General The Hufflepuff Table 2019-2020

@Clifton Troublefield

Alexa happily plunked herself down on the bench next to Clifton, placing her plate on the table a little more carefully than she had placed herself on the bench. Looking around, she saw two girls speaking nearby, and smiled shyly at them, wondering who they were.

She still couldn’t believe she was here half of the time, and still couldn’t believe half of the things she had seen so far. For instance, how did the candles float above the tables? Or even more wonderful, how was there no ceiling, but only two beautiful night sky? She had more questions than she could possibly ask.

She saw Clifton grab something tasty looking with frosting, and picked one up as well, nibbling on the pastry as he spoke. She frowned when he mentioned Clay being in a different House. “Yeah, I think she got sorted into Gryffindor. I don’t know how to find her tonight, but I’m sure we could soon!” She sat up as tall as she could, stretching to look over the other tables at the Gryffindor table for the telltale curly hair of her new friend, but couldn’t see her amongst all the others. “I hope we don’t have to sit at the same table all the time. It would be nice to see other people.”

She turned back to Clifton. “So what do you think about all of this?” She asked, gesturing at the Great Hall in general. “There’s more stuff here than I can even think about at one time!”

"Tell me about it," Clifton nodded. He didn't even know where to start with answering her question. He'd been so busy trying to take it all in that he hadn't had a chance to decide what he thought.

"It's...more cool than I thought it would be," he admitted. It sounded kinda lame. Of course a school that could teach magic would be some level of epic, but somehow Clifton had pictured something more...geeky? Weird?

He was relieved to learn he was wrong. Very wrong. Hogwarts was one of the most welcoming yet mind-bending places he would probably ever be.

"I just hope I can find my classes. What about you?" He genuinely wanted to know. He had gathered from their conversation on the train that she wasn't from a magical home either and he was grateful to know that he wasn't the only person trying to take magic in doses of full fire hose blasts.

"What did your family think about it?"

Because Clifton already knew his own parents would be sorely disappointed. They'd wanted a hospital for their son, not a full-fledged training ground. Leo, their family friend, had really dumbed down the details when explaining things to his parents. Clifton had been grateful at first, but now he wasn't so sure. All it meant was that all the explaining would be left to him. He hoped Alexa's circumstances were happier.

@Clifton Troublefield

Alexa cocked her head to the side and Clifton’s first response, that all of this was more cool than he thought it would be.

“Really? How did you originally think it would be?” She asked. She realized that she had so not known what to expect that she in fact had not expected anything in particular. Diagon Alley had given her a taste of the wizarding world, but for all of its marvels, it barely seemed to compare to the school of Hogwarts.

When Clifton mentioned finding his classes, Alexa nodded quickly, nervously. “I hope I can, too… This place seems impossibly big. I hope we aren’t expected to find our way on our own immediately…” She chewed her bottom lip, thoughtful and uncertain. What if teachers penalize them for being late to class, if only because they were lost? She wondered if somebody had a map of the place.

At his last question, Alexa’s troubled expression cleared slightly. “My family? It’s just my parents that know. There’s no one else. They were surprised, of course, but I hope they were pleased. I think they were.” She looked away, wondering how her parents would fare without her. They tended to fight more when it was just the two of them. She vowed to write them a letter and send it as soon as she could, to see how they were doing, though she had only been gone a few hours.

“What about you? What did your family think of this?”

Clifton shrugged at the first question. "I don't know. Something between that Magic card game a few of my friends play and those corny magicians on the internet?" Then, seeing her confused expression, quickly added. "But, I mean, Diagon Alley cleared that up pretty quick. I just didn't know what a magic school was supposed to look like."

He was relieved to see that he wasn't the only one that was overwhelmed with the sheer size of the school, but he hadn't meant to worry her. "I'm sure they have something to help. It sounds like they've had new kids coming in since the Middle Ages. Maybe we'll have the same classes since we're in the same house. I bet we can figure it out."

And then she asked about his family. Clifton wasn't really sure how much to tell. She would probably understand more than most since she also had parents that weren't magic. And since something about the topic clearly worried her. But he felt a little embarrassed admitting that he was only here because the hospital pills weren't working.

"I don't think they liked the idea at first," he decided on. "But they warmed up to it. I think they thought it would be good for me to be around people that understood magic."

