Ravenclaw House Table
 

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banner by Vesper Bayliss (Govoni)

The Eagles sit under a brand new navy and bronze banner representing their house. Their solid, shiny wooden table is nicely polished with all the place settings perfectly set. It was once said that the Hogwarts House Elves are the best in the world. It is up to your stomach to agree... but surely it will! Why wouldn't it like elf cooking?

If you're thirsty, there is also fresh pumpkin juice and water on the table, regardless of whether or not it is actually mealtime.

Caelen ran into the Great Hall, her calf's aching from the act of running up and down seven flights of stairs, an act that had grown foreign to her over the summer. It was time for food, whether the time had actually signaled such an event or not. The redhead was hungry, something that shouldn't be a surprise for anyone that knew her even the slightest bit. The twelve year old was always hungry. Sure as the day turned into night, as long as she had not eaten in an hour or so, the child wanted food.

And that was part of the reason she had gotten into baking. The thought crossed the Ravenclaw's mind as she poured herself some pumpkin juice and took a long sip. Because her mother was tired to her asking to bake or cook things and had her sister teach the child. Of course, that meant that Caelen was almost always in the kitchen baking something for somebody, but the smart girl didn't mind much. She liked getting flour on her freckled cheeks and the smell of sweet chocolate drifting through the house for an hour after she baked. It was a good feeling. And of course, you ate what you baked, so the little one got something good out of the deal too.

Thinking of food made the shorter girl all the more hungry, and she took a piece of bacon off of her plate and bit into it in the nicest way a hungry person could. At least she was TRYING to look nice and mannered. Not that it would ever happen, but hey. You could try right? That piece of bacon was gone in less than a minute.

Taking out her journal and wiping her hand on her robe, the redhead attempted to tuck her shoulder length hair behind her ear, a task that never worked for long. Maybe she should write the first letter out from to her mom and Rockwell. Of course she wouldn't mention the security to her mother, maybe to Rockwell if she trusted he could hide the letter well.

Dear mother,
School is going well as usual. Nothing of importance has happened yet, though I met some new people. Paige was sorted into Ravenclaw and Spencer into Hufflepuff like his older brother. I doubt that was shocking to anyone, to be honest. I'm enjoying myself and what lessons we are actually starting soon. And yes, I remember my promise to do really well this year. I promise I'll follow through.

With Love,
Caelen

Reading over the letter with her round, blue eyes, the second year decided she liked it and wanted to write the fun one. The one to her brother. The person she could ACTUALLY mention any danger to. Not that their was any. Canceling quidditch was still so stupid to the little one.

Dear Rockwell,

School started up again, though nothing much has happened yet. Actually, that's kind of a lie. Something of importance has happened. They cancelled quidditch! I'm actually kind of upset about it, considering the fact that I spent half of the summer on a broomstick. Apparently, some nut case sent threats saying that we can't have quidditch this year. They better find this nutcase and lock them up! I want some reward for my hard work!

Caelen.

And with that, the girl shook her hand to get rid of writers cramp and tucked the journal back into her back. She trusted well enough that her brother would see the importance of not telling mom about this. He hid stuff from mom all of the time. Like the tattoo he had on his back and the fact that HE was the one who broke her expensive plates --he didn't want to do the dishes--. Rockwell could cover for her this one time. He better. Because mom was a worrywart and the thought of her freaking out was already giving the second year a headache. More bacon!

Chomping on another piece, the kid contemplated something. Last year, the kid had been homesick and scared during the opening feast. Now she eased through it as easily as anything. So what had changed? Confidence? The fact that SHE wasn't the one who was sitting under the old hat? Who knew? But it was interesting how much she had truly grown from little kid to less annoying little kid.

Did Hogwarts serve waffles for lunch? He HOPED they served waffles for lunch! Kyroh already had waffles for breakfast but still! Just imagine! Just imagine it! Skipping his way over to the Ravenclaw table Kyroh looked around and frowned.

No waffles.

Sigh.

Plopping himself down on a bench, he signed once again. NO waffles. ....Just imagine that.

