Ravenclaw Bonding (All Ravenclaws invited)

[Continuation of Sending a Letter]

James made his way through the crowd, Aylee following him closely. Once they reached the Ravenclaw table, he took a seat beside Sydney, while Riley and Emma were on the opposite side. He searched for Aurora for a moment, but then remembered she had told him she would have lunch later. "Hey guys" he greeted them. "This is Aylee. Aylee, meet Sydney, Emma and Riley."

Aylee followed James silently and quietly took a seat next to him. She looked at Sydney, Emma and Riley. She had never met Sydney or Emma but she was pretty sure that she met Riley once.
"Hi," she said, trying not to sound scared. "N-nice to meet you."

"Hey guys!" Sydney got up from the table and goes to hug James. She looks over at Aylee and smiles. "Nice to meet you. Im Sydney." She sits back down in the seat next to James and starts talking about quidditch. “I honestly think we have a chance this year with James on our team. You should see him play. He’s absolutely brilliant.” Sydney smiles and James and giggles slightly. Then, she turns to Aylee and asks how she’s adjusting to Hogwarts and if she likes her classes.

Aylee watched as the blonde girl hugs James. She realizes that she saw the girl once in the common room but never really met her.
"H-hi Sydney," she managed to say and listened to Sydney say something about Quidditch. Now upset, she tried to figure out what was this Quidditch thing.
"Um..." Aylee asked. "W-what's Q-quitich?"
Then she heard Sydney talk to her again.
"Y-yes," she replied. "I especially like C-care of Magical Creatures."
Stop stammering! Aylee told herself madly.

“You’ve never head f Quidditch? You poor child. Quidditch is the bets sport ever. But, James could explain it better. Since he actually plays.” She turns back to James and smiles shyly. She blushes and turns back to Aylee. “Sweetie, we’re gonna become best friends. Trust me.” She felt good getting to know the new girl. She seemed shy and scared. She threw an arm around her and gave her a quick side-hug.

James was caught by surprise when Sydney got up and hugged him. He had talked to her only once before, and had never been really comfortable with such physical closeness. However, he tried to act as if everything was fine, and took a seat at the table, as Sydney was asking Aylee about Quidditch.

"Thanks." he replied with a slightly embarrassed smile when Sydney complimented him, wondering when she had had the opportunity to see him play. "I'm not that good, actually. I've just learned to fly last year. But I guess that there was a shortage of good players, so I made the team." he explained. He turned to Aylee. "Quidditch is a wizarding sport played on flying broomsticks." he added in an amused tone, turning to Aylee, recalling how unbelievable it had sounded the first time he heard about it. "It's really fun, although it can be dangerous at times. But you'll have flying lessons, so I guess they'll tell you more about it."

Aylee felt annoyed as Sydney called her 'poor child' and 'sweetie'. It was like being treated like a five year old. Quickly, she pushed the feeling away, telling herself that she was just that way.
"B-broom... sticks?" Aylee echoed as James finished explaining.
She felt like she wanted to ask again just to make sure but she didn't want to talk when it isn't needed. So instead, Aylee nodded and looked over to where Emma and Riley were sitting.
"Hello," she said slowly.

“Yeah. Broom sticks. Its totally amazing!” Sydney said with an unusual burst of enthusiasm. “James is the best player ever to be on the Ravenclaw team. He’s great.” Sydney says with a flirty tone as she lays a hand on James’ arm. “He’s gonna win us the big game coming up. Aren’t you James?”

James blushed and looked down at his food as Sydney complimented him. Startled by her touch, he instinctively moved away his arm. Realizing what he did, he hoped she wouldn't take it the wrong way. Before he could wonder about the meaning of her gesture, she asked him about the upcoming Quidditch match. "I... I hope so." he stuttered, although his voice clearly indicated that he wasn't convinced. Despite the progress he had made since he first learned to fly, he was far from being confident in his abilities.

Sydney felt a pang of hurt course through her as he moved his arm away. But she tried to hide it and hoped no one noticed. She just started to play with her food and hoped no one noticed her sudden change of behavior. “He’s really good.” She quietly muttered as she moved her food around with her fork. She figured he didn’t feel the same way, so there was no point in trying anymore.

