"Oh, I'm Hazel, she told the boy, Toby. "I don't think we've met, but I've seen you around. Classes and stuff." Hazel was glad she got the name right. She was pretty sure his name was Toby. "Yeah, I always love summer. I just hope it's warmer than it was this year." Maybe she could convince her sister to take her to a beach. That would be fun sister-sister bonding.

Hazel smiled at Dylan. "That's good," she said to him. "I'm going to stay in my sister's flat in London for a bit. She went off to school when I was a toddler, so it should be fun! What are you doing?" All this talk about summer was making her anxious to start the feast. Because after the feast is SUMMER!

Hazel wished the food would come out already. She was getting hungry. She grinned at her friend, Leah. "It's been nice. I got my homework done a lot more efficiently since I couldn't leave the castle." Aah, it was a good year. She was sad it was over. "I've had a really good year! Except the cold, of course."

Hazel loved it when Adi called her 'Hazel eyes'. Nobody ever called her that, and it sounded so cool. "This would've been the perfect year to practice, but I haven't gone skating since we went. I tried not to embarrass myself again." And she didn't want to hurt herself from falling too much. "Do you have any plans for the summer?"

Hazel smiled sympathetically at Marigold as she grunted. Trying to cheer her up she said, "Do you have any plans for summer?" Summer made everything better.

"Hi, Lux. Nice to meet you," Hazel said to the girl. She seemed to be about her age. "I'm going to my sister's flat in London for a few weeks. Then just staying at home and stuff. How about you?" She couldn't wait for summer!

Leah had not realized that her question was actually a serious one. Hayden was one smart girl, she was. "I get that feeling on my birthday. My friend actually told me once that I looked older on the day I turned thirteen." Like it made a difference. She did not age a year in a day, right? But she understood what Hayden meant.

She suddenly felt old and mature, because she had experienced a lot over the two years at Hogwarts. The aging epidemic and cold had kind of changed her? They taught her lessons, that if she tried her best to survive then everything would be alright. Or that everything did turn alright at the end. "Yeah, and you're not going to be called a firstie anymore!" Now THAT was a moment worth celebrating. Turning into a third year and becoming a second year felt different.

"Er, I only know our two prefects. I only talked a little with Kaiden last year," Leah said, wondering if she said the name right. Oh, and was Quidditch going to return next year? That would be cool. "and Elodie has always been nice to me this year." She smiled and looked around.

There she was, surrounded by a bunch of people, like Leah expected. She would have to say goodbye to her later on. The Hufflepuff looked at the front of the room where Hayden was looking at earlier to find a pedestral there. That must be the memory book everybody was talking about. She turned her attention away from it, as she did not have to worry about writing an essay on it for another five years or so.

Instead, her eyes turned to the staff table, where the most funny situation was going on. "Merlin." Was all Leah said, as she burst out laughing.


Leah grinned at Lux as she said, "Nice to meet you too!" She loved it when people said that to her, as if she just looked friendly and kind. "No, not all the time, but I do enjoy it when we do." That reminded her of a divination lesson when a description had mentioned her being 'international' or something. She shook that thought away.

"I think we are just staying in Britain this summer though, visiting Diagon Alley and such." Diagon Alley trips were always fun. That was also where she met her two best friends! Okay ONE, since Angel did not count as her friend anymore. Hmfh! "What are you plans for summer?" Leah asked Lux, not wanting to think about her recent fight with her former bestie.


Leah got a hi back from the boy, so that meant that she probably got his name right! And he knew hers too, even better. She could not help but notice that everybody was smiling right now. Badgers were great, and even the weather was helping to lift up the mood.

"FIFTH year?" She said, gasping. "I knew you were old but not that old." She added with a chuckle. No offense meant, Kace. He had those OWLs stuff coming up, which should be diffcult and stressful. But hey, interning? She had never heard about that. "Oh wow, that should be fun." Unless the shopkeeper was an annoying person, that is. "I would definitely visit the shop you are working in. To boss you around." Extra fun for the customer, hehe.

"Do you know about other people who might be interning in Diagon Alley too?" Leah asked.


Leah heard her stomach grumble and immediately looked up, wondering if anybody else had heard that. The person sitting nearest her was Hazel, and she would definitely not make fun of her for that. She glanced up towards the staff table again to see if the Headmistress would make her speech any moment now, but all she saw was Professor Flamsteed freaking out over the divination teacher's cute kittens.

"Oh yeah THAT was definitely a good thing about this year." She said, nodding. "Did you notice that all homework assignments were fun this year? Like cooking, casting charms in the castle, and practicing spells on dummies?" The second year had never enjoyed homework more, and that was saying something. "I think it's less cold now, don't you think? I'm finally seperated from my blanket." Kind of lonely without it though, but she had her Hufflepuff family right here with her!

Mhmm. "Can't imagine why anyone wouldn't, to be honest," Toby grinned, still glancing periodically over to the Ravenclaw table, where Soph was now seating with Mo and Cat. Now that he knew she was here, he brought his attention back to the Hufflepuffs as fully as he could. Though, y'know, he couldn't help but figure he might end up heading over there sooner than anticipated.

Hold on, wait, what? Fruit? What fruit?

Tobias was momentarily and utterly confused. It took a second or five, but he soon remembered that it was he himself who changed the topic of the conversation. As that all came flooding back, he went back to grinning and nodding again. "Fruit is good too."

HmmmMMMM. "I'll tell you what we should do," the fourth year said enthusiastically, shifting in his seat slightly to face Mari a little better. "You and me should stock up on food before the Opening Feast next year, and then if there's any super hungry little first years, we can help them out. And everyone else." ........ "And ourselves."

It was one of those plans Toby would probably forget in a few minutes, when the plates in front of them would fill with delicious courses, but it was fun to think about doing. Maybe he'd even remember?

He'd bring gummy worms, in Ella's stead.

"Hazel. Cool. Nice to meet you Hazel," Toby responded, reaching his arm across the table to try and go for a handshake with the other girl. He was glad he'd not just gone and forgotten Hazel's name, 'cause he was pretty sure that never felt like an awesome thing to have happen to you. "I'm pretty sure I've seen you around a whole lot, too. Hopefully I'll see you more next year."

