The Gryffindor Table 2022-2023 Closed

other dialogue - blue
thoughts - italics
interacting with @Levi Hawthorne

Akina raised her eyebrow at the boy who had shouted her name so loudly. She felt the air between them become more awkward. “I uhh. I don’t. Not really, I mean. I just remembered you were called before I was and I’m trying to become acquainted with all the new faces. Boy, there’s a lot of them, aren’t there? I always thought magic was slowly dying out, but judging from everyone here we’re nowhere near that…I’m Levi, by the way. Levi Hawthorne. I uhh, did not expect to be sitting here,” Levi rambled.

Akina's jaw dropped. Someone else had wanted to be in a different house too! She knew she wasn't the first to feel out of place in her house, but still, it felt good to hear someone voice their ideas about being in an unwanted house. "I-I- me too! I wish I were in Gryffindor. After all, my whole family has been in Ravenclaw..." Akina said, trailing off. "Anyways, I'm uhm. Akina Briarwood. Though you probably already know that?" It sounded dumb even in her head.

Akina thought back to after she was being sorted. She had remembered that her hands were trembling so much that it was hard for her to attach the letter to the owl's foot. She was still expecting a letter back, probably a Howler. The thought of the horrible moment still bought her shivers to this day. But, fortunately, her parents somehow haven't seemed to have recieved the letter yet. Or, hopefully, they simply just didn't care. Akina shook off her thoughts and forced herself to pay attention to Levi, instead of dwelling on it.

Estelle was not expecting to be sorted into Gryffindor. In fact, she'd rather hoped she'd be in Slytherin. You see, Estelle's father had been disowned from the Nyx family (a pureblood family known for their blood supremacist values) for marrying a muggle. Not that she had a problem with that, it was just... she had been hoping to meet her cousins for the first time. Since her father hadn't kept in contact with his family, she had never met them. She hoped they didn't hold the same beliefs as most of his family. Still, Gryffindor was as good a house as any.

Estelle smiled as she passed the other students. She gazed along the long table, looking for an empty seat. The candlelight only made the room seem more magical and Estelle still couldn't believe candles could float. How many charms must be acting upon them to let them float like this? Not to mention the ceiling, with it's iridescent swirl of stars that twinkled and winked.

Finally, Estelle spotted a seat next to a dark-haired girl.

She sat down, watching in awe as the plates along the table filled themselves with delicious food. Finally, after filling her plate, she turned to the girl and said

"Hi! I'm Estelle! What's your name?

@Akina Briarwood

Interacting
Estellle || Thoughts

Akina glanced up as she heard another voice, only to see another Gryffindor girl standing there. She had seen her get sorted, and her name started with an E...no- S. Well, whatever her name was. Estelle seemed excited to be here. Like she belonged. Like she loved this house. Unlike Estelle, Akina was NOT satisfied with her house. She wasn't even bold and daring like most Gryffindors! She deserved to be a Ravenclaw! She sighed and realized the girl was still waiting for her reply.

"Hi. I'm- Akina. Akina Briarwood. You have a nice name," Akina said, after doing a full scan of Estelle. This was true. It was a nice name that reminded her of the sky. Now she acted like a true Gryffindor. Trying to act relaxed, she piled some pork chops onto her plate and shoved some into her mouth, avoiding eye contact. Out of the corner of her eye, she did a complete scan of the girl again. She had blonde hair and some cute flower acessories on her head. She also had cute heart-shaped earrings hanging from each ear.

Akina looked down at her own outfit, which she called "Vibin." She wore it when she felt like she was in a good mood. "Um..." Akina mumbled, feeling awkward.

