Foreigner

Mars made his way across the platform, a suitcase in tow, weaving through the mass of people that were there. Most seemed to be better clothed than him in his ragged jeans, faded t-shirt and battered tennis shoes. At least half of them were shorter than he was, making it easier for them to turn and gawk at the unfamiliar face. He put on an unfriendly expression to cut down on the staring.

Boarding the train at the first entrance he came to, Mars quickly found a compartment. After shoving his suitcase into the overhead bin, he sat, slouching back and propping his feet up on the opposite bench. He put an open weaponry magazine over his face and closed his eyes, waiting for something interesting to happen. No way in hell was he actually going to sleep surrounded by so many strangers.

The Gryffindor made her way towards the compartment. She still missed Beauxbatons a little, but that was around three years behind her. She could hardly remember the people there, though her French was still perfect. Opening the compartment door she backed away. "Er, sorry... Are you sleeping?" the girl raised an eyebrow. Hollie stared at the boy who seemed to be in his sixth or seventh year. He had a weaponry magazine on his face. She took this moment to memorize the weapons on the cover then she looked out the compartment's window. "I'm Hollie," the girl murmured.

She stared straight out the window. Why are you even talking to him? You could've just said sorry and found another compartment. It's so simple even a muggle could do it. You don't need to be the bloody Minister of Magic, she thought to herself. Her mother would have something to say about this, and it wouldn't be pretty. At least we don't talk, she sighed.

"Do you usually proceed to talk when coming upon someone who looks to be be sleeping?" the American asked without moving. He might have been amused. It was difficult to tell.

"Well, Hollie," said Mars, "are you going to stay, go or keeping hovering in the doorway? Because frankly, sweetheart, the rest of the train is noisy."

She shrugged, "Maybe I do talk to people when they're asleep. I usually wake them up." The girl mentally face palmed. Her accent. Not his. He was obviously American. She sounded like she was French and British. She didn't like it but she figured other people might like it.

"I don't really feel the need to go find noise. When it's loud I usually end up getting in a fight or some sort of trouble," she said, eying the boy. Hollie blushed as he said "sweetheart" and was glad the magazine was still on his face. The Gryffindor gave another shrug and sat down, leaving her trunk on the floor. "I suppose I'll just stay here then," Hollie smiled, "So where are you from? You don't sound like you're from around here."

"Hey, Fatty," Iva stood behind the girl whom was blocking the compartment door, hands on her round hips and lips in a pursed position. "Are you going to leave your trunk in the middle of the compartment like an idiot and have your fat take up a whole seat or are you going to move, like a sensible person?"

Iva tugged her sweater closer to her and rolled her head to look at Mars. She shrugged and gave a bright sigh, as if Hollie was a child. "Gryfs. What are you going to do about them, yes?" The words pitched and clicked in a different style than the other two students, her Russian heritage showing through.

Stepping over the bag, her feet scraping over the top, she placed herself gently on the bench next to Mars, making sur to give him plenty of room. Her fingered ran through her hair and she closed her eyes as well, tired from the trip over. She had chosen this compartment because she hoped for quiet- if that girl thought she could change that, she'd be wrong.

"Then, will you close out the noise, already? You're letting it all in." Mars straightened, mag falling into his hand. He put it aside. "Atlantis," he answered. "Nice place. Lots of sunshine. Scantily-dressed girls."

He looked at the blonde who entered next, lips twitching. "Personally, I thought the trunk in the middle of the floor was a great way to add extra seating," he drawled. Hooking the handle with his foot, he dragged the trunk closer then stood to put in the bin with one hand.

"Much as I like a pretty girl in my lap, I guess we can do without the tripping," he said.

Her eye twitched slightly, "Oh, I'm fat?" The Gryffindor's eyebrows arched in question, "I didn't realize the definition of skinny was simply black hole." Hollie smirked, sitting sideways to purposely take up her entire side of the compartment. She gave a sickeningly sweet grin towards the blonde, "Last time I checked, house unity was encouraged, or is that just me being a fair. Something they obviously taught well at Beauxbatons."

The girl pulled out her wand and closed the door. "Now why don't we just all shut up and have a nice, quiet tide to Hogwarts," Hollie said, her tone serious, "Okay?" She gave the other girl a cold stare, "No rude comments and no attacking. Got it?"

She leaned back and smiled at the silence she figured would still not last so long. She gave a light sigh as she amused herself by changing the color of her tips.

Iva rolled her eyes at the girl. Be nice? This was nice! She didn't know the definition of mean if she thought Iva's comments were extraordinarily rude.

"I do not understand the black hole comment," she replied, "And it is not because I am stupid. Your analogy did not make any sense. Most of your grammar does not makes sense, actually. Maybe it's the fat working it's way into your brain,"

She turned her gaze back to the other Slytherin, raising an eyebrow at his amusing comment.

