After some difficulty (and a few chosen swear words), Miranda managed to break a piece of the chicken free. Licking her lips, she drew the meat towards her and was just about to take a delicious bite when she heard her name being called. Turning around to see where it came from, she saw it was Jakers.
She paused, her hand midway to her mouth... But then he smiled and complimented her, which made her blush and look down for a second before looking at him again. "Thanks..." A nod, and then she could sort of sense how he felt...or maybe it was just her. This meant no Kaika this year...nor Dominic for that matter. All she could hope for was that they'd be proud of the new...''leaders''.

Just as she was about to say something back, she felt herself being embraced by...something, and was totally surprised. "Oh!" Aw, her chickenleg fell to her plate. But seeing who it was, she smiled big at the boy. "Cedric! I'm good thanks," ...and also so scared and nervous I'm about to wet myself. "How are you? HOw was France?" She remembered he had plans to travel there over the summer.

Georgiana chuckled hearing Nunaully, "And we love you too Nulu!" she replied with a smile, she was sure Ema did too. How could someone not? Nunually was just too cute! Hearing her question she tilted her head, "Well, Slytherin isn't too bad. Sometimes some people in their house can be rude, but Kay here," she smiled towards Kay, "has a good friend from Slytherin so they can't all be bad!"

She laughed and waved back to Rex. "And I appreaciate having you as a close friend Rex. Thank you for the invitation to join Magical Five! I can't wait to meet the others!"

So she thought Tyler was funny, cute and sweet. And he just makes her nervous in a good way because Cadence is afraid to say something stupid in front of him. Parents and her boyfriend died her first year here... That's alot to take in for someone who was only eleven and going through all that. Then again, she wasn't alone. But that story had different details and all. Tyler couldn't say anything, but just listen. He couldn't think up any words to try to console her. Tyler just looked down at his his blue Vans, up to his straight leg dark jeans and to his blue shirt. So much color cordination. "I'm sorry to hear that..." was the only thing that could come out his mouth. "I'd probably do the same if my girlfriend was killed and my parents died all in the same year and I was still here," he said. Well, maybe he wouldn't destroy the common room, but he would just want to be alone for some time.

"How did you find out that you were allergic to rabbits and pineapple?" Ema wondered. She smiled happily when Nunually said that she reminded her of her mother. As long as she didn't blow any houses up she was fine with that. Ema listened to her story and laughed. "That musta been a shocker." she pictured a nice family dinner until Nunually bit into the pumpkin pie. "I love you too!" she gushed, swallowing her mouthfull. Aww, Nunually was so nice and cute and...well, squeezable. A kitty!!

She looked up nervously as she heard Nunually choking on her broccoli. "You okay?" she asked, peering at her. Then Ema looked over at the Slytherin table. "They're okay...I don't know too much about them. I've met a few kids from there that are nice, though." she nodded approvingly in the direction of the Slytherin table. "They used to be thought of as mean, but obviously, as time went on they weren't anymore. After all those 'dark ages' and stuff." Ema looked back to Nunually. "Why?"

Ema looked up at Rex and gave him a smile. "Of course I remember you, Rex!" Or she had better remember him...she was to young to loose her memory. "I'm doing fine, how about you?" she asked, spooning some more carrots onto her plate. "Yeah, we certainly did. It wasn't as long as I thought it would be, though. Or maybe I'm just getting older and more patient." she smirked.

Ema turned her attention on Jake. Wait, woah! Adopted? Ema really needed to know this kid, she didn't even know he was allowed to get adopted. Well, not allowed, but...she didn't know he could. She didn't remember him talking about life back home. Hmmm...

"THAT'S GREAT, JAKE!" she beamed, jumping up and awkwardly hugging him from across the table. Huh, those tables were wider than they appeared...pfft! So she just ended up...kind of...patting him on the back a bit whilst leaning toward him awkwardly. Her face began to burn up. She should have just settled for a high-five. "Errr - what are they like?" she asked curiously.

