Kane was ready to get OUT of here. The year had been pretty good, for the most part - no monsters, so that was an obvious win - but the recent drama between Saff and Isa had been draining. Kane missed the days when he WASN'T involved in girl drama. He never thought he'd actually THINK that, and yet here he was. You didn't realize how NOT cool it actually was until it happened to you.

Brent had been an IMPS champion, though, and that had been pretty cool! It sucked that he hadn't won, though. Although he didn't really NEED the money, their family could more than afford to send him (and the rest of the Westwood kids) to college. Kane would have preferred the glory rather than the scholarship to be completely honest.

Huh, first one here? That was a first. Kane plopped down in his usual seat and began to look around. Ummm, any time now with the food, house elves....

END OF TERM FEAST!

Derf was not entirely sure what to think or feel to be honest. It had been a confusing term in a lot of ways as well as an exciting one. He had learned that American's did not know what "loo" meant and a little nugget about not garden hoes coming after bros. He had done alright in classes - er...sorta...butter incident aside - so he supposed he had a lot to be proud of in terms of his own personal growth. Yeah?

The whole competition had been stressful, he and Abey electing to watch at a distance and rely more on gossip as to what all had happened rather than see themselves. It was easier that way, in light of last term, and in all honesty Derf was relieved when he heard Etta had been eliminated. He couldn't imagine what it was like being taken by the monster one term and then thrown into such a scary tournament the next. Especially facing a dementor the FIRST task.

Speaking of the older girl...where was she?

Oh! But Kane was here.

"DUUUUUUUUUUUUDE!" he greeted as he slid into the vacancy next to him, having perfected his American ALL term.

Distracted in thoughts about summer plans, Henry headed to the Hufflepuff table for the last time as a sixth year. The year went by so fast and soon he'd be a seventh year, his last year at Hogwarts. But he really didn't want to think about that just now. He had other things on his mind. Plus he wanted to eat.

It didn't seem that there were many at the table of yellow and black, but the prefect gave acknowledging waves and smiles to Kane and Derf before slipping into a seat nearby. "Hey guys, ready for summer?" Sure it was cliche, but not bad for small talk.

Nothing said 'end of term feast' like a Rooney Bronwyn spectacle. And so he had covered all of the tables in the Great Hall in autographed cards of his face (to say goodbye, clearly) and also confetti of his initials. THEY. WERE. WELCOME.

Rooney Bronwyn'd.

Etta wasn't ready to leave, to be honest. As much as she looked forward to summer and seeing her family, she was still going to miss Hogwarts.. as weird or silly that may be. She slowly walked towards her table, trying not to look too upset. Eh. She'd get over this, though. She was going to be a sixth year soon, after all. The girl sat down at the Hufflepuff table, a small smile on her face.

"DERF!" The smile on her face widened just a little as she noticed the younger boy. He really was the cutest, did he know? She turned to give Kane a smile as well. "Hey, Kane." It was weird how she didn't know Kane as well as most of her other housemates.. hm. It needed to be rectified. Etta, then, turned her attention towards her co-prefect, grinning just a bit. "Ready to leave?" .. In a years time, it would be his last end of the term feast. GULP. Nope. She didn't need to focus on sad things now. .... and WOW. She obviously couldn't help noticing all the cards on their table, with Rooney's face on them. Nice touch, Bronwyn. Very impressive. She was going to have to say goodbye to him soon.

Irene simply WASNT going to leave without saying goodbye to a new friend she had made. Henrietta Kramer was AMAZING. And she wanted to make sure that they would keep in touch. So with ukulele strung on her shoulder, Irene skipped her way over to the Hufflepuff table. "Hello? Helloooo? Has anyone seen Henrietta Kramer? Y'know the Hufflepuff Prefect... Well one of them. Brunette. Hogwarts Champion. Maybe she goes by Etta," she said to passerby's as she navigated her way through the crowd of students from one table to the next. Eventually she made it to the Hufflepuff table and she saw Etta and a few others and some cards spread across the table. Huh. Interesting. She peeked at one card since she saw Etta talking to a few people.

