Presley sat at the table and waited for her friends. She could hardly believe it was over. No more Hogwarts for a whole summer. The year had gone so fast it hardly seemed she'd been there a year. Pres set her elbows on the table, as now was her last chance, and leaned forward, putting her head in her hands. Thank goodness Rache and Luna were coming home, or she might not make it through the summer without going crazy.

Vashti entered the Great Hall slowly...only to find it was pretty much empty? Hmm. She was early then. She'd find a good seat at the Ravenclaw table, but...well, it was kind of depressing when there wasn't the usual chatter going on. Hopefully more people would show up soon.

As she took a seat in the middle of the table, she was trying to take in the fact that this was her last day as a fifth year. She'd be a sixth year very soon and...well, it was a little unnerving. Because then seventh year would come after that and then - graduation. She only had two more years here at Hogwarts, and she didn't like that thought at all. Why couldn't she be a first or second year again? But then she'd have to take those awful OWLs again eventually. Sigh. She just couldn't win.

She noticed a girl who appeared to be a few years younger than her sit a few feet away down the table, and she offered her a friendly smile.

Pres glanced over at the only other person at the table. Vashti. She pulled her head up out of her hands and smiled at the girl. "Hey," she said. Simply because it would be rude and awkward for her to ignore her. Presley didn't know Vashti at all, but she had to at least acknowlege her.

Finally the silence in the Great Hall was starting to disappear, including here at the Ravenclaw table. Well, only one word, a greeting, had been spoken, but at least it was something. The Great Hall, especially the Ravenclaw table, being so quiet just wasn't right.

"Hey," Vashti replied with a smile. "How're you? Have a good term?"

It was rather ODD, to walk into the Great Hall and see everyone either happy of leaving for the summer to spend time with family, or a bit sad for the fact that maybe there was no turning back from graduation. Except if the school organized an alumini ball soon...

Sigh. Marie gave a smile as she walked towards her favourite seat at the Ravenclaw table. Not many were there yet, but she figured that people would join soon.

But then she thought, what if this was her last day at Hogwarts? What about if she didn't convince her family that staying there wasn't a great idea anymore? She couldn't panic there...

Presley grinned involuntarily. "Yeah, it was wonderful! How about you?" She hadn't really intended to have a conversation, but as they were the only ones there so far, why not? Maybe she would discover that Vashti was a wonderfully nice person that Presley wanted to know for forever. Or maybe it would just kill time with a little conversation.

Oh, that was good to hear, that she'd had a wonderful term. It was nice to know that some did have that good of a year. "Mine was pretty good overall," Vashti answered with a nod. She thought it probably would've been better if she didn't have to study so much for the OWLs - but better to study loads and likely pass than not study much and fail, right? Right. So her term really wasn't too bad so long as she actually passed her OWLs which she unfortunately wouldn't know for what felt like ages.

"So are you ready to go home?" she asked as she glanced up and saw another girl approach the Ravenclaw table...

...and sit down a little ways away.

Vashti thought she sort of recognized the girl - she looked about her age, so maybe she'd also been taking the OWLs around the time Vashti was. She wasn't sure what the girl's name was though, which was probably awful of her. Merlin, why was she so bad with names? But she gave the girl a friendly smile and a little wave, hopefully indicating that the girl could come and sit by her and Presley if she wanted, before turning back to the first year.

" Presley, I was so happy to get to know you" William told her. " We need to work on our sports and acting next term" William said to Presley. " You are in my top five of sweetest girls in HogWarts 'Willaim explained to her.

Jacob walked into great hall trying to act as if it was just another end of term feast. His hair as messy as normal, and his school robes were clean and neat. His wand sat securely in it's holster, and Jacob's stomach was growling angrily for food.

But there was something off... something didn't fit Jacob's almost normal attire. It was a sight that most people hadn't seen since the start of term feast in Jacob's 5th year and when he'd gotten detention, but that was different.

