Yes, she was a Ravenclaw! That made her so incredibly happy!

She walked to the table and settled down in an open spot, beside other students who seemed rapt in conversation. She waited for other first years to join her, there seemed to be a lot of them.

She was eager to get started, make friends and finally be able to do magic. It was the beginning of an era for her and she felt extremely special, just sitting there.

With a crossword puzzle pressed against his chest, Dorian walked over to the Ravenclaw table and sat down somewhere in the middle. Placing the puzzle book down on the surface, the fifth year looked up for the first time since entering...because after four years the great hall wasn't that spectacular anymore.

None of his friends were present yet and he let out a sigh before he looked around to see if they were at other tables. But the place was getting too crowded and soon the sorting began.

Dorian clapped his hands whenever someone got sorted and he clapped a bit more enthusiastically when a new Ravenclaw joined them. One of them was a girl (Kaira) who he waved at as she sat down. "Hey!" he called from the other side of the long table."welcome to Ravenclaw"

Caolan had spent the entire train journey in a compartment by himself. He wasn’t sure whether that would be considered a good thing or a bad thing. He hated being lonely but all this was so overwhelming that perhaps being alone was the best thing for him to be on his first day of school.

He arrived in the Great Hall and looked around, taking it all in. The place was huge and so unlike what he was used to at home. His old school was just ordinary. It was modern and lacked any of this extravagance, no floating candles and sorting ceremonies. He’d been told by his grandparents how it all worked but nothing could really prepare him for this. The Sorting Hat was placed on top of his head and deliberated for a while mumbling about several houses that he could belong in before deciding on Ravenclaw. He could tell which table that was by the cheers and applause coming from the blue table. He shuffled in that direction, sitting on the right hand side and glancing at the students in his immediate vicinity.

There was a guy (Dorian) near him who looked around his age and a much younger girl (Kaira) who he had seen being sorted a while before him. “Hey..” First introductions were always so awkward. It was easier when you were younger and had no inhibitions but Caolan would turn 16 in two days and he found these greetings much harder than he used to.

Kaira watched her fellow first years get sorted. She saw Malachi standing there, nervously. She kinda hoped he was Ravenclaw too cos he was the only person that she had made friends with.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a voice at the other end of the table. She turned to see a rather tall boy waving at her. She waved back and said with her signature cheerful smile : 'Hey thanks! I'm Kaira'




Kaira heard another hi from somewhere around the table and she spotted a boy near her, about the age of the other boy that had said hi to her. Judging by his mannerisms, he looked like a transfer student, cos he looked as surprised and curious as she did. Kaira smiled at him and said : 'Hey..I'm Kaira'..first year..are you new here too?'

Drewett made sure to entertain no distractions on his way to the Great Hall after hopping down the thestral-pulled carriages. This start-of-term feast was important for him, and the fourteen year old wished not to be delayed when it came to watching the sorting ceremony, especially for Dia. While his need to be there from the very beginning was a bit unnecessary since Cordelia's surname was going to be at the near end of the list of sortees, the fourth year also wanted to get a good spot and his usual seat in the house table.

Ruffling his hair as he took a seat, Drewett smiled at the two other Ravenclaws in sight (Dorian and Caolan) as greeting. He watched the sorting, listening especially to those of his fellow Stemp House residents... even the Mathews twins, whom Drewett has never even interacted with yet. He also applauded for the newly sorted eagles who will be joining them in their nest up the Ravenclaw tower. "Hi.... welcome to Ravenclaw," he said as one of the first years, one whose surname was Parker, joined the house table. Nothing but being polite, of course.

And when Dia was sorted, he waited patiently and kept his eyes on his little sister on the stage. If anything, it came to no surprise that Cordelia Winklebleck was sorted into Gryffindor and Drewett was quite proud as he applauded for her. He'd have to let Rylee know about this just so someone can watch over Dia when he isn't around.

Kaira smiled. Wow, people were really friendly here, that was nice and it seemed to ease her tension a bit. She smiled at the boy (Drewett) and said. 'Thank you..I'm Kaira..'

More and more students were getting sorted, lots of new friends to be found, Kaira made a mental note.

Nettie walked in to the Great Hall with CONFIDENCE this year. Yes, she REFUSED to let this term be just as bad as the last one. Well, it had been bad when it came to classes - Quidditch and her own personal grades, on the other hand, had gone pretty well. The whole Ministry overstepping their boundaries thing, though? That had KIND OF put a damper on the whole thing. Her eyes quickly darted to the staff table, letting out a little sigh of relief at the fact that some of the good professors were returning - yet, there were a bunch of NEW faces up there as well. That made her nervous. Still, they didn't have that...Ministry look about them, so hopefully they were just boring old new hires who were eager to impress the students and wouldn't steal Nettie's necklaces from her!

