Arrival Thread - Magical Schools - May 2021 Arrival

OPEN TO INTERACTIONS @Rhea Miller [Ophélie Moore]

English | #1A5872 Russian | #576D88

Feeling eyes on her, Klara turned and scanned the room. Locking gazes with a pretty brown haired student, the twelve year old quickly attempted to make her expression as nonchalant as possible. Don't come over, don't come over, Klara begged silently. She wanted to be alone, and the student smiling at her had just been talking to at least two other people who might follow her them, but Klara doesn’t know that yet over, which would most definitely interrupt her nice time of peace and quiet. Well, as much peace as Klara could get in the middle of such a large crowd. And okay, not really quiet at all…

The smiling student - maybe Beauxbatons, because of the people she was hanging around with? - was already halfway over by the time all these thoughts ran through Klara’s mind. Unable to keep the frown off her face, the first year’s slightly anxious demeanor changed to one of cold annoyance. The sympathetic look on the other student’s face told Klara all she needed to know about why the other girl was approaching her, and she was not looking forward to it. They think they’re being so kind, Klara thought to herself, when really, they’re doing the exact opposite of what I want...

Upon arriving at Klara’s table, the brown haired student began to speak in English, introducing theirself as Ophé. Having learned a little bit of English over the years because of her grandmother who lived in England and visited often, Klara was able to understand exactly what she was saying. She didn’t say anything to indicate this, however, and let the other girl stumble over her words as she hurriedly switched to Russian. This quick change did evoke the slightest change in Klara’s expression - she hadn’t been expecting that at all. Adding that to the list of notes she kept in her head about almost every person she met, the list for Ophé looked something like this:

• Ophé - possibly a nickname for something else?
• They/them
• Beauxbatons
• Can speak Russian, English, and most likely French as well, because of above

It was relatively short so far, but Klara had only been speaking with her for a few minutes - not even, because she hadn’t said a single word yet. Realizing this, the girl opened her mouth to speak. While she didn’t exactly enjoy speaking to others just for mere conversation, Klara wasn’t the type to leave people sitting around uncomfortably waiting for an answer… not on purpose, at least.

“I can assure you,” she said, “That I can speak languages other than Russian.” Her tone was cold, and not very welcoming, but that's just how it always was when she was around someone new. Or, well, when she was around everyone but family, because Klara barely ever talked to anyone more than one time.

The Beauxbatons student’s next words were expected, from the pitying look she’d had on her face as she approached a little bit ago. Raising an eyebrow in an I-don't-care way, Klara pretended as if she hadn’t been freaking out about the crowd and noise and even the sudden meeting between the four different schools of magic. “Of course I’m alright,” she said. “I don't see why I wouldn’t be.” Staring the Ophé down, Klara crossed her arms in front of her chest and waited to see what they would do.

Interacting with:
Arjan Oberoi (@Serena Towers) and Rudolf Novikov (@Adam Harringtom)
Open to Interactions

May and the arrival of Spring this year meant the arrival of other schools at Hogwarts as well. The Great Hall was alive and thriving with more people than usual.

It seemed odd to Maria to see people dressed differently from the rest of the Hogwarts population. The reds, blacks and blues were a stark contrast from the plain dark robes and uniforms that she and her peers wore. However, it wasn’t entirely unwelcome. There were new faces and a new school decided to join them this year. She wasn’t able to meet any other students the last time they were here, so perhaps this was an opportunity to make a new acquaintance.

Although, as the night progressed, the sheer number of students who shared the Great Hall seemed to overwhelm the young witch. As people moved about and talked, her own table had gotten a little too stuffy for her liking.

Her eyes scanned the Great Hall for anywhere that could provide her with some sort of reprieve. Sure, she could’ve just gone back to her dorm, but the prospect of doing so alone while everyone was preoccupied with their business here made her feel uneasy.

Spotting a table that wasn’t occupied to full capacity close by, Maria picked up her goblet and made her way over. The roar of chatter in the hall had settled as indistinct noise in her ears as her eyes scanned the rest of the room to observe.

