Theodore was in a great mood, partially because the start of term feast always had the feel of another adventure at Hogwarts that was about to begin, but he was mainly happy because he had managed to catch up with his two favourite people already. As he slid through the entrance to the Great Hall, he obviously snuck a peek over to the Ravenclaw table for a certain someone, but then continued to his own table.

He rarely sat at other tables during feasts like other people did.

The fourth year found a seat at the empty table and tapped the table impatiently as he waited for the place to fill up. West would join him soon, of cooooooourse. And Theo hoped that would be soon since he looked like an idiot sat in this huge hall on his own.

Fourth Year.

How time had flied, yet there was still plenty more to come.

Flashing a quick look around the almost completely deserted hall, she headed over to the snakes' table. Hopefully West would be there, he was the only person she wanted to see right now, except maybe Els or Blue. To her dismay, he hadn't arrived yet, so maybe she'd just hang around until he turned up or --

OH. Wait. Theo was there; she could talk to him. They hadn't talked in a while anyway. Or at least, not since last term. She made her way over to him and tapped him on the shoulder, a smile playing at her lips and greeted him. "Hey, Theodore! Long time, no see." Thinking about it, the last time Theo had really seen her was when she'd be really upset about her day. Or, at least, it was around that time. Now, though she was sad, she could smile. She wasn't really her hyper self so much anymore, she was more subdued.

It took him a while, but the fourth year eventually noticed the plastic plates and silverware on the table, replacing the usual fancy-pants stuff. Classy, Hogwarts. Was the economy really that bad?

He flinched when someone tapped him on the shoulder. Like, an almost-gonna-whack-whoever-that-was kinda flinch. He looked up before he did that, though, and was pleased to see that it was just Bliss. A smiling Bliss, too. That was nice. "Hi, Bliss." Theo wondered if West had told Bliss that he in fact knew EVERYTHING about their current situation. Not that he wanted to bring it up or anything, which was difficult. "Sup? Not with West?"

And snAP.

He brought it up.

Theo really hoped that they were still together, because Bliss was ALWAYS a better choice over Alliot. Always and forever.

Bliss took a mini step back at Theo's reaction. Didn't want to be whacked at on the first day back, now, did she? Those weren't the sort of 'memories' she wanted to make. Nu-huh. Luckily her Quidditch reflexes saved her. PHEW.

She perched on the seat beside Theo and smiled a little wider, paying no notice to the odd cutlery that surrounded her. "How was sum--" she broke off and blinked at what he said. "You mean dating? Or not currently with him?" The answer should be obvious for Bliss, but she asked anyway. "Obviously I'm not with West at this current moment, but we're still ... together," she mumbled and nodded. What gave him the idea that they weren't? Did he KNOW things? Wait, of course he did, he's West's best friend. Bliss mentally face palmed and turned her attention to what she had originally been going to ask. "Sooo .. how was your summer?"

STILL EYEING YOU, KINSLEY.

Theo did an awkward smile when she stepped back so quickly. Did she really think he was gonna hit her? Sure, he was about to but he would at least look at the victim first. AHEM... anyway.

o______________________O

"NooooOOoooO!" His big eyes widened a little with her slight sass. No getting sassy with the sass king. "I meant not with him right now, but..." He paused and scratched his hair.... "Glad you're both still together." The boy muttered, not looking at Bliss, but taking one of the plastic forks out of its packet. He bended it, scanned it for dirt, then oops - he snapped it. Hmm? Summer? "It was good. I went on holiday for a week with my family which was okay." Yeah, it was just okay.

"But I spent a lot of it with Dora, too." Bluuuuushhyy!beam.

"You?"

After Kat had stepped out of her carriage ride with the Thestrals she could see, the Slytherin Prefect made sure that her first destination for this evening at Hogwarts would be the Great Hall. More specifically the Slytherin Table, where she'd ALWAYS be at. There was nowhere she could be seen in this Hall, except maybe if she felt adventurous and decided to pay a visit to other House Tables. That was rare, but it was usually done during the End of Term feast so that would be like... 10-ish months from now. She still had time. But for now, she'll be chilling with the snakes. Her snakes now because of reasons.

... Anyway. Ahem.

The sixth year went to join her housemates but realised that, oh, there was only ONE snake and a badger. How... weird? However, it was not the first time she'd seen Bliss in here. Kat waved at both Bliss and Theo as she went over to join them and took a seat. Once she was seated, she sort of fixed her badge.

She was waiting for her other Slytherins. Chop chop, time is money.

Bliss shrugged. He'd meant no harm and her reaction was just reflex.

