Returning the one armed hug somewhat awkwardly, Lux was happy to see that Kace was in a good mood. But then why wouldn't he be? They were close to leaving this castle for the first time in months, he got to see this girlfriend, and there would be food.

"Well, I am planning to have a beach party and you all need to come. But it has to be more than one meet up." Come on now, that wouldn't be nearly as much fun. She would definitely be seeing Bay more than once this summer. That was already a given.

Spotting two girls head over to the table, Lux gave them both friendly waves. "Hello!" As far as she could remember, their names were Hazel and Leah. This would be a good opportunity for her to get to know them and make new friends. Making friends was awesome.

"Do you guys have any awesome plans for the summer?" Really after being cooped up in here for so long, anything would be better. Lux couldn't wait to hang out on the beach. Maybe her party could happen at Willa's house but she was not sure about that since her sister really disliked her boyfriend and he didn't like her either.

SNORT.

It really WAS cold here. Adi got her there. Laughing, Lux nodded her head in agreement. They were all beyond tired of this cold weather and not being able to keep in contact with her parents and siblings. Soon she would be back home, and it was so exciting.

What were her summer plans? "Well, I plan to see my parents and siblings and go to the beach at least once. I want to have a beach party, and you really should come." It would be a real one this time, not the one that got interrupted by the really cold temperatures of the castle. "I am definitely going to hang out at Bay's and I want him to come over to my house too." But Bay's house was definitely a lot cooler because he lived in the woods in what could be called a tree house. "What are your plans for the summer?"

Oh no! There was a sad Anna sitting down at the table. Lux would not have any of that, because Anna should be happy and enjoying herself like everyone else, not upset. "Hey, Anna. What's wrong?" she asked as she shifted over a little to be closer to the older girl. "Do you want some chocolate?" Lux always had Chocolate Frogs on her and chocolate could really help make someone feel happier when they were not in a good mood.

It really was amazing to see Dylan again. Lux had really missed him. He was one of her besties and was always so happy and lively. Beaming, she gave him a little hug. "This term was terrible, but I'm so happy that Bay is better now and I get to go home." For a time there, she had been really worried that her boyfriend might not make it. But he had bounced back because he was strong and Tillstorm was an amazing Healer.

"I am so going to visit you this summer. And I'm having a beach party. It would be awesome if you came." It would be loads of fun, and she wanted him to be there.

Bestie cuddle time right here in the Great Hall. That was fun, right? Was she already starting to feel a little nostalgic about things? Probably so. But she wasn't sad. Not about Elodie, anyway, because Elodie wasn't going anywhere. She was going to always be her best friend. Cat kissed Elodie's head and let go of her then, glancing around and grinning excitedly. "I'm so glad that we're really getting to go home, I thought I was going to end up freezing in this castle." As she spoke, she offered the cannoli to her bestie and then to Olly when she spotted her too. "Hiiii Olly." She smiled big and scooted over to wrap her arms around the other Hufflepuff. Cat gave Olly a nice big hug and then she let go and hurried back to her seat before she got smacked.

Olly liked to look tough, right? But she was sure that deep down, everyone could appreciate a good hug.

Especially a Hufflepuff.

Dec stretched and yawned as he walked into the Great Hall. A nap was absolutely needed. The heavenly beds were something he'll miss over the summer. His bed at home was like sleeping on a slab of rock. Ugh.

He recalled the sound of the welcoming feast, remembering the clatter of happy voices and summer stories. Now, he heard a good mix of semi-happy voices, summer plans, and few sniffles here and there. He can feel people caring in the air. Sigh.

Speaking of caring and stuff, the boy quickly skimmed over the Slytherin table to see if he spotted his favorite short person or half of his friends. The other half were at his house table, where he was now looking for a seat, but the seats near his friends were all taken. Shoot.

Instead of being rude and butting in between people (he was a different person now, okay?!), he sat at the nearest available spot, slightly posing, until one of them noticed his fabulous self. GRIN.

Why did everyone want to know if she'd enjoyed her year? Okay, it was a pretty normal question and it seemed standard to ask every first year. Hayden had to respect the logic of that. It wasn't their fault that her first year had been plagued by an eternal and beyond freezing winter. "I would have liked it a lot better if the seasons had passed normally." There, that was better wasn't it? Better than her first answer. It sounded less angry. She also asked this boy the same thing she asked the other one. "What year are you?"

Hazel smiled at Mari. "All good! Except, it's quite cold," she said, adding the temperature as an afterthought. It was nice to talk to fellow badgers.



