Leon headed into the Great hall with a cursory glance over at the Head table, one always had to check who was still there and who wasn't now a days..

Thankfully most of the Professors he cared about were still sitting there, so the 7th year turned towards the table and slid into a seat to look around.

It was his last year here.

His last year to sit at this table, enjoy discussions in the common room late into the night.. He sighed as he slowly looked around the room, and then down the table. His gray eyes looking for a dark head in the crowd.. but his scan turned up nothing..

Was she not here?

He would have to make some enquiries, but for now...

Where was the food? He was starving!

Kitty was thrilled to be back in the Great Hall. For the past few weeks she had counted down the days till she'd be back, no other time had she been so tense for the school year to start. This year she was going to be so busy!

"Hey Leon," Kitty said, smiling politely at the older Ravenclaw. She didn't know him very well but obviously she knew him somewhat as they were in the same house and often bumped into each other.

Then she turned to see where her co-prefect Rooney was. Vaguely she remembered he had gotten of the train last so it might be awhile before he arrived.

Still finding it hard to keep her mischievous smirk under control, Hadley made her way from the staff table to her House's table. It felt strangely surreal to be back here, despite having not been away for any longer than usual. Being back home, in California, had had a profound effect on her that she wasn't sure she could even begin to put into words.

It had felt like her time here at Hogwarts had simply been an incredible, life-altering dream, that she had finally woken up from, changed for the better, to resume her real life. As much as that should have bothered her, it hadn't. In many ways it had been comforting to be surrounded by the life she'd grown up with again. And even as much as she was thrilled to be back at Hogwarts for another year of learning incredible magic, part of it still felt like a dream. Part of her longed to be back in California, surfing, soaking up the sun, getting even more tan than she was already.

It was gonna be a weird year.

With a yawn, Hadley sat down and waved to Kitty and Leon, noting the absence of Azura as she did. And where was Mossy? Please say she'd been allowed to come back to Hogwarts.

Hadley stifled another yawn. She hadn't let herself sleep on the train over, so that she would crash tonight and hopefully reset her internal clock to UK time. And she wasn't about to let herself pass out now. Hads distracted herself from her exhaustion by looking over at the Gryffindor table to see if she could spot Ace. He had been absent on the train, which wasn't like him at all.

After the usual rush off the train after the hours of traveling, and then the carriage ride, Cassie was ready for the feast for sure. She stepped into the Great Hall and it was like she had hardly been gone despite having had a little over two months pass. The Ravenclaw made her way over to the Ravenclaw table looking around for familiar faces amongst the students already there. “Hey” she greeted Kitty, offering a polite smile at the prefect as she passed her to take a seat at the table. The fourth year then noticing her dorm mate there along the table as well.

“Enjoy your summer?” she questioned Hadley, mildly curious. Her own had been fun despite her brother’s excitement of coming to Hogwarts and the activities surrounding that that she had unfortunately been dragged into.

"Oh, hi, Cassie." Hadley beamed a little through her exhaustion, thinking fondly over the last month. "Yeah. Very much. Got to go back home to California." She might live in London, but LA would always be home to her. "Got to surf again. Showed Rachel around all the amusement parks." Naturally, Disneyland had been Rach's favorite. "Got to try hang gliding too. How was your summer?" Hopefully, it was good, or Hads would feel guilty gushing about her own summer.

The universe had several irrefutable truths. Laws of gravity, physics, magic, etc. And one of these truths was that Professor Hirsch was ungodly beautiful. Term after term after term. He never failed to make Chloe physically stop in her tracks.

This term was no different. She awkwardly lingered in the door when she spotted him and then remembered herself when the person behind her, rudely, tapped her shoulder. Her cheeks flushed red and she fled to the safety of the Ravenclaw table. Hiding her blotchy, red face behind her hair.

