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.

---

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..."

Justin just couldn’t help himself. He was elated to be back. The so-described ruckus, well… with a bit of Transfiguration and Charms work, the lanky young wizard had set most of the unused silver and flatware at the Vulpes table to performing an impromptu rendition of the beloved Disney musical number “Be Our Guest”. Forks hopped about, weaving between the dishes heaped with food with their tined heads bobbing back and forth. Spoons and knives spun gracefully around one another, occasionally colliding with a metallic clatter then falling inert to the table as his spell-work was broken. Plates rolled on their edges, making neat turns at intervals. It was a fairly impressive display, and yes, quite noisy, but he just couldn’t help himself. Brilliant though he was, he hadn’t worked out a means to shake The Trace just yet (not for lack of trying), and an entire summer without magic had nearly done him in.

The Muggle-born students of his house seemed quite amused as he swayed in his seat, using his wand like a baton to conduct the affair as, in a terrible French accent, he sang the song. Students from wizarding families were a bit perplexed, and more than a few were rolling their eyes at his antics, but he couldn’t help smirking as he watched them try to figure out exactly what combination of effects he was using to achieve the feat. It was pretty much the only reason that the bookish-by-large Vulpes were so accepting of a reprobate like Justin; lazy and goofy as he was, he was undeniable one of the finest wizards in the House, and his skills with Charms and Transfiguration paled in comparison to his Potions work.

Throughout his little performance, he did his best to catch two particular pairs of eyes; first Emerson’s, then Felix’s. They, surely, would have appreciated his showmanship and the raucous results it had. It wasn’t long at all before Professor Hutson arrived and “politely” asked Justin to discontinue… which he did, mostly because he couldn’t remember all the words to the song anyway. Besides, he had business to conduct. He’d noticed several of his more regular customers eyeing him since they’d been seated, and since he wasn’t all that hungry, he decided to get business out of the way so he could move back to pleasure. First, he slung a quick, one-armed hung around Bliss, then shot off a quick salute to Teiver. With that accomplished, he slipped from his seat, slinking down the aisle between his table and the Arietem table after slinging his messenger bag over his narrow shoulder.

What followed looked more or less like old friends catching up; he’d clap his hand on a shoulder, or shake hands, grinning and laughing and joking like a fool. Anyone watching very closely would note that vials of various colored liquids were changing hands, along with plenty of sickles and even galleons. The Arietem were his best customers- small wonder, there. When he caught sight of Bellona, he paused for just long enough to blow her a cheeky kiss before continuing on his way. He often wondered why he hadn’t been sorted into that House; he certainly had plenty of friends there. Like most things, it didn’t bother Justin for overlong. He had much more important things to think about.

This way the year. He’d decided it that summer in a fit of loneliness. This was the year that he would finally tell Emerson Caldwell how he really felt about him. This was the year that he snuck or begged or trampled his way out of the friend-zone and into the arms of one of his oldest friends. Wearing a crooked smirk that wasn’t at all indicative of his intentions, he changed course… making his way toward the Cervus table, where his not-so-funny crush could be found.

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Vance Abernathy - Arietem House

“She’ll be finishing out her education at Beauxbatons, for the umpteenth time,” Vance drawled, his patience wearing extremely thin. His sister’s little coven was abuzz with Nevaeh’s absence, and they couldn’t quite seem to grasp a year at Magus Grex without her. They have no idea how little she thought of them. They were little more than tools, stepping stones, but even with her gone, they go through these motions, feigning how upset they are that she’s gone. “She’s lucky, frankly. The education in Europe is much better, there’s more… tradition. I’d hoped to transfer to Durmstrang myself, but… there’s something of a legacy regarding Abernathy men and this school, and I can’t blame Father too much for keeping it alive.”

He’d been rehearsing this little song and dance all summer long. It was all he could do not to grind his teeth as one of the little sycophants went on and on about how they should dedicate the first party of the year to Nevaeh, sort of as the going away party they’d never gotten to throw. Generally, that sort of party is called a wake, he thought grimly. Beneath the table, he flexed his right hand, working his thumb and fingers a bit. The craftsmanship of the mechanical replacement was goblin caliber, but he still didn’t trust it, even if the big-eared little things were renowned for this sort of thing.

As he looked across the table, slowly scanning the faces of Arietem House, he could see the way they were looking at him. The way they were sizing him up. Without Nevaeh, his stature in the school was halved or worse. They were wondering if they had what it took to unseat him and rise to the top of the social food-chain. He almost laughed aloud. It was a testament to what was left of his composure and his breeding that he managed not to. Let them have it; he wouldn’t even fight them for such an empty honor as to be the biggest fish in this dismally murky pond.

Could he actually trust them? Trust anyone? Nevaeh couldn’t have been the only student recruited for… whatever it was his grandfather and those hooded cohorts of his had been planning. There had to be others. Being at school might keep Vance safe from the adult wizards who might want him killed, but their student-pawns? Those he’d have to remove from the board by himself.

He watched his peers carefully, looking for any indications of ill-intention. Most of them smiled at him, but their eyes were unsmiling. Vance had no illusions about his status. It was built on fear and respect, not affection. Not a one of these cretins was a tenth as adept at playing the game as he was, though. Not a one of them had blood half as pure.

He was dragged into a conversation regarding this year’s Quodpot team. ”Well, Zinkley is out,” he put in quickly, almost automatically. ”We’ll have to hold a try-out to fill his spot, but otherwise, the championship roster will go untouched.”

”And who says you’re captain again this year, Abernathy? It was starting already. The querent, a brick-faced wizard of middling heritage who certainly could have beaten Vance in a Muggle-fight, was staring at him hungrily.

”Ah, no one did, that’s true…” He took that opportunity to cut his meat, revealing his dragon-skin gloved hand in full for the first time since he’d sat down. With deliberate precision, he dissected the ham he’d taken for himself into tiny pieces. The smile he directed at the other 7th year, Barstowe, yes, Barstowe, he recalled now, was absolutely pleasant… but there was murder in Vance’s eyes. ”But of course, it simply goes without saying. Do try to keep up.” He shone his smile around the table, and most of the Arietem began to laugh on cue. Outplayed and intimidated, Barstowe stared at his plate. Let them come indeed, he decided, spearing a rectangle of ham with his fork and levering it into his mouth.

