Originally Posted by dansgurl

A girl looked at her and stared right back. What was I? Lion Exhibit? She was going on to grab everyone's attention, throwing wishes. Gah, she might as well stand up and give a might Claw lecture. Amara wasn't sure if she could stand that.

To be on a safer side and not to get infamous with Claw as yet, she nodded to the senior girl.

"'Ello" she called, in a rather low tone. As she turned away, she glimpsed the shiny batch. OH! Not another point docking senior.



And another. This was getting tough. "Mhmm" she nodded as she looked at the too-cheerful-for-good girl. Pride, pride. Was there any end to it? "Yeah, one with the PRIDE" she said, spite filling the syllables. Don't let the lions hear you.



She turned from the cheery girl to the hyper girl at the mention of 'twin'. How intelligent. Smirk. "OH, and she's sitting right across you" she said, in an amused voice. "Doesn't that surprise you?" Claws, claws. And again, a shiny batch. NO! Why were all the seniors she saw had a batch? Wishy-washy. Point dockers. Uh-huh.



She nodded at the acknowledgement. Uh-huh, she was getting touchy-feely now. Amara cringed a bit. "Yeah..yeah..I'm fine. Great" she said, withdrawing her hand from her twin's hold. "Yes, I heard a lot about liking the pride already, save your breath sissy" And she smiled. The den was fine with her. Really fine. But only, Snake-ness was SO in that it took time to get over. "I've had enough lecture" she said, sighing. Pathetic. "Next one to lecture me is dead" she added with a grin.

She looked around at the people. The claws were a sort of rather silent lot. Many were talking much, unlike the lions who were all up and roaring. "Sup" she said, clapping her hands. "How's it going?" She sure did like to know about her twin's progress. After all she wasn't very used to speaking with others, was she?

"And..before I forget.." she trailed. She stood up, bowed low and looked up at her twin. "..uhm, you're cordially invited to the Lions Dine-out table whenever you wish" Swish. Smirk. She grinned at her twin. "Fro says you're welcome to our table. Nats says 'Hi' and I say beware of the lion pride talks" Yeah, don't listen to them. Boring. "Heh, yes.. We three made it to the same place" So fun.

Originally Posted by aaetha

Isobel smiled and waved back at the older Ravenclaw. She had no idea who she was, but always happy to accept a welcome! Gosh, everyone here was a lot nicer than expected! Hopefully they'd stay that way, and she wouldn't find that half the House hated her behind her back or something. That would be pretty awful.



"Yeah, I've gotten that a few times." It was kind of annoying, honestly, though Isobel supposed it wasn't necessarily their fault for mishearing. "Lemmings kind of creep me out, to be honest. I hate rodents." Why, exactly, did rats have to be an acceptable pet for Hogwarts students to have? Their weird, fleshy tails and skittery feet made her feel... eugh.

"Okay, well I'm glad it's not how things usually are, at least." Paper plates were cool and all, but they kind of killed the Hogwarts mood. A mystical, magical school, with a starry ceiling, floating candles and... plastic forks. Not all that cool-sounding. "I wonder why things are different this year." Perhaps the food would be compromised as well? Isobel hoped not, she'd heard its praise from her father often, usually griping about how he wished he had a house-elf. "I've never had pumpkin juice, but I hear it tastes delicious!"



Isobel stood up to shake hands with her fellow first year, smiling politely back. "It's nice to meet you! I'm Isobel." Huh. She could honestly say she'd never heard the name Zyanya before. It was pretty, though! "So, being a first year, are you as excited about actually being at Hogwarts as I am?" because let me tell you, she was pretty freaking excited.

Originally Posted by emjay

Ethan's smile widened just a bit as the girl beamed back at him. She seemed awfully friendly and he chuckled a bit at her words. "I'm sure you're right.." he said with a shrug, especially since she was a housemate.. but who knew, really. There were a lot of people at Hogwarts, then add the people he knew at Beauxbatons. He was bound to forget someone he had met.

