Lotte simply marveled at the castle's grandeur. It was every bit as beautiful as she had imagined. The hall was warm and cosy, with thousands of students brimming with excitement over the new term. She smiled, feeling perfectly at ease for the first time since she enteringthe grounds.

The First Year headed towards her table, eyeing the food speculatively. There was an unbelievable selection to choose from! She licked her lips as she noticed a platter of treacle tarts laid out on the table.

"Why did I even hesitate to come to this place?" she quietly laughed to herself as she took a seat on the bench.

"Tell me about it." Brielle said to herself, hearing the girl's words before her. Only problem was, she said it a little bit too loud. "Sorry." she apologized, grinning at her. "But I really do understand how you feel, it's amazing isn't it?" she added, looking around the hall. Laughter and chattering filled the whole room, but it all seemed mute to her. She was mainly focused on this girl in front of her, a possible future friend.

"I'm Brielle, by the way." she smiled, extending out her hand for a shake.

Sofia noticed what looked like a first years enter and take a seat next to what looked like another first year. She didn't mean to pry but she really wanted to get to know some of her fellow Ravenclaws.

Slowly she picked up her plate and slid over to where they were sat. She sort of waved as she sat down and reached for a treacle tart.

Alex laughed shaking his head. "Unsanitary? That's the only reason?" She was joking, funny girl. She was joking... Right? Or had she gone around biting people? Must have looked pretty funny and extremely cute.

He waved one hand dismissively at her. Announcement thingy, announcement board same thing different names. "You knew what I meant didn't you?" he chuckled with a wink. No need to notice his choice of words missy, they were almost never right. And when they were they usually were about things he knew everything about, like quidditch, pranking and girls. Although he didn't count Ellie as a girl. Merlin of course he counted her as a girl he counted her as The girl, capital T. But sometimes he didn't because... Well she was different and he had actually no clue whatsoever how he would act around her. And that wasn't normal for him.

"Then we'll have to keep an eye out." he smirked. Or both you know because he always looked at things with both eyes, why would he look at important things with just one eye?! O.o It didn't make any sense, sometimes people were just freaky that did that. Sometimes his mind was really freaky like right then when he stood talking to Ellie. At least she wasn't a mind reader. Oh he would be sooo doomed if she was a mind reader. He wouldn't have any friends at all! *sniff* "Perhaps we can sneak out sometime when the pitch is unoccopied and practise." he wiggled his eyebrows at her. Like in the middle of the night... How awesome would that be?! Dark yes, but awesome.

Ellie fingered on her ring and Alex ran a hand through her hair. Wait she only did that when she was nervous and feelings like that. So did that mean he made her as nervous as she made him? Nah probably not. She probably just did that because of the awkward silence that had erupted before he had time to pick a subject.
Faaaacepaaalm! Of course she didn't already missed it, the Feast was still going on she hadn't been away for that long. Way to go, Alex. You have now embarrassed yourself. Again. Cue applauds and mockings. Ugh. "Ooh right." he chuckled scratching his neck. "Then I'll ask again in a month then." he grinned. Mental note; A month from now ask Ellie about the Leaky. Done!

Huh, did he miss New York? One part of him screamed yes and wanted to lay down on the floor in misery and he other one said; "Huh, New York? What's that? Can you eat it? *omnom*" Alex thought for a while, which side would he show to Ellie? Hm, how about a little bit of both. "I miss my family." he nodded. Yes he really did, there was no one to take care of his sister when he was away. Sure their parents but not a big brother. Whittle Jenna. "And I miss the city sometimes..." Also true, Empire State Building etc.... *sigh*. "But I don't think about it too much. I'm having too much fun right where I am talking to you." he winked. Also very true, he was such an honest boy *rewards him*. "And at the moment I wouldn't have it any other way." At that moment he really wouldn't have it any other way, talking to any other person. He was talking to Ellie and he loved liked that very much indeed. Another truth to wind it up. Good Slythie boy.

