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 Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2012 11:16 am
 Louvenia swept down the corridor, doing her best to keep up with the fast moving Ravenclaw Prefect that was leading all the first years to the Ravenclaw dorms for the first time. She mentally made note of how many turns they made, what stair cases were used, and what stair cases moved on them. It was almost surreal being in the Hogwart's castle and being stuck in the middle of so much magic. Sure she had encountered Magic at the Alvesleben castle while she lived there, but never at this magnitude. Plus the Hogwart's castle was much more immense than her Cousin's. It could have fit at least three of his castle inside.
Her eyes alighted on the moving portraits on the walls and she studied them as much as she could. She'd have to come back and focus on them later, they all looked so intriguing. She wondered what sort of stories the subjects might have to share. She found herself wondering if anyone had taken the opportunity to write any of them down. She imagined so, since the portraits had more than likely been on the walls for at least a hundred years or more.
Her attention went back to the crowd of first years she had been following and she slowed her footsteps when she realized they had stopped. She wondered why they had stopped when she heard a voice emit from the eagle shaped brass knocker. She mulled over the riddle it posed trying to figure it out. She came to the answer a moment before the prefect answered and the door swung open to allow the students in. She smirked a bit and followed, wondering if any of the other students had figured it out.
She was awed by the airy open feel of the common room when she stepped inside. It was a wide circular room decorated in bronze and dark blue banners and a lush blue carpet. She heard someone gasp and turned to look at them to see what had started them. She saw them point to the ceiling and looked up. She was amazed to see a sea of stars painted on the celing, noting that they weren't just silly gold stairs but actual constellations depicted.
The furnishing in the room definitely gave a scholarly feel with the desk, chairs and tons an tons of bookcases. She was definitely going to enjoy being in this House. She could imagine herself seated at a table near the fire reading a book and studying.
Her attention was brought back to the Prefect when she began to call out names and telling them which rooms they were in. Louvenia was glad when her name was called out next, along with two others. She caught sight of a blonde head which nodded and followed it up a short staircase and into a dorm room. She glanced around at the tall beds and tried to figure out which one was hers. Finally her eyes alighted on the middle bed which had her trunk set at the end.
"Well..I guess unpacking first would be smart." She murmured to herself as she looked around. She was a bit annoyed to see that one girl had claimed a wardrobe all to herself, leaving the second one for her and the blond she had followed into the room. Oh well..she should have acted sooner. "Looks like we'll be sharing the wardrobe," She said turning to the other girl. "Would you like the top three drawers or the bottom ones?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2012 11:58 am
 Tristan took mental notes on her treck to the Ravenclaw Common Room. Her mental map laid out neatly in her thoughts for future use, but she couldn't help but marvel at everything she saw.
Hogwarts was almost too good to be true! The magic that flowed through the corridors alone was enough to curve her lips into a delighted and awe-inspired smile. This castle was far more intriguing in person than any of the books she read about it... or even what her Aunt Amy had managed to explain to her of it! And what was better, she was a Ravenclaw! The house she'd hoped she'd get from the first moment she read about them! She'd definitely have to write to her Aunt and Parents before she went to bed.
As the group stopped in front of the Eagle, she listened to the riddle carefully. She quickly figured the answer out and pushed her glasses up on her nose in silent triumph and pride at knowing such a thing.
Once inside the common room, Tristan couldn't believe her eyes... The stars were so beautiful! And Accurate!! They looked just like the stars did on the nights she spent over at her cousin's house and that imagery alone brought fond memories. Something else to write about, she was sure.
Her dual colored eyes skimmed the room, herself seeming to hold back a fan-girlish squeel from seeing all the books and the different possibilities in which to study with, on, or around... Desks, chairs, a fireplace! This was far more than any girl like Tristan could ever hope for!
Her name being called snapped her out of her dreamy state and she nodded, following the gesture of the prefects to her new room. She bit her lip as she walked, following the other two that were called with her. The first girl seemed rather snobbish and almost acted much like a Slytherin in Tristan's mind by the way she quickly swooped in and took over half the room's offered accommodation when they were to clearly share them.