Still smiling a bit, he nodded as she then gave her own name. Oh.. but too many choices. He wasn't good at thinking up nicknames for other people, really.. and was Mika a shortened version of Amelia? It didn't really sound it.. "Nice to meet you too.. Mika." That was the choice he settled on as it seemed remotely familiar.. perhaps he heard someone else call her that in the common room or something?

Then he caught part of her conversation to Benjy. She was joking, right? Shaking his head, he told the girl, "Sorry, can't advocate the launching of cupcakes or.. really any food, for that matter." No matter how hilarious that might be.. just no to the food throwing? "Of course, cupcakes for eating purposes are an entirely different matter," he added with a grin.

Ethan nodded happily in return. "That we will.." He was rather excited to squeeze in a bit of fun between studying for NEWTs and he was happy to have found at least one Claw up for a good time. He glanced over to Benjy with dawning realization when Garrick nudged him. "Oh.. I didn't realize you two were related.. Good to know," he grinned. So the three of them could walk the walls now. He wondered if anyone else in their house could as well.

Ethan nodded at Christmas, agreeing that it did sound good.. probably because it was a good summer. Even better than the one before, he thought would be a fair bet. "So, going out for the team again? I got a fair amount of practice in over the summer," he said with a knowing smirk. They were competitors after all.

Ethan mirrored the younger girl's smile, but there was something about what she said that he could tell she was less than excited to be here. So, fourth year.. yes, that was about what he thought. Nodding a bit as Niamh spoke, he said, "I think you will like it here.. but it's understandable if it takes some time. I know it took me a while before I actually thought of Hogwarts as my school." He thought back to those first days as a newly transferred fifth year. Though he considered himself to be a remotely friendly bloke, it did take time to make friends, though now he wouldn't have it any other way. "Do you mind me asking why you transferred?"

Ethan glanced up again as another Ravenclaw was sorted, another girl.. seriously, where were all the new blokes? Not that he had anything against girls, he was just wondering.. Giving her a friendly smile as the girl approached the table, the 17 year old watched her for a moment as she sat down. She seemed a little nervous,which was understandable. Greeting the newly sorted Claw, he said, "Hi, there.. Welcome to Ravenclaw. I'm Ethan.."

While talking to Benjy, Ethan couldn't help but to have his attention diverted to the boy's toad as it sat in the cup.. funny little thing. "Hmm..?" he began as he heard the younger Claw address him and he turned his eyes back to the boy. "Oh.. right, shopping," the seventh year chuckled as he gestured to his new robes. "I did manage to get it all done just in time.. you too, I suppose?" The clothes shopping was the worst and why he put it off till last, though he was rather thankful it went off without a hitch even if the lines took forever.

Ethan frowned as he looked down at his own plate. Benjy had a fair point and it wasn't one that Ethan liked at all. He was hungry, his grumbling tummy confirmed that. "Well.. I imagine we will get fed.." he began slowly, though not very confidently at this point. "Else they wouldn't give us any place settings at all, right? Though with the state of them, I'm beginning to wonder exactly what we will be fed.." The last few feasts had been rather extravagant.. well, by the time they actually got to eat.. but if the place settings and the shabby state of the banner were any sign of things to come.. But as to who was cooking if the elves weren't, he couldn't answer that.

Ethan chuckled a bit. He had only been joking about the icebreaker theory, though it did seem to do the trick.. everyone was talking about it, good or bad. He nodded at Nigel's words. "You're probably right.. She'll probably have something to say about it in her speech." At least he hoped she did and didn't try to pretend like everything was normal. He lifted his eyes to the Staff table. She didn't look too thrilled, but he supposed it wasn't an expression much different from the one he normally saw from her.

Ethan nodded a bit during the conversation. Great summer, Diagon Alley.. seemed like the typical response. "Oh, really?" The boy's interest was slightly piqued at the mention of Gwen's traveling. "Which part of France? I have family there.. and I actually went to Beauxbatons a few years before coming here." When the question was turned on him, Ethan smiled a bit nostalgically thinking about it. "Oh, my summer was great.. Went to the US to visit Minerva for a couple weeks, then back home to Germany. We both had jobs there and got in some Quidditch training." They were busy.. but it was a great time and he wished it didn't have to end.

