Kiri was thrumming her fingers on the table, a little forlornly. Where had Raiden gone? She'd followed him into the Great Hall, but before she could suggest sitting down, another student, one of the boys she'd seen on the train, had pulled him away. There had been no time to say anything, the mass of excited students had pushed her forward, and then he'd been out of sight.

She raised herself from the bench halfway, trying to find him. People were moving back and forth between the tables, wearing identical black robes and... There he was!
Raiden was at the Gryffindor table with the other boy. One of the professors was standing there as well, an angry expression on his face, and a few Gryffindor students. Had Raiden already managed to get in trouble? Kiri considered just getting up and walking over, but if there was indeed some problem, it was probably better if she didn't get involved. She sat down again heavily and rested her head in her hands, watching Raiden from a distance. She wanted him to come over, sit next to her.

Natasha was looking around, and her gaze fell onto a girl who was resting her head in her hands. "Hey, are you okay?" She asked her with a smile. As soon as she said this she felt slightly embarrassed, incase it was kind of rude because it really wasn't any of her business. Natasha didn't know the girl. But, it was too late now, wasn't it?

"Sorry, you don't have to answer." Natasha said after a tiny bit, it just seemed like a habit of hers to think about other people a lot, even if she didn't know them.

Kiri had been watching the going-ons at the Gryffindor table intently. The professor over there looked very angry now, but he seemed to be talking to the Gryffindor students, rather than Raiden and his friend.

A nearby voice spoke.
Kiri turned to look at its owner, a black-haired girl with an apologetic smile on her face. "Hmm?" she murmured distractedly, half an eye still on the table of the Gryffindor students. Why didn't Raiden come over? She tried to focus on the girl again, not wanting to be rude despite the distraction. "Umm, sorry," she said, quickly replaying the last few seconds in her head. "Oh... Yes, I'm okay." More than okay, in fact. The memories of the train ride on the Express back to Hogwarts were still vivid in Kiri's mind. She gestured vaguely towards the Gryffindor table. "I'm just... waiting for someone."

"Oh, no, it's okay." Natasha said, as the girl apologized, probably because she was pretty distracted. She nodded to the girl as she said she said she was fine, but waiting for someone. "I'm Natasha... By the way."

"Nice to meet you," said Kiri, and gave the girl a small smile. "I'm Kiri." She wasn't really too enthusiastic about talking to her, but as the person she did want to talk to was at the other end of the Great Hall, now tugging on his friend's sleeve (which was good, it looked like Raiden wanted to come back to the Slytherin table soon), Kiri should probably be nice to her.

"How, err, are you?" she said, turning towards the girl again. "Did you have a good trip on the train?" She smiled again, this time to herself, at the train ride. However good this girl's had been, Kiri was pretty sure hers couldn't be topped. (At least in her view.) There was something about being able to feel actual Raiden's actual heartbeat while he was resting on her lap...

Hayley choked back her nerves as she approached the Slytherine table. It was daunting, the task of having to find a place to sit. How on earth was she going to be able to get up the courage to ask if she could sit by someone? Her first impression of the Hogwarts, and the Great Hall had been awe, and then terror, and then the distinct feeling of homesickness. She paused, and wondered if she could go up to the staff table, and beg them to let her go home...no, she wouldn't do that...she was going to love it here. Her older sister Natalia had told her so. She looked at the table of her new house again...ooh why couldn't someone ask her to sit by them! She just stood there stupidly, doing her best to fight the tears that were threatening to leak out of her eyes.

"Nice to meet you, too." Natasha replied politely. "Oh, I'm good, thanks." She said with a smile. "It was a good trip, really great." She said grinning again at the thought of the train ride. "How about you?" She asked Kiri.

Natasha glanced up as she saw a girl who looked extremely nervous, and somewhat familiar. "Hey, aren't you Hayley?" She asked politely, always being pretty good with names.

Hayley snapped out of her trance at the sound of her name, coming from a somewhat familiar voice. She turned to the speaker, a girl she was pretty sure she'd sat with on the train, "Uhm, yes...and...and your...Natasha?" she said uncertainly. Maybe she'd have somewhere to sit afterall! "Uhm...can...can I sit with you?" There, she'd done it...and no one would be mean enough to say no...would they? She suddenly regretted her question, "I mean, if I can't, that's okay too...I'll find somewhere else to sit." Okay, so no she wouldn't...she'd probably end up cowering in some dark corner of the Great Hall, lost and forgotten until the end of the world or something. Gosh, Hayley wasn't used to being this negative! What had gotten into her?

"Yeah, it's Natasha." She said with a nod to Hayley. "Sure, sit down." Natasha said, motioning the seat beside her with a friendly smile. "Don't worry, it's fine." Nat said, remembering when she had been a first year. She couldn't remember if she had been as nervous as Hayley seemed right now, but she had been pretty nervous.

"Oh, it was great," Kiri said enthusiastically, but she didn't elaborate further. She had a feeling that sooner or later quite a few people in the school would know anyway, something she was already afraid of. Raiden wouldn't be clueless much longer if that happened. "Looking forward to the start of the term?"

