There was something very wrong with this scene. Nicholas hovered a foot off the ground at the Gryffindor study tables. Why were there no students here? Why were they not immersing themselves in their studies?

"Hmph," he muttered.

Sure the Lions weren't known for their wit, but it didn't mean they had to avoid studying did it? "Points won't earn themselves," he called over his shoulder, hoping someone would hear. It was high time somebody motivated these students. Or... scared them into it.

Just returning from one of her classes, Ariadne entered the Common Room and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary at first. Only when she heard something about points did the girl bother to truly take in her surroundings. The voice definitely didn't belong to a student. Was it a Professor? What would he be doing here?

Then she spotted him next to the study tables. 'Merlin's beard! You're Nearly-Headless Nick!' Astute observation. Yes, she knew he was the house ghost, but had never seen him before so close. 'I mean SIR Nicholas.' Ari emphasised the title, remembering that the aristocrats usually cared about these things. 'I'm deeply honoured to meet you.' She even curtsied. Silly girl.

What was that about the points again? 'Don't worry. There's plenty of time for that. Term's just started.' It was early autumn and the students could still have fun outside, studying could wait, right?

Penelope usually liked to ignore the study tables. At least, she had last year pretty well. But maybe she should try not doing that this year. She knew, even though she wouldn't admit it, that she wouldn't get better at most of these classes if she didn't at least try a little harder at doing homework and practicing and all that. It was the same with Quidditch really. Except Quidditch was fun, but that was beside the point. Besides, how great would it be to prove to her grandparents and herself that she wasn't really a complete failure?

Really, really great.

So here she was at the study tables now - though she'd be lying if the sight of a ghost, Nearly Headless Nick, by the tables didn't draw her over a bit quicker than normal. Hopefully HE wasn't prone to shouting like Myrtle and Peeves were. It seemed, when she heard him talk about points, that he wasn't. Good. "It'd be awesome if they did though," she pointed out. How cool would it be if the points did earn themselves? Then Gryffindor would probably be even more in the lead.

Oh, and there was another girl here too, it seemed. Someone Penelope thought she had spoken to a little at the feast. "Hey," the second year greeted her.

Even though he had a high level of style and sophistication, some students made him want to roll his eyes. However he gave the girl a stern nod of approval as she ammended her greeting. "Good da--y," he started, though he was mildly taken aback by the girls curtsy. There was something you didn't see everyday... or century.

He had been about to ask the girl how much homework she had accumalated when another voice distracted him.

"Awesome indeed... but unfortumantely it doesn't work that way." Even if it did, the other Houses would still find some way of beating them.




"Now... can you girls answer me something?" he asked, as if testing them. He waited to guage their response.

'Hello, I remember you.' Ariadne said, turning her head towards the newcomer. She had asked her younger housemate at the feast if she'd managed to arrive safely in Hogsmeade, but they didn't get to chat much before the Headmistress gave her speech and all four tables went silent. 'But I don't think we've officially met. I'm Ariadne Marchbanks. Or just Ari.' The fifteen-year-old used to love that nickname, but now there was a Ravenclaw first year who called herself that and it kind of spoiled the fun.

Anyway. This Lioness over here, Ariadne already liked her. 'Lovely to meet you.' she added, chuckling at the girl's remark about points earning themselves, before drawing her attention back to the House ghost.

Maybe she had overdone it with the curtsy. Just a tad. Still, before she had the time to even start to feel embarrassed, Penelope had commented on the house point thing and Sir Nicholas didn't seem to take it lightly. Ok, Gryffindor hadn't won the House cup in a few years, but there was more to life than points and Ari was sure that her housemates' qualities surpassed those of people from other Houses.

A question? How intriguing. 'Anything, Sir Nicholas!' As long as it wasn't one of those riddles that the Ravenclaws allegedly had to solve before being allowed into their Common Rooms. That system was mental.

Oh cool, the girl remembered her too. That was good. Might've been awkward if she hadn't because then that would mean Penelope was forgettable, which was not something she wanted to be. And it seemed it was now time for introductions. At least there was no hand shaking. "I'm Penelope Greenwell." Then she added, "It's nice to meet you too."

