Ash was in a predictably empty mood today. She did not feel like screaming until her lungs collapsed or faking a smile until the mask fell off. She just felt like resting her head on the table and thinking about the pointlessness of it all. She sat down at the middle of the table, so that anybody could sit next to her if they wanted to. She turned her head to the left and rested her right cheek on the table with her arms crossed in front. She slumped over the table like this, waiting for somebody to make small talk. Her eyes stared blankly forward (to the left in this case), and it was as if she was a statue or a corpse. Her eyes noticed everything, and they appeared to suck in the light like a black hole. Her ears heard every painful noise, muted like she was underwater. And still she didn't move. She was waiting for someone to say anything, so she could respond like a regular person. But she wasn't really a regular person, was she? She was a forgotten statue covered in mud. A abandoned porcelain doll with a cracked face. An injured cat with no faith in humanity. Something like that. Certainly not something happy or loved. Certainly not something unscathed, and certainly not something that liked its current predicament.

Ravenclaw!? Yes, Ravenclaw. That was HER house. Hehehe....

Not going to lie - she was a little disappointed that she would have to share her house with a sibling but she was also incredibly excited that it was Ravenclaw. Honestly... She would have been happy with either house - Ravenclaw or Slytherin to be fair. Those were the two that had intrigued her interest the best...

Gryffindor sounded fun... but Hufflepuff? Also seemed fun but both houses didn't feel very much like HER.

BUT WOW! This was HER moment.

She was a .... Ravenclaw... OH WOW! This was exciting wasn't it? She was in the same house as ASH AND EVAN? Teeehehehehe. She could cackle and flail her arms for all she cared or even do a little jig in the middle of the Great Hall. If she did, she'd probably look something like the following SS emojis , , , . This was like the BEST day ever.

"Ash!!" she cried as she ran over to the older girl with the biggest of grins on her face. "I'm a Ravenclaw too!! I'm so happy that we're in the same house!!!" She flailed her arms in excitement and then paused when she saw Ash's whole aura... Wow... Ash... seemed quiet today. "Are you alright?" she asked her older friend.

Once they'd all started filing into the Great Hall, Evan tried his hardest not to think about his last memories from this room. Instead focusing on the tables set for the feast, although no food yet, before finding himself a seat to slide into. He hadn't made a lot of friends in his own house still, the past two terms spent either studying everything he could about the magical world or... well last term. His friends had been Slytherin's, and as he sat by himself he couldn't stop his eyes from scanning the table. Both for his sister and the friends he knew he wouldn't find.

Though, well he supposed now it was friend and... other sister?

He sighed softly, playing with the edge of his robes and watching as the sorting began. Most of the people he didn't know, though he thought he maybe recognized a boy who was younger brother of Noah's friend, but couldn't remember for certain. He could also see the girl from the train, Slytherin it seemed, and not long after that was the sorting he couldn't WAIT for. He straightened in his seat hearing his sister's name, wiggling a bit in excitment. It felt like it took FOREVER for the hat to decide on a house, but when they finally did...

Evan actually smiled. A full beam, as he stood and clapped his hands excitedly. Same house!? He wished Maya was with them too, but they'd still get plenty of time together. Seeing Lisa come towards the table, he also swapped his seat to get closer to her, moving across from her and her friend (Ash). "Lisa!!! Congratulations!" He even offered a small smile towards her friend.

She had thought that she would be fine. Other than the sadness that some of her friends weren't returning and that her little brother had chosen to go to Beauxbatons instead to Hogwarts with her, Ivy had felt mostly good on the train. She liked the opportunities to sit with someone she didn't know and potentially make a new friend, or even just maybe be a friendly face for someone who might be lonely. She'd even been okay getting into the carriages, intentionally not paying attention to the now visible creatures pulling them.

But then she'd actually entered the castle and the Great Hall and her heartbeat quickened and she felt...weird. Her thoughts went instantly to last term and how she had felt and how she had found her mum here with the healers and...

But that was then, and she tried to force all of those thoughts away by paying attention how the house tables were laid out and the banners hanging above them and her friends at the other tables. All of that was her focus as she sat at the Ravenclaw table for the Sorting Ceremony, watching it without really watching it.

