Niamh listened to Professor Persnickety talk, and wondered why the curfew was earlier than before. She didn't really feel it would worry her though, as she'd brought her mini menagerie of pets with her this term, and they would be waiting for her in the dorms each evening. She wasn't too sure where everyone she'd made friends with last term was, but hunger was definitely going to win over catching up with everyone. Looking at the menu, she picked out some things she recognised from last term, and a couple of items she hadn't tried before. She knew the was tasty, you definitely can't go wrong with and she thought she'd try the , and in the hope they would be as tasty as they sounded.

Paddy spotted Zoe () sitting on her own and wandered over, "you look a bit lost in your thoughts, mind if I join you?"

[edit] Yummy, thank you! :D

Callista waved at Zoe when she saw her, and reminded herself to tell Zoe she liked her hair when she got the chance. There was something not quite right about the way that blazer was sitting, but their discussions about style (and how to take care of nice things so you didn't have to be scared to wear them) had apparently borne fruit.

Then she glanced back to Lenore. "I don't know, but I think we have the best chance of being persuasive than anyone else. Maybe people could agree to meet up in the library and go home in groups when it closes. It's going to be hell when people start revising for OWLs and NEWTs, otherwise, and I don't want our common room to become study hall central when that's what the library's for. I can charm my sewing machine so it doesn't make noise, especially now that I've got it running on magic. But when we're having tea and cakes we are going to giggle, it's only natural."

She glanced over at the new boy who had crossed the room to talk to the obviously lovestruck (but not with him) centaur, Mallowsweet. Good luck with that. Or...maybe not. He was pretty.

"Lenore, who's the new House hottie over there? Do you know? You know everyone in Britain, I swear--my family spends so much time in Europe and travelling that there's a lot I miss, sometimes. He's really cute--I swear, he belongs on the cover of a Japanese comic with cherry petals floating around him."

&

Sitting at the Hufflepuff table, Luck Bee was surprised and a bit saddened to hear that the Head of Hufflepuff was changing. She nodded at nothing in particular as she congratulated Professor Makshi in her mind, and knew that she would have to get used to someone new over the house.

She huffed at the curfew. What's that for? she wondered. Although she had little to no desire to be out late, nor break the rules, she seemed disappointed to be locked up so early. The Forbidden Forest ban was anticipated, given that it was, well, forbidden. She stared solemnly at her menu as she thought about all the magical creatures that were hidden in there, and how she wanted to see them...

She zoned back into reality and noticed that everyone was already getting their food and eating. Luck spoke to her menu and ordered:

Private Outfit Nicola sat at the hufflepuff table and half listened to the announcements while reading a science fiction novel under the table trying to finish it before all her time would be spent reading course work. The menu appeared and she nearly dropped her book. Oh, right. Putting her bookmark in, Nicola ordered blueberry porridge, bacon, vanilla milk, and a vanilla glazed cinnamon roll please?

[img align=left]https://sapi.subeta.net/shared/272818.png[/img]Turning back to Cali (), Lenore paused over her cup looking thoughtful. "We are both hard-working students. And if anyone is going to talk their way into getting what they want it will be a couple of Slytherins. Still... we don't know the reason behind the curfew yet and I'd like to know how to approach the question before asking permission." Her eyes grew suddenly wide and then narrowed quickly again into slits when Cali mentioned how overcrowded the common room would be. "We have to so something, that's no question."

She sat there thinking a moment before she was drawn out of her thoughts by the question of the blond-haired boy. "Oh, him? That's Wayland Hayes. Actually, you've probably had more chance of seeing him lately than I have. He's always traveling too. I haven't seen him in years myself. Not that he would be likely to be welcomed by my family if he did drop by." She shrugged and took a sip of her coffee. "Quite the scandal." She quietly sipped her coffee just waiting for her friend to take the bait and ask for details.

Callista laughed. Was it obviously bait? Of course. Was it even remotely necessary to get her to ask a question she clearly wanted the answers to? Of course not. She wondered how this would stack up next to Juliana Malfoy's stories from Durmstrang.

"Tell me more, Lenore..." she said, skritching Sabrina behind the ears. The cat was getting bigger. Soon she'd be too big to sit in Callista's lap at the table; it wouldn't be long.

Lenore put down her coffee and started the story as soon as Cali () asked. She knew that Wayland was bound to get a lot of attention and loved that she knew more than anyone else.

"Wayland's father, Atropo," she started "was a high-standing member of the Pureblood community. He had ties into just about all of Brittain's Sacred Twenty-eight even if he didn't actually inherit one of the family names. His mother was an Abbott...or was it a Prewett? I can't remember. Either way, he was highly desirable among the young women of the time. He was invited to every party, his parents practically paraded him about like a show horse. And he seemed to love it." she lowered her voice. "Some even said that he had a chance of marrying the Minister of Magic's niece." She paused here for a moment and refilled her cup.

