First Year Entrance 2021-2022

Interacting: @Avery Chen
Mentioning: @Della Barfield | @Geoffrey Donovan | @Seren Yong | @Kit Paine

English | Mandarin | French | Quotes

The Chinese boy hesitated for a moment, they had clearly introduced themselves while he had been distracted, and he had not caught their names. He considered for a moment if he should ask them, but then dismissed the idea almost immediately. It might come across poorly, and first impressions were important. he would just have to try and gather their names from context and conversation.

There was a moment of silence, as everyone absorbed each other's presence. The white-haired girl (Della) was the first one to attempt conversation, asking probably the low-hanging fruit as a conversation starter. It was an interesting question, and one whose answer was not as easy as he had first thought on the train a month back.

Originally, he would have thought that he would obviously fit in with the ravens, quiet and studious as they were. And it was true, the Head of Ravenclaw had been one of the few adults in this world that correlated to a proper adult back in the Muggle world. And he would score well, of course, it would be unimaginable not to do so. But did he really value knowledge in this world, especially if he had no intentions of staying longer than he had to?

The Asian girl (Seren) mentioned that she would be happy in any House with the exception of the one that her parents had been in. Some bad blood in the family, then? Or perhaps it was just a drive to stand out?

The only other boy had started speaking when the sound of a heavy splatter, as something large fell into the water. Almost on instinct, Ming whirled towards the noise even as the rational part of his mind was cursing.

Of course something would go wrong now, of all times, when he was but a sitting duck on a boat and could not even run away if things got awry. He really needed to get into that library and find several books along the lines of 1001 Little Tricks to Survive the Never-ending Problems of the Wizarding World. Perhaps then, he would be able to relax and just get through the next seven years of inevitable insanity that awaited him.

Even as his mind whispered doubts and worries; Ming's eyes fell on his best friend in the water, before rising quickly to meet the riders of the first boat. Schneider. Of course it was. She had all but told them that Mudbloods had no place in the wizarding world; and already she was putting her threat into action - in the presence of an adult, no less!

And of course her target would be Avery. Friendly, boisterous, trusting Avery. Don't be a stupid melon, now is not the time!

For a panicked second, Ming thought that Avery was going to drown. Fortunately though, Avery seemed to know how to keep himself afloat. It was a blessed relief, as that meant that there would not be immediate problems, and someone would be able to fish him out.

Ming's singular male boatmate (Rhys) seemed to be thinking along the same lines, taking off his robe and preparing to help Avery board their already full boat. It would be cramped, yes, but hardly more dangerous than four 11-year-olds carrying mobile flamethrowers on a wooden boat.

The (relative) confidence that Ming had had that this was a minor mishap that could be overcome immediately was dispelled with the reaction of the only adult with them on the tour. Mr. "You can call me Kit" Paine's call to Avery had been far from reassuring: calm, yes. But it was tinged with a sense of ... urgency?

What could possibly cause distress to the caretaker?

"Avery." Ming said out loud. It was a singular word, and he hoped to try and inject every bit of calm into it that he could. His eyes looked down upon the helpless plight of his best friend. Schneider will pay for this: no one messed with him or his. Not like this. "It's alright, Avery. We'll fish you out of there in just a-"

His voice trailed off into silence; for it was at about this point that Ming noticed the first signs of something wrong. From within the dark depths of the Great Lake emerged a tendril of darkness,
leathery and rubbery and twisted, and the most disturbing shade of red. And as this appendage of unknown origin curl around the ankles of his best friend, a coldness took a hold of him, and all thoughts of decorum - no, every thought altogether in his head - fled with the sole exception of one: Avery needs to make it through this alive.

Without even realizing it, the normally quiet first year all but shouted two words: terror and anger and warning all rolled into one.

"GIANT SQUIIIIID!"

