Ｌumos Ｍaxima! --- 1 Hufflepuff, 1 Gryffindor Spots Open!

Where do you loyalties lie?

Gryffindor	25.0%	[ 8 ]
Ravenclaw	18.8%	[ 6 ]
Hufflepuff	21.9%	[ 7 ]
Slytherin	21.9%	[ 7 ]
GOLD!	12.5%	[ 4 ]
Total Votes:			[ 32 ]

[Silver and Sapphire]

MAЯTЇЙ GДБЯЇЄL ₴ДЦИDЄЯ₴⇟⇟⇟

$LУTHЁЯЇЙ $ЁVЁЙTH УЁДЯ⇟⇟⇟

Wendy Saunders grinned brightly when Meri confirmed that they had time for a quick bite before taking off for the station. "If you drive anything like Martie does you'll probably be there in a snap," she commented, smiling at her son, "The boy's got a lead foot, and I don't think he believes in speed limits." Then she tugged Meri into the house by the hand that she was still holding. Martin and his father followed behind as his mother tugged Meri all the way through the house into the kitchen, plopping her in a seat at the table. "Tell me dear, what would you like? Eggs, sausage, toast?" While she spoke Martin's mother fluttered around the small, somewhat cluttered kitchen. It was fairly obvious that the Saunders family weren't all that uptight, but in Martin's opinion it just made the house homier. His father sat down at the table again and picked up his forgotten coffee. He seemed to be slowly coming to terms with the fact that there was a witch in their kitchen, and even went so far as to say, "That's a gorgeous peice of machinery you've got out there, Neymeria. You ever need work done on it, you let me know. On the house for m'boy's friend." Martin chuckled and shook his head as he poured a glass of orange juice from the fridge and added, "And the fact that you've been dying to get your hands on a Jaguar for ages has nothing to do with that." He grinned as he dad mimed smacking him upside the head.

"Martin, why don't you show Meri around the house, hm? It's going to take a bit of time for this to cook," his mother said from over near the stove. Martin nodded, knowing that Meri was probably dying to ask questions about the myriad Muggle machines in the house. Hell, the kitchen alone probably had a good dozen or so things that she had never seen, coming from a Pureblood family. His mother had suggested a tour of the house as a way to kill time, not knowing that Meri came from a purely Wizarding bloodline. The Saunders house was rather small - kitchen, living room and bathroom on the ground floor, three bedrooms up on the first floor, and then the back garden - but the tour would probably take a bit longer than his mother thought. He downed the rest of the orange juice and set the glass in the sink before saying, "Alright Meri, where d'you wanna start? We can run up to my room if you want, I need to get my trunk packed up...and probably shrink it too, now that I think about it." He'd turned eighteen the prior April so the 'trace' that looked out for underage magic no longer applied, making martin rather prone to using magic for little every day things.

MДЯTЇЙ Ї$⇟⇟⇟
Where: At home || With: Mum, Dad, Meri || Doing: Introductions n' such || Wearing: Muggle Garb

[Silver and Sapphire]

Ｃｈａｒｌ ｅｓ Ｍａｒｔｉｎ Ｇａｌｅ♔♕

♖ Ｆｉｆｔｈ ＹｅａｒＲａｖｅｎｃｌａｗ♗♘♙

Charlie laughed as Dante jumped up on him, licking his face and demanding attention. Normally he didn't like dogs, being more of a cat person, but the professor's mastiff had grown on him. He wasn't nearly as aggressive as his large size would make you think. Charlie scratched the massive dog's ears, then his massive stomach, before taking a seat where the professor had indicated. He had eaten at home so politely declined when one of the waitresses asked if she could bring him anything; if he did get hungry between then and the opening feast at Hogwarts then he could just run home and grab a bite there. Living in Hogsmeade so close to the school had its perks, Charlie supposed. He'd never gotten homesick like so many of his classmates did, and when he'd caught a mild case of dragon pox his second year, he had been sent home to recover rather than kept in the school's hospital wing. However, living nearby also meant that he couldn't always get away from his parents. His mum and dad were nice people, having both been Hufflepuffs during their own time at Hogwarts, but as Charlie was their only child he often felt rather smothered. He supposed that was part of the reason that he was so eager to travel once he was out of school.

As the professor spoke about his summer activities, Charlie propped his head in his hands and listened with all the intensity of a child being told an amazing tale. Which, in Charlie's opinion, this was! The Triwizard Tournament was one of Charlie's favourite subjects, and that Tournament in particular was one he would never get tired of hearing about. Not only was the tournament a monumental occasion, a coming together of the three largest school of magic in Europe, but that specific tournament had signaled the beginning of the Second Wizarding War. It had been a terrible event, but it was one that nonetheless had shaped the world in which they now lived. "Really?" Charlie asked when told the professor's summer had been spent in Bulgaria in the company of one Viktor Krum. Charlie didn't play Quidditch - he didn't like being so exposed on a broomstick - but he held a great deal of respect for those that played the sport professionally. It was so dangerous, but they did it anyway, all for the sake of their passion for the game.

