The train ride had gone decently, in truth, as Evan actually really liked to meet the incoming students. Their reactions to the school was usually enough to remind him that Hogwarts was a fun and exciting place to be, and it helped to dispel some of the dread of return that usually appeared following his second term. Meeting the first year had helped with a portion of that, but in truth... he was still feeling out of sorts as he filed into the great hall amongst his peers and settled at the Ravenclaw table.

While that pit of dread had ebbed some, there were other reasons it was still in existence. He'd felt this way before, from conversations he knew that needed to happen at some point but that he was not ready to have. And he'd probably not be ready to have ever, not that that mattered. For the first time he found himself wanting to ask someone for advice, but his friends were either dealing with their own problems and he didn't want to burden or.. they were actively avoiding him, for reasons he thought he might have been slowly figuring out. A quick glance to the Hufflepuff table, but then back to his own. That was another thing he'd have to figure later, he supposed.

For now, he would focus on how happy he was that two of his three favorite Professors had returned, one even now in the position of Headmaster. Professor Peralta was already sorely missed but he was starting to feel hopeful about the incoming professors as well. At least he could keep remain optimistic that the academic portion of the Hogwarts year had potential of going well.

Hullo Hogwarts! Ruari Fuller-Thompson was back at it! Coming to you live from the Ravenclaw table with the brightest grin and a proper hankering for some roasted chicken and potatoes. He'd snacked on the train, a tradition, but the nearly teenage boy had to admit that sweet couldn't hold a candle to savory.

at least in his books.

"Howdy Evan!" He beamed up at the elder boy, now a seventh year and still very good-looking. "I met an American from Texas this summer and they say 'howdy' instead of hello, isn't that inter- I mean, isn't that funny?" He reckoned it was hilarious. Maybe he'd take a second this term to learn about slang in different countries, it was pretty cool. Plucking at his tie, Ruari cleared his throat. He had definitely tied it too tight, but he'd been insistent he hadn't needed his father or lucky's help- clearly he'd been wrong. Should he re-tye it? Would he get docked points for that? or be told off by the elder eagles? Ruari wanted neither.

Indecision engulfed the boy..

Sirius was still a little frozen from being placed upon a stool in front of a whole school with a ratty hat on his head. He wildly looked around for his twin in the crowd, feeling trapped within this new uniform. He tugged at his collar, sitting down at the table he was assigned to.

The young Hazelwood peered through his curls, still searching the sea of faces for Saturn. The anxiety was banging through his chest. He sat on his hands as they started to shake again and tried to focus on one thing, like that interesting discolored part of the table. It kinda looked like a bunny or maybe an ice cream cone?

Ignacio was flooooating. Like, it definitely wasn't possible to ask for a better start to the term than the one he'd had, even if it was his OWL year. The exams were far enough in the future and the train ride was close enough in the past for him to focus on the kissing business.

Beaming as he made his way into the Great Hall, Ig offered a few waves and smiles to people he knew (and people he didn't, because it was a GOOD day and everyone deserved a glimpse of these pearly whites!) before slipping into a seat next to Evan. "Excellent evening, isn't it?" he offered to the table in general, nodding in the third year (Ruari)'s direction before turning to someone who had just joined from the Sorting Ceremony (Sirius). "Welcome to Hogwarts," he said to the latter. "Best house, but maybe I'm biased." Because there was nothing wrong with that.

"I'm also Ignacio," he added after a short pause. You know, as well as biased.

If there was one thing Evan did not appreciate about back to Hogwarts, it was the start of term feast. It was nice to see all of his housemates, and even nicer to be able to watch the new students being sorted into their houses, but it took so long. After the day of traveling, at this point he’d much prefer to just… get to the speech and then the food and then bed. Though in this moment, he wasn’t sure which he was pining for more. Food or bed.

The internal debate, a perfect distraction from other thoughts, was distracted when he heard his name and a rather unusual greeting. Glancing up, Evan gave a nod towards Ruari as he found a seat. “Yo.” It was the only other informal American greeting that came to mind. “American’s like to do informal things and have slang for… pretty much everything.” At least, that’s what it had always seemed like before they moved to the UK from Massachusetts. “Did you go to the States over summer?”

Hearing the sorting hat shout Slytherin, Evan’s head swiveled from housemates over towards the first years and transfers in order to seek their new housemate. He clapped politely at the call and watched as the boy (Sirius) slid into a seat at their table. “Welcome to Ravenclaw.”

He would have said more along the lines of well wishes, but his train of thought was interrupted by Ignacio’s arrival. “It’ll be even better once dinner is served. Hi, Ig. Pleasant summer?” It was surprisingly good to see his dorm mate, not because Evan had ever had anything against him he just hadn’t expected to miss frisbee as much as he had over the summer. Or soccer with Blake either, given how busy the Gryffindor kept. The introduction reminded him again where he’d been going earlier with the new sort, so again attention turned back to the new Eagle. “He’s not really wrong though. I think you’ll like our common room, and the riddles to get in can be really fun. I’m Evan.”

