Fourth Magnus, First Pecari on Cascade Hall

Headmaster Brockert

September 24, 2016 3:56 AM

Opening Feast by Headmaster Brockert

This year, Mortimer felt slightly different about the Opening Feast. For the first time, there was a student he genuinely cared about being Sorted. Okay, maybe he had been slightly been interested over Owen and Angelique, but those were just his brother's grandchildren. This year it was his granddaughter Emerald who would be attending for her first time.

And while he kept his unemotional neutral expression-Mortimer's face only made about three different expressions, his Everyday Perpertual Scowl that his older brother Zachariah insisted that Mortimer was born with, his Death Glare for when someone really annoyed him, and the School Event Face, which was an attempt to look pleasant and cheerful but mostly still looked like a scowl. Oh and of course there was the Bit Too Much Whiskey face or the Got Too Close To Cousin Frank face that happened at parties sometimes where he genuinely did look somewhat happy-as the students filed in, he still couldn't help but wonder about how Emerald had fared at Orientation. The other students had better have been nice to her. Zachariah had mentioned Angelique constantly complaining that she didn't fit in with her classmates. Of course, since he didn't actually know much about the students as people, as far as Mortimer was concerned, Angelique was a spoiled child who was used to getting her way and complained when she didn't. Fortunately, Mortimer had enough sense to not tell his brother this. After all, he wouldn't like it if Zachariah insinuated not so nice things about his grandchildren.

Now though, it was time for Emerald and the other first years to be Sorted. He stood to greet the assembled mass and explain the process to them. "Welcome to Sonora for the new first years and welcome back for all older students. In just a minute,first years will be receiving a goblet distributed by Deputy Headmistress Skies, in order to sort you into your houses. You will turn the color representing your house which are blue for Aladren, yellow for Teppenpaw, red for Crotalus, and brown for Pecari. Afterwards, you may join your house table."

Unlike previous years where he just patiently waited for the Sorting to be done so he could finish off what he had to do for it and just sit and eat and ignore everyone, he watched expectantly. He knew where he expected Emerald to go, and more than that where he wanted her, his first grandchild to go.

The student next to Emerald handed her the goblet and....for a moment, just a moment before anyone could notice him showing an emotion other than annoyance, a new expression washed over Mortimer's face, that of Proud Grandfather, before quickly switching back to School Event Face, though his usually forced smile did look a bit more genuine now.

Once the Sorting had finished, it was time to announce prefects and Head Students. "Would Jacob Manger and Chaslyn Brockert please come up and get your Head Student badges? In addition I'd like to call up John Spencer, Jemima Wolseithcrafte, Kelsey Atwater, and Gia Donovan to recieve their prefect badges. Congratulations." Wow, back to back Head Girls for the Brockert family as a whole and his cousin Corrine's daughter was the prefect for Crotalus. Utterly utterly shocking.

He went on. "Just a few more announcements before we begin the feast." Which I hate about a million times more than any of you. He silently added to himself. "First of all, our Groundskeeper, Nathan Xavier, is now our fulltime Herbology professor. Congratualations, Professor Xavier. I'd also like to introduce Professor Ammon, who will be teaching Muggle Studies, which is a newly offered elective, unlike Herbology which is required." Mortimer was going to have to make sure to check over the new professor's lessons to ensure that he didn't just teach the "good" stuff with gadgets and games. He wanted to make sure that Professor Ammon taught the good, the bad and the ugly with regards to Muggles. They could play fun games and read Muggle literature or whatever, but Mortimer in no way wanted the class to be propaganda that idealized the Muggle world. He wanted students taught about human slavery,genocide, and most importantly the witch trials, even if they did follow it up with a friendly Muggle card game of Yuckker or whatever it was that they played.

Actually, maybe he should keep an eye on Herbology too, come to think of it. Mortimer was all too familiar with certain herbs that could be grown, even though he himself preferred the liquid method of intoxication. Then again, he didn't really think Nathan would teach the students such things. The man had worked here for years and he was even the Teppenpaw Head of House. He'd earned some trust. Besides, Mortimer had a hard time imagining Nathan doing that himself in the first place. The thought was almost laughable.

And it wasn't necessarily Professor Ammon that Mortimer distrusted, or at least no more so than he distrusted most people, it was the discipline of Muggle Studies itself. In his eyes, even Divination was better, and he thought was all a bunch of well, bullcrap. The Muggle world was not this perfectly nice place, not some utopia, certainly not better than the magical one. They were both flawed, they even had some of the same flaws.People could say the magical world was prejudiced for example-and it was, he wasn't denying it-but so was the Muggle world from what he understood. Including, at one time before the Statute of Secrecy came into effect, against witches. Certain groups of them still believed in witchcraft and felt about it the way the people of Salem felt about it back in 1692. People were just horrible no matter what world, what time or what place one lived in. In a way, it was almost comforting in it's consistency.

Still there was one last announcement to be made and tradition to be carried out before he could sit down and enjoy a nice juicy cut of prime rib and a bourbon laced drink-it was nobody's blasted business what he had in his cup, he was the Headmaster and he was a Brockert. Besides, he was pretty sure certain other staff members imbibed quite often-and Mortimer didn't fault them a bit, if he had to actually deal with the students on a more regular basis, he'd drink too. Well, more.

So he pushed aside thoughts of Emerald and witch burning and staff members who drank and said "This year, our midsummer event will be the fair. Details to come later. We will now sing our school song."

Every day we strive
Learning to survive
Life’s hardships and to solve its mystery.
Learning to defend
Our honour and our friends,
Flying high to meet our destiny
We will stand and face those who want to harm us.
We won’t let the world transfigure, jinx or charm us
I won’t fight alone, as long as you are with me.
Sonora be my home, my tutor and my spirit
Vasita quoque floeat; Even the desert blooms.

OOC-The card game Mortimer speaks of,"Yuckker", is actually Euchre.

Subthreads:

I'm really not hungry... by Kellen Mormont with Farrah Welsh

New Aladren by Kit Reid with Lina McCarthy

Teppenpaw, here I come! by Sawyer Matheson with Natalie Varth, Tepp

Another year older by Louis Valois with Jack Spencer

Red's a pretty cool colour! by Victor Callahan with Winston Pierce, Simon Mordue

A little blue about being yellow by Ayla Tremaine with Gwen Fintoc

Strange Things by Arianna Valenti with Madeleine Dautin & Flora Deschamps

Fourth Magnus, First Pecari by Magnus Graphorn IV with Isaac Song

Wait, what? I'm.... what? by Gia Donovan with Diana Carey, Diana

Some things never change by Gabriel Valenti with Joseph Umland

What a bounty! (I'm referring here to my fair schoolmates) by Cassandra King, Pecari with Ingrid Wolsiethcrafte

Making small talk by Aiden O'Neil

That's certainly a warm welcome back! by Jake Manger

Strangely happy [Araceli] by Makenzie Newell with Araceli Arbon

Glad to have some form of normalcy back in my life. by Lily Spencer with Cameron Dempsey

Round 3: begin! by Nevaeh Reed

Furious by Dustin Newell

Notice me, please! by Florence Newell with Amelia Layne, Emerald Brockert

And we're back! [Tag: Juniper] by Finn Scott with Juniper Brockert

Adults can have fun summers too! by Rory Taransay with Sophie O'Malley

Once more unto the breach by Tess Whittaker with Ben Pierce

This . . . was not how I expected this feast to go by Clark Dill with John Umland

Time to make more friends by Sébastien Évreux

Another year... by Aislinn Nicolls

Is it over? by Sutton Nicolls

I am finally here!! [New Aladren] by Conrad Helms

I feel like I was just here... by Professor Liam Ammon

Relief by Chaslyn Brockert

11 Headmaster Brockert Opening Feast 6 Headmaster Brockert 1 5

Kellen Mormont

September 24, 2016 11:22 AM

I'm really not hungry... by Kellen Mormont

Kellen had initially been hopeful about his second year. Sonora had been a kind of sanctuary to him during his first, and while he still disliked being so far from his mother, it was definitely preferable to being with his father's family. The wagon ride, though thoroughly jostling and crowded, wasn't terrible since he'd at least been friendly with Jozua last term and the two could talk about books. It was still draining for the 12 year old though, being around so many people trying to talk over each other and squealing as they reunited with friends.

When he finally arrived at school, Kellen decided to try and center himself with some tai chi, which he'd learned over the summer as a coping mechanism. That REALLY blew up in his face. Or rather, he blew up in Arianna V.’s face. That was a huge step backwards as far as he was concerned, and he was still reeling from the rush of adrenaline. He was, after all, trying to control his newly discovered anger, not intensify it.

As he walked into the hall for the opening feast, Kellen kept an eye out for Arianna, hoping to avoid her at all costs. That was going to be a difficult feat considering they shared a house and classes. At least she wasn't his roommate.

He picked an empty seat near the middle of the Aladren table. He wanted to sit by the door so he could escape quickly after the feast, but that also gave him an increased likelihood of being spotted by Arianna. The thought of another encounter with her so soon tied the second year's stomach into knots. There was one upside to the feast, despite Kellen’s awful mood--Farrah.

Farrah was kind, nerdy like him, and didn't speak to him with an air of disdain. Plus he found her pleasing to look at. She'd written him over the summer, and they'd exchanged letters a few times. After the incident, however, Kellen wasn't allowed to leave the house, so sending mail was out of the question. He was looking forward to seeing her, and telling her about everything that had happened. Hopefully she'd find him before Arianna could. He'd learned somewhere that there was strength in numbers, and maybe with Farrah by his side he would feel less anxious about the other girl.

He'd zoned out somewhere in the middle of sorting, and maybe caught some words about new professors. He was relieved to hear there wasn't another ball on the agenda though, and mumbled through the school song. Kellen’s stomach lurched as food began to appear in front of them. Since the incident, he'd been on an ovolactovegetarian diet. It was his mom's idea-- maybe he was angry because he was eating the pain and rage of slaughtered animals. He couldn't even stomach the sight of blood anymore.

So naturally, most of the food on the table surrounding him was meat. It was just one of those days.

((ooc: references to other characters used with permission from their authors.))

5 Kellen Mormont I'm really not hungry... 341 Kellen Mormont 0 5

Kit Reid

September 24, 2016 11:32 AM

New Aladren by Kit Reid

Kit entered the Hall nervously with the other first years. She glanced over at Ayla. It was the moment of truth. Would she be a Crotalus with Ayla? Please, please.. She knew that they would be friends regardless. They were like two of a kind, but it would be nice to share a House. They would be able to sit comfortably in their bedroom and talk about all sorts of things. Otherwise, she would be with someone else, possibly more than one, and there was a possibility of not getting along. No, no, she wouldn’t think like that. She would imagine that whoever she ended up rooming with she would end up being good friends with as well. Perhaps, they would also get along with Ayla and they could all be friends, which would be absolute wonderful.

Okay, here went. She received her goblet and took a sip. Kit looked down at her hands. Different emotions ran through her. Part of her was disappointed. She wasn’t red. She wasn’t Crotalus. She and Ayla weren’t destined to be roommates. But part of her was excited too. Her hands were blue. She was blue. She was in Aladren. She was free to be intelligent. After all, how could one pretend to be otherwise when ‘love of learning’ was listed as one of the House traits? It was an amazing feeling.

Joining her house table, Kit folded her dress underneath her and sat down. With interest, she watched the rest of the proceedings. Several students were called to the front. Head Students and Prefects. She had read about this in the brochure. They were the students that were role-models in the school. They had that certain something that allowed them to stand up. Maybe she would be one someday. She hoped so. It seemed to be quite an honor.

She had lost track of Ayla with all the bustling, but sitting up slightly and looking around, she spotted her at the Teppenpaw table. Awww, she hadn’t gotten Crotalus either, but she did get a house that she had read was noted for being the diplomats of the school. That was very nobel in her opinion. People that possessed such qualities as Teppenpaw possessed could become real diplomats. They were the people that stopped wars from occurring. Yes, it was very admirable and she was happy for her friend. Plus, being in different houses now had a positive note. Maybe someday they could be prefects together. That couldn’t have happened if they were in the same House.

Kit’s attention was diverted at the mention of singing. She loved to sing. She wasn’t the best. Her voice was too sweet to really have any impact, but she could carry a tune. She had taken music lessons as a child. Mostly, in piano, but some vocal as well. Her mother thought it was proper for a girl to be schooled in such endeavors. Her mother probably would have said something to the effect that she should be glad she took lessons since now she had a school song to sing.

After the song, Kit took in the feast that had been provided. The selection was rather varied, which pleased her. She took a bit of sweet potatoes with cinnamon and prime rib. She loved prime rib. She was busy cutting the prime rib into more manageable eating pieces when someone near to her spoke. “Pardon me?” She felt horrible that she hadn’t heard what the person said. It was rather loud in the hall, but then there were a lot of students chattering.

0 Kit Reid New Aladren 363 Kit Reid 0 5

Sawyer Matheson

September 24, 2016 11:37 AM

Teppenpaw, here I come! by Sawyer Matheson

The Hall was fancier than Sawyer had expected. It was like something one expected when they heard about the way the upper society lived. He took in the waterfalls that were rippling down the walls and the chandeliers. It was like nothing that he was used to. Where he lived, everything was more simplistic, a little more rustic. The water made the adjustment easier though. He had lived near the water his entire life. It felt only natural to have it nearby.

Following suit, he took a goblet and took some. He watched mesmerized as his skin took on a golden yellow glow. What did that mean? Oh, yeah. Teppenpaw. He joined his House and watched the rest of the festivities, but glanced over with interest at those that were his fellow Teppenpaws. They were supposed to be like his family for the rest of the years he was here. He wondered how much truth there was in that. Would they be as close as family? He already missed his. They would have already had dinner without him.

As if in response, his stomach gave a loud growl of protest. He would also have to get used to the change in dinner time. He tried to wait patiently through the rest of the announcements. Herbology sounded interesting, but he wasn’t sure if he would actually be any good at it. But then, he wasn’t sure if he would be good at any of his classes. Either way, it was exciting to be learning the things that his parents had once learned.

Oh, a school song. Joining in, he began singing. The tune was easy enough even though he winced slightly as someone else was horribly off-key. It made him miss choir. He wondered if the school had anything like a singing group or something musical.

After the song, he glanced around at the spread before him. He didn’t even know where to start! There were a lot of things that he didn’t recognize. What was that? He decided to skip the green stuff and picked something safe. The fried chicken looked amazing and he took a drumstick. He also added some potatoes and gravy. Oh, and some corn.

Once he was served and his napkin was placed in his lap, he bowed his head to give thanks. “Thank you Lord for food when others are hungry; for drink when others are thirsty; for friends when others are lonely.”

Satisfied, he bit hungrily into his chicken. After a couple of bites, Sawyer opted to try and make conversation with someone nearby.

0 Sawyer Matheson Teppenpaw, here I come! 365 Sawyer Matheson 0 5

Louis Valois

September 24, 2016 12:04 PM

Another year older by Louis Valois

Fourth year sounded so old, and Louis both hated and loved it. The older he got, the more he got to learn in class, and the sooner it was until he would legally be able to make his own decisions about how to live. However, the downside was that being in fourth year meant more expectations, looming exams, and reminded him of age differences.

For once, Louis had found his summer to be generally pleasant. The first few weeks had been spent with Emmy-Lou at his best friend’s ranch, and had been full of fun, laughter, and riding. He’d also met Gwen, her step-cousin, who was starting at Sonora that year. They’d got on quite well, and had bonded over music, even playing a duet together on the piano one evening. He’d stayed in America a little longer after his holiday with Emmy, as his father had business to attend to, and Louis had had a glorious day of muggle adventure with Arianna in New York. He’d been in such high spirits after that, and even being back in French pureblood society hadn’t managed to bring him down. Besides, he’d still had his friends to run away with when he could. Alejo had gone back to Spain with his family, which was a shame, but Louis had spent more time with Manu and JB this year, both of whom could always be relied on for a good laugh.

Returning to Sonora was definitely more complex this year. Yes, he’d get to see Emmy, Arianna, Arne and everyone else again, but there was a certain person that he was trepidatious about seeing. After their almost-argument at the midsummer ball, he wasn’t really sure where he stood with Ingrid. The rest of the ball had gone fairly smoothly, but he’d found himself replaying their conversation again and again. He felt slightly guilty for not standing up for what he believed in better, but more than anything he found himself confused and disappointed by Ingrid. How could she believe that someone was better than another simply because of the circumstances of their birth? They’d got on so well, and he hated to think that his judgement of her had been wrong. During the summer he had broached the subject with his grandmother, who had soon got the whole story out of him, and her words of wisdom were slightly comforting. She’d reminded him that not everyone could see the truth as clearly as he could, and that he couldn’t force them to change their minds. All he could do, she’d said, was suggest a better way of looking at things, and live his life as an example of what he believed in. Setting an example probably included not trying to flirt (or whatever it had been - banter? Rivalry? Friendship?) with Ingrid, if she really was as prejudiced as her comments at the ball suggested. He resolved to talk to her as soon as he could, wanting to know where they stood, even if the conversation had the potential to be awkward.

However, Louis and Ingrid were not in the same house, so he elected to ignore the problem for now. Of more immediate interest was the Headmaster’s speech, which would announce the new prefects. For the first time, Louis felt really interested in who had been picked, as he knew the students in the year directly above him better than any other of the years above. He was pleased to see Jack, his Quidditch teammate, get the prefect badge for Aladren.

Louis started to fill his plate with food, choosing a few dishes around him that looked tempting. Too much of a sociable person to spend the feast sitting in silence, he turned to the person next to him. “Did you have a nice summer?” he asked, smiling.

9 Louis Valois Another year older 314 Louis Valois 0 5

Victor Callahan

September 24, 2016 12:10 PM

Red's a pretty cool colour! by Victor Callahan

Victor hadn’t really given much thought as to which house he wanted to be in. His little brother Jehan had spent lots of time poring over all the information he could find, surprising Victor by suddenly appearing and demanding to know if he considered himself to be flexible (Victor supposed he was good at handstands, if that counted) and the like. However, Victor wasn’t the type of person to read much about the houses, or to worry about the sorting. He’d end up where he ended up, as it wasn’t like he had a choice in the matter, and he was sure he’d get on just fine with whoever his roommates ended up being. Yes, he was unlikely to be in Aladren as studying was boring according to him, but he hadn’t narrowed down his other options at all.

So, as he waited with all the other first years to be sorted, Victor was not at all nervous. Changing colour sounded like it would be a good laugh, and the idea slightly made him wish he was a more academic sort of person just so he could turn blue. Blue would be the coolest skin colour! But luckily for his long-term sanity, if not his amusement, he didn’t turn blue. Red was, instead, destined to be his colour! He was sure his parents would be happy with that, and from what he remembered about the houses it was where all the respectable people went, or something like that, which was probably a good thing. He quickly sat down at his house table, looking around to see who else was a first year - he had a few roommates, by the looks of things! - and half paying attention to the Headmaster’s speech. He didn’t know any of the people named as prefects and head students, but a fair at midsummer sounded pretty cool!

Finally they were released to eat and talk, two things which Victor rather enjoyed. There was so much food here! Victor loved food – who didn’t? – and the fact that he didn’t tuck in immediately with elbows flying was a testament to his mother’s insistence in teaching her eldest child manners. Still, he’d quickly amassed a large pile of delicious food on his plate, which was only lacking one thing to make it the perfect meal. The question was, what was that thing? Aha!

“Excuse me,” he said, turning to his neighbour. “Could you pass me those sausages over there? I’m Victor Callahan, of the Idaho Callahans, by the way.” Luckily he managed to remember to tack on an introduction, even if it did go rather awkwardly with the request for food. He did not want to start off on the wrong foot with anyone, nor did he want to start giving the Callahans a bad name!

9 Victor Callahan Red's a pretty cool colour! 368 Victor Callahan 0 5

Lina McCarthy

September 24, 2016 1:03 PM

I'm New Here by Lina McCarthy

Lina was excited when she'd entered the Hall. Anxious, but excited. She waited in the large mass of other first years, hoping that she'd like the house she was in. Her uncle had described them to her, and those descriptions were now circling each other in her head and getting jumbled together.

When it was her turn to be sorted, Lina walked forward carefully, trying not to think about everyone watching her. After drinking, she looked down to see what would happen. Blue for Aladren. That meant problem solving and learning. Lina smiled as she went to join her house table. Uncle Felix had been in this house when he was at Sonora.

He'd told her about the common room, and how he and his friends had helped each other with homework, or played exploding snap there. Lina had never played exploding snap, but she'd met some of the people who her uncle had gone to school with and they were all very impressive witches and wizards. She looked around at the face of the other Alderan students, paying the most attention to those in her year. Lina hoped she'd be able to make friends here.

Pushing her glasses up her nose, Lina turned her attention back tot eh first years being sorted. After that, there was a ceremony for some of the older students, followed by announcements and the school song. She tried her best to follow along, but it was hard when she'd never heard the words before. Still, it wasn't that bad.

When the food arrived, Lina took some sweet potatoes and salad, as well a roll from a nearby basket. Across the table, she another first year cutting up some of the prime rib. Brushing her brown hair behind her ear, Lina leaned forward and said, "Hello, I'm Lina, what's your name." It was loud, and Lina's words were drowned out. "Pardon me?" said the other girl. Lina cleared her throat and spoke more loudly, "Hi, my name's Lina, I'm new here too. A first year, I mean."

0 Lina McCarthy I'm New Here 361 Lina McCarthy 0 5

Farrah Welsh

September 24, 2016 1:34 PM

Me neither, but for different reasons. by Farrah Welsh

The wagon ride had taken more out of Farrah than she would have thought. Normally she could handle rides but today the wagon had done her in. She wasn’t sure if it was because the group that Arianna sat with invited her over and Farrah was too quiet and awkward to tell them no thanks and so she had tensely sat with them feeling more and more like an outcast and feeling rather like they pitied her rather than actually want her company. Plus, Arianna was with them and Farrah was certain that the other Aladren did not want her encroaching on her territory. Not that Arianna said or did anything to suggest it, but considering how she had been last year to Farrah, it was only the right thing to assume.

Even though she had wanted to get caught up with Georgia, Killian, and Kellen when she got off the wagon, her head and stomach refused to allow her to do anything other than lay in bed until the sick feeling left her. Which it did, after a rather long nap. Farrah awoke with only a half hour to go before the feast. She had spent that time trying to fix her hair and her clothes before throwing her school robe on and running out of her dorm to get to the hall.

It was so crowded in there with all the bobbing heads. Farrah’s small frame weaved between the people until she found the Aladren table. Kellen was sitting by himself towards the middle but there were already some people around him, so she found a close seat as she could near him and would move when she could. He didn’t seem to be paying too much attention though and the Headmaster was already standing up to speak, so Farrah didn’t dare call out of fear of calling attention to herself. The announcements were similar to last year. New Head and Prefects, people she sort of heard of or had clubs with but didn’t know very well, but she clapped for them because that was the polite thing to do. And she clapped for the new professors as well (she’d have to have a laugh with Kellen over the Professor Xavier…). The midsummer event was a Fair this year that could be really fun!

The song was over and the food appeared. People began to scatter to different tables to east with their friends, so Farrah took the opportunity to grab a freed up seat next to Kellen. “Hi Kellen!” Farrah greeted cheerfully with a smile. “Did you hear that we’ll have a real X-Men in our midst? Top dog too.” Farrah joked. “Let’s hope this Professor X can’t read our minds like the other one can.” She added, could the magic read minds? She probably ought to look that up. What creeps they would be if they could do it. It’d be basically the same as being able to see through a person’s clothes.

Farrah’s stomach still wasn’t feeling the best, but she knew she would have to eat something or else she’d wake up starving, so she picked up some bread and began to tear it up to munch on it. “How was your wagon ride over? Or the rest of your summer?” She asked him, looking curiously at him. She thought about hugging him because she knew that she’d hug Georgia and Killian when she got a chance to see them, but she felt like that moment had already passed when she started talking and now she felt bad about it. “I’ve missed you guys.” Farrah said in lieu of being able to hug him.

OOC: Wagon was discussed with chatzy with the other authors being Nat, Ben, and Valenti. Farrah’s thoughts regarding their reasons are her own and may not be the true reason.

6 Farrah Welsh Me neither, but for different reasons. 344 Farrah Welsh 0 5

Ayla Tremaine

September 24, 2016 2:27 PM

A little blue about being yellow by Ayla Tremaine

Here she was, standing on the precipice, her fate awaiting her in a goblet. Ayla anxiously glaced at Kit, trying to gauge if she was nervous too. She hoped that everything would go as planned, they were going to both get into Crotalus, and they’d be best friends and roommates. They just had to be. Ayla watched as Kit drank from the goblet and felt her heart sink as the other girl began to turn blue. Blue, Aladren blue...she wasn’t dumb by any means, but there was no way that Ayla was going to be in Aladren. Her brow furrowed ever so slightly as she watched her friend head off to her new house table. She was sad that they wouldn’t be able to stay up late exchanging fashion tips and talking about boys. There was still classes though, and weekends. She wasn’t going to give up yet, she and Kit Reid could still rule the school together--someday.

Before she knew it, it was Ayla’s turn to be sorted. She was excited, and a little grossed out that they were expected to drink out of the same goblet. Even with four siblings, she wasn’t really accustomed to sharing beverages. She held the goblet in both hands, looking into it as if it were a crystal ball. This was it. Ayla took a deep breath and and drank before quickly passing off the cup to the next student. She winced a little as she swallowed, and watched her hands as they turned….yellow?

What?

Ayla’s bottom lip quivered slightly as she watched the color develop. This wasn’t right! The social elite got into Crotalus not [i]Teppenpaw[/i]. Yet, here she was, as yellow as the sun. She felt her eyes welling up. Her hand found her locket and her held it as she tried to fight back the tears. Her parents would still be proud of her, right? Kit wasn’t in Crotalus either though, so maybe that was ok. In fact, as she looked around, she noticed there weren’t any Crotalus girls yet. [i]”Odd…”[/i/] Ayla thought to herself as she made her way to the Teppenpaw table, waving in the direction of Kit as she passed. Better to be yellow and have roommates than to be red and alone.

The new Teppenpaw got her emotions together as she walked, and smoothed her robes as she sat down at an empty spot amongst the other students. She listened intently, clapping for the new prefects, head students and new professors. She hadn’t planned to take muggle studies, though the man the headmaster indicated was the professor was really good looking. She didn’t really know what to expect from the fair, but it could be fun from the sounds of it.

Ayla perked up when it came time to sing the school song. She’d been practicing, both on piano and vocally. The Tremaine’s got Ayla voice lessons for her 8th birthday, and singing was one of her favorite things to do, so she performed the Sonora school song perfectly. Somehow that made her feel a little better about her sorting. As the table began to fill with food, her stomach rumbled, and now she had to choose options that weren’t going to make her look like a glutton. There was chicken just out of her reach. It seemed a lot of things were out of her reach today, and that was only partially due to her petite stature.

“Excuse me, Hi, could you pass the chicken pretty please?” She asked with a smile as she addressed the student beside her.

5 Ayla Tremaine A little blue about being yellow 367 Ayla Tremaine 0 5

Kellen

September 24, 2016 3:50 PM

I'm starting to feel a little better now. by Kellen

Kellen lit up with Farrah’s greeting. As much as someone who felt ill and was naturally pale could light up. “Hey Farrah.” He said with a smile. How had he missed the part about Professor Xavier?! “That’s amazing! I wasn’t listening super closely at that point, but whatever he teaches, I’m in! I doubt he is an occlumens, but he could be. He should be! I wonder what his office hours are. Someone needs to tell him.” He sighed, this was the first time he felt normal and was able to be himself since he left for his dad’s house. He could have hugged Farrah if he wasn’t feeling so gross because of the meat smells.

His smile faded a little at the mention of his summer. He wanted to tell her everything, about how his Bruce Banner turned Hulk and then the whole thing with Arianna. He was interested on what her take on things would be, he just wasn’t stoked about telling her in the middle of the feast. He looked around them, and it seemed like no one was paying attention to them. They were two second year nerds after all.

“My summer was, insane. I hulked out on my half brother. He was talking crap about my mom and I dunno. Something like, snapped, and I just went crazy.” His stomach turned again at the memory of how Adam’s nose crunched under his fist. He wasn’t that person, and he was afraid of being so outwardly violent. He clenched his fists from their position under the table, and he almost felt like he wanted to cry. “There was blood, everywhere, and dad yelled and it broke me out of it, but like...I don’t recognize myself now. I am glad he got his face punched in, I just never would have thought that I’d be the one to do it.” He lowered his voice at the last part and looked to Farrah for her reaction.

“Am I a bad person?” He asked, more of himself than of Farrah. “I had to sit down with all the parents and have a talk about my sanity and whether or not I deserved to come back to school or be sent to military school, or worse. And HE, he gets treated like nothing he does is wrong!” He felt his blood began to boil again, and took a four second deep breath before slowly letting it go. “I feel like a crazy person...like Jekyl and Hyde. I’m Bizzaro Kellen.” The Aladren boy shook his head and ran a hand through his messy dark hair. “And none of this includes what happened before the feast today, but I’m just getting myself worked up. How was the rest of your summer and your wagon ride? Hopefully better than mine.”

5 Kellen I'm starting to feel a little better now. 341 Kellen 0 5

Arianna Valenti

September 24, 2016 4:29 PM

Strange Things by Arianna Valenti

After the incident in MARS, Arianna had been resolved; she needed to talk to Farrah. When Kellen had freaked out on her for no apparent reason before exiting the room, Arianna knew that something was very wrong about her classmate. Who randomly got angry at people like that? So weird.

What was really disturbing, however, was the fact that the creep seemed to be particularly close with her roommate. Arianna wasn’t close with Farrah herself, she thought of the other girl as a quiet, little nerd. How was a girl like that going to defend herself against a boy who went crazy for no apparent reason? Arianna needed to take action. Sure, she had stayed in the MARS room to finish her levitation puzzle (she was not one to walk away from the task at hand) but once that was completed, she was resolved to speak to Farrah at once. Besides, Arianna needed to return to their dorm room to change before the Opening Feast.

Keeping her hair in a fishtail braid, she changed into a black trapeze dress, and a long thin silver chain necklace. Not her most exciting outfit, but it was hard to coordinate something that wouldn’t clash with the forest green robes. She sometimes wished she could petition the school for a more neutral color.

It was only after changing that she realized that Farrah had been here this whole time, sleeping. Arianna hesitated. They weren’t close, she felt awkward waking up the other girl. Awkwardness was something she actively avoided, and so instead she turned to grab a notebook off her desk. Finding a blank page, she carefully ripped it out before penning a quick note.

Hi Farrah,

We should talk soon. I’m worried.

-Arianna

There was of course, more than one Arianna at the school, but this Arianna didn’t think they were so close that the other Arianna would be leaving Farrah messages. Folding it in half, she wrote Farrah’s name in big, neat letters (no one would ever accuse Arianna of being particularly artsy) and placed it on her nightstand. Satisfied, Arianna left for the Feast early.

Cascade Hall was as beautiful as ever. It always amazed her how much more beautiful the world became with magic. But Arianna was experienced, a second year now. She didn’t feel as overwhelmed by the grandeur as she had before. Seeing her cousin come in, she went to chat with him before the ceremonies started at the Teppenpaw table. Arianna still hadn’t spotted Farrah, yet.

The first years were paraded in, and Arianna returned to an open seat at the Aladren table. She wasn’t particularly interested in the first years this year, given that she didn’t know any of them. Next year would be different, though. Arianna’s little sister also had to have magic - she was sure of it. And of course, like Arianna, Elisa would have to be an Aladren. None of that Teppenpaw nonsense.

She frowned at the announcement of the Head students. The second year had been sure Clark would get Head Boy, not that anyone had asked her. Clark, who she assumed would be Aladren’s Quidditch Captain this year, was something of a role model to her since she came from a non-magical background herself. When he succeeded, it really meant something to her. She noticed another Brockert had gotten Head Girl again. That family totally ran the school.

Arianna clapped for Jack - another teammate - when he got Prefect. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to do Quidditch again, but she supported all of the guys on the team. Of course, with Theodore and Leonidas now graduated, they probably needed her now more than ever. Even if she wasn’t stellar at it.

Distracted by thoughts of her teammates, she barely noticed the rest of the speech. She looked up and down the Aladren table, and still wasn’t sure where Farrah had gone off to. Strange.

“Hey,” she said, turning to the Aladren next to her, still somewhat distracted by her thoughts, “Have you seen Farrah?”

