As Rhea headed for the train, trying to push the sad thoughts from her mind, she couldn’t help but note a few First Years around her. The ones that stood out the most to her were a couple of girls, twins by the looks of them, who had just come through the barrier. They had red hair like she did. She watched them get onto the train and gave a small and nostalgic smile. 

First year... that had been a great year. The feeling of anxiety and excitement that built up in you once you ran through barrier, the butterflies in the stomach as you rode the train. She kind of envied them for getting to experience the wonder for the first time. Still, as a student in her third year, she was going to get to experience some new things to. She was really looking forward to her new subjects. She had chosen Divination and Care Of Magical Creatures for hers. She wondered what the teachers would be like.

But most of all, she was really looking forward to Potions...

Ash gave an irritable sound from his cage. “Alright, alright!” Rhea told the bird and headed into the train. On her way, she saw a young girl, presumably a first year, talking with her older brother, and felt a small pang of sadness in her stomach. [i]I wonder how Robert’s doing,[/i] she thought as she got the train. 

Unlike most of the students, who stored their trunks in the back, Rhea brought her trunk and owl with her and found seats in an empty car, where she could read her new books in peace. Plus, she liked having Ash with her at all times, making sure he wasn’t getting up to trouble. She remembered how, in her first year, he had managed to escape from his cage once, and she didn’t want the same thing to happen this time. 

“I’m watching you,” Rhea warned Ash as she unlocked his cage and placed him on the seat next to her. Ash simply tilted his head innocently to one side. Rhea then took out her potions books and began to read. “‘The Wiggenweld potion’...” she began to read aloud. “‘Is a healing potion with the power to awaken someone from a magically induced sleep. The ingredients for this potion are as follows’...”