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Post by THE SORTING HAT on Jul 2, 2014 15:39:14 GMT
THE SORTING AND FEAST Every year since the new Ministry has taken over the sorting hat repeats the end of its song.
Oh, know the perils, read the signs,
the warning history shows, for our Hogwarts is in danger from inexternal, deadly foes
And we must unite inside her or we'll crumble from within I have told you, I have warned you... let the Sorting now begin.
Each year the number of students to be sorted dwindle, the students are marched into the school hall and made to sit in silence as each student is sorted. It is a sombre occasion where those who are sorted into Slytherin are relieved and those into Hufflepuff know they face years of hardships under Professor Snape's Headship. Professor Snape speaks a few words of welcome, focusing upon the importance of respect, tradition and heritage. Then the sorting is over and the food appears. The chatter begins on the Slytherin table and slowly filters through to the other house tables, but it is light and quiet as students glance nervously to the professors at their table.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2014 10:40:59 GMT
This was it. This was the last year where Baylee would sit at this table and watch the new students stride in and be sorted into the house which represents their personalities, ambitions and dreams in life. This would be the last time she sat and watched Professor Snape make a inadequate welcome to those who are new. As the years went by, she noticed fewer students attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and more and more sorted into the house of Slytherin. It appeared more and more families were shying away of the gift of magic, assuming it would bring nothing but doom to the family, considering it's relations with the Dark Lord.
It wasn't necessarily a secret that a lot of the Professors were followers of the Dark Lord, some even bragged about it, but that wasn't the life Baylee wanted. To be perfectly honest, Baylee wouldn't wait to abandon these walls, however, there were the select few students she would miss, and really, didn't want them to be the receiver of the pain once Baylee graduated.
She couldn't help but smile as she looked down at her plate of food. With a fork, she played around with it slowly, deep in thought about what this year would bring for her. Would she finally be able to come out of her shell and make herself known? It was her plan, but plans always sound better in your head than when they are actioned, and Baylee was comfortable. She had Fanny, she had Sig, she even had a Slytherin by the name of 'Al' that she didn't really mind either, but the trust just wasn't there.
At the thought of her friends, Baylee looked up to see if she could find them on the other tables. It was unfortunate that they all had to sit with their delegated houses. Baylee had thought many times that it was odd they hadn't changed the housing tradition to 'Desireables' and 'Undesirables' in which Baylee would be sorted into the latter of the houses.
Baylee found the face of her favorite red headed Gryffindor Fanny, and it wasn't hard either. It didn't take long for her eyes to land on Sig either at the Hufflepuff table. Baylee even glanced as the roudy Slytherin table where her eyes landed on the 'not-so-bad' Slytherin.
Baylee smiled again and glanced at her food.
This was going to be one hell of a year, she could feel it.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2014 18:51:38 GMT
As friendly as Liaz was with everyone in the school, the Fifth Year Slytherin sat a little away from those of his house. He was often teased and tormented by the others for his open relationships with those from other houses. This was obvious from the dark black mark under his right eye from a tussle on the Hogwart's Express earlier that morning. He didn't tolerate bullying, but that didn't stop him from being the victim at times. He couldn't very well fight everyone alone. As it were, he was doing his best to ignore everything around him and concentrate on his pudding. His eyes would drift to other tables and make contact with those he knew. Small smiles were shared between Al and a few others that noticed him. He kept his head held high, and his back straight.
It wouldn't do to have others think him weak. That would only place the target on his back even bigger than it was currently. He shifted his gaze to a tall, slim Ravenclaw girl. He had dared call her Bayleaf on the occasion he had to share words with her. She was attractive to a fault, but Al got the impression she didn't even know this. He sigh and looked away before she could spot him staring at her. He shifted his attention to a few others at his own table. Most were sneering and acting superior as they thought they were the top house in all the school. Why wouldn't they think this, and why shouldn't he share such sentiment? After all, it seemed the school was now geared to see Slytherin as the top house for years to come. Al's heart just wasn't into it. He didn't think like the others, which made him an outcast in his own house as much as his own family.