The question of his own summer was met with a shake of the head. "Not really," he responded, "We went back to the United States and visited some friends Mum and Dad made when they were in hiding there." Charlie shrugged and reached down again, scratching Dante's ears. Most of his parents' American friends were Muggles, as the Gales had hidden amongst Muggles for the three years between the Dark Lord's return and his final defeat at the hands of the famous Harry Potter. It wasn't anything nearly as exciting as what his professor did, traveling the world and meeting famous people and the like.

Ｃｈａｒｌｉｅ Ｉｓ↷↷
Where: Three Broomsticks || With: Professor Tarquin || Doing: Chatting || Wearing: The Uniform

[Amalthia_Tetros]

✙ Ҟaiη Ѧℓℓℯη Gѳɗϝɍℯℯɗ

✙ Ȼhaɍɱȿ

Kain couldn't help but laugh at the image that was conjured in his mind of Declan, large and fearless in the face of most any creature - magical or not - suddenly running away from a Dragon as it spit fire. Kay had long ago noticed Dex's distaste for flames, but had yet to work out the source of the man's phobia. "Yes, that must have been quite the thrilling holiday for you. I imagine you are happy to be away from all things fire-breathing, though." One day, Kain was determined to get down to the reason Declan was so put off by fire. Today was probably not that day though, since they had to watch out for anything suspicious. Getting into overly personal conversations could prove a distraction from the job at hand.

Speaking of that job, the time was getting closer and closer for the train to leave and as it did more and more of the older students began to arrive. Kain nodded to a few who waved at him and smiled in a slightly scary way to the first years who shied away from him. For some reason many of the new students had a fear of Kay before ever setting foot in his class, he suspected it was because of what their parents might being saying about him. Kain had never let it bother him, he actually chose to enjoy it a little and take advantage of the fact that the first years were easily spooked by him. It wasn't nice to pick on easy targets, but he couldn't help it. Kain supposed it was just the Slytherin side of him that couldn't resist a good hazing. It didn't hurt anything, really, since by the end of the first week of classes the new witches and wizards were already dispelled of their fears of him.

"Looks like the batch this year will be exceptionally fun." Kain commented offhandedly, to witch Lilith raiser her head from where it had been resting on his shoulder. He had not spoken in Parseltongue, but just from the tone of his voice Lilith could tell that her master was speaking of mischief that she would most likely be involved in. The snake bumped her head against Kain's cheek and he reach up a hand to stroke her head. The sight of on of their professors being affectionate with a snake seemed to frighten a small cluster of first years nearby and they hurried away whispering suspiciously to one another. A few of the older students caught notice of the little scene and burst into a fit of laughter, knowing full well that Kain was nothing to fear. One of the boys in the group gave Kain a 'thumbs up' before going off after the gaggle of first years, most likely to stir up their fears even more so they would be right messes for their first Charms class. A bit of a tradition that had become; for the older students to worsen the frightful first years.






✙Ҟay Is
Where: Platform 9 3/4 ↿↾ With: Lilith the Snake & Declan ↿↾ Doing: Keeping watch ↿↾ Wearing: Muggle Garb

[Amalthia_Tetros]

↬ Nҽyɱҽɾia Mσɾɠaɳ βlaҫҡωσσɖ

↬ Sixȶɦ ϒҽaɾ Slyȶɦҽɾiɳ

Neymeria smiled like a maniac as she was dragged into the Muggle house, her mind and body buzzing with excitement over all the new things she was sure to see. "Well I don't really consider them 'speed limits' so much as 'guidelines.' Those government officials are all just too cautious."Meri said almost roboticly as her eyes danced over the still pictures on the walls and the few objects she was able to glance as she was pulled through the house and into the kitchen. The young witch was too busy trying to take in everything at once to even notice as Wendy placed her into a seat and began asking what she wanted to eat. "Uh huh." Was all the response Meri could manage as she stared at the strange kitchen appliances on the counter. One of them she recognized as what she believed was called a 'Toasty,' an 'elektric' appliance that cooked sliced bread. Or preformed some function like that. Everything was so...metal...and a million questions were crowding into Neymeria's mind all at once, but they were all put to a stop when Martin's father began to speak.

"Huh? Oh! Thank you!" Meri said in a rush, taking a moment to focus on what Seth was saying. Everything around her was so distracting that it was a little hard to focus on one thing at a time. "I would pay you, of course, not like I would go to any other mechanic anyways. According to your movies, some mechanics can be real shady and try to trick you into work you don't need." Meri said this as if it was some kind of horrible crime that should shock everyone. Then Martie mentioned that his dad wanted to 'get his hands on a Jaguar,' which Meri could only assume meant he had wanted to get under the hood and poke around. "What? You have never gotten to work on one? If so then I will be sure to bring 'Him' over on the next holiday. Maybe you can teach me what makes a car run. I've always been so curious about that!" The very idea of learing how to work on a car seemed like a whole new kind of magic to Neymeria. It had to be something like bringing something to life out of nothing but metal and oil.

