Task 2: First Impressions

[Iverian Gnash]

Ivey giggled as she looked at Nessa's hair. "I do believe that's the fashion now," she smiled, trying to look very convincing. Looking at the art supplies Nessa had just deposited on the table, designs for a cool hairpiece started going through her mind. She dismissed each one until the perfect idea came to her. Grabbing some ribbon, she set to work. She didn't know how long she'd been there, but it was finished and looked beautiful. There were little origami pink and yellow flowers secured to a piece of silver ribbon that was wrapped around a headband and covered in gold glitter. She also managed to make a little silver hairpiece for herself which she clipped the left side her hair back with. Ivey skipped over to Nessa who was working on something at the booth to present her with her masterpiece.

[Savannah Foster]

Just a touch shyly, Savannah entered the crowd in the bustling Great Hall. Slowly, she edged her way around the many people to a little booth labeled "Art Department". Somewhat timidly, she spoke to Ivey, someone she had seen many times but had never actually approached.

"Nice hair accessory." Savannah said to Ivey, who responded with a wide smile.

"Aw, thanks." said Ivey in response. "I can make one for you, too, if you want."

Savannah stood, stunned, for a moment, like this: and then said, as if testing out the words, "Okay, thanks." Savannah then smiled just as widely as Ivey had, like this: . It was the happiest moment of her extremely short time at Hogwarts, as she stood talking with Ivey and another girl named Nessa that also happened to be standing at the Art Booth.

"There, done." Ivey said as she secured Savannah's new hairpiece around Savannah's head. "Doesn't it look great?"

They couldn't find a mirror, so they used the pumpkin juice in a cup that they found sitting on a nearby booth as a mirror instead.

"It looks great, thanks!" said Savannah as she walked off, waving. She didn't exactly like the roar of people chatting and laughing, but she could smell blueberry muffins, and pastries, and... oh! Was that butterbeer? Yes, she could see a butterbeer fountain in the distance. This was definitely the definition of heaven!

[Amy Darvill]

"Oh no problem, I can be clumsy myself." Amy grinned, before turning to help scoop up paints off the ground. "I'm Amelia Darvill, but everyone calls me Amy. I'm new here."

Handing a rather bright shade of red back to Vanessa, she nodded at the girl's offer. "I'll check it out but I'm not sure how much good I'll be at it. I'm not the most artistic, I'm usually just scrapbooking or making collages. But it might be fun to splash in some paint. And seriously, I do not mind. I just wish I could help you dry off. I would try but my spellwork is such that I might accidently burn you instead."

Waving the other girl off, she meandered the fair for a few more minutes, snagging a pumpkin juice from one of the many booths surrounding her. And just ahead, as if by fate, was the Art Booth. And well, what was the harm in looking? Even if she didn't sign up for anything, she could enjoy what others had done, right?

[Katelin Ross]

After a busy morning of unpacking and setting up her new bed in the post graduate room, Katelin walked down and out to where the Welcome Month activities were happening. As she entered, she looked around and saw that the place was already busy with people walking around and talking with the people running and manning the booths. Her first stop was the Hufflepuff booth where she saw Tarma. She ran up and gave Tarma a big hug. She had missed her over the summer and was glad to see her again! She wondered if she had spotted any new first years around. She was excited to meet the new batch of first years, and she was also sad in the same. She knew several of the seventh years who would be saying goodbye to their student life this year. She had been around for many years, and remembers when some of these students were first-years themselves! Tarma told me that I had just missed Nessa, but there was a butterbeer station further down. Katelin thought this would be a nice time to get a drink. She asked Tarma if she would like a mug of butterbeer too. Tarma said she would love a mug. Katelin walked off to get the mugs, stopping several times to say hello to new and old friends. This was shaping up to be a great year!

[Bella Coupland]

Bella walked slowly into the Great Hall, and paused to take in the grandiose mix of colors and clean, neat layout of all the different booths. Bella had been away sick from school for a few years, and although all the buildings looked the same, she couldn't help but feel something was ... different

The sea of faces were mostly strangers. The friends she had made long ago seemed to have disappeared. Walking through the rows of booths she noticed a Professor at the Hufflepuff stand that seemed vaguely familiar, although their eyes darted back to their coffee mug before Bella could offer a smile.

There was quite a commotion at the Art Department booth, and Bella noticed both the table and surrounding floor were dotted with tiny scraps of pink and yellow paper. Not being a huge fan of crowds, Bella continued on past a fountain, and stopped to grab a coffee at the Book Club booth. Promising to come back after the caffeine kicked in, Bella kept on until the smell of heaven hit her nose.

"Are they.. blueberry muffins?!" she squealed.

[Emily Spencer]

She smiled as Brianna approached her, raising up her glass of pumpkin juice in a silent toast.

"Hey there. How goes the day?"

Without giving the girl hardly any time to respond, Emily rushed on, her words tumbling out in an excited rush.

"Good to see a fellow Slytherin. I'm Emily Spencer and as you can probably tell, I'm new here. "

She waved a hand upward toward the ceiling, in the direction of the boy lurking overhead.