So by the time she was finally drawn out of her thoughts by the appearance of one of the newly sorted students, she felt much calmer. Everything was fine. She was fine.

Ivy offered a smile to Evan, who she now noticed was next to her, and to the new little first year, and a concerned smile for Ashley, who looked about like how Ivy herself had felt moments ago. Maybe the third year had the right idea; laying your head on the table did seem appealing right about now. But instead of doing that, Ivy looked at the little firstie (Lisa) again. "Welcome to Ravenclaw!"

Seriously, how was Ash supposed to be sad when Lisa was here? Well, openly sad. The girl was happy. She gave herself a mental adrenaline shot and made all of the darkness contained in herself before forcing herself to sit up straight. She flashed a genuine smile and gave Lisa a genuine hug. Just because she was fundamentally unhappy doesn't mean she couldn't have fun moments. "I'm happy too! You're in my house. Yayyyy." She laughed. Was Lisa a ball of sunshine every day? "Don't worry Lisa, I'm absolutely fine." Okay, that was a bit of a stretch. "How could anyone be unhappy with you in their general vicinity?" She was like a very small excited puppy. It was hard to be unhappy around her, and if Ash was, she definitely was not going to admit it. "Look at what Schmoe is wearing. Bold statement."

Dahlia took a seat near the end of the table closest to the doors. This meant she didn't have the greatest view of the sorting, thanks to still being pretty short but she was able to see anyone that came into the Great Hall. Which may or may not have been helping with her current level of discomfort. Instead of feeling happier, she had only felt worse the closer she got to the school. And now sitting here, all she wanted was to go back home.

Blue eyes slowly drifted from table to table settling upon specific faces making sure each and every person she held near and dear to her heart was accounted for. All four siblings, two cousins, the bestest bestie and a tiny handful of very close friends. Her gaze then went to the staff table making a mental note of all the new faces, biting the inside of her cheek hard when tears tried to pool in the corner of hers at missing faces.

Nope, not going to cry. Letting out a slow breath, Lia returned her attention back to her table. A tiny smile was given to those sitting there already (Ash, Evan and Ivy). When Lisa came heading over after being placed into their house, well she couldn't help but smile a little more.

Kaira came and took a seat at the Ravenclaw table. She could see new students being sorted and that brought back memories. She was glad to see Lisa being sorted into Ravenclaw. 'Congrats Lisa!,' she beamed.

Oh, there was Lia too. 'Hey Lia!,' Kaira beamed from her seat.

There were a couple of faces that she hadn't seen before. (Ash, Evan and Ivy). She waved a 'Hi!' to all of them.

Heath was ambivalent about returning to Hogwarts this term and about studying magic in general. He wanted nothing to do with Lucien Rosier and anything he valued to the point that even his own magical ability became an unfortunate similarity. In the end, he decided to come back because his friends were here; that which he loved most was here, and he wasn’t about to leave them alone to face whatever this term threw at them! Turning in his seat, he spotted Claudine at the Slytherin table and gave her a smile and a little wave.

He quickly turned his attention to the sorting, hoping to spot his little cousin Kiara among the first years. Knowing her, she’d probably end up in Gryffindor like the rest of the family. HIs eyes momentarily flicked toward the staff table, taking in the faces both new and old. Seeing Headmaster Trent again was… weird. It was impossible to look at him and not remember the many times being berated by someone who looked exactly like him, but Heath didn’t hold that against Trent because it never was him. Mostly he was just glad to have the headmaster back.

Tearing his eyes away from the front, he glanced down the Ravenclaw table, giving his housemates (Ash, Evan, Ivy, Lia, & Kaira) a polite nod of acknowledgement. “Hey,” he greeted them. The little first year who joined the table (Lisa) got a slight smile. “Welcome to Ravenclaw!” he said. “I’m Heath.”

It was really happening. Her last opening feast at Hogwarts.

Avalon's parents had given her the option to transfer schools after everything that had happened last year. She could easily join her sister at Beauxbatons. But leaving Hogwarts hadn't even been a consideration. As much as she had been through at this bloody place, she loved it nonetheless. And she couldn't imagine not returning to see the smiles on her friends' and professors' faces.

