{9 ¾} stay gold { benny / open }

"Yeah, that's true," Benny said softly, agreeing with Tomie's reminder, and then shrugged into the cushion of the train seat. He shouldn't have been worried about it, Josh was far more prepared than he had been last year, but he was still a big brother. Benny had about two seconds to keep worrying about his little brother and his first train ride before he was howling with laughter at Tomie's luck with the jelly beans. "Oops," he said between laughs as she spits out the bean and let it fall outside of the train window. He held his hand out toward her, never one to turn down free candies, not even if there was a chance he'd get something awful.

"I like Mikky Blue," he informed her with a nod before popping a jellybean into his mouth. He rolled it over his tongue before daring to take a bite in, praying it wasn't mold flavored or something equally disgusting. Despite its green color, it tasted like Cotton Candy and Benny smiled brightly as he chewed it. "Can call her Blue," It sounded nice, better than Superman, in his opinion.

Tomie calling out his name and that huge smile on his face made him smile even more. He wasn't sure how that was possible, but he felt happy to have his own group of friends, much better than last year's train ride with Nola's friends. Besides, even just sitting next to Tomie felt thrilling. "JR JR? Why that?" he asked his eyes on Benny, a little confused but maybe also a little flattered, thinking someone wanted to name their cat after him.

"You're welcome," he said casually with a shrug as if the candies didn't mean anything. And they didn't really but he was happy he got them for her. He eyed the cat and considering he wasn't even great with his own pet, he wasn't going to chance it with this one that already seemed out to prove everyone how tough it was. He heeded Tomie's advice silently.

"Josh? Your brother?" JR asked, remembering Benny mention his sibling a few times, but he hadn't remembered that he was starting this year. "I'll take some," he said putting out his hand so she could dump some into his palm before going over them with a dubious eye. He had gotten a booger one yesterday and it still haunted him. "Blue sounds cool," he agreed with a nod besides naming animals wasn't really his forte. He had called his kitten "cat" last year until his mum told him to give her a proper name.

The brunette poured a few beans into the hands of anyone who wanted them, then went back to stroking her cat’s back. It was purring contentedly in her lap now. She glanced down, her thoughts returning to names. It wasn't as if the name she picked now would have to be his forever name. If she decided in a few days that it didn't work, she could just change it; he wouldn't notice the difference after only a couple of days, surely.

“Her,” Tomie corrected Benny once again, not noticing she’d done it. She had a sudden thought, and her eyebrows shot up. “Lets make him Mikky red,” she said, glancing at the others, her gaze settling on Benny – whose opinion mattered the most. "Gryffindor," she said, for anyone who hadn't gotten it. Tomie nodded once, pleased with her choice. Mikky – clearly exhausted â€“ was falling asleep in her lap.

“Whadya get?” she asked JR, bumping his shoulder lightly with hers as he popped his first bean into his mouth. “Toffee… an… lime,” she said through her mouthful, gesturing at her mouth, trying not to grin.

"Yeah, it's his first year, but he will be alright, I think," Josh was way more outgoing than Benny had been last year (and that said a lot), but the big brother couldn't help but worry. It seemed like Benny always found something or other to worry about. Benny nodded when Tomie decided on a name and changed the color choice, "Can I call her Red, then?" He asked, not sure why it was important but wanting to anyway. The Gryffindor looked from Tomie down to her now-named kitten and saw that she was asleep. She looked half peaceful this way, but Benny knew better than to try to pet her, even know.

Instead, he fiddled with his shoelaces and pulled another jelly bean from the carton they were all sharing. Biting into it before as a test before he ate the whole thing, Benny was surprised that it wasn't an awful flavor. "Spearmint, I think," He mentioned, chewing it like gum for a moment before swallowing. The Gryffindor loved Bertie Botts as much as their next tween, but he didn't care for the risks involved as much as some of his friends might have. He didn't like eating gross things just to say that he had.

"So... Quidditch try-outs..." Tomie and Benny had probably spent half the summer gaming out their Quidditch plans. Dreaming of nailing the try-outs and making the team. But now that there were more of them in the cabin, Benny wanted everyone's take, especially JR.

"Only been a month!" Shelby laughed, sliding into a seat next to Tomie and gazing at the kneazle with delight. "The attic?" Shelby reached out to the creature, avoiding the claws and getting a soft pat on it's head. "It's gorgeous."

She reached into her pack and pulled out a box of custard cakes, tossing two to benny and passing the rest of the box around the cabin. Bren joined them soon, and JR! Shelby smiled. It felt cozy in this crowded car now, full of friends. She felt loads more confident than she had this time last year!

Even as JR and Tomie and Benny fell into their normal routine of banter, Shelby felt way less on the outside. She was choosing to be quiet, to not offer anything but nods. All of the names sounded really good to her. "Mikky Red," she repeated, remembering reading the comics with Tomie at their cabin at summer camp. "I love it."

Oh, Quidditch try-outs? "I bet you all are going to make the team," Shelby said, with a confident nod. And if not, maybe they would join her rowing club.

Tomie swallowed her mouthful, then wiped her lips with the back of her hand. “Feels like longer,” Tomie answered Shelby with an absentminded smile, getting into her custard cake as soon as she could without making a mess.

“Benny and I are gonna be captain like, fifth year,” Tomie said, sounding confident. They weren’t on the team just yet, but it was a sure thing, right? Even if they somehow flubbed it, there was always next year (a voice in her head was extremely against this concept; better to just nail it first try). She stroked her sleeping kneazle. Mikky Red could be their little mascot! Tomie felt very cool with her ambiguously mixed species cat, and even cooler that it mostly didn’t like other people that weren’t her.

