Melanie was in a good mood. When she had first stepped on the train compared to now... it was just... amazing. She felt amazing. The Gryffindor took a seat at the end of the table so that she could get a good view of all the firsties being sorted. She liked watching that. And Melanie's smile on her face grew when she saw the real silverware on the table.

Hogwarts wasn't broke anymore.

Right? Melanie was going to assume so. Humming a tune to herself, she straightened her plate then her eating utensils. Then she moved her empty goblet around. Real. They were definitely real and not plastic cups and a spork. She was now definitely looking forward to her final year at Hogwarts.

Anya really deserved a badge with all the work she did. Maybe she'd have one made? 'Jake's Better Half.' Yeah. That sounded good. And with those thoughts, and boyfriend in tow, she made her way to the Gryffindor table.

The sight that greeted them brought a smile to the sixth year's face and a small squeal escaped her mouth. "Theplatesarereal!" she said in a nearly impossible high pitched voice.

Did Jake see? Did he? Because this was a super big deal.

Home. Jezzabelle moved down to one of the closest seats at the front end of the table and plopped happily underneath the slightly frayed Gryffindor banners. It seemed weird being back and she had finally learned what had happened while she was gone. She looked at the setting in front of her and was surprised to see it wasn't plastic like someone had said it had been the year before. She doubted she would have cared though. Being home was all that mattered.

Staring at the firsties she situated herself as comfortably as possible. It felt good to be home.

Jake was basically in full boyfriend mode as he entered the Great Hall. That's what happened when he got to spend time with her. Thankfully the sight of the Gryffindor table reminded him of his Prefect-ness... which was something the Prefect Compartment on the train had failed to do. Weird.

More thoughts came to his head when he actually saw what was on the table. And Anya squeaked. Jake grinned, taking a seat on a bench at the table and holding up a goblet to inspect it. "It's all real," he corrected, setting the cup down and grinning at Anya. YAY. No more washing his own dishes.

...Also, he saw Melanie. And she got a smile and a wave. Just because Jake knew her.

And now they were actually back at Hogwarts and it was...actually looking pretty good this time. No plastic cups or plates or anything as far as Penelope could tell. Nice. Hopefully those turnstiles were gone too. Then it'd be really awesome.

She headed for the Gryffindor table first this time, especially since she'd gotten inside pretty quickly and not many people were at their tables yet.

There were only four Gryffindors here at the moment, but she knew three out of the four, so it made the greetings easier. "Hey Melanie. Hey Anya. Hey Jake. Hey Gryffindor I don't know yet." They all got smiles and the fifth year seated herself sorta near to the unfamiliar girl just to make introductions easier. "I'm Penelope."

"And I'm Alice, and I'm loud, and I like biting stuff," she added on to Penelope's introduction for that one unknown girl, sliding into one of the empty seats near her fellow lions. Jake got a wave, as well as Anya- she felt a lot more at ease with her dorm mate since the dementor encounter last term- and Melanie and Penelope got BIG smiles.

Did they SEE the dishes? Alice saw the dishes. The non-plasticky dishes.

These kinds were her favorite. She could see her reflection in them, too.

And she looked really good today, if she did say so herself.

Newly sorted Schuyler Emmons arrived at her house table with a pleased and proud grin. Yes, Gryffindor suited her. And she did think that scarlet and gold matched very well together. "Hi, everyone," she greeted, while she claimed a seat. Her blue eyes scanned over the other people at the table.. why were they all examining the dishes? The flatware? The goblets..?

Aah, right! Hogwarts was poor these days. This must have been an improvement. She hoped there were at least SOME house elves then, so that she wouldn't be so rushed in her efforts to learn how to cook.

This is what MAC has always dreamed of! The view was as exactly how his father described it! It felt like he was walking inside the stories he was told. With an excited look and smile on his face he took a moment to just look around his surroundings. 'Course some nerves set in once he realized he was no longer in his old school with his friends. It was brand new batch of people!

Now FOOD!

