Main Thread

To welcome back the students of Ilvermorny to the new term, as well as welcoming the exchange students crossing the pond, the Principal has organised a feast of classic British delicacies for the students to enjoy. The tables are stacked with buffet-style Afternoon Tea snacks: finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, a wide cake selection, macaroons, quiches, custard tarts, strawberries and cream and trifles (to name a few).

The exchange students from Hogwarts have been sorted into their houses for their stay and given their dormitories. The returning Ilvermorny students have listened to a speech from the Principal, naming each one individually and welcoming them to the school.

Students are free to sit or stand anywhere they like, and are encouraged to mingle.

The galleria was already a mind-blowing experience with how everything was located in one building, but the food hall was something else. Unlike Hogwarts, Marilyn didn't have to sit with anybody she found annoying or gross. Unlike Hogwarts, she didn't have to always be stuck with her house from the looks of it. The uniform didn't even include house colors! Then there was the security cats she's seen in the corridors. It was all so different from what was at home! She sat down at a random table as she only really met one person so far that she didn't know from Hogwarts. Grabbing a fondant fancy, she stuck it in her mouth pleased with how good it tasted.

She felt like a deer in headlights as she didn't know what kind of icebreaker to start with.

After his sorting into Pukwudgie, Louis was looking forward to meeting some of his fellow housemates. When he entered the food hall, however, there weren't four, long tables used to separate the houses: there were many, smaller tables and a buffet food positioned throughout. He sat at one with a few other students but didn't really get an opportunity to speak to them, as the Principal did his speech.

He marvelled in how welcoming Ilvermorny was. They'd even gone out of their way to give everyone classic British finger food. So, standing up when everyone else appeared to be doing so, he smiled at a few others before arriving at a teapot.

"Would you like me to make you some tea?" he asked the nearest Ilvermorny student, beaming brightly at them.

Seeing one of the Hogwarts exchanges sat more or less by herself and looking rather shy, Zuriel felt it was his duty to approach her. It just so happened that she was pretty, but he convinced himself that wasn't the reason for his warm welcome.

"Hi there," he said, smiling down at her, "Welcome to Ilvermorny. I'm Zuriel, one of the Student Council. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to contact us. I can supply you with the crystal line."

He slipped into the seat nearby her, smiling.

"What's your name?"

@Marilyn Grayson

Among the names given of exchange students this semester was an Albus Potter. She had been aware for a while that her family allegedly had ties to Harry Potter and his children, but Eustace had no interest in ever meeting a single one of them; she doubted any one of them would be bearable to deal with. Eustace was squinting at all of the finger foods in front of her not finding them to be much of a meal in general. Tovren must be having a fit...

One of the exchange students was sitting next to her, and she turned to him absolutely stooped by how positive he seemed about everything. There was also a strange tingling about him that felt weird; she wasn't even into guys! Why was his smile so..?

"Is it decaf?"

Why wasn't she feeling as grumpy as usual? Ugh!

@Louis Weasley

Tovren was busy inspecting a cake thing with sultanas sticking out of it.

"Okay... what. The hell. Is this?"

He was holding it between forefinger and thumb at arm's length.

"Ew."

Rudi snorted as he gazed around at the Hogwarts students.

"Buncha pussies," he muttered, looking at Louis in particular. What the fuck was that?! He looked like a chick!

Looking up, there was a rather cute guy in front of her! He was like psycho Chang except more masculine, sort of hunky, actually a bit dreamy... What?! Marilyn attempted to suppress any signs of blushing before replying, 'I'm Marilyn. It's nice to meet you!"

At least she didn't have to deal with the pyro slut here! No pyro bitch to take her man!

@Zuriel Sakdan

"I'm not sure, but it smells like ordinary breakfast tea to me," he said, sniffing inside of the pot. "Is that not something you can have?"

The scent of the tea leaves were exactly like he had at home and Hogwarts. They really had gone the extra mile to make them all feel at home, and it was wonderful.

Louis beamed. "Maybe you could just have a little bit."

@Eustace Potter

Inspired by all of the British treats and tea on the table, Mariposa began speaking in her best British accent. "Ello, guv'na. Let's have a cuppa tea."

Mackenzie still was a bit skeptical about this whole program. But it got her out of the shadows of her sisters, so she didn't mind too much. After being sorted into wampus, she realized the houses didn't sit together. But she didn't know who to sit with. That was until she saw a familiar blonde. She made her way to over where Louis was and smiled, "Boy am I glad to see you."

@Louis Weasley

Ilvermorny was already soooo different from Hogwarts, and Cernunnos loved it! From what he could gather, everybody was so much more knowledgeable about muggle stuff. More people would actually know what he's talking about! He glanced around the hall trying to find someone to talk to until his eyes landed on a boy who was obviously also gay. Cernunnos ran up to him with his smartphone out.

"OMG, hi~!" he greeted. "Do you listen to Kylie Minogue~?"

@Tovren Potter

"It's nice to meet you, Marilyn."

