SNAP.

Hmm? Oh look at those judgy eyes over there. Theo mouthed the word 'wot?' across the table at West, then placed the snapped cutlery back onto the table, all neat-like. No one would even know that they were broken until they picked it up.

And Theo would be long gone by then.

See? Easy destruction and no one would even know it was him. Apart from West who was being laaaaame.

Okay, so... chilling out at the Hufflepuff table was not the way to go about curing his boredom. In fact, it just made it an even bigger problem. Theo stretched his arms and legs out and yawwwwwwwned rudely, as he watched some of the other Hufflepuffs. Not Ella, though. No he wasn't looking at Ella, no sir.

It was then when he saw a young girl talking to her pocket. Oh great, he attracted a creeper.

"Hogwarts is having money problems." Well, he didn't know that as a fact but it was quite obvious. He just hoped it wouldn't affect their potion brewing. What if they had to use cheap ingredients that were past their use-by date? Grooooss.

Oakey's final Starting term feast...was lacking in luster. He eyed each of the banners over head and noted how droll they all looked. Hufflepuff especially. Yellow was normally a vibrant color, but this was more like...if someone threw up on it, which could have been the case cause he thought he spotted a stain on it somewhere while looking up. He leaned his head back down and looked forward at the tables. Were those plastic cups and forks, the plates were looking flimsy too. He moved his way to the Hufflepuff table and sat beside three students in Green. Great even the wardrobes were getting moldy. OH HOLD ON! That was West, Theo, and and the younger girl...Sonea he thougt her name was. He turned his head over to the Slytherin table had they run out of seats were those cut back on too? How many first years were sorted into their house that they couldn't fit these two and the girl? He quickly remembered the plastic as he saw Wim... Theodore snap on of them. "You could go over to your Table and do that you know."


Oakey looked down at his paper plate. and over to the one Theodore was sitting over. Paper was something he needed as he wasted all the parchment on the Train ride up trying to write Professor Flamsteed's Summer Assignment. Without asking Oakey grabbed the plate in front of the Slytherin and layed it on top of the paper plate in front of him. He pulled a quill from his robe and started writing down on the Paper Plates. So long as the Assignment was done the Large Foreheaded Professor would have to accept it.

Bliss sat, twiddling her thumbs, waiting for a chance to escape back to the Slytherin table to find West. Her first little adventure had only brought her to Theo and Kat, but, maybe he was there now? It was worth a look. Not right now, though. Right now, she had people to talk to and new friends to make.

OKAY. SCRAP THAT. NEVER MIND.

"West, hey," she said, completely calmly as he sat beside her, even though her heart was now racing. Bliss dropped a kiss on his cheek and snuggled up to him, wrapping an arm around him too. "How're you?" Considering things and things, y'know. Anyway, back to other people that ALL seemed to be talking to her. They'd have to deal with her plus one now. Her plus one that came first, of course.

Deal. With. It.



"I wonder too," she said, blinking again at the plastic stuffs. It was just weird. Normally, she'd just be like, 'pffft, it's Hogwarts', but this just seemed strange. More than Hogwarts strange, because ... why? She didn't think there seemed to be any point at all. "You don't think anything happened to the elves, do you? Or the kitchen itself?" She asked, slightly worried. Honestly, it was probably best not to put too much thought into it now and wait to the Headmistresses speech, where she'd hopefully explain it all.

small!BEAM

Question one. "I've been alright. Maybe good." She'd been coping, basically. It was a long story, all her emotions and stuff, but she could sum it up quite easily. Alright, because family. Good, because West, who she snuggled next to at that very moment. It was pretty simple actually, when she thought about it. Now then, Summer: "Summer was ... weird and awkward for the most part, becauseofmyfamily," she mumbled, before brightening slightly, as the next subject was about West. "West and I went to Brighton and that was REALLY fun." Back to Alec, now. "How are YOU and how was YOUR holiday?" She needed to know all of the glorious details.



"I have to agree there," she said and chuckled lightly. The summer had seemed to drag, a little more than she'd wanted it to. "Mine was long. Too long, but West and I went to Brighton and that was really, really fun. I guess you could call that an adventure." Yeah? All in all, her summer had been, just bearable. "Speaking of adventures, how was your job at the zoo?" She imagined it would be great, because she knew that working with animals usually was. Great, though tiring. They were hard work, but then, what wasn't?

OHHHHHH.

"A mystery," she nodded in agreement. "Perhaps, if all this," she indicated to the plastic cutlery, "isn't mentioned in the speech, we could head down to the kitchen and check it out for anything weird?" Would Ella be up for that? She didn't see why not. Ella and Bliss, solving mysteries since 2080. They'd helped solve the missing trophies mystery and now, yet another mystery had presented itself, just begging them to solve it.



"Yeah, he had been really good to me," she said with a smile. Did Minnie notice that West had now sat down and joined them? Maybe not. She decided not to bring any of the 'double-liking' stuff up, because that would just be awkward for all three of them. Beside, that stuff didn't matter. She liked West, West liked her, so there was no problem. What was life without a few complications anyway? "You didn't need to be worried, but thank you." She lowered her gaze and stared at the table. She was going to have to get used to people being worried about her, wasn't she?

... One of the older ones. Cos Minnie was now a sixth year. She was a fourth year. "It's all going by so fast," she mumbled and sighed. Before long, she'd be a sixth year too. C'mon, she already called the first years 'kiddo'. T'was weird, but she kind of liked it. She liked growing up, but she didn't like the eventually having to leave bit. BLINK. Anyway, topic change. QUIDDITCH. "I'm happy to be back, I guess," she said, skating over that subject and quickly going to Quidditch. "Yeah, I am. I can't WAIT." She really hoped she got put on the team again. She loved Quidditch too much to not be put on the team. She'd just have to try her VERY best.



It took his almost a minute to locate her, but he managed it.

And ... did he squeal? HAHA.

"NASHHHH. That's right, it's ME," she agreed, budging up on the seat next to West, still snuggled up to him, making room for Nashville. "Hey! How're you? How was your summer? How are you liking Hogwarts, oh, and Hufflepuff," she asked, beaming all the while. She wanted to know everything. She was happy that he was a Hufflepuff, like her. Honestly, she couldn't imagine him being anywhere else. He fit into Hufflepuff very, very well.

ANYWAY. Tick, tock. Times-a-wasting.



Well, one good thing; he didn't seem offended by her calling him kiddo. If he was, he wasn't showing it. Either way, the nickname kiddo was going to stick, whether he liked it or not. That seemed mean, so, if he did have any objections, he should speak them and she wouldn't call him that. Actually .. "You don't mind me calling you 'kiddo', do you?" She asked politely. There, now he could say if he wished to.

Forrest? That was a cool name.

"Forrest," she repeated out loud, "it's nice to meet you." It was, honest. "Of course it is," she winked and beamed. OH. Idea. "Want some jelly beans?" she asked, taking a large packet out of her pocket, opening it and holding it out to him. The food wasn't here yet and the train journey had taken a while, so, unless he'd eaten on the train, he'd no doubt be hungry. Besides, jelly beans were her thing and she wanted everyone to know it. First years included.



The girl didn't seem hungry. She could tell because most of the other students that were, were staring longingly at the plates, almost willing them to fill themselves. As if that work. They should ALL know that the speech came first. Even at Hogwarts, food miracles didn't happen. Looking back at the girl, she figured that maybe if the girl had food to tempt her, she would become hungry. She'd already had her bag of jelly beans out after offering them to Forrest, so she just held the bag out in the young girl's direction. "Jelly beans?" She asked politely and smiled.

NOM NOM.

Bliss took a couple out for herself and popped them in her mouth. Yummy. She chewed delicately and waited for the girl's reply. Haruka. She swallowed and spoke, "that's an interesting name. It's really nice to meet you." BEAM. "How are you liking Hogwarts so far?" This was important, because depending on Haruka's answer, Bliss could help make it BETTER. Being one of the middle/older students made her feel like it was her responsibility to do that.



Well, there was no need to ask HIS name, was there?

Tucker.

He seemed like a very, um, self-confident person, much unlike herself. She may as well introduce herself too, right, seen as he'd gone to the great effort to announce his arrival to the entire table. No guessing that he was new, but he definitely wasn't a first year. Heh. No matter, it was irrelevant. "Hey," she called over and gave a little wave. "I'm Bliss." It was a good job he wasn't standing too far away, otherwise she'd have had to shout and she didn't want to do that. That, or, get up, but she was snuggled up to West and was comfy, so she wasn't doing that either.

