The Ravenclaw Table 2023-2024

It had to be both the best and worst day of their life. Best, because there was magic everywhere, and they were living a dream, but worst, because sitting at the front of the hall with everyone staring wasn't very comfortable. But the Ravenclaw Table, with its abundance of blue and bronze, would be their new home in this unfamiliar place.

Food appeared out of nowhere. What?... Yet Leaf didn't touch it, it was far too strange for them to try it- they'd learnt their lesson through years of foraging in the woods and picking inedible berries.

The other first years around them weren't so suspicious of the magical food, and none of them were dropping dead just yet. So, tentatively, they reached out for a little bread roll in the middle of the table and ate away at the edge, biting only small chunks at a time.

Beside Leaf on the right, there were two girls in the same year. Both seemed to be in deep conversation and enjoying themselves. If only Leaf wasn't so shy, that could be them chatting over dinner with a friend.They probably knew each other. Leaf thought, I shouldn't disturb them.

After finishing the roll, they decided they weren't that hungry anymore. What time is it? Outside the sun was well past set, and it was completely pitch-black outside. Most likely past my bed time. If they were out camping, at this time of night they would be wide awake, but the events of today had exhausted them.

Really, it was tempting to just sneak out of the hall and hide in the darkness.

Corinthia nodded, taking another bite of her treacle tart. She was only vaguely familiar with Florida, and geography wasn't much of a specialty for her. "Nice to meet you, Wren," she said, sticking out her hand for a handshake. "I'm from Glasgow. It's kind of depressing, but it's home," she added, laughing. The neighborhood she herself had grown up in was fairly rough-and-tumble, and Glasgow itself didn't get much sunshine year round. From postcards she'd seen of Florida, Corinthia imagined that Wren probably got a lot more sunshine than she did.

"I'm a first year as well, but," she paused, trying to remember the word that the wizarding world used for people like her, "I'm a Muggle. Sounds like a 'No-maj' is the same thing, right?" To be honest, she sort of preferred the term "No-maj" to "Muggle." It had a very quirky feel to it, almost sounded like something a gangster would say in an old film. "Muggle" just sounded like a rude word.

"I have two cats at home, too," Corinthia added, finishing her tarts. "Ranger and Nibbles; they're both rescues. How about you? Do you have any pets?" She loved the idea of someone owning a gnome as a pet, and wondered if they were anything like the gnomes she read about in fairy tales growing up.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw another student join them at the table. The student looked tired and a little nervous. Corinthia wondered if they were a first year like she was. Turning slightly, she made eye contact with the student and smiled.

"Hello, are you a first year like us? I'm Corinthia; you can just call me Cory. Where are you from?" Lowering her voice to a whisper, she added, "The treacle tarts are really good, by the way." She hoped she wasn't scaring her new classmates too much; sometimes when she opened her mouth, words just came out in a torrent.
@Wren Sinclair
@Leaf Shard

Gigi looked up from her book to see two girls chatting. Almost at the perfect moment, Gigi remembered something Nana had told her about making friends here. 'Put yourself out there, and you'll find that the kids you say 'hi' to might end up being your best friend.

Glancing at her book, then back at the two girls, Gigi decided it was time to brave. The girls were across the table, and they were talking like they'd known each other for years.

Clearing her throat, Gigi set down her book. Scooting across the table to be nearer to them, she opened her mouth, then immediately regretted it. One of the girls had just included another first year at the table.

Gigi wondered if their name was Leaf Shard, because someone with that name had just been sorted into Ravenclaw. Gigi looked back to her seat, then realized her seat was now taken. Frowning, Gigi now saw that she was stuck.

She was an absolute failure with conversation and felt really stupid for even thinking she could attempt to make friends here. Gigi hung her head in defeat. There was no way she could ever talk to these people, they were so at ease, like they'd known about magic their entire lives.

Gigi knew she looked like an idiot and bent her head down to eat something. Maybe she'd look slightly less stupid if she pretended she was eating.

If they had been hungry before, then they certainly weren't anymore. To be plain, Leaf took one more look at the huge mountain of food in front of them and felt a little sick- and they hadn't even been eating lots.

The girls continued chatting, and Leaf caught snippets of their conversation- some talk about pets, muggles, and food. What were muggles again? They'd heard the term lots since they boarded the Hogwarts Express, but couldn't recall what it meant. The Hogwarts Express! It felt like forever since they'd waved goodbye to their father on the platform, but it was somehow only this morning.

