Kate was wandering aimlessly. She was too lazy to go all the way outside, but she was bored of just sitting. She needed to move. Kate twirled and ducked as she walked faster, pretending she was dodging a tackle from one of her brothers.

And then she bumped into the wall. Oops.

Stopping and straightening up, Kate glanced around her to check that nobody saw her lapse in gracefulness. Then she noticed the nice tapestry she had bumped into. Oh, weird. She'd never seen a tapestry not in a museum. She reached out and touched the tapestry. "Whoa…" Not a painting, not a wallpaper. More like a carpet, but… on a wall. There certainly was a lot to get used to here. At least it was a pretty tapestry.

Hayden didn't really know where she was. Well she knew she was on the fourth floor but that was about it. She'd come up the stairs and just kept wandering. She was making a mental note of everything she saw so she could remember where everything was later. When she noticed the Tapestry she figured she'd probably remember where it was. It was so huge and colorful and pretty, it would be hard to forget. There was something else by the tapestry. Someone else, in fact. A small girl in Ravenclaw colors was...running into the wall.

"Did you do that on purpose?" Hayden asked. It was probably a stupid question; of course she hadn't ran into the wall on purpose. At least...she probably hadn't. Who would just run into a wall on purpose? Maybe it had been an accident, and this girl would be embarrassed that someone had seen her do it. Hayden hurried to change the subject. "I'm Hayden." She introduced herself because she didn't know what else to say. "I'm a first year, and I'm in Hufflepuff." That part was probably obvious but she felt like it was a good thing to say anyway. It was a standard part of the introduction while at Hogwarts.

Kate jumped and turned to look at whoever was talking. Aw, someone had seen her run into the wall! Well, she could play cool. She was cool. Kate smiled and nodded, shoving her hands into her pockets for added cool factor. "Yeah, on purpose. I wanted to, um, see if the tapestry was padded." It wasn't.

Oh. Introductions. Kate let out a relieved chuckle, glad the subject was changed quickly so she wouldn't have to lie too much. "Nice to meet ya, Hayden. My name's Kate." She stuck out her hand to shake Hayden's hand. "Um, I'm a first year, too. I'm in Ravenclaw, I guess." Whatever that meant. She had lucked out, getting to be in the blue house where she got to wear blue all the time.

"What do you think of Hogwarts?"

Ooooooooooh. She was running an experiment. That made sense - even though it was an odd experiment, and it was odd Kate was her own test subject. Why would she want to do that. Oh right, FOR AN EXPERIMENT. "Oh so it was an experiment. What were your finding?" Hayden bounced on her feet once before reminding herself to calm down. They were just talking about the padding, or lack of, on the tapestry. It wasn't that important. But she was excited, because it was an experiment.

Oh right, they were introducing themselves. Hayden shook the hand Kate offered, and accompanied it with a big, cheerful smile. She liked meeting new people. There certainly wasn't a shortage of them at Hogwarts. So far, everyone she'd met was really nice so that was even better. "You guess?" She remembered her question about the houses and their traits, and she decided to question Kate about her house. "You're the first Ravenclaw I've met. How do you like it?" But then Kate had a question of her own for Hayden. "I like it well enough so far," she answered. "Everything's so big, and it just feels exciting to be here." She'd been looking forward to it her whole life, and she was finally there. "How about you?"

An experiment? Oooh yeah, it was an experiment! For science! "I thought that the tapestry might be padded and bouncy," Kate explained. "But I thought wrong. It's probably just brick under there."

Uh-oh she was asking about the Ravenclaws. Kate didn't know about the Ravenclaws. She barely knew any herself. But she had discovered that Ravenclaws were supposedly the smart, curious types. And that sort of described her. "I like it! Nobody judges me for reading!" Kate chirped happily. Yep, she might not have a lot of friends, but she at least felt welcome as a Ravenclaw.

But as for Hogwarts… "It sure is big and exciting," Kate agreed. "I learn something new every day. Who knew that pictures and staircases could move, or that there's been a giant school here for so long that none of the Muggles knew about? Talk about big secrets!" And she still wanted to learn how to use magic for specific things. Practical things, like cooking and transportation.

