Open Encounter Magnificence

[Giraltus Magno]

'Brrrrrrrrr," Giraltus thought. The water at The Lakefront was absolutely chilly. This massive body of water added an intensified mystical look to the castle. Where he grew up, such architecture did not exist. The massive, beautiful castle, accompanied by the Great Lake had created a sense of serenity from where Giraltus was sitting. His father often talked about his days in Hogwarts, but imagining the complexity and intricate design that was this estate, was nothing compared to seeing it in person. Being older than his brother, Giraltus was the first to enter Hogwarts, and thus had no recent feedback or stories pertaining from this magical place. All of this was fresh, inspiring, and definitely exciting.

As he sit near the lake front in awe of the beauty, his mind began to race in anticipation of classes and meeting other students. Meeting other students. Other kids his age with the ability to use magic, or even understand it was probably the most exciting thing about coming here. Making friends back in his home-town was not a frequent occurrence. His neighborhood wasn't home to many magic wielders, and thus was often secluded or reserved from interaction amongst his own age. Despite that, Giraltus was one of the most outgoing individuals with a thirst for growing stronger, learning the most he could about magic, and stopping at nothing to get there. He just wanted to be accpeted amongst his peers. However, that would not stop him from striking the first words of conversation.

There were other students out and about on The Lakefront, most in posses or duos, deep in conversation. Giraltus thought about making some moves to go interact, but wanted to continue to take in the beauty of the land and water. He had a deep appreciation for the natural beauty of things and due to the seclusion he often faced in his hometown, would draw landscapes. 'I'll have to bring some parchment and quill out here, it'll be nothing like I've ever drawn before.' He thought.

 

[Ruben Right]

Ruben was coming from the library, classes hadn't start yet but he was already studying a little in advance and the library was a good place to not only study but to put order in his thoughts. He had a lot in his mind, the pressure of succeeding in class, his reputation as top house points earner that he would like to maintain, the pressure of trying out for Quidditch, the still unanswered questions about his brother getting transferred and of course the latest event was Flynn acting weird. After a few hours in the library he started to overthinking everything and becoming less productive so he decided to take a break from everything and just go to the lake to clear his head.

He was just arriving, with some books under his arm, when he noticed a first year sitting alone in the lake. He was sure the boy was a Slytherin, he remembered him from the sorting ceremony, Ruben usually pays a lot of attention to details and he knew every first year who got sorted into Slytherin, he didn't knew all of their names but he recognised their faces. One of Ruben's future goals was to be a prefect and he knew that prefects were supposed to help students and help them settle in amongst other things and the boy at the lake seemed quite lonely so he decided to approach him. "Hey there" he said sitting near the boy "Are you okay? What are you doing here all alone?" he asked the other boy.

 

[Giraltus Magno]

Serenity had taken over Giraltus, as he enjoyed the reflections the water bounced back at him. A glistening sparkle took over the entire lake and a slight wind caressed his hair. A gentle feeling, a calming act of nature.

While enjoying the view, and taking it all in, he noticed someone making their way to where Giraltus sat. Seemingly a bit older, with books in arms, the student made their way over to him. ‘Hey there,’ the student said, ‘Are you okay? What are you doing here all alone?’

Since his arrival, and being sorted into Slytherin, the idea of approaching others was a little hard. Despite his outgoing personality and willingness to interact, Giraltus found himself becoming a little introverted through intimidation of so many like-minded people. Being approached by this student ignited a flame in his heart, and a smile rose across his face as he stood up to greet the other student.

“Hi there, I’m doing okay. I am a little intimidated by it all. So much magic is in the air, and so many people my age. It is all a little too foreign.” Giraltus started, happy that someone had approached him first. He remembered seeing this student at the Slytherin table but did not take too much notice from being in awe to everything Hogwarts had to offer. “I’m glad you approached me, I’m usually very outgoing and willing to be the first to talk to someone, but my hometown didn’t have any other wizards or witches my age. Mostly everyone was a Muggle.” He continued. “My name is Giraltus, I’m from across the world over in the United States. What’s your name?” He asked.