"OHHHHHHH." Que one long pause and lots of blushing. It wasn't HER fault he'd confused her, because, was it not obvious that she wasn't with him right at that very moment in time? Did it really need to be question. He had eyes, didn't he? HEH. Theodore, you confusing person, she thought as her cheeks returned to their natural colour. "Yeah, ummm..." Bliss chewed on her lip nervously, thinking of what she could say to skate over this, shall we say, awkwardness.

Oh, that's sad. Poor fork.

Summer. Right. "That's sounds like fun," she said, instantly beaming. He was all happy and blushing and grinning, too, and that was good to see. "Mine? It was .. long. I spent lots of it at home with my family," she said quietly, before brightening up a little more. "I spent quite a bit of time with West, as well. It was great."



Another face soon joined them at the snakes' table and Bliss smiled up at Kat, who appeared to be wearing a Prefect badge. "Hey, congrats on becoming Prefect," she said. Did she sound a little nervous? She totally wasn't. She also didn't feel out of place at all. Obviously. Why would she? Hufflepuffs were always welcome at the Slytherin's table.

OBVIOUSLY.

Okay ..

.. maybe she was a little nervous.

Where was West?

Okay. Well the sorting was terrifying. Derry had nearly fainted actually, but somehow with a huge amount of self control she had managed not to fall off the stool. And she'd even been sorted into Slytherin. Her dads house! She walked over to table on shaky legs and sat down, hiding her blushing face from as many people as she could.

Right, she was sat down now, that was good. Right? Because now she wasn't going to faint. Probably. And there would be food soon........ riiiight? PLEASE say there would be food soon. She'd forgotten to eat all day - she'd been reading.

If Bliss did not know it, or if she did, Kat wanted to make sure that she knew that she was welcome to visit this table. Only as long as they tone down the arguments if it arises. That will be one of the moments wherein Kat would have to sort things out for them. Not all of them, though, but she knew that Lafay would want her to be a little prefect-y and do her tasks. Yeah, you get the point.

"Hi Bliss," Kat said. "Oh... thank you." The sixth year offered the Hufflepuff a smile. So anyway... Kat, even if she was NOT a Puff, cared for Bliss. She remembered last time (maybe that was last term) that she'd be there for Bliss and stuff because she was definitely a kind girl. Uhm okay... did she need a conversation or stuff? "So... how are you?" Tell her. Kat needed to know things.

Oh look. Was that the first Slytherin to be sorted and come over to the table? However the girl was looking like she wanted to pass out. Did Kat have to call over Healer Tillstorm way before the food was served? She hoped not, so the girl better not faint at the moment. Anyway... "Welcome to Slytherin." Because that obviously was important.

... Familiar. This girl looked rather FAMILIAR. "Have I seen you somewhere before?" Like that totally was a decent way to ask a girl who might pass out any minute.

Derry had her hands folded in her lap to hide the fact they were shaking. Why did they make people get sorted in front of the whole school. It was cruel... especially for people with high anxiety levels who were terrified of everyone else. She had just about managed to regulate her breathing and stop herself feeling dizzy when somebody was talking to her...

O___O Prefect? Derry had an issue with authority. The issue being that they scared the hell out of her. "Oh, I... th-thank you..." Ugh, her dad had promised she'd be able to control her stutter... Liar. Had she seen her before......? "I d-don't know..." She'd met so many people in the past few weeks that she couldn't remember everyone's faces... there'd been...... Theo and... WestOdessa.... aaaand....... Bliss... hmmm... and other people too....

Minerva walked over to the Slytherin table, has she ever even been over here. She wasn't sure. Looking around she still didn't see who she was looking for. Seriously where was Ariana why hadn't she seen her best friend yet. Getting a bit worried she looked around the table. She recognized a few of the people.

Smiling around the table, "Hi Theo, how was your summer?" She had only spoken with the boy a few times, but he seemed nice. Oh and Blissy was there, but of course she was, her boyfriend was in this house. Where was he?? She hadn't seen him yet.

Looking back around she smiled and walked over to Kat, "Now I can congratulate you correctly. I would have at the food trolley, but you were talking and I wasn't going to interrupt." that and she was not going near Maxwell Lupin with a ten foot pole if she could handle it. No one wanted to deal with that drama. "Your going to be great! Hey have you seen Ariana? I've been looking for her since we got on the train."

Oh and look it was the little girl from the pet shop, " Hello Derry, Congrats on Slytherin, I think you will find some great friends here." She did at least her best friend was in this house, plus there were some others she enjoyed as well.

Kat was still watching the sorting and nothing was really going to bother her. Unless it was something rather important then I guess Kat could make exceptions for that. It was her self-proclaimed duty to welcome the newly sorted Slytherins... because she was just that kind and stuff.

