General The Ravenclaw Table 2019 -2020

Mars didn't want to sit. The flashes at the sorting ceremony - of the young hands, soft voice, and musical laughter - hadn't returned since, but the risk of them was enough to deter Mars away from the long table for as long as possible.

Still, one can't fight nature forever. So, grudgingly, they sat amongst the sea of blue robes, uncomfortably trying to avoid all forms of physical contact with their neighbors. The hall was loud and boisterous, lit like a live wire, the rumbling even shaking the floor beneath Mars' feet. It relieved them to no end. They were not social by any means, nor did they particularly enjoy conversation but noise was as familiar as it was comforting. It was a memory of home.

The candlelights and the empty frames still impressed Mars, the grandness of it all so different from the streets of Newchurch. Their brothers would have liked it here. Their brothers probably also would have torn up the place, tipping hot wax, spilling dishes, spinning around in circles in the middle of the room until they fell down dizzy.

Mars smiled at the idea of it. Their heart panged a little and a sweet smell punched through their senses. No! Mars shook their head, clearing their noise of the foreign scent. With new determination, they began shoveling food down their throat as fast as possible, resolving to eat and leave in as little time necessary.

But the second the food touched their lips, they couldn't help but stall. It was... delicious. Warm and aromatic, somehow hugging them from the inside out. It was... melancholy, if food can be melancholy. Familiar but sad. It held something, something that was right on the tip of their tongue, but they swallowed it down before it could come.

"Good, huh?" An older Ravenclaw asked between sips of his goblet. Mars leveled a stare at him. He just stared right back. They nodded, mouth too full to respond. Yeah, it really was good.

AJ took an empty seat towards the front end of the Ravenclaw table. After being up in front of the entire school, she had looked for the first open seat at the table that she could in order to have everyone stop watching her and move on. When she had sat down, those around her offered her words of welcome and congratulations, but she was too afraid to look up and reply. She only wished for everyone to stop paying attention to her.

Thankfully, a new name was called and another first-year became the center of attention. Then another, and another after that. After a while, she felt her ears cool down back to their normal color, and she was able to look up and watch the rest of the ceremony. Soon enough, it was time to finally eat.

She waited politely for those around her to begin helping themselves, and she filled her plate with chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn. It looked just like the dinners her mother made back home. Her father had said that the food at Hogwarts could not be beat. Before, she had been eager to try it, but now she was unsure. Would magical food taste different? What if she was allergic to eating magical things?

She internally scolded herself. That would be dumb. How could she be allergic to magic if she was a magical person? It would be fine. Juts take a bite and if that is good then keep eating. Cautiously, she took a bite of her chicken. Then another. Then still another. Her father had been right, the food was delicious!

Soon enough, though, she grew full and slowed down. Those around her were wrapped up in conversation, and she silently found herself wondering if anyone would want to talk to her, the quiet little first-year.

After hearing the claps of her now-fellow Ravenclaws leading her to the table she felt her feet compelling her toward a spot close to a girl who'd been called just before her. Hunt? She couldn't remember the girl's first name, as she'd been a bit preoccupied with her own thoughts while she was waiting to be sorted. In any case she was happy to sit next to someone else who was a first year. Elspeth slid into her seat quietly, giving the table a bit of a sheepish smile and placing her hands on her lap to take up as little space as possible. Her eyes flickered over to the Hufflepuff table, which now seemed to be receiving a new first year who looked excited to join them. It's not that she had wanted to be placed in Hufflepuff, as her mother had been. But she couldn't help but wonder about what made her different from her mom - what had placed her in Ravenclaw over any other house.

Before she'd had a chance to deeply consider, the girl she'd sat next to was talking. "... where to start." Elspeth had managed to be in her own head again and missed the front half of what was said. That was the second or third time this night that she'd been a bit rude and not paid attention to the people around her. That was no way to be making friends. She took a small breath in before looking at the wares on the table. One might wonder how someone, at the end of a long day, would have any trouble tucking in to a delicious feast. But the more Elspeth stared at all the choices the more she understood how it could be a bit overwhelming to choose from. Reaching out her hand to grab a serving spoon for roast carrots, she accidentally brushed her sleeve against what appeared to be a large turkey covered in thick gravy. Her face fell slightly before she felt a tiny chuckle rattle out from deep within her, which turned into a full laugh. Before she knew it she was laughing so heartily she pulled back her gravy sleeve and had both hands on her belly.