He smiled at her.

"So, what made you want to study overseas?" he asked interestedly, taking one of the sandwiches from the rack. He felt he was cultured enough to appreciate British cuisine, but as soon as he bit into it, he stopped chewing. That was... a very different sort of taste...

He smiled at her with his mouth still full, struggling to swallow it down. It would be rude not to. The dilemma was real.

@Marilyn Grayson

"Ordinary breakfast tea?"

What the hell did that mean? Eustace mainly stuck to water or an occasional black decaf coffee. But tea was a normal breakfast beverage? Maybe there was a good reason why her ancestors spilled tea into the Boston Harbor all those centuries ago...

Then some snooty blonde girl that'd probably get along with her sister joined them. "And who are you?" she asked, staring her down intensely.

@Louis Weasley @Mackenzie Riddle

When he turned, he already knew he was either going to really get on with him or really clash. Fortunately, though, from the first sentence, they found common ground.

"Er... are you kidding me? A good chunk of Y2K was her in those golden hot pants, we live for it."

He grinned at him.

"So you're actually, like, British?" He hadn't met one of the exchanges who knew Kylie Minogue.

@Cernunnos Largo

"Oh, hello Mackenzie," Louis said brightly, adding the water to the pot and tapping it with his wand so it heated up. Getting the strainer ready, he placed it over one of the cups and gave it a few minutes. "I'm so glad you decided to come over as well. It's going to be a lot of fun."

He looked back at Eustace.

"I'm sorry - I'm Louis Weasley. This is Mackenzie Riddle," he said brightly, beaming, "What's your name?"

@Eustace Potter @Mackenzie Riddle

"I wanted to have new experiences," she stated as she grabbed a scone and some jam for it. "I wanted to get away from my annoying, gross dormmates for a while too!"

If he knew what she had to put up with at Hogwarts...

She placed the scone on her plate and tucked her hair behind her ears. "Why didn't anybody tell me about the galleria?!" There were so many cute outfits there that she was bound to outshine Evelyn once she was back home!

@Zuriel Sakdan

He managed to swallow the mouthful, but the sandwich was dropped back to his plate. If he just kept up the conversation, that could be dismissed.

"So you like it, huh?" he said, smiling, "There's a lot to get around for new students, so it can be a real playground. I hope the mall guide helps some."

He looked at what she was eating. "What's that?"

@Marilyn Grayson

"OMG, totally~! Fever was a cultural reset! On my way here, I only listened to my Kylie playlist~! 'Confide In Me' has been on repeat!" Yay, a fellow Kylie stan! Cernunnos knew she wasn't much of a household name over in America, but he was soooo happy to know he wasn't the only fan of her at Ilvermorny! Nobody at Hogwarts would talk pop girls with him...

Taking a seat, Cernunnos nodded. "100%! Okay, not really as my dad's Italian~!"

@Tovren Potter

"The name's Eustace Potter."

One of them was a Weasley? Ugh. And the blonde bimbo was a Riddle. Wow, she was surrounded by celebrities. Ugh.

Eustace looked at the cup of tea feeling put-off by Louis' intense smiling. Was that even natural?

@Louis Weasley @Mackenzie Riddle

So many new people to meet! Alastar always loved seeing exchange students from the other schools come to Ilvermorny; this time, it was Hogwarts, and as usual, he couldn't be happier! At one of the tables, he turned towards the person sitting next to them and asked, "How was your Christmas break?"

Mackenzie looked the random girl up and down. She looked so.... Plain. She sat next to Louis, making someone else scoot down and threw an arm around his shoulders, "Yeah. I'm glad you did too. Maybe make this place a bit more tolerable." She then smirked at the girl, "As he said. I'm Mackenzie." She didn't care to know the girls name until she said Potter, "Ugh. More potters. Maybe you be more tolerable than the other ones."

@Louis Weasley  @Eustace Potter

"I got around okay. Some of the food was..." There was so much salt that she was afraid she'd have as much retention as her sister. Ewwww! That'd be gross!

Marilyn took a bite of her scone relieved for some tastes from home; it would take her some time to get adjusted to the American diet. So much food in the galleria was greasy! Was that really all Americans ate?! "A scone with jam."

Was there any jam on her face? She hoped not...

@Zuriel Sakdan

"Is it the same Potters as the British ones?" he asked, feeling as though it was worth to ask, even if she didn't know.

He also seemed completely impervious to Mackenzie's arm around him, or how she spoke to Eustace.

"It's good to meet you," he said cheerfully, pouring out tea for the three of them through the strainer and adding milk. "If you don't like it at first, try adding sugar," he told Eustace, smiling.

@Eustace Potter @Mackenzie Riddle

Addison was sat at her normal spot at her normal table waiting for Tiffany and the others to arrive. It wasn't like Tiffany to be late, especially to the first feast. She usually liked to scope out the new transfers. She looked around wondering where her best friend was. Or any of their group really.

@Tiffany Cartwright