Professor Fawcett
April 09, 2010 12:43 PM
Welcome to Aladren by Professor Fawcett
John had seen libraries more vast than Sonora's in his day, but he could not say he had seen very many. Once he led the new students inside it, he stopped just short of the stacks and turned to speak to them once more. "This is the Sonora Academy library, which you will all, no doubt, come to know very well. The Aladren commons are most commonly reached through it." He smiled. "We aren't known as the most academic of Houses for nothing. Since the way is rather...convoluted, I suggest everyone stay close for now."He led them through the twists and turns of the stacks, pointing out landmarks as they went, until they reached the very back wall, where his hand went automatically to a worn book entitled Birds of Prey. "This is the entrance to the commons. You may not tell other students where it is, nor may you bring them inside or enter their common rooms. If you do, rest assured that the punishment will not be pleasant. Now, to get in, you simply pull this book and - " a portion of the wall moved away - "enter."
The common room beyond was, to John, very cozy, though he suspected the combination of blue and black in the decor made it look slightly less so to some of the new students. Either the founders had understood that intellectual did not necessarily mean weak or one of them had possessed an odd sense of humor. The various chairs and sofas, however, were far too comfortable to regularly cause bruises, and the tables would, no doubt, soon have a comfortable mess of books and articles on them at almost all times. He paused on the hearth rug, which was emblazoned with a large representation of the House's hawk symbol.
"Welcome to the Aladren common room," he said. "This is where you, along with your older Housemates, may come to relax, socialize, do homework, and otherwise occupy yourselves when class is not in session and other locations fail to appeal. Curfew is at ten, by which point you should all be back here and preferably in your dormitories. The girls' dorms are up the stairs there, with the boys' on the other side. I would advise you against attempting to enter the incorrect hallway, as you will then fall to that patch of floor there." He pointed to a particularly rugless spot. "You might not be overly injured, but you would, I assure you, have at least a few unpleasant bruises.
"As I mentioned before, I am Professor John Fawcett. My academic background is in Magisociology. I regret to say that Sonora does not offer classes in it, but I recommend private investigations to you all, as it is a most fascinating subject." In his opinion, anyway, and John did tend to think there was some value in his opinions. "My office can be found through this door. There is also an outside entrance, if you happen to be in the company of your non-Aladren friends. Inter-House cooperation is to be encouraged - except during Quidditch season, of course. Our captain is Mr. Thomas Fitzgerald of the sixth year, and he should have sign-ups and tryouts in order shortly.
"Also of interest are our prefects, Mr. Lucas Smythe and Mr. Grayson Wright. I'm sure, if you find yourself in difficulty, that they would be glad to assist you, as would Mr. Fitzgerald, his Assistant Captain Miss Valson, and I." He felt it was important to slip in that there was at least one female student leader for the sake of the girls in the group. If they did not understand that they could advance, they might not feel the need to work their hardest. Ambition was not uncommon among Aladrens, and John liked to encourage it. "While you are here, I expect each and every one of you to do all that is in your power to be your best. That is part of the Aladren tradition of excellence to which you should all aspire. Now, before I dismiss you, does anyone have any questions related to Sonora or the contents of this speech?" Oh, dear Merlin, he really had been teaching Quentin Melcher for too long.
OOC: Welcome to Sonora! We're very pleased to have you all. You're now free to post on boards other than the Cascade Hall, but make sure to remember the posting rules: about ten sentences/200 words to a post, only control your own character, and watch for spelling and grammar.
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Professor Fawcett
Welcome to Aladren
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Professor Fawcett
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