In the flurry of noise and excitement, Maria could’ve sworn that she’d heard someone call her name. She turned around immediately to look for the source of the noise. Perhaps she shouldn’t have filled her goblet so full of pumpkin juice as it spilled over the sides. Feeling the liquid on her hand she moved backwards to stop it from splashing onto her robes. Her action made her bumped into a solid object – or rather body. Her eyes widened and she immediately turned around. Recognizing the uniform of the two boys in front of her as “not from Hogwarts”, she felt embarrassed. They both seemed older, especially the boy she’d just bumped into. “O-Oh, sorry about that.” She would stammer out.

outfit
speech #bf0040

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@Henry Knight @Lucia Fox @Miranda Everest @Katrina Walker @Rhea Miller @Kage Suzuki @Rose Moon

[font=times new roman]
S[/font]carlett had been waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting. Did she mention that she was waiting? Because today was The Day. The day that Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, Ilvermorny and the fancy Russian school would be coming to Hogwarts. And in Beauxbatons was a particular student by the name of Cassiopeia Heather McGregor-Martin.

Cassiopeia Heather McGregor-Martin (or 'just Cassie') was another childhood friend of Scarlett's. Ever since young, she had been inducted into their little mischief-making, performing-arts group called the 'Troop' that all resided in Godric's Hollow. The Troop were all of wizarding blood, and though Cassie was a Muggle - or so they believed - her bright, quick and trouble-making nature had instantly earned the liking of the members, and she had been invited. Of course, for the older kids, this meant hiding their magic from Cassie. For the young ones, this meant not accidentally telling Cassie their little secret. It was amazing for a time. The Troop went round and annoyed residents and pranked old Mr Sweeney and stuck-up Mrs Grey and occasionally showed their parents some melodramatic theatre productions they had created.

There was Sydney, the oldest and most mature, Caden, the second-oldest and the comedian, Arabella and Jones, the two twins that acted much too cool and stylish for the group, but in reality, were as wacky and bright as the rest of them, Scarlett - herself - Cassie, the Triplets, Caden's younger brothers also known as Billy, Benjamin and Bobby (why their mother had given them such cliché names, no one would ever know) and finally Lainey, the youngest and obviously the cutest.

But then Cassie moved away to France. It was all rather upsetting and everyone cried a lot. Scarlett had kept in contact with Cassie, and old, badly-written letters were still tucked into Scarlett's drawer. One day, however, Cassie's writing grew more mature, less enthusiastic. Scarlett had worried this was her growing up, being mature and not wanting to be friends with someone like Scarlett anymore. But then Cassie just stopped writing.

It was because she had went to Beauxbatons of course, though Scarlett had no idea, as Cassie thought that Scarlett was also a Muggle. Yet when the schools came to Hogwarts for the Fall Ball, the two had joyfully re-united, proceeding to catch up on years of missed chat. They had raced across the school together on a hunt and solved a mystery. Just like old times, but now. Obviously, now that Cassie and Scarlett knew of each other's magic, they had kept in touch, and their friendship was restored. The Troop was informed, Cassie came to visit for the holidays which resulted in a lot of tackling and hugging and life was amazing.

And now, Cassie was going to come to Hogwarts for the Blossom Ball! Scarlett had told Fiona of the Greek theme, and received matching outfits for her and Cassie. Fiona's letter had been short with her typical scrawl for handwriting, but it sounded so excited. Fiona was one for fashion, and if she wasn't an Auror, Scarlett honestly believed she could've been a world-famous designer.

Anyway, as soon Beauxbatons had landed in their very extra carriage, Scarlett had been searching for Cassie, but annoyingly, the French-English girl was nowhere to be seen. Now it was dinner, and Scarlett was currently wolfing down shepherd's pie. Food was necessary in life, after all. She had swallowed three-quarters of her food, taking a sip of pumpkin juice before an unsettling feeling grew inside her. Where was Cassie? Out of all the other schools and students, where was she? Shouldn't Cassie and her have bumped into each other by now? Shouldn't Cassie or her have at least tried to find each other?

