Looking towards the future.

Sandevin readied his staff, a long brown shaft of what looked like worn driftwood topped with a milky white spherical crystal, and planted the end of it into the soft sandy earth of the shore. As he did, the milky orb on top illuminated with a brilliant golden light, shining through the night like a beacon, casting its glow over the seven new first years all waiting nearby. Each of the seven stood shivering to different degrees, and each was as naked as the day they were born, save for Oli who had Lex's towel held tight around her shoulders. Now lit up by the light of the Prefect's staff, they all hurried towards the boat, eager to dress, or in some of their cases, find a new change of clothes. For most of them the frigid waters of the Tarn still clung to their soaked bodies, filling their naked flesh with a biting chill, sometimes all the way to the bone.

Completely preoccupied by the prospect of warming themselves, none of the new students paid any attention to Sandevin as he took up his wand, tracing out sigils in the air towards direction of Boarbristle Academy, sitting atop the nearby hill. As he did, Prefect Clawson busied herself by watching over the students as they dried and dressed, just to make sure that the routine hazing hadn't actually jeopardized any of their health.

Over all, House Minerval had seen the best showing out of the bunch. Alexander, while soaking wet and completely naked, seemed to hardly be shivering at all. In fact, he seemed to be in unusually high spirits for what Pip had seen of him thus far, almost skipping along back up the ramp to the boat. Either he just handled cold temperatures better than most, or something else was making him giddy enough to ignore the otherwise crushing discomfort. Oli was also faring well, and her shivering had gone down immensely from where it had been when she'd first emerged from the Tarn. A great deal of that likely had to do with the towel draped over her, but the fact that she'd made such a quick recovery was certainly a mark in her favor. Being the first two to compose themselves, they were the first two back on the boat, Lex retrieving his towel from Oli and drying himself with it before the two redressed in the clothing they'd shed before entering the water.

Bet Rudge had also gotten through remarkably well, her solid bulk and steady disposition leaving her shivering but uncomplaining. Her stocky body with its lean muscle glistened in the moonlight, and she made no attempts to cover herself until she was already back onboard and drying herself off with a towel from her own bag. Her raven Grip, however, seemed to be taking things less gracefully and was noising along with a croaking grumble until she hushed him up, hissing "Leave off, Grip."

Meanwhile, House Leontes, contrary to reputation, had had the worst of it. Claude Marlin, already less than pleased at being dropped into freezing water and having his nice new robes dissolved off, was put into an even worse mood when he practically sprinted up the ramp to get to his bag, only to find that there was no towel waiting for him. He almost scattered the entire contents of his bag onto the deck in search of it before finally giving up, nursing his ill humor and defying fate by shaking off the water until his teeth chattered, then putting on a robe while he was more than a little damp.

However, despite his reaction, Claude hadn't had the worst of it. After the Tarn, Goldie Jenks was no longer bouncing, but rather trembling with a dreadful chill. Despite how fiercely her body trembled and her teeth chattered, she continued to try and smile through it, waving off offers to help until eventually the trembling got so bad that her knees gave out from under her, sending her to her hands and knees, unable to so much as get back to her feet.

Seeing the normally cheery girl in such a state, Pip strode over, retrieving a small silvery silk pouch from her pocket, which after a quick shake and a muttered phrase, unwound into a large, thick blanket. Kneeling on the ground, she wrapped the blanket around the soaked and naked Goldie, speaking another word of invocation as she started to rub the girl's back and shoulders from over the cloth. "Rest a bit. Getting warmer now?"

"Y-yes P-p-p-p, ah, Miss Clawson," Goldie managed to **** out without her teeth breaking. "B-b-b-better already."

House Beavertail was having a better showing. Yes Laurence and Sephie were both shivering, their knees knocking together at first, but they had their towels handy and were making good use of them. Before dressing, Sephie had withdrawn a particular charm from her bag, a palm-sized agate stone that glowed a dull orange where it came into contact with her bare skin. After only a few seconds of running it over her body, her shivers had already begun to ease. After she'd demonstrated its effectiveness, Laurence gratefully accepted her offer to share the warmth, and the two of them were able to dry themselves to their heart's content before dressing. Her house tended to, she tried to share the charm with the others, but Lex, Oli, and Bet had already dressed; Goldie was being seen to by the Prefect; and Claude opted to wear his now damp robes rather than accept her help, just shooing her away when she tried offering it.