"Hey, Dylan!" Hazel said. "Yeah, I've had a pretty good term. How 'bout you?" It was really impossible to not have a great time at Hogwarts. After all, it was Hogwarts!



"Hi, Ian!" she said to her fellow puffer. She smiled at him. It was so nice to see everyone.



Hazel looked over at the girl. She'd seen her before, but she couldn't remember her name(Lux). "Hi. I'm Hazel," she said to her. Making new friends was fun!

A bunch of familiar people had either already been here by the time Toby arrived, or were just showing up now. Every now and then Tobias caught sight of someone he knew or recognised just by sight, or someone would give him a cursory but nonetheless friendly greeting, and the Hufflepuff returned the favour every time with a wave and a smile. Hi. Hi guys. Hey there. Helloooooooo.

This kid, who addressed him by name, was an enthusiastic one. There seemed to be a lot of those in Hufflepuff house, though that wasn't much of a surprise. The fourth year raised a hand in greeting to the younger kid and grinned.

"Hey there..." Uhhhmmm... "... I'm sorry, I don't remember your name. What is it again?" Had they met? Probably, it tended to make no difference when Toby tried to remember things about people. "I'm dead awful with names."

Deciding not to let that make things awkward, Toby went on. "Looking forward to your summer?"

Mmmmmmmmhm. Mhmm mhmm mhmm.

As Mari spoke, Toby nodded along with her, and waited until she was finished before she spoke.

"I know," he said. "I've had a lot of friends who ended up graduating. I'm really close to Ella, and she graduated last term. But I'm still real close to her; you can still stay in contact with people even if they leave. It doesn't have to be one or the other, y'know?"

Toby gave a little smile, and glanced over towards the Ravenclaw table. "I know Soph's finding it difficult, with Cat and Mo both leaving last year, and I know the feeling..." The Hufflepuff trailed off, and turned to look at Marigold again, still smiling. "Just, y'know, keep in touch and stuff with them. It's not as good as being at school with them but... s'a part of life, right? Soon we'll all be out of school and we can see who we want as much as we want. S'just a waiting game 'til then."

Did that make sense? He hoped it did. Toby understood what it was like. Even the bit about how there were people he could have got to know even better. Like Cat and Mo... though when it came to them it was actually Sophie that he was mostly thinking of. He wasn't entirely sure how she'd cope without them here... probably the same way he'd coped without Ella? Huh.

He didn't realise it, but he was already tapping away again.

Kace smiled and was wondering what he was planning to explore. "Good question mate. I might explore my woods back at my house. I even have a tree house that needs to be built." Maybe Adi would help him out this summer if he came to visit. Speaking of which..."Well mate I would love for you to visit sometime if you can.." he offered to his best bud.



As Kace was talking to Adi he felt a hug. He looked down and noticed it was Goldilock or aka Marigold. He smiled and hugged her tightly back. "Heyyy how have you been?" he asked his best friend. I mean he still had feelings for her and wanted to know how she was. They hardly spent time with one another. "I think you, Mitch, Emmy and I should try to have a double date in the Diagaon Alley.." he offered to her.



As Kace was done talking to Marigold and went over to check out the table, he noticed a girl named Leah, he remembered seeing her in lessons. He smiled and gave her a nod and wave. "Hello.." he returned. "But are you excited for this summer?" he asked as a conversation starter.



Then he looked over and saw Anna! He smiled and decided it was time to say hello since he hadn't seen her in a while. He got up and went to the end of the table and plopped down next to her. "Heyyy stranger." he greeted her with a hug. I mean hugs usually cured most things right?



As he was done talking to Anna, he looked up and noticed Dylan was talking to him. He smiled and got up and nodded. "Yeah I did enjoy it! I mean I hung out with Emmy a lot more and plus the lessons were interesting. But I am happy to get out of the castle from being cooped up in here for too long due to the snow.." he shrugged. He wanted some fresh air. "Do you have any plans this summer?" he asked.



OOHHHH A BEACH PARTY!? Count him in! He smiled and accepted the idea. "I am soo down for the beach party. I love going swimming at the beach well I always get sunburnt but it turns into a nice tan!" He shrugged and joked with her a little bit. "Of course it needs to be more than one meet up. I think Emmy will come up with something.." he never doubted his girlfriend. "Plus we can always double date in Diagon Alley.." he suggested.



