The feast was likely winding down, and Genevieve didn't want to let the night end before she conferred with her rather crazy-faced Gryffindor acquaintance... the rabid chimaera called Selina-without-a-bat.

"Hey," Vivi dropped onto the bench across from the girl, giving those on either side a wiggle with her hips to make more room for herself. "So. Fun train rides you've got around here."

Dylan looked at her with concern "Yeah well don't ruin your mood over that, just remember that you are now at Hogwarts the most awesome place on earth!" yeah it was "Where you can have as much fun as you want!" yeah! so no go ruining your mood now.. "You know you should be happy that you are here, feel sorry for the muggles who dont get to come here" well except the muggle borns.. he wondered if he would meet any.

He smiled at her next point "Yeah? well thats what I am here for! I am glad to hear that" he chuckled "At least the things I have heard arent wrong" yeah and that was good cause that meant that he could trust that person to give him information whenever he wanted and without fear of that person lying to him.

Angel giggled slightly as she heard Sarah’s conspiracy theory about Dark Wizards not wanting kids to go to school; she had to admit that theory did amuse her to no end.

“Well it almost would make sense” Angel joked before she heard that the train stopped in 1993 when Dementors boarded the train... then she felt a bit… uneasy because she had no clue what they were… this was the problematic thing of growing up the in muggle world, she thought to herself. She didn’t know a lot of the things that others were talking about with ease… though she had spent the last week with her aunt and uncle… her actual witch and wizard aunt and uncle who she’d never known existed…

The bright side was she already knew how to fly a broom by now! “Um… this probably sounds weird but what’s a dementor?” she asked quietly.



Giggling again Angel blushed at what she supposed what a compliment from the ghost. “Well I don’t think I can say I’m familiar with the dead sir… I was raised by muggles so yeah… but thanks” she said with a massive smile. “So how are you anyway? And if you don't mind me asking what's your name?” she asked the ghost to be polite much like she’d noticed other people were when they started talking to the ghost. Plus Angel didn't want to refer to the ghost as... the ghost all the time!



Angel didn’t miss the other girl beaming at the comment she made about house elves, it was all too true though, then she paid attention to what was being said about things like Gobstones and Quidditch.

“Hm… I think I will try for both, besides if I try for both I might just get into one for this year anyway meaning that I could try the other next year if it comes down to it… or drop the one I don’t like that much if it comes to it… I know I like flying though, my Uncle was teaching Andrew and I how to fly when we were with him over the past week!”

Yes… oh the fun memories of Andrew falling off his broom… over… and over… and over again! It was probably the only thing that he wasn’t good at she noticed, something that really didn’t want to forget now. She had a feeling he’d never, ever get on a broom again!

“Oooh Year book editor?” Annie suddenly asked childish. “What do you guys do for it?” she asked, suddenly curious about that. There seemed to be so many things at Hogwarts, let alone things that Kurumi seemed to be involved in!

Chace furrowed his brows at Abby. This long after the train had stopped and she still had a headache? And it was getting worse? Not good. "You might have a concussion," Chace said with a frown. "You must have hit your head pretty good." Chace felt a twinge of anger rising in him that he couldn't have been there for Abby to help her with the whole thing. Granted he couldn't have stopped the train from slamming to a halt like that, but maybe he could have prevented her from hitting her head. "I'm sorry I wasn't there when it happened...I'll take you to the healer." And no, it wasn't a question it was a statement. Chace was definitely not letting Abby go alone.

It was at the end of Chace's advice to go to the Healer that the attention was brought back on this first year, who Chace could just tell Abby did not like at all. He gave her a half-smile as Abby introduced Lex to him, that wasn't mean per se but it definitely wasn't showing intense interest in her. Plus with Abby's wish that the girl didn't have anything else to say, Chace knew that Abby wouldn't care if he wasn't being warm and fuzzy.



And once the girl opened her mouth and started speaking Chace was definitely certain that there was no need to be kind to this girl. Seriously. Who died and made her the queen of everything? When the girl insisted that it was her business to make sure that Abby was okay, Chace suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. "If Abby says it's none of your business, then I'm pretty sure that's the case," Chace said, giving Abby's hand a little squeeze as the words came out. Yeah.

Did this girl seriously just saying that she was getting nauseous from them hugging, then Abby holding his hand? Uh...right. "Sorry not all of us are prudes," Chace said with a little grin. "And last I checked the platform is a pretty big place. So, no one was forcing you to watch." Maybe she was just jealous. That was probably it. Or maybe she really was just a prude.

If Chace was having troubles controlling his temper before, it was definitely getting harder now. Excuse me. Was this little girl seriously trying to tell him what he should be doing? Obviously if he could have been with her on the train he would have. "And the next time I want advice from a first year, I'll be sure to let you know," Chace said, exhaling slightly before he spoke in an attempt to keep his voice even. Getting into a fight with a first year the first night back was not how he wanted to start the year. And that was solely for the purpose that it would surely result in a letter home to his parents. Yeah. Not okay. Chace couldn't but smirk as the girl commented about Abby scowling at everyone. "Hmm...I don't know why she would be scowling," Chace said with a mock look of wonderment on his face.

Ready to be done with this conversation, Chace gave Abby's hand another squeeze. "Let's get you to the Healer so you can't start feeling better."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nearly Headless Nick

Sir Nicholas was in an excitable mood, or at least, as excitable as one could get whilst still maintaining their dignity. Wafting up through the floor beneath the table, Nicholas rose to hover amongst the students, keeping his eye out for the first years.
"Good day!" he cried. "Welcome to Gryffindor!"

