Aria slid gracefully into a spot at the Slytherin Table. There was much to be happy about at the start of this new term - her sixth year! She interlocked her fingers and rested her chin on them. With her elbows propped up on the table, this allowed her to focus on the staff table to check out the new faces. Not many this time around which was a great thing. Aria grew ridiculously bored and tired of the constant staff turnover.

Now, she allowed her thoughts to drift off to plans for her sixth year. Next summer, there would be a fashion show at the studio for which she had spent the past two summers interning. Her boss said that two of Aria’s best creations would be featured. The young Slytherin was quite determined to create two masterpieces. Caes would be her model at Hogwarts and this was not debatable.

Big brother dearest owed her for… things.

Caes wasn't sure to think of with this being his final year at Hogwarts. Whatever plans he hadn't planned, it was the time to consider things out. Heading to the Slytherin table, he missed out on sitting with his sis on the train. Having unable to pass his apparition test, it conflicting with the train, he had to be escorted through the fireplace for a safe arrival.

Now, however, it was easy to spot Aria, as he sat next to her, "Happy Birthday, sis. Sorry for missing the train. " Sliding over a small box featuring a pearl-like bracelet once her attention wasn't at the staff any longer. "Darius says hi, by the way." Their summers were quite the moment.

The train. The boat ride. The sorting. Man, Solomon was EXHAUSTED.

He perched himself at the Slytherin house table after being sorted and looked up to take in the Great Halls details. The ceiling was particularly marvellous. He had managed to catch the eye of a few older students but didn’t dare greet or hold the gaze for long, as suddenly fears of being turned into a toad were circling his head. Although, he had wanted to adopt the idea that his fellow students were friendly.

Thoughts turned to the impending feast but it had done nothing but twist Solly’s stomach. He felt a little nauseous and it was written all over his face so he covered his mouth.

It's become a tradition, it seems, for train rides to be eventful for Serena. She was legitimately a chill person (with an attitude, but whatever). She enjoyed her alone time, and if she was in a good mood, she liked to be around her friends. But as it was, this had been the MOST eventful train ride she's had yet. It all starts with her arm wrapped up and in a sling. Last night, during her last quidditch practice, she...hmm...had an accident. She ended up at the hospital, and thanks to great and quick care and magic, she was able to make it to Kings Cross. Her dad sent her with a few potions to help with the healing and pain, so there was that.

Then...THEN...she had the UNFORTUNATE luck to encounter a...what even was he??? Serena had mean words for him, but the more she thought about the incident with that specific person, the more it made her mad. She didn't want to admit it, but he frustrated her and left her thinking about...things.

So, during this Feast, she was set on busying herself by...socializing. Yeah. Torture, but oh well.


"Aria, Caeson," she greeted as she joined the Slytherin table. There was also a little one (Solomon), recently sorted. Serena turned her attention to him. "We don't bite," she said, stoic face in place. "Unless...never mind. We do." Although it didn't seem so, she was teasing. "Welcome to Slytherin."

Speaking of Slytherins, there was a former one at the staff table. Serena rolled her eyes. Great. Now she had to behave MORE than she did before because she was sure her uncle would tell her parents if she stepped out of line. Hmph.

That she had gotten to ride the train to Hogwarts with her friends at all had been a huge relief. Her OWL results because of some weird owl mail malfunction had only arrived the day before Bella was supposed to go to school. Her dad had been proud of her achievements, and had given her a new pendant of a fairy that she now bore around her nack. Pushing back her black hair from her face as she slipped into an empty seat at the Slytherin table near Aria and Caeson she greeted sunnily "Hi Aria, Hi Caes! Good summers?" Turning to face Selena her eyes grew wide with concern at the sight of her friend's arm in a sling. "Hi Selena? What has happened to your arm?" Turning her eyes lastly to their newly sorted snake companion she smiled brightly at (Solomon) "Hi, I'm Isabella. Slytherin is great. I promise that we aren't as cunning as the hat says." or evil.

It was that time of year again where the world got to cast their eyes on Mateo. The stupid robes always cramped his style so this year he decided he would wear them, but he was going to add a little of his own touch, so he had the robes on yes, but over the robes he kept his leather jacket on.

Strolling into the great hall he walked over to the table and smile, where was the best place to sit, probably the middle so everyone could pay him attention.