He could have an apple though! Reaching over to grab an apple Kyroh's eyes fell on a girl with a notebook. Did she not finish her homework? "Whatcha doing?" The brown haired boy asked as he picked up one of the apples.

Kate wrinkled her nose at her notebook and finally just started drawing circles. It was better than a blank piece of paper, and she could make a cool design, maybe.

Chewing on a particularly crisp piece of apple, Kate started to draw another circle but got distracted by a boy talking.

She looked blankly at him for a minute. Was he talking to her? Her eyes flicked around. Well, there weren't many other people sitting nearby, so unless he was crazy, he must be talking to her. What had he said again? Asking what she was doing? What was she doing? Eating? Drawing circles? Kate swallowed and shrugged. "Sorta doodling, I guess."

She tilted her head as she realized he'd only taken an apple. "You're just having an apple for lunch? Won't you be hungry still?"

Had he said something wrong? Where they having a staring contest? Kyroh stared back at the girl, attempting to mimic the same blank face. But it wasn't long before she looked away which meant that obviously he had won the staring contest.

"Sort of doodling." Kyroh repeated. He was never one for drawing. Mostly because he would rather look at other peoples drawing through comic books than make his own. Plus, when he looked back on drawings he did when he was younger around five and six, everything looked so lame. So he couldn't be that good at it. "What are you sort of doodling?" Was there a standard for doodling?

Kyroh's eyes flickered down at the apple. "I guess I would be....I kinda wanted waffles." He had REALLY wanted waffles. "So now I don't know what to get."

Kate flipped her notebook shut and grinned at the boy. He was not going to see her terrible circle doodles. No way. And she wasn't going to answer his question. Nope.

Ohhh waffles.

Kate sighed. "Waffles sound yummy." She agreed. But it was lunchtime. Hmm. What could they have instead of waffles? A normal lunchtime food that was similar to waffles. Bread was sort of like waffles, but not really. It wasn't as delicious.

"You could have a sandwich?" Maybe it was a terrible idea. Kate took another bite of her own apple so that she could have some time to avoid having to make other suggestions. Hmmm. Waffles. Waffles waffles waffles. Oh! Kate swallowed the piece of apple half-chewed so she could share her idea.

"Waffles are kind of like apples because they're both spelled 'a - double letter - e - s'! Just apples don't have the 'w' in front!"

Nooo! The girl closed the book and Kyroh frowned. "Aw! I wanted to see your sort of doodles!" Were they any good? Like Stan Lee good? Hehe.

A sandwich? "I guess I could. But that's what everyone has!" Sandwiches. Pssh. What kind of sandwiches did Hogwarts have anyways? Probably not any that he liked.

The girl was speaking spelling. Kyroh just blinked. If they both had double letters that meant that they were close to the same right? Affles. Apples. Close enough yeah? "But you just said I couldn't eat just an apple!" Because that had to be what the girl was suggesting. That he just eat apples. "I could eat like ten of them though." Hmmm.

He wanted to see her doodles? Nooo they weren't good enough for sharing! Kate gave the boy a bemused smile but kept her notebook closed.

Everyone has sandwiches, that was true. Hmm. Sandwiches and waffles. Waffles and apples… "You could have an apple sandwich! Slice up the apple and put it on bread, and then it's an apple sandwich!" And it would be so healthy. Mmm apples. Kate had finished her own apple and the cheese sandwich she'd made, so she reached for another apple. Yay apples. "Or you could just eat ten apples, yeah." She started eating her second apple.

Oh! She hadn't introduced herself. She wasn't patient enough to swallow before introducing herself, so Kate just talked with her mouth full of apple. "Mmm Kate, by the way!"

No doodles?

Aw.

Kyroh glanced at his apple. It looked good, but did he really want that many?"Don't really want to eat ten apples. Too much chewing. And an apple sandwich doesn't seem real. Is it real? Or did you just make it up?" Didn't sound real at all. Kyroh looked over at the different foods at the table. Reaching over he lifting the covers of some of the containers that obviously kept the food warm. Ham sandwich. Roast beef sandwich. Tunafish sandwich.UGH. Lifting the fourth cover the boy's face lit up. Reaching in Kyroh grabbed one of it contents and plopped it down on his plate!

