Ahh, lunchtime! Melina had had a busy morning with her very first classes, and was anxious to tell Ari all about them, and hear about her morning as well. She glanced periodically at the door to the Great Hall, keeping an eye out for her best friend.

Ariadne walked into the Great Hall, practically starving, but noticed it was rather quiet. Instead of walking straight to the Gryffindor table, she made a detour, heading to the Ravenclaw table instead. She and Melina had promised to see each other every day, after all. Approaching the table, beaming, Ari greeted: 'Hi, Mel! How was your day? Tell me EVERYTHING.' And with that she flopped herself next to her friend and prepared to listen.

Ember walked into the Hall and sat at the ravenclaw table. She still hadnt really made any ravenclaw friends. She spotted a Ravenclaw girl talking with a Gryffindor girl, but didnt really want to interupt their conversation.

Cleo walked into the hall ready to find someone to talk to and walked right into Ember " hey Ember why don't you and i find somewhere to sit?" she asked nervously

Melina squealed and leapt from her seat, giving Ari a big hug. As they both sat down, she breathed, "Merlin's polka-dot socks I'm tired! The morning was brilliant, but I feel like my head is so full of information I don't think I can fit anything that's coming this afternoon! How about you?"

"I had Charms, Herbology, and Muggle Studies today. What classes did you have? I absolutely love Charms! We only practiced holding our wands correctly and the proper movement- 'swish' and 'flick'," she demonstrated with her hand. "But still, it's one step closer to casting my first spell!"

"I'm a little afraid of Herbology, to tell you the truth. Plants that have a mind of their own are a little freaky to me! But Professor Bentley is super nice," she said with a smile. "Muggle Studies was a breeze for me, obviously. We went over basic differences between magical and non-magical people. Like how Muggles use electricity as their means of making up for much of what we do with our wands. I'm soooo getting an O in that class!" she grinned.

"Now, your turn! I want to hear EVERYTHING!!"

Ember smiled as Cleo walked up to her. " Hey Cleo, im so glad your here, i was startign to wonder if i was going to be sitting here on my own."

Ariadne could totally relate to that. 'I know what you mean, I feel like my brain's in overdrive. I am very eager to learn, but it's going to be difficult at the beginning.' she pondered.

'I also had Herbology, too bad we weren't in the same group.' the girl said sincerely.'The professor is nice, but the subject worries me. I absolutely hate plants, the only one I can recognize is the rose.' she chuckled. 'I can't understand why people like to keep plants in their houses. And some even TALK to them.' Ari shook her head. 'They should get a pet. At least animals can love you and respond.'

'I didn't have Charms, from what you're saying now, it must've been fun. I'll be looking forward to that.' Ari replied. 'Yeah, Muggle Studies is going to be easy for me as well, I know a lot of stuff from my Muggle friends back in my village.' she added.

'Besides Herbology, I had Divination, which I must confess I adore! I find it fascinating to look into a person's future, even though many skilled witches and wizards disconsider this branch of magic.' Ariadne narrated. 'And I'm having Astronomy later today.' she finished.

'Tell me about your housemates. Who are you sharing the dormitory with? Have you made many Ravvie friends?' Ariadne wanted to know.

Melina dug into her shepherd's pie with gusto as she listened to Ari fill her in on her morning. Both their brains were fried already-Melina hoped that a good lunch and a cold glass of pumpkin juice would perk her up a bit.

"Yeah, I'm not really a plant person either. I mean, I like gardens, but just to visit. Not to actually do anything to them- or talk to them, for Merlin's sake!" she giggled. "I'm afraid to go into the greenhouses," she confessed. "I hear that some of the plants can take off an ear if you get too close!" she shuddered.

"You'll love Charms and Muggle Studies! Now I haven't had Divination yet. I have to admit that I don't know what I think of it yet. I know there are really gifted seers, but I'm not sure I really want the burden of knowing the future. Does that make sense? Tell me why you love it and maybe I'll understand better."Melina's eyes lit up when Ari mentioned her upcoming class. "I have Astronomy this afternoon too! Oh, PLEASE let us be in the same class!" she gushed.

