16 Sep 2018, 09:37
Sorting Hat Sorrows
The steps were cold - colder than Lara had anticipated. Her robes looked warm, but the appearance was quite misleading, as the iciness of the stones managed to seep right through both that and the fabric of the pants she wore underneath, clinging to her skin. She shifted uncomfortable, giving an involuntary shiver.
Around her, students were milling about the area. Their eyes slid over her, as if she wasn’t even there, and she had to pinch her arm to make sure that she actually was present, and that she wasn’t invisible, or a ghost, or lost in a dream. She'd been worried about that, lately.
But she didn’t wake up, and her skin was firm under her fingertips, which meant that she wasn’t any of those things. She was just a bored first year, sitting alone on the steps leading off of the Small Hall, picking apart a scone and doodling with a pencil in her History of Magic textbook. The only reason nobody paid her any mind was because they had no reason to care that she was there. And why would they? Nobody knew who she was. She didn’t really have any friends, and she spent most of her time avoiding her own House members, which wasn’t exactly helpful when it came to developing relationships with them.
She sighed softly, annoyed with herself, and turned her eyes away from the other students, focussing instead on her textbook. She’d meant to study it, of course, but she could barely remember a single sentence from the page she was on. She preferred to sketch on the paper rather than actually read it. It was much easier.
Around her, students were milling about the area. Their eyes slid over her, as if she wasn’t even there, and she had to pinch her arm to make sure that she actually was present, and that she wasn’t invisible, or a ghost, or lost in a dream. She'd been worried about that, lately.
But she didn’t wake up, and her skin was firm under her fingertips, which meant that she wasn’t any of those things. She was just a bored first year, sitting alone on the steps leading off of the Small Hall, picking apart a scone and doodling with a pencil in her History of Magic textbook. The only reason nobody paid her any mind was because they had no reason to care that she was there. And why would they? Nobody knew who she was. She didn’t really have any friends, and she spent most of her time avoiding her own House members, which wasn’t exactly helpful when it came to developing relationships with them.
She sighed softly, annoyed with herself, and turned her eyes away from the other students, focussing instead on her textbook. She’d meant to study it, of course, but she could barely remember a single sentence from the page she was on. She preferred to sketch on the paper rather than actually read it. It was much easier.
21 Sep 2018, 03:17
Sorting Hat Sorrows
Arthur had been out walking early in the grounds, when he saw a familiar figure sitting on the steps of the castle. He hadn't spoken to Lara since the train. His steps slowed for a moment, as he briefly wondered whether or not he should go over, then halted and changed course.
If he was being honest, the fact that she was a Slytherin did make him hesitate for a moment. That said more about him than it did about her though. He'd been told that Slytherins judged people based on their blood, that they thought muggleborns were inferior. But if he believed that kind of generalization, based on nothing more in the house you were sorted into, how was that any different?
Sitting down on the step beside Lara, Arthur turned his head towards her and grinned. “Some Ravenclaws we make," he joked, though he almost immediately worried if that came off as too mean. He didn't know what had gone on between her and the hat, but for him, the sorting ceremony had been everything the older students said it would be.
”Extroverted, and yet so often alone. Social, but somehow always by yourself..”
Those words had hit him like a bucket of ice water. He’d never really considered himself lonely before, but if he thought about it, he guessed he could kind of see it. He had no siblings, only one parent who spent most of her time working, and a sparse number of friends who had a tendency to move away to better parts in London. Would things be different now that he was a Hufflepuff?
“That was something, huh?” he said, meaning the ceremony. “I’m sorry you didn’t get put into Ravenclaw,” he added, genuine remorse entering his voice. It sounded like her and her family were really stuck on that house. For his part, though he was surprised, he wasn't really unhappy with where he'd ended up. He had no family to have been separated from, or expectations that he be put in a certain place . If he thought about it, he was pretty lucky.
If he was being honest, the fact that she was a Slytherin did make him hesitate for a moment. That said more about him than it did about her though. He'd been told that Slytherins judged people based on their blood, that they thought muggleborns were inferior. But if he believed that kind of generalization, based on nothing more in the house you were sorted into, how was that any different?
Sitting down on the step beside Lara, Arthur turned his head towards her and grinned. “Some Ravenclaws we make," he joked, though he almost immediately worried if that came off as too mean. He didn't know what had gone on between her and the hat, but for him, the sorting ceremony had been everything the older students said it would be.
”Extroverted, and yet so often alone. Social, but somehow always by yourself..”