He then quickly changed the topic, since neither of them seemed to like it much. "What did you do for fun at home?" Because he'd had his fair share of illustrated hippogriffs and magic candy for one day.

@Clifton Troublefield

Sheltered in the Highlands, Alexa hadn’t heard of a card game called Magic. She was sure people at school had probably played it, but as she hadn’t had very many friends there, she wasn’t familiar. But when Clifton mentioned Internet magical games, she immediately thought of World of Warcraft, and knew a bit about what he meant. She had only dabbled at the beginning of the game (she wasn’t a very big gamer), but she was familiar enough with the idea of WoW. Funny though, it had even occurred to her to compare thoughts of that to thoughts of Hogwarts and of this world of magic.

“I hope we have some of the same classes!” Alexa piped up, and then turned slightly scarlet with embarrassment. “I only mean, I mean, you seem cool, so it would be… Cool.” If anything her blush deepened. Smooth, she thought. Talking to new people was not her forte! But there were so many new people here, it would be an impossible thing to avoid.

She noticed he quickly change the topic from their families, and while she was grateful, she wondered if he had done it just for her, or if he had troubled thoughts about his family as well. She put that errant thought out of her mind, however, when he asked her about what she did for fun home.

It was nice to return to a topic of something non-magical! “My family lives on the small farm, so I helped out a lot with that. We had this old horse that I liked to ride.” She smiled at the memory of Blossom, an ancient plow horse her father had made a last-minute purchase of at the market. Thinking of home, she suddenly laughed: “I’d almost forgotten, but my mom bought one of those Amazon Alexa things right before I left. It was starting to get a little confusing, with everybody saying my name, but not really talking to me!” She chuckled again. She couldn’t think of other things she liked to do besides read and explore… She didn’t do much with other people.

“What about you? What did you like to do for fun?”

Clifton smiled at her outburst. He hoped she knew that she didn't need to feel nervous. After all, he was the one who made a complete fool of himself on the train.

"Yeah, it would be cool. I bet we have a few."

Clifton laughed at what she said about the Alexa. He had actually thought of those voice-listening things when he'd learned her name, but hadn't ever said anything. That would get confusing.

"You come from a farm?" Clifton's usual curiosity perked up. It sounded like a completely different lifestyle than his own. He lived in a small, beach town with parents that would commute to the big cities. He wasn't even sure if he'd seen a horse in real life, let alone rode one. "Did you have lots of chores?"

In answer to her question, he shrugged. "Lots of stuff, I guess. Soccer, swimming, video games. We live in a pretty safe area so my parents let me explore a lot too. And sometimes I hang out with my dad playing board games and stuff."

"Of course, I guess none of that really comes in handy here. Except maybe the exploring." And idea suddenly came to him and he finished swallowing another bite of his food before turning to her.

"Hey. Maybe that's how we can hang out with Clay. Do you want to walk around the castle sometime? Might help with finding classes."

@Clifton Troublefield

Alexa smiled at Clifton. “Yes, we – I mean my family and I – have a really small form. Just enough for us.”

When he asked her about chores, she laughed ruefully. “Lots and lots!” She exclaimed, and then went on to explain. “We had a couple of cows, a pig, and some chickens, besides the old retired horse I rode. Her name is Blossom,” Alexa smiled, her eyes growing distant the memory of her horse. Then she turned her gaze back to Clifton. “But it takes a lot to take care of them, and to get what you need from them, like milk and eggs and bacon.” She was surprised how easy it was to talk to the other boy, and made her smile. She had trouble meeting new people, but this fellow and Clay seemed capital.

She nodded encouragement when he answered her question regarding what he liked to do, smiling when he mentioned swimming. That was something she had enjoyed, as well. “I explored a lot, where I lived, as well! Where did you explore? Were you in a city or the country?”

Alexa immediately brightened at his idea. “That sounds like a great plan! Maybe we can find Clay before we leave and ask her…” She looked around at the Gryffindor table again. There were just so many people, it was hard to see anyone specific!

