Professor Nathan Xavier
January 04, 2019 1:42 PM
First Year Orientation by Professor Nathan Xavier
Nathan was up far too early this morning, and it had nothing to do with his duties as Head of House or even orienting the first years. Students weren't arriving until afternoon, after all. No, his lack of sleep, and the resultant bags under his eyes were caused by have an almost three month old living in his family's quarters, which had seemed quite spacious when they set them up last midterm but seemed less so when trying to walk a squalling infant to sleep at 2am.He probably should have let Gray do the Orientation again, but Nathan considered it his job; he'd done it most of the years since Orientation had been implemented, and he'd promised Selina keeping a baby on premises wouldn't interfere with his or Isis' work. Besides, he'd missed doing it last year due to wedding preparations, and he didn't want to miss it two years in a row.
So he tried to be mostly cheerful and welcoming rather than exhausted looking as each new batch of students got off the flying covered wagons that had brought them to Sonora from all over the country. He directed the first years off into the garden to where the Orientation was set up with tables of snacks, plenty of room to mingle with each other, and a stack of folders with important information about the school, including a map. Everyone else was welcome to head on into the school, where the library, Cascade Hall, and the common rooms were all available for them to use to entertain themselves until the Opening Feast that evening.
Soon all the wagons were accounted for, and the school's prairie elves had dealt with the luggage and putting the flying wagons away in their shed. He followed the last group of first years into the orientation area, and gave them a few minutes to pick up food and a folder.
Soon enough, though, he cleared his throat to gain their attention.
"Hello, students. Welcome to your first year at Sonora Academy. My name is Professor Xavier." He was trying to keep his sentences short and simple; partly because he was tired and they could easily drift into long rambling things that even he couldn't follow if they went on too long, and partly because they had a few foreign students for whom English was not their first language. "I am the Herbology teacher here. In a little while, I'll give you a tour of your new school, but first, a few words about it."
"Sonora Academy of Magic is a seven year secondary school. We teach Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, and Defense against the Dark Arts as our core classes. You'll be taking each of those for five years. You will begin with beginner level classes. Beginner classes continue into second year. This allows you to get to know and work with people who were in your place last year. As first years only, you’ll also take Flying Lessons. In third year, you will move up to intermediate classes. At that point, you can add elective classes and independent studies to your course load, if you want. The core classes continue to be required. Intermediate classes continue through fifth year. Your first major exam, called the CATS - the Critical Assessment of Talents and Skills, is at the end of fifth year. After the CATS, you may drop some of your courses so you may better focus on the ones you decide to pursue at an Advanced level. Your last major exam, the RATS - the Ridiculously Anal Testing of Skills, is at the end of your seventh year. You need to pass two RATS to graduate, and most colleges require a minimum of three. Obviously, that's still a long way off, but that's the overview of academics here at Sonora. You should have your schedule for beginner lessons in the green folders. If you didn't get one, they are over there," he pointed to the appropriate table. "If you need help with English or math, please tell your Head of House. Sonora offers an academic assistance program for anyone who needs it for any reason." Reasons could and have included anything from growing up in a circus with little formal education to being a non-native speaker of English. "Also, each professor will offer office hours if you need help in a specific subject."
"For extracurricular activities, Sonora has a number of student led clubs, including a Dueling club, an Orchestra, a Gardening club, an Art club, and a school newspaper called the Aronos. If you don't like those, you can always make your own. We also have a school wide Quidditch team that competes with other schools. First years are welcome to try-out, but you'll likely be on the reserve team. For those who don't know, Quidditch is a wizarding sport played on broomsticks." He realized his sentences were getting longer, but he couldn't figure out how to get them any shorter, now that they were past basic introductions. He compensated by trying to talk slower.
"After the tour, you will be sorted into Houses. You will receive a badge, which you will dip into a potion, and it will come out one of four colors. Blue means Aladren. Aladrens tend to value learning and problem-solving. Yellow means Teppenpaw. Teppenpaws are our diplomats, valuing friendship and personal development. Red means Crotalus. They believe in respectability, responsibility, and strategic planning. Brown means Pecari. Those students are often adventurous and adaptable. Not everyone fits neatly into one House or another, so try not to put too much stock into House stereotypes. There are smart Crotali and adventurous Teppenpaws. There are adaptable Pecaris who aren't adventurous. But everybody will be sorted into one of them. This is a boarding school, so you'll have a Head of House who you will look out for you and serve as your adult guardian while you're here. We're a small school, so you may need to share a room with anyone else in your year matching your House and gender. Each House also has three prefects who are appointed to help you with any trouble you may have. Your House can earn points for your good deeds and exemplary class work. Likewise getting in trouble can lose your House points. The House with the most points at the end of the year wins the House Cup to display in their Commons the following year, and may earn extra perks at the end-of-year midsummer event. Pecari will be hosting it this year."
