Closed spruce it up

[Flynn North-McGowan]

( @Ajaccio Skey )

Flynn was in a bit of a rush as he left breakfast that morning, not even bothering to stick around for the bacon (which was usually his favorite part of the meal). His favorite monthly skating magazine had been delivered while he was pouring his orange juice, and he was rather pleased to see they were doing some promotional thing and had included a bunch of cool-looking stickers. And the first year knew exactly where he was going to stick them all. Chugging back his juice, he had simply grabbed a bagel from the table and put it in his mouth, rolled up the magazine, and left in a bit of the hurry, rather quickly climbing the stairs up the seventh floor. He munched on the bagel as he climbed, so by the time he finally went bursting into the Gryffindor common room he was just sucking the last crumbs off his fingers. Then it was only another short flight of stairs to his dorm room, rushing over to his bed and pulling his skateboard and helmet out from under his bed. And with all of that, he was leaving again and hopping back down the stairs to the fourth floor where he finally settled in one of his favorite chairs in the student lounge.

Tossing the open magazine onto the table in front of him for the time being and setting his skateboard down next to the chair, Flynn rested the page of stickers on the armrest as she settled his white helmet onto his lap. There were more than enough stickers to cover the whole thing, and then enough to stick some to the bottom of his board as well. By the time he was done, Flynn was certain he would have the coolest looking board and helmet you could ever imagine.

 

[Ajaccio Skey]

Ajaccio had been disappointed the weather had continued to be pretty terrible, but it had meant he’d decided that instead of just complaining about it he would just ride it inside. The teen had never stopped riding his skateboard indoors, but since it had been nicer and less rainy he had spent time outside. He was always careful to not ride it down some stairs but he always got pretty close. Ajaccio was mostly bored and was trying to find some of his friends, which of course was easier to do when he was on his skateboard, it was the same reason he handed out his roses while riding the skateboard - it was just more efficient. So of course when he was bored and attempting to seek out his friends he was going to ride around on the skateboard. ​

​

However, it seemed that he wasn’t really finding anyone. Which was definitely disappointing. He had checked some of the library before one of the librarians had asked him to leave so he’d gone across to the student lounge. He couldn’t spot any of his friends as he rode into the room and had reserved himself to immediately ride back out when he spotted one of the younger students in the room who appeared to be placing stickers on to a skateboard. ”Oh cool!” Ajaccio said loudly heading over to the boy, ”Where did you get those stickers?” He noted the boy was placing them on both the helmet and the skateboard, in a terrible move Ajaccio didn’t wear his helmet a lot while at school but he could definitely add some. ​

 

[Flynn North-McGowan]

Now, the last thing Flynn wanted was for his board to look completely ridiculous because he had managed to put all the stickers in stupid positions. Or put them upsides or accidentally overlapped them. While overlapping would be all too terrible, these stickers were just too cool to cover up half of them. No, he wanted to make sure they were all on show and everyone could see how cool they were. They were limited edition as well, the magazine had said as much to him and you couldn't just go and buy them in a shop. They had been made for the magazine only and that in itself made them extra special to Flynn because he knew only a couple of people were going to have them. It was not one of the biggest skating magazines out there, only a small print with a couple of hundred readers, but it was slowly growing in popularity.

Hearing a voice, Flynn glanced up from what he was doing, grinning slightly at the older looking boy. "I got them from there-" he pointed to the magazine he had left laying open on the table in front of him, "They were a special gift to the readers. As soon as I saw them I knew I had to stick them on my board." And it was going to make people super jealous, he was sure. Though his eyes di d catch sight of something else as well, a board in the older boy's hand. And that just made the first year grin even wider, "You skate too? Does that mean you know some awesome places to skate? I tried to look outside but all I saw was grass. Don't you get in trouble for skating inside?" Not that he seriously cared much about getting into trouble or not, but it would be better to have a place where he wouldn't get told off and told to stop.