Yes that was Malcolm's first thought and his stomach was currently grumbling like an angry lion. He was hungry, he was tired, but he was mostly hungry!

Making his way to the Gryffindor table where he rightfully belonged after being sorted, he found a decent spot to sit. Hearing a young girl greet everyone he decided greeting was the polite thing to do in this situation "Howdy!" he beamed.

Sarah had a massive grin on her face as FOOOD!!!! She was so hungry, her peanut butter sandwiches felt like forever ago. As she walked she took in the scene... the colours, shapes and most of all the noise. She loved the noise of people talking and laughing, it made her feel at home.

She walked over to the red table, "HI Anya" she said, "Hi Jake! Hi Melanie" this was like a quidditch reunion. "Oh, Penelope, I missed actually talking to you on the train, how was your summer?" she asked. "Yo Alice... don't bite the silverware, they are not as chewy as the papergoods or people's arms, yet are better for teething.... Great to see you Captain" Ooo, new faces. "I am Sarah Edwards, fourth... no fifth year" Maybe she should introduxe herself further, "I like food, especially sweets" speaking of sweets, where was Alexa? "books, smiles.. all the good stuff." Just so they know what to get her for her birthday "Oh, and I am the princess around here" she added playfully, in a way that they know that she was joking.

She seated herself next to Shuyler, "Hi.. Saw you on the train. What is your name?"

Then another newcomer said HOWDY, to which she replied, "Howdy pardner! Looking for the chuck?" Sarah replied with a Southern accent coupled with a playful grin. She had read a cowboy era book, so she had to reply in cowgirl speak. She was in a really good mood

Having just been sorted Blair approached the table, found an empty seat and sat down. She looked around at the unfamiliar faces, at the students who were to be her new housemates. She smiled and thought, it's going to be a good year.

Now just to get started and make some new friends. Blair heard a few of the Gryffindors greeting each other, had they already met? Well I'm not going to make friends sitting here in silence am I? She thought.

Her nerves had left her after the sorting ceremony and she was now feeling more confident.

"Hey guys!" She greeted whilst still smiling and taking in her surroundings.

Ryan took a seat beside Alice, and accidentally-on-purpose nudged her in greeting. Hey, Cap'n. Or, actually, ex-Cap'n. Or...maybe not. Whatever, she WAS her captain last year and that's all that mattered.
Ruffling up his hair a bit, he spotted Penelope close by and waved to her. Fellow ex-teammate. Oh and there was a Jackob and Anya, too. Those two got a huge grin AND a wave, cos he had missed them. And then, farther down, he even saw Mel, being her usual happy self. That made him happy and he waved at her, too. "MELANIE." And yelled her name. no biggie.

Looking around the Great Hall, it suddenly hit him that he was a seventh year. Woah.

She tapped her fingers against the top of the table, trying her best not to keep looking at the shiny objects on the table known as plates and cups. No, she wasn't trying to catch a glimpse of herself in it; it was just amazing seeing these beautiful cups and plates after a whole term of well... red solo cups and sporks. And though the spork was a genius invention, Melanie preferred having a fork and a spoon... separate.

Glancing down the table, Melanie smiled and waved back at Jake. Because they had been on the team together so it was just nice, wasn't it?

Now it seemed like everyone else was filing in too though Melanie was more excited about the sorting. Landon wasn't going to be sorted again though right? He was going to be in Gryffindor? Melanie sure hoped so because she would save him a seat next to her... if she wasn't preoccupied with watching the people get sorted. Looking at the table, Melanie noticed another girl sitting at the front end.

Maybe she wanted to watch all the firsties get sorted too? Melanie just offered the girl (Jezzabelle) a smile. "Hello, I'm Melanie." And then she continued to tap her fingers on the table before hearing her name. "Hello Penelope," she greeted, wiggling her fingers in greeting before seeing an Alice Fischer entering. Giggling quietly to herself, she wiggled her fingers at Alice too. "Hello to you too, Alice." Alice got a big smile back too.