"Hello Hufflepuffs!" she greeted with a casual HAPPY IRENE smile (which was used to mask her sadness of leaving such an incredible school- MAN. She would MISS THIS PLACE!!!). "ETTA!!! I needed to find you. I can't leave without saying goodbye!!"

Lachlan had been MIA since the final IMPS challenge had come to an end; the winner announced. And while Hogwarts was an adventure all it's own, they still had their own separate exams to sit. Simply put, grades weren't something this American boy took lightly. There was a reason he was at the top of his year.

And not to disrespect their sister school, but he'd hoped they'd have been on their way back to Ilvermorny by now. A gentleman always knew when it was time to leave, and yes....it'd been time for about three weeks now. However, here he was, attending the Hogwartian end-of-term feast. Lachlan supposed it could've been worse, and surely it didn't hurt to part ways with new friends under the best circumstances. In fact, he'd even pre-gamed. So, someone was in a very good mood.

Sauntering into the great hall at a leisurely pace, Lach took note of those already gathered. And it wasn't until he spotted Irene seated at the table draped in yellow that he made a decision. Why not? None of the others had arrived yet...."Ladies." The southern accent was more pronounced as he approached his fellow champions. "Mind if I join you?"

It had taken Valerie some time weighing the various options of which table to sit at for this feast. She had initially made her way towards the Slytherin table as she had their welcoming feast, but seeing Aurora there had caused her feet to pivot and seek elsewhere. She would (surprisingly) like to avoid unnecessary conflict. That and she was being conscientious of a certain Thunderbird should he elect to join her. Although she did have purpose for passing by the Gryffindor table, she quickly rules it out seeing how robust the crimson and gold were being once again. She was perfectly fine observing that from a bit of a distance. As for the Ravenclaw table, well, there was no real reason for her to avoid there other than she did not particularly care for Louise nor her longing glances elsewhere.

Thus it was she arrived at the table of yellow and black.

At least Lanchlan was present (a bit among swooning girls but she found herself more willing to tolerate Irene these days and she really had no particular opinion of the female champion, Henrietta) so she simply offered them a bit of a curt nod as she took a seat a bit of a distance away from them. When she looked down, however, she was greeted with irritation. "What are these?" she asked no one in particular as she looked upon the face of one Rooney Bronwyn as the signature implied. Groaning, the Wampus whipped out her wand and pointed it those in her general vicinity and sent a nonverbal Incendio upon them. Feeling a certain kind of satisfaction watching those go up in flames, she did take care to ensure their precious table was not damaged. Well, no more so than it being covered unnecessarily in autograph photos that is.

Her own spot now cleared, Valerie set her elbows on the table and gave the rest of it a proper look over and made quick work of spotting the younger Westwood and allowed her gaze to linger upon him an uncomfortable moment too long before shifting to the other younger student [sweetpinkpixie] at the table.

Oh. That one.

Perhaps she she should occupy herself at another table after all.

Although her eyes fell on another (a boy her age [emjay]) and while her instinct was to request he keep the small blonde away from her, the seventeen year old instead decided to attempt in small talk. "It will be odd returning," she offered in way of response to his inquiry. One that had not been directed at her and yet here she was. "Though I suppose it will be pleasant having your school back to yourselves."

She would feel thus if the roles were reversed.

Etta looked up to find Irene heading towards their table, the brightest smile on her face. HEY, she remembered! She'd rather missed talking to this lovely girl and honestly wished they could have spent more time together but hey, they could still stay in touch.. right? If Irene wanted, of course. She stood up to give her American friend a big hug. "Hi! I'm going to miss you a lot. How have you been? When do you leave?" She looked at Irene excitedly before her gaze turned towards Lachlan, who had joined them as well.

"No, of course not. Please." She offered him a smile. Etta kind of understood what Olivia had been talking about.. he was rather nice-looking. Not that she was noticing, of course. Ahem. .. oh, hey. There was the other IMPS competitor, the one who seemed to perpetually look like she was sulking. Valerie, right? The prefect watched while she spoke to Henry for a moment before shifting her attention towards other people. "So.. did you guys enjoy your stay here?" .. the most important question, really.

