Grayson Wright

January 14, 2022 6:22 PM

Grayson Wright

Staff
House: Aladren
Subject: Charms
Written by: Grayson Wright

Age in Post: 44

Orientation for First Years by Grayson Wright

The wizard who stood under the 1st Years Here banner off to the side of the wagon landing site could, to some eyes, have seemed assembled from a couple of incompatible stereotypes. His head and shoulders - clean-shaven face, short-cut, very dark hair which was starting to go grey, rectangular, wire-rimmed glasses, a none-too-boldly-colored tie - could have belonged to any non-magical man in his mid-forties. Then, though, what could at first have resembled a businessman's dark blue jacket just kept going, extending into a long, wide-sleeved wizard's robe, and he wore a matching pointed, round-brimmed wizard's hat, overshadowing the mundanity of his hair and glasses a bit.

"First year students...All first year students over here, please...."

Finally, all the older students seemed to have gotten off the wagons and dispersed, leaving only the new students. A quick head count came up to the expected number, and Grayson Wright smiled around at them all.

"Welcome to Sonora," he said pleasantly. "My name is Professor Wright. Tomorrow morning, I'll become one of your teachers, so I look forward to getting to know you all this year. For now, though - leave all your luggage with the wagons, and follow me, please."

He only led them a short distance into the Labyrinth Gardens, walking down a wide path which opened onto a hedge-walled courtyard with a central fountain, several stone benches, and three tables in it. On one of these tables, there were as many dark green folders as there were students present. On another, there was a buffet of light snack foods, with lightweight plates and paper napkins available so students could gather several refreshments in one trip if they wished. On the third table, there were several large apparatuses, each topped with a clear (and unbreakable) glass bulb which showed the color of the drink within, though they were also distinguished by written labels on their fronts above the spigots which, when turned, would dispense the contents into glasses: pumpkin juice, apple juice, grape juice, iced tea, and plain water. There was also a box of ice (charmed not to melt) with a scoop in it and plenty of clear cups.

"Come in, everyone, and please take one folder," he instructed them. "You'll get to the refreshments soon, but if you could give me your attention for a few minutes first..."

For many years, Professor Wright had recited almost the same speech to each group of first years, mostly from memory. He had noticed, however, that a lot of students seemed to find it all just as tedious to listen to as he found it to recite. He had, therefore, taken the (for him) bold decision to cut it down, leaving out most of the information that wouldn't be applicable to first years and focusing on topics they wouldn't also hear about from their heads of houses later in the evening.

"Once again, welcome, everyone," he said. "Tomorrow morning, you will all start taking seven classes - Charms, Care of Magical Creatures, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Potions, Transfiguration, and flying lessons. I'll be your Charms teacher, so you'll see a lot of me for at least the next five years." Older students might have expected him to add for them to contain their enthusiasm, but he tried to be uniformly pleasant and straightforward with the Beginners classes. "You have schedules in your folders which tell you when and where each class meets, along with other important times, like when meals are served and when curfew is." He paused for half a beat and then added, "It's understandable if some of you feel a little overwhelmed looking at your schedules, so, just to be clear - we know that you all may have had very different educations before this, and different levels of information about the wizarding world. You'll also each learn at your own pace, and find you're stronger in some areas of magic than others. If you find yourselves struggling, we - your teachers - will all understand, and so will many of your fellow students. You'll each be Sorted into a House tonight, with a Head of House from the staff and several older student leaders we call 'prefects' who you can go to for support, along with all teachers having regular office hours and the option for scheduling special sessions if that's what's needed. Don't get discouraged, or let things get out of hand."

He cleared his throat after that little speech, which he hadn't fully planned out. "On more cheerful notes, we also can provide enrichment for any subject where you find you learn unusually quickly, and you'll have the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities here during your free time. Club leaders will post sign-up sheets in the next few weeks, and the school Quidditch sign-up sheet should appear in the Cascade Hall. You'll also most likely find people in your Houses who you can create activities you're interested in with, if we don't already have something - you're Sorted into different Houses based on personality traits, though you're welcome and encouraged to make friends from other Houses as well. The Sorting Ceremony will take place later, in the Cascade Hall, where you'll dip the blank badges attached to your folders into a potion. If it turns blue, you're in Aladren, and will get to see even more of me, since I'm Head of that House. If it turns red, that means you're a Crotalus and will be under the care of Professor Skies, our deputy headmistress. Yellow badges go to Teppenpaw, and your Head of House is Professor Xavier, our very capable Herbology teacher, and brown ones go to Pecari and Professor Carter-Xavier - who, yes, is Professor Xavier's wife. Some people think of their Houses as a sort of extended family here, and I hope you'll all do your different Houses proud during your time here."

He resisted the temptation to add especially if you're Aladrens; he was not only Head of House, but had also been an Aladren student during his years in school, long, long before any of these kids had been born. Instead, he said, "if no-one has any questions about all of that, you can talk for a while and have some snacks until we begin our tour of the main building. If you do have any questions, feel free to come see me before we begin our tour – and welcome again to Sonora.”


OOC: Welcome first years to Sonora! You can post a reply here to ask staff questions or meet your new classmates. This thread is intended for first year students to have a chance to try out posting and get acclimated to the site before we throw you into the big Opening Feast, which is open to the entire school population and can be a bit overwhelming. New authors have been given a buddy for ease, so look for your names below.'

Now, go forth, new first years of Sonora! Post, enjoy, have fun! Everyone here is happy to help out, so if you've got a question, put it on the OOC board or try to catch somebody in the Chatzy and we'll try to get you an answer as quick as we can. Have fun and we’re glad you could join us!

[Credit to Nathan Xavier's author for the content of this OOC notice]
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16 Grayson Wright Orientation for First Years 113 1 5