Claudine barely noticed the extravagance that was the Great Hall. After all, there was a more pressing matter on her mind. She had changed into her robes now, Samm was safely tucked away in her pocket and one hand clutched a carrier. Soon she and Bernie would be lost among the flood of students coming in so she was quite anxious to find Fuller-Thompson and deliver him his crups. Also, the Sorting was something Claudine didn't want to miss.

The Slytherin turned to Bernie. "You want to hang on to this case too? While I check for Fuller-Thompson at the Staff table?'' Most times, the Staff was already seated by the time students got there. Today, though, Claudine was hoping her Head of House wasn't for she didn't want to disturb him at the table, especially if Trent was already there. Then again, she had a valid reason for needing Fuller-Thompson here. She figured she could brainstorm a creative way to attract his attention if needed.

Bernie wasn't sure if Fuller-Thompson was here at the castle yet, because wasn't he the groundskeeper, and didn't he have something to do with herding firsties? She was pretty sure she'd had to hide from him last year when she'd tried (AND SUCCEEDED, MIND YOU) in riding the boats over here...

But, she was here, just HELPING, and so she sat down and kind of hid along the wall, patting the crups' carriers. "Yeah, I'll wait here," she confirmed with the Slytherin with a huge, nervous nod. Please don't expel me, please don't expel me....

SPOILER!!: Bernieee! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by BanaBatGirl

Bernie wasn't sure if Fuller-Thompson was here at the castle yet, because wasn't he the groundskeeper, and didn't he have something to do with herding firsties? She was pretty sure she'd had to hide from him last year when she'd tried (AND SUCCEEDED, MIND YOU) in riding the boats over here...

But, she was here, just HELPING, and so she sat down and kind of hid along the wall, patting the crups' carriers. "Yeah, I'll wait here," she confirmed with the Slytherin with a huge, nervous nod. Please don't expel me, please don't expel me....

Now, Claudine was so distracted in wanting to get everything over with as soon as possible that she forgot that Fuller-Thompson would be outside with the first years. However, even thoughts of the man were driven from the man as she watched Bernie trying her best to blend in with the wall. Something inside of Claudine snapped. "Maybe it would be better if I saw him alone then,'' came her words impatiently. "I know you're worried about getting in trouble so you don't have to stick around.''

Pressing her lips tightly together so that she wouldn't say anything untoward in her anger, Claudine held out her free hand for the carrier. Bernie needn't hang around, anyway. This entire situation that they were in was Claudine's own fault and the last thing she needed was anyone throwing bad vibes on her attempt to make things a little right.

Bernie had never, in all the two years she'd known Claudine, seen her raise her voice like this. Claudine had honestly seemed less distraught than this when the acromantula were attempting to tear her limb from limb. She opened her mouth to say something, but didn't really know what to say. Except.....

"FINE," Bernadette declared, popping up from her hiding spot. She didn't give Claudine the dignity of handing her the crup carrier, though. Instead, the cowardly lion set the carrier flat on the ground, turned on her heel, and stalked off into the Great Hall.

Forget the Slytherin. Forget the cute, whimpering crups. Claudine could deal with her Head of House on her OWN. That's how Snakes were anyway. All...sticky....and slimy...and sneaky... didn't Snakes always stick together? You know what lions did with Snakes? ATE 'EM. Or at least played with them first, pouncing on them and spilling their guts and everything. Forget Snakes. Bernie had a PRIDE of FRIENDS who were NOT AS TROUBLESOME as Claudine Blaze. And she was going to go sit with them, now, thanks.

What was this all about?

Nem, who had stopped just short of the Great Hall's doors to charm his robes dry somewhat, simply couldn't help but hear some sort of unpleasantness nearby. Really. Couldn't help it. It was a frequency his ears were tuned into by default. And was that Blaze's voice?

He didn't have to go very far to find out that, actually, it was. Nem stood a little ways away as Grantham stormed off, and he swept his rain-soaked hair off to one side, trying to decide if this was entertaining enough to grant it an audience.

Wait a minute.

"Is that a crup?" Nem said suddenly, and quite a bit LOUDER than was really necessary, stepping forward and pointing at one of the carriers. "Wicked. I didn't know they'd changed the rules." Again. Loud. So loud.