There was nodding at the mention of summer as Toby then glanced out of the window.

"Well," he said, leaning across the table ever so slightly as he pointed out of the window to where he could finally see the sun poking through the clouds. Just seeing it filled his heart with an odd sort of joy, and he was reminded of that day on the covered bridge just over a year ago with a certain someone. "I reckon there'll be a good chance of that. S'lookin' brighter outside already."

Had they sorted it? The chort thing???

It seemed that Kace was not against doing this Hula, which made Lux happy. "Limbo? There can be, yeah." Did he like doing the limbo? She learned new things every day, though she couldn't say that she had ever tried it herself as of yet.

Looked like she was getting the chance to at her party! So that was awesome.

"Well of course there will be awesome dancing to go along with the awesome music." Come on now. What would a party be without both of those things. Sometimes Kace was totally silly. And mean given his refusal to let her give him a make over; she wasn't going to butcher his face. "I can make you looks super pretty though." Juuuuuuust putting that out there. Hehehe.

Eyes travelling over to where Kace was pointing, Lux nodded. "I'm sure he'd be totally up for it." Bay was a cool guy like that and all.

Lux felt bad for Anna, but there was no way that she was totally unloved. Nope. No one was ever completely alone!

"I'm sure Mel will come around. She's a very nice girl." It was a little hard to say much when she didn't know the circumstances, but surely Mel wouldn't let something hinder their friendship forever. "You have people who love you. Your friends love you." If they didn't care, they wouldn't show any concern about her. "You are a nice girl, Anna and no one is truly alone." Nod.

Oh, maybe Dylan HAD met Bay. Lux sure hoped that he had. "He is super nice," she agreed and not just because she was biased. "Emmy's party was so much fun. I loved my outfit." Hopefully another opportunity to wear it would come up at some point, because her flapper dress and shoes were awesome. Yep, she was really happy that she had learned to wear heels without faceplanting on the floor.

The promise made her happy. "I'm so glad you are coming!"

Awww, Hazel really did seem like a very sweet girl. Everyone at Hogwarts was so nice with a few exceptions. But Lux generally avoided those not-so-nice people if she could help it. "That sounds like fun." Visiting family was always a nice thing to do, especially after the whole thing with no letters coming or going.

"I am planning to hang out with everyone and probably visit my sister's beach house in Florida!" That might be where her party took place if Willa allowed it, but Lux was not sure yet. "Have you ever been to Florida? It's so nice and warm there." Lux loved it.

Leah was just as sweet as Hazel was. Awww, the Puffs really were awesome. It was a shame not to travel every summer, but staying in the city was also nice. There were shops and people to visit!

"I am planning to hang out with people. I don't think I'll be going anywhere other than to visit my sister in Florida. So I'll mostly be in London." She was totally cool with it, because London was really nice. Sometimes she missed Canada though, if she was being honest.

Good, Leah knew what she was talking about. Hayden was glad, because it could have gone either way. She could have sounded smart and insightful, or sounded like she had no idea what she was talking about. Luckily it hadn't been the latter. Hayden grinned. "Yes!" She over-exaggerated her relief, and went so far as to pump her fist in the air. As if being a firstie was a bad thing. She'd actually liked most of it; being able to be awed and ask questions without anybody thinking twice about it. Though she would not miss being part of the youngest group in the school. It would be nice to be older than somebody for a change.

So Leah didn't know many seventh years. At least she wouldn't have to lose any friends. Hayden knew that a lot of students were going to have to say goodbye to friends and role models. She both wished she'd known some of the older students better, and was kind of glad that she wouldn't have to say goodbye. "I never really got to know even them. I never talked to Kaiden and I stayed as far away from Elodie as much as possible." Hayden glanced over to where Leah was looking at the older girl, but she definitely wasn't sad to see her go. Bye Elodie. Bye boy prefect whose name rhymes with Hayden.

Hayden was not expecting Leah to start laughing when she did. She followed her gaze to the staff table and took in the spectacle. There were several things that could be the source of Leah's laughter, actually, but was probably Flamsteed in his ridiculous outfit climbing into Botros' lap. Hayden just stared for a moment, her brain wasn't sure how to process that. But then she joined in with Leah and started laughing. The scene just looked so ridiculous, and Leah's laughter was really contagious at the moment. Maybe Hayden was so hungry she was becoming delirious, but she could not stop laughing.

Oh her and Mel have been fighting for a while? That was news to him. He gave her a quizzical look and sat down and looked her in the face. "Well you know what I will come to your orphanage and come visit you.." he smiled. "I promise or you can come visit me.." he offered. Oh no no. She needed to come back next year. She was a friend of his. "Aww no come here.." he hugged her and rubbed her back. "You need to come back. You do not upset people. You got me still as a friend.." he assured her.



"Hey dude! Ahh nothing too bad mate. Ya know just chilling out.." he shrugged. Wait he had a girlfriend? He needed to be reminded! "Wait mate who is your girlfriend!?" he asked him curiously. "I need a refresher!" Even thought he might have said it soo many times, he needed to be reminded. "Maybe I will need to meet her with Emmy." he offered like a double date sort of thing.



Kace beamed and was glad Marigold was happy for him. She truly was one of his besties. "Well I applied and I am gonna go on the trip at the same time. I can be a multi tasker.." he winked. Ohhh she hasn't been in contact with her family. That is saddening. "Hmmm maybe try writing a letter to them sometime.." he offered a suggestion. Not too harmless but it could go a long way. That is great Mitch is coming! "Well Emmy isn't coming she is too young but I am sure Mitch, You and I can go exploring and find things to do.." he assured her.



"Of course mate! Here write down your address so my owl can send you your address.." he said giving him parchment and a quill. "Did you apply for the internship?" he asked. "I will let you know how it goes for sure!" he told his best friend. "Maybe this summer we can try to play some muggle sports like baseball and american football if you plan to visit Kansas!" he told him the plans he already had.



Kace chuckled at Leah's reaction. "Yeah I am a rising fifth year.." he told her. "Next year I will be but right now I am a fourth year technically." he smiled towards the little puff. "What year are you?" he asked curiously. Ohhhh this girl was a jokester! He liked it. He chuckled yet again and nodded. "Well I am sure my boss will do enough of telling me what to do. I might be cross eyed with all the tasks I have to do..." he joked a little bit.