Emalyn laughed. "No, there's nothing wrong with you," she said when she noticed he was checking his appearance. "You just look...older, maybe. Or...something." Hmm...this was weird. Ema always saw Jake as the 'young little seeker' but something about him this year didn't quite give her that impression. In fact, he was slightly attractive. Jake? Attractive? Naw. Impossible. "Just different. In a good way." she shrugged.

"Happy Birthday, then!" she exclaimed. "How old did you turn?" Jake was in his fourth year, right? That would mean fourteen...unless he turned fifteen like she did after the deadline, but would Hogwarts except someone whose birthday was a day before September 1st? "It musta been a great day with your new family. Are they wizarding?" Ema imagined in her head Jake getting adopted and moving to a new home with a new family...and then them finding out he had a whole chest full of spellbooks and a wand, etc.

Ema looked back up. "My summer?" she asked. Huh, she hadn't been asked this yet. She looked down at her plate, biting her cheek, thinking. How was her summer? "I guess it was okay." she nodded, turning her gaze back on Jake. "A leeeeetle on the down side, but good. Missed everyone here of course."

Ema, whilst shoving in some more mashed potatoes, looked up when she saw a familiar frame heading down toward the tables. When she noticed it was Miranda, she looked closer. Something was shimmering on her chest, like a...badge of some sort. Ema's first thought was prefect, but hadn't she seen Sarah with the prefect badge earlier?

As Miranda made her way closer Ema realized what it was. It all made perfect sense. "MIRANDAYOUDIDITYOU'RECAPTAINHOLYSMOKES!" she hooted, waving at her friend from across the room. She re-adjusted her voice, her blushes only getting worse. Why did she have to yell at a time like this? "Well done!!!" she said, a bit quieter, though still excited. This would be so awesome! Ema missed Kaika something dreadful, but Miranda being captain would be certainly a good change of events. "Congratulations, mah chocoholic friend."

So maybe this term would be good. Great. Fantastic.
Better than last term. Most definitely.

Seeeeee? Now she knew Jake was definitely happy for her, neither of them had to worry, right? Or maybe Jake was the only person worried about worrying.

Heck, it was only recently that he started thinking about other peoples' feeeeeelings.

"I'll buh-be seeing yuhh-yuh-you at ttttryouts," he said, smiling and turning away, leaving Miranda to get on with her conversation in peace. It felt weeeeird being a fourth year. Halfway through this year he'd have made it halfway through his Hogwarts career.

And what could he do magic-wise?

He could do squat.

Holy cows wearing stillettos on a rainy day, this girl had a set of lungs on her. Jake went wide-eyed as she leaned over the table towards him, but only for a second, since he understood people a little more now. That meant hug. The smile helped him on that count.

When Ema blushed, Jake didn't react at all... it was better to not react. He smiled widely, looking very pleased for himself. "Shhhe wuh-was mmmy foster mmmother for ab-about a yyyyear. Real nnnnice," he explained, though he couldn't explain it properly yet. He got so much attention, attention he'd always craved. In his opinion it was doing him the world of good. Even when he got into troubled the situation was dealt with properly. He didn't get away with anything but he in no way felt resentful when he was, for instance, grounded so he couldn't watch the world cup.

Well, not much... after a while.

Different in a good way, huh? "Good is good," Jake nodded approvingly. At least he didn't appear to be a troll or anything. That would be quite icky. Errr... unpleasant.

Ahhhhh, his birthday. That was such a good day... Jake got what he wanted INCLUUUUDIIING that absolutely GORGEOUS guitar he'd seen... but he'd had to leave it at home. Siiiiigh. "I wwwas fuhh-fourtteen," he explained, using his finger to trace the outer rim of his empty goblet. "And yyyeah... it wwwwas awesome. S'all wwwizardding buhh-back hhhome... but when sh-she fostered mmme it was through Muhh-muggle au-auth-autho... ritt... ees."

