You know, Ethan....as much as she wanted to answer your questions. Beezus had the same inquiries in her mind too. And the more the waiting continued, the more number her questions have multiplied.

"This is a theory but what if Professor Cerulean had something to do with this?" It would fairly make sense, right? Plastic utensils and paper plates....muggle things. And the woman taught Muggle Studies. Maybe this was a part of some muggle-appreciation scheme of some sort. But no. Just...no. Why won't Professor Cerulean tell them? Gah. Her mind was swirling with SO MANY asks.

When she heard Ethan word out what she was hoping for -that the Headmistress give her speech, Beezus nodded and that was when something hit her full on the forehead. TLUNK! "AWW!?!" She exclaimed, jumping as a hand immediately went to her forehead. That....hurt. She found the source of the pain and discovered that it was in fact a snapped portion of the spork. The brunette picked it up and gave it a glare. Merlin, her forehead was sure to have developed a red-colored map of the Caribbean now. Turning to Ethan, her face scrunched up into a frown. "Did you see who did that?" It. Was. Not. Funny.

She was about to go searching for the culprit and make him pay when there was CLAPPING...more CLAPPING...in which she didn't join in because she was too busy nursing her forehead.

...then the Headmistress got to her feet and started off with her speech.

HOLYSNITCHSAYWHAT?!

Beezus' mouth was literally parted open when the speech was done, her eyes widening in almost utter absurdity of the situation. These....these plastics will be utilized by them for the whole term? And moreover, they SOLD some Hogwarts things? What in Merlin's trousers happened over the summer for this to happen, anyway? Was it too....detrimental that their school had slowly turned into a backyard sale?

Oh. New Deputy Headmistress. Her favorite Professor Bentley. That was wonderf - O____O "Where's Scabior?" She asked no one in particular in a hushed voice. What was going on here?! Where was he? He...he couldn't have just left, right? RIIIGHT?! And the surprises did not end there. THEHOUSEELVESRESIGNED! Asdfghjkl!

*EPIC JAW DROP*

No, she was fine with the whole they were to clean and wash their own dished after each time they ate but for the house elves....ALL OF THEM....to have resigned....it was giving her a very terrible headache.

Make the best of the situation? GAH. Beezus didn't even know what to say. Hawt Professor Scabior was gone and the Headmistress didn't even give them any relative reason. School property was being sold and some other things too. House elves were GONE. And now, they were supposed to make the best of the situation?

Drat. Dang it. Get yourself together. You're a Prefect. You can't lose your cool. She reminded herself that and slowly, although with difficulty, she managed to shut her mouth close and breathed slowly.

FOOD. Finally. But there was something off about it...the dishes didn't look as inviting as the usual ones. It didn't look food that was appropriate for a Feast, it looked like birthday food for Trolls. >___<

She was hungry but she wasn't liking what she seeing and it was basically affecting her appetite. And then....bowls and bowls of ice cream.

BLIIIINK.

"Ugh. Thank Merlin!" Without waiting for anything else, the brunette latched unto a bowl and pulled it in front of her. The spork went in and then she brought it to her mouth. Icecreamicecreamicecreamicecream. At least there was ice cream. She didn't want anything else (okay, maybe she had a bit of the chicken and the mashed potatoes but she got close to vomiting it out because of how MEH it tasted). She also needed this. Her favoritest food in the whole vast universe to soother her down. She was still having a rather hard time trying to absorb what had just unfolded minutes ago.

Oh. Erm.

Nomming on her ice cream, Beezus turned to the girl and pointed out people in the Staff Dais as she spoke. "Well, as you might have heard....two are form the Board of Governors." Yeees, the Headmistress mentioned that on her speech. "Miss Ivy Knox, or Professor Knox now and Professor Vinteren." Pooooooooint. "And that woman is Professor Barlow, Care of Magical Creatures." Where waaaaaas Scabiooooor?

Also, EYES for Mika. You don't play with food, no matter how ridiculous it looked....or tasted. That is all.

Niamh was astonished to find the Prefect patting her arm. She gaped at her for a split second before remembering herself and laying a smile over the stunned expression she’d been displaying previously. Even worse, the older girl was asking her a question. Trying to recover herself, Niamh stuttered out the words, “Irish. It’s Irish. Yours?”

