[img align=left]https://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b174/theatticbox/morgan3.png[/img]Professor Deidra Morgan, head of Slytherin house, waited for the Slytherin students to enter the common room, beaming. She waited until most of the students shuffled in.

"We did it!! You all did a wonderful job last term! We finally took the cup from Ravenclaw!" She flashes them a grin. "But we will not let our victory go to our heads. I expect you all to do your best this term once again!"

Behind her, the table fills with drinks and finger foods.

"Ah, I've had the Houselves send up some treats for you all. You deserve it! I know you may all be a bit full from the feast, but I thought just in case... And before I forget, this term's password is pumpkin juice. New students, the boys' dormitory is downstairs, while the girls' dormitory is upstairs."

Merlin was guiding all the new students to the common room while repeating the rules and the password to them in case they didn't listened. Once his job was done, he quickly waved who was already inside chatting with friends and catching up from the holidays. "Hello! Hope we have another great year!"

(OOC: Here you go Fable, you pushed Mary a bit lol)

((OOC bringing last posts here in summation to keep our rp going :)

to anyone else in the common room, our group -Fable, Moonfox, Anne and Eirik- are sitting around a table having cookies and tea. There is a sign on the table that says 'reserved for the Council of Archduke Ferdinand' ))

from moonfox: 'Kyros heard a tiny meow on his way back to the common room, one he clearly recognized. Back on the dorm, he caught his tiny companion playing with one of his sweaters. There was no way he could resist to that... For the record, I'd like to say I fought bravely. Resigned, he grabbed both the sweather and the kitten before going down the stairs to the common room. Shit, everyone else is already here.

He couldn't help but chuckle at the name on the parchment. "Such a fine name. Thanks Eiri- I wasn't supposed to speak, was I? Oh well." The boy shrugged. Sitting down in one of the comfortable leather chairs and taking his wand from his pocket, he lightly touched the teapot, enchanting it to pour hot water by itself when one of them offered their teacup. "I may not know about cat nets, but household spells can be quite useful." '

from Eirik: 'Eirik was about to respond when his two cats, Murdy and Kiki bounded into the common room. Murdy helped himself to Eirik's lap, and Kiki looked annoyed that he had gotten there first. She stared, and then found something to occupy her attention.

"I am glad that your feet are feeling better, Miss Elizabeth, if I may call you that....?" Eirik asked. "I have never understood why ladies feel the need to balance on tiny pointed heels. Fashion, I suppose."

Eirik looked hungrily at the cookies that were placed by the tea. "How kind of them to share their cookies, and how sweet of you to share them with us, " he said with a smile, glancing down to be certain that Kiki wasn't ready to jump up on the table to get to the sweets. She was sniffing the air, and he knew he would have to keep an eye on her, she did love her desserts.'

from Fable: 'Fable sunk down into the leather of the comfy black couch. "AHHHHhhh, I love this furniture..."

She then sighed and smiled. "Actually I feel quite stupid wearing those. Elizabeth and I both realized we were wearing long enough skirts/dresses that people wouldnt notice what the heck we were wearing underneath them! but yes...we both used some salve my family sent for such a problem."

She looked longingly at the cookies Elizabeth had brought out, she asked the question already knowing the answer. "I dont suppose any of those are gluten free are they?" She quickly covered, "Its ok if their not...just...dietary restrictions. I think Hogwarts is slow on the upkeep of other problems...at least I know what "normal" foods I can eat."

She sipped her tea and stifled a yawn. She smiled at all the cats. "So cute..." made her rethink maybe having a pet.'

from anne: " 'Elizabeth' is completely fine", she replied and smiled at the sight of the cats. "The price of fashion", the girl said somewhat theatrical and chuckled. "As Fable said, the next time, I simply wear a long skirt and nobody will see my comfortable flat sandals..."

