The Ravenclaw Table 2022-2023

"Oh, it's common where A'm fae."
Isla knew about 3 people sharing her name from her home city alone, but perhaps Clair came from another country. She nodded along as Clair spoke of her ceremony and her muggle-born family. Although Isla was raised by a wizard and a squib, her childhood was closer to a muggle one. She lived in a muggle-prominent city, with only one or two wizarding families she knew of. Although coming from a magical bloodline, her squib mother spent a lot of time integrating with muggles, before the SCAR movement had gained traction. Or, SCARAB, as they go by now. Isla didn't know too much about it, she had only heard it from newspapers or passers-by. And though she was decently educated on wizarding customs, wildlife and such, the lack of magical folk in her life took a toll on her childhood.

Clair then twisted around on the bench before pointing out her fourth year Slytherin sister, Izzy. Isla craned her head to see over the rows of heads, but she couldn't tell where Clair was pointing. She nodded in acknowledgement anyways to be polite.

"So what about you? Do you have any siblings here?" Clair turned the focus onto Isla, applauding for another Ravenclaw first year.
"No, I'm the oldest child," Isla replied once the clapping had died down and another first year had taken a seat on the stool at the front.
"My younger sister will be coming up in two years' time, she's started burping bubbles."

Isla's sister had proved herself to be magical before even she had, surely securing herself a spot in Hogwarts. She wondered where Maisie would be sitting in two years. Would she join Isla in Ravenclaw? The first year thought back to the Sorting Hat's song, of Gryffindor being brave, et cetera. She was pretty certain her fearless little sister would suit red and yellow well, although it would be nice to have a familiar face in Ravenclaw. Perhaps her brother would join her in blue if he was deemed magical enough for Hogwarts.

That made her think, how did the staff know who was a wizard or witch and who was a muggle? Did they have spies situated all around Britain? Surely not, that sounded ridiculous. Maybe they had some sort of magic detector that can sense if someone performs magic. Then again, how would it tell the difference between a child and an adult? Clair had said she had come from muggles, so anyone could have magic in their veins. Isla glanced back at the Slytherin table, where the older Ravenclaw's sister supposedly sat. Had anybody in the school been accidentally given a letter? That would be a horrible situation.

"Um, random question, but how dae the staff here ken who's magic an' who's not? How do they ken who gets a letter an' who doesnae?" Isla decided to ask before her nerves could stop her, turning back to Clair, who had just offered her aid if Isla ever happened to require it, which she had subconsciously replied to with a polite nod.

Isla gave a small applaud as the Sorting Hat bellowed, "RAVENCLAW!" once again before replying.
"A'm fae Perth, in Scotland.You?" She shot the question back at Clair.

Isla gave a nod of agreement. Her first magic had been a lot more mundane, but she was glad she didn't have the metallic taste of bubble-blowing liquid stuck in her mouth for the weeks her sister had. She perked up when the older Ravenclaw asked what house she might join, just as she had silently pondered a few minutes ago.
"Hum, maybe Gryffindor. They're the fierce ains, aye?" She replied.
The Sorting Hat had sung an entire four verses about the houses, but it had all been a bit of a blur; Isla was too focused on what was going on around her.

The same could be said with the entire day. September 1st had been a busy one for Isla, she wasn't prepared for so many new experiences. Her legs had begun to cramp from sitting down practically the whole day, and she stretched them from underneath the table--careful not to hit the person opposite her, of course.

She listened to Clair's reasoning with a thoughtful nod.
"Good idea," She agreed, but she didn't actually intend to ask a Prefect anything.
She didn't even know who prefects were, or what they did! All she had been told was that they were guiding the first years to their Common rooms. Isla had never liked asking for help that much anyways. It wasn't that she thought too highly of herself, it was just that she didn't want to bother anybody. Prefects seemed like busy people, and maybe her question was a bit dumb anyways. What did it matter? Then again, she had always wanted to know the why or how to dumb things, something her mother and father had not appreciated due to her constant flow of questions about the most bizarre of subjects.

Another thing she was curious about was classes. What types were they? Was it the same as her muggle school, where you sit and copy stuff from textbooks? Who taught them? Were they strict? Where were the classes? How hard were they? She couldn't just go into them blindly!
"Also, sorry for all the questions, but how are the classes? Like, what do we do?" Isla asked hesitantly. I bet she's sick of all these questions, she sighed internally. Maybe she was being too worried, and it would all be okay.

