Start of Year Feast!

[Katherine Alicastell]

The Sorting Ceremony drew to a close in an eruption of claps and cheers resounding throughout the Great Hall as the last remaining first year made their way to their new house table. Katherine joined in on the final applause. The Sorting Hat had done its job well, as always. While not every student may have agreed with their house placement - and indeed some looked shocked or disappointed - they'd soon learn that they were put into their house for the qualities they possessed, whether they were aware of them yet or not. Their traits weren't always so obvious as first, Katherine herself was at times surprised by where the hat placed some of the students. but as time went on and the children developed, their house attributes became more recognizable.

Removing the patchy enchanted hat and the stool it now sat on, Katherine set both to the side of the stage and returned to her place behind the podium, raising her hands to command silence. A hush fell over the hall and Katherine began to move on, her voice magically amplified with a Sonorus Charm. "Thank you. Now, before we begin, I'd like to introduce myself, and some of the other staff here. I am your Headmistress, Professor Katherine Alicastell, and to my right -" She gestured toward the staff table behind her, where the other professors were seated. "Is your Deputy Headmaster and the Ravenclaw Head of House, Professor Justin Cliffeton. Your Head of House for Hufflepuff is Professor Sloane Stark, for Gryffindor, Professor Cyndi Kingsley, and for Slytherin, Professor Kalif Styx." She introduced each of them present as she spoke, ensuring the newly sorted first years knew who to look for if they needed any assistance. After speaking briefly of key points of interest throughout the school, the hospital wing among them, she moved on to conclude the ceremony. "With that said, I would like to welcome you all again to another fantastic year at Hogwarts. Stay out of trouble, study hard, and enjoy your time here. Now let the feast begin!" At once, the empty tables were filled with various foods - roast meats, potatoes, salads and pies tirelessly prepared by the house elves working in the kitchens below, and Katherine returned to her throne at the center of the staff table.​

Out of Character:

Students, Staff and Ghosts are all welcome and encouraged to post here.
Please note that this takes place after The Sorting Ceremony.

 

[Vex]

Unknown to Vex, the poltergeist had been out of the loop of school news quite considerably - in fact, he didn't even know there was a new headmistress. The chaotic entity didn't live under a rock, however. He knew that Kingy had gone, but always assumed that she would return (no matter how many times others tried to tell him that wouldn't be so).

The Astronomy Tower had quite the spectacle waiting for whoever wandered up there, with each telescope treated very carefully to a helping of gum on the lenses. The dungeons were not safe either, with poor Professor Pendleton's stores raided and mixed with those of the upper-level classes. There was also a friendly bucket of slime above his door. The mischief-maker had his eyes set on Kingy's office next, as a start of year treat (seeing as his previous attempts to slime students at the feast had failed).

Unfortunately, there was quite a rude surprise waiting for him, as the office had changed. Orange eyes narrowed, Vex immediately rushed to where he assumed the culprit would be - the Great Hall. He had a few things to say to Kingy. 'Long' ago, they had made a deal that Vex was to have a throne in her office, and now it appeared that Kingy had made it her throne. The entity was ropeable.

Vex burst into the Great Hall, and flew just above the Gryffindor table. To the crowds in the hall, all they saw was the doors bursting open suddenly, seemingly without cause as the poltergeist retained his invisible state. Every third or so plate was tossed into the air as Vex approached the professor's table at incredible speed, leaving behind him chaos for the poor Gryffindors.

