Open First Year Castle Tours

[Kauri Morales-Tipene]

After years of use, the tour sign Kauri had made in his third year at Hogwarts was showing more than a bit of wear and tear. The edges were bent and frayed, and he had needed to paint over some of the words to make sure they stood out enough before today. Still, Kauri was excited for today. The Head Boy badge gleaming on his uniform felt as though it added some legitimacy to the tours he had been giving unofficially for so long, and Kauri was ready to welcome a new batch of first years into their new home and help them find their way around the castle that would undoubtedly become so familiar over time. It hadn't escaped Kauri's awareness that this would be his final year of offering tours though, and he had been worried at the thought of leaving next year's first years without anyone to guide them. So it had been a huge relief when Alice had agreed to join him this year, a weight off his shoulders. Kauri had someone he could hand the tours down to... a sort of legacy he could leave at Hogwarts, and he wouldn't have to worry about new students getting lost in the castle again after he left.

So this time Kauri wasn't alone as he held his sign up high in the Entrance Hall, calling out the words written on the sign as loudly as he could. "CASTLE TOURS FOR FIRST YEARS!" He yelled, waving his sign side to side slightly, Alice standing by his side. "Don't worry about getting lost on the way to class! Learn the secrets of the staircases! Castle tours for all first years!"

 

[Alexis Kramer]

Alexis was ecstatic to be in her sixth year. Her first year as a prefect made her realize that she still had a lot to know about Hogwarts and the students. Sure, she was a part of the Heta and volunteered for rose deliveries. Now, she was on her way to take part and observe, somehow, one of the first activities of the year - Castle Tour. Kauri, chosen Head Boy, organized this since she was a second year. So, she was not able to experience the tour when she first came. Waving to Kauri, she smiled shyly. "Hey, Kauri. Hope you don't mind me tagging along." She looked around to see if any first years already came.

 

[Jacinta Ingo]

Jacinta walked into the Entrance Hall and heard someone yelling about first year tours. That actually sounds handy. She walked over and waited for the tour to start. She pulled one of her textbooks out, not really wanting to engage in a conversation. While she was reading, she kept an eye on the boy holding the sign, making sure she didn't miss the start of the tour.

 

[Alice Holland]

Alice really liked Kauri, Rose's boyfriend. He was very nice and friendly and she was happy that he had been named head boy in his last year. It was sad that she would have to miss Rose this year, but Kauri was really great to spend time with too. Alice had looked up to him before Rose had even started dating him. The first year tours he gave had been so cool, in Alice's opinion. She loved organizing things like that to help others. In her own first year she had organized a meeting for all first years to talk, and she hoped that it had helped people make friends. Now, she had a study group within her year. She hoped she could have more meetings with that group because it would be fun. So when Kauri had asked her if she wanted to join him and maybe take over next year, she had said yes immediately. It sounded like a lot of fun, and something that could help a lot of people. But She did want to see how Kauri did it so she knew what to do. She had made her own sign to match his, painting the letters on in pink. "Castle tours for first years!" She called out, though her voice was less loud than Kauri's. She would have to practice that. Alice smiled as an older girl asked if she could join, but then looked at a younger girl who had approached. "Hi!" She said brightly. "Want to join the tour?"

 

[Jacinta Ingo]

Someone asked Jacinta if she wanted to join the tour. She looked up from her book, a little surprised to be spoken to by an older student, but nodded."Yes please. Do I need to sign up somewhere?" She hoped that she could just tag along. She didn't really want to bring any attention to herself. While learning her way around the castle sounded good, she didn't like the idea of having to talk to the other first years. The girls in her house seemed nice, but that was good enough for her. They were the ones she'd spend the most time with anyway.

@Alice Holland

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy was sitting in the corner of the entrance hall sketching in one of her notebooks, when the words "learn the secrets of the staircases" caught her attention. She glanced over and noticed a small group that had formed around an older student with a tattered old sign. Poppy carefully made her way over to them, and noticed the Head Boy badge on the sign carrier's robes and smiled. "A tour sounds absolutely fantastic! Are you going to show us to any secret rooms?"