Kate smiled again and decided that she wanted to be friends with Hayden. Therefore, it was time to talk a lot. "I didn't know anything about magic or Hogwarts until I came here, so I've got a lot to learn. Have you done any fun exploring yet? Let's go adventuring!"

"Can we check?" Kate had just made a guess, which Hayden was going to count as the hypothesis to her experiment. As her previous experiment had revealed it did indeed hurt to run into the wall, she now had to find out why. "Can we look behind the tapestry?" That would be the best way to find an answer. Hayden eyes the tapestry; the only thing stopping them would be if the tapestry was magically held to the wall or something. Or if it was old and fragile enough to fall down upon being touched. That would be bad.

"So you like to read?" Hayden inquired. "Would you say you fit in with the Ravenclaw traits, like being studious and intelligent?" A study like the one she was proposing would probably require a long-term experimental group. She wasn't sure she was ready to commit to something like that as a first year but she was curious. And it might be fun.

"You didn't? Are your parents muggles?" Kate couldn't possibly have been raised by wizards and not known about Hogwarts. Everyone knew about it, even foreign wizards. "If you count getting lost as exploring I've done quite a bit of that." Hayden smiled. "Adventure?!" Hayden was excited again. She bounced up and down on the balls of her feet. "That sounds so fun, we should definitely do that? Where should we go?" Howarts was so huge, she didn't even know where to start.

Kate's eyes grew wide. Check behind the tapestry. Oh. That was a good idea, why hadn't she thought of it? But what if they broke it? She hadn't gotten to explore and learn everything yet, and what if they broke it and got sent home… Oh, but to look behind the tapestry would be science and they could see if her experiment had produced an accurate conclusion. She'd risk breaking it for the sake of science. "Yes, let's look behind the tapestry!" Kate grabbed the edge of the tapestry and tugged a little to try to pull it away from the wall a bit so they could discover what was behind it.

Then she got distracted by Hayden talking about Ravenclaw traits. "Um, I like to read and I like to learn about history and inventions, so I guess the traits fit me? I'm not very studious, though. I got bored in most of my Muggle classes and I have too much energy to sit and learn just for the sake of learning. I like learning useful information."

"Yeah, my parents are Muggles. Yours must not be, since you know so much about the houses and stuff."

And apparently Hayden knew about the castle and grounds from getting lost. "Let's see what's behind the tapestry, and then go explore outside!" Hopefully it wasn't raining. She hadn't looked out a window recently.

Hayden just nodded as Kate talked about how she did and did not fit with typical Ravenclaw stereotypes. She'd have to remember that and make a note of it somewhere later. She nodded at the comment about her parents. "My dads a muggleborn, but my mom comes from a long line of wizards. They taught me about Hogwarts and magic stuff growing up." She had really enjoyed being around all of it. She couldn't imagine what it would be like being around normal muggle stuff and then finding out you had magic. Actually she could a little. It would probably be really cool. "Didn't you show signs of magic as a kid? What did your parents do?"

That sounded like a good plan. Adventure after they saw what was behind the tapestry. Hayden peered over Kate's shoulder as she moved the tapestry away from the wall. A brick wall was revealed behind it. But it looked...abnormal. Hayden couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she knew this wasn't a normal brick wall. "I think there's something hidden here," she said slowly. A secret passageway perhaps? Or maybe it was nothing but an unusual looking wall.

So that's what they called it. Muggleborn. Kate nodded thoughtfully, still gripping the edge of the tapestry. Magic as a kid? Hmm. Kate thought about that for a second, trying to figure out what signs of magic she showed as a little kid. From the way Hayden said it, there had to have been something. Well she did always make better paper airplanes than her big brother. "Umm, well my paper airplanes were always really good. They went really far and sometimes could even turn or do tricks when they shouldn't've."

Kate looked back at the tapestry she was gripping and the brick wall behind it. Something hidden? Kate knocked on the wall. That was what people in mystery books did when they encountered fake walls, right? She frowned when it felt like regular brick. "It doesn't sound hollow. I think it's just a wall," Kate said.

Hayden nodded along as Kate spoke. Paper airplanes sounded cool. Not just normal airplanes either. AWESOME ones! Hayden hadn't made much of those as a kid, maybe they were more of a muggle thing. Whatever, they were still cool. If she hadn't shown more magic than that as a kid, what did that say about her magical abilities? That kind of question was far too advanced for an eleven year old, so she tried to forget about it. Then again, Hayden did like a challenge.