 

[Ruben Right]

Ruben listened as the younger boy talked and could help but relate a little to him. He smiled at him he the boy told him he was okay, he thought that maybe sharing his personal experience could help the boy. "Well, you see when I arrived here I only knew my siblings. And my brother was put in a different house so I just basically had my sister with me and let me tell you something, she is not the most social person" he told the young Slytherin boy, this last part almost in a whisper, just in case Veronica was around.

"Don't worry about not being too outgoing this is Hogwarts, sooner or later you are bound to have friends. I started making my first friends when I signed up for some clubs at the club fair, then some more during pair work in classes and even some in the library while studying" he said hoping to make the boy relax a little bit more about being a foreign, like he said. At Hogwarts Ruben noticed one thing, he could be exactly the same person he was at home except that here people noticed him and didn't really treat him like a baby like his parents did so this guy, introvert or extrovert, pureblood or muggleborn didn't need to stress out about fitting in, he would eventually do it whether he realised it or not.

Ruben smiled again at the boy "I'm Ruben. Born in Portugal but currently living in Australia" he said to the boy. "If you don't mind asking Giraltus, if you are from the States why not Ilvermorny then?" he questioned the boy, not that he needed a reason, everyone knew that Hogwarts was better than Ilvermorny. Ruben still wondered why the heck his brother chose to be transferred to that school "My brother attends Ilvermorny" he said for absolute no reason, he just thought that out loud without even noticing.

 

[Giraltus Magno]

Ruben spoke of arriving here, he only knew his siblings. A very similar situation to Giraltus himself. “What house did your brother end up in?” Asked Giraltus curiously. When Ruben spoke of his sister he trailed of slightly, almost as if to ensure she was not around to hear him say that. He smiled, this older Slytherin boy was very friendly and a wonderful person to chat with. Perhaps his first friend at Hogwarts?

“You know, just talking with another fellow Slytherin has made me feel all the more comfortable.” He started. “I need to visit the library still, perhaps you could show me sometime. This castle is so big, and I’ve already gotten lost several times.” He continued. While libraries did not particularly interest Girlatus, he knew with all of the classes, some studying would be very necessary. “Which clubs are you apart of?” He asked curiously. The only true team he wanted to join would be Quidditch, but that was generally only available to second years and up.

“It’s very nice to meet you Ruben, you’re very welcoming.” He told the older student. “Ilvermorny would definitely allow me to be closer to my family, but both of my parents went here, and we’d like to continue that tradition. On top of that, all the wonderful things Hogwarts is known to excel in was icing on the cake.” He continued. Ruben stated his brother attends Ilvermorny, perhaps it was fate he would be Ruben or his brother. “Why did your brother choose Ilvermorny?” Giraltus asked.

He was starting to feel like himself. Ruben was a great first start to meeting other people around his age. It was especially comforting to know he had already made a fellow Slytherin ally.

 

[Ruben Right]

The second year boy smiled at the other one and said "He was a Hufflepuff, kind of surprising if you knew him. Now he is a Thunderbird" he stated thinking that when Valentin was sorted into Hufflepuff Ruben's jaw almost dropped, he could have sworn his brother would end up being in Gryffindor.

Ruben laughed "Sure. My advice is for you to also learn where the classrooms are" he said to the boy "I almost got late to every one of my classes during the first week" he added remembering how he felt so lost in his first week that he basically had to make a run for it to every class. Of course it would be easier to just ask a professor or something but it was way more fun to explore, besides, the professor he was supposed to ask those kind of things, his head of house, Professor Styx, wasn't exactly the most approachable person. "I signed up for the Brotherhood of MAGIC. It's a boys only club but there are tons of others. I'll be trying out for the Quidditch Team this year too so we'll see how that goes" he told the other boy, maybe Ruben wasn't the example of a very socially active person, realising that he only belonged to one club, but he did what he could.

