After putting her hand down, Kurumi noticed that one of Gryffindor's new first years had also made her way over to the table she was seated at with Eino. The Professor hadn't mentioned if they were in groups or in pairs. "Zara, this is Eino. He is one of my best friends here at Hogwarts and is a third year in Ravenclaw," she smiled as she introduced the two. "Eino, this is Zara. She is a new Gryffindor."

She was sure the professor would make an exception for first years pairing up with an older student as long as they didn't make a pride, but had a few other splashes of color.

Kurumi nearly choked on her tea when she heard another first year speak up. The girl did have a point. Kurumi had read and seen may movies when things were thrown in that people were so sure had meaning and had been simple accidents or things to take people's focus off the main plot.

Kurumi liked the way this little lion thought and she nodding her head towards her as the Japanese girl continued to giggle quietly.

Kurumi then went back to flipping through her notes and squeaked before shooting her hand back up again. "Forgive me, Professor. Hogwart, or hogwort, isn't a lily, but a plant that is sometimes used as a been used as an herbal holistic remedy. I still suppose it is still plausible that when the Four Founders came to this region they found the hill covered with them and paid homage to the land by naming the school after the plant." Perhaps one of them had a hidden passion for Herbology? Hufflepuff perhaps?

Hmmm, why did the founders name Hogwarts, Hogwarts? that is surely a mystery. Heather put down her drink and thought for an answer. she should participate for her house to gain points after all, and this are her studies.

Plus, the professor was extremely nice. She liked her.

But clearly, Heather had not come up with a good idea on why it was named Hogwarts....Hogwarts...wait a second....

"Pr-Professor..." she called, raising her hand. "M-maybe they were looking at a flower?" okay, so she wasn't being clear. Perhaps, explaining would be better. "Uhm...s-some kind of plant...there is a p-plant called Hogwort. I think it's a Lily or might have been an herb...and they m-made a play on words so the 'wort' part became 'wart'...so now, it's Hogwarts." she fiddled with her fingers underneath her robe sleeves, hoping that her 'suggested' answer would be okay.

Kimalia had to really think on this one.. "Why did they choose Hogwarts.." She decided to hum out the song in hopes an answer will come up



Kimalia raised her hand attempting to take a stab with her guess. "Perhaps Professor, Hogwarts was a combination for 'Hog' in that they wanted to hog all the information needed to learn and maybe 'Warts' since that's what witches and wizards are often rumored by muggles to cast on people."

Connor was eating a piece of strawberry cake and drinking some blueberry kool-aid it was ok, but not as good as Kurumi's cherry blossom tea or his mom's watermelon tea or his blueberry tea. He raised his hand after swallowing. "Professor, I think that it might have something to do with the statute of secrecy. If we talk of School around muggles we want to confuse them so they cannot find us."

"Thanks Kurumi." She said, as she sat down on the chair next to them. "Hi Eino." She smiled at him.

Turning back at Kurumi, she excused, "Sorry for disturbing you two. I'll just sit here and eat my cake." She giggled, after all, all she wanted was to sit down somewhere where she knew she can. She ate quietly there, and waited for the next questions or words from the professor.

Lexi raised her hand and lazily suggested, "Perhaps they took a couple of letters from everyone's name and jumbled it all up together and they came out with Hogwarts." Yeah. Sounded good to her anyway.

Hmm, hehe. "Yes, I did, and I see Slytherin is still better than Gryffindor. Thanks for reminding me." she nodded, placing her fork, knife, and plate down one the table in front of her as a smirk appeared on her lips. Riley was a good guy. This was totally better than sitting near someone who smelled bad or was a total brainy Ravenclaw.

But, onto bigger and better things. Like resisting the urge to burn the cake. Sure, it had strawberry in it, but it was contaminated by touching the other two flavors of cake next to it. It was totally ruined! Pfft. "Maybe they got so tired of coming up with a name and arguing over it, one of them blurted out the first random word that came to mind and got all Peruvian Vipertooth on the other three, just daring them to try and change it." Yup, that's what she would have done.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Gemma paused just for a second and waited for another answer before continuing, "You all have some great ideas! Sadly that is something that has never been found in any records, so we can only speculate what the Founders meant when naming Hogwarts. I'm sure since they were four exceptional wizards there was an amazing meaning, and even perhaps, one that one of you mentioned." she said with a smile and slight shrug of her shoulders.

She hoped she wasn't overwhelming them with information but she knew there was just so much stuff that the students knew about Hogwarts but they just never really thought about deeply, "Now I want you to think about the motto of Hogwarts: 'Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus' or Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon or sometimes it's translated Always let a sleeping dragon lie." she let that sink in for a moment and then continued, "Now think about the different houses and the success of the school because of the four houses working together. What do you think the Founders meant by choosing such a random motto?"