”Oh…” Niamh gasped. “Er… Well, it was my parents. They wanted me to study here instead.” She said, flushing red and looking down at her hands. Flustered, Niamh tried to find a way out of the subject they were discussing. “Do you… do you have a favourite subject?” She asked, blundering her way out of her flustered state and into safer conversational territory. ”What do you want to do when you leave school? Do you have any plans?”

Niamh made what she hoped was a sympathetic face. “Yes, we girls can be hard work. Are they still at school?”

When her companion suggested a direction to catapult the spoon, Niamh simply stared at him. She laughed, nervously. "You can’t be serious?!” She chuckled. "I’m not aiming it at the Head! I like to stay out of trouble. I will fling it at the boy that was rude to me on the train. He wears green. They’re the sly ones, yes?” She mused, her grasp on the basics of Hogwarts life slowing her up a bit. I could fill it with food too, she thought, examining the spoon as she pondered this. But no, that would surely land me right in it. I want to make a good impression. And I can’t afford to lose my House any points! Worried, Niamh considered the spoon again. She made to put it down. Perhaps not.


Niamh smiled fondly as the girl tried to pronounce the name of Niamh’s old school. ”It’s in France,” She said, kindly.

Niamh listened attentively to the girl as she described her unusual background. "Wow, that’s really interesting! What Is the island like? I must say, you fascinate me,” She added, genuine interest sparking in her eyes. “I mean that in a nice way," Niamh smiled.

.................................................. .............................................

Niamh stared up at her new Headmistress, listening attentively to her words. Niamh was the type who liked to do well, stay out of trouble and be seen as responsible and trustworthy. She wanted to be a credit to her new school, like the two Prefects of her House she'd been so warmly welcomed by. Despite this, Niamh was a bit stuck-up. She secretly hated leaving Beauxbatons for Hogwarts. Niamh saw the transfer as a demotion in status and she had wept bitterly when told the news. Now, having spent the summer convincing herself (and being convinced by her parents assurances and her little sister's excited recounts of tales she had heard about Hogwarts and its many famous alumni), Niamh found herself in a school which was evidently in trouble financially, with barely any kitchen staff and picnic ware she was expected to take care of herself. Quite frankly, Niamh was heartbroken. She had been so prepared to give Hogwarts a chance. She wanted Hogwarts to be as grand as it was in the stories her sister loved so much. But the horrifying truth was, that it wasn't. The blonde Ravenclaw looked forlornly at her collection of dinnerware. I am not going to like it here, she thought.

“Thanks,” Isobel replied. Wow, all of these Ravenclaws sure were welcoming, at least! She could safely say she’d expected none of this when she sat down at the table. “I’m Isobel, it’s nice to meet you!” Ugh, she was going to have to remember a lot of names, wasn’t she. She always got faces, but matching the names to them could become a problem.

Isobel laughed when Tora squeezed her way in there. At least here was one familiar face! “Yeah! I wasn’t hoping for it, but I’m not un-glad that I’m here.” Un-glad, by the way, is now something that people can say. Yes. “I’m sorry you didn’t get into Hufflepuff, though. Still, I imagine Ravenclaw will be just as fun! After all, as far as I can tell it’s full of awesome people!” She indicated everyone around them with a grin. So far, Hogwarts was living up to her expectations! Apart from the silverware, that is.

“I had a bad experience with a chinchilla when I was little,” Isobel explained, “and that’s what started it all. Long story, though.” She was torn between wanting to tell the chinchilla story, and not wanting to bore or annoy everyone here. The table was filled with potential friends (and one actual friend), and she was still on shaky ground with the whole sharing long and possibly intensely boring stories of your muggle life thing.

“You mean he isn’t always there?” She certainly agreed that he was grumpy, though, as he’d yelled ‘ticket’ at her more loudly than she’d expected from the little man. “I got the impression that he was annoying, but normal. Is he just a new ticket collector, or is the whole job new?” That’s right, Isobel was going all detective on them. Inquiring about things, making lists in her mind, she was going to figure out the Mystery of the Plastic Silverware.

...okay, that sounded lame. But she’d come up with a better name at some point, she’d certainly read enough mysteries.