Jacob's Captain Badge was not sitting in it's usual part of his robes. In fact, his badge wasn't pinned to his robes at all. The Ravenclaw Captain was clenching the badge tight in his hand, to the point that it was starting to cut his flesh.

But through this, Jacob kept a very emotionless face. As he sat down in an empty and quiet part of the table, Jacob put the badge of the table in front of his. Only then did he start to feel the pain that it had left in his hand. Luckily not blood had dripped through his skin, but the pain was still there. He didn't bother looking at the marks it left on his palm, he simply stared at it as it sat on the table.

Jacob's eyes drifted just for a moment at the staff table, who were still filling in. His eyes moved back to the badge and glue themselves there.

Now What?

Her head moved up at the moment a girl, probably her age and year too waved at her from seats away. It was not odd, since she had caught a glance of her while at the OWLs testing sessions, mostly during the practical ones. She waved back, moving some spots closer to the group where the girl was sitting...

By the way, Marie was terrible at names, too...

"Enjoying the feast so far?" She asked, waving at both the girls.

Presley nodded, then shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe? I mean, yes." she nodded again. "Yes, I'm ready to go home." She was, wasn't she? She'd had this internal debate already. The pro's outwieghed the cons. Right? And next year she'd be a second-year. Older than some other students. Though not many. Only the firsties. She almost couldn't wait until she was a seventh year or graduated. Anyway, she was excited to have Luna move in to her house this summer. So for the purposes that Vashti was asking, yes, Pres was ready to go home.

Presley saw William and smiled. "For sure," she replied. That had been a fun part of this year.

Eino made his way to the Great Hall one last time for the end of the term feast. It had a been a long year and part of him was excited that it had come to an end, but it was always sad to leave his friends. It had been an eventful year and there was much to do over the summer in preparation for the next. As for now, his biggest concern was how to convince his parents to allow him to keep Eino. He made his way to the Ravenclaw House table and took a seat. It had been a bad year for Ravenclaw, especially for the fact that their head of house had been walking around the school thinking he was a pirate. Professor Vindictus probably needed this break more than anyone else. Nonetheless, it had been a fun year. Three down, four more to go.

Well.

This day took FOREVER to come, it had seemed. Ellie'd been just wanting to LEAVE for way too long now, in her opinion. And, lookit, it was the night before. Only a sleep, a short train ride, and she wouldn't have to be back for MONTHS.

Joy!

Purposely avoiding glancing at the Hufflepuff table, the fourth year searched her own for someone to occupy herself with.

Jacob was perfect. And, even more perfect, he had his back to the Hufflepuff table. She sat down next to her captain and eyed the badge, smiling contentedly. She'd heard one way or another that Jacob wasn't coming back, and whether he actually, ACTUALLY made it onto a Pro Quidditch team or not didn't matter much to Ellie. She was still going to miss him.

And, no. No, she wasn't going to admit it. Don't even make her try.

She reached for the badge that had twirled it in her fingers, "Remember when I refused to believe you'd earned this?" Heh. Oh, the beginning of third year. So tragic. So many things gone wrong.

Her mind had changed since then, though. Jacob's captaincy was no longer thought of as a 'thing gone wrong'.

Jacob felt something trickle down his hand. The little bit of skin still hanging together had broken releasing a steady flow of blood. Jacob quickly grabbed a napkin and closed a fist around it, allowing the napkin to soak in the blood.

Suddenly someone sat down next to him, but he didn't look up from the badge. He knew exactly who it was, even with out seeing her, or hearing her. He knew who it was, and he was braced for any verbal abuse that she was going to hit him with.

But none came. She had simply taken the badge. Oh yes he remembered.

Jacob still had his eyes glued on the spot where the badge had just been. His face remained expressionless, and he nodded.

"what do you think now?" he asked in a soft voice. He wanted to know. Did they begin to respect him, or did the team still think of him as Vindictus' Crazy Mistake.

