Ow! Marisol walked into her new dorm and immediately hit her head on the four-poster bed nearest to the door. Might as well claim that one. She already touched it, and quite painfully.

Some kind of green color scheme was going on. Mari liked it, as her favorite colors were orange and green. It seemed kind of dark and mysterious. Was this really her new house? In the dungeons? Marisol sighed and peeked into her trunk, where her belongings had appeared. Then she plunked down on the bed, which reluctantly obliged to her action.

New term. New stuff. New EVERYTHING. Beverly might not demonstrate her excitement, but inside that scowling head of hers, she was beaming because everything was PERFECT. Sure, she'd gotten that small surprise at the Feast, but if she laid it all out, it all added up to her benefit. Big brother plus best friend, meant she had a perfect start already.

Take that losers!

Walking past the first year dorms she caught right as a girl bumped into one of the beds. Words spilled out of her before she could stop herself and consider if talking was worth it. "You don't normally bump into beds, you sleep in them," she said, her tone slightly lighthearted.

"Are you alright?"

Right, good... her poster had arrived. She'd forgotten to pack it in the rush she was in when she was leaving home. But her dad had sent it along with a bunch of other stuff she'd left lying around the house...

She didn't need half this stuff. He could've just left it in her bedroom... but she got the feeling it wasn't really her bedroom for much longer. Hugo was getting old enough to need his own permanent space... Which was... ... no, too many conflicting feelings there. Just shove THAT thing under the rug with everything else and move on.

ANYWAY. Poster. Derry unrolled the Agromantula poster and charmed it to the wall opposite her bed. There. She watched the band move in the poster a bit, Charlie Black was preening at himself in a mirror... There was something about moving pictures that still fascinated Derry. She thought it was awesome.

Now what? She should probably wait for the others... since she hadn't said anything to them since they'd arrived. God she felt awful for that... but... she just didn't want to talk about it. But they deserved an explanation for the fact she'd avoided the dorm and speaking to people pretty much as much as possible... probably. So she sat there, in her 'shut up and leave me alone I'm comfortable and that's a little victory' clothes, rocking the Bucky Barnes eyeliner look since she'd rubbed her eyes and... yeah, so she'd been crying a lot lately. She kept forgetting she was wearing eyeliner. But... she wasn't crying now. She was trying to stop doing that... it wasn't helping.

Two more girls had walked in. Both were quite a bit older than Marisol, who turned to the brunette addressing her. This girl was being a bit snarky, she decided, but not that mean. It seemed like this was the way of Slytherins, and if so, Mari would fit right in.

"Know that," the first year sighed in reply. Hopefully, that meant what she was trying to say. She could tell her English was getting better, but she must develop some more vocabulary. In a more pleasant tone, she added, "I am Marisol. Marisol Cruz. You?"

Caterina had really been trying to give Derry space, whenever she was around, which was way less than last term. She knew Derry was a big girl and certainly didn't need her roommate prying, but it was so hard not to do when she looked... upset like that, especially because Cat was Cat and her bed was beside Derry's bed. All things considered, though, she'd done a pretty good job of not throwing herself on Derry and hugging her tight.

So victory!

In fact, Cat had been keeping most of her thoughts to herself as she pondered on what she wanted to be doing after they left Hogwarts this year. The term had only barely started, but she'd spent the whole summer thinking about it and looking at places and talking things over with her parents and with Mo, she couldn't seem to get the topic off of her brain. So she'd been baking again, which was something she did also to find a bit of peace. She returned to the dorm with a plate that had not quite as many cookies on it as there had been before she'd had to run from the mad dash in the common room. The rest of these were for her roomies. Derry and Cassia and Ade. Cat watched as Sharky jumped up on Derry's bed, probably looking for Lando, and she perched on the side of her own, offering a smile and the plate. "Cookie?"