"Money problems...." West paused and reached out to nudge one of the plastic forks with his little finger of the hand that wasn't wrapped around his girlfriend. "This stuff isn't cheap though, to buy so much. Maybe its conjured." Money problems weren't THAT big a deal surely? They had magic to make things with after all. Except food.

OH NO WHAT IF THE FOOD WAS CRAPPY?! He sat up straighter and stared at the empty plates as if willing the usual feast to make an appearance. WHAT IF THEY WERE ON RATIONS? Horrifying!

Oakey got a cursory look, but that was about it. Nah. He was happy here. With Bliss. Obviously. West would go back to his table when he felt like it and not before. He suspected Theo was much the same but that his bestie would tire of Hufflepuff faster, since Dora wasn't over here.

"Awesome now I'm with you." Like he'd gone from a ball of stress the previous day, to relaxed and happy. So what was not to like?

West smiled around at the people Bliss was talking to, Ella and Alec and that Minnie girl, but he didn't butt into any conversations, especially not with a Blissy snuggling him and kissing his cheek. West was content with that.

Oh you know, except one conversation. Because... who are you, Nash person? West, arm still around Bliss, looked up at this new older!puff (and essentially ignored all the first year ones because... he didn't care) and waited for Bliss to introduce him.

And also made it entirely obvious that she was his. You know. Because she was.

Ella looked up at the older badger as she fiddled with her hands. She'd had her fair share of pep talks and thought she'd reined in the nerves enough to hide them but apparently not. "I'm good, just getting used to this." She said quietly, tapping her finger on her badge. The blonde smiled a little and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, thinking about what Min had said. "You really thought that?" Really? Hm. Well it was nice to know that at least other people believed in her abilities, even if she had trouble doing that herself. "Thanks, I appreciate you saying that, y'know." Grin. "And I'll be fine. You don't have to worry about me."

BEAM. "Yeah? That's awesome! It'll be great seeing you out on the pitch again." And Ella hadn't yet wrapped her mind around people not making the team so she was all confidence and excitement at the idea of her friends trying out. "We could fly together if you want? I mean, practice and such." The blonde would be more than happy doing that. Oh and summer? "It was really nice. Just a bit long. I missed school lots, actually." Was that weird? "How was yours? Did you have fun with Ethan?" Brows. Grin.



Ella offered Laura and the younger girl a smile and waited for her friend to scoot closer before speaking again. "Yup, got her pretty early. Wanted to get a good seat and all." And by that she meant she wanted to sit by Alec. Her friend got a curious look too because when Ella had arrived there were only two others at the table so it couldn't have been too hard to find her. Suspicious Ella was suspicious.

"Summer was really nice." Nodnod. A romantic movie? "No, not that. We did get ice cream, though." Grin. "And we hung out lots." But not nearly enough as far as Ella was concerned. "How was yours?"



Oh, there was Eliza. Ella offered the girl a smile and a wave. She was nice, Eliza was. "Hey! So we meet again." Grin. They'd only got a chance to talk a little on the carriages so the blonde was happy to see the girl. As for the question about the plates and whatnot, the badger shrugged. "It's strange, isn't it?" Very strange. "Maybe...we're having money troubles? Or...the house elves aren't keen on washing dishes anymore?" Eliza'a guess was as good as Ella's at this point.



Ella was still looking down at her hand intertwined with Alec's when she felt someone watching her. Y'know how you just know when that happens? Well Ella knew and her green eyes flicked upwards and slowly scanned the table until...

Blink.

Theodore. Theodore was staring. But Theodore wasn't looking at her face and so Ella followed his gaze and sh- BLINK.

BLUSH.

AHEM. "Did you want to get a closer look?" The blonde said, raising her voice a little. Because she saw, y'know. And she proceeded to remove the badge from her sweater and hold it out to the boy, ignoring her burning cheeks.

Go on and stare at that all you'd like, Theo.

...And was he breaking their utensils? "We're meant to eat with those, Theo."



And when she was done dealing talking to Theo, the blonde turned her attention to the Oakey worm that had appeared. "Y'know, I have parchment in my trunk if you need some." Though she supposed he was being resourceful using the plates and all. "Are you off the health drink thing and on to recycling now or?" Because curious neighbor girl was curious.



Ella smiled a little at Bliss when she said she'd had a nice time with West. "That's great, Blissful. I'm glad you guys had fun." If anyone deserved a great summer, it was definitely the younger badger. At the mention of the zoo, the older blonde brightened up considerably and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "The zoo was just...amazing, Bliss!" Dreamy sigh. "I got to work with the elephants all summer and I really enjoyed it." Nodnod. REALLY. "I'm definitely considering working with animals, y'know, after Hogwarts is done."

Was Bliss suggesting they do some investigating after the feast? GRIN. "I'm always up for a trip to the kitchen." So that was a definite yes. "'Sides, I really like the house elves. It'll be nice to go and say hello to them."

...

And Ella really should talk to the new members of Hufflepuff, yeah? Although she was a bit nervous about the whole recruiting people thing. Oh well, she had to start sometime and now was as good an opportunity as any.

AHEM.

"Welcome to Hufflepuff, you guys!" GRIN. "I hope you'll all consider trying out for Quidditch. I'd love to see you all on the pitch when the time comes." And the newbies got hopeful Captain Ellasaurus looks and smiles for good measure.

HEY, EXCUSE YOU.

Theo made a face of disgust at Oakey Gunter. A guy that he would always hate with a burning passion. But was the "HEAD BOY" getting away with it that easy? No, sir. Theo pulled out his wand an shot the water spell at his plate full of writing.

*sassy finger snap*

Actually... West was right. Money problems didn't really make sense. "I guess they could've just put the old silverware in the dishwasher..." Theo hoped that West knew what a dishwasher was. He suddenly felt bad about bending and snapping the forks cos maybe they WERE meant for something.

OH well, the deed was done now.



O_______o

Did she just... call him out.... like that... in front of the whole table? "Wasn't even looking at you!" He called back, but it was no use, because now she was holding the badge right in his face. He looked away, aggravated. "Great. Congratulations."

Oh, was that the time?

Looks like it was time to make a quick exit from the Hufflepuff table.

He dropped all his broken forks onto the table, but it looked like Miss Captain had spotted that, too. Oh, man... she wasn't gonna turn into a boring old authority figure, was she? "Any idiot can repair plastic forks." Duuuuuuh.

Nashville made his way over and ruffled her hair....sort of. He found the little spot next to Bliss and sat down.

"I'm doing pretty good, I wanted to be in Slytherin though. DID you know that you can ask the sorting hat to put you somewhere's? Some Gryffindor just told me about that. I kinda, sorta threw the hat on the ground but I am doing a lot better right now, I just found out the common room is near the kitchens so I can't really complain because I really like food a lot. My summer was fun, I spent most of my time on the beach. Hogwarts is really awesome but some people keep on saying there is something wring with the Great Hall? Is there something wrong?"

Nashy's tummy growled. He just wanted tons of yummy food and to make new friends but he was having a slightly hard time at making friends in his own house but is did make his way over to the Gryffindor table, maybe his next stop would be a the Slytherin table.

Ethan had been greeting all his new Claws and catching up with friends at the Ravenclaw table, but he couldn't help his eyes from continually drifting towards the Hufflepuff table. Once he found a lull in the conversation at his own table, he got up, if only for a few minutes, to at least say hi to his favorite Hufflepuff.

It was no surprise that she was surrounded by a bunch of people, old friends and new housemates.. she was always so friendly. As he approached her, he caught Eliza out of the corner of his eye. Hadn't he just seen her at their own table? Chuckling a bit to himself, he offered his housemate a little wave before continuing his walk. And not too far from Minerva were a couple of Puffs that he knew at least a little bit. "Hi Ella.. hey Alec," he greeted the two, giving them both a nod and smile. Min had told him that Alec had kept her company a little bit on the train while he was gone and had been grateful to the other boy for that.

