General The Ravenclaw Table 2017-2018

Louisa stepped into the Great Hall with a large smile on her face. In the past, she had always been so nervous on her first day at a new school, but that feeling had yet to emerge at Hogwarts. The remnants of the Sorting Ceremony were long gone, the chicken drumsticks seemingly replaced by large boxes of cereal that she had yet to recognise. Piles of kippers, mackerel, and scrambled eggs were mounted collectively on the wooden tables to create the largest breakfast buffet that Louisa had ever seen. She happily made her way over to the Ravenclaw table, sitting down in an empty place beside a handful of young girls and pulling one of her many textbooks from her bag. Of course, she'd read each one at least twice by that point, but the excitement of learning about once mythical concepts seemed not even close to wearing off, so she was more than happy to read each again.

"Good morning," she cheerfully greeted the girls beside her, opening up her textbook and resting it against a pitcher of orange juice. Her eyes occasionally scanned the cursive text as she filled her plate with crispy bacon, a small scoop of scrambled eggs, and two pieces of buttered toast - a luxurious breakfast that she could only dream of getting at home. Louisa briefly tuned out noisy students surrounding her to focus on only her book and her delicious breakfast.

"The world? Better than I could ever had imagined. I mean, look at the ceiling for goodness sakes! It's beautiful." She gazed up at the ceiling. She failed to mention that every part of this castle was full of intricate detailing, and of course, magic. The stairs. The portraits. Everything seemed to have a magical touch to it. Of course, it wasn't a false magic. It was real. The magic was real.

She laughed at the Scottish girl. "No, it isn't weird at all. I actually quite like it. It gives you character. I'm sorry, I don't think I caught your name." She smiles at the enthusiastic girl. Were they friends? Were they a "trio"? She didn't say anything because she didn't want to move things to quickly for them. Oh well. They seem very nice. She would gratefully take some friends. She hasn't had some in a while. And her last ones weren't actually friends. Hopefully these girls weren't like that. She looks at the girl supposedly named Eri. "I love your name, it's beautiful, but mysterious. I think it fits you quite well." She always tended to speak what was on her mind. She thought character was important when choosing friends.

"Oh! Mornin'!" Arty exclaimed to yet another newcomer. Wow, this was already going off to a great start. She'd met three new people in the past 5 minutes. She tallied the marks on parchment, next to the tallies of how many people she had said 'hi' to since she woke up. Once she said hello to her dormmates...whoever they were, the total would come to 37 including the two girls- wait, no, three. She added another mark. 38 people she had said hi to. Nice. Before she replied to Madeline, she grabbed another bite into her mouth.

"The name's Artemys, but people tend to call me Arty. Depends on watcha like, I don't mind either. And thank ya! It's new being around a lotta Brits. Gotta get used to yer accents too." She chuckled, writing 2 jokes made,
2 new friends. More depending on class. Names to remember: Eri. Madeline.
and then taking a swig of juice. The girls were right, though, the place truly was enchanting. Scratch that, 3 jokes.

She opened up her "History of Magic" textbook and started copying down the rest of the notes which she didn't remember. They were all probably scrambled up. For someone very organized and detailed, Arty's thought process was a jumble of, well, organized chaos.

Adam still couldn't quite tell you what went on at the Ravenclaw table, and he sat there. Every meal held a new debate, a supposedly "unsolvable" puzzle that would always have a solution by the time everyone had finished, or a lengthy discussion of what the students were going to do after they graduated. It was just a bit overwhelming, but at the same time, he couldn't imagine sitting anywhere else. For the first few days, Adam hadn't done much talking. He enjoyed simply listening to what the other students had to say. Occasionally, he would laugh along or ask a few questions. It was fascinating to hear where everyone came from and how they were fitting in at the castle.

He didn't see his brother very often. Not much could be seen of Gryffindor table past the flying gestures and emphatic arguments being made within Ravenclaw. A few older students had heard of Dean, or had a friendly relationship with him. But he himself didn't come into contact with the sixth-year Harringtom, and he figured it was probably for the better. Dean was an....interesting person to be around.

