And there it was, for the last time. She had taken a while to walk here from the carriages, suddenly appreciating everything a lot more, but she was here now.

Merlin.

Rachel Rider, seventh year Ravenclaw, stepped into the Great Hall in a slight daze and automatically made her way over to her blue and bronze table. As soon as the train had arrived at Hogsmeade, she had been feeling as if she was living in a dream - because really, HOW could this be her last time?

Ugh, Rachel, stop it. STOP IT. With that attitude, she'd be miserable and out of it the whole year - and, aside from exams, she REALLY didn't want her last year to pass like that.

Right.

Blinking away her mood, she forced a smile onto her face (forced almost ALWAYS turns into real after a while) and looked down at what she was wearing, attempting to amuse herself. Since she was no longer a Prefect, she really didn't HAVE to follow the rules EXACTLY - and, since she had never done it before, she was going to abuse that fact as far as she could.

For example? Her skirt was unusually short (not TOO short, mind you - she was no Celandine Toussaint), her shoes were NOT the usual black low mary janes but rather blue polka dot peep-toe flats, and her scarf (which she normally never used until November the earliest) was now a LOT less woolly (GO household knitting spells!) and hung fashionably around her neck.

Oh, and her shirt wasn't fully tucked in. But eh.

Sitting herself down at a random spot on the table, she looked around at the various people that surrounded her, people who WEREN'T Ravenclaws, by the way and tried to decide what do now. Waving at people she knew, Rachel turned to watch people get sorted - unsurprised at the amount of non-11-year-olds she saw, since Jake had mentioned that there were quite a few.

Isabella was slowly chewing her food.she was feeling different today.she hadnt met any of her friends and she was feeling quite left out.she had thought it would be a good start this term but it turned out to be different...

As Head Girl from the respective house of Ravenclaw, surely Livvy had a responsibility to keep order at the Ravenclaw table? But she was quite sure of herself that the table didn't need anybody to look over. After all.. they were in fact Ravenclaws weren't they?

She let her mind wander about her Head Girl duties, rather than linger upon unhappy things. Such as... the fact that this would her LAST year term... at Hogwarts. It was depressing to think about, even more depressing when her mind wandered over to the ignorant and self-centered people she had met over the summer in Diagon Alley. Oh merlin. Hogwarts would most certainly be destroyed. At least they had Treyen. This ADORABLY... AWESOME boy. Livvy dearly hoped that he had been sorted into Hufflepuff, like he had wanted. If not... she'd... she'd... she'd take it up with the Headmaster!

No. Not really.

Livvy didn't honestly think that he would be able to do anything about it, so... Treyen... that boy would just have to deal with it and like whatever house he's given because he is STUCK there. Not necessarily stuck, Livvy was pretty sure he'd like it there, wherever he was put.

And so... unlike many people... Ahem... she walked over to the table in an appropriate manner with an appropriate outfit with a skirt that wasn't at all short. Since well... Livvy hated wearing skirts period, most of the ones she owned were abnormally long compared to many of the skirts that other girls wore.

Her converse made gentle noises as she walked on over and stood there for a moment before she was able to take in who was there. She smiled over at Miles and Adrienne, waving her hand over at them. "Hey you twwooo... and.. hi... person." Oop. Someone Livvy didn't know. Ah well. There was other business the seventh year had to attend to.

"Hello Ravenclaws! Welcome back to a new term and welcome to the first years. I hope you like it here at Hogwarts, in the house of Ravenclaw. I am Olivia Zhang and I am the Head Girl of this school and I'm a Ravenclaw myself. Never hesitate to come to me for anything. Whether it be friendship issues.. Quidditch issues... Homework issues... or you just want to chat. I'm here," she announced to the table with a smile. And then she hopped on over to where her BESTIE... Rachel Rider sat.

Grinning, Livvy greeted her friend with a large hug. "Heya Miss Rider."

Georgie was momentarily distracted by some girl who had apparently just made herself known and was now launching into a monologue for anyone who cared to listen. She was waiting for this jarvey-and-brother-searching boy, thank you very--

Head Girl?

Georgie turned her head to the source of the voice. She was Head Girl. Perhaps it was a high enough position around here that she would know half the student body. Perhaps, just perhaps, she would know Hugo Woods and where to find him! SQUEE!

She tipped her head towards her, then tapped her shoulder. "Excuse me. Olivia, is it? Yes, well, I was hoping you could help me. I'm looking for a Mister Hugo Woods. I'm sure he's not in Ravenclaw, but would you happen to know him, and possibly, where to find him?"

Georgie wasn't used to being this formal. Ew.

EEEP.

