General The Hufflepuff Table 2020-2021

Duna smiled and stopped waving when she noticed one of the girls noticed her.

"Um... hi? A-are you waving to me?"

Duna paused, she really hadn’t been waving to anyone, just trying to get the attention of the people near her. Duna shrugged as if to say, ‘kind of’ and held out her hand for the girl to shake.

“Hello! My name is Duna.” Duna excitedly signed in ASL. She then grabbed her sketchbook off the table and opened to a page that she had already written on. Duna was very used to meeting people who didn’t know Sign Language, so she had prepared some phrases on paper for others to read. She opens to the first page which said, “Hello!” All around the word there were little doodles of flowers.

She then flipped to the next page which read, “It’s nice to meet you!” Duna smiled brightly, as if she where saying the words instead of them being written on a page. This one also had countless doodles on it. It appeared as if she had had these phrases written down for a while, and when bored Duna would scribble in the margins.

Lastly Duna flipped the a third page, “What’s your name?”

Interacting with @Rish Sen and @Duna Nixis

“Well, I don’t really know. I expected to be in Ravenclaw, really. And the hat did have a hard time choosing...” Rish replied to her question. She seemed to pause then, as if regretting what she had said. Callista had never heard of the Sorting Hat having a hard time choosing, but then again, her own Sorting had involved quite a lot of thinking - or is it talking? - from the Sorting Hat, so maybe
that's what Rish meant. "But Hufflepuff is great. I admire loyalty a lot, it was exactly what I needed when I came to Hogwarts.” Rish continued.

Callista nodded, agreeing. Often, the unexpected is good for you. Personally, Callista had also thought she would be sorted into Ravenclaw, but now that she thought about it, Hufflepuff could be what she needed.

"I thought I would be sorted into Ravenclaw too... I love to read," Callista said.

She then focused on the other girl, the one with pink earrings. The girl stopped waving and shrugged a little, then proceeded to stretch her hand out before... was that sign language? Callista had a quick flashback to her class in her Muggle school where she learned sign language. It was a completely optional class, but Callista had found it intriguing. She recognized "hello" and "my name is", and then some letters that were signed really quickly, but she caught two "a"s and a "d". In fact, the whole phrase was rather fast. However, Callista assumed that the girl had just spelled out her name.

The girl then grabbed a sketchbook off the table and flipped to the first page, which said, "Hello". The page was decorated with lots of drawings of flowers. The next page said, "It's nice to meet you!". The page after that said, "What's your name?"

Callista paused, trying to figure out what to do exactly, then signed slowly, "Are you mute?". Then she signed again, "Are you deaf?" because she had no idea how to sign "or".

"Um..." Callista had no idea whether the girl was deaf or mute, or both, so she decided to sign again, "My name is Callista." All of her signing was pretty slow, since she didn't know much. Also, she had heard that there was ASL and BSL, but she had learned both. She was more comfortable with ASL, though, so that's what she used.

Signing was kind of hard, so since most deaf people know how to read lips, and if she was just mute she should be able to hear fine, Callista said out loud, "It's nice to meet you too. Um, I didn't quite get your name, can you do it again slower?" She could sign that, since it was what she had learned early on, but it was a lot of work.

Duna’s eyes lit up as she watched another girl sign as well. It wasn’t a very common thing to know ASL, so Duna always got excited when she met another person who could. She felt as if it was almost like a secret code. Only she and a few others knew it. She could say whatever she wanted and no one would know what it was. Of corse, Duna would never, ever, gossip or talk about someone badly, but it came in handy for surprise parties.

Duna quickly made the ASL sight for I’m sorry, which was her had in a fist, rotated in a circle over her chest. “D-U-N-A.” She signed, much slower this time. Duna knew she often had a problem with signing far to fast. Her thoughts would be going a million miles a minute, and her hands could only move so fast. Often times her parents even had trouble understanding or keeping up with Duna.

Duna then flipped to another prepared page in her sketchbook. “I’m not deaf, just mute.” It said, with a smily face drawn next to it. Duna often got this question, in fact, it was the first thing most people asked when they meet Duna. “Your ASL is very good!” Duna signed, slower now, but still with a bright excited smile on her face.

