<div class="floatright">   (https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/42499880/Elliquiy/Vidya_f.png)</div><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: georgia;"><strong>Vidya Ayers (http://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=171859.msg8098556#msg8098556)</strong></span>, 4th year Slytherin<br/>Great Hall, Welcoming Feast, Slytherin table<br/>Tagged: Xavril, Nia, Lucien, Sam<br/><br/>Vidya grinned in response to Nia's challenge, trying not to look<em>too</em>excited, but then she was never as subtle about her little crush as she liked to think she was. "I already found a shortcut up from the dungeons! I'll give you a couple days to find it on your own, but if you can't I mmmmmmight be persuaded to show you around..." before Xavril could interrogate her she raised her hands, open palms outward. "A completely legitimate shortcut that violates no school rules and passes through no restricted areas, before you get excited! I've been completely on the up `n up...you know, so far."<br/><br/>She continued her meal, eating quickly in hopes she'd be able to slip out a little early and get some more exploring in while the staff and senior students were still busy wrangling baffled First Years, but the discussion at the table kept drawing her back in. "Oooooh, every rule by halloween could be fun..." she said with an impish grin, "but I think I'm going to try and take my time this year. Besides, I figure it'll make it more of a challenge for our exalted Head Boy if he doesn't know when to expect it."<br/><br/>Sam's lack of knowledge about the mysterious new professor's previous profession wasn't much of a surprise, though she did flash him a knowing smirk when his attention was suddenly focused on Nia and Nia alone. Not that she blamed him of course, had the shoe been on the other foot she probably would have done the same. "Hmmmm...how about a wager? First person to correctly ascertain our new Head of House's former calling wins?"<br/><br/>The rest of the meal passed without much of note, aside from Xavril's rather impressive disposal of the birds ("You could have saved me one! You know I want a pet," she'd said with a mock pout, but joined a number of other students in a short burst of applause) and Vidya found much of her attention focused on trying to pet the energetic little ball of fluff that had emerged from Nia's robes. Eventually curiosity got the better of her and she pulled out her schedule, despite the fact that she knew the chances of her first class being something she'd like were slim. Astronomy? Well it could have been worse, and 8 am was certainly not the most inconvenient time she'd had an astronomy course scheduled. At least the heavens changed, even if it were a predictable sort of change. If nothing else the navigational aspects of the art had always interested her.<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br class="clear_right"/><div class="floatright">   (https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/42499880/Elliquiy/petra_f.jpg)</div><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: georgia;"><strong>Petra Vinter (http://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=171859.msg8098558#msg8098558)</strong></span>, 4th year Hufflepuff<br/>Great Hall, Welcoming Feast, Hufflepuff table<br/>Tagged: John, Dan, nearby Puffs<br/><br/>Cameron's rather spectacular failure with the petrification spell pulled Petra's attention away from her captain momentarily. She winced sympathetically; they hadn't spoken much yet, but he'd seemed like a nice enough boy and Veronica was rather intimidating even when she wasn't understandably angry. Her focus was back on John soon though and she seemed to wilt a little when she thought she caught a hint of hastily hidden disappointment on his face. Most students probably wouldn't have picked up on it, but Petra seemed particularly in tune with people's dissatisfaction with her, real or imagined.<br/><br/>"W-well...the scrimmages and practice games were almost identical to the real matches...though um, I guess the audience probably changes the overall ambience of the game significantly..." Her voice was soft and hesitant, as if she were used to being interrupted frequently. "But I...I promise I won't let you down! I'll put in extra hours of practice if I need to, I used to spend much of my free time, um, helping others with their studies, I'm sure an hour or two a day won't hamper my learning."<br/><br/>A grateful smile, the first real sign of genuine happiness anyone had seen on the timid Russian girl since she'd arrived at the grounds, lit up Petra's face when Dan reassured her of his resilience. When her schedule glowed she unrolled it excitedly and her smile just got wider when she saw Astronomy at the top of the page. At 8am it would likely be theory rather than a practical course, but she was ecstatic nonetheless. "Oh um...I haven't put a lot of thought into wands since I got my own to be honest. I am interested in Quidditch though! I just um...well I didn't really do well in Durmstrang's atmosphere overall, to be honest. Astronomy's my favorite though! If...if you have it at 8 too, perhaps you could show me the way to the observatory? I was given a tour over the summer, but it's been over a month and things are a bit fuzzy now to be honest..."