First Year Entrance 2020-2021

@Walter Medrano @Eva Evergood @Taffy Miller

The light-haired girl- Eva, was it?- noted something she had seen. Lea would crane her head to try to see what the other was talking about, but she couldn't see a thing. After a few moments the girl would slouch back a bit, a little dejected that she hadn't seen whatever it was that was out there. A hand would reach into the water, mesmerized by the light reflecting on the ripples. Beautiful, the young girl decided, momentarily forgetting about where she was going...

Only to be reminded a few moments later. She grimaced at the thought of seven years here, her heart hurting. Hopefully it would only be a little bit until she could convince her parents that this had been a bad idea and that she needed to transfer.

The glittering of water in the air distracted her, brown eyes quickly locating the splash. What had that been? The amount of questions the child had only increased when she noticed the silhouette of a person jumping into the water. The girl would flinch at the anger and suddenness of the voice she heard.

If the day couldn't get any worse, adding an enormous tentacle and splashes of cold water would certainly due to trick. Lea didn't take a liking to the tentacle, emotions of annoyance and fear mixed within her. Mainly annoyance because the water had been cold and while it wasn't a lot, it was enough to make her recoil back. It would take a moment for the girl to process and assess what had happened, before she'd turn back to her own boat.

"Do, do we have eve-ryone? No one overboard?"

Interacting with: @Marcus Iwasaki, @Elisabeth Erner and @Remi Yao

It was rather a beautiful sight seeing Marcus smile - on this night of all nights. Even if it was just for a moment, the fact that he was able to smile was a pleasant sight for her eyes. The silence fell over them as her mind pondered a little more on the matter. She could recall hearing his pain last transformation. It sounded horribly painful - to put it lightly. There was a reason that no one actively chose this lifestyle.

Her thoughts were cut short by the sound of... a splash?! Her widened eyes quickly searched the scene, her head snapping towards the nearby boats. A boy jumped off the boat right next to them, creating another splash. She raised her hand. Of course, she could have done the ridiculous thing of jumping into the lake like he did but... she did not want to get wet. So magic would have to suffice in this situation and, as a last resort, she would consider jumping in.

But she did not need to even bother. The bubbles on the surface indicated the presence of something else [Roll for Sixth Sense: Successful]. Quickly she flicked her finger upwards, changing the spell at the last second, "Pluvia Velo!" The words muttered out of her mouth quickly [Cast: Successful]. A bluish semi-transparent umbrella appeared on the edge of her finger, covering her from some of the water. It was not large enough to cover everything but, at the very least, it protected her make up and hair. The bottom of her robes still got wet as the water was splashed into the boat and formed a small puddle at the bottom. Sigh. The tentacle dropped off the two causes for this whole mess onto their boat.

Her eyes narrowed at them. They were soaked. September was not exactly ideal weather for an evening swim in the lake. The boy spoke up. He seemed freezing, in fairness. It was probably nicer to do something but he chose to jump into the lake, which was ridiculous, "Do you even know how to save someone from drowning?" She asked the first year. There was a high chance that he would end up also drowning if he attempted to save her without actually thinking about it. Based on his reaction, he likely did not think about it. Her eyes narrowed at him. Hjørdis contemplated helping him for a moment [Roll to see if she'd help: Failed] before deciding that he required to know how foolish this was. Experiencing the old for a few moments longer would help him see that.

Outfit of the day

Jess had to quickly cover her mouth with her hand to keep from laughing at Remi's threat towards Starlee, though couldn't help but agree with his comment about the other boy's size. The other boy, who was apparently named Logan and also thought he would probably be sorted into Ravenclaw. Pretty big coincidence for all of them to expect to be sorted into the same house, Jess reckoned.

At Starlee's question, Jess sat up a bit straighter. She hadn't actually considered what being a witch would mean for her future, since she had always meant to be an architect or a lawyer when she grew up. Thinking about it now, though, Jess realized that those were both professions reserved for Muggles, not members of the wizarding community. She didn't really know any magical jobs, but what Starlee had mentioned sounded like it could be a doctor, so that might be cool. She looked up again as Logan said which subjects he liked and assured all of them that he wouldn't hurt them just because of his height.

