Y48 Start of Year Feast

[Professor Matt Alcott-Ward]

The sorting ceremony had come to a close, and Matt smiled at the sight of the fresh new faces at all the new tables. He had always been fond of the sorting ceremony, he was glad to be a part of it now. Matt stood up, waited a few moments for everyone to settle down, then spoke.

"Good evening students and staff of Hogwarts. I know how eager we all are to start our wonderful yearly feast, but I have a few quick things to say." He smiled as he paused. " For those of you who are freshly sorted or simply didn't know, my name is Professor Matt Alcott-Ward and I'm the headmaster here at Hogwarts."

He took a sip of water before continuing. "Alongside me are your Heads of Houses, these professors are here to guide you and lead you in your respective houses. The head of house for Hufflepuff is Professor Landon Carter, for Slytherin, Professor Angel Castillo, for Ravenclaw, Professor Kahurangi Josephs, and for Gryffindor, Professor James Cade." Matt gestured to each of the professors in turn so the new students would know who was who. Then he went on.

"I already spoke about the forest before the sorting ceremony started, I hope it's not necessary to repeat myself now. I do have an announcement to make this year, though it hurts me that it is necessary." Matt spoke, his expression turning serious. "Last year it came to my attention that a student has gotten hurt here at school at the hands of another student. I want to repeat that this is not acceptable and will not be tolerated here at Hogwarts. We don't condone bullying. If you see something, please tell your head of house or me. My office is open." He paused, looking into the crowd. What happened to Gregory had made him angry, especially as he was unable to properly punish the person responsible. All he could do was ensure it wouldn't happen again, and he was determined to do that. He cleared his throat. "I wish everyone here a wonderful, productive, and fun new school year. The food will appear in a moment, and I hope everyone also enjoys this wonderful feast." He said, though he wasn't smiling as he usually did as the platters of food appeared the moment he finished speaking. Matt sat back down at the staff table and mentally went over his speech, hoping he hadn't forgotten anything important. He watched as students started to chat and eat, feeling excited about the upcoming year.

Out of Character:

Please note that in the final paragraph Matt says some new stuff, I figured I'd give you guys a heads up since I usually don't change a lot so it would be easy to overlook.

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy watched the Sorting Ceremony with mixed interest, cheering whenever a new Gryffindor joined the table but not paying much attention otherwise. His mind had already wandered to the feast when the headmaster stood up and made an unexpected announcement about a student being hurt by a bully last year. Professor Allcott-Ward's tone made it sound like a big deal, but somehow, this was the first time Teddy heard anything about it. And he loved to talk about juicy and scandalous gossip. He could only think that something this big had slipped past him whilst he was busy studying for exams, otherwise he was sure he'd have known about it.

Teddy pretty much ignored the food when it appeared in front of him, he was busy looking around, craning his neck to catch the expressions of people around him. “What was that all about?” he asked after a moment, pointing his fork towards the headmaster for emphasis. “Who got hurt last year? And why didn’t anyone tell me?” He was more concerned why he didn't know rather than how the victim was doing now, although that concern would probably come later once he had all the details. “Come on, someone’s gotta know. Spill.”

 

[Dahlia Doherty]

Dahlia was semi zoned out as the start of the year feast got underway - the sorting always took a long time and she could only clap for so long before she tuned out and went on autopilot for it. She vaguely realised this was the last time she'd sit through one, which was a weird thought, but it hadn't fully hit yet. She was listening enough to hear what the headmaster said and frowned. She had a feeling she knew what that was about, but she could only really speculate. It could've been something else entirely. After all, what she'd been aware of had happened years ago, she had assumed it was kind of over with by now. She had tried to reach out to Gregory, but he'd pushed her away and she'd given up to focus on her own stuff. She bit her lip as Teddy piped up, tilting her head and making a non-committal noise. "I have a guess...buuuuut I'm really not sure. That was going on years ago." If she was right, though, and Gregory had been actually hurt, then perhaps she should say something - but she had no proof, and nothing she knew about in recent times to actually justify it. Could have been some younger students anyway.

@Teddy Pirrip

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy head turned so fast towards Dahlia that his neck nearly snapped, "Come on, you can’t just dangle that in front of me and not elaborate! What's your guess?"

@Dahlia Doherty

 

[Elio Boneheart]

"Well, no one got expelled, so it couldn't have been that bad, right?" He was sitting pretty close to the two speaking, and he shrugged before he looked back at his food. He was going to have to go and grab Mikael and go find his brother in a second. He was really excited that Rhys was at school now, he was going to have to show his brother everything, he couldn't wait!

