Confused

I'M SO CONFUSED...

heyo, guess who understands now..even has a char now..heehee...*quien es la "masochist"?* ;P

ELIZA:

Day of the feast

Astronomy Tower

Nibbling absently on a hunk of bread about the size of her palm, Eliza Linton stood in silence, utterly unimpressed as she examined the classroom before her. She idly wondered if the last person who had taught Astronomy was as much of an unkempt cretin as the state of her cubbyhole in the castle indicated, but decided that it didn't matter. She'd have it cleaned up eventually, and in a fit state for children to learn in.

She would have preferred to do this before the students started swarming in, but that was impossible, as they were bound to be getting off the train any time now, and she would be expected to haul her gimpy ass out to the Great Hall and endure an introduction. That was going to be the most tedious part of this entire year, she suspected. Though she'd heard some stories about the Society, or whatever it was called. Basically, a group of elitist snobs, as far as she could tell, that pranced around the school like they owned the place and squashed anyone who resisted. Reminded her of her own school days, actually. It seemed every generation had their own batch of them.

Glancing down at the hairy black ball at her feet, she nudged him with her good foot and grinned. "Come on, Georgie. We've got our work cut out for us, looks like."

Georgie let out a little moan and collapsed onto his back, tucking his legs in and shutting all eight of his eyes in what he deemed a clever little charade for playing dead. She just rolled her eyes, bringing one hand to her hip, and demanded, "Are you goin' to move your fookin' ass or am I gonna have to punt you across the bloody room?"

Almost immediately he flipped up, scurrying across the floor as quickly as his legs would take him, his wails ringing in the otherwise silent room as he skidded across a puddle and smashed into a wall. The room had leaks. Lovely.

"You're gonna fookin' kill yourself, Georgie," she muttered, gripping the top of her cane and starting forward toward him. Her gait was uneven and stiff, the result of a run-in with a particularly nasty curse that had left her without the lower portion of her left leg, a hell of a lot of pain in its wake. The wizarding prosthetic she had served its purpose well enough, and felt more like a real leg than she imagined Muggle ones would have, but it was still difficult to work with and often had muscle spasms at the most inconvenient of times.

That was the price you paid for being a hitwitch, though. There was a reason the Ministry had only had one squad.

Pausing above Georgie, she tossed the piece of bread she still held in her hand down to him, amused when he leapt up and pounced on it. In her life she'd seen some pretty strange things, but Georgie had to be the absolute weirdest. She'd never heard of a spider being vegan before, but Georgie was living proof. What other oddities he had, she had no idea so far, as his interactions had been limited to her ever since she'd gotten him. Now that he would be in an environment with a lot of people, she had no idea how he would take it.

Turning, her leg protesting against the movement, she clicked her tongue once and made her way out the door, casually flicking her wand and setting up wards that would have taken effort for someone unused to them, but were second nature to a hitwitch or -wizard. Seconds later Georgie came scuttling out, the only indication that he was following the scratching whisper his legs made across the stones before he leapt up and deftly climbed the back of her robes to perch on her shoulder. She reached up and scratched his chin (at least what she called a chin; spiders didn't really -have- chins), scowling deeply at the winding flights of stairs she would have to scale every time she wanted to and from her classroom.

"Fook this. I'm fixin' some other way up here," she muttered, her cane striking each step loudly and ominously as she went.

CHARLOTTE:

Day of the feast

Great Hall, Gryffindor table

Perched on the edge of her seat, hat balanced precariously on top of her curly auburn hair, Charlotte Darci swiveled and stared intently at the seat she knew Professor Severus Snape, her dream man and the resident Potions master would be sitting. She couldn't help the small tug of disappointment she felt when she found he wasn't there, and she frowned, wondering where he was and what he was doing that was keeping him. She hoped he wasn't ill. If he was, his classes might be delayed or, even worse, a substitute might take over. There was no one in all the world, in Charlotte's opinion, who ever had or ever would teach Potions quite so well as Professor Severus did, and she wouldn't hear of anyone else even attempting.

It was feasible that he was on his way down, though, now that she thought about it. After all, most of the other students weren't even in the Hall yet; she'd leapt off the train just as soon as it had arrived and practically flew in, just to have the possibility of maybe getting a glimpse at Professor Severus before everyone else was in and making noise. It was distracting to have everyone around her chattering and chewing loudly when all she wanted to do was prop her chin up on one hand and admire the darkly-clothed, perpetually cranky Potions master.

Crossing one leg over the other, green leather brushing as she did so, she sighed. Though she'd been fairly well infatuated with Professor Severus ever since, well, her first year, he never so much as spared her a second glance. Of course, she had always been too young before, and one of his students. She didn't think Professor Dumbledore would take very kindly to a relationship occurring between one of his staff and an underage student, and she respected that perfectly, though there was an excitement in the forbidden student-teacher relationship that she hadn't quite been able to keep under wraps.

Instead of attempting it, however, she wrote about it. Her journal was stuffed full of stories and little writing blips, mostly detailing young, innocent girls and dark, brooding teachers, wherein there were many sweet kisses and moonlit walks. Some of them weren't half bad, but some had been written when she was twelve, and were actually rather painful to read. Those were toward the front of her book, and were surrounded by many scribblings of 'Charlotte Snape', which had ceased about her third year. The rest of it was a compliation of her thoughts, her theories on Professor Severus and his eccentric ways, and stories. She felt closer to Hogwarts if she wrote about it over the summer, and she'd taken to transforming the teachers and other students into characters for a book series she was working on.

She'd gone through many titles ver the years; initially, she'd thought she'd call it "Charlotte Darci and the Eternally Snarky, Dashing Hero Professor Severus," but she realized now that, that was a little verbose, and so she scratched it out. For now, she was just working on writing it, and would worry about a title later.

Abruptly, her hair jumped up about three feet and began spitting bright green sparks. Craning her neck, Charlotte looked up at it in mild consternation, reaching for her wand as she said, "Immobulus!"

Her hat froze, the green and silver pouf on the end of it coughing once, and she stood, slowly lowering it from the air and back onto her head.

"Silly hat. You can't go spitting all over the place, or they'll take you away." She chided, adjusting it carefully before glancing over at the staff table again. No Professor Severus. Sigh.

Leaning her elbow on the table, she made a fist, propping her chin up on it to wait. "I guess he'll show up when he does. Oh, well." Her eyes flicked to the doors as more people began to pour in. "Darn, here come everyone..."

SIBYL TRELAWNY/ROWENA MOX:

Sibyl Trelawny had been pacing all day, when not rubbing her temples. She'd been working with a blinding migraine ever since she had arrived. What could Dumbledor have been thinking, bringing one of them to Hogwarts? Even the simplest of children knew that one of that family always attracted more... and death always walked with them, wherever they roamed. And yet here she was, the Youngest Daughter, the Wolf Blood Sorceress. Death had come to Hogwarts in the guise of one who was ever-living. One who looked so disturbingly Muggle-Like, in a black tee-shirt bearing the name of some band and a pair of black leather pants. She looked too young to be a professor. She looked like she belonged backstage at a concert.

Looks could be deciving.

And the Ever Living Wolf Blood Youngest Daughter was standing at the base of her ladder, looking up at her. "Look, I know you have no reason to like me..." the Undying said in a resonable tone of voice, "but I'm not a bad person, really! Hells, I used to be a student here, a long time ago." Sibyl picked up a large, heavy book and threw it down, trying to crush the black haired woman's skull. She sidestepped the books and sighed as the sound of a cain striking steps echoed towards them. "Have it your way, Professor Trelway. I'll see you at the feast, mm?"

Rowena turned away from the ladder and started walking, flipped her braid over her shoulder. Seers could be so blasted difficult if they weren't in the Family, espcially if they had strong feelings about the Family. Had her father tortured a close relitive of the woman's? She shook her head. Unlikely. Her father had managed to keep himself otherwise occupide lately, thank all the gods.

She made her way to the tower staircase, where she observed another living being (she was always spotting ghosts around Hogwarts. Even poor, sweet, silly Myrtle.). Rowena thought for a moment before stepping out onto the stairwell and smiling. "Hello. I'm Rowena Xanathos, Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."

ELIZA:

Quirking an eyebrow at the woman in front of her, Eliza paused and regarded her for a moment in silence. She looked like a freshly graduated student, from the way she dressed and just her general appearance, and she wondered briefly what Dumbledore was about, hiring just anybody fresh out of school and slapping them into the DADA position. Of course, in the past few years, Hogwarts had seen the tail end of more DADA teachers than any school should be able to boast, so she supposed whoever he could get to take the job he was going to snap up. Hell, she would've taught it, if she'd known he was looking. She had been a Hitwitch, after all, and knew -quite- a bit about the Dark Arts and what happened when you got on the wrong end of them.

Or if he hadn't wanted her to teach it, for whatever reason, she knew plenty of people who would've been more than qualified. North Anthony, for one. That bastard was just as knowledgable as she was, and had seen some pretty hairy shit himself. Though she didn't know if he had quite the temperament to be dealing with children, especially not young ones. He'd probably flay the first couple of them alive and then munch on them in front of class as an example for everyone else.

Lips tugging into a smile at the thought, she shifted, cane tapping sharply on the stone floor as she did so. This Rowena woman seemed friendly, and unless Dumbledore was just incredibly desperate (which she doubted; he had an able head on his shoulders and always seemed to pull people out of no where for positions), she was capable enough. Eliza wasn't one to judge on first appearances, anyway.

"Hullo. Eliza Linton," she clarified, tapping her fingers along the top of her cane. "I'll be teachin' astronomy this year, and this's Georgie." Shrugging one shoulder, she roused the spider, who glanced at Rowena and immediately shrieked.

