Adelaide

Backstory

I had received my Hogwarts letter some time before my 11th birthday. At first, I and my muggle-born mother had no idea what it meant until my, also muggle-born father, had explained that his great aunt was a witch who had attended this supposedly highly esteemed institution of learning for people born with extra "talents". My father had never mentioned this story to my mother or me before and we were astonished to hear of such a place. He told us that it was a highly kept secret and wasn't allowed to mention it up until now. I was extremely nervous and skeptical of what I was going to run into on my very first day at the school. It had taken my parents and me a while to be able to even find the train that would be taking me! I couldn't even imagine what I was going to run into at the school itself. However, after I had first arrived, I was amazed and captured by the beauty of the school and surrounding landscape. As I walked up the stairs for the very first time through the doors, all I could think about was the beautiful architecture and history that the building itself contained. I counted myself lucky that I, a small girl with unruly, wavy brown hair and green eyes, was given the opportunity to be a part of this new captivating world of magic. I was even more amazed that my parents had allowed me to come to the school that was so far away from home and any part of muggle civilization. It was clear that I had a lot to learn though when I jumped merely at the sight of a wizard candy treat known as a "chocolate frog" that is actually able to move and hop around like a real frog! And when the doors to the Great Hall had opened, I, along with the rest of the first-years, walked down the long aisle all the way to the end while the rest of the school watched us. It was very intimidating. But not as intimidating as when the Professor McGonagall called my name to the front and I sat on a stool. She placed an old, brown hat atop my head and its voice started to reverberate through my head. At first, I had believed it to be speaking aloud until I realized that there was no sound coming into my ears. It searched through my mind, trying to see all of my being so it could decide which House best suited me. It first said no to Hufflepuff and had trouble deciding between the other three. It could see that I desperately wanted to become someone great and to prove myself, but said no to Slytherin as it found that I only wanted to do something self-sacrificing with my life. It had a much harder time between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor because it could see my intelligence, as well as my character and integrity. It soon determined that I was too smart for Gryffindor, therefore placing me into the Ravenclaw House. I was warmly welcomed into my new house and determined to make my best years at this school. I also vowed to myself to become someone worthy of this new, unfamiliar world and to prove myself just as capable as all the witch-born students.

-Adelaide Arielis