Back again ((Ravenclaws!))

[crane]

Gary was glad to see the Hogwarts castle once again. Every time he was here he missed his family greatly but during summers he often caught himself thinking of the old castle. It could get cold and dreary and naturally there were difficult tests and steps you could sink through that Gary didn’t like. But he could use magic here. Casting charms and enchantments, transfiguring something – Gary was still almost awed by all these possibilities. Possibilities he didn’t even had known about before he turned 11. That made it all much more wonderful. Gary would have preferred to have a calmer ride to school, but now that he was here and he could see the long tables and the professors sitting at one end of the Great Hall he couldn’t help a smile creeping over his features. He was warm he would be getting a good feast soon.
Gary glanced over towards headmaster Dumbledore, wondering if he would perhaps say something about the attack on the train as he took a seat.

Looking at the empty dishes in front of him Gary turned on his seat a bit to look around for his friends. He was anxious to see the Sorting Ceremony too. He had been a nervous wreck when he had been a first year waiting to be sorted and had been afraid he would get a bad house. But Gary liked Ravenclaw and studying. Hopefully Ravenclaw would get good first years. Actually Gary was almost certain they would get good Ravenclaws. Tugging on his robe Gary thought with a small smile that while he had missed Hogwarts, he hadn’t missed wearing the Hogwarts uniform and the required robe. He was an all around jeans and T-shirts boy. He felt most comfortable in those clothes. Robes made him feel clumsy and awkward. At least in the beginning of each year when he had to start wearing them again after a long summer. Gary sometimes wondered if he would ever get used to wearing long robes. He sometimes wondered how the professors managed with their robes which always seemed to have overly large sleeves. Didn’t the sleeves get in the way and bother them constantly?

Gary made himself stop pulling at his robe as he leaned his arms on the table and looked around the Great Hall admiring the sky of the big room once again. It really was a marvelous spells that had made it look like the sky outside. Gary couldn’t help but marvel at it time and time again. Hearing someone moving a bit before sitting down Gary looked up with a small smile to see who had taken a seat near him.

[cleo]

Cleo wasn’t in a good mood. Usually she was over-joyed of being away from the stuff old mansion she was supposed to call home. For Cleo that wasn’t home. Home was somewhere where you could laugh out loud, dance and sing and twirl just because you felt like it. Home smelt like freshly made cookies, cinnamon and the grass after rain. You could patter down to kitchen with bare feet wearing a worn morning-robe and finding someone making pancakes and looking at you with a kind smile when you curl your toes on the cold floor. Home was playing and feeling loved and feeling good. Home was a sanctuary, a place you always wanted to return too even when you had barely left it behind. Living in the old stuffed and overly-formal mansion wasn’t home. Cleo didn’t have a home right now. She would have one in the future. She would make herself a home and make sure her children would feel loved and cherished there.

The train-ride to Hogwarts hadn’t been pleasurable however. She had met with that little snobby Slytherin brat and gotten into an argument with her. She had taken the first strike and Cleo wasn’t one to just sit back and let things happen. Cleo sighed and looked up the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall as she entered the room alone like always. She had good acquaintances but they weren’t close enough to be called friends. Quick steps carried Cleo to the Ravenclaw table that was only starting to fill up. Taking her regular seat Cleo shifted herself until she felt comfortable. Feeling eyes on her Cleo looked up to see a boy, who seemed about a year younger than she was sitting over the table slightly to Cleo’s left.
He was smiling softly and for a moment Cleo hesitated as sharp eyes drilled into him. Why was he smiling to her? Cleo had to forcefully push the thoughts of Slytherins away as she gave a slight nod in response to the smile: “Hello.”

[Cougar Farmer R7]

Cougar stared at the castle, and a smile cracked on his face. Truth was he missed Hogwarts very much. He missed the classmates, magic, and the feasts. He was glad summer was over, he was tired of telling his dad about magic.
"Well show me some of it." Cougar's dad would tell him.
"I can't, It's against wizard rules." He would reply.
"Huh, Well then tell me all about it."
Cougar probably spent the whole summer explaining about magic and Hogwarts.
Here he was, finally, at Hogwarts once again. He could see the thestrels, to his dissappointment. They reminded him of when his mother died, but he was getting over it. "I hope no-one else can see them" He thought to hisself.
He clambored to the carriages, and got in. They carried him to the entrance to Hogwarts. When he jumped from the carriage, He fell down. Someone laughed, and had he known who it was he would have tried to start a fight.
Cougar found himself in the great hall. The cieling was bewitched to look like the sky outside. It was a clear night, the kind Cougar liked. As he made his way to the Ravenclaw table, he heard some Slytherins already claiming the House cup, and Quidditch cup. He ignored them, and walked on the the Ravenclaw table, and sat down. He looked around for anyone he knew, he saw none. He sat hoping for someone he knew or could meet. When the dishes were filled with food, he forgot and started eating.