The two prefects, Henry and Etta, quickly made their way to the table, so Kane was not alone for very long. Derf also came in, yelling a loud DUDEEEE as he sat down, which made the native California boy grin and chuckle. "Dude, you sound like a true born Californian, bro!" He told the younger boy. With the flippy blonde hair and everything, he could totally fit in with his home state, to be honest. "Any plans for the summer?" he asked.

He then turned to the two prefects and smiled at them. "Yes, DEFINITELY need some summer. Going back to Cali in a few weeks, so that'll be fun," he said with a grin. And of course lots of time to hang out with Saff!

Oh no. There was Valerie. And she was....staring at him. Kane blinked and quickly looked away, but kept an eye on Derf. He remembered when the boy professed his love for her a few months ago...and he hoped for his sake that she didn't bring it up. That didn't seem like something she would do, though...but why was she staring at him? Seriously? "Do I have something on my face?" he asked her a second later, wondering if THAT was why she had been staring. That would be MORTIFYING and he was willing to admit he had caught her if it would spare him some embarrassment!

He simply chuckled as the Head Boy went around distributing autographed photos of himself. For some reason he could see Brent doing the same thing if he were ever to be Head Boy...

Irene smiled as Henrietta hugged her. She returned the girl's hug happily to have made a friend at this school. She was glad that she had met someone as open and as kind as her fellow competitor. Even though Irene had been eliminated in the second round, she had hoped the Hufflepuff would have stayed in the end but that was not fate's choice. Instead, Kyle Baker won the tournament instead which was a okay for Irene. "I've been well. I've missed our little talks," she said. Or talk. Speaking of talking and all.... Irene's blue eyes widened at the very idea that flew into her head. "OOH! Have you ever had a pen pal? I know its quaint and all but do you want to be pen pals perhaps? Or owl pals?" Maybe Owl Pals was a more apt name for sending letters back and forth. Irene def wanted to keep in touch with Henrietta. Leaving...? Ummm... "I don't...." She wasn't able to finish that sentence because Lachlan Wheeler" had joined her.

EEEP!

Irene still remembered that wink, Mr. Wheeler. Mhmm... She had her eye on you, charming sir. Anywho....

Was it just her or did he seem EVEN more charming than ever? Had he...? She raised an eyebrow skeptically for a moment, trying to figure out what exactly was different about him but she couldn't place a finger on the reason. Hmm... Oh well! Maybe he was just in a good mood. Then again maybe there was something aiding his jovial mood. "Lachlan," she said, feeling weak in the knees. It was only Isaiah and Lachlan who could do such a thing to her. She hated that feeling of being weak and was very glad that she was sitting at the Hufflepuff table. "Of course not." She nodded, glad that he would be joining them. Now to answer Miss Kramer's question... "I don't know when we're leaving. I suppose after this feast. What do you think, Lachlan?" she asked, daring to let her eyes cast upon him.

And then it was Valerie Gray who also decided to join this table. Intriguing. She wondered what brought her over here. She received a nod and she watched the witch make conversation with Henrietta's comrades. Her eyes lingered for a moment before turning back to Henrietta and Lachlan but not first before noticing Kane Westwood there. He received a curt nod. After all, Irene had had the BIGGEST crush on his older brother back in his first year. Hopefully Brent didn't know.... Speaking of Brent, she ought to say hello to him and shake his hand. It would most likely be the last time that she saw him for a while. She had thought about almost seeing him and Henrietta every day for a while because she had considered transferring to Hogwarts.... However, she decided that as much as she loved Hogwarts, she would miss Illvermorny too much. Illvermorny still needed a relatively down to earth, happy go lucky Pukwudgie to cheer up their halls with her ukulele. Man.... Now she wished to play a song for this bittersweet moment. But what song, you ask?

Irene had no idea what song could correctly captivate her emotions at this precise moment.

Ladadidadi. Benji Alden made his way into the Great Hall, late as can be. He didn't purposefully try to be late; it was all purely accidental ... and maybe just a teeny tiny bit on purpose. With it being their last night at Hogwarts forever, the soon-to-be second year Canadian had taken his sweet old time strolling up to the castle from the Beetle. He was taking everything in. MEMORIES.

