[IC] Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

[TheHangedMan]

~Karen Antonius~

Karen laughed lightly, taking small graceful steps yet somehow keeping pace with Damian. "Do I need a reason to talk to someone?" answered Karen. The blonde took a large stride and placed herself ahead of Damian, a relaxed smirk on her face. "Well, I suppose my reason to talk with you would be to socialize, however talking is an act of socializing in itself; if we were to get pedantic, then my I suppose what I needed from you was someone to chat idly with. Nothing wrong with that, I hope?"

Then again, perhaps Damian did not make for good company if one wanted to talk. Karen, ever the perceptive girl that she was, felt that he was only ever relaxed when he was working by himself or otherwise with that friend of his; Nick, was it? Damian had a rather rough personality, in Karen's opinion, but it also felt like that roughness was a front - an image to hide behind. To Karen, he was one of the many people that hid something behind a personality. In most cases, that something was usually pain.

"Oh well, no matter. Things will come at their own pace, so for now, I will simply talk to him."

Karen did a little turn and faced Damian, peering up at him with that light smile still on her face. "So now that I have stated my reason for my approaching of you, allow me to ask again, if you will allow me to repeat myself: How goes your morning?"

_@Asuu

[RumikoOhara]

Aella was first aware of the time when Nos her spider crawled on her face an touched her lips with his front legs. So she reached up and stroked him an cupped her hand over him as she sat up.

[color=Mint Blue]"Morning my sweet Nos, sleep well?"[/color] asked Aella of her pet as she sat him atop her night stand.

Her feet were in her slippers as soon as she swings them off the bed and she was among the homes of her children, spiders. There were more than 43,000 different species of spiders are found in the world and Aella wanted to hold every one of them. Of these, only a small number are said to be dangerous, and less than 30 to 40 have been responsible for human deaths. Aella was possibly the only student of arachnology at Hogwarts because they had no such specialized course.

She had over 45 different species of spider in the little homes that surrounded her bed and just like her mother kept the other girls at a distance. She giggled as she tipped few bugs in various homes to feed their occupants remembering how squeamish some who'd seen her do this were.

Her brood fed Aella practically spun into her school clothes before casting a grooming and make up spell and looking into her mirror. Though to some Aella's concern with her appearance was vanity to her it was serious business, she knew that appearance was the first stage of judgment.

She then snapped on her book bracelet, checked her family symbol and finished by picking up her final accessory Nos tucking him under her hair at the nape of her neck. She never went anywhere without Nos for he was her closest friend and when she tried to leave him behind he found mischief, he was a naughty child.

[The Undertaker]

@Murtox

Jaden

Jaden near jumped out of his skin when he heard a rather loud scream from behind, to the point where he dang near tossed his black journal forward into the always roaring fire. Jaden turned ever so studiously as he viewed the voice that had become all too normal too him. It wasn't the first time Stein had nearly made him jump to the ceiling and heaven forbid it was going to be his last time in any case.

"Stein try to keep it below a dull yell, you nearly made me jump into the fire. Now I believe you were asking me about Quidditch. Yes I am still on the team, and all new applicants go to Madison Flaherty she is the current serving Captain of the Ravenclaw team. She went down to breakfast just a little bit ago I am sure you can catch her there if you go now. Try not to run and or knock anyone down on your way there, I know your excitement can really... exhilarate you at times. An when you get there try not to yell at her or sneak up on her, fair warning."

With that said Jaden nodded to Stein and returned to reading his journal, the boy was gonna make him fall off the tower one day with his shouting hen he got excited. Jaden smiled to himself again, he used to be a little bit like that when he was younger, but he grew out of it rather quickly. His grandfather was a loving man but he was also the kind of man who you didn't want to take by surprise. Jaden had been on the wrong end of some rather quick hexes. He did not particularly like stupefy being cast on him, Jaden chuckled to himself recalling the memory of scaring his grandfather half to death in the mornings. The smile faded as Jaden once again got to thinking what was taking Mary so long to get down here this morning, he didn't eat much not being a breakfast person but he did however love the blueberry muffins they served in the hall and he would hate to miss them.