The Slytherin boy heard Giraltus as he talked about being at Ilvermorny, of course that he couldn't help but agree that Hogwarts had a reputationof excellence but he couldn't help but chuckle a little as the other boy mentioned that. "Well...that's the billion galleons question." Ruben said with a weak smile "He just left out of nowhere and he didn't exactly gave us a lot of answers during the break. I think that we will never know what really happened" he shrugged. He probably would try to dig around the subject a bit more and maybe his sister would too but he doubted that they could make their brother give in. "On another note, have you met our Head of House, Professor Styx?" he said with a grin, Giraltus was probably clueless about who Professor Styx was but in all honesty he wasn't missing much.

 

[Giraltus Magno]

‘Thunderbird.’ Giraltus thought. What a prestigious sounding name. The only house at Hogwarts that seemed to lack a fierce name was Hufflepuff. He imagined a velutinous creature that resembled a pufferfish, yet obviously it was simply a badger. Even Ravenclaw felt somewhat fierce. That is the house Ruben said his brother was sorted into. “Do you think that’s a house fitting for your brother?” Giraltus asked.

“This castle is so big; I feel like I might never learn where all classes are! In fact, where is the Defense Against the Dark Arts class?” Giraltus asked, feeling like an unobservant underling. He did not realize it, but there were so many questions he had. He could only write to his mother and father, which made it hard to have firsthand knowledge of various things. Especially that of the mysterious and magical Hogwarts. Ruben mentioned trying out for Quidditch and Giraltus’ ears perked up. One of the most enjoyable things was Quidditch. A pastime for his father and him. One of his most recent sketches included a Quidditch Pitch, due to wanting to watch the tryouts and draw the action. “I absolutely adore Quidditch, but I have a lot learning to do when it comes to flying. I definitely hope to be trying out next year, but I fear I may need additional lessons.” He explained. “I suppose you’re probably good at flying huh?” He asked. It was true, he was rather unbalanced when it came to flying, and while he could hold a broom steady, found it difficult to ascend or descend without getting wobbly.

Giraltus was intrigued by the story of Ruben’s brother. There seemed to be a developing story and made a note to check in later in the month about that. “I know of Professor Styx, but unfortunately I haven’t formally met him yet. I only saw him during the sorting ceremony, and he looked quite intimidating.” He answered Ruben. “Is he a good Professor?” He asked.

 

[Ruben Right]

What Giraltus asked was a pretty good question and Ruben had no idea how to answer to that. At first sight Valentin would never be a Hufflepuff, he didn't seem very friendly but he was indeed the most social of the three, if Ruben had to give him a house it would be Gryffindor, it suited him better or at least the Slytherin boy thought so "I'd say he's more like a Gryffindor but...the hat knows best right?" he said thinking it was not really his place to question or doubt the hat's decision.

Ruben smiled at the boy who seemed to have a particular interest for Defense Against the Dark Arts "First floor, third door to the right. My Defense Against the Dark Arts professor last year was actually Professor Styx" he said chuckling "But on the following semester they hired a new professor for the earlier years, Professor Lydia Drage if I'm not mistaken" he told Giraltus and hopefully not being wrong about the professor's name.
Ruben laughed at the boy's statement about needing additional lessons and remembered that he was just like that in his previous year "Well, don't worry, you'll have flying classes during your first semester. I had never ridden a broom before and I became good after all those lessons" he said hoping to make Giraltus stress a little less about not being good enough, a good amount of kids had never been in a broom before and some of them also tried for the quidditch teams so obviously everyone could easily get the hang of it if paying attention to Professor Holland's classes.

"I do think he is a good professor" Ruben stated, the man's problem wasn't not being good at his job "He sometimes is a bit harsh that's all. You have seen the trampoline we have in our common room that is made out of stone I presume?" Ruben said about to tell the younger Slytherin about Styx's conditions. "Professor Styx that if completing two of these three tasks, winning the quidditch cup, winning the house cup and not have points taken, he would lift the charm he place on the trampoline and let us use it next year. If we manage to do all three then he will permanently lift the spell" he told Giraltus, not only to warn him about these conditions so they could get the trampoline but to also let him have a bit more of an insight on the type of person that Professor Styx was.