So this was her house, well, great group of students. She looked around her with apprehension, would they like her? Accept her as who she as? She glanced around, there was her prefects, and fellow students.

She looked around for fellow first years, those in the same boat as she, there was a girl , who had just introduced herself as Rose and another, named Oichi.

She couldn't believe it, she the one who according to her brother had verbal diarrhea, was silent?

Then she remembered what house she was in, she was a lioness, brave hearted. She summonded the courage to speak up.

"Can you belive you are here? I mean, just 24 hours ago we were home, yet now we are part of the pride, first years, with many years of happiness and success ahead of us! My name is Sarah by the way!" Sarah said to Rose and Oichi.

Her stomach growled in response, maybe it thought she came to Hogwarts not only to fill her brains, but also her stomach!

Seeing yet another new Gryffindor join their table, Kurumi applauded loudly for the young girl. What had the hat said her name was? Sarah? "Congratulations and welcome to Gryffindor," Kurumi smiled as the charmed another one of her levitating Gryffindor crest cookies towards her.

Maybe she shouldn't have done that. Kurumi cocked her head to the side again, watching Lewis for a moment and trying to figure out what exactly had just happened. The blush on her cheeks expanded when he continued to encourage her, but it was apparent to Kurumi by his tone and expression that he was really unsure and uncomfortable about what was going on. Ironically, Kurumi suddenly began to feel the same.

"Um...Lewis...I was...joking," she said with a small smile. Clearly, she still hadn't gotten a proper grasp on how to do this properly. "Pulling you to the ground in the middle of the prefect compartment while diving after Walnut because he is peeing on someone isn't exactly how I want to spend time with you." That should...clear the air, right? Unless Kurumi was just now discovering that Lewis had a hidden talent for acting. Following in Treyen's footsteps in a way. She leaned back a bit, tugging on her hair as she did and tangled her fingers through her hair as its silky texture caught the candlelight just so.

Completely unaware of the reactions Lewis was having to their physical contact, her eyes watered slightly as she hugged him just a bit tighter and felt him return it softly. Really, Lewis had no idea just how important the journal was to her. She still hadn't read it from cover to cover, not feeling strong enough to do so just yet. She had only read the first few entries and then the last one, but almost nothing in between besides flipping through and taking note of what pictures and other paper items her mother had included. All memories. All with a story.

Inhaling sharply again, Kurumi chewed on her lip some more and looked down at the journal once again. Her fingers traced the binding again before setting the palm of her hand on its cover. "Really, Lewis, I don't know how to repay you for finding this and bringing it back to me," she whispered again, looking back at him now. Despite them not physically touching right now, Kurumi still felt like this moment right now was very intimate. At least to her. Awkwardness aside and the fact that she still did want to kiss his cheek Kurumi sort of hope that he realized that he had just saved a piece of herself by finding the journal and giving it to her. Not only a piece of herself, but the last living memory of her mother.

Hearing him say that he should probably get back to his own table, Kurumi could only nod in agreement. She had already taken up too much of his time. He wasn't just Lewis anymore, he was Prefect Rasting and he had a duty to his house to be at the Hufflepuff table. "O-Okay," she said with a small smile. "Thank you...again..." Kurumi hugged the journal to her chest and closed her eyes for just a moment as she held it tight. Opening her eyes again, Kurumi reached out to grab onto Lewis' robes before he had completely left. "Lewis...I...I am talking with him tomorrow... to tell him everything," she whispered, hoping that her eyes were conveying just what exactly she was talking about. "So...please..." Remember your promise.

"Aw, how cute," Kurumi giggled as she already began forming an image of Jezz's cat in her mind. Next to dragons, cats were high up there on Kurumi's ranking of magical creatures. "Don't remind me," Kurumi groaned as she debating about pounding her head on the table. "He has never peed on another creature and seems to keep to shoes and robes." For now at least. There was just no telling with Walnut it seemed.

"I don't have them all memorized," she laughed, shaking her head and tossing her long black hair over her shoulder in the process. "I keep a cookie journal with all my recipes." And it was a rather thick journal at the moment....and running out of pages. She should look into adding more soon.
Kurumi leaned forward a bit to get a better look at where Maxwell was pointing. Oh, that didn't look pleasant. "The Whomping Willow can certainly be.... temperamental..." She personally hadn't had any problems with the tree and had actually only had pleasant experiences with it. Maybe it had been because she had bowed to it when she had first met it? Maybe this was something that she should tell the first years...just in case? "At least that is all it gave you?" Positive thinking!

