The doors opened and the students tentatively walked in. What they saw was nothing short of amazing. Wall to wall, the room had floating candles of all shapes and size. There seemed to be no pattern to these candles other than that they were all high in the air, floating motionless.

There were three extremely long tables running from where they stood, ending when it reached a raised stage at the back of the hall. The table on the left side was filled with food of all sorts, sitting on a dark green table cloth. The table on the right had cups and goblets of all varieties sitting on deep blue table cloth. And the table in the center, looking out of place, had nothing on it except for a cherry red table cloth. But none of this was nearly as shocking as what was on the raised stage at the back of the hall.

At the back of the hall, they could see three people standing, looking expectantly at the group. The man on the left was taller than the rest, wearing a very long dark green robe. The woman on the right was the shortest of the three, but still seemed to have just as much presence. She was adorned in a very regal, deep blue robe. The woman standing in the middle, much like the table in the middle, was the most intriguing of the three. She was average height, average build, and adorned in an average cherry red robe. She looked so average, that in such an amazing place as this, she seemed out of place.

As the group of students drew right up to the edge of the stage, the man on the left, and the woman on the right walked forward and stopped a few feet short of the edge. The three people on the stage then did the most peculiar thing imaginable. The all sat down in a triangle, facing toward the center. A low humming started to fill the room, getting louder as the seconds past. Before anyone realized what was going on, one by one, the students slumped down and dozed off.

Theo slowly started to walk back to his room, thinking on the events that took place during his first year here. More specifically though, he was thinking about his experience on the first day of school, and what had happened the great hall. It had been as normal as he thought it would be, up until the three people on the stage had sat down in the weird triangular formation. One moment he had been standing there, confused as to why they were sitting there. And then there was that weird humming noise...

Theo awoke to a surprising sight. Having not even remembered dozing off, he was shocked to see the entire great hall empty. Empty except for those three people, who were now all standing. "Welcome to this hallowed hall of learning and growth," the woman in the center started.

"Here, we will determine exactly where you belong," the woman on the right continued.

"And here, you will come to know more about who you really are," the man on the left finished.

It was both scary and awe inspiring to see the three of them standing there, speaking as if they were one person, one entity.

"We have three questions for you," the man on the left said, while circling to the right of him.

"Each one has some purpose that may not be clear," said the woman on the right, as she circled to the left of him.

"So let us now begin," the woman standing in front of him finished.

With that last sentence, the woman on his left, and the man on his right sat down.

The woman standing in front of him began to speak, "Your first question is to help me learn about who you were. It is my belief that only through knowing our past can we truly understand who we are and who we will become. Please answer my question as honestly as you can." Staring deeply into Theo's eyes she asked him his first question. "Why are you here?"

The question caught Theo off balance. He was here because he had magic. What kind of answer did this woman expect him to have to such an obvious question? It couldn't be that simple, could it? Still not knowing exactly what to say, but choosing his words carefully nonetheless, he started, "I am here, because I have been granted the ability to use magic." He stopped at that, but after a moment he decided to add something, "and also to learn to use my magic in an appropriate way."

"Thank you," said the woman standing in front of him. And with that, she walked to his right and sat down where the other man had been sitting. Theo Hadn't realized it, but the man and woman on his sides had stood up and rotated so that the man on his right was now on his left, and the woman on his left was now standing in front of him. It was so seamlessly done that it shocked him to note it happened so suddenly.

"The second question is about your future," said the woman in deep blue robes. "I feel that knowing where you are headed will help you prepare to get there. As such, please answer this question using the knowledge you will soon have." That last statement confused Theo a little, but he was a little too nervous to say anything. "Your second question," she continued, "is this. How do you envision your death?"

To Theo, this question put him even more off balance. How could he possible know how he was to die? How was he even expected to have thought about it at his age? Even more carefully than the last question, he chose his words for the answer. "I see myself," he started, extremely hesitant, "dying of old age." The same as before, he thought of something to add to his answer, "but not because I didn't try hard enough in my life."

This answer, seeming to satisfy the woman in the blue robes, led her to circle to his right. This brought the last of the three in front of him. "I feel that you're most important answer comes now, in the present," said the man in a very matter of fact tone. "Your question is as follows. What are you thinking?"

If it was possible for Theo to become even more confused, this question had done it. Such an open ended question baffled him. Was he supposed to say that he was thinking how to answer the question? Or maybe that he was thinking about how to better his schooling. Not knowing what to say at all this time, he just went with the first thought that popped into his head. "I really like the green of your robes." With that, the man, the woman on his right, and the woman on his right all got back up on the stage. As if in a trance, the all went back and sat in the triangular shape that they had been in before.

The first years slowly start to stand back up. First only a few, then more and more, until all of them were standing. None of them were sure exactly what had just happened, and none of them were confident enough to ask. The three people on the stage stood up as one, and then, as one, spoke. "You all should know where you are expected to sit so please do so now." And with those words, each student, as if pulled by a magical force, walked directly toward a specific table and sat down, awaiting the unknown.

Then the other students appeared. As if they had been sitting there the entire time, the roar of applause hit the first years all at once. When the cheering died down, the first years, still apprehensive, started to eat their first meal in this truly great hall.