Those words were not comforting. At all. Hailey couldn't help but think on those words...what if her mum really did send Moose right before the term ended? Wait no, it didn't matter--Hailey would just go home for the holidays and bring Moose back with her. Though she hated being home. Still, the holidays were a long way away...

"If she does that, I'll never talk to her again!" She said in response, angry tears already forming. But she held them back. She was seventeen, for Melin's sake! She had to grow up one day. Just not today.

The touch to her hair roused her a bit, and cheered her up a little, as well. Don't ask why, though. *cough* So she raised her head and rubbed her face with her hand. "I don't really want another plush...there's only one Moose." Nevertheless, the gesture was appreciated.
Now, she looked over the Great Hall and surveyed the students. They were all chattering away, young and old alike. Deciding to change the subject, Hailey was about to comment on the happy students surrounding them when he stomach growled audibly. Hailey looked down and put a hand on it.

"Where's the feast?!"

All the faces didn't help, and Vivi had a brief twinge that perhaps tying up a possibly!broken arm might not be the best option. It couldn't make it worse, at least. RIGHT?

"Might be smarter than everyone, but that doesn't make me a Healer. It just makes me smart enough to know what I don't know yet." Not that she ever intended to learn Healer spells.

Oh, she wanted paying up RIGHT NOW? Merlin. "My chocolate frogs are in my trunk, which I left behind in all the drama. I'll get you those frogs... in exchange for my tie. Tomorrow."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eriin

Addy nodded her head and then gave a DRAMATIC sigh. "Yeah, yeah, yeah! I don't typically lose, but when I do I always pay up." She couldn't help but give Vivi a small smile despite her sore loserness.

"And any clue why the Head Girl seems to be slaying you with her eyes?" WHAT a brat she was. Vivi was NEW here and had done nothing to her. Or had she? Heh! Who cared, really? Vivi was NEW and the badged people should try being nicer.

"We are personally responsible for Lex's sugar frenzy. FYI." Vivi leaned around Jacks to spot the eyeball stabbing. Oh, yes. She'd spotted that particular new friend earlier.

"Head Girl? Can't imagine why. I never even met the girl."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grangerfn1

Nargles... from her ears? Again? Max tilted his head to one side, clearly curious and wondering if it would be rude to inquire on the subject, but then his mouth simply twisted into a smile. She was funny.

"No, no," he shook his head. "I'm truly sorry, we didn't mean to be rude - I just... don't think we've met." Nor have I even SEEN you anywhere. And Max knew, or at least recognized, nearly everyone returning to Hogwarts. And this girl looked older - old enough that Max would have surely passed her in the corridors at some point over the years. "I'm Max. This is Louisa," he gestured across the table. Or had they already met?

Well, if people 'round here were going to stare at every new person, she'd better just get used to it. Vivi leaned across and offered her hand to shake.

"We haven't met. I'm Genevieve." And now she knew the name of the eye-stabbing Head Girl too. She got an eyebrow quirk from Vivi before the girl turned her attention back to Max.

"New Ravenclaw. I'm surprised you didn't notice me hulking above all the adorable firsties."

"Are you Okay?" Olivia asked the Ravenclaw. Even though her hair was covering her face, Olivia could see she was upset.

"Hey, I know you. I met you on the train!" Olivia said, sliding into the seat right next to her. She saw the boy named Terry too "I might" the Slytherin replied after he said he didn't bite.

"Do either of you guys know what went on when the train stopped, I heard there were ministry members on board or something"she asked.

Ronnie giggled a little as the puff went on her arm. "Why hello there!" she said, patting her. CUTE PUFFIE WUFFIEEE.
She frowned at Ameliah. "I'm sorry, but he really is tired. He went through so much on the train ride and all that...he's pretty unhappy." she said with a sigh. She hated to see Oliver sad.




Ronnie laughed a little. "I'm a lot happier than I was earlier. But the headache is really bugging me. It has to go." she said with a frown. Ay yi yi! She was frowning way too much today. And still was a bit grumpy. "I just wanna go to sleeeep." she moaned, crossing her arms on the table and burrying her face in them.

