[img align=left]https://i.imgur.com/tcPDpI7.png[/img]Professor Appoline Persnickety raised her arms high to call for silence from the chatting students and faculty. Once the hall quieted, she smiled broadly at them.

“Welcome once again to another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! It feels so good to be back at the castle, don’t you think? I can appreciate the Ilvermorny castle, but nothing quite says ‘home’ like the Hogwarts castle.”

Some of the students murmured and nodded their heads in agreement.

“For those of you just joining us, you missed out on quite the tournament! Hogwarts did not win, but you fought a good fight. I am proud of all of you! Hopefully the friendships you made with the students of Ilvermorny and the Alexandrian Academy will last until your golden years.

“But alas, I digress. Before you all lose interest, daydreaming about the feast, I have a few announcements. We have had few changes of staff since we have returned. Professor Sparks has stepped down from her post as the Care of Magical Creatures professor. Replacing Professor Sparks as Head of Gryffindor will be Professor Christopher Norman! We are glad he has decided to postpone his retirement for a little while longer.

“Joining us as our new Care of Magical Creatures teacher is Professor Rosa Pinto! Professor Pinto comes to us from Portugal, though she has traveled all over the world, and is ready to share with you all she knows about the magical creatures she’s encountered over the years.”

Professor Persnickety motioned to an older witch to her left. Rosa Pinto nodded to the students eyeing her and gave a small smile.

“Professor Pinto is not the only new member of our staff. Ancient Runes has a new professor as well. Professor Chloe Foster has decided to not return from her maternity leave, choosing to spend more time with her new baby girl. Bryan Parkhurst has also finished his assignment as her assistant, having found a new position within the Ministry of Magic.” Professor Persnickety paused as younger woman entered the hall. “Ah, and here is their replacement now. I’d like you all to meet Professor Aimee Torres Rosario. Professor Torres is a native from the Dominican Republic, but an alum from Hogwarts. We’re glad to have her back!”

Professor Torres blushed and waved sheepishly, then took her seat at the staff table. The man sitting at the table next to her was failing to hide his laughter. Professor Persnickety cleared her throat, and the man stopped.

“Next to Professor Torres is our new Arithmancy professor, Professor Kay Jäger. Professor Jäger joins us as Professor Skye makes his way to the United States to be with his family.

Lastly, we have a new librarian joining us this term! Please welcome Mister Jasper Cassidy to our staff. You’ll find he’s very… passionate about the books. I feel he will be an asset to the team.”

Seeing that the students were beginning to grow impatient, Professor Persnickety tried to wrap up the rest of her announcements as quickly as possible to allow for the feasting to begin.

“Before I let you all focus on quieting your now growling stomachs, I just wanted to remind all of you that the Forbidden Forest is strictly off limits without being accompanied by a teacher. You will all be thankful to hear that there are no other restricted areas this year--” Professor Persnickety’s gaze found Mister Cassidy. She cleared her throat once more. “Other than the restricted section of the library, as Mister Cassidy’s glare as just now reminded me.”

Laughter came from the students, some sounding a bit apprehensive.

“At last, let’s get this feast under way! Tuck in!”

(From left to right: Rosa Pinto, Aimee Torres Rosario, Kay Jäger, and Jasper Cassidy)

[img align=left]https://sapi.subeta.net/shared/272818.png[/img] Lenore waits for the announcements to finish and smiles. Having spent the last term in America she is more than glad to be back at Hogwarts. She's finally home.

Looking down the Slytherin table, she spots a few new faces and nods toward a couple of her older classmates. She then chooses some roast and potatoes from the plates on the table and enjoys her first dinner back at Hogwarts.