Someone just tapped her! Couldn't people just say her name and talk to her? Instead of tapping someone like some perverse stalker? Not saying that anybody that touched her was either perverse... or a stalker of course. It was just more considerate. Plus it shocked her less.

Livvy glanced over at whoever that tapped her, and made sure that the slight annoyance wouldn't show on her face. She was an expert at that. Dealing with kids all the time gave her such skills. If only those skills would win them the Ravenclaw Cup AND the Quidditch Cup. She was more than determined to win it this term. Especially since this was her last term and SHE was Head Girl. They just HAD to win. Plus, Copernicus had entrusted her with a huge responsibility to win it for them and to take care of his Cela. No. Wait. Did he?

Plus. She didn't want Willow Kavoc to come back for her.... That wouldn't be good.

The seventeen-year-old Ravenclaw took in the girl that sat before her. It was someone she had NEVER met before... so maybe she was new? Maybe. But the unfamiliarity of the girl was wiped out and put in second place when the girl inquired Livvy something that made her go all, "O______________o".

"I technically prefer Livvy," was what she said at first. She wanted to find HUGO WOODS? Whatever for?! If she was a new student, how would this girl ever know he existed? "I'm sorry. You wanted to know the whereabouts of Hugo Woods, from Slytherin?" Livvy repeated. So this is what she had come to. A personal assistant in finding people. A matchmaker you could almost say. If Livvy didn't know better, she would almost say that this girl was smitten with someone she didn't even know.

"He has a soft spot for girls like I have one for boys," Mina laughed. Even as much as she wanted to believer she wasn't a tad bit boy crazy she was. "People always say that, but I won't believe it until I see it. Besides, no boyfriends for me until fourth year. Boys are nothing but trouble." she teased. Of course, she really didn't believe either thing coming from her mouth, but she sounded like she did. "Well, maybe it's about time I tell Jason everything and maybe it will help me get over it." she smiled. "Closure as my cousin calls it. No silly crushes this year, this I'm promising myself." she added firmly.

Not exactly sure what she was doing, Thana replied, "Uh, hi Miles. I'm Thana." There seemed to be only one other first year, and she looked like she knew what she was doing. 'I bet she's not muggle-born, like me.' Thana thought. Hopefully, some more people would come, and at least one would be like her.

"Oh cool! Can I be on the squad if I don't get on the quidditch team? That would be so cool!"

"Hi Isabella" Rex told her. " How did you like Jason's castle?" Rex asked her. " You are really a nice girl, mam" Rex said to Isabella.

"Well, I am a boy and I am trouble" Rex laughed. Mina is easy to talk to and be around because of her coolness. " So you have a soft spot for boys but no boyfriends until the fourth year, very interesting" Rex said to Mina. " Jason is a good listener so just tell him what is bothering you" Rex explained to Mina.

Mina smiled and nodded. "Oh course you can. Even if we do make the team, I'll still be out cheering at other matches. I want to paint my face and all that jazz." she explained. She would always root for her house of course, but she did have friends in other houses and would root for them as well.
Mina turned back to Rex and laughed softly. "Yes, you are but I don't mind that at all." she replied. "Yup, I'm going to promise myself, but who knows what might happen. I might trick a boy into liking me so much I could land myself a boyfriend before then." she teased. She highly doubted it, but she wouldn't let that stop her from making friends with boys all together. A smile graced her face as she thought of Jason. "Yeah, Jason was always a great listener. He'll probably tell me it's this boy's lose and I'm better off not pining over someone that doesn't like me." she sighed softly. "But you know, maybe that's what I need to hear. It's a new year and anything could happen."

Satine glanced at Tyler's clothes and then smiled...he had a point...he didn't really look like someone from New York, or well what she had pictured from New York, but there were plenty of styles to go around there.

"O you should go...it's like it's own country...so many different sights and cultures...kind of crazy actually...and it's huge..." her eyes got big as she said huge to emphasize the word and then they became normal again as he mentioned the being kicked out of school.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that...I prolly would've hexed them too...too bad the peeps in charge at your old school didn't see it that way. I can't imagine going anywhere but here and my rents insisted on it...It was actually one of the major reasons we moved over here from the States in the first place." she realized she was rambling so she decided to change the subject.

"Well, what's your favorite subject? And, I'll ask the question that everyone seems to ask around here....do you play Quidditch?" she wasn't very athletic when it came to Quidditch but she knew that was always the question to ask.

Just as she was about to go into another one of those nostalgic moods she was frequently having, she heard a VEEEERRRYYY familiar voice and grinned broadly as she turned her head to look at-

*clears throat*

THE HEAD GIRL AKA LIVVY aka her bestest friend EVER- make a short speech to the Ravenclaw. AWWW! Ecstatic that Livvy now rightfully held the most powerful position in the school (alongside some boy whose identity was not known to Rachel at the moment) the seventh year put her hands together and clapped loudly, not caring if she was the only one.

