Nathan Xavier
May 20, 2023 6:06 PM
First Year Orientation by Nathan Xavier
Nathan stood in one of the larger clearings of the Labyrinth Garden, where the Flying Wagons landed and dropped off their students for a brand new year at Sonora Academy of Magic. A stucco mansion rose up behind him, the school’s main building. It was partially obstructed by the hedges of the labyrinth, but it was only a short walk from here for the older students to escape the Gardens and head in to their dorms or the Cascade Hall.He was an older wizard, newly turned sixty, his hair still brown but just starting to turn gray. His robes were brown and earthy (currently clean, but bought in anticipation of hiding the dirt that was an inevitable part of being an Herbology professor). He stood beneath a banner that read “Welcome to Sonora! First Years Gather Here.”
A girl not any smaller than most of the first years stood beside him, her skin dark, her curly hair pulled up into a puffy ponytail. Dora was a still year out from joining Sonora herself, being only ten, but his daughter already had two good friends in the incoming class. She’d crashed the orientation last year, and he doubted any measures would keep her out of this one, so he’d just decided to roll with it and had volunteered to run the orientation this time himself. He’d done it before, but that had been pre-Dora, so he couldn’t remember the speech anymore and he’d had to work out a new one.
Both Xaviers greeted the students as they disembarked from the wagons, saying hello, asking about summers, introducing themselves when necessary, and reminding everyone to leave their luggage in the wagon for the elves to take to the dorms. Nathan was glad to see his students again and meet the newcomers. Dora was just excited to be part of the process.
He invited the first years to stand with him until all of the wagons arrived and sent the older ones inside, telling them the library and the Cascade Hall were open, and they should be able to get any passwords they needed for their dorms in the Hall.
Once all wagons and students were accounted for, he began the Orientation proper. “Hello, first years! Welcome to Sonora Academy! I am Professor Xavier, the Herbology professor. If you’ll follow me, we’ll head over to our Orientation area.”
He led the way through the hedges, making sure the children were keeping up as only someone with giant blood might be tall enough to be seen over the hedges if they fell too far behind.
They came out into a clearing set up with tables of snacks ranging from chips to cookies to small sandwiches. Another table had drink dispensers for water, lemonade, fruit punch, and pumpkin juice. A third had a pile of green folders. Nathan waved his wand to distribute those among the first years. “Everyone should take a green folder. That has the school rules, your class schedule, and a map of the school.”
He put his wand back away and gestured toward the food and drink tables. “You’ll get a chance to get some snacks and drinks after your trip in just a few minutes, but first I have a few quick things to go over.”
“First, our agenda for today is to go over some school basics. Then you’ll get to mingle amongst yourselves for a little while. At five o’clock, we’ll start a school tour so you can start to learn your way around the school and the grounds.
“The tour will lead right into the Welcoming Feast where you will be Sorted into one of the school’s Houses by dunking a badge into a potion and seeing what color it comes out as. I’ll hand out the badges when we get to the Cascade Hall. The four Houses are Aladren, the House of logic, learning, and independence, which will result in a blue badge if you’re sorted there. Crotalus, the House of planning and respectability, will give you a red badge. Pecari-“
“My mom’s House!” Dora interjected cheerfully.
“Yes, led by my wife, Professor Carter-Xavier, Pecari is the House of spontaneity and flexibility, and will turn your badge brown. And Teppenpaw -“
“Dad’s House!” Dora interrupted gleefully, pointing at Nathan.
“Yes, my House, Teppenpaw, is the House of friendship and diplomacy, and if you join me, your badge will turn yellow when you dip it into the sorting potion. After your sorting, the new fifth year prefects and Head Students will be announced. There are three prefects in each House, one for each of the three oldest years, and two seventh year Head Students. They are student leaders who you can go to for help if you can’t find or don’t want a teacher to help you.”
“Then food will be served, and after everyone is done eating, your new Head of House will lead you to your House common room, and explain anything else you need to know.”
“The other thing I wanted to talk about was classes. This is a school, so they’re an important part of your stay here. We have six core classes, which you will take as beginners. Beginners are students in years one and two. At third year, you move up to intermediates, and Advanced classes begin after your CATS exams at the end of fifth. Charms, Transfiguration, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, and Potions are all required through Intermediates. Flying Lessons are only required in your first year. The Elective Hall is open during normal teaching hours for whenever you don’t otherwise have a scheduled class.
“Outside of class, we also offer a school wide Quidditch team that competes with other schools. Sonora additionally supports many student run clubs. If you don’t see a notice for one about your area of interest, you may start one yourself.”
He thought that was everything he needed to talk about, and hoped he hadn’t forgotten anything. “Alright, that should be everything for now. Go ahead and get some refreshments and get to know each other. I’ll give you a few minutes warning before the tour begins.”