@Dahlia Doherty @Teddy Pirrip ​

 

[Dahlia Doherty]

Dahlia carefully put a couple of potatoes on her plate, pondering. "Like years ago there was a whole bunch of stuff going on with Gregory Friend and some of the Slytherin boys," she said, slightly revelling in the whole gossip thing but not wanting to get too carried away. "But that was in like what, second year? It sucked but like, pretty sure they all grew up and moved on. It's probably not fair to suspect they did something last year. I don't even know if he's the one who got hurt. Maybe it was stuff after the tug of war instead?" She wouldn't have put it past those girls to have slapped each other when nobody was looking. But she also figured they would've named names. "Or like, stuff in the younger years, I dunno. I guess we gotta keep an eye out." Not that she was a prefect, but she wasn't going to let anything slide if she saw it now, it was the least she could or should do.

@Teddy Pirrip @Elio Boneheart

 

[Conan Burke]

Conan had been shocked he had made it this far into Hogwarts and he couldn't believe it was the end of everything, which had been shocking. He didn't really know what he was going to be doing after Hogwarts, which the thought kinda scared him a little. The Ravenclaw sat at the Ravenclaw table, keeping his shoe box filled with his shells close to him on the table. Conan listened carefully to what the professor was saying, he perked up a little at the mention of bullying. He looked around as students started to whisper around, he looked around hoping to see or hear if anyone near him knew what was going on. It wasn't long before the food arrived and he quickly grabbed a hold of some food, while hoping to see if there was anyone who was able to have an idea of what had happened.

 

[Eliza Reynolds]

Eliza always had a mix of feelings when returning back to Hogwarts, but she knew that by the next time she returned to Hogwarts, it would be a little different. The Gryffindor had her usual small stack of comic books with her as she read one of the comic books she had with her, hardly paying attention to what the headmaster was saying, as she knew it would be the same thing being said, but she looked up from her comic book when she heard a commotion of whispers around her. She turned to the person nearest to her, "What did I miss? What's got everyone freaking out?"

 

[Marley Owens-Lee]

Marley had been excited for the upcoming year. During the break, she had been given, not one, but two badges, which meant more responsibility that Marley knew she was going to accept. The Hufflepuff listened carefully to what the headmaster was saying, even though she knew it was going to be the same thing. Though what the headmaster had said near the end of his usual speech had perked Marley's interest. She looked around the table, seeing her housemates having different sort of reactions to the news, she leaned towards someone who was on her left. "Do you know what that's about?"

 

[Fiona Burke]

Fiona hoped to have a good year this year. She had hoped that she'd be able to be on the Quidditch team this year, even if it meant she'd have to be an alternate to do so. The Gryffindor zoned in and out most of the time during the headmaster's speech, though she zoned in just at the right time when the headmaster had mentioned something about bullying. Fiona was always nosey, and she was curious to know what it was all about. Fiona sat quietly as she got some of her food, overhearing older students near by discussing like Teddy from the Quidditch team and other older students talking about what had happened. She turned to the person next to her. "Are you hearing this? You reckon what they're saying is true?" Fiona whispered to the person next to her, as she mentioned towards the older students.

 

[Thomas Fitzgerald]

Thomas was always homesick, and this year was no different if he was being honest. The Hufflepuff sat at the Hufflepuff table, keeping to himself as he heard the headmaster speak. Usually the headmaster would say the same thing, so Thomas was surprised when the headmaster had made some sort of announcement about a reminder of bullying. Thomas looked around his table as everyone spoke amongst each other about it. Thomas trying his best to hear what the people around him were saying about the situtation.

 

[Sophie Shepherd]

Sophie was back for a second year and she had honestly enjoyed everything about the magical world so far. Everything seemed so fun and exciting. The Ravenclaw was hardly paying attention to what the headmaster was saying at first, thinking about the exciting upcoming year. However, she had heard the last part of what the professor was saying about the bullying. Sophie's face scrunched up a little, her face grimancing a little. "Yikes..."