[crane]

A red head sat dwon across the table. The vibrant red hair caught eyes. It wasn’t very often you saw a hair-color like that. The Weasley family had red hair too, but their hair was a compeltely different tone from what this girls hair was. Gary looked at it curiously. He was no expert, but he was rather ure that the hair hadn’t been dyed to look that bright. Which only served the purpose of making the hair-color mean even more.
Having been too interested with the girls hair-color Gary finally looked at the girls face that fit the hair-color. „Hello, it’s good to be back at Hogwarts, isn’t it?“Gary asked friendlily with his smile broadening and reaching his eyes,“As surprising it is, but I have missed it. I didn’t miss the unform here as the robes always make me feel uncomfortable. I will most certainly miss my family too now that I’m here again, but I’m still glad to be at Hogwarts.“

Gary smiled a bit apologetically and looked up as one more boy sat down by them. This one seemed a bit younger than Gary was. A 2nd year perhaps? He looked the age for that. „But I better stop before I’ll tell my whole life-story,“Gary answered with a smile towards the new-comer,“Hello. I’m Gary. I don’t think we have ever met before, despite the fact we are all in Ravenclaw. I want to see who will be sorted to Ravenclaw this year! I hope they are good, I want to win the house cup again. Even when we are already down with points. But we’ll make them back.“
Gary turned his head slightly looking at the Sorting Hat on a high stool where first years would be sorted: „I always like the sorting. It’s a good tradition. Makes everything seem tolerable. I was a nervous wreck before my sorting however. I still hadn’t gotten over the shock of discovering that magic really exists.“ Gary grinned at himself, recalling those memories fondly.

[elina]

Hogwarts. Her second home. The place where everything magical happened. Literally and not. Elina stepped off the train, her boots clicking lightly as she walked to the carriages. Her seventh year. She was going to have the best time ever. She was sure of it. Positive. Elina smiled to herself, brushed her brown hair out of her eyes, and stepped into an empty carriage. Her Hogwarts uniform was precise, and she felt confident. Confidence was key for a successful year at Hogwarts. Some students were told that being friends with the right people was the key. But it wasn't. Confidence was. And Elina learnt this on her first day in her first year.

She was a little thing then, and quite timid and unsure of the huge school before her. But none-the-less she was confident in her sorting. She was certain she wasn't going to be put in Slytherin, only because she was much too sweet for that house. And she was positive not Gryffindor, her bravery and hot headed temper was sort of minimal. That left Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Her mother had been in Ravenclaw, maybe she would be as well. After all, Elina picked up her love of learning from her mother- maybe she would be sent to the same house as the gorgeous and magnificent woman. It didn't come as much as a surprise as Elina would have liked it to when she was placed in Ravenclaw.

There was a soft jerk from in front and Elina was thrust forward slightly as the carriage came to a full stop. She looked out the window and smiled up at the large castle in front of her. It loomed with beauty that couldn't be described, and it twinkled with magic that was beyond any other world anyone has ever known. Elina opened the door and stepped out, her feet touching the ground gently as if not to wake the spirits below. She was home again. There were familiar sounds coming from the Forbidden Forest, and there were familiar smells wafting out of the kitchen into the night air. Elina grinned at this as she made her way into the castle.

The corridors were lit gracefully, sending shadows across the stone and into the cracks that were usually so dark one could not see into them. Not tonight. Tonight they were brightly lit with grand colours. Elina loved the warmth the castle sent off into the night. Her next stop- the Great Hall. Her favourite place in the whole of Hogwarts, was the Great Hall. With it's bewitched ceiling and floating candles- the four tables and the Staff table, the Great Hall was the wonderful place to be. Especilaly if you were studying and wanted to get away from the library or the common room. Just pick a seat at your house table, and read or write or go over your notes.