"Stop your fookin' caterwaulin', you bloody bastard," she grumbled, reaching up to smack at him. "I'm goin' to rip your legs off and shove 'em down your throat if you keep this up."

Without even looking remotely embarrassed, she glanced back at Rowena. "I'm guessin' you're headin' to the feast too, then?"

SEBASTIAN/GILLIAN:

Day of the feast

Evening

Hogwarts

Life had such a possibility for boredom when one had lived over a thousand years. Witches, wizards, Muggles... they all considered their troubles of the ultimate importance and thought that if they weren't handled properly and quickly, the world would end instantly. Considering the world still stood after this long, he personally thought they were far too hasty. Yes, Voldemort was a threat, but one they had withstood in the past.

Standing on the roof of Hogwarts, hand in one of his pockets, he swirled the glass of blood in his hand and considered the various currents flowing in and around the school. Magic of all sorts. Auras rich with every kind of scent and flavor. It was a shame, really, he had to behave himself, Sebastian Rackmoor considered, angling his head just slightly behind him as he heard the approach of one of the Society's members.

Gillian Cavalieri was an elf, and by rights, made no sound as he walked. However, for someone whose senses were ehanced beyond that of normal humans, Sebastian could hear what he chose to hear and it always made perfect sense to him to know when someone was approaching you. Especially from behind.

"My dearest Gillian... The night is exceptionally fine," Sebastian murmured, not turning.

"I find I don't share your opinion. But then, your thoughts are always faintly disturbing," Gillian replied, lighting a vanilla cigar and brushing reddish hair back from his face.

Sebastian smiled, amused, showing fang. "When you've lived as long as I have..."

"I suppose I shall find what you mean one day," he returned lazily, exhaling smoke into the night air.

Personally, Gillian would have preferred a walk on the grounds to the feast. He wasn't interested in eating tonight, but there was a restless sort of energy to him that required being worn down before he would sleep well. However, he wasn't about to be the only member missing from the Society, as it were. And, besides, the walk could wait until later. He hardly feared retribution if he were caught wandering.

It would be nice in any case, to see the other members. Since he'd stayed with Sebastian for the summer (an interesting experience to be sure), he had only conversed with them via owl. Occassionally, however, he and Ciara would utilize magic to talk in near person. He could transport at least his voice to her and was in the process of working on conjuring his own image to send to her with a message. It could not, however, interact. It was frustrating at times, these limitations put on him for leaving the forest and what was once his home.

Without warning, there was a sudden rush of air above their heads and Hyu Devereaux, black wings outstretched landed between them. Sending either of them a faintly sly, amused smile, he pulled the wings back in and Gillian examined his close in bemusement, never growing bored with the fact that it was, in a sense, magic that released them and returned them. Hyu's clothing wasn't damaged at all.

"Good evening, gentlemen. How were your summers?" Hyu asked, his tone low, lazy.

"We lazed about," Sebastian relayed. "Read a great deal, ate hardly any, and spent money. What about you?"

Smiling, a baring of his teeth that was far too feral, Hyu said, "Dark arts, potions, annoying demons, deciding I'd like to torment my father... the usual."

Gillian arched an eyebrow. "Oh yes, the usual." And snorted.

"Ah, but Hell is such a boring place unless it's shaken up a little."

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Sebastian asked, turning toward him, "but I thought you wanted to hide from your father?"

"That served a purpose when it served a purpose. But I caught wind of some interesting news... And I decided to do something about it."

"Oh? What news?" Gillian wanted to know.

"Ask Vale."

"I will. Though whether or not she tells me depends on many factors," Gillian added, amused.

Together, the three of them ignored the fact that they were supposed to be arriving at the feast and stood a while longer, knowing the others would come soon. The Society always knew where its members were.

SEVERUS SNAPE:

Night of the feast

Evening

Hogwarts

Annoyed that the start of the year had come so quickly (far too quickly in his opinion, as that meant first years blowing up cauldrons and dirtying his dungeons), Severus Snape spun and found himself eye to eye with his black kitten Azrael. She seemed non-plussed, and far from intimidated. Severus had the impression their roles were supposed to be reversed.

Brows furrowing, he snapped, "What? You adopted me, remember? I don't recall it being the other way around, nor do I recall needing to look like an idiot for not throwing you out the nearest window. You are /not/ coming to the Great Hall with me. Imagine..." He shook his head, disgusted.

Azrael meowed, licked a paw, and leapt. Bracing himself, all but resigned as he had grown used to this routine by now, Severus waited until she had settled herself on his shoulder and buried her face in his hair. Of all the people in the castle, he was the lucky one to garnish her favor. As a matter of fact, other than Professor Dumbledore, he hadn't found a single person she liked.

"Does no mean anything to you at all?" He muttered, but only half-heartedly.

He supposed even he had his limits. When the cat had found him (and that was the way it went), she was half-starved and scrawny. Pitiful really, in a way that reminded him far too much of his ownself when he was young. So he'd taken her in, intent on getting rid of her as soon as possible. However, she had shown him that she had no intentions of leaving and would, in fact, attempt to become the new boss of his dungeons.

"Fine." He would, once again, bow to her wishes. The ridiculous cat. And he, a complete moron, really.

As he left his dungeons, he met no one in the hall. It was as it should be, considering all the students would likely be there. Generally, he was not late himself, but the Azrael had spilled ink all over his current lesson plans. Had those same lesson plans not been etched firmly in his mind, he might have been inclined to wring her neck after all.

Lips pursing briefly, he recalled they had new additions to their staff. One of which... Holding back a sigh, he stiffened, pulling himself up. She claimed to be his daughter, yet her mother had told him so long ago that she wasn't. Why foist someone on him that was supposed to belong to him, only to have said no so many years before? Though he could hardly blame her. In those days, as a Death Eater he was not a person of stability.

With a bitter twist of his lips, he murmured, "I hardly am now."

Then the others, former students of his. Both hitwizards for the Ministry of Magic, though Elizabeth Linton was currently retired. He was instantly wary of anyone who worked for the Ministry, as Fudge intently disliked him (though he had to admit with good reason), but being a hitwizard took a great deal of skill. So he would at least afford them the respect they deserved. He would owe them that much, no less, no more.

Walking into the great hall, robes pulled tightly to him, he looked no where but his own seat at the teacher's table and sat. There was also a new DADA instructor, one he had heard rumors about, but he would be far from impressed until she had proven herself adept and worthy of the respect. He wasn't in the habit of believing the best of strangers.

CIARA:

Day of the feast

Evening

Hogwarts

Kneeling in the grass at the edge of the lake, hair spilling around her in one silky curtain, Ciara Alana Muldoon slowly spread her hands in front of her, a pale blue light shimmering on the tips of her fingers as she spoke words from an ancient language in a soft whisper. Around her, the air shifted and brushed her pale cheeks curiously, wakening and greeting her in a way that only she understood and could appreciate. Her lips curving just faintly into a smile, she reached up and cupped a strand of air, allowing it to wind around one of her fingers.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" She murmured, amused when it slithered out of her grasp and faded back into the rest of the air.

Standing, she pulled strings of the air around her, gently persuading it with her voice to solidify and carry her weight. It was not reluctant tonight, perhaps because she had been in Ireland for the summer and no where near English air, and readily conformed to her wishes.

Robes brushing silkily across her legs, she stepped forward daintily with one foot, resting it on seemingly thin air. To the casual observer it would have looked strange indeed as she ascended invisivble stairs, strands of her hair fluttering behind her as the wind played with it. It was as natural as breathing to Ciara however, who was a Sinevirga and quite used to operating magic through language alone, and she did not miss a step as she made her way to the roof.

Gillian would be there, she knew. It was seldom that a member of the Society did not know where the others were at all times. Ciara made it her business to know, and could almost always persuade one of the elements at to spy for her, especially concerning her fiance. She rather enjoyed his company, and liked to spend her leisure hours with him. Considering she had not seen him for the summer, she was especially interested.

Pausing before them, perfectly poised and comfortable where she was, she smiled in amusement. Sebastian and Hyu were here as well, and she doubted it would be long at all before Vale made her presence known. Perhaps they would organize a meeting of sorts.

As she stood her hair began to braid, and she glanced over her shoulder, amused. The air sprites seemed fond of her hair; of course, she had an abundance of it, and it was very well kept. If she were an air sprite, her fingers would itch to run through it as well.

"Good evening, love," she murmured, stepping off the air with effortless grace as she walked toward Gillian. Her hair slipped out of the grasp of the sprites and hung to her waist in a braid, unbound and fast unwinding at the end. Her eyes, pale blue and solemn, rested on him as she offered her hand. "It has been some time, hasn't it?"

Sebastian and Hyu were used to her ignoring them in favor of Gillian, at least intially. And that was as it should be. Gillian was, after all, her fiance.

ROWENA:

Rowena nodded with a cheerful shrug. "I promised Minnie I'd be there, and since I'll actually get to corner that Trelway woman." She sighed and shook her head as she slowly went down the stairs. "In my day, we had a divinations teacher who actually taught us, instead of being so damned insipid. I honestly wonder what Professor Dumbledor is thinking, putting her in that possition. Good Goddess, my father would be a better Divinations professor than her, and he's a lunitic. So, you're the new Magical Music teacher... When did Fenwhal retire? Nevermind, it was probably long before your time. He was an old man when I was a First year."

Rowena walked slowly, keeping pace with Eliza. "Nice name, that. Eliza, I mean. Same as my granddaughter, though we usually just call her Lizzie."

