" What is your cat's name?" William asked the girl. " I do not remember seeing you at the large table at the feast" William said to her. " I do not forget pretty girls like you" William explained to her. " My name is William Montcenaggio aka Starr" he introduced himself to her.

" I never met you" William told the girl. " my name is William Montcenaggio, but call me Willam Starr" he introduced himself to her. "So what book are you reading?" Wiliam asked her.

"Hey, Kurumi," he greeted his friend. "I've been great, thanks for asking. I'm just really glad to be back where I belong. What about you?"

Simone jumped, surprised by the sudden voice. Woah. She gave herself a mental shake and looked at the person talking to her. He seemed younger. "My cat? Oh! Her name is Anastasie." She cringed at her voice. The stupid accent!! She blushed at the boys next comment. She murmed a thanks then said, "I'm Simone Smith." The new French student. Simone thought bitterly.

"I'm glad to be back as well," she smiled with just a hint of sadness that threatened the edges of her lips. "There's no place like Hogwarts, right?"

"Did you get one of the Gryffindor house cookies I made?" she asked gesturing towards the box she had placed on the table.

"Good evening, Kurumi," Simon returned with a smile. "Settling nicely back here at Hogwarts and ready for this term?" he asked having missed her on the train and only speaking in passing at the feast. It seemed she had been busy as usual passing her delicious cookies out to the staff and other houses.

"And you Walnut...glad to be back in your palace of the common room," he added rhetorically reaching over to pet the feline in question as he rested on the coffee table. He knew the cat tended to lord over the Gryffindor house as an unofficial head of the tower.

Tayla got a cookie and waited for William. "Oh, here he is! Good morning William," Tayla smiled, ignoring the 'cute' comment and wondering if she should start counting how many times he'd call her that. She sighed. Now that William was here, she couldn't see Zara. "She must've forgotten something in our room and gone to get it," Tayla suggested. After an awkward pause, Tayla faced William and decided to ask him straight out, "Will, why do you call every girl you meet cute?"

Tayla grinned as she saw Lexi. She was very nice and Tayla wanted to be her friend. "My friends and I are going to the Great Hall soon...but we're not leaving yet so, I'd love to!" Tayla replied happily, keeping an eye out for Zara in case it was time for them to go. "I don't think Kurumi knows me yet. You think she'd mind me joining?"

Tayla's blue eyes twinkled in excitement. She was naturally curious and loved adventures. She thought Ari was someone she could definitely go exploring with.

"I'm happy you asked!" Tayla replied. "I'm not sure, but I don't think we're allowed to...although...the Daily Prophet said there seemed to be no threat really. Either way, I still want to explore the ship."

"Yes, I've signed up. Mum used to play for the Gryffindor team, too. She was a keeper," Tayla continued. "I'm a bit nervous really. We're not allowed brooms so I can't practice before try-outs. Speaking of Quidditch, I had this crazy dream last night where I was both a chaser and a seeker. It was really odd, but a lot of fun! I hope it's a good omen or something."

Tayla felt happy talking to Ari. They seemed to get along well and have many things in common. "I love reading, too! And History is definitely an interesting subject," she said. "I've started with A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot. But I'm planning to go to the library and read other books, especially those with facts about Harry Potter. We can go together if you want."

"I'm glad to be back," she nodded with a sincere smile on her face, but inside she was still squirming with one of the deepest of sorrows she had ever felt in her entire thirteen years of life. "I've missed school and everyone..." she turned her gaze downwards. And there were a few people that she would continue to miss. "Are you ready for the Quidditch season? Selina taught me a little more about flying over the summer and she seems to think that I am good enough to try out for the team...but I am not too sure..."

She tugged on her hair nervously. You know, getting hit in the head with a Waffle didn't seem like something she would be able to handle...let alone keep herself upright on her broom.

Walnut sat up on his perch when one of the few people that hadn't yet annoyed him came to worship him properly. Ah yes, Asparagus Boy. We doooooo like you. The cat began to purr and rubbed his head against the boy's arm.

