That's me! on Pecari Commons

Professor Connell

April 06, 2008 5:31 PM

Pecari First Years Continued by Professor Connell

After leading them outside the door, Marian paused, counted heads once more, and then continued more slowly out to the Labyrinth gardens, pointing a few things out along the way like Mims (“Don’t mind anything he says to you, if it’s bitter it’s just because Pecari’s doing well in the House Cup”) and the ways to a few of the classrooms that were nearby. She stopped once more upon reaching the suit of armor a few steps into the labyrinth gardens that gave entrance into Pecari.

“Each of the four houses at Sonora has its own way of getting in, which is a secret for all students not in that house—don’t ask anyone else, and definitely do not tell, though believe me when I tell you that you should be thankful in this regard at least that you are not in Teppenpaw. In order to enter, you simply need to recite the current password. Whenever the password changes, and it will do so every so often, the new one will be posted inside the common room, so be sure to check regularly. Fizzing Whizbees.” The hedge opened, and she ushered the students into the common room.

“Please, sit down,” she continued once everyone was inside, gesturing towards the couches and chairs clustered around one side of the commons. “As I hope you’ve realized, this will be your common room for the next seven years. The boys’ rooms are up the stairway to the left, while the girls’ are up the other. There are charms to make sure that the only people going up each staircase are the appropriate gender, so I wouldn’t suggest trying.

“Curfew will be at ten o’clock every night, and you must be either in the common room or in your dorm at that time. Apart from that, you may wander around the school as you wish when you have free time. If you need anything, my office is right through that door over there, or you can ask Mia Kerova, Connor Pierce, or Saul Pierce, the Pecari prefects. Saul in particular has shown an enthusiasm for helping new students.”

The next thing she gestured to was a bulletin board by the door. “That over there is where any pertinent information about practically everything that happens at Sonora will be posted, like clubs or quidditch, though first years are no longer allowed to play on house teams.” A moment’s pause. “I believe that’s all the information you need to know. Any questions?”

Subthreads:

A legacy by Hannah Cooper-Forrester with Kyler Kent, Hannah C.-F., Hannah C.F.

That's me! by Saul Pierce

0 Professor Connell Pecari First Years Continued 0 Professor Connell 1 5

Hannah Cooper-Forrester

April 06, 2008 7:08 PM

A legacy by Hannah Cooper-Forrester

This was the walk Hannah had been dreaming of ever since she could remember. And now here she was, her Head of House leading her to the Pecari Commons. She thought of those that had gone before her, Uncle Tim Cooper, Uncle Terry Cooper, her mother, and her cousin Ronen Cooper just last year. There were also her late Uncle Ted Cooper, and her father, the late Greg Forrester. What had they been thinking, when they made this same walk? Did they have any idea of what would become of them?

And what would become of her? Would people make fun of her because she was “freakishly tall” like they did at home? If anyone tried, she’d make sure to silence them. Nobody would ever mess with the girl in the muddy attire intended for boys to wear, not if she had a say in the matter. Of course she couldn’t be certain, she was no Seer, no one in her family had ever been. But there had been Quidditch players, lots of them. And she hoped to follow in their footsteps, just as she was following their footsteps now.

Hannah sat down obediently, hazel eyes scanning the room in awe. Her father had sat in this very room. So had Uncle Ted. She barely remembered them, but she promised herself she would do them proud, in their old House. Her mom would be proud too, so proud that she’d only need Hannah to make her happy, no more boyfriends.

She raised a freckled arm confidently, a question immediately coming to mind, “Hi – Hannah Cooper-Forrester,” she introduced herself, a determined expression upon her face, “I know we can’t play, but can first years practice with the team? Or can all-first-year games be set up?” She had to practice at Quidditch, if she was going to fulfill her promise. She had to be the best. That was the only way to make everything all right.

0 Hannah Cooper-Forrester A legacy 0 Hannah Cooper-Forrester 0 5

Saul Pierce

April 06, 2008 8:43 PM

That's me! by Saul Pierce

Saul had been sitting with the new kids, Ark and Kyler, so it was the easiest thing in the world to wait until Professor Connell gathered up the first years and then walk with them back to the common room. When the Head of House wasn't talking and they passed something of interest that he thought the kids should know about, he added a few words like "There's a swing down that path" when they reached the Gardens, or "That's a really awesome class" when Professor Connell mentioned the Potions classroom (he'd made sure he talked loud enough for her to hear on that one - that was mostly blatant flattery on his part, given that he only ever got assignments right when his partner did 90% of the work, but it was a pretty fun class anyway).

During her speech, he managed not to verbally interrupt, though it was really hard to restrain himself when she advised against the Corridor Ride. Instead he made sure most of the new kids saw him shaking his head and mouthing 'not true - it's fun!' and making two giant thumbs up signs, so they'd know it was all cool to try - and fail - to go up the wrong staircase.

