An active, character-driven Hogwarts experience set in the early 2000s. Unique items, plots, and features. Non-canon; this isn't Harry Potter's story, it's ours.
A few wisps of clouds lingered in the sky as the sun began to set. The Great Hall began to fill with chatter as surely as it did students. Most of the staff were present, with the notable exception of Hagrid, Professor Fairburn, and Professor Hathmore.
Duelling and Daymoths seemed to be a popular topic tonight, though not everyone was keen to discuss it. Several Gryffindors looked ready for bed, no doubt a lingering consequence of their late-night party the previous day. Hufflepuffs were in a similar state, though some older prefects passed around a few pepper-up potions that they'd had the foresight to brew in advance.
While it seemed an otherwise ordinary dinner and night at Hogwarts, there was something in the air that couldn't quite be explained. A sense that something was different or out of place, though no one could quite figure out what. Some would even go as far as to say that this was the most ordinary night they'd had in the Great Hall since term started, to which others would reply that looks could be deceiving. Whatever it was, there wasn't much anyone could do about it than brush it off. For now.
Post by Jade Arwell on Dec 3, 2019 23:55:33 GMT 10
Jade had been in a bit of a daze that whole afternoon, especially after having talked to Nyx. She'd then gone to cheer Tiana on at the Duellist Chamber, but hadn't paid as much attention as she should have the longer it all went on. She'd followed her best friend a bit like a zombie, though remember to celebrate every win with Tiana or curse at whoever defeated her.
When dinner finally rolled around, Jade was a bit more alert to her surroundings. She headed to the Great Hall, hoping Tiana wasn't too far behind, and picked a seat at a spot where they were less likely to be dragged into some dramatic event or another. In other words, further away from the likes of Jacob Thatcher.
She needed to think, and yet had done so much thinking today that her heard hurt. No doubt Tiana would have realised by now that something was seriously up with Jade, but it wasn't as if they'd had a spare moment to properly discuss it yet. Maybe dinner would provide that? Or perhaps it'd just be easier waiting until they were settling in their dorm later that night? Jade was itching to talk to her best friend and fill her in - to confide her new family discoveries and whatever it all meant for her life now. She still had to bring up their breakfast arrangement with Nyx tomorrow.
Jade grabbed some chicken and chips, then settled to eat. She was aware of the weirdness in the Great Hall or Hogwarts, but didn't have any leftover thoughts to spare it as she remained lost in her own crap to deal with. She'd probably been lousy company today, but would make it up to Tiana another time. They could go explore the castle or something when they had the time and nerve to? Probably not until after a good night's sleep though, as it was no secret by now that they needed it.
Last Edit: Dec 3, 2019 23:56:55 GMT 10 by Jade Arwell
After his time in the Duelist Chamber, Sebastian headed back to his dormitory to remove his robes and get prepared for dinner. He passed some familiar faces while traveling through the Slytherin common room and nodded toward each of them respectfully, but didn't stick around for conversation. After all, what if they had seen his loss against Tiana Thomas? He was fairly sure nobody watched his contest too closely to identify it was him who lost, but he could've been mistaken. He grimaced at the thought, just wanting to forget the entire thing happened. From here on out, he'd make an effort to not mention or think about it. It was buried away.
He emerged from the dungeons after a few minutes and made his way toward the dining hall. Seb had worked up an appetite after his hike to and from the groundskeeper's hut. He didn't know if he would've been able to make it without the tea that Hagrid generously provided him; Sebastian knew it was important to stay hydrated. As he continued to approach the Great Hall, he wondered, what would his housemates think of him spending time with Hagrid? He knew that not many within Slytherin house liked the giant man. It was unfortunate, but Sebastian cared a great deal what others thought of him. It influenced a lot of his decision–making.
Sebastian walked into the dining hall, a book clutched under his arm. He had managed to nab one from the common room before leaving. He didn't know who's it was or what it even was, but he figured it was okay to borrow it for the time being. He'd return it and put it back where he found it. After all, Sebastian didn't know if he'd end up engaging in conversation during dinner, so he figured the book could be his company for the evening. Sebastian located the Slytherin table and sat down at it, immediately beginning to distribute food onto his plate. He avoided any and all animal product, instead serving himself a wide variety of vegetables.
Walking into the hall after another afternoon spent studying in the library, Elara cast a quick look around for Hanna. She'd given the slytherin girl the robes that she'd requested and the Hufflepuff was notably anxious about her friend making a fool of herself or of Hufflepuff house... That was with the assumption that she was going to wear them.
Elara was beginning to think she'd made a mistake agreeing to loan her best friend her spare uniform, but of course- she did trust Hanna... To a certain extent. Pushing the worries from her mind, she hurried to sit at the Hufflepuff table and began helping herself to a generous portion of roast potatoes and gravy.
Gerald waited just outside the Great Hall. That Deal guy said he'd be here with their stuff, so hopefully, he didn't take too long. While everything felt normal, there was also a sense that something was about to happen. Gerald was pretty sure it'd be another Food fight, so he was eager to be there when it happened. He had some ideas with the Mashed potato.
Glancing around him again, he pondered, what was the message that the Founders hid? Why was it separated too? The Founders divided all the students, so why would sneaking into the other common rooms be needed?
