Closed The Welcoming Committee

[Aine Thompson]

Aine's mission to try and be a friendlier, better person was having mixed results. On one hand, she was managing to put in an effort and talk to people, which was the intention. On the other, she was still quite terrible at it. It just didn't come easily to her at all, and as much as she wished it did, she couldn't just suddenly make herself socially adept. All she could do was just keep pushing through and hope to whatever higher power might've been out there that people continued to politely accomodate her and not immediately hate her.

The test would be people who weren't somewhat aware of her, though. Valerius had off hand mentioned there was a new boy in Ravenclaw, and Aine was rather curious. Not that Valerius had had any details with which to indulge her, beyond a basic indication. At least from that, when she came across a boy reading outside who was unfamiliar but looked older than a first year, she figured that might have been him. Well, there was no risk in asking. "Hey, are you my new classmate?" Aine blurted, before pausing. "Sorry, bad wording, I mean hi, are you the new third year? I swear I'm not asking to like, gawk at you or anything."

 

[Monday Weeks]

Monday Weeks decided to spend the day after classes to sit under a tree and read. He felt that the layout of the school was a little different from Hogwarts Scotland, and the student body mass was a lot smaller. Monday just hoped that this school would be better than the previous one, and he was coming in a lot stronger than before. He would not tolerate anyone being mean to him, or his siblings. While reading his arithmancy book, he heard a voice, asking if someone was their new classmate. His eyes looked up to see another student, and talking to him too. Monday blinked a couple of times as she reworded her question. "I would hope not. That would be unsettling." Monday's tone was a little tired, but he was taking all the courses.

Just to test it out and see what sort of person she was, he nodded, "Yes, I am. I transferred from Hogwarts in Scotland. My name is Monday. Monday Weeks." While he did soften his tone, his eyes were a little more inquisitive. How would she react to his name? Would she laugh like the others? If she did, then this school was just as rotten as the last. And it wasn't like his parents could up and leave again.​

 

[Aine Thompson]

Aine was a bit frazzled, though she was the other idiot doing every single subject. She was used to getting weird reactions to what she said, so she'd always tried to keep her mouth shut. Now she was getting used to things and feeling slightly more confident, however misplaced it might have been or false it was in actuality. She did blink a couple of times at his name, though wizards didn't exactly have normal names. "Geez. Is that a nickname or did your parents just have an unfortunate sense of humour?" She blurted, but at least she managed not to laugh. She did feel bad for saying it, though, and gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry. Let me try that again. Hi, I'm Aine. Um, nice to meet you, and welcome. I mean, I'm sure you've gotten welcomed by other people who have any actual authority and not just nosy classmates, but still." She was regretting the decision to stop actively holding her tongue as much already.

 

[Monday Weeks]

Monday kept his eyes on her, and then she decided to blurt out the obvious. He did notice that she did not laugh though, which was an improvement. He narrowed his eyes slightly at her expressions, and then see that they might actually be genuine. She actually felt bad for her comment, and then had a bit of word vomit or something. Monday shrugged his shoulders, "My parents have a weird sense of humor. My siblings Wednesday and Thursday were sorted here. We moved here, I believe, because of the teasing we received, but ultimately, it is their fault. I thought about going by another name, but I don't exactly have one." Monday would have to keep his life style down to a minimum but at least he explained why he had moved here. Monday gestured toward the ground next to him. "You can sit down if you want to get to know your new classmate. I rather not look up at people if I can help it. You can tell me what I can expect of this school, and if I need to get ready to prepare to protect my sisters."​

 

[Aine Thompson]

Aine very sheepishly sat down, although it wasn't exactly a graceful manoeuvre. She was frankly quite surprised he hadn't just told her to go away (or in ruder terms) but was somewhat relieved. Maybe she wasn't as completely useless at this as she thought. Only mostly useless. Small victories, she supposed. "That's fair. I suppose it saves deliberating too long on names," she offered, with a shrug, trying to at least give some sort of thinking to it. It wasnt as though it was that out of the ordinary, wizards had odd names. "I guess maybe you'll find a nickname you like eventually, if you want to." Aine had never had a nickname, though her name was short enough that it wasn't one that got cut down for speed. And she'd never had friends give her one, or however nicknaming worked. "I'm probably not the best person to ask. Or maybe I am," she added, thinking it over for a second. "I'm muggleborn, and none of my siblings are magical, so I've just had to try and manage." She shrugged. "Not sure what the current firsties are like. Hopefully nobody gives them a hard time, but kids also suck." She was aware she was still pretty much a kid herself, but she didn't discount the fact that she also sucked. "But they'll have each other, and they'll have you, so it should be okay."