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.

Teiver had kept her attention focused on each of the teachers individually, taking in the newer ones and remembering the old ones as the Headmaster spoke the same old speech which he always did. Once he finished, however, her thoughts immediately turned to elsewhere. She was going over plans for this year, and trying to remember all the corridors which she had explored over the years. She'd just have to wait and see though. Unfortunately, her plots were disrupted by Justin's abhorrent French accent.

Teiver's hands were clenched on the table, her wand out and in her hand. Who could bloody focus with that freaking racket on!? Her eye twitched and she finally called out clearly and precisely "Silencio!" The tableware continued its dance, but without its pointless chatter and screeching. She let out a sigh, rolling her eyes and returning her wand to its place on her figure. She silently picked up an apple and a piece of a turkey leg, and met Justin's eyes as he saluted her. She allowed the faintest of smiles to crack out along her features, but it soon vanished. She wasn't really hungry at all; more focused on the many areas of the castle just calling out to be explored.

Teiver had absolutely no desire to talk to anyone, and she didn't really need to. She had zero friends other than Rose, and she was perfectly fine with that. It left her more time to explore. Inside, she was smiling brightly and eagerly, and she pushed herself up from the bench, quickly turning and heading down the Great Hall and to the exit. She quietly opened the large door, and slipped out, her robes flickering for a second behind her until they too disappeared out of sight.

She smirked, letting out a loud sigh. A small creature hovered nearby, slinking along through the patches of shadow before entwining itself between the girls legs. 'Another year at Magus Grex. Let's go check on our work, shall we?' The cat merely looked up at her, and gave a small meow. "What do you mean you didn't check already, Garrison?" Her voice was quiet and a bit withdrawn, looking down at the feline with a sort of laughable glare. 'Well I wanted it to be as much as a surprise as anyone.' The girl once more rolled her eyes. "Well, we should get a move on then, huh?" She leaned down, ripping off a chunk of the turkey leg and handing it to Garrison, who, in turn, took it into his mouth and quietly chewed on it as they moved along.

After Garrison had finished off his chunk, he looked up expectantly at Teiver, who dropped a piece on the floor. 'You expect me to eat that? Off of that floor!? Revolting! I must have you know, I am a cat of standards.' Teiver chuckled, looking back down once more. "Well, if you're so hungry, why don't you just come up here and get some more of it yourself? Or I'll just drop some to you and feed you like a dolphin." The girl smiled sweetly, stooping down and picking the piece of meat off of the floor before opening a window and dropping it out for one of the ground's creatures to get to.

Afterwards, the two continued on down the main hall before veering off to the left. They stood before a wall like any of the others before Teiver brought up her wand, placing the tip three centimeters away from the stonework. "Alohomora." She whispered, watching as the stones reorganized themselves in that of a door, and Teiver opened it easily, Garrison following closely behind.

As the crowd hushed, the Headmaster started his annual opening speech in an elevated podium that looks over the whole faculty and students. Some acted bored while the first years listened with eagerness and doe-eyed looks. Personally, Bellona wouldn't care about anyone talking but she knows her manners and decided to give the Headmaster a respective attention and she was right, it doesn't usually last very long and soon hungry students attacked the food as if they haven't eaten for days. Bellona give each one of the hungry looking students a raised eyebrow, a shaking head and a judgmental look. She waited until everyone was satisfied with the pile of food on their plates. Luckily, Vance and some of her so called "friends" in Arietem were as composed as she was.

She was forking some fresh fruits on her plate when Vance gave a weary sigh and spoke, "She’ll be finishing out her education at Beauxbatons, for the umpteenth time,” Then he paused and continued, "She’s lucky, frankly. The education in Europe is much better, there’s more… tradition. I’d hoped to transfer to Durmstrang myself, but… there’s something of a legacy regarding Abernathy men and this school, and I can’t blame Father too much for keeping it alive.”

And inside her mind she couldn't help but agree. She had always dreamed of attending Hogwarts instead of Magus Rex, she would have if her parents haven't attempted to disown her when she challenged them with her decision. She couldn't quite understand why, many years have passed and they still didn't want to talk about their reasons for not wanting to move back to London.

Bellona decided to speak up for Neveah's drones have been annoying the hell out of her as well. They've been talking and asking about Neveah since she saw them again from Summer break, "Ladies, relax. Can you not properly function without Niv? Has she accidentally brought her controllers with her back in France?" She gave them a mocking smile and took a bite of her strawberry. Then all of a sudden Justin started singing and performing for the crowd, Bellona couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy when he suddenly gave her a blow of a kiss. She looked at him with disgust and turned back to the girls.

"Really girls, I'd sooner than not advice you to work on your grades rather than wallow in sorrow for Niv's decision and realization that she is better off at France than in her with you." The blonde girl who regarded herself as Neveah's "right hand" suddenly sat stiff as the others looked at her with shocked look in their faces. Only Bellona dares defy their small group of "society girls", they would let Vance or Neveah talk mockingly to them but never other people. But somehow Bellona always does. She particularly disliked Neveah's little army of whiny girls and in fact she never got along with the girl herself. Yes the Venator's and Abernathy's are particularly close but since she was in diapers, Bellona never understood the fascination of other people with Neveah. Vance is another story, she really doesn't have a problem with the guy. As long as he doesn't harm her she plans to play civil towards him. His aura is a whole lot different than that of his twin sister but she'd rather talk about with other people than her best friend, Summer

Speaking of her best friend, the short time she get to spend with her before the great feast was too short for catching up. Not that she didn't spend some time with her over the summer but because she has a lot to say to share with her regarding her family's short vacation in Rome.

"How was your summer Vance?" She felt like she needed to ask him that. It was part of what her parents taught her. "Father and Mother wanted me to send their regards for your parents. They said that it has been too long since they've invited them over for dinner. They were wondering if the three of you would be willing to have dinner at the house on my parent's anniversary. Just a small dinner." She took a sip on her goblet and suddenly the flavors of rich Italian summer filed her taste buds with tang.

And as she savored the fine taste a small thought had entered her mind, it is indeed peculiar that she hasn't seen a single shadow of Neveah's. She would often see more of the girl than Vance during breaks but this recent has been very different. She shrugged and assumed that she was indeed busy with moving to France. When suddenly almost everyone's attention was interrupted by a wild cajooling from Justin's antics. Bellona rolled her eyes and instead continued to create a conversation with the only bearable person around her, Vance.