He mentally ran through the important topics one more time and thought he'd hit most of them - it was his eighth time doing this, and he was proving he could just about do it in his sleep. "That's about it. Wear school robes with your House badge to class. The Cascade Hall serves breakfast from 6:30 to 8:30, lunch from eleven to one, and dinner from five to seven. Those times should also be on your schedules. Between those times, you can get smaller things like sandwiches and snacks. It opens at six and closes at ten. Ten PM to six AM is curfew; you should be in your House areas during that time. Unless there are any questions, you are free to chat and get to know each other until the tour, which kicks off at 5:30."
OOC (Out of Character):
Welcome first years to Sonora! You can post a reply here to ask staff questions or meet your new classmates. This thread is intended for first year students to have a chance to try out posting and get acclimated to the site before we throw you into the big Opening Feast, which is open to the entire school population and can be a bit overwhelming.
Please remember that anything that happened in the Sandbox was just practice and did not actually occur. (You are welcome, of course, to use any background information you generated about your character during these exercises such as pets, accidental magic, etc, but they have not yet spent any time at Sonora, or interacted with any classmates.)
Also of note, entering your email address when you reply will mean you get notified when someone responds. This is optional but can be useful for helping to keep track of posts. Please do NOT check the box that says 'show email address,' as this will make it public and may result in spam. Please note, that lately some reply notifications have been ending up in spam folders of email accounts. Please check your spam folders and the boards if you think you are not receiving replies
Now, go forth, new first years of Sonora! Post, enjoy, have fun! Everyone here is happy to help out, so if you've got a question, put it on the OOC board or try to catch somebody in the Chatzy and we'll try to get you an answer as quick as we can. Have fun and we’re glad you could join us!
Subthreads: I don't speak English by Hilda Hexenmeister with Johanna Leonie Zauberhexen
This all sounds very adequate. by Felipe De Matteo with Jeremy Mordue
Be yourself - everyone else is already taken by Zara Jackson with Beatriz Couthon
I see a few small problems on the horizon. by Jessica Hayles with Jake "JD" Daniels
Do I spy a familiar face? [Tag Isabella Harrington] by Theodore Flores with Isabella Harrington
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Professor Nathan Xavier
First Year Orientation
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Professor Nathan Xavier
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Felipe De Matteo
January 04, 2019 8:48 PM
This all sounds very adequate. by Felipe De Matteo
Felipe was pleased to find that Sonora was an organized institution. He had suspected it would be -- it wouldn't be a world-renowned educational facility if it hadn't earned a fair reputation for success -- but it was nice to have confirmation. He nodded along with Professor Xavier's speech as various points were made and he found them agreeable. His belly was full of nerves, of course, but there was a certain weight on his shoulders: he wasn't just coming to school for the first time, he was also taking careful note of whether it would be a good fit for his sister in coming years. It wasn't the nicest, most well designed school, but he appreciated the stucco and clay aesthetic as it was familiar to him. Los Jardines de Plata was much more elegant than Sonora but the similarities were striking and Felipe was satisfied. The likelihood of finding someplace as nice as his family's estate was slim, so he saw little need to be uppity about the whole thing.When the speech was finished and students began mulling about, making introductions, and taking snacks, Felipe was tense. Social niceties were trained into him, but hardly something he enjoyed, and he was far more entertained by the structure of the gardens and the school than he was by his peers. They would probably need something and he hardly had anything to give at this stage except his own company, which was hardly a gift. He was happy to realize that he wasn't the only person who spoke another language though. German drifted past his ears, and he caught bits and pieces of other conversations. He was pleased that his English accent was perfect, though, and his fluency nearly the same. He wouldn't need to get by on his Spanish and hope to find someone that could engage equally (which was unlikely anyway).
Occupying himself by examining the plants that made up the Labyrinth, Felipe looked up only upon the sound of footsteps approaching. It was, as was expected, a first year, and he greeted them with a stiff nod, his bearing otherwise remaining upright and proud.