After Ginny put some things on her nightstand in her dormitory, then she wandered down to the common room, where she would hopefully have a decent conversation.

"Hello!! It's nice to meet you. I'm Ariella....Ariella Adler." Ariella stood up and shook his hand. "Oh, and the book's called Magic Throughout the Ages. It's actually pretty interesting!"

" Well, hello Anastasia" William told the cat."Well, nice to meet you Simone" William said to her." Can you tell me a litttle about HogWarts?" William asked Simone.

" Hi, how are you doing?" William asked Tayla." I will be a smart boy and let you and Zara talk alone" William told Tayla. " I do not call every girl cute, just the ones I consider cute" William explained to Tayla. " I do not talk to anyone in HogWarts from the fourth year on at all with one or two exceptions" William explained to Tayla. "Since you seem uncomfortable with my complimnet about your cuteness, I promise I will abstain from saying that to you" William sighed.

" How do you like HogWarts?" William asked the girl. " I can'yt wait for the Quidditch tryouts" William said to the girl. " My name is William Starr" he introduced himself to the girl. " What are your interests?" William asked her.

" Nice to meet you, too" William told Ariella. " Very pretty and unusiual name" William said to Ariella. " Good book for HogWarts" William said to Ariella. " So how did I miss talking yo you at the feast?" William asked Ariella.

Man, the feast had been awesome. Lucas loved food. And eating. And eating food. But for now, he was pretty sure Diego, his grumpy orange cat, was probably getting irritated with him for being gone so long. He'd left the Great Hall reluctantly, still gazing at the food on his way out. He'd made his way to the common room. There seemed to be quite a few people in here, only a few of whom he recognized. He smiled at the people who happened to look at him as he made his way to the boys' dormitory.

His things were, of course, already in the room, so he figured he could get away with not really unpacking yet. His suitcase was right there. It didn't really matter. Right? Diego was sitting on the bed, eyeing him angrily. "Hey, you," he said to him. "I knew you were going to be annoyed. But I brought you something." He pulled a little piece of chicken out of his robes. (He wasn't really sure if it was strictly allowed to take things with you when you left the Great Hall, but Diego's wrath was scarier than getting in trouble for something small.) After the cat scarfed down the chicken, Lucas picked him up quickly. "Now," he told him, "We are going to go socialize." He grabbed a book on his way out -- The Hunger Games, a Muggle book he'd already read but liked enough to read again -- just in case no one talked to him out there. At the very least, it could be a conversation starter in itself. He wondered if anyone else was into Muggle books. He could talk about them for hours.

Holding Diego in one arm and the book in the other, Lucas made his way back to the common room. There was a vacant, very cushy looking chair by the fireplace calling his name. He walked over to it and sat down. Diego jumped from his arms onto the arm of the chair, claiming it with a glare toward anyone, human or cat, who would try to take it from him. Lucas chuckled and looked around the room, wondering if anyone would want to come over and talk with Diego watching like that.

Diego looked around the room slowly. Nobody was gonna take this chair arm away from him. He wasn't much of a fighter, but he was curmudgeonly enough that he usually got his way no matter what. He'd even gotten chicken tonight. Victory. He knew the boy would feel bad after leaving him alone for so long. He wouldn't mind a bit of cat company... As long as said cat didn't try to sit on the arm of the chair.

Simone smiled at the boy. The small kitten gave a small meow at William. Simone felt her muscles tense. She gave a shaky laugh. "I don't really know much about Hogwarts. You see this is my first year here. Simone smiled.

Walnut had been enjoying the much deserved worship had had been receiving from Asparagus Boy when....another feline appeared in the common room. Eyes narrowing, he rolled back onto his stomach and continued to perch on the coffee table as he watched the cat sit there like he was the king or something. [I]Sorry CAT.

His tail swishing back and forth impatiently, a low growl rumbled from his throat and his ears went down ever so slowly. Yeah, he could have the sofa...but the common room was HIS.