 

[Theodore Harper]

Theodore couldn't believe that he was finally at Hogwarts. His parents had been talking about this non-stop with him, without going into too much detail about it all. Theo was a bit bummed that he hadn't been in the same house as either Miles or Logan, but he was happy to be sorted nevertheless. Hopefully, they could all still be friends while they were at Hogwarts. Theo listened to the headmaster, eagerly excited for his time at Hogwarts. The new Ravenclaw's jaw dropped a little at the mention of some sort of bullying. "Tsk, my first day here and there already seems to be drama"

 

[Professor Samantha Jacobs]

In all honesty, Samantha couldn't believe she had made her way back to Hogwarts. However, not as a student, but as a professor. Walking through these halls the last few days as she prepared her office and for her upcoming lessons, it had been strange. Memories of her time at Hogwarts had flushed through her mind. She was excited about this chapter in her life and couldn't wait to see what this chapter had in store for her. Samantha sat at the staff table amongst the other professors and staff. She honestly felt weird being on this side of the great hall. She listened to what the headmaster had to say (Even if she was able to call him by his first name, she felt weird saying it) She frowned a little about the mentioning about bullying. She had been curious on what had happened, but decided it was a question for another time. For now, Sam was happy to dig into her food.

 

[Eurydice Nightray]

Eurydice had been surprised to see a cousin at sorting. And even more surprised because was that Theo-nii? Why was he in Hogwarts New Zealand. He couldn't have been lost in a completely different country now could he? That was more Hina-nee's thing. Getting lost. She listened to the Headmaster's announcement and struggled not to react to the news that someone got hurt because of another student. Report to their Head of House they said. So the teachers didn't notice anything? Merlin. Se didn't think there was help to be had with adults in the school, but that was what the book she'd purchased during the break was for. She was going to get spells under her belt - whether defensive or offensive. She was not going to be caught off guard again. For now, she could eat.​

 

[Elio Boneheart]

Elio frowned. "Huh, well it's not like they notice sh*t happening anyway, the tug of war stuff was my boyfriend's little sister and no one did anything, no one has even talked to her about what happened, so honestly I've got no respect for the headmaster or Eury's head of house." What was he even supposed to say in her defence? Clearly, as he had seen, nothing had been done until there was an incident of previous injuries. "And honestly if it took this long to address it there was probably a lot of other stuff going on, so, you know, it's another one of those things on the list of stuff professors don't give a sh*t about. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go congratulate my brother." He said, finishing up his food to look up to see Mikael looking at him, he nodded towards the Ravenclaw table and saw Mikael stand.

@Dahlia Doherty @Teddy Pirrip ​

 

[Morrie Ayre]

Morrie spent most of the Sorting Ceremony slumped over the table, her head resting on her crossed arms. Every so often, she'd lift her head just enough to grumble comments like, "Urgh this this so boring!" and "When will this end?" until finally everyone had been sorted and she turned her head towards the headmaster. She hated that man and didn't have the respect to actually lift her head off the table until he said something about bullying. At that, Morrie did sit up straighter and probably for the best as the food would be appearing soon.

Her hair was sticking out and she now looked like she’d been dragged backward through a hedge but she didn't care. She leaned toward Vanity, her voice low, "He's not talking about us, is he?" She asked quietly. It seemed unlikely, she reasoned. They’d never actually hurt anyone, and June was totally fair game in her opinion. Besides, if Vanity had done something that bad, there’s no way they’d have handed her that stupid prefect badge, surely? She was just a little worried though.

@Vanity Mettlestone

 

[Alicia Richelieu]

Alicia had decided to return to Hogwarts instead of going back to Beauxbatons, and as she sat at the opening feast she was quitely wondering if it was the right decision. It was, she told herself. She had liked Hogwarts. The headmaster's speech was a little different and frowned a bit at what he said. Someone had gotten hurt? She looked around, vaguely hearing some students nearby talk about it. She glanced at Eliza as she looked up from her book. "The headmaster added something about bullying, like something happened last year." She said quietly. "Did you hear anything about that?"

@Eliza Reynolds

 

[Miles Flynn]

Miles was still buzzing with excitement as he sat down at the Gryffindor table, grinning as his legs swung under the table. He was disappointed that both Logan and Theo had been sorted into different houses than him, but he was still determined they would still be friends. For now, Miles was hungry and just wanted to eat. Though, his ears piqued with curiosity at what the Headmaster was saying, frowning as he started talking about a student getting hurt. A couple of Gryffindors further down the table seemed to be talking about it and theorizing things, Miles craning his neck to try and listen into the conversation. "What happened?" If there was something going on, he would be lying if he said he wasn't interested in it.