 

[Ajaccio Skey]

Ajaccio looked at the magazine the boy had, ”Wow,” Ajaccio had seen things like it all his life in the different places he went, but he’d seemingly always missed the ones with stickers, his board had a few but there wasn’t much on it. It was relatively boring, especially compared with this boy, though perhaps the sticks were all new additions, it was still more than him. ”That’s cool, do you read this often?” Ajaccio asked, since the implication was that he was a frequent enough reader to merit them. ”Yeah I do, have done for years,” but he could admit that Hogwarts wasn’t exactly built to skate around in, the outdoors, being grassy were good on days it was dry and hadn’t rained but that wasn’t often the case - though it didn’t stop Ajax. ”There aren’t many good places,” he said with a shrug, and then at the statement laughed lightly, ”I haven’t gotten in trouble yet, I always think as long as you don’t do it in front of teachers they can’t really get annoyed..” he said, knowing he probably had and just not gotten into trouble. But at least what was true was he’d not yet gotten into trouble for it. ”I mostly ride around the corridors, it’s not as exciting as a skate park, but I’d rather ride than not ride,” Ajax said with a shrug, ”How long have you skateboarding for?”​

 

[Flynn North-McGowan]

Flynn did have to grin just a little as the other boy looked at his magazine. "Yeah," he agreed with a rather firm nod of his head, "It is pretty cool." It was probably his favorite magazine in print. Much better than reading something boring like the newspaper or some old gossip magazine his mother used to be ever so fond of sticking her nose into on a long, rainy afternoon. But he did miss his mother. Incredibly so that it was still painful to even think about her, so he simply tried not to. "I read each edition when it comes out every month," he explained rather quickly, "I found the first copy in this small corner shop when I was a kid and have been subscribed ever since." He used to have a huge stack of them back in his closet at him, but unfortunately, he couldn't bring them with him once his parents died as there was not enough room. So, quite unluckily, his collection these days never managed to get very big before he moved again. "But you can never know when they're about to come around the corner," unless you happened to have lookouts specifically keeping an eye on them, "Me and this other boy, Finn, were wondering if there is some kind of spells which could turn the grass into concrete so we could skate outside. If only for a little bit." But if this other skating boy hadn't brought up that as a solution, maybe there was no such thing. "Me? I've been skateboarding since I was little. I just love it."

 

[Ajaccio Skey]

Ajaccio nodded in agreement, ”Can I look? I won’t take anything,” he asked, Ajax had seen these things before, he had seen magazines about all sorts, but no matter where he went he’d always spotted one on skateboarding. In his mind they were cool but he’d never gotten one, with travelling so much it seemed a little pointless to buy them and carry them around with him. But, it didn’t stop that he had wanted them or at least wanted to read one at least once, ”Wow, that’s cool. Do you get them delivered by Owl?” he asked, Ajax knew that at least while in the muggle world he wouldn’t have been able to get them owled, and since they were always moving around, he doubted his mother would take too kindly to him having a magazine arrive there every month for him to read in the three weeks he spent in New Zealand. ​

​

”That’s really cool, I’ve seen magazines like this a lot but I’ve never gotten one, if I’d known there could be stickers I’d have pushed for it,” he knew his skateboard was probably comparatively plain to most others but it had never minded him, his had certainly travelled more than more. At the statement Ajaccio shrugged and gave a little laugh, ”Nope, but I’ve never gotten into trouble for it, and professors have certainly seen me do it,” the boy said with a shrug, ”The courtyard is pretty good for it, it’s not big, but you can perfect doing circles,” he said thinking about where else. ”Yeah same, I’m Ajaccio by the way or just Ajax, third year ravenclaw and resident skateboarding expert. Self declared of course,” he held a hand out to the other boy.​

 

[Flynn North-McGowan]

Flynn nodded his head, "Yeah sure. I don't mind." If this other boy was a skateboarder like himself, then he would appreciate the magazine and the really cool stuff written about the latest competitions and the top skaters of the month and upcoming events. Not to mention the pages and pages of tips and tricks from the experts Flynn loved to look through and then try and test out at every chance he got. "Back at home it was just delivered by muggle post," it was a muggle magazine, "I just had to update my mailing address when I moved orphanages or was dumped in another foster home." Which was honestly more than a little annoying to do all of the time. "But now I have a deal with the matrons of my current dumping ground. They'll send on the magazine when it's delivered and I promised to actually behave," but little did they know he didn't really plan on doing that. But it was not like he could update his mailing address to Hogwarts.

