Sierra rolled her eyes at Blair when the Professor Ackart came towards them. "Hello Professor," she gave him a smile, although she didn't want to win him over like she knew Blair did, she liked him as a teacher.

Floresca nodded to him. "Hello Professor Ackart." She said before turning to look around, and spotting a girl she didn't know. The girl looked rather bored, and she came over to her with a smile. "Hey there, I'm Floresca." She introduced herself sweetly.

ooc: Ball is fine with me, and I can be another boy, if you like. xD

"Ahh, Miss. Vogue, A new day, a new dress..." He said, winking at her.
Ashton couldn't help but smile at Miss. Brooks. She was always very enthusiastic & bubbly &... chatty... he liked it, "Very Good, I expect you all to behave...." He said, making a serious face in mockery. Ashton ran his hand through his messy black hair & flexed his arms again. "I've some inside story.." He said in a low voice & bent down. "It seems as the headmaster's got some plans for you all..." Ashton informed the group & smiled. "Perhaps a Dueling Club or ......." He paused, smiling broadly, he continued..."a...a...BALL!" He said, nodding at the girls. "But it's not 100% confirmed! The headmaster is still pondering & having a hard time.." He said, scratching his chin. "By the way, I am Professor. Ashton Ackart, glad to meet you Delana.." Ashton introduced himself, smiling at the new kid.

Sierra smiled at the Professor. "Yes, of course, Professor Ackart." She said with a smile. She did do that quite a lot. "Oh, really?" She looked curiously at the Professor, wondering what on earth he could know. "What? Are you kidding? A Ball?" She knew it wasn't completely certain, but.. Still. Sierra wasn't always girly, but she did love dresses. And being around boys, though she wasn't really as flirty as her brother.

"Cool, so you're with me." She said, "Where do you come from?" She asked him, she liked meeting new people especially people from different nationalities which she thought of as fun.

Leslee looked up, surprised to see a Hogwarts student greeting her, but she stood up all the same and shook the girl's hand. Pleazure to meet you. I'm Leslee. Beauxbatons, she added somewhat unnecessarily; her English was very good, but she still had quite a bit of her French accent.

Ashton chuckled at Sierra's reaction, "Yes, a ball. I'll keep you guys updated though." He said, opening a box of Bertie Bott's. Offering it to the students, Ashton turned around to face a girl from Beauxbatons, "Come, join us, Miss. Hartwood." He said with a smile. "So, how was everyone's summer?" He asked, glancing around just to make sure that no senior staff was there. Most of the teachers at Hogwarts didn't like Ashton's approach towards students. They thought he was a bit too friendly but this was in his nature, he couldn't help it.

Leslee was very confused that this teacher knew her name, but she wouldn't have dreamed of declining the invitation. She wanted to be on peolple's good side, right? She took the few steps hesitantly over to the small group, though, and chose not to answer the just-asked question. At least not yet.

OOC: Awesome. A ball it is, then. =) And another guy would be nice.. but only if you wouldn't feel overwhelmed with characters.

"A ball?" Blair's eyes widened slightly as the thought passed through her mind. She smiled, partly because of the excitement of this news that only they were privvy to at the moment, but also because it was difficult not to enjoy Professor Ackart's casual habit of sliding his fingers through his perfect hair. "Well, if the headmaster decides against this ball, I think we'll all be in utter disappointment," she commented with a short laugh. She nodded a 'thank you' and took red jellybean with speckles of yellow before popping it into her mouth. As the subject of summer was introduced, Blair realized that they hadn't even talked about their summers yet. Weird. Apparently, all the new Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students must have been the topics of most conversations instead. "Can't complain about mine," she answered. "It was pretty laid-back.. we went to Australia for two weeks." She rolled up her white sleeves a bit and nudged Sierra. "I bet you were off at tons of fashion shows, right?"

"yay, Ball!" Ashton said in a girl voice, clapping his hands. Popping a dark purple colored bean in his mouth, Ashton listened attentively to what Miss. Brooks had to say, "Australia! I bet you had loads of fun?" He said & cleared his throat, "Ahem, I spent my whole summer looking after my Grandma in her dingy cottage." He said. Ashton ginned to himself as the memories of this summer flashed across his eyes & how grandma used to squish his cheeks as if he was still 5. Her feeble voice echoed in his ears, calling him by his embarrassing nickname "Ashbe"... he loved her so dearly...

Arkady snapped his head up at the word "Ball." Really? With partners? No, no partners! He was comfortable with girls but just as friends. He had had just two girlfriends over seven years. Both were long-winded, about a year long but still... He wanted to ask if it was necessery to bring one, but they switched the topic to summer vacation. A topic he didn't want to talk this early. He was torn between the desire of meeting new people and the unwillingness of talking about his vacation... But he could always not tell the unpleasant parts, no? He gathered his stuff, got up and walked towards them, waiting for an opportunity to jump in the conversation.

"Pleasure to meet you, Leslee." Floresca said with a smile. And she walked with Leslee, back over to the group around Professor Ackart.

