Welcome to Hogwarts iNPC Arrival

@Maggie Hawkins as iNPC Fyodor
Open to other interactions

It Great Hall was filling up by the second of not just the usual three schools, but a fourth school of students as well. The school from Japan, Mahoutokoro, was blending in with our Hogwarts crew and it was going to be more dramatic than one would ever imagine.

Luckily, for the past couple of years, Bloom did not participate in the many dramatic events that were happening between her peers. However, not being a part of it meant that she wasn't close or communicating with anyone over the course of her Hogwarts years.

No matter the drama, Bloom was going to connect with others. She had no idea how, but she was going to! The first step? Bloom needed to leave the seat she found earlier in the morning. She was sitting down watching everyone and she felt her bum was glued down on the bench. She needed to use enough energy to pry herself off the bench. But go where?

Looking around, there were some individuals who were familiar from the summer. It includes the really cute boy from Koldovstoretz. What was his name... Nate? She could go up to him and say hi, but that takes too much mental power.

Bloom, finally prying herself off of the bench, made her way in the middle of the Great Hall. Who was she going to approach? Was anyone going to approach her?

She then saw from the corner of her eye someone else who was in the same boat as her. They were not social, but they were standing there. Bloom made her way to the person with a small smile.

"Lots of people, right?" she joked, trying to start a conversation with them. "I'm Bloom, from Hogwarts," she said, pointing at her uniform sheepishly.

Interacting with | @Bloom Silverton | @Cody Stevenson | Octavian Kostyovich Červeňák @Matthew Gray | Tarja Akimovna Blavatsky @Liana Kerr ★──────────★─────────★─────────★─────────★ | Mentioning English | Russian | Yiddish

★ Time | n/a ★ Outfit | school uniform ★ Ency | accio ★

==These Hogwarts kids were so, so loud. And not just loud, they were too enthusiastic, like this was some sort of party. Judging by the mountains of food on the table, Fyodor guessed that this was just like a little celebration for them. Hooray, Hogwarts, all the foreign kids are here! That means dances and big events! How thrilling!

It was sickening, really. Not only was this the place of tragedy, not a single one of these Hogwarts students had shown any sort of decorum or remorse for what had befallen the Koldovstoretz student body over the summer.

Fyodor supposed there was nothing to be done about it. Brits, he guessed. Entitled.

It felt better to be seated next to people he knew and was familiar with. Octavian Kostyovich, for instance, was right at his side and seemed to understand the gravity of their delicate situation here. Quiet, yes. Much more quiet than Fyodor, who was known throughout their school as more of a loud-mouthed irritation than anything else. He made himself out to be a loner. Purposeful or otherwise, Fyodor wasn't quite sure.

He gave Octavian a little smile, best of his ability, and turned back to the mountains of food that had been placed in front of him. Luxury few could afford. A little spitefully, Fyodor wondered if Hogwarts ever gave their overabundance of food to poor families. Surely would've helped him.

What came as a real and true surprise, though, was the fact that this Hogwarts kid knew at least a little bit of Russian. A relief, actually. Fyodor was worried that every single one of them would be butchering his language, trying to shoulder their way through after doing the absolute bare minimum when it came to research. It was typical. They all put forth their efforts to learn English for the Hogwarts students, and the same luxury was hardly ever extended in their way.

"Я Федор. Нет, спасибо, думаю, я сам справлюсь," I am Fyodor. No thank you, I think I can handle it myself. Fyodor returned, a bit of venom at the edge of his voice. He wasn't adept. Hogwarts should be easily navigatable. Probably low security, though, considering that somehow an entire Quidditch team could be bombed under their care.

Finally. Tarja. Fyodor was close enough through about two years of knowing her that the girl made him smile when she arrived. Thank the heavens. Someone familiar, someone he liked. Maybe a bit too enthusiastic, bringing down his somber mood and tearing down the illusion that he was some deep, brooding emo Russian, but he didn't much mind.

That little facade dropped as quickly as it came when Tarja slid into her place next to him. "Тарья! Где ты был? Мне до полусмерти надоели их безжалостные предложения помочь. Клянусь, веду себя как глупец," Tarja! Where have you been? I've been bored half to death by their relentless offers to help. Acting like I'm stupid, I swear. He propped his chin up against his fist. A friend was a surefire way to bring up a bad mood.

Though her offer to Octavian did take him by surprise. Did she want to take Octavian out to the Fall Ball? Really? What sort of conversation could he possibly have? From Fyodor's preconceived notions of the boy, he had assumed that, like, he was a selective mute or something.

No comment could be made. Another Hogwarts student was demanding his attention.