And then bam.

There were new Gryffindors. Applauding them when they had been sorted, Melanie gave them a bright, cheery smile. "Welcome to Gryffindor!" she exclaimed at the two (Schuyler & Malcolm) who were just sorted into Gryffindor. New Gryffindors, how exciting. Melanie wanted to tear a tissue and toss it like confetti but if the house elves were back with the silverware... it was probably best not to make a mess. What if they left because they didn't want to clean? Luckily she didn't need to worry too much about it because hello, there was another person greeting her.

"Hello, Sarah. Nice to see you," she said with a smile. Melanie glanced towards the doorway though, wondering if Landon was going to make an appearance. If he did. Melanie was not ready to be surprised again.

When she heard the word Gryffindor being shouted by the hat, Melanie immediately looked back at the front. There was a new lion! And the ickle little firstie was smiling and beaming. Ugh, first years were so cute. They were like... well... little teddy bears or something. "Hello, welcome to Gryffindor," she greeted the new girl (Blair). Melanie was most definitely fond of firsties. She liked them all.

Melanie.

Who was shouting her name? Looking down the table, Melanie laughed and smiled back. "HEY PRETTY BOY," she yelled back, waving at him. Now... Melanie would simply be waiting for more firsties and a Landon Hughes.

RED RED RED RED! SHE WAS RED! BEAM!

With excitement worn on her face the newly Gryffindor made her way towards her new house table. She was real happy to be here, not that she knew much but Donny had told her some things. For instance she knew they were red and apparently they were brave and brave was cool! Real cool! Especially if you were a fairy, cause brave fairies were the ones that defeated monsters at the end of the day. Mhhhhm! Abbi was gonna be that brave fairy now! How cool?

Reaching the table Abbi took a seat and looked back at where the stool and hat were. She wanted to see where Donny would be sorted, but no sign of him up there yet. He'd probably come later. Oh well.

MEETING NEW FRIENDSIES TIME FOR NOW!

"HAAAAAAAII!" Abbi raised her voice quite loudly. She was proving what the hat said right, you know? And was that the children eater? Her more auburnly strawberry blonde hair flicked as she looked straight at the red badged girl. Was this girl supposed to 'mommy' her with that badge? MERLIN! She was going to be eaten soon if so....or not. Fairy Abbi was a fairy for a reason. Giiiigggle.

Jezzabelle smiled at the new first years and new students in general. With all the new faces, she felt new herself. She repeated, "Hi, I'm Jezzabelle," just about six times. She smiled brightly at everyone and loudly and proudly shouted, "Welcome to Gryffindor!" She was excited that she was making new friends....

The girl across from her introduced herself as Melanie. "Hello, I'm Jezzabelle, but I go by Jezz. Sixth year." It was odd feeling like a sixth year, but it was even more odd admitting it out loud. "Its nice to meet you."

She continued to smile and greet people. Yeah, it felt even better being home.

Sarah looked over at the firstie, who seemed to have confidence. Confidence was what Sarah liked, as long as it was not overconfidence,which did not seem to be the case here. "Hi, welcome to the pride. What is your name?" Sarah asked the girl (Blair).

Then Ryan came over, another teamate she had had over the years. Sarah waved at him.
"Nice to see you too" Sarah said, following Melanie's gaze towards the door. "Had a good summer?"

"Hi Jezabelle" Sarah said. It was fuuny having a nice person baring a name of a once upon a time wicked person.



Then an energetic first year came up them, more like ambushed them. Sarah was glad that she was part of the pride. "HAAAAAAAAAAAI to you! "Welcome to the lion pride" she added warmly "What is your name?" Sarah asked.

These Gryffindors were a welcoming bunch. And Schuyler smiled as a few of them greeted her and congratulated her. She glanced up at the red and gold banners, then over her shoulder at the Hufflepuff table. But a girl soon sat down beside her, and so Schuyler turned her attention to the student on her right. "I think you're right," she added, recalling the train ride. "I'm Schuyler. Fifth year. You?" She seemed to be about the same age.. somewhere around fourteen or fifteen.