Derry was still staring at the poster... She was a little infatuated with this band, okay? All of them. And their talent. And prettiness. It was just unfair. She hardly noticed Cat come in until she sat down and... ooh... cookies. Derry nodded and took one, she'd missed all the baked goods over the summer - though mainland europe had the right idea with all the pastries - and this was... helping. Yep.

Part of her wanted to wait for the others to start talking... but since she'd only told Ascanius so far, she felt like she just wanted to get it out there. Rip of the plaster as it were. She could catch the others up on it as they arrived. ... And cookies made her talkative. She moved the covers aside, picked up Lando from where he was sleeping with Sandy and plonked him next to Sharky. There's your girlfriend. Be nice. That's your job.

"Ummm... Cat?" she looked over at the other Slytherin. "Sorry I've been so miserable..." Been... ha. She still was, but... that wasn't the point. She was sad and miserable and felt kinda lonely and everything was wrong and ugh. But... eh. Anyway. "You okay?"

Just in that tone of response from the girl Beverly could detect a slight accent. She was familiar with them given the circumstances at home. Beverly leaned against the threshold of the door and folded her arms.

"I'm Beverly Wayne, fourth year." She regarded the girl with somewhat of a curious gaze. "You have an interesting name."

Vinnie was exhausted, she had eaten waayyy too much. Especially after the cauldron cake her and Casper had eaten on the train earlier. But the food was just too good. And wasnt that the best about the feast? The food? It definitely wasnt the headmistresses speech about the threat. Now she wouldnt get to see West play anytime soon, that was very upsetting.

The brunette entered the girls dorms and sighed. Her bed. She really needed her bed and maybe some music coming out of her headphones. If only they had mixed dorms she could fool around with her new friends...how had she not made friends with any girls yet?! Maybe she just wasnt girly enough...

Plopping down on a bed at the very end of the room the 5th year sprawled out her arms and legs and sighed again. Yes, comfy.

Comments about her name were common for Marisol. She supposed it sounded quite exotic to the Brits. It was a conversation starter, so she was used to it. The eleven year-old shrugged.

"Thanks," Marisol replied. "Is short for María de la Soledad. Mary of the Solitude." Even Mari herself got mixed up. She'd told someone yesterday that it meant Mary of the Sun. Well, she didn't get questions like that in Seville. Marisol Benicia Cruz Martinez. That sounded thoroughly Spanish, even to her.

How did you get all that into one name? Beverly kept that to herself, sensing that she'd already been too up front with the first year. This road onto being amiable wasn't easy. She was too curious and blunt at times that it came off as her being mean or rude. Which half the time wasn't even true.

"Quite a meaning to it. So," with a more pleasant tone, "Marisol means María de la Soledad?" She's never heard that, and she's got several languages under her belt. "I would have thought - if you split it up - it'd be something like, sea and sun...'cause Mar-i-sol." Something like that. Apparently meanings ran deeper. She needed to tell Kennedy and ask since he was an expert in Spanish!

Huh. Mar y sol, sea and sun. That was what a lot of people thought. It was the most likely choice. But no, her name was Catholic, referring to the Virgin Mary. Her family weren't even that religious, but it had been Mari's great-grandmother's name.

"You talk a bit of Spanish?" Marisol asked. It would be a good thing to have someone to talk to, even if they didn't speak much. At the same time, it would be easier for the first year to learn English. And so-oon!

It was finally time for her to get into her dorm. She'd been waiting for this very second since she got onto the train. But of course she couldn't just leave the feast and head to the dorm and let herself flop on the bed and do nothing. So she stayed. And actually staying wasn't bad, she liked reuniting with housemates as well as meeting the new ones, it was her being tired that got her wanting to go up to her dorm. And now she finally could. She supposed the snakes wouldn't be doing anything stupid that needed watching. And Theo hopefully would be there. So she let herself into the dorm feeling a weigh left off her shoulders.