She flicked her wand, and the drink bowls came back around to fill up the glasses around the room. Then with another flick of her wand, the Hogwarts school song started playing in the background. It wasn't really the boring version but more of an upbeat version with a beat and guitar in it...it was a cool little arrangement.

'Hogwarts, Hogwarts, hoggy warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something please,
Whether we be old and bald,
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling,
With some interesting stuff,
For now they're bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgot,
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot.'

OOC: I'm going to leave you with the motto question for the night to let others get caught up. I'll post the next set of questions in a few hours. Thanks everyone! Remember the rules and remember that Gemma is still here watching you. Make sure your raise your hand and keep chatting to a minimum.

Selina wriggled in her seat as the Professor introduced herself. It was not that she was uninterested it was just that this class had been... well boring before. But once she started the formal class she seemed much cooler than she had anticipated. It was a pleasant surprise and Selina would take all of the excitement that a history class would give her.

Professor Cerulean than posed her first question and Selina's hand shot up at the inquiry, "Selina Skylar, Gryffindor. It's just over a thousand years old in the nineteen nineties, so it is just over a one thousand and one hundred or it is approaching that benchmark now." For once in her life she was glad Kurumi had coerced her into reading Hogwarts: A History.

Selina continued to listen to the enthusiastic new Professor. Professor Cerulean had spunk and Selina admired her. She enjoyed the material so made the experience of learning it unique to the students. While Selina pondered this thought process she poured herself a glass of pineapple juice.

Turning back to the lesson she heard Cerulean ask for traits of their founders. A smirk slid across Selina's face and her hand shot up in the air, "Selina Skylar, Gryffindor. Godric Gryffindor had bright red hair." This was the trait that Selina liked about him the best because, well, he shared her similar shade of red. They were both redheads, both loyal, and both brave. Yeah, she liked Gryffindor.

This class was turning out to be quite pleasant. She liked the Professor and she felt the material was enforced and taught in a positive manner. Besides cake and food always did help lighten a mood. With that thought Selina took another sip of her drink and smiled at the Professor.

Her final question for cake was a subjective question- what did they believe? After thinking on her answer for a moment Selina rose her hand and said,
"Selina Skylar, Gryffindor. I personally believe that the sorting hat looks for love. Every Gryffindor I've met, although we can all be pig headed sometimes, has the capacity to love like no one else. Their loyalty allows the love to flourish and grow naturally and the bravery allows the love to be expressed without fear. So I would say that Gryffindor's need to be able to love. Because without our love... we are not Gryffindors."

Selina was caught off guard. She wanted them to do what? But she had just made that whole speech about Gryffindor's loving one another and now she was expected to move. She got up slowly and trudged her way across the room away from the once bright red table. Once at her destination she sat down and awaited another student to sit with her.

When cake was offered to her Selina did not say no. She was more than willing to cut herself a piece of the strawberry and the vanilla. Selina was an athlete and hunger was one of her most common emotional states. With her two large pieces prepared to be eaten she turned her attention back to the class.

Why was Hogwarts named such? She had no idea. She knew from her mother that it was a type of plant, but she had no clue besides that. So she rose her hand again to give the question a try, "Selina Skylar, Gryffindor. I know that it is a flower name, but the significance escapes me. Maybe for an even simpler reason than trying to fit symbolism into the shape of the flower is that a flower could have united them all. They all came from separate backgrounds and circumstances. Who is not to say that they all had a Hogwort flower bush in their gardens? It could have been their first true connection."


More Latin! Selina was loving this term and all of the course work they had had so far... with the minor exception of Potions, but let that pass. Now they were talking more Latin and Selina could not be more thrilled. However the teacher did have one thing incorrect, "Ma'am? Draco, although typically translated as dragon has another meaning... it means snake. Maybe the reason why this motto was chosen was a warning to all who entered the school to not provoke the Slytherins. I mean at the time of the conception of the school the Chamber of Secrets was being constructed so why wouldn't the founders lace the motto with a warning to Muggle Borns?"

Kurumi nibbled on her cake and sipped her tea as she thought about the school's motto. She was reminded of the more common non-magical expression and turned to those around her before raising her hand to speak.

"Professor, in the non-magical world, we have an expression that goes 'let sleeping dogs lie' which can be interpreted in several ways including 'to not try to change a situation because you might cause problems' or 'do not instigate trouble'," she said as the wheels in her head began turning. It did seem to fit with the idea of bravery, but a smile crept across her face. "Many associate bravery by being thrown or putting yourself into situations that demand trouble and perhaps actively seeking it out. However, I don't think this is what Godric Gryffindor had in mind when he selected people for his house." Her eyes flicked to the word reckless on the board and her nose wrinkled a bit since she didn't agree with that word. "Being brave doesn't mean you go looking for trouble. Being brave means that you know you are afraid, but you still have the capacity to perform properly even when scared half to death."