He dropped his spoon to the table with a small clink as he turned his attention to the long row that held the professors. He tried not to make eye contact with any of them. He secretly fear most of them, and knew that this term was going to be miserable. Her didn't hold much hope for getting good marks, making any new friends, or getting through a single day without a fight. He often wondered why he bothered with coming back to the school at all. It was only his second term since transferring from Durmstang. He wasn't much liked there either. At least he had a few friends in Hogwart's from some of the other houses. There were a select few that bothered to get to know him and see how he was a bit different from the others in Slytherin. Even with those friends, he worried about the year ahead.
It was going to be a long miserable term. Al sighed again and dropped his gaze to the table. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2014 20:42:36 GMT
Evelyn had no idea what the year was going to hold. She was pretty much worried about these evil looking Professors even though she had seen them before. She looked around at the Hufflepuff Table and realized she isn't the only one worried about the year ahead. She looked around the whole school and realized that she wasn't the only one who had worried looks on her face. She sat back down and listened to the sorting hat sorting new students. She was a bit worried about the new Hufflepuff First Years. She knew what they were in store for. And it wasn't always pretty.
She let a small smile though when food appear onto the table. She began eating what she could call dinner for the night. As she took a bite or two she looked around once more. This time she saw that there were fewer students in each house but Slytherin. Why was Slytherin so important? Why were students not coming to Hogwarts. Her two little brothers she had a feeling she should write home and tell her mother not to send the twins when they get old enough. She just endured the pain herself and didn't want them to go through it.
Yet she was still learning magic like her mother would want her too. Of course her mother kept sending her hoping that it would get her thoughts away from her father who passed away during a raid at the Diagon Alley. Well that is how she liked taking it as. It's pretty much when the Wizarding World had went to hell. Not that she really wanted to admit that but it was true. She looked up to the staff table and saw the Headmaster and wondered what was going through his thick skull and let things happen like this? Shouldn't he be putting a stop to all of the bullying and not making it happen more and more?
She knew that this year was definitely something good was going to happen. Either way good for them or good for the bad guys. If it was good for the bad guys it'd be bad for the good guys. She looked around at the Hufflepuff Table. "It's going to be okay." She said to herself quietly. "We will get through this." She said reassuringly.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2014 17:02:45 GMT
Antonia found it hard to believe she had been at the school for a whole year. It felt like an eternity and the years stretched out before her, mocking her with the certainty that she would never escape the new regimes clutches. She sat staring out in front of her, as still as the stone statues that lined the wall of Hogwarts, during Professor Snapes start of term speech. She let the words wash over her, trying not to think too much on the subtext beneath his and the sorting hats words.
The Great Hall now lacked the warmth that once shone throughout the room, the lighting was much darker and the colours of the house crests appeared faded and tired. She shifted uncomfortably in her chair, trying not to nudge the professors sat either side of her. She rarely conversed with any of the Professors and she was left well alone in her hospital wing. She had come to the conclusion they deemed her inferior to them and they therefore ignored her. She was quite happy with this, but there had been the odd occasion where she had got under their feet. An experience that was never pleasant.
The sorting finished and for the first time Antonia looked pityingly on the new pupils, who would not yet be able to comprehend what was in store for them. Her hospital wing was always filled with first years, they were an easy target and often used as targets for spell work. With a small sigh she began to eat, not daring to pick from any of the plates too far from her. She found herself eating merely bread and soup, which was at arms length. She closed her ears to the talk around her and focused on an empty spot at the back of the hall, rather than make eye contact with any students.