Word Count: 454
Interacting With: @Rachel Davis
Mentions: @Kit Paine & @Avery Chen

By some miracle, when Colina had gotten on the Hogwarts Express, she had met a really funny and nice girl named Rachel and talked with her through the entire ride. The best part is that she hadn't lost her in the hustle and bustle of exiting the train and she was now standing next to her as both of them tried to figure out where they needed to go. She saw a bunch of the smaller students bunching up, likely the other First Years. She pointed over to them, "Hey, Rachel, I think we need to go over 'ere."

At the front of the group of First Years was a man that fascinated her with his appearance alone. He's really tall and has facial tattoos which would be cool on its own. What caught her eye, though, was the fact he had two different colour eyes, one a bright blue and the other a deep dark brown. She had never seen anyone with eyes like that, never even a story from Holly, who seemed to know everything.

He starts talking and introduces himself as Kit. He seems very outgoing and friendly, just the kind of professor that Colina liked. He started directing them toward the boats and she looked over at an empty boat. She motioned Rachel over to it, "Hey, let's sit here, Rachel!" The thought passed her mind that maybe she wanted to go on a different boat than her, but probably not.

Colina talked a bit with Rachel, but she mainly just looked out at the Great Lake and the castle for the first part of the journey. The castle itself was amazing, intricate architect that had clearly been structured hundreds of years ago though it still had something timeless about it.

Colina was also fascinated by the lake. This was by far the biggest body of water she had ever seen, or at least remembered seeing. She lived in a coastal town when she was really little but she doesn't mind it. That was one of her goals in life, to see the ocean. Her father was always really busy so there was no time for them to travel more than an hour's distance away.

Turning back to Rachel, Colina smiled, "This is so cool isn't it?" Just then, she heard a commotion behind her. She turns around to see one of the students falling into the lake as the students around him scream. She widened her eyes as she witnessed the scene unfold with the other two boats. The kid seemed to be doing fine so far but all the splashing around made Colina worry about the possible squid in the water that her father had told her about.

Interacting with @Colina Doherty
Mentioning @Kit Paine,@Hui Ming,@Avery Chen

Finally getting out of that train, that Rachel wouldn't miss much, she stuck close to Colina, wouldn't want to separate to her only friend that she made now would she? She was then snapped out of her thoughts by Colina who pointed to what seems like a bunch of first year as well. "Alright, better not keep them waiting." Rachel said jokingly and smiling while walking a little faster than normal.

As they got nearer, Rachel could see a very tall man which has facial tattoos, and another eye blue and another brown which Rachel finds cool and interesting. Everything different fascinates her. Maybe because she lived in a muggle neighborhood who likes everything simple and normal and got used to seeing the same old things over and over again.

Getting motioned by Colina to sit on an empty spot on a boat, Rachel hopped in happily. You don't need to tell her twice. As they proceeded, Rachel looked around on the lake. She was amazed. And was probably wondering if anyone were allowed to swim there. Probably not, it might be cold. But Rachel, growing up, rarely visit beaches or any body of water. And if she does, its either a very special occasion or she was out exploring to who knows where and just stumbled upon it. So you can't blame her for wanting to jump in there.

A little time went by, Rachel replied to Colina's question with a very excited, "Yes it is! But this lake gives me the creeps a little bit. But just a little bit." After she replied, she heard a splash and then a voice of a boy who loudly called out presumably to the student who fell in the lake. At first, Rachel only glanced once to see what the heck is happening and then averted her attention to other things but then did a double take as soon as she comprehended the situation. Oh no.

A student fell out of the boat. But they seem to be doing alright, hanging on a boat but it looks like their freezing to death. Rachel was a bit concerned to the student and also the squid that she heard from her mother. She gave another look at the bottom of the lake, and hoping that she doesn't have to witness the squid firsthand. "Yikes."

Green : talking
Purple : thinking

Hildegard explained her condition in more details to Kit, and after everything happened Avery insulted her of "crazy witch" the girl replied annoyed :

-Do you even know how much this robe costed ? It's the new collection from Madam Malkin ! Apparated directly from Italy ! That robe was worth at least 3 Galleon

-Thank you Mister. [She said in relieve when Kit Paine removed the kid's vomit from her.

