End of the Year Feast [Term Four]

[Luke Anthony Torrington]

The Great Hall looked magnificent! Lukus was not used to this treatment of the hall, but he felt he could get used to it. Having recently turned 15 (of course, right before the term ended!), Luke adopted a swagger suggestive of a "mature" student. He'd be easily picked out of the multitudes for the sheer fact that he was an unfamiliar face. Through the multitudes, however, he searched for one face he could not shake from his memory.

Topped with lustrous gold platters illuminated from the orange light levitating above, Luke had to concentrate on the most recognisable features he had been doting on (hair, eyes, skin, facial structure, etc.) though this was greatly marginalised by those features which he could actually discern from the crowd. The blonde hair would be tough as the gold platters would camoflauge that feature; the fair skin would be tough also as it seemed (comparable to his) most people had fair skin; the eyes would be difficult based on how many people were here (and how many shared the hue). Luke took a vacant seat at the Hufflepuff table, his focus on the students coming in (especially those whom were younger and smaller) and he concluded that he would know it when he saw the boy.

Yet, unquenchable was the agonising excitement of seeing that boy - that magnificent boy! - again.

[Christian Nagle]

Chris was excited to walk into the Great Hall and see it so justly decorated. Though he had no hope - well very little hope - for the magical transformation, that was said to take place in honour of the House Champions, to be in the style of Gryffindor House, it was still a thrill to be here!!!

This was the conclusion of his first year at Hogwarts! What a year it had been too. And it seemed to be getting sweeter as he went. He'd never known what it felt like to feel the way he felt now. It had made the last few days both exciting and bittersweet - ever since that moment on the grounds, under the tree - he had been unable to shake the features of the young man he'd met there. The brown hair (which looked to be perpetually messy), the curls, the tan skin, the blue eyes - it was a fixation Chris found both comforting and perplexing. What did it mean?

It meant no more Shari - possibly no more girls (even though that wasn't a step he was willing to consider yet) - and that meant he'd regain some of the consciousness he had seemed to lose since she'd forced him to call her his girlfriend. What sort of friend would this young man be? Chris didn't even know his name! He looked around suddenly, hoping that he'd see the young man. He didn't even know his name! He didn't even know, come to think of it, what house to look in! It'd been just that conversation, just that and not much more. They'd forgotten introductions because it seemed, when they'd spoken, that they were already great friends who'd been missing each other for a long time.

Chris couldn't see any sign of the young man. Was he right to call him a young man? Was he not a boy? There was a good deal of information Chris still needed before they parted... before they parted.

[Tallulah Skeffington]

End of the year already? Why had it come too soon? Before Tallulah came to Hogwarts school usually crawled by at a snail's pace. This year was different, faster and much more satisfying. Everything that had happened this year seemed to make Tallulah feel better about herself in many ways. Reconnecting with Emeric brought newfound closeness between the two. She felt that she could confide in Emeric about anything.

Then there was Dante. No words could express Dante in Tallulah's mind. He was a breath of fresh air, a ray of light in her monotonous existence. That fact that the year was over and she would soon be going back to her home wasn't the happiest thing. She'd rather just stay at school and be with Dante. She knew about his summer plans and his internship. Though he wasn't going to be around the entire summer just seeing him one day would be amazing. Tal was planning to visit him at his internship for a little time but she had yet to pass it by him.

It took Tal only a few minutes to find her way up to the Great Hall. Getting in was another story. The hall was packed with people trying to hug their friends and say their goodbyes. She wanted to find Dante and give him a hug. She walked around the atrium to the Great Hall for a few minutes, not seeing him. Sighing in defeat she finally made her way into the hall and toward her house table.

As she got closer to the table she saw Delilah and plopped down next to her. There was a younger boy near her, someone she didn't know. "Hey Delilah. How are you on this glorious evening?" Her voice was chipper, masking the sadness in her voice. She really wished she saw Dante before sitting down for dinner.

