And pretty maids all in a row

[Olivia Drage]

Gry-ffin-dor. The word carried power; it was not one that should be said quietly, but rather, bellowed from the school's towers. Olivia brushed her hand across a row of yellow flowers, pollen sticking to her fingers. She hadn't started classes yet and wasn't exactly in a hurry to. For now, she was happy to wander the grounds. She glanced over her shoulder at the forest behind. It was forbidden, or so they said. Normally it would be in her nature to plunge right into the woods. Be that as it may, a little voice tickled her ears. It whispered: Not yet.

Grinning, she pulled her wand from her robes, waving it at a spider plant. Miraculously, nothing happened.

 

[Nozomi Koshiba]

Nozomi was a Slytherin just like every last Koshiba female in her family. She knew that she should be pleased but in all honesty she was not like the others. Nozomi was different. There was nothing to be done but make the best of it. She could explore the castle but Nozomi was never one to stay indoors so the very first chance she got she made a beeline for the outdoors to see what kind of gardens Hogwarts had.

Seeing another first year that had been sorted ages before her Nozomi saw that she had her wand out and was trying to do magic. Feeling rather shy all of the sudden Nozomi tried to hide behind a bush only to trip over a root and go crashing to the ground. "Ouch!" Nozomi said when she hit the ground.

 

[Olivia Drage]

Olivia hadn't noticed the other student until she tried to plant herself in the ground. She could see the girl wore green and silver; was that Ravenclaw? Or maybe Hufflepuff? Olivia couldn't keep track of all of these houses just yet.

Moving quickly to the girl's side, Olivia extended a hand. The SlytherHuffleClaw didn't look any older than Olivia herself. She could be a first year too! The Gryffindor cracked a smile. "New feet?"

 

[Nozomi Koshiba]

Nozomi could not believe that she had fallen but to make matters worse it was in front of someone and she had dirt on her brand new robes. Not that she really cared but she was sure that Bex might care. Hearing someone ask her a question she looked up. Yep that was in fact a first year but what was her name again? Nozomi had no idea.

Taking the offered Nozomi pulled herself up off the ground and tried to brush the dirt off her robes. "Err thanks. Stupid robes making me trip." Nozomi said trying to embarrass herself anymore then she already had.

 

[Olivia Drage]

"Yeah, I don't know why they just don't let us wear pants." Olivia wasn't too big on the uniforms herself, although she hadn't worn them long enough to start rebelling yet.

She held out her hand once more. "My name's Olivia. Guess I'm a Gryffindor." Whatever that means, she thought to herself.

 

[Nozomi Koshiba]

Nozomi could not agree more with just wanting to wear pants but rules were rules and Nozomi couldn't really care about this one to try and break it just yet.

Taking the girls hand once more Nozomi gave it a shake. "Nice to meet you Olivia. I am Nozomi Koshiba and I'm a Slytherin." Nozomi rolled her eyes as she said it.

 

[Olivia Drage]

"Nozomi," Olivia repeated, letting the name twist her tongue. She liked it. It was much more interesting than boring old Olivia. She breathed in the garden. There were so many scents it almost made her sick, like that time Lydia tried on six of Mom's perfumes at once and put lipstick on her eyelashes.

The Gryffindor tilted her head to the side. "What's wrong with Slytherin?" Her dad had been one, not that she knew much else about him, or what his house really stood for.

 

[Emerald Bones]

The sorting ceremony had left Emerald in a pleased but disorientated state. The night of the event, the chubby girl had found herself expelling all her energy in simply making her way up the many flights of stairs towards the Ravenclaw common room- the house into which she had been sorted. Fortunately the hearty feast laid on by the castle's house elves meant she had plenty of energy to burn up.
The night had flown but in dots and spots of excited sleep. It was difficult for Emerald to keep her eyes shut as she tried to rest, that first night, thoughts of a new life buzzing eagerly in her head, but she had managed a good few hours and, come the morning, the girl felt rested enough to take a stroll across the grounds.

The Hogwarts Garden was as attractive a place as any to start out her days of exploration in, and in next to no time the pudgy girl was trotting merrily through the pathways coursing the flower beds. It was only as she almost collided with two other female students that she became aware of just how great a hub of pupil activity the beautiful scenery really was.
"Oops!" Emerald spoke, jolting to a halt, "Hello! I hope I'm not interrupting anything." She smiled in her usual, friendly manner.