SPOILER!!: Bernie & Nem! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by BanaBatGirl

Bernie had never, in all the two years she'd known Claudine, seen her raise her voice like this. Claudine had honestly seemed less distraught than this when the acromantula were attempting to tear her limb from limb. She opened her mouth to say something, but didn't really know what to say. Except.....

"FINE," Bernadette declared, popping up from her hiding spot. She didn't give Claudine the dignity of handing her the crup carrier, though. Instead, the cowardly lion set the carrier flat on the ground, turned on her heel, and stalked off into the Great Hall.

Forget the Slytherin. Forget the cute, whimpering crups. Claudine could deal with her Head of House on her OWN. That's how Snakes were anyway. All...sticky....and slimy...and sneaky... didn't Snakes always stick together? You know what lions did with Snakes? ATE 'EM. Or at least played with them first, pouncing on them and spilling their guts and everything. Forget Snakes. Bernie had a PRIDE of FRIENDS who were NOT AS TROUBLESOME as Claudine Blaze. And she was going to go sit with them, now, thanks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Felixir

What was this all about?

Nem, who had stopped just short of the Great Hall's doors to charm his robes dry somewhat, simply couldn't help but hear some sort of unpleasantness nearby. Really. Couldn't help it. It was a frequency his ears were tuned into by default. And was that Blaze's voice?

He didn't have to go very far to find out that, actually, it was. Nem stood a little ways away as Grantham stormed off, and he swept his rain-soaked hair off to one side, trying to decide if this was entertaining enough to grant it an audience.

Wait a minute.

"Is that a crup?" Nem said suddenly, and quite a bit LOUDER than was really necessary, stepping forward and pointing at one of the carriers. "Wicked. I didn't know they'd changed the rules." Again. Loud. So loud.

Whereas Claudine was trying to control her temper, Bernie apparently didn’t. Truth be told, the Slytherin did not feel any sort of surprise at the other girl’s outburst. “Fine,’’ she stated furiously. And what aggravated her even more was Bernie putting the carrier on the ground and not handing it over. Ugh. Why were Gryffindors always so annoying? She hated them. She hated the whole lot of them, especially the girl stalking away from her. “I cannot believe I considered you of all people my best friend. I don’t need you, Bernadette Grantham,’’ Claudine called to the retreating back of Bernie, her voice spitting venom in every syllable. The third year hated herself for what happened next: hot tears started to spill down her cheeks. She was not angered often but every time that she was, she ended up in tears of frustration.

Blinded by the waterworks, she had been oblivious to the presence of Nem. Not until he was practically shouting. Claudine ground her fist quickly against her cheeks and eyes. There was no need for anyone to know that she was crying. Even the sniff that came next was hurriedly disguised as a cough. “Nem. Please not so loudly.’’ She looked pleadingly at her housemate. “Yes, they are but they’re for someone. And I’m pretty sure that the rules have remained the same.’’ Otherwise Bernie wouldn’t be so afraid to be in possession of the creatures. “Why don’t you go on to the Great Hall, Nem? These will be out of my hair soon.’’ Yes, Nem, go on. Nothing to see here.

The sight of the lake and the magnificent castle is not enough magic for a night. As Lou followed the throng of first years entering the castle, she can't help but gasp in awe at the beauty it holds. She had to blink a few times and rub her eyes just to prove she isn't dreaming and thay this is all real and happening.

The entrance has a ceiling that is soooo high and abeautiful archway, with a wall lined with paintings that move. She smiled and giggled at the idea. Wow!

And upon seeing the great staircase, Lou couldn't tore her eyes off it. It was like a scene from a movie.
She always loved the idea of magic and fairytales but this is more than just an idea. It is real.

"I could get lost in here," she mumbled to no one as her eyes sparkled with excitement. Obviously there is already a fuzz going on from the crowd. Everybody is excited.

Alexia could have guessed that Hogwarts was going to be amazing. You couldn't teach a bunch of teens spells and such in secret in a little hovel. This wasn't the 1690's. However, she didn't picture it to be anything like THIS.

