To say that the students from Ilvermorny were a handful would be an understatement. Jesús had phased in and out of the many conversations happening around him. He took notice of Auror (ever so loud, ever so gracefully tasteless,) and dramatically raised his goblet to toast her. "To Aurora," he paused dramatically for an added effect, "may you never change." He kept it vague, because knowing her, she'd take it as a compliment. He was honestly tired of all her theatrics but he couldn't deny the allure of how entertaining she was.

Interesting. He might be able to use her self-centeredness to his advantage while they were overseas.

To the group of Hogwarts students he said: "Salud," and took another drink. "Jesús Rodríguez, sixth year," he said casually to anyone who cared to know. There was an Olly (who happened to be a prefect?), and a handsome, shy boy (Declan? he looked very interesting,) a girl named Junia, a quiet younger boy who didn't seem to speak at all, the Head Girl, Rula, (the whole prefect system was still weird to him,) a funny girl who was throwing dinner rolls, and another girl who'd come in at the last minute. It would've been extremely overwhelming, but as Jesús hailed from the concrete jungle, he was very used to this sort of hustle-and-bustle feeling.

Valerie was being delightfully Valerie and for that Jesús flashed her a curious sort of smile. "I'm not stopping you," he whispered back, "but I do think we can use her to our advantage." He would keep his reasoning quiet just in case Williams had any snitches willing to run and tell her all that he'd said. For the umpteenth time that day he frowned as he looked at the food; so bland, so lifeless, he could hear his ancestors crying out in anguish. "I'm pretty sure they're trying to weaken us."

Honestly, Skylar didn't particularly care about the special feast for their Ilvermorny guests and details about the IMPS competition. Mostly because she knew she couldn't be chosen, but also because it wasn't as if she really knew many people except her two cousins. She wasn't sure if Wes was going to sit with her or not, but she had extended the offer, which meant there wasn't much else more she could do.

Her blue-gray eyes did wonder around the great hall though mostly because she was curious to see if a certain female who used to date a certain former Ilvermorny male was present. Except she didn't know what that female looked like, except that she was evidently 'hotter and prettier than herself'. Hm, perhaps she should just watch the male (Brent) to see if his gaze found anyone familiar. Which was exactly what she did. Which also meant, she was way too busy watching the older snake and simultaneously eating (because food was served and it might be disappearing soon for announcements), to bother introducing herself to anyone around.

Kyle had to agree with Jesús on that. The exterior of the castle had been nothing short of (and he meant this in the most literal way) awesome, but he had expected the inside to have advanced with the centuries, at least a little. "I don't know, but if they are it's not an act they can keep up all year." A Big Mac? Now why did he have to go and say that? It was about to become ten times harder to tolerate this meal with his mind wandering to beautiful, beautiful junk food. "Do you suppose they actually have flushing toilets here?"

While scanning the table above which the silver and green banner was displayed, Kyle did not fail to see one of the smallest - and probably youngest - students (Zellana) waving and beckoning him over. This kind of enthusiasm was... new, to say the least, and while Kyle absolutely did not want to ignore it, he was having trouble with knowing how best to react.

With Valerie's agreement over his suggestion, Kyle nodded and went to take a seat at what he had already deduced was the Slytherin table. He ignored Valerie's teasing - other than to quite obviously roll his eyes at her - and claimed a seat close to the (presumably) first year who had been so eager for their company.

As he opened his mouth to greet the students, who should show up but-- ugh.

"Aurora," Kyle deadpanned instead, looking over at the girl from his own house and year. "A veritable ray of light, as always." As usual, his tone was quite dry.

More people were arriving, and the table was getting more and more crowded, and Kyle wasn't sure whether he was all that glad that he had claimed a seat so soon. Sooner or later it would be so cramped at the tables that it would be more comfortable to stand and wait out the feast at the back of the Hall. In fact, Kyle was just considering that, and had looked around to see if anyone else had taken his idea first, when he caught sight of one Ilvermorny boy that he hadn't seen at all over the last year. Brent was an Hogwarts student now? Kyle didn't know if he had been made aware of that, but if he had, he clearly hadn't bothered to remember. The older Westwood brother got a vague wave in greeting.

