The Ravenclaw Common Room is always pretty airy and elegant in terms of looks but something different has been done today. Instead of the elegant walnut chairs and the plush sofa settings, the pieces of furniture have been pushed to the corners to make room for a vast amount of cushions and blankets. They're seen everywhere, taking up almost every inch of the dark, starry carpet and displaying a theme of comfort.

No party is complete without snacks and that's exactly what one portion of the room is dedicated to. For those with a sweet tooth, there are a wide variety of sweet items on the long table of snacks, everything from cookies and marshmallows to Bertie Botts and chocolate frogs. For those with a savoury preference, there's also a section dedicated to pizza slices and mini pizza rolls as well as nuggets, nachos and kebabs. Large jars of pumpkin juice and hot chocolate can be seen towards one end of the table, right near the paper plates, cups and, funnily enough, skewers.

Wondering what the skewers could be for? Look no further than the huge, safe flames flickering in the middle of the common room and providing the room with its main source of light and warmth. That, coupled with the twinkling stars from the ceiling overhead, might give you the feeling that you've stepped into a campfire setting instead of the west side of the castle. The only sign that you might be in the right place could be down to the presence of Professor Hirsch near the campfire. The man can be seen lounging about in his own set of pyjamas, looking cool and calm as he sat there.

So come in, grab some food and make yourselves comfortable. This pyjama party is for you, after all.


OOC: HAI CLAW!BABIES So from this moment onwards is the Start of Term Party! It's open to anyone and everyone in Ravenclaw house, no matter how big or small you are. All I ask is that you keep all the site and RPG rules in mind before posting in here. Break them and I won't be a very happy unicorn. Thank you and enjoooooy ^^

Pyjama party!!

Dorian ran upstairs to the dormitory the moment he entered the common room and realised what was happening. Not a minute later the twelve year old raced down the stairs again this time wearing his dark blue golden star pyjamas. Near the bottom of the staircase he missed the last stair and he vanished out of sight as quick as he had ran upstairs. There was a loud and not so manly yelp from the Ravenclaw as he fell and landed on one of the hundreds of cushions of blankets. Checking if he could use his foot, Dorian put pressure on it and smiled when it felt normal. "I'M OK!" he announced as he popped back up, his dark brown hair bouncing as he did so.

Mingling could come later. Something to drink came first. He walked over to the table and grabbed a plastic cup before pouring some pumpkin juice inside. He drank it in three gulps before he let out a loud sigh and poured in another cup.

With the plastic cup in hand, he carefully this time spun around and his blue eyes landed on the big campfire in the middle of the room. And sitting near the flames, looking cool as always that made him wonder what could freak the man out, he saw the Head of House and he stepped towards him before sitting down near but not close to him and he stared at the man. "How do you do that, sir?" he asked as if that question explained everything.

This just didn't make any sense to him. Every year he'd been at this school, they had started with a party in the common room. With lots of snacks. Right after a feast. He was fairly certain Hirsch was involved with a conspiracy to fatten them all up or something.

Knowing the way like the back of his hand by now, Finnlay had made a beeline for the common room as soon as the feast was finished. Seeing Hirsch in his night attire, he merely waved and headed to his dormitory. As expected, his trunk was waiting for him, and he rummaged around until he located his own sleepwear. Then it was back to the common room after donning his pajamas and a robe.

So far the only ones there were Hirsch and a second year boy. Dorian, yes? I think that's it. "Evenin' to you both," he said, losing no time in grabbing a skewer and marshmallow. If Hirsch truly did have an evil plot, he may as well help it along. Into the flames it went.

THERE. WAS. A. PYJAMA. PARTY.

PYJAMA PARTY!

Hanna came down from the dormitories dressed in her Cat in the Hat pyjamas, with cat slippers. One of the ears had been clawed off by her own cat! Professor Hirsch was there in his OWN pyjamas, and when Hanna walked up towards him she let out a little giggle. "Hello Professor, I'm Hanna! I really like your pyjamas!" They were spiffy! "It's nice being in pyjamas, they're soooo comfortable."

She wandered over to the food, where she picked up a slice of pizza and poured a cup of pumpkin juice. DELICIOUS! And there were already some other students there, but not any who shared a dorm room with Hanna. She DID recognise their faces but wasn't sure if she knew their names. "Hello," she greeted them in a shy little voice.

Torn between sleep and pyjama party, Shera managed to have it both ways. A nana nap of like 15 minutes was followed by very enthusiastically putting on a set of snitch themed pyjamas and bolting back downstairs to join in with the festivities.

Her eyes landed on Hanna who she had met during the feast, before noticing all the other people (including a Professor) that were already there. Skipping over to right next to Hanna, she beamed at everyone.

"Hi Hanna, Professor and..." she paused for a moment, the smile falling off her face as she took in the faces of the two boys (Dorian and Finnlay) in front of her. She then proceeded with a quiet, "I'm sorry I don't know your names."

If that had thrown her off she perked up again in seconds, beaming at everyone. Particularly the two that she didn't know because now she had to introduce herself to them! "I'm Shera, it's nice to meet you!"