"Oh no, I'm sorry", she said when Fable asked if the cookies were gluten free, "but I know that they sell a variety of cookies...there are probably some gluten free and I will try to keep that in mind when I get home for summer." She blushed a bit and hoped she would keep that in mind, then followed Fable's glance to the cats. "I have one as well - Vincent - but he was sleeping deeply on my bed when we came back and he's really lazy. A bit stubborn as well, but yet loveable."

[img align=left]https://i.imgur.com/vj3r8oQ.png[/img] Eros sat at the edge of his bed down in the boys' dorm, folding the last of his black shirts and neatly placing on top of a stack next to him. He got up and moved the stack into the drawer assigned to him. When the last of his clothes was put away, he walked back to his bed where one book still laid above the covers. It was an herbology textbook, Flesh-Eating Trees of the World, the newest edition. The term had barely begun, but Eros was determined to get a head start on his studies. It would leave him more time for extracurriculars, like Quidditch.

He sat back down on his bed, leaning against the headboard and cracked open the textbook.

Eirik smiled at Miss Elizabeth. "Thank you for allowing me to address you as such, " he said, helping himself to a cookie. "These look wonderful. And you have a kitty as well..? I adore cats," he said, smiling broadly.

"I am glad that both of you no longer have aching feet."

He smiled again, seeing Fable looking happily at the kitties. "Fable, you are just going to have to get a cat," he said, chuckling. "It's a requirement for being on the Council."

Eirik looked up when the prefect called out 'Hello' to Fable, and he nodded in that direction. "Would you care to join us for tea and cookies..?"

Merlin looked at the direction of the man he knew only by sight and smiles. "I never say no to cookies and tea, I would love to join you all. I'm also a bit hungry, does anyone want anything from the table? I'm going to pick a few things, meat free of course." He looked at and smile. "I don't want to run to the bathroom to spit again like in the concert." He laughed, but it wasn't that funny at the time. "Did we met ? I believe you are new to the school, or am I wrong? I am Merlin, my friends call me Merls." He then looked at and smiles. "It's a pleasure to see you back, hope the holidays treat you right."

"Feel free to pull up a chair, when you are ready, but mind the cats, they are underfoot,"Eirik said to their prefect. "No, thank you for the offer, but I am enjoying these lovely cookies. Shall I pour you a cup of hot water...? We have a bunch of different teas to choose from," Eirik said, pulling the box of tea bags closer to where Merlin would be sitting when he was ready.

(( Thank you for getting our Common room going and LOL I cant help thinking the Slytherins winning is what caused Prof. Trelawney to finally retire! XD lol Completely playing of course!))

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Fable waved to him happily. "You bet! We have some new students over here if you want to meet them, their pretty cheeky..." she playful nudged Eirick and Kyros laughing.

EDIT!! "If they have any gluten free looking stuff I would love it!! Ice cream without cake or cookie in them...pudding...Hell I will even take a fruit cup!" she chuckled.

She smiled at Elizabeth "Its fine really! I dont expect people to know and most stuff is wheaty! You have a cat too named Vincent? Im thinking...maybe a hamster...Ive always liked them..." She thought out loud.

"The tea is great Eirick...thank you so much. I needed this. My feet are slowly recovering...the salve is helping and my shower was nice."

She looked at Elizabeth. "I smelled almonds with your products. Are you found of that scent?" she smiled hoping it didnt sound creepy that she could...smell her stuff.

((OOC if I reanswered questions or missed something Im sorry...Im all over the place!))

(OOC: Yay! Common room! :D I'm gonna edit with the images tomorrow because I'm mobile, and it sucks.)

"Thanks for the food, Elizabeth! Tea and cookies are the best mix." Kyros tasted carefully the Muggle cookie. It felt a bit different from the usual homemade he was used too... Not bad, just different. He decided he needed to know more, so he sampled another. While Fable commented about her gluten intolerance, he promptly sampled another. "It's... Interesting. Veeeery interesting. Your friend's parents are good at their job." He ate another. "Do they use machines?" Muggles had machines for everything. He assumed they had them for cooking as well.

