Open For First Years, By First Years

[Amanita Castillo]

Amanita scowled at the head people across the hall, arms crossed for maximum disapproval. She had nothing against the head girl, Lucy Montague seemed fine. But Pirrip. Now he gave students with professor parents a bad name. And no doubt only had his connections to thank for his current position.

No, Amanita wouldn't trust him to guide a tour out of a troll's armpit. And the other first years shouldn't either.

"Castle tour for first years, by first years!" Amanita called, grabbing the nearest first year who'd been eying joining the already lost causes across the hall. "Hey! If you need directions, I've been at the school since I was born I know where you need to go and I know what it's like to be a first year. Way better tour opportunity here," she said, raising her voice to hope it would carry. "I'm happy to show anyone around!"

Sure, maybe Amanita didn't exactly remember all that much from when she'd been at the school as a baby, but anything had to better than- ugh - Teddy Pirrip.

 

[Ulric Vale]

Ulric was settling into school life. He couldn't say it was going well but it was...happening. He was getting used to things one way or another. He was hovering in the entrance hall when he heard a few older kids offering a tour of the castle. That sounded like a good idea but before he got too far he saw Amanita offering a tour of her own. He had connected several dots since sorting, mostly that the bossy girl he had met at the park wasn't just an ordinary girl but the daughter of the Slytherin head of house. Which did make a lot of sense when he thought about it. But it also put him on edge, not knowing what to expect from her. But he couldn't help the draw of someone familiar despite his reservations. "Have you really been here before?" he asked as he quietly joined her. He tried not to sound accusatory even though he felt a little betrayed she hadn't mentioned it during their game.

 

[Luke Lagowski]

Luke didn't really need a tour, not when Freddie and Susie could show him around if he asked. He hadn't asked, because frankly he didn't feel like he needed to just yet. He knew where his bedroom was, he knew where the food was, what else did he need to know immediately? He'd just follow the rest of the students to their classes wouldn't he? The Slytherin looked up to see a girl in his house dragging another student, referring to a castle tour. Did Luke have it wrong? Was she not at the sorting ceremony too? He didn't really know why a first year would be giving a tour, unless it was for some kind of prank and she was going to leave the other students in the dungeons. That would have been funny.

The first year glanced across the hall, to where some much older students seemed be gathering and wondered whether that was meant to be the real tour. Honestly either way, Luke wasn't done with his breakfast and had no intention of leaving the Great Hall just yet. Luke was still frowning at the girl though, bewildered. He hadn't even known for sure he was magical until a few months ago, how on earth had this girl managed to come to Hogwarts for long enough to know her way round already? Was he really that unimportant in the priority list of wizards that no one had bothered to let him know earlier that he could have come to the school? Maybe she was a princess or someone really important. Luke began sulking into his cereal, deciding he never ever was going to rely on other students to show him around. He'd rather be lost and find his own way if wizard privileges were at play.

 

[AJ Carpenter]

AJ had noticed the castle tour the head boy and head girl were setting up and had wondered if he should join it. So far, he had managed pretty well by just following kids he recognized around the place, but it might be useful. He turned his head when he heard another familiar voice ringing through the entrance hall, feeling some amusement as he spotted Amanita, holding court like she was the queen of Hogwarts. He had enjoyed their previous talk, and meandered over to her with his hands in his pockets. "So... when was the last time you were at Hogwarts before this, and could you walk yet?" He asked her with a slight smile, remembering their last conversation. "Because in my experience, babies aren't known for their sense of direction." He also smiled at Ulric and gave him a quick wave.

 

[Hudson Triss]

Hudson was glad @Natsuko Hirano had agreed to go with him to the other tour and was glad Mary Paige happened to be looking away at that moment. "Let's go," he said to her, walking towards the other group that was forming. He noticed one of his roommates talking to the girl and heard the tail end of it. "Why are you calling her a baby? Is she not a good tour guide?" Hudson asked AJ, now thoroughly confused who was going to give him a tour, even though he had initially said he didn't need a tour. @AJ Carpenter

 

[Natsuko Hirano]