Now there was a welcome sight and something to miss after this term...the friendly Gryffindor ghost. "Good evening, Sir Nicholas," Gideon greeted with a polite smile and movement of head.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fanficfanatict

So Selina knew that bringing up Mortimer right out of the box would probably not be the wisest of decisions, but at least they were talking now. When they were in private later she would apologize about ignoring him during this whole ordeal. The redhead was not ignoring him with any malice, she was just easily distracted when it came to her bat. It didn't mean that she cared for him any less. At that thought she impulsively played with her bracelet that she had never taken off, keeping her arms still wrapped around his waist. She didn't want to let him go because she liked being close to him she wanted to show him that she was sorry. So to get a little more comfortable, she rested her chin on his shoulder so she could look at his face better.

His words made her slightly more guilty, but she supposed that she had earned that in a way. When the train had gone astray a lot of people had gotten hurt and there was no way of him knowing that she was okay. Of course he was worried, but she was preoccupied with Mortimer. Silly, silly Selina.

She squeezed him a little and replied, "Right, about that. I'm sure that your girlfriend is very sorry about her disappearing act. And she would like to know if you could forgive her? Because she is sorry that she was being a little oblivious today." Just for good merit, she sent him a cute face too.

Gideon felt her tighten her hold as if Selina was hugging him more than she was already, the seventh year managing a small smile in response. His eyes flickering to the side where she had her chin rested but then quickly back ahead with a straight face. "Well...I don't know. Can I forgive her? I don't know if its possible." All words rooted in jest though he was doing his best to appear natural as if playing hard to get. He looked again to the side and noticed the look he was gettinf, biting his cheek to keep from chuckling.

"Oh...don't try to look cute there missy," he remark, his face growing into a smirk.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassirin

The feast was likely winding down, and Genevieve didn't want to let the night end before she conferred with her rather crazy-faced Gryffindor acquaintance... the rabid chimaera called Selina-without-a-bat.

"Hey," Vivi dropped onto the bench across from the girl, giving those on either side a wiggle with her hips to make more room for herself. "So. Fun train rides you've got around here."

Gideon had briefly wondered where their newest acquaintance had gone to, having been distracted during her sorting. That was until she appeared across from him and Selina at the Gryffindor table. Ah...Ravenclaw by the new patch on her robes. Seemed fitting for she certainly had the wit for it. He simply offered her a polite smile as her attention seemed to be on the redhead beside him.

Harvey smiled a little as she said that it was nice.. still not sounding like the Rons he knew.. there had to be something to get her back to her normal happy state. He smiled as she seemed to read his mind "Yeah? thats good.. cause I kinda miss that Ronnie that had so much fun tackling me to the ground" he chuckled reminding her of what she loved to do. Cause that was the Rons that he knew.. one that would hug him so hard he was sure he was going to be tackled to the ground... actually she even did that once.. the moment he went to see her at her house over the summer. Hadn't she said that she had practiced on Big Mikey before tackling him

The color just kept rising in Kurumi's features and was actually beginning to spread to her hair, causing it to take on a burnt orange that was a signature tone for when Kurumi was really feeling embarrassed. Thankfully, in the candle light, things could be passed off as a simple reflection from the fire or perhaps Alice woudn't notice at all. Kurumi softly nodded her head at the young Gryffindor. "T-T-Thanks," she said with a nervous smile.

Tatertot? Kurumi giggled. She hadn't heard that nickname for Headmaster Tate since the Aparecium her third year and it actually brought a smile to her face. "Headmistress Truebridge will be different, no doubt about that," she said. "For one....she road the train here." Which had come as quite the shock to Kurumi when she had stumbled into the prefects' compartment.

Kurumi-Cookie. Another nickname that she had somehow earned. It was funny how, before attending Hogwarts, she had read about nicknames in a book on friendship. How they could signified a close knit relationship with someone. How she thought that such a thing was unattainable. She wasn't a fan of nicknames, mostly because the ones she had ever received when she was younger were horrible and hurtful, but now...well...Hogwarts had changed her. But then Alice's question caused Kurumi's jaw to dropped and she just stared at the young Gryffindor for a moment. "Of course I won't forget," she squeaked in surprise. "Why in Merlin's beard would you ever think I would?! Or that I could do such a thing?"

If she had to tie her entire Hogwarts experience up in one word, unforgettable was probably the word she would have picked.
Kurumi really....really...reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally did not want to be having this conversation right now. In the Great Hall of all places. At the Opening Feast at all times. In front of her house mates and all these younger students who were looking to her right now as whatever they needed her to be. What would they think if all of a sudden the seventh year allowed the hot tears that were burning the corners of her eyes right now to actually flow? How would they feel hearing the thoughts and feelings she was being crushed by voiced out loud? Hearing how much Kurumi truly and honestly thought herself a failure.

Hey, you look at me, okay?

Sorry Selina. If she did that those tears really were going to come and she couldn't allow herself to do that. Sixteen years of feeling like a disappointment were suffocating her now. The past year had been the first time in her life where she hadn't felt as such, sort of, but perhaps that had all just been an illusion. a facade she had put on to help her deal with the loss of her mother and with everything else that had threatened to tear her a part last term. She hated this. Hated feeling like this over something so...stupid and small. Something that, in the long run, didn't matter.

Or did it?

Kurumi winced at Selina using her full name. Treyen had done that as well when they had spoken. Lewis hadn't, but he hadn't really said much and just held her while she tried to rid herself of all the negative emotions and tears so that maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't need them anymore and she could be as confident about herself as Selina was about herself. It was something Kurumi strove for, being like her best friend in that light.