"He's adorable, isn't he? My best friend... At least until now." The boy chuckled. "You can try to pet him if you want, though he is a bit shy. Be careful." He reassuringly let the kitten's soft fur, trying to make him comfortable with those unknown people. Right at that moment, two other cats appeared, Eirik's. At the sight of bigger cats sniffing around, the smaller Dante promptly sought safety inside his owner's sweater. "Hey! You can't get in there again. They won't... Will they hurt him?" He looked up at Eirik expectantly. "They seem quite strong-willed, see."

"You do need a cat, Fable! Everyone has one... I know you're more of a wolf person but give them a chance. They can be such good companions." Kyros added playfully, smirking at her when commenting on her wolfy secret.

Another man approached them, and Kyros recognized him as Prefect Merlin, who they saw on the way back to the castle. He smiled, trying to polite even while trying to extract the cat from under his sweater. "I don't think we met yet, because I'm a new student. I'm Kyros, Kyros Riven. The Council told me about you..." He smiled mysteriously. "Please, so join us."

((OOC it's totally ok, moonfox, do what you need to when you can :) ))

Eirik looked at the cute kitten. " I probably shouldn't try to pet him, I smell like my cats, and I don't want to scare him. Mine should be fine with other cats, Murdy will probably want to play with him once they get comfy with each other. Kiki is a bit stand offish around other cats, so no worries there," he said with a smile.

Eirik chuckled at the 'wolf person' comment. "I agree with Kyros, though, they are wonderful outside of cage companions. Perhaps, Fable, you could get both...?"

He enjoyed his cookie, and helped himself to another. "These are really good, " he said to Miss Elizabeth. "Thank you again for bringing them out."

"Oh, how pretty they are! I love cats, well most animals I love, but cats are one of the faves." Merlin pet one of the cats on his legs. "Oh yes, water please- thanks a lot and my favorite tea is peppermint, but anything is fine."

"Yes, I saw a few new students that looked pretty interesting. Cheeky, huh? I'm not too comfy with cheeky, but we'll see." Merlin laughed slightly. "I will see what I can get for you, don't see much variety to be honest." He lifted his shoulders. "I wonder what the elves were thinking, I see lots of fried from here. Ugh."

Merlin offered his hand to the new student but he didn't took it right away because of his cat. "It is a pleasure to meet you Kyros, and what Council are you talking about?" Merlin looked confused but still smiled politely. "I'll be back in a second, food needs." He went to pick something for himself and Fable and returned with little in hand. "They had puddin at least." He hand it to her and sits with slices of pear. "I don't know if fruit goes with tea, but I will find out in a second." Noticing several cats he wondered if his snake was ok to show or not. "I have an owl, a dragon, and a snake...but I can only show you all the snake." He smiled widely while taking the small reptile out of his robe. "His name is Thunder and I adopted him last term."

Eirik's eyes lit up seeing Merlin pull out his snake. "OOOOooo, " he said reverently, "how BEAUTIFUL ! I love snakes, you are so fortunate to have one for a companion." He paused. "Did I hear you correctly when you said you had a ...dragon...?"

"Good evening, Merlin", she said friendly, "congrats on being prefect again." Elizabeth took one of the cookies from the table and ate it. "Actually, they use machines for baking, but they do a lot with their own hands as well", she explained to Kyros, "for example the decorations on the cookies and cakes. Thanks for the compliment, I will tell them when I get home."

She blushed a bit at Fable's comment about the almond scent. "Did I use to much of it? Sorry if that's the case...I just really like it", she replied.

Elizabeth looked at the three cats and smiled then, looking at Eirik. "They are really cute, yes. And I have to admit that it's really comfortable to have such a fluffy creature." She poured herself another cuppa. "Yet my parents allowed me to choose between a cat or an owl - but I'm not that fond of birds and we have a family owl, so I went for little Vincent. The woman at the Magical Menagerie said he's got a bit Kneazle in him." She noticed that a little pot with milk had appeared on the table as their head of house had announced that there would be some snacks and she put some milk in her tea, watching the colours of the black tea and the milk blend and swirl. Looking up, she saw that Merlin had joined them with some food. "The school allows you to bring a dragon?", she asked curious, "what kind of dragon is it?" Cautiously, she eyed Thunder the snake, hoping that her words were actually understandable and not some creepy hiss. She didn't want to scare her new friends away.

