A New Year. A New Beginning. A New Me. ((open))

[Jeremiah Baer]

It was good to be back. The familiarity of the common room was something that Jeremiah could enjoy. The year that he had been looking forward to had finally came. This was it- he was finally a 7th year, one of the oldest students in the school. But it didn't feel like he thought it would. It wasn't as great a feeling as he expected. Where was the all the hype now? Throwing his backpack onto the floor, he crashed into the nearest chair and let out a long sigh. In a way, he was sad to think that this was his last first day. He never would have thought that it would be a bad feeling, but it was. He had been at Hogwarts for six years now, and what did he have to prove for it? He wasn't a top student. He hadn't joined any groups or got involved. And, truthfully, he hadn't even invested much time in making any close friends. He had a few that he knew on a decent level, but other than that, he was alone.

As he sat there, he began to ponder the upcoming year. What would he make of it? He could always try a little harder in class- that would never hurt. Or, he could work a little harder at finding something to be a part of. He could always use the extra experience that might help him get a job when he graduated. But, deep down, what he desired most, was just to be known. He realized that the one thing that he really wanted was to have someone that he knew he could rely on. Someone that knew him inside and out. Someone who he could just lay it all out with, and not worry what they would think. But what if it was too late? It was his last year. Most of the students his age already had their circle of friends. Most everyone but Jeremiah.

"I guess its hereditary," he said to himself, allowing his mind to wander to his father. He thought back to the days when his dad would just sit, alone, never caring about anyone or anything. He had his job and himself- the only two things that really mattered to Jeremiah's father. I don't want to end up like that! Jeremiah thought to himself. A cool breeze blew through the window, and Jeremiah just sat and closed his eyes. Seconds later, he dozed off peacefully. That is, until he awoke to a loud noise. Looking up, he heard someone entering the common room from the portrait hole. Well, he thought to himself, it's time to make the best of the new year- my last year as a student of Hogwarts.

[silverstone]

A tall, dark blonde Gryffindor walked along the corridor towards the Gryffindor Common Room with a small smile playing about her lips. In Mischa’s arms she was snuggling into her tiny ginger kitten Mistletoe, who was as lively as ever and kept trying to scramble over Mischa’s shoulders daringly. Mischa, wincing only slightly as Mistletoe’s tiny claws dug into her skin, had to constantly pull Mistletoe back into her arms carefully. The little ginger kitten, nearing the rebellious-kitty-teen years, was astoundingly like Mischa- daring and a little cheeky, with soft features and delicate movements. Stepping through the portrait hole, protectively cupping a hand over her kitten as she did so without even noticing, Mischa smiled as the warmth of the Common Room washed over her. It was so familiar and she almost breathed a sigh of relief as she entered it, glad to be back.

Although her home was huge, grand and fun- she always knew that this old castle was her real home. It just felt right when she came back to Hogwarts, and when she left she always felt like it wasn’t all there. The pluses were of course seeing her little toddler brother Russ and her father Harvey, but even with them there she still missed Hogwarts the moment she arrived. She wasn’t sure how she’d cope being permanently away after this last year; it seemed strange to think about it. She hadn’t done so before and now she was, it came as a sort of sudden shock and, although she knew it was for the best, she straight away regretted thinking the thought.

Thinking about the future made her think about a job. She had many passions; clothes, animals, Quidditch, charms- but which one would she take up? The first two she would able to mix with both the muggle and the magical world, but she did adore charms and Quidditch. Shaking off the thought and flopping into a deep black leather couch, she chuckled slightly as Mistletoe headed to the other Gryffindor in the room, jumping onto his lap and starting to lick his hand.

“Sorry Jeremiah! Mistletoe doesn’t bite, just lick a bit too much.” She smiled apologetically, hoping the fellow Gryffindor didn’t mind. Although she never spoke much to Jeremiah he seemed like a nice guy she guessed and had been wondering when she’d get a chance in all the seven years to have a real conversation with him.

[Jeremiah Baer]

The person who came through the portrait whole happened to be another 7th year student. He had seen Mischa a lot during their time at Hogwarts, but he never took the initiative to ever get to know her really. Once again, he thought about just how unsocial he had been in ways. How hard would it have been to take the time to get to know people he had spent six years with. He was pathetic. Now, it almost seemed silly to try to have an actually conversation with someone like Mischa. Or was it?

Before he realized it, a little ball of fur plopped onto his lap. He smiled and looked down at the kitten. "Mistletoe, eh?" he said, taking his time to scratch behind the cat's ears. "I guess you're lucky I don't mind animals," he said with a smile. His comment was directed toward the cat, but obviously it was his way of letting Mischa know he didn't mind. Maybe it wouldn't be as awkward as he thought- having a conversation with Mischa. She seemed like a friendly girl. Plus, she was kind of in the same position. She had never really took the time to get to know him. Of course, she probably did have other close friends, unlike Jeremiah. Nonetheless, he put Mistletoe back on the floor to run around and then looked back at Mischa.