At the first mention of a tour of the Muggle house, Meri jumped out of her seat so fast that she bumped the table and nearly knocked over her seat. "Oh yes, please Martie!" When her friend nodded Neymeria had to contain her excitement, because she really wanted to run over and hug him, but she doubted he would appreciate the outburst. "Yes, let's start in your room." She said happily, the grin on her face showing just how happy Meri was that she was getting to see the inside of a Muggle home for the first time.






↬Mҽɾi Is
Where: Martin's House ↿↾ With: Martin, Seth & Wendy ↿↾ Doing: Talking to Martin & his parents ↿↾ Wearing: Muggle Garb

[Forgotten_Faith]

xxxxDarlaღBurenxxxx


It was early, too early, though that would only apply to those who had actually slept during the night. Instead of a solid night sleep, she had been on the run since sundown, obviously her summer had been spent in a relatively nocturnal manner, save the week leading up to the Quidditch world cup, she had opted for a regular schedule then.

Now, however, she was now forty pounds of predator and bolting around the underbrush in an attempt to get home. She had found others, others like her, and often they spent time on the run though now she was to go to school and forget about the few she felt at home with.

Paws and claws chewed up the bed of the forest as the spotted cat darted straight for her home, she wasn't too far and wouldn't be too off on time to get to the train. There was plenty of time to sleep on the train, she had done it in previous years.
Of course, that meant hiding from the others, as they would no doubt want to have a chat, thankfully she could get into some interesting spaces in her animal form and thus, would be able to wedge herself in an overhead compartment or something along those lines.

The house was on the horizon and soon enough, Darla could see the back window was still open and waiting for her. She wasn't close to foolish enough to think her father would be happy with her being out all night, but she couldn't quite change what had happened. Instead she would do her best to slink back upstairs and gather her things before it was time to get going.

A leap took her through the open window and she landed in the kitchen, the room gently lit by the rising sun. She then began stalking her way through the house, slinking up the stairs and managing to actually make it into her room and quickly change form, sliding into her bed and letting loose a sigh.
Somehow, she had just managed to get away with sneaking out, the entire summer, or her father just didn't care now. It was probably the latter, he couldn't contain her and she was getting older, or at least old enough to live her summers in a wild fashion.

-----

A few hours passed and Darla had actually gotten a little bit of sleep under her belt, she was able to wrench herself up and out of her bed when the alarm went off and was quick about showering and dressing, wanting to haul a** to the train and get on finding a prime nap location.

As per usual, her father was geared up, had the car packed, and was ready to get going in little time, opting to drive her down to the train station, despite Darla claiming she could take the tube. An excellent point was brought up when her Owl came into question, the large bird was a definite attention grabber and would no doubt, despise going underground.
So, Darla let it go and accepted the ride from her father who was also about to head off for the next few months and attend some different conferences on magical maladies.

Little chat took place, instead the pair enjoyed silence and said minimal goodbyes, they often exchanged letters anyway.

It wasn't long before Darla was inside of the station and heading out onto the platform, pushing her trolley and making way towards the shining train, aiming for the compartments closer to the teachers, it meant fewer students would be up there and she could get some sleep.

| Phone post! Will pretty it up soon! smile |

[jacattackisback]

It was another summer come and gone. A coupe of days ago, she spend her last summer days with her son in America at the Hamptons. The mansion in the Hamptons was a summer getaway for her retired parents. During the rest of the seasons they would flock back to their home in California. Her son was rather spoiled as a child but lucky for her also appreciated everything he received and never let it get to his head. Lukas had just turned eleven and was going to Salem School for Witches and Wizards in Salem, Massachusetts. He did receive a letter to Hogwarts but both he and his mother decided that staying in America was best. For one thing, he had friends that would be going to that school.

Cecilia looked up from her desk in her private office on the third floor and out of the door-like window to the side. It was connected to her classroom and her private quarters. The only people that were allowed in her private office were fellow teachers since her student office hours were held at the classroom desk. It looked to be around early morning right now which meant that she still had a whole day to get her curriculum done for each class before the new students arrived. It would be easier to use the curriculums from last year, but transfiguration was ever changing and she wanted to stay up-to-date with her teaching.

However, she decided that it was a perfect time to grab a bite to eat since her stomach would not cease its churning. She had wished that she finished her 'homework' before eating but it would just have to wait until after. Cecilia pushed herself from her desk. Grabbing her cloak as she left the office, she made her way towards the Entrance Hall. Along the way, she greets ghosts, paintings, and other such things that she passed along the way. Upon reaching the large doors, she pulled out her wand and flicked it which help to open the enormous doors.

Once opened, she leisurely walked passed them and heading to the beautiful city of Hogsmeade. As she walked she thought about her last days of the last term. In particular the unexpected night she spent with Alastair. Normally, she was not one to embellish in a drink and it was probably the reason why she found herself a little tipsy. They were doing their weekly get together. In these conversations, they would talk about different intellectual subject. Usually this was as they were enjoying a cup of tea; however, that night they decided to toast to the end of school term. Cecilia did not want to linger on all the detail but one thing led to another. She blushed at the memory before trying to brush it aside. It was not known to were on why it had occurred. Sure, she fancied the guy but she knew that nothing could come from it since he was as guarded as she was. They never talked about anything personal which was find with her. Hell, she was not even sure if he even liked her. Maybe it was just a physical attraction and nothing more.

