General The Gryffindor Table 2019-2020

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Victoria was more excited than words could say. She was in a state of bliss as she stepped down from the sorting hat and made her way to the table of her new house, Gryffindor. The table was full of confident and joyous looking children and she was excited to meet every single one of them. Although she didn’t know a whole lot of specifics on the houses, she knew that her mother had been a Ravenclaw and her father had been a Gryffindor. They both seemed to have a wonderful experience during their time at Hogwarts, from what little she knew, and she was extremely proud to be in either of their former houses. Gryffindor also seemed to be the loudest and proudest table from what she could tell so far, so that didn’t hurt her happiness to be here either.

Taking a seat in the middle of the table, she beamed as the other members of her house greeted and congratulated her, before turning their attention back to the sorting ceremony to cheer on the next children that would join them.

As she sat there, many ghosts floated by her, seeming to be just as cheerful and friendly as the rest of the Hogwarts students and staff. Half paying attention to the sorting ceremony, half paying attention to literally every other thing that was going on around her, she noticed that she was sitting next to someone whom, for some reason, she had a feeling she could get along with very well. There was nothing that she could point out, rather a gut feeling that screamed to her that perhaps they could be friends. Could they even be best friends?

Today was a day of glory for Cyrus. Not only was he wandering the same halls as many a great wizard of past, present, and future, the likes of which he would be joining, but he had been sorted into the house with the animal that most suited him. The Proud Lion. While the boy hopped and skipped simultaneously down the steps, his excitement as visible as the moon in a midnight sky, he strode with purpose towards the cheering crowd of Gryffindor. A large grin, not far off being reminiscent of the Cheshire , widened his features as he approached them, slapping the hands of those he passed by until space was opened for him on the bench.

Taking the seat almost immediately when the offer was presented, the eleven-year-old quickly sat down among his peers that had since lowered their cheers to a more respectable level. Filled with pride, the boy clapped the two people either side of him on the back, beaming with pure joy. He repeatedly greeted those around him vocally and with firm handshakes, even repeating his name despite them having all heard it when he was initially selected by the sorting hat, but hearing it again certainly would not hurt, right? Besides, it could be the nerves finally getting to him.

Turning towards the girl with fire in her hair, his grin as wide as ever, he offered her his hand for another firm shake, repeating the mantra he had been since he had first sat down among his peers, "Hi, Cyrus Langley! Glad to be a part of the team!" With that said, he would shake her hand if she repeated the gesture to him, turning to watch the next student determine their house, speaking back towards the girl, "What do you make of all this? I find it breathtaking." Cyrus confessed his thoughts, although it was perhaps less of a confession if the evidence had been plastered across his face the entire time.

Interacting with @Victoria McGregor

Felix's whole body buzzed as the adrenaline that formerly coursed through him began to ebb. Strangely, the walk down from the front of the Great Hall felt much shorter than the one he had taken going up despite being the same distance. Perhaps it had something to do with the spring in his step or the lightness in his heart, he couldn't be sure. All he could be sure of, however, was that he was now a Gryffindor; a fact that was made all the more apparent by the passionate group of crimson-clad students who welcomed him to their table with handshakes, high fives, and slaps on the back—it was always nice to feel wanted.

Not having to go far down the table to find a spot, Felix found himself squeezing in between a rather large individual—probably an upperclassman—and a kid much like himself save for his feathery brown hair and fairer skin. The kid, more appropriately a boy, seemed to be in conversation with a redheaded girl of similar age and, though Felix had only caught the tail end of the conversation, he could not help interjecting into it in the hopes of meeting new people.

"It really is breathtaking," he agreed, before gesturing to himself and offering a genuine smile. "Felix Morningcrest by the way. Did either of you happen to see those two gargoyles by the entrance? I hear they come to life every night at midnight."

Truth be told, the boy was not all too sure that such a story was correct. A fifth-year Slytherin had told him that it was true on the train ride in and Felix was inclined to believe him. After all, why would anyone lie about something so cool? Maybe one night, if he was lucky, he would get the chance to verify it with his own eyes.