"Then one day he vanished. Not a trace for three weeks, and then an owl shows up with a note. It had only three words one it. Married. So sorry. Something had to be wrong. His parents wanted to hush the whole thing up naturally. Of course, the note was seen by a servant and word got out. Don't ask what they did with the servant." she shuddered. "Anyway, the scandal nearly ruined the family. They might have been able to patch it up. I heard they were planning to Imperious a well known Pure-blood witch into thinking that she was his wife and that they had eloped. Of course, I've heard worse than that too... But all plans were ruined when he came home nine months later with a new son and no wife. He didn't speak for months except to repeat the words I'm sorry. He just sat and wasted away while the boy was cared for by servants. Most people thought he was going to die... People lost track of what happened after that. It seems his parents finally learned how to keep a proper secret." she said this last bit with a tone of obvious contempt and superiority.

"Anyway, it wasn't until I was nine that I met Wayland. He found me while he was visiting Scotland and wanted to see if I knew any more about his relatives than he did. He'd been looking for information everywhere and you know how gossip spreads in the old families. He, himself knew nothing. His dad won't talk about anything that happened around the time of his birth. And according to Wayland, simply mentioning his mom sends his dad into a drinking bout." She blew on her new coffee to cool it.

"Naturally we kept in touch. In secret by owl. That's around the time I started breeding owls actually, just as an excuse to have them flying about all the time. I never dreamed he would end up at Hogwarts. It's so open. But now that he's here I suppose we'll have to pretend to meet." she chuckled.

"Oh," she added as an afterthought. "He also wants to be a famous rock musician."

Callista's eyes widened. "Wow," she said. "I bet his mother was some kind of fairy or fey being. Juliana Malfoy knows tons of stories like that, it's one of her special interests. We've been friends for a long time, although she goes to Durmstrang for Reasons, so most people here don't know her, except that she's a maniac on a broomstick."

Elizabeth, seated on the Slytherin table close to her friends whom she had greeted with a nod, had been fairly silent. She had applauded for Professor Makshi and the new Professor for transfiguration alike but in her mind, she didn't approve how some students doted on Professor Isaac Howard. He was a teacher after all. She glanced at him. And he wears sneakers. With a silent sigh, she was about to pour some tea into her cup when the Headmistress mentioned the new curfew and her hand paused in mid-air. Elizabeth noticed she wasn't the only one being irritated upon it. The staff hadn't informed the prefects, the Head Boy or the Head Girls about this and there must be a serious reason for such a change. She straightened her back a little and eyed Professor Persnickety with curiousity. What were they trying to protect the students from if the castle was not safe at night? Her mind tried to come to a solution and she helped herself to some blueberry porridge. There was a possible answer forming in the corners of her thoughts, but she bit her lip and pushed it aside, finally pouring in some tea. Maybe she wasn't that hungry anymore. She noticed a Slytherin girl at the far end of the table with white hair(), who was also only having tea. That girl seemed rather tired, though, so she didn't want to bother her at all.

Therefore, Elizabeth was content with listening to the conversations of those she considered friends - Lenore() and Callista (). Her attention was back again when Lenore used the word 'scandal' while talking about the new student Wayland Hayes. His surname was a well-known one but that was all Elizabeth knew. She listened carefully and the story was quite a scandal indeed. When Lenore ended her explanation, she chuckled quietly. "Famous rock musician, eh? I wonder where he got that from. No offense, though, but it seems to be a pretty non-compliant career.", she finally spoke "I might say he gets his looks from his father. He looks...nice.", she said, before noticing how that sounded, "Just don't ever tell Corvus I said that."

Lorcan sat at the Ravenclaw table, listening to the speech. He couldn't care less about a new teacher, especially not for transfiguration, which wasn't his strong subject.
What really annoyed him was the new curfew. Not that he studied in the library too often as it was crowded, he preferred to be outside to learn. This curfew would overcrowd the common rooms. A look of disapproval on his face, he chose some food from the menu.
While eating, he watched the other students. He was not a people-person so he hardly knew anyone and the island where he lived was pretty small as well, the majority of people there being tourists. Elderly tourists.

Zoe looked up. "Oh, hey Sauvage," she said. She brightened when the girl mentioned Jona was there. "Oh yes she would need that." Relief swelled through her. "Sure," she said happy to have company. Then Paddy came over and joined them. "Hello, PAddy. Have ye two had a good term break?" She waved at Callista. She'd need to go say hello shortly. Now the Ravenclaw was feeling a lot better.

