Nigel was getting hungry by the second and was wondering when they were going to eat. He turns and sees everybody. Nigel sees the Captain here and Harvey. Then Nigel turns to the staff table to see what was going on. Headmaster Tate seems to rise from his chair and start to give a speech when it is still loud in the hall. When everybody quiets down Nigel listened to it.

"Wow, Headmaster Tate and Professor Williamson are leaving" Nigel said out loud not caring who heard it. He still could not believe it. Headmaster Tate is leaving and it seems that Professor Williamson and Jenkins were to.Nigel liked Professor Williamson and was sad that he was leaving. Maybe it had something to do with Roro. Nigel did not know. Nigel admits that he never really talked to or went to Headmaster Tate's office. But he did not seem like a bad Headmaster. Now all Nigel could think about is who will be the Headmaster next year. Will it be Vindictus or some other teacher.

While Nigel was thinking about the Headmaster. He sees that the food is finally out and it looks delicious. He takes all his favorites and starts eating because he will not get this good of food at home.

Damon shrugged, going back to quiet slightly, "I don't really go to Diagon until it's close to the school term starting..."

Harvey smiled as Taylor looked at him as she seemed to be happy that he was trying to help with Ameliah, well why wouldnt he? He had always been trying to hold his group of Amigos together.. even though those Amigos werent around much anymore.. but anyways the same applied here.. he was trying to bring two sisters together to try and salvage what was remaining from their relationship. He could also be seen as fulfilling his brotherly duties, he then looked at Damon who seemed to be still quiet "Well you can come up there during the summer and hang out with us.. quite a few of us will be there if you want to join us. Just to hang out and stuff." he smiled at Damon.. they could hang out in quiet place where there werent many people. He was then shocked by what he had heard.. they were leaving? he thought he was hearing things when he heard Nigel repeat what the headmaster had said.. so Harvey hadnt been hearing things since Nigel had heard the same thing.. he wondered why?

Taylor fiddled with a curl, tuning out the conversation around her mainly. She didnt really care who was going and staying right now nor whatever the boys were going on about. Tay had bigger problems to think about, like that her mother is about to being having Alice anytime now which makes things a bit more complicated.

"Your welcome." He's glad that Ravenclaw won that Championship match not that he had anything against the Snakes. But he was a little bit disappointed he hadn't had a chance to play against her.

Ellie happy tone kinda surprise him, now he felt bad he went all somber-ish at her. After all Messer didn't want to ruin Ellie big moment. "I'm gonna miss you." Yes, he will. He won't be seeing a red hair Ravenclaw Seeker next term. "Are you planning to do Professional Quidditch after this?" So he could still see Ellie plays.

You're lying, she said, and he shut his eyes. Perhaps, if he closed his eyes tightly enough, she would forget he was there and just drop it. It seemed that she had, though, as someone addressed the pair of them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by EW_FAN

He saw Ellie sat at the table with ... Max, it was her last term here and he was surprised to see that she didnt seem to be too bothered that she was leaving. He wondered if he should go up and say bye to her since she was his captain for two terms that he had been on the team. It was thanks to Minnie that he had joined the team and met Ellie Stone a Ravenclaw to look upto.. well learn from what he had seen of her in these past two terms. He finally decided to go upto her.. so he got up and walked over to her and Max who didnt seem to be too happy, Harvey knew how he felt cause even Harvey felt sad to see Ellie go, sure he hadnt hung out with her alot.. but she had been his captain, seeker and most of all someone he admired and now she was going. "Erm.. Hi Ellie.. Hi Max.. good to see you both here" even through Max looked like he could run out of here any second if he got the chance.

Max opened his eyes and glanced up just for a moment to see who had addressed him - Harvey. He gave the younger Ravenclaw boy a nod before drawing his gaze downward once more. Nice to see you, too, he replied in his head, but he didn't have the energy nor will to speak the words. For the duration of the conversation between Ellie and Harvey, Max was tuned out, looking down at his hands. He fidgeted with his fingers and his legs bounced with nerves and anxiety. He didn't know what to do with himself - he wanted to hug Ellie and cry and feed himself to an acromantula and just give UP all at once. Luckily, his dwelling on unhappiness was cut short. Tate had begun his end-of-term speech.