0 Arianna Valenti Strange Things 343 Arianna Valenti 0 5

Farrah

September 24, 2016 8:23 PM

Good, I'm glad :) by Farrah

Kellen was suddenly saying things to her that she did not quite understand, but his enthusiasm at the idea of there being an X-Men at the school was at least equal to her own, so she was right in believing that much about their friendship. It was nice having someone who was equally nerdy about things as she was. She loved her friendships with Georgia and Killian as they were the first friends she had made here. She could be a girl with Georgia, be a Muggle with Killian, and be a nerd with Kellen. She may not have been popular as some of the other students, but she thought she was doing pretty well on the friend front.

“So… magic does have the ability to read minds?” Farrah asked slowly. “That’s the occu-whatever you mentioned?” Farrah looked perplexed for a moment. “Why does it have to have a creep factor with it? Do I have to worry about someone being inside my head now?” She asked him. How common were these people? Could anyone do it? Could anyone do it accidentally? What if she accidentally read someone else’s mind? She would feel so terrible about that! Would she have to tell them that she did it? Oh man, that would be so embarrassing!

She listened intently as Kellen began to describe his summer. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open slightly as his story sucked her in. His brother sounded like a bully. Farrah dealt with those too. At least it wasn’t her sister, but she was too young for any of that anyway. At least the girls who used to bully Farrah don’t do it quite as much anymore. That was mostly due to the fact that Farrah wasn’t home as often anymore so she didn’t see them, but also because Middle School seemed to change things a bit. Her friends were telling her about the different cliques, so the bully wasn’t as opposing as she once was.

Her facial expression changed when Kellen started questioning himself and whether or not he was the same person anymore because of the reaction he had had to his tormentor. Farrah placed a hand on his arm to soothe him. “I don’t think you’re a bad person.” She answered. “You were being picked on and you reacted. Sure, it was a bit violent, but, I don’t know, I think that’s bound to happen if you get constantly pushed around.” Farrah always felt like attacking her bullies after a while, but she never did because she knew she couldn't win.

He changed the topic onto her but not before she caught his last statement which only made her frown all the more. “The wagon ride was awful. I got sick from the bumps, so when I got here, I just went to sleep, so I feel better now but I don’t want to take a chance on eating too much.” Farrah told him. “As for my summer...I’m not going to lie, my summer was pretty cool.” Farrah commented. “Our family trip was to England this year, so I was able to see like Big Ben and stuff. Not as fun as going on like a cruise, but we still had a good time.” Farrah explained. She shrugged. She had enjoyed the trip, but if people didn’t like sight-seeing as much as roller coasters, swimming pools, and dolphins, then it wasn’t for them.

“So, what did you mean about something happening before the feast?” She asked, looking at him curiously.

6 Farrah Good, I'm glad :) 344 Farrah 0 5

Magnus Graphorn IV

September 24, 2016 8:54 PM

Fourth Magnus, First Pecari by Magnus Graphorn IV

It was all Magnus could do to make sure his mouth stayed shut throughout the tour of his new school. It was so big - bigger than just about any other magical building that Magnus had been in for his entire life! He used to think that the Ranch was gigantic - and while he was pretty sure the grounds were more expansive - the building itself was nothing like Sonora. There were so many halls and rooms to explore - maybe even secret passageways! Magnus hoped he would find friends among his future classmates that would be up to exploration and adventure. Since he’d left behind his dozens of cousins and distant cousins and various other magical people of Dallas not related to him, it was important he find companions for Sonoran adventures straight away.

They finally made it to Cascade Hall at the end of the day, and at first, the blond boy really did try to pay attention. But he was almost so distracted by the waterfalls of Cascade Hall (seriously awesome!) that he was slightly startled when the goblet passed his way. Taking a quick sip, his skin changed - he was a Pecari! Had he actually taken the time to read the brochures from Orientation, he would have known what that meant. But paperwork was boring. Luckily, the Headmaster guy had gone through all the houses during his speech, so Magnus knew which way to walk when he was sorted.

Headmaster guy continued to drone on about other stuff. Back home, Magnus knew the names of everybody around him, and more importantly, everyone around him knew the prestige and historical importance of the Graphorn family name. It was weird to hear names being announced, and not be familiar with a single one. But whether it was for being an adventurer, or coming up with some awesome school prank, or acing a new hex (though Magnus was not quite as clever as he liked to think he might be) everybody here would become familiar with his name soon enough. Back home, Magnus was a known charmer, he could get his way with simply a smile. He never thought of the notion that his family name, and his position as the first son of the first son of one of the first magical families of Dallas was quite persuasive in itself.

Food appeared on the table, and Magnus grinned. It was good to know that he would not starve as a student at Sonora. There were so many choices, the blue-eyed boy hardly knew where to start. He’d have to sneak some snacks for later, of course. The house elves back home were always strict with dessert portions, he had a feeling the elves of Sonora were likely to be the same way.

“Hi there,” he introduced himself with a charming smile to the person next to him, a slight Texas-twang evident in his voice, “I’m Magnus Graphorn the Fourth, of Texas,” he added, although everybody who was anybody should know that all Graphorns lived in Texas, in his less-than humble opinion. But he wasn’t about to give anybody a history lesson just now. He was hungry.

“Where d’you reckon we should start?” he asked his accomplice as his eyes scanned the options, observing, “That pumpkin pie looks pretty good, over there.”

0 Magnus Graphorn IV Fourth Magnus, First Pecari 373 Magnus Graphorn IV 0 5

Sawyer

September 24, 2016 11:05 PM

.... by Sawyer

OOC: So, I realized this when I was reading posts at work. Somehow, I managed not to post the rest of Sawyer's post. *headdesk* Anyhow, this is the continuation so that there's actually something to work with.

BIC:

"What do you think of this feast?" Sawyer had other questions that he wanted to ask, but figured this was a good starter. He didn't know about the other person, but he had never experienced anything like this. The restaurant his parents owned had a mostly comfort food base with a bit of an emphasis on seafood since they were located on the water. "I don't even know what some of this is." He took a bit of something green looking and added it to his plate. After a bite, he added, "But it's delicious!"

0 Sawyer .... 365 Sawyer 0 5

Kit

September 24, 2016 11:36 PM

Nice to meet you. by Kit

Kit smiled at the other girl. She had glasses just like herself. How delightful! Kit’s were a pink in color. At least for today. Tomorrow, she might have on a different color. She had several pairs of glasses that she liked to match with her outfits. She couldn’t wait to learn color changing charms so that she could have one pair that she could change to whatever she wanted.

“Nice to meet you, Lina,” Kit replied. “I’m Kit Reid of the Connecticut Reids.” She wasn’t sure if the other girl was societal or not, or even if she were Pureblood or not. However, it could have been a West of the country sort of thing. Ayla had provided her with a similar introduction to her own, but that could have been out of courtesy. Obviously, she couldn’t ask this girl if she were or not. Of course, even if she weren’t, they were to be roommates for the next seven years. Being nothing if not courteous would prove beneficial.

“It’s pretty amazing here, isn’t it?” Kit continued on. She was glad that her parents had sent her here. The Hall was beautiful with an open, yet elegant sort of feel. “Back home is a lot different. Where are you from?” She wondered if a lot of people would be from areas closer to the school. That would make sense, but there had also been a fair amount of students on her wagon too. She hadn’t remembered seeing this girl on her wagon, but she could have simply missed her.

“What do you think of getting into Aladren?” Kit asked, curious to know what other people thought of where they had been sorted. “I was hoping for either Aladren or Crotalus. Ayla, the girl over there,” she pointed to her friend, “and I thought that we might have gone into Crotalus together. I’ll have to introduce the two of you. Maybe we can all get together or something.”

She was getting a little ahead of herself. She had no idea if Ayla would even want to know Lina. But then, there was nothing that said she wouldn’t. “Anyhow, I’m really happy that I got chosen for Aladren and think it’ll be a good fit.”

0 Kit Nice to meet you. 363 Kit 0 5

Kellen

September 25, 2016 6:34 AM

I am too. by Kellen

Kellen couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face as he watched Farrah try to wrap her head around mind reading being a real thing. Magic was fun like that. It wasn’t until she attempted to repeat the word occlumens to him when he’d realized his mistake. He scowled a little at his error and quickly set the record straight.

“I got it backwards. Legilimency is what you use to read minds. Like legible is readable, that’s how to remember which is which. And then occlumency is what you use to guard against it. It’s crazy old magic, and I have no idea how you go about learning either. This weird old wizard was talking about it to my mom at the apothecary one day and I overheard.” He shrugged. “I don’t think it’s something most people use, so I doubt you need to worry. It’s kind of fascinating though.”

A wave of relief washed over the second year as his friend expressed her thoughts on his summer. She got it. It definitely helped to have someone else on your team. His mom was on his side too, but she was supposed to be no matter what, right?

“I’ve been working on different ways to cope when I’m feeling pushed to the edge, but everything has just felt so surreal since then. Like I watched someone else doing it and not me. I don’t know how else to explain it, but thank you. For being my friend and understanding. I feel like most people around me don’t.“

The boy was happy to hear that Farrah’s summer went much better than his was, even if her wagon ride went a bit awry. “Yuck. I'm sorry you had a rough ride. The wagons don't really agree with me either. Peppermint tea, or a bit of ginger will help next time. I can owl mom for some so you have it for break.” He commented, making a mental note to pen a message to her right away. She should probably hear about the MARS thing too.

“Honestly, a cruise is my worst nightmare. I'd choose England any day. I'm so jealous!” He said, leaning forward to make sure no detail was drown out by the feast noise. “Did you go to Buckingham palace and get a photo with the guards? Any TARDIS sightings?! Did you get to see any of the magical parts?” Kellen was so enraptured by Farrah’s trip that he'd almost forgot what kind of day he was having. Until of course she mentioned his pre-feast fiasco.

Kellen rubbed the back of his neck and sat back, slouching a little as he recalled the situation. “So, my mom and I started doing tai chi this summer to help with the...stress. Side bar, if you haven't tried it, we should do it together sometime. It's a lot of fun if you pretend that you're a waterbender while doing it. After I got off the wagon, I went to the sports room to re-center before the feast. The gardens were packed with first years, and I should have just gone to the water room because of my whole water bending fantasy, but no. I chose the sports room.” He paused and looked down the table in both directions to see where Arianna was in relation to the two of them. His pulse quickened when he spotted her and he immediately turned his attention back to Farrah and his tale.

“So I walk in and Arianna is in there levitating these big blocks. I don't need much space to practice, so I asked if I could share the space with her. I asked nicely too, because I don't really do people, you know?” The young Aladren sighed and continued. “So she turns around with this super aggressive Arianna face, and says ‘what would you do if I did mind?’” Kellen said in a very snotty, mocking tone which was nothing like how their house mate actually sounded, but was definitely a reflection of how he felt. He even tossed in the head tilt she'd done. Mean? Maybe, but Kellen wanted to make sure Farrah understood how he felt. “It was just so... unnecessarily hostile and rude.” He shook his head, still in disbelief of what had happened.

“So then, having the magical summer that I did, and being basically denied my ability to use the stupid coping tools I've developed, I just lost it.” He placed an elbow on the table and pressed his palm against his forehead, his fingers thrust into his messy dark hair. “I was like Banshee in X-men number 28. I yelled at her, and said some really awful things.” He sighed again, and lifted his gaze to meet Farrah’s. “I was pretty high on adrenaline, but I think I asked her why she was so unpleasant, mentioned something about her ego filling the whole room…”

His stomach turned again as he thought about the way it felt to spew such hateful words. “I definitely remember telling her not to let me interrupt because she clearly had more important things to do than be a decent human being.” He had both elbows on the table now. “My mom raised me to be better than that. I let weeks worth of trying to control my anger just...slip away. It's frustrating. I can't even look at her without this overwhelming feeling of dread.” He buried his face in his hands and tried to remember his breathing exercises. “I'm sorry dumping all my drama on you.”

5 Kellen I am too. 341 Kellen 0 5

Lina McCarthy

September 25, 2016 8:54 AM

Answers by Lina McCarthy

Lina smiled. Kit was talkative, but that was alright, she seemed friendly at least. Lina did her best to answer the questions in order.

"I'm from this area, I suppose, about halfway between here and Pheonix. A lot closer than Connecticut, anyway. I've never been there, is it nice?" She hoped that when Kit said the Connecticut Reids, she was saying where she was from, not just a family title. Lina had never heard of them.

"I'm pretty excited to be in Aldaren, I'm really looking forward to Potions class. My uncle told me a lot about this place. My parents didn't go, but they were glad to send me. My dad hadn't even heard of it until I was about eight." Lina wondered if it was okay to say this. Kit hadn't talked much about her family. Lina didn't think that people would mind that she came from a family of mostly no-mags, but she didn't know.

"I don't know anyone here yet, it's nice that you have a friend already." Lina wondered if they'd known each other for long before coming here. Would there be a lot of students like that, with friends already?

"I'd like to meet her," she smiled a little nervously, "Thanks for offering." Lina wondered if she should ask something. She thought for a moment then said, "Have you known each other long?"

0 Lina McCarthy Answers 361 Lina McCarthy 0 5

Gia Donovan

September 25, 2016 5:05 PM

Wait, what? I'm.... what? by Gia Donovan

After hanging out in Cascade Hall for a little while and catching up with a few people, Gia had gone up to her dorm room to unpack her trunk and settle herself in before the feast. Coming from Seattle down to Arizona in a full wagon was always a bit hectic and bumpy. She was friendly with most people on there, but that didn’t make the ride feel any less long. Gia liked to take a couple of hours before the feast to really calm down and just relax. Or, maybe talk to Sammy if she happened to be around. But mostly she just wanted to get her area of the room all put together so that she didn’t have to do it either after the feast or the following day after classes.

As the evening drew closer, Gia ran a brush threw her hair and corrected any imperfections with her eye liner. It was weird to her that she was a fifth year now. The oldest of the Intermediate students. She only had a year to go before she was an Advance student and it was a little frightening. She knew that she had a long time before she really had to worry about it, but it was still knowledge that felt quite overwhelming to have. This year, though, was her CATS year and that should really be her focus. Gia was an above average student. People seemed to have picked up on her studying habits considering what awards she had won in the yearbook, which she thought was a little funny as most people didn’t seem to think highly of Pecaris in terms of intelligence. Being a perfect student was incredibly important to her because she wanted to make her mother, and her late father, proud of her.

Gia took a seat at the Pecari table, making sure to sit near one of her friends, and greeting those around her with an added smile because that was the sort of person she was. Friendly with everyone, even if they weren’t friendly with her. Sometimes there were slip ups, like the one with Emmy-Lou that caused the two of them to be labeled worst enemies (a ridiculous thing to vote for as Gia had only ever had that one altercation with her and it was in a moment when she felt emotional and vulnerable), but Gia always tried to make sure she had a smile for everyone.

She listened as the Headmaster began the speech and watched with semi-interest as the first years were sorted into their proper houses, cheering for those who were sorted into Pecari, and waited until the end of the speech so that she could enjoy the spread of food, but as she was clapping for the announcements of the Head students and the Prefects, Gia realized that the Headmaster had said her name. Not Sammy’s or Chuck’s, but hers. Her blue eyes widened in surprise and she quickly looked around to her friends to see their reactions to the news. Gia had never considered herself a candidate for Prefect because Sammy and Chuck were so much more involved and loved by the student body than she was.

Gia slowly stood up and made her way towards the Headmaster to accept her badge. She gave congratulations to the other recipients of the badge, but she was too flabbergasted by her own to really hear any that they gave to her. Gia returned to her seat and spent the remainder of the speech staring at the metal in her hand. She didn’t hear a single thing the Headmaster said after he had called her name, neither did she hear the song, or see the food appear before her. She didn’t look up from the badge until she felt a tap on her arm and a voice registered close to her ears. Looking up, Gia focused on the person addressing her, “I’m sorry, were you saying something?”

6 Gia Donovan Wait, what? I'm.... what? 308 Gia Donovan 0 5

Natalie Varth, Tepp

September 25, 2016 5:56 PM

Here I receive! by Natalie Varth, Tepp

The world of witches and wizards brought many things into Natalie’s life, things she often couldn’t share with her family, but over the summer it overlapped with the muggle world in the form of Gabe and Arianna Valenti. Her best friend at Sonora and his younger cousin, living extremely close to her even by muggle standards, had both travelled to and invited her over many an afternoon. More often than not they passed the time playing quidditch – a pastime they all shared and one she was loathe to give up even for the summer simply because her siblings couldn’t fly- and playing various muggle sports until they’d exhausted themselves and headed to either home to recuperate by eating copious amounts of food and watching old movies.

The wagon ride back to Sonora, though long, was exciting as another great friend of hers, Tess, was on their wagon along with fellow classmate Hippo and several new first years she thought (there were at least four faces she didn’t recognize). Though she meant to introduce herself and see if all the new students were excited and reassure them if they weren’t she ended up only speaking to only one person she hadn’t yet been acquainted with which was Farrah Welsh, Arianna’s roommate. The girl hadn’t said much but that just provoked Nat to talk even more. When she had gotten properly caught up with everybody it seemed the ride was almost over. With their arrival impending, Nat decided getting a nap in might be prudent.

Sitting in the hall, a boy whom she recognized from earlier as being a part of the Northeast wagon, turned yellow and Nat made room next to her on the Teppenpaw bench. He sat down, glancing periodically around the table. She hoped she smiled enough to make him think they were welcoming- she hadn’t met anyone in their house who wasn’t at least somewhat caring, and though she was definitely biased thought that they were definitely the friendliest house. Still, she made no attempt to talk to the boy yet. They sang the school song – Nat, of course, as tone mute as she was tone deaf sang very ill- and broke into the feasting.

When the boy turned to her and asked her opinion of the feast she gave her signature toothygrin and said “Sonora’s food is the best! It always is, and the house elves are very accommodating if you prefer something else.” Nat had recently learned that her sister Andrea might have a gluten allergy and went on to exhale the virtues of the kitchen elves and their bending over backwards to accommodate those who may need special arrangements. “Typically I never ask for anything, though, as what’s presented is always extraordinarily good- even if it does look like congealed green gunk.” With this last comment she winked at the younger boy who now helped himself to the greenery. After a exclamation of approval she smiled, “The kitchen elves never cease to impress, eh?”

She held out her hand and introduced herself. Natalie Varth, Chaser for the quidditch team, third year. “So, where are you from? We were on the same wagon but I failed to introduce myself then, sorry.”

7 Natalie Varth, Tepp Here I receive! 331 Natalie Varth, Tepp 0 5

Farrah

September 25, 2016 8:05 PM

This is what friends are for by Farrah

Farrah felt like her mind was going to explode because Kellen was telling her that there was a type of magic someone could use to read a mind and a type of magic a person could do to protect themselves against it. Did that mean that someone could feel another person attempting to read their mind so that they knew that they had to start practicing the occu-whatever? Or was it something that they just had to constantly do at all times because they could never really know what someone was trying to read her mind? Ugh, there were so many questions that Farrah needed answers to! But she didn’t want to bombard Kellen with all of her questions this evening. She would just have to go to the library and see what she could find on the subject of mind reading and learn what she could that way.

As much as she really loved magic and everything that it had brought to her life in recent years, she found it quite bizarre and sometimes rather gross and creepy. She didn’t understand why they had to do half the things that they did or why it had to be so strange (like the animal parts in potions or even the effect of some of the potions!). She was sure there was some explanation to it all and she was simply just waiting to be told about it.

She nodded as he explained that he had been working on coping methods for his anger. She thought that was probably best. She had heard people say that they would count to ten if they need to calm down or take some deep breaths. Farrah guessed that a lot of people dealt with coping from stressful or angry environments so she could at least understand it from that perspective. “Of course! You don’t have to thank me for that. We’re friends!” She thought it was weird that he felt the need to thank her for being understanding; why wouldn’t she have been?

“Oh, thanks! That would be really cool if you did!” Farrah commented. She hadn’t thought to ask her parents about any sort of motion sickness medicine before she left because it wasn’t really something that she had felt before. She probably could have just asked her mom to send her some herself, but since Kellen offered, she didn’t see the harm in taking it.

“You don’t like cruises?” Farrah asked, her brow furrowing. She had been one before and it had been alright. She was much younger back then though so she might feel differently about them now. She just remembered being able to do a lot of stuff all day long and had never been bored over it. She laughed when he started asking her about London. “We did see the palace, but we didn’t get any pictures with the guards. There were a lot of people around, so my parents didn’t want to wait around.” Farrah explained. “No TARDIS sightings, unfortunately, but probably for the best because I’m not sure I’d want to be around for whatever reason it was that the Doctor was there for.” Farrah said with a grin.

Farrah listened in as Kellen started telling her about what happened before the feast. “Oh…” She managed to say with polite interest at the idea of doing Tai Chi (she had heard of it before but had never done anything like it before) and how doing it could replicate someone attempting to bend the elements. That would be fun to do, she thought. He continued though and as he went on he mentioned Arianna. It could have been the other Arianna, but even so, Farrah’s stomach dropped. She could only imagine where this was going.

As he went on to explain the encounter with possibly her roommate (and Farrah could not deny that it felt an awfully lot like something she would have said and one), her green eyes were wide as she listened with rapture. But the more he spoke, the more he seemed to be filled with self-loathing because of his actions. Farrah frowned and hugged him briefly when he finished. “It’s alright, people sometimes let emotions get the better of them.” Farrah said, trying to be helpful. “If it was my roommate Arianna, she does have a way about her that sets people off in all the wrong ways. She did that to me the first time we spoke too.” Farrah admitted. “I’ve never met anyone who was just so rude to me after just like introducing myself. I don’t know. I think it’s more her than you. I mean, maybe you reacted not in the best way, but you can’t take all the blame for that.”

“Didn’t I tell you not to apologize? We’re friends. Vent all you want, I’ll be doing it to you someday, I’m sure.” She said, giving him a reassuring smile.

6 Farrah This is what friends are for 344 Farrah 0 5

Gabriel Valenti

September 25, 2016 9:23 PM

Some things never change by Gabriel Valenti

Gabe piled into the wagon at the Northeast transportation center and found himself surrounded by friends. Unbothered by the bumps and swerves of the wagon, he cheerfully downed most of the cookies in the tin that his nonni - his grandparents - had packed especially for him, occasionally sharing with the others. When the wagon touched down in Arizona he bounced off the wagon, broom in hand. It was time to go to the Pitch.

He’d flown all summer, of course. Now that he had Nat and Ari to go to the public Pitch with him, his parents didn’t mind dropping him off in a magical place that they could not enter as much. Gabe knew Ari was less excited about the actual flying and mostly just happy to be out of the house and around magic, but he didn’t mind. Gabe thought that the combination of flying, as well as being around Nat and himself, really loosened his cousin up.

His stomach began to grumble, signaling it was time to head back to Teppenpaw common room and wash up before the Opening Feast. Gabe was a third year, everything was becoming routine now. He knew the lay of the land.

Changing into his robes, he ended up arriving at Cascade Hall a bit early. He found his cousin there. Apparently in the time since they had arrived, she had had a bit of a run-in with one of her yearmates. Gabe just couldn’t understand why his cousin had so much trouble with the students in her year. Sure, the Aladren could be bossy, but she appeared to get along with his friends just fine. It just seemed like one of those things Gabe would never understand.

The ceremonies began, and for the first time, Gabe was not quite as invested in the Sorting. Sure, he cheered for all the new Teppenpaws extra loudly. But this was the first year since he had been here that there weren’t any Valentis involved in the Sorting. Of course, it really was lucky that there was more than one Valenti at Sonora at all, given that most of the people in his family were non-magical for about as far off as he could tell.

Once the Sorting was over, Head students were announced, and Gabe gave an extra whoop when Jake was announced as Head Boy. That was his teammate! Jake must be so happy. It was really cool that Teppenpaw had secured Head Boy for two years running now.

Humming along to the school song, so much felt the same about Sonora, but so much had changed. Gabe was a couple inches over five feet now, some of that baby fat that Ma had always promised he would outgrow was starting to fade away. His hair was as messy as ever. And Gabe’s summer had been filled with adventures - his parents let him use the Floo to get to homeschooling at Arianna’s home (although that in itself had been boring), Gabe had caught his older brother, Mattie, throwing a party at their house, and for five-and-a-half days this summer Gabe had had a girlfriend.

He hadn’t been entirely sure how that last one had happened. Amanda had decided all of the terms of the relationship, from when it started, to when he was supposed to hold her hand, when he was definitely not supposed to hold her hand, to when it ended. But Gabe had really enjoyed playing soccer with her and the other members of Emma’s summer soccer team, although he had been extremely confused when Amanda announced in front of everyone that they were over, and that Gabe could not attend practices anymore. Emma had been unable to provide any additional detail as to the reasoning behind The Breakup. As for Gabe, he was relieved. He didn’t have to worry about planning a date, or making sure Amanda was happy, or trying to figure out what Amanda expected from him as a boyfriend anymore. It had been a very exhausting almost-week.

The song was soon over, and then Gabe’s favorite part of the ceremony happened - the Feast appeared. The newly-minted intermediate student grinned.

“Heya,” he greeted the kid next to him in his usual friendly tone, “D’ya mind passing me that platter of quesadillas over there? They look delicious!”

0 Gabriel Valenti Some things never change 330 Gabriel Valenti 0 5

Winston Pierce

September 25, 2016 10:22 PM

My art tutor said it was warm. by Winston Pierce

By the time the tour commenced, Winston's nausea was greatly diminished. By the time they finished visiting what had to be every last corridor in the school (if he hadn't had his map for consultation, he'd have been entirely lost and turned around) he had not only recovered fully from his bout with wagon-sickness, but had become famished. His small plate of crackers had done very little satisfy his nutritional requirements and now that his stomach had returned to normal functionality, it was demanding to be filled.

Finally, they ended up in the Cascade Hall, which would have been really impressive to look at if Winston had been any less anxious about his sorting and not quite so starving. As it was, he just wanted to get all this preliminary stuff done with so he could sit down and eat.

Fortunately, the Headmaster didn't talk long before the sorting ceremony began. Winston managed, with effort, not to fidget while awaiting his turn, and finally he accepted the goblet from the woman introduced as Deputy Headmistress Skies. He'd recognized this name, and had been expecting it. Skies had been the actual Headmistress of his mother's school so, for the first time since getting on the wagon, he felt he had a connection to this school that did not have to go through Thaddeus.

He took a sip of the potion and handed back the goblet, watching his skin darken into a decidedly crimson hue even as he did so. He smiled. Crotalus.

More importantly, not Aladren. Aladren was the home of Thaddeus and The Other Alicia. Neither was it Pecari. Pecari was the home of the Anns. And most thankfully, it was not Teppenpaw. Teppenpaw was the home of Derwent the Fourth, who had abandoned his home, birthright, and proper family in favor of the liberals in Boston.

Crotalus, by contrast, was a House that could be all his own. (The dead woman did not count; she was dead in the first place, and hadn't been a student here in any event, having gone to Salem like his mother, so her position in Crotalus had been merely appointed rather than earned properly.) Plus, it was the one House Father had said looked the most promising for making good connections, so his mission was firmly back on track after the disaster that was his wagon ride. Things were looking up.

Feeling confident again finally, Winston headed over to the Crotalus table, and sat down beside another red skinned first year, feeling less ridiculous about his own unnatural skin tone by sharing it with another. "Hello," he greeted quietly as the sorting continued, but he'd been toward the back of the line so it wasn't long before the Headmaster picked up his speech again.

Winston had no interest in who because student authorities yet, and wished the new badge wearing individuals would walk a little faster so they could all get to the eating part of the night. But then there was more talking (thankfully not much) and then singing (Winston tried, but his sheet-music sight-reading was not very good and the tune was unfamiliar to him), and then, finally there was food.

Winston reached immediately for a roll and took a bite without even bothering to butter it, as his first glance showed this course of action would get something in his stomach faster than any other choice available to him. Once he had chewed and swallowed, and took another bite to savor more thoroughly, he set to the task of filling his plate with much more decorum.

His neighbor asked for some sausages, so he nodded, handed them over, and swallowed his current mouthful of bread before returning the introduction. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Winston Pierce of the New Hampshire Pierces." There may have been a very slight emphasis on his state as the other two branches were also supposed to be represented at this school currently, and he wanted everyone to know he was from the proper one.

"So I guess we will be rooming together?" he presumed, based on what the Herbology professor had said. "I've never shared a room before. Have you?"

1 Winston Pierce My art tutor said it was warm. 370 Winston Pierce 0 5

Cassandra King, Pecari

September 26, 2016 2:31 AM

What a bounty! (I'm referring here to my fair schoolmates) by Cassandra King, Pecari

The summer had been dull. Sure, Cassandra had been able to use the kitchen at home and relieve some of the boredom but it was still only some. The only thing that would soothe her restless spirit was some company. And not that of her parents’. Jocelyn refused to come over, choosing those of higher status over her lowly cousin. There was her sister, Claire, to keep her company but Claire- the sporty thing- was less interested in the act of braiding hair and more interested in it simply being out of her face. In order to play soccer. Cassandra went pale when Claire once suggested they kick a ball around. Claire had shrugged and never put it on the table again. Usually there were no ill feelings between the two despite the fact that they shared nothing in common, but this summer Claire never delivered where it truly mattered. She had no dearth of friends but she never brought any over.

Which meant that all summer long Cass had no girls to admire.

What Cass would have given to have just one of Claire’s many friends come over and simply let Cass braid their hair and listen to them talk about their day. It was so calming, so warm, so friendly. The fact that they smelled lovely and that Cassandra was able to appreciate their beauty wasn’t the driving factor in this want of hers. She would –and did- settle for doing the same with Jocelyn where there was no attraction, she was family. Back at Sonora she had the opportunity to braid her roommates’ hair, and have sleepovers every night –thank goodness for boarding schools!- though she never took advantage of it. Maybe this year she would try to approach the Pecari goddesses and get friendlier with them. She was sure that her roommates would never want to get friendly in the exact manner Cassandra hoped someone would, but that wasn’t necessary. Simply making girls happy made her happy, and the want for more was, maybe not outright rare, but definitely quelled when there was friendship available instead. She could be distracted.

She was distracted now. Finally back at Sonora, where the fairer sex was plentiful/the eye candy was abundant, Cass lost herself in the joys a pretty face could bestow. And, lord, she had a whole hall on which to gaze! The key, though, to not startling the dears was to not linger on anyone particular for too long and to absolutely not stare at one that was too close. Which meant that she often had no idea who she was sitting next to, or even if they were a boy or girl.

So it was often jostling when someone broke her reverie and tried to engage her in conversation, even if what was only to pass something on the table at feasts. She should maybe, possibly pay more attention to her surroundings at feasts at least. People could get testy being ignored when food was involved.

Someone had gotten her attention now- not quite releasing her gaze from an older blonde at the Crotalus table, she started to turn her head and replied, “Sorry, what was that? Was I to pass something?” thinking that the most likely reason for anyone to disturb her given their setting. Unless it was a first year, she figured they weren’t looking to make new friends. It seemed everybody but her (and maybe Jocelyn but for very different reasons) had done well in the friend department already.

7 Cassandra King, Pecari What a bounty! (I'm referring here to my fair schoolmates) 355 Cassandra King, Pecari 0 5

Kellen

September 26, 2016 1:02 PM

Well, thanks for being mine. by Kellen

He didn’t doubt their friendship, but somehow just having Farrah confirm it made Kellen feel a little bit better. Terrible people generally weren’t generally friends with people as nice as Farrah, so that had to say something, right?

“I’m glad we’re friends.” He added, just in case she didn’t realize how grateful he was for her. He was also glad that she accepted his offer of stomach soothing remedies. Ever since he could remember, he’d been helping out around his mother’s shop, so some of the information about the different ingredients, potions, and tinctures stuck with him. He liked feeling useful, so he was happy that some of his knowledge could be used to help Farrah feel better.

“It’s not so much the cruise itself, because I hear that you don’t really feel like you’re on a boat because they are so big, but...I really hate water. Like, any water outside of the bath. I can just picture going on a cruise, everyone else having a good time, and me sitting in a lifeboat to ensure I have a spot, while wearing a life jacket the entire time. I guess I just worry too much about weird things.” He admitted, rubbing his neck. “Like deep, dark, open water.” He shuttered at the idea of it, but pressed on in hopes of explaining himself. “I don’t like not knowing what’s lurking just beneath the surface, and drowning sounds like the worst death. I admire those who can go and have fun in it though. I actually willingly got into our pool this summer, which was a huge step.”

Kellen probably didn’t need to explain all of that, but he had, and it’s not like he could just put the words back in his mouth. He had a problem with over explaining things, but that was just how his brain worked. He nodded as Farrah explained that she didn’t get any guard photos, and why not seeing a TARDIS was probably a good thing.