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

Outfit: School robes, tie untied

Sophia was born and raised in the United States. It wasn't a big deal, just a statement of fact. Besides, she lived in Ireland now, so she was really Irish at this point. Still, her Americanism never felt more prevalent than it did in that moment.

Colin had a Scottish accent, but she understood it somehow. This girl, though? Oh no. Sophia felt more American than ever as she just politely nodded at the girl's words to Clair. Thankfully the fellow second-year seemed to understand her rather well.

She leaned in and whispered to the - apparently cranky - Gem.

"What's she saying, Gem? I don't wanna be rude."

She decided to introduce herself to the girl as Clair had.

"Hiya. I'm Sophia. I'm a Ravenclaw - oh wait, you probably knew that, sorry - and it's nice to meet you."

She didn't realize that - due to her lack of understanding the Scottish accent - she was actually speaking quite loudly. Loudly and slowly. She didn't mean to do so, and she certainly didn't mean to be rude, but it was an involuntary response. A sort of mental 'if I can't understand her, can she understand me?'

Finally, she managed to understand a word.

'Classes.'

That made sense! She was probably nervous about it!

"Oh, don't you worry. Classes are super easy. Just don't fall asleep. Most of the teachers are super cool. Professor Freznul is amazing, and really sweet. Professor W.D. - she's the Potions professor - is just super nice and patient. She helps me study potions. Flying class sucks, but Ms. Stube is nice. I think there was a bit of a turnover in some of the other classes, though, so I can't say what you'll deal with there."

She wrapped her arms excitedly around Gem in a tight hug, almost treating the poor girl like a stuffed animal with her affection.

"Isn't she just adorable, Gem?" she gushed in a whisper.

Notes:

Reducio

Ahhhh adorable first years

Interacting:

@Isla Ainsley || @Gemima Sable

Mentioning:

@Clair Fernandez

【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】

"What's she saying, Gem? I don't wanna be rude."
Gem yanked a splinter from between her front teeth. She spared a glance over at Sophia, who was still fawning over the firstie. She huffed and rolled her eyes before yanking her friend back onto the bench.

"Can't you see she's talking with Clair?" she hissed. But Sophia was slippery, and in a split second she was at it again, talking to the poor girl as if she were an alien or something. At least what was coming out of her mouth could be considered encouraging.
Gem's brow furrowed more and more as her friend prattled on. Normally she would have found Sophia's enthusiasm endearing, adorable even, but not tonight.
"It's a Scottish accent, she's not speaking in tongues. She's just asking Clair-- privately, mind you-- what school is like." Gem took a deep breath. "And it's Fresnel," she finished, the foreign syllables flawlessly rolling off her tongue. "Now will you quit moving before I-- Hey!"

Sophia flung her arms around Gem, effectively squeezing the life out of her. "Isn't she just adorable, Gem?"
"Yeah, yeah, adorable, whatever. Let go of me!" Gem finally wrestled herself from Sophia's grasp and huffily turned back to the table. Her eyes widened, then teared up with relief at the sight before her.
In the time she was occupied, the house elves had finally come through. The dishes upon the table were laden with delicious delicacies. Gem sighed and immediately began piling her plate with food.

【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】

@Sophia Nelson | @Isla Ainsley | @Clair Fernandez

"I'm from Carlisle, the outskirts of it mind you, it is in Cumbria, near the border of Scotland," Clair disclosed where she hailed from after complimenting Isla's home nation with a smile.
Isla racked her brain for where Cumbria was situated. The hijabi was accomplished in many subjects, but geography was never one that really stuck. She was glad she was whisked away to Hogwarts before she had to take it as an actual subject in secondary school.
"Tha's in England, aye? Well, the top o' it, anyways," Isla finally came up with.

Before she could get her previous query answered, the same blue-headed girl butted in with a slow, clear introduction. Sophia, that was her name.
"Um, nice tae meet you aswul," She reciprocated with a wary smile. The girl was speaking awfully slowly and clearly, quite a contrast to her fast-paced questions from only a few minutes ago. Maybe it was because she was younger, and Sophia thought she wasn't very accomplished in her English abilities. Or maybe she thought Isla wasn't from around here. It wasn't rare for people to assume she hailed from a foreign country due to her hijab, as it wasn't a common article of clothing in Scotland. Yes, that must be it.