"Good evening," he said politely. "My name is Felipe."
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Felipe De Matteo
This all sounds very adequate.
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Jeremy Mordue
January 05, 2019 10:16 PM
We'll see by Jeremy Mordue
The wagon ride seemed calculated to annoy. The journey itself was unnecessary slow and dull but the worst part was Nathaniel sitting opposite him, constantly looking like he was on the verge of saying something more significant than small talk about the passing scenery. Nathaniel kept looking like he wanted to remind Jeremy how to behave, and was only thinking better of it because there were other people around. This was met with a steady gaze of steel. Not glaring. Jeremy would not glare in public, even at his brother, and even when said brother was being provoking. But it was a look that said Nathaniel’s desire to correct him was a bad idea. He didn’t need Nathaniel’s help. He knew what he was doing. Had he not had all the same etiquette classes? Was he not the same age as Nathaniel had been when he got shipped off to school? He didn’t know why his brother had to treat him like such a baby all the time. It wasn’t fair.As the four Mordues disembarked the wagons, his cousin Simon wished him luck. This remark was echoed by Nathaniel along with ‘have fun.’ Jeremy’s instinctive reactions to whether comments were irritating or not had far more to do with who was saying them to him than what was said. Had Nathaniel alone wished him luck, he would have found it an irritating and patronising comment, an implication of Nathaniel’s lack of trust in him to be able to do this. But Simon had said it. Simon and he weren’t close, but his oldest cousin was broadly decent to him. He didn’t constantly treat Jeremy like a problem, the way Nathaniel did, and so this remark was taken as being a sign of warmth, a friendly wish from his cousin, and thus passed without irritation when Nathaniel said it too. From Sylvia, he got ‘see you later,’ which he took to mean his cousin expected him to get sorted into Crotalus, and which bolstered his spirits immensely. Of course, his cousins would all see him regardless of his house placement, as the first years would be paraded in front of the whole school, but Jeremy was adept at reading what he wanted into the remarks of others - approving from Simon and Sylvia, whose good favour he craved, and irritating and sanctimonious from Nathaniel, who had a lifetime of casually one-upping him, being the better, older, favourite child without even really trying, and who felt the constant need to try to make Jeremy into himself. Like being Nathaniel was so great. He was a Teppenpaw.
Jeremy set off down the path marked for first years with his held high and his shoulders squared. He felt bolstered by having had three older students to see him off (even one who was irritating and a Teppenpaw) because that helped to show he was someone. All the important families had a large presence in the school, and it did well for his reputation that he was already well connected. It was a shame that Simon hadn’t got prefect. If the silly school hadn’t collapsed on Quidditch, he would have had a different badge to make up for it. Still, Jeremy had connections and was clearly Someone, and that was the main thing.
He listened to the speech from the tired and disheveled professor (Nathaniel’s head of house) with internal impatience but with a carefully schooled look of neutrality. The man was going over a range of things that Jeremy, of course, already knew. He allowed a slight smirk to cross his features as the man bothered to explain Quidditch, one that said that clearly Jeremy knew what that was, and thought it rather laughable that anyone might not. Oh, he knew there were Muggleborns and other trash. And that some of them probably didn’t know, because for all that they had been gifted, somehow, with magic, some of them barely bothered to crack a book before coming to school, or to learn the important things about the world into which they were going to enter. That was the trouble with those types of people - they didn’t always make the effort to assimilate.
When they were dismissed to talk to others, Jeremy looked around carefully. He only wanted to talk to people worth talking to. Noticing a boy who held himself well - good posture, neat appearance, not desperately cramming cookies into his face in an ungainly manner - Jeremy decided he had found an acceptable start. Jeremy made his way over and was given the name Felipe. Just that. No family name. This was not enough evidence on which to assume that the boy wasn’t Pureblood though. He had heard that people at school sometimes got a bit casual, though he hadn’t expected it to happen quite so quickly. From his name, the boy was also clearly somewhat foreign, although he didn’t sound it. He had also been prepared for this, and that the majority of the foreigners came from decent families who were seeking wider connections. Maybe they didn’t do things the same way wherever this boy was from, though as he was in America now, he would need to learn to do things their way.
“I’m Jeremy Mordue of the Oregon Mordues,” Jeremy replied, showing him how it was to be done. He refrained from saying that it was nice to meet the other boy because he couldn’t yet be sure that it was.
