"This is my Hiraeth."
There's a betrayal in the family, leaving it to Octavia to pick up the pieces and bring honour back to their name. Forced out of her old school and into a new, she must navigate the hidden passages, rising to the top with what...
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Selcouth |adjective| Unfamiliar, rare, strange, and yet marvellous.
Hogwarts was old. The structure itself being created years ago with nearly everything inside it dating back generations ago. It was a vast change from Beauxbatons where the castle was kept in pristine condition, spells being sent throughout the hallways of the building every couple of hours to polish everything in its wake, keeping the school clean and looking like royalty. Hogwarts didn't do much of the same as Octavia found herself passing old sets of armour, rust starting to build as spiders found homes in the helmets of these suits.
Finding a grimace on her features, Octavia would swiftly walk through the ageing castle, sticking close to her brother and his lunatic friends as they went, navigating their way to the Great Hall where they would sit through the Sorting Ceremony as well as a feast to start the year off. Octavia's own sorting would take place later on, the whereabouts of this being given to her via a letter from Professor McGonagall, receiving the enveloped parchment a few days before the start of term.
'Dear Octavia Black
The year will be started off with a Start-Of-Term feast, but first, the new students will be divided into their houses before taking their seats in the Great Hall. The sorting is a very important ceremony because while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend your free time in your house common room.
The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin, which I presume you already knew. Each House has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards, which I'm sure you will do well to join. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour.
The sorting ceremony for our first years will take place in front of the rest of the school. But as for you, we've decided to let your sorting be done in private like we would for other students transferring. For the night you'll be able to sit with whoever you chose but the day after the sorting, at seven sharp, you'll be sorted into your house where you will spend the remainder of your schooling years in. It is mandatory at dinner to sit with your rightful house. The Head girl has offered to give you her dorm for the night.
I await your arrival at Hogwarts and hope to see many great things come from you as a student.