Okay maybe Scarlett hadn't really been trying her best. But the gravy at Hogwarts was top-notch.

Where's your sense of friendship Scarlett? she chided herself, before shoving her bench back and yelling, "CASSIOPEIA HEATHER MCGREGOR-MARTIN, WHERE ARE-"

Oh.

Cassie was with a group of people probably from other schools, and it looked like she was searching for someone. Me, Scarlett realised, beaming inside. Though Scarlett wasn't one for sappiness, it was always nice to know that someone had your back. "Cassie!" shouted Scarlett, the joy leaking into her words. She flung herself towards her friend and hugged her tightly, without warning. Cassie could take spontaneous hugs - after all, she spent her childhood with the Troop for Merlin's sake. "Cassie! Hello! It's so good to see you again, I've been looking for you for forever-" Perhaps that was a lie.

"-but I couldn't find you and I had to eat dinner and Merlin's pants you're growing popular and how is life and school and broom racing and France and everything? How was the journey? Food? Merlin's beard I'm just so glad you're here and I - I may be talking too much." Scarlett finally released Cassie from her iron grip. Thankfully, this Cassie was Cassie, not a lookalike that she had randomly hugged. It had happened once, back in Godric's Hollow. Needless to say, it was one of the most awkward moments of her life.

"Well, anyway, hello!" said Scarlett, turning to address the group. "You the bunch of cool people Cassie hangs out with? Doesn't look like you're from the same schools though...but anyway! Introduce yourselves. I'm Scarlett, second-year Gryffindor, certified talker and professional Quidditch player - just kidding, just kidding!" She gave Cassie a head-pat. "This here is Cassie, as you all know. She's a lot more annoying than one would expect."

She shot a glance at the blond guy from Durmstrang. "Hey..." said Scarlett with a wicked grin. "I know you! You're Cassie's boyfriend! Or at least you two went to the dance together. Cassie went in a frilly green gown, can you believe it?"

Seeing as she wasn't interested in boys herself, why not tease her friend about it?

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Roleplaying as Durmstrang iNPC Arjan Oberoi

Interacting with: Rudolf Novikov (@Adam Harringtom) and @Maria Dee

He likely would not admit it but it took Arjan a good second to recall the boy's name. Of course, he recognised him in an instant. They had shared classes over the years and last summer, they had even shared a tent at the Quidditch tournament. However, his name was not something that came to Arjan in an instant. It was mostly because Arjan did not really pay all that much attention unless he had some particular use for you. Besides, they had not had any really notable interactions that were worthy of recalling. It was not like they had stood side by side beating some little twerp up or anything of importance - or at least, importance to him.

But he did know and recognise him, "Novikov," He responded, not necessarily bothering to respond to the follow-up question. It was unnecessary words since that Novikov had already taken a seat anyway. Besides, he did not really want to say 'yes' as that sounded kind of sad and desperate for company and he was - of course - not lonely or in need of company. At least, that was his logic. (It did not have to be logical to make sense to him).

He ate a piece of chicken, as he heard the boy in front of him attempt to engage him in a conversation. About Hogwarts? Really? This place was impressive? Pft. It was the same school that churned out people like Serena, how could it have really been? And there were so many mudbloods around that they might as well have just let in the muggles at this point. That being said, there were some people of interest - some beautiful girls that had caught his eye or some children of pureblood families that he knew attending here that would be worth networking with. And the architecture was not... terrible, he supposed.

"It's alright." He responded slightly gruffly before continuing, "Nothing compared to Durmstrang, of course." The truth was that he would argue Durmstrang is better even if the school was built in a swamp. He was incredibly proud of his school and that was not going to change. Hogwarts was not 'terrible' but compared to Durmstrang, it always would be in his mind. Seeing the struggle that Novikov was having in maintaining a conversation, he attempted to push through a little, "But I suppose, the castle itself is a decent piece of architecture."

"I presume this is your first visit?" He asked, wondering if that meant the boy did not show up in October. Arjan did not actually recall seeing Novikov there, now that he thought about it. Admittedly, they could have sat right next to each other, spoken, hung out for hours and Arjan might have forgotten him.