Nearing Minerva, Ethan lightly placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey.." he began with a bigger smile. "I won't keep you too long.. just wanted to come over and say hi to my favorite Hufflepuff." His eyes wandered over to their table.. oh, so Eliza's theory had not been correct. "So, your table has those too," he said, curiously looking at the plastics gracing the table. It wasn't about Ravenclaw being in last place, because Hufflepuff had pretty much won everything last term and they had the same second-rate tableware.

Upon entering the Great Hall Nate was happy that he was back at Hogwarts. Instead this time his eyes were back to it's normal hazelish color. Though there was one thing Nate noticed about his table that wasn't all that normal...the banner looked older instead of it's normal bright, happy, and more youthful look to it. Now it was just plan old. Odd. That turned Nate's smile into a slight frown, but he was still really happy! Because he was back at Hogwarts with all of his friends. Like normal he walked over to the house table...like he does every year, an sits down by every one of his friends. Then he noticed...plastic ware?! WHAT WAS THIS?! First the banner, now the plates, cups, and utensils!? What's next the classrooms are going to shrink so then it's going to be a tight fit? The common rooms wouldn't be clean like they are every year? Now this was an out rage.



Nate first noticed Alec...because Alec wasn't that hard to notice. So he said "Hey Alec. How was your summer?" Truth was Nate didn't really want to talk right now...he just wanted to eat, get to the common room, then take a nice long nap. Hopefully he would get to do that. I mean Nate wouldn't mind a little talking...just not much. Which was kind of weird because normally Nate was a talkative person.



"Hey Ella. Good to see ya' again. How have you been doing?" Nate could see it in her eyes that she liked Nate's best friend....possibly evenbe dating Alec. Could that be? Nah. That would be to weird. Yet knowing them they would be dating. This was one mystery Nate had to get to the bottom of it. Yes he would have to find out if they were dating or what? Nate was a snoopy person. He could not help, but getting in other people's business...especially when it came to dating business. Nate knew almost all the couples in Hogwarts. It was the truth. That was one of Nate's many...many hobbies. That was his second favorite. His favorite was scaring Oakey. Once again that was the truth.



Ermigerd it was Nate's knew favorite first year Forrest! He was in his house too! Now he would have to watch to first years. His sister, who unfortunately was a Slytherin, and there was Forrest....the most adorable little thing you would ever see. "Hey Forrest! I see you met some of my friends. So welcome to the house of Hufflepuff. I don't mean to brag, but we're five years in a row House Cup winners. Hopefully it will be six. Though you never know. You're going to love Hufflepuff. You can even ask Oakey, Alyssa, Alec, or Ella." Speaking of which that's when he noticed Alyssa and Oakey.



"Hi Alyssa. How was your summer this year. Did you go anywhere?" He asked her. He had to ask her that because she lived across the pond in California? Something along those lines. Nate really wasn't good when it came to naming the states. He'd always mix up names, pronounce them wrong, or mix up there locations. He only went there once, and that was when he was really little. When he was about 6 months he went on a family vacation to Florida? It was either Florida or Michigan. Or was it Massacheusits? Whatever state has Salem he went there.



Finally Nate turned to face Oakey said "Hey Prefect Oakey. How have you been? Was your summer good?" He just asked the normal question........that he asked every year on the first day of Hogwarts. Like normal.... Nate really had to starting learning new phrases to mix it up a bit. He would constanly ask the same old question over, and over, and over again. Eventually it had to get at least a bit annoying. Would it not annoy you if every year the same question got asked to you?

After he found out he was in the hufflepuff house, he was so relieved. He was in the house his sister was in. As he was approaching the hufflepuff table he was shaking in his shoes because he was so nervous. Kace walked to the table and he saw everyone else talking and making new friends. He did meet new friends on the boat and they were nice but he wondered what other puffs were first years.
Kace saw Minnie the girl he met on the train. She seemed to be popular and he decided to let her chat. But he did not mind this house. He thought he was going to like it here.

Oakey smiled as Ella offered him more parchment. "I'll take you up on that if I run out of room on these plates." He scribbled down some side notes on the edge of the plates and gave Ella a sour lemon glare, on her comment about him switching his schtick. "Recycling shouldn't be a thing I have to switch to Ella Worm. We should be doing it always." He stuck his tongue out at her. "and no I'm still pretty into the Veggie Drinks. I take it because you asked is because you'll want one later?"
Oakey didn't expect much but that look from West, but he wasn't the one who was snapping utensils, and Oakey know that West and Bliss were a thing. Wi...Theodore was here probably only because West was here.

Oakey wrote down one more sentenced he recalled from one his his earlier papers, when suddenly a gushing stream of water hit his work!
WIMP!!! Oakey flailed and yelled as water splashed up from the table and onto him as well! The Stream finally stopped and Oakey wasn't giving the Snake a sour lemon glare. No, he was glaring at him. That was his fourth, no fifth attempt to get the assignment done, and now it was soaked. Oakey whipped his wand out and with a quick swish, Oakey stuck Theodore's rear-end to the seat he was on. "You wanna sit with us, you can eat with us."
Yeah, Oakey was proud of his sticking charms, he perfected it this summer. Hope Wimpy enjoyed eating at the feast next to him. Cause Oakey was going to make Theodore's time today a living hell now.

Cue more glaring.

Oh and he may need that Parchment after all

REALLY? REALLLLLLY, THEODORE?

Ella gave him a look and tried her hardest not to roll her eyes. She wasn’t blind, y’know. And he was mad? HE was mad at HER? SHEESH. She wasn’t the one…doing whatever it was HE was doing. Merlin, he was frustrating sometimes. The blonde brought the badge back and answered curtly, “Yeah, thanks.” It wouldn’t kill him to FAKE a little enthusiasm for her, would it?

And then he was implying that she was an idiot? Or that her question was stupid? Or simply saying that breaking utensils was acceptable behavior. Sigh. This earned the boy an Ella!eyeroll.

…

Ella smiled at Ethan when he joined them at the table. Nice guy, Ethan was. ”Hey!” And she should probably get to know him better, yeah? Since he was Minnie’s guy and all. Have a nice summer, Ethan?”

…

And there was someone she hadn’t seen in quite a while. The blonde smiled at Nate and nodded. “Nice seeing you too.” How had she been? Really good, actually. “Everything is great. Glad to be back at school.” Nodnod. ”What about you?”

…

N’awww another little ickle. Ella smiled at the little one and gave him a wave. ”Welcome to Hufflepuff!” And to the family, obviously.

…

Ella returned Oakey’s smile and nodded. ”Okay, sounds good.” Who was she to knock his preference of plates over parchment? ”What exactly are you writing, anyway?” Wasn’t it a bit early in the term for homework assignments? Giggle. The way Oakey took things so seriously made the blonde roll her eyes and stick her tongue out at him too. ”Got it. I’ll remember that.” And then…YUP. She knew that was coming. ”Actually I wouldn’t mind one. I’m starveddddd.” And she flopped herself dramatically on the table.

Heh.

And then Oakey was sticking Theoman to the table which…Ella had mixed feels about. On the one hand, the blonde was amused by Theo/Oakey interactions and wouldn’t mind watching more but…it seemed today that Theo had a problem keeping his eyes to himself. Hmmm.

Minerva frowned a bit not sure whether to take Laura’s comments as a joke or serious, she had been so hard to read lately, but she did smile, so Min gave a small chuckle, “We did not hide from you. Believe me Fluffy was making friends with the wrong animals and it was causing issues of its own.” So maybe it wasn’t that bad, but she wasn’t going to accept it was just a little thing either. Looking at her friend she had to ask, “So finding your minions for the term Laura? Go easy on them, some might want to stay out of trouble the first week.” She giggled and nudged her friend, “Just kidding, I know you were most likely super nice to them.”
She couldn’t help but smile at Laura, “Worrying what house they are getting into as well..Wow Laura, I would say your moving into older badger very well.” Then she turned, “Speaking of older badger things, I am planning on seeing about those study sessions for you guys, to help with OWLs. Can’t have my little badgers stressing to much over it.” She gave Laura a wink and then frowned a bit, “Yeah I hope she made it, but she probably did, just hiding around here somewhere. Eyeing Laura a bit about what she wanted to ask Susan, but didn’t press her about it.


