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Vander slumped into the nearest seat with a small sigh. As awful as it probably was to admit, given the filth running around the castle, he vastly preferred Hogwarts to being home. That wasn't right. He should be glad to be going home. It was where he belonged. He'd get to see Father and have a few precious months of making his siblings's lives hell once more before he returned to school, this time with his sister as well. He wasn't at all sure if he was going to like that. On the plus side, Anti would be in Slytherin with him, so he could keep an eye on her, but on the other hand, he didn't want a stupid little girl following him around all the time. He barely had friends as it was. His dull sister would just make things worse. But then again, she went out of her way to avoid having to so much as look at him anyways, so maybe she'd just keep her distance, but not too much of a distance, and everything would be fine.

Somehow, home still didn't look all that welcoming. Maybe it was the estate itself. Overgrown, decrepit, rusting away. It was hardly the picture of glory and nobility it should have been, he figured. It was just a reminder of his stupid duties and his stupid obligations and the fact that he was growing too. His mother had told him once, and he swore it was mockingly, that he couldn't be a little boy forever. Funny how she never told Cyrus that. He was nine now and still acted like a six year old. Another thing to detest about going home, Cyrus and his magic. Vander still enjoyed bullying his brother, but he'd lost one of his most hurtful insults- squib. Regardless, he still called his brother that, but it didn't stick like it had before. And he was somewhat more wary about laying hands on his brother when there was suddenly fledgling magic to contend with. He still remembered that jolting shock he'd gotten before. He looked up and down the table slowly, didn't see anyone even in his year nearby, and resisted the urge to lay his head down on his arms. Lillantines sat up straight. He grimaced and squared his bony shoulders, waiting for the headmaster to make his speech so they could eat. Hunger or something was gnawing at the inside of his stomach.

Vander looked up as he saw a flash of red hair out of the corner of his eye and what not surprised to see Wendy sitting across from him. After the Yule Ball, which he begrudgingly admitted to himself could have been a lot worse, even if they'd verbally sparred half the night, he wasn't really sure if he was supposed to count the girl as a slightly closer acquaintance or what. They weren't really on bad terms- though he had yet to actually push her to the limit where she genuinely seemed upset with him, but he was loathe to admit that his first real friend in his entire life was a girl, either. Instead of greeting her like a normal person, he glanced her way to snidely inform her, "Reading at the table is generally considered rude, you know." Especially a Potions book. Like his mother and her potions. He didn't care if Potions was traditionally considered a subject Slytherins tended to have a knack for, she shouldn't be messing around with them. At this point he no longer knew if he was thinking about Wendy or his mother.

But then Mira Mitchell has joined them. Vander was pretty sure the other girl was a pureblood, thankfully, but she had a Gryffindor older sister and she'd gone to the ball with a Ravenclaw boy. Vander wasn't sure which was worse. Probably the whole Gryffindor older sister thing. She and Wendy seemed to be friends, though, or at least allies of some sort, so he sullenly nodded at the older girl in acknowledgement, though he wished she'd just go sit with her little Ravenclaw boyfriend, if that's what he was. He didn't know why they'd go together if they weren't together but then again he'd gone with Wendy and the idea of liking Wendy was enough to make him want to laugh. As far as he was concerned, girls were still very much repulsive in that regard. He managed to keep himself from rolling his eyes at Mira smiling towards the Ravenclaw table, and shrugged at her question. "Not really. I'm glad to be going home." If he told that lie enough, maybe he'd eventually start to believe it.