"I believe Father and Mother would like to send their regards to your sister and grandfather as well," Bellona smiled towards Vance and spoke again. "Now if you'll excuse me. This feast has immensely made me feel bloated. I guess a little walk would do me good," The girl excused herself and stood as she smoothened her robe and smiled at everyone. A lot of other students started looking at her plate, where a few melons and a few pieces of grapes and pears and looked at her with disbelief. How could anyone get too full from eating a few bites of fruits? But of course, Bellona would rather faint than to care about their thoughts. The left overs on her plate would be an obvious sign that she'd rather walk towards Summer's table than to sit with most of them and besides Vance was getting occupied with a little rift with another student about Quadpot. They can save their drama on their own. "I'll see you later at the Common Room. I have something to give you." She softly told Vance and tapped his shoulder. She turned and proceeded.

Bellona spun around and almost crashed into Justin. Luckily, Bellona's reflexes are as quick as that of Fidus', her pet fox. "Oh goodness, what would Magus Rex allow next time? Circus performers?" With a cold and crude voice, she made herself clear enough for Justin to hear and walked away.

Her newly bought shoes clacked on the marble floor as she sashayed with grace across the Great Hall. She eyed Summer's seat as she directly approach her from behind. When she was at near her best friend she spoke up, "Save me!" She sarcastically whined as she grabbed a piece of chicken strips from the girl's plate. "Seriously, how come your food is some much better than our's?" She chewed and grabbed another. Summer would know she was just being silly, foods that were served are all and the same in every house.





Savant let his gaze wander as the students, old and new alike, started filling their plates. He was always looking forward to his days inside Magus Rex even if he misses his family. One of the reasons why is the food, the comfortable beds and the reality that he is a wizard.

His attention was first caught by Summer Turner, the girl was indeed fascinating to look at. He should remember to ask her out for a pizza one time, one could never know what the friendship might lead to. Next was Georgie, the girl had fire inside her or so Savant usually portrays her in his sketches. And as he turned his head around his eyes landed on Teiver and most especially on her eyes, a nice hot cup of cocoa with her would probably be nice as well. He should remember that.

He was still scanning the Great Hall for a few familiar faces when Justin started singing and making tricks with his wand. Savant snickered and quickly glanced at the Faculty table and wondered what they would make Justin do this time.

He was still laughing from watching Justin's little show when saw the girl from Arietem stand up and walk across the Great Hall and towards their table as she sneeked behind Summer and stole some of her food. Sav never understood how a girl like Summer had managed to have a strong bond with a girl like Bellona. If his friend's name felt all crisp and warm, Bellona would soon freeze everything in her path in an instant. Maybe they were able to balance each other's personality. Sav shrugged and dug on his own plate. He was chewing on his pasta when he turned to two of his good friends in the same house, Emerson and Micah, and asked, "do you guys think of Bellona?" He asked curiously. "I mean how does a girl like Summer manages to put up with her? I'm not saying she's evil but Summer and Ice Queen?" He rarely asks about other people's business but the idea kind of bugged him.

And as soon as he was about to ask his friends a few more questions he heard a few other students arguing and betting about the year's Quadpot Tournament. "Oh shoot, I just remembered do any of you guys want to try out for the Quadpot team this year?". He looked at his friends with high hopes that at least one of them would join him.

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.

Vance Abernathy – Arietem House

A cruel smile curled to life on his lips. Dear Bellona. If there was any girl who might have a chance at taking his sister’s place in the hierarchy, it would be her… but perhaps next year, or the year after. She played the game well, it was true; she was a Venator, after all. No doubt her family dinners were just as laden with verbal land-mines as his. She had the ambition, as well. The killer-instinct. The only thing she was missing was Nevaeh’s raw power, but that would come with another year of lessons. He’d seen the girl’s prowess on the archery range, though. Something of a wild card, more useful for threats than anything else, and unspoken ones at that. Arrow wounds would be awfully conspicuous, and he knew the girl was smarter than that.

That was more or less what went through his head as she went through the niceties. He wanted to stand up and applaud after she excoriated the brainless girls who were bemoaning Nevaeh’s absence, but instead he just smiled sympathetically to the gaggle of females while he continued chewing his ham. There had to be a reason that Nevaeh hadn’t inducted Bellona into her little circle. Perhaps she was part of the larger scheme, and so they kept their distance to throw off suspicion? It was cunning enough, certainly, to stink of his sister… but he was being paranoid, rather than cautious, he realized. It wouldn’t do to dismiss a potential ally, not this early in the game.

He didn’t really even have to listen to her to know what she’d said. He got the gist of it, and nodded demurely. ”Of course, I’ll send an owl to Mother tomorrow morning. I’m sure she’d love to attend, and I do so enjoy your father’s way with anecdotes.” That, believe it or not, was true. ”We’ll certainly pass along your family’s goodwill,” he added, reaching for his goblet and taking a long draught of the water he’d decided on.

Then she was saying something about feeling bloated. That coarseness, that was what kept her from rising more quickly. She could trade barbs with the best of them, but then she went and said things like that. It was just uncouth, more befitting a Cervus Mudblood than a proud daughter of Arietem. His smile thinned to blandness, and he nodded. The mention of a gift whispered in his ear caused one of his eyebrows to arch, just so, but he only nodded vaguely in response as she set off. He watched her go, following her movements, and restrained himself from shaking his head when he noted where she was headed. Yes, the girl would definitely need a bit of polish… but then again, perhaps she had no interest in the top of the pecking order.

”If you’ll excuse me, everyone, I’m going to speak to Professor Chambers about the try-outs. I’d like to have this settle befored the end of the day tomorrow.” In spite of asking to be excused, he was already rising, his robes fluttering a bit as he left his napkin on his plate. He turned neatly and strode toward the teachers’ dais, bound for Arietem’s Head of House. He came around behind the table, leaning to whisper to the man… no doubt, plenty of students would be interested to learn what of. Markum Chamber’s favoritism was no secret, and the Abernathy’s were an old and wealthy family. No doubt, it would portend no good to most to see the two of them conversing. Whatever they were speaking of, they seemed friendly enough. He paid a quick visit to Oscar Hughes, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, as well. Their conversation was shorter, terser, and anything but friendly. The man gestured vaguely toward the Ferre table, and Vance seemed to bristle before he bowed lightly and took his leave…

Heading toward the Ferre table.

