General The Slytherin Table 2017 - 2018 Closed

Aravis gave a warm smile to Maeve, it almost didn't look right on her due to how cold her attitude normally was to most people. "I grew up with my siblings as well, I never really hung out with many people my age other than my cousin and my brother Lucien. My cousin and my brother are both here. I tend not to hang out with them much though, they basically think I'm a psychopath due to my schizophrenia- which is totally different things." Aravis said with a slight laugh. Most people who knew her family assumed they were all crazy. She hoped Maeve had never heard of her family, most people tended to avoid her if they found out who she was related to. 

Another person joined the table and spoke up. What he said actually worried Aravis. "That's a good idea, I didn't know people had been getting attacked, it's not a surprise really but it is unfortunate." She said looking over towards Marcus. "I'm Aravis Escanora, nice to meet you." She said introducing herself. Her mind wasn't focused as much as it had been before he informed them of the attacks. She was even more worried due to A) She was in Slytherin and B) She was part of the Haven-Escanora house which was either hated or adored. She hoped people didn't recognize her due to her family's past. 

Maeve rolled her eyes at the newcomer. "We didn't ask you to just but into our conver-conver-conversation." She huffed. "And I haven't heard of any Slytherins being attacked either. Why would anyone do such a thing? We're just first years. No threat to them."

Maeve turned to Aravis. "Oh! I met Lucien. He's my best friend, I think... He said you were into the dark arts, though. Like, not super into it. Just a bit crazy..." She said softly. "Oh!" Maeve suddenly realized how rude she sounded. "I'm sor-sorry! I didn't mean to be rude. Just thinking aloud, I suppose. I didn't mean to offend you!" Maeve chewed her inside cheek again. She could taste a bit of blood.

"I should pro-probably go. I don't want to be a bother." Maeve said miserably. She couldn't believe how rude she had been to Aravis. "I'm sorry again, Aravis." She murmured, standing up to leave. She grabbed her bag and shot another apologetic look at Aravis. "Good-bye, Guy. See you around? I'd love to become friends. With you and Ar-Aravis." She stood next to them for a moment, waiting for Guy's response. Maeve could feel her siblings eyes on her.

"On second tho-thought, can I stay for a bit longer?" Maeve asked, sitting down again. "If I leave, I think Benjamin and Dahlia are going to try and ta-talk to me. I don't want to speak with them right now."

"Hey, don't get snippy at Marcus. We didn't ask you to join in earlier Maeve, but when you joined in we didn't mind or ridicule you for it! Even if we haven't heard of it yet I'm rather glad he warned us. Frankly I don't like getting in more fights than I need to." Aravis snapped turning her head quickly back at the blonde girl with a cold stare. She was well know for sudden mood changes. "I know a lot about the dark arts yes, but that does not mean I practice them. I'm not crazy, I have schizophrenia." The black hair girl clarified trying everything in her power not to lash out at the other girl. She knew Maeve had no harsh intentions. However, when her cousin accidentally said something similar it resulted in Aravis lashing out at her until the point her poor cousin cried. 

She took a deep breath trying to find her happy place. "Yes. You can stay. We don't mind. Anyways...I'm honestly surprised Lucien even talked to you, he rarely talks to anyone other than Odette and I." She said changing the subject trying to calm her down. She hadn't been able to take her medicine since she got to Hogwarts so she was worse than usual. She made a mental note to ask Lucien about how her cure was going so far, she needed it finished as soon as possible.  

Smiling wide for a moment, Guy responds to Maeve: "Oh I love comics, there are just so many different ones you can never get bored!" Guy looked over to the other tables to where Maeve was pointing. "Wow, you're so lucky to be able to come here with your family..." Guy trailed off for a moment before speaking up again. "Your brother plays quidditch? A boy I met on the train told me a bit about it, it sounds AWESOME! I love playing "muggle" sports so I bet I would love wizard ones even more. Promise me you'll introduce me to your brother some time. I want to learn more about the game."

Guy looked over as Marcus sat down and began to speak, listening in to what he had to say troubled Guy quite a bit. "Students getting attacked just for being in a house?" Guy thought, it reminded him of what he had been learning in history class the past year, about WWII Germany. "That's messed up.." Guy muttered to himself. Guy again, began to think he was in way over his head. Looking again to Maeve who was getting up to leave - "I already consider us friends, Maeve! You should stay if you don't have anything to do."

Maeve beamed at Guy. "Thank you sooo much. Dahlia gets very pro-prote-protective of me. It's rather annoying. Benjamin doesn't care, he just does whatever Dahlia tells him to do. They say it's a 'twin thing' and I wouldn't understand why they care so much. I really don't. And I'm sure Alexander would love to meet one of my friends. He loves quidditch. More than anything." She quickly stopped herself, as she realized she was rambling again.

"Sorry, Marcus." Maeve said quietly. "You just seemed, at first, like one of those preppy, entitled snobs Alexander has told me about." She quipped, looking down. "Lucien is a great frie-friend. He was the first person to talk to me here at Hogwarts, actually." She murmured.

"Anyway, quidditch is fun, Guy. I just hate it. It frus-frustrates me. Closes me in a box. I scrimmage with my siblings at home, but that's it. I love flying, though. Flying is almost better than Magic Zoology. Notice I said almost." She grinned. "I love magi-magical creatures so so so much. They're so cool. Have you learned anything about them yet, Guy? I could tea-teac-teach you if you'd like. I know almost everything about all of them. I even have my own mini farm at home. Complete with an erum-erumpant!" Maeve said proudly.