The familiarity of the place brought lots of inner warmth and a tired smile pulled at her lips. Without even bother to take off her robes, she flopped on her bed and remained there for a minute or two before pushing herself up on the elbows. Her eyes fell on the new poster that had been put up. Derry's she guessed. And speaking of the ginger, Cassia tried not to STARE and to still give her friend space. Just like earlier at the feast but she couldn't hide the concerned look on her face. Derry shouldn't ever be sad and upset like that. Nope. Never. And it seemed that Cat had this feeling too hence the cookies. Although, Cat always spoiled them with food at all occasions it still looked from the way she held the cookies' plates to Derry. Had Cassia not stuffed her face with food and Cat's delicious cannoli just a bit ago she'd have totally snatched one or two.

"Nice poster," she said sliding off her bed and crouching next to her trunk. Might as well change into something more comfortable.

She played with the beads of her black pearled bracelet, a habit of hers. Talking to new people was still an effort for the Slytherin, but after last term, she was ready for things to change. She was ready to take risks and make efforts she normally wouldn't. Talking to a first year was one of them. Apparently.

"Yeah, I was taught it when I was younger...and my brother speaks it fluently." And he was in the castle and it was exciting. That was beside the point here, though. "Do you?" she asked, this time with genuine curiosity. They'd treated towards a subject Beverly very much enjoyed: languages. "Speak Spanish, I mean."

Spanish. Yes, Marisol spoke Spanish! It was her native language after all, which she spoke much better than English. She was slightly surprised by this question, but not offended. It didn't matter.

"Yes," she revealed. "Come from Spain before two weeks." The eleven year-old couldn't believe it had been two weeks. Her father worked as a reporter, so he'd gotten a new job at the Daily Prophet. The family was dragged along, although Mari was liking Hogwarts so far.

Cat watched with interest as Derry moved about, taking a cookie and placing Lando next to Sharky who then nuzzled at him like he was a pillow. That was pretty cute and all, but her attention went back to Derry quite immediately. It's okay." She offered a smile. I mean, obviously something's wrong and that's not okay, but... I'm not offended or anything." In case she was wondering or something. Cat took a cookie for herself and split it in half, taking a small bite from one piece. She glanced around the otherwise empty dorm room and then brought her eyes back to her roommate. "Anything you want to talk about? I'm awful with words but I'm a good listener." In case she needed one.

Turning her head again, Cat smiled at the newest addition to their conversation. "Hey Cassia." She wiggled the plate in her direction suggestively. COOKIEEESSS.

Derry watched the cats... Lando seemed to be enjoying the attention, but wasn't exactly reciprocating. Selfish git. Men, honestly. Grumble grumble. ... She carefully dragged her duvet out from under the animals and wrapped it round herself. Duvet cave. Yep. Life felt better in the duvet cave.

"Well... that's good..." she said, turning her attention back to Cat. She didn't want to offend anyone really... she just didn't really feel like... anything. Derry turned her eyes to Cassia as she walked in, well... three out of four. She wondered when Addi would get here... "Thanks..." Y'know - about the poster.

... Anything she wanted to talk about..? "Yeah, actually..." she started, her eyes flicking between the two girls. "I uh... broke up with Józsua..." There... she said it. Saying it out loud it made her eyes sting a bit, but... she'd basically cried herself to dehydration on Ascanius earlier so she wasn't sure there were any tears left. "It um... he..." ... This was harder to say. Deep breath. "He cheated so..." So she ended it. ... A year and a half... That's how long it'd been since she first told him she liked him.... and now..? Derry shoved the rest of the cookie into her mouth so she had an excuse not to say anything else.

CAT!

The fury creatures not her roommate. Hehe. Actually there was two of them and it made Cassia happy. She was supposed to bring her kitten to school this term but the spoiled thing refused to get on the train. She was yet to bring it.

And now there was a plate of cookies being wiggled at her. Held by Cat. Who could resist that, really? Cassia's hand was now clutching a cookie without knowing how it just happened. "One more month like that and none of my pants will fit," she winked at the two girls. You know, attempting to cheer up the mode by bringing up girly and silly topics. Actually not silly at all. This was a serious matter.