Vex's cackling was the first identifier, and eventually he revealed himself before the headmistress and eventually came to the realisation that this was not Kingy. The initial anger of having his throne usurped disappeared and was replaced with excessive amounts of horror and confusion, each crossing his pointed face comically until his eyes began to grow big and his lower lip plump. There were a few exaggerated wibbles, before Vex burst into hysterical tears, which flowed down his face and onto the floor in quantities completely unnatural for any corporeal creature. He threw himself onto her table, his cries filling the hall with each exaggerated gasp for air that he didn't need. The Headmistress' goblet and plate were dislodged, as well as any other professor's within the vicinity, as Vex was literally rolling along the oak table. Pieces of food and drink flew everywhere, hitting some of the professors who weren't face enough to duck.
​

 

[Monty Pendleton]

Monty had not had a pleasant first morning back at the castle. First an abrupt panic attack had rendered him unable to enter the doors for a good thirty minutes, and then, once at last he'd finally coaxed himself down to his classroom, he'd found the whole place in complete disarray. Topping this off with a bucket of slime to the head had ensured him a very miserable few hours of cleaning, rearranging, and trekking around the school trying to locate all of the missing jars of bubotuber pus.

By the time sorting had arrived, he'd been so shaken he'd nearly considered skipping it. Of course, that bloody poltergeist had to have been behind it all; nobody else would have had the time between arriving at the school and the beginning of the ceremony. But the potions professor couldn't miss sorting; amongst the other obligations demanding his presence there, it was his first opportunity to memorise a few of the new students' names. Monty shook his head and made his way to the great hall, arriving just in time. At least Vex's antics had distracted him from his anxiety.

Once every student was sorted, the new Headmistress offered a few words, and then shortly the feast began. Feeling too sick to indulge heavily, the potions professor chose a few light foods and spooned them onto his plate. He had just lifted his fork to his mouth when suddenly the doors burst open, seemingly by themselves. Monty knew better. Vex's cackle rang out - a warning to anybody acquainted with the chaotic spirit - and then spontaneously he appeared in front of the Headmistress. Already feeling unwell, the dramatic display which followed made Monty's stomach turn, and politely he excused himself from the staff table and left via the edge of the room. As he turned into the corridor a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. Just another ordinary year at Hogwarts.

 

[Desislav Zhefarovich]

A grumpy look crossed the seventh year's face as he listened to the Headmistress introduce herself. She seemed like the kind of person who meant business, which meant she'd be absolutely no fun. Desislav had hoped to spend the better part of this year enjoying it and doing all the things he hadn't been able to during his first six years. He'd hoped for a pushover Head person, someone who was going to get frightened off by the craziness of the castle. Headmistress Alicastell needed to get with the program.

That thought had just left his head when the doors burst open, and Desi whipped his head around in time for a plate to clatter by his side, followed by a biscuit bouncing off his head. "Vex" he exhaled. "Yes" he added, turning to the front of the room. He was eager to see what happened next, laughing loudly as he watched some of his favorite and not-so-favorite professors get covered in food.

 

[Andi Forstrom]

The train ride that year felt even longer than it had in her first year. What didn't help this fact was that Andi inconveniently forgot her pocket money in her room upon leaving her house, therefore being unable to satiate her boredom or satisfy her growing hunger with a snack during the trip. Sitting on the train with nothing to entertain herself besides staring blankly out the window made it seem to drag on even longer, and by the time she finally arrived to the great hall for the sorting ceremony and start of year feast her stomach was rumbling like crazy and her mood was terrible to boot. She was annoyed at everything but attempted to ignore this as she sat down at the Gryffindor table, looking around for Aodhan.

Before Andi knew it, the sorting ceremony was over and the feast had begun. Different plates of food appeared on the table, each of them as delicious as the last. She distracted herself from finding her friend and instead focused completely on eating as she stacked her plate high with every kind of food within reach. She began chowing down on a chicken drumstick, then moved on to a couple of sausages and later decided to add a few roast potatoes to her plate. She stuck her fork in one of the potatoes and brought it to her mouth, only to be interrupted by a sudden, invisible force bursting into the hall, flying above the Gryffindor table and causing plates to fly in the air. Andi's plate was an immediate casualty. It flew up and into the air in front of her, flipped over, and landed on the table with a thud. At first she could do nothing but watch in astonishment, but she eventually managed to gather her senses and looked to the professor's table where the poltergeist continued to cause mayhem. Andi frowned, then scoffed, and stormed out of the room as soon as the students were allowed to leave for their common rooms. Her mood was worse than it had been earlier, but she was still determined to see Aodhan again and soon found a hiding spot near the entrance of the hall where she waited for her friend to walk by.​