After debriefing with V at the Slytherin Table, Lisa headed back to her table. She made note to smile and wave at the Hufflepuff boys (Jasper and Daniel) and to give her biggest grin to Remy at the Gryffindor table on her journey back.

It was a quick trip but boy was she glad to be back at her table. The table was starting to fill up. There were multiple people here already!! Wow! Better grab a seat. So she plopped in a seat near her dearest brother (Evan). “Ev. How was your train ride?” she inquired, nudging him with her elbow and pretending to play it cool and not like she had just been gossiping with dear V over … things.

Oh hey! Little Ruiari was here already… and he was not so little. She didn’t get to hear what he had said but she heard her brother’s response. “The States? I love the States? I miss the fall in Mass…” she commented as she pouted. “Ruiari, did you get cowboy boots?” She had always wanted sparkly pink ones but had never made it down to Texas… A tragedy.

She glanced to her right to see if Stewie was here. Hmph. No sign of dearest Stuart, meddler in crime yet. She had a lot of plans to accomplish this year. She did notice a boy (Sirius) she didn’t recognize. “Hi! Welcome to Ravenclaw!” she beamed. “I’m Lisa Nam. What year are you in?”

Ignacio was already seated on the other side of her brother and he earned a smile from her. He was cute…. But he was her brother’s dormie so she’d admire his handsomeness from afar. Plus he probably liked other people and viewed her as Evan’s sister. “Hey. How was your train ride?” Hopefully it wasn’t as eventful as hers.

Sigh.

There was no denying it now.

The summer was mostly spent at an impasse, and for good reason. He’d told himself, over and over, to go about his business. Maybe focus on OWLs or kisses or something else that’ll get his attention. To not think about being in the castle without the one person who told him stories about it.

But that was all lost the moment he entered the Great Hall. His feet might’ve been walking towards the Ravenclaw table, but his eyes were scanning the Gryffindor table. Scanning for a familiar blonde head of hair that, deep down, he knew wasn’t going to be there.

Reaching up, Sammy forced his head - and therefore, his gaze - round to the Ravenclaw table, instead. Clocking some familiar faces, he immediately veered in that direction. Distractions, distractions.

”In that case: howdy, partner,” he said to little Ruari, even pretending to tip off his ‘hat’ to him. And no, he wasn’t even going to pretend he knew what Lisa was talking about. Instead, he turned to an unfamiliar face (Sirius) and tried his best to give him a smile. ”Hey, welcome to Ravenclaw. Ig’s right, it is the best house,” He couldn’t see his face but he hoped that cheeky, dimpled smile was there. ”I’m Sammy, by the way. Or just Sam.” Not that it mattered but……. Samuel? Too much.

The fifth year sat down near his fellow fifth years and, probably, his favourite third year. ”Hey, housemate (Lisa), Evan! How’s your summer been? Didn’t get into any trouble, did you?” The last part was more for Lisa than Evan. He couldn’t get into trouble even if he wanted to. ”You seem to be in a very good mood, Ig. Are you that excited for the OWLs or something?” That’s right, the cheeky game was still going strong.

Ash did not have a great time on the train. In the back of her mind, all she could think about how upset her brother got when she left. Again. She felt pretty terrible about it. She had to compose herself in the entrance hall, so most people were seated already and she felt weird. What if they had seen her crying?

Still, this feast was okay. Her friends were all here... including Siri apparently, and Ash was very very very very VERY excited about the new headmaster(her favorite Professor). Was this going to be the year she didn’t hate Hogwarts? She slipped into the chair beside Sirius. “Hey Siri. We meet again.” She grinned at him. Because she liked him. And because the grinning might mask her sad feeling that she was worried he might sense using divination or something.

She waved at all the other Ravenclaws too. Out of everyone here, Ravenclaws seemed to get along with her and accept her the best. Lucky. She had to live with them. “Hi Evan! Good to see you again.” Evan was a good friend. A special best friend, by her definition(NOT LISA’S). And was that... “Sammy!!! What’s up?” She gave him a smile and an excited wave. She really liked him. They’d had... rough patches(AKA she fought his girlfriend and then thought he hated her and then got tortured and disappeared for a while), but Ash was really glad they were friends. And really glad he didn’t hate her like she’d thought.

Was she... enjoying her return? Oh no... she wasn’t supposed to be enjoying it. She was supposed to be guilty. On account of her brother. Right.

... BUT KAZMI WAS THE HEADMASTER. SHE HAD THE RIGHT TO BE HAPPY IN THIS PLACE. Nobody could blame her for being happy, right? They’d be happy for her, right?

Right?

Ruari had heard rumors there had been a shake up in the school- kids on the train whispering about Trent leaving- but he'd been reluctant to believe it. It was Hogwarts, at times rumors were a better form of currency than galleons.

But it was true. Trent had left and in his place sat Kazmi Kamran. Ruari didn't know how to feel about it, Kamran was nice and all but Trent was... TRENT. untouchable, cool, and.. Well, he just didn't like such a sudden change. Why'd he leave anyway? Maybe he just up and got sick of them all.

