Walking through the Great Hall on the last day of term felt similar to the first time that she was here, a belly full of butterflies. A mixture of emotions, ranging from looking forward to her summer, to worries that she wouldn’t see any of her friends and that they would forget about her until September came around again. It was a dumb thought, since she’d likely bump into them in the regular spots.

With her hair tied in a high, kinda messy bun, Remy stuffed her hands into her robe pockets as she found a seat at the Gryffindor table. She tried to make eye contact with anyone that she knew, hopefully drawing them in to sit with her.

The time alone gave her a moment to reflect on her final day as a first year. She was practically graduating from being a little kid right now.

Kizzy was Tired. Capital T.

If she thought she could have gotten away with it, she would've skipped the feast just to get a head start on sleep - but she knew her friends would likely notice and it was also a matter of not wanting to wake up hungry in the middle of the night. So here she was, practically dragging herself towards the Gryffindor table. They didn't win the house cup this year, which was a little sad, but also nothing that really bothered her.

As she approached, she took notice of how empty the table was so far (oops, she didn't meant to arrive early); And seeing as Emm wasn't here yet, Kins snagged two spots on the bench by placing her bag beside her. That seat was now reserved. But not wanting to be rude, she offered a small wave to Remy, who was sat a few spaces away, as she rested her head on the table. "Hi, are you excited for summer?"" Kizzy was. Because summer meant time with her family and finally seeing Tavie, Flynn, and Yoyo again and watching Matty's U17 games and unlimited bestie sleepovers and not worrying about performing magic and sleeping as early as she wanted and and and.

Hopefully other people would join soon and sit by Remy ... because Kinsay kind of wanted to take a nap before the feast started and she couldn't really do that if she was talking.

Well...all things considered, it wasn’t the worst term in history. There had been lots of good moments and Cece was choosing to focus on those as she made her way into the great hall, grinning a little as familiar faces came into view. The fact that next year she’d be walking into this same hall as a seventh year was at the back of her mind and that was just..wooooow. Wow. Yeah. She was going to try and enjoy every moment she could ‘cause that was crazy.

”Hello lovely ladies,” She greeted cheerfully as she took a seat by Remy and Kinsay. ”I’m definitely excited for summer.” You know, since she’d heard little James ask.

Her bottom lifted off the bench to peek over the top of the students that had already joined her, not really taking notice of who they were. It dawned on her suddenly that most of her friends actually weren’t in Gryffindor so would probably sit at their own table. How rude that Remy’s end of term feast needs were not the top of everyone’s priorities. Still, she needed to keep an eye out for Atlas, who had pretty much turned into her closest friend by the end of term, and Remy couldn’t think of anyone better.

Settling back into her seat, her attention moved to Kinsay who was… talking to her?! Gryffindor royalty? She glanced over her shoulder to check Kinsay wasn’t talking to someone else before responding. “Yup! I’m having a belated birthday party as soon as I’m home.” Since her birthday was spent at Hogwarts. Lots more presents to be had! “Got any plans?” She asked.

Mooooore Gryffindor royalty. Cece made her feel more at ease than Kinsay did, mostly due to their contrasting first interactions at the start of term feast. Remy beamed at her. “Hi, Cece. I can’t believe how fast the term has gone… it was… a weird term, right?” Or should she say… it was a totes zen term, for all the wrong reasons.

Had he been wrong about the bread? Yes. Had he admitted to this? Only those who had asked him directly. Did he regret being suspicious of the bread? Not at all. In fact, technically, he had still be right because he had been suspicious of the woman from the get-go! Trojans bearing gifts. It was a thing.

Briefly separated from his brother while doing some final bits of packing for the train ride home tomorrow, Atlas arrived at the Great Hall alone but was sure Aries would be close behind him. Unless his brother had fallen asleep in his trunk or something. It was possible. Just hopefully not in HIS trunk because he had methodically packed and folded everything so it fit together more perfectly than a puzzle box...and just as complicated, but it was a system that worked for Atlas.

Quite looking forward to the summer and his triumphant return to robotics camp, Atlas looked light on his feet as he approached the Gryffindor table and was almost skipping. Almost. His eyes did briefly glance over at both the Slytherin and Ravenclaw tables, for reasons, before he settled down in a seat just beside Remy with a wide smile. Kinsay's rude posture was noted but otherwise he was, mostly, pleasant towards her with a slightly sour kind of smile. Cecelia also received a smile, a less sour one than Kinsay's. "Hey," he greeted, though admittedly this greeting was more directed towards Remy than anyone else. "I hope today's dinner shows a restraint on gluten."

His eyes drifted back to Kinsay and, shocker of shocks, pointed at her. "If elbows shouldn't be on the table...I don't think your face should be either."