Minerva thought about her summer, “Well first part I went to my grandparents in the States. That was a lot of fun and my boyfriend Ethan came to visit while I was there. Then the rest of the summer I spent at Ethan’s in Germany. His mom got me a job at the hospital there, since I’m thinking of becoming a healer.” Yes that was so much fun and she couldn’t wait to start looking into things at the library as well as talk to the few people she was told to speak with. “Oh have you ever met Ethan?” She wasn’t sure if the younger badger had or not, looking to the claw table, “He’s a Ravenclaw, actually the claw prefect this year.” She pointed in the direction that Ethan was at his table around all his housemates.
Turning back to Awar she felt the blush in her face, but tried to push it out, “Oh that sounds fun and a baby, I love babies, they can be so cute. Hopefully you will get to meet him soon.” An happy to be back younger badger, now that was a great thing to see, “Yes I am so ready for classes to start, plus there are a few things I’ve been wanting to get out of the library, probably one of my first stops. She hoped that didn’t sound to lame..


Minerva tried to make sure she heard the way she pronounced her name, not wanting to get it wrong. That would be mean now wouldn’t it. “Well it is very good to meet you to Haruka. Where are you from?’ Wanting to get to know her more since they were in the same house now.
Oh and she was excited to start classes, Minerva love to see this.. She always loved the new class feel and hoped some others did as well. “That’s awesome, you’re really going to enjoy classes. Which one are you the most excited about?” She then looked at the girl a little more serious, “Don’t be afraid to ask any of us for help if you need it. That’s what a house is for helping and supporting, as well as having fun. So make sure if you need anything to ask.” It was good to make sure the younger ones felt comfortable and not intimidated.



Minerva was looking around when she Finally found Jory.. Giving her friend a hug she smiled, “You hid pretty well on the train this year. I couldn’t find you anywhere.” Which was weird she always found him quickly in a compartment, most of the time with his nose in a book. “So where were you hiding??” She eyed him and then laughed. “How was your summer?” She hoped it was good.
Looking around it was weird thinking of Jory and Alyssa as seventh years. They weren’t much older then her. It just didn’t seem right. “So… You ready for term? Excited, nervous? You ever want some extra study time with NEWTs I could try to help.” She knew Jory wouldn’t need the help he was super smart and one of their top badgers, so NEWTs should be a breeze to him.


Min gave him a small smile, “Nice to meet you as well.” Then she gave him an interested look. He was here before, hmmm had she met him before, she couldn’t remember. “Oh well welcome back then. So past two years, what was that like?” She hadn’t really met to many homeschooled students, so that was very interesting to her.
Well since he was an older then he would know more about what was going on around here, “Any classes your really looking forward to? I am anxious to get back to Charms and Transfiguration.” She wasn’t sure how she felt about the switch in Transfiguration, but not much she can do about that now was there.


Minerva smiled as she saw Eliza. Giving her younger claw friend a hug, “Eliza, so glad to see you. I was probably going to end up at your table eventually, but it’s nice to have you over here.” Oh what was the nerves for she wondered and then her eyes landed on Nashy and she couldn’t help but giggle, yep Eliza was at that age. She turned and looked to Nash, “Hey Nash.. Come here a second.” She leaned and whispered “It’s a boy don’t be nervous.” Looking back to Nash, “Oh Nash I want you to meet a friend of mine. Remember I told you it was good to friend other houses as well. This is Eliza. Eliza this is Nash.”
She gave Eliza a small wink. “Summer was great, I’m glad we did get a bit of practice in though, that was great.” She smiled at her friend a little more excited. “Are you excited about tryouts? I know you’re doing great. I think I might come and watch a few of the tryouts. Cheer you and Ethan on.” That would be great to see both of them get on the team.



Minerva laughed at the excited little badger. She loved seeing all the excitement it was refreshing to start the term so positive. Well other then the silverware which she was still wondering about. “Well I’m glad your excited. We need all the excited badgers we can. We have cups to defend.” She grinned at boy.
“It’s very nice to meet you Forrest, and that is a very interesting name you have.” She liked interesting names. She thought they were fun. “So tell me a little about yourself. Where are you from?”



“Oh Ella you’ll get use to it..I know you’ll do great things.” She gave another quick hug. Shaking her head, Ella really wasn’t that unsure about herself, right? She saw how hard she worked at things and how much she had grown. “Of course I thought you would be. You’re brilliant at everything you do.” She chuckled at the innocents of Ella, it was adorable.
Min felt self-conscious all the sudden. She loved playing and she practiced over the summer, but not making the team had affected her self-esteem about being on a broom. “Yeah, it will be great to get back on that pitch. I missed it.” Oh she wanted to practice, “That would be great. I would love the extra practice. I talked to Wade about it as well. I’m planning on working extra hard.” Yes she really was planning on working really really hard this term.
A blush came over Min, she wasn’t sure why, all Ella asked was about her summer with Ethan. Was it because of Ethan or that look Ella had just given. She looked to the floor a little awkward and then just gave the goofy smile that she always had when Ethan was the topic. “Summer was wonderful, I spent most of it with Ethan. He came to the States and visited with my grandparents and then we went to Germany and stayed at his house, it was just great.”

Feeling someone put their hand on her shoulder she looked up and her smile grew. “Back to tend to the younger badger again.” She gave him a wink and pated the seat next to her. “You could never keep me to long and you can stay for as long as you want. “ She didn’t want to interrupt his duties or his time with friends, but now that he had come to her she wasn’t going to let him leave that easy. Grabbing his hand she squeezed it and smiled.
Looking down at the table she shrugged, “There are many changes I’ve noticed, wonder what’s going on? It’s all kind of weird.” She frowned looking at the staff table, “Magnus isn’t up there, she must not be coming back this term.” Minerva hated this and she was trying to avoid thinking about it, but now that Ethan was there she knew she could say something and hopefully he wouldn’t mind. “I don’t see Scaboirs either, I wish I could say I’m not surprised they finally got rid of him, but with Professor Shirmer’s letter I know better.” Grumbles for that information and grumbles that her favorite professor would ever be with that man.



Smiling, Minerva was glad West made sure she had a good summer, Blissy deserved it. She was such a great girl, but all of Min’s little badgers were fantastic. Oh and speak of the devil, “Were your ears burning West? Minerva smiled at the snake, “Hope you had a great summer.” She didn’t know the boy all that well, but what she did know she liked. Oh and then there were other snakes at the table, “Hello Theo” but it didn’t seem Theo was there for just socializing, she let out a little chuckle at him and a bigger laugh when he caught the big head boys attention. Still not sure how on earth Oakey ended up as head boy Minerva just sat quietly for a bit.
Then she felt she had to speak to him, play nice for Ariana was going through her head. “Hello Oakey, good summer?” There that was about as nice as she was getting. Turning back to Bliss she smiled about quidditch, “So glad your going out again, you did such a great job. I think I’m going out again this term. Hopefully we will be on the team together.”


Minerva then saw another face that made her jump and she pulled Ethan along with her. “I have someone you have to meet.” As she approached Kace she couldn’t help but put her hands on his shoulders. “You’re a PUFF, this is soooo awesome!! Belle is going to be so proud of you! I know your going to be a great addition to our house.”
She sat down next to him and smiled, “Hey I have someone else I want you to meet. This is Ethan, he was another great friend of your sisters. Ethan, this is Kace, Kace is Belle’s brother.” and that is why I pushed you over here to meet him, Minerva thought. “So Kace are you excited?” She knew she felt excited for him and for Belle, if her brother would have been able to come to Hogwarts she felt it would be awesome if he could have been a puff just like her.

Alistaire had excused himself from the Staff Table temporarily. What with Bonny being pregnant and about to give birth, he didn't like to leave her for too long in a row. So, he had set off down the gap next to the Hufflepuff table, not really sad to be parted from the chaos that was the Welcoming Feast.

However, a series of strange noises pulled him out of his own thoughts. Looking to his left, the first thing he was was.. A Slytherin? Ah yes, it was Theo. No doubt he was accompanying West. But.. what was he doing? Is he breaking the cutlery? Sure enough, an audible SNAP! confirmed his suspicions. And only moments later, he was spraying water onto the Head Boy and his plate. Poor life choice, Kinsley.

Ali paused and waited to see what Oakey would do. Fail at nonverbal spells, apparently. For nothing appeared to happen to Theodore. Then the Captain was glaring and getting angry. I had better intervene, if only for Theo's safety. Those badgers... they could be rabid once angered.

