Maggie mulled over this information, So, listen, eat, sleep ... panic. She laughed. I can handle the first three no problem. Classes starting tomorrow, that makes me a little more nervous. Maggie glanced around again. Do you have any brothers or sisters?


"I'm sorry, I'm just so used to everyone teasing me for being different. She smiled at the older boy, feeling a little more comfortable. "Hi Treyen nice to meet you. You're our Prefect? Does that work the same way here as it does at uh, non-wizard boarding schools?"

"I'm sure we will." Bleu smiled. Though Marie didnt seem to excited for the new year. But generally that wore off as you got older and matured, or life experiences have taken over. Hopefully that wasn't the case for Marie.

With her reply, her suspicion of life experiences being the cause for her underexcitedness was lifted. It was infact that reason. She smiled and replied, "Yes, I'm excited. First time since I was eleven that I have been excited to come to school. I'm hoping to actually make friends this year. I generally keep to myself, but I'm tired of being alone." She thought for a moment about how alone she actually was before continuing, "The hope for a new adventure is in the air, and I can't wait to have one." She smiled.

Why was she apologizing, though? "There's no need to apologize," mainly because he had no idea what she was apologizing for. And the part about being different, well, he wouldn't mention it, but everyone is different from each other, there are no two people alike. That's why everything was much more fun, no?

And again, the softer tone and the innocent smile had paid off.

Nod, nod. "Yes, your Prefect," he kind of belonged to Hufflepuffs, no? There was something funny in that thought, "Er, yeah, I suppose it does." Not that he truly knew, for he lacked knowledge about certain things of the Muggle world.

"So, what do you know so far?" about the Castle, and magic in general.

She smiled "Prefects in muggle boarding schools are leaders, they help students who are having trouble, make sure everything is going okay, you know that kind of stuff. I don't know much I'm afraid. I know that chocolate frogs will jump away, that my wand makes sparks when I wave it around. She paused in thought, "I know that at least if I blow things up here by accident people will know why. Maggie couldn't help but laugh when she made that statement. "I have a pet owl so I can send and receive post, Hogwarts has four houses, my robes feel weird, I'm really hungry and some of you are talking about a sport, I think, that I've never heard of and that finally, I'll not be the weird girl that funny things happen to.

Maggie smiled as she finished speaking, it felt good to say that last part. Yes, she definitely felt more comfortable here than she had at her muggle school.

Violet replied eagerly,"Because miss Jaymie, is the BEST class ever! You get to learn how to do so many different things with magic! And I love it the best because it's very easy for me to learn and it doesn't take me long to learn new charms!" She smiled and then asked,"Do you know what class you're looking forward to at all?"

Violet smiled again then replied,"I'm so happy to hear your summer went well! Mine was exquisite! I had a wonderful summer, oh Merlin! Matty I learned how to play Quidditch while I was at my best friend's house this summer also! I'm even considering trying out for Quidditch!" Then she said,"Are you looking forward another year at Hogwarts?"

Bliiiiiiink.

Okay, so, all he had to do was remember that first years were shy at first, and then they could talk for as long as they wanted, right?

This made him happy, though, the fact that the girl had loosened up quite A LOT, since her first sentence, and, oooh, yes, "That's exactly what we do here as well," so, Prefects, in both worlds, did pretty much the same. Got it.

Okay, okay, slow down a bit. "They do jump, you have to be on the lookout as soon as you open the package," he nodded, before adding some more things, "That's perfectly normal, my sparks were purple, what color are yours?" he didn't know how to make sparkles come out of his wand now, though, and then she added the blowing up part and he chuckled, everyone seems to have gone through that, except him, apparently.

Treyen kept on nodding, "What's your owl's name?" oh, dear Merlin, he forgot about his own owl. But, this wasn't Gilderoy's first time around the Castle, chances were he was currently stealing food from the Owlery or something.

The sport? "Quidditch? That's the one you're talking about, right?" it was...just amazing. He didn't comment on the last bit, even at Hogwarts, some people were considered weird. Cue Jacob Blunt, the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain.