Max STARED at Tate. 'Bittersweet' was certainly one way of putting the end-of-term atmosphere. Our Ravenclaw brethren for their Quidditch Cup win. Max laughed at that. Tate did have quite a way with words, he took note, as the headmaster continued on with his speech. But... one thing he said brought back Max's sickly feeling: You can always come back to Hogwarts, but it will never be your home again. WHAT? Tears had flooded Max's eyes once more. Now he was thinking about HIS future graduation and the fact that, even though Hogwarts felt like the best home in the world, it wouldn't always BE that way.

And then... faces missing from the crowd? PROFESSORS? ... AND TATE?

Max didn't look like he was going to cry anymore. Now, a firm, angry frown had formed on his face. This had to have been some kind of joke. Next term, Ellie would be gone, Tate would be gone, other unknown professors and students would be gone... Ellie would be gone. So many CHANGES.

This sixth year Ravenclaw did not do well with change, and his face remained an image of anger as food appeared on the table before him. He searched for something to say to those around him, considering a purge of some of his thoughts, but he resigned to piling mashed potatoes on his plate and shoveling them into his mouth.

Silvia noticed that there seemed to be a somber feeling lingering around the staff table; it seemed like some of the staff were quieter than usual. She had been scanning the table, wondering if (and hoping against) any of their professors would be leaving, when the Headmaster finally rose up to speak. And as she listened, her heart began to drop a little. So it sounded as if they really were going to lose a few professors, and....

WHAT?! It took several moments for Tate's words to fully register. He was leaving?! Headmaster Tate was leaving?! Her eyes widened in disbelief. But...how could that be? Silvia had never gotten to know him personally, but he seemed like the perfect person to be Headmaster. It felt as if he were part of the school itself, someone you could always expect to see when walking into the castle, no matter how many years have passed. She never liked the idea of changes in staff; she liked most of her professors, and it seemed like Hogwarts just wouldn't be the same if anyone left, even though she knew deep down that each new professor (and student) had something to bring to make Hogwarts what it is. Who would be their headmaster now? Would it be one of their current staff - her eyes scanned over the table - or would they bring someone else in?

Silvia looked down at her plate, now filled with food. The somber news did nothing to erase her hunger, but she found herself just slowly picking at her food, her mind engulfed in a hundred thoughts at once.

Ellie's eyes lit up more if possible when she heard another 'congratulations' sent her way. There wasn't as much active searching for the voice, as she was practically already facing the girl who'd spoken. Stella, her roommate.

Or...former now.

"Thank you!" Grin.

She deserved these congratulationses, you know. It felt SO GOOD to hear them.

And...Yeah, Stella hit the nail on the head with that. Among everything Ellie was excited about tonight, seeing Treyen tomorrow was definitely number one. "VERY," she answered. "Excited to see....Maaaaaatt?" Matt? That was his name, right?

If not, oh well, after tonight, Ellie'll probably never see Stella again, so what did it matter if she didn't know who her boyfriend was.

No, Harvey had it wrong. Ellie shook her head, "I'm excited these seven years have come to an end." Or...well, she was really okay her first two...then her fourth (kinda), fifth, and sixth were swell. But...she's been ready to graduate and get out of here for a while now. That was her point.

And...she's been a great Captain? Well, thanks. And Seeker? Winning proved that. But it was always good to actually hear these things. "Thanks, Harvey!"

'You're welcome'. Yup. Ellie just grinned back at Messer and gave him a small nod.

...Oh. Awww. "We'll see each other in Diagon Alley, I'm sure. Quality Quidditch Supplies, yeah?" Where they met. So no worries. She'll be around. She'll be out and about. She won't drop off the face of the earth.

But she WILL be playing Professional Quidditch! "Yeah!" she replied cheerfully, "Already have letters from teams." But they were safely locked away in her trunk at the moment.

Max was worrying her. Because he wasn't just quiet. Max being quiet wasn't anything new. But he was...ODDLY quiet. And keeping to himself when she was RIGHT THERE, willing to talk to him.

AND HE LIED.

"Stoppit," she said, poking him, and wearing a small frown on her face. Be normal, please? Not...off. Ellie didn't like her best friend being off.

