School Year Starting Logs: Train + Feast/Sorting!

[shnpc]

WHO: Everyone!
TONE: Anything!
RATING: PG through PG-13
WHEN: The day of September 2nd for the train, and at night for the feast!
WHERE: Hogwarts Express/Platform 9 3/4 and The Great Hall
WHAT: Gotta get back to Hogwarts! Back to witches and wizards and magical feasts! Students and teachers are finally heading back to school on the Hogwarts express, and with the new school year means sorting for the first years!
STATUS: Ongoing!
NOTE: There is a thread for the Train back to Hogwarts, and the Feast, with a subthread for the Sorting! First years can comment to be sorted, and everyone else can greet their new house mates/students!

Comments

[eighttimeshandy]

[A bit of commotion surrounded Eriq when he first boarded the train. Not only did he have a standard (if not ornate) trunk to fit in the overhead spaces, he had an equally large glass terrarium containing a very large spider, and predictably, not very many people wanted to help him get that tucked away. It took some fuss, but eventually an adult was found to levitate it up into storage. After that, Eriq could be found standing on a seat, making kissy faces at the tarantula while it tapped on the glass]

[what a cute couple, right?]

[Of course, once the train started moving, Eriq needed to sit down before he lost his balance, and that was when he pulled out a book and settled down to read. There is no mistaking the cover.]

[grandhighwizard]

Do you need assistance with your pet, Mr. Slepner? [Rhys sounds amused, pretty much the way he always does.] You seem to be having some difficulty.

[eighttimeshandy]

[Huff huff POUT] No one wants to go near him, even though he's in a glass container with no way of escaping. This happens every year. It's awful. He may be a spider, but Trollki is as sweet as any other pet.

[grandhighwizard]

You may wish to talk to Miss Serket - she's two years below you, I believe. She seems to have a similar affinity for spiders. [Will take the terrarium from Eriq, lifting the weighty glass effortlessly, and carefully slide it in on top of one of the cases, securing it with a quickly muttered charm.] Fear isn't always a rational thing. In fact, it seldom is has anything to do with logic.

[That's ... a slightly unpleasant smile there.]

[eighttimeshandy]

[........SWOON. He's trying very hard not to look at Professor Rhydderch with starry eyes, but he's probably not doing very well. It's not just the show of strength, but also from the comment about fear]

Of course, Professor. Thank you very much for the assistance. I look forward to your classes, once the semester starts.

[grandhighwizard]

You always do well, don't you, my lad? [Yeah, Rhys isn't stupid, he can see those starry eyes, but he'll politely ignore them, as funny as he finds it that a 16 year old boy would practically be swooning over a 62 year old wizard.] You seem to have an affinity for certain aspects of the class more than others, though.

[eighttimeshandy]

[He's swooned over older, but they're generally fictional and vampires]

[He shrugs one shoulder] They're just a bit more interesting.. It's one of those psychological things, I think. The more forbidden something is, the more allure it has.

[grandhighwizard]

And what would you study, given your choice, ignoring the required curriculum?

[eighttimeshandy]

[A smart person would probably come with a vague answer, or maybe some of the "gray" magics, anything to throw suspicion off them. he was, after all, talking to a teacher. But Professor Rhydderch's classes always walked that fine line between standard and dark, and most people regarded his dark leanings as the cherry juice in wine glasses kind of theatrics.]

Oh, given my choice, I would focus on blood and soul magic. [He says casually, with a nonchalant shrug] Not exactly the kind of magic that leans heavily on potions, but there are plenty that alter one's perception of the world - love potions are very good example, though I know they're largely dismissed as comedic, and those have their own personal sort of fascination.

[grandhighwizard]

All the oldest potions begin with blood. But real love potions are forbidden. [Rhys comments lightly, then fixes the boy with a sharp gaze.] Tell me why, Mr. Slepner. Not what you've been told, why you think that kind of magic would be considered taboo.

[givesyouaboner]

_{[Dirk is just going to stare. This seems to be a thing he's done a lot lately, but no matter.]}

You know there are much better examples of fiction readily available in any store, right?

[eighttimeshandy]

[He will just glare over the top of his book]

Wow, who asked your opinion? Maybe I like this book. Maybe I enjoy it for its mediocrity? What if that was a thing that happened?

[givesyouaboner]

I just don't see how anyone can enjoy that even ironically.

[eighttimeshandy]

[There's a moment where Eriq just stares at Dirk like he just said something stupid.]

[Which as far as he's concerned, he did]

Um, first of all, I'm ninety nine percent sure that was an incorrect usage of the word and principle of irony. Secondly, I don't see how it's any of your business, how I enjoy it, or whether I enjoy it at all. And finally, again, wow. Who asked your opinion?

[givesyouaboner]

_{[Wow, rude.]}

I'm just curious as to why you like it. Is it legitimately liking it? Like, Team Edward or Team Jacob liking it? Or is it like a case of Schadenfreude and you can't put it down?

[eighttimeshandy]

It's a VAMPIRE novel. [He sniffs haughtily] Anyone who is Team Jacob is reading the wrong series. Yes, I legitimately like it. Is that a problem to you?

[givesyouaboner]

_{[This is kind of amazing. He's not even judging. He's just that surprised.]}

No, you're entitled to like what you want. Personally, I prefer more classical approaches to vampire novels, but who asked my opinion, right?