"There's not always stickers," he did have to explain with a small laugh and a smile, "Just with this edition." But Flynn certainly wasn't complaining as he could decorate his board with all the cool stickers he had been given. Hopefully, now the popularity of the magazine was growing they might start putting gifts in with every issue from here on out. Now that was a pretty nice idea. "You haven't?" He would have thought skating around indoors would have brought lots of trouble with it, but maybe he was wrong about that. And this was certainly information he would need to be passing on to Finn as well. "I did think of the courtyard," he admitted after a moment, "But it always looked so small." Maybe for practicing small tricks it would be alright. But he needed ramps for the bigger ones. "Nice to meet you Ajax!" He grinned at the older boy, "I'm Flynn, first year Gryffindor and also a self-proclaimed skateboarding expert."

 

[Ajaccio Skey]

Ajaccio smiled excitedly as the boy said that he could, so he flicked open the magazine and began going through the different pages slowly. It was fascinating, really interested in the pages. He had never really read much like this, but he’d been to a few events it seemed to mention in the past. ”Wow, that’s cool,” he wouldn’t have been able to have them delivered to the house and then only get them for a small window in the year. He was a little saddened by the fact this boy didn’t really appear to have a family anymore, and had issues with getting them now, ”I know we’ve literally just met, but if you want one home to send your magazine’s to my mum would be happy to pass them on? She stays in New Zealand most of the year and she’d send them pretty promptly,” He didn’t think something that someone wanted should be tied with good behaviour and he offered it rather casually. He shook his head at the question, ”Not yet, and I’ll probably do it until I get caught and then some after,” he said with a shrug, as he turned another page. He looked back up as the boy, Flynn, introduced himself. ”Good to meet you Flynn, gryffindor’s a good house, I have a lot of friends in gryffindor and my brother is in it too. You must be enjoying it?” he said. ​

 

[Flynn North-McGowan]

Flynn couldn't help but grin a little as the older boy looked through his magazine, feeling quite proud of be showing it off. "It's full of really cool tips and interviews with top skateboarders!" He couldn't help but brag, the grin on his face growing wider by the second. "I mean, if you want, you can borrow it." While Flynn himself hadn't had the chance to read it from cover to cover yet, he didn't mind waiting just a bit. But then the older boy made a rather surprising offer and Flynn paused, blinking as he processed the words for a moment. "Wait, you mean it?" Because it did sound far better than having to rely on upholding his stupid promise (which he had lied about anyway). "I mean... yeah... if you're mother wouldn't really mind and all. I'll even let you borrow every one to read yourself if you want to." It was the lest he could do for the nice offer he had given. "Getting caught just gives you motivation not to get caught again," he agreed with an almost knowing nod of his head. He'd been in trouble loads of time in the past and getting caught and told off was not going to stop his fun. "Nice to meet you too!" This boy seemed cool and it would be pretty neat to have an older friend as well. "And I mean, yeah, I guess. It's alright."

 

[Ajaccio Skey]

Ajaccio nodded, ”Yeah, I can see,” he was flicking through the pages eagerly but shook his head at the statement, ”It’s fine, I’ll borrow it when your completely done with it,” he didn’t want to take it now, what if this boy had only just gotten it and Ajax was borrowing it off him. He looked up as the younger boy took in Ajaccio’s offer, ”Course,” he said. ”Do you have parchment, I’ll write down the address?” he said, ”I don’t need to borrow all of them, really, it won’t be a bother, my mother forwards the mail my dad gets so this’ll be as easy,” he told him. It was even easier now that Ajaccio knew she stayed longer in New Zealand, so it would be easy. Though even if he’d said he didn’t need to borrow all of them, he might be interested in reading the occasional one. The ravenclaw smiled at Flynn, nodding lightly, ”It’s less dangerous in the magical world, you know cause magic fixes breaks and generally just easier to avoid getting hurt. I always think that’s why they don’t mind,” Ajax said with a little smile. ”Yeah, it’s good. I’m partial to ravenclaw of course but you know, a house is a house,” he said, ”Hows that trampoline working out for you?”​

 

[Flynn North-McGowan]

He grinned and nodded his head, "This is the best magazine. There are others out there, but this one is just the best." And there was simply no changing his mind on the matter. The people the writers managed to get for interviews and special tricks really was amazing sometimes. And what he wouldn't give to meet those people himself and ask all the questions he could ever need to know. "Uhh," he dragged the sound out as he moved, patting down his pockets to see what he happened to have on him, but all he found was a half-eaten box of Bertie Botts and a crumpled up gum wrapper. "No, " as if that wasn't obvious, "You could scribble it on the magazine in one of the empty corners? But I don't have a pen, either." Maybe if neither of them had anything to write with they cold bother someone else and borrow something. There were other students sitting around and he could see at least two of them doing homework, or at least writing something down. "I still shouldn't think they would want people getting into accidents," then again, he had now seen two memorials to dead students and he did have to wonder how many more there were around the place. Though at Ajax's words, Flynn nodded his head, "A house is a house." It was not like he had ever had much of a preference, or really cared much, where he ended up in the end. As the trampoline was brought up he laughed a little, "It's pretty cool. Though I do have to wonder why we have one in the first place."

