Finn Pollack's Story

Four extremely large tables were situated in the Great Hall, each representing their own House. The Ferre table stood to the far left, next was the Vulpes table, followed by Cervus to the right of center, and Arietem on the far right. The Hall was full of bodies, the mixed sounds of hundreds of conversations filled the large stone room. It was the beginning of the year feast, and the students of Magus Grex School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were back for another year. At the back of the room, there stood a raised platform, where all of the faculty were seated.

To the far left sat Nolan Pillsworth, the Flying Professor, who leaned in to whisper something in Logan Applebome's ear, the Astronomy Professor, both laughing at whatever was whispered. Ivy sat to Logan's right, speaking politely to the Head of Cervus House, Simone. And to her right was Markum, head of Arietem House, who was watching Arietem's table with interest, no doubt scoping out the new students that had been sorted into his house. To the far right sat the Divination Professor, Quinn Tobar, who was dressed in robes of bright purple, her hair sticking out at all angles. Next to her was a new face at Magus Grex, Grace Ashby, who had replaced the most recent History of Magic Professor. She sat with a smile on her face, gazing out at the mass of students. Next to her was Oscar, Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, whose face was neutral, almost cold, and sat with his arms crossed, not partaking in any conversation. Graham was in deep conversation with Margaret, who as the Deputy Headmistress sat to the immediate right of the Headmaster himself.

The Headmaster rose, and stepped forward to his eloquently crafted podium, which stood at the front of the platform. Quickly, the chatter died down, and the attention of every body in the room turned his way. No one was stupid enough to interrupt Headmaster Rockwell when he spoke. He gazed out among the many faces, looking sullen as he always did. "Welcome, new students and returning students alike. The faculty and myself are very excited for this school year." The statement might have gotten a few silent chuckles out of the students, seeing as the Headmaster never seemed excited about anything.

He continued on, ignoring the few snickers that echoed around the room. "I trust you are all as ready for the school year as we are." He paused, his eyes scanning the room. "You all know what is acceptable behavior in this school, and any students found participating in unacceptable behavior will be punished accordingly. Keep in mind that our wonderful caretaker is always watching." He gestured to the front corner of the room, where a figure was hiding in the shadows. If you looked close enough, you could see that he was an extremely weathered looking man who had a frown on his face. He bowed ever so slightly towards the Headmaster.

"The faculty are planning some rather large events just for you students, so I trust you will all treat them with the respect they deserve, especially since they are going the extra mile for you." One final look around the room. "Let's all have a great year, shall we?" He stepped back from the podium, and returned to his seat in the middle of the faculty table.

The chatter rose up once again.

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It was just like Headmaster Rockwell to make his speech short and to the point. Rose sat picking at her food more than eating it, and listening to the multiple conversations that were going on around her. She had ended up sitting next to Micah, who she didn't know very well, but was nice to look at. Of course, she could hardly be bothered to watch him when Emerson was so close. She stole glances at him whenever she dared, but never for too long. He was always smiling or laughing, and it only made him look more attractive. She felt heat rising to her cheeks, and directed her stare down at her plate.

Her mind wandered, and thought on all the rumors she'd heard about Emerson. They just couldn't be true. He was so handsome and nice and funny. People were just jealous of him, so they tried to spread mean rumors about him. She just wouldn't believe what they told her. Although she would never be dull enough to actually tell someone she had a crush on him. They would probably just laugh right in her face, and call her stupid.

Rose picked at her potatoes, barely tasting them as she ate. She let a soft sigh escape her lips. She had no idea why she was feeling so down. Truly, she was excited to be back at Magus Grex once more. Her best friends were at the school, and she had Care of Magical Creatures to really look forward to. The thought brought a small smile to her face. She would see Bliss again, who made her feel like more of a person than anyone else. The girl had some crazy ability to make Rose climb out of her skin.

A loud ruckus came from the table next to hers, and she gazed past the person sitting opposite to see the Vulpes table. Of course it was Justin. She didn't know how one person had the ability to be so loud. She didn't think she could even if she tried. She glanced quickly to her left, seeing Micah. She didn't have any reason why she'd never spoken to him much. She tried to think of something to say to him, but couldn't come up with anything, so she gave up.

In all honesty, she couldn't wait until the feast was over, so she could retreat to the common room and read a good book. Out of habit, she wrapped her robes close around her, as if she could shrink within them and not be seen.

---

After the Headmaster was done with his speech, which was always gloomy, Finn began to eat hungrily, as he always did. He had to keep up his strength, after all. He was seated next to his best friend, Felix. He was extremely excited to be back, not having seen any of his friends for the entire summer. There was so much to catch up on. He hadn't had too much to do over the summer, and had mostly spent time on the beach, and surfed whenever the waves were good.

Braelyn was sitting across from him a few seats down, and he gave her a smile as he made contact with her. Georgie was also close, and he smiled at her as well. He couldn't believe it was his last year at Magus Grex, and made a promise to himself that he would do his best to make it his best year yet. These people were in his house, and while he was friendly with them, they weren't exactly great friends. He needed to work on getting to know everyone better before he left for good. That didn't mean that things needed to get out of hand, however. He didn't really approve of breaking the rules, and normally refrained from doing so, no matter who asked. He got a lot of crap for it, literally from everybody, but it didn't change his ways. It was rooted too deep down into him to change.

He nudged Felix and asked, "So how was your summer, man?" He still continued eating, grabbing the variety of foods that were sitting in front of him. "I'm just really excited for the Quodpot matches. It's my last year, and I'm determined to beat Arietem this year." It wasn't that he had any real problem with the house, but they had been rivals long before Finn had attended the school. It had even seeped into his blood a little.

"And ugh, we can't forget about our all important NEWTs this year. I swear that's all we're going to hear the entire school year. I'm going to be lucky to scrape a passing grade..."

Braelyn listened respectfully while Headmaster Rockwell gave his welcome speech, although her mind was elsewhere. It was always the same, short, to-the point "behave yourselves and listen to the teachers" speech anyway. She was much more interested in catching up with the people she had been away from all summer. She had only what seemed like a very short ship ride to the island to see Bliss so far, and that wasn't nearly enough time to catch up on what all they missed in each others' lived during the summer. Braelyn sighed. This was one of those times she really wished she and her best friend were in the same house, so that they could be at the same table now to talk.

When the Headmaster was done speaking, she looked around at those in her house, and it suddenly struck her: This was the last beginning of the year feast she would be attending at Magus Grex, and the last year she would be spending with a majority of the people here. As she looked around at them, she noticed Finn smile at her from a few seats down. Her heart picked up a beat as she smiled back and gave a little wave, then looked quickly away as her cheeks grew a little warm.

Luckily, Georgie was sitting just across from her and she could talk to her for a moment and play it off as if she was excited to be talking to a friend she hadn't seen in a while. "So, how was your summer?" she asked her almost a little too cheerfully. "Did you do anything fun?"

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Micah barely listened to the speech at all, his attention momentarily fixed on a very attractive young woman who apparently was a new professor at Magus Grex. He wondered what she would be teaching and scanned the row of faculty, looking for what previous teacher was missing, coming to the conclusion that she must me the new History of Magic Professor. Hmm. Not one of Micah's best subjects, but he had a feeling that he would be able to pay a little more attention in class this year.

His attention was drawn away from the new professor when the speech ended and chatter rose up around him as people were greeting each other and talking about the summers and plans for this year. He began discussing Quodpot with some of his teammates, but his ever-shortening attention span didn't stay there for too long.

He had become aware that Rose, sitting just next to him, was staring at Emerson, again. He wondered if she even realized she did that so often. Why was that? Was she one of those people that gets weirded out by homosexuality? No, it wasn't exactly that kind of wary, uncomfortable glance. It seemed more like she was admiring him. Now, that thought made Micah uncomfortable. Surely she was aware of Emerson's orientation; it's not exactly like he's kept it a secret or anything.

He decided to draw her focus away from his friend, whatever the reason for it. "So, Rose," he said, giving her a warm smile. "It's good to see you. I hope you had a good summer. Read any good books lately? I brought a few back from my parents' shop back home, if you're interested in some extra reading material. You seem to go through it pretty quickly."

As Headmaster Rockwell was droning on about behavior and school and other crap that didn't matter, Felix was slowly moving his hand towards the pile of food literally sitting in front of him. He picked up a roll and slowly brought it back to his mouth. He then slowly shoved it down his throat, all the while never breaking eye contact with Professor Rockwell. When he got to the part of behavior problems, Felix rolled his eyes. He couldn't help but think it was being directed toward him. It's not like he broke the rules for fun, he had serious and legitimate reasons for doing the things he did.......he would just have to have Justin come up with them later. The moment the Headmaster ended his speech, Felix dug into the food. He made himself a nice steak sandwich and some potatoes, his favorite. he still barely got all this weird wizard food and cooking styles. It seemed Finn was a lot hungrier than him. He chuckled a bit when he saw Finn scarfing the food down. "Whoa, easy there killer. Leave some for the rest of the house, will ya?" Felix said to his best friend in a joking manner, a small smile upon his face. Finn swallowed his food and then turned to him.

"So how was your summer, man?" He still continued eating, grabbing the variety of foods that were sitting in front of them. Felix let the question air in his mind a bit. he then looked up across his table to the Vulpes table. He spotted Bliss taking to her friends and smiling........God that smile. It caused Felix to have a massive smile spread across his face. He quickly looked down at his plate, but the smile wouldn't recede. "It was good, Finn. I....I actually spent most of the summer with Bliss. Instead of having me work his farm, the Old Man had me come with him when he took car of some business on the east coast and i ended up running into her. So, yeah it was really cool.....and stuff." He slowly felt the smile die down into his usual small grin. he then looked back over to Finn. "So, looking forward to our last year here?" Felix asked, quickly trying to change the subject. "I'm just really excited for the Quodpot matches. It's my last year, and I'm determined to beat Arietem this year." Finn said enthusiastically. Felix just sort of looked at him. Now Felix didn't particularly like the majority of Arietem house, but he liked a few people over there and tended to not judge people by house. Finn, on the other hand, had fully embraced the mentality of the school and especially the rivalries between the houses. Then again, Finn was a jock. It was odd for Felix to have a jock as a best friend, seeing as they beat the crap out of him during middle school and the short time in high school. Then again, Finn wasn't your normal jock. He just smiled and sort of accepted the world and lived his life by his own ethics and code, and Felix couldn't help but respect him for it.

"Dude, they don't stand a chance. If you completed that move you came up with awhile ago, Ferre is going straight to the top, and your going to pave the way. There isn't a doubt in my mind, man." he said with a warm smile, patting him on the back. Felix meant every word, Finn was damn good at Quodpot. Felix found he sor of had a knack for it, but never wanted to join the team, but liked to help Finn practice. He still thought Quodpot, like all wizarding sports, we're silly and weird. Give him Baseball over Quodpot any day. He would never say that out loud, else he be ostracized like a leper. Felix then turned his attention back to his food.