343 WORDS TAGGED - Open NOTES THANK YOU MALIA TATE FROM ADOXOGRAPHY |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2014 22:51:02 GMT
In Sig's first year, The Sorting and Feast was one of the highlights of the term for him. Professor Dumbledore gave a foreboding yet inspiring speech. He was welcomed into a house that valued his work ethic, kindness, and loyalty above his personal quirks and looked after him when the occasional Slytherin tried to hex him. When Dumbledore died, Sig could feel that his death was to be the harbinger of a much darker time to come, but he never would have guessed that things would get so bad so quickly. Sig knew, mainly because of his mother, what the situation had been the past few years, but she had always been there to reassure him that everything would turn out well in the end. Dumbledore dying was the first time he doubted his mothers words.
The second time was when she disappeared after the ministry was taken over by the death eaters. She was only able to get one message to her family before the year started. It said that she'd joined up with Order of the Phoenix, that she wouldn't be back until everything was right again, and that his father should flee the country after the children left and set up a safe haven for the three of them for however long they needed it.
His second year confirmed his suspicions. The cold, stern Professor Snape had replaced Dumbledore as the Head Master, and Snape was replaced by the cruel, sadistic Professor Carrow who began to teach the dark arts themselves instead of how to protect oneself against them. For the next term, Sig, and many other students like him, were tortured, the presence of blood purist rhetoric at Hogwarts was at an all time high, and it only got worse from there. Sig often wondered, if he hadn't been briefly reunited with his mother during The Battle of Hogwarts, whether or not the fire that forged him into what he became would have ever been sparked.
From that moment on, he'd watched, every year, as the number of students who attended began to dwindle and the number of students in Slytherin began to grow. The Sorting and the Feast became more and more depressing each year. By the time he'd sat down to watch students be sorted into their houses and feast for the seventh time, Sig would have much preferred that the houses part after the sorting and take the feast in their common rooms. The Hufflepuff common room was one of the few places where Sig felt he didn't need to be on guard. At least the food was still good.
He beamed as the plates in front of the students filled with food, and Sig immediately began to dig in. He took a break to look up and try to spot the friends that he had. This mainly meant Fanny and Baylee, though. He'd formed a very tight bond with the two women over the past few years. It wasn't too long before he spotted Fanny's fiery red hair and Baylee's calm demeanor.
His gaze returned to his plate and then to the girl who was sitting across from him, looking a bit worried. He immediately recognized Evelyn Kingston, a girl who had started when he was in his third year. "Something on your mind, Eve?"
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2014 18:35:58 GMT
if your blood is to be on. my hands it better be pure. Bellatrix Lestrange had a rather nasty expression on her face, but some might say that was just how the pureblood witch looked. The castle was full of little ankle biters, all eager to start their year in school. Well, most of them were eager - particularly the youngest out of them all. It was a good job she didn't have to deal with students under the age of 15. The rest she tended to ignore all together. The Death Eater wasn't exactly a fan of children. That must have been the reason she never asked Rodolphus for a child. She knew it was their pureblood duty, and perhaps she had been a failure in that regard. Teaching dueling to the older kids was her, very vague, way of showing that bit of regret. She wasn't even sure it was regret. There was no doubt she'd have been a terribly cold and uninvolved mother. But she still would have given the world a pureblood, and that was perhaps more important than being a new mother to it.
As she walked into the Great Hall she couldn't help but notice the way the houses were divided. Slytherin was booming with students, and the other houses seemed to dwindle every year. It was perhaps one of the most telling consequences of The Dark Lord taking the leadership of the wizarding world. Her own department at the Ministry was a factor too, considering they kept a close eye on muggleborns...suppressing them and exiling them to the muggle world and sometimes, even going as far as silencing the ones that began to think they could 'liberate' their kind. The next generation of muggleborns might hardly even know they have magic. Or even better, they might never discover the wizarding world in the first place.
