HOGWARTS VISIT

[goosemods]

VISIT TO HOGWARTS

Hogwarts' reputation precedes it, so while Gooseberry may like to brag about being the best and brightest, Hogwarts is a true institution. It has history behind it that few other schools do.

Lachlan Galbraith shares a compartment on the Hogwarts Express with Ms. Vector, who reminisces briefly about her days as a Ravenclaw, and how she'd missed out on becoming Head Girl because she made too many people cry as a sixth year prefect.



The castle is imposing as the Gooseberry students arrive via boats. [Volunteer B] gets a special welcome when the tentacle of the giant squid brushes their hand, which was clutching the edge of their boat. The rest of the journey goes smoothly, and everyone is escorted into the Great Hall. The tables are lined with children ranging from eleven to eighteen, in red, yellow, blue and green. They watch the Americans enter one by one as the Sorting Ceremony begins.

It goes smoothly almost until the very end, when Basil Underhill is called to sit up. Seconds become minutes, and whispers start to spread across the Great Hall. After five minutes pass, it's recorded that Basil is a true Hatstall!

The next day, students can go to Hogsmeade and explore the castle. Cameron Carney is talking a walk through the old halls, and asks a group of preteens for directions. Soon it becomes clear the girls were messing with them, though, as they become horribly lost.

[Volunteer D] can't seem to figure out the moving staircases, and gets stranded on a balcony for an hour.

Hank Hilshire, a handsome Gryffindor, is apparently the heartthrob of the school. He takes a shine to Rosemary Stoker, and pursues their company all weekend, whether or not they're taken. This earns them the ire of more than a few rival girls who'd wanted to go to Hogsmeade with Hank. (Presume he's of an appropriate year, and if the object of his affection is a boy, it's not wholly clear if he's being platonic or not.)

HOW THIS WORKS

• Although this post is going up on Jun 3, it actually takes place on Jun 8-11. This is to give you all time to write your scenes for what will probably be an exciting event.


• On Fri, Jun 8, all students who plan on going to Hogwarts take a portkey to London's King's Cross Station. Upon arrival, they're brought to Platform 4 3/4, and the Hogwarts Express.


• Students will leave Gooseberry at 8 AM, and due to the difference in time zones, will be boarding the Hogwarts Express at 5 PM local time. They'll arrive at Hogwarts just past 6 PM in time for their Sorting and dinner.


• Visiting students are given the proper Hogwarts welcome, which means travelling on boats to the castle. Although Gooseberry is technically a rival, the general mood seems to be one of excitement, rather than competition.


• The Sorting takes place in front of the existing Hogwarts students, who are arguing and betting on which Hogwarts house will get the most students. Ravenclaw wins by a narrow margin, but are crowing about it (haha) all night anyway.


• Previous Hogwarts Students: Facing the Sorting Hat again is optional. If you don't want to wear it again, you can simply go sit with your old House. If you pursue a resorting, the Hat will stubbornly refuse to change its original decision, regardless of how much you ask it or how much you've changed. It's a stubborn thing, and never admits to being wrong.


• After being sorted, students are shown to their dorms. Gooseberry students will room in either the boys or girls' dorms together, depending upon where they were sorted. There are 5 beds in every dorm.
CLICK HERE FOR ROOM ASSIGNMENTS

GRYFFINDOR BOYS #1	GRYFFINDOR BOYS #2	GRYFFINDOR GIRLS #1	GRYFFINDOR GIRLS #2
Casper Iliya Lucas	Noel Chad Quentin	Essie Clem Hazel Rosy	Dinah Eve London
HUFFLEPUFF BOYS #1	HUFFLEPUFF BOYS #2	HUFFLEPUFF GIRLS #1
Jeffy Spencer Sebastien Jaime Tobias	Phin Ennis Heathcliff Cameron Webster	January Tuesday Natalie Avery Gwen
RAVENCLAW BOYS #1	RAVENCLAW BOYS #2	RAVENCLAW GIRLS #1	RAVENCLAW GIRLS #2
Lachlan Danny Wilde Salem	Archie Cole Basil Ira Micah	Eileen Roxie Liberty	Nisha Paris Pandora
SLYTHERIN BOYS #1		SLYTHERIN GIRLS #1	SLYTHERIN GIRLS #2
Calvin Yancey Ramon Sylvester Ulysses		Jade Ari Madison Ruby Charlotte	Mackenzie Riley Sofia Lilika Fern

• On Saturday, students will be allowed to go to Hogsmeade to shop and enjoy the little town.


