As dinner appeared, the tables erupted into small talk. Harry made polite small talk, not really being interested in making friends straight away based on first encounters, preferring to wait and judge his fellow house mate before deciding their worth.
...
As dinner was finishing the Headmaster rose once again, while all the food vanished.
"Ahem, just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered, I have a few start-of-term notices to give you," he said in grandfatherly tone.
"The first-years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. A few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."
Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the ginger haired twins.
"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all, that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors."
"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch."
"And finally, I must tell you that this year; the third floor corridor on the right-hand side of the castle is out of bounds, to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death," he said in a most serious tone.
'Now that's stupid, half the lions will be running to third floor now, but the Headmaster is possibly covering his ass in case they do die a painful death,' he thought before his internal dialogue ended as the whole school erupted in song.
He decided to stay quiet, since he wasn't about to made fool of himself trying to sing a song he never heard before.
Everybody finished the song at different times. At the end, only the ginger haired twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest.
"Ah, music, a magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!" he said dismissing them all from the hall.
Ravenclaw prefects ordered the first years to follow them. They walked past suits of armour, around corners, up stairs. The castle was almost like a maze in its own right. He was wondering just how much further they had to go, before they came to a sudden halt. There was a door in front of them. There was no keyhole and no handle; nothing but a plain expanse of aged wood and a bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle.
The female prefect he recognised from the train turned towards them and said, "This is the entrance to the Ravenclaw Tower. You have to knock and the door guardian will ask a question or a riddle, which you will have to answer, otherwise you won't gain entrance.
If you don't know the answer, wait for another student to come along or go to our Head of House." She proceeded to give them a demonstration and after giving the right answer, the door knocker let them pass.
Harry pushed past his first year peers and got his first glimpse of the Ravenclaw common room. The room could be best described as an "airy" room with many arched windows overlooking the surrounding mountains, all hung with heavy bronze and blue curtains, matching their house colours. The ceiling was domed and painted blue with twinkling stars on it. The floor was covered by midnight-blue carpet, completing the "Ravenclaw" look about the place.
The room was filled with fat and cushy armchairs that looked quite comfortable to just sit at and read a book. The room also seemed to be circular in shape, showing that it was indeed on the inside of the Ravenclaw tower, while there were several stairs leading up to the student dorms.
There was a statue of Rowena Ravenclaw beside the entrance to the dorm, one of the Hogwarts four founders and the founder of Ravenclaw house.
"Impressive," he said, taking in the sight of the common room.
The male prefect nodded in agreement, before calling for their attention, "Ravens are famed for our knowledge, and as such we have our own rooms, while other houses have to share.
This is so you can read, study, and practise your skills without disturbing your house mates. Your rooms are basic; this is intentional so they can be customized and to encourage you to learn charms and spells to make these rooms your own over the next 7 years."
Pausing before continuing his speech, "Each year has its own group study period, along with their own older student, acting as a mentor, who will be tasked with helping you." He gestured to the surrounding Ravens, who were watching their new household mates with interest.
"Now, the girl's dorms are over there," the prefect said, pointing to a set of stairs, then pointing at another set in the other corner, "And those are the guy's dorms. While I remember, I suggest you reread your potion books, because our potion master loves to take house points for failing to answer his questions fully and correctly." He then dismissed them to find their own rooms.
Walking up the stairs to the dorms with the rest of the first year males, he realized that they were on first floor of the tower, since they were lowest in the pecking order in the nest.
He quickly found his room, which itself was bare. The bed was impressive, with desk and work area in the corner and another door leading to a small wash room. Noticing his trunk in corner, he brought out the books he had been planning to read, as well as all his potions material before setting down on the bed to reread his first year potions book, as the fifth year had recommended.
During the process of reading his potion books, he filed the information away in his codex. It was a slow process, but after two hours of reading he had completed half the book. During the process he added an ingredient section to his library between herbology and potions, since both groups of information supported each other.
Then, he went to a new section of his codex, where memories of the sorting were floating around unorganised, quickly making an individual book for each of the students and placing them in order of house and year. He didn't spend much time putting the books into order and viewing memories of each person, due to it nearly being midnight, before deciding to leave this task till the weekend and falling into welcome sleep.
..
..
Next Morning
Harry woke up early, with the sun's first beams coming through the window. The night had been restless, due to his internal excitement at finally being able to attend school and learn at the hands some of best teachers in the world.
Taking out a couple vials of potions from his trunk, he downed the foul liquid without a second thought. He could easily ignore the horrible taste if it meant he could undo a decade of damage. Then, he dropped to floor to do some sit ups and push ups, only managing to do 15 of each before lying on the floor resting his weak frame.
Noticing it was almost time for breakfast, he made his way over to the washroom for a quick shower, before putting on his robes and tying his untameable hair back. He hoped by growing it out, it would help make his hair more manageable.
Checking himself in mirror before heading down to common room, he sat down in the corner waiting for rest of his years mates to arrive. Realizing he was still a little early, he slipped into his codex, doing nothing but clearing his mind of the 'dust,' after all it wouldn't do to be 'slow' in his classes.
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