Ophelia must have been spacing out slightly, because she was doing that thing where she was twisting her blonde hair around her index finger over and over and over. It was a mostly HER trait, as no one else in the family even really spaced out, to be honest. However, constant thinking was boring and too much. Sometimes your mind needed to do a reboot. And thinking about nothing was the perfect reboot. So was sleeping, but that was allowed yet. Ugggh, she was tiiiiiiiiirred. Yes, she was still on that. Until she fell asleep she wasn't letting it go.

Also, person. Looking around till her deep brown eyes landed on the speaker, 'Ophie spotted another firstie. Oh yay! Didn't she see the other girl on the boat platform earlier? Then again, the short girl saw a lot of people, and she wasn't too good with faces. But maybe she and the firstie could work on homework together --if she actually completed it-- and go on adventures and run around the school together. Because this rebel needed a rebelette to compliment her style. And no, that did not mean getting in trouble. Most of the time.

"Hi! Uggh, I'm so hungry!" Accompanied by a laugh of course and a small hilarious pout to make sure the other girl knew she was joking. Where was the candy, exactly? Was that still in her bag? Because there was a bunch of candy in her bag that they could share and it would hold at least her over until the actual speech, actually started. Though Newton told her these things took forever. That was the one thing Ophelia was hoping wasn't true.

"That's true! I hope we'll see them some more!" she exclaimed with a smile.
"A younger sister? Cool, what's her name?" she asked out of curiosity. "Um, let's see. You already know I'm from Germany. I have no younger siblings nor older, but I've always wanted one. I really, really like peach rings," she exclaimed, wishing that she'd be able to get to her chest soon, she had a few bags in there.
She watched the ghost and just sat quietly, staring up at her.

Tessa was grateful for the introduction, she really wanted to meet some other Ravenclaws. She raised an eyebrow at the wink, no one ever actually winked at her before. "Nice to meet you, Austin. I'm Tessa Jin, first year," she replied with a small nod of her head.

"Yeah, I'm Tessa and you are?" she smiled brightly at the blonde. She seemed like a nice girl, she really needed to make more girl friends at the school, especially since she was already friends with Leo, and Thorton and now Austin. She was truly happy to learn about magic, coming from a muggle home, this was all new to her. She loved to look around the hall, it was so amazing!

Tessa. Such a pretty name! Okay, hello Tessa. That was pretty much a weird way Ophelia tried to start off a conversation but it was the homeschooling. She swore she was better than that. Also, her finger. Moving her other hand up to her entangled mess, the firstie attempted to start unknotting the entangled.... thing. Ummm, was she going to have to get her hair surgically removed from her finger? Because a haircut was out of the question. That WASN'T happening. But seriously, could a prefect or that ghost person help?

Wait, ghost person? That was not normal. Her brothers and sisters totally didn't tell the child about this. That was cool. Ophelia didn't even know ghosts existed, but one was a bit away right now. Cooooool. But maybe the ghost lady could casually help her with this whole problem? Because, this was a really really big problem.

"Hey, Tessa. I'm Ophelia, but you can call me 'Ophie." The nickname was something her neighbor came up with when they were goofing off. He called her 'Ophie for the rest of the day and it ended up sticking somehow. Stupid how those things actually happened. And yet, her joke totally didn't stick at all. So that was cool. Yeah, totally cool.

Thornton stared at the ghost, recognition suddenly dawning. Seren had mentioned house ghosts. This must be Ravenclaw's!

But Tessa's conversation drew his attention. "My sister's name is Mairwen. She's 5. She hates that I'm here and not at home with her." He smiled, thinking of his little sister and laughed a bit. "Oh, I guess that's something else about me. My mother's maiden name was Thornton, which is why it's my name. Even though she took father's family name when they married, she wanted her heritage to always be present in my name, too."

But there was something else she said that sparked his interest. "What's... a peach ring?"

The table was beginning to fill and he took note of the new folks joining him. He nodded to Ophelia and then to Austin. "Thornton Baines, of the Wrexham Baines, pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ophelia, Austin." He extended his hands to shake theirs. "Tessa has decided to call me Baines, since Thornton's a bit unwieldy, but either is fine with me."

Jasmine saw several newly sorted students and another Claw that she did not know talking with each other. Intending to greet them all, she walked over to the group. "Hi everyone. I'm Jasmine and I just wanted to welcome you all to Ravenclaw. While all the houses are great, I happen to think that Ravenclaw is the best......so welcome." Turning to the not so new student, she said, " Welcome back. I hope you all have a great year." Well, the new kids seemed to be doing just fine with meeting each other so maybe that would make her job easier. Jasmine then noticed even more new students at the Ravenclaw table. This probably wouldn't be easy after all.