Back to adventuring. Hayden studies the whole as she listened to what Kate said. Tapping on the wall was a really good idea, why hadn't she thought of that? Kate sure was smart. "Oh." It was just normal? That was disappointing. She'd hoped there would be some secret passageway it something. But if there was anything, they'd never be able to get into it now. Oh well. "Now more adventuring! Where should we go?" Hayden looked around her excitedly.

With the wall thing discovered, Kate released the edge of the tapestry and put her hands on her hips. Yup. Just a normal wall behind a normal tapestry.

Oh! Adventuring! But where? Kate scratched her chin while she thought. The only cool place she knew of was the astronomy tower. They could go to the astronomy tower! "I'll show you! Follow me!" Kate grabbed Hayden's hand and pulled her along in the direction of the astronomy tower. Yay stars and planets!

His usual walks around the castle were getting boring. After being told to seek shelter Simon did as he was told; however, he couldn't help but wonder if they should venture out there. He wished he could. Simon shoved his hands into his pockets and stared into the tapestry. He wondered what the story was behind it. He had heard rumours about it, but he had never believed in any of them.

He took a deep breath and gazed at the wondrous tapestry, wondering what stories laid inside of it.

Aunt Cela's map was pretty easy to follow once he got the hang of it, so Dima had started exploring the castle more. It was less fun without Maddie or Kyroh around, but he still managed to keep busy on lazy days like this one by investigating sides on the little piece of parchment.

And so here he was. According to his guide, he was on the fourth floor... at some sort of tapestry? Eh. Booooring.

He did notice another boy around there, though. "Whatcha lookin' at?" Surely not the textile art thingy? Who'd want to stand around staring at THAT?

All of a sudden, he heard this young boy ask him what he was looking at. Simon turned around, ready to give the boy a happy, friendly response when he saw it was HIM. The first year who had accidentally set someone on fire in Ancient Runes class. Trouble was here. Trouble took on an adorable form. Simon would not be fooled. He carefully looked around his surroundings to see if he was close to any torches. Thankfully he wasn't, so he relaxed a little when he realized he wasn't going to be set on fire by little Toussiant.

He played it cool and shrugged nonchalantly. "The tapestry. I'm trying to understand the story behind it," he continued staring at it. Nope. He couldn't figure it out. Simon shrugged. "Meh. It's too boring anyway. What about you? What are you up to?"

"What story?" There was a story? Huh? Dima, completely unaware of the boy's cool and nonchalant facade, tried to examine the tapestry a little more closely. It had nice colors... detailed designs and stuff, and the first year, having taken plenty of art lessons as a kid, could appreciate it.

But there was nothing particularly INTERESTING about it.

He nodded to the older boy's comment on its lack of eye-catching material, turning back to him. "I dunno. I was just looking around." And stuff.

"A terrifying story that happened back in 2050 or so," explained Simon briefly before he got into any more detail. He raised an eyebrow and was about to ask the first year if he should go on and then. "Some Professors were frozen when they came out from behind the tapestry back then. Something was attacking them so the Headmistress came along and placed a charm on it in order to protect them. The article I read didn't inform me about what attacked them though." Simon frowned. If only he knew what had been capable of hurting three Professors. The event happened about thirty years ago but Simon still wanted to know more information.

Then Simon received an answer from little first year. "Looking around sounds fun. Found any secret passageways yet?" He gave the first year a kind smile and then paused, gazing at the tapestry. Oh wait. He probably should introduce himself. "I'm Simon Holden," he said with a curt nod to the boy. Introductions were always important, yes?

Woah. This guy was smart. Was he a Ravenclaw? Dima hadn't seen him around the common room, but maybe he was a recluse or something. "That's... scary." Did monsters just start attacking people around Hogwarts? What if one attacked HIM? Durmstrang sounded LOADS safer, thanks.

"Maybe you could ask the History of Magic professor." She'd know! 'Cause SHE was a Ravenclaw. And she sounded nice. And was pretty.

Secret passageways? Um.. "I don't think so! But my Aunt Cela was Head Girl here some year, and she sent me this map of the school so I wouldn't get lost! It has all the best reading spots marked." He nodded vigorously. Reading was IMPORTANT. "I'm Dima! Dima Toussaint."