Ethan's eyes followed another young girl as she walked over to the table. A first year, possibly.. she seemed young enough.. though he was fairly sure she hadn't been sorted into Ravenclaw. Gryffindor, perhaps..? He thought he had seen her come from that table and she seemed to know one of the newly sorted Claws. Shrug. He could be friendly either way. "Hello there," he nodded to the little guest at their table before lifting his eyes to the staff table again. Still didn't look like the speech was going to be anytime soon.. which meant no food anytime soon. Sigh.

Ethan lifted his eyes as someone else came over to the table.. oh, the new Quidditch Captain. Was she literally the last person to come through the door? He watched her curiously as she sat down, not bothering to comment on her tardiness.. that was her own business. Instead he graced Elise with a friendly smile and nod as she greeted the table. "Hey there, Captain.. Got everything ready for Quidditch?" Which reminded him.. "I think I know of someone who'd be a good addition to the team.." Though of course that part was up to her, being captain and all, but he could certainly lead a new player in the right direction, yeah?

Ethan raised an eyebrow as Mo flipped a spoon alongside the table. Bored..? Perhaps, and he could hardly blame the little bloke.. the feasts were rather dull especially since they waited forever to actually feed them.. but flying projectiles in crowd this size probably wasn't the kid's best idea. As long as it stayed to the table though, probably wouldn't do much harm..

He tilted his head slightly when the boy spoke. At least he was honest.. most people seemed to give the same stock answer when faced with that question. Still.. "Sorry to hear that.. you'll be ok? Anything I can do to help you out?" He nodded at his words. "No time like the present, right?" And all that tomorrow is a new day stuff.. It often sounded trite, but he did believe it to an extent. And then.. Ethan's eyes followed the path of the plastic utensil as it flied across the Great Hall, then he turned back to Mo.

"As cool as your contraption is," he said, glancing down at the little catapult, which he had to admit was pretty awesome. "I don't think it's a good idea to send the table settings across the room" he said with a shrug. "You know, if you hit the wrong person, you might start a plastic cutlery war.." Though now that he said it aloud, it sounded remotely entertaining and he probably wasn't dissuading the younger boy at all now. "Besides, you need those things to eat with.. do you really want to use them now that they've been on the floor?" At least that much was enough to turn Ethan off of it, plastic was bad enough without it being on the floor previously, which looked far dirtier than usual.

"Great summer.." he said with a nod. "Did some traveling, some working.. still managed to have time for fun though. Oh, and got in some Quidditch training, so yes.. I will be going out for the team again," he grinned, also happy that Mo would be doing the same. They had a great team last year, would be equally as great if some of the same players were there this year as well.

Ethan watched the girl for a moment as she seemed to be trying to place him as well. He tried to think back over his shopping excursions to Diagon Alley. Had she told him her name then? He didn't think so, and if she had, he didn't remember.. "Yeah, Ravenclaw is a great house to be in.." he said with a grin. Then he hesitated, not wanting to be rude, but he had to ask. "Sorry.. I didn't catch your name.."

Ethan nodded. Yeah, it was plastic.. he knew that. It was a muggle thing, yeah? But he had gotten familiar with muggle things recently.. "I don't care much for it either," he agreed with Beezus' words. Not that because it was muggle-ish, but more because it seemed so cheap. He shrugged. "I don't know.. I mean, what happened to the plates and things we normally have? Why get something new?" And a downgrade at that. Shrugging again, he said, "It's whatever, I guess.. I'm just hungry. I hope the Headmistress gets on with her speech so we can eat. Then maybe she'll explain."

