Welcoming Feast (1351-52)

Another year, another sorting. Professor Renoir cursed the old Potions Master, Aitken, under her breath. She usually supervised the first years in the entrance hall before the feast, but being fired made it impossible for her to do that this year.

"Quiet down, quiet down!" she repeated, trying to wrangle them together. "Get in line!"

"They're just excited, Marguerite," Charles Stone smiled, nudging the students into line.

If I were headmistress, they'd all be expelled already, she thought, though on the outside she was smiling. The mute old caretaker, Alyn Waters, slipped quietly through the door to signal that the hall was ready.

"Alright, get in line at once unless you want to be shipped home tonight!" she warned them.

That did the trick. The first years hushed up immediately and stood in formation. Once they were all ready, the large doors creaked open and they entered the Great Hall, Renoir leading the way.

Emmanuelle was the first to be sorted. Did this make her nervous? Yes. Did she show it? Absolutely not. When she was called up to the stool, she could feel everyone's eyes on her. It was nerve-wracking, but the only eyes that mattered at the moment were Ralf and Cecily's. They were at the Ravenclaw table, second years, and she just knew they'd be smirking. Waiting for her to trip or do something humiliating.

"Take a seat," she heard someone say impatiently.

Grimacing, she did it. Emmy sat up straight, stone-faced, as Renoir placed the old hat on her head. It smelled of dust and she almost choked a little. Did they ever wash this thing?

"Emmanuelle Armand," the Sorting Hat began in her head. "I've had other Armands here, but you are not one of them. A Beaumont, yes? Yes. True to the name."

Em's heart beat faster. She wished he'd just get on with it.

"Only one Beaumont has ever gone a different path at Hogwarts," he continued. Em rolled her eyes and thought of Adele. "For now, it will stay that way."

Finally, he yelled aloud: "SLYTHERIN!"

The snakes cheered and Emmy jumped up and ran down to join her new family, a grin on her face. It was going to be an interesting year.

Dimia looked around the Great Hall, extremely excited to finally be at Hogwarts. It was just as her father described, in the one talk they had before she was shipped out. She walked in with the first years, sticking close to Reyna.

The dining hall was amazing, with candle floating around the air and the table all neat and tidy. Banners of the house colors hung from the ceiling, beautiful banners of beautiful colors. She stared at them all.

"What house are you hoping for?" she tried to whisper to Reyna, but the Slytherin cheers drowned her out.

Dimia was after the Slytherin girl. She rubbed her hands on her dress, but then bounced up to the Sorting Hat.

"Ah! A Falaise! I haven't had a Falaise since your father!" the Sorting Hat exclaimed. "How did he manage to have a kid?" The Great Hall laughed at the Sorting Hat's joke. Dimia turned bright red, but smiled too.

"Charismatic, friendly, but also curious and a hard worker. Hmm....a very hard choice," the Sorting Hat thought aloud. Could the Sorting Hat keep his thoughts to himself? Dimia thought about. The Sorting Hat laughed and Dimia flinched.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the Sorting Hat announced. The lions cheered as she came running down to them. A lot of the second years congratulated her. She smiled and accepted the Gryffindor patch to sew onto her robes. She waited to see what Reyna would get.

"Reyna Fendrel," she heard her name.

Reyna's face was flushed. She couldn't focus on anything. These next few moments were going to impact the rest of her life. She looked around quickly for Symon. He was staring intently at her from the Slytherin table.

"Go on, lass," Charles Stone gently nudged her.

With a nod, Reyna sauntered up the stone steps and plopped down on the stool. The beat up old Sorting Hat was placed on her head, and its voice immediately piped up in her mind.

"A Fendrel, eh? You Fendrels are a tricky bunch. Symon is in Slytherin, but that's not the house for you, no," he thought, and she gave a sigh of relief. "Meek and gentle, but Hufflepuff's not right...you will show your bravery someday, but not in Gryffindor. That leaves us with one choice.." The Sorting Hat then spoke aloud: "RAVENCLAW!!"

Petyr was shaking. Visibly shaking. And, he felt like he was going to upchuck his last meal. This was huge. This was big. And, he had a hard time handling it. He took a deep breath and then slowly went up to the Hat.

