Violet paused a minute at Claudine's question. Was she nervous about the O.W.L.S.? Before she got on the train, she would have said 'of course not!' but since then, with those episodes of forgetfulness and confusion--now she wasn't sure. She hoped it was just the after-effects of her 'Poppy allergy,' as she'd come to call it, but what if it were something else, something serious? Maybe she'd better go see the healer (a real one this time) before the term got too far underway.

But Claudine (and the growing crowd at the Slytherin table) didn't need to hear all that, so she just said, "Um, well, yes, I guess I am a little nervous." Noticing Darius there, she said, "Hi, Darius--I guess the O.W.L.S. are all over for you," looking at him a bit enviously.

Noticing Blake there, she greeted him, smiling inwardly at his attempts to get Claudine's attention. Jam? really? Was that a thing now? Then she abruptly stopped smiling, because she realized she wished someone was out there somewhere who would want to offer jam to her.

"Hi Kayne, Maya, Bella," Violet went on, trying to include everyone. Though she didn't know Maya very well--it seemed like she was always running off to another table, and in fact, even now, was eyeing the Ravenclaws. "I went to the Diagon Alley Celebration, at least for a little while," she continued to Bella, who was the only one she could think of anything to say to. "I was with my uncle, so we mostly stayed in the Food Court, though we did go to the Memorial Garden--it was very nice, I thought."

And suddenly, there was Nemesis Upstead, who apparently couldn't just make an ordinary entrance like anyone else. She opened her mouth to greet him, too, just to be civil, but before she could get a word out, he'd slid out of his robes and gone off elsewhere. Whatever.