GINNY:

Ginny was exhausted. All the train ride Harry, Hermione, and Ron had been talking. She just wanted to tuck into some good food and get to bed. Unfortunately, today the Thestral carriages seemed to be going slower than ever, and Hermione seemed to be talking more than ever. Ginny tried shutting her ears to all the noise.

Finally, the carriages stopped outside the castle and Ginny practically flew up to the doors and into the Great Hall, along with some other people just as excited to get in. She noticed that the hall seemed empty, but for one girl sitting in the Gryffindor table. She sat down there and turned to the girl, saying breathlessly, "Hi! I'm Gin! I haven't seen you here before, have I?"

JILIKAN:

Fa-Laii-fara-sai-to-DAAH na-re-meh, na-re-meh-VAAH-kaaaah..."

The green-haired half-sprite looked up from her faerie musings to the towering structure in front of her. An Impish smile crossed her face. She turned to seeming air--

"Kai-lala-varee-ha?"

*Ain't it nice looking?*

The air shimmered, and a wide-eyed face, effervescent eyes similar to her own shining back at her. Others would only understand the pixie to the point of shrieks: Jilikan heard her commentary--

*Yeah! though, it could use some more vines..and some more flowers..and some more greenery...and less bricks..*

Jilikan laughed, a spritely laugh that could give butterflies to any person's stomach. "I see what you mean, Delaita..well, I've gotta go have food! and eat! and, and, and..do magic stuff!"

*you do that, Ji-Li-KAN*

Jilikan smiled, and, swinging her large purple bangs out of her face, raced off towards the building--dissappearing and re-appearing as she went. Twas only natural.

*tap*

*swoosh*

Jilikan jumped up the flights of stairs weightless yet flightless. It was much more fun to travel around using the feet bestowed to her by her birth, anyways!

"WA~AA! I've missed this place over the summer!"

ELIZA:

Rowena nodded with a cheerful shrug. "I promised Minnie I'd be there, and since I'll actually get to corner that Trelawney woman."

Eliza arched an eyebrow at the mispronounciation of Sibyll's name, but didn't say anything. When she'd taken Divination, Trelawney had insisted that she'd had the sight, and it had become rather annoying to be cornered about it every class period and put on display reading tea leaves. She'd gotten so sick of it, in fact, that she'd tried to drop the class, and it was only through gentle persuasion on Professor Dumbledore's part that she'd kept up at all.

She sighed and shook her head as she slowly went down the stairs. "In my > day, we had a divinations teacher who actually taught us, instead of being > so damned insipid. I honestly wonder what Professor Dumbledor is thinking, > putting her in that possition. Good Goddess, my father would be a better Divinations professor than her, and he's a lunitic."

For the most part, Eliza turned a deaf ear to Rowena as she spoke. While she personally thought Sibyll was a bit of a crock, she was her co-worker now, and wasn't about to go badmouthing her to the other staff members. Rowena, apparently, saw no qualms in it, a trait that brought her down a bit in Eliza's eyes. It was perfectly all right to have your own personal opinions about other people, but a certain amount of tact was required when dealing with them and people who could potentially be their friends.

The fact that Rowena was just chattering on enforced the impression of someone straight out of school, and Eliza barely managed to contain a grimace. If the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher thought teaching at Hogwarts was going to be a repeat of school Houses and cliques, she had another thing coming.

"So, you're the new Magical Music teacher... When did Fenwhal retire? > Nevermind, it was probably long before your time. He was an old man when I > was a First year."

"Nae, I'm not." Eliza arched an eyebrow, for the first time able to get a word in edgewise. The woman was chatty and, in Eliza's estimation, a bit of an airhead. Sitting by her during meals could be either pure hell or a delight, depending on her mood. "I'm teachin' Astronomy, and if that's what you mean by Magical Music, you're a bit mistaken. There's no music involved."

Rowena walked slowly, keeping pace with Eliza.

"Nice name, that. Eliza, I mean. Same as my granddaughter, though we usually just call her Lizzie."

Her leg was protesting again, as she was trying to walk faster than it liked her to. Eliza was not fond of her disability, and tried to make somewhat of a normal pace with other people more often than not, but Rowena was making things easy and slowing, so she discreetly slowed her own pace a bit.

"Thanks for that. My full name's Elizabeth, but I don't like it and won't appreciate bein' called by it." Her cane tapped rhythmically along the stones.

It seemed a bit odd that someone Rowena's age (or what her attitude indicated her age was) would have grandchildren, but Eliza didn't ask. Some people had children sooner than others, and some just aged well. Hell, some people aged physically but never mentally. For all she knew, Rowena could be a 100 year-old woman with the mentality of a teen, though she highly doubted it, given her appearance.

NORTH:

It'd been almost ten years since he'd been here, but little had changed. Some of the faces, maybe, and especially the students, but not the Headmaster and Headmistress. What amused him about that was being on staff with them. He'd been in Dumbledore's office before, however, it'd generally been out of misbehavior. Hell, he'd even had McGonagall as his house head and now he had to get used to calling her something other than Professor.

His work generally didn't take him into contact with Hogwarts. As a Hitwizard for the Ministry, he hunted those wizards and witches who had evaded and killed far too many Aurors to allow them lenience (if you could call lenience being caught and thrown into Azkaban; he'd almost rather prefer the death sentence he meted out). By the time he and his colleagues were necessary, however, he was far past caring what was right or wrong, dark wizardry or light. In the end, there was only magic and the way it was used.

And unfortunately, the lunatics he took down were the sort who warped it.

As he turned the corner, he caught the tail end of a conversation between two women. One he didn't recognize, but the other he would've anywhere. He'd worked with her for years, after all, until injury had forced her to retire and they'd only been able to keep in touch now and then.

A smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, he felt slightly better about this odd venture Dumbledore had convinced him to tackle, and quickened his pace. When they came into view, he ignored the stranger and instead came up behind the other women silently, sweeping her into his arms without even stopping. She let out an undignified shriek and tried to beat him about the head with her cane.

Laughing, he demanded, "Is that any way to greet an old friend, darlin'?"

ELIZA:

"Don't you call me darlin', you uncivilized brute!" Eliza all but snarled, waving her cane around once more in an effort to thump him upside the head with it. "Put me down this instant!"

For all her yelling, Eliza was almost ridiculously pleased to find that North was at Hogwarts, no matter what the reason. She hadn't been able to see the man and have a decent conversation for three years, and even though he was acting like a bloody moron, she was beyond happy. If anyone was going to sweep her up off her feet without her notice and get away with it, it was North.

However, she didn't have to -act- happy at all.

"Put me the fook down, you fookin' ingrate! Bastard of a man, I said to lemme go, an' if you don't I'm goin' to take me cane an' shove it so far up your ass you'll be tastin' it!"

He just laughed at her, and she had to fight to keep herself from laughing as well. Damned if it wasn't nice to see him again, even if she couldn't exactly -see- him. It almost made up for the fact that they'd gone three years just passing letters and meeting for a quick few minutes when their schedules allowed.

Of course, she'd like it a lot better if she was down and on her feet.

"All right, you fookin' shitehead. Sic 'em, Georgie!"

Georgie, who had been clinging to Eliza's shoulder for dear life, took one look at North and let out the most peculiar sound Eliza had ever heard him make. It sounded almost like he -whistled- at him, though he couldn't do that. Spiders couldn't whistle, even magical ones.

She just about died when he launched at North, legs spread like a net, and smacked right into his face. She couldn't see what he was doing, but from the cooing noises, she suspected something along the lines of nuzzling... which could only mean...

"Jesus H. Christ on a fookin' crutch, Georgie! I said to sic 'em, not molest him! What kind of fookin' spider are you?" She spat, disgusted, and slumped her shoulders.

"Turnin' me own pet against me, Anthony... you fookin' bastard."

CHARLOTTE:

She sat down there and turned to the girl, saying breathlessly, "Hi! I'm Gin! I haven't seen you here before, have I?"

Turning and blinking, Charlotte examined the girl before her a moment and then smiled brightly. She knew who Ginny was; she was on the Quidditch team, or at least had been a while ago (she rarely paid any attention to the Gryffindor players), and seemed like a nice enough person. At least, she hadn't been put off by all the silver and green Charlotte was boasting on her outfit. Perhaps she didn't notice the way her Gryffindor tie was tucked down into her shirt, just the knot showing so that people knew what House she was -really- in.

Charlotte folded her hands in front of her and crossed her legs under the table. "I expect you have. I'm a Seventh year, and I've gone every year to Hogwarts." How anyone could -not- notice her, she didn't know. It wasn't like she faded into the red and gold blur that everyone else was. "But that's all right. I know who you are." She nodded. "You're Ginny Weasley, aren't you? Well, I'm Charlotte Darci. Nice to meet you."

Charlotte offered her hand, still smiling. Perhaps she could make friends with this girl.

ROWENA:

Rowena stood back and watched the pair with an odd little smile before letting out a chuckle as she leaned against the wall. She knew she should have just moved along and left the pair to their squabbling... but in many ways, she really was a teenager. And she enjoyed seeing people squabble like that.

Finally, she broke in with a quiet, "I do not believe we've met, mister...?" she trailed off and arched an eyebrow at the man. "I'm Rowena Xanathos. Ah," she slapped her forhead and looked appologetically at Eliza. "I'm sorry, you don't know, do you? No, I suppose no one told the new teachers... My maiden name's Mox."

An infamous name. Wizarding families told horror stories about the Moxes to keep their children in line, saying that the father of that accursed line would gobble them up. It was an ancient bloodline that bore more curses than anyone cared to count.

Rowena smiled at them both and waited.