((ack Im slow because I need to do quests and well everything flails))

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She smiled at the "council" trying to press a cat on her. "I like most animals...really...I just want to make sure I have enough time for them. I run and hang out with the born werewolves..." she trails off "around school..." term just started shes not getting herself in trouble she thought.

She nodded to Merlin "I see all the fried food! Nuts huh? Oooohh thank you for the puddin and omg I love pears. Being eating tons of them lately. Ive heard they go good with cinnamon..not sure how they would go with peppermint. When and where on earth did you get a dragon Merlin? and yes...these two..have been quite cheeky all night, but I think theyve come to some sort of understanding." She motioned to Eirick and Kyros and smiled.

She relaxed listening to everyone chit-chatting, it was nice to see so much life in the common room.

EDIT FOR ANNE!

Fable smiled at Elizabeth "No no I liked it, and well if you like almonds its good for me to know in the future.." she said with a twinkle in her eye. "I could get a long haired hamster...they are fluffy..." she chuckles.

Merlin smiled since his snake was not looked bad and it made him happy. "Yes this snake is a beauty, but it won't grow too big which is fine so I can keep it in my robe. As for dragon...yes you heard me right." Merlin scratched his head thinking what to answer. "To answer your question I am not allowed to bring a dragon to school, she is a white dragon called Meolc and my mother gift it to me since we live in a village that rises dragons, it is a secret villa otherwise we would have people trying to hunt our dragons and we breed them not to slaughter them but to learn from them and enjoy their company..well if you can get a dragon to like you which isn't that easy. But Meolc likes me and I have taken care of her as much as I can, because now I'm in school and can't bring her. I would be expelled if I bring a dragon!"

"You can have some of my pears if you like, I love them with cinnamon and vanilla cooked slowly until they are soft but raw are just as good." Merlin looked at the two males that weren't smiling at that moment and grinned. "It's because you are so lovely, that's why they get cheeky with you." He winks and smiles widely. "There aren't many like you, especially at Hogwarts, but don't get me wrong...I'm not being flirty." He giggles. "Focusing in school is my primary motive here."

Eirik listened to all the prefect had to say, and was astonished. "That is utterly amazing ! I was taught that most all of the dragons were on preserves, or running wild out there, as is their choice. It wonderful that your village and these dragons live in such relative harmony that you can coexist the way that you do."

He began to absently pet Murdy, who was still attached, accidentally waking him. The cat opened his eyes and looked up, then closed them again when he realized it was just his Daddy petting him, and not any danger.

Eirik started to feel a little jealous at Merlin's compliment to Fable, then relaxed. It was true, she was pretty different than all the rest, and he was glad not to have another man to compete with for her affections. Still, what Merlin said was true, school was the primary reason he was here too, and he couldn't let his work suffer because of his heart.

Outfit Not Found Fable listened with eyes of amazement to Merlin. "Thats so..just..wow! I mean like Eirick said I thought most were kept on preserves and such...does everyone in your village try to connect with a dragon...or is it a select few? Do they develop a special bond?" she had read books were humanoids and dragons would bond together but she didnt know if it actually happened or was just whimsical fantasy.

She blushed at Merlins comments. "I dont think they are fighting over me for more then just being friends. I think...well everyone is special in their own way and some, like me, are slower with showing it. I know there are werewolves walking around school...but I didnt want to be grouped in with them, not that anything is wrong with them but its the stereotypes of anyone who is different."

She paused hoping she was making sense.

"Then I was unsure if like..their animal instincts would kick in and pack mentality and alpha wars would ensue. Not that Im saying werewolves are like that...well some are Ive heard, but you, Im sure, get what I mean."