"Good thing I'm here, you all look bored." He found his seat, which was right on the table.

The familiar voice beside her almost had her exclaiming in happiness and throwing her arms around the guy. ALMOST. Aria McLeos was still somewhat unhappy with her brother. “Big brother,’’ she remarked somewhat stiffly. “Under other circumstances, I would have been very mad at you. How did the Apparation test go?” Please tell her you passed with flying colours! If not… then there was always next time. “Are you trying to butter me up?” Still, the sixth year could not help smiling as she accepted the box. “OOHHH!! THIS IS SO PRETTY!” Caes had proper taste, something Aria always approved of - except when it came to a particular now - graduated female. Aria slipped the bracelet onto her right wrist. “I’m never taking this off. Thank you... for this and the wishes.’’ Saying that, she reached out to hug Caes. Her behaviour might be confusing given how she acted during the summer. The truth was, she had missed him loads. There was no better day to show affection on one's birthday. “You two getting along just fine then?” The question was asked with hopefulness. #SorryNotSorry for wanting one of her best buds and older brother to become an item!

Just look at the baby and new snakes!!! Aria was thrilled to see them joining the table. She caught {Solly’s} eyes and grinned at him. “Welcome to Hogwarts and Slytherin House!” Naturally there were the returning Slytherins: Serena included. “Hi, Serena. Um… healing coming along properly, I hope?” Aria was not going to pry by asking what happened there. “Hello, Bella. It was smashing! Yours? Did anything fun?” And of course there was Mateo, full of himself as always. Aria cast him a look of disdain. He would not be having her attention further than this bit.

Late for the feast? Yes. Do not want to talk about it? Also yes.

Before the Hogwarts Express had even pulled into the station, Kamran had found himself with a Peeves-related situation to put in order. Not a major one, at least; he'd got the portraits cleaned up in no time, and removed the not-terribly-school-appropriate captions their beloved poltergeist had added. The delay had come in his checking every other portrait he could think to check on the way to the Great Hall.

But it was fine, all fine, though Kamran was experiencing the beginnings of a headache tugging at him as he arrived at the feast, and feeling that he could have done without that particular omen so early in the term.

On his way up to the staff dais, Kamran halted by his old table. "Good evening, everyone. Welcome, welcome back." He turned to one of the fourth years. "Mr Theodore, kindly remove your jacket. That is not proper uniform." He'd not even remotely subtle about it, which was almost disappointing from a Slytherin - not that he'd be divulging that opinion to any of them. All the same, Kamran may not even have immediately noticed had the jacket been worn under the robes.

The headmaster paused to ensure his instructions would be followed, when a cackle from the Hufflepuff table caught his attention. He looked over, eyes narrowing infinitesimally as they found his most favourite poltergeist, but remained where he was for the moment.

Sigh. Sigh. Mateo had arrived and as usual he demanded everyone's attention. Bella disliked the guy but, first day back and all she figured she could give him the benefit of the doubt, and be nice. "Hi Mateo," she greeted with a small smile at him. [b]"Have you got something under your jacket that can liven up the feast?" she queried curiously. A WWW firecracker or something could be fun if it was unleashed right and didn't cause chaos. Bella didn't want the snakes to loose points on the first night.

Thanks to Aria she got a good reason to not keep her attention on Mateo. Smiling back at her friend she said only partly lying. "It was equally smashing Aria. I bought myself a new pet. I hope you'll like Millie the cat. Millie was by cat standards a heavy weight with an interest in investigating any new hole or room that came her way.

Oh bugger...Bella had practically asked Mateo to liven up the feast right before the headmaster himself made a stop at their table. Was it wrong to hope that Mateo wouldn't do anything stupid and drag her with him? Swallowing Bella turned her eyes to Headmaster Kazmi and smiled brightly "Good evening Sir!" Do you know why I got my OWL results only yeasterday? It was probably not a question to ask in the middle of the great hall.

Contrary to popular belief, it seemed, Solomon wasn’t nauseous due to being sorted into Slytherin. He was HAPPY with the hats decision, and would have been whatever it had chosen for him. Rather he was still reeling from a day of travel, and general nerves about being sorted in front of the entire school. Even after seeing acquaintances he had met in the alley didn’t provide much comfort, as most of them were sorted elsewhere.