With an eager hair flip, Nettie grinned at her fellow Claws as she took a seat right in the middle of everyone. "Hey Drew! Hey Dorian!" she piped up, greeting her classmates with a grin. "Good summer?" she asked them. She poured herself from pumpkin juice and then looked around to the newer faces at the table.

"Hi! I'm Trinetta, but you can call me Nettie!" she piped up to the newcomers. One was clearly a first year - but the other one looked new too. Older for sure, but definitely not a face Nettie had seen before.

He swore he'd never come back. Yet, here he was again, sitting in the same place waiting for the sorting ceremony. Looking around around but not really seeing, Ewan couldn't help but stare into space, a somewhat frosty expression over his face. When would all of this be over already. He'd suffered through this pitiful routine last year and quite frankly, he was over it. Done. Finished.

Indigo was here at the Ravenclaw table, seeing as he was a Ravenclaw and all. He was planning on going to sit with the Hufflepuffs in a bit, but he thought it would be best to at least make an appearance at his proper table before sneaking off. If it was up to him he would have skipped the feast completely. Indigo wasn't a fan of crowds. Being around this many people already had him on edge. But he'd promised Ansel he'd sit by him, so he was here. He glanced over at the Hufflepuff table before taking his seat and looking at who else was sitting around him.

There were three who looked around his age, but he didn't really know any of them. To be fair, Indigo didn't really know that many people. His unease with crowds also extended to a general unease with people in general. One of them had a crossword puzzle book, though. Was that to pass the time in case the sorting ceremony took too long? Smart. Indigo gave him (Dorian) a small smile. There was also a small girl there, a newly sorted first year. Indigo had never spoken much to the first years. 11 year olds seemed so small to him.

After he spent the entire train journey on his own, Caolan has a slight preconception that the students at Hogwarts weren’t the friendliest or most open. But as he sat amongst his fellow students at the Ravenclaw table every single one of them so far had made at least greeted him in some way. A smile graced his face as he listened to all the introductions and greetings. Suppose he had better introduce himself then considering everyone else had already done it.

“I’m Caolan” It was pronounced Kee-lan. It was a traditional Irish name and Caolan was pretty proud to show off his heritage with it but when it was written down hardly anyone could pronounce it properly. He’d heard it all - Kay-o-lan, Chow-lan, Kah-o-lan. Whatever. “Its my first year here but I’m a fifth year now” Wow. What a dumb thing to say, it was pretty obvious that he was a newbie considering absolutely no one would recognise him. “I attended a muggle school before but my grandparents decided it was time I came here.” Yeah you could shut up now Caolan, no one really cared about your backstory did they?

More people started arriving and he nodded a greeting at all of them. This whole process was so formal and over the top. At his old school you were placed into a house based on which tutor group you were in and that was it. None of this personality analysis thing and a creepy talking hat. “Is it always this fancy?” he asked aiming the question at the returning students.

After a thankfully uneventful ride on the Hogwarts, and a nice bit of reading and landscape watching, Septimus welcomed the sight of the familiar castle as he stepped off the train at the station. Before long he was stepping inside the Great Hall to the sights and sounds of a new term. He quickly looked up at the staff table, curious as to the people he would find there, and grateful for the welcoming face of their head of house back once more in her rightful place like the end of the last term.

“Thank goodness…” he mused quietly as he made his way to the Ravenclaw table. Not that he was any less happy to see Professors Kalen, Wayland and Wishart as well. There were new faces too, but to Septimus at least they appeared to be far more friendly than the replacements they had been stuck with last year.

“Hey guys!” he greeted his housemates already there and waiting for the feast to truly begin. There was Dorian, a slightly older boy he knew in passing. Drewett, a year and dormmate. A few fresh faces that he had to have missed in the sorting ceremony and finally the rest of the house mates that ranged in ages that Septimus couldn’t always place.

Dorian kept his puzzle book closed despite that he wanted to do a crossword at the moment. The only reason why he hadn't yet was because it would look rude when people were striking a conversation with him. "I'm Dorian, nice to meet you" he called to Kaira as she introduced herself but his focus was more on a new guy (Caolan) who joined their table. He seemed to be around his own age and the fifth year wondered if he was a transfer student when he told that he used to go to a muggle school and he was indeed a fifth year "Oh man, we have our O.W.L exams in the fifth year" he said looking at the guy in mild pity because if he was from a muggle school he had some serious catching up to do.

