DH Skies
June 05, 2015 7:51 AM
Head of House Speech by DH Skies
Selina guided the new Crotali through the school, pointing out useful landmarks as they passed. The routes to the different Common Rooms would have been one thing that wasn’t included on their maps or in their tour with Mr. Xavier.“We are about to come to the portrait of Gunther - he is an inferus but also the guardian of our Common Room entrance. You will be required to give him the password to gain access, and I recommend you to do so politely.” Gunther was not known for having a temper with the students, and really Selina was unsure of his level of understanding beyond passwords but she had never liked the idea of students saying unkind things in front of him, just because they thought he wouldn’t know any better or didn’t deserve to receive good manners.
“This month’s password is Chocolate Frog,” she announced as they reached the portrait. Gunther nodded, gave a good natured groan, and swung forward to reveal the entrance. The room inside was decorated in rich velvets, with reds and silvers running throughout. Selina was rather fond of the decor, even though she still had a predisposition towards blue with silver from her own student days as a Sal Salis in Salem.
Once everyone was in, Selina stood in front of the group. Although she had the intimidating title of deputy head, she was a kind, motherly-looking figure - something that wasn’t difficult when one was in contrast with Mortimer Brockert, but a quality she held in her own right nonetheless. She had blonde hair in which she effectively hid the greys, and a kind face on which she unsuccessfully tried any number of miracle lotions and potions to keep away the wrinkles. She undeniably looked good for age, but she couldn’t help but feel she would have rather still have looked good for it but had it be a much lower number to start with…
“Welcome to Crotalus. This will be your home for the next seven years, and you will be sharing it with the people around you. Think on that fact before you decide to fall out with anyone. I’m sure you will have your differences, and no one is requiring you to like everyone you meet. However, you are required to be civil and co-operative with one another
“The new password will be displayed on the notice board at the start of every month. Notices about clubs and other events are also posted here, so it is worth keeping an eye on it. Alistair Johnson, our house’s Quidditch Captain, will be posting sign ups there, and anyone interested in trying out for the team will be very welcome. It has been some time since Crotalus fielded a team, though last year we were able to field players in a joint team with Teppenpaw, so things are moving forward,” she smiled, trying her best to put a positive spin on the lack of a proper house team, and not deter any potential players.
“Other house authorities are your prefects. Ladies - and, um, gentleman,” she quickly amended. It had been a good few since the house had had a male prefect, “please raise your hands. Ginny, Nellie and Isaac are people you can approach with any questions about Sonora or any problems you may be having, though you are equally welcome to speak to me or any other member of staff.
“Curfew, by which you must be back in the Commons, is ten pm. The stairs on the left lead to the boys’ dormitories and those on the right to the girls’. You are not permitted in rooms belonging to the opposite sex and there are counter measures in place should you try,” anyone heading up the wrong stairs would find themselves forcibly expelled by the corridor.
“Are there any questions?” she asked.
OOC - welcome to your house! You may reply to this if your character has questions, otherwise feel free to settle in, meet your room-mates and do as you please.
Subthreads: Showing off the regalia. by Isaac Douglas
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DH Skies
Head of House Speech
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DH Skies
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Isaac Douglas
June 08, 2015 7:08 PM
Showing off the regalia. by Isaac Douglas
Until the last minute, Isaac, determined to be disappointed as little as possible, had clung to the pessimistic idea that something could go wrong. That they could raise one of the fourth years instead of him. He had heard of that being done, once, two years being combined – it had been before his time, but between his sisters and his too-young-to-be-his-uncle uncle and the family tradition of sitting around and reliving their glory days every year at the holiday party, Isaac knew pretty much everything weird that had happened at Sonora for the past twenty years. The number of them was large. There was no reason to believe this year would be a normal one.By the time they got through the Sorting, Isaac’s hands had been shaky and sweaty and his stomach had felt like it had been tied into a knot. Twice. When nothing had gone wrong, he had had to work hard not to skip down to the high table. It had been a long time since he had been able to look at that table without half-expecting to see his sister seated at it, and every second he spent walking to it at a measured pace was a second he spent imagining her being forced to smile and hand him the badge in Brockert’s place, which just made him even giddier than relief already had.
Oh, well done, chimed in one of the less pleasant voices in his head, trying to bring him back to earth. You beat the fourth years. Who are such an impressive group….
The thoughts didn’t do much to help, though, as he collected his badge and went back to the Crotalus table. As usual, he didn’t really have anyone to eat with, but satisfaction was a good companion and accompanied him back to the common room with Professor Skies, the other prefects, and the first years. He was glad, though, that he had grown up in a family where everyone was expected to remain composed and civil, not strongly emotional. He didn’t want Bellrose and Vandenberg to laugh at him, even in their heads, for looking too pleased with himself. He became even gladder for it when, after talking about being nice to their roommates and their attempts at a Quidditch team, Skies initially referred to the prefects simply as ladies before remembering to add a note about him at the end. He glared at her for several seconds before he could force his eyebrows back up, changing his expression from one of anger to one of sulkiness, if sulkiness he was trying very hard to control, as he raised his hand.
He did not look very approachable. He could tell it, too. He forced a smile, trying to look a little more approachable. Helping people wasn’t a thing he had ever really thought about doing before, but it was the cost of his new piece of jewelry, the cost of being treated as an adult at midterm. He let the expression fade to something a little more dignified as Professor Skies went on about curfew, then resisted the impulse to just go to bed immediately after the speech, instead standing at the back to look official, badge gleaming on the front of his robes, and see if anyone needed anything. He was a prefect now and had to do the job right.
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Isaac Douglas
Showing off the regalia.
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Isaac Douglas
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