"Tessa Jin." He repeated. He'll have to remember that, since he'll probably be seeing her a lot. They were in the same house after all. "How are you liking it here so far?" Obviously she couldn't really judge the entire school when she's only been here a few hours or so. But still, the Great Hall was pretty spectacular. He always found it calming when he came in in the morning. The candles floating above the table gave the Hall a great atmosphere.

Tessa watched the girl's finger get stuck in her own hair and giggled. "Nice to meet you Ophie!" she exclaimed. "So, you excited for the term?" she asked before adding, "Meet any other students yet?"

Mairwen. Such a pretty name. She laughed about his sister's dislike of him going away. "That's very unique. My family just pick a random name, they couldn't decide!" she laughed. Her mouth dropped when he said he didn't know what a peach ring was. "Oh my. You don't know what a peach ring is?" she exclaimed, dumbfounded, "they are like the best things in the world! I have some packages of them in my trunk, after dinner I can give you a bag of them! You like peaches right?"
She liked to see Baines talking to the others, "Plus, Baines is more catchy!" she added.

"Thanks Jasmine!" Tessa smiled widely at her, "I'm Tessa!"

She heard him faintly repeating his name. "The school seems really neat! I'm really excited. What about you?" she asked him.

"Thank you for the welcome, Jasmine." Thornton stood, as was only proper, to extend his hand to her. "I look forward to learning more about the house."

"So, is it like a dried ring of peach? I really do love a fresh peach." Any food right now sounded good. What was the agenda for this evening, anyway?

He looked around, trying his best to follow conversation but also discover what, exactly, was going on.

When the prefect walked over, Ophelia at first thought she was going to be in trouble for something. Maybe this hair dilemma she was facing? But instead, she got welcomed. Well, thank you! This place was already so much nicer than her family. Not that her family was mean to her, but being the youngest of six children meant that the child didn't get the most sibling affection. Most of the pranks though. That wasn't fun.

"Thanks!" Big grin! Because thanks! Being welcomed actually felt pretty cool. Her older sister was right, your house WAS like a happy family. Hopefully at least. Because the blonde --as she flipped the untangled part of her hair over her shoulder-- was going to be spending a lot of time with these people, and if they didn't get along too well, it was going to be a loooong seven years. But so far it wasn't gonna be bad. She already met two people and was planning on meeting many more.

And by the way, the excitement has not worn off yet. Ophelia doubted it would ever wear off. Because, Hogwarts. Merlin, it was a magical school! How could you get tired of this place? She doubted that the seventh years even grew tired of this place. There were witches and wizards and magical feasts! And if what Newton told her, goblins and ghosts and magical beasts! And she got sorted into the house her brothers and sister got sorted into! Oh, the first night was already fabulous, including all of the people she met. Yay! Maybe her worry was something unwarranted. Because this was awesome. As long as something crazy didn't happen this year.

Abby was glad to be back at Hogwarts she had missed the castle and everything she wondered what sort of things she would get up to this year

"I love it here. It's a lot of fun to explore on off days." He remembered his many lonely nights when he wondered around pushing on loose bricks. There are so many levers that do nothing, and bricks that don't open anything. He spent many nights looking like an idiot to random people walking by. One day he was sure he found the room of requirement, but when he glanced back at the wall, the door was gone. I guess he really didn't need the room.

"You should try finding the Room of Requirement, that's the fun thing to find."

Dried peach ring would be good, but it wasn't what she was trying to describe. "Somewhat...think gummy peach ring," she told him, "like I said, I'll give you some when we get back! When are we going to eat?" Man was she hungry!

"How was the boat ride over?" she asked Ophie.
She nodded, she bet it was pretty interesting here. Room of Requirement? "What's that?" she asked curiously.

Ah a young firstie that doesn't know about the room. He could easily tell her it was some random room for class, or that Arithmacy was in there. It would be funny to watch as she tried looking for that room. But he decided to cut her a break, since it was her first day. "It's a room that only shows up if you need a room. So if you really need a quiet place to study, then if you walk around near it, a door will pop up and you'll be able to use it." He knew it was on the third floor, but he wasn't going to tell her that.

Samantha looked and saw Abby. Her face instantly beamed. "Abby! Over here!" she exclaimed as she petted the seat next to her. It was so good to see someone she knew.

A mysterious room that randomly pops up? Now that was weird. "Weird," she said, she furrowed her eye brows together, "so a room for studying?" She shrugged, she was not used to all this wizarding stuff she had found herself neck-deep in, however she really didn't mind. "So, where you from?"