She reached for his hand again, even if her head turned to the Staff table for Tate's speech.

Which she listened to almost quietly. She did 'whoop' at the Ravenclaw's victory part.

However, as he went on about it not being 'home' or whatever...it never really was for her. Actually, it seemed quite pathetic to her that people felt that way. So that received an eyeroll.

Then he...mentioned...leaving? Or...or... WHY did Tate use such complicated words?!

Ellie leaned in to Max to whisper again, "What's he talking about?" Is HE leaving? Professors leaving after the end of term wasn't anything new. What was new was that Tate was mentioning it in his speech. So...that must mean something more significant, right?

"I'll contact you when the time comes!" She told her with a smile. Angelina got excited when Taylor asked if she wanted to go to France with her. "I'd love to!" That would be so much fun!

"Its nice to meet you Ameliah!" Angelina said with a smile.

Yep. "Blonde really is the best color, isnt it?" she asked with a small smirk. She noticed the girl now fooling with her necklace...maybe the girl had problems keeping still? But it was making Elliot very anxious...so she tried her best to ignore it...

"Yeah, true Ravenclaw, like to read...the bigger the better, eh?" and she winked, thinking of the piles and piles and loads of books waiting for her in the Morgano library.

"What do you do for fun, Taylor? You know, besides dancing and falling down?" she joked a little.

"Survive, I suppose. But be very unhappy," she shrugged, though. At least she was fond of Dani. "And shes not that bad, I guess, when she's not all hyped up on sugar..." which happened a lot, since Elliot herself disliked sweets. "Certainly, we will. Definitely. I always find myself there a LOT because my mother always seems to have a bunch of errands to run...I usually end up stuck there! For a whole day...it gets boring, too..."

Yep. Elliot was rambling. but she couldnt help it. She was a bit chatty today...excited to get home, to see her sisters..and maybe her brother.

maybe.

"are you going to go on any trips or anything?" she asked curiously. She had gone on vacations for the past two summers...this would be her first summer in awhile just staying at home. It wasnt exactly a bad thing, though.

"Yes we did do well in the team events. I didn't like those in the beginning of the term but I like those at the end because I got to work with you and the others not from just my house but the other three as well." Alyssa grinned at him glad that he had mentioned anything about her mistake regarding Louisa. 'How could I have thought that Louisa and Vickers were leaving this year? I really need to have my headache checked out when I get home.' Alyssa thought to herself.

Then she turned back to Stella and smiled when she heard what her plans were.



"You're going to WADA too? I know someone who is there too. Treyen Lockhart, our former Head of House. Do you know him? Maybe you'll get to bump into him when you go there."Alyssa told her before adding.

"Don't forget to send me tickets to your first performance. I know that you'll be awesome in whatever you do."

Max had just shoved a spoonful of mashed potatoes into his mouth when Ellie asked him about Tate. He swallowed hard, trying to clear the food out of his mouth quickly so he could give a prompt reply, "He's leaving. So are other professors, by the sound of it. 'Someone else needs Tate's strengths.' He 'wouldn't leave us if he didn't have to,'" he loosely quoted. "Whatever that means. I'm sure he'll go on to do good things."

There was bitterness in Max's tone. He wasn't really mad at Tate, though. He was mad at the situation - everyone leaving. He didn't like being left behind, and he didn't like saying goodbye.

Though he was very, very rarely angry or cranky, before shoveling another spoonful of mashed potatoes into his mouth, Max muttered, "Just more reasons why next term is going to be the worst."

" Well its very nice to meet you Nigel." nicki said sweetly
"I am very well thank you, yourself." nicki finished as she took a breath she replied again. " oh my it really has gone so fast." she remember how fast her first year went.

Things always seem to happen here at Hogwarts... That got a wider grin from the Ravenclaw "Well thats true...." Never a dull moment, it was by sheer miracle that they even managed to get to their classes and finals at all. Then the mention of WADA came up "You're training to be an actor?... like Head Boy Treyen?" he glanced and nodded at Alyssa, which he was pretty sure is what she meant as Hadley has always held the other position. True, acting as a career path didnt even occur to him, not an obvious choice with their abilities unlike Muggles but then again.... why not "...A career on stage or would you have plans of infiltrating the Muggle business?" Magic in the Muggle world specially the likes of Hollywood wasnt as rare as the Ministry of Magic would like to believe.