 

[Nozomi Koshiba]

Nozomi flushed red. She really didn't have a good answer as to why she didn't want to be in Slytherin other then she wanted to stand out to be different. When she thought about it like that there really wasn't a good reason for her to not be happy with her house. "Honestly Olivia I'm not fond of green. The red your wearing so prettier." Nozomi smiled.

Nozomi heard someone spoke and turned to look at her. "Oh no not at all. I am Nozomi Koshiba and this is Olivia Gryffindor." Nozomi said with a cheeky grin.

 

[Olivia Drage]

Olivia shrugged. "I like green. But thanks." She was going to say something about snakes when another girl nearly bowled them over. After that, the thought was gone. She had never been praised for a great attention span.

Letting Nozomi introduce them, she had to snicker a little. All in good fun, though. "Actually, my last name is Drage, but I am a Gryffindor." She wanted to shout her house name as was proper, but for once she held back.

 

[Emerald Bones]

"Hello, Nozomi. Hello, Olivia." Emerald replied cheerfully, nodding a sweet bow to each in turn. She found her eyes searching over the two girls, taking in their heights and guessing that they were probably around much the same age as herself. Her eyebrow gave a twitch at the alternate surname as she took mental note of it.
"My name is Emerald." The Ravenclaw paused before realising she had forgotten to audibly sound out her surname. "Emerald Bones, that is. It's very nice to meet you. Are you both first years, also?" Emerald hoped this question need not offend.

 

[Nozomi Koshiba]

Drage? Well that's a different name Nozomi thought to herself. Then again most of her family called her Zoom so she hada bit of a out there name herself. "It's nice to meet you Emerald. How are you liking Hogwarts so far?" Nozomi so far was in love with her new school but she kept getting lost so maybe once she was able to find her way around a bit better she would be even happier.

 

[Saffron Ironsong]

Saffron was for once not in the castle. She had decided that it was time to do some active learning so with her copy of 101 Magical Herbs and fungi under her arm she made her way out among the flowers hoping that she was right and that the gardens held some of the herbs that where described in the book. Saffron had been sitting on her knees pointing at the plants she saw matched what was in her book and mumbling their names under her breath. She knew that not all one hundred and one where not here because they had been told that the more dangerous of plants where kept in the Greenhouse, somewhere she really wanted to go. She was half way through "N" in the book when she heard others talking not to far way from where the green haired girl was sitting. One of them she knew, the Gryffendor Olivia. The other two she remembered from sorting especially one girl. "Does your family own a mortuary or something? Why is you're last name Bones?" She asked forgoing a proper greeting.

 

[Emerald Bones]

Emerald smiled at Nozomi when she spoke. "It's really lovely here- all the flowers and the freshly baked pies, the students all seem really friendly, too!" The child was thrilled to bits to be at Hogwarts, and she angled her head to one side as she studied the Slytherin's expression. "I hope," she slowed a little more as she spoke now, "that you are enjoying the experience here, too. It's ever so nice," Emerald pressed on, though she suddenly grew aware of another girl joining them out in the garden.

Stepping back with a little surprise in her eyes, Emerald shot the third girl a cheerful look. "Oh, no," the cuddly child chuckled in good humour, wondering if only for a moment what it should have been like to own a mortuary, "at least, not that I am aware of." She further smiled at this, at the idea of bizarre secrets within her family circle and just exactly how her mother and father would feel about such a business in the blood.
"I don't really know, other than it was my father's name, given to him by his father." Emerald explained politely before she went on to her own queries, "may I ask your name?"

 

[Olivia Drage]

"Yep, I'm a first year." Olivia let Nozomi and Emerald chat while she glanced over the garden. The Gryffindor didn't focus well when there were multiple conversations going on.

A patch of orange flowers with purple spots tempted Olivia. Pick me, they said. But she knew from a bad experience with a Bubotuber that plants were best left alone if you didn't recognize them. She waved at Saffron when she saw her. A strand of Olivia's hair was still red from their last encounter.