Interacting w/ @Cyrus Langley and @Victoria McGregor

Interacting with @Felix Morningcrest and @Cyrus Langley

What a fantastic day this was! Just as Victoria were about to greet the brunette boy seated next to her, he introduced himself as Cyrus, extending a hand to her. She had been in summer camp for a month and instantly being a Gryffindor was a hundred times easier to make friends. “Wonderful to meet you!” Victoria exclaimed, her excitement anything but contained. In fact, her words came out as more of a shriek than anything sophisticated. To her, it didn’t seem as if anyone minded. The Great Hall was so loud right now that it honestly wouldn’t have entirely surprised her if no one had noticed at all.

As she was about to answer his question and introduce herself back to him, the child who had been sorted directly after her, Felix Morningcrest took a seat and answered the question for her. He must be as excited as I am, she thought. Every first year in the room was probably just as excited as she was. She really could not believe how easy it was to get people to talk to her here – Gryffindor was going to be an amazing experience, she could already feel it.

“It is so nice to meet you both,” she began, as the roars around her settled down a bit. “I’m Victoria and I am all too excited to be here! I did see the gargoyles,” she replied, informing the boy who had introduced himself as Felix. “I hadn’t, however, heard that they come to life at night. I am all about adventures and would love to see that for myself. Perhaps we could find out one night!” Walking around the castle corridors at midnight seemed like something that was probably against the rules, maybe even out of the question. However, if it wasn’t something that was going to get her, or one of her new companions expelled, it was an adventure that she was willing to take. How either one of them felt about that was another story that was up for debate.

When the echo of "Gryffindor!" rung through the halls once more, Cyrus turned towards the approaching boy that had the privilege to be among the lions. Joining in with the cheers with the rest of the crowd, Cyrus even took it a step further by banging his hands down onto the table to generate more noise for the table. After all, the more noise, the happier you were right? Besides, team spirit had to be high; morale was important! He already knew Felix from his journey here on the train, and in truth it was nice to have some familiarity in a place that distinctly lacked such a feeling.

Offering the newest inductee of Gryffindor a firm handshake and a winning smile, he even took it a step further and pat the boy on the shoulder. Today was shaping up to be something quite spectacular, and when Felix mentioned the gargoyle story from the carriage, he knew just what needed to happen. Leaning backwards a little, Cyrus looked towards them both with a little gesture to come closer while he started loudly whispering; it was counterintuitive to what he was doing, sure, but how else would they hear him over the rabble of the crowd? "We got Gryffindor because we're brave! Noble! I say we make our first night at Hogwarts even more memorable. We go tonight." When he finished his somewhat hushed sentence, Cyrus leaned backwards and looked between the pair. Sure, the act was mischievous, but how exciting would it be to talk to a gargoyle?!

Interacting with @Felix Morningcrest and @Victoria McGregor

Matching Cyrus' gesture with a strong handshake of his own and giving Victoria a friendly nod of acknowledgment, Felix allowed what tension remained in his body to leave as he relaxed further into his seat. Everything felt right. The only time he'd felt such a way before in his life was upon returning home from abroad and sleeping in his own bed for the first time in a while, it was nice. Though, leaning in to better hear Cyrus's proposal, the boy's heart rate began to pick up again as the same feeling he felt at the head of the Great Hall began to overtake him once more.

"Tonight?" Felix asked rhetorically, glancing over his shoulder half expecting a teacher to be there only to bring his gaze back to the group upon finding nothing save for the backs of other students. "Sure, I'm in; sounds a lot more fun than sleeping."

He then fell silent and shifted his attention to Victoria who had yet to respond. Hogwarts—or so his parents told him before he left—was a place where one pushed their boundaries and grew as a person, whatever that meant. And, though he would never admit this to either Cyrus or Victoria, breaking the rules was certainly something not in Felix Morningcrest's limited repertoire of experiences. Yet, the prospect of doing so excited him more than he could put into words and it showed on his face where an irrepressibly mischievous smile had formed.

