First-Year Entrance 2024-2025

Stats & Abilities:

Reducio

STA: 7 | EVA: 5 | STR: 4 | WIS: 7 |AP: 6 | ACC: 6

Date:	Sept 1st
Dialogue:	#011d57

Lev moved around uncomfortably in his seat. He’d heard about the prejudices and rudeness that were usually thrown at muggleborns, hence he couldn’t help but be defensive when Lemmy first mentioned his heritage, but the boy didn’t seem to think negatively of Lev because of that. No, on the contrary, he even seemed excited to learn more.

So not all wizards knew everything about muggles huh? It felt nice that for once he wasn’t the one completely lost. His previous questions didn’t seem that stupid anymore. Lev still felt the pressure though: he always felt like whenever he tried explaining things or telling a story, it would come out all messed up. Most of the time he spoke too quickly and stumbled all over his sentences. Especially now that he knew this giant squid was actually real!

Thankfully (or unfortunately), before Lev could answer Lemmy’s inquiries, another girl suddenly jumped into their boat, butting into their conversation. “Ah-” Lev yelped, his gaze immediately shifting to her.

God was this girl terrifying. She seemed like a real troublemaker and really intense in a very different way than Lemmy too. She seemed like the exact type of person who would judge someone like him.

He was grateful when Lemmy did the introductions for him and merely waved at Camilla, his smile slightly crooked due to the scars marring the right side of his face. When she started talking about being rivals, Lev’s eyes widened in complete and utter panic.

“N-No.. I-I’m good!” Being rivals with this girl would only make him even more anxious than he already was. He had to refuse for his health!

God that was kind of mean though... Quick! He should say something nice! “I’m sure you’ll be able to bring basketball to H-Hogwarts though. I would help you, but..” He only grimaced. Hopefully that would be enough and he wouldn't have to explain for the hundreth time that simply being tall didn't make him a good basketball player.

@Lemmy LaRue,@Camilla Carter

A small grin spread across her face at her reception at the mostly lack of awkwardness treating her. Perhaps she had not gone too hard at all and this was the right level of enthusiasm for Hogwarts. And why not? It was an exciting time!

The tall boy at least seemed familiar with basketball, which was a good sign; it meant that she could talk about sports and music and not have blank faces look at her. Meanwhile, the short one seemed.... well. Just plain fun.

"Wellllllll, while I COULD tell you all about how amazing basketball is, young Lemmy;" she said in a faux-wise tone. "That would take all the fun of it out for friend Makarov here who seems to already be familiar with it."

As she was speaking her head caught up to her mouth, and you could almost see the moment she made a connection in her head. "Makarov, you say?" She'd freeze. "Waaaaaait a second. You're not secretly a member of THE Makarov family, are you? Why are you guys here, even? Shouldn't you be off in Innistrad for wedding season? Or did the wedding already happen? Omg I have SO. Many. Questions for you!"

Camilla has accidentally mixed up the name Makarov with Markov from a card game she's been playing. Feel free to correct her, or let the misunderstanding stand.
@Lev Makarov, @Lemmy LaRue

@Lev Makarov | @Camilla Carter

The idea of muggles and magic kind born of muggle heritage was of course something that Lemmy had heard of before. He was also well aware from the teachings of his family that not all of wizard kind accepted these people as equals, just as many did not accept his family's unique blend of races either. However, though he was not ignorant of these facts, his boisterous personality may believe some to think him so. Yet his excitement of Lev's heritage seemed to put the other boy at ease. At least for now he would be momentarily safe from such prejudice. While the LaRue's had done a fine job teaching Lemmy about the complexities of the world, nothing would compare to real life experience and for that the boy was lacking. Perhaps this moment would be one that would come to define him as he felt quite the connection to this Lev Makarov. It was a chance of his world to grow as he met and experienced new people.