It was hard for her not to compare this whole situation to their first year together. Last year was cool, but this year was already so much better, she thought, looking around the cabin with a smile.

LATER  ——

The castle loomed in the distance, and even though they'd all been periodically checking, Tomie was the first one to spot it. "Ah—!" she said, pointing urgently. Mikky was happily shredding the floor by her feet, but even he looked up to see what Tomie was talking about. "Hope we get to go in the boats this year," she commented excitedly, not really caring so much about the boats as she did about hanging out with her friends. It was gonna be an awesome year! They were second years now, no longer the little babies of the school. She couldn't help but feel smug about that.


/end

He avoided what he thought was the earwax colored bean and picked one of the green ones but scrunched his nose a few seconds later. "Ugh, not grass again. Why do I always get the trick ones," he complained as he quickly swallowed and then stared dubiously at the bag, wondering what color would be the best to pick to not get vomit or rotten egg or dirt.

They all talked quidditch try outs for a while and considering it was one of the main focuses of the summer for him, between strength training and conditioning to quidditch drills in the backyard with his dad, JR felt nervous and excited and he wasn't sure which one was more. But in front of his friends, he leaned back and lounged, giving some advice here and there or speculation on who would likely make the team from each house.

Later when the train finally arrived at the station, JR saw the castle looming in the distance and felt an overwhelming sense of expectations hanging over him, conflicting feelings of yearning and dread filtering through him, and he hoped he could sort it all out and soon. At least he knew dinner was going to be good.

/end

The train ride back to Hogwarts this year felt so much faster than last year, and Benny realized it was because he was far less nervous. Enthusiastic and anxious, absolutely, but he was not nearly as hesitant as he felt this time last term. This year they were second years, which was so much better than first years. They were no longer the youngest students at the castle, and that was a good feeling indeed.

Benny turned to the window as Tomie announced their arrival, his nose pressed against it, happy that the sun wasn't entirely down yet. Hogwarts was massive, literally huge, but it looked tiny coming up in the distance. Benny tried to commit how it looked from so far away to his memory, deciding he'd try to draw it later. The Second Year then reached for his things and tried to (but probably failed) beat JR out of the cabin door and down the halls. He did not share Tomie's hope for a ride on the boats; Benny would prefer to keep out of the black lake if at all possible.

"C'mon, let's go!" He hollered behind him at anyone who was still left in the cabin and raced out onto the platform.

/end

“Tomie's, still doesn't have a name though.”

“Hmm,” he replied thoughtfully, returning Tomie’s half-handshake as best he could figure and then fist-bumping JR who appeared almost instantly thereafter. His eyes widened a little as the kitten’s story unfolded: how’d he or she (Benny had said one, Tomie the other) end up in the attic in the first place, anyways? He kept his questions to himself, though, in favor of listening to the banter among the rest of them.

Bren nodded in acknowledgement of Tomie’s warning, but he sat down on the floor of the compartment and cautiously extended a hand for the tiny feline to sniff anyways. The kitten – a ‘he’, apparently – slowly extended a paw, batting at Bren’s knuckles (but thankfully keeping his needle-sharp claws retracted, at least for the moment). The interest was short-lived, however, and after about ten seconds the kitten decided he had better things to do and clambered into Tomie’s lap.

 Seeing as all the actual seats were taken Bren stayed sitting on the floor, scooting back against one of the shared armrests and drawing his knees up to his chest. He was a bit indifferent as to the proffered name choices, and so he said nothing; it wasn’t his kitten, anyways. He did, however, accept a few Bertie Bott’s from Tomie – he watched everyone’s reactions for a moment before taking the tiniest nibble of one of his own green ones and wrinkling his nose (“Urgh, grass!”).

“So… Quidditch try-outs?”

Bren glanced over at Benny, who’d said it, and then around the compartment. He didn’t even have to look at JR; there was no way his Housemate wasn’t going out for the team, considering his family’s industry. Shelby was encouraging as ever, of course, and he gave her a small smile. He hadn’t decided on whether or not he was going to try-out, and so he let the Gryffindors and JR carry the conversation until it inevitably segued into something else.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Throughout the day, Bren drifted back and forth between the compartment where they’d all congregated and the one in which he’d left his stuff. As night fell in earnest, he changed into his robes and squeezed into the crowded compartment for the remainder of the ride.

When the train finally slowed to a stop, the Second Year made his way back to the compartment with his trunk one more time to retrieve it, then filed out and onto the platform behind his friends – less nervous than he’d been the year before, but just as excited.

[[ out! ]]

The conversations moved on, as they always did, swiftly like a flowing river around Shelby and past her, waters rising around her and then over, covering her contributions entirely. That was okay.

Shelby nestled into the corner of the cabin, cuddling with JR's cat and listening to the others chat about Quidditch. She considered adding in something, anything, going down the hall and dragging Ingvar to consult, but.

But.

But maybe she wasn't really meant for this group? Maybe the weeks she had been at camp broke them apart. Maybe her confidence was used up trying to start two clubs, and she had none left to insert herself into conversations.

She wandered off at one point, looking for Brendan and Simon and Archie and chatted with them for a while. She probably had the most in common with Bren, even if he was a Slytherin, and white, and while Simon and Archie weren't exactly her level either, they let her play with their toads. So that was nice.

She returned to the cabin, pressed Ravenclaw uniform on, about twenty minutes before they left for campus. Exiting the train, Shelby felt fairly certain that sometime this year, like Benny was racing ahead now, she would be left behind. All there was to do was prepare for it.

//out