The other girl seemed more like herself. Well kept of herself, but obviously had the look of a bookworm - like herself. It wasn't until this girl began talking to Tristan did she blink and bite her lip in shyness.
"I... oh... Well..." She looked at her pile upon her bed. Two-socks, her cat, had made her claim on the top container as her snoozing place. Tristan frowned then rolled her eyes playfully as she pushed her glasses back up on her nose and moved to pull Two-Socks off her things. The gray tabby gave a piteous mew in protest but resulted to mindless purring as she was then set on Tristan's pillow.
"To be honest, I don't have much in the way of clothing..." she started again. Which, in all honesty was a true fact. Most of her things were her books from her Aunt and various school supplies that were necessary for her first year. "I-I'l take the bottom two drawers... I don't think I'll have enough to fill in three..."
She bit her lip again, not quite accustomed to making new friends, much less talking to new individuals she hardly knew. After a very brief moment, she made a faint attempt to clear her throat and brush back a stray lock of her white blonde hair behind her ear before she turned to her bags.
It was here she frowned again. The one chest containing her clothing was down at the bottom of her pile.... She figured as much...
Her brow quickly stitched together with determination and she pushed her glasses back up her nose again before beginning to tackle the task of putting her things in places they ought to go.
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Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2012 1:14 pm
Louvenia watched as the other girl chewed on her lip and raised an eyebrow. What a nasty habit to have. She imagined the other girl worried her lip so much that it often became a mangled mess. She tried to hide her disgust at the thought.
She followed the other's gaze to the other bed and blinked. There was an adorable cat sitting on top of a suitcase. She itched to go over and pet it, but figured that would be seen as rude. She had never been around any cats before, and had often wished to get one. Unfortunately her Cousin Alesander who was caring for her was allergic to them.
She let a small smile curve on her mouth as she watched the tabby settled into the pillow on the other blond's pillow. The words the other girl was speaking registered and Louvenia blinked. Not much clothing? That wasn't smart, she couldn't help but think.
"That will be fine then." Louvenia stated, "You'll want to hang up any dresses and dress robes you have in the closet area. You can have the left side." She directed as she turned to go back to her own things.
She paused though when she noticed the girl was staring at the pile of things on her bed. Louvenia realized the chest was underneath everything else, and they all looked rather heavy. Someone had pilled up her things in a horrid fashion. Louvenia sighed and looked back at her own things. Thank goodness her House Elf had put her items in an orderly and easy to get to order.
"Would you like a hand moving things?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2012 1:46 pm
Tristan blushed faintly at the offer. "It's..." she started, reaching for a bag on the top. "It's alright..." she continued then grunted as the small bag seemed to appear as though she had packed rocks.
"I think I can get it though." she huffed letting it drop with a rather loud thump to the floor. She then smiled meekly and pushed her glasses up her nose again. It was a consistent habit. "It's mostly books anyways..."
The next two bags she grabbed had much the same effect. They both appeared heavy, and made a hearty thump upon hitting the floor. Once those three were brought down she maneuvered them neatly in a row beneath her bed. She'd open them up in the morning and sort out her books onto shelves once she got a bit of rest...
Three bags down, three to go. But now she had access to the one that held her clothes. She popped open her chest to reveal her neatly folded articles. There were quite a bit of clothes in fact, but she and her mom had perfected a magic free method on folding clothes so that they were condensed and took up minimal space in their drawers. It was that technique that she managed to put all her clothes in one bin. Well... that and her brother's love for puzzle games similar to tetris.
She smiled at the past accomplishment then turned.
"Er..." She blinked shyly and looked sheepishly towards the floor. Five minutes in her new home and she had already forgotten her manners! "M-My name's Tristan. Tristan Mandelheim..." This was her measly attempt at being social, though it was painfully obvious that she was not accustomed to such acts.
