"Rooooy... Rooooyyyy. ROY!"
Roy blinked, his mind coming back to his family. "Yeah, Nolan?"
"It's time to board," his little brother responded with a laugh, tossing a bag at Nolan.
Nolan nodded, looking up at the scarlet engine once more. Just moments before he'd seen it effortlessly come to life, taking the form of an enormous red sea serpent. He'd seen every angle of the metamorphosis, the train turning slowly in his mind as it changed. he had then suddenly found himself underwater with the serpent, an enormous squid, much large rthan the giant squid of the Black Lake headed towards them. It was then that Nolan had called him out of it. A red sea serpent, that would make a good subject.
He picked up his trunk from where his parents had left it. They had come to see Nolan and Roy off accompanied by one of their older brothers. It was a quick, but warm good-bye. They'd seen off their share of sons, and even Nolan who in his first year had pleaded for his parents to stay until the train left, had told them he was okay. The boy had grown quite independent over the past year.
The Archer boys stepped onto the train, making their way to the storage cart, Roy already loosening his tie. He could never keep it on well for too long. He just hated that thing. As they walked, he kept an eye open for any of his friends or a girl to keep his company, whichever came first.
"Looking for Angela?" Nolan quipped causing his brother's lip to tighten and face to redden.
Taking a breath, Roy relaxed managing to laugh at Nolan's teasing. "You know I'm not. We're not going there again." Angela was a pretty girl, a year ahead of Roy. They'd run into her when on holiday in Italy. Roy had spent quite a bit of time getting to know he during that time. Unfortunately, she hadn't taken it too well Roy chose to refocus his attentions on a local Italian girl. Oh well.
They arrived at the storage cart where Roy helped Nolan load his trunk. The second year thanked him and ran off to find his friends. As he stowed his own trunk, Roy caught sight of an old friend. "Raymond Chase! The bold! The handsome! What's the most respectable young man on this doing loitering back here?" He walked up to his friend and pulled him in for a friendly hug. The two had met way back in their second year. Roy had accidentally spilled a pot of paint all over Raymond and a fifth year Gryffindor's robes. While Raymond was understanding, the older boy was definitely not. There was a bit of yelling and a possible beating for Roy in store. Luckily Raymond had kept the situation under control until Roy's older brother had shown up. A prefect in Gryffindor, he'd settled everyone down. A couple of sweets and some help in Transfiguration were offered in thanks, and the two quickly became friends.
"So how was the holiday? Any epic adventures? Dragons? Damsels in distress? Sirens?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows at the final one.
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