As she finally made her way through the village and to the doors of the Three Broomsticks, she decided that she would just have to find Alastair and ask him what the last night of the last term meant. She smiled and thanked the wizard that had held the door for her as he was heading out. It was not that busy today which made her happy since she hated waiting for service. It was rather a surprise to her to see the man that she had been thinking about not a moment ago sitting with a student.

Cecilia kept a smile on her face as she slowly walked toward Alastair. She stopped a few times to say hello to some wizards and witches that she had met throughout her years teaching at Hogwarts. She new almost all the residents of Hogsmead. "Well fancy seeing you here Alastair, I thought you would have joined Declan on the train. How was your summer?" She made sure that her expression hid the fact that there was something else going on between the two. She rested her hand on the back of Alastair's chair. It was an unintentional thing to do. She really just wanted to lean on something. She turned to Charlie. "Hello Mr. Gale. How was your summer? Oh an how are your parents?"

"Do you guys mind if I join you?" She said as she gave Dante a pet on the head. The dog knew better then to jump on her.

[Kara of Darkwood]

『 A R I E Lxx『 ✎ M AY ★ 』xxG R I F F I N 』
════════════════════════════════

[ Seventeen ] xxxxx [ Ravenclaw ] xxxxx [ Seventh Year ] xxxxx [ Luna the cat ]

""Well-behaved women rarely make history." - Marilyn Monroe

════════════════════════════════

Another summer spent giggling with her mum, when she was around, and entertaining old Mrs. Wright down the hall had come and gone. Ariel hadn't slept all night thinking about all the adventures she would have at school this year, her final year; What she would do after, if she even made it that far and how she was going to find new people to hang out with since her two best friends left Hogwarts the year before.

Her mother's alarm had gone off several hours before, and the young woman had said good bye and wished her only daughter luck with the new school year. Ariels mind was still going 100 miles a minute when Mrs. Wright came knocking on the door. "Ariel-darling, it's time...get up, get packed, we leave in five!"

"I heard you, I'll have my truck out the door..." The young girl mumbled while snapping back to reality and noticing two yellow eyes staring at her from across the room. "Yes, you have to go into the carrier Luna." The kitten hissed but climbed in the small box as Ariel pushed her trunk into the hallway and grabbed some toast with jam for breakfast.

Within minutes the old witch and young lass were at platform 9 and 3/4 staring at the brick wall. Ariel glanced back at the rest of London for a second, wondering if this was where she planned her future after graduation, but quickly turned to Mrs. Wright giving the old lady a hug. Mrs. Wright was never one for standing around or day dreaming, so she smiled at the youngster one more time and sent her off with a "Off you go, and no shenanigans!" Before Ariel could even reply Mrs. Wright had turned and was gone with a flash, a skill Ariel was planning to master this year.

Once on the platform Ariel glanced around, some familiar faces nodding hello, but no one she particularly knew well. It would be a strange year if she did not find someone to start her mischief with. Sighing lightly she left her meowing kitten out of the carrier and was surprises when Luna jumped up into her arms. The blue eyes darting around to see anything had startled the cat. They stopped on two professors chit chatting and she waved a small hello, recognizing them both from their classes. Especially the care for magical creature professor, since last year she had demonstrated her complete lack of patients on griffins. She figured his eagle was not Lunas cup of tea.

It was more of a say hello and continue looking for a familiar face with the professors since Ariel did not want to be ask if she was going to be interrupting the flow of her worst subject once again. So with a small smile she stepped onto the train searching of a compartment, preferably with someone in it, and finally settling on an empty one since no one had met her fancy.

════════════════════════════════

Played by Kara of Darkwood

[Amalthia_Tetros]

✍ Ѧℓasϯaiɍ Gɍℯgѳɍ Ⱦaɍɋʊiη

✍ Hisϯѳɍɏ ѳϝ Magiȼ

"Yes, he is still amazing to watch, but Krum says this will be his last year playing." Alastair was a little sad to have heard his favorite player actually admit that he would be retiring. It still stung Al's pride that his own injury had made him unable to play since the last battle against Voldemort. "He did say that he would win the cup this year if it killed him, though. His wife did not find that at all funny." Viktor had admitted his age was getting to him, but when he played you could hardly tell. Still, Krum was the oldest player in the league so it was understandable that he was finally giving up the game. Alastair, who would have loved to play professionally, had never gotten the chance to get the love of the game out of his system. He remembered the years of playing for Ravenclaw's team as a Beater with adrenalin pumping fondness.

"Ah, the States!" Alastair said with some amazement as he leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. "I must admit, I have never been. I feel it is a shame." He said, shaking his head and reaching for his cup of tea. "I will have to make it a priority once I have completed my book." Alastair sipped at his tea then, contemplating what differences he might find between American and English wizards and witches. In all his travels, Al had been to many countries and seen many types of magic from each of them, but America was a melting pot of so many cultures that it would be interesting to see how they had all blended together there.