Simply put, Avalon was now determined to make this the best year yet. Which meant no more getting possessed by weird ghosts, no more war. At least if she could help it. She only had one more term left at this school—she might as well make the most of it. Whether it'd be making as many new friends as possible, trying her hardest in all of her classes, finally nailing her Patronus charm, or getting involved in more extracurriculars, she was ready to make the most of her seventh year.

Her housemates all got enthusiastic waves and hello's in greeting as she made her way to the Ravenclaw table. Her eyes scanned the Great Hall and eventually settled on Headmaster Trent at the staff table. It was the first time she had really seen him since everything had happened, and it suddenly hit her how much she had missed him.

When the new first year (Lisa) joined their table, Avalon reached out to shake her hand. "Welcome to Ravenclaw! I'm Avalon." She then turned to Ashley, letting out a laugh at her comment about Schmoe's outfit. "You have to give it to the guy. He really does come up with the most outlandish color combinations."

Where was Evan? Where was Maya? Lisa cast her gaze towards the Slytherin table to see if she could spot her sister. She saw V there but couldn't see her older sister. A pout formed on her lips and she turned back around to her table to find Evan. "EVAN!" she cried, jumping out of her seat. She was half ready to fling herself across the table to tackle him but she didn't really want to cause a scene. And she was sure that he wouldn't have appreciated the jump tackle hug. "Thanks! If it weren't for the table, consider yourself tackle hugged!" she proclaimed with a proud grin. He was safe for now.... When they got back to the Common Room... Well that was a free area to tackle hug to her heart's content. Tehehe. "I'm so glad we're in the same house. Where's Maya?"

Before she could ask all the questions that she had floating around in her mind for her older brother, she received a congratulations from a girl (Ivy) that looked around her brother's age. She cast her back a happy smile. "Thanks! I'm Lisa. And you are?" she asked. "What's the best thing about being a Ravenclaw?" She'd wanted the whole scoop on it.

Lisa was as excited as a little goldendoodle puppy that you had just told they were going to go on a walk! She didn't know where ALL this energy had come from. She supposed she could attribute it to some sandwiches that she had gotten from Kaira on the train. Yum, yum, yum. She wanted more of those. In her tummy. Right now. And then she turned her attention back to Ash. Oh by her lucky, lucky stars! Maybe wishing on stars actually do work? She stifled her smile a little bit when Ash said she was fine. But was she actually fine? she wondered, watching her older friend but then she noticed the girl smiling a little more. Huh. Oh! Okay. She would say that she wasn't fine right? Right, she figured, deciding not to press further. She beamed back at Ash. "Liquid sunshine is what No calls me," she grinned. Well... she had heard that his girlfriend had called him that in his journal and thus had demanded Noah to refer to her either as Empress of the Free World, First of Her Name, Conjurer of Black Holes and Spirit dragons or as liquid sunshine. Undoubtedly, Noah, like anyone, opted for the shorter name option.

And then more familiar faces that she had met before. Lia joined them and Lisa grinned. "Hi Lia!! I listened to TDK. You were right. They were really good!" she nodded before her smile grew bigger when Kaira joined them. OOH. The stars were certainly shining upon her because she had just been salivating over those yummy sandwiches that Kaira had given to her on the train. Big big wave. "Hi Kaira! Thanks. Got any more sandwiches?? Those were so so good." Seriously. She wanted like five more. At four foot two, she needed the sustenance to help her catch up to her brother's height.... Even if her brother was a foot taller than her and in reality there really was no chance of her becoming super tall. Heck. She'd probably never catch up to Ollie. Speaking of Ollie, she cast her eyes back up to the Sorting Hat and watched her friend get sorted into Slytherin. Ah! Well... At least she'd have V! She'd have to congratulate the later. And Serena and Remy too. And Alfie. And Batman, of course... but she'd have to congratulate Batman not in front of V as they were sworn enemies....

