Mike frowned, the voices getting distant from his ears. He wished he had more control of that damn bird as a fluttering of wings and soft cheeps bounced around in his head. He nodded absently as Oliver dismissed the Cloaks as unimportant for now. He was right, but Mike had tried his plan out as soon as had the chance. He could've executed it later, closer to the date they were supposed to arrive, in fact he was surprised the Cloaks had set up so soon. He flinched, surprised at the popping sound in his ears as the listening charm terminated.

Oliver got up to leave, and Mike finally allowed himself to focus on the older boy. "I'll come too." He said, standing. His plate was still untouched, but he decided he wasn't hungry anyway. "Mercy's been sleeping in my trunk since this morning, the charm will probably wear out soon." The little cat would not be happy to wake up and find himself in the dark, trapped in a box. [color=eeba3]"He's missed you guys,"[/color] Mike commented with a fond smile, with all the students around Hogwarts there was always someone to pet him, but at home Mercy only had Mike.

@Classpet

The rest of the train ride just basically went in silence after the incident with the lights and this new group calling themselves the Cloaks. Elliot thought that everyone was thinking about whether to actually attend the meeting. He was unsure himself whether to attend or not, but he was leaning more towards going just to see what they’re about. After a few minutes Elliot stopped thinking about what he was planning on doing with the meeting and the rest of the way to Hogwarts he sat reading his book, speeding the whole journey up for him.

—————————————————————————————————————————

Elliot was sat down with his usual group of friends on the Gryffindor table cheering on for every first year who was picked for Gryffindor. They looked like a good bunch of kids, it was a shame that he’d never get to play quidditch for Gryffindor with them. Maybe he could teach some of them to replace him seeing that he only had two years left at Hogwarts. That thought kind of made Elliot shudder, that he only had two years left at school. He was certainly going to have to make the most of it. Soon enough the food came up and everyone stopped talking for a while filling their plates with all types of food.

@Always



Melanie examined the paper that Alyssa had handed her, noting fairly quickly that the only words printed there were the very uniform, clearly copied multiple times to produce copies for each of them, almost blocky letters that denoted each question. There was no ink-scrawled handwriting underneath to indicate that Alyssa had attempted to answer any of the questions.

"Oh dear, looks like you really had a bother with it, didn't you?" the curly-haired blonde grimaced, trying to be as polite about it as she could. Letting out a breath, Melanie quickly packed up her things and hoisted her bag over her shoulder, ready to head out to the common room. "I tell you what, come back to the common room with me and I'll help you with the answers." she offered, smiling reassuringly at her housemate.

@Draconequis




When Megan had first come to Hogwarts it had been Marcus an Emira who'd befriended her. She'd also she the effects on her when her brother had passed away from cancer and almost gotten her expelled when she sat one of her antagonists afire.

She knew how much the shrieking shack meant to her and could see it was stirring up Em's emotions which wasn't a good thing. She was sure that it was causing the wound to reopen and was worried that this time she might go too far.

"Oh I'll handle the owls paper and ink you start picturing the room you need the school to provide so when we're presented with the chance we can get to work acquiring your room."



Megan settled down in a comfy chair and looked over where Emira sat in one of the cushioned window seats trying hard to understand what her friend was going through. It was a difficult task for her as she was an only child or had been till her mom announced her pregnancy.

"I didn't get to tell you on the Express or at the table that my mom is pregnant. She found out three days ago and once my dad's family was informed the party began and is very likely still going on." said Meg in a mock tone of boredom spiced with a posh accent.

"I cleaned up like a highway man just before I left the house for the station using their guilt as lubricant for purse strings.
I know it was mercenary of me but I couldn't resist." giggled Megan.

@RumikoOhara



Emira had climbed up into one of the window seats, and was staring out the window with a soft smile spread across her face. She was already picturing her perfect place. The idea that this room could be anything she wanted had jolted her imagination into hyperdrive. What would be nice would be a wide open place to think. Something well lit, with space enough for her to draw up plans and think of new pranks to bring to Hogwarts. Some place she could spend by herself.. alone. Because as much as she loved hanging with people.. sometimes she needed that time to stay on her own.

Emira glanced over to Megan, her eyebrows raised. "Wait. What? Seriously?" She asked. "Was it.. an accident? Or was it on purpose?" she asked. Then she blinked twice, shaking her head. "That is going to be so weird!" She stated. "You are going to have a younger brother or sister who could be your daughter or son. Not only that, but i feel like you are so much older than they will be... you probably aren't going to have much of a relationship with them." She shook her head. "I'm sorry.. that is really weird. So i hope you milk their guilt for all they've got. I know i would. Not that my uncle would ever have a kid." Megan had met Emira's Uncle Simon.. and his boyfriend on several occasions.