ELIZA:

Still dangling above the ground, Eliza stared at Rowena a beat before snorting. Apparently, she thought that telling them about her bloodline was going to be impressive or something, from the way she was standing there expectantly. Sure, she'd heard of Corpus Mox. Nasty son of a bitch if there ever was one. There were quite a few rumors about that family, one of them being immortality.

Which, given Rowena's appearance and her statement about grandchildren, was probably true. If that was the case, then who knew how long Rowena had been around. If Dumbledore hired her, then she probably had the skills for the job. Of course, Dumbledore had also hired Alastor Moody, who wasn't really even himself anyway...

"Ah, no, you didnae tell me. I suppose Professor Dumbledore didn't think it was anythin' terribly important to bring up, or he would've told us."

Eliza shrugged. "Ans this's North Anthony. Speakin' of which, Anthony, the hell're you doin' here at Hogwarts again?" She glanced over her shoulder at him. "And would you fookin' mind puttin' me down?"

VALE:

Small feet stepping elegantly and with deliberation, Vale D'Ambroisine strode in the direction of the other members of the Society. They all tended to have a sense of knowing where to find each other, but Hyu was the easiest of all to find for her. He'd been her friend longer than anyone else, and the nature of his abilities was the most familiar of all the Society members. In all honesty, their engagement would have made considerable more sense than her current one to Draco Malfoy. Unfortunately for the pair, Hyu's father wouldn't abide by it, and neither would her grandfather.

The Marquise couldn't say she was entirely unhappy with the way things turned out. Being engaged to Draco provided her with a little bit of conflict each day. Not enough to cause her stress, but more than enough to keep her entertained. Only a worthy opponent could manage that sort of balance. Which was why Draco belonged in the Society.

The combined forces of Draco, Hyu, Sebastian, Gillian, Ciara, Hannah and herself made up the Society as it stood presently. Which was more than enough to keep the school run to their liking. Oh yes, there were still things they had to learn, but they were highly skilled in their own specialties, and the faculty did well to remember it.

Only, there were several new Hogwarts staff members this year, and she wasn't sure of her opinions yet. She disliked uncertainty greatly. It had too much of a human quality for her tastes. As a Marquise, and more importantly, the heiress to the realm of Xenovar, it wasn't something that came easily to her, nor was it welcome.

She pursed her pouty lips together in thought. All would be taken care of in due time. . .and if there was a problem the Society couldn't handle for some reason, there were others she could call upon.

Hannah would be delayed, she'd already been informed. Dumbledore had been made aware of this as well, and no fuss would be made about her late arrival.

It was Draco whose absence she wondered at.

Foolish emotion though it was, she found herself missing her fiancee.

Forcing herself back to her usual calm and ladylike demeanor, she approached the Society members that had already arived with a pleasant smile. Truth be told, she'd missed them all. Even Hyu, and she'd seen a great deal of him this summer.

ROWENA:

Rowena arched an eyebrow at North. "It would be the gentlemanly thing to do." she mused, secretly pleased that Eliza wasn't impressed. SHe hated people who got all cowering, or worse, servile, when they found out. She leaned back against the wall and waited. These two were utterly facinating

GINNY:

Ginny blushed a bit. "Well... I really don't know many people here... they're all meshed together and I have a horrible memory. Yes I'm a Weasley... the hair really gives it away," she smiled slightly, "and Charlotte, is it? That's a beautiful name! So what kinds of NEWTS classes are you taking? Do you know what career you want to get into?"

NORTH:

Snorting, North flung Eliza around with him as he faced Rowena (taking a few short seconds to take Georgie off his face and place the spider on his shoulder). He couldn't have given a shit less whether she was Voldemort cross-dressing. He'd had his share of run- ins with Lucius Malfoy at the Ministry before the elitist asshole had gotten himself thrown in Azkaban, and wasn't suitably impressed then with a last name. Nothing had changed between then and now.

"You're mistaken in your assessment of me, Professor, if you think I'm a gentleman," he informed her, gaze hooded as he kept his judgment reserved.

He fully admitted he hadn't and never would be one. Most people found him tolerable at best, as he never found himself worried over whether people cared for his straight-forward, blunt manner. He didn't have the time or the inclination to handle people. Which was exactly why he wondered what had enticed Dumbledore to hire him to do the job he was. He wasn't going to be easy on these children.

"To answer your question, Eliza, I'm here teaching. Dumbledore finally lost complete control of his facilities and offered me a temporary job. I'm teaching Dueling." He smiled, but it was more a baring of his teeth than anything else. "Can't wait to have a room full of shining faces to impart wisdom to."

He knew exactly what'd she take that comment for; the sarcasm it was. However, he respected Dumbledore and understood his reasoning far too well to have denied him. Besides, it would be nice to take a break from hunting down dangerous wizards and witches. At least here he wouldn't have to be concerned about dying. Though that didn't mean he stopped watching his back.

"Oh, you wanted down, right?" Without warning, he let her drop and then caught her again inches before she hit the floor. Grinning wickedly at the expression on her face (the one that promised murder - - his), he added, "Sorry, not like that?"

This time he set her carefully on her feet, knowing full well doing anything else would send her bad leg buckling under her and embarrass her in front of Rowena. He even kept a hand on back casually, as if a friendly gesture, when it was actually guidence if she needed it.

ELIZA:

Eliza kept quiet as North talked to Rowena, but thought she might silently disagree with him. North certainly wasn't what most people considered a gentleman; he was crass, blunt, and downright rude sometimes, but she appreciated his frank honesty a lot more than she ever had smooth talking idiots. She supposed that was why she got along with North as well as she did; they were both brutally honest and, more often than not, gave their opinions without intending to give offense. Though it almost always ended up that way. Why people insisted on being so sensitive and dissecting every freaking word someone said, she'd never figure out.

You couldn't sweat the small stuff all the time, or you'd be living a sad life indeed.

Eliza snorted, knowing exactly what he meant. Just as he had always been painfully honest, North was particular adept in weilding sarcasm when he wanted to, and she was completely certain now was one of those times. It struck her as faintly ironic that she'd been thinking about North and how he wasn't suited to be teaching children before she'd even so much as caught wind of a rumor of him coming to teach.

But then, hadn't Trelawney damn near insisted she had the Sight?

She scowled, dismissing the thought. She just had an uncanny intuition, and it'd served her well a lot of times. But not all the time, she thought grimly, or she wouldn't have had her leg blown off and been rendered helpless three years ago. It was still a bit of a sore point sometimes, but Eliza didn't think about it too often. Only when her leg was being a bitch and acting up.

"Bastard," she bit off, lips tugging up in the corners despite herself. Her heart had done a nice little leap in her chest, and she'd been almost certain she was going to go careening down on her ass on the floor. While she wouldn't have particularly cared much if it was just in front of North, she didn't know Rowena enough to have made a full judgment on her, and really did -not- want to have her achilles heel exposed to public scrutiny.

Though, as she reflected on it, North wouldn't have let her drop unless he'd seriously lost his grip. For all he liked to proclaim himself a nasty bastard, he really wasn't. There was a kindness buried a bit in him that she both appreciated and understood, which so few people seemed to do. He was good guy, possibly the only member of the Hitwizard squad she'd been on that she completely trusted. If given the choice, she more often than not demanded North at her back or side. Or hell, in front of her. He had a pretty nice ass.

Leaning a bit on her good leg, she tossed a look over her shoulder, sly amusement in her expression. "Get your fookin' hand off me, you pervert. You've already had your paws all over me, and she'll be gettin' the wrong idea if you don't knock it off."

Even as she said this she knew why he had his hand on her back, and she appreciated it. North really -was- a good guy, once you got past his pricks and burrs.

Offering him an arch look, she continued, "I know you might be makin' up for lost time, boy-o, but things like that are best left to private quarters, if you get what I'm sayin'. Preferrably ones where your boyfriend can't see," she added, winking.

Georgie let out an indignant little shriek.

ELIOT:

Through the dark of night the carriage flew, carrying it's important passenger. It came upon a familiar sight, Hogwarts castle, and landed on the edge of the forbidden forest, without a sound. It was a Thestral drawn carriage, completely black, with a crest of a raven and a serpent, the crest of the family of Rookwood.

The door opened slowly, and out stepped the last Rookwood, a Mr. Eliot James Rookwood.

Stepping out into the familiar ground, Eliot's mind took a trip down memory lane. Many a night he had gone into the forbidden forest, and met up with many different creatures, and come out with a better understanding of them. He quickly shoved off these thoughts, and sped his pace, to reach the castle in greater haste.

When he reached the large gates of Hogwarts, they magically opened, and allowed him entry. /How nice, they still remember/ he thought to himself. Eliot walked around his old school remembering all that had happened to him. The good grades, the rumors, the rivarly, where else, but Hogwarts? He never had enjoyed school completely, it had made him more of an outcast then he was prior to being accepted at Hogwarts, yet it also taught him defense, and skills that served usefulness from time to time. /Overall not a bad place, though my mansion would be preferable/

Pausing for a moment, he considered his current situation. He was supposed to be a teacher now, after betraying his fellow death eaters, only a couple of months ago. Most people wouldn't trust him, as expected, and he would be constantly watched, but it didn't matter, Dumbledore had decided that he wouldn't harm students, and in respect for Voldemort's rival, he would not. Eliot did consider himself a man of his word, and besides, he had work to do. He continued walking, accidentally walking into someone. " Oh, do excuse me" he said quickly. She already was on the ground, looking a little surprised someone had knocked her down. " Are you alright, miss....?" he inquired quietly.