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.

Emerson's smile was broad and unwavering, he looked around the Great Hall, elated to be back for another year at Magus Grex. He sat himself at the Cervus table across from Micah and next to Savant, his closest housemates. The feast was glorious and he was starving but waited respectfully through the address , knowing it would be a short one. As always, the close was short and unceremonious, Emerson tore into the food grabbing as much as he could from every plate near by.

This was his favorite time of year and not just because of the feast but because he got to see all his friends together after months apart, well mostly. He spent almost the whole Summer with Micah at a Quodpot field outside of the city or lazing about with whomever he could, even some old Muggle friends. The break was a ton of fun but he was happy to be back and had decided that this was going to be the best year yet. O.W.L.s were done with and N.E.W.T.s were still far away, so this was the last year he could goof off and enjoy being an adult, which would happen in just a few months but without really having to worry about the real world. Also, Emerson just knew the Quodpot team would be amazing this year, they had some really strong seventh years that could definitely carry the team to victory, despite what the other houses thought.

With musings of the championship and the intensity of his eating he nearly missed the clamor of plates and silverware going on behind him. He didn't even have to turn around to know who it was, but he did anyway and laughed heartily at Justin's intricate display. His friend's terrible singing and charmed utensils kept his attention and when their eyes met he gave a big smile and a wave then turned around as Professor Hutson put an end to the show.

The room moved around him, people got up to say hello to friends, Micah struck up some conversation with Rosina but Emerson did not waste the occasion to eat almost everything in sight, but he would be interrupted over and over again. He tore at a piece of chicken, dipped it in something and was happily chewing eyeing when Savant spoke, something about bologna and deciding to acknowledge his friend followed Sav's gaze and found Bellona and Summer. He drank from his goblet, then swallowed but the girls in question had already arrived at the table. He was no longer confused by the question and figured out pretty quickly why Sav cared who Summer talked to the way they gazed at each other. Their visit was brief and Emerson had begun eating again when Micah spoke first. With his mouth a but full, he agreed, “ Yeah, and maybe it's some kind of opposites attract deal, ya know, yin and yang.” He made fluid motions with his hands to illustrate the deities of balance. He couldn't stand all this unspoken love stuff, the stolen glances, the uncomfortable conversations, all the soft advancements that were never acted upon. He was glad for his friend but plucking petals off of daisies was never much fun.

The next question, however; got his full attention, he even swallowed before speaking, “Oh, I'll be on the team! You don't have to worry about me being there.” He looked at Savant now, ecstatically “ Are you trying out? Sav, you've got to try out, you'd be great!” he shouted “ And just think of how the girls'll swoon when they see you on the pitch, half the stadium will be out cold!” He threw his hand to his forehead, gave a high pitch sigh then slumped backwards almost all the way to the marble. He chuckled, and from his upside-down vantage he saw Justin walking towards the table, he grinned then struggled to get up. He looked again at Justin, right-side-up he could see the look on his face, a look that Emerson knew all to well. Justin may have been much smarter and could easily fool anyone with his expressions, but this one was a give away. There was no subtle gazing or daisy plucking, this was the face of determination, determination to throw one wild pants party that Emerson didn't want an invitation to. When would Justin understand that he just wanted to be friends, no benefits. If he weren't so terrified of the complexity of romantic involvement he'd prefer one to be more intimate than what Justin always seemed to propose.

Justin loped on up to the Cervus table, still very much grinning that grin of his. He might have had a bit of a blind-spot, so far as Emerson was concerned, when it came to his powers of mental dissection, but he could read the slight change in the other boy’s eye easily enough. He’d seen it a hundred times before, probably more. It was the way he reacted to inevitably being hit on, this slight contraction of his very being that was easy to miss.

”Hot guy,”, he greeted Micah with an upnod. He repeated the upnod in Savant’s direction. ”Other hot guy.” His hand delved into his messenger bag, and he extracted a bouquet, which he offered to Emerson.”M&M.”* No, not flowers; that was a bit too conventional for his tastes. Bunched up in his hand were somewhere in the vicinity of two-dozen popsicle sticks, sans popsicle. Half of the cheap would was discolored, faint red or purple or orange, but there were little words printed on them. During the summer month, Justin’s younger siblings went through frozen treats like Kleenex, and he’d managed to scavenge together and clean up some of the better cast-offs. See, each stick had a joke on it, the punch-line to which was only revealed once the popsicle had been removed. He figured Em would get a kick out of them (they were just the sort of terrible pun-driven bits of humor he delighted in), and this sentimental, sweet gesture was only the first step in his as-of-yet-undetermined-number-of-phases plan to win the Quodpot jockey’s big ole’ heart.

He was watching his friend’s reaction carefully as he casually folded his scrawny arms across his chest and regarded the three of them in a more general sense. ”How was everyone’s summer? Mine was awful, but then, they always are. Did you hear that Nevaeh Abernathy went to Beauxbatons?” His grin got even wider and goofier, a touch scandalous. Knowing just about everyone and many of their secrets meant that Justin was usually pretty on top of the school’s gossip grapevine, and he had just paid a visit to the Arietem table, where it was all anyone could seem to talk about. ”Oh, I almost forgot.”

He reached into his bag of tricks again, withdrawing three small vials of brown liquid. With somewhat frightening dexterity, he tossed them in quick succession, one to Micah, one to Savant, and then one to Emerson. ”New merchandise. Put three drops of that in anything besides milk or orange soda, and it’ll look and taste just like butterbeer, but… decidedly more potent." He wasn’t quite sure why orange soda was exempt, but, that was magic. ”Try it out, share it around, you know the drill.” Then he remembered something. ”Only three drops. Not four, unless you want some gnarly mutton chops. They only last a couple days, but, not everyone can pull them off.” He peered at Micah, canting his head a bit. ”You probably could, actually.”