Jacob's eyes shifted to the corner of his eye, looking for any sign of Vindictus, but the staff was still filling into their seats. His eyes moved back to the now empty spot of the table.

He'd need it back when he went to see Vindictus, but he'd let her hold it for now.

"Only you could harm yourself on a badge," she commented, rolling her eyes at Jacob's clenched fist. Seriously, though, not many people were capable of that. Not that Jacob should be proud of this achievement or anything.

Ellie ceased the twirling and ran her thumb along the badge's edges. What DID she think now?

She built up suspension for the boy. Rubbing her lips together and staring at the gleaming metal. Then she lifted her eyes to look at Jacob's as she smirked. Placing the badge back in the spot Jacob was staring at, she said, even softer still so no one would overhear her, "I think it was a smart move on Vindictus' part." Jacob could know, though, because he asked AND because he was leaving, and she might never see him again. So he wouldn't be able to taunt her about the time she was actually nice to him and gave him a compliment.

It felt so strange, giving JACOB a compliment. Or being nice to him in general, really.

Meh. It was his last feast - why not?

Jacob heard the compliment, but his face remained void of any feelings.

It didn't feel like a compliment. He knew she meant it, but it felt empty. All this time, and she still could give him a straight forward compliment, and she had to do it in a whisper. But it was a start. Jacob just nodded. and kept his eyes on the shiny badge that had appeared again in front of him.

Jacob's eyes shifted to the staff, and there was Vindictus. Without thinking, Jacob grabbed the badge in his right hand since his left was currently using a napkin as a blood sponge

He got up from the table, turned to Ellie and said "I'll be right back. I've got some business to take care of." and with that he moved towards the staff table.

Be happy, Jacob, okay? That was a COMPLIMENT. COMPLIMENT. He HAD heard her, hadn't he? GOSH.

Oh, wait. The nod. Yes, the nod. He'd heard. Okay. That was enough for Ellie.

But...NO. "Jacob!" she called after him.

Idiot. Stupid, crazy, insane, CHILD! Gah! What was she supposed to do to distract herself NOW, HMMMMM?????

She thought of playing with the silverware...the spoon and plate and such...IF they weren't so SHINY and REFLECTIVE. Examining them would only defeat the purpose of sitting in a position where she WASN'T looking at the Hufflepuffs.

The temptation was hard to fight.

She'd prevail, though. She would. Someone should talk to her.... "Eino?" Come closer. Be a pal. Please?

Taking a deep, but shaky breath, Ellie stepped into the the Great Hall. Frozen in front of the Ravenclaw table, she waited for Dallin to get there. She avoided looking at anyone, though and kept her head down. It would only make saying goodbye worse. Yes, goodbye. Ellie wasn't a seventh year, but this marked the end of her years at Hogwarts.

Some of the students at the school knew why Ellie had to leave, whether they were close friends and she had told them, or whether they heard rumors. Well the rumors were true. Ellie was cursed, and the chances of her returning to Hogwarts next term were slim to none. Only a miracle could save her now.

Feeling brave, she lifted her eyes, kept her hands at her sides, and scanned across the large room. Peers, friends, and teachers were all around, with smiling faces. A lump rose in her throat. She tried swallowing, but it hurt too much. She clenched her jaw and forbid her tears to fall.

Presley spotted Ellie, looking about to cry as she entered the Great Hall. She silently stood and went over to her. She didn't know Ellie anymore than one serious discussion in the windowsill, but she felt a kind of bond. "Do you want to write in the memory book?" she asked softly. "I mean, I know it's supposed to be only for seventh years, but I'm sure nobody will mind terribly if you write something." The worst thing Presley could imagine was to be forgotten, to be alone. And even if that wasn't a shared fear of Ellie's, Pres didn't want Ellie to be forgotten. Already in one short day, she'd made an impression on Presley's life, and Pres would never forget her.

Dallin didn't want to be here. It was as if he thought that if he didn't come to the feast the term wouldn't end. That was what he wanted... but of course it wasn't true. The term was going to end whether he ate dinner or not, so he might as well eat. Beside... Ellie was coming, too. So there was a plus side.