Megan laughed as she answered Emira
"I don't think accident would actually be how I'd describe the impending events but can say that it was likely due to the fact that my mom an dad can't keep their hands off each other. To tell the truth their marriage sets the bar for any relationship I might have pretty high in the romance department.
My dad writes mom poetry almost every day and my mom treats him as if he were the reincarnation of Don Juan and Adonis all rolled into one man.

Aunt Livonia appears on her ghostly features a broad knowing smile.
"It might be that your mom shares heredity with the ancient Priestess of Peitho and your father's connection with my own Veela ancestry or that they were blessed by the gods in a manner few mortals ever experience."

"Hmmm..... I suppose when it comes to love, lust and seduction I have to admit that you are the expert at large. said Meg teasing her Aunt

"I dunno, I don't think all Ravenclaws are know-it-alls." Melanie protested again, Megan wasn't so bad. Sure she could be, well...forward, she supposed was the word, but she was nice enough...The blonde huffed out a breath as they reached the Slytherin common room and her brows furrowed together as she tried to remember what the password had been. "Eeerr...umm, Pureblood?" she tried, sighing in relief when the entrance swung open.

She stepped inside and found a place to sit near to a table so they could work with the ink pots and quills. "Alright then, here we go..." she started with the first question, raising an eyebrow at Alyssa. "Oh come on, don't tell me you can't remember what the main ingredients for Polyjuice are."

@RumikoOhara


"Hah, sounds like how my dad was with my mom." She snorted. "According to my uncle at least. Hell, I never met them so hell if i know."

She turned to glance back at Aunt Livonia, a laugh stretching across her face. "I feel like i am more cursed than blessed by the gods." she stated. This was true. She'd had one boyfriend so far in her stint at Hogwarts.. it had not ended well. She'd actually had a crush on him for a while on her own.. so when he asked her out, she'd actually felt excited. She'd actually started to love him, every time he laughed she felt a warmth in her chest and she'd smiled. She'd liked him enough to let her guard down and slept with him. And then.. she'd caught him with another woman. It had hurt more than she cared to admit. She'd fell into a rage, and ended up transfiguring him into a chicken and hurling fireballs at him as she chased him down the halls. Of course, the Headmistress had stopped them and asked what was going on, transfiguring him back to normal. Of course, she may or may not have left Emira off a bit easy after figuring out that he'd cheated on her. That day, her ex elected to leave hogwarts. Of course, Emira was still pretending that the guy hadn't broken her heart, as if she just let the betrayal roll off her back because she was stronger than that. Of course.. the teachers had been sure to alter the incident slightly so her Veela ability to hurl fire without a wand was kept secret. Instead people just thought she turned him into a chicken and lit him on fire using her wand. Only a few people knew the truth.. one being Megan.. because Emira had told her.

She shook her head. "Hey.. if you want you can have some of my 'luck.'" she quoted the word luck rather sarcastically. "You can take the love letters and chocolates laced with love potion I get every Valentine's day." she scoffed. "Puppy love or cheating bastards. Some luck."

Inside the castle, Karen tried to feel relieved. At the very least, she tried to avoid getting annoyed. It didn't show on her face or in the way she acted, of course, but she still felt it and she didn't like it. That little stunt on the train irritated her beyond reasoning, and this just on the first day of the term.

The Headmistress speech did little to help. She recalled her own first day at Hogwarts, where the woman gave a much grander and welcoming opening for the newcomers and returnees'. She felt a brief flash of annoyance for the Headmistress herself, before dismissing it as petty; she was probably just as stressed as she was, if not more so. Still, Karen wished that she could at least give the younger students something nice for them to remember on their first day here. Plus, her heart was in the right place, which counted for much, in Karen's opinion.

What did cheer her up was the sorting though. She always got swept up in the passion of being introduced to new housemates, and liked enthusiasm of everyone as they cheered on the newcomers with loud voices. At the very least they would remember this moment in a positive light.

Sighing, the girl made a sign of the cross and offered a quick prayer before meals before digging in.

Seeing Elliot from the table across her, Karen gave a small smile before dainty picking up a slice of lamb-chops.

"So, your plans?" she asked. "For the Cloaks, I mean." She felt it would be good to talk about this with someone.

Elliot sat there with the rest of the Gryffindors as Karen across from him started talking again. “So, your plans? For the Cloaks I mean.” The blonde asked him curiously.