And oooooh, there were chocolate frogs over there. The first year quickly skipped off to grab herself a chocolate frog, pizza slice and a hot chocolate. Somehow she succeeded in carrying all that back to the other first year without dropping everything before finally letting herself sit down and put the pizza on her leg while she focussed on the chocolate frog in her hands.

Oh right, they were having this tonight.

To be completely honest, the Ravenclaw had forgotten all about this routine. See, in the back of her mind was the knowledge the claws welcomed the new ones with the special little something but at the front of her mind were a million other plans she'd planned for tonight. Typically, she could skip under those circumstances but Jessa couldn't help thinking it would be bad form and no doubt Erik would have something to say about it later. Ugh. She would need to have a talk with Professor Hirsch.

Speaking of, Jessa spotted the man from the top of the stairs just before making her descent into the Common Room. The 15 year old had chosen a cozy set of PJs, resigned to the fact this would be her night for better or worse. Nothing to do but forget her other plans and make the most of this one, yeah?

"I dunno about anyone else, but I'm not looking forward to classes tomorrow." Said generally, in greeting, as she took a spot near her Head of House by the fire. She was sure even he wasn't. A night of food and festivities--she was under no illusion curfew would be upheld tonight when it'd already drifted beyond 9. Didn't change the fact they'd have to be up early to start their education. Merlin there needed to be a grace period. Good thing she'd already covered this year's syllabus because her brain would need at least a week to get back into this structured learning thing and by then she'd have otherwise missed a lot.

"Here's to hoping it's potions or something else lower in the castle. I don't think I can handle going down for breakfast to climb all the way back up for something like Divination or Ancient Runes." Consider her body still in summer mode. During the summer, there were definitely not this many stairs.

Hmm. He'd seen this girl get Sorted, obviously, but he couldn't remember her name. His stomach had given several loud grumblings that had been distracting, much less trying to hear an old hat over the noise. "Hello, there. I'm Finnlay Muir. Everyone calls me Finn." Meaning she could as well. "First year, huh? Nothing to be scared about, really. It's just school." Never mind the several hundred pubescent hormone-bombs with a magic wand that roam the corridors on a daily basis.

Wow, this one could pack away the food! They had just had a feast, after all. He was super impressed, as teenage boys tend to be about such things. "We can fix that. I'm Finnlay Muir, Finn for short. Welcome to the flock, Shera."

Finn was both in total agreement and total disagreement with Jessa. And he'd noticed that phenomenon happened quite frequently for her. The disagreement? "Nah, I'm excited. I don't get any connection with magic over the summer, yeah? So.." The life of a muggleborn. His parents tried, they really did; but it wasn't their fault, they just simply couldn't relate.

"But totally with you on the schedule." It would be the exact same as hers most likely - same year, same house. He was fairly certain they were going for all the same O.W.L.s, too. Now his home in Scotland was literally in the middle of a bunch of hills, so his motivation was not the same. "Frankly I just don't want to get up any earlier than I have to." Spoken like a true teenage boy.

.......... What in the name of?!

Hirsch had been sitting there plainly, simply minding his own business and waiting for the Ravenclaws to make their way to the common room when one (Dorian) entered, ran off and let out a particularly loud yelp moments later. Hirsch's head whipped around, causing his neck to crick slightly, but there was no time to think about that now. Not when his mind was racing a mile a minute and all he could think about was whether that yelp had been made for a more serious reason.

There was a moment or two of confused blinking while he watched the young boy scrambled to his feet, announcing that he's okay for, well, the common room to hear. An amused smile crossed his face and he shook his head; deciding that maybe, just maybe, the boy didn't need to be embarrassed any further. Even if there was no one here to see him.

But the second year was talking to him and that was something he couldn't ignore. "How do I do what?" Pause. "Are you okay, by the way?"


The sound of the door opening caused him to turn his attention away from Mr Katharos and wave at Mr Muir as he headed off. It was probably going to be weird to see your professor and Head of House in his night clothes - probably like seeing a dog on its hind legs - but at least he wasn't going to be the only one sitting here in his night things. That was step one to making him feel foolish.

"Evening, Mr Muir. Are you ready for this school year?" Fifth year was a big year but, well, maybe he didn't need to tell the boy that. It was only the first night, after all.


Hirsch couldn't help but smile widely, dimples on full display, at the enthusiasm displayed by the first years (Hanna and Shera). It was sad to think that puberty took that away but, from a professor point of view, the general enthusiasm was what made his job easier. It was more enjoyable to be teaching someone who wanted to be there, you know? And even if he wasn't currently talking about the Dark Arts - it probably wasn't the time, unless they wanted scary stories - the same could be said here as well.

"Hey, Miss Newton, Miss Ben-Ari. I didn't get to say this during the Feast but welcome to Ravenclaw. I'm Professor Hirsch," Not Hershey's Kisses. "and I teach Defence Against the Dark Arts." Green eyes took in the pyjamas he was currently wearing, a blue pair with gold boxing gloves on them, before he looked up at Miss Newton, still smiling. "Thank you! I had a feeling they'd be more appealing for today. No one wants to sit around in their robes longer than they have to." He certainly didn't.