Post by Grace Babineaux on Dec 4, 2019 13:18:53 GMT 10
Grace felt tired, both from duelling and from staying out in the forest that night. It was good, then, that the other Gryffindors seemed to be the same way. Tired out from the new Quidditch captain's party, Grace would've bet. Still, she yawned as she caught up to Gerald, waiting just outside the Great Hall, like the duel kid had told them.
Grace wondered how Polyjuice potion would taste. It had honey in it, so that was a plus. She couldn't imagine not looking like herself, but then she also really wanted to figure out what was going on with the other common rooms and the mysterious papers. "Are you nervous?" she said quietly to Gerald.
Nyx strode into the dining hall with a smooth easiness, completely content with the the day's events. She had collected a few ingredients that morning, completed her homework, learned a new spell and won a few duels. But who could forget the shocking news she received? Jade Arwell was her first cousin. And, on top of that revelation? Her only two family members—or so she thought—had kept it from her all along. It was a long but productive day. For once, Nyx was actually looking forward to a meal. Normally, she'd just poke and prod at her plate.
She peered around the Great Hall, looking for someone, anyone she recognized. There were too many bodies in the way, leaving her unsuccessful. She sighed with defeat, pushing her way through anyone that may have stood in her path. Nyx made her way toward the Ravenclaw table, and upon arrival, realized there was nobody there that she knew either. She was earlier than usual, normally arriving fashionably late. But today was different. Nyx was starved. She seated herself a little further down the bench, getting situated with a plate and silverware.
Where was Mathias? Nyx felt like she hadn't seen him all day. She felt like she missed him. Maybe she did miss him? Was it weird to feel that way? It felt weird. Nyx shrugged at the feeling, beginning to serve herself a healthy balance of vegetables, protein and grains. She noticed the usual bowl of nuts and immediately pocketed some, knowing it could be useful to stockpile them. Content with her plate, Nyx forked a broccoli spear and took a bite. She looked up from her dinner occasionally, hoping to catch Mathias' eye if he happened to enter the hall.
Post by Lucas Mardling on Dec 4, 2019 14:18:39 GMT 10
Lucas casually strolled through the corridors, having a less crowded-route to the Great Hall. He spotted the two first years waiting nearby, as they'd been instructed to. He ushered them to a shadowed part by a suit of armour - not too suspicious yet much less likely to be noticed, while also hiding what he handed off to them.
'Three each,' Lucas said, giving Grace then Gerald three vials of Polyjuice each as they'd agreed. 'I suggest taking them back to your dormitory right away. He often had his bag with him so it'd been easy to carry the potions in it, though also nerve-wrecking as being caught with no less than six highly illegal potions was not something he'd allow.
The first years could easily pop back to their dorms and hide the potions, then return for dinner. Not that Lucas cared - as soon as he'd handed them over, he was done with the whole thing and could not be held responsible. In his opinion, anyway. He did sympathise that they had to transport 3 potions like that up a lot of stairs though. Who's stupid idea was it to make Gryffindors and Ravenclaws go such the journey?
'Our deal is done,' Lucas said firmly, giving them a cautionary glare to emphasis that he now had "nothing" to do with anything that happened next or if they were stupid enough to get caught. 'Be smart about it. Pleasure doing business.'
And with that, he tucked his hands into his pants pockets and strolled into the Great Hall as casual as ever. He was an expert at this by now, and despite what he might imply to others - Polyjuice was far from the most dangerous or illegal thing he'd ever had to trade.
Amara wasn't there yet, from what Lucas could see, so he headed to sit beside his fellow dorm-mate, Sebastian. They got along well enough, and often studied together or shared a desk during classes, but it was a weird thing they had. Borderline friends, would be the best term. Lucas and Sebastian sometimes got along as if they were friends, but didn't do any of the friends stuff. It was confusing, but it didn't really matter how Lucas felt. No one wanted to be friends with him, so he probably just imagined it anyway.
It wouldn't hurt to get to know Sebastian a bit more though, so Lucas gave him a friendly greeting as he decided what to eat. He wasn't really in the mood for anything in particular, and shifted often in his seat. Something felt a bit off tonight. Lucas looked up warily. Nope, not another glitter prank of doom awaiting him.
In fact, everything looks rather normal enough even though Lucas knew not to be fooled by appearances. It was just...something. His self-preserving instincts prompted him to choose a dinner he could either eat fast or grab-and-run.
Last Edit: Dec 4, 2019 14:18:55 GMT 10 by Lucas Mardling
Post by Mathias Sallow on Dec 4, 2019 14:28:48 GMT 10
Mathias hadn't arrived as early as he'd intended, busy getting his homework results back. He was quite pleased with it all, but some of the insecurity of it all lingered. He nodded to those who greeted him or waved, but he otherwise kept his eyes down as he headed to the Ravenclaw table. He'd looked up long enough to spot Nyx trying to catch his eye. He smiled and felt a bit better, just seeing her sitting there and hoping he'd join her.
'Hey,' he said. Mathias tried to sound his usual self, but it still bothered him that regardless of his grade outcomes he'd still spend almost his entire afternoon trying to get his homework done. He'd begun to notice the pattern, that