Alex saw a cute whittle first year sit down by the Ravenclaw table and he looked at her for a while. It wasn't the same firstie that had stolen his cake was it? *suspicious eyes* Deciding that it wasn't he smiled friendly at the girl. "Hey there, welcome to Ravenclaw." Aaaalright so he was a Slytherin welcoming a first year Claw... Wasn't that the Prefect's job? Still couldn't hurt though. Unless the girl was afraid of Snakes... O_o

How did he not know what Faustus was? OHH HAMBURGERS! Hugo jumped a little when Eino screamed. "C-calm down," he said when Eino looked in his pocket. Where could it be? "Well it can't have run away, right?" Hugo asked, not even certain of the answer in this magical world. "Wasn't it in your trunk, which have been brought up to the dormitory?" he asked. No- not the cactus. Eino'd be down for like, hours. Maybe days if it was more precious to him than the other pets he had killed or done something else with. "Right?" he asked again feeling Eino's panic.

Ellie was right about it all being a learning experience. For the first year and a half after Sven's death Draven was pretty much lost and unconsolable. But it also made him tougher albeit sometimes angry when bad things happened to people he cared about. But he was learning to deal with it much better and could see how much it had made Ellie the kind of person who she was now.

"Well, i think your doing a great job Ellie. And I think your dad would be very proud of you" he said smiling.

"But just so you know, if you ever want to come stay with me and my parents over the summer in Ashbourne your more than welcome. They would love to have you as they are very friendly people" he said sincerely.

He hated the fact that she was alone outside of Hogwarts so if he could help out in anyway he would. He smiled as she said he could count on her anytime he needed which he totally believed. She was a very sweet and one of the closest friends he had made at Hogwarts.

"Thanks Ellie, that really means a lot to me. It really does".

Winston blinked at the impolite girl. What kind of a question was that? "I'm a first year," Winston said. Uh-oh. Hopefully he hadn't just told off a third year or something. That'd be bad.

"Erm...thank you, I suppose," he added, slightly confused. He was a first year. He didn't look that far ahead. He had barely even thought about the first day of classes. And just now, when the headmaster stood up, had he even realized there would be a speech.

Reminded of the oddly laid-back girl from earlier, Winston gave her a bewildered look. "Well, yes, I'm nervous," he said simply after a pause for consideration. Who wouldn't be?
Winston shrugged about the ceiling. He, too, had never seen anything like it. It was magnificent, but he was fairly certain they had established that. They'd also decided that it was a fine piece of magic, or at least Winston had, so he said nothing more on the topic of the ceiling.

"I did not meet anybody on the train," Winston said slowly. Oh. Was that why people sat in compartments with others? To meet people and become acquainted before the feast? Hmm. He had not realized.

Emily walked down the length of the Ravenclaw table, her long wavy black hair fanned our gracefully behind her, and took a seat. She peered around at the new faces, and the familiar faces. This was her final year at Hogwarts, she had been through so much over the past few years but her time here was coming to an end.
One year, she thought. One spectacular year. She smiled and helped herself to a peppermint humbug.

She was looking forward to meeting some new friends this year.

Maybe she was up to no good and was trying to avoid the question. Yes, those Hufflepuffs always oh-so loyal and friendly, just like those pogrebins they were innocent until the moment they preyed. Eino looked at the girl very suspiciously then took another sip of water while fixing his eyes upon her the entire time. Maybe [s]she[/i] had gotten rid of Caroline and now she was looking for another student to devour, and she had chosen Eino. Of course he was so nervous when he met her, it was a warning. Unfortunately, he didn't have his pogrebin-capturing-net with him, otherwise he would have tossed it over her and interrogate her about Caroline's whereabouts. "I see." Eino said monotonously with his eyes still fixed on hers, threateningly.


Excited to her someone mention pogrebin capturing, and without realizing who had spoken, Eino replied and he turned around, "My friend Caroline has been eaten by po--" He paused when he realized he was speaking with Caroline, who obviously hadn't been eaten by pogrebins. So did this mean Brittany wasn't an evil pogrebin in disguise after all? and Hufflepuffs weren't all pogrebins? He would have to look into this matter. "Hi Caroline. I haven't seen you since Diagon Alley so I thought you were eaten by a pogrebin." He explained himself, not sure if it did any good.


The trunk... Yes, Eino nodded. "It's in the trunk." No wonder Hugo was a Ravenclaw. "I put him in the trunk when we left the train because I couldn't bring it to the feast." Eino explained recalling the event. It was way past Faustus' bedtime anyway, so hopefully it would already be asleep in the trunk. This could be a problem since Eino would have to wake it up to take out his pajamas.

