Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

It wasn't long before final goodbyes and first hellos were said on Platform Nine and Three Quarters as students boarded the Hogwarts Express to head to another humdrum year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Aside from the usual riling between houses, the usual banter between classmates, and several unfortunate incidents that involved mainly muggle-born first years, the trip from London to the remote Scottish wizarding town of Hogsmeade was an uneventful one.

The same could be said for the carriages that brought the older students up to the castle and even the Sorting of first-years. Despite a prank that involved an outbreak of cornish pixies when the Headmaster started his speech, the start of term feast also went brilliantly. Despite the weekend ahead, it wasn't long before students started filtering up to their dorms, full, warm and tired out from their journeys. A long school term lies ahead, and it is best to face Potions class with as much sleep as is magically possible. 

Dawn broke early this morning, and like in every other place in the world, some students rose early to meet it, while others still remain in bed. It is currently half nine in the morning. Breakfast is still being served in the Great Hall, as today is Saturday. There are no classes scheduled for today or tomorrow, but the library is open for those wishing to study before classes officially start. The Quidditch Pitches have yet to be booked, so it's a case of first come, first served... Unless you have a signed slip of course. 

It had been a pretty hectic past few days for Thomas. Things had gone missing at home that were needed and he wasn't even done packing by the time the day came to leave for the Hogwarts Express, alas he and his parents managed to get everything that was needed and once it was packed away he held tight to his fathers arm and felt the pull and tug of Apparation. It was not his favourite feeling in the whole wide world as it felt as if his insides were being rearranged, but he managed to swallow back the nausea and before he knew it they were standing in front of the train.

He bid his parents farewell and once he was boarded he caught up with his friends Finn and Reece and they found themselves a compartment and spent the whole trip talking about their summers. They reached school in no time at all, and with the crowds of students it did take some time for all of them to get seated. Eventually they were seated, sorted and pranked by someone letting out pixies. Thomas had thought it a bloody good joke until one of the darn things took his goblet of juice and had poured it all over his freshly cleaned robes.

This of course had caused a bit of a ruckus between him and his friends and Tom knew that this would be a story told for a long while still. When the time came for bed, He peeled himself out of his sticky clothes and fell into bed tired. He was asleep almost instantly.

The next morning Thomas let himself sleep in, he knew that once the school year started Sleep would be scarce and so he would enjoy it while he could, but eventually he did indeed get up and slip into some fresh new robes. They were a little large on him as they had once been his fathers. they were old and frayed, but helped him feel closer to home. He went on out to the sitting area and saw his owl Hermes sitting on the end of a chair picking at his feet. Tom whistled to him and Hermes lifted his head and hooted at him making Thomas smile. He sat himself down and saw that he was one of the first few up, other students milled around quietly in respect of those who were still sleeping. Hermes landed on his knee and Thomas gave him a few fond pats. He smiled at his friend and let his head lean back against the head rest.

It was good to be back at school.

Adrian strode down the stone corridor, his feet making soft padded thuds with each step. He had been up since dawn, having been called for an early meeting with the Headmaster and now, his stomach rumbling, he was heading towards a well deserved breakfast. He could smell the delicious scents of fresh bread and his feet quickened almost without thought.

Stepping into the hall he was greeted with a sight that had met him every morning for the past six years, the Hogwarts Great Hall. The ceiling was lit with the morning sun, clouds seeming to float just below the ceiling. He turned his gaze from the welcome sight to take in the house tables and the students that had pulled themselves out of bed for an early breakfast. Well, early for a Saturday. He spotted a familiar face and walked towards her, a friendly grin on his face.

"Good morning Miss Knox" He greeted his long time friend, plonking himself opposite her. He cared little that he was a Gryffindor sitting at the Ravenclaw table, besides this early in the morning the tables were far from crowded so there was plenty of room for him. "Long time no see." He added, picking up a croissant and ripping into it.

Dria, focused on her copy of the Daily Prophet, glanced up as Adrian took his seat. A smile appeared on her face, she hadn't seen Adrian in two months since her family had taken a trip to Peru over the holidays. The trip had given the Knox family to explore the ancient homes of Peruvian witches and wizards as well as visit Dria's older brother who had recently moved over there. He worked in the Amazon collecting dangerous plant-life, a job that Dria was decidedly against. Adira had changed little in the two months they hadn't seen each other, he had the same easy smile and messy blonde hair but now he proudly displayed a shiny Head Boy badge on his chest alongside his prefect badge.
"The legendary Head Boy!" Dria said, her own grin spread across her face. "I'm honoured by your presence." The sarcasm was clear in her voice but Adrian knew it was a joke. He laughed and gave a small bow in his seat.