Kurumi simply chewed on her lip furiously, turning her goblet half full of pumpkin juice with her hands. "Selina....can we....not talk about this...please?" she asked, her voice quivering and sounding more like a plea than anything else. Because Kurumi could sense what question was coming next...and Kurumi could already see her best friend's head spinning off into orbit or her exploding like one of her potions.
"I'm sure you will," she nodded. Once Kurumi found her routine it would be easier to find her in the kitchens, but she had a lot to think about this term between NEWTs and yearbook. Most likely it would be classes, some yearbook work immediately after, begin baking, Great Hall for dinner, get whatever she was baking out of the oven, back to the common room, study and do assignments.

"There was no Astronomy professor so that meant no supervision could have been offered," Kurumi shrugged. It was understandable, especially coming from the Headmaster's point of view. "Don't have to worry about that this term, I don't think. Looks like we finally have a professor for the subject." Her next question somewhat confused her...as it seemed completely unrelated to their protest conversation. "Um....yes," she said with a small nod.

Kurumi laughed softly. "I hear that a lot, so don't feel bad." Between her height, her overall small stature, and most people simply being unable to wrap their head around her being seventeen - her own father included - eyes always widened and jaws dropped. "Well, you can dig in now. Headmisstress Truebridge has given her speech." And Kurumi could have some more pumpkin juice.

YAY!

His next question brought an unfamiliar serene smile to her face. Unfamiliar in that she hadn't felt calm all day. "Home," she replied simply. "It's been like home."
Flying...right....

Kurumi could feel the nervous rash already forming on her skin just at the mention of the word. Brooms were meant for cleaning...not sitting on and flying. At least that was how she felt about them now. Kurumi was absolutely petrified of flying now and it was only because of Selina she was in lessons at all. That...and Professor Vindictus always demanded his cookies and she couldn't let him down.

"My best friend is the Quidditch Captain," she said as she pointed towards Selina a few seats down. Flaming red hair, really hard to miss. "If you have questions you should go ask her and, um, don't mind her right now. She is....a little more insane than usual..." Missing Beater's bat and all.

Oh yearbook! Kurumi could go on and on about it and what a fantastic team she had this term. Everyone had already been working hard and sending her things over the summer to correct and apply to layouts. "Well, my job is to make the layout for the yearbook, help edit and place articles, assign people tasks to do. I also do a bit of photography for it as well. I suppose you could say that I have my hand in everything, but I love it. It is another way that I can give back to Hogwarts." Kurumi ran her fingers through her hair idly as she began making a sort of check list in her head of things she still needed to do. Another issue was about ready to be released and there were just a few more things to add and it was done.

Dylan was right. She shouldn't ruin her mood over that. That was just silly! And she shouldn't of snapped at that young firstie earlier...she felt real bad about that. Hopefully she'd run into the girl tomorrow so she could apologize. She smiled at Dylan, giving him a little nod. "Alright." she said. "You're right, Dill Pickle." she said with a smile at what he said, ruffling his hair.

"You gotta see the duck pond! The cuuutest ducks ever are there. There's twelve I think." she said thoughtfully. Was there twelve? She was pretty sure...who knows. She'd count the next time she went down there.

There were a lot of things in her life that Selina was not always good at doing. But usually being able to talk to Kurumi was not on that list. However, right now, from the look on Kurumi's face, her best friend was failing her. It was an unwritten rule of a best friend to be there for their best friend and make them feel better when they were down. Selina was failing horribly. Kurumi wouldn't even look at her, but she couldn't blame her.

Her best friend had always been the type of person who hated to disappoint people. And the redhead could see how Kurumi would view not getting Head Girl as a disappointment. However, it was not that all. There were plenty of people in Selina's life that had disappointed her, herself included, but Kurumi had never done that. The seventh year was the nicest, most sincere and brilliant person she had ever met. How could she even think that she was a failure? And yet, after knowing her best friend for all of these years, she understood her train of thought.

It was just sad. She was more upset for her friend's personal feelings than she was for that stupid badge. Kurumi didn't need a badge to prove how brilliant of a student leader she was to anyone. And if anyone wanted to question it, Selina was going to have a real stern talk with them. Except Mortimer wouldn't be able to help her...

THIS WAS NOT ABOUT MORTIMER!

Kurumi's next few words stopped Selina dead in her tracks. She... she was just trying to help....

"Alright," Selina said softly, "We can talk about this later then... maybe... dorms later?" Because she had questions that needed to be answered. Like who was Head Girl if Kurumi wasn't?



At his witty words, she tried to suppress a chuckle. He was joking around with her again, which meant that she was forgiven. It was nice to know that at least she was forgiven. And if she was forgiven it meant that she could be a little bit more cutesy than she would have previously attempted. The last thing she wanted was for him to be upset with her, even in the slightest. Although, note to girlfriend, don't go MIA during dangerous situations. Duly noted.

She kissed his cheek again, "I think you should forgive her because she didn't mean to worry you." Donning a smirk of her own, she kept her pout on her face, "Don't be cute? I don't know if that's possible..." She was not being serious in the slightest. But she still felt it was funny.

A familiar voice drew Selina away from her chicken. It was the girl from the platform who had been so very helpful on her quest to find Mortimer. Genevieve! What a nice girl, honestly. Anyone who understood the bond between bat and beater was a friend of hers. Also, she had really nice hair, which was just a bonus of course.

Dropping her chicken on her plate, she wiped her mouth, "Hey there, stranger." Train ride? Oh yeah. They had sort of had a crazy mouse train ride on the way to school this year. It usually didn't go so terribly, but at least everyone got out alive. And even if they didn't, a train ghost would be sort of cool, no?

"Yeah," she chuckled, "The school usually isn't THAT dangerous... usually..." Eh, sort of.



Oh yeah, she saw the boy who looked like a deer in headlights. She liked when the little ones panicked. It always filled her with pride. Because then she knew that she would be able to keep a certain level of control over them.... at least she told herself that.