Ali put his hand on the young man's shoulder. "Theo, why are yeh causing so much destruction? Firs' the cutlery, now Oakey's.. erm... letter, homework, whatever. I expect yeh ter be repairing th' damage to the cutlery yerself. An' apologizing ter Gunter."

He didn't wait for the excuses and protestations that were sure to come. "I'm takin' five points from yeh for disrespectin' property. Yeh can earn them back if yeh rewrite whatever it was Gunter was working on for him." With a wave of his wand, Alistaire Banished the sopping plate and, with an additional twiddle, replaced it with a dry one. "Bring it up ter me after the Headmistress has given her speech an' I'll add back the points."

Without waiting for Theo to reply, he swept past the group of students and left the hall, intent on checking in on Bonny.

The yelling and glaring meant nothing to Theo. In fact, he enjoyed that he had just annoyed Oakey. He just rolled his eyes at the older puffer, and was about to get up and disappear from the table, but he was STUCK. His head snapped back to the head boy, the rage boiling under his skin already.

He tried to get up again.

And again.

BUT NOPE - STUCK.

"You flipping idiot, I don't want to sit with your stupid table." Theo pretty much growled. Someone would save him. Especially if he started crying. Hmmm... that could work.



OH... look at chu with your sassy looks.

Is that what a badge did to a person, huh?

Theodore eyerolled back at fancy-captain-pants, and seriously would have turned and strutted away, if his butt wasn't stuck to the seat. PFFT - we weren't even bothered.



Snap, a professor.

Keep your head down, Kinsley, KEEP IT DOWN.

Theo closed his eyes whilst the groundskeeper walked on by, but there it was. His named being called. Darn. Okay, okay... he kinda did agree with the whole cutlery snapping thing being bad, but the whole thing with Gunter....?! He totally had that coming! Theodore frowned hard, first at Oakey, and then at the groundskeeper, who he totally never liked much in the first place, you know.

"Sorry, I'll repair it, sir..." He paused. 5 POINTS? DANG, this groundskeeper was tight. He was only having a bit of fun at this boring feast and he was losing points. The first points of the term. How embarrassing. Apologizing to Oakey, though? No chance.

Just to get him off of his back, Theo pouted and muttered, "Fine!" And as the man turned to walk away, Theo made an extremely sour face to his behind.

YEAH, you walk away.

PFFT.....

So.... ugh.... "What were you even writing on that stupid plate?" Should we point out that writing on school property was also vandalizm? Yeah, we were totally gonna mention that later, to someone a whole lot cooler than the groundskeeper.

This whole plastic thing was really, really odd and before Nessie knew it she was pouting wondering what could be the reason for it all. It just didn't make sense, none of it. Where were the elves? They usually cleaned this up. Heh, anyways, someone was calling her.

The Hufflepuff looked up and spotted Minnie, a blonde a year younger than her. She smiled and blushed slightly at the congratulation, for some reason she went all shy about the whole Head Girl thing, it just she wasn't sure about it yet. "Thank you." Her smile went slightly nervous. "Um...guess I am excited? I ..I'm a little nervous, I think. I'm not to sure myself." Her emotions were a big mush about the badge and to say she truly knew what she felt would have been a lie.

"Anyways, how was your summer?" Good change of topic, yeah?OH MY MERLIN!

As soon as the first firstie to appear greeted the table, Nessie only had her eyes on one thing and that was his cheeks. They were all red and blushy and just oh so adorable that all she wanted to do was run over to the little stranger and squish his cheeks flat. Mellow. But she wouldn't do that, she had to stay calm and not frighten the poor kid away, because what kind of a Head Girl pinched firsties cheeks? Not a normal one.

Fooorgeeet about the cheeks, forget about them.

She shook her head and instead of pulling some crazy cheek pinching she smiled at the kid and greeted him back. "Hey, kiddo. Welcome to Hufflepuff." Good enough behavior, right? Because Merlin it was difficult not to pinch those squishy cheeks.Still as adorable as ever, that was her Alecutie. She had missed him way to much, along with her other kiddos of course.

He had grown though, grown plenty over the holidays, she could tell by his hug. It made Nessie sad yet proud at the same time to see that her little kiddos were becoming bigger, better and of course more and more amazing each day. She knew they'd all be special individuals one day, in actual fact they already were. They honestly meant the world to her and she would do close to anything for them.

Smiling she took her own arms and wrapped them around him tightly. "Hey, Alecutie!" She was still allowed to call him that, right? Or did outgrow it? He'd say something, wouldn't he? Heh either way, he's still be her little cutie no matter what anybody said, even if she couldn't call him that aloud, still he'd be her little bro, cutie.

Nope, not that she remembered ever seeing them torn. She shook her head at him then pouted, pouted and thought. Hmmm..even the fact that they were torn, why weren't they fixed with a simple repairing spell before the students arrived? It was odd, that was one thing for sure. "I don't know kiddo, I don't know." The pouting just continued as she finally took a seat.ONE THIRD OF THE FEROCIOUS TRIO! BLISSY!

The sight of her youngest kiddo made Nessie smile as widely as ever. The summer had been way too long and look at her Blissy, just like Alec, she had grown! Time flew by too fast, didn't it? Best to make the most of it then. especially this year, she wanted her moments to last and be remembered forever and ever.

With her skinny arms, Nessie squished her baby badger as tightly as she could. It felt so good to see her again. "BLISSERS!" She called back and giggled at herself. She felt younger again, she felt energetic and happy too, but she always felt happy around her kiddos. They just did that to her, they made her smile, giggle and beam. "Summer was good." Nothing too special really happened. How was her-- before she could even think what she wanted to ask Bliss went on with her rambling.

Blink. Mellow. Blink.

Head girl talk, it made Ness feel weird all over again. "Thanks, kiddo. That means a lot coming from you, and I guess I'll try my best?" To be the best that was. "And I've missed you too, TONS! I mean look how much you've grown!" She still could not get over how her little Blissy was now a fourth year. "How was your summer?" she asked what she had wanted to say before, because she did want to know.

Those. Few. Words. They repeated themselves a few times before Nessie could respond. The fact that her eyes got slightly watery because of those words didn't help, neither did it help that she couldn't explain why those words made her wibbly. "I...You always do. That's why I love you, little sis." Noooo she would not cry, she refused to be a sobbing mess only on the first day. The small tears of happiness, or more like mixed emotions didn't care about her refusal though, because slowly they escaped her eyes.Ellacutie!

It was the second time she had seen her today, it was nice having one of her kiddos in the same train compartment as her now. But of course that was not the only reason Nessie was happy with Ella today. That Captain badge, it was really well deserved.

"Hey, Captain!" She gave her a wink and smile. The title suited her.

Giggle. Performances! Of course! What would be a year without them? "Yeah, been practicing all summer!" she teased. "Are you, ready?"And was Bliss too? Because then it was time for FEROCIOUSNESS!

Yeah, What in Merlins beard. "Got no idea what it is." She pouted some at the banner and wondered if the staff were already informed about it. Or were one of them meant to do that?And who was this little kiddo?

Golly gosh, he was so adorable, just like that other firstie with the cheeks. In fact all firsties were adorable, which their miniature uniform and cute little faces. Why couldn't everyone just stay eleven forever? Those were surely the best years of Hogwarts, no? Nessie believed they were, but then of course she remembered her first year and decided to change her mind about that.

Poor kiddo, he looked lonely and in need of some company. With a warm smile the seventh year went on over. "Hey, kiddo. I'm Nessie." She extended her hand out for a shake.
Huh? Why was the Groundskeeper here?

All of the Hufflepuff's attention shifted straight towards the staff member who now stood right by Oakey and two Slytherins, one of which she knew was Theo.
Meeeh snakes. Causing trouble again, were they? This was not good, never was good. With her curious eyes she watched as the Groundskeeper spoke to them both and then continued watching as Theo and Ella began eye-rolling at each other. That bit made her frown because she didn't like these snakes attitudes towards her badgers. She wouldn't say anything though, he'd been lectured enough so it seemed.

But the Head Boy, yeah she wanted to speak to him. "Oakey, everything good?" She gave him a concerned pout. Did he need help or anything, or was he good? New Hufflepuffs, they always brought a smile to Nessie's face. Last year this would have meant more people to sign up for try-outs, but this year that was Ella's job and now the thought of new Hufflepuffs meant a better chance at that house cup. All they needed was to work out, which badgers did most of the time.