Natsuko followed the boy eagerly to the other side of the entrance hall, hoping very much that her faith in the Slytherin wasn't misplaced. The concerns about this were reignited by overhearing another student ask about whether Amanita was able to walk when she was last at Hogwarts. Natsuko winced slightly. She didn't want to look stupid in front of this new kid (whose name she didn't even know yet - probably if she'd been paying attention during the sorting ceremony she would) so she quickly remarked, "I think she knows her way around. That's what I've been led to believe. Do you know something we don't?" Natsuko shot towards the boy who'd questioned Amanita in the first place.
@AJ Carpenter

 

[Amanita Castillo]

Amanita was pleased to see Ulric was one of the first to join her little tour, tossing her ponytail over her shoulder and standing as tall as she could. Confidence was going to be key here.

"Yeah, course, loads of times with my mum and dad," she said, hoping to keep the answer simple and vague as possible. At least until AJ came to bother her. Of course.

"Yes I could walk, thank you very much," she said, crossing her arms and frowning. "I'll have you know I have an excellent memory, so I could probably even do the tour blindfolded if I had to," she shot back. She made sure to say the last part a bit louder as two other kids joined, her chest feeling warm when it sounded like Natsuko was standing up for her again. She shot the other girl a grateful nod.

"He's just jealous I know more secret passages than he does," she said with a sniff, giving AJ a challenging grin to see if he'd take the bait. Sure, maybe Amanita's memory of when she was a kid was a little fuzzy, but surely she had to know more than the other first years who just got here. No problem.

"What's somewhere you wanna go? Name it, I'll take us there and then you can judge how good a tour guide I am."

 

[Hudson Triss]

Hudson was now even more confused. He thought tour guides were supposed to be in charge. He didn't know where he wanted to go because he didn't know where there was in the castle to go. He had been to his common room and the Great Hall.... and that was all he could really remember at this point. "What about classrooms? Can you take us to where Potions is?" he asked. He didn't bring his schedule with him, so he wasn't even sure he had potions that semester.

 

[AJ Carpenter]

AJ grimaced when Hudson came up and misunderstood what he had said. He shook his head. "No, I meant that she told me she was here when she was young— like a baby." He said hurriedly. "I was just joking." He added, when another girl asked him if he knew something she didnt. AJ glanced over at the older students again. Secretly, he thought they probably knew more than Amanita, but it felt rude to go over to them now. He was glad his jokes hadn't shaken Amanita's confidence, though he also scoffed a bit at her words. And they said Gryffindors were cocky. "Yeah? Show us one then." He said. "A hidden passage."

 

[Ulric Vale]

Ulric felt a little off balance. He couldn't say he trusted Amanita and a small voice wondered if she might try and play a trick on him. Tell him to go one way and then another, until he was completely lost before abandoning him. He took a deep breath and relaxed slightly when AJ joined. He returned the other boy's smile and felt a pang of jealousy when it seemed like he and Amanita had already met before. While being the daughter of the head of house was one thing he also knew Professor Castillo was the upper years herbology professor, which was something that he found much more interesting. When Amanita asked where they wanted to go the other's had their answers but he as a question of his own. "Do you have access to the upper years greenhouse?" he asked softly, but with sincere curiosity.

 

[Alfred Gorbach]

A tour around Hogwarts was something he definitely needed. The head boy and head girl spoke exactly how you'd expect head people to speak, which was a polite way of saying he'd be bored to death before they even finished. It was probably meant to sound exciting, but to him it had the same flat cheer as one of those endless holiday adverts that promise everything but deliver a "save fifty pounds per person" deal and a moldy bed.

The Slytherin girl, whose name, like most names, had flown through his mind at the speed of light with no intention of staying after the sorting ceremony, actually knew how to draw a crowd.

He cocked his head at AJ’s comment, then at the two others who immediately jumped to her defense. She didn't strike him as the damsel-in-distress type, but what did he know of girls? He found himself smiling at the word sparring between them. Who could resist a bit of tea when you weren't the ingredient? Too bad they cleared up the misunderstanding so quickly.

"I vote for the secret passage too," he said. Classrooms could wait. At his old school teachers made sure students ended up where they belonged, but they never revealed anything fun. "Take us somewhere the profs won't find us, somewhere we're not supposed to know exists." It was hard to name something he could barely imagine, but he hoped she'd catch on.​