General The Slytherin Table 2018-2019

Amanda glanced across the table staring at the boy who had just licked his plate and cleared her throat trying to grab his attention and stated proudly, "Personally I don't understand how you can stand muggles, let alone LIVE with them. But my first experience with magic was when I was around four or five. And I hovered over a dead flower, cupping it gently and brought it back to life. Oh, Im Amanda by the way." She quickly shoved a fork full of flan in her mouth before swallowing and stared at Andrew, trying to break apart his attitude and demeanor. She nodded and signed with her fork slightly interested in this muggle-born slightly realizing that not all where as bad as the bullies. ''And what did it feel like experiencing magic for the first time? Scary, exciting, wonderful?"

She set down her copy of Hogwarts: A History and leaned over the table excitedly; trying to understand how it is to be a full muggle with a drop of magic in your blood. She licked her lips trying to get leftover pieces of flan off while tapping her fingers at a fast pace wanting to know what exactly living with muggles was like. ''You see, my mother like Blaire's is strict about muggles. She was okay with my in primary school with them but now, she's hardcore. No muggle friend, no muggle music or movies or posters. Basically anything about muggles is 'illegal' in my household." While it may seem like she was warming up to the ideals of muggles and muggle-borns, she wasnt. In fact she was trying to find key related weaknesses between all muggles in general. As her grandfather once said Once you knock down one wall, the rest will follow suit or something like that. He was a crazy old man who lived through the times of Grindewald, so he could have just been loony.

Interacting with @Blaire Newton and @Amanda Wiggins

Andrew turned his attention to the girl sitting across from him and Blaire. He didn’t think anyone else at the table had been listening to their (boring, was what he feared) conversation, but apparently there was someone who was interested. Not that he was irked by the intrusion of a third member into their circle, well, triangle technically, now that he considered the girl to be a part of their group. Hearing the girl address his question (which had been intended for Blaire), Andrew listened attentively to Amanda’s story, which yielded her name at the end of it.

“Hey, I’m Andrew,” he replied chipperly, in case Amanda hadn’t heard him mention his name to Blaire. “Call me Andy, if you like.”

He was impressed by Amanda’s account, how she had brought a dead flower back to life. “So, flowers?...” He mused, more or less commenting to himself as he remarked to Amanda, “Do you like gardening? ‘Cause, it seems like you’d be good at it. Bringing flowers back to life and all that.” Probably stupid of him to imagine that a first sign of magic could implicate some hidden talent – after all, what would that mean about him? An arsonist? – but he couldn’t help but voice it out, if anything to fill up small talk.

Stomach full, Andrew could only watch the others eat as the Feast waned on.

“All of them, I guess.” He didn’t know how to summarize the feeling in one word, the day he showed magic for the first time. Weird and cool stood out, though. “Actually,” he confessed, a bit shyly, “My first sign of magic… I don’t think I had one, when I was little. Nothing that I know of…” Unless if his parents were lying and they knew of some magic sign and his memory had been erased or something inconceivable like that, but Andrew didn’t believe that could be possible.

As one purple-haired @Luna Choi worded it, maybe he was “special”?

“My first sign was when I was at Ollivanders, tryin’ to find my wand and everything. I did bust a window, though.” He cringed slightly. “And melted a desk. Oh, and I did set the place on fire. …Well, part of it anyways. It was a big fire though,” he chuckled nervously.

He was surprised to hear what Amanda had to say about her Muggle-less life. Not that he was in any way offended or dejected by it. Just…confused. He couldn’t fathom having such a strict childhood like Amanda’s, the way she described it.

“Oh. Well. I’m sorry…– er – Okay, I guess.” Andrew stumbled for a response. Frankly, he didn’t know what to say. The thought of Muggles being classified as “illegal”, as if they were criminal… Made him feel slightly uncomfortable. While he didn't want to lose his confidence, starting out in a new school, he really felt at the bottom at the pecking order right now.

Amanda rose an eyebrow and nodded, smirking slightly and hummed,"Well. I've never thought of myself as 'good' at magic nor a flower person. I'm somewhat still new at it but slightly better than you." She chuckled and leaned further over the table and grabbed a green apple. She bit it and hummed slightly, "SO YOU set the fire in Ollivander's! I was walking by and saw a part of the shoppe on fire! Nice accidental magic by the way."

She grinned mischievously and thought that this seemingly naive boy could fall into her hands to find muggle weakness. She whispered excitedly, "Andy, wanna go to the hospital wing? I hear they have awesome potions that can heal ANYTHING! From miscarriages to near-death-experiences to simple toothaches. It's fascinating really. " She pouted slightly hoping he would agree. Amanda twirled her wand between her fingers, her dark eyes gleaming as she stared at his face silently challenging him to try and say no.
Her black, soul-less eyes flicked over his face and she said, "Pepperup Potion? It's a nasty thing 'lil bugger, I'd rather be as ugly as a troll before I ever took that." She snorted and raised an eyebrow referencing to her previous statement. "So? Will you?"