Nod. Nod. Nod. She smile-nodded at them all in greeting then decided it was better to also welcome them with words. "Welcome to Hufflepuff all of you!" She rose her voice a little so that they could hear her. If they needed anything she was there for them, yes? That was her duty now, wasn't it?

The newly sorted Hufflepuff skipped down to the table with the....well rather homely looking yellow and black banner over it. Odd considering how lavish the train had been. Her green eyes tried to spot Minnie as she was extremely excited to be in the same house with her new friend. It seemed she was surrounded by a bunch of people so Bay took an empty seat near the end.

A frown crossed her face as she looked at the dinner ware. Paper plates and plastic cups? Honestly she had expected nice china or something like it. Even the orphanage had actual plates and glasses. This was just....well....disappointing. Sighing Bay took a drink of water from her plastic cup and waited for dinner to start. All the excitement from today had the 11 year old starving for food. Her little body was still shaking a bit but that would pass eventually.

And then the question he dreaded came.

No, the right question should be 'Are there any classes you KNOW about?' Because really, he was probably the most ignorant person there. He didn't know ANYTHING about this world at all. But was he going to reveal that?

Of course not.

So, without hesitating for a moment, he said "History of Magic." That was the only class he knew about, and it wasn't too hard to guess what it was, so it was the safest to utter as his favourite.

"What's yours?"



How was he supposed to say he minded actually to a person that was older than him? No matter how nice she asked it, he still couldn't say. It'd be probably rude for one thing. So, "I don't mind," was his answer, trying to sound as convincing as he could.

"It's nice to meet you too." ... He eyed the jelly beans. He wasn't a big fan of them... they made his teeth hurt. But she shared with him, so... he took one. Just one.

"Thank you." He smiled, a genuine smile this time.



House Cup? Was that a sports trophy? Forrest's face lit up. It had to be. So, he liked this house even more. Maybe he could even be in the team? He had been in the football team of his previous school in Saudi Arabia, why not here?

"Yeah, hopefully," he muttered, but they couldn't speak more since he spotted his friends. Anyways. Not that Forrest was alone either.



This was the second time someone mentioned a cup. Now he was even more curious, though he preferred to ask it some time else--no need to reveal his ignorance now.

"Thanks," he said, blushing again when she complimented on his name.

Tell about himself? There was barely anything to be told about. "I'm from Durham," he said, pausing to think what else to add. But really, he couldn't think of anything else, so...

Silence.



A person with a badge. Daichi had a badge too, and he tormented him for a MONTH with that joke he played on him. So Forrest regarded her with a liiiiittle bit suspicious too, just in case.

"Thanks." He smiled, though it was a bit distanced out of respect and fear.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

That was a good point right there. "The yellow cups really helped set it off this year too." She said, holding up the yellow cup she had traded her red one for. Anything to make Lottie happier around all this yellow.

....

Yeah, that got an eyebrow raise. "Really?...huh...such an odd thing to see on the train. I don't think it happens often." Her brows crinkled as she mused just a bit. Fighting 'Claws, and she missed it?? Pity. She could've placed a bet, had everything nicely set up and everything. Guess there was no use dwelling on that now and no use asking him who either was because he probably wouldn't have known...unless he was something like her and he asked. "You didn't happen to catch their names, did you?" She didn't know many Ravenclaw's who'd actually throw a punch.

As for the food. "Not exactly. We have to wait for the Headmistress to get appropriately comfy in her chair, talk to her mouth's content then give the longest speech of the century. Oh! But I snuck down to the kitchen before heading here, have a couple cupcakes and cookies if you want some?" Again, the food could be a while.

Tucker shrugged. "I dunno what their problem was but it was odd. Next thing I knew though we were at the station so I just booked it out of there," he chuckled.

His eyes widened when she said that it might not be a while until food. They had to wait for the SPEECH? But why?? He'd be so much more focused if he had food in his mouth! He grinned when she offered him some cookies though, to pass the time. They weren't as good as candy, but pretty close.

"Thanks!" he said with a smile.

He then turned to the table and for the first time noticed that there were plastic utensils there. "Is this, uh, normal?" he asked, picking up a fork and examining it with interest.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DecemberMoon

Her eyes drifted down the table again and saw the boy who'd been in the compartment with her on the train. (Lissy Longbottom) Never did learn his name... she thought as she watched him for a moment. He'd seemed sort of shyish on the train, but maybe that was just because of the weirdness. She waited to catch his eye and gave him a small smile when he noticed. Sort of another half meeting. Kind of.

Just as Tucker was looking over his plastic fork and wondering what on earth was going on, he realized that the girl from the train was seated nearby. He hadn't really gotten too good a look at her, due to the DRAMA in the compartment, but he smiled and gave her a little knowing wave when he saw she was there.

"Hi! You were on the train with those two guys, right?" he asked.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lockhartian

Text Cut: Lex and Tucker!

Two Ravenclaws? Fighting? Well, that was...strange. Ravenclaws didn't go around fighting. At least not punching someone. They could argue a lot, though. And never get the point (some of them, most of them).

But she was interested, and she also noticed Lex's disappointment in having missed that. "Lotus Wisteria. Good to meet you, Tucker," it wasn't precisely great that she was meeting him through gossip, but she didn't mind the news.

Tucker's attention was drawn once again from the plastic silverware as more Hufflepuff's started introducing themselves to him. This one in particular caught his attention though--she was a pretty nice looking girl. And she had a kind of...what was the word he was looking for? Fierceness? Yes, a sort of fierceness about her that made Tucker decide right there that he DEFINITELY wanted to get to know her better.

So he flashed her his nicest smile. "Nice to meet you too Lotus. What year are you?" he asked. No harm in making conversation right?

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJ ExpelliarMOOSE

Oakey looked down at his paper plate. and over to the one Theodore was sitting over. Paper was something he needed as he wasted all the parchment on the Train ride up trying to write Professor Flamsteed's Summer Assignment. Without asking Oakey grabbed the plate in front of the Slytherin and layed it on top of the paper plate in front of him. He pulled a quill from his robe and started writing down on the Paper Plates. So long as the Assignment was done the Large Foreheaded Professor would have to accept it.

OH LOOK! Prefect! And not just the prefect, but the HEAD BOY! Tucker had no forgotten his goal of someday taking over that boy's position, so he was ready to start off on a good foot with this guy and hopefully help his position in the future running for the job. Did he have any say in the new prefect? He hoped so!

"Hi! Tucker Schultz, 3rd year Hufflepuff," he said, holding out a hand for a shake. "How cool to have the Head Boy in our house!"

Quote:

Originally Posted by ForeverYours

Well, there was no need to ask HIS name, was there?

Tucker.

He seemed like a very, um, self-confident person, much unlike herself. She may as well introduce herself too, right, seen as he'd gone to the great effort to announce his arrival to the entire table. No guessing that he was new, but he definitely wasn't a first year. Heh. No matter, it was irrelevant. "Hey," she called over and gave a little wave. "I'm Bliss." It was a good job he wasn't standing too far away, otherwise she'd have had to shout and she didn't want to do that. That, or, get up, but she was snuggled up to West and was comfy, so she wasn't doing that either.

The nearby Hufflepuff girl with the Slytherin boyfriend--or at least he assumed that, cause they just SEEMED kind of close--introduced herself to him and he grinned, giving her a little wave from his spot at the table. "Hiya Bliss, nice to meet you!" he said with a friendly grin.

So many people to keep track of! If only he'd done this the first time around, it would be so much easier...

Quote:

Originally Posted by TakemetotheBurrow

"Welcome to Hufflepuff, you guys!" GRIN. "I hope you'll all consider trying out for Quidditch. I'd love to see you all on the pitch when the time comes." And the newbies got hopeful Captain Ellasaurus looks and smiles for good measure.

Tucker really hadn't taken TOO much notice of the one girl nearby (he was much more focused on that Lotus girl, hehe) but when she stood up and announced she was the Quidditch Captain--WELL he just HAD to take notice then.