Another girl (Melanie) welcomed her with enthusiasm from across the table, and Schuyler offered her a smile as well. "Thanks, I'm pretty pleased. I'm Schuyler, by the way." For obvious reasons, the fifth year got the idea that she would be doing a lot of introductions this first week or so.

Blair noticed a girl smiling and greeting her at the table. "Hello there, thank you I'm so glad to finally be sorted the waiting was so nerve wracking! What is your name?" She replied.



The table was filling up quickly with fellow Gryffindors. Blair looked across to another girl who had just welcomed her, "Thank you, and what a big pride it is turning out to be. I'm Blair, and you?" She said flashing a smile.

Blair looked around the table, everyone looked so friendly and as excited as her to be there. I'm going to like it here, she thought to herself. Settling down and feeling relaxed, Blair realised for the first time she was becoming rather hungry.

Anya continued to grin like an idiot. Why? Because REAL things were exciting. "Thank... ... Merlin." ... that's the way it was said right? Although... she figured Merlin had nothing to do with it. Magic people were weird. But considering she'd been a part of the community for so long, she figured maybe she should start saying it too.

"It would be weird adjusting to plastic again after the summer." Although... she'd kind of miss doing dishes and laundry. It made her feel domestic. And it was sort of fun.

And look whoooo it was. "Hey Penne." the sixth year greeted. "Good summer?" It was weird not seeing her for months. They typically did stuff over the summer, but this one was just... too busy for her.

New kid. Brilliant. "Hello." Anya greeted with a smile. "I'm Anya Phillips. And this is my boyfriend Jake." she said introducing the two of them. And yes, she did just casually slip in the Prefect's relationship status.

More new kids. It was crazy how that happened, right? Now. Polite. She should... do that, yeah?

"Welcome to Gryffindor." she greeted. "I'm Anya Phillips."

Anya knew this person. "Hey Sarah. Good summer?" she asked.

D'aww. First years were cute. "Welcome to Gryffindor." Anya said greeting yet another one. "I'm Anya Phillips." in case she was wondering.

RyRy! Anya climbed across the table and hugged one of her favorite Gryffindors. ... Ahem. Right. Back to her seat. "I missed you. What have you been up to?" They really needed to hang out more.

And they just got cuter and cuter, didn't they? "Hi!" Anya greeted back enthusiastically. Cute kid was cute. And she was loud. ... and Anya was suddenly tempted to feed her candy and see what happened. Maybe she'd try that later?

Anyway. "Welcome to Gryffindor."

And suddenly, there were more than three people at the table.

Jake looked around, slowly grinning at the familiar faces. Penelope, Alice, Sarah... they each got a smile and an unusually (for Jake) cheerful "Hey!" Then there was Rybear, who got a "H-..." ...because Anya distracted Jake mid-greeting by climbing across the table to hug the other lion. He stared at her until her rear end was firmly planted on the bench beside him again. "...I should probably advise against that," he said, blinking, in the best authoritative Prefect!voice he could muster while speaking to his girlfriend. Which was probably lessened by the fact that he was fighting a smile while saying it. But still. Example, Anya. There were children about.

Speaking of children. LOOKIT all the new students! There was a girl and a boy that looked older than first years... but they had to be new, because Jake was fairly confident that he could recognize any returning Lions. So Jake leaned closer to the two of them to try to make his presence more prominent and gave them a friendly smile. "Hey, welcome to Gryffindor! And to Hogwarts." Now... fingers crossed that they really were new. Or that would be embarrassing. And he was about to introduce himself... when Anya took care of that for him. Yep. Jake, Anya's boyfriend. That was basically his identification. So he just nodded to show that Anya was right.

