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A Higher Class of Students?
Author: Oreileah McCoi
Date: 08-12-07 19:28
Everything about the room screamed upper class, high ranking, snobbish from the constant berage of House Elves in their white terry tea towels and the deliveries from Briar's Bakery three times a day. There were even going to be concerts twice a week. Sure, it was nice, but what about the other students...did Pures really need to be treated like princesses and princes while the nons got treated like the ugly stepchildren? It simply wasn't fair, and her parents could do little or nothing right now, simply because they were still in bloody Japan.
She sighed, moving deeper into the room, a house elf popped up next to her. "Would Mistress like something to drink? Perhaps some sweets?" She looked over the elf in the pristine white terry tea towel. "A butterbeer please..." She trailed off as the house elf went to go get the drink.
Sipping the butterbeer Orei moved to one of those couches and slumped down on it. Shortly after, Artemis Fitzgerald, Gaia Goyle and Anne Kendrick came in, the same house elf that had helped Orei was now tending to them, and soon drinks in hand they headed over to join Orie, Gaia settling on the floor while the other two took opposite sides of Orei on the couch.
"This is absolutely too much. It's like some sort of high priced, celebrity only room. For students." Gaia said, looking over the abundance of games, sweets and letting her gaze focus on the stage.
"Do they really think that we will use this often? Why not just go to the regular Common Commons, we can still hang out with our friends. But, then again Hairy the Snide, might not like that, seeing one of her precious pureblood students hanging out with an unclean non." Artemis glowered, sipping her butterbeer.
"We seriously aren't here to be spoiled like rich, snobby princesses, we are here to learn. At least that's why I am here. I know Dumbledore wouldn't stand for this." Anne said heaving a sigh.
"Seriously, my mum and dad are furious. In his last letter dad thought about having me yanked and sent to a US School or even home schooling me for the rest of my education." Orei said, shaking her head as she finished off her butter beer and set it on the tray that was presented by a house elf.
"I don't know. I really don't. I love it here, and I don't want to leave. Maybe the changes are only for this term. Maybe Dumbledore will come back for the spring term and put things back to rights?" Orei was now clinging to false hope, but clinging she was, hoping that things would settle soon, and she wouldn't have to be yanked from Hogwarts and her friends.
"I'm going to go grab some dinner. Coming?" She asked the trio of girls, one of which was her roommate. All three shook their heads. "We already ate." Orei nodded and slipped out of the Pureblood Common Commons. Heading up the stairs she would run into Artemis Evangeline.
"Hey Missy. Am heading to dinner, want to come?"
Telling Her The Truth
Author: Alex Whitmen
Date: 08-13-07 04:20
Alex was quickly becoming sick of being treated like he wasn't worth the dirt on the ground by some of the students and professors. He had complained to his mother but he knew there was nothing she could do. He was on his way out to the grounds. Skyler told him he didn't have to hide but he liked being alone with Caitlyn. It wasn't entirely for hiding puposes. Although he didn't want them to come up with another new rule because they seem to be popping up right and left. Alex spotted his mother walking with an arm full of papers and books. He ran after her.
"Hey, professor," he said. She shot him a look. She didn't want him calling her professor outside of class.
"Alex. Here, take these and don't call me professor. We aren't in class," she said passing half the stack off to him.
"Sorry," he said and carried the stack like he was asked.
"Where were you headed?" she asked him. He shook his head.
"No where, just out to the grounds," he answered. She looked at him knowing he was leaving something out.
"That's all? Just going out to the grounds?" she probed. They went inside her office and set everything down on her desk.
"Yeah, I'm going out there to talk to Cailyn," he told her finally.
"You like her, don't you?" she asked sitting behind her desk.
"Yes," he answered quietly. She smiled and nodded.
"Well, tell her. She sounds like a nice girl, at least from you say about her," Ivy told him. He shrugged. He didn't know about telling her but he'd think about it.
"Aunt Ivy?" Skyler called opening the door. She poked her head inside the room when she saw Alex she walked in.
"Hey, I saw your girl walking outside," Skyler told him. He rolled his eyes.
"She's not my girl. She's not a horse. I better go," he said, then turned to walk out. Skyler tripped him and he turned around and pushed her. Both began laughing and he walked out still laughing. When he reached their spot she was already sitting down. She turned around when she heard him walk up.