[Sophia Crawford]

Tears filled Sophia's eyes as she entered the hallway leading to the End of the Year Feast, sniffling pitifully. She had so much fun here in these halls, even if she only was here for one year. That one year felt like...like forever to her. She would miss the laughs of her new friends, especially Delilah and Connor, the two she felt she grew the closest to. She, of course, had met so many other people, like Drew and Felicity, Jason and Dante, even Alexander, Tristan and Anna. It had been, as cheesy as it sounded, an honor and a privilege to meet every single one of them. They were all treasures in her eyes, so unique from each other but each equally as valuable.

There were still so many more people Sophia wanted to meet before...before her last year here. It seemed like time was cold and cruel, stealing away so much of her life too fast for her to savor. Everything about Hogwarts was so perfect for her, so filled with life. She was glad that she wasn't really leaving Hogwarts forever and supposed that she should be grateful for her 'Seventh Year' which was really her second. She wiped her tears gently with her black robes which were thrown over a pretty dress her mother had sent as a present. Her parents were so proud of her that they didn't mind her staying at camp this summer instead of coming home to work at her old school...at least her mother didn't. She was sure her father was fuming slightly, but loved her enough to let her make her own decisions. After all, she would be turning 17 in August.

She entered the Great Hall to see that many of her friends were there already, but she noticed that she failed to recognize her own House mates. She felt dumb. How was it that she had made so many friends outside of her House? Where was Anna or Tristan or even Eaden? She noted that her two closest friends were Slytherins. Stupid House rules. If it hadn't been for the whole 'sit with your House', Sophia would've instinctively run towards Delilah and given her a huge surprise hug. Seeing as this probably wouldn't fly with the Headmistress, she took a seat near the end of the Gryffindor table.

Sophia looked around the room, heartbroken that she wouldn't see many of these faces anytime soon, and put her head down on the table, crying softly. She didn't want to leave. Her home was here now. Packing felt criminal and the fact that this Feast was going on? She couldn't find words through her small tears.

She wasn't usually this emotional, but she supposed that tears were bound to fall on today of all days.

[Luke Anthony Torrington]

Luke huffed. Students were filling the room but none of them was him. Some looked like they were crying (or had cried, or were about to cry). One such was dressed in Gryffindor robes, and seeing the agony on her tear stricken face made Luke feel a little emotional himself. He followed her (with his gaze) to the Gryffindor table. The poor girl ((Sophia)) was crying! Luke felt trivial in that moment. This was a much bigger deal to some people than he had been making it.

He looked down and tried to feel somber. (un)fortunately, he couldn't feel somber. He couldn't really understand why she was crying, or why anyone would want to cry. It was a Feast. No? Well he was going to enjoy it as much as he could, though he hoped he could find that boy from a few days ago...

And almost as soon as he thought such, there he was! Luke had looked up no more than one second ago and, naturally, because he was looking in the direction of the Gryffindor table, his eyes fell on a blonde haired boy near the table, dressed in Gryffindor robes! His heart - if that was what it was - skipped several beats and left Luke short of breath. There he was! The evening could start. There he was!

[Drew Thornton]

Drew felt better at her words and even managed a laugh at her joke. "Different? You mean like quieter... more sane... less painful?" he joked back. He knew his reputation and while he didn't like it much, he could still joke about it. Besides, Tianne was probably the only Ravengirl who didn't hate his guts, so it was easier to laugh about it.

Dante sat down near by and Drew nodded a hello at the boy as Matty came up to say her hellos as well. "I'll be doing better once I get accepted into the Academy," Drew answered both girls at once. "Until then, I should probably find a job somewhere." He didn't technically have to work this summer, but he figured he might as well do something.

[Delilah Morine]

Delilah leaned away from the younger boy, who was maybe just a little too freaked out my her actions, and maybe by what she had said to him too. Delilah looked over at the new voice that was talking to her and grinned, "Tallulah!" Delilah said, excited, but also masking her sadness. Not that she was sad to see her fellow Slytherin, just sad that she had to leave this wonderful castle. Delilah grinned, "Glorious indeed." She said, a hint of sarcasm in her voice, not really knowing how to answer the question, so she decided a general statement would be in order. She couldn't believe this was it... No more sixth year, and next year would be her last completely... Sometimes it was just too scary to believe, but reality often times was scary.