Then there was a little one. Two little ones, actually. And Jake sort of wanted to just hug them right there. Because they reminded him of his little sister... that he hadn't seen in a while, actually. But, of course, a seventh year hug to a firstie might scare the kid more than they deserved on their first day. So Jake put on his best big-brother, confident smile and looked at each girl. "Welcome to Hogwarts! I'm Jake, one of your Prefects. Glad to have you in Gryffindor."

New kids made Jake happy. They were all so... happy and excited about Hogwarts. And life in general. Speaking of which... where was Zahra? Jake missed her.

Well, well, well, look who joined the lion club. It was the little girl who believed she was a fairy even though she was a Gryffindor lion now. Yeah, Tag would get her thinking that way soon. Just not today, he didn't want to crush her dreams of being a fairy. She was far too young to get heartbroken, maybe next year.

Tag waved at the little girl. He'd talked to her a few times before, and so far, he liked her, even if she was a bit loud. But, all first years were like that, heck, Tag was a really loud excited first year. He still was, but maybe he'd just gotten older and made his voice less loud. "Hey Fairy girl. Congratulations on making the lion house! You'll love us!" No joke. "Avoid Alice, the witch eater/biter." added Tag as he pointed to the girl with the badge.

Hehehe. Nice way to be introduced, wasn't it?

Turning his attention elsewhere Tag looked at the new faces and tried to listen in on conversations. Was that girls name Schulyer? That was an odd name, but Tag wouldn't question it. His name was a bit different and unheard of too. So, he simply waved at the new girl.

And then there was a Blair, yes, another wave for you, you firstie. Perhaps Tag would talk to her soon? She seemed to be having a conversation. Tag didn't want to interrupt.

Oh, and then Tag spotted Melanie and he slightly shuddered. The last time he'd seen her she was sucking his cousin's face off. That was rather awkward to watch. So, he simply waved at the girl. Yes, maybe if he spoke Melanie would feel like apologizing. There was no need for it.

Then, there was the Sarah girl, yes? As well Tag didn't know her too much besides that she had been on the quidditch team a few terms so far? Yes, you, Sarah received a smile from Tag.

Going down the table Tag saw Ryan and waved at him. "We never had our party." Tag casually reminded Mr. Curls. That would have to be figured out some other time.

And yes, Alice, the entire castle knew you liked biting stuff. "Whaddup Captain Biter?!" said Tag ever so casually as he saluted the girl. Calling her Alice never felt right. It was either Biter or Fischer.

There was Penelope. Tag hadn't seen her at all this summer. That was a shame. An, they weren't fighting or anything but they hadn't talked in a while. Maybe that had to be changed. "Hey, Penelope!" Said the blonde with a huge smile.

Red beamed as she was Sorted into Gryffindor and almost tripped as she walked to the table. She sat down a little away from everybody else, just to avoid talking, especially to boys, she had a terrible fear of speaking to them. She looked down the table and saw people talking to each other, they all knew each other, and she knew nobody, except Charlie who had been Sorted into Hufflepuff. Hopefully, she would make friends, but at the moment, she couldn't wait to get to the Dormitories so she could write a story and draw a picture about it, maybe she would write a story about Hogwarts, she could draw the lake, with the castle in the background, and so she just sat there, imagining how to write her story.

Melanie watched as a tiny little girl with blonde hair (Abbi) made her way towards the table. A new Gryffindor. Melanie knew that because well... the girl was coming to the table and Melanie had been watching the sorting. That meant she watched the little girl get sorted into Gryffindor with her own to eyes. She certainly seemed happy to be here.

"Hello~ Welcome to Gryffindor!" she said, wiggling her fingers hello at the girl. Awwwh... wasn't this firstie a cutie?

She turned and looked back at the girl who was sitting across from her. "Nice to meet you too, Jezz. I'm a seventh year," she said. Seventh year. Sixth year. All the years seemed blurred together in her mind. Was Melanie Sung really a seventh year now? How strange. "I hope you enjoyed your summer," she added. Because it was polite.

