First-Year Entrance 2024-2025

Interacting with @Caitriona Dewine, @Eirene Tilbury & @Delaney Magindara

There was a sense of calm and enjoyment for a split second when on the boat. Although she had no care of her other boat-mates, she was really just a lone wolf traveling to Hogwarts. A part of her, however, felt like the ride was long from being over soon. It wasn't until she saw her blue duck boat getting brighter that she saw what looked like a tentacle wrapped around a nearby green boat. Her eyes opened in shock. What the hell was that?

Apparently, it was something that the Caretaker and a... giant Squid worked together to scare students on their way to Hogwarts? How weird was Hogwarts going to be? Colby couldn't help but question how a squid, a seawater animal, could live in a freshwater lake. Of course, with magic, anything is possible.

The giant squid, who had been playing with various boats and showing its presence had disappeared. Colby figured that maybe it was tired for the night and their plan with the Caretaker was over. She was thankful that they did not come "play" at her boat.

It wasn't until she felt a bump from the head of her boat that she saw they arrived on the other side of the lake. The boat had hit the dock and she could see that some of the students were making their way off their boats and onto the dock. Colby began to get off the boat herself. She was done being on water and land seemed like a better option. "Thanks for a great boat ride," she said sarcastically to the other girls of her boat. In her opinion, they were obviously dull.

As she was leaving, she noticed a ducky that was nearby from the water. She looked over at the Caretaker who seemed to be focused on the waters himself. Why he was, she had no idea. But it was all too good of an opportunity to take something to remember her first travel to Hogwarts. Colby reached over and grabbed a ducky from the water, uncaring of what color she had grabbed.

ACTIONS: Grabs a ducky when Caretaker Rukus was not looking

STATS: Stamina - 7 | Evasion - 5 | Strength - 6 | Wisdom - 4 | ArcPower - 4 | Accuracy - 4

Note: Lucian keeps his half-giant nature a secret. He typically responds as being tall due to lucky genetics, and any rumors about it he typically dismisses.

If Giants and part-giants existed, then certainly a giant-squid would be just as plausible. Lucian began to have a wonder if giant creatures hunted other giant creatures. It wouldn't be too large of a stretch, and a question worth asking his father upon his return to Hogwarts. Yet, were the giant-squids also hunted by wizards just like humanoid-giants? How many other giant organisms have been hunted for sport or for secrecy? A question worth asking, and if anything it peaked the boys interest and curiosity. He gave a nod towards the young girl with him in his boat: "Most likely, based on how friendly it tickled that students across from us it has a positive nature. I'm curious if we could get a closer look of it." Lucians tone was a bit skeptical on the existence of an actual giant squid. Was it real? Or some sort of trick laid out by the Headmaster or even @Ruckus Weems. If so that really ticked the boy off, if not then it certainly had the boys full attention.

Lucian stood up and placed his hand over his mouth in a rather methodical way. As if listing or reviewing all he knew about giants and there culture, was it really possible for a giant squid to still exist? Well, after a bit of thought, it was. Yet, he wanted to confirm it. Witnessing the tentacles retreat as the waves washed around, he couldn't help but become more curious of the creature. While reckless nature didn't fit Lucian's personality, he didn't care much for his own safety. It was the safety of others that worried him. His gaze and reflection in the slightly lit water of the Great Lake tempted him to go further. To jump in and find out the truth, as if it were calling for him. Yet, the words of his fellow boatmate snapped him back to reality: "Indeed it has, but I wouldn't say its over quite just yet." Lucian had a tempting feeling to jump in and perhaps swim downward... 2-3 minutes. He so far was able to hold his breathe for 2-3 minutes. His diver/giant lungs were still developing, but that wasn't taking into account the amount of movement he'd be moving. Or the fact the pressure would increase the further he went. In fact, how deep would he have to go? If a real giant squid did exist... that be too deep, wouldn't it? Lucian's mind wrestled between the logical and reckless idea he had. Luckily, he chose the correct option to stay within his boat with @Maisie Gemmell. Lucian sat, calming his mind and thoughts. He needed to set his priority's straight. Clear his mind.

Action: Keeping an eye towards@ Maisie Gemmell to provide a helping hand. This may include protection from grindylows or preventing them from falling out the boat.

Date: September 1st	Speech: #22706f, Czech/Slovak
Outfit: Hogwarts uniform	Mentions: @Novalie Moon @Aodhan Shaw @Sanguinius Demarest

Action: nicking two of the duckies and trying to check on Novalie

Stats & Abilities:

Reducio

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

hi

" Dialogue "

His Thought

"Yakim Dialogue"

Boat red #2

He knew it would be chaotic when everyone going to get off of the train. But Merlin it was bloody hell. They were all pushing each other, trying to go to a specific direction and in the meantime he lost his friends he had make during the trip in the crowd. Great, first it is his sister and his two best-friends, now it is the new friends that he lost..While trying to navigated in that nest of Acromantula, he spot the Caretaker who was yelling to the first year student to fallow him. After a little bit more of struggle, he arrive where there was many first year - Whoa that one is giant!- around the Caretaker who begin to do his speech.