------

At this point his eyes accidentally landed on the table he'd been avoiding since he arrived, and...hold on a minute, why was Ellie sitting with that boy?! It was the same boy she'd danced with at the party. He soooo felt the urge to walk over there...but...oh, lookit! Mr. Stryker had arrived!

So she was late.

So what?

There was nothing in the letter the Healer had sent her that said she NEEDED to be the first one in the great hall now that she was badged and all. And she actually had the badge on now that her kneazle was busy running around the castle looking for free food. Or mice.

Hopefully no one had and pet rats running lose.

Humming a secretive tune, she ambled into the great hall, eyes on the beautiful ceiling that she'd missed so much, and not on the Gryffie or Staff table. Too many people missing.

Her chocolate eyes roamed the ceiling until she was forced to bring them down on her house's table. A grin spreading as she saw Treyen surrounded by girls, firstie girls to be exact. Heh. "Hey, co-prefect." Wow. That felt weird to say. This badge thing was gonna take some getting used to. She slipped beside him, giving him a one armed hug before waving at the other huffies in the vicinity.

HAINEWPEOPLE!!

And now that introductions were done, she could pull out the chocoballs she'd found in her pocket and stare at them wistfully. Hmm.

That had to be the fastest train ride, Mia could ever remember taking. It felt as though she had only just boarded the thing and now here she was walking into the Great Hall.

Her dark eyes immediately flicked upwards to the enchanted ceiling and she couldn't help but grin. That thing was the coolest thing she had ever seen. Along with the floating candles. She quickly cast her eyes forward again so that she didn't bump into anyone and headed straight for the Hufflepuff table.

She gave the firsties a bright smile, waved at Matty and then promptly sat down beside Arya. This would be the girl's first year without Sabel and Mia planned on giving her some moral support since she knew exactly how it felt.

"Hey Arya! How's it going?" she asked cheerfully, giving the girl a smile and then spotting another familiar figure on the other side of her. "Hello Trey!"

Kaia didn't exactly want to be back at school, or necessarily surrounded by food that she had no stomach to eat; she wanted to just curl into bed and sleep. Or try to sleep anyway. Her short above shoulder-length hair had been pulled back into the smallest of ponytails, and she almost looked as if she could turn back and run out of the castle at any second. She was here though, and she'd already spent the train ride alone, so there was absolutely no use in trying to be alone for longer - someone would have noticed if she missed the feast, wouldn't they? Someone always did.

Although the main someone probably had spent the train ride somewhat alone, not that she'd have known anyway. She hadn't seen Chandler since he went back home to finish packing for school.

As she dropped into a vacant seat, the brunette smiled small -but noticeable- in the direction of a few people she knew, and then settled her head onto her palms. Maybe she could spend the whole of the feast with no one to talk to. Maybe.

"I'm Janice, Janice Elizabeth." She replied him with a slight of uneasyness, looking at the girl she was just about to sit with.

The chocoballs were distracting, very distracting. But not so distracting that Arya didn't notice someone sitting beside her, especially when that someone sounded familiar and knew her name. Had to be a friend.

Slipping the candy back into her pocket, she glanced up and grinned at Mia. "Hey Mia!" She got huuuugs from the younger badger. "How are you? How was summer?" Oh wait. Trey? Arya grinned over at Treyen. A grin that said she would be call him that from time to time now. Heh.

But back to Mia, who could give her proper distractions and all.

Laughing at Arya's reaction, Mia hugged her back. It was good to be back. "I'm good. Excited for a new term. And my summer was a bit crappy at the beginning but certainly got better by the end." A bit crappy was certainly an understatement but she was not going to ruin not only her good mood but Arya's as well.

"How was your summer?" she asked as her eyes briefly scanned the hall and sought out familiar faces. She certainly had a lot of catching up to do, with quite a few people. Returning her gaze back to Arya, Mia caught sight of a flash of silver and her eyes widened with surprised delight. "You made Prefect. Congratulations!" That totally deserved another hug.

Yeah, Hufflepuffs wanted him.

Jim was grinning when he headed over to the 'puff table, one eye out for Cassie but mostly there to see how Mia was doing, and a friendly, manly 'sup' for Treyen (Yearbook represent and all).