She smiled at her new friends hoping that made sense.

"I know sometimes when I visit the born werewolves, they seem confused with why Im not fighting for a pack position or why I feel a desire to live in the humanoid world as well as the animal. They are super smart and know Im different...Its just..complicated." she had never discussed this with others and she was sure she sounded crazy but the truth is sometimes she didnt understand it herself.

Ariette stepped into the Slytherin Common Room before seemingly tripping over nothing and flailing wildly. Luckily, she managed to right herself without falling over but undoubtedly her housemates would have noticed. She flushed with embarrassment and glared at the small black snake which slithered out innocently from underneath her dress. Owner and Snake engaged in a glaring contest before the snake reared up in a motion that almost suggested 'pick me up'.

Ariette bit out in frustration at her unruly pet; "Dear Merlin Erus, how many times do I have to tell you not to slither between my feet?!"

The snake dipped it's head in what could be mistaken as apology and inched closer towards it's owner. Ariette heaved a small sigh of resignation and leaned down to offer her arm to her scaly familiar. The snake hissed happily and wound itself into knots around her arm. Erus seemed to tug Ariette insistently towards the table of food and she followed, gumbling under her breath "You greedy little shit you just had a rat yesterday, you cannot possibly still be hungry you merlin-forsaken glutton...."

As Ariette made her way towards the food, she caught snatches of the conversation flowing around her and heard the wishes for gluten free food. Upon reaching the table, Erus shot out impatiently at the sausages and hissed disapprovingly as he was too short. Before Erus could unwind himself, Ariette quickly placed a placating hand on him and reached for the platter of sausages. Satisfied that the treats were now within his reach, Erus quickly swallowed three sausages, the meaty delights disappearing alarmingly quickly into the black nether that was his stomach. Picking up two chocolate mousse's, after surreptitiously sniffing them to ensure the gluten-free status of them, she tucked them into Erus' waiting coils. She spied a bowl of blood pops and dumped a large hand full of them into her pocked before loading some pumpkin pastries onto a small platter.

She turned towards the growing group surrounding Fable. Hovering slightly behind Merlin, and avoiding the bickering boys, she boomed loudly (probably scaring Merlin). "LO! I BRING THEE FOOD!"

She deposited the platter of pumpkin pastries, winking at the quiet prefect. "Worry not, they're vegetarian. I do believe they are pumpkin pastries. An eccentricity of English Wizards in overwhelmingly favouring pumpkins I imagine"

Turning towards Fable and Anne (OOC: is it anne? I'm a bit confused haha), she prodded Erus slowly. Erus unwound himself, balancing the cups of mousse precariously and allowed Ariette to pluck them from his coils, moments before they would have dropped on the floor. She offered them to the two and smiled reassuringly

"Gluten-free chocolate cups, signorinas~ I can personally attest to the complete absence of gluten in these."

With her hands now free, she dug into her slightly bulging pocket before pulling out a blood pop. Unwrapping it with relish, she carefully sucked on it and sighed in happiness at the flavour.

((OOC: Erus is her familiar and they share somewhat of a mind bond. He's a crafty little shit and totally has Ariette wrapped around his finger... if snakes have fingers. I should feel bad about liking Erus more than Ariette but he is an amusing character to write. Erus is short for Cerberus (yes she really did name a SNAKE after a HELLHOUND...) ))

(OOC: SO many people to tag now, omg)

Kyros couldn't hold back at the perfect opening for a prank that Merlin gave him. Part of him argued that it was better to not annoy the monitor, but the remaining part quickly counter-argumented that a simple word prank was nothing that would damage his position. First, he politely accepted the hand Merlin offered, shaking it firmly while holding Dante against his chest with the other. "I hope you're ok and we get to know each other better, given all the responsibilities of your station." His open disposition suddenly took a turn to grim at the question about the so-called "Council". "I'm surprised you haven't heard of them yet... Since they do know a lot about you. Well, I guess you will... In time." He held back the urge to smile by taking another biscuit and a bit of tea.