All of them quickly begin to filled the boat, giving him no time to chose. Seeing that the last one who still have place, was the one with the giant boy and a brown hair girl. Going into the boat he realize there was a duck attached to them. A red one. Ignoring that, he sat comfortable and feel the boat slide aways from the border fallowing the other in a V formation. All the occupant of his boat didn't acknowledge anyone or say anything, except for the giant boy that mumble a word. Moment later sudden wave begin to show, as if there was something under it that create the reaction, and more precisely under the orange duckie boat. Before he knew, two person in that boat fall into the lake while the other two grip the border firmly, as not to be the next one. Confuse he start to look around the boat, to finally take a glace of the cause. Grindylow. He should have guess, those little creature live mostly in lake since they live in still and stagnate water. He turn toward the Caretaker, since he know how troublesome this beast can be, to see if he saw it. He clearly did, if the statement was anything. One of his boatmate propose to steer us out while asking the giant, who seem to have no intention of helping, if he can knock them back if it didn't work.

Fortunately, the two person who fall was rescue by the Caretaker before the Grindylow lost interest in the duck, although he saw many student tying to catch the duck that other Grindylow have stole. It is a bad move, because even if they seem to have weak small hand they still have a strong grip. He have long before keep his hand far from the border, when he realize what creature it was. His thought was proving right when a girl almost get drag in the water when she was caught by one. He was so occupy by the other boat that he forgot the people in his. Starting to be more aware of them he saw the giant boy try to strike one that was close to us, but by doing that he immediately fall out of the boat. He was about to go help him get back on the boat when he saw the girl fallow the giant boy into the lake. She must have being distract by trying to steer us. As he try to find a way of helping them, he hear weird noise from a other girl mouth toward the Grindylow. By the grace of Merlin, what was she thinking?? They are not your friendly baby Curp, otherwise they wouldn't be classified as dark creature for nothing. So yes he gave her a disappointed look before it turn into a exasperate one when he saw the consequence of her action. Suddenly, all Grindylow flew into the water when the duck begin to glow. He hear the proclamation of the Caretaker, he turn toward him and freeze. He was breathtaking by the sight in front of him. So that it Hogwarts While he was amaze by the sceneries, his boatmate was abruptly put down on the boat by a limp looking mass. Is that what he think it is?

The Caretaker, after throwing a spell so the student doesn't catch a hypothermia, begin to tell his story about his travel on the sea. He was easily captivated, and would still be if it weren't for the green duck boat that all of sudden was rosed above five feet into the air. He could hear the ruckus they were doing while the boat slightly title back and froth. The Caretake didn't turn around, even with all the yelling. But when he did, he happily explain his prank with the giant squid, So I was right! Who at the same time slowly put down the boat, though the sea creature quickly flew away and before he question it, he hear a strange sound coming at the opposed direction of the giant squid. He turn his head to look toward, what he thought where the sound was coming, but saw nothing. He have a odd feeling, yet he doesn't know if it bad or good. Without noticing, they have arrive to destination. What a night! When he was about to go off the boat, he saw the Caretaker looking an the horizon of the lake, abording a distance look in the eyes. I wonder if he hear the strange sound? He also realize they didn't know they have arrive.

Action : Looking between Ruckus and the lake while in thought
Possibility interaction : @Lucian Allum | @Maisie Gemmell

SAUNDERS NAPIER ━━━━━━━ ♔ ━━━━━━━ "the silver touches of the moonlight wave"

Red Boat #2

Saunders' train journey was exactly what he expected. Not too exciting, not too boring. If we define perfection as the absence of extremes, the journey was even perfect. He met and chatted with a few people, and that lifted his spirits. Nevertheless, he did not become blood brothers with the first people he greeted - and that protected him from some social responsibilities, at least until the time as he could establish close friendships. A flawless equilibrium.

Saunders found it difficult to make sense of the excitement of his peers getting off the train. Why were they pushing and shoving eachother, and getting impatient as if their destination was paradise? After all, the last stop of this journey would be Hogwarts. Just Hogwarts. A boarding school that every wizard and witch in Britain had attended at some point in their lives. "Ah," he whispered then to himself, "of course some of them didn't grow up in the wizarding world." Saunders, of course, was not going to use pejorative terms for those who had grown up in the Muggle world, unlike some of the older relatives he knew. That would have been a blatant lack of courtesy. In a more diplomatic and nuanced manner, he preferred to label the ones whose faces were full of astonishment as "tourists".