Oh she speaks!

He felt the nudge from Stella and glanced at her momentarily before giving a quick nod "A fellow Yank..." he grinned as he shifted seats. The red-head wasnt sitting too far away. As he settled into his new seat he offered his hand and said "Hi I'm Vickers.... " Hurrah for improved social skills, books arent the only things he's learned from this term "First term here right?..." because he didnt remember seeing her at all last term, given that the only ginger in the House of Ravenclaw was Ellie and one or two other younguns "... How are you like this place so far?"



Wow she really couldnt wait to get out of Hogwarts couldnt she?

Another slow, silent nod came from Vickers, amused though he was with the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain's enthusiasm. He was tempted to ask what were the other two best days of her life-- an his face has shown the curiosity-- when someone asked if she was turning Professional "Yeah... have you talked to any scouts yet?" With the way she plays she has got to be fielding some offers yeah?


He turned when another voice said his name "Oh hi Lily..." he greeted back and gave her a greatful smile. Yep great team player right there, both on the Pitch and in classes. HE was grateful for her really.

*****

But now he falls silent as the saw the Headmaster rose from his chair and started to speak.He listened in respectful silence but as he did so his brows started to knit together...

... Some Professors were leaving? He watched his glance in the direction of the Dragon Keeper and the Runes Master. No..... They cant..... But those were two of his favorite Professors! Jenkins helped him understand and finally love Runes, and he couldnt even begin to describe the great many things Williamson has with his classes and his Sanctuary to a guy like Vickers who had always been more at ease with animals than people...

He was starting to get that sinking feeling he had when he realized both Roslund and Schirmer wasnt coming back. Now that he's grown attached to two more Professors they're leaving too. What did he have some kind of curse? wibble

But even before he could wallow in his self-pity the Headmaster added something else.... the brow knitting has been replaced with the slack-jawed expression of shock and disbelief....

... Did the Headmaster just say he was leaving too?????????

He thought he'd grown deaf for a moment on both ears. Why?... why are they leaving??...Why are they leaving just when he's gotten comfortable with them and has started to come out his shell? And who will lead them into the next term?-- the term HE is GRADUATING in?

Suddenly he felt so uncertain about his Hogwarts future. He can feel his 7th year will be a different kind of stressful for him what with his NEWTs, but given his less than stellar social skills and adaptability he was really hoping for the familiarity and the support he has had with the current staff.

Now its looking like he would have only half of such support. He gazes at the rest of the staff that were still at the table, perhaps staying just a tad bit longer on Elwood. The anxiety was clear on his face. Dont nobody els leave him please???

Elijah had left the comfort Hufflepuff table and his pizza briefly to make his way to the Ravenclaw table. "Vee," he said in a loud voice as he made his way closer and closer to the boy. There wasn't much room to sit, so he just stood. He should hopefully be quick anyways.

"I just wanted to thank you for this term. It's been great having you as a friend." Friend, it felt weird on his tongue. Like a foreign word that no one had ever heard of in their entire lives. Patting the 'Claw on the back, "And I promise to make it my personal mission to ensure you at least get a peck on the cheek from Elwood next term as my graduation present to you," he grinned.

"But anyway, I was hoping that maybe you'd come visit me over the summer? For a week or so? We have plenty of spare bedrooms in our mansion and i'd rather not have to wait all summer before I get to see you again. Maybe we could even go to Diagon Alley and get some of our stuff for next year?" For all Elijah knew, Vickers could probably have his entire summer already planned out (he seemed like the kind that would), but it was worth a shot.

...until he spotted a familiar bunch of brown hair at the Ravenclaw table. Turning towards it...his eyes zero'd in on his Honey Bee...talking to that pompous girl he'd happened across in HIS hidding place...

...But Bee looked out of sorts. Why did she look...so panicked? Subconsciously moving his fingers to pinch the bridge of his nose, Dylan inched closer...seeing her practically running from the other Ravenclaws to settle at the end of the table...

He'd not spoken to her at all throughout the term, it felt like. He'd even go as far to say it felt like he didn't even know her anymore...It wasn't important, though. He missed her terribly. Thought about her all the time. She was always in the back of his mind, no matter what he was doing...