And he hopped that he would have arrived just in time for the food to be out. The Brits always took FOREVER to set a meal on the table. And that woman who gave the speeches ... #snoresville. She was worse than girl Professor Williams. But thankfully not as scary as man Professor Williams.

Needless to say, his face did frown a little at the sight of the empty tables in the hall. No food. Which meant the speech hadn't been given yet. UGH. All he could see on the tables were confetti and a bunch of cards with some dude's face on them. DOUBLE UGH.

WHERE WAS THE FOOD?? He hoped they had poutine this time.

Almost as if it were second nature, the short boy scooted his way over to the Hufflepuff table. He caught sight of Valerie Gray and scooted past her even faster. The Pukwudgie's eyes lit up when he saw Derf, who was basically his British BFF. "DUUUUUUUUUUUUUDE!" Without bothering to ask, the Ilvermornian plopped onto the bench so he could sit next to him ONE LAST TIME. He wasn't going to cry. Nope ... nope ... okay, a tear was beginning to form ... NOPE.

He then sharply turned his head and saw that Irene was there. Sweet Merlin, fellow housemate, save him! "Do you ... do you know when the food will be here?" he asked her, rubbing his tearing eyes with his hands. If anyone asked, he had allergies, okay?

They were finally leaving. It was a long, arduous journey, but it was coming to an end. At last. Jesús wasn't into long goodbyes, or crying, or anything of that nature. He hadn't really made any friends from Hogwarts anyway, bar one boy in particular: Levi Kenning. Still, Jesús really wouldn't miss Ilvermorny's "sister" school. What he thought would be a well-needed semi-vacation, turned into one stressful nightmare after another.

And while he absolutely did not want to attend the feast, he figured he might as well give the Great Hall one last look before they all left. As he walked in, he noticed that the Gryffindor table was, as usual, rowdy. The Thunderbird smiled at the noise, preferring that to silence any day. His eyes drifted over to the remaining tables as he contemplated where he should sit. Within a few seconds, Jesús caught sight of a few students from Ilvermorny - ones that were actually okay in his book - and made his way over to the Hufflepuff table.

He hadn't really interacted with many - if any, at that - Hufflepuffs but he did like the energy that the students exuded so he was perfectly fine with mingling with them for a meal. Sitting directly across from Valerie, the sixth year flashed her a quick grin before glancing over to Lachlan - who seemed to be entertaining, as usual - and the girls surrounding him. Jesús smiled at Irene and at Henrietta - that was her name, right? - and drummed his fingers on the table. "Looks like Lachlan is enjoying himself," which, again, was unsurprising to Jesús, all things considered. The Thunderbird looked back at Valerie who seemed to be intent on making small talk and watched her. He wondered how long she'd last, making idle chit chat like that.

OH IT WAS HENRY!

Grinning as the sixth year approached, Derf fished Scamander from his pocket and set the warty newt on his vacant plate. "Definately! I can't wait to take Picketta home!" he chirped eagerly. And by now if there was a housemate who did not know the saga that was Derf becoming a Home Tree to the female bowtruckle, well, perhaps they had been living under a rock somewhere all term. "What about you? OH OH! I'm totally going to make s-sure and see some of the U-17 matches this s-summer!" The last ones for him and Daisy and Zinnia and Noah. He totally had t-shirts ready for this too. Totally.

Picking up one of the signed photographs - which the second year did not particularly mind - and quickly pocketed one of them. He would have to give the Head Boy his chocolate frog card some how. Maybe on the trainride back to London. Because, well, he WOULD have gone to do it now but like....you know...ETTA WAS HERE!

"H-H-Hii Etta!" he squeaked. Like...literally squeaked. Voice cracking and everything to do with that embarrassing time of being a teenager. He had a speech all prepared to recite to her, you know? About how much she had dealt with between this term and last and like...it was all kinda amazing! He also sorta had questions he had never asked her after the first task about what it was like facing a dementor...but then she was greeted by one of the Ilvermorny champions - Irene and while the Hufflepuff was still all embarassing heart eyes at them he was also not about to interrupt. He was gonna see Etta on the train and stuff.
Irene and her, well, they only had tonight, right?

