Her second to last Start of Term Feast.

Claudine hardly dared to believe she was now officially a sixth year. The light was at the end of the tunnel where she could soon get away from this dangerous School, head on to university and have a career. Yes, it was all planned out, her life, as the girl was eager to see how her plans would play out.

Now seated, she allowed her gaze to shift to the staff table. Naturally, there would be changes but Claudine wasn't looking forward to really getting to know the new professors. Truth be told, she was tired of the constant staff changes {it took her a while to adjust to changes, which she hated}.

But was it too much to ask for a quiet year at Hogwarts?

Darius made it back to Hogwarts. His fifth year and hopefully a less traumatic year, after some of the previous years he was beginning to feel numb to certain situations. He had things to consider over the next upcoming years after all.

"Hey," Dare said, sitting near (Claudine). He was usually quiet during the feasts, but now perhaps is the time to grow out of his shell. His gaze fell to the staff table where there was some new staff. Oh.. right. He just remembered he would have a new Divination Professor. He sighed.

Well, another year we go.

It was nice to be at a table and not the center of attention anymore. She dabbed at her eyes quickly, hoping no one noticed as she did so and took a seat.

Time to take in her older classmates and any other first years who had also been sorted. Normally so bold and NOT shy, V felt herself feeling so small at the table. She blinked a lot and tried to get a general sense of her housemates. Would she need to puff up and seem tough? Would she need to be overly nice? Any cute boys? So many important questions that she almost entirely forgot about her sadness over leaving Prince Charleston home.

Almost.

She didn't say a word to anyone yet. It was too early to lay all the cards on the table, and she was also scared her sniffle here and there would hint at her previous tears.

Fiona casually made her way to her house's table and sat down next to Claudine. "Hey, there. How are you?" She then looked at the staff table feeling uncomfortable. Was it because of the changes or was it because she couldn't trust people as much anymore? Fiona then gave a nod to Darius before her eyes fell upon a new Snakette (Victoria). "Hey there. My name's Fiona. You're Victoria, right? I heard your name get mentioned during the sorting ceremony. Welcome to Slytherin."

His first start of term feast. It was exciting. Alfred didn't even bother trying to act all "cool" and "unfazed" anymore. It was just magical. He sat down at the table. He had so many questions. Mainly about learning. And cute boys. There were certainly a few around so...

He decided to take his mind of that and observed his new teachers. They looked interesting and fun. He would probably enjoy his time at Hogwarts. Emphasis on probably. It was Hogwarts, anything could happen. Alfie remembered his uncle Luca telling him about how when he was in his third year here, random passageways appeared everywhere and that the moving stairs became wild and unpredictable.

He decided not to say anything to anyone yet. He knew how talkative and chattery he got when he was this excited, and to be completely honest, it was kind of embarrassing. He didn't want people to refer to him as 'the babbly kid' or something.

New year.
Kaira stared at the beautiful ceiling bewitched to look like the sky, as she walked. Boy, wasn't she excited! this year had to be better than last year. She hoped and prayed.

She was just passing by the Slytherin table on her way to the Ravenclaw table when she saw this kid (Alfred). He reminded her about herself in her first year - an excited kid, full of questions. She smiled at him kindly. 'Hey you, welcome to Hogwarts,' she said

After the fiasco that was his 5th year at Hogwarts, Blake was unsure how he felt about everything. He had been here for 5 years and every year was crazy. Did Hogwarts every do anything normal?? He dared not look at the staff table, he didn't want to see or adjust to the new faces yet again.

Oh well ... nothing more could be done to change last year. He just had to do his best to move on and make this year a better one. Looking down the Slytherin table he saw Claudine ... did a small sarcastic finger wave at her ... she may be nicer to others, but Blake didn't think that him and Claudine would ever actually do more than tolerate each other. He didn't see many other faces he recognized just yet.

Violet followed everyone else into the Great Hall, still looking around her and marveling at how strange everything felt. Surreal. She rolled her new favorite word around in his brain. Yes, that was how it was, exactly. And how strange to see how the Entrance Hall had been all put back together again in only a few months. As if nothing had ever happened. But Violet knew better.

Heading over to her House table, she had taken a seat across from Claudine and Darius, who she'd sat with on the train. and gave a nod to Kaira as she passed on her way to the Ravenclaw table, then settled into her seat to inspect the new Slytherins.