Did he know anyone else interning? Hmm....nope! He didn't. He would be in for a surprise. "You know I am in for a surprise. I might meet some new people.."



AWESOME! There can be Limbo! He smiled and approved of the idea. He even smiled wider when there will be awesome dance music and dancing in between. "Will there be dance contests?" he asked. That would be fun to have. It would keep people interested. Ohhh? She can make him look super pretty. He didn't want to be pretty. He wanted to be awesome and handsome. "Ermm no offense Lux but I want to be handsome not pretty.." he winked jokingly. "I kind of want like an awesome hair do.." he smiled.

"Do you and Bay have any summer plans soo far?" he asked curiously while still looking at his bromance lover.

Kace seemed really excited for this party and that was awesome. Everyone should be excited about parties because they were lots of fun and allowed for dancing and lots of music. "There can be, yeah. Competitions are fun, and I think people would like it." Good call on his part.

Gasping, Lux put on an air of mock offence as Kace said that he would rather look handsome than pretty. "Are you sure? Emmy might like pretty boys." LOL Not really, but she did want to give him a make over. "I'm honestly not sure what's happening this summer other than the party," she admitted. For one thing, she didn't know if Bay would really be allowed to leave his house after what happened with the Chort attacking him.

While talking to Kace, she noticed a boy who seemed to be really good friends with him (Declan). She had never met him before, so it was a good time to make an introduction. "Hi there. I'm Lux." Beam.

Anna looked at him and smiled weakly, “I… So long as you’re positive they won’t mind.” She nodded, “I mean, the orphanage is fairly loose so, yeah, so long as they promise to take care of me and all that, Ms. Sussette should be perfectly fine with letting me go.” Annalee again smiled, clearly thrilled at the idea of leaving the orphanage, “I just… It’s going to feel weird. I haven’t been in an actual home in years.” Seven years actually. Her parents gave her away when she was eight because of their fear of her. She hugged him again and smiled, “Thank you, Dylan…” She smiled.

She sighed, “I don’t think Mel’s ever going to forgive me… I mean, I’ve known her since I was four, and she’s never been a forgiving person… I mean, every now and again we had small fights, but nothing like this… It’s just horrid.”

Anna shook her head, “I mean, the fight was kinda stupid… All it was about was her saying I’ve been too sad lately, and me telling her that she should feel happy that she has what she does.” And she still stood by that, Mel had her loved ones, and from rumors, now she had a boyfriend too… And here was Anna alone. Was it really wrong of Annaleecia to not want to hear how horrible it was to actually have parents?

She looked up at him, “But, won’t you be busy?” After all he’d just told her about the internship, and then she knew he had people he was closer to her than her, and of course there was his girlfriend, so yeah… She didn’t want him busying an already filled schedule just for her… And then for her to come visit him? “It would be amazing to be able to just stop by but I’m not allowed to leave the place without a supervisor, and even then, I’m not allowed to leave Turkey, unless it’s to go to Diagon.” Unless his parents wanted to fill out the papers that gave her permission to go see them.

Anna looked up at him as he hugged her, not quite able to fight a small whimper as she laid her head on his shoulder, “I just… I don’t know if it would be for the best… I mean, I’ve lost Mel already, I don’t want to upset anyone else for not being happy.”

Norah scanned the rest of the Hufflepuff table, trying to get a clear view over the heads of all the chattering students. A whole year at Hogwarts and she was still shorter than absolutely everyone. At least now she could blame it on being cooped up in this castle for five bazillion years. SIGH. Shaking any thoughts of the year's coldness (ew) from her head, her face split into a grin at the sight of a familiar blonde head. She slid from her seat and skipped over to where Marigold was sitting.

Squeezing between another two Hufflepuffs, Norah pushed herself into the seat across from the older girl and gave her a bright "Hello!" completely ignoring the other students Marigold seemed to be conversing with. She was certainly more important, considering they hadn't spoken in absolutely ages. Bouncing excitedly in her seat (being trapped in the castle seemed to add even more substance to her abundance of energy), Norah asked, "Had a good year?"

Marigold ruffled Dyl's hair affectionately, then followed his gaze out the window. "I cannot wait." She supposed that something good had come out of being cooped up for so long - she would really appreciate the fresh air. "Yeah. I used to like the cold, but now... not at all. Ugh." She wrinkled her nose, then smiled again. "Have any plans for the summer?"



Marigold nodded and cheered up a bit when summer was mentioned. In the past, she had loathed summers, the way funerals were stuffy and hot and icky, the way tears were so much more draining when they were warm, but now summer was her best friend. Speaking of best friends...

"Yeah! I'm going to spend a lot of time at my friend's house, then do the field trip in Greece. It should be fun. What about you?"

GREECE.



"I've only talked to her once, but she was super sweet," Marigold said. It was sweet that Toby was so eager to say his feelings about her, too.

Now onto food.

"Sounds like a plan!" she said. "I'll stock up on chocolate from the trolley." She would then have all the children in her hands.. wait what?



Marigold's eyebrows contracted slightly at the mentions of letters. "I sent one to them right before the feast, it's just.. you know.. letters couldn't get in and out for a while." It made her feel distanced from her family. She didn't know how her mum was recuperating, how her dad's work was going, even if they were the only ones at home! 't was weird. "Mhm! And Zahra and Ruby are coming too. And Gray. It's going to be SO FUN."



Ohmygosh. Was that her favorite ickle? Marigold eagerly pulled herself out of her latest conversation - it was with her cousin, he wouldn't mind - and beamed at Norah from across the table. "Hello!" she said with a happiness she hadn't felt for a long time. She set her forearms on the table and leaned forwards so that she could hear better. It unnerved her that she couldn't make it halfway because she was too short. Humph. She pulled a leg up and sat on her calf, then grinned again at the little one.

"Well... truthfully, not really. But summer should be fantastic," Marigold said. Her term had been... dreadful, awful, loads of things, with the occasional perk that had succeeded in keeping her sane. But between the snow, being cooped up, an annoying third year Slytherin named Casper, and Mitch -

At that last thought, her gaze immediately drifted to the Gryffindor table. She wasn't going to go see Mitch, she would see him on the train the next day, but it felt like things still weren't where they used to be. She focused back on Norah, aware that the younger girl was aware of none of this, and decided not to mention it. "How was your term? Any plans for summer?"