[Murtox]

@The Undertaker

Stein "The Reader"

Well it was true that he was very excited ,but this dont happen often so Jaden could handle it , he calmed and start to speak more slowly.

-Oh sorry Jaden,you know i am not always like this is just i am very happy.I dont think i want to run more so ,can i join in the breakfast? and in the meanwhile i can search for Madison.

Stein found this way easier instead of running and crash with someone.Being in the team of quidditch well it was more for the purpose of impressing his uncle than playing it , but he was going to have fun atleast a bit of fun instead of reading a lot , well he could do that too , this was only for being more sociable and impressing his uncle.After all he leaved his friends to read more , but now he will leave a little the books to have friends.About Madison he didnt know much about her just that she was older than him and had more friends than him other than that nothing.His last though was about his Nimbus 2001 which was gifted to him in the earlier year , he knew that him had ability with the broomstick because he leaved Hogwarts several times to fly a lot doing ,sometimes,crazy things.Yes he was going to pass the test or atleast he though that

[Lockerz]

PATRICK FORD

Patrick awoke to a soft beam of light falling across his face from the circular window settled high into the wall of the boy's dormitory. There was always something so refreshing about waking up naturally with pressing obligations but he wasn't such a fan of leaving the warmth of his bed. However, the Hufflepuff common room was barely even call given its cozy nature and the fires that were always tended to. The copper bed warmers around the room were of course a bonus as well. For a few moments he just lay still, one strong arm laid flat across the sheets as he examined the low ceiling. Several vines were growing along one of the walls but this wasn't uncommon as the Hufflepuff basement was draped all over in various plants. It was a cool place really, a place purely for Hufflepuffs with its yellow and black decorations and the cushy, welcoming aura.

Finally, Patrick pushed back the patchwork quilt and rose from his bed, lifting his long arms above his head to stretch out his body. He could feel the cravings of hunger building in his stomach but figured that he should at least change first before heading down to quench it. So he did and after quickly sprucing up, he exited the basement and headed down the corridors. As the Hufflepuff common room was near the kitchen he could smell the powerful scent of food already and it made him groan, stomach twisting a little more with desire to eat. Sure, there were probably more pressing things he could be thinking about such as his subjects or the fact his shoulder was still a bit iffy after the accident during the last Quidditch session. He had refused a trip to the hospital wing out of pride and he knew it wasn't a broken bone or a severely pulled muscle. Besides, it only twinged in one position which wasn't enough for concern. He'd definitely had worse but thank goodness for Wizarding medicine.

As he passed into the Great Hall he wandered by Marcus Sinclair and offered him a happy smile. The older boy had done him a great favour a while ago by mentioning he knew someone who could tend to his owl Eponine who had been a bit under the weather for a short time. It had appeared she would need proper help but Marcus' younger sibling had apparently been up for the task. Patrick had trusted him and it had paid off when Eponine had been back to her normal self in no time. After the small greeting he carried on, glancing around as he neared the middle of the Hufflepuff table. He gave a glance around, wondering if Genevieve was around and awake yet. He had been friends with her for years now and even if they didn't greet each other at breakfast then there was no doubt they'd see each other later in a class.

He finally came to a halt and leant over the table to grab a piece of toast. He knew that most people sat down but he also wanted to wander and see if he could find some of the other Hufflepuff Quidditch players and talk. Then he leant for a knife to slather the toast in butter and with his slight lack of early morning focus he ended up bumping his elbow against someone as he pulled back. "Sorry!" He apologized quickly, looking down at the girl @The Muse of Eru that he recognised but couldn't place her name straight away. She seemed to be so content eating her sausage too. He knew a lot of the people in his House but he was closer to the older students. As he chewed his toast, he glanced over at the Gryffindor table, still searching for the long brown hair and the pretty face he knew so well. And then he saw her and lifted his hand in a greeting gesture, hoping he could catch her eye. She looked like she was talking to someone though. Bright blue hair. Definitely not a common trait and the Gryffindor robes. Just have been the Evans guy. Of course Patrick knew him as he was the Captain and Chaser for the Gryffindor team. You didn't shake the hand of a stranger after all and they were the same year. However if Genevieve was deep in conversation, he didn't want to disturb so he leant around briefly against to get another bit of toast.