It was impossible to deny the effects as she glanced around the Great Hall. As a former Slytherin herself, of course she was proud of how much her house had grown. But she wasn't convinced they all deserved to be there, either. Bella tended to be a bit harsh on the students she taught dueling to. Especially the Slytherins, because she expected so much more out of them. Not to mention she could really care less of the weaker houses knew how to duel. Her focus would always be the snakes, but there was no one that could tell her to do anything different.
One of the reasons she even let the Ministry talk her into teaching the short class was because it gave her the chance to keep an eye on Snape, who she still didn't trust. There was nothing that would get Bellatrix to change her mind, and if she couldn't trust him it was good to have some sort of presence to remind him that someone close to Voldemort was watching him. She walked slowly towards the teacher's table - but not without pausing at the Slytherin table, giving them an accusing eye. Although their fear was frivolous compared to that of an adult witch or wizard, she still enjoyed that she was feared. Where would be the fun in teaching any sort of class at all if they weren't afraid of her?
Her first class wasn't for quite some time, and the school wasn't her primary location of work, but she still made it a point to make an appearance at the Welcome Feast. It served as a wonderful reminder to the Ministry...and The Dark Lord's looming presence. Bella watched the sorting from her seat, giving a half interested clap when students were sorted into Slytherin, and a sneer of disapproval for any other house. Those were the students who would basically be ignored by her in the future...should she still be teaching dueling by the time they reached their 6th years.
The feast began and Bella noticed that Antonia, the Healer, who was only a few chairs down from her had not ventured out for anything else other than what was right in front of her. An amused grin crossed her face. "Are you on some weird new diet Conniford? Is it something to protect you from all those kiddy germs?" she laughed a little, clearly happy to call the other woman out for being a bit strange. She was a half-blood after all, and Bellatrix found that 'help everybody' mentality of most of the Healers in the wizarding world insufferable. Most of them were sympathetic to muggles and muggleborns, which was certainly inappropriate in today's world. Finally. As it turned out, there was still a brat inside the otherwise frightening and uncompromising witch. 0769! welcome feast! great hall! wearing! @antoniaconniford, all |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2014 1:39:55 GMT
Administering the beginning of the feast speech was something that he had never imagined himself doing, Severus had never been one for public speaking. His words had been like noxious fumes floating across the crowd of students, he could nearly see the fear in their expressions and their beady little eyes from where he had stood on the podium. As they looked upon him they probably could not see past the surface, he was always going to be known now as a murderer perhaps - but not just any murderer - Dumbledore's murderer. He was just the man who had forcefully snatched the throne out from its rightful successor, a criminal who was standing there only to command fear from the masses of students to scare them into behaving. In all his bitterness Severus found it easy to hate them, every single one of them, as he looked upon them and gave his speech. He hated them because they would never understand him or the actions he took were to protect their pathetic souls. He could feel the disgust and mistrust suspended above the crowd as he had taken his seat once more. He now sat in Dumbledore's chair and he had never felt so out of place in his entire life. Concealment was key, so the mask of blank malicious features persisted and Severus did not let anyone else know the potential fear that was currently brewing in his own heart.
Severus had carefully chosen his words for the speech; he spoke in riddles and even the smartest Ravenclaw would probably not have caught onto to the true meaning in all his words. He theorized the coming of a great empire, inserting the necessary words of praise for the Dark Lord and his Death Eater army. He congratulated the students for coming back for what would be by far the most educational and the most "superior" year that Hogwarts would have to offer. He even reinforced the fact that Hogwarts was a safe haven, some place where students could call their home and be protected against the forces of the world. It was something that Dumbledore would say, but it was something that he was certain would be equally appealing to the Dark Lord as well - considering he had been amongst the few lost boys to call Hogwarts a home. This last part he had to word very carefully, for now the ministry had been tracking down and tagging muggleborns and halfbloods alike. Severus's own blood was tainted, but that did not seem to matter much at the moment considering his most recent actions of loyalty that had made for such a display.