Hazel had heard a grumbling, but she couldn't say anything about that. After all, she had to make sure it wasn't herself. It was definitely a flaw in the system to make students wait so long before food. It would make much more sense if the speech came after the food. "I agree! It was like the teachers were trying to make up for the cold weather by giving us fun assignments!" she said to Leah. Not that she was complaining, of course. She'd enjoyed those homework assignments a lot. "It is warming up! The sun seems to be out for the first time in a long time." She certainly hoped it stayed that way.

Hazel reached her arm out and shook Toby's hand. "Nice to meet you, too," she said to him. She followed his finger to the window. The sun was finally out! She hadn't seen it in so long, it was like meeting up with an old friend. "Hope so." It was so nice to see the sun again. She smiled. "What are you planning on doing over summer?"

Hazel grabbed a piece of her long brown hair and began twirling it around her finger, an old habit. "That's really cool! I've never been to Florida before. Is it fun to be there?" she asked Lux. In her head, Florida was all oceans and sand and palm trees. It was supposed to be beautiful, and she couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of jealousy. The jealousy quickly melted away, though, for the sun was coming out from behind the clouds. Finally.

Hazel turned and saw a firstie (Norah) sit down at the table. "Hi, I'm Hazel," she said to her. The girl was happily bouncing in her seat, and Hazel couldn't blame her. For the first time in a long time, they would be able to leave the castle. And it would be warm! "Are you excited for summer?"

So Marigold was going to Greece? "Wow, Greece. That should be really fun!" she said. And then she asked about Hazel's summer. "I'm going to my sister's flat in London for a few weeks." And boy was she excited!

SPOILER!!: marigolddd

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScarletCharm104

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

"Uh, hi there." Pat, pat, pat. Wait, Marigold was coming to Greece too, huh? Awesome! Which meant Rorie'll be by herself for the summer. LOL, that sucks. That's what she gets for not coming to Hogwarts! "Excited to go home for a bit?" He asked his younger cousin.

SPOILER!!: kace the man

Quote:

Originally Posted by Expecto-Penguin

"Hey dude! Ahh nothing too bad mate. Ya know just chilling out.." he shrugged. Wait he had a girlfriend? He needed to be reminded! "Wait mate who is your girlfriend!?" he asked him curiously. "I need a refresher!" Even thought he might have said it soo many times, he needed to be reminded. "Maybe I will need to meet her with Emmy." he offered like a double date sort of thing.

"Chilling out? Like literally, huh?" LOL! Pun'd! It was absolutely necessary. Come on! They were trapped in a snow prison up until like a few minutes ago. Puns need to be acceptable for recovery!

"Char Stylinson, SSSSSSSSSSlytherin." Dec said sort of hissing and pointing over his shoulder towards the green table. Where is that girl anyways?? "That sounds great, man. You could've met her at Greece, BUT SHE DIDN'T SIGN UP!" He bellowed at the end, also directing it towards the Slytherin table. She'll hear it and she'll knooooow.

SPOILER!!: Luuuxxx

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squishy

While talking to Kace, she noticed a boy who seemed to be really good friends with him (Declan). She had never met him before, so it was a good time to make an introduction. "Hi there. I'm Lux." Beam.

Declan temporarily stopped looking for his girlfriend again because he heard a small voice nearby that wasn't Kace's. It's a girl person. He's seen this girl person around before, but never talked to her. "Helloooo..." He studied the girl's face. Lux, Lux, Lux. Where has he heard that name before? "I'm Declan...are you friends with Char?" Pretty sure that's where he's heard it before.

Hanging out with people, that was one thing Leah was expecting in her summer too, even though she did not make appointments with her friends. She just seemed to bump into people whenever she made a trip to Diagon Alley! Of course, considering the amount of people in the wizarding world, that was not surprising.

"I hope I see you around over the summer too. This evening's not long enough for us to know each other better." She said, smiling. One thing for sure: Lux was nice. Not that Leah needed to meet a badger to know if s/he was nice or not. "Florida? In America?" Her eyes widened. Somehow America sounded very far away. "You certainly would have a warm holiday, won't you?" Leah giggled. Everybody deserved to stay warm, after what happened this year.


Leah was so glad she understood Hayden (maybe it was with a little bit of luck that she did?), she would have been so embarrassed if she did not. She grinned as the young badger did a fist pump in the air. See? She was happy about leaving first year. It would take a huge effort to say goodbye to the ickle when her graduation comes. Luckily Leah had her back facing the book thing and stopped an emotional moment coming.

She nodded when Hayden said about not knowing the seventh years. "I think it's hard to make friends with older people, like SUPER old seventh years." Younger kids did not have much in common with older ones, and there was pretty much nothing to talk about. But Elodie had lollipops coming out of her pocket, and that was different. "Hmm? Why?" Leah had to ask the first year the reason why she stayed away from the girl prefect. Yeah maybe she was a bit scary when she called kids rugrats and stuff. Leah had decided not to be intimidating to children long ago, but would she change as she grows?

Too much thinking going on in this girl's brain right now.

She was glad she could laugh out loud at something right now, taking away everything from her mind. Who would not laugh at Professor Flamsteed freaking out over kitties and jumping into Botros' lap? Hmm maybe the Healer wouldn't. As Hayden joined in the laughing too, it was difficult to cut it out. Controlling her breath, Leah stopped giggling and inhaled deeply. She did not stop to wonder what Kevin Hirase WAS doing up at the staff table. "That was funny," she said to Hayden.


"I say it's pretty much the same," Leah said her opinion out loud. "Rising fifth year, fourth year. Only a couple months of difference." That did not make much difference to the currently-second-year, and she wondered if it did to Kace. "I'm a second year," she said, sighing, "but tomorrow after term ends I'll pretty much feel like a third year." She announced(?) proudly. Third year is not that young, is it?

"I like the sound of your boss being.. bossy, but I don't want you cross eyed." His eyes were pretty, of course not as handsome as - oh well. Still, being cross eyed would make Kace look weird, with two crosses replacing his eyes like a character in a comic. Or.. did he not mean it that way?