The blonde was kind of... uh, well, you know that "uhm what" feeling. Yeah, she was feeling that when the redhead girl just widened her eyes at her badge. It wasn't like she would eat her for dinner tonight. Anyway... she'd forgotten? "Madam Malkin's?" Kat asked, cos she remembered that they had met there... or was that another redhead girl?

And then... another Puffer?! Kat was kind of convinced they're doing something to stop them from getting the Cup because of the tie last term. But that seemed too dumb so she dismissed the inference. The Slytherin Prefect smiled in return to Minerva. "Yeah, but I saw you earlier though. It's okay," she said to the Hufflepuff. "Oh.. thanks and I don't think she has arrived yet." Cos she didn't see Logan at the train too. Maybe she was secretly snogging Oakey somewhere in the castle? Or the carriages.

?!?!

Ambrose headed into the Great Hall and swaggered straight to the Slytherine table. He looked up and down the table before he found a seat. He sat down and looked around the Great Hall as the buzz of chatter of students droned into his ears.

He turned back in his seat and looked around his own house table. He had met one girl on the train, Raven was her name but he didn't see her at his table. She was probably in a different house. He'd probably see her around school.

Hearing someone talk near him he saw the badge first, then looked up to see who it was attached to. It was their house prefect. Ambrose settled back into his seat and tried too settle his mind. He was back at school and not at home with his parents. He let the chatter of the others sink into his mind and it brought a slight smile to his lips. He looked up at the enchanted ceiling and promised himself he would make more friends this year, his second year.

Oh! Yes! That had been the first thing she'd done in London though, so she hadn't really remembered. Derry nodded, and blushed a little at having forgotten. "Oh, yes, sorry... I...f-forgot..." Ugh, she'd basically forgotten the prefect of her own house. Stupid Derryth. "Erm... are the tables usually set for a picnic?" she asked, blinking at the plastic cutlery and the paper plates and cups...

That hat thing was actually the stupidest thing that Ascanius had ever been subjected to. And THAT was saying something. He had spoken to people on the train... beating that level of stupidity was impressive. Dumb hat.

Anyway, after the hat had dented his 'do, WHICH HE WAS STILL DOING DAMAGE CONTROL ON, he wandered over to the green table full of lots of people. Lots of people indeed and all of them were real nice to look at... well the girls. The guys all looked like they were in SERIOUS need of a haircut.

So he slid into a seat toward the center of the table and just people watched. Always interesting to him to watch people in their natural habitat. Heh. Okay, entertain him.

Let's go.

Ambrose saw another guy take a seat near him at the table. He seemed to be the observant one. He followed his line of vision and had to chuckle a bit. He leaned over a bit and said,"The slytherine ladies are very pretty. I'm one of the guys but not exactly like the rest. You don't look like the rest either. Nice to meet another cobra."

Ambrose turned his attention forward not looking at the new comer."I''m Ambrose. The hat barely touched my head before it said Slytherine. My mother was a snake.I guess it just knows what's in your blood."

Kat was actually amused with this girl. Kind of reminded her of how she was back then. Wanting to get something right, and forgetting things would require at least a mild punishment? It was okay though, and the Prefect learnt from her experience. "It's okay," Kat said. "Your name is Derry, right?" Just to make sure.

The picnic comment though. Kat didn't really notice that before but when she looked over to the cutlery and utensils on the table, that's when she was starting to question what the heck when inside the Staff's mind. "Actually, I'm not so sure. This didn't happen before, or at least while I was still in Hogwarts." Was this like... a random new term special? Uhm... weird.

Oh look. Another newly sorted Slytherin. Although he didn't look too excited, but Kat definitely understood that. Maybe. She'll handle it of course, but for now she'll have to make sure this one was okay with stuff. "Hey," she said as she went over to the guy. "Welcome to Slytherin."

And then for the 'how are you' part.

"You okay, though?" she asked. He seemed lonely... or was he?

Sky trotted into the Great Hall hoping that the Headmistress wouldn't take too long with her speech. She was hungry and ready forsome REAL food. Not the typical candy that was traditional for the train ride. As she took her seat at the table, though she saw something that she hadn't seen all summer. A new Slytherin! Okay, so where had all of them been hiding, hmmm?! "Hello, welcome to Slytherin." She had been about to ask him where he was from, but then she noticed the plate situation. Needless to say, she wasn't amused. "WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH THE PLATES?!" Not funny, guys!

With her trademark skipping, Peyton Baltazar made her way into the Great Hall, her bright, red hair bouncing off her shoulders. She was happy to be back - except for the not seeing John and her dad for a long while. This meant no mother around and more INDEPENDENCE.

BEAM.

She skipped toward the Slytherin table, scanning for familiar faces. Spotting a few - and the new pretty one - she sent them a smile as she walked along. Those people being: Theodore, West, and Pretty Boy Ascanius. She didn't get to talk to him much, but that wouldn't be a problem this term--

Ohhhh!