Those words had hit him like a bucket of ice water. He’d never really considered himself lonely before, but if he thought about it, he guessed he could kind of see it. He had no siblings, only one parent who spent most of her time working, and a sparse number of friends who had a tendency to move away to better parts in London. Would things be different now that he was a Hufflepuff?
“That was something, huh?” he said, meaning the ceremony. “I’m sorry you didn’t get put into Ravenclaw,” he added, genuine remorse entering his voice. It sounded like her and her family were really stuck on that house. For his part, though he was surprised, he wasn't really unhappy with where he'd ended up. He had no family to have been separated from, or expectations that he be put in a certain place . If he thought about it, he was pretty lucky.
7 Oct 2018, 23:21
Sorting Hat Sorrows
Though she heard somebody approach, Lara kept her dark eyes focussed on the book in her lap, half hoping that whoever it was would pass right by her without so much as pausing to say hi. It wasn’t until they sat down beside her that she bothered to look up and actually see who it was: the boy from the train. Arthur Morgan, she remembered. The boy who’d expected to be in Ravenclaw, like her, only from the looks of it, neither of them had succeeded.
“Some Ravenclaws we make,” he joked, grinning at her. Lara laughed a little, nodding in agreement. Somehow, being able to laugh about it made it seem a little less… bad. It made her feel marginally better. After all, at least Arthur was still willing to speak to her, even now that she was one of the snakes. That was more than she could say for a lot of her family.
Her eyes briefly flickering away, caught on the Ravenclaw emblem on a passing student’s robes, before she glanced back at Arthur. She pressed her lips together, searching for anything in his face that might give away how he really felt about… this. About what had happened at the ceremony, for both of them. About what she’d turned out to be. Miraculously, she found none of the anger or fear or disappointment she’d gotten used to seeing in other people’s faces when they looked at her.
“It’s okay,” she said, twisting at her pencil. But then, before she could stop herself, more words spilled out. “Well, I mean… It’s not at all, really, but maybe it will be eventually, y’know?”
She wasn’t sure if she really believed that. Right now, she couldn’t imagine that being here, being in this house, would ever get better. It was hard to imagine a future where her grandparents didn’t want to disown her. Where her siblings would talk to her again. Where her sister’s friends would stop tapping her on the shoulder in the corridors, only to recoil like they’d been burnt when Lara turned around and they realized that she wasn’t her sister.
“Some Ravenclaws we make,” he joked, grinning at her. Lara laughed a little, nodding in agreement. Somehow, being able to laugh about it made it seem a little less… bad. It made her feel marginally better. After all, at least Arthur was still willing to speak to her, even now that she was one of the snakes. That was more than she could say for a lot of her family.
Her eyes briefly flickering away, caught on the Ravenclaw emblem on a passing student’s robes, before she glanced back at Arthur. She pressed her lips together, searching for anything in his face that might give away how he really felt about… this. About what had happened at the ceremony, for both of them. About what she’d turned out to be. Miraculously, she found none of the anger or fear or disappointment she’d gotten used to seeing in other people’s faces when they looked at her.
“It’s okay,” she said, twisting at her pencil. But then, before she could stop herself, more words spilled out. “Well, I mean… It’s not at all, really, but maybe it will be eventually, y’know?”
She wasn’t sure if she really believed that. Right now, she couldn’t imagine that being here, being in this house, would ever get better. It was hard to imagine a future where her grandparents didn’t want to disown her. Where her siblings would talk to her again. Where her sister’s friends would stop tapping her on the shoulder in the corridors, only to recoil like they’d been burnt when Lara turned around and they realized that she wasn’t her sister.
Reducio
Aghhhh I'm so sorry!! Midterms have been a lot to deal with and this completely slipped my mind.
14 Oct 2018, 22:59
Sorting Hat Sorrows
A little worried at first, Arthur relaxed when Lara laughed. If she was upset, at least she was able to make light of it. That was something.
He lifted his shoulders, sighing. "It's all weird to me anyway. Like, there's only four personality types? Really?" And apparently those were Brave, Smart, Evil, and 'Other', if you listened to some people at least (up to and including the very founders of the houses themselves). He shook his head. "Don't worry. If they're smart they'll realize it doesn't mean anything." People could be more than one thing. You could be brave and curious, kind and ambitious. He knew other secondary schools had houses too, but he didn't know of any that sorted people like this. And besides that, Hogwarts seemed to really take it a lot further than most schools. It seemed pretty screwy to him.