The acerbic feeling in her gut, which she'd had all up to the sorting, had been replaced by one of warmth and hope for the future- for the most part, at least. Charlie looked up and down the Ravenclaw table when she'd arrived, and she didn't see any of the friends she'd made so far! Oh boy. If the Sorting Hat was right, though (and apparently it always was), she welcomed and embraced situations like this. She belonged with these people, too, so she shouldn't be afraid.

Charlie resolved to introduce herself to everyone in her general area at the table. After taking a big gulp (of air), she started with "Hi... everyone. I'm Charlie- Charlie Lewis- and I'm a first year, so I'm new here." Like that wasn't obvious. "It's nice to meet you all."

Oh gosh, that was pretty bad. At least she tried, though.... Right?

Maybe. She took a seat before she started to get too flustered, next to a girl (Chloe) that seemed to be keeping to herself. At least Charlie wouldn't feel too bad about not interacting with anyone.

SPOILER!!: Hadley

Quote:

Originally Posted by Callie

"Oh, hi, Cassie." Hadley beamed a little through her exhaustion, thinking fondly over the last month. "Yeah. Very much. Got to go back home to California." She might live in London, but LA would always be home to her. "Got to surf again. Showed Rachel around all the amusement parks." Naturally, Disneyland had been Rach's favorite. "Got to try hang gliding too. How was your summer?" Hopefully, it was good, or Hads would feel guilty gushing about her own summer.

The smile she got in response to her question was almost answer enough. “Hiya” Cass greeted in return, realizing she had forgotten that. “Sounds real cool,” the girl remarked interested. She couldn’t say she knew what it was like to do any of those things, or go to California for that matter, but it wasn’t like she wasn’t aware of what the other girl was talking about. “Pretty down to earth in comparison, but still good” she answered truthfully. “Went exploring a few weekends though.” A plus to being fourteen and gaining more and more freedom.

SPOILER!!: Charlie

Quote:

Originally Posted by klexos24

The acerbic feeling in her gut, which she'd had all up to the sorting, had been replaced by one of warmth and hope for the future- for the most part, at least. Charlie looked up and down the Ravenclaw table when she'd arrived, and she didn't see any of the friends she'd made so far! Oh boy. If the Sorting Hat was right, though (and apparently it always was), she welcomed and embraced situations like this. She belonged with these people, too, so she shouldn't be afraid.

Charlie resolved to introduce herself to everyone in her general area at the table. After taking a big gulp (of air), she started with "Hi... everyone. I'm Charlie- Charlie Lewis- and I'm a first year, so I'm new here." Like that wasn't obvious. "It's nice to meet you all."

Oh gosh, that was pretty bad. At least she tried, though.... Right?

Maybe. She took a seat before she started to get too flustered, next to a girl (Chloe) that seemed to be keeping to herself. At least Charlie wouldn't feel too bad about not interacting with anyone.

Her attention was then turned to a younger girl who seemed both nervous yet willing to be open and upfront with her housemates. A brave one. “Hi Charlie,” Cassie greeted her politely with a smile. She knew the feeling of being new to the crowd. “Welcome, I’m Cassandra, but I usually go by Cass or Cassie.”
All three names were something she answered to, though nicknames tended to stick better at times. "Nice to meet you."

Jacob glanced around nervously and tugged at his robe collar as he took a seat at his house table. Sure, he'd been around toward the end of last year, but this felt different. This was his first time starting the school year at Hogwarts. He really hadn't made any friends last year, and he was dreading starting his OWL year -- which was a new concept to him anyway -- without anybody to commiserate and relax with. He hoped he'd be able to change his fate in that department soon.

