General The Hufflepuff Table 2020-2021

ーTo say that Arista was a little anxious was a wild understatement. Try utterly and devastatingly nerve-wrecked, she thought sheepishly, eyes downcast to her bread and soup (a little too watery for her taste, but she digressed). How did her brother and sister did it, she wondered, daring a few glances around the Great Hall.

Well, her sister was a Gryffindor; she supposed that was self-explanatory. Amara Elderman probably made friends with the entirety of her housemates before supper was announced. And as for her brother - Hugo Elderman never did pay any mind to anything that he deemed was too frivolous for his mind. As expected of a Ravenclaw, Arista thought, taking a sip of her pumpkin juice a little enviously.

But Arista Elderman was decidedly not her sister nor her brother. She was her own self, and hadn't she promised her mother that she would be good, and she would try her best in classes, and most importantly: she would absolutely make friends of her own? A daunting task, no doubt, but a promise nevertheless.

So, mustering all the courage she could, Arista turned to the person seated next to her. "Hullo," she started. "Are... are you a first year too? Please-say-yes-otherwise-this-would-be-horribly-embarassing-and-I-don't-think-I'm-equipped-to-handle-that," she said in one breath - a feat she herself was shocked to realized.

༺❁༻
Interacting with; @Grant Dale

Bopping her way to the table of her newly proclaimed housemates, Bekah took up residence in one of the empty spaces next to a couple of older looking students. Her eyes shimmered as she exchanged nods as well as a couple of thank-yous to those welcoming her to the family of badgers. Though as the next name was called out and the chatter quieted long enough to listen for the verdict another wave of excitement roared through the sea of yellow. Getting swept up in all the action, Rebekah followed suit and clapped as a boy joined their table. Oh! It had been the same one she had questioned before being whisked up to the hat. She beamed at him as he found his way over. Any of the nerves she had been battling earlier on in the evening had been immediately replaced with excitement.

Allowing herself to get caught up in the celebration, Bekah let loose a short laugh as the boy spoke to her, answering her question from before. How fortunate she had turned to him and they ended up sorted together! Regardless of knowing the boy a matter of minutes at the very most a whole five of em, she couldn't help but fall into an ease talking to him. She had to string her hearing over the crowd to catch the next remark though.

"I wonder if it's like...psychic er something?" At this point after finding out magic was real she had expected to wake up to the X-men teaching classes. She leaned to look past the boy and watch as more were called forward to be sorted, half of her attention still focused on someone she hoped could be a new friend. He was only the second...maybe third person she had spoken to after setting off on this adventure.

"Your family is all magic too then?" Intrigued, the young girl sat up a little taller and studied the boy up and down. Hufflepuff was the best? Well, he had to take his word for it since she had no prior knowledge and so far everything was going along far better than she anticipated. Another bought of cheering made her have to raise her voice as she spoke. "Stack chairs? I hope not! Isn't there some sorta spell er something for that?" There was no way Bekah was staying behind go stack chairs with the whole rest of the castle left to explore! Plus, stacking chairs was so boring... she hoped there was a spell so her experience stacking chairs after music class would be a distant memory sooner rather than later. "So... you uh know a lot about this place then? With family and all that having been here? I had to try and read up on most of it..." She had spent a whopping half hour flipping through pages before getting distracted. Reading wasn't going to get her anywhere, or so she though, so instead she had decided to just wait until she had arrived to find friends to fill her in. "I'm Bekah by the way." Thrusting a hand out towards the boy, she flashed him a smile alongside her introduction. Sure, they had called it out during sorting but it felt right, and a little like her mother would somehow know she hadn't properly introduced herself...

Grant wasn't sure if it was because of the necessity of such, and needing friends now that he was here, but he also felt an ease with her as Rebekah answered him back. "I guess it kind of is, with how it just knew", he said. He was still trying to make heads or tails of it himself.

He gave another small smile as she asked after his family. It was still so odd that his uncle's last name, at least, his own mother's maiden name, was known around these halls to some extent. Ben about to graduate even! And, as much as they could without lying, his family had...if not hidden, downplayed it all. For reasons he was still coming to understand.

Of course there had always been the occasional bouts of his older cousins just being good at solving some problem or other, and Grant knew they were "gifted", so that his own instance of magic wasn't too startling, but he'd always figured it was a very secret anomaly of his own family.

Not that there was a whole school that taught such things, and so many other magic users!

Sure Witches and Wizards had to be careful with magic around Muggles, but Brent Bowson had taken it to another level!

Because of Grant's mother, his uncle's younger sister, the boy understood that much.

"Yeah, well my uncle and mom were. My dad and aunt were...normal", Muggle, he meant, but he was still trying to figure out if that term was rude or not. Not on its own he didn't think, just a title. "My two older cousins have been going here a few years, but...they never spoke of it really. Long story, I guess you could say, and...I feel almost like a lot of the kids who came here as firsts of their family knowing absolutely nothing of magic". Somehow all of this sharing just came so easily even though he'd just met Rebekah.