There was Kat! Distracted by her friend and teammate, Peyton ran to her. "Kaaaaaat!" she beamed, squealed. All that happy stuff. She carefully shouldered her way to her friend and sat beside her, not really caring who had been talking to her. It was her friend, what? "I missed your face." Truth. BEAM.

Where was the rest of the team?

Penelope wandered over to the Slytherin table because...well. Heh. Heh. It was SO funny to her still. Maybe just because it was so unexpected. At least to her, it was. Maybe she SHOULD have expected it more if she thought about it but...yeah. Either way, she thought it was hilariously great.

The Gryffindor found the new Slytherin rather quickly, probably because she'd managed to watch where he sat even through her fit of laughter. And he pretty much stood out to her in any crowd because he was a giant.

Coming up behind him, she tapped him on the shoulder and grinned. No laughter for the moment though. She had it under control now.

"Hey there, Slytherin."

Oh, okay... she didn't seem offended or anything, which was good. Phew. She did her best at remembering things usually, and now she was definitely not going to forget KAT her PREFECT. Probably. Hopefully. "Yes, Derry." she said with a nod. Not that she expected the prefect to have to remember it but... yeah.

Oh. So this cutlery thing was... new. Maybe they'd gotten wind of how clumsy she was with everything and were trying to minimise the damage? Or maybe it had nothing to do with her since nothing ever did, no matter how high her anxiety levels were. "Dad said weird stuff happens here a lot..."

Oh, but then another girl came over and.... oh... she was very...... confident........... and loud... um... okay it didn't seem like Derry was needed here anymore so she looked down at the table and her chipped nail polish and started tapping her fingers, wishing she had a book or something...

Having just been sorted the young first year tried to calmly, but at the same time quickly wander to the Slytherin table. It was only once she actually got there and sat down though that she realized what had seemed really grand before really wasn't... the banner frayed, plastic cutlery and other things along the same lines?

Maybe they were having issues with money... or something... or maybe it was always like this? But looking around the table other people, older people also seemed to be looking at it questioningly.

Soooo Kahlan just sat down, biting her lip as she felt awkward sitting amongst the other Slytherins feeling quite alone...

Kat was making sure that the Slytherin House Table was in order. They had no Professor Lafay to watch over her house members so there she was, pretending as if she was the mother to all of them. That was rather okay to her though, because she didn't mind watching the younger ones now that she has experience with her own baby nephew.

And then she heard her name being called.

The blonde turned around to look for the owner of the really familiar voice, and saw Peyton. HER ICKLE and fellow Quidditch teammate. Kat beamed back at the now fourth year. Gosh time was going SO fast, right? "Hey Peyton!" she greeted the younger Slytherin. And then...

Missed her face? Not something she heard everyday, but Kat smiled at Peyton. "I missed your face too." Then, as if it was some sort of tradition, Kat just hugged the younger Slytherin. Yep, she missed this younger girl LOADS.

Just like the last time Kat talked to this girl, Derry was having thoughts in her head again. The blonde would have to get used to these types of conversations with her. And yes, she had gotten it right when she asked if her name was Derry. She'd have to remember that since Derry would be in Hogwarts even after Kat graduated. Plus, she'd have to work on the girl's, you know... confidence? There's got to be a reason why she's a Slytherin.

Yep, plastic cutlery and paper plates seem weird. Did the elves break ALL of plates and misplace the spoons and forks? They left them with SPORKS. This was... weird. Even the Prefect cannot answer why. But from her experiences before, strange things did happen in here. "Well... yeah, he is quite right," Kat said and trying not to scare her. "But I assure you that we're all safe." Minus the fact that two professors have died in here before. Hmm. She'll leave the out.

A firstie! A newly sorted Slytherin at that. Kat liked the number of new students this term. It had increased in a few numbers, but eh. It was still a great increase to the Slytherin population. The prefect went over to the first year girl. "Hello." Nice way to start a conversation, yeah?

So... "Welcome to Slytherin." Cue the sweet smile.

... OH! And Kat waved to Penelope, a Gryffindor who decided to pay a visit to the new boy over there. Hmm... her boyfriend? How interesting.

So this was Slytherin, most people at this table were wearing green so Galena fit right in wearing her house color. She did not see any other students her age, was she the only thirteen year old Slytherin. This might not be too bad, she thought; she liked it that way. But, the table wasn't full yet, and by the looks of it, more people would be sitting down soon.

An older girl at the table had just greeted a first year.
" Yeah congratulations on making Slytherin" she said to the first year, not sure yet what the whole hype was about being sorted into Slytherin.