Did this kid have some sort of verbal vomit disorder? Everything that she said was just making Selina increasingly more upset by the minute. First she had the nerve to climb the express, then she had the nerve to make fun of her bat, now she had the audacity to even SUGGEST replacing Mortimer. Did she have NO SOUL? Apparently so. Bloody heartless firsty.

"Do you have no heart or something? Actually do you have something or someone you love. How would you feel if they got ripped out of your arms? Huh? HOW WOULD YOU FEEL? Could you, I don't know, REPLACE THEM? No I didn't think so..." This was serious stuff. Mortimer was not a laughing matter, "You should think before you speak... you might REALLY hurt someone's feelings." Like Mortimer's if he had heard that.

Hey, look! It was her partner-in-saving-people! Vivi wiggled her fingers at Gert merrily enough, although they were apparently not speaking to each other at the moment.

Oh. Maybe she needed Selina's permission to talk to him?

Quote:

Originally Posted by fanficfanatict

A familiar voice drew Selina away from her chicken. It was the girl from the platform who had been so very helpful on her quest to find Mortimer. Genevieve! What a nice girl, honestly. Anyone who understood the bond between bat and beater was a friend of hers. Also, she had really nice hair, which was just a bonus of course.

Dropping her chicken on her plate, she wiped her mouth, "Hey there, stranger." Train ride? Oh yeah. They had sort of had a crazy mouse train ride on the way to school this year. It usually didn't go so terribly, but at least everyone got out alive. And even if they didn't, a train ghost would be sort of cool, no?

"Yeah," she chuckled, "The school usually isn't THAT dangerous... usually..." Eh, sort of.

"I had to run away from the Ravenclaws for a while. Don't get me wrong... super awesome and clever as spit, but the Head Girl wanted to burn holes through me with her eyes, and I like myself without holes. It's just how I prefer to be." It hadn't been nearly as bad as all that, but Louisa HAD stared. Max had stared too. There had been STARING. She twisted up her ponytail in one fist and leaned forward, dropping her voice.

Secrets time.

"We should confer soon about the kidnapping of Mortimer. We'll need a list of suspects, all the places you visited the day he was taken, a matching pair of mustaches to twirl as we think, and at least one deerstalker cap. A monocle wouldn't hurt, but I have some tiny bifocals from an abysmal performance of the Beauxbatons drama club that we can use if necessary." That was the list.

Selina, who had chosen quite stupidly to take a sip from her goblet at that precise moment, choked a little when Genevieve had mentioned the Head Girl. The Head Girl was a Ravenclaw? That meant that Louisa Carter was... oh Merlin... SHE WAS HEAD GIRL? Was that serious? Was she being, what did Muggles call that, Punk'd? Since when was Louisa Carter Head Girl? THAT WAS THE REASON WHY KURUMI WAS SO UPSET??!?!?!?!! Oh people were VERY lucky that Mortimer had gone MIA because the redhead was somewhat short of furious. Hadn't there been like forty Ravenclaw Head Girls in the past few years? And Slytherin ones too. BUT NO! Merlin forbid that a qualified Gryffindor came along! BLOODY PROFESSOR BIAS! That was such Hippogriff dung! Kurumi was so deserving of that bloody title, not that she needed it to prove to people how amazing she was as a student and leader, but SERIOUSLY? Lord in Merlin's pants!

All the while as these thoughts raced throughout the redhead's mind, her face was slowly starting to turn the color of her hair. In fact, it was turning a brighter red than even her hair could even hope to turn. Fury was now Selina's middle name, Arden no longer held that title. Her best friend was downtrodden and upset because she wasn't given Head Girl and yet ANOTHER Ravenclaw took the title? Did the Professors know ANY variety? No? Or were they too afraid to give it to another Slytherin because the badge wasn't back from the dry cleaners yet? HUH? SHE WANTED AN ANSWER!

Calming herself down a little, she brushed a stray hair out of her face and said with a wavering voice, "That's unfortunate... I'm sorry to hear you almost got impaled." Although Selina was not really focusing much on anything Genevieve was saying. She was still fuming.

Even bringing up the topic of Mortimer could not bring Selina back from her dark place. She simply nodded to Genevieve before saying something to keep up appearances, "Yeah that sounds great..." In all honesty, a monocle did sound good. Trying to swallow some of her upset for her best friend she added, "Also a deerstalker for you and a bowler hat for me might help... as well as mustaches... because everyone respects people with those."

........

"Yeah. I am. My names Noah. Nice to meet ya Ronnie? uh...just sayin' but ain't that a boy's name?"

SPOILER!!: Selina

Quote:

Originally Posted by fanficfanatict

At his witty words, she tried to suppress a chuckle. He was joking around with her again, which meant that she was forgiven. It was nice to know that at least she was forgiven. And if she was forgiven it meant that she could be a little bit more cutesy than she would have previously attempted. The last thing she wanted was for him to be upset with her, even in the slightest. Although, note to girlfriend, don't go MIA during dangerous situations. Duly noted.

She kissed his cheek again, "I think you should forgive her because she didn't mean to worry you." Donning a smirk of her own, she kept her pout on her face, "Don't be cute? I don't know if that's possible..." She was not being serious in the slightest. But she still felt it was funny.


A familiar voice drew Selina away from her chicken. It was the girl from the platform who had been so very helpful on her quest to find Mortimer. Genevieve! What a nice girl, honestly. Anyone who understood the bond between bat and beater was a friend of hers. Also, she had really nice hair, which was just a bonus of course.

Dropping her chicken on her plate, she wiped her mouth, "Hey there, stranger." Train ride? Oh yeah. They had sort of had a crazy mouse train ride on the way to school this year. It usually didn't go so terribly, but at least everyone got out alive. And even if they didn't, a train ghost would be sort of cool, no?

"Yeah," she chuckled, "The school usually isn't THAT dangerous... usually..." Eh, sort of.

