Geoffrey Layne
May 27, 2009 7:35 PM
Welcome to Aladren by Geoffrey Layne
So far, Geoff didn't think he was doing a bad job of things with the first years. He'd successfully gotten them all up, gotten them moving together, and gotten them to notice some points of interest along the way. They were at the doors of the library, now, which meant there was only a small chance of anything going wrong."This," he informed them, one hand already gripping a door handle, "is the library. Don't wander off while I'm taking you through; I'll give you a tour of this later, when it's not close to curfew on a class night." That sounded like a properly Head Boy thing to be concerned about. "We usually go through here to get to the Aladren Common Room. There's a way through from Professor Taylor's office - " he winced as a mistake occurred to him - "which I forgot to show you on the way up, sorry about that, but we're mostly supposed to go this way. Don't want to get in the Head's hair."
He lead them into the deserted library. "You can come here whenever you have free time; for a lot of Aladrens, it's a sort of second common room. Mr. Reynolds is usually at the circulation desk or in his office - see them over there? - and can help you out with most stuff." Geoff paused to get a look at everyone and do a quick head count, still trying to remember how this had felt in his first year. It seemed a lifetime earlier. "Now, you'll probably all have it down in no time, but it's pretty complicated to find the common room until you get used to it. Stay close, and I'll...hang around until curfew for a day or two in case you get lost. Come on, everyone."
No need to tell them that it was his RATS year, which meant he'd have spent the same amount of time in the library even if no first years had been Sorted into Aladren. It wasn't a major inconvenience to move to a table closer to the front, and it would boost his popularity. Walking more slowly than usual so everyone could keep up, he pointed out sections as they made their way through the twists and turns of shelves in the hopes that it would stick in someone's memory. After what seemed like a longer time than it really had been, the group was at the back wall.
"This is where we enter the Inner Sanctum," Geoff informed them, ignoring any odd looks that earned him. He knew just how odd it looked to say they went in through an evidently solid wall of books. "The common room. It's against policy to tell anyone from another House how to get here and what opens the door, so I recommend that you don't do it or try to get into someone else's commons. Now, watch what I do."
Scanning the rows briefly - it had been two months since he had last entered the commons - he found a old book entitled Birds of Prey and put his hand on its spine. "If you take this book, it opens up the common room. Like - " Geoff pulled the book - "this." The shelving moved aside, letting them glimpse some of the common room. "Don't ask me how the system works or what happens if an outsider tries to get it off the shelf, because I don't know. It just works."
He lead them into the common room. It was a neat, spacious area decorated primarily in blue and black. The impression of a bruise contrasted oddly with the comfort of the sofas and chairs placed around for the students. A shadow on the stairs caught his eye, but it had only been a trick of the light. As he gathered the first years onto the hearth rug, the entrance closed behind them.
"Here we are," he said, gesturing to everything. "Aladren common room. As you might've noticed, our colors are blue and black, and our House emblem is the Hawk. It's also an official name for the Quidditch team, though I think I've only heard one person ever call it that. Team sign-ups'll be up soon, though the school policy is no first years on the teams, so all you can do is watch. All of your clubs, sports, and major school announcements go up over there."
Now came the difficult part. He'd never done real impromptu before. "Like I said before, I'm Geoff Layne. Seventh year, Head Boy, and House Quidditch Captain." Merlin, saying that did not sound right. "Just to warn you, Geoffrey's also the name of the Crotalus Quidditch captain, who's got my little sister for his Assistant Captain. So it's probably a good idea to confirm who you're talking about if a Geoff or a Layne comes up somewhere. Our Head of House is the Charms teacher, Professor Taylor; you should all be meeting her in the next few days. She's good, but she's strict."
He was rambling worse than Saul, and probably breaking many an unwritten rule of What to Tell Firsties as he did so. Oh well. They'd learn the way things really worked around here soon enough, anyway. "Curfew is at ten. It's usually a good idea to be in here by nine and in the dorms before ten. You go up those stairs - " he pointed - "to get to your rooms." He thought he was forgetting somethi...Oh, that was it. "No going down the wrong hallways; only boys are allowed on the left, and only girls on the right. Try it any other way and you get dropped through the floor and land over there." The patch of floor Geoff pointed to wasn't covered and would be a hard landing for anyone who chose to try his luck against the hallways.
"When you actually go to bed and go to sleep is up to you - and your roommates - but the days start early through the week. During classes, you're - well - supposed to be in a class. The only exceptions are when a teacher gives you a note to run an errand or go down to the Hospital Wing and Guidance Councelor's office. If you're not in class for a different reason, you're skipping and will probably get a detention. The staff is really good about catching people who break the rules. Kind of scary, actually.
"You take classes with everyone in your year, and usually at least one other year. That should be helpful while you learn where the classrooms are, since the beginners class includes the second years, too. If you have any problems, with work or with other students, take 'em to the teacher or bring them to me or one of the prefects. Best to stick with the Aladren prefects, but anyone except the Crotalus seventh year prefect should be helpful. You can recognize prefects by their badges." Geoff paused for a much-needed breath.
"There's time in the middle of the day for lunch. That's in the Cascade Hall, like all the meals. After classes, you're at liberty until ten. You can come here, go to the Library, go to the Quidditch Pitch, the Labyrinth Gardens, the Hall, whatever. As long as you don't break any rules, that time's yours. I'd recommend being careful in the Gardens until you start to know them, though; it's easy to get lost."
He was almost out of things that immediately occurred to him to say. That was either very good or very bad. Since Geoff wasn't too sure what he'd said, he couldn't be too sure which way it had gone. If they'd wanted him to make the speech, he wished they would have told him a week or two in advance. "So, any questions?"
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Geoffrey Layne
Welcome to Aladren
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Geoffrey Layne
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