"Hey, there you are," she said with a smile. He decided in that instant to tell her the truth because he was afraid if he didn't someone else would say something and then he would forever be stuck as a "friend" and that was the last thing he wanted.
"Hey, I have something I want to tell you," he said sitting next to her. If he waited, he'd chicken out. She looked at him puzzled.
"What's wrong?" she asked. He shook his head and took a deep breath.
"I...I don't want to be just a friend anymore...I erm I like you kind of a lot," he told her. He was afraid she was about to reject him. But at this point all he could do was sit back and wait for her to say something. The ball was in her court.
(Mark) Disciplinarians
Author: Isolde
Date: 08-13-07 09:17
Mark had spent all afternoon in the Pures Common Common Room, which was totally wicked in all respects. A wait service. Live music on the weekends. Snacks imported from Hogsmeade thrice daily. It wasn't lacking for anything. He'd had such a good time in the new common room that he had forgotten to eat dinner last night. Not that it had mattered much. He'd filled up on sweets all afternoon long.
The next morning, it took all of Mark's willpower to actually get out of bed, get dressed, and grab the books he'd need for Charms, History of Magic, and Transfiguration. Then he went to the Great Hall to eat a hardy breakfast. As much as he wanted to skip all his classes and spend all day in the new common room, he knew that would be a bad idea. It was only the second week of school. He really shouldn't screw up academically so early in the school year.
He entered the Great Hall and shuffled over to the very front of the Slytherin table, sneering at those stuck behind the purple line. How sat that there were Slytherins who didn't have pure blood! Mark had almost thought such a thing couldn't happen. He sank down onto the bench, slamming his three books onto the tabletop, and then helped himself to some muesli.
Gus van Tassel and Taran Tremaine, his new friends and partners in crime, sat down on either side of him.
"I bet Snider wouldn't mind if we took a little discipline into our own hands," Gus said. He was a bit chubby, his nose slightly redder than the rest of his pink face.
"Oh, yeah?" Mark asked, intrigued to hear Gus' theory.
"Yeah. You see that girl over there." He pointed a fat finger at a first year sitting at the Hufflepuff table. She sat right behind the purple line.
"Yeah," Mark said. "Her name is Kate."
"How do you know that?" Taran asked.
"I had to share a compartment with her on the Hogwarts Express."
"Tough break," Gus said. "Anyway, she's pushing the boundary. Do you see that?"
Mark looked but didn't exactly see what Gus meant.
Gus clarified, "Her sleeve is touching the purple line. We can't have that." He stood up abruptly and rolled up both of his sleeves, as if he wasn't just going to tell her to move her arm.
"What are you going to do?" Mark asked, not budging from his own seat.
Gus didn't answer and stalked around the Slytherin table to where Kate Dewhurst sat.
"You best move your arm off the purple line, mudblood, or else."
"Excuse me?" Kate asked, turning around in her seat. She stared up at Gus' pudgy and menacing face.
"I know you wish you were one of us, but you're not and you'll never be. You're just a mudblood. Best remember that."
"Is there a problem here, Mister van Tassel?"
Professor McGonagall had gotten up from her seat at the high table behind the main staff table once she spotted something happening on the floor.
Kate spoke up first. "He's threatening me, ma'am. He called me a mudblood."
McGonagall looked sternly at Gus. "That is very inappropriate behavior and language, Mister van Tassel. I'm afraid I'm going to have to assign you to detention."
"Professor McGonagall, allow me to intervene," Professor Yaxley said, having sidled up to the group in the meantime.
Professor McGonagall did not at all look pleased by the interruption or intrusion.
"Sir, I saw her put her arm over the line."
"My arm wasn't over the line!" Kate argued.
"Silence!" Yaxley barked at Kate. To Gus he said, "Return to your breakfast, Mister van Tassel. Miss... Dewhurst, is it? Five points for not adhering to the rules set forth by our Headmistress, and another five points for your outburst."
Kate's mouth fell open.
"And you will have detention in my office after supper tonight, and every night for the rest of this week."
Kate's eyes welled with tears. She grabbed her books, jumped up from her seat, and fled the Great Hall.
Professor McGonagall looked angry. "What punishment will you assign Mister van Tassel, Professor Yaxley?"
"Why, Professor McGonagall," Yaxley started suavely, "I saw Mister van Tassel do no wrong." And he turned on his heel and went back to the main table, leaving McGonagall stewing by the Hufflepuff table.