Interacting w/ @Cyrus Langley s Langley and @Victoria McGregor oria McGregor

Interacting with @Cyrus Langley and @Felix Morningcrest

Absolutely giddy at the thought of a midnight adventure, Victoria nodded in agreement, beaming as she began to speak. "Tonight it is!" she proclaimed. A voice in the back of the girl's head poked at her, telling her that she did not want to get in trouble on her first night of school. However, it was absolutely not in Victoria's nature to pass down an adventure. Certainly not an adventure like this. She began to gather her thoughts and the roars were brought down to a minimum and then, finally, altogether stopped. Is the sorting ceremony over? she wondered. Looking to the front of the hall, she saw that the headmaster looked as if he were about to speak.

Turning back to her friends, she decided that they probably needed to plan this rather quickly, in case other Gryffindors began to talk to them at the close of the ceremony and speech. "Where should we meet?" she asked in a rather hushed voice. It had been risky to talk about this when it was loud in the hall, but now that it was quiet, it was almost foolish. "I don't know anything about the castle," she admitted. Her parents had raised her in more muggle ways than not and they hadn't told her a lot about Hogwarts. Part of this was due to the fact that they knew she would have enough magic for the rest of her life and they wanted her to first experience a 'normal' childhood - whatever that meant. The other reasoning behind her muggle upbringing was due to the fact that her parents wanted to keep the mystery alive and didn't want to spoil anything for her. They only told her and her sister what they believed was absolutely vital for them to know. "Do either of you have a suggestion on where we could meet?"

The beginnings of a nigh-flawless plan had formed, and Cyrus could taste the sweetness of victory already. He was without his parents for the first time, so that meant he did not have to obey the rules that had been set out for him. The professors were merely here to offer suggestions and education, or at least that was what Cyrus had gathered from his mothers fervored talks about his future at Hogwarts. She spoke very highly of her experiences there, reminding Cyrus that this would be where he became more defined. If he wished to attain glory, then he needed to seize it by the throat in his eleven-year-old hand. After all, what screamed of glory more than breaking curfew on the first night to go look at a gargoyle?

The only thing that was in theory flawed, was the absolute lack of a plan to begin with. Extended planning always had bored Cyrus however, and he prepared the good ol' fashioned route of winging it. What were the chances that prefects or professors would catch them anyway? It's not like they're magic or something. He spoke up once more towards his band of adventurers, nodding his head boldly, "I think we wait in the common room, right? We have all of our stuff ready, like, our wands and stuff in our pockets. Maybe a compass too, I hear they're needed so we don't get lost. Then... we sneak out through all the hustle and bustle of people settling in." His offered plan clearly had no holes within it, or at least, none he was willing to admit to. Eagerly he looked between his brother and sister-in-arms for their thoughts.

Interacting with @Felix Morningcrest and @Victoria McGregor

"Sounds like a plan to me," Felix agreed with more confidence than he really had in the plan. "We'll have to be extra careful in the halls though."

He glanced over his shoulder again, still expecting someone to be there but found nothing.

"I bet there'll be teachers in the hall," he nodded as if trying to convince himself of such a fact. "Or something like that."

At this point, the crowd around the trio erupted in another wave of cheers—it would seem another lucky soul had been chosen to join the Lions. Joining his hands together along with the rest of his table, Felix allowed his gaze to wander up to the head of the hall only to find that where once the group of Hogwarts hopefuls had stood there was now only empty space, everyone had been sorted. When he brought his attention back to the table he found that the empty platters were now populated with just about every food the first year could imagine.

Now, this was magic that the boy could get behind and with a quick glance over at his new friends he dug in. Meats, potatoes, and vegetables of every kind eventually found their way onto Felix's plate. For the first time in his life, he didn't have his mother hanging over his shoulder telling him what to eat and how to eat it—it was great.

Interacting w/ @Cyrus Langley and @Victoria McGregor