 

[Ajaccio Skey]

Ajaccio nodded, ”I’ve certainly noticed them in most of the countries I’ve been to,” he had of course been into magazine stores in countries and spotted ones like it bbut he had never bothered with them, after being told a few times that they were pointless that he’d never bothered asking again, knowing they could’ve had stickers and fun information like this one, he thought it might’ve been cool to get a couple after all, they spent a lot of time flying in the air, or camping in places where even the best muggle networks couldn’t reach. He shrugged and looked around the room, spotting someone. Aajccio went over and borrowed from them a wuill and some ink. He came back and on an empty space within the magazine wrote his mother’s name and her address. ”There you go,” he said, he walked back over to the person he’d borrowed the quill from and handed it back to them. He shrugged at the statement, ”They probably don’t, but it’s maybe something they are aware and opt to not intervene much. In any case, it means that I can get around hogwarts at twice the speed,” he said with a little chuckle and shrug as he went back to flicking through the magazine. ”I heard it was a motivator for the house to win the house cup. That’s what my brother said,” he said, ”It worked, so I guess it was a good motivator. I don’t know if a trampoline would motivate me much, but I guess unless ravenclaw do the same I won’t know.” he chuckled lightly.​

 

[Flynn North-McGowan]

"You have?" That was a little surprising to hear because he was sure it was not that big of a magazine. Certainly not one of the most loved and with thousands of readers. But it was somewhat pleasing to hear that it could be found in other countries, maybe if he ever got away from this place he wouldn't have to give up reading the magazine he loved just because he couldn't pay for ridiculous shipping from halfway around the globe every month. Not that he was planning on going anywhere anytime soon, he was stuck at Hogwarts and he very much doubted he was ever going to get adopted anyway. Instead, the boy pushed it from his mind, smiling as he accepted the magazine back, the address of Ajax's mother scribbled in the corner of the page. "Wow, thanks. I owe you for this, really I do," and he couldn't mean that enough. It was kind of this older boy to even offer, especially as they had only just met. But Flynn appreciated it, anything to get out from under the thumb of the matrons. "I'll have to keep that in mind," if this boy could skateboard around the hallways and not get into trouble, then Flynn saw no reason why he couldn't as well. This was something he would have to tell Finn as well. "I don't think it's great motivation," he certainly wasn't going to start behaving and not losing house points just because of some trampoline. Trampolines were for babies, anyway.

 

[Ajaccio Skey]

Ajaccio nodded, ”Maybe not this exactly brand of magazine, but you’d be surprised how common skateboarding magazines are in countries. This one though is clearly the best,” Ajaccio told him with a wide expression, he had scarcely been to places that didn’t have skateparks somewhere within them. It was in his experience a popular thing that people did. He was pleased that Flynn seemed happy to have a place to send the magazines, and Ajaccio knew his mother would do it. He didn’t see her particularly often and he knew because of that she was perhaps more eager to do something that he asked for. It did feel a little bad, but he knew it was for good reason. ”It’s no problem, skateboarders stick together, right?” he wanted to really assure him that it was fine. He laughed lightly as FLynn said it wasn’t a great motivator. ”It worked though,” the boy said with a shrug, ”I don’t know if it was the trampoline itself or the pride of being able to do it?” he said, ”Ravenclaw very narrowly beat gryffindor in the year before and it was fairly last minute too, so maybe it’s like it being so close one year, then there’s a goal at the end and gryffindors just rose to it?” Ajaccio wondered out loud. ”I can see gryffindors - from my friends and my brother within the house - being the sort of people where if you challenge them, they’ll swing back hard,”​

 

[Flynn North-McGowan]