He straighted up when she mentioned his name along with the other two prefects, and then grinned and pointed himself out with both hands when she mentioned him specifically. "That's me!" he told them helpfully, though the two fingers directed at either ear probably made that a little redundant.

At any rate, it ought to remove any doubt about his enthusiasm.

1 Saul Pierce That's me! 82 Saul Pierce 0 5

Kyler Kent

April 07, 2008 8:56 PM

I just got chills... by Kyler Kent

Where were the secret passageways? It was a magical mansion! If this place didn't have secret passages, it lost about 386 respect points. Kyler's brown eyes scanned the halls as they made their way to the Pecari Common Room, as if looking for a sign that read "This isn't really a bookcase!" He had to admit, he was excited for school. Excited. For school! What the heck, right? Kyler wondered who his roommates would be besides Ark, who was walking along with the group. He couldn't help but notice that he was one of the taller ones in the group, with the exception of one girl closeby whose head was a good few inches above his head of dark brown hair. Kyler tuned in, halfway through the lady's speech. " There are charms to make sure that the only people going up each staircase are the appropriate gender, so I wouldn’t suggest trying." At the same time, Saul was standing beside her mouthing, "No way, it's fun!" Kyler grinned over at him and gave him the thumbs up right back. Yeah, he was definitely trying that out.

The tall girl he had noticed earlier raised a hand after another mention of Quidditch. Saul wasn't lying! Dude, Quidditch was idolized here! Kyler might just have to see what was so great about it... The girl began with her name, Hannah (nice name. Easy to remember), and asked about practicing Quidditch. That might be fun. Kyler waited until after the Professor had given her response and turned to Hannah.

"Hey, I'm Kyler Kent," he began, flashing her hsi best smile, "So... Quidditch? I hear it's great, but can you convince me?" Kyler began an introduction the same way he did with everyone: confident. Confidence can lead a conversation in one of two ways: 1) They could completely shut him down with a 'Yeah, walk away.' look or 2) They could respond with more enthusiasm than they normally would. This was Pecari though! People here were enthusiastic and adventerous, right?

0 Kyler Kent I just got chills... 0 Kyler Kent 0 5

Hannah C.-F.

April 17, 2008 9:58 PM

Is there a draft? by Hannah C.-F.

Hannah nodded when the teacher gave her response before some Kyler kid started talking to her. Like a lot of people around here, he seemed to be really enthusiastic, but enthusiasm over sports was always warranted. Anything less was a disgrace, and ought to be treated as such. She was surprised, however, about his apparent lack of Quidditch knowledge. Either he was a super-sheltered pureblood or a naïve muggleborn. Regardless, he was in need of a proper Quidditch education, and the cocky eleven year-old girl was just the one to give it to him.

“Dude,” she said, almost reproachfully, before proceeding with eagerness, “All you need to do is see Quidditch to know how ridiculously awesome it is. You got fourteen players, four balls, six hoops, which all adds up to total and complete amazingess. Doesn’t get any better than that.”

Let him try to beat that. Hannah had been introduced to some Muggle games by Grandpa Wes (who was in fact Muggle) and by a variety of her mother’s boyfriends from Muggle backgrounds. Baseball was interesting, flag football was too, and her height always gave her an obvious advantage in basketball. But nothing - nothing - ever came close to the sheer exhilaration that Quidditch brought her. It was addicting, she craved playing Quidditch and being in the air. She liked to believe it was something she had inherited, just as she had inherited her father’s freckles and her mother’s curly brown hair. She liked to believe it was something bigger than her, something she was fated to do. Because so long as it was inevitable, there was no reason to doubt or worry that she might not ever make the team, or not be good enough to go pro. If she just believed it hard enough, Hannah was certain that all of her desires would become reality.

0 Hannah C.-F. Is there a draft? 0 Hannah C.-F. 0 5

Kyler

April 18, 2008 6:58 PM

Ah! Who left the window open? by Kyler

“All you need to do is see Quidditch to know how ridiculously awesome it is. You got fourteen players, four balls, six hoops, which all adds up to total and complete amazingess. Doesn’t get any better than that.” Kyler grinned at her enthusiasm for the game. It wasn't really normal to find a girl with a passion for sports! Wicked. Kyler didn't play that many sports. He noticed a Soccer Scrimage on the Notice Board and thought maybe he'd try that out... Soccer was a 'muggle' thing! He got that stuff. It looked like some girls had already signed up, along with Saul the Guide. In response to Hannah's Quidditch eagerness, Kyler said,

"Oh man, you win," he said, contemplating all of the activity going on at once, "I'm muggleborn, so this is all a little," he opened up his fingers in a gesture to show that everything was all a little new to him, "I do rock climbing at home, but while I'm here with all of this new stuff, I might as well try a new sport, right?"