From the side, Leaf saw another first year (they thought) shuffle along the bench to be closer to the group. Then they turned around and found that one of the girls was looking at them, as if eager to begin conversation. "Hello, are you a first year like us? I'm Corinthia, you can just call me Cory. Where are you from?" Then, for no apparent reason, they whispered, "The treacle tarts are really good by the way."

Of course someone had to mention food when they were feeling sick enough as it was. But with excellent politeness and a hell of a lot of courage, they managed to reply. "Hello Cory, I'm Leaf." They certainly couldn't make it as far as saying much else, particularly responding to the comment about the sweet, sickly treacle tarts.

Across the table, the girl who had shuffled over looked crestfallen, as if they'd failed. Maybe they'd wanted to join the conversation too? That was a likely explanation. So Leaf put their unsettled stomach to the side and invited her to talk. "What about you?" They said in such a quiet voice that the other girl most definitely could not hear.

@Corinthia MacAllistair
@Gigi Montez
@Wren Sinclair

Gigi felt her face turn hot as she attempted to forget about her failed conversation attempt. Tugging on her sleeves, a nervous habit of hers, Gigi looked up at the ceiling and pretended to be interested in the cloudy night sky. The sky might have been fascinating if Gigi hadn't been so embarrassed.

It must have taken master sorcery to make the celling mirror the night sky. Although Gigi could see some disadvantages to the spell. For example, when it was raining really hard and there was thunder and lightning, it might scare some of the younger students.

Overwhelmed with everything, Gigi felt her newfound courage slip away, and running back to Wales now seemed like a very appealing choice of action. Gigi nearly laughed at herself for thinking she could just run back to home. There was swimming, and lots and lots of running around involved, much more than she had the strength to do.

Then, Gigi heard a whisper of a voice from across the table. Torn from her thoughts about home, she noticed the other first year looking at her. Gigi hesitated. Maybe they just happened to be looking this way?

No, not again. This time, I'm going to be brave, make Nana and Pa proud of me.

Deciding on this, Gigi said, "I'm Gigi Montez. I'm from Wales."

Hoping she hadn't made a mistake, Gigi held her breath. This, right here, could be her very first friend.

@Leaf Shard

They looked the girl in the eye, and she looked back. She paused for a moment. "I'm Gigi Montez. I'm from Wales." Leaf smiled- maybe they could get to know some people here in their house. Back when they were in primary school, they'd failed to make any friends, and that hadn't ended well for them.

Gigi seemed nervous. Leaf knew the expression all too well. "Nice to meet you Gigi. I'm Leaf." They were a little surprised by how loud they managed to speak then, at a volume people could actually hear.With this higher volume, they thought it was a great time to introduce themself fully before they returned to being quiet, standard Leaf. "I'm...what was the word for it again? When one of your parents was a witch or wizard?...I'm a half-blood. And I like reading."

They basically just blurted out anything about them that came to mind immediately, but the topics that did come out were completely random, and had no link between them. Of course I have to screw things up, They thought, I always do.. Leaf bit their lip, really hoping. Hoping that they hadn't just registered themselves as a weirdo.

Their father had told them to make friends. And now seemed as good a time as any.

@Gigi Montez

"Nice to meet you Gigi. I'm Leaf." they said. Gigi nearly cried. Leaf was like her. "I'm a half-blood too! And I love reading!" she blurted out.

Gigi listened as Leaf told her just about anything. As she listened, it felt as though a weight had been lifted off her chest. Now that she at least knew someone here, Hogwarts wouldn't be so bad.

When Leaf stopped talking, they looked nervous, as if they'd screwed something up. I'd feel the same way. Gigi thought to herself. She didn't tend to blurt things out, but when she did, she was really excited. This is going to be one of those times were you have to blurt things out. You can't go hide away somewhere; you have to talk to Leaf. They look as nervous as you feel.

When Gigi opened her mouth, there was no stopping her. Gigi talked, very fast, about her family, the two strays she'd found when she was four, how she didn't really get Quidditch, and how she was excited to start classes here.

She couldn't help smiling. Talking about home had brought her down before. Now, it made her happy to tell Nana and Pa about what was happening. Gigi made a mental note to send them a letter.