"That's Will. He's one of our prefects and so far seems pretty nice. So if you have any questions, he's your guy. Oh, have you met February yet? She's another Slytherin and definitely awesome!"

[February Fortescue]

February had conquered her brief moment of nervousness and decided to check out the House booths. She enjoyed mingling with all the students and participating in every activity she possibly could, and was delighted with all the planned activities.

Her last stop was the Slytherin booth. While she respected the other Houses and enjoyed their company, she was a proud snake at heart. Slytherins sometimes get a bad rap, she thought. But cunning and ambition can be very good things.

She heard Emily Spencer mention her name. Emily was one of the first people she met this term. She had noticed the two of them seemed to have several things in common, so she had introduced herself. She was really glad she did! Emily was an awesome lady and was turning out to be a good friend.

February walked over to her and a new student whom Emily introduced as Brianna. Emily! When did you get here? Hi Brianna! Welcome to Hogwarts! You'll love Slytherin. Will Lestrange is definitely very nice, and very helpful. He's a Prefect, the captain of our Quidditch team, and this is his last year. We have three additional staff members. One is really looking forward to taking her OWLS. One makes the most beautiful graphics. One loves chocolate chip cookies. All four are very approachable, and all around wonderful people. And anytime you need a friend, come and find me! I'm sure Emily feels the same.

[Arianna Stonewater]

Arianna had just finished putting out the last of the Slytherin Scavenger Hunt flyers when she looked around. Students were starting to arrive! She was so excited to see so many new first years, and some returning friendly faces of upper years too! It was hard to believe she was in her Fifth Year! She gazed around and happened to glance at the Clubs section of the fair when she realized she still needed to get the HOLLERS booth up! Good thing she had an awesome Co-Chair in Polaris! She still had some time so she decided to head over to the Puff booth to see what goodies they had for this year!

[Emily Spencer]

She smiled as February approached. She sensed a kindred spirit in the other girl and was very glad that the Sorting Hat had seen fit to place them in the same house.

”Hey, February, good to see you! I’ve been here a little while, but I haven’t gotten very far. I’ve been to the HOLLERS and Book Club booths but that’s about it.”

She nodded in agreement as February talked about their Slytherin staff.

”Brianna, you are going to love Professor Amy and Professor Scarlet. They’re super easy to talk to and really welcoming. I think we really do have the best House. I have met some really nice people from other houses, too, though. Professor Tarma from Hufflepuff is cool and she runs some very tricky contests in the Book Club.”

[February Fortescue]

February nodded in agreement with Emily. Tarma is wonderful! Slytherin definitely isn't alone when it comes to exceptional staff and students - they're in all four Houses. What can I say? There's no place like Hogwarts!

[Lora Wallabenger]

Lora's pockets jingled as she came skipping into the fair a bit late. Her mouth dropped open at the sight of it which she quickly closed embarrassed as some passers by giggled looking at her. Lora went into a shop and bought an ice cold pumpkin juice which she sucked as she went passing the shops looking at them interestingly. Her eyes went to a joke shop at the far corner of the fair. Clutching her pumpkin juice she went into the shop which is filled with many items. Finally paying for a dung bomb and three Stink Pellets, she went out to see weather she could prank someone.
Lora saw some huge candy filled bags floating among the crowd, with many hands trying to grab sweets from it. Lora reached to the bag and got out a chocolate frog when she spotted Emily and February a little distance away.
To activate her plan , she reached out to a stink pellet smiling slightly and went towards Emily who didn't notice her. Lora quickly dropped it beside them unnoticed by anyone. Giggling hardly Lora went away as the stink Pellet let out the disgusting green smoke. Hogwarts is the best and the best place to play silly pranks !

[February Fortescue]

February was admiring the House Booths and trying to decide which fun activity to join in next, when all of the sudden she smelled something....distinctive. It smelled horrible! She didn't think she'd created it. Thank goodness we're outside! she thought.

She looked over at her friend. Uh...Emily? Was that you? Ewwwww

February heard some giggling. It was coming from Lora Wallabenger, who was also a really good friend. Ah ha! I bet it was a stink bomb! LORA!!! February started giggling, too, and then started laughing so hard she could barely breathe. That was sooo not funny! Oh, just you wait! A Lan...Slytherin always pays their debts. There will be other group activities this term. Then, when you least it expect it....payback

*smiles*

[Emily Spencer]

"Egads! What is that smell?!!!"

Emily hurriedly covered her mouth, her nose crinkling in distaste as the awful smell assaulted her senses. She had been lost in thought, trying to decide between the Art Department and the Library to visit next, so she hadn't noticed anything amiss..until now.

Incredulously, she heard February laughing. Emily was just about to question it, when she, too, heard the giggles coming from nearby. Her eyes lit up in understanding as she spied Lora, her mind catching up to form the thought of stink bomb, explaining the source of the smell. She wasn't mad really, Lora was a really good friend..even if she wasn't a Slytherin.