ROWENA:

Rowena watched the squabbling pair and the indignant spider with a chuckle before bowing. "I fear I must leave you two at this juncture. I promissed Minnie I wouldn't make a spectical of myself the first day, so I must change. Good day." She slipped off the stairs and into the nearest hallway. From there it was just a hop, skip, and a few jumps to her own quarters.

She'd never really liked robes. Thought they looked rather silly. And you couldn't really fight in them either, unless you were used to it. Otherwise, you'd be tripping all over yourself half the time.

When she was finally satisfied with her appreance-- hair up, robes on, Ravenclaw House pin neatly attached near the shoulder-- she headed for her chamber door, passing the only picture she'd put up so far.

It was a very old picture, from the 1940's. Just her and her two best friends. Smiling. Laughing. Happy.

Things had gone so horribly wrong after they had graduated. She'd gone back to the States and met Byron, and Tom had stopped writing...

And then, after almost fifteen years, she'd seen Tom Riddle again.

That was the night she'd lost Byron.

Rowena shook her head and sighed at the picture. "What happened to you Tom?" she asked the picture for the thousandth time. The picture didn't answer. He just smiled and waved back, then spun Minnie around with a grin.

Rowena abandoned the picture and continued to head down. She was almost to her destination when someone ran into her, sending her sprawling.

" Oh, do excuse me" he said quickly. She already was on the ground, looking a little surprised someone had knocked her down. " Are you alright, miss....?" he inquired quietly.

"Missus." she corrected automatically. It wasn't entirly inacurate. She'd been married five times already. Widowed twice, divorced three times. She stood up and shoot the dust off her robe. "Rowena Xanathos, newest DADA teacher. And you are?"

ELIOT:

I am Eliot James Rookwood, the new professor of demonology." he replied " Demonology is only open to those students, who have excellent grades in Care of Magical Creatures, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and have decent Potions marks." he explained quickly.

"Now if you'll excuse me Mrs. Xanathos, I plan to unpack as much as possible before the feast begins." Eliot said without much expression. " I suppose I'll see you there, Mrs. Xanathos."

ROWENA:

Rowena waited until Eliot James Rockwood was well and gone before rolling her eyes. Demonolgy. Only utter prats taught demonology, and Rockwood was shaping up to be just that. She probably had more access to information about demons than he ever would. That was one of the advantages of being a Mox. There was always someone in the family who knew something you needed.

"If everyone here's like this," she mumbled to herself, "I'm leaving, and Minnie can find someone else."

With a flip of her hair, she continued to her trek to the great hall. She'd always wondered what it looked like from the teachers table.

GILLIAN:

Day of the feast

Evening

Hogwarts

"It has been some time, hasn't it?"

"An entire summer," he agreed, taking her hand and bringing her to his side. "But rest assured, it was not wasted," he added, glancing at Sebastian in amusement.

Interesting as it was to see how a vampire lived, Gillian admitted he much rather would have spent his time with Ciara in Ireland. Ireland was a place with legends and myths that an elf could appreciate. Especially considering for he and Ciara, they were very much visible and very much real.

"How was your summer?" He asked a moment later, as Vale joined them. Smiling at Vale briefly, he turned back to Ciara for her answer.

NORTH:

North noted that sometime between Eliza's last words and Georgie's shriek that they'd been abandoned. Some idiot teacher had knocked Rowena down and then had the balls to treat her like a serving wench when he didn't know the first thing about her. While North had never claimed to be a gentleman, he sure as hell didn't go so far as to treat people beneath him. Which pretty much said how he was going to rate this new guy.

Amusing, considering he was new himself.

"Looks like we don't have to worry about having an auidence. So that means I can maul you all I want," he added, winking. Though, just to spare Georgie's tender sensibilities, he didn't make good on the joke.

Frowning a moment, he then shrugged and grinned. "So the new DADA professor has a bit of a hang-up on her family importance, but I still like her. That other guy though... regular stuck up jackass isn't he?"

Scratching Georgie's back, because the spider hadn't left the perch he'd made out of North's shoulder, he kept up their walk toward the Great Hall. If they didn't hurry it up, the feast was going to start before they got there.

SEVERUS:

Great Hall

Evening of the Feast

Teacher's Table

Sitting back in his chair, robes pulled tightly about him, Severus watched as the hall continued to fill with students and professors. Most of them were recognizable, but as was always the case, there were new students and new instructors. Azrael shifted on his shoulder once, curling herself up to become more comfortable, and subsequently more invisible. Absently stroking a finger down her back, causing her to purr, his eyes settled on a what appeared to be a girl bound for the professor's table.

One eyebrow slightly raised, he wondered what in the world she thought she was about. Unless... upon closer examination, he couldn't see that she was wearing a student uniform. That marked her as one of the newest instructors. Which meant she either looked particularly young, or she just was young and talented. Since that distinction of what was talent or not was left up to Dumbledore, he could make no comment. However... he could, as always, reserve judgment on any of them.

And considering the empty spaces, there were only a few spots she could fill. One of them happened to be right next to him.

JILIKAN:

"aaaaaaannnd TAP! teeheeheehee..."

/ten steps in one jump up--a new record!/ Jilikan gave herself a pat on the head, then entered the massive building.

"this hall never ceases to amaze me.." Jilikan stared up at the beauteous ceiling of changes. She didn't understand why it was so fascinating to her...

/Maybe it justs reminds me of something?/ she pondered. /Bah. Chow-time!!/

Jilikan proceeded to a seat at the Hufflepuff table among other students.

ROWENA:

Rowena bit the inside of her lip as her gaze wandered to Minerva McGongall, who was seated between Albus Dumbledor and that Flitwick man. She recalled that they had been in the same house. If anything, the fellow had shrunk by a good three inches since then.

That left her with few options, and none of them looked particularly appealing.

Einy meany miny that one.

She sat down next to a man who reminded her of her third grandson by her second daughter and nodded slightly to him. "Rowena Xanathos, Defense Against the Dark Arts." she said, holding out her hand just a bit while studying his face. A few things clicked in her brain. "Severus Snape, I presume?"

SEVERUS:

The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. She was young looking to be teaching something like that. Something he had, admittedly, wanted to teach for some time. But as Dumbledore did not fully trust him, he would never be given the position. And so he had finally given up on asking and just accepted the place he had. It was, after all, his own fault he wasn't trusted. If Dumbledore hadn't allowed him the Potions position, he would have no place at all.

And that grated. Oh, that grated.

Staring at the hand, he murmured, "Correct." However, he did not take her hand. He didn't like touching people, certainly didn't like to be touched without his permission. If it looked rude, then it did. People generally formed their own opinions of him regardless of what he did anyway.

Azrael stretched suddenly, yawned, took one elegant leap onto the dining table, and walked up to Rowena. Calmly, and what he would certainly say was regally, she rubbed her body along the outstretched hand, as if she didn't expect her request for petting would be denied.

Severus stared a moment. The cat liked very few people. It was said like recognized like, and so it was, Rowena appeared to be have some quality the cat appreciated.

"My... cat, Azrael. She likes few. You should feel honored," he noted.

ROWENA:

Rowena watched the cat as it rubbed against her hand, not quite daring a smile. More like your Master. she thought. "I am. Few cats like me." They can smell the taint of my sire. Minerva had warned her well in advance that Severus wouldn't like her, and Rowena didn't mind it one bit. Few people liked her anyways. She crooked her fingers a bit. "She's lovely."

The cat was a safe enough topic of conversation.

SEVERUS:

"Actually," Severus surprised himself into admitting, "I was surprised she even liked me. It was more of a case of her adopting me than anything."

Having apparently gotten her fill of attention, Azrael turned without warning toward her master and used Severus' arm as a ladder to retreat into his hair again. It never failed to baffle him as to why she liked nesting there. Cats weren't always, by nature, sociable. That, though he didn't have firsthand experience, was dogs. Cats tended to be elitist and ill-tempered. And this one was certainly no exception.

"I'm gathering she appreciates your compliment. One never knows with cats," he added, thinking of how she had torn a lesson plan to shreds one day when completely displeased with the fact he had accidentally locked her in his room. Though he knew perfectly well she ought to be able to get past his wards... She'd done it before.

Even though he would rather be in his dungeons enjoying solitude and peace, he was hungry and he supposed it hurt nothing to be at least passably decent to Rowena. She'd done nothing but be so to him since she'd sat down. Dumbledore and Minerva had asked that none of them allienate their new colleagues, in any case. As first impressions had went, he found nothing annoying about her yet. And his cat liked her.

Though it very nearly cost him, he managed, "How long have you been a master of the Dark Arts?"

He sincerely hoped this attempt at conversation did not backfire on him. He was not above getting up and walking out of the feast, regardless of how that reflected on him.

RON:

Gryffindor Table

Great Hall

Night of the Feast

Sitting next to Harry Potter, where he could always be found, Ron Weasley tapped his fingers impatiently on the tabletop and wished they'd get on with it. The first years weren't even all in the hall yet and none of them had been sorted. Since he was positively starving after the long train ride, he was almost considering taking a nap during the sorting. But knowing his luck, he'd miss something interesting if he did that.

This was their last and final year. After this, no more Hogwarts. While a part of him rejoyced, a part of him wondered just what in the hell he was going to do. He wasn't as set in his path as Hermione was. He figured she'd known what she wanted since her first day here. Even Harry hadn't really talked about what he wanted to do... But then things hadn't exactly been going great for Harry the past couple of years. And there were times he wasn't even certain the strain on their friendship was completely patched.

Blowing out a breath, he found he suddenly missed the distracting antics of his twin brothers Fred and George. By about this time, they'd have some of their creations wreaking havoc on half the table.