He kinda sorta recognized another Ilvermorny champion that arrived at their table, but only because he remembered that he was a housemate too ----

"HOLYFLAMINGSALAMANDERS," he stage whispered as he shook Kane's arm because DUDE. Dude? DUUUUDE! Valerie Gray was at THEIR table. AND SHE HAD TOTALLY JUST LOOKED AT HIM SLDJKFSKLFSDJFLSLKFSJ. Whatever the older Hufflepuff had said to him went in one ear and out the other entirely. The American Veela's presence overwhelming his mere mortal senses. "Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaah...." he said in a dreamy daze as he unabashedly stared at the pale beauty.

He was still under her spell when Benji plopped down next to him and the American's loud greeting of DUUUUUUUUUUDE also going in one ear and out the other. If it hadn't been for Scamander choosing that moment to crawl on to his hand...he likely would have remained in his little school boy fantasy. "HUH?" he asked, sitting up straight all of a sudden and, er, kinda wiping some drool from the corner of his mouth. "BENJI! I have something for you! Well...a couple s-somethings!"Which really probably sounded more impressive than it really was but he was only a second year and small gestures meant the world to Derf. "Here," he said after fishing a chocolate frog and a piece of parchment from his pocket. "For your journey home AND my home address so you can write me!" Suddenly Derf was even MORE jealous of Natalie getting to go to America this summer and seeing that giant talking mouse that wore red pants.

No sooner had he handed off the presents to Benji had ANOTHER IMPS champion joined their table. Derf, of course, recognized him immediately as the bloke who had been dancing with Valerie Gray on the boat when the second year had made his proclamation of love. Derf could feel his ears redden and his shoulders hunched slightly because yeaaaaaaaaah...this felt kinda awkward all of a sudden. But now he was kinda sorta staring at Jesus and then at Valerie and then back...and just lots of rabid back and forth looking between the two.

Which sorta meant he only half heard what Benji was asking about food.

"Headmistress has-s to give the speech firs-st," he nodded while stiiiiiiiiiiill looking back and forth between the two sixth years. "But I've got more chocolate frogs if you want?" He reached into his pocket again for another. "You got something in your eye? I can try and flus-sh it out for you! I'm loads-s better at Aguamenti now!"

Alfred thought the year had gone by slowly, but that could have been due to the amount of stress! he felt! all the time! SO many dangerous things! So many almost seriously injured students! Thank Merlin everything ended okay! It was unfortunate that an Ilvermorny student won overall, but he supposed the Hogwarts champs had done their very berry best!

So it was with a jolly heart that he bounced his way to the Hufflepuff table, whistling a cheerful tune as he did so. Some of the American folks were even sitting here! "Happy evening everyone!" he exclaimed with a wave. "I hope the feast starts soon! Not because I can eat, but because of the SMELL of the food!" It was the best part of the feast for a ghost who loved food!

Kane couldn't help but laugh as another Ilvermorny boy (Benji) came over and greeted Derf with a loud DUDDEEEEE. Was this like, a thing now that he had started? Had Kane begun the rise of California slang in England? Interesting. He had been super self conscious about that, to be honest, when he had first started at the school...but it was apparently cool. Hehe. How about that!

"Uh, was that English?" he asked jokingly as Derf began to shake his arm. Why was he...OH. Valerie. WHY was he so infatuated with her again? And didn't she have a boyfriend? He assumed that Jesus kid was her boyfriend, since he had seen them holding hands before that Aurora Chae chick had gone NUCLEAR on her. "Not really my type," he admitted with a shrug. "But I mean if that's what you're into, good for you," he added with a chuckle, not wanting to dash the boy's hopes TOTALLY. Although his chances were slim to none. No. Actually. Just none. Probably. He was pretty sure.

Was he ready to leave? Henry supposed he felt about the same at the end of every term (though maybe more so last term with all that had went on); he'd miss seeing certain people every day but who didn't love summer? "Yeah, I guess so," Henry answered Etta with a pleasant smile. "Summer's always the best, I always have a bunch of stuff to do. What about you, anything good going on over break?" People usually did, but he always liked to hear about it. Hopefully they'd get to hang out at some point too, since they were friends. Maybe at the party he and Sam talked about having.