Ethan nodded to the younger Claw as she understood his words. "Yeah, from our Head of House." Though he wasn't completely sure if she made that decision on her own or if it was a collaboration. "Nice to meet you, Aquila Llywellyn," he said as she offered her name. "I do remember seeing you last term.. common room, perhaps." Oh, he sorta felt bad as she told him that the other prefects ad welcomed her.. he supposed he should have to. But he would get to know her now. "So are you a second year, then?" Though she did seem a bit older than that, maybe a transfer last term?

Ethan's grin turned into laughter as Eliza described his aunt. "Yes, really into Quidditch.. that's certainly one way to describe it." He knew she was just crazy about the game and thought everyone else should be as well, even to the point where she was just plain annoying at times. "Honestly, I think she just likes to have the chance to play again.. I know she doesn't much anymore. But she seems to like training younger players.. especially Ravenclaws," he added with a wink. She had really whipped him into shape last summer.. and somewhat this past summer as well. "Well, I'm glad you're going to try out," he continued. "I do think you did rather well over the summer.. was it your first time playing? Especially so if then.." He was starting to get excited thinking of the upcoming season.. funny, he had never been this into the game until he started playing for Ravenclaw last term. He made a mental note to introduce Eliza to Elise later. He really thought she might be an asset to the team.

Ethan listened as Eliza sorted out her own thoughts aloud on the poorly condition of their table as he continued looking at his own place setting. No, he was fairly sure it wasn't any sort of punishment and the magic..? He looked up at her at the mention. "No, I don't think that's it either," he started slowly. Magic just didn't work that way, did it? He did know that charms could lose their effectiveness over time and that sometimes magic couldn't be used if there were certain protections in place, but those sorts of things didn't seem to be the case here. What would be the point of coming here anyway if magic couldn't be used? "I do think it has to do with the money somehow.. but that much money? I don't think it was just used improperly.." He frowned then picked up the disposable plate to look at it. "Besides.. what happened to the plates we had from last term? They should already be here.. not like they would have to use money on them.." No, something really odd was going on and it was starting to gnaw away at him. He nodded to her last words. "Me too.. hopefully the headmistress will speak soon so we can eat.. and maybe she'll explain."
As he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye, Ethan turned and his eyes widened in horror to see a cupcake flying through the air. Oh, no she didn't! He watched, a bit stunned as it soared to the staff table, then watched curiously as Mika hit the cupcake with several spells before it landed in front of Professor Flamsteed. He blinked, then looked at the professor for any sort of reaction and, finding none, turned back to the younger Claw girl. "So.. the spellwork was pretty impressive.." he started with an amused smirk. "And I have to say that's an interesting way to deliver sweets.." He leaned closer. "But please don't do that again.. you don't want to give anyone else any ideas." Because then there would be a food fight for sure. Thankfully it had worked out though and there was not icing all over Flamsteed's suit or Trubridge's hair. Oh what were these little Claws doing to himalready, just on the first day back?

"Nice to meet you, Zyanya," Ethan said, returning the girl's smile. He tilted his head to listen to her a bit, then chuckled lightly. "Well, first you have to be older.. at least fifth year. And I guess you just need to be a good leader, someone for younger students to look up to.." He paused for a moment. Was that really him though? Apparently Cerulean thought so, but he wasn't completely sure about her at times.. "Just do your best at school and be a good friend to other students.." That was good advice for anyone though, yeah?

Originally Posted by The Narrator

Almost immediately after the Headmistress finishes her speech, the tables in the Great Hall are suddenly filled with food. But the first thing you will notice is that the food doesn’t seem to have its usual deliciously glowing aura about it. The food seems rather mediocre at best. In fact, the chicken is dry and flavorless, the mashed potatoes are a sloppy, boring mess, the broccoli hardly seems cooked at all - and there’s not even cheese on it! And on top of that, the butterless bread looks more like bricks of charcoal. Not only does the food look and taste somewhat unappetizing, there’s hardly any variety.

On the bright side, there’s loads of ice cream! Bowls and bowls and bowls of ice cream have appeared along the center of the table amongst the lousy dinner dishes. Good thing your mother isn’t here to make sure you eat your undercooked broccoli before dessert!