“I guess that is a pretty touristy thing to do, I can see why that would be kind of a crazy wait. Too bad about the blue box though. Who knows, maybe he could have picked you as the next companion. A timelord and a witch. Kind of an interesting combo.” He said with a smile. This was one of his favorite things about his friendship with Farrah. His nerdy muggle culture references weren’t lost on her.

As Farrah hugged him, even briefly, Kellen’s large ears reddened slightly. He was both happy it was over quickly, and sad that he hadn’t expected it enough to hug her back properly. He hoped he didn’t seem to stiff or unappreciative, he’d only ever been hugged by his mom or her parents. Well, sometimes Mrs. Bailey who owned the coffee shop next to the apothecary would hug him, but he could count the number of people he’d hugged on one hand. As she explained her initial interaction with Arianna, he started to feel better about his own encounter, but also a little unhappy that she’d been rude to Farrah too.

“I’m glad I don’t have roommates. I’m sorry yours is awful.” He said, confirming that it had been Arianna the Aladren and not the other one who he’d had the misfortune of meeting. She was right, it didn’t justify his actions, but at least he knew that he wasn’t the only offended by the way Arianna chose to treat people. “I guess dwelling on it won’t really help anything, all I can do is let it go, and do better next time.” He said resolutely. “I’m bad about apologizing. Probably a byproduct of my weird family life, so I’m apologizing for apologizing too much, you know, in advance. But I’m all ears, no pun intended, if you need me to be.”

5 Kellen Well, thanks for being mine. 341 Kellen 0 5

Madeleine Dautin & Flora Deschamps

September 26, 2016 2:40 PM

Are Always Afoot by Madeleine Dautin & Flora Deschamps

Arianna had confidence and Farrah had class. But neither one was French or Lily Spencer and so Madeleine wasn’t sure if she necessarily liked either one of them more than the other. In the grand scheme of things, however, Farrah shared Madeleine’s love of travelling and had written her a couple times over the summer whilst Arianna had been off doing…well whatever it was that Muggleborns did when they didn’t have magic to amuse them, so she supposed that if she was going to be friends with one of her roommates, Farrah was the obvious choice. Which was why it worried Flora (who had since relaxed about Madeleine’s interactions with Farrah after a couple letters had been exchanged) when Madeleine saw the Suspicious One writing the Less Suspicious One a note.

After the long journey to Sonora on which Madeleine had happily been sitting with Lily Spencer—who had been the one to seek her out!—and Bastien, she had been tired and gone to her room for a nap. It was around midnight in Paris and if she didn’t want to be completely exhausted in lessons the next day she knew that a nap was in order. However, it was upon waking and going to the bathroom to fresh up before dinner, that Madeleine had noticed that Arianna had arrived to the dorm. The door to the bathroom was mostly closed, and Madeleine had hovered on the other side, grateful that from her vantage point she could mostly see what Arianna was doing.

Nudity was not a big deal in France and so she hadn’t completely averted her eyes as Arianna changed into a nice dress—black, Madeleine did have to admit that no matter what, Arianna could dress herself well from time to time—and was rather keeping her focus on the scene as an entirety, trying to notice if there was anything else going on that she might need to be aware of. A suspicious murder weapon hiding in Arianna’s suitcase, for example. Flora had solved the case of the Finnish minister’s death, as it turned out it had been a murder-suicide pact with his mistress, but she was still certain that Arianna was somehow covering up for them. Disappointed at not finding anything, Flora had resigned herself to stepping out so that she, too, could get ready.

And then, Arianna had sat down with a notepad and began to write. This, this could be interesting. She had waited as Arianna finished the note, placed it on Farrah’s nightstand, and left the room, and then she had quietly crept out of the bathroom, grateful that her slippers were so soft and minimised the noise of even bare-feet on wood. And that was how she came to be crouched on the other side of her bed from Farrah’s, wand out, casting a small spell so that the note would ‘slip’ off the table onto the floor and she could summon it. Madeleine did not want to have to explain to a waking Farrah why she was standing over her nightstand reading a note addressed to her, after all.

Her eyes scanned the note quickly and her heart sank. Was Farrah in cahoots with the Suspicious One? It felt as though their entire, slight friendship had been a lie! The note implied that Arianna suspected Flora as being a spy and needed to meet with Farrah to discuss their next move. What it was, Flora could not be certain. She had not heard of any new plots afoot, that was for sure, and so she decided to do what any reasonable, twelve year old international super-spy would do. She put the note under Madeleine’s pillow and got dressed in a lacy dress, black of course because she was on a mission, tied her favourite black velvet ribbon into her hair so that the loops flopped over to the same side as her part. Flora then walked over to Farrah’s bed, retrieving the note first, and quietly dropped it to the side of the nightstand as she leaned over her sleeping roommate to give her a little poke.

“Hey,” she said in that voice one used to talk to sleeping people. “It’ll be time for the feast soon, I’m on my way out and didn’t want you to over sleep.” She gave Farrah her best, friendly smile, the sort that Lily Spencer evoked simply by being, and ducked out. Even if Farrah was on the same side as Arianna, Flora could not afford for her to be suspicious and so she would continue business as usual until all inevitably had to be revealed and went to find Arianna to see if she couldn’t do a bit of recon and find out exactly what it as the Suspicious One knew.

Flora found a spot at the Aladren table to watch and wait for Arianna quietly, and just as Headmaster Brockert started the speech, she moved to sit next to Madeleine’s roommate so that the witch couldn’t run. And, just as suspected, the first thing Arianna asked her when they were allowed to talk again was whether or not Flora had seen Farrah. Well, she supposed Arianna was really asking Madeleine unless she knew of her secret identity, but then again Flora really couldn’t be sure exactly what it was that Arianna knew other than that it was Something.

“She was sleeping,” Flora replied, her accent thicker than it had been when she’d left Sonora the previous spring. A summer of speaking only French on a daily basis would do that to a voice. “I woke her up before I came down though, didn’t want her to miss the feast.” She gave Arianna a smile—not too friendly as Flora knew that Madeleine still wasn’t on complete good terms with the Suspicious One but rather simply civil terms, and put some crudités on her plate to begin. “Why? Do you think she’ll not make dinner?”

She let her forehead be confused and her face to look slightly curious. It wouldn’t do to be demanding, she was playing the part of an innocent French schoolgirl who cared enough about her roommates to be concerned whether or not they missed dinner.

10 Madeleine Dautin & Flora Deschamps Are Always Afoot 340 Madeleine Dautin & Flora Deschamps 0 5

Aiden O'Neil

September 26, 2016 8:10 PM

Making small talk by Aiden O'Neil

Aiden’s summer had been pretty splendid all things considered. His family had spent part of the summer with the O’Neils because one of his older cousins were getting married and Aiden had to attend the wedding. That part of his summer was a bit boring. He used to enjoy spending time with his cousins, but since he was the youngest of the bunch, he didn’t have too much in common with any of them anymore. They were all in college or working in the field and now they were getting married and starting families. He just wasn’t into that sort of thing right now.

He did think about the future, he wasn’t completely stupid. CATS exams had just happened for him and he had been nervous about the results. As he had predicted, he had pretty much just skidded his way through all of his lessons. He had no idea why Savannah helped him so much when he was clearly a dunce. But it was because of her help with his studying that he had managed to pass at all, so he was rather thankful about it. His parents were exactly happy by the marks, but they weren’t completely disappointed either, so he thought that was a win.

His parents were actually being rather nice about everything, if he were honest. His parents were always nice, they spoiled him pretty good being that he was their only child, but they definitely should have been a little stricter with him regarding his grades. Instead, they were rather pleased by the progress he had made this year. His progress being the fact that he had told him that he was now dating Savannah Brockert. It had happened the night of the ball and even now, months later, he was still wrapping his mind around it. But that night, after an evening of dancing and laughing, Aiden was walking her back to Teppenpaw Common Room when he kissed her and she had kissed him back. And that was that.

So, after he had to deal with all that wedding stuff, his parents had allowed him to make plans with Savannah so that he could see her that summer. They had decided on the weekend where Scarlett would be off hanging out with the girls for Joella’s sixteenth birthday party. To say that Aiden was nervous about meeting her family would be an understatement. Aiden was a wreck. His parent found it rather amusing but did their best to calm his nerves by small talking with her parents for a bit until Aiden felt comfortable enough to head out alone with Savannah without feeling like he was going to be hexed. Although it was only for a few hours, he still made the best of his time with her and he was glad that he faced potential death of meeting her parents to get a chance to see Savannah.

The ride back to school was the same and he chatted with some people along the way. It was always weird to him that Liac was on the wagon but Tobi wasn’t considering how close the two of them were. One would have thought Aiden would grow used to it, but he hadn’t. After the long ride, Aiden had hopped off the wagon and gone to the dorm to sleep. He hated getting up so early to catch the wagon after many nights of staying up late, so he was exhausted and his body hurt from the ride. He needed a long nap before stuffing his face.

But now the feast was upon him and he was feeling quite refreshed! Aiden wandered down to the hall and found a seat beside his girlfriend. He grinned at her but didn’t get a chance to say much else because he was apparently later than he thought as the speeches were starting. He clapped along with everyone else for the sorting and the announcements (happy for Jake since he thought they were kind of friends and for Jemima since she was the new Tepp Prefect). He was a little jealous that people could pick up on Muggle Studies, he always wanted to learn about that, but he was excited for his Head of House getting his new position. He thought that was kind of cool.

“Pretty cool that Professor Xavier is like a Professor now.” Aiden commented, not specifying who he was speaking to. “Too bad that it’s not really something I can start into now though.”

6 Aiden O'Neil Making small talk 287 Aiden O'Neil 0 5

Jake Manger

September 26, 2016 8:49 PM

That's certainly a warm welcome back! by Jake Manger

Coming back to school this year, everything felt different, particularly because Duncan had graduated, which once again left Jake without a roommate. He was probably the only student who had managed not to have a roommate to go and request one, and it had resulted in a best friendship with the boy in the year above him. But now Jake was a seventh year, so there was no year above him, and he was alone again.

He had taken some precautions this year so that he wouldn’t feel so lonely in his room. Jake figured it was too late to comfortably move in with the sixth years, especially since there were three of them who had already become friends over the years. He thought all three were nice and felt decently close with Aiden, but it was still kinda weird to move in now, and only for a single year. So instead, Jake supplied his own roommate, an orange tabby named Hotsauce. Not dissimilar to his owner, Hotsauce was a bit on the smaller side (though Jake was finally taller than his mom, which was, for him, an accomplishment) and quite energetic. The two of them, the Teppenpaw was certain, would be great companions.

He didn’t put in an effort to immediately find and hang out with his girlfriend (<3) since he knew Ginger had a sort of ritual of meeting up with Jemima and Lauren and might want to carry that over to the Feast. So Jake settled Hotsauce into their new home and just found himself a seat at their House table and let the universe progress as it would. If she found him, that was more than okay, but if not, that was fine for now too. He was sure to see her later, anyway.

Jake watched with mild interest as the first years got Sorted. Every year he got bigger, and every year they seemed so much smaller. He didn’t immediately recognize any faces, but given the size of Ryan’s family, he figured there was a solid chance that some of the first years were related to his step-brother and therefore related to him. Plus, it was oddly fun to watch these little colorful people skitter about as they tried to assimilate into their new families. He flashed a smile to a bright-yellow kid now settling in not too far from him.

Then came the surprise.

Him? Head Boy? Whoa! Jake had, obviously, voted for himself because he thought it’d be cool and because, honestly, he felt he could do a good job, but he’d never really expected to get it. He had sort of expected it to go to Clark. But his peers had picked him! The dark-haired boy couldn’t wait to write home about it. Mom was going to be so proud! He remembered how thrilled she had been when Arnold sent word about his badge, and she had even been excited that Jake was Prefect, even though there weren’t really any other options.

The Head Girl, Chaslyn, wasn’t someone he knew terrifically well, but she was a closer cousin of Ryan’s, so naturally they knew each other at least a bit. That combined with his general enthusiasm and excitement for the situation led him to a quick hug as he met her by the Headmaster. He hadn’t heard the Prefect announcement but saw Jemima coming up behind, and he gave her a hug, too. On his way back to the table, he looked for Ginger to gauge her reaction, although he doubted she would be too upset about not winning since the winner was her friend and Ginger already had the Assistant Captaincy for Quidditch. He looked to her expecting a huge smile for both of her winning friends.

Settled back in, he listened quietly to the staff announcements and noted idly the existence of a fair. There wouldn’t be details for a while, so he resigned it to the back of his mind. Then the song came and went, Jake lending his shaky but not unpleasant tenor to the choir of varying talents, and it was food time. He helped himself to a plate primarily consisting of macaroni and cheese, dotted with meager representatives of other food groups, such as a piece of chicken and a single broccoli tree. Because, you know, he was a legal adult. “So,” he smiled casually to a neighbor between bites, “What do you think? Gonna pick up Muggle Studies?”

OOC: Godmodding of Chaslyn and Jemima approved by their respective authors.

12 Jake Manger That's certainly a warm welcome back! 280 Jake Manger 0 5

Makenzie Newell

September 27, 2016 3:25 AM

Strangely happy [Araceli] by Makenzie Newell

Makenzie wasn’t really sure how long she spent with Tobi in the Gardens, but it was quite peaceful and had her more at ease than she had been in a long time. Even seeing Araceli over summer had not calmed her this much, mostly because she was instinctively terrified of Araceli’s parents. Knowing what they had done to their own daughters did not instill the highest sense of trust for a virtual stranger who, while friends with their daughter, was still from a family of disgrace.

Just her and Tobi, who barely knew her but already had more faith in her than most people she had grown up would ever have, there were no restrictions or pressures like that. They were alone for a while until she realized that time had decisively passed and it had to be time for the Feast by now. Still, despite the time press, Makenzie felt no compelling need to run or anything like that, so she strolled merrily out of the Gardens and to the Cascade Hall, her hand tucked safely and happily in Tobi’s.

They arrived around the time Sortings were about to begin, so she gave his hand a quick squeeze and offered a hopeful, “I’ll see you later?” before heading to the Crotalus table. She was pleased to see an open spot by Araceli and quietly slipped into it. “Hi,” she whispered beneath the footsteps of nervous first years skitting about to join their new tables. There was a smile on her lips that she hadn’t worn in awhile, one that matched the butterflies in her stomach. She was unaware if anyone was staring at her, something that a couple hours ago was a fear that had her in tears.

The Badges went out, the fair was announced, the staff changes were discussed, but none of it was of particular interest to Makenzie, so she didn’t really listen much. Nor did the song, but it was a bit hard to tune out when, even the untrained ear could tell, not everyone was going to be on key. When it passed and food arrived, Makenzie looked eagerly about at what had appeared before her. She’d done her best in the past to hide her hunger and eat minimally, like a lady, but who cared now, right? “Can you pass me that?” she asked Araceli, gesturing to a plate just out of her own reach.

OOC: Any godmodding of Tobi was approved by his author.

12 Makenzie Newell Strangely happy [Araceli] 291 Makenzie Newell 0 5

Araceli Arbon

September 27, 2016 3:46 AM

Opening feast, open mouthed by Araceli Arbon

Araceli was on one of the last wagons to arrive, coming from way out east. She had gone to their dorm but not found Makenzie in, so had taken a seat in the common room with a book - close enough if her preferred room-mate came back but far enough away to avoid one on one time with Shino, unless the girl was rude enough to interrupt her reading. Hopefully their other room-mate was feeling disoriented and tired from the change of timezone and not in a conversational mood. Araceli preferred Shino when she didn’t feel like sticking her nasty little nose into other people’s business, though sadly that seemed to be a rare occurrence.

But Makenzie hadn’t come up, so eventually Araceli had gone down, making sure to save a space for her friend when she found that she’d arrived first. She was excited to see her again. During their tea party, she had felt listened in on by the paintings and the house elf, all of which were very loyal to father. She hadn’t dared to bring up her own triumph, the part she’d played in getting Makenzie over for tea, lest the ways her family managed her father got back to him and thus were rendered ineffective. She was excited to tell her though. Araceli had rarely felt like a more powerful person than she had then. This year, she thought, might truly be different She might manage to not just speak but to actually speak her mind. However, this topic was driven from her mind, and her mouth formed a little ‘o’ of surprise as her room-mate entered hand in hand with a boy. She wasn’t quite sure what to think. Certainly Makenzie didn’t seem to want to avoid everyone’s attention, as she would have expected.

Makenzie came and sat by her, but there was the sorting and all the other business to go through before they had a chance to talk. And when they did, Makenzie’s first words were a request for a dish of food, as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. Araceli passed it over silently, helping herself to some smoked salmon whilst she tried to form an appropriate question.

“Ar- Are you and Tobi an item?” she stammered out. It definitely wasn’t the first subject she’d imagined them talking about but it certainly seemed the most pressing now. She hadn’t even really thought he and Makenzie were friends, let alone more!

13 Araceli Arbon Opening feast, open mouthed 290 Araceli Arbon 0 5

Jack Spencer

September 27, 2016 4:38 AM

Another year wiser. by Jack Spencer

The wagon was always Jack’s least favourite part of travelling, but like every year he joined the other international students in the enclosed space. Lily went to sit with her mates and Jack sat next to Barnaby for a chat. Summer had been rather eventful. His eldest brother was now engaged and had moved into a flat with his fiancée. That left Charlotte rather lonely in her flat despite the cat she had still roaming its rooms, so Jack had taken to visiting her often. His sister ran in the upper class London social circles now and had introduced him to a few of her new friends. One of those friends had taken a liking to him and had brought her sister along to one of their parties.

Jack and Ruby had got on right away and had spent a very lovely two months doing loads of activities together. He missed her after seeing her nearly every single day during the summer. She was a friendly witch, loyal but independent and ambitious. She liked being active and doing something fun rather than drinking tea and chatting like so many of the witches he knew. It made Jack see Lily a little differently and appreciate her active spirit a bit more.

The wagon came to a stop and Jack felt the familiar nausea in the pit of his stomach. He stepped out, eager for fresh air, before following the crowd to Cascade Hall for another feast. The delicious aroma of different foods made Jack’s stomach grumble. He put a hand on his stomach and sat down with his house-mates. Jack was looking forward to this new academic year. The thought of CATS made him a little anxious, but it was going to be a good challenge for him.

There was the high possibility of becoming Prefect as well, but Jack was up against his room-mates. As Barnaby was quite active and popular in school, Jack saw him as his biggest competition. He would have to work hard to socialise more if he wanted to be Head Boy like his brother. As the Headmaster made his usual introductions, Jack crossed his fingers underneath the table in a very uncharacteristic show of superstition. He really wanted it, he believed, more than anyone else. So when his name was the first to be called, he almost didn’t recognise ‘John Spencer’. It hit him a second later and Jack stood up to join the others at the front to receive his badge. He felt as though he was watching himself float on air up to the front to stand next to the other Prefects. Pride swelled in him as he pinned the badge onto his uniform, but he noticed he was the only wizard this year. It made him feel slightly uncomfortable, but he didn’t think it would deter him from doing the best job he could.

Jack returned to his seat, still walking on air, and sang the school song with renewed enthusiasm. After all the formalities were done with, Jack looked around at his house-mates with pride. Aladren was the best house no matter what anyone else might say.

“My summer was lovely, thanks,” he replied as he poured himself some soothing tea for his stomach. “My brother got engaged. He and his girlfriend, Ginny, actually met here at Sonora.” The thought that his brother was going to be a married man still hadn’t sunk in fully, so Jack didn’t think much of it. “What about you? How was your summer, Louis?” He was so used to calling his team-mates by their surnames on the pitch he had to consciously remember to address them by their given name.

40 Jack Spencer Another year wiser. 299 Jack Spencer 0 5

Lily Spencer

September 27, 2016 4:01 PM

Glad to have some form of normalcy back in my life. by Lily Spencer

This summer had been very odd. Lily had been ecstatic to hear Adam’s plans to ask Ginny to marry him, but after the event he’d practically disappeared into his new flat with his fiancée. Lily felt the emptiness. She hardly saw him now, except during the family dinners on Sundays that Mum still strictly enforced when they were all back in London. Lily missed him terribly, but she wanted him to be happy. He’d promised to always be there still when she needed him, so she used that to console herself when she felt lonely at home.

A distant relative had come to visit Mum as well, a witch who dressed in trousers and had cropped hair like a wizard’s. She’d brought another witch along and the two of them were so unlike anyone other couple she’d ever seen that Lily couldn’t help but stare and sneakily follow them around during their brief stay. Later Jack told her they were lesbians and had to explain what that was in detail when Lily demanded it. She was confused about why it mattered so much the way one dressed, as if that was supposed to give off some sort of message to the rest of the world. She could care less, really, about what the world thought of her based on her outfits. Lily stubbornly stuck to her trousers and shirts and flannels because that’s what she wanted to wear.

As if those events weren’t enough, Jack had made a new friend who evidently had some influence on him. He’d become more patient with Lily over the course of the summer, something she never would have imagined given his usual annoyances with her idiosyncrasies. She’d even spilt chocolate onto herself once just to test him, but all he’d done was sigh and call a house-elf to clean her up. He didn’t even roll his eyes! Either he was madly in love just like Adam or he was consistently under the effects of a Calming Draught.

The most shocking news, however, which had happened right before the beginning of the school year, was that her beautiful sister, Charlotte, had volunteered to take Lily to the hair salon. When Lily had told her exactly how she’d wanted it - short - Charlotte didn’t bat an eye. And she’d let her do it. Lily’s long hair was now at chin length and she absolutely loved it.

Though everything had been more than pleasant, Lily didn’t know what to think of the past three months, so she was glad for the interruption of school. She hopped on to the wagon and sat down next to Madeleine and her friend’s friend Sebastien. She had brought her new pet, a Puffskein named Rosie, and was an amiable chatterbox the entire way through. Towards the end hunger began to kick in and she ran out of words to say that didn’t relate to the types of food they would have at the feast.

This year she was a second year and she was very glad to not be the youngest class. Once she was out of the carriage, she bid her friends goodbye to join the other Pecaris at their table. She loved her house almost as much as she loved her home back in London. During the Headmaster’s speech, the mention of Prefects made Lily’s eyes go wide. She clapped enthusiastically for her brother as he received his Prefect badge, feeling proud of him for once. He wasn’t that incorrigible now that they were older.

Once the song had been sung, Lily piled food onto her plate like it would disappear. She bit into a potsticker dumpling, so easily pleased by delicious food. She was enjoying her meal so much she almost didn’t hear someone talking to her. “Sorry?” As she turned her head, she accidentally hit Rosie in the face with her hair and the Puffskein made a little sound of discontentment. Lily plucked the creature from her shoulder and put her on the seat next to her. “This is my new pet, Rosie,” she explained, smiling at her neighbour. “I just got her this summer.”

40 Lily Spencer Glad to have some form of normalcy back in my life. 357 Lily Spencer 0 5

Gwen Fintoc

September 27, 2016 7:15 PM

Please don't be! by Gwen Fintoc

Gwen felt as though it she’d had to wait forever and a day for her turn to start at Sonora, her yearning to do so having been kickstarted at the age of six when Chuck had been the first one to go (even though he technically wasn’t the oldest of their generation) and then this had secretly turned into something more like impatience by the time Daniel had joined him at the school in Arizona two years later, leaving Gwen behind to continue being lumped with all the younger kids.

But she was here now and it was oh so very magical, far more so than she could have imagined based on what her cousins told her. When it came to Sonora, the boys had never quite managed to satisfy her with their tales, which was rather funny because neither of them were the type to shy away from the limelight and the both of them had always been good at telling stories. Gwen thought that maybe it was because Chuck didn’t really care about anything other than that relating the ranch enough to be passionate about it and Daniel had become so averse to the idea of appearing childish that he wouldn’t admit there was more to school than studying and being popular (not that he had outright claimed to be so, but the way he threw around names so nonchalantly suggested he wanted his cousins to know how well-connected he had become).

Gwen felt a slight weight on her shoulders being the first of the girls to conquer Sonora but more than anything she felt proud, and free (but she would never admit to that feeling because it would suggest that she’d felt trapped at home and that would be very hurtful for her family to hear). She knew that Chuck would never understand it but she was sure Daniel would, if only he hadn’t grown out of her so easily. The first year had always felt a closer connection to Daniel because of their shared secret, even if it was Chuck she could turn to when she was upset (he gave the best cuddles) and he who had the ability to make her sides hurt with laughter, and it was perhaps for this reason that she’d presumed that Crotalus was the house for her.

The respectable house, she’d heard it called, and that was ever so appealing. She had the best chance of success in that house by the sounds of it, and that was success on her terms and in the way she wanted it - although the idea of ever saying that to Granddaddy Fintoc did sound so awfully rebellious that she wondered if she should really be thinking it in the first place.

Gwen knew she could rule out Aladren pretty easily as an option for her because if Daniel’s intelligence wasn’t enough to get him there then there was no chance of any Fintoc finding themselves in that house. Sticking to her family’s stereotype by joining Chuck in Pecari actually seemed very unlikely - if there were any traits relating to that house she might possess in great quantity, she was very keen to grow out of them as fast as possible. In thinking that she did not intend to offend anyone, since the majority of her family seemed to fall in that category, but even so she knew it was the kind of thing best kept to oneself - especially since not everyone was as thick-skinned as Chuck so admirably was.

Upon tearing her eyes away from the waterfalls cascading down the walls (clearly the room’s namesake), the petite redhead scanned the mass of students in search of anyone familiar. There were a few more people besides her cousins that she would recognise and this made her feel rather special. Over the summer she had had the good fortune to meet Louis Valois, the fashion royalty just so happening to be Emmy-Lou’s best friend (although in all fairness Emmy-Lou was also getting to be a pretty big deal herself), and she was keen to see him again even if she did fear that just the sight of him would cause her to blush.

She recalled her attention to the sorting goblet as it grew closer to her. She took it carefully, rather wishing she had paid more attention to the sorting of her peers rather than trying to get a glimpse of a really handsome older boy who probably had better things to do that entertain eleven (almost twelve!) year old girls. Gwen watched as her skin turned yellow.

Teppenpaw.

For a moment all Gwen could do was wonder why she wasn’t good enough for Crotalus, but then her own ridiculousness hit her. Teppenpaw was the good house, right? She should probably feel flattered, honoured even, that she was considered a good enough person to be placed in such a house, whose members were known for being kind and caring.

She wore her best smile as she joined her new housemates at the Teppenpaw table because she wanted them to agree that she was one of them and she wanted them to like her. She took a seat and immediately realised the girl opposite her was also a first year, given her yellow face. She directed her smile towards her before being distracted by the announcements made by the headmaster, followed by the school song which she enjoyed.

“Of course,” Gwen said brightly and diligently passed the requested chicken, smiling again in response to her new roommate. “I’m Gwen Fintoc of the Colorado Fintocs. We’ll be sharing a room together! Isn’t it so exciting to be here?” Perhaps it was to early to be excited about that given that Gwen didn't actually know the girl but she seemed nice, and going on what she knew of their house you couldn’t exactly be otherwise if you were in it.

There was so much more that she wanted to say and so many questions she wanted to ask but it wasn’t polite or ladylike to bombard people with too much chatter and she knew there would be plenty of time to get to know her roommate. Instead Gwen helped herself to the roast potatoes and waited to find out her potential friend’s name.

8 Gwen Fintoc Please don't be! 364 Gwen Fintoc 0 5

Farrah

September 27, 2016 9:52 PM

You're welcome! Thank you for being mine too! by Farrah

Farrah was rather surprised to hear that Kellen was scared of water. She thought that was really quite sad because there was so much fun a person could have when it came to water. There was swimming, of course, snorkeling, water skiing, rafting, tubing, and she had heard scuba diving was fun. Plus there were like tourist things she had done like swimming with dolphins and meeting with stingrays. Did his fear also translate into things like aquariums? Farrah loved aquariums! She found the various sea creatures and coral reefs to be quite beautiful. She knew that she got her love of creatures from her father as he had exposed her to such things at a young age with his clinic. It always threw her when someone didn’t also like the same things as she did.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize that you were afraid of water.” She replied. “Are you also afraid of ice rinks?” She asked. Farrah’s favorite thing in the whole wide world was ice skating. She was thinking of asking her friends if maybe they’d like to join her in the water room some time to have a little fun on the ice but if Kellen was afraid of water than there was also the chance that he was afraid of ice and then he wouldn’t want to join and so it would be pointless because she would want to hang out with all of her friends.

“I guess I didn’t think about the fact that I could have been made a companion…” Farrah replied, her eyes drifting slightly as she thought about what it would be like to be his companion. Perhaps not the Twelfth Doctor’s companion because she wasn’t as big of a fan as she was to the Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Doctors. There was just something about him that she didn’t quite like. But she had also not really liked the Eleventh doctor for the first few episodes, but she had to require adapting to the personality after the sorrowful loss of the Tenth Doctor. Farrah shook herself out of her thoughts and back to Kellen. “Only if it’s a different Doctor would I consider being a Companion.” Farrah said after a moment and then smiled to him as though that made complete sense to Kellen even though he hadn’t been privy to her train of thought. “Although I don’t think I’d make half a decent companion as Amy and Rory did. I still miss them.”

Farrah laughed lightly, “Only the one is.” She assured him. Madeleine might have seemed a little strange to Farrah, but she mostly written that off to be a different cultural thing. Madeleine was otherwise nice to Farrah, which was definitely a huge improvement than Arianna. “Madeleine and I exchanged some letters over the summer, so I think that means that we’re moving closer to being friends? Or something? I don’t know, but I’m hoping it means that anyway.” Farrah admitted, looking a little sheepish at the admittance. She really would have liked to get along well with at least one of her roommates.

“Apology accepted.” She said with a grin, not wanting him to feel any worse just because he kept saying he was sorry for simply talking to her about his problems. “What’s done is done, so try not to let what happened get you down and I’ll make sure to hold you to your word should she be nasty to me in the future. Deal?”

6 Farrah You're welcome! Thank you for being mine too! 344 Farrah 0 5

Makenzie

September 28, 2016 2:16 AM

Watch out, a bug might fly in. by Makenzie

“Thank you,” Makenzie said politely as Araceli passed the dish she had requested. She helped herself to a serving of the size she decided was apt for her and sat it back down in an available spot on the table, so that anyone else who wanted some could get it. She had just picked up her drink glass when Araceli asked a surprisingly bold question.

The redhead did her best to suppress her drink from channeling through routes other than her esophagus (namely, her nose) and swallowed it down, composing herself before responding. “No,” she said at last, although her tone wasn’t altogether convincing. “I mean... I don’t think so. I was just, you know, really scared about coming back here after… everything.” It still felt so surreal, and she couldn’t bring herself to say outloud what had happened that summer. Araceli knew, so that was enough. “But Tobi found me in the Gardens and he was so nice to me. He made it seem like everything was going to be okay, so…”

She felt silly and didn’t want to say it aloud, not even to her best friend, or at least not here, but it had been nice just to have a hand to hold. Makenzie had relatively little experience in the department of boys, but she had found from dancing and from this (completely innocent) experience in the Gardens that she was a rather physical person. She liked the feeling of someone else’s warmth around her. It made her feel safe and wanted. Makenzie had never thought she had an issue in those areas, but it was somehow an entirely different sensation to any safety and wantedness she had known before. Boys were nice like that.

“...Do you think he wants to be?” asked the Prefect incredulously, as if the thought had just struck her. “Like, do you think that’s why he was so nice to me?” Tobi seemed even before the heart-to-heart had really gotten going to have such strong and formed positive opinions of her despite only speaking here and there over the last few years of going to school together, but she had, to an extent, chalked his kindness up to his overall nature. He was a Teppenpaw, after all. Kindness seemed to be a requirement. But maybe, just maybe, there was something extra there.

She didn’t know how she felt about the idea. Thinking about it stirred some sort of sensation in her stomach, but Makenzie didn’t want to let herself commit to a crush after a single interaction. That was childish and silly. Still, the idea wasn’t exactly unpleasant, and without her even realizing it, a crooked grin settled into her lips as she thought about it.

12 Makenzie Watch out, a bug might fly in. 291 Makenzie 0 5

Nevaeh Reed

September 28, 2016 3:23 AM

Round 3: begin! by Nevaeh Reed

For the third time, Nevaeh and her trusty partner Scout stepped off the wagon and entered their home away from home. She was intrinsically less overwhelmed by first impressions than many her classmates were, but she was proud at least that by this point, she was guiding Scout more than he was guiding her, as she had gotten used to the school and its paths, and not even a summer in Michigan could erase her muscle memory.