Fyodor turned his attention to Bloom Silverton. English speaker. She seemed kind enough, really, she did. So he truly didn't intend to be rude when he eyed her with some scrutiny. He was just trying to come up with the words, honest, figure out what English words matched with what Russian ones. Connect the dots like constellations. Once he had it figured out, he cleared his throat. "I am Fyodor. I am sorry, my English is bad," Fyodor explained, "I learned very fast. I am from Russia, from Koldovstoretz. There are very many people here. You have... big school."

Interacting | @Annie Morgan	Cody, Mahoutokoro students | Mentioning
Open to Interactions	#000080 | Hex
Date: 10.22.2021	Japanese, English | Languages

"Annie, Annie!" The prefect had found a young, unusually excited girl in front of her door a couple minutes before dinner. "The Welcome Feast is tonight! All the other magic schools are coming!" Callista was a shy girl, never one for chatter, but in front of Annie, she seemed completely different. It was as if the older girl held the key to her heart, unlocking her secrets and making her open and vulnerable. But that wasn't the whole reason why she was so excited tonight.

Throughout the day, she had seen foreign students wandering on the campus, but she hadn't gotten a chance to formally meet any of them. Last year, she hadn't paid much attention to the foreign students, feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of people. This year, however, was different. This year, Mahoutokoro was coming. The prestigious magic school in Japan known for its exclusiveness and focus on nature. If Callista had stayed in Japan, if they hadn't moved to England, then she would have gone to this school. It wasn't that she regretted her parents' decision to move, but there was still an insatiable curiosity that cried, "What if? What if?" And tonight was the night she might find out. What if?

──•──

The Great Hall was packed. Hogwarts was already a large school, but with the addition of four other parties, it was filled to the brim with chatter. Callista almost turned back, but this was a chance to learn about other magic schools, and she wasn't about to let it go that easily. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves and headed towards a table.

Even though there was free seating, she noticed that the houses seemed to stick together nonetheless. Shuffling uneasily, she stuck close to Annie, unsure who to approach. The main commotion seemed to be around a small Hufflepuff boy [Cody], and she recognized the robes of several Mahoutokoro students around him. Glancing at Annie, she asked, "Um, where do you want to sit?"

She observed the gathering, taking note of their actions with curiosity. "They're very academically focused, don't you think?" Callista mused absentmindedly. "Their robes are all so pretty." Poor Annie wouldn't have any idea what she said, unless she had suddenly developed the ability to comprehend Japanese. The Asian girl had a habit of slipping into foreign languages when she wasn't paying attention, which someone should probably point out to her at some point. She didn't want to get in the way of the blond kid, preferring instead to keep an ear out for conversations around her. She had never been one for initiating conversations.

Stats: Sta: 6 | Eva: 8 | Str: 3 | Wis: 9 | Arc: 7 | Acc: 7
Abilities: Perfectionist | ...
Actions: Arriving with Annie, commenting on the Mahoutokoro students

@Maggie Hawkins (as iNPC Fyodor)

"Your English is fine."

Bloom was wondering if he was having a hard time speaking English to her. Was she being a nuisance to him or was he glad that she connected with him with all of these people around? It was hard to tell. Bloom, although an introvert, would be happy that someone found her to talk to, but this guy could be different.

"It's big alright, but still a small community," she said, taking in what seemed to be astonishment of how large Hogwarts was. Its castle could hold more than they could count. That was the beauty of magic. Some of the dorms, like Ravenclaw, for example, is in a measly tower, but with magic, walking in made it grand.

Clearing her throat, Bloom remembered what happened over the summer. She was not at Hogsmeade, but she knew of some housemates who were affected because they had grown close to some Koldovstoretz students. "I'm sorry for your loss, by the way," she said, thinking of how terrible it must be to come back to a school full knowing what had happened the last time you were here.

She looked at Fyodor and then back at the other schools coming in. One thing that began to stick out was the uniforms of Mahoutokoro students. There were more than four colors among them all... She wondered what it meant. Did it mean that they were in specific houses? Perhaps she would go and connect with a Mahoutokoro student sometime soon.

"Do you play a sport?" she reverted her attention back at Fyodor.

Mentions @Maggie Hawkins (Fedya) | Interacting: @Liana Kerr (Tarja)

At first he thought he'd misheard, and the jerk of his head sent water sloshing down the wrong pipe and him into a coughing frenzy. Trying to cough quietly so as not to attract attention to himself, he gave Tarja Akimovna an incredulous look and then did a double-take when he found she was actually focused on him. Just to confirm, he checked who was on either side of him as if there could possibly be another Octavian in the near vicinity. "Ehm," his brain supplied him with helpfully as he nodded almost reflexively. He'd been so caught off guard that he couldn't even think up anything other than a yes, especially since the longer he drew this out, the more attention there'd be on him. "...okay."

Now that was just painful, the agreement sounding too casual for how shocked he was. He had no idea why such a... people person would want to go with him, and he was half prepared for her to burst into laughter and say it was a joke. A laugh at his expense was probably better than being someone's date to the ball, even, and since the question felt so out of place he wouldn't mind if it was a joke. Hiding the lower half of his face behind the water he resumed drinking, he couldn't help simply staring at the girl in confusion.