Interacting with @Blaire Newton @Amanda Wiggins @Andrew Vance

Landon had been playing with the same piece of bacon for the last ten minutes as he overhead, eavesdropped, on the nearby conversation between other first years. It wasn’t until he heard the girl, Amanda, had said something with a derogatory tone in regards to living with muggles that Landon had dropped his fork ontop of his plate. The clank was loud enough for nearby Slytherins to turn their heads toward his direction.

“How about you lay off of him?”

Landon had had his share of bullies before he arrived to Hogwarts that he was able to see through Amanda’s façade. He could almost peg her down to the type of bully she was and to the prey she liked to sink her teeth into.

Frankly, it seemed to be status quo in Slytherin. They were just as snarky to each other as they were to those students sitting across from them at a different table in the Great Hall. And what was more concerning was the common lack of respect toward the muggle community. As the product of two, Landon had found himself defending that part of his identity more than any other while he was at Hogwarts and it didn’t seem to help him make any true friends in his house thus far.

“Careful with that apple. You know what they say about the serpent and Eve.” He accompanied the remark with a look of annoyance at her blatant rudeness. “Or better yet, choke on it. It might give you a second to think before you open your mouth again.” Speaking of snakes, sometimes Landon’s words were just as poisonous as their bite.

Turning toward the other first years, he looked first at Andrew and gave him a genuine smile. “My parents and sister are muggles, too. Imagine their shock when I made the faucet go haywire while my mum was washing the dishes. And let’s just say – my dad had a whole lot to explain to his students as to why a pen exploded all over their final-term paper. All before dessert, no less.”

He let out a quick chuckle before extending a hand in greeting, first to Andrew and then to Blaire next to him. “I’m Landon. And yes, my parents were obsessed with London. I was actually conceived there …” And then Landon realized he had over shared and picked up the bacon from his plate and stuffed it in his mouth to stop from talking.

Interacting with @Blaire Newton, @Amanda Wiggins, and @Landon Storm

If the girl’s pride was evident, Andrew wasn’t the type of person that would take words too personally. Unless if it became physical. Perhaps his tolerance was high (maybe too high), but he’d be accommodating towards Amanda’s opinions of herself. Entertain her that way, by listening. But if it wore on for too long, his tone could change…

"SO YOU set the fire in Ollivander's! I was walking by and saw a part of the shoppe on fire! Nice accidental magic by the way."

“Uh…Thanks?” Was that supposed to a compliment? Probably not. It sounded too sarcastic, but he could find the humor in it, if that was Amanda’s way of being chummy.

That being said, this girl was kinda giving him creepy vibes. Too assertive for his liking.

“Andy, wanna go to the hospital wing? I hear they have awesome potions that can heal ANYTHING! From miscarriages to near-death-experiences to simple toothaches. It's fascinating really.”

Andrew didn’t respond, although he could agree (and confirm, since he had just recently been there); the Hospital Wing had a pretty vast selection of potions. He wished he could explore them all, see what each one of them could do… And he’d be learning how to brew potions of his own, so, that seemed exciting.

"Pepperup Potion? It's a nasty thing 'lil bugger, I'd rather be as ugly as a troll before I ever took that."

Andrew raised an eyebrow, but kept his scoff to himself. Well, when was the last time this girl had a cold? Would she rather suffer through a wet cough; stuffy, drippy nose; not able to relish food or concentrate fully on anything? Practically be miserable for days? Colds were terrible! He’d rather look “ugly as a troll” for the rest of his life, if it meant never getting sick again.

…Speaking of which, what exactly were trolls?

The girl prodded him. "So? Will you?"

“How about you lay off of him?”

Andrew blinked in surprise as another boy interrupted the discussion. A brief second of silence followed before [Landon] spoke again:

“Careful with that apple. You know what they say about the serpent and Eve. Or better yet, choke on it. It might give you a second to think before you open your mouth again.”

Andrew’s eyes widened slightly, stunned by the boy’s retort. Impressed that [Landon] would have the courage to speak up, but maybe a tad bit embarrassed that [Landon] had intervened to “rescue” him from Amanda. Nevertheless, he was indebtedly grateful.

As much as he hoped to ignore Amanda’s peer pressure, he didn’t want to appear rude in front of her either. “Sounds really cool,” Andrew declined politely, flashing a sympathetic expression towards Amanda. “But I already went to the Hospital Wing, and… Well, I don’t think we’re supposed to leave the table now. Unless if it’s for emergencies.” One of the staff had let him off with a friendly reminder not to slink away from the Feast again without asking permission. Andrew wasn’t about to risk getting into further trouble with another offense. Unless if he had to use the restroom, he intended to remain at the table for the rest of the Feast.