Selina's kisses to his cheek were weakening him. That much was entirely true and Gideon was fighting the urge to give in and drop the playful charade. He might have had it not also been true that he and Selina were just made up on playful competativeness...the tickle-pick-up fights over the summer had been proof of that. It was just in their nature to have the type of banter going on between them that the two Gryffindors were currently imbroiled in.

Gideon raised an eyebrow as if daring her to make him comment on her not-so-cute moments. With someone of the fiery temper variety there were quite a handful. "Aye...alright. I guess ye've convinced me....I mean him." The prefect finally turning carefully in his seat to look at her fully.

SPOILER!!: Genevieve

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassirin

Hey, look! It was her partner-in-saving-people! Vivi wiggled her fingers at Gert merrily enough, although they were apparently not speaking to each other at the moment.

Oh. Maybe she needed Selina's permission to talk to him?

"I had to run away from the Ravenclaws for a while. Don't get me wrong... super awesome and clever as spit, but the Head Girl wanted to burn holes through me with her eyes, and I like myself without holes. It's just how I prefer to be." It hadn't been nearly as bad as all that, but Louisa HAD stared. Max had stared too. There had been STARING. She twisted up her ponytail in one fist and leaned forward, dropping her voice.

Secrets time.

"We should confer soon about the kidnapping of Mortimer. We'll need a list of suspects, all the places you visited the day he was taken, a matching pair of mustaches to twirl as we think, and at least one deerstalker cap. A monocle wouldn't hurt, but I have some tiny bifocals from an abysmal performance of the Beauxbatons drama club that we can use if necessary." That was the list.

Gideon caught the wave but couldn't bring himself to return it feeling silly. "Hey," he greeted instead offering a polite smile. "As for anything else, Selina was doing a good job of beating him to the standard questions so he opted to eat some dinner and let the partners-in-crime confer.

He finally let out a chuckle that he had been holding back from Selina's antics as he barely got snippets on what Genevieve was whispering about. Not that he was trying to evesdrop but she was whispering to Selina who was literally right next to him. But then their secret was safe with him. "Sorry..." Gideon said, appologizing for the laugh. "Just sounds a little amusing."

Jake stared silently at Tag, letting him finish his mini!rant before speaking. "Alright. Let's just hope everybody goes to bed at a reasonable hour and lets you get your rest."

Really, Jake was just being considerate. He didn't want Tag to not be rested. Because then he'd be even grumpier and harder to be around.



Half-smiling, Jake nodded. "I hoped it wasn't. I mean, everybody seemed pretty shocked, so I thought it probably wasn't an every-year thing." Still, you never knew.

Oh, right. Introductions. "Jake Keller," he said with another smile. "Nice to meet you."



...Fine. Jake pursed his lips, nodding. "Mine too. You know, besides the fact that the train broke down and everything." Minor setback.

[B]"I made it, though. No injuries,"]/B] he added, just in case Penelope was worried. "I did this really neat ninja roll on the platform that everybody seems to have overlooked." It probably saved him from a few bumps and bruises, too. Portkeys weren't his forte, so he was pretty proud of himself for getting out of it skillfully and gracefully.



Ohh. Pony ride. Duh. Jake nodded seriously, glancing up at the ceiling before looking back at Alice. "Tell ya what, Ali Monster. If you ever catch me in the common room and I have some time, I'll give you a pony ride." Yes, he was aware of the commitment that he had just made. But it was for Alice... he could handle it. As long as she didn't see him every time he spent his down time in the common room. His knees would get dirty from being on the floor a lot. His pants would get scuffed.



...Suddenly, Jake was struck with the feeling that he had said the wrong thing. He stared at the girl, torn between sliding under the table and crawling away and apologizing. Because he clearly did something wrong. She wouldn't be looking at him like that if everything was peachy.

Ah. There it was.

"...Sorry."

He nodded, as if proving a point. Although he wasn't even sure why he had just apologized to the girl. Woman. Lady. Person.

"I'll keep an eye out for him. It. The bat." Another nod. That was enough to get the girl to smile, right?

And for Anya!

As soon as he was sure the girl without the bat wouldn't bite his head off again, Jake turned to Anya. A thought had just come to his mind, and he wasn't about to let it go without acting on it first. It had slipped his mind what with all the train chaos, but now that he was settled down and sorted into Gryffindor he was ready to do what he'd been waiting to do since the day before.

Ahem.

"Anya," he said, grinning lopsidedly. "I'm gonna ask you that question now. Remember?" Who was he kidding. Of course she did. Especially with her friend yelling about it and everything....

"Will you be my girlfriend?" Heh.

Oh! Well then that was good--excellent even! So she would be able to make cookies with her when she was free then have the kitchen to herself and her friends at the end of the day. She nodded quite approvingly at this. "That's great! So then I take it you go to bed at a reasonable time yes?" It never hurt to ask. She couldn't have Kurumi being down at the study tables or something when she was trying to sneak out. That wouldn't work at all!

That. Made. Sense.

No professor would have automatically meant no classes up there. "So then it's thanks to you guys that we have an Astromony Professor now?" Admiration was present in the girls eyes as she looked over at the prefect. She couldn't help but wonder if she would have made some kind of difference before she left--the good kind though! And of course she didn't believe the half-hearted answer. She raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you sure...? You don't seem alright...?" Because she didn't at all!

So....judging by the expression that had formed on the girl's face it was fair to say that she might have been just a little opposed to replacing her bat. It was just a bat though so she couldn't see the big deal...but for the sake of her own safety she would keep that thought in her head. For a moment she tried thinking about the bat as if it were her wand. Her eyes fell to it for a moment before she looked up again. Yeah...she would have killed for her wand...