"Do you reckon they're ever going to get started?" He muttered to Harry, dragging a hand through his disheveled, umistakably red hair--Weasley hair, he was forever reminded by idiots like Draco Malfoy and his friends, the bigshots in the 'Society'.(ARCHIVER'S INTERPOSITION: HEH. I TOOK LIBERTIES W/ THE GRAMMAR ^^;)

As far as he was concerned, the Society was a bunch of weirdos he was better off pretending didn't exist.

"Anyway, we've got a lot of new instructors this year. Another DADA teacher, a new Astronomy teacher, and an entirely new class. Dueling... Which say something for how serious Dumbledore is finally getting."

Glancing over at Harry, he frowned. "Hey, are you paying attention?"

ROWENA:

Rowena considered. She'd been told about Severus Snape... but clearly Minerva had kept her mouth shut to everyone. "A very long time. I'm actually the same age as Minerva. We went to school together." she said. Me, her... and Tom.

SEVERUS:

Expression perfectly blank, Severus kept his opinions to himself. She did not look as if she were old enough to have gone to school with Minerva. Some people, however, he supposed aged well. At least it meant she wasn't some young upstart with barely any skills. She should be able to teach the class more than passably well, something even he could admit to if forced.

"Hmm." Was all he said in reply.

HERMIONE:

Large book bag hefted awkwardly over her shoulder, Hermione made her way into the great hall. She was glad for another year of school, not only because it gave her the chance to learn more things, but also because she could be with people that she trusted and understood her. Like Harry, Ron, Neville and Ginny. This particular summer, she'd had a lot weighing on her shoulders, because she'd discovered that she was actually Voldemort's granddaughter. It shocked her that the people she'd thought were her parents had lied to her for so long, but she didn't blame them. They were doing what they'd been told to do, and what was best for her.

It had been hard to come to terms with, though. She'd thought it strange to look back at the fact that she hadn't been able to speak parseltongue when she was younger, and the basilisk was roaming the school. . .but she apparently was a late bloomer, as were a lot of the females in the Slytherin line. It baffled her even more that she'd been sorted into Gryffindor now, all things considered, but she was glad to be there. And more than anything, she felt that she understood Harry a lot better than she ever had in the past. Only she didn't have the entire school suspicious of what she was as Harry had, and for that she was thankful.

She smiled when she caught sight of her friends that were already seated. It would be good to be sharing meals together at Hogwarts again, just like always.

She slid in next to Ron. Though she'd seen her friends on the train coming in, and over the summer at the Weasley's home, it was good to be back to something resembling normal.

GHOST:

The great hall. . .a place of revelry and feasting. The illuminated sky cieling added a lovely finishing touch, Ghost thought. Particularly since it was the one time he could look upon the moon without fear. He imagined that his father had gone through the same experiences as a werewolf in Hogwarts. Perhaps worse, since more potions had been developed to keep the transformations under control since then.

Not that he was able to talk about it. Remus Lupin didn't know that he had a son and a daughter, and Ghost thought that perhaps it was for the better. The man had enough to deal with without being hit with that new information.

A faint smile appeared on his normally emotionless face as his eyes fell on Soloym Shay, his closest friend, and the only other one than his sister that he felt comfortable with in this school. Someone that could understand the difficulties of being different, and someone that knew what he was. That kind of comfort was hard to find. . .

ROWENA:

"A very safe response, that." Rowena said with a very slight nod. "You probably know this better than I do... so what should I really concentrate on with these students? You've got a better idea on what they've missed, with so much inconsistency in their Defense learning." She wrinkled her nose. "From what I've seen, I suspect I should be using a couple of the last few teachers as teaching aids. Especially Lockheart." The name dripped off her lips like poison.

ELLIOT:

/No one understands demonology/ Eliot thought to himself as he made his way up to his new classroom. It honestly annoyed him that many people believed that higher demons were all but vanquished, and everyone was safe from them, yet the truth was, they still roamed the earth, waiting for someone to free them. He had experienced in re-awakening the Pythos and the Fomorlians. Both had proved to be quite useful, and Voldemort had been especially pleased to have snake-demons side with him.

He opened the door to his new classroom and found that it was, a complete mess. Luckily there was a fireplace, so it would be easy to use floo powder. He grabbed some out of his pocket and through it into the fireplace, saying "Rookwood Manor!"

As if on cue, the head-house-elf of the family stepped in followed by a squad of other elves, each carrying tons of books and strange looking objects.

"Use your magic, Putty... It will speed up the process." Eliot commanded. They complied instantly bringing in ten times the amount of books and other necessary items. "Keep up the good work, my servants." Eliot complimented. Sometimes encouragement worked better than intimidation, sometimes.

The house-elves were overjoyed, and started working even harder, amazing what a little praise could do.

"Putty... I will return in a few hours, I expect you will have completed my classroom by then. You know how I want it, so I will leave you now, and go to the feast." Eliot ordered.

Having begun shaping the classroom, in the way he wanted, Eliot made his way back down to the great hall. He moved silently and quickly through the tables, not attracting very much attention, besides which, the children were more concerned with food, then with teachers.

He finally made it to the professor's table and sat down in a spare seat, intent on not attracting attention.

SEVERUS:

Shifting, Severus slanted her a glance from under the curtain of his hair and all but snarled, words acidic, "Lockhart. That man was the biggest waste the wizarding world could afford. He didn't know a thing about Defense Against the Dark Arts. He's better off mindless," he reflected, growing annoyed with the slow progression of things. Was it Dumbledore's prime objective to drive him mad with waiting this year?

Still... his dinner partner was not entirely without merit. She seemed filled with interesting fact and no small amount of disdain and sarcasm for idiots herself. Since he had never suffered idiots well, he could respect someone that held similar tendencies.

"In any case, Lockhart was an idiot. I am sure you can impress upon the class that, in the very least. Some of these students know what they are doing, some don't. In any case, if I were in your place" (which he wasn't), "I would spare nothing. Why should they be treated with kid gloves?"

Sharp eyes took in and dismissed yet another new professor as he came into the hall and took his seat. One new acquaintance per night was enough.

ROWENA:

"That creature was brainless to begin with. The year before he took this position, he tried to lead an 'extermination team' into a Mox lair." Rowena said with a disdainful sniff. I should have turned him into a mouse and left him that way. "It was only a matter of time before something happen to him. Just like that Umbridge woman." Oh, what I would give for ten minutes alone with her.

TOPANGA:

The faintest of sighs passed her lips as she examined herself in the mirror from head to toe; raven black tresses framed an innocent visage, eyes of a glass green hue glittering like stars, slender legs carried a nicely shaped body, the standard Hogwarts school clothes clinging to her every curve. Ah yes, she was indeed a pretty girl, but so much more than just a pretty face.. Perhaps the Sorting Hat had made some sort of mistake when it placed her in Gryffindor, for she was as cunning as a Slytherin. And yet, it placed her in Gryffindor, House of the famous Harry Potter and friends. Not that she cared, actually - having what she referred to as friends always worked out for her, and her homework.

Once she was certain every bit of her looked possitively stunning, Topanga Trelawney made her way out of the girls' dormitory, into the Common room, and out the hole concealed by the Fat Lady's portrait. Once again she strode through the halls, her head held up high in pride, a nice sway to her hips, and a dazzling smile upon her lips. One could say she was a seductress, but that was only partially true; Topanga never really seduced anyone.. she merely caressed their egos in a way she knew was the best and only way.

Through the halls and corridors she strode, her smile growing more and more wicked as she had passed some male students who whistled after her. "Like the skirt, boys? Took it in, myself.." she breathed, turning around and moving her robes aside to reveal a glimpse of her legs that showed a lot more skin than with the rest of the girls. Winking, she set off again, pushing the doors to the Great Hall open and making her way over to a nice spot at the Gryffindor table.

After seating herself, she waved a faint hello to just about anyone who was willing enough to see it, and to those who didn't want to see it, too. Topanga didn't care if she had no real friends, she didn't want them, anyway. Too many times had she been dumped, too many times had she put up the the evil minds of girls.. Well, now it was time to return the favor and see how they liked it..

SKYDE:

Jilikan proceeded to a seat at the hufflepuff table among other students.

Skyde looked around the hall, searching for one specific green-and-purple-haired denizen of hogwarts--'a-HA!!' she thought, smirking to herself. 'There's my little Fay.' Although most people understood that Jilikan was a faerie, not many understood what being one entailed in her life--Skyde prided herself on being one of the few. After all, she was a member of the fire-eventyr-gees--a rather faerie-like people--they just didn't have wings. Then again, neither did Jilikan--which made just another similarity between them.

Skyde crept up from behind Jilikan, her prey. For a girl, she wasn't that annoyingly easy to creep out, or freakishly perturbed with her self-image. Such personality traits stood out to Skyde, since she herself had grown up a rowdy girl with her boy childhood friends. At just the right moment, before Jilikan sat down at her table, Skyde pounced.

"HALLOO!!" she said loudly, jumping on Jilikan's back.

JILIKAN:

Jilikan's eyes--bright and cerulian as they were--flew even bigger than they normally were as she suddenly felt the familiar front crashing onto her back.

Bright smile.

" 'Lo, Skyde! See you're as lively as I like you!" Jilikan beamed towards the dark-haired, red-eyed friend of hers.

Jilikan quickly resumed their normal after-summer reuniting process by tapping Skyde on the nose,and then pinching the girl's cheeks.

"How's your summer been!!" Jilikan smiled through pearly whites

CHARLOTTE:

Examining her green and silver fingernails, Charlotte thought about the question for a minute, and it hit her like a ton of bricks that she had absolutely no idea. Even though they'd had those talks with their Heads of Houses about what they wanted to do, she had never really given it serious consideration. And here she was, in her seventh year and with no idea about what she was going to do...

