Finished First Year Entrance 2022-2023

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Mentioning @Lyam Park

After the long travel by train, they finally arrived to their destination. It was a nice experience during her time in the Hogwarts Express, she met someone new and had the opportunity to try out the wizarding desserts and candies. So far, her favorite were the chocolate frogs. Not only it tasted good, it was also fun to collect the cards.

It was already evening when they arrived, and everywhere around them was really dark. Ash could feel the cool night breeze when she exited the Hogwarts Express. A very tall dark haired woman with blunt bangs only called the first years students to gather. Her cat would be with her luggage, and she hoped to see her pet in her dorm room very soon. The woman patiently waited until she made sure that all the first years were present, she then introduced herself to them as the Caretaker of Hogwarts. Miss Greer also introduced them, the red-headed woman who stood beside her. She happened to be their Astronomy Professor. And after the briefing was over, they would travel to the castle by boat together.

Ash wouldn't want to get lost in a forest, so she followed the other first year students closely. Once they arrived in front of the great lake, she first looked up and saw a huge castle up on the hill. Wow...that must be Hogwarts! Ash thought in awe. It looked truly amazing, just like how her stepdad described to her. Now, she couldn't wait to see what Hogwarts looks like from the inside. She quickly noticed there were a few boats, but three boats were already full. Ash saw there was one Asian boy sat down on one of the empty boats, so she would take that one as well. The young Irish girl wondered if there would be more people joining them soon before the departure.

Action: selecting boat 4

─────Rubbing her hands together nervously, Avery steps away from where the first year luggage is assembled. She'd already lost sight of the others she'd shared a compartment with, instead simply following the flow of first years towards the voice calling them forward. Joining the congregation of other students around the two women, she listened curiously as they were introduced as the Caretaker and Astronomy professor. She takes a brief moment to make a mental note of what they looked like for future reference before her attention sways back to their surroundings.

There's a slight buzz about the first years, of both nervousness and excitement among a litany of other emotions. Avery is only half listening to the speech, her own chest reverberating with nervous excitement about what's to come. It's only when the call of 'Go!' rings out that she's jolted from her thoughts. She remains in place for a moment as first years stream forward towards the revealed boats. Hesitating for a few seconds further, she finally takes a step forward with the others. Her hesitance, however brief, allowed for most of the boats to begin to fill with eager students.

As her gaze shifts across the available boats, she finally settles on the fourth one in the line, currently only occupied by two other first years. Not wanting to lose out on a seat on one of the boats, Avery strides towards the fourth boat and carefully climbs in. She flashes a small smile to the boy and girl already occupying the boat as she settles in one of the open seats. She hesitates a moment, glancing between the two and the surrounding boats while they wait to set out. "This is all...pretty intense, huh?" she eventually ventures aloud, a thick Irish accent clear on her voice. One leg bounces lightly as they wait.

Action: Selecting boat 4

KaBOOM!

The boats pushed onwards, the small waves of the Great Lake gently lapping against the wooden structures. Finley took a deep breath, the sound of the water and the smell of oncoming rain putting her mind at peace. She sat upright, gazing out at the boats, checking in on the students. All seemed to be in order, save for the one girl who almost fell head-first into the water after leaning too far to the side. "You alright over there?" The girl managed to sit upright once more. "Be careful, yeah? Don't want you doing somersaults into the water in this weather." Finley turned back to the occupants of her own boat. "Or in any weather, to be fair..."

Fin regarded the two students who were occupying the boat with her and Farron. "Right then, you two know us, what're your names? Anything you'd like to know about Hogwarts before we get there?"

If either student answered, Finley would listen attentively, but before she could respond-

CrACK!

The sky became light as day for a moment as a massive bolt of lightning jetted through the sky overhead, a massive clap of thunder immediately following. The boats shook with the force of the noise, but not enough to jostle anyone into the water (at least, as long as they were sitting, that is). Finley instinctively grabbed the sides of the boat in an attempt to steady it.

"Christ, that was close... Everyone okay?"

All Aboard! → Off We Go... → KaBOOM! → Turbulent Travels → ???

Sebastian wasn't exactly sure what he expected to happen when all the boats had been boarded. Maybe they'd be rowing themselves across, as though they were in some sort of watersports class, canoeing or kayaking... He'd never been particularly good at either.

Suffice to say, the boats seemingly pulling themselves forward through the water was not even fifth in the list of possibilities. He blinked as the waters around them churned, kicking up small ripples in the wake of the boats movement, and managed to stabilize himself even as it all rocked with the start.

The two grownups were chattering, and soon enough the discussion of the one who had taken charge was directed his way. In the heat of the moment he'd quite forgotten about the impending storm, but then---

CRACK.

