Annabeth arrived at the Great Hall. It was amazing! All those yellow and black banners, people talking excited - and some of them not so excited 'poor seventh year!' It was easy for her to empathise for them. Hogwarts at its worst would be no worse than her own home. She breathed and her eyes welled with tears. Where were those wizards and witches who had helped her to come to Hogwarts now? Perhaps a social worker witch would be waiting for her at the station and then she wouldn't be forced to come back home. Home. Definitively it wasn't her home. Nor her family. Having a dad who believed that being a pickpocketer was a great job and a mum who loved to ill-treat her friends made Dementors to be cute puppies! And they hated her for being weird, for being a witch! She loved to be a witch! Maybe Professor Hecate could hire her as a nanny... There was always hope... Thinking about it made the girl feeling better. Surely she could volunteer to work with her Potions teacher. No payment, just a roof above her head and some food. No ice cream.

At the Hufflepuff table some familiar faces. Alec was there. "Hi, Alec!" She waved and smiled, waiting for him or someone else who could invite her to join the feast. She looked around. Asher wasn't there yet. Then she noticed Jory at the table. She waved at him. It would be nice if she could sit near to him. Jory was great to her, taught her a lot. "Ji, Jory! I mean, Hi!" She grinned and gave a hopeful look at him. She really want him to invite her to sit next to him.

It would be rude if she wouldn't greet everyone, although she didn't remember their names. Ella, Minerva and the others... It'd be better if she'd wave at everyone. So, she waved: "Hi everybody! Great feast, huh?" She put on her face her best grin.