Kurumi looked over from her examination of the package of marshmallows and saw Lucas reading on the sofa. "The Hunter Games," Kurumi said reading the title. "I haven't seen a copy of that for years."

" You are a cute cat" William told Anastasia." Oh, did you just transfer to HogWarts?" Willam asked Simone. " I am sure you will find out about HogWarts really quickly" Willam said to Simone.

Simone giggled as the kitten began to purr. She nodded. "Yep. I transferred from Beauxbatons." She hadn't like her old school much but Hogwarts was confusing to her. She smiled and nodded. "So are a first year?"

Lucas looked up when he heard a familiar voice. "Oh, hey," he greeted Kurumi with a smile. He looked down at the book for a moment. "Yeah, it's pretty old. I think even my grandmum read it when she was our age. Too bad more people now haven't. It's really good." He stuck his bookmark in the book and closed it. "Have you read it?" Could it be? Someone else who loved Muggle books?!

Diego's ears perked a bit when he heard another cat sound from nearby. Hmm. His eyes locked on the coffee table, where a multicolored feline sat, eyeing him. Not worth my time, he decided. You could almost see him rolling his eyes as he turned his attention back to a bit of yarn lying on the floor. Obviously one of the members of the inferior species -- in other words, probably a little girl -- had dropped it earlier. He stared at it, trying to decide whether the fun factor of playing with it would outweigh the comfort factor of not moving from the chair arm.

"Genius? I wish." Nika replied giggling. "I'm not that bad at muggle topics, but magic is definitely not my forte." Quite the opposite actually. Magic and Nika just don't go together. At least, not very well.

"Well I didn't really go anywhere. I didn't see anything other than the view from the plane. I was only visiting a friend at a huge house they had there. We didn't get out of it. But it was still really exciting because like I said it was my first time out of England!" Hogwarts excluded.

"It was serious fight, but hopefully she will forgive me for what I had to do." It wasn't her fault though. It was something big to ask of Nika. "She's 10, but she's turning eleven soon." Nika sighed wishing her sister would just understand. "Well she's not Hogwarts age yet, but she couldn't go anyways. She's not a witch."
"She's great! How's my awesome younger Gryffie buddie?" Nika nudged Willie with her elbow, but lightly. "And you are too kind." Nika replied. Nika wasn't sure what to add to the last bit. Rex was like her brother even if they were the same age it would just be weird. "Well I'm sure Rex will find another girl. A better one who will stay committed to him until the very end." She nodded slowly. "Oh and I sent him a letter! It took me a while to get an owl to take it, but I sent it in the end!"
Nika skipped around looking for someone to talk to. She was hoping to meet some older students because most of her friends were either third years or younger. She noticed someone sitting alone by the fire and couldn't let them sit by themselves. "Hi! I'm Nika Adler and- Oh my goodness! Is that the Hunger Games?" She couldn't see the title, but she just knew the look of the book. She loved the series. Nika normally didn't read very often because why read when you have movies? BUT when there is a very good book she can't pass up the opportunity.

"One of my older brothers has a copy, or...had a copy," she said a little gloomily. That had been one of the things some of his classmates had decided to burn during one of their bullying escapades. "When I was little, he used to read it to me before bed, but I could never sleep after just one chapter. I think I once made him read half the book to me in one sitting." She giggled. "It's such a tragic yet beautiful story. It...it really makes you think..." she said as she leaned back in her seat a bit. It was almost scary the similarities to Hogwarts current situation with the Ministry trying to run things and infiltrating the school with its own hand picked professors.

Kurumi furrowed her brow as she began to imagine the worst before she mentally pinched herself to bring her back to the conversation.

"I love books and will read just about anything," she laughed as she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I have to admit though, I am more drawn to the older books...like the Illiad. I find them fascinating. Of course, more recent works are fantastic as well."