"You have a snake! It's so beautiful!" Kyros' eyes were almost glimming with excitement. He would get closer, if not for the cat currently trying to ball around his neck to run from several predators. Patiently petting the poor kitten and whispering calming words to him, he listened to Merlin talk about his family, their villa and their work with dragons. "So your villa is almost a private reservation where you preserve and protect dragons? Amazing. I bet you learn a lot with them!" His inner Ravenclaw pondered over all the things Merlin possibly knew first-hand about dragons, and he decided that he surely needed to write a list of all the questions he would ask his housemates about werewolves, vampires, dragons and Muggles. So much to learn, and so little time, since I also have classes.

"The decorations are hand-made? They're very well done. Can you bring a box for me when you're on holiday, Elizabeth? I can pay you if you want." Kyros had enough galleons for a little splurging, he supposed. He had no idea of the price of Muggle biscuits compared to wizarding ones, but he suspected that given the speed he was eating them, he would learn soon.

"I'm not sure what you mean when you say I'm cheeky, Fable. I'm just a sweetheart. You talk to Eirik about it, he is the moody one." The boy teased, giving a small laugh. Subconsciously, he tried to pull his sweater up to cover the grab marks on his neck. "Nah. We finally found a few things in common, haven't we? I see there's going to be a lot of conversations about pets in the male dorm." He smiled in an almost apologetic way. He listened carefully to her talking about her difference from the other werewolves. "I think I kinda get that. You sound like you're not comfortable with closing your circle, submiting to a hierarchy or becoming an outsider to everyone else." He hoped he understood what she meant. "And I think that's fair, Fable. I mean, you're not obligated to join a pack or just be friends with other werewolves, right? So you do what you think is right. I don't know exactly the specifics of packs or any other organization of werewolves, but that's my point of view."

Another student suddenly yelled close to the group, making Kyros give her a side-glance. She was a considerably well-dressed lady with white hair and shining eyes... Who brought cookies, but took out a blood lollipop for her own snack. Merlin's - no, not the prefect's, the old guy's - pants. ANOTHER vampire. He needed those vampire warding charms as soon as possible. Yet, he tried to be polite. He had enough bad experiences with vampires for one night.

"Hello, madam...? I don't think we've met, But either way, thank you for the cookies."

((OOC welcome back evelin333 ! thanks for putting up what happened at the event with ariette, I was wondering why I didnt see her again ))

Eirik listened to Fable talk about pack mentality, and how she felt about it. " I understand, Fable. Believe it or not, my kind has a tendency to group together to live as well. My maker was not one for living in a group, so it is just he and I. I don't think I would ever want to live in a coven with my kind...although the relationships I am making here might make me change my mind, " he said with a smile. He gazed for a moment at Fable. 'and,' he thought.' I would fight for you anytime, with anyone, and not just for you to be my friend.'

He watched the female vampire Ariette walk up to their group bearing food gifts. Well, it was the common room and he would have to tolerate her. She seemed to have less of her previous haughty air about her, so he observed, and was quiet. She did, however, have a snake..and a beautiful one at that, but of course he thought all snakes were beautiful, just like cats. He couldn't help but gaze at her snake with admiration, but he would be damned if he said anything about it...this time.

Eirik kept a straight face at Kyros's implications of the Council to the prefect, but inwardly he was laughing. Maybe Kyros wasn't so bad after all. When his trickster-iness was focused on someone else, he was actually quite enjoyable to be around. Eirik was also surprised, but he really shouldn't be, that there was a general love of snakes in his house.

"It's true," he said to Fable and Kyros," I am moody. I am not used to such behavior as Kyros displays. And yes, actually, we have more things in common than I would have ever thought possible, other than just being males and Slytherins. Our dorm experience could be..enjoyable, given half a chance." Eirik nodded listening to Kyros's opinion of Fable's pack discussion. He agreed.