[ @Henry Knight as Charles Alluring • @Rose Moon as Andrew Lycan • Closed to interactions except the ultimate international student squad but feel free to overhear Cassie if you want your character to know the rumours ]

English #26687E • French #72267E

Cassie was back, back at Hogwarts, back at this confusing and wonderful maze of stone and magic. Well, of course, Beauxbatons was also and wonderful and magical, although less confusing to Cassie Heather since she'd practically been living there for two years, but it seemed to have a different sort of vibe to Hogwarts. Beauxbatons was all beauty and elegant wand-waving, whereas Hogwarts had something more rugged about it, more natural. Beauxbatons was the coolest, obviously - what other school had its passion and reputation for broomracing? - but Hogwarts was a close second, in Cassie's opinion anyway.

Since she was one of the first students to jump off Beauxbatons' gigantic flying carriage, beaming with the belated joy of having been able to watch an (admittedly rather bad-quality) episode of one of her favourite TV shows on her phone during the flight, Cassie had been at the front of the pack of students who were lead towards the campgrounds by the head of 'Huffpuff'. She'd hung on his every word and gasped in all the right places as he told them about the heads of 'Raven's Claw' and Gryffindor, although she'd gotten cynical when he decided that the head of 'Slither's Inn' was the daughter of nature spirits. However, Cassie had perked up with curiousity when he revealed their Headmaster's obsession with Cogsworth from Beauty And The Beast.

Although she'd had her fill of breakfast and lunch down at the campgrounds, Cassie was still hungry as she grabbed a seat for herself on one of the tables in Hogwarts' Great Hall, making sure that there were plenty of seats free around her so that Charles and Drew could find her. It was just a shame that Scarlett couldn't be there - although they had been exchanging letters, Cassie would have still liked to be able to see her in person. Deciding to set her mind on the here and now, Cassie slammed her hand down on the table and would gesture frantically to both boys as soon as they came into her line of sight. "Get over here!" she'd say loudly, speaking English since she was fairly sure it was the only language they all had in common.

Once they were all settled, the Hogwarts Headmaster gave some sort of speech which went right over Cassie's head - she was too busy squinting at him, trying to figure out if that ticking noise really was the clockworks under the man's armour, or just her own imagination. As soon as the food appeared, Cassie dug in, giving herself a large portion of what essentially became a traditional English Sunday lunch, only dinner, and on a Friday. "It's so great actually seeing you in real life,"[color] Cassie said to her friends over a mouthful of mashed potato, leaning in so as better to share her newly-acquired gossip. "I've got so much to tell you. Did you know that the head of Raven's Claw accidentally - uh - trans-figured" - Cassie said the word carefully, copying the head of Huffpuff from earlier and hoping the word meant what she thought it meant - "himself into an orangutan?"

Violet in English, blue in French and Red in Korean

This was his first time visiting Hogwarts. Ye-jun heard many things about the school some good and some… not so good. Apparently being here proved dangerous for many people. A school once deemed to be the safest place for young witches and wizards seemed to be struggling these days. The boy didn’t care though. He was here for a reason. Of course, he was curious and wanted to see the place but mostly, he was here to meet his cousin. It was five years since they last seen each other and he still couldn’t believe she was a witch too. If he came here the previous two years, would they have met each other already? Would she even recognize him? He looked nothing like he did in the past. Ye-jun has outgrown his awkward phrase and tuned into a confident and quite handsome young man. He was looking forward to showing her.

“Did you know our Head of Ravenclaw…” This made him turn to their guide. Eun-ji was from Ravenclaw, was she not? Unfortunately, it turned the man was just spouting nonsense. It didn’t take long for the young wizard to tune him out and focus on his surroundings instead. This school was…very different to what he was used to. He was used to elegance and extravagance. This was the exact opposite. Nevertheless, it was still impressive. Many of his classmates wouldn’t agree with him on that one but he didn’t care. His opinion was his own.

Entering the Great Hall was like entering a brand new world. It was not necessarily the room itself that gave him the impression but the people in it made it so. Ye-jun had never seen so many cultures gathered at one place. It was truly a sight to behold. He was not someone to make friends easily and he knew perfectly well how unapproachable he tended to look sometimes. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to mingle a little and learn a thing or two about the strangers. But first…Where is she? Surely she must be somewhere around here…

Roleplaying as Akira Shimizu from Mahoutokoro
Outfit: Navy Uniform

Open to interactions
Interacting with: @Cody Stevenson @Hui Ming as Aryaan Shamsi @Juniper Kelly as Sana Ohashi @Liz Evanvleck as Sakura Kobayashi

Akira bowed back slightly to the purple-robed Ohashi-san and Kobayashi-san as they did so to acknowledge his presence. As he introduced himself to Mr. Stevenson and asked his question about how to discern the rankings of Hogwarts students, he noticed Shamsi sigh loudly, as if he thought that their questions were nonsensical. Akira narrowed his eyes as he studied his classmate and his blatant lack of manners, but the expression was soon wiped off his face as if it had never been, and replaced by an expression of interest as Mr. Stevenson began to address him.