It seemed as though introductions were in order - or, at least, that's what everyone had started doing. Kyle looked from face to face as everyone said their names, eyes lingering on the prefect by the name of Oliver, sitting directly across from him, and then on his badge. He gave him a nod of acknowledgement, as he did to everyone else who introduced themselves - Declan Kenning, though he had already hidden his face behind a book, Junia Botros, Head Girl Rula Botros... sisters, perhaps? He could see the resemblance. Hopefully these people weren't expecting him to remember all of these names; it was a lot to take in at once.

Had that girl (Cassirin) just thrown a bread roll at Hogwarts' very own Head Girl? Kyle tried to suppress a laugh at the sight, but it ended up escaping nonetheless.

Both Valerie and Jesús had returned their introductions, so it was probably appropriate that he do the same. "Kyle," he managed to supply at last. "Fifth year." The urge to tack on 'I'm not miserable, that's just my face' at the end was really quite tempting, but Kyle managed to ignore it.

CLANK.

RATTLE.

CLANK.

The Bloody Baron's chains were never quiet and this night was no different when the silvery ghost floated over to the snake table. Glancing around the table he groaned very audibly at the sight of all the unfamiliar faces. He was not going to learn the new names. He refused.

Floating past some of the Ilvermorney students the Baron stopped to hover next to young Eddie Blaze. With his hand on his sword he shot the boy a long look as he asked quietly. "Are you not excited to meet foreign students from across the seas?"

This whole situation was... weird, to say the least. Who'd have thought that she'd be moving to Britain and starting Hogwarts, and a mere month later her old school-mates would be following her. In a sense. Felicity knew that the rest of the world would think that she should be happy, seeing more familiar faces, but that really wasn't the case. If anything, it made her even more homesick for the States, and threw into stark reality that she did not know anyone around here.

So she hung back, watching people climb out of the trunk of that old car, and made her way slowly into the Great Hall. "Hey," she managed, slipping into a seat opposite her dorm mate, too distracted herself to notice that Skylar might not even realise she'd said anything.

NOW the crowd was starting to form. Aurora grinned and waved at each person who sat down. She was going to introduce herself to each one who sat down, but she didn't want to keep repeating herself. She was sure she'd be introduced in time, along with the other mopey kids who were acting as though staying here was a death sentence. She could feel Valerie's eyes on her and just smiled. It was so amusing how incredibly annoyed she got by her. She supposed one could argue that she got joy out of poking the bear...and who was she kidding? Of course she did!

And Aurora was sitting in a den of angry bears at the moment.

Stopping just short of an eyeroll when Valerie FINALLY decided to open her mouth, she grinned at the Hogwarts students. "She's joking, of COURSE it was worth our time," she told them all matter of factly. Of course, she knew she wasn't joking, but there was no need to be RUDE. She could be rude to Aurora all she liked - she was used to it by now - but no need to be snarky around total strangers who were opening their home to them! "Come on guys, smile! This is a once in a life time experience!" she encouraged her fellow students.

She expected nothing but deadpan faces and eye rolls in return. Poke poke poke.

She grinned and raised her goblet, smirking at Jesus as he toasted HER. I know you're being sarcastic but I don't care, she wanted to say, but instead she just winked at him. Her mere presence seemed to be enough to drive them bonkers, so she would just stick with that. It did nothing but make her look better, after all.

She was so preoccupied in her thoughts she didn't even notice the ghost materialize just a few feet away from her.

She paused for a moment to crane her neck and look around for Irene. OOOH there she was, over at the fun table! With all the music! She would have to go over there in a moment and join her.

One of the newcomers caught her eye and Aurora cocked an eyebrow at her (Felicity). She tapped her chin and then rested it on her palm. "You look familiar. Did you go to Ilvermorny?" she asked, glancing at the Slytherin affiliation the girl was now wearing. If she did go there...she certainly didn't now. But Aurora was positive she HAD seen her face before today.

She then turned to the two girls who had introduced themselves as having the same last names (the Botros ladies). She smiled and scooted a bit closer to them - they seemed nice. Well, everyone who wasn't from HER school seemed nice at this time. "Same last name huh? Sisters? Cousins?" she asked in genuine interest, twirling her hair around her finger as she spoke.

Katy was just starting to think she'd gotten away with something when one of the Americans chuckled. So apparently she wasn't slick at all, but when you're aiming pastry at someone's puffed up old noggin, it wasn't a surprise. She blinked at the boy steadily, all calculating blue gaze, until she made a sudden decision.