Not a minute later, he heard some clanging and what sounded like Justin singing in a bad french accent. He looked up and saw Justin conducting the silverware of the Vulpes table in a rendition of "Be Our Guest." from Beauty&The Beast. He eyed him with a smiling expression as if to say "What the hell are you doing?" Felix then just sort of laughed. He laughed even harder when Professor Hutson told him to stop. He sort of took his eyes away from Justin and they fell on Bliss once again. Felix couldn't help but look. He couldn't believe how one person's smile could light up an entire castle. It was insane! She then suddenly turned and noticed him. Felix immediately played it cool. He jutted out his bottom jaw, crossed his eyes and waved rapidly towards her. He stopped after a second and chuckled to himself. Felix kept getting flashes from the summer they spent together.It was the happiest he had been since........since he had been with Rebecca. He remembered when Bliss, Summer and him went go-karting and she spun out. Felix stopped to help her, just to have her peel out and beat him. Man, she was great like that. The whole summer was amazing. Flix sort of shook his head and stopped smiling. 'Fletcher, get a grip on yourself. She's Bliss Turner. She is your friend and that's all she will ever be. Your lucky hat she's even that. Do you honestly think you deserve a girl like that?' Well, I don't know, I think I...'Do you?' .........No. 'Exactly, now stop being an idiot and eat your food.' Felix grabbed some more juice and went back to his food.

Bliss Turner

Magus Grex School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The castle's beauty was breathtaking. As she took her first step on campus, the surroundings just wrapped her up in a blanket of beauty that made her feel more at home every time she made the journey each year. Something was different this year because this would be the last time she'd ever get the feeling of complete happiness from the school she had called home for so many years. She was just about to let the realization of it ending when she felt an arm around her waist. Summer.

"Bliss, it isn't the end. It's just getting close to the next chapter." Bliss took in Summer and all of her love as she could see her sister knew exactly what she was feeling. Before she knew it, she had her arms wrapped around her little sister. She knew her sister was right, but it didn't mean she wasn't still sad about it all. She was glad that she had her moment out here where nobody would notice instead of inside where plenty of students would be able to see her breakdown. She hadn't spoken a word because she felt like as soon as sound would escape her lips, so would the tears that she was holding back. "Come on, B." Her sister whispered as the arm that was placed on her waist gave a slight push forward.

It seemed as though nothing had changed once inside. She smiled at a few students who spoke her name, always flashing that smile of her's. She gave a quick kiss of the cheek to her sister before heading towards their own table's. Of course as soon as Bliss spotted Justin, she sat down beside him. She had no time to even say 'hi' as Headmaster Rockwell began his first speech of many that would give this school year the first sign of beginning. As soon as she saw the Headmaster step from the podeum she watched as Justin managed to steal the spotlight from all other houses as he very successfully performed a piece from Beauty and the Beast. "You are never a disappointment." She said with the quick hug she received from him.

With students getting up from their tables to mingle with other houses, Bliss took this time to look around to find Felix returning her gaze already. As he quickly changed his facial expression, she let a her smile come across her face before putting one finger up towards him as a symbol that she'd be over there in just a second. She stood quickly making her way over to Braelyn, giving the girl a hug from behind. "We have a lot to talk about." She whispered into her ear before continuing, "We will have to talk later though, okay?" She said as she tugged at the girl's arm. "Come on. Let's go talk with Felix and Finn."

Bliss knew that Braelyn would (hopefully) follow her over to the boys that seemed caught up in the conversation of Quodpot. "Really boys.. Always about sports." She spoke up before wrapping her arms around Felix from behind, squeezing as she felt her hands connect on the other side of him. "You do realize there are more important things to discuss.. Like how you have both underestimated the ability of Cervus to beat both Ferre and Atrietem." She couldn't keep a straight face at the unlikelihood of Cervus even winning one match. She let her arms unravel from Felix before they returned around the body of Finn. "I've missed you two so much." She said this directed towards Finn and Braelyn. "I haven't had time to miss you yet." She laughed with a soft kick to Felix's shin."



Headmaster Rockwell never seemed to phase Summer because she somehow forced herself to see the good in everybody, so now as a few chuckles escaped throughout the Great Hall, she let herself smile as Rockwell didn't even hesitate with the words that continued to spill from his lips. She felt herself glancing throughout the hall to find a few faces of people she knew. She caught sight of her sister with Justin right next to her and rolled her eyes before hearing the Headmaster's speech end. It only took a few seconds for the whole student body to explode into conversation again.

She began grabbing various items from the plates of food from the table. She absolutely loved the food at Magus Grex, and she did not hide this as she at least grabbed a taste of every single tray of food. She nibbled here and there until she looked across to see Justin showing off again. This was like her enemy she didn't have. She just couldn't force herself to like him like Bliss did, but she couldn't say that out loud. Letting her hair fall in front of her face, she quickly caught it before it could touch the food on her plate. "How was everybody's summer?" She asked aloud getting quiet a few response before she saw the sight of a hand grab something from her plate.

She was about to grab the hand until she heard the voice that went with it. Hearing Bellona made Summer take a deep breath full of relief as she quickly spun around, "I've missed you!" She ignored the question Bellona asked her as she found her arms practically chocking Bellona's neck. "Me save you? Seriously.. Look what I'm having to deal with." She said as she pointed over to Bliss whose arms were around Felix. Bellona was the only person that knew that Summer had been crushing on Felix for years. "The only thing keeping me from killing her is the fact that I no longer care.. I think." She said as she felt her glance pull towards Savant. "He is going to keep me sane." She said as she looked at the people he seemed to be talking to.

Emerson and Micah, who Summer absolutely adored. "Let's go interrupt the manly talk for two seconds, please. I haven't said hi to Micah yet. You aren't my only friend, I think." She said with a laugh before dragging the girl further down the table to see the three boys. "Hello lovely gentlemen." She smiled towards Savant letting her eyes stay there a little too longer before facing the other two. "Micah! I've missed you." She gave him a quick kiss on the top of his head before giving them a quick wave of goodbye. "I'd love to stay and chat, but we have to catch up on a little girl talk.. Unless you three are dying to know the lately fashion in the Wizarding World?" She didn't bother hearing their answer as she turned all of her attention to Bellona, curious where she might lead them off to.

Braelyn smiled as Bliss came over to give her a hug. She nodded when asked to go with her to Felix and Finn. "If you'll excuse me," she said to Georgie. "We'll catch up later in the common room, okay?" She stood and followed Bliss to where the two boys were seated at her table and was a little taken aback when Bliss wrapped her arms around Felix from behind. She arched an eyebrow and placed a hand on her hip, giving Bliss a knowing look. "I missed you too," she said. "You haven't had time to miss Felix yet? What's that about?"

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Micah was about to answer Savant when the girls in question came over to where they were sitting. He stood to give Summer a quick hug, and nodded briefly in greeting to Bellona. "Ah, no girl talk for me, thanks," he said to Summer with a laugh. "We'll talk later." He smiled at her as the two walked off, then turned his attention back to Savant's question. "I can't say I know too much about Bellona," he said. "But you know Summer. She's so softhearted, and sees the good in everyone. It doesn't surprise me too much that she'd somehow find a way to see it in Bellona too." He grinned at Savant's question about Quodpot. "Well of course we'll be playing this year," he said. "At least I will be, I'm assuming you still plan on it, too?" He directed the question at Emerson.

Bliss Turner

As soon as Bliss heard her friend's questionable tone, she felt her face go red as she glanced at the ground before letting the color fade. "I.." She looked over at Felix before smiling again. "We actually ran into each other this past summer." She brushed a strand of hair out of her face before taking a seat between the two boys, turning her body towards Felix. "And I guess we kind of spent the rest of summer together." By the look on Braelyn's face, she knew that wasn't a good enough answer. "Just like we spent time together, Brae. I have more friends than just you." She teased as she emphasized the word friends to make sure Braelyn caught the word.

"We'll talk about summer break later, of course." She got up quickly, putting her arm around her friend. "You do realize that I've missed you a whole lot. I'm pretty sure this summer was the longest we've been apart.. Ever." She said again as she looked over towards Georgie, who was still at her seat. "Why don't we collect Georgie over there and go discuss all of our amazing summers.." By this point, Bliss wanted to get out of the Great Hall as soon as possible. Waving towards Georgie, she found her hand intertwined with Braelyn's. "I say girl talk in the courtyard!" Seeing as the two boys were still in their presence, she wouldn't be able to relate the actual relationship her and Felix had began to form. "You both are more than welcome to come along. I just thought you both would love to continue on with guy talk.."

"Georgie! Courtyard in five?" She yelled towards the beautiful blonde, before finding her gaze fall onto Felix again.

Rosina Garenne

Rose's cheeks flushed slightly as she heard Micah address her. That was definitely out of the ordinary. In the past five years, they hadn't really spoken to each other. Of course, it was his last year at Magus Grex. Maybe he was just trying to leave on a positive note, getting to know all of his housemates as best as he could. Whatever his reason, she had to respond in some way. Otherwise he would think she was positively dull... or deaf even. She cleared her throat, instinctively reaching up to run a hand through her hair. Although she forgot she had worn it in a ponytail. So her hand raked through and probably messed up her hair, making it look worse. Embarrassed, her hand shot down to her lap.

"Umm... y-yeah, I went through a lot of books this summer." She brought her eyes up to meet his, smiling lightly. "I would love to see what boo-" But she was interrupted by the two girls who had appeared by Micah's side. He stood to give Summer a hug, while Bellona just kind of stood to the side. Rose's eyes found her plate once more, staying silent as they exchanged a few words. She really did like Summer. She was just so sweet, and when the two of them were alone, they always had excellent conversations. Of course, Rose spent much more time with Bliss. She wasn't sure if that bothered Summer or not, she'd never really thought to ask. Still, she had no idea how Summer had become best friends with Bellona. The girl was just plain mean. To everyone! They were polar opposites, but Summer must see something in the Arietem that Rose herself did not see.

The girls took off, and Micah turned his attention to Savant, as if he had already completely forgotten about her. She let out a soft sigh, pretending to eat her food, but not really taking a bite. She knew the three boys were pretty much obsessed with Quodpot, so she listened to their conversation. Particularly when Emerson seemed to shout, and swoon backwards from the table. A smile spread across her face, but she quickly made it disappear. She didn't want them to know she had been listening in on their conversation.

Micah didn't seem to be returning his attention to her any time soon. So she glanced around the large hall, seeing everyone talking with friends. Suddenly, she felt so very alone. She wanted to run up to her room and just curl up under her covers with a good book. Life was so much better there. She saw Teiver slip out of the hall, and realized that she wouldn't be coming over to save Rose from her loneliness. And she didn't even see Bliss anywhere, so that wasn't going to happen either. She had the urge to cry, but wouldn't let herself do so in the middle of the feast.