[Dante Vroom]

He was just getting into his seat, making a smile at both the Ravens that quietly welcomed him to the table. Though his eyes continued to scan the area for anyone he might know. Thinking of at least one Slytherin it would have been nice to see before all the food and general feast started. But for now, he was not making the connections with faces that he usually could. Perhaps it was in sitting down that he could not get a good view of any faces. A bit disheartening, but he was not letting anything get him down today.

Finally though, he caught the hint of dark hair he recognized taking a seat with the Slytherin kids. Ah there she is he thought to himself. Dante began to rise from his seat pushing off of it and turning to those sitting close “suppose I sat down to soon,” and with that he walked away from the table. He made his way over to Tallulah, standing right behind her and resting his hands on her shoulders he quickly set his chin on the top of her head.

“Well hey there,” he said lightly, he looked around and made eye contact with Delilah as well, giving her a bit of a smile. He had not seen either of the girls come in, but then again he did not see most of the people that had arrived. Maybe I really did sit down to quickly, he realized now. If he wanted to interact with anyone outside his house he was going to have to do it now. Mostly because it was just easier. People like Drew would be at the table to have conversations with once the feast really was under way. So for now, he stood slouched with his chin resting on top of Tallulah's head. A smile across his face.

[Christian Nagle]

Sept 8, 2008 19:57:15 GMT -5 Luke Anthony Torrington said:

Luke huffed. Students were filling the room but none of them was him. Some looked like they were crying (or had cried, or were about to cry). One such was dressed in Gryffindor robes, and seeing the agony on her tear stricken face made Luke feel a little emotional himself. He followed her (with his gaze) to the Gryffindor table. The poor girl ((Sophia)) was crying! Luke felt trivial in that moment. This was a much bigger deal to some people than he had been making it.

He looked down and tried to feel somber. (un)fortunately, he couldn't feel somber. He couldn't really understand why she was crying, or why anyone would want to cry. It was a Feast. No? Well he was going to enjoy it as much as he could, though he hoped he could find that boy from a few days ago...

And almost as soon as he thought such, there he was! Luke had looked up no more than one second ago and, naturally, because he was looking in the direction of the Gryffindor table, his eyes fell on a blonde haired boy near the table, dressed in Gryffindor robes! His heart - if that was what it was - skipped several beats and left Luke short of breath. There he was! The evening could start. There he was!

Chris had made it to the Gryffindor table, where some of his fellow house mates were already. One girl was crying - he supposed there would be more of those as the class graduating this year was one of the most spectacular (or so he'd heard) - near him. Chris didn't want to look at her, in case she felt self-conscious of the fact she was crying. So instead, he looked ahead of him. His heart stopped for three seconds (maybe more because he came out of it breathless and with a much harder heartbeat than before). The young man was sitting at the Hufflepuff table one a little ways away! Chris wanted to jump up and run over to him, but then he remembered that he was among many many students and such things would probably cause catastrophe and generate great annoyance.

But he couldn't help smiling.

He walked, calmly, toward the Hufflepuff table, and soon found himself standing in front of the boy. Chris had tried hard to remember what he looked like, duplicating in his mind the images of the boy's face as he remembered them, but so much more acute were his features in reality and up close as they were now. He smiled again - as if he'd ever lost that first smile - and sat down on the bench next to the boy.

'Hello again!' He began, not sure of what to say, but sure that he wanted to say something - get information and maybe more.

[Luke Anthony Torrington]

Luke's smile broadened as he watched the Gryffindor boy look down and then, suddenly, up again and right at him! He suddenly felt parched. The Gryffindor was beginning his walk over to the Hufflepuff table! Luke needed something to drink, but when he looked at the goblets neatly set on the table, he noted how empty they were. Darn it! He needed something to drink, something to relieve his dry mouth. Nothing seemed to be there for him.