As he had taken his chair Severus took note that Bellatrix Lestrange was seated just a seat away from him. He happened to glance in her direction at the beginning of the sorting ceremony. Severus had taken little interest in the sorting, but the ceremony still created a chill traveling up his spine. He recalled how he had been sorted so many odd years before, how recent it all seemed still in spite of all the years passing. Severus appeared lost in thought for a brief moment as he glared at the students taking turns beneath the hat. The hat had taken it's time when it had been placed on his own head. Severus's thought process broke when he heard Bellatrix Lestrange taunting the school healer nearby. "Bellatrix... Could you please pass the rolls." Severus remarked in a languid but loud enough tone so that she could hear him. An agitated expression crossed his features as if the mere suggestion of her passing him anything was rather irksome.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2014 15:25:46 GMT
Words could not describe the horror that erupted through Antonia the moment Bellatrix Lestange's dulcet tones interrupted her thoughts. It was as if she had just come face to face with a blast ended screwt and was completely unarmed. She froze for a moment, before turning her dark eyes on the woman. Revulsion overwhelmed her at the fact she had to share a table people who had committed crimes far beyond her understanding.
Despite the fact Bellatrix was finely dressed and her cheeks had a little colour in them, in comparison to the pictures Antonia had seen of her in Azkaban, she could not hide her erratic behaviour. There was also something wild and unnerving behind the womans eyes and Antonia pegged her as completely out of her mind.
Knowing it was unwise to ignore the woman and unwise to respond, Antonia found herself in abit of a dilemma. How to respond...
'We can't all have figures like yours...' Antonia responded dryly. Before she knew what she was thinking the words had slipped out and Antonia found herself shrinking into her chair. She was greatful that the headmaster spoke, hopefully drawing the witches attention away from herself.
Antonia peered up the table at Professor Snape. She had been disappointed the day she found out about the murder of Professor Dumbledore. She recalled the lessons she had spent in Snapes class, when she herself had been a student at the school and despite the fact he had scared the bejesus out of her, she had found she'd learnt an awful lot from his lessons. She found it hard to believe that he had been responsible for Dumbledores death, but there was no denying the truth. There he sat, in the spot Dumbledore had sat, spouting out Death Eater phrases and encouraging the regime. It made her sick.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2014 4:23:11 GMT
if your blood is to be on. my hands it better be pure. In many...or most...or even all ways, Bellatrix resented having to be inside the school. The only saving grace was that she wasn't forced to be there at all times. She still had her home, her husband, and big closet to fill. She had hardly liked being inside the school walls when she was in school. Her fondest memories were during the Hogwarts Battle, but even that bore some embarrassing setbacks. Voldemort's most loyal soldier had also failed him. In a war setting, one cannot take anything for granted. Bella had come across situations that were far out of her control. She had nearly died in her efforts to bring her Dark Lord what he request of her...but it didn't matter. She was still saddled with a desk job. It was essentially a slap on the wrist, and an instruction to do better. But it had been 5 years and she was still working behind a desk.
The Death Eater never complained out loud. Things could be much worse for her and Rodolphus. Despite her failure to bring the fugitive Harry Potter to Voldemort back in 1998, the couple had still been unwaveringly loyal to him for years. She had given up a huge chunk of her life to Azkaban because even after they claimed he was gone...they still looked for him. They tortured and killed to find information about where he might be, but it hadn't gotten them the answers they were seeking. Instead they rotted in a prison cell for fifteen years. So, they had been spared the punishment he might normally bestow on people that failed him. Lucius Malfoy had fallen into a terrible state of disrepair. Bella made it a point to check on Narcissa at least twice a week...just to be sure that Lucius was still providing for her. What a disgrace he had turned out to be. It reminded her just how lucky she was to have her own, loyal Rodolphus.
