AT TABLE GRYFFINDOR

The boy looked at Layla as she fumbled between pens. "You may use your muggle writing agent! I am sure the spells here are not so strong as to interfere with those as local lore will have you believe. They use them in muggle studies classes, in fact, pencils as well!" It would be difficult to tell if he was being sarcastic in his tone or not. He took out a roll of parchment from his back pocket and set it on the table in the space between them. There was only one name on this petition so far, presumably it was his.

'Marc McQueen'

He would watch her scribble her own name and that is how he would learn it. "Brilliant. Welcome to Gryffindor! Where are you from?"

AT TABLE SLYTHERIN

Konstantin, as he sat down with his fellow housemates, would notice that one conversation dominated all the others. Gossip about what had happened on the train car:

"Where is Tim?"

"Wade and the whole team is at detention awaiting their fate!"

"What did they do?"

"There was a fight in their compartment! Some first years were calling 'em inbreeds! Can you believe it!?"

"That is disgusting."

"I heard it was Wade started it."

"Wade has a temper, but Tim would keep him in line, unless he had good reason not to! Tim has a good shoulder on his head!"

"Where are the first years? What house are they in?"

"I dunno, they are missing too. Hopefully they won't get off easy because they are first years."

"I hope everyone is okay..."

"Didn't see no one yet, they kept 'em apart from us the rest of the ride."

"Table sure is quiet without them..."

IN THE WAITING ROOM

Caleum reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. It was pink with little charms attached to it and rhinestones glued on in swirling patterns, it was a flip-phone, and seemed a bit outdated but was certainly cute enough to make up for it. "I have not heard back yet from him. I hope he isn't mad..." She bit her lower lip.

Then, the lady herself, the headmistress of Hogwarts stepped inside.

Headmistress Minerva Mcgonagall was a woman of small stature and large presence. Her sharp blue eyes didn't miss anything. Her years as headmistress had aged her further, the lines on her thin delicate face had deepened exponentially over the last few years, her hair was grey, but her eyes were somehow sharper.

"Congratulations to each and every one of you. You are the very first students to earn a detention before your first step upon the grounds!" She gazed around the room.

"I understand that you are all young and not wholly responsible for the events on the train. Trust me when I say that the older students, who most certainly should know better, will be punished with the appropriate proportion of their responsibility."

"You should all be glad to have this lesson learned early I think. I hope that this event does not discourage you in your studies or your enjoyment here at Hogwarts! I think it is bets to get this through quickly... You will all attend one single detention together. Report here the first day of classes at sundown. Then you can all quickly resume your studies as normal first years and the trouble will be behind us."

"In the meantime, if you wish to speak, Professor Quinn will hear what you have to say one at a time. When you are finished you may return to the dining hall."

Then she crossed the room and went through the oak door, presumably to her office.

Sadria Quinn stood, waiting to take up any student who wished to speak, but her still face did not promise any sympathy. As the punishment had already been decided, it was clear that nothing they said would change the verdict.

Gryffindor Table

Ajax calmly sat in his seat, picking out food from the table and lightly eating. He was still new to England and was definitely unique because of his accent. When he stepped onto that train, he has not spoken a word not anyone. He kept to himself mostly. He heard of the fight and taught nothing about it. With his combat skills, he could probably beat most of the Wizards here in hand to hand combat, with none of the wizardy bullshit.

Ajax fumbled with the "robe", it was more like a dress to him, and picked out his headphones and his iPhone. He plugged his headphones into the iPhone and attempted to turn it on. It sparked. He felt a jolt of electricity go through his right hand, which was holding the now sparking iPhone. Of course, he being how he is, he said one word. Really, really loud. "FUCK!"