It left a real sour taste in Ruari's mouth, and he frowned to himself.

-----

Saturn's arrival hadn't been as immediate as their brother's for one reason and one reason only. They'd really needed to use the loo. It was a long journey from the train to the boats to the castle and then they'd had to wait their turn for that hat- well, you could imagine. Untwisting their braids, Saturn unabashedly took the other seat beside Siri and offered their twin a slightly reproachful grin. sorry, dude. the look said.

"We meet again?" Saturn said, fingers making quick work of their braid, uncoiling and loosening until their dark brown hair was a wavy waterfall down their back. "I had no idea you made a friend here already. Where's my introduction?" The Californian said, their brown eyes moving from Siri to the girl (Ash) who addressed him. She looked around their age, maybe younger. The table was filling up with younger and older alike, and almost everyone seemed to know each other. It almost made Saturn nervous- keyword being almost- couldn't slide when Sirius was a bundle of hot nerves.

Pulling themselves together, Saturn reached for the nearest tankard of water and poured a goblet full which they immediately pushed toward Siri.

"It better be the best house since we're in it." Saturn boasted to the older boys (Evan & Sammy), their toothy grin all charm. Tbh, they'd expected to be placed in Hufflepuff, but this seemed.. okay, so far and the hat had claimed this was the best place for them. "The Hat said this is the house for 'sharing ideas' and 'experiencing true knowledge, can someone explain that?" Their tone was playful and easy going as they addressed their housemates, clearly eager to make conversation. Hello, Hi, Hello.


-----

The fugue had not lasted all of a minute but within that minute it felt like a million people popped into existence at the Ravenclaw table. Brushing back his dark hair from his face. Ruari grinned cheekily at all of them- but especially all the older kids. He would never get tired of talking to older kids- befriending older kids- from the cool to the hot to the reliable and the reckless, they had all captured his admiration. He nodded back to Iggy, pleased to see him as always, but his mouth was busy working on a reply to Evan first- and then Iggy- and Lisa- AND THE NEW KIDS- and Ashley Fox (ahem).

"You lived in America, didn't you? You tell me." Ruari said. He thought he remembered the Nam siblings being from there before- he hoped he wasn't wrong. "I didn't actually, but I went on vacation with my dad and Lucky and there was this bloke from Texas there with his family. His accent was amazing, just like in a Muggle picture-show! He kept talking about cows and horses too. It was really cool." Ruari had never wanted to visit the States but now? Now he couldn't stop dreaming of wide open plains and cowboy hats and spurs. "No, but I'd love a pair. They look so cool with the spurs and all, but I bet they'd make you fall down real easy." The spurs, not the boots. He wore boots sometimes, mostly during the winter but maybe he'd start if he had a really nice pair.

"Evening Sam, how'd you know they say pardner?" Ruari tried to act look as calm and mature as possible as he tipped his hat right back at Samuel Summers, but it was hard not to spontaneous combust- Sam was good-looking, and funny and really, really, really, really popular and just talking to him felt like talking to the sun. Clearing his throat, Ruari shifted his shoulder and sat back properly in his seat. Anyway.

He was just gonna kinda stare at Ash for a second, okay? okay.

Siri's concentration on the ice cream cone bunny in the table broke when a voice broke through to him. He glanced over at the voice (Evan) and the voice had a face. It looked like a friendly face to accompany the friendly voice, hopefully it was true. Oh, right they said something to him--"I..." He stuttered. "I'm Ravenclaw. I mean, Thanks..." Sirus' voice felt as small as he did right now.

Suddenly, he felt someone slide into the seat next to him. He turned so, so hopeful that it was his twin because honesssttlly, he was gonna start to go into shut down mode at any moment now. The person was not his twin, but his face softened as his vision focused on the girl next to him. "A-Ash...?" Without thought he found his arms around Ash, holding her close. He felt so relieved and for a second he thought he must be dreaming, because...what was she doing here? and as a witch too? Small world. It didn't matter though because he was just so glad to see her, someone he knew.

He dropped his arms from around Ash. "Sorry." His breathing started to pick up. He sounded like an idiot and Saturn? Where was Saturn?
He swiveled his head around looking for Saturn. Another voice chimed in as he sank deeper into his seat. Feeling like a puddle of Sirius-colored liquid, he looked up at Lisa. "Hi...I'm Sirius...like the star, not like the feeling..." His hands were getting numb from sitting on them, so he moved them to his lap where he wrung them together nervously. "Oh, sorry. I forgot to answer. I'm a third year?" Right? He counted on his trembling fingers. "Yes. Yeah. Third." Where was his twin? They were right behind him in line weren't they? What table did they get assigned to?? Were they SEPARATED?! OH MERLIN--OH MERLIN--OH. It's Saturn. "YOU'RE HERE. OH THANK GAIA!" Siri clinged onto his twin for DEAR LiFE. THEY WERE NOT SEPARATED. THEY HAVE SURVIVED. "I don't know this person! Or I just met this person! We are not friends, Saturn!" His twin is so confident compared to how anxious he was feeling right now. This is why he looked up to them so much. They were so...cool...about everything.