NOW there was his best mate. He grinned and walked over to him. He wondered if they were gonna go on extreme trips like last summer. But wait he forgot about the Greece trip. He was sure Declan was going. "Heyyy mate!" he greeted him with a one armed hug. "How come I didn't see you in the common room as much this term?" he asked curiously.

Elodie gave Cat another squeeze as she kissed her head and nodded. "I'm really excited to encounter proper house heating, y'know? Not that I'll need it because of actual summer weather." And home. Well, home was going to be their home soon, wasn't it? That was a good enough reason alone to want to get out of here. The comfort of not having to say 'oh I'll come visit this weekend' to her best friend was going to be the best. Crossing across a room into her bedroom was going to be the best. Everything about this arrangement was going to be the best.

She offered Olly a smile as she sat across from them. "You're not going to cry on me, right? I don't need you to cry. You're supposed to be the one that doesn't cry in my life." Although once Caterina had crossed ways and was imparting her hugs on Olly, Els couldn't help but grin and welcome her own hugs in the form of Adi!duck <333333333 The younger Hufflepuff was one of her favourites, and although she didn't have a lollipop for him, she had a big enough hug. "Hi, rugrat..." Yep. This was one that she'd miss. For definite. Incredibly.

But whilst Olly and Cat were the other side of the table, Elodie took the colouring from her pocket with Coul's quote on the back and pushed it across to them. "Look what I found.."

Smiling, Dylan hugged Lux back. It seemed the last time they had really hung out was when they ice skated together. FROWN. They should hang out a lot more next year, that was for sure! Smiling, he nodded at her. "It was pretty terrible, yeah..." he said, glancing at the windows from across the hall. Turning his attention back to her, he nodded. "That's great he's better, I'm really glad to hear that Lux." he told her.

Wait wait wait. A beach party? WHAT. Dylan was so there. "That's so rad, Lux! I'd love to come." he said, excitement all over his face. He loved parties and such, couldn't ya tell?

Dylan chuckled. "Yeah, same here." he said with a sigh. Sure, snow and stuff was fun but he didn't want it for as long as it had gone on this year. Merlin's beard.

"Oh, I'm a third year." he then answered her question. Some people thought he was in a different year most times. He did in fact look a bit older than he was but oh well. That didn't bother him too much. It was actually quite nice! But anyhow. "And you?" he asked. She looked like a first year, but he just had to make sure just in case!

"That's good to hear," he said with a smile. "And my term was pretty good, other than the weather situation and all." he said with a laugh. He had been running low on all his sweaters thanks to the freezing temperature outside...

"What are your plans for summer?" he then asked.

Dylan smiled. "Nice!" he said, nodding in agreement to what Kace said about the snow. "Yeah, I feel ya. I'm definitely ready to go." he said with a laugh. Which wasn't normal for Dylan, he always regretted leaving Hogwarts! He then shrugged. "I dunno. My family and I might go camping but other than that, I'll just be hanging out at my house. What about you?" he asked.

"I'm a first year." She thought he knew that already. Or he probably could have guessed, considering she looked pretty young. Hayden prayed that she would hit a growth spurt before returning to Hogwarts next year. She at least wanted to hit five feet before she turned thirteen. That wasn't too unreasonable, right?

Hayden tried to focus on the conversation at hand with Dylan. That was proving to be a little difficult considering her hunger and impatience. All she wanted was for food to magically appear on the table, was that too much to ask? No. Trying to stay reasonably cheerful, Hayden focused on Dylan. "Were your first two years at Hogwarts so...weird?" Was the temperature normal? Was everything else normal? She remembered what Maddie said about hearing stories from her brothers. About people dying and everything. What was it going to be like to attend this school for seven years? Hopefully warm.

Anna looked up at him and shook her head, “I really don’t want to leave…” She sighed, “You know… Just that everyone else gets their family back and all I get is a room all to myself at an orphanage of people who don’t really pay any attention to me.” More than paying attention was just that there was no one there that really loved her.

She looked up at Lux came over and just shook her head to the offer of chocolate, “I’m not very hungry… But thanks.” She paused, “There’s a lot wrong right now honestly.” Annaleecia shrugged, “I mean, Melek and I aren’t talking anymore.” And she still had a hard time with that though it had been months, “We haven’t spoken in eons it seems… And her and her parents are the only ones who’ve ever gotten me away from the orphanage.” She sighed, “It’s just… Difficult I guess, knowing we aren’t going to talk at all this summer, and that she wants nothing to do with me any longer…”

She looked up at Kace and tried to force a smile as she hugged him back, “Hey, Kace…” Anna fought back a sigh, was it wrong of her to not really want to talk to him? Not that she was mad at him or anything… She just knew he did still talk to Mel, and just kinda figured he didn’t want her around anymore, same as her. After all, if the person who was her best friend couldn’t stand to be around her, why would anyone else want to be?

