For those who belong in Ravenclaw House, in the middle of the Great Hall is where your table awaits. Blue banners containing an embroidered bronze eagle float above the polished table in honour of the wise Rowena Ravenclaw. Already placed on the tables are silver plates with accompanying cutlery and goblets. All that is missing right now are the mountains of food and pitchers containing your favourite beverages.

Though your stomach might be growling as you take a seat on one of the long benches next to the table, it is important to not get hangry -- gnawing your arm away or jabbing your fork repeatedly on the surface of the table will do no good whatsoever. Give everyone some time to get settled in and wait for Headmaster Winterbottom to deliver his speech. Keep yourself preoccupied by catching up with your fellow housemates until it is time to sink your teeth into the hearty and delicious meal prepared by the house-elves.

Hope arrived at the feast in good time. Some of her fellow eagles had been engaged in a heated philosophical debate up in the common room, but Hope had wanted to get to the Great Hall on time. She'd abandoned the attempts to look edgy and sophisticated that she'd tried on earlier in the term--no more black eye makeup or short skirts. That just hadn't been her, she'd realized. But she also hadn't reverted to the countrified clothing she'd worn during her first few years as a student, either. After all, she'd been shopping in Diagon Alley by now and no longer had to make all her own clothes. She also didn't feel like the same person who had first come to Hogwarts as a first year, straight off the farm and in a strange country. To tell the truth, Hope didn't really know who she was anymore. Well, she had three more years to figure it out.

She looked around the Hall idly, looking for other Ravenclaws that she knew to join her at the table.

Elise made her way out of the Ravenclaw common room, bored to tears by the impromptu debate that was underway, and noting that as it was now dinner time, it would give her a perfect excuse to stop pretending to be interested in philosophy. She hurried down from the tower and made her way to the Great Hall, to the Ravenclaw table. Noting that one other person was sitting near to where she was, she smiled and nodded as she took a seat.

“I take it you got tired of the debate up there?”she asked the other student.

It was the last night before going home, and why some older eagles had felt it fun to have a philosophical debate in the common room before dinner was beyond Emmie's understanding. When it had started she had quickly retreated to her dorm with the excuse that she had forgot to pack half of her wardrobe, and books which hadn't been entirely a lie since she hadn't packed much of anything yet. Really Emmie would have used any excuse such as a headache too, the get out of providing an opinion in a oh so boring debate. Dressed in a long flimsy skirt to match her eagle robes, and glittery eaarings Emmie entered the great hall for dinner. Heading over to the eagle table she smiled brightly at her peers. "Hi Hope! Hi Elise! Have you guys got any fun summer plans?"

Aurora was naturally in good spirits as she arrived at the end-of-term feast, as she frequently was. Although she’d miss her friends, going home meant spending time with her beloved family, her Mum’s and sister and that baby brother who was already nine months old and hopefully out of the constantly wailing phase. The Ravenclaw had also managed to procure herself (with the help of a bestie) a voluntary position at a creature sanctuary for the summer which she was thrilled about.

Although the poor owners likely did NOT understand what they had gotten themselves into, at least she was incredibly enthusiastic about the opportunity however.

Slipping into a seat somewhere near the middle of the table, her bag slung over her shoulder, the fourth year scanned the already seated students over with his eyes on the lookout for a couple of graduating students she had managed to break the exterior of. Well one of them anyway, the other had always been receptive of her presence. Deducing that they had yet to arrive, she turned back to her compatriots who were already present who were seemingly discussing something that had evidently gone unnoticed by the nearly fifteen year old.

“What are they debating about?” She asked, sliding in next to her dormmate and looking towards the two younger students. Wasn’t there a debate club for that sort of thing? She’d be absolutely useless at it, she hated arguing and would feel awful contradicting what others were saying even if she didn’t agree.

"Oh, hello, Elise. Yes--to tell the truth, I didn't quite understand it. I guess I'm not a very good Ravenclaw." Hope still had a strong case of 'imposter syndrome' regarding her House placement; she'd expected to be sorted into Hufflepuff from what her aunt and uncle had told her about Hogwarts and she still didn't feel 'brainy' enough for the eagles' tower.