He came about a face. Two faces, actually (Ignacio & Sammy). "Hello...my-my dad said Hufflepuff is the best house? Is..that...not...true?" Idiot, why would you ask that? They literally just said Ravenclaw is the best house?! Be more like Saturn. "Yeah, it better be the best..."

Most of the nostalgia and yearning had run its course on the train ride here while in the company of Celyn. The Hogwarts Express was, after all, a rarity compared to meals in the Great Hall. The only thing that really made this different from any other night was that the headmaster shared words before the food appeared.

Speaking of food...Cooper Emilio Branxton was starving. Again. Always. Even with the three pumpkin pasties he had shared with Celyn on the train and then the additional treats from mum while sitting with Mercer and Kinsay. He hadn't made his way directly to the Ravenclaw table at the start of things, and thankfully his camera in hand had him distracted from other happenings in the Great Hall, and instead gotten as close as he could to the Sorting Stool and kind of lurked on the side while waiting for his little brother to go through his Sorting. It wouldn't take too long seeing as B was at the beginning of the alphabet and he would pop back up when it was Nerina's turn. He had a huge inkling that his little brother would end up in Ravenclaw too, but, one never REALLY knew for certain. In any case, Cooper had been right there to scoop Mercer up in a hug (after taking a perfectly appropriate amount of pictures during his Sorting) and was now making his way to the Ravenclaw table in stride (a muted stride since his longer legs made for longer strides that his brother's).

"Evening all," he greeted the table with a wide smile, chest puffed out and wondering if this is how dad had felt when Cooper had written home to tell him about how he had been Sorted into Ravenclaw too. "This is my little brother, Mercer. He's a new eagle to the nest and all around awesome. He can play a wicked game of exploding snap and can make you laugh harder than if you were struck by Rictusempra, so help me make this the best first year of his Hogwarts journey, please?"

Mercer's first year...and Cooper's last... he sort of wish he felt the tang and legacy that came with his grandmother once being the headmistress here. Maybe it was because he had not started as a first year, maybe it was something else, but he did not feel the weight of Hogwarts, per say. It was more the people and he did not associate any of them with these stone walls. So, in many ways, now was just another night for himself...but it was A NIGHT for Mercer.

Giving his little brother a nudge forward, Cooper pivoted back a bit and swung his camera by the shoulder strap around and held it back up to his eye. "Say Fizzing Whizzbees!" he chuckled, as a warning too, before taking a picture of the table at large. Or if someone did not want to be in the picture...then they could duck out of frame.

Wide grin on his face, Cooper situated himself at the table and was seated for approximately ten seconds before he was back on his feet again.

"Oh, and if anyone is too jazzed from the feast and not quite ready to head to bed in the dorms...I'll be doing a bit of storytelling by the fireplace." Probably with some hot chocolate too if he could muster up some.

Back to sitting again, Cooper made sure to catch Sammy's attention with another warm smile and a wave. He had promises to continue to keep, after all. "Hey Sammy, why don't you and your friends get together for a group photo? I'll send it to Cecelia." That wasn't BAD to mention her by name, right? It wasn't the same yearning and sibling mourning that Kinsay was going through, right?

Speaking of which, he did venture a quick glance that way (the Gryffindor table) to try and catch his little cousin with a smile. He felt better that they already had plans for an abraxan ride during this first week.

Dahlia may have spent just a minute or two, too long watching all of her siblings, cousins and niece make it to their own tables before heading over to her own. Not to mention she had had to actually let go of Tadgh's hand so he could go over to the Slytherin table. Hadn't spent as much of the summer with him as she'd had wanted to so nearly all of the train right and then the carriage ride to the castle had been spent with him.

All was well, they had an entire year to make up for a summer apart.. well not even a whole summer. She did get to join up with him and his family in New York for awhile. Now that had been a whole lot of fun.

Shifting her attention towards her own table, Lia headed that way with a warm smile on her lips. It was time to get this year started. "Heyyyy," yup, that was totally the greeting she was going to go with for whoever just so happened to hear her as she sat down at the table.

Ash did not expect to be hugged. But apparently she was being hugged now? She was fine with that. Ash liked hugs. Except for sometimes.

Hugs to... we are not friends? Ouch. She gave Siri and his twin(Saturn) a confused and wounded look. She thought they were friends. Had she not been hugging Siri just a second ago? After what felt like forever, she extended a hand to the twin. “Ash.” This was awkward. She was already sitting next to Siri, and it’s not like she could move. But like. She did not appreciate being rather loudly labeled as a not-friend. But she also didn’t want to say so.

Huh, her bracelets looked really interesting right now.

Ash waved at Ruari. Also she waved at Cooper’s little brother. And Dahlia. And really anyone else she could see.

And then she just sort of avoided making eye contact. Not friends? Really?

Now Ash felt bad, which felt good in a twisted way. She was supposed to feel bad at Hogwarts. And she did! It all worked out.