...Maybe Ronnie shoulda just kept her mouth SHUT. She really was being a brat to almost everyone today. All because of this stupid day...she really shouldn't take it out on students. 'Specially firsties. This was probably a special and sorta scary day for them, shouldn't she be all comforting and nice and stuff?! UGH. Why must she be in a grumpy mood TODAY?! Why not...like...tomorrow or something? Why'd it have to be today?! She sighed and decided she'd apologize and explain things to the girl some other day.

Mikey frowned. "Maybe someone will knock sense into her and send it soon. It's a small toy to send, shouldn't really take too long to get here," He tried to cheer her up. But cheering Rose up was something Mikey was never good at. He usually made things a lot worse. "But why Moose? Why not another plush you have at home?" Well, at least to him it was just another toy he had gotten her. But maybe it was because this one was from Canada. But the reasons behind why he was sent there were bad.

He laughed and shook his head. "Haven't I told you to keep sweets in your bag for moments like this? You're gonna have to wait like the rest of us," he said. Because if everyone else had to starve, so did Rose. "Besides, what's the fun in eating now before all the boring announcements and such? When we eat, we'll forget about most of the things said. Our main focus will be food, or yours at least," Mikey smiled.

Ignoring the bickering that followed, Jared waited. Choosing his words carefully, he said, "The best, eh? Well, I'll certainly try." He ended with a little wink to Jayden. Outwardly, he kept a calm face, but when Jayden said yes... words couldn't describe his joy. A smile crept onto his face, followed by a small blush. She said YES!!! He felt ecstatic, like a gigantic balloon was filling up inside of him, waiting to burst. But there was this other girl, whom Jayden seemed to know. She didn't seem like the friendliest person...

Jayden smiled, looking back and forth at her two friends. "So, Jared, would you like to sit down with us at the 'Claw table, or are you wanting to throw me in with the snakes?" She asked, her cheeks warming as she looked over at Elliot. Hopefully Elliot wasn't going to start seeing her as a traitor or anything....

"Elliot... are you going to approve this.... relationship?" She asked her friend, her blue eyes narrowing, almost challenging Elliot to say no. Although, Jared was a sweet guy, and Jayden could only hope for Elliot's approval.

"Maybe. I hope my dad will, he's not as rotten." Which was true, but a sad truth. She sighed again but managed to get a smile out since Mikey was trying to cheer her up. Maybe her mum would realize what a horrible mother she was and send Moose right away. MAYBE. But it didn't help matters to keep thinking about it. She had to move on.

Mikey's question, however, brought her back. Why Moose? "Because..." She stopped. She knew why but she didn't want to explain it to him...it might make her sound weak and clingy. Which she was, anyway, but Hailey didn't want to Mikey to realize this again. "I...he's just special, to me, okay?" She managed to say and looked away before her face betrayed her. Yeah, she wore her heart on her sleeve.

And now, she was back to feeling starved. And she hadn't eaten anything on the train, either. She thought longingly of some roast beef, mashed potatoes and even chips...yum. And then her stomach grumbled again.
"How am I supposed to stock my bag with candy when I'm broke?" She demanded, flipping her curls to one side and facing Mikey. Really, what an absurd suggestion! He knew the only money she got was from him. Which was just sad, really. Story of her life.

"These announcements are too long," She companied and put her head down on the table again. "I don't care what anyone has to say...unless they want to tell me I can pass without taking any exams." Here, she grinned.

Elliot eyed the boy...carefully. Very carefully. HEr blue eyes seemed to be scanning his whole physique. She ended on his eyes, and she held his gaze for a few seconds without blinking.

Then, she looked back at Jayden. She didn't let ANY emotion escape, a stoic face of stone....and then...

"I suppose."

And that was that.

Now, would Jayden go and sit with the snakes? "IF you two want, you can go sit...waaaay over there..." she said with a sigh, clearly making it obvious that she DID NOT want Jayden to move away...