"Katherine Toussaint." She smiled and offered her handshake. "You saw nothing."

Of all the people the Baron could go to he had to come to him. Eddie didn't really look up at first, but then he finally did.
The Baron was acting weird this term and he couldn't figure out what it was.
The last term he didn't seem this interesting in the students lives so why now? Did the new head of house want more personal connections with the ghost and students? He just gave the Baron a bored type of look.

"Not really. It's overcrowded in here now and they are being really loud over there. It's kind of rude to come into a school acting like that and their professors don't seem to mind." He glanced up at the table where the two were. They were very different, weren't they?

"Plus I have my classes and other things to worry about." He'd pretend to be all about his lessons and things if it got the Baron off his back.

Skylar heard the Bloody Baron talking to someone else about not being excited to meet foreign students and she had to admit that perhaps the Baron hadn't noticed her. Or she just assimilated well with the not wanting to associate with the foreign students. Seriously, the Great Hall was crowded enough with just Hogwarts students there. Hosting another school, well, Skylar had a feeling she was going to be skipping a lot of meals this year. Unless she got there early. Or they were mandated feasts.

Distractedly, the fourth year did manage to take her gaze off Brent and where his gaze was when someone familiar slipped opposite her. Her new dormmate. "Liss," Skylar smiled, grateful to see a familiar face. Well, the Botros girls were obviously familiar, as was Katy, and some others, but they were actually attempting conversations with their guests. Huh, wait a second, hadn't Felicity transferred from America? Why was she not more excited to see her former classmates? UNLESS, perhaps she had other reasons for transferring...

"Do you like recognize some of the guests here?" Sky asked curiously, figuring it was safe to start there. They could always chat more about what she really thought of her former school later, in the safety of their dormitory.

While she was not one to admit to her softer side, something about the newcomer [Awarlesta Black] struck a chord with her and she was soon extending one of her slender (but deceptively strong) arms towards the vacancy across from her. "Available, if you will," she offered coolly. Since no one else of her own house seemed to acknowledge her need.

Jesus received a bit of a mischievously grin, one that came to be from her tongue running over the front of her teeth beneath her lips. "We will talk later," she informed him. As for the food selection, Valerie was not miffed as she was in possession of a cat's tongue, so to speak. "You should have come prepared," she teased, of course flicking another of his curls with her pale fingers as her eyes looked beyond him and fell on another newcomer [PhoenixRising] with mild interest. Her grey eyes did follow the other girl's gaze (to Brenton, of course) and soon was rolling her eyes. Not just because of this girl (who was now in conversation with another (Harron Peasley), but also what Kyle had to say. She would not explain why she was defending the castle's aesthetic, but she did find the comment a bit unwarranted. "Of course they do. We travel in a Beetle. Not a timeturner."

That ghost. Congratulations to it because it had left an instant salty flavor in the sixth year's mouth. She only placed partial blame on the younger boy [Bazinga] with whom the ghost was conversing with for his commentary and speaking about herself and her schoolmates (however accurate some of his descriptive words were) as though they were incapable of processing sound. "Does one’s hearing get worse when one no longer has a physical form?" she asked the ghost with a sneer. "We can hear you. We are right here." The ghost was perfectly welcome to ignore Aurora (which she was continuing to do), however. Aurora and her premature assumptions.

Oh but she saw everything, Katherine Toussaint. A name she would commit to memory. Wasteful girl (bread roll turned baseball) and Valerie would be having a talk with Kyle later about his taste in company if that girl was the one who had caught his eye.

Her light eyes returning to the food on her plate, Valerie's brow raised at the savory looking cream puffs smothered in gravy with some sort of cooked meat (she assumed beef) on the side. "What...is this?"

Oh, now, was there really any need to bring up the car? Kyle couldn't quite repress a shudder at the mention of it, practically having flashbacks to the way he not only had to enter that ridiculous vehicle, but the undignified way he had managed to fall out of it. He took a second to recover from the memory before giving Valerie his curt response; "It was only a question. No need to get defensive."