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"Thank you, nice to meet you Akina!" Estelle smiled at the girl she hoped would be her new friend. She could feel the nerves of the other girl and tried to think of a way to ease them.
As she thought, Estelle started to eat, worried that the scrumptious food that so quickly appeared would disappear just as fast.
She put a little bit of everything within reach on her plate, determined to try it all, however she soon found herself unable to eat a bite more.
She glanced around the room again, hoping to spot her cousins. She'd never met them, but was sure that she'd recognise them as soon as she saw them. But within hundreds of faces, a few can easily get lost and Estelle soon relinquished her quest. She could always find them later.
Estelle glanced at her watch. It had been a present from her father, and was enchanted to tell the local time in whatever country they went to. She ran a finger across the glass face, and thought about her dad. It had only been three hours since she'd left but it felt like years.
Soon, Estelle's thoughts turned to her new friend. Akina seemed sweet but was clearly uncertain as to how to break this awkward silence that had sprung up between them. Luckily, Estelle was good at that.
"So, what lessons are you looking forward to the most?"

Thank you for reminding me, I forgot

@Akina Briarwood

Interacting
Estelle || Thoughts

"Thank you, nice to meet you Akina!" Estelle said politely. Akina smiled. Though Estelle looked older than Akina, she certainly was the type who was capable to make friends easily. Seemed like a breeze for her. Akina, on the other hand, was certainly struggling,

Akina watched Estelle eat, as if it were her birthday cake and her parents were telling her that she would be opening presents afterwards. As Estelle ate, Akina noticed her eyes flash around the room for something. Or someone. "Who are you looking for?" Akina asked, hoping not to sound rude. Her own eyes traveled around the room, landing on the Ravenclaw table for what seemed like the twentieth time this year (and probably was.) Her normally bright hazel eye darkened with jealousy at the laughing group. It was fun there. Akina would probably have had more success in that house if she weren't in Gryffindor.

Akina was jolted back from her brooding thoughts by a question from Estelle. "So, what lessons are you looking forward to the most?" [color] Akina furrowed her eyebrow. She had already been to three classes and finished her homework quite easily. "What do you mean? I've been to Charms, Potions, and Transfiguration already. But I was always looking forward to Charms, and I like it. Astronomy sounds cool too."

Estelle smiled nervously at Alina. "They haven't finalised my timetable yet so I haven't been to any lessons but I'm most looking forward to Care of Magical Creatures, even though that's a third year lesson, and potions."
Estelle watched as the plates magically emptied, and then filled with the most delicious sweets, pastries and cakes. She smiled. She loved Hogwarts.
Estelle began to fill her plate with pastries, some which she had never eaten, and some which she knew she loved.
As she did, her eyes wandered the room again and she remembered Akina's earlier question.
"I'm looking for my cousins. They are here somewhere and I would like to meet them, but I don't know what they look like or what house they are in. You see, my father was disowned by his family for marrying a Muggle and he hasn't talked to them since. But when he left, his brother had two kids - my cousins. I've always wanted to meet them."
Estelle sighed. How was she going to find people she'd never seen and didn't know what they looked like. Still, she had one lead - she knew they were in Slytherin.
As she ate, she decided to wait until tomorrow morning, when she could get up and subtly walk along the table, checking if she recognised anyone. Until then, she'd chat with her new friend and eat some delicious pastries.

Interacting
Estelle || Thoughts

Akina listened attentively. "They haven't finalised my timetable yet so I haven't been to any lessons but I'm most looking forward to Care of Magical Creatures, even though that's a third year lesson, and potions," Estelle explained. Akina nodded, piling some vegetables on her plate. "Potions? Potions is really fun, but charms is my favorite." She covered her mouth when she realized she had already said that. "I'm looking for my cousins. They are here somewhere and I would like to meet them, but I don't know what they look like or what house they are in. You see, my father was disowned by his family for marrying a Muggle and he hasn't talked to them since. But when he left, his brother had two kids - my cousins. I've always wanted to meet them," Estelle responded Akina blinked twice to take that all in. She had said a whole lot of stuff, so she took some time to think. "I'm- I'm- a-" Akina started.

