The Gryffindor Table 2024-2025

"I doubt it, honestly." He shook his head at Brians comment about tiring of the castle after a year. "It's meant to reflect the actual night sky, so probably a bit different every night." He explained. He understood that while maybe visually one could tire of looking around the hall, he found that the spells cast upon the ceiling would likely keep him excited, trying to figure out the spells, or even just appreciating the complexity of the magic. Though, he could admit, someone who wasn't quite as interested in transfiguration may not share that same intrigue that he did, as transfiguration was likely the only subject other than DADA that he was truly excited by.

"That what hat?" He asked, he stared blankly at the other boy, the word 'ant wacky' alien to him. "Crazy, or something? If so, an apt description."" He began. That hat must be crazy to place me here. he thought to himself, before continuing aloud. "No, it didn't say anything like that.. Just typical stuff, you know?" He said, as if it should be obvious, not yet having caught onto any indications about Brians blood status.

As Brian spoke of feeling no change since his sorting, Edwins brows rose slightly, intrigued by his word. So many famous heroes, significant figures of the past, and great Aurors had spent seven years in the house that Brian and Edwin now found themselves in, so it was a shock for anyone to have such a muted reaction to this sorting. Unless, like Edwin, they had held aspirations for another house. "Got to spend seven years here." He said, seven years, especially in the mind of an eleven year old, seemed like an extraordinary amount of time. "Also, like.." He peered down at his robe with a scowl. Whilst they were still plain, his others would likely bear the insignia of his house at some point, an image that horrified the Westbridge. "Generation after generation after generation.. All placed correctly, and now this?" He craned his neck around, sparing a glance over towards the Slytherin house with a loud sigh.

As Brian attempted to pivot the subject of their conversation, Edwin turned back to facing him, nodding at his words. He also tired of the house discussion, but likely for differing reasons to the other Gryffindor. "Just outside of London." He said, the source of Brians accent once again tugging at his mind, trying to place it. He remained silent for a moment longer, an unusual look of concentration briefly appearing across Edwins face, before he spoke. "Was trying to figure out where you're from, but I've got nothing." He shrugged. "What about you, then? Where are you from?"

"And, uh.." He paused for a moment. "What do your parents do? Mine are Aurors.. Or were, I guess. My mum retired." He said, that same sense of pride returning to his voice as he spoke of his parents.

Outfit: School Robes

Mentioning:----------- @Edwin Westbridge ----------- [Still open!]-----------

WC: ca. 670/200

Brian: #572700

--"Antwacky." Brian responded plainly. He must have realised that the Merseyside expression wasn't as widespread as he had first anticipated, and looked a tad surprised at the fact that the boy before him wasn't familiar with it. "Like, old, la." The fact that 'antwacky' as a term was one that muggles knew but mages didn't had some irony to it: the word sounded so whimsical that it wouldn't have looked out of place in the wizarding world at all.

The degree to which Brian's opinions differed from Edwin's had become apparent by the comments Waterbridge made about his supposed 'misplacement' into Gryffindor house. Still, Brian was happy not to talk about the subject for too long. What did he care whether Edwin was in 'his' house or any other? He certainly wouldn't treat him any differently based on the badge on his chest. Or at least, that's what he thought now. Maybe Hogwarts's house system would have its charm on him after all.

Still, he kept his mouth shut, listening to the boy as he revealed himself to be a Londoner before he asked Gaffey where he was from.

--"Lunden, 'ey? I'm sorry to hear tha'. - I'm from Liverpool meself." Gaffey responded, his thick Scouse accent making the 'pool' sound more like 'pull'. Liverpool's 'Scouse not English' attitude and negative opinions about the south of England in general and the capital in particular were interesting insofar that they weren't reciprocated by London's locals at all. Scousers always spent considerable time and effort into differentiating themselves from the rest of the country and hating on The Big Smoke, whereas Londoners hardly ever thought about them at all.

Brian couldn't help but feel a bit confused at the immediate question about his parents' work. When he met new people, he didn't usually start by asking about their socio-economic class or whatever their parents did to put bread on the table. Still, he'd likened the boy to an old goalkeeper less than a minute prior, so who was he to scoff at him being so forward? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

--"What's an auror?" Brian asked, a look of childlike innocent on his face as he unwittingly blew any doubts about the precise nature of his blood status to smithereens.

