “Thank you, Sorin.,.”

He rolled his eyes. “Out with you.” He did not look at her, but instead gazed toward the throng of children. He wore a thin frown on his face. Avice wondered what was bothering him, but before she could ask he waved his hand. The gesture was a command, it pushed her away. “I will see you soon enough.”

She obeyed, after giving two smaller much more clumsy curtsies, and skipped away and caught up with her cousins.

She wondered how it was that they had been sorted into Gryffindor and herself into Slytherin. Of course they were going to be together, but, she was sad that the three were somehow apart. She was [i]not[/i] as close to them as they were to each other. Her mother explained that they shared a womb, they shared magic, they shared a soul... Perhaps Avice was just jealous that anyone could be so close to anyone. She and her own brother had grown distant as he got older, but that would never happen to Chandler and Issac they were the same age. Avice felt awfully lonely over the summer. It seemed to her that she had hardly seen the twins or her cousins, then her brother ignored her, and there was no one her own age!

She hooked her around the elbow of each twin, one on her left and one on her right. Avice kept her head on a swivel, scanning for their other cousin, Tullia, and her fiance Diarmuid.

She hadn’t decided how she felt about Diarmuid, the same way one does not decide how to feel about the coming of Wednesday, or sunrise, or death, until it's there. Diarmuid was a fact of life. One day it will be Wednesday, and one day she will marry, have children with, and grow old with Diarmuid. Maybe Tuesday she would have a rather useless opinion about Wednesday, for, Wednesday would arrive without delay. She was only 13 and theses were such adult concerns. That time of her life felt so far away...

Here and now was her third year at Hogwarts. Family, friends, quidditch, and magic filled her present life. 

“Oh cousins, it is cruel of the sorting hat to put us on different houses while we all have such a talent for quidditch… When they make me the seeker of Slytherin, Gryffindor will have no chance at the house cup!” She teased the twins, tugging on their arms playfully.

~~~

Ingerith took the shape of a man. Sun-tanned skin, blonde hair, muggle mercenary armor. She held the thestral reigns tightly, too tightly, she made the beasts anxious. Normally she would feel safer once she got her students into Hogwarts, yet, after her meeting with the headmaster she knew to keep her eyes open for enemies within and without the castle. 

She had left the meeting frowning and bitter. [i]'I should have known better. No pure blood would truly make a place for the lost ones...' Yet, Hogwarts was still better than nowhere. The lost ones would need to be on their guard their whole lives and they would need to start now. It was a hard lesson: They were safe from neither muggles nor wizards.

She stepped down to open the side of the wagon. A small cluster of faces looked at her wide-eyed. Most were first years, others older students who needed a ride to the castle. Ingerith had made arrangements for all of them, the ones she could not she had to fetch herself.

“We are here now, this is Hogwarts, the Wizarding school.” She counted, making sure she had the same number as when she set out. “Your safer here than out in the world, but, remember that not everyone can be trusted.” She had warned them of the dangers beforehand, but, best to refresh their minds before they got enamored by all the magic and wonder they were about to witness. “I’ll be here to watch out for you, but be sure to watch out for each other, and yourselves especially.”

She then stepped aside and let the first year children out of their carriage. Far too many of them could see the thestrals, and kept fearful eyes upon the strange creatures until they made ample distance. She stood by the thestrals, apologizing for her tight handed guidance over their journey. 

She recognized the returning students, everyone took transfiguration. The lost ones she had brought in years past would recognize her in this disguise, and some of the other students might as well. She would nod softly if she caught eyes with those that new her.