 

[Aeon Summers]

Aeon's mother was the new headmistress. The Transfiguration professor still couldn't believe it, even as he watched her take her place at the podium and host the sorting ceremony. She didn't belong there. It wasn't right. Why couldn't she have just been happy with her cozy position running a department in the Ministry of Magic? It had been years since they'd last spoken, and he wanted very little to do with her after she'd walked out of his life before he even had a chance to graduate from school. Not to mention lying about his father. Now here she was, worming her way back into his life, and becoming his new boss, of all things. It was completely unacceptable and so typical of her to do this, to want to take control. His personal feelings took over rational thought, making it difficult to believe she'd be here for any other reason than to cause havoc for his otherwise comfortable life.

Glowering at the woman from the staff table for the duration of her speech, Aeon quietly hoped she wouldn't last long after witnessing the antics of the students and beings at the school. It had changed a lot since she had taught last, and he was willing to make her experience an uncomfortable one. Picking angrily at his food, Summers quietly kept his anger to himself, avoiding acknowledging her existence once she was seated. As luck would have it, Vex decided to make his appearance, lightening the mood significantly. Aeon grinned and pushed his plate forward, sitting back to just watch the rest of the feast unfold, hoping it would continue being this interesting.

 

[Kennedy Pratt]

Kennedy was feeling a mixture of conflicted emotions all at once, unable to focus on one for too long. On the one hand, she was finally starting to find her bearings as a professor here at Hogwarts. She remembered the Transfiguration professor mentioning the high turnover rate for professors at Hogwarts New Zealand and now the Divination professor had to admit he was right. After only having been here for about two and a half years, Kennedy was practically considered an old teacher in comparison to the other professors. This year had an unusually high amount of new professors, something she had been excited for, no longer being a rookie. But her excitement had quickly deflated when she found out one of those new professors was the fiancee she had ghosted in France as she fled to New Zealand.

Now Kennedy sat at the staff table, keeping her eyes forward and not daring to look over at him, or even Eduardo for that matter. Kennedy didn't have much of an appetite, which was a good thing because as soon as she heard the double doors bang open and the cackle announce Vex's presence, she knew the food would not be edible for much longer. Already familiar with the poltergeist's antics from the year before, Kennedy quickly pulled out her wand in preparation. As soon as the poltergeist began to cry, a translucent umbrella appeared from the tip of her wand and created a dry bubble around her, blocking the waterworks coming from the poltergeist. Kennedy chuckled a little at the scene he was making. This was just the type of thing she needed to get her mind off her new co-workers, at least for the moment.
​

 

[Alaric Snyder]

Alaric had to admit he had to admit he had taken a big risk by accepting a position at the same school Kennedy taught at, even if it was just a temporary one. The man had no choice however, sinxe moving to New Zealand he had been working freelance which meant considerably less work than when he was employed by a bank in France. Money was by no means tight but he needed to get out and do something and teaching a subject like Defence against the dark arts was too good to say no to.

As he took his place at the staff table he spotted Kennedy a few seats down and he could tell she was trying her hardest not to look at him. Alaric thought they had made progress during their speed dating encounter but clearly not enough for them to be working together. Perhaps he had made a mistake, but it was too late now, and as he was only there for one semester really what harm could it do. Alaric instead turned his attention to the man at his side who didn't seem too taken with the headmistress, who Alaric also heard was new. "You don't like the new head?" He asked the man he believed taught Transfiguration.

His attempts at small talk were interrupted by the arrival of a poltergeist who began doing what poltergeists did best. Causing trouble. Alaric hadn't been made aware of him but he had spent years reacting quickly to far more dangerous things so he simply raised his wand casting a shielding charm around himself to deflect anything send his way. When he noticed in the corner of his eye that Kennedy had done something similar he smirked, they had always been on the same wavelength.