The smile on his face turned into an amused one at the sight of the next student to enter the scene and what she had to say. It probably wasn't the right thing to say in front of one of your professors but, well, he was too used to this mentality to really care right now. She did, however, earn herself a small eyebrow raise while he watched her take a seat right near him. "Evening, Jessa. That badge suits you well." To say that he was proud was an understatement.

But in regards to the scheduling, he shook his head slightly and asked, "Still in that summer mode?" A part of him still was. "On the bright side, this is your last year of taking the compulsory subjects and then you can drop the ones you don't like that much, including the ones that require too much walking." Hopefully that didn't mean Defence but, you know, he was biased.


He didn't know how many more people were coming, especially seeing as this wasn't exactly a compulsory event, so the man sat up slightly and turned to the group at large. "Welcome," he called, clapping his hands once in an attempt to grab everyone's attention, "to this very casual, very comfortable pyjama party. If you haven't already, grab something to eat, something to drink and get comfortable around the fire. Use this as an opportunity to get to know each other." He was very chilled out about this, in case it wasn't obvious enough yet. "Oh, the pizza rolls are very nice, by the way. I highly recommend them."

His mallow was finally starting to get some color on it. Finnlay was definitely a proponent of the 'low and slow' cooking method. Because tasting burnt sugar was not on his list of experiences that were enjoyable. Pulling his mallow towards himself, he inspected the color carefully as Hirsch spoke. "Define ready, I suppose?" he said unhelpfully. The boy shrugged and stuck his treat back in the glow of the flames. "I'm not gonna lie, everyone always says fifth year makes your brain to mush and I confess I rather like mine the solid way." A grimace, a noncommittal grunt. "But I'm going to make the best of it. I don't have family or connections in the magical world now my uncle's died, so my O.W.L.s are more important than ever." And he wanted to make his late uncle, the only other wizard in the family, proud with his results.

So even though the comment was directed towards Jessa, it applied to him as well as a fellow fifth year. And oh yeah, he had totally forgotten about that! Nice! Except, well, that meant he sort of needed to know what direction he was heading for a career. Stink. I don't even know if I want to work in the wizarding world or the muggle world yet! This year was going to be challenging for his brain on so many levels, he could already tell. This school had a mental health ward, right? Right?!

Pizza rolls? Of all the things, he recommends the pizza rolls?! Weren't adults supposed to have, like, more sophisticated palates or something?

Smirk.

See, this was why he liked Hirsch. Still a kid at heart, but totally one of the smartest people in the whole castle as well. And speaking of treats, his marshmallow was officially the perfect shade of golden brown the whole way around.

Shera's eyes flickered over to Jessa as she heard the prefect greet the room, tilting her head in confusion. From what Jessa had said about experiments and being ahead Shera would have assumed that the prefect would love going to classes and learning things. "I'm actually really excited... but that might be because I haven't done classes before..."

"Although... I don't think I'd enjoy having to come all the way back either... do you reckon we could convince the house elves to bring us food up here? Or like... eat any left overs from tonight instead?" that was a serious question. If she could maximise her laziness, she would take any chance to do just that.

Her attention was drawn back to the other older Ravenclaw near her that just introduced himself(Finn). "Finn," Shera mimicked, pretty sure that she would be able to remember that. "Thanks! I'm really enjoying it, especially now with this pyjama party. But everyone is super friendly!"

That was super true. Especially Cassie, and Juni and Jessa who she had run into multiple times like everywhere.

Aaaaannndddd her attention was quickly drawn back to Professor Hirsch, listening intently to the professor as she simultaneously shoved he slice of pizza into her mouth. "Defence against the dark arts?" Shera repeated, the moment that she has swallowed the pizza slice. "That's really cool! Do you enjoy your job? And the subject that you teach? It seems like a class that would be really interesting."

There were soooo many other questions in her head but they would have to wait for another time.

After six years in Hogwarts, Jace has finally mastered the art of pacing when it comes to consuming Start of Term Feast food. He was quick to learn that after the grand feast, a smaller, intimate gathering awaits them back in their dorm. Jace thought it was a kind gesture; fattening them up to compensate for the troubles they will face in the next few months.

Determined to make his last year a memorable one, Jace quietly slipped into the fray like a ninja, and took a spot near where the drinks are. He wasn't craving anything sweet or savory at the moment, but he did help himself to a cup of hot chocolate.

With Azura gone, he was technically alone tonight. And as much as he wants to socialise, he simply did not have the energy to mingle with the younger students. Professor Hirsch was an exception of course, but even at a party like this, Jace didn't have the heart to bother the man.

After a few rounds of brief observation from where he stood, Jace quietly paced towards one of the staircases, and sat on the bottom step with his cup held in both hands. It was socially acceptable to go back to his dorm after he finishes his drink, right?

".....Thanks Professor." Jessa mumbled, fidgeting only slightly at the man's...well...she suspected it was meant to be a compliment and a form of congratulations despite her still not seeing it as such. "I'll....try not to let you down--but ALSO," Yes, while they were on about the badge. "Are you mad at me because of what happened with Galileo and Apollo?" It hadn't been her fault they went crazy....and yet here she sat having to be co-Prefect to Erik. The Professor must've been holding a serious grudge.