It didn't take Sophia long to revert back to her ravings, this time gushing about classes. The words blurred together to Isla's young ears--Professor something.. potions.. flying... Ms Stube.. Isla did not like the sound of what she was hearing. Potions? She thought she would only learn spells here! Plus, potion ingredients were revolting, she didn't want to have to handle those! And flying? She had to get on a broom in front of everyone and fly? Isla's face slowly twisted in horror as Sophia went on, clearly not reassured.

She could see Sophia's friend from beside her scold her with words she couldn't quite catch. The unnamed girl didn't seem impressed with the blue-haired Ravenclaw's energy. She was quickly silenced, however, by Sophia smashing into her with a strained hug.

She was brought back to her previous conversation by Clair's voice, confirming what Sophia had said in a slightly more coherent voice. Isla nodded in understanding, but she really wasn't looking forward to her classes tomorrow. Hogwarts even had homework! Oh, dear.

Isla's internal self-pity was interrupted by stocky elves with wrinkled faces, huge ears and pointed noses, which Isla recognised as house elves, bringing out silver platters loaded with all kinds of meals. The pungent smell of roasted meats, boiled vegetables and luscious desserts was rife in the air as the food was placed on the long tables. Isla could only watch on in surprise, never having seen so much food before. The first year glanced up and down the table to take in the sight, and her stomach growled greedily at the sound of metal scraping metal as students tucked in.

The hijabi glanced over at the older girls beside her, eyebrows furrowed.
"Is this.. fir us?" She knew it was a stupid question, but she was still in awe. It smelled so good as well! She couldn't believe how indifferent the students were. Did this happen every day?!

𝗳𝗮𝘆𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀
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Date:1/9/22 | Outfit: school robes | CC: #369676
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───── A scowl took centrefold on the second year's face. How could anybody enjoy this? It was too loud, for a start. Everybody clapping and shouting to their friends, celebrating as the new students sat on a little stool and got their futures read out to them by a old hat. Whoopee. It was tradition, sure, but Faye didn't understand why it had to be so loud. Especially when a boy from Slytherin she recognised as Colin McCoire, the boy Regina has fallen out with at the LGBTQ+ errand last year, decided to screech his friend's name, Clair Fernandez, the loudest he could possibly go.

Her hands swiftly made their way towards her ears, a reflex action, sticking a finger in each to muffle the sound. Really? Did nobody at this godforsaken school have any care for others? Ever heard of spatial awareness? Ugh. With an eyeroll, the Ravenclaw retracted her hands and watched with ignorance as another one of her housemates stood up to shout back (Really?), but it wasn't Clair. Bright blue radiated in her vision from her girl's dyed hair as she took in every aspect of her, her nose turning up slightly. Her hair was surely a sight to see. It just attracted attention and-

Hazel eyes dilated. No. Oh god. Did she not dye her hair bright enough? Ginger stood out, right? She'd messed up, ruined everything. Why hadn't she gone neon? No, no no no…

During the holidays her mother had stopped buying her the special hair dye, citing her increasingly sparse wallet. It was a reasonable explanation, but that didn't matter to her. What mattered was that her hair was back to it's original dirty blonde, the same colour as hundreds of other students. She just blended into the crowd. And she hated that. She was back to being insignificant, back to being worthless. Would Regina even recognise her? Hell, would she remember her?

So, as she aggressively ran her fingers through the blonde hair, she felt a stab of self-consciousness. Sophia, as she heard her friend call her, seemed so effortlessly nice. She wasn't having to force herself to exchange pleasantries, or be a completely different person. And she got to be all lovey-dovey with her friend by hugging her. Faye never got to do that with anybody. One, she never had anybody in the first place and two, even if she has Regina, she doubted that she'd ever receive a hug from the girl. She seemed awfully prickly.

As the house elves brought out the food, the Ravenclaw picked up her fork, fiddling with it idly, her eyes focused on it moving side to side. She kept one ear open to the conversation at her side of the table, and couldn't help the quiet scoff that came out of her. The newly sorted girl sure liked to talk.

"You just really like questions, aye?" Faye muttered, still fiddling with the fork. She wasn't even trying to hide the accent, being in Derry for the summer just enhanced it further. She looked up from the table, blinking slowly. Sophia reminded her of someone, but she couldn't put her finger on whom.

Leaning forward over the table, Faye turned to Sophia, scrutinising her under her glare.
"Do I know yous from somewhere?"

𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀:

Reducio

moping around the ravenclaw table, muttering something about isla, talking to sophia.