@ScarlettWaters16
@hatakekuro

[ScarlettWaters16]

Genevieve

Genevieve just nodded as Sylvester began talking, still staring at her biscuit. She then looked up at him when he offered to take her out on the field to practice and smiled. "I think that would work great!" she said enthusiastically. Quidditch was the one thing she needed to get her mind off of what was going on. She felt a little better, so she leaned back in her seat and picked up her biscuit again, taking another bite out of it. She didn't really pick up anything else because, well, she didn't need a lot to keep her going. She glanced around, looking for Patrick's familiar face yet and she noticed her was over near the Hufflepuff table, munching on some toast. Her smile widened and she looked at Sylvester. "Excuse me for a minute."

She stood up and carefully walked over to him, trying to be as quiet as possible. Once she reached him, she stuck her hands over his eyes. She had to stand up on her tip-toes because he was a lot taller than she was. "Guess who?" she said with a small laugh. "You decided to sleep in this morning didn't cha?" She did not withdraw her hands from over his eyes and would not until he guessed, even though she already knew that he knew who it was. She did this to him almost every day at some point, but she didn't care if it was annoying. She thought it was fun and would only stop when he told her to stop. She giggled and waited for him to respond.
@Lockerz
@hatakekuro

---

Professor Carlyle

He was a thought more forward that she had originally thought when he called the trip to Hogsmeade a date. She set the papers that she tried to look like she was grading on down and stood up, walking over to Critter, who had just now decided to make an appearance in the room. The beautiful Persian looked up at her master with wide blue eyes and let out a pitiful meow, the sound that Terra had realized meant that she wanted to be picked up. She picked up the slim kitty and held her close in her arms, looking over at Devin. She noticed that there were a few students standing in the doorway and she narrowed her eyes at them. Drawing her wand, she flicked her wrist and door slammed shut directly in their faces.

"I was already planning on going as a chaperone," Terra told him, stroking her cat in her arms. She gave him a soft smile. "But I'm sure we can still watch the children while we have this date." She gently set the cat back down on the ground and walked over to him, examining his handsome face. "In case you didn't know, that's my way of saying yes." She smiled and let out a small laugh.

@World Traveler

[Kirah]

Mary Winthrop

Mary woke with a start shaking. She took a deep breath and the Patronus that Mad had left behind spoke the other girl's message, and then dissipated. She was glad for its presence though. Mary quickly dressed, she didn't think there was anyone else in the dorm. She had really overslept, but she still changed inside her bed with the curtain drawn, you never knew if someone would have forgotten something.

Once Mary finished her rushed morning ritual she hurried down the stairs and saw Jaden looking a bit frazzled. There was a younger boy talking to him, Mary didn't remember his name. "Morning Jaden." Mary said announcing her presence. "Mad already went down for breakfast." She told the boy mostly figuring Jaden already knew that. "She'll be at the table." Mad was one of Mary's friends, not as close to her as Jaden, no one really understood Mary as well as Jaden did. Even without the words the two had always understood each other. Mad was like Emma both bubbly and demanding of friendship. Mary had a few others that she considered friends as well.

"On that note, I am heading down there as well, and if you want I can point her out to you." Mary offered, then turned to Jaden. "Are you done watching for pranks? Do you want to join me?"

[The Undertaker]

@Murtox
@Kirah

Jaden

"Its no problem Stein I am a bit more jumpy in the mornings for good reason at that. Our younger house members are constantly being coaxed into trying to prank me by one whom will remain nameless... for now."