The Slytherin table was so quiet. Who died?

Jk, JK, lol. People actually died last term. Because war. Yeah. Best not say that aloud.

Serena always had a hunch she'd be a Slytherin. Both her parents were. So had her grandparents (save for her grandmother). Basically, 95% of her blood-line was Slytherin. And now she was OFFICIALLY one.

Stopping at the table, she presented herself to her new housemates. "Hello, I'm Serena Baltazar-Dos Santos." After a wave she took a seat amongst the smaller looking ones. The ones like herself.

She also had not forgotten the sad, teary girl (Victoria) she had spotted in the sea of first years. "This is much better than tissue." She took out a small handkerchief from her robes pocket and offered it to the blue-eyed girl. "Tissue dissolves." Then she'll boogies all over her hand and spread germs around.

More names were called, more first years were sorted. Victoria watched all intently, staying quiet for once in her short life. She was too busy observing everyone. The Slytherin table was kind of low-key so far, and she couldn't help but find it a bit unnerving. She wondered if it had to do with the weird evil people running the school last term. Were people still broken up about all that? Hmmm.

Other new Slytherin first years seemed to be all sitting near each other. Victoria didn't mind...she gave a small wave to the boy called Alfred. He had been sorted before her, and she was had just sort of....found herself sitting near him, she supposed. "Hi," she said simply, not willing to put effort into the conversation first.

Another new Slytherin was Serena...who was....well, someone she thought seemed interesting enough. She was talking a whole lot already, and V gave the girl a head nod. "I'm Victoria but....everyone calls me V, so you should, too," she said simply. That was her preferred nickname, anyway.

Um.

Victoria was SOOOOO not crying, and the fact she was being offered a handkerchief made her feel MAD for whatever reason, but instead of making an enemy so quickly of someone she felt she could potentially like, she just accepted it and sighed. "I guess I did a bad job about hiding my emotions," she said softly before dabbing at her eyes a little. "I...r-really miss my dog already," she could feel her voice starting to quiver, again, but she wouldn't let the tears go. Not again. So she held it back and just nodded as she bit her lip.

Back once again...

Although Tadhg wasn't sure he was quite as happy to be back as he hoped to be, every from last term took that away from him. It was going to take more then the summer time to get rid of everything that he been through and witness. After seeing the school destroyed and spells and curses flying around, it was hard not to see anything but that. Although a part of him was glad to be back, hopefully this year will be better then last year. The advents of last year all sudden here at the feast, Merlin hopes it wasn't like that again.


Walking into the great hall heading towards the Snake table he no longer felt like newbie at here at Hogwarts, nope he was now a proud second year. Taking a seat he seen some fesh new Snakes and smiled at them. "Hello welcome to Slytherin, I'm Tadhg a second year." Turning towards the Ravenclaw table, he scanned it for his best friend, finding her he smiled and waved at her.

Claudine noted the fact that there was a new Flying Instructor and this fact slightly depressed her. She had actually bonded with Aguilar and she had really liked him. Their time spent drawing in the art room was one of the highlights of her fifth year. There was even a sketch of them in the art room that she had done while stuck in The Room. A soft, disappointed sigh escaped her at the exact moment Darius sat down next to her. “Oh hey, Darius. Ready for the year?’’ she asked cautiously. “Hi, Fiona.’’ Claudine wanted to reach over and give her dormmate a hug but only held back because she wasn’t sure if the other girl was open to it. “How’d you do with OWLs, Fiona?

Oh. Blake Ryan. Claudine eyed him but not with as much dislike as she usually would {this didn’t surprise her as recently, she’d come to appreciate and warm up to others considerably}. In reply to his little wave, she wrinkled her nose at him. Was he done being a big baby? It was perhaps that particular trait of the boy that she disliked the most. Anyway. Her attention turned elsewhere. “Hello, Violet. Got any writing done lately? Hi, Tadhg.”

Look at the first years. Maybe it was because Claudine had grown a bit over the summer in terms of height but… had she really been that short as a firstie? “Welcome to Hogwarts,’’ the girl told Victoria, Serena and Alfred, in an attempt to be a proper and responsible older student. “I’m Claudine.’’ Yeah, she didn’t need the newbies to find out what her last name was just yet. "If you guys need help with anything, ask someone who wasn't her don't hesitate to ask."