Picking out a handkerchief Helena expertly dabbed it at her eyes before hovering closer to the boy that had adressed her. How could he not know who she was? Had his parents not told him that ghosts lived at Hogwarts? "Hello, young eagle. I'm Helena Ravenclaw, Ravenclaw's house ghost. And who might you be?"

******

Sir Nick's voice boomed so loudly from the Gryffindor table that Helena had to give him a long glance and massage her ear drums before focusing on her eagles again. Why did Nick need to be so loud?

"Welcome to Ravenclaw everyone! I'm the Grey Lady, Ravenclaw's house ghost. I like riddles especially hard ones. I assume everyone had good summers?"

Penelope entered the great hall, pausing for a moment to look at the stool where the firsties sat to be sorted. She was a second year now. Last year she had been one of the firsties up there waiting to be sorted, before she had been sorted into Ravenclaw.

Walking over to the Ravenclaw table, she looked for familiar faces and new firsties.

SPOILER!!: firsties

Quote:

Originally Posted by AmbiguouslyMe

"Thank you for the welcome, Jasmine." Thornton stood, as was only proper, to extend his hand to her. "I look forward to learning more about the house."



"So, is it like a dried ring of peach? I really do love a fresh peach." Any food right now sounded good. What was the agenda for this evening, anyway?

He looked around, trying his best to follow conversation but also discover what, exactly, was going on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by carpediem

When the prefect walked over, Ophelia at first thought she was going to be in trouble for something. Maybe this hair dilemma she was facing? But instead, she got welcomed. Well, thank you! This place was already so much nicer than her family. Not that her family was mean to her, but being the youngest of six children meant that the child didn't get the most sibling affection. Most of the pranks though. That wasn't fun.

"Thanks!" Big grin! Because thanks! Being welcomed actually felt pretty cool. Her older sister was right, your house WAS like a happy family. Hopefully at least. Because the blonde --as she flipped the untangled part of her hair over her shoulder-- was going to be spending a lot of time with these people, and if they didn't get along too well, it was going to be a loooong seven years. But so far it wasn't gonna be bad. She already met two people and was planning on meeting many more.

And by the way, the excitement has not worn off yet. Ophelia doubted it would ever wear off. Because, Hogwarts. Merlin, it was a magical school! How could you get tired of this place? She doubted that the seventh years even grew tired of this place. There were witches and wizards and magical feasts! And if what Newton told her, goblins and ghosts and magical beasts! And she got sorted into the house her brothers and sister got sorted into! Oh, the first night was already fabulous, including all of the people she met. Yay! Maybe her worry was something unwarranted. Because this was awesome. As long as something crazy didn't happen this year.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ecraig

A mysterious room that randomly pops up? Now that was weird. "Weird," she said, she furrowed her eye brows together, "so a room for studying?" She shrugged, she was not used to all this wizarding stuff she had found herself neck-deep in, however she really didn't mind. "So, where you from?"

There were a lot of firsties at the Ravenclaw table. Welcome to Ravenclaw." She sat down near the firsties, and introduced herself. "Penelope Wright, second year."

SPOILER!!: Austin

Quote:

Originally Posted by keepmeclose22

Ah a young firstie that doesn't know about the room. He could easily tell her it was some random room for class, or that Arithmacy was in there. It would be funny to watch as she tried looking for that room. But he decided to cut her a break, since it was her first day. "It's a room that only shows up if you need a room. So if you really need a quiet place to study, then if you walk around near it, a door will pop up and you'll be able to use it." He knew it was on the third floor, but he wasn't going to tell her that.

"Hi Austin." It was not necessary to introduce herself to the boy who was in her year.

SPOILER!!: Jasmine

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daydreamer11

Jasmine saw several newly sorted students and another Claw that she did not know talking with each other. Intending to greet them all, she walked over to the group. "Hi everyone. I'm Jasmine and I just wanted to welcome you all to Ravenclaw. While all the houses are great, I happen to think that Ravenclaw is the best......so welcome." Turning to the not so new student, she said, " Welcome back. I hope you all have a great year." Well, the new kids seemed to be doing just fine with meeting each other so maybe that would make her job easier. Jasmine then noticed even more new students at the Ravenclaw table. This probably wouldn't be easy after all.

Penelope smiled at Jasmine. It looked like Jasmine had a shiny new badge. "Jasmine, you're a prefect!"