Despite his shortness with the older girl, Kyle bore no grudge over the interacition. That was how he and Valerie's friendship worked; he could be quite blunt and borderline offensive at times, and she wasted no energy getting upset over it like everyone else seemed to do, instead preferring to verbally bite back. It was the best part of having a pseudo-sibling; all the familial acceptance without the hindrance of being bonded by blood or marriage. The lack of enforced loyalty was what made it work, at least for him.

While Valerie took it upon herself to throw some choice insults at one of the Hogwarts ghosts, Kyle focused instead on the girl who had amused him so much by throwing the roll. Finally allowing a faint smile to grace his lips, he reached over and shook Katherine Toussaint's hand.

"Kyle Baker." He had, of course, already introduced himself to those nearby, but now it seemed that surnames were in order. "I saw nothing."

He wondered if he really could feel Valerie's eyes boring into the back of his head with no small amount of disapproval, or if he was just imagining it, having been aware of just how she might react to the display of wasted food. Either way, for the sake of his own sanity and to avoid a public row, he paid the feeling no mind and instead focused on their hosts.

Well look at all these...llvermorny peeps! It was great to see his ex-schoolmates again. He wondered if his dormmates and friends were here as well?! He missed them for sure. Ever since he transferred to Hogwarts two terms ago, it was never quite the same. He found Hogwarts to be quite dull and repetitive sometimes. No drama, just ugly monsters terrorizing the place every year. Finally, something good was happening. He couldn't help but to smirk at the idea of how much fun he would have by seeing them here.

Now that was food for thought. Jesús glanced around to the other house tables, took note of the loudness that was coming from the table with red and gold (he shook his head at Jordan's antics, though he admired his shameless behavior,) and then returned his attention back to the table he was currently sitting at. "From what we've seen of the school's decor," he shook his head, "I bet their toilets are from the fifteenth century." He was being generous with that date. The sight of the ghost both unnerved and made him insanely curious. "I wonder if what's bound these ghosts to this castle," he mused out loud. He also wondered if they were being forced to remain at Hogwarts for all of eternity. For some reason, the thought didn't sit right with him.

His eyes drifted to the girl who was throwing dinner rolls, his lips tugged upwards. "You've got good aim, Katherine." Another who he could see helping out his good cause. He was so used to Valerie invading his personal space that he barely blinked when she flicked his hair. "So touchy today," he teased, "I didn't realize it would take us traveling abroad for you to actualize your feelings for me." And with that, he took another sip from his goblet. "I think," and Jesús looked to his own plate, "this is their local cuisine." Not surprising at all. He tsked in a way that his abuela would have both chastised and praised him for, and poked the meat with his forke. "I really believe they're trying to weaken us," he repeated, and then laughed. "a beautiful cause to protest, don't you think?"

Jesús glanced around again, trying to make sure no one suspicious was eavesdropping on their conversation, when he took note of a familiar face. He looked at the boy for a full minute before it clicked in his mind who he was looking at. "James Severin, in the flesh," he said, as if James had suddenly perished during his transfer over to Hogwarts. "Come over here, I feel like it's been ages." An exaggeration, but not entirely far from the truth.

So there was conversation pretty much everywhere, and Brent was starting to feel like a bump on a log or a rock or something. He had just adjusted his position and scoped out the opportunities to talk to people, when he heard his last name. Turning around, he saw an Ilvermorny girl looking his way. Ohh, he remembered her! Seriously, how could be NOT? "Brent Westwood," he said, verifying that yes, he was a Westwood bro. "Hold on, don't tell me...I know this." She was... "Aurora, right? What's up at Ilvermorny?"

Then...

"Dude...," Brent said, feeling someone crash into him. Turning around, he saw it was actually a girl (sarahlooo), not some dude. "Oh, sorry about that." For calling you a dude, he meant. "Don't worry about bumping into me. There's a lot of excitement going on right now." He still felt really bad about the whole dude thing, so he gestured for her to take a seat by him if he wanted.

That was when he noticed a second Ilvermorny girl (Valerie), and he was about to greet her when...duuuuude. She seemed NOT very excited to see him. He tried to think back to his Ilvermorny days and figure out why that might be, but he had nothing. So he leaned over to Aurora. "What's up with your friend?" he asked. Valerie, he meant.

...and that was when he saw her. Skylar Diggory. He felt a rush of nerves flutter inside him as a grin spread across his face. She was talking to somebody, so he just settled for the grin and a wave for now.