"You don't even have to wait that long, just look for them every Wednesday in the common room," she chirped in reply. Of course, they wouldn't be the exact same Gryffindor cookies, but there would be cookies.
"It's good to see you too," Kurumi smiled as the younger girl moved towards her. "You ready for the term?" Or nervous? Any issues Kurumi should know about?

Arabella-Marie wandered into the great hall and smiled to herself she was glad to be back at hogwarts and hoped that she would find some friends soon

Maxwell nodded. "Yeah, i'll be sure to keep my distance this year." He said with a small laugh. "I"m very lucky for only getting a scratch." He smiled about the cookies. "Well, I'll be sure to keep my eyes peeled for them. What classes are you most looking forward to?" He asked trying to make conversation, it was nice talking to Kurumi without being scolded for something.

Minerva walked over to the lion table and quickly found who she was looking for. "Maxwell haven't seen you since you stormed off out of the compartment like a two year old." she was part joking with her friend and smiled sitting down. "You okay?" she looked a Kurumi "Hey Kurumi, did you have a nice summer?"

Jordan was back, barely. He wore his battle scars from his summer with Jez, Nate and Pam with a shroud of mystery, but he couldn't hide the fact that this summer had affected him. He had sworn himself to secrecy, but his swollen temple and jumpy attitude wasn't hiding a lot. He approached Maxwell and Kurumi who he hadn't talked to for over a year, since their talk in the common room in his first year. "Hey guys," he half-smiled, "Good summers?"

Maxwell smiled a little at what Minerva had said since it was a little funny but also true. "Yeah, Taylor and I made up. I'm sorry, that was very rude of me. Can you forgive me? It was all i could do not to do something i'd regret to him." He said obviously talking about Damon.

"Jordan!" He said to his friend. "You okay?" He asked noting the scars. "I'm sorry i dropped off the face of the earth during the summer. My Dad got married and Mum and I had a really bad fight so i stayed with Dad for the rest of the summer." He said feeling like he'd abandoned his friend.

"Thanks Kurumi!" Lilly beamed at the Gryffindor Prefect, then took a bite from the cookie. "Delicious as always!" It always was. Kurumi was a genius. Seriously. Violet was pretty good at cooking, too. Not that the twins ever saw each other anymore.

Wow, that was loud. What was she trying to acheive. "Hello, Selina!" Lilly grinned at the older girl. "How are you?" That was if Selina heard her. She had been shouting pretty loudly, so maybe she wouldn't hear when Lilly spoke quietly.

Nice...with a smile. She wasn't exactly pretty. Always scruffy, unlike Vi who was always as neat as a pin, not like she had just rolled through a haystack, which Lilly liked to do. "Thank you!" It was the only way to reply.

"Nope, I haven't forgotten!" she promised. That would be fun. She had brought all her music with her in the front pocket of her trunk. "I've been practising in my tree!" That did sound very weird, even to Lilly, but she'd said it now, so too bad, really.

Minerva grinned a bit, but crossed her arms. "Well sorry I never came back, but I'm just kind of sick of the fighting. I am glad you two made up though."

Maxwell nodded. "It's okay, I understand. You're the only reason i held back, We're friends and i didn't wanna mess that up." He said smiling and fiddling with the silverware.

Jordan shrugged, rubbing at his temple self-consciosly, "Yeah, I'll be fine." he smiled, speaking slowly "It's okay, I kinda disappeared too so I have as much to apologise for as you do." he said, he'd have to be careful with his words.

Maxwell laughed a little. "Jordan i can tell you're hiding something, We've shared a dorm since first year." He said and shook his head. "I won't ask about it, Okay?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by HJPotter

Maxwell nodded. "Nice to meet you too, Gideon. What year are you?" He asked making conversation, he guessed either 6th or 7th year.

"Fi--Sixth year," Gideon answered nearly stumbling over the year for some reason but catching himself. "Halfway between OWLs and NEWTs so hopefully not too bad," he remarked with a chuckle. "And yourself?" The middle years of Hogwarts students tended to seem like they blended together.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Team ronmione

"Aww, but I like your long name. Can I call you Mr. Gideon, then? I want you to sound like a smarty pants!" It sounded a mix of what he wanted and what Gideon had told him. Besides, he needed to stand out a bit more, everyone needed to stand out in their own way,and why not with a name. "Oh thanks for keeping it a secret. I don't want word getting out. Bad stuff can happen to people like me if too much started spreading about." Tag then put one finger up to his lips making Gideon promise he wouldn't tell anyone.

"Alright...if ye insist," he spoke, giving in. At least it wasn't some awkward nickname like Selina and Violet lavished on him. Though Gideon wasn't so sure about how he felt to be considered a 'smarty pants' as the young boy chose to consider him.

