It had been a long day already, and Benji was feeling a strange mixture of tired, annoyed, and overjoyed. He was quite good at compartmentalizing, you know. To explain: Tired because waking up early every day meant he wasn't always getting the sleep he needed. (He would truthfully rather be taking a nap than eating, but he knew he would regret it later for many reasons if he skipped this meal.) Annoyed at just the thought of the rules and new professors and other foolishness going on. Overjoyed because... Penny. Enough said.

He stretched a bit as he entered the Great Hall and looked over at the Hufflepuff table quickly, scanning for his girlfriend, although he knew he wouldn't be allowed to sit with her. He didn't see her. She must not have made it down here yet. He turned his attention to the Ravenclaw table, surveying it until he spotted an open place near Drew, who he shared a dorm with. Truthfully, he didn't know the boy well, or any of his dorm mates, for that matter. He tended to keep to himself, as most of them did, as well.

He slid into the space and carefully picked out the food he wanted. "Hey," he greeted Drew. "Reading ahead for Charms?"