Stupid word.

"I'm ssstartin' to rrread ppproperly an' ev-everything."

And apparently stuttering more and more. Didn't that one Healer say that would abate soon? Ahhh well.

Mmmmm, Ema looked a tad unsure when answering Jake's question, so Jake decided not to push it. He didn't know whether it was linked to that friend she had to see or not, but either way, yes... Jake didn't want to push that at all. Sooooo... he moved on. Nodding agaiiiin, Jake tilted his head. "Ttttrying out th-this yyear?"

Yes, Quidditch again.

Well he hadn't run away or even excused himself awkwardly from the table, Cadence had to take that to be a good sign. She sniffed a little and looked up at him with a sort of sad smile. "It's okay TyTy. It's not your fault; don't be sorry. Sometimes, bad things just happen, and sometimes really really good people do bad things. The world isn't a perfect place divided into good and evil, right and wrong." She looked around the Great Hall and saw how many students were filling it up so quickly. Cadence was right, sometimes bad things just happened, and you had to learn to accept that. Look at all the bad things that had happened at Hogwarts, but people kept wanting to come back.

She took a deep breath and looked into his eyes again, smiling for real now. "What I was trying to say in that big long ramble about all my issues is that after I've known you for more than a day, I could probably really really like you... as more than a friend, but right now it's too soon to make any calls like that. So, no right now you don't make me nervous because I like you; you make me nervous because there's the potential for me to like you. And I know that's the question you were really trying to ask me, TyTy."

Meh. Wasn't as awkward as it could have been. At least she hadn't landed in a bowl of spaghetti.

"That's great," Ema was happy for him...he sounded genuine. She was tempted to ask why he had to be adopted in the first place, but decided not to touch on that subject. That would NOT bode well for the start-of-term feast. "do you like the house? Are there other kids?"

"Yuuuuppp." she bobbed her head. "Better than looking awfully, treacherously hideous. I coulda said that." she smirked. "But don't worry, I'm joking."

"Awesome. So it's been a good year so far? Well, for the most part I imagine." Ema said, remembering the term before. Ahh, so much chaos. Hopefully this term wouldn't be anything like that. It had been hard to get to sleep then. "Glad to hear it. What kinda cake did ya eat?" Because. cake. was. important!! "That's good, at least she knew what you were. I mean, what you were like. Wizarding. At least she wasn't surprised or...like...something." she rambled, mumbling.

"Good...reading's good." she said, taking a sip from her goblet.

And then a wee little bit of an awkward silence. Hmph. But the awkwardness was killed when he mentioned Quidditch. Yay! "Oh yeah, definitely. I so regretted not being able to make those tryouts last year, even though I...signed up." touching on that subject wasn't the best either, but whatever. "And I regret not being on the team for Kaika's last year." Yet another subject she wasn't sure she was supposed to bring up. "You're definitely trying out again, right?" he had better...he was a great player. "You'd better, you're a great player." she voiced her opinions, handing him the pitcher of pumpkin juice. "You aren't allergic to pumpkins, are you?"

Bored.

Bored, bored, bored, bored, bored, bored...

So Oliver decided to take a wander around the hall, ending up at the Hufflepuff table. He looked over the kids locked in conversation and smiled. His eyes twinkling with amusement.

Hufflepuff. Hehehehe! What a stupid name.

...And SO much yellllllow...

Hands in pockets he rocked on the balls of his feet and squinted up at one of their banners with the house crest on. He was curious as to what that creature that was. Slytherin was a snake – that was easy. Lions for Gryffindor and that bird thingamy was the Ravenclaws – all pretty much symbolic of the house they represented.

So what was that cah-razy looking crreature? A... rodent? Imagine being sorted into the Rodent house.

ah-ha a-ha. heehee.

He crinkled his nose and nudged the nearest person with his elbow, still with his hands in his pockets. Another girl. Figured. “Hey Hufflepuff.” He said in greeting with a smirk on his face. “What is that thing on your banner there?”