He’d lost his train of thought, imagining Micah with gnarly mutton chops. He tapped one of his long index fingers on his chin. ”Where was I? Oh, yeah. Tentative name is ‘Betterbeer’.” He shrugged. ”But yeah, I just wanted to say hi and drop off presents. I’ll let you guys get back to your testosterone-fest.” This was crucial to his plan. Do something nice, something sweet, then disappear so that Emerson could reflect on how nice and sweet it was before Justin had the chance to slip up and say something perverted.

*Note: it’s worthwhile to mention that Justin’s favorite nickname for Emerson (a play on the common truncation “Em”) is best not spelled out phonetically in order to avoid confusion. Justin associates Emerson with the brightly colored candy, tough on the outside but sweet on the inside produced by Mars, Inc., not the American recording artist Marshall Mathers.

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.

Before even Bellona could refuse her best friend, Summer had dragged her all the way towards the table where the three boys were eating and talking. She remained quiet and just stared as Summer said her hi's and hello's but what caught her attention is the way her best friend locked stares with the quiet boy they called Savant. A little curious yet mischievous smile crept across her face. And before she knew it, Summer was dragging her away yet again.

The gardens are most likely full with students trying to catch up with summer stories with their friends who wanted a more peaceful place to talk than the Great Hall. Neither of them can go to each others House Common Room. "Where do you suppose can we-" Bellona was about to ask her friend when she paused and came up with an idea. She shut her mouth and held Summer's hand this time and lead the way. She went straight for the grand stairs but if some of the students would usually take the stairs going up she lead Summer towards the steps that went to the lower grounds, turned left on the first hall and then another left on a lower area. She exited an archway and they were welcomed by the cold wind and darkness only lit by a few torches rounding the archery field. This was her usual haven, most people would rush towards the Quadpot arena, either playing, practicing or girls drooling over the players while she targets the bulls eye with a sharp arrow.

She approached the stone bench supported by two small looking gargoyles that was probably made to scare most people but not Bellona. They were like her personal stone soldiers who kept her company. Most students would joke that she is as cold and expressionless as the stone figures but she knows she scares a lot of them as well. And that was Bellona's intention, she was never the social one it was always Summer who would talk to anyone and instantly become friends with them.

Privacy was a big thing for her, especially now. She was about to tell something to Summer but she guessed it can wait, but somehow she could feel the letter deep in her uniform pocket as if it was burning a hole.

As soon as her bum got comfortable on the cold slab, she let Summer take a seat and blurted, "I thought you liked Felix?!" She gave her a curious look and continued, "So why were giving Savant googly eyes earlier?" Summer unintentionally revealed her crush on Felix before she left for Rome.



Just as Savant was asking his friends about the two girls, the subjects of their conversation approached their seats. He grew silent and looked at Bellona then at Summer. But he was soon in an exchange of gaze look with the latter. He smiled and gave her a small nod, acknowledging her presence. Summer was the first one to break the stare and gave his friend a kiss on the head and was gone as fast as she came.

He knew he had to move fast and build up on that courage to ask her out- soon. Just then Micah spoke and interrupted his thoughts, "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."

Soft hearted, Savant thought.

Just then Micah directed his words towards Emerson."Well of course we'll be playing this year. At least I will be, I'm assuming you still plan on it, too?"

To which Emerson replied to, “Oh, I'll be on the team! You don't have to worry about me being there.” Savant was glad his friends were on the same rock as he is. Emerson then looked at Savant now, ecstatically “Are you trying out? Sav, you've got to try out, you'd be great!” he shouted “ And just think of how the girls'll swoon when they see you on the pitch, half the stadium will be out cold!”

Sav chuckled and shook his head, but it was true. Somehow some girls (or probably just one dedicated girl) had the habit of leaving Chocolate Frogs on his locker or desk often times. Some even have a poem or letter attached to it. But he didn't dare eat of any it, not that he was a snob or asshole he just didn't want to risk getting affected by probable love potions. He knew the effects are undesirable and silly.

"Yeah, I gave the thing a little thought over the summer as I was packing some grocery items," He then spooned some mashed potatoes and stuffed it inside his mouth and spoke with full mouth. "Any idea when the try outs will be and at what time? You guys have to give me tips, i don't think I know too much," He sipped his juice when Justin approached their table.

He each gave a supposedly praise on Micah and him but regarded Emerson with his own personal nickname. He almost choked on his drink when Justin blurted his pet name towards Emerson. He liked the guy for his humor even if sometimes it can be too much.

”How was everyone’s summer? Mine was awful, but then, they always are. Did you hear that Nevaeh Abernathy went to Beauxbatons?” Justin asked as he handed them a bunch of popsicle looking things.

"Muggle stuff," He mumbled as he continued to eat still thinking if he should care about Neveah's transferring. Maybe he should just be glad that the school had gotten rid of one Abernathy and now he just have to deal with just one. Somehow he wished that both of them had moved to another school and Magus Rex would be so much better.

”Oh, I almost forgot.” Justin then revealed something else. He explained his Betterbeer as Savant continued to eat and soon bid them his own personal of goodbye.

He returned his attention back to his friends as his stomach feasted on food.

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?"

Emerson Caldwell


With a low sigh he redirected his attention to Savant and said, “ I think try outs are in a week or so, maybe two, but yeah, until whenever that is we can go down to the pitch and toss it around, maybe go over some of the techniques, and see if we can get you at all used to the whole explosion in your arms thing.” Just as he finished, Justin had reached the table. He turned around and smirked at the way he addressed them, even at the goofy term of endearment he was given.

The little wooden sticks seemed like an unusual gift and a decidedly sober one, that is until he inspected more closely. He remembered these from Muggle school and lit up immediately. His teeth and head once ached from devouring the frozen treat to uncover the punchline at the end of the stick. He shuffled through them, with his grin spanning from ear to ear. He tried not to read them, not wanting to cause a scene but he also wanted to save as many for later as possible. He didn't want to say that this was the greatest gift he'd ever received but it was very thoughtful. He gave Justin an enthusiastic thanks and tried not to let his face give away just how excited he was.

Emerson didn't care much for gossip, this portion of the table as a whole probably didn't care at all that someone changed schools and all the social implications, but he responded anyway.

“That's interesting, I never really knew her though, she was kind of shady anyway,” he said so passively so that the comment didn't go wasted.