But all the other words died on her tongue when Derry said what she said. Cassia's hand froze midair as she was about to finish off the cookie. WHAT?! She initially thought that Derry was upset because of the Quidditch news. And only because of it. She surely was but it appeared that there was another reason to it now. Cassia couldn't believe her ears. She finally managed to snap out of the statue form she got stuck in due to the shock, and set the rest of the cookie on the bed sheet. Yeah, she was head girl she could do that.

Slowly she walked over to Derry's bed and allowed herself to sit next to the red-headed girl and wrapped her arms around the fellow snake's shoulders. Because you hug your upset friends. "I'm so sorry," she said in a whisper. And she was sorry because Derry was sad. Releasing her, Cassia's expression to a serious one. "We'll do something." Ideas have already started forming in her head. Cassia looked over at Cat, was she on with this? "Do we know the girl?" She hoped they did. Although, the blond was still shocked to hear that.If anything Józsua was to her like a harmless snake. OBVIOUSLY NOT! Boys.

Marisol was from Spain, not bad. That was one of Beverly's destinations on places to visit. "That's pretty cool. How is it there?" She's heard the weather is nice from cousins, but they've spent most of their time in Romania from what they've told her, so fresh information was always welcomed.

Eyeing the room a bit, she returned her gaze on the first year. A strange feeling of responsibility nagged at her in the back of her mind. "Hey...if you ever need help with anything...you can ask me, yeah?" Maybe it was that she didn't really have anyone last term she could go to from her dorm, or maybe...she didn't know what. But if the girl needed her help she was there.

Beverly was an upper classman. Smug.

"Aww, c'mon Cassia. I feed everyone all the time and we don't seem to be having a weight epidemic at Hogwarts." Nope. Then again, she wondered if without Quidditch to practice for, if everyone was going to get lazy and stuff. She'd just have to start handing out carrot sticks then. Cat glanced back to Derry just in time to hear the news. Not only did they break up, but they broke up because he'd cheated. Ugh. That was the worst. The lowest. Cat could have punched his face in. "Did you punch his face in?" She wondered.

She left the plate of cookies on her own bed and shoo'd off the cats to run off together, then she placed herself on the other side of Derry. This was one of those times where being good with words would have really helped because then she would have had something awesome to say to her friend instead of asking if she'd punched him. "I'm so sorry." Not that Derry wanted sympathy or anything, but she was sorry that her friend had to go through that. She was also sorry that she had nothing comforting to say to her.

.........."I could punch 'em?" Helpful?

Sympathy... euh. Derry hated people feeling sorry for her. It wasn't exactly a useful feeling and it made her feel all hopeless... meh. She leaned into the hug from Cassia a little though, before retreating to her duvet cave and abducting the kitten sleeping on her pillow. For cuddle reasons. Luckily, all the cats round here had basically started to accept her as just a big, hairless cat now and Sandy didn't try and scratch her or anything.

"Do what?" she asked, petting the kitty and peering out of her duvet cave facehole. If it was a revenge thing she wasn't interested. She didn't want revenge, she just wanted for all this not to have happened... but unfortunately that didn't seem to be possible. "I don't know who it is." she admitted, glancing at the girls. "He told me I didn't know her... but he clammed up and went all weird when I asked who so I'm not buying that. Which means... she could be someone I'm friends with." Not those two, obviously... or Addi. They were too good friends to do that to her...

Did she punch his face in..? "No..." she said, chewing the sleeve of her jumper. "I wanted to... kind of... but I didn't want to at the same time so..." That made no sense... explain yourself, Ferrier. "I wanted to hurt him... but I also don't want him to be hurt. I still want to cuddle him and kiss him better if he so much as gets a bloody splinter and it's driving me insane..." Because so much as she wanted to make him suffer for making her feel like this, she'd never ever be able to do it, and she'd never be able to let somebody else do it. Ugghhh.

