To Be Announced

This was a huge milestone, it had been a huge milestone, and it had been one that Anabelle Mulciber thought she had failed in passing.

She had been excited about going to Hogwarts because she was sure that it would be her only chance to change her family's opinion of her since they found out that she was like her aunt, interested in muggles.Apparently, muggles were vile creatures because they were non magical and they could taint bloodlines of wizards and witches pertaining to families like her own. She didn't understand that, especially not knowing someone like Raphael who was her aunt's muggle boyfriend. Of course, she was the only person who knew about them besides Josiah, who had been sworn to secrecy as well.

Raphael was a great person, and he had given her the nickname she'd begun to love so much. She had decided that she would call herself by that name, "Hitame", and everyone would just think that it was because she liked the Japanese culture, which wasn't so bad because there were Japanese witches and wizards as well. Even if the reason she liked the name was found out, she wouldn't give the name up and that was something she had decided the moment the name was given to her.

That also was a part of the reason why she had been so eager to go to Hogwarts to redeem herself with her family, her father to be more exact. He didn't like that she had picked up the habits of her aunt, and Hitame thought that if she were to go to Hogwarts and get sorted into Slytherin, like her brother Walter, she would be able to please her father. However, during the Sorting Ceremony, things didn't go as planned and Hit almost cried when she sat down at her House's table. Even as she was being congratulated and welcomed to the table, she couldn't find words or the strength to answer them, in fact she was barely able to even give them a smile.

She had been sorted into Gryffindor, the House of the brave, and that couldn't be the worst house choice ever. Her brother hadn't wanted to talk to her after the ceremony, only giving her a look of sadness and disgust as he walked away toward the dungeons. She could only imagine what her father was going to say to her about being sorted into the only house he wouldn't not accept one of his children being in. The rest of the Gryffindors were laughing, teasing each other, and walked along toward their tower, some telling Hit to go with them, but she refused, not wanting to move from where she was standing. She had to figure something out.

She finally walked into the corridor, almost following the rest of her new House, when she saw two boys whom she recognized from the sorting and she stopped short. They seemed to be fighting about something, and she watched them knowing full well who they were. They were the twins, Cronis and Evander, from the Yaxley family - another Pureblood family. At one point or another, she'd had to meet them because her father had wanted to plan something between their families; Hit assumed they were marriages but she had never really been forced to interact with them. "Cronis. Evander." She said to them as she approached, hoping they would stop their bickering to acknowledge her.

Evander, now a Ravenclaw, stopped his sentence short first and looked at her, giving her a quick, sad smile. He knew how much she'd been hoping to not be a Gryffindor, "Hey Anabelle." he answered softly, before looking at Cronis, now a Slytherin, who was giving her a weird look. "What?" she asked him, eyes narrowing. "Sup Gryffindork." He finally answered, and Hit curled her hand into a fist. Cronis and Hit had never gotten along well, and now their houses were no doubt going to make things between them even worse than they already were. "Shut up." She stated simply, prompting Cronis to let out a loud laugh. "That's it? That's all you got?" he teased her. "So much for the Gryffindor bravery in this one." he continued laughing, before Evander pushed him and told him to leave.

Hitame sighed, "Why can't he be more like you?" she asked Evander softly. "Beats me, guess it's the disease of being heir." he answered, shrugging shortly after. "Ugh, I feel sorry for whoever ends up having to marry him." she said with a roll of her eyes. "You and me both." he agreed.

@Luxanna Gwendolyn Hale

Luxanna knew from the very beginning that she would not be sorted into Slytherin. The reasons were quite simple: she was not of a pureblood family, she lacked the ambition they had and their characters were completely different, so, it left either Ravenclaw, Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. As she stood in the line with other students, mesmerized by the beauty of the Great Hall, the tables and the banners hanging above the tables, she waited for her name to be called. Her sorting took a while as she, apparently, possessed the characteristics of her the three houses she had thought of before, but finally she was sorted into Hufflepuff. The students welcomed her with happy cheers. She was immediately introduced to the other pupils and that was when she knew that she had landed a perfect spot for herself in this place.

After the sorting ceremony was over and her belly full of delicious food (mostly desserts as she had a very sweet tooth), she followed her house- and classmates to the basement where she could explore her new home for the first time. After half an hour of studying almost every corner and picking herself a bed, Luxanna changed her clothes, but instead of putting on her pj's, she slipped into a soft bunny suit, earning some laughs and silly stares as she walked out from the dorm, ears skipping with every step she made.

She did not go far, though, as she was afraid of getting lost, but Gwen stopped soon enough when she heard some sort of bickering not too far away. What? she thought, confused. It was the first day of school and someone had already found some negativity? That was not right and Luxanna decided it was her turn to step in and lighten the mood.

With these positive thoughts, the blonde peeked out from behind of the corner and approached the young pupils with a bright wide smile. Her braces reflected the dim light emitting from the torches on the wall.