"Well, whever i have to sit" Willaim told kimalia. " i beter do what the teacher says" Willaim said to Kimalia.
" Good guess" William told Wisteria. He had Vanilla cake, too.

"Thank you, Professor Cerulean." She beamed at the professor, glad that she had found her answer rather fascinating.

Zara listened to the question of the Professor, waiting until she ended so Zara could answer. Then the Hogwarts' song began to play and Zara nodded her head while tapping her feet to the beat. She could imagine in her head accompanying it with some piano too.

Her hand shot up as soon as she could control herself from being dragged away by the song. Then she said her answer, "Maybe because to tickle a sleeping dragon is like provoking danger and Hogwarts doesn't want to invite danger in its safe castle walls?" She thought some more and maybe it was the opposite of what she said, "Maybe Hogwarts is the dragon. So it can be a warning to the dark wizards and witches not to mess with Hogwarts or else." Zara smirked at this, then had another thought. Wow, she was having so many ideas. This motto bothered her so much, "Professor! What if there's a dragon inside Hogwarts, still waiting to be discovered? That the founders had put it here hidden, somewhere in his long sleep?"

Kimalia raised her hand once more after pondering a few moments. "Well, leaving a dragon who is considered dangerous to rest on it's own meaning not to disturb when it is harmless clearly translates to the founders not wanting anyone to provoke in fear of chaos." Kimalia sipped on her kool-aid drink once more. "So perhaps they merely wanted to invoke in not wanting to change anything that doesn't need fixing." Maybe the four houses..

Connor raised his hand again. "Professor I think it's because this school has proven time and time again that when the houses bind together like four strands of rope we can accomplish anything. Most Notably everyone fighting together at the Last Battle of Hogwarts." He said absolutely certain he was right.

Staring at the board with the Hogwarts song on it, Evelyn suddenly found something she may dislike more than chocolate if that was even possible. This song. Hoggy...warty...Hogwarts?! She did not have a head full of air either!

Destiny might though.

Speaking of people who had heads full of air, the SLYTHERIN'S attention went over to a Gryffindor who just mentioned a rather interesting way of what the saying could mean. Yes. Don't provoke the Slytherins. Somehow what she said slightly irritated the girl, though it was amusing in a way. "Or..." she started, turning her attention away from the young Gryffie and to the Professor. "Since they were all about house unity then and now, it could mean 'Don't ruin the house unity'. Since you said yourself, they had much more success when working together, and since tickling or waking a sleeping dragon could possibly cause everyone to be in a dangerous and harmful situation...it'd be best to just let everything be peaceful and calm."

Dallin chewed his cake silently, his head flipping around as people around room answered questions. Starting to get a bit bored, Dal decided to put his own ideas out. "I think it's pretty self-explanatory," he said, raising a hand. "Never tickle a sleeping dragon. Just don't do it. It's good knowledge for every young witch or wizard to know." Who said it had to be something deep and thought-provoking?

He was pretty sure that wasn't gonna cut it, though. So he continued. "Although I guess it could mean something like don't do something you know is stupid just to do it. Don't start trouble you don't need to start." Made sense, right?

"Ohh ohh! And when someone dared to tickle that dragon, which wakes him up from his sleep the whole Hogwarts might collapse and cease to exist, but I hope not. This is because the founders might have cast a spell on the dragon that if anyone would wake him up, it'd be the end of Hogwarts. Just a theory though," She grinned. Zara was too overexcited with her theory.

Whoa. Wait. Hold on just a minute here!

They had to sit by somehow from a different house?! Sierra felt a brief wave of something similar to panic flash through her. She just wasn't all that great with mingling outside her kind. The Ravenclaws were just way too intelligent, the Gryffindors were just way too annoying, and the Puffer Children were just big no-no's.

...except Treyen Lockhart, Sierra had recently discovered.

Did he just refer to her as his Slytherin? Sure, it was just a class thing, but still--it had been said, and now...she was turning into that same girl on the ship who'd tripped over knotted ropes and laughed at absolutely nothing in particular.

This is still your fault, Treyen Lockhart!!!

"Y--your Slytherin," she repeated, mentally scolding herself from stuttering at first. She started to protest that, to say something along the lines of her never belonging to any Hufflepuff. The more she thought about it, though, the more she realized she didn't mind being Treyen Lockhart's Slytherin...

NOOOOO! No, no, no, no, nooooo! She hated this! Hated it! Hated it! Hated it!!!

Then, trying her best to sound as casual and composed as possible, she added, "Oh, ...right. I guess I can always use a Hufflepuff to copy the answers from." Though, she may have actually smiled a little as she said that.



Ugh!

Must the professor play the Hogwarts song in class? Right as she was meant to be thinking?! This class was just way too happy...

