time you take ((open))

This year was the year that Lazar would no longer be a loser. He was going to become one of the cool kids, and everyone will finally believe that his father is his father. No more dorky dork dork. Lazar was going to prove that he is a man once and for all.

He stepped into the train car and glanced around for an unoccupied compartment; his ridiculous cowboy hat, sunglass lens, and a bit-too-big leather jacket with tassels made him look as if he was dressed for a Halloween party. "Huh-huh-hello?" Lazar wondered, as he walked down the aisle struggling to pull his suitcase along. "Is-is-is t-t-t-th-this cuh-cuh-compart-t-t-ment tuh-taken?"

He was a man all right.

Mei sat in a compartment by herself. She had gotten there early enough that she was able to find the empty compartment and had taken a seat in it. She was humming softly to herself, trying to fill the silence when someone opened the door to the compartment and she saw the cowboy hat first as Lazar peered inside. She smiled a bit. She had had classes with Lazar through the years but she wasn't sure she had ever actually spoken with him. "There's plenty of room left." She said in her soft, almost musical voice. She didn't mind some company. And he seemed like an okay sort so maybe she wouldn't have to deal with some pureblood who would make fun of her still too-large robes that had been passed down from Lien.

@Lazar Tremlett

Seeing that it was just Lien's sister, Lazar let out a sigh of relief; it was somebody he knew wouldn't hurt or intimidate him. Although they were somewhat cousins who had grown up together to some degree, they were never particularly close. He was only somewhat closer to Lien because he was also a boy. Otherwise, Lazar had mainly shared his upbringing with Thalia due to their fathers being brothers and them being born in the same year.

"Th-th-thank y-y-y-you..." Lazar entered the compartment and sat down across from Mei. "Ah-a-a-are y-y-y-you eh-eh-ex-sigh-si-cited?"

His cool outfit wasn't a cure for his stammer.

@Mei Chang

It was all so strange not to have Lien joining her on the train back to Hogwarts. Sure, they weren't exactly close but she still loved him dearly and believed that he felt the same way deep in his heart for her. But they would see each other less and less now since she would be in school and he wouldn't. A sigh left her lips but she wiped away her frown and replaced it with a small smile as her cousin walked in. Another of her family members that she truly knew little about. She didn't realize how much she actually stayed apart from her family until that moment. She would have to do better. "I am, but I'm a little nervous too. This is the first year Lien won't be at school and even if we didn't really talk much at school, I always knew I could count on him if I really needed to." She said, fiddling with the hem of her too-long sleeve as she spoke.

@Lazar Tremlett

"Y-y-yeah, i-it-it is w-w-wuh-weird wi-wi-with-out Li-ie-en..."

He kept his luggage close to his side as he definitely couldn't manage to lift them onto the holder over the seats, and Lazar was afraid it'd fall and drop on his head if he didn't keep it to the floor.

"D-d-d-do y-y-y-yuh kn-know wuh-wha-what classes y-y-you're tuh-taking?"

@Mei Chang

"Yeah, it is." She frowned a little bit. Was she actually missing her brother already? It seemed as if she were. She hadn't realized that she would. Especially not so early on when the train hadn't even left the station. Part of her wished that he had come to the station to see her off but she knew he would never do that. He was much too busy.

"I'm not completely sure yet. I know DADA, transfiguration, charms... What about you?" She had done very well on her OWLs but she wasn't completely sure what she wanted to do with her life yet to figure out which classes she would take. She was hoping that speaking with her head of house when she got to Hogwarts would help her decide.

@Lazar Tremlett

"Me t-t-t-t-too..."

Although he could've done better on his OWLS, Lazar was pleased with the marks he had gotten. He was able to enroll in most of the NEWT-level classes. Lazar opened one of his travel bags and began to look for his allergy medication so he wouldn't have to deal with any reactions during or after the train ride.

"Wuh-what el-el-el-electives? I-I-I'm tuh-taking cuh-care of muh-muh-mah-magic-gic-al creatures..."