"That sounds awesome. Are there people coming from other wizarding schools to intern?" Because that would be even better. And cool.



Just then, the Headmistress stood up and the speech happened. Completely ignoring the part about Gryffindor and Slytherin earning the cups, the words 'departing professors' sprang up. Leah had got to know all professors better this year, and she would miss the professor greatly.

She had forgotten that her stomach had grumbled and Hazel had thankfully ignored that for her the moment food appeared. Before the thirteen-year-old started eating however, she had to continue her conversation with the older girl. The teachers trying to make up for the cold weather.. that made her wonder for a second if the teachers REALLY controlled the cold but soon remembered that it was the chorts.

Leah turned around to gaze out of the closest window and yes! found the beam of sunlight shining through. She smiled and said, "I wonder if I would be able to adjust to the warmth," she said with a bit of sadness hanging on her smile. "So. You're going to be a fourth year. How do you feel about that?" She asked Hazel, in a tone suggesting that she was interviewing her.

Hayden nodded in agreement about what Leah said about making friends with seventh years. "That is a really big age gap," she agreed. So it was a little hard for a first, or even second, year to be friends with a seventh year. But there were other relationship besides friend. Role model. Mentor. Young kids and older students could have a close relationship. The only older student Hayden really knew was Lex. She didn't know what label could be put on their relationship. Not really friends, not at that point, but she didn't know what else would fit. Either way, she knew she'd be sad to see the girl go next year. Luckily she had an entire year.

Why what? That was unspecific, Leah. Oh, right. Hayden realized there was only one thing she could be referring to. It was the hunger making her brain stop working. Definitely. "She scares me," Hayden responded. Did Leah want more of an explanation than that? Probably. Hayden definitely would not have been satisfied with something so vague. "She said she was going to lock me in a cage." Actually she'd said she had other first years already locked in cages and Hayden would be next. It was pretty logical to be afraid of somebody who threatened to lock you in a cage, right? Hayden thought so.

Hayden kept her eyes on the staff table and watched the scene unfold. Just as Flamsteed was getting off Botros' lap, the Headmistress stood up. Yes! SPEECH! THE MOMENT SHE'D BEEN WAITING FOR! Hayden barely heard anything she'd said; she wasn't waiting for the speech, after all, but the end of the speech. And, finally, there it was, food! Hayden just stared at it for a moment and took it all in. Then she began loading her plate. FOOD!

Oh yeah, Leah had said something. "Was he scared of those kitties? But they're so cute!"

Dylan smiled back at Hazel. "That sounds awesome! You should definitely tell me all about it when we come back next year." he said with a nod. It did sound exciting! He then gave a shrug. "I think I might go camping with my family but that's about it. Just a lot of relaxing and such." he told her. During the summer, his family normally didn't do much. Maybe one camping trip or something, but that was about it. But who knew, from his conversation with Anna this summer may be a bit different. They'll have a guest all summer!

Dylan nodded in agreement. "It was fun! And yeah you had a pretty great outfit." he said with a smile. Everyone looked so cool! The theme was a brilliant idea. He definitely wouldn't mind doing something like that again. Parties were always so fun, especially ones you could dress up all special for.

Smiling, he nodded once more. "I am too! Who else are you inviting?" he then asked. He always seemed to end up meeting more and more people at all these parties he went to.

"Okay," Dylan said, grabbing the parchment Kace gave to him. He then scribbled down his adress with the quill and then passed it back to him. "There you go! Can you read it pretty okay?" he asked. You never know. Sometimes Dylan's handwriting was sloppy or whatever and some people really couldn't read it, as if it was some foreign language or something!

He shook his head. "No, I didn't. I decided not to for this summer." he said with a simple shrug. Although he had given it some thought over the year, he had finally decided he wouldn't. He then beamed when Kace suggested Muggle sports. Dylan was all about Muggle sports! "I'd love to! Baseball and American football is so fun." he said excitedly.

He nodded. "Positive. I wouldn't tell you I'm all positive just to let you down later." he told her. A look of understanding then appeared on his face. He nodded. "I get that. You'll warm up to the family quickly though, I'm sure. Everyone's real nice." he said. "Except be careful of Lydia. She may seem like the cutest, sweetest little girl you'll ever meet but...she can be evil." he added, shaking his head and laughing, hugging her back. "No problem, Anna. It's my pleasure."

Dylan laughed as Mari ruffled his hair, sinking lower in his seat teasingly as to avoid her hand. She was always doing that y'know, ruffling his hair. And he didn't mind her doing that either. Mari was such a fun person.

He laughed. "Yeah, I agree. I can only stand it for a short amount of time, y'know?" he shook his head, sighing. "Oh, not much. Just a camping trip and I might have Anna," he gestured over to his friend. "Over to stay for the summer. What about you?" he asked.

"Good deal," Toby nodded, already getting a mental image of himself meting out snacks and treats to hungry first years during the Start of Term Feast next year.

Next year when he would be a fifth year. Uhhh...

Feeling an unfamiliar jolt in his stomach, Toby shifted a little and turned his gaze up towards the staff table to see what was going on. Speech was definitely coming soon, he could feel it in his waters. Or something.

Ahhh, see? It was good to see people smiling. Though it really had been so long since any of them had seen the sun, that Toby couldn't imagine anyone reacting negatively to it. He grinned all the wider.

Toby was about to answer Hazel's question then, but he didn't even start before a voice rang out over the hall. Speech? SPEECH. Toby paused their conversation for the moment and attempted to turn his full attention to Headmistress Truebridge. It was, if not completely impossible, very very difficult. He ended up tuning out and watching the other members of staff up at the table, until Truebridge stopped talking and the feast started for realz.

As mountains of food appeared on the tables, Toby turned back to Hazel again and finall replied as he decided what to eat.

"Oh, I'm up to a whole bunch of stuff. There's the field trip to Greece, I'm going to Disneyworld with my best friend and two of her other best friends, and I have Under-Seventeens Quidditch all summer, too. S'gonna be a busy one. How about you?"

Even though he'd asked a question, Toby's mind was already wandering. He eyed the Ravenclaw table again and made the decision to go sit with Soph and everyone there once he'd finished his conversation. For now, the Hufflepuff reached for a single Yorkshire pudding and started munching on it, focus back on Hazel again.