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Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2012 2:04 pm
Louvenia was surprised at how easily the other girl blushed, not that it was that noticeable underneath her tan. She shrugged and watched as the other girl worked hard at getting all her bags out and on the floor. She shook her head slightly. With a swish of her wand, Louvenia muttered a floating spell under her breath, and her trunk and other boxes landed softly on the floor where she could get to them easier.
That had been the first spell she had learned, and she had been working on it for weeks to perfect it. She wondered why the other girl hadn't thought to use a spell to move her stuff around. It would have been much easier. It wasn't as though they weren't not allowed to use simple spells to move things around now that they were at school.
In a matter of a few moments and the flicking of her wand, she had all her clothes in their place and was starting to work on her wide assortment of books. Thankfully there were more than enough shelves in their dorm for each girl to keep her massive book collection on. Louvenia wondered if other Houses sported this many shelves..more than likely not. The rest of the Houses weren't know for having book smarts after all.
Her books were nestled in the shelves closest to her bed and the wardrobe on the right side, and there was still one shelf empty, which she used to store a few of her other things on. Her diary, some extra quills and a few helpful knickknacks that her Cousin had gotten her.
She was surprised to hear the other girl speak to her again. She winced slightly realizing she had never introduced herself. " You have a lovely name," She replied politely and offered her hand. "I'm Louvenia Valora Alvesleben. It's a pleasure to meet you. I apologize for not introducing myself earlier."
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Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2012 2:23 pm
Tristan saw the hand extend and blinked at it for a split second before slowly reaching her hand forward and shaking the offered hand gently.
"A pleasure." she managed then bit her lip softly. "And you have a lovely name as well. Do you know the origin?"
Dropping the handshake she flushed with a bit of embarrassment upon realizing that the other girl's things had already been put away. She quickly noticed the wand in Louvenia's hand then immediately put two and two together.
Of course! Why didn't she think of that! She wasn't at home anymore and her Aunt had mentioned that she could use magic once she made it to Hogwarts. She assumed that she had been so distracted with everything that she'd been subject to - the train ride, the boat ride, the dining hall, the sorting hat, the trip to her room - that she had completely forgotten that she could attempt all those wonderful spells she'd been reading about for the past year!
"I-I take it your parents were magical...?" she asked, politely brushing past Louvenia to take a peek at the titles the girl had upon her shelves. She made sure she kept her hands to herself while looking, and smiled briefly whenever she came across a title she had read before.
She was impressed with Louvenia's collection and made a mental note to inquire borrowing some of them later on for light reading. She was rather enthused to see such a collection of books and silently hoped her collection didn't look so minuscule or lame in comparison. After all, all her books were hand-me-downs from her Aunt when she was a Hogwarts student... and of course many things revolving the study of Muggle Artifacts and other related topics. Tristan found the Muggle related topics rather entertaining. Some of the things the wizard authors claimed certain things were used for were almost comical.
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Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2012 4:47 pm
Louvenia smiled slightly at Tristan and pulled off her sweater and laid it across her bed, it was getting rather warm in the room. "Thank you. Of course I do. Louvenia is a variant of Lavinia, which gets it's origins from the Latin, and could have been derived from the town Lavinium which was in Rome. It doesn't really have a meaning, though I like it. Valora has it's roots in Latin as well and means brave or courageous. My last name is a variant form of Alvensleben, which has it's roots in Germany. "
Louvenia wondered why the other had wondered, and then looked at her closely. Ah, so she had noticed that she had used magic to put her things away. She smirked slightly, she'd have offered to help Tristan if the other have asked but figured she wanted to figure things out for herself.
"They were," She replied feeling a wave of sadness come over her. Her parents had died a little over two years ago and she was still getting used to the fact that she'd never see them again. "They passed away a couple of years ago. I live with my second Cousin and his son Lothar, he's a Ravenclaw as well and is my age." Louvenia replied.
She watched as the other perused her books and smiled. When the other was done, she grabbed one of her favorite books from the top shelf, a green bound book with raised silver lettering on the front of it.