Solomon composed himself and removed the hand covering his mouth, in fears that his fellow housemates would think he was scared, or something. That absolutely was just not the case. He was about to make the joke that technically snakes DO bite, but the girl (Serena) already made that clear. Wait, was she being serious? “I’ll stay away from you then.” He was only half joking. “Thanks,” he added to her welcome.

Again, someone (Isabella) who had assumed Solomon was sad to be here. Was he projecting that energy or did these guys really all hate their house? “On the contrary, I think cunning is a good quality to have.” In his opinion, it meant cleverness. “I’m Solomon,” he answered her greeting.

More welcomes! See, Slytherins WERE friendly. “Thanks!” Solly replied to Aria.

Eyes widening at the boy (Mateo) who had entered with a leather jacket on, Solly was NOT surprised to see the headmaster shortly after. What was he thinking? Besides, the school robes looked cool on their own. Someone fishing for attention, clearly. He remained quiet while the headmaster was here, despite his inner self wanting to make himself known. It wasn’t a bad thing to get on professors good sides, and ways to do it without looking like a teachers pet, too.

The sixth year might come across as condescending or uptight at times but deep down, she really wasn’t. That’s why she was genuinely interested in hearing all that Bella had to say. “How exciting! Do I get to meet her later this evening? Or perhaps tomorrow? I’m sure she’ll love our Common Room!” Why was Aria acting as though Millie was hers? She hadn’t the foggiest but she was happy there would be another furry baby pouncing around the school! “What about OWLs? Pleased with your results?”

“No problem,’’ Aria told {Solomon} and waving her right hand airily. The effect? Her new bracelet glittered attractively in the candle light. “I’m Aria, by the way. You need anything, you let me know.” She didn’t bite. Not always “SoooOOooo! What are you looking forward to the most at Hogwarts, my young snakey friend?”

Aria was quite delighted to see Headmaster Kazmi stop by. She had nothing but admiration for the man, after all! “HIII, good evening, Headmaster! Awfully glad to have you back as well.” Did she think that Kazmi was the best thing to happen to Hogwarts in a while? Yes. Yes, she did. Following the man’s narrow eyed gaze - and the sound of the cackle - her eyes rested on Peeves with his water? balloons. OOOH! Was he going to cause a little chaos?! Aria would love to see this!

Victoria had lost Serena from the train to the feast, but she was glad to see her friend at the table already. She took a seat next to her and eyed the table at large. There were quite a few new faces, but she wasn't one much for introducing herself out of the blue to new people. Instead, she merely eyed Mateo as she gave a nod at Aria, whom she didn't mind.

Who did Mateo think he was? As if ANY of them were looking forward to his presence, and his stupid jacket he wore to make a statement. "You're lucky he isn't taking points away," she said snootily as she flipped her hair behind her shoulder.

Her eyes drifted over to Aria's brother, Caeson, someone she hadn't really ever thought about before until NOW when she realized he was fairly.......cute.

Dang it.

Why were boys so cute? WHY? And why did they all get cuter after EVERY summer? Her eyes drifted over to the Hufflepuff table now, to search for Daniel, then she looked over for Stewie. Her heart hurt a little as she thought about Benjee, and she looked down at her hands in her lap. He had been on the platform, and she had gotten to speak to him before she boarded, but it still...stung, just a little.

Maybe it was unsurprising to see the reaction from his dear sis. Caes knew his sister had standards, higher than he would like to admit compared to himself. "You're welcome," Returning the hug. Hugs were still new to him but over the previous year he was perfectly fine getting them from those he cared for, including Aria as one of the top. "I uh.. splinched, I had a missing tooth in the back they had to restore. But I'll get it next time.. say, that means you could test too now." She was the lucky 17 now. While her affection may seem to be random after their limited time in the summer, but that was what Caes was used to. The unexpected and just rolling with the good when it happened. You two getting along just fine then? That question got him to raise his brows for a milisecond. Almost confusing on who she meant, but it clicked, "Darius is cool, after his match he was going to get more tattoos and I went with him. Got one on the other arm myself... Papa Val wasn't too pleased about it," Which got him smiling. Some mischief was always nice. "You going to fill me in on your... plans?" Whether it was upcoming or what she had experienced. He was all ears.

The one of new first years (Solomon), given how he felt on his arrival, overwhelming was one thing. He offered a friendly smile in their direction, since Aria was more outwardly welcome.