Smiling brightly, she responded casually enough, "I've got no idea at all. I might not even do anything that requires being a witch, though I'd have to go get my GED or something if I wanted a muggle job, probably." She made a face. "I dunno. I could take up something in Potions..." she mused, gaze sliding to Professor Snape, who had just entered the Great Hall.

He seemed to be occupied talking to some new chick, which was unsettling enough in and of itself. If the woman who was sitting by him ended up as competition... well, it would just make her goal that much harder. She was determined to bag Severus Snape though, and didn't care how long it took. She was a legal adult now, and though Professor Dumbledore would frown on a teacher dating a student no matter what the age, he didn't have -any- control on things after she graduated.

Mood lifted considerably, she reached up and straightened her hat once more, asking curiously, "What about you?"

CIARA:

"How was your summer?" He asked a moment later,as Vale joined them. Smiling at Vale briefly, he turned back to Ciara for her answer.

Ciara's lips turned downward into a faint pout for a moment as she thought about her summer. It had been uneventful and downright droll at times, with none of the Society members to identify with, and frankly, she was pleased the school year had arrived again. She cared very much for her parents, they just did not appreciate some of the finer things that she did. They also could not fathom her engagement with a banished elf, though she had quieted their protests quickly enough in the beginning.

Shaking her head, somehow managing to make the move look graceful even as she freed the last of her hair from the braid the sprites had put it in, she responded, "Very much the same as it ever is. I am pleased beyond measure to be at Hogwarts, even if it is our last year."

ELIZA:

Eliza pursed her lips as they went, shaking her head. "Seems like a right fookin' arsehole to me, though..." she trailed off, shaking her head. "I'm not about to gossip, but I'm not very impressed with either of them."

And she didn't suspect Rowena or tall, dark and creepy would give her the time of day either, a fact which amused her. "And I don' think they'll be too keen to be makin' friends with me either, since I'm a right bitch when I wanna be."

The Great Hall was fast approaching, and as they went in, Eliza could see that there were two seats available, right next to each other and between two of the other new teachers.

Leaning on her cane, she wondered aloud, "Do they slap us all together so they students can do one quick survey and throw food at us all at once?"

HARRY:

Glancing over at Harry, he frowned. "Hey, are you paying attention?"

Blinking, Harry managed to wrench his gaze away from the teacher's table and focus on Ron, his expression clearly showing that no, he had not been paying attention. In truth, he'd been a bit distracted by the fact that there were so many new faces up at the staff table, all of which looked fairly young. Whatever had happened to the teachers over the summer to knock so many off at once he didn't know, but the new staff should prove interesting, at the very least.

Shrugging his shoulders almost unconciously, he offered Ron a sheepish smile. "Sorry. I was just looking at all those new teachers. Seems to be quite a lot, aren't there?" He added on afterthought, glancing back over.

Not that they'd never had new teachers before, but this was quite the influx. Everyone had gotten used to new DADA teachers, but this year it seemed almost ridiculous how many people Dumbledore had hired. Of course, Voldemort was still going strong and taking more lives... he knew that very well. After all, Voldemort had killed Sirius a little over a year ago.

He could already feel his expression closing down and his mood beginning to darken, so he forced himself to look away from the staff table again, but not before his and Professor Snape's eyes locked briefly. It still left him uneasy whenever he looked Snape in the eyes, especially considering their discontinued Occlumency lessons. Which, really, he should be continuing...

Dragging one hand through his hair roughly, he turned to say something again when Hermione slid into a seat next to Ron. He tried to brighten his expression a bit more, knowing that she was a chronic worrier and would immediately launch into a tirade if she knew he hadn't been sleeping or eating well lately. "Hermione, I didn't even notice you come up."

Almost as soon as she had settled herself in another girl sat down, one Harry recognized but didn't ever talk to. Topanga Trelawney, though she had no relation to their Divination teacher (luckily enough for her). Harry had never really tried to get along with her because frankly, she wasn't the sort of girl he liked. He preferred the down-to-earth types like Hermione to hang out with, not the ones who wore their skirts too short and lured boys into empty closets.

Not that he knew if she ever... well... did -that-, but he'd heard rumors. Normally Harry didn't listen to rumors, being as he'd been on the receiving end of them more than once, but Topanga just looked like one of those types of girls, and he was better off leaving her to her own devices. He much rather preferred having girls as platonic friends anyway. Cho had taught him that relationships were about as close to hell on earth as one teenage boy could get.

He had barely glanced over her when he turned back to Ron and Hermione, asking casually, "What've you guys been up to since I last posted? Hedwig got pretty sick so I couldn't get back to you..."

GINNY:

Ginny watched as the girl seemed to switch emotions in a snap. First she was shocked, then casual, and then when she looked over towards the teacher's table, her gaze seemed to harden before she turned back to Ginny and asked, "What about you?"

Ginny shrugged and said, "Well, I guess I'd like to be an Auror, but that's a tough subject, and I'd have to get an 'O' in Potions, and that's almost totally impossible, especially with Professor Snape hating all Gryffindors... but yeah, otherwise I'd like to interact with Muggles, or become a Hit Witch or something. I think it'd be exciting."

Her eyes scanned the hall, looking and seeing many more people there now. She felt her stomach grumble and said, a bit sheepishly, "I hope the food comes soon."

DRACO:

Day of the feast

Evening

Hogwarts.

It was dark.

Well, that happened at night, or so Draco had discovered. Crabbe and Goyle, unfortunately, never seemed to be able to remember this little fact. They were lost again. Probably got out on the wrong side of their carriage and thought they'd gotten off from school for the year.

He sighed, folding his arms. He'd been waiting for them for quite some time now, and they had yet to put in an appearance. Though he had tried his seer's sight, he couldn't so much as catch a glimpse of as satisfying a future as seeing their feet disappear into a werewolf's lair.

Which probably meant they were at the feast even now, eagerly awaiting stuffing their faces. And here he was standing alone in the dark. At this rate he'd be the last member of the Society to arrive.

Not that he didn't enjoy making an entrance.

Raking a hand through white blond hair, he started up towards the entrance of the school, wondering if they'd still be waiting. He was, after all, far more than fashionably late here, and there was only so much one could expect, even from friends.

He shook his head. Nonsense. Of course they'd be waiting. It wouldn't do to make an appearance at the feast at less than full strength. Well, Vale might go inside, in an attempt to show him that he didn't mean anything to her. Or she might not. Their neverending rivalry was part of what made their relationship so interesting, but it did make for some unpredictability.

But, no, as he approached the great doors, he could see that they were almost all there. Hannah was missing, but he was sure there was a good reason for it. So he wouldn't be the last after all.

VALE:

"I was beginning to wonder when you would show up," Vale said, glancing towards Draco with a tin, dark eyebrow raised. "Trouble with Crabbe and Goyle?" The question was asked innocently enough, but the subtle teasing wasn't lost on Draco, who sneered in reply.

It was strange to most people, but their relationship thrived because it was filled with conflict, meaning neither Slytherin tended to get bored. Certainly, neither would have done well with a pliant partner that agreed with everything, and went out of their way to please. Though Hyu tended to go along with her ideas a good lot of the time, Vale knew she could have settled down comfortably with him if she'd been allowed. He still had his own opinions, and sometimes surprised people with his actions.

"I've found out that several new instructors were hired - without our approval, or that of our families," she announced to the group, clearly displeased. "I do have to wonder if the Headmaster thinks these ones will have more luck controlling us than anyone else has in the past here." A look of malicious amusement gleamed in her eyes. The Society had proven before who was truly in control at Hogwarts, but it seemed that perhaps they'd have to assert that fact again this year. At least it would prove amusing.

"Hannah will be delayed until at least tomorrow on shaman business. . .she didn't explain the particulars in her letter, but I'm sure she'll explain when she arrives. Now that we're here, we should make an appearance in the Great Hall. Wouldn't want to give Dumbledore false hope that we all decided not to attend Hogwarts anymore."

That said, she led the group into the school, and onwards into the Great Hall. Eyes fell on the group of six. Some seemed to notice the absence of their seventh member, wheras others were more concerned with staying out of their way as the Society took their seats at the Slytherin table.

SNAPE:

"That creature was brainless to begin with. The year before he took this postion, he tried to lead an 'extermination team' into a Mox lair." Rowena said with a disdainful sniff. I should have turned him into a mouse and left him that way. "It was only a matter of time before something happen to him. Just like that Umbridge woman."

Expression souring at the mention of Umbridge, Severus murmured, "I was more than pleased when she was given her due and I no longer had to spend time with her."

It was true. Dumbledore had a habit of picking DADA instructors who brought more trouble on the school, though he had to admit that at the very least Lupin was decent enough (even if he'd been too lenient on the children). And he wasn't at all apologetic about the way he'd been dismissed. Lupin knew perfectly well he wasn't safe around the children. Though Dumbledore was bound and determined to prove him wrong on that score.

Considering all that, he was left to wonder how Rowena Mox would fair. Would she have as many troubles as the others? Or did this one finally have both talent and intelligence?

Growing further annoyed for even caring, Severus' lips thinned. "In any case, we will see what this year brings."

NORTH:

Leaning on her cane, she wondered aloud, "Do they slap us all together so they students can do one quick survey and throw food at us all at once?""

Grinning, North shrugged. "Nothing wrong with a good food fight."

He wasn't particularly concerned on where they sat. Though he did intend to sit next to her. He wasn't interested in keeping company with the Demonology instructor, who was obviously completely stuck on himself. Severus Snape was never exactly great company either.