Was THIS cat...ignoring him? Walnut wasn't sure if he should feel offended or grateful that he didn't have to move from his spot of worship and deal with the overweight lump of orange fur. Noticing the cat eyeing something on the ground, the cat followed the other's gaze with his golden eyes until they fell on a piece of string. Really now? This cat wanted to partake in such kitten like behavior as playing with a string? Ignore the fact that he had done the same not an hour ago in the girls' dormitory Purring softly at Asparagus Boy's touch, Walnut rolled onto his side when he noticed the other boy talking to his Mistress with one of those objects perfect for sleeping on in his hand.

Hmm...another new person to join in his clan of worshipers perhaps?

Reluctantly, but unable to contain his curiosity, he jumped off the coffee table and went over to the boy's shoe and gave it a good sniff before sneezing so hard that he nearly did a backwards flip.

Pepper...why couldn't any of these worshipers smell like things like catnip or chicken?

"Well, hello, Nika Adler. I'm Lucas Hawthorne. And yes, it is The Hunger Games," Lucas said with a grin. "Have you read it?"

"It really does make you think," Lucas agreed. "There are so many elements to it that just make it... Awesome." He grinned. "Your brother... HAD a copy?" he questioned, hoping it wasn't a touchy subject. Nodding as Kurumi mentioned the Iliad, Lucas replied, "I love a lot of the classics, too. I really liked the Aeneid and Dante's Inferno. A lot of the Greek stuff is pretty cool. Although I enjoy the contemporary stuff, too," he added, holding up the book in his hand once more. Someone to talk literature with... YES!!!

Suddenly, a distinctly catlike sneeze came from his feet. The cat Lucas recognized as the one Kurumi had originally waved at him with was down there, recovering from the huge sneeze. "Well, hello," he said. "Walnut, is it? I remember you." He started to reach down to pet the cat when he felt a claw in his arm. "Ow!" He looked over at Diego, who was giving him a death glare. "Diego, be nice." He picked up the orange paw stuck to his sleeve and put it back where it belonged. He then proceeded to reach down to the other cat and gave him a nice head scratch.

Ohhhhh, no. This was NOT happening. The boy was NOT choosing this raggedy cat over HIM. Diego was NOT having this. He yowled loudly in protest. Stupid human. I'm obviously superior here! He glared down at the other cat. He didn't move from the chair of the arm, but if it came to it, he would. No way was the boy getting stolen from Diego.

"Thanks, William, for thinking I'm cute," Tayla smiled, realising he was just trying to be nice. He'll let the other girls deal with his compliments their own way. "Zara hasn't come back yet. So Will, are you trying out for the Quidditch team?"

Jayce continued eying the room for any suspicious activity. He knew that Woody would cause some sort of mishap soon enough, granted he was still in the room. Pausing in his silent search, Jayce glanced back up at the younger boy. "Well, he's.. a reddish brown color." Would that even be how to describe him? "He's.. got light brown eyes and he answers to the name Woody." Jayce finished his description, unsure of how else to describe the dog. After all, he hadn't really had him all that long. "Oh, and he's a purebred Vizsla. Do you know what that is?" he inquired the other Gryffindor.

"You'd do that? That's be.. a whole lot of help," the boy grinned a reply as the other boy introduced himself. "It's nice to meet you Jai, i'm Jayce." Then, the boy extended a hand toward the other for a hand shake. "What year are you in?" Jayce asked curiously before getting down onto his knees to search the floor.

Crawling along the floor, from chair to sofa was Jayce. He paused though as he heard a female voice. Was she talking to him? Surely there were MANY boys around. She could mean anyone. But as Jayce's blue irises followed the sound, he found that she was staring at him. With a tilted head, the boy glanced to her hand which seemed to be pointing to some lump in her lap. A furry- ZOMG. WOODY. "BAD DOG."