 

[Alec Tricity]

Alec had heard about the first year tours from someone in the Great Hall. Apparently the Head Boy had been doing them for years and they were worth tagging along for since it meant they would have a better idea of where they were going. The Gryffindor was ready to go by the time Kauri called upon them, a small backpack of essentials on her back just in case she needed light refreshments on the way. As they were getting sorted, Alec listened to the other excited first years, and nodded at one in particular, “I hope he shows us how we get to the kitchens without being caught,” she whispered, surely there was something for that?

@Poppy Perkins

 

[Juniper Steele]

After seeing the notice board about the school tours, Juno figured she may as well join, since it would save her getting lost so frequently. As she made her way down to the starting post she saw one of her dorm mates, and sent a small smile her way. She still wasn’t confident in the knowledge she wouldnt ruin any new friendships yet so had been hesitant to make any, but Jac seemed nice enough. Juno cast her eyes round the room for a certain gryffindor though. She thought she was starting to get on Apollos nerves so would understand if he didn’t want to be around her much, but she would have enjoyed it more if he were here too.

 

[Apollo Bixby]

A tour through the castle was just what the Gryffindor needed. He still found himself lost from time to time and had become tired of having to ask other students for the way back to his common room or to classes. He stood to the side as more people began to gather around the Head Boy and looked around for anyone familiar. If he would have someone to talk and have fun with during the tour, it'd be even better. He didn't know if Juno would come or not since he was pretty much convinced that she wanted to explore and learn the castle for herself, so was surprised to see her standing in the entrance hall. ''Juno!'' the Gryffindor exclaimed happily and headed over towards her. ''Didn't think that you would need a tour?'' he asked, grinning at the girl.

 

[Chase Warrick]

Chase had heard about the first year tour and it certainly couldn't hurt to be shown a little around the castle. He wondered if Adelaide and Wendall would be there too, it would be good to see his friends. Chase made his way down to the entrance hall where first years were gathering for the tour. He rubbed his hands as he waited for the tour to start hoping they would be shown some cool stuff not just the boring stuff.

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy grinned and nodded in agreement with the other student. A secret way into the kitchen sounded like the perfect tip to pick up on a tour like this, although she doubted a school organized tour would share anything that good. But she figured the tour would at least be helpful and maybe she wouldn't get lost every time she tried to go to breakfast.

"Kitchens would be a great place to sneak into! I wonder if there are any secret passageways. You'd think there would be in a castle this size. Just imagine all the places you could go." She suggested, getting excited at just the thought of it all. "My name is Poppy by the way, what's yours?"
((@Alec Tricity))

 

[Juniper Steele]

Juno was more pleased than she cared to admit when she heard her name called, and she turned to see the brown tufty hair of her friend. She did however give him a glare when he teased her, “It’s not like I have anything better to do,” she said seriously, but the corners of her mouth was straining to keep away a smile as she turned back to see how many others were joining them. “It’s probably better we do this anyway, just in case I missed something,” the air of confidence in her voice was doing little to convince her that was the case. “That still doesn’t mean I’m not taking you to the towers soon,” regardless of whether or not the tour covered it, she knew a great deal of her time was going to be spent there.

@Apollo Bixby

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander had been planning on exploring the castle on his own, but he already found himself getting lost one too many times in the process, so when the boy overheard someone shouting about tours, he paused to think about it. On the one hand, he wouldn't get to figure out everything for himself like he wanted to, but on the other, he could impress all of his friends with his knowledge of getting around the castle if he joined in. Deciding that the latter was the more appealing thought, the young boy sidled up to the group, noticing a few familiar faces already there. He waved to the boy he'd met on the train, though wandered over to the more familiar girl from his house. "Alec! Are you taking the tour too?" He beamed, unintentionally interrupting the two girls. "Oop, sorry. Hey, I'm Lysander. What's this about the kitchens?"​

@Poppy Perkins @Alec Tricity

 

[Alec Tricity]

Alec’s eyes lit up when the other girl mentioned secret passage ways around the school, “There has to be! This school is way too old and way too massive not to have something secret like that,” she replied excitedly. She wondered if the Head Boy would help them with something like that though or if they’d have to work it out for themselves. “My name is Alec,” she added with a large grin at Poppy, before turning to see a few other Gryffindors she recognised join the crew.