Speaking of which, Lemmy's excitement only grew as Camilla proved to have an energy matching his own. Whether this would lead to rivalry or bonding would only be proven with time. Lev on the other hand wished nothing to do with this chance at rivalry and Lemmy would respect that. "Don't you worry, Lev. Perhaps the three of us can make this basketball the new favorite among witch and wizard." Lemmy didn't know squat about the game or how being tall might have some advantage. His diminutive features surely would not however. "Remind me to ask more of your heritage. I've loads of questions for you friend." Lemmy shot Lev a wink before returning attention to Camilla.

"Well. If you won't explain this amazing thing you call basketball, then I simply must research it on my own and then beat you in single combat." He returned with his own faux-posh tone before cracking up into giggles. Just then however, Camilla seemed fascinated by Lev's surname. "Oh! A wedding!" Lemmy chimed in on the excitement as he clapped his hands quickly with enthusiasm, completely ignorant of what this wild girl was speaking of.

@Mila Woodland @Oonagh Brown

Having settled into the boat now, yellow duck in hand, the excitement and adrenaline buzzed off the young girl. At no other time in her life, would she experience the magic that was taking a boat ride across the Great Lake to Hogwarts. Her father had sat her down the night before to explain once again what Hogwarts was like. Not that she hadn't asked a million questions growing up. Especially after her attack. When her mother wouldn't dare speak to her or even look her in the eye.

She scoffed at Mila's joke, the smile slightly wiping itself off her face. How was the other girl to know what her home life was like? "Maybe I should join them... Although I've heard of some big monster lurking in the Lake." She sat up straighter, putting on an air of confidence. "I'll stay right here, with my new friend Harold," she affirmed, patting the little rubber ducks head nestled in her lap. She looked out to the water then, missing anything Mila did next. An air of contemplation overcame Erlea. The words her mother said the night she woke up from her attack came back to her full force. I'm a monster too right? Maybe I should jump in.

Her dark musings were broken by a scream from Mila and the great sudden rocking of the boat as another girl jumped in. What in Merlin's name?! Wide eyed, she yelped, losing possession of Harold as she clutched the edges of the boat in a death grip. She scowled at the newcomer. "Do you know what else is starving? The Great Lake monster." Her grip tightened on the side of the boat, moreso now because she wanted to push the other girl in and that wouldn't be proper etiquette. All those lessons from her mother still meant something to her. "Maybe I should push you in for all your trouble." She wanted Harold back, and lamented the fact that he had rolled under the seat. But she wasn't going to look now, the other girl too troublesome for a nice boat ride to the castle. That's what Erlea got for wanting a bit of excitement.

Chapter 2: Fly by Night

Ruckus had grown up with a lot of siblings, but given that had been several decades ago, he was feeling a bit rusty now being suddenly surrounded by eleven-year-olds. Was energetic the right word? Surely they get tired once the sun sets? One in particular, @Lemmy LaRue, introduced himself mid-Ruckus's speech and seemed to fly into one of the boats. Ruckus gave him a curt nod, making a positive mental note that the boy had not chosen Ruckus's boat.

Once he made himself comfy at the head of the boats, three students did choose to join him. The first was quiet (@Mila Woodland), the second quacked like a duck (@Erlea Bevensworth), and the final was full of commentary (@Oonagh Brown). He gave a reassuring nod to each of them, "Aye you'll be the castle in no time, plenty of food there for you."

He let his boat talk amongst themselves and surveyed the others to make sure they got into boats without any trouble. It didn't take long for everyone to look sail-worthy. Projecting to the whole lot, "Alright! Let us begin!" Right on cue, the boats all began to move in unison; the boat with Ruckus and the yellow duckies at the head of the flock, like migratory birds in a "v" formation.

But before the boats could reach that pivotal point where they could see the castle, and where Ruckus had a few surprises, the were sudden waves as if something was bubbling up from beneath the surface. In fact, there was something breaking through the surface. Or somethings plural? Ruckus squinted under the low light of the moon—duckies were now bobbing energetically, some disappearing beneath the surface completely.