Norah grinned at the older girl's excited reply. Sitting up on her knees in order to see better, she strained her ears to hear Marigold's reply over the chatter echoing in the Great Hall. Raising her eyebrows slightly, she was mildly taken aback by the girl's answer to her question. Not a good year? But it was Hogwarts! Sure it had been bloody freezing cold and stuff, but that sounded a little extreme. Not wanting to pry, Norah concentrated instead on Marigold's next question. "Term was...cold," she began, but while that was true, it didn't seem to do justice to the entire term, so she continued, "but it was so much fun! All the classes were supermegacrazycool, except for Arithmancy but numbers are just hard..." Noticing she had begun to shout, Norah trailed off and instead channeled her energy into more bouncing. "I can't wait to tell my little brothers all about it! They're going to be so jealous. I just wish I could do magic at home." She stuck out her bottom lift and blew a tuft of hair from her eyes, taking a moment to protest the TOTAL unfairness of that rule before smiling at Marigold again. "What are your plans for the summer?"



Norah gave the girl who called herself Hazel a wide smile, and extended a hand for her to shake, because manners duh. "Hi Hazel! I'm Norah, soon-to-be second year." She was NOT an ickle firstie anymore, so ha. She gave an extra large bounce at Hazel's mention of summer, because if that wasn't exciting she didn't know what was, and pushed a stray curl that had landed in front of her eyes away before answering. "Definitely! Not that I didn't LOVE Hogwarts, but y'know...it'd be nice to be able to leave the building without my ears freezing off or anything." She grinned at Hazel and asked, "How about you? Are you doing anything fun this summer?"

Kace nodded and gave her a "UMMM DUHH!" look. Of course people would love it. Everyone loved a friendly competition or maybe making a fool of themselves. Kace shrugged and grinned at Lux. "Heyyy Emmy likes me for my handsome looks ya know. I mean why else would she fall for me?" he joked with a wink. "I know you like me with my shirt off.." he teased her a little bit and elbowed her. He knew how she reacted.

Aaahh she didn't know her summer plans. Well that was fine. Kace knew one thing he didn't tell anyone yet. He was working in Diagon Alley plus going to Greece. So he will be a busy puff that is for sure.



"Naahh I won't be too busy seeing one of my friends. Sure I will be going to Greece and working in Diagon Alley but hey I will try to make time.." he assured his friend. "Well maybe you can trick your supervisor into giving you some alone time and I can come out of my shop and we can get some ice cream or something. Come on Anna! Be a little rule breaker. You do not have to do everything by the book." he told her. Come on, it is always fun to break the rules. Kace has been doing that for a bit.

Kace heard what she said when he was hugging her. He was speechless and didn't know what to say. "Well I will tell you one thing...you won't upset me at all.." he smiled towards her and squeezed her tight and let go.



Aahh made sense. He nodded and smiled kindly, he remembered the struggle of trying to send letters. The owls had trouble flying because of the snow storm. "Ah I remember we had a horrible winter for our owls to send letters.." But as he heard who was going to the Greece his face lit up! "Sweet! I didn't know who was going! This should be awesome! Do you know what you wanna do in Greece? Maybe a little shopping?" he asked winking.



Kace shrugged and said, "You know how I roll but I maybe busy since I applied to be an intern so I hope I get something. Even if it is tiny so I can get out of my mom's hair." No seriously. His mother could be annoying if he was in the house all the time. She would always nag him to do chores.

Woaahh so that was his girlfriend's name. "Mate come on you gotta introduce me like one on one!" he told her and quirked an eyebrow. It was friend protocol right there. "Maybe we can double date sometime.." he offered incase it was awkward for him. Ohhh she didn't sign up for Greece! Ah man that stunk. "Well ya know mate nothing beats our trip last summer.." he smirked.



Aww she was a third year! She was soo young. He remembered being in his third. It was good times. Anyways...he chuckled at her comment. She was adorable. "I do not like the idea of me being cross eyed either.." he admitted. But her next question had him stumbling. "Hmmm you know what I do not know if other schools are gonna intern. Good question. I think there is but don't quote me on that.." he told her. "What are your plans for the summer?" he asked.



Kace got the parchment and read it. It seemed good for him. He nodded and put it into his robe pocket. "It is good. I can read it that is all that matters.." Aahh man he didn't apply for internships. He frowned and was sad he was gonna see his mate. "Well try to visit me okay in Diagon Alley?" he asked him. He smiled and was glad he knew some muggle sports. "Well you know what we can play those. Do you like soccer as well?"

Hmmm, she would have pegged Mel as someone who was forgiving of the people she loved, but maybe she was wrong about this. Besides, as much as Lux liked Mel, it wasn't as if she was Anna's ONLY friend. There were lots of wonderful people at Hogwarts to be friends with. "You have me, Kace, Dylan... your other friends. We all care about you." It was best to focus on the people who are there for you instead of the ones who weren't.

It was a shame that Anna didn't want any Chocolate Frogs, because she felt that it might cheer her friend up. Maybe talking was just as good. "You know I'm always here for you. You can owl me or whatever." Poor Anna, Lux wanted to give her a big hug.

Hazel had never been to Florida before? Wow, she was really missing out! Lux LOVED Florida because it was hot and the beaches were really nice. Maybe one day she would practice enough to become good at surfing. "It is wonderful! You should totally come by some time. I'm sure my sister wouldn't mind at all." Hopefully.

Since they had only just met, Lux would understand if Hazel wanted to wait to get to know each other a little better first, but it always excited her to make new friends.

Awww, this boy seemed really friendly. Not surprising seeing as he was a fellow Hufflepuff. Waaaaaaaait a second, his name was Declan? As in... Charlie's Declan?!

It really was a small world after all. "Yes! So I finally get to meet her boyfriend." This was wonderful because she had been wanting to meet him for ages and it had never happened until now.

Lux BEAMED at Leah's comment because it was just so sweet. "I hope to see you around this summer too! Maybe we could go shopping together in Diagon Alley or something." Shopping was always fun. Lux loved shopping. "And you can visit my sister's place in Florida with me if you ever want to." She was going to talk about Willa's house to everyone and her sister might end up with a million guests. Oops.