Millie slide onto the bench and read the menu. She was so happy to be back at Hogwarts. She took a look at the menu and placed her order. She looked up and down the Hufflepuff table and didn't know many of them. She wondered if it was their first term or started last term when she had traveled to Ilvermorny. And thought of Ilvermorny made her shudder. She had spent her time there in the infirmary, ill with Dragon Pox before being sent home early. When her food arrived, she started eating her soup

[img align=left]https://sapi.subeta.net/shared/357003.png[/img] Keliora smiled at her fellow Ravenclaws lined up at their tables. It would be so wonderful to spend time at the library with Mister Cassidy and share a love of books and knowledge! She was also intrigued to meet Professor Jäger, as she had a particular fondness for Arithmancy. She hoped that Professor Skye was doing well in the US - she was sad to see him go but understood the desire to spend time with family.

Ahh, time to tuck in - she had sorely missed Hogwarts feasts and was very happy to be back.

[img align=left]https://sapi.subeta.net/shared/354623.png[/img]Zoe Parker looked down at the parchment and then back at her parents and then back at the parchment. In fact, she’d read the letter so many times that by the time she was on the train back to Hogwarts, the parchment had to be spello taped in at least ten different places. She reflected on the letter at least a dozen times as she watched the scenery speed by in the compartment. If anyone were to ask her, she’d say she was probably in shock. Of course, no one did ask her. No one actually noticed her. In fact, that was part of the shock. Head Girl. She couldn’t believe that the school had made her head girl. She didn’t think the staff knew her. As her pets followed her to the Great Hall, she sighed and reflected on her parent’s words.

“Great going Zozo, you’ll knock ‘em dead! We are so proud of you. Our baby head girl. I knew you’d fit in some day!” There were more, but that was the overall gist. Then they took her to the pet shop in Diagon Alley and told her to pick a new friend. She found a transforming rabbit, which she named Harold (Hare-old) unable to resist a good pun. Harold was asleep in her pocket at the moment though.

But now, walking into the Great Hall, the teen girl was nearly petrified. Did anyone notice her? Surely not right? She slipped into her seat at Ravenclaw and kept her head down.

[img align=right]https://i.imgur.com/fbCnHhc.png[/img] Magnus Lee, was beaming. It was nice to have Merlin back in England, and his girlfriend River, was now here too. He seemed to have lost sight of her. Drew was currently mia as well. Where was Fade ? He had so many friends that he felt his head was about to twist off as he scanned for them. Was there?

((ooc: I'll bring River, the new Gryff from 4a, in soon. Sorry to those I didn't ping lol there's so many I wanted too.))

Merlin was too happy to be back at Hogwarts and couldn't believe how long it felt. "At last, Hogwarts! Slytherin common room and my friends!" He ran to hug Magnus. "Surely Hogwarts sucked without me, right? I mean, seriously no clumsy Merlin to make you laugh. River is here too!" He was excited.

Merlin waved to his friends from afar and went to say hello to a few like Lenore, Millie and Keliora. "It's wonderful to be back. No place like this."

Keet took a seat at the Ravenclaw table, and listened intently to the new teachers' introductions, clapping politely for each of them. After the announcements were finished, she added some food to her plate and looked about to see who else had arrived at the table. She spotted her fellow prefect Keliora and grinned, but noticing that she had already started her meal, Keet felt it impolite to interrupt. She also noticed Zoe and Magnus and waved to both of them.

Keet decided to have some food first, and then chat with her fellow students. She was quite hungry! Hearing a soft hoot, she turned to see her little screech owl, Ophelia, fluttering across the great hall to land on her shoulder. "Ophelia, it's not time for mail right now," she said to the little owl. "I suppose you must be peckish, then?" she asked, as the owl gave a hoot of approval. She smiled and fed Ophelia a piece of her roast beef, then began to tuck in herself.