As other students were filling in, he remembered that he was about to witness his first sorting ceremony. He thought back to his own sorting at Ilvermorny. It had been very different from the one he was witnessing now. At Ilvermorny, he had been chosen by both Horned Serpent and Thunderbird and had to make the choice himself... Horned Serpent had felt logical since he was studious, but Thunderbird must have sensed a grain of adventure-seeking even he hadn't realized was there. On an impulse, he went with the storm-producing beast. He hadn't regretted it -- he was proud to be a Thunderbird and still carried a badge with him. The Sorting Hat, on the other hand, had decided last year that he fit best with Ravenclaw. He had wondered at first if there had been a mistake since Thunderbird seemed to correlate most closely to Gryffindor (although he did know that it wasn't a straight-across comparison)... But after all, he was inclined to agree with the hat's decision, especially after seeing how rowdy the Gryffindor table often became. He may want some excitement, but, well... Not that much of it.

Leon was pulled from his thoughts as he noticed people starting to arrive and join him at the table. He shot his prefect Kitty a smile as she addressed him, "Hello Kitty, how was your summer?" He asked her as he shifted his body towards the rest of the table. There was no use in being stand offish, especially at his last opening feast.

He nodded his brown heads towards Haddie as she waved at him and waves went to both Cassie and Chloe as they sat down as well. He didn't know them well, but he had been here all seven years of his life so he at least knew their names.

Once the sorting started though he turned his attention up to the front, wondering who else would come to join the ranks of the quick witted Ravenclaws. He loved his house and though sometimes he felt like he was more Gryffindor than anything, he wouldn't trade his experience in this house for anything.

He smiled and clapped along with the other Ravenclaws as a new member joined their flock and he shot the new girl Charlie a smile as she joined the table. "Welcome to Ravenclaw. " Leon said kindly to the small girl before turning his head and nodding at the other boy who had just arrived.

Goodness where was all the 7th years?

Katherine paused only briefly at the entrance to smell the familiar Hall after 8 full months as her eyes surveyed the area. Everything looked in place like she left them. It was good to know that somethings changed too slowly to notice. They provided stability in people's lives.

She made her way towards the Ravenclaw table, nodded at a few, noticed Haddie was socialising with someone she didn't recognise and sat down at the very end, the closest side to the door. While she did miss this very much, she very much planned to slip out as soon as the speech was over and she took a few bites. She missed the common room more than the noise of the feast.

The train ride had gone fairly normal yet Mason was still a bit grumpy. He hadn't eaten all day because his parents had forgotten to give him money for the trolley. He had found that out after him and Kimi had tried to search his luggage. He hadn't eaten in the morning either because he thought he'd fill his stomach with sweets on the train.

The Ravenclaw walked to his House table and sat closest to the door next to a girl. He didn't say anything as he slammed the book he had been holding on to the table with a little more force than he intented to and opened it up to read.

Feast.

Fine, he supposed he'd bless the hall with his presence for a bit before ditching the snooze fest for his common room. The feast was perhaps one of the most uneventful parts of the first day back ever.

The Gryffindor made a beeline for the Ravenclaw table as soon as he entered the hall and scanned for a certain blonde.

"This seat isn't taken is it?" And if it was, it was his now.

"What did I miss?" As in why are you hiding behind your hair Chloe Newman.

Rooney, despite leaving the train after most other students, beat the majority of his peers to the castle after jumping one of the first carriages just as it started to move. He'd needed to get somewhere he felt comfortable after that train ride with Olivia and after everything that had unsettled him over the summer. Perhaps it would have been best to have taken the role offered to him instead of returning to school. What did he have left besides his badge right now? He glanced down the Great Hall, immediately to the staff table and sighed. Constant rotation of responsible adults was something that made his stomach turn year in and year out. How was he supposed to build relationships with his the people that were to guide him into adulthood if half of them didn't see him through his teenage years?

Passing Kitty, Rooney offered her a small smile and patted her shoulder as he moved to take a seat at the table. It was time for food, then it was time for bed.

But not after welcoming the new students and getting them safely up to the tower and to their new dorms.

In her crushing embarrassment, an almost regular state of being for Chloe, the blonde heard Bentley's voice. She peaked at him from underneath her hair with a flushed face. Red.