They were going to be learning in a castle! She had seen a few old castles on her trips out of country with her mom and dad, but this was different. She was going to be learning and living in one!

Not to mention that the interior looked really cool as well. She wasn't going to pretend that she had an eye for interior design, the pop singer posters half torn off of her wall proved it. But even she knew that this was awesome. Awesome didn't quite seem like the right word. More than awesome?

She was following along with the group of first years, though she badly wanted to stray and explore around for herself. The castle looked bigger than all of her friend's homes COMBINED, there had to be some cool stuff around. She wanted to see all of the cool stuff and see what it did.

However, she didn't really want to go alone. Alexia didn't really know what the inside of this castle looked like at all. What if it had weird trap doors and she opened one and got caught down there and never got to enjoy her first term at Hogwarts? That would stink. She also didn't want to go exploring alone because she didn't want to get in trouble all by herself. Trouble was better when shared with friends. Adults usually went easier on you that way.

Walking into the entrance hall was a little intimidating. It was huge... way bigger than what his siblings described. The scale of everything only added to his nerves. He was short, shorter than his brothers at his age so it was hard not to feel weird about how big everything was. Even the stairs on the way up could fit three or four people side by side.

Speaking of people walking next to each other, he glanced at the girl standing next to him. She was intriguing to say the least. Her hair was pink, although clearly not with magic. He's seen his sister dye her hair all the time, but it never looked like that. Was that her original hair color underneath? Or was it meant to look like that? Did that make her born from muggles? Did she know anything about what she was about to walk into? These were all questions circling through Dylan's head but he would never ask them. He was way too quiet for that. Instead he just flashed her a smile.

Piers had just returned from ushering the first years out of the boats and off to the sorting and he was heading to join his colleagues at the staff table, but ran into some sort of situation in the entrance hall. Since the two of them there, Claudine and Nemesis, were a part of his house he felt the need to wrangle them up and get them to their seats.

When he approached the two students was when he noticed that Claudine looked like she was crying??? Had the other student made her cry? Merlin knew Piers wasn't equipped to handle crying girls!

"What's going on?" Piers asked as he approached the two. "You lot should be at our table." And not crying. After a split second, Piers then noticed the two carries that were by Claudine. "And what's this? You were supposed to leave your pets behind, they're being taken up to your dorms." Merlin, this wasn't their FIRST term, why were they forgetting how to function all of the sudden?

It was one of those 'blink and you miss it' moments. Alexia happened to glance aside of her at the right time to see the first year standing next to her smile in her direction. Was he as excited about Hogwarts as she was? Was he being friendly to his fellow newbie? Did he think her hair was cool? Did she know him somewhere and just totally forgot who he was? She was about to find out.

"Cool, isn't it?" Alexia smiled back at the fellow first year as she talked. She wasn't just here for the education. Like Isla had said on the train, you also wanted to make time to hang out with friends. And since Alexia left all of her normal friends back home, she was in need of people to hang out with when she was bored. Before continuing, she tucked a bit of her pink air behind her ear. "Hogwarts, I mean. I don't think I've ever really seen anything like it." No, no she hadn't. Public school was nothing like this. This was ten times better.

Cool? Cool was an understatement. One thing that Dylan really loved was history. In this case the history of the castle itself. The castle has been around longer than anyone can remember. Every aspect of the castle inspired him. From the moving staircases to the moving pictures to the secrets that lie behind each and every brick. The castle saw many years of budding friendships, the start and end of a war, and generations of families. There was tradition, history, and more importantly, magic that ran through these walls.

He looked around the hall a bit before answering. "What's really cool is the fact that this castle was created hundreds of years ago with the help of the four founders and to this day we still attend classes here. My family has been coming for ages." Just another Hunt in a long line of Griffydors He was begging Merlin every day that he didn't end up like his family.

Realizing he had said more to this random girl than he had to anyone in a while, he glances back at her wide eyed. His face turned red. Dylan wasn't really one to talk to people. He was quiet and reserved... not really shy per say, just quiet. He hoped his rambling didn't scare off this poor girl. He was trying to make friends here; a new family.