Ajax, forcefully, put his headphones on his neck and immediately unplugged it. He held his callous and smoking?! hand, gripping tightly. He stopped. He looked around. 'Oh no.' The table looked at him with wide eyes. The New Zealander quickly sat back down, face red. He fumbled with his still smoking iPhone and threw it into his pumpkin juice. He looked at the girl in front of him (can be anyone) and asked in his thick New Zealand accent "Yeah, can I borrow your Phone? I need to call my parents to say that I've arrived." He of course lied, all Ajax wanted was to escape the boring hall and listen to music.

“Mum, please…” Sevrin mumbled, attempting to wriggle out of his mother’s hug but her arms were like steel as she embraced her only child on his first day as a Hogwarts student.

“Oh, I’m sorry lad…” She sniffled in her thick northern accent made even worse by her overflowing emotions. She wiped a small tear from her red eyes as she released him, nervously adjusted the ruffles on her flower-patterned blouse before standing up straight, heels together; the perfect model of a primary school teacher. “I jus’ can’t believe me own boy’s goin’ t’beh a wizard! Ye goin’ t’ave so much fun! Maybe y’should give y’mutha anothah hug jus’ f’road.”

“That’s enough, JoAnna…” His father smiled, as he put a comforting arm around his wife. “He’s not so much a boy anymore, is he?” The large, physically imposing Auror that was his father spoke in a calm, dignified way that was quite surprising for his stature as he leaned down onto his knee so that his dark eyes could meet Sevrin’s grey ones, the same eyes as his mother. “You’re going to do great things, Sevrin… Don’t forget your goals and stay focused on your school work.” He put a large hand on the boy’s shoulder, the sheer weight of it causing his small frame to sway. “Oh, and don’t forget to make some good friends while you’re at it!” With a hearty chuckle he embraced his son and then pushed the cart to the edge of the platform where the ruby-red Hogwarts Express was letting off steam. Feris squeaked excitedly, bouncing around his cage atop the small pile of trunks and bags, clearly wanting to be let out to explore this new and exciting place as the train attendants helped lift the trolley through the train car doors.

Turning back to his parents who stood together on the platform, Sevrin finally offered them a small smile. “I’ll make y’proud… Ah’promise!” He found a seat in the first year’s car and waved to them as the train slowly pulled away from the station, quickly wiping away the moisture in his eyes before anyone could notice. Sevin rode the majority of the way in silence, though he did make a bit of small talk with those nearest him until they lost all interest. He heard the shouts as chaos erupted in the car next to his own but only caught the tail end of the fight as the window between their cars suddenly frosted over. Before long a handful of shivering students were led out of the car by a few teachers with annoyed expressions. “Well that din’ tek long…”

The hills rolled by for several hours, little more than green grass and English countryside much like that which surrounded his hometown, and after a time staring at the sights Sevrin drifted off. He awoke gently as his body felt the train begin to slow and a quick glance showed the other first years gathering their things as the last rays of orange-red sunlight streamed in through the window. He stepped off the train onto the Hogwarts platform and followed the crowd of nervous first-years as the teachers led them down to the docks. The dark water rushed past as their longboat skimmed silently over the surface of the lake as Sevrin leaned over the edge, his bright eyes reflecting off the water as he was overcome by the feeling of something watching them from those murky depths. They rounded a bend and his trance was broken by the gasps of the students around him and as he looked up he couldn’t help but join them. The ancient castle rose before them, its spires piercing high into the deep red sky and standing vigilant over the lake and forests that stretched on all around. Hogwarts!

It would be his second home for the next seven years.

He jumped out of the boat as it parked beside the castle docks, his suddenly animated movements betraying his nervousness, and followed the teacher who led them into the twisting stone halls of the school. They entered the great hall, already awash with sound and activity as the older students had already arrived and taken their seats. Sevrin could see the banners drifting above each group, the symbols of each house his father had familiarized him with a week before, but he was led to a small barren table near the front of the hall; clearly placed for first years yet to be sorted. One by one they were called up, the strange crumbled hat shouting out their placements followed by a roar of excitement from the welcoming house. Sevrin was towards the end of the list and as he took his seat upon the stool he became afraid that the several hundred students staring eagerly at him would be able to hear his heartbeat pounding in his chest. The musty hat slipped over his ears and suddenly drowned out the milling sounds of the hall, leaving Sev in muffled silence.