He nodded his head, "Yeah, I know there are other skateboarding magazines out there. This one just happens to be my favourite." And at least Ajax could see why that was the case, it was just clearly superior to any other in publication. Though he was quite sure that other people were going to have differing opinions about that, but Flynn chose to simply not care what other people happened to think about it - he knew he was right. At the suggestion that skateboarders stuck together, the first year grinned a little, nodding his head. "Yeah, for sure!" It was just nice to know there were other people in the castle who liked to same things that he did, that magic didn't just take up everything. "And you have to meet my friend, he's called Finn and he's in Hufflepuff. We met trying to find somewhere to skate on the grounds." It would be cool if Finn and Ajax could become friends as well, then they could all hang out together. But with his magazine back in his possession, Flynn put it back down on the table, moving to start to peel one of the stickers off from the shiny paper they were stuck to do he could start the decoration process. "I never really see the point in caring much about house points in the first place to care who wins," though he knew full well that many people would disagree with him on that statement. Though Ajax did have a bit of a point, Gryffindor's did seem the type to refuse to lose a competition, and Flynn would usually be the same... just not where following rules and house points mattered. "I guess you're right," he did admit after a moment, a triumphant smile on his face as he peeled free the first sticker without tearing it, "But you won't catch me caring about stupid house points anytime soon."

 

[Ajaccio Skey]

Ajaccio smiled as Flynn agreed with his statement, they should stick together. If only because Ajax thought it was important for people to stick together in general. He knew that he’d been an absent person in a lot of people's lives coming in quickly and leaving just the same. But he was at Hogwarts and while he was at school he’d be more in people’s lives so of course he had to stick with those around him, especially when they had such a thing in common. ”Yeah? Sounds like a chill guy,” he said, he didn’t know this Finn character but if he was friendly with Flynn and liked to skateboard then he was sure it didn’t matter, Ajax would like him. Ajaccio was happy to hand the magazine back, as interesting as it was, it wasn’t him and the younger boy had been doing something with it when Ajaccio had borrowed it. He just watched as Flynn pulled a sticker off and seemed to decide where he might place it. Ajaccio listened along as Flynn said he’d never cared about points, and he chuckled lightly, ”I think it’s easy to get swept up in the points,” the ravenclaw said with a little shrug. He didn’t care much for houses and he didn’t think they were all that necessary but he knew he got into pointless jokes about it. He knew that he felt a sense of pride when his house did do well.”Would you have picked Gryffindor yourself or nah?” he asked. ​

 

[Flynn North-McGowan]

This was sort of the first time that he had people to actually bond with over skateboarding. None of the other boys back at the orphanage had cared for it much so he didn't have anyone else to really go outside and just skate up and down the street with when he felt like it. But at Hogwarts, it was different and he was just happy to have some people who shared a common interest and were pretty cool people to talk to as well. It would have completely sucked if they were a**holes. "He's pretty cool," he agreed with a quick nod of his head, always willing to hype up people he actually happened to like. And he hoped Finn would do the same for him if the opportunity came up. It took just a moment of looking up and down his board, but he finally decided on a good spot, grinning as he plonked the sticker down, running his finger over it a couple of times to make sure it actually stuck. He hoped these were really sticky stickers and weren't about to come off after a couple of days. "House points are just a waste of time, really," he admitted with a shrug, "No point to them." It was not like you got a personal prize or anything. Though the next question had him pausing somewhat, humming as he thought about it, "I dunno. I don't really think the house matters very much. It just means what color you have on your robes, who you go to classes with, and where you sleep. I'd have probably just picked whatever one sounded coolest at the time."

 

[Ajaccio Skey]

Ajaccio smiled, ”Maybe we could set up a Skateboards united club so everyone can connect up,” He joked, he didn’t think he’d soon have the time to do it, but he could imagine they could have a cool little club that only some people knew about. The teen would like to be able to have people to skateboard with, or people that he could talk about skateboarding with. He didn’t have a whole lot of that, and it wouldn’t bother him either that they were in the years below him. Solidarity with his skateboards was something that had no age bracket. He watched the boy place a sticker on his skateboard, ”In fifth year you learn a permanent sticking charm, you should find a fifth year to make sure they never come off,” he said. He listened as Flynn give his opinion on house points and then answered his question about what house he might’ve picked. ”Are you new to the magic world?” he asked, and it was certainly meant as a genuine question, he was curious about it, and wouldn’t really think much of an answer, ”I’ve been to a lot of schools, some of them had houses others didn’t, none had a complicated system like Hogwarts does. You’d be surprised how often people love their houses when there isn’t even the same pull of similar people’s as there are here,” He said with a little shrug, thinking again, almost just out loud. ”But, really, from what I’ve heard, you could’ve asked the hat based on which seemed coolest at the time and he might just have let you pick it.”​