By the time that most of the first years had managed to dry and dress themselves, their attention was pulled back towards land by the rumbling sound of iron wheels on paving stones echoing down from up the hill. As soon as they heard it the two Prefects began ushering them back off the boat and onto the shore, gathering them just as a large cart came around a bend in the road leading up the hill, each corner mounted with a fairy lantern which vaguely illuminated the outline of the driver within. As it approached, they could make out the silhouette of a remarkably large woman; even from this distance they could tell that she was more than a head and shoulders than Bet or Oli, the tallest amongst their group, and by far the heaviest-built. As the cart drew nearer, it pulled into the area of golden light cast by Sandevin's beacon, revealing that the massive woman was waring absolutly nothing at all, opting to remain in her birthday suit all the way from the tips of her toes, past a shaggy red bush, to her gargantuan breasts, where her hanging shaggy mane of red hair provided the only aspect of what could loosely be called 'coverage'.

"Ah Welcome to all ye new ones!" The woman's voice billowed out as she spoke, her words heavily tinted by a thick Scottish accent. "The cart is here for all your bags. The House greeters be comin down in just a second now."

"Dorothy!" Sandevin called out, leaving his staff buried in the ground as he advanced towards her with a noticeably playful swagger in his step. "You're looking lovely tonight!"

"Oy, get along with your 'self', Mister Sandy," Dorothy glowered, although it was difficult to tell if she was being indignant or playing along. "You say that to EVERY giantess you meet."

"Half giantess," Sandevin corrected. "And what a magnificent half it is too!" He added with a coy wink, hands paced firmly on his hips. Dorothy's only reply was a snort, but once again, whether it was a gesture of amusement or derision was anyone's guess.

Either way, Sandevin didn't seem to mind, bowing to Dorothy and moving on with the proceedings. Turning back towards the students with his now customary flourish, he clapped his hands together dramatically. "Everyone, assemble by Houses."

His call to attention was accentuated by the sudden onset of beams of colored light which flickered to life along the slope of the hillside above, marking four individuals rounding the bend in a neat orderly row. Coming down along the same cobblestone road which the carriage had taken were what could only be the representatives from each of Boarbristle's four Houses, each holding a wand pointed upward in salute. The lights they were seeing were emanating from each of these raised wands, each one emitting a glimmering display of vivid color appropriate to a given house. In their light, those assembled on the shore could make out a fifth figure walking behind the others, their slender figure obscured by a white robe.

Within a minute or two the representatives reached the broad expanse where the hill flattened out and met the shore, each of the wand-bearing individuals spreading out, their wands still directing their ribbons of light towards the heavens.

"Scholars of House Draconis, attend!" The first greeter to break the silence was robed in sheets of rich emerald green, trimmed with thin lines of gold, their wand emitting a similarly brilliant mixture of colors. "Stand forward and be welcomed!"

Being the only first-year of the specified house in this boatload, Bet Rudge stepped forward, her raven Grip perched upon her forearm. "Tutor, Master Ffoulkes," she said, greeting him with a nod.

"Be welcome, Barnabeth Rudge, to the House of Significance," Master Ffoulkes returned. "Hood your familiar, then take my hand." Grip, of course, was less than eager to comply, but once Bet had placed the hood over the bird's head, he soon quieted.

"Hold tight, now," Master Ffoulkes took her hand, his lips already moving again with the silent intonation of a spell. With a flourish of his wand, a whirling veil of green light enveloped the two of them, seeming to almost burn with a searing emerald light before flashing away, streaking up the hill towards the castle and leaving a glowing green ribbon tracing up after them.

Following that display came House Leontes, represented by Warden Barbara Torch. The Warden wore a closely tailored dueling outfit in the House colors of red and gold, but rather than recite any introductions to the students awaiting her, she made her way over to speak briefly with Pip, who was still tending to Goldie.

"Miss Wormwood, will you come forward?" the Warden called, her words prompting another woman to seemingly step out of the shadows behind her. She was a rail-thin woman who's pale complexion seemed to carry about it a particularly unnatural pallor, her face framed by a writhing green nest of snakes where hair should be. "Thank you, Nurse," the Warden added as the Gorgon-esque woman began examining her new charge.