Adam dug into some of the food that had appeared on his plate, savoring the perfectly-replicated flavor. Today was a listening day. Two girls had started up a lively chat to the left of him and a group of first-years on his right were putting their heads together to solve something. Adam knew he could join in if he wanted to. He was friendly enough, and they were all in the same boat at the table. But for now, he'd just listen.

Perhaps someone would come by, and they could start up a conversation of their own.

Kaegen moved with his smooth but awkward gait over the stones. He sat down on the table and asked as loudly as he could manage "Does anyone know where I could learn combat spells?" As loud as he could manage, however, just amounted to his question sounding a bit like a slightly louder than average breeze.
He hoped someone had heard him. A soft voice certainly was annoying sometimes. But he really had to get at least one spell under his belt. He could sort of pull of wingardium leviosa but unless he wanted to drop a rock on someone's head, it wasn't very useful. If his house didn't know where he could find some decent spells, he could always try slytherin's table. They probably had racks of them.
Kaegen had feelings all the time. Gut feelings, the kind that tell you something is wrong, or about to be wrong. This time it was really strong. Really strong meant really bad, right? So he had gone off in search of protection. Kaegen thought back the the many, many times his feeling had been wrong. It was a lot, but that didn't mean he should stop listening to it. On the off chance it was right, and some dark wizard chained up in the dungeons burst forth spitting death curses, it makes sense to have a countermeasure. On second thought, maybe learning how to ride a broom would be more helpful.

Adam looked questioningly over at the boy that had just spoken, a few feet down the table. He wasn't sure if he had heard correctly, or even heard at all. The other boy's voice had barely been audible.

Combat spells? Adam thought, curiously. That can't be right. There's just no reason! But the more he considered it, the more intriguing the idea grew. Shouldn't he be able to defend himself if the need aroused? He knew that he was perfectly safe in Hogwarts, but he still liked the thought of having his own protection if necessary. He knew that dueling was taught to upper-year students, and they always said that it was a blast. Then again, those tended to be the kids who were good at it. But now that the idea had brewed in Adam's mind, he was determined to be good at it, too.

Besides, he had thought that Hogwarts was a place of learning and creativity. Surely the professors would applaud his willingness to learn and understand why he was attempting to cast a few spells that maybe were above his year. It would probably be for the better, though, if no one else knew about this. As he was sure that the others had seen, he had a lively competitive spirit, and it was telling him that he should keep these spells to himself. If more people knew, they'd have a full-out dueling club on their hands, and Adam certainly didn't want that.

He waited until one of the students sitting near the speaker from earlier got up to do something, and made his move. Sliding into her seat across from him -- he recognized the boy now, his name was Kaegen -- he lowered his voice and replied, "I think I might know how we can both learn to defend ourselves. Can you meet me in the library after classes?"

Adam found himself unable to stick around for an answer, fleeing before the return of the seat's owner. He was excited to be a part of this new experience. Imagine all that he'd be able to do come next year!

The only thing was...

If Adam was so sure that the professors wouldn't mind, why was he so afraid of being caught?

Glancing up from her book, Louisa grinned over at the Scottish girl, giggling slightly at her enthusiasm. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Arty," she replied politely, quickly swallowing her latest mouthful of eggs. Louisa nodded to both her and the other two girls sat across and beside her respectively. "I'm Louisa, Louisa Bennett. I must say, I do love your accent. It's interesting meeting people from so many different places all in the same school!"

Louisa closed her book and placed it back into her bag. She lifted up her place and carefully held it between her two hands as she scooted over to the group, happily munching on a piece of bacon once she had settled. Her blond eyebrows furrowed as she glanced over at the other two girls, a wave of familiarity washing over her. "Hey, I think I'm in the same dormitory as you two actually. Filius Flitwick, if I remember correctly," she added uncertainly, taking a moment or so to ponder the name or her dorm - Louisa had only glanced briefly at the sign on the door, after all. "So, is everyone looking forward to their first classes? I can't wait, personally. Both of my parents are Muggles - I think that's the right term. Before I got my letter, I though magic was only in fairytales!"