But not so silent as he would have thought.

‘Oh my, oh my! The son of Marten Crillden, if I’m not mistaken! And I’m not, oh no no, for I can see the same spark in you, my boy.’

The Sorting Hat spoke in such a way that Sevrin couldn’t decide if it was whispering in his ear or straight into his mind but he answered all the same. “Spark?”

‘Yes! That spark of courage! It’s one that values justice and friendship above all things! Your father did well in Gryffindor, and has done great things since! Perhaps you’d like to follow along his path, hmm?’

Sevrin’s held his breath at the remark, the thought of being an Auror like his father shining brilliantly in his mind, but for the first time there was something else too; a sort of hesitation at the thought of being exactly like his father.

’Ah… but there’s something else too… Your mother’s given you a few gifts of her own, I see. A muggle, yes, but no less brilliant than any great wizard and don’t let anyone convince you otherwise! Perhaps you’re realizing now that there are many paths to a destination… and I think your path will be one of your own making! And what better place to start that path than…

“RAVENCLAW!”

Sevrin blinked in surprise as the hat was slipped off and the roar of the blue and bronze table filled the Great Hall. He stepped down beneath their banners to a myriad of congratulations and friendly greetings with a reserved smile on his face, his mind still twirling around what the old and wise hat had said.

Dani gave Peter a smile when he walked up to her, nodding when he asked if she was okay, though she looked at him with a quizzical expression on her face when he mentioned his fear of receiving something known as a “howler.” Unfortunately, if they were actually in trouble, their parents were mostly likely going to be informed, but Dani kept that particular observation to herself. Not that she could share it anyway, however, as she didn’t have her whiteboard on her.

Despite having Peter for company, Dani wished that Pearleane would join them, as it would be nice to have another friend nearby when their sentence was issued. It seemed that Peter may have spotted her off in the midst of the crowd, but, no matter how hard she tried, Dani failed to pick her out of the crowd, as everyone obstructed her view due to the fact that they were all significantly taller than she was.

The incessant murmuring of the first years concerning what had transpired on the train and what their punishment might be died out immediately as the door to the headmistress’s office opened to reveal an elderly-looking woman with sharp features who wasted no time in delivering their sentence, which was one detention after their first day of classes.

Even though the verdict was quite unfair to Peter, Pearl, and herself, Dani simply sighed in response and was willing to let it go, especially when she saw the professor to whom they were to direct their appeals. The rigid posture, set jawline, and harsh expression were all clear indicators, at least to someone as versed in reading body language as Dani, that she would not be changing her mind anytime soon. In fact, it would probably have been easier for them to have moved the whole castle by pushing it.

Still, Dani didn’t actually leave the foyer immediately. Instead, she wanted to wait for Peter and/or Pearleane to join her. They, in addition to being her friends, would at least understand that she couldn’t communicate effectively without her whiteboard and be able to explain that to anyone she ended up sitting with who tried to ask her a question.

Gryffindor Table

"Language, ten points from Gryffindor!" A short portly teacher happened to be passing behind Ajax as he cursed. The teacher made the declaration and continued on his way. He had large glasses, small eyes, and grey receding hairline.

"See what I mean?" Marc gestured to Ajax and his malfunctioning hardware.

"Unfortunately, you can not borrow anybody's phone." Marc explained to Ajax. "There are spells in the castle that keep muggle technology from working properly. You will have to use the Owl mail system like everyone else. I'll help you figure it out if you need, but, I think it is simply draconian to have such spells in the castle! Would you like to sign my petition? It would declare that you are against anti-muggle spells in the castle."