Because guess what? IT WAS INTERROGATION TIME.

Hmm....sibliings... When Ari thought of them some of the first things that came to her mind where annoying, whiney, loud, obnoxious, and persistant. Persistant because they would never stop talking until you answered them and even then they continued to talk! But Ariella still loved them because they were family, "Well most of the time they're constantly getting on my nerves but it's nice because we live neer a lot of muggles so they're the only ones I can talk with about what's going on in the wizard world, like Quidditch and stuff," She said as her mind drifted to Faylinn and Nicholas, "But I do love them...and all that mushy stuff..." Ari was never the one to get really sentimental over things like that, just wasn't her style...

"Well all that I could understand from the Prophet is that they're here to make Hogarts safer and increase the quality of our education by working together with the Hogwarts Staff," Ariella said as she launched into an explanation of what she had heard, "Apparently the Board President wasn't too fond of Tate and is much happier with this years headmistress," She nodded her head in the direction of the two sitting next to eachother at the staff table, "A lot of people thing this whole thing is just a way for the Board to look good before the re-election..."

Not that any of those were any real good reasons for why they were here it was all that they had at the moment...Ariella shugged once again and took another bite out of her chocolate frog, chewing thoughtfully before speaking up, "Who knows...maybe it's got something to do with the train stopping earlier..."

Well he was jerking her to her feet before she could protest. Hmph. She was capable of getting up all by herself, after all. Boys were stupid sometimes, though. Heh.

Addy shook her head as she gave his hand a gentle squeeze and dropped it. As she shoved her hands in her pockets she let her eyes wander to the Hufflepuff table. "Maybe you should go check on your friend. She looked like she needs you more than I do right now," she said in a tiny voice, eyes averted.

Pffft! "I am not taking responsibility for that sugar monster. If she does anything bad perhaps you should whack with a newspaper." It worked for poorly behaved animals at least. And well -- weren't sugared up children the same thing?

Jacks shot another glance at the girl with the badge and shook her head slightly. "In my personal experience around here, they are almost all crazy. The whole lot of the student body, that is." That explained the slaughter via stare. Yep. YEP.

"What do you think about Headmistress Truebridge? Her hair is pretty fantastic, I know that much." Heh. Gingers Assemble!

So the tie felt a little loose but, again, it was all she had and she would be grateful. Was she supposed to sleep with it on though...? It didn't sound like a very good idea considering the fact that she could very well have choked but then...what about her hand...?

"So then...you don't want to try because then you think you'll end up maiming me or something?" Lex was just trying to make sense of all this because quite frankly if that was the case then she was fine with her not giving it a try. A hurt wrist was better than her being left with no hand at all... "You know you really are a smart one if that's how you're thinking." It was better than her being eager to cast spells then possibly killing her by accident--it could happen! Anything was possible at this place.

Her eyes went wide when she said she would have to wait until the next day to get them. That wasn't good; She was pretty sure that she was itching to give trouble and in fact she was planning to collect the frogs then head off to get some fun into her spirit. This would set her back by quite a bit. "Fine....but you have to promise that anything that happens from here on out won't affect me getting the frogs..." She had to promise.

And of course she heard that.

O_______O

Yeah....she heard that too...

Lex looked over at the girl again. So wait, she was being miserable then she sighed at her?? How was any of this Lex's fault?! Typical of an older student. "Well don't go sighing at me; you're the one who was looking at me all annoyed." She told her. Why did so many of them seem to be in such a foul mood anyway?

"You should've gotten emancipated a long time ago. I don't understand why you didn't, besides there being your brother but they still like him over you," Mikey sighed. His parents wouldn't mind taking Rose into their home. There was plenty of space and she was already like part of the family. So why couldn't her parents treat her the same?

