Oakey returned to the Turnstiles and noticed a few more people still lounging around the Kitchen. That's when he witnessed Nate attempt to hurdle the turnstiles and fail as he was repelled backward, and overheard Nashville offer him a spot in his tent."Everyone goes into the Common Room!" Oakey said finally. "Headmistress' orders." He was not going to risk a Professor coming down to the Kitchen and see Badgers outside after curfew.
"Nashville." Oakey said the new Hufflepuff Transfer's full name, mostly because nicknames weren't his thing. "Payment isn't that bad, and look..." Oakey went over to his Former Cuss Jar Knuts and Sickles Access Jar, and pulled out a sickle, he pressed it against the Turnstile and the slot grew just a bit to accept the piece. "A sickle gets you Twenty-Nine entrances, as opposed to a knut's one" So know he wasn't paying each time he had to enter, at least for twenty-nine times. "You don't have to pay each time you need to go in, if you have the right piece."
Again he also had his system for those who could not pay their way into the Common Room on their own. That's what the jar of coins were there for.

Nashville scratched his head. He still wasn't going to leave. It would be the staffs fault or the Ministry's fault for him having to pay for this. Maybe if he goes to speak to the headmistress then she might listen, that's what they are suppose to do, right? "I do not take money from others, I will use my one and only knut when I really find it important for me to use it. I will be getting money around the end of November so I am fine here and if the headmistress or any other professor finds this uncalled for then they can talk to me themselves, they are big boys and girls." He was not going to be taking any orders from a student, he was going to take orders from the adults.

Tobias frowned. "Well that's not very fair. I could have done with some warning."

Coming from someone older than him, he might have sounded intelligently broody or something. As it was, he just sounded a little bit sulky. But he smiled when she offered the coins. That was good; he wasn't sure he had many knuts hanging around. He'd have to get to writing home tomorrow.

"Okay... I guess I should make sure I carry some coins around," Tobias nodded, looking back at the girl, and then around at some of the other students who, all of a sudden, seemed a lot older and a LOT bigger. At his old school, big kids had a tendency to go after the little kids to nick their money... hopefully that wouldn't happen here. No. Surely he'd be fine.

Tobias looked up at the girl and tilted his head slightly, but his attention was drawn by some other students, particularly someone who was refusing to enter. If he wasn't as eager to please as he was, he'd have been refusing to go in. Right on, fight the power, all that jazz.

"I just... why are they waiting until we're here before telling us we have to pay? Surely that's... I don't know. This isn't... it's not very fair, is it?"

He tried very hard not to pout, but this really was a bit of a shock. Tobias had been expecting extravagance and all that. Not paper plates and the building demanding payment.

Nashville was told that he HAD to go into the common room and pay for his entrance. He still wasn't on board with the idea and he would have to stay in the common room until November because that's when he gets him money from his grandparents. Oh well, right? Can't fix the problem or points will be lost and god forbid that, that just can not happen because apparently Hufflepuff has to be on top. But Nashville still doesn't understand what is so important about these...these house points. They really couldn't be all that important, right?

Nash had found a knut on the ground, seeing as Oakey had taken his only one away from him. So much for being the best Head Boy, right? Taking money from a student was wrong and it was even worse when the student is a NEW student. Nashville walked nears the machines and slipped the knut into it and walked on into the common room.

Sophie stopped right in front of the Hufflepuff's barrels and tapped the entrance pattern with her wand. When the turnstiles appeared, she quickly rummaged through her pocket and pulled out a single knut.

In fact, she was getting used to this... which she didn't really know whether was a good thing or not.

After inserting the knut in the coin slot thingy, Sophie walked through the turnstile and into the Common Room.

Minerva smiled, "We all could have been better with a warning, but no use being upset now. We will work together and get through this. Our head of house will make sure of it and so will our Head Boy and Girl." She didn't want any first years feeling worried, not their first term. They should be happy and enjoying their new houses. This was just horrible.

She then decided to try and take his mind off of it, "So tell me a bit about yourself? Do you like Quidditch?" If he wasn't muggle born then this topic alone should take his mind away from what was going on and just worry about being a first year.

Looking around she wasn't sure if that was going to help since Nashy was protesting and everything else, wow this really was a bit much. Frowning she just wanted to have things back to normal or just people worrying about points and classes more then this..

Annabeth was waiting for the other students pay their entrance by putting a coin into the turnstiles. She didn't have money, she was hoping that someone could let dropping a single coin on the floor. She didn't wave at Minerva, she was ashamed of not having money to pay the entrance. When she was finally alone, she saw a bright coin behind a turnstile. She caught it quickly and dropped into the hole. It was easier than she had thought. Now she could enter into the common room to get some rest.