 

[Monday Weeks]

Monday still remained on edge, which was pretty much the norm for him anyway. He did watch her closely as she sat down next to him. Long names... He thought that would be something he would prefer over Monday. Everyone hated Mondays which he could see why - and he didn't even have a job yet. Just what everyone else had said about Mondays. Monday shrugged his shoulders, "I thought about it, but there's no point, not after seeing my sisters sorted. Headmaster shouted their names for everyone to hear, even in Australia." Monday was still pretty bitter about the ordeal. But he could not change it. Aine spoke about how she as muggle-born, and how her siblings were non-magical. He brought his knees to his chest and hugged them with his arms, resting his head while shifted it to look at the Hufflepuff. "Kids, people in general...are so cruel. I am also muggle-born. My sisters ended up magical, but I am not sure about Friday, Saturday, and Sunday." But she was right. Wednesday and Thursday did have each other. "You don't seem like one of the cruel ones. I know people get picked on for blood statuses. Have you experienced that nonsense?"​

 

[Aine Thompson]

Aine supposed that was a fair point, though she had to admit she'd zoned out for a lot of the feast. It was a lot of travel time, even with the floo link from Melbourne to Obsidian Harbour she still had to get to Melbourne in the first place, and that was a bit of a journey. "I honestly think most people would have been too tired to pay attention. Just clapping when they heard their house name, or when the people next to them did." She didn't really know if that was helpful to offer but maybe it was somewhat reassuring. Truthful, at least. Though it wouldn't help in their own year levels. But they at least were twins, and maybe in the same house. Even if they did different things, at least they had shared experiences and could lean on each other. She supposed, though the only twins she knew were Aurora and Rosie, and even then she had spoken more to Rosie out of the two of them.

Aine perked up a little when Monday mentioned he was also muggleborn. There were a few of them, and it was always reassuring when there were others. It was a shared sense of alienation. Though it did make her wonder about the strangeness of his parents. Not that that was her business at all. "A little," she admitted, thinking of Cameron berating her for not even knowing magic was real until she got her Hogwarts letter, and how stupid that made her. Though he'd mostly gone to calling her an annoying know it all now. "A lot of people just not really getting it. For some reason. I don't see what's not to get. And I guess the general assumptions you are from a magical background. And thinking you're stupid if you aren't." It was more just miniscule things, thankfully she hadn't run across it too bad amongst the students, with the notable exception. Who really just seemed to have it out for her more than a blood status thing. "I don't really know about the other years, though." She didn't want to lie and say that there wouldn't be prejudice, though she knew most people were okay with it.

 

[Monday Weeks]

Monday hoped that was the case, with people not paying attention to his siblings while they were sorted. It was just they were back to back, though Thursday was before Wednesday. How messed up was that? He would have been sorted first before Tuesday had Tuesday survived. But that was not the case. Monday would just have to see what the others do to his sisters before deciding whether or not he needed to be the bigger brother or let them take care of themselves. Who knows, they might not even need him. "I suppose you are right. I did the same thing, but I was tired, and I was ignoring all in favor of my sisters." Monday did feel a little better about that sort of information. But knowing that she faced prejudice even now irked him. So, it still existed on this side of the globe. How unfortunate. "Someone of our blood status cannot magically know of this world. We don't have the same privilege. However, we can just prove them wrong in the end." Monday himself was a smart student, and read a lot. That was why he was a Ravenclaw. "If you had to deal with it, no doubt my siblings will too. It all depends on who they hang out with. They say that a rotten apple doesn't spoil the bunch, but it does contaminate them." Monday glanced over at Aine and shrugged his shoulders. Perhaps he was being too harsh.​

 

[Aine Thompson]

Aine nodded, thoughtful. She had barely paid attention to any names in the sorting. She only vaguely knew one girl by virtue of Noah having mentioned her when she'd been at the pub to travel between Australia and New Zealand, and even then, she hadn't exactly paid much mind to her. "It's a long day of travel, and I think by the letter W most people were zoned out. It's fine." She wasn't sure it was being actually helpful, or maybe she was harping on it. Trying to work out the best way to interact was hard. Sometimes she just really wasn't sure what was too much, or what wasn't enough.