"Cool," Dylan said with a nod. So he had been right. He then chuckled at her question. "Not really, actually. Not as weird as this one at least." he said, shaking his head. "I'm sure the weather will be better next year." he added reasurringly. But who knew what other things could happen here. It was Hogwarts after all, and from his few years here, he knew that anything could happen really...

Dylan was taken by surprise when Anna explained how she was upset to go back to an orphanage. He had no idea at all she was an orphan. Poor Anna... His heart immidiately sank and he frowned, leaning over to give her a tight hug. "I'm sorry, Anna," he said to her as he let her go. He couldn't imagine how horrible that'd be, being in an orphanage all summer with people who ignored you. Ugh.

But then, the craziest idea popped into his head right then. "Perhaps you can stay with my family over the summer?" he asked, cocking his head slightly. He knew for a fact his parents would love the idea. "Do you think that could work?" he asked. He didn't know how things went over at the orphanage. Like if she was allowed to be away for a certain amount of time or what. But he knew his parents wouldn't mind at all.

She hugged him back and looked up at her, “Hey, it’s not your fault my family’s scared of me…” Annaleecia sighed. It actually felt good to not hide it anymore. She was always so afraid that it would make her seem strange. More of the outcast here than she already seemed to be. She paused and looked up at him in shock. Did he really just… Her shock showed on her face, “I… I wouldn’t want to be a burden…”

She hugged him again though, “But… If they’re really okay with it, I can help around the house and, whatever they needed.” Anna nodded, “And they’d just need to come to Turkey and fill out a small form to allow me to visit.” She smiled at the idea, actually kinda excited at the idea. A home… An actual normal home! Annaleecia looked up at him, “I just… It’s a huge offer though. Thank you, so much.”

Leah turned her head at the sound of someone calling her. "Hey Adi." She said, giving him a smile back. She was not ready to say goodbye to the Hufflepuff family yet. It would not be a permanent goodbye of course, as she would see them all after the summer. All of them except for the seventh years.

"Looking forward to the summer?" Leah asked Adi. She certainly was. She was tired of wearing thick clothes everyday, everywhere. But hey, at least it was getting warmer now. And was that icicle melting outside the window over there?


Oops, maybe she had scared the little girl. Correction: not-so-little-girl. After the feast Hayden would no longer be a firstie, at least that was what Leah thought. She liked Hayden, she was always so nice and sweet. She returned the smile eagerly.

"I can't believe the term's nearly over, can you?" She said. Leah was about to ask whether the younger girl had a good first year or not but decided not to, she probably had enough of that question already. She knew from her end of term feast the previous year. Merlin, that was a year ago? When people started ageing and all that? She was going to be a third year. That was new.


For a moment, Leah was lost in thought about well, nothing. She stared at her empty plate in front of her for a while, only to be jolted back to earth by - Hazel. "Oh hi Hazel," she said, smiling without trying to at the sight of her friend.

"I've been great. Being stuck inside the castle is not half bad, after all." The Hufflepuff said. It was good to be optimistic. "It was a good year, huh? Apart from the cold?" Leah said.


Hmm, another voice. There were hundreds of voices bouncing off the walls in the great hall, but Leah could always tell when someone was talking to her. She shifted her attention to the girl and grinned. She definitely remembered seeing her in lessons, it was.. Lux!

"Hi," she said with a wave. "I'm Leah." The badger said as Hazel introduced herself too. Lux probably would not know her, she was not a popular girl after all. "I don't think so, my family makes plan for the holiday when we all get together." The visit to Egypt last summer was cool, but Leah was hoping to stay in Britain this year. Then the word family hit her. She had not contacted her parents for a VERY long time. It was not her fault though, who can actually control weather?

Since the cold had cleared slightly, maybe Horatio would be able to carry a letter back home for her this evening.


While waiting for the two other girls to talk about their summer plans, Leah turned to yet another Hufflepuff. "Hi, er.. Kace?" She said brightly, waving. Apologies if she got the name wrong, really sorry. She was not only bad with names, but was also not natural with the nodding gesture that the older boy did, which she only did in classes when she was 'not allowed to talk but needed to show that she understood'.

