The Ravenclaw common room had been transformed into Party Central, if Party Central came from the mind of a twelve-year old. It had streamers, a 'Welcome Back Sasha' banner, balloons, and a cloth-covered table that held fruit platters and carrot cake. And of course, tea.

Eirene had sent out the invitations well in advance, and even sent out a reminder note this afternoon. Every Ravenclaw had been invited, as well as a few of Sasha's friends from other houses, and Professor Trishna himself!

As she and Sasha walked up to the tower, she glanced at him nervously, worrying that someone had told him and ruined the surprise. She wanted this party to go much better than her birthday party had gone, and hoped the housemates were there to greet him as he made his entrance.

"It's really nice of you to help me study so soon after you got back," Eirene commented in a rush, reaching the end of the spiral staircase and letting Sasha handle the riddle on his own for once.

"You go in first," she urged him when the door swung open, an excited but anxious smile flitting across her face.

Sasha still hadn't figured out why this little study session couldn't have taken place in the Hospital Hut.  He had been trying to make his return as quiet and low-profile as possible and had been spending most of his time in and around the Hospital Hut.  He'd really only gone up to the castle for meals and mostly because the Healer refused to let him eat anywhere else. 

Eirene had stopped by the Hospital Hut shortly after dinner and asked Sasha to help her with her studies.  Right then had seemed to have been the exact right time and Ravenclaw tower was the ideal place.  She'd looked so enthusiastic and eager about studying he hadn't had the heart to tell her they could meet later. 

He cast Eirene a curious glance before reaching out and rapping the bronze eagle against the door.  "If you give me food, I will live and grow stronger but if I give me water, I will perish. What am I."  Sasha glanced down at Eirene as he considered the eagle's question.  "You are fire," Sasha offered in reply and the door swung open. 

Two steps into the common room and Sasha froze, his eyes slowly scanning the brightly decorated room. 

---

I figured I'd give other folks a chance to respond before trying to guess how many would have shown up, etc

Eirene was sweet to send them all invites to her party. Theta didn't mind, it was always good to have another 'Claw back, and always better to retain them after fifth year where possible - which tended to happen in Ravenclaw far more often than other houses.

In the intervening wait between congregation and arrival, Theta had entertained the first and second years with demands of balloon animal attempts using magic. Tongue poking out the side of her mouth, a dragon eventually emerged from a very long sausage balloon, folding and twisting it in the air. Theta hardly breathed as she did, knowing a little too much could pop it.

The door opened just as a second year asked can he breathe fire too? and Theta realised it could be interpreted by the newly arrived Sasha as being a conversation about him, given it was his welcome back party and all.

"Sasha!" Theta greeted with a broad smile. "Welcome home!" She hopped up, pattered forwards and gave him a hug - which given she was a bit shorter than him meant her head rested on his chest momentarily before she let him go, blushing a little and headed backwards as other 'Claws stepped forwards to clap him on the back. As they did, Theta cautiously tried to add the fire, but the nose of the balloon dragon smoked instead, probably safer...

The whole room looked rather childish in the eyes of Henry; so much so he wondered how it could of been put together by a Ravenclaw. The party was for a Ravenclaw 5th year who had returned to school after being suspended, Henry had heard rumours that a dead body was involved. The 7th year was a stickler for the rules and he wanted to know what had really happened, but he doubted Sasha would tell him if he simply walked up to him and asked. Henry also believed he shouldn't be a prefect after what had happened. In the back of his mind he wondered if Sasha's wealth had anything to do with it.

As he sat he waved his wand in complicated movements as he practised both transfiguration spells and spells that helped in the brewing of potions. The whole idea of a party seemed rather silly to Henry, and if he was not as suspicious as he was he doubted he would of left the boys dorm room. Not to far from Henry Theta Pepper, who's name always reminded him of a cartoon pig that his younger sister used to watch daily, was entertaining some younger students with magical tricks. He rolled his eyes as he saw this. Theta was a nice enough girl but she was really abusing magic in Henry's view. It was not something to be used to in that way but something to be studied and utilised for the betterment of all.

