Beyond Hogwarts

Just Ravenclaw Things

2nd September,2016

I CAN'T BELIEVE I MISSED SUCH A BIG DETAIL YESTERDAY! Well, it's not that surprising, actually. There's so much things happening in here,it's normal to miss the details. So, the thing is, when we first we came to the door of Ravenclaw common room  after the prefects, a bronze eagle, carved in the door, spoke in a soft,echoing voice, "What do you want?"

"Repeat whatever we are saying"said David, and we all said after them,"A few drops from the ocean of knowledge and wisdom."

"Welcome" said the voice,and the door opened.

I thought this was just the password of our common room, because di said they had to give password to a portrait to enter Gryffindor common room, but I was wrong. 

The next morning,that is today morning at 7am, when we woke up and gathered in the common room, Victoire and David were standing there,holding an old parchment. 

"Everyone here, I guess." said David,"Go on then, Victoire,it's your turn this year."

Victoire smiled and took the parchment. Turning to us, she said,"Good Morning all. As I told you yesterday, there's a welcome tradition in our house. This parchment is written by none other than the legendary Rowena Ravenclaw and it's been read for the new students from the very beginning of Hogwarts. Please pay attention,and set your goals for the next years at Hogwarts." Then,she began to read,"My dear students, welcome to Ravenclaw house. You are our new members,and you are to carry on the legacy of the Ravenclaw wisdom. As you all know,our house colours are blue and bronze and our emblem is eagle. All of them have their own special meaning. The colour blue matches the colours of sky and ocean, which are open and limitless and so is wisdom. Wisdom and knowledge makes you free, fearless, as whenever you face something,you know what you are facing. The colour bronze matches the colour of the brass scales,which stand for justice and impartiality. Wisdom helps you make your vision clear and your opinions impartial. And the eagle is the bird that can sore to the greatest heights. If you gain true wisdom, you can sore to the heights no one can. We, Ravenclaws, are the artists,the creators,the visionaries,the thinkers. We use our mind over everything and never believe or disbelieve in anything without analysis. We embrace our flaws and oddities and innovate the ways they can be our strength. We accept and appreciate the people around us just the way they are. We posses skills, and we have to improve them in every possible way to grow as a true human,just like a diamond shines brighter when it's perfectly cut. Hogwarts will help you gain knowledge and prepare you to face the world outside. As Ravenclaws,we have to keep good relation with all the houses, appreciate their qualities and learn from them. 

And finally,life keeps throwing challenges to you, face them with an open mind and cut them with the sharpness of your wit. May your journey be full of learning. May your wisdom touch the vastness of sea and sky. Keep your sight clear and impartial and your mind open. Always remember, Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure."

Victoire stopped and closed the parchment as we all stood their,the words still floating in our minds.So, these are the thoughts of Rowena Ravenclaw, and the way she presented them is just outstanding. Looks like she summarised the secret of a perfect life in a few sentences. I was glad to be a Ravenclaw from the moment I was sorted, but this was the time I was actually Proud of my house.

The prefects gave us a moment to take in the words, then David spoke, "So, I hope you understood the lines and they'll be reflected in your actions. Now, it's time we have our traditional common room tour."

The four prefects showed us every corner of our common room.It's just splendid. Morning light was streaming inside through the arched glass windows, blue and bronze curtains hanging from them. The ceiling was decorated with a midnight blue carpet with glittering stars. A staue of Rowena Ravenclaw is standing in the middle of the room, the staircase leading to the dorms are just next to it. The best part is that it has different parts for reading in the morning and at night, seperated by curtains. There was personal tables, chairs and bookcases, colored in blue and bronze of course, for each of the students, Victoire told us that they can magically appear and disappear, synchronising with the number of students in each year. AND THERE IS A LIBRARY IN OUR COMMON ROOM! I'M SO EXCITED! And there's one more thing, our commom room has no password. The eagle on the door knocker asks a question when someone want to enter the common room and we have to answer it correctly to get in, or we have to wait for someone else to do it. The question it asked last night -'What do you want?' And the answer we gave,-'A few drops from the ocean of knowledge and wisdom.' are the traditional first day question and answer of the Ravenclaw common room.

Now, let's come to my classes. We had charms as our first class after breakfast, with the Gryffindors.Di showed us the charms classroom and told us to wait for her after the class, I didn't know why back then, but soon I got to know. The class was great. Professor Flitwick, the charms teacher and the head of the house of Ravenclaw, is a really good teacher and he is old,but still so full of energy. We did the levitation charm today, Wingardium Laviosa. We were devided in pairs to practice the charm. Me and Nova were together, and WE DID IT IN OUR VERY FIRST ATTEMPT.With one simple swish and flick of wand and a chorus of "Wingardium Leviosa", both our feathers went flying in the air together, earning Ravenclaw ten points each on the first class of the first day. 

But we made a mistake after the class. We waited for di for nearly five minutes, but she didn't show up,so we decided to go to the transfiguration classroom ourselves. And that was a very WRONG DECISION of us. We got lost in the castle and kept facing solid walls and empty corridors for Merlin knows how much time before di found us shouted on us and then led us to the transfiguration classroom. We were 15 minutes late by then, but when we explained why we were late, Professor Nadeem Ali, our transfiguration teacher and the head of the house of Hufflepuff, just smiled and said,"That's understandable." and let us in. And then he told us hilarious stories about how he used to get lost in the castle in his early days at Hogwarts, and we couldn't stop laughing. Transfiguration was again with the Gryffindors, and here also me and Nova did the best job transfiguring a matchstick into a needle, and won another twenty points and an appreciating smile from Professor Ali. We had to work hard this time, transfiguration was harder than charms, actually. 

Potions wasn't that good. We had it with the Hufflepuffs and we were brewing a cure for boils potion. Nova and I got really confused with the ingredients and kept making mistakes and  with the instructions. Professor Ophelia Ortiz was great, she taught us everything patiently. We did it at last with her help and she said it was passable. At least we weren't nearly as bad as Amanda Smith, a Hufflepuff who actually set her desk on fire, thank heavens, sorry,thank Merlin that Professor Ortiz put it off just in time. And when some of the students laughed at Amanda(well of course,we didn't), She gave them such a stern look that they went silent at once. And also Professor Ortiz is the head of the house of Slytherin.

Herbology with the Slytherins was quite good, better than potions at least. Professor Neville Longbottom was amazing. Looked like he knew everything about every plant in the greenhouse. 

And, we had to face our first Ravenclaw riddle today when we were entering the common room after classes. The eagle knocker asked,"What can you see but can't show anyone?"

"Dreams" I answered within seconds.

"Quite quick." said the eagle as the door flung open. 

"It was quite easy, wasn't it?" I said to Nova as we stepped in.

"It was." she agreed,"But how were you so quick?" 

I was about to answer when Victoire, who overheard our conversation,said,"It is easy at first. Keeps getting difficult day by day."

"Victoire! You do not have to make us worried." complained Nova.

"I'm not." said Victoire,"It's a fact and you better be prepared."

No matter how hard it gets,I'm confident we'll get past it always. And Di had been guiding us all day, even after handling her busy schedule, to get to the classes without getting lost, cause the castle plan of Hogwarts is extremely confusing. Many of our classmates kept getting lost every time and got late for the classes, whereas we got lost just once. Thank Merlin we have Di with us, and I swear I won't ignore her words again. Well, thats all for today. Have to go for dinner.

A/N- Dear readers, I am sorry for irregular updates, but I'm a bit busy, so I might be late in updating. I'm trying my best.Please stay with me and review my story.

 Love, Imaginawings.