Sauvage blushed at the mention of break, but only vaguely said, "It was nice." She sipped from her latte and asked how their breaks had gone, complimenting Zoe on her hair (as always, it was beautiful) and Paddy on her shoes. While the other girls began to respond, a Tarzan-like call came from the entrance to the Great Hall. As soon as he made the noise, Jona ducked low to the ground in order to not be seen. He sent Duncan on ahead to find Zoe, though truthfully it wasn't very hard with that hair. Along the way, he waved to some Hufflepuffs:

Once he finally reached the group of girls, he managed to swoop in and hung Zoe from behind. "I miiiiiiiised youuuuu!" Pulling away, he stepped back to drink her in with his eyes. He really did miss her. And so did Duncan, apparently, who kept jumping up and down to get some attention. Subconsciously, Jona's fingers went to his head as they did often now - always reaching for a lock of hair only to find the shortly- shaved patches along the side.

,

Callista giggled. "I swear I won't tell a soul, Elizabeth. Besides, I think I like him. It's not like it means much, given that I don't actually know him, but he's very cute. Plus, I have enough older siblings that nobody's going to care very much about who I end up with eventually, except possibly Cousin Blaise." She shrugs. "I don't think there's anything wrong with being a rock star, but then, Japanese visual rock and the lolita fashion have common origins, And I'm going to be a fashion designer, after all."

Speaking of which, she hadn't seen Hollynd yet, and she had a bunch of magazines she'd brought back from Japan, France and Italy, which would hopefully make up for the difficulty of getting online at Hogwarts to read any good fashion blogs. Just yesterday she'd been with Liane in San Francisco for the Angelic Pretty USA anniversary party (unbeknownst to Mr and Mrs Malfoy) and had been in a photoshoot with Rinrin Doll. But there was nobody here except maybe Hollynd who'd want to hear about that.

((OOC to : my character's Callista, I'm Valiska :) ))

() Lenore went back to her coffee, satisfied that she had been likened to Juliana Malfoy even for a moment. "Durmstrang seems to get even better stories than Hogwarts does." Lenore nodded. "I miss Juliana, it's been ages since I've seen her. I'm actually a little jealous that you know her so well."

When Liz () joined in with the conversation, Lenore gasped in mock shock. "Liz! I'm appalled! Imagine, admitting that a male other than Corvus has visual appeal." She smiled at her friend and winked. "But of course I won't mention it."

"Ah, now you just may have a chance Cali." Lenore grinned and glanced back toward Wayland. "He'll need someone to design his costumes for performances. Even off stage I'm sure he'll want to look cutting-edge. And besides, who can really resist a man with a bit of mystery?"

Just then a loud call caught Lenore's attention and she looked up. After a few moments the noise was revealed to have been Jona (), coming in late to the feast. As usual, he made a beeline for Zoe. It looks like they both had new hairstyles to show off. Lenore chuckled and shook her head. Loud as they may be, those two together could be quite entertaining.

"That is an excellent idea," said Callista, smiling again as she glanced at the pale boy. "I'm pretty hard to resist myself. If you know him, should I be bold and walk up and introduce myself, or should I get you to introduce me? As for Liane--I saw her yesterday. I didn't know you knew her, I'll make sure to send your regards the next time I owl her. Want to see some pictures from yesterday? My phone's pretty useless for making calls out here, but I think I can show you the pictures."

&

Toru nearly spilled their orange juice when the doors burst open and someone gave a loud call. Luckily they only sloshed a little into their fingers which could easily be cleaned. They took off their glasses and gently perched them in the collar of their sweatervest to see who made a ruckus and only smiled faintly when he realized it was Jona (). Their new friend knew how to make an entrance.

The Hufflepuff cleaned their small mess and glanced around for anyone they knew. The list was short but they saw Aurora () and moved to sit beside her. "I-I'm sorry about the forest being o-off limits..." they said softly, knowing the forest meant a great deal to her considering how they met. "The Lake isn't f-forbidden and I'm sure you can make f-friends there..." Toru did enjoy spending time near the water and there were plenty of friends to be made there if you knew where to look and how to ask.

Mallwosweet blinked and looked around as someone sat next to her and said hello, without voicing the "H", twice in quick succession. She had never heard a greeting quite like that before, and smiled at him in a friendly way, to hide her surprise. Without really looking at her menu she tapped the image of an unusual looking yellow fruit she had never seen before, ordering it, an apple smoothie and a Maple Doughnut with Sprinkles before saying "Hello, I don't think we've met before. I'm Mallowsweet." The boy next to her was certainly handsome, dressed all in black with no house colors to identify him. His hair, nearly as pale as her own, gave an appealing impression of carefully arraigned untidiness, framing his sparkling eyes and facial jewelry nicely. She was about to ask about the stones in his brow jewelry, when her food apparated onto the table with a loud 'POP'. Holding up the bunch of bananas in dismay she exclaimed "What are these?... and how are you supposed to eat them???" (OOC don't send me any food items, just ordering for the sake of Rp)

((oops LOL sorry. I've fixed it)) And anyone else wanting to peek in :)

“I had a good time too,” Zoe said. “Oh thank ye. A professional did my hair,” she said blushing. “I’ll explain more when Jona comes.”