"Hello, beautiful people." Nerina flashed a pearly smile as she settled herself down at the Ravenclaw table and propped her chin on her hand. Cooper was taking pictures, after all. Don't think she hadn't noticed. Hello cousins.

"Hey fam. Can you snap one of me for mum and dad? I'm sure they'll want a memento from my first feast." Also, same house, huh? Aunt Cat would be pleased, she was sure. Mum too, since she still thought her little girl needed some looking after. Not true, of course, but she was okay with her parents having the comfort of knowing that good old cousin Cooper was keeping her on the straight and narrow.

Feeling the slight dip in the bench of someone settling beside him, Evan turned to offer a smile at his sister before scooting a bit to give her more room to get settled. Which had been lucky for him, as it lessened the impact of her elbows to his ribs. He wasn't sure if there was anything actually suspicious about Lisa's behavior, or if this was just his comfortable state of being around his youngest sister, but either way an eyebrow raised slightly at her. "Nothing of note to report." Not exactly correct, as there was a puzzling CD with his name and other decoration currently residing in his bag, "Spent it visiting with a first year, who I do believe just was sorted to Gryffindor." Another polite clap of his hands to emphasis on that. "How was your ride, Lees? Do you sit with Maya or some friends?" Mention of their sister had his eyes moving towards the Slytherin table, before he stopped himself and turned back to the Ravenclaws.

Another presence, and Evan turned his smile to fellow dorm mate and gave a nod in his direction. "Hey, Sam. Good to see you." He'd lucked out with decent dorm mates, something he was forever thankful for. And while Evan knew the trouble question was more towards his sister, he couldn't resist reaching for a glass of water for himself. "It was a decent summer. Not too much trouble, outside of a girl dumping her ice cream on my head." Still entirely a perplexing moment, but... hearing similar thing had happened to Noah as well, also by a Gryffindor, it struck him as amusing. Although he really probably should have figured out how he'd wronged her. A problem for the upcoming weeks, he supposed.

And suddenly Ash was making her entrance as well, and looking fairly positive for the beginning of term. At least... he thought she was. And that was a good thing to see, as he far preferred his friend happy. "You too, Ash. Thanks again for letting me come hang out for a bit." That library was something of his dreams, and should the invitation remain open he certainly would have loved to visit again whenever possible.

The new sortee seemed... nervous, but Evan attempted to give an encouraging smile back when he answered that he was... Ravenclaw? That was alright, there were certainly a lot of them currently crowding him. It was meant to be welcoming but.. perhaps it was also overwhelming. So instead of trying to draw him further into conversation, Evan stuck with the smile and gave another, "Nice to meet you, Sirius," having picked up the name from his answer to Lisa, "And welcome again to Ravenclaw. We're happy to have you." And when another new sort came and joined the group, their presence seemed to ease that of the former. This new eagle (Saturn) also seemed to have no issue with jumping straight into conversation, and showing confidence as they did so. AND they were asking questions? Questions were some of Evan's favorite things to try to answer. The easiest way to converse with others. "Ravenclaw is said to be the ground for those who most value learning, and wisdom and wit." Among other things. "I think the hat was probably referencing that we aren't really afraid to debate things or share what information we've learned. New ideas can be even more fun to discuss and bounce ideas off of each other." Because information SHOULD be shared, unless it was done so with the intent of harming someone else.

Attention back to Ruari, who was not incorrect in what he'd heard. Up until Evan was 10 they had resided in the States. "I'm happy to share any information I got from living there." Though with all the conversation swimming around them, in all honesty he'd lost what the original question had been. "It's always fun to meet people from different regions. Did meeting him and his family get you interested in going to Texas?" Anything else he could have thought to say about the state of Texas, or America in general, was chased away from the forefront of his mind with the arrival of Cooper and a first year in tow, soon introduced as his younger brother. Evan smiled warmly at both, giving a small nod. "Welcome to Hogwarts, and Ravenclaw, Mercer. It's a fun place to be a part of." And a story time? Well.. depending on the subjects that could be interesting. Having been muggleborn, he was still unfamiliar with majority of the wizarding fairytales and was always curious to see if he could find any similarities between those and what he grew up with. So the offer was tucked away for later, just in case.

Another face approached, and while the former crush was gone Evan stil couldn't stop himself from giving a bright smile Lia's way too. It felt like it had been a long while since he'd spent any time around her. "Lia, hey! How was your summer?" It also occurred to him in that moment that two of the primary sources for his current confusion were her cousins. Perhaps he'd be able to locate her later and see if she could help him with how he'd managed to upset her family. Unless... she was upset with him too. His smile drooped a bit as he considered that, and he was happy for the distraction of another new Ravenclaw (Nerina) to turn his attention to. "Hello, welcome to Ravenclaw. I'm Evan."

Mercer was OVER THE MOON about being at the Ravenclaw table, and being walked there by his big brother, and all these bright happy faces who seemed... somewhat interested in his being there. This was the BEST day of his life, okay? BEST.