Apollo felt glum about this year and he wasn't sure it had anything to do with the house cup. Okay, maybe a little bit, but also cause this year had been weirdly dull. Sure he'd maybe made some fame as Michael Darling and just maybe people actually knew who he was, but he still couldn't shake this nagging feeling that it wasn't enough. He fought the urge to go sit with Bella at the Slytherin House Table, vowing to see her more this summer and catch up with her, as he strode over to his table. Even if he wasn't confident that he had made an impact, he was pleased that he at least knew who everyone was at the table.

Wait. Atlas didn't like Kinsay? He frowned as he heard the remark to her about her face. "That's rude. What did she ever do to you?" Maybe in his quest to make his mark, he'd forgotten one crucial piece, which was getting to actually know people. He frowned contemplating this.

Suuuummmmeeerrr and suuuuunnnnnn and birthday celebrationsssssssss.

It went without saying, Emmerson Nicole Justine Cambridge was ready for the summer. There were no near death experiences, or even anything entirely too traumatic--if you could excuse that bit of weight gain the bread forced her to work off--but school was school and after a whole year of it nearly, she was ready to hit the pool at Cambridge Manor and have a zillion sleepovers with Kizzy without interruption.

Speaking of, there she was.

Emm moved down the table, plucked up the bag that was no doubt holding her spot then plopped down beside the bestfriend. "She can have her bum on the table if it makes her happy." She asserted at Atlas's comment. Probably tired or hungry or some combination of the two. Whatever the case, Kiz could do what she liked. It was the last night of the term and they hadn't won the House Cup. They had nothing to lose.

"Hey Ce--" She stopped just short of the greeting to her former older friend. Things with Sammy had been weird, they stayed weird and were likely not going to be unweird. It made being friends with Cece...well.....weird.


"I don't much care for these blue banners, someone should charm 'em scarlet and gold like they're supposed to be. It can be our final send off."

The last hoorah.

Yes?

"Let them have their dumb banners," Phoebe dropped into a seat next to Kizzy and pulled her closer without lifting her sorry little face off the table. "It's a dumb contest that doesn't mean anything. Like I didn't get points for half the cool stuff I did this term, and they gave out points for poorly done homework like mad. Who cares?"

She gave Kizzy's hair a pat, and over her head, Phoebe looked for Cece's eyes. She gave her bestie a wink. They were going to have a super fun, cool summmer and come back as seventh years. Nothing else mattered. She didn't care if they didn't get House Cup, and she didn't care if those dumb banners were in tatters today. Summer was basically minutes away.

If Kinsay knew that Remy thought her to be Gryffindor royalty, she would've been the most surprised ever. Kale, Cece, Morgan, and Phoebe were Gryffindor royalty. Emmerson and Emma were Gryffindor royalty. Kins wasn't even close. She'd make for lousy Gryffindor royalty anyway - sometimes she wasn't even sure she made a good Gryffindor [full stop]. So maybe it was for the very best that she wasn't privy to Remy's inner thoughts. It'd cause a lot of kizzy!conflict.

She covered a yawn, as to not be rude, and then smiled a little as Remy answered her question. "That sounds like fun." Summer parties were better because then you wouldn't have to worry about leaving people out - they could be lowkey. As for her own summer plans? There were lots. Summers were her favorite. But instead of explaining all that, she went with what felt the most important right now. "I'm going to sleep in every morning." Except with her habit of waking up with the sun, this likely wouldn't be the case. It's okay though! Because she also planned to go to sleep super early every night. If Kins could get 13 hours of sleep every night, it still wouldn't be enough.

But it looked like she wouldn't be able to sneak a nap in before the feast. More and more people were arriving now. It was hopeless. She'd keep her head on the table though because it helped. Even if just a little bit. "Hi, sweetest Cece." Her friend received a finger wiggle and a little smile from little James. Apollo received the same too, upon his arrival. She even tried offering one to Atlas, just before she saw his sour smile. It made her feel all sorts of ridiculously horrible, but was nothing in comparison to the embarrassed way she felt when he called her out for keeping her head on the table. And Apollo's quick defense, whilst much appreciated, made her feel even worse - she was so sure that Atlas would have lots to say in response. Nothing that would be very nice. Kins cowered, making herself look very small, but she'd catch up with Apollo later and offer a whispered (and still very much embarrassed) thank you. She really would.

But it was kind of hard to say anything now when everyone else was speaking for her. Asdfghj. She usually didn't mind - it took the pressure off. But this was making things worse. She did reach for Emm's hand under the table though. Thanks, bestie. Kins could always count on Emm to have her back.

But still, the wave of embarrassment washed over her completely. She didn't like the way the attention was on her. She really, really didn't. And though she didn't exactly know what to say, she felt the need to apologize. "Sorry." In attempt to keep the peace and not cause any more trouble, she lifted her head off the table and cuddled up against her sister instead. Hi, Phoebe. "I can't wait to go home," she whispered just for Pheebs to hear.