While the others were talking, his gaze went over to the staff table to see who were seated and he was very relieved that some of the old staff were present. The none Scrimgeour goons. Although after everything that happened last year he doubted they be back very soon. Not knowing if she could see it but doing it anyway, Dorian waved his hand at their Head of House because he was seriously glad that the rumors of her coming back were true.

His attention from the staff table was distacted by a sudden appearance of Nettie as she sat down near him and Drew. Speaking of Drew, when had he arrived?! "Hey you two, my summer was fine, didn't get out of the house much though except for morning runs" the previous Headmasters insane workout in the early mornings had stuck with him apparently. "What about you?"

Two other Ravenclaws joined the table and he nodded his head in greeting to both Indigo and Septimus as they sat down.

He also spottedEwan who seemed to look like he had something on his mind judging by the look on his face but Dorian didn't want to hear someone elses troubles for the moment so he chose to ignore him. Sorry dude.

Opening the crossword puzzlebook for the first time, Dorian dug in to his bag to grab out a muggle style pen, because ink and quills got too messy, and he began to solve question number six

"Good evening, students!’’ Lady Helena was in rather high spirits. All was right at Hogwarts. Kaysha Stewart was once again Head of House; the other original professors were back with the exception of Regina. This Headmaster projected the attitude that he could be someone to trust. Lady Helena hoped that she had read him well.

“Welcome back to another year. Welcome to our new students.’’ Lady Helena spared each Ravenclaw there a smile. “I hope you’ve all enjoyed your holiday and are looking forward to another academic year.’’

Taddy was glad to have made it safely to the castle. The carriage ride was.... okay. He found the boat ride more exciting but he supposed this was the faster way to get to the castle. He entered in not really focusing much on others as he looked at the staff table. "Hello everyone," Still, he offered a hello to show that he was approachable. Well, everything seemed normal, some people he never seen before and some from the beginning and ending feast last year. I guess that Headmistress was never coming back, he supposed.

This was when he decided to look over at his seat companions and it was Ewan. "Hey Ewan.." He looked deep in thought. He looked at him for a moment incase he needed the time to return to Hogwarts land before asking. "had an alright summer?"

Taddy clapped with the others as the firsties arrived in and some joining their table. "Welcome to Ravenclaw." Just as the Grey Lady arrived. "Hi Grey Lady," She was a cool ghost, no pun intended.

Wandering into the Great Hall, drawn there by the chattering student voices, the little mutant looked about curiously. His eyes grew large as he tried to take everything in from the enchanted ceiling to the dinnerware on the tables. He was glad he had escaped that magical container and now could explore and see everything.

Making his way over to those in blue, the mustant climbed up and settled down atop the table before one of several little humans already present (Kaira). He made a little noise that vaguely resembled giggling. Attention please.

Hiiii, he all but screamed with his eyes. The mutant spun a 360 to look at the others close by. Cuddles please?

The table kept filling up with faces of all different ages and the boy started to relax a little. He had a preconception that Hogwarts would be a little stuffy. It was basically a boarding school wasn’t it? And all the boarding schools that he knew were a bit pretentious and obnoxious and quite frankly he didn’t want to be involved with any of that. Caolan was laid back and sporty and a typical teenage boy really. But everyone here so far had been friendly and welcomed them to their house and he couldn’t see a reason to think it would be that bad after all. The boy (Dorian) that looked around his age started to speak and introduced himself. “Dorian. Cool, I’ll remember that” Probably. Couldn’t guarantee that one. “I’ve heard about them. They’re exams right?” Academically he wasn’t too bad. He was good at Maths and Science and History but his Geography skills could do with a little more practice. “I’m not coming in completely blind. My dad was a wizard and my grandparents have taught me a few things.” He knew the basics with his hand-me-down wand and his theory was pretty alright.

What in the..?!

That was a ghost right? Like a slightly see-through, walking, talking ghost?! And no one was batting an eyelid that there was a GHOST talking to them?! What was wrong with these people?! Caolan just stared at the lady in utter disbelief. It was obvious that he had never seen a ghost before and his reaction was somewhere between sheer amazement and fear. Other students were just talking to her as if she was a living, breathing human, as if she really existed but he was too caught up in the utter coolness that being in the company of a ghost was.

*Ahem*

Was he staring too much?

It didn’t take long for his attention to be drawn away from ghost lady when a weird little creature parked itself on top of the table near the young kid he was talking to earlier. He stared at that instead, strangely entranced but also so confused. What in the world was that thing? It was kinda cute but it wasn’t like any animal he had seen before.