Worst. Invention. Ever.

Elodie had the money to pay for this time to head into the common room, but it still annoyed her. HMPF. She supposed it was better than whenever she went to London with her sister, and needed the toilet (IT WAS EVERYTIME), most of the stations had payment turnstiles. Atleast this was like..home and maybe at the end of the term, they'd break the turnstiles and split all the money collected between the students.

Maybe she'd pitch that idea to someone later.

Popping the coin into the slot at the turnstile she was at, Elodie WAS IN. THERE WAS SUCCESS.

And she could finally go and assess the damage done to her brain for not having slept in the past hour.

HELLO COMMON ROOM.

In all fairness, Lottie probably still had a few entrances left, she'd given a sickle that last time but wasn't sure how many more she had. This thing should do individual counts.

She still needed to head inside, though. See, she'd decided she wouldn't go carrying all her things inside her bag, because that'll take more time to retrieve stuff, but she forgot Mags inside! The one thing she could carry around...and the one thing she left...her pygmy puff. Seriously.

Without further ado, he added a sickle to the turnstile and stepped inside. She'll start counting from today again, just in case.

Off to get Mags.

Quidditch? "My grandfather told me about it before I came here... I think I'd like it, but I don't support a team or anything," Tobias shrugged. "I think I'm going to try out for the team though... I've got nothing to lose."

The young Hufflepuff stifled a yawn at that and watched the students going past on their way to bed.

Bed.

Hm, bed seemed like a good idea right about now.

"Uh, I'm dead tired... I should probably... go." To bed. Yeah. "Thanks..." Drat. What was her name? OH. "Minerva. See ya later," Tobias gave another grateful smile and made his way further into the corridor and to his dormitory.

Well coming in from the barrels didn't get Minerva far, because of these horrible dumb payment areas. Sighing she dug through her bag for the knut that she needed, when she noticed the look of the dust on the turnstiles and the flor around. Well of course this area would be dirty, it was always in use by the puffs trying to come in and out. And with them stopping to find their knuts and probably grumble along the way, it most likely kicked up the dirt.

Setting down her bag, she pulled her wand again and waved it over the vacuum. "Vaccus" She began vacuuming the turnstiles. Would people think she was nuts cleaning these horrible things. Maybe if they were dirty they could possibly quit working. Laughing at her own thoughts she continued to clean. When the vacuum stopped Minerva waved her wand again "Vaccus" and finished up the room. Now that it was finished, she paid and went to her room.

Natalie just starred at the turnstile, not because the sixth year had just vacummed it clean, but because she could not believe that everyone has to pay to get into their own common room. I mean, she thought, what happened to the word 'common'? She grumpily extracted her money bag and fished out a bronze Knut. After giving a big sigh, she shoved it in the hole.

"Sooner or later, I'm going to get broke," she muttered under her breath.

Asher stumbled towards the turnstile, still groggy after what seemed like the longest nap of his life. He had once again fallen asleep while reading, causing himself to drift off into the most glorious dreamland. "Where is that coin?" he said casually to himself. "I know it's here somewhere," he continued to fiddle around in all of his pockets until he finally clasped his hand around something smooth and cool. "Ah, yes. Here we go" he mumbled as he placed the coin in the slot and headed into the room.

Right so Calista had been down to the Kitchens visiting Toddles and making a snack for herself when she realized that she was almost out of coins, until her next trip to Gringott's, for the turnstiles she would pass either tonight or tomorrow morning when she went to breakfast.

Drats!!

The Divination Professor had scarfed down her snack and had begun to search the corners and of the kitchen corridor when she approached the stack of barrels that she had been old hid the Hufflepuff Common Room.

"I wonder..."

Being a Professor and having knowledge of the various passwords of places around the Castle for IMPORTANT STAFF REASONS, Elwood decided to tap the correct barrel to the enunciation of Helga Hufflepuff and quickly entered the Common Room.

Oh a turnstile. *grumble*

She dropped her last knut into the slot and entered the place she would be sleeping if she couldn't find any coins somewhere.

This was getting ridiculous. Why the hell did staff members have to pay to get in the damn common rooms? Wasn't it bad enough that those disgusting goblins had stolen all their belongings? Well all of the healer's things anyway. She didn't even have furniture in her office anymore. If she wanted to relax at all in comfy furniture she had to leave the infirmary to do it. So that's what she was doing, going to the Hufflepuff common room of all places.

After digging in her pocket she finally found her last knut. Damn it, she was going to have to find some more so she could get into the snake common room later. Maybe Romulus or Jacen would be in the common room now. Then she could get some of her money back from them. That is if Rom hasn't given it all away by now.

Finally dropping her coin into the slot she entered the common room after tapping the barrels and giving the password.