"Mia! Where have you been all my life?" He grinned at her and then did a mild little double take seeing her friend.

... What happened to Arya Lovegoods?

She got all grown and junk.

That voice always brought a smile to her face.

James Wilkes. The first guy she had met when she had come to England. And the first guy she had snogged as well. In England that was.

Her head turned and she looked at the good looking Ravenclaw. "James! Be still my beating heart." she said placing one hand on her chest and fluttered her eyelashes. "I've been waiting right here for you."

Mia gave him a wink and then patted the seat beside her.

Aww. "I'm glad it got better for you." Because sucky summers were the worst. It was bad enough the term was hard on them, didn't need it during vacation as well. She wasn't gonna ask what happened either, no need to relive it, right? Right.

"My summer was great." A grin broke across her face. "Sabel and I did a bit of camping and some shopping. The rest was spent between London and my brother's place." No, Mia didn't ask for all those details, but as one of Arya's friends, she was getting them. Hehe. And then she was getting MORE hugs for the badge. The fifth year welcomed and returned them.

She didn't see the older claw until he had spoke to Mia, and even then it took her a moment to recognize him. "Hai!" Arya, assuming he was staring at the new badge pinned to her chest, just wiggled her fingers at him and grinned.

Was he gonna stand there all night or did he want to sit?

"Mmmhmmm and I came as soon as I can." Eh close enough. She had been pretty up there on the list, lucky thing. Mia just mattered. She did. And there was no stress or drama about it which was epic. He'd MISSED her a lot in that past few months since Marie had dropped him, and there was something reassuring about knowing that things between them hadn't and wouldn't change.

Not that he wouldn't go there if she broke it off with that Nik dude. But whatevs.

He did sit down and make himself comfortable, immediately reaching for food, in the form of a bread roll.

She looked happy, he noted, and he smiled at her.

Hai?

That made Jim smile even wider, a crooked curl of the lip giving way to a full on white toothed smile.

He glanced at Mia. Like really? Hah. Was Arya for real? Like a total innocent and stuff right?

"Hows it going?" He didn't notice the badge.

Oops.

The grin on Arya's face was contagious and Mia felt herself grinning as well as the younger girl spoke of her summer vacation. She sounded like she had a great time. "And by the look on your face, still madly in love." It was so awesome to see her friend so happy.

"So you ready for another year?" At least Arya had her Prefect duties to keep her busy so she wouldn't feel to sad without Sabel being here anymore.

Considering it was still pretty early in the night, his comment was pretty close to the truth. She was sure though that he had flirted his way around the Ravenclaw table before coming over to see her.

"You are just too good to me James Wilkes." She gave him a little snuggle when he sat down and then looked on in amusement as he immediately went for some food.

Typical male.

Now normally she would ask how his summer went but she had already heard bits and pieces of what had happened. So she wasn't gonna ask that question. "So your last year. How does that feel?"

Cassie's attention was pulled from Anakin when she heard the familiar voice of James Wilkes. That boy looked too good to belong in Raven Claw, she was almost show there was a fray in the sorting hat and James getting placed there was an accident. Not because the boy wasn't smart or anything like that because he was, its just..so was rawr.

She waved at him as he sat next to Mia and figured she would catch him when he was done talking to his friends, being that she didn't want to squeeze herself into their conversation so she settled for just waving at him.

How was it going? Hmm.

She shrugged, leaning against the table. "It's going good so far." Nothing weird or Hogwarts-y had happened yet. And she was happy, and everyone around her, including Jimmy here, seemed happy. Very good night in the new prefect's eyes, enough to keep a smile on her face.

"Hows it going with you?"

Blushing, her grin widened as she tried to play nonchalant. But really, she couldn't do much else but shrug and griiiin. Much to her liking, things with her lion heart were as good as they've ever been. "How are you and Nik?"

"I'm not sure if I'm ready for OWLS, but I haven't decided if I'm gonna stress over them after what happened last term." Her eyes flicked to the staff table, noting the new faces and empty seats. "But the badge will keep me busy enough, as will the SHIP." The ship she planned on visiting right when this thing was over and done with.