Interacting with @Clifton Troublefield @Alexa Mackenzie

Lindsey looked at the boy and girl sitting near her. She learned that the girl was called Alexa and the boy named Clifton from their conversation.
“Hi! I’m Lindsey, first year Hufflepuff too!” Lindsey smiled to them. “Are you looking for someone in Gryffindor? My brother’s in there and he’s really brave and chivalrous!”
“He’s in the third grade.” Lindsey added, “and…well, I guess he’s a little disappointed for me not joining him in the Gryffindor tower. Actually my family considered that cause I’m not that smart and a bit hot-headed. But, Hufflepuff’s a great house isn’t it? I’m proud to be on of them!” She looked towards the Gryffindor table. A handsome boy who had dark blonde hair and grey eyes waved at her. Lindsey waved back with smile on her face.
She randomly picked an ice-cream from the table. Chocolate. She thought. My favorite flavor and…delicious. Hogwarts is a great place. “I’ll sure to find life-long friends here.” She told herself.
“Well anyway, what are your names? And…you knew each other before?” She asked them. She would like to ask again despite knowing it from their conversation.
Lindsey smiled to the two students. They looked really friendly to her. “Hope we could become friends!”

Alina had just hopped up to the table when she heard the one girl ask “Well anyway, what are your names? And…you knew each other before?”

Did she interrupt? She really didn't want to be rude but she couldn't help not being a little loud. Not in volume, but in wanting to be seen. It was her nature. Maybe from so many days being ignored back home. "Alina. Hi. Alina Rosier," and she came onto the long wooden bench of the Hufflepuff Table to sit right next to Clifton and smiled to him. "Mr. Troublefield, a pleasure as always," she flashed a smile to him. Then she looked to the red haired girl and smiled to her as well as the new one that just joined them.

"There are so many students at this school that I feel like I'm meeting new people every day. I was going to start calling all the girls Olivia and all the boys Oliver," because they were some of the top names in England. And then she paused to look at the two girls, hoping either of their names weren't Olivia. She doubted it. It seemed that everyone there at Hogwarts either had an elegant traditional name or a super clever name. Well, everyone with the exception of her.

"Hey, Lindsey," Clifton smiled at what would likely become another friend. The girl seemed really nice. And confident, the way she easily introduced herself.

He decided that one of the nice things about Hogwarts was that you had an entire class of new kids. There was no awkwardly standing up in front of a classroom of eyeballs trying to explain why you were here and suddenly wishing that you weren't. It made it a lot easier to meet people when everyone was new.

"I'm Clifton. And this is Alexa." Then, in between bites of various finger foods, he added: "She's probably the nicest person at Hogwarts."

It was an abrupt way to introduce a friend, but he'd meant it. He didn't know her that well yet, but just sitting by her made him want to be less skeptical about this place. Her optimism was contagious.

"We met on the train. I...sort of crashed the entire snack trolley and Alexa still let me sit with her and her other friends. Where are you from?"

He thought about what else Lindsey had said. He found it interesting how invested the kids around him--and their families--got about the decision of that weird, talking hat. Clifton was trying to take all of this newness in stride, but he was still a little hung up on that one.

He guessed it was because it was supposed to say something about you were as a person. Just like how she'd described it: her brother was brave and chivalrous and so he was in Gryffindor. But she was not, so therefore she wasn't as brave or chivalrous. Even though she clearly was, from what he could tell.

No one had directly filled him in on what a Hufflepuff was yet, but he'd gathered it had something to do with being nice. Fine by him. He could use a school year without jerks. But Clifton was pretty certain he didn't need a wrinkly hat to tell him who he was. He already knew. He was Clifton before they'd placed it on his head and he'd be Clifton long after. Paint it red, green, blue, or yellow, he'd still be the terminally-curious, spastic klutz he always was.

Besides, stupid thing had made some wisecrack about his knocking over the stool on his way up.

But he didn't say anything about his thoughts on it all. Clearly, he was in for a steep learning curve in this new world.

Plus, he was sitting by Alexa. Who had her own horse named Blossom. The way she described her family farm sounded so peaceful. And Lindsey sounded so excited to be here. For now, at least, he'd enjoy making new friends.

"Alina. Hi. Alina Rosier."

Clifton turned at the familiar voice.

"Hey!" he grinned, making room for her on the bench. She, of course, jumped right into the conversation.

He laughed about what she said about the names. "Our friendship might've gone a different direction if you'd started off by calling me Oliver. Not a bad idea, though."

And his parents had worried he'd end up going to classes alone.

Disclaimer: Character's opinions about the sorting are very different from the author's. We argued over it a bit. This time, the eleven-year-old won.