Okay, that was a lot to take in. The new people, Isobel accepted easily, because she hadn’t been here before when they weren’t here. However, for this to be their permanent silverware was... not fun, to say the least. She’d hoped for this to be more grand, more... well, more Hogwarts. Paper plates were very non-Hogwarts. Also, something was seriously bothering her. “Um... how are you supposed to wash a paper plate?” Unless there was some kind of spell she’d never heard of, paper plates would disintegrate when water was added.

The appearance of food distracted Isobel. Most of it didn’t look all that bad, but it wasn’t the exquisite cuisine she’d been hoping for. What really caught her attention, however, was the ice cream. Somehow, she’d managed to eat all ten pounds of candy she’d bought just a few weeks ago, and boy, did that ice cream look good.

“I’ve met a few of them, but not as many as I expected,” Isobel replied. Then again, if they were all as shy as she usually was, they were probably hiding somewhere at the end of the table. “I’m so excited for classes to start! I can’t wait for Transfiguration, especially. I really want to be able to change things into other things.” Also, she wanted to become an Animagus, but that of course wouldn’t even be possible for years.

Accidental double post, please delete c:

Elise smiled at the red-decked person. Yes, Gryffindor. You WERE a specialty here, since you were all red and everything. People here were blue, Ravenclaws. Not that it was uncommon to visit other house tables, but doing so before the headmistress' speech was really risky. Only a true Gryffindor would be brave enough, she supposed.

First years, though. The thought of not being one herself reminded the blonde that she had little less than two years left in the school, and that she'd be out in the world after that. “I'm Elise, by the way,” she beamed, nodding. "Elise Fairfield."

Just in case the last name was necessary.



And there was Ethan, calling her captain and all that. Colour rushing to her face, she nodded a little. He, like Beezus, had obviously noticed how late she was and she was really grateful for the fact that he hadn't asked why she was. It was a story she didn't want to repeat in front of all the other Ravenclaws. “Most of it,” she smiled. “I just need to post the sign-up sheets and get names on those, first.”

Ooooh! And potential Quidditch players! That was always a good thing, Ethan. ALWAYS. “And you plan on introducing me to her?” she asked, beaming. Or was it her to me? Elise wasn't particularly sure about the grammar rules of that sentence, anyway. “Oh, and Ethan? Unless I start calling you 'Prefect', you don't really get to call me 'Captain.'” Captaincy wasn't a permanent thing, but being Elise was. So... the closest he was going to get to that would be calling her 'Sparrow,' but no more than that.



Elise eyed Mo carefully as he scooted down towards her and leaning in and WHAT IN THE NAME OF MEEERLIN WAS HE DOING? Elbowing her in the ribs? Marcus Branxton was incredibly lucky that she liked him, that was for certain. If she hadn't, she'd probably have twisted his arm around into a headlock or something to that extent. But since she did like him, she simply elbowed him right back. She'd been told that she had sharp elbows, though. Sorry, Mo.

"Only might?" she asked, feigning a hurt look rather convincingly. "But you're my beater buddy!" And beater buddies never bailed on each other. How COULD he! A while later, she nudged him again. "I'm always pleased to see you, though." Truth.

Elise was just about to turn back to the food -if it could even be considered food- when she heard her name mentioned by none other than the lucky Branxton himself. A mean-faced biter? Was she hearing right? "I'm not Alice!" she said exasperatedly, throwing her hands in the air for emphasis. Still Elise Fairfield and NOT Alcie Fishy Alice Fischer." 'm just tired, that's all." Because trains and moving things that were not brooms made her sleepy.



OH, and it was a firstie who hadn't had a class with Professor Lafay just yet and hadn't learned Scourgify or Tergeo or any of those other cleaning charms. Smiling warmly at the first year, Elise did what the older students had done for her when she was that age.

"There's a spell for it..." It was a reasonably difficult one, but they were Ravenclaws and could catch on quickly enough. "I can teach it to you if you'd like."

Prodding the pale-looking broccoli and the mashed potatoes that looked like glob, she sighed. It could be worse, she supposed. They could have no food at all, and that wouldn't be pretty. She could eat this... and reward herself with ice cream later.

Eliza watched as a girl who looked a whole lot like Zyanya came over towards them. Sister? Cousin? She couldn't recall hearing about her yet, but maybe she had. At any rate, the third year smiled at this other new student as she came over to greet Zyanya.

