Sixth year already, was it?

Evan made his way into the Great Hall with the rest of the masses, weaving his way through students carefully in order to make it to the Ravenclaw table and find himself a seat. He picked the earliest open spot he could locate, settling in and scanning over the staff table to note the changes. It wasn't surprising, but he was still disappointed to see Professor Flamsteed and Professor Applewood missing from the line up. At least Carton was still here, and Holden as well. And Kazmi was still there fearless leader, a comfort in itself.

Moving his eyes from the staff, he glanced over at the other tables, attempting to locate Maya first at Slytherin, before moving to Hufflepuff and seeing Jude looking over his way. Evan molded his face into a smile, trying to be as normal as he could be and even raised a hand in greeting towards his friend. Everything was fine, and they were still normal. Nothing to worry about.

He then looked towards the rest of the Ravenclaw table, trying to spot where Lisa or Ash might have settled.

The train was starting to lose its excitement compared to prior years so Lisa was glad to have made it to Hogwarts. Part of it may have been driven by her boredom with the latest book she was trying to read. It was a recommendation from a CUTE theatre friend at summer camp but it was terribly boring. It was about fashion and make up- things that she was interested in but it read like a poorly written History of Magic essay that she had once proofread. When the train pulled into the station, she made a beeline out of the door, navigating past shorter and taller (mostly taller) students to get to the castle ASAP.

Walking into the Great Hall, she paused momentarily and took a deep breath before spinning happily. Yes. She was back sans book that she had (unfortunately) left behind. Oops.

Lisa spotted her brother at their table and made her way over to him. She was hoping that he had yet to notice her because she tip toed over quickly and then proceeded to cover her brother’s eyes with her small hands. “Guess who?” she said, mimicking her elder sister’s voice.

Mercer was trying very hard not to notice that Cooper wasn't there, and that it felt WEIRD not to have him there. Was that how it felt for Cooper last year with no Fee and Teddy? Would it be even worse with Kiz and Nerina gone? Was he gonna have to spend the rest of his life just worrying over the gaps where missing people were supposed to go, like when your tongue keeps poking the spot where a missing tooth goes?

He flopped on the table, half a baby starfish. He needed an adventure. Or his friends. Or the biggest pudding the elves could provide. "I'm starving to death and no one caaaaares."

Sirius approached the Ravenclaw table apprehensively. He was more calm than last year, it's present in his energy, but it didn't erase the anxiety. The young Hazelwood had lost Saturn in the crowd at Hogsmeade, but this time around, it felt okay to not be near them. This year he felt more...like he belonged.

The fourth year took a seat at the very end of the table. It felt better to be closer to the doors, in case he needed to dash. He smiled shyly at his housemates present at the table before looking around for Saturn or Ash.

The train ride had been mostly uneventful with the only thing of particular note being the manner in which Pistachio had rolled off her shoulder and almost into the container of soup she had left for Mercer to take. She probably should inform her father that he need not continue to provide her with a container of it each trip, some traditions were not meant to carry on, but she was always given a sign not to crush her father's affections. Had Mercer noticed the offering? She had not stuck around long enough to know in that moment as the flow of the wind through the compartments had encouraged her to stay on her feet and settle no where.

Her legs were quite tired at this point.

Slumping into the vacancy beside her friend, Mitsuki's usually straight as an arrow posture slouched entirely as she leaned essentially all of her weight on him. She too had a deep yearning for pudding.

"That is a false accusation," she mumbled on an exhale.

Her head shifted slightly, glancing around at the rest of the gathered crowed and settled on the Nam siblings nearby. The younger of the two may have been asking a rhetorical question, seeing as it was her brother she was playing with, but such nuance was lost on the second year. "Lisa Nam," she offered casually. An easy answer for an easy question.

Back to leaning on Mercer exclusively, Mitsuki slipped her hand into her pocket for a pinch of salt and licked the crystals off the tips of her fingers. The other boy who had arrived seemed content in his silence, imploring Mitsuki not to interrupt or otherwise divide her attention between him and Mercer.

She hoped her little spectre would join them soon too.

Despite the train ride being long and... really long, Ash was in a good mood. She didn't have the urge to be somewhere else. Here felt right. She settled in next to where Evan was standing, laughing at him and Lisa. She loved the Nams so much. She looked over the rest of the table, smiling at Mercer and Mitsuki(their scene made her very happy for some reason). "Siri!" Her smile broadened as she beckoned for him to sit by her. There was always a spot for him, and his twin if they would like it.

Ashley felt very peaceful and warm inside, and she smiled super extra wide in anticipation of seeing her favorite teachers and her super extra favorite headmaster. She felt like crying a little, but like... in a good way. Clearing her throat, she looked back at her friends. "I... Um... I'm so ready for this year."

It seemed not long at all that Evan had been sitting there before he was joined by... someone. Covering his eyes. It was definitely one of his sister's, unable to think who else would do that outside of them, and he was pretty sure it was Lisa trying to disguise her voice to sound like someone else. A noble effort, but considering he'd listening to her excited chatter for all 14 years of her life, he still could tell.

