Selina Skies
January 30, 2022 7:02 PM
HoH Speech by Selina Skies
Throughout the feast, Selina had tried to be relaxed, and to enjoy the company of her colleagues, and the sight of the new first years getting settled into their respective houses. Her eyes kept drifting to the Pecari table though. To two particular individuals, not currently seated together but… Her discussion with Xavier hadn’t revealed a lot about his summer, and she suspected that he was keeping his family cards close to his chest. He still didn’t trust that he could say anything negative without it being dealt with heavy handedly. He’d mentioned Oz though. Calling Oz, having contact with Oz… Was that the bad influence that Giselle had seen? Certainly, most people looking at Oz Spellman didn’t draw the words ‘good influence’ to mind, but she also didn’t want to demonise him. The one thing she was sure of when it came to seers and prophecies was that you were almost always wrong about what it meant. Giselle speaking of a bad influence was not enough reason to single out Oz, but it probably was worth keeping an eye on that friendship…She had pulled her attention away several times, but every time she did so, she found herself questioning whether she really ought to relax, or whether that was complacency. She had to do enough, be enough, make the right calls when it came to this incredibly precarious situation… Still, as the feast drew to a close, she had no choice but to put Xavier to the back of her mind, as she went to collect her own group of first years.
“Hello, new first years over here please,” she called, gesturing for them to come when she got to the Crotalus table. “Hello, welcome,” she greeted them cheerfully. “Please follow me, we are now going to make our way to the Crotalus Common Room, which will be your home here at Sonora.”
She led the small group, along with any older students who had not yet got this year’s password, along the corridors, pointing out useful landmarks as they passed by, but pausing before they rounded the final corner.
“Around this corner is the entrance to the Crotalus Common Room. It is guarded by a somewhat gruesome portrait, perhaps in an effort to scare off potential intruders,” she suggested, trying to give it a possible spin. “Gunther is an inferus, or a reanimated corpse. He is, however, only a picture of one, and whilst he can move about in his picture or between other pictures, he cannot do any more than that, and can in no way hurt you. He is responsible for guarding Crotalus, which he does very well, and I would ask that you treat him politely.” It was a request she always made, even though she wasn’t totally sure how much he could understand beyond the passwords, but basic politeness and tolerance seemed like good things to instil.
“The current password is ‘Aconite Antidote,’” she stated, hoping that all the incoming group had a good grasp of English. “It will be displayed on the notice board if you need a reminder.” She stated the password as they rounded the corner, meaning that there was only a brief view of Gunther before he swung forward offering the much more welcoming view of Crotalus Common Room, which was richly draped in reds.
“Welcome to Crotalus. I am Professor Skies, your head of house, deputy headmistress and transfiguration teacher. You may come to me with any concerns you have whilst at Sonora, or to your prefects, who are Lavender Brockert, Sadie Chalmers, and Jezebel Reed-Fischer.” She pointed out the older students as she spoke. “Though, of course you can also go to any adult or peer you feel comfortable with,” she informed the first years.
“Curfew is at ten. You are required to be back in the common room by then and to keep noise down after that time, preferably by being asleep. Notices about clubs, changes to your class schedule, passwords and any other useful information will be displayed on the notice board over there, so please check it regularly. The password changes every two weeks. Passwords and the location of the common room are not to be told to people outside of Crotalus house.
“We say your school house is like your family. Like any family, there are going to be different personalities, and not all of you will get along all the time. However, you need to learn to co-exist and co-operate, even when you come across people who are different to you. I expect all house members to treat each other with courtesy and respect. If you feel someone is not doing that, please come and discuss it with me.
“Boys’ dormitories are to the left, and girls’ dormitories are to the right,” she informed them. “You cannot enter the corridor to the other dormitories – and I mean ‘cannot’ not ‘may not,’ as in it will forcibly expel you. Are there any questions?”
OOC: I'm aware of an app being worked on that will be Crotalus, and should be in before Wednesday, so you do have at least one more housemate on the way.
You do not have to reply to this post but may do so if your character has any questions.
You are now free to post on any board, except other common rooms and staff/prefect lounges.
You are free to set future posts at any point in the first half of the year.
You may be in multiple threads at once, so long as they are happening at different times from your character's perspective, and do not contradict each other (e.g. you may continue posting at Orientation, and the Opening Feast. Once classes go up, you may post in multiple classes at the same time - just take care to remember which happened first, so that what your character knows remains consistent)
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Selina Skies
HoH Speech
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