"Sorry, I forgot girls get attached to their stuffed animals," Mikey gave a small chuckle. Same thing her sister did with her stuffed animals too. He had always wondered how she slept at night with all of them on her bed. He'd have to hide some from her one day soon. Sigh. "You could've asked me to buy you some candy when we were in Diagon Alley together! When have I ever denied buying you candy except that one time when you needed to study on your own?" That might've been the only time he said no. Other than that, he'd usually bring her sweets from his mum's bakery back in town.

"Well, obviously," Because hardly anyone paid attention, or at least Mikey didn't. Unless it was something important that quickly caught his hearing. "Are you firing me as your tutor? Because with a tutor like me, no way you can possibly fail your exams," Which was true because of reasons.

And now he decided to use big words on her...though she was positive she had heard him use that same word a long time ago. "What does that mean?" She asked in an irritated voice. "And they do not like Eli more than me...he's just as neglected." She was so tired of talking about her parents. And since she was already of age, she could runaway with Eli and made sure he was taken care of. Who needed stupid parents anyway? She grumbled to herself and made invisible pictures with her finger on the shiny and empty table.

"I'm not attached," She mumbled, though this was a lie. Again, she didn't want to come off as clingy but it looked like it had already been established. She couldn't hide it.
"I forgot, okay? You were busy telling me you were dating all those Canadian girls!" Hailey burst out, throwing her hands in the word. That was...totally uncalled for. But she had said it...and maybe she'd been thinking about it all along, ever since he told her. Which was stupid of him, anyway, since he KNEW about all the stuff that happened between them.
Hailey's face burned and she quickly glaced at Mikey before looking down at her lap. Plus, she had lied. He's only gone out on a date with one girl. And they weren't together anymore. So why was she mad? She didn't know.

Trying to get back to reality and forget about what she had just said, Hailey shook her head at him. "I'm not firing you because that would mean you work for me, which you don't."

"She isn't a naughty puppy," Vivi put a proprietary arm around Lex and squeezed her gently. She was their pet first year, not a bad dog. Merlin, they should call her Spot!

When it was clear Lex was safe, though, she glanced back at Max and Louisa again, and her voice dropped to respond to Jacks. "I don't mind crazy. It's more interesting that way. It's why I have high hopes for Annie... I mean for Headmistress Truebridge. She's got a crazy glint to her eyes, you know?" And... that was entirely unrelated to her hair.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

So the tie felt a little loose but, again, it was all she had and she would be grateful. Was she supposed to sleep with it on though...? It didn't sound like a very good idea considering the fact that she could very well have choked but then...what about her hand...?

"So then...you don't want to try because then you think you'll end up maiming me or something?" Lex was just trying to make sense of all this because quite frankly if that was the case then she was fine with her not giving it a try. A hurt wrist was better than her being left with no hand at all... "You know you really are a smart one if that's how you're thinking." It was better than her being eager to cast spells then possibly killing her by accident--it could happen! Anything was possible at this place.

Her eyes went wide when she said she would have to wait until the next day to get them. That wasn't good; She was pretty sure that she was itching to give trouble and in fact she was planning to collect the frogs then head off to get some fun into her spirit. This would set her back by quite a bit. "Fine....but you have to promise that anything that happens from here on out won't affect me getting the frogs..." She had to promise.

And of course she heard that.

O_______O

Yeah....she heard that too...

"Yeah, exactly. Maiming. Death. Disfigurement. Loss of limbs." Vivi nodded quite seriously, although she was sure the worst she'd do was heal it crooked. Which was still BAD because it required rebreaking, if it was broken at all.

"I owe you frogs, regardless of your behavior from this moment on. My bribery was for the train. Only the train. And you were a saint." Or something. She'd definitely been mouthy with poor Hasty.

Lex couldn't believe what she had heard...why would anyone want to whack her with a newspaper...wasn't that how you trained puppies...?

"That's right I'm not a puppy!" She couldn't say so much for the naughty part but hey, she was working on it! Though Vivi did sound a bit patronizing in her little speech....wait....was she thinking of her as a puppy too?!?!

