September 1st, 1889 — Hogwarts Entry Hall

While the children chattered eagerly, nervously, frenetically at ground level, Hamish Darrow stood four steps up the flight of stairs, Oona and Orpha perched each on the second and third steps, watching. This was not the Deputy Headmaster's first time presiding over the young horde, nor would it be the last. Which, he wondered, would join Hufflepuff? Who would be standouts in History of Magic? And who would be the most fun in the class?

More out of habit than curiosity, the professor checked his pocket-watch. Not time yet, then. That suited him just fine: how much could he learn of the new first years before the Sorting Hat had its turn?

Open to any/all First Years! 2/2 Rule~
Apollo Cartwright Leif Heaney Geoffrey Campbell Sunday Fudge Idris Ross Isaac Russell Archie Diggory Jasper Diggory @"Alina O'Malley" Hesper Gamp

  

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— set by the long-lost bex —

Sunday was keenly aware of exactly how much she was dripping onto the entryhall and was crossing her fingers in her pockets – listen, she tried to wring them out as much as she could, but there was only so much strength a 4ft. 7 in. five stone little girl would exert on a thick, damp cloth – that no one would slip on the puddles she was making. She'd started to shivver a little bit - the castle was warm enough, but after being plunged into the cold water she wasn't exactly sure how warm she should feel at this point.

Some students were chattering about, others were minding their own selves; Sunday among the latter half. She saw the man on the stairs - Professor Darrow, he'd introduced himself as – glance at his pocket watch and then pocket it again. It was not time to go in then, she figured, chest rising to heave a silent sigh.

Instead, she sneezed.

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   Aldous Crouch

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magnificence by mj <3

The boat ride over had been like a dream. It wasn't as if Gogo had never been on a boat before. Indeed, the trip over from Calais had been much bigger (though maybe not grander) than that, but there was something special about sitting on self- rowing rowboats on their way to a castle. It was just like a pirate story, except they weren't going to storm the castle or be stranded on its ruins. He'd heard stories from Poldi about thare being a squid in the lake, even mermaids! The only thing that could have actually made the boat better was if one of them had surfaced. That would have been just like a pirate book. Someone did fall off of the boat, though, which he'd found very funny when it had happened, seeing as she'd come through it alright.

He felt a bit guilty for laughing when he ended up standing next to the sopping wet girl, but not too guilty. His awe at the towering turrets, the broad stone arches, the mystical, floating lights, and the sheer size of the castle didn't leave much room for things like that. He didn't pay too much attention to her shivering form or the drip, drip, drip of the puddles forming around her. His eyes were on the professor up on the stairs, looking him up and down from his greying hair to the wizards robes flowing off the widest point of his portly girth, when the sharp sound of a sneeze cut through the excited, anxious murmur of the others waiting to be sorted.

"Gesundheit." he murmured automatically, glancing back at his waterlogged classmate, allowing her to register in his mind for the first time since they stepped inside ancient hall. She did look kind of cold. He supposed he would be too if he'd just fallen into a lake. "Are you alright?" he asked finally, reaching behind his robe, into his pants pocket and pulling out a folded, white handkerchief, which he promptly offered to her. "you look kind of.... wet." A towel might have been a more helpful thing to offer her, but he didn't have that. He wasn't even sure she would know what it was. Couldn't wizards just dry themselves off with magic once they learned the spell. Poldi didn't and Mutti didn't, but Poldi was just used to doing things the muggle way and Mutti didn't even have a wand anymore. They weren't any kind of example for what wizards usually did.

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Leif looked curiously at the other first years, noting that many of them were dressed better than he was. He drew his robes closer to himself ashamedly, but at least he wasn't the short girl dripping wet. He wondered why she was wet. Had she fallen? She hadn't been in his boat, he was a little nervous interacting with girls he didn't already know. There were so many rules, especially for the ones who were wealthy! Leif wanted to be wealthy. He thought it would be nice to have enough money for robes that weren't at least fourth hand. Second hand robes might be nice, he thought appreciatively, daydreaming of living in a house the size of Hogwarts.

He muttered a quiet "God bless you..." Were they supposed to be waiting this long? Leif honestly didn't know if he should be worried or not. He hoped someone would help out the girl, he wouldn't know the first thing other than to get her some new clothes and sit by the fire, which was obviously not an option at the moment. Hopefully she'd be feeling better off later, Leif thought. He looked inquisitively at the Professor standing in front of all of them. Professor Darrow? His cousins had said things about this Professor. Leif couldn't remember them at the moment, other than he was the History of Magic professor.

That was nice. Leif liked history, knowing that there were many lessons to learn from it. Arrogant kings got their heads cut off. The same might be said of those who led revolutions, except the one in America, which led to a whole new country. Leif felt a little guilty for being part of a country who overtaxed, or he would if he fully understood taxes.

  

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Could you be a Heaney?

Soo-Jin Proudfoot shuffled nervously from foot to foot, an effort to shake herself of the intense feeling that she didn't belong here, that she was an impostor. It was true, of course, that she had performed accidental magic in her past, true that both mother and father were in possession of magical abilities, but surely that alone did not qualify her to attend a school such as this?

She had scarcely believed her eyes as she had crossed the lake in the enchanted rowboat: her brother had tried to describe Hogwarts to her, but his words had done the castle no justice at all.

And here she stood now, the entrance hall easily the grandest building in which she had ever found herself.

A body pressed up against her. In spite of the sheer space, the youngsters had clustered together, waiting for whatever lay on the other side of the doors. Their future, she supposed, castling a look at the person who was growing too close for comfort.

  

Sunday hadn't expected any response to her sneeze, frankly. She nervously glanced at the professor before smiling gratefully at the two boys next to her. "Thank you!" she smiled, before accepting the proffered handkercheif. She winced slightly, her voice echoing in the rather large hallway. She began to pat the kerchief on her face.

Sunday laughed at the question. "You think?" she replied to the boy who'd given her the kerchief. "I fell in," she responded, attempting to pat her hairline with the kerchief. "I got excited by seeing the castle and accidentally stood up in the boat." Now that she said it aloud, it sounded rather stupid, however, Sunday had to admit it wasn't such an embarrassing thing. She could write this to Mummy, Papa, and Titus! She wondered what Titus would have done had he been with her. Probably panicked, and flailed about. Though Archie had done plenty of that for him, she supposed. "It was quite cold."

  

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magnificence by mj <3

There was a very wet looking girl whom Hesper was fairly certain she'd seen falling into the lake a short while ago although it could've been someone else. Either way she could smell someone who was damp and swampy and as the most obvious culprit was the soggy taller girl stood much too close for comfort. Hesper leaned away from her as much as the crowded huddle and subtlety would allow, but in doing so she was pressing herself against one of her other classmates.

It took Hesper longer than it should have to realize this as fixated as she was on avoiding the swamp girl. Finally she caught on thanks to the less than appreciative stare she was on the receiving end of. "Oh." She edged backward ever so slightly to restore some of the girl's personal space. "Sorry." Do you smell that? she wanted to ask but that was definitely rude if it was indeed coming from the girl nearby. She tried to explain herself instead with a series of pointed glances at the wet girl.

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He glanced once again at his pocketwatch: it was time.

"Line up please, children!" Hamish directed. In a few short moments, the first years would face the Sorting, their first true steps into the magial world.

  

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— set by the long-lost bex —