The doors opened to reveal the world inside. The candles were floating greatly above the tables and heads of the students, and the night sky was almost exactly the same as the one outside. Clear without a cloud in sight. Elina smiled and headed to the Ravenclaw table. She knew most of her housemates, but wasn't really friends with all of them. She had lent them her notes from time to time, because they were either misplaced or ruined by some Slytherin bully- but never really spent a day in Hogsmeade with them. Those in her year she knew perfectly well, but just in her house was a different story. She knew their names, but not their stories. Elina took a seat a few seats away from a Ravenclaw...fourth year now would it be? Gary. He was one of the few she knew by name, "Hello. Are you ready for another year?" She asked everyone around her.

[cleo]

Cleo noticed the boy staring at her hair and felt the urge to assure him that her hair-colour was actually that vibrant and colourful. Cleo loved her hair most of all about her looks. However the boy had already teared his eyes off from Cleo’s hair and was babbling on happily.
The boy decided to to finish as one more boy approached the table and sat down. Cool eyes took in both boys as Cleo didn’t rush into saying something. The young boy was rude as he just collapsed onto the bench without even a hello. Cleo wasn’t as forgiving as Gary seemed to be about it and just averted her eyes. Gary was a muggle-born. Seemed like he was from a loving family too, which gave Cleo a small bang of jealousy inside. She had just been thinking about having a loving home and family, so Gary’s obvious happiness influenced her. In a way she was happy for the boy, in a way she was jealous.

„Ravenclaw winning the House Cup is a very good tradition,“ Cleo agreed readily her eyes moving away from Gary as one more girl sat down. This one was a 7th year. Cleo was fairly certain of that fact. Elina something? At least she had manners as she greeted while sitting down a bit further from Gary.
„Hello,“ Cleo replied with a brief nod beofre looking back to Gary, recalling that she hadn’t told her name yet, „And I don’t think we have met before. I’m Cleo. And I don’t have very bright memories from my Sorting. It was raining when I crossed the lake, some older Slytherins had just bullied me in the train and things were most certainly not looking good. Ran into a nasty Snake today too, but it’s much harder to bully me already.“
Cleo turned to look over her hsoulder at the Sorting Hat. The Hat had surprisingly good singing voice for a piece of cloth. „Give a wild guess. How many new Ravens will we be receiving this year? I’m say, uh, 7,“ Cleo decided after a momentary hesitation as she turned to look back at the others sitting near by. They had been polite, so Cleo figured she could respond with the same.

[Cougar Farmer R7]

Cougar had decided that he couldn't wait for things to happen so, he turned to the other Ravenclaws, and said "Hello. Nice weather we're having isn't it."

He would have said something better, but he couldn't think at the time, and he felt stupid for it.

"I do hope Ravenclaw will win the house cup Be nice to have a few more Ravenclaws wouldn't it? I hope we get around 10 or more. By the way, I'm Cougar"

Cougar sat waiting for a response, and unbelievably, he must have missed this girl's hair because it was a beautiful, vibrant red.

[Meyghan Gallagher R7]

Meyghan entered the Great Hall, and took a deep breath. This year she was determined to meet more of her house mates than she had in the past four years. Meyghan looked at the Ravenclaw table, there were already a few people there. She saw only one person that she knew sitting at the table, as she made her way to it.

Click, click, click, was the sound of Meyghan's new boots as she walked across the floor to the table. She made her way down the same side that Gary was sitting on, and sat down near him. "Hi, does anyone mind if I sit here?" Meyghan asked smiling. She looked around at everyone at the table. There was one other boy there, who was obviously younger than her, probably a second year, and there was two girls there already. One girl looked to be older than Meyghan, and the other girl looked as if she was the same age. " I'm Meyghan by the way." She said smiling at the girls.

[rosewood]

The Great Hall was just as welcoming as every year, the decorations as elaborate, and the atmosphere as homely and perfect as Julie remembered it. She made her way to the Ravenclaw table were a number of students were already seated, though nobody who was a friend. "Hello," she said to no-one in particular. This was so strange. How was it that she had managed to make friends with so many people that were older than her and never bothered much with those in her year? She had never realised that fact till today. Well, down to business then. She'd moped enough all summer and that just wasn't like her. She slipped into a seat beside the second year so she wasn't sitting too far from the group, and then her eyes looked around at the first years. Before she could get into a conversation with anyone however Dumbledore had risen and gave his usual speech. He told them the terrible news about Laura Pennington, and Julie listened in horrified silence.