"So what have I missed so far?" Avery said pulling food closer to her ready to eat. She was starving after all she never had a chance to make it to the food trolly. "I wonder if Nymphy will come sit by me?" Avery spoke up looking around the tables to see if where he was sitting some where else, or if he had been sorted yet.

Miranda had just been about to resume her grabbing of the chickenleg when suddenly another call was heard, and she was almost sure her name was called out... Her head jerked to the other side of the table and grinned big as she saw her friend Emaly. "Ema!" Awww, her teammates were so sweet. She saw her friend sort of composing herself and Miranda laughed. Ema was so funny at times. "Thankyou, Ema..." Now the blush was back, and she smiled shyly. Chocoholic friend? Snort. Chuckling, she shook her head amused and then took a breath to speak. "I'll be seeing you at tryouts right?"

And she really hoped Jakers would be there too. Who knew, some of the team players might have a problem that Miranda was now going to be their captain.

Oh, but he was going to be there! Yay! "Yeah, allright Jake!" She smiled and nodded happily. She was about to tell him, in a teasing way, to keep out of trouble, but figured that might be a little to harsh to say. It's not like Jakers wasn't trying to stay out of trouble, for Miranda knew he was, ofcourse.

"I look forward to that-" And then she felt a nudge, making her sway a little in her seat. Hey Hufflepuff? She turned to look at the boy and was utterly confused as to who it was. And it had to be a boy. A BOY.

"Er...Hi." She said and then followed his gaze to the House Banner. Was this boy mocking her or was he new at this school? Miranda couldn't really recall seeing him before."Thats a Badger...?" Her answer sounded like a question in the end. Because it was simple, right? Who didn't know about the AWESOMENESS OF THE BADGER?

So Sarah had introduced herself to pretty much everyone at the staff table, well the ones that didn't already know her anyway.For some reason she was in quite a happy mood, and practically skipped towards the Hufflepuff table.Pausing briefly she looked up and down, trying to spot Wesley.She hadn't seen the younger 'puff on the train and was desperate to share her news.Obviously, however, she also had to make sure everyone else knew she was a Prefect...you know, in case they needed anything...

Sarah stood behind the outer bench and addressed the table at large, raisng her voice slightly to be heard above the chatter. "Hello everyone," she smiled. "I wanted to say welcome to all you first years and transfers.I'm Sarah Griffin, one of your Prefects, so if you ever need help just come find me or Torin Kane." With a nod, she flung her arm around Wesley's shoulder and slid into her seat. "How you doing, Wes? I missed you on the train."

Anastasia smiled. "Yes, I was. This whole thing is completely nerve racking." When Allison sent her letter over, Anastasia saw that pure sadness was in her eyes. "You know, we're going to get through this. I know we will." Anastasia sent a warm smile with a twinkle in her eye to Allison.

Ziva got up from where she was sitting. She was not going to sit by a bunch of first years, she walked down the table and randomly picked a spot.

"Hello, I'm Ziva. Do you mind if I sit here?" she asked the boy. So much for not making those new friends...

Ema nodded vigorously. "Of course you will! Can't wait to see you in action." that sounded weird... "It'll be great." she smirked over at Miranda. Then seeing that Miranda was devouring chicken she turned to a platter full of it and got some for herself.

quidditchquidditchquidditchquidditch...

Ema needed her yearly dose. She had completely skipped the term before. She NEEEEEEEEDED quidditch. She needed to at least make the tryouts, because not everyone got on the team of course.

quidditchquidditchquidditchquidditchQUIDDITCH!

"It's amazing," Jake smiled warmly, and now he was starting to speak about something which made him relax, like the climbing thing or the fact that he had an awesome homelife, the stutter was beginning to calm slightly. He was relaxed and it was like before it happened. "And just me. N-no other kkkids to take the atten- I m- I meea... I mean... yeah..."