It was then that out of the corner of his eye, Alastair caught sight of Cecilia making her way unhurriedly towards the table he and Charles were seated at. The mere sight of the Transfigurations professor brought back the memory of the last night before summer vacation. They had been having their usual weekly get together, talking Quidditch and the more intellectual topics that they enjoyed debating or just discussing. As was usual with the time of year, Al was feeling a little more down than was his norm and so he had the lovely idea of adding fire whiskey to their tea. Eventually the tea became nothing more than alcohol, and somehow the topic had shifted and so had the scenery. Alastair still wasn't quite sure how one thing had led to another, or why, all he knew was that he had woken up in a room that was certainly not his own with much less clothing than was polite for most situations.

Shaking his head, Al tried to clear his head of such thoughts. It would not do to dwell on something that should not have happened in the first place. Cecilia was a beautiful woman whose company Alastair enjoyed, and he sincerely hoped that the one drunken night before summer holiday would not ruin it. After all, he was fairly certain that Cecilia had little interest in him outside of work. They never got personal in their interactions before that, which was exactly the way Al liked it. Cecilia never gave Al the seductive or cutesy looks that some women liked to give him when they were obviously trying to get him to ask them out. The slip up had been just that; a slip up in judgment. Hopefully it would not need to be more. "No, I decided it was best to leave the security of the students to the more able bodied this year." Al said when the subject of his thoughts finally made it to his table and addressed him. The former Auror tapped his cane against his permanently injured leg for emphasis. "My summer was productive as usual. How was yours?" Al asked, deciding to ignore the fact that Cecilia was now leaning on his chair. Normally she was not one to invade his personal space, but seeing as that bridge had already been more than just crossed it wasn't like he could protest now. "Please, do join us." He said, indicating the seat that was next to him. It really was a good thing he had gotten a table big enough for four, or there would have been a lot of switching tables going on this morning.









✍Qʊiη Is
Where: The Three Broomsticks ↿↾ With:Cecilia, Dante & Charles ↿↾ Doing: Eating breakfast & Chatting ↿↾ Wearing: Outfit

[Silver and Sapphire]

Ｄｅｃｌａｎ Ａｌｅｘａｎｄｅｒ Ｇｒａｙ↷↷

Ｃａｒｅ Ｏｆ ＭａｇｉｃａｌＣｒｅａｔｕｒｅｓ↷↷

Declan nodded and responded, 'You have no idea. One experience of third degree burns is enough, thank you." Even with burn potions and the help of the medi-wizards at St. Mungo's, he had still spent several agonizing months recovering. Not exactly something that any nine-year-old wants to experience. He had been lucky enough to escape without scarring, at least. Declan fished a pocketwatch from his coat and peered at the time, then the crowds of students that seemed to be growing ever larger. He coulnd't help but laugh a bit as students shied away from Kain, probably told horror stories by elder siblings. He shook his head at Kain's mischevious tone responding, "One of these days you're going to give some poor firstie a panic attack. Bless their little hearts." Kain's affection gesture to his pet didn't seem to help matters. A nearby cluster of children scurried off, followed by a few older students. Declan sensed shenaningans afoot and shook his head again.

After another glance at the time, Declan decided that he had time enough for a quick smoke before the train took off. He stepped a few steps away, so that he would be downwind of most of the crowd. No need to go blowing smoke into Kain's face either, he thought. He rummaged a bit in his pockets before finding a perfectly normal Muggle lighter and a slightly squashed box of cigarettes. He preferred cigars, occassionally a pipe, but at the moment the cigarettes were all that he had on his person. Declan clamped the slim white stick between his lips and lit it, blowing a few smoke rings into the air. He looked rather like a dragon himself, ironically enough.

"So what House d'you think is taking the Quidditch Cup this year?" he asked Kain, as he was standing close enough to still make conversation. It sounded like idle chatter, but Declan hadn't spent years as an Auror without learning anything. He was quite good at keeping up a conversation while still remaining aware of his surroundings. It was something that came quite in handy during classes. He could be giving a lecture about anything, but don't think that means you'll be able to get away with passing notes or goofing off thinking he can't see you. He had managed to prevent more than one disaster with that little skill of his. Declan didn't quite understand why his students would be well behaved angels when they were discussing something harmless like puffskeins, but full of bedevilment when they were handling something dangerous like hippogriffs. Teenage hubris, he supposed. Declan tapped the ash off the end of his cigarette as he thought back to when he had been a students at the school. He was certain that he had given old Professor Kettleburn a grey hair of three with how foolish he had acted during classes.

Ｄｅｃｌａｎ Ｉｓ↷↷
Where: Platform 9 3/4 || With: Kain and Lilith || Doing: Keeping the peace || Wearing: Muggle Disguise

[Amalthia_Tetros]

✙ Ҟaiη Ѧℓℓℯη Gѳɗϝɍℯℯɗ

✙ Ȼhaɍɱȿ

Declan's comment about having experienced third degree burns caused Kain to shoot the man a sideways glance. That would most certainly explain the former Auror's aversion to fire. Still, Kain couldn't help but be more curious about the whole thing. What had happened to allow for Declan to be so badly burned? As an Auror, Declan could have easily encountered a situation that would leave him battling flames. Especially considering that he was an Auror during the Second Wizarding War. But perhaps he had been burned before that? Maybe at a younger age? Kain really wanted to know. Everything about Declan interested him, and not knowing this little fact was really nagging him. "That must be a nasty experience. I can understand your desire to avoid reliving it." Kay said, just barley holding himself back from asking straight out what had happened to Declan to cause the burns.