Ravenclaw Table

The Ravenclaw table was not discussing the fight. They turned their noes up at those who were involved in the fight, and didn't find the affair either impressive or newsworthy. Ravenclaw were more impressed by feats of mind than might. They took note of the new Ravenclaw first years that were sentenced to detention, but that was the extent of their interest. They welcomed the other new first years with cordial questions and inquiries, and shared summer stories with their old classmates.

THE NEXT DAY

DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS

The classroom of Sadria Quinn was noted on the schedule as "the lower west dungeon" and class was to begin at 12. The students would need to descend several flights of stairs. Students might guess that they were somewhere below Ravenclaw, but as the stairwells shifted beneath their feet they really could not be sure. The day was bright and sunny, but there were no windows here. It would feel like night. There were not even any paintings. The walls were decorated, instead, with cracks. It was humid and cool. The torches that lined the hallway did not seem bright enough.

There were several empty rooms, and a few unmarked hallways that might tempt a student to become lost. There were two distinctions that marked the classroom from the other chambers: 1. The presence of desks, chairs, and a chalkboard on wheels. 2. light: sunlight lit the room from overhead, seeming to stream into the classroom from a hole in the high stonework ceiling above them. The light was bright enough that no torches or candles would be needed to light the room. The students might wonder if it was a spell, or if they were not directly under the castle after-all. The light was soft and illuminated dust in the air, creating hazy beams. Perhaps it was tired from it's long journey underground.

The group of desks and blackboard sat awkwardly in the center of the room, not enough to fill the space. There was no door on the entrance of this classroom. It was simply a wide arching threshold carved with gargoyles. That was the only decoration. The rest of the room was plain. There were a few other doorways in the room but these were blocked with iron bars, presumably leftover from when this place had actually been a dungeon.

As the first year students filed in they would not see the teacher present.

Layla jumped when a boy swore. A teacher was passing at that exact moment - unluckily - and she deducted 10 points from Gryffindor. Layla didn't really understand the point system yet, but she knew enough to realise that the subtraction was bad, so she glared at the fellow 11 year old.

The next day

Defence against the dark arts did not seem fun to Layla. In fact, it sounded like something that could go horribly wrong. She had read A History of Hogwarts, and that explained the basics of dark arts without even trying! The map she was given was useless. The general message was that the classroom was in the dungeons, but where exactly in the dungeon area?

Layla stumbled into a random room in the dungeons. Taking a moment to look at her surroundings, she heard the door slam behind her with a loud CRASH! "No! Open the door!" She ran over to try the door handle, but it had mysteriously vanished. Well, duh, this was a magic school! A mad cackling drifted in through the cracks in the door. "Help!" She cried, but doubt overwhelmed her and she thought no-one would find her.

Layla was not alone.

"The door has moved on." Behind Layla there was a figure that she had not seen before when she had entered the room. The figure was taller than Layla, thin and willowy, with eyes that seemed far to large and a mouth and nose that seemed far too small. The figure had long hair tied back into a long ponytail, and wore only a simple tabbard belted at the waist by a rope. Thin legs and large wide feet. Thin arms with wide palms and long fingers. A round head with wide eyes and tiny pointed ears. What color were those eyes? They were not any color, for the entire figure was white and translucent. This was obviously a ghost.

"Yelling will just keep it away, like a morning bird." It would be difficult by looking at the scrawny thing if it were a boy or a girl ghost, though, the soft deep voice seemed resolutely feminine.

Yawning slightly, Dani almost bumped into the door frame of the classroom, though it was really just a dungeon that class was being held in, before she corrected her course and made her way to a seat towards what she assumed was the front of the classroom. Though she didn’t care much for being the center of anyone’s attention, the teacher would need to be able to read her whiteboard if she had a question or needed to communicate something, and sitting at the front was the easiest way to ensure that.

Fortunately, an upperclassman named Samuel from Ravenclaw had volunteered to lead the first-years from his house to the dungeon so that they weren’t late and didn’t get lost. In fact, the ones that had decided to follow Sam were the first students to arrive for class. They had likewise been the first group to arrive at each of their previous classes as well, including the one at eight in the morning, which partially explained why Dani seemed so tired.