Jaden spoke keeping his eye's in his journal, he wasn't worried about Stein all that much prank wise, he had not tried to do so yet and if he hadn't by now he wouldn't. Jadens adversary was rather smart, always went for new years, which meant it had to be someone within the same year or close. But he could never get an answer out of the would be pranksters, seeming they didn't even know who was doing it themselves. It was quite a perplexing puzzle actually, one in which Jaden loved, he had always been into strategic games it truly appealed to his mindset. Let his thoughts wonder he thought back to the first piece of evidence he had gathered on the attacking prankster, a simple note written to a new year telling them to pull a prank on Jaden the Prefect and then an item from the joke shop was provided for them to do so with. It was the same thing every year since his fifth year, the one year they had tried to pass him a puking pastel which got eaten by another Ravenclaw given Jaden did not like pastels much to begin with and backfired.

Truth be told Jaden could have solved this by now, it wouldn't be all that hard a spell here and a spell there and he would have his answer, but honestly all these prankster antics kept him from becoming bored as a Prefect. An as he said before many times it made him laugh at times and laughing these days was getting harder and smiles far and in between, his mind clouded as it was. When Jaden finally heard the familiar voice of Mary he finally looked up from his journal and stood up closing it with a snap of his wrist.

"Morning Mary I see you got a late start."

Jaden had a bit more step in his walk now that Mary was up, happy to finally have someone to actually talk to. Jaden loved Stein in all but in this case it was all good. As Mary quickly took over and spoke to Stein about Madison being at breakfast and that she would help him find her at breakfast she looked at Jaden and spoke to him.

"Yeah I am finished, the usual pranksters already tried their hand and got caught and are now undoubtedly downstairs eating their fill of eggs and bacon. I could go for a muffin myself if our tower did not already take them all that is.

Jaden put the journal in his inside robe pocket and walked to the secret entrance to their tower and opened it with a flick of his wand and stood at the entrance.

"When your ready."

[Murtox]

@The Undertaker@Kirah

-Hi, a pleasure Mary, i guess all the help is good so thanks both of you .

Well about Mary, he didnt even knew her even if she existed , only some rumors about her all of them were false.But more important now got 2 people to find Madison and this is good , at firts though this was very intrepid from him , asking for help well that was a bit strange from him , Stein is normally alone but now he just wanted to enter the quidditch team , so strange maybe something happned to him maybe a spell or something like that .With the time passing he became even more calmed and normal , well now that was strange , he speaked again now about to exit the tower.

-Lets go , i guess , i am ready to find Madison and enter the quidditch team,if i pass the test.

After this he realized he needed to read something in the book he brougth with him , something about magic creatures,this all was strange but it didnt matter to him after all.

[Asuu]

~Karen Antonius~

Karen laughed lightly, taking small graceful steps yet somehow keeping pace with Damian. "Do I need a reason to talk to someone?" answered Karen. The blonde took a large stride and placed herself ahead of Damian, a relaxed smirk on her face. "Well, I suppose my reason to talk with you would be to socialize, however talking is an act of socializing in itself; if we were to get pedantic, then my I suppose what I needed from you was someone to chat idly with. Nothing wrong with that, I hope?"

Then again, perhaps Damian did not make for good company if one wanted to talk. Karen, ever the perceptive girl that she was, felt that he was only ever relaxed when he was working by himself or otherwise with that friend of his; Nick, was it? Damian had a rather rough personality, in Karen's opinion, but it also felt like that roughness was a front - an image to hide behind. To Karen, he was one of the many people that hid something behind a personality. In most cases, that something was usually pain.

"Oh well, no matter. Things will come at their own pace, so for now, I will simply talk to him."

Karen did a little turn and faced Damian, peering up at him with that light smile still on her face. "So now that I have stated my reason for my approaching of you, allow me to ask again, if you will allow me to repeat myself: How goes your morning?"