Interacting with @Callista Lovis
Interacting with @Duna Nixis
Maybe interacting with @Lauren Stonewood??? I don’t really know, I owled you too, but if you don’t want to that’s totally fine, it could work either way

Rish watched the two girls... signing, at least that’s what she thought they were doing, and she felt a wave of horror as she realized that this felt familiar.
She very nearly slapped herself.
You’re being selfish! How can you even think that?! she thought, They’re just talking together!
As much as she wanted to listen to that, she just couldn’t shake off the feeling of being left out, one that she was all too familiar with.
Well then, talk with them!
Rish sighed. Yeah, she was going to do it.
Even if this conversation just turns into awkwardness with her in it.
She walked towards them, and looked to the girl Callista was talking with. She looked enthusiastic, and she flipped a page in some sort of notebook that she had. It said ‘I’m not deaf, just mute’, and Rish felt a surge of relief. So she could talk to the girl. Rish smiled, even more relieved to know that she could write—why wouldn’t she be able to, a part of me thought—even though Rish didn’t know how to sign, she could still find a way to understand her.
Maybe this could happen after all.
She looked to the girl once again, and she signed something excitedly to Callista. Then she saw Rish, and waved hello. Rish waved too, but then she started to sign something, and Rish couldn’t understand.
“I’m sorry, I don’t really know how to sign...” Rish said nervously, all of her excitement washing away with the silence that followed.
At least you still have Lauren, she thought.
Rish looked around for her friend. She met her on the Hogwarts Express, and Rish was eager to see her again. Upon not finding her on any of the tables, Rish knew she either still hadn’t been sorted yet or was sitting somewhere else.
How she wished she were there.

Interacting with: @Rish Sen @Duna Nixis

The girl looked happy that Callista could sign (although honestly she didn't know that much), and signed that she was sorry and re-spelled her name, Duna.

"Thank you, it's okay," Callista signed back. In reply to her two questions, Duna flipped to another page in her sketchbook. It said that was not deaf, just mute. Callista could feel Rish looking too, and immediately felt bad for not paying as much attention to her. She probably didn't know ASL, so she most likely had zero idea what they were saying - or I guess, signing.

Callista promised herself to interact more with both of them. She had realized by now that Duna's sketchbook must have common phrases she could use. She must get the question, "Are you deaf?" often for her to have it in her sketchbook.

Callista looked up as Duna signed again, "Your ASL is very good!" Thankfully, this time it was slower. Duna still had a big smile on her face, though.

Callista smiled and signed, "Thank you very much!", extending her hands. She was about to ask Duna if she would prefer it if Callista signed or if she spoke out loud when she heard Rish behind her.

"I’m sorry, I don’t really know how to sign...” the girl said. Callista felt bad again. There she went again, and she had just promised herself to pay attention.

Facing Rish, Callista smiled apologetically and said, "Don't worry, you don't need to know how to sign... Duna was just introducing herself. Duna, this is Rish, and Rish, this is Duna." Callista hoped that was okay because she didn't want to come off as neglectful. She didn't mention that Duna wasn't deaf because she was pretty sure Rish had seen Duna's pages.

"Duna, would you prefer if I spoke out loud of if I signed?" Callista asked. She hoped that Duna could teach her some more sign language.

Duna looked up at the new girl when she said she didn’t know how to sign. Duna held her hands up, as if to say a combination of it’s okay and I’m sorry.

Duna watched as Callista introduced Duna to this other girl, who Duna now knew as Rish. Duna really liked these girls’ names. They seem right out of a fantilsy tale or novel, which, considering where Duna was at the moment, might be true.

Duna then looked back to Callista as she asked, "Duna, would you prefer if I spoke out loud of if I signed?" Duna considered for a moment, but quickly decided that it was be far easier for Callista to speak, as it appeared she wasn’t as adept with ASL as Duna was.

Duna quickly flipped past quite a few pages of various written statements and questions that she used a lot. They ranged from “How are you today?” to “I love you!” which was something Duna ‘said’ a lot. There was also a large variety of compliments that Duna used a lot.

She opened to a blank that page that only had a small doodle of a frog in the corner and wrote, “If you spoke Rish could understand us too!” Duna then held up her sketchbook for her new friends to see. If Callista and Rish spoke allowed, and Duna wrote, then they could all have a conversation together! And, if needed, Rish could translate some ASL.

After the hat had yelled,"Hufflepuff", Siobhán put a small smile on her face and walked over to the cheering table. She took a spot next to the other first years and slowly her smile faded. Her back is straight as she turns to watch the rest of the sorting, only clapping a little when more are sorted into the house.

When sorting is done and The Feast has begun, Siobhán picks out a little mashed potatoes and gravy, a small portion of turkey, and a mixture of vegetables. She ate slowly. She wasn't listening to the people around her. She looked around her uncomfortably as she had never liked large crowds. She counted down the minutes until a prefect decided it was time to show the first years where the dorms were. Hopefully it would be over crowded with plants to care for.

She couldn't wait until she could sit by herself, minding her own business and reading a good book. She didn't care if it was a book for class or a book for fun. Even now that she was done eating, not caring that dessert had appeared on the tables, she wrapped her arms around herself and quietly looked at the room around her.

Two blue eyes scanned the room, noting the many floating candles and familiar faces around the Great Hall. Small chatter was heard from each of the four tables and the staff table was busy among themselves as usual. A small sigh escaped her lips, wanting to eat food already but knowing that the new students that would tumble in had to be sorted before their meal was laid out in front of them. Suddenly the hall grew silent as the great doors opened and many wide-eyed students made their way in.