 

[Evan Faire]

The sorting ceremony and subsequent feast were one of Evan's favourite times of year. It meant new Hufflepuff students for the ghost to meet, assist, and help guide through their journey at Hogwarts and development as witches and wizards. The pale spectre floated in through the walls, his pearly fingerstips fidgeting restlessly as he watched the proceedings of the sorting ceremony from above, eyes following each small first year as they went to and from the hat and their respective tables. He applauded as best he could for an incorporeal being with each new addition to his house, and as the food was lain out across the tables, Evan floated down to introduce himself, careful not to pass directly through any new students, or the steaming hot food they were eating. The order was soon broken, though, as chaos raged across the Gryffindor table and up toward the staff members. Evan shook his head with a quiet tut, not one wishing to interact with the resident poltergeist. He was just thankful it had spared his students. This time.​

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

As she looked up and down the staff table, Cyndi realized that she needed to broaden her friend group. The Headmistress was gone, and the only other professor she really considered a friend was Kalif Styx, surprisingly enough, who was away on sabbatical. It was easy enough to make small talk with the other professors since they were certainly nice enough, but she simply hadn't developed that closeness with any of them. With her hands hurting from all of the clapping as new Gryffindors joined the rest, Cyndi was happy to tuck in and enjoy her meal. Vex had other plans, and although she wasn't near the Headmistress when her plate went into the air, someone's gravy ended up atop her food and she knew that she'd no longer eat it. Rolling her eyes at the poltergeist having caused such chaos, Cyndi looked up, the Gryffindor table directly in her line of sight, and saw the mess that he'd created there as well. Hoping that this wasn't a sign of the year she was to have ahead of her, the woman used her wand to quietly clean the bits of food that had landed on her robes. She knew that doing too much cleaning was probably a mistake since Vex didn't look anywhere close to being done.

 

[Minerva Khulik]

Minerva was a wreck, she had gone up and sat down and squeezed her eyes so tight she thought they would have popped right back into the back of her head and then the hat had said one word ... 'Hufflepuff'.
She had felt relieve sweep over her, the clapping and cheering were a bit much but she did her best to smile as the hat had been lifted free and she, with eyes now open, moved hurriedly down the table rows to where Hufflepuff was.

She was patted on the back which jolted her, she was welcomed and her hand grasped and firmly shaken. Minerva thought she would faint from pure shock of all the attention and did the only thing she could do to deal with it all. She put on her best smile, turned her head to focus on the next person being put upon the stool and went to her mind palace; away from the noise, the hubbub, the friendly chaos.

 

[Kelly Anderson]

Kelly Anderson was nervous and excited she had gone up to
Hat and the sorting hat said Hufflepuff
She made her way to Hufflepuff table and sat down.
She then listened to what the headmistress was saying.
She had some food to eat.
Kelly Anderson was surprised because she had never seen a ghost before.

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber was excited to start her third year at school, though she did feel a bit mixed about her sister's sorting. The two had never been close, so she wasn't sure if she found it sad that her sister was sitting at a different table now. She did feel responsible for her in a way, but not having her constant grumbling and critisism would be sort of nice. She still gave her a wave over at the Ravenclaw table, but wasn't surprised when it was clearly ignored by her younger sister. She hoped Sophie would make any friends in that house, if she kept acting like this she probably wouldn't. It worried her.

The new Headmistress of the school was another new thing for Amber to think about. She had never met Ava King, but she had seemed very nice. She didn't really know what to think about this new woman, she seemed colder but it wasn't fair to judge on first impressions. She clapped politely at the end of her speech.

But before she could start to eat, the doors burst open and Amber's eyes widened as she saw the plates at the Gryffindor table go up in the air. It had to be Vex, but why? She never understood why anyone would want to mess with other people. Vex showed himself when he was near the Headmistress and started rolling around and crying. Despite her wariness and even dislike of the poltergeist, Amber couldn't help feeling bad. He really did seem sad. She just hoped he would stop being sad all over the Professor's table soon.