As she thought about it, she guessed she couldn't really blame Micah. She wasn't that interesting anyway, and he had so much in common with the two other guys. And just then, Justin approached their table, standing across the way from her. He said some cheesy stuff to Emerson, and gave the boys each a little vial. She had no idea what he was up to, and didn't really care to know. She knew that Justin came from a Muggle family, just as she did. Did they also both have crushes on Emerson? Apparently so. She'd known they were good friends, but this was news to her. Perhaps she didn't know as much about others as she thought.

She felt the urge to run, but made herself stay put. She wouldn't let everyone else see her running from the hall alone, on the brim of tears. It was a new year, and she could create a new image, right? ....Maybe?

---

Finn Pollack

Braelyn gave a little wave back, then immersed in conversation with Georgie. He listened to Felix's response, smiling at his best friend's word. He'd been practicing his new move (it still needed an awesome name) all summer, and almost had it perfected. Felix was right, if he could get it down, the other houses didn't have a chance. Of course, once he did it once, everyone else would be trying to copy it. He'd have to cross that bridge when it came, though. He found it extremely interesting that Felix had spent his entire summer with Bliss. And the way that he stared at her after he spoke about her made Finn smirk. It surely seemed that something had bloomed between two of his best friends.

And speak of the devil, Bliss appeared at their table shortly after. She wrapped her arms around Felix, before doing the same to him. He graciously received the hug, squeezing her back with a chuckle. "It does seem like it has been forever, hasn't it?" he said, turning to face her. As his friends were chatting to each other, movement at the far end of the hall caught his eye. It was none other than Teiver, and she was slipping out of the large oak doors. He remembered taking a real notice of her last year, since she always seemed to be sneaking off when she wasn't supposed to. He'd even tried to follow her a couple of times, but she'd eluded him before he could catch her. He wasn't really breaking any rules leaving the feast. The speech had been made, and students were allowed to leave at any time. Most just stayed around for courtesy, until the faculty were done, and the first years were rounded up.

He narrowed his eyes, and stood up from the table. "Guys, I'll see you later. I need to take care of something." He clapped Felix on the back, and placed a hand on both Bliss' and Braelyn's shoulder for a moment, before he took off down to the oaken door. He slipped through as well, hearing the soft sound of footsteps, and he caught a glimpse of her disappearing around a corner to the left. He moved forward, approaching the corner, and peeking around it. Teiver was with her cat, which always appeared next to the girl when she wasn't in class. They were standing in front of a normal stone wall, and for a moment Finn was confused. He continued to watch though, and was filled with surprise when the girl brought out her wand and revealed a secret passageway, and a door stood in the place of what had been a wall moments ago.

Teiver was about to walk through, and he was afraid the passageway would disappear after she went through it. He didn't want to lose her once more. "Hey!" he called out, stepping from behind the wall and in to her line of vision. That was probably stupid, but he hadn't had any better ideas on such short notice. He looked around awkwardly, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Uh, what exactly are you doing?" he asked, thinking that was probably a stupid question as well. Too late now. At least he might find out exactly what she was up to.

Felix was still eating his food when he caught Finn's expression out of the corner of his eye. He stopped eating, then turned and addressed him fully. "The fuck you looking at, Pollack?" Felix said in an angry yet joking tone. Finn was implying a lot with that look, and it honestly made him feel uncomfortable. He turned back, chuckling, to his food. "Hehehe, yeah. But, seriously. If I don't see a Quodpot cup addressed to Ferre House by the end of this year, I'm disowning you as a friend.......no pressure." He ended his statement with a large smile, as if to accentuate his faux point. He was about to eat another bite of his food, until he heard a sweet voice behind him. "Really boys.. Always about sports." He then felt to arms wrap around his body and squeeze him tight. He held up his fingers and crossed them. He started to mutter out loud. "Please be Wicks, please be Wicks, please be wicks." after the hug was released, he spun around with a happy expression on his face. When he saw Bliss, it turned to one of disappointment. "Aw, I hoped you were Wicks, finally reciprocating my love for him." He then looked up and said in a confident tone. "One day........one day." He then broke down and chuckled to himself. She then hugged Finn and expressed how much she had missed everyone. She then turned towards him. "I haven't had time to miss you yet." She laughed with a soft kick to Felix's shin.

Felix laughed and rubbed his leg. "Easy there, Bend it like Beckham. I know what you mean though. It's been like.....what, five, six days? Just when I thought I was rid of you." He then acted tired and put his head in his hands. Felix then chuckled lightly to himself. He liked messing with Bliss. It gave him a sense of security. Felix had already turned around at this point so he could see Brae and Bliss better. It seemed Brae was questioning Bliss about something, because she seemed nervous. "I.." Bliss then sat down next to him. "We actually ran into each other this past summer. And I guess we kind of spent the rest of summer together." Brae didn't exactly seemed satisfied with this answer. "Just like we spent time together, Brae. I have more friends than just you." A small dark hole started to tear itself into existence in Felix's soul. He quickly put it at the back of his mind. "For now...but soon, my evil plan will be realized and Bliss will only have one friend...me! And then there's some 3rd step and then profit." Felix said, joking as usual. Felix liked that she was sitting next to him and that he felt comfortable enough to be himself around her.....sort of.

"I say girl talk in the courtyard!" Whoa, the hell did that come from? Bliss was suddenly leaving, great. "You both are more than welcome to come along. I just thought you both would love to continue on with guy talk.." Felix gave her a smile. "Oh yeah, we have a lot to discuss, like Quodpot, lifting weights, shaving, stuff like that. Right Finn?"Felix looked to his buddy and suddenly realized Finn was leaving. "Dude.......the hell!" He called after him, but he was gone. He turned back to Bliss. "I don't see the guy in ages, we have a 5 minute conversation about Quodpot, then he leaves me high and dry with two beautiful young ladies all to myself......on second thought, maybe it was for the best." Felix said, giving Bliss and Brae the sex eyes. He then laughed to himself.

Suddenly, Felix got a feeling.....a dark feeling. Something.....weird. He looked to his right and saw Vance Abernathy making a B-line straight for him. Great, Felix wondered what he wanted. He stood up and looked to Bliss. "Yeah, it's probably better of you go. Abernathy the tight assed is heading this way, with purpose. Never a good sign. You should probably get out of here before he tries to assimilate you into the fold." Felix said, adding spooky finger waving to the last part. Vance was nearly upon them. He then looked at Bliss with genuine eyes. "Seriously, though. We should get together later. Just because we spent the summer together doesn't mean I'm done with you." He gave her a genuine smile, then turned on his heels and walked forward, finding Vance directly in front of him. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Felix smiled and spoke. "Can I help you with something, Mr. Abernathy?"

Teiver paused, catching a slight blur in her peripheral vision that indicated movement. Her whole body then froze, and she clutched her wand tightly. The girl then spun around, her wand at the ready and pointed straight at this person. Before she had a second of realization, she called out in a clear voice, "Ince-ehhhhhhh...?" She cut off the spell, slouching forward ever so slightly, one eyebrow raised as she then realized it was none other than Finn Pollack from Ferre House.

Her eyes narrowed, and she held her wand at a more leisurely position, though still wary of the boy. "I think I should be asking what you're doing." Teiver muttered, though loud enough for him to catch if he tried. She was still all too aware of the gaping hole in the side of the castle which would be closing in the next thirty seconds. "Me? Why, I'm not doing anything unusual." She placed her hand in the doorway, backing up centimeter by centimeter ever so slowly.

Her head tilted up and her gaze fell on the chandelier hanging from the massive ceilings. If it weren't right after the beginning of the year feast, she'd use it to her advantage. But as it stood, no such luck. "Shouldn't you be talking Quodpot with your friends right now?" She crossed her arms, her gaze still flickering across the halls to make up some distraction. It was bad enough he knew of one of the passage ways leading up to the tower Garrison and herself resided in. Of course, you'd have to make all the right turns and there were numerous other corridors and tight spaces you'd have to get through as well. It took Teiver up till her second year to find a suitable place to stick to, having quite a few run ins with Herve during that time. So, she wasn't exactly keen on the idea of losing the place.

'Uhh, Teiver?' Garrison peered up at the girl, mewing quietly. 'Teiver. Hey, Tea?' The cat meowed up at her a little loudly. Teiver turned her attention to her cat, looking at him a bit harshly. 'Yeah, we've kind of got a situation. Caretaker in 1.' Teiver's face visibly paled, and she quickly looked at Finn. Forget him finding out about the tower, if Herve so much as finds the passageway I'm beyond screwed. Plus I can't just leave Finn out in the open, he's bloody sure to give me away. She had one minute to get him in there and seal it before Herve showed up.

Quickly, she sprinted across the floor and grabbed Finn's arm roughly. "No questions, ask them later. Just RUN." Her voice was a harsh whisper, and she dragged him along through the corridor. Fifteen seconds before it closes, and Herve is unpredictable in his movement speed. A soft groan flittered through her lips in frustration, and she shoved Finn towards the dusty cobble stairs. "Garrison, please take our... guest up to the next flight of stairs." Her voice was terse and even more tensed when she said guest, because she had no idea what to call Finn at the moment. She just needed him out of the way.

Her attention split back to the entrance, or exit, of the passageway, her eyes scanning both ends of the hallway for the man. She was about to relax as the stones started to tumble and switch back together, but that was immediately short lived as she saw the older caretaker turning across the hallway. Immediately her wand was up and at the ready. "Obscuro." She whispered, and a blindfold immediately draped over his eyes, tying at the back. Without much need to say, Herve went nuts over such an act. But now that the passage was resealing, she didn't have to be worried about being caught.

Once she finished that up, she quickly hopped up the steps, coming to a new platform and turning to the left went to the opposite staircase to where the tower was. At least Garrison got that much. She paused, crossing her arms loosely. "You should probably head up the stairs before you're missed. Just remember, take a left, forward, keep your hand along the right side of the walls, your fingers should find an indention. You'll have to use incendio, and whatever you do, don't screw it the bloody hell up, got it? It'll be straightforward from there, and you should come to an exit. You'll end up in the area of the Common Rooms." She planned on heading up the opposite staircase fairly soon, unless he had some more stupid questions.

Finn Pollack

Teiver denied doing anything unusual, which was obviously not true, since there was a secret doorway behind her, and she was slowly inching towards it. He took a step towards her, reaching a hand out as if he could stop her from ten feet away. Thankfully, she didn't disappear behind the door, making it disappear along with her. She stopped, crossing her arms, and made a quick jape about him and Quodpot. He only smirked, finding it a typical response from someone who really didn't know him at all. "Very witty of you. Now since that's out of the way, are you going to let me in on what you're up to?"