Alexia looked up and around the room with a newfound interest. This place looked too nice to be that old. For comparison, her primary school was 30 years old and they already had to replace the playground equipment and the floor tiles in two classrooms. But the high ceiling and awesome exterior wasn't the only thing that was better than her old school. She was going to learn in an actual castle! Who else got to say that they got to do that? Well, besides everyone who went here.

His family had been coming here for ages? All of them? That was impressive. The longest thing Alexia had ever done was softball, and that was for 6 years. She couldn't imagine doing anything for ages. And to have her entire family do the same thing for ages was pretty impressive.

"Hey, that's actually really awesome!" She smiled warmly at the stranger, hoping to make him comfortable. Like she said on the train, she didn't bite people. Ice cream cones, bacon strips and pizza were a different story. "I didn't know this place was that old. Actually, I didn't know a lot about this place at all." She paused for a second before continuing so it didn't seem like she was rambling. She wasn't trying to ramble, she just enjoyed talking. Sometimes about herself. Okay, she liked talking about herself MOST of the time. She was just an interesting person.

"I'm Alexia." She held out her right arm in case he wanted to shake it, inspecting the chipped green polish on her fingernails. She wanted to take that off before she got to Hogwarts, but she got distracted listening to music and it never happened. Oh well. "Is it weird to have your whole family come here?" Hey, nobody said Alexia wasn't forward.

He smiled, and internally sighed with relief that she was still talking to him. Scaring someone off on day 1 was not his idea of starting off on the right foot. "I tried reading up on this place before I left, but research was never my family's strong point." He paused remembering how his siblings teased him about him wanting to actually learn something other than dueling spells Knowing how to duel and protect yourself in battle is one of the best skills to learn at Hogwarts! What a Gryffindor things to say. There was more to life than trying to be an Auror. Many of his siblings tried (one or two have failed) to be an Auror.

Dylan thought for a moment about her question. "It's not so strange. It's just something we've all done. Both my parents and each of their parents as well as all of my siblings have been here. It's whats expected of me. All of my siblings have done it, I was just up next." It wasn't like he hated coming here. He was actually very excited to make a name for himself. Be a 'Dylan' rather than just another 'Hunt'.

"What about you? Have your parents been here?"

Mental notes were being made. Nem knew he absolutely could not pass up the opportunity to speak to Grantham, sooner rather than later. Though maybe not too soon.

"Oh right, sorry," Nem said, lowering his voice and looking for all the world utterly apologetic. He didn't point out her glistening eyes or slightly thicker voice either. Real nice, see? "Ooh... more than one?" he went on, but more quietly this time.

Before Nem could say anything else, however, who should show up but the one and only Fuller-Thompson; champion of Charms, keeper of the grounds, head of house extraordinaire, et cetera, et cetera. Always a delight.

"Sorry, Professor. I was just concerned why Bernie was all in a strop, but she already left." Bernadette Grantham, if he wanted to just jot that down. "I'll leave you to it then."

Peace.

He already read up on this place? He was much more of an achiever than she was. Alexia could only think about her school books, lying abandoned in her luggage. Maybe she should have read about this place if she was going to go here. That would probably have been the smart thing to do, especially considering that she literally didn't know Hogwarts EXISTED last year. However, she couldn't take it back now, so there was no use feeling bad about not researching ahead. After all, she had the entire term left to figure it out.

"Research isn't my strong point either," Alexia said. She smiled and paused before continuing. "You should have seen the essays I submitted last year for English!"Apparently, she was able to write well, but not bak up her claims, according to her teacher. She thought her claims could be backed up if she just kept explaining it in her words. That was explaining fine. She didn't need other people's words Speaking of normal English class.....

"Actually no, I'm the first one in my family to come here." Which made her mom feel pretty weird when she tried to give Alexia her 'do great in school this year' speech. She wasn't learning regular science or math anymore, she was going to learn things that her parents would never. It was as if, in that moment, her mom realized that she had no idea what Alexia was getting herself into. "My mom totally freaked when I got my letter. This is the first time I'm ever going away for school, so she gave me the full 'mom treatment.'" It wasn't as bad as Alexia made it sound. Her mother just wanted her to write home a lot and to take care of herself. Although, she probably could have done without that very public hug before she got on the train.