The soon-to-be third year was glad Kace started the conversation. Her ability to just start talking away had decreased since her start of first year. "You bet I am. Not that I've got exciting plans right now, but after the couple months of summer I'll be a third year!" It only seemed like yesterday when she rode the tiny boat to cross the black lake on the way to school. "What about you? How're you doing?" She asked, smiling.

Adi grinned at Hayden. Not one to beat around the bush, huh? He liked that. "Well, usually I would say I like the cold but this here is a little too extreme for my taste.'' And it made them get stuck inside the Castle and stuff. He missed the great outdoors. "Oh, I'm third. Soon to be fourth.'' Gosh, where was the time flying off to? Wasn't it just yesterday he was a wee tiny first year? "How do you like being a Puffer?'' They were the most awesome House with the most awesome people.

"How's it going, Hazel eyes? Perfected your ice skating as yet? There was plenty time for you to do that this term.'' Hehe. He was referring to the Lake being frozen solid for such a long time. Adi himself had not bothered to give the thing another go. It was no fun to keep falling down like that every second.

Dylan. Fellow music obsessed dude and guitar player. It was Dylan that had got him started on the guitar, actually. Adi dude much thanks for that. "Time seems to be in a hurry, doesn't it?'' He was still quite puzzled about that. Time! Slow down, yo! "So, Dylan? Going to guitar camp or something this summer?'' Was there even such a thing?

It was good to see Lux laughing again. And Adi was pleased he could make her laugh for a bit. Ah, a beach party. Instantly, his minds flashed to the one Professor Bellaire had thrown. Or tried to. Too bad it didn't go too well. "I'd love to come. I really won't mind hanging out in the sun all day long.'' Warmth. Warmth was good. "You can owl me with the details if you decide to go ahead with it.'' And as for him..."Haven't really planned anything. Just going to take it as it comes.''

There was a tree house that needed to be built? As well as exploring the woods? Did Kace know he was up for an awesome summer? "Sounds super cool!'' Really it did. Ohh. He could come visit? "Thanks! I just might take you up on that offer. This might sound weird but I want to build a tree house.'' Weird because not many dudes his age would jump at the chance of doing manual work. Adi had never had a tree house of his own but he could help build one for a friend.

Adi grinned with Els called him Rugrat. He would miss hearing that, did she know? Who was going to hand out lollipops next term? Adi sat down next to her. He was going to sit here. Yep. "You're not going to forget me, are you?'' he asked lightly. He was going to joke with Els, he didn't intent on making her feel sad on her last day at Hogwarts.

Dylan's first two years at Hogwarts had been more uneventful than this year? Those words were a relief to Hayden. But why did the weirdest year have to happen her first year? Still, she had a little more hope now that things would be better next year. They better be.

The next question came from Adi, and Hayden had to consider it for a bit. She thought about the conversation she'd had with Lex. But Adi probably wasn't looking for her analysis of the sorting hat and the house system. He'd just asked if she liked being a Hufflepuff. So Hayden shrugged. "I like it well enough. I suppose I do appreciate being surrounded by people known for being nice." Most of them were, anyway.



Yes the term was nearly over. That fact hadn't really hit Hayden yet. She was just there, at the feast, waiting for food and eager to get to a place with normal temperature. The fact that the year was over was slowly sinking in, and she had to pause for a moment after Leah spoke to truly comprehend everything.

"It's weird," she finally said. "I feel like I'm going to age an entire year in just a day. Right now I'm a first year but tomorrow I'll practically be a second year." That wasn't how years worked, obviously Hayden knew that. She also knew that she'd grown a lot over her first year and experienced a lot of new things so things weren't exactly happening suddenly like she was describing. It just felt that way to her at the moment. That time was passing at a weird rate. "You're going to be a third year." And of course there were the seventh years. Hayden glanced up at the front of the room, where the older students had been taking turns at the memory book. After a second she turned back to Leah.

"Are you close with any seventh years?"

Marigold grinned at the little Dyl and squished him. "SO ready," she said. "I cannot WAIT to get out of this castle." She paused for a second. "Just, after being cooped for so long." Not that she had anything against Hogwarts, just not being let out.



Did Marigold just run over and kind of half hug half tackle her cousin?

Absolutely.



Marigold winced at the word cold."Ugh." She never wanted to hear that word AGAIN. Cold could go away with ice cream. Ugh. Hogwarts just kept ruining stuff for her, didn't it?



