[Rhiannon Heathcote]

Not knowing how to take the compliment for her name; she hadn’t chosen it after all but she was fond of it herself. So Rhiannon just smiled and nodded in what she hoped was a gracious way. She didn’t know Vanitas well at all but they at least had Professor Salvatore’s regard in common and that certainly counted for something in her book.

The bit of smile from Paris made Rhian’s own smile grow a little and she shifted slightly to make sure she wasn’t hogging space when he came to join them. Her smile brightened when he wrote with the magical quill. That was neat! A quill that translated sign language into the written word was a brilliant idea. She drew him a smiley face on her own small muggle spiral bound notebook. "That quill is brilliant," she commented, still carefully enunciating and facing Paris as she did so. "I'm glad you've got that. I can only imagine what a pain it must be to follow some of the professors' classes."

The mention of Andie made her sigh as she ran her finger down the outer edge of the teacup’s handle. “I tried to round her up, Professor, but I wasn’t able to find her and since we’re in different houses there’s only so many places I can check. I’m sorry.” This rather chill atmosphere that the professor cultivated in this room would probably be really good for Andie but Rhian wasn’t the most social or well connected person and the thought of asking a near stranger from Ravenclaw if Andie was around was quite beyond her, frankly. She was a coward and she knew it.

Feeling a hair dejected she lifted the cup to her lips and took a sip only to half choke on it as Regulus entered the room and hovered by the door. She was honestly a bit afraid of the boy for all that he was a year under her. His family was one her parents had told her to be wary of and she had taken that to heart. He’d never done anything to her but she had seen him with some other students she was wary of and went out of her way not to get in anyone’s way. But what was he doing here? Rhia let the bottom of her cup gently rest back on its saucer as she covertly observed the other reactions to his presence. Maybe she was overreacting.

She brightened up enough to give Gavin a welcoming hint of smile as he entered behind Regulus and selected a cup of tea and seat. Normally she’d greet him with words but Regulus’s presence left her feeling unsure and tongue tied for all he was a Housemate. She didn’t trust most of her her Housemates as far as she could throw them.

Gypsy Salvatore , Vanitas Burke , Paris Aurinko , Regulus A Black , Gavyn Howell

[Vanitas Burke]

V was struggling with the social parts because they were overthinking everything from six different angles and ended up just saying things that came out awkward. It was quite hard to find the correct role to play and stick with it. The advice ‘just be yourself’ didn’t apply to Vanitas either. As they frankly hadn’t figured out yet who they were and what felt right. They just felt so distant from being. Meeting Gavyn had awoken something which might be life changing but whether it was for better or worse remained unknown.

The Ravenclaw turned quiet as they felt like the socializing attempt wasn’t working. Why did they think coming here was a good idea? For now they decided to take the moment to quietly observe Paris who had infiltrated Knockturn and now Hogwarts. Perhaps Rhiannon could get more out of the new guy.

When Andy was brought up, V was temporarily distracted from their study. Was Rhiannon friends with Andy too? They weren’t sure if their housemate had ever mentioned the Slytherin in such a manner. But then again the two were mostly talking about book plots, family expectations and frankly boys. V’s eyes glanced over the cups, wondering which one Andrea would have picked. “I haven’t seen her in the common room either.” Perhaps she finally got her chance to snog Sirius, V was rooting for her even if they disliked the guy himself.

The younger Black sibling appeared as if their thoughts about his brother summoned him. V didn’t really pay attention to him because their face lit up as Gavyn entered the room. Their dark hair turned a warm auburn as they greeted the Hufflepuff with a smile. “Gavyn! It barely started, you can still get seated,” they said as they moved their chair to make space for the two newcomers. “I didn’t know you liked tea-” V wanted to smack themselves in the head because; what kind of question was that? Everyone liked tea. They quickly took a sip to pretend that question didn't fall out of their mouth.

Gypsy Salvatore,Rhiannon Heathcote,Paris Aurinko,Regulus A Black,Gavyn Howell,

[Gypsy Salvatore]