_@Asuu

@TheHangedMan

Damian paused in his steps, an eyebrow twitching at the impeccably cheery mood of the girl before him. He wasn't the best with cheery people...they tended to annoy him. But still, she wasn't bothering him too much, and she had only asked a simple question. Why not answer her? "...Fine." There, he did it. But...pride wouldn't let her be the only one to ask a question. He continued to walk towards the Gryffindor table, ignoring the looks of the other students as he sat down and glanced over to Karen. "How was..your...day?" He obviously wasn't very comfortable with asking such pleasantries, but he wasn't getting one-upped by this sneaky woman.

[TheHangedMan]

~Karen Antonius~

Karen laughed again, just a bit louder this time, but still not very loud by most people's standards. The blonde took a seat next to Damian, crossed her legs under the table, placed her head on her hand and looked at him with some mild amusement. Really, he was a such rough person, but nonetheless he had his good points - he was replying to her, even if it was out of pride. That, and he was rather adorable to look at while he looking all prideful, even while it took that much effort to ask her such a simple question.

"You're quite the awkward man, aren't you? There's no need to be so stiff with me, Damian; I don't bite. I must say though you're rather cute when you try that hard," she said, slender fingers idly playing with a lock of hair while staring at him. "That being said, my day is going rather swell so far. A bit of tea in the morning, cool morning air, and someone to talk to. It's a rather nice start, if I do say so myself.

"Now I suppose it's my turn to ask: What made your day 'fine', Damian?" she asked. "Most people don't wake up too early, so their reasons are rather stale, so I'm rather interested in what constitutes as a good morning for you."

_@Asuu

[Lockerz]

Patrick Ford

Patrick was quite happily chewing away on his toast without too many cares in the world. He had kept up with most of his work that had been set currently but that was pretty common for him, given that he wasn't a stranger to getting his head down and focusing on the task at hand. After six years he had learnt how to manage his time and of course the first few years weren't exactly testing on the brain but he'd stepped up his game. He genuinely enjoyed school and beyond the good grades that he worked hard for, Quidditch was his passion. He'd never let it become more important than some things in his life but he gave his full commitment in games and at training. After all, he wanted to be a good representation to the rest of the team.

Patrick had just turned around to put some bacon on a piece of toast when he felt hands cover his eyes. He gave one of his smooth, deep laughs before rolling her eyes beneath her hands. Of course he knew who it was because he wasn't an idiot and he recognise her voice, and touch strangely, after all the time they had been friends. "Yes Genevieve," He chuckled as he brought the toast up to his mouth and took a big bite out of it. He had to keep his energy up so once he actually sat down, he'd be going through it like it was his last meal. Then he ducked down and twisted out of her touch so he could face her, a cheeky grin on his face as he chewed. "Yeah, I had a bit of an extra nap but it's not like you're gonna tell me off for doing so..." He shrugged one of his broad shoulders then took a few more bites of his toast and bacon. "How are you doing this morning? Besides ambushing me as usual,"

@ScarlettWaters16

[Infinite Cosmos]

Walking into the great hall, Darius lets out a muffled sigh. "It is good to be home, finally..." he whispered to himself. Scanning around the room he picked up a few familiar faces and a few not known to him as well. Walking over to the small group of people that represented the Gryffindor Quidditch team, he put an arm around the shoulder of another boy. "Cap'n, I'm home~" He said in a sing-songy voice. "Your favorite utility player is back and he is most definitely ready to play~" He chuckled. Reaching out for a glass of pumpkin juice from the table, he looked about for a seat near the person he recognized out of the groups of students scattered about in the great hall. "Hey is that Genevieve over there? And is that the captain of the Hufflepuff team? Their keeper I think he is?"

Darius was dressed in his black robe, the crest of Gryffindor embroidered on the left chest region. His hair was tied back and seemingly tidy. However, if one was observant enough, they can see that he has been traveling a lot, by magical or muggle means. His robe was not the cleanest and his hair is longer than he usually keeps it. His belonging have been transported into his room and his pet polar bear is now waiting for him there as well.