She grew quite shocked when the girl inquired about her having a heart. She liked to think that she didn't because then she couldn't get hurt but she had feeling that she was using a completely different context here. This was proven when Selina mentioned her losing something or someone. Her brows furrowed defiantly as she tried not to let it affect her too much, then trying not to let her voice crack she tried to hold the girl's gaze. "I have actually...my mother...and you're right, I can't replace her. I didn't think you cared that much for the bat and I'm sorry but you should think before you say things too because you could really hurt someone's feelings!" It was a wonder she was able to say all this without exploding at her.

Anya looked up from her food when Jake started talking. The question?!

THE question?

They were talking about the same question, right? He didn't want her to pass the pumpkin juice or the potatoes or something, right?

*grinnnnn*

Nope. They were thinking of the same question. And now she was completely torn between letting out a FINALLY and throwing her arms around him.

But then she realized neither option really answered the question.

"Yes." she said with a wide grin and a nod. She gave him a playful little nudge with her elbow.

"Now could you pass me the apple pie there?" Because apparently she was the type of girlfriend that wanted pie. Heh.

Squee! She was Jake's girlfriend. Jake was her boyfriend!

Her boyfriend that needed to hand her the pie!

"Evening Heather," he replied swivelling in the air to face the young girl. "I'm well, thank you! And yourself? Keeping out of trouble I hope," he added with a chuckle.

Mister Nicholas?... well he hadn't heard that in a while. Though he wanted to correct the girl, he opted to take the high road and pretend he hadn't noticed. After all, this wasn't the first time it had happened. Surely he'd be used to it by now? Or perhaps in another few hundred years?
"Good good. Now that Peeves is out of the way. Being a nuisance again."

The inseparables!

"Oh you know, nothing out of the ordinary, my head still isn't as detached as it should be." Perposterous. But what was all this business about Kurumi not being Head Girl?

"How is that even possible? Don't let it get to you though... we all get left out of things from time to time. It's best to rise above it, be better than them in every way and then don't involve them in fun activities based on your acheivements..."
No this wasn't personal, not at all.

Crowded? Nichoals turned to see what the girl had been talking about. Oh! The guests! "Yes, It happens from time to time." Nothing overly out of the ordinary.

"You're welcome," murmured Nicholas at the boys exclamations. "It's a pleasure to meet you... Dylan." No, DJ did not sound like the name of a roaring Lion, Dylan on the other hand was closer. "I'm Sir Nicholas, the Gryffindor House Ghost." A very important title obviously. "Now... are you a trouble maker? Or just loud?"

Ah, just brave then. This wasn't al that surprising considering the colours the girl would now be sporting. The honourable red and gold. Oh! Introductions, lovely. "Sir Nicholas de Mimsy Porpington at your service," he announced, bowing his head whilst holding it in place. "But most call me Sir Nicholas."

"And what, may I ask, is your name?"

"Good evening Gideon," he replied with a nod at the Prefect. Gert. Gert Gert Gert... that was such a good name to say repeatedly. Gert. Has a nice ring to it.
"Enjoyed your summer?" It must have been more exciting than this old and empty castle.

Dylan smiled as she laughed softly but it was something he wasn't expecting after the train climbing adventure he had conducted, he was surprised to hear that he was not the first to say that "Umm ok" if said not to feel bad he wouldn't but he actually wasn't feeling bad for saying that. Didn't girls always like hearing that they looked younger than they actually were? so how was he supposed to feel bad, he was complimenting her? "Are you and that other girl close?" he asked nodding towards Selina the bat girl

Dylan nodded to her as he started grabbing a bit of everything that he saw in sight, well not too much he was a little boy afterall. He saw her smile as she answered his question home? this would be like.. his second home? or well third cause he had his home with his dad, then his second home with his mom and now he would have this his third? "Thats cool! soo we can have fun at home" right? so he could treat this place as if it were his own home.. except with those professors watching you. Gonna be tough but he had to try.



He smiled as she said that he was right, well he knew that! cause it was no fun ruining your mood when there was lots of fun to be had! She then ruffled his hair "Hey, watch it.. gonna mess up my hair mane *totally in simba's voice*" he chuckled as he joked with her and straightened his hair again. He always had people ruffling his hair at home and now here too? oh boy! yup this was going to be like his third home.

He looked at her as she said that he had to see the duck pond "There is a duck pond in school?! wow!" mmm that gave him an idea, but he wouldn't tell just yet it could get him into some amount of trouble. "What do you do with the ducks?" cause they usually did everything by themselves right... so what could ya do with them except give them bread and watch them.

Kurumi shifted rather uncomfortably in her seat for a moment. She really didn't want to think about this right now. All the chaos from the day having put all of that aside. Truth be told Kurumi had been more concerned about how she really was a horrible Healer while she had been on the platform administering splints, bandages, and everything else to students. The feast had been a brilliant distraction as well, focusing on greeting the new and old Gryffindors while charming her cookies to dance around the table. It had felt like she had falling back into her usual routine.

Now...well...now she was doing a lot of thinking and personal reflection...which was never all that good when it came to this particular Gryffindor.

"Yeah....yeah...sounds good," she nodded, still not entirely meeting Selina's gaze. "And...Selina...thanks."
At least there was Sir Nicholas to break up that conversa---- or not. Never mind.

Kurumi sipped on her pumpkin juice as the ghost spoke, listening to each word he said and nodding - not necessarily in agreement, but more to let him know that she was listening to him. Did he ALSO need to sound so surprised? It only made her feel even more like she had let people down. Hadn't met expectations...which was obvious when she looked at everyone's face.

"Thank you, Sir Nicholas, I'll...I'll try to keep that in mind."