"Hello there lovelies!" she exclaimed. The short girl stood up on her toes and wrapped her hands around Hitame and Evan. "It is the first day of school! Be happy! You are going to have so much fun!"

Evander and Hitame watched as Cronis' figure disappeared down toward the dungeon. Hit often wondered why they didn't get along, maybe they were just too different. But then again, Cronis and her brother didn't get along and to her they seemed alike. They had similar habits and both easily pissed her off.

She was probably just too hard to get along with. But then again, why did she get along with Evander so well? If she were to compare the twins, she'd probably be able to figure it out but she didn't want to do that. Mostly because Evan hated being compared to his brother, even if it was to make good points about him. Hit definitely understood that.

As Cronis wandered down to the Slytherin dungeon, something caught his eye that made him laugh again. A girl, who was probably in the same year, was walking around in a bunny suit and Cronis smirked at the idea of being able to make fun of her for it. "Nice outfit, ya lookin' to be hunted and made into stew or somethin'?" he called out before walking into the Slytherin common room.

Hit and Evandeer heard Cronis' laughter and looked at each other with confused looks. They heard his voice, but couldn't make out what he was saying, and Hit gasped and quickly covered her mouth as she saw another First Year come around the corner where Cronis had just disappeared.

She winced when the girl put her arms around both her and Evander, glancing at the Ravenclaw boy and meeting his evenly awkward gaze. They both weren't huge fans of physical contact past a little fist bump or high five among other children their age. Evan didn't move from the girl's grasp but Hitame, now feeling that she was too close to both of them, shyed away from her touch and took her arm off of her.

"Sorry. Touching's a big no-no for me." she stated calmly, giving the girl an apologetic look. "You're awfully cheery, even for a first year. I'm Ana- Hitame, what's your name? I saw you at the Ceremony but didn't quite catch it." she asked. "I'm Evander." the boy added shortly after, giving Hit a strange look when she said her name but didn't give her real one. "Y'know Hit, you should still introduce yourself with your real name, just so it doesn't come as a surprise later." he told her, to which she responded with a shrug.

She did not mind the mean comment from the laughing Slytherin boy at all. Instead, she laughed with him, showing her usual positive nature and waved to him before he disappeared. Then she turned to face the two whom she was embracing with a warm hug.

She let go of the girl who, apparently was not a fan of hugs, but leaned against the boy. "That is okay, everyone has their own preferences," the tiny Puff said, shrugging her shoulders. She understood that pretty well and did not poke on that subject any longer. Instead she reached out into her pocket and took out a carrot; she had specifically placed it there to suit more into her theme.

"It's Luxanna, but you can call me Lux!" she introduced herself before taking a bite of her snack. "It is very nice to meet you both, Ana-Hitame and Evan. Also, is it okay if I call you Hit? Sounds prettier in my opinion. And you don't have to reveal your real name if you don't want to! I mean, it is your name and you do what ever you want with it, right?"

She let out a short giggle before letting go of Evan and taking a step back. "So, what was the whole fuss about?" She toyed with her carrot by twisting it between her fingers like a drumstick before it found its way into her mouth. A loud crack echoed through the corridor when she bit another piece of the orange vegetable.

"Oh! Do you guys want some? I've got couple more," she took couple of more carrots from her pockets and offered them to the first year students.

"Sorry about my brother," was the first thing that came out of Evander's mouth after introductions were out of the way. "Cronis has a really.. tough nature, and can be hard to handle." he added, giving Luxanna a sheepish smile.

"Tough nature is putting it nicely," Hit retorted, crossing her arms over her chest, smirking at Evander. "Calling me Hit is fine though, Lux. I prefer either Hit or Hitame to Anabelle, anyways." She turned her attention to Luxanna before Evander could say anything in response to her comment about his brother. Though she doubted that it would be anything to actually defend him.

Evander couldn't help the odd look he was giving Luxanna as she pulled out a carrot from her pocket and began eating it. He could see Hit doing the same, but neither of them said anything about how odd they found it. Evander actually thought it was a little bit endearing, cute even, but he honestly thought that if he didn't know she was a first year, he would've assumed that she were younger than he and Hit.

Hit could tell that Lux was a bit naive and she felt an odd sense of protection toward the girl she had just met. She wasn't sure about Evander, but she thought it was a good idea to stick around her, she seemed like she would get into some kind of trouble at some point.

"No thanks, we're good." Evander responded, both first years putting their hands up as a no.

Lux looked at both of them when they made some comments about Evan's brother, but she decided not to say anything on that part. She did not know the reason the other boy was the way he presented himself, and thus it was not her place to judge.

The girl simply shrugged her shoulders and the carrots disappeared back into her pocket. She personally loved them. Carrots were delicious and full of vitamins. And they also helped to keep the sight good and that was very important for her.

"As you wish," she concluded, deciding to drop the sharing topic here and then. She assumed that if they would want one, they'd ask later.

Instead, she decided to get to know them more. They were students from the other houses and as she loved socializing, she also hoped to meet new friends there. Even for an occasional chat if they would not become so close. It was good to have people around from every corner.