• On Sunday, the Quidditch match takes place in the morning. Make sure you adjust to the Portkey lag!


• On Monday, everyone returns to Utah. They'll leave at 10 AM, and will get home in the wee hours of the morning due to the difference in time zones. Classes are still in session, so consider squeezing in some sleep.

» HOGWARTS EXPRESS: On board the large magical train, students file into their compartments and settle in for a long ride. The scenic Scottish countryside and the looming castle are foreign sights to most of Gooseberry's students.

» THE SORTING HAT: The Great Hall's ceiling sparkles with stars, and there are banners for Gooseberry's houses hung on the far wall along with Hogwarts' own. Line up alphabetically, it's time to find out where you'll be staying tonight.

» COMMON ROOMS AND DORMS: Each house has a common room and an assortment of rooms with 5 beds each. You're informed by a seventh year prefect which rooms you'll be in and with whom.

» gryffindor: Gryffindor's welcome is loud and rambunctious. They accept their new additions enthusiastically and call you all honorary Gryffindors, and immediately set to telling you to stay away from Slytherins.

» hufflepuff: The new Hufflepuffs are greeted warmly, and invited to socialize with the rest of the house. There may be a bit of an us and them divide, but they're not unfriendly.

» ravenclaw: Ravenclaw's still pleased they got the most Gooseberry students. They're very curious about Gooseberry, as well as the rest of you, and end up interrogating the new students.

» slytherin: To no one's great surprise, Slytherin's ready to eat its visitors alive if they take a wrong step. You get extra points for being pretty and pureblood (or at least close to it).

» AROUND HOGWARTS: While Gooseberry is sprawling, Hogwarts is dense. It's easy to get lost in the ancient corridors, and prefects warn the visitors not to wander far without someone to guide them. They're free to explore, though, and the Quidditch team can get in a bit of extra practice on the unfamiliar pitch.

» HOGSMEADE: Saturday is an opportunity to visit the traditional Wizarding town of Hogsmeade. Students can shop, eat, and take in the sights. The residents seem a alternatively baffled, mortified or amused by these loud foreign witches and wizards, taking selfies and dyeing their hair wild colors. One little old witch gives the teens her wifi password. "Poor dears, keeping you disconnected. I couldn't live without my soaps."

» OOC - Questions/Discussion

Comments

HOGWARTS EXPRESS

[goosemods]

Jeffy & Open

[racingstripe]

Jeffy has a book with him, but he can't focus on it. He has a Quaffle that he dug out of his bag and he keeps tossing it up and at the walls of the train compartment, but even that does little to dispel his nervous energy. He has plenty of reasons to not be nervous—this isn't his senior year, this isn't his last chance to play a game, and even if it's the last game for the SEASON and his second chance to prove he can turn out a WINNING team as Captain, there's no Cup or anything riding on this.

Still, he KIND OF wants this game to go well. For his team.

This is also his first time out of the country, which is a whole OTHER adventure.

He throws the Quaffle at the window again and it lets out a loud SQUAWK before bouncing back to his hands. Someone's going to come yell at them for being so disruptive soon, he can tell. After three years in Azurcrest, you just know.

THE SORTING HAT

[goosemods]

Basil's Hatstall (Open to Anyone)

[underthehillandunderand]

((Idk how anyone can reply to this mess. Just take it. I wrote it at one am and spent too long for the world to not see this abomination.))

Basil sort of hated that his last name was Underhill sometimes. Specifically, any time they had to line up alphabetically. In front of people. In a strange country. And everyone was wizards. Oh boy.