"Me ma's in retail. My da's, ahem..." it took "ree-tired, same as yer mum." the word 'retired' sounded awkward and mispronounced, even more so than it would have been in his strong, Liverpool accent. It seemed as though the word 'retired' wasn't part of Brian's everyday vernacular, and that it didn't roll of the tongue as well as 'in between jobs' or 'unemployed' would. Being in retail', however, was how Brian had always disguised the fact that his mum worked at a supermarket. Sure, 'working in retail' didn't sound particularly prestigious either, but it left some doubt about what exactly it was that his mum did. Doubts that Brian certainly didn't mind leaving there for the remainder of this conversation.

He didn't like talking about his family's financial situation to people he didn't know that well, and went back to the topic they'd briefly touched on earlier.

--"You're pretty far away from 'ome." he started, allowing for a short breath of fresh air to come in and a brief volley of applause to interrupt him before he continued. "Do ya think you'll miss it?"

Brian was rather pleased with this question. He thought it was nice to show a genuine interest into how the boy opposite him would feel about his time at Hogwarts. Whereas Brian felt as though Edwin had made the conversation a tad cold, distant, material and maybe even a bit shallow by immediately asking him about his parents' occupations, Brian thought he'd found a way to bring it back to a more sentimental conversation about family. He'd prefer to talk about his parents, not as breadwinners or cogs in an economic machine, but as sweet, hard-working people at the head of a loving family.

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When she stepped towards the Gryffindor table, moving along to find those had just been sorted with her. She found two boys, chatting away as she took the empty space next to brian, turning to them with a grin of excitement. It was clear to her she was happy with the house chosen for her, but it didn't really matter in the end to her.

" Heya! Hope yall don't mind if I sit here, but there isn't much elsewhere to sit so I wont be movin." She teased, though she was truthful that she wasnt gonna get up. She'd rather not spend 2 hours trying to get a seat somewhere and instead going for the first open spot she saw in the crowded Gryffindor table. she leaned forward, interested in what the conversation might be.

"Im sure you guys are having a great conversation, but do either of you know if classes start tomorrow, or do we get a day to settle in?" Val butted herself in, staring at the two with an awkward smile. The two looked like they would know their stuff about hogwarts, in her mind, since they kinda looked nerdy to her. She wasnt exactly sure about their personalities 0r anything, but she was just hoping for the best. And hey, she wanted to figure out this short kid's accent. She didn't get where it came from exactly, but she was keen to figure out.

"Oh, old." He muttered, offering a small nod as if to acknowledge the terms meaning. "Antwacky.." he murmured beneath his breath, the word sounding awkward as he tried to mirror the Scousers pronunciation. Though, his murmuring was likely to loud to be heard by anyone but himself.

He likely would have dwelled on the word for longer, trying to decipher its origin, had Brian not continued on to express his pity for Edwins home city. This sentiment was, perhaps shockingly, one that was shared by the two wizards, although their reasonings couldn't have been further apart. Edwins own grievances teetered on the edge of the traditional bigoted pureblooded viewpoints that the Westbridge's were oh-so adamant about not sharing. The boy simply found there to be far too many Muggles around London, and he wished for privacy away from that. He dreamed of the privacy of flying freely in the garden, as he could in their country-side house. But alas, living so close to London was beneficial to his parents.

"It's not great." he agreed, opting not to disclose any of his reasonings. "Liverpool? Never been, to be honest with you." If he was to be truly honest, he doubted he could even accurately describe where Liverpool was, beyond vaguely describing the north west of the country.

As Brian expressed his confusion about what an Auror was, everything finally clicked in Edwins mind. The dismissive, non caring attitude about the houses made all the more sense now that he knew that Brian had not been raised learning of these houses. He was muggleborn. The first muggleborn Edwin had ever, knowingly, encountered. Regardless of any other feelings that stirred in the Westbridge, the only one reflected on his face was a sudden curiosity about the boy sat in front of him. What should he say to a muggleborn? He pondered. After all, how could someone not even know what an Auror was?

"Like a, uh.." He paused for a moment, sitting up right. While he found living around London to be a nuisance, it did make him slightly more aware of the muggle world than many of his peers would be. "Poh-lease." He mangled the word, having only ever seen it written down. "Helps to catch Dark Wizards, and fight them- stuff like that."

