Hogwarts, A Story

Halley Lovegood - Ravenclaw

Feeling warm and contented from all the food and the general atmosphere of community, Halley stretched out and smiled to herself in her seat. She wasn't sure what to make of the Hogwarts anthem, it was a little less serious than she had expected but that only made it all the more fun to sing. A few people were still going with the song; Halley noticed that a pair of Gryffindor boys were - as such - interpreting the anthem in their own way, while the mousy haired boy from before conducted them with his fork and a smaller boy giggled uncontrollably next to them. When they had finally finished, Dumbledore, with a twinkle in his eyes, applauded them, before standing suddenly.
"Now, off to bed with the lot of you! We'll have no complaints of tiredness from you tomorrow!"
Just like that, everyone was flooding out of the Great Hall. Halley tried to see Glyn in the crowd - she had been surprised to learn that he was a Scamander during the sorting - but she couldn't get past the practically endless sea of blue and bronze that was now surrounding her.
"First year Ravenclaws, follow me!" a male voice called from somewhere within the throng. Halley still couldn't see where the voice was coming from, but Amelia grabbed her by the robes and steered her over towards the doors, following the steady trickle of overwhelmed-looking first years.

They ended up in a line in front of a tall, athletic looking Ravenclaw.
"Hello everyone, I'm Robert Clearwater and I'm a seventh year, and the male prefect for this house. Welcome to Ravenclaw! We value creativity and wit here, and believe in the pursuit of knowledge. Our common room is in a tower on the west side of the building I'm afraid, so we'll all have to brave a few stairs to get to it. However, when you see the inside, you'll understand why it's worth the walk."
He began to walk up a grand staircase, talking all the while, and the Ravenclaw first years followed. Halley felt excitement building up again at Robert's words.
"Did you know we have the finest views from our windows in all of Hogwarts? That's right, it's a fact. We have views of the lake, the Forbidden Forest and the astronomy tower. Our house ghost is the Grey Lady, who you'll find is exceptionally helpful towards Ravenclaws, but she doesn't talk to other houses, so that's another privilege we eagles have."
By now, they had reached the fifth flight of stairs, and a lot of the Ravenclaws were looking a little worn out, including Robert who seemed a bit out of breath. Halley felt that her legs must have turned into lead. A moment later, however, Robert had stopped in front of a small, unassuming door with a bronze knocker, shaped like an eagle.
"Now, don't be scared, but unlike the other houses, Ravenclaw doesn't have a password to get into the common room. Instead, you must answer a riddle."
A panicked murmur rose up from the crowd, and a few people shot frightened looks at each other. Halley felt her brain seize up. Oh god, oh god, I'm not going to be smart enough to get into the common room, oh god, oh god, oh god. Amelia was muttering something under her breath, and Halley strongly suspected it was a phrase that wouldn't be heard in polite society.
"As long as your answer is well thought out, the knocker will probably allow you in, and besides, it's not an uncommon sight to see a crowd of people outside, all working together to solve the riddle, so you won't be on your own, don't worry," Robert continued. He raised a hand, and then slowly knocked on the door.

The knocker came to life immediately, making a few of the muggleborns, who were still unused to magic, jump.
"I don't have lungs or a chest but I need air, I am not alive but I grow, I have no mouth and I don't like water. What am I?" the knocker asked with a stern, steady voice. Robert looked around.
"I have no idea for this one, anyone else got something?"
People began muttering to each other, repeating the riddle to each other and coming up with different solutions. Suddenly, a voice from the back of the group shouted, "Fire!"
"Correct," the knocker declared in a stately manner, and the door swung open.

Everyone collectively gasped. The Ravenclaw common room was magnificent. The ceiling extended upwards, so high that you could only just see the top, and it was painted to look like the night sky. Halley could see the constellation of Orion from where she was standing. A silver chandelier, adorned with glistening blue jewels, dangled from the highest point. The huge windows arched up towards the stars and, as promised, offered spectacular views of the Hogwarts grounds, filling the room with the orange glow that comes with sunset. In one corner of the room, there was a marble statue of a regal looking woman who Halley took to be Rowena Ravenclaw, wearing a diadem upon her head and an expression of pride upon her face. In another corner stood a huge, sturdy looking bookshelf. The first few shelves were packed with books of all sizes and colours but Halley noticed that towards the top, there was a lot of space still available and the books here appeared a little more faded and worn. The room was draped tastefully with the midnight blue of the Ravenclaws and a Ravenclaw banner hung from the ceiling. At the back of the room, a small set of carpeted stairs spiralled up to seven different floors. The whole room was breathtaking; it was not excessive, but it was strikingly beautiful.

