The Slytherin Table 2025-2026

"Oh, I'm sorry that you didn't have breakfast and that the travels were boring. I'm excited to be here, because this place seems really cool so far. I already made some friends on the platform and on the train, so I'm happy about that." Rosalyn said, remembering Geneva, whom she met on the platform, and Red, whom she met on the train itself. Both people were really nice. Speaking of which, she reminded herself to look for Geneva soon, because it seemed as if she was also sorted into Slytherin.

"Has anyone seen a girl named Geneva? Geneva Bishop? She got sorted well before me, B and W after all, and she should be in our house." she asked the group as a whole, looking around to see if she could find the girl.

"Do you have any classes you're looking forward to, Lotus? I'm excited for Potions, and Herbology too! I love plants, so that class seems like it'll be really cool for me. What about you?" she asked, trying to keep the conversation going so it didn't get awkwardly silent.

She remembered all of the muggle classes she took before, and how boring she had found those, and she hoped that these classes would at least be a bit more entertaining than that. With Hogwarts being magical and all, she did have a feeling that the classes would be at least more interesting.

I wasn't sure how to answer her question, but when I did, I was sure I sounded a bit stupid."uhm I-I don't know um... Oh! Im excited for Defense against the dark arts. I think." The tip of my nose turns a light pink out of embarrassment, and I stare down at the food on my plate because why in the world did I say it like that.I hoped that the people around me didn't think that I was stupid. Defense against the dark arts was one of two classes that I was looking forward to. Astronomy was the other class that I was expecting to take at some point because astronomy was something that I knew I understood considering my grandmother had enjoyed teaching me about space and astronomy because it's what she enjoyed when she was in Hogwarts. I didn't know much about some of the other classes, but I knew a little bit about them like transfiguration. I did think transfiguration was cool, especially the advanced kind, because my grandfather was really good at it, and I always enjoyed watching him transfigure things. So, I supposed I was somewhat ready for a few classes. The great hall was pretty loud to me as I wasn't used to so much noise at dinner. I look over at Rosalyn I wanted to ask what her family was like but I knew that not everyone liked to talk about their family.

"Ooh, Defense Against the Dark Arts is pretty cool!" Rosalyn replied, even though she had almost no clue what that means. She had read a bit about some of the classes, but remembered almost nothing, so she was just hoping that nobody would notice her lack of knowledge about this.

"Is anyone else in your family magical? Or are you a muggle-born too?" she asked, curious to know about Lotus's family. He seemed really nice so far, and Rosalyn was glad that she at least wasn't sitting all alone.

"Sorry, if you don't want to talk about your family, you don't have to. Mine is pretty chill, my parents work a lot, so I've learned how to entertain myself. But they're really nice. I do think that I'm going to miss my mum's cakes, they were always the best birthday treat." she said, remembering how every year in the past her mum would make a chocolate cake for her, and it would be absolutely delicious.

"Well, at least I have months and months until I have to worry about that, and I'm sure I'll still have a good birthday. When the time comes, of course." she said, knowing that April was quite some time away.

"Do you have any fun traditions, or other things you're going to miss?" she asked, wondering if Lotus felt the same way as Rosalyn did.

"Oh yeah, Defense against the dark arts are really cool!" I could talk all day about DADA if someone let me but upon hearing the unsureness in Rosalyn's voice I figured that she didn't know very much about them so I decided it was best that I don't overwhelm her with what was normally my nonsensical chattering. "My dad and grandparents are magic. I'm a half-blood cause my mama wasn't magic." I was fine with talking about my family, but just talking about just my mom was a bit touchy considering her passing happened only three years ago. I still missed my mom, but there wasn't really anything I could do about it. "uh well I'm gonna miss de-gnomeing the yard it's really fun it makes me kinda dizzy though. I'm also gonna miss my grandma's cooking and... her cat. He's this big fat black cat he's also kinda mean sometimes, but he's a good cat. His name is Mister Chicken. I let out a small laugh. His name is kind of silly but my grandma's had him since she was my age and she told me she named him that cause he would sit with her parents chickens in the coop." Thinking about home made my chest ache a little I wanted to be home with everyone, I wanted to be home where my other favorite books and plushies were.

"Mister Chicken, huh? That's a fun name! And I like the backstory that comes with it, too!" Rosalyn replies, laughing a bit. Not meanly, not at all, but just because the name is funny, in the best sort of way.

"My family actually used to have a cat. It passed away a while back, and when all of the hives and sneezing went away, we figured out that I was allergic to it." she says, remembering all of the times that she would wonder about what it could possibly be, before they finally figured it out.

"And...did you say degnoming the yard? What does that even mean?" she asked, a bit confused about that bit. Rosalyn would help with the weeds in the garden back home, but never 'degnoming', which sounded quite strange. Probably something along the lines of throwing out garden gnomes? Like the little statues? She had no clue what in the world that could possibly mean, but she was at least trying to figure it out.

"Do you like gardening? I love plants, and I was always in charge of them when I was at home. I may have to get some eventually to put into my dorm, that would be cool!" she said, thinking about how neat that could be for her.