Nevertheless, she found herself raising her hand, if not for anything else but to try and get her mind off her new History of Magic partner...who also happened to be her Potions partner, too. "Well, I don't think it really has much to do with an actual dragon. Although, I guess it can if you're using the quote for a situation involving a dragon," she began. "I think it means that you shouldn't create problems for yourself. If the problems aren't there or aren't really that bad, don't push your luck." Or, well, it meant something like that, she guessed.

Everything was happening so fast, more information about Hogwarts coming... but Helena liked it, since History of Magic was one of her favourite subjects. And now they were talking about the school motto, which Helena LOVED. Aaaand... she had an idea, so she raised her hand. "Professor? Isn't the school motto like... a synonym of that thing that muggles use to say? 'Don't play with fire, because you might get burned', or something like that?" She wasn't sure whether that was the right one or not, but it had to sound like that. Muggle studies was STILL not her best subject.

Wow, this lesson was moving fast. She never knew that History of Magic could be this interesting. Awesome. Well, Viola obviously knew about the motto but why such a motto had been chosen? Anyway, she'll give it a try. She raised her hand and said, "Well, professor? It means never to provoke others unnecessarily." She frowned. She really couldn't think of anything else to add to what she'd said.

Samira was actually enjoying the lesson. It wasn't boring like she thought it would be, and talking about the History of one of her favorite places in the world fascinated her. The Slytherin paused and cocked her head to one side when she heard the question. Honestly, the thought had crossed her mind, but she never really knew the answer. Samira decided to take a guess at it, and raised her hand. "Perhaps Hog Warts was an important ingredient in a potion. Maybe it's what brought the four founders together in the first place, somehow, and they decided to name the school Hogwarts in honor of the ingredient that helped the school be possible."

Ok, even Samira had to admit the answer was lacking the charisma she usually had, but it was a good guess, right?



Samira puffed air out of her cheeks as she pondered the question. Never Tickle A Sleeping Dragon. Very odd, indeed. Samira didn't really know if it had a hidden meaning somewhere in there, but decided to take a shot. "Maybe it means if you see something that can cause you problems or disaster, like a dragon, to, well...let it lie. That way you can walk away without creating problems for yourself and using your common sense." She paused thoughtfully before adding, "Or maybe they just wanted something silly or light-hearted for a motto." Unlikely, and probably incorrect, but as a small child that's what Samira always thought, and she's been thinking of situations where she could use the scenario ever since she was young.

Samira picked up one of the cups that appeared and took a small sip. She sipped at it thoughtfully for a while as she listened to the words of the song. It was very...unusual. The lyrics were a bit comical, and the Slytherin found herself smiling into her cup.

Hugo looked at the board... There were easily a few other house traits out there of him. He looked down at his parchment and dipped his quill in ink. With his quill he wrote down: "Courage, Ambition, Creativity, Cleverness and Wit" Okay, so it was mostly Ravenclaw traits. But whatever.

Wow. Purple.

Oh-kay. Eino zoooomed off towards Kurumi, so he couldn't sit at THAT table. Then, he looked over at Fee's table. Still room, right? He hopped over to her table and said "Hello, Slytherin," and smiled at her. "Can I sit with you?"

Hugo thought about it for a while. "Well, maybe it's something like 'live and let live'," Hugo formulated whilst still thinking. "And that leads a bit to equality, which Godric Gryffindor was keen to preserve in the houses," Hugo explained. Granted, that wasn't really a good answer. But hey, he was a Ravenclaw. He also needed his brain for other stuff.

Daisy raised her hand again, she was going to have a shot at this question.
'Maybe they wanted an intresting motto, like to show the school was different from other magic schools, if there were any. It might be a metaphor?' she said. 'Or maybe it's related to a story, like a fable.'

Janice raised her hand, hesitantly, for a while, and answered.
"Well, I don't think it's that random. I think everybody knows that the four founders of Hogwarts have different personalities, while a dragon is known to be so fierce and stuff. Uhm, so, the reason there are the 4 houses is because the founders only wanted teach the students who have the same personalities like them, right? For example the purebloods (Slytherin), brave people (Griffyndor), smart people (Ravenclaw), and the loyal people (Hufflepuff). So, basically, you have to know the personalities of the people you're talking to or doing to or whatever to not be in trouble." Janice thought for a while, then added something.
"For an example, if you, like, pranked someone, he/she won't be mad if they like pranks or if they think that it was funny. For people who does not think that way, they might be offended. Like a dragon. Unless the dragon you're tickling is very, very, super-duper tamed and nice and all that, you won't be burnt off your nails."
*sigh*. That was a long answer.

William raised his hand. "I thnk the motto is for the withes, wisards ,elves and animals that were at HogWarts first " William told the teacher.