She remembered that Isla had asked on the train what this was all like from the perspective of a muggleborn, discovering everything for the first time. But Alexia wanted to know the opposite. What was it like for people who had known about Hogwarts and wizard stuff their entire lives? Was this just like another year of school for them? Did their parents tell them what to expect and who the coolest teachers were She had to know.

"And what about you? I mean- I know your family has been going here forever. That's not what I mean. Every thing is super new for me, but you have parents that graduated from here. You said that all of this is normal for your family. What was it like to grow up knowing things about all of this"She was rambling hardcore. But it was an interesting question. What was the first year like from his perspective?

So she was a muggleborn. How interesting. Dylan has always grown up knowing he'd go to Hogwarts. Sure he'd had his basic schooling, learning English and math like everyone else. But he had spent this past summer preparing for this day. He's been packed since the first day of summer. Well, as packed as he could be. There were many nights where he couldn't sleep, due to nerves and what-not, so he would quietly unpack and repack his case, unsure if he was over packed or under. When he had last gone through everything (which was last night), he decided it was better to be too prepared than not.

"What do you mean by 'mom treatment'?" This statement confused him. Mom treatment? The only thing his mom gave him was a teary eyed hug and kiss goodbye. Maybe knowing that the last of her kids was going away to Hogwarts. It was the last first day of school for her. Sure she told him a thousand times that if he had any questions he could ask her, but by then it was too late. He learned everything he'd needed to know from his older siblings.

"From my point of view?" He thought on that for a moment. "I guess it's just something you're expected to do. A stepping stone of your life. Like learning to walk or getting married. Just part of your life that you do." It was weird to describe something so normal to someone. He'd never given any thought to those who would be experiencing magic for the first time. Magic had always been there, for most of the mundane things too. Dishes were washing themselves, while his older sister practiced for her quidditch matches the following year. Or how pictures always moved in his house, showing how proud his parents were of all of the Gryffindor children. His stomach knotted when he thought about having to wear Red for the rest of his life. "Have you ever seen magic up close?"

How would she describe 'mom treatment?' It was mushy, it was something her mom did a lot, and it was something her mom did in public. She felt internally warm when she thought about the treatment she received before she got on the train. Maybe the mom treatment wasn't that bad that ONE time. She would never, ever, tell her mom that.

"Mom treatment is my term for when my mom acts all extra mushy and mom like in public. It's like her actual favorite thing to do.". Alexia rolled her eyes teasingly, her pre-teen attitude starting to show. "This morning she wouldn't stop bear hugging me and giving me lots of cheek kisses. I think she broke a rib." Alexia shuffled around a bit, touching where her ribs would be on her right side. She wasn't holding it against her mom, but she swore she heard a snap and a pop during the last bear hug. "She also kept holding random stuff that I wasn't packing, like my hair ribbon from last year. She was acting like I was going off to the gallows or something!" Apparently the hair ribbons from last years softball team held incredibly important memories. Still, Alexia couldn't help but let out a chuckle. If she was like this now, what would her mother be like come prom? Wait, did Hogwarts have any kind of dances?

"So going to Hogwarts for you is like going back to regular school for me?" She would stop dwelling on it if it made him uncomfortable, but this was interesting. "No offense, but isn't that kind of......" She paused, trying to think of the right word. "Boring?"

Alexia stopped talking for a second again, trying to think of a way to make herself sound less rude. She wasn't exactly winning at making new friends at Hogwarts. She just called the first boy she met boring. That had to be the number one thing not to do when trying to make friends.

"Lemme rephrase. When I got my letter, no one in my family really knew what was happening. My dad thought it was one of those dangerous scam things they do to teens. None of us had ever really seen real magic before, so hearing about it was a little crazt" Alexia still remembered the chaos in her living room. Her dad yelling that she wasn't going to get scammed and taken as long as he was around, and her mother being excited about absolutely nothing. "But you guys KNOW. You guys know a letter is coming and you guys know what you need to buy and what you need to learn. There's no surprise." Alexia was fond of surprises. She had insisted on having a surprise party every year since she was seven. She had insisted on guessing her birthday presents, even though her mom always spoiled the surprise a couple of days before.

Well if that's what the mom treatment was then he got plenty of that. Being the baby had its perks.