"Oh that's a bummer being allergic to cats." I just couldn't imagine what it would be like to be without a cat or just a pet in general. "Yea! de-gnomeing ya gotta grab the buggers by their legs or they'll bite you and spin around alottt to make em all dizzy and then ya fling them as far as ya can so it takes longer for them to come back cause they dig holes and mess up yards and gardens. It hurts bad when they decide to bite you and my uncle is missing a thumb cause one bit it off." I had met my dad's brother (my uncle) who had lost a finger to a gnome when he was no older than I was. "I don't like gnomes very much
I shake my head but I do like flinging them. I then look back at Rosalyn realizing that she's muggle born so she probably had thought about the lawn ornaments and not the blasted creature. "Oh uh gnomes are like potatoes with legs and sharp teeth they don't actually have cool pointy hats." I think about my grandfather having to de-gnome the garden and yard without me he was old so having my help was good. "um yeah I like to garden but I rather ride one of my grandpa's horses." My grandparents had an odd little farm.

"Potatoes with legs? And they don't even have the fun hats? Then what's the point of them?!" Rosalyn asked, disappointed in the fact that they don't even look cute, apparently. She had no clue there was even a living version, but unfortunately, they didn't sound so cool.

"I do have a dog at home, which I am not allergic to. His name is Murphy, and he's a Golden Retriever. A lot more pleasant to have him around than the cat!" she added, laughing a bit at the memory of her dog, but then getting a bit upset. She was already feeling a bit homesick, and she had barely been at the school. She figured she'd have to find a way to send a letter or something home, to make sure that she still talks to her parents.

"Wait, did you say the gnome bit him finger off? Really? That's crazy!" she said, a bit shocked at that. The worst that an animal had done to Rosalyn was the cat, who scratched her like every other day, but she hadn't thought that biting a finger off would be something that happened with what was apparently a normal garden pest!

"So, are you feeling homesick at all? I'm starting to miss my family a bit already, but it's okay. I know that they'll be fine, and so will I." she added, wondering if anyone else felt the same way.

"Gnomes are stupid and there's not much going for them. Nope not with those teeth or beady eyes." I can't help but think about how stupid looking gnomes are with their potato looking heads. Gnomes had unreasonably sharp teeth and I knew better than to be dumb enough to let one bite me.

"Ooh I've never had a dog. Does Murphy play fetch?" I had never had a dog the closest thing I had to a dog was my German shepherd plushie but I did want a dog because I thought they were cool and much less likely to bite off my fingers but I didn't have a dog nor did anyone in my family want one other than me so I just made do with my plushie.

"Yeah! A gnome bit off his finger, I said matter-of-factly. Now he’s just got a nub on one hand. It’s kinda weird." I scrunched up my nose. "He jokes about it now, but I think that’s just his way of dealing with it." I shook my head slightly. "That’s exactly why I don’t trust gnomes. Too small. Too bitey. Not worth it."

"Uhm, yeah… I kinda am, I admitted after a moment. "I just hope my grandparents are okay without me there to help with everything." The thought made my chest feel tight, even if I tried not to dwell on it. I cared deeply for my family that much was obvious.

"Yes, Murphy does play fetch! Not very well, though, because he always ends up just dropping whatever toy I throw for him and not ever returning it, but he does at least try. Sometimes." Rosalyn said, remembering how she would always try and get Murphy to bring it back, but it would never work. That is, unless she managed to bribe him with a treat.

"And I'm sure that your grandparents are going to be fine. And, on the plus side, I heard that we are able to send letters home in the Owlery, so we can at least keep in touch with everyone! I'm planning on sending one in a couple of days, to make sure that my parents know that I'm safe and everything is going well." she said, already thinking about how she might write it.

"Ooh, you have to try this tart! It's so good!" Rosalyn said, temporarily distracted from the conversation by how delicious it was, needing Lotus to experience that.

"Oh, hello there! I'm so sorry, I didn't notice you! What's your name?" she asked, noticing a girl sitting on the mostly-empty bench across from her and Lotus.

"I absolutely love your hair by the way! It really suits you, and it looks gorgeous!" she said, genuinely meaning the compliment, it looked really good on her. Rosalyn began to wonder if she missed the memo on colored hair, with both Lotus and this other girl having it. Oh, well, maybe next year.

Jada entered the Great hall, still slightly groggy and not quite awake yet. She stumbled towards the Slytherin table, the emerald green and silver banners contrasting with the vibrant array of food spread across it.

She glanced around looking for a place to sit before noticing an available spot, there were already a couple people seated but she figured they wouldn’t mind much.

She slowly made her way over to where they were sitting. There were a few older students, mostly boys, sitting on the opposite side of the bench, engaged in their own conversation.

Hi guys! Can I sit with you? she said. Was it rude to intrude on their conversation? I mean, she didn’t know them yet but maybe it was better to add something. I don’t think we know each other yet. she said.

There were three other girls. One of them had short purple hair, almost like a pixie cut, the second one had hair that was longer with electric blue ends. Jada admired their hair and the bold colours. Maybe she should dye her hair. It didn’t have to be permanent, That’s what magic’s for right? The third girl didn’t have dyed hair, it was blond and slight wavy, how different they all looked.

She took a seat, not waiting for an answer, and started piling food onto her plate. She was too tired to pay much attention to what she was taking, and ended up with a mess of all different kinds on her plate. She sighed and dug in with her fork, piercing into a sausage.

So, you guys planning on staying at school over the winter holidays? The school year had only just started but she was looking forward to the holidays already.