"So, our last year is finally here," he said with a hint of sadness. "Kind of weird, isn't it- to think that next year, we won't be going through the same routine. It's not going to be easy, that's for sure." His mind began to wonder, as it had been frequently. He forced it to stop and focused back on Mischa. "So what are your plans when you get out of here?" he asked curiously. Did Mischa have plans, or was he maybe not the only 7th year who had no clue what they were going to do when graduated from Hogwarts. As much as he tried to play it off, it was scary for him, not knowing what lied ahead. He listened to see what Mischa's response would be.

[silverstone]

Mischa smiled at his comment about liking animals, pleased. Mistletoe had actually been a good ice-breaker in a way, she guessed. She listened as Jeremiah spoke and nodded, sighing. "I know, I'm gonna hate it. One thing I can handle is routine- so loss of it and I go crazy. I haven't exactly been the most independant person I guess- my dad's fault." She smiled lightly. "So that's another reason. I suppose it's just one of those things that you don't think about until they actually hit you straight on. And then you're not ready for it." Mischa said, saying what she felt. She hated that- she hadn't been thinking at all in her sixth year about this final year and what lay beyond it. She knew she probably wasn't ready for it either.

Jeremiah spoke about the future Mischa groaned with a light laugh. "Oh god, I have no clue. Quidditch, charms, cats and clothes I love- but I don't know how I'd progress from them. I'm ok at Quidditch I guess but not sure about a career in the thing. Cats... that would mainly include the muggle world and I want to focus more in the magical. Charms would be great, I'd love to teach- but I still want to do the fun, youthful thing before that kind of job. And clothes... muggle I guess, again. Robes aren't much fun to design." Mischa went through her options again, saying them both to Jeremiah and herself. "How about you?" She didn't know what the Gryffindor exelled in or liked to do, and it made her feel a little guilty as she thought of it- he was in her year and house, she should've made at least some effort to know him, as she did almost every other person in their house and year.

[Jeremiah Baer]

Mischa's words were a definite relief for Jeremiah. She seemed as nervous and unprepared as he was for their year to be done. It was also comforting to think that they did have the whole year ahead of them. It had only just started.

Jeremiah almost laughed at the irony of Mischa's saying that she lacked independence as a result of her father. "That's odd," he commented. "It was my father who had the biggest influence on my independence," he said, thinking back to the days when he lived alone with his dad. "Of course, no matter how independent I've felt, I realized that I wasn't as ready to be alone as I thought. This summer showed me that when my father passed away," he explained.

"Hmmm, Quidditch, cats, charms, and clothes," Jeremiah repeated with a grin. "Well, no matter what, you have quite a selection to chose from. "Unless you decided to own a shop that sells charmed Quidditch clothes for cats, then I guess you will have to chose one way or another between them." He smiled. Sometimes he had a tendency to make lame jokes, but most people laughed just because of the mere stupidity. It was a good way to lighten the mood in most cases as well. "Whatever you do though, I hope you are successful. As for me, well, let's just say that I'm not quite sure what I want to do when I graduate. I haven't exactly tried my hardest these past six years, and my grades will prove that. I guess I have a lot of planning to do this upcoming year."

Jeremiah wondered what Mischa would think. It was odd. Normally he never cared, but for some reason he cared what she thought. Maybe because he realized how pathetic he sounded, or maybe because he wanted to make a good first impression. "And the sad thing is," he went on, "my only hobbies are mostly muggle sports- nothing much I can create a career out of.

[sashalin]

((Hope you don't mind me joining you. I figured that saying Verrin and Mischa are friends would be logical since they have similar personalities. If it's a problem I will change it )

The march up the familiar stairs of the school was nothing but wonderful for Verrin, after her summer the long walk the stairs seemed determined to make her have, was refreshing and helped clear her mind. A clear mind was exactly what she needed to get through this year. It should have been a wonderful happy year with her going into her seventh year with everyone else, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. She had let her grades slip last year, her mother’s illness had completely taken over her world and she couldn’t concentrate on her work, her mother had died over the summer, but no one was going to know that. No one had known her mother was ill to begin with, Verrin hadn’t told anyone in the hopes that she would get better and everything would return to normal. It hadn’t happened, and now she was repeating her sixth year. She wasn’t going to let it get her down however, not Verrin, she’d wanted to go into her seventh year prepared for the hard work and her NEWTs and if that meant doing sixth year over again then so be it.

She carried a small bag over her shoulder; there wasn’t need for anything else, as the elves would have placed her trunk in her dorm by now. She looked up; finally the landing to the Gryffindor tower was in sight. The stairs had taken her on an Olympic marathon trip in order to get to the dorms for some unknown reason, but nonetheless she was where she wanted to be. She walked up to the portrait that greeted her immediately. “Glad to be back,” she said with a smile before giving the password, as the portrait expressed its pleasure at seeing her again. She stepped through the portal and the biggest smile to grace her lips in months spread across her face. It was the Gryffindor common room in all its splendour and it was a sight for sore eyes. As to be expected the entire house seemed to already be up there from the noise coming from up the stairs, but the common room itself was relatively empty.