Left out....just like when she had been in school in Japan...
Kurumi cocked her head to the side and thought for a moment. Reasonable hour...what all entailed reasonable? "Um...I'm not entirely sure I would say reasonable..." she mused, thinking a bit more. "I have NEWTs that I need to study for this term, and then yearbook to work on, not to mention the usual coursework..." She probably could have gone on and listed several more things, but surely Alexa had no interest in hearing about what all Kurumi had on her plate.

"I wouldn't go THAT far," Kurumi replied, shaking her head. "But we did let the Headmaster know that we wanted Astronomy back, so I am sure it encouraged him to find someone." Which meant one lesson that wouldn't be too far of a walk from the common room - other than Professor Looneywood's that is. "I am. It's just been a long day."

A reeeeeeeeeeeeeally long day.
"Nice to meet you too, Jake," Kurumi greeted. Good Gryffindor right there. Kurumi could just feel that this was going to be a good term for the lions. It better be...it was her last one and she wanted to leave Hogwarts with no regrets.

Kurumi blinked a few times wondering what exactly the first year meant by that other girl, but really...there was only ONE other girl he could be talking about, right? "Selina? Very close. She is my best friend," Kurumi nodded. She would have said sister, but it probably would have confused him. They weren't literally sisters, but they were close enough to be.

"Of course," she nodded. After all, all studying and no fun would drive them all mad - even for someone as studious as Kurumi was. "Just as long as you don't cost Gryffindor any house points that is," she added with a wink. "It's been far too long since we came away with the House Cup." Something Kurumi would really like to leave Hogwarts with.

Her plate and goblet now empty, Kurumi glanced around the table and noted that things were beginning to slow down and plates emptying as well. Which meant one thing: time to lead the first years and transfer students up to the common room.

One last time.

Standing, Kurumi tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before clearing her voice.

"LIONS! It's about time to head up to the common room," she announced, her usual cheerful tone and persona returning with each breath. "If everyone could please follow Selina, Gideon, and myself out of the Great Hall please."

With that, the seventh year walked towards the end of the table closest to the entrance to the Great Hall and waited for everyone to gather before she began to lead the way.

OOC: you don't have to stop RPing if you wish to continue! You can keep playing until the thread closes or wrap up your RPs and pretend to follow one of your student leaders out of the Great Hall. There won't literally be a tour up to Gryffindot Tower, so go have fun in the school lions!

Abby rolled her eyes at the girl. DUH. She knew that she had to get her head checked out. Yeah, she'd kind of been avoiding that for various reasons but she knew that a visit to the Healer was due. "Thanks for the concern." She wasn't sure if the girl was just mocking her or whether she was genuinely concerned.. either way, she didn't care.

"No one's asking you to look at us." Abby was really starting to get tired with this conversation. It was time to leave. But, before she turned around, Lex said something about her scowling in the train. "I wasn't scowling. I just didn't see the need to talk to anyone.. especially annoying little first years who ask way too many questions." Yes, I'm talking about you Lex. If it wasn't obvious already.



"Yeah, well. We'll go tomorrow. Let's just spend the day together." Because she hadn't seen him in a little while and she wanted to be with him right now. The Healer could wait. "And.. don't apologize, hun. It's not your fault. I just.. lost my balance and fell." Stupid train ride.

She could also see that he didn't like Lex at all. Heh. That girl was just too.. annoying. Kids were annoying in general, honestly. "See ya, Lex." With that, she started to drag Chace towards the entrance hall. "Where should we go?" Cause she had absolutely no idea.

Heather smiled with a light laugh. She found it a relief or perhaps, more of amusing that the house ghost still remembers her. "I'm quite well, too, and I'm not quite sure, but i know i haven't caused any other trouble, yet. But i will keep in mind to stay away from it." she answered. "Actually, if it's all right to say this, i'm very surprised that you still remember me, sir."


but before she could even hear what the house ghost would say about her sentence, she was cut-off hearing a familiar voice calling her name loud and clear. She turned around and saw the figure she missed seeing so much. It had been some time, but, Heather never forgot this one girl she shared so many fun memories with in Hogwarts before she left a few years back, and was totally not expecting that she would recognize her upon coming back.

"Kurumi!" her smile was radiant, brighter than the sun, some might say. She had completely forgotten how tired she felt, how melancholic her mood was. "It's been awhile!" she said, trying to hold back a few tears in her eyes. At least, there was someone in this school who recognized her, and was glad to have her back, other than Cass. "I'm sorry. I've just been away for sometime... it's a really long story."

It was that time already? The night had barely started for her, but, there's no room for argument tonight. It would be safe to assume that Kurumi is Gryffindor's head girl now that is, since she was leading everyone to the common room. "I'll talk to you later then?" she asked Kurumi ahead, feeling that the other would sooner or later demand answers, stories, reasons as to why she disappeared few years back. She didn't mind. It's good to catch up with an old friend as she too wanted to ask Kurumi how she'd been.

SPOILER!!: Nick and Kurumi

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nearly Headless Nick

"Evening Heather," he replied swivelling in the air to face the young girl. "I'm well, thank you! And yourself? Keeping out of trouble I hope," he added with a chuckle.



Mister Nicholas?... well he hadn't heard that in a while. Though he wanted to correct the girl, he opted to take the high road and pretend he hadn't noticed. After all, this wasn't the first time it had happened. Surely he'd be used to it by now? Or perhaps in another few hundred years?
"Good good. Now that Peeves is out of the way. Being a nuisance again."





The inseparables!

"Oh you know, nothing out of the ordinary, my head still isn't as detached as it should be." Perposterous. But what was all this business about Kurumi not being Head Girl?

"How is that even possible? Don't let it get to you though... we all get left out of things from time to time. It's best to rise above it, be better than them in every way and then don't involve them in fun activities based on your acheivements..."
No this wasn't personal, not at all.