Copying February, she smiled a too-sweet grin at Lora, and doing her best Eliza Doolittle (Mum may have been a witch but she loved My Fair Lady!

"Jus' ya wait, Henry Lora, jus' ya wait!

Still coughing, she turned to February, scowling playfully.

You know this means, war, right?!

[Emily Spencer]

She smiled as she saw the boy approach, recognizing the Slytherin green robes. They hadn't met yet, so she didn't know his name, but raised a hand in greeting all the same. She loved meeting people from all the houses, but it went without saying that those in Slytherin were extra special.

She grinned at Lora, then spoke in a mock threatening voice, fighting to keep the laughter at bay:

"Better watch it, Gryffie. We're getting an aaaarrrmmy"

[Brianna Caedmon]

Brianna had been feeling rather tongue-tied as Emily and February had talked her through the Slytherin staff and told her about a friendly Hufflepuff professor. It seemed like these other girls knew everything there was to know about Hogwarts, and she couldn't help but be amazed at how quickly Emily must have picked this up- February was less surprising, being a second year.

Suddenly, the barrage of questions she had about her new school came back into her mind and she opened her mouth to ask them.

Only she didn't. Instead, she promptly closed her mouth. What was that smell?

Before she could ask, the other two girls rounded on someone who they seemed to be calling Lora. So that was the culprit. She watched as the other two girls exchanged threats and another Slytherin boy appeared. She smiled at him, keen to meet more members of her own house, as Emily threw yet another threat in the direction of Lora, visibly trying not to laugh.

It seemed she was witnessing the begin of a great prank war. One she was eager to participate in.

"I love this house." she said, before adding in a quieter voice "We should plan. Any ideas?"

[February Fortescue]

While looking around the various booths, February spotted an old friend. Hey, there's Blade! she thought to herself. I bet he saw that stink bomb! Oh, NO, I hope he doesn't start any wars. I know how much he enjoys pranks, and I completely forgot about how strongly we Slytherins believe in taking care of our own. Blade's a good guy, though. He's always been a great friend to me, and a true Slytherin. I'm sure he realizes that stink bomb was just a harmless prank. I'm sure everyone else does, too.

I wonder if the Hufflepuffs have ice cream? Please tell me they have ice cream. And a brownie, with hot fudge topping, whipped cream, and a cherry on top! February heads to the Hufflepuff booth in search of snacks and a friendly face.

[Emily Spencer]

Smiling, Emily turns to Brianna.

"I love this house, too!"

In a conspiratorial whisper she adds:

"Oh we will definitely be making plans!"

She links arms with the girl and waves over Lora with a smile, inviting her to accompany them to search for something sweet to eat.

"Where shall we try first, girls?"

[Lora Wallabenger]

Lora grinned looking at the Slythrines, her hands in her pocket cultching the prank items - she didn't want them to be taken!


"Hey, it's just a prank!"She said, as another Slytherine boy came towards them. 'Uh-Oh this is going to be bad' she thought.

She'll be ready for a fight anyway, Gryffindores don't run away from them !
Lora saw another Slytherine girl she haven't seen before coming at thier direction.
'Emily's right. This is an army ...but if a fight rise up it'll be good !'

Brianna seemed to distract both of the girls away from her, sizing the chance she cried ,
"Of course I love hogwarts!"as she wanted to, both Emily and February started to chat with the girl who appeared to be Brianna.
Lora love making new friends as she introduced herself to Brianna.

Lora turned towards Emily who's waving her hand at her direction.
Saying bye to February Lora joined Emily and Brianna.

"We'll try at the sweet shop then, they've got butterbeer ! "

[Adaleine Shuster]

Ada was a bit late in arriving at the fair, but she'd been meaning to go. She hurried over to the fair, and couldn't helo but grin and start running once she started hearing all of the chatter. Once she arrived she stood frozen, taking it all in. She saw old friends, new first years, a butterbeer fountain, and.... an apparent prank war? She moved closer to the scene to see who was participating, and saw Lora, Emily, and two more people she didn't know. She recognized one of them, and realized that the other was a first year. She decided it was time to introduce herself, but once she moved forward she smelled something horrible and realized that if she moved forward she was going to be pulled into a prank war, which she knew could last all year, and was not something she wanted. She quickly hurried away to the Hufflepuff booth, seeing Tarma watching it with her cup of coffee. She hurried over to quickkly say hi and see what was going on, because she had just spotted Ivey making hair pieces over at the art department booth with Nessa, who was rocking some pretty weird hair.

She arrived at the Hufflepuff booth and was happy to see February there as well. When she was walking up she heard February ask Tarma something about ice cream, brownies, and hot fudge. "Hey! How are you guys?" she called excitedly.

[Emily Spencer]

Emily got a huge smile as Lora mentioned butterbeer. She knew that technically she was too young to have it, but hey, it was a festival so just this once the Headmaster could turn a blind eye. Besides, she hadn't seen the elusive Professor Phantom anyway, so there was no worries on that score.

"I knew I liked you for a reason, Lora! Lead on!"