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Jeremy Mordue
We'll see
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Felipe De Matteo
January 05, 2019 10:45 PM
We certainly will. by Felipe De Matteo
Felipe found this boy utterly fascinating. He was, from first impression, exactly who Felipe's own father was trying to make sure Felipe never became. Although the heir to the De Matteo fortune was admittedly more prone to boasting of his family name than his father would have liked, he could see the good in what was being done now. Whether he particularly liked to keep company with muggleborns and poor wizards was an entirely separate issue from whether it was respectable -- and also probably decent or something -- for the wealthier family to help them. His father had often commented that the De Matteo family was as close to royalty as was possible among their people and their kind, and Felipe had never seen a king offer his full name just to satisfy his interlocutor that he was indeed a king. A crown was meant to be seen, not displayed. He wondered whether this boy was an heir.If he was going to insist on being so formal, Felipe would adjust. He still had little interest in providing more information just yet, as there may be some strategic advantage to refraining from that, but he had the etiquette lessons to match the higher register conversation.
Like turning a dial somewhere inside his chest, Felipe gave up on the study of architecture that was undoubtedly more interesting and began the study of Jeremy Mordue.
"You'll have to forgive my oversight. I have not yet learned all of the family names of influential families in the United States," Felipe offered, making it into a compliment. Felipe had no idea who the Oregon Mordues were, but it would take a blind man not to see that they were important, at least to themselves. Recognizing that in Jeremy's posture was a greater treat than to see it in his name, and he wanted to make that clear to the boy. "Felipe De Matteo De Los Jardines De Plata," he said, offering his full name and estate in Spanish.
"I saw your family has a history at Sonora," he asked neatly in English, interested to learn more about Jeremy's family while also seeing how far his ego would take him in the conversation. He'd either be flattered that he was noticed among so many older students and his head would swell, or he would dismiss it causally, offering an explanation and something friendly. Whatever their approaches, it was clear they were both playing the game of strategy.
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Felipe De Matteo
We certainly will.
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Jeremy Mordue
January 06, 2019 12:06 AM
I think I'm coming round to it by Jeremy Mordue
“That’s alright,” Jeremy replied, with what was probably far too much graciousness, one that betrayed that he thought rather a lot of his own good will and where it was bestowed. Honestly, what kind of person started school without knowing who was who? Jeremy more or less missed the subtextual compliment, or rather it registered less than the fact that Felipe didn’t seem to know who he was, and hadn’t come to school properly prepared. Still, the second attempt at an introduction was better. Jeremy had no idea about foreigners and which ones were important but Felipe certainly had the bearing of someone decent, and the odds were also in his favour based on the information Jeremy had about other foreigners.“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he replied to the more formal greeting, deciding now that it was safe to assert this.
“Yes,” he confirmed, swelling with pride when his family was commented on, “My cousins and brother already attend the school.” He thought about bringing up how big Simon was on the Quidditch team, or how Sylvia was… whatever she was, with her girls club. However, the Quidditch team was complicated because of it not being proper teams and Simon not having an official status as a captain any more, and he also didn’t think he could properly explain what Sylvia did without going into a lot explanation about her little group, and it was girly and not the sort of thing that boys talked about. Besides this, the subject of other people’s achievements was rather boring to him. He would use their reflected glory if he could, but he found himself a much more interesting subject. But they had already talked about him, and it was only fair that they talked about Felipe too.
“Where does your family traditionally go?” he asked. He knew from his relatives that there weren’t any De Matteos at Sonora. He thought this a rather good way of establishing where Felipe was actually from, and also allowing him to talk a little bit about his own family in spite of their absence from Sonora’s hallowed hallways - and it was polite to allow both parties equal input on the topic at hand.
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Jeremy Mordue
I think I'm coming round to it
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Felipe De Matteo
January 06, 2019 7:25 PM
No, no, you'll have to do a lot more to come around. by Felipe De Matteo
Felipe had dark eyebrows, like his deep, almost black hair. One of them, his right eyebrow, wanted nothing more than to arch in amusement and satisfaction. Jeremy seemed to be exactly the sort of person Felipe had suspected, and there was nothing more fun than being right about somebody else's flaws. Well, there wasn't much that was more fun than that. He decided right then and there that he wanted to spend more time around Jeremy as the term began, sure as he was that the boy would provide some solid entertainment. Beyond that, there were certainly social advantages to be had. All around, it seemed like a perfect friendship. He extended his hand to shake when Jeremy finally admitted to his pleasure in their meeting.Felipe nodded along, listening as Jeremy confirmed that he was not the heir, as he had suspected. "There are many people eager to meet you then, I'm sure," he suggested, happier with the game he was playing than with the conversation. He waited to see how Jeremy would react to the idea.