"Isn't it?" he said, putting his hands in his pockets. "I'm glad Hogwarts is safer now." Hah. Well sort of safe. Some of the things he had heard from other students and from the centaurs had been quite disturbing. But the Professors knew what they were doing, right?

Oh, now that was a good idea! This kid was smart. Simon nodded. "That's a brilliant idea. She'd probably be more than happy to answer a question like that."

His aunt was Head Girl at Hogwarts a while ago? "That's nice of her. I wish I had a relative that had gone here and had given me a map. I'm a transfer student here," explained Simon. He had gotten lost so many times during his first week here. It had been quite embarrassing. So his name was Dima, hey? "Nice to meet you, Dima."

Seven floors to memorize, and Paloma never had the decency to ask for directions. Well, being honest she was hungry, she was in a hurry, she wanted to go back to do her homework, or write more letters to her family and friends...*cough*Kai*cough*, but now she was lost wandering around the school corridors, hoping to find the kitchen to go ask for some delicious and nutricious meal.

In her moments of curiousity, she found a small corridor with a long, beautiful tapestry piece. She glanced at it for a while, knowing that she would have to research about it, ask about the history behind it, and also about the place she was in. As she was about to touch it, she shook her head and shivered...BAD IDEA, Paloma, she thought. This place is like a museum! One that she still had to figure out, like the Louvre in Paris.

Whistling to himself, the tall boy walked along the halls. The dorm was getting stuffy and castle air was needed. Since fresh air was lacking these days, he was stuck wandering the halls. Not that it bothered him much, but the outside was just too cold for anyone. Turning the corner, he saw a blondish girl and grinned to himself. Walking a bit faster and bumping his hip into hers, as he touched the tapestry.

"Don't worry. Your hand won't fall off if you touch it," Jun said. Nothing pretty much did. If anything fell, it was because the castle was too old.

Just when Paloma was about to drop her hand from touching the tapestry, she felt her hip being touched by another one. She turned and saw Jun, with a new hairstyle. Now dark hair, eh? Paloma shook her head as the boy touched the tapestry.

"I won't risk it. Remember I'm the one playing the piano when you practice..." She said, showing off her new nail polish and smiling wide at her friend. "So, what's been going on, Kim?" She asked, curiously...as they hadn't talked, just practiced and nothing else.

Jun chuckled. Wasn't it usually the other way around? Unless she was talking about the low notes she made him practice. Then yes, Pal was the one who played the piano in that occasion. Speaking of which, Jun needed to practice those again; when his cold was completely gone.

"Still trying to get rid of my cold. But other than that, just homework, writing home, and classes," Nothing new really. "How about you? Writing letters to Kai?" Jun couldn't help but smirk. He didn't think one of his best friends would be interested in his Yoda looking brother.

Sigh. Both Paloma and Jun were still getting over the cold caused by the humid and very icky cold weather striking the school. Was it ever going to end? "Same, cold, homework, classes. I still sound...sometimes like I am talking in French, with the 'nasal' sound..." She said, trying to imitate the weird accent she tried to pull off last year in Beauxbatons. Complete failure.

When Jun mentioned Kai, all Paloma could do was bite her bottom lip and nod. "Yeah, a few times, exchange of postcards, pictures...you know, usual getting to know notes...." COUGH. Well, things were working between them that way, right?

The boy laughed. He didn't mean to, it just came out. The nasally voice was just weird. Now Jun was going to imagine that's what French people sounded like. He didn't dare imitate the voice. His Norwegian accent would just get in the way and so would his Korean one. Those two alone weren't a good mix. "Wow, that was pretty bad. Make sure you never do that again," Grinning, Jun bumped his hip against Pal again.

"You two are so adorable, y'know. Especially since you look so shy and quiet compared to him," Which was true. Pal didn't really know how loud Kai could be sometimes. Reasons why Jun had punched him in the nose plenty. Oh. And speaking of his brother. "He sent me a parcel with this in it. Said that he needed to send it right away before writing again," Reaching into his candy bag, Jun took out a teddy plush. One that he was probably wanting to keep to himself. Smiling, he handed it over to Pal; it was safer in her hands anyway.