Looking back to Zyanya now, Eliza smiled, glad that she liked being in Ravenclaw. "Good! That makes it a little easier to adjust to a new school if you like where you are, you know?" She nodded almost as if she was agreeing with herself, then added, "I think you'll like a lot of the Claws. They're a pretty nice bunch of people." Not to pat herself on the back really, because she was talking about the other Ravenclaws, but she supposed she was a nice person too.

Eliza listened as Zyanya told her about the origins of her name and found it to be quite interesting. Ah, so it MUST be her sister. She just said she has a twin, and that would explain it. "That's a really nice meaning to have as a name," she commented. "Eternal. That's cool. I don't know if mine means anything...Hmmm." She'd have to look that up later. And for introductions, she felt now was as good a time as any. "Is this your twin?" she asked, gesturing towards the look-a-like she'd been talking to.





Well at least I made him laugh! she thought to herself. His aunt was pretty focused that day. She smiled back, "Aw well I'm glad she got a little quidditch back in her life then, if only for a while...and even if it was only watching some students, namely me, who didn't know what they were doing." She smirked and chuckled again. Her playing had really not been all that great, but she was glad to give Ethan's aunt some coaching purpose this summer, and if Ethan thought she'd done well then she couldn't argue otherwise. She trusted his opinions. "You think? Yeah it was my first time. I mean, I took the basic flying course before, but I can never really play because I have some muggle neighbors," she explained. They were great people really, even if it meant she couldn't use magical things during the summer - which was more of a strain than she'd realized before having been at Hogwarts for a few years. But she was learning to manage. "How soon do you think tryouts will be?" Because she was getting anxious for them. Partially because she really wanted to make the team and feel like her efforts had been rewarded, and partially because if she didn't make it - she wanted to get it out of the way and move on to focusing herself on a new ambition for the term.

It was sort of a relief to hear Ethan say he didn't think spells were wearing off. That was a troubling idea that popped into her head and she was glad to be rid of it. "Oh well that's good at least," she sighed, feeling less worried now. "It just doesn't make much sense. You're right, it's not like they had to re-buy what they already owned last year." She eyed the utensils again and wondered, Is this some sort of statement on recycling? What NOT to do? She shrugged and replied, "Yes, I hope she does soon too. I'm starving."

She looked to the staff table for the first time and saw that a few people were missing, and some new ones were there instead. What? No Scabior? She searched the crowd for another face. And...no Magnus? I wonder why... She was a little let down about those two. She liked Scabior's wit and sarcasm and Magnus had been nice in class. "Looks like changes to the dining ware and banners aren't the only things that happened over summer," she stated to Ethan, raising her brows in the direction of the staff table. Maybe that will be explained soon too? she wondered.




Eliza was talking with Ethan when she felt the space beside her get a little tighter. Getting cozy or...? She turned to see what had shifted in the bench department and saw the girl she'd met at Ollivander's this summer. It seemed she'd been sorted into Ravenclaw and then sorted herself right up front and center to Eliza and another new Claw. "Hi!," she greeted back with a bright smile, "Of course, I remember! Tora, right?" She thought that was it because she remembered complimenting the girl on her name. That's got to be it. If not, ugh, I'll be a bit embarrassed. But it wouldn't be the first time...

"So, you're in Ravenclaw then?" she asked with cheery eyes. She hoped she was here as a house member and wasn't just exploring tables. She'd lost track of the sorting ceremony, but she'd been quietly hoping for Tora to be in her house. She'd been nice to talk to at the wand shop. She noticed the girl's eyes drift down to the table settings and felt she should apologize for them. She didn't want Tora's spirits about Hogwarts to be let down. "Erm, we usually have a nicer set up...but something's a little off this year. Not sure what yet exactly but..." other than Ethan and I suspect something happened to the school's funding or some MAJOR embezzling went down but... "I'm sure it will get figured out soon enough," she said, trying to sound uplifting. Even if she wasn't so sure herself.