"Wow your dad is a professional player? What team does he play for?" Alice had never met anyone with such a cool parent! All her friends back home were muggles so most of their parents were dentists or accountants or something else boring that involves sitting in a grey office all day. “What position would you like to play then? I always played seeker back home, because I’m so small. And erm...what's S.P.E.W?

Jaina smiled back at her 2 friends and held up her Hufflepuff badge. Giving them a big smile she nodded a yes and mouthed "definitely!" She was happy to see that they were together and that they would more than likely have all their first year classes together!

It was so sweet how Ellie offered to talk about Edmond but she needed to get done with him.He wasnt coming back. Never. The time to cry about it was over."I really appreciate that",the blonde smiled,"you know if you have something you want to talk about i will be there."What were friends for?!Fee couldnt stand seeing her friends sad and always tried to help them the best she could.


The Slytherin giggled when Ellie leaned forward.She was just sooo incredebly cute when it came to Alex.When would they see how perfect thex were for eachother?!"I dont think he can tell",she shook her head,"guys are always blond to things like this."That was sooo annyoing,how much more obvious could it get?!Someone needed to make the first move."Dont worry about it",the girl winked at her friend,"oh and i am going to throw a party when you get together."That would be sooo fun.


"Ohh yeeess cant you see how innocent i am?",Fee laughed making her best puppy face.Maybe she wasnt all innocent, but would she tell.Nooo. Of course the girl would fight to get into the Quidditch team no matter what but still she wouldnt hurt anyone badly.That was just not her.

Selina smiled at Alice's interest in her Dad's job. It was a really cool job now that she thought about it. It had been his job for as long as she could remember so it wasn't abnormal. Most people had a tendency to get over excited when she mentioned her dad was Jake Skylar.

"Jake Skylar, Chaser for Fowlmouth Falcons. And Chaser as well. It's what I know. Maybe we could play sometime."

Dahlia glanced sidelong at Alice. She seemed to be as bewildered by the speech as she was.

"I wonder what that was all about?" she said in a low voice.

No doubt this Mr Gevrik would be someone to keep his eye on.

Emily laughed "No worries darling, everyone is dear to me!" she smiled at her old friend, "That's excellent! I hope you end you're year with a bang!"

"Wow the Fowlmouth Falcons!" Alice thought back to her copy of Quidditch through the ages, now what could she remember.Ah yes, the famous motto 'Let us win, but if we cannot win, let us break a few heads'. "Your dad must be pretty tough to be a part of that team." Alice grinned and nodded enthusiastically at her suggestion, "I would love to!"

[COLOR="DarkRed"] A moving village. Daniel wondered how hard it must be for the postman, having no idea where the village was. But still he could see the point. Moving to a warm place in the winter. Daniel hated the cold, although he did like the snow. "It sounds great" Daniel said to make Emily feel good.

"You hadn't spent much time there until your third year?" asked Daniel. That was odd. "Why?" Daniel asked slightly confused. You were supposed to spend time in your house wern't you?

"Oh right ok. It's probably me. I don't really know alot of people" Daniel said.True. Very true
Daniel noticed Emily turn away to talk to someone else and he followed her gaze and his eyes feel upon Rex Trigwell. Uh. Why was he here? He wasn't a Ravenclaw. But he better be nice to him all the same. Barry would want him to be.

"Hi Rex" said Daniel with a little smile. You couldn't get Nicer then that
Headmaster whats-his-name was making his speech that meant that soon there would be food. Daniel was very hungry. He'd only had a pumpkin pastry today. But still Daniel tried to listen to the speech.

Welcome-blah-blah-new teachers-blah blah... Oh don't die? What did he think they were going to do? Get up one day and stab themselves? Really. Security thingy ? Yeah thanks but no thanks Daniel knew how to be safe. But he'd listen to the mans speech anyway, there had to be a reason for this
Now the weird man was getting up. Mr Ikea or something the man was. People were clapping for him? Why? Did they even know who was? What if he was going to kill them all with his wand? Daniel was more cautious then that. He just sat there listening.

Flooding school and underground fighting club. Daniel had heard about those from his brother. But was exactly would this man have done about a flood? Drink up the water to make it safe?

Ministry. Should have known. Daniel disregarded the rest of the speech. They ministry couldn't stop interfering could they? Just had to interfere. That Cooper and Belle schools had been hell or so he had heard. This was going to be a tough term.
Thoughts of Mr Ikea were whisked away by the appearance of food. Daniel was so hungry. He helped himself to roast potatoes and a chicken leg.