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| 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉: @Sophia Nelson|@Isla Ainsley| 𝑴𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈: @Colin McCoire|@Clair Fernandez|@Gemima Sable
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Sophia Nelson wrote: 17 Aug 2022, 07:57

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

Outfit: School robes, tie untied

Sophia giggled as Gem wriggled free of her grasp. She didn't take the girl's annoyed attitude seriously. She knew the girl was just a little hungry and cranky, and it was frankly her fault since she'd eaten most of Gem's candy on the train, so she didn't bother feeling offended.

"I mean, I know it's Scottish. I just - I can't tell what she's saying, you know? Colin's accent isn't this thick."

She turned to Clair and offered a happy wave.

"It's been, uh, eventful. How 'bout you? I'm assuming you met Colin?" she asked, unable to hide her curiosity. Especially after Colin's little shout across the Hall.

Then the new girl - Isla - gestured at the food on the table with clear wonder in her eye. Now that was a meaning Sophia would understand no matter the language barrier. She smiled at Isla and nodded, remembering her own amazement at the food at her first feast. While many of the dishes had been odd - standard British dishes weren't what the American girl was used to - she'd been nevertheless overjoyed at the sheer amount of delicious stuff.

Following Gem's lead, she began to load a plate down with more things than a girl her age - and height - should have ever been able to handle, but eating was certainly one of Sophia's specialties.

As she was taking a particularly large bite out of what she assumed was a turkey leg, another voice addressed both Isla and her, with a soft mumble and a curious question respectively.

Sophia turned to the girl, wiping turkey juices from her chin and returning the food to her plate.

"Maybe? You look kind of familiar, yourself," she said, trying to place where she'd seen the girl before. Her accent sounded Irish - Northern Irish, probably - so maybe they'd met before Hogwarts? Sophia didn't have any friends outside of school, though, so that didn't make sense.

The blonde addressing her still seemed familiar though.

Sophia racked her brain until an image of a girl with the same face - but red hair - popped into her head. Ah! It was her!

"Wait! I do know you!" she said as recognition dawned upon her at last. "You're Regina's friend! The one from the broom race! Uh, let me think. Hmm. Kay? No. Uh, Tay? No, no. It was something with a- Oh, right! Faye!"

She smiled at Faye. Any friend of Regina's was a friend of hers.

Not only was Regina like the most awesome duellist of her year, having survived a curse of bogies and being caught on fire without losing her composure, but she was also Sophia's most recent hero! The way she'd stopped Soph from crashing and burning on the train with her Heelys was nothing short of incredible, and the blue-head's admiration for Regina had only grown from there.

If she could only become half the witch Regina was, she would be good and truly satisfied with her progress.

"Man, Regina sure is something, isn't she? When you see her, could you give her my thanks? She basically saved my life tonight, and I can't thank her enough. She's so cool and pretty and elegant! Like a - a princess, but more of the 'butt-kicking' type of princess, not the 'oh come save me, fair prince,' kind of princess. Not to mention those eyes! Those totally awesome, purple eyes! I never noticed them before, but with the way she held me, it's kind of hard to miss, you know?"

She put a stopper on her hero worship long enough to make at least some kind of attempt at hiding the blush creeping onto her cheeks. It wasn't that she felt that way about Regina, after all. It was just a bit of confusion from the way Regina had caught her on the train. It was the same way Kim caught her at the Blossom Ball, and Soph was simply mixing her emotions up in her head. That was it. That was definitely it.

Of course, the events of summer didn't exactly help with her confusion. Her sinful thoughts were getting worse, and she blamed her momentary weakness during 'Twirl the Flagon.' She knew that her thoughts weren't okay for her, and she knew that, logically, she was simply admiring the fact that Regina was objectively pretty and had saved her from a fall. There was nothing more than that on her end, and she had to accept that.

She needed to go to the confessional as soon as she had time when she went back home. Father Lamb would be able to help her sort these thoughts out. It was one thing to have sinful thoughts, but she'd acted on them, and the last thing she wanted was for her soul to be damned forever, so she needed to clean up her act.

...but Regina really was amazing, though. Why was all of this so confusing?

"B-but yeah, you know me from there, I think..." she muttered, desperate to change her train of thought.

Notes:

Reducio

Let the battle commence

Interacting:

@Isla Ainsley || @Gemima Sable || @Faye Simmons || @Clair Fernandez

Mentioning:

@Regina Miller || @Kim Sato || @Colin McCoire