Melanie's eyes darted back to the door then to the sorting that was still going on before noticing the staff table. Oh... well... there were some new professors there, wasn't there? She wondered which classes the new professors would be teaching... hm... Hearing Sarah, Melanie turned to look at the younger Gryffindor. "It was great, did you have a good one?" she asked.

Ah. There were so many people here now. It was lovely. Soon enough the table would be full and there would be no seat for Landon. Melanie looked at the girl she had congratulated before. Apparently her name was Schuyler. Schuyler. What a pretty name. Melanie never met a Schuyler before. "Very nice to meet you, Schuyler. I'm Melanie, seventh year." Introductions were made and now to backtrack a little. The girl was pleased to be here. That was good, wasn't it? "Were you hoping to get sorted into Gryffindor?" she asked, curious. Melanie remembered when she had been sorted in fourth year... It was just like it was yesterday... except it had been years ago. Wow, how time flies.

More introductions. Melanie wasn't sure how she was going to remember all these people.

She wondered if it would be rude to take a picture of each person and write their name on it? It probably would be strange, wouldn't it? Smiling at the firstie (Blair) who was speaking, she nodded. "I totally get it. It feels nice when you hear the house you've been put in though," she pointed out. "I'm Melanie Sung. Seventh year. And what is your name?" Because Melanie hadn't caught it before. And if the girl had stated her name... well... Melanie forgot. Though she didn't think it was really her fault - there were just so many people and her brain was a bit preoccupied.

Melanie had turned to look back at the door but instead she saw someone else and froze, smile in place. Tag Kildare. He was waving. What was Melanie supposed to do? Internally panicking, she just watched and smiled. Was she supposed to say something? Was she supposed to apologize? Or did she go over there and just pretend like nothing happened? Wave. Melanie should probably just do that. She gave a little wave and slumped over a little bit.

Awkward.

Gryffindor. There was another Gryffindor. The sorting hat said so. Turning her head quickly to the sorting hat she saw a girl walk over and not say a thing. Was the girl shy? "Hey! Welcome to Gryffindor!!" Melanie called out to the girl (Red) and waving at her with a warm smile. Was the firstie nervous about something? There really was nothing to be scared of and the girl definitely did not need to be afraid of Melanie. Melanie didn't bite. Unless it was food. She bit her food. That was about it.

As Red was going into her dreamworld, a voice called out to her, she looked over and saw a girl, a lot older than her speaking, she smiled, nervously, and said, "Hello," quietly, talking to people her own age was fine, but older people...that was hard. Her parents hated her, and so, around adults and people a few years older than her, she became very nervous. "I'm Phoenix O'Connell, most people call me Red," she told the older girl, her face turning the same colour as her hair and name.

What a funny accent! Malcolm chuckled.

”Why yes I am ma'am.” Malcolm playfully replied in a mock southern accent, which he didn't really have. This was fun first day here and he's having a good time.

”Hi!” Malcolm made his presence known, he smiled wide and waved at the young girl who had found a place to sit.

Now he was glad that he wasn't the only newbie in here or that would be awkward for the fourteen year old.

”Thanks!” Malcolm felt as he had just won the lottery! Well he did just get sorted into the best house in the school, according to his own standards.

All this excitement was making him even hungrier!

Yay Griffies!

"Hi Jezzabelle, I'm Malcolm!" Malcolm nodded and smiled. "Thanks this house is great!" he cheered.

”Gee thanks!” Malcolm once again beamed, he couldn't let down his smile 'course he was going to feel the sore effects in the morning but who cares! He was simply too jolly at the moment!

”Nice to meet you Anya!” He replied ”I'm Malcolm. Officially Malcolm Corbett.” He jubilantly introduced himself to the young lioness.

Malcolm waved and broadly smiled at the young man ”Thank you! Best house there is.” He just had to squeeze that in there for excitement.

Malcolm spotted what seemed a sort of introverted young girl and decided to wave at her and tried to frightened her. First day jitters were always so scary.

He glanced around his surroundings and saw even more people approaching he was going to use the skill of multitasking, eat and greet people at the same time!