Open A whole new world

[Mary Lou Layton]

Mary Lou stared at her wand as she exited Transfiguration (for the first time she was walking and not running) still unable to believe that she had actually performed a spell. For the entire time she'd been at Hogwarts so far (admittedly not nearly as long as some) she had believed very strongly that she was not actually a witch and that there had been some horrible mistake in the matter. Perhaps the letter had been meant for some other Mary Lou Prindeou, or perhaps they had gotten her name mixed up with someone else, but no, for the first time since she had received her letter, headed to Obsidian Harbour, boarded the train and started classes, Mary Lou was starting to actually, maybe, just a little teeny bit believe it. And it felt really, really good.​

 

[The Blue Lady]

After the quiet of the holiday break, days often seemed to blur by in a blink once school began and flooded the halls with students again. Blue always forgot how loud and busy things got between classes, though she still much preferred the noise over the empty silence of the holidays.

She was watching what looked to be one of the lower year classes exit today, her chin in her hands as she idly listened to some passing student gossip. "Watch where you're going, dear," Blue called out to a girl, who seemed quite taken with her wand at the moment. She saw all sorts of expressions on the students leaving the transfiguration classrooms, though it was usually some strain of confusion or relief, which made Blue wonder what exactly went on in there. She heard the strangest sounds sometimes, enough to think Professor Summers might keep his own menagerie in there.

 

[Professor Adorah Zumwalt]

Adorah was excited to be finished with her classes for the day as she headed back to the common room to study. Finals were coming up which meant lots of hardcore studying on her own. Grades were really important to Adorah, and since she was now taking additional classes. Finals were even more important. As she was walking down the hallway, she heard a voice warn someone. Adorah looked and noticed a blonde girl inspecting her wand, her surroundings seemingly unbeknowst to her. "You might want to listen to the portrait," Adorah advised, having her own experience of running into walls one too many times as she tried to read and walk.

 

[Mary Lou Layton]

Paying attention to her surroundings was something Mary Lou was normally very careful about, but today was the exception because she’d finally cast her first ever spell and she couldn’t believe it. She was still a bit convinced it was a fluke, but maybe it wasn’t? She heard a voice tell her to watch where she was going and she yelped as she realised it was a portrait. She still was not used to them speaking to her and her encounters with them never seemed to go very well at all. She looked to the older girl who’d spoken and nodded. “Yes, yes, um,” she looked at her wand before depositing it in her robes. “Sorry, I was... I was a bit lost.” She admitted, trying not to stare at the portrait. It was still so weird that they moved. How did they move? Where they alive? Did everything move? It was all so confusing.​

 

[Alec Tricity]

Alec had been very angry as she came back in from the Courtyard. Who did Lysander think he was? Okay so she may have not spoken to him for a while, but it was like everything their friendship had been based on before had all been a lie. She felt a little back stabbed, although the further back up the castle she got, the more she knew she couldn’t really blame him for it after it was her that had stopped engaging him after Christmas. Something had seemed off and she couldn’t put her finger on it, but now it was clear her former best friend wanted nothing to do with her anyway. On her way up the stairs she saw two other girls, both around her own age but she couldn’t be certain, talking to one of the portraits. The older girl she recognised from the Heta meetings, but in her frustration Alec had forgotten her name. The Gryffindors expression relaxed a little, watching their encounter a hort distance away. She’d not officially met any of the new first years yet, but only because she hadn’t really had the chance. “Where are you going?” She asked, since she was already on the way up.​

 

[Professor Adorah Zumwalt]

Adorah paused as the girl finally came back to the reality of the hallway and responded. She raised her eyebrow and gave her a smile. "Are you okay? You seem a little lost." She wasn't usually the one helping people, but this girl seemed like she might need help. It wasn't until after talking with her that another girl she recognized from Heta Omega came into the conversation. She wasn't sure if she was asking the blonde girl or herself where she was going, so Adorah hesistantly responded. "I, um, and just going to the towers. Although, if you need help..." she said, gesturing to the girl and then stopped talking. Maybe this girl was a first year. First years always had a weird air about them. Adorah knew she had.