Ash was... confused, to say the least. On the one hand, she hated this place and wanted to go home. On the other hand, she hated her mansion and wanted to stay here. She wanted the school year to go on forever so her big siblings would never leave her. But she also wanted to be gone.

Luckily, she didn’t need to decide what she wanted! Because it didn’t matter. She didn’t get to decide. After stopping by to give presents to her big siblings in other houses, she sat down at the Ravenclaw table and played with her bracelets.

And so this was it. Misa had made the decision long ago that she wasn't coming back next term and she was only slightly sad about the few people she'd miss. Her eyes fell to the Hufflepuff table first before taking a seat at the Ravenclaw one.

She had a few people she needed to hug before they were all out of here and she probably never saw them again.

Violet stepped over to the Ravenclaw table before heading toward her own housemates. She felt a glow of pleasure doing this, because this was the first year she'd felt she had a friend in another House to say hello to. "Hi, Ashley," she said, stopping behind the younger girl; "Doing okay?" This was not a brilliant conversational opener, but after the melee over at the greenhouses at the end of the school year, it was the best Violet could think of. "Hey, I was going to work on my story over the summer break, and if I finish a first draft, I thought I might send it to you to have a look. If that's okay."

The end of term felt bittersweet. He supposed he wasn't dreading going home this summer as much as previous, though he still wasn't particularly excited. But what he was dreading was getting on the train next term and some of the people he'd grown to admire so much not being on it. He supposed from here on end of terms would just get harder with good byes mixed in.

Making his way into the Great Hall, he found himself a seat at the Ravenclaw table, sitting near to Ash and Violet, who he gave nods of hello to. He glanced over at the other tables to try to scout out the others he'd want to say good bye to after food as well.

Teddy had gotten here as early as he could because he was on a mission.

Unbeknownst to his loved ones, he'd spent the last several months concocting a list of names of every single person he shared these halls with who he considered, at the very least, to be a friendly acquaintance. Anyone who he had felt drawn to connect with, anyone who had been kind to him, anyone who made him laugh. Anyone who he felt made his time at Hogwarts a pleasant one, regardless of how long he'd known them, had made their way onto his list.

Today, he had entered the Great Hall with dozens of letters in sealed envelopes with the recipients' names scrawled on the front. Inside, a letter of love and appreciation for each person. Not every letter was long, but each one was important to him. Maybe the letter included things he loved about them, precious qualities he sought to help them see in themselves, or some memories he had of them. All of them included a sincere expression of gratitude for their impact on his life, even if it was in the most miniscule of ways.

The seventh year knew the likelihood of keeping in touch with a good half of the recipients was slim. That was a reality of life - friends came and went, like the changing of the seasons, all serving a purpose for one another. Friends weren't always forever. But each and every person he had come to love in any capacity who was set to share the Great Hall with him tonight needed to know that he saw them, that he cared for them, that he cared about what happened to them, and that they were important. That they'd meant something to him, and that he would never forget that. He wouldn't forget them.

So Teddy had a lot of deliveries to make.

But first, he beelined for the Ravenclaw table. Claiming a spot. It didn't really matter where he sat, as he'd probably continue mingling among the tables even after he'd made his deliveries, but he wanted one particular eagle to know he'd be back for her.

While she was engaged in a conversation with Violet, Teddy snuck up on Ash and gave her a bear hug from behind, kissed the top of her head as he pulled away, and set his hat on the bench beside her. "Save my seat, I'll be right back," he urged her with a bright smile and a quick wave that he extended to Evan and Misa nearby before giving a cheery, appreciative nod to Violet as recompense for his interruption.

He set off to do some laps around the house tables.

So this was it. Heath’s last day at Hogwarts had finally come. He always thought he’d be glad to leave this place, but now he wasn’t. Everywhere he looked was a reminder of all he’d miss. This was the last time he’d set foot in these halls, the last time he’d sit at his house table. His eyes scanned the length of the Ravenclaw table, and a sad thought occurred to him. Was this the last time he’d see his friends? He shook his head, his long dark hair spilling into his face, to distract himself. No, he couldn’t think about that now. If he did, he’d never make it through this feast!

“Hey, guys,” he said as he sat down near Ash, Violet, Misa, Evan, and - was that Teddy who just came and left? He gave each person a slight smile in greeting. They’d have to forgive him; a slight smile was all he could manage at the moment.

