"It was alright, worst subject hands down was my mothers potions class!" he said while laughing. "And its nothing to be jealous about" he said waving his hand through the air.

"Oh, you would think your dad would tell you atleast." he said but maybe she doesn't want to talk about it. "oh, sorry didnt mean to prod in your personal life Kurumi, don't need to say anything" he said while blushing.

"Oh, his perfumes are for the muggle world, my dads not to big on the magic idea. he doesn't think i can get a "real mans job" those are his words, but mum tried to explain to him that we need to be taught to control our magic and he some what agree'd" he said while thinking of his dad he added "He wants me to take over the family business one day." but Ali didn't want that of course.

"Potions is certainly one of my worst subjects right now," Kurumi laughed. Not the subject matter though, all to do with how intimidated Professor Lafay made her feel. "No...really...I am," she said in earnest. "You...have no idea how much I wished that I could have been home schooled." Her voice trailed off just a bit.

"Father wanted to...but mother forbid it," she said a little gloomily. "It's...alright," she nodded. For some reason, it was easy to open up to him about this particular topic. "I'm coming to terms with it all...just wish I knew the real reason why mother was so afraid of magic. We aren't even allowed to have our wands in the home."

Kurumi giggled. "I think an Auror is about a real man's job as it can get." Although, Kurumi wouldn't mind trying for that position either. However, her sights were still set on another prize. "Mother is the same. She used to work as a shrine maiden for a Shinto shrine, really wants me to follow in her steps." She sighed. "Makes you sometimes wonder if your parents know you at all, doesn't it?"

Ali said in agreement "Yup Potions, same here" he said wile laughing. "oh and being home schooled was not fun, I had all these muggle friends too and they wanted me to go to school with them... its like I was torn in between two worlds." he said while looking down. Kurumi was telling him that they weren't allowed to have their wands at home "What? really.... that's just.... I don't know..." he said shocked.

"So where do you keep your wand while your at home, and oh goodness what if something happened at home, you would be left unprotected!" he seemed to care about her safety a lot. He laughed at his own thought.

"Your totally right, Like I know a lot about perfumes and how to make them... but that's only because I've been around them my whole life" he said sadly. "But common, I wouldn't ever take over the business, me and perfumes pffttt....my older brother can have it if he wants but I want to work somewhere where i can use magic." he said proudly.

Nessie smiled thoughtfully thinking of the time she had spent here and how it has been the time of her life. "Things are great!" She exclaimed happily The people are nice and so are a few of the professors. Nessie looked up at the bewitched ceiling. "It's amazing isn't it?" She looked back at Pixxi before looking back at the roof again. "The sky?"

Seemed that a lot of people were having problems with Potions - except for Jonathan. That boy seemed to almost live and breathe the subject. Kurumi would stick with her Care of Magical Creatures and Arithmancy thank you. "I...didn't have any friends," she replied softly, tugging on her long black pony-tail nervously. Kurumi sometimes had felt like she had been pulled between two worlds, but they were far different from the two that AV often found himself in. She didn't even know the wizarding world existed, which was probably for the best now that she thought about it. She would have felt like she was being pulled between three worlds that way.

"Unprotected?" she asked with a squeak. "W-W-What would I be unprotected from?" Did he think that Dark Wizards were going to come banging down her door? Her heart seemed to stop beating for a moment when that thought sunk in. She had read an article last year about the man that she called father...only it wasn't really the same person. It was all rather complicated. The man she knew, Charles Hollingberry, had at one point been Charles Gaunt. She wasn't sure what connection she was making...but there seemed to be something. She really wasn't making any sense in her head and now she had been zoning out for a few solid minutes. AV probably thought she was weird or something....so she blushed.

"We each have our own dreams," she nodded. "I've...been wondering what I should do. Granted I still have a long time considering I am only a fourth year...I want to do something with magical creatures, especially dragons, but I can't help but feel like I need to take over the kendo school that my mother's side of the family has run for centuries. She would rather I didn't, but none of my brothers are interested in doing it...I...I'd hate to see centuries of tradition just die like that."

