Open Hogwarts Monthly S1 Meeting

Sophie had enjoyed working on the paper since she joined in her first year, but she had never expected to be in charge of it. Now that Lennon had asked her to take over, this was the reality, and she knew she had to try her best to do it well. Normally, Sophie wouldn't really admit to caring about anything that much, but the paper was an exception. It had been something she loved doing for years, and she wished to make Lennon proud and show the rest of the club he had made the right choice in picking her. She was grateful for Noemie's assistance, even if she personally might not have picked the girl to help her out. She was one of Amber's friends, and only a few years ago that would have been enough to make Sophie dislike her. But as the girl had helped her set things up for the meeting, she realized she was a big asset.

The team had grown a lot over the years, but a few members had left now too. At the club fair, only one new student had shown interest, but Sophie hoped it would grow more in the coming years. She was glad there weren't too many new faces, because she knew she could trust the people she already knew to do their best. Sophie looked around the room to see if everything was ready. She had put up a few decorations, and there were a few snacks and drinks. Today's meeting wasn't really anything official. Of course she would be there to answer any questions anyone would have, but the actual planning of the first issue would come later. She glanced at Noemie and hesitated before smiling a little. "Thanks for helping out." She hoped other people would arrive soon, and also hoped none of them would be annoyed about her getting the editor position. She didn't feel like fighting for it, but she would if she had to.

Caro didn't look forward to a lot of things at school, but working on the Hogwarts Monthly was right at the top of the very short list. She enjoyed having an outlet for her photography, and something to work towards, where everyone at the school had to see how hard she worked, how great she was. It wasn't as show-offy as Lizzie's way of making a name for herself, but she had no doubt that everyone in the school had seen her handiwork in some way or another. She had been let down, though also not surprised, when Sophie was chosen as editor. Head Photographer was an excellent title, and Caro certainly wouldn't complain, but it was a little dismaying to see her best friend liked more than her yet again.

Caro wasn't going to let it get her down, though. She was better than that. She was happy for Sophie, end of story. So it was with a wide smile that she greeted her friend for the first meeting of the year, hurrying over to give Sophie a quick hug. "Congratulations!" She said excitedly. "Your first meeting, this is so cool!" She grinned, hoping the note of bitterness didn't come across as she took a seat next to Sophie. "I bet you're gonna do amazing."

Arvel hated meetings. He hated any activity that involved spending time with other people, and even more if he had to talk to them. But the Hogwarts Monthly meetings were even worse, because it was one of the few places in the castle Arvel couldn't avoid seeing Nixon. Just catching a glimpse of him in the corridor made Arvel's heart shatter all over again, so that he spent more time piecing it together than he did feeling whole. He'd thought about approaching the boy, striking up a conversation, asking him to the next dance, but he didn't think he could bear to inflict that kind of unnecessary pain on himself. Nixon didn't like him. If he did, he would have at least acknowledged his existence, glanced his way every now and then, maybe smiled. Arvel might as well have been invisible. Dragging his feet, he headed to the meeting place and sat down in a chair, drawing his knees up to hug them. He wished Analei had joined - maybe then the meetings would have been a little more bearable - but he was glad she hadn't made herself do something she wouldn't have enjoyed just for his sake.

Sophie felt relieved when she saw Caro join the meeting. The Slytherin was one of her best friends, and having her by her side during all this would certainly make it easier. She couldn't help smiling as the girl hurried over to her and congratulated her, even giving her a hug. "Thanks." She said softly. "I don't know if it's cool. Time will tell if everyone will hate it or not." She said with a small shrug. As Arvel arrived, Sophie gave him a small smile. "Hello, thanks for coming." She said, though she was sure he wasn't too happy to see her. She had noticed his friend hadn't signed up for the club, and had the feeling she was partly to blame for that.

Sophie felt a sense of relief as more of the staff entered the meeting, giving Nixon a wave though she didn't really know him that well. As editor, she knew she had to at least be on friendly terms with all of the members of the paper, and for her that wasn't easy. She still thought Arvel was probably mad at her for her comment at the club fair, and if Analei had told him about their history for that as well. Joshua Toubia was someone she didn't think she had ever really talked to for very long, so she was pleasantly surprised when he congratulated her. He seemed like a quiet kid, something Sophie could understand. "Thanks Joshua, I look forward to working together." She said, giving him a smile. It sounded a bit formal and strange, even to her own ears, but she did mean her words.

There were so many things to do at Hogwarts, and Nell was eager to do all of them, as soon as possible. She had signed up for every club available, and now that they were starting to have meetings she was looking forward to finding out more about what the clubs were like, and what kinds of things people did in them. She had been especially interested in the Hogwarts Monthly - writing a newspaper seemed like a lot of fun, and she couldn't wait to find out what kinds of things they had to do to make that happen. She slipped into the meeting, a little nervous to discover that she seemed to be the youngest person present by quite a lot. Trying not to be put off, Nell gave the older students a nervous smile as she made her way to the table, taking a seat. "Hi, I'm Nell. I'm new."

Caro chuckled lightly at Sophie's concerns, shaking her head. "You'll be amazing. Nobody will hate it." She said reassuringly, hoping the words were true. Both for Sophie's own sake, and because it would be pretty embarrassing to be part of a paper that flopped. She wanted each issue to be better than the last. It was the only way she could really make her name known for her own merits, rather than just as Lizzie's little sister. She fell silent as more people entered the room, though Caro's head perked up a little at the sight of Nixon. She hadn't been able to stop thinking about the rose he had sent her, the only rose she had ever recieved, and Caro wondered if he had meant more by it. Trying to craft the perfect thing to say to him in her mind, Caro was beaten to the greeting by Evelyn Manning, and couldn't quite disguise a glare at the older girl. Surely Evelyn had boys her own age to slobber over, she could leave Nixon alone.

Sophie was glad to have so much support from both Noemie and Caro, and she appreciated Joshua's comment more than he probably knew. Evelyn's wasn't as reassuring, as it sounded like she had some expectations. Sophie was less sure about her position here than she wanted to be, but didn't want to show that to the other members. When most of them had trickled in, Sophie glanced at the clock and decided to start off the meeting with a little speech she had prepared. It wasn't much, but she wanted to welcome everyone to the meeting, as well as welcome them back to the club. Sophie got to her feet and cleared her throat until she got everyone's attention. She wished she was a little bit taller, not for the first time.

"Hello, everyone." She said, resisting the urge to grab the piece of paper she had prepared her words on. She knew that would look unprofessional. "For those of you who don't know, I'm Sophie Wilson and I'm the editor for Hogwarts Monthly starting this year. I'm not going to talk for a long time, but I would like to say welcome to everyone, both new and returning. As you probably know, Lennon was the editor until last year and he asked me to take over from him. I'm going to try my best to be as good for the paper as he was, but I will need your help with that." She hesitated, then glanced at Noemie. "I'm already lucky to have Noemie at my side as Assistant Editor, as well as you all as a great team." She paused, searching for more words. "This paper is very important to me, and I think it's a fundamental part of Hogwarts life. We are in charge of spreading news to the students, to write about things that are relevant and real for them. Our paper has grown a lot over the past years, and I think that's something to be proud of." She cleared her throat. "I would like to ask you guys for any suggestions or ideas, either at this meeting or at a later point if you think of them. I'm new to this, so I'm definitely open for suggestions." She then gestured around to the snacks and decorations, sort of hoping they would distract some people from staring at her. "Besides that, just have a fun time meeting each other and hanging out, we're a club, so I would like us to spend time together and get to know each other. It will help us put together a better paper if we're aware of who we're working with." She glanced at Noemie again, wondering if she had anything to add.