As for summer mode, he had NO idea. "I think I'd like to continue them all." She admitted. "Mostly because I'm paranoid that at some point something will be taught in one of them that I'll wanna kick myself for missing." For a girl that liked knowing things, giving up on an avenue of learning seemed absolutely ludicrous. Had to stick with them all, just in case.

Jessa fixed Finn with a curious look as she settled onto the cushion she'd grabbed to make herself comfy by the fireplace. "But that doesn't entirely explain being excited for classes." Not to her anyway. "Being back at the castle is enough license to use all the magic we missed over the summer without those mundance textbook lessons that don't teach us anything we really want to learn or even need." At that, she turned back to the Professor. "Not yours, of course. I find yours to be very informative and engaging." before looking to Fynn again. "I did miss being able to conduct my experiments over the summer, but I could still do without learning to sew another quilt or reading from the textbook and reciting everything I learned."

That wasn't real learning for the 5th Year, no, she was much more hands on and besides that, her interests were never touched upon in the lessons--save the time Myers let them dissect dead mandrakes. Everything else was pretty mundane and under stimulating so why look forward to it. Finn, however, was a different person. It was entirely possible that he was into that lowkey sort of learning. "I'll definitely miss sleeping in."

Blue eyes shifted back to the First Year (Shera). "Yeah...it's probably because you haven't done classes yet." A part of her knew singing anything but high praises about lessons in front of a Professor was hardly tactful but at the same time, couldn't have the Firsties going in with too many high hopes. "They'll be alright for you...for a while, until you find yourself asking "what else?". Maybe you never ask 'what else'. Maybe you'll remain content at the pace they provide," As ...sad as that was. "But I'd rather learn on my own these days. Reckon I'll be done the NEWT syllabus by summer." Which left her two more years at the school learning information she would by then already know and a hell of a lot more time to focus on what she liked since she'd already learned it.

At least they could agree on all the walking that would need to happen. "The elves are super helpful. I don't think they'd mind getting us breakfast, unless Algamus tells them not to." He'd always been more a stickler for the elves doing their duties and not "spoiling" the students. "So maybe we'll just be sure not to eat everything at once." Just in case.

"Don't mind if I do." At the Professor's mention, Jessa non-verbally levitated a pizza roll over. It had been too long practising non-verbals. After a year of dedicated, cold turkey practice, the Ravenclaw seldom remembered to use the incantations anymore. "Hey Jace, why're you sitting all the way over there? C'mon, plenty of room here."

He nodded. People did tend to be on their best behavior for the first few days of school. Best to let the first years settle in a bit first, apparently. "Good! Yeah Hufflepuff usually has the reputation for friendly people, but I like to think Ravenclaws are just as welcoming."

And then Jessa happened. "And.." He hesitated. "Don't let Jessa scare you. There's nothing wrong with getting ahead like she does. But there's nothing wrong with staying on schedule, either." That was what he liked to call normal. Sometimes being in Ravenclaw was a lot of pressure, which made him wonder if the Hat had been mistaken.. But tonight was not the time to dwell on that.

Going so soon, huh? Finn understood completely. It was always a long day, plus Jace was likely over the novelty of this type of party by the seventh time around. Plus... who were his friends? Finn didn't really know him all that well, so he wasn't entirely sure. So he just caught Jace's eye and smiled, giving him a little wave with the hand not currently occupied by his marshmallow.

He got the girl's point, he really did. But he just wasn't that type of person. He wasn't.. that smart. Yep, he could admit it, at least to himself. This Claw was not super brainy, especially compared to people like Jessa. Nor did he have fully developed interests like her, or likely already have a fully-fledged career plan like her. So how could he possibly explain to her that he was excited for classes because he had to catch up somehow, to come closer to feeling like he belonged in this house? He couldn't. So he settled for a bit of the truth, but not much more. "Dunno, I guess I just like the classroom environment. Maybe it's the smell of quills, parchment, and old textbooks," he said, finishing with a shrug.

And after that reverie, he wasn't much in the mood to continue talking about lessons with Jessa Cambridge. So he latched onto her proffered out. "Ha, yeah," he forced himself to say with a laugh. "Definitely not excited about that part."

Parties were neat to Kirk. What was more neat was getting to dress up or rather not dress up as he fit into his pj's. Gifted from Mel, he wore slim sweatpants, plaid with his house's colours (blue, gray, black, golden lines) partially covered by his black t-shirt under a slim robe. Was he late? Nah, the party was just getting started after all as he emerged from his dorms.

"Pardon me, Jace." Kirk said, as he made his way down the steps. Was the seventh year just chilling? That's cool with him as he decided to sit down near him on the steps as well. Wow, look at the spread. "You think they have enough snacks?" Optional to answer, optional to ignore. Kirk was the type to roll either way.

He saw Dorian, oh and was that Finn? There were the new first year girls, Hanna and Shera as well. Ah and Jessa. He gave them a sup nod. Before he could get up he saw his head of house too who was coming right over. "Hey Professor, you sure know how to throw a party." Kirk nearly smirked from stories one of his Uncles always spread about him.

The pizza was SO delicious! She was in the middle of her second piece when Shera appeared. Quickly gobbling up the mouthful she had, she said "Hey Shera! This pizza is amazing!" And taking another bite. It was reassuring that Shera also didn't really know their names... they were in the position of not knowing anyone. But Hanna was SO glad Professor Hirsch had taken care of that by hosting a welcome party.