The other reason for her exhaustion was her fellow housemates’ curiosity concerning her condition and everything associated with it keeping her up for several hours past whens she normally would have gone to bed. They had asked her questions that ranged from what a dry erase marker was to how she communicated without her whiteboard or any other writing utensils. Some of them had even requested that she begin teaching them sign language, which was kind of nice.

Of course, they had seemed to be just as interested in teaching her about magical things once they realized that she was a Muggle-born witch, though that revelation also brought with it more questions concerning the Muggle world. Fortunately, they weren’t as intense in their interest about the Muggle world, which was probably due to the fact that there was more than one Muggle-born in the House and their already knowing some of the subject.

Hopefully, the class wouldn’t drag on for too long so that she could slip back to the dorm and into her bed for a much needed nap. If only the teacher and the other students would arrive so that they could get started.

Nolan trudged along, behind the rest of the mixed group of first years. As they all had the same classes, he'd found that it was easiest to find the next classroom by sticking to the crowd. A few had taken up an upperclassman Ravenclaw on his offer to lead them around, but Nolan found he enjoyed struggling with the rest of the group. Seeing a bit more of the castle than they would otherwise. After all, the teachers had to expect the first years would struggle to navigate the huge castle. Of course, their next class was Professor Quinn. He didn't expect she would be as understanding.

He'd struggled with the thought of trying to explain his actions to her the night previously. He was even going to try and get her to let Caelum and Chandler of the hook. After all if he hadn't left the compartment, they might have been left alone. He had remembered Roy's complaints about the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and felt trying to get out of punishment might just make everything worse. Nolan remembered the stern face looking down at them all the previous night outside the headmistress's office and suddenly felt it'd be good to get there as quickly as possible. As the three students heading the group began to turn down one corridor of the dungeon, he realized it looked very familiar.

"No, this isn't the way. We came down this way to the Slytherin common room last night. I didn't see any classrooms." A few turned to look at him. One girl he recognized from his own house seemed annoyed with him. Oh, was he not supposed to have told them the common room was that way? No, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw both supposedly had obvious common room locations so he was sure the others weren't a secret. Regardless a few other Slytherins confirmed what he said and the group went a different way. Hopefully the dungeon corridors didn't shift around like the staircases. They didn't, did they?

As he walked behind the group, he'd helped lead them around to find the class before this and was glad to just follow and observe the castle for a bit. It had been a good day, mostly. The early start had made it difficult to get going, but the excitement of the first day was enough to quickly change that. The Archer boys had even lucked out and not received a Howler in the flurry of exploding red enveloped that had arrived at breakfast that morning. However, Nolan was already starting to get a bit anxious. Though most of the classes so far had covered policies and other introductory material, he could tell these magic classes weren't going to be any easier than Muggle classes he'd had before. For now he was just hoping to relax, then hope DADA would pass quickly so he could get some lunch. He'd met his fellow Slytherins at breakfast and wanted another chance to get to know some of them better. Lunch might be a good time for that.

One of the students leading the group, a Gryffindor boy called out that he found the classroom. Looking around he noticed that some of the faces he remembered form the previous night seemed to be recalling the woman who had so casually frozen them all then refused to budge on their detentions. He looked around for Caelum or Chandler. Judoc said Quinn was merely stern and no one to be afraid of. Still Nolan found her intimidating, and would rather face her with someone he knew.

Caelum walked in with the main group of students. She was wearing the same long black robe as everyone else.

The robes bothered her. She had never worn a uniform for school before now. She enjoyed dressing with her own sense of fashion and individuality. She enjoyed looking at how other people chose to dress and express themselves as well. She was an artist at heart. Here at Hogwarts it seemed they wanted everyone to look the same. It was not like a normal school uniform either. It was a robe. The layers of loose black cloth consumed the student, it obscured their bodies.