Gus had meanwhile rejoined Mark and Taran at the Slytherin table. "That was brilliant!"
"I'm impressed," Taran said, giving Gus a high-five.
"Yeah," Mark said, his eyes on the doors through which Kate had just fled. "That was wicked."
More than a friend
Author: Cailyn Spicer
Date: 08-13-07 13:41
Cailyn stood in the Purebloods Only Common Common room with her mouth wide open. She felt like she was walking into a room meant for a Princess. Not a regular student like her. The room was defiantly something you would have expected to see in some book for the upper Wizarding class. Not at school. Sure it was a great place and she could tell that a lot of work had been put into it. But she wished she could have taken Alex here with her. She sighed and wandered over to a loan table in the corner.
Cailyn pulled out her homework and flipped through it. She had at least a weeks worth of homework to catch up on. She just couldn’t bring herself to do any of it. School, had lost all its excitement for her. Cailyn was really thinking about dropping out. What if she transferred to another school and the same thing was happening there? Maybe if her father noticed that her grades were failing he would come and talk to her. But then, she could let that happened. She had promised herself she would stay, at least until Christmas. But even if she did stay until Christmas, there still wasn’t any point in trying.
An elf suddenly popped up next to her and smiled. “ Would you like anything Miss?” He asked. Cailyn thought for a moment and smiled.
“ I’d like some Pumpkin Juice, a few chocolate frogs and… “She looked up to see a group of students enter the Common room. None of whom she recognized. “ And I’d like… Never mind, just some Pumpkin Juice and four Chocolate Frogs. Please.” Cailyn added with a smile. Her father had always taught her to say please. Even to an elf. The elf vanished and within seconds came back with everything Cailyn had ordered.
“Here you are Miss.” The elf said and vanished again. She couldn’t bring Alex here, but that didn’t mean she could bring some of the treats from the Purebloods Only Common Common Room to Alex. She stuffed the four Chocolate Frogs into her bag and then sipped on the Pumpkin Juice.
Her mind kept drifting back to Alex. He had told her the night before that he liked her. A boy actually liked her. And the truth was, was that she liked him too. She told him so last night. Her cheeks turned a bright red as she thought of the whole matter. Her friend liked her more then a friend. Did that make them boyfriend and girlfriend? They never did really confirm it. And he hadn’t kissed her yet. But maybe that was rushing things to much. They had just announced that they liked each other.
Cailyn turned to look out the window towards the lake and smiled. The world seemed just a little bit brighter now that she had someone who liked her more then a friend. Maybe, she could handle Hogwarts now.
Smiling, Cailyn, packed her things up, finished her Pumpkin Juice and dashed out the door. She hoped that Alex would be waiting for her by the lake. It was the only place they had that they could be alone.
Official
Author: Alex Whitmen
Date: 08-13-07 18:04
Alex stood there looking out at the lake. He checked his watch and wondered if he had showed up to late and missed her.
"Hey," she said. He turned and smiled at her. In a way he was glad she knew how he felt about her and was glad she felt the same way.
"Hey, I thought I missed you," he said grinning at her. He noticed she had her bag with her this time.
"More drawings?" he asked, looking at the bag. She shook her head and dug into the bag.
"Here, I got these for you," she said handing him chocolate frogs.
"Thanks!" he said. "I love these. They are my favorite." Before he could stop himself he leaned over and kissed her quickly. When he realized what he had done his face turned red. She looked away and was about as red as he was.
"Sorry," he said softly. She shook her head.
"Don't be. So I guess we are kind of together?" she asked. He smiled.
"Uh yeah, yeah we are. I mean if that's okay?" he asked. He had never really had a girlfriend but he was going to make sure he was a good boyfriend and never lose her.
Doing Homework While on Break
Author: Oreileah McCoi
Date: 08-13-07 18:20
Orei sat at the Pure half of the Gryffindor table, casting her gaze down at Madeline...her former roommate and she'd like to think still friend. She sighed, she missed rooming with Madeline, truth be told, she Madeline and Cailyn would have gotten along great. But, Madeline wasn't a pure blood and was reduced pretty much to being treated like a second class citizen. She waved to Madeline, who tenitively waived back, but after the display concerning Kate Dewhurst, she didn't want to be the next victim of any of the Pures who supported Hairy the Snide's new rules and regulations.