"Oh, and I don't have an owl, do you?"

@Leaf Shard

Cory looked like she was trying to remember something. “I'm a Muggle. Sounds like a 'No-maj' is the same thing, right?” Wren blushed. “You do mean you’re Muggle-born, right?” What a stupid thing to say, of course that’s what she meant. “I have- I mean, I had a dog. His name was Leo. We had to leave him in Florida.” Ok, that was definitely not the best thing to say, because now she looked like she was about to cry.

Suddenly, two other first years joined the table, and Wren was almost happy to leave the conversation. Not that she didn’t like Cory, but she’d had quite enough social interaction for tonight. She much preferred bring the fly on the wall to having to being the one spoken to.

Listening in, Wren discovered the first years’ names: Gigi and Leaf. They seemed nice enough. Maybe it would be a good idea for her to introduce herself. When there seemed to be a lull in conversation, she interjected. “Um, hi, I’m Wren. I’m a first year too.”

Oh gosh, why’d I do that? I was perfectly fine sitting here by myself. Why didn’t I at least fake a British accent? No, that would sound more stupid than my American one.

Mentioned: @Leaf Shard @Gigi Montez @Corinthia MacAllistair

Absolutely unbelievable.
A year ago, Celeste didn't even know magic existed. Now she sat in a grand wooden dining hall light dimly lit by floating candles, and apparently wasn't human. Floating candles! She loaded her plate, hungrily scooping mashed potatoes coated in gravy and thick ham coated in a honey brine and fluffy dinner rolls into her mouth. So good. Back in Dingle, nobody cooked foods like this. Only Eleanor had told her of the mysterios 'Thanksgiving' foods from back in America.
Celeste excitedly tapped her feet on the wooden richly paneled wooden floor, toying with the edge of her fork emblazoned with Hogwarts's emblem at the top of the handle. She was so excited to start the year at a magic school. She was astonished and awestruck by every enchanted sight around the school, her turquoise eyes widening in amazement. She still felt as if she was stuck inside a dream and expected to wake up in her shared room with her brother, Orville, to the scent of fresh biscuits cooking in her mother's kitchen. But no, she pinched her arm and still looked up to see a candle gently bobbing above her head.
She looked around excitedly. She wasn't an Irish schoolgirl anymore, and she loved it. She looked over the students all around in the matching blue-trimmed black robes with the Ravenclaw crest sewn over the heart. Any of the girls around her could be her room mate. She thought with a second of longing back to her friend Eleanor, and wondered, if somehow her dear friend could come along too. But no, Eleanor had already turned eleven late that spring, leaving Celeste alone. But, Celeste was kind and cheerful and witty, so surely she'd fit right in and make new friends. Right?
Celeste suddenly felt alone as she looked around and realized how little she knew about the magical world. One girl with long blonde bangs and stark white skin held what looked like a big pink pom-pom in her hands with a little face peaking out. She looked further down the table, where a boy with black hair shaved close to his head was making sausages float under the table. All the other kids... 'pure-bloods', Professor Lear had called them. Or half-bloods. Celeste wasn't sure. But...that proved it. She was the odd one out. She'd always had been the smarty kid who participated in VEX teams and won the science fair. Here?
She was a community goldfish in a river of magic Salmon from Grandpapa's stories. A Muggle in a sea of wizards.
_{Know that Celeste believed she was a Muggle until this year}

After being sorted, Inara nervously walked towards the Ravenclaw table and sat down. Having grew up in the muggle world, she felt that she would be miles behind everyone else, seeing that her dad was a muggle. She saw all the delicious food, she helped herself to some mashed potatoes,chicken, and loads of other stuff, and sat in the corner. As she did so, she listened to what everybody else was talking about. Everybody seemed so friendly, and she was thinking about maybe trying to start a conversation... and then decided against it. Maybe somebody will come talk to me? She thought. Inara decided to listen, again, to what everybody was talking about. She searched the table for anybody she might know or anybody that seemed friendly, but there were SO many people that she gave up, and its not like she would know anybody anyway. Slowly, her fear started to seep in... What if I'm behind?.. What if this is all a big joke?... What if I'm dreaming? Seeing all the people at the table in their Ravenclaw robes, her fear started to melt.. These people were like her! Smiling, she spotted some first years and headed over there, hoping to make some new friends.