He didn't get an answer, though. One moment, Teiver was looking down at her cat in serious concentration, and the next she was sprinting towards him. She grabbed his arm, and told him to run. He was completely confused, but followed along behind her, stumbling a little over his own feet. He figured at least he was getting himself through the door of the secret passage, and that was the first step. He didn't think it was possible, but the situation got even more strange.

She talked to her cat.

And it wasn't the normal type of chatter people had with their animals. Like where they describe their day, or generally talk about things going through their mind. No, she gave her cat directions. And the cat followed them. It bit his pants, and tugged at them, as if he should follow. He was so dumbfounded that he did as it asked, and and jogged up the steps behind it. He came to a landing, with two separate staircases and both ends. The cat just sat on its haunches and stared at him with wide eyes. He felt kind of awkward, as if the cat new exactly what he was thinking. Am I losing my mind? he thought to himself, running his fingers through his short brown hair.

Only a few moments later, Teiver came loping up the steps behind him, and crossed her arms again. She seemed to do that a lot. She indicated the staircase behind him, and gave a heap of directions that would apparently lead him back to his common room. He didn't bother to memorize the directions, however. There was no way he was heading back to his common room. It was quite obvious that she was attempting to hide something from him, and he intended to find out what it was. If it was something against the rules, he'd be able to report it to the Headmaster. Not that he wanted Teiver to be expelled, but she knew not to break the rules, so ultimately it was her fault.

"And where exactly will you be going, if not back to your common room as well?" he asked, imitating her by crossing his arms, and he gave her a smile. A bunch of wild thoughts started running through his head, wondering what exactly she was attempting to hide from him. Everyone practically knew that he was a stickler for the rules, and attempted to do the right thing. Was it really something so bad that he couldn't see what it was? His imagination started going crazy, and he had to shake his head slightly to make the thoughts go away. He doubted she was like... hiding a dragon in this tower. At least he seriously hoped not.

He waited a few more seconds, then sprinted wide around her, so she couldn't grab him, and headed for the staircase on the opposite side of the landing. He ran up the first few steps, then took a quick peek behind him to look at her. "What's up here that you don't want me to see, huh?" he asked, before looking forward once more and continuing to take the stairs as fast as he could. As he reached the next landing, he hesitated. This tower was more complicated than he could have thought. He scanned the area once more, then randomly picked a direction, sprinting off down the hallway. He only hoped he was going the right way, not heading off to some bottomless pit.

Finn may have ran in a way that she couldn't reach him, but she still tried. Teiver groaned softly, rolling her eyes and quickly slinking after him. Her eyes flickered shut, and she held her wand firmly but leisurely in her hand. "Expecto Patronum." She mumbled softly, and an animal bearing both the elk and the timber wolf formed from the tip of her wand. She sent the thing up ahead after Finn, having it arch beside him and come in front of him, the creature rearing on its hind legs, its front hooves pawing the air warningly.

The girl quickly came up after it. "Actually, I was heading to the astronomy tower to get a head start. You know me, always doing that sort of thing." She rolled her eyes, knowing full well they knew almost nothing of each other. "And I would never start running blindly off in the school's most reserved areas. You never know where you'll pop out. Like where you're headed now." A faint smile cracked along her features, and she folded her hands behind her back, her patronus disappearing. "You're headed to one of the no-longer-used girl's bathrooms."

Teiver tilted her head to the side innocently, a small, cheerful smirk on her facial features. "Seriously though. You run off, I'm not going to go after you. I'll just silently laugh at you and watch as you fall off the side of Magus Grex." Garrison sat on Teiver's right shoe, his tail twitching calmly, sweeping lazily against the ground, a small purr rumbling in his throat. He peered up at Finn, his own yellow-green eyes meeting his.

She quietly stuffed her left hand in the pocket of her robe, her fingers sliding against smooth metal while her other hand fidgeted with her satchel which had an extension charm placed on it last year. "You know, I really should just let you go and see where you pop out. I think it'd be quite amusing." She nodded resolutely, her gaze falling down to Garrison on her shoe. Teiver crouched down, scratching the feline right at the base of his ear, and his purring grew slightly in magnitude.

"You're lucky I don't just glue you to the floor right here for the rest of the year. You're going to get us both screwed over, I swear. Herve doesn't take lightly to anyone out and about in his secret corridors. And if he so much as saw you near the door, you'd be getting detention on your first day. And probably your first detention period." As she spoke, she continued to crouch down, her chin on her knees as she focused intently on giving affection to her cat.

"Now if you'd be so kind as to stop trying to get yourself killed, you should really get back to your Common Room before you're missed. All the girls might just die if you leave them unattended to for much longer." She rolled her eyes, the smallest of smirks pulling up the corner of her lips. In truth, Finn had managed a couple right turns, but he really was headed for the girl's bathroom. Lucky for him, it was the abandoned one, but perhaps unlucky for Teiver, as that would have been a laugh.

Demetrio’s Perspective

Eying all the students in the hall, Demetrio nervously chewed through a few cookies before sipping at a glass of tea. Bleh, magically brewed tea was never as satisfying as Yoya’s homebrewed Sun tea, but beggars should not be choosers. Watching Justin Hardy play with silverware, and then move from table to table like a slut, Demetrio remembered what he once heard about him: Justin was gay. Feeling no fast issue to believe Justin was gay or straight, having never heard either from Justin's mouth, Demetrio made no quarrel about it. Though he couldn’t help but wonder. Back home in the Sierra Pelonas, the concept of gay or straight was very thin and undeveloped; Demetrio was reared into only one thing: act and behave and think like a man, and everything else will be natural. But gringos had a different way of viewing the world.

A few of Demetrio’s fellow Cervus house students were conversing near, though he had no inclination to engage in conversation just yet. Too soon was the school year, indeed only the first, for him to simply ease into his pigeonholed niche of the boyish jester. A few nervous jokes here, a few faint smiles there. But nothing serious. As for the other tables, students from every year were joyously dancing, metaphorically speaking, with the exuberance of a new school year; at least most everybody. Vance Abernathy seemed solemn and cordially cold, as usual, though he was bothering Felix for some odd reason. Justin seemed to have vanished sometime on. Almost all of the Ferre kids, except perhaps Felix, were never really interesting. Interesting enough, however, Finn had followed a Vulpes girl, Teiver, whom Demetrio admired yet knew she was a tad bit prejudiced, after Headmaster Rockwell's speech.

Uninterested, Demetrio finished his tea and lifted himself from his bench, unsurprisingly not startling anyone around him. For years, Demetrio had earned the reputation of the somewhat annoying Cervus kid who’d go around and share inside jokes with just about everyone, apparently even the teachers. On a few rare occasions, he was able to make Mr. Wicks smile, and Prof. Dahlin seemed to quite enjoy private tutoring with him. For years, Demetrio had attempted to build a relationship with Headmaster Rockwell, though such endeavors were hopelessly fruitless.

Walking through the halls to the bathroom, he spotted Justin at the end of the corridor go off towards the Astronomy tower, apparently needing some sort of astronomical data to eat his food. The halls were quite ornate, embellished with the carvings of Northern California’s natural environment. Large, stone Sequoias lurched over careless bears and peaceful hippies. Yes, Northern California was the antithesis to Demetrio’s Southern California, where the largest trees were fat but not terribly tall, mountain lions shepherded over the various valleys and passes, and the dry yet softly salty air cascaded down over your eyes in the beautiful harmony of ugly and beauty.

Demetrio, washing his hands, heard somebody stride into the large bathroom, with such hurried pace and irritated breath. The stranger, though obscured by the various walls of the bathroom, seemed to have taken care of his business and began to leave, to which Demetrio shouted, “Wait! Are you not going to wash your hands?!” Flustered and hurried, Rockwell came around to the sinks and took the one next to his. “So, Demetrio, ready for this year?” he asked, cold and vaguely uninterested.

“Never, sir” Demetrio replied.

“And why not?” Rockwell asked, magically twisting the nobs of the sink and shutting off the water (lazy!). He looked up at Demetrio and waited patiently, somewhat unusual.

“And why aren’t you ever ready?”

“What makes you think I am not ready?”

“For four, now five years I have noticed this same fact: on the first day of school you come rushing to the bathroom to ‘take care of your business’, though I know you just want an excuse to escape one last time before the year starts up.”

Oddly enough, Rockwell nodded his head, reached his hand over to touch Demetrio’s shoulder, and patted him. Now, amicably speaking, he said, “Well said, Demetrio. Cute, but well said.” And Demetrio knew Rockwell, not being a man to smile or laugh, found it humorous in the best way he could. Demetrio took silent pride in this. Rockwell reminded him of his uncle whom was killed by a pack of wild mutts; Tio Marín was cold and bittered from life, perhaps never seeming to enjoy anything, though Demetrio knew he loved everyone and took pride in the simple tasks that fell upon him. Rockwell seemed to be the same way, bittered by so many years, though generally benevolent and loving(in his own odd, distant way) to the years of students.

“Well, sir, you best be getting back to the table,” Demetrio smiled, “you wouldn’t people to start spreading rumors about us.” Smiling, Demetrio gave a small chuckle to an apparently annoyed Rockwell. The Headmaster replied, “Demetrio, I’m not sure anyone could ever envision you shacking up with anyone, let alone a Headmaster,” gave a small twitch of his mouth(a smile?), and then continued, “Don’t stay out there too long, today, okay? There’s been a nasty endemic of beach troll this Summer, and we wouldn’t want our star healer to be out there on his own in a fight.” And just like that, having surprised and terrified Demetrio with his semblance of omniscience, Headmaster Rockwell rushed out.

Demetrio NEVER spoke a word to anyone of his penchant for healing, not even Prof. Dahlin, whom he loved and admired very much. Rockwell was a mage of uncertain power, that was certainly certain. But what’s more, Demetrio was a bit crushed that Rockwell knew of his times out by the beach. Nobody know of that. Nobody. So how? Demetrio pushed it out his mind and left for the beach, handing a smuggled cookie to Mr. Wicks, who graciously let him walk right out the front door, past the stabled horses, past the special garage where Headmaster Rockwell’s grand carriage was hidden, past Prof. Dahlin’s personal flower garden, past the entrance columns, and out towards the beach. It was about a 20-minute walk from the school to the beach, though Demetrio never minded such a small walk. Back in the Sierra Pelonas, he would often find himself on the other side of the Mountain Ridge by noon and back by midnight.

Finally finding his sacred spot, a small, hidden nook where the beach meets the forest, and the fog rolls over just perfectly to produce a nice little pocket between air, earth and water. Demetrio sat down and attempted to pull of his black cowboy boots, the only reason why he dreaded his boots(nasty little things always seemed to love his feet).

“Yap!” Dieguito was on his way to Demetrio. Having let Dieguito go off into the forest early in the morning to have some fun, Demetrio was quite glad to see his best friend back. The little coyote bolted out from the forest and hopped right on Demetrio’s back, who responded by grabbing his friend and rolling in the sand.

