Closed First Year Entrance: Group 1 2023-2024 PV

Mentioning: @Ashley Young @Astra Norrick
Boat Selection: Boat 1

Ashley liked Astra's smile, it made her seem approachable and that gave Ashley courage and she sighed in relief. When Astra complimented her hair, Ashley blushed, "Thank you, I'm not sure if I want to keep it long, but braiding seems to keep them out of my face." When she finished her braid she smiled again, "I really like yours as well! Red looks so good on you!"
After Astra finished telling her about the houses, she asked a question that threw Ashley off for a minute. She thought back to a few questions she had asked the professor who gave her the letter, and it came to her! "I like the idea of being a Hufflepuff, that or Ravenclaw...I do like books a lot....buuuut, if I got to choose, I'd like to very much be a Huffle..." She giggled, "I can thank the professor for letting me know that much."
Ashley grabbed her sketchbook, and opened it up, "I hope you don't mind...I was drawing and realized you were in my scene, and instead of doing guesswork, I decided to add you into my drawing. I thought it would help show my parents that I am trying to make friends..." She laughed.

She then noticed a new girl join them on the boat, "Hello, I'm Ashley." She introduced herself, not wanting to leave anyone out.

Interacting with @Astra Norrick and @Sere Nade

Astra's face turned pinkish when Ashley complimented her hair. She absentmindedly twirled a strand, glancing at it. "Thank you," she said. "I think I may cut mine short as well soon unless I learn how to braid or something."

She wasn't surprised when the girl said she'd like to be a Hufflepuff. Hufflepuffs were some of the best people she knew, like her Aunt Seren and cousin Cedric (ironic, isn't it?). Astra visibly perked up when Ashley mentioned she liked books. "I like reading, too! My favorite Muggle genre is probably fantasy, like the Lord of the Rings. I like science fiction and thrillers too. What's yours?" The friendliness she was showing didn't feel forced at all, which was not a feeling Astra was quite used to. Is this what it's supposed to be like meeting new people? she thought.

When Ashley mentioned that she had included Astra in her drawing, the girl was flattered. Her blush deepened and there was an overwhelming sense of... what was this? She didn't quite know what she was feeling, but it was warm and bubbly and good. "I- wow, I don't know what to say," she laughed. "Usually it's the opposite thing that happens. I don't mind at all to be included in your drawing, especially if it helps you. And if it's all right with you, I'd enjoy being your friend, I think. If you want to be friends, that is." She felt a little awkward saying that, but how else did people become friends? Astra had only ever had one real friend and they were a special case.

Astra noticed the new arrival to their boat a little late, and is disappointed that she was not being observant. After Ashley introduced herself, Astra turned to the new girl. "And I'm Astra," she said. "How long have you been here? Sorry if we ignored you." The girl seems rather shy, sitting there quietly.

@Ashley Young@Sere Nade

Interacting with: @Ashley Young @Astra Norrick

Boat 5 @Lucy Summer @Kit Isabelle Blaine

The cool breeze rustles through stiff trees under a moonlit sky. The great lake, like a black mirror, beholds a glowing pearl at its center, its reflection twinkling high above. Occasionally this mirage shifts as the five rocking boats stir ripples in the formless still surface.

On wet, solid land, a pair of muddy running shoes sinks into the cold earth. A tall cub of a boy follows instructions aired aloud, marking this particular boat at random. Though his stiff, jaunty body seems to bear a rigid calmness, one's eyes rarely lie, and his are filled with an uneasy trepidation that had plagued his mind for some time now. It's one thing to go through puberty, and another to be uprooted from the familiar neighborhood of one's home. But to be stricken by the absurd reality that magic was real, that wizards and witches were more than fiction in his ma's storybook, that the world we knew was only half true...

This jarring, self-conscious reflection leaves him abnormally sensitive to the world around him, as though it were a dungeon ripe with dangers; an alleyway filled with strangers. Where others begin to find joy, Kenny Diallo cannot find peace.

"Oy oy," he musters, in his native Brummie accent, inviting himself into the boat with a moist squelch of his shoe on old wood. As the young boy steps through its ribcage, he towers in a way that those of his race have since the age of colonization. He bends to sit, and his back curls like an old tree, hands clasped between his knees. Those eyes that do not lie find a spot on the wood to glare into, as though all the fear he knew would go away if he frightened it off in turn.

Date: September 1
Time: evening
Interacting with @Ashley Young and @Sere Nade
Astra speaking: #136323
Thoughts: Italics
Others: Bold

The new girl introduced herself as Sere Nade. Astra noticed the play on words and couldn't help but be impressed with the Nade parents. Not only did they give their daughter a lovely name, they saw a golden opportunity and took it. "Hey, Sere. That's a lovely name you've got," Astra said.

It must've been something in the girl's eyes as she went on a short ramble about how she sometimes talked too much that caused Astra to feel for her. The girl seemed like she was under a lot of pressure from something. Astra was now free from the pressure being in Muggle school had placed on her, pressured to get high grades and help out kids. Pressured by bullying eventually, becoming a social outcast when no one could solicit answers from her.

"You're fine," Astra said, infusing her voice with as much warmth as she could. The nervousness from the train had passed and she was once again putting on her confident facade. "I talk too much all the time, according to a lot of people. But it's ok because it doesn't really matter what they think.

"I'll be your friend, yes, even if we end up in different houses." It felt like the least she could do for the girl who reminded her of herself. She glanced quickly at Ashley, as if anticipating the artist's response to Sere's question.