"So, where're we sitting? Pickings are slim, and the company is worse."

RON:

Gryffindor Table

Great Hall

Night of the Feast

He had barely glanced over her when he turned back to Ron and Hermione, asking casually, "What've you guys been up to since I last posted? Hedwig got pretty sick so I couldn't get back to you..."

Gawking at Topenga, Ron said, "Same ole, same ole. Managed to get a paper done for class that we had to write over summer, but only because Hermione bugged me through owl post," he added, scowling at her.

The truth was, he appreciated the friendship, even if the constant nagging got annoying. At least she cared. He was beginning to realize that having a large family and good friends was better than a lot of things. Especially lately.

Jerking his gaze away from the scantily dressed girl (whom he personally though could use some lessons from Hermione, even /if/ she was pretty), he jerked a thumb toward the table. "Way too many new teachers, huh?"

ELIOT:

As Eliot waited silently for the feast to begin, he felt a strong energy surge towards the hall. It was some kind of power, or something, not entirely recognizable. Then he noticed them, the small group of people, who apparently ruled the school. He recognized one of them, Draco Malfoy, who had the same unique hair as his father. The others, he was not exactly sure of, however... much of the school body seemed generally freaked out by them. A little odd, but not extremely uncommon amoung Slytherins. He would look into it later.

Eliot sighed to himself. With people... again, what a nightmare. People generally did't like him, admittedly because he did't try to get to know people or be kind, but also, many people at school hadn't liked him at the start. Muggle-borns in particular had their prejudices against him, mainly because he was a pure blood, and of course his muggle-hating father did't help that situation in the slightest.

Luckily, he still had his pets to keep him company. Quite a large amount of creatures, to be sure. They were his, and he had a bond with them, and that suited Eliot just fine. Now, he had to somehow teach children how to speak demonic languages, banish demons, repel demons, and the like. Eliot sincerely hoped that there would be at least some people who could finish the assignments, and understand it well enough. For a special treat, Eliot would bring in some of his loyalest pets, if the class proved to have enough intelligence and knowledge.

/An interesting class to be sure/ Eliot mused. This feast was taking quite awhile to start, no doubt peeves attacking the house-elves. Poor creatures, doomed to endless servitude, and having to deal with Peeves, but there was not much he could do about that.

SKYDE:

" 'Lo, Skyde! See you're as lively as I like you!" Jilikan beamed towards the dark-haired, red-eyed friend of hers.

Jilikan quickly resumed their normal after-summer reuniting process by tapping Skyde on the nose,and then pinching the girl's cheeks.

"How's your summer been!!" Jilikan smiled through pearly whites.

Skyde rubbed her face confused, then laughed back, remembering the "ritual" they had come up with last year. She continued it by tugging Jilikan's hair lightly, and braced herself for the last part, which Jilikan was supposed to do. In response to the quesion, she answered,

"Eh, the usual. Y'kno, hanging out with me ajrams (slang for friends) and beating them up when necessary. oh, and playing my tuli-edjiiri too." she frowned a little at the floor, thinking about how the elder always said, "that doesn't count as playing--you're just practicing." She had mastered the dang thing already, so why couldn't she say that she was playing it? The elders could get a little annoying sometimes--then again, so could everyone else, too. Instead of thinking of annoying things, however, Skyde broadened her smile and looked back at Jilikan. "It's great to be back, though!"

"And you? How was your summer?"

JILIKAN:

Jilikan smiled at her friend.

"Bopo-Bop-Bop!! 'twas brillig!" Jilikan bopped her good friend Skyde on the hand with a two-handed bop.

"My poppa spent most of his time in extra wizarding school courses--he thinks he's extremely out of touch with the wizarding world 'cuz of his 'accident', ya know--so I had a lot of time to scout for salamanders in our backyard! I even found some, too--but the things that I really found that were really cool were these--"

Jilikan shuffled her left hand into the left pocket of her robes--her hand seemed to get a little frustrated with the big pocket due to her excitement--and she finally succeeded in drawing out a blue-translucent drawstring bag filled with shining pebbles. Jilikan had wanted to show Skyde them ever since she'd found them over the summer--they seemed the thigns she'd be interested in. (ooc--teehee, a bit simple-minded, but oh well). She opened the bag and poured out three of the the smooth, glowing pebbles and held the three up to her friend.

"Just look at them! Not many people can see it, but they're glowing! See? see?" Jilikan beamed as she motioned her hand towards her friend for inspection

ROWENA:

Growing further annoyed for even caring, Severus' lips thinned. "In any case, we will see what this year brings."

"Let us hope a little peace and quiet. Though that I very much doubt." Rowena said, eyeballing the Trelwany woman (OOC: I probably mispelled it again). She had just come in, and was staring at her with unabashed horror. "I'm a touch curious.... what do you know about the Divinations teacher? Like, is she in any way actually dangerous?"

SEVERUS:

Sibyll?" Severus turned his attention to the Divination professor. The woman rarely said anything that made sense, much less an actual prediction. "Hardly." However... There were certain things she /had/ predicted that wouldn't be discussed here today.

Glancing away from the professor and toward the Gryffindor table, his expression grew disapproving. Potter sat amongst his cohorts in trouble. For the time being they were doing nothing of great consequence, but he knew that would soon change. Wherever Potter and crew went, trouble was bound to follow. It was some law of fate.

ROWENA:

"Good. She seems to have a great deal of dislike for me." Rowena followed the potions teacher's glance. "Is that Harry Potter?" she asked quietly. "I'd have thought he'd have graduated by now.... or have I missguessed how old he is? He certainly doesn't look that impressive." Her tone conveyed little of what she actually felt, so she came off as someone only mildly interested.

In truth, she was rather desperate for information. This "boy who lived" (a feat that did not impress her at all) was going to be very important, no matter what anyone might wish.

SELENE:

Selene walked quietly towards the talking group,her long raven hair tied back with a childish white bow to keep it out of her way. She was carrying at jar of what appeared to be black colored petals that were on fire. Her hands started to shake when she got closer to Snape "H...here. I've got the D...Dark Flame petals you re..requested Professor Snape." She always stuttered when she was near him.

She'd only just arrived a few days ago and so far she'd managed to stay away from her fellow Deatheater. Honestly she was scared witless of him because she knew what he was truly capable of. She looked about twenty five years old and could pass for being pretty. She held out the jar and glanced at the ground,wearing a pure white robe like usual.

She turns to Rowena and smiles shyly "Hello professor." She'd been introduced to them earlier. You'd never know she was a deatheater the way she acted. She seemed like a nice girl,but her attitude changed completely when she was with Voldemort.

DAMIAN:

Cursing his luck, Damian ran towards the doors of Hogwarts, he was late. Hopefully he wouldn't miss the sorting, but knowing his luck, he would. It was a disadvantage to having a compartment to oneself, you generally fell asleep, due to boredom. When he finally reached the doors, they opened slowly, and allowed him space enough to get in.

Reaching the great hall, Damian quietly opened the door, and slipped in relatively un-noticed. He strode down to the Gryffindor table, and seated himself beside a very attractive young lady.

/Oh where are you manners, man/ Damian thought to himself.

"Excuse me, m'lady. Would it be too rude of me to assume that this seat isn't taken?" he asked her politely.

HERMIONE:

Gryffindor Table

Great Hall

Night of the Feast

Hermione was relieved when Damian, one of the school playboys slid in next to Topanga to talk. It wasn't that she had anything against the other girl personally - she just didn't approve of girls who used their appearance and a little flash of skin here and there to get what they wanted. It especially wasn't appropriate to do so by altering the school uniform. The whole point of a school uniform was that everyone was the same. Not that the snobbish Society didn't find their own ways to stand out.

"I did a lot of homework mostly," she admitted to Harry predictably. "I also did some research on my background. . .there's only so much my parents could explain." Not that she blamed her parents in the slightest. It was rather confusing to discover that she was actually Lord Voldemort's granddaughter, and effectively, the heir of Slytherin. Now she knew how Harry had felt in his second year, though at least only her close friends knew about it for the time being.

It was a mark of their closeness that she'd actually felt comfortable enough with them to tell Ron and Harry without much hesitation. They'd been through a lot together, and would go through a lot more before the year was through, she was certain.

SKYDE:

"Just look at them! Not many people can see it, but they're glowing! See? see?" Jilikan beamed as she motioned her hand towards her friend for inspection

Skyde smiled. "Yup..so they are.." She looked at them and couldn't help but notice how pretty they really were...There was always something about the color blue that Skyde could never really shake. Something extremely exotic and foreign to her, as her whole life had been centered around red and fire. Perhaps that was one of the strange things about her getting into the Ravenclaw house--with all her previous life-encounters, all that she did seemed to spell out "Gryffindor." But she supposed that hat had its reasons.

"Looks like its about time to start eating," Skyde noted, looking at the mill of students inside the Great Hall. "I guess I'll talk to you later then!" And with that, Skyde sat down at the RAvenclaw table, eager to start eating.

JILIKAN:

Jilikan's eyes went big and watery when her friend departed-- for about two seconds.

"Okay!!!" She squealed cheerfully, wiping away ghosts of tears from her eyes. She then skipped her way over to the Hufflepuff table, and unabashedly sat down, eagerly looking around at the others.

"Hello!!"

SELENE:

Selene took her seat at the staff table,moving as far away from Severus as physically possible. She took her seat at the far end of the table and began eating silently. She took small sips from her goblet of pumpkin juice,wiping her lips and face with a napkin from time to time. All in all she didn't seem to talk much.

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