“Dieguito, que pasó?” to which Dieguito yapped, yipped and barked his response to his human friend. Dieguito was more than a pet, he was a life-long companion, with whom Demetrio shared his most inner thoughts. Dieguito, having be named for San Juan Diego, the humble native man who saw the Virgin of Guadalupe, had long been a trusted friend of the Magallón family. The coyote was the symbol of both sides of the family, and most every family witch had been accompanied by a coyote from the same family.


Demetrio couldn’t help but feel he was being watched, as if he wasn’t alone, or some distant eye gazed at him. But regardless, he needed to have this time now. “Ready?” he whispered to Dieguito. Jumping up, gently removed his yellow-lined Cervus uniform, and threw it to the sand near his boots. Dieguito reared his head up and gave a short, squeaky howl, and waited in anticipation for Demetrio.

Pulling out his large, black oak wand, Demetrio still felt like he was watched, but didn’t pay much attention to it. Founding his feet into the sand, he slowly silenced his thoughts. Centering focus from the cold, Northern California environment to the warm, diamond-hard heart within, Demetrio slowly began to let his body form and shift to the push of the wind and the sound of the cold Pacific waves. His hands loosened up and followed in sync to his deep breathing. Tongue to roof, breath through nose, belly expand. With his wand, he helped move the air in and out his lungs; as he breathed in, his hand and wand gently glided to close to his nose, and as he exhaled his hand and wand reached out to follow his blowing out.

Now dancing in a ecstatic dancing of breath and prayer, Demetrio had forgotten everything around. He felt only the sunshine of the Sierra Pelonas, the sweet wind of the mountains, and the peace of his childhood. Silently, Demetrio cast various spells for the year, hoping to improve his health and focus and confidence.

Demetrio heard a snap, jolted from his peace.

“Oh shi…” he had little else to say, seeing the ugly mug of a beach troll…

Rosina Garenne

Justin took his leave, faster than she would have thought. He was normally stuck to Emerson's side like glue. Either way, she relaxed a little when he was gone. She didn't know what it was about him, but he definitely set her on edge. Although the bit about Neveah was interesting. She personally thought that Magus Grex was better off without the Arietem girl. It didn't really affect her though, so she didn't dwell on the thought for too long. The food on her plate looked absolutely revolting to her now, and she shoved the plate a few inches away from her.

Her stomach felt like someone had twisted it into a million knots. She spared a quick glance next to her, and saw that Micah just seemed to be looking around the hall, lost in his own mind. It was like she didn't even exist to him anymore. It made her think of all the times in the past where people hadn't seemed to notice her. I mean, it was like she had an invisibility cloak on or something. All the times she'd sat next to Emerson in class, and he spent the entire class talking to his friends, not even looking her way. Thinking about it made her slightly angry, and she had the sudden urge to throw her fork at someone. But she dropped it on the table instead.

Her eyes found the large oak doors, and she saw Bliss slip out of them with Braelyn. What she really should do was go out and be with Bliss. Being around her always made Rose feel like so much more than she actually was. And that's how she wanted to feel right now, like all these people were so wrong to ignore her. She was worth something. She was just about to get up from the table when Micah turned his attention back to her.

He apologized, and her heart melted a bit. What was she thinking, getting all mad? He didn't ignore her on purpose. She started to feel silly about getting so upset. She gave him a soft smile, shrugging her shoulders. "It's okay, Micah," she said quietly. She placed her hands in her lap, crossing her fingers together. She had to keep him interested now, and she clenched her fingers together, nervous about that thought.

She nodded at his question, looking down at her hands for a second. But she made herself bring her eyes up to meet his, and keep his attention on her. "I was just saying that I would love to see what books you brought with you," she said, glad she actually got to finish the sentence this time. The knots on her stomach seemed to loosen, and she felt her entire body relax slightly. She took a deep breath in, and let it out slowly. "Maybe you can show me, sometime?" she blurted out quickly. Immediately, she regretted saying it. She never did things like that... what had just come over her? Her cheeks grew really red, and she took her eyes off of him.

---

Finn Pollack

He was sprinting as fast as he could, yet suddenly something white appeared next to him and darted past, coming to a stop before him. The animal reared on its hind legs, and he skidded to a halt in front of it, more out of shock than anything. "Crap," he muttered, seeing her come up next to him. The cat came after her, staring up at him in a creepy way. He took his eyes off the cat, meeting Teiver's instead. So he was supposedly heading towards an unused girls bathroom. If she was telling the truth, that is.

And of course he didn't buy any of her bologna on heading to the Astronomy tower to get a head start. If she wanted to do that, she could have taken the normal staircases to get there, not taking a way that would get her in trouble. He folded his arms, leaning against the wall, determined not to go anywhere. He let her get all her quips in, not responding to any of them. She could say all she wanted, he wasn't going to just walk away now. He did have to chuckle at the one about the girls dying without him. "Somehow, I think they'll live without me for one night."

The part about Herve did give him pause, though. As honorable as his intentions were, if he was found in an area he wasn't supposed to be in, he would be in just as much trouble as Teiver was. Thankfully for him, no one was going to find them anytime soon. He just had to find a way to stick with her, and find out what she was doing in this hidden tower. Not only did he have the feeling that he wanted to do the right thing, but he was actually extremely curious what was going on. He wasn't going to let her deter him from this, no matter what she said.

Unless they were about to get caught. Then he'd run like a bat out of hell.

He decided to go along with her lie, just to give him an excuse to stick around her. Obviously him running around like a mouse in a maze wasn't going to get him anywhere. He certainly didn't want to actually run into a girl's bathroom, deserted or not. He didn't want to run off of a ledge either, although he didn't know if she was being truthful about that or not. "Very well," he said to her, pushing himself off the wall to stand up straight. "If you're headed for the Astronomy tower, I'll go with you. I could use a head start as well." He walked a few paces away from her, and away from the girl's bathroom. He gestured ahead of him. "Care to lead the way, since you're the expert?"

His left hand reached into his pocket, grasping the end of his wand. He needed to be careful, knowing she was a frequent rule breaker. He didn't put it past her to hex him or curse him, since she'd already cast a patronus. He had to be ready for anything she was ready to pull.

Introducing! The remarkable Lyle Brightham (Ferre House)

Lyle was smack in the center of a cluster of fourth and fifth year Ferre students at their table. He didn’t have anywhere at all to run off to, he was enjoying catching up with his friends. So much had happened over the summer! His eyes were wide as he listened to one of the boys talk about a trip his family took to London, and when he was done, Lyle immediately began to prattle on about some of his favorite places in the city, oooh, had he visited there? How was Diagon Alley, amazing, right? He laughed and joked, at one point some French fries wound up in his nose, and a moment later, milk wound up coming out of it. The group of boys was loud, the source of several explosions of laughter and a great deal of table-slapping.

The discourse was interrupted briefly when stuff began clattering over on the Vulpes table. Lyle leaned a bit and strained his neck trying to make out who was doing what, and began laughing riotously when he spotted Justin doing… well, he wasn’t sure what, but it was hilarious, and then Teiver silenced the dancing plates and knives and stuff and he quickly lost interest.

”Guys, guys, guys,” he interjected, using his hey this is serious voice and eyebrow placement (riding a bit high on his forehead). He waited a few deliberate beats, and then: ”I’m totally trying out for the team this year. I’ve been practicing all summer, and I think I’ve finally got the hang of the sport. Do you think I have a shot?” The conversation quickly dissolved into a dozen different Quodpot related topics, but most of them were quite encouraging. He’d glanced around, hoping to catch Finn’s eyes, but he wound up furrowing up his brow instead. Where had Finn gone?

He hung a spoon off his nose, nodding solemnly while another fifth year lamented their upcoming O.W.L.s. Lyle’s cheeks flushed a bit. ”Oh, man, I just don’t even want to think about it. I’m sure to get a Troll in Potions, I just know it, and probably Transfiguration too. I might scrape an A in Charms, maybe, if I can get someone to tutor me…” Then the spoon fell off, somehow landing perfectly in a bowl of custard, and everyone was laughing once more. Lyle’s sheepish grin threatened to consume his ears, and then his eyebrows shot up once more.

”Oh! I’m taking donations for that spell disaster relief fund. I guess a major mishap happened over in Russia. Really guys, anything you can spare would help a lot.” He dragged his backpack into his lap and pulled out a large envelope, which he began passing around. That sort of thing wasn’t too uncommon for the plucky Ferre, and he quickly remembered another issue as well. He produced some parchment, a quill, and a little pot of ink. ”And this is a petition to lessen the restrictions on underage magic, so, you guys should all really sign. Some of my pen-pals at other schools are doing it too, and we’re going to send them to all the Ministries at once. Cool, huh?”

He lowered his backpack to the ground once more, grinning enthusiastically as people gave and signed. His grin diminished, though, when he spotted Vance Abernathy coming over. He heaved a sigh of relief when Felix got up; if anyone could handle the Abernathty’s, it was Felix. What the blazes did the two of them have to talk about though? He strained to eavesdrop, but couldn’t make out a word, and he’d never been any good at reading lips so he gave up after a moment.

His puzzlement was lost when someone elbowed him and handed him the envelope. He gave it a shake, lighting up when he heard a fair amount of jingling. ”Thanks, everyone. You’re all awesome!” Tucking it away- he’d make the rounds once he’d finished eating-, he helped himself to a heaping pile of cookies and sweets. Someone pointed at his face, and he realized he had an ersatz moustache made of milk, which he made a big show of licking off.

He tilted his head, listening with intense curiosity as word of Nevaeh’s absence finally made it over. Now that could be a story. Nobody particularly wanted to talk about her though (Lyle did reluctantly nod when the consensus seemed to be that she was hot), so the conversation soon took yet another turn.

It was good to be back.

Teiver rolled her eyes, crossing her arms yet again as he leaned against the wall. "Sure they will, sure they will." She smirked faintly once more, watching him with precision as he leaned back up and stepped forward. So he bought that. But luckily I have more of a grip of the areas around this particular portion of the school. And since he ran ahead so much, it gives me the excuse to backtrack. The girl looked back down at Garrison, and the cat meowed up at her. 'Are we seriously letting him follow us around? The more he's seen around the hidden ways, the more he'll know and the more curious he'll get. I say you just use the teleporting spell on him and be done with it.'

She frowned lightly, taking in the suggestion. "Nah, we'll just drag him along. See if we can't trick him into falling to the first floor." She made an obviously fake laugh, sarcasm drenching her voice. Now once Finn decided to let her lead on, she turned her wand around and poked him in the side with the bottom of it. "Why thank you my kind sir." Once more, she rolled her eyes, slipping past him with her cat right at her heels, heading back through the hallway and turn, and instead stopped at the wall once more.