"Nothing," she managed, "Feast has barely started." They were still making their way through all of the first years. A whole hoard of them this year.

"Ummm...Unless you're having some strange sort of reaction to something I'd say something happened. Your face is the colour of a tomato." He raised his right brow at her and brushed her back.

Bentley groaned.

"I know, I'm in half the mind to just leave now..mmnot all that hungry anyways." And the feast was a drag. He didn't wan to sit through the sorting..then the talking. Plus by the looks of it they'd be introducing new professors.

"My summer was great!" Kitty replied to Leon excitedly. "I became friends with several Muggles around my age and learned loads from them. It's really motivated me to try to change how things are with the Statute of Secrecy. Legally, of course." Just in case he thought the Ravenclaw prefect was talking about dark magic, which she was NOT. "How was your summer, Leon?"

Soon the table started becoming crowded. "Hey Cassie. Have a good summer?" She didn't think she'd get a response since Cassie had already moved to sit down and probably hadn't heard her but it was nice to ask anyway. Ooh and there was Haddie. Kitty waved excitedly back at her as she passed by. Later she planned to tell her all about her plans for this year. Would she be able to convert her to her cause? Hmmm...

Kitty felt someone patting her on the shoulder and turned to see Rooney, who was just walking by. "Hey Rooney," she greeted him as he passed by. He looked tired. Also, Katherine had moved to sit down at the far end of the table. Kitty waved at her out of politeness.

Speaking of recruits, Ravenclaw was getting loads more students this year. Kitty felt it was her duty (and pleasure) to welcome all new Ravens. First came a very likable girl who introduced herself to the table. "Welcome to Ravenclaw, Charlie!" she said with a smile, standing up so she could see her better. "I'm Kitty Valentine, Ravenclaw prefect. If there is anything you need help with you can ask me or Rooney. Or anyone really, we're all friendly, but Rooney and I are the prefects." A gesture to Rooney nearby. "You're going to love it here Charlie, I just know it." She gave the cutie a warm smile before noticing another new Raven. "Welcome to Ravenclaw, Jacob!" He had probably heard everything she said to Charlie so no need for her to repeat.

Now that all that was done Kitty took out her camera and began snapping pictures of everyone.

Cassie caught the wavy from the older housemate, waving back at the boy. Leon was it? She didn’t really deal much with him, but he was an upperclassman who had been there since before she had so she had certainly seen him around. She caught Kitty’s returned greeting nodding at the question even as more and more people joined them at the table. “Yep, I did,” she responded before returning the question to the other girl, “How about you?” So far the stories she had been privy too or randomly overheard, it seemed to be a good summer for all.

Or most at least.

And there was Rooney the other prefect looking a bit down and seemingly quiet and out of it. She offered him a polite smile as he passed along the table to take his own seat so as not to ignore him but didn't speak. Perhaps there was matters unknown to her and the fourth year wasn't going to push into his current mood.It wasn't her place as it wasn't like they knew each other that much.

"I'm fine," Chloe managed after a few stutters. Her eyes slid ever so briefly in Hirsch's direction. Oh yes, he was still absurdly beautiful. Just checking.

Her boyfriend got her attention back almost immediately. She'd barely looked at the Defense Against the Dark Arts' professor. Well, at least not long. "You hate stuff like this period. It's not just this feast." He wasn't a huge fan of school functions broadly speaking.

Much to Charlie's surprise, someone talked to her! Wow. Perhaps it was possible that her attempt at an introduction wasn't a complete failure. Cassandra But Actually Cass or Cassie (yes, that was all one name) seemed quite nice- well, she had to be. She was making an attempt to talk to the younger girl (presumably younger, at least), wasn't she?

"Cassandra is a nice name, but I'll go with Cassie." Charlie grinned. This reminded her of talking to Derf on the train, though perhaps that was an insignificant detail. She was talking to Cassie, anyway, and not him. "So, what year are you in, Cassie?" She inquired. Questions were a good way to keep a conversation going, after all.