He placed his Hawthorn wand back in his pocket when he finished with his incarnations. Seconds later Sasha himself arrived. Theta bounded towards him and others patted him on the back. The words ''welcome home.'' echoed countless times around the common room. Henry wondered how long the whole ordeal would go on.

Trekking down from the Astronomy tower and then back up the Ravenclaw tower was not exactly a short trip, but it was one he'd made for years and therefore the route came to him almost out of muscle memory. He was busy counting on his fingers the announcements he had to make, anyway, so knowing which stair to wait for came in quite handy. He couldn't imagine someone like Ignan or Georg wandering the castle, and part of him wondered if they ever got lost. At that thought, he smirked.

The long winding stairs to the top of the Ravenclaw tower took their toll. When the door finally appeared ahead Tapendra stopped, leaning on the wall to catch his breath. Stairs! They were a good workout, that was for sure, but not the best for appearing composed in front of a bunch of students. He took a few moments to gets himself together, tugging at his blue waistcoat and tie, but not bothering to roll his sleeves back down. The bare feet and rolled up sleeves were a staple. If they hadn't learned about them being standard attire for him, well, they could tonight.

Feeling considerably better about himself after that rest, he stood to his full considerable height and put his hand on the door, ope-

"What can run but never walks-" The door's lyrical, melodic voice was louder than usual in the quiet stairwell and Tapendra said something under his breath that'd have made all the students stare at him.

He hated this door. How many times had he come back from Astronomy as a student, tired, frazzled, and lagging behind...and gotten stuck outside it? It wasn't based on Earth logic, it was based on bloody wordplay or logic from the Bizarro-dimension that only doddy old smug wizards occupied. And trivia, and a myriad of other reasons he'd quietly fantasied about taking an axe to it in school. He'd slept on the stairwell more than once. It wasn't just that it had to ask stupid riddles, it had to lock itself afterwards!

"...has a mouth but never talks,  has a head but never weeps,  has a bed but never sleeps?" The door finished and sat there silently, with as much of an air of expectation as a door could have - which, given Tapendra's mood, was a lot. He could feel it quietly judging him.

He sighed and leaned against the wall, his lips moving. Rubbing his forehead as he considered the riddle - bloody wordplay riddles. Head, bed, mouth, run...

"...a river?" he suggested, finally, after what felt like several minutes. If a student came along right now he might take a leaf from Ignan's book and Obliviate them. And then make up an excuse for not showing up.

"Correct," the door said as it opened, and he noticed the lack of compliment. The bloody thing remembered him, he'd bet. He wondered it the door could laugh and silently dared it to.

He only accidently slammed it as hard as he could upon entering the tower, taking a kind of vindictive pleasure in the dull bong of the metal hitting wood. Turning, he almost ran into Sasha, halting just in time.

"Sorry, Sa-Schlagenweit," he said, stepping around him and looking at the tower. Oh dear. It was exactly what he'd imagined, and he looked non-plussed for just a moment before he quickly smiled at the two students in front of him. "Put a lot of effort into this, Antonopoulos?" He asked, as innocently and happily as he could.

Philo checked his invite again. It was embedded with springs. The tensioned coils of wire were getting everywhere in the stuff he owned these days, since Theta had showed him that spell for mending bent springs. Was the magic causing them to multiple under his nose? With all the bits of metal poking into things, Arlaug was croaking even more vehemently, if possible, in discomfort when sitting in Philo's bag. So Philo had taken care to leave Arlaug in a pitcher of water by his bed. He was sure Eirene might kill him if unsourced foul language ruined her party for this...Sasha, was it?

Philo admitted that he didn't know much about the boy. For as well as he did in History of Magic, Philo didn't have a mind for current events. He'd heard everything from murder victims, crazy eccentric uncles, undercover stings and werewolves as reasons for Sasha's prolonged absence.

Philo had been in his room searching for games. Gobbstones seemed a bit too kiddy and chess only provided entertainment for two people. He'd found something, at least, returning to the common room with a deck of cards that even as he held it in his had, was shuffling itself.

"Exploding Snap, anybody?"

