The Great Hall

Come to the spectacular great hall to mix and mingle with everyone. Grab a bite to eat or just hang out to talk.

Tucking a dark strand behind her ears, Hallie stepped into the Great Hall with a slight frown upon her oval face. As she sat down at the Hufflepuff table, she automatically crossed her legs as her dark brown eyes slid to the Ravenclaw table to the left. Her pink lips formed a pout as her index finger traced the large H on her bookbag. The blue bag was slightly frayed at the center as though another patch was originally on there, but was suddenly carelessly removed. Letting out a sigh, she watched as the mail owls started streaming in with letters from family and friends. As she buttered a piece of toast, Hallie didn’t have to look up to know her owl was still in the Owlery, having not received anything from her parents for quite some time now. At least ever since that dreadful day

*Flashback to first year*

As she waited behind Martin, Joseph to await her turn to be sorted, Hallie practiced her thrilled face when the Sorting Hat will finally yell out “Ravenclaw!” There was no doubt in her mind that was what house she would be, after all she was a “Matthews” and Matthews were always Ravenclaws as far back as history went. Except for her great uncle Ernest, but he was always an odd one and rarely mentioned in family conversations. Brushing her hair back into its neat royal blue barrette, Hallie smiled at poor Joseph who was sorted into Hufflepuff. Everyone who’s anyone knew that was where misfits and common people would end up. But she wasn’t worried as her parents assured her many times, she was a Matthews and Matthews never did common things. Strolling forward in the adult way she’s seen her older sister Hannah walk around the house, Hallie smiled to herself as she heard the click click of her new heels echoing through the silent Great Hall, making her feel quite important and mature.

Settling down on the stool, Hallie delicately folded her hands in her lap and waited as the Sorting Hat was lowered onto her head. She tried to clear her mind and listen to the hat but found she couldn’t with dreams of joining Ravenclaw and becoming as popular and successful as her older siblings.

“…very ambitious. Wants to make something out of herself I see….But there’s something else overshadowing that ambition. Kindness and fairness nature I see…Perhaps Hufflepuff would be the way to go…”

Hallie was busy imagining how her lovely blue room would look like when she finally caught the end of the Sorting Hat’s sentences. “Wait, what…Hufflepuff?” She thought frantically as her jaw dropped open. “But..but it can’t be! I’m a Ravenclaw through and through!”

“Well, I do see a sense of the Ravenclaw in you,” the Sorting Hat drawled as Hallie let out a sigh of relief. “But you have a Hufflepuff nature that will hinder your goals if you enter another house. Hufflepuff is a fine and noble house to be sorted in. You will be able to learn much there…”

“But…but” She thought frantically as she shook her head. This wasn’t right. This wasn’t part of her plan! But how else would she convince the Hat otherwise? “But…I look horrible in…yellow.” Hallie thought weakly as she tried to think of another reasonable excuse.

“You’ll grow to get used to it. But if you’re sure…I suppose that it will just mean that your place will be in HUFFLEPUFF!” The Hat yelled out the last word with a chuckle as the Great Hall erupted in applause. “I’m sorry I must have slipped.”

*End of Flashback*

Ever since then, life just didn’t turn out the way she expected. Hallie didn’t make the Quidditch team, although Cedric had promised to let her be a reserve. Until he died and that plan went out the window. She didn’t get appointed to Head Girl or even a prefect. Everytime she came home for the summer, her parents would look at her in disappointment as though she was a mistake that they regret regretted. Tapping her fork against her plate, her pout changed into a determined grin. No longer will that happen. From now on she will achieve and be exactly what her parents expected of her. But how to take a step in this direction?

Slowly her eyes slid past many Ravenclaws as they continued their breakfast. Hallie suddenly sat up straighter and grinned a wide smile. Her eyes caught on a tall broad shouldered boy with slightly wavy blond hair. She watched as he socialized and reigned over the Ravenclaw table like a king. Of course being Tristan Davenport, Head Boy, Captain of the Ravenclaw team, and deliciously good-looking, many would argue that he was equivalent to a king himself. A perfect candidate to persuade her parents she was going somewhere in life. Lifting up a silver spoon, Hallie scooped up a bit of strawberry yogurt and licked it off with her tongue. Her white teeth flashed a bit as she continued to watch Tristan’s profile with a thoughtful look on her face. She’s finally found her first step.

Danielle was late to lunch as she was to everything else, but she didn't pay attention to that. She scaned the table the seats had been filled but one, an empty space across Hallie Matthews looked uninviting but Dani wasn't willing to skip breakfast a third day in a row. She frowned but hurried over and sat in the seat.

