She had been right before when she guessed that Penrose had a soft spot for the owl. Penrose was positively beaming as they interacted, clearly pleased that her owl was getting attention. She was just a tad envious as she heard about the long history with the owl. It would be nice to have such a companion, and a family who understood her world. "That's very generous of them," she offered, hoping that the envy wasn't coming through in her tone. She didn't hold it against Penrose at all; the girl was just sharing a perfectly normal magical memory with her. Éilís just wished such things didn't feel so foreign to her.
But then Penrose was bringing up quidditch, and Éilís was feeling uncomfortable again. They had hit a subject that she knew essentially nothing about, and, to be honest, had very little interest in. She was nodding along as Penrose explained about the Russian team -- there were national teams? -- but stopped when she was asked about her interest in the sport. "Uh, I've been to a few matches at Hogwarts. But I don't follow it at all," she offered. She had nothing against the sport itself, but she didn't find standing in a crowd and cheering very appealing. It was all too noisy and crowded for her taste. "I'm dreadful on a broom," she admitted. Her first year flying class had been an absolute nightmare.
She was glad to be able to refocus her attention on the owl. The bird looked magnificent as it stepped out of the cage. Even though she had been seeing owls carrying messages for nearly four years now, she was still amazed by the creatures that, growing up, had been purely a part of stories. Owls were a rare sight in the muggle world, and it was still exciting for her to see and touch them. She held out her arm when Penrose instructed her to, nervous but excited, and the bird climbed onto her arm. Nikita was bigger than Teagan's owl, and the weight as he settled in on her forearm surprised her. After a moment, she reached out and tentatively stroked the bird's breast, smiling at how soft and warm he was. "He's so beautiful," she cooed, smiling over at Penrose for a second before gluing her eyes again to the bird. Maybe someday she would have her own owl.
As Éilís sat stroking the handsome bird, the Hogwarts Express was slowing and the bright lights of the castle were visible in the distance. Seeing the school that had essentially been a prison for the past few months made her anxious, and she fell silent. Éilís carefully placed Nikita back in his cage before standing up and moving back over to her trunk. "Thank you for letting me hold him," she said quietly, nervous again to be alone with Penrose. As nice as the other girl had been, her nerves about returning to the school after the Dome made her want to just get off the train and have some time alone again to prepare herself. Éilís pulled on her Ravenclaw robes quickly and quietly, closing up her trunk again as the train finally stopped in Hogsmeade station. The corridors were filling quickly with students as they made their way off the train and onto the platform.
Éilís pulled the door to their compartment open so that Penrose could pull her trunk through and then followed the Slytherin out, joining the crowds of students moving toward the thestral-drawn carriages that would take them back up to the school. The girls were separated as a crowd of sixth and seventh years pushed ahead of them, trying to claim a carriage for themselves. Éilís looked back at Penrose and offered a little smile before stepping up into an empty carriage and heading back to Hogwarts for the next term.