After but a moment's inspection, Miss Wormwood hoisted Goldie from the ground with all the effort one would expect from lifting up a newborn kitten. And just like a kitten, the nurse cradled the still naked Goldie in her arms, swaddled tight in Pip's blanket. With her secure, she moved back to stand beside the Warden.

One charge now in good hands, Warden Torch took charge of Claude Marlin and welcomed him to the House of Valor, as ironic as some of his fellow first years considered that to be. The Warden grasped Claude's hand, and with a rapid, complex gesture of her wand, the Warden summoned an enveloping globe of red light that captured both of them, streaking up the hill to the Academy, presumably towards the residence of House Leontes.

House Beavertail was represented by the Housemistress herself, Bertha Beeblossom. The Housemistress was robed in brown and gold with her grandly sized breasts bouncing below a deeply scooped neckline, her clothing doing less to conceal them than her hair was, her uncontained mop of frizzy grey curls hanging down over her chest almost like a partial veil, and even so, a fair bit of cleavage was still exposed. The Housemistress greeted Laurence and Sephie each with a warm kiss on their lips, wrapping her arms tightly around both of them one at a time, before pulling the two into one big hug together. And rather than streaking away up the hill towards the school in some flashy magical display like the other houses, House Beavertail's group almost seemed to draw in magical power where the three were joined, starting as a hazy yet visible golden glow which just became thicker, emitting golden sparkles, expanding into a soft amber light which encompassed them, fading away to leave only empty space where they had once stood.

Finally, Fiammetta Hawk, House Minerval's Tutor, stepped forward to address the last of the first-years. "Scholars," The one word, spoken in a soft tone, was still enough to send Oli and Alexander to attention. "Halladay. Salt." She gestured for Oli and Alexander to take a few steps back. Lifting her wand, Hawk made a series of rapid-fire drawing in the air with glowing lines, each seeming to interconnect and form a pattern until a bright-lined image of House Minerval's seal took shape, the glowing silver Aegis hanging in the air between them.

"Take my hand," Mistress Hawk spoke in a soft, level voice, like making a request, but both of her new charges rushed to comply nevertheless as though having been instructed by a drill sergeant. She took Alexander by one hand and Oli by the other, her fingers lacing with theirs as she instructed them to also take the other's hand, completing a triangle around the glowing emblem. "Look into the center of the seal and walk forward with me."

Each of them took a step forward, closing the small triangle they'd made, stepping in, almost into the light. As they did, it expanded to fill the entirety of their focus and vision. They took one step, and then another; holding hands like they were, they should have run face first into each other, but they didn't. Instead, there was a rushing sensation, the world outside the seal looking like sparkling blurs, as though everything around them was moving faster, as though they'd been untethered from the Earth and were watchin it spin on without them. For a brief moment, everything seemed to fade away completely, but just as quickly the sensation passed and they found themselves on solid footing once again.

Coming back to their senses, Lex and Oli saw that Mistress Hawk had led them forward into a gallery within House Minerval. A broad double line of robed scholars and instructors turned to face the new arrivals. Calling lightning into their wands, they turned to face each other, lifting their wands high in pairs to exchange crackling blue sparks for the new arrivals to walk through into a dark space beyond, creating some form of ceremonial arch with their own bodies which Hawk was evidently supposed to lead them through.

For this part, Mistress Hawk released them, walking in front of them, leaving her charges to follow in her wake. Still, even as she let go of their hands, Lex and Oli still held tight to each other, their fingers tightly laced together, both squeezing in a mixture of solidarity and fear and amazement, unable to close their eyes even for a second as they followed their guide through the human archway of flesh and lightning.

When Alex and Oli had reached the far side, the lines of robed figures immediately stowed their wands, greeting them with a moment of ominous silence before immediately breaking out into a chorus of raucous cheers, roars, and sounds no normal human should have been capable of. As the cheers reached a crescendo, the lights in the chamber brightened, revealing that the space had been filled with a large central table set up with a banquet, presumably in their honor, filled to bursting with drinks and treats to enamor any and all senses. The two turned to face each other, still holding hands, bright smiles etched across both their faces. This was most certainly going to be an interesting year.