[ScarlettWaters16]

Genevieve

She dropped her hands back down by her sides, smiling as Patrick turned to face her. She ran a hand through her dark black hair, a nervous habit that she picked up from her mother when she was alive. As she dropped her hand back down by her side, she felt the letter pressing up against the pocket of her robe. She cringed, hopefully unnoticeable to Patrick, and tucked a strand of hair back behind her ear. "I'm... alright." Her voice wavered slightly, as if her tears were going to come back up. She immediately forced them back down and looked at Patrick with a soft smile on her face. "Of course I won't tell you off for sleeping in, since you do it almost every day. You're lucky that you aren't late for your classes every morning."

She lets out a light hearted laugh, grasping her hands in front of her tightly. She glanced back over toward the Gryffindor table, seeing Sylvester get ambushed by Darius, their other Chaser, before turning back to Patrick and saying, "So, Sylvester and I are probably going to go out to practice some Quidditch this afternoon, just me and him. I'm sure he wouldn't care if you tagged along. I could use the practice against an enemy Keeper." She said "enemy" playfully and punched his shoulder as she did so. "Also, I'm going to need someone there if he releases the Blugders on me and I get knocked off my broom again."

She laughed at this quietly, tucking another strand of hair back behind her ear. She had hoped that he hadn't noticed her eyes were slightly red from crying earlier. She probably should've done something about that earlier, but she didn't think about that. She smiled at him and said, "So, do you want to? I mean you don't have to, but I think it would be more fun if you were there."

@Lockerz

[Kirah]

@Murtox@The Undertaker@tip

"I am ready." Mary readjusted her bag and led the way down through the many stairs and halls until the trio entered the great hall. Mary spotted Mad and pointed her out for Stein. "We are part way through the season so I don't know if the team has any spots open just so you know." Mary didn't care all that much for the sport, but Mad was a friend so she heard about it plenty.

After that warning Mary took a seat not that far from Mad. She smiled at the girl and gave her a small wave before turning to Jaden.

"So any new clues?"

[The Undertaker]

@Kirah

Jaden

Jaden entered the great hall very much like he always did a couple nods here and a few waves there, while he was not all that popular he was a known figure around the school. Mostly because he was a prefect but he was also known for his extensive DADA training he did. Most students liked DADA of course, who wouldn't like a class where you learn to fight off monsters of the wizarding world and how to stun your friend when they are not looking. But to them it was a chance to learn some cool new spells, to Jaden it was a large way of life, much of his family going back almost five generations or more were Aurors. Since he was a young man, at the age where he could just barely understand his parents often tried to teach him about their ancestry, about the line of witches and wizards in which his blood was shared with. He was only seven, a young naive boy living with his only known relative, his grandfather who everyday showed him spells, and techniques, and the very thing that made his family famous in not only the first wizarding war but the second. Before he ever attended Hogwarts he was being trained and groomed, but as Jaden learned that was also the way of his family, to begin training even before the child has a wand. Trained to respect the wand and to use it properly and that your wand is the difference between you and an untimely death at the hand of one who would see you dead.

By time Jaden got his wand for the first time there was already a connection between him and what at the time was a magical piece of wood whose allegiance was always his. So DADA was not just a class to Jaden, it was a way of life, one his family had lived for five generations. A family that had dwindled over the years to just two lone male survivors, himself and his grandfather who would not live forever. His life at Hogwarts to him was a time of training to become what he felt it was his destiny to always be. As Jaden sat don at the Ravenclaw table he quickly surveyed the food on the table, he quickly spotted what he wanted and to his luck there was one left on the plate. Pulling out his wand he swished it as the blueberry muffin flew off the plate just out of the reach of a young student who was going for it blindly as he chatted and flew to his hand. Jaden took a large bite out of the fresh muffin as Mary waved at Madison and then turned to him questioning him about what he would have guessed was the prankster who had it out for him.

Jaden swallowed his bite of muffin as he wiped his mouth absently and replaced his wand up his arm in the holster he had attached to his wrist and spoke:

"Yeah I have plenty of clues, truth be told I could have figured it out by now but my mind often is conflicted with more important issues then a rogue prankster. Then again honestly what else is new when it comes to that particular string of words. Some might say its last year jitters or because of the impending N.E.W.T.S but... well... have you ever gotten the feeling that a darkness is..."