His eyes shot upward, watching as lightning flickered across the cloud strewn sky. It was enough to distract him long enough for his lack of response to almost seem intentional. Then he gulped, putting on his best brave face despite the fact they were out in the beginning rumblings of a storm, and looked toward the grownups.

"Um... Sebastian" he finally retorted, "I'm Sebastian, Miss..."

It wasn't long before the stars - those which could be seen between clouds - called to him once more. Even amidst an impending storm he couldn't deny their beauty or allure. Truly he couldn't wait to find out more about them.

He wasn't the only student on the boat of course, though the other had made barely a peep. Maybe she was nervous. Maybe she liked when things were quiet... Sebastian chewed on the inside of his lip, before deciding it was better to ask than to assume.

"What about you?" he inquired rather cheerfully, "What's your name?"

It seemed as though the Professor had the same idea, because she was soon asking them both for their names directly, as well as opening the floor to any questions they might have had. Sebastian pondered for a moment if indeed he did have any questions.

Of course any thoughts were quickly drowned out by the much larger flick of lightning and crack of thunder which accompanied it. So bright of a flash that it was dazzling. So explosive that the very boats themselves shook. Sebastian's face turned slightly green and he clung to one side of the boat as though his very life depended on it.

"Are you okay?" he whispered to the girl, his own eyes wide as an owls.

Blimey, that was quite the welcome...

@Finley Greer | @Farron Horne | @Calista West

Dora can faintly hear the caretaker's instructions from the back of the crowd. It's the downside of always taking up the rear, that it can be hard to know what's going on at the front. The upside of not being noticed outweighs that, though.

She follows the other first years as they all step into boats of four. As one of the last to board, Dora's eyes dart between the one empty boat and the one with a single empty seat. She contemplates for a moment waiting for someone else to take that seat so she at least has a shot at getting a boat alone.

'No, that's selfish.' She thinks, bracing herself as she climbs in with the others. She tries to be as inconsequential as possible, a ghost in the back. Thankfully, no one's made an effort to talk to her, and she can deal with that. She already had enough social interaction on the train to last her to the end of her days.

When she's not busy worrying about being weird, Dora can at least appreciate the scenery. The outline of the castle over the lake, the lights in its windows lit up like stars. The way the light of the boat lanterns ripples across the water in pretty, luminescent lines.

Action: Selecting Boat 4

_{@Lyam Park
@Ashleigh Hazelwood
@Avery McCall}

The crowd was scaring me. As usual...I kept telling myself: Ro, remember to be brave. Ro, remember to concentrate. Ro, block out the noise. Oh, and then there's: Ro, you CANNOT block out the noise. I almost couldn't hear the caretaker's instructions! Oh, no, the boats might leave! It was raining heavily, thunder and lightning filling the sky. I couldn't take it. I could feel myself going into panicked overdrive. What was I gonna do?! I needed to get on the boat, now! Which one could I get on, though? I decided to cover my ears and follow the crowd to the boats. They were crammed. Not good. I looked at the caretaker and asked, "Hi, I'm Ro. Which boat should I get on?" The caretaker pointed. I nodded. I took an empty seat on the 5th boat and decided to watch the amazing thunderstorm roll by. I looked at the person next to me and tried to shout, "HI!" over the impending storm. They just looked at me with wide eyes. I sighed. I was still covering my ears. I could see the castle looming overhead below the dark cloudy sky. I looked around. Everybody looked bug-eyed as the boat rocked and swayed in the wind-driven water. This was definitely NOT gonna be the most comfortable ride I've ever taken!




Action: Selecting Boat 5

Alena walked towards the boats, never taking her eyes off of the huge castle that would be her home for the next seven years. It was quite a nice moment, until she tripped on a rock that she didn’t see because, as mentioned before, she wasn’t taking her eyes off of the castle. Books, journals, quills, ink, and a muggle hoodie tumbled out onto the ground beside Alena. Mud smeared on her brand new robe, much to her dismay. She wiped it off as best as she could and began to pick everything up with a sigh Well, at least it didn’t fall in the water, she thought glumly. With a sigh, she reached the quickly filling boats, and climbed into one with some friendly looking people. As the ride began, Alena shivered at the breeze. Her sister, who was in Ravenclaw, had a Ravenclaw scarf. Alena wondered if they had to purchase such things or if they were given to new students, like a sort of welcoming gift. She’d like that. Although, she did have several galleons left from the money Mum and Dad had given her to purchase school supplies, if she ended up needing to buy a scarf. While they rode, Alena pondered what house she’d like. Most of her family were in Slytherin or Ravenclaw. She’d like being in Slytherin to be with people she already knew, like Colin, but pure bloods did tend to be critical towards half-bloods like herself. She didn’t mind being a halfblood. It just meant she got to experience both worlds, which was far superior to knowing nothing about one or the other in her opinion. Gryffindor wouldn’t be bad, although they could be pompous jerks from what she’d heard. Ravenclaw was what she hoped for. She loved to study and to read and such. Hufflepuff? From what she’d been told, it was the outcast house, for those not particularly ambitious or brave or wise. She didn’t envy anyone in hufflepuff in the slightest.
Action: joining boat six

