Aderyn smiled widely at Emmy () as the girl loaded her plate full of a little bit of everything that was out. Once both of their plates were overflowing, Aderyn followed Emmy over toward a nearby table.

Sitting down beside Emmy, Aderyn dug into her own plate, making noises of contentedness as she ate. Every bite was better than the last and even though she was getting far too full, Aderyn could not force herself to stop eating.

"Oh my God, my wings won't be able to hold me if I keep eating," Aderyn bemoaned.

She glanced around as Emmy flagged someone down and she smiled at the new girl (). She waved at the girl in a friendly manner as Emmy introduced her.

"Pleased to meet you! How are you liking Christmas at the castle so far?"

[img align=left]http://i.imgur.com/S1fucd8.png[/img] Gaia looked around after getting her punch and noticed her friends Emmy () and Aderyn () with someone she didn't know, but had seen before. Gaia waved and started to walk towards them when she look at the door and notice that boy again (). Narrowing her eyes in his direction she scoffed and walked over to her friends.

"I am starving. The food smells delicious! Are you all enjoying yourselves?" Gaia turned to the new girl () "Hello! I am Gaia. It is nice to formally meet you!" Gaia smiled.

Sauvage walked into the Great Hall, a little nervous because she'd been cooped up in her room studying for what seemed like years but still excited to see everyone. She spotted a flurry of color and skipped over to . "Oh, wow! I love your outfit!!" Her hand hovered above the ornament ring cinched atop Gaia's head. "How did you...?"

Aderyn glanced over as someone else joined the table and smiled in time to see sitting down. She waved at her fellow Ravenclaw and nodded enthusiastically, her mistletoe headband bobbing.

"This is great! The perfect way to relax after a rough term! How about you?"

[img align=left]http://i.imgur.com/S1fucd8.png[/img] "hi!" Gaia hugged her friend and giggled "It is attached by a pin and a bit of a charm so it doesn't bobble around. I felt like being a cute ornament for the party!" Grinning Gaia sat down with her friends and quickly kissed Aderyn on the head before sitting down laughing she added "I figured we should get that out of the way with the mistletoe and all." Gaia wiped some tears from her eyes careful not to smudge her highlight. ()

[img align=left]https://i.imgur.com/4lAdw9T.png[/img] Snow was pretty when one didn't have to be out in the cold to admire it. Eros wasn't fond of the cold. Fortunately, he would soon be going home. Winter break was really summer break for him. He would spend about one or two days with his grandparents before taking a flight back to Australia. Of course, he would have to face a different type of cold there.

His fixation on the snowfall was interrupted when he thought he felt a burning gaze on him. Of course, by the time he directed his attention to a group of students, the feeling was gone. Eros finished the last bit of his tart and made his way towards one of the tables carrying warm drinks.

Aderyn giggled as kissed the top of her head. Noticing the other girl's tears, she frowned deeply, glancing around.

"Are you alright? Do I need to go curse someone for you?"

[img align=left]http://i.imgur.com/S1fucd8.png">/img Gaia started laughing "I hit my eye with the mistletoe!" bursting out laughing making her eye tear up more. "I should have measured the distance better!" Gaia was still laughing when she felt a chill in the air turning around in time to notice Eros () walking into the Great hall "figures" she thought with a mind eye roll.

Aderyn laughs and shakes her head, leaning away from to avoid any further injury.

"Oh no! Shall I use a healing spell?"

She giggles and follows Gaia's gaze to the side, her eyes landing on the Slytherin who had just walked in. Aderyn smiles wryly, remembering the one time she had accidentally almost killed him on the Quidditch pitch during some recreational practice with the club. Shrugging, she looks at Gaia again.

"I take it the two of you have some kind of sordid history?"

[img align=left]http://i.imgur.com/S1fucd8.png[/img] Gaia scoffed and shook her head "You know I don't really know. He is just so... I don't know. Usually I like everyone, but he can be so rude." Gaia shook her head again and glanced at the boy again. "I am hungry. I might as well get some food! What are your plans for the Holidays?" ()

Aderyn shrugged, smiling sympathetically, glad the conversation was turning away from the Slytherin.

"I'm staying here again," Aderyn replied to . "I just love Hogwarts in solitude, when it's quiet and most have gone home. I can curl up in the library, close my eyes and imagine it's all mine - the books, the centuries of knowledge."

Aderyn was practically fangirling, and well aware of how big a nerd she was, but she just couldn't help herself.

"Feel free to push me aside if I'm butting in," Sauvage said as she walked up behind Gaia and Aderyn. "I overheard you guys talking and I'm really curious, what is 'ogwarts like when everyone leaves for the 'olidays?" Sauvage couldn't help but beam while talking to them. She'd been practicing extra hard with her English pronunciation since she came to Hogwarts last year. The only thing she still had difficulty pronouncing were her "h"s.

"And," she continued, giving Aderyn a side-long glace, "is reading really all you do?"

Aderyn glanced over as joined her and at the table and she grinned widely.