@Mei Chang

Mei thought for a moment. She had no idea what electives she wanted to continue to take. She did rather enjoy Care of Magical Creatures but she was pretty sure that wouldn't be something that would help her with her future career so she didn't know if she wanted to take it again. Then there was music which she wished she could take but she knew that was completely out of the question. "I loved Care of Magical Creatures. There were so many cute creatures! I'm not sure it will actually play into my future though..." She said with a thoughtful little frown. "I've never felt less prepared in my life." She said with a sigh. She usually had everything all figured out but she knew that things would really count now. She had to think of her future.

@Lazar Tremlett

Lazar frowned as he heard his cousin admit that she didn't have anything figured out. A part of him just assumed she did as Lien meticulously planned anything to the point of never making time outside of studying.

"I-I-I d-d-d-don't kn-know wuh-what I-I-I want to d-d-d-do either..."

He wasn't confident enough in whatever musical ability he did have, and his stutter wasn't particularly useful for anything public-facing.

@Mei Chang

Mei usually did plan things a lot better. She always liked to have things set out in front of her, it was probably one of the few things that she and her brother actually had in common. She looked down at her hands folded neatly in her lap. "I hate not having it figured out... But it's such a huge thing, you know? I don't want to make a choice that I won't like in the end and have to live with it for the rest of my life." She was still frowning down at her hands, not sure what else to do.

@Lazar Tremlett

"Y-y-yeah... We suh-suh-suh-posed t-t-t-to st-start choosing a-a-a career...."

And Lazar didn't have a single clue what he'd do. He finally found his allergy medicine and quickly downed it with a sip of water.

"Huh-huh-have y-y-y-you muh-met wi-with the other pr-pr-pruh-prefects y-y-yet?"

@Mei Chang

Mei shook her head. "I was trying to get settled in first." She wasn't sure she really fit in with the other prefects. They all seemed to be such strong personalities but she always found herself lacking in their presence. In everyone's presence, it seemed. She sighed. "I sometimes wonder why they chose me as a prefect. I mean, I try to look out for people but I hate taking house points or giving detentions." She wanted to keep her peers safe and on the right track but she didn't like getting them in trouble.

@Lazar Tremlett

"Y-y-y-you and Lien ar-ar-are b-b-b-both guh-guh-good st-stuh-st-stu-dents..."

They really were; Lazar was glad his cousins both got prefect as there were a lot worse people that could've gotten the role. It meant he'd have somebody he knew on his side against the meanies. Well, that was if they responded to his bullying hotline messages.

Lazar took a deep breath and got back onto the seat before the back of his head hit the seat, forcing his cowboy hat to push forward and nearly knock the glasses off his face.

He looked up nervously at the brim of his hat, afraid to take it off.

@Mei Chang

”I know, I work really hard to try to make sure my grades are really good.” Lien had left her some really big shoes to fill where that was concerned. He was always getting top marks and she always felt like she had to work that much harder to be up to his standards. She just didn’t know what it truly cost him to get such good marks, all the things he had to give up. They weren’t that close that he would ever share that with her. In a way, that saddened her.

”that is a very interesting hat.” she pointed out as he seemed to be studying the brim of it for some reason. She didn’t see many people wearing such things. It looked a little out of place but she would never point something like that out.

@Lazar Tremlett

Barely moving an inch, his glasses fell onto the floor with the frame breaking slightly. Now everything in front of him was a blurry blob. He could vaguely make out Mei; there was one fleshy-looking blur with a lot of black surrounding it.

"Muh-muh-meh-Mei? C-c-c-can y-y-you hel-hell-help me fuh-fuh-find my gluh-glasses?!"

Once he could see again, he'd be able to talk about his hat.

@Mei Chang

Mei frowned when she saw his glasses fall from his face. Even before he asked her to help him find them, she was already moving to scoop them up off the floor. She inspected them and her frown grew a bit. "It looks like they're broken a bit..." She said as she looked at the frame that was no longer completely together. Then she handed them over to him, not realizing he wouldn't really be able to inspect them since he couldn't see without them.

@Lazar Tremlett