Nod. "I don't like the cold, so the further away from it I am the better." She was not made for these freezing temperatures.

Dylan had great taste because he agreed that her outfit was awesome. Lux had spent forever figuring out what she wanted to wear and ordering it, so it was amazing when people complimented what she had worn. Good thing it had arrived by owl before the weather got too bad! "You had a nice outfit too. Everyone looked so snazzy." It was definitely a good theme party.

"Well, I'm inviting EVERYONE!" Giggle. All of her friends, and of course Bay as well. That much was obvious.

Amused, Lux rolled her eyes. Funny Kace was funny. "Uh huh." That was all she had to say about the Emmy comment. She still felt that he would look pretty wearing some make up and having his hair styled. "I'm not sure why Emmy likes you so much, maybe I should ask her." Joking of course. He had to know she was joking because there was no way she meant it cruelly.

"Oh yeeeeeah. I love you with your shirt off." Eyebrow wiggle. "Just don't let Bay know about it." Wink. Another joke because they both knew how uncomfortable she had been when he had taken his shirt off during Bellaire's beach party.

Her party miiiiiight be a little awkward as well seeing as the only guy she wanted to see shirtless was Bay. She could deal with that and maybe spend the whole time looking at her boyfriend's chest. "So what are your plans for the summer, Penguin?"

She looked up at him hearing about who she was guessing was his little sister, “I’m sure she’s not that bad.” Anna nodded and started to smile but it faltered thinking about the ‘s’ word… The last thing her sister she’d spent six years taking care of was that she needed to stay away before she was taken away from her family again… She had called Anna nothing more than a freak of nature. She sighed thinking about her, “It has to be nice to have siblings that care.”

Annaleecia smiled at his offer, “If you can stop in Turkey I would really appreciate it… but only if it’s not too much trouble.” Her eyes widened and she instantly shook his head, [B] “If I break the rules they won’t let me leave again… They have courses there for magic, not many, but enough that they could deny my right to come back here.” No. Anna wasn’t a rule breaker. She was a good Puff, unless someone else apparently.

“How can you say that after what happened last year?” … Yeah, maybe the fact that she kissed him still embarrassed her, and she’d still been trying to dodge it, “I do stupid things without thinking about it, and according to Mel, I’m not someone people should be friends with.” Or at least that’s how it seemed to him.

She looked up at her, “But I never get to see any of you anymore…” Oh well, that was more her fault because she just hid in her bed most of this term so she could be left alone to be pitiful and sorry for herself. So she couldn’t blame them for that, “I just… Mel’s the only one that could hear anything, and though she’d complain about it, she would listen to whatever I’d say and actually comfort me if she didn’t find the reason too odd for me to be upset about it.”

Anna looked up at her and nodded slightly, “I know Lux.” Everyone else had seemed to say the same thing but she had a hard time believing it sometimes… Maybe she had too much negativity for anyone to deal with her.

Yes! FOOD! Hazel was having a great conversation with Leah though, so she decided to talk a bit before plunging her face into the great depths of food that had just appeared. "I hope it's easier than adjusting to the cold," she said. But the second, ehem, soon to be third year, had a point. "It will be weird not having to put on fifteen sweaters before stepping outside," she added. Not able to resist the delicious food, she stopped talking for a moment and took a slice of shepherd's pie onto her plate. "Erm, I guess fourth year will be similar to third year," she said, taking a monstrous bite of her pie. "But I guess it'll be harder, or something. How 'bout you? Are you excited for your third year?"

Hazel took one more bite of food before turning to Dylan. "Camping sounds like fun!" she said. She hadn't been camping for a very long time, but she could remember fond memories from it. Ah, and just relaxing. "That should be fun." Summer was going to be fun. She couldn't wait for it to begin!

Wow, Toby was doing a lot of stuff over summer. "That sounds like a lot of fun!" she said, taking a bite of her food. "I've never been to DisneyWorld, but it sounds really fun. I'm going to my sister's flat in London for a few weeks, and then I'm just chilling at home." Hazel couldn't believe she just said "chilling'. She took another bite of shepherd's pie. "Are you excited to be starting your fifth year?"

Hazel happily accepted this friendly gesture from Norah and reached across the table to shake her hand. "Hi, Norah!" she said. She was certainly a bouncy child. She smiled at her. "Yeah, and after wearing them every day, ear muffs have lost their appeal." That was sad, as ear muffs were the best things since, well, before ear muffs. "I'm going to visit my sister in her flat in London, and then I'm just hanging around at home." She grinned even bigger and began tapping the toes of her shoes on the ground in anticipation. She couldn't wait!

Wow, had Lux just unofficially invited her to spend a summer in Florida? Mental note for when she and Lux were BFF's, like they obviously were going to be. There was no way she could turn that down. "I'd love to!" she said, but quickly added, "Maybe not for a couple summers, but I'll definitely take you up on that offer!" How could you possibly refuse?

Marigold nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, the field trip with Hogwarts is in Greece, which is nice. Plus a lot of my friends are going. With the obvious exception of you, of course." Marigold nudged Hazel with her elbow. "Oh! Nice! Does your sister live alone?" That was it was more sister bonding, not that she would know of such a thing.



"HELLO." Marigold beamed at her cousin. Uhh, definitely excited to go home! "Yep! I'm going to run to Moo's house right away. You remember Moo, right? 'Moo-reen?' My bestest friend and better half?" He'd better. "You can always come over and meet here. We won't part any time soon."



Marigold grinned and patted on Dylan's hair that she had just fluffed up. "Exactly. And ooooh. Camping? Fun fun!" Plus, he had invited her dormmate over, which was sweet.



Marigold nodded. She would make a mental note of that. She absorbed that thought. At the beginning of fifth year -

Merlin.

She was sooooooo not ready for OWLs. Oh, no. She was not.