Yes, it was very unfortunate. If they got points automatically, they wouldn't have to worry so much about classes and homework and all those things. Was there some spell they could use on the hourglass to make it automatically get more rubies? Now THAT was worth looking into.

But before she could suggest it, Nick asked if they could answer something. Penelope shrugged. "Sure. Can't guarantee it'll be the right answer though." At least not from her. It depended on what he asked.

Oh good good good. The girls were up for it, though it wasn't as if they had a choice. No, Sir Nicholas was not above haunting little girls whilst they tried to sleep.
"Well see, I was wondering, what happened to the spirit of Gryffindor? For a bunch of Lions you're all rather tame." And tame was putting things lightly. "It's almost as if there's no fight left in this House... not to be mistaken with physical violence of course." No no no.

Her eyes went wide with surprise upon hearing the girl's last name. 'You don't happen to be related to Vashti Greenwell, do you?' It wasn't that common a surname, was it? Ari had certainly never heard it anywhere else before. This reminded her, she had promised to write to Vashti. As soon as she returned to the Common Room that evening after classes.

Not a riddle, then. This was something she could attempt to answer. 'Surely you don't think that the spirit of Gryffindor has been lost because we haven't won the House Cup?' As far as she knew, at least, since she had spent her fourth year at Beauxbatons, unfortunately.

As for the tame part...well, she had always been a rather tame person, at first even wondering how she ended up in Gryffindor, so Ariadne didn't really feel like commenting on that.

'What do you suggest we do?' the fifth year asked Sir Nicholas, who, after all, had seen pretty much everything that there is to see and was obviously more knowledgeable than most of the castle's inhabitants.

A stu-dy ta-ble.....

Just the name made it sound all weird. Why in Merlin's pants would anyone wanna study for? It was so boring and pointless and boring and time consuming and oh yeah...boring. She remembered the last time she tried studying and knew better than to attempt such a thing ever again for both the safety of herself and anyone around her. Everyone had something they were good at and studying was not that thing when it came to the 11 year old.

This being the case she found it odd that she would even find herself wanting to get a look at it. This would be the only look seeing as she didn't plan to visit there again.

Approaching the table she had to stifle a scream--but it wasn't a scared scream...more like one of those screams you did when you saw something totally amazing and decided you just had to make a scene about it. "Hey!! I saw you at the feast!" She said to the ghost who seemed to be talking to two girls; one of them she knew and she gave her a wave. "Hey Penelope." but the other she didn't...[/b]"And you are?'[/b] She asked, offering the girl a wide smile.

Her ears hadn't missed the ghost's earlier question and though the girl had offered a reply she couldn't help but offer her own two cents. "Yeah I think they're pretty tame too--especially the prefect." The one who wouldn't let her do anything. Oh but darn...he didn't mean physical stuff....hmm...such a shame...

Oh, this girl knew Vashti too? Penelope nodded. "Yeah. She's my cousin." One of her cousins, anyway. One of her decent cousins that didn't irritate her and make her want to punch everything. "You know her?" The answer was probably obvious, but Penelope felt like asking anyway.

The spirit of Gryffindor? Tame? "What exactly do you mean?" Since he apparently didn't mean physical violence. Which was a shame, because Penelope could've shown him easily that SHE, at least, wasn't tame and hadn't lost the spirit of Gryffindor or any of that. She threw a good punch after all. Just ask her cousin Xerxes.

Oh, and look, Alexa had shown up now. "Hey, Alexa," Penelope replied with a wave. And then she frowned a little when the first seemed to agree with Nick, even saying "the prefect" was tame. "What prefect?" It couldn't be Kurumi. Had they seen that girl when house elves appeared? It was a little crazy - and Penelope liked house elves just as much as the next decent person. And Gideon was pretty not-tame on the Quidditch pitch, so it couldn't be him. And it definitely couldn't be Selina, not only because she was Captain and not prefect, but she was also pretty much the opposite of tame. So Penelope was confused.