"I love Astronomy anyway. Sometimes my dad would take me way out into the countryside so we could just stare up at the millions of stars without the city lights getting in the way. He taught me a lot of the constellations. Wait until you see my telescope! It has a map of the night sky that changes to fit the date and location. It's brilliant!"

"My housemates seem really great. Our common room is so beautiful, it takes your breath away-tall ceilings, midnight blue drapes, a charmed night sky ceiling- it's like being in a castle on a cloud," she said dreamily. "What about the Gryffie common room- what's it like?" she asked."I've met a bunch of Ravvie girls- Luna and Ember are my closest friends so far, and there's this one girl whose mum figured out how to charm her iPod to work in the castle. I'm soooo owling my dad to do that to mine"! "

I've also met a couple of cool Huffies and even a really nice girl named Peyton in Slytherin. What about you? How are the Gryffies? You and my other friend Adelyn, who's a fourth-year Gryffie are still my best friends- she's like my big sister. You should try to meet her; she's so nice!"Wiping her mouth on her napkin, Melina asked, "Did your mum owl you yet with anything?"

Fee was making her way to the Ravenclaw table as her eyes wandered the great hall.Mhhh...it seemed to be pretty empty today.Was she the only hungry girl at the moment?Wow that made her sound like such a fetzo.Giggle.Sitting down at the table she got herself a salad and thought about what to do with this amazing day.Maybe she could spend some time with her boyfriend?That would be the best actually.Hehe.

Fluffing up her curls a little bit the blonde sipped on her pumpkin juice.Somehow she knew this would be a good day.It was beautiful outside,maybe the third year should tan a little later.hehe.

Ari eyed the large amounts of food in front of her and decided to dig in, hoping there wasn't an official rule against eating at a House table other than your own.

'I'm terrified of the greenhouses too, I'm thinking to stay as far as possible from the plants, but that's difficult to do, since they're virtually everywhere.' Ari sighed. 'I hope to make it through this year without needing to see the Hospital Wing.'

'Yes, it makes sense.' the Gryffindor nodded. 'But I like it, because it doesn't predict the future, like Muggles do, but in fact only anticipates what might happen based on present situations. Like interpreting dreams, or the lines in someone's palm. Though I must admit I find crystal balls pointless.' Ari argued.

'Oh, yes, I very much wish that! Astronomy with my sister.' Ariadne chuckled. 'I love watching the stars too, but I don't know their names or anything.' she confessed.

'Sounds great. The Gryffie Common Room is all red and gold, obviously. The impression it makes is one of warmth and cosiness. I love the armchairs by the fireplace the most.' Ari replied. 'An iPod?' she repeated, trying to remember what that was. 'Oh, the music thingy? One of my Muggle friends has one. Pretty cool.'

'I don't know Adelyn, but I'll keep my eyes open for her, if you say so.' Ari replied. 'I've quite many friends in all Houses. The girls I share the dorm with are all really nice, we get along very well.' Ari answered.

'Actually, it was the other way around. I owled my mum after the Sorting to give her the news. She was surprisingly proud I got into Gryffindor, though she wished for me to follow the family tradition. Have you written to your parents yet?' Ari asked Melina.

Luna spotted one of her friends she met in the common room ''Hello Ember'' said Luna

Melina sat back and sipped her pumpkin juice, just taking in everything Ari was saying. It was such a warm fuzzy feeling to be sitting in a beautiful hall with delicious food and your best friend/sister by your side. At the moment, life was pretty darn close to perfect.

"Hmm," she thought as Ari explained her thoughts on divination. "I guess I'd like the interpreting part; it's like unearthing clues in a mystery. I think I pictured it like a Muggle- you know, some crazy gypsy lady muttering 'You will meet a tall, dark man who will offer you a bar of chocolate' or some such nonsense," she giggled.

"If you want any practice with Astronomy, I can show you all the constellations, even Mars and Venus when they're bright in the sky. We can go up to the tower one evening. I bet it's a great place to just sit and chat, too," she smiled.

Melina had forgotten that Ari wouldn't necessarily know Muggle technology. Laughing, she replied, "Yes- sorry! An iPod is a 'music-thingy'! It can hold hundreds of songs and you put these little speakers in your ears and have the music all to yourself. You can share mine when I get it. It's the total best!" She really couldn't wait to have hers with her; the music helped her fall asleep at night.