Boring? He thought about that for a moment. "It's not really boring, for me, at least. I'm sure there are some kids who feel annoyed by having to go. But I'm excited to go. I can get away from my rather large family and actually have my own space. I'm even hoping not to get Gryffindor, since it's something my entire family has done. I want something new and something different. Something I can make a name of myself with."

He wasn't sure what it was about this girl that was getting him to talk so much, but he was happy that he had made a friend. New school new him he guessed.

Pausing for a moment, he realized something. "Sorry, in all the talk I forgot to mention. I'm Dylan." It was a little too late to shake her hand but he waved instead. How rude of him. He kept rambling and rambling and she didn't even know his name. Rude was what he was going to spend seven years being.

SPOILER!!: Nem & Fuller-Thompson! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by sarahlooo

Piers had just returned from ushering the first years out of the boats and off to the sorting and he was heading to join his colleagues at the staff table, but ran into some sort of situation in the entrance hall. Since the two of them there, Claudine and Nemesis, were a part of his house he felt the need to wrangle them up and get them to their seats.

When he approached the two students was when he noticed that Claudine looked like she was crying??? Had the other student made her cry? Merlin knew Piers wasn't equipped to handle crying girls!

"What's going on?" Piers asked as he approached the two. "You lot should be at our table." And not crying. After a split second, Piers then noticed the two carries that were by Claudine. "And what's this? You were supposed to leave your pets behind, they're being taken up to your dorms." Merlin, this wasn't their FIRST term, why were they forgetting how to function all of the sudden?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Felixir

SPOILER!!: *hissy snek noises*

Mental notes were being made. Nem knew he absolutely could not pass up the opportunity to speak to Grantham, sooner rather than later. Though maybe not too soon.

"Oh right, sorry," Nem said, lowering his voice and looking for all the world utterly apologetic. He didn't point out her glistening eyes or slightly thicker voice either. Real nice, see? "Ooh... more than one?" he went on, but more quietly this time.

Before Nem could say anything else, however, who should show up but the one and only Fuller-Thompson; champion of Charms, keeper of the grounds, head of house extraordinaire, et cetera, et cetera. Always a delight.

"Sorry, Professor. I was just concerned why Bernie was all in a strop, but she already left." Bernadette Grantham, if he wanted to just jot that down. "I'll leave you to it then."

Peace.

Claudine was grateful that Nem heeded her in being quiet. Merlin, she didn’t need the entire School to know that crups were in their midst. “Yes. Two of them.’’ There was an almighty sniff that came from her. Did anyone have a tissue? Could they conjure one for her? The girl was just going to suggest to Nem that he should check with their Head of House if he was that interested in crups when the man of the hour himself showed up. And just like that Nem was leaving. Well, she’d catch up with him at the Slytherin table.

“Hi, Professor.’’ Claudine cleared her throat because up until now, she had not realised she sounded funny. Rapid blinking also happened because she was no longer going to be shedding tears she hoped. “Um. I couldn’t leave them behind because… um. Well, these are for you.’’ Claudine carefully set the two carriers on the floor before the man. When she straightened up, she tilted her head back to look at him with those serious eyes. “I know they don’t make up for the loss of your dogs…” Ugh. She was not good with words and expressing her feelings. “I’m sorry for everything,’’ she whispered.

Great.

Now she wanted to cry again.

Everything that had happened starting in the Forest last term to now was just too much.

Text Cut: Nem and Claudine

Quote:

Originally Posted by Felixir

SPOILER!!: *hissy snek noises*

Mental notes were being made. Nem knew he absolutely could not pass up the opportunity to speak to Grantham, sooner rather than later. Though maybe not too soon.

"Oh right, sorry," Nem said, lowering his voice and looking for all the world utterly apologetic. He didn't point out her glistening eyes or slightly thicker voice either. Real nice, see? "Ooh... more than one?" he went on, but more quietly this time.

Before Nem could say anything else, however, who should show up but the one and only Fuller-Thompson; champion of Charms, keeper of the grounds, head of house extraordinaire, et cetera, et cetera. Always a delight.