"Nobody's getting punched..." she said, adamantly. "But if I find out who she is I cannae promise I won't make a scene." Maybe she would, maybe she wouldn't. That simply depended on how irrationally angry the revelation made her.

Cassia sure hoped that she wasn't at risk of gaining weight. Like really, her looks were one of the things she liked to take care of in case her NEWTs didn't go well. Although she promised herself not to have a plan B so she would do her best! However, she did make a mental note of bothering to wake early and jog out around the grounds. Could be considered as a Head Girl patrol, too. Eeh. Effort but she was yet to give it a try.

Anyway, more important topic was being discussed.

Cat's answer was the most logical and natural thing. Cassia eagerly waited to hear Derry's answer. And they didn't know the person. That sucked and pretty much ruined any hope of carrying out the ideas that'd started to form. The blond's eyes squinted as Derry stated her suspicion that she might know the girl. That made it even more awful. Cassia hoped she could be helpful and think of whom it might be but she just couldn't think of anyone or anything. And not being able to do something helpful sucked.

Then Derry started explaining her feelings and Cassia was surprised. She could not understand how could one still like someone who'd hurt them and caused them to be upset. But that could easily be justified by the fact that she, Cassia hadn't had a relationship with anyone. So she wouldn't know. And right now, she was glad because it didn't look all that pleasant.

"I mean, what he did wasn't cool," she finally said. "Maybe something should be done to show him that... I dunno... I mean if doing anything would make you feel better then you should know I'm up for it," Despite the fact that whoever looked at Joszua wouldn't guess he'd be able to hurt anyone. She still was shocked.

Making a scene. Cassia wouldn't blame her and she found it totally normal.

Oh, the sweet thought of Spain. The nagging thought kept bugging Marisol, even though she was quite fond of Scotland so far. Seville was good, or it was when she had left. The temperatures should start to get cooler soon, although it wasn't ever that cold. It would be fall, and then winter. And that came with Christmas! Mari had always liked Christmas in Seville.

"Good, think," the first year replied. "Summer done now, and more cold." Or something. Sigh.

Back to the conversation. Marisol would probably be needing a lot of help. She needed to learn the language, after all.
"Yes, please."

Charlotte practically threw herself into the girls' dorm and rushed to her trunk to look for her second candy bag. Somehow, she had managed to run out of candy already. ALREADY. It was only October! How was this even possible? All she wanted was another lollipop! Char was pretty sure she was having withdrawls, she could feel her body giving way to the lack of sugar. This was going to be a problem.

She sat on the ground in front of her trunk and started throwing things out, if it wasn't a candy bag, it didn't matter. She even contemplated crawling into the trunk to get a better look but that would just cause a nervous break down and she wouldn't even have candy to make it all better. "Where is my candy bag?!"

Groaning, she look around the room, just now realizing that other people could see her. Oops. Luckily it was just Vinnie in the room, and she had already seen Charlotte struggle to reach for a lollipop so thankfully she wasn't all that embarrassed. "VINNIE. HAVE YOU SEEN MY CANDY BAG???" This was a life and death situation here!

Vinnie was just chilling on her bed, hands behind her head, as Charlotte rushed in. Was she okay? The brunette sat up on her bed and watched her friend throw around her stuff. That kinda reminded her of Casper...she was still worried for her friend. Maybe she would just sneak into the boys dorms later and ask if anyone had seen him lately.

Deep in her thoughts the girl didnt react to her friends question immediately. But then she realised what Char was looking for. „Your candy bag?“, she laughed. And laughed. And laughed. Vinnie couldnt stop laughing. Char was freaking out cause of her candy bag? This was hilarious.“ Didnt you have it with you?“ This was highly amusing, as the first time the two had met Charlotte had fallen out of her bed because of a lollipop. Snort.