That must be hard though, having your own family against you. As someone who had very little family for most of his life, he always idealized parents and siblings, grandparents and cousins, as the people who would stick by you through anything. Growing up without them, he never saw the opposite side of things, like how siblings could be cruel, or the pressures family put on you.
Deciding to shift the subject, he instead asked about something he'd be wondering of the other house ever since the sorting ceremony. "Hey, what is the Slytherin common room like anyway? Hufflepuff's is right by the kitchen. You can smell it basically 24 hours a day. It's great.. At first," He laughed. "But it kind of makes you hungry all the time."
Since they shrouded the different houses in mystery (even going so far as to have a secret password for the common rooms!) it instantly made him wonder what the other houses were like. He hoped she didn't think he was too prying, but he had a feeling she isn't understand. Surely if there was something they shared, as once aspiring Ravenclaws, it must be their curiosity.
He lifted his shoulders, sighing. "It's all weird to me anyway. Like, there's only four personality types? Really?" And apparently those were Brave, Smart, Evil, and 'Other', if you listened to some people at least (up to and including the very founders of the houses themselves). He shook his head. "Don't worry. If they're smart they'll realize it doesn't mean anything." People could be more than one thing. You could be brave and curious, kind and ambitious. He knew other secondary schools had houses too, but he didn't know of any that sorted people like this. And besides that, Hogwarts seemed to really take it a lot further than most schools. It seemed pretty screwy to him.
That must be hard though, having your own family against you. As someone who had very little family for most of his life, he always idealized parents and siblings, grandparents and cousins, as the people who would stick by you through anything. Growing up without them, he never saw the opposite side of things, like how siblings could be cruel, or the pressures family put on you.
Deciding to shift the subject, he instead asked about something he'd be wondering of the other house ever since the sorting ceremony. "Hey, what is the Slytherin common room like anyway? Hufflepuff's is right by the kitchen. You can smell it basically 24 hours a day. It's great.. At first," He laughed. "But it kind of makes you hungry all the time."
Since they shrouded the different houses in mystery (even going so far as to have a secret password for the common rooms!) it instantly made him wonder what the other houses were like. He hoped she didn't think he was too prying, but he had a feeling she isn't understand. Surely if there was something they shared, as once aspiring Ravenclaws, it must be their curiosity.
18 Oct 2018, 02:22
Sorting Hat Sorrows
Lara took a moment to consider that. Growing up, she’d been taught not to question the Hogwarts system - or any of the systems present within the Magical world, really. Whatever questions ever popped into her mind she eventually learnt to keep to herself. At best, any criticisms she had would earn her a dismissive “Don’t worry about it, Lara,” or a “You’re too young to understand.” Once, though, she’d tried defending her sister from her grandparents after Madeleine had been sorted into Gryffindor. That hadn’t gone over too well. It was the first time she could ever remember her father raising his voice at her; she'd certainly never been afraid of him before. He’d eventually apologized, but she was much more careful to hold her tongue after that.“It's all weird to me anyway. Like, there's only four personality types? Really?"
But it was strange, the way the students were sorted. She was eleven years old, and she felt like her whole life had been decided for her by a magical talking hat. After all, a person’s House would surely be a key part of their personality as they grew up. Ravenclaws were taught that they ought to be smart and practical, and so they took on those traits, and they succeeded under the pressure of being told they had to be the smartest in the school. Madeleine had always been brave, and reckless, and she’d only grown more so since she’d been sorted two years ago. And Slytherins? Well, why wouldn’t you be evil, if nobody believed you could be good?
“I guess it doesn’t really make that much sense,” Lara said slowly. “I mean, aren’t there lots of Gryffindors who’re smart? And aren’t most Ravenclaws ambitious? How do they decide what personality trait wins against another one? I mean, is it some kind of rock-paper-scissors? Intelligence beats ambition, ambition beats bravery, bravery beats intelligence?”
She stopped herself, realizing she was rambling. Lara was normally much too talkative - now that she had fewer friends to talk to, she’d taken to simply talking to herself, as well as annoying whoever did dare to speak to her with endless chatter.
“The Slytherin room’s okay. I mean, it’s really fancy. It’s like… When I go to my grandparents’ house, I know that technically I’m not not allowed in my grandfather’s study, but there’s so much important stuff in there that I probably shouldn’t go in in case I break something by accident.” She frowned a little. “Does that make sense?”