How rude he is ! He is the one that vomited on me ! I only pushed him ! He is the one that fell in the lake ! I did not do anything wrong ! He's the one who should have protected himself from falling !

She was not mad at the boy anymore as the vomit was gone,

- We should be okay now tho ! We both have our little inconvenience. The disable girl lied as his vomit had disappeared from her.

"GIANT SQUIIIIID!" She heard from a familiar voice.

The little girl saw some part of the creature and immediately screamed,

-HHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH !!!

She rushed behind the caretaker in panic,

-PLEASE DO SOMETHING MISTER !

In her hurry, her panic and also because of her disable leg the witch slipped into the lake.

HELP !!!! She screamed as she was not able to swim because of her disability.

Interacting with : @Kit Paine| @Avery Chen

Seren had been watching all of this, and the moment Rhys had tried to get the other boy in the boat, she had been unsure as to whether or not this was a good idea. The boat was JUST barely big enough for the four of them, but the other kid really should not be stuck in the lake. She was pretty sure things were getting complicated... And when the caretaker said to wait, she bit her lip and hoped he would get here quickly.

And then Hui yelled GIANT SQUID and she froze, then shifted to the opposite side of the boat from where the stranger... Avery, Hui had said, before yelling... In concern that the Squid might reach up into the boat. She would be interested in the Squid in some situations, but this one was definitely not one of them, and she did not know what to do.

Avery's panicking, and the girl who pushed him into the water from the other boat falling in as well caused Seren to freeze... Until the boat was tilting, thanks to the panicking. She shrieked and grabbed the edge of the boat closest to her, pushing back against it and trying to use her not-very-heavy weight to get it to go back into the water. She did not expect it to work but she had to try. "STOP IT! You're going to pull us ALL in with you! STOP it!"

Her voice was terrified, and her blue eyes were huge... And her hair, in her panic, was flashing red, back to black and red again, her control almost totally gone. She turned her face towards the caretaker, pleadingly. "Please help!"

@Kit Paine@Hui Ming @Geoffrey Donovan@@Della Barfield@Avery Chen

So his name was Avery.

Rhys helped him up as best he could despite all the sudden thrashing about that seemed to be caused by nothing—he honestly wondered if Avery was being a bit dramatic about this whole thing. He was just fine a second ago when he took his hand! He kept his mouth shut though—to each their own, his granddad always told him—and and kept trying to help him up, now really feeling bad for his current plight. Sopping wet, and likely freezing cold because of it, on his first day at Hogwarts. For a moment, he thought that that would be Avery's biggest problem. Until of course, Hui Ming nearly blew out his ear drum with a horrified shout.

GIANT SQUID.

Two words he never thought he'd ever hear said together given the context of their situation. Giant squid, the food, maybe. But not an actual giant squid.

His eyes went bug wide and he tightened his grip on Avery's hand. Of course, a giant squid. It wouldn't have been his first thought but they were in a magical place now, right? Why not a giant squid? It finally clicked. No wonder he was thrashing about and holding on for dear life! With his mind finally righted (he could feel like an idiot later, he thought) Rhys reached out and held on to Avery's arm with his other hand.

"Hang on!" he cried, gritting his teeth as he held on with all the strength his eleven-year-old self could muster. Honestly, who was he against a giant squid? But like hell he'd just let go and let the squid take his schoolmate alive. What if it dragged him straight to the bottom of the lake?

He looked around at his fellow boatmates and said, "Someone grab his other hand!"

With that he braced himself, held tight, and pulled. He was too pre-occupied to notice the way the boat slowly tilted. When this all started his feet were on the bottom of the boat, but after a few seconds of this tug-of-war with the squid his feet were all too soon standing far too close to the outer edge of the boat instead. It was working though! Avery was still up, they just had to keep trying.