Gypsy has no qualms about who arrives and when but she does like to keep some level of punctuality. Her wife used to say, may she rest in peace, that Gypsy was her own clock and the world worked on Gypsy time - that is to say, whenever she decides it is time and not when others dictate it to her. This is, perhaps, why some parents feel her class is a waste of their students times. There are some days where she feels her students just need to be refreshed and instead of teaching, they drink tea and enjoy the company of their classmates and perform a cleansing ritual to feel better. "No matter, no matter. I am sure something more exciting came up. A boy, perhaps?" She has no idea if that is the case but could easily dive into the other world and decipher such details if she chose. She would allow the girl her privacy. Gypsy, instead, focused on her students. "Don't darken the doorway," she calls out to Regulus. "Did you know your name is Latin for the word, King, Regulus? And Gavyn, welcome, you are a white falcon among us little hens!" With everyone getting ready to take their seats, Gypsy encourages them all to drink their teas. "Think about what you would this year to bring and we shall see what the divine powers have in storm for us. You are not being graded, this is simply for fun, dears." Rhiannon Heathcote Vanitas Burke Paris Aurinko Regulus A Black ,,

[Paris Aurinko]

Before coming to Hogwarts Paris’s deafness had been a terrible impediment to his life and often sowed hostility in those around him. From his first day at a second level school when his headmaster publicly observed that he would never make the cut of a powerful wizard it had been something alienating, so when Rhian admired his silly little quill, he was rather taken aback. For a moment his hands twitched, but he couldn’t think of what to say about this thing that had been something rather embarrassing for him before now. Rubbing the back of his neck and glancing away he could feel his face warm a little, and had to resist the urge to shove the quill back into his bag. He might have done it too had she not drawn that little smiley face, and despite every part of him wanting to shut down and leave, he had to smile a little at that.

”It would be impossible, they turn their backs to write on the board a lot.” He told her, unable to help a weary glance at Gypsy as he did. ”I manage.” Fortunately, the focus moved away from him as another kid started hovering in the doorway and another yellow clad Hufflepuff started bringing attention to himself. Paris still wasn’t sure about this whole house thing. From what he gathered your house was supposed to be some terrible judgement on your person, and ending up in the right one was some sort of big meaning. He was still struggling to see how the people in his house had anything in common, either with one another, or with him, and looking at how Gavyn tried to charm the teacher and arrived late he was left once again wondering what it all was supposed to mean.

The tea tasted gritty and hot, and Paris wondered what the point was, but he wasn’t one to turn down a free meal and finished it pretty quickly before looking into the mulch at the end of the cup it looked…like wet tea leaves. He shrugged at it. ”I don’t think it worked.”

[Regulus A Black]

There seemed to be a silence when he entered and now he felt as if his skin was crawling. had they been talking about something he shouldn't hear? This card he'd found must have come to him accidentally because whatever this gathering was could not be inclusive of himself. At least until his eyes fell on Rhiannon. A housemate a year older than him he knew they were a Pureblood. But the company she was in was...his gaze stopped moving when they arrived at the Mudblooded Hufflepuff. This was certainly nothing like the meeting Professor Rosier had put on though so her presence here was confusing.

"I did, yes." Regulus was shaken loose of his frozen state when the Professor addressed him. It was a family name so he didn't truly see any meaning in it other than it was passed down, much like his brother's name was. The problem he was facing had nothing to do with his name and everything to do with the awkward situation he found himself in. The others all looked comfortable here whereas he had not yet convinced his feet to leave the doorway. Whatever this gathering was he was very sure his parents would not be pleased. "I think someone dropped this card...I think it is best if I just leave it here and be on my way."

[Gavyn Howell]

The room had a different feel to it with the Slytherin boy in here. Despite being one of the youngest here ther ws just something about him that made everyone uncomfortable, though to be fair the boy looked just as unsettled. Maybe it was the people he was always with? The friends he had were awful people. Associating with them is likely why everyone was tense and, well, given the blood purity sentiments and bullying shown by the lot he was in the same boat. Their little club here was to be free of prejudice but right now it felt like it had walked right in the door.

Ignoring that he smiled at Rhiannon to try and dispel the tenseness that had cropped up. It helped to hear Vanitas. Their smile and changing hair colour had him relaxing, smile growing and eagerly sidling up so they could be close enough to talk without doing so over everyone else. "Vanitas, hey!" Cup of tea in hand he slid into a seat next to them and set down the cup so he didn't end up spilling or dropping it. Much easier to ignore the dark cloud in the room when he was here with friends.

"Oh yes, usually earthy teas truthfully. The berry ones don't agree with my taste buds, though they are okay as long as you don't add milk or sugar to them." Rambling about tea was easy, safe, and kept him from making any strange references. Luckily he spotted Paris, a boy a year younger than himself in his house. He lifted his hand to wave, not wanting to input too much conversation since he was conversing with someone else. "What about you, do you have a favourite tea? I suppose you must, everyone has a particular taste and there are so many choices."

Gypsy Salvatore , Rhiannon Heathcote , Vanitas Burke , Paris Aurinko