Quietly, Teiver pulled the flap of her satchel forward, hearing the satisfying click of it coming undone. She glanced down at Garrison, "Up you go then, little Gar." The cat almost seemed to roll its eyes, leaping up onto her shoulder and slipping carefully down her arm, fitting into the bag and keeping his head poking out as well as his two front paws. "I hope you know how to climb." That sweet smirk flickered across her lips once more, and she reached up, feeling along the stones for a niche. Once found, she heaved herself up, finding her foothold before progressing upwards.

At one point along the climb, she lost her hold on one of the indents, and ended up sliding down a bit before finding a previous support. Small pebbles from the walls tumbled down behind her, and she sighed lightly. She shifted to the right, and finished up climbing, stopping on the wall and shifting her hand down, one of the stones shifting and a small rumbling was heard. A stone door presented itself, and she worked at getting up to it.

Admittedly, it did take some effort to get the door open, but once she did, she carefully slipped in, her feet finally hitting solid ground. She peered back down, checking to see how Finn was handling it before working at the walls once more. She traced one of the stones with her wand before using flagrate silently to mimic the exact shape she just traced. The flames quickly disappeared within the wall, and the stones reorganized themselves once again. Garrison had remained in the satchel, and for good reason.

The opening in the wall was set high up in the astronomy tower staircase, so it would be a little fall before they could actually head upwards to the actual room.






Naire sat quietly at his table, most of his food untouched as his camera strap was around his neck, and the actual contraption in his hands. He was resetting it, turning a few gears here, dusting it off there, refocusing the lens, and rubbing the outer shell till it shone. He smiled brightly, shutting the back of it, and letting it drop back down.

He suddenly realized that there were only a few students left at his table. Most everyone else had gone up to other tables or disappeared completely. Chopstick hooted quietly, standing on one leg beside his plate, the other curled up under his feathers. He tilted his head to the side before blinking and hooting once more, watching his companion fix the camera.

Naire smiled, reaching out and stroking the side of the bird's head with the back of his index finger before turning back to his food. It was slightly cold, but he didn't mind much. After finishing off a bit of his meal, Naire abandoned it and got up, Chopstick carefully fluttering up to his shoulder. He dug his talons softly into the boys robes, but Naire really didn't mind much at all.

So he left the Great Hall out into the lesser halls, and got out the deck of cards that was always in his pocket. He began to play around with it, the noises from his shuffling resounding with the corridor, and he carefully attempted to launch one out of the deck, doing so successfully, however almost catching it, but instead having it land in his shoe. A small laugh couldn't help but escape his lips, and he peered at his little owl friend with a shy but large smile.

Careful not to upset the bird carefully balancing on his shoulder, he leaned down and plucked the card from the side of his shoe, returning it safely to the deck. He put the cards away then, bringing his camera up to his face and looking at the screen as he walked. However, he soon just looked through the scope, watching in awe once again at the greatness that was Magus Grex. He was turning his head this way and that to get a good view before heading outside and sitting down in some soft grass against a willow tree near the river. He once more brought the camera up to his face, Chopstick flittering off of his figure and towards the water.

The owl stood in the shallows on the pebbles, dipping his head in the water and then sweeping it up, causing the water to splash over himself, taking a small bath. He shook his feathers out, dipping once more. Chopstick then began to preen himself with the water. That famous smile of his was once more apparent, and he shifted the shutter dial before pressing down on the shutter release, taking the picture.

The opening speech was the same as always, but Myra listened intently, giving as much of her full attention as possible. She'd sat by the head of the table, as usual, so as to be near the teachers, should one of them need to talk to her. She tutored on occasion, so they needed her often. Once Headmaster Rockwell had finished his memorized speech, she turned and piled her plate high. Mentally thanking her mother for a fast metabolism, she pulled a book out of her bag and opened it, beginning to read where she'd left off as she maneuvered forkfulls of food to her mouth. She had become dimly aware of Beauty and the Beast being sung along her table when suddenly her fork flew out of her hand to dance along with the rest. Turning, she watched as Justin 'conducted' his impromptu musical. While she loved the movie, Belle had always reminded her of herself, she loved food more. Frowning, she was struck with an intense desire to talk Justin into harnessing his talents, and not for the first time. Not very many students could pull off such a sport (however un-elaborate the charms-work was in Myra's eyes). Taking out her wand, she waited for her fork to pass her again, and when it was in the perfect range muttered "Finite Incantatem," the fork falling promptly into her open and waiting hand. She began eating and reading again, letting the professors take care of Justin's rouse.

She listened in momentarily to some of Vulpes' house Quodpotists talking about the up-coming try-outs and winning the house cup. A short burst of excitement hit her in the stomach, practically causing her to choke on the water she'd just gulped down. She thought of her broom and the practice quod up in her room. She bit her bottom lip, considering whether she'd be brave enough to try out this year, then let the thought go as a blush ran up her cheeks at the thought of being scrutinized. What if she wasn't as good as she thought she was?

Losing herself in the book again, the chatter of all the separate tables became white noise. She lost focus of time and only ever glanced up to add more food to her plate. Vaguely she was aware of Professor Hutson briefly chatting with her. Something about someone needing a tutor for Potions, which Myra agreed to help with, of course. Politely disengaging herself from the conversation, she returned to her book. She glanced up every now and then, when movement caught her eye.

She'd noticed as Summer and Bellona had found each other and had a brief twinge of guilt hit her. She should put the book away and go talk to them too, but then they wandered to talk to Savant, Emerson, and Micah momentarily. There went Summer's very light blush, and Savant's posture changed ever so slightly just now. Myra couldn't help but smile softly at the interaction, and Bellona's minute boredom. She watched as they dismissed themselves and wandered from the great hall. They'd most likely seen her with a book and known she'd catch up with them later, besides, talking to cute, funny guys was not Myra's strong suit. She made a mental note to ask Kaplan to find the girls for her later.

She'd also noticed Bliss' laughter, trickling down the table like a warm Autumn shower. How was she just so perfect? It seemed that at least everyone had stopped by Vulpes' table just to say hi to her, or smile at her. Myra considered that for a moment and shot a short glare at her book. She knew that it was sort of her own fault that she didn't have too many people beating down the door to get to know her, and that it was probably that she always had her nose in a book, but what could she do? You cherished what you cherished, and some people were better at some things than others. I bet if I was on the Quodpot team people'd want to talk to me... The blush returned, so Myra picked up her book again.

After reading a couple more paragraphs, Myra was startled when her consciousness pricked as Vance passed by. He'd been talking to Arietem's house head, and was now making his way towards Professor Hughes. Their conversation seemed less than amicable to say the least, but they both were professional as far as Myra could tell. As Vance turned to leave she caught that look in his eye again. Her heart gave a small throb of sadness for the boy, her lips turning down in a small pout as she watched him. Where did that pain come from? It wasn't there last year, that's for sure... Damn! She ducked her head quickly as he passed by her, hoping against hope he hadn't seen her looking at him.

She decided it was a good idea to return to her book and only emerged for more chicken a page or two later. She conspicuously watched as girl after girl stopped by the Ferre table to talk to Finn. He smiled at them, that warm, tender, polite smile and talked to each of them. He was always so genuinely pleasant, so friendly. Myra smiled in spite of herself, enjoying her candid viewing of Finn's Flock (as she liked to call all the girls who fawned over him.) When his head started to turn in her direction though, she immediately dropped her eyes to her book and "read" as intently as she could. She'd never be able to go talk to him like the other girls, so what did it matter? She watched out of the corner of her eye as he excused himself from the table and left the hall. Was it just her, or did a little warmth leave the room with him?

*~*~*~*

Some time later Myra sighed, placed a bookmark in The Dream Oracle and pushed her plate away from her. She'd overeaten again, and chided herself as the inevitable "food baby" made itself known. Thank god for robes, she thought with chagrin. Tilting her head to the left she looked down her table. "Oh!" The exclamation left her mouth before she had a chance to register she was making noise. There were very few people left. She looked around, surprised to see how empty the main hall was. How long had she been reading? Better yet, how much had she eaten? Oh dear... She noticed Naire, then, wandering out of the hall with his owl and his camera. Her first genuinely large smile spread itself across her face. Near! Oh, how she'd missed him! They'd spent a week over vacation together, and sent owls back and forth, but that was not nearly enough contact. She wiped her hands on her linen, daintily wiped the corners of her lips, took one last sip of water, and stood. Tucking her book into her side bag, she scanned the great hall again, and waved to Professor Kass, reminding herself she'd have to stop by her office later or the next day to chat.

Hurrying out, Kaplan slinked up beside her, rubbing on her ankles and purring. Scratching behind his ear, she picked him up and followed Near to the Willow tree. Myra smiled to herself at the adorable little owl playing in the water. Setting Kaplan down, she grabbed a couple of owl treats from her bag, then pointed her wand at Near's camera. "Geminio!" she whispered, an exact (if useless) copy of his camera creating itself at the tip of her wand. Grabbing it, she tossed a couple treats to Chopstick, and plopped next to Naire, making clicking noises as she snapped fake pictures of him. "Hey shutterbug! How are you?" She smiled warmly at him as Kaplan immediately curled into Naire's lap, his tail lazily wrapping around his waist.

Priscilla Barsotti

She was surrounded by girls younger than herself, mostly second, third, and fourth years. They were all staring dreamily at her as she was describing her family's visit to Paris this summer. "Oh ladies, it was magnifique!" she exclaimed, sighing happily. Paris actually had been magnificent... for the first few days. Then the charm had been lost on her. It definitely wasn't one of the best places she'd ever visited. But she certainly wasn't going to say that to all these girls who were hanging on her every word.

"The Eiffel Tower was breathtaking! I mean, you've never seen anything like it, I swear," she said, a smile on her face. In truth, that had been her favorite part of the entire trip, easily. "And when I was there, I met the most handsome guy. Jean Baptiste." The girls sighed, or a small smile spread across their faces. She had them absolutely hooked. They were so easy to control. "C'était de l'amour! We spent the rest of my trip together, and he was absolutely devastated when I had to leave." Now the girls all had sad expressions on their faces.

"Did he give you is number?!"

"Are you going to keep in contact with him?"

"Will he come visit you?"

All the girls asked at once. She smiled, making it look as if she were sad. "I've tried to contact him, but he won't respond to me." They all awwww'd, and she shrugged her shoulders. In reality, Jean Baptiste hadn't been attractive at all. He'd actually followed her around whenever he saw her, and tried to ask her on a date like five billion times. He'd really creeped her out. But that wasn't exactly romantic, so she had made up her own version. And she was getting exactly the response she had expected.

"Let's not talk about it anymore, okay girls? I don't like to think about him... So, tell me about all of your summers!" They all start talking, one by one, and she kind of zoned out, although she nodded and gave all the 'yeah' and 'mmhmm' responses that she should in the appropriate spots. All of their stories bored her, but she waited until they were all finished before taking her leave. As she walked away, she heard them all taking about how they had to visit Paris. She smirked as she continued to walk down the long table.