"Retail.. I see. It's cool your dad is retired though, you must get to see him lots." Whilst he was incredibly proud to be able to say his father was an Auror, it was an incredibly busy occupation, meaning that Edwin did not see as much of his dad as he may have wished. "And.." He paused briefly, frowning at Brians question. "I don't know to be honest. I've always known I'd come here, or there was briefly a chance I'd get sent even further away, so I suppose I don't think I'll miss it too much." He shrugged.

"Let me rephrase that. I'll miss being around my parents as much as I can be at home, but I don't think I miss much otherwise." Despite his attempts at clarifying his answer, he still found that it was hard to explain what he truly wished to say. He'd miss being amongst his family, but he felt no desire to rush back to his house. He just wished that his parents could maybe visit once or twice.

As he dwelled on this answer, a new individual strolled over, seating herself next to Brian. "Hi." He greeted simply, glancing briefly down the length of the table. "I thi-."- He cut himself off, frowning. That was a good question, one which he hadn't considered. It was a Sunday, so they should have classes tomorrow, but that did seem quite sudden. "Not sure either.. I hope we get at least one day though. I want to be able to explore a bit, find out where stuff is meant to be. My brothers all said they spent their first week entirely lost."

Outfit: School Robes

Mentioning:----------- @Edwin Westbridge ----------- @Valentina Moore ----------- [Still open!]-----------

WC: ca. 380/200

Brian: #572700

"Both ya' parents are bizzies?" Brian asked, phrasing his question to be rhetoric. He was clearly very perplexed at the idea that someone could have not just one but two parents who live in law enforcement. "That 'as to be awful. 'Aving two coppers for parents... They must be proper strict with you, like." he continued, his eyes the size of moons.

Growing up in north Liverpool, Brian wasn't exactly socialised to be pro-police. The pervasive attitude where he was from described policemen as corrupt and authoritarian dirtbags who would grass on their own family for a chocolate bar. Gaffey had been conditioned to be immediately distrustful of those who, willingly or unwillingly, associated themselves with the police. Most kids that grew up on Scotland Road weren't friends with policemen's kids. That was just the way things were. Still, Brian decided not to be judgmental. Maybe 'aurors', or whatever they called them, weren't as bad as the police he knew?

"Suppose so." Brian responded to Edwin's assumption about his dad's free time. "But I'm not sure if it's wha' he was made for. Think he'd be better off picking up his old job at th' docks instead of being u-" he stopped, suddenly, as though he'd jut been struck by lightning. "ahem, retired."

"What a blunder." he thought to himself, upset with the knowledge that he clearly was not watching his words when he spoke. He just hoped Edwin didn't hear get any ideas, and continued as though nothing had happened.

Before the two could resume their conversation about family, home, and hearth, a girl strolled over, taking a seat next to Brian. He looked at her over his shoulder as she explained that she hadn't found another place to sit, and that she'd like to sit with them if that was okay. "Ya, alright, no worries." he answered, glad to have been joined by a fresh face. Before he could say any more, Gaffey noticed that the girl had seized the word again, asking them whether they knew anything about whether they had class tomorrow.

"Couldn't tell ye to be fair. Do youse reckon we get a timetable or suttin'?" he asked, his gaze jumping from the unnamed girl to Edwin.

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After she had asked her question to the two, She found the taller blonde to jump in, starting a sentence before pausing. He elaborated, confused aswell as her- even mentioning how his brothers had been lost during their first week. Valentina chuckled, not really thinking too much of it- however happily bringing up her own brother.

" Yeah, hope so too. My brother tried giving me all the tips he can 'bout navigating this place, but I think he forgot I hadn't even seen this place yet. I need a lil' time to figure it out." She shrugged, proud about her brother's advice. However, she did still have to figure out what was true and what was Casey, her brother, messing with her to make her late to a class at least one. Before she could think of speaking up again, she turned to the shorter blond who had spoken up about timetables.

"Yeah, id assume they would. It'd be kinda weird if they just said "yeah uh no time table for you, figure it out yourself", yknow? And a map. They better give us maps because I know this place is way too big for me to memorize." She rambled a little, taking the time to imitate a teacher, faking a deep grumpy voice to do so. It was clear Val had a lot of energy to her, a wild one that threw some people for a loop. For a second, she realized she hadn't introduced herself- or figured out who they were.

