"What a strange lady..." brown eyes followed the backside of the woman who had recently spent nearly most of the ride questioning many of the students. Abelia eventually returned herself to the seat, leaning against the velvet thankfully as she pulled a black cat onto her lap. Two other people sat with her, a boy and a girl, who shared longing glances at each other and clung together like leeches. These two people happened to be her friends, and sadly it seemed as though some things had changed over the course of four years. Abelia realized that she had now become a third-wheel. Her long hands slowly stroked Lux, the black cat, as she absently stared out the window, watching the scenery change as fast as lightning,

"So, are you guys excited for this year?" there was a long pause, and then a soft sigh as Emilia, the girl, answered,

"Quite." Abelia forced a smile and nod, obviously annoyed by the one word response. [i]God, if you didn't want to talk, just say so![/i]

---

Eventually, Abelia found herself wandering back and fourth in the corridors, too giddy and annoyed with her friends to sit still. Lux sat daintily on her shoulder, meowing in protest every time she would whip around and walk the other way. Back ad fourth, back and fourth. The ornate carpet of the corridor swirled at her feet in waves as she moved over it, and she almost felt calm watching it. Soon, Abelia froze, staring at the ground. Around her, the sound of chit chatting in all the different compartments filled the silence. Gossip, spells, friends. She suppressed a loud sigh and instead turned around, walking back towards the cabin where her bags and "friends" still sat. No need to be sad, she reminded herself, she was better off alone, friends would only distract her learning. No, that was bull. Friends were very important to someone like her.

"I'll figure this out later..." she muttered to herself, finally reaching her cabin. As she reached the door, sudden claws dug into her shoulder, and Lux hissed, puffing up. Abelia lifted up her hand instinctively, grabbing the cat by the scruff to stop it from running off,

"Lux? What's up?" 

Chills. Sweat began to bead at her forehead, eyes widening. Maybe someone had opened a window? She slowly brought her hand back down to her side and she tightened her hands into fists. Something, maybe someone was making her feel nervous. She glanced down one side of the corridor, then the other, only finding an unsettling dimness had set in. [i]Calm, calm, it's probably nothing...[/i]

[b]Wham[/b]

A door opened suddenly, loudly, down the hall and with jerky, surprised movements Abelia latched onto her cabin door, pulled it open, and practically tripped inside. Lux leapt from her shoulder onto the seat, tail lashing. After regaining her balance, she turned and pulled the door shut, a smile of confusion at her own fear splayed on her face. Her friends were looking at her strangely,

"You okay, Nix?" asked the Lus, the boy. She turned to look at the two of them, eyes displaying her blatant fear but face revealing nothing at all. Her legs were shaking just a bit, but her shoulders were back, head high,

"Y-yeah, I just uh... Something surprised me is all." she told them, sliding into her seat. 

"Well, we're here, so I suppose we should start getting our stuff tog-" before Emilia could finish, a sudden darkness passed over the cabin. Before any of them could make a comment, though, the lights returned. Emilia and Lus smiled, appearing somewhat distraught, and began chit chatting about what that could have been, and Abelia, who had been stunned into silence, simply stared blindly out the window at Hogsmeade Station. Why was she so terrified right now? Her hands mechanically reached for Lux, gripping him tightly while trying to calm herself. What could that have been? Maybe a teacher with a terrifying presence, or a new kid?

"Nix... Nix? Abelia Nixus!"

She was pulled out of her thoughts by Emilia, who was standing in front of the open cabin door with a bag under her arm. Lus was gone, most likely waiting in the hall.

"C'mon, Nix, let's go do some shopping before we head over to the castle."

"Oh, yeah... Alright!" she managed to pep herself up a bit, slowly standing, collecting her bags, and running after the two to catch up.