Another person talked to her! A second wow was definitely in order. The old-looking boy didn't introduce himself too, but that was okay. If she really wanted to learn his name, she could. They were in the same house, of course, and you probably saw the other people in your house a lot.

Wow.

"Thanks!" She directed this towards the boy who welcomed her, accompanied by a grin. Charlie almost wanted to say "you too," but that wouldn't make any sense at all; Therefore, she just kept to herself after that.


When it came to the third welcome, she figured the internal "wow's" were getting a little excessive. She would have to tone it down in case of any other welcomes. This girl did say she was a prefect, though. Charlie was inclined to believe that that warranted its own wow, but she had to stand her ground.

"Wow, thanks, Kitty. I'll be sure to do that." She smiled whilst looking over at the blond boy that was apparently the other prefect. Maybe she'd meet him, too. The probability was even higher than the other boy, since this one was the prefect.

"I think I'll love it too," She retorted, and she was telling the truth. "Everyone's been rather friendly so far, like you said, So it makes sense."

Chloe got a look. He was too unsettled to press her further so he scanned the great hall quickly.

"Alright, I'm going to see what Blaise is up to I guess..." Though from the looks of his cousin's company it would have probably been best for the fifth year to stay where he was.

"Do you want to come with or are you staying?" He got up and stepped out of the bench.

Ah, the first greetings came from Kitty. Katherine waved back, because that was only polite, then she looked at the staff table to see who wasn't there anymore. Many she knew were still here, so she got bored and -

...wow, it wasn't someone's best night.

Katherine regarded him with raised eyebrows. It looked like another Blaise-case, a person who didn't want to be here. Or who was slapped by his lover. Or someone who left his whole luggage at home, got in the way of a nasty hex, ate bad food, the trolley lady ran out of his favourite sweets... she didn't even recognise him, but after a brief moment, just shrugged to herself. Whatever floated his boat.

Her attention turned back to the table to see if he was here yet, even though he usually avoided the Feast. She didn't spot him, which was good, but she did spot the camera in Kitty's hands. ...no. Nope. With all due respect, she didn't want to be in the pictures. So she fully turned around to face the door and wore her witch hat fully for it to cover her head. She normally would have told that it was rude to take pictures without permission, but Kitty was too far away and Katherine didn't want to draw any attention.

"Welcome to Ravenclaw, Charlie," Hadley said as she returned to her seat. The walk had helped wake her up some, but the moment she sat down again, the exhaustion settled in her again like silt at the bottom of a lake. She yawned. "I'm Hadley." The sorting of first years was always an interesting and exciting time.

Stifling another yawn, Hadley resisted the urge to glance back at Salamander. When was the Headmistress gonna start the speech already, so she could eat and eventually crawl into her bed. Oh, good Mossy made it afterall. She wanted to go over and check on her, but with Mason and others nearby, she decided it was best to wait for more privacy.

She waved to both Mossy and Mason, then turned back to Cassie. "Sorry about that. Had to go for a stroll to keep from falling asleep. So where did you go exploring?"

The feast was an event that was overly chaotic and not suited to her style but Her Ladyship still made an effort to attend, mostly for the Ravenclaws. She floated in through a side wall, as elegantly and serenely as ever, and only stopped once she was near the table itself. Her eyes took in the young eaglettes, from the very shy to the very enthusiastic, before she decided to address all of them.

"Hello and good evening, everyone." Her voice might not be as loud and boisterous as some of her ghostly counterparts but it was one that carried. "To those returning, I welcome you back to another year of magical education. To the newcomers, I welcome you to the house of the wise and creative. I hope you grow to love the house of my mother's. If you need any ghostly assistance, call upon me, Lady Helena," Or the Grey Lady as some others put it. "your resident house ghost."

With introductions out of the way, Lady Helena gave them all a soft smile before perching herself on an empty seat between two of the students.