Turning his attention to the other boy, Andrew listened attentively as [Landon] continued:

“My parents and sister are muggles, too. Imagine their shock when I made the faucet go haywire while my mum was washing the dishes. And let’s just say – my dad had a whole lot to explain to his students as to why a pen exploded all over their final-term paper. All before dessert, no less.”

Andrew relaxed with a receptive smile. Even though he was glad to meet another Muggle-born, especially one in his own House – hopefully he’d be seeing [Landon] around a lot, then – he was mainly relieved to at least have someone along “his kind” of normal-friendly to talk to.

“I’m Landon. And yes, my parents were obsessed with London. I was actually conceived there…”

Andrew shook Landon’s hand. “Andrew,” he introduced himself in turn. “Well, Andy, if you heard.” He reckoned Landon might have been listening the whole entire time.

“Really? I live in London!” Finally a familiar name of a place he could relate to. “Do you live there, or…? Where’re you from?” He asked Landon.

[quote]Interacting with @Blaire Newton @Andrew Vance @Landon Storm

Amanda stared at the boy who had just entered their conversation and sickly grinned, "Well if I did choke on this apple, perhaps your overly cold heart would melt a bit as I quickly die. But sadly one can only wish.". She snickered and took another bite of her apple, dramatically chewing to show how she wouldn't choke. "And who exactly are you?" She turned not really caring who he was and dug in her messenger bag looking for a new book, seeing as Hogwarts: A History was quickly getting boring.

"Well, whoever you are, it's a terror pleasure to meet you. Even if you do hope I die." She stared at him from across the table and corrected her previous statement, "Actually it's not a pleasure. And if we're bringing up Bible references, you know what happened to Adam when he ate the apple...watch your back."

She sneered and slung her bag over her shoulder; quickly flipping her newly checked out book (Moste Potente Potions) open and reading. As she read, she was plotting which house would be a victim of her wrath and settled on the Hufflepuff house, thinking that her girl she had met the day before was naive and easy to control. A smirk crept onto her face and she laughed quietly to herself.

To an outsider, she would look crazy, borderline psychotic, and maybe she was. But currently, she was too wrapped up in her plans to notice the scared looks from her surrounding Slytherins. She bit a slice of toast and glanced her gaze around looking for the small and naive Hufflepuff girl. She mumbled, "Where the bloody hell is she?" When Airlia; she stopped and thought for a moment: That is her name right?... Wait why does it matter she's just another stepping stone for my plan

When the girl wasn't found she slumped back down and quickly finished her toast. She nodded at Andrew and Blaire but glared at Landon before waltzing out of the Hall.

In retrospect, perhaps Landon had come off too strongly when he threw the overly venomous comment toward the girl but he had a gut-feeling she had deserved it. Even the way she seemed to mock, or even patronize, him with how slowly she ate the table did not helping Landon take a liking to her. Still, there was a pang of guilt at how easily he succumbed to resorting to such nastiness. When in turn, she reminded him of Adam's fate - he met her gaze with his own. But as quickly as the tension arrived, she had left the conversation and sat across the table enjoying a book.

Turning back to Andy, he took the boy's hand into his and was conscious of how firm he shook it. His father had always told him that first impressions were important, even though he might of completely destroyed his with the other first year. "Nice to meet you, Andy."

Letting go his grip, Landon reached over the table and picked out a banana muffin from a pile and began picking at the top and plucking bits of it in his mouth. At the mention of whether he lived in London or not, Landon shook his head. "My parents lived there for a while but when my mom got pregnant with me, they decided to move to a small village called Dunton Green." He doubted Andy had heard of it. It was in the outskirts. And when he said small, well that was an understatement. The village had less than three thousand people who lived there and of those, kids were a very small percentage. "They left because uh, well ... money."

That was a lie though. In truth, his parents moved because when his mom was pregnant again for a third time - she wanted to try to carry out an actual successful term away from everyone. It had become hard for her to continue facing the people she loved with another miscarriage. Thankfully, the third try and the move was a success but his parents decided to stay in Dunton Green. He hadn't even seen or met his extended family. Thinking on it now, he wondered if maybe there was magic somewhere along his family tree, hidden within the popular city.

Snapping out of his reserve, Landon added, "I heard it's beautiful though. Maybe I'll be able to visit it one day and see where my parents grew up. The only time I went was on my way here and to shop for supplies. I barely really saw or explored any of it."

When the brunette girl abruptly got up, Landon noted the glare that was almost seared at him. When she was out of earshot, he whispered to Andy, "I hope I don't regret that pleasant exchange." The last thing Landon needed was enemies. Getting accustomed to magic, being far from home, and not knowing a lot of people was hard enough. He made a mental note to make more allies within the castle walls. And with that thought in mind, he further probed Andy.