Subthreads: Disoriented and disinterested by Violet Calhoun
Back to the ole stomping grounds by Zeus Brooding-Hawthorne-Smith with Ursula Arcadius
1
Nathan Xavier
First Year Orientation
28
1
5
Violet Calhoun
May 22, 2023 7:25 PM
Disoriented and disinterested by Violet Calhoun
Violet had tried her best to be excited, but as the wagon rolled (or flew?) up to her house, one overwhelming thought consumed her: she did not want to go to Sonora.Still, it was too late to change course now, so she made sure not to be a spectacle for those already on board and gave Dad and Aunt Desiree appropriately big but not showy hugs, took hold of her things, and climbed aboard.
The ride was uncomfortably bumpy, and if Violet were any weaker-willed, she might have lost her lunch to its jostling. As more stops were made and others climbed aboard, she did her best to look generally unapproachable so that no one would sit by her. She managed to remain solitary - or as solitary as possible, anyway - which was about the only nice thing she could say about the journey.
She was one of the children who, upon unboarding, had to be reminded to leave her luggage behind. She knew that was the procedure - some family member or another had told her that - but Violet did not want to leave her belongings in the possession of strangers. (If Dad wasn’t an alumni, she would’ve been surprised he’d leave her in the possession of strangers.) Before she moved in with Dad, the redhead had never really owned much that was worth fighting for. Now her bags were full of nice things, and she preferred not to tempt fate on theivery. Violet considered arguing that the large duffel bag was her purse because then they probably had to let her take it, but it was too heavy. There were a lot of books in there.
Once again out of options and in a new and mostly unfamiliar territory, the little strategist was forced to stand idly by and listen. She didn’t interrupt Professor Xavier - unlike his own daughter, nice - but stood with her arms crossed and one hip cocked out to the side. Violet fully expected Aladren and felt no real need to listen to most of this spiel, but it was only polite to let the man talk. When they were released to “mingle” as it were, Violet sought out not other kids but the concession table. If she had to loiter around, she might as well be refreshed while doing it. She kept her head down, but in doing so, her disadvantageously angled vision was further obscured by the short red curls - too long in her opinion - that fell before her eyes, and as a result, she found an abrupt stop in the form of collision.
It was decidedly her fault, and she was big enough to admit it. “Sorry!” she exclaimed. “Are you okay?”
12
Violet Calhoun
Disoriented and disinterested
1575
0
5
Zeus Brooding-Hawthorne-Smith
May 22, 2023 10:44 PM
Back to the ole stomping grounds by Zeus Brooding-Hawthorne-Smith
Zeus had been a very different youngster when he'd first come to Sonora and although he didn't feel like the same person at all anymore, the school itself felt very much the same. He'd always liked Professor Xavier (he was trying to properly call the staff by their titles now) and had spent much of his younger years playing with Dora in the care of the Herbology professor or his wife, or else with Dora in the care of one of Zeus' own parents. The last time Zeus had been at the school was when he was new to the news that haunted him with such familiarity as to feel more like a shadow than a ghost now and he hadn't yet learned to control the side of himself he'd gotten from the birth mother he remembered so little about. Yes, he was a very different young man.He grinned at Dora and gave a happy little wave when he first spotted her, and asked for a hug when they got closer before he joined his new class. It was weird to be here with her again without really being here with her. That was true of all of this though; he let himself soak it all in without paying too much attention to the tour despite his fondness for the professor giving it.
Finally, it was time to socialize and truly begin his Sonora career as a student, not just the kid of a professor. Tonight, he'd get to stay in the dorms, just like he'd always dreamt of. But which one? That was the scary part to think of. Not that he was scared of much.
He felt more confident and comfortable than some of the first years seemed to and he tried to exude that aura for others. That wasn't really how that worked, but he liked to think it was. There was something just slightly more beautiful about him, just slightly otherworldly about him... a reaction that his features themselves didn't quite justify in whomever looked his way. He'd learned to control it, but that didn't mean he'd been able to exterminate it: Zeus was half Veela.
And this half Veela was friggin' hungry. Eyes scanning for any sort of harm, as mum had taught him so carefully to do, he approached the nearest food table and started adding a few treats to a plate. His school folder was tucked under his arm - there was nothing new to review for him anyway and even if there was, he could do that tonight in his dorm - and he found that he didn't have good leverage to fill his cup with juice as a result.
"Excuse me," he said, nodding his head at a bowl of punch, a cup in one hand and his plate of food in the other. "Could you help me?"