And THERE was the lady leader. "Hi Jessa," Hanna said, happy to have both remembered and known someone else. BUT Hanna really WAS looking forward to class. Was that dorky? "I'm looking forward to seeing the different areas of the castle." Which was super true. She just hoped she wouldn't get too lost (or distracted) trying to find classes.

Then a boy she had remembered seeing at the feast introduced himself. "Hi Finn, I'm Hanna," she said. She nodded at his pointing out she was a first year. That was true, it WAS just school. IN AN AMAZING CASTLE. But school, yes. "Did it take you long to find your way around?" she asked.

OH so Professor Hirsch was their Head of House, of course, AND the Defence teacher!? "I'm looking forward to that lesson," Hanna said. She wanted to learn about THOSE spells. She shook her head in agreement. "They're more warmer than my other uniform, but I love pyjamas." If only she could wear them under her robes ALL DAY.

And soon after, Professor Hirsch introduced them all to the PARTY. She COMPLETELY agreed about the pizza rolls. "Did the elves make them?" she asked.

Hanna spotted another boy (Jace) who didn't seem to want to be involved in the group. She could understand that, but at the same time... Hanna wanted to KNOW people. But also at the same time, she was a bit shy and didn't feel comfortable going to him and talking to him. So, after looking at him for a moment, she looked back to the group. Maybe she'd say hi after?

Kirk was there too, who Hanna would never forget as being the Quidditch Captain. She gave him a wave in response to his nod.

She'd be finished the NEWTs syllabus by summer? And she was only in her fifth year at the moment? Shera took a moment to comprehend that and felt... weirdly impressed and simultaneously out of place after that revelation. One thing was for sure, she definitely admired Jessa's dedication to studying. Though... Shera felt odd that she would like fall under the 'generally content' heading.

Was that bad as a Ravenclaw?

"That's really cool! Is that why you spend time doing experiments?" because she remembered the prefect having said something about sometimes being unavailable due to her experiments.

"Well... it does look like Professor Hirsch has organised waaaaaaaay too much food so I don't think we'll run out anytime soon." Here's hoping at least. Because walking up to the Ravenclaw tower once had been painful enough. And she would be doing it at least once a day for the rest of the year, no need to make it more than that if she could avoid it.

It was as though he had picked up on her mixture of feelings at what Jessa was saying, and she nodded lightly. Good to know that it wasn't just the expectation that they all had to be like Jessa. That was going to be way too much for her to live up to. Especially at this point.

"So you just stick to the schedule?" she prompted, trying to reassure herself more that it was fine to not rush ahead. "And how do you find the classes?"

Because Jessa had been... surprisingly pessimistic about them.

Seeing the Quidditch captain Shera just smiled as nicely as she could and waved at him, allowing that to be the end of their interaction considering he had only nodded a hello at her.

She was still being friendly and totally open to a conversation with him though.

"It is really good, I'm almost sad that we didn't know about this during the feast because then I would've just focussed my eating on the pyjama party," you live and learn though, and Shera would know better for next year!

Still she grinned at Hanna while she shrugged, also finding comfort in the fact that she and Hanna were on the same page. "How are you finding everything so far?" she asked, figuring the answer would be positive. There was nothing negative that Shera would have been able to think of so far!

While the rest of the Claws mingled and socialized, Jace was left to reminisce about his first Ravenclaw gathering. He made good friends back then, Austin, Jasper, Rachel, and Garreth, to name a few. And how can he ever forget that chaotic first night? Rogue ferrets and pygmy puffs were everywhere in the same room before him six terms ago, and perhaps, he was still haunted by what he witnessed that night. Pygmy puffs sticking their tongues up a poor girl's nose. They were hungry for her boogers, he was sure of it.

He was pulled back to the present and automatically grinned at the newly minted prefect who acknowledged his presence. "Oh, it's fine Jessa. Let the younger Claws take the nice seats in the house." No big deal, really. If anything, he was more than ready to call it a night. Looking away, he caught sight of Finn and returned his wave with his own. Merlin, he could swear that Finn was just a first-year last term. "Having a good night so far?" Jace asked, knowing full well what's ahead of the fifth year student.

Hearing a voice behind him, Jace scooted to the side, looked up to see Kirk and grinned at his fellow Claw. "Hey," the older student watched the Quidditch Captain take the space beside him and looked over to where the food was. "I don't suppose we'll run out of food soon," because they just had a feast-slash-dinner a while ago, yes? "Question is, where do these kids put their food if their stomachs are already full?" Honest question, really. As he wondered about the capacity of human intestines, he caught a young girl (Hanna) looking at him, and offered her a friendly grin.

"Nice to meet you, Hanna." He gave her a reassuring smile. "Um, to be perfectly honest, yes. Yes it did." An apologetic laugh, followed by a slight grimace. "Dunno if you noticed yet, but the staircases move. And there's tons of secret passages, and some that only work on certain days, and all sorts of things like that." The product of centuries of accidents and experiments, he imagines. "So don't feel bad if it takes you a few weeks, too!" And then there would be classes she wouldn't add until third year, but she might know where those were by then.