Marigold giggled a bit. "Cold is a bit of an overstatement, yeah?" Cold didn't even begin to describe the way the lack of heat had wormed its way into her bones and chilled her so much all she could do was huddle under ten pairs of long underwear. Cold wasn't good enough for the fact she had irritable to no end with people she was friends with. Her eyes flickered over to the Gryffindor table again, this time searching out a blonde mischief maker. She turned back to Norah. "It was fun, I suppose." At some parts it had been, but the reason Marigold was affirming Norah was because she didn't want to minimize the girl's first year. At the mention of Arithmancy, Marigold groaned audibly. "I have to take my Arithmancy OWL next year," she said in a terrified voice. She was going to fail that, wasn't she? But she couldn't ignore the fact that Norah's bouncing was cheering her up so so so much. She reached across the table and patted her. "Can you just be my cheererupper next term?" She was adorable. "You get used to the no magic aspect, I promise. Though I don't have anyone to make jealous: my dad does magic every day, mum's muggle, best friend's muggle, yeah. But I'm keeping busy, field trip to Greece, hanging out with friends, y'know. What about you?"



Marigold nodded. It was a shame. She had needed to send letters even more this term than ever. "Shopping sounds good, but only with you," she said with a grin.

SPOILER!!: KAACe

Quote:

Originally Posted by Expecto-Penguin

Kace shrugged and said, "You know how I roll but I maybe busy since I applied to be an intern so I hope I get something. Even if it is tiny so I can get out of my mom's hair." No seriously. His mother could be annoying if he was in the house all the time. She would always nag him to do chores.

Woaahh so that was his girlfriend's name. "Mate come on you gotta introduce me like one on one!" he told her and quirked an eyebrow. It was friend protocol right there. "Maybe we can double date sometime.." he offered incase it was awkward for him. Ohhh she didn't sign up for Greece! Ah man that stunk. "Well ya know mate nothing beats our trip last summer.." he smirked.

Wow. An internship sounds like something he should've done. Naaah. Too much work. "I hope you get something. It'll give you some experience to learn from." And stuff. Dec's mum was the kind of woman that wants her 'babies' around at all times, so maybe he'll offer to help around her nursery school before or after Greece.

Dec was starting to wonder himself why he hadn't introduced the two to each other yet either. Maybe the cold was making him too lazy (more than he was already) to get out of bed. "How about we meet in Diagon Alley sometime in the summer and hang out?" Ugh, he was so much more social here than in California. What in Merlin's name happened to him?? "And that trip was EPIC!" So much fuuuuuun!

SPOILER!!: LuX

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squishy

Awww, this boy seemed really friendly. Not surprising seeing as he was a fellow Hufflepuff. Waaaaaaaait a second, his name was Declan? As in... Charlie's Declan?!

It really was a small world after all. "Yes! So I finally get to meet her boyfriend." This was wonderful because she had been wanting to meet him for ages and it had never happened until now.

Yes, yes. He was a boyfriend. He was THE boyfriend. Well, the pressure is on to make a good impression. If he made any bad moves with Charizard's buddies, it could mean the end of him. Y'know, because she deserves so much better than him. "Ha, yeah, that's me." Wow, very social.

SPOILER!!: maRI

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScarletCharm104

"HELLO." Marigold beamed at her cousin. Uhh, definitely excited to go home! "Yep! I'm going to run to Moo's house right away. You remember Moo, right? 'Moo-reen?' My bestest friend and better half?" He'd better. "You can always come over and meet here. We won't part any time soon."

Moo-reen? What kind of name was th-OH YEAH! He remembers Moo, he does. Shane and himself used to hang out with Mari and Moo whenever they'd visit from Melrose. Shane used to make fun of Declan, accusing him of having a crush on Moo, but you can hear the truth from him right now, HE DID NOT. Hmmph! "Oh, yeah. Moo. How's she doing?" He'd kind of forgotten about her until now. Whoops.

He leaned in so that the few next words were just shared between them in the midst of the feast, "You're not gonna go visit your mum first?" He said this tentatively because he was afraid to make his cousin uncomfortable on such a tender topic. I'm sure his aunt was doing better and all.

Norah noticed a slight bitterness in Marigold's voice, but the sudden appearance of FOOOD on the table stopped her from mentioning it. Piling a mountain of every dish she could reach onto her plate, she pondered the older girl's answer. Making a face, she said "Ewww an Arithmancy OWL? Gross," accidentally spraying the table in front of her with bits of chewed-up potato. Oops. With an apologetic smile, Norah wiped up her mess and nodded enthusiastically at Marigold's suggestion. "Cheererupper? I could TOTALLY do that." She leapt from her seat and threw her arms in the air, just in case the level of her excitement at this prospect wasn't completely clear, and attempted some badly-executed jazz hands before returning to her seat. How's THAT for cheererupping? "Oh wow Greece sounds so cool! I wish I could go." SIGH. Being 12 was so difficult. "I'm going to France, like every year, to visit my grandparents. They're muggles, though, so I guess I couldn't use magic anyway." Humph. It was still a shame, anyway.



Norah couldn't help but to make a face. She could definitely relate to Hazel's frustration with winter clothing, that's for sure. "Ooh, London! That sounds like fun, she said, grinning back at her. She liked how excited Hazel seemed to be at the prospect of leaving the castle. "I love Hogwarts and everything, but I just can't wait to leave. I need to catch up on my sunshine." Not that Hazel would be getting much of that in London, but Norah still considered this a shared feeling, probably with all the students. Cold...ew. If only if could be summer forever.

Marigold watched Declan as she took a bite of a roll of some sort. "I just got a bunch of letters from her, actually. She's good. Got into some major league Italian prep school that she might go to next autumn." Which was good and all, but writing to her would be harder to manage next term. She would have to owl home, then her parents would have to manually mail it to Italy. Or they could figure something else out.

Marigold had just taken a sip of her juice when Dec asked about her mum, so she swallowed too quickly and started coughing. Once the coughing stopped, she nodded. "Well, mum's at some sort of retreat thing for a week, then I'll go visit her. She should be able to come home before we go to Greece."



Marigold leaned a bit farther away from Norah as to avoid being hit by food, but she stayed grinning. Even with the mention of the OWL. "I'm trying to take all twelve OWLs. Go into the ministry, like m'dad." Not that she wanted to. She didn't know what she wanted to do now, but the ministry was a good of a place as any to start out, yeah? She burst out laughing at Norah's... dancing?... then returned some flaily gestures. Professional dancers, the two of them were. "France is pretty cool! I've never been." And as for the grandparents part? Marigold simply bit into some food. No comment.