 

[Flynn North-McGowan]

His eyes lit up at the very sound of that, eagerly nodding his head, "Yeah, some sort of skateboard club would be wicked cool!" And it would be cool simply to see how many other skaters were in the castle beside the two he knew about. There had to be other kids who liked skateboarding as well. And it would be nice just to have a club for them so they could talk about things. And if a Gryffindor could convince their Head of House to put a trampoline in the common room, then he didn't see why a whole group of students couldn't convince the Headmistress to put some sort of skate park on the grounds. "Fifth year," he repeated with a nod of his head, then paused, looking over to Ajax, "Don't suppose you know any fifth years?" Because he didn't, Ajax was currently the oldest student he knew. Then he was asked something he didn't want to really talk about, swallowing uncomfortably as he shook his head. "No, I knew about magic before Hogwarts," he admitted softly with a small sigh, "I just... haven't been around magic since I was eight." And that was all he was willing to say about the matter. "I just don't get why people are so obsessed with the idea of houses and all the competition and rivalry which comes with it. Sure, it helps with Quidditch teams and stuff, but it's just stupid, really." Flynn knew that he was never going to be one of those passionate Gryffindors screaming about house pride. "Is there a coolest house?" He did have to wonder with a frown, "Where do you think the hat would have put me if I asked that?"

 

[Ajaccio Skey]

Ajaccio nodded, ”Ah’ll send you a note of the first meeting location,” the boy said chuckling lightly, it was half meant as a joke, but it could be pretty cool. There wasn’t enough in the way of things to do for it to not be good fun. Ajaccio shook his head lightly at the question, ”No fifth years, sorry,” Ajax had a small smile on his features as he then continued, ”But I know a sixth year, they might be able to help,” he was sure if asked Vader would help them out. He was a pretty cool guy, a little stressed and a little wound up, but he was a good photographer and that certainly counted for something. He was sure there was more to the story of why Flynn had stopped being around magic but he wouldn’t question it much. That was his story to tell and not for Ajax to pry too much into. He gave a little shrug and nodded, ”I’ve always heard that the reason it works is because it helps people feeling like they belong,” he had interacted with a lot of people in a lot of places, who all had strong ties to people and culture. Ajaccio had always floated around it. He knew that he wasn’t the champion of the houses but something did stir in him when it came to things about ravenclaw. ”It'd have probably put you where you thought was cool,” he replied ”If I asked the house to put me in the coolest house, I probably would’ve ended up in ravenclaw anyway. It’s all relative isn’t it?” Ajaccio had a thoughtful expression, a lot of his time spent travelling was spent talking to people, and it had been a while since he’d been able to really engage with someone in this way. ”I might be cool, but I pride finding out about people and places, I’m curious not for the sake of education but because I like to learn about things, and I’ve always found the pursuit of knowledge cool,”​

 

[Flynn North-McGowan]

Though he knew it was mostly just a joke, Flynn was still imagining how cool it would be to actually have a skateboarding club at Hogwarts. "Make sure to pass the word around as well and more people could show up," it would be a pretty boring meeting if it were only the two of them who went. Though he would probably end up dragging Finn along as well. "A sixth year is better than a fifth year!" That just meant even more experience and the spell was going to be even stronger coming from someone older. That was his logic, anyway and it made perfect sense in his brain. Just anything to make sure the stickers stayed stuck tight to his board and didn't end up falling off after only a couple of times out on it. And he was thankful when Ajax didn't press him further about his background, it was not a subject that Flynn enjoyed discussing with anyone. Especially not with someone he had only just met. Even if that person seemed like a cool and trustworthy guy. "I don't need a house to feel like I belong, I'm magical, I know I am, and this is a magical school. So of course I belong here," and he wouldn't rather be anywhere else in the world. Well, except maybe any of the other magical schools around the globe, but Hogwarts was just the easiest and he didn't think the matrons would let him attend anywhere else - even if he ended up getting expelled from Hogwarts. "I guess, but doesn't the sorting hat have its own opinion about stuff? What if I asked it to sort me where it thought was coolest?" It would be curious to see what a cloth hat would think about things. But if there was something he didn't really agree with, it was all the stuff Ajax was saying about knowledge and learning. That all just sounded incredibly boring to the first year and he shrugged, "I mean, whatever works for you, I guess."

