The Ravenclaw Table 2022-2023

Isla beelined for the Ravenclaw table once she had been sorted, eager to be over with the ceremony. She sat herself down on the bench near a fellow first year, whom she had watched being sorted.
"Hi," She greeted the girl politely before turning to get a better look of the magnificent hall. She touched her robes, surprised to see a blue Ravenclaw crest replacing the Hogwarts one. When did that happen? Isla shuffled closer to the table, running her hands over the silver cutlery on the table and examining the golden goblet, engraved with intricate patterns, in admiration. How fancy! Was this how royalty ate?

Isla then turned her gaze to her fellow Ravenclaws, trying to pick out any familiar faces from the Hogwarts Express or the boat ride over the lake to the castle. The young Scot was taken aback by the sheer amount of people in her house alone, both young and older. She was left rather intimidated. Would she have to learn all their names? Surely not! Isla straightened the fork in front of her before whipping around to watch the sorting ceremony at the end of the lengthy hall, applauding with the student body once the sorting hat had made its decision. The first year Ravenclaw couldn't help but sympathise with the older students, who had to sit through this time-consuming ceremony every year.

Isla's arms had grown weary from all the clapping, the palms of her hands tingling. Every so often the frayed old hat would exclaim, "RAVENCLAW!" and she joined her table in applause as they sat down at the lengthy Ravenclaw table. It had felt like hours ago she had been sorted, though it was most likely only 10 or so minutes. She could have sworn there were not this many first years on the boat ride across the lake!

Her face lit up as she recalled the boat ride earlier that evening. She couldn't deny, the grand, well-lit castle looming in the distance with the brilliant stars reflecting onto the glistening waves as they lapped gently at the boat was a sight to behold, it could pass off as a movie scene. It was the perfect night for it as well, even the nigh storm steered away from Hogwarts. It felt more like a muggle tradition than a wizarding one, with the muggle rowboats and all, but it was a pleasant journey nonetheless.

As the ceremony dragged on, she couldn't help but find herself wondering what came next. The lavish plates and goblets before each student suggested a meal, but what kind of meal? Would the first years be whisked away for a special first-year event as they had been after getting off the Hogwarts Express? Where would they sleep for the night? She hadn't thought to ask any of these questions to her father before boarding at platform 9^3/4, which she now regretted. The whole ordeal was overwhelming.

Isla glanced over at the girl beside her as another first year joined the table. She looked to be a little older than herself, maybe a second or third year. Perhaps she would know. The freshly-sorted Ravenclaw leaned towards her to be heard over the boisterous applause, asking, "Hi, um, wha' happens after the sortin'?"

--- Date: 01/09/22 || Time: 19:50 ---

Outfit: School robes, tie untied

Sophia cheered excitedly as each new student was sorted, but she was particularly biased in favor of the new birds. Not only were they to be like little sibling figures for her, but they were actually younger than her.

This was an entirely new experience for the blue-haired girl. As her birthday fell in mid August, she'd been eleven years old throughout her entire first year. That meant everyone she met was effectively older than her and she was the 'baby' of her friend group. But now? Now she wasn't the baby any longer.

She nudged Gem in the side, throwing on a dastardly smirk as one of the new Ravenclaws joined the table.

"Hey, Gem," she said loudly, pointing at the first year. "Look at the little one. The tiny first year!"

She was being a bit mean, but it was fun to not be the baby any more, so she basically had to pick on the younger students. Some of them were actually shorter than her too!

"Hi, um, wha' happens after the sortin'?" the first year asked Clair a few chairs down. Sophia leaned forward with great interest.

"Oh my goodness, they're so cute! They're so tiny and squishy and I just wanna hug 'em!"

She beamed at the new first year and clapped her hands excitedly.

"What's your name? I must have missed it. Did you enjoy the train ride? How 'bout the boats? Did you think they were scary? You must have thought they were scary, being so young and all. Oh my goodness, you are just so cute!" she gushed excitedly at the first year, forgetting all about the girl's questions.

Before Sophia could pester the young girl any further, a loud voice shattered the calm chatter of the students.

"CLAAAAIIIRRR FERNANDEZ!!! OWOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Sophia would know that voice anywhere, and even if she didn't, she'd know the howl. Colin!

"COLLIE!" she shouted, standing and waving her arms wildly to get the boy's attention.

"Collie! I missed you!" she hollered across the Hall to the Slytherin Table.

Ah, it was good to be back.

Notes:

Reducio

Welcome new first year

Interacting:

@Isla Ainsley || @Gemima Sable

Mentioning:

@Clair Fernandez

【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】

Ah, it was that time of year again.
The enchanted ceiling was a soothing midnight blue, permeated by thousands of twinkling stars and glowing candles. The air was filled with the sounds of cheers as the Sorting finally came to an end.