Millie looked up from her soup and saw Merlin () and Magnus () enter. She waved to the boys and hopped up to greet them with a hug. "I missed you both!" she told them. "I've been super depressed since I didn't get to compete in the tournament. Dragon Pox are the worst" she said with a frown. ((ooc - real life got in the way and I needed to take a break from subeta. All is good now))

"And Merlin, what's all this about a girlfriend? She was one of the students from 4A?" she said with a smile and a wink. "I'm looking forward to meeting her"

"Hey!" He returned the hug. "You really didn't missed much- I mean the tournament. I really wanted to return here, but I admit I had my great adventures too." He blushed at the mention of a girlfriend. "Hum, yes she transferred here now and you'll meet her soon, maybe got lost since it's her first time or got to meet new friends at her house. It's a pity she is not a Slytherin. The quidditch matches would be a touchy subject." He laughed. "You know how heated Slytherin versus Griffindor is every year. But if she by any chances joins the team, I will have to support her. You surely will like her!" He then realized he was blabbering so he blushed heavily. "River is special, was a champion in the tournament too."

Millie smiled. "It's good to see you. It had to be better than laying in quarantine in their infirmary with green skin. I was miserable. Once I was able to travel, they sent me home. Thankfully my dad is a healer and works on the Magical bugs ward at St. Mungos. In fact, that's actually how I got it. I went to visit my dad at work before leaving.

"She probably wanted to check things out and meet her housemates. I'm sure it's a big change from 4A. I'm sure she's wonderful. I was disappointed I didn't get to meet many people. I went to bed early the first night because I wasn't feeling well and woke up in middle of the night with green skin and sneezing sparks. Anyway. It's good to be back. I'm looking forward to meeting her"

Magnus waved to Keet. But Zoe assumed Keet was waving only to Magnus so she didn't wave back. Magnus headed off to greet more friends and Zoe didn't know if she should say something or not so she just stared off into space and faked a prediction. "Oh, looks like a spot of trouble in Sheffield tomorrow. Tsk. What a pity."

"Of course it was boring without you, Merlin. I had no one to sneak into the forest with or anything! Glad your back mate."

"Millie!" Magnus said. "You were ill aww man that stinks. I'm sorry about that. Glad to see you!"

River had disappeared going to the kitchens and procuring a box of doughnuts. She was so glad the kid in front of her told them how to get in the kitchens. As the former 4A student entered the Great Hall, she scaned for white hair, the fastest way to find Merlin. Spotting him she ran over to him. She saw Magnus there and a girl. "Hi," she said waving jovilly. "I'm River Alcott. I'm from 4A. Merlin, its sooo cold here," she said shivering some. "But look I got some doughnuts from the kitchen! You want some guys?"

Jona fidgeted apprehensively in his seat. New and nervous - but not afraid. Who should he talk to? There were so many people! And everything was all so lively. He grabbed some familiar food that reminded him of home: tacos, quesadillas, churros.

He turned to the girl next to him () and said, "Is it just me or are there a lot of Ravenclaws here?"

Edit: ((OOC: I noticed you introduced yourself in the Huffpuff thread lol but I opened this first - we can make it work))

"It was terrible. I won't even lie, I just wanted my mum" Millie told Magnus ()

Millie turned to Jona (). "There are so many Ravenclaws here. And there are more every term. Thankfully the ones I'm friends with are really nice. It's actually kind of difficult to get all the Hufflepuffs in one room at the same time. I don't know where they all hide" ((ooc - no worries. I do that all time))

Millie saw Merlin's () face light up and she knew Raven was entering the Great Hall. She turned to greet her. "Hi, I'm Millie. Welcome to Hogwarts - Ohh donuts. I always want a donut. Thanks!"

Magnus saw the boy come up to them. "'Ey," the boy say smiling. "I'm Magnus, and yes, that's cos we are gonna take over the world." He laughed. "Just kidding." He looked to Millie, "I 'ide 'em, don't you know that?" When she spoke of the illness he frowned. "I'm sorry. It sounds awful. I know the year I were in Saint Mungos was awful so I do understand. Glad you are better now and back 'ere. I missed me friends."

River smiled. "Thank you Millie. So do I and Merlin. Doughnuts are one of his faviourites so I gotta get my man some yummy confectionary." She giggled. "How are you Mags?"