"Hell... uh, hi, Emmie. Oh, summer...I, uh...it's not quite decided yet what I'll do." Hope was still torn about this. Her parents had wanted her to come home for the summer, but Hope wasn't sure she wanted to. She longed to see her family, but the last summer she'd spent on the farm had been awkward; she'd been a bit bored with village life and wasn't really sure she belonged there anymore.

"Good evening, Aurora. To tell the truth, I'm not really sure--it all got rather confusing to me. Something about magical ethics, I think. It was hard to follow once everyone got to talking at once. Um, so, what are you planning to do over the summer?" If that's what everyone was supposed to ask each other, Hope could do that, too.

Licking the residual salt from her fingers as she went, Mitsuki returned to the Ravenclaw table and briefly debated lingering and waiting for Mercer to finish his own entry before sitting. The dual of logics and emotional responses was exhausting enough that sometimes she wondered whether a well-placed Memory Charm could rid her of such a burden. There was, however, one thing that the duality agreed upon: such measures were entirely too dramatic to warrant any serious follow through.

Smiling softly and nearly laughing to herself, she pivoted back to the table and ran her palm over the top of it until she felt a very specific set of groves and faded mahogany. This was the spot to which all began and it would serve as the spot where it ended - though it was regretful that her steps had arrived here without the physical presence of Milo as well.

She had nearly prepared an offering to hand out to her housemates but had ultimately decided against it. Brandon Fox had already received a small burlap bag filled with acorns, afterall.

As usually, Mitsuki did not feel particularly inclined to jump in to conversation - especially one that was apparently circumnavigating a debate - and merely offered a stoic twinkle to the convocation.

“It sounded like some sort of debate on the philosophy of astrology or something like that.” Elise replied, after greeting her fellow Ravenclaws. “It was quite boring.” She yawned, hearing her stomach rumble angrily. “Personally, I’m still trying to figure out the philosophy of turning a matchstick into a needle. All that’s happened so far is my match turns grey, but that’s all.”

If the others couldn’t already tell by the blank expression on Aurora’s face, her interest (or rather her knowledge) in philosophy was non-existent. In fact the Ravenclaw couldn’t even give the definition of what philosophy was. She had clearly missed the entirety of this ‘debate’ anyway, such was her attention so drawn to creating the little gifts she had stored away in her bag for the graduating Claws.

Thankfully her dormmate Hope was equally as clueless as she was and swiftly changed the subject to her summer plans, as was customary to ask at the end-of-term feast. “I have a volunteering position at a magical creature sanctuary. My bestie worked there last summer and she managed to get me a position for this summer and I can’t WAIT!” It hadn’t even occurred to her that it would likely be very hard work but totally worth it. “Other than that I’ll be spending time with my family. What about you?” she asked.

The first year (Elise) elaborated on what the supposed debate was which left the fourth year even more confused than before, especially when the last sentence was mentioned. “I don’t understand” the blonde replied. “Why would a matchstick need to become a needle?” Was there a spell for that?

Much was the confusion over whatever this discussion was that it took Aurora a second or two to realise that Mitsuki had joined ranks at the table. “Hi! I was looking for you.” She beamed at the eighteen-year-old before going rustling into her bag and producing a graduation hat shaped sweet cone filled to the brim with a selection of Honeydukes finest and wrapped neatly with a ribbon of bronze and blue. “I’ll miss you” she admitted whilst sliding the gift over in front of the seventh year. It might’ve taken her four years to crack Mitsuki’s exterior but being allowed to partner her in a lesson had been the breakthrough that meant Aurora would officially call her a friend whether the feeling was reciprocated or not. Of course there was a matching gift for Mercer too whenever he joined.

"A creature sanctuary?!?!!" Hope cried out excitedly. "Oh, how wonderful!!! That must be the best job in the world!!! How lucky you are!" Hope hadn't even considered that that might be the kind of job a student could get. "Oh, me? Uh, I...I don't really know yet, we're still deciding" If, by deciding, one meant arguing a lot.