 

[Ajaccio Skey]

Ajaccio smiled and nodded, ”If you swing by the yearbook and ask for Vader, just let him know I sent you,” Ajaccio knew he’d have to probably talk with vader before he did anything, but he was sure the boy who was a prefect would help anyone who wanted it. Even if it was a pointless piece of magic that he was being asked to do. Ajaccio shrugged at the statement, perhaps it was as simple for him to know he belonged, Ajaccio hadn’t ever put much stock in the houses being were he belonged, more so it was where he was at the moment. He’d travelled between so many places and lives in so many places that there had never been a need for him to belong, he was always the outsider, so adjusting to a school like this had been both tricky but nice. He wasn’t sure the hat had opinions or well opinions about which house was coolest, it would defeat his ability to sort impartially, and that was his role, right? ”the hat must have opinions but perhaps not about the houses’ level of coolness,” Ajaccio shrugged, and he found the reaction to his statement ”It does work for me,” he laughed lightly, perhaps the boy didn’t believe in the houses, but he didn’t think the hat was wrong. ”I think the hat made the right choices in the pair of us,” he said with a smile. ”Do you wanna go ride in the corridors until we get in trouble?” he offered with a wide expression, it would be fun after all this talk of skateboarding to actually get to do it. ​

 

[Flynn North-McGowan]

"Vader? Like Darth Vader?" His eyebrows almost shot up his face with surprise as he heard that name. "There's legitimately someone out there with the name Vader? That is wicked." And a little funny, if he were being honest. His parents must be big StarWars fans. Though Flynn didn't really think he would want to be named after some fictional character, especially not someone from Star Wars. Except maybe Luke as that was a pretty normal name. But he would go and search the boy out and if he would put a permanent sticking charm on his stickers for him so they would stay on his board. "I think it probably does," he offered after a short moment to think about it, nodding his head as if to back up his own point, "How could you just sit there and sort people for years and not have some opinion about which house is best?" Except maybe he didn't because it was just a cloth hat and not an actual human being. But Flynn would be curious to et a chance to actually ask it. If only to find out if it did have an opinion or not as it was a little late for him to change house now he had already been sorted. Then again, he was quite happy in Gryffindor and didn't really think he would want to change. Then Ajax asked him something he couldn't refuse, grinning as he eagerly nodding his head, "Don't have to ask me twice!"

 

[Ajaccio Skey]

Ajaccio laughed lightly, ”Yeah, like from star wars, he has two sisters, Leia and Padme,” Ajax liked Vader and from the few conversations with him, it was clear that he felt somewhat sensitive about his name. He was sure muggles had made the connection too and perhaps they hadn’t found it as amusing as magical people did - well those that knew what star war was. Ajaccio shrugged at the statement, he was sure that the hat had plenty to do all year round and didn’t need to be thinking about much else, it wasn’t like it saw much about what a person became in a house. But it seemed that he was quite keen to get to actually riding, ”We’ll go to the sixth floor corridors there’s not much there at all,” he was sure getting caught skateboarding around with a first year might get him in more trouble but it was all in the name of fun. ​

 

[Flynn North-McGowan]

His grin only widened hearing that it was after the Star Wars character, and he had two sisters called Leia and Padme. "That is so cool!" Though he couldn't help but giggle just a little at the idea of a whole family named after Star Wars characters. He didn't really think he would want to be named after Darth Vader, it was a pretty silly name and if he had to pick a Star Wars character to be named after he would probably just go with Luke. At least that was a perfectly reasonable name. He was already packing his things up, rolling the magazine and stickers up as he shoved them in his pocket, picking up his helmet and board and quickly jumping up to his feet, a wide grin on his face as he looked at the third year, nodding his head, "Alright, you probably know where is best 'cus you have been here for longer." Though, one day, Flynn wanted to know every inch of the castle and know all the secret passageways and best places to skate and cause trouble without getting caught in the process. "Lead the way!"