Jaden looked at Mary as he stopped talking mid sentence and seemed to think about what he was saying. Sinking his teeth into the muffin in his hand he played off wanting another bite knowing it probably wouldn't work and changed subjects.

"How has your studies been going of late? I myself have some times from class today so I am going to help do an introduction class into hexs with the first years in DADA. If you have any free time I am sure you could come watch for a minute, those classes always tend to get interesting."

[World Traveler]

Devin Coal @ScarlettWaters16
Devin was delighted to hear his proposition was met with equal positivity. “First round is on me then.” He said and then gave a happy smile as Terra laughed. It was infectious as it made him smile even more. Devin turned to leave, but hesitated and became curious about the possibility that Terra had overheard the conversation he had just had with the Headmaster. He cleared his throat and for perhaps the first time at Hogwarts looked somewhat nervous.

After all, there was a difference between asking a girl you like out and asking a girl what she thinks of you. “So I am planning on taking some of the sixth and seventh years to see the leviathan migration in a few weeks. Of course it will be on the shore.” Devin then seemed to pause. “Though you can’t really understand these things from there. It is when you feel the ocean under the boat shift to its whim that you really understand just how colossal they are.” Devin then fell into one of the most dangerous traps he lays out for himself. Talking about animals and how amazing they are.

“I remember when I was younger I went on a leviathan tracking expedition off the Cape of Good Hope. Remarkable whale type. Was the size of a city almost! One crack of its tail sent a tsunami to the nearby coastal region.” Devin realized he was getting himself sidetracked and pardoned himself. “Anyways you think that isn’t reaching too far? I am still getting used to all the oversight this school seems to have and not have at the same time.” Another warm smile came across his face as he scratched the back of his neck. A sign of uncomfortable nervousness he was prone to do when he was feeling nervous.

Just a few moments later a loud chime came ringing through the halls informing students that classes were about to being. Seeing this as a good time to let his fellow professor prep for her own class Devin fought the urge to throw a flirty comment as he left. He fought it all the way till he reached the door. Upon opening it several students came flooding in. Turning back to Terra Devin smiled and with an almost boyish charm wink said “So dress for an active date. I don’t plan on falling for a woman content with just a drink and conversation.”

The giggles, stars, and whispers that followed were humorous to Devin as he left the room and the gorgeous blonde to her class. Devin then made his way down the hallway and along the staircase until he reached his own classroom. There were several students already in the classroom as he made his way to the front of the class. The big smile on his face making everyone in the room smile back.

Oliver Batch @Dahlia Hawthorne

As the clock rang out through the great hall Oliver saw one of his fellow 7th years walk in for breakfast. Looking her normal slightly grouchy self was Mimi. Likely having just rolled out of bed like she often complained about she still looked happily presentable as an example of someone not particularly in a good mood.

Having studied abroad twice and survived his fifth year OWL tests Oliver was low on constant friends he could socialize with at Hogwarts. He never regretted studying abroad; however, the cons hadn’t been as obvious as they were until he started school again after being gone his 6th year. Many of his good friends had left for magical jobs. In fact this was supposedly one of the smallest collection of 7th years Hogwarts had ever seen.

Even the people a year under him were for the most part strangers. The last two years Oliver had either been gone or studying hard with exams. Mimi on the other hand was of the select few that Oliver knew and actually had a history with. Not the kind of history one may expect, but a history none the less.

Since their younger years they had been partnered up for several school projects and that inevitably turned to Mimi being able to stand Oliver. It may not sound like much, but to those in the know that was a pretty big deal.

Oliver walked over to the Syltherin table and set his book aside. “Morning Mimi.” He said with a smile. He knew she was allergic to his good mood, but wasn’t the least bit phased by her sharp eyes as they sent mental lasers at him. Instead he continued with his kindness shields and deflected the lasers with a wink and a cup of coffee. “I take it that Magical History paper did a number on your sleep hours last night?” As Oliver sat down he nabbed a donut from a nearby plate and started snacking on it.