He nodded. "I have so far, yeah. And the majority of people do as well." Jessa was definitely an exception to many rules, including this one. "Later on if you find you aren't being challenged or you have a special passion you want to pursue, just talk with Professor Hirsch. He can talk about extending your studies with you if that's what you want." In case, you know, you actually belonged in this house, unlike him.

"And I like the classes. Yeah, sometimes they cover things I already picked up or I don't think I'll ever use, but I feel like that is the minority. Plus, who am I to say what I'll really use at any point in my life, you know?" Especially since he currently had no idea whatsoever as far as a career path.

Oh, Jace was actually going to engage in conversation with him. That was probably a first. "Yeah, I guess. I'm already stuffed, though. Dunno how some people do the feast then come up and have another." And... "And it's hard to party when you're half excited and half dreading O.W.L. year starting tomorrow bright and early. Any advice?"

"How do you always look so....you know!" he shifted around to sit down like how his Head of House was seated but he could never look cool like that. "I mean"he sat more comfortably like how he preferred. "Calm and cool. I bet all my chocolate frog cards that you won't even panic when your wife contacts saying she's about to have a baby right now!" The second year stopped talking and scratched the back of his head. Oooh look a distraction! Thank you new first year!

"I'm Dorian" he greeted both Hanna and Shera in a normal and polite tone as if he had not been embarrassing himself earlier. "Nice to meet you" he added.

He then gave a greeted nod at an older student (Finn) and watched him get some food when he heard the Professor's question. "What?" he asked dumbly and then remember he had missed a stair earlier. "I'm fine i'm fine, Professor" he said, waving his hand. "I fell out of my own treehouse when i wad eight. Had to get three stitches!" he rolled up his pyajama sleeve and showed his elbow. There was a tiny almost unnoticeable scar below it but the Ravenclaw looked as if he was very proud of it. He rolled the sleeve back down. "So that was nothing" he nodded to the staircase just as Jessa came in to view. And Dorian GASPED.

"He is right there" he muttered through his teeth as he not so subtly and secretly pointed at their Head of House. "You can't say you aren't in the mood for classes tomorrow. That's not really Prefecty..." oooh! New word!

As more Ravenclaws entered the party, Dorian yawned loudly and stretched his armd above his head and let himself fall backward on the cushions, looking at the starry ceiling.

Hirsch couldn't help but let out a chuckle at Mr Muir's answer. "I'll take that as a no." Smile. "Well..... they're not wrong. Fifth and seventh years are both emotionally draining and you might find yourself pulling more all-nighters than you imagined." Although, a nagging part of his brain, the one that sounded oddly like his mother, told him that that wasn't something he should be telling a student who was about to face his fifth year.

As for the last part, Hirsch found his face dropping slightly while the smile was replaced by a small frown. "I'm sorry about your uncle." That sentiment, that reason behind his motivation, was very sweet but now was probably not a good time to say anything.

And yes, pizza rolls were a highly mature culinary preference.


It was always nice to see so much enthusiasm in a student for a subject, especially when the subject was one he taught. It was probably what made his job so enjoyable, minus the angst that came along with it. "Thank you, Miss Ben-Ari." Smile. "I really do. I've always enjoyed teaching and defence and it's always seemed like the right career path to go down. There's a lot you could do with it, and there's always something new cropping up, so it never seems boring." That was his thoughts about it, anyways. "Is there a subject you're looking forward to?"


The sight of another student entering the room hadn't gone unnoticed to the Defence professor. Constant vigilance, remember? Though, considering the fact that he had an inkling as to what the boy was like, Hirsch chose not to say anything at first. Maybe he wanted to be alone for a bit while also helping himself to something to drink.

It wasn't until Jessa had spoken to Jace that Hirsch glanced quickly in the Prefect's direction before deciding to add on to her comment. "Yeah, we don't exactly stink," he said, shooting the seventh year a cheeky, dimpled grin.


Speaking of Jessa, it was her that he spoke to next. "You're welcome. I doubt you'll let me down." There was a reason why he'd recommended her for the role of a Prefect, after all. Though, her question had earned her a slightly confused look from him. "Why would I be mad at you? These things are bound to happen, and you can't guarantee that every experiment you undertake is going to have successful results. We..... knew from the start that there was a chance it could go wrong." As he said it, something tugged at his chest but he tried his hardest to ignore it. If he was completely honest, he fully expected the fifth year to be the one mad at him after what happened last year. She did hold a lot of enthusiasm for that experiment.

........... What?

WHAT?!

Them all? She wanted to continue all the subjects?! Hirsch blinked. Did she want to sleep at all during her NEWT years?! "That is a logical reason," he started slowly, "But that's a lot of subjects as well. I mean, you're going to need some time to yourself as well." Just saying. "Is there anything you're really interested in?"

While he liked to pay attention to his surroundings, he was trying not to listen in to Jessa's conversation with Mr Muir. They probably wouldn't want him to, especially seeing as they were talking about lessons in front of him. So he concentrated on rolling up his sleeves and heating up his hands on the small fire he'd conjured up to try and warm them up a li-

Huh?