But either way, he opted to keep quiet until someone else gave it away for him, further spoiling her fun as was his brotherly duty. They were at an entire table of Ravenclaws, someone was going to answer her rhetorical question so he didn't have to. And lo and behold, he was right on that count as one of the younger students said her name and he managed to raise his hands to bat his youngest sister's off of his eyes. "Hi, Lees. Not too much trouble on the train ride, right?" He gave a smile towards the younger student, Mitsuki if he remembered correctly, before turning one towards Mercer as well who he'd noticed now that he had his eyesight back. "Hi you two. Good summer?"

Sirius' arrival had escaped his notice, but Ash's had not as she came over and took a seat, which he then settled himself down next to her and patted the bench on his other side for Lisa. "Care to join, or were you looking for some of your friends?" His feelings would not be hurt if it was the latter, though granted he'd seen less of his sister than usual with having spent a lot of the summer at the Anders and her having her camp.

Ash's comment got his attention spinning towards his friend again, now noting Sirius as well and giving the other Ravenclaw a smile as well. "Do you have exciting plans for the term or just glad our OWLs are over?" Sorry, younger students.

The little spectre had also made an appearance.

While the Great Hall was still high on the list of places Milo intended to avoid for reasons undisclosed, he suddenly found relief in its thousand-voice clamour. Enough so that once he had climbed out of his school trunk (having whiled away the hours of the train ride safely curled up inside), travelled from the station to the school in a carriage, and had his fill of independent thestral study, Milo had veered into the room where the bulk of the school gathered.

And now here he was, joining the bench on the other side of Mercer, sitting sideways and leaning back against him so that Milo and Mitsuki formed Mercer's own personal bookends. "Don't eat the food," was his greeting to the both of them, though he faced away from them and kept his eyes on the main doors. It was a sentiment he had likely voiced on more than one occasion to both of them several times in the past. The next was a new one: "I am astral projecting tonight."

Milo watched his toes wriggle in their invariably unmatched socks, paused to cast a guarded eye around at the others sitting along the table, and pulled a well-worn book from the now-inside-pocket of his inside-out robes.

He perked up at the sound of Ash's voice, blushing slightly at the sight of her. Sirius hesitated at her beckoning. Not because, he didn't want to sit next to Ash, just that he had such a good getaway spot right here.

Taking a very, very deep breath, Siri moseyed on over to squeeze next to Ash. "Hello, you seem happy today." He mumbled, scooting very close to her. Just to feel safe, you know?

Mercer glanced up with some interest at the greetings from the older students. Ashley... Evan. Nice, both of them, and dead useful in class because they never left a kid to fend for himself. He wiggled his fingers back at them both, but since he was currently a Mercer sandwich, it was the best he could manage.

"It's not false. I only had the soup you left on the train. And a sandwich. And the biscuits from my mum. It's like I'm caving in on the inside." He pressed his stomach against the table to stop it from gurgling. It still gurgled. Loudly. On his other side, Milo was telling him NOT to eat the food? But that was all the food there was? The food from the KITchENSssS? Mercer huffed loudly. He was going to eat food, but he'd probably tie himself to his bed post later just to be safe.

"I don't remember how to get to the astral plane. And I'm tired. Maybe I'll watch this time? Like... guard your mortal form while you traverse the universe? I'm super good at guarding things." He guarded a kelpie, for goodness sake.

To Mercer’s comment about hunger, she could only nod. She did have a smirk on her lips at Mitsuki’s comment. Heh. That was a good one… but she was supposed to be silent so she couldn’t reply. Instead she gave Mercer a sympathetic look as if to say- Me too.

Lisa HUFFED loudly when the betrayal occurred. Betrayed by one of her own housemates? The audacity. She clutched her hand to her heart and widened her eyes so that they sparkled and looked over to young Mitsuki. How could she? she was tempted to respond but decided that pretending to ham it up and look hurt was SO MUCH MORE FUN! “No fun….” she commented. “FIVE Lisa Nam POINTS TO RAVENCLAW!” she spoke, shooting Mitsuki a smile. It wasn’t right to get upset with the younger years.

The fourteen year old would still complain to her brother.

“Spoil sports,” she muttered before plopping on an open seat and crossing her arms. She scowled at Evan. “There was no chance fooling you, yeah? Couldn’t you have AT least let me have my fun?” She POUTED before switching to speaking in Korean. Her voice becoming more whiny and her expression becoming more pouty. “Did a dementor suck out all the happiness from your being on the train ride?” She shrugged at his question. “Not super memorable… it was rather boring but that’s alright. How about you? Did you see Maya or Jude?”

The pout was thoroughly removed when she saw Ash join the table. Ooh! And there was Sirius and Milo too. She gave them a friendly smile. “Hiya. Good train ride?”

Ash was so glad Siri had decided to join them. Hopefully he wouldn't need to get away. She whispered into him ear with a small smile. "With any luck, I'll be happy tomorrow too." Wouldn't that be fun? She tapped her fingers on the table. "Are you happy?" She wanted him to be alright too, since, well... they were close friends. She looked out for him.