"I love your hat!" She exclaimed. "I need a hat like that to add to my collection!"

She shuffled closer to Emmy () to make some room for their newest arrival and pondered the question.

"Well, it's not all I do," Aderyn mused. "But I really do enjoy it! I also love strolling down to the lake and tending to the plants in the greenhouses."

She glanced around at the great hall, which was packed with students, and she shrugged.

"It's much quieter over the break," she replied. "It can get a little bit creepy, especially if you need to venture into the dungeons for anything, but besides that it's nice. You can actually walk from place to place without having to squeeze past dozens of people!"

Sauvage smiled at the compliment, tilting her head forward and giving the tree a little shake. The fresh scent of pine rained all around her as she took a deep breath. She then considered Aderyn thoughtfully as she listened to her response. "I could see that. Being alone in the greenhouses would definitely be nice. And it'd be cool to see the school so empty. Ugh, I can't imagine living in the dungeons like the Slytherin 'ouse at that time of the year, though. It would for sure creep me out." Sauvage let her eyes wander around the Great Hall for a moment until a thought occurred to her; she turned back to Aderyn again and asked: "Do you ever 'ang out with the ghosts when everyone is gone? I'm just curious if they become more social when the castle empties out."

Aderyn nodded as spoke.

"Some of the ghosts do like to come out and socialize," you respond. "Sir Nicholas is quite friendly over the holidays and the Fat Friar is always out in full force, especially at the Christmas feast. The Grey Lady usually keeps to herself, but when I do run into her it's usually in the library, and I do my best to avoid the Bloody Baron at all costs."

Glancing around, as though fearing that speaking the last ghost's name might summon him, Aderyn drops her voice.

"And of course, Peeves takes every opportunity to get away with as many practical jokes as possible when there are fewer witnesses around."

"The fat friar is a fun guy to talk to, even though he's a bit odd," Emmy chimed in, nibbling the last of her food, feeling uncomfortably full.

Emmy glanced around nervously as Aderyn mentioned Peeves' name, expecting the poltergeist to appear at any second.

"Don't say his name," she whispered to Aderyn. "The last thing we need is for him to crash the party!"

Aderyn giggled at Emmy ().

"What, is he like Beetlejuice now? If we say his name three times, he shows up?"

Not wanting to throw caution to the winds, she kept from saying it again, though, settling on finishing the last bites of her food. She was stuffed but not overly so and she grinned at Emmy, who was obviously in much worse shape.

"I'll bring us some punch, " Aderyn suggested. "Maybe that'll have you feeling better."

Rushing over to the drinks table, she looked at the selection and settled on the peculiar-looking, slightly fizzy pink concoction there. It smelled a bit like cranberries and she shrugged, pouring two cups and bringing them back to the table. She placed one glass in front of Emmy and held up the other.

"A toast, to another term well done!"

The doors to the great hall opened once again with a soft creak. The flames floating high above the laden tables danced, tickled by a waft of the gentle breeze flowing from the open doors to the grounds outside, causing the plates and goblets below to glisten. From the crack of the door, belouves entered inconspicously. She knew she was late for the feast, but having recently arrived after months spent at home, this felt as though it was her first time at Hogwarts. Needless to say, she hardly felt the urge to garner attention.

The tables were full of people she didn't remember seeing when she was in the castle last. Remembering where the sorting hat had placed her, belouves turned toward the second table closest to the door, where students wore accents of bronze and blue under their black robes.

Eveleigh sat down at the table next to Emmy and Aderyn and quietly ate as the table filled up with other students. She noticed Gaia looking at someone at the door, and wondered why he wasn't coming inside. She'd never ask though, at least not this early in the term. She really was pretty shy at first, until you got to know her. She liked this, sitting there and watching everyone talk and eat and be friendly. It really was the best way to truly get to know someone.

She loved hearing Sauvage's accent, and wondered where she was from. It got her to thinking about how far students came from home. Having just moved from the midwest in the states she was completely at a loss on everything around her, listening to Sauvage talk she thought she might not be the only one. The thought was soothing, to know she might not be the only one completely lost in this giant castle.

When she had finished eating (her plate seemed to keep filling up, every time she'd finish something, another one would appear back on her plate), she noticed everyone else was finally starting to eat, with the talking slowing down. "What house is everyone from?" she asked, "And what is there to do here when the castle is so quiet"

[img align=left]https://i.imgur.com/F5vuC0k.png[/img] "Hello," said Poppy to Eros (). "Would you like to sit?" She gestured to the seat beside her. "Mmm, and is that mulled wine?" Poppy was always cold, but especially now that the winter was so bitterly windy. The scent of spices emanating from the boy's warm drinks smelled incredibly beguiling.

"I'll trade you a glass for some of these." She drew a handful of foil-wrapped holiday edition Chocolate Cauldron miniatures out of a small velvet bag. "The Firewhisky in them is gold instead of green." Her eyes darted around the hall mischievously.