James turned his head around when he heard his full name being called out. It took a moment for him to remember the boy's face before realizing who he was. He smirked and walked to his direction. "Rodriguez, Jesus it's so great to see you again man," he grinned and gave him a manly bro handshake. "How the heck you're still alive and well?" he joked, patting him on the shoulder. This boy was known notoriously for his speeches. Jesus could make a not so bad lawyer if he set his mind to it. "Hope they didn't get you into much trouble," he chuckled. "Where is that adorable little pug of yours? Did you bring him too? How is everyone?" Yup, he was just as thrilled to see his ex-mates.

"Kyle Baker. It's my pleasure," Katy gave his hand a firm shake before pointing out the food offerings from the house elves. "You should take advantage. The elves are trying to show off. We usually just go for more hearty fare."

She lifted her arms, and the rolls she'd tucked in her sleeves jiggled. "Continue to see nothing and you will find it to your benefit. Also, your friend does not seem to like me." Katy considered throwing a roll at the pale girl (Valerie) before deciding it was too straight a shot to the detention dungeons. Don't antagonize the visitors.

Another Ilvermorny student leaned in, then, and Katy returned his smile. "Thank you. I have a lot of practice. There are a lot of idiots out there in need of a good roll to the head." She pulled over the pudding. Dessert first. Life was short. "Also, our plumbing is modern, our ghosts are devoted, and the food is quite good. Not to mention that our hearing is excellent. I suggest the green salad, if you're a finicky eater. Americans have salad, right? I know how you lot like your fried foods." She smiled to show she was teasing. Mostly. Be nice to your hosts.

"Awww, you remember little old me?" Aurora asked with a grin to Brent, acting TOTALLY flattered as she placed her hand on her chest. But really, she wasn't at all surprised that he remembered her. Who could forget her, after all? "Oh, same old same old. How is Hogwarts? Very different I expect. And how is your little brother?" she asked while batting her eyelashes, mostly out of politeness. She really could care less about what the younger Westwood was up to. He wasn't nearly as DREAMY as Brent was.

She snorted, however, when he had the nerve to call Valerie her FRIEND. Really? Now THAT was hilarious. She just shrugged. "I think she hates fun," she whispered flatly. It was really the only explanation she could think of that would explain why she was always so anti-EVERYTHING Aurora did. She'd been trying to figure it out for the past four years.

Aurora was about to take another sip of water from her goblet when she noticed another girl (Skylar) flat out STARING at Brent before turning away. Oh? Did he have an admirer? She smirked to herself before turning back to the boy. "Who's your friend?" she asked, smiling back at the girl and wiggling her fingers at her in greeting.

She then turned to the girl (Katherine) who had been throwing bread rolls (which she had TOTALLY seen, but chosen not to comment because she didn't really care what they did with their food) and grinned as she shot comeback after comeback at the party poopers over there. She couldn't help but let out a laugh, especially when she made the comment about their hearing. SEE?! This is what happened when you were RUDE.

"I like you," she told the girl with a smile. "Aurora Chae, pleasure to meet you. And this food looks DELICIOUS," she added, shooting a small smirk at Valerie before taking her fork and beginning to chow down. It really wasn't a lie - Aurora, shockingly, had quite the appetite and would try just about anything once.

"I gotta say," Kyle put towards Jesús, though his line of sight was directed at the ghost Valerie had so predictably insulted. "I'm definitely curious to have a talk with some of these ghosts." Even just the thought of how much history they had witnessed, or even been a party to, made Kyle ever so slightly twitchy in his eagerness. They were in a country that was rich with history, after all, and hearing about it from a first hand source was unbelievably tempted. "Not here though," he was quick to add. Even Kyle knew that a feast was no place for exploring such lines of inquiry. For a start, it was getting so loud in here that he could barely hear himself think.

To Katherine, he raised his own goblet, just as Jesús had done earlier. "To the excellence of your hearing." Sarcasm? Yes? No? It was, as always, difficult to tell.