"I'm Lilly," she replied, smiling at the boy.

Upon entering the Great Hall, Kurumi wasn't entirely sure where she should put her now polished silverware from Charms class, but the Gryffindor House table seemed like her best bet.

Walking towards it, Kurumi removed the three eating utensils from her pocket and set them next to a clean plate and goblet that were sitting on the table. It was perhaps the second time that term where she had seen a table setting in the Great Hall that was actually clean. The frown returned to her face.

Sure hope they are alright...

Hurrying into the Great Hall, Thea-Aurora headed straight to the Gryffindor Table. As expected, there was a whole bunch of knives, forks and spoons missing. Smiling to herself, Thea approached one of the empty spots. Opening her bag, Thea grabbed the utensils and arranged them around a clean plate and goblet waiting on the table.

Straightening them up, Thea spotted a bowl of fruit in the middle of the table. Grabbing an apple, she turned her back and exited the Great Hall. she was impressed with her poishing skills..

"Hi there!" Arianna said as she took her seat next to a girl who looked around the same age but maybe a little older. Arianna just realising she still had her charms book placed beside her (between her and the other girl). "Transfiguration is good but a bit hard, i'm trying to perfect two spells in which change my appearance. Want to see? Maybe you can help me?" Arianna added with a smile. At that point her stomach rumbled, which told her that her stomach was ready for dinner as so was she.

Adam walked into the great hall.Last time he had been here the memory was not pleasant,he hoped this time it would be different.Heading way for the table where he could see all the red an gold Gryffindors,he took a seat on the bench that was closest to the double doors.He searched through the food placed in front of him,he saw some bacon an toast an decided to slab on the cooked piece of pig onto the bread an made himself a nice little sandwich.

Adam figured it was time to get something to eat. He had been running around all morning like a mad man, so no time like the present to relax a little and eat some food. Spotting the other Adam, Adam made his way towards the boy before plopping down in the seat next to him. "Hey Adam," Adam said with a little smile. He eyed the boy's sandwich..."That looks great...I might need to whip myself up one of those as well," Adam said, reaching over to grab two pieces of toast.

Adam saw his twin brother approaching him an with a nod of his head greeted Adam,due to his mouth being overtaken by the delicious bacon sandwich.After chewing rather quickly he said more polietly,"Hey Adam..Hungry stomach as well?I'm assuming most people come here for the food.An if they don't they're crazy."

Ali looked shocked at sad that Kurumi said she didn't have any friends "Well, look at you now!..." he said smiling at her. "You have tons of friends now... including me" he said while laughing.

"oh, no no no... I am just saying if ANYTHING were to happen..." he said feeling a bit embarrassed. Then he thought. "Oh..... if you ever need to escape you can always come visit me. My mum would be tickled pink to have a girl around" Ali smiled at his own comment for he would love to hang out with Kurumi any time.

"Oooo Dragons" this escaped from his mouth before he could filter his own words. "erm.... ahahaha...... Don't mind me I just think Dragons are cool" he said with an approving nod. "Im thinking either something to do with muggles or.... something to do with transportation" he said.

"The Kendo school sounds nice, and tradition is always good" he said patting gently on her shoulder. "If you were to take over is it very far? like do you have to move or something?" he wondered for even if she did move Ali would come visit her any ways.

Kurumi smiled and forced herself to look away before she blushed even more. "I'm glad," she finally said before panic sunk in a bit. Merlin! Did she sound a bit stuck up? She hadn't meant it that way. "Um, erm, I mean I am glad that you are a friend." She flailed her arms a bit.

While it was clear that he hadn't meant anything by his comment, the wheels in Kurumi's head were turning. Something happening...she really needed to get to the library again and soon. "Tickled pink?" Kurumi asked. "Is your mother and Metamorphagus?" How else could she be tickled pink?

