Originally Posted by MsMorgan

Still peering at the inside of her goblet, Mariel jumped slightly and let out a tiny shriek at the sudden 'Boo' behind her. Gathering her bearings, she spun in her seat and burst out in laughter at the sight of Sarah. "You startled me!" she exclaimed, then glanced over at the silver-haired Lasca as she expressed nearly the same sentiment.

"Of course you're welcome to sit," she said as the Ravenclaw on her right slid over to allow the Hufflepuff girl to sit between them. "So how goes it at the Huffie table?" she asked, looking in her direction and catching sight of Lasca as well. Smirking to herself, she caught her fellow Claw sneaking glances at a certain table. Yes, they would have to talk later.

Mariel grinned back at Natka's enthusiasm and nodded her agreement. It had been a really long time. The third year couldn't remember the last time they talked. "Oh my summer was really good, thanks," she replied. "The first part, spending it with the family was kinda boring, but then I went to America with Lasca and some of our friends which was really amazing."

She offered Natka a grateful smile when she spoke to her of Quidditch. "I really hope so. I enjoyed that position." Which was something she would have never guessed, always playing the position of Chaser when she practiced at home. "And thanks," Mariel said, quickly glancing down at her hands in slight embarassment at the compliment. "I hope to see you in the stands." Or on the pitch, but she was pretty sure that Natka wasn't all that interested in playing.

Stifling a laugh at the first year's excitement, Mariel gave the girl a grin and nodded. "What did I tell you? It's the best." Mariel helped herself to some more chicken and started to answer Dani about classes but Lasca beat her to it. Nodding her agreement, she said, "Yep, the common room always has the current information... And we have some really great study tables too. Everyone's always willing to help out with homework and studying."

Chewing slowly, she nodded several times as she listened to the conversation between Dani and Lasca. When the topic turned to classes, she felt obliged to enter back into the conversation. "Professor Shackleton has a Basic Arithmancy class now which has made an immense difference to me. It's much easier than the one she was teaching before." Noticing that Lasca seemed leery of the subject, she added, "If you ever want to study together, let me know." She had no idea that Lasca had any trouble with that class. "Oh and flying class is so much fun!" she added to Dani. That was one of her favorites.
Seeing Lasca wave, Mariel's eyes followed the girl's vision to see who she was waving at. Oh, it was Copernicus, the nice boy she had met on the train. And he seemed kinda lonely... how was that possible? Surely given his demeanor he must have loads of friends. "Hi Copernicus," the third year called to him brightly before turning yet again to her pumpkin juice.

Originally Posted by Riverlynn

Lasca smiled and almost slapped herself for being so rude. "I'm sorry this is Dani." She gestured to the first year. "Dani this is my other best friend Sarah."

She had totally dropped the ball on that one. She couldn't stop smiling though at Sarah's compliment. Her hair had gone back to its usual color, not a trace of silver visible. Her eyes strayed to the Slythering table again, just as Sarah made the comment.

Sputtering, she fished for an explanation. "Umm...Just looking."

Lame.

"Nothing really. We are all just getting to know one another and catching up with old friends. The usual." She shrugged.

A familiar face loomed up and Lasca couldn't help but smile. His grin was catching on. "Hey Nate! Come on, join us." She scooted over some more and let him sit on her right between herself and Dani. The whole crew was here and the night couldn't get any better.