It had seemed like an eternity since that horrible nightmare of Sasha's that Percy had gotten tugged into.  So much had happened since then, though most of what had happened in Sasha's life remained a mystery to Percy.  He hated school gossip and wasn't exactly "in the loop" to receive it, even if he had wanted to hear it.  Sasha had always been kind to Percy, a kindred spirit even.  Percy would not have believed the horrible things that had been whispered through those hallowed halls of Hogwart's.  When his fellow Ravenclaw arrived, Percy couldn't help but smile.  The bookish Dervish approached hesitantly, never wanting to rush or make too much a fuss.  He would wait a bit until the commotion around Sasha calmed a bit, before greeting his old friend.

"It's good to see you back, Sasha!"

Percy smiled and extended a hand for a proper congratulatory greeting/welcome.  Whatever had kept Percy's friend away was over and done with now and things could go back to normal...hopefully.

Peyton entered the common room a few moments after the gathered Ravenclaws began to give Sasha their welcome back greetings. His dark brown hair was still wet from his most recent shower, plastered to his forehead over his cool grey blue eyes. He busied himself with buttoning up his dress shirt, briefly showing the wide expanse of his muscular chest. Never one to actually show off Peyton had sculpted quiet the athletic form in his three years on the quidditch team. He had quickly become his brother's equal when it came to muscle and had easily been able to go toe to toe (or rather blow to blow) with the quick tempered Slytherin in the past.

He crossed the room and patted Sasha on the back, "Good to have you back mate." Although he wasn't back in the fifth boys dorm room just yet it felt great having his best friend back in classes with him. Once things settled down he was looking forward to long and late night study sessions to get ready for the upcoming OWLs, Rowena only knew how much the Quidditch crazed 'Claw needed the extra cramming time.

He leaned down slightly to look at Eirene tipping her chin up in a gentle big brother sort of gesture, "You've put together one hell of a party little miss." He gave the little girl a wink before moving back into the common room. He settled down on one of the large royal blue couches next to his soft spoken sister. Helena leaned her head onto his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her and listened to the latest report of how her classes were going.

In short succession, three things seemed to happen at once. 

First, Sasha noticed the (what in that moment to him felt like a) very big, very bright and very prominent banner that flashed his name across the room.  Perhaps it was the balloons.  Or, perhaps it was that sudden realization that he'd been duped by a twelve-year-old who very well might have been the only person at school capable of being more dense than he was.  Whatever the reason, color flooded Sasha's cheeks as he glanced down at the first year for some sign of confirmation. 

Second, somewhere in the corner, a small and awe-sounding voice asked "can he breathe fire too?"

Before that question could worm its way too far into Sasha's thoughts, he heard his name and oriented on the source just as a girl wrapper her arms around him and drew him into a quick hug.  The color deepened in his cheeks and he half-grinned appreciatively and half-grimaced awkwardly, and patted Theta gingerly on the back.  It wasn't that he disliked the gesture - he just ... he had always been awkward about physical contact.  Especially when such gestures came from girls.  He simply didn't know what to do with such ... things. 

She retreated quickly, though, and before he could ascertain what the socially appropriate response would be, the door behind him slammed and he quickly turned to find Professor Trishna entering the common room.  It almost seemed a little strange seeing the man in the context of Hogwarts - between tutoring sessions and spring break, Sasha now had known the man more outside of school than within the walls.  And, especially given the events that had transpired since February ... Sasha offered the man an awkward grin before looking back down at Eirene. 


"You did this?" he asked.  The answer was obvious but he almost had to hear her verification of it.  Peyton verified as much as he complimented Eirene on the preparations.  He returned his two roommates' greetings and, while Peyton diverted Eirene's attentions, Sasha took another, more thorough look around the room.  The more he saw, from the decorations to the choice of food to the people gathered, the more touched he became.  No one had ever, really, thrown a party for him before.  It was - it was very well-timed. 

He looked down at Eirene, the broad grin still prominent on his face.  "Thank you," he offered, with a nod.  "Thank you, very much.  I-"  He leaned over and, albeit stiffly and awkwardly, gave Eirene a hug.  "I - thank you, everyone," he offered to the room at large when he straightened up, again.   "I wasn't expecting this.  At all." 