"Doin' alright. Congrats on Gryffindore, you'll love it," Magnus said.

Jona laughed at Magnus's comment about taking over the world. He wanted to say something witty in return but couldn't think of anything fast enough and the conversation was already rolling in another direction. Jona went with it, too.

"Wait," He turned to Millie. "what exactly are dragon pox?" He was still relatively new to the wizarding world and was only half sure that the upperclassmen might be pranking him right now.

Magnus went somber at the mention of dragon pox. "It's bad. Painful, sometimes people die. Very contagious too. It's like small pox in the muggle world," Magnus replied even though it wasn't addressed to him. "You even get tainted green and the sores are purple. It's awful. I guess that's why it were called dragon pox cos of the colour and the purple sores."

"We'll see about that. No one ever suspects the Hufflepuffs" she told Magnus () with a wink

Millie laughed. "We're not hard to capture. Just yell, "I need a hug" and we come running. I can't imagine how rough it was to be there for a year. Thankfully the healers are wonderful. I was feeling better by the time I got home, so my parents kept me there and my dad took a few days off from work. I'm glad I'm better too. I keep looking in the mirror to make sure my skin hasn't turn green again. It was not a good color on me. I missed you all too.

Millie laughed. "Donuts are the best. My mum owns her own bakery in London. She's a muggle but she employees two witches to baked magical goods. The house elves are really awesome about allowing students to bake when they aren't putting a meal together.

You'll love Gryffindor. I've heard the tower is toasty warm. And it's chilly here but it's much warmer than Durmstrang. My boyfriend is starting his 7th year there. He and his friends actually created their own smokeless fire charm to warm their dorms because they aren't allowed to have fires unless approved by the headmaster. They got tired of being cold all the time."

Jona's eyes went wide as Magnus described dragon pox. If the Ravenclaw was lying, then he did it well, because Jona believed him whole-heartedly. he turned slowly to look at Millie, now knowing what it was she went through. He didn't know what to say exactly to this girl he had just met, so he just looked at her and appreciated that she was there with them now. He smiled as the conversation took on a sweeter note.He licked his lips and gnawed at a churro while listening to all the talk of donuts. He wasn't normally this quiet, but he felt like he was learning more about everyone now than he would be if he kept asking questions.

"Thank you." He said to Magnus as an after-thought. The boy had answered him truthfully and Jona appreciated that.

Magnus laughed. "Yeah you Puffies do like to comfort people. I know where to go when I get sick. I get lots of pampering." Magnus looked down. "Yeah it were awful, especially since I weren't sick... I mean not after I 'ealed. Just ain't know one know what to do with me..." He shrugged. "Glad you got to 'ave some pampering from you're folks and ain't green." He grinned. "Though I could spell your skin..."

River smiled. "Yeah aren't they? I like 'em a lot." The girl's smile faded slightly at the mention of Millie's muggle mother. She'd give the world for her mother to be around. "A bakery how lovely. I am not a good cook. Oh how sweet of the elves. Really? good, I'm so cold. Hope I get used to the big temperature change." River put the box in front of Jona. "Would you like a doughnut?"

"Er for what?" Magnus asked the other boy.

Jona blinked, not expecting to be directly talked to and here he had two people looking at him. He smiled cheerfully, "I can't say 'no' to a free donut! Thanks, uh...was it River?" he snagged a donut from the box and took a bite. Yum! "Feels weird to be eating donuts with all this other food around." He was not complaining.

He downed the donut in three bites and turned back to Magnus, now feeling a bit awkward for thanking him. "I just meant - well, I thought you guys had initially been pulling my leg about the whole dragon pox thing. So, I was just glad to find out you were being real with me." He shrugged. "I appreciate the honesty. Seriously. I'm brand new, literally fresh off the boats today and you could have had your way with me in the prank department, but you all are being really welcoming." He smiled, a big goofy grin, because he was just so dang happy to meet so many awesome new people. he nodded to Millie as well; she was one of those awesome people, too.