"You don't have to, like, only experience my very best day behind the lens, okay?" Mercer bounced onto the bench beside Cooper and tried to climb onto his brother in a way that was all 11-year-old boy rough housing with his brother and not at all serious-young-Ravenclaw (tm). He hung from Cooper like a monkey in a tree, even as these new faces greeted him.

"I'm the new eagle in the NEST," he agreed, giving a wave to Ash, who waved first, and to Evan, who welcomed him to Ravenclaw. Home of the bluebirds. Oh, and to Nerina. Mercer dropped from his stranglehold of Cooper and clambered over the bench to give his older cousin a hug. He'd seen Kizzy on the train, but he hadn't run into this branch of the family tree until JUST NOW.

"Nerina, I'm a Ravenclaw, like our whole family before us, except Kizzy..." He frowned generally at the Gryffindors, and those unlucky enough to be sorted anywhere other than Ravenclaw. "Like most of our whole family. It's like... do you think there's a secret Branxton treasure in our common room that only I can get access to because it's been waiting for me all this time? It wasn't waiting for Cooper, because he doesn't care about treasure."

The Belly of the Beast. It wasn't the very bowels of the castle, or even the guts, but stood somewhere on the outskirts - the navel. Didn't matter. It was here. The Belly of the Beast. Today. Every day. Here.

Milo, still with the hood of his robes pulled all the way forwards over his head, arriving now at the table his odd-socked feet had brought him to, sat on the bench and made to slip below and take shelter. Stopped at once. Abandoned the attempt.

Instead he shifted to kneel on the bench, crossed his feet behind him, and lay his head down on the table, arms dangling below. His hood had slipped slightly, and his head rested on his empty plate, the silver surface cooling his cheek and anchoring him to the moment. There were people all around him, he knew, but their buzzing was more marginally tolerable than the situation beneath the Hat, so they could stay. Milo would just exist(?) right here and try not to be dead.

Ankles were crossed beneath the table to hopefully keep herself from swinging her legs to much, it was sometimes difficult to keep still for very long. She was older now though, no longer a little kid therefore she should be able to at least sit at the table for a few minutes and wait for the speech, plus she had her friends to talk to AND Melody was getting sorted this year!

Lia's warm smile remained as she greeted Ash with a wave. Hi, hello, hey there! A wave for you and a smile for you and a head nod for you! Everyone got something because why not? "Welcome to Ravenclaw, I'm Dahlia. You're all going to love it here." Here as in in Ravenclaw. Proud to see all the new faces joining them at their table this year. .

When a bright smile was sent her way, it was hard to miss it. Evan. Lia grinned widely at him. "Evan! It was another of my typical summers but I got to spend a week in New York with Tadgh and his family so that was something different." And insanely fun. By typical summer she had meant crazy busy packed with family outings, camping, creature things, helping in her dads shop and just general summer stuff. Anyone that knew her relatively well would know how she liked to keep herself busy. "How was yours? Do anything new this summer?"

“Summer was great, yeah - at my grandparents by the lake, you know,” Ig offered to Evan, twisting in his seat a little to see everyone who was streaming into the Great Hall. “How was yours?” He was about to ask about frisbee in the morning, or if there were plans for football with Blake, but he was distracted by other happenings around the table.

Oh, well - there would be plenty of time for sports this year, he was sure!

Ignacio smiled at Lisa, nodding enthusiastically as he made a deal of pouring water for himself. “Pretty great, actually, yeah,” he said, mind flying to the kisses that had made up a lot of the journey. “What about yours? Anything interesting happen?” Evan’s little sister always seemed very popular to him, so no doubt her train ride had been enjoyable.

“Yo, Sammy!” Ignacio grinned wide, hand out to fist bump his other dorm mate. Before he started laughing, of course. “Don’t remind me of OWLs. We’ve got ages before them!” And Ig was planning to make the MOST of the year until he absolutely had to start studying.

Ash got a beam, as did the next new arrival (Saturn). Who seemed very confident, and was asking about the House. Ignacio decided he liked them, and then looked between them and the other new arrival - Sirius. “You two related?” he sort-of-joked, because they were acting related, but you never knew, you know? “I reckon the ‘Puff’s would say that they have the best House, but you’re in Ravenclaw, so…” Ig shrugged, as though that explained it all. Which it did, in his mind. “As for experiencing true knowledge - I don’t know, but I guess I’ve always thought about it as being finding your passion and exploring it, you know? Learning as much as you can about the stuff you like, and sharing it with like-minded individuals.” He shrugged a little, looking around at the others gathered for their thoughts.

Cooper and his little bro and Dahlia got grins, but it wasn’t long before Ignacio was distracted. Because someone was greeting them as beautiful people when he was pretty sure they were the beautiful people (Nerina). And so CONFIDENT. And everyone was talking to them and Evan was and WORDS were escaping Ignacio Videl Salgado-Ramirez, which wasn’t something they experienced often and -

What would Blake Keller do?!

“I’m Ignacio,” he said, a beam and a hand extended towards Nerina. “You need a tour guide, I’m your guy.”