They still had their faces. In the darkness of the dungeon it seemed like a sea of floating heads.

Caelum had put on pale golden eyeshadow and a sweep of mascara. It was a subtle look inspired by her new house colors. She wasn't sure if makeup was allowed or not. She followed the adage "Ask for forgiveness rather than permission." She was already assigned to a detention and she doubted makeup would earn her a more severe punishment than that. She put some effort into her hair as well, twisting it along the sides before gathering it together into a loose bun.

The dungeon frightened her. The narrow stairwells and halls seemed to press in around her. If she had not traveled with the group she might not have gotten to class on time. In the dungeon classroom she began to feel at ease. The room was very big and open and sunlight streamed in from somewhere high above.

High... high above... She tried not to dwell on that fact.

She noticed a group of Ravenclaw lead by an upperclassman. 'That is nice of him' she thought. One of the other first years (Caelum remembered that her name was Dani and she was sorted into Ravenclaw) carried a small chalk board with her. Caelum worried for a moment if she was supposed to have one as well. She did not want to be unprepared for class.

She began to find a seat far from the teachers chalkboard. She was a quiet student and preferred to sit in the back where she could observe everyone... or daydream.

She spotted Nolan and gave him a small wave.

Ajax looked at the teachers back with a death glare and clenched his fists. "Fuck my life" he muttered under his breath. "Rainbows and ponies Ajax, rainbows and ponies." Ajax turned as he saw a boy talk to him with an excited blabber. A petition or something, Ajax didn't particularly care but he signed it anyway. 'A day into this bloody school and I'm already in trouble.'He felt a glare stare into him. He turned around to look at a girl, a bit younger than him it seemed. She had long flowing hair and warm eyes. He quickly turned from Layla, red faced, and began munching on a piece of bread he conveniently found on his plate. 'Smooth Ajax. Smooth'.

Next Day

"Oh I am starting to hate this bloody school." He arrived in front of the dungeon, panting from walking through so many corridors and going down so many stairs.Defence Against the Dark Arts. What a snobby name. Sounds like what a Ponsnobby kid would yap about. The Kiwi snorted at that thought. Tryhards, the lot of em. Ajax looked into the pitch black room, tugging at his robes.

He shuffled through the doorway and walked into the room. Taking a seat down on a desk, he sat down. He started singing in a low tune, a Maori song he learned from his father. Pokare Kare Ana. A love song made by the Maori of Old. God he loved this song.

"Pōkarekare ana
ngā wai o Waiapu,
Whiti atu koe hine
marino ana e.
E hine e
hoki mai ra.
Ka mate ahau
I te aroha e.

Tuhituhi taku reta
tuku atu taku rīngi,
Kia kite tō iwi
raru raru ana e.

Whati whati taku pene
ka pau aku pepa,
Ko taku aroha
mau tonu ana e.

E kore te aroha
e maroke i te rā,
Mākūkū tonu i
aku roimata e."

What Ajax did not realise however is that he sang loud enough for the whole room to hear.

Moriah found the dungeon classroom just then. She walked without saying much or saying hello to anyone. She was still in shock. Shock from the incident on the train. Shocked from their swift and certain sentence of detention. Shocked from being sorted to Slytherin. She had hardly been paying attention in classes. She had spent the time avoiding everyone in a daze.

She knew she could not hide forever. She could hope to be forgotten... or remembered for something better someday. The Sorting Hat must have a sense of humor. She wasn't brave, or smart, or even kind. She wasn't clever like a Slytherin should be. The Hat put her in there to be tormented... The older students were punished more severely than the first years. They were already looking at her scornfully, blaming her and the other first years for what had happened...

She heard an odd little song. The boy next to her... was singing...

She pushed her glasses up onto her nose. She was too anxious to pay full attention to the sorting. She did not remember where this boy had been placed. She needed to be careful but she was curious...

"What... What is that? I mean... What are you singing?"

