As Mariel sat back into the sofa following Nia's embrace, she eyed up her fellow sixth year's cupcake. It did look rather tasty. And while she had just finished devouring a feast for an army, certainly she could find enough room for one small cupcake? Turning her head in the direction of the food-laden table, green eyes lingered on the snacks there and, after brief contemplation, she quickly Accioed a chocolate cupcake.

Once in her hands, Mariel began to distractedly pick at the delectable treat as she listened to Nia speak. "Oh, that's good," she replied with a smile as Nia seemed to be in a good mood about the start of term. It was seeming to go well for her too, she thought, after she was so nervous about coming back and starting to question her decision. The Ravenclaw girl quickly looked down at her cupcake at Nia's next question and took a bite of her dessert to give her a little time to think of an answer while she chewed.

Swallowing hard, she then took a deep breath before she began. "I was at Durmstrang for about a year and a half," she said, looking up. "My father pulled me out of school near the end of term, the term before last. He was never happy with the werewolves that were here, especially with the attack during that assembly we had to go to." That seemed so long ago, yet she would never forget how terrifying that day was. "Anyway," she continued. "My father wanted me to go to Durmstrang then, but I convinced him to let me stay at Hogwarts. He agreed as long as I kept in touch on a weekly basis and let him know what was going on here. The Ministry assured him that the werewolves would be no problem and that the incident was a one-time, extremely rare, occurence, and that there would be safety measures in place. As long as everything was okay, I was allowed to stay here." Mariel paused and lowered her voice so no one around them would overhear. "So, when it was discovered that several students were killed that term, my father immediately came to get me out of here. I've been at Durmstrang ever since." There. That seemed like a good place to end things. But would Nia want to hear more? Mariel looked at her appraisingly, trying to gauge her reaction, not sure if she was ready to go into much detail.

Green eyes followe Nia's as she looked at the banner at Mariel's mention of it. Turning back to her housemate, she watched her eyes widen, slow realization dawning on Mariel as she covered her mouth in surprise. Oh no, they had lost, she realized, slowly shaking her head. How could that possibly have happened? They had the best team in the school. It seemed as though Nia blamed herself and Mariel felt just terrible for bringing it up. "Seeker's a really difficult position," she said, laying her hand on her friend's shoulder. "I never liked playing it. Too much pressure. Keeper's where it's at," she added with a grin. That had always been her favorite position, or at least ever since she played it on her house team. "Don't worry. We'll get the cup back this year, especially now that you're captain. And especially now that we've lulled the other teams into a false sense of security," Mariel added with a wink.

Try out? Mariel actually hadn't thought about it, having not played in so long. Biting her lip, she stared at Nia for a moment before answering. "Uhm.. I'm not sure... I mean, I haven't played in so long, I don't think I'd be any good anymore."