"Australia sounds fun, you know?" She said to Blair with a smile. "Well, I didn't go to heaps of fashion shows. "But I went to France with Floresca, and my brother Reid. And I did do some work, though." She said with a grin. It had been her fathers work with fashion stuff, but... It was still work, right? Right.

"Not to mention that you got enough dresses to last yo a lifetime." Reid Vogue walked towards the group now, a faint smile on his face. "Hello, Miss." He said charmingly to the Beauxbatons girl near Floresca. You could hear slight French in his voice, even though he lived in England and went to Hogwarts.

ooc: I did Reid's profile with the others, and three is fine for me.

OOC: Awesome. Thanks. =)

"Lithuania," Dmitri answered, pleased that the girl wasn't too bored of him yet. Then again, perhaps she was just good at hiding it. All the same, he smiled at her and responded. "So, it's rather far, I suppose." He peered her way again and switched the subject to her instead. "And you're from.." He replayed her previous words in his mind, analyzing the accent. "Germany?"

"It was amazing," Blair agreed with a nod, wishing she could have stayed in Australia for a longer period. She shook her head and smiled warmly as she heard Professor Ackart tell them about taking care of his grandmother. "Aw, that's so sweet," she gushed, touching the tips of her fingers on his shoulder to emphasize her point. Her hand lingered for a moment, then fell as she shifted her head to look at Sierra while she listened. "The three of you Vogues definitely have the best perks when it comes to parents' jobs," she laughed lightly. When Floresca returned, a new girl was standing by her side. "And who have you met, Floresca?"

Hanz turned around to see a group of girls and Professor Ackart standing, he smiled at the Professor who was easily one of the best teachers at Hogwarts. "Hello Professor!" He said smiling, "Oh no, I haven't made friends yet its one of the hardest thing on earth starting a conversation with a strabger and then being friends." He answered the Professor lightly, Looking around he saw a couple of his friends, Blair, Sierra and Floresca he smiled at them.

"Lithuania!, I have a penpal who used to live in Utena or something like that." She said remembering Rami and all the photos she used to send her. "Yeah, I am from Germany." She said, he was the first person to guess her nationality correctly, "But we moved to live in London seven years ago, because of my dad's job." She explained. "We still go there during the summer holidays though." She added, she was always very proud to be a German.

Ashton smiled at Blair, "Yeah sweet, I enjoyed every bit of it!" He said & glanced at Hanz, "Hello Hanz, It's not hard man, just give a warm smile & say hello but most importantly, be yourself!" He said with a nod & patted on his shoulder. "Now go, try it on the Beauxbatons beauties." He said, winking at Hanz. Ashton's wristwatch started buzzing just like a cell phone, turning it off, he stood up & ran his fingers through his hair which was mostly a part of his habit. "Excuse me, I've a bunch of first years to teach. See you all in Potions Class." Ashton said, rubbing his hands together.

OOC: Do you guys mind if we jump to the Great Hall? Just so the headmaster can address the whole ball thing..

Leslee was sitting at the Ravenclaw table eating dinner with an odd expression. Her lips were glossed as usual, though it was wearing off as she ate her pork chop. She was trying very hard to like Hogwarts, but she missed France terribly and couldn't wait to get back home.

ooc: fine with me

Hanz smiled at Proffesor Ackart, everything seemed so easy when he says it Hanz thought. "See you later Professor." He called, as the Professor went away to work.

OOC: I don't mind ..

Blair made her way into the crowded Great Hall and headed over to the Gryffindor table without a second thought. The headmaster was planning to make an announcement, and Blair smiled to herself at the thought. Thanks to Professor Ackart, she and her friends were pretty sure they knew what this announcement would entail. Smoothing out the wrinkles in her skirt, Blair waited patiently in her seat, every so often sneaking a glance up at the professors' table in the front.

Dmitri walked into the hall and went over to where the Gryffindors were sitting. He had heard quite a few students in the hallways exchanging excited words over what this announcement would be. He was curious, sure, but some were just going crazy it seemed. His eyes scanned down the table, looking to see whether Deedee was there as well, but he hadn't spotted her yet.

"Sorry Headmaster, I had to keep an eye on the potion." Ashton apologized and took a seat next to the Slytherin head of house. He didn't like being late but leaving an unfinished potion alone wasn't a wise thing to do either. Taking a sip of pumpkin juice from his goblet, Ashton glanced around the great hall & his eyes fell on Miss. Brooks, who was surprisingly looking in his direction. He smiled at her warmly & started conversing with the other teachers around.

Deedee spotted Hanz as she was walking towards the Great Hall, she walked over behind his back. "Booo.." She said, trying to scare him.

"Hey Dee." Hanz said as he heard the unmistakeable Boo of his sister, smiling he moved faster towards the Great Hall.

"You're not running away from me!" Deedee laughed and started running although the distance between her and Hanz was a short one. She slowed down when he reached him infront of the Great Hall doors and she put her hands around his neck as if she was piggy-back ridding on him.