There were too many hallways in the dungeon, it was a danger to an adventurous girl like Charlotte. With a quick look at her watch, she had determined that there might be enough time to check one of the passages for... she didn't know, buried treasure? A magic sword? She didn't have a clear idea in her head of what she might find.

She thought she might have actually found something when she heard someone calling for help. A girl, she thought. A Damsel in Distress! Like in story books! She followed the voice; it was muffled, but the enclosed walls still bounced it back and forth, echoing it from its source all the way to Charlotte. She got to the point where she thought she must be right on the other side of a wall from the damsel in question, and she saw no door.

"Hello?" she called in through the stone wall. "Are you stuck? Stand back," she said, remembering what had happened on the train when she had waved her wand, "I'll get you out." She got her wand from her pocket and pointed it at the wall, producing a shower of gold and purple sparks, hoping for what, she wasn't sure.

Despite the whole fiasco that had occurred on the train the day before, and the punishment that had followed, Roze was in a most excellent mood. The endless plates of breakfast had made up for their missing the feast last night, and although she hadn't really spoken to anyone in her dorm so far, they seemed like a nice bunch. The older students had been nice as well - they'd received a few looks of admiration off a couple of the more mischievous third years, after hearing of the fight on the train with the Slytherins - and one was even nice enough to direct them to their first class of the year. Good job too. The school itself was like a maze (the moving staircases - although spectacular and really quite fun - didn't help), but the dungeons were a catacomb beneath the school, each corridor identical to the next, and faded writing on the walls from a time when the teachers actually cared about their students making it to class on time.
Roze had picked a seat next to Dani, one of her dormmates. She'd looked exhausted, and because of the whole mute thing, Roze didn't particularly want to bother the poor girl too much. So, she just offered up a sweet smile, and perched herself on the desk, one leg swung over the other as she tugged uncomfortably at the robes. Roze was used to wearing jeans and shorts, not robes. However, she'd been able to wear whatever she wanted on the underneath, so it wasn't as bad as wearing a *shudder* dress.

Glancing around the class absent-mindedly as more sleepy first-years filed in, she grinned as a shell-shocked Moriah entered. She'd felt bad for the girl when she'd been sorted into Slytherin, considering the whole fight and all - but also just the slightest bit of sweet vengeance. Not that she disliked Moriah, but Roze found it most ironic that the very house she'd been insulting on the train was the one she had ended up in. Slipping from the desk to walk over to her, she was going to question jokingly how she had survived among the disgruntled older students - when she caught the last few words of a soft song, drifting from the mouth of the boy sat by Moriah. She recognized the language, and jumped in to answer Moriah's question before the boy even had chance to look at them.
"It's Māori - a love song, I think. Nice to see you alive, by the way." She said, smiling at her friend, and then at the boy. "I'm Roze. Are you from New Zealand, or are you a language nerd like me?" She questioned with a light chuckle. If this guy was from New Zealand, she'd have to rein herself in from bombarding him with Lord of the Rings related questions. Although the country was much more than the beautiful set for Middle-Earth, it did have a close place in her heart for that particular reason.

Ajax stopped singing, a grin on his face. It has been a long time since he had sung such a beautiful song like Pokarekare Ana. His grandmother was Maori so he knew some of the language. It was certainly guttural but there was a.... flowing feel to it. Especially in song. The Maori language was like any other language. But it had a special place in Ajax's heart. He was always conscious of his Mana and to never lose his honour. That didn't stop him from trying to sometimes sound like a total loony. He smirked a bit.

"What are you singing?" Ajax turned to face the new speaker. "Oh shit" Ajax thought. Maybe he did sing a little too loud. He looked past the girl and looked around the room and he was the centre of attention. The Kiwi quickly turned to the girl, ignoring the eyes boring into his body. He was to speak before he was interrupted. Some other girl next to him answered the question before him. He turned towards the new girl.