Green eyes found Jessa again as she..... started talking to him? About his subject? To say that he was amused was an understatement: the man tried not to chuckle but there was definitely a wide smile on his face that hadn't been there before. "Well, thank you. I appreciate that but," Now, how should he say this? "I wouldn't be offended if it wasn't true."


'... you sure know how to throw a party.'

.............

Hirsch's eyes flew from one student leader to another and he..... paused. While this was a great compliment and one that would've made him smirk, right now, he wasn't sure how to respond to that. It reminded him a little too much of, cough, mature parties he'd been to and even ones he'd helped organise. It was probably a comment that Gaston would hopefully agree with.

Anyways. Kirk. "Thanks, Kirk. I'm glad you think so." Nothing else needed to be said. "That badge is suiting you well, by the way." And on that note, where was Mr Jessup? Was he not going to join in on the festivities? Or had he decided to start his duties early?


To hear that Miss Newton was looking forward to your lessons was heartwarming. Really. "I'm glad to hear it," he said, shooting her a smile, "Hopefully, it keeps up with your expectations." Which put a lot of pressure on him as well but, then again, he'd been doing this for a while now. "I don't blame you, they're a lot more comfortable and are better at putting you at ease. This party must be right up your alley."

The girl knew about the elves? Already? Information travelled fast in this castle, didn't it? "They did. If you're ever feeling peckish, drop by the kitchens and ask one of the elves to get you something. They don't usually say no to giving extra food." It did depend on which elves they asked, of course.


Hirsch didn't understand what Dorian was trying to say or what he was trying to do with his seating arrangement but he couldn't help but be amused, all the same. He didn't dare interrupt to try and figure out what he was trying to say but instead, let him continue trying to grasp at words.

And he was glad he did because the next few words amused him even more.

The Defence Professor let out a bark of laughter before saying, "I guess that's just my personality? I don't see the point in taking things too seriously. There's a time and a place for that." Which earned him a lot of questionable looks from parents who just didn't believe he was a competent professor. Not when he had more tattoos than he could count.

But then the second year mentioned something about a wife which..... well, that was one way to make him feel less calm in an instant. He busied himself with adjusting his glasses in an attempt to figure out a way to answer that that didn't say that he was a) panicking and b) turning slightly redder by the second. "That would definitely make me panic while also being excited. That's a huge event, after all." Pause. "I don't have a wife, by the way, so that scenario would make me panic even more." Just saying.

Could they talk about something else now? It was starting to feel really hot in here.

And the next topic of conversation came in the form of accidents and...... did he just say that he fell out of his treehouse?! Eyes flew over to the scar sitting below the boy's elbow and he blinked. "That must've been some accident that it was enough to get you stitches. I'm glad you're okay, all the same." Another pause. "Do you get into accidents a lot, by the way?" If he did, something told Hirsch that he'd need to keep an eye out for this second year.

At least the man was honest. "Well I can handle late nights, it's the early mornings that get me," he said with a chuckle. "So I hope I don't have Defense right away in the morning this year!" It was hard to maintain constant vigilance amid constant yawning; the two ideas were mutually exclusive.

Yeah, he was sorry as well. "Thank you, Professor. He was a great man." And his only magical family member, to his knowledge. "So I'm going to make him proud. Or try at least."

Oh, he didn't wanna come over. Jessa offered Jace a small smile "Well, if you're sure. Offer still stands in case you change your mind at some point." Not everyone was into the whole mixing and mingling thing, making his decision perfectly understandable to the Ravenclaw. She hadn't felt much like being sociable on the train either.

"I love those!" Jessa enthused at Finn's mention of the scent old textbooks and inks carried. "Very inspiring. Just gives you that feeling like you could stay up all night learning, y'know?" ...but not in the conventional sense. The Ravencalw more meant when it came to figuring out her experiments, or pulling something apart to gain a better understanding of what made it work the way it worked and why that way of working might have been best. Still didn't miss the boring lessons she was required to sit through.

"I suppose the early rise won't be all that bad. I was hoping I'd get to slip away to my lab for a bit but this party's making it less and less a possibility. If I wake up early enough I should be able to." And so she would keep telling herself when the alarm went off tomorrow morning and she was struggling to find the motivation to leave her bed. "I'm excited to see my babies after the long summer."

She managed to return Kirk's greeting nod but that was all she could get in before Hanna popped up--figuratively of course, as the Prefect had seen the girl's approach. "That's probably one of the best things to do in the castle. There's so many secret passages and living pieces of history that you'll be at it for years and still keep running into new things." It was brilliant really. "Just be sure not to go wandering before a lesson, in case you get lost. Some Professors won't take kindly to that." Not even when it came to First Years, so it was her job to make sure they were prepared as best she could.

Which was what she was trying to do with Shera (despite Finn's suggesting otherwise). Not trying to scare her, no. Jessa simply had a hard time filtering when it came to knowledge acquisition. This was the girl who broke her own arm just to learn not only the spell to fix it but the way the spell felt, the degree of discomfort present with a such a spell, any alternatives that may have been equally, more or less effective and so on. Jessa simply liked knowing....whatever the cost.