The Sorting Hat was silent. He was a Halfblood, his mother being a Hufflepuff. That's what he was hoping for. Still, the Sorting Hat stayed silent.

"Shy. Very shy. Gentle. Meek," he determined. Petyr took another deep breath. He didn't feel right. He felt light headed and like he was about to faint.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" he announced. The badgers cheered and Petyr slowly walked down to them. He smiled as he sat down, feeling relieved. He got pats on the back and congratulations. He sighed and felt better. That was over.

Thea was so excited! She was finally, finally at Hogwarts! She was practically bouncing with excitement. She had heard so many stories from Kolby, Ulric, and Richard and she was in an amazing mood to finally be here.

"Thea Parry," she heard. She skipped up to the stage and didn't notice the whispers that were flying around. Her eyes settled on Kolby. He was smiling happily. She was the fourth Parry to try on the Sorting Hat.

"Another Parry? How many of you are there?" the Sorting Hate joked. He was in a joking mood tonight it seemed like. Thea laughed and shook her head.

"Don't do that! I'm on your head!" the Sorting Hat scolded. Thea giggled in her chair.

"Cunning, yet courageous and kind. Cheerful, yet sarcastic. Hmmm...." the Sorting Hat explained. HE seemed to think for a moment.

"GRYFFINDOR!" he exclaimed. The lions cheered as she bounced down to them. She looked over at Kolby, who gave her the thumbs up, even though they were different house. Thea smiled and accepted the Gryffindor patch.

Headmistress Ellington sat patiently and watched the first years get sorted. Another batch of troublemakers, she thought, hoping to face less drama this year with the students. It wasn't likely, though.

"That's that," Charles muttered to her as the last child was sorted. He retrieved the Hat and stool.

Finally. Fiona stood and walked to the podium. Of course, the students were still chattering. Really, why did they never take this as their cue to hush up? Weren't they starving?

"Silence!" The room went quiet. "To our new students - welcome to Hogwarts! And to our returning students - welcome back. I'll keep this short, as I'm sure a feast will do us all some good. I hope you will all do your very best this year, especially you 7th years. Remember, the Forbidden Forest is forbidden. I'm looking at you, Gryffindors. Let's keep the horseplay to a minimum this year. No colored smoke bombs, no food fights, no dorm parties, no duels. Am I forgetting something?"

Several students raised their hands, grinning, but she waved them away. Some of the first years look scared silly over this list of events.

"Oh, yes," she recalled, suddenly very grim and looking directly at Slytherin table. "If there is ever a repeat of your attempt to maim, and even kill, the inhabitants of this school..I will personally oversee your punishment and make certain you never set foot inside Hogwarts again."

The atmosphere in the Great Hall changed drastically. Even Davy was quivering in his boots, which was exactly her hope. Clearing her throat and putting on a smile, she continued.

"Lessons will be starting the day after tomorrow; remember to get your schedule when you come in for breakfast. Together, we will make this a wonderful year. And now, the feast!"

Adelaine and the others leaned in (as far as they could without shoving their faces into the cauldron of lamb stew) to analyze Ellington's speech.

"That certainly set the tone, didn't it?" she asked, shocked.

"Can't believe she said that in front of the whole school," Gavin, next to her, agreed.

"Aye, she may as well 'ave gone 'n said Davy's name," Seamus nodded, across from her, more preoccupied with filling his plate.

Adele sat back and looked into her goblet, blushing. She had barely seen Seamus all summer, but the few times she did made her realize one thing: she was not over that Irish gypsy joker.

"So, is that Symon's sister?" Peyton wondered, gesturing to the far end of the table.

"Yes, that's Reyna," she said.

"Who? Which one?" Gavin and Seamus both said, shoving each other to get a look.

"The one who looks nothing like Symon," Adele laughed, pointing at the girl with auburn hair and storm cloud blue eyes.

Kolby was extremely proud of Thea getting Gryffindor. While it might seem weird, he didn't think Thea would survive in Slytherin. So, he was very happy for her.

"Congratulations man. Welcome to the siblings club," Devan said sarcastically. Their little group laughed. He just rolled his eyes and the food magically appeared on the table. He happily began to fill his plate with potatoes and boar.