What Justin did next was expected, always peddling his ingenious concoctions but just like Savant he was wary to try out a gift from an admirer, even though a dazed and cuddly infatuation probably wasn't
what Justin was interested in. He chuckled at the thought of half the school sporting some hardy chops and more still at Micah's already unchecked facial hair.

Just like that Justin was gone and Emerson bid his goodbye, he'd really enjoyed the gifts but he couldn't help wondering why he ran off so quickly. He hardly said anything and certainly avoided saying anything perverse or suggestive. He had no time to be suspicious as too much food rested uneaten on his plate.

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.

Justin Hardy – Vulpes House

And just like that, the lanky prodigy was off. He snatched an apple off the Cervus table as he strode away. He’d been about to swing by and tease Felix about a few rumors he’d heard, which had been basically confirmed by sneaking a few glances at him and Bliss, but he changed course and headed out of the hall when he spotted Vance Abernathy, of all people, moving toward his friend. He was in too good a mood to deal with the likes of Vance, even if it was tempting to razz him about his sister’s absence. Vance was a douche-nozzle of the first order, but Nevaeh… well, even Justin was leery enough of her to steer clear.

He remembered distinctly when, last year, she’d been caught in the crossfire of a minor prank war he’d been having with a third-year Arietem. He’d been on his way to class when she’d practically materialized in front of him, jabbed her wand into his crotch, and then smiled and politely asked him to refrain from any further pranks involving the Arietem common room. Any other time, Justin might have quipped something snarky in that situation, but every instinct he had told him that the girl was perfectly capable of unleashing a hex on his favorite body part, and not an elementary one. He’d nodded tersely then bolted instead.

”Good riddance,” he murmured darkly, shaking off the memory. He was in the corridors now, already en route to his destination in spite of the distraction. He couldn’t help but continue musing about the ramifications of her absence. Out from under Nevaeh’s shadow, maybe Vance would develop a soul. The odds were low, he decided, but it was possible, even if only for the fact that he didn’t have one of the school’s most capable witches in his corner anymore.

He cut an abrupt turn down a seldom used hallway that led to the Astronomy tower. Justin had been extremely discriminating when choosing the location of his preferred secret room. He knew the castle about as well as anyone, and so he knew that there were quite a few more exotically hidden areas, but most of those had rumors attached to them, and it was common for third- and fourth- years to hunting for them as a matter of course.

That wouldn’t do, for Justin. He had too much staked in his little laboratory to have some unwary kid stumbling in, never mind the danger involved. No, his hideaway was right on the way to a class, albeit one of the least taken classes in the curriculum after Arithmancy and Divination. He’d worked out an independent study of sorts with Professor Applebome when the prospect of actually climbing up to the observatory proved more than Justin could handle (he’d tried, and wound up having a crippling panic attack every time), so he actually had reason to be here every so often. It was perfect.

He drew his wand when he reached his destination, flicking his wrist artfully. The common lock on the door responded with a click, and after one last cautious look over his shoulder, he swung the door open and stepped in.

It wasn’t more than a large closet, and it was positively teeming with junk. There were stacks of out of date textbooks, star charts, models of the solar system, broken-down telescopes, and even more exotic star-gazing paraphernalia stowed away inside, so disheveled and stacked high that the room was basically full, a precarious tower of odds and ends that for some reason, Applebome couldn’t bring himself to clean out.

He locked the door behind him with another flick of his wrist, and then performed yet another silent spell, this one a bit more elaborate in the wand-work. Seemingly of their own accord, the massive pile of equipment began to silently sort itself out into neat stacks against the walls, revealing the floor beneath. He rapped his knuckles thrice on a small, filthy, circular rug, and then pulled it up. A section of the floor came up with it, revealing a tightly spaced stairwell that spiraled downward. Without the knock, the rug would simply come up if pulled, leaving the floor intact and the entrance to the lower reaches of the tower unmolested.

It was perfect because of how poorly defended it was. In the magical world, one used magic to guard valuables or secrets. All that stood between the students and teachers of Magus Grex and Justin’s private retreat was a single locked door, a tower of crap, and an admittedly clever hidden trapdoor… but that simplicity was exactly what he counted on.

He drew a deep breath as he prepared to descend. Even though he knew it wasn’t very many steps down, he always got a little uneasy on the stairs. In the darkness, it felt a lot longer than it was. He lit his wand, and then went down far enough to close the trapdoor above him. It sealed perfectly, and he undid the spell that had organized the junk, causing it to slowly and quietly resolve itself into impossible clutter once more.

After that, there was nowhere left to go but down.

Vance Abernathy – Arietem House

The Arietem drew to a stop when Felix came out to meet him. He didn’t bother commenting on the convenience of that. No doubt, he thought to protect his little housemates from whatever unkindness he imagined Vance intended to inflict upon them. A gracious smile bowed his lips almost automatically as he looked down at the other seventh year. Vance clasped his hands neatly behind his back, glancing askance quickly. They were far enough from the table to have the degree of privacy this conversation required.

”According to Professor Hughes, you can.” He canted his head back toward the dais. Let Fletcher infer what he likes about what was said, he decided. It could very well be that the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher’s gesturing this way would substantiate what he was about to propose enough that the other teen might actually agree.

There was no love lost between the two of them, that was certain. Nevaeh had always been a bit wary of Felix Fletcher, but Vance had no such feeling. The boy was a self-righteous nuisance, little more, the prototypical Ferre who couldn’t help but stand tall in the face of adversity. Vance hardly had to lift a finger when it came to Fletcher; the staff usually took care of that, when one of his “outbursts” became tangible enough to warrant attention.

He was banking on two things. Firstly, that a humble request would be hard for a noble Ferre to deny. Secondly, that Felix would immediately find his motives suspect, and his curiosity would lead him to see it through. At the very worst, he’d simply rebuke Vance and then make claims that would be astonishingly easy to deny. No one in their right mind would ever believe that Vance Abernathy had gone to Felix Fletcher for help.

”You see,” he continued after the slightest of pauses. ”My future somewhat hinges on obtaining an ‘Outstanding’ on my Defense Against the Dark Arts N.E.W.T., and my own feelings on that subject are that the best defense is a good offense. It works very well in application, but Father assures me it will not hold up for a theoretical examination.” Vance was prone to getting a bit lecture-y, and had the presence that he was seldom interrupted, so he just plowed right along. ”I’d asked Professor Hughes if he had time to work in some extra lessons, and he instead suggested that you, his most promising student, might be willing to provide a bit of tutoring.” A pause, there, to let the full nature of his request sink in.

