The first step into the Great Hall was hard. So very hard. The tall prefect couldn’t help but drink in all of the children already in the hall on the different tables and the ghosts that were hovering around the place as an apple sized lump formed in his throat. With the hurricane of thoughts that were storming around his head, he really couldn’t fathom if he was happy to see the back of the place or sad that this was his last feast but one thing was for certain, he had made so many memories here and today…today was his very last feast. The last time he’d look out towards the staff table at the teachers who had tried their best to educate a small Welsh boy who had had no knowledge of the magical world until he got his letter. The last time he’d sit and eat copious amounts of spectacular food with his friends. The last time he might even see his friends! Today was a day full of last times. A day of sadness and joy. Today was bitter sweet indeed.

With a heavy heart and slow footsteps, Ewan made his way over to the Ravenclaw table that sat in the middle of the wall underneath the eagle embroidered banners and took a seat in front of a silver plate, not really feeling hungry but also not wanting to sit out his last feast. With no one else really there, his eyes wandered around the hall for a moment, taking in the sky above them for a moment before sweeping across the tables. His eyes did briefly catch sight of a familiar face at the Hufflepuff table (Minjae) which was nice, simply because it confirmed that it memory had in fact returned, as well as another familiar face at the Slytherin one, (Eiji)although this one he was a little bit more indifferent to. Maybe indifferent was a strong word. It was more that he simply did not know his fellow seventh year. This though somehow made him more thankful for the people he had taken time to get to know this year. The new and old friends he’d got closer too and also, the people who had left school last year. All in all, the prefect was not in a sad mood, simply nostalgic.

So... this was it.

Missa wasn't thinking anything as she walked into the great hall. It was for the best, she thought, since she simply wanted to take in everything about this night. She had spent plenty of time bawling her eyes out this year, but tonight her eyes were dry and her lips wore a small smile. She had expected it to feel hard, especially as her eyes wandered off to the Slytherin table. But thankfully all her heart did was simply lurched the way it usually did when her eyes met Eiji's.

Smiling wider for him, she waved at him before moving toward her house table; Ravenclaw. Her home and so much more for the past seven years. Feeling a sense of pride, she took a seat right opposite her fellow prefect.

"Alright there, Ewan?"

F I N A L L Y.

Ivy was SO ready for the End of Term Feast. Not because she was almost a second year - though that was pretty cool! - but because it meant she was that much closer to going home. Just a few more hours, a train ride, and then she was free!!!

With a little spring in her step, she slipped into an empty seat near her two house prefects. Oh! They were...seventh years, weren't they? She was pretty sure, though sometimes she got a little nervous when she wasn't certain, like maybe the forgetfulness hadn't worn off. But it had.

"You both are graduating, right?" she asked, smiling brightly. "Are you excited?"

Trinetta felt like she was going to throw up, but in an excited sort of way. This was it. She was leaving Hogwarts for good. It was time for her to go out into the real world and finally start growing up. Hogwarts had been a roller coaster of emotions for her, but despite how painful it had been at times - she was grateful for all of it. Each and every relationship and experience she had, it had shaped her in to who she was now. She sat down next to Missa, across from Ewan, and grinned at the both of them.

"Well, this is it, huh?" she said with a small chuckle. Speaking it out loud immediately started to make her stomach churn again in that excited, nervous sort of way. Speaking of nervous, she glanced at the Slytherin table to see if Alex was there. They had to start planning things once they got on the train for their summer...

She had been practicing, yes, practicing. She had a big speech to give a certain Ravenclaw and she was determined to give it. She had spent the better part of Hogwarts two years in the shadows, the supportive friend, the shoulder to lean on, and where had it gotten her? Still just the friend and she was feeling pretty pathetic so she had mustered a plan with the help of a few friends to go out with a bang so to speak.

The speech of a life time, but now that she was in the Great Hall and emotion was getting the best of her she quietly just headed for the table and looked around. She had done her makeup extra special and had help making her curls super straight. She wanted to look her best for the final night in the Hall, but now that she was there and seeing her friends she wasn't sure she cared about any of that.

Sitting down next to Nettie she gave everyone at the table a small smile. "Hi"

Avalon made her way to to the Ravenclaw table on the evening of the end-of-term fest, never having been more elated to be fully opaque and alert. The memory loss had put a sort of fog on her brain - one that she didn't realize she had until it was finally gone. Even better? The fact that she would be seeing her parents and siblings soon. She missed them terribly. Not being able to write to them since before the holidays had been difficult for the fourth year.