"Um...what about you?", he asked.

Grant felt bad that he might have spread the worry about the chairs. He would say he was kidding, but even as he said it there had been that tiny twinge of uncertainty, "Nah, I don't really think they would...hopefully", he smiled, then laughed as she brought up spells. "Is it bad magic's not the first thing I think of?", he asked a bit rhetorically, "But then I guess school will help with that too".

"My cousins have filled me in on a lot", he answered, once the din had died down, "But they said figuring it out on your own is also part of the fun, so hopefully it won't be too hard, and maybe we can figure it out together?". And if he now had a friend to share that with.

"Grant", he supplied his own name, taking her hand and shaking it.

༺❁༻
Interacting with; @Grant Dale

"Wooah.." Bekah's mouth hung open slightly for a moment as she processed Grant having other family attending Hogwarts. She couldn't even imagine her siblings here, though it would be more fun most likely. "So coool..." She breathed in awe before he turned the question around. "I uh- nope! My family had no clue. None." She shook her head slowly and sat up straighter. "They were totally shocked, even I was! Not like I had really thought anything about small things happening I guess. There were a couple weird times that stuff happened back home but sooo different actually being told it is real." She almost whispered the last word as if speaking it too loudly would rip her from whatever dream this was. Seriously, if she woke up tomorrow and in her bed and this had all been her imagination she was going to be so.mad.

Bekah gave a slight shrug and bit at her lip. "I don't think it's bad. Means you kinda have a more realistic outlook? Though what that means now with magic in the world I have no idea." She squeaked the reply in before he brought up his cousin's filling in any gaps the boy might have. A part of her wished she had, had family to help her out even if figuring it out first hand would be more exciting, and dangerous. She blinked twice a he said they both might work together. Something swelled in her chest as she scooted closer to the boy, leaning in. "Really?!" Brown eyes fixed on the young Hufflepuff. "That-" She paused trying to reel in her immediate delight, bubbling over and making her words all mold into one response. "I would love that so very much!" A small squeak slipped from the girl's lips as she clapped her hands together. Hogwarts was going to be sooo much better with a friend like Grant.

Grant had expected to feel like the odd one out, just learning all of this himself, and yet even by having some members of his family to pave the way for him he had an advantage it seemed. Honestly he could relate, for most of his life, to the Living with No Clue such as Bekah explained, except that then his uncle had been able to sigh and enlighten a bit.

He nodded. "I know what you mean. I always thought my cousins were just lucky, the way they would be able to do things, but then not talk about it much. I think my uncle was just the most worried about me entering into all of this because...well maybe just being overprotective with me like he was with my Mum who was his little sister", he admitted. He knew, a bit, that there was more to it than that but honestly wasn't all straight on the fact himself and so didn't want to say anything, especially about possible dangers, that might or might not be true, and especially when they had both just entered the school and were excited about all they could do!

"He at least knew what the owl and letter meant, I heard...when your family's not magic a wizard comes and explains, did he have a hard time explaining?", Grant asked, now just curious to know about Bekah's journey also and since she seemed like she would be a great friend. Maybe, if she put up with him, he thought in a bit self humor.

She didn't think his situation odd though, and where he should have known more. "Yeah, I guess it does", he smiled, convinced himself that yes, this could be fun! "I wonder what's next?"

༺❁༻
Interacting with; @Grant Dale

Bekah nodded in thought as Grant spoke of overprotective family. She remembered how her own aunt and uncle could be when the family would go on holiday and her parent's weren't around. To think that was just over not getting lost shopping in London-not traversing the magical world. She could only imagine the fears Grant's uncle most likely had for the boy.

"Yeah, this tall woman with dark hair came! She was really nice... one of the professors here. My parents asked all sorts of stuff and let me listen but it took awhile to really sink in ya'know?" Pushing at the base of the goblet closest to her plate, Bekah bit at the corner of her lower lip. It had been a strange day indeed. One minute she was planning for school, picking out new erasers and notebooks then the next she was being told she was magical. And to think the highlight of the day before the big news she had thought the package of rubber erasers in the form of dogs would be the talk of her friends the first couple weeks of school. Now...well... she didn't have any of them to share this with..let alone those erasers.

Grant's question tore her back to reality. She blinked at the boy and poured herself some more of what appeared to be juice. "You think they do anything after dinner? Maybe bring us all somewhere fun? Oh!! Like the top of the castle or something!?" Rebekah began to get excited at the possibilities. Wait, just how high up was that? Who cares! Imagine all the things they could see from up there. "Where do we even sleep? Did your uncle tell you anything once you got your letter at least? Or what about your Mum?" She took a swig from her goblet.

Interactions: @Arista Elderman