"Yeah nah, I am a New Zealander but I have some French blood in me. I've only been here for a few months as you can tell from my thick accent. And no, I'm not a hobbit, but yes, I do love Lord of The Rings. And yes, I use the word bloody as much as the Aussies. It sucks actually, a bloody ranga named Simon went up to me said that I'm a bloody bogan. I knocked him out of his stubble. I was knackered after it but it was worth it." Ajax paused, realising that she probably didn't understand. "Uh, sorry about that, I talk about the old times a lot." He scratched the back of his head.

Moriah had never been to New Zealand. Nor had she she any idea what Lord of the Rings was or a Maori. Instead of letting on any of that, she listened quietly and nodded when it seemed appropriate.

She turned her head to a sound, the sound of steps.

It was professor Sadria Quinn arriving. She walked through the threshold, back straight eyes studying each student.

She walked toward the chalkboard. She writes on it 'Defense Against the Dark Arts' then her own name Professor Quinn. She turns to the class.

"Good afternoon. I understand that the Dungeons are a bit hazardous to traverse. I will forgive tardiness today only. I will give your absent classmates a few more minutes before we begin."

Nolan entered the room, taking note of the decoration, or lack of decoration. While the room lit from above was interesting all on it own, the doorways blocked by iron bars drew his attention. Who knew what sorts of passages and secrets lay through through those arches. He was glad to see that Professor Quinn was not there waiting for them. The young Slytherin boy looked around, trying to decide where to sit when he caught sight of Caelum waving at him from the back row of seats.

While he had grown to prefer a seat in the front to better pay attention, he found that in this classroom with this professor, sitting in the back sounded like the best idea. He sat down with a smile. "How are classes so far? OH! and did you ever get word to your dad that you're okay?" He was curious as to how her father would have reacted and would listen, despite the sound of the singing boy across the room.

The arrival of their professor made him nervous once more. He was relieved to hear that she would be forgiving about tardiness. Even though he himself hadn't been tardy, he breathed easier to see that she could be understanding. Maybe he could still try and get his friends out of their detention. He was also glad to hear she would be waiting a few minutes before starting. He turned to Caelum. "These classes already seem hard. It's gonna be a lot of work..." He felt a mixture of anxiety and excitement at the seven long years ahead and it crept into his voice.

Layla jumped when a voice she didn't register spoke. "The door has moved on." She whipped her head around as they continued, "Yelling will just keep it away, like a morning bird." A... a ghost? She slumped against the wall where the door had been and answered, "What will bring it back, then? When I sing, birds come back... Would that work?"

But before the ghost could answer, another voiced seeped through the wall. "Hello?" A muffled voice came through the stone wall. "Are you stuck? Stand back," The feminine voice continued, "I'll get you out."
"It's me, Layla!" She cried, "The door went away; I don't know if there's anything you can do to help! Who are you?" Yet Layla's hope had dissolved, she still would like company. Besides the ghost, clearly. Even though she seemed nice, Layla preferred more humane company. Ghost slightly creeped her out. A dead person, in the over world? No thank you!

The sparks did nothing, but even this did not dampen Charlotte's confidence. She started running her hands along the walls, and looked down the hallway. There were other doors, just none on this particular stretch of wall. Maybe Layla's door "went away" down the hall?

"This is Charlotte," she called back through the wall. "I'm going to try to find your door. What does it look like?"

"Alright then." Sadria Quinn did not look at a watch, nor was there any time piece in the room. Yet, she seemed confident that it was time to begin the class.

"I would like to begin with a brief survey. This is not a test... You will be tested this year. This is to help me understand your current level of knowledge, or to fetter out any particular misconceptions that your minds might harbor. You are all first years, and many of you are new to the world of magic, perhaps this board will remain blank. Yet, maybe you have an experience you would like to share, an idea, or even questions about the dark arts and defense will be noted at this time.

She produced a long piece of whit chalk from her robe, then stepped to the chalkboard. She stood, ready to write.

"Speak now."