Claryssa was slightly dazed as she managed to make her way over to the Ravenclaw table, her mind still reeling from the events of her Sorting Ceremony. Unsure of the students sitting nearby her, she took an empty seat amongst the small cluster of First Years and allowed herself to relax, finally taking a moment to scan the room now that her heart was no longer leaping out of her chest. The whole space seemed, well, magical! The floating candles cast the room in a soft golden glow, illuminating the main part of the hall while the vaulted ceiling disappeared into an arch of shadows. Even the tables were infused with magic, now filled with food and drink after being previously empty! The whole world was like a dream come true, and even aesthetically pleasing with each portion of the room color-coded based on their house. Though not exactly a rainbow, it looked kind of cool to see the reds, greens, blues, and yellows grouped together.

That was another thing Claryssa decided she liked about Ravenclaw. Before even pausing to take the opportunity to talk to the other First Years at the table, she decided she liked the color blue. Red seems a bit too fiery, green too sickly, and yellow too bright. Blue was the perfect balance of the four and was one of her favorite colors to sketch with when she got bored and had access materials tinted with that hue. A bit unsure of what to say herself, Clary filled her goblet with some orange liquid, which apparently tasted vaguely like sweet pumpkins, and took a few small portions from each available dish around her, tasting each of them with hesitance. In her new world full of magic, all of the foods were unfamiliar, and she figured it would take her a decent amount of time before she was able to memorize the dozens of names for the different delectables.

With nothing better to do, Clary continued testing out the different meal options, listening to the kids talking at the table around her. She noted a very enthusiastic girl speaking animatedly with someone else, apparently being quite the jokester, and a few other girls who were excitedly speaking with each other. Deeming to keep to herself, she listened quietly, doing her best to try to memorize all of their names, and worked on finishing her meal.

Drawing her attention away from the cluster of girls briefly, Louisa looked up to see another girl sitting down a little further away from them. The girl seemed a little shy - perhaps that was why she'd chosen to sit away from the group, much like Louisa had initially. Nevertheless, Louisa's parents had always taught her to be of the welcoming variety, so she briefly excused herself from the others and slid back along the wooden bench, hoping that she didn't damage her robes too much in the process.

"Hi there, I'm Louisa Bennett," she greeted kindly, shooting the girl a friendly smile. She plucked a piece of toast from one of the many nearby toast racks and munched on it happily. "Welcome to Ravenclaw! You know, one thing that really surprises me is just how far and wide people have come to make it here. I'm from London myself, what about you? Arty's from Scotland so I suppose she didn't have too far to travel." She paused briefly. "I do apologise - I'm rambling a little, aren't I? Sorry, I didn't mean to."

She buttered another piece of toast slathered it in strawberry jam - one of her father's favourite treats when he was still with them. Louisa grinned at the other girl again, eagerly awaiting her answer. The prospects of making a new friend were far too exciting, after all.

Claryssa cracked a smile, a bit amused by Louisa's talkative manner. She took a small sip of her pumpkin juice and shrugged slightly, angling herself to face a possible new friend. "Sorry to disappoint, but I'm from London myself, born and raised, but maybe we've seen each other around the city before!"

Clary doubted it, considering she'd never seen any wizards simply wandering around on the streets before, but fate had weird ways of surprising her. She reached across the table, stealing a piece of toast from a similar toast rack, and munched on it for a moment, trying to decide what she should say. "Oh my gods! I almost forgot to say my name. Claryssa North, at your service, though most people just call me Clary. I guess it's easier to say." She mimicked tipping a hat in greeting.

"Sorry if I'm coming off a bit shy. I'm usually a pretty talkative person, but I just heard this rumor that everyone thinks Ravenclaws are annoying, and I don't wanna come off that way..." She shook her head, realizing she had taken to rambling just like the other girl had.

"Hey, Louisa, right?" She paused, noting the girl's nod of her head. "Awesome! Glad I remembered that name. Anyway, wanna head off to the library with me? That is, if you're done eating of course. I heard it's pretty cool, and I wanna find out if the rumors of floating books is true. I don't really come from a magical family, so..." She glanced in the girl's direction, waiting to hear her answer.