Looking up, Luke saw the boy rounding the end of the Gryffindor table and heading toward him. Everything about the boy seemed to exude happiness, youth even. Such liveliness in each step! Such lightness in the way he moved. It was a marvel to Luke. When he had been that age - four years ago, now that he had turned 15 - he'd never had the same lightness of movement or liveliness in his step. Things were different for different people though. So what had this Gryffindor boy's life been like, Luke wondered. He knew he was from Scotland. How did he come to live in England? Not a quantum leap, granted, but a move nonetheless. What was Scotland like? What was his family like?

He was standing in front of Luke now, his smiling face looking so beautiful to these weary eyes. And then he sat.

'Hello again!'

Luke had followed the boy to his seat next to Luke. 'Hello mate.' He smiled. 'So - this is it, eh?' He hadn't meant to kick off the conversation this way. The fact that they had one night to get fully acquainted before the holidays began was not a subject Luke wanted to make obvious on the outset. He didn't know anything, really, about the Gryffindor. He wanted to change that.

'I know this is kind of awkward and all, but I never really got to introduce myself to you, mate.' He stuck out his hand as he'd seen so many other men do. 'I'm Lukus. Lukus Torrington. But, hey, you can call me Luke - all my good friends do anyway.' He put an extra emphasis on the word "good", hoping the significance would sink in.

[Tallulah Skeffington]

Before Tallulah was able to answer Delilah someone put their hands on her shoulders and rested their chin on her head. Not wanting to physically hurt the person who was touching her she turned her head slightly, trying to catch a glimpse of the person. From where her head was she could see a hand and a Hogwarts robe with blue lining. She grinned bigger, knowing only one Ravenclaw who could get away with such a gregarious move. Tallulah reached up and touched the hands on her shoulders.

“Well hey there,”

Grinning even more Tallulah moved her head away and kissed Dante's cheek. Her night went from wishing she found her boyfriend to being with him. "Hi there cutie pants. Didn't see you in the hall, but I didn't see many people I knew." She grinned up at him, not able to contain her excitement anymore. Giving him a smirk she took her arms off her shoulders and motioned him to sit next to her till the feast started. "Wanna sit for a little?"

[Tianne Webster-Barrett]

Tianne couldn't really imagine what it would be like without Drew around annoying them. He was the main Ravenclaw, organized pretty much everything, was nice and funny, something that doesn't always come together with other people, and Tianne trusted him. Her family, Matty and Drew, they were the people that Tianne trusted the most; it took quite a bit for trust to build up for the girl. She wasn't the kind of person that could open up easily, no, and even when it was gained, it was easily lost. But Matty and Drew hadn't done anything to lose that 'privilege', so all was good.

"By different I meant... Well, not as fun guess? Just not the same as it is now!" She said, giving the boy teasing nudge. "It's your insanity, pain-inflicting, loud ways that make this place fun!" She said with a grin. "Anyways, whatever you do, you'll be great at it."

Tianne didn't actually see Matty approach, in fact, she didn't know she was there until the last second when she said hello. She wasn't prepared for the greeting, and recieved a shock from it, jumping slightly, but she was happy nonetheless. "Matty! I'm alright, had better days, what about you?" She said, playfully holding her hand up for the girl to highfive.

[Lachlan McCormick]

Where had the school year gone? To Lachlan, it was as if it had just flown by and Lach had blinked and missed it. So much had been crammed into the boy's fifth year at Hogwarts. He couldn't believe just how much had changed and happened. Lach was pretty happy with what he had accomplished in his year; he was going to be sad to leave, even if it was just for the holidays.

This, in its self, was something quite unusual for Lach. Normally he was quite eager to get home to Sara, but these holidays, the boy was finding it a little harder to depart for home. For instance, he had made a lot more friends in the past few months and Lach doubted that he would get the chance to see them through the weeks away. He wasn’t quite sure what Matty and Tianne were up to, but he wanted to try and get in contact with them.

Standing in his almost empty dormitory, Lach breathed a small sigh. The last of the stragglers left the dormitory, excited and ravenous, making their way down to the hall and Lach decided he should follow them. After all he was eager to get down to the feast and greet his friends. Cramming the rest of his stuff into his bag, while struggling to zip it up, Lachlan swung it over his shoulder. Stepping out side of his Hufflepuff dormitory, he exited the common room for the last time that year.