"You're captain? Sweet! What position do you play?" he asked, mostly because he was curious but also hoping it wasn't the positions HE was going to try out for, since it was pretty obvious who would win in THAT situation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bazinga

Min gave him a small smile, “Nice to meet you as well.” Then she gave him an interested look. He was here before, hmmm had she met him before, she couldn’t remember. “Oh well welcome back then. So past two years, what was that like?” She hadn’t really met to many homeschooled students, so that was very interesting to her.
Well since he was an older then he would know more about what was going on around here, “Any classes your really looking forward to? I am anxious to get back to Charms and Transfiguration.” She wasn’t sure how she felt about the switch in Transfiguration, but not much she can do about that now was there.

Tucker shrugged. "Eh, it was ok I guess. My mum got pretty stressed since she started a new job at the Ministry, and she's really good at charms and stuff but not much easily," he chuckled. "She tried her best though, and I'm well caught up with everyone else," he explained. He didn't want her thinking he was way behind and some big slacker or something since he was homeschooled.

"Definitely charms," he said with a nod. "My mum is REALLY big on that so I know a ton about it. I'm just curious about all of it since I've never been to a real class," he explained.

He was still a bit nervous about all that but...he'd manage. He'd think about that tomorrow.[/COLOR]

Text Cut: LEX!

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

She wanted another one just in case?? Okay so was she not having much or going to have more. Lex needed to work this all out before she went back to the Gryffie table, like seriously. Lottie was the thinker and now Lottie was thinking...more. Good thing she had the whole bag.

Yes Lottie, we're at Hogwarts, that's not what she meant though. "I get that bit, how do you think I charmed my bag? I meant like while we're waiting on the speech and stuff. I don't know what's allowed anymore 'cause once this girl did this thing," she didn't actually see what the girl did but the point is she obviously did it because, "then the Healer came down from the staff table and took 10 points from Ravenclaw." Yup. True story. Left her terrified of the Healer for a while actually.

Of course she heard when Lottie said she shouldn't get used to it but Lex had always been one to hear what she wanted to believe what she wanted soooo...she was gonna pretend they weren't talking about hugging, that way she could lie to herself just a bit longer. Nodnodnod.

The name...? "No actually...I wasn't paying much attention to what he'd been saying. I was kinda preoccupied with the fact that Audrey ran even though we were meant to stick together." Unfortunately the kid never got eaten either. Ah well. Karma would happen eventually. Plus, the detention after was kinda fun.

And she didn't run into people...?

"Really? How come? It's super fun you know. I run into people all the time and only hurt myself about half the time. The people are usually fine though and you can have some of the funniest conversations right after running right into someone." She couldn't tell just how many people she'd run into!

Good tiiiiiimes.

What are you thinking Lex? Lottie smiled before speaking once more, "Two cupcakes, because you never know. I may not even eat them tonight, but tomorrow." What if the Giant Squid made an appearance? She could give it a cupcake, which the squid wouldn't enjoy, since they eat fish and seafood.

Huh? Well, then, what on earth are you talking about, Lex? OH. That was entirely different, though. The girl was probably hexing someone instead, or transfiguring something she shouldn't have. "I guess that would depend on what she was doing, don't you think?" she stated, shrugging a bit and glancing at the Ravenclaw table, sorry she couldn't help doing that. But then she pretended to be focused on the red cup..., "No one would get in trouble for cleaning, you just ask Professor Lafay or Professor Flamsteed to back you up," because THEY will understand, thank you.

UGH. Don't remind her. Audrey. Where did she go to, by the way? THIS gave her the perfect opportunity to scan the Ravenclaw table again, though, not really scan it since she knew where to look now, "I never heard of her again, did you?" Lottie, for one, didn't seem to miss her. In fact, she'd forgotten about her until Lex brought her up.

LAUGHTER. It was happening. And lots of it. "No. I don't." She was entirely amused by Lex, though, "People do run into me sometimes," her eyes flickered to the table with the blue cups before looking back at Lex. Ironically, they never ran into each other, that was an interesting fact. Or just a fact, since it wasn't interesting at all.

Text Cut: Tucker!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lissy Longbottom

Tucker shrugged. "I dunno what their problem was but it was odd. Next thing I knew though we were at the station so I just booked it out of there," he chuckled.

His eyes widened when she said that it might not be a while until food. They had to wait for the SPEECH? But why?? He'd be so much more focused if he had food in his mouth! He grinned when she offered him some cookies though, to pass the time. They weren't as good as candy, but pretty close.

"Thanks!" he said with a smile.

He then turned to the table and for the first time noticed that there were plastic utensils there. "Is this, uh, normal?" he asked, picking up a fork and examining it with interest.

****

Tucker's attention was drawn once again from the plastic silverware as more Hufflepuff's started introducing themselves to him. This one in particular caught his attention though--she was a pretty nice looking girl. And she had a kind of...what was the word he was looking for? Fierceness? Yes, a sort of fierceness about her that made Tucker decide right there that he DEFINITELY wanted to get to know her better.

So he flashed her his nicest smile. "Nice to meet you too Lotus. What year are you?" he asked. No harm in making conversation right?

Seriously? He didn't even get the names? Well, what was the point in telling that bit of info if you couldn't go into details, eh? There was no point in listening anymore. Though, it was still sliiiightly interesting to find out that Ravenclaws could throw punches now and then.

Except he was making conversation now and with a smile. A smile that she returned, of course. "Third year. Yourself?" She hadn't been listening until now, so...if he said it before...then she didn't hear it.

Also, "What kind of a name is Tucker, anyway?" Suited a Hufflepuff, though. And maybe a Gryffindor.

Awar was noticing a whole bunch of faces she hadn't recognized before. A lot of new people were coming this term it seemed. She walked up to another boy who seemed to be her age. He was rather...cute. "Hi! Are you new here? Or have I just been so oblivious to not see you around?" Awar was taken aback from the coquettish tone that had escaped her lips. She tucked a long strand of hair behind her ear and her ice-blue eyes grew big as she glanced around to see if anyone noticed. That was a completely unintentional! I swear!




She placed his hand on top of his as he shook hers in attempt to calm his obvious nerves. "I had a friend named Forrest, once. You'll love it here at Hogwarts! We grow in such a loving family, you'll probably won't want to go home!" She smiled sweetly at him.



Awar walked up to another newbie. "Hi! I'm Awarlesta! Welcome into our family!" She held out her hand, "You'll love it here. I can almost guarantee it!" Her face was starting to hurt from all the smiling, but she couldn't help it. She had to share her enthusiasm with everybody else.



Awar spotted one of her good friends, Nate and gestured for him to come closer. "Nate! How are you, mate?" Ha, that rhymed. "I hope your summer was well?" She hugged him tightly.



Another firstie! How exciting! Awar approached the young boy, "Hi there! Welcome into our Puff family!" She held out her hand, "The name's Awarlesta." Grin. "What's yours?"



"I have a few friends in the States!" Awar said, jumping slightly. "How is it? And how's Germany? I wish I could travel more often." Indeed, there were so many places to explore. "I don't know what I want to do after I'm done with school yet. My brother's a albino bloodhound handler and he is completely in love with his job, so maybe I'll end up doing stuff with animals too. I'm sure you'll be an amazing Healer, Minnie!" She glanced over to the Ravenclaw table where she was pointing. "I don't think I have met Ethan. But, I'll be sure to get to know him soon! A prefect? Sounds like a keeper!" She laughed. "I also have to spend more time in the library. I completely dropped the ball last term and I'm planning on doing way better this year."




Awar spotted a younger girl, particularly a newbie and waved to her, "Hi! Welcome to Hogwarts and welcome into our Hufflepuff family!" She extended her arm to shake her hand. "I'm Awarlesta, third year." She glanced at the plastic utensils and plates and frowned along with the younger student. "I promise you its not like this. We usually have really nice plates and cool cups and banners! I just don't know what's up with this term."

Ah. There we go. Things were back to making sense!

"I see. You could take it back to your dorm and forget about all the yellow there." That was always something Lex wondered about. How did Lottie survive in that Common Room? If the Gryffindor one was laced in its colours then most likely the Hufflepuff one would be too. It was rather curious. She tilted her head slightly. "Would you say you like it in there?" You know, in the Common Room?

