Ravenclaw pt.2

"Congratulations! I'm Prefect Robert Hilliard, and I'm delighted to welcome you to RAVENCLAW HOUSE." The Prefect said as the first years followed him to the Ravenclaw common room, "Our emblem is the eagle, which soars where others cannot climb; our house colors are blue and bronze, and our common room is at the top of Ravenclaw Tower."

They all stopped at the door at the top of a tall, winding staircase which didn't have any handle but an enchanted bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle

"This is the entrance to our common room," The Prefect said, "Unlike the other houses, who all have concealed entrances to their common rooms, we don't need one. It has no handle, as you can see. When you rap on the door, this knocker will ask you a question, and if you can answer it correctly, you are allowed in. This simple barrier has kept out everyone but Ravenclaws for nearly a thousand years.

"Some first-years are scared by having to answer the eagle's questions but don't worry. Ravenclaws learn quickly, and you'll soon enjoy the challenges the door sets. It's not unusual to find twenty people standing outside the common room door, all trying to work out the answer to the day's question together. This is a great way to meet fellow Ravenclaws from other years and to learn from them – although it is a bit annoying if you've forgotten your Quidditch robes and need to get in and out in a hurry. In fact, I'd advise you to triple-check your bag for everything you need before leaving Ravenclaw Tower."

"Now would any of you like to try?" He asked as he knocked lightly on the door.

The eagle suddenly voiced out a question, "What am I?"

The first year broke into chatter as Perseus rolled his eyes on the side looking around.

'Maybe it wasn't a bad thing to get in Ravenclaw.' he thought, after all, if all it needed was an answer to a question to get in, he could sneak out all he wanted without anyone ever noticing his disappearance.

"Eagle!" A Ravenclaw boy said but the door didn't budge as the others started getting more confused.

"What is it then?"

"..."

"Aren't you going to answer?" Perseus looked at Hermione who looked eager to but wasn't going in.

"Didn't you say yourself that I should keep things to myself?"

"That was against the nobles," Perseus said, "In Ravenclaw people value intelligence, and then again I've never told you to dumb yourself down"

Hermione looked at him for a second as she went in front and answered, "A question!"

The door opened to the surprise of everyone as they cheered and got in.

The common room was bigger than he had expected as Perseus looked around at the beautiful ciruclar common room with arched windows hung with blue and bronze silks and a midnight blue carpet covered in stars, which was reflected onto the domed ceiling. The room was furnished with tables, chairs, and bookcases; and by the door leading up to the dormitories stands a tall statue of Rowena Ravenclaw made of white marble.

"The arched windows set into the walls of our circular common room look down at the school grounds: the lake, the Forbidden Forest, the Quidditch pitch and the Herbology gardens. No other house in the school has such stunning views." The Prefect proudly said looking at the interest of the first year. He continued,

"Without wishing to boast, this is the house where the cleverest witches and wizards live. Our founder, Rowena Ravenclaw, prized learning above all else – and so do we. Another cool thing about Ravenclaw is that our people are the most individual – some might even call them eccentrics. But geniuses are often out of step with ordinary folk, and unlike some other houses we could mention, we think you've got the right to wear what you like, believe what you want, and say what you feel. We aren't put off by people who march to a different tune; on the contrary, we value them!

"Speaking of eccentrics, you'll like our Head of house, Professor Filius Flitwick. People often underestimate him, because he's really tiny and he's got a squeaky voice, but he's the best and most knowledgeable Charms master alive in the world today. His office door is always open to any Ravenclaw with a problem, and if you're in a real state he'll get out these delicious little cupcakes he keeps in a tin in his desk drawer and make them do a little dance for you. In fact, it's worth pretending you're in a real state just to see them jive.

"Ravenclaw's house has an illustrious history. Most of the greatest wizarding inventors and innovators were in our house, including Perpetua Fancourt, the inventor of the lunascope, Laverne de Montmorency, a great pioneer of love potions, and Ignatia Wildsmith, the inventor of Floo powder. Famous Ravenclaw Ministers for Magic include Millicent Bagnold, who was in power on the night that Harry Potter survived the Dark Lord's curse, and defended the wizarding celebrations all over Britain with the words, 'I assert our inalienable right to party'.

With the mention of Harry Potter the students, 'oohed' in fascination.

"There was also Minister Lorcan McLaird, who was a quite brilliant wizard but preferred to communicate by puffing smoke out of the end of his wand. Well, I did say we produce eccentrics. In fact, we are also the house that gave the wizarding world Uric the Oddball, who used a jellyfish for a hat. He's the punch line of a lot of wizarding jokes.

"As for our relationship with the other three houses: well, you've probably heard about the Slytherins. They're not all bad, but you'd do well to be on your guard until you know them well. They've got a long house tradition of doing whatever it takes to win – so watch out, especially in Quidditch matches and exams.

"The Gryffindors are OK. If I had a criticism, I'd say Gryffindors tend to be show-offs. They're also much less tolerant than we are of people who are different; in fact, they've been known to make jokes about Ravenclaws who have developed an interest in levitation, or the possible magical uses of troll bogies, or ovomancy, which as some of you probably know is a method of divination using eggs. Gryffindors haven't got our intellectual curiosity, whereas we've got no problem if you want to spend your days and nights cracking eggs in a corner of the common room and writing down your predictions according to the way the yolks fall. In fact, you'll probably find a few people to help you."

Unlike others, who were getting all hyped up about the Ravenclaw house, Perseus who had just gotten around to liking the place suddenly had a distaste for the people.

'People cracking eggs to predict the future?' Perseus was sure, that even he would laugh if he were to see someone else do so but looking at the devoted people around he wasn't sure if that'd be the right thing to do. 'What did I get myself into?' he wondered.

The Prefect continued his speech, "As for the Hufflepuffs, well, nobody could say they're not nice people. In fact, they're some of the nicest people in the school. Let's just say you needn't worry too much about them when it comes to competition at exam time."

'Competition in exams?' Perseus was getting more and more baffled at his house as he looked at Hermione hoping she would share the same feelings as him but he was wrong. Hermione looked to be most excited out of all the Ravenclaws instead.

"I think that's nearly everything. Oh yes, our house ghost is the Grey Lady. The rest of the school thinks she never speaks, but she'll talk to Ravenclaws. She's particularly useful if you're lost, or you've mislaid something.

I'm sure you'll have a good night. Our dormitories are in turrets off the main tower; the sound of the wind whistling around the windows is very relaxing.

And once again: well done on becoming a member of the cleverest, quirkiest and most interesting house at Hogwarts."

The students all clapped as they headed towards their dorm both tired and excited to start their wizarding life.