"Hi Hallie," She said trying to look happy. She didn't want to feel like she rubbing in her captain status but the only small talk she could think of was quidditch and it seemed like a perfect conversation starter. "Are you thinking of trying out for quidditch this year? Madiline graduated last year which means we're short a beater."

But Hallie's thoughts seemed elsewhere she followed her gaze over to Davenport, the ravenclaw quidditch captain, and the breaker of many hearts, he was head boy, but Dani didn't care for his big headedness.

"he's not worth your time," she told Hallie picking up so toast and drowning it in butter. "He'll just break your heart."

He'll just break your heart.

Not noticing Dani’s approach, Hallie accidentally bit down too hard on the metal spoon in surprise. Setting down her spoon, she swept a dark tendril of hair out of her eyes and glanced at Dani with a surprised look. Although she was never too close to any of the Hufflepuffs, Hallie usually made a point to steer clear of Dani as she was not given a chance to even be on the team after Cedric died. Granted, she was a horrible flier and unable to hover a few feet off the ground without getting dizzy. But Hallie was sure that she would overcome that when she was given the chance.

“I’m sorry I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Hallie cautiously protested as she slowly turned away from Tristan’s back. Trying the look indifferent, her face gave her away as tints of pink started to bloom on her cheeks. Drinking some water to help with her noticeable warm cheeks, Hallie silently cursed her mother as that’s who she inherited her fair skin from. Unable to hide her blushes, she was also never able to go outside for long without getting sunburn on her sensitive skin.

“As for quidditch, I don’t believe I would be trying out this year.” Hallie quickly said as she placed her goblet in front of her plate. Lifting a hand, she quickly felt her cheeks to ensure she was no longer red as a tomato. Feeling only the barest amount of warmth, she smiled again. As she sat up straighter, she turned to Dani once more and smiled. Knowing she would never be good enough in just a few weeks notice, Hallie gave a firm nod. “After all, this is the last year, and I intend to just enjoy it however I can. With no worries and just pleasures…” Her voice trailed off a bit as she snuck another glance at Tristan who was now flipping through a Charms book.

Hiking his bag higher on his shoulder, Alex let out a yawn at the Great Hall doorway. Absentmindedly, he stretched the kinks out of his broad shoulders and ruffled his dirty blond hair, making its spikes shift a bit. Exhausted after his, well, after hours escapades, Alex was ready to hop back into bed at first chance! Yet he needed to fill his stomach with something before he slept the day away. As he took a step toward the Ravenclaw tables, he spotted Hallie sneaking not very subtle looks at the Ravenclaw table as she did every morning. However, this time was different as her gaze was centered on a particular Head Boy at the table.

Unable to hide his wide grin, Alex strolled toward the Hufflepuff tables instead as he whistled a tuneless melody. He was never one to turn down teasing his childhood friend. Growing up together made them develop a love/hate relationship that Alex always enjoyed. Although everyone though Hallie was a sweet, quiet girl, Alex’s seen Hallie’s explosion of temper many times (through no fault of his own) and he never passed up the opportunity to make her temper flare up again. Plopping down on the seat someone just vacated next Hallie, Alex grabbed a piece of toast from her plate and winked at Dani.

“Give it up Matthews, Davenport’s was out of your league.” He commented with a smirk as he grabbed her fork to spear himself a sausage. “In fact, he’s almost as much out of your league as I am.”

Dani winked back at Alex, "That was the worst pick up line i've heard today," she smirked. "And for you being out of Hallie's league, that's close to the truth seeing as you play in a league made of only yourself."

She picked up the bottle of pumpkin juice that was on the table and muttered her most used spell, the contiens of the glass turned to Firewhisky and she brought her freshly spiked glass to her lips. Davenport was being his own completly stupid self on the other side of the room, 'how could anyone fall for him?' she asked herself and returned to her glass looking forward to being drunk for her first class.

Stiffening as she heard the annoying voice beside her, Hallie didn’t even need to turn around to know Alex was next to her. ‘If only mum and dad didn’t insist on buying that summerhouse years ago,’ she thought with a roll of her annoyed brown eyes. ‘I wouldn’t be so used to Alex and his annoying ways. Perhaps I would even be attracted to him as the other 20 or so crazy girls yearning for his attentions.’ Hallie inwardly grimaced at the thought as she knew how he was only in relationships for the fun rather then long term. Not to mention she always considered him like the patronizing big brother she never had. At least he wasn’t annoyingly perfect, quite far from it actually. As infuriating as he was, Hallie supposed he was always on her side although he tended to cause more trouble then help her at times.