Lottie was looking at the Ravenclaw table again. It was probably because she mentioned the whole thing about the 'Claws losing points but at the same time she had a feeling there were other reasons. If things continued like this then not being allowed to hex Garrick wouldn't have been the only thing they needed to talk about. "Yeah, you could be right about that. The Healer did seem real upset so obviously the 'Claw wasn't all that smart in actions." And did Lottie notice that Lex was looking at her a little extra now? Just...gathering stuff...yeah...for just in case...

Lex shook her head at the question. "I didn't." And suuuuure Lottie, let's use this chance to glance at the Ravenclaw table again. Why not? Just how many times did she need to look anyway?? Nothing was exploding over there and no one was sneaking anyone a potion plus the right people weren't over there. "You think her parents might have decided to give her a few more years to grow a brain before sending her back?"

Lex's expression fell this time. How many times did that make? She was counting, give her a second and she could tell her. "I could put something blue in her hair or transfigure my robes blue if it'll help you keep your attention over here." She wouldn't say anymore. Lottie could take a hint.



Just as she thought, he hadn't caught their names. Seriously. Well, she'd just have to go asking around or looking for two dudes with at least small bruising--there was no way in merlin's beard the Ravenclaws would have been girls. Not even.

She noticed his eyes widened after she said what she did and it amused her. It always did when she mentioned it to those who didn't know. She herself had been caught off guard by this at her first feast. She could have sworn there'd be food then sleep listening but nooope. Lex shifted her bag so he could get to it. "Help yourself." Just how many did she have left in there anyway???

Her eyes followed his and found the table and all the yellow. "No actually, which is why I had to come over here with my cup earlier. This is strange stuff. The plates and such that we normally have are much better." She flicked at her cup once. "Stranger things have happened though."

She turned her attention back to him. "What'd you do with the rest of your summer?" Juuuust curious.

Arlene was slightly surprised when another person started to talking to her. "Thank you." Arlene replied, blushing slightly. "Nice to meet you Minnie." Arlene said with a smile. The eleven year old shrugged her shoulders at Minnie's question, causing her red hair to slide into her face. "I didn't even know I was magical until a couple months ago." She explained. "It's all very new to me. My dad kept everything a secret from me." She clarified as she pushed her hair out of her face.

Turning back to the girl she had first spoken to. "It's nice to meet you Laura." Arlene replied back. She didn't know why the girl had to introduce her full name, but decided she didn't care that much to ask. Not when she realized that she was extremely hungry. She could feel her stomach growling though she couldn't hear it over the commotion in the Great Hall.

Text Cut: AWWWWW

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

Ah. There we go. Things were back to making sense!

"I see. You could take it back to your dorm and forget about all the yellow there." That was always something Lex wondered about. How did Lottie survive in that Common Room? If the Gryffindor one was laced in its colours then most likely the Hufflepuff one would be too. It was rather curious. She tilted her head slightly. "Would you say you like it in there?" You know, in the Common Room?

Lottie was looking at the Ravenclaw table again. It was probably because she mentioned the whole thing about the 'Claws losing points but at the same time she had a feeling there were other reasons. If things continued like this then not being allowed to hex Garrick wouldn't have been the only thing they needed to talk about. "Yeah, you could be right about that. The Healer did seem real upset so obviously the 'Claw wasn't all that smart in actions." And did Lottie notice that Lex was looking at her a little extra now? Just...gathering stuff...yeah...for just in case...

Lex shook her head at the question. "I didn't." And suuuuure Lottie, let's use this chance to glance at the Ravenclaw table again. Why not? Just how many times did she need to look anyway?? Nothing was exploding over there and no one was sneaking anyone a potion plus the right people weren't over there. "You think her parents might have decided to give her a few more years to grow a brain before sending her back?"

Lex's expression fell this time. How many times did that make? She was counting, give her a second and she could tell her. "I could put something blue in her hair or transfigure my robes blue if it'll help you keep your attention over here." She wouldn't say anymore. Lottie could take a hint.

SIGH. The yellow of the Common Room. Now she didn't know if she was actually looking forward to go there. Especially if the Great Hall was all dusty. Can you imagine THE Common Room? She was hoping it was clean, otherwise she'd start the year with a bunch of cleaning spells. Or getting people to clean. Lottie was certain she could convince Kaiden of cleaning up the Common Room if she thought of something. And even more certain than Alec would be an amazing housemate by doing it without being asked. "No." She didn't like it in there. "There's a reason why I'm always outside, you know?" On the grounds or around the Castle.

Since she was prone to think Lex was the distracted type (which she actually was), she was sure she didn't catch her looking at the table. Though at least she had the whole points-losing and Audrey excuse to be doing so. Except, once she looked back at Lex, the girl was clearly looking her way. The amount of attention she was getting was...definitely not expected, and surprised her, so she stopped glancing at the blue ones. "There aren't many smart 'Claws, surprisingly," yes, she was referring to a bunch of them in particular, "But then there are extra clever ones," like Marcus Branxton, for example.

And then she laughed, "Possibly." She hadn't given it much thought. For all she knew, the girl probably went back to the forest some other time and decided to get eaten.

OH? Her eyes went back to Lex the instant the words left her mouth. And she blushed. "You don't have to, I'm sorry," she said, looking down and biting her lip. She couldn't help it, really, "I'm paying attention to you, actually," she'll just...stop glancing back and forth.

Oh hey! look who we have here not to far from where he was seated. "Hey Nate. My Summer had some excitement in it." He looked down at the badge on his chest then back to the Fifth Year Puffer. "It's Head Boy now, actually." Yeah like it was that big of a deal. Although he was technically Hufflepuff Prefect too, the title pinned to his chest was his new role.

This was a new face, but it wasn't young enough to be an first year. So he thought anyways. "Hello Tucker Schultz, 3rd year Hufflepuff." Oakey took his hand in his and gave him a firm Beater's handshake. "Oakey Gunter, 7th year Hufflepuff, and Head Boy. I guess you already knew that though." He gave the younger Puff a smile. "It's pretty cool I supposes, but wanna know what's even cooler?" He pointed his thumb back to the Red Headed Girl at their Table who wore the Head Girl Badge. "We also Took Head Girl." No, he wasn't bragging, maybe a little but most of it was sarcasm. He was proud for Renesmee to also get Head Girl.

Please, Oakey could tell when something was forced. He knew Minerva was trying to make good for Ariana's sake, but she could put more effort in it. "Good Summer, Minerva. You?" There, he gave her a forced response.

What happened to the two Hufflepuffs who ran around in Roro's Dragon Pen trying to keep Professor Lafay from taking the Baby Dragon as some of her ingredients?

He looked over to Ella a little upset now, he was still pretty angry with Wimp for destroying his work. "I was working on something for Professor Flamsteed. We meet over the summer, and...um...he gave me a challenge to compare this Muggle Cult Star Trek, to his Subject Astronomy."
Oh no! Ella was parched and Oakey couldn't whip up a Veggie Drink for her right here and now. He patted her back and smiled. "You'll survive Captain."

Eyes still slit into an intense glare at the Slytherin."If you didn't want to sit here, you shouldn't have come." Snapping their plastic utensils, and now his wrecked Summer/Detention Assignment. "I might as well just leave you here until Dylan needs you for his Tryouts." Wimp could survive a week stuck a the Hufflepuff table.

There was food.

Wow talk about Lucky! Things may be turning around for him now! "Summer Assignment" Oakey said directly after Mr.Firth had trouble identifying Oakey's hard work all over the soggy paper plate. He was pleased Justice was served to Theodore, but did not expect the next thing. "He'll what?"
Oakey kind of ignored the part where Wimp had to apologize to him, although he was sure he'd leave him stuck on the seat until he got some kind of apology. What really got him was Theodore rewriting the assignment that Flamsteed gave him over the summer. Did procrastination ever pay off like it did right now?
"The stupid plate had an essay on how the Muggle Cult Star Trek, and Astronomy related." Hopefully Wimp knew about Star Trek. In part Oakey didn't care, he just got out of a month of worrying, and writing the Detention assignment for Professor Flamsteed. "I'll undo the charm once you finish, and we can hand it in." Oakey would despise walking up to the staff Table with Theo, but he wanted to see the look on Flamsteed's face when he see's how Oakey avoided writing about his Cult, and subject.

It was quick and Oakey almost missed it, but he heard Renesmee. "Everything's cool down here Renesmee." Oakey gave here a pretty lame and typical thumbs up, and a grin.