This year was not going to be like the others, however, and Nevaeh was eager for the change. This time around, she got to join the Intermediate classes, which ranged to cover the education of the third, fourth, and fifth years. That meant that, given the two year age difference, this would be the only year that she would have class with Barnaby. And for that, she was excited. Obviously she had her girls (she couldn’t wait to catch back up with Raine, Tess, and Nat, although she’d spent hours upon hours writing them letters over break), but other than them, Barnaby was easily her favorite person in the school. He had been nothing but kind to her since the moment she arrived at Sonora, and dancing with him at the Ball had made it a night to last a lifetime.

“Come on, Scout,” she smiled merrily to her German Shepard, who offered a quiet and friendly bark in response. “I know, I’m hungry too,” she answered back. Obviously, Nevaeh could not speak dog, but she had the kind of connection with her service animal after this long that she could basically understand his intonations. That, or, being a kid, she just assumed she did, and he was really saying something mundane or nonsensical and she had just decided he was hungry.

She knew where the Aladren table was in relation to the other tables, so she found a spot at the correct table with relative ease, greeting a neighbor as she sat down. Nevaeh listened politely to the be-all-end-all interesting skitter of feet as the first years were Sorted, and she then continued to listen politely to Headmaster Brockert’s speech. She was glad to be old enough to take electives, especially now that there’s one like Muggle Studies, and she was super excited that Mr.--now Professor--Xavier was an official, full-time professor and Herbology would be a core subject. She had really liked the lessons they were given last year, and she thought Professor Xavier was a very nice man.

She idly noted the existence of the fair and sang along to the school song. Nevaeh was pretty good at picking up music by ear, and now that this was her third Opening Feast, she felt she had most of the words down. Then it was time to eat and plates magically appeared before them. She could make out the shapes of plates and the contrast between what the table had been and what it now was, but she couldn’t really tell what was on each plate. “What looks good?” she casually asked a neighbor.

12 Nevaeh Reed Round 3: begin! 325 Nevaeh Reed 0 5

Dustin Newell

September 28, 2016 3:56 AM

Furious by Dustin Newell

The wagon ride was both silent and noisy. Dustin himself spoke minimally if at all, and so did Makenzie. Flo sat between them, but he hardly noticed either of the two girls he arrived with. But the wagon itself was loud, with the chatter of the other midwesterners filling his ears. A lot of it was in and out, gone before he had the time to process it, while he, in a self-absorbed pity party, wondered what would become of him. He had his ears set to detect any mentions of the Newells, but beyond that, their words were lost of him, just echos that swirled through his mind, picking at his brain, before continuing on their way.

He killed time before the Feast with a trip to the library, if only because he expected relative solitude and definitive quiet. He could not call this time peaceful, but Dustin found it a hell of a lot better than the crowded and loud wagon ride. There were not many from the midwest, but still their presence seemed to overwhelm him. Here, there was quiet, at the very least.

But eventually it was time to go to the Feast, and he had to face the music--both literally (accepting his fate of the stares he was certain to receive) and metaphorically (having to endure the school song). The brunet was surprised to find after arriving in the Hall that Makenzie was not here. He saw Araceli, a blonde Crotalus he knew to be his cousin’s best friend, but saw no sign of his redhaired relative. When she eventually arrived--late, and with a boy--his blood absolutely boiled. What gave her the right to traipse about so carelessly? After a summer spent crying, locked away in his home, which his parents had so graciously shared with her after her fool of a father had gotten himself arrested, she was galavanting about doing Merlin knows what with this Reinhardt boy! They were holding hands for crying out loud! What the hell did she think she was doing?!

His rage was such that he didn’t even notice the Sorting, instead glaring at the back of his cousin’s stupid, blissfully unaware head. Dustin didn’t care about anything the Headmaster said and didn’t pretend to, his temper getting the better of him, and as soon as the song was over, he grumpily reached for the plate before him. But his hand bumped someone else’s, and he retracted instinctually. His anger dissipated from the unpleasant shock of the touch of another person, and he remembered himself, or who he had to be now: the less cocky, more people-pleasing young lad, the heir to a family hoping to mend. “Go ahead,” he said to the owner of the hand he’d touched. “I’ll just take it when you’re done.”

12 Dustin Newell Furious 312 Dustin Newell 0 5

Florence Newell

September 28, 2016 4:19 AM

Notice me, please! by Florence Newell

Nothing she had badgered out of her brother had compared her for the magnitude of this school. Everything was huge! And beautiful! And so very welcoming! Flo already loved her new home and couldn’t wait to report back to their younger siblings on all of its wonders. There were aptly named Labyrinth Gardens she knew Brett would love to explore (so she made a mental note not to go too deep without him, so that she could experience it for the first time as he did), and the MARS room seemed exactly like Anastasia, since she was the tiniest hint of a brat and loved to have things shaped exactly how she liked them. All in all, this place was a Newell paradise.

She just hoped Sawyer didn’t find her annoying. She had a great time talking to him before the tour began, so Florence had done her best to stick by his side all the way through the rest of the endeavor. However, when they arrived in the Cascade Hall, the most beautiful dining room she had ever seen, and the Sorting began, it was quickly time to separate. She watched his skin turn a golden yellow. But when she sipped, she turned a different color: blue.

Aladren! That was Dustin’s House, the smart House! She couldn’t wait for him to see and recognize how smart she really was. Her big brother had always treated her like a dumb kid, but this was it. He would know now. He would see-

He wasn’t looking. Flo couldn’t resist a pout, and she folded her arms as she half-stomped over to the Aladren table. There wasn’t a seat available near him, either, to personally point out to him that she had made it into his House, so for now, she had to try to make her peace with being ignored. Hurt by Dustin’s negligence, though, this was easier said than done. She didn’t even notice the badges or the announcements, and she barely took note of the school song. Florence helped herself to a salad, but she didn’t eat, one hand toying with a strand separated from the rest of her brunette bob, the other scraping her fork through the leaves. Somebody spoke to her, but she didn’t catch what they said. “I’m sorry, what was that?” she asked, looking up and trying to sound as Not-Bummed as possible.

12 Florence Newell Notice me, please! 362 Florence Newell 0 5

Finn Scott

September 28, 2016 6:59 AM

And we're back! [Tag: Juniper] by Finn Scott

Coming back to Sonora felt a lot different from last year. No longer in the youngest year, Finn felt more confident and comfortable than he had last year as he got off the wagon. He wasn’t an unsure first year any more.

He’d had a fun summer, but after a year of being surrounded by people the novelty of quieter home life had quickly worn off. Spending time with his cousins and dogs and horses had been fun, but Finn had also found himself missing his friends, especially Jozua and Juniper. He and Juniper had been in contact over the summer, writing each other letters. It had been nice to hear what she had been up to, even if it did make him miss her more. Still, he was back at Sonora now, and he could see all his friends again!

He’d been hoping to see Jozua before the feast, but his roommate wasn’t in the common room or their dorm. Finn assumed he was already off having adventures with Lily, which didn’t bother him as he was sure they’d have lots of time to catch up later. That was the benefit of sharing a room with one of your best friends! He wasn’t sure where Juniper was, either, but hopefully he’d be able to catch up with her at the feast.

At the end of last year, Juniper’s older brother Duncan had taken Finn aside for a quick conversation, which had been a little terrifying. Still, the aim hadn’t seemed to be to frighten Finn off, as Duncan had asked him to keep an eye on his little sister. Finn had been more than happy to agree to the request. He honestly thought that Juniper could take care of herself if she really needed to, but he also knew that his friend was quite shy and didn’t want her to be in any uncomfortable situations. However, hopefully by now she knew that Finn would always be there for her, as long as he was wanted. He’d really enjoyed spending time with her at the ball (and still blushed a little when he thought about how they’d held hands), and hoped that their friendship would continue to be a close one.

It was strange seeing all the new students standing nervously where Finn had stood last year. He hoped they’d all settle in happily, and looked forward to getting to know them in class. He didn’t really know any of the prefects, but clapped for them along with everyone else, then quietly joined in with the school song. He wasn’t the most confident of singers. Luckily for Finn, he’d managed to find a seat next to Juniper, so once the song was over he turned to the girl he considered one of his best friends.

"Can I pass you anything?" he asked, waiting to see if Juniper wanted anything before helping himself to the wonderful food in front of them.

“It’s going to be nice not being the youngest year, isn’t it?” he continued, happy to be outgoing and start a conversation wth Juniper. He wasn't really nervous around Juniper anymore - except for when it came to asking her to balls and the like! Finn was looking forward to the advantage of already knowing some of the things taught (so there wouldn’t be as much risk of failing), and also it would be nice to have some new students in the class.

[OOC: Jozua's movements comfirmed by his author]

9 Finn Scott And we're back! [Tag: Juniper] 347 Finn Scott 0 5

Rory Taransay

September 28, 2016 7:06 AM

Adults can have fun summers too! by Rory Taransay

Summer had been wild. A panicked owl from a Polish friend had mentioned an emergency at his graphorn farm in the Carpathian Mountains and, sensing an animal-related adventure, Rory had hastened to the scene. However, the task he was confronted with had been a little more herculean than expected. Dealing with thirty escaped graphorns did not make for a remotely relaxing break, and Rory still found sitting a little painful after a slightly too close encounter with one of the creatures. Nevertheless, the excitement of rounding up dangerous beasts had been a refreshing experience after a term in the classroom, and his wanderlust (or, rather, adventurelust) was cured for a while.

The best thing about returning to Sonora was definitely the food. Rory’s cooking didn’t extend much further than basic cooking on a camping stove, which would win no cookery awards, but he could happily get fat on the prairie elves’ cooking. In addition to the food at Sonora, he had lots of plans for the year’s teaching. He’d been frantically owling contacts throughout the country after his return from Poland, trying to get his hands on lots of interesting creatures that he hoped his students would appreciate, and was excited to get started. He’d used the classification of creatures to help with his lesson plans, aiming to cover more dangerous creatures with the older years, although he was tempted to lob a Thestral or something similarly more interesting into the beginners’ class. After all, they couldn’t help being younger, and everyone loved a dangerous creature. However, Rory wasn’t entirely irresponsible, and if he decided to give the younger students a taste of the wilder creatures he would make sure that he had adequate safety procedures in place.

Another reason that Rory was happy to be back was his new friends. He’d been getting along well with some of the other members of staff, especially those around his age (despite some initial unexplained hostility from Alfie, which could be due to him possibly liking the pretty librarian whom Rory had been chatting up?). After his original concerns about not having a social life at the school, he’d been glad to go out for drinks quite a lot during the last term. He especially enjoyed the company of Amelle, who was friendly and funny and someone he was definitely happy to get to know better. And this year there was also the new staff member, Liam Ammon, who would hopefully be an addition to their young group.

Once Mortimer had finished talking, Rory happily helped himself to some shepherd’s pie that he’d spotted nearby. “Are you ready for another year of students and chaos?” he asked the person next to him, grinning. He was definitely ready for another year of introducing more pupils to the amazing world of magical creatures.

9 Rory Taransay Adults can have fun summers too! 33 Rory Taransay 0 5

Tess Whittaker

September 28, 2016 7:18 AM

Once more unto the breach by Tess Whittaker

For what had to be the first time ever, Tess did not want to be sitting there at the Opening Feast. In fact, she would rather not have returned to Sonora. It just felt like a waste of time, pretending to be happy and interested in things when she would rather spend as much time with Emma before it was - if it was - too late.

Her parents had insisted that Tess return to Sonora when term started. Education was important to them, and Tess obviously wasn’t in a position where she could just transfer to a local school. They knew that despite the problems they were facing now, the future had to be considered, and missing school wouldn’t do Tess any favours in the long run. Besides, they hoped that being surrounded by her friends and the distraction of school life would at least partially take her mind off all the problems that Emma was facing.

The wagon ride had been difficult, but Tess hoped that she’d managed it ok. She was normally glad that her friends Nat and Ben were on the wagon with her. In fact, when she and Ben had realised they lived so close together, they had arranged a picnic for both their families, which had taken place earlier on in the summer. Tess had enjoyed meeting Ben’s family, and had especially enjoyed his dad’s rather old-fashioned choice in clothing! However, that had been before everything had gone so wrong. Nat had been as chatty as usual, and Tess had tried to keep up her part in conversations and act as she usually would. She didn’t like to get other people down, even if she herself had felt like crying half the time.

Tess had gone straight to her dorm room on arrival at Sonora, for once finding herself glad that she had a room all to herself. What had been a disappointment in previous years was now a blessing. She’d taken advantage of the privacy to just collapse on her bed, face-down, already exhausted after trying to be her usual bright and sunny self on the wagon ride. Tess wasn’t usually one to cry, but she missed her family and was scared that something would happen to Emma in her absence. Her parents had promised to keep her updated with everything the doctors told them, and to come and get her immediately if Emma took a turn for the worse. But even the fact that they’d got permission from the Headmaster for Tess to visit home occasionally didn’t make up for that fact that she couldn’t spend every day with Emma.

Still, she couldn’t sit in her room moping all evening. Tess knew she had to attend the Opening Feast, so she washed her face to remove traces of tears and headed down to Cascade Hall, trying to put on a brave face. She just had to get through this, as she had got through the wagon ride, and then she could have an early night. Things might seem better and more doable in the morning.

From a distance, it would have been hard to notice signs of distress. Tess clapped for the new prefects and head students, and joined in with the school song. However, once the headmaster’s speech was over she didn’t look around to initiate conversation as she normally would. Instead, she filled her plate with a bit of food, mainly salad and other light things, and then sat there trying to eat. But, just as she’d found quite a lot recently, she wasn’t particularly hungry, and found herself poking the food more than eating it.

However, she was soon roused out of her thoughts by someone talking to her, although she didn't catch what they said. “I’m sorry, what did you say?” she asked, plastering on a not-entirely convincing smile in the hopes that she would appear normal. She didn’t want to ruin anyone else’s feast by being miserable.

9 Tess Whittaker Once more unto the breach 338 Tess Whittaker 0 5

Amelia Layne

September 28, 2016 2:47 PM

I see you! by Amelia Layne

There had been a week – a long, long, long week – during which Amelia had almost lost hope of the letter ever showing up. She had been convinced that it would never come, that she was a Squib like her mother, and that there was nothing in the world to be done about it. Just when she had been ready to break down crying when the morning mail came without anything for her in it one too many times, though, an owl had arrived, and she had had trouble not grinning non-stop ever since.

Her mood was not the only thing which had changed. No-one had said so, but Amelia guessed that her family must have been getting worried, too, because she had never seen so many people pleased with her in her life as when she’d gotten her letter. Grandmother and Granddad had been ecstatic, Aunt Emily and Uncle Jeremy had written her a nice note, Uncle Geoffrey had just handed her gold and told her to buy herself something pretty, and her cousin Alicia, who had barely noticed Amelia’s existence for years and years, had even invited her to tea one day. The tea in question had been dreadful (Alicia was decidedly…odd in some ways, and one of those involved thinking that tea ought to be served yellowish, hot, and unsweetened), but Amelia had felt so grown-up being invited that she had been a little embarrassed by her own reaction. Grandmother and Amelia’s brother Lionel were more reserved on the subject, but Granddad had held Alicia up to Amelia as an example of everything she should aspire to be for almost as long as Amelia could remember.

Early in the morning on her eleventh September first, then, Amelia had gotten up filled with optimism. She had gulped down her breakfast of apple pancakes and only cried a little when she hugged her grandparents goodbye on the platform and climbed on board the wagon. As it lifted off, she had gripped the seat tightly in her hands, sure the future was hers. That certainty had lasted about twenty minutes before she had been bounced around so much that it had been replaced by a certainty that she had chipped a tooth.

At Orientation, she had been startled by how pretty almost everyone around her was. At her elementary school in South Carolina, she had been near the middle of the spectrum of looks – blonde hair frequently frizzy, features unremarkable, a bit overweight but not enough for teachers to feel sorry for her if she was picked on for it. Here, her hair was smooth because she had laid in stocks of hair products, but she still thought she stood a good chance of falling near the bottom of the ranks of the girls, a thought which made the near-certainty of having a roommate sound less exciting than it might have just a few hours before. By the time the tour was done and it was time for the Sorting, Amelia was biting her lips constantly in worry, switching between the bottom and top ones regularly in between smiles whenever anyone looked at her. Granddad said it was important to smile, that her cousins and Aunt Helena always did whether they felt like it or not, and Amelia wasn’t entirely averse to it yet anyway. What happened later might not be fun, but she was being Sorted. She was a witch, in a wizarding school, walking into a grand hall for her Sorting. If all else failed, she could learn enough magic to make anyone who was unpleasant to her pay, so she still had something to be happy about.

Most of her family had described the Cascade Hall to her at one point or another, but none of them, Amelia thought as she looked around at the falls flowing over the darkened windows and the chandeliers spilling light down to the ivory marble floor, had done it true justice. She felt tiny as she lined up with the other first years and took a sip of the potion that would tell her which House she belonged in. For one agonizing second there was nothing, and then she turned blue.

She beamed at her hands as she turned them in front of her. Blue meant Aladren, like Uncle Geoff and Aunt Anne and Alicia and Thaddeus (the least known of the lot to her – Alicia’s husband was, it had been explained to her, far too important and busy a person to have much to do with them – but between how highly Granddad spoke of him and the impression she’d been given that only Uncle Jeremy could possibly resemble Prince Charming more than he did, Amelia felt confident assuming that being like him in any way that didn’t involve falling in love with her cousin was probably a good thing). Crotalus would have been good, too, Aunt Emily and Aunt Helena and her cousin Rachel had all been Crotali, but Amelia was more than pleased with Aladren. Still smiling, she went over to her new table and took a seat, looking around eagerly to see who else was joining this new part of her family.

The headmaster distracted her, but only briefly. Amelia applauded for the new badgey people even though she didn’t know any of them and, since one of her new roommates was sitting near her, only mouthed along with the school song so she didn’t risk sounding bad if she tried to sing a song she didn’t know yet. After that, everyone just started to eat, so Amelia shrugged and went for it. Once she had food on her plate, though, she decided it was almost surely time to be social and so spoke to the girl next to her.

“Hi,” she said brightly. “I’m Amelia.”

The other girl didn’t hear her, though. Amelia smiled and repeated herself. “I said, ‘hi, I’m Amelia,’” she repeated, a little louder. A hundred or so people all talking at once did make a lot of noise. “It looks like we’re going to be roommates.”

16 Amelia Layne I see you! 360 Amelia Layne 0 5

Joseph Umland

September 28, 2016 4:15 PM

The more things change, the more they stay the same. by Joseph Umland

It had been a long, strange summer in Canada, and even now, weeks after the most dramatic points, Joe still wasn’t sure what to think of it all. He did not think this reflected poorly on him. When finding out that one’s only sister was a feudal overlord was quite possibly the least weird thing that had happened, Joe thought he was well within his rights to take a while to sort it all out.

The first day of school, however, was no time for that. Sonora, where his biggest problem was probably whether or not it was morally wrong to sometimes think about how self-assured and pretty his roommate’s cousin was, was a different world, a simpler world. Here, if Gabe found out Joe thought Arianna was pretty and decided to punch him in the face over it, it wasn’t the kind of thing that could have Repercussions. Joe was pretty sure John had been playing with more fire than he realized over the summer, but he was away from it now and hopefully it would work itself out before next holiday – though Joe did plan to figure out how to keep his brother distracted first anyway. The last time he had trusted John to figure something out himself, after all, John had ended up dancing with part of the furniture in front of the whole school.

There was a part of him that still regretted not writing to Jemima Wolseithcrafte about John, and not just because it might have spared them both the embarrassment. If the plan he had evolved (basically, Jemima, in exchange for a favor from Joe she could call in at her leisure, would have found a suitable girl and, promising further favors up to and including doing what he could to sabotage a Teppenpaw Quidditch match, persuaded said girl to go to a place Joe could lure John and pretend that she hadn’t had any idea John was going to ask her out before Joe talked him into doing so) had worked, it would have both spared them both some embarrassment and probably been kind of fun. Conspiring with a girl as pretty as Jemima could hardly be anything else…unless Jemima held onto the letter and used it later to blackmail him, which was why Joe hadn’t done it. He hated writing anything down for a reason, having read more than his fair share of spy novels when he was younger in the hopes that someday John and Joanie Murphy would decide he was worthy to join their secret society (they never had), and he knew there were Rules about someone like him approaching someone like Jemima Wolseithcrafte spontaneously for a conversation when they’d had little prior interaction. Most of those rules had a theme, namely, “don’t do it.” So Joe hadn’t done it and everything had gone badly, but he and John still had all their internal organs right where God had put them as far as Joe knew, so it could have gone worse.

The Sorting ceremony wasn’t too interesting to Joe this year, though he did make sure to smile as each new Teppenpaw joined their table, but he did look up when he realized the new badges were about to be announced. He applauded for Jake, but felt bad for Clark. He didn’t know the seventh year Aladren that well personally, of course – certainly less than he knew his own team’s Seeker – but Clark seemed like a good guy, clearly had the patience of a saint to put up with John for no reason all these years, and since Clark finding a date to the Ball last year was probably the only reason people weren’t expecting him and Joe’s brother to someday have a happy announcement, he felt a sort of secondhand interest. He was less troubled by the prefects; it would have been nice if Ginger had gotten it, but since Ginger was already basically the Teppenpaw Quidditch team, it was probably for the best, and he took a tiny bit of not-very-nice satisfaction in Aladren’s results. He blamed Barnaby and Jax as much for last year’s incident with the alien as he did himself, their falling-out being the reason John had been incredibly sleep deprived by the time the Ball had rolled around, so The Other John getting that badge was just fine with him.

He clapped, too, for his Head of House becoming a full professor and for a new professor joining the ranks. Muggle Studies; he was surprised he hadn’t heard anything about protests, though he guessed his family couldn’t be expected to know all the news in America even though his auntie did report it. Goodness knew he didn’t expect many of his classmates knew much about the news in Canada. Or maybe the Americans were taking a know-your-enemy approach; who knew. He didn’t devote too much time to thinking about it once the food appeared.

“No problem,” said Joe when Gabe asked him to pass the quesadillas. “Those do look good. Have a good summer?” He had wandered to the Cascade Hall for a snack and then out into the Gardens for a while after arriving and so hadn’t crossed paths with Gabe or Arthur to catch up before the Feast.

16 Joseph Umland The more things change, the more they stay the same. 329 Joseph Umland 0 5

Clark Dill

September 28, 2016 10:18 PM

This . . . was not how I expected this feast to go by Clark Dill

The time between when Clark got off the wagon and right now was a bit of a blur. He'd been in the library most of that time, and he'd been reading . . . something . . . but he had very little recollection of it. Maybe it would come back to him later, but in this moment, all of his attention was on the Headmaster, and his muscles were tensed, ready to stand as soon as he heard his name.

To be entirely truthful, he felt he had this Head Boy badge in the bag. He was now a Quidditch Captain. He ran the science club. He was a prefect. He was involved in a lot of different things. He'd been Head Monitor. He was smart and friendly and got good grades. He was on good terms (he thought) with almost everybody (despite what the Worst Enemies page of the yearbook seemed to think, but Oliver was the exception and, well, the Aladren/Pecari rivalry must have been personified in some people's heads as a rivalry between their seekers though Clark felt no such thing himself, despite Jamie's win and consequent destruction of Clark's long-standing record as being undefeated). Anyway, he felt he had met every possible prerequisite for the position that might exist better than any of his male yearmates.

"Jake Manger and Chaslyn Brockert," the Headmaster said.

Clark froze in the act of rising to his feet, momentarily confused. And then . . . relief. He sat down and applauded the winners, and felt nothing but gratitude toward Jake Manger and pity for Chaslyn Brockert.

Sure, Dad might be a little disappointed that Clark did not achieve that same honor the senior Dill had earned, but this meant he didn't have to drop being a Library Helper this year, which he'd pretty resigned himself to doing just to free up some time for Head Boy duties. Honestly, of the two Head positions, Head Boy and Head Monitor, the one he would prefer to hold was Head Monitor, and he'd been glad he'd gotten to have it last year before he had to drop helping in the library entirely. Now that wouldn't be necessary and he could - depending on Librarian Nicchi's preference - continue with the more rewarding Head position available.

He still wasn't sure why he'd lost - he'd voted for himself not thinking at that time of the scheduling ramifications - but, as it had been when Jamie snatched the snitch, it felt more like a burden of expectations being lifted off of him than something to be upset about. Substantially less so now, too, because the only person his defeat affected this time was himself.

Between not being Head Boy, not being the heart of any Undefeated Aladren Quidditch Team resentment (which may have, now that he thought on it, played a part in his loss to Jake Manger) coupled with having the pressure to maintain perfection, and having a girlfriend, really the only thing that might make his seventh year anything less than idyllic was the specter of RATS hanging over his head.

The rest of the speech passed without too much unexpected news. He doubted any of the new classes would be offered to seventh years, and even if they were, he had plenty of other classes scheduled and didn't need any more. After the song, he addressed his neighbor, smiling and sharing his unexpected gladness about losing, "So it looks like I can still be a Library Helper again this year after all. I thought I might have to drop it."

1 Clark Dill This . . . was not how I expected this feast to go 277 Clark Dill 0 5

Sawyer

September 29, 2016 12:47 AM

I thought you Chased by Sawyer

The girl who Sawyer had talked to was rather friendly, which he appreciated. It was difficult being in a new place and trying to make new friends. So far, he thought it was going well. He had made a potential friend in Flo. It had been a little disappointing that she hadn’t ended up in the same house, but he was happy for her. But now, he had a potential friend in his House.

He patiently listened as she described more of the meal time situation. Sawyer had always been more of a listener than a talker. It was probably one of his better qualities. He always found himself in situations where people would tell him everything. Sometimes, more than he wanted to know like when Paul had told him his older sister was planning on eloping. Sawyer didn’t think that she really wanted anyone to know, but there the information had been. Thankfully, everything had worked out in the end and her parents had accepted an engagement.

“Nice to meet you, Natalie,” Sawyer replied when she had come introducing herself. “It’s okay. People meet when they’re supposed to. My father always says things like that. He says that people come in and out of your life with a purpose, but it’s the ones that stay that you are meant to walk with.” He wasn’t sure if what he was saying actually made any sense. It always sounded much better coming from his dad.

“Anyway, I’m from Massachusetts, near Cape Cod,” Sawyer informed Natalie. He brushed some of his messy blond hair out of his face so he could see better. “What’s it like being a Chaser? I’ve gone to a couple of games, but I can’t imagine actually playing.” What he left out was that if he tried playing it would probably end up being a disaster since he was uncoordinated. His parents kept trying to reassure him that it was only a phase and he would more than likely grow out of it. He really hoped so.

0 Sawyer I thought you Chased 365 Sawyer 0 5

Kit

September 29, 2016 1:22 AM

Questions by Kit

“Oh, Connecticut is wonderful!” Kit gushed enthusiastically. “Spring is the best when everything starts to bloom. We have gardens and the prettiest flowers can be seen then.” This year would be different though since she wouldn’t be home to see all of the seasonal changes. She wondered if Arizona had any sort of changes during different times of the year like if particular plants bloomed. “I bet the Gardens here have some great plants and maybe we’ll learn about them in Herbology.”

Kit paused for a moment to tuck back a piece of loose blonde hair. “I’m not sure which class I’m looking forward to most. Herbology will probably be interesting. Potions could be too,” she said in response to Lina’s interest in the class. She wasn’t sure if she would like it yet or not. “I think Defense of the Dark Arts is the one I’m looking forward to most.” She had read the description and she thought learning about some of the darker creatures like vampires and fey was fascinating. Of course, she knew she would have to wait for more advanced courses to learn about them, but still, it had peeked her interest the most.

“No, we met before the Feast,” Kit replied. Though, it seemed like she and Ayla had known each other forever. Hopefully, Lina and Ayla would get along. Actually, looking around at the Aladren table, there were a few more girls, who had also turned blue. She assumed that they would be their roommates. “Well, it looks like we’ll be meeting more people soon.” With a little luck, they would all get along. Otherwise, it might make for a difficult seven years.

“Do you like to read?” Kit asked, genuinely curious. “I love to read and heard that they have an amazing library here.” That was one of the things that had made her the most excited to go here. They had a library back home full of books, but it wasn’t as though she could bring them all with her. At least now she could experience a whole new collection of reading material.

0 Kit Questions 363 Kit 0 5

Ayla

September 29, 2016 2:23 PM

Things are looking brighter! by Ayla

“Gwen Fintoc of the Colorado Fintocs.” It was like music to Ayla's ears. She couldn't help but notice the large number of Aladren girls, and was starting to feel a twinge of jealousy. However, knowing that while she only had one roommate, it was someone she could build a long lasting relationship with (and that her parents would approve of) made the freshly minted Teppenpaw feel a lot better. Had she not been sitting opposite her, Ayla might have hugged her.

“Thank you!” Ayla said smiling brightly as she accepted the chicken and chose a piece. “I'm Ayla Tremaine, of the Palo Alto Tremaines. And yes! I’m SO excited. I was sure I was going to end up in Crotalus, but now I'm kind of glad I didn't. I really love your hair, by the way.” She added some salad on to her plate as she considered all the things that she wanted to ask her new roommate.

She often had the tendency to be overly chatty, something that her parents tried to control when she was at home. Here though, she seemed a little freer to be herself. She knew she had rules and expectations, but it wasn’t as though she were surrounded by adults evaluating her. Not at the house table with her peers anyway. She knew eventually, as she met more people, she’d have to act appropriately. Now though, she’d just met her roommate, was enjoying her first school feast, and was going to let herself be an 11 year old girl. There was one thing she just had to know.

“How do you feel about cats?” She’d been a little hesitant initially, to bring her fluffy white baby. An owl definitely would have been more practical, but Ayla loved her cat Albus too much to leave him behind. He was sweet, if not a little bit dopey, and pretty calm so she couldn’t foresee anyone not falling in love with him. She just hoped her roommate wasn’t allergic or anything.

“Are you planning on joining any of the clubs?” Mrs. Tremaine had encouraged her oldest daughter to participate in school life in as many ways as possible, so she was looking forward to all the different things there were to do. She hoped that Gwen would be participating also, so they could show the school that you didn’t need to be in Crotalus to be successful and well connected.

“Ooo! Have you met any of the other girls in our year yet?” Obviously Kit was a pureblood too, and it would make sense that Emerald Brockert would also be, if she was any relation to the Headmaster. Unless Brockert was a common name among other blood types. Ayla had this picture in her head of surrounding herself with lots of friends that shared her status, a type of Society Sisterhood. So far she was two for two, and she could hardly contain herself.

5 Ayla Things are looking brighter! 367 Ayla 0 5

Kellen

September 29, 2016 7:45 PM

Super friends! by Kellen

“It's not like it's a super normal thing, let alone a common conversation topic.” Kellen said with a shrug. Usually when people found out about it, they'd ask why, try to pick apart how someone could possibly be aquaphobic, and tell him how ridiculous he was. Farrah just seemed to accept it and move on, externally anyway. He liked that. It wasn't so much that he didn't like talking about it, it was kind of a weird quirk, so curiosity was to be expected. It was the assumed judgement that bothered him.

“It depends. If it's a natural deep spooky lake with naturally occurring ice, no way. If it's like a hockey rink where it's a standard floor covered in ice, then I’d be good.” He'd only been ice skating once. The Lloyd Center mall in Portland had an indoor ice rink for some reason. Kellen and his mom went, and he imagined he looked as graceful as a giraffe on roller skates.

“You know, the more that I think about you, you likely can't be a companion until you're of age. Otherwise I think it's kidnapping.” He couldn't help but laugh at her comment about Twelve. “Aw, what's wrong with Capaldi! Too angry and Scottish?” He'd taken a while to warm up to the latest incarnation of the character. It wasn't until the first part of the finale that he really got on board. Nine was fine, most everyone loved Ten, and there was just something about Eleven that Kellen really liked. His favorite though was the 50th Anniversary episode. “I miss the Ponds too, but I think my favorite companion is Donna Noble. The tragedy of it all makes it sooo good! And don't get me started on River.” It was awesome to be able to nerd out like this. He knew he had a unique upbringing, so being able to share his fandoms at a wizarding school of all places was surprising, but very welcome. He was definitely glad for that fateful day in the library.

Kellen listened intently as Farrah told him about Madeleine. He hadn't met her yet, so he didn't have much of an opinion, but he was happy that it didn't seem like he'd have to watch out for her as well. He could only handle so much rude at one time.

“It's definitely something!” He said with a grin as his stomach finally began to settle enough for him to fill hungry. He grabbed a roll and started to eat it as Farrah accepted his apology for apologizing and encased their friendship in carbonite.

“Deal.” He agreed as he finished his roll.