Remi's words sent Jess back to her thoughts as she wondered about the Dark Arts. They seemed pretty... well, dark. If they were actually even half as evil as Jess expected they were, she wasn't sure why anyone would actually want to learn them and was frankly quite glad that they weren't taught those spells in school. So then... why did Remi think it "sucked" for the Dark Arts not to be taught? Suddenly wary of the previously harmless seeming boy, Jess shifted away from him slightly on the bench and hoped he didn't actually want to learn any dark spells. She turned back to look at him as he asked about Quidditch, but any words that she may have said in response were cut short as the fog cleared and the castle loomed into view.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was massive, towering above Jess in her little boat on its cliff like a sight straight out of a fairy tale. Jess had known that the school was in the shape of a castle, but she had never imagined it as quite so... castle-y. She had always thought of it as more of a building with a couple of spires making it appear somewhat like an ancient castle, but this- this was the real deal. And it was beautiful, too- the soaring towers, the windows, the lights shining out of the windows like mystical, inviting lanterns. The sky behind the castle was alluring, too, with its stars and its moon shining brightly and nearly full. All in all, the lights, the castle, and the sky all came together to form a picture more wonderful than Jess could have ever imagined- more wonderful, she dared think- than anyone she knew could ever even dream of. In fact, it all seemed like a dream, now more than ever. That Jess was a witch, that she would be learning magic, that she would be going to this school, actually spending time and living inside of this literal castle- the girl actually had to quickly pinch herself to make sure that what she was seeing was actually reality. Caught up in her view of the school, Jess barely registered the female professor's voice as she welcomed them to their home for the next seven years.

Her gaze still fixed on Hogwarts, Jess didn't hear nor see the girl from the other boat fall into the water, but she did look up sharply as she saw Remi stand up out of the corner of her eye and felt the boat rock. "Remi!" she shouted, startled, as the boy leapt straight from their boat and into the dark, scary-seeming water of the lake. What was he doing? Was he insane? Luckily, Jess's thoughts didn't stay on that Remi-bashing thread for long, as the boats soon came to a sudden halt and startled her yet again. She sat back in fright as something caused a commotion at the top of the water, and couldn't keep from gasping as a giant tentacle rose out of the water's depths, clutching Remi and another soaking wet student in its grasp. In the back of her mind, Jess registered that this girl probably had something to do with Remi's spontaneous dive into the water.

She let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding as the tentacle safely brought Remi and the girl to the boat with the professors and slowly sank back underneath the water. She could only stare as Starlee turned to her and asked if she thought the squid was actually nice. Her face started to split into a slight grin as Logan called Remi crazy, and soon, she was letting out a shaky laugh and then full on gasping with laughter. It wasn't that the whole situation with the Giant Squid was funny- it was quite terrifying, actually, but Jess had simply gone through too many emotions at once to be able to do much other than chuckle. First, her nervousness at meeting the kids in her boat. Then, slight discomfort at Remi's apparent fondness for the Dark Arts. Next, wonderment at the astonishing sight of Hogwarts and her bewilderment at Remi's actions. Lastly, fear and relief as the squid made itself seen and then disappeared again. Finally regaining her voice, Jess looked around, her face still pulled into a small smile. "Woah... woah. I don't really know what I was expecting from my first day at Hogwarts, but, well, that wasn't it."

Mentions: @Robert Toukmond @Akari Kato

Rohan was a little bit shocked. His just made friend was going to drown. He let out a scream.
"ELISABETH, NO!" He was frightened because he was sure his year would be the year where in the first day someone died. Now his other train friend jumped into the water aswell! This couldn't end well.

Luckily, after a few moments Elisabeth and Remi were launched into the air, and landed in the staff boat. Rohan was relieved, but also kind of jealous of Remi's braveness. He wished he could be so courageous when a friend was in danger. The two professors also didn't seem too happy about it.

"Robert? Did you see exactly what happend? I- I'm confused..." This kind of tentacle octopus monster-ish thing seemed.. friendly? At least it didn't eat his two train mates. The wind rushed past his ears and Rohan didn't feel comfortable in the boat anymore. He wanted to be at the castle as soon as possible, get over with the dinner and sleep. Tomorrow he would make sure to sign up for the Quidditch team and then he would follow his classes, make exams and then... He realized it was all very far away. The exams would only be at the end of the year, and he shouldn't worry about them just yet.

Rohan sighed and slouched down of tiredness. He closed his eyes and tried to enjoy the little bit of (hopefully) silence during the rest of the boat trip.