At the very least, he could take comfort in the fact that he was an Azurecrest, and these strange houses (not entirely strange; he'd read about Hogwarts extensively, curious about the sister school earlier that year when he first heard they had a chance to travel) weren't a permanent fixture in his life. It seemed so rigid somehow, these houses.

And then everyone was getting sorted, and he was getting antsy. He just wanted it to be over with so he could sit and talk to whomever, learn more about Hogwarts and what spells might've been used to bewitch the ceiling, or the stairs, or literally anything here. It was all such old magic, so complex. He wanted to learn it all.

Finally, finally he was called, and by now he was past the awestruck and nervous stage and just on to "when can we eat" stage. He sat down and let the hat be put on his head, staring out across the sea of people to the house banners. Maybe he was a little biased, but Gooseberry's bright colors seemed oh so much more welcoming.

To any outsider, it looked like Basil was just sitting there, growing more and more anxious, sometimes opening his mouth to mumble something under his breath. As people began to whisper, he began to turn red, shoulders rounding as he stared down at his shoes. But from Basil's perspective, the hat was arguing with him, saying "Ravenclaw would be the best fit, if only you would embrace it. Hufflepuff is good too, but you would excel as a wizard and your drive to learn is a very Ravenclaw thing."

"Can't I just be put into one house or another. It doesn't even matter. I don't go here and everyone's watching." Basil's desperation somehow managed to come through even a mumble.

"I'm not some crude paintings on a wall young man. And this is very important. You insult this institution by insinuating otherwise. Now, are you quite certain that your mothers would refuse to accept your talent?"

The argument continued, with Basil's suggestion of being placed in Gryffindor (a short laugh) or Slytherin (well, that's just absurd) getting shot down immediately. And the hat would not back down from the idea that as a wizard, he'd certainly fit in better as a Ravenclaw, even as Basil argued over and over that it just wouldn't be possible for him to continue his studies after Gooseberry to the same extent. But the hat wore him down, and finally, it declared its decision for all to hear. "Ravenclaw!"

Basil had sat there so long, mortified by the whispering and stares, that his butt had gone numb and he stumbled off the chair, starting for the wrong table until some helpful third year directed him towards the people in blue. Basil found someone, he didn't care who, that wasn't a total stranger and sat next to them, hiding his face in his arms while the sorting finished up.

Re: THE SORTING HAT

[sheepish]

When he first stepped on this stage, he could feel the bile rising in his throat as the Hall went quiet and all eyes fell on him. Now, he's eager for their gaze, for them to see what he's flourished into. The nerves are gone. Ennis doesn't need to be sorted again, but he wants to.

His slacks and button up are pressed, his quiff is meticulously styled, his facial hair is neatly groomed, and he exudes confidence as he strolls to the stool after his name is called. Look at him, look at him, look how he's blossomed!

"Ahh... You've come far since I last sat up here," an old, gravelly voice whispers in his ear once the hat is lowered onto his head. "I told you Slytherin would have served you well, but I see Hufflepuff has served you best. My answer is still the same-- HUFFLEPUFF!!"

The hat is raised and Ennis stands, smiling brightly as he lifts a hand to wave to his old friends. Three days back in Hell, just for this.

Micah & Calvin

[stclair]

The hat sits on Micah's head barely long enough for him to think of asking to be put in Slytherin. He knows it hears him; he hears the Hat says hmm in a little voice, then promptly decide no, no, that won't do at all. Micah's watched enough Sortings by now to know he should be headed over to the table with the dark blue banners over it, but he detours immediately, for the students in green.

One student in particular, shining and lovely even in this cold castle setting. Micah shoots Calvin a bright grin, and puts his hands on Calvin's shoulders as he approaches.

"Sorry," Micah says, leaning in a little closer than he should. "Seems like I'm not much of a snake. Can you believe that?"

Rosemary vs. The Sorting Hat

[browbeats]

God, Rosy hates things that can read your mind. She should have taken Occlumency, she thinks as she approaches the hat and stool, arms crossed over her stomach. She shouldn’t have even come, she doesn’t have to be here, she’s not necessary, she’s just codependent.