Her thoughts were rather distracting as she didn't realise that even more students had shown up. Two older students (Heath & Avalon) had joined them and they were congratulating her. Lisa was soaking up the spotlight right now. Merlin. This was exactly what ever youngest child longed to have. She shot a quick glance over at her brother, wondering if he'd school her growing ego right now, but decided that she'd act like the kitten who was getting to eat all the cream until he said otherwise... "Thanks! Nice to meet you, Heath and Avalon. I'm Lisa... but you probably know that." Cause the Sorting Hat had said her name.... She flushed bright pink.

Her eyebrows raised when Ash mentioned a 'Schmoe' fellow and then Avalon commented on his 'outlandish' choices. Schmoe Bro? Huh? She followed her friend's gaze to the Staff Table and noticed a rather intriguing fashion choice. She liked the colours a lot; however, it was certainly a bold statement. So bold that it was almost like asking for trouble or just very, very quirky. "Does he teach Divination?" she asked innocently. Her eyes scanned the Staff Table for the first time, wondering what all the Professors would be like. She couldn't wait for classes to begin.

In his excitement to congratulate his little sister, Evan hadn’t even noticed he slipped into a seat next to a familiar face not named Alfalfa. A smile was still on his face from his sister’s sorting, so he turned it to Ivy giving a nod of hello as well. “Hey Ivy. I hope I didn’t steal someone’s seat?” Since.. He hadn’t really thought to check that first. “This is my little sister, Lisa. Lisa, this is Ivy, fourth year.” Because introductions were polite right? Even if he didn’t really know Ivy that well either, and Lisa was asking the girl her name too but.. Y’know. Too late now.

He looked around the table again, wondering now if there were other familiar faces as he’d failed to notice Ivy seconds before. He found he did recognize at least one other. The girl from the butterbeer cart, Lia, believed her name was if he was properly following all of his sister’s greetings.. He gave a nod and a smile the girl’s way, with a small wave of acknowledgement.

There was another face close by he wasn’t sure he recognized, but knew that was not uncommon for him given how unobservant he really was, unless it was words upon a page. And he was suddenly feeling that lack of observance more and more with each face he’d scanned. There were a lot of people around, and they all seemed friendly enough with either offering greetings or giving smiles in hello. He wasn’t the most fantastic of conversationalists, or even being approachable, but this was the term to try he supposed. He had acquaintances, but no real friends at this school anymore so perhaps it was time to start trying to change that. So with a smile still on his face, he offered a generic greeting with a lame introduction to the lot of them around (Ash, Kaira, Heath and Avalon) . “Hey. Hope all had a good summer. I’m Evan.” And I have no idea how to talk to people.

His attention turned to his sister again fully when his name was shouted, and for a moment his eyes widened and he opened his mouth to tell her to not launch herself across the table, which she very much appeared like she might do any second, before it seemed she reached that conclusion herself and he was able to give a sigh of relief and put his smile back on his face. “I feel the spirit tackle hug. And I’m glad you left it at that.” Because something told him had she actually done it, she’d have fun and then she’d either start making it a habit and A) get herself injured or B) get them both detention. He’d really rather not have detention, though supposed it being just from an overexcited younger sister wasn’t that bad.

Her excitement was what had brought him back to Hogwarts. Because after last term, her fresh outtake on the magical world was refreshing. He might have felt cynical and moody about everything, and Maya seemed of similar wavelength to him, but Lisa? She was nothing but joy and energy. And while her ego was getting dangerously large, Evan just quirked an eyebrow at her and let her soak up the attention. Maybe her energy was lifting spirits of the others at the table as well. “Maya’s back at the Slytherin table. She’ll meet us after. I'm really, really glad you're in Ravenclaw too, Lees.”

Kaira grinned at Heath and Evan. Meeting new people really felt good. She hadn't been able to d that last year. This year was going to be different. 'Hey Evan..I'm Kaira..second year!,' she said.

Oh Lisa loved her sandwiches. Yay! 'Hey you..I do have more..!,' she said, searching her bag. Her mom had packed sandwiches for the whole school..okay, not the WHOLE school, but she had packed a good number of them. 'Yo, there you go,' she said, handing over two sandwiches. 'Do ask if you want more..but you miiight wanna wait for the start-of-the term feast too,' she said. 'Y'all..does anyone want BLT sandwiches?,' she asked.