It was worth it for Lobster.

"Heya back, Head Girl Zhang," she grinned broadly as Livvy walked towards and enveloped her friend in a return hug. "So - how does that badge feel?" she asked, eying it with delight. She could NOT be happier for Livvy, really.

Plus - having the Head Girl as a best friend really didn't hurt. Hehe.

"So my good friend of " The Magical Five" is going to live dangerously around boys" Rex laughed. " Yes. Jason tells people excatly what they need to know but it is always true" Rex explained to Mina. "We will hang out all over Hogwarts" Rex sid to Mina.

"What type of cultures?" Tyler asked her. In New York, there were so many, Tyler probably lost count by now. There were Hispanics, Italians, Spaniards, Asians, African Americans and so on. But those were only a few. Tyler liked places with lots of space. It was good for playing soccer and running around like a lunatic. But it was all for good fun. Hehe, she said peeps. Oh yeah, Tyler liked this girl. "My parents sent me to live with my aunt, while they stayed back in the States," he explained. But before he left, he made sure they wouldn't forget him. "My favorite subject is Herbology," he smiled. The plant life was something he always paid attention to. But he never knew why. ...Quidditch. "Nah, I don't play Quidditch because I'm afraid of heights," he chuckled. The ground was much safer for him. "But now that I'm here, I might want to get rid of that fear,"

"I wouldn't call it living dangerously around boys," Mina laughed. "More like having lots of adventures while in the presence of boys." she smirked. There was supposed to be alot more to life than just homework and this was the year to start expanding her horizons. "Yeah, I always seemed to feel better after talking to Jason. But you know, I'm going to have fun hanging out all over Hogwarts with you and the rest of the Magical Five." She was excited to meet everyone. She knew pretty much everyone but Barry.

Bella walked into the Great Hall, and looked around for anyone she knew at the Ravenclaw table. There seemed so many students sitting there that she couldnt see. Hoping someone would know her and call her over she stood at the head of the table for a minute more. Sighing she sat down at the end and pulled some food toward her and filling her drink glass up.

Isabella looked up and saw Rex
oh hey Rex, didnt expect you here she said with a smile.he was a Gryffindor but anyways
oh yeah i liked Jason's place.it was really nice. and it was nice of him to invite me to his party she said smiling
hey i wanted to ask you one thing.i mean i havent seen you before in previous years so are you new in Hogwarts? she asked

Stare, stare, STARE.

It was in that moment that Ian realized there was something he'd very much like to do. Something he wanted to do even more than eating, or finding both his brother and No Name Jarvey.

Ian wanted to hit his head against the nearest wall. Repeatedly. Because it was just his luck to get stuck with a woooooordy and self-righWHATEVER (he could NOT remember the word, clearly) bratty kiddie that was trying to teach HIM manners. The girl who had been bullying him.

So because hitting his head with a wall would require suffering some paing and standing up and walking and losing his seat, Ian opted to do the next best thing: He put his hands on his ears, and banged his forehead lightly against the wooden table.

Hitting his head was no doubt going to do wonders to his brain cells.

Ian very slowly stopped the head banging process and peeked to see if his eleven-year old nightmare was still there.

He made a face and resumed what he'd been previously doing, because of course, of course the kiddie was still there - and so was the girl's possible and non-evil relative. Cool dude, except ... Ian couldn't really think that right now, what with starting to realize that he would most likely have a bruise right in the middle of his forehead by tomorrow morning.

Woooo. Scars, bruises, Ian was alright with them all. Twisting his head a little so he could look at the nameless guy from down there, Ian held his breath and released a puff of air that expelled from his lips, in order to flutter his messy fringe and get it out of the way. Momentarily scowling at this and then allowing his expression to become its usual quizzical one, Ian finally mumbled, "Who's the Friend of the Trog? Are they dangerous? Why ARE they allowed there, really? In my old school kids weren't supposed to bother teachers during break-time. Not unless it was something important." Besides, no one ever did it anyway - being called the Teacher's Pet was no fun.

Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?

Oh, right. This girl was looking for some Woody fellow or whatever.

Ian grinned good-naturedly, though there was certainly a very slight twinkle of mischief in one of his blue eyes. "I sure know Hugo!" No, you don't! "Woody and I are actually mates, you understand." He didn't even understand himself, but oh, well. "But in order to tell you his whereabouts, I need you to find my brother and my jarvey first. Deal, missy?" Ian raised one of his eyebrows inquiringly, but the grin was still in place.