Priscilla found Îrem sitting a little ways down the Arietem table. All she had to do was look at the first year that was sitting next to her, and the little kid got up and moved immediately. She took the vacant seat and smiled at her friend, giving her a small and quick hug. "Hey girl," she said, releasing her hold on the sixth year. And amazingly, Zackariah was sitting across from them. Life truly was good. "Zack," was all she said, acknowledging his presence and no more. A girl had to play hard to get, after all.

---

Rosina Garenne

While waiting for Micah's response, she had decided to actually eat a little more, since her stomach had settled a great deal. She had realized that she was actually really hungry. She reached for her cup and took a sip of her absolute favorite beverage... Sierra Mist. The cool bubbliness went down her throat, and she almost wanted to sigh out of happiness. Things were going to turn out just fine. She turned her eyes to Micah's once more, when another voice entered their conversation.

Oh. My. God. It was Emerson.

Her stomach preceded to have twice the amount of knots it had had before, and she thought she was going to throw up the food she just ate. Her heart began beating so fast and loud she thought that Emerson might actually be able to see it pulsing outside of her shirt. She put a hand up over her chest, as if she was preventing him of seeing just how flustered she actually was. She somehow managed to give him one quick nod as he asked if they were talking about books.

He then went on some really long speech about how awesome Micah's books were. Her brain didn't seem to register just how weird it actually was. She could only see his perfect mouth forming words. Her face just had to be the same color as a tomato, even brighter than her hair. Before she knew it, he was standing and stretching, then waved a quick goodbye to her. No, don't go... she thought, wanting to reach out for him. Yet at the same time, she was jumping up and down enthusiastically inside her head, screaming like some sort of twelve year old fangirl of Justin Bieber. He talked to me... he actually TALKED to me!

She turned back to Micah, a smile on her face, and waited for him to speak to her.

---

Finn Pollack

He watched Teiver stare at her cat intently, longer than most people look at their animals. It was actually kind of creepy. He looked around the empty stone walls, looking for something interesting to stare at instead of her and the cat. Then she spoke, seemingly to the cat, and he didn't say a word. She was acting as if he could't hear what she was saying about him, even though he was standing directly in front of her. He narrowed her eyes at her as she poked him, but she took the lead, and he followed.

His hand still gripped his wand in his pocket, prepared for any kind of spell she might cast on him. She wouldn't take him unaware, though. He'd be ready for anything. He walked behind the cat, who was right on her heels. She led him right back to the wall they had entered earlier. At least he thought it was. He was already sort of turned around in this maze of a tunnel. The cat jumped in her bag, and he didn't even register shock. It had already been quite a weird night.

Finn chuckled at her statement of him needing how to climb. What a laugh. He was one of the most athletic people in all of Magus Grex. He could probably climb better than she could. He watched her ascend for a few moments before approaching the wall and beginning to follow her up. Unfortunately, he couldn't hold on to his wand while he climbed, so he had to hope she wasn't going to curse him when she reached the landing above them. It wouldn't have been a pleasant trip back to the bottom. When she almost fell, he tucked his head against his body, letting the small pebbles hit him and then keep falling father below. "Hey! Watch what you're doing!" he complained.

He followed her exact path up, and thankfully didn't falter once. She made a hidden door appear farther up the wall, and he crawled in to it after her. He was only slightly out of breath, but he kneeled over as if he couldn't catch his breath. Probably out of instinct. "What the heck are you leading me to?" he exclaimed, looking up to meet her eyes. Now the wild ideas were coming back. If a secret entrance wasn't enough to hide whatever she had going on in this tower, he was almost afraid to find out what it was.

Teiver rolled her eyes, listening to him breathe as she finished up with the doorway. "Why, I thought I said we were going to the astronomy tower, didn't I?" She smiled sweetly at him, dropping her wand down her robe sleeve and into a hidden pocket there. "Try your best not to break a leg." She muttered at him, one hand placed on the side of the stone and looking down cautiously.

Once there was an all clear, she crouched a bit and then hopped down the fifteen feet between the opening and the stairs. She landed a bit roughly, but hey, she was a little bit out of practice. She clutched onto the railing, and Garrison immediately hopped out of her bag and stretched with a yawn. Teiver's gaze returned to the opening, waiting a few moments for Finn to decide to join them. 'Well, I suppose that wasn't too hard. At least now he's out of our little area.' The feline mrowed towards the girl, quickly ascending the stairs.

Teiver kept her hand on the railing as she followed her cat, until finally they made their way to the astronomy tower room. She smiled brightly, heading straight towards a bookshelf and sweeping her hand along the spines until she found what she was looking for. She pulled the grey book from its rest, flipped it open, and placed it into her satchel.

She then wandered towards a table and shifted through a couple of the charts.



Naire smirked, hearing his closest friend's voice. "Sorry, Chopstick doesn't take food from strangers." He then turned to her, a teasing smile on his face. He ruffled her hair. "Hey bookworm. It's been forever since I saw you, eh?" He turned back to watch Chopstick poke at the grubs Myra had dropped into the river for him. He hooted quietly, then hopped onto the riverbank, shaking out his feathers and drying himself off.

He chirped, and then flicked over onto Myra's shoulder, clutching her robes to keep balance. He blinked his large eyes, then opened his beak cheeping quietly, rubbing the top of his head against her cheek before blinking once more and gliding down onto Naire's kneecap. In the meantime, Naire was scratching Kaplan behind the ears and along the shoulder blades. "Oh nothing, just photo shoots. Hey, did you know that I got to return to Australia over the summer? It was awesome." Another faint smile was on his lips, and he continued to stroke the feline.

He leaned comfortably back against the bark of the tree, watching the sun set and the lightning bugs come out, blinking on and off and just floating around. "It's quite a nice night for our first day back. Much unlike last year when it rained almost nonstop." He chuckled, looking up at the sky.



Lloyd had only been paying half attention to the speech, her hands in a position as if she was holding the bow of her violin, she only blinked occasionally, and she had a thoughtful look on her face as she arched her arms and made smooth motions. That is, until she saw the food in front of her. She immediately abandoned what she was doing, being shocked back into reality, and tucked into her meal eagerly.

The food here was always amazing, and she had missed it dearly over the summer. Well, as much as you can miss something while not being completely distracted by violin work. She was quick to fill herself, and then quickly excused herself, wiping her mouth with a napkin, and waving to Rose quickly before disappearing out of the Great Hall.

Lloyd stretched, feeling the comfort of her food in her stomach, and then made a small skip out of the corridor and into the setting night. She held a case in her right hand, and she quickly scampered across the lawns till she was at the back corner of the castle. She smiled, the wind kicking up and ruffling her hair slightly, causing the grass to flicker and sway in the new breeze, and cause the scents of all the wildflowers around her to spark up.

She took in a deep breath, then set down her case, unlatching it and taking out her violin carefully. She attached the chin rest to the instrument, took out her bow, and then set it. Another deep breath, and she hopped on top of the large stone before her. She set her figure in the beginning position, placed her left hand at the side of the violin, and protruded her right elbow outwards. Lloyd repositioned her head, getting a more comfortable spot on her violin.

For practice, she tested out how well the bow meshed with the strings and if it slid easily. A satisfactory note emanated from the strings, and she let out a small sigh. She glanced around her, first making sure no one was watching. Another calming breath escaped Lloyd's lips, and she closed her eyes. Dorremoon had made her way after Lloyd, and sat down in the dirt, paws tucked under her chest, and focus on the girl, her tail sweeping through the terra and causing lines to appear.

Lloyd then swept the bow across the violin's strings, and began to play. The noise ran out through the air, and she hit the notes spot on. Her eyes were closed at the beginning, but she opened them, and began to let herself out, expressing her joy to be back at Magus Grex, and also what was to come. But it was also to define the hardships that would no doubt present themselves along the way. Lloyd spread out a bit, sliding from one side of the rock to the next, even so much as pivoting along one foot as she played in order to have the notes come across more smoothly.

Priscilla Barsotti

"Priscilla." It was the only response she got from Zack, but it was certainly more than enough for her. Especially when he leaned in towards her, and her breath caught in her throat. She had the urge to lean forward to meet him, and feel what it would be like to kiss his lips. But just as quickly he leaned back away from her, and she blinked a few times to clear her head. So much for playing hard to get. All he had to do was lean forward and look into her eyes, and her insides turned to mush. She would need to work on that.

“Prissy, how was your summer?” Priscilla thankfully turned her attention away from Zack and over to Îrem, her closest girl friend in the entire house. Sure, she enjoyed the younger girls who followed her around like little lost puppies, but every now and then she needed someone who was her equal. Îrem was not only her equal, but also everything she was not. She always liked to joke that they completed each other. They never really argued or felt the need to compete with each other, because they were so different. They were basically two halves of a whole, and that was why they made such great best friends. Her friend was the only one allowed to call her Prissy, and if anyone else ever tried, she would punch them in the nose.

Îrem's mixture of orange with the green of Arietem house didn't really mix well, but Priscilla kept her mouth shut for the sake of her friend. She was going to respond to her friend when Zack's voice chimed in first. "Seriously, do you both have to catch up on summer right now? Why not discuss more important things? Like Quodpot." Priscilla turned her head to give the gorgeous man an icy glare. She gave his leg a soft kick under the table, not really intending to hurt him. "Like I could even talk about that droll game for more than a few seconds. It's just atrocious."

"I'm joking, ladies. Put the claws away." She brought her hand up and curved her fingers to give the look of claws, and she gave a little hiss at Zack before chuckling along with him.

Before any other words were spoken, motion caught her eye and she turned her head to see Felix sliding down the table, and landed directly in front of her, next to Zack. She rolled her eyes plainly for him to see, smirking at him afterwards. She was disappointed when he tousled Zack's perfect blonde hair, but kept her mouth shut as he sat down. "Îrem, Priscilla. You two are both looking as lovely and noble as ever. I trust your summer's were divine. Don't tell me......Aspen? No.....Cabo? No, wait.......Paris? Somewhere expensive I would imagine. How have you all been?"

She raised an eyebrow at him, wondering if he knew exactly how close he had come. Îrem spoke first, however. Montana?! Priscilla thought, scoffing at the idea. She would never survive, of that she was sure. Farms and horses? Priscilla would take high end shopping and heels any day. She then turned her attention to Zack, who spoke about his summer. Solitude wasn't exactly her thing either, but to each their own. "I was close to putting together a pre-school party with everyone, but somehow I just couldn't force myself with the challenge to please that many people. Because you all know how I like to please." He stared directly at her with that statement, and she narrowed her eyes in response, definitely not amused by him. But she forced herself to smile, not letting him know he was getting under her skin. It was common knowledge how much he slept around, and yet he'd never even come to her with so much as a kiss. She was of the purest blood, and all these other girls were nothing.