Rather then deny she was glancing at Davenport as Alex knew her much too well to believe that whopper of a lie, Hallie smiled slightly and grabbed her fork back from his hands. “I believe you’ve met someone else that hasn’t succumbed to your charms,” she remarked as she motioned toward Dani. “Must be losing your charm there dear Alex. Why are you here anyway? This isn’t your house table, perhaps you should go back there.”

Looking up, she noticed Dani subtly tap a bottle of pumpkin juice. Having a pretty clear idea what spell was casted as Hallie’s seen her do this quite often, she picked up her own goblet of water and took a sip. Might as well prepare herself for a fresh new year.

"No one said I didn't enjoy his charm," Dani pointed out twirling her glass in her hand. She smiled and drained her goblet, she wasn't truely proud of being the alcoholic that she was but the alchol was a great(in her opinion) way to start the day. She smiled up at Alex, "yes why aren't you with the other brainy birds?"

She wasn't trying to be rude but most of the Ravenclaws had snubbed her and other Hufflepuff's. Thinking they were less than important and the 'leftovers' in the magical world, Danielle didn't think this was true but no one had proved those flightless bird brains that they weren't wrong either.

Rhia stalked into the Great Hall, already 5 minutes late for lunch. Going to the Gryffindor table, she practically slammed her books on the table. Sitting on the bench, Rhia held her head in her hands and thought, 'Stupid nightmares! And they're always the same! Even Rhiannon can't help me with these...' Almost exactly once every month, Rhia would go to sleep, only to wake up hours later having endured one of the worst nightmares ever. She always had to relive the pain and helplessness she had felt on that horrible night three years ago... that horrible night when she had been tortured by them: the Death Eaters.

Sighing, Rhia grabbed a glass of orange juice and sipped it as she tried to erase the aftereffects of the nightmare. Looking around the room, Rhia saw someone she knew, Dani, talking with two other people. Grateful for any distraction, Rhia got up from her bench and walked over to her friend. "Hey," she said.

Even as skinny as she was, Ako was always in favor of food when it was made available. She bounced and flounced her way into the great hall, a messenger bag that looked to be made of glittery black faux fur slung over her shoulder. She squeezed into a place at the Ravenclaw table, placing the bag on the tabletop in front of her and surveying the busy Hall. She saw a small cluster of people over at the Hufflepuff table. She felt the need to head over there, seeing as how there were already non-Hufflepuff students over there, and anyone she didn't know yet (which was a lot of people) were new friends to be made. She grabbed a glass of pumpkin juice of the table, hooked her arm in the strap of her bag, yanked it up to her shoulder, and off she went.

She approached the growing group, put on her best I-swear-to-Merlin-I'm-not-desperate grin, and made herself known. "'Lo there," she said in a tone that was both cheery and dreamy, and taking another sip of her juice. "Well! I may not know any of you but...um...I've got a bag full of candy!" she said, hitting her hipbone against the bag for emphasis.

Ako was no liar. If one were to look inside her hip little messenger bag, they'd find enough candy to slake the hunger of a thousand sweet starved trick-or-treaters. There was room enough inside the bag thanks to the help of her favorite spell, and the bag didn't weigh a ton thanks to her second-favorite.

Amused at the newcomer's hyperness, Rhia said, "Hi. What's your name?" It was obvious that the girl was a Ravenclaw because of her blue striped tie, but aside from that, Rhia had no idea who this was. She then glanced at the bag of candy longingly; it seemed to have been ages since she had last indulged in sweets of any kind.

"Ako Saint-George is the name, being studious and gorging on sweets is the game!" She paused for a moment. "...I can't believe I just said that. Oh well. Candy?" She set her juice down in an emty space on the table and undid the buckle on her bag, opening it up and offering it to the Gryffindor girl. Well, not offering the whole bag, but holding it out so she could reach in if she wanted.

She swayed slightly from side to side and tapped the toes of her silver knee-high boots, a barely noticable dance to the tune in her head. She would have asked if anyone else knew the song, but she doubted any of them listened to Muggle music.
"So what's your name? I don't normally wander up and down the Gryffindor table talking to people at random, so I don't believe we've yet met. Or met yet. Whichever." This last word was mumbled into the bottom of her glass, as she had picked it up once more and was attempting to talk and drink at the same time.