5 Kellen Super friends! 341 Kellen 0 5

Emerald Brockert

September 29, 2016 8:35 PM

I see blue people. And meatballs. by Emerald Brockert

Emerald entered the Cascade Hall with the other first year students and waited as Grandfather gave the introduction. Orientation had been fine but she hadn't really learned anything new. In fact, she had more information than what was provided earlier. It kind of came with being the Headmaster's granddaughter. That was okay though, as while Emerald like learning, she hadn't expected to there.

She was handed the goblet by the person next to her. Emerald rose it up to her lips and drank it down, thinking anything but Pecari, please . Choices weren't really taken into consideration by the Sorting Potion, but going into Pecari was her second worst fear after her mother announcing she was going to have another baby. Pecaris were loud and....well, loud . That was enough. Emerald had spent her childhood surrounded by screaming little kids. She really didn't want to be in with a bunch of people who'd not yet learned to use indoor voices.

Fortunately her skin turned a brilliant shade a blue. Less fortunately, so did that of four other girls. That meant roommates and Emerald was certain that if her skin wasn't currently Aladren blue, she'd be white as a ghost. She'd never shared a room before naturally, and while she'd realized this had been a distinct possibility, she hadn't expected so many roommates. Now she had as many she had sisters.

She took a deep breath in order to calm herself. The new Aladren had to just remind herself that these were not her sisters. Or Pecaris. They were four girls her own age whom she hopefully had a lot in common with. People enjoyed reading and learning. They were not a creepy seven year old and two needy demanding little kids. And probably not incredibly loud boisterous types.

Emerald settled down in a seat next to two of her new roommates and politely listened to the rest of the speech. Grandfather had this rather un-Grandfatherlike expression on his face as he announced the prefects and Head Students. She'd been on the wagon with Kelsey Atwater and Jake Manger though not Chaslyn whose name was obviously not completely unfamiliar given her last name was the same as Emerald's. The rest of the names she'd seen in Owen's yearbook, but it wasn't as if she'd memorized the thing.

Once the song had been sung, she heard one of the blue girls talk to another and introduce herself as Amelia. Of course she is Emerald thought. Amelia had to be like the most popular name for witches out there and she was pretty sure that there was at least one in every pureblood family. Granted, Amelia hadn't added anything like a last name or place of origin, so was likely a non-society pureblood or a perhaps a halfblood. Of course, she was sure there were Muggles who named their daughters Amelia too but it tended to be a name she associated with magical people.

She decided to join their conversation. Emerald was introverted but not especially shy and just because she tended to prefer peace and quiet so she could read uninterrupted didn't mean she was planning to be completely unsociable. Not only that but she wanted some meatballs and it looked as if they were closer to the other girl, the one who had not specified being named Amelia, but might very well be named it anyway. "Um, I hate to interrupt but can one of you please pass the meatballs? By the way, I'm Emerald Brockert of the Western Brockerts." She introduced herself.

11 Emerald Brockert I see blue people. And meatballs. 358 Emerald Brockert 0 5

Arianna V.

September 30, 2016 2:28 AM

This is why we can't have nice things by Arianna V.

Arianna never quite knew what to make of her French roommate. Sometimes she was polite but distant, sometimes Arianna ran into her at early hours in the Library, seemingly wanting to chat. Tonight was apparently one of those nights where Madeleine wanted to talk. Well, Arianna was going to need to take any ally she could get, given the situation at hand. They might need to stage an intervention or something. She’d seen enough after school specials to feel confident she knew how these things worked. A united front in the dorm would be ideal.

“Did you see my note when you woke her?” Arianna asked, concerned, “Do you know if she read it?”

Time was of the essence. It was absolutely imperative that Arianna get to her roommate before the creep did. Obviously one couldn’t expect people from outside New York to have the same tough mentality (she actually had no idea where Kellen was from, but didn’t see him on her wagon). But who couldn’t take a little sarcasm? Obviously she had been joking, any Aladren should have been able to surmise that. The kid clearly had a problem.

She felt her stomach bubble, betraying her. Completing the puzzle earlier, on top of traveling across the country had clearly worn her down. It frustrated her, she hated to feel her own weakness. The second year couldn’t wait for classes to start and for the chance to continue her work on strengthening her magical ability. Spotting a bowl of salad nearby, she grabbed some tongs to place the veggies on her plate.

“How was your summer?” she asked, offering the bowl to her roommate. Arianna didn’t want to appear too eager. It wasn’t like she and Farrah were best friends or anything. She didn’t want anyone thinking she was worked up or cared, or anything like that. But there was just something about a boy who reacted so oddly to what was so obviously a joke hanging out with helpless Farrah that rubbed her the wrong way. She could not allow it to go unchallenged.

There was of course, the not unsubstantial matter of Kellen insulting Arianna and thinking he could just walk away from that, as if it was nothing. Hah. Non-magical background or not, poorer (she always assumed) than most of her classmates or not, she would not consent to let anyone at Sonora push her around. Especially not some boring, humorless weirdo.

0 Arianna V. This is why we can't have nice things 343 Arianna V. 0 5

Florence

September 30, 2016 4:42 AM

Oh good, I'm not invisible. by Florence

The dialogue that she had missed turned out to be an introduction, as her fellow Aladren first year was kind enough to repeat. Flo mustered up a sizeable smile. After all, this girl--who introduced herself as Amelia, giving no indication of a last name or Pureblood location identifier, but in her manners still suggested a decent breeding--had offered her a smile first, even after having to repeat herself, something that Florence often found frustrating and annoying. “It’s very nice to meet you, Amelia,” the brunette returned.

But she didn’t have time to offer her own name or comment on their apparent roommate-hood before another bright blue girl spoke, asking to have a plate passed to her, as well as introducing herself. Emerald Brockert was, it was immediately apparent, a pureblood. If the name connection to the Headmaster wasn’t enough to prove it, Emerald offered a formal branch identifier. She was, Flo new immediately, someone around whom to tread lightly.

“Here you go,” said Flo, passing the plate of meatballs to the girl who had asked for it. “It’s nice to meet you as well, Emerald. My name’s Florence. I like to be called Flo.” As she had during Orientation, she left off her surname; for now, it was better to possibly be assumed un-pure than to have the Newell name drag her down from her possible friendships. Sawyer hadn’t seemed the type to really care about family and blood politics, and while she could not say for sure about Amelia as of yet, there was plenty of reason to expect the sentiment from Emerald. It was their first day; Flo wanted to make friends.

“Are you two excited to be Aladrens?” She asked good-naturedly. “It seems like a very nice House. And,” she added, noticing two more blue girls down the table, “we definitely won’t be lonely in our dorm room. I must say, I’ve never had a roommate before, but this sure seems like fun.” Anastasia, her only sister, had always had her own room, thanks due to both the age difference and their wealth allowing multiple bedrooms. Still, Florence was a fairly sociable girl, so she was eager for the new experience.

12 Florence Oh good, I'm not invisible. 362 Florence 0 5

Sophie O'Malley

September 30, 2016 5:19 AM

Our definitions of "fun" maaaaaay be different. by Sophie O'Malley

When Sophie was a first year, if someone had asked her where she expected her life to be in fifteen years time, there were a number of things she might have said. I’ll be a professional Keeper! might have been the most immediate, or I’ll be a Potioneer, changing the world with my creations! She might have purported to be a lawyer like her father, or run an orphanage and help people like her late mother. There was a chance that she, a bubbly little thing, might have gotten accidentally philosophical and simply answered Happy. The most likely answer would have been something to the nature of Fifteen years? When I’m twenty-six?! I’ll be so old! I never want to grow up!

But here she was, fifteen years later, sitting once more for a Headmaster’s opening speech at Sonora Academy. Never in a million years would her eleven-year-old self have expected this. She worked at her alma mater. She was married to that quiet kid from Crotalus that she talked to at (she wasn’t afraid to admit what a chatterbox she had always been) in Professor Fawcett’s Potions class. She still remembered parts of the conversation*: “If I start getting too bossy, let me know, okay?” Fortunately, Ryan O’Malley had never turned her away, although the offer definitely still stood.

And they had kids! Two of ‘em! Living, breathing, (running, grabbing, sticky,) flesh-and-blood people that they had brought into the world! Stanley and Wally were the two greatest things she had never seen coming. Sophie knew that as a pureblood woman, she was eventually going to have to give somebody some heirs or something, but she’d always been a bit afraid of being a mom, mostly because she lost hers when she was very young and was unsure how to do the whole Mother thing. She’d had an aunt, Cecily, who could never mind her business, and a female cousin, Liz, who did her best despite being a child herself at the time, but nonetheless, Sophie had been nervous. But then her boys came--way before she was ready, but honestly, was anyone ever really ready?--and she immediately was Mom because she had to be. And she loved it more than almost anything.

So yeah, Sophie kinda had it all now. A steady job doing something she’d never expected but loved passionately, a marriage to the most wonderful man, and two great little scamps waiting for her at the end of the day. After a summer surrounded by the latter two, she was glad to return to work. Her adorable little family was wonderful, but it was nice to go be independent for a while and use her knowledge to educate and shape another generation of students. Of course, today wasn’t classes, just the Opening Feast, but it was fun to be back and mingle with her coworkers.

Speaking of, one of them said something to her after the conclusion of Mortimer’s speech. It was Rory Taransay, last year’s late-term addition to fill the Care of Magical Creatures space freed up by Richard Tallec’s departure. She hadn’t known Tallec very well but was amused to see how gracefully Rory seemed to slide into his space both professionally and with his friends, as the new guy seemed, as far as she could tell, to already be getting friendly with Amelle, Isis, and Alfie. Sophie made a mental note to join them some evening, if they’d have her. It could be good for her to get outside that Mommy life.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” she returned with a clearly fake tone of dread. Sophie adored the students as well as the chaos they brought with them. Between her family and her in-laws, chaos was sort of her specialty. Sophie laughed, breaking the tone of her own illusion. “Yeah, I’m excited. I always love getting to meet the first years, even though it can be rough to watch the seventh years go at the end of the year.” She thought she would be extra sad at the end of this term, when her brother-in-law Jake (who she’d have to congratulate on his Head Boy victory later) would be graduating. “What about you? Has summer prepared you adequately?”

OOC: *If anyone's that curious, Sophie meeting Ryan for the first time can be found here. If you choose to read it, please keep in mind that it occurred in 2010. Both Ryan's author and myself, I like to believe, have developed as writers quite a bit since then. Please don't be shattered if the thread isn't quite as good as we are now. Haha.

12 Sophie O'Malley Our definitions of "fun" maaaaaay be different. 34 Sophie O'Malley 0 5

Amelia

September 30, 2016 4:43 PM

Not at the moment, anyway. by Amelia

Amelia, Florence, and…Emerald. Amelia knew it was a bit silly – Emerald Brockert’s last name and way of introducing herself suggested to Amelia that the other girl was probably privileged beyond Amelia’s wildest dreams – but she couldn’t help but feel a bit bad for the second roommate she’d met. At home, Emerald would have either had to change her name to ‘Emmy’ real fast or else face a lifetime of mockery. It would be worse than being named ‘Geoffrey’ or ‘Lionel’ or ‘Lavinia,’ things she had gathered had gotten her uncle, brother, and mother their fair share of teasing when they were all much younger.

Not that Florence could be sure to do much better, though, in a public elementary school. That was even more old-fashioned than ‘Amelia’, suggesting magical ancestry. That Florence – Flo – had introduced herself just with her name, followed by a nickname instead of geographical information, made her less likely to be someone who was more in her cousins’ league than Amelia’s, though, so that was good.

“I answer to ‘Mimi’ at home a lot, too,” offered Amelia. She thought of that more as what people who were fond of her called her than as her name, but since she hoped her roommates would become fond of her, she threw it in there.

“I never have, either,” said Amelia when Flo offered that she’d never had roommates before. Going from none to four was going to be…interesting, she thought. Hopefully they would all get along and would be friends and it would be like having a seven-year-long sleepover party of awesomeness. “I just have a brother at home.” If she had had a sister instead of a brother, they might have still had separate rooms, but if she’d had a sister in addition to Lionel, they would have had to share, the way her mom and Aunt Helena had when they were girls. Her grandparents had lived in the same three-bedroom house for over thirty years, and Lionel had inherited Uncle Geoff’s old room. “But I’m really glad to be in Aladren. Now I can be in the family debates over whether Aladren or Crotalus is the best House,” she joked.

16 Amelia Not at the moment, anyway. 360 Amelia 0 5

John Umland

September 30, 2016 5:14 PM

I didn't see that one coming, either. by John Umland

Returning to the library had been a bit of a relief at first. John had been able to see with his own eyes that his kingdom was intact, that the Pecaris had not vandalized it just for spite or psychological warfare ahead of the approaching Quidditch season, and that the time he had spent faking a smile while the wagons unloaded (the fake smile was out of character for John, but had seemed necessary after his stunt at the Midsummer Ball. He was a little worried the Overlords might have realized he was not as brain dead as most teenagers and that they might therefore increase surveillance on him if he didn’t make a show of compliance to their ways) had not interfered with laying claim to his favorite table before someone else could. After a few moments, though, he had realized he was listening for someone who was not there, and then he had muttered angrily at nothing in particular, and then he had muttered some more when the first batch had not helped. It was, it seemed, now second nature to listen for Crowley and wait for her to spring her next attack, be that verbal or magical, whenever he was in a wizarding library, and he had no idea how long it was going to be before the impulse wore off.

It had been a long summer.

It has also, however, been interesting, enough that it made the thought of worksheets and Best Behaviour and trying to look less intelligent than he was with people he didn’t think were government agents trying to infiltrate and investigate his family seem even worse than usual. He had seen Donovan go into the Cascade Hall, so he had taken the time to go to his room and unpack his journals, Levitating his bed out of the way so he could hide them under the loose floorboard and then cast a large number of protective spells over the spot, but he had not been confident enough that his roommate wasn’t going to show up at any moment to even try to do any real work and had so ended up doing some other unpacking and setting up before wandering outside to try out some new spells he’d come up with ideas for over the summer while he tried not to think about worksheets and sleep deprivation. Today, after all, he was reasonably well-rested, the library was tidy, and his best friend was going to become Head Boy. Today was going to be a good day.

The nature of most, if not all, of the students he saw turning blue during the Sorting ceremony was a little concerning (they needed two players this year at the very least, and since Aladren was a pureblood-majority House and a lot of purebloods had trouble with the idea of girls playing, it might be doubly difficult for a half-blood captain and Assistant Captain to recruit them. He began to consider what incentives he might offer Emmy-Lou to abandon that fashion nonsense and support her House), but John didn’t think much about it as Brockert continued on his merry Brockert way. Here it was, then. Here they went….

”Would Jacob Manger…”

…What?

John glared at the top table in surprise, trying to figure out when Brockert had developed a sense of humor and why it was such a bad one, but no – Clark was half-out of his seat but not moving on, and there went Jacob Manger and Chaslyn Brockert. John had done what was Right and voted for Lena even though he hadn’t really wanted to and it hadn’t made any difference. The school was, in a year when John was sure there was going to be some kind of natural disaster, being headed by a pair who had yet to do anything to suggest to John that they were particularly inclined to rise above their social class – Manger couldn’t win a game or even become captain of his team or, as far as John could tell, do anything but smile too much and inexplicably attract girls, and Chaslyn was a nervous wreck from a House whose traits were all geared toward taking orders, not giving them. Great lot of use they were going to be if something bad happened and leadership was required.

This was all Ferguson’s fault. His presence had clearly split the ballot somehow. Now they were all quite possibly gonna die just because Dr. Dill wasn’t hopelessly inbred. Fabulous. Democracy in action.

By the time the song was over, though, Clark had put a good face on things. John smiled uncertainly, hoping that was the correct facial expression under the circumstances. John was rubbish at offering emotional support, or so he had been told; if he was upset and someone proposed a solution to his problem, as he would, John thought that person was being supportive, but Joanie said he was wrong, even though she couldn’t explain what emotional support was supposed to be if he was….

“We’ll have more time to get ready to crush him into paste on the Pitch, too,” said John, concluding that mentioning the possibility of grievous harm coming to Jake and Aladren’s reputation being restored could not possibly be the wrong thing to say. “And to work! I collected a bunch of samples from, uh, Julian’s garden. I don’t even know what they’re all supposed to do, and since we’re still, you know, still on the same level now, you don’t have an obligation to tell Pye to tell me not to risk blowing things up,” he added, hoping that would be taken as a joke.

He had, after several weeks of reading so much Latin and eighteenth-century English that they had started looking completely natural to him, sent a desperate plea for articles written at any point in the past decade to his friend earlier in the summer, along with a short summary of what was going on: that on one hand, his sister was kind of a feudal overlord now, but on the other, she’d pretty much presented her library to John as a gift if he’d just organize it in a way that made it usable for anyone who hadn’t grown up in it, so now they’d have always have some access to a magical library as long as they could put up with the crazy pureblood girl who also had privileges there. It was still weird to actually say something about Julian out loud, though. It was like acknowledging that all the pureblood stuff really was going to be a permanent part of their lives now. John didn’t like that part of it at all. He liked it even less than the thought that Clark might be more upset than he looked, or that he, John, might be incapable of being a proper friend if that was the case.

Or, frankly, just in general. John had thought a lot about his own head over the summer, but that was not something he had shared with Clark about his adventures of the past couple of months. The specific types of uneasiness, the senses of loss of control, that he had tentatively labelled insecurity and self-doubt were new and awkward and possibly Wrong and John hoped he could just bulldoze through them until he moved into a new developmental phase and they went away. He was pretty sure he had experienced something like them when he was very small, after all, and they had gone away after a while. If they could go away once, presumably because he’d moved into a new developmental stage, they could do it again.

16 John Umland I didn't see that one coming, either. 285 John Umland 0 5

Louis Valois

October 02, 2016 12:50 PM

Still not too grown up though by Louis Valois

The thought of having siblings getting engaged startled Louis, even though it really shouldn’t. Why, only that summer he’d attended the wedding of Xavier Dautin (Madeleine’s older brother) and Hélène Vexin, who were both quite young. However, Louis had no older siblings – in fact, he had no siblings at all – and hearing his friend and classmate talk about his brother’s engagement only served to further remind Louis of how quickly they were growing up. At times, adulthood seemed scarily close, and this was one of them.

However, Jack then asked Louis how his summer had been, and at once thoughts of getting older receded. “It was actually really great,” Louis replied enthusiastically. “I spent a few weeks at Emmy-Lou’s place, and also met up with Arianna for a day in New York.” Louis assumed that Jack would know who Emmy-Lou was, as they’d shared classes for another year now. “I didn’t actually spend that much time in France this summer, and when I did I was plotting starting an orchestra here. You don’t play any instruments, do you?” he asked, hopefully. He was really hoping he could get a good range of instruments together so they could have fun with a wider range of pieces.

Thoughts of his planned new club let to thoughts of his other great interest at Sonora: Quidditch. “Do you reckon Aladren will manage a Quidditch team this year?” he asked Jack, hoping that the older boy would have inside information on current non-players or potential first years that Louis didn’t. “We’d better, we need to win back our title from that Pecari lot!” For so long Aladren hadn’t been beaten, and Louis wasn’t going to let the Pecari team have a similarly long run of victories if he could help it! However, replacing two players wasn’t necessarily going to be easy, especially as they’d only managed to get one new player last year. Maybe he would have to resort to persuading people like Dustin and Madeleine that what they really wanted to do was join the Quidditch team...

9 Louis Valois Still not too grown up though 314 Louis Valois 0 5

Victor Callahan

October 02, 2016 12:52 PM

I think my art teacher gave up on me by Victor Callahan

Thanking Winston for passing the sausages, Victor felt relieved to hear his new roommate’s way of introducing himself. His conversation with Kir hadn’t been bad, but family was important, and he wanted to make friends from good families.

“Yeah, I’ve been sharing a room with my little brother for years,” he said, making a face. He didn’t want Winston thinking he liked sharing a room with a little kid. “He gets nightmares sometimes so we never stopped sharing a room,” he explained. The original plan had been for Victor to move out of the nursery years ago, but Jehan had found it comforting to have his older brother there when he woke up scared, and Victor hadn’t the heart to say no. Still, it would be nice to share a room with people his own age, and his mother had decided that he would finally have his own room during the holidays, whether Jehan liked it or not. After all, you couldn’t have nightmares forever.

“Is it just going to be us two?” asked Victor, peering along the table to see if he could spot any other Crotalus first years. “No, wait, I can see another boy over there, I guess we’ll be sharing with him too.” He wondered what his other housemate would be like. Probably a pureblood - after all, this was Crotalus. Any other traits were hard to tell, but he figured he’d find out soon enough.

“So, are you glad to be in Crotalus?” He wasn’t expecting Winston to say no – it probably wasn’t a good move to put down a house when you were surrounded by a table of its proud members – but it was something to say, and would hopefully give him more of an idea of what the other boy was like. Being respectable didn’t mean you had to be stuffy, at least not in Victor’s opinion, and he hoped the other boy would see it that way too.

9 Victor Callahan I think my art teacher gave up on me 368 Victor Callahan 0 5

Sébastien Évreux

October 02, 2016 12:53 PM

Time to make more friends by Sébastien Évreux

If Madeleine continued to act as she had that summer, Sébastien would soon find himself in the unappealing position of partially enjoying the return to Sonora. He wouldn’t admit it, but Madeleine was the person whose company he enjoyed the most, both in France and at Sonora. To see her spending more time with her old friend Léo than with him was both irritating and also insulting. Did she not appreciate his company? Yes, she’d start off an evening dancing with him, but sooner or later Madeleine would disappear with Léo, sometimes letting Bastien tag along (which was really not much fun). But now they were back at Sonora, where there was no Léo to distract Madeleine, so things could go back to normal again. Well, almost normal. Madeleine seemed to be making other friends at Sonora, as evidenced by Lily Spencer spending the wagon ride with them.

However, Sébastien had plans for the year that did not necessarily include Madeleine. If he had to be at Sonora, rather than Beauxbatons (where his sister had started that year, annoyingly), he was going to make the most of it, and that meant making connections. It was annoying that there were no other Crotalus boys in his year, but there were other people it would be useful to be on good terms with, as well as a new selection of purebloods on which to pounce. He watched carefully as the new students were sorted, trying to work out which were from good families, and making mental notes of those he probably ought to get to know.

Once the sorting was done, Sébastien listened to the Headmaster’s speech only to hear the names of the new prefects. It was always useful to know who was in power (if being a prefect could even be called that). He then sat stone-faced through the school song (such a stupid tradition), only cheering up once they were released upon the food.

However, it wasn’t the food that interested Sébastien. He wasn’t uncouth enough to fill his plate and his mouth immediately, preferring to take a few delicate spoonfuls of a carefully-chosen selection of dishes. No, what he was more interested in was talking to his housemates.

“Would you like some of this beef?” he asked, offering the dish to his neighbour. Sébastien’s English had still not lost the French accent that he had started Sonora with. His English had improved over the last year, and now flowed more naturally, making him seem less formal and stuck-up than he initially had, but he still had not completely mastered the foreign language.

“Are you glad the summer is over?”

9 Sébastien Évreux Time to make more friends 350 Sébastien Évreux 0 5

Farrah

October 02, 2016 3:38 PM

Like the Avengers! by Farrah

Farrah gave a moment of thought when he pointed out that talking about ones phobias wasn’t typical for a conversation nor was his all that common. He had a point. They certainly hadn’t gone around discussing what they were afraid of, but she thought that it might have come up in conversation in the past. And she was fairly certain that being terrified of the water was more common than he might otherwise think. Farrah grew up in Vermont and there were plenty of bodies of water around for her to simply accept the fact that water was wonderful. She had never had any sort of scare to make her feel otherwise. Her sister had taken a bit longer to warm up to water, but as far as Farrah could remember, everyone she grew up with enjoyed water. Perhaps it was because ice skating and other water based things was so normal to do?

“Oh.” Farrah said with a frown. He wouldn’t like her pond then if he didn’t like naturally occurring ice. Her pond, the one she used in the water room to mimic the one she skated on at home, was her safe place here at Sonora. The library was also safe, but since she had seen Arianna in there a couple of times, Farrah was less inclined to just hang out there unless she was working or doing homework. “Ice skating is like my favorite thing to do.” Farrah told him. “There’s a pond near my house that freezes over in the winter and we ice skate on it. The water room will change to that pond for me so that I can practice. I was hoping that you and Georgia, and Killian would maybe want to go to the pond with me to ice skate, but I think we could change it to an ice rink instead if that will make you more comfortable.” Farrah explained. “If you wanted to come that is. You don’t have to of course.” Farrah added quickly, feeling suddenly dumb for even mentioning it at all. Georgia hadn’t seemed excited about ice skating when they had first met, so really, Farrah had no idea why she thought that anyone else would want to join her.

She shrugged at his question. “I don’t know what it is. Like he has his good moments that I think ‘yeah, okay, he’s not that bad’ but then he is just him again and I’m like ‘can we have a new one now?’ I can’t explain it.” Farrah replied, giving him an amused smile. “I just really loved Matt Smith. Not at first, it took a couple of episodes for me to really like him, but then I did and it’s just hard to go from him to Capaldi.” Her face lit up when he mentioned River Song. “Donna was a great Companion, much more than Clara, and it was so sad to see how she had to end her time as his companion. But River, once it all came together and you really understand who she is and what she means to The Doctor and knowing where she ended up…. I can just cry thinking about it now.”

Farrah really enjoyed talking about Doctor Who with Kellen. When she was first sent to Sonora last year, Farrah thought that everything would be so new and different for her. That she’ll never find anyone who would really get her and she’ll lose that part of herself while she was here. But then she met her friends and she felt like she had a solid place to belong.

It was a relief to know that Kellen felt the same. Farrah didn’t want to read too much into anything at this point, but Madeleine had smiled at her in a friendly way after she had woken her up to make sure she wouldn’t miss the feast, so that was also making Farrah feel like she wasn’t completely wrong in believing that they could be friends.

Now that they had all that nonsense put behind them, Farrah took a couple of pieces of bread and popped them into her mouth. Her stomach was still achy but it might feel better with something in it. “Are you ready for some more magic? Oh…” Farrah paused and then laughed. “Nevermind, you have it all the time. Are you at least ready to try some new spells?”

6 Farrah Like the Avengers! 344 Farrah 0 5

Diana Carey

October 02, 2016 6:09 PM

Right now, I'd say a little stunned by Diana Carey

Sixth year. Diana could barely believe it. Wasn’t it just yesterday she’d started Intermediate classes?

She was, she thought as she walked into the Cascade Hall, going to miss Intermediate classes. They had been relatively easy – Diana had managed to get herself nominated for Best Spellcasting in the yearbook; she would have been prouder of that if it hadn’t put her picture right next to one of Umland – and the number of years in the classes meant there had never been a shortage of decent company. Advanced classes involved fewer options for company – Diana expected to spend most of the year talking to Jake and her roommates and maybe occasionally the ever-so-twitchy Mr. Westley, if everyone decent on the planet didn’t start shunning his sister – and they were supposed to take real effort to do well in. Of course, people had also told her the CATS were going to be much harder than they had actually been, so Diana wasn’t despairing of her self-esteem yet, but she was definitely not feeling confident of her ability to just breeze through the next two years.

On her way to the Pecari table, she made sure to smile and small-wave at the ever-so-twitchy Mr. Westley in addition to the Teppenpaws she actually liked before she took her seat with her own House. She might not breeze through the next two years, but she was determined to look like she was doing so, and part of that meant being as outwardly cheerful and social as ever.

Diana had taken it as given that Clark Dill was going to become Head Boy, so her own head snapped up in surprise when she heard Jake’s name instead. She smiled, delighted, and clapped enthusiastically for her friend, who she had mostly forgiven for not waiting just one more year to get a girlfriend and therefore not leaving her in the lurch at the Ball. She continued smiling and clapping as the prefects were announced, as she adored Jemima – a good thing, considering they were likely to be related someday – and Gia was a sweet thing, too. Her expressions of enthusiasm over the new professors were much more reserved, though, as they were unlikely to apply to her and were now just standing between everyone and the food. The interesting part of the pre-Feast formalities was over, unless you counted listening for who sang the worst as ‘interesting.’

Once that was done, too, the food appeared and Diana moved down a few places to be closer to where Pecari’s newest prefect appeared to be in shock. “Congratulations,” she said, and Gia seemed to notice she had said something, but not exactly what.

“I said ‘congratulations,’” Diana repeated. “For that.” She nodded to the badge. “I’d put it on if I were you,” she added helpfully. It wouldn’t do Gia’s authority with the first years any good if they noticed her sitting there looking stunned. Uncle Anthony had acted as her primary etiquette and diplomacy tutor over the summer and had made it clear that looking any given part was as important as really being what she looked like.

0 Diana Carey Right now, I'd say a little stunned 294 Diana Carey 0 5

Aislinn Nicolls

October 03, 2016 9:57 PM

Another year... by Aislinn Nicolls

It was hard to believe that she was already a fifth year. Fifth year. It was the most important year of her life. This year would determine if she would be on the path to becoming a mediwizard or…well, there was really no other choice. Aislinn had spent the last four years studying and nothing else just to reach this point. She had watched while other students made friends and enjoyed social activities, but not her. She had made an effort to go to the dance last term, but that was only due to a social experiment. Of course, that’s what she told herself. In truth, someone had caught her interest and as much as she tried to deny it, she was like every other teenager. She couldn’t ignore the way her breath caught or the quickening of her heart. She had never gotten to know him. Being involved just wasn’t in her plan, but she couldn’t help admiring him from afar.

Prying her blue eyes away from where he was sitting, she took an empty seat. The normal Opening Feast festivities were beginning. She opened the Potions book that she had brought with her. It was never too early to get a start on studying. She paused long enough to clap along with everyone else for the sorted first years. Aislinn noted that there were quite a few girls sorted into Aladren. That was a positive note. Females were often thought to be less intelligent than males, but here it was being proven untrue. She hoped the younger ones would have the confidence to make their way in a male-dominated society. After the first years were sorted, the new Head Students and Prefects were called. She clapped for the new prefects, students of her year. She didn’t know any of them very well, but she was happy for their achievement.

A note of annoyance crossed Aislinn’s face when the rest of the announcements made mention of Herbology. She would have liked to have taken the course. It would have been rather useful, especially given the field that she would be perusing. Though, she had at least done her reading on the plants that were involved in healing potions, but knowing traits of other plants would have been helpful. Some variations into potions could have produced quite different effects, ones that may have been beneficial to the injured and sick. At least, she would be able to further study the subject in depth in university.

Aside from that, she went back to her reading. She vaguely heard mention of a Fair, which she had no interest in attending. Then, there was the school song. Finally, they could eat. She was starving. The wagon ride was always long and while she could have had a snack, she much preferred to make sure everything in her room was organized. Not that she had to worry about anyone making it a mess since she was fortunate enough not to have to share with anyone. When she was younger, she had shared a room with her twin, Sutton, but that had changed as they had begun developing different interests and therefore, ended up fighting all the time.

Putting her book down completely, Aislinn took a bit of salad. She also wanted a piece of chicken, but it was further down. “Excuse me, could you please pass the chicken?” She asked, of the nearest student.

0 Aislinn Nicolls Another year... 297 Aislinn Nicolls 0 5

Sutton Nicolls

October 03, 2016 10:24 PM

Is it over? by Sutton Nicolls

Sutton absolutely hated having to come back to school. She couldn’t wait until she graduated. Her parents didn’t understand. All they saw was her poor grades. She did well enough to pass, but they were far from excelling. They lectured her about her wasted potential. Didn’t they understand that she didn’t need these classes? She was going to be a musician. Musicians didn’t need magical courses. What use would Potions or Care of Magical Creatures be? But her parents didn’t listen. They never did. The only person that did was A.J., her best friend at home.

That was another reason that she hated school. Somehow, she had managed to isolate herself from the other students. She hadn’t necessarily meant to. Of course, it hadn’t helped that the first few years, she hadn’t felt the need to socialize. She had been fine on her own. She had concentrated on her musical skills. Now, however, it just seemed like another reason that she shouldn’t be at the school. Everyone had their little groups and it just reminded her that the people she belonged with were back home. If she were back home, she could be in A.J.’s band all the time. At least, over the summer, he had allowed her to join in with vocals, but she really wanted to do drums.

But summer was over and here she was. She watched the first years being sorted. She didn’t think much of where they went and clapped only out of politeness. Next were the Head Student and Prefect announcements. Again, she clapped politely. One of her roommates had gained the title of Prefect, which was good for her. She deserved to be Prefect. Then, there were the rest of the normal Opening Feast announcements – things that were changing, things that were going on, etc. She thought the Fair sounded like it might be fun, but again, it just made her long for friends back home. She knew they would have had a blast.