She supposed she should've expected the jump in her gut as she entered the Great Hall. Of course, her previous school had had a vast stone room also, almost as extravagantly ordained as this one (roaring torches hung on great iron pikes and blooming tapestries whose golden thread shone in such a way it gave the impression of movement). Yet, this particular hall bared such a warmth that her ignorance about the whole establishment felt almost dulled. Of course this could've been because of the marvellous floating candles throwing the light from their flames onto the matte stone floor below, but as she took in the four crowded tables, students jostling about one another in a frenzy of affection and wonder, she came to the conclusion that it wasn't just the weightless sticks of wax that gave this particular hall its very particular glow.

With a deep breath to calm her nerves and the ever-growing knowledge that she knew no one (having been unfortunate enough on the train to not find anyone to sit with who actually enjoyed the art of conversation) she pressed on, squeezing herself past some wide-eyed Gryffindors locked in high-pitched chit-chat about 'what they'd done that summer', until she spotted an empty spot on the Ravenclaw table bench. "Yes," she breathed, relieved. Scooting into the space, she quickly reached out and grabbed a handful of crisps, dropping them onto her plate, before shifting her attention to the large platter of pumpkin pasties. Food. Food was her main priority now. She'd almost completely forgotten the strangers - her new housemates - that were sat in various spaces around the growing pile of goop in front of her. Friends, she quickly chaste herself. Friends are your main priority now.

Having been sorted into Ravenclaw house, Layla had sat at the long table a far enough distance away from the rest of the students to have to interact. She wanted to be alone and thankfully for this moment the students were too busy paying attention to the sorting that was going on at the front of the hall. Having a surname beginning with A was useful sometimes, you could get it over and done with as soon as possible.

At home, Layla wasn’t considered an anti-social sort of person. She had a big group of friends all of whom shared something in common with her. They were muggles, they all went out to the cinema together or hung out after school. They spent time at home with their families and yet here she was cooped up in a school which she couldn’t leave until the next holiday. It wasn’t the sort of thing she was used to nor was it how she wanted to spend the next couple of months.

She didn’t feel like she belonged here. She likely had nothing in common with the rest of the students. They were all excited and used to this sort of world, they would be able to answer questions without a thought in class and pick up a wand and know how to use it. Spending her summer reading up on charms and magical creatures hadn’t prepared her much for what was to come. She knew about them she just didn’t have the first-hand experience that the other students her age would have.

Her eyes fell upon the others all chatting and interacting like social bees. One half of her brain told her to go interact, to make ‘friends’. It would be a lonely three years if she didn’t bother to talk once to anyone. But the other half told her to stay silent and enjoy the peace whilst it lasted. She chose the latter half and rested her elbow on the table, her chin placed upon the palm of her hand as she sighed inwardly.

"It's very nice to meet you Tessa. How are you enjoying everything so far?" Jasmine hoped that this would be a fun and uneventful year for everyone. Was that too much to ask?



Jasmine took the younger boy's hand and shook it. "You're very welcome. I'm sure you will learn lots about Ravenclaw and meet a lot of interesting people in your new house." And that was the truth. If there was one thing Ravenclaw had it was interesting people. "Enjoy the feast."



Was this kid excited? Jasmine would definitely say so and that was a good thing. "You are welcome. I know how it feels to be the new kid. I was new just like you last year. I think you're going to like it here.. Jasmine had a good feeling about this one.




Jasmine saw a familiar face among the sea of new ones and went over to greet her. "Hi Abby. Welcome back. Did you have a nice summer?.". It really was good to see all of her housemates again after the summer break.



Jasmine saw the Grey Lady and figured that it was time to meet her properly. She hadn't had the opportunity last year. Walking over to the house ghost, Jasmine greeted her. "Hello Miss Ravenclaw. I'm Jasmine. It's nice to finally meet you."



Another familiar face appeared and Jasmine broke into a smile. "Hi Penelope! It's good to see you. How have you been?" She was really glad to see Penelope again. After all the drama that she had endured last year, Jasmine wasn't sure that the younger girl would be back for a second term.

"I know. Can you believe it?" Jasmine still couldn't believe that she had been chosen as a Prefect. She was still trying to figure that one out.



.....And another new student needed to be welcomed. She looked a little nervous to Jasmine, but hopefully that wasn't the case. She walked over to the girl and extended her hand. Hello, I'm Jasmine. Welcome to Ravenclaw. Are you enjoying the feast so far?" Just at that moment, she felt her stomach growl....loudly. Looking at the girl with embarrassment, she said, I'll be glad when the Headmistress gives her speech so we can eat.



Jasmine saw one more student that needed greeting, for now. However, this girl seemed to have separated herself from the masses. If anyone could understand that, she could. Jasmine approached the girl somewhat warily. She didn't want to bother anyone that wanted some quiet time.......but she wanted everyone to feel welcome.