She sat down among her housemates, greeting them with a wave. Avalon was more than excited that she in fact remembered all of their names today. Good thing that the memory loss didn't have any lasting effects. She smiled sadly at her fellow seventh years, suddenly realizing how many friends would be leaving after this year. It made her heart ache to think of how bittersweet her own seventh year end-of-term feast would be. Not wanting to dwell on the sadness, she simply gave them a reassuring nod. "Anyone have any exciting plans this summer?" Avalon honestly had no idea what her family would be up to. She hadn't spoken to them in months, so she didn't know if they had any sort of travel planned for the summer holiday. She was hoping for some sort of vacation, though.

Jina had transferred to Hogwarts in the previous term, so she could remember very clearly (thank goodness!) her own sorting ceremony. She was called up to put on the sorting hat ... the hat shouted the word "RAVENCLAW" for everyone to hear ... and she headed to the table with the blue banner ... this table. The seventh year smiled at her housemates and took the other seat next to Missa. She observed that her fellow graduating students Ewan, Missa, Trinetta and Chloe seemed to be feeling nostalgic, perhaps even excited, but not entirely sad. That was good - she hoped all the seventh years would enjoy their last school feast. Ivy and Avalon appeared happy to be going home, which was of course understandable given the unfortunate events that happened this term.

"Hey, guys! I'm starving, I hope there's pudding," she said jokingly. She honestly did not care about pudding, though she would miss having amazing meals under the beautiful ceiling in the great hall. She looked around the hall to see the familiar faces she loved - friends from other houses and years, classmates whom she cooperated with, and professors who taught her so much in the past two years. Ah well, she had promised not to be sentimental yet. Putting on a smile again, she turned to answer Avalon's question. "I haven't had a chance to plan anything for the summer, but I'm looking forward to seeing my family again. What about you?"

It wasn’t long until the hall started to fill and with it came the arrival of a teacher or two. Usually at the end of term feast, he’d be more interested in the food and some final goodbyes to his friends but with there not being many students yet and this being his last feast, it was a little more interesting. Indeed, it wasn’t until Professor Schmoe had reached the table did he really pay attention though. Professor Williamson had the appearance of someone who really just wanted to sleep so when Schmoe arrived, Ewan couldn’t help but pay a little more attention. There was just something about his head of house that usually amused him but today, there was nothing. Nothing at all of interest happened and honestly, it was a little bit of a relief. He’d had enough drama for a lifetime under this ceiling.

With a small shake of his head, he turned back to his table with a smile on his lips just as another person arrived at the Ravenclaw table. “Hey Missa, I’m good” he chuckled, his face all crinkly from the smile on it. “How are you? Excited to finally be done?” . Judging from the wide smile on her face though, it seemed like the last feast was something of a happy event for her.

And just like buses, a few more Ravenclaw’s joined them on the table just as quickly. Turning to the first year (Ivy), he gave a small nod, the smile on his lips still there. “Yup. I’ll be out of here” , the grin somehow getting a little larger now. The moment really was bitter sweet. “I’m looking forward to it honestly. I love it here but…I feel like I’ve outgrown it a little now” and if he was being honest with himself, he had outgrown being constantly in life threatening danger year in year out. It was draining.

[B] “This is indeed it” chuckling a little, Ewan took a sip out of his goblet and turned his attention towards Nettie, almost happy that the seventh years had gravitated together. Pushing the thought that they may never see each other again deep, deep down, he continued “Are you ready to say goodbye to everyone?” , the question to both her and Missa….and Chloe as she joined them.

“Hey Chloe. You hair…it’s straight. It suits you” . Oh. Did he just blurt that out loud instead of in his head? Oops. Maybe it was the makeup and the hair. It had distracted him from the bitter sweet feeling he’d been having.

Looking for an excuse to stop staring, he quickly turned towards, Ewan flashed a quick smile and gave a polite “Hey” to Avalon as she joined them before turning to the next seventh year to come and join their little, almost all, seventh year group. “Hey Jina” . The question she’d asked did strike a cord in him as he sat there for a moment fiddling with the cutlery without really giving it much notice to what he was actually doing. What was he going to do? Sure, he’d like to study in London but what about Canada? And then he’d applied late to study in Massachusetts too. Honestly, he really didn’t know. “I don’t really know to be honest. I think I’m just going to head back to Wales and then to Canada. Kind of figure it out from there” . God, he felt so unprepared.

