Professor Skies
November 15, 2015 5:48 AM
Head of House Speech by Professor Skies
The last stop on their tour would be a portrait of a rather intimidating looking figure named Gunther, whom someone had chosen to commemorate in paint in spite of his being an inferus - or, if she had any Muggleborns amongst her group this year, a zombie. She had read two competing theories on the matter - one that he had been a particularly successful experiment of a previous Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and one that he had been a particularly unpleasant but very wealthy and influential donor, who had insisted upon a portrait of himself being included in the school, but had foolishly failed to be very specific about the nature of it.“We are about to come to the entrance of Crotalus,” she explained, always thinking it wise to give her students forewarning, “It is guarded by one of Sonora’s more grizzly paintings, that of Gunther, who is an Inferus, or zombie. As he controls whether or not you’re allowed entry to the commons, or stuck sleeping on the tiles, it’s best to be polite, regardless of his appearance.
“The current password is Animagus,,” she instructed them as they arrived, the portrait swinging open to allow them entry. Once everyone was settled, she continued.
“Welcome to Crotalus. This will be your home for the next seven years, and you will be sharing it with the people around you. Think on that fact before you decide to fall out with anyone. I’m sure you will have your differences, and no one is requiring you to like everyone you meet. However, you are required to be civil and co-operative with one another,” in spite of Amelia’s warning, she had had little trouble with the house, and figured her predecessor had just had the misfortune of having several particularly cliquey year groups. There had been an unpleasant moment last year, when she suspected that one of the rumours circulating the school pertained to some of her girls, but they seemed to have got through it without killing each other, and that was the main thing. Teenagers were bound to have secrets, bound to make and break friendships, but so long as everyone managed to be reasonable about things, and not hex their room-mates, she could deal with that.
“The new password will be displayed on the notice board at the start of every month. Notices about clubs and other events are also posted here, so it is worth keeping an eye on it. Alistair Johnson, our house’s Quidditch Captain, will be posting sign ups there, and anyone interested in trying out for the team will be very welcome. At present, we share a team with Teppenpaw, as there has been limited interest from both houses, but that is open to change if there are enough players,” she smiled encouragingly.
“Other house authorities are your prefects - please raise your hands. Eleanor, Isaac and Chaslyn are people you can approach with any questions about Sonora or any problems you may be having, though you are equally welcome to speak to me or any other member of staff.
“Curfew, by which you must be back in the Commons, is ten pm. The stairs on the left lead to the boys’ dormitories and those on the right to the girls’. You are not permitted in rooms belonging to the opposite sex and there are counter measures in place should you try,” anyone heading up the wrong stairs would find themselves forcibly expelled by the corridor.
“Are there any questions?” she asked.
Subthreads: Do our doors have our names on them? by Artemus Leithan
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Head of House Speech
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Artemus Leithan
November 26, 2015 6:27 PM
Do our doors have our names on them? by Artemus Leithan
Artemis Leithan stopped and listened carefully to Professor Skies' speech. An inferus' portrait to guard the entrance to her house!! Artemis, who had been raised with very proper manners, chose not to point it out, but obviously there must be some mistake! What was a respectable pureblood girl doing being assigned to a house associated with an inferus? Obviously, the sorting challice must not have understood her family's status! However, openly addressing the mistake would be rude, but she was sure there had been one.She found herself in the Crotalus Common Room with Professor Skies after reciting "animagus." Obviously, the portrait was similarly confused, and had inadvertently let her in by mistake. There was no way to object to this publicly without a breech of etiquette, so Artemis pretended not to realize the mistake.
However, at least one of the prefects was also from a relatively high status pureblood family, so perhaps this was an odd Sonora custom. She felt certain her parents would not approve, but Artemis was not keen to inform them that their accession to her own and twin brother, Arthur's wishes had been a mistake. NO, she had begged to attend Sonora and she was not giving up on it just yet.
Artemis hoped to fit in in Crotalus, and kept any initial misgivings thoroughly to herself. She even had to keep the passwords to Crotalus a secret from Arthur, as he would need to keep the passwords to Teppenpaw from her. It was strange, having a secret from her twin for the first time in their lives. She hoped he would find friends in Teppenpaw, as she hoped to make some in Crotalus. In any case, they each had to comfort of going to the same school, and Artemis was certain they would remain close forever. She would always have a friend in Arthur, no matter what.
Artemis listened as the Head of House explained that she would not be able to ascend the boys' stairway. As if a proper pureblood girl would dream of such a thing! Mother and Father would certainly disapprove of the necessity of being unable to climb to the boys' rooms, as if students could not be trusted to follow such obviously clear rules on their own.
She looked to the other students and wondered if she would be sharing a room with any of them. She raised her hand and asked, "Do our doors have our names on them?" Obviously, they had to let her know where she was expected somehow.
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Do our doors have our names on them?
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