His chest and his head were pounding, his arms absolutely sore, and he could barely hear someone yell "Stop it!" behind him as he did his absolute best to hold on.

Not that it meant anything after another couple of seconds. The brunette, aged eleven, was still far too short sighted. He didn't even get a chance to notice his mistake before he went crashing into the water, still holding tight to Avery's arm. The boat had tilted too far, emptying its passengers into the lake as it finally tipped over.

Boat #2 - Capsized Version

@Hui Ming | @Seren Yong | @Della Barfield | @Avery Chen

@Seren Young | @Avery Chen | @Hui Ming | @Hildegard Schneider | @Geoffrey Donovan | @Kit Paine

Capsized Boat 2
Interacting: -
Mentioning: @Hildegard Schneider | @Avery Chen | @Seren Yong | @Geoffrey Donovan | @Della Barfield | @Kit Paine

English | Mandarin | French | Quotes

They say that time slows down in times of extreme crises. That people become more aware, that their reactions become faster.

Well, this was definitely not the case for Ming. One second he was trying to calm down Avery and keep the situation under control; and the next second the Giant Squid made an appearance and everything went sideways. Rather literally.

As the boy was helping an increasingly manic Avery onto the boat, the boat began to tilt sideways. A little at first, but then further. And further, until-

The Chinese boy lost his footing and fell backwards onto the boat, knocking his glasses off his face. He felt dazed, his sense of direction confused as the world itself seemed to spin, all the while his senses were assaulted by a bevy of sounds from all directions.

SPLASH!

"Someone grab his other hand!"

"PLEASE DO SOMETHING MISTER! HELP !!!"

"STOP IT! You're going to pull us ALL in with you! STOP it!"

Ming was struggling to get a hold of his bearings when the whole world shifted. Suddenly, everything was wet, all the lights were blurry and all the sounds were muffled. Ming did not know where he was or what was happening. Perhaps if he could just find where his glasses went he could set everything straight. He just needed to take a deep breath-

It was during that attempt to inhale that something heavy filled his mouth and nose that the realization hit him: He was underwater. And he could not swim.

Oh.

There was a shock of panic as adrenaline shot through him. All conscious thought faded at that moment. It did not matter that people were matching, it did not matter that there was a gigantic magical creature in the water next to them. It did not even matter that his best friend was likely drowning right there next to him.

All that mattered was the burning in his lungs and the electric surge of terror in his veins.

The Chinese boy flailed his limbs in a blind, desperate attempt to break the surface and breathe blessed air again.

─────So Tristan had some semblance of knowledge of the wizarding world. Experience and knowing that was foreign to Maggie. That was fine. She could deal. Plus, it would probably be beneficial to have a friend(?) who knew things about this strange new world. "Okay, actually, fun fact, that's a really interesting story. My mum's a witch, my dad's not. Biological dad. My biological father is non-magic, so's my stepdad. But it's almost like I'm pure muggle-born, you know. Mum didn't bother to tell anyone about her little magic thing until it was too late, then boom, pow, dad's out the door," Maggie swung her hand down into her palm in a poor approximation of her father leaving. "So I really don't know much about this stuff. She never told me about it."

Pity.

"But it seems you know best, so I hope I don't get Slytherin, either," if only things worked out that way, huh?

The call from their caretaker startled Maggie away from her own mind, and she looked out at Kit across the water. So the boats weren't enchanted to keep from capsizing, what a shame. "Seems like I was wrong, guys! Fancy going for a swim?" She asked, grinning at Tristan and Aurora. It was a joke, obviously.

Or not, because judging by the noises coming from a different boat on the other side of Maggie, Tristan, and Aurora, someone had fallen in. Screaming and kicking and flailing in the dark waters."Oh my god. You're kidding," Maggie gasped, flocking to the side of the boat and peering over the edge. She couldn't make out anything in particular apart from the dark form of a boy flailing in the water. A girl was screaming about vomit or something of the sort. Maggie was suddenly feeling very grateful to be in a boat with someone else.