22
Zeus Brooding-Hawthorne-Smith
Back to the ole stomping grounds
1576
0
5
Ursula Arcadius
May 24, 2023 6:46 AM
I'm new and not sure I should stomp by Ursula Arcadius
Ursula was ready for her Sonora adventure! Her bags had been neatly packed by the house elf, her hair was curled to her satisfaction, and her nails were freshly manicured with just the slightest silver star accents below their white tips. There wasn’t much more she could do to be ready than that. Well, she could have read her books, but the point was that it was a school, so she expected to have ample time to do that once she got there. Besides, Quillan had filled her in on classes and said they weren’t too tough, and if he could cope with them, so could she. That wasn’t a mean thing to say because she wasn’t saying it out loud. She’d long since learnt that competing with Quillan in an academic contest was like competing with a fish in a running contest—there wasn’t much fun in winning, because it wasn’t a fair fight. Perhaps her thoughts should have tended towards ‘reading’ rather than ‘academic’ but she still hadn’t quite unlearnt the process of conflating those two concepts, in spite of the fact that she would have readily agreed that it was totally true that Quillan was both very intelligent and terrible at reading.Still, classes were not an immediate concern. First was orientation (it felt entirely natural to leave her bags for someone else to deal with) and making friends! She was ever so excited for that part. Her brother had lucked out and ended up in a room of three with two people he got on well with, one of whom came with a twin in another house. She scoped out her own year group. Between the small numbers and the grumpy look on one girl’s face, she didn’t think she was about to be so lucky. Though Quillan had mentioned that his roommate had a cousin coming. Hopefully she’d be friendly.
Ursula listened to the welcoming speech, though she was more interested in the girl chiming in with it, as she was something that hadn’t been in the brochure, whereas most of the rest of this had.
When they were dismissed to mingle, Ursula made her way over to the food table. She wasn’t especially hungry, but she figured it was where most people would be going. She added some crackers and crudites to her plate, along with a little cream cheese to garnish both of them, and a small selection of fruits. She had moved over to the drinks when someone asked for her help.
“Certainly,” she said, glancing at him as she turned the tap above his cup, and then finding that she had glanced back for a second look even though she couldn’t quite say why. She remembered that staring was rude and that she was helping with his juice just in time to turn the handle back before his cup overflowed. How embarrassing! One of the expectations of her was that she would be an excellent hostess, and when Ursula had an expectation set for her, she preferred to not merely meet but exceed it. And here she was on her first day of school nearly overflowing juice down this poor boy’s hand. She bit back an apology, not having actually done anything wrong, and not wanting to draw attention to either her near mishap or her staring.
“I’m Ursula Arcadius,” she said instead. “It’s exciting to be here!”
OOC: Tried to keep her reaction in line with what you hinted. Let me know if it needs modifying.
13
Ursula Arcadius
I'm new and not sure I should stomp
1577
0
5
Zeus Brooding-Hawthorne-Smith
May 27, 2023 1:48 AM
I hereby grant you stomping permissions. by Zeus Brooding-Hawthorne-Smith
Zeus rarely noticed people noticing him, and his attention was on his very full cup when Urusla introduced herself. He had just gotten the brim of it slowly to his lips and took a sip off the top before beaming at his classmate. She'd been friendly enough to help him out and hadn't skimped either, which was great. Mum's parents were always a bit skimpy for his liking; he'd gotten his mom's appetite for sweets."Thanks," he said, raising the glass for context. "I'm Zeus." He didn't offer a last name because he knew that people who did usually meant something by it and he wanted to see what this girl thought hers meant. Also his last name was ridiculous, and would be an immediate giveaway when they got to potions class. There were questions that would be asked and answers he would give but the night of orientation wasn't when he was prioritizing that conversation.
"I'm excited too! I love your hair," he added, well aware of the amount of effort girls put in to such things and how much effort simple things like hair could really take. His own only had a smear of pomade to keep it neat and off his forehead. "What classes are you most excited for?"
22
Zeus Brooding-Hawthorne-Smith
I hereby grant you stomping permissions.
1576
0
5
Ursula Arcadius
May 27, 2023 9:20 PM
*tentatively stomps* by Ursula Arcadius
“Like the Greek God?” Ursula asked. She had a whole anthology of Greek myths, edited to be suitable for children, in which Zeus made fleeting appearances. She accepted this as the natural order of things—usually those at the top ruled from afar, leaving the mess of daily affairs to other people, although a lot of the stories seemed to revolve around people getting angry with him for no discernable reason. “My family name comes from Greek mythology too. Zeus gave Callisto a baby called Arcus, who became King of Arcadia. Do you know the story?” she asked. If he was called Zeus, there was a solid chance he was familiar with it already, and she didn’t want to repeat it to someone who already knew it. It was a great story though—it had people turning into bears and the first ever werewolf!“Thank you!” she smiled, glowing as she received a compliment. She’d taken care to look her best for her first day, and it was good to have that appreciated. Clearly Zeus had been raised with good manners, if he knew to give a lady a compliment. “I like your glasses,” she replied, fairly sure that boys didn’t want compliments on their hair, but feeling like it was polite to return it.
“Hmm.” She considered his question about classes. “I’m excited for Charms because it will be fun to finally get to use my wand, and I think we’ll see results faster than Transfiguration. I’m also excited for Care of Magical Creatures, once we get past Flobberworms and into some of the cuter animals. How about you?”
13
Ursula Arcadius
*tentatively stomps*
1577
0
5