Originally Posted by MsMorgan

Mariel giggled slightly as Sarah pulled her into a hug and she embraced her friend in return. It was so good to Sarah again, it seemed like it had been forever since they were sharing a dorm and they hadn't had much time to catch up since. Her grin fell slightly as Sarah mentioned how eventful the term had been - one of the reasons why she had isolated herself so much in the dorms this term. She was tired of that nasty, foul-smelling water - thank Merlin it was gone now - and the memory of her having to plug her ears to block out what she was certain to be the screechy fish-language of the mermen. Even her insatiable curiosity was prevented by her intimidation of the creatures to find out if they really had invaded the castle. She was just thankful to be high up in Ravenclaw Tower. Still, she wondered if the rumors were true.

Fixing Sarah with a curious gaze, Mariel asked, "Do you know if the rumors are true? I heard that mermen were inside Hogwarts." But that wasn't all that was on the 14 year old's mind. As scary as she had known mermen to be, at least she hadn't witnessed that. Even more recent events had since haunted her. "And the Headmaster..." she added quietly as she glanced down at the ground. "I hope he'll be alright." But she was certain that even if he was taken care of at St Mungos or wherever, the young Ravenclaw knew exactly what happen to people who were bitten by werewolves. She suddered at the memory. Although things could have been much worse...

"Oh thanks," she said looking up and offering a small smile as she took the s'more from Sarah's outstretched hand. Mariel took a bite of the treat and reveled in it's chocolatey, gooey goodness. "Just like the ones we had last summer at Lasca's ranch, remember?" The memory made her smile, which quickly faded at the thought that she hadn't seen her friend in what seemed like months. How was it possible that they kept passing each other? Mariel was starting to get worried.

Shaking her head slightly to relieve herself from her reverie, the Ravenclaw glanced back up at Sarah as she talked of summer plans. "Hmm, I hadn't thought about it much... But we definitely need to get together over the summer! I'll miss you too much if we don't." Her smile grew a little bigger as she mentioned Wesley. Mariel hadn't seen her new little Huffie friend since she moved back to the dorms. There was something about that girl's innocence and genuine kindness that made her very endearing to the otherwise cautious-to-make-new-friends Ravenclaw. And she missed Wesley since she had left, it would be nice to see her over the summer too. "Why would she think that?" the 14 year old mused aloud. "We're already older than her.... and we're not aging at a quicker pace than she is..." She smiled again at the thought. Wesley seemed to find such silly things to worry about.

As she looked back up at Sarah, she noticed the boy who was sitting next to her had fallen silent. Probably because Mariel had just butted in without even introducing herself. How rude! "Hi, Luke," she said with a smile and leaned past Sarah to be able to see him better as she introduced them. "I'm Mariel." Of course Sarah had just said that... The Ravenclaw girl shrugged softly to herself, then glanced over at the boy again. Luke, not Ryder. Of course this boy must be older than Ryder anyway but where was this boy that Sarah had been so taken with. Then she remembered that magically changing piece of paper that she had been using as a bookmarker most of the term. Perhaps what it said last week had something to do with Sarah's choice of company, or lack thereof? Mariel quickly looked down at the ground, then glanced back up at Sarah with concern written over her face. Sarah didn't seem too upset at the moment, but of course Mariel was there to talk if she needed. Maybe she didn't want to say anything with so many others around... or maybe she didn't know yet.