Lisa turned her gaze to her brother before resting her elbow on the table and her chin on her hand. “Really? So a non event? A booooooorrrrriiinnggg train ride minus the part of meeting a cool Gryffindor?” she offered a with a raised eyebrow and wry smile. She was briefly jealous of Evan’s calm train ride… why couldn’t hers been just as boring? “Hardly boring… it was eventful… I spent it with Atlas. We talked books and Daniel and V getting along… which I suppose is nice… Stewie and I watched clouds… and then Jasper bought mesnacks.”

She chuckled at Sammy’s reference of housemate. It was their inside joke. She gasped, overacting a little when he accused her of getting into trouble. “ME? Trouble? Ha. I’m an angel, my dearest housemate.” She drew the halo a few centimeters above her head and smiled innocently at him. “My summer was good. Hung out with friends and went to theatre camp. How was your summer?”

“Only pretty great, Ig??” Lisa wiggled her eyebrows at pretty great. There were a number of combinations on what that could mean. “That’s good… Can you pass the water after your done?” she asked before thinking of her own answer to Ig. Her summer had been fun too. “It was nice yeah.. theatre camp, friends… and staying out of trouble.” She returned her gaze to Sammy Summers just in case he’d tease her again. Heh.

“But they must sound nice when you walk in them….” she mentioned to Ruiari trying to imagine what spurs on wood sounded like. Perhaps an interesting sound. She wanted a pair of sparkly light pink ones. Ash joined them and Lisa flashed her a smile. “Hi Ash! Good summer?” she called out to the older girl that had joined them and then listened to the interaction between Ash and the two newer students. Ooof… that was …. Uncalled for to be so blunt.

She offered a warm smile to Sirius. Ah so he was a third year too? His quietness had made her wonder if he was going to be a first or second year… They were generally nervous. “Nice to meet you, Sirius. I’m a third year too!” Yay! New year friend… she wondered if he’d get along with the other kids in their year. He seemed rather quiet but it was understandable to be quiet around all these strangers… And then another girl joined Sirius whom Lisa assumed was some sort of relative. She gave a wave, watching the two siblings interact. They were quiet the pair.. “Welcome to Ravenclaw!”

Big wave to Cooper and mini-Cooper! “Hi! Welcome to Ravenclaw, Mercer. I like exploding Snap. We should play sometime!” wow! Their table was popping…. she glanced down the table, looking for a particular older Year only to have to remind herself that Misa wasn’t here anymore. She missed her….She then spotted Lia and Lisa turned her gaze briefly to Evan to see what his reaction was. He had always wondered if her brother had a crush on her because Lia was pretty but figured that they were just friends. “Hi Lia!! Good summer?” she asked and then noticed a face from Diagon Alley.

Wait… was that Nerina?? “NERINA! Hi!” big smile when she saw the older girl. “YOU’RE A RAVENCLAW TOO! I’m happy!” After their meeting at Malkins, she couldn’t wait to get some more stylish tips from the older girl.

She did notice the younger year (hooded boy) that was quiet. Tempted, she was to say hi but decided to let him have his moment. Maybe it was all too overwhelming?

This Ravenclaw welcome party wasn't half bad an Nerina looked around, taking in the people she'd be sharing space with for the next few years. At first glance, they'd do. She could see potential here. Plus lots of hair that could do with her particularly awesome cutting skills. Maybe she'd even make some money this term doing just that. Now that was an idea.

"Hey Evan." Nerina offered the boy a wink in greeting. "Thanks. Pleased to be here." Genuinely. She lived for this stuff. New people. New environment. So much to learn and explore.

"You know, I think if anyone was able to locate a super secret hidden treasure, it'd be you." Mercer got a little extra squish because the cuteness was a lot and her cute aggression was real. "I suggest you start looking for clues as soon as we get to check out the common room. Who knows what you'll uncover." She wiggled her eyebrows a bit, fully encouraging this search. Even if Uncle Mo didn't leave anything behind, she was sure there was some kind of cool Ravenclaw objects for Mercer to get excited about.

The droopy, odd-socked boy stole her attention when he very much wilted right there onto the table and she was tempted to poke him just to make sure he'd survive the feast. Poking tiny humans was probably in bad taste, though, so she gave Mercer a gentle nudge in hopes he'd do it instead. "Hey, maybe he needs a friend. You're a great friend." Just saying.

Hello smile. Hello Ignacio. Nerina grinned back, slipping her hand into his and giving it a firm shake. "I might just take you up on that, Ignacio. I fully expect you to show me all the castles best spots, alright?"

"Lisa, hey!" Little doll-face cutie from the alley was in this house, too. She'd almost forgotten. "I'm happy, too. Now we can have fashion shows at school as well." Nerina loved playing dress-up. She was so down.

"Yeah?" Mercer preened with visible joy at Nerina's agreement in his treasure-seeking plan. If she thought they could really find a Branxton treasure waiting for him, and she was even willing to join his hunt, then Mercer might even consider splitting the treasure with her. Nerina was definitely in the top five of his favorite cousins. Possibly top 2, since Kizzy looked too sad to drop to second place right now.