If nothing else, the pureblood gatherings had taught him how to engage in a little small talk and network a bit. He did not necessarily enjoy leading conversations but pft, he could not help it if he was just so wonderful that everyone wanted to listen to him - right? Of course he could easily dominate a conversation with the sound of his wonderful voice. Oh how beautiful the mind of the arrogant was. It was almost as beautiful as he was! His voice was, of course, a blessing to all.

He was about to continue the conversation when he felt someone walk into the back of him. Who the heck had the audacity to bump into Arjan Oberoi? Could he not even eat in peace? Geesh. What was with people! The frown crossed his eyebrows pretty quickly as he turned. It immediately dissipated as his hazel-brown eyes fell onto a smaller figure. Noticing the juice in her hand and the look of liquid on her hands, he could not help but wonder if she had gotten any onto his uniform. That would really piss him off.

However, his face bore a smile as he suppressed his inner desire. She was kind of pretty and might be of use yet, who knew. It was always best to be charming rather than straight-up violent, right? It was harder to take back the latter, after all. Besides... she obviously bumped into him on purpose, right? It was just her way of getting his attention but being too shy to actually come up to him. Well, that was understandable. He was a little intimidating with his towering height and beautiful arms. He stood up a little to address her.

"Please keep your distance. I might fall for you," Arjan responded with a smirk on his lips, "But if bumping into me was the way we were destined to meet, I'll take it," Oh yeah, that was smooth. Well, in his head, it was definitely smooth. Of course, in reality, he was nowhere near as cool as he likely thought he was but boy, he was confident enough to assume it was super smooth, "Would you like a hand with that?" He continued, offering to take the juice for her. If she agreed, he would definitely just set it down at the empty seat next to him in an attempt to get her to join him.

Yeah... this was the normal way to greet someone who you had never met. What an incredible first impression. Poor Maria (whose name he did not know yet). But perhaps even more than that, poor Novikov who had to be a witness to this whole mess.

Interacting with: @Aaron Jones

Sitting next to: @Serena Towers, @Adam Harringtom & @Maria Dee

RPing as Durmstrang iNPC Rudolf Novikov

interacting with Arjan Oberoi (@Serena Towers) | @Maria Dee

"Nothing compared to Durmstrang, of course." Dolf scoffed as the words left Arjan's lips. That part was obvious. Hogwarts was nice (and he did enjoy looking up at the swirling sky in the rafters of the Great Hall), but there could be no replacement for their school — no true equal. As Arjan took another mouthful of food, Dolf picked up a goblet and raised it to his lips, smirking around the rim. "Of course. I didn't say that." The other boy said something about the architecture, some general concession about the castle's beauty, and Dolf nodded in agreement. There was no arguing that Hogwarts was a fine place to be. It just didn't match up to its counterpart in the North.

With that settled, Dolf thought they might fall back into silence, but Arjan surprised him by speaking. He wanted to know if it was Dolf's first time visiting Hogwarts. Was it that obvious? He knew there was nothing wrong about saying yes — it wasn't like it was his fault that he hadn't come for the dance last fall — but something about Arjan's tone of voice kept him from doing it. Dolf got the sense that Arjan thought he was better than...well, everybody in the room. Maybe just everybody, period. Pride was one thing, arrogance was another. He was starting to remember now why they hadn't talked a whole lot over the summer. So instead of admitting yes, I've never been here before, Dolf dodged the question and poked at his schoolmate a little. "And you're here so often?" he asked, setting his cup down and raising an eyebrow. "Why don't you give me the grand tour?"

The conversation might have devolved into a pissing match if it weren't for the girl. Dolf didn't see her until it was too late and she was colliding with Arjan's back; he watched the boy turn around to confront his offender, and upon seeing her, immediately stand up and turn on the charm. This was another thing Dolf remembered about Arjan, at least from the things he'd heard. He was a real, self-declared ladies' man.