Maybe Alexa got their prefects mixed up with the other houses'?

And oohh would you look at that, perhaps there was some fight in them. Or at least that's the impression he got from their questioning looks.
"Well for starters, I don't see a whole lot of tom-foolery going on much these past couple of years." Though when that Carter boy was here that was a slightly different matter. "Not that that's a bad thing, mind. It does mean fewer points losses, not that that matters much."

... and what was this?!

"Hello!" replied Nicholas, at the bubbly first year. "Yes I remeber you."
How could he forget? As for her comment on the Prefect... well it was valid to an extent, though a rebel Prefect would hardly be allowed.
"Now see... I was thinking. Perhaps we ought to do something," he paused, giving the girls a conspiratory look. "... together, you know, as a House."

What Prefect? She thought everyone would have known that annoying one once they were in her house!

This needed to be addressed immediately. "You should know her; Kurumi." Yup that one. Lex felt she should explain so no one thought she was passing unfair judgements. "She flails, scolds and freaks out for just about everything. My friends and I climb the train to save Archer from being eaten by my kneazle and a cat--she flails and scolds us, gets Scary-bat girl to yell at us then punishes us! I try poking someone to make sure they weren't dead--the person fainted--and she scolded me again." Of course there were other incidences but she didn't want to bore them with just how annoying the girl could be. "No matter what I do it's a problem. Merlin, I'm surprized she hasn't started freaking out about me stealing a broom from the broomshed and breaking into the headmistress' office!" Really, it was quite a surprize seeing as she was expecting a lecture from her for it. Not that she was complaining.

Ooooo, she liked the way this ghost thought! The look on his face helped too. "Like what?" She was game to do anything at least once...though some things needed to be done a bit more often if you asked her. She stared over at him with large curious eyes, waiting and hoping to hear of some kind of mischief she could get herself into. Next to chocolate frogs, mischief was her addiction--it was too good to pass up!

Excited firsties. Hogwarts seemed to have loads more of them these days than ever before. Ariadne didn't know this one, but by the looks of it, she would soon. 'I'm Ariadne. Lovely to meet you...' she paused and questioned the girl non-verbally about her name.

Ariadne had to raise an eyebrow at what she considered an unfair description of Kurumi. She really respected the girl. Especially when she brought cookies.. 'Wait. You were one of the students involved in the train fiasco?' With Ariella, Dylan and the whole bunch? Interesting.




The fifth year nodded. 'Yes, I've known her since I was a first year. Bumped into her on Diagon Alley four years ago. She's been one of my first friends here and I've learned loads from her.' As in, asked her loads of questions. 'Are you two close?' Ariadne wondered if they were alike in any way. Not very much in appearance, as far as she could tell. And personality? They were in two different Houses, for starters. And Penelope seemed less scholarly. Perhaps Ari was giving this too much thought...



When she heard the words point losses, Ariadne took to examining her shoes for a few moments. She had just lost the first points in her student career and didn't quite know how to react to that. But Sir Nicholas himself said it didn't matter. She already liked him more.

We? Together? 'So you're going to be part of this--this thing we're organizing?' That sounded promising.

Lex nodded when the girl introduced herself then said that all too familiar social compliment. Of course she wouldn't return it; she wasn't prepared to waste a compliment. What if it turned out to not be lovely to have met the girl? Nope. That wouldn't do, she would simply have to hated wasted such a nice compliment if that were the case. The girl did get a smile though!

"Why yeesssss, I was!" BEAM. "I was among those brave heroes who climbed the train to save the life of a traumatized owl." And that was how it all went down. True heroism that was rewarded by handing out punishment. What was this world coming to?!

Not a lot of tomfoolery? "We could start up some tomfoolery if you want." Whatever that meant. Penelope was willing to do it. Oh, but...it wasn't a bad thing not see a lot of it? Well, okay then. Instead, there was apparently something he wanted to do as a house? This sounded interesting. "What've you got in mind?" She was awfully curious.

