Amelia lead her young charges through the school until they reached the corridor that contained a very specific painting. She stopped beside it and inclined her head toward its less than handsome subject. "This is Gunther the Zombie," she introduced him. "He guards the entrance to our Commons. To enter, you will need the password. Do not share it with anyone not in Crotalus. Only House members are allowed inside. Once you tell the password to Gunther, he will allow you to pass."
She looked around to make sure they were all paying attention. "The password today is Credible." As she said the word, she turned to look at Gunther, and his portrait swung open on hinges as she finished saying it. "Follow me inside, please," she instructed and stepped over the couple of inches of wall that stood below the portrait, and into the room beyond.
There were a half dozen matching armchairs and couches, with maroon upholstery and silver trim. The carpet was gray and the walls were a tasteful shade of red that Amelia, for one, had been relieved to find was not as vibrant a hue as she might have feared when she first heard the House colors were red and silver.
Once everyone had filed in and the portrait closed behind them, she tapped the bulletin board that stood beside the room's entrance. "The password changes about once every week. I recommend checking here before you leave in the morning to make sure you have the current one." She pointed out the relevant spot where Credible was currently being displayed. "If you forget the password, keep walking down the hall past Gunther and you'll see a door with my name on it. If I'm around, I'll let you in. If I'm not, my wards will let me know you're there, and I'll get to you as soon as I can."
The rest of the bulletin board was fairly empty aside from the password, but that didn't mean what wasn't there yet was any less important. "The other thing the board is used for is announcements and sign-up sheets, like the Quidditch one that Charlie should be putting up soon. I encourage any and all of you to try out. First years are allowed on the team. The Captain this year is Charlotte Abbott, and her assistant is Marrissa Stephenson. They are also your prefects, so either of them or I will be happy to answer any questions you might have about Quidditch or Sonora or pretty much anything else." It was dangerous to be that open-ended on an offer to answer questions with Quentin Melcher in the school, but Quentin was safely tucked away in Aladren, so she thought it was safe to say here and now.
Moving away from the wall and bulletin board, Amelia took place in the middle of the room and stood up straighter, as befitted a more formal lecture. "Curfew is at ten. Fighting and disrespect of your Housemates will not be tolerated. I am not afraid to dock points or give detentions no matter who your families are."
She felt confident that her small disowned branch of the Pierce family gave her a position that did not lend itself to intimidation by even the most wealthy and influential purebloods. She knew who was important but there was nothing they could do to touch her. She was her own Matriarch so she had no one to answer to and, short of her job, there was nothing they had the ability to take away from her. "Everyone is equal in this House." She frowned at them, hoping she looked stern beyond her thirty-six years. She had raised two teenagers by herself, so she knew the importance of a good stern look.
"That said, Crotalus will be your home for the next seven years. As long as you follow simple courtesies, we should have no problems. My office can be reached from the hall outside, or from that door right there," she pointed it out. "Anyone is welcome to stop by at any time to discuss any subject. I'll do my best to resolve any issues or problems you may have. Or, if you just want to talk to somebody about something, I can do that, too."
She paused for another moment, then pointed toward the leftmost of the two staircases leading out of the room. "Boys, your dorms are up there. Girls, you have the stairs to the right. Look for the door with your year number on it. Boys are not permitted up the girls stairs, and neither are the girls allowed in the boys corridor. Any attempt to ignore this rule will be met with forceful and magical eviction. As you have been duly warned, I will not accompany any student attempting such to the Hospital Wing. They will need to get there on their own."
"Does anyone have any questions?"
OOC: You are now allowed to post anywhere on the site, though obviously, your character doesn't have access to the other common rooms. Please keep to the standard posting rules and minimum posting length (two paragraphs, each paragraph averaging around five sentences). Have fun and welcome to Sonora!