Dolf was expecting great things, with a reputation like that. What he got was not so great, but then again, it wasn't really meant for him. Maybe girls liked hearing two pick-up lines packed into one sentence...right? Sure. "убить меня сейчас," Dolf muttered into his goblet as Arjan reached out to take the girl's. Kill me now. But he'd be lying if he said he wasn't excited to see where this proposal went. It was bound to be entertaining either way.

He nodded a greeting to the girl from behind Arjan's shoulder, on the off chance that she could take her eyes off the figure of excellence in front of her. She was rather pretty, although she looked a little younger than they were. He wouldn't mind if she decided to sit down with them. Then, tapping his fingers idly on the table, Dolf leaned forward and began the careful process of listening without seeming like he was interested at all.

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[font=big caslon] As iNPC Ophélie Moore Outfit: uniform Open to Interactions

[font=big caslon]French: #664F6F English: #190047 Russian: #351664

[font=big caslon]Aw, a stingy one. Ophé likes those. They're usually hiding very deep emotional pain that is closer to the surface than they want to believe. Ophé notes a slight change in the girl's expression when they switch languages, one of... surprise, or maybe even appreciation. They respect intelligence, then? Ophé bites the inside of their cheek, and tilts their head, studying her. When she speaks in English they breathe a quick sigh of relief.

"Oh, excellent. This is much easier." They squint in what is almost an imitation, a mockery, of what the girl is doing, watching them. Something tells them that she does not appreciate being teased. Anger is a tenuous emotion, always on the verge of splintering to reveal sadness, and though Ophé does get their feelings hurt by it sometimes, it can be necessary to learn about peoples' inner worlds.

It is so tempting, though, to begin a long emotional monologue about their travels and their life, and then to listen as she opens up about herself, and to clutch both her hands and look into her eyes and just listen. Oh no, are they falling in love again? It happens about twice a week, according to their mother. At any rate, Ophé would not say no if this girl asked them to go to the ball, although to be fair there are very few people that they would turn down.

"Okay, fine," they say, turning to stare at the rest of the student body. Specifically, Charles and Cassie Heather. At that moment, another figure bursts into view, an over-enthusiastic Hogwarts student with fiery orange hair cascading down her back and eyes alight with elation. She throws herself into Cassie's arms in a gargantuan hug. For a moment ─ one mean, regrettable moment ─ Ophé considers abandoning the Koldovstoretz girl and rejoining their old companions. Introducing themself to this new and apparently friendly member of the group. But no, they can't just leave! They must get through to her first, and then go from there.

They swivel around to face her again and stick out their hand to shake. "I don't believe we've been formally introduced. My name is Ophélie Moore, formerly known as Ophélie Plantagenet, if you've heard of our family. What's your name?" Raising a hand and scratching a nonexistent itch on their temple (a nervous habit) does little to calm their nerves, although the familiar motion is mildly comforting. This could very well end badly. Things often do with cranky people.

[font=big caslon]Interacting: Klara [@Gia Adelard],
Mentioning: Charles [@Henry Knight], Cassie [@Lucia Fox], @Scarlett Aden

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Role-playing as Irina (iNPC)

Irina speaking in English
Irina speaking in Russian
Others speaking

Interacting with @Lucia Fox (we’ve planned to, I know she hasn’t joined yet as her PC)

Irina had rather enjoyed the travelling to Hogwarts. What she was most looking forward to, however, was the feast. And the quidditch, but, to be honest, she wasn’t really all that bothered about it. She was a duellist, anyway.

There was only one word she could explain the castle to be though: wonderful. She loved how nice everyone was, and she could see a group of students gathered around a Beauxbâtons girl, who must be first year, Irina was just over average height, and she was much taller than the girl.

When it came to going into the great hall for the feast, Irina was lost as to who to sit with. There was a girl, who looked her age, that was sat on her own. And so, she sat with her. She had long dark hair and pale skin. “Hey, can I sit here?” She asked politely. The girl gestured for her to sit, and Irina introduced herself. “Thanks, and I’m Irina, Irina Florence Fox.” She said with a smile, trying to be as friendly as possible. The two of them looked vaguely similar, but that must have been a coincidence, since they were different nationalities.