"My exciting plans-" Ash replied to Evan, softly, "-involve sitting in the boathouse and painting. I'm not going to end up in the hospital wing more than once a month, I'm not going to skip school or lose many points or get many detentions, and I'm not going to worry about OWLs. I'm going to watch the stars, and journal. And I'm going to sit in the boathouse and paint. That part is very important." And another important part was mending/maintaining relationships and spending time with her friends. This included Siri and the Nams(Hi Lisa! She saw you, and her train ride was boring but tolerable! and hi Maya, at the Slytherin table), and Devin's family, and her dormmates and Sammy, and a lot of other people. She wasn't popular, but she liked to think she was a lot more likable than she had been a few years ago. She had gotten some things sorted out(and now it was her turn to enjoy life and being sixteen).

"Hey Siri, have you seen my tattoos?" And had Evan? Come to think of it, had all of the Ravenclaws ever seen them? Because Ash was totally dying to show them off.

Eden had been noticeably absent from the start of term feast (and Hogwarts altogether) the previous year, and was noticeably late to it this year. She missed the sorting altogether and it was only after an older student threatened to snitch on her to a teacher for skipping that she entered the Great Hall and took a seat by some familiar faces at the Ravenclaw table, Ash and Lisa among them. She was still short, still skinny, and the bags under her eyes were bruiselike on her skin, which was paler than normal.

"I'm back," she shrugged in greeting, hoping nobody brought up that she hadn't written or told anyone where she'd been or that she looked like the aftermath of a hippogriff's dinner. "Did somebody say tattoos?"

Not the first time she had been accused of no fun, though she failed to see how having your vision obscured by someone trying to mislead you as something fun. It was a curious choice, particularly with how Lisa Nam struggled with the concept of subtlety. "What is a Lisa Nam point?" she asked calmly before her attention shifted to Evan and his question. Had it been a good summer? It had not been a bad summer but that did not automatically mean it had been a good one. "I have no particular stance on my summer."

A relief. Though it seemed none of it was enough to ward off the gaki that had once again taken hold of Mercer. It was a pesky persistence that plagued her friend and her salt crystals would not be enough to rectify the colony. Hmmm. Unfortunate. "Eating rice with your eyes closed may help ease the suffering," she offered thoughtfully. Straightening a little so she could peer around Mercer so she could look at Milo's features more easily. Or, as it turned out, more like the back of his head. Accustomed to these warnings, Mitsuki would make no promises on skipping dinner for now...though she would observe the rest of their housemates and see what food they were drawn the most to and select those untouched options most likely. "Where are we going this time?" she inquired, straightening some more and firmly clapping her hands together twice over Mercer's shoulder. Her head titled to the left and then to the right and then to the left once more before giving that situation and a small nod.

Darkened eyes lifting as more movement approached the table, she felt a
small temperature rise in her face and tingle in her palms when she spotted Ashley approach. The only Ravenclaw, however, seemed content in her finite conversation and it was not in Mitsuki's nature to interrupt such things. Besides, there were travel plans to sort out with Mercer and Milo.

The arrival of one more Ravenclaw, with wildfire hair also temporarily pulled her attention away...but since she had not seen this girl leave the Great Hall only to now come 'back' ... the second year found herself with nothing to contribute and thus remained silent. Talk of tattoos only pushed her concentration back on the evening's plans. She currently harbored no interest in such things and instead studied her fingers again and licked some lingering salt off her pinky finger.

The way Mercer was talking, a person might think the astral plane was difficult to reach. But Milo was no fool, and he knew what making excuses to get out of something sounded like. It sounded like Mercer, specifically Mercer when he was starving and tired and thus verging on cantankerous.

So Milo didn't say anything for a moment, something he was even better at than before, possibly or possibly not because of a genetic predisposition. He let his book fall open to where he had left off, propped it up against his legs, and continued reading about advanced methods of cryptography. Every now and then, he scooted his feet back towards him from where his socks had made them slide slowly down the bench. "Just the moon," he said in answer to Mitsuki's question, flipping a page as he added, "Mercer doesn't want to."

Because he was looking nowhere but at his book, it did not occur to Milo that an older person from his house - that anyone but his two and only friends - might be talking to him, greeting him, asking him about his train ride. Perhaps this was for the best; his accidental ignoring of the question could easier to bear than if it had been intentional.

Especially as Milo went on to comment on a conversation he was not even part of. "The Cold Man has tattoos," he said vaguely, staring at a chart serving as a visual aid for a cipher. "Multitudinous."

"I didn't say I didn't want to go to the moon," Mercer was surprised to find salt on his shoulder. Or maybe it wasn't surprising, since Suki was right there clapping in his ear. Probably dropping salt on him because he had a pooka in his nostril or something. He caught some of them and pressed the grains to his tongue. "I'm just not good at it. I don't know why you can't go and let me be guard. I'll keep practicing and I can go next time."

He glanced around for a cold man with multi... toodiness, but his attention was still on the salt, and on the trip Milo might not take because of Mercer, and on Lisa Nam taking points away from Suki. "Suki is actually LOTS of fun," he straightened up and fixed Lisa with a solemn look. "I think we should give her 100 Mercer Branxton points."