Gideon nodded as Anya spoke up about Tag's story of being a leprechaun. He got it, but was simply going along with it rather then get him upset, not knowing what response he'd get. "No problem," the prefect replied, nodding simply as Tag pressed a finger to his own lips to emphasize the role of the secret. Whatever he said.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LilFox06

"My summer was good. I had ice cream picnics with Alec. Visited Carter. Went to some of his matches. Went to Disneyworld. Then took a trip to Italy." Anya shared. You know, in case Gideon was interested in her whole summer life story.

She giggled. He lost track of her. "You should try holding her hand. That's what I do so I don't lose people." True story. It nearly gave Adam a heart attack the first time he saw her hold hands with Alec.

She nodded. "I can wait. It'll be worth it." Not that she had much of another choice.

Gideon listened as Anya explained her summer to him. "Sounds like a lot of fun," he remarked with a smile. "Can't say mine was quite as...well-rounded but some traveling did occur to visit family. And it was fun." Time in Romania with Andy...a visit with his grandparents and some penpals in Portugal...not to mention hanging out around Britain.

He echoed the girl's laughter despite it being at his expense seeing as it was all in good fun. "I shall certainly try it some time," Gideon agreed, silently wondering what the reaction would be from his other half.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HOPEendures

"Gideon," Jezzabelle said returning his smile. She took a deep breath and nodded slowly keeping her smile planted on her face, "It was a summer I'll always remember, but it's good to be back. How was your summer?" She felt the all knowing sting of sadness but pushed it done. No one but her older lion sister and one other person knew what she went through this past summer and she was going to try to keep it that way.

Ah yes...the epic division between wanting summer to continue forever and wanting to return to school as soon as you could. "Mine was alright," he answered, nothing necessarily standing out for him memory-wise though. "Surprising but alright." Gideon had thought getting his grades would be the highlight, but the surprise of the badge had hit at the same time.
"Though I have to agree its always good to come back here."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rosa Chispa Princessa

Oichi had just been sorted and still felt a bit overwhelmed by the entire experience. She could see lots of bigger lions all arounf and then she finally caught a glimpse of a young lion like herself. She turned to the girl and said, "Hi, my names Oichi and this feast is one of the most overwhelming experiences of my life.". Oh my, did I just say that, whatever, does not matter, it is the truth after all.

As it quieted down for a bit, Gideon settled down into his seat. He took a sip from a water goblet after pouring him some, wondering when the feast would in fact begin. The Gryffindor glanced up at the staff table and noticed the returning faces and a few new that he of course didn't recognize and wondered who was Astronomy. Or where was Astronomy.

Turning back to the table, he couldn 't help overhear a new girl speaking with Jezzabelle about being overwhelmed. "Sorry to hear that," he said quietly, hoping she didn't mind another person hearing. "I'm Gideon, one of the house prefects. And if there is anything I can do to help just ask," he offered with a polite smile. It was the least he could do.

SPOILER!!: Selina

Quote:

Originally Posted by fanficfanatict

Bloody tie! Selina was severely out of practice tying her tie now that the term had started up again. She was so consumed trying to fix her tie that she did not even bother to look up at the Great Hall when she had entered. In fact, her annoyance at the tie had prevented the redhead from reaching the hall in time to great new students. This thing was giving her a lot more trouble than it was worth.

When it finally gave way and folded into the perfect formation Selina smirked and looked up at her surroundings. She was shocked to see the Great Hall in full swing with new students and old students conversing after a summer apart. Was she really that terribly late? Merlin, she had not estimated that she would have taken that long. Her eyes narrowed and darted down to her tie. It was the fabrics fault that she was late. Summer had made her out of practice with the thing, but now that a new term had started she would no doubt be fine with it in a few days time.

The hall was full of familiar faces, but the only faces that really jumped out to her were the ones at the Gryffindor table. The redhead made her way over to the table and nodded at all of the first years. She would not bite. If anyone wanted to come and talk to her especially about Quidditch she would have no problem with that. Along with the new faces came the old. It looked like everyone was here.

So she cupped her mouth and yelled out, "Hello Gryffindor!!!"

Before he could hear an answer if there was indeed any questions Gideon's hearing was occupied by a very familiar yell. He couldn't help laughing at her with a shake of his head in response to her antics. So far she was the one Gryffindor leader being the most outspoken. But then again...that was Selina.

"Hello Captain!!" he called back smiling at his girlfriend.

Jordan smiled, "Thanks Max," he said, "I just don't know if I can tell you about it, I can't risk it." he said, wanting to change the subject. "How are you and Taylor?" he asked.