Nettie grinned up at Chloe as she sat down. "Hey Chloe! Nice hair," she told her with a small chuckle. In fact, Chloe looked like she had gotten really dressed up for their last feast. Maybe she just wanted to make this a feast to remember! Nettie also threw a smile at Jina and Avalon as she sat down. She hadn't ever really talked to her dorm mates, but she really did like everyone she had roomed with these past seven yeas, even if they all weren't there the whole time.

"My summer? Um, well, probably packing and getting ready to embark on my gap year," she told them all, blushing a little as she spoke. Well, there. The cat was out of the bag. Despite having gotten into a few universities, this past term had been a disaster for obvious reasons. She didn't feel like she had retained ANYTHING, and truthfully...she just didn't feel ready. So, she was going to travel a bit, do some homeschooling of her own, and catch up from this past year before going to university. It was definitely on her to-do list...just not immediately, as she had once thought.

"Say goodbye?" she asked, blinking at Ewan and then glancing at the Slytherin table. No, she wasn't looking for Alex, because he was coming with her on her little backpacking adventure this next year. She was looking for someone else..."No, not really..." she mumbled, lost in thought, but then turned back to Ewan and grinned. "I'll be writing you all for sure. There's no WAY I'm letting any of you off the hook that easily," she joked with a smirk.

This term had given Heath a lot to think about. He’d spent most of it thinking he was dead, only to find out that he was in danger of disappearing from existence, and the experience led him to an important realization. If he did die or vanish, there would be no one to remember him because he kept so much of himself hidden. It seemed that all he’d ever done with his life was hide, and while it protected him from getting hurt, it also stopped him from putting himself out there. Always fading into the background was no way to live; he saw that now.

Heath was determined to make an effort to be more sociable, so he'd be remembered in case anything ever did happen to him. He walked into the Great Hall, his eyes for once not hidden behind his hair or a book. As he looked around the room, he saw his sister waving at him from the Gryffindor table and returned it with a subtle wave of his own. He was trying to be sociable, not make a spectacle of himself! Then his eyes flicked toward the Slytherin table, and he got that same weird feeling that he always did when he looked at Claudine. A part of him wanted nothing more than to be over there, but he knew it would be frowned upon to sit at another house table. Besides, he had no idea how the other Slytherins would react to his presence. Claudine may tolerate him, but the others may not.

Normally Heath would’ve put as much space as possible between himself and his housemates as he took his seat at the Ravenclaw table, but tonight he was right in the thick of everything. None of them had ever been mean to him before, so surely they wouldn’t mind him joining in, right? “Hey,” he greeted everyone as he sat down. See? He was trying to be friendly!

She might have been staring, but without realizing. Her thoughts were trying to talk herself into and out of speaking her mind. She could have the best night tonight or the worst, which would it be? As conversation swirled around her she had almost missed the complement she got from Ewan, but his eyes on her made her focus. She blushed more than she would have liked, "Thank you, I was going for something a little different." to maybe catch someone's eye.

Chewing on her lip she moved her eyes to the others as she felt the word vomit trying to come out. Avalon asked about plans, she must have others were saying theirs. "I think I'll be doing mostly training for tryouts with the lack of practice and training this term I'll be lucky to even be put on a team roster." She had already been running every day since they stopped being ghost trying to get her fitness back. Her eyes went back to Ewan when she heard him say about Canada, she knew he'd go there to visit.

"Thanks Nettie." She gave her friend a smile and played with her fingers a bit. "Hi Heath." She greeted the other claw as he sat down. Giving Jina a smile. "I bet you'll figure out some plans soon." She had said she didn't have any yet, right? Glancing around she got up a little quicker than she should have.

"I'll... I'll be right back." She moved away from the table out towards the entrance of the Great Hall to get some air.

"That's understandable." The out-growing it part that Ewan mentioned. Ivy figured that that was a normal feeling after seven years - or however long - at Hogwarts. It was a long time, y'know? Probably good that it was only that long so you could move on to doing other things, even if Hogwarts was pretty cool. And scary. But cool. "Are you going to uni or anything?"