When the subject turned to the first years, Kain chuckled a bit. "Oh, its harmless fun." He said as he wiggled his fingers in hello and smiley smugly at a mousy brunette that was tightly clutching a fat rat as she scurried past him. "You would think they would have figured out by now that I am not going to use some Unforgivable Curse on them every time they get an answer wrong." Shrugging, the Charms Master stuck his hands in his pockets. It wasn't like he wasn't used to being treated like the bad guy all the time. "Might as well have a laugh off of it, if nothing else is to come of it."

Another subject turn, and they landed in territory that Kain was rather unfamiliar with. "." Kay said, his eyes flicking away from Declan as he admitted the fault in his knowledge. "Brooms have a distinct dislike for me, and I for them. So, I never quite took to the sport." Sure, Kain had occasionally gone to the school games to show support for his House, but the love for the sport had never grown on him. Dueling and spell creations had always been his passions and so Quidditch had seemed a dull thing to his mind. "But, as ever, I am partial to Slytherin." The House Seeker for Slytherin, Neymeria Blackwood, was Kain's cousin. Kay's mother was Neymeria's father's older sister. To say that she had almost everything to do with why he had been rooting for Slytherin the past few years would not be a lie.

Smelling the smoke from Declan's cigarette, despite the space the man had placed between them, Kain began to have a craving for one of his cigars. Sadly, all his cigars were in his trunk which he had placed in a compartment on the train during his initial sweep. "Would you mind terribly if I asked for one of those?" Kain asked, closing the space between Declan and himself. Normally, Kay was not one to smoke cigarettes, but he was still a little stressed about his brother and sister as well as having the added pressure of being around Declan. The man really was attractive in a way that put Kain on edge whenever he was alone with him. Without his cigars, a cigarette would just have to do.






✙Ҟay Is
Where: Platform 9 3/4 ↿↾ With: Lilith the Snake & Declan ↿↾ Doing: Keeping watch ↿↾ Wearing: Muggle Garb

[TH3 SAiiNT]

xxxTyphon Cederic Maddox

A loud screech echoed overhead as Typhon made his way towards the platform, trolley ahead, his large black eagle resting in its cage. The creature wasn't putting up any arguments, he knew very well that once they'd arrived at Hogwarts, freedom would last for the next few months.

For the time being, the large bird would quietly wait as Typhon walked them through Kingscross station and towards the bizarre entrance to the platform 9 and 3/4. He was quick enough, knowing it wouldn't be too long, though it had been a rough day for getting to the train and the family car he had been escorted in had been jammed in traffic.
Thankfully, they had actually made it with time to spare and Typhon had been quick about loading up his trolley and heading towards the entrance.
As per usual, there was a line but, it went relatively quickly and he was soon strolling alongside the large train, making his way over to drop off his trunk and head up to grab a seat. Hopes for an empty compartment were running high but, the odds were, someone would be joining him for the ride.
All Typhon could really hope for was that someone who didn't love to chat would be in his compartment and the two could happily ignore one another in peace.

Taking his time to ensure his things were all loaded correctly, Typhon barely paid any mind to those around him. It was habitual, to be so closed off, he figured his fellow Slytherins would be more than willing to accommodate his desire to be left alone.
One thing did work in his favor, he wasn't the only child here who's parents were involved in the war, few ever asked questions and though his father had been known to be horrid, few knew the details as the fame of the Dark Lord and Harry Potter overshadowed the others involved.

Finally free of his luggage, Typhon made his way back towards the train and felt a shiver run down his spine, his nose twitched and he glanced over towards the pair of professors, quick to change direction and avoid them altogether.
Instead he slipped onto the train and shut himself into an empty compartment, a shaky breath following.
He didn't like feeling this way, so very out of touch with being normal, not to mention the absolutely bizarre spells of lunacy he could feel coming on now and then.

He would have to talk to someone, sooner or later, about the strange urges and feelings that would bubble up at the most inconvenient times.

[Silver and Sapphire]

Ｃｈａｒｌ ｅｓ Ｍａｒｔｉｎ Ｇａｌｅ♔♕

♖ Ｆｉｆｔｈ ＹｅａｒＲａｖｅｎｃｌａｗ♗♘♙

"Really? That's too bad," Charlie commented upon receiving the news that Krum would be retiring that year. Then again, he supposed that it was time for such a thing. He was getting up there in years and you really couldn't expect to make a lifetime's living from such a dangerous sport. That was something that Charlie didn't understand about his classmates who help professional Quiddtich dreams. What would they do if injury meant that they would never be able to mount a broom again? Where would they go then? Always have a backup plan, in his opinion. For example, Charlie didn't want to take ownership of Honeydukes from his parents, but if he was unable to follow his dream and become a travelling historian like his favourite teacher, then he would have the family business to fall back on. He just...hoped that he wouldn't ever have to resort to that.