“Come now, it’s not so bad,” the voice of the hat sighs. It feels like it’s rummaging around in her head, poking at the tightly closed doors, the inexpertly repressed emotions. God, please, just get this over with.

“I’ll take as long as I need, thank you, and not a second longer. Now,” there’s a pause, almost a hum, and Rosy can feel the hat taking her individual traits and laying them into neat categories, weighing the strength of her loyalty against her intelligence. This mental image probably say more about Rosy than anything else. “Are you a fighter, or are you a winner?”

What? Rosy hadn’t intended to respond to the Sorting Hat, but it’s right there, listening to her inner monologues, digging through her memories.

“What’s more important to you? That you fight, or that you win the fight?” She can’t tell if it’s asking her, or if it’s thinking aloud. But she knows the answer, and it’s with a tinge of regret that she clenches her teeth and thinks, Win.

And it’s that tinge of regret that sweeps away all the categories, the traits and memories and inner monologues go back in their rightful place. “Ah, a shame for Slytherin, they would have done great things with you,” it says, though it doesn't sound too worried about it honestly, “but your heart belongs in GRYFFINDOR.”

COMMON ROOMS AND DORMS

[goosemods]

GRYFFINDOR

[goosemods]

HUFFLEPUFF

[goosemods]

RAVENCLAW

[goosemods]

SLYTHERIN

[goosemods]

AROUND HOGWARTS

[goosemods]

Ennis lingers near the second floor girls' bathroom - Friday night (Open)

[sheepish]

It's the night of their arrival and Ennis has greeted every old friend but one. He leans with one shoulder against the wall, near the entrance to a bathroom that's been out of order for over seventy years now. It's quiet in there for now, which means she's off haunting another bathroom in the castle or listening out for him on the other side.

Ennis frowns, troubled, and uses his fingertip to anxiously trace circles against the stone. If he doesn't greet her now it will cause trouble for him later, and it's not fair to give her the cold shoulder when she's done nothing wrong. But it's awkward-- these old, lingering feelings over a girl immune to change. He's outgrown her and it's hard to face.

Lucas in the Library (OPEN)

[bubblewrapped]

Tens of thousands of books. Countless tightly packed shelves overflowing with information. Lucas gapes soon as he steps inside, then, fumbling a bit along the way, surreptitiously snaps a few photos with his phone to show to Zach when he gets home.

He could spend the entire weekend here. Just reading. Without sleeping. It'd be wonderful.

His fingers flex. He licks his lips. Naturally, the first thing he does is wander toward the restricted section to see just how restricted it is.

Giant Adult, Chad, Archie & Paris go on an adventure.

[cherubic]

It's silent in the courtyard. The moon hangs overhead, partially shrouded by clouds. A breeze sweeps through, picking up leaves and rustling the cloaks of three figures creeping out into the night. The Ravenclaw contingent has arrived. Archimedes peeks around a pillar, his hood pulled over his head as though that will somehow help him be sneakier. He's found that it does help in some ways to feel sneaky while you're sneaking. It sets the correct mood. It's fun.

"Do you think they were caught?" he whispers to his co-conspirators. "Dinah and Chad are very loud. Extremely loud. Two of the loudest people I've ever met."

The Evercreeches (open)

[evercreep]

A boy about a head shorter but twice as dense barrels into Calvin the moment he steps out of the great hall. A second attacker isn't far behind him, but this one has the sense to shout "Oi!" before he collides with his two older brothers. Calvin's no longer the whispy thing he was in years past, and he pushes Nate and Rupert off him with some effort. For the first few moments, it's nothing but incomprehensible shouting between the three of them.

"Ed says your boyfriend's here."

"Yeah, and he says he looks like a sewer rat."

"That was the nice thing he said, you shoulda heard—"

"Shut the fuck up, Rupert!"

"Mum'd tan his hide if she heard—"

"I'mma do it for her if you don't shove it!"

The larger boy in Gryffindor colours suddenly hits the younger Slytherin on the back of the head, and the shouting resumes for several more moments. Calvin pries them apart, but seems to largely be adding to the chaos. By the time anyone comes to intervene, he has Nate by his hair, and Rupert by the front of his uniform. "This is why I never miss either a'you!"