Lots of other Ravenclaws were coming to the table now, and a lot of them seemed to be seventh years. Chloe, Trinetta, Jina... Wow, so many who weren't going to be here next term! Even if she wasn't super close with any of them, it was still a little bit sad to think about not seeing them around the halls and the common room.

They all got smiles if they happened to look her way, but she decided not to interrupt all their conversations. They seemed to want to talk among themselves, and that was okay! It was their last time to hangout at Hogwarts, after all.

Avalon got a smile and a wave in return. At least there was another housemate who would be returning. "I'm same as Jina, haven't got any plans yet. But hopefully we'll do something fun!" She wasn't sure if they would be able to go on a trip or anything, since her mum's work was extra busy these days. But maybe they'd be able to get a short one in somewhere? Going to somewhere else, somewhere fun, sounded really nice right now. Buuut she WAS grateful to be able to see her family again at all, so that'd be okay too.

And then there was another housemate who Ivy would hopefully be seeing next term too! "Hey!" she greeted Heath with a smile. "Excited for summer?"

Trying his best just to focus and not get distracted by other things, Ewan turned back to Nettie and away from the make-up of and new hair style of Chloe. “Gap year? That honestly sounds like such a great idea. Do you know where you’re going?” . Part of him wished that he’d done the same thing. Just up and left behind all of the universities he’d already applied for and the subsequent issues that came from the year he’d spent in the no mail zone that was Hogwarts. “I’ve already applied for a few universities”, he continued, addressing Nettie and answering the question of Ivy. “Quebec, Massachusetts and London” . Massachusetts had been somewhat of a surprise school really, A curve ball, but the idea of going to study in America did somewhat appeal to him even if he was a little far away from his family. “You better be writing to me too. I want to see pictures and everything! And I mean, if I end up getting into Mass or Quebec and you’re near, you’re always welcome” . Staying in contact with people was important to him but also, he knew how hard it was to find a place to stay at times so his friends were always welcome.

Flashing a quick smile and “Hey, what’s up man?” to Heath, he turned back to Chloe with a smile but before he could say a word, she had up and left the table. Had he missed something?

Without realising, the hall had filled and the staff table was full and by the looks of it, the speech was about to happen. Taking another sip of water, Ewan turned his attention to the headmaster and for the first time in a while, actually payed attention to the headmaster’s speech. Was it interesting to the prefect? Not particularly but it was the last one he’d ever have to listen to so it felt almost like an obligation, something he’d regret later in life although when it did end, the he most certainly was glad to see the food appear in front of him. Without waiting, he began grabbing various plates of food and started to dig in.

Heath returned Chloe’s greeting with a polite nod, but before he could say anything to her, she left the table. He blinked confusedly. Was she okay? Never mind… Ivy’s voice distracted him before he could think too much of it. He turned to her with a small smile, but that question caught him off guard more than he thought it would. It was weird… for months, all he thought about was seeing his family again, but now that it was about to happen, it felt wrong somehow. “Not as much as I thought I’d be, to be honest,” he replied. “I doubt my summer will be very eventful.” Especially since both of the things he normally did over the summer holiday weren’t happening this year. He’d missed the auditions for acting camp because Hogwarts happened, and there was no point in the annual Ryder-Jones family trip to Canada because Fiyero wasn't there! “What about you? Got any exciting summer plans?” he asked.

Ewan’s greeting also got a slight smile from Heath. “Not much. You?” he replied. The thought crossed his mind to ask about Ewan’s plans after graduation, but he decided against it. He’d probably get asked that question a lot! His eyes scanned the table for the other seventh years (Missa, Nettie, Chloe, and Jina). It was going to be odd not seeing them next term!

Heath focused his attention on the staff table as the headmaster’s speech began. Usually he thought Trent’s speeches came across as harsh and reprimanding, but this one was more inspiring than anything else (the bit about common sense notwithstanding). His thoughts turned to the events of this past term and the part he played in them, especially the night they got back. Normally he would’ve been content to sit on the sidelines and let someone else figure out the answers, but that night, he put himself out there because he thought it would save her life.

He instinctively glanced toward the Slytherin table just in time to catch Claudine’s eye. He smiled, nodding in her direction, before turning his attention to the food that had appeared on the table. Headmaster Trent was right about one thing; whatever happened, they would endure.