"Dee.." Hanz said his voice calm and he unfolded her arms easily, she'll never stop fooling around he thought. "Come on." He said taking her hand and going towards the Gryffindor table.

As they reached the Gryffindor table, Deedee recognized the startling green eyes of Dmitri, she waved at him and started pulling Hanz in his direction instead of where Hanz was going.

"Hey.. Where are you .. " Hanz trailed off as Deedee was pulling him in another direction in the Gryffindor table. He followed her and sat directly infron of a new guy, looks like Durmstrang Hanz thought. " Hallo" Hanz greeted the guy, trying to smile and failing.

"Hey Dmitri." Deedee greeted Dmitri and went to sit beside him, she smiled as she heard Hanz greeting him. Hanz was never the one to make new friends. "That's my twin, Hanz." Deedee introduced. "Hanz, this is Dmitri." She said winking at Hanz, "My new friend." She added.

Hanz smiled at Dmitri and extended his hand over the table, he knew Deedee would kill him if he didn't.

Dunya was still hesitating at the door when she finally decided to get into the Great Wall. If she'd heard right, the feast of Hogwarts was quite good. She wasn't really big fan of British cuisine, she didn't like their food much and she hoped there'd be some Russian cuisine. She could never understand how people ate British food. Well, they were raised with it, just like she was raised with Russian cuisine.

She halted at the door, amazed with the size of the Hall. Theirs wasn't this big. But, then again, Hogwarts was bigger than Durmstrang. She looked at the ceiling, or more rightly to the sky. 'Nothing special.' she thought. 'Just like Durmstrang...'

She hesitated again, not sure which table to sit at. Did that really matter? She just walked to a table, to Slytherin table without knowing so. She wouldn't care anyway, she was used to sitting other House's tables. She sat at the table and stared at the big Hall.



Arkady's shyness didn't give him way again. And nobody had noticed him anyway, so he was still a bit upset about it. He wasn't a shiny social person but he had expected some kind of friendliness. Not a total ignorance. There were many social people there... Oh well. Maybe he acted very nerdy or something. Their choice. He wasn't going to tail them.

He walked into the Hall, oblivious to the size or the ceiling. He hoped to see a Durmstranger, even Sarchiy would be OK. He quickly scanned the crowd but couldn't spot anyone. Because he was a bit late, the Great Hall was already full. He just went straight to the Ravenclaw table, which he was staring at. He sat next to a girl who looked like a stranger as well, quite determined to meet someone. "Hello." he said with a Russian accent. "Arkady, my name is." and held his hand out.

Leslee looked up as a student (from Durmstrang, by the looks of it) came and sat down next to her and introduced himself. She smiled, her blue eyes twinkling once more and accepted his hand to shake. A pleazure to meet you, Arkady. My name is Leslee. Her voice was laced with a mostly French accent, and she felt better about not being the only foreigner.

OOC: okay, so I'm gonna skim through this whole announcement about the ball, if you guys don't mind. Oh, and I'm making up a random name for this headmaster.

"I did not realize you had a twin, Deedee" Dmitri told her, though he was happy to be introduced to another new face. "Pleasure to meet you, Hanz." He shook Hanz's outstretched hand and motioned for the two to sit down. "You may sit here, if you'd like. Or with your other friends.. I don't mind." He looked at Deedee.

"Perfectly understandable," Headmaster Crumblebee responded to Ashton before turning his light eyes back to the hall of students. He stood up before them, his presence commanding attention from everyone. "Students, I have a slice of information that you all may deem rather exciting," he told them, his voice echoing throughout. "We will be hosting a welcoming ball." The headmaster paused as the uproar of excitement began, though he hushed them once again in order to proceed. "All students from all schools are welcome to attend. Dates are not a requirement, though by all means, take one if you so choose." He clapped his hands together once and peered out at the students with a smile. "Now... let us eat!"

Deedee squealed happily, "A welcoming ball ?!", "That would be so cool, wouldn't it?" She said looking around at Dmitri and Hanz. She loved balls, and especially dressing up for balls. "But he didn't mention when it's going to be, I'll need to buy new dress robes." She said looking around as if the headmaster would stand up and tell her the exact date of the ball.

Food had appeared on the table, and Hanz helping himself to lamb chops listened to Deedee's excitement. "Sure, it's gonna be nice." He said half heartedly, he was fine with balls, even though they meant that many people would gather together in one place. "New dress robes, Why?" He asked her shocked, only this last summer it was his cousin's wedding and she bought a very beautiful set of robes that she hadn't wore except once.

"You mean you want me to wear the robes I wore to Olivia's wedding?!, are you insane?" She said shaking her head and starting to eat herself.

A ball? Did he just say a ball? Leslee didn't join in with the other students cheers, but she didn't look as disappointed as she felt. Sure that was great and all, but all the guys going would be too self-important not to have dates and then what was there to do? Sit around all night and eat tacky refreshments. Blech.