And then came the speech. And then came the feast. And hopefully people would be too distracted by the food to point out any more of Kinsay's wrongdoings and/or character flaws.

Remy obviously noticed that Kinsay seemed tired even before her comment about sleeping in every day. If those were the extent of her summer plans, then Remy was extra glad for her own. “Hopefully the feast will help wake you up.” So long as she chose the healthy options. Personally, Remy slept like a baby last night, she always did, and still programmed to wake in the early hours.

There he was. She felt a sense of zen… I mean… relaxation when her friend finally joined her. Not that the others at the table weren’t totally cool, she just didn’t really have much to do with them which subsequently made her kinda nervous. “Hi.” Atlas received the goofiest of goofy smiles. She watched Kinsay’s reaction when he made a comment about how she sat. Truthfully, she hadn’t thought his comment too rude at all, until Apollo came and pointed it out. “Chill out, Apollo.” Remy rolled her eyes a little. She liked Apollo a lot but would still blindly defend Atlas, obviously.

Her eyes averted when Emmerson joined the table, acting like she owned the place. She didn’t really have much to say at this point. Perhaps when she was a second year she’d feel a little more comfortable around these people, but for now she’d stick with her people. Her quietness was perfectly timed as Headmaster Trent was making his speech. She slouched a little more when Ravenclaw were announced as the House Cup winners. Blehhh, that sucked, but would probably get forgotten as soon as they left here for the summer.

Ooooh, feast.

Atlas had certainly inadvertently made a certain sort of name for himself. That was not to say that, sometimes, he did not say things with a bit of malicious intent behind them. He was very much aware that he did this, but right now had not been the case and it had very much been an observation. Dad and mum would never allow for he, Aries, or Andromeda to sit at the dinner table with their faces pressed against it and, sometimes, there was a Tickling Charm launched in their direction to get them to sit upright. Sometimes Atlas would faceplant just so he could be on the receiving end of a Tickling Charm - it felt nice! So...it had been on his mind to be helpful to Kinsay and send the charm her direction, but it was not one he had really perfected yet and he would have more likely blown up her plate or something in the attempt. So, really, pointing and making a judgmental observation was for the best.

And then his dormmate happened, coming in wands ablaze with his accusatory tone and acting as though Atlas had just insulted Kinsay's face or something. Were the Flamsteeds the only household where elbows off the table was a thing?! The more you learned.

"I can't tell if you want a genuine answer to that question or not," he replied calmly but with a light eye roll. "But I have things I could list off a few things, but I don't see why that would be necessary. Nothing to do with my observation...so you can calm down and not get so defensive because you have a fatty crush on her and feel the need to impress her. My brother has dibs anyway."

Speaking of being accusatory, rude, and presumptuous. Also wrong. Or probably wrong. Mostly wrong? A little wrong. Oh well, we all have our vices.

Once the cavalry arrived, also know as Emmerson Cambridge, Atlas knew it was time to drop all talk of manners and what was and was not considered proper etiquette at the table. Something that was easy to do thanks to the Headmaster starting his speech and Remy's general company. He could agree with Emmerson about not liking the décor (especially when unrequited love of his life Phoebe James concurred with her). Mostly Atlas did not like losing...but there was some consolation in the fact that they were third place and not second. Third place meant that they had won if you squinted at it just so - because they hadn't come in LAST - but second place was just...a loss. Like in a robotics tournament when you got third place you had to win to secure that position. Second place you lost. Second place stung more. At least in the moment.

And besides...Professor Schmoe deserved to go out with a victory under his belt.

Smiling a little at Remy as he reached for the mashed potatoes to sculpt a mountain on his place, he gave her a little nudge with his elbow and carried on like the earlier tensions were ancient history. "We're on for the summer still, right? Sour candy competition."

Kale was def very late to the feast. He didn't mean to be such a lil stinker, but, like he was in the process of washing out all that brown hair dye from Peter Pan when he belatedly remembered he had a feast to attend. Oh yeaaaaaah baby. The blonde was baCK. And it was long and luscious and bloooooonde.

But so sure, fine, Kale Trent was late.

Not that he thought anyone expected anything else from the soon-to-be seventh year Gryffindor. Kale Trent was all Kale Trent all the time. Which meant he was sorta bound to pop up where he was supposed to be in perhaps not the ways he was supposed to be there. The point was at least he always showed up. Ur welcome.

As his Dad rambled on about people not coming back or whatever, the seventeen year old fell into the seat next to lil James and threw his arm around both the Pheebster and Kinsay. "Sup," he beamed. "What'd I miss?" His girlfriend got a wink from across the table. Heya, pretty lady.