Crowded? Nichoals turned to see what the girl had been talking about. Oh! The guests! "Yes, It happens from time to time." Nothing overly out of the ordinary.



"You're welcome," murmured Nicholas at the boys exclamations. "It's a pleasure to meet you... Dylan." No, DJ did not sound like the name of a roaring Lion, Dylan on the other hand was closer. "I'm Sir Nicholas, the Gryffindor House Ghost." A very important title obviously. "Now... are you a trouble maker? Or just loud?"



Ah, just brave then. This wasn't al that surprising considering the colours the girl would now be sporting. The honourable red and gold. Oh! Introductions, lovely. "Sir Nicholas de Mimsy Porpington at your service," he announced, bowing his head whilst holding it in place. "But most call me Sir Nicholas."

"And what, may I ask, is your name?"



"Good evening Gideon," he replied with a nod at the Prefect. Gert. Gert Gert Gert... that was such a good name to say repeatedly. Gert. Has a nice ring to it.
"Enjoyed your summer?" It must have been more exciting than this old and empty castle.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

Kurumi shifted rather uncomfortably in her seat for a moment. She really didn't want to think about this right now. All the chaos from the day having put all of that aside. Truth be told Kurumi had been more concerned about how she really was a horrible Healer while she had been on the platform administering splints, bandages, and everything else to students. The feast had been a brilliant distraction as well, focusing on greeting the new and old Gryffindors while charming her cookies to dance around the table. It had felt like she had falling back into her usual routine.

Now...well...now she was doing a lot of thinking and personal reflection...which was never all that good when it came to this particular Gryffindor.

"Yeah....yeah...sounds good," she nodded, still not entirely meeting Selina's gaze. "And...Selina...thanks."

At least there was Sir Nicholas to break up that conversa---- or not. Never mind.

Kurumi sipped on her pumpkin juice as the ghost spoke, listening to each word he said and nodding - not necessarily in agreement, but more to let him know that she was listening to him. Did he ALSO need to sound so surprised? It only made her feel even more like she had let people down. Hadn't met expectations...which was obvious when she looked at everyone's face.

"Thank you, Sir Nicholas, I'll...I'll try to keep that in mind."

Left out....just like when she had been in school in Japan...

Kurumi cocked her head to the side and thought for a moment. Reasonable hour...what all entailed reasonable? "Um...I'm not entirely sure I would say reasonable..." she mused, thinking a bit more. "I have NEWTs that I need to study for this term, and then yearbook to work on, not to mention the usual coursework..." She probably could have gone on and listed several more things, but surely Alexa had no interest in hearing about what all Kurumi had on her plate.

"I wouldn't go THAT far," Kurumi replied, shaking her head. "But we did let the Headmaster know that we wanted Astronomy back, so I am sure it encouraged him to find someone." Which meant one lesson that wouldn't be too far of a walk from the common room - other than Professor Looneywood's that is. "I am. It's just been a long day."

A reeeeeeeeeeeeeally long day.

"Nice to meet you too, Jake," Kurumi greeted. Good Gryffindor right there. Kurumi could just feel that this was going to be a good term for the lions. It better be...it was her last one and she wanted to leave Hogwarts with no regrets.


Kurumi blinked a few times wondering what exactly the first year meant by that other girl, but really...there was only ONE other girl he could be talking about, right? "Selina? Very close. She is my best friend," Kurumi nodded. She would have said sister, but it probably would have confused him. They weren't literally sisters, but they were close enough to be.

"Of course," she nodded. After all, all studying and no fun would drive them all mad - even for someone as studious as Kurumi was. "Just as long as you don't cost Gryffindor any house points that is," she added with a wink. "It's been far too long since we came away with the House Cup." Something Kurumi would really like to leave Hogwarts with.

Her plate and goblet now empty, Kurumi glanced around the table and noted that things were beginning to slow down and plates emptying as well. Which meant one thing: time to lead the first years and transfer students up to the common room.

One last time.

Standing, Kurumi tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before clearing her voice.

"LIONS! It's about time to head up to the common room," she announced, her usual cheerful tone and persona returning with each breath. "If everyone could please follow Selina, Gideon, and myself out of the Great Hall please."

With that, the seventh year walked towards the end of the table closest to the entrance to the Great Hall and waited for everyone to gather before she began to lead the way.

OOC: you don't have to stop RPing if you wish to continue! You can keep playing until the thread closes or wrap up your RPs and pretend to follow one of your student leaders out of the Great Hall. There won't literally be a tour up to Gryffindot Tower, so go have fun in the school lions!

"Aye...indeed I did," Gideon answered Sir Nicholas. He was about to say something more when he noticed Kurumi get up and realized it was probably time to move all the students up to the dorms. "Shall we...." he mused to Selina as he he got up from his seat his dinner finished.

"Good evening Genevieve," the prefect added politely excusing himself from the Ravenclaw since they had been talking. Tomorrow was another day. Gideon settled himself as he listened to Kurumi take charge and tell the first years and transfers what to do, the seventh year nodding as the attention was drawn to him as he was listed with the other three lion leaders.

"Alright...off to the tower," he mused taking his turn heading out after Kurumi and the students already following his fellow prefect, watching to see it others followed him in stride.

.... Um. What? Genevieve Branxton was being DEAD AMUSING here, and she was getting diddly in response. It was frustrating. No, strike that... it was insulting. This was golden humor right here, and Selina was looking through her.

And the friend from the platform and Boyfriend Gert were wandering off like they had better things to do than sit here and be amused and amusing. Sad. And she was needing the pick-me-up after being abandoned at the Ravenclaw table.

Sigh. Why was everyone LEAVING her all the time?

"Catch up to me later. We'll try this again when you aren't so busy. I really do have sleuthing thoughts."