Stifling a giggle at the girl - Ako - 's mannerisms, Rhia reached a hand into the bag. Pulling out two licorice wands, she said, "Thanks" and then ate it. Having finished a bite, Rhia said, "I'm Rhiannon Ai, but everyone just calls me Rhia... are you new here? I don't think I've seen you around the school at all..." As she waited for an answer, Rhia ate another of her licorice wands and smiled at the sharp burst of taste on her tongue... yummy...

"Nope, Im not new," she said, setting down the glass once more and pulling a sugar quill from the bag. "This is my sixth year here. I guess I'm just now coming out of my shell. I mean, I love love love talking to new people, but sometimes I can be really shy. It's a little weird. But this year," she paused to suck on the quill for a second, "this year, things are gonna be different."

Hogwarts was a big school. A big, big school. Ako couldn't dream of meeting everyone here. Well, she could dream, but she'd never accomplish it. At the moment, she didn't really know why she felt so bold, walking into the middle of a group of people she had never met before, even if one of them was in her own house.

This year would indeed be different.

::Sara entered the great hall for (what meal is this?), her stomach growling, but her mind nagging at her to get started on her homework. But she had a few days to complete it....but....she also wanted to get some personal time reading done. She had always been pressured to do her best in everything. She was bred with the belief that she WAS the best, not because of her blood, no her parents were lovely people with many muggleborn friends, but because she could MAKE herself the best. that was her goal in life. Pity she also liked to procrastinate.::

::Sitting down at the Ravenclaw table, Sara brushed a strand of her brown hair behind her ears, wondering, absent mindedly as she did so, if she really wanted brown hair today. She was a metamorphmagus, and usually loved playing tricks on her friends, and just changing her looks, with her powers, but her natural look was plain and simple and she liked it.::

::Nibbling on a piece of toast She flip through the thirteenth chapter of her History of Magic text book, vigourously taking notes as she did so and ignoring the general hub of the Hall, focusing on her reading. She loved History, despite the teacher, and didn't mind the class so much as others. Call her crazy, others have before.::

::She sat alone for the present, but wasn't too bothered. She had so many friends out and around she was sure to see someone at some point. and for now she enjoyed the solitude.::

Sending Alex a glare that threatened to have him dismembered if he mentioned Tristan Davenport or the Ravenclaw table again, Hallie smiled vaguely at the two girls who just joined them. Having seen them around, she always considered them quite friendly. Yet Hallie could feel herself retreat back to her normal quiet self whenever she was surrounded by people she didn’t know very well. As she glanced around the Great Hall, she noticed that Sara, one of her good friends had just entered the room. Her brown eyes brightened as she quickly started packing her bag as she haven’t seen Sara all summer and was quite eagered to catch up on news.

Waving a silent farewell to the other girls, she picked up an apple and bit into it as she started toward the Ravenclaw tables. As she left Alex to fend for himself as he was most comfortable around girls anyway, Hallie tapped Sara on her shoulder and sat down. Although it was only the first day of school, Sara was as usual on top of her game and already reviewing information that haven’t even been taught yet. Shaking her head, Hallie deliberately started stacking up the papers and putting them aside for the moment.

“Honestly Sara, don’t you know how to relax? I know for a fact that you don’t even have History of Magic until tomorrow afternoon.” Hallie remarked as she replaced the pen in her friend’s hand with a piece of toast. “I won’t hesitant to owl your mum and tell her you’ve been working yourself to death again. Besides, I think I’ve figured out a solution to my problems.” Smiling triumphantly, Hallie leaned back on her seat and glanced around to ensure them privacy.

“Honestly Sara, don’t you know how to relax? I know for a fact that you don’t even have History of Magic until tomorrow afternoon.”

::Sara laughed delightedly as she saw Hallie for the first time since last school year, and stood to hug her friend.::

"Oh, you know me! History is among my favorte classes and...i'm all work and no play...except for quidditch and the exceptionally cute guys." ::Sara smiled brightly and winked. There were a few rather fetching boys passing at the moment which caught her attention momentarily as she eyed them appraisingly. Deciding that they looked to immature she turned back to Hallie with a serious expression.::

"Oh...i'll... have to tell you about what happened this summer and my family later." ::She mumbled in a slightly subdued voice.::

"But do tell! what problems and what solution?" ::She asked in a conspiritorial whisper, also looking over her shoulder and leaning towards Hally.::

Morgaine had put her hair in a quick, messy ponytail. She didn’t much care if she didn’t look all prim and proper; she was just going to the Great Hall for a bite to eat. Today she was dressed a bit different today. She wore a tight black baby tee with a character called Girr from some muggle television show called ‘Invader Zim’. The shirt said ‘I love them little tacos. I love them good’. She also wore some muggle brand ‘Tripp’ pants with straps hanging from them. She also had a thick amount of black eyeliner around her eye. She did dress like this on occasion, but not normally because she didn’t like all the attention it drew to her all the time. Today she didn’t much care though.