Hogsmeade Station was a rather dull and boring thing to be greeted by once exiting the Hogwarts Express. It looked like any other building you could find in rural places in England or Scotland. For the only all Wizard village, I would expect a more extravagant look or at least something that separates them from most Muggle designs. Truthfully, it was a battle to not openly sneer at the mundaneness of it, my pureblood family members must be rubbing off on me.

A man’s shout drew my attention away from my critiquing of the lacking architecture to follow along with the rest of the first years that made their way to a man gesturing for them to follow. He led us to a dark lake where a woman stood by several boats along the shore. It was as breathtaking as it was terrifying, the moonlight glistening across the lake in such a fashion that you questioned what may lie beneath its surface. If my parents' tales are to be believed, many things lay in wait under the wake and most are not at all friendly.

The man once again spoke, drawing my attention back towards him only to see him gesturing to the woman next to him. The moonlight caressed her white hair beautifully giving off an ethereal appearance that made me think of the stories of Veela that I had enjoyed listening to when I was much younger.

“She is the head of Slytherin House, and is joining me in welcoming you all to the School. We will travel across the lake in these boats, and you’ll get your first look at the castle.”

The man continued, this time indicating behind her to the boats that lay by the shore.

An obvious dismissal to make our way to the boats, but no one moved. There was some awkward and anxious shuffling from a few of the other first years. Most likely intimidated by what may lay ahead, some may even be nervous to cross a lake, especially one known to have creatures lurking beneath its surface. I, on the other hand, do not care what lives within, I would just like to finally make it to Hogwarts and get away from all this commotion.
g!”
The man called out, possibly irritated, finally I could make out a few of the other children start shuffling over toward the boats, others soon following along.

The woman spoke this time with a soft smile, her voice was quiet, a perfect match to her appearance in my honest opinion. By the time I was to them, the first 7 were filled, so I hurriedly made my way into boat 8. I took no notice of the others who joined me, much preferring to keep to myself. I was exhausted at this point, having so many other people around seemed to drain me quickly. I have never been around so many people before and find that it does not inspire the best of me. I will just have to get used to it.
It wasn’t much longer before everyone was in their boats waiting for us to make our journey, I tuned out most of the conversations around, not caring at all what people had to say.

“ELISABETH!”

Someone shouted, bringing my attention away from my thoughts and toward the other boats. I could make out some boy who stupidly decided to stand atop his boat. I could not really make out much else he was doing but he had to at least be making the boat move about upon the water unless some type of magic was applied to stop such things of course. The boy must have a very good balance to be able to stand in such a dangerous fashion. No one else seemed to be following the boy's alarming behavior, it gave me hope that the rest of my peers had the common sense to not endanger themselves and everyone else's lives.

Came the expected reprimand to the youth from the likely done-with-this-crap caretaker. Although, his last words drew my attention. As far as I knew, humans were not in a squid diet and would likely not eat them. Attack them as a perceived threat is a more likely event to happen, then again. I eye the water warily, this is the black lake with its mysterious magical creatures and perhaps a squid living in these waters would have no trouble swallowing us whole.

The boats hauled themselves forward at the command. I could imagine the amount of awe Muggleborns must be feeling right now, my father always got excited about the various ways they had made their way to Hogwarts, the first year boat ride was what stuck with him the most. My mother, on the other hand, hated the boats. I find gliding over water to be very soothing, a calming effect even if dangerous creatures could be lurking within it.
The fog that enveloped around us reminded me of my dad, he would take us fishing sometimes early in the morning. It was something he had enjoyed with his own father when he was a child and wanted to have that experience with us as well. If the fog was especially thick he would try to spook us and tell us scary tales.
Finally, we emerged from the fog and we got our first sight of Hogwarts. It was...I could not come up with the right words to express it. If anyone bothered to look, they may notice me gawking at the magnificence of Hogwarts Castle. Now I know why this had stuck with my dad the most.

For the next seven years? My parents have always treated Hogwarts as the home that they had to leave behind, but still keep in the hearts. Perhaps for some, this will be their true home for the rest of their lives that they may not be able to return to. A splash coming from another one of the boats drew my attention away from my inner thoughts, turning to see what caused the noise to see the boy, who had been standing on his boat earlier, jump off his boat into the water. IF he does not end up in Gryffindor, I would be utterly shocked.

“STOP!”