O______O

She swallowed hard. "A-Actually...I would have preferred if you had lied to me and said that nothing could go wrong..." Merlin how could a simple healing spell lead to so many complications. She changed her mind completely; she didn't want anyone pointing a wand at her!

And hearing that lifted her spirit again. "Yaaaay!" Now she could stop avoiding trouble like the plague. This was a relief because the hall was big and promised a lot of fun before the night was over. "And you really think I was a saint????" She's never been told that before!

"It means you don't have to live with your parents anymore. You can live anywhere you'd like and they can't say anything to you," he explained. Right, that's why they treat him better, Mikey thought. But he let that conversation end because he could tell Rose was becoming upset already. Anyone in their right mind would.

Mikey just looked at Rose. He wasn't really surprised that she still felt like this about him. She was attached to him. Mikey liked that she was still attached. It really didn't bother him because at least Rose wasn't suffocating him. And Mike knew Rose didn't want to do that either. "I guess you still feel that way, huh?" he asked, moving away a curl from her face. "Fine, let's give us another try. I promise not to be such a jerk this time," Mikey stuck out his pinky to her. Because pinky promises were the best type of promises. "Pinky promise," he grinned at her.

"I do the labor for free," he laughed. It was labor when Rose didn't want to study and somehow manages to sneak away from him.

Milton had just been sitting there, his chin resting in the palm of his hand as he stared at the staff table, waiting for the ginger to give her speech so he could eat. He was starving and it didn't help that they were already delayed by the stupid train malfunction and having to help shovel people onto the carriages.

And he still didn't have his cookies from Kurumi yet. He still wanted them, and no, he did not care what the Aparecium said.

"Finally," he muttered when the speech ended and the food was miraculously before them. Milton snapped out of his daze and scooped some food onto his plate.

"Oh...is that a law or something?" She asked. She couldn't understand how they someone could make it so they couldn't say anything to her. Plus, she wasn't sure she wanted to be parted from her parents like that...sure, they were horrible but they were still her parents. And now she felt glum.

She had expected him to get angry. Or yell at her for lying about the dating. But she certainly hadn't expected him to...to give them another chance. Right now. After she had yelled at him about seeing other girls.
Hailey just stared at Mikey for a full minute before looking down at his extended pinky. He had even promised not to be such a jerk this time, and that was consoling. Hailey bit her lip hesitantly and then smiled, extending her pinky as well. And then she wrapped it around his and held it there.

"Fine," She replied as she eyed him, still smiling. "If you break your promise, you have to wear my pink dress. With matching heels. In class." She giggled. Fair enough, right?

Free labor? That was the best kind. "Right. But you really should get some type of repayment...what do you want in return?" More like, what did he want for 6 years of repayment?

Beezus gave Elliot a wide smile as she shook the girl's hand. She found it really strange too. How they only got into talking terms with each other after the long time they've been spending around the school together. SHRUG. "Well..maybe I guess..because we never had the chance?" She had her own group of friends, and Elliot did too.

"It's great to finally be talking with you though." She always wanted to be friends everyone from their house. "So you're friends with Jayden?" Beezus asked, clearly wanting to start a conversation. After all, it was their first to exchange dialogues. Might as well get to know the girl better.

Oh, hullo Addy!

Beezus beamed. The redhead remembered her! "Nice to see you again Addy." The rest of the summer? Meh. "It was pretty boring actually. With my Grandmother trailing me everywhere I go." She was treated like a small kid! "So, did you enjoy the train ride?" The brunette grinned. The train ride-slash-portkey travel-slash-wet-carriage-ride. Hehe. It was one hell of an experience!

She was still curious as to what really happened though, why the train stopped, what caused it, and why the Ministry seemed to have foreseen the incident, considering they were ever so ready with the alternative and all.

Her thoughts were disrupted when she heard the Healer's voice, however. WHAT IN MERLIN'S TROUSERS?! Ten points from Ravenclaw? She leaned forward to get a better look at the scene. Oh. Oh. Oh. Beezus frowned. Really.. what were those fellow eagles doing? Can't they just behave for the time being? They haven't even had dinner but they already lost points!

Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh.

"Hey!" she suddenly exclaimed as house elves came marching under their table, carrying a pink plant. A PINK PLANT? Pink? Pink? Pink? What were they doing? And where were they going? Before she even had time to ask, the creatures had already strutted off to the Staff Table. As they passed along, she had heard someone call himself Beezley. There was a House elf named Beezley? Beezus almost wanted to run after them just to get acquainted with Beezley. She only made a mental note to visit the elves at the Kitchens one of these days.

.....

..........then the Headmistress was up and all heads turned into the direction of the Staff Table.

Beezus nodded at almost every sentence of Headmistress Truebridge. That's what she introduced herself. Hmmm. When they were asked to clap, she responded accordingly of course. Then the house elves were there, giving the plant to the Headmistress. Ah, so she likes pink, the brunette thought. After a while, the woman was talking again, leaving reminders and such, introducing their visitors........

......AND AT LONG LAST!

.....AFTER THE LONG WAIT!

The golden plates on their table were gleaming with food! Woooop!

Dig in! Dig in!

"Nah, maybe not. I wouldn't want to OFFEND you Elliot." Jayden chided her, a smug grin forming on her face as she grabbed Jared by the hand, and patted the spot beside her for him to sit down.

"Don't worry, Jared. We won't bite... too hard." She teased.

He was about to say something but decided to just press his lips together in a polite grin and a nod. He was going to say he'd rather not attack at all if he could help it, although he wasnt sure if he could keep to that under duress, specially the kind that clashes with ideologies like her father has.



And then he saw someone reach out in front of him and lay gold coins on the table. He turned quickly to recognize the red-head from the bowling alley and the Prefects Compartment "Hey Em.." he greeted her with a small smile which melted away quickly when she called him by that name "Uhm.... no no... noI'mNotSpike." he gives her that LOOK then secretly steals a glance at the others seated near him. None of them knew of the trouble he Elijah got him into at the Prefects Compartment. Well none except Louisa, who was being all nice to him now. Please dont remind her of that incident? "Just call me Vickers-- like you did in the bowling alley. Oh and keep this..." he said as he picked up the coins and folded it back into her hands "It was on us.... really." he added with a casual shrug. None of the boys that day, no matter how squably they got, ever expected the only gal to pay for her share. Nope. Thats just how they roll.



Lex got a nod and an affirmative grin about his luck with not being injured "Just at the right place at the right time... I guess." He was at the train corridors, ironically, right after he left their compartment, so he was spared the falling luggage and fellow passengers from crashing into him.

Ah so she is proud to be Gryffindor... which is a GREAT thing because everything about her reactions with the Sorting Hat was, in his view, quite Gryffindorian....but it was that last bit she added that got him wondering if his slightly deaf ear was playing tricks on him again "I'm sorry--GRAVY?" Did she actually say that? Sure the hat was old but it wasnt like... crispy or anything. Or edible for that matter.




Okay now that got him to chuckle!laugh, partly because of its truth (he did say it after all) but also because he was trying to evade having to confirm the obvious out loud. With other houses hanging about their table the last thing he wanted was to stand up, beat his chest and brag about saying straight out that they were the BEST house and that all other houses got NOTHING on them. He was the diplomatic Ravenclaw, not the brash Gryffindor.

He stole a glance at Lex as Vivi recounted her sorting. Siiiilent chuckle. See, thats how Ravenclaws do it with the testy Sorting Hat little Lioness. He did see the former Headmistress wave to her daughter and how the younger Branxton slouched in her seat. "She looks to be real proud of you." he murmured smiling. Kinda wished his mom was smiling and waving and being all proud about him, but that was another matter.