Apparently, he had been right to anticipate the reaction of his friend. "I wouldn't rise to it, if I were you, while we're on the topic of what will most benefit each other." Not that he was making any assumptions as to who would win in a face-off; that would be unwise, as he had only known this Slytherin girl for all of five seconds. Kyle offered no explanation as to why Katherine Toussaint had received such a reaction. Valerie certainly did not need him to explain her reactions and behaviour, and the likelihood was that it would only irritate her further. "It's best to pay no mind to a great deal of Ilvermorny things, I've found." Here, his gaze drifted to the Wamp-... no, wait... the table that the ruckus had been coming from, where people had even tried dancing on the tables, before glancing very briefly at Aurora - why was she still here?
her friends were over there - and then back to Katherine.

"But I am curious. These ghosts-" he gestured vaguely around the Hall "-why are they here? Did they all die here?" Did they just choose to be ghosts just so they could return to haunt their old school? Oh, but that raised more questions. "Were they Hogwarts students once? ... Or perhaps... are they dead teachers?" Kyle shot another look towards the nearest ghosts, more specifically the chains he carried. A late professor seemed somehow unlikely. "How do I organise a meeting with them?"

Though Kyle had already read what he could about Hogwarts and its ghostly residents, and he wasn't sure any of them would be willing to answer any of his extra, more probing questions, hence why he had taken advantage of the sudden dip in volume to put his questions to the nearest Hogwarts denizen instead. Then again, being so focused on his enquiries, he had neglected to consider that perhaps Katherine was just as in the dark on the matter as he was.

Oh, and... "What are your potions facilities like?"

Oh boy. Maybe this was a bad idea. Natalie got nervous in big crowds and she had underestimated how big this crowd was. And it was getting bigger. And everybody was taller than her.

She was still flustered when the older boy was talking to her and her cheeks were still pink. "Erm... yeah." As in, yeah, there was indeed a lot of excitement going on right then and it was overwhelming. She wanted to make friends with some American kids but they were all older than her and they all already looked like they had friends.

Internally pouting, Natalie accepted the invitation from the boy and sunk down onto the bench beside him. She was too small to make conversation with anyone else, so she just sort of lurked, her wide blue eyes looking between all the people. She did happen to catch Brent waving at a pretty girl. Mhm, it was noticed.

"Is that your girlfriend?" Natalie asked him innocently.

She'd been recognised. Felicity's eye rose from her goblet, locking onto Aurora's. The former-Thunderbird put her drink down before offering the Ilvermorny student a nod. "Yeah, I just transferred." Which was obvious from the current green and silver attire, and the lack of wide eyed curiosity that had left her after a week in the Castle. "I'm Felicity. It's Aurora, right?" Not that Flick knew the girl well, obviously, but what with her introducing herself around her memory was jogged slightly.

A smile finally curved the corner of her mouth as Skylar greeted her with the nickname. Which, by the way, she adored: for all her homesickness, and alienation, it really did make her feel that Hogwarts wasn't all bad, and that at least a few people weren't annoyed by her presence. She wondered what it would have been like to be one of the students just visiting, although honestly she doubted she would have joined the trip. Felicity had caught sight of the boy Skylar had been looking at before she'd taken her dorm mates attention: Kane's brother, who looked super comfortable to be surrounded by old schoolmates.

Fiddling with the ring on her right hand, Felicity nodded. "Uh... Some of them," she admitted, her eyes roving around the people nearest to them before landing back on Skylar. "It's weird... Seeing them here? Makes me miss it even more."

"Yes, Aurora," Brent said, smiling and playfully shaking his head, "I remember you." Seriously, though, she was pretty hot. He didn't figure he'd go around forgetting girls like her anyway. He didn't tell her that, though. He'd look like a dork and inflate her ego all at the same time. "Hogwarts is awesome. I'm loving it here except for one main detail," he said. "There's literally like...no sports here. None."

He cast a very quick glance at Valerie when Aurora brought her up again. "Yeah, I mean, I don't even remember her, and I'm pretty sure she hates me just breathing here," he continued.

...and then---"She's HERE!?" he mildly exclaimed. That was her...right there at the Gryffindor table. He just hadn't thought she'd make the trip here, seeing as she let him go so quickly over his trip here. He looked at Aurora, like she should have warned him of this, because HELLO. He and Madelyn Cunningham had been really serious about each other during their third year. She'd dropped him the split second he'd mentioned the whole move to Hogwarts, but STILL... Without even thinking twice about it, he found himself running a hand through his hair and glancing down at his uniform.