She stopped. If her parents caught her telling ANYONE about their family, Akina would get sent a Howler in less than a minute. She picture her parents reactions: her mom shaking her head, disappointed and angry, and her father yelling about how she was an embarrassment to the family. Akina shook those thoughts out of her mind and turned her attention to Estelle, who was now piling pastries on her plate. Akina couldn't resist herself, and piled some on her plate to. As soon as she bit into it, a sweet smelling aroma filled her taste buds, and she immediately got some more.

"I'm- I'm- a-"
Akina stopped, clearly reluctant to talk about her family. Estelle didn't want to pressure her into saying things that she didn't want to so she decided instead to continue piling pastries on to her plate. They ate in silence, well the relatively noisy silence of the Great hall anyway, and Estelle was happy. She felt she had made a new friend.

Estelle started on the mountain of pastries she had acquired. There were croissants and pan au chocolats, apple turnovers and custard tarts. They were all delicious, and each pastry she ate seemed to complement the last, from the tartness of the lemon curd to the sweetness of the profiterolls Estelle wished she could try them all but new they would eventually defeat her as the first course had.

Estelle finished her plate and waited until Akina had finished eating a pastry before talking to her. She knew Akina was reluctant to talk about her family, and so she decided to change the subject to one Estelle loved to talk about and hoped Akina would too. Magiczoology.

"So, Akina, what would you like to do when you're older? I personally have always wanted to be a magiczoologist. I love animals, especially magical ones."

@Akina Briarwood

Interacting
Estelle || Thoughts

As Akina stammered her response and stopped, she noticed Estelle had realized that Akina's family was not quite a friendly subject. They sat in silence for a while, continuing dinner. Akina could hear the flicker of the fire behind them. Akina wanted to start some conversation, because she was afraid of sounding boring. "So, uh. Were you...happy to be sorted into Gryffindor?" This was a question Akina always asked a new friend. Akina wanted to see if someone was like her.

Silence took over, and they ate next to each other, occasionally giving each other a side eye glance. Akina let her thoughts take over along with the silence. She thought about what she were allowed to talk about. Family, no. Life at home, no. Our idols, sure, I guess. Favorite books, YES. OF COURSE! Akina knew about what to talk about next, but she didn't like to be the one to ask the questions in a conversation. So she continued eating and tried a funny looking food in front of her. She ate it, gagged in disgust, and spit the contents into a napkin. She glanced at Estelle, hoping she hadn't noticed.

Estelle opened her mouth to speak, and Akina's eyes widened in fear, hoping she hadn't noticed. But she sighed in relief when Estelle had just asked her what she wanted to be when she was older. Akina thought for a bit. "Does being an Auror count?" she asked. "Also magiczoologists are cool."

Aries had just been sorted into Gryffindor and as she walked to the table cheering loudly she felt a range of emotions and thoughts. I chose Gryffindor she kept telling herself. well maybe it was the wrong option! her brain scolded Aries always felt she was a mix between Slytherin and Gryffindor but now felt completely Slytherin. Maybe I'll make friends, who knows. Aries knew she was just trying to keep herself together and make her feel better but it sure wasn't working. She sat down in an empty seat next to two complete strangers. "Hello," one of them said. The sorting hat shouted another person's name. "RAVENCLAW!" the hat yelled. oh gosh, Aries thought to herself. She looked up to see the candles all floating in the air. I so wish i could be like them Aries muttered The candles were free, they weren't defined by traits and whatnot. She thought of a spell she heard from a class that was ongoing,
ut she couldn't seem to figure out how to do it. She let her long snallygaster heartstring cored wand rest on her lap, but then she drew it to the top of the Gryffindor table to let people know that she wasn't afraid. She muttered a hello to another girl and suddenly they started chatting on and on and it seemed like forever, when the girl said had to pause and turned her back against Aries. Aries then sat on the bench the proper way and kept listening to the Sorting Hat do its job. WC:258