The first thing Lach did when he entered the hall was look over to see if he could spot Tianne. He was unsure whether or not he would get the chance to see her afterwards, so he wanted to catch up with her now. Looking around, Lachlan saw her sitting at the Ravenclaw table, along with Drew and Matty. Heading in their direction, a small smile began to spread across the boy’s face.

“Hey, you guys” Lach said, when he reached the group. “Look’s like it’s going to be one hell of a feast”

[Christian Nagle]

Chris knew most people around the hall were reluctant to leave, though some may be like him and were excited to see what the Holidays brought, especially if it meant that he would get to see Caleb! And of course after finding out about that Summer Camp in Wales - the possibilities were abounding! So he wasn't too phased when the Hufflepuff boy sitting beside him mentioned this being it for the year.

'Yeah, I guess it is. But I didn't think it'd end like this, honestly.' He was still trying to get over the fact that both this kid and Caleb were/had been in Hufflepuff. Was this some kind of suggestion being made to him? Then he remembered how he'd made fun of/written off the house prior to his own Sorting. All this seemed fickle throughout the year, but now it felt as though he was eating his words. This must be his final lesson as a firstie.

'I know this is kind of awkward and all, but I never really got to introduce myself to you, mate.' Chris was pulled from his thoughts by the voice of his companion. He shrugged at the boy. 'We didn't have time to get to introductions that day. But I guess its better late than never, eh?' And then the boy stuck out his hand. This was a gesture Chris thought was silly. What was it about taking someone's hand that made it socially acceptable as a greeting? Chris wouldn't have given it a second thought in any other situation, but in this one he thought it'd be more sincere - perhaps more to the point - if he and this boy had used the French custom of kissing on the cheek. It felt more appropriate, but then again, maybe the boy didn't feel the same way. And that idea had never crossed Chris' uncultivated mind until now. So he took the boy's hand and gave him a firm shake. He could feel doubt pouring over him like scalding water.

'I'm Lukus. Lukus Torrington. But, hey, you can call me Luke - all my good friends do anyway.' Lukus. Lukus Torrington. Luke. What a name! Chris had to stop himself from getting all excited. For starters, there wasn't anything to get excited about yet, if at all. It was this strange fixation on the name. And who were these good friends? Were any of them girlfriends? Chris realised he was still shaking Luke's hand. He also realised his mouth was quite dry, and gulping scented air, he managed to say 'Yeah - I'm Chris... Nagle, first year... I mean....' He felt so embarrassed. He let go of Luke's hand and quickly slid his under the bench. So this is it, eh?

[Matilda Wentworth]

"The Academy?" Matty repeated as a question, raising her eye brows slightly at Drew with a smile. She was aware of magical academies around and such, but she was more curious to the specifics of what he meant; and in that, what for? The girl gave him a nod as he added getting a job for the summer. "Ah, I know whatcha mean. I could use a job too, extra cash would be handy." she said with a line of laughter through her voice. Grinning now as Tianne noticed her presence, Matilda returned her high five, as well as exclaiming 'whoohoo!'. At her best friends question, the Hufflepuff gave a light shrug. "You know me, I'm doin' pretty well." it was convincing enough, in any means.

Upon the arrival of Lachlan, Matty waved at him. "Hey, Lochie." When he reached the group of now four, the teenager sidled into a gentle side-hug, before removing herself back to her own person. Admittedly, before these past few months, the girl wouldn't have even taken a double look at Lach when seeing him around. But after their meeting in a hall way one evening, Matts couldn't deny that she considered him to be one of her best friends these days. Alike her, he was interested in Quidditch, he was a funny and cool sort of guy, and really the kind of person the teen looked for in a friend. And after Seth and Ryan had left this year, she also knew that he was fast filling in the social gap that her previous best friends had left. "Yeah, defiantly. Got any final surprised up your sleeve for us, Drew?" Matty teased, turning her gaze to the Ravenclaw.