Fletcher didn’t need to know the truth of the matter. Vance hardly believed that the anti-authoritarian do-gooder could ever be part of the conspiracy his sister had been involved with, but that didn’t mean he was bringing him into the fold. No, he certainly didn’t need to tell him that the real reason he wanted to brush up on Defense was the fact that he expected to find himself the target of the Dark Arts before the year was out. He couldn’t tell Hughes that, either. That man was the least trust-worthy being in the entire school.

He needed to sweeten the pot, he knew, and act enough like himself that Fletcher wouldn’t be inclined to question his motives too much. In an almost bored tone, he continued. ”I can compensate you for your time, of course, in gold, though I imagine you’d prefer a more creative… payment… which I would be willing to comply with provided it not involve letting anyone else know about this arrangement.” Something in Vance’s expression changed; his lips became a competitive little smirk, and his eyes held an unspoken challenge. ”I wasn’t going to ask you, even with Professor Hughes' recommendation, but then I realized something.” Another perfect pause followed. ”In the very least, I know you won’t hold back against me.”

His smirk exacerbated into a somewhat disturbing grin. "And I wouldn't want you to hold back."

Summer had seemed to be caught in the pull of her best friend as they rounded corner after corner, leading to a destination she felt unnecessary to try and remember. As they walked Summer had a flash of the incident that happened right before Bliss and herself even stepped into the school, she recalled how troubled Bliss seemed to think that this would be her last year at Magus Grex. That this was the end of something in her life. Summer, who was always known for comforting her sister, found herself wanting to let her sister soak in this pain. The realization that next year she would be a true witch, who would no longer have the advantage of having a lot of friends in school. She would have to start over. She would have to find her own friends again. This had given Summer a little satisfaction knowing that Bliss would have no one, but as soon as the dark started feeling her, light began to take over once more. This was resulted with Summer wrapping her sister up in a tight hug as she reassured her that this wasn't all that bad. Why am I always so nice? She had asked herself several times as the two sisters seperated.

Summer came back to the present when she caught site of where Bellona had actually led them to. This was one of Bellona's favorite spots to just talk in privacy, and right now that is what Summer wanted more than anything; privacy. She let her hands find a step, so she could bring herself down to the cold stone. Her body gave a slight shiver before settling into her spot. She was just about to speak when her friend took the initiative to start the conversation fast. Diving into a subject that Summer had mostly conversed with herself about, and that was the summer filled with Felix. I thought you liked Felix..why were you giving Savant googly eyes? The statements both seemed to run together in Summer's mind as she tried to figure out where to start. She of course needed to go back to the day they ran into Felix.

"Okay, get ready for a very long summarized version of my terrible summer." She looked at her hands, thinking of how it all actually happened and then she began. "No questions until I finish." She knew her friend would probably not listen to that, but she still voiced what she'd like to happen. "So.. Bliss had somehow talked me into going into town for this festival of some sort. I had begged her to just go to the shore with my dad for the day to fish, but for some reason she said she felt like the festival would bring us closer." She felt her hands clench before she caught the anger building inside her. "You know how Bliss is.. Once she has her mind set, she isn't going to let you get out of it. Well, anyways.. We ended up going to the festival which I think was about the boats that had docked at the bay.. I'm not real sure. I try to block this whole day out, honesty. So Bliss has just spotted this beautiful dress that she insist on getting for me.. I'm not going to deny gifts!" Summer said laughing a little at the idea of her denial and what would have happened if she would have stayed by her sister's side.

She looked at Bellona to make sure she was still keeping up, with a smile towards her friend she continued. "I of course had to go try on the dress, and I swear I was maybe gone for five minutes.. When I came out, there he was.. Felix." She leaned back on the upper step, letting her hair fall across it. "I sweat! He was just standing there talking to Bliss like they had been friends forever. I wanted to freak because I thought Bliss will totally get me the hook up. Because at this point in time, I still hadn't told anyone but you about the huge crush I've had on him.. But I have mentioned his name a lot in conversation with her, so I thought her sister instincts would tell her something of the way I felt about him." She took a short break before continuing. "I was so wrong." She gritted her teeth through this remark. "When I came up, they were exchanging numbers and giggling like a bunch of little kids. Bliss just kept laughing and smiling, not even noticing me. Felix was the one that noticed me, and it was like he saw right through me. It was like he wanted to be nice, but give my sister as much attention as possible.. Which I know I'm probably exaggerating what happened.. But it felt awful. I was then drug along for every little day they saw each other. From going to the peer, to racing go-carts, to just getting ice cream.. It was awful seeing them together like that."

She bit her lip a little too hard, as she had to run the pain out with her finger. "And it was maybe a week ago when he had to go back down to his place.. So I've had to deal with the two of them just bonding all summer! So yeah, that's why I can't even think about being with Felix now.. He's probably having sex with Bliss." She made a gag face before she thought of Bellona's second question. "Savant has always been my type. I was just so caught up with Felix.." She gave a smirk before allowing her friend to catch up on the whole conversation. "Now throw all of your questions at me. I'm ready!" She laughed as she spun towards her friend, tucking a leg beneath her.

Gwen

Gwen sat at her house table listening to the headmaster's short, boring, and vindictive speech. I mean she was trying not to yawn! Once the old man had sat down and some form of food had finally apeared in front of her she breathed a sigh of relief. The reason she was here. Magnus Grex made some of the best food wizarding and muggle. Then she heard someone make a comment to Vance about Navaeh. He said something about her going to Beauxbatons. It didn't make much sense to Gwen so she made a note to ask her father what he knew later. Drunken woman spill all their secrets.

A drop of candle wax fell on her hand as she reached out into the center of the table for a piece of bread. She let out a small gasp as the hot wax burnt her skin. She pulled it back towards her body and dug some ice out of her glass and wrapped it around her hand. As dinner went by she started to ignore the things going on around her such as the dancing plates and Bellona leaving and more on her hand. It was starting to throb.