Marigold frogfaced and nodded along with what Toby was saying. "I hope I'll stay in touch," she said, biting her lip. She followed his gaze to the Ravenclaw table, where Sophie was. "Are you two... together?" she asked. If so, hallelujah.



Marigold grinned at Kace. "I've been okay. What about you?" She grinned even wider. "You excited for summer?" And then he proposed that idea. "Well, aren't we all going on the field trip? Oh... Emmy isn't old enough, right?" That's a shame.

Her name WAS Hazel. Lux was glad that she had gotten it right. "Nice to meet you, Hazel. I'm Lux." She seemed to be a friendly girl and they were in the same Year; that was always awesome. "Do you have any plans for the summer?" It was so exciting to think that in a few hours they would be outside of the castle walls for the first time in what seemed to be years.

Of course Kace would be down for a beach party. Lux knew him so well. "This time I want you to do the Hula with me." Yep. She was holding him to that too so he had better not get any ideas. "We can have a lot of fun swimming and tanning! Plus there will be awesome music." No party would be complete without music.

Nod. More than one meet up was awesome. "Maybe we could all give you a make over," she joked while giving him a wink. How good would Kace look wearing make up she wondered to herself. LOL That would be so much fun. "I am totally up for a double date and I know Bay would be too."

Dylan was such a sweetheart. It was no wonder that he was sorted in the same House as her because the Hufflepuffs were all amazing and kind people. "You still haven't met him yet, have you?" Maybe they had spoken at Emmy's party but Lux could not remember it at all.

"Awesome! I am going to expect you to be there now!" She really needed to hang out with Dylan more because she didn't see him as often as she wanted to. He was such a good friend to her.

Anna seemed so sad all the time lately. It was really starting to worry Lux. Even though they didn't talk too often, Lux had still seen her around the school and she usually looked upset. Biting her lip, she listened to all that was wrong with the older Puff. It seemed that life really WAS treating her rough. "I'm sure that's not true. Mel is a very sweet girl. If you've had a falling out I'm sure it will work out. You two share a bond as best friends that can't easily be broken."

Giving Anna a smile, Lux hoped that she would start to feel a little better.

Awwww, Leah seemed like such a sweetheart. Why hadn't Lux gotten to know her earlier? Well at least she was getting the chance to now! "Nice to meet you, Leah. That sounds like fun. Do you always travel places with your family?" Maybe the younger Puff had a lot of fun adventures. Travelling was always a lot of fun!

Adi seemed to be on board for the beach party. Awesome. Lux would really like it if he was there because Adi was so nice and a very good friend. He had been there for her when Bay was in the hospital, and she would never forget it. "I am so going to let you know. I'm thinking it might be at my sister's if she lets me. Only thing is that she really doesn't like Bay and he doesn't like her either." Which she couldn't blame him for at all since Willa was rude to him when they first met last summer.

"That sounds like fun! So many fun opportunities always come up during the summer. I bet we will both have loads of things to do!"

Oh, the owlery girl. Was she waving at her? Really? Olly decided that nodding was as good a greeting as any so that was what she did. Hello, we see you. It WOULD be weird not seeing those familiar faces around. Not that she cared about any of them, not really but she HAD gotten quite used to seeing the other 'Puffs around the Common Room.

Straaaange.



Olly was however distracted from her thoughts by a hug. A big hug. a hug from...Cat.

She blinked a few times in surprise but didn't really move anything other part of her body. "...hi." No, she wouldn't SMACK her. It wasn't like she disliked the Slytherin girl. So no need to hurry, Cat. That didn't mean Olly had hugged her back or anything. No, she'd simply kept still. Maybe looking a bit uncomfortable. But not too much. Only if you looked closely.

Was Els talking to her?

Olly turned her attention back to the fellow Hufflepuff. "What? No. I don't cry." Which wasn't true, ahem. But she wouldn't cry here and certainly not because they were graduating. That was not going to happen, no. Wait...what was that? Looking down at the coloring, she eyed it curiously for a moment before glancing over at Cat. And back to Elodie. "....what am I looking at?"

Toby was already back to scanning the Great Hall absentmindedly. Not that he really needed to look very hard; he should have known that Soph would be making a grand entrance. The Hufflepuff watched as Mo walked into the Hall and headed to the Ravenclaw table, giving Sophie a piggyback ride. He grinned, heard Mari, and glanced towards her again.

"Uh-huh, yeah," the fifteen year old nodded, sounding very matter-of-fact. "Since February." February 5th to be exact, not that he was, y'know, counting or anything. "Guess it's not all that obvious, we were best friends since way before then, after all."