When Jona arrived Zoe’s smile broadened. “Well hello! I missed ye too. Got a present for ye from Paris.” She dug into her bag and pulled out a little statue of the Eiffel Tower and a huge book all about famous places to see in France with lots of pictures. “I had to spell it weightless once I got on the train. That thing weighs a ton!” She petted the pooch and smiled. “Hellow lassie, how are ye? I missed ye too Duncan.” She looked up Jona again. “I see ye’ve grown a bit over the break and ye got a new haircut too. Ye look older,” she said. “Less mischievous. How was yer holiday?” Clearly itching to talk of hers, she launched into her news. “Mum and Dad took me to Paris and we saw some fashion shows, art shows, symphonies and went to museums. Saw the Eiffel Tower, Luxembourg Gardens—oh those were so pretty. Did sightseeing and food tours as well. I liked the Louvre and the Orsay Museum. I’m nee sure fashion is my thing, but I did like seeing how things did and didnee work together. I think Callista and some of the other Slytherin girls will like hearing about the shows I went to. At one of the shows a designer noticed me for some reason and hired me to be in a few shoots.” Zoe blushed terribly. “They dyed my hair black with the darker blue and I’ve kept it. I can do it with colour changing spells now that I’m back here.”

Lenore grinned at Callie's eagerness to meet Wayland. "I'll introduce you if you like" she said, "but considering he's a free thinker, pursuing an unorthodox career and is currently talking to another girl... I'd say be bold." Lenore glanced over again toward the blonde boy, quite keen on getting a chance to talk later on.

"But first I'd like to see your pictures! I've only spent time with Juliana on a couple of occasions at parties and that was so long ago." Her brow knitted as she added, "Though I'm completely lost as to what pictures have to do with a phone call. I know I don't know very much about muggle communication..."

"Good to meet you Mallowsweet." the boy said, picking up a menu and considering ordering a second round. "I'm Wayland. And those lovelies you have there are bananas. Have you really never seen one before?" Taking one off the bunch she was still holding, he peeled the fruit halfway down and took a bite before offering it to her. "Fancy this one or want to open one up on your own?" Picking up an abandoned cup of tea from the table, he swished the liquid in his mouth a moment before swallowing. A bit of the banana had stuck in his serpent-shaped tongue ring and he felt better once it was out.

"Sure!" Callista took her mobile out of her purse. As expected, there was absolutely no signal to be had (and she'd have the devil of a time keeping it charged) but she was able to turn it on, at least. Sometimes the level of ambient magic was just too high for things to work. "Here," she said. "We took these pictures in the store." She flipped through some group shots, and explained who the designers were. "And here's my dress--and this is how I dressed up Liane Malfoy. We had to wear things from the designers who were there, but I added a lot of flowers to my dress, and of course we wore our own jewellery. What do you think?"

Outfit Not Found

"Liane's not usually a pink person, but...it really does look good on her, it was fun persuading her out of gothic colours for once."

Outfit Not Found

Then she made a mental connection and sighed, impressed.

"Oh my goodness, I just realised...I think I saw Zoe somewhere this summer and didn't even recognise her. I just put it together looking at her hair. She looks amazing now. When I go over there to talk to them, I should probably apologise for not recognising her!"

"Thank you two for not telling a soul.", Elizabeth replied to her friends ( ) with a light grin. But even if one of them would tell Corvus - it wasn't that she had said anything scandalous. It was just not her usual self. She poured more tea in her cup and carefully mixed it with milk while thinking about Cali's words. It was no surprise that she was allowed to take liberties with her family, given the amount of older siblings. Maybe their backgrounds were more different than she thought. The boy, Wayland, seemed to be free-spirited and that might fit well with Cali. She glanced over to him. He was talking to the centaur girl right now, though...

"So the Malfoys are sending their children exclusively to Durmstrang now? That would explain their absence at Hogwarts.", she said finally. "I have to admit I don't know Juliana. Or any of her family. We may have seen each other at official occasions at least. And my parents always made sure we were never placed next to each other at a dinner table.", Elizabeth added. Little did her friends know in that case. Her father and her grandfather had stayed out of the Malfoy's range whenever possible. For really good reasons. Putting a decent smile on her face, Elizabeth looked at the screen of the little phone. "You both look very dainty! Lolita fashion does suit you well, Cali, and I might say the same for Juliana. ", she said. "The rich burgundy of your dress is amazing." Then, her face became a bit confused. With what happened last term at the Great Lake, Cali's words were a surprise to her. Zoe Parker? At a fashion show? Maintaining a low profile while glancing over the house tables and finally spotting Zoe, she had to agree with Callista to some extent. The Ravenclaw did look much different now.