"How do you feel about this place? I personally think it is pretty nice. My grandmother gave me to read some of the books about this place and I must say... Wow! So many things that have happened between these walls! We are so lucky to be here, don't you agree?"

She finished her snack while looking at those two, awaiting for their replies, but the goldie-locks could not silence herself yet. "Where are you two from? Did you come from afar? How were your travels? Did you notice how beautiful the nature here was? I mean... Ah, yes! There is also this thing called the Whomping Willow. Have you seen it? I am sure it looks cool!"

"I don't think we came from too far, per say, but we definitely don't like in Scoland." Hitame answered the other girl.

"Yeah, we live on the outskirts of London, not too far from each other, actually." Evander piped in, before being given a weird look from Hit. "What?"

"Cerb, I think you're the only one who thinks it isn't that far away. Probably because you always use the floo to come visit. If you actually tried walking to my place from yours, or vice versa, it's really far away." Hit corrected him, using the nickname derived from his middle name. "But I guess, yeah, since we've never really had the need to walk to each other's places." she added as an after thought, looking away from Evander.

"Well, yeah, I guess you're right." Evander answered, laughing sheepishly, causing Hit to look at him again. The new Gryffindor smiled at her friend but sighing at the same time because she realized how naive he was considering he thought two places that were almost an hour away, and that was by muggle transportation, "weren't that far from each other."

Hit couldn't help by shy away from Luxanna's overwhelming joy for being at Hogwarts. The girl seemed way too excited for being there, though she was a Hufflepuff and that was to be expected she thought. Her eyes seemed to light up at the mention of the Whomping Willow though, and Hit nodded. "Oh yeah, it definitely is! It's like my favorite thing about this place." she answered rather shyly and turned her head toward Evander when she heard him trying to stifle his laughter.

"Sorry, sorry. I just think it's funny when you get all excited over a tree when you're so cold toward everything else." Evander said through laughs before he half whimpered after receiving a light push to his arm from Hit.

The corners of her lips darted slightly upwards when she heard that those two did not live so far away from London. The rest sounded like bickering and she did not pay exactly much attention to it. All she heard was of some "floo" and walking, but that was it.

It was easy for Lux though, as she had many homes. One in the center of London thanks to which she could spectate the social life of the rich and famous during the summer, one in Russia where she could meet with the rest of the family (they occasionally had family meetings there as both of her parents were of Russian origin and still were in contact with the other members of the Hale family).
And, mostly due to her mother's job, one in the States where she stayed rarely, but once in a while she went there with her father.

"Perhaps we can then visit one another during the school breaks?" she finally spoke up. For her it was interesting. The only people she had met so far (with magical abilities) were her grandparents, but she wanted to have fun and be with people of her age. Perhaps they could visit her?

The fact that Hitame lightened up at the mention of the Whomping Willow made Lux even happier. "It is, right? We should go and see it tomorrow!" she suggested. Right now it was quite late and the professors did not allow students to leave at this time anymore. She looked at Evander, her lips pressed together. "I am sure she will soften up. This place is magical and full of interesting things, I am sure of it! Do you guys like books? I've heard that the library here is HUGE! We should go there some time. How about tomorrow after our lessons? We can grab a lunch and then walk around. Exploring sounds good, doesn't it?"

It was clear that Luxanna wasn't a Pureblooded girl, from the way she spoke about Hogwarts. Sure, it was natural to be excited about the things that could happen at the school, especially after the things that had been spoken about for years now after what happened between Harry Potter and Voldemort. It was fun to think that there could be another adventure like that again.

But it was awfully scary as well.

Hit looked at Luxanna as she spoke excitedly about the library and the Whomping Willow. The girl's excitement about them made a smile tug at her lips and she actually let it this time. Evan was clearly taken aback by her excitement, just as Hit was but he seemed to have a harder time hiding it. She laughed softly at his expression, causing Evan to look away - obviously blushing in embarrassment.

Remembering what she had mentioned prior to the talk about the school, Hit felt herself stiffen. She gave Evan a worried glance and he gave her a confused look. "Yeah, we probably can visit each other during breaks." Evander suddenly knew why Hit was so worried. He coughed awkwardly, shoving his hands into his pockets as he thought.

"I'm sure we'll be able to. Just come to my place and we'll leave together." Evan reassured her. The Mulciber family wasn't too keen on any family that had anything less than pure blood. Hit nodded at Evander, knowing that while his family had rules about Halfbloods and others, they would be more lenient with letting the two of them leave to see one of their friends. That was how Hit was able to see her aunt sometimes, even though she had been forbidden to do so.

Exploring was something that Evander and Anabelle did often, so the thoughts or ideas on it were always welcome to them. They both nodded simultaneously at Luxanna, agreeing to her idea of exploring after their lessons. "Sounds good!" Evander said after the nod, smiling at Luxanna.

"Where should we meet up?"