One boat in particular seemed to be the epicenter of the eruption. It was surrounded by orange duckies, and of course it was full. Before he could react, two students (@Alyss Glimour and @Kim Mirroz) tumbled into the water while the remaining two (@Aria Wright and @Rainy Castlee) were probably holding on for dear life.

Reducio

Strength DC to stay in boat = 8
Alyss rolled a 2 + 2str = 4
Aria rolled a 5 + 7str = 12
Kim rolled a 3 + 3(d10 for random str) = 6
Rainy rolled a 12 + 6(d10 for random str) = 18

Then it became clear what had caused the ruckus lol: grindylows. Ruckus could see their little hands pawing for the duckies and their fish eyes glowing in the darkness. He supposed that he had introduced something strange to their habitat, and, out of curiosity, malice, and/or hunger, they had been drawn the surface to investigate.

"Everyone stay calm; they're just grindylows trying to steal me ducks. Let me get you two out of the water first."

Suggested Actions for next round:

• Save a duckie from a grindylow
• Knock a grindylow away

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Final Chapter

Red Boat (4/4): Mamori Anezaki, Corvinus Schröder, Angie Dixon, Jun Mayumi Mochizuki [FULL]
Red Boat #2 (6/4): Lucian Allum, Maisie Gemmell, Yakim Nëlo, Saunders Napier, Sao Weide, Ady Dog [FULL]
Orange Boat (4/4): Alyss Gilmour, Aria Wright, Kim Mirroz, Rainy Castlee [FULL]
Yellow Boat (4/4): Ruckus Weems, Mila Woodland, Erlea Bevensworth, Oonagh Brown [FULL]
Green Boat (4/4): Novalie Moon, Vera Caird, Aodhan Shaw, Sanguinius Demarest [FULL]
Blue Boat (4/4): Colby Vidler, Caitriona Dewine, Eirene Tilbury, Delaney Magindra [FULL]
Purple Boat (4/4): Lev Makarov, Lemmy LaRue, Camilla Carter, Meyra Lancaster [FULL]

I WILL NO LONGER BE UPDATING THE BOAT LIST. If you wish to enter the thread, please pick whichever color you would like and you may sit with other new students who join. Do not roleplay sitting in the same boat as the students listed above.

OOC Notes!

• This thread is open to all first-year students in the 2024-2025 school year.
• This is an "open thread," so feel free to join whenever, even if the boats are already on the move (in which case, act like you've been there the whole time). I'll keep the list of boats above up to date so that you know which boats are open for you to join. Please note in your first post which boat you are joining!
  
• I will be posting in this thread every 2ish weeks to do a "mod post." If you'd like to perform a moderated action, please state the action clearly in your post. You may only perform spells if they are indexed in your trunk. And do not roleplay reactions, follow-up actions, or results to your moderated action until I have clearly stated whether you were successful or not. You get one action per chapter.
• My mod posts will also be guiding you through the story, so you may only describe seeing what I've laid out so far. For example, if only the first chapter has been posted, you cannot see the castle.
  The moderation of this thread has concluded. You may continue to join the thread and RP seeing all the above happen, but your character will not have interacted directly with any magical creatures nor may they steal a duck.
• All RP rules apply. You do not need to be “indexed” to participate in this thread, all are welcome! Word count minimum per post is 200 words of your own work, not including quotes, OOC chat, or other people's words.
• Always feel free to send me any owl or DM if you have any questions or concerns.

September 1st, 2024	Great Lake
“English”	“Gaelic”

“Oh you’re fine!” Alyss beamed at the girl who had slipped into her, hands outstretched to stop her from falling further. She understood the other girls error; these boats were slippery! Alyss had grown up by the water and had almost fallen herself, after all!

It was then that Alyss noticed the bubbles. She turned her attention from their conversation. Perhaps it was because she grew up in a coastal area, but she was now paying a great deal of attention to the waters depths, and felt her eyes grow when she saw the rubber duckies bobbing underneath the water and.. not coming back up. Something was stealing the rubber ducks!