"Should we say hi to the first years?" Osmond asked. Kolby shrugged and looked them over. They seemed like a pretty cool bunch. They waved down to them and welcomed them to Slytherin. Then, they got into a huge conversation about the Quidditch season.

"You still announcing this year Kolby?" Osmond asked.

"I plan to. But, they may find someone else. I hear my joke a little too mean sometimes," he told them. Osmond and Devan laughed.

"What about Templar this year?" Osmond whispered. Kolby shrugged and looked down at Symon and Jacob. They seemed to be talking about it.

"Our fearless leaders will have to decide," he replied.

"Cheers to a new year," Devan toasted. They clunk their glasses together and drank the warm toasty Butterbeer.

Arya was so glad she wasn't a first year. If she'd started her life at Hogwarts with a speech like that, she'd have been a thousand times more frightened than she already was.

"I'm just gonna put it out there," Asher muttered in her ear. "We've got to do something about Davy."

"What the bloody hell do you mean?" she elbowed him away, sipping her pumpkin juice.

"After last year, he's...Arya, he's insane. Sadistic. Mental. We should've just gotten rid of him at the tourney," he shook his head.

The tourney? she thought back. Had he been there? However awful Davy was, Arry didn't like the way Asher's mind was working. Was he really suggesting they 'get rid' of him?

"You're Kolby's sister, right?" she heard Ash say.

Arya quickly looked up from her plate of buttered turnips and potatoes.

"We sort of met in York, didn't we?" she asked, grabbing more bread. "Welcome to Gryffindor, Thea."

"We're the best house," Asher nodded.

Mira immediately dug in when the food appeared. She hadn't eaten since that morning, and she was so hungry she could eat a horse. Garlic potatoes, roasted boar, lamb stew, crusty bread, and fresh churned butter. I've missed Hogwarts, she thought, chugging her butterbeer.

"Wow. I have honestly never seen you like this," Finn said, grinning across the table. "Were you taken in by a group of trolls this summer?"

"I'm sure trolls have excellent table manners," Mira replied, forking a potato.

"On a different note," Elsa said beside her. "Hufflepuff needs to win the Cup this year."

"Quidditch or House?" Jon asked, with a mouth full of bread.

"Both," she clarified. "Don't talk with food in your mouth."

Mira laughed and rolled her eyes; she'd missed her friends, as misfit as they all were. She looked around the long Hufflepuff table at all the new faces. Hopefully they'd have an easier time than she did last year; it'd taken Mira forever to finally gain her confidence and get some friends.

"Look at this kid," Jon whispered with a laugh, nodding over to a boy a few seats down. "I've never seen someone so timid."

"Don't be rude," she nudged him, then turned to the boy. "Scoot down a bit, we don't bite. My name's Mira, it's nice to meet you!"

Reyna noticed Adelaine and her friends looking over at her, and she knew they were talking about her. Symon had said Adele would look out for her if she got into Ravenclaw, but that didn't comfort Rey. She still barely knew Adelaine, and didn't know that group of people at all.

"Aren't you going to eat?" a tall fifth year asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not really hungry," she lied.

She was actually too nervous to eat. So far, Ravenclaw House hadn't given her the warmest of welcomes. Reyna peeked over at Adele again and noticed Gavin Lydale coming toward her.

"Hello, Reyna," he smiled down at her; his smile was as winning as his brother Esmond's. "Come and sit with us."

With no excuse to stay put, she stood up and followed him to their section of the table. Gavin scooted over and gave her the seat next to Adelaine, who smiled.

"Um, pleased to meet you all," she said politely, with a small wave. Over at the Slytherin table, Symon gave her a thumbs up.

Emmy sat confidently amongst her new housemates, sipping water and pushing food around her plate. She already had a little group of followers, fellow first years hanging on her every word. There was Adam, a lanky ginger with a knack for making anyone feel positively stupid; Marian, a rather plump girl who rolled her eyes too much; Patrick, short and always had a sort of grimace; and Rowan, with whom she seemed to have the most in common. He had dark hair and a dark smile, and she loved it.

"So your step-siblings are the Armand twins?" Marian asked, leaning in and rolling her eyes.

"Oui," she nodded, frowning. "Zey like to make my life, er, meezerable."

"Well, we can't have that," Rowan smirked, looking over his shoulder at Ralf & Cecily.