Did he look cool enough?!

Brent tried to focus on the younger girl (Natalie), who he'd just technically called a dude. At least she was sitting by him now. He figured most other girls would have slugged him for calling them a dude. Then she surprised him by asking if somebody was his girlfriend. Wait...who? Aurora? Madelyn? Skylar? ... Speaking of which, where was Skylar? "Umm...who?" he awkwardly asked.

Feeling eyes on her, Skylar glanced back towards Brent to take note of some of the foreign students who had noticed her. Was one of them Madelyn? She didn't know, but the one with the dark hair at least seemed friendly enough, to which Skylar returned a finger wiggling to her. And Brent had noticed her too, with a grin and wave of his own, to which she may have flushed slightly. Be calm, she reminded herself, drawing a deep breath. She gave a little wave back before turning back to her new dormmate, because Felicity was closer in seating arrangements and easier to chat with.

Hmm, made her miss it more? Skylar couldn't imagine what that would have been like, changing schools. First Brent, now Felicity. It made her feel blessed. "Okay, so who's that one, with the white hair? Who looks like she could shoot daggers from her eyes if you crossed her wrong?" Perhaps just was her look, but it was kind of ... not welcoming.

Apparently all that salt hadn't offended all of the Americans, and Katy raised an eyebrow at the pretty girl introducing herself. Aurora, hmm? That was one of those granola girl type names, but this girl looked too glam for granola. She offered a hand, with a wave of crumbs trickling from her sleeve. "Katherine Toussaint. I like your look. You know how to rock a lip liner. Do you ever well Ellsberry cosmetics?" Because of reasons.

She gave the rest of her house a cool look, not fond or dismissive but just... distant. "I'm not offended by complaints against the castle or the cooking. I didn't build it or cook it. Just I think we should save our complaints for the stuff that deserves it, y'know? Like wool blankets? Why in the heck would you make something so ITCHY?"

When Kyle raised his goblet, Katy lifted her own and tapped the lip against his. "To the sweetness of your words. May they always land soft on others' ears." Or maybe that was a curse. Two could play that game, Baker. She decided to take his advice and ignore the sour looks coming from the pale one, especially since Kyle was interested in learning more about the castle. Katy was a tour guide at heart.

Holding up a finger, Katy ticked off the answers to his questions, one after another. "They're our protectors and guides. They're here because they have a loyalty to Hogwarts... and unfinished business. As far as I know, none of them died here and none of them were students or teachers. The Grey Lady was the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw herself, though. And just... walk up to them. Not [i]through[/] them, though. They hate that."

At his last question, a smile bloomed on Katy's face. "And the potions facilities are more than adequate."

There was a LOT going on around her, but now Natalie was just paying attention to Brent (though he was actually nameless in her head because she couldn't remember what he was called). Being called a dude didn't faze her. It had been too hectic to make her mind too much, so now she was just sitting and staying out of everyone's way.

And watching the boy.

Who? "That girl you just waved at." Duh. But apparently she wasn't if he had to ASK.

Merlin, what on earth was he doing now? Touching his hair and looking at his robes? He didn't have anything on him... Natalie followed his gaze and leaned up to get taller, her eyes landing on a different girl. "Is THAT your girlfriend?" Did he have TWO girlfriends? This was getting interesting.

After some accurate timing, Teddy was able to fit right into a seat before it was taken. It was a bit cramped and hard to be comfortable, but nevertheless she still managed to fill her tummy with the food presented to them.

Over the chatter of some excited students, Teds was able to pick up some of the speech the Headmistress was giving. A full ride scholarship? That sounds like a blessing. A full ride scholarship to anywhere in the world! Her head started to swim with daydreams of new places and new people and things to learn as she watched the book of Merlin makes its way around. She could even go back home if she wanted to. How lucky is the person who wins this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Narrator

“TEJASHREE PEALE, HOGWARTS, SLYTHERIN.”

She froze. Her eyes shifted from side to side. It felt like she didn't hear right. No, its impossible. There is no way her name was called.

She wasn't...a true Hogwarts champion? She hadn't even been here for a few months. Oh no. What if they get angry? What if they regret their decision? Did she deserve this?

Her tummy threatened to spew its contents as she continued to look for maybe another Tejashree Peale from Slytherin.

It was possible....right?