She crossed the room her brown eyes falling on each individual in turn; there were a few faces but the ones nearest to her where those of Jeremiah and Mischa, who seemed to be in the middle of a conversation. She’d spoken to Mishca on several occasions and would even call her a friend, she was nice person, friendly and fun, but Jeremiah was another story. Verrin had been at Hogwarts for six years and had never spoken to Jeremiah other than an occasional good morning or excuse me. She flashed them a quick smile and a small wave in Mischa’s direction before heading up the stairs to the dorms to put away a few things and check on Xuxa her cat. Xuxa was a very independent animal and always came and went as she pleased but always appeared in time for food or to snuggle under her chin at night to sleep. Verrin found the Siamese cat curled up on her pillow and staring at the door as if waiting for her to show up.

A few minutes later Verrin had returned to the common room, her robe had been left on her bed and her hair was now pinned up on the top of her head with a single silver antique pin that had been her mother’s. She walked over to Mischa and Jeremiah, “Hey! Mind if I join you two?” she asked before taking a seat. They could say yes and she’d take a seat or if they didn’t then she’d politely excuse herself and find someone else to talk to though the choices in the common room were rather slim. She really didn’t want to have to go back to the dorms where the only thing to occupy her mind were the things she’d rather not think about. She had enough to consider with her time at Hogwarts soon coming to an end, by rights it should be at the end of this year but now she had an extra year to think what she wanted to do with her life. What did she want to do?

[Jeremiah Baer]

Before he could get much of a response out of Mischa, another girl, Verrin, walked past the two and off to her dorm. Soon, she returned and greeted Mischa and Jeremiah. "Sure, have a seat," Jeremiah said, nodding toward the open chair. He didn't think Mischa would mind either. "I'm Jeremiah," he said, unsure if Verrin knew his name or not. "I know who you are, but at the same time, I know we've never formally talked- a trend I find happens often with me," he said, a slight look of disappointment on his face.

"Mischa and I were just discussing our future plans after Hogwarts." He looked at Verrin and wondered what hers were. Then, he realized that he had heard rumors going around that she wasn't officially going to be in her seventh year, even though she should have been. Something about her being gone too much or whatever. Jeremiah thought it was probably a sensitive subject, so he decided against bringing it up.

"Mischa here enjoys Quidditch, cats, charms, and clothing. Of course you might already know that if you are unlike myself and have actually got to know your fellow house mates." He grinned a bit. It always felt better to poke at your own downfalls. "I, on the other hand really only have an interest in muggle sports." He raised an eyebrow and looked at Verrin. "What about you? What kinds of things interest you, that you might consider using in your future career?"

[sashalin]

Verrin smiled as Jeremiah offered her a seat, “Thanks,” she replied and lowered herself into the empty seat. “I know who you are Jeremiah,” she said with a smile as she made herself more comfortable. Verrin looked at Jeremiah curiously as his face fell. She didn’t know what it must feel like to not speak to people, Verrin was very social, but she could tell it bothered Jeremiah that that wasn’t the case with him. “You can’t say that anymore, now can you?” she said with a smile, as he remarked on them never having formally spoken before. Verrin thought about what Jeremiah had said. Why hadn’t she spoken to Jeremiah before? She had spoken to most of her housemates, Verrin being the type of person who just came up and introduced herself. Why hadn’t she done that with Jeremiah? She brushed the thought aside; it really didn’t matter now anyway.

She gave a small smile as Jeremiah told her what he and Mischa had been discussing. “Future plans? What have you decided?” she asked. Verrin knew she still had some things to sort out but they had to wait till at least her head was back in the right place. Ever since her mother became ill her mind had left her and it was only now returning. She smiled as Jeremiah brought up Mischa’s likes, she already knew a few of them but it wouldn’t have helped Jeremiah to say that she did. “That’s great. I like cats too, Xuxa’s upstairs actually,” she said just making conversation. She doubted that anyone really cared about her cat.

“You like muggle sports?” Verrin asked interested. “Philippe loves muggle things. He’s my brother, you might have seen him around the common room from time to time,” she added. “Me?” she asked as Jeremiah directed his question at her. “I love dance,” she said with a bright smile. “I do ballet. I also like music, transfiguration, charms and music. I’m no good at quidditch unfortunately but I like to watch it. So I guess with those things I might look into something in the Ministry maybe and leave the artsy part of me for fun. I really don’t know,” she said with a small smile. “What do you want to do Jeremiah? Something in the muggle field?” she asked curiously. As she waited for him to answer she couldn’t help wondering why he didn’t knew more of his housemates. He seemed nice enough, as much as you could deduce from a five-minute conversation. She made a mental note to try to get him to talk more, or at least to speak to him more. he may not have had a friend in Gryffindor before, or very few, but he had just added one more whether he knew it or not.