"This will be a fun year," she grinned. "Zey don't 'ave Papa 'ere to run to."

The five of them chuckled, and she noticed Cecily look at her from the Ravenclaw table. Em smiled and waved, and the twins actually seemed a little intimidated by her now that she was in Slytherin.

Let's see how how tough you are now, Lady Cecily, she thought grimly. Tearing a piece of bread in half, Emmy looked down the table. Symon! She'd completely forgotten he was in Slytherin.

"Un moment," she said absently, standing and walking down to where the 4th year sat. "Bonjour, Symon."

"Emmanuelle," he sounded surprised, turning to look at her. "Welcome to Slytherin! Have a seat."

Em sat with a smile. "This is Jacob Montfort," Symon said, gesturing to the boy across from him.

"Pleased to meet you, monsieur," she nodded to him.

"Ah, French?" Jacob guessed.

"Jacob, this is Adelaine's cousin," Symon told him.

Em couldn't help but sigh. She thought about saying something degrading about Adele, but they were interrupted by a young blonde boy with a mischievous look on his face.

"Can we help you, Kolby?" Jacob asked.

"Hi! Nice to meet you. Thanks. I'm super excited to be in Gryffindor," Thea said, a bit too excitedly. Asher laughed and another boy came and sat by them.

"Hi! I'm Walt, transfer from Beauxbatons," he introduced. He had auburn hair and brown eyes. Asher rolled his eyes.

"Walt, you can't just barge into a conversation," Asher commented.

"No, it's okay. Nice to meet you," Thea quickly saved. Walt stuck his tonguge out at Asher, who again rolled his eyes. Thea shook her head.

"So, does it feel weird?" Asher asked.

"Does what feel weird?" Thea responded.

"That you and Kolby aren't in the same house," he replied. Thea shrugged. She never really thought about it.

"I mean, we're different houses but he's still my brother. We're still family," Thea replied. Asher smiled and nodded, looking at another first year who got sorted. They looked exactly the same.

"Let me guess. Little brother?" Thea guessed.

"Yeah. Canyon. He's one of six little brothers.. I'm glad he got Gryffindor. I can keep an eyes on him," Asher said. Thea laughed and nodded. It was that older sibling mentality.

"So, what is there to do for fun around here?" Walt asked.

"Well, there's Quidditch, right?" Thea asked Arya and Asher.

Dimia sat with Canyon, Edwin and Alec. They chatted about the upcoming school year and what they wanted to do. A trip to Hogsmeade was on everyone's list and try to attend every Quidditch game.

"Of course, Alec and I will be playing for real this year," Edwin said. He and Alec high fived, super excited to fly in a real Quidditch game. Dimia giggled.

Honestly, her heart was now beating out of her chest. She was sitting next to her betrothed. They were Housemates now. It was very weird and very scary. But, Alec was just treating her like she was a normal girl, which she appreciated. She didn't want to make a big deal out of it. But, still, it was weird.

"Wait, I need to ask Asher something," Alec said, heading to an older Gryffindor. He gestured to the group after a bit.

"Ash, this is Dimia," Canyon introduced for her. Asher smiled and said hello.

"And, this is Arya. She's our seeker," Alec introduced.

"Nice to meet both of you," she said.

"Okay, so, what formation will we be using this year?" Edwin asked Asher. Dimia smiled as she watched the four Gryffindors get in an debate about formations and who to use in what formations.

"Honestly, I'm not sure how many 2nd years I'll be putting in this year guys. All of you are still pretty new," Asher admitted. Edwin and Alec instantly got in an uproar after that. Dimia turned towards Arya.

"So, I didn't know Gryffindor boys were so quick tempered," she told them as a joke.

Kolby, Devan, and Osmond came up with a list of questions for Jacob and Symon. They voted Kolby as messenger.

"Me and the lads have a few questions," he said. Not as discreet as he would have like to been but discreet enough.

"Can we answer them later?" Jacob asked.

"I mean, we're all a little curious," Kolby added.

"Sit down then," Jacob replied, pointing to a seat.

"Kolby, this is Emmanuelle Armand. She's Adele's cousin," Symon introduced for her. Kolby smiled.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Kolby Parry," he replied, sliding the note over to Jacob. Jacob slowly read over it and then it exploded on him, covering him in confetti pieces. Jacob just shook his head as Devan and Osmond laughed from down the table.  