"If you ever want to borrow you feel free to. Just don't take them out of the Common Room and don't be lending them out to other people. I don't want to be losing them."
Louvenia sat down on her bed and then looked out the window. It was still barely dusk outside, so she'd have plenty of time to do a bit of reading before bed. She covered her mouth when she felt a yawn start to come. Once it was done she went over to the wardrobe and pulled out a pair of long pajama bottoms and a long night shirt.
"Well I'm going to get ready for bed, If you still need help when I get back let me know."
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Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2012 5:39 pm
Tristan beamed a bright smile. Sometimes learning simple things like the origin of a name gave her some delight in knowing something different and possibly useful! She was glad that she wasn't the only one who apparently felt this way!
Her features then drooped at the mention of deceased parents. She felt bad about bringing up such a memory, but nodded silently in understanding and didn't press the matter further. In all honesty she had only just recently confirmed the fact that she was adopted via the sorting hat and she hoped that her parents didn't get brought up into a topic any time soon... at least until she knew more about her real parents...
She perked at the offer of borrowing books when she wanted and smiled brightly. "Oh, thank you very much!" she beamed another bright smile. "Once I get my things sorted out, you are free to browse through my books too, just... be mindful of the same ruling... a-and be very careful with the ones that say they belong to an 'Amaryllis Ashewood'. Those were my Aunt's books from when she was going to school here." She gave a shy sort of giggle. "I can honestly say they've seen better days."
She then nodded and turned to her things, opening one of the other two bags left on her bed unopened.
"Take your time then. I should be nearly done unpacking before you get back." She began rummaging through her things, in search of her wand. It was gently placed in one of the two bags. She knew it was! It was in a leather pouch her dad made specifically for keeping it protected.
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2012 2:37 pm
Louvenia could tell that Tristan had felt bad for having asked about her parents. While it had happened a few years ago, every time someone brought them up or made her think of them a sharp pang ran through her chest. It was almost as though her heart felt like it was being pierced with a sharp needle.
She took a deep breath and composed herself. It wouldn't be right to cry or sob in front of two strange girls that she had just met. Well, she did know Tristan a lot better than she had at first. Still..she wasn't comfortable to show emotions in front of others.
Louvenia smiled back at Tristan, glad to hear that the other would return the favor and allow her the use of her own books. She wondered what kind of books she might have, especially since she said some of them were rather fragile. "Oh I'll be careful. Ashewood you say? I think she went to school with my mother and father. I imagine that they were used a lot if they're that old. I imagine she loved them a lot though."
Louvenia smirked at Tristan, " I highly doubt you'll be done by then. Unless you use magic to unpack your things. I take pretty quick baths."
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Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 7:46 pm
Tristan nodded as she rummaged through her things until she found that delightful little pouch that held her precious new tool. She stood and pushed her glasses back up her nose with a shy and embarrassed glance at the floor at the mention of possibly not being done by the time Louvenia was done bathing. She knew she would be, but... she was still new to this world.
"I-I... should be done..." she managed before nibbling her lip and turning to her things in quasi-hidden shame. She took a moment to compose herself then smiled in her quickly rising excitement!
She was about to use magic! For the first time in her life, all her dreams would come true, right here and now! No more stories! No more imagining! Magic was real and she was about to prove to herself just that!
Carefully, she pulled the drawstrings on her long thin pouch and tipped the bag upside down into her palm where her wand fell into her grasp.It was the warm cream-colored wood of the Hawthorn tree, elegantly carved into a 15 inch wand.
Now oblivious to her surroundings (aside from her belongings of course) Tristan cleared her throat and took a deep breath... To say she was nervous was an understatement, but she closed her eyes and thought back to what her aunt had showed her with a crochet hook for practice for this very moment!
She flicked her wrist and muttered the words necessary as she opened her eyes and watched in stunned silence as her things put themselves away. Clothes went into the closet or drawers - where necessary - and books fell into place on the shelves. Even the cases that were put under her bed earlier, slid out and emptied themselves then stacked within each other until only the biggest case was left visible. It slid back under her bed neatly and was joined by the few pairs of shoes she had.