It was breakfast and not many Slytherins were in the hall. Didn’t surprise Morgaine many did starve themselves. There at the end of the table though was Haru, slumped down on the table. Morgaine walked by the other Slytherins that were there all grouped together, leaving a gap between them and Haru. As she reached that gap she stepped on the seating bench and walked on it to Haru before sitting down. No professor seemed to notice which she didn’t care about anyway.

She looked to Haru and smiled, “What you doing here all by your lonesome?” Haru didn’t seem the kind to come here all alone. Not that she thought he starved himself, but she just didn’t think he would be here without Jeremy, the only person he really talked to beside Morgaine. “You expect to see him here and he wasn’t?” She asked and grabbed an apple taking a bite of it.

::Sara smiled and waved to Nora. another queery about her summer though.::

"Alright guys...a lot of people have brought this up, so i'd just like to tell you both this now." ::SHe tooka great shuddering breath and blinked fiercely. Better to just spit it out and move on.::

"My family...over the summer...my dad, mom, and brother...were...." ::A few tears escaped from her eyes which she hurridly tried to wipe away. She leaned closer to her friends to avoid a scene.:: "Were killed. Because of my parents status as aurors. If i hadn't been in America with my Aunt and at the Au-...i probably would have been killed too. It was Voldemort, Dumbledore is sure of it." ::She finished crying softly, but hiding it well.::

"The...good news." ::she added hastily, not wanting to dwell on her parents,: "Is that i was able to practice my metamorphmagus shifting....i can change basically everything now."

Haru turned his head to her and took in her appearance, it took a minute to recognize her, but he did. It certainly was...different. He wasn't about to comment on it to her, it didn't much care for it. But of course, the clothes she wore was her choice. He wondered if she'd get made fun of it by the other Slytherin's.

He frowned at her, what was she doing talking to him? There were other Slytherin's, and Snape here, and what would they say if they saw her talking to him. They would probably tell Sky, and Morgaine would get punished. 'Oh well...Nothing I can do about it.'

"So...what're you doing t-talking to me?" He gave a glance at the other Slytherin's. "Don't you care about your 'reputation'?" He asked, when he spoke the word reputation it sounded almost as if he was annoyed. He couldn't ignore the fact that it hurt that she had to put on an act around other Slytherins if she was with Jeremy and him, but, at the same time, he didn't want her to get hurt by Sky and her mother.

“What you doing here all by your lonesome?” she asked. Haru didn't usual come to the Great Hall anyways, he hated eating. As a child, he normally starved himself. That was why he was so scrawny now.

"What do you mean? I'm normally a-alone, Morgaine." He said flatly, it was a phrase that didn't sound as if he was trying to get her to feel sorry for him, but more so just stating a fact.

His eyes gleamed when she asked if he was looking for 'him' it was true. He was looking for Jeremy... "But...how did you know?" He asked, he was in a little shock. But he let that facial expression go as he nodded slowly.

::Sara smiled faintly and hugged Nora back.::

"Don't cry dear, it's alright. They were," ::Sara took a deep soothing breath.:: "Wonderful people, i loved them so, so, so very much." ::She wiped her eyes.:: "But it's alright. I know they will always be with me. I'm alright, truely. Just scared and guilty that i might have been killed too."

::She grinned, looked all around her before shifting her looks.::

::In a matter of seconds her frame had become slightly more petite, her hair not as wavey and a different shade of brown, her eyes shaped and colored differently, and her mouth and nose a different shape until Nora's image at across from Nora.::

::Sara grinned Nora's grin widely and said,:: "April fools!...only it's september and thats not really a good pra...." ::Her voice trailed off and an evil smile crept onto her face.::

Rhia bit her lip when, in her conversation with Ako, she looked over at the RAvenclaw table and saw a crying Sara being comforted by Nora and Hallie. Deciding not to intrude, Rhia's eyes lit up when she finally saw someone in her own year. Rhia walked across the Great Hall towards Morgaine and Haru at the Slytherin table. Looking down their table, Rhia noticed that they were the only Slytherins there. When she got across the room, Rhia sat down next to Morgaine and said, "Hey." Jokingly, she continued, "Is it 'Dress Emo Day' and I just missed the owl?"