Maxwell did the same thing. "Sec-Third Year." He laughed a little. "I'm happy to be back, I hope it's a great term." He said hopefully

Maxwell nodded seeing that Jordan didn't want to talk about it anymore. "We've been okay all summer, despite the weird fact that my Dad married her Mom, but they didn't make us stop seeing each other." He said obviously still finding the whole thing weird. He sighed. "But we fought the whole ride here, it was horrid. We made up though." He thought for a moment and couldn't remember if Jordan was seeing anyone. "What about you? You seeing anyone?" He asked hoping it wouldn't be a stupid sounding question.

Avery entered the sweet smelling great hall and found her table. It was like she never left. The screaming children the older friends hugging and waving to one another made her smile to herself and watch in wonder as the bright twinkling candles floated above her head. Avery was ready for another great year at Hogwarts and hopefully she could make some new friends.
Avery sat down next to another girl and peered closely at her. She seemed her age so she might as well introduce herself.
"Hi I'm Avery!" She beamed brightly holding out her hand for the girl to shake

Nettie knew it wasn't her House table, but the Gryffindor table just looked so pretty with the golds and reds that she had to investigate and see if the people in the House were just as awesome. Besides, her grandmother had told her to introduce herself to some of the older students in case she got lost...

Where better to start?

Eliza somehow managed to seat herself at a table she almost instantly recognised was NOT full of green robes and snakies. Praying it wasn't the Puffers', she looked up at a girl around her age, perhaps a little younger. "Oh, sorry, um, hi." she managed to get out. She was a third year! How had she managed to find her way here, for two years she'd managed to walk into this hall and seat herself at the right table. Then again, she knew how much it would annoy her family if she were to make friends of some Lions. "So, how are you? I'm Eliza."

The levitation charm that Kurumi preformed reminded Sarah of her mother, cheerfully charming her way through her everyday chores with such dexterity. Oh, Sarah wished she could learn more spell. Of course she had been reading her brothers' school textbooks since she was little, yet now that she was in Hogwarts she could practice 'Wingardium Leviosa' as much as she wants, along with 'Incendio' and 'Alahamora'! Life as a witch is grand!

"Thank You! I shall enjoy it" Sarah said to the elder prefect. Sarah bit into the breathtaking cookie of the crest Kurumi had given her and as her tastebuds relished it, she could not help but wonder, how did her prefect make it note only appealing to the eye, but also to the mouth! Life at Hogwarts was turning out grand!

GRYFFINDOOOOOOOOOOORS. *grabbyhands*

Theodore casually traipsed to the Lions' table, whistling here and there, and sat on the bench. Yeah, that's right. He was pretending to be one. They would NEVER KNOW. He could just follow them to their common room and MUAAAHAHHAHA HE'D BE IN.

"La la laaaaaaaaaaaa..." He said to himself. Like that wouldn't prove he was up to something.

HE WAS A GRYFFINDOR, OKAY.

A girl sitting next to her snapped Avery out of her day dream and back into the castle.
"What? Oh hey, I'm Avery!" She gave her half smile and held out a hand for Eliza too shake. She looked a bit older than Avery but, she didn't mind at all.
"You don't exactly look like you belong here. You must be a Snake!" Avery shouted excited at her discovery. She pulled her long blonde hair and reminded herself to be nice. How awesome would it be to have a Slytherin friend.

Dodging all the wayyyy to excited first years, Thea finally managed to take a seat at the Gryffindor table. Sighing, Thea looked around her. Same old, same old. Same old hall.. same old scarlet and black robes. Eurgh, whatever.

Resting her hand on her chin, she toyed with a few bits of pasta. Even the pasta hadn't changed.
Turning to the side, Thea raised her eyebrows as she spotted a Slytherin firstie sitting at the erm.. Gryffindor table.
Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to her meal. Again, whatever.

Avery stared at the young boy. He was wild and carefree but something was up. She smelled something fishy and she was going to get to the bottom of it.
"Um, hello I'm Avery and you are?" Avery asked raising her light eye brows high. She didn't bother to stick out her hand in greeting but instead inspected the boy. Yes, something was definitely wrong

o______O
A GRYFFINDOR WAS SPEAKING TO HIM.

Sheesh, it was as if they were a different species. Species of awesome, though. Erm... Theodore crossed his legs, covering his slight wet patch from earlier and smiled CREEPILY at the girl, "Hello, I'm Theodore and I am a GRYFFINDOR."

Yes... it was working. Brainwashhhhhhhhhhin'!

She was looking at him funnily, though. Meerppp.

Arianna smiled and entered the great hall. She quickly found a seat at her new table and waited for food.