Lastly, her nightclothes folded themselves neatly upon one of her pillows, though they seemed careful to not disturb Two-Socks who clearly claimed the other.
She blinked...
... then looked at her wand with another shocked blink. "I... I did it..." she meant to whisper only to herself, though possibly louder than she intended. She then smiled wide, proud of herself! She actually did magic! And it wouldn't be the last spell she'd cast either! Oh happy day!! She bounced a little bit in place before darting to her bedside shelves and pulled out a scroll. She had promised her Aunt she'd write as soon as she was able.
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Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2012 7:30 pm
Louvenia left Tristan to her unpacking, and made her way into the bathroom. She was rather relieved to find it empty. She really wasn't ready to share a bath with other girls and thought it odd that the school seemed to promote it. She shrugged out of her robe, and laid it and her clean underwear and nightgown down where they wouldn't get wet. Then she shuffled over to the bath, slipped out of her slippers and got into the steaming bath. While it steamed, it wasn't too hot which was a relief.
Louvenia scrubbed her body until it was shiny and then started in on her hair. She quickly took out her braids and put the ties on the edge of the tub. She lowered her whole body down into the water until her entire body and head was under, with only her face peeking out. She lay there fore a few moments basking in the lovely warmth when there was a splash of water and she felt the water level rise.
Great..someone else had decided to join her in the tub. Louvenia slide up our of the tub, putting her arms over her chest and glared over at the dark haired girl who was now sitting across from her.
"Hello! It's lovely and warm in here isn't it?" The other girl asked cheerfully with a bright smile.
Louvenia eyed the other girl for a moment and then nodded. "Yes it is pretty nice." She admitted. "Toss me the shampoo would you?"
"Sure!" The other girl replied and tossed it over, then started to pour water over her long tresses with a cup. "Toss it back when you're done."
"Will do." Louvenia replied, pouring a bit out into her hand, then closed the lid and tossed it back over. Then she quickly lathered up her long blonde hair, getting it all covered. She glanced around and was annoyed to see there wasn't any other cups, and she didn't really feel like dunking herself completely again. "Can use your cup when you're done?" She asked, feeling a bit annoyed that she had to ask for a favor from this girl.
"Of course you may." the girl replied cheerfully. "You know we'll be living together for the next seven years so it would be smart to learn each other's names. I'm Maergrethe Linwood, what's your name?" The girl tossed the cup over to her and looked at her questioningly.
Louvenia was annoyed that the other girl was right, and sighed before answering. "Thank you, I'm Louvenia Valora Alvesleben."
Louvenia rinsed out her hair quickly and then looked around for her towel. Great..she had to get out and run for her towel. She frowned and was rather annoyed that she had left her wand in the dorm room. If she had brought it she could have used a spell to get her towel.
"Here let me get it for you." Maergrethe said producing her wand from the bathtub ledge, "Accio Towel!" She swirled her wand around and the towel zoomed over Louvenia's head and over to Maergrethe. The other girl giggled and caught it before it could fall into the water and inched her way over to Louvenia and handed it to her. "Here you go. I would have thrown it but with my luck it would have ended up in the water."
Louvenia couldn't help but shower the other girl with a thankful smile. "Thanks you, I really am grateful. That would not have been very much fun. Then I'd have to dash for my robe."
Louvenia stood up and wrapped the towel around her body and retreated to a more private corner where she could dry her body and her hair off. A few moments later her body was dried and she slipped into her robe and then started to dry her hair. "So, when you were sorted I noticed there were two boys with the same last name. Are they cousins of yours?"
Maergrethe was still washing her hair in the bathtub and looked up while she had water streaming down her hair and face. "Oh no, they're my brothers. We're triplets, though I look nothing like them." She replied with a laugh. "I'm the oldest, and then there's Liam and Leoben."