So, Hogwarts students were separated into Houses. From his readings about Hogwarts, he was already acquainted with the four houses, their identities, their colors, and their mascots, but it seemed that ranks were only relevant when it came to Prefects and Head Boy and Girl. The boy went off on an even greater tangent to note that he had an enemy in the Slytherin house, not that his personal life was relevant to Akira's question, but sure.

"Is there anything else sir?" Mr. Stevenson asked, and Akira opened his mouth to politely point out that -- in fact -- his question about academic ranking had hardly been answered at all, but he quickly shut his mouth as the boy launched into another tirade about badges and house points. It was difficult to know when Mr. Stevenson would finish talking. The blond boy proceeded to get into more detail as if he would eventually arrive at his main point by repeating himself, while going on several tangents about things like detention for losing houses.

Akira was quite bewildered. Was this how students at Hogwarts talked? If so, how were they to possibly get anything done during the day, or during group study sessions?

"I hope to one day have the same shade of blue that Shimizu- san does," Ohashi-san said. As Ohashi-san smiled at him, he smiled back. Pure-blooded Ohashi-san had never failed to make a good impression on him, with her careful manners and even the delicate and practiced way she had managed to eat with her chopsticks earlier. "I'm sure that a hard-working person like yourself will be able to achieve the navy ranks as well one day, Ohashi-san," he reassured her.

"Shimizu-san, I'm glad you have the same questions as me. And this colour suits you very well. I hope to reach it soon," Kobayashi-san added. From what he knew, Kobayashi-san was not only accomplished in terms of academics, but well-trained in the creative arts as well, perhaps matching his own in music and calligraphy. "Thank you, you are too kind, Kobayashi-san." Her words were a welcome relief to the tumultuous conversation that had been going on, and a reprise within the loud din of the hall. "I heard that you are quite talented in music, art, and dancing. Perhaps you would be so kind as to show me your work sometime? I would love to see it," he responded in English, though he would much prefer to to have addressed her in their native Japanese.

"I'm sorry Shimizu, I didn't realize I had to bow to such a intelligent young man like yourself," Mr. Stevenson addressed him and apologized. Akira stifled a grimace at the mention of his name, but the boy's compliment made up for it. It wasn't necessarily the lack of bowing that bothered him, since he knew that bowing was not done except for in duels at Hogwarts, and the boy had greeted him pleasantly enough upon his introduction. The boy had also kindly tried to learn a bit of Japanese beforehand. However, if the boy hadn't been a foreigner, he would've felt more indignant for being called 'Shimizu' instead of the 'Shimizu-san' that their formal relationship entailed. He didn't feel quite close enough, yet, to be called 'Shimizu' by a stranger. In response, he decided to politely address the issue at hand with a gentle reminder, so the poor boy would not make a blunder to drop suffixes in front of other Mahoutokoro students or staff. "You are obviously very knowledgeable. But, please address me as Shimizu-san, for now, Mr. Stevenson. You've been kind to answer our questions, but our relationships are not established enough for the lack of formality quite yet." He paused, and decided to go on, now that he finally had the boy's attention. "I do have a follow-up question, though. How are the Prefects and Head Boy and Girl selected, then? Is it by their academic merit or otherwise?" He had the sense that academic achievement hardly mattered at this school at all.

His attention was soon diverted as Shamsi made a loud sound that was not quite a laugh or a snort. "Hahaha, yeah. Don't mind us. Our school is a liiiiiitle teeny tiny minuscule smaller-than-dust bit strict on grades and stuff." Excuse me? Don't mind us? Did the half-blooded boy just talk down to his own school, which prided itself in its academic rigor? Of course, a boy like Shamsi would not know how important work ethic and academic excellence were, with that type of attitude in addition to the color of his robes. Akira inhaled deeply and shot a glare at the boy, as if giving him a warning.

Shamsi proceeded to ask Mr. Stevenson about rumors and legends. To the second part of his question, Akira gave a brief nod of interest. Now, that was a fair question, and Shamsi had partially redeemed himself in Akira's eyes. Hogwarts was renowned for its deep history and major characters, some of which were now ghosts in this very school, after all.

Interacting: Akira Shimizu@Avery Chen
Mentioning: Aryaan Shamsi@Hui Ming | Sakura Kobayashi@Juniper Kelly | @Cody Stevenson
Languages: English | French | Italian | Arabic
Outfit | Pendant