"Sorry, Professor. I was just concerned why Bernie was all in a strop, but she already left." Bernadette Grantham, if he wanted to just jot that down. "I'll leave you to it then."

Peace.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

SPOILER!!: Nem & Fuller-Thompson! <3

Claudine was grateful that Nem heeded her in being quiet. Merlin, she didn’t need the entire School to know that crups were in their midst. “Yes. Two of them.’’ There was an almighty sniff that came from her. Did anyone have a tissue? Could they conjure one for her? The girl was just going to suggest to Nem that he should check with their Head of House if he was that interested in crups when the man of the hour himself showed up. And just like that Nem was leaving. Well, she’d catch up with him at the Slytherin table.

“Hi, Professor.’’ Claudine cleared her throat because up until now, she had not realised she sounded funny. Rapid blinking also happened because she was no longer going to be shedding tears she hoped. “Um. I couldn’t leave them behind because… um. Well, these are for you.’’ Claudine carefully set the two carriers on the floor before the man. When she straightened up, she tilted her head back to look at him with those serious eyes. “I know they don’t make up for the loss of your dogs…” Ugh. She was not good with words and expressing her feelings. “I’m sorry for everything,’’ she whispered.

Great.

Now she wanted to cry again.

Everything that had happened starting in the Forest last term to now was just too much.

Ahh, so Bernadette HAD been here. And apparently was in a "strop", whatever that meant. It was a little curious though, since Grantham seemed to always be in a good mood, especially when mischief was involved. When the boy left, the Charms professor turned his attention back to Claudine, wondering what she was up to.

At least she had stopped crying. For the most part.

Wait, the carriers were for him? Piers was confused. It took him a moment of looking at the crates and hearing what she said next to realize what was going on here. Piers stooped down to look inside the crates and saw two adorable little cruppies. She (and probably Bernie) had bought them to make up for getting two of his dogs killed last term. The image of his dogs being carried into the forest by ravenous acromantulas flashed in his brain for a moment. He hadn't gone out and rescued any more dogs since then because... well, he wasn't sure why. But in that moment, he felt grateful to have these two new cruppies.

Piers stood back up and sighed at the young girl. "You're on a final warning, Claudine. You know you could have gotten expelled for this, right?" Could have meaning he was preeeetty sure Trent wouldn't expel her/them for this, but one never knew. If we wanted to though, Piers would plead their case this one time.

"That being said... I know you're sorry. And I appreciate that. I hope you have learned a lesson, you and Ms. Grantham both." Piers looked back down at the two crates. "You didn't have to do this... but I'm glad you did." Which was his way of thanking her for the cruppies, even though it was technically her and Bernadette's fault they got into the whole mess. "Now, put a smile on and head to the table. No more tears, okay?" He patted her on the shoulder encouragingly and bent down to pick up the two cruppy crates. "And do me a favor, make sure Curtis isn't up to anything suspicious." Yes, he knew she was a third year, but Curtis acted like a first year, so it worked out.

Now, he needed to get up to the staff table before Trent started his speech. And... well, the cruppies were coming with him.

Bored? Here? How could someone be bored in a castle? Especially a castle where someone was learning magic? It didn't seem possible. This place was something that Alexia only imagine until recently. Though she supposed she felt the same way about going to public school this year, until she didn't have to. Now she wondered if they would feel the same way going to normal school as she did coming here.

...........

Yeah, on second thought, she didn't think so. Her school wasn't a castle. And it didn't have boats, or these cool uniforms. Her school only taught the basic things. They would probably be bored out of their minds in her school. Could Alexia even blame them? Even SHE thought her school was boring compared to this. This boy would probably fall asleep in his first 'normal' history class. At least he liked Hogwarts as much as she did.

"I get it. Privacy is important." She didn't really have a large family, as she was an only child, but she often had to share space with her softball team. Sharing space with about 10 other girls was no an easy task, especially when drama arose. And it ALWAYS seemed to arise. That was something she wasn't going to miss when she came here. The team drama. "Especially when you're always around other people."Alexia rolled her eyes teasingly, though it wasn't towards Dylan. She liked to think she understood what he was saying. Somewhat. "I don't know what house we're going to be sorted into, but I kind of hope we're in the same house, Dylan." She hoped she didn't sound TOO excited for another friend. But he seemed nice. And thoughtful. Very thoughtful. Which was interesting to Alexia, because she didn't think enough sometimes. It got her into trouble back home.