Alexa started listing off things she'd done, and Penelope frowned. "That's only two things you've done she's scolded you for," the second year pointed out. "I'm sure you've done loads of other things that don't include that." Unless she became a statue in between those times she'd described. And Penelope was pretty sure she didn't. So Penelope didn't see why the first year was complaining about Kurumi so much.

And then Penelope raised an eyebrow. "You stole a broom and broke into the Headmistress' office?" she repeated, somewhat skeptically.

Ah, cool. So this girl did know Vashti too. And they were friends and stuff. It kinda neat meeting students who had known her cousin and were friends with her, though she wasn't sure why. It just...kinda gave her the thought that if they were friends with her cousin, maybe they would be her friends too... Penelope shrugged. "I guess we kinda are. We write to each other sometimes and stuff." And she'd spent Christmas with Vashti and her family last year. So...they were sorta close, but probably not completely.

So Penelope had picked up on the fact that she had been very limited in her listing. It probably left her with the same impression as everyone else; that Lex was unfairly judging Kurumi but that didn't mean she was about to divulge any more just so she could prove a point. No way. She had learnt a long time ago that the best way to not get caught was to keep things to yourself and that bragging never got you anywhere. Alexa shrugged. "I might have but I don't think they're that important anyway." Therefore no need to bring them up.

Why so skeptical?

"Ummm...yes but in my defense it was all that Board of Governors woman's fault! She told me I'd have to eat the sorting hat if I didn't get sorted into Ravenclaw--that's a long story--and well, I'm a Gryffie. The Headmistress has her door all locked with magic and stuff so I had to grab a broom and crash fly in through her window..." Not one of her better moments...

People usually replied back after an introduction, but apparently not this girl. Not that Ariadne minded much, she hardly took notice of that before Alexa proudly admitted to have been one of the first year troublemakers.

'Heroes? Don't you think it's a bit of an overstatement?' Ariadne chuckled. Still, for a bunch of 11-year-olds the nerve they had was impressive. 'So let's see...I know Dylan, Ariella and now you. Is there any troublemaker I haven't met yet?' Ari winked.

That must be nice, having someone in the family who had recently attended Hogwarts to guide you through the whole process. 'What kinds of wisdom did she impart on you, then?' As former Prefect, Vashti must've taught Penelope stuff.

Only then did Ariadne realize that it had been a big step for Penelope, attending Hogwarts and continuing her cousin's legacy, sort of. She probably didn't want to live in Vashti's shadow, but be recognized for her own merits. 'But that's enough about her. Tell me something about you.' So far, the only things Ariadne knew about Penelope were her name, that she was a housemate and that she was related to Vashti. Clearly not enough!

Over statement? "Hardly." They were heroes, Vivi said so herself. Okay so maybe she didn't directly say it but you know...it was implied! And implied stuff was always good enough. Yup. "We really were though. I saw Felix eat a stray owl that flew into our tree once...I didn't want poor Archer being the second!" That would have been awful!

"Oooo, you know Dylan and Ari!" BEAM. Those two were awesomeness wrapped into small packages then delivered to her door. Hmmm...any other trouble makers... "Well you have Seri! I don't think she's a trouble maker but you might! We already had tonnes of plans." Nod. They were gonna do all on 'em too.

The whole pet drama just served to emphasise the fact that all these firsties would stop at nothing when it came to grand gestures, even if Ari didn't consider them heroic per say. 'Maybe this is what Sir Nicholas is looking for?' the fifth year wondered out loud. It sounded plausible. And if that was the case, they were off to a good start.

Of course Alexa wouldn't consider her friends troublemakers. But the fact is, they kind of were. 'Seri? Is she a first year too? What House?' Ariadne had never heard of a Gryffindor with that name so far. And they had tons of plans? 'What kind of plans, pray tell? Of course, I understand if you want to keep 'em secret.' Though why would she have mentioned them if they were to be kept secret?

"You think so?" Ariadne probably hadn't meant the question for her but she had heard it and felt the need to comment. If that was all nearly Headless Nick was looking for then she could have probably found something else to climb...this was a castle afterall so there must have been plenty of stuff...or maybe she meant that thirst to be called a hero...she had that too...