 

[Vanity Mettlestone]

Vanity thought the sorting ceremony was dull and wondered why they all had to be there for it. Wouldn't it be better as a closed thing, like graduation? Any siblings or cousins who were curious could attend, and the rest oft hem could just eat their food in peace. She frowned a bit at the headmaster's words, but then frowned even deeper at Morrie's appearance. She dug in the pocket of her robe and pulled out a compact that had a mirror and a hairbrush in it, for emergencies. She considered just attacking Morrie's hair with it, but decided that would probably result in a fight, one she wasn't sure she would win. Morrie could be feral. "What? No, we didn't hurt her. She was just covered in paint." She said dismissively. "Morrie, let me brush your hair, please?"

@Morrie Ayre

 

[Anisha Khatri]

Anisha had a strange feeling as she watched the sorting ceremony, knowing it would be the last she saw at Hogwarts unless she became a teacher or something, which seemed unlikely. She had the head girl pin on her robes and sat up straight as she listened to the headmaster's speech. She frowned slightly at his words about bullying, wondering what had happened. She sat close enough to Dahlia, Teddy and Elio to hear their conversation but she didn't really have anything to contribute. She was unsurprised to hear Elio criticise the professors again, saying they don't notice anything. She didn't really think that was fair, with this many kids the professors could hardly notice everything that was going on. That was why it was good to say somethng if you saw it. She wondered if Elio had gone to anyone after seeing something happen at the event. After he left, she couldn't help herself. "Well, I know how to fix everything. We make Elio headmaster, he seems confident he can do better." She muttered as she speared a potato with her fork. Then she winced, realizing she maybe shouldn't say things like that anymore. It wasn't like she disliked Elio, but sometimes he got on her nerves. She was fairly sure the feeling was mutual.

@Teddy Pirrip @Dahlia Doherty @Elio Boneheart ((mostly so you know what she said I don't think he can hear her))

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy frowned a little at Elio, "I mean, I don’t know if anyone was expelled, this is literally the first I’m hearing about any of it," he replied, though his attention shifted back to Dahlia, who seemed to know more. "But isn’t Gregory Friend a seventh year?" he added, looking over to the Hufflepuff table to see if he could see him, which he couldn't. "What does he look like again?"

He sighed, he had more questions than answers and not sure how to piece it all together. The tug of war theory stuck in his mind, though, he let Elio say his bit about the school. "Yeah I guess. Okay see you later." He replied, wishing that the headmaster had been more explicit in his start of year feast so they wouldn't have to speculate. Dropping the topic, Teddy started piling his plate, then snorted a laugh at Anisha's comment, it could be a fun experiment.

@Elio Boneheart @Dahlia Doherty @Anisha Khatri

 

[Dahlia Doherty]

Dahlia wasn't sure what to think of Elio, but she just blinked as he went on a rant and walked away. "Huh. What was that all about?" She snorted at Anisha's comment, and idly looked over at the Hufflepuff table as she cut up a piece of chicken. She chewed thoughtfully, her face scrunching up in consternation as she did. She swallowed, vaguely worried now. "Kinda mousey, but...hey, yeah, I can't see him." It was sad, more than anything - even if they'd fallen apart a long time ago, Dahlia couldn't help but feel a little anxious. "That...has to be a coincidence, right?"

@Anisha Khatri @Teddy Pirrip

 

[Anisha Khatri]

Anisha was kind of glad neither Teddy nor Dahlia responded to her comment, she could pretend she hadn't said anything so petty and move on. She nodded at Teddy asked if Gregory was a seventh year. Anisha had never been very close to him, but they had shared classes for the last six years. Anisha had always felt this vague pity for the Hufflepuff, but she couldn't really pinpoint why. She was focusing on her food but looked up when Dahlia said she couldn't see him. She scanned the Hufflepuff table herself, going over it three times before shaking her head. "I don't see him either." She said uneasily. "Maybe he's not feeling well?"

@Dahlia Doherty @Teddy Pirrip

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy had a proper look again when both Anisha and Dahlia said they couldn’t see Gregory. Not that his vision or ability to recognise a seventh year he barely knew would be any better, but he didn't see him either. "What exactly were the headmaster's words again?" he asked, his voice low as he ran with Anisha's suggestion that he wasn't feeling well. "Something about a student being grievously hurt by another student, right? Maybe Gregory's in St Mungo's or something." He was speculating, but he did wonder if he might be piecing the puzzle together.

@Anisha Khatri @Dahlia Doherty