Orei sighed and turned her attention to her lunch and her Ancient Runes text. Herbology had gone well enough, Slytherin had gotten back the points that Professor Masterson had taken away because Iris had turned in her assignments. How had she gotten them done in just over twenty-four hours and gotten the rest of her assignments done? Orei truthfully didn't want to know, though had a feeling she'd threatened some non to do it for her.
It was Wednesday, it was one of her light days. She only had three classes today, Herbology, Ancient Runes and Astronomy. She liked having class with Professor Masterson, though it was still somewhat weird having a former classmate as a teacher. She'd basically spent the entire afternoon, from eleven until now in the Great Hall working on her homework. She grabbed lunch as well, since she'd not gotten anything to eat for breakfast. Sipping her pumpkin juice she worked over the final details of her Ancient Runes homework, satisfied with the scroll she would tuck it away and focus now on her lunch.
"Mind if I join you?" Artemis Fitzgerald asked as she seated herself across from Orei.
"No, not at all Artemis. Sorry, am spacing a bit. I've still got about two hours to kill before I head to Ancient Runes."
"I'm not going to be here long though, have to head to DADA at one with Yaxley."
"I've got that tomorrow morning at ten thirty. Grab something to eat then." Orei urged Artemis to get food, while she had the chance, because she knew that her Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays were a lot like Orei's Tuesdays and Thursdays, non stop pretty much all day.
The two ate, and parted, Orei turning her attention back to her homework for Astronomy, making certain that that was done as well. After Ancient Runes and before dinner she would work on the assignments that were due tomorrow.
Who May Attend?
Author: Aaron Miller
Date: 08-14-07 10:20
I don't have any classes on Wednesdays, just office hours. During the time I take for lunch, from noon to one, I'd gone into Hogsmeade to pick up a few things, including a birthday cake for Saffron. It's her birthday today so we're having family members in for supper and then a few friends will be stopping by as well for cake.
Once back at school I put everything away in our residence then start in the direction of my office. I've sitll some time before my afternoon office hours start so I decide to swing by and have a look at the new Pures only common room. Reaching the set of beautifully carved mahogony doors, I reach to open them but hear a female voice behind me.
"Sorry, Professor Miller. Pures only extends to staff as well."
Turning to face Professor Snide I keep my face impassive. "I thought as much even though you didn't specifically say that in your announcement."
"You're wanting to see inside, though, out of curiosity."
The woman being called behind her back several spot on nicknames - Hairy, Hairy the Snide, Snidely, Snide Hairy - opens both of the doors. The smile on her hairy face right now is extremely smug. Very snide. "See. Just a regular commons area for students to gather."
I get my look, though not a close one as I'm still a few feet from the doors. If what I see in there is regular, I an only presume that Snidely's definition of luxurious would be something others would consider a garish, ostentatious display.
I remember my manners, just as Mom taught. Through gritted teeth I say, "Thank you for the look, Professor Snider. Best be getting to my office now for afternoon hours."
I'm almost there when another voice speaks to me. Hunter Rabnott, the newest member of the Wenlock cousins to start Hogwarts, says, "Aaron, I mean, Professor Miller, a question for you. I told Polly you'd say it's all right for her to come but she wants to hear for herself."
"Hi, Hunter. You must be Polly then," I say to the girl standing with him.
"Yes, sir, Polly Potts."
"What is it that Hunter has told you it's all right to go to?"
"Your Muggle Studies Club. The first meeting is Saturday night. I'm only a first year and even if I were a third year and taking Muggle Studies I'd not be your student, sir. I was wondering if that means I wouldn't be welcome."
"Of course not! The Muggle Studies Club is for any student who's interested enough to come to meetings. Doesn't matter what year you are or on what side of the purple line you have to sit in the Great Hall."
Polly brightens. "That's what Hunter keeps telling me but I thought that with everything going on it was best to, you know, double check."
Hunter says, "Thanks, Aaron, I mean, Professor Miller." He taps Polly on the arm. "We'll be late for Potions if we don't go right now."
I watch them go then enter my office. Sitting down I take out a copy of the notice I'd put up around the school about the Muggle Studies Club. Tapping the parchment with my wand and speaking some words aloud, the notices around school change their wording so that others reading the notice from this point on will know for certain that every interested student, no matter the year or blood status, is welcome to attend the meetings.