The resentment was surely written all over her face, but Merlin help whoever pointed it out. Her predatory eyes were set on Antonia, and brought a smile to her lips at how uncomfortable she seemed. The healer hesitated to respond, but when she did her tone was dry enough to make the words seem sarcastic at best. Bella didn't like 'smart mouths.' It only made her more irritable, which never ended well for anyone around her. Severus cut in their conversation, asking her to pass the bread. A mischievous smile crossed her face. The bread was perfectly in the reach of the meek healer, who had only been picking on what was in front of her.
"I suppose all it takes is putting down the bread, yeah?" she leaned over and took the bread that the healer had been taking from, and tossed it down towards Snape. There was clearly no care taken into the task. Really, if she hadn't gotten to antagonize Antonia a bit more she probably would have slurred at him to get it himself. She didn't trust him anymore than she did Conniford. There was a bit of a pause as Bella sat back in her seat. She was happy, of course, to fill in the silence. "Headmaster, I trust you've got this year's roster and the student's school records and proof of magical birth ready to send back with me?" she asked.
They were all put through rigorous tests and familial background checks to be sure they were eligible to attend the school. Paper work was sent to both the Ministry and the School, cross checked by underlings, and then filed for the year. The students and their families hardly had any privacy and Bella and her team had access to all of their information. Given her position at the Ministry, she had to work with Severus on the matter where the school was concerned. It was a rather boring topic, but it reminded the others around them that they had lost - and Bellatrix loved that. Hogwarts was closed to muggleborns, just the way it should have always been. One day, she hoped anyways, it would be closed to half-bloods, too.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2014 18:12:01 GMT
The feast was in full swing now after having slowly gained momentum. Severus was too focused at this moment preventing Bellatrix, the Dark Lord's own personal attack dog, from sinking her teeth in the school healer Antonia. Somehow he had expected nothing less of her when he saw her waltz through the large oak doors into the Great Hall. Severus had been placed in a hideous position in the midst of attempting to keep peace between the staff members while still trying to save face when it came to his own reputation. It was something akin to a sick joke, fighting for the pureblood regime while attempting to protect the very underlings that said regime was sworn to smash to bloody pieces. Much to his relief Bellatrix returned one snide comment with another and Antonia appeared to have escaped unscathed, at least for today. Unfortunately the same could not be said about the bread basket that Bellatrix so unceremoniously tossed towards Snape's side of the table. The basket tittered and tottered and nearly flipped over as it hit the table close-by to where Severus sat in the chair that was not his. Severus steadied the wobbling bread basket with long slender fingers coaxing it towards the table into a position where it would sit without tilting over. He grabbed one of the more ornate rolls sitting atop the pile which soon would be dwindling in numbers as it made it's way down the staff table.
Not bothering to thank Bellatrix for the bread he turned his obsidian eyes towards her as she started speaking about official matters. Severus was no more excited to speak about these things then he would be to find his bed filled with crumbled horn snorkacks. "The paperwork in order, I have placed it on your desk this morning if you had cared to look." Severus replied coldly as he begun to dissect the freshly placed roll on his plate with his long spidery fingers. "I trust that you will do a full review of it today to weed out those whom you find undesirable." Severus had scrutinized the registry and the background checks more then two dozen times. He had filtered the process, checked, and rechecked carefully to make certain that all credibility and documents were secure. The ones that did belong had superb camouflage, memories had been altered, birth records had been expunged and rewritten, and master forgers had been recruited. Money had been filtered into offshore accounts and their identities had been changed or hidden from the ministry officials. There was a large underground network at work that Severus had not the slightest intention of ever exposing or even attempting to dig into. It was easier to claim ignorance for ignorance was bliss.
The conversation in the Great Hall had begun hesitantly and had now progressed to a loud drone. His conversation with Bellatrix was easily drowned in the background noise coming from the students. The feast was now beginning to acquire a relatively normal feel, almost reminiscent of the days long past. Dare anyone ever wonder to imagine such things though, considering these days Hogwarts was only accepting students with a pedigree. Perhaps they were all feeling somewhat at ease, a false sense of security in the familiar surroundings. |
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