"Ah. Liquid sunshine. A fitting name." Ash laughed. It really DID make sense, didn't it? Lisa was a ball of sunshine and rainbows, and if anybody ever caused her to stop, Ash would find that person and hex them bad. Because Ash was HERE for this sunshine and rainbow stuff. She had no idea how to produce it herself, but other people producing mass amounts of happiness was good enough for her.

"Nah, Schmoe teaches Muggle Studies. I love that class. I don't love the color combo, but I sure do respect him for doing whatever he wants and just wearing it." Ash could relate to that. Just do whatever you want, regardless of any consequences. Big mood.

No, Pax did not want to discuss what her twin allegedly was or was not responsible for during the events of the past term. She also did not want to discuss her father's conveniently timed ascension to head of the very department responsible for letting Nemesis Upstead walk away without any particular consequences. People could (and would, she was sure) come to their own conclusions about it all.

Last term in the room, plenty of kids had thought to lash out at her because Nemesis had been out of their reach, but she had soon shown that was a bad idea on all counts, making use of fists, words, and wand to defend herself and her younger brother Ezra, as well as stand up unconditionally for Nem's actions at the time.

Maybe she wasn't... quite so ride or die now that their twin bond had become so painfully one-sided, but she wasn't ready to admit that either.

She slipped into a seat at the Ravenclaw table and made exactly zero effort to welcome any first years. They weren't any use to her, so she did not care. Instead she settled in to observe the staff table and the new faces there.

Lia would have been perfectly happy to in absolute silence for the entirety of the feast. In her mind the plan was to eat just enough to please her siblings and than make her way to the common room the first chance she got. That didn't seem to be what was going to happen however. From all the way over at the Slytherin table Tadhg had caught her eye. Not wanting to appear to sad, she smiled enough to appear alright, lifted her hand and wiggled her fingers at him.

Whoa, Kaira seemed really happy! "Hi," she greeted much more quietly her smile not as bright as the other girls. Oh, would you lookit that! The older floofy haired boy with the cat came back too. "Hello, Health. How is Rey?" Yup, she was asking about the cat.

Lia actually smiled a bit more than she had been so far. "That's great, Lisa. I'm really glad that you like them." If they were going to talk about music, that would be a topic she could get into. Blue eyes shifted from Lisa onto someone she remembered seeing over the summer (Evan). Had he just said Lisa was his sister? Ravenclaw siblings! Just like her and her brothers. She nodded and have him a tiny wave in return.

Her attention was pulled towards the staff table when the speech began. That must be Headmaster Trent. The REAL Headmaster Trent. Dahlia bit the inside of her cheek as she tried to listen to what was being said, yet not allow herself to be pulled back into the memories of it all. When told they could eat, she quietly focused on adding food onto her plate.

Dahlia, Kaira, and Heath all got a smile and a small wave from Ivy, glad to see that they had returned to Hogwarts too. Every familiar face, around this table and the others too, was nice to see.

And new faces too! Like Lisa here, who Evan said was his sister. She shook her head. "No, you're fine!" She hadn't been specifically saving a seat since she'd been spacing out, but even if she had been, there was still the spot on the other side of her.

There was someone she wouldn't mind having sit there, but since she hadn't been focused on the sorting, she wasn't sure where Seth Elliot had been sorted, so maybe he was seated elsewhere? She would find him later, she was sure.

So her attention remained here for now, with a nod and a smile as Evan introduced her to Lisa. "Nice to meet you!" Oh? The best thing about Ravenclaw? "The common room's probably one of the best things. It has an amazing view of the Hogwarts grounds!" And there were a lot of other great things about the common room, but that was one of her favorites.

Oh, and then...the speech.

Ivy's eyes finally turned to the staff table and the...Headmaster. The real one. She was...relieved. It wouldn't have been a surprise to her if he didn't want to come back and they had a new Headmaster. Everyone had dealt with a lot, especially him and his family. But it was reassuring to have the one she remembered from her first year here again. That...felt like it was ages ago now, but even so, it was some small level of normality, and she wanted to cling to normal things whenever she could.

Like a drama club play! And people not using that word ever again. And eating a normal feast at the start of a quiet normal term at Hogwarts.