"Do many girls fall into your lap?" she joked, soft softer than speaking with the girl.

Mars didn't even try to hide his amused snort at their bickering. Girls always were so petty and mean-spirited. One of their more interesting traits, really.

He looked at the blonde as she addressed him, laying his arm across the back of the seat and leaning just a bit closer to her. "Sweetheart, I have trouble keeping girls out of my lap. I mean, not that I blame them for being unable to resist. It's not like I'm about to complain, right?"

The Gryffindor rolled her eyes, "I thought I said a quiet ride." Hollie stared out the window and shook her head as she held in a laugh. "Black holes are basically nothing. If your definition of being skinny is being basically nothing, that's pretty much a black hole," she shrugged.

"You don't see me in your lap, do you?" the British girl raised an eyebrow at the boy as he snorted. 'Americans,' she thought, 'Must be common to think you're everything over there.'

Hollie shrugged, turning away from the two, "Have fun over there lovebirds. I'll just sit over here. I thought both of you were here for quiet anyway. So if you're going to be loud, I kindly ask you to leave the compartment."

Arsen had long decided against joining a compartment, that was until the stares began to get too much. He'd forgotten how annoying the new first years got when they figured out he had red eyes. It was like they had never seen a demon before. With one final hiss at an unexpecting first year he slid into the nearest compartment and smiled with his fangs exposed. "So this is where you've been hiding." He smiled shoving the gryff aside so he could sit next to her. "Who knew finding an American would be so hard, but it looks like you've found yourself some entertainment." He smirked turning to look beside him at the gryffindor for the first time.

"What's up with your face? Anyone would think someone had just died." He said putting his fangs away. "Cheer up."

Iva rested two fingers on her lips, holding back her audacious smile. Merlin, some people made it so easy. The Russian let out a loud, rude laugh (obviously forced)and sighed, like one would towards a child.

"Do you not pay attention in Astronomy? A black hole is a collasped star- it is all mass. It has infinite mass!" Iva didn't hide her amusement, "I always knew the French were stupid, but this is a new low."

The Slytherin's face suddenly canged into placid annoyance at the gir's comment. She smoothed her skirt, blonde hair ruffled at the movement, then coughed.

"Excuse me." she started softly, a snicker in her voice, "But, who died and made you queen of the compartment? What makes you think that I'd care about whata worthless, little Gryffindor that will probably end up as a housewife in two year thinks? I mean, there's me," She placed a hand on her chest, "Apprentice to the Headmaster, hier to a wealthy company, a girl. Then there's you. Now, bitch, if anyone's moving, it's you. I suggest picking up your stuff before I hu- Arsen!"

THe Russian's face brightened, any sign of her attitude gone. "It has been a long time! How are you?" She nudged Mars with her clothed elbow, "Don't tell Damian this one is flirting with me,"

"Never said I had every girl in my lap," Mars said, amused. "And if I remember right, sweetheart, you came in and disturbed me. I was here, first. My compartment. And if you think small talk is noisy, then you should probably avoid people altogether. Though, I noticed you were fine with it when it was just the two of us."

He smirked. "Arsen, my man. Big party in a convenient package. Nice fangs." Mars grinned, then chuckled. "What can I say? The entertainment just finds me."

"Flirting?" Mars put a hand to his chest like he was offended. "Do I really look like the type to flirt? Tell your brother he has nothing to worry about from me. Unless, of course, you wanna change that."

"Maybe something did die," Hollie laughed. She smiled a little at his comment then turned to Iva. "Okay, look. I'm sorry. Not all Gryffindor's are like this. I just lost my head. Honestly, I can actually be pretty nice," the girl nodded.

Flicking her eyes to Mars the Gryffindor sighed, "Same goes for you. I'm usually not like this. I guess you can blame my mum for throwing anything she could find at me this morning." Hollie rolled her eyes and leaned back. "I didn't even do anything."

"Sometimes I just say things and I don't really mean them. I'm just not in the best mood today."

"Grazie." He smirked sending his fangs back into his gums. There was no one to frighten in here anyway so it was pointless in keeping them out, besides they just got in the way. "Seems we have that in common Pagan. Fun follows me like a shadow. Though others probably wouldn't refer to it as fun exactly."

"Yo Russia." He smiled giving Iva a wink. "The usual, okay maybe not so usual but it never is, is it?" Not when you had a psycho demon father who was intent on destroying your life. Then there was his uncle.

"I will not tell that puffle of yours you were flirting." He smirked getting that usual glint in his eye when he was up to no good. "On one condition..." He smiled letting his fangs drop back down into position. "... i think you remember how it goes."