Gem clapped with the others as the new students finished filtering into their assigned houses.
"That felt like it was going to go on forever." she murmured to Sophia. Yes, she had felt some sympathy for the incoming firsties-- her own Sorting had been absolutely nerve-wracking-- but the only things on her mind right now were food and sleep. The train ride had taken quite a lot out of her.

Gem stifled a yawn, halfheartedly surveying the new Ravenclaws before turning her attention to the infuriatingly empty golden plates. Gem's stomach growled in despair. She sighed and closed her eyes. Maybe when she opened them, the feast would appear.

Sophia suddenly jabbed her in the ribs. "Hey, Gem!" she cried.
"What?" Gem snapped.
"Look at the little one. The tiny first year!"
Gem squinted. "Huh? They're all tiny."
But her friend was too busy gushing about how cute the first years were. Upon closer inspection, she was referring to a girl a few seats down. Gem raised an eyebrow and tried to make sense of what the excited (former) redhead was going on about.

"Calm down, Soph. She's only one year younger than you; it's not like she's a baby. I'm sure you were plenty scared last year."
She sighed and smiled at the girl in what she hoped was a friendly manner.
"We feast, of course." she replied. "Then a prefect from your House will lead you to your new dorms."

Gem looked back at the still barren plates. Her face quickly soured.
"And then I'll finally be able to sleep. What's taking so long?" She let out a loud groan and miserably leaned into Sophia's side--

--Only for the menace to shoot upwards and start yelling at someone across the Hall (presumably Colin). Gem promptly fell over and ate wood bench. Well, now she was awake. Cheeks burning bright red, she hoisted herself back up into a sitting position, biting back scathing curses.

【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】

@Sophia Nelson | @Isla Ainsley

Before the older girl beside her could answer, a voice a few students down exclaimed how cute the first years were. It was a girl, only a tad bit older than she was, with striking blue hair. She wondered if a lot of witches were born with bizarre hair colours since she hadn't met many magical folk in her small muggle city. Or maybe it's just dyed. Before she could continue her train of thought longer, the girl began shooting questions at someone. To her dismay, Isla quickly realized they were aimed at her.

"I, um.. Ma name is- I- It was..-" She tried her best to keep up, but the girl was spouting questions faster than the latest broomstick, much to her mounting frustration. " T'was, uh.. I-"
Just then, another girl beside her told her off and shot Isla a smile and answered her original question, "We feast, of course. Then a prefect from your House will lead you to your new dorms."
Isla nodded politely and opened her mouth to say thank you, only to be interrupted by someone bellowing from the other side of the Hall. The blue-hared girl shot up from her seat, waving her arms wildly and cheering back.

Isla tore her gaze from the curious situation and glanced back at her plate. A feast? For the entire student body? Surely whipping up that amount of food would be an impossible task, there were simply too many students! She gazed up and down her own table. It would be a right challenge to feed the whole of Ravenclaw alone!

The first year thought back to the feasts she would have when the rest of the family was over, or during Eid al-Fitr. Sure, she hated all the company, but the food was amazing, especially after Ramadan. Even then, it took her mum the entire day to prepare enough for everyone, with the help of magical tools. To feed every student of Hogwarts a decent meal would take hundreds of cooks! And so many ingredients. She would hate to have a hopeless task like that.

Isla turned back to the girl seated beside her, who greeted her graciously with an answer. She explained the Ravenclaw common room and classes which would take place the next day. The first year was looking forward to learning the new subjects, yet she was also apprehensive. It would certainly be a far cry from her muggle school. Yet, she was sure she wasn't alone in these feelings--she had met plenty of nervous first years throughout the day.

The older girl then introduced herself as Clair Fernandez, and Isla did the same.
"Oh, A'm Isla Ainsley," she introduced herself. So that was who the voice across the hall was calling. Clair must know a lot of people. Did everyone at Hogwarts know each other's names? she wondered with a frown. She had never been the best at retaining names.

"So, you happy to be a Ravenclaw?"
"Well, A guess so. A've only been ain fir a few minutes," She replied. So far, the Ravenclaws at her table had been very helpful, even if some had been a bit energetic. Isla had found many of the students and staff at Hogwarts to be willing to give her and her fellow first years a hand, which eased some of her nerves. She had been worried that everyone would be tight-knit, and though it appears they are, they have been welcoming enough.

The day had been an eventful one so far. Her first train ride on the Hogwarts Express through the Scottish glens, the boat ride that night over the vast lake towards the castle, and her sorting ceremony with the curious hat. Isla couldn't help but speculate what the Ravenclaw common room would look like. Her father, who had been a Ravenclaw many years ago, had told her it was in a tower with countless stairs, the only entrance being a handleless door which would require a riddle to be answered to enter. She couldn't wait to see where she would spend her nights for the most part of seven years. This was her second home now, and she had to get used to it, with all the people and the winding corridors.