Tail wagging furiously, Woody sat comfortably in the young girls lap. He wasn't quite sure what to do, although he really wanted to hop off and go find something or someone to play with. But she seemed to be holding him. He squirmed this way and that, hearing her speak, but not understanding a word she was saying. But after a moment or two, he heard a familiar voice. MASTER'S VOICE! The dog's tail continued wagging furiously as he panted and directed his attention towards his master. But then, he heard familiar words. Ones that he did understand.

Bad dog. He had done it again. He'd gone and made master all sad. The pup paused in his tail wagging, lowered his head and ears further, which was rather difficult seeing as he had floppy ears. The Vizsla stared up at his master through sad eyes. He had done a bad thing.

The seventh year stood and shook his head in disappointment. He was not happy with the pup's behavior. Stupid dog. He was only a pup though and still needed to go through LOADS of training despite how difficult he knew this dog would be. Jay nodded at the girl quickly, "Yeah I did. You seemed to have found my dog." he smiled down at her. "He.. didn't chew on your shoes or anything, did he?" The boy asked curiously, silently praying that he hadn't.

Walnut began to purr VERY loudly. More than was really necessary just to flaunt the fact that he had made the fat orange cat's minion worship him. Few could resist his stubby legs and fluffy fur - which he had to give his Mistress credit for because she brushed him every morning and night. Eyes flicking up towards the other cat, Walnut began pawing at the floor. What's new kitty cat?

"You've read the Aeneid as well? Does that mean you have also read the Odyssey? I just think Ancient Greek literature is so interesting and telling. Many contemporary authors have been inspired by it," she chirped nodding.

She frowned slightly when he asked about the book belonging to her brother. "His high school classmates burned it," she said softly. "My family were seen as outcasts and not welcome in the town I grew up in because we were different...and I don't mean because we were witches and wizards. I didn't know I was one until two weeks before my first year began." She paused and found that she was finding it much easier to talk about these things now that she wasn't actively trying to hide them. "My mother is non-magical and Japanese. My father is a pureblood and English. Foreigners are frowned upon in my town....and people were very cruel."

"Yeah me too," Simon said in agreement, " always good to be back." No need to go into thoughts of no more comming back after next summer...things were just starting and they had all year. "Yep I think I am, at least more ready and prepared I was last term around this time," he said with a sigh of relief. Always better the second time around. "Up to you of course. I actually just put up the sign-up list if you decide to give it a try."

Turning his attention back Walnut as the cat responded, he smiled at the positive reaction. "I'll take that as a yes," the seventh year said with a laugh as Walnut nudged him in the arm and he obediantly continued to pet the feline until he rolled onto side before going to investigate another feline.

Nika nodded eagerly. "Yeah I have! I like the last one in the series the best," Nika said enthusiastically. She loved the last book because she loved messed up Peeta. She couldn't explain why, but in that book he was her favorite. "It's such an interesting book! Never read anything like it in my life." Maybe because she didn't read many books... but definitely a very original series.

"So who's your favorite character in it so far?" Nika was curious. Her sister had read the book and replied "Katniss" easily. Everyone liked different people so she was curious as to what Lucas would reply with.

Selina came flying down the steps to from the Girl's Dormitory as fast as she could. When she and Kurumi had returned from their conversation in the corridor Selina had excused herself to grab her blanket and Owen, the small Pygmy Puff she had bought the summer going into Hogwarts. Finding Kurumi she plopped down beside her and caught the back half of what she was saying. When she heard her mention the Aenid Selina chimed in, "Vergil was such a pain. When I was younger my Mom was convinced that learning Latin would make me smarter. Guess it didn't work that well. But anyway most little kids got The Tale of the Three Brothers or Babbity Rabbity... I got the Death of Priam and the tales of the Venatrix."

Selina was about to retort when she realized CeCe's train of thought was logical, "Yeah I guess that's true. It's just not my place to talk about it. You understand. I mean if you two ever become friends," which Selina highly doubted given the circumstances, "than she can tell you about the finite details. I just feel uncomfortable disclosing any information that is not mine to share."

"So... how are you liking Hogwarts so far?"