"Well, from your thankful tones, I suppose we surpassed expectations?"

Charlie stepped out from behind the more eager welcomers. It wasn't that he was less happy to see his schoolmate, far from it in fact. Sasha was a fine fellow, and no matter what rumors went back and forth, the smaller boy could only see Sasha as a nice, well mannered, and maybe slightly uptight fellow. Entirely likable, and fully deserving of a warm welcome. It was just that Charlie... Charlie moved slowly. It didn't help that he'd been sitting down as well. At any rate, he'd hoped his little gift was enough to forgive any tardiness in his welcome.

In both hands, he held little tea cups, his favorites. They were blue, small, and very shiny. Little flecks of green and white came through to break up the sheen of the glaze. They both steamed slightly, giving off a strong herbal smell. "I thought after what harrowing experiences brought you back to our little corner, you could use something to relax and rejuvenate." With that, one of the cups was pressed to Sasha's breast, with the other slowly going to his mouth for a quick sip. "Ginger and sassafras mixed with ginseng tea. No sugar, but as I recall, you weren't one for things too sweet? Yeah? Or I could be mixing it up with someone else. Still, quite tasty." He smiled up to the other boy. "Anyway, hope you're keeping all right, yeah?"

Eirene was momentarily distracted from studying Sasha's reactions when Peyton Wentworth complimented her! Not only did he compliment her, but he winked! She clapped a hand over her mouth to hide a giggle, her face almost turning the color of Sasha's. She shot another shy glance at Peyton, then glanced around the common room, very pleased with her housemates' behavior. Theta offered hugs in her Wendy Darling fashion, Percy offered a gentlemanly handshake, Philo wasn't making too much noise yet, and Charlie offered tea!

She merely bobbed her head when Sasha asked if she'd arranged the party, too nervous to add her usual chatter to the conversation.

As he thanked all of them, and bent down to give her a hug - a hug! - Eirene blinked at him, too stunned to give him a proper hug back. She couldn't dwell on that now. A grin split her face, and she clapped her hands together, speaking for the whole house, "You're welcome!"

A pause, then: "We're all very happy you're back! Aren't we?" She prompted the room, as if she were a professor. "I made the invitations and everything! I thought of it and asked for permission and told the house elves to make carrot cake."

She glanced at the professor, remembering their conversation about fairness. "Many of the others helped too! With balloons! And tea!" Eirene lowered her voice and leaned in towards Sasha slightly, "But I did most of it!"

A Ravenclaw party was a strange bird. Where the Gryffindors boasted the most outlandish and legendary of post-curfew carousing, Rowena's tempered children let loose in their own way. Who but a Ravenclaw, for example, could do what Eirene had done? And at barely twelve, when most people's idea of a 'party' was fruit punch, a pool, and a pinata. To celebrate the return of a notably absent classmate with conversation of much-missed study and worldly adventure both, was... well, quite the cosmopolitan mark of their house, indeed. And if anyone batted a lash at the idea of inviting an esteemed professor to a 'surprise' bash, no one seemed to pick up on it, for all their wit.

Waker smiled pleasantly at the man, and then drifted toward Theta, placing a gentle arm on the crook of her friend's elbow. She was not so touchy and explosively warm as her best friend, and instead offered her free hand to Sasha in a sort of awkward gesture of Prefect brotherhood. Sisterhood? Prefecthood. "You're in time to add more House Points to your Spring transcript. Welcome back, Sasha." She grinned sincerely, a tiny hint of knowing spicing her smile. Sasha had been a sore loss for Ravenclaw when he'd disappeared earlier in the semester, and Waker was pleased his wand had not been snapped in half. In fact, in true spirit of their house, he'd turned his woes into an educational opportunity, embarking on an internship with the Ministry before Apparating Age. (Waker was only vaguely twitchy that she'd been a whole year older for her own.)