Riley & January & a Cutieboo

[riledup]

Hogwarts is not like Gooseberry, houses don't mix at mealtimes, and most Slytherins seen pestering the Hufflepuff table can be assumed to be up to no good.

But Riley doesn't go to Hogwarts anymore. She's here for the weekend, in the tightest skirt she could get away with, with the brightest blue she could get her hair, and she doesn't want to sit with the Slytherins right now. When she looks across the Great Hall and sees Ellie and January, her ex with her... whatever, it doesn't matter what January is, Riley doesn't want her attention on Ellie. And also she doesn't want Ellie's attention on January. Don't worry about why!!!

So she doesn't give a fuck about where she's supposed to sit or what house some dumb hat told her to sleep in, because Riley goes right over to the Hufflepuff table and squeezes in between the girls with a "Heyyyy," and a cute grin. Is she wearing enough lipstick? She'd better be wearing enough lipstick. "What're we taking about?"

HOGSMEADE

[goosemods]

Rosy & Danny & Paper Products

[browbeats]

"You think Hank would write me poetry if I asked?" Rosy muses, turning a pack of absurdly overpriced note cards. With graduation coming up, Rosy's been trying to hoard her allowance so she doesn't end up living with Lavender fucking du Pont for a significant amount of time, but this is so tempting.

She hasn't even made it to the pens section.

"I've grown accustomed to a certain standard of wooing."

Yancey & Lachlan

[lachlangalbraith]

While coming back to Hogwarts hasn't proved to be a mistake just yet, Lachlan isn't convinced that it won't be and he'd spent a good amount of the night staring at the ceiling of the Ravenclaw dormitory just thinking about how it still could be. Having to worry about Yancey stuck in the Slytherin dorm is bad enough, but the fact that Gabriel's there too only makes the situation seem that much worse. And then there's all the things he hasn't told Yancey that any of his former peers easily could. It makes him tense and nauseous just thinking about it even if it clearly hasn't happened.

Because Yancey hadn't said a word about it since they'd left for Hogsmeade. And he would have. Right?

These are the thoughts still jostling around in his distracted head as they walk up the familiar streets, the Scot rubbing at his tired eyes and sticking close to Yancey with his arm slipped through the other boy's. Finally, he gives in and drops his head against the taller boy's shoulder. "Oigh. Do you think Puddifoot's still has coffee?"

Kenzie and the Ebonboys raid a sweets shop

[iliya]

At the risk of being called clingy, Iliya hasn't enjoyed being separated from his friends for the weekend, and he has the feeling that Casper is eager to get them all together again as well. Unfortunately for Casper, there's only one place Iliya wants to go. (Well, two, but he isn't running low on cello supplies yet.) Iliya leads his friends (Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherins) through the doors of Honeydukes.

"This is the greatest sweets shop in the entire world," Iliya informs them, and for once, isn't even exaggerating for the sake of Hogwarts pride. Rows upon rows of colourful candy are laid out before them. Iliya's friends can tell at a glance that he isn't leaving here until he's stocked up every single type of chocolate on offer, and there are hundreds.

Spira do not get served

[ashworthless]

Ira sighs at the steaming mug of the butterbeer everyone else is enjoying happily. He will too, given a moment, but they’d just been cruelly turned away by the bartender. Something about kids with American accents looking more underage than most. Rude. Ira doesn’t have a lot to complain about, otherwise. He’s overseas. It’s something he’d never thought he’d do,in high school at least. And he’s here with Spencer. He has no one else to impress here, and that’s dangerous. All his finals and teachers are a continent and a half away. So even as they’re walking to an empty table in probably-defeat. Ira lowers his voice and nudges Spencer’s shoulder, voice low and playful.

“You create a diversion, I’ll go grab a whole bottle? We could do it.”

OOC 🏰 QUESTIONS/DISCUSSION

[goosemods]

Re: OOC 🏰 QUESTIONS/DISCUSSION

[racingstripe]

hey

Rosy for E?

Because she needs another boy with shiny teeth making eyes at her