Seriously, what WAS this place?! Some kind of zoo for the weird and wonderful it seemed, not like a school. This was either going to turn into the coolest year of his life or the strangest.

Playing with his hair slightly now, Ewan couldn’t help but look around at the faces that surrounded him. Briefly, his eyes met those of Dorian who seemed to sense that his mind was elsewhere. With a small smile, he looked away, appreciating the other boys understanding. *Sigh* Closing his eyes, he put his head on the table. Did the room always spin like this or was it just him?

After a moment, Ewan looked up, a slight frown across his face as he heard a voice as he heard his name being called. “Oh, hey Thadius, I didn’t see you there”, which was completely true. As for the next question? It was better left unanswered. “Meh. How was your summer? Excited for your second year back?” Last year was a difficult year. Despite his own scepticism about how this year was going to go, he really did hope Taddy was looking forward to his second year.

Rubbing his temple slightly now, looked around the table again to see if there was any new faces that he recognised. Or didn’t. There were several ones actually. Surprisingly. And not only first years. “Uh hey everyone, I’m Ewan" He wasn’t in the best of moods but still, it wasn’t their fault. He gave a small smile to the first year (Kaira) and a nod the the fifth year/first year (Caolan). “Welcome to Ravenclaw. If you need anything, just let me know” a friendly smile across his face now.

He got a nod of acknowledge from Dorian which was fine by him. Sometimes too many conversations during the course of the evening could get confusing to keep track of. Plus there was also so much else happening in the excitable room even before the headmaster made his speech and the food for tonight's feast magically appeared.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grey Lady

"Good evening, students!’’ Lady Helena was in rather high spirits. All was right at Hogwarts. Kaysha Stewart was once again Head of House; the other original professors were back with the exception of Regina. This Headmaster projected the attitude that he could be someone to trust. Lady Helena hoped that she had read him well.

“Welcome back to another year. Welcome to our new students.’’ Lady Helena spared each Ravenclaw there a smile. “I hope you’ve all enjoyed your holiday and are looking forward to another academic year.’’

But there was one person…or ghost…Septimus could talk to. “Good evening, Lady Helena,” the boy greeted the Ravenclaw house ghost. “My summer was certainly fun enough,” he remarked. Even of his father had been missing for part of the time due to a work excursion.

It was good being back, but Hanna couldn't help but spend a glance at the doors, and back to the Staff Dais. She had a fear that it would open and someone would come and fire more people. The new Headmaster was there, as well as an assortment of new ones.

As the newly assorted Ravenclaws came to the table, Hanna put on a friendly smile. "Hello, welcome to Ravenclaw!" she said to Kaira, and Caolan.

She offered a wave to Dorian, Nettie, Ewan, Indigo, and Taddy, who she had already see in the Train. "Hello, how was your summer," she asked as she helped herself to a big sip of water.

"Hi Septimus, how are you?" she asked her fellow fourth-year. She hoped they all had a nice summer after the strict regime last term.

"Lady Helena! How was your summer?" It was always a pleasure seeing The Grey Lady. Hanna was actually looking forward to another academic year. Very much! And next year she would be doing her O.W.L.s, but she didn't need to think about that right now. Nope, she had to get through her fourth year exams first.

And... what on... Merlin's Planet was that thing!?

Chloe was a bit later than she'd like to be, considering she had ended up in the last possible carriage after ensuring everyone else made it to the castle. So maybe she didn't get a dramatic first entrance. Or any entrance, since the buzz was intense as she slipped into a seat at the Ravenclaw table.

But she was here, and she was already a bit embarrassed about how shiny and bright her badge looked on her robes. What if they thought she was... stuck up and bossy and mean? What if she needed to be bossy and mean to get things done??

"Hi," she offered a smile to some of the new students around her, as well as a few older and friendly faces. Ravenclaws were seriously the best, right?

AND WHAT WAS THAT CUTE LITTLE THING? Chloe bounced to her feet and immediately stretched out fingers toward the unfamiliar creature. "Hi, there, baby thing. Are you lost? Who do you belong to? Are you hungry? We'll have food in a minute." She sloshed water into her bowl and pushed it toward the creature.

Valencia took a seat next to a girl that was sorted just a few people before her. Best make friends with her dormmate, right? "I'm Valencia." she greeted with a smile.

She then looked around at the older students wondering if it was annoying if she introduce herself.