But to answer her question. "No. I spend so much time on experiments because I like doing them and find them a more interesting way of spending my time at school." Getting so far ahead in her actual schooling was more to do with getting it out of the way so she could focus on things she'd rather be doing. Homework? Ew. Classes. Eh. Lock her in her lab for an afternoon and she'd be happy as a Aethonan yearling after a bit of rain. "There's just so many fascinating things. Gets a little hard to turn my brain off." For better or for worse.

She was right though, Professor Hirsch did seem to have made enough to last them into the morning. "And with the right charms, it'll all still be fresh when we wake up."

Dorian's not so subtle warning earned him a light shrug of her shoulder. "It's Professor Hirsch, he's super cool about all this stuff. There's no real need to pretend I'm feeling chipper about classes when I'm not." He was her Head of House. If she had problem she was meant to be going to him about them anyway. "Besides, he was a student once. He knows all about that struggle and unlike some other Professors doesn't pretend like he was born this big and never had a childhood." She would never stop saying they had the best Head of House, ever.

A Head of House who, as it turns out was not actually angry at her. Now being Co-Prefects with Erik was making even less sense. "I just thought....because Erik....." Yes, having to work with the boy was considered a punishment. Hirsch was right, they had known the risks when they started the experiment but the results didn't lie. Erik Richard Cassian Jessup III and her would be spending far more time than she'd like together now and it was on the order of Professor Hirsch. Wasn't out of the ordinary to assume ill feelings under those circumstances. "Is it too late for you to change your mind about him? I could help you find someone else." From the corner of her eyes, she caught the look Erik shot at her for that statement--she hadn't been whispering afterall--but she chose to ignore it in favour of her conversation with the man.

His concern was evident. "It won't take up too much time at all." She countered. "I've already learned what I need for the OWL syllabus leaving me enough time now to start on the Sixth Year one and the Seventh by February. By the time I get to that stage, I'll already have learned. All I'll need is the occasional revision before going back to the things I like doing." It had been a plan in the making for a while now and while initial progress was slow, Jessa had begun tearing through the course material like it was nothing more than a flimsy piece of paper.

Wider reading for her other experiments helped to simplify some of the more advanced terms she found in the upper year syllabi.

Her eyes widened just a little at his later comment. Not true?? "Why wouldn't it be true? I don't suspect you'd lock me in the dungeons for not liking the subject you teach so if I didn't like it, I wouldn't have any reservations saying as much." Just being practical here. Her Head of House was not one she felt she needed to be walking on eggshells with. That simply wasn't in his character.

Finn had gone back to responding that it was in fact normal to stay on schedule with learning instead of leaping ahead, and Shera nodded slowly, before brightening up once again. "Ok, that's good. And I'll keep that in mind."

Speak to Professor Hirsch for any special interests? She could do that in the future. For now she had other things to worry about, like exploring the castle, worrying about Quidditch try outs, making friends and getting to classes on time, let alone keeping up with everything.

And Shera turned back to Dorian smiling at him, amused by how quickly he managed to shift from looking awkward and embarrassed with someone else, and then suddenly looking... normal and calm facing them. "What year are you in now?" she asked, head tilted to the side. He didn't look too much older than her or Hanna but he definitely wasn't a first year.

Professor Hirsch sure was enthusiastic about his class, which was great because it made Shera feel even more enthusiastic about going to it. What was she looking forward to? "Ummm... I'm not too sure yet sir, I know that I like flying, but I don't know if it means I'm looking forward to the class," she mused thoughtfully, as it someone had hit a switch she immediately chirped up though, her energy levels increasing. "I suppose I'm looking forward to everything?"

Then it was back to discussing the experiments that Jessa had mentioned vaguely multiple times. Shera still had no clue what kind of experiments they were though. "So... is there any particular area that you focus on in your experiments, or is it just a bit of everything?"

Shera wouldn't be surprised if Jessa was just conducting experiments on every single subject that existed.

Dorian was unaware he had managed to make make Professor Hirsch uncomfortable with his question about his wife because at the moment the man was busying correcting his glasses, the boy had looked at Shera instead. He held up two fingers at her question and waved them around proudly. "I'm a second year" he said. "Did you hope to come to Ravenclaw? I did"

Turning back to the Head of House, Dorian nodded, agreeing that it would be very scary to get a kid for the sake of agreeing. He took a gulp of the pumpkin juice in his hand and was about to take a second gulp when he stopped. "You don't have a wife?!" wow.... "Why not? A girlfriend then? Or perhaps...." He paused. "A boyfriend? .....husband?" he asked very seriously, not a hint of a smile or grin on his face.

Did he get in to accidents a lot? No.... Sometimes.... Maybe? "My dad says it's because I'm always in a hurry and I cause accidents more than that they happen to me" he laughed as he turned his head to look at the ceiling for a moment before he turned to Jessa, blushing slightly as she shrugged away his previous warning.

"O-oh...okay, I did not know that...." at least their Head of House was cool? He gave a thumbs up to the man , not caring if he understood why or not. "Well then, I don't want to go to History of magic tomorroooooow" he whined and rolled on the cushions before coming to a stop and jumped up. "VOTE FOR A FREE DAY TOMORROW" he shouted, pumping his hand in the air once and then lowered back down with a "I'm sorry, got carried away......"

But seriously. FREE DAY?