Grinning. More grinning.

"Merlin, I'm hungry." Where was the foooooooooooood. "Reckon I'll start a petition or something next year, see if we can't get some breadsticks or something on the table for before the feasts start."

"I am sooo ready to go and get some fresh air!" He was glad Dylan agreed too. He wasn't the only one. Aahhh he might go camping? That is pretty cool! He smiled and commented, "That is awesome mate. Try to stay away from the bears and cook some s'mores for me.." he joked a bit with his badger buddy. "Maybe I can visit you this summer?" he offered. Oh onto him now? "Well mate I actually applied for an internship this summer. I hope I get into some stores and get some experience.." he told his buddy.



"Hey Anna....you alright?" he asked concerned. He wanted her to have a fun time at the feast. He wanted her to be social and all. He hadn't talked to Mel in over a while. He wondered where she was. "You excited for the summer. I hope you can visit me.." he said to her. "I applied for an internship so maybe you can come and visit me in the store I work at.." he smiled.



"Hiii errr Leah?" he said right back to the little puff. He was smiling and was glad she was excited for summer. Everyone should be! WOAH she would be a third year? Time went by too fast. "You know I am gonna be a fifth year?" he told her. He was growing up so fast. He remembered being a tiny first year. "I am doing well thanks for asking! Ermm for the summer I am hoping to be interning in Diagon Alley for experience. My mom is on my butt for that. She wants me to be a worker.." he shrugged.



WOHOO! His buddy may visit him this summer! He was pumped for that. He would tell his mother eventually. "Ermm it is not weird at all! Tree house building is soo much fun! Plus you get some muscle from carrying the wood." he winked. "You can get some muscle for the ladies.." he joked a little bit with his buddy, he even elbowed him too. "I am also hoping to intern at Diagon Alley. I applied for a couple stores and I hope to hear back.." Fingers crossed!



"I have been just fine.." he told his best friend truthfully. He was really happy this year with his girlfriend being here and snuggling sometimes. He also had fun in his lessons and had fun times with his Gryffinpuff gang. "I am soo excited for summer! I actually applied for an internship at Diagon Alley so I hope to hear back soon.." He crossed his fingers. He hoped he would get it. But if he didn't it wouldn't be soo bad. Yeah he would be sad but he would get over it. "Yeahh I am going on the field trip but Emmy isn't old enough yet.." he shrugged. "But we will have fun! Is Mitch coming too?" he asked curiously.



AWW MAN! He would accept this challenge. He loved the hula. He even loved hula hopping as well which is the same thing. He also loved the limbo for beach parties. "Will there be a limbo?" he asked curiously. Awesome music was good too! He nodded and approved of that. "Plus amazing dancing?" he asked. He wanted to dance with Emmy at least once. Woaahhh a make over. He raised his eyebrows and shook his head chuckling. "Oh no no no noooo makeover. I mean I just styled my hair recently. It shall not be touched.." he joked with her. SWEET! She wanted to double date. He knew she would. "Awesome maybe at the lion table over there we can plan it with him.." he pointed over to her boyfriend.

"Lux, we haven't spoken in months... Since February she's wanted nothing to do with me." She looked down, trying to bite back her tears, "I guess I can't be shocked though." Anna sighed as she looked to the younger girl again, "I mean... If my own parents hate me, I don't see why anyone else would really." She shrugged slightly, it was the truth to her after all. She was an outcast to her family, an outcast to everyone at her orphanage, so why would she actually fit in anywhere she went enough to make friends who actually cared?

She just looked away again to the smile, she didn't mean for it to seem rude if it did, Anna just wasn't much of a smiler lately.


She weakly shook her head, "No... I'm not at all." Anna looked up at him, "I just... Mel and I have been fighting for months now, and now all I have to do all summer is to stay pinned up in the orphanage all summer." Annaleecia sighed, "And I'm sorry, I know it's annoying to hear me gripe about my life..." As Melek had pointed out to her in their argument, "... Maybe I shouldn't come back here next year, Kace... All I seem to do is upset people..."

SPOILER!!: Best mate Kace!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Expecto-Penguin

SPOILER!!: Declan :3

NOW there was his best mate. He grinned and walked over to him. He wondered if they were gonna go on extreme trips like last summer. But wait he forgot about the Greece trip. He was sure Declan was going. "Heyyy mate!" he greeted him with a one armed hug. "How come I didn't see you in the common room as much this term?" he asked curiously.