Banner by Lucia Fox

[ @Henry Knight as Charles • @Kage Suzuki as Werner • Everly as Lucietta • @Katrina Walker as Iris • @Rose Moon as Drew • @Scarlett Aden • Rhea Miller as Ophé but I forgot to tag I'm sorry- ]

English #26687E • French #72267E

"Why would being lonely ever cause trouble?" Cassie asked Charles, honestly bewildered. "Mind you though, I doubt I'd know. Haven't tried it much, myself." She smirked.

Werner flinched away from Cassie's fist as though afraid that she would hit him with it, and Charles whispered something to him. The way he did it seemed familiar... "It's just a fist bump!" Cassie explained, before Iris gingerly bumped her other fist. "See!" she grinned at Iris. "Iris knows how to do it. You should've seen the first time I high-fived Charlie. His face was hilarious."

Before fluttering away, Ophé turned to Cassie. The two had only aver talked a few times, and Cassie could barely remember anything about them, but it was cool. "Ophé, right? You too."

In response to Cassie's observation about his increased amount of friends, Charles teased that maybe he had more than her now. Cassie rolled her eyes towards the ceiling, and then back down to the floor. She always had to think about it whenever she rolled her eyes - for some reason, she found it annoyingly difficult. "Nah. I mean, you could try, but..."

Upon Cassie's asking where Charles had found him, Werner mumbled something which Cassie couldn't make out. Argh, mumblers annoyed Cassie so much! Well, Cassie would try to get on with Werner for Charlie's sake. As it was, it was Charles who actually answered the question for him. A little part of Cassie's brain stood to attention at his words - something was familiar about the way he said them. Oh, what was it? Before she could think about it too much, though, Charles said that he was starting to prefer Ilvermorny students over Beauxbatons ones. "Oh, my poor heart!" Cassie answered, placing a hand over the aforementioned area. "It hurts. So rude of you."

Iris, it turned out, was from Ilvermorny, which was a little confusing due to her lack of American accent, but Cassie took it in her stride. After all, she didn't have a French accent, and she still went to Beauxbatons! But the language she had spoken was Norwegian, so maybe that was it. "Woah, cool!" Cassie exclaimed. "Do you come from Norway? Charlie, you never told me you could speak Norwegian!"

A few moments later, Werner told Charles to wait and stopped to talk to a white-haired girl in German. His sister, maybe? They looked a little similar: they had the same hair.

Charles told Cassie that she would find Scarlett eventually, which was true, and that they should just find seats now, which was also probably the right course of action, since most people were already eating. But still... "She'll be here somewhere," Cassie muttered, still craning her neck to look over everyone else's heads. At least it was easier because most people were sitting down.

Then, what Cassie assumed was the boy whom Charles had called for earlier joined the group, which seemed to expand a little to accommodate him. Oh, no - he was tall, too. Was Charles just collecting tall friends nowadays? The thought made Cassie smirk. He introduced himself as Andrew, from Ilvermorny, and Charles introduced Werner before seeming to step back for Cassie. "Ohh, the accent makes sense now," Cassie said. "I was just thinking it was weird. Well, I'm Cassie. Beauxbatons." She squinted, as she always did when trying to figure something out. She felt like something had gone wrong in that sentence... oh. "My last name isn't Beauxbatons. It's McGregor-Martin, actually. And my full first names are Cassie and Heather. I have two. But you can call me Cassie; it makes more- OH MY GOSH!" Cassie's name (well, sort of) was suddenly shrieked from a little further along the table, and Cassie jumped.

Cassie looked over in the direction of the shout, and - yup - there she was! Scarlett Aden, hair tangled and firey as always, flying towards the group. She englulfed Cassie in a sudden hug, which Cassie returned with a grin, talking all the while. "Goodness, Scar!" Cassie replied, a bubbly smile on her lips. "It's been yonks since anyone called me Cassiopeia!" The reason for this was because it was a nickname the Troop had made up for her years ago, after the constellation, which was apparently supposed to be a queen. Even now, it was the only constellation which Cassie could pinpoint in Astronomy lessons. "It's so good to see you."