Boom. Boom. Boom. Kerry would never admitted this to anyone but her heart was pounding in her chest as she got off the Hogwarts Express. Surrounded physically by many students and mentally by far too many feelings, the little girl raised her head, trying to find where she was supposed to go. Her dark eyes passed over a woman who seemed to speak to the first years, therefore to her by extension. The young girl made her way with some difficulty through the crowd of students - some of them were much taller than her - and managed to reach the lady who introduced herself as Finley Greer, the caretaker of Hogwarts. Don't break everything, repeated for herself Kerry, echoing the words of the woman, it should not be that hard. She then tried to see this Miss Hawkins who was apparently wearing a... Moustache?? British humor maybe?

But Miss Greer was already speaking about the organisation of the evening and Kerry was trying to listen as much as possible as her heartbeat quickened. There I am, I will finally know in what house I will go, she thought more emotionnally that she wished. Kerry, now surrounded by children of her own age, followed the caretaker up to... A few wooden boats who looked completely normal. The eurasian girl stopped for a moment, just long enough to decide in which boat she would begin her life at Hogwarts. In the name of Merlin, she didn't really know where to go, not recognising anyone.

Finally, in a more random way than anything else, Kerry chosed a boat and climbed carefully into it, a boat where only one other girl was sitting down. It was the less intimidated for her than joining boats nearly fulled. The eurasian girl sat down carefully in the boat and whispered to the unknown girl:

- Hi.

Boat 2

Edmund's heart raced as he stepped off the Hogwarts Express. Picking up the pace to keep up with the excited steps of the older and bigger students until he eventually managed to break free from the crowd. Standing there for a moment, he took in the scene, noticing all kind of expressions on the other students' faces. Some were clearly as confused and nervous as he was, while others appeared eager to move forward, already heading toward the nearby lake where a few boats were waiting. The sight of the dark, shimmering lake in the fading twilight was both enchanting and slightly unsettling.

Anxiety started to build up, and he wiped his sweaty hands on his hips, shifting his weight nervously from one foot to the other. Cutting through the chatter and laughter of the students, a voice called out, "First years, over here!" Panic briefly surged through him, fearing he might be left behind. "That's me!" he thought, rushing to join the others as they made their way to the boats. His first instinct was to choose an empty boat, but he decided to step into one with other students. After all, he knew he'd have to learn how to interact with people sooner or later and start making some friends.

As he approached the boats, the caretaker introduced herself and gave a brief speech. She then pointed out that each boat would carry only four students. Edmund glanced between the most crowded boats, counting the occupants, before making his choice. He took a deep breath, gathered his courage and stepped onto a boat with one last spot available (Boat 5). He glanced at the other three students, his lips parting slightly as if to speak, but instead, he licked his lips nervously, looked down at the wet wooden floor of the boat, and settled in quietly.

Boat 5 @Lucy Summer @Kit Isabelle Blaine @Edmund Ayala

The boat lightly rocks to the footsteps of the new joiner. Wobbling over the choppy waters, it sinks a half-inch deeper underneath the combined weight of four. There is finality and completeness in their newfound, irreversible state, yet there is tension in the air. Stiff awkwardness; where was the convenient extrovert when their yapping was finally needed?

The African boy turns his head, catching sight and word of a lively chatter erupting in one of the adjacent boats. The longer he listens with depleting interest, the less he frets over their shared silence. In a way, this quiet floating craft had character. Four of them, in fact. Eventually, an unknowing sense of purpose drives him to seek out that little mystery hiding in plain sight, the drum of digits upon his thigh stilled by resolution. Lacing his fingers over his lap, he turns with his back leaning against the wood.

"Not one for talking?"

His voice is grainy and coarse, neither a child's voice nor a teen's. It lies awkwardly in the liminality between as did many his age. Still, he is nearly half a foot taller than most eleven-year-olds he knew.

"The name's Kenny. Where are y'all from?"

Thinking - Speaking - Others
Interacting with: @Lucy Summer - @Kit Isabelle Blaine - @Kenyi Diallo

For the first time, Edmund found himself stepping onto a boat, embarking on an adventure that, until now, had only existed in his wildest imagination or the pages of a books. Every beat of his heart seemed to echo throughout his entire body, a thrilling rhythm that he couldn't quite contain. Anxious by nature, he was accustomed to the grip of nervousness, but this time was different, as beneath the surface of his anxiety lay a powerful current of excitement.

"Not one for talking?"

Edmund's head flicked in attention towards the speaker. "Hm?" He appeared as if he was about to stand up as his budy flinched and tensed up. "Is he talking to me?" Edmund wondered. The other, bigger boy seemed to be addressing no one in particular, though, so Edmund took a breath and smiled softly. "I'm Edmund. I came from a little village called Ashleworth in England." he said with a quiet voice that would probably be lost between the loud chatters and laughters around them if the person is not paying attention or close enough. "Nice meeting you, Kenny." Edmund shyly scanned the two girls on the boat and gave them a polite nod before turning his gaze to watch the students filling the rest of the boats, but he quickly realized Kenny was clearly attempting to initiate a friendly conversation and Edmund felt it would be rude to kill his attempt shying out as he would usually do.

Edmund looked up at Kenny again and felt his cheeks getting warmer but hoped the cover of night would conceal his blush."And you, Kenny? Where are you from?" he asked softly, still wearing a soft, polite smile.