Also…

It was still exhausting to be this social.

Fiona did sense that her friend wanted to hug her so she gave her a quick hug. "Oh, I think I did pretty well with my OWL results considering what had gone on. I got an O in Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts and Transfiguration. I got an E for the rest of the subjects I took, except for History of Magic where I got an A. How about you?"

This was it. The final term. Her seventh year. The final leg of the race. She couldn't believe she had gotten this far. Or more so how fast it has come to this. Last year felt like a blur, and pretty much, she wanted to forget about everything last year. Going home afterwards didn't really help because of her and her mother constantly fighting, but that's a drama for another time. Right now? It was the Start-Of-The-Term Feast! A hopeful brand new start. Making her way to the table, Aibhi glanced seeing many familiar faces, and some new ones. First years.

Walking over to the table, she raises a hand and waved slightly to the table before looking at the table, "Here we are! New term. New faces! Welcome welcome first years, and hello to all of my returning Slytherins." the seventh year says with some excitement in her voice. No need to be scaring the first years away. She has definitely changed over her time in Hogwarts. Let's see how this term ends for her. With a light smile, she finishes with, "It's so nice to see so many new faces join our house this term, and to also see some returning ones as well." and with that, she sits down.

Alfie had been staring up at the enchanted ceiling when Kaira called out to him, welcoming him to Hogwarts. "Thanks." He tried his best not to sound overexcited, which, internally, he definitely was, and smiled back at her. He gave the girl called Serena a nod as she introduced herself. He noticed that a lot of people were welcoming him and the other first years, which was only natural, and gave them brief smiles because he wanted to say as little as possible.

Alfred turned his head to look at Victoria when she greeted him. "Hi." He didn't want to start a proper conversation either. Although now that she looked on the edge of tears, he should probably say something. "Hey, don't worry. I'm sure your dog is doing just fine." He supposed that was a good reassurance. "And I miss my cat too." Did that make her feel any better? Alfie was no good at cheering people up when they were crying.

Seeing that people around him were introducing themselves, he decided that he should probably do the same. "I'm Alfred but most people call me Alfie." And he preferred Alfie too. He should probably have said that, but he just sheepishly looked down at his shoes because he was getting way too excited now.

Mystie made her way over to the Slytherin table and found a seat. She hoped food will come soon she was hungry.

V? What was wrong with Victoria? Eh. It wasn't her business. Serena simply nodded. She also wasn't expecting to hear the reason behind the tears. Her intentions were just to deliver that handkerchief, honestly.

Nonetheless, she listened...and it was because of a dog? Serena missed her goat but she wasn't crying about it. Or was the dog dead? That'd be really sad.

"You could pretend to sneeze and make it look like you have allergies," she suggested. That's the route she'd take if she was trying to hide tears. Not that she'd cry in public.

She heard someone else's (Alfred) voice on V's other side, and Serena couldn't help narrow her eyes in his direction. No butting in here, buddy. "She's fine," said Serena, having a strong feeling V didn't want anyone to notice her teary-eyed. She wasn't the kind to defend anyone else other than herself, but she wouldn't want to be seen as week on the first at Hogwarts.

ANYWAY. More people--Snakes (Tadhg, Claudine, and Aibhilinn)--joined the table and/or were greeting, so Serena, just to be polite to her new peoples, waved at them all. Hi.

Violet smiled at the returning students who were starting to find their seats, and especially at all the new First Years. She heard Claudine ask her about her writing, as she always seemed to do when they met after an interval. Maybe Violet shouldn't have talked so much about writing, she'd read in a book over the summer that it was best to keep that to yourself until you produced something. So far all she'd produced was a scathing editorial letter to the Daily Prophet trying to build awareness in the wizarding world about just what had gone on at Hogwarts last year and a length back-dated journal of all the things she'd been thinking and experiencing but not been able to write down. Anyway, the conversation had gone on by now, with more and more people arriving. Violet decided she'd better try to be social, especially now at the beginning of the year.

"Hi, all you first years--welcome to Hogwarts, and welcome to Slytherin!" The very best House in the school, Violet thought complacently to herself.

Her eyes strayed to the Staff Table, which she'd been avoiding because she didn't want to have to see who was missing this year. But she did want another look at that new woman who'd taken charge at the Leaving Feast last year--would she be back again? And just who was she? After the experience with fake-Trent, aka Lucien Rosier, Violet was not about to take anyone new on trust again.