A couple of students, Halley included, had wondered over to one of the windows and they were now watching as the sun set over the sparkling lake, while little lights glinted merrily from the gamekeeper's hut. Halley was in awe at the beauty of Hogwarts, and she felt her fears dissipating as she stood there at the window, surrounded by like-minded people.

Of course, peace and quiet never lasts for long at Hogwarts, as Xenophilius had once told her. Just then, a tiny girl came sprinting towards the group of first years from behind one of the armchairs.
"Robert!" she screeched, "Robert Robert Robert!"
"What's up, Essie?" Robert greeted the small girl, who was seemingly overcome with excitement.
"Robert! Robert. Is there a spell for making eggs bounce?" Essie practically screamed at him. Robert thought for a moment.
"Not to my knowledge, no," he eventually replied.
At this, Essie reached up and (with some difficulty) seized the bewildered prefect by the shoulders, shaking him.
"Robert! I'm going to invent a spell!" And with that, Essie raced from the room, slamming the door behind her. There was a slight pause, before an older Ravenclaw reading in the corner said drily, "Welcome to Ravenclaw, kids."

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A couple of hours later, Halley was beginning to settle in. Her roommates were Amelia, Violet Larke, Yvonne Westfall and Tina Shah. They all seemed to be really pleasant people, although Tina was a little more boisterous than Halley was used to. The five of them had gone "exploring" together, and had discovered that Ravenclaw did in fact have its own private library down a set of stairs in the common room. They had also asked Robert about Ravenclaw customs, and now knew the reason why the top of the main bookshelf was so empty (it was tradition to leave behind a copy of your favourite book when you left in seventh year) and why there was a large carpeted space in the middle of the common room (there were astronomy nights monthly where the ceiling would be enchanted to look exactly like the sky, similar to the ceiling in the Great Hall). They were now sitting on their four poster beds, exchanging anecdotes and stories of their childhoods.
"Hey," Halley furrowed her brow, thinking. "Robert said we would stay in this dormitory while we were at Hogwarts, right?"
"Yeah, why?" Amelia questioned.
"Well, is it just me, or are the walls looking a little bare?"
Picking up on what Halley was implying, Yvonne clapped her hands, an animated expression on her face.
"I'll send an owl home. My mum's an artist, she should be able to get supplies to us within a couple of days!"
There were a couple of murmurs of "oh" as everyone caught on to what Halley was suggesting. Tina raised her eyebrows wickedly. "This," she announced, in a playfully menacing tone, "is going to be fun."

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It was exactly 1:55 am as Halley sat in the common room, recalling the events of the day over a good book. She turned the page and snuggled further into the corner of the armchair, reading avidly. Her eyes were skimming across the page, eager to find out what was going to happen next. The book was building up in tension, and Halley, absolutely absorbed by what she was reading, was about to turn the page when...
"That's a good book you're reading," a sandy haired head was suddenly hovering next to hers.
Halley squeaked in shock and promptly fell out of the chair, landing clumsily at the boy's feet. He raised his eyebrows as he looked down at her.
"I think you just fell for me."
At this, Halley snorted from her position on the floor.
"That was tragic." she smirked.
The boy chuckled and offered her a hand, which she took.
"You alright there, bookworm? You've gone a bit red."
Oh no. Halley groaned internally. She hated that she blushed so easily, and she was sure that "a bit red" was an understatement. She'd be surprised if she wasn't the colour of a cherry flavoured Bertie Bott's bean at the moment. She was spared from saying anything in response to this, luckily, when the boy asked "remind me of your name?"
"Halley Lovegood, and you?"
"Wait, Halley like the comet?"
"Well, it's not Halley like the inventor of the biting teapot so yes, like the comet." The boy laughed a little at this.
"Well, comet, I'm Jonathan Cortland. Please never call me John. Please."
"I'll bear that in mind in case you ever annoy me."
A slight smile of amusement. A beat of silence. Then "you know it's 2 in the morning?" Jonathan said.
"Yeah, but I couldn't sleep."
"I'm sure your roommates are missing your presence in their current dormant state. Go to bed, Halley, you look half asleep, and besides, classes begin tomorrow."
Halley sighed at this, but she bookmarked her page and began to walk back up the stairs to the dormitory, with Jonathan close behind. He jogged past her to the first year boys' dorm, calling out a farewell as he entered. She shook her head at the closing door, laughing to herself, and entered her new room.

This is a bit longer than originally planned, but I got really excited about Ravenclaw and went slightly overboard. As ever, comments and votes are appreciated a lot, and I hope you enjoy! ~ Swan