While Zack was distracted, she spoke about her summer. "Good guess Felix, I was indeed in Paris. And it was absolutely divine. I met a boy, who spent his entire summer with me. Sadly, after I left, I figured the relationship couldn't continue. Either way, the vacation was beautiful and fabulous." She made herself sound happier than she was, hoping Zack would think she wasn't bothered at all.

She found it extremely interesting that Felix had spent the entire summer with Bliss. While she knew Bliss fairly well, the pairing seemed a little odd. She would have to investigate on that later. For now, she really felt the need to just get away. She stood up from the table, and stepped back. "If you will all excuse me..." was all she said before she took off down the hall. She made her way outside, taking in a few deep breaths. "Damn him for getting under my skin so easily..." she muttered to herself, feeling the urge to punch something. After a few more minutes of air, she quickly made her way over to the Commons Tower, spoke the password 'lordly lineage', and made her way into the Arietem Common Room. She plopped herself down on a couch, not really noticing the other bodies present.

---

Rosina Garenne

The smile had disappeared from Rose's face. It seemed as if Micah wasn't actually going to talk to her anymore. Still, the night had indeed been positive, thanks to Emerson. Whenever she thought about him, she could feel some heat come to her cheeks. He'd only talked to her a few other times in their many years, so that made it even more exciting. She did have to admit that Micah was a bit of a disappointment to her. When he'd actually made an effort to talk to her, she'd felt hopeful. Not too many guys showed an interest in her, friendly or otherwise. She knew that many girls liked to be around her because she was extremely quiet and listened to all of their problems. She didn't mind too much, friends were good to have, no matter what the other girl's intentions were.

It had to be getting late, so she mumbled something about being tired, and stood up quickly from the table, shooting away before Micah could say anything back. She took a detour from the Commons Tower to go get some fresh air in the courtyard. She was surprised to find Priscilla outside as well, without any followers or friends. Although as soon as the Arietem girl saw her, she took off. Rose found a small rock to sit on, and closed her eyes, breathing in the cool night air. "Why do feelings have to be so confusing...?" she whispered to herself, reaching her hand back to take the elastic out of her hair, letting it flow down over her shoulders. She'd practically been in love with Emerson from day one. So why did she feel so sad about Micah? It just seemed silly.

She sat outside for a little while longer, before deciding she should finally head back to the Common Room. She approached the painting that held Cervus' common room and dormitories behind it. "Plucking berries," she whispered, watching as it swung forward and she stepped through. The idea of passwords had always seemed kind of silly to her, since all the entrances were on the same floor, not far from each other. Nothing was stopping other students from overhearing. But oh well, rules were rules.

As she stepped inside, she noticed Savant and Emerson both hanging out, with a nice warm fire going in the fireplace. Feeling somehow braver than normal, she gave them both a smile and a small wave, more so towards Emerson than the other. Not feeling brave enough to speak, though, she quickly headed up the girl's dormitory steps, before coming to her landing and entering the door. She found the bed that had been hers for the previous five years, and flopped down on it gratefully. Her Siamese cat Belle hopped up onto the bed beside her, and curled up. It was empty, and she quickly changed into a comfortable pair of pajamas before climbing under the covers.

She didn't feel extremely tired yet, so she reached over to her nightstand and grabbed the book sitting on top. It was one of her favorite new series, a supernatural romance between a vampire and a werewolf. Sure, sometimes it was cheesy, but it was so lovely. She cuddled in next to her cat as she opened to about the middle, and continued where she had left off. A soft thunk sounded in the room, and she quickly walked to the window, seeing a figure standing below. She opened the window, calling down softly, 'What are you doing here?' He replied a little louder, 'I couldn't wait to see you again.' She sighed softly, a smile crossing her lips.

Her eyes looked over to the window, and she suddenly wished that someone was outside of her window, wanting to see her. Of course, no boy had ever felt that strongly for her, and she was beginning to doubt that anyone would. Everyone always told her that she was young, and love would find her when it was right. But they just didn't understand. She practically repelled boys, or was completely invisible to them. She longed to be loved. Since it wasn't happening right now, she brought her eyes back to the book, content with just reading about others' love for now.

---

Finn Pollack

"Why, I thought I said we were going to the astronomy tower, didn't I?" Teiver gave him a rather sweet yet sarcastic smile, before turning away from him. Finn snarled a little, aggravated that he had gone through all this just to get to the astronomy tower, when he could have just as easily taken the stairs. Either way, it was way too late now. He had no idea where the hell he was, and probably couldn't find it again if he tried. He knew she was hiding something up here, and would try to find it. He at least knew how to get in to her secret area, and could later explore it to his heart's content.

"Try your best not to break a leg." She spoke before jumping off the ledge. "Yeah, just watch yourself..." he muttered after she had leaped. He made his way forward, seeing her land a little roughly on the landing below. He wasn't scared of heights, but normally he had a broom underneath him from so high up. Thankfully, he was extremely athletic, and when he hopped off the ledge, he landed much more gracefully than she had. He stared back up behind him, trying to remember the location of the path. He knew he'd probably forget, but he did his best to burn it in to his memory. He just had to remember.

He followed the girl and her cat up the steps, before appearing in the very familiar astronomy tower. He just kind of stood in the doorway as she moved forward to the bookshelf, finding something and placing it in her bag. She then moved to a table with various charts on it, and began to sift through those. He watched her for a little bit, before clearing his throat and running his hand through his hair. "I have to admit, studying isn't really my thing, so I'm just going to take off. Nice hanging out with you..." he said, before turning around and making his way back down the steps.

He made his way through the castle over to the Commons Tower, where he spoke the password to the appropriate door, and headed inside to the Ferre Common Room. He muttered a few hey's and gave a few ways as the other housemates greeted him eagerly, some clapping him on the back, others exclaiming how excited they were about the upcoming Quodpot season. A few of the younger girls caught his eye, and they blushed and gave a few squeals as he passed by. It really was cute, and normally he just drank up all the admiration, but he wasn't in the mood for it right then.

Finn told them all he needed his rest for class tomorrow, which was actually probably true, though he normally didn't care. He made his way up to his dormitory, and pushed the door open. There on his bed sat a large cage with his favorite animal in the whole world inside. Tyto hooted happily when he saw his owner, and flapped his wings slightly. He walked over and unlocked the cage, letting the owl fly to the headboard of his bed and sit contently. He smoothed down the owl's feathers and smiled warmly. Felix hadn't gotten back yet, so he lounged on the bed, waiting for someone else to appear.

Teiver looked up from the mess of papers on the table before her as she heard him clear his throat. "I have to admit, studying isn't really my thing, so I'm just going to take off. Nice hanging out with you..." As he turned to leave, she had almost wanted to go over to him and stop him, which was incredibly strange, and not to mention stupid. She should just be relieved that he was finally off of her back.

So instead, she just turned back to the table, a smirk playing on her lips. "Yeah, too bad this isn't for studying." She muttered to herself, Garrison looking up at her. 'He's quite annoying, if you ask me.' Teiver rolled her eyes. "You're still in trouble. I mean seriously, what kind of cat are you? Couldn't have even warned me about him coming. You did save yourself with Herve though...." She grumbled towards the cat, rolling her eyes.

'Well, I knew you had a liking towards him, so I decided 'hey, why not?' Immediately her figure stiffened, and her cheeks warmed gently. "That's a- not true." She immediately tilted her head back down, shielding her eyes with her hair as she continued flipping through the pages. "So you decided that it'd be worth it to completely risk losing everything I've been working for for the past five years for one little encounter?" Her voice was lowered and a bit rough as she spoke.

Teiver finally found what she was looking for, holding them up to a candle to make sure. Ah, finally. Star charts for this month. Thinking leniently, she opened up the satchel at her hip, carefully rolling the papers and then fitting them in. Damn him, he successfully completely screwed me over. It's what, five minutes until curfew, and I'm here out in the open. Maybe Gar was right about just getting him out of the area. Ugh, whatever. I did get a head start on these. Once more, her gaze flickered down to the bag where she had just stored the charts.

Silently and almost in brooding, Teiver left the tower room, quickly and silently descending the steps with Garrison following her at the heels. She stopped at the bottom, taking a quick look around and seeing a few other students still talking. She basically just ignored them, making a controlled dash towards the common tower and the stairs up.

She tilted her head to the side slightly, catching sight of that Vin kid and Lyle, but she didn't give them another thought as she continued up.



“You are my absolute hero!” A chuckle escaped his lips, and he smiled softly at Myra. "Yeah, sure." However, she continued on to explain herself. "Guys make me nervous.” Naire froze, a hurt look on his face. He made a shocked gasp, over-exaggerating a slow-mo hand motion to his mouth. "You mean I make you-" He was cut off though, and he smirked with another playful smile.

"It's like I can't find my voice, does that make sense?" He shrugged, looking up as Chopstick returned to his person. "Yeah, I guess so." He flashed her a quick nod. The two then finally made their way to the Vulpes Common House Painting, and he made a theatrical bow of greeting. "We are indeed well. It's good to see you again, Didimus." The old scholar in the painting merely squinted at the two. "I'll take the first one, Myra." He leaned over to her, whispering close to her ear.

"I had plenty of time for my studying, and I came across a few new discoveries, if you'd care to hear about them." You would have expected a smile from him then, but his features remained tired and stern. "Maybe another time, Didimus. We only have a few minutes until curfew. If you would excuse the rude faux pas." The man in the painting just shrugged, nodding. His weathered hands picked up a scroll, pulling the bottom down and scanning over the riddle of the week. He cleared his throat before beginning to speak.

"Think of words ending in -GRY. Angry and hungry are two of them. There are only three words in the English language. What is the third word? The word is something that everyone uses every day. If you have listened carefully, I have already told you what it is."

Naire blinked, carefully going back over what the Scholar had said. "-GRY, huh?" He became silent as he began to think. Finally, he came up with what he thought was a suitable answer. "Isn't it-" However, he was cut off by an entirely new voice.

Teiver had finally made it up the stairs, and was quickly walking towards the group. She had overheard the riddle, and taken only a minute to piece it out while Naire was thinking. She simply walked past the two, Garrison still following after her. However, he paused to look at Kaplan, flicking his ear in greeting before refocusing on Teiver. "Language." She mumbled, slipping inside of the Common Rooms without breaking her stride.

Naire had a dumbfounded look on his face, and leaned over with his back, his index finger raised, mouth open, and his eye twitching. "Kah, I was going to say that... darnit Teiver." He grumbled, straightening back up. Teiver smirked slightly at the right tip of her lips before heading straight up to the girl's dormitory without a single word.

Naire let out an exasperated breath, and then shrugged, sweeping his arm towards the painting. "Well, after you then."