Alyss let out a short shriek as the boat suddenly jerked- and apparently she had a bad reaction time, as she fell like a stone into the water, before she could even realize that she had started to fall.

The water didn’t quite look inviting, the only inviting part of it the rubber duckies… Which seemed to be the reason for the boats inconsistent movement. But that wasn’t quite what Alyss was thinking about at the moment. She was instead annoyed, pondering the question of why it always seemed to happen to her.

As soon as she hit the water, she realized the real reason the boat had dumped her- grindylows. They were grabbing at the duckies, clearly very interested in the bright colors and the new objects. Alyss hit the surface, eyes closing. Swimming quickly in the direction she fell, her main concern was her now sopping wet clothes.

She was relatively calm about the grindylows, until she thought about what she was now sharing the water with. Weren’t grindylows known for being aggressive? And at various points in history, hadn’t they eaten humans?

Alyss broke the surface of the water, eyes opening once again and she took a deep breath of sweet, sweet air. And then? She let out a yelp, trying to get as far away from the grindylows as she possibly could. Her tutoring sessions were coming back to her: and everything that she could think of said that being in the water with grindylows was bad news.

She was now treading water while listening to Ruckus. He clearly knew what he was talking about right? He’d get her out of here! As he reassured the other students, Alyss was taking deep shuddering breaths, trying to hold back yet another scream as she felt one of their spiny fingers brush by her leg.

“Yes!” Alyss gasped at the mention of getting her out of the water. She didn’t want literally everyone that was in her year to know how scared she was right now, but to put it lightly? Alyss was incredibly uncomfortable. “Please get me out.” She said quickly, arms tiring from treading water. Could she probably continue for a good while longer? Yes, but that didn’t make it any more comfortable.

She then realized that he said two. That meant another person had been dunked along with her. She looked around wildly for the other girl, presumably the one who’d stepped on Alyss as she’d gotten onto the boat, given the two that had managed to stay in the boat. She hoped the other girl was okay, regardless of the previous slip up.

Date:	Sept 1st
Dialogue:	#011d57

As expected the extroverted Lemmy and Camilla immediately started to hit it off. Usually, when that happened, Lev would gradually start to feel completely invisible, but Lemmy and Camilla weren't like that. They kept calling out to him and doing their best to include him in the conversation. He knew that probably wasn't their intention, but it was nice to think soanyway . Maybe it wouldn't be so bad having friends like Lemmy and Camilla... They didn't really aknowledge his awkwardness and when Lev was feeling drained he could simply lean back and let them carry the conversation forward. He did just that for a few minutes, letting himself relax with the gentle rocking of the boat that had started its journey across the lake.

But then Camilla asked him a very weird question.. "What..?" Lev's confusion grew with every word Camilla pronounced. And then Lemmy chimed in too? What was he missing? Were these Makarovs a known family in the wizarding world or something? Lev had absolutely no idea. "Sorry to disapoint you.., but I have no clue what you're talking about." He felt bad about bursting her bubble, but he was genuinely clueless. "You're probably talking of another family. A wedding does sounds very fun though!" He quickly said, hoping Camilla wouldn't feel bad about her mistake.

But that would soon become the least of Lev's worries.. The gentle rocking of the boat soon turned from a nice, relaxing ride to one of those horrible rollercoasters his siblings used to force him into. But Lev wasn't in the middle of an amusement park. No, he was in the middle of a huge pitch black lake. The boat moving so aggresively could only mean something bad. But it was worst than Lev could possible have imagined: the boats was completely surrounded by a pack of disgustingly horrifying creatures.

"W-What the heck is that?!" Lev's usually soft voice immediately became shrill as he cowered, pushing himself onto the floor of the boat. He squeezed himself in the corner, made himself as small as possible and covered his ears with his hands. This was probably the worst position he could be in right now, but Lev really couldn't help it. What am I doing in the middle of a lake surrounded by monsters? he thought to himself. This was all too much. The only thing he could do was close his eyes and hope everything would be okay soon.

@Lemmy LaRue,@Camilla Carter