As he was chewing his chicken Daniel noticed a boy just sitting there not eating. He looked over and asked "Why you not eating?"

Hugo sighed a bit of relieve. Eino stressed out like crazy and now it's just in the trunk? "Doesn't a cactus need, like, oxygen?" Hugo asked. Also, why hadn't Eino remembered the love of his life? Maybe it had something to do with the new protection guy. Why did we need protection?

Emily smiled "Well, I used to live with my parents in our own house, then in my second year my grandmother died. We moved into the house and I found out that my grandmother was not a muggle but a squib and that my father was also not a muggle but a wizard. Big shock to mom I can tell you!" she said laughing. "Well then through my grandmothers death I found out that I actually had a twin sister who was still alive, long story... but anyway third year she lived with us and she died falling down the stone steps in the entrance hall, BE CAREFUL ON THOSE THINGS!" She rambled on. "Anyway at the end of that year I received a letter from my aunt, she has a lot of greats in front of that but you know I'm to lazy to remember it all. Anywho, she is the knowing one in the Gypsy village, a big honor, she does all the divination and such. ANYWAY the letter said I was to become the new knowing one and I have lived there doing extra divination lessons ever since." Emily smiled, she had said that entire spiel in one breath and it really was her specialty to ramble on and on in one breath.

Timothy picked up another roll from the tray and passed it down. Nothing beat the food at the opening feast. Nothing. Ever. He was confident that whatever was thrown their way this year, they would handle it. The bad guys never won. Ever. In a way, Timothy was saddened by that. Some people's dreams would never come true, so perhaps Timothy would try to help them this time. Achieve at least one victory for the ages.

He ate for a while, contemplating the last 5 years of his life here at Hogwarts. It was good here, no matter how many teachers went crazy, or lost their wands. He was content, a little devious, and dangerous. But hey, over the last year, every one of his friends had mysteriously disappeared. Tavelon, Chris, Catastrophe, Blackstone, Calamity, Sophia...and even dear Maddie. His Girlfriend. The thought brought tears to his eyes, all of them were gone. Forever. Who knew what had become of them. Calamity had been hunted down, with Tavelon and Chris.

But hey, this was a happy celebration. And now there was food to eat. He would do his best not to think of the dear departed.

Lilly-anne looked up from her plate serveying the table it seemed quite quite now everyone was eating. sighing she picked up her fork again and started to nudge her the pasta on on her plate twirling and untwiling it onto the fork. while continueing to look around the hall at the hundreds of students enjoting there meals.

Alcemee sat down at the Ravenclaw table and looked around at all the other students. She wondered if anyone would say anything to her. If they did not, she would just start talking to random people.

Lilly-anne turned to a younger girl and smiled at her kindly
"heey" she said "i'm Lilly-anne Almus are you a first year?" she smiled st the again just quickly trying not to scare.

Jacob down at his stomach... Gosh... Please! No More! Jacob tried to resist taking more, but the food was just sooooo gooooood! Jacob patted his stomach, come on. Digest Faster! He looked at all the food around him. There was so much, he couldn't just let it go to waste that would be... wasteful. Jacob decided he had just enough room for a large turkey leg. MMMM, Turkey!

Jacob took one off the serving plates and took a large bite out of it... 'barbaric!' heis brain responded. Hey it was his brains fault! Jacob looked around and saw a person he didn't know... and she wasn't eating! "Hey." yeas 'hey'. "the food is good, its not poisoned or anything" see Jacob already tested it out, he had eaten so much and hasn't dropped dead yet. He had a feeling that that might be the problem, it was a 'Lainey' problem and her fear of house-elve. Man he missed that woman... Wait Jacob, Matter at hand. Why this person wasn't eating. " Is there something wrong with it?" he asked her trying to be friendly, you know people who didn't like hogwarts food were crazy so he needed to check that she wasn't crazy and still be friendly... Be a good Quidditch Captain, Friendly in school, then bash their heads open with bludgers on the pitch.

Lily-anne head shoot round towards the voice were they talking to her, of course they were she thought with another glance around the table everyone else was still eating. she laughed slightly looking down at her plate.
"no" she said with another laugh "i'm just really full, i have the habit of taking way too much, you know take everything that looks good." she chucked looking down at the plate again before looking back at the boy who had spoke.