Adjusting in her seat, her hair fell into her eyes, which made her jump a little. She wasn’t used to the new haircut. Before school, she had decided to do something different. She was bored with her long, brown hair so she had gotten it cut. It was much shorter than she was used to. It was cut into an asymmetrical bob. The back was cut close with the front being on the longer side. It was also layered so the one side often fell over her eyes. For a bit of additional interest, she had added purple, blue, and green peekaboo accents. She really liked it, even if Aislinn didn’t. Her sister didn’t understand why she wanted something so drastic. Even her sister just didn’t get it.

Once they were allowed to eat, Sutton took some mashed potatoes. She pushed some around on the plate with a sigh. Was the school year over yet?

0 Sutton Nicolls Is it over? 311 Sutton Nicolls 0 5

Kellen

October 04, 2016 1:12 PM

Or the Justice League by Kellen

Kellen had never considered how he'd feel about ice skating on a magical body of water. Plus, if the room made it ice, it should be solid, right? He also couldn't imagine anything scary or dangerous occurring inside the school, so maybe he'd be ok. He noticed the shift in Farrah’s demeanor and somehow it made him feel almost brave. He didn't want to see her sad, and the way she spoke about her ice skating idea made him feel like it he needed to do what he could to make it happen, even if it meant going out of his comfort zone.

“The water room should be ok, I think. Frozen by magic seems more trustworthy than frozen by temperature to me. And it likely won't have anything crazy living in it since it's a simulation, you know?” He was trying his best to logic himself into it, even though the thought of it made his anxiety flare up. “I know that I won't be any good, but I'll go. I'd like to ice skate with you. And Georgia and Killian, of course.” He offered, hoping to cheer Farrah up a little. It wasn't completely untrue either. He could have done without the ice skating, but he liked the idea of hanging out with Farrah and Georgia more. The jury was still out when it came to the other boy.

“Matt was definitely going to be a tough act to follow for anyone, unless they decided to bring Tenant back. At least Capaldi is a fan of the show, you know? He may not be great, but he at least has been invested in it. I’m really worried about the new companion...Capaldi and this, Bill...it’s going to be a rough season I think. Please don’t cry though, I don’t think I’m emotionally prepared for that.”

Kellen laughed when Farrah brought up magic. He’d been so surprised to find out that her father had kept that side of himself from her mother for as long as he had. Granted, Kellen’s father didn’t know his own son was a wizard, but he felt like his situation was a little different. His parents weren’t married, and were only co-parenting because his father felt like he needed to. He and Kellen’s mother didn’t really have a relationship outside of being parents to Kellen, so there were many things they didn’t know about each other, magic was just the biggest.

“Half of the time. My dad’s house is a non magic zone. I’m definitely ready though. I read up on wand work and theory and stuff, so I think this year should be better. I’m looking forward to actually trying spells though, instead of just reading about them. How about you? Are you going to be a library helper again too?”

5 Kellen Or the Justice League 341 Kellen 0 5

Jack

October 04, 2016 4:04 PM

I don't fancy any wrinkles yet. by Jack

Jack wasn't acquainted with Emmy-Lou, but he did know of her from class. He didn't realise Louis and she were close enough to spend a few weeks together, but perhaps they were family friends. "Sounds like a grand time," he said with a smile. Jack had only been to New York once when Adam was a first or second year. After some kind of concert the Spencers had toured the United States, but Jack didn't have many memories of all the places they'd visited. He only remember New York to be much dirtier than London, but he liked how different it was. Still, he preferred London to any other city.

"Well, I used to play the cello, but I haven't been at it for a while." Jack had never really enjoyed playing it, but there were times he thought back to it fondly. He and his siblings had all taken music lessons, but only Charlotte had really stuck with it. It was too bad she wasn't here any more for Louis's club.

"If we can't put together a team we'll be a laughing stock," said Jack, brightening at the topic. "I agree. We've lost to Pecari one too many times. With Dill - er, Clark - as captain I think we stand a good chance. I don't know how Pecari's done it for so long with such an arrogant twit as their Seeker. Though Park might be a prat, he's good at what he's supposed to do." Jack didn't like acknowledging it, but in order for them to create a successful plan of action they needed to acknowledge each team's strengths and weaknesses.

"We just need to do some serious recruiting," he said with a sigh. "We've never had trouble putting a team together in the years I've been here and we definitely can't fail now." Jack didn't know what it was that suddenly made him feel so much more responsible. It might've been the shiny new badge on his robes. "Let's see if we can spot any promising first or second years."

40 Jack I don't fancy any wrinkles yet. 299 Jack 0 5

Conrad Helms

October 04, 2016 10:58 PM

I am finally here!! [New Aladren] by Conrad Helms

The day for Conrad to start his life as a new Sonoran was finally here. The eleven-year old fidgeted all the ride from Florida to Sonora. However, he couldn't hide the excitement reflected in his young face. The boy’s face was pressed to the window he had chosen as his seat for the whole ride. If the wagon was filled with friendly chatter, he didn't hear it. Conrad was out of Florida for the very first time. He was going to enjoy the scenery playing right before his eyes - the mountains, valleys, river and lakes were passing as if he was watching a movie (Not that he knew what a movie was, though). The smile on his face was enough to light up a whole room. Conrad couldn't really believe he was seeing all of this. Being on his way to Sonora was a dream come true, and Conrad wanted to enjoy every single second of it.

The ride was done far too quickly, in Conrad´s opinion, but the second part of this fun adventure was about to start: Sonora.

The blonde eleven-year old almost ran over someone as he left the wagon. He was greeted by someone that mentioned Orientation. It was interesting, to be honest. Conrad learned a lot about the school. Houses, and ruled, but he had been so enraptured with the gardens and people that he ignored everyone around him. Conrad had enjoyed this first Sonora experience by himself. However, he was ready to make friends and commit to the school experience. He was happy, excited… he was feeling too many things that he couldn't pinpoint an exact emotion.

Conrad started looking for potential friends, but the professor started herding everyone back inside to a place called Cascade Hall. It was easy to see why the room was called like that. The cascades made a very comforting, relaxing sound as they crashed against the water in the ground. It was never ending. It was perfect. He smiled and the whole scene. The beautiful cascades, the four different tables filled with people and the adults that would, soon, become his official professors.

His curious green-eyes took everything in. He was really here. The eleven-year old stood by his fellow classmates as the headmaster began to talk. Conrad listened without much interest, but enough to get the important information, or so he wanted to think - he had missed half of the information. Conrad knew that he headmaster was part of a Pureblood family (his dad had told him), and he had also told him the Brockert family had spread like weeds around America. Even when the Helms family had not been an active participant in the Pureblood society, they knew everything that was happening, and Jacob had instructed his son accordingly. The Helms did not usually sought out other Pureblood families with money - their main concern was the purity and respectability of their blood. Money was something that came and went, but blood stayed.

Everything was passing in the blur of the moment. Conrad wasn't sure how long he had been standing there, but the student next to him passed him a goblet from which he took a sip.. And BOOM! Conrad had turned blue. He had been sorted in Aladren.

Conrad just smiled and casually made his way towards the rest of the Aladren house. His fellow newcomers seemed to be more female than male. He shrugged that though off and finally realized he was starving. “I am starving!” he exclaimed hoping he wouldn't bother the person sitting net to him.

0 Conrad Helms I am finally here!! [New Aladren] 359 Conrad Helms 0 5

Ingrid Wolsiethcrafte

October 05, 2016 6:02 AM

I'm referring here to sausages by Ingrid Wolsiethcrafte

Ingrid was feeling a bit blue about returning to school. She was an outgoing person… She had always hoped to have a lot of friends. But outside the Quidditch team, she hadn’t really had that many. It didn’t exactly matter… Training took up most of her time, and she’d started getting friendly with some of her team-mates off the pitch - she had been super excited when Joella invited her over during the summer. But team-mates graduated. And her confidence had been knocked at the end of term, when the one person she’d felt like she was connecting with outside the team had turned out to be very, very different to what she had thought. Louis Valois had openly admitted that he wouldn’t mind being a blood traitor. She’d talked to her mother about it over the summer. She had not looked impressed but had said that boys sometimes liked to talk big at Louis’ age - to act out, to rebel. She had advised Ingrid not to form too close an association, lest Louis turned out to be exactly what he had suggested, but not to snub him completely. After all, right now, it was all talk.

She had spent the run up to the feast in the Pecari Common Room. She wanted to avoid Louis as much as possible, but it was lonely in her dorm. Even though it was just random luck, it was another reason she felt like an outsider… She was surrounded on all sides by reuniting room-mates, happily chattering. She had heard of other students moving in together if they were on their own, but usually only if they were two singles. Everyone else already had enough room-mates and she was the odd one out.

The thought of the feast managed to lift her spirits slightly, as she always looked forward to food. She made her way directly to the Pecari table, keeping her focus on the front of the hall as first years were sorted and on the stage as the announcements were made. Once it was food time, she scanned the table eagerly.

“Hey, could you pass the sausages?” she asked the girl next to her. She recognised the younger Pecari but had never really had many interactions with her. She thought the younger girl might have told her she liked her hair a couple of times, or something like that. She hadn’t formed much impression of her beyond that she was quite friendly. Ingrid was quite quickly able to add ‘daydreamer’ to that list of attributes, as the girl snapped to from staring apparently into space and asked Ingrid what she’d wanted.

“Yeah, sausages, please,” she smiled, pointing at the dish near the other girl. “Something on your mind?” she asked, as she added mashed potatoes and salad to her plate.

13 Ingrid Wolsiethcrafte I'm referring here to sausages 322 Ingrid Wolsiethcrafte 0 5

Gia

October 05, 2016 8:15 PM

I'd say, you are right! by Gia

Gia stomach jumped when she realized who it was that was sitting beside her. Diana Carey was the first girl that Gia had ever really noticed as something more than just another girl. She had had her first female crush on her and it had caused uproar in her emotions regarding what was right and wrong about it. It had taken her quite a while to come to terms with her sexuality and after finding out that Sammy also liked girls, she had felt a little better about her own situation. It was her brother’s acceptance though that really had her feeling all around positive. And it all came about because Gia couldn’t stop thinking about the curly haired brunette beside her.

Her crush on her had lessened quite a bit since the end of last term due to her summer romance with Phoebe. They hadn’t been completely open about their relationship but they hadn’t really kept it secret either. They had held hands, wrapped their arms around one another, even had the occasional kiss while they were out and about. All these little things that would have added up and made it obvious about their dating to anyone who was paying them any attention. The majority of their affection was kept behind closed doors (not that there was much more than kissing happening).

A small pink hue entered into her cheeks when she realized what it was that Diana was telling her. “Oh, thank you.” Gia said, taking the badge and pinning it to her robes. She really didn’t want any of the younger students thinking that Gia wasn’t authoritative enough or welcoming enough for her new position, but she still couldn’t quite believe that she was chosen to be Prefect over the other Pecaris. It wasn’t that she didn’t think she was capable or deserving of it at all because she certainly knew her own worth in terms of her accomplishments and her attitude towards others; it was more about the fact that she felt that Chuck and Sammy were respected by more than she was.

“I just didn’t think that the Staff would have found me to be the Prefect material over Sammy or Chuck.” Gia admitted with a small, hesitant laugh. She mentally shook herself and put some soup into her bowl. She couldn’t focus completely on the badge for the evening because she thought that might be rubbing it in should anyone else have wanted it. “How was your summer, Diana?” Gia asked politely. She wasn’t as close to Diana as she was to Joella, but she was hoping that maybe some of that could change this year.

6 Gia I'd say, you are right! 308 Gia 0 5

Isaac Song

October 06, 2016 3:44 AM

There's a first for everything by Isaac Song

There was so much to look at that Isaac felt like he couldn't keep his eyes in his head sometimes. It was so great, all of it, but just so overwhelming too. The moment he'd stepped out of the wagon to now entering Cascade Hall, Isaac was floored. He only wished he could share this with his best friends back home. He imagined Jason's speechless face, Drake pointing out every little detail, and Manny trying to figure out whether he was excited or scared. It sucked his bros couldn't be here with him, and that was the hardest part of leaving them behind.

At least so far people here seemed pretty cool. The guy he'd talked to during orientation was friendly, but he'd have to see how he would get along with his roommates. Part of him hoped he'd be in the same house as Lauren, but they were pretty different personality-wise. Maybe if he wished hard enough?

Cascade Hall was magical for lack of better words. He couldn't believe that this was a part of the school. It all just seemed so nice, but maybe all magical boarding schools looked like this. His mom had certainly never talked about it before. Isaac suddenly felt timid in the midst of so much magic. It was really overwhelming for an eleven-year-old boy to comprehend after being raised in a Muggle neighborhood with a mom who didn't seem to really like her magical heritage all that much.

Living in a small place like this was going to take some getting used to, though. Isaac was used to big cities and tons of people, but here he would get to know everyone in the school quick. He decided he was going to become friends with everyone in his class at least no matter what house he was sorted into. That was the least he could do to keep from missing his best friends and wishing they were here.

Isaac couldn't wait to get sorted, and when it came to him he took a good gulp and wished hard for Teppenpaw. Instead, his skin turned brown and he looked over at the matching first-years. He'd been sorted into Pecari. While he was a little disappointed that he wouldn't get to be with his sister, he was also a little glad to be able to make his own friends without his sister watching over him all the time. He sat down with another first-year and smiled at him in greeting as the rest of the sorting went on.

The Headmaster started talking and talking and Isaac tuned out a little as he planned out what he was going to eat. Once the food arrived, he hoped there was steak and Korean barbecue and white rice so it'd feel a little like home, but just the good food from Los Angeles. Isaac was really going to miss having amazing food all around him like tacos and pho and Korean barbecue. Not that he went to those places often, but still, the option was there. Would it be the same here?

When the food appeared, Isaac scanned the table for any sign of his favorites. There were cheeseburgers, so everything that Isaac had thought before completely went out the window. Cheeseburgers for dinner sounded great to him. His mom was strict on their diet at home. Before deciding to become a pharmacist, she'd contemplated being a nutritionist, and though Isaac didn't completely understand what that career entailed, he knew it had to do something with eating healthy. He was glad she hadn't gone that route, but she was still kind of annoying when it came to food. Here, he could eat anything he wanted and no one would care.

Before he could dig in, however, the boy he'd sat next to introduced himself and Isaac was intrigued by his accent. He didn't know how to respond to Magnus's introduction, but Simon had introduced himself the same way. Maybe that was the way that wizards and witches introduced themselves. "I'm Isaac Song of California," he said, smiling back. "Actually I'm from Los Angeles. California's a huge state; Texas is too, I think. Where in Texas are you from?"

At the mention of pie, Isaac's head whipped around to look at it. "Yeah, it definitely looks awesome." He'd have to save some room in his stomach for that later. "I was going to start with the cheeseburger. My mom wouldn't want me to eat that for dinner, but we're on our own now." Isaac grinned at his new housemate and took a burger for himself. He added a tomato and some lettuce just to make his mom happy, even though she'd have no idea, and took a big bite. "Mmm, this is so much better than McDonald's."

19 Isaac Song There's a first for everything 375 Isaac Song 0 5

Ben Pierce

October 06, 2016 1:51 PM

Our time here has come to a middle by Ben Pierce

Ben had a pretty good summer. It had started out with a great picnic with Tess and their respective families. They lived less than ten miles away from each other, so he'd anticipated lots of fun with his fellow Pecari over the break, but it hadn't worked out that way when her little sister Emma was born too earlier and with health problems. After that, Tess hadn't really wanted to come play with him, which he totally understood. The Pierces had also brought her family dinner a few times, because cooking and spending loads of time at the hospital didn't go together very well (and to be entirely truthful, as a Healer, Mom was feeling a little guilty that she couldn't be more helpful medically so she tried her best to be extra helpful gastronomically).

Otherwise, his summer had been largely consumed with baseball games as both spectator and participant, and some basketball, and even some informal street hockey with the kids on his block. They were getting old enough now that questions about where Ben went to school and why he was only around during the summer were becoming more probing and almost suspicious, but Ben thought he handled it pretty well by pointing out his mom was a doctor and *she'd* gone to a special boarding school so she thought he should, too. This pretty much labelled him the entitled rich kid of Boston Harbor (nevermind that his dad worked retail at a tourist museum shop and they still lived in a lower middle class neighborhood - this was now viewed as rich folk eccentricity) but they let him play hockey with them anyway, and that was the part that mattered. And he was well off enough that he could treat them all to ice pops at least once a week, so he became downright popular through the liberal use of his frozen assets.

The wagon back had involved catching up with the other North East wagon witches and wizards, and he'd spent most of it talking sports and Quidditch with Gabe and Nat. He had noticed Tess had seemed a bit quieter than her norm, but he figured he knew why and didn't bother her in case she wanted to be alone.

Feasts, on the other hand, were for celebrating with other people and were not times to be miserable so he parked himself down next to Tess shortly before the Tiny Ones arrived for their sorting. He only managed a short greeting before the ceremonies began, and Ben scanned over the crowd, found the one he was looking for - Pierces were fairly consistent in looks and there was no denying his second cousin was related despite having never met the kid. They had the same dark hair (Ben's was a bit curlier and messier, but the shade was the same) and though Winston wore thin wire rimmed glasses over his eyes, they did not hide that the grey blue there was the same as well. The general shapes of their features were likewise similar, as was the case for most of their bloodline. Gramelia said Great-Grandfather had been paranoid about illegitimate heirs and did some kind of magic to make sure any invalid claims could be easily recognized. All of his male line descendants looked like him. Thirty years from now, Ben's kids and Winston's would look more like siblings than third cousins, just as Ben and Winston looked like brothers now.

Great-Grandfather hadn't really anticipated that a chunk of his grandkids might break off and turn into muggle-living liberals. Ben thought it was hilarious. Winston probably wished Derwent the Original hadn't made his blood-magic quite so multigenerational.

But then, Winston really was an entitled rich kid. Ben just played one for his street hockey buddies.

Sure enough, the other Pierce turned red and ran off to join Crotalus like most of more proper of the school's purebloods. Ben watched him go and wondered if they would ever even meet. He'd been at the school two full years and the closest he ever got to meeting Ginger Pierce (who looked nothing like him and Winston because the California branch must have predated the blood magic) was throwing a Quaffle at the hoops she was guarding.

The first years finished their sorting, and then badges were handed out. He didn't really know Gia very well but clapped for her anyway and gave Sammy a sympathetic shrug in case his fifth year teammate had been hoping for it. Jake he knew mostly as the Teppenpaw Seeker, so he guessed a Teppenpaw would be a nice guy and Chaslyn Brockert was in just about all of the clubs, so Ben had been exposed to her as well, though he didn't really know her any more than he knew Jake. He'd never had much need to interact with Head Students anyway, so he supposed it didn't much matter to him who got them. The only seventh year he had interacted with on any extended basis was Jamie Park, and while Ben had no issues with the Pecari Seeker himself . . . Jamie was maybe not as nice a choice as the Teppenpaw one.

The Headmaster continued with a few more announcements and concluded with the song, which Ben sang heartily if not beautifully, and then there was food. Ben set to the important business of filling his plate. He'd headed back to his room to unpack and reunite with his roommates (Camden was a great guy, Kyte was his first and probably still his best friend, and even Cameron wasn't totally awful anymore) during the first year orientation so he was famished. The bag of chips he'd packed for the wagon ride were no more than a distant memory.

Once he had a full plate, though, it was time to try to engage Tess in the Feast. She was barely touching her food, and that was just saddening. "I'm not going to ask about your summer," he promised, then worried that saying so might be just as bad as asking. Fortunately, she seemed not to have heard him and he was given a second chance to open the conversation on a less heavy note.

"I said," he lied, "that you've got lettuce on your fork. That's the problem. Eat sweet potatoes." He grinned and pushed his favorite dish toward her in case she wanted any.

Then he continued, because food was good, but it wasn't much of a conversational topic, "So intermediates this year, huh? We've reached the middle of the totem pole! Thinking of going for any electives?" And okay, classes were maybe not the most exciting topic either, but they should be safe at least.

1 Ben Pierce Our time here has come to a middle 339 Ben Pierce 0 5

Simon Mordue

October 06, 2016 3:46 PM

My art appreciation tutor...didn't dislike me? by Simon Mordue

At first, the tour had been fine. Simon had managed to find an almost-comfortable place on the fringes of the group of first years as they’d all followed Professor Xavier into the building, and he had been favorably impressed by the first bits of the building he’d seen. It appeared clean and reasonably comfortable despite the known presence of non-society people in it, which suggested the teachers here did at least keep them in line. That made Simon feel much better, as he had been worried about the prospect of living with people he had learned in his social studies lessons didn’t even learn proper etiquette….

After a while, though, as they had turned corner after corner and climbed stair after stair, he had realized something: he had no idea how to get back to where he had started, and only a vague idea how to get back to some places he’d already been. There were just so many new things to see, and he had never had a very good sense of direction. For the first time, Simon saw an advantage to the prospect of roommates (he could follow any of them who did have a sense of direction around tomorrow) and hoped that if there was anything which listened to prayers out there, it had not given him the single room he had often secretly wished for in the past few weeks. He could find someone to follow anyway, he supposed, because of Houses, but it would be so much easier to make conversation and hide the fact that he had no idea where he was going and needed help just to get to breakfast if it was his roommate he walked with.

Once decent roommate, he implored the heavens. Just one. That’s all I need. Except, as he added as he saw the Deputy Headmistress approaching with the goblet of potion which would tell him his House, and not to be in Teppenpaw. Simon had actually thought the description of Teppenpaws sounded good, but Father had not seemed enthusiastic. Simon suspected Father would rather Simon be an Aladren.

If he was right, he thought as he looked at his hands, Father was going to be disappointed, but he didn’t think Father would be too disappointed. They had both agreed that Crotalus would be pretty good, too, and the potion indicated that Simon should go there.

Simon scurried over to the table he’d seen indicated and took the first seat he saw. It took him a few moments to realize that none of the people around him shared his current coloration – or, indeed, any unusual coloration. They all looked like what he suspected they always looked like. That meant he had landed among older students. Looking around the table of completely normal faces, he feared for a moment that he was the only first year Crotalus, period, but then he saw two other unusually bright boys a way down the table.

As the headmaster made announcements Simon could tell didn’t really affect him about people he didn’t know and the school sang a song, Simon considered his options. Should he move? On one hand, getting up and moving would undoubtedly draw more attention to him than Simon liked having on him, but on the other…well, he was here to make connections. That meant he couldn’t hide forever. Plus, if the other boys became best friends at the Feast, there was a chance they would gang up on him later, when he had to go into a room with them and nobody else. That wouldn’t be good. The sooner he dealt with them, the sooner he could stop feeling faintly sick about the prospect of meeting them, too….

He was going to do it. He had to do it. Gathering his nerve and still-empty plate, he made two tiny false starts, unnoticeable to anyone not looking directly at him, and then got up and went to where the other boys were sitting just in time to hear one of them ask the other about Crotalus.

“I certainly am,” he said, hoping he sounded confident, like Father, instead of…like himself, basically. His teachers said he was far more competent and good at faking poise than he gave himself credit for, so maybe he at least didn’t come across as a blurting weirdo. “I am Simon Mordue, of the Oregon Mordues,” he added. He didn’t know that there were any other kind – his family was not as…complicated…as he’d heard some were – but if his great-great-great-grandfather had had one disowned second cousin he’d never heard of who’d sent a descendant to the other coast for some reason, it could lead to misunderstandings, he supposed. “May I join you?”

Wrong. He should have just assumed he could. Now that he’d said it, though, he couldn’t take it back, so here was hoping they hadn’t simultaneously decided they thought he looked like an idiot on sight.

16 Simon Mordue My art appreciation tutor...didn't dislike me? 369 Simon Mordue 0 5

Gabe

October 06, 2016 8:44 PM

But you're still you and I'm still me by Gabe

“Thanks, dude,” he grinned at his roommate-teammate, grabbing the quesadilla platter and starting to fill his plate. It was good to see his roommate again. Joe was a cool guy and an awesome flyer, the best sort of things a person could be, in Gabe’s book.

“Summer was mostly good - Ari and I had summer school,” he caveated, “Learning about Earth Science in the middle of the city is pretty weird. But we talked Aunt Patrizia into taking us to Central Park - for science, of course,” he emphasized said point with a nod carrying all the fake seriousness he could muster, “So that was pretty fun. What about you?”

There had also been a decent amount of flying. But, given that it was Joe of all people that he was talking to, he felt kind of guilty about that. It wasn’t that Gabe had purposely left out his buddy from his summer antics. Simply, it was a matter of geography.

Every day, one of his parents would drop him off at the closest Floo transportation center, and he would go into Brooklyn, where Aunt Patrizia and Uncle Anthony lived. Gabe always felt a bit guilty about this too. His parents frequently complained about the traffic going into the city from their home in the suburbs. To be fair, Floo travel everyday was no fun either, he didn’t appreciate being in such a small space. But at least it was quick.

Anyway, since he was Floo-ing to Brooklyn three or four days a week, he was often pretty close to Nat’s neighborhood. And of course if he was going to be in the area, he and Nat were going to go to a public Pitch and go flying!

He even talked his cousin into joining, if only occasionally. Arianna didn’t enjoy flying nearly as much as he or Nat did, but Gabe always thought his cousin seemed happier when she was away from home. Having magical school, and then normal summer school was bad enough as it was. But his cousin lived with teachers all the time! And his Aunt and Uncle were super strict, way more so than the professors at Sonora, who pretty much allowed Gabe to explode things on a regular basis. Anyway, it made him happy when he could talk Ari into joining. A kid needed some fresh air sometimes, run around and get loose.

It was just hard, with Joe all the way in Canada. Maybe they should invite Joe over or something next time they had a school vacation. Maybe Gabe could even recruit enough people to play a mini-game! He could host a sleepover in the den, the way Emma did with her friends.

“You should come visit sometime,” he suggested, “You could stay by my place and then go flying with me and Nat. Sometimes Ari comes along and we could get a game going or something.” The idea of hanging out with friends outside of school was very exciting to Gabe. Seeing all those kids Mattie had invited over to the not-so-secret house party had served as a rude reminder that he was starting to become disconnected from his home. Even if Amanda Foreman did insist that they were “a thing” for nearly a week.

0 Gabe But you're still you and I'm still me 330 Gabe 0 5

Rory Taransay

October 07, 2016 12:54 PM

You maaaaaay be right! by Rory Taransay

Rory hadn’t yet fully experienced the sadness of losing a class he’d taught for seven years, but even with just a few months of teaching he found it strange to think that some students would no longer be in his classes. He was sure that it was only going to get harder to watch them leave, and Sophie’s words confirmed this. However, she also made a good point about all the new students that would be starting. The new group of first years would be the first class that Rory would know throughout their entire seven years at Sonora (assuming, of course, that he was still here in seven years), and there was something quite special about that thought.

He let out a chuckle at Sophie’s question. “Well, I spent my summer grappling with graphorns,” he replied, enjoying the similarity of those two words (he’d obviously missed a wonderful opportunity as a writer) and resisting the urge to go into greater detail. He knew he could be a little too enthusiastic sometimes about all the creatures he’d encountered. “So either I’m easily overprepared for dealing with students, or I’m greatly underestimating what they’re capable of.” Truth be told, Rory wouldn’t be entirely surprised if the second scenario turned out to be closer to reality. He could just about remember his school days (a decade wasn’t that long!), and his memories of drama, fights and pranks suggested that a herd of graphorns could actually be a whole lot simpler than a herd of emotional and pubescent teenagers. He was glad that he was just a teacher, imagining that the Heads of House must have quite a difficult time dealing with all their students outside of lessons!

“At least as lowly teachers we just have to focus on their education,” he continued, verbalising his train of thought. “It’s the Heads of House I feel sorry for, being the first port of call for hormonal and traumatised students!”

9 Rory Taransay You maaaaaay be right! 33 Rory Taransay 0 5

Madeleine

October 07, 2016 8:37 PM

Why, because you'll steal them? by Madeleine

The Suspicious One was a good actress, Flora noted as Arianna Valenti expressed concern over a note she had left for Farrah. Bringing the subject of the note up with who she obviously thought was Madeleine was risky, but kind of showed that there was nothing to hide, that it was just a simple note with no meaning behind it and that Madeleine need not worry herself about it’s contents which were obviously to discuss Flora’s status as a spy and likely the steps needed to take her down.

The mention of the note also brought something else to Flora’s mind. The Suspicious One and the Less Suspicious One were either not very good at being spies or very, very accomplished. They didn’t have code names or, if they did, they were currently not using them in order to lull Flora into a false sense of security. Or, perhaps Arianna Valenti and Farrah Welsh were not even their real names! It was a lot to think about, Flora thought, but the more she thought the more she realised the danger it all posed to her and so as she opened her mouth to respond to Arianna’s question, she let her Flora slip away and became, quite fully, Madeleine again.

“No, I did not,” she replied with an equally perplexing forehead scrunch. It was best to play ignorant, let them think she knew nothing of the note. Besides, she had put the note back on the floor to look as though it had been knocked off the nightstand by the wind of the door closing. “Was it important?” A good follow up question, Madeleine congratulated herself, Flora would be proud. Arianna’s concern suggested that she wanted Farrah to read the note, and soon. Watching Arianna’s initial reaction to Madeleine’s question could give her an insight into how much the other girl knew about Flora and the whole ring.

Madeleine politely declined the salad—she already had the crudites on the plate and besides, salad was for eating after a meal and before the cheese and dessert, to cleanse the palate and help with digestion. But she would take some bread, and ripped a piece of bread from the load in front of her, spreading a less than generous amount of butter on it. Bread was an essential part of a meal and almost as much as good bread, Madeleine loved good butter, but she had yet to find either good bread or good butter at Sonora. At home the butter was creamy and had small chunks of salt scattered about to bring out the flavour of both the bread and the butter. There was texture besides just grease, which was what the American butter tasted like to her.

“My summer was quite lovely,” Madeleine responded . Summers, this she could do. “My brother was married at the beginning so we had a nice party, and there was an engagement party for my sister at the end.” The parties were lovely for the most part—since it was Bastien’s cousin that her brother was marrying, Madeleine had spent the majority of that party with the young Crotalus able only to dance with Léo for a few turns. But at the others, she had split her time between her two friends rather evenly. However she had noticed Bastien spending an inordinate amount of time waiting on some of the daughters of other families which caused Madeleine to feel rather slighted despite favouring Léo herself.

“How was your summer, did you have any balls to attend?” For Madeleine, who had grown up spending her summers being taken to one event to the next, a ball was just a regular sort of thing and it didn’t cross her mind that they weren’t quite as popular in the Muggle world, especially for those from Arianna’s world.

10 Madeleine Why, because you'll steal them? 340 Madeleine 0 5

Araceli

October 08, 2016 1:43 AM

pouts instead by Araceli

“He always seemed nice,” Araceli nodded. She had always liked Tobi. She had met him in the MARS room in her first week of school. He was the first person she’d spoken to at Sonora. He’d always held a special place in her heart for that. But then… Then she’d never been able to do anything about it. He was always with Arne, who was so easily outgoing and intimidating. He didn’t seem to notice her, hanging hopefully on the periphery. And then she’d stopped being herself. Delphine had taken over and those tiny embers of friendship had died out. She tried not to feel jealous now that Makenzie seemed to have made the connection that she couldn’t, although her expression had definitely drifted to somewhere far away and melancholy.

“I-I don’t know,” she stammered, when Makenzie’s question brought her back to earth. “I don’t think that’s why he was nice to you. I think he’s just… is. Nice, I mean. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t like you in that way too. And if you go around holding hands with him, people are going to talk about you. So you should probably decide what you think so that you know what to say.”

13 Araceli *pouts instead* 290 Araceli 0 5

Magnus

October 08, 2016 4:05 AM

Dessert First by Magnus

Isaac also looked to be feeling the effects of the sorting potion, meaning that he would be one of Magnus’s roommates. His parents had prepared him for this concept, but it was different than actually having your roommate sitting next to you. Magnus had never had a roommate before.

His parents and the tutors and Aunt Moira had tried to prepare him for a lot of things about Sonora. One such lesson had included important society names that he did not hear in his day to day life at home. But Magnus had been more interested in daydreaming about well, anything else at the time, and didn’t remember any of thrm. And so he couldn’t remember if Isaac Song was the sort of name his family would be impressed by or not. Ah well, hopefully he was at least cool.