Kyler gestured to the coach, assuming they were free to roam now, and took a seat. This Common Room was most definitely livable. It gave him that warm at-home-in-Colorado feeling somehow. That would either help with homesickness, or just make it worse. Honestly, at that moment, he missed Mom. Not that he would tell anyone! Yeah, right. Couple "I miss my Mom" and his Achluophobia = Ultimate whimpy baby. Kyler. wasn't. a baby! He just didn't like not knowing what was around him and he had to admit, his Mom was really cool! He was going to miss so many premieres this year... That was their thing. Attending Mom's premieres was like an average family's Saturday Movie Night. Man, he missed it already...

"So where are roots? Colorado for me. That's why I do the rock climbing thing. My backyard is the Rocky Mountains," he said with a grin.

0 Kyler Ah! Who left the window open? 0 Kyler 0 5

Hannah C.F.

April 19, 2008 1:21 PM

Well, it wasn't me by Hannah C.F.

“’Course I do,” Hannah’s signature cocky grin flashed upon her face. She had almost declared Kyler cool when he officially declared that he was a muggleborn. Ew – muggleborns were wimps. They didn’t know anything about anything important, and they made all the normal people baby them because of it. Halfbloods and other mixes were one thing – they had families to explain all of this stuff to them. Muggleborns were the real trouble. Hannah stiffened.

“If you think you can handle it. Loads of muggleborns are super-freaked out by flying brooms,” she warned him in a tone that clearly stated that she thought this was a rather babyish fear, but one that she totally expected Kyler to have. Continuing to stand even when Kyler took a seat, she wondered if this muggleborn could prove he wasn’t a total baby, like most of his kind happened to be.

“Born in New York, but I’ve lived just about everywhere – our house likes to change location from time to time,” she said in a serious tone. This was in fact, a lie, but only partially. It was true she was born in New York, and that she had moved around quite often. But she moved from house to house and apartment to apartment – no spontaneously migrating buildings involved. It was fun to mess with the muggleborn’s head, and try to see what his reaction would be. Hazel eyes scanned the room in search of her cousin – no, he wasn’t here. This was a very good thing, considering that if Ronen found out he’d probably be all goody-good about it and scold Hannah and set the facts straight for Kyler. So not cool. Plus he’d probably tell her mom, and her mom was always super strict about things like being nice to muggleborns. There were a lot of things that the eleven year-old and her mother didn’t see eye to eye on, but this was the thing that Tabitha Cooper was most sensitive about. And Merlin knew Hannah didn’t need a Howler this early in the year, or ever, really.

0 Hannah C.F. Well, it wasn't me 0 Hannah C.F. 0 5

Kyler

April 19, 2008 2:49 PM

No, you stole the cookie from the cookie jar, right? by Kyler

Kyler grinned at Hannah's sure reply. She seemed pretty confident in herself, which was pretty cool. He could defintiely see why she was in Pecari along with him. Kyler tried to picture her playing Quidditch, which was a difficult task considering he had never seen the game played before. He could definitely see her playing. She was tall, which was even more noticable now that he was sitting, and she gave him the impression that she could take the pressure of a sport. Kyler could do sports. He had the endurance and motivation to play one. He just hadn't found one that he really liked yet. He'd probably try that Soccer thing out, and maybe see if Hannah would check out the Quidditch field with him sometime. Sounded good for now. Kyler wasn't much of a planner.

“If you think you can handle it. Loads of muggleborns are super-freaked out by flying brooms."

"Dude," he said, holding his hands out at his sides with a grin, "Didn't I just say I climb mountains for fun? I can handle a broom. It'll be different, but I love trying new things. Plus, it flies! That is some hardcore stuff!"

New York... Kyler had been there a lot for the premieres and some of the scenes had been shot there. New York was always busy and bustling, which is what Kyler loved. Never a dull moment in the Big Appl-- Wait, did she say her house likes to change locations? Kyler was new to the magic thing, but he was fairly sure that houses didn't move spontaneously. . . Right? Maybe Hannah was messing with him. Kyler chose to ignore it for now. He could just pretend like he understood and call her out on it later.

"Yeah, my family travels a lot. Mom's a movie producer and Dad's a stunt man. We go to all sorts of places for the different scenes and premieres. Love New York though! Gotten "lost" a few times on purpose when I was there just to be able to explore a bit. Tons to do." Kyler considered his question for a moment. Would he seem too noob-ish if he asked her if she was serious about the house thing? Yeah, he probably would. But he had to know! Dude, if he could get a moving house then he wanted to get one! Swiss Alps, anyone?

"Okay, I have to ask," he finally decided, running a hand through his light brown hair. "Your house doesn't really move, does it? I haven't grown up with magic or anything, but I'm pretty sure that doesn't happen and that maybe you're messing with me?" he said with a suspicious smile.

0 Kyler No, you stole the cookie from the cookie jar, right? 0 Kyler 0 5