When the conversation turned towards himself, Felipe wondered whether it was a move of etiquette, strategy, or both. It was the first time in the conversation he realized he would need to be friends with more than just Jeremy if he was ever going to relax. Or, even better, to only be friends with Jeremy and spend the reset of his time alone. At least, alone when he wasn't managing important social connections or finding ways to be philanthropic. He had high hopes that if he was nice enough to people, word of his deeds would get back to his parents without him having to explain them himself; bragging about altruism was hardly altruistic.
"I'm the heir," Felipe responded simply. "There are no older De Matteos in our generation, so my attendance here is revolutionary." Yes, his father would approve of a word like revolutionary. It implied all the progressive moves forward the family hoped to make, and pointed to their long history of standing up for the important things. It was also better than "unusual" or "Surprising," which were also true.
"Many of my ancestors attended Castelobruxo. It's why they were able to do so much for the people in Mexico when they moved there, as they were well-equipped to handle the creatures there," he explained. Castelobruxo had a reputation for Magizoology, which was hardly a claim to status in modern magic communities but had been important generations ago. The Brazilian school boasted a global name and had a strong presence on the international student exchange circle. "Later, they made a point to travel more broadly. Hogwarts, L'Istitut Quebecois, et cetera. They brought back everything they could and most of the most recent generations have traveled abroad with private tutors for education. There were no limits," he finished, proud of his family's diverse educational background. It had allowed them time to get to know the people of the world and their own people, very important traits for any powerful family. "It is why we speak so many languages."
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Felipe De Matteo
No, no, you'll have to do a lot more to come around.
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Felipe De Matteo
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Jeremy Mordue
January 10, 2019 8:05 AM
Yeah, well... so will you. by Jeremy Mordue
Jeremy shook the hand that Felipe extended, feeling like this was all going really very well, and wishing Nathaniel could see this. Nathaniel thought he was so freaking great. So perfect, Mr. Teppenpaw with all his diplomacy and etiquette skills. Well, Jeremy was doing fine. Better than fine. He could be gracious as heck and if Nathaniel was here he’d make him eat humble pie so fast he damn well choked on it and who’d be King of Diplomacy then, huh? Felipe thought there were people here who were keen to meet him.He had no idea how to play that because he doubted it was true. But obviously he couldn’t admit that.
Crap.
This was harder than he’d thought.
“Well. Uh. Yeah. Probably,” he agreed. It was polite to agree, right? He hated how uncertain he sounded.
And then Felipe moved on to talking about himself. And it got better. And worse. It got better because it meant Jeremy no longer had to think of what to say. Anyone who knew him in the slightest would have been very surprised to find how quickly he found himself not wanting to be the main subject of the conversation. Normally, if there was one thing Jeremy liked to talk about, it was Jeremy. Also on the getting better side, Felipe was an heir. Which was like… bonus points for how well he was doing at making friends, and how well he’d read the room (well… garden clearing) and picked out the right person to talk to. The getting worse part was also that Felipe was an heir. Jeremy wasn’t. That made Felipe better than him. He also managed to casually drop in speaking multiple languages like it was no big deal (and, Jeremy supposed, it wasn’t really because if Felipe had grown up being foreign well… then of course he spoke foreign languages. It wasn’t learning something. It was sort of cheating to try to count it as an accomplishment). Still, Felipe had managed to drop something impressive (sort of - it didn’t really count) into the conversation and Jeremy knew that he had to match that but without seeming like he was matching it. It wasn’t like he wasn’t good at things. He was really excellent at Quidditch. But whenever he brought it up, Nathaniel told him off for bragging, even if he was just saying what was true. And now he saw the effortless way that Felipe had managed to drop his skills into conversation, Jeremy kind of got it. And had no idea how to do it too.
“That’s cool,” he said, trying for casual. And succeeding. He definitely sounded casual. Not intimidated. “Languages are pretty useful. What do you speak?” he asked. Maybe Felipe only spoke Spanish, which he had to because he was Mexican, and English, which he had to because of going to school here. If that was the case, it definitely didn’t count.
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Jeremy Mordue
Yeah, well... so will you.
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Jeremy Mordue
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