"Hot dog sandwich!" Except not really. It was just a hot dog in a bun. "I'm Kyroh!" The boy said proudly, holding his hand out to Kate. "Like the city but not spelled the same. With a K. Like Kate right?"

…he didn't like the idea of an apple sandwich. That just proved she was right not to share her book of doodles. Hot dog sandwich? Kate raised an eyebrow. That was kind of really normal. Everyone ate hot dogs on buns.

Kyroh? Kate shook the boy's hand. "With a K." Like the city but spelled differently… Maybe he had to do normal things like eat hot dogs, waffles, and apples to make up for his unusual name. "I've never met someone named Kyroh spelled any way before," she said. "Did your parents meet there or something?" Because why else would they name their kid after a city in Egypt.

After shaking the girls hand. Kyroh grabbed a bottle of ketchup nearby slowly squirted some onto the hotdog. He didn't want to make a mess after all.

Uhhh. "I haven't met anyone named Kyroh either." Now that he thought about it. Was that weird? Or did that make his name even more special. Kyroh had never thought about his name before. His name was just....his name. But Kate was asking him questions about it, and it was strange. "I don't think they did?" How did his parents meet?

Uh.....

"I think my papa just liked the city." Yeah? Kyroh hadn't even been to egypt himself, so his parents couldn't have met there right? "I haven't met anyone named Kate before." The boy declared. Because THAT was true. He took a bit out of the hotdog.

Kate tried not to giggle as Kyroh talked about his name. It wasn't funny. It shouldn't be funny, at least. Why did Kate think it was funny that Kyroh didn't know why his parents picked his name? Kate didn't know why her parents had picked her name, either. Hers had probably been random, to be honest. Katerina… pretty common name where she came from. Supposedly.

"You must not know many girls if I'm the first Kate you know," Kate decided. Because Kate was a regular name. There had been two other Kates in her neighborhood growing up. Oh, but they were Muggles. Maybe Kate wasn't a common name among wizards.

Kate helped herself to some ham and more cheese. "What year are you? I'm a first year." Oooh. Maybe he was a second year and could give her tips. Kate felt like she needed some tips.

Kyroh took another bite out of his hotdog. It wasn't better than waffles that was for sure, but it was probably the next best thing. Chewing, he looked at Kate, slightly perplexed. She looked like she was trying to stop herself from laughing. Swallowing the food Kyroh continued to stare. "Did I say something funny?" Or...was she laughing at his name?

Did he know a lot of girls? Hm. "There were a few girls in my classes back when I used to go to Muggle school. Not really a few, like half the class." Technically. Kyroh hadn't really talked to many of them though. " But none of them were named Kate." Kyroh was being serious. "I think there was like seven Sarah's though." Lots of those.

"Me too!" Kyroh grinned at it. He was PROUND to be a first year. "But I already know lots of stuff. Secrets about Hogwarts and everything. I taught here before." He nodded, because it was a big deal alright?

Munching on her ham & cheese, Kate raised her eyebrows and shook her head. Nope, nothing funny. She hadn't been laughing. Nope. She tried really hard to keep a straight face, but her eyes weren't very good at being fake serious. Hmm, ham and cheese was really good today.

Ugh. Sarahs. Kate had had a lot of Sarahs in her class, too. Not seven, though. "Seven is a lot," she said after swallowing. "I wonder why most people name their kids the same thing. It must get confusing." She liked having friends with the same name as her, though. it gave them a sorta special bond, as though their parents had intended them to be friends. Even if their parents hadn't known each other.

Hogwarts secrets? "Secrets like what?"

lemonaaade
 

She got paired with a first year. Of COURSE she got paired with a first year. It had to be the bloody badge. What was worst was that she couldn't even trade him off since all of her friends had first years too. But at least she could pick what they were doing and maybe he wouldn't be clingy. He seemed to have too much energy for that, if she remembered correctly.