Aine smiled a little at his comment about proving them wrong. "I guess we kind of get an advantage in a way. We get to know both sides. And bring different views to it." Her face fell slightly. "I mean, it doesn't always help, but it can sometimes." Transfiguration was a bit of a nightmare. She wanted to like it, and thought the idea of it was fascinating, but the nuts and bolts of it were horrifying to consider. And it sometimes felt like she was alone in overthinking it. "I guess there's plenty of people who aren't too bad," she said, trying to be a little more reasonable. "It's just the little things that kind of get to you. Hopefully they find nice people to hang out with." She wasn't going to pretend to be the nicest in offer to Monday, though, as most of the other girls in the year at least were nice, and quiet, and gentle. People like Margo, and Rosie. Or nice, maybe a little more outgoing, like Aurora, or Isadora, or Amelia. Not like her. And he was in the same dorm as Valerius, who was too put together to vent but would probably share issues with her with Monday if they became friends. Though he seemed smart enough to make his own decisions, anyway. She just shrugged her shoulders in return, trying to get out of her head.

 

[Monday Weeks]

Monday was not sure how that was actually helping him relax a bit, but it was. The Hufflepuff girl knew what she was doing when it came down to talking to people, didn't she? Monday lacked that because he just didn't talk to people. Not often. Not since it always ended badly. Monday could see both sides of it. They knew both worlds. The good and the bad of muggles. He could see why the world was separated, but at the same time, it offered up severe lagging for those like him and Aine. "I see a lot of bad in both worlds. I just hope that this place will have enough good to counter it. Just some of the subjects are a little tougher. I'd rather deal with chemistry or biology over transfiguration. That class has been a nightmare." Monday could see the points on some of the subjects, but Transfiguration - not so much. Why change items when they can conjure? Well, when they were strong enough down the road. "You guess? Huh. Not a lot of confidence there in that aspect." Monday would have to branch out and judge on his own in the future. He was just busy with all of the subjects since he wanted to learn everything he could. "Come to think of it, aren't you also in every class I am in? Including all electives?"​

 

[Aine Thompson]

And Aine thought she was dour. She'd often been told as such, being a bit of a sook and a misery guts. But now it seemed she was being the vaguely optimistic one. She'd always seen the glass as half empty but she supposed she was trying to see it as half full, wasn't she? "Transfiguration sucks. The professors don't seem to care about it being complicated. They're all like 'don't ask questions just do it'," she groaned, frustration clear. "I miss English lessons." At least that encouraged deeper thought and analysis. Just doing magic was a fine idea as a little kid but when it came to reality it felt like there was a lot more to it that needed to be considered. "I don't have confidence in anything," she retorted, self-effacing as ever. "And yes, looks like you and I are both mad doing every subject. No idea what they all are like, and now I'm too stubborn to back down, even if it's a mistake."

 

[Monday Weeks]

Monday laughed softly as someone agreed with him on the whole Transfiguration subject. It was a bit ridiculous, and the professor, no matter how pretty she was, just didn't seem to explain it fully. The theory part was fine, but the rest... He was not sure what to think on it. The professors in the other school were very similar too. "They also make it sound so difficult, but the way they make it sound, you might have an easier time squeezing water from a rock. I don't understand the need to turn a frog into a grasshopper." Monday missed the typical Muggle subjects too. They were much easier to understand - when they had good teachers. "I wanted to learn everything I can about this world. If we are going to survive, we need to adapt. Except Muggle Studies. I wanted to see if the magical world was even accurate on our world."​