The moment dinner was over she stared to rush out of the Great Hall weaving through people half hearing conversations. Something about Defense Against the Dark Arts between Vance and Felix and a boy between Bellona and Summer. But she wasn't paying attention just rushing to the hospital wing for anything. Anything to numb the pain in her hand.

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.

Micah Jeffers

Micah laughed at Emerson's pretty accurate imitation of girls swooning over Savant. "You really should definitely try out," he told Savant. "I'll help you out however I can."

Just then, Justin came over, handing a popsicle stick bouquet to Emerson. Micah smiled and shook his head. You had to give him credit for his determination. He gave little thought to the comment about Nevaeh Abernathy, as he didn't really even personally know the who who had practically been the queen of the Arietem house. He gladly accepted the vial Justin tossed his way, interested in how this potion worked. Betterbeer, he had called it. And definitely three just three drops, not four, even if he could pull off the "gnarly mutton chops" look. He attempted committing it to memory. Three drops, not four... Three, not four... Three, not--

His attention broke off there, even before Justin had left them, and he began looking around at his other housemates catching up with each other. Then he notice Rose sitting ever so quietly beside him still and wanted to hit himself. She probably thought he was completely blowing her off after having started a conversation with her just to turn right around and get into talk of Quodpot and the Summer/Bellona friendship and Betterbeer with the guys.

"I'm sorry about that, Rose," Micah said to her, sheepishly. "I don't have the best attention span in the world." His AD/HD was a long-time source of embarrassment to him since his diagnosis in elementary school, and he had found it easier to play it off like he just didn't care to focus on things rather than he couldn't. In this case, however, he definitely didn't want Rose to think he simply didn't care to pay attention to her. "Where were we?" he asked her. "Books, right?"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Braelyn Tanner

Braelyn watched the playful exchange between Bliss and Felix, completely not buying the whole "friends" nonsense that Bliss had mentioned, but satisfied for now knowing that they would be talking about it in more detail later. She laughed at Felix's comment about Finn leaving him alone with two beautiful ladies, but was disappointed that he had up and left so quickly. Brae couldn't help but wonder what had caught his attention and made him leave like that.

"Alright, courtyard it is," she said to Bliss. "See you later, Felix. Have fun with.. whatever that is," she nodded towards Vance heading their way. She grabbed Bliss's hand and headed for the door, waving over at Georgie. "We'll see you out there, okay?" she called to her.

As soon as they reached the courtyard, where some people had already gathered in small groups here and there, Braelyn led Bliss to a bench in a relatively quiet spot. "Arlight," she said, smiling and placing a hand on her hip. "Talk."

Vance's response to Felix's question was honestly unexpected. "According to Professor Hughes, you can." He canted his head back toward the dais. Felix simply raised an eyebrow in confusion. What the hell did that mean? Vance's face was entirely to smug and sure of himself to be asking him for help with something. The pause shared between only strengthened Felix's gut feeling that something was wrong. "You see," he continued after the slightest of pauses. "My future somewhat hinges on obtaining an ‘Outstanding’ on my Defense Against the Dark Arts N.E.W.T., and my own feelings on that subject are that the best defense is a good offense. It works very well in application, but Father assures me it will not hold up for a theoretical examination." Wow......did he rehearse this? This sounds rehearsed......and acted. I don't think Ive ever remembered a time where Vance had sounded genuine and calm at the same time....and now was certainly no exception. He continued. "I’d asked Professor Hughes if he had time to work in some extra lessons, and he instead suggested that you, his most promising student, might be willing to provide a bit of tutoring." Normally that wouldn't be surprising, Hughes had dumped a lot of kids on him. He never really seemed to have time for.......anyone. Except him......on odd occasions, when he would make Felix regulate the Dueling club and duel him in the classroom. He was.......freaking creepy, but there was something about him.....anyways. Normally, Felix wouldn't find this odd....except for the fact that Vance had agreed to it.

Felix looked around, arms crossed and eyebrows up. As if he were expecting a consultant to come out and explain in further detail what was going on. He then looked at him. "........And?" Oddly enough.......it seemed Abernathy switched tactics. NOW he sounded bored and a little embarrassed at what he was offering......that made Felix even more suspicious. "I can compensate you for your time, of course, in gold, though I imagine you’d prefer a more creative… payment… which I would be willing to comply with provided it not involve letting anyone else know about this arrangement.” Something in Vance’s expression changed; his lips became a competitive little smirk, and his eyes held an unspoken challenge. Here it comes. ”I wasn’t going to ask you, even with Professor Hughes' recommendation, but then I realized something.” Another perfect pause followed. His tech rehearsal must have been a bitch. "In the very least, I know you won’t hold back against me." He then gave an incredibly evil grin that would make even Snidely Whiplash shiver. "And I wouldn't want you to hold back." ................huh.

Felix looked hard at him with suspicion in his eyes. His eyebrow slowly raised, then he spoke. "........No." His face then turned casual and he spun around and sat down on a random bench at one of the tables. He reached back and grabbed an apple and began to much on it. Vance just sort of stared at him. "I said no." he said to him as if he were an idiot. "I know you'd love to have the best in the school, but, unfortunately, you'll have to settle for second nest." He said dripping with his usual tone. He then dawned a very smug grin. "What's that old Arietem saying?......oh yeah. Second place is just the first loser." He smiled directly at Vance, almost daring him to make a comment. "Speaking of second best, why don't you just ask your sister?" He asked, looking inquisitive and taking a bite of his apple. He swallowed. "I mean, the way families who are in the 1% seem to work, it stands to reason that she wouldn't hold back either." He took another casual bite, then spoke again. Not letting Vance get a word in. It looked like a light bulb had lit over Felix's head. "That's right, I heard she's in Beauxbatons, finishing her last year there." He leaned back on the table and spread his legs wide, putting himself in a very poor posture, a grin of self-satisfaction still on his face. The closest students to him were at least a yard away, and the clatter of the Hall made sure no one could hear them. "You know, I find it odd that a girl who entitles herself to greatness and that already has a large following of toadies and sycophants, would leave at the time of the peak of her power, for a place she has absolutely no connection to, to be around hundreds of girls just as rich and even more prone to self-entitlement than even little Nevy........don't you?" He said, faking curiosity and wonder in his tone. His tone implied heavily on something.......something Felix wanted to know. He then crossed his legs and stared at him with an inquisitive smile.

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…