"Well someone's gotta keep all the rubble out of your hair."

He snuggled her back and played with her hair a bit, you know, checking for rubble. Hehehe.

He patted her shoulder and went back to his bread roll.

Hmm. That was a good question and one he actually had thought about a bit.

"Freakin' epic." Really. "I'm not gonna miss any of this stuff. The world awaits, you know? Still don't bloody know what exactly I'm gonna do though." Sometimes having heaps of options wasn't a good thing.

And here he'd tried so hard to suck at things.

"No exams for you this year." He pointed out. Lucky.

Grin.

Don't go thinking he didn't see Cassie. Jim offered her a little wave and smiled at her.

He felt better already.

Because clearly James S. Wilkes was getting his mojo back.

"Thats new." He finally noted the badge and leaned over to tap it in case she figured he meant the other changes that he'd noticed first of all.

"Things are looking up." If he told himself enough, it'd be TRUE damnit. Yeah.

Hearing her angle of conversation to Mia, Jimmy made a face. "OWLs were hard."

Liar.

At the mention of Nik, Mia's grin grew even wider. "We're good." Better than good actually but she didn't feel the need to brag or bore people to death with her relationship stories. Probably because she still found it quite weird to express herself in that way with other people even if they were close friends.

"Ah yes...the ship." No doubt every man and his kneazle would be down at the lake first thing in the morning checking out that ship. "Another Hogwarts mystery. Always makes for an exciting term." she said with a laugh as she looked over the table and tried to decide what she wanted to eat.

Mia too gave the staff table a quick glance. "Quite a lot of new staff members this year."


"I guess I should stop rolling around on the ground so much, eh?" She waggled her eyebrows at him and then burst out laughing. That's the good thing about James, she could make those kinds of jokes and he wouldn't think nothing of it.

She did know. And Mia was in total agreement with him. It was a huge big world out there and she wanted to see as much of it as she could. "You're seventeen. You've got plenty of time to sort that out." And probably enough money to keep him happy for the rest of his life anyway.

Mia cocked an eyebrow. "Didn't have exams last year either. Lucky for me I don't need exam results to go into my chosen career." She didn't need magic either for that matter.

Jaymie nodded. "Yes, Isobel. Between us, and my six-year-old sister, out house is almost never quiet." But that was okay with her, because she was one of the people talking. She didn't like silence, it was big and frightening like seventh years.

Jaymie nodded slowly. "I am afraid of heights. They absolutely terrify me." But, Isobel was too, so she supposed it didn't matter too much. She could still fly, as long as she didn't look down. Jaymie smiled a little at that. "Oh," she said. "So you're on the Quidditch team?" Mr. fifth year prefect played Quidditch, apparently.

Jaymie smiled, with a hint of nervousness in it. "Yeah, me too." She was also looking forward to classes too, because they were magical and all. "Yep, I have three sisters and two brothers. One of my sisters, and one of my brothers go to Hogwarts. How about you?"

Jaymie smiled. "I'm looking forward to Charms too. I guess it's because that's my sister's favorite class, and her excitement has rubbed off on me." It didn't take a lot to make Jaymie excited. "I'm also looking forward to Astronomy."

Jory sat down at the Hufflepuff table. He wan in awe of the huge Hall and the enchanted table.He could heard hundreds of excited, chattering students.
He looked around for Daisy but she didn't seem to be anywhere around.
He piled some potato salad onto his plate, drinking in every detail of his new home.

Viola walked towards the Hufflepuff table, feeling really excited. Here she was, beginning her second year at Hogwarts. Smiling, she down at the table & looked around for someone familiar but she didn't find anyone. Honestly, she felt a bit lost.

Daisy walked into the great hall and looked around. 'Wow!' she though, it was huge and and packed full of students and food. The food looked amazing. Daisy looked round the hall and found the Hufflepuff table.
Running to it, she spotted Jory from the train.
'Hey Jory!' she yelled and sat down beside him. 'Wow!' Dasiy was still in awe of everything. Piling everything from salad to sasuages on her plate, Daisy turned to Jory 'this is great isn't it?'