"Wow a gryff that finds death funny... weird." He said raising an eyebrow.

Coyota sped through the hallways, a barrier of noise on all sides of her, making her feel like she was being crushed solid walls of sound. She didn't mind noise when it was dispersed, but here in this crowded train, she felt like she was about to explode.

The girl's pace changed from a fast walk to a light run, and her eyes flicked from compartment to compartment and back to the aisle, searching frantically for some sign of the trolley. Finally, the noise died down enough for her to burst into a compartment, and she felt she was able to breathe again.

She looked around the room, "One of you better have some candy..."

She rolled her eyes, "I've just experienced death plenty of times to have made me think it's funny. Death has always been people on my father's side." Hollie shrugged, not quite sure why she was telling them this. "I find that a bit funny, and the fact I almost died earlier. I have no idea why my mum tries to kill me though," the girl said with another roll of her eyes that then flicked to the girl that had just entered the compartment. "I don't think I do," she began, searching for candy in one of her pockets, "Er, nope. I don't have any candy, sorry." Hollie was not going to cause any more trouble on the ride to school, even if she wasn't the happiest girl because there was another addition to the compartment they were in.

She would not be causing a ruckus and annoying everyone. No simple-minded questions or snide remarks. Absolutely no pegging random object at people's heads, no matter how much you hate them and definitely no weird comments on anything, like saying she liked Arsen's fangs or something like that.

The noise in the corridor vanished as she approached, most beings shrinking into their compartments and praying to whatever god they served that she didn't deem to stop there. None of them had ever seen her this way. It may have frightened them that the last time she had walked down this train completely calm, she'd nearly killed another Slytherin, and it might have been the fact that said Slytherin had gone missing a month afterwords, and still hadn't returned. Many of them didn't quite know what they were hiding from; the instinct of prey and predator stronger than their reasoning. Maybe they knew it was her, maybe they didn't. She didn't know, and she didn't really care. She embraced the silence as a blanket, using it to aid her search for the trolley.

Sniffing the air, she stopped at the compartment Yota had, simply leaning against the door and gazing pensively at each of them. She recognized them all, the Gryffindor who'd tried to slut her way with Ty, her boyfriend, the god, the Russian, and Yota herself. After one long glance at each of them, her bright brown eyes returned to Yota, darkening almost measurably.

"None in here then?" Her voice completely unreadable as she gazed at Yota, the grin the stole her mouth too hungry to be sweet; too sharp to be comforting. Her eyes stayed on the other girl as she cocked her head to the side, her eyes lingering on her throat before she glanced down the corridor, into the other train cars. "That's unfortunate."

"Where is the trolley?" She sang softly, keeping her back to the sliding door as she messed with a rubix cube. Her fingers blurred as she tried to distract herself, the colored cube being solved and then unsolved and solved again faster than most eyes could follow. Glancing down the corridor again, she watched the movement of something far enough to be a train car away. Her eyes narrowed, and she was gone, a scream splitting the air before it was silent and she was back again, looking almost sad.

"Wasn't it." She offered in explanation before looking back at Yota. "Aren't you going to keep looking?"

"Others don't know what fun is," Mars said to Arsen. "That's why I like you. Party man."

He gave the brunette a devil-may-care grin. "No worries, sweetheart. I like my girls feisty." He looked at the girl who had just entered, not bothering to even search his pockets. He knew they were empty.

"No candy," he said. "But I'm sure you taste sweet and I've got other things to lick if you're interested."

"Hey, rich girl. Got a sweet tooth, sweetheart?"

Coyota gave the American boy a disgusted look, and looked away from him, deciding that attention was the last thing someone like him needed.

The girl had to keep herself from jumping when Karma entered the compartment. She held her face in an entirely blank expression, as she always did when she was terrified out of her mind. She watched the other girl with mounting anxiety, her eyes widening half a millimeter when she noticed her gaze trained on her own throat.

With every nerve in her body filled with tension, she immediately took the opportunity to leave, not caring how weak the willingness to comply made her look.

Once she was back in the hallway, the massive silence brought her paranoia back to life, and she began speeding through the compartments again, just to get away from her own thoughts.

Arsen smirked. "Damn straight. I see this being the best year yet. What about you Gryff?" He asked rolling his head to look at the girl beside him. "Don't carry candy, i don't do sweet in anyway." He shrugged.

"Funny that, how your fathers side seem to die when i want nothing more than mine dead. We should exchange tips." He said casually before letting slip a snort. "Beat you on that one too. My father succeeded in killing me. Then my real father brought me back." He smirked. "Good times."

He raised an eyebrow and looked at Karma in question. Did she really just do what he thought she did in the middle of the train in broad daylight?