Making a last minute decision, he lowered himself in the seat next to her..."Will you...come somewhere with me real quick?"

What in Merlin's underpants was happening to her?! She came in the Great Hall wanting to talk to the graduating people as much as she can, but now, she was somewhere on their table far from any of her fellow eagles and she couldn't practically get a steady hold on herself.

She was so disoriented.

Well..at least she was acquiring a bit of silence from where she was seated and the gloomy aura around her was slowly...slowly evaporating. Until, that voice came.

Startled, Beezus frantically raised her head and met Dylan's gaze which to say the least added fuel to the fire of her disorientation. "Dylan!" She was surprised, yes. VERY. "Errr..." Go with him? Whaaaaaat? She frowned and as if on instinct, her head rocketed sideways and around in search for Indy. "I...uhh..." Inhaaaaleeee. "Indy's not here..Not yet anyway. She'll come down soon." Beezus told him hurriedly as she averted her sight somewhere else.

Dylan eyed her carefully. What in the name of Merlin was...going on with the Ravenclaw? She looked...like she was ready to jump out of her skin. And why did she sound like she was about to hyperventilate? Trying to squash every part of him that wanted to fuss over her and demand she tell him what was wrong, the Slytherin took a calming breath and tried again.

"I'm not looking for Indy. I want to talk to you. Alone." It wasn't that terrible of a request. There were just a few things he'd wanted to say to her...and talk about. Not to mention the girl looked absolutely awful. Naturally, he still thought she was beautiful...but really...Had she even been sleeping?

Allowing his voice to drop a few octaves, Dylan frowned. "Please."

He was not looking for Indy. Okay. He wanted to talk to her. That was fine. But, alone?! Why did he want to talk to her alone? It wasn't like she owed her something.

What on earth did Dylan Montmorency want with her?

"Can't you just.....say what you're about to say....here?" Beezus inquired with an unstable tone, her hands tightly clasping each other under the table. She was definitely not too confident to talk anyone as of the moment except for Jonathan. Yeah, she felt like she could only vent it all out on him. So...where was he?!

"And uhh, you didn't happen to come....across Jonathan....did you?"

"Yes...I could...but I don't want to." Dylan was leveling her with a look so intense that it should have been flammable. Why was she acting like the last thing she wanted in the world was to be near him?

To be perfectly honest, it hurt his feelings a bit.

"I'm sure Jonathan is at the Slytherin table...somewhere." Dylan really didn't care either way. Sure, Jon was cool...but he couldn't be bothered at the moment with the older boy's whereabouts. "Bee, what is going on with you?" Some worry colored his voice.

Holy speeding Golden Snitch! Beezus felt the Slytherin's gaze penetrating through her and it was making her uncomfortable. She tried to met his eyes but it was giving her a dizzying effect so she allowed her eyes to settle on something that wasn't as hazardous, such as the empty utensils on the table.

"Is it that important?" she asked. Because y'know, they were actually a bit far from the rest of the eagles and they probably won't hear anything he might want to say.

Okay. Too much for the Jonathan topic. Not wanting to dig into the matter much further, she just nodded.

Then came the next question which was possibly the last thing she wanted anyone to be asking her. Really, what was going on with her? She didn't even know. "Nothing.." she replied weakly. "I'm...I'm fine." Goodness. She didn't want to talk to him about things that made her depressed. "Uhh..you wanted to talk...." Anything to get away from that topic. "...somewhere?"

Something was wrong...and Dylan wasn't fooled by the 'I'm fine' line. Merlin, how many times had it heard that used...? Anyone who ever said that was never fine. It was just case and point.

Shaking his head to clear some of the aggravation, the Slytherin refocused a look on her, standing. Reaching out a hand for her to take, Dylan eyed the rest of the Feast-attendees. "I'll keep it brief so you can go find Jonathan." His voice held an edge that it didn't normally possess.

Why does she do this to me?

Hmmm..

So she decided to go with him. If it was a bad idea or not, she would find out in a while. Slowly, she stood up. The other Hogwartians seemed to have started scrambling around too since the speech from the Headmaster was done. She would like to ponder more on what Tate's message really meant but she would have to get rid finish her business with Dylan first.