He managed a smile when Alastair mentioned that he had never been to the States and that it was a shame. "I want to go back, to be honest," he said, "We only ever visit Muggles when we go. I want to learn about American magic. They have some pretty unusual ways of doing things, since they had to basically rebuild their base of magical knowledge after the Salem Witch Trials." It was actually quite interesting, seeing how the magic users of early colonial America had rebuilt their communities after the trials and the witch hunts. The fact that the magic had changed and reformed itself as the many cultures of the American melting pot came together made it a unique blending of many magical styles, from ancient Gaelic rituals to Far East mysticism. One could spend an entire lifetime studying the way that American witches and wizards used the various different magical stylings of their ancestors and forefathers.

Professor Tarquin seemed to have noticed something behind him; Charlie was sitting with his back to most of the inn, and the majority of his attention was on the conversation at hand. He turned and looked to see what had caught the man's attention. Professor Rigby was approaching their table; she must have stayed at the school rather than join the teachers keeping the train safe this year. She asked Professor Tarquin himself about the train while Charlie looked down at Dante again. There was another pair of bright eyes peeking from under the table next to the massive dog. "Well hello Two-Face," he commented, smiling at the tu-tone cat that was curled around his feet. Charlie never could figure out how, but Two-Face had been able to follow him no matter where he was. Even during Charlie's first year, when he had decided not to bring a pet, the kitten Two-Face had managed to get into the school somehow and had woken Charlie up in the middle of the night by sitting on his face.

"Hello Professor Rigby," Charlie added as the woman greeted him adding, "My mum and dad are doing well. We went to the States this summer and visited some Muggle friends of theirs." Not terribly exciting, especially not when compared to the summer plans of his teachers. "I don't mind," he added as Professor Rigby asked if she could join them.

Ｃｈａｒｌｉｅ Ｉｓ↷↷
Where: Three Broomsticks || With: Professor Tarquin, Professor Rigby, animals || Doing: Chatting || Wearing: The Uniform

[Silver and Sapphire]

Ｄｅｃｌａｎ Ａｌｅｘａｎｄｅｒ Ｇｒａｙ↷↷

Ｃａｒｅ Ｏｆ ＭａｇｉｃａｌＣｒｅａｔｕｒｅｓ↷↷

Kain's look was met with a slight lifting of an eyebrow, as if Declan was waiting for him to ask where the burns had come from. Most people couldn't help but ask, and he had no problem talking about it. It had been a traumatic experience for certain, but it had been literal decades ago. He still had his fear of fire, but Declan was fine with explaining where it came from. Sometimes he felt as if talking about it gave the fear a little less power. However, rather than asking about it Kain merely commented on what a nasty experience it must have been. Declan nodded and said, "My mother didn't let me out of her sight for months afterwards. I think only my sister breaking her ankle finally allowed me to cease being the target of her worry. Or was it my brother concussing himself falling down the cellar stairs...?" It sounded rather like Declan had a reckless, injury-prone family...which wasn't altogether untrue. Between them, the seven Grey siblings had amassed twelve broken legs, nine broken arms, four concussions, three broken noses, a broken jaw and of course Declan's burns. That wasn't counting the myriad magical maladies that they all managed to get themselves into, including Declan's severe injuries during his fifth year of schooling at Hogwarts.

Declan took another pull on his cigarette and chuckled as a girl and her rat quickly scurried by. Poor, poor first years. At least Declan could rest easy knowing that Kain wouldn't ever actually harm the little sparrows. He shrugged when Kain admitted that he had never quite taken to Quidditch; not everyone was fond of the sport, Dex supposed, just like not everyone was fond of horseback riding or boxing (both of which he happened to enjoy immensly). He laughed quietly as Kain said that his bets would be on Slytherin. "I can see that happening," Declan remarked, "Between Neymeria, Martin, and Typhon Maddox, Slytherin has quite the strong team this year." But Gryffindor had a good team built as well. They would just have to see who came out on top when the Quidditch matches began.

"Of course not," he added when Kain asked for a cigarette, "It's not as great as a cigar or a good pipe, but it's better than nothing eh?" Declan set his own cigarette in the corner of his mouth and fetched the cigarettes from his pocket again. He knocked one out of the box and handed it to Kain, holding the lighter up to light the end. Kain seemed to be on edge, though Declan couldn't say why. He, personally, felt incredibly at ease around the Charms master. Kay's charming nature wasn't the only thing behind it; Declan would admit that he carried a little bit of a flame for the other man. He hadn't trusted Kain at all when the man had first started working at the school, but just like Lilith the snake could squirm her way into tight spaces and secret passages, Kain had managed to squirm past Declan's defenses and get on his good side.