The boats came to a standstill just outside the hidden harbor. I could not make out what was transpiring from my spot at the boat, not until an enormous tentacle rose up from the lake with two forms clutched within its grasp. Water sprinkled over us from the tentacle as it deposited these two into the caretaker’s boat and withdrew back into the lake. At this point, I stopped caring about what happened with the two imbeciles. They were alive, looked to be unharmed, and likely being lectured like no tomorrow.
Instead, I grimaced down at my wet robes, unhappy. Well, soon we will be entering Hogwarts and this day can finally come to a close.

Phineas listened carefully to what the Caretaker told them. He eyed the man with something akin to suspicion. Phineas was not a timorous boy, quite the contrary. But something about Mister Iwasaki just didn't sit right with him. He couldn't tell what it was. He looked like a normal man, his words were neither gruff nor overly loud. But there was definitely something off about him.
The young boy tried to shake the feeling of uneasiness and made his way over towards the boats, when the throng of first years started moving upon demand. When he reached the eighth boat he climbed in after a blonde girl, trying to keep his balance in the slightly swaying means of transportation. When he had taken a seat safely, he let his gaze wander towards the other passenger. The girl didn't look particularly interested in starting a conversation, so Phineas kept to himself, waiting until the other two seats were occupied. Soon enough all the boats were filled and went into motion, gliding silently over the smooth surface of the Black Lake. Phineas took in the sight of the impressive castle sitting enthroned on a rather steep cliff over the water, before turning towards the three other students of the boat. «What houses do you reckon you are going to be in?», he asked with latent curiosity.

Interacting with: @Robert Toukmond @Rohan Fog
Mentioning: @Elisabeth Erner

Akari gasped and raised her hand to her mouth in surprise as Elisabeth plunged into the water. Her other hand was holding on to the edge of the rocking boat for dear life really not wanting to fall in. Once the boat was more stable she nervously attempted to peer over into the deep waters to see if Elisabeth was alright, when suddenly she saw a boy from another boat jump in after her. Not one but two kids were currently in the middle of the lake. Akari sat there, eyes wide in shock. They weren't even at the actual wizarding school and yet there were already shenanigans. She jumped slightly in her seat and was extremely startled by the tentacle that burst out of the water, sending droplets flying all over the place. She wiped off a couple that had ended up wetting her face and looked over and was glad to see that both children were carefully placed on the professors' boat, and luckily didn't appear to be hurt... just wet (more like drenched).
Akari definitely did not envy them.
She wanted to call out to Elisabeth and ask her if she was okay just to be sure but there was no way that she was going to interrupt the professors so she figured that she'd just ask later on once they were on land.
"Good gracious... That was wild " She exclaimed glancing over at the two boys.

Once everything had finally settled down, Akari fought back a big yawn, and it seemed as if she wasn't the only one that was sleepy but the evening wasn't finished just yet.

Huddling together, a group of first years was looking intently to the Hogwarts Caretaker.
The man was very off-putting for a reason the boy could not explain.
Blaise shuddered in his place a little as goosebumps crept down his arms in response to the oppressive uncertainty in the air around the man.
The attention of the group swiftly shifted when they were introduced to the head of Slytherin house. A beautiful white-haired woman donning a stylish outfit.
The caretaker briefly explained the process of boarding the boats before commanding the students to hurry up.
The man's demeanor was rough and impatient, causing the more nervous children to worriedly rush aboard the anchoring vessels.
Students began to make their journey through the lake in groups of four, cruising away slowly for several minutes before being engulfed by the mist enveloping their destination.
Blaise found himself dilly-dallying, observing the other children as their numbers gradually dwindled.
He stopped in his tracks when he spotted his sister boarding one of the boats, leading a group of excited giggling girls with her. She was calm and composed.
'Not even inside the school, and she's already cultivating a student cult.' Blaise thought bitterly to himself.
Eventually, his turn came to get on the boat. Boat #8.
Blaise followed an elegant looking boy and a tall, bespectacled blonde girl - who looked WAY too grown-up for a first-year - and swiftly hopped inside the marine vessel.
He took a seat in front of the other boy. Eyeing him a little before speaking.
"Hi." Blaise had a casual tone to his voice. He gave the boy a subtle lopsided smile—the cool and relaxed demeanor revealing nothing about the stress and discomfort churning inside of him.
He also nodded upwards toward the blonde girl, greeting her very informally.
'Man, this is so awkward.' Blaise thought nervously.

Interacting with @Calantha Andreas, @Phineas Avery