"Oh yeah, I owled my parents right after the feast. I wrote my dad, 'you knew it was bound to happen!' It's funny: your Ravenclaw mum now has a daughter in Gryffindor and my Gryffie dad just got an Eagle for a daughter!"
She laughed at how much she and Ari were alike, even in the middle of their differences.

Stopping for a moment, she grew a teeny bit wistful. "Ari, what do you think you're going to miss the most from home?"

Presley walked into the Great Hall for lunch. Everyone was talking except for a pretty girl all alone eating a salad. Trying to take some initiative, Presley walked over to her. "May I sit here?" she asked politely. This girl was a tleast a second year, and if she didn't respond instantly, Presley was prepared to run for it and pretend that she had never even dared speak to her.

Rachel walked in and spotted her friend Luna, "Hello Luna, how has your moring been?" said Rachel

''Hey Rachel'' said Luna smiling ''My mornings gone fine classes were good how about yours'' she said with yet another smile

Melina heard a familiar voice call out to Ember, and she turned around. "Hey Luna! Good morning! Sleep well?"

Charlie entered the Great Hall hungry after her morning's lessons. Who was she kidding she was always hungry. She smiled and lept into a bench, staring at the piles of yummy food. Suddenly she saw her two friends Luna and Ember, "Hey guys," she waved, eating a chicken leg. "How has your morning been?" she grinned.

Fee sat there eating her salad as someone came up next to her.Turning her head the blonde smiled at the girl standing there.As she put her fork down the Slytherin waved at the other girl,she seemed to be younger."Hey you",the third year said friendly,"sure you can,i am Feenella by the way."Sweet,getting to know new people was fun.

"Its been great, the classes wernt that hard i didnt think." said Rachel smiling back at Luna, "Who are your friends?" she said gesturing to the two girls next to her.

''Yes'' said Luna with a smile ''How about you'' said Luna

''Hello Charlie'' said Luna pleased that another of her friends came ''My morning was great really loved the classes how about you'' said Luna eating some food now

''Defently classes were great'' she said now looking at the food ''Oh sorry this is Charlie,Ember and thats Melina'' she said pointing to each of them

"Yeah I really enjoyed Potions the most. Shaw was.. interesting... wasn't he?" Charlie laughed loudly as she chewed down her food.

''I loved potions and yes tranfiction was very intresting indeed'' Luna laughed along with Charlie

"Thanks," Presley said, relieved. She took a seat next to Feenella. "I'm Presley. Presley Black. I'm new here. Can I ask you something?" She really hoped she wasn't being annoying, but this question was just pressing on her mind until she was ready to explode. "Actually, two questions?"

'Yes, exactly like unearthing clues in a mystery.' she nodded. 'Why didn't I think of that?' Ariadne chuckled. Anyway, it was good that she managed to argue in favour of Divination. She laughed when Melina mentioned Muggle gypsyes. 'I met one of those once, when my mum took me to an amusement park. The gypsy fortune-teller asked me my exact date of birth, with hours and minutes, and then she predicted I would inherit a huge fortune.' Ari recalled. 'Pfft. Like that's ever gonna happen.' Not likely.

'Oh, I didn't know we were allowed up in the Astronomy Tower. I'd love to go. I'm sure I'd learn a lot from you.' Plus, star gazing was such a pleasant way of wasting spending your evenings. The Gryffindor listened carefully to her friend describing what an iPod was, and now she remembered the one used by one of her Muggle friends back home. 'When do you think you're going to get it?' she asked.

Ari hadn't thought of that, but it seemed amazing when Melina said it. 'Haha, yes. It's like we traded families.' she chuckled. 'As long as we're happy with our Houses, nothing else should matter.' the girl pondered. 'Hmm...I'm going to miss talking to my mum every day, she was like my best friend. I could share everything with her. I still can, of course, but it takes much longer to put everything in writing and then wait for a reply.' she sighed. 'And I'm going to miss my Muggle friends. And the rest of my family, especially my uncle.' Ari added. 'But one thing I won't miss is mum's cooking.' she chuckled. 'She could take lessons from the house elves here.'

'Your turn now. What will you miss the most?' Ariadne asked. 'I've been meaning to ask you, have you started planning ballet lessons? I hope you didn't give up the idea!'