“Dallas, my family’s lived there for generations, now,” he answered proudly, thinking now of life in the Ranch, before he started to get curious, “What’s it like living in a city like Los Angeles? Dallas has a Muggle city part of it, of course, but the magical community is more spread out.” Dad and Gramps and many of his other adult relatives often went into the city, on business for Graphorn Industries. The family business straddled the magical and Muggle worlds. Some Muggles might even be familiar with it, if they were so inclined to follow the energy sector, although Graphorn Industries’s methods would be quite mysterious to them. The main business was using magic to extract oil from the earth, and other magical solutions to Muggle problems. Muggles were basically helpless on their own, solving problems in inefficient ways. So the eleven year-old was quite proud of the important services his family provided.

He liked the way Isaac thought, and nodded in agreement, “For my first act of independence, I’m starting with dessert.” Maisy the house elf would probably freak if she had seen him cut a slice of pie and pile it on his plate right now. But, if she was here, he would smile and compliment her baking, and then all would be well. She’d keep the secret from his parents so long as he promised to eat his broccoli later.

Magnus had happily started on his pie (though cutting it in neat, bite-size pieces as he had been taught, he was no heathen) when Isaac gave him the heads up about the cheeseburgers.

“Is McDonald your elf?” he asked, thinking it was weird for an elf to have a last name, but maybe it was a California thing, “We have Maisy back home, she makes the best cakes.”

0 Magnus Dessert First 373 Magnus 0 5

Professor Liam Ammon

October 08, 2016 8:15 AM

I feel like I was just here... by Professor Liam Ammon

Liam was feeling a bit out of his element as he entered Cascade Hall and made his way to the staff table. It was a little weird being back. Partially because if he'd stayed at Sonora, he'd have gone to school with the advanced students. Some of them might even be familiar with his girlfriend, Aria, given that she'd been a prefect. That was a strange thought. Mostly, it was weird because here he was without her.

It felt like only yesterday that he'd returned from Christmas break, full of adolescent angst, and the then Teppenpaw student had talked him down. Not to mention, the two had spent every possible moment together over the summer. He sure did love that woman. Having a real adult job was definitely going to cut in on the amount of time he had with her, which blew, but Liam had to keep his eyes on the prize. He was going to need a good, stable job if he planned on someday building a future with her.

Cascade Hall held other memories for the newly minted professor as well. Like the time Liam spilt milk on a first year and juggled apples to keep her from crying. He supposed that that could potentially happen again as the night was still young, but he hoped not. Overall, it did feel good to be back. Professor Ammon picked a vacant seat at the staff table and surveyed the hall from his new perspective--he liked it.The hall got louder and louder as students filed in, and soon it was time for the speech.

Liam tried to set a good example by listening intently to the Headmaster’s speech, but he often found his interest waning, much like it had as a student. He applauded the new student leadership and gave a semi awkward wave when he was announced as the new Muggle Studies professor. No one seemed to pay that much attention to that part. After all, it was an elective class about muggles in a school notorious for being heavy on pureblooded students. He wasn't going to let that stop him though. Even if it was only to a handful of students, it was a good opportunity to get his foot in the door. He was young, and maybe some day he'd be a Head of House, but for now he was going to focus on the task at hand.

He sang the school song, loudly and poorly, but with a lot of heart, and then, finally, it was time for food. Liam loaded his plate with a bit of everything within his reach, doubling up on particularly good looking meat products. This was definitely a benefit of the job. As hard as he tried, Liam was no cook. It was nice when he got to visit Aria and her community, because the people who did the cooking were actually good at it. They were largely vegetarian though, so even then he didn't get to eat like this. As he filled his plate, he made a mental note to visit the sports room later for a run or something. The last thing he needed was to get fat, but he imagined that Aria would love him even if he put on a few pounds.

The new professor decided he should probably make somewhat of an effort to get to know his peers. Without his lady, he imagined that it would get pretty lonely if he didn't try to at least make a friend. His stomach growled in protest, but he turned to the staff member beside him and decided to introduce himself.

“Hi, I'm Liam Ammon, professor of muggle studies. Some feast huh?”

5 Professor Liam Ammon I feel like I was just here... 37 Professor Liam Ammon 0 5

Isaac

October 08, 2016 7:39 PM

Food is always first by Isaac

Isaac didn’t know much about Texas or Dallas, but he did know there were cowboys and ranches down there. When he imagined the city, he only thought of cacti and sand. “Los Angeles is a huge city, but it’s because it’s more spread out than, like, New York City. It’s really cool and diverse though, and there’s always something to do. It can be dangerous sometimes, but I live in a pretty nice neighborhood, close to Hollywood. You know, where people make movies.” He didn’t really differentiate between Muggle and magical folk because he’d never needed to before. Maybe magical people didn’t know what films were? “Like, what Muggles make for entertainment,” he added just in case. The word ‘Muggle’ felt strange on his tongue. It made him think of his buddies who fell under that category and his grandparents who didn’t really seem to fit the term.

“My mom’s family has lived in L.A. for awhile, I don’t know how long for sure, but my dad’s from South Korea. He still lives there and runs his family business.” Explaining his whole family situation would take too long and he doubted that Magnus was interested so Isaac just left it at that. Both of his parents were pretty well off so Isaac had never thought about money being an issue.

“Great call.” Isaac grinned as Magnus took a slice of pie for himself. Eating pie for dinner was a little too liberal for him, but he wasn’t going to judge his new roommate. Isaac was thoroughly enjoying his cheeseburger, but Magnus’s comment almost made him laugh mid-chew. Isaac swallowed it down and coughed a little. “No, we don’t have a house-elf,” he said, pounding on his chest once to get the food down. According to his mom, only really, really rich magical people with super old houses had house-elves, so that meant Magnus’s family fit into that category. Wow, his first day here and he was already talking to one of the rich magical kids.

“McDonald’s is a fast food restaurant. I’m sure you’ve seen it before if you ever passed through a Muggle area in Dallas.” That was another thing he’d heard about Texas, that they really loved fast food. “It must be nice having a house-elf. Does she just cook for your family or does she do other chores too?”

19 Isaac Food is always first 375 Isaac 0 5

Farrah

October 08, 2016 8:33 PM

Or Legends of Tomorrow by Farrah

Farrah gave Kellen a sweet smile when he offered to still do the ice skating in the MARS room with her despite his fear of water. She appreciated his gesture, she really did, but she didn’t feel comfortable having him ice skate in a pond that mimicked her home’s pond when it was clearly something that upset him. She would feel terrible about that and would be more concerned about whether or not he was feeling okay than enjoying herself or have fun with everyone. She knew that he was probably just being a good sport about it, she would have done the same, but she wouldn’t put him through that. “That’s nice of you to offer, but we’ll just do an ice rink instead or just figure something else out. Just because I like to ice skate doesn’t mean that I should expect everyone else to want to do it with me.” Farrah replied with a slight shrug of her slender shoulders.

“Anyway, I’m sure we can find something for the four of us to do together. Or whoever would want to.” Farrah didn’t want to assume that any one of them would actually want to hang out with her or together because she wasn’t exactly sure of everyone’s dynamics. She was friends with the three of them but that did not mean that they were friends with each other and she didn’t want to force anything on anyone either. That didn’t seem very nice to do.

“Yeah, that’s true.” Farrah replied thinking about the fan in Capaldi. She had read in magazines about actors or actresses who get this really awesome role from a book that had a huge fan base but never picked up and read the actual book to really understand the character that they were portraying. Farrah thought that made them real frauds. Their reasoning was because they didn’t want to copy the character in the book but make the character their own. She didn’t understand that. They were literally playing the character from the book, why wouldn’t they portray the character exactly as they were written? Farrah laughed, “Okay, I won’t get emotional so that you can be spared the tears.” She teased. “I honestly haven’t read much on the new season, why are you worried about it?” She asked, interested in his opinion of it.

“Most definitely!” Farrah said. “I’ll sign up for other clubs too, but the Library is like normal? You know? Even with the magic, it’s still normal. But I’m really excited to learn more. I’ve been reading up on things and even though we’re low on the totem pole here, some of the spells look really interesting.”

6 Farrah Or Legends of Tomorrow 344 Farrah 0 5

Magnus

October 09, 2016 6:20 PM

I like the way you think by Magnus

Magnus took the opportunity to stuff himself with pie while Isaac went on about Los Angeles. Though his parents travelled all over for work, it was rare that he and Magnolia ever got to tag along. They were just kids after all, and were expected to be outside playing with their cousins and friends, or attending classes. That was what made going to Sonora all by himself such a cool adventure. He had never really explored anything all by himself before. He had always had his community.

Once finished with the pumpkin pie, he piled some roast beef on his plate. It did not bother Mag in the least that he was unfamiliar with whatever weird Muggle cultural thing Isaac was going on about. The Texan was confident that whatever the magical equivalent was would be infinitely better. Magic made everything better.

“Wow, that’s real far away!” Mag exclaimed at the mention of South Korea, “What does he do all the way out there?” He was certain that it must be some sort of Muggle business. While Mag held no prejudice against Muggleborns - in fact, they were especially lucky to have power when their families had none - the idea of mixed families never even crossed his mind. Sure, Muggleborns married each other, and sometimes even married into full magical families (though not into the Graphorn family, of course) but it didn’t make sense for a wizard or witch to marry a Muggle. It would just be too complicated.

His new roommate sounded like he might be dying (Mag was always ready to play the hero) and blue eyes looked up from his plate. Luckily, (or not, now that the opportunity for heroism was gone) Isaac seemed to catch himself, and explained that he did not have a house elf. Ah. Further proof that his roommate must be a Muggleborn.

Mag didn’t really know what a “fast food restaurant” was. He didn’t know what “fast” really even meant in this context, given that it was Muggle food that they were talking about, and they didn’t have elves to help them in the kitchen, let alone magic. Of course, the boy was not eager to admit to ignorance, even to something as minor as Muggle cuisine, and decided to drop the subject.

“Maisy is the best,” he exclaimed, “Maisy cleans, of course, although Nollie and I are expected to put away our own toys and whatnot. And she likes to mind Nollie and me and makes sure we study, though I think she does that just ‘cause she likes to,” he frowned at the thought, “I have to wait until she is busy making dinner if I want to get away with anything.” Not that Mag actually got up to anything particularly nefarious, generally speaking. But who (other than Maisy, and certainly Aunt Moira) didn’t enjoy a well-executed prank every now and again? Merlin knew that Gramps did.

0 Magnus I like the way you think 373 Magnus 0 5

Juniper Brockert

October 09, 2016 10:27 PM

Unfortunately. by Juniper Brockert

Juniper didn't really feel all that much more comfortable going back to school this year than she had for the first time last year. For starters, she knew what she was getting into with most of her classmates....which would be something that she'd prefer not to. Secondly, the first years were an unknown quantity and therefore, she didn't know that they wouldn't make fun of her. Plus there was a lot more of them than had been of Duncan and his classmates. And Juniper was much more likely to have to interact with the first years that she had with any of the students who just graduated aside from her brother.

And she did miss her brother. Juniper knew that Duncan always looked out for her last year despite his Head Boy and Prefect duties and RATS and time with his own friends. At least though, she still had Tasha, and even more importantly, Finn. Duncan had told her that he was sure they'd be there for her. Juniper wasn't sure why Finn liked her, there were so many more social girls in their class, and what from what she'd been lead to believe-not by Finn but by people in general and her mother specifically-that people generally preferred extroverts, that they were considered more "fun". Quite frankly, she disagreed. Juniper found them highly intimidating and scary. After all, she wasn't like them, and people tended to think there was something wrong people who were different than they were.

Which is why she preferred animals. They were simple, they didn't judge. Yes, there were animals that ate people and other animals, but the thing was, she knew . People were just too unpredictable. Plus, animals weren't really malicious when they hurt you, they did it on instinct. A predatory animal had to eat, a human being didn't have to hurt someone.

Her stomach constricted as she sat down in the Hall, only getting worse when the new first years came in. All Juniper wanted was to escape. Thankfully Finn sat down next to her. She was still surrounded by people, but at least now she had her friend and his presence was somewhat comforting. If the two of them could be someplace with horses and no other people it would be wonderful.

"The pumpkin juice,please." Juniper replied. "And I guess. I-I rather miss my brother though." She admitted. Truthfully, she wasn't sure if not being the youngest would matter. If the first years were going to look up to someone it wasn't going to be her.

OOC-Sorry for the wait

11 Juniper Brockert Unfortunately. 345 Juniper Brockert 0 5

Isaac

October 09, 2016 10:50 PM

Looks like we'll be fast friends by Isaac

"Yeah, it is," Isaac said, but it really didn't feel that far away to him. "My dad's family has a pretty big business selling electronic devices. He's a muggle-born, so he studied magic and everything in Korea, but he was always expected to take over the family business no matter what so he works there now. Either he comes to visit us here or we go to visit him every summer, and sometimes he comes during Christmas and New Year's." He was thankful that his parents had decided not to divorce despite the long-distance, but he knew it was hard for his mom raising three kids mostly on her own. Luckily Uncle Derek lived nearby and helped out a ton.

"Wow, she sounds like a nanny." Definitely rich-kid status. "I went to school with this one girl who had a nanny and lived in a mansion in this really rich neighborhood in L.A. She and her nanny got along, but she hardly ever saw her parents." If he thought about it, Uncle Derek was kind of like his nanny too. He picked him up from school, made them their after school snack, and played with them till Mom came home. Usually it was he that liked to take them out to different events in the city when his mom was too tired or busy with work. The only thing was Uncle Derek really didn't like to clean up after them. Lauren usually helped out with that part.

"It'd be neat to have a house-elf. I think my mom lived with one for a little bit too, back when she lived with my grandpa and step-grandma. She told me her dad's from a rich pureblood family, but I don't really know that much about them. My grandpa's not alive anymore, but that side of her family lives on the East Coast." Isaac paused thoughtfully. "Now that I think about it, my family's pretty spread out."

Isaac finished his burger feeling extremely pleased. He loved good food, and being full always put him in a great mood. "Is Nollie your sister? How many siblings do you have?"

19 Isaac Looks like we'll be fast friends 375 Isaac 0 5

Tess

October 10, 2016 5:06 PM

But hopefully that's a good thing! by Tess

There were definitely worse things than having friends. Ben and his family had been helpful and just there over the summer, and it was a relief to know that he would continue to be there for her now they were back at Sonora. The smile on her face, whilst still small, was more genuine now as she helped herself to some of the offered sweet potatoes. And somehow, between Ben’s friendly words and his smile, it was a little easier to continue eating.

“Yeah, it’s going to be strange moving up into the next class,” she replied, trying to force all sad thoughts out of her mind. It was all very well to mope on her own, but now that Ben had made the effort to engage her in conversation she wasn’t going to spoil his feast as well as her own!

“I’m thinking of signing up for divination and muggle studies – even if it’s not interesting it’ll be an easy class.” Tess wasn’t normally lazy when it came to academics (her father had taught her a sense of responsibility at school, and to take pride in being fairly intelligent), but she also wasn’t going to turn down the easy grade that muggle studies would no doubt provide. Divination was a subject that sounded interesting too. She’d read a few muggle books based on the idea of seeing into the future, and she wondered if the real thing would be as cool as fiction suggested. Besides, she could definitely think of a few things she wouldn’t mind knowing – or, now that she came to think of it, maybe they were things she’d rather not know. This dreadful feeling of not knowing was surely better than knowing the worst was yet to come- but no. She’d already made the decision not to focus on that, at least for tonight.

“What about you? Will you have time for many electives with all your clubs and Quidditch matches?” she asked, managing more of a grin this time. Ben was so lively and enthusiastic – she had no doubt that he could manage as many things as he chose to!

9 Tess But hopefully that's a good thing! 338 Tess 0 5

Kellen

October 11, 2016 2:56 PM

Or the X-men by Kellen

“I’ll make you a deal. Ice rink this year, and then next year we’ll do the pond. I feel like by 13 I should be able to conquer my fears.” That seemed like a good compromise to Kellen. Granted, he was asking her to wait an entire year for ice skating on her pond, but she was willing to forgo it for him entirely. Farrah was a really good friend, and he wanted to do that for her. Plus it would be more incentive to challenge himself. The idea still made him a little anxious, but Farrah was worth it.

Kellen sighed a little when Farrah asked about the new season, not because he didn’t want to talk about it, but just because he’d been so unimpressed with the teaser used to reveal Bill, the new companion. “I just don’t know about Bill, the new companion. In the video they released that introduced her...the Doctor kept telling her to be quiet and she just couldn’t keep her mouth shut while they are being chased by daleks. It was annoying. I guess maybe I’m just expecting too much out of her. It’s not like she knows what daleks are. I just found her annoying. I guess she’s supposed to be nerdy though, so maybe I need to cut her some slack.”

The Aladren boy had arrived at Sonora halfway through last term, so he hadn't really had the chance to sign up for any clubs. He didn't have the most diverse interests, so aside from book club, he wasn't positive he'd be joining anything else.

“I know exactly what you mean. Libraries will always be weirdly comforting to me too.” He smiled when she revealed that she'd been reading up on spells over the summer too. He never thought he'd have so much in common with a girl. “Magic is pretty amazing. If you want, when you don't have clubs or library duty, and if you aren't busy with your other friends, maybe we could practice together more? Or try some of the simpler ones?” Kellen offered, though his heart was racing a little. He didn't think Farrah would actually turn him down, but there was always that nagging voice of self doubt in his mind.

5 Kellen Or the X-men 341 Kellen 0 5

Makenzie

October 11, 2016 5:20 PM

Oh no, don't do that either! by Makenzie

Makenzie’s smile fell a bit as Araceli’s logic brought her back to reality. What had she been thinking? Walking around openly holding hands with a boy she hardly knew, in a school full of whisperers and conspirators? What would they say about her? What implications would they make?

What would her father say?

She inhaled deeply. “You’re completely right,” the redhead conceded. “That was probably rather foolish of me. I just… got a bit carried away, I guess. I didn’t expect anyone else to be so understanding or nice. Not even the Teppenpaws,” she added with a faint laugh, trying to keep the air light for both of their sakes. Araceli knew sacrifice better than anyone else, had been through so much, but here was Makenzie, going wild after a single misfortune. (Admittedly that single misfortune had kind of blown her entire world apart, but still, she was certain Araceli had felt that once and maintained her composure. And Makenzie was now sixteen years old, an age that made it a bit harder to be as logical and strategic as both of them had always had to be, so perhaps that was a factor. Excuses, excuses.) She needed to be better, more like Araceli.

Quite a far cry from the self-sabotage in name of bettering her friend, now, wasn’t it?

“We should probably talk about something else now, yeah?” said Makenzie, using all of her self-control to resist the urge to look over at Tobi’s table. She still fully intended to spend more time with him later--she couldn’t just stop after how much he’d done for her in a single day--but she would have to be more careful. “I’m still so grateful to have seen you over the summer for tea. Was the rest of your break pleasant?”

12 Makenzie Oh no, don't do that either! 291 Makenzie 0 5

Gwen

October 11, 2016 5:27 PM

Glad you think so. by Gwen

Gwen was relieved by Ayla’s enthusiasm and it instantly reminded her that she was not alone in her situation. Her entire year were also brand new to Sonora and all of them probably just as excited about it as she was. And many probably had a slight underlying nervousness - as keen as she was not to let it show, this would be the first time Gwen had ever been away from home for such a long time and it was a daunting concept. It was reassuring to know she had such a lovely roommate for support though.

“That’s funny, I also thought I’d be in Crotalus!” Gwen smiled, glad that she wasn’t the only one to essentially misinterpret her own personality. “Thank you,” the eleven year old subconsciously touched the ends of her long red hair in response to the compliment. At home on the farm she often braided it so that it didn’t get in her way, but now she was at school and soon to be twelve she rather fancied the idea of letting it loose more often than not. Last night she had slept with it in braids though, so that it was somewhat curly today which made a change from its natural straightness.

“Cats?” Gwen frowned in confusion for a brief moment before breaking into a smile when she guessed at why Ayla was asking. “I love cats! Do you have one?”

Her grandfather had given her an owl of her own before she left for Sonora, no surprise as he had done the same for Chuck and Dan, without giving her the choice of animal simply because “owls were practical and animals were supposed to serve valid purposes.” Gwen wasn’t surprised, because she was part of a ranching family, but she did feel a little envious of the thought of Ayla having her own cat (not that she didn’t like her owl). Emmy-Lou had multiple cats, and loads of other animals too (most of them rescues), that didn’t have to work for their food and Gwen thought it sounded rather lovely. At least she would be sharing a room with Ayla’s cat, which was the next best thing to having her own.

“Yes, definitely,” the first year nodded at the mention of clubs. “Some of the clubs sound really good. It’s actually my step-cousin who runs the Fashion Club so I’ve heard a lot about that and it’s sounds like so much fun. I don’t know if you’ve heard of her, Emilia-Louise Scott? She designs The Emilia-Louise Collection of Little Lady Couture so she’s got a lot of experience in the fashion industry already.” She didn’t know how fashion interested her roommate was but even if she hadn’t heard of Emmy-Lou’s specific collection, there was no doubt she would know the popular clothing line Little Lady Couture that so many girls their age loved.

Gwen would have gone on to tell Ayla that Emmy-Lou was also best friends with Louis Valois, a major international fashion name that everyone simply had to know. But she refrained from doing so because the last thing she wanted to do was sound like she was bragging, and she also knew better than to overdo the Emmy-Lou card. Her step-cousin was well connected and successful for sure, but there were still so many people that would whisper the minute her back was turned and since Gwen was only just beginning to understand it all, she knew to tread cautiously.

“Do you already know any of the clubs you want to join?” Gwen asked, curious to know where her new roommate’s interests lay.

“Not really,” Gwen shook her head in response to Ayla’s question about their yearmates. Of course, she had been sociable during orientation but until now she hadn’t really found the chance to really get to know anyone. “Have you?”

As she listened to Ayla’s reply, the young redhead poured herself some pumpkin juice whilst she eyed up more of the huge variety in foods available. One thing was for certain, Chuck had a reason to rave about the Sonora cuisine.

8 Gwen Glad you think so. 364 Gwen 0 5

Sophie

October 11, 2016 5:41 PM

I usuaaaaaally am. by Sophie

“Graphorns?” Sophie repeated incredulously. “Yeah, I’d say that’s a lot more dangerous and difficult than teenagers.” Her own teenage years were not terribly far behind her, at least not so far that she couldn’t remember. And while she had her own fair of angsts (admittedly, with that year her father vanished off the face of the earth and all that Ryan had gone through, she had her husband had experienced some, she hoped, rather unconventional and infrequent levels of drama), she couldn’t remember anyone’s behavior in class being too affected by their own personal business.

“You didn’t happen to bring any horns back with you, did you?” she asked idly. “I could always use some more for the Potions supply.” They were a pretty valuable ingredient, and while Sophie was meticulous and prepared with her personal and class supplies, she would never turn down extra.

She laughed at Rory’s comment about their “lowly teacher” status and the concerns for Head of Houses, amused mostly by his comedic phrasing. “Hopefully not too many of them are horribly traumatized,” she said. “But I do agree. Although I don’t remember pestering my Head of House too much back in my day here. And I was a Pecari!” she added with some additional laughter. The brown and gold House was known for being a bit more rambunctious than its counterparts, and she could hardly claim to be some exception. Erika Levy, the Head of House she had known as a student, likely had her hands rather full and probably didn’t need any of Sophie’s shenanigans.

“At least teenagers probably won’t physically harm you,” she went on, unable to pull away completely from the suggested nature of Rory’s summer. “Graphorns. Wow.” The small blonde could hardly imagine that much danger or excitement. A part of her screamed objections at the idea of someone putting themselves into such a situation, but another part of her that had mostly had to quiet down over the last few years glowed at even the suggestion of adventure. “You’ll have to take me with you sometime,” she laughed, only mostly joking.

12 Sophie I usuaaaaaally am. 34 Sophie 0 5

Diana

October 11, 2016 10:13 PM

I often am by Diana

Diana was puzzled by Gia’s claim that she had expected one of the other Pecaris in her year to become prefect. Mr. Fintoc wouldn’t have been a surprise, she guessed, but Diana couldn’t really think why he’d be more qualified than Gia. And as for Sammy Meeks…she was going to have her plate more than full this year. Diana had spent her whole life around Aladrens. Lots of Aladrens. There was no part of her that thought most of the House had truly taken their loss last year well. Though it might have done Joella good to have a little backup in the face of an Aladren prefect team composed entirely of Quidditch players….

Somehow, though, Diana didn’t think any of that was the right thing to say to Gia.

“Don’t be silly,” she said instead. “You’re fabulous prefect material.”

She smiled at the question about her summer. “Horribly boring,” she said, still smiling so she didn’t sound so much like she was whining. “Everyone kept trying to get me and my oldest sister to hold my cousin’s baby – they can’t believe that neither of us has a maternal bone in our bodies.” Diana was not sure why this was such a surprise to anyone, considering their direct female ancestors and their aunts. It was true that Grandmother had borne five children, Aunt Catherine had four, and of course Mother had seven, but as far as Diana could tell, both her grandmother and mother hated being mothers and her aunt seemed more indifferent to her now-grown children than anything. Fae and Great-Grandmother were the only people Diana knew who seemed to consider motherhood more than a distasteful duty, sort of how Jay regarded business trips. However, Diana thought this was something else she most likely shouldn’t say out loud. She most likely shouldn’t have said as much as she had, really, but Gia wasn’t likely to tell anyone who Diana was too likely to marry. Plus Gia might not have even completely understood her. “Summer parties aren’t much fun now that I have to act like a lady, but one of my cousin’s teammates did take me boating, though, and that was lovely,” she added. “How was yours?”

0 Diana I often am 0 Diana 0 5

Cassandra

October 12, 2016 4:38 PM

Sausages? Oh, oh, yes, right, well. Sausages. Here? by Cassandra

Luck was on her side today. Cassandra was proud that she had been able to resist staring at the girls at the Pecari table but was also glad for the opportunity to gaze upon one now. Though Cassandra knew all the girls in her classes the previous year, the girl who sat next to her had to have been at least two years older. Cassandra could recount where she had crossed paths with the witch who was always a picture of sophistication and grace, but with soft cheekbones and even softer looking lips. Yes, Cassandra could remember all the times she had seen her, and never once had she caught the girl’s name.

“Of course,” Cass said, tearing her eyes away from the girl to pick up the platter of sausages. When the girl smiled her face softened even further and Cass had to support the platter with more effort. “Oh, um, no, not much really.” Cassandra smiled while biting her bottom lip, and offered the upraised tray to the girl. “I mean to say, nothing of consequence at least.” She couldn’t very well come out and say that she was contemplating the exact shade of blonde that the girl at the Crotalus table had.

Unwilling to let the conversation die without having properly begun, Cassandra said “I like your hair.” It wasn’t untrue, but it wasn’t the first thing that Cassandra would have complemented her on. Any aspect of her face took precedence over her hair but Cassandra was aware that such a compliment would be most decidedly unwelcome.

7 Cassandra Sausages? Oh, oh, yes, right, well. Sausages. Here? 355 Cassandra 0 5

Cameron Dempsey

October 12, 2016 5:17 PM

Glad to have a change of pace by Cameron Dempsey

Cameron’s summer had been unexpectedly pleasant. Well, as pleasant as it could have been with someone like Medic Eir. Initially the set up had been summer detention for having released numerous slipping jinxes at the ball last year, only one of which found a mark. Unfortunately the mark was Edda Eir, who recognized jinxes, dare he say, more quickly than a DADA professor. She met his eyes quickly, and though she was obviously furious –something he wouldn’t quite admit to being terrified of- he thought he may have seen something akin to amusement as well. Of course, that may have been in retrospect only, but as they spent the summer together he thought it had been more than likely.

Initially Edda circled him like a cat. She wasn’t outright punishing him, which was strange, but maybe she knew just being in her presence put him ill at ease. Eventually she came forward and said something to the effect that he wasn’t as dumb as she had suspected, but not as evil either. He didn’t quite know what to do with that. Be offended, obviously, but how to react? Instead of a scathing retort he simply gaped with his mouth open, which she proceeded to tell him was unsightly and to shut it at once. Which to his further surprise he did.

From there they struck up an unlikely alliance of sorts. He would help do chores she found exceedingly dull and in exchange she told him gruesome medical stories. To be honest, he could have dealt with less vivid details, but the fact that she had been able to heal most of these things, and without magic- he was intrigued. She seemed to pick up on his discomfort for the gruesome if the glint in her eye and ever so slight smirk were anything to go by before she imposed upon him some horrific detail.

Luckily she had spared him this morning, perhaps in consideration of the feast. A queasy stomach and an over abundance of food did not lead to a happy ending. He suspected small kindnesses like these of her after the summer with her but he was also just as suspecting of her motive being to not have to look over him if he did get sick. A patient who was not seriously ill was her worst nightmare. “A wretched, moaning rag-doll of uselessness” she once described a former patient. He was welcome in her infirmary unless he was needlessly loud.

He wished he could go there now. Sitting at the Pecari table was, for all those seated around him, quite lonely. How strange that he came to care about company. As he turned to look at the head table where Medic Eir would be sitting, to see if she was just as bored as he suspected, the girl next to him caught his eye. Well, not her so much as something. . . fluffy on her shoulder.

“What is that?” he asked before he could consider a more polite way of asking. When she turned and whipped the furball with her hair and it made noise he looked at it with wide eyes. When the girl introduced the poof as Rosie, he decided again to ask after the . . . thing. “What type of . . . animal is Rosie?” He figured the words ‘specimen’ or ‘beast’ may not go over well.

7 Cameron Dempsey Glad to have a change of pace 336 Cameron Dempsey 0 5

Ayla

October 13, 2016 4:02 AM

Cheers to Seven Years by Ayla

If Ayla had been the type, she would have suspected some sort of strange anti-female conspiracy happening with Crotalus this year. Instead, she brushed it off as just a weird happening, and turned her attention away from the odd phenomenon and back to her new red-headed roommate.

A wave of relief washed over the first year as the other girl expressed her feelings about cats. What would she have done if Gwen had been allergic, or brought a rat with her? She would have been sad to be without Albus for so long, but it would have been worse to have inconvenienced someone that much. None of that mattered though, aside from being a pureblood, Gwen also liked cats. Ayla wasn’t sure she could have asked for a more perfect roommate. Maybe the sorting potion really did know what was best for them.

“I do!” Ayla gushed. “His name is Albus, but I call him Alby. He’s fat, white, and fluffy and he really likes belly rubs and cuddling. Do you have any pets?”

Ayla’s green eyes widened when Gwen mentioned her connection to the founder of the Fashion club. She was the oldest of three girls, all of whom had been dressed at some point or another in Little Lady Couture. She was sure she had a few of the dresses up in her trunk as they spoke. “Shut….up…..Emilia-Louise is your cousin?! And she goes to school with us?! That’s amazing! Of course I’ve heard of her, will you please introduce me?” She probably would have met her anyway since she’d planned on joining her club, but Ayla was a little too star struck to consider that at the moment.

“I’m joining fashion club for sure. I was going to before I knew about Emilia-Louise, but now that’s even more incentive! I plan to sign up for book club and art club for sure, with a definite maybe on baking club and archery. I think that was the extent of the list from orientation, but I’m open to whatever. My mom is involved in all sorts of things back home, and she said I should get involved too. For the connections, experience and all that.”

“I met this other girl named Kit Reid at orientation. She’s nice, into fashion and horses and she’s from Connecticut, I think you’d like her, she’s a lot like me. She got sorted into Aladren though. I haven’t met any of the boys yet.” She added, letting her gaze drift down the table to where two other yellow first years sat. “So you’re related to Emilia-Louise, but do you know anyone else here?”

5 Ayla Cheers to Seven Years 367 Ayla 0 5

Arianna V.

October 13, 2016 4:24 AM

...yes, that's entirely it. by Arianna V.

Arianna munched on her salad thoughtfully, disappointed that Madeleine had no further updates. Maybe she should have anticipated this, had Madeleine seen the note she probably would have said something about it already. Their lack of closeness was never something any of them openly spoke about, but Arianna believed it was unspoken knowledge that the three roommates weren’t best friends and that note-passing in itself was noteworthy.

“Well, yeah,” she nodded once her mouth was all clear, deciding there was no reason to not be honest about it, “I was in MARS earlier today, and Kellen walked in, and I made a joke and he completely freaked out on me and stormed out. It was so randomly weird. And Farrah needs to know what he’s really like, if they are going to be friends, you know?” In their full year of knowing each other, it was the most that Arianna had ever confided in her roommate. Maybe it was the wagon ride here that had worn her out and let her guard down. Maybe she was just pathetically desperate for female friends at Sonora. Whatever it was, it was out in the open now, and as Arianna placed a piece of grilled salmon her plate, she knew that there was nothing else to do about it. Madeleine would make of it what she would.

And now it seemed like they were talking like old friends, Madeleine taking her up on the question about summer. But perhaps not, because she wasn’t even sure she had heard her roommate talk about siblings before. Then again, she couldn’t remember the last time she had ever mentioned Elisa to Madeleine, either. For people who slept in the very same room, Arianna felt that they actually knew very little about each other.

“Congrats on your siblings,” she smiled as she cut up her salmon. It was strange even to think of people her own age having siblings who were of marriage age, and she soon began to wonder how old Madeleine’s siblings were exactly. Purebloods had some very odd customs, perhaps Madeleine’s brother and sister weren’t that much older than them at all. How strange to be tying yourself down for hopefully forever when you were barely an adult. Arianna had some important plans for herself once she graduated from Sonora, but they would be even more difficult to accomplish if she needed to think of someone else’s plans on top of that. Her friends in New York (could she still describe them as friends when she hadn’t gotten any letters in months, and she had barely seen any of them over the summer?), had some college-aged siblings, but nobody married. It just wasn’t how things were done in New York.

The friendliness seemed to take a turn in Madeleine’s next question. Was she being sarcastic, calling into the spotlight the clear differences in Madeleine and Arianna’s lifestyles? Or did she just not understand that not everyone’s life was like her own? Either way, Arianna was eager to deflect from highlighting the differences between them. As weird as she thought pureblood customs might be, it didn’t stop her at all from envying the privileges they enjoyed.

“Well, I did manage to see Louis for a day,” she mentioned casually, “So that was nice. And plenty of time with catching up with family, of course.” She returned her attention to her salmon. It was slightly bland, but not terrible. There was nothing like the Opening Feast to remind her of how much better her grandparents’ cooking was.

0 Arianna V. ...yes, that's entirely it. 343 Arianna V. 0 5

Lily

October 13, 2016 4:04 PM

To each their own. by Lily

“Rosie’s a Puffskein,” she said, holding up the ball of golden fur and stroking her. “Haven’t you seen one before? She really enjoys cuddling and is easy to take care of. I think that’s the only reason my mum let me have her, cos she’s easy.” Lily was sure Puffskeins were sold at most stores since they were such popular pets, though unconventional ones. It was the best she could do since bringing Tod, her favourite of her father’s dogs, to school with her wasn’t allowed. Rosie was not very big for a pet, but she did get heavy on the twelve-year-old’s shoulder from time to time.

“D’you want to hold her? She’s very friendly,” said Lily, offering Rosie to the boy. Anyone who had met her Puffskein thus far had loved her, except those allergic to fur. “You’re Camden, right?” she asked. She’d gotten better at remembering names especially since she saw most of her house-mates and classmates every day. Anyone older than fourth year who wasn’t on a Quidditch team, however, she wouldn’t know. “I’m Lily Spencer,” she said just in case he didn’t remember her name.

Whilst Rosie was distracted, Lily continued to eat and talk. The English witch nearly inhaled her plate of dumplings, she was starving so, and proceeded to scoop a generous amount of macaroni and cheese onto her plate. “Rosie doesn’t even mind being thrown around,” she continued. “I once tossed her halfway across the room onto my bed and she didn’t even mind. She’s got a very lovely temperament, Rosie. My dad’s got three dogs at home, but my favourite is one named Tod. He’s been at my side since I was born and I missed him terribly last year when I came here. That’s how I ended up getting Rosie as a gift to bring her with me this year. Don’t you like her? Do you have any pets here or at home?”

Lily added a couple spoonfuls of steamed assorted vegetables to her plate. “I don’t see you around much except in classes and sometimes in the common room. Are you involved in any clubs?” She’d been so wrapped up in making friends herself and doing everything with Jozua she didn’t really know who was in who’s clique. All she really knew was the Frenchies seemed to stick together and she and Jozua were going to be best friends for life. Of course, there was always room for more of those.

40 Lily To each their own. 357 Lily 0 5

Chaslyn Brockert

October 13, 2016 11:09 PM

Relief by Chaslyn Brockert

As she walked into the Cascade Hall for her final year, Chaslyn was a ball of nerves. Not that that was really different from every day of life for as long as she could remember. She lived in constant fear that she wasn't doing what she was supposed to be doing, that she was wasting time, that she would not do what she had to do well enough, that Mother would be mad at her for not being perfect. Perfection was the only thing acceptable.

And part of being perfect was being Head Girl. Chaslyn honestly didn't know what would happen if she didn't get it. Mother would be outright furious. What if she didn't even let Chaslyn come home at midterm? Would Chaslyn even want to face what was in store for her then in the first place? When Amity hadn't been Head Girl, it hadn't come up because she'd already ran away by that time. Mother had been angry but her sister hadn't been there to face it.

As the first years were Sorted, Chaslyn waited with baited breath. Her heart was pounding so hard she was afraid it might burst out of her chest and she felt like she might throw up, or would have had she been able to eat anything. She'd rather picked at breakfast given how nervous she was. Now, she was so anxious that her hands were actually shaking.

She wished the Sorting would finish, it seemed like there were a ridiculous amount of first years and that they were moving in slow motion. Every single one of them seemed to take an hour to bring the cup to their lips and hand it off to the next person. Chaslyn wanted to scream. She wanted to take the cup and pour it down each of their little throats if it would make things go faster. Honestly, why couldn't the Headmaster finish other business while they turned?

Finally, finally , they were done and the Headmaster spoke again. "Would Jacob Manger and Chaslyn Brockert please come up and get your Head Student badges? Chaslyn breathed a tremendous sigh of relief. She held no allusions that Mother was going to express any pride, even if the rest of her family might, as that was how it had been when she'd gotten prefect, but at least she wouldn't be angry at her.

Chaslyn retook her seat, sat through the rest of the speech and then served herself some baked chicken and green beans. She got her Italian text out of her bag and began to study while she ate, not even noticing when someone spoke to her.

11 Chaslyn Brockert Relief 281 Chaslyn Brockert 0 5

Gia

October 15, 2016 3:01 PM

And modest too by Gia

Gia felt cheered and reassured by Diana’s comment. Although she would still feel a little unsure of things, especially when she returned to her room that evening, she felt better knowing that there was at least one person who believed that she was the right person for it. Of course, Diana could just be saying that because it was the thing to say to people in this situation, but she was appreciative of it all the same. Gia hated feeling like she took something that someone else could have easily earned, but if the staff felt she was the one to wear the badge, than she would have to wear it proudly and take the responsibilities of it seriously.

She looked curiously at Diana as the older Pecari discussed her summer with her. Although the phrase ‘maternal bone’ made Gia want to think it was a literal term, she knew enough to know that was not what Diana meant. Gia had never been around a baby before aside from seeing them around the neighborhood so she couldn’t say for certain whether or not she was maternal (although, from how she was with her friends, she was sure that she would probably be a doting parent). Gia had an understanding of Pureblood Societal girls like Diana. They were expected to marry and have a family, weren’t they? If Diana did not like children, how would that work for her? Or was marriage not required for all females? What happened to the ones that didn’t marry?

“Oh, you went to parties?” Gia asked, her face perking up. The ball was the only party she had ever been too, so hearing that others went to them somewhat regularly had the little green monster of jealousy come crashing into the pit of her stomach. Her life could have been vastly different had her father and brother not gone campus that weekend. She would never say anything like that to Jax as he already lived his life tormented by the guilt of their father’s death, but she did sometimes think about how life could have been for her. She wouldn’t be in America that much she was certain of. But that also meant that Sammy would not be her best friend, or Laila would not be her club partner, or Phoebe would not have been her first girlfriend.

Thinking about Phoebe brought around Diana’s question to her. Gia was not prepared just yet to tell people that she was attracted to women and men. Jax knew and her mother probably knew but didn’t ask and so far, Gia was okay with just that. Someday she wanted to tell Sammy. She wasn’t sure why she couldn’t tell her now as she knew her friend would accept her, but there was something just keeping her from actually saying it. Maybe at fifteen, she just wasn’t ready for the world to know everything about herself.

"I think it was pretty nice." Gia answered with a thoughtful look. “I spent a few days at Sammy’s place, which was quite enjoyable.” Gia commented as she thought about her summer. She couldn’t really specify her relationship with Phoebe, so she went for the easy way out with it. “The rest of the time, I spent with some friends back home. We didn’t really do much except walk around the neighborhood and things.” She explained. “Relatively typical summer things, I suppose.”

6 Gia And modest too 308 Gia 0 5

Finn

October 16, 2016 3:05 PM

But it means I get to see you by Finn

Finn reached for the pumpkin juice, pouring Juniper some and then also himself. He also helped himself to a nice looking bit of lamb, and some vegetables. There was always such a range of good food at Sonora!

Finn gave Juniper what he hoped was a comforting smile. “I’m sure you’ll see him in the holidays – they’re not that far away,” he replied, trying to cheer her up. “You could owl him too.”

“Is it nice, having an older sibling?” he asked, curious about Juniper’s thoughts on the subject. Part of him was a little bit jealous of her evidently close relationship with her brother. It would have been nice to have an older sibling already at Sonora, someone who could have told him useful things, waved at him in the corridors, and who could have been there during the moments he missed his family just a little too much. Sure, he had Rihana and Roxana, his cousins, but it wasn’t quite the same thing. He was close with them, but he didn’t live with them. Besides, they were younger than him, and they would be home-schooled so he’d never be at Sonora with them.

However, he supposed the benefit to not having siblings was that it meant fewer people to miss. He already had plenty of those. Finn was a very family-oriented boy with a big heart, and even though he loved being at Sonora, he missed everyone back at home. It worked the other way round, too – in the holidays, he found himself missing people at Sonora. He couldn’t win! It had definitely helped to write to Juniper, and get replies back, and maybe at some point they could arrange to meet up in the holidays. Assuming she’d want to, of course – he knew she had a lot of events to go to and things like that, and yet another sociable thing might be too much for her. He didn’t want that.

OOC: Finally replied - sorry about that!

9 Finn But it means I get to see you 347 Finn 0 5

Magnus

October 16, 2016 3:42 PM

And epic adventurers? by Magnus

"What's Korea like?" Magnus asked between bites. He wasn't really sure what Isaac's family did, but his dad was a muggleborn, and so that explained everything. It did feel very exotic to think about people studying magic all the way in Korea, though. Magnus had never been out of the country himself, although he knew his parents sometimes went on business trips to China, among other places. It all sounded like a great adventure, and the eleven year-old hoped to do some travelling of his own, someday.

He frowned at the last sentence, confused, "Why doesn't he portkey home more often? Or international Floo? My parents apparate home in time for dinner every night. Or at least to tuck us in, if they can't make it." The boy imagined that apparating long distances was probably very tricky. But surely there was something more that Isaac's dad could do. It had to be pretty lame, not seeing your dad for so long. Although, now that he was at boarding school, he realized that he would be going a very long time without seeing any of his family either. Not even Nollie or Maisy. A bad feeling formed at the pit of his stomach.

The blond boy nodded at Isac's praise of house elves, slightly distracted. Isaac's mom's family situation made sense to him - the Rivera's back home had not been too pleased when their daughter started dating a local muggleborn, even if he was supposed to be an especially talented Herbologist. It had been the talk of the town, but also inevitable in such a small magical community. This sort of gossip arose among the Aunts and their friends every couple of years. Magnus supposed that when he was a grown up, his family would want him to marry someone from a respectable family, somebody who really understood the importance and power of the Graphorn name and all of their traditions. Now that they were growing in importance, it would not have to be some local girl either, why, it could even be someone from Sonora. Weird. Luckily, that would be a very long time from now.

"Yep, Magnolia," he nodded, saying his sister's full name, "it's just her and me. But we have plenty of cousins and such back home. Most everybody learns their magic at Graphorn Ranch, where Gramps lives. Even other local families. There are a lot fewer kids there than here though," he said, glancing around Cascade Hall, which felt enormous to him, adding with great importance, "I'm the first Graphorn to go to school anywhere else for generations." Yes, he carried his responsibility with great importance, happy to be adding to the Graphorn name. But part of him still felt very left out from the rest of the family. He would not complain about this, though, as his family would not have sent him on this adventure if they didn't think he could handle it. He was no wuss, or worse, a Squib.

His blue eyes lit up with mischief at a new thought, an excellent distraction, "This is a really big place - we'll have to do plenty of exploring. I want to figure out where all the Houses are - and secret passageways, if there are any. What do you think?" He was sure that in a place as big as this, there had to be some secrets. And what sort of an adventurer would he be if he didn't seek them out?

0 Magnus And epic adventurers? 373 Magnus 0 5

Farrah

October 16, 2016 4:35 PM

And the Teen Titans! by Farrah

Farrah thought over his deal for a moment. She really didn’t want him to feel obligated to ice skate on a pond (real or fake) if that wasn’t something he found comfortable or any enjoyment from. She appreciated that fact that he was willing to put himself out there for it as it showed to her the kind of person that he was and how far he would go to make a friend happy, but she didn’t want to be that friend to make him do that. She felt like that meant that she was not a good friend for putting him through that. If he did it on his own, she would follow through with it, but if he just did it because of this conversation and he was still scared of the water, then she wouldn’t force him to follow through with the deal.

“Alright…deal, but I’m only going to have it as the pond if, and only if, you have actually conquered your fear.” Farrah stated firmly to him. “I don’t want any pretending from you.” She would hate to have to go through with something that she was terrified of simply because a friend wanted her to. She didn’t think that would be fair at all and she definitely didn’t want her friends to feel like they absolutely had to do this with her. She just thought it would be fun. But this was also a past time that everyone in her town did. It never really considered the fact that other people might not ice skate.

Farrah frowned as Kellen began to discuss his feeling regarding the new season. She liked the idea of having a nerdy companion (although, weren’t they all just a little bit nerdy in some way) but the chatting sort of reminded her of Martha and Farrah didn’t really like Martha all that much. She knew that she should because Martha was a doctor and everything, but she didn’t. “She’s not going to be another Martha, is she? Because that would be lame.” She hoped that Kellen didn’t like Martha (or at least, liked her less than the other companions) because she didn’t want to feel awkward after admitting she wasn’t a huge fan of hers.

Kellen made Farrah feel less self-conscious about her attachment to libraries. She felt that the majority of Aladrens probably felt the same way as her (she saw a lot of them in there while she worked as a helper) but it wasn’t necessarily something that she openly admitted to. Especially since she didn’t think either of her roommates were necessarily book lovers in the way that she was. “Of course!” Farrah exclaimed, her face lighting up at the prospect of practicing magic with him. “It’ll be fun having someone else there to practice with and help if I’m doing something wrong.”

6 Farrah And the Teen Titans! 344 Farrah 0 5

Diana

October 17, 2016 8:50 PM

I can out-humble anyone on the face of the earth by Diana

“Mostly small parties, but yes,” Diana said. “Not that I mind much that we don’t have many balls in summer – it’s far too hot.” Balls, with all the gowns and hair and necessary necklaces, could be miserable in summer. There was a story, never told to his face, about one of her grandfather’s unfortunate sisters – Aunt Elizabeth, the oldest, had been beautiful, but she had refused the husband picked out for her and been disowned, and Aunt Eugenie and Aunt Eulalie had been twin spinsters – fainting at a ball held in some August long before Diana was born; Aunt Eugenie had had a reputation for being fat and delicate and a little dramatic in the bargain, but August was miserable enough in South Carolina that Diana could imagine a healthy strong person doing the same. At lesser parties, though, girls could wear lighter dresses and weren’t as confined by etiquette, so they were much nicer than balls in the summer. "Picnics and teas are much nicer when it's hot."

Diana smiled politely, not really understanding what Gia meant, when Gia described ‘walking around the neighborhood’ as a typical summer thing to do. Diana had heard of neighborhoods, but had never lived in one; she wondered if it was like staying in an inn all the time. Or maybe like the kind of place she had heard Aunt Lorraine had lived before she’d married Uncle Anthony, houses made up of tiny suites where unmarried adult witches with jobs lived, under the supervision of a matron of course, until they found husbands. Diana had always thought it might be fun to open an establishment like that once she was widowed, and now that she was older it sounded practical, too, since she could make all kinds of connections and cultivate all kinds of favors by helping the girls find decent husbands and the young men decent wives….

“Oh!” she said as realization, unrelated to all that, dawned. “You went to a city? It is fun to walk around there.” She bit her tongue before she added something about how of course her grandmother didn’t approve – Grandmother thought that liking the hustle and bustle of commercial streets was common and that enjoying shopping in person was even worse. “Especially now that my siblings are all old enough that we don’t have to worry much about anyone escaping from Mother and smashing something in a store to bits,” she added with a laugh. “Much. Peter still might, but he and Ceci are more like Jay and Henry than Bran or Theresa or me.” She remembered not to call Henry ‘Hen’ or Theresa ‘Terry,’ but forgot to use the proper forms for Brandon and Cecilia until it was too late. Jay she didn’t even notice. Jay was the only one in the family who never used his real name for anything; if someone asked Diana how James Carey was doing, she’d most likely tell them that she had no idea, as she barely knew the scrawny Louisiana second-or-third-in-line. “I think they were born well-behaved.”

0 Diana I can out-humble anyone on the face of the earth 0 Diana 0 5

Joe

October 18, 2016 8:46 PM

And we're...more or less the best we can be? by Joe

“For science,” agreed Joe solemnly, though he cracked a grin after only a few seconds. He knew all too well all the things parents could be persuaded to do, or let him do, if he could somehow convince them it was educational. It didn’t always work out so good, at least for those caught in the crossfire – Joe had lost count of how many hours of his life he’d lost to times John had convinced their mom that something involving birds was so educational that Mom had decided Joe should do it, too, and Joe himself was probably directly responsible for permanent damage to his poor, rather happily German-Irish, father’s taste buds because of his affection for trying the cuisines of different countries he’d had to study – but it worked often enough.

“I couldn’t convince Mom we should go do something fun in Montreal to, uh, improve my French grammar,” he said, “but I did get out of the house some.” Might as well put the best spin he possibly could on the whole sorry mess. “Me and John hung out with our big sister’s friends a lot. They’ve invented a broom game even less safe and sane than Quidditch. I couldn’t really play, though” – Joe straight-up lied about this without a second thought; there was taking care not to become someone who endangered his own safety just to mislead someone else, then there was casually admitting to technically criminal behavior at supper – “since you have to use your wand to play it.”

John, he knew, intended for the two of them to practice over the year so they could both knock the stuffing out of Justin next summer. Joe wondered if his brother had noticed the obvious implication: that they were now part of Julian’s new set, the very set John was acting…unreasonable (he would not believe his brother was crazy. He wouldn’t. It wasn’t on) over. He had decided it was in everyone’s best interests that he not ask.

Gabe’s invitation to come visit New York startled him a little, but pleased him, too. “That might work,” he said. Normally he didn’t think his parents would be okay with the idea of him visiting America on his own, but Aunt Katie and Uncle Pete-A. (as opposed to Uncle Pete-R., his mother’s brother) lived somewhere in New York, too, so it wasn’t like he would be completely nowhere near anyone they knew. “My aunt Kathleen lives in your part of this country, I think, so that would make the traveling easier,” he said, waving vaguely to sum up the complications that could go with travel. “Did you see much of Nat this summer?” he asked, thinking of a page he had noticed in the yearbook after he’d gotten home for the summer. He’d had other things on his mind for most of the summer, but Gabe mentioning their friend and teammate’s name reminded him of it.

16 Joe And we're...more or less the best we can be? 329 Joe 0 5

Madeleine

October 19, 2016 2:22 AM

Ha! I am the world's greatest detective! by Madeleine

Kellen Mormont, second year, transfer student, single male Aladren, dark hair, light eyes, a slightly misshappen face that gave him a rather…fishy appearance. Yes, Madeleine knew who he was. First, he was a transfer. Second, he was the only male Aladren in their year. Third, he hung around Farrah the lesser of two evils when it came to Madeleine’s roommates. As Arianna announced her suspicions regarding Kellen’s intentions, Madeleine considered her options. She didn’t know Kellen at all, she did know Arianna. She didn’t really enjoy either of her two roommates and both of them had differing, it would seem, opinions on Kellen. But Kellen himself was an unknown entity. And Madeleine did not like to not know things.

She looked down the table to where it appeared Farrah had arrived and spotted her talking with Kellen. From years of spying on various family members, Madeleine had become quite good at reading people—their tones, their faces, their body language. She was only twelve so her skills were not as refined as someone older who might be more practised simply because they had the years, but she still had some developed habits. Kellen and Farrah looked relaxed, they were having a good time and she didn’t think Kellen looked like the kind of person to be able to just explode as Arianna alleged he had done.

Unless, perhaps Kellen was a phenomenal actor—she knew of some their age. Fiona Moreau was exceedingly deceitful and Madeleine had seen the girl con some of the older children quite a few times that summer. When she was older, Mlle Moreau was going to be one of the best seductresses around, Madeleine was sure of it. But the facts remained that Madeleine Dautin still did not know much about Kellen Mormont and until she could further gather intel herself, she would have to play it safe

“Oh?” she raised an eyebrow coolly. Based off what she knew about Farrah and the other students Farrah talked to (Georgia Kirkly who cried in class and Killian Everett who was Okay in Madeleine’s books for playing under the table with her and Lily), it stood to reason that Kellen was more like them. However, she could not deny that Arianna Valenti was smart—after all, she made good marks and she was an Aladren. Although intelligence was not a house trait, Madeleine had yet to meet a completely idiotic Aladren student. And Arianna was taking an interest in Farrah. And Madeleine had to keep an eye on that. For her own safety, of course. “I didn’t know you were that close with Farrah.”

“I don’t really know Kellen,” she continued without much pause for a breath so that Arianna couldn’t interject. “He always seemed so normal in classes.” Perfect, utilising the past tense, she congratulated herself. It would imply that she was taking the bait (although she had yet to determine if it really was bait or not) without fully committing either way.

In all honesty, Madeleine didn’t see what the big deal was even if Kellen was a psycho as Arianna was implying. She might have liked to know things about other people but she would never interfere, that would be infringing on private business and completely inappropriate not to mention immoral. And although a snoop, Madeleine did have morals. As far as she saw it, Farrah could probably handle herself and if, for some odd reason, it came to light that Kellen was part of the Irish mob sent to exterminate Madeleine’s doe-eyes roommate, then she would probably step in and put things to an end. After all, that’s what spies did. But if she acted too soon…well that would ruin the whole sting.

Congratulations, Flora Deschamps, Madeleine thought to herself. You just got yourself another case.

It seemed though, that Flora was wracking up the cases that night. Arianna congratulated Madeleine on Xavier and Myrtille and then went on to talk about Louis. Madeleine knew that the Valois heir and her roommate were on Quidditch together—ridiculous sport if you asked her, but Bastien played and so she had to pretend to have at least some investment lest he get upset with her and besides, it was fun to root for Aladren against him. And, she supposed, she knew they were friends. But she did not know they were the kind of friends who visited each other over the summer. Especially when Louis had M. Valois as his father. M. Valois did not seem to be the sort to happily agree to his son and heir mingling with Muggleborns over the summers.

OOC: The title title: is taken from here

10 Madeleine Ha! I am the world's greatest detective! 340 Madeleine 0 5

Winston

October 20, 2016 5:03 PM

Mine wasn't my favorite tutor anyway by Winston

Winston was about to confirm that he had seen one other boy turn red when the crimson hued student in question appeared and made the statement redundant. He introduced himself properly so Winston felt no qualms about extending an invitation to join them. "Please do," he granted magnanimously (magnanimous was a word on his vocabulary list that father said he should know and utilize - as was utilize.)

As Simon Mordue of the Oregon Mordues had missed his own introduction, Winston repeated it. "Winston Pierce of the New Hampshire Pierces," he pointed to his own chest to make it clear who he was talking about, then, as long as he was making introductions anyway, he moved the hand to indicate Victor and added, proving he had been paying attention, "Victor Callahan, of the Idaho Callahans."

"Victor was just saying he previously shared a room with his younger brother," he finished, feeling that this ought to adequately catch Simon up on the conversation he had joined belatedly. "I only have a sister so my experience sharing a room is neglectionable," even as he said it, he knew he'd gotten the long vocabulary word wrong, but he couldn't remember what it was supposed to be so he just kept talking and hoped the mistake was overlooked. "I am looking forward to being in Crotalus with both of you, though, so it will be a learning experience." Father thought very highly of learning experiences, and it did sound like his roommates were both respectable people, so it couldn't be all bad, right?

"Father said Crotalus was the House to be in, so I'm glad I got in. So far it looks like he was right," he concluded with a smile at each of his roommates, hoping a little early flattery might help secure a good relationship with the people he was going to have to live with in close quarters for seven years.

1 Winston Mine wasn't my favorite tutor anyway 370 Winston 0 5

Isaac

October 22, 2016 6:44 PM

That goes without saying by Isaac

“Korea’s cool.” Isaac didn’t really like being around so many Koreans here in America because he didn’t like the cultural expectations, but the country itself wasn’t bad. “It’s really green and there are hills and mountains everywhere. Hiking out in the countryside is pretty fun. The city’s really busy though and pretty modernized. Everyone walks around in nice clothes too.” It was really different from L.A. where casual sweats and sandals was the norm. His dad scoffed at what he called ‘California fashion’ and did not approve of their mother wearing that outside even for a grocery store run. Luckily he wasn’t around enough for Mom to care. She was a Californian born and bred and wasn’t about to change her ways.

The thought of international Floo and Portkeys hadn’t occurred to Isaac even though he’d used international Floo to travel to Korea a couple times. His mom really hated the uncomfortable feelings Portkeys and Flooing gave her, so she usually opted for Muggle transportation and Isaac loved airplanes. “He’s too busy to come visit more often,” Isaac explained, information he’d long ago accepted. “His whole life is keeping his family business running so he’s always working. But when he does take his vacations, he takes really long ones to come visit us so it works out.” He didn’t know if it was nice to say that he didn’t miss his dad, but it was the truth.

Isaac had never met someone named Magnolia before, but it was a nice name. Magnus’s upbringing was totally different. If it wasn’t clear from his introduction that the Graphorns were purebloods, it was definitely clear now. It sounded like such a secluded lifestyle, but as long as Magnus was cool Isaac didn’t really care. “Wow, that’s cool, congrats on being the first. How come you decided to go to school at Sonora?” Isaac wasn’t even the first out of his siblings; Lauren had told him wonderful stories about living at school with your friends. Isaac was excited to be in Pecari; it felt like it fit his personality from what Lauren had told him about it. “Is your sister going to come too?”

Magnus’s suggestion sounded exactly like the kind of stuff Isaac would do with his best friends. “Yeah for sure!” Isaac loved the idea of secret passageways and figuring out where everything was. Huge magical schools were supposed to hold secrets, right? At least according to the fairy tales, for sure. “Dude, we should definitely start exploring as soon as possible,” he said, getting excited. “Did your family’s ranch have any secret hideaways?”

19 Isaac That goes without saying 375 Isaac 0 5

Gabe

October 25, 2016 1:58 AM

I like to think so by Gabe

Gabe grinned back at Joe, glad that he could always count on living with someone fun while at school. He missed that. Lately, ever since it had been announced that Mattie would be the starting quarterback on the football team this year, his brother had turned into a complete diva. He didn’t want to play baseball with Emma and Gabe anymore, or do anything with his younger siblings, really. Emma said maybe it was a good thing that he was quitting baseball, because at least she wouldn’t have to deal with his big head when she joined the high school team this year. Gabe was sure she’d have enough to deal with, what with the other guys probably getting all weird over a girl being on their team. Gabe was pretty certain they were mostly just mad that they couldn’t hit her curveball.

The third year perked up at the mention of a new sport, “Really - what’s it called? How does it work? D’you remember enough about it that you think we could try it here?” Gabe was always up for learning a new game. He knew he wasn’t the greatest at wandwork, but he wanted to at least give it a shot. If it was a really cool game, maybe they could even try to bring it to Sports Club. He took another bite of his quesadilla, thinking about all the possibilities.

“Cool! It’s gonna be awesome!” Gabe exclaimed, happy to hear that Joe might come visit. Gabe wasn’t exactly a planner, he hadn’t really thought about the execution, but was certain that with magic, somehow Joe would be able to make it. Hopefully Mom would let them go into the city on their own (they were teenagers now, after all) and they could go exploring.

Maybe, Gabe could even have a bunch of friends over for a sleepover party, kind of like the parties Mattie and Emma had had over the summer. Well, not that one party Mattie had hosted, but Gabe wasn’t one to break house rules anyway. Now that he had one potential buddy coming over, he thought about who else to invite. Gabe loved including people. There was their other roommate, Arthur, and there were Nat and Ben, of course, and they were both friends with Tess, who Gabe didn’t know very well but was part of the wagon crew with them. He wouldn’t want her to feel left out. The Collindales always seemed pretty cool, Gabe had always wanted to learn circus tricks from them. While Gabe was not really one for Balls, like the one Sonora had hosted last year, he was very excited about the idea of a get together.

His vacation plans were interrupted, however, when Joe brought up Nat. Gabe flushed involuntarily, thinking of all the teasing he had been subjected to by his siblings this summer. It had been practically relentless once Mattie had fished Gabe’s yearbook out of his bedroom. Even Mom and Dad had asked questions. It had almost been a welcome relief when Amanda had decided they were “dating” a couple of days into Gabe playing practice goalie for Emma’s summer soccer league team because the regular goalie was at Disney World. It didn’t shut people up, not at all. But at least it got them talking about something else.

“Well, yeah,” Gabe acknowledged, stumbling over his words but determined to play it cool, “‘Course I did. We practiced flying, like we do every summer.” Well, this was only the second summer. But that wasn’t the point. The point was that everything was normal, thank you very much, and people just needed to chill. It was ridiculous, really, how worked up people got over a basic misunderstanding.

0 Gabe I like to think so 330 Gabe 0 5

Joe

October 25, 2016 10:07 PM

Me, too. by Joe

“If it has a name, they never bothered using it,” said Joe of the collective madness of Julian’s set. “It’s…kind of like a cross between jousting – “ he silently apologized to his mother for not specifying the type of jousting he meant; for one thing, he couldn’t remember if he was after late medieval or early Renaissance, and for another, he thought it would have been a bit too nerdy to admit to even if he had been sure – “and Capture the Flag. There’s flags, and people take turns – you’re trying to keep the other guy from getting your flag and keep him from knocking your hat off. So you end up dueling in midair, then sometimes doing that twice when you try to get your flag back before the other guy can get back to his end with it.” Joe shrugged. “Most of the time, nobody pulls off a complete win, so there’s all these points for how much you do get done, and in the end, whoever gets the most beaten up gets all the girls fussing over him.”

That sounded more impressive than it had been – the girls who’d fussed over him, John, and Justin had been their sisters; Joe didn’t think the other two girls in the party, the little Ingram girls, were even school age and he had no idea why they were even there – but again: best spin possible on the whole sorry mess.

“Though we’d, uh, probably have to do without the girls fussing over us at the end if we tried any of the rest of it here,” he added. Nat, he was sure, would rather play than play the Lady Fair, and somehow, he didn’t really see Arianna rushing into lists to tend the wounded, either. As for girls who would do that kind of thing, they were also, Joe thought, the types who probably ought not know about any attempts to replicate the game at all, as it was probably against at least a few school rules. Getting a detention or two for hexing someone a bit wasn’t, he knew, that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things – his oldest brother Stephen had once done a week of detentions in school for doing something which had ended with broccoli growing out of a guy’s nose, and while Mom and Dad had not been happy, it didn’t seem to have prevented Steve from succeeding in life since – but Joe liked his shiny, clean record. He had to admit, there was a certain appeal to the idea of doing something blatantly against the rules and getting away with it, but even losing his shiny, clean record fair and square because he got caught sounded better than being ratted out because he hoped the wrong girl would swoon over him.

Joe noticed the flush and the bit of a stumble at mention of Nat, but wasn’t sure if that meant they were dating or that they weren’t. He wouldn’t be surprised if they did eventually, but it was…sort of weird, honestly, to imagine people in his year, his age give or take a few months, dating now. Joe himself had noticed that some girls were pretty and not just guys with long hair and occasionally skirts, but he had no clue what to do about that, or even how to begin figuring it out. He decided that if Gabe and Nat didn’t want to outright tell, he didn’t want to outright ask, at least at the moment, in the dining hall. “All two of them,” he said lightly to the ‘every summer’ bit, but continued, “This year I got to practice some, too, since Julian’s set are all wizards. Quidditch is going to be great this year.”

16 Joe Me, too. 329 Joe 0 5