"Alright." she said as she neared him. And no, she wasn't going to take that hand.

Okay, now where would they be talking about this something?

Gwen thought that she should go say goodbye to her friends from the other houses and return to the Ravenclaws before the Headmaster would give his speech, but it seemed she still had enough time for that… Mhm. Besides, she couldn’t just leave Taylor. That would be rude, even for Gwen. And even if they were apparently talking about OWLs. ‘Right…’, she mumbled a bit absently as the other girl finished talking. Whoever that Damon person was, Gwen was not in the mood to start asking the other ‘Claw about him. Mehh.

‘I hope so too…’, the fourth year managed to say, even though she didn’t really believe that next term wouldn’t be stressful. ‘And you…? Have you got any plans for next term?’ That wasn’t exactly a good question, but Gwen wanted to make the girl talk about anything else… just not OWLs. She wanted to have a great summer, without any stress for those exams, mkay? And… she needed a distraction now. The girl could talk about anything. Quiddditch, studies… whatsoever just not exams.

Gwen felt a bit bad for changing the subject so abruptly, but that topic made her feel a little… well…scared. She was not really looking forward to the next term. Hopefully Taylor would understand.


The staff table was getting a bit more crowded, and the fourth year drew her attention in that way. Looks like there wasn’t much more time left before the speech would be given by the Headmaster… Instead of going to the other tables, Gwen decided to hang around here for a while. But she still needed to say goodbye to her friends in Slytherin and Gryffindor. Just as she thought about is, something caught her eye.

A wave.

Closely followed by a greeting. Who was it? Gwen glimpsed in that direction and was a bit surprised to see Ronnie there. ‘Hi’, she responded with a small smirk on her face. ‘How are you?’


What Beezus was saying didn’t make much sense to Gwen. The fourth year raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out whatever the younger Ravenclaw was meaning to say. Errr… Just as she thought about leaving, the fourth year heard an apology from the other student. ‘It’s alright…’, she mumbled, still looking a bit puzzled. Never mind… she was sticking to her plan of returning to her seat. Now would be the perfect time…, Gwendolyn told herself, but stopped herself as she heard Beezus talk.

Great.

More nonsense.

‘Yes… see you around’, she mumbled and started walking away. As much as she tried to smile, only a smirk came out and the puzzled look on her face wouldn’t go away. She then returned to her seat at the house table, joining Elliot once again.


As Ellie responded to her greeting, Gwen gave a small grin. ‘You seem very happy…’, she pointed out. Unlike most of the seventh years, the Ravenclaw thought, but actually admired the girl for this. She knew that she herself would probably be really upset and totally uncommunicative when she’d graduate… ruining the whole night. The fourth year was about to add something, but it looked like the Headmaster started his speech.

. . .

What was that?!

Too many people were leaving…

Gwen drew her attention back at Ellie. Did she really have to leave too?!?


By the way Elliot was talking about her sister, Gwen could only think that it couldn’t even be as bad as she was predicting… right? She shook her head slowly as she listened to the younger Ravenclaw talk. Come on, surely she wouldn’t be that unhappy… And that sister couldn’t really be that annoying, right? ‘Too bad you can’t use magic over the summer…’, the fourth year mused, trying to keep s straight face. Still suppressing a smirk, Gwen drew her attention to the other people joining the Ravenclaw house table, before looking back at Elliot. She nodded, showing Elliot that she agreed to the plan of meeting sometime.

Hmmm.

Was she going to any trips? ‘I’m going to France with a friend’, she responded to the girl’s question. ‘I really can’t wait…’ A few minutes ago, she thought that only going to the wizarding world in France would be interesting, but the talk she had with Nessie made her realize how much fun the muggle world could be too. Gwen’s enthusiasm grew even more… She couldn’t wait to leave! Yes, she was indeed looking forward to this summer, as much as she disliked the fact that the term would end.

Dropping his hand, Dylan took a step back from the Ravenclaw, leading her out the door. Apparently she loathed him more than even the Slytherin knew. Whatever, though. If that's how she wanted it...that's how it would be.

Pausing right outside the heavy doors, he waited for her to join him...but upon second though, walked a little further away from it, dipping into an alcove.