Bwaha, oops?

Hideous, huh? Well... that wouldn't bode well. Everyone at Hogwarts was, like, totally pretty and everything... save a few professors... maybe... But they all looked... nice. And though Jake didn't care about his own appearance, it was nice to look... pretty. Fail adjectives, but oh well.

With a small amused and light-hearted smirk on his face from that comment, Jake allowed his eyes to wander again up to the staff table. That guy in the middle was CREEPY-lookin'. Jake didn't like him. At all. He'd liked Bontecou and he wanted Bontecou back NOW.

Good year? That depended... onnn...

"Well... if, like... yyyou started the year in th-the mmmmiddle of August, thhhen yeah," he grinned, showing he was being... silly, for want of a better word. "Good year. And ttthhis year, I wwwwant to be... good."

Ema was definitely a girl after Jake's own heart, and she proved that by directing the conversation... to cake. CAKE! AH LURVE DE CECK! "It wwwwere sugar-less," he stated, but was hasty to to explain. "But mmmy mother. New mother. Rrrreal guhhh-good at... that... that fffood thing. It was ddd-deli-... deeelee-... It wwwas good."

Heck YES! He was trying out for quidditch. Oddly enough, his favourite part of the tryouts process was the sign-up sheet. Jake was... an odd boy. "Yeah," he nodded, eyeing the food, finally, wondering what to have. Obviously no meat. But then the compliment took him by surprise. "Nnno... nuhh-not ggggg... guhhh-ggreat... Luhh-lllucky," he stuttered, pulling at his collar to breathe as he blushed furiously. To cover his bumbling, Jake took the pumpkin juice and poured out a small amount in a goblet (small because the smell always made him dizzy at first... baby steps). "Nope... just ssssugar allergies," he hrinned sheepishly, and AGAIN let his eyes wander to the staff table.

And the evil looking man.

"Wwwwhat do you th-think ab-about thhhe ssssstaff thi... this yyeearrr?" Jake asked, leaning closer to Ema and lowering his voice.

He did not like change. And was therefore ready to complain about the huge changes up. at. that. table.

Lysander Kyle Valendar walked through the great hall to take a seat at the Hufflepuff table where nobody was...Just at the edge of the table...
His skin fell beautifully right up to his warm brown eyes.....

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luna Laufghudd

"Er...Hi." She said and then followed his gaze to the House Banner. Was this boy mocking her or was he new at this school? Miranda couldn't really recall seeing him before."Thats a Badger...?" Her answer sounded like a question in the end. Because it was simple, right? Who didn't know about the AWESOMENESS OF THE BADGER?

A Badger! Of course it was a badger! It seemed pretty obvious now as he looked at it.

He looked back at the girl noting that she was about his age. That was good. Better that than sitting with all those eleven year olds at his own table. “Mind if I join you?” He asked, slipping into the small space beside the girl and the person sitting next to her without waiting for a reply. He seemed completely oblivious to the fact that they were all now squished like sardines.

“What's up with that?” Meaning the badger. “I get the rest of the houses but why a badger? Aren't they like skunks? Like.. they give off a smell if bothered?” He sniffed the air and shrugged – all he could smell was food. His tummy rumbled.

He reached over the table and helped himself to some bread. He couldn't wait any longer.

Bonnie eyed the boy and felt her heart stop.
"Hello, I'm Bonnie Campbell!" she smiled and nodded toward a space on the bench.

And then...was Jake NOT stuttering? Ema gave him a puzzled look but covered it up with a small smile and laughed. Oh this boy was sooo gonna say attention oh yessireehewashewas! "Right." she said, trying to hide her amusement.

And then he mentioned something about...wanting to be good? Ema let out a small snort. "Jacob Upstead? Good? I'll believe it when I see it." she stuck her tongue out. Thaaat's right, it was kind of like a dare. She didn't know much of this kid, but what she did know was if there was trouble, he usually had a small role in it. "You could try to set a record though." she teased.