Feeling strangely wistful, he looked to the staff table. Of all the professors up there, only Headmaster Trent had remained throughout his entire time at Hogwarts. Well, unless one counted the two terms that Rosier replaced him, which Heath didn’t because Trent hadn’t left of his own accord. As he looked away, his eyes wandered to the Slytherin table and Claudine, the one person he knew he wouldn’t be saying goodbye to tonight. Turning in his seat, he smiled her way and mouthed, “Hi!”

This. was. not. FAIR. Because Ash was trying to go with the flow and/or not feel anything, but all these nice people were making her feel things and she was supposed to be done crying for today.

"What?" Ash blinked at Violet, or maybe she blinked back tears and also looked at Violet. Unclear. "Oh... Y-yeah, um, I'm alright. Just feeling bittersweet and stuff." Or maybe she was just bitter. "This is the first term I've been able to enjoy but I'm more than halfway done with this place and everyone is leaving." She rested her chin on her hands. "I'd love to see your story." And she was flattered that Violet had come over to see her.

AHHHH. Ash's heart rate went up super fast because VINES THEY HAD COME BACK TO GET HER OR THE EVIL ALLIANCE MAYBE- but then she realized it was just Teddy and she settled into the hug. "Okay," Ash agreed. She'd save him a seat even though it was pointless because he'd leave her anyway because he had to graduate and being fifteen meant she shouldn't rely on older students so much. She held onto his hat though, making extra sure that he had a seat and nobody could take it whether he really came back or not. Because he was her pretend brother and also because it was a nice hat.

Ash half-smiled at Heath and Evan and Misa and all her other friends. But only halfway.

Violet could tell that everyone was making Ash a bit emotional, and also knew that the Ravenclaw girl would hate that. Suddenly they were interrupted by another Ravenclaw (Teddy) interrupting with a hug and a kiss for Violet's younger friend. Hmm, that seemed to make Ash even more unsettled. Well, Violet knew when to back out of a situation--apparently there were a lot of goodbyes to be had at the Ravenclaw table. For that matter, she had some of her own to take care of before dinner was over.

"Okay, 'bye then, I'll write you later," she said to Ash, before heading over to her own table, where everyone played it cool as a serpent.

This was definitely one of the sadder feasts in her time at Hogwarts, considering how many friends she had that would be graduating. And one who was leaving.

But Ivy felt okay right now, at least for the most part. There was still the whole summer to look forward to, so there was plenty of time before the feeling of missing people she cared about really set in. Besides, quite a few friends had left over the years, so maybe in some ways she was used to missing people.

She spotted Teddy and Violet leaving the table. Teddy probably had a bunch of people to talk to since he was graduating, so she'd have to grab him later. For now she would be staying at the Ravenclaw table, and so she offered a smile to Ashley, Misa (who she sat down next to), Evan, and Heath.

"Congratulations on your graduation, Heath!" Even if there were good reasons to be sad about leaving, it was also an exciting accomplishment. "Hopefully the food'll appear soon. Are you all as hungry as I am?" This was directed to all of them. And she wasn't actually very hungry, truth be told, but she was trying to make some light conversation, hopefully lighten the mood a little. It felt quiet at this table.

He hadn't not been sitting long when Kinsay's brother, Teddy, arrived and Evan returned his smile and a wave, though he wasn't sure if the greeting had even been noticed considering just as soon as the James' was there he was also off. Evan could hardly imagine how much there must have felt like needed to be done when the final feast. All the goodbyes and the last things to see in the castle. He was suddenly very glad he had another full three years.

After Teddy had parted, then came Heath and Evan returned his greeting as well - this time with a nod of his head before trying to start conversation as well. "Hi Heath. Congratulations on graduation." That was what was supposed to be said in these times, right? "What's next for you?"

The half smile from Ash was noticed and Evan raised an eyebrow at her, a concerned expression. Perhaps she was just feeling the loss already of the graduating class? At least to him, this was the first time (outside of Noah, which was to be expected) that he cared enough about any of them to be sad about returning without them next year. But even if he cared, his relationship was only a sliver of her connections with them. So he chalked it up to that, and determined to try to check on her later.

And as Violet left, Ivy joined them. "Hi Ivy. I could definitely eat." But he could pretty much always eat. He glanced at the staff table for a moment, before looking back to the rest of them. "Anyone have any fun plans for the summer?"