Her eyes welled up and before she could stop it two tears escaped down her cheeks. She wiped them away quickly and looked away from everyone. This was so embarrassing. It wasn't like she even knew the girl, but Julie wondered what her parents would go through when they were told. It was just too hard to think about. It was funny how strongly she felt about Voldemort and his Death Eaters after last year, but it was also the reason why her tears were so close to the surface these days.

[cleo]

Cleo pursed her lips thoughtfully, leaning her arm on the table and watching as more people joined the table. A fellow fifth year, who Cleo knew only faintly and who introducer herself. „I know,“ Cleo responded coolly to the girl as her eyes looked over to the girl year old than she was.
Dumbledore’s speech was over as well as the Sorting so Cleo squinted her eyes thoughtfully at the older girl while hleping herself to a few pancakes filled with meat.
„Aren’t you Potter’s girlfriend?“ Cleo asked the new-comer, not bothering herself with any polite phrases. After all the girl hadn’t exactly introduced herself either.

„Not that I make a habit of watching himas there are other guys upon who your eyes can rest much easier in this school, but I think I have seen you two together. I’m rather sure the Death Eaters weren’t on the train to stay their final ’byes’ to their offspring. So did Potter tell you anything more as to why they were here?“ Cleo asked in calm, almost conversational tone. Cleo wasn’t demanding any answer. She was just curious and she had to admit that she was a bit wary. She hadn’t been hurt exactly, but the mere fact the Death Eaters had gotten through all the security and attacked the train was alarming.

Chewing on a piece of cheese, Cleo leaned backwards and scanned the Gryffindor table before shrugging slightly and pulling herslef upwards once again. „Well, the Gryffindor Golden Trio seems alright, so the weren’t hurt.“ With her eyes travellign aroudn the table Cleo made a small remark almost ot herself before averting her eyes back to Julia she thought the girl was: „Speaking of which – has anyone seen our prefect? And do you have any more information about the attack or not?“ Starting to eat fairly quickly Cleo kept half of her ear open to hear the answer to her question. Hopefully Julie wouldn’t be too much of a princess to be wounded for live over Cleo’s rather simply question.

[rosewood]

"I'm Julie Rosewood," she said, a slight edge to her voice. Last year she hadn’t minded everyone referring to her as Potter's girl, or Potter's girlfriend, or whatever it was they called her as she'd had enough on her plate being there for Harry and trying to qualm her father's fears about their relationship that in the end had been realised. It wasn't that she liked being called that but at the same time she hadn't given it much thought and had been reasonable enough to accept being called that without feeling any resentment towards Harry because he was so popular that some people thought Julie was trying to share a bit of his fame by staying close to him. This year though things were different. They were no longer together and anyway Julie wanted to be known and liked for her own person and so she had to set the record straight here and now. "And no, I'm not anymore," she said perfectly calmly, though she did take a few seconds to answer the question. "Harry broke up – during the summer Harry decided we should stop seeing each other, and so that was the end of it," she said in a matter-of-fact voice. Julie hadn’t been a many serious relationships before, and even though some girls wouldn’t like admitting that it was the boy who had wanted the break up, Julie wasn't going to lie. Besides, on some level she respected Harry for his decision, though she wished he had thought more of her and her ability to help him in the final battle.

Julie placed some salad on her plate and then looked back at Cleo who still had more questions. "I'm sorry but we haven’t spoken in quite a while and I hadn’t seen him till now just before we all sat down, so I'm as much in the dark as you are," she explained. Julie looked across the table and for a minute all she wanted to do was to run into Harry's arms and place her head on that special place on his shoulder she'd learned to love so much. It was funny how much memories and feelings the sight of him had brought back. She knew she still loved him but she thought not seeing him for so long and what he had said to her the last time they'd been together would have made her feel less strongly about him. She gave herself an inward shake and looked down at her plate. She looked back at Cleo who had an undisguised questioning look in her eyes and her outspoken manner spurred Julie to share her own opinions on the matter. "I know nothing about the attack and neither do I know what those filthy Death Eaters are up to now. Last year when I was kidnapped it was a kind of elaborate plan to make Harry think they were trying to lure him into saving me, though I don’t know what they're up to now. Possibly it's just spite – the attack seems so random and somehow disorganised if you ask me. I mean it wasn't at all subtle nor did they seem to have someone in mind." Julie raised some potatoes to her mouth then frowned slightly. How hadn't she noticed that there was no female prefect at their table this year? "I don’t know who the Ravenclaw prefect is this year anyway - who's missing? Dumbledore would have said something if anything had happened though," she said, though she still felt something was amiss.