The thought of a sugarless cake sounded very disappointing in Ema's opinion, but Jake seemed pleased with it. She nodded. "That's good. Can you...not have any sugar?" she remembered the times she had seen this kid have sugar, and she knew he got hyper and sometimes a little crazy, but could he really not have...any? "I gave you candy last term..." she mumbled, biting her lip. She hoped she didn't cause any strange rash or itch or reaction in him or something when she did that.

Emalyn waved her hand as if to push his comment away. "No, not lucky. I've seen you practice, you're great. No luck. Unless you've been brewing Felix Feliocuoaushasildgas for the last four terms," she mumbled the last part of the potion's name quietly. It was so much easier just to say felix. "You wouldn't be our seeker if you weren't a good player." she added. Ahh, okay. So he had sugar allergies. Ohhh dear.

Ema leaned forward to hear what Jake was saying. She followed his gaze up to the staff table and peered up at the new staff members. There were a few she didn't know. "I heard about some guy...Kade? Anddd..." she saw a guy in the middle who must be the new headmaster. Poor Bontecou. "Oh gee, he looks friendly." she whispered, taking in his stubborn (or however you would say it...maybe...prudish? No...some word, though) behavior and appearance. She looked back at Jake and almost jumped. Jeez, they were close. She cleared her throat and leaned back a bit, her eyes darting back to the staff table as she started tugging on her earlobe. "Yeah, umm...it's definitely different, huh?" she asked. Now she, too, was eyeing the staff table suspiciously.

cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-changessss

Avery sat alone at the table. Her hazel eyes wandered the Great Hall.

Her skin was ivory and her eyes were hazel. She wore smokey eye shadow and her lips were ruby red. In her nmouth she wore fake vampire fangs that you stuck to your canines. She didn't know why she wore them, she just liked to. Avery's hair was flaming orange with yellow lowlights. She had a petite and elegant frame and she was around 5 feet tall. A bit short for a sixteen year old girl.

Lysander got up to his feet....
He was rarely tall for a sixth year....
He had a broad chest and shoulders.....
and smiled while he held out his right arm....
"Im Lysander..."
He took a pause.
"Lysander Kyle Valendar,nice to meet you Bonnie."
He looked into her eyes....
They were a rich innocent color....
She eyed the bench....
"Would you want to sit next to me?"

Ladies and gentlemen, and children of all ages! Zachary Zatara was at Hogwarts!

..and couldn't look more miserable. His robes didn't seem to fit right, though it wasn't like he would know. His experience with wearing robes went only as far as the bath variety. A bunch of wizards and witches cloistered away in a castle learning magic, was something he would have attributed to a work of fiction if he wasn't there to see it and believe it.

With his lucky top hat on his lap, the all American boy was fidgeting uncomfortably with his tie. There was nothing particularly wrong with it, besides it being around his neck, which was an apt excuse for it to gain his ire. Despite it all, his eyes were filled with child like amazement, while turning the average Hufflepuff neck tie into a bow tie.

"This is all just a dream. I'm going to wake up soon, right?"

Her heart beat was fast and she felt a lump in her thoart when she nodded.

Her eyes lite up when he asked what subject she was looking forward too."Well I love animals so I can't wait for Care of Magical Creatures. And I loved watching my brother dueling with his friends and my dad so can't wait for Defense Against the Dark Arts either.What's your favorite subject? Are the teachers nice?Arya glanced over to the staff table, she wondered who taught what."Oh, Jake this is my friend Anastasia."

"I know, I just wished that she was a Hufflepuff too. Atleast we can run around the castle together." Arya turned from Allison and back to Jake and Anastasia, taking a sip of her drink."Oh, Anastasia this is Jake." She pointed in the direction of the forth year with a smile.

He smiled beautifully....
as he held out his right arm to escort her to the bench...
She was rather a beautiful Second year Ravenclaw....
What a shame she wasnt Hufflepuff..