Watching Eirene Antonopoulos was like seeing herself in retrospective: weird, and amusing, and vaguely terrifying. Had she been serious at that age? Yes. But the freckled first year had a certain bossiness that Waker had not possessed in her preteen social years. Her competitive nature, her boldness both had been limited to classroom debate and getting every answer right. Well, perhaps only the latter. She had competed, once or twice or thrice at least, in less than credulous competitions with friends and unpleasant academic peers both. "Your invitations were charming, Eirene," she felt the need to add; if they did not calm her efforts, they might be cleaning bits of excited first year from the walls and ceiling. She was like to explode from the energy she exhibited over carrot cake. If Waker didn't know the girl's penchant for rule-abiding, she might have thought she'd sucked the helium straight from the balloons.

Turning to Theta, Waker gestured toward the refreshments table in a casual attempt to drag her friend away for a butterbeer and less audible conversation. "You don't imagine a twelve-year-old would think to poison a carrot cake with Wit-Sharpening Solution?" She asked, only slightly wary. Her eyes drifted back to Eirene, and away quickly enough not to be caught. She stood straighter and combed her fingers over her blazer, towering over Theta. Children were most terrifying because Waker couldn't remember ever having been one in full. She'd popped into the world a miniature adult, serious and studious and quick as a reed to grow out of ballet costumes and doll houses (which had always pristine and sometimes pasted with tiny labels to connote where each bit of furniture should rest).

Theta followed Waker over to the food where they examined the spread put on by the house elves.
"You don't imagine a twelve-year-old would think to poison a carrot cake with wit-sharpening solution?" Waker asked, glancing to Eirene and then standing straight.

Theta peered over the cake and sniffed as if it would reveal its secrets.
"No…" Theta replied, wrinkling her nose, sceptical. "To be honest, wit-sharpening would be almost to the advantage. Sleeping solution, rather not so." She stood up again, and looked up at Waker.

"The only sure way to tell is to cut a slice and feed it to a guinea pig, or the girl herself. What do you reckon?" She asked.

Figaro was late and now further waylaid by Ravenclaw's statue. 

"What."

He stared with blank-faced dumbfoundedness at the stoic stone witch who'd just asked him a series of questions concerning ravens and writing desks.  What kind of bothersome mushroom were the Ravenclaws eating up here? What new devilry had they released in this ancient castle?

The statue repeated the riddle insultingly slowly as if Figaro were a decade younger than 17. 

"I don't know! Look, just let me in."

The statue didn't budge.

"Don't believe me?" Figaro whipped out a bit of stiff parchment - the invitation he'd got at breakfast a week or so ago, hand-made by the small-framed and big-mouthed Eirene Antonopoulous.  It had a unicorn on the cover and cat unicorns on the interior.

"I'm invited.  VIP.  So budge over, yes?"

Seemed that even the most stolid of ancient magics had a shred of magic in them - oh no, wait.  The statue seemed to have begun to move open at Figaro's credentials, but it was just a second year skipping out for a Charms project group meeting.  It left Figaro enough room to slip through exchanging a stony glance with the enigmatic portal-keeper.

Once in the commonroom proper, it took a moment for Figaro to spot Sasha.  The room was full of Ravenclaws, and streamers and banners and cake and (ew) a Professor.  Figaro hesitated for just a moment seeing Professor Trishna there - he wasn't particularly bad as a professor, but an adult was an adult. 

"I'm here!" he announced!  In one of his thrown-skyward hands was a soft packaged wrapped with newspaper.  In his other hand was a package of chocolate biscuits.

Philo, keeping his shuffling cards under control, also heard the discussion on wether the cake was spiked. "I-I could get Arlaug if we can't find a guinea pig. If there is something in the cake...well, if it's Wit Sharpening Solution we'll get smarter swears out of him. If it's a Sleeping Draft, or something else, he'll be out for a bit so he won't be popping off p--" He noticed Professor Trishna. "Um, potty language."

"I'm here!" Announced someone from the entrance. Philo didn't recognize him. Outside of Sasha during his absence, he'd at least seen the faces of all of his housemates...in fact, he had slipped in quickly once someone left, so if he wasn't familiar with how to get into the common room, maybe he wasn't supposed to.

He looked at Eirene, shocked. Did she invite someone from another House? It being his first year, he thought like many that the houses could not enter the dorms of the others.