[Kirah]

@The Undertaker

Mary was buttering some toast, and considering her other options for topping. She decided for orange marmalade. For a moment Mary was tempted to ask Jaden what he had been about to say. Certainly she hadn't ever experienced "last year" jitters before so she couldn't say what those felt like. The rest of what he was talking about, a darkness? Was it rising? Settling? The only issue Mary had had with this school year was that Karen was in all of her classes, except for Runes. She was thankful for that one escape. Mary shivered a bit, but shook it off with a drink of tea.

"Honestly fairly well. Mad and I are meeting at lunch time. What time are you teaching?" With Jaden's answer supplied Mary nodded. "Yeah I think I can make it. Professor McCarthy's class this year is absolutely fascinating. The work on non-verbal spells has tested me a bit further than I expected. I hope that Mad wants to work on that some more. More excitingly though we start Apparation class soon."

[RumikoOhara]

Aella drifted through the dungeons outside of the House of Slytherin as she headed towards breakfast. Just ahead of her she spotted Peeves drifting in the shadows near the ceiling of the hall. She didn't know what he might be up to but did know that recognizing his presence was chancy at best still she didn't hesitate.

"Morning Peeves good hunting" she said as she passed him and for her trouble was pelted with a three stale rolls from the kitchens.

Aella smiled rather than become angry because she knew that Peeves had actually shown her friendship in his own odd way by just throwing rolls, he could have tossed something nasty. The school poltergeist was a mystery to most of the students and many of the professors but those who attended Ghoul Studies were either begining or already understood why he was here and why he did what he did. This understanding was because of Miss Night who knew all there was to be known about poltergeist and had taught her students well.

Soon she was in the great hall and taking a seat at the Slytherin table smiling as those nearest her moved away a bit looking at her hair and cape trying to detect where Nos was hiding. Most teenagers would feel loss by being almost always alone but to Aella it seemed a normal aspect of her life here and at home, besides as long as Nos was with her she never felt alone.

Her selection of food from the table wasn't as filled with sweets as her peers who seemed to be slaves to gluttony. She always ate for the benefit of her body which needed every once of energy she could gather to keep up with her busy day.

[The Undertaker]

@Kirah

Jaden

"Ah apparition I always did particularly enjoy feeling like I was being squeezed through a normal piece of rubber tubing you might find in an vehicle. I remember my first apparition was done when I was six, I remember it because... well at a young age when someone grabs you and you feel like your entire body is being crushed, you tend to remember it. Just be sure to be near a trash can when its all said and done, first times can be rather... explosive from the stomach if you know what I mean."

Jaden took another bite from the muffin as it seemed to be losing its taste, it was normal for him to lose his appetite when he recounted events from when he was younger. The years between six and eight were rather hard years on him, and would take more then a strong memory charm to erase those memories, at least to him anyways. Truthfully he had considered an memory charm to make himself forget the whole thing, however upon learning that memory charms can be reversed and the consequences of such could be disastrous, he had declined to have to done in the end. The last place he wanted to end up was St.Mungos in some cheesy open robe drooling one second, then screaming the next for the rest of his life. Jaden shook that particular thought from his mind, him in an open ended robe ranting like a lunatic did not appease him all that much, instead he finished his muffin as he took an empty cup and filled it with pumpkin juice taking a large swig turning back to Mary.

"Non-verbal spells can be pretty tricky at times, honestly my grandfather taught me the ins and outs of that type of spell casting so I was prepared for it when the year came to learn it. Grandfather was always very particular about training in the summer time, it wasn't twenty four seven of course but me and him, beside wizards chess, our past time is dueling each other in an open field far outside of possible prying eyes. Once upon a time my grandfather was a pretty fast dueler, he has lost some speed in his age but I can tell you from experience that what he now lacks in pace he makes up for in strategy. Perhaps if you and Madison ever need some extra training I can give you guys a hand here an there."