He wriggled around to look past Nerina at the him who needed a friend, and Mercer emitted a noise like a chipmunk. A very large one with glasses. "Oh, wait! He IS my friend. Hey, Milo! Milo with no shoes. Milo milo my friend Milo!"

Ruari's question was simple and innocent, but it still left him at a loss for words. Frankly, this was embarrassing. A fight between being honest and making up an excuse. He knew what the answer was: that Amabel liked to watch old movies, and there were some bad movies thrown in there for reasons.

But saying this to a second year? Probably not a good idea.

"Oh, uh," he started, running a hand through his hair, "My grandparents are Muggles. We've watched some of those movies with them. You know, the ones with the accents and the guys wearing boots." Phew! Metaphorical pat on the back for you, Sammy. "Is that what it's like over there?"

There was no missing that energetic call of his name, not when it came from a voice that was very familiar to the fifth year. Looking up, the dimpled!smile was instantaneous when he saw who it was. "Hey, Ash! You seem to be in a good mood." Which was nice to see, he had to say. "Not much, getting very eager for the food to arrive. Snacks just aren't enough. What about you? How's your summer been?"

It was interesting that the boy's (Sirius) dad said that Hufflepuff was the best house. Very interesting, because he was sure that his parents would say the same thing. He had half a mind to ask how old his dad is - and see if his dad went to Hogwarts with his parents - when, all of a sudden, another young boy (Saturn) interjected. "That's the spirit! Welcome to Ravenclaw, by the way. What are the two of you most excited about?" And since there were explanations being thrown around, the fifth year was going to let his fellow Ravenclaws do the talking. Evan and Ig were both doing a good job of explaining.

Speaking of, Sammy turned to Ig next, feeling instantly cooler the moment he bumped his fist with his. Fistbumps and Ig both had that effect, after all. "Oh yeah? Is that why you're so happy?" Though, to be fair, who wouldn't be happy about that?

From one dormmate to the other - literally. "Good to see you too, Evan." He was probably going to come in clutch this year, what with being the most responsible one in the dor-

"WHAT?!"

Dumping? Ice cream? On Evan's head?! Pinpointing what was wrong with that sentence was impossible because it all seemed wrong. He couldn't imagine anyone possibly wanting to do that - not to mention that it was a waste of perfectly good ice cream. "What happened?! Why did she do that?" Was he missing something?

Once again, the smile was back, and it was entirely Lisa's fault. She was an angel, and now she was just giving him ideas on how to design her birthday cupcakes. Thanks, little Nam. "That's good to hear. How was theatre camp?"

As for his summer....... well. He almost didn't want to say it. It was a light-hearted atmosphere and the distractions were helping somewhat. With that being said...... "Yeah, I hung out with Cece a lot. Helped her with, uh, some of her tasks." Moving out. That's was the task. Which he couldn't say out loud in case it made it more real.

Distractions, distractions.

Cooper and his relatives were a distraction. Their excitement and familial hug was a distraction, in some way. The talk about treasure was a distraction. This, he could focus on. "Hey Mercer, Nerina. Welcome to Ravenclaw! I'm Sammy, or just Sam."

But then Cooper started talking to him, and only him. And worst of all, it was about the one thing he didn't want to talk about. What he was offering was sweet, but it wasn't enough to stop his smile from faltering. Instinctively, he glanced over at the Gryffindor table before saying quietly, "Yeah...... yeah, I'm sure she'd like that." Pause. "But you should be in the photo, too."

There was more people trickling in and trickling over to the table, but it still wasn't hard to miss the bright energy coming from Lia. "Hey, Lia! How's your summer been?" Anything fun happen? He was up for a story.

As much as he was keeping an eye out on the people coming to the table, he almost missed a young boy (Milo), who was a friend of Mercer's apparently. And what was more, he was....... kneeling on the bench? With his head on an empty plate? What in the-

Confused was an understatement as Sammy looked up and down the table, almost hoping that a professor would handle this. Finally, he turned back and asked softly, "Hey, kid? You okay there?"

Milo was perfectly willing the let the noise of the table settle around him. He stacked it up around his body, brick by decibel brick, entombing himself but in the safe way. At first he closed his eyes, but hearing without seeing tipped matters back into the realm of the distinctly unpleasant, so he kept them open and left his face partly uncovered.

But he didn't engage with the noise until he heard his name spoken - no poking necessary, or maybe he wouldn't have noticed it at all. Milo refocused his eyes and spoke without lifting his face from his plate, looking sideways into it for any reflections that weren't the enchanted ceiling or his own nose. "Mercer Mercer Mercer. Hello." His friend. Mitsuki had arranged it all, and the dead butterbeer witch had probably had a hand in it too.

Milo swivelled his eyes towards the human(?) with the question, refusing to break contact with his silver anchor, but looked away just as quickly. "No. I'm dead," he said, in all seriousness, though the answer required heavy analysis, and a tour through several thought processes and a leap of logic that it did not occur to him to explain. "I died on the train."