Elliot thought to himself for a few moments thinking about the question. “I don’t really know to be honest.” He finally said. “If everyone else decides to go I’ll probably go with them and see what it’s about but I can’t see them being a force to be reckoned with. After all what group would need to attract members by doing stunts like the one on the train.” The hall was getting louder and louder with everyone taking part in their own conversations. Elliot took another bite out of a chicken leg and a few seconds later asked Karen, “So what are you planning on doing then? You didn’t really seem impressed on the train.” He sat there patiently waiting for Karens answer.

@Ceta de Cloyes

Oliver grinned at the mention of Mike's kitten. Everyone having a pet was another great perk of hogwarts.

Leading the way through the many corridors of the old castle, Oliver made his way with mike down to the Hufflepuff common room. His own pet, Van, would likely be waiting at one of the windows. She had never gotten along with the owls very well.

The hallway leading to the Hufflepuff commons was barren as always. At the seemingly dead end stood piles of barrels, all stacked neatly. The secret to the entrance hadn't changed in the 8 years Oliver had been going, and he doubted it had ever changed before or that it ever would. Tapping "Helga Hufflepuff" he allowed both himself and Mike inside. "After you," he chimed, following Mike in.

The bronze pots with plants and floating candles of the room where just as they'd been left. Only a blackbird tapping on the window set off the scene. Singing contently he thought to himself "home at last." Holding back laughter he flicked out his wand, opening the window. The black bird flew in, fluttering and lighting on Oliver's shoulder. The window shut on it's own.

"did she grow any since you got her?" Oliver asked about the kitten.

@Draconequis




Meg giggled and said
"Well I already know which boy I want and girl I will have them; I am a patient witch"

Her wand flips through her fingers twirling like a baton then back into concealment. "I have magical fingers" then opens her hands to Emira producing two chocolate frogs using stage magic slight of hand.

"My Uncle Solomon taught me Muggle magic, he performs it at children's hospital. claps her hand showing both frogs gone.

"I was so bored on the Riviera thinking of you slaving away on that farm and me with endless indulgence.

Actually it was quite grand and it was a tiny almost why bother guilt. My Family is insane, my father's is getting richer by the day and mom is besides being knocked up under consideration as MP in the next election cycle.

And now I will be relegated to a background player as the You're old now an no longer cute and interesting so be a good girl an disappear part"

Meg begins laughing loudly and badly because a loud laugh from the young witch held a high pitched sinister sting.

@RumikoOhara


Emira leaned down to take a look at Megan. "Yeah? Who is that? I don't think you've told me yet... or are you going to make it a game where I will have to guess?"

She watched the chocolate frogs appear, a smile stretching across her face. "Oh yeah. Nice slight of hand there. My Grandpa tried the same thing pulling a quarter from my ear. Muggle magic is cute." she laughed. "You are much better at it than he was though."

Emira laughed. "You know, It's not as bad as you would think. I used to hate it.. but getting up early and greeting the sun with open arms.. and playing with the Thestrals.. its wonderful. They are sweet creatures Thestrals. Even the wild ones don't hurt humans unless they've been provoked." she smiled as she thought of riding them through the night. They were much faster than even the fastest broom, and she even helped break in the ones who they used for Thestral Racing. Those were almost always high-strong and wild creatures who needed a kind yet firm hand to control them. Of course.. their jockey rode them during the race.. but she was the one who cared for them when they returned home.

"Actually.. speaking of which... you are most welcome to come over to my house for one of the breaks instead of going home if you like." She stated, furrowing her brow as she thought of the enchanted fire breathing toaster on wheels, the television with hairy legs, and the barking lounge which chased around intruders until they pat its head twice and called it 'sugar.' Her uncle was a tinkerer.. an inventor with a passion for using magic 'just because why not? What could go wrong?' He was also muggle born.. so there was a lot of muggle things in her house. So he would try and combine magic with muggle items.. normally ending quite.. hilariously. He did like to experiment when he wasn't caring for Thestrals. Of course.. her uncle wasn't nearly as rich as Megan's family.. but breeding and caring for Thestrals was a remarkably Lucrative trade. Enough that they lived in comfort.

Emira raised an eyebrow as she delivered a rather dark assumption. "You really think they would do that?" she asked. "Your parents have to care about you more than that.." She didn't even want to think that Meg's parents were like those snobby rich elitists who treated their children as 'an accessory' rather than a living breathing human being. She climbed down from the window seat and engulfed her friend in a hug, patting her back lightly. "Hey. You are going to to great things. You are a Ravenclaw... wit beyond measure is a man's greatest treasure. You know.. most of the best witches and wizards in the world came from our house.. because they actively studied and practiced instead of just passing it off like others do." she smiled. "We are going to take the entire world by storm. You are going to do something great. I am going to do something great."