Scarlett turned to the rest of the group and began to talk, fast as ever. She and Cassie were a right pair once they got going. Cassie snickered at the mention of 'cool people Cassie hangs out with'. "Actually, these are all Charlie's friends." Scarlett told everyone to introduce themselves, but before they could she introduced herself. "Oy!" Cassie objected when she told them that Cassie was 'more annoying than one would expect'. "Also, since when did you say 'one' instead of 'you'?! Gosh, you sound like the Queen." Admittedly, Cassie had no idea what the Queen sounded like, seeing as they didn't exactly have access to the BBC in France, but she was fairly sure that she said 'one' a lot. And she had a posh wave.

Scarlett turned to Charles, and decided that he was obviously Cassie's boyfriend. "Lettie!" Cassie cried out, horrified. "We're just friends! And it wasn't a gown! It wasn't even that long!" she protested. Then her stomach rumbled. "Goodness, I'm starving. Save the introductions for now, I need food."

And with that, Cassie Heather grabbed Scarlett and Charlie's arms and pulled them towards where Scarlett had been eating a minute before, assuming that the rest of the group would follow. She plonked herself down in the seat next to Scarlett's and ladled herself a generous helping of cauliflower cheese, only adding a chicken drumstick at the last moment. "Before you say anything," she warned, "I just had an hour's carriage ride across the Channel, so I think I'm entitled to- whatever this is. And cauliflower cheese is healthy. So there." She dug in, then waved her fork at Charles, assuming that he had sat down. "Oh, yeah. Lettuce, Charlie. Charlie, Lettuce. And this is Iris, and this is Drew and Werner should be around here somewhere."

After a few moments of stuffing herself with the amazingly yummy cauliflower cheese, Cassie suddenly realised something and looked up at Charles. "I've figured it out!" she told him, even though he probably had no idea what she was talking about. "Werner - he's like Leo! Like an older, white-haired Leo!" She was referring to Charles' cousin.

Interacting with:
Arjan Oberoi (@Serena Towers) and Rudolf Novikov (@Adam Harringtom)
Open to Interactions

If Maria had taken a sip of her pumpkin juice she probably would have choked on it (or more likely spit it out). The words that came out of the boy’s mouth was not quite the verbal reprimanding she expected. Instead, he’d tried to flirt with her. Or at least, that’s what she understood he was trying to do. Yes, unless most of the students from the Russian school established kismet with a new person they’d meet, she presumed he was trying to flirt with her - keyword: trying.

The pick-up lines did not go over her head, but they definitely did not achieve the desired effect. Young Maria was not one to be swayed by lines that might as well be in a terrible rom-com, even if they came from someone with a face like Arjan’s. As soon as her ears picked up his advances, her eyes widened and blinked multiple times as she slightly turned her head, wondering if she’d heard him right. “Pardon?” She managed to say.

His air of confidence only read to her as pretense, although she had no doubt that he somehow believed his words were effective. Perhaps he was trying to be charming? He had a funny way of doing it, though. It briefly reminded her of her encounter with the obnoxious and narcissistic advances of a certain scarred, Hufflepuff prefect but the Durmstrang boy seemed different. This however, was not the good kind of different. It was just another variation of the kind of different that would probably make Maria want to tear all her hair out. And now, she’d come to his attention. Great, just great.

“I-…” Was all she could say as she let him take the goblet from her hand and place it on the table. It was not as if she wanted to sit by him, but rather she was still dumbfounded at the sheer absurdity of his greeting. She remained standing as her eyes went back and forth from the goblet, to the boy, and his companion. The wannabe Casanova was not ugly by any means, but if his ability to form pick-up lines were any indication, perhaps that was all he had going for him. His companion, she noticed seemed just as put off by his advances as she was.

When she finally gathered herself from the disbelief at how awful his attempt was, she was finally able to speak a coherent sentence. “I’m sorry, but... do we know each other?”