"Your idea?" Jacob asked.

"No. I don't prank friends," Kolby replied. Jacob glared down att Devan and Osmond, giving them an icy cold stare.

"I'll get back at them later," Jacob decided.

"Anyway, you excited for classes?" Kolby asked Emmanuelle.

The feast was drawing to a close, and Ellington was stuffed. Those little house elves had done it again. The dessert trays were nearly empty now, but she decided she needed one last piece of lemon cake before she sent the students to their dormitories.

"One more day of freedom tomorrow," Professor Royland muttered, finishing up his pint. "Then it's another year with this lot."

Royland wasn't quite what one would expect a Herbology teacher to be: grumpy, and a heavy drinker at feasts; very patient, though. Fiona suspected he'd chosen the profession so he could sell dangerous plant species on the black market. He was the best gardener they'd ever had, however, so she'd never tell.

"The elves are starting to clear the tables," Charles came over to tell her.

She nodded, noticing a few of the students' forks and cups disappear from their hands. Ellington stood and walked up to the podium.

"Students, remember," she began, getting their attention. "Schedules will be handed out in the morning at breakfast. Now, off to bed!"

Reyna finished up her cobbler and yawned a small, ladylike yawn. It had to be at least nine o'clock, and she was exhausted. She'd sat and chatted with Adele's group (mostly about some bloke called Davy, whose name rang a bell, and Quidditch), although she didn't do much of the talking. She spent half the time craning her neck to peek at Symon or Dimia, to see if they were getting on well.

"Anyone up for a quick flight tonight?" Peyton asked, stretching.

"Aye, I'll be sleepin' in t'morrow anyway," Seamus nodded.

Reyna was confused. "Surely you don't mean..sneaking onto the Quidditch Pitch?"

"Course we do," Seamus grinned, while the others chuckled at her innocence.

"Reyna," she heard Symon call, coming over to them. She was delighted to finally be with someone she actually knew.

"Hullo there, Symon," Gavin greeted pleasantly. The boys exchanged their 'manly' pats on the back and grunts and whatever else lads did to communicate.

"Erm, I'm going to follow the rest of the house up to the tower," Reyna said quietly, waving goodnight. She had a hunch that these were not the right people to be hanging out with.

Arya pocketed a few pumpkin pasties before they disappeared from the table. She wished she'd thought to bring a bottle to stash some butterbeer in. Next time, old girl, she told herself.

"Should we go over to them?" Asher asked, jerking his head toward the Ravenclaw section of their group.

"Nah," she shrugged. "If they're planning anything, they'll find some way to contact us. I personally hope it's a midnight flight."

Asher nodded, and bit into a cookie as they walked. Edwin and Alec were close behind, an argument from earlier starting up again. Arry shook her head, wondering what goes on in their minds; suddenly, she walked straight into someone with a thud.

"Oy, watch it, Weasel," a familiar voice grunted, shoving her backwards into Alec.

"Calm down, Davy," Ash said, his face reddening.

"Don't you tell to me calm down," the Slytherin retorted, stepping closer to Asher.

Arya raised an eyebrow and studied Davy. He'd gotten taller and stockier over the summer, but something else was different; his attitude was darker. It wasn't just about pranking little kids anymore - he was out for blood. He's probably on his guard after last year, she realized.

"C'mon, Ash," she muttered, pulling the Gryffindor out to the Entrance Hall and leaving Davy behind. "You're right. We've got to do something."

It was going to be an interesting year.

Dimia walked with Alec and watched the scene between the Gryffindor and the Ravenclaw.

"Goldie?" Dimia whispered to Alec.

"That's Marigold. She's the Ravenclaw seeker and the healer in their group," Alec whispered back.

"Their group?" Dimia asked. Alec nodded and smiled.

"They're in a group. It's Marigold, Asher, Arya, and lots of other people. They are always in trouble," Alec told her.

"Oh. Okay. Are we going to go with them?" Dimia asked. She blushed, thinking that she had asked too many question. Alec just smiled.

"We're not in their group, so no. We're going to go play Wizard Snap in the common room," Alec told her.

"That sounds great," Dimia said, as she walked with Alec and Edwin, leaving the other group behind.