The girl looked a little sad and that would definitely not do, not on Jasmine's watch anyway. She walked up to the girl with her most friendly smile. "Hi. I'm Jasmine. Welcome to Ravenclaw. If you ever need any help with anything feel free to ask me." Sensing that the girl could use a little extra attention, Jasmine asked, "Do you mind if I sit here?" If she didn't want to be bothered, she could always say no.

Rory started, her hand hovering over a plate of odd looking bread (it was brown - rye bread maybe? Her dad had managed to convince her to eat some when they'd visited Copenhagen a few years ago. She distinctly remembered it tasting like cardboard). Her hand withdrew, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink as she stared up at the fifth year. A badge pinned on the girl's chest drew her eye; Woah, she was a prefect. Rory blew out a breath and tried her very best to look like she knew what she was doing - she couldn't use the 'being a first year' as an excuse that was for sure.

"Um, hey!" She smiled, smoothing her skirt beneath her robes. "Jasmine! I'm Rory. Aurora. Like the princess." She lifted her chin; she was proud of the fact - there was no reason why she shouldn't be. "Wait, what?" Her face fell, all intentions of answering the girl's question about the feast forgotten. They weren't allowed to eat until after the speech? She gazed longingly at the assorted pile of food on her plate. "I feel your pain." she said, turning to look forlornly at the older Ravenclaw's growling stomach.

Gummy...? Thornton still didn't know what she was talking about, but he guessed that he'd find out eventually. Trying not to let his ignorance show - he was a Ravenclaw now - he"I look forward to it."

He looked around the room some more.. "I suppose there's probably some sort of official welcome after the sorting before we eat. Seems only proper..."

Thornton tried to follow Austin and Tessa's conversation, curious about the room. "So it just appears?" He considered it a moment. "That seems convenient. Does anything else about it change other than it's location?"

Thornton's eyes got rather big. Helena Ravenclaw... of course! "Forgive me," he said, apologetically. "I do know who you are. Honored to be part of your house,". He half stood. "Thornton Baines," he extended his hand, and then looked at it quickly before dropping it embarrassed. of the Wrexham Baines." he finished softly.

Pleasure to meet you, Penelope," Thornton said, smiling. "I'm Thornton." He opted to skip the complete, formal introduction. His tablemates would surely grow sick of it. He leaned over toward her, whispering. "Do you know when we're going to eat? I only had some Bertie Bott's on the train and I'm... his stomach grumbled then, audibly. His cheeks flushed and he looked down bashfully. "uh.. very hungry."

By some miracle, Clara had made it through the sorting in one piece. While she was still shaking and avoiding glances from other people, she had undeniably made it and was now seated beside Eden at the Ravenclaw table. She was definitely pleased with where she'd been placed, despite the sorting hat being very torn between placing her with Hufflepuff or the 'claws. All along she'd known that this was where she wanted to end up.

Now for the slightly worse part of sitting still and not bolting due to the excess amount of people. One on one situations she could cope with, but she also wasn't going to go seek out conversations, especially as most of the people at this table were strangers.

Too many people for her to deal with.

So instead of trying to make conversation with any of them, she stared at her lap and counted to 10 repeatedly in as many languages as she could. Safe tactic, right?

Please hurry up, feeeaaasssttt.

Austin nodded, excited to tell the second new firstie about the mysterious room. "Exactly. But it could be for anything, not just studying." He said, addressing Tessa. Turning towards the boy he said, "the location doesn't really change, but the room itself changes. Say you need a quiet place to study," he nodded towards Tessa. "Then the room would be full of books, or tables, or comfortable chairs. But say you need a room to practice spells, then the room would be full of dummies that you could practice on." That's what he had heard of course. He had never found the room himself, but his dad had told him all about it.

Dot wasn't a Ravenclaw. Maddie didn't exactly know how to take the news given the red head was a relatively new person in her life but she KNEW that Dima must be disappointed. When he ran off towards the Slytherin table, brown eyes followed after him. He was good at cheering people up, Dima was. This meant that there was no real cause for concern, right? He probably had things under control. Probably.

Shifting her gaze to those around her, the twelve year old noted the new faces. Plenty of small people for the picking. She DID need minions this term and one could bet their wand that she'd be paying CLOSE attention to this new crop of eagles. Had to evaluate their skills before she swooped in and took them under her wing, DUH. She smiled at them. A lopsided one that swept the newcomers before landing on some familiar faces.

"Good to be back."

It was. Now if they could just get on with this feast, she would be a happy camper indeed.