He remembered his father talking about using boats to cross the Great Lake on the journey to Hogwarts - but he was sure there had never been any mention of the little duckies... So even when one lived his entire life in Wizarding London, some things could be a surprise. Ignoring these rubber duckies, which he was not particularly impressed by, he boarded one of the boats. One of the quieter ones. The first person who attracted his attention was a rather tall boy, who had obviously benefited from his genetic pool. Saunders would get a bit annoyed around his taller mates. He couldn't help thinking, "If I were friends with him, I'd probably be in a bad mood all the time." There was also a girl with brown hair who, fortunately, did not intend to compete in height with the boy in question. She looked rather cute actually, but between the trip to the lake, the Grindylows, and Caretaker's warnings, Saunders was quite distracted to perform his social skills. And then there was the last boy with an earring in his ear. Saunders thought it was stylish. And that was enough for him to decide for sure that if he was going to say hello to anyone, it should be the most stylish one. Well, maybe after... himself...

There were, of course, a few incidents during the journey on the lake. After all, such incidents were almost a law of nature in the wizarding world. Saunders, therefore, simply savoured the spectacle. He was full with a sense of security that made him sure that everyone would somehow be fine, unlike those who thought that someone might 'actually' die or be seriously injured here. When a girl got up and jumped into the water, it slightly challenged his conviction and sense of security, yes... Still, he was content to say "Now, that was certainly something." and then he continued to look around in a carefree way.

The journey was drawing to a close and the disembarkation bells were ringing in the air. He was ready to mingle once again with the crowd who found the castle breathtaking, jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring and God knows what else. But before he put his foot back on land, his mind remained on the duck. It didn't seem like a necessarily bad idea to pilfer the duck while Caretaker looked elsewhere. He had not the slightest idea what to do with a rubber duck. But... He could, so he did. Not for himself, though.

The boy with an earring on his left ear was about to go off of the boat. Unable to call him quietly because he did not know his name, Saunders touched the boy's shoulder as a last resort. "Hey, do you fancy a red duckie?" he whispered, pointing with his eye to the duck he had swiped. 'What an appropriate introductory sentence' he thought and amused himself.

Well, if the boy was not interested in ducks, and if he was equally uninterested in gifts offered with a twisted kindness, Saunders easily could throw it back into the water.

Action: Stealing the red duck

Currently in: Orange Boat

Once arrived Donald looked the Caretaker from top to bottom, clearly judging the man for the way he talked and approached them, before quickly focusing on those strange... things. They called them duckies, and he guessed the did looked like a ducks but the reason as to why they should exist was completely lost on the boy. He almost went to try and grab one, before looking back at the Caretaker and thinking against it. Maybe there will be another time.

With everything that happened since the sail into the Great Lake, Donald is gripping the orange wood with white fingers. Each encounter has been more terryfing than the last, with a few times he full on went screaming when the grindylow appeared above water and tried to catch his dark robes.

The only time he released his death-fearing grip was once Hogwarts made his entrance, sat atop the Lake in all its majesty. "It's beautiful." He just whispers, his eyes taken aback by the sheer beauty of the castle and making him realise right there: he was going to Hogwarts!

Still, the beautiful magic vanished once more when one of the boats went flying, with the consequent -and now almost familiar- scream from Donald. He has heard the tales of the giant squid that inhabits the Great Lake from his parents, but to see it so near and clearly!

With the shyness almost vanquished from the small boy thanks to the scare, he locks his eyes onto the Caretaker, checks aflame. "N-No mister! It was scary!" his voice full of all the courage and determination that a shy 11th year old boy who hasn't talked until now could muster.

But the boat ride draw to a close, approaching the castle. He almost heard a sound in the most shaded parts of the lake, and shiver went on his back for what could that be, before quickly trying to rationalize it out loud, "That's just the sounds a lake tends to make.."

Once arrived he notices that Ruckus Weems is somewhat...distracted. It could be the right moment to steal a duck. Duckie. Whatever they called them before. Could be a nice way to get revenge from the Caretaker, after all he seemed to be somewhat fond of them...
He glances back and forth a bit, trying to see if some other student has had his same ideas, before attempting it.

Action: Stealing a violet duckie

Fin

A sudden plop sound and a large splash pulled Ruckus away from looking at the figure in the distance. Was that a student going in the lake? Against his better judgment, he took one final look at the source of the strange sound, but it was gone and so was the noise.

Returning to his better judgment, Ruckus turned his attention fully to the student in the water—only to see another follow suite and jump in voluntarily. Did eleven year olds have a death wish these days?