She released her friend, hands resting on her shoulders as she finished with. "Hey.. you know.. its my last year here, right? It's so weird.. I'll be doing NEWTS and taking my tests.. and deciding what i actually want to do with my life.. and.." she released her hands from Megan's shoulders. "It's going to be so strange not coming back to see you off."

@The Elvenqueen

Alyssa nodded slightly. "Its not 'all' of the raven claw, just most of them!" She exclaimed. She listened to her say the password and sighed slightly. " They really need to change that. " She said biting her lip slightly. She only really cared that they changed the password because she found it some what disrespectful and rude, though she was in slithering, so she didn't exactly know what she expected.

The girl entered the common room as she sat on one of the couches and looked at Melonie as she asked the question. Polyjuice. It sounded very familiar, and knew she should of known that but at the same time she was hesitant in doing so, thinking she'd be wrong. " leaches and fluxweed?" She asked.

@Draconequis




Megan smiles as she gasps for breath after laughing

"I met a guy who attends another school, won't say which but will say his name is Ivan and he is so yummy an poetic in a good not so dark kind of way.

The girl is a tall girl here who I hope speaks with a forked tongue"

Meg lays back on a fainting couch nearby and looks at Emira pointedly
"You know I am always here when the edge is on and you need to vent.

The Cloaks, the Shrine; these things will be resolved in their time and not before. she pauses and her nerves cause her control to wain and her hair shifts to neon green

"I think maybe you should see if Miss Nyte might be able to connect you with Marcus on the other side. It's no rush on that though because I need to feel her out about it just give it a thought."

Megan knows that it would only be possible to make the connection across the veil if the matter were handled by a medium of high potential and even then like divination a matter of chance.

@Always

Melanie shrugged a little in response to Alyssa's comment about the Ravenclaws. She didn't think most of them were like that. I mean, sure they were smart but it wasn't like they really boasted that much about it. As for the password, well...no-one else had broken into the common room yet so it couldn't be that bad.

She waited patiently while Alyssa thought the question over.
"Leeches and fluxweed?" the other girl asked, Melanie nodding slowly in confirmation.
"That's two of them, yes. Can you remember the others?" she prompted gently.

Mike shook his head, "Nah, dunno what it is, could be his Kneazle blood or my Gran's cat-food, but he's been a kitten since I bought him." Probably a mix of the two, Mercury was only a quarter Kneazle, and Mike's Russian grandma had a family recipe that extended their pets' lives by varying amounts. Supposedly the woman had a 300-year old owl who had belonged to her own grandmother. Their fondness for pets was the only thing they talked about, every other month he'd write to her about Mercy and she'd send a package around with enough cat-food to last him for the next couple months and a letter about her owl Stani.

Mike inspected Oliver's bird curiously, "What about this guy?" He asked, holding his finger out in front of Oliver's shoulder so the bird could perch there if she wanted. "I can never tell with birds, they grow up so fast and then look the same for the rest of their lives." Or maybe he just wasn't very observant with them, birds didn't exactly hold his interest, especially something as monochrome and ominous as a raven, even if he did see the bird all the time given it's home in the Hufflepuff's rooms.

@Classpet

@josephb

"I won't dissuade you from going," said Karen, "but if there's one piece of advice I think I can give, it's to listen to what they have to say. If in fact, their message is just and true, then by all means, I encourage you to join them. The opposite also holds true; if it turns out that they're nothing more than delinquents and radicals, the turn your head away from them."

The Cloaks, despite their infamy, were still a relatively mysterious group. The things they stood for, while clear on paper, were actually vague when put under scrutiny. Perhaps there was a ring of truth to their cause, and perhaps it might even be for the betterment of society that their strength grows. Karen didn't know. What she did know however . . .

"I will be doing the same, but not after I properly chastise them for their inexcusable conduct on the train," she said, her calm demeanor belying the vicious glint that shown in her eyes at the word "chastise", "to say I was not impressed is an understatement of the greatest measure."

Pausing her little rant for another bite, Karen sighed. She was probably going to hold on to this annoyance on her chest until she met the Cloaks in person.

Looking at Elliot, Karen said with a smile: "Of course, I hope you'll inform me of your decision when the time comes. I rather like knowing where my friends stand on the ideological scale.."