He nodded to the couple of Ilvermorny students (Irene, Lachlan,and Jesús) soon joining their table, sparing them a pleasant smile. The prefect noted that they seemed rather familiar with Etta, which was nice to see. He assumed they had become friends through the challenges and she was always so friendly anyway. He was about to add a few words to their conversation himself when a flash of light startled him and he turned his head to see something burning not far from him.

What exactly was on fire? Henry looked curiously at Valerie for a moment, his eyes falling to the smoldering autographed photo of the Head Boy. At least it was out now and didn't pose any kind of danger. "Not a fan of Rooney Bronwyn?" he asked with a small smile. As for the picture that happened to be in front of him, he casually pushed it off to the side. He had a lot of mixed feelings about the other boy, but he did wish him well. But he thought over Valerie's words before answering. "I bet it's strange to be away from home for such a long time." In a different sense than just being away at school. A completely different country and culture, and more than just a holiday.
"Oh, I don't know," he said with half a shrug and a small smile. "I guess so. But it was kind of fun having visitors here. I hope you enjoyed your stay. And you did great in the competition." It had been intense though and though he might have been initially somewhat jealous to not have been chosen, he didn't really envy anyone in their tasks.

He turned back to some of his fellow badgers at the table as they continued the conversation with him. "California sounds amazing," he grinned at Kane. "I love the beach." It was a little different in Cornwall, but it was still one of his favorite places to be. Of course, talking about it made him think about the time he went to California with Griffin, yet it had been a while since he even talked to him. Funny how things changed.

And Derf was always so cheerful. "Oh that's great. I wish I could take Caelus home, but he has to stay here over summer." He had seen the younger Hufflepuff taking care of his bowtruckle on some of the days he cared for his Granian foal. But his parents weren't able to accommodate him over break, which he supposed he understood. "Yeah? That'd be awesome if you did. We love having our fans in the stands," he added with a grin. "I bet you can cheer really loud." That always made their games just that much more exciting.

And he gave the Friar a friendly little wave as he floated past. "I hope so, I'm hungry.." It always seemed like the speech came just as his stomach started rumbling. And sure enough, there it was. He glanced up to give the Headmistress his attention as she spoke before digging into some much needed food.

After somewhat recovering from that wink, Irene's attentions were diverted elsewhere. A question had been asked of her! And it was from young Benji! Hello fellow Pukwudgie. ...He was hungry? NEWT SCAMMANDER'S SUITCASE. Problem solving hat on... What did Irene have or what could she do to help the poor guy? Hmm... Let's see.. AHA! Granola bars. She always kept two on her just in case.

She was about to offer him one of the two granola bars she always kept on hand when Derf spoke about chocolate frogs. A smile lit up Irene's face when she saw the young boy dart over to a Hufflepuff. Wait... Wasn't that Hufflepuff the one always made heart eyes at Valerie Gray? OHHH... Now this would be interesting to watch. Irene smiled softly. Ah.. Unrequited love. This could be a song that she could construct later. Heh. Now how would it go exactly? But anyway back to saving the housemate. "I have an emergency chocolate chip granola bar if you want," she offered.

And Jesus joined the crew! He got a warm friendly smile. To his comment about Lachlan, Irene smirked a little. Heh. It DID seem like Lachlan was having fun. "Think he had a brew of Felix Felicis?" she suggested, with a teasing smile, to Jesus as she chose her words carefully. She totally meant something stronger but there were children around like Derf and Benji.

Then there was a ghost! It wasn't mean... Well he wasn't mean nor was he Sir Nicholas... This must have been... Oh what had Hogwarts, A History said... The Friar! Ghost of Hufflepuff. Nice ghost! "Good evening!" she said with a cheery nod.

However, soon enough the Hogwarts Headmistress had delivered her speech and there was food everywhere. FOOD! Lots of it. "Well you can have the granola bar if you get hungry on the train," smiled Irene, placing the granola bar near Benji so if he wanted it, he could have it. She was more than happy to share with another person, especially a housemate.