"Yup, firstie just like me." BEAM. Yeah, she was proud of being a firstie and she would relish in it for as long as she could. "But unfortunately she's not a Gryffie...she's a snake--but she's really nice, nothing like some other snakes I met!" It's true. Seri was amazing and she loved trouble just as much! "Weeeell, it's not so much to keep them secret as it is to keep them a surprize. If you knew then it wouldn't be nearly as epic." In other words, she would just have to wait for the big BOOM!

Nice going. Now the ickle firstie would probably be even prouder about the train incident. 'I didn't mean going on top of a train. Just something grand in general.' By definition though, grand was NOT something general at all. 'Chivalry and all that.' Sir Nicholas hadn't said anything and she was still blabbing. Stop. Now.

So Alexa disliked certain Slytherins? 'Nothing like the other snakes you've met?' Ari repeated. 'What do you mean?' The Slytherins were quite a friendly bunch, if you asked her. Fee, Cassia...they were the very definition of sweet.

A surprise? Ariadne didn't like surprises. She liked planning and organizing. But her housemate was so excited, she didn't want to spoil it for her. 'Fine by me. But if anything bizarre happens, I'll suspect you first.' the fifth year winked.

Hhmmm Greenwell was one to look out for. "Well see... that's where I need your creative input." Needless to say his ideas would be too out dated by now. "Of course I'll be here to help! But don't expect me to be blowing up balloons." Because there were certain things he just wasn't capable of doing, regardless of wanting to help or not.
"Now I was thinking of some sort of event. A small one, maybe a team game we can do one night to celebrate our House pride."

"Any thoughts?"

"If they're not important, then it doesn't matter whether she scolded you or not." And that was that.

Some Board of Governors woman told her to eat the Sorting Hat? "And you obeyed her?" No wonder she wasn't a Ravenclaw. Penelope wasn't either and she didn't care about the rules a whole awful lot, but even she knew breaking into the Headmistress' office - of all people - wasn't a bright idea. She certainly wouldn't obey anyone who told her to do that.

What kinds of wisdom did she give her? Um... "She told me to be polite and stuff." That was considered wisdom, right? Penelope did take it to heart, for the most part. She was getting better with being polite to people, at least.

But then...Ariadne wanted to know something about her? Hmmm... "I like Quidditch." That was a good thing to know, right? Or was there something else the older girl wanted to know? Penelope wasn't sure. "What about you?" Y'know, since she'd said something about herself, it seemed fair for Ari to do the same, right? Plus, Penelope was curious.

Balloons? Were there going to be balloons? That they'd have to blow up? Cool.

A small event like a team game? "Like Quidditch?" That was a team game. And it was fun. It wasn't really small though. "Or something like Gobstones or...Wizard's Chess?" Those were the only other games she could think of. Maybe they could do a giant Wizard's Chess game or something like that? Or...some kind of combination of the three?

A few weeks after the incident outside the library, Ariadne still cringed when she heard the word 'balloons'. But this context was neutral enough, no need to show emotion. Better focus on the matter at hand. 'Yay!' the girl replied excitedly when Sir Nicholas agreed to help. 'I don't know about games...but why not a party?' Yes. Party. 'We can all dress up as former Gryffindors whom we admire.' It wasn't TOO silly, was it?

Yes. Vashti would've done that. 'Politeness is always good.' Ariadne nodded. Though sometimes some people deserved nothing more than a snappish retort. Don't mind her. She was still angry at the Hufflepuff girl. Anyway. What did Penelope say?

Quidditch. 'Oh, yeah, you're one of the young talents on the team, right?' Ariadne wasn't too sure, though. Quidditch was not her thing. 'I...don't. Like Quidditch, I mean. I do like watching the games from the stands, but I don't like playing. I do support the team though. And I like people who like Quidditch.' Stop. Now. 'Other than that...' she paused. 'I like reading and travelling, I own a cat, and I couldn't live without Chocolate Frogs.' A random description of herself in one sentence.