And then after she'd passed another glance around the Great Hall, she noticed that kid she'd looked at earlier. Only now he was looking at her. Uh oh, she thought at first. But then he smiled a little and she felt relieved. She let a slow crooked smile lift her lips and brighten her eyes. Not so bad. You don't smile at people that you've taken an instant dislike to for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, right? I hope not. She wasn't sure how she'd feel if someone didn't like her over something like that. As far as she knew, there wasn't anyone at Hogwarts who strongly disliked her. She wasn't naive enough to think there wasn't someone out there though - they'd just never told her otherwise.





Eliza brushed some of her auburn hair from her face and tucked a strand behind her ear as she listened to Raven exlplain about her family. She was surprised at how much the girl told her, to be honest. She's definitely not shy with her family business then is she! she mused to herself. She laughed and shook her head, "Nope I doubt I would. I'm not that old," she joked. Her expression darkened at the telling of her old school though. "A dark witch taught at your old school? How awful!" She shuddered at the thought. Hogwarts wouldn't let that happen, would they? Not to be prejudice or anything, but dark magic doesn't belong in schools. I'd rather steer clear of it at any cost really. She softened her face as she responded, "Well I'm glad you're here now and away from her. That doesn't seem right to let someone like that be around kids. Especially if she was making life difficult for everyone." She didn't like the idea of that at all. She wondered if any of the staff here knew of this school or why it was being run in that manner. "Hogwarts isn't like that," she assured her. "Not that I've seen anyway." She tried to give the girl something to look forward to here. "There's this one professor, Professor Flamsteed. He teaches Astronomy and he's a lot of fun!" She thought everyone must love Airey since she did, and if they didn't...she just didn't understand how they couldn't.







Eliza's eyes widened as she listened to the Headmistress' speech. No house elves? Teachers leaving? She slumped in her seat slightly, plopping her chin into her hand and giving Ethan a sidelong glance about the whole thing. And what?....WHAT? We have to use these same plates and stuff all year?! What on earth? HOW could they have messed up their finances so badly? Where does our tuition go? How much are they paying these people to run the school into the ground?! Just, just - what?! She felt herself slowing rising into a taller seated position and her eyes slowly narrowing into suspicious little slits, as she turned towards Ethan and titled her head in a way that very clearly said "Are you getting all of this??" This was a lot to absorb all at once, so she was really, really hoping the food would help her feel less offended by the standard of living they were about to endure.

But then. The food. Was gross.

She stared at it once it appeared on their tables. She honestly was not even a picky eater, so for her to realize the meal was lacking was really saying something. Her mouth opened slightly and she prodded some of the dry meat with her spork. "I....uh...." she muttered, looking around her to the other students.

She looked to Tora and saw that her reaction to the food was about the same as her own. And transfiguring the plates was a good idea - but she had no idea how to do it. "I'm not sure how," she answered. "Maybe we can ask someone after the feast." She was feeling a major Ravenclaw brain storm coming on and she really hoped her housemates would all be on the same page.

"I think we may need to have a pow wow in the common room after this," she said to anyone close enough to hear, after taking a small, unpleasant bite off her plate.

"Yeah, that would be great," Isobel said, relieved. She'd been beginning to wonder whether the headmistress was insane, because washing a paper plate with water would no doubt be disastrous. Now that she thought about it, her mom had used some kind of spell to clean things all the time. Of course, it had always been wordless, just a flick of her wand and suddenly the mud that Nudge dragged everywhere would just vanish. Gosh, magic was so cool!

Transfiguring plates was a pretty good idea, and Isobel was glad Tora had come up with it. Of course, if she had any idea how to transfigure things that would help. It seemed the third wasn't sure how either, which meant that they'd probably end up talking to a prefect or a sixth year or something for a suggestion on how to do it. Isobel smiled at the thought of the entire table having proper plates tomorrow at breakfast, and the rest of the school gazing on in jealousy. Maybe Ravenclaw wasn't such a bad House after all.

Serving herself some ice cream (who needs real food?), Isobel listened to the older girl speak. "If you mean a powwow about transfiguring plates, I personally think it's a great idea," she said, smiling at Tora. "Maybe one of the older students would know how to do it?"

Tora beamed- she had given up a good idea! Now if only they could figure out how to actually transfigure the plates. She really hoped the spell would be easy enough for her to master it herself with a little work. She didn't want an older student to do it for her, that was no fun!
"Definitely a pow wow later. We can always ask the Transfiguration teacher if we can't figure out a spell then" Tora said excitedly