A small smirk pulled on his face when his best friend made his way over. Best bros sense best bros presences always. "Kace! How's it going?" He said, a bit too happy, returning the bro hug. "Eh, well y'know..." Dec mumbled, leaning against the table, casually. "Out with the girlfriend and stuff." Oh, yeah! Kace was going to the Greece trip! Another epic trip like the one they had in California is totally bound to happen.

SPOILER!!: Cousin person Marigold!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScarletCharm104

Did Marigold just run over and kind of half hug half tackle her cousin?

Absolutely.

OOMPH! This sudden force hitting him was no stranger and he meant that literally because now, there was a cousin person attached to his chest. "Heeeey Marigold!" He said, a bit out of breath from the sudden collision.

Marigold bit her lip to stop from laughing out loud at the nod. Why? She did not know. She just took a spare bit of parchment out - oh, that wasn't spare... she ripped the corner off - and wrote HAPPY GRADUATION and charmed it over to her. Then she turned away as to not make it awkward.



Marigold went dawwww in her head as Toby continued talking about Sophie. "I like her." Not that it would matter if she did or not, but she was being sincerely truthful. Though, from what she'd heard, how could one not like Sophie?

And food.

Merlin she was hungry.

"Mm. Or fruit or something. Marigold poked her tummy as it let out a rumble.



"That's good!" Marigold said. As for the internship thing, Marigold had considered it but decided against applying. "I thought about it, but I'm going on the field trip and I haven't been in contact with my family or friends for a long time..." She trailed off before grinning hugely and high fiving Kace for him coming to Greece as well. "Yeah, Mitch is coming." She didn't try to hide the fact her face light up at her boyfriend's name, which led her to glance over to the Gryffindor table.



"Hi!" she said before hugging him once more.

A burden? Nononono. He placed a hand on her shoulder, looking at her. "I promise you wouldn't be a burden. In fact, my family would love to have you." he told her with a smile. And he wasn't lying, he knew how much his parents would love the idea and his siblings too. "And helping around the house would be great. I'll let them know and we can work things out to get to Turkey and all that. We are wizards after all." he said with a laugh. It was actually exciting, it felt really good inside to know he was helping her out. He hated the thought of her being cooped up in some dumb old orphanage all alone for the summer.

Dylan nodded. It really did seem to be in a hurry, time. In fact, it felt as if it was just yesterday he had walked through this great big room to get sorted into Hufflepuff. It was weird to think he was already on his way to being a fourth year. Merlin's beard!

"I actually did a guitar camp a couple summers back," he said with a laugh. "But this summer not much. Probably some camping with my family but that's it. How about you?" he asked. Him and Adi would definitely have to hang out.

"I'm sorry your first year wasn't as you probably had expected, though. But I do promise next year will be better." Dylan added with a small nod. That had to be a real drag. He just hoped the next year would be better for her, and she could experience Hogwarts the way he had these past few years; with fun and friends and adventures. Nothing too crazy. The only sort of exciting thing that had happened this year was seeing the centaurs outside when he had been walking around with his friend. But that was probably it...

Smiling, Dylan hugged Mari back. Ah, Mari. Always giving her squishy, tight hugs. And Dylan didn't mind them. In fact, he liked them. Hugging was always so nice.

The third year nodded. "I'm with you there!" he said with a chuckle. "I'm ready to get out of here too." he smiled, glancing out the large windows across the room. "But I'm just glad it's not so cold in here for the feast." he added.

Dylan shook his head. "I think we met at Emmy's party? I can't remember, I met so many people that day but we didn't get to talking much, which is sad. He seems really nice." he explained. Lux talked about this boy all the time, and Dylan still hadn't fully met him yet. Then again, there were so many people at Hogwarts he still hadn't met. The place was filled with people!

Grinning, the third year made a motion across his heart with his finger. "Cross my heart." he told her with a firm nod of his head. Yep. He was going to be there for sure. In fact. He would be the first one there.

Ahh, fresh air. Dylan could almost feel it. Breathe it. Taste it.

Wait. Taste it? You couldn't TASTE air. Silly Dylan. All this being cooped up must have made him slightly mad or something...

The badger chuckled, nodding. "I definitely will." he said. Although his s'more may be sticky and gross by the time he got it to Kace...but OH! Kace wanted to visit! The third year nodded eagerly. "Yes! You must! Whenever you want, just send me an owl." he told him with a smile. He then raised an eyebrow at what his friend said. Internship? Wow that was cool! "Good for you! Let me know how that goes." he told him with a nod.