Kiri looked up as another girl joined them. She had a look of terror on her face, a look that was very reminiscent of Kiri's when she had started school. The girl was probably a first year student. Natasha seemed to know her.
Kiri moved a little to make room on the bench, beckoning the first year to join them.

Natasha smiled at Kiri, it seemed what she was saying was defiantly true. She seemed even more happy about the train rider then herself. "Yes, I really am. I've missed Hogwarts a lot." She said.

Oh yay! Hayley finally relaxed a tad as she sat down on the bench in the space offered to her. "Hi," she said to the other girl who wasn't Natasha, "I'm Hayley. Thanks for letting me sit here," she said to both of them. She was suddenly epically hungry, "Say, when do we get to eat?"

"Pretty soon, I think." Natasha answered Hayley, not completely sure but it would most likely be soon. She was glad that Hayley seemed more relaxed now that she was sitting down.

Lyra approached the Slytherin table, she saw that there were already people sitting at the table and she sat down, a little nervously she looked around the Great Hall, it was in one word: Beautiful, she thought. Lyra looked at the other house tables, everyone was talking and laughing with each other.

"Actually i'm a second year. I'm just small for my age." Skylar butt in when she heard the girl, Lucy, introduce her as a first year. They were all older than her so of course they were all talking about things she had no clue of. Or at least hadn't experienced yet.

Hayley's stomach growled audibly as she thought about what her sister had told her about these feasts. She had used the words, "Epic" "Amazing" "Mouthwatering" and "Delectable". "Stoppit, stomach," she whispered furiously, looking down at her belly. "GrrrrOoowwGLlrrp" it replied.

"Don't worry, I'm sure the feast will be here soon." Natasha said with a smile, she only just started to think about it now, but she couldn't wait for the feast, either.

Lyra, thinking that no one would pay attention to her if she just sat there quiet said:
"hey everyone" at the table at large, hoping they would hear a first year like her.
She had hoped that the people she had met in the train would have been here too, but they were not.

Realizing that she had just spent an hour of her precious time sitting and staring at the ceiling with her mouth open like some sort of lizard trying to catch bugs, Leticia shook her head and noticed all of the students that had arrived. 'Yikes!' She thought to herself and straightened out her robes just before attempting to socialize.

Finally after pretty much botching whatever good reputation she could have had for looking completely sane, she turned to quite a few students that had taken seats in the vacinity around her.
Lettie smiled politely and held out her right hand to shake with them, "Hello there, I'm Lettie Dubois." She seemed to lose herself again as her eyes focused momentarily on the large doorway flooded with students. "It's such a beautiful school you all have here." The girl continued, knowing that a few she addressed were older students.

Lyra shocked a little when another girl, much older than she was held out her hand, she looked at the hand a little stupidly before taking it. "Hey" she said and smiled "I'm Lyra Riddle, nice to meet you" she said and hoped her voice wasn't as small as she thought it was.

Theo headed towards the Slytherin table. He wanted some mashed potato, since he didn't get his sandwich on the train. His tummy was rumbling. He hoped he would be able to eat quickly. He set Eddie down on the edge of his empty goblet, and then sat down himself.

"Nice to meet you as well, Lyra." Leticia said as she shook the small girl's hand around rather wildly. "You are a first year right? Are you nervous? It's my first year too. Well, not first year, but yes, I'm just starting here this year, only I'm starting as a fourth year if that makes any sense." Realizing she had started to ramble in her excitement, Lettie cleared her throat and settled down a little bit.
"What are you looking forward to the most, Lyra?"

Lyra tried to take all the information the girl was rambling in at once. "uh wait, this is your first time here but your a fourth year?" she asked looking a little puzzled "where you homeschooled?"
"i'm a first year too" she said and began to sit up a little straighter. "and i'm most looking forward to Charms class and potions! " her voice dropped a little " and Quidditch" can you take try outs when your still a first year? i guess not." she sighed at the same time as her stomach rumbled "oh i guess i'm most looking forward to eat" she laughed.
"what are you looking foward too?"

Grace approached to the table, her head tilted up at the ceiling. She had been walking like that from the moment she entered the hall. She wasnt aware that her mouth was a meter open. She then started to look around the hall, still unaware of her mouth. After fifteen embarrassing minutes of simply staring at everywhere, she realised she'd reached to the table and also realised it was probably the time to close her mouth. She wasnt a Muggleborn, but it was her first time in a full-wizard world.

She looked at people already at the table, tried to see some familiar face or at least someone who'd like to sit with a first year. She finally saw Lyra, the girl she met at the train, talking to anothers. She went to her smiling and said a faint "Hi." to everyone at the table.

Leticia nodded, "Mm hm, yep, I was homeschooled by my aunt and my grandmother. But my family thought it was time to ship me off somewhere else to learn about more than just the subjects they taught me." She picked up her fork and stabbed at the invisible food in front of her.
"I like Charms too, and Transfiguration and Muggle Studies and Care of Magical Creatures." Lettie answered back, then considered Quidditch. "I don't play Quidditch very well, I don't have good balance on a broom." She laughed slightly at what Lyra said last. "Yeah, food is good too I guess." Her stomach seemed to agree and let out a loud growl.
"Hello." Leticia said to another girl that had walked up to the table. "I'm Lettie Dubois." She extended her right hand again to shake.