He took a deep breath before entering the Great Hall, trying to plant a happy, hopeful expression on his face. He looked around the room, searching for the one face he was most looking for. Figuring he would just be smart to look at the Ravenclaw Table, he headed there - and saw her. Standing. Making sure the small smile was still on his face he walked over to her, slipping an arm around her waist with a "Hey."

He glanced at her face, clenching his jaw when he saw hers clenched, too. She was fighting back tears; he could tell. "Why don't we sit down?" his whispered, gesturing to the bench a little ways away.

When he heard a girl talking to Ellie, Dal looked at her. Writing in the memory book. That was what seventh years did, right? He glanced back at Ellie, wondering if she would want to do that. He'd save a seat for her.

As soon as Eino heard his name he turned around and found Ellie. This was the first time he saw her since the whole common room scene, after that she had left, or something had happened, because he did attend the Quidditch match as he had promised her he would and she wasn't there. "Hello, Ellie." He said as he scoot closer to her. He was quite curious to know why she had gone missing and cost them the Quidditch match, but it looked like she was in a conversation with the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain. The captain? Was this the cool part of the table for all the cool Quidditch players and popular students? Cool. "How are you? I haven't seen you in a while." He finally asked.

Oh good. Good good good. Good, Eino.

Ellie grabbed his arm and pulled him even CLOSER. Making the gap her peripheral vision had access to smaller. It limited the chances of accidentally seeing THAT table.

"I'm alright," she answered truthfully. As always. ...No, she was NOT glancing at behind her. No. "How're you?"

And that was sooo true, Eino. Though, some of it was her own fault, keeping to her dorms. But there was definitely some time between when she was sick and when she went into depression that they SO could've hung out. "What have you been up to since?" She knew where SHE was... Where was HE?

Her attempt at avoiding familiar faces was a failure, because she was soon confronted by Presley Black, the sweetest first year she had ever met. Ellie had never spoken to the girl before the other night, but they had shared tears. She felt like she had made a new friend from just one conversation.

Just then, she felt an arm slide around her waist and looked to the other side to see Dallin forcing a smile next to her. He was probably just as un-excited about being here as she was. But she was happy that he was here with her. They could be miserable together, at least.

Looking back at Presley, she smiled sadly and shook her head. "I can't." She told her quietly. "It's for graduating students. It's not my place." If she even had a place, she didn't know. But she couldn't bring herself to go over to the memory book. Her gaze moved over to where the book was across the room. Years and years worth of goodbyes and farewells were in that book. Yeah, she was saying goodbye too, but she just couldn't bring herself to write in that book.

Ellie knew she needed to step away from Presley before she started crying, so she quickly stepped forward out of Dallin's arm and gave the young girl a hug. She squeezed her eyes shut. "Thank you. I hope your next six years are as wonderful as you are." She whispered. Giving her one last squeeze, she let go and stepped back next to Dallin, taking his hand.

Swiftly wiping a stray tear, she began moving away. "Let's sit." She suggested in a whisper, quickly giving Presley a final smile.

Presley held back her tears as she smiled at Ellie, and watched her walk away. She vaguely wondered if Dallin was her boyfriend. Maybe they were just good friends. She turned her face away from the majority of the students so that if she looked as if she were sad, they wouldn't know. Ellie deserved a spot in that memory book. She needed to be remembered. Presley smiled briefly. Well, when she was a seventh year, she would dedicate it all to Ellie. So she would have her spot. No matter what. "Hope your next six years are as wonderful as you are" she'd said. "Only I'm not so wonderful" Presley whispered. But only to herself as Ellie had already left. Ellie seemed to think she was this sweet, likable girl. Presley wished she was. Silently she made it her new goal, to be that person. The sweet little girl that everyone liked. Not the belligerent nasty brat that always got what she wanted. And she would put Ellie in that memory book no matter what.