As she was scanning, her eyes landed on something on the table. She leaned in close to get a look. Everything her mum taught her about animals automatically kicking in -- namely, everything is cute and wants a cuddle.

Looks like the older girl was taking care of it's needs though. Or at least chatting with it.

Upon her arrival at the Ravenclaw table, Charlie's first instinct was to head towards familiar faces, and those were of her fellow first-years. She first noticed two girls -- Kaira and Valencia, if she remembered correctly -- that had been sorted not too long before her, approaching the two and putting her brave face on.

She sat down and turned to face the two, asking, "Is it alright if I sit here?" If she were taking up someone else's spot, she'd be disappointed, but she would certainly understand. "I'm Charlie, by the way! It's great to meet you two." She smiled, hoping that would soften the blow. She was kinda running on autopilot here.

Before Charlie could dig in to the delicious spread of food, a very pretty and official-looking girl with a badge said hello to her. Geez... she felt important. "Hi...," she echoed back, offering up a sheepish smile. "I'm Charlie," she added a good few seconds later, mentally face-palming. She had to work on that delay when talking to authority figures.

Her pursuit of food was once again thwarted, but she didn't quite mind, as indicated by her eyes that were, once again, saucers.

It was so FLUFFY.

Once Ms. Badge finished giving the creature water, Charlie couldn't help but reach out to pet it, grinning in delight. He -- she had decided upon that pronoun -- was so soft....

And now for turkey legs.

The newly sorted Tina made her way to the Ravenclaw table, giving most everybody a polite nod of acknowledgement as she passed. She plopped down in a seat at the far end, a little removed from the others... not out of rudeness. She didn't know these people well enough to think much of them, good or bad. She just had a hard time with social situations, especially since her experience at Beauxbatons, but if anybody wanted to talk to her, she was open to it.

She looked up as she heard a voice welcoming the new students and saw it was a ghost (Grey Lady) speaking, but Tina was more intrigued than freaked out. She knew to expect ghosts at Hogwarts - she'd read Hogwarts, A History before she got here, and having a former professor as a friend had its advantages. "Thank you," she said with a slight smile. "My name's Tina. Tina Dantes."As for having a good summer, she hadn't... but the ghost didn't need to know that.

The ghost's presence hadn't caught Tina off guard, but the little creature (MUTANT) that appeared did. Blink, blink. She had so many questions! What was that thing? And was it giggling? Why was it here? Was it someone's pet? What if it was secretly dangerous behind all that adorableness? She stared intently at it for a minute. It didn't look like any creature she'd ever seen! Whatever it was, she was sure it never would've been allowed at Beauxbatons...

She overheard the girl with the badge (Chloe) talk to it and offer it water, so Tina assumed she must know what she was doing. "Do you know what kind of animal that is?" she asked the other girl.

Ah, there it was. The newly sorted first year had a first name to go along with her surname. Drewett offered a tiny smile to her. "Nice t-to meet you, Kaira...." He remembered how awkward he was back as a first year too, which was an overwhelming three terms ago. He was stepping into the older student stage soon enough. Fourth year was just right in the middle.

"G-good evening, Nettie," the fourth year greeted the third year with a bit of a smile too. "Yes, I-I enjoyed the carnival. Did you b-both go?" Sort of. He shared with Nettie and Dorian. He didn't really get to delve into the other attractions except for the face-painting booths. The zouwu coaster was far too daring for the likes of Drewett P. Slinkhard. "I hope your sssummer was good too." They deserved quite a relaxing one after what happened last term.

And there was another room mate, Septimus. Drewett offered a smile as he waited for his other mates to arrive. He was still waiting for Hud. Perhaps he, Ivory, Keenan, and Nox were running a bit late. But that was probably because Drew came way too early to the feast. He also smiled at Ewan, Taddy, Hanna, and Caolan...who was sharing his backstory already. It was quite interesting, to be honest. Drewett was the listener type though, so he really didn't have anything to share about his life. "I-It's nice to meet you, Caolan. Welcome t-to Ravenclaw...."

There was an overwhelming number of new Ravenclaws this term. It was making Drew a bit angsty, as he always is. No surprise there. We just wasn't used to talking a lot, so he simply smiled at them (Valencia, Charlie, and Tina).

"Good evening, Lady Helena...." Drewett greeted their house ghost with a polite nod before facing the occupants opposite him. This was, he hoped, going to be a better term than the last. No more Headmaster Scrimgeour. No more of those professor who hexed students. It was starting feel like a normal—

............

What was that tiny furry thing doing there? "Th-that's not a pygmy puff...." He was sure of it!