As her mind continued to wander, Ophelia finally decided to start picking at her food. She wasn't typically a picky eater, but all the excitement that had built up inside of her and all of the passing events had tarnished her appetite. She couldn't wait to boast to her siblings about all of the amazing events that had occurred on her first day, of all the amazing things that the school would hold for her.

Ophelia finally broke her train of thought when she heard the mention of Magic Zoology. While it certainly wasn't her favorite subject, it was definitely high up her list of favorite things to study. Since she lived and blended in among muggles, she rarely got to see magical beasts herself, and she always fantasized about them from the stories her mother would tell her. 

Ophelia turned to look at the blonde student sitting near her. "Sorry for intruding on your conversation, but at the mention of Magic Zoology I couldn't help but join." She gave the girl a friendly a smile. "My name's Ophelia Swanson."

If she wanted to make friends, the best place to do that would probably be at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall. She couldn't just wait for people to come to her anymore. 

"Maeve Turner." Maeve replied. "And yes, I was speaking of that, wa-wasn't I?" She laughed softly.

It was strange. Maeve was surrounded by new people, yet she was finally beginning to feel comfortable with herself. Much more so than at home, at least.

"I love mag-magi-magical animals. Loads more than I like people, if I'm honest." Maeve chuckled again. For some reason, she was able to talk with Ophelia and not feel ashamed of her stutter. At all.

At home, her stutter was a burden for her parents. Since they claimed it 'annoying' she didn't speak much. And here she was, talking up a storm. Maeve almost wished her siblings were watching her now, seeing how good she was doing.

"These are my friends. Guy, Aravis, and Marcus. Guys, this is Oph-Ophelia. She wants to join our conversation. Since you two-" She motioned at Aravis and Guy, "-allowed me and Marcus to join yours, I'm hoping you won't mind Ophelia. She likes zo-zoo-zoology, meaning I think we'll be good friends." Maeve scooted over a bit on the bench so Ophelia could really take part in the conversation, instead of just hanging out on the side.

Maeve surveyed her new friends happily. Maybe Hogwarts would be alright, after all.

Guy nodded enthusiastically as Maeve talked about magic creatures. "Whoa, an erumpant? What's that is it really big, is it like a magical elephant tell me more!" Guy was getting excited again just as the new girl approached the table. As Maeve introduced Ophelia to everyone, Guy waved quickly and grinned. He was extremely pleased with how nice all of the students at Hogwarts were, they all seemed so interesting and driven when compared to the kids he knew from home. There was so much history here and it quickly became apparent that every child sent here was essentially a proxy of each family, each kid had high expectations on them. Guy was relieved he didn't have any such expectations from his own parents, all they wanted was for him to graduate, they still didn't really grasp the extent of wizardry. "Boy, will I have some stories for my parents when I get back home." Guy thought to himself, for a moment he pictured trying to explain even this Great Hall to his parents, there is no way he could do it justice.

"Maeve! Ophelia! Tell me about magical zoos! Are dragons real? If so, do they get their own pile of gold or a big castle to protect?" Guys voice trialed off as he thought: "How would they keep them from eating people?"

"Yes, dragons are def-definitely real." Maeve laughed. "But no, I don't think they guard gold. I haven't looked into them yet, as I won't be able to see them until my trip to Ro-Rom-Romania this summer. I do know, though, that they're studied by dra-drag-dragonologists. Drag-dragonologists. Dra-drago-dragonologists." Maeve huffed. "I give up. That word is against my stuttering tongue!"

"Anyway," She continued, a bit less excited now, due to her stuttering fit. "Dealing dragon eggs is illegal, but people still do it. Those people are drag-dragon dealers." Maeve explained.

"Okay, I lied..." Maeve grinned. "I def-definitely have looked deeply into drag-dragon-dragonoly. I just didn't want to seem like too much of a nerd." She laughed.

"Dra-dragons are super useful! They're used in the TriWizard To-tour-tournament, and their parts are used in potions and such. They are super hard to hurt with spells, though. Only a few can knock them out, or back, effec-effectively. Like the Conjun-Conjunt-Conjunctivitus Curse. And a simple stun-stunning spell can work, if the caster is pow-powerful enough. Ooh! There's a really cool spell that turns dragon statues into re-real statues that you can control. It's Draco-Dracon-Draconifors. My father can cast it. So can Dahlia, sur-surprisingly." Maeve finished her rant breathlessly. "So-sorry. I really love mag-magical animals."

Ophelia's eyes widened in amazement as she heard what Maeve said. "You get to go to Romani this summer? How lucky! I've always wanted to go, but my parents were quite opposed to this idea..."

Even the thought of raising a dragon made Ophelia's heart race. Even though she wasn't as nearly as excited as Maeve was about raising magical creatures, she still found it fascinating to be able to raise and have a creature such as a dragon by her side. She always wanted to go to Romania as well, as being able to experience the sight of dragons herself would definitely be one of the best experiences she would ever have.

"I, of course, have never seen a dragon myself, but I heard that Rubeus Hagrid, the old Professor of Care of Magical Creatures raised a dragon for a bit! But he also ended up sending it to Romania. But I certainly don't know as much about magical creatures as Maeve. It's not my absolute favorite subject to learn, but it definitely fascinates me!"

She gave a smile to her new group of friends. She was so glad she was able to openly talk about something she was rather passionate about to someone. Back at home, most of her friends were muggles, and she obviously couldn't reveal anything about magic, so she couldn't even think to talk about magical creatures. Most of her tellings were to her younger siblings, and her siblings were still too young to truly absorb anything that she said.