"Oh, gosh. I'm so sorry. Oh man. I don't mean to be - it's just. I've been so nervous about everything all day. And right when all of the scariest stuff is over and I sit down, THAT'S when I manage to get gravy on me. It's just-" and the giggles took back over again. She wiped some tears from her eyes and took to searching for a napkin to clear up her mess. "Ah. Sorry again. I'm Elspeth. You were called up to be sorted just before me, I think?"

Interacting with: @Carolyn Hunt, and open to others.

Interacting with: @Elspeth Gollens, and open to others.

Elspeth took the napkin gladly, and began wiping off the gravy that hadn't already started to set in. Her mom had always been quick to pull out a wand for cleaning, but now she guessed she'd have to wait until she learned that spell on her own. Thankfully most of the goop came off with ease, and her robe was black so it wasn't necessarily obvious to anyone looking that there was a stain on it. She folded the cloth napkin over so the gravy was on the inside, then set it down in her lap in case she managed to get a face full of whipped cream or knock pumpkin juice on someone. Given how the evening was starting she couldn't rule either out.

Elspeth held her hand out and accepted Carolyn's hand shake, thinking back to her time on the train when she'd offered her own hand and wondered if that had seemed too old fashioned. I guess we're all just figuring this out together huh... Carolyn was precise with her language in a way that made Elspeth think she was definitely destined for Ravenclaw. But when asked how she felt about the decision, no feelings immediately popped up for her. She certainly wasn't disappointed. There wasn't another house she'd been yearning to be placed in over this one. Surprisingly, she realized that she hadn't actually put much thought into which house she'd be sorted into. The thought of moving away from her parents, out of Wales, had kept her so preoccupied that she hadn't really had much time to consider all the details of what her time at Hogwarts might be like.

"Yeah, I think so. I mean, the hat knows where we best belong, right? And I think I trust it. Even if it was a little bit smelly," her eyes crinkled as she broke into a wide grin thinking about how odd all of this must look to a muggle from off the street. A bunch of kids in pointy hats being told by an even older and slightly smelly hat what their destinies were. Who'd come up with this system anyways? "My mom was in Hufflepuff when she was here, though, so I don't know much about what Ravenclaw is like. How about you? Were you umm... expecting to be in Ravenclaw?"

Elspeth was about to reach out for the carrots again before she stopped herself and rolled up her sleeves this time. Then, she got to work, filling her plate with roast carrots, some tomato soup, a small salad, and some bread before she began to look around for something akin to tofu, unsure of what kinds of food were available at Hogwarts. Her eyes scanned the table, and she began to feel a bit worried that perhaps Hogwarts wasn't the place for vegetarian food, when a platter filled with a small mound of soy glazed tofu slices before her eyes (which had grown much wider at the delicious sight).

Interacting with: @Carolyn Hunt

Interacting with: @Elspeth Gollens

With her plate full, Elspeth was suddenly overcome with hunger. She hadn't eaten much since breakfast that morning, save some skittles that Zykeal had offered her on the train. The adrenaline of moving to Hogwarts had kept her satiated for most of the day, but now that it was wearing off and she was feeling more settled her stomach began to grumble loudly at the sight of mountains of food. If she'd been at home, Elspeth probably would have started shoveling things indiscriminately into her mouth. At the Ravenclaw Table, especially for her very first meal, she wanted to make a better impression than that. Gravy sleeve was enough of an adventure for her this dinner time.

As she picked up her fork, she silverware was heavy in a way that signaled just how old it was. Huh. I wonder if this is the same fork that the founders used. The thing about growing up in the UK meant that Elspeth, like most students at Hogwarts, had gotten used to the idea that everything around them was a bajillion years old and probably connected to, touched by, or involved in the death of some very famous aristocrat hundreds of years ago. So while the idea of eating roast carrots with the same fork as Rowena Ravenclaw held her interest for a moment, she ultimately shrugged it off and decided to pay more attention to the feeling inside of her gut instead. Plus, the carrots melted in her mouth with the most delicious buttery rosemary taste. Her eyes closed instinctively as she savored them.