"Oh! Im Valentina by the way. You can call me Val, tina, just 'bout any nickname you can come up with- Sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier, I'm a bit all over the place" She chuckled, tilting her head a little with a smile.

"Bizzies?" He echoed, staring blankly at Brian. London slang was not something that Edwin was familiar with, let alone terms that used in Liverpool. The more that Brian threw out these terms, the greater the confusion that appeared on Edwins face once he spoke. Though, these moments of confusion passed just as quickly as they arrived, and he shook his head at Brians comment. "No, it's good." He protested. "Apparently they used to be strict with my brothers, but I'm the favourite." Anyone who had ever interacted with the Westbridge family would of been able to figure that much out, and it was something that Edwin was more than aware of. His status as the favourite was likely the only thing that would save him from a howler once he told his parents of his sorting disaster.

"I think my dad is sort of like that." He began, once more failing to have picked up any of the meaning behind Brians words. "He thought about retiring once, but he wants to stay busy." That desire and urge to work that his father had always held was a trait that had been entirely lost on Edwin, who could never understand why his father insisted on continuing to work. Or had even worked in the first place, there really had never been a reason to, after all. "Maybe suggest that then? Tell him to be a, uh.." What was it that people did at docks? Edwin thought to himself, a frown appearing on his face. "A boat man." He eventually concluded, sounding uncertain by his own words.

And with that, their discussion of homes, and parents had concluded. Edwin nodded along as Valentina spoke, his own brothers having also attempted to describe the castles lay out, which had already proven to be no help as Edwin had believed the great hall to be in an entirely different area of the castle based off of his brothers descriptions.

"We will do, yeah." He agreed with Valentina. "No maps though, unfortunately. If we don't get a break day, I'm hoping it's at least a cool subject tomorrow like Defence Against the Dark Arts or maybe Charms.. Not herbology though." He scowled when he mentioned Herbology, having already made up his mind on that subject.

"Edwin Westbridge." He said, that same pride that Brian had heard earlier dripping back into his voice at the mention of his surname.

"That's awesome!" Meyra exclaimed, her face enveloped in a glow of happiness. The sentiment of finding more family inside the castle felt particularly warm that day, giving everything that happened since she left home that morning. Time was still needed for everything to find its rightful place, but the first steps for a better change had been given and she felt her heart slowly fill with hope. Her hazel eyes passed through Raizel and she looked at the Ravenclaw table, sharing a look with Jun that was sitting and talking to a boy. Mey wondered who he was, but mostly she felt excited at the prospect of telling her cousin everything she had discovered since her arrival to the Gryffindor table, she couldn't wait to introduce Raizel to Jun! Her smile grew even more at the thought.

Raizel's next words felt like an embrace. After a long year of seeing her family falling apart, meeting someone new that would accept her has family no matter if they shared blood or not, was something she wasn't prepared to hear. She felt her eyes prickle, she was being too much sensitive and letting it show way more than what she was used too. Meyra straightened her back, taking a deep breath, her smile continued to appear, honest and cheerful, but the overwhelming expression was replaced by a more complacent one. "Thank you Raizel. I mean it." She told the brown-haired girl with a nod that emphasised the veracity of her words.

"How so?" Meyra asked the girl, raising one of her eyebrows in questioning amusement, "What do you mean?" she added with a tad bit of concern. What was Raizel trying to say with "You seem like more of a family than some people I know". "Is there some evil cousin I should know about?" Meyra asked giving her question a lift of humour. Then her smile faded a bit, and she was more serious when she told Rai, "I know...I know of...some people that..." She cleared her throat, not wanting to offend anyone, "More difficult." She decided to say with a knowing look at her "new" cousin. "We all have them. Families are not always perfect. But! On the brightest side, there's always those that will always be there for you." Another brief glance to the Ravenclaw table, "No matter what." She finished looking at Rai again.

"Why did you take a break from duelling?" Meyra asked with interest, while taking a bite on her dinner. "I would love for you to teach me some spells!" She answered to Rai's invitation, giving her another of her brightest smiles. "And definitely would love to give a try on a duel!"

"Maybe one day you can go visit my mother's tea shop!" Mey ventured, "I would let you try some with our best herbs. Also, mom does this lemon and meringue pie that I'm sure you are going to love!"