She giggled. "Nothing to be sorry about, I am always glad to find someone else that shares an interest in them. Terribly misunderstood," she said with a wink. "So, you think you want to work in the Ministry of Magic then?" There were departments under those categories, right?

"The kendo school is actually a part of my home back in Japan," she nodded. "I've been helping teach the younger kids for several years now, sort of being an apprentice to my oldest brother when he isn't busy working for the paper." She frowned just a bit. She would have to put the wizarding world behind her if she took that path and she wasn't sure that she wanted to do that.

Adam gave a little chuckle as he watched his twin chewing contently on his sandwich before finally speaking. "I am starving," Adam said with a little nod before pulling over two pieces of bacon, some tomatoes, and a little bit of lettuce. He smooshed all three on top of one piece of toast, before adding the other piece on top of the whole stack. He lifted it and took a contented bite, giving Adam a little smirk as he did so.

"So how are things with you? Congrats on making the Quidditch team by the way!" Adam had been meaning to say something sooner but he had just not gotten around to it since really he hadn't seen Adam much. Curse being busy all the time...

Sitting at the Gryffindor table Anna hypnotize her cup of tea, when her owl brought up the letter. It seemed to her that the letter she had waited so long... And she not started pulling and opened the envelope and immediately recognized her mom's a quick handwriting.



Anna once again looked at the letter and it was warm in the soul. She took a small red box sling a wide ribbon of red color. She opened it and looked inside. There were a lot of small beautiful sweets, which was wrapped in a yellow and red wrappers. At the top was a small card on one side of which was the picture of a bearded a smiling man, who winked at her right eye. Anna turned her and read the signature.

Anna turned the card and smiled when her uncle winked at her again. She took out a small piece of candy in the red wrapper and unrolled it. It was in his style make red and yellow colors, because she was in Gryffindor. But she loved him for such surprises. Candy was chocolate, gently melt in her mouth and taste like pineapple. She was even better now... On her face, a smile appeared.

He had really hoped people would stop asking him about how he had been doing.Most of the time people would answer with a simple good,but Adam's reply would be far from it.His life at Hogwarts only seemed to be getting worse,the complete opposite of his second an third year at the school.So,saving himself another explanation about Kurumi an Selina Adam responded with a "Thanks.I honestly thought I wasn't gonna make it.Actually,I even thought of not even going to try outs after the first one.But I'm just back up keeper,but I'll take that any day."

While buttering a slice of bread, Ari heard rushed footsteps approaching, and raised her eyes just in time to notice Melina sitting down by her side. 'You have no idea how happy I am to see you.' the second year said as a means of greeting, returning her friend's smile, together with a hug. 'Not much, I'm avoiding the new people, but I don't know why.' she confessed, still feeling antisocial today. However, old friends were an exception to this attitude, and the girl was genuinely glad to chat with her Ravenclaw friend. 'How are you? Any news?' she wanted to know at once.

Now there was someone she hadn't seen in ages! 'Tayla! What a surprise! I was starting to think we'd never meet again...' the girl joked, returning her friend's hug. 'My summer wasn't special, but I had a good time. I went to Wales with my mum for a week, and to London in August to get my school supplies, but other than that I was at home, occasionally having friends over.' Ariadne chatted merrily. 'How about you?'

Between bites of her muffin, Melina proudly exclaimed, "After an entire year of trying, my Dad finally figured out how to charm my iPod to work here! He just sent it to me. You have no idea how excited I am; I can't wait for you to listen to it. We'll have to do it somewhere more private, cause I still can't get a straight answer if they're allowed here or not." She furrowed her brow in thought for a moment, and then brightened.

"How about somewhere on the grounds? Maybe by the lake? What do you think?"

"Oh, and I'm going to see Tate about my dance classes. I was such a baby last year about it. I am now bold and strong," she flexed her non-existant muscles, "so I do not fear him," she added in her best superhero voice.