And dang it, he'd even sounded sort of clever and important. Baby sitting Morgan The Brainiac really did have his perks.

Walking in with purpose - and not even bothering to acknowledge anyone around him - William headed straight for the table he had missed the most since summer started. It wasn't the students he missed - some of them were preposterously rude and obnoxious - no it was the table itself. The bench he had sat on for hours, supporting him more than anything else ever could. The table which always had food on it, even at 2 am when he sometimes snuck out and had a snack not bothering to go to the kitchen and hear the house elfs complain to him. There was something about this particular table that captured his attention all the time, making him ignore everything around him in the process - which could be why he was such a loner.

Sitting down he sighed rather happily even though his face never showed one ounce of a smile. He just wasn't in a smiling mood. Not since the news of everything had hit him during break. Seriously William was in rebel mode right now, and Hogwarts was going to hear about it. Looking up as he grabbed a pitcher of pumpkin juice he tried to find Katie or any of the other gang but couldn't find them anywhere. Why was there so many first years this term? It seemed impossible to understand how they could multiply every time he came back. They were like flies he mused, once one arrived more arrived and then soon they were buzzing around everything getting into trouble. He figured he'd have to stop that from happening, even though he felt like causing trouble himself.

Bella watched as another student walked into the hall and sit down at the table. Simling a little she stood up and walked over to him,
"Hello" She said smiling down at where he sat, "Do you mind if i sit with you? i seem alone" she asked then

William had just been about to take a sip of his juice when he heard a voice coming from somewhere close to him. Looking up he smiled a bit nodding, "Sure, I don't mind. It'll be nice to have company. William Cullack third year." he introduced himself. Finally taking a sip of his juice he let the liquid move down his throat before sighing happily. Ah it was good to be home. Now he wasn't sure what kind of home he had come back too but he was sure to find out. Taking a look at the staff table made him do a double take however, all the new faces astounded him, and he wasn't sure what to make of the new headmaster yet. He seemed...odd.

Satine was actually stumped by Tyler's question, "Well, it's a huge state so i guess just a little bit of everything...i guess I can't list them." she finished with a funny face.

"OOOOO Herbology...that's actually one of my faves as well. The Professor is my fave also. She is absolutely amazing...and she likes shoes...and is completely and totally obsessed with the color pink, but besides the pink thing, she's pretty cool." She finished as she scanned the table for Professor Bunburry. Satine instantly had a scary thought what if Bunburry had been one of the many Professors replaced. O no...she would not have that. A school without any style. It made Satine want to faint right then. She glanced up and down the table frantically looking for pinkness.

She was woken up from her pink search by Tyler's revelation that he didn't play Quidditch because of the heights. "Well, I'm not a big Quidditch player either. I'd much rather sit on the sidelines and yell and shoot off fireworks that spell out the players' names and make signs and such. I can't dance like a champ, but I can't do Quidditch or muggle sports really." she said as she stood up to see the Staff Table better...her heart was beating a billion times a minute with fears that her fave professor would be missing in action this year.

Bella smiled at William as she sat down next to him. Pouring her own drink she also took a sip,
"Sorry, Im Isabella Evans, you can call me Bella. Im in Third year too" She smiled again. Following his gaze up at the staff table she said, "There's alot of new staff this year". Bella looked at her hands and sighed, it was good to be back here, even though she was afraid how Luke was going to cope without her, well he has Aunt Emma she thought, taking another sip

Annie was about to respond to Lori about her small Spanish lessons when Torin appeared. Sure she was going to tell Torin about all this, right? Maybe. "Well, I'm preparing this young lady, Lori...Lori, meet Torin; Torin, meet Lorin" She introduced them, not realizing they had known each other. "...for a trip to Spain..." She finished her sentence, she was still not ready to tell the whole plan to Torin.

She still wondered how to make it more English than Spanish. "I don't think I can, this is how I learned your language, first the alphabet with phonics and everything...then the rest seemed like a piece of cake, like I just told you." She explained, trying to make sense. Because she had to make sense.

Annie was embarrassed of what she was about to tell Lori. "Because I know nothing about walking on heels..." It sounded more like a question than anything else, than even a confession.

"Nice to met you Bella." He replied turning back to look at her for a moment before turning his attention back to the staff table. "Any idea what happened to everyone? I wasn't here much last term." in fact he had only been there for a month before having to leave suddenly, not making it back until much after term was over. He had heard rumors of course, but rumors were usually faslse. It was better to go to the source themselves, and what better sources than students? He wasn't about to talk up to the staff table nad ask, especially since that really creepy professor who seemed to be sitting in the DADA chair was creeping him out.