“Dung bomb boyyy!!” She grinned enthusiastically when Lysander joined them. “We figures we’d take it and then we’ll know all the secret routes to get some snacks,” she explained, excited as the prospect of bringing mountains of food back to the common room during the night. “Lysander Poppy, Poppy Lysander,” she added in quick introduction, one hand indicating out in front of her as she spoke. “If there are any secret passageways, I hope the Professors don’t know about them,” that would make them somewhat moot.

 

[Apollo Bixby]

He noticed the glare she gave him and grinned even more, thinking that it was rather fun to tease her. He knew that he'd be the one getting teased as soon as the lessons would start to get more serious so took every chance he could get until that point in time. ''Well, I'm glad that you're here. I wouldn't want to do this without you,'' Apollo replied in all honesty. He smiled when she mentioned taking him to the towers. ''I'll always be down to explore the castle with you, just not before I've had breakfast.'' the Gryffindor reminded her. ''In the Great Hall, sitting down and reading that weird newspaper you guys have,'' Apollo added, knowing that she would probably tell him that he could break his fast whilst exploring the castle with her.

@Juniper Steele

 

[Kauri Morales-Tipene]

Kauri had seen a few older students at his tours before, but they had always been transfers in the past, so he was surprised to see Alexis approaching, though he gave his fellow prefect a cheerful smile in greeting. "Not at all!" He said brightly when she asked to join the tour, glad for the company. He kept smiling as younger students began crowding around, excited to see so many first years ready to learn their way around the castle. He shook his head with a kind smile when a girl asked if she needed to sign up. "Nope! You just need to be here, which you already are. Alice and I will show you all around the castle." He said cheerfully. He shook his head with a chuckle when one girl asked about secret rooms. "We're going to be focusing on rooms you'll need to find for class, you'll have to explore the rest of the castle on your own time. Don't break any rules, though." He added, with a small smile.

Looking around the group, Kauri lowered his sign as he decided this seemed like a good time for them to get started. "Alright!" He said loudly, to get the attention of the younger students. "Hey guys, welcome to Hogwarts! I'm Kauri Tipene, if anyone doesn't know, and I'll be your Head Boy this year. If you need help with anything else getting settled in at school don't be afraid to track me down, I'm always around to help." He said cheerfully. "This is my friend Alice Holland, she's going to be taking over these tours after I graduate, and she's helping me show you guys around today." He smiled brightly. "So let's get started! We're gonna start off heading up the castle, then we'll take a different route on the way back down, circle through the dungeons, and we'll finish up back here right where we started." Kauri said cheerfully as he led the group towards the stairs, having long since memorised his tour route. "This is the main staircase you'll be using to get downstairs to do things like go outside, or to meals, it's probably at least a little bit familiar." He added, leading the group up the first flight of stairs. "But after here things get a bit confusing, so we'll stop on the landing and talk about how moving staircases work."

 

[Alice Holland]

The girl Alice had spoken to asked if she needed to sign up, and Alice shook her head. "Nope! Just follow us." She said with a smile. She was very excited about this. She beamed as more and more students appeared that wanted to take the tour. They all looked so excited, and it made her happy. She figured Kauri would probably disappoint a few of them when he said they wouldn't go to any secret rooms or passageways, but she understood why. It was important to know the basics first. Alice waved as Kauri mentioned her in his speech, then followed him as they started to walk. She paid close attention to how the tour went, because she wanted to do a good job taking it over next year.

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy smiled at Alec and the other Gryfindor, Lysander, who joined them and laughed at his nickname. "Nice to meet you! And well if there are secret passageways there must be at least some professors who know about them. But if they don't know...that we know about them. How would they know to look there." She said pointed out, feeling particularity smart about outwitting her professors.

When the Head Boy, Kauri, got their attention to start the tour Poppy followed along. Staying close enough to hear, since the moving staircases had made her late to breakfast all week and she really did want to learn her way around the castle, yet far enough away to not be heard if they wanted to work out their plan.