"Have you had any time to find out more about your grandmother? I just think the whole story is so tragic and romantic."

Melina slung her arm around her sweet friend's shoulders, still concerned about her antisocial mood. "Are you sure everything's ok with you? You know you can tell me, right?"

At first, Ari didn't remember what an iPod was, though Melina had definitely explained before, but the girl eventually deduced from the context that it was a music-thingy, as she had previously called it. 'That's great, I can't wait to see how it works! Muggles really have some good inventions. I've seen a laptop at my friends back home, and I think it's a pity wizards don't own things like that.' On the other hand, the young lioness was quite reluctant to use Muggle things, but there was no need to advertise her insecurities out loud. 'Yes, let's go on the grounds, but not the lake. It's quite chilly on the shore. Let's go on the pathways instead.' Ariadne suggested.

Ariadne laughed at Melina's tone, but didn't want her friend to think she was mocking her, so she quickly added: 'That's great, there's nothing to be afraid of. Have you told anyone else? Students, I mean?' the second year Gryffindor wondered. 'Nah, I didn't have much time for research this summer, but I've got some big news, nonetheless.' Ari took a deep breath to make her statement sound more dramatic: 'Mum's finally dating again. She's got a new boyfriend, and he's really nice. They seem to be getting really serious.' the girl confessed, inwardly cringing at the word boyfriend. She did like Matthew, but he and her mum were nearly 40, so the lioness considered the word highly inapproppriate.

'Don't worry, I swear I'm all right. You know me, I can be really nice when I want to but sometimes I just want to avoid everyone whom I'm not familiar with.' Ariadne insisted.

Melina nodded enthusiastically at her friend. "I totally agree! Laptops are amazing- and cell phones- much faster than owls, and more convenient than firecalling at the floo. I've really had the best of both worlds growing up." She had to thank her Muggle Mum for that, even though she never really wanted to thank her for anything.

"You've got it- the pathways, then! Do you want to go tomorrow after classes?" Merlin, she couldn't wait to introduce Ari to Muggle music!

Melina waited, eyebrows raised to the heavens, for Ari's announcement. "Merlin's polka-dot socks! Really? What do you think of it? I'm glad this Matthew guy is nice; she deserves that. How long have they been dating?" Ari's mum was so sweet- Melina had loved spending part of the summer with her and Ari. She was thrilled for her, but concerned how her friend was taking it. After all, this was a big deal.

Rose walked to the Gryffindor House table, her long brown hair swaying. When she got there she sat down and sighed. Her usually twinkling blue eyes had lost their sparkle. And she didn't even know why. Damn.

Adam noticed that his twin hadn't answered his question on how he was doing. He had meant it in a simple, polite way, but there was obviously some stuff that Adam didn't really want to chat about and he wasn't going to be the one to push it if he didn't want to chat.

"That's still really impressive though!" Adam said before taking another bite of his sandwich and chewing thoughtfully. "I think our team is going to be rather strong this term...I mean, I don't have any past references to go off of, but from try outs and stuff I feel like we've got a lot of talent." Adam had been kind of bummed that he hadn't made it, but he understood. He was very out of practice, and honestly he was so bogged down with homework and things of that nature that it probably wouldn't be good to have to try and throw Quidditch in the mix too. "Whose our first game against? I keep meaning to look at the notice board to see if they've posted it, but I keep forgetting to."

More then glad Adam had decided to keep Adam's silent answer,he felt a nice rush of blood flow through his body.He didn't need any more chatter about what could be wrong with him.

"Yeah..Most of the players were there previous terms so they know how to play the field,an some of them are the older students so I'm more than sure that they can pack the punch."Adam responded happily.At least the team wasn't completely composed of nervous second years,or they would be flying off their brooms half the time an no shots would be made an no goals saved."Slytherin."

Ryan was hungry.He found a spot at the table and sat down.There was a very preety girl next to him so he said hello.My name is Ryan how about you