"Hello Serena," He replied, "Hello Isabella, my summer was good." She said something about getting a cat? How nice. A turn from (Mateo)'s arrival. It got him to raise his own eyebrows, followed by the Headmaster's presence. Hmm? Oh, look there were Peeves. Was he going to fly over here next? Maybe they would be getting their food to go at this rate.

Serena had hoped her arm would go unnoticed, but that was wishful thinking. It was too obvious to hide. Not only the sling, but in the way she protected her arm in with her motions and body. She also didn't expect her housemate to be concerned. It was sweet. "Hey, Bella. It's from a quidditch accident, nothing too bad." It was the easy answer to go with.

She shot Caeson a smile in response before turning to his sister. Aria, too, asked about her arm. Did her housemates care about her? At least, enough to ask about her injury? How hadn't she noticed before? "It's coming along," she nodded. "Should be properly ready in a week." That's what the healer told her. Her arm had broken in different places and the Skele-gro could only do so much. Besides, if she wanted her arm to be healed 100% for quidditch and training.

This new kid, Solomon, didn't breakdown and cry or hide like some of the Slytherin babies usually did. He held his ground. Serena appreciated people like that. "Don't worry," she said with a small smirk. "We protect our own. Outsiders get bitten." See. SEE. She could be niiiice.

Speaking of, she refused be NICE to others who risked house points. Who the heck did he (Mateo) think he was? Who was he even? That makes TWO entitled wizards she's come across on the same night. Serena ROLLED HER EYES in his direction and refused to give him any attention. Apparently someone didn't get enough of it at home. Thankfully, the Headmaster didn't take any house points. It must Slytherin's lucky night.

Smiling as V joined her, Serena shot Mateo a glare before turning back to her friend. "That was a close one. Anyway," she said, her eyes following V's train of sight. "Are you looking for Half-Batman?" she asked, AKA Daniel. Serena had nicknamed him that a while back. "Orrr...Ew, Peeves." Her nose wrinkled in response. Hopefully it didn't get the idea of coming this way next.

Aria didn’t go around hugging everyone. Actually, she went around hugging no one but those precious to her. Caes happened to fall into this category; he’d always be a part of it. He just made her so mad at times. But Aria supposed that was sibling life for you, getting on each other’s nerves constantly. Though… she now vaguely wondered how often she annoyed Caes. She winced as he told her about his splinching. “Did they restore it right? I should check. Go on, open your mouth.” A proper, caring little sister she was. “Oh, yes! You’re right!’’ The sixth year beamed. “You’ll pass this time around because I’m going to be there with you. You’ll see!’’ It honestly felt good to be catching up with Caes after she had purposely avoided him they had been so busy over the summer. “What did he get?!’’ Aria was going to make sure Darius showed her his new ink! “Come on, you! Show me yours.” Cue her poking Caes in the side. There was SO much to tell him! She realised now how sorry she was about avoiding him but she hated seeing him and Violet together at the dance and she hadn’t even wanted to think about all the potential time Violet and him had been spending together over the summer had made her feel… left out? Abandoned? Not, not abandoned but she’s feared being abandoned by him. Don’t get her wrong, she still felt that way because at the end of the school year he would be graduating and well… he was free to do what he wanted to after, right? Aria didn’t want to think about him backing his bags and moving out of the house. Heck, she would cry for days. “I need to create two masterpieces for a fashion show next summer, and you, brother dearest, are going to be my model.” Two well kept eyebrows wiggled playfully at him.

“Hi, Victoria!’’ Aria wiggled her fingers in the form of a wave in reply to V’s nod. She would tell the younger Slytherin that yes, while Caes was cute, he was quite taken by an equally cute young Quidditch player. Not that ‘taken’ was the right word to use but whateverrr; no one needed to know. “All’s good on your end?”

OF COURSE Aria cared about Serena’s injury! As carefree as she might seem, there were times when she really wanted the best for others; particularly those that did not annoy her to the point where she wanted to jinx them. “That’s great to hear! Take it easy with other quidditch games!’’

As for Peeves… Aria wrinkled her nose in absolute disgust, the exact look she used with Mateo. The poor Badgers… that horrid Poltergeist wouldn’t dare try such a thing with the Baron around at the Slytherin Table. The Baron was around… right?