Louvenia was a bit surprised to hear that they were triplets. She had never heard of such a thing before. She had never even thought it was possible for triplets to all be sorted into different Houses before. And it was a bit odd that Maergrethe didn't look that much like her brothers. "Well..I guess you're more of fraternal twins in way, it's interesting to see how genetics works."
Louvenia turned around, made a makeshift curtain and slid her nightgown on over her head.
Maer shook her head in agreement. "It could definitely be that. And genetics is interesting. If you don't mind I really need to get back to my hair, it gets all crazy if I don't wash it twice with shampoo and once with conditioner. It's really horrid. And I've only gotten it washed once so far." She said looking down at her hair with annoyance. "It's soo much trouble getting it perfect."
"Hey that's fine. I'm glad my hair doesn't take much work." Louvenia replied as she finished drying her hair and then walked over to grab her hair things and slip back into her slippers. "Enjoy the rest of your bath." She said with a pleasant smile.
Louvenia left the bathroom and came back to find that Tristan had indeed completed her unpacking. "Nice job Tristan, looks like you got the hang of it." She complimented as she picked up her brush and started brushing through her slightly damp hair.
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Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 6:06 am
Tristan smiled brightly at the praise. "Thank you!" she perked, sitting up in her bed to fold the letter she had just finished writing. She made a mental note to find out how to send it in the morning before breakfast. "I didn't know I had it in me until this past Christmas. My Aunt caught me flipping pages without touching them and nearly had a spazz attack." she giggled softly.
Tristan figured this was as good a time as any to explain her lack of using magic earlier. "I was raised by Muggles. My Aunt - a witch - married into the family. So when she saw what I was doing she nearly leapt into the next town with joy. Aside from her kids and... where ever it is she works, she doesn't get to use or see much magic. I guess seeing someone else in the family just made her day."
She then made a soft gesture to the collection of tattered and worn books now neatly resting on the shelves by her bed. "She gave those to me as a birthday present a month later."
It was at this point, Tristan gathered her night clothes. She was a 'shower in the morning' kind of gal. Also didn't help that sleeping with wet hair often left her with a horrid looking hair-do the next day. With practiced skill, she slipped her gown on under her shirt before making any attempts to slip out of the rest of her clothes. Once that was done, she neatly placed her clothes in a hamper she placed at the end of her bed.
"It's getting pretty late..." Tristan started, looking to the other beds in the room and only just now noticing that the other girl that was unpacking with them earlier had left. "Do you think we have more roommates? Or was that one girl the only one?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2012 6:24 pm
Louvenia smiled back at Tristan's happy thank you, it was nice to get such a lovely thanks. Normally she didn't help a lot of people so she never got many of them.
Louvenia couldn't help but notice the letter that Tristan was folding up and wondered if the other girl knew how to send mail. "If you'd like I can show you how to send that tomorrow morning before breakfast. Do you have a House owl?"
"Oh how exciting!" Louvenia exclaimed. "I bet that was a rather funny thing to see her spazzing out in excitement." She added with a soft laugh.
Louvenia was rather stunned to hear that the other girl had been raised by muggles. It explained a lot about why the other girl hadn't known or tried to use magic before. It must have been strange to suddenly find out one had magic and then to learn about the magicking world when one hadn't known about it before. "It must have been quite a shock to you when you found out about the Magicking world and saw it for the first time."
"Oh, that's awesome. Most of my books were from my dad's collection. He had tons and tons of them, so I really couldn't bring them all. I mainly just brought the ones I liked the most."
Louvenia adverted her gaze when the other girl pulled out her night clothes, to give her some privacy to change. If she had watched she would have realized that the other girl had gotten changing without showing anything down to an art form.
She turned back to the Tristan when she started to talk again. "Yes it is rather late. I heard that the other two aren't here just yet. Maergrethe sure is taking a long time in the bathroom." she commented.
A moment later the brunette haired girl walked into the room with the fluffiest hair she had ever seen in her life.
"Oh, what happened to your hair?" She asked cringing at it.
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