And THEN he noticed it. The glaring/ eye-stabbing thing between Louisa and Vivi, with added soundbytes by Max and Addy Jacks. He gave Jacks the dont-stir-the-pot side-glance and nodded at Max introducing Louisa by name. He should do the same the other way around "Uhm yes Louisa.... this is Genevieve Branxton, newly transferred from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and President Rae-Branxton's daughter."

Silvia turned her attention away from the House Elves and back up to the staff table where the new Headmistress was continuing her speech. She had read about the Board of Governors playing a larger role at Hogwarts this year, but the paper hadn't really been clear about just what was in the works. And now the Headmistress confirmed it and stated there would be changes. She wondered just what sort of changes they would be. Silvia thought there was nothing wrong with the way the school was run. Sure, there was the incident with the magical creatures her first year, and the time-freezing thing last year, but those things were mostly out of their control, and it wasn't like the professors didn't do anything to address the matter. She wondered if these changes really would stop the chaos that Hogwarts was known for. It would be nice to have a normal year for a change, one in which they could concentrate on learning and not have freezing students interrupting class time.

But it seemed that the Headmistress was going to put off telling them about the changes until later, which was actually a good thing, seeing as it meant they could finally eat! Silvia immediately began to fill her plate; she would ponder over what the Headmistress had said in the morning when she had rested. She was probably overthinking things as usual anyways. They would surely find out what those changes would be soon enough, and she hoped that they really would improve Hogwarts. But right now, all that mattered was the feast and having a good time.

Huh?

His friend? Nathan couldn't help but turn to look at the Hufflepuff table before it hit him. She was talking about Delphi. "Are you talking about Delphina?" he asked, nonetheless - quite thrown off by the turn of discussion.

"She is .. she is my best friend," he said simply.

Why would Addy mention her? And byt he looks of of it .. it wasn't a pleasant mention either.

"Are you mad at me about something?"

Well the chocolate frog was no matter anyway because FOOOOOD WAS HEEERREEEEE!!! He immediately made grabby hands and almost lept up onto the table to gather all of his favorites. Mashed potatoes, chicken, FANCY MAC AND CHEESE?! Through a mouthful, he said, "I don' fink so, bu' I gueff I been doin' it a lot la'ly." Munch munch munch munch. *Gulp* "Maybe that should be my thing! Like...I can be the word maker-upper! I AM a Ravenclaw now, after all."

EXCUUUUSSSSEEEE ME?! "And why, exactly, would that go to you?!" He was so shocked by her UNRIGHTFUL CLAIM that he almost dropped his fork (attached to which was an entire loaf of bread). "And my boat was best because....because....WELL ISN'T IT OBVIOUS?" He ripped a chunk of bread out of the loaf with his teeth to hopefully avoid answering a future question about why his boat was best. It just WAS!

He chewed and chewed and chewed and chewed and swallowed again before adding, "You get the throne by being the BEST in BEST!BOAT."

And then she said she liked him? His uncle had warned him this would happen one day. BUT WHAT DO YOU DO? He completely clammed up. "Er....right. Giggling."

Oh thank goodness the other conversation was able to steal his attention away. His pits were sweating a bit and.....wait....THAT HAD NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE. He was BECOMING A MAN! A silent bout of celebration followed before you know...plumbing. Important stuff, especially for a NEW MAN.

"Yes, that makes total sense," he nodded while chowing down on some chicken. Of course, he had no idea what they were talking about anymore but he had to pretend he know. You know. MANLY AND ALL.

"Wait....no you did. You said, and I quote, 'Oh, plumber.' I was just curious." Hmph! These Hogwarts kids were WEEEIIRRDDDD.

Speaking of plumbing though, he was really starting to realize how cold and wet he was and...well.....he'd have to pee soon. But there was still SO MUCH FOOD to eat!

He stood up on the bench to reach across the table (no excuse me, of course; they were ALL IN HIS WAY). As he was trying to get his hands on some shepherd's pie, his hand bumped into another student's - an older boy's. WAS THIS...FOOL TRYING TO TAKE HIS FOOD? Oh. Uh-uh.

"THAT IS MY PIECE," he yelped.