Professor Fawcett
August 20, 2010 10:37 PM
Welcome to Aladren by Professor Fawcett
The way through the library - or at least the one John had been taught as a child and continued to use; he was fairly sure walking to the back wall and then looking until the proper spot was come across would work just as well, but he'd never tried it - was a complicated, winding one, and John expected the tiny number of Aladren first years to spend their first few days hopelessly lost in spite of the effort he made to point out handy landmarks. In seven years they would all be able to walk this without thought, but for the moment, they were likely being overwhelmed by the largest gathering of books any of them had ever seen.Not that, for Aladrens, being surrounded by too many books was usually an entirely unpleasant experience. There were exceptions to the rule, House members with no love for learning or books, but most who got lost could entertain themselves here until an older student came along to provide guidance.
Once they came out between two shelves to the correct bit of back wall, John paused, his hand on a worn book entitled Birds of Prey. How long it had been sitting on that shelf, acquiring wear without actually being used as a reference, was anyone's guess "I am about to show you the entrance to our common room," he said. "Let me take this occasion to remind you that you should not reveal this spot or the manner of entry to anyone not in Aladren. It's very well to have friends outside the House, and I encourage you to do so, but there are enough common areas in the school for their entrance into this one to be unnecessary. That said, let us - " he was enough of a showman to begin pulling the book - "enter!"
As soon as the book left the shelf, the wall began to move away, revealing an entrance. Beyond it, a bit of room could be seen. "Please recall that the book you must remove from the shelf to enter is entitled Birds of Prey, a reference to our House mascot. Don't dawdle at the entrance long; since the library is a public area, we don't want outsiders seeing you enter."
Once the last of them was inside, John followed, allowing the entrance to close behind him. The blue and black color scheme gave an unfortunate impression of a bruise, but once one saw past that, the room was quite comfortable, with a variety of tables and study areas, sofas, and deep chairs. In front of a wide fireplace, there was a large rug showing the Aladren hawk, which John stood on to address the new House members. This had not been a very good year for them, numerically, but no matter; there was always next year.
"And at last, welcome to the Aladren common room," he said, smiling benignly at them all. "A space where you may study and socialize in the company of your Housemates. I am, as previously mentioned, Professor John Fawcett, Potions Master and Aladren Head of House. And alumnus," he added. It might go some way toward earning their confidence, as he was not a particularly awe-inspiring figure at his best. It was one reason his wife, Allison, said it was just as well that they'd never had children.
"Other persons of note are Mr. Fitzgerald, our Head Boy and Aladren Quidditch captain, Miss Valson, our Head Girl and his assistant captain, and Mr. Wright and Mr. Anthony, our prefects." He could not help a distinct feeling of satisfaction over how illustrious their House leadership was; it took an effort not to list that lot’s other notable accomplishments. "All easily identifiable by their badges. If I am unavailable, I'm sure any of them would be pleased to assist you if you have questions. Another convenient source of information is the bulletin board." He pointed to the relevant area. "Major announcements and sign-up sheets, including the Quidditch one, are posted there. The door to my office is there beside it, with an exterior entrance just down the outside hallway, though I do ask that you knock before entering."
He scanned his memory for anything he had left out. "Oh yes - and don't attempt to enter the dormitory hallways belonging to the opposite gender. You will fall through the floor to that area - " he pointed to a section with no carpeting - "quite painfully." Of course, there was anecdotal evidence going back to the earliest days of the school that girls could, on occasion, somehow get through the wards on the boys' dorms, but that was rare and might well be a legend designed by some early students to fool the younger generations.
"I believe that is all. Do any of you have questions pertaining to Sonora or Aladren House?" Quentin Melcher, a delightful child who likely had a promising future in linguistics or the sciences, had instilled in him a habit of being careful about his wording, though he noticed that even that would have likely been too broad if Mr. Melcher had been in the group.
OOC: As of this time, you may post on all boards around the site, though your Aladren character is not permitted in any other House's commons. Please follow all posting rules, and have fun!
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Professor Fawcett
Welcome to Aladren
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Professor Fawcett
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