Ｄｅｃｌａｎ Ｉｓ↷↷
Where: Platform 9 3/4 || With: Kain and Lilith || Doing: Keeping the peace || Wearing: Muggle Disguise

[Silver and Sapphire]

MAЯTЇЙ GДБЯЇЄL ₴ДЦИDЄЯ₴⇟⇟⇟

$LУTHЁЯЇЙ $ЁVЁЙTH УЁДЯ⇟⇟⇟

Martin's father chuckled as Meri mentioned mechanics in movies being shady and trying to rip people off. "It's a cryin' shame but it is true," he said as he shrugged, "But don't you worry 'bout that m'dear. No tricks, I promise." His sone would probably turn him into a frog or something if he tried to rip off Meri. The question of him never having gotten to work on one was met with a shake of the head. "My usual clientele doesn't usuall entail working on gorgeous peices of machinery like that." The closest he had ever gotten was an older model sports car that he and Martin had restored together two or three summers ago. It had been somewhat of a bonding ritual for the two to work on a car together, ever since Martin was big enough to hold his father's tool box. Seth reached across the table and shook Meri's hand, sealing the deal that she would bring the Jaguar over during the next holiday so that he could get a look at it. Teaching the girl how it worked would be the least that he could do for his son's best friend.

Both of Martin's parents jumped a little when Meri shot out of her seat. They hadn't been expecting such an enthusiastic reaction to a simple tour of the house. Martin, who knew better, just laughed and shook his head. He turned around and headed out into the hall, beckoning to Meri as he said, "This way then. My room's upstairs." Martin headed up the slightly narrow staircase to an equally slightly narrow hallway where three doors led to Martin's room, his parents' room, and the guest room where his mother's "strays" usually slept. Martin took a moment to thank his luck that the family didnt happen to be playing host to this or that wayward stranger that his kind-hearted mother had taken in. Martin started the tour with his room - cluttered but not messy, though his bed wasn't made. The ceiling slanted slightly, thanks to the roof, and his trunk was sitting open at the foot of his bed. Martin threw his last few necessities into the trunk, all while answering Meri's questions about the Muggle things in his room.

The tour moved in through his room, then the guest room (not his parents room - off limits) before going back downstairs. The tour went through the living room and bathroom and finally back to the kitchen. Martin wasn't surprised at all to see that his mother had invited Meri's butler in for a bit of breakfast and a cuppa tea for himself. It was no small wonder that he worried about his parents letting in random strangers....The tour of the house took much longer than Martin's parents had probably thought it would and the two young magic users ended up with only a little bit of time to finish breakfast before they had to pile into Meri's car to hurry to King's Cross. "So...what did you think?" he asked Meri as he buckled the seatbelt, grinning at his friend. He had a feeling that he was going to be answering questions about Muggle things the entire drive to the train station...

OoC: Hope you don't mind me moving these two along

MДЯTЇЙ Ї$⇟⇟⇟
Where: At home || With: Mum, Dad, Meri || Doing: Getting in the car || Wearing: Muggle Garb

[Luamervara]

♠ ♥Nathaniel R. McCall.16, 6th year, Ravenclaw ♥♠

"I just want to make it to school unscathed."

For Nathaniel McCall, the first day back to school couldn't come soon enough. Summer, this year at least, had been somewhat better than the years before. His parents came on the last week of vacation and wanted to see him off to school. Usually, his Uncle would tell him what he had in his Gringotts account to spend and to not bother him if he needed more money and then his cousin would drop him off at the train station before going off to work. The routine was like that for nearly four years out of the five. But this time-!

"Nate, sweetheart?" His mother had said the day before, "I'm so sorry, but your father and I have to go."

"What? But you said you'd drop me off at the station?" Nate had been,undoubtedly, upset by this. "You promised."

"I know, son." His father gave him an apologetic look, "But something important has come up and we have to be there right now." He patted Nate's back while his wife kissed their son's cheek, "However, we'll be back for Christmas."



Since they left, he had felt nothing but depressed. On the ride to the station, his cousin tried to comfort him with the magazine about NASA and some Technology advances, but Nate couldn't even put his heart into it. Instead, he said goodbye to his cousin and walked the several feet to the platform. He kept his head down, trying not to pay attention to all the families that were gathered there saying goodbye to other students like him. It was just best he didn't think about it.

With his trunk and bird, Nate searched around for a place to sit and immediately ducked into one with a first year that wasn't paying much, if any, attention to him. Which was good, at least he'll have something of a quiet ride without feeling even worse. Setting up everything, Nate finally sat back to wait for when the train would depart. He flipped open the magazine and simply read for the time being.

Sometime during this, however, the door slide open and some other first years or a second year, were asking the one inside to come sit with them. Nate watched as the kid didn't even hesitate, gathering their things and going off with their friend. With that done now, he was alone in the compartment.

"Just as well." Nate muttered to himself, looking back at the magazine, "I don't need the company."

Looking around, he went into his trunk again. There was another book in there that he had lifted from his uncle's library. Nathaniel had thought it would help in his studies and not only that, to make space flight possible. After all, if muggles can do it without magic, than why can't they? It was a dark arts book, of course, but it could be helpful in what he wanted to know.

The ominous book was hidden by a colorful book cover to hide what it really was to prying eyes. Nathaniel flipped to the first page and began to read it. Certainly there had to be of something int his.

Where am I: On the Train
Who Am I with: No one now.
What am I doing: Reading a forbidden book.