Dora had to borrow some parchment from Blue and get her jarvey to deliver the message to the kid about where to meet her. Early, and on Saturday so they didn't have to deal with a crowded hall. The prefect herself had already been up and so was waiting patiently for Dmitriy while finishing off her breakfast.

Magikewe, this one's for you
 

Oh good, he actually came. "Yeah, that's me," Tora said, looking up at him from where she was seated on the bench. "You're Finn I presume?" the Ravenclaw stated while waving at him to sit down. She figured she might as well jump right into the swing of things. "I guess we're Comrades or something of the sort" she turned to grab the list of marginally clichéd questions she had been recommended to ask.

Uhhhhh. She just dropped the list on the table for him to see. There were questions like what is your favorite color? and what are your best subjects? Thinking about it now, it really was kind of a lame way to start a conversation, but the cards were on the table and there was no taking them back.

She HAD been laughing! He was sure of it. What did he dooooo? Kyroh frowned, just slightly.

"I don't know." Kyroh wondered the same thing in fact. "Maybe their parents are just to lazy to think of other names." Which wasn't cool for the kid, since they would be stuck with the name for the rest of their lives. It wasn't cool at all.

Kyroh kicked his feet lightly as he thought about the question. Secrets like what? He took another bite of his hot dog and chewed. "Hidden passage ways. Which professors are nicer than others. How to get the Headmistress' attention. Stuff like that."

Unlike his partner, Dima was VERY excited about his pairing. 'Course he knew that Miss Dora was no Nigel, but he had still promised himself he was gonna be friends with her like he'd said at the feast and get under that crotchety old lady front she liked to put up.

And this mentoring thing was the perfect way to MAKE her talk to him.

Message in his pocket, the first year sank down in the seat next to the Prefect bright and early on Saturday. Right on time. He didn't greet her or say anything, just swung his legs and waited. For something.

Kate tilted her head. Hidden passaged ways? That sounded cool, but also like something she needed to discover on her own. The professors bit, though, that sounded helpful. But she didn't want to pry. She wasn't sure if they were friends yet, and people who weren't friends didn't just go around sharing school secrets. Maybe they could be friends later and talk about which professors were nicer, and maybe she would be able to tell him about a nice professor, too!

Or maybe not. Maybe by the time they were friends, if they were ever friends, she'd have figured out the professors by herself.

"That sounds neat," she said slowly. "Maybe you can tell me about it sometime eventually." Sometime. But not right now, because Kate had finished her ham & cheese and wanted to go hide somewhere with either a book or her notebook for doodling.

Dora didn't actually expect him to be on time, but didn't seem surprised by the fact that he was. Her gaze turned down on him once he was seated, appraising before for a moment before she spoke. "Dmitriy Toussaint." She was aware of his first name, but his last had been a mystery to her until receiving her letter. They had another Toussaint going here, didn't they? Dora was sure of it.

"Hungry?"

It WAS neat. So super neat. But Kate didn't make it seem like it was that neat. She spoke slow and like calculated. Like it was just a boring fact. Kyroh frowned and took another bite of hot dog. "Maybe." DEPENDING on if she thought it was really neat or if she was just saying that she thought it was.

"What do you know about the castle? The boy asked, eyebrows raised. Because maybe she didn't think it was really neat because she knew more?

HAHAHA what did she know about the castle? It was only funny because it was so embarrassing. She knew next to nothing about the castle, and everything she did know she'd learned by accident. "It's easy to get lost," she said quietly. She'd lost count of how many times she'd gotten lost trying to go somewhere. Like, every single time she'd try to get anywhere, she'd gotten lost. It was a special talent, getting lost as much as she did. "But I did find a book, called Hogwarts, A History, that tells lots of things that've happened at the school. It's really helpful." She needed to go back to the library and read more of that book, actually. That way, when people talked about commonly known things, she would have a clue.

"I think I'm going to go," she added as an afterthought. She didn't need to go, but she wanted to go read and didn't want to offend Kyroh. It wasn't that she didn't like talking to him. But people like Kyroh had 11 years worth of exposure to the magical world. Kate hadn't, so she wanted to try to catch up by reading.