"So, how has your experience been so far at Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" He put more emphasis on the school's added title, giving Andy a genuine smile.

xxxxxAdeline walked into the Great Hall in a crow of first year students. As she walked, her white blonde hair bounced over her shoulders. She was pale, a bit standoutish from the crowd with her milky complexion contrasting against the dark robes. She had just come up from the dorm room where she had spent most of the day settling in.

xxxxxThe others were buzzing with conversation and excitement. Adeline was quiet and observant. It was not hard for her to locate the table of her other housemates, the sported the emerald green colour proudly. Adeline walked down one side of the table, searching for an open seat. The only seats she could find were in between sections of kids that were obviously much older than her. She crossed around the end of the table and proceeded down the other side. She watched as a brown haired girl jumped up from the seat and stormed off, leaving an empty seat next to another first year boy she recognized from the train. If she remembered correctly, she was sure his name was Landon.

xxxxx "Hi," she said shyly, "um, is this seat taken?" she asked, referring to the girl who had just gotten up and stormed off. She waited for his answer before sitting down.

Circe hovered nervously by the door. It was her first breakfast meal as a new Slytherin. She could see quite clearly where her house sat, but wasn't sure where she should sit. So she waited, watching, hoping a fellow first year would appear and take a seat. She didn't know why, but she assumed the first years were all meant to sit together. Why hadn't her dad's told prepared her for this?

She had asked a million questions after recieving her acceptance letter to hogwarts. Her dad's had laughed at each question, assuring her she would be fine and make friends easily. Well, that was easy for them to say. Circe however, wasn't quite sure she would make any friends. In fact, she was sure she would spend her entire carerer at Hogwarts completely friendless and alone.

Raising her head high and pretending to be braver than she felt, Circe strolled forward and plopped herself into an empty seat near the end of the table. She glanced around quickly, but no one seemed to have taken notice of her. Good. She could eat in peace. Starving, as she'd been too nervous last night to eat at the feast, she grabbed the nearest dish and began shoveling something that looked like porridge onto her plate. Gross, she hated poridge.

Scooting her glasses further up her nose, Circe leaned in and began to eat. It was horrible. Not the taste really, but the texture. She tried not to gag, making a horrible face as she tried to choke down the stuff, hoping no one was watching.

He didn’t have much to comment about Landon’s story, about Dunston Green, although the way Landon described it, it did remind Andrew of a place he was fond of visiting.

“My aunt lives in [insert name of place here that I haven’t yet come up with since I’ll have to do some research ‘cause I don’t know anything about England ]. It’s also a little village. My family and I go over there lots, when we can. My aunt has a farm there – oh, and my five cousins – they’re all her kids. I like [said name of un-researched village], it’s a nice place. I love the countryside. …More than the big city. London’s nice and all, but… it’s a little too much for me. When I grow up, I wanna have a big land in the countryside. And lots of animals. Dogs, cats, horses, birds…” He went along to form a dreamy expression as he narrated before snapping himself out of it. “That’s my dream. After Hogwarts, of course.” It hadn’t occurred to Andrew to think about what magical occupation he might grow up to be in, should he choose to remain in the wizarding world after graduating from school. Seven years seemed like a whole lifetime away…

When Amanda left the table, tensions seemed to relax after she had removed herself from the group. While Andrew did feel a ping of guilt, wondering why Amanda would act the way she did, it didn’t last long.

“Better learn some spells quick then. You might need ‘em.” Andrew poked with a bit of humor at Landon’s remark. Not that he was encouraging any confrontation – wand or otherwise – to happen between the two.

His gaze trailing after Amanda as she walked away, Andrew sighed disappointingly. “I guess wizard schools aren’t much different than Muggle schools.” By that, he was referring to unsavory types like Amanda. Bullies even. Then again, what else did he expect? …Hopefully, he would avoid as much drama as possible.

“Well, so far… I love the food,” he jested playfully, though he said it whole-heartedly. Out of all the things he could pick to talk about on his first day of school – the train, the boat ride, the Sorting Ceremony – the first thing that popped out of him was the Feast. Food and drink were the most important things to sustain life and concentration, when it came to studies. As long as he had a full and satisfied belly with three square meals a day, Andrew reckoned he’d be content with anything Hogwarts could throw at him. “Sure beats what they served at my old school. Beats anything I’ve had a buffet! Hope we get to eat like this every day.” His eyes lit up excitedly.

He would spend the remainder of the Feast at the table, chatting with other fellow Slytherins beside him. Thus far, Andrew’s impression of Landon was a good one. He looked forward to seeing him around, maybe hanging out with him sometime soon. . .