Mariel nodded slowly as she felt exactly the same way about tryouts, then her pensive expression slowly turned into an impish grin as she snickered lightly. "Yes, I imagine she will, especially after how we played last year... Hmm, we might have to put our new equipment to good use. You know, test it out to make sure it'll hold up against the other teams." She laughed at what Willow would think. She always seemed to get a bit exasperated when the two of them got a little too competitive with the Quaffle.. but she also thought their captain was secretly pleased with how intense and dedicated the were to the game. "Of course, we might intimidate a few first years in the process..." But if they did, they'd have to get over it. After all, Quidditch was an aggressive sport and better they learn now then to be surprised during a proper match.

Mariel smiled gently at Nia's apparent embarassment over her compliment, then shrugged softly. "We all get that sometimes, I guess." She didn't know where she'd be without her beauty potions - and didn't want to think about it. She always seemed to break out right after Quidditch - something about the sweat... she wasn't sure - and always made sure to have that particular cream handy in the locker room. And speaking of Quidditch... Mariel thought for a moment when Nia tossed out the names of the magazines. "There's Quidditch International, too... Bludgers and Broomsticks is a good one, but I guess it depends on what kind of articles you like best." She was fairly certain that Snitch focused mainly on Seekers, although she only picked up that one a few times so she wasn't completely sure.

The third year nodded as she watched Nia dig through her trunk. "Yeah... he was giving them out at the end of flying class last year," she said somewhat blankly. Sure it was pretty cool to have his autograph, but she thought it kinda weird at the same time the manner he was handing them out like cookies. She was somewhat surprised that Nia didn't get one herself, but maybe she left before he got them out. Mariel curiously accepted the book Nia handed to her and began flipping through the pages. The first few names that her eyes landed on were unrecognizable to the Ravenclaw, but after a couple pages she smiled in recognition after reading through the names further. This was pretty cool and she really wanted to have an autograph book of her own... and she already had one autograph to get her started. Focused mainly on the book and how she could get one - provided she could get the courage to ask for autographs from players herself - she nodded as Nia spoke about Theo, then looked up as talk turned to the mysterious Italian New Year's tradition.

Mariel nodded in agreement as she chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully. That had to be it - some kind of Italian thing/word. They were going to be in Italy after all, so it was only logical. Thinking for a moment on who might know more information, she gently shook her head. "No, not really..." she said, not really knowing anyone that was Italian or had been to Italy. "Unless... maybe we could ask Professor Shackleton when we see her about the hairstyle spells. I think I remember her saying in class about being a Curse Breaker and that she used to travel a lot for her job. Maybe she's been to Italy... But I don't know why Elan wouldn't just tell you. Maybe you should ask him." Her green eyes flickered to the door briefly before looking back at Nia again. She had come to the conclusion that Lasca was not going to show up. Was she avoiding her? And all about a boy. Mariel slid down so that she was laying on the bed on her side with her head propped up on her elbow so that she could still talk to Nia, then mumbled, "Boys are weird." Partly because Elan didn't just tell her what this tradition was and partly because of the boy Lasca seemed so hung up on.