Time flew by as the two girls chatted and ate at the welcoming banquet. Mey was wondering if they always got so many options at every meal. Soon, people started to leave the Great Hall and heading to their respective Common Rooms. "Should we leave too?" Mey asked Rai, while getting up from the long wooden bench and mingled with the other students, "What's the name of your dorm? Maybe we can be roommates?" Mey asked. Again, she looked over her shoulder to the blue and bronze robes, her eyes again found Jun and she gave her cousin a little wave while she mouthed, "Good night!".


Interacting with: @Raizel Voltrouz
Mentioning: @Jun Mayumi Mochizuki

Interactions ❯❯ @Meyra Lancaster | @ | @
Mentions ❯❯ @ | @ | @

❂《 ⌜ September 1, 2024 ▎ Sorting Ceremony ⌟

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A thank you was something she wasn’t expecting to hear. For all Raizel knows, she’s kind of bad with words that bring comfort to others but for some reasons, even just for tonight, her words had somehow managed to reach Meyra’s heart and in a way, it made her feel glad that she had made someone feel better. She meant it when she said those despite not knowing Meyra that much. It’s just her vibe being different from her grandmother. It was more welcoming.

Meyra’s next question made Raizel scratch her head, looking away as she thought about what to say next. Maybe she shouldn’t have mentioned that since she’s only bringing in unnecessary worries to her new cousin. “Well, some evil cousins… that I don’t know.” Truth be told, the only cousins she knows are the ones on her maternal side and none of them are evil so far from what she can tell. “Not gonna lie, I don’t really know that much about my father’s side of the family, the pureblood side.” she admitted before sighing. While it would be nice to learn more about it, she was afraid. She has doubts that she’s welcome on that side of the family and while her grandfather might accept her and perhaps her great aunt as well from what she had heard from her father, she couldn’t say the same to their other relatives.

Raizel paused when Meyra started speaking, listening to her as she told her about those kinds of family members and it did make her think that perhaps, she experienced something similar, being shunned by your supposed family. She looked down for a brief moment before shifting her attention back to the younger girl. “Someone that will always be there for you… huh…” She paused once more, a soft smiling showing on her face. She’s not wrong about that.

“Uh… I guess I just got a bit tired of it. I’ve been dueling almost every week. Burn out as they say.” Raizel shrugged. That wasn’t a lie anyway. She is tired of it, especially with the lack of progress. There’s also the fact that she was horrible at it, not cut out for it as what her grandmother would say. “Not good enough for it…” she uttered lowly, almost like a whisper in hopes that no one would hear it. “I probably just need to do something new in the meantime to beat the burn out though.” Raizel quickly told her to change the subject.

“Anyway, yeah, I can teach you a couple of things that I know and I'm looking forward to that visit, sounds like your mom makes tons of delicious tea and treats.” Raizel stood up, agreeing with Meyra that they should probably get going and return to their Common Room and rest up. “Yeah, I am getting a bit tired and let’s see. I changed dorms this year. Nundu something. Anyway, we should get going.”

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⌜ Someone Familiar ⌟ | ⌜ WC: 492/200 ⌟
««««« Dialogue | #800000

INVENTORY

Outfit Reducio Robe

Items Reducio Enchanted Satchel Wand Potions: See Inventory

Note: Leaving the thread

Interacting with: Anyone Feel free to interact with me! Mentioning: N/A Date: 01/07/25

Word Count: 238

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Avery decided that today was the day that she finally was getting the chance to eat without rushing to class. She carefully sat down. She didn't want to accidentally disturb anyone. Once she had sat down, she marveled at the food around her. Hogwarts always had amazing food. Way better than the food she ate at home. She grabbed a few different things. She grabbed some of her favorites like bacon, eggs, and sausage. She chomped down on these things happily as she though about what she was going to do today. She wasn't quite sure yet. She though about doing her homework, but she didn't really have any because she had already finished it. Finally she decided she was going to spend some time training to become a Quidditch Seeker. She had always dreamed of becoming a Seeker, and couldn't believe she was going to finally get the chance. She took a quick drink before continuing to eat. She wondered if anyone was going to talk to her today, or if she was going to eat solo today. Either way was fine. As Avery was eating, she listened to the hustle and bustle of the Great Hall. She loved hearing it full again. Hearing the constant conversation of everyone was comforting, and made her feel less lonely. So many people had gone home to their families, so she didn't have too many people to hang out with.

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