Riley had been too busy daydreaming to notice the entrance of his fellow housemates; a few minutes after they had all seated themselves, he glanced up and was slightly startled to see most of the house assembled at the table. When did they get here and why didn't I notice? thought the boy to himself, mentally admonishing himself for appearing standoffish. "Hey there," greeted Riley, absentmindedly running a hand through his tousled brown hair, smiling at everyone assembled at the table. "Sorry, I was a little lost in my thoughts."

Sydney looked up from her food when Riley spoke and she shyly smiled at him. Riley seemed like a good guy, although she didn’t really know him all that well. She looked back towards James and briefly caught his eye before she looked back down at her food.

Auden noticed a bunch of fellow Ravenclaw's eating. Auden didn't really have any friends so meal times are pretty awkward for her. She needed to get a handle on her nerves an make some friends. Auden walked over to the table and sat down quietly. "Um. Hello. Can I set here?" Auden asked. She hoped they'd say yes. She would be horrified if they said no and make he move. Meal times at school have always been her most hated time. There was so much anxiety about who to sit with, where to sit, and stupid stuff like that. Before Auden came to Hogwarts she went to primary school with some mean girls. Auden prayed that Hogwarts wouldn't be like that.

Aylee noticed the change in Sydney's behaviour. She watched as Sydney started playing with her food. Confused, she tried to guess what happened.
"Hey there," a voice distracted Aylee. She looked up and saw Riley talking to them.
"H-hello," she answered. "You must be... Riley?"
She tried to smile so she could hide her awkwardness. Then she noticed another Ravenclaw walking up to them and asking if she could sit here. That must be the new Ravenclaw, she thought.
Aylee shrugged and flashed a smile to the girl.
"W-what's... your name?" she asked.

Auden looked up. She must have looked like a creeper or something. "Hi, um I'm Auden. Are you a first year too?" Auden asked the shy and pretty Ravenclaw.

“Hey Auden. Sure have a seat.” She turned and smiled at the girl before looking back down, once again, at her food. She was relieved no one noticed her odd behavior, but she partially wished some one would ask her what was wrong. It would prove they noticed and they cared.

Riley noticed a girl smiling at him--Sydney, he thought her name was, though he wasn't completely sure--and returned the smile warmly. Just as he was about to ask what her name was, another girl began to speak to him and he diverted his attention towards her, chuckling softly as he nodded in agreement with her words. "That would be me," said the boy cheerfully, before pausing for a moment. "And you are...Aylee, if I remember correctly?" inquired the boy, almost certain that he had gotten her name right.

The approach of another girl, followed by her inquiry distracted him momentarily, and he glanced upwards, noticing a girl who seemed to be rather hesitant and slightly shy. "Of course, have a seat!" answered Riley warmly. "I don't think I've seen you around," he added, almost as an afterthought, though it was possible that he might have just been excessively unobservant.

Sydney noticed that Riley was about to say something to her before Aylee interrupted him. She sighed and pushed her food around some more. She slumped her shoulders slightly and started messing with her blue tutu. Wearing her tutus usually make her confident and happy. But today, she just felt like a little girl dressing up.

"Y-yes," Aylee replied to Auden's question.
She looked back at Riley when she realized that he had asked her a question.
"T-that's my name," she said, flashing him a smile.
Then she noticed Sydney, who was two seats away, sigh. She was about to ask what's wrong when Riley cut across her. Still confused, Aylee looked to see Sydney's answer.

“I’m fine. Just a little home sick I guess.” She knew the answer was a blatant lie, but she couldn’t tell them the truth. She would just seem obsessive and desperate. She saw Riley run his ahnds through his hair and she realized he was really cute. Her hazel eyes met his amber ones and she felt a shiver go through her body. “I’m ok. Really.”
She gazed across the table and met Aylee’s eyes. She mouthed the words, “He is cute.” And she nodded towards Riley, hoping Lee would get the message.

Aylee could tell that Sydney was lying. It was proved so when Sydney mouthed those three words at her. Grinning, Aylee nodded and felt herself going red. Trying to hide it, she grabbed a cup of water and drank it. Then she turned to James.
"James, are y-you the only one... on the... Ravenclaw Team?" she asked slowly.

Sydney saw Aylee blush when she nodded at her silent statement about Riley and wondered what it meant. Did she like Riley? No way, Lee would never do that to her. She turned and waited for James to answer the question. He’s been extremely quiet lately, she was starting to get worried.

Aylee shook her head. "I-I'm deadly afraid... of heights," she said, remembering when she had first flown on her broom. To her, it was utterly terrifying.