"Hey! We don't teach aquatics here! Get out of the damn lake!" Like before, Ruckus used the Levitation Spell to pull @Novalie Moon and @Aodhan Shaw out of the water and dropped them on the dock. He briefly considered not drying them off, but he knew sending them to the Great Hall soaking wet would be worse for him than it was for them. With a flick of his wand, he sent a gust of dry air their way, making sure to send enough power to give them both a bad hair day.

"Attention all first-years! We do not purposely jump in the lake—as you saw, there are grindylows in there and they wouldn't mind making a meal of wee first-years. And there's some more terrifying things, but ye can learn about those in class. So don't depend on me or the giant squid to always come to yer rescue."

Reducio

Aodhan holding on to green ducky after jumping in the lake: str dc 8
d20[16]+2=18

Ruckus noticed a ducky in Aodhan's hands. "I see you took one of me ducks. That's fine. I don't usually oblige stealing, but with yer hair looking like that, you might need a friend when you have to stand in front of the whole school. If anyone else took a duck behind me back, put in your robes now, so I don't have to start profiling ye as a troublemaker before the school year even starts."

Reducio

Stealing a duck wis dc 16

Colby: d20[14]+4=18 -- blue duck
Vera: two ducks! d20[5]+7=12 d20[12]+7=19 (she only gets one green duck)
Saunders: d20[16]+5=21 -- red duck
Donald: dc+2 because he's moving to another boat, d20[1]

@Colby Vidler and @Saunders Napier manage to steal a duck behind Ruckus's back. @Vera Caird went for two ducks, but the second slips out of her hand at the last second. @Donald Robinson attempts to join the thievery, but when he grips the purple ducky, it jumps from his hands like it has a mind of its own. When it's level with his eyes, a large stream of water shoots from its mouth, hitting the boy squarely in the face. The water acts like a jet and propels the ducky back into the lake, far from reach.

Ruckus leaves his boat, making sure all of the boats are securely docked, so that the remaining students can easily leave. "Everyone! Let's get to shore! It's almost dinnertime." One boy, @Sanguinius Demarest, was already ashore and vomiting in the bushes (at least Ruckus wasn't the groundskeeper!). He was also loudly complaining about Ruckus's little prank. The caretaker was glad that his beard covered most of his cheeks because they may have turned red at this point: Maybe his first boat ride this year was a bit too ambitious. But everyone was still in one piece! He patted the boys back. "The complaints box is in the caretaker's office. I hear he goes over everything submitted with a fine-tooth comb. Here's some ginger; I do hope yer appetite comes back." Ruckus produced a piece of ginger candy from his pocket that he hadn't remembered leaving there and handed it to Sanguinius.

Ruckus remained at the dock, monitoring students disembarking. One boy, @Yakim Nëlo, was staring at the same place Ruckus had been. The old man tried to shake the feeling of what he had thought he'd seen or heard. It was something to be investigated later. He put a hand on the boy's shoulder, steering him toward the nearby path, "Alright everyone, to the castle we go!"

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.

Trying to spot the tentacle - or really, anything - in the murky depths, the blonde squinted her eyes.
In the background, she faintly heard Chocolate Sprinkles asking someone what they were doing. Clearly, she couldn’t mean her, so Novalie figured Waffles must be shocking the other girl with a surprise hug or something like that.

As she debated letting go of the boat to dive deeper, a loud splash erupted beside her, startling her. Novalie whipped her head toward the source, trying to discern who - or what - had joined her in the water. But before she could see anything, she was suddenly yanked from the river by some invisible force!
Her eyes widened as she found herself and Ice Lord airborne, hurtling toward the dock. They both landed gently on solid ground, only to be enveloped by a whirlwind of warm air that dried their drenched clothes and hair in an instant.
"W- What?!", she stammered, blinking in confusion.
Glancing down, Novalie patted her now-dry clothes and ran a hand through her hair, feeling its frizzy disarray. It didn’t bother her, truthfully, she hardly even noticed how messy it actually looked now.
"But- what about the tentacles?", she protested, turning toward the caretaker, hoping to convince him to let her back into the water. Unfortunately however, he was already instructing everyone to go to the castle.

With a resigned sigh, Novalie got to her feet and extended a hand toward the boy to help him up. Flashing a cheerful smile, she said, "Whatever. We’ll just jump into the lake next time and find that beast ourselves. Let’s go check out the castle now!"
While still offering her hand, her eyes scanned the area for Chocolate Sprinkles and Waffles. Spotting the latter, Novalie paused, raising an eyebrow as she noticed him hunched over some of the bushes, grunting oddly.
Weird? Why was he growling at the shrubbery?
Not quite realizing he was actually throwing up, the girl shook her head dismissively. Her older brother had always told her not to interact with crazy people.
Still, a small giggle escaped her. The thought of befriending a madman only made her find him more endearing. As far as Novalie was concerned, everyone who had shared the boat with her today was unquestionably her friend now.