A few, bold leading the charge at the front, a clump in the middle of curious but not quite as brave and the few tailing behind in awe, or fear at the back. The cluster came to a halt near the staff table where the sorting hat sat and sang it's little song about each of the houses.

This year's verse for Hufflepuff was quite catchy:



After the sorting hat finished the a little applause broke out, snapping the brunette out of her thoughts. Then the sorting began as the Headmaster called out names. She cheered for each student get sorted but especially loudly for the new Hufflepuffs. A small smile made it's way onto her face as the sorting came to an end. Then the food appeared in front of her and she began sorting onto her plate what she wanted. Hogwarts had some pretty tasty food so it was very rare for a student to leave un-stuffed.

Lots of talking popped up again around the tables and it seemed some tension from the newer students were gone as they engaged with others around them. Annie held a polite bit of chatter with those besides her, some of which she knew and others she had never seen in her time at the school. After the main meal was done the hall seemed to quiet down a lot. Bellies were starting to be full and the desserts portion had just been introduced.

The girl stifled laughter as she saw a young Gryffindor's eyes widen at the sight before stuffing sweets in their pocket. If you thought the normal food was good, you'd be mistaken if you didn't try a few of the assorted desserts and treats spread out on the table. Her eyes lit up at the sight of her favorite dessert, a small apple cinnamon scone. She reached out and took one and bit into it, a content huff leaving her, semi-stuffed mouth.

Pushing herself up from her spot on the bench she dusted her robes of any scone crumbs and waved goodbye to her fellow older housemates before turning her gaze to the scattered group of First Years still seated. She took a small breath before speaking loudly, but not in a harsh manor to the group. "Alright everyone, I'm assuming you all are First Years? If not then you know where you are supposed to be." The brunette paused to see a few tired housemates scuttle past her. Her gaze swept back to the remaining students. "First off, Welcome to Hogwarts and especially welcome to Hufflepuff. I'm sure some of you are excited to be sorted here, but whether you are or not this is where you are going to stay for a few years so get used to it."

Okay maybe that was a bit harsh, let's try that again.. "My name is Annie Morgan, I am one of your fellow Hufflepuff Prefects so if you need anything, I will try to answer your questions, help you to your classes so you aren't late or what not. I also give out detentions if I see you breaking any rules, but all of that can be discussed later. Let's head up to the common rooms so you can settle in and then choose your dorms, I bet all of you are tired from this long day. Follow me!"

With that she nodded her head and turned, exiting out of the Great Hall, making sure the new students were in tow.

Note: You may continue to eat and what not I just wrapped everything together in one reply so if/when you choose to exit this RP thread you may continue to the Common Room RP thread myself and the other Hufflepuff Prefects have set up for you to interact with your fellow first years.

To the Hufflepuff Headquarters! (aka Common Room)

Cassie, had been full on and crazy day. She didn't even know she was magical, as she's of muggle blood, both of her parents were as far as she was aware. It look great the food and everyone seemed so friendly so far. As she shyly smiles at everyone giggling smiling to her self. As she looks around thinking great crowds what i dread the most.

As she starts to eat smiling, "so hows everyone's first day as crazy and shocking as mine" she asks nervously trying to make conversation she usually social if she knows you. Smiling at everyone as i foip though my notepad as i carrying i forgot I had. As i start to draw taking notes of everything so far and drawing the full on hall as. Her friends wouldn't believe her back home. "Does anyone know when were starting classes" she ask nervously looking around smiling at everyone shyly. As i keep taking stuff in smiling. I used travel around a lot being army kid not having many friends close friends due to always moving around i smiles.

So where's everyone from, so the food looks and taste good this is so overwhelming I smiles shyly.

Interacting with: @Duna Nixis @Rish Sen

Duna seemed to think about her question, and then seemed to decide something. She went to her sketchbook and flipped past many pages. Callista was actually a bit surprised at how many various phrases there were. She spotted "How are you?", "I love you", and many others. Callista thought of her own sketchbook, covered with sketches and doodles. Finally, Duna came to a blank page and wrote something on there. When she held it up, Callista read what she had wrote, "If you spoke Rish could understand us too!"

Callista smiled. "Okay. Do you you guys like to draw?" she asked. She saw drawings in Duna's sketchbook, and Callista liked to draw too, but she didn't know about Rish. Callista was... quite the perfectionist when it came to art. In her art class, most people spent an hour on a normal assignment. Callista spent about 3 hours. But it was okay, because she liked working ahead. That gave her time to finish the project and still do her other homework. She would say she missed school, for it's nice teachers and large campus, but she had a feeling that at Hogwarts, she could make more friends.

"What class are you looking forward to the most?" Callista said softly, almost dreamily. She was really looking forward to Tranfiguration, Charms, and Potions. Well, pretty much every class, but particularly those three. Callista is also pretty interested in Arithmancy, but she knows that she can't take that until third year.