She listened along as Carolyn talked about her family. Elspeth appreciated meeting another student from a witch/muggle house. Not that most folks were concerned about blood lines - it was just nice knowing that this wouldn't be one of those kinds of conversations. "Hey! My dad's a muggle too. He's supportive of all of this y'know, but not like, too knowledgeable so I don't think he had any expectations for me. Just wants to make sure I go to class and make friends."

Roast carrot mountain was depleting quickly. She moved on to the tomato soup, which was also amazing. Rich and creamy with a hint of basil. It tasted like it had come straight from someone's garden! "Nah, I'm here on my own. I don't have any brothers or sisters. Or... I don't have any that I know about. But sometimes I hear some banging from my attic and I've always wondered if that was a secret family ghost," she realized how silly what she'd just said was and quickly added, "I mean, not that I've ever gone up to look. Probably just a squirrel or something." She moved back to talked about Carolyn's family hoping to distract from that. "Your wizard family is all Slytherins? What d'you think they're gonna think about you being put in Ravenclaw?"

Interactive with @Carolyn Hunt

Elspeth nodded in agreement at Carolyn's comment about parental expectations. Her dad really didn't have many for Elspeth, aside from her staying safe and generally being an ice person. His biggest priority seemed to be her continued happiness, which Elspeth was beginning to find a little embarrassing when out in public, but also secretly made her feel safe and loved like when she was a kid and could snuggle on his chest and take a nap. Her mom, though... well her mother wasn't exactly strict, per se. But Elspeth could see in all her mom's excitement all of the expectations she had for Elspeth's time at Hogwarts. She'd been told about all these grand adventures she would have, the lifelong friends she would make, the magic she would learn. It made Elspeth feel like there was a lot of pressure to try and make her time at Hogwarts some kind of fantastic journey to rival any other. With gravy on her sleeve and no spells to her name, she couldn't help but feel like she might not be up to the task of becoming a great witch.

Carolyn mentioned having a dog and that got Elspeth's eyes wide. Her parents were both allergic to most all kinds of fluffy pets, so she'd grown up treating the butterflies in her backyard like they were hers. The idea of having her own pet sounded so exciting. In her imagination, Carolyn had a huge fluffy dog. The kind that, if it tried to jump into your lap would just kind of push you all the way over and then lick your face. In her head, all dogs were the biggest and fluffiest variety. Except for her neighbor's very unpleasant and yappy Yorkie that had once chased a small toddler Elspeth around her yard while she cried and the older neighbor kids laughed.

"Yeah, it seems like Slytherin really gets it the worst, I mean, what with everyone thinking its a house for crime wizards, and of course it isn't!" Elspeth only said this to be diplomatic. As she picked her head up from sipping on soup, she was able to faintly see green trimmed robes on the far side of the hall and her heart skipped a beat. Except for the ones that definitely are crime wizards. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but Elspeth was definitely afraid of Slytherins. It was sad to see that some of the nice kids she sat with on the train were over at that table now, hopefully not plotting against her with what they'd learned from their conversation on the way to school.

There she was, distracting herself again in the middle of a conversation. Her mind hadn't always wandered this easily when she was at home. Maybe she was tired? She managed to catch Carolyn's questions, thankfully, and thought for a moment. "Huh, I guess, I don't really know. I think it would be cool to get to study animals, all kinds of animals. Maybe I could work at an animal park or a zoo or something, getting to take care of them all day and teaching people all the cool things they can do," she paused to nibble on the tofu slices. "My mom doesn't work, or, I mean, I guess she does work but she doesn't really have a job. She does a lot of odds and ends for folks back home. Fixes things, makes things, she spends a lot of time out in her shed working on stuff. Last month, someone came in wondering why their chimney kept sending them to slightly wrong places when they tossed Floo Powder in. I think she's still working on that right now. How about your parents?"

Interacting with @Carolyn Hunt