"What are you doing up so early?" He asked as he poured himself a glass of orange juice. He would have thought that any sane person who could, would be sleeping in before early morning classes began on Monday.
"I wanted to have a go on the Quidditch pitch before it gets booked out." Dria replied, helping herself to his poured glass of juice. "I didn't get to do much flying on holiday."
Adrian poured himself another glass, not minding in the least that his first glass had been stolen. He shrugged as he replied,
"I doubt a few months off has done you any harm. You fly like you were born on a broom."
Adrian gave a sigh, he had long since given up any hope of ever being a talented flyer. The best he could do was cheer for his house, his friends and Puddlemere United.

Dria was, if anything, a perfectionist when it came to quidditch and she knew that she wouldn't be happy until she was certain her skill was where it should be. Besides, she missed flying on a broom and was eager to get in the air again.
"You wanna come?" Dria asked as she spread jam onto her toast.
"Sure," Adrian agreed, "I've got a bit of spare time before I'm needed for official Head Boy duties"
As he said Head Boy he puffed his chest out, his badge glimming in the light. Dria snorted and shook her head, honestly for a Head Boy Adrian could be pretty immature sometimes. She took a bite of her toast to stop herself from laughing further, sometimes you just had to let Adrian have his moments.

Her broom was the latest Firebolt; her eldest brother had bought it on impulse, only to find that it was the wrong broom for a Keeper. She'd been dying to try it out properly, without fear of muggles spotting her. 

Teammates or no, Lily didn't wait to launch up into the sky, running through basics to looser up and test the broom. 
It wasn't until she saw figures below that she realized any degree of time had passed. She descended to the ground, in order to pass as sociable, offer them the use of the Quidditch passes either. 

Collette yawned and stretched her arms out, she could feel her whole body screaming awake from the stretch and she smiled. The sun had yet to come up, but she could feel that not another wink of sleep would come so she pulled on a sweater over her pajama shirt and pants on. No shoes were intended as she sneaked out of the dorm, a book in hand and her wand twisted in her hair like usual. Cole knew she could put on her robes if needed later, but who would be up at this hour to catch her? She looked out the window in the common room and could still see morning mist blanketing the area. She loved the mist, it made everything seem that much more magical...as if going to a school to practice charms and potions, where flying a broom was a sport, and creatures from legends roamed the grounds weren't enough.

She ran outside, saying a quick hello to Peeves as he tried to dump a bucket of water on her. She took her wand and created an invisible umbrella over her head make Peeves stomp around in disappointment. The two of them had a very odd relationship, though both considered the other a friend. How they got to this point was that Peeves pulled a prank on Cole when she first got to Hogwarts. She could tell he enjoyed doing stuff like that, so being the thoughtful and nervous girl she was she made a deal with him. They would have a prank off for the whole time she was at Hogwarts and keep points; Cole had to persuade Peeves though that since he was a ghost if she 'hit him', so to speak, then she would earn a point and vice versa. At first Cole wasn't allowed to use magic to protect herself though eventually Peeves allowed it so she could practice new defensive spells and it would give him a bigger challenge. The count so far was six hundred and seventy to six hundred and twenty in Peeves's favor, no surprise there.

Cole ran outside to the Black lake to sit under her favorite tree. This had become her spot after so many years; it's where she went to draw, read, or practice new spells that needed perfecting before class. She decided to read for a bit before heading to breakfast as it took her a while after she first woken to get hungry; and what better way to pass the time than to sit by a lake in the morning mist and read a book? The book she had grabbed was none other than the Tales of Beedle the Bard. Sure they were stories that were considered "childish" and yes she had grown up with these stories along with the muggle ones, but these stories have always held a special place in her heart that made it enjoyable to read even when she had two years left of school. Part of it too was that she loved taking the stories apart, seeing the finer details and what they represent. Her copy wasn't a family copy that had been passed down or anything, she had actually bought this copy three years ago, but it was still special. All the pages were covered in side notes of things that she discovered about the story that was being scrutinized, some even had extra pages put in since there was no more room to write in the margins.

It was a peaceful morning for Collette as she read her favorite stories, still finding more things about them she had never noticed before. It was quiet out on the lake, small ripples being the only noise that came to her. Though eventually she did start to hear talking as the grounds started to fill up with more students. It seemed to the young witch that her time alone was up and according to her stomach it was time for breakfast. She put her book away in one of the pockets of her pants, which she was proud to say could hold nearly anything, and made her way to the Great Hall. Her bare feet squished under the dewy grass as the mist had begun to disappear from the sun, though the ground was still very cold. In the Great Hall she sat down in a random empty place and grabbed some sausages and eggs and a bit of milk. Sure almost everyone would have juice, but she found it was too acidic for morning and rather preferred the creamy goodness of milk. She took out her book again, expecting no one to talk to her, and resumed her reading. Her legs were folded and crossed on the chair, her feet cold and muddy, hair pulled up by her wand, eggs surrounded her mouth a little, and a book in her hand; such was the true image of Collette Kathleen Finnigan.