Mentioning : @Aurora Griffith Interacting with : @Aurora Griffith Word Count : 200

September 1st, 2022 : Date Night : Time Plain black work robes : Outfit

Lucy was breathless as the shimmering lights of the enormous castle in the distance reflected on the water. She had never been here before, but it felt like coming home. She shivered and wasn't sure if it was the cold of the water rising up and enveloping her in an eerie but welcoming hug, or if it was the excitement of knowing that soon, she would enter that beautiful castle that would change her entire life. Well, nervous or not, she was ready for it, ready to learn all of these new things. Of course she'd had a long train ride to think about how excited she was.

Never before had she understood why she had to travel all the way from Scotland to London, to board a train that would take her back to Scotland. Now, even though perhaps she couldn't give words to it, she started to understand, as the tiny boats on the Lake slowly carried her into this new world that almost felt like a different dimension.
She looked around to peer at her classmates for the coming year, and she could just see the shape of some of their faces in the light of torches that were carried on the boat. Who of them would be joining the same house as her? Who would be her friends, and would they even be from the same house? Even more important, what house was she going to be in? She had heard frightful stories of wizards and witches that had turned bad in Slytherin. However, her uncle had been in Slytherin as well, and although she didn't see him often, he didn't seem like that bad of a guy. Then, of course, there were the famous Gryffindors. So many stories she had heard about Gryffindors. Not only the stories of old, of Harry Potter and his friends, but also of her father, who had been a Gryffindor himself. He would definitely be proud to see her follow in his footsteps. Perhaps she would be a Hufflepuff? After all, she was hardworking, she believed, and Hufflepuffs were kind, and they loved good food... And there was Ravenclaw, of course, but that couldn't be. Another shiver went down Lucy's spine. Did she just see something moving in the water? She had heard tales of a giant monster living in the Lake. Wouldn't it be awful to be eaten alive before you even entered the school? No, she knew, that wouldn't even make sense. They wouldn't make us cross the lake if it was that dangerous. Almost as if guided by an invisible hand, her thoughts went back to the house of Ravenclaw. Her older cousin had been a Ravenclaw, years ago, and Lucy couldn't stand her. Because really, she didn't seem all that wise and smart at all. What if she was sorted there?

The boat slightly bumped up and down. They were nearly there now, and the lights that had shimmered in the distance before, now started to tower high above her. In a few moments now, she would enter the Great Hall, and her new adventure would begin.

Joining Boat 5

IRENE was not expecting this. She had been expecting a simple boat ride, (hopefully not interrupted by things lurking in the Great Lake) but not this.

This took her breath away.

She was clinging on the edge of the wooden boat she was seated in, eyes wide open in awe as the castle came into view. It was gargantuan, much larger than what she was expecting, and slightly menacing as it loomed over the water, almost as if it were judging her before she even entered the castle. Perhaps she wasn't fit for this. Everyone here must be incredibly smart and talented to enter this school of magic, and she had thought she was too, up until this moment.

What secrets and knowledge lied inside those walls? Irene could only watch as of now, as they still had quite a way to go before they could exit the boats. She could hear laughter across the water, and glanced behind her to see the other first-years chattering excitedly in their boats as they pointed at the school, thinking the same thing she was. This was their school? They were going to study here? Irene couldn't believe it, but there it was, real and true and terrifying in all its glory.

The boat rocked every so slightly, and the young girl backed away from the edge, not wanting to flip the boat and get all wet. How bad of a first impression would it be if she entered the school drenched in lake-water? It would surely show how careless she was, nevertheless a fool.

And she was not a fool.

Irene drew her legs closer towards her, holding her knees gently. There was a slight breeze drifting over the lake, and she was grateful for the many layers that made up her uniform. The part she disliked most about it though, was the skirt. She had put on black stocking under it and thought it looked quite nice, but the thin material was hopeless against the wind, and the skirt covered everything up to her knees. The rest of her legs were shivering.

She looked around, glancing towards the boat where the caretaker was. It seemed they would be there soon, and Irene fiddled with the necklace adoring her neck while she waited. Her mother had given this to her, and her mother before her. It was a simple rose gold chain, accompanied only by a small crescent moon charm that shone brightly when it caught the light. Besides the small round matching earrings she wore, it was the only jewelry she had. She wasn't that fond of collecting various trinkets to decorate herself with.

BOAT SELECTION: Number 5