Now, just how much of this castle was real, and much an illusion (ie. magical)? Because all this glamour... just couldn't be mundane. This was just the type of magic Michael had imagined. Maybe all of it was magical!?! He bet it was! He grinned to himself and brought out his phone. Then he paused for a moment to turn it on...

...but it didn't turn on. He frowned and aggressively pressed the button, but the screen showed funny colours as if the brain'd gone completely kaputt. UUUGH. He'd checked it just this morning, ugh! He muttered to himself, and shoved it into his pocket. Stupid phone. But he wasn't going to let this ruin his own viewing pleasure. He slowly followed the adult that led them here (a teacher, perhaps?) towards the Great Hall as he took in every scene. He was convinced: this whole thing was a big illusion. He'd seen a lot of castles, but this one was something else.

For the first time, he sas happy to be here.

SPOILER!!: Head of House! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by sarahlooo

Text Cut: Nem and Claudine

Ahh, so Bernadette HAD been here. And apparently was in a "strop", whatever that meant. It was a little curious though, since Grantham seemed to always be in a good mood, especially when mischief was involved. When the boy left, the Charms professor turned his attention back to Claudine, wondering what she was up to.

At least she had stopped crying. For the most part.

Wait, the carriers were for him? Piers was confused. It took him a moment of looking at the crates and hearing what she said next to realize what was going on here. Piers stooped down to look inside the crates and saw two adorable little cruppies. She (and probably Bernie) had bought them to make up for getting two of his dogs killed last term. The image of his dogs being carried into the forest by ravenous acromantulas flashed in his brain for a moment. He hadn't gone out and rescued any more dogs since then because... well, he wasn't sure why. But in that moment, he felt grateful to have these two new cruppies.

Piers stood back up and sighed at the young girl. "You're on a final warning, Claudine. You know you could have gotten expelled for this, right?" Could have meaning he was preeeetty sure Trent wouldn't expel her/them for this, but one never knew. If we wanted to though, Piers would plead their case this one time.

"That being said... I know you're sorry. And I appreciate that. I hope you have learned a lesson, you and Ms. Grantham both." Piers looked back down at the two crates. "You didn't have to do this... but I'm glad you did." Which was his way of thanking her for the cruppies, even though it was technically her and Bernadette's fault they got into the whole mess. "Now, put a smile on and head to the table. No more tears, okay?" He patted her on the shoulder encouragingly and bent down to pick up the two cruppy crates. "And do me a favor, make sure Curtis isn't up to anything suspicious." Yes, he knew she was a third year, but Curtis acted like a first year, so it worked out.

Now, he needed to get up to the staff table before Trent started his speech. And... well, the cruppies were coming with him.

Claudine went into this entire crup situation without knowing what to expect. Fuller-Thompson could rebuke her attempt to make things a little right, he could be happy with the effort or a small number of other possibilities. But she hadn’t expected to be warned about her being on her final chance. Interestingly enough, she had already made up her mind to keep her head low and continue focusing on her studies and art. But the third year simply nodded. “I understand.’’ She’d let her actions speak throughout the new school year rather than reassuring Fuller-Thompson that she’d be on her best behaviour. As for being expelled? She wasn’t so sure of that. Neither Fuller-Thompson were that heartless, especially when the crups weren’t for her as pets and given the good intentions she had. But she decided not to push her luck so she said nothing to that.

“Bernadette picked them out,’’ Claudine added quickly, not really sure why she wanted to make sure the Gryffindor’s part in this being known. She now forced a small smile. “Thank you.’’ She hoped that her gratitude could be heard in those two words. She shook her head; no, no more tears for it was time to begin her redemption and focus on life ahead without Bernadette. Even the pats on the shoulder didn’t disturb her; Claudine was just ready to move on from everything. “I’ll try my best about Curtis, but I doubt he’ll even want to listen to me.’’ There was doubt in her voice.

Feeling slightly cheered by the most recent of events and feeling very fond towards her Head of House, Claudine followed him into the Great Hall.