Start of Term Feast (Open to Students and Hogwarts Staff)

Nilla trudged up the steps to the castle and waited with the rest of her year for the doors to be opened. Having her 'house' decided for her was not something she was fond of, but she knew it was a necessary evil. And it couldn't be that bad, could it? She watched as students slowly dwindled, each being sorted into houses that most seemed happy with.

"Thompson, Vanilla!" She heard her name called and her stomach roiled. There were a few snickers about her name, as she expected, but she put on her best blank expression and marched up to the stool with only the slightest hint of a limp. She was slowly getting better at hiding that damn prosthetic and she wouldn't stop till she had it down to an art.

Once on the stool, she huffed and crossed her arms. This whole sorting business was completely unfair and entirely too judgmental for her tastes. She was startled when the hat began to speak. Feisty one, I see, it murmured. I'm merely here to help you along. Your house will help you achieve great things.

She didn't need a house to help her along. Stubborn as she was being, the Hat didn't seem to even consider Slytherin as an option, for which Nilla was grateful. Oh, you'd never suit those sorts, the old topper stated. But you're not so different, really. Best put you in... There was a beat of silence during which Nilla held her breath. "GRYFFINDOR!"

Naomi had fun sitting with Finley on the train and the carriage ride to Hogwarts, chatting quietly about their summers. They walked in and sat at the Ravenclaw table together, waiting for the first years to come in so they could get the Sorting over with. Naomi watched in sympathy as a few of students seemed very nervous. She could remember how bad it was last year when she was sorted, how embarrassing it was to be up in front of that many people... She shuddered.

Naomi sketched aimless designs on the table with her finger as she waited for everyone to be sorted. She recognized the boy she had literally run into at Flourish and Blotts and watched as he was sorted into Gryffindor. It seemed he had siblings and one of them was sorted into Ravenclaw. She clapped politely with the rest of her house as the boy came and sat down.

New school years weren't a big deal to Bennett. He neither liked them nor disliked them. The start of term was simply just another day in Bennett's calendar, and the only reason he wasn't missing it was because of the food. Food was always a great excuse to attend parties or general social gatherings, even if Bennett wouldn't admit to it publicly. The few friends he had were mostly in Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, so he greeted some of them with a quick smile before settling down at his House table. The first years were wearing their pointed hats, the same one Bennett had to wear during his sorting, and he smiled to himself as he remembered how silly he had looked weari g it. There weren't any familiar first years - usually Bennett saw or even met a couple of them while shopping for school supplies, but this year he didn't recognize anyone from the streets of Diagon Alley.

The first students to get sorted were a set of twins, one ended up in Ravenclaw while the other was sent to Gryffindor. Interesting combination, Bennett thought. A Gryffindor girl followed, and then some guy and a girl were sorted into Hufflepuff. Their names were Daniel and Emily, Bennett thought, not really putting his full attention on the individual sortings. As usual, Victoria was the first one up on her feet, greeting the youngest Hufflepuffs to the House and introducing them. Bennett was glad their Head Girl was Victoria, she was pretty cool. Cooler than most of the eldest students, at least. As the two kids took their seat, Bennett simply smiled at them, sure that his quiet greeting would go unnoticed. He wasn't very interested in them anyway. And then another girl was sorted into Hufflepuff but Bennett sadly didn't catch her name. Raising an eyebrow, Bennett counted the amount of new Hufflepuffs compared to the new students kn the rest of the houses. There were too many.

Obviously, he wasn't complaining, but he did question the hat's ability to sort. For his entire life, Bennett had considered himself a Ravenclaw so his disappointment at being sorted into Hufflepuff when he finally arrived to Hogwarts was...well, something he held a grudge against the Sorting Hat for. Nevertheless, the ones the hat had placed in the Hufflepuff House this term seemed very Hufflepuffey. Especially that one kid, Daniel. The last people Bennett saw getting sorted were a Slytherin boy and a Gryffindor girl. Well, at least Slytherin's got one. His eyes quickly scanned the professors' table and he recognized a few of them, but he focused more on the new staff. He was excited for only a few of his classes, but he hadn't ruled out the possibility of some of the professors surprising him. Adults were interesting creatures. Turning his thoughts back to his world, Bennett took out a piece of parchment out of his pants pocket and began to fold it into a fox because, well, he was a Fox.

(((I have permission from Jo to godmod Effie's presence.)))

At first, Peter thought about skipping the feast just like Bella had planned, but skipping it could only mean he would to bed without dinner that day and he wasn't fond of that thought. He was human, he liked food. After setting his stuff down in his room, Peter made his way to the Great Hall very, very slowly. He took his time getting there, stopping to give directions to some of the younger students and even staying back as he saw some of his housemates walk past. He didn't want to go, but fooooood. Arriving after what seemed to be ages, Peter walked through the wooden doors only to find the feast had already started. Well, not the feast, but the sorting ceremony. Some young one had been sorted into Hufflepuff, or Slytherin....or some house Peter paid no attention to.

His table was full - full of people he didn't wanna talk to. Frowning, he turned his head to the Gryffindor table. He had expected his fiery friend to be there, but he remembered her choice to skip the whole thing, and his eyes darted around the students until he found Effie. What she was doing was something Peter would rather not know, because knowing her it was probably something weird. His face instantly lit up when he saw her, though, a grin spreading across his face without him having much control over it. Suddenly, his eyes flickered to a spot farther down from where Effie was, where some young Gryffindor was being escorted to the table by Louise, clearly in trouble. This was his chance to slip in the spot next to Effie without being noticed. Of course, he often sat with her during lunch or dinner, but he'd never switched tables during a feast.

Swiftly taking his spot, he grinned at Effie. "Hey. What's up with that?" He asked, nodding his head towards the young Gryffindor who'd gotten personally escorted to the table. From his point of view, the young one had fire. That made her a wonderful person right away. Whatever she had done, Peter had to congratulate her at some point for her wonderfulness. He turned his head to the rest of the sorting, wondering when all of those kids would finally be sorted into their own House tables. He was hungry! The trip from London to Hogwarts wasn't so bad, but it was tiring anyway, and food was revitalizing which was exactly what Peter needed to be able to go to bed and sleep for about ten hours straight.

Effie was just here for the food. That was really all she wanted, and having to endure he sorting ceremony really was a pain in the ass. She realized as it had started that it was too late to skip and head down to the kitchens and force them to make her something to eat. She could've found PETER, or anybody else, and they could've eaten it else where instead if amongst these idiots. But really, they should be blessed with her presence. Effie was pretty sure she was the coolest one in the room. And with that thought in mind, she flipped her hair.

Effie wasn't paying attention to her surroundings, just how much food she could pile on her plate. She was so interested in her mashed potato mountain, that she nearly flung peas in peters direction when he came and sat next to her. She smiled and nodded going back to her food but the kid kept talking. He wasn't really a kid, just her age, but what ever, same thing. All people where kids in Effie's eyes. She was probably the most mature one in the room. Effie hated the fact that she was sorted into Gryffindor. Her parents before her had been put into Slytherin, and she could feel their disapointed stares when she came home over summer HOLLIDAYS. But what ever. It was their loss.

She realized that Peter had been speaking. She liked the kid but not enough to pay attention to him. She shrugged and pretended like she knew what he was talking about. She should've skipped the stupid feast and ate in the common room by herself. Anything else would've been better than this.