Oh. Fiona didn’t mind being hugged then. Claudine easily returned it, having already decided to not take Fiona {or anyone else she liked} for granted again. Fiona’s presence as a dormmate had been missed for the greater part of the previous school year as she hadn’t been stuck in The Room with the rest. Claudine certainly was impressed with those OWL results and she said as much. “I wish I was good enough to get an O in DADA; I got an A. I failed Divination completely with a D. But I did get O in Charms, CoMC, History of Magic and Potions.”

Aibhilinn as chipper, wasn’t she? Perhaps the older girl just wanted to get over what happened last term. She couldn’t be blamed. “I hope you have a memorable final year.” Would it be a quiet one or a chaotic one? Who could tell. Either way, Aibhilinn was sure to remember it.

Claudine eyed Alfred {yeah, she’d be calling him by that name since she wasn’t one for nicknames}. “Didn’t you bring the cat with you?’’ Cats were allowed at Hogwarts, after all… Oh look. Another first year {Mystie}. Claudine gave her a small smile, already tired of saying ‘welcome’ to the newbs.

Her dark eyes trailed over to the Ravenclaw and she spotted Heath. Her smile grew a little wider and she waved back. Quickly because… you know… Claudine didn’t like drawing attention to herself.

"Aww, hon. I'm sorry that you failed Divination. Congrats on getting those Os," Fiona replied as she smiled a reassuring smile. She then noticed Claudine and Heath waving at each other. "So, how are things between the two of you?" she asked in a soft-spoken voice that only her friend could hear.

Ollie made her way to the Slytherin table with tears in her eyes. This is NOT what she expected. What would her father say? She didn't plan on talking to anyone. She was going to sit quietly, trying not to let the tears flow.

She took in all of the others at the table. The only one she recognized was Victoria, whom she met at Florean Fortescue's. Everyone seemed pretty happy, all talking getting to know each other. She was beginning to feel a little better. These people didn't seem that bad. Maybe she could make some friends.

Her mind immediately going back to her father, the tears swelling in her eyes once again. This time she failed at concealing them. She quickly used her sleeve to wipe the tear that came down her cheek, hoping nobody would notice and ask her if she was okay.

Violet nearly jumped when she heard the sound of a fork hitting a goblet--she would really have to get a grip on her nerves! But she was relieved to see it was Headmaster Trent, there in his usual spot and giving the welcoming speech. She had not known who would be in the head seat this year, had been half afraid it would be that bossy healer woman who'd given the closing speech last summer. She watched and listened to Trent intently--he seemed all right, wasn't striking any wrong notes like the past couple of years. She supposed. It had been three years now since she'd seen Trent in a normal state, and then she'd only been a first year, so what did she know? But she half convinced herself that everything was all right, because she wanted it to be.

As she listened, she was glad Trent wasn't soft-pedalling around last year's events like so many adults she'd been around, was acknowledging that things had gone very wrong. She wanted to believe his reassurances about the future, but was not sure she did. And...a drama club? What on earth?! Violet was thinking that might be kind of interesting. She wasn't sure she had the nerve to actually get up on stage in front of anyone, but she was interested in plays and thought she might learn something about how they were put together, how to write one. Maybe she could do something backstage...

And then, finally, there was food! The first feast at Hogwarts in a long time that wasn't marred by some untimely event. So Violet forgot everything else and tucked in.

Silently Isabella made her way into the Great Hall, thankful that her shoes didn't clickety-clack like her mum's did to alert everyone including staffers of her late presence. Taking a seat on one of the empty seats at the snake table, the second year snakette let her black eyes travel around the table as she greeted everyone both new and old from Claudine to Tadgh with a bright smile. "Hi everyone! What have I missed?" Something gossip worthy perhaps? That quidditch was back?

Bella glanced briefly up at the staff table, noting a few new faces before she turned her attention back to her fellow Slytherins asking as her eyes zeroed in on the newly sorted seated only a few seats away. "Who is Serena? I've got a note from Apollo to give her." Just then Headmaster Trent rose from his seat to give his speech, introducing new staffers and saying that mudblood was a word forbidden to say and think. Well it wasn't like Bella was ever going to say that to anyone, not even in an angry moment. She was glad when the food arrived because her stomach was rumbling..