DH Skies
September 18, 2018 9:53 AM
Welcome, late starters by DH Skies
The start of term always resulted in a fair number of coughs and colds going around, as people from diverse places mingled for the first time. Not just in school, but prior to arriving, as magical folk descended en masse on the small number of wizarding shopping areas around the country. Normally, this was not a problem, but this year a particularly nasty and hard to shake ‘flu like bug had gone around, one which caused sparks to fly when the afflicted sneezed. This might not have ordinarily been a major concern - Sonora was a magical school and used to its fair number of accidents - but MACUSA seemed to be being particularly cautious after last year’s rather more dramatic outbreaks of illness, and the affected students had had to rest up at home until they were free of the symptoms.Thus, a few weeks into the term, the middle-aged blonde witch was waiting in a hotel foyer in nearby town of Tumblweed, where the new students would be arriving by portkey. She greeted them, introducing herself as Deputy Headmistress Skies, and checking them all off on a list. Once they were all assembled, she led them the short distance up the road to the school.
“Welcome to Sonora,” she smiled, as they stepped inside the protective bubble of the school’s grounds. The temperature shifted abruptly, the climate of Sonora being modelled on the founders’ native Ireland rather than reflecting its desert surroundings. She led the group through the school grounds and into the large white stucco mansion, winding their way through the corridors and to her office.
“Please, help yourselves to refreshments” she advised. There were jugs of juice, sandwiches, chips and cookies on the desk. “I’ll tell you a little bit about the school, then we’ll get you sorted.
“This will be your home for the next seven years. You are all starting out in first year, and in beginners classes - that’s joint with the second years. Your subjects will be Care of Magical Creatures, Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Defence Against the Dark Arts and Herbology. After that, you will move up to intermediates for third, fourth and fifth year. During this time, you will take the same subjects but may choose additional studies such as astronomy. At the end of fifth year, you will sit national exams calls CATS. From this, you will choose your advanced level courses for sixth and seventh year, at the end of which will be your RATS exams.”
“You, and your fellow first years, all have different levels of experience with the magical world. Some of you may have some familiarity already, whilst for some of you all of this is new. That’s alright. We know that magic is brand new to some students, and our curriculum is designed with that in mind. Even your peers who have grown up in the magical world will have had limited practical experience so far. All your teachers hold regular office hours and will be happy to help you catch up anything you’ve missed. Additionally, I hold extra classes for anyone who needs support with their reading and writing skills,” she smiled, hoping to reassure them that they weren’t going to be too behind.
“We have four houses here. Your house will be where you sleep and are like your family here at school. They are grouped around personality, so hopefully it means you get to find the people most like you. That said, people fit into different houses for different reasons, and there’s also no need to assume you won’t get on with those in other houses. These school badges go on your robes,” she explained, handing one out to each of the new arrivals, “But first you will need to dip it into our sorting potion. It will turn the colour of your house - blue for Aladren which values learning and independence, yellow for Teppenpaw which values friendly co-operation and personal development, red for Crotalus which values planning and obedience, and brown for Pecari, which values spontaneity and adventure.” As Selina spoke, she pulled a large bottle of a shimmering potion from her desk and poured it into a cauldron, before inviting the new students one by one to come up and dip in their badges.
“Good. You have your homes,” she smiled. “We’ll take a tour of the school shortly. I’ve also invited some of your yearmates in, so that you can get to know people - ah, that sounds like them,” she smiled, as there was a well timed knock at the door. “You can talk with each other for a little bit, and then I’ll show you around,” she smiled.
OOC - welcome late starters. As we don’t know who exactly will post here, I’ve left it open so that you can post with each other, or get replied to by existing students. If you have any questions, please ask on the OOC or stop by our chatzy.
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DH Skies
Welcome, late starters
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Heidi B. Hoare
September 19, 2018 2:56 PM
Re: Welcome, late starters by Heidi B. Hoare
Once the headmaster had finished talking, Heidi still felt somewhat confused. Or maybe that feeling was wonder. After all, the sight of the gorgeous mansion that she would apparently be staying in for a good chunk of her life almost made her drop her crutches. Or perhaps that was from the sheer surprise of the area being so cold. In any case, there was an odd feeling taking residence in her.When a knocking rang from the door, Heidi swiveled her head around to look at it. "A welcoming committee..." She thought. "Oh boy, this is going to be painfully awkward." Heidi, being a student and a 'troubled' one at that, knew that nothing good ever came of forcibly pushing children to become friends. If there was something that Heidi hated with a burning passion, it was awkwardness. Particularly in conversation. Luckily, she hadn't had to deal with that in a while. She was either good friends with everyone she talked to or immediately punched for daring to speak. Needless to say, she was hesitant about something different from that.
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Heidi B. Hoare
Re: Welcome, late starters
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Ness McLeod
September 21, 2018 9:47 AM
Welcome! by Ness McLeod
Ness arrived at Deputy Headmistress Skies’ office and knocked. The professor had said something about being there to meet some late arrivals. The first year Aladren tried to feel flattered, wondering whether the professor was choosing particularly responsible or friendly people, meaning that Ness had made good first impressions. However, it seemed more likely that the Deputy Headmistress wanted a representative from each house, and when it was a choice between Ness and Topaz Brockert, it wasn’t exactly a high bar to be called the better person.On entering the office, Ness noticed a newly minted Aladren, and went to join the girl.
“Hi. I’m Ness,” the first year informed her, adding “I guess we’re roommates,” with a nod to the girl’s blue badge. This statement might have come as a bit of a surprise to Heidi, as - with short hair, and no particularly obvious feminine traits - Ness was often mistaken for a boy. It wasn’t something the first year really minded, in fact, it usually seemed like a fun game to leave it a bit of a mystery and let people guess. Ness didn’t even always correct them when they guessed wrong (biologically speaking). But it had to be kind of awkward for the new people coming in part way through the term, and the last thing Ness wanted to do was add to any awkwardness by making the girl feel like she had made a mistake if she called Ness a boy and then found out they were roommates. Not that it would have bothered Ness, but other people seemed to be horribly embarrassed when they guessed wrong.
“So… uh. Welcome to Sonora. And to Aladren,” Ness felt a bit weird welcoming someone but wanted to seem… well, welcoming.
Out of Character - hi, this is an ‘out of character’ (OOC) note just to speak to you author to author. So, first off, welcome! Glad you could join us. I also write DH Skies but wanted to switch to one of my students as it’ll be more fun for Heidi to talk with a peer. I should have mentioned in the welcome post, we aim for posts to be 200 words minimum. If you’re stuck, try giving a bit more background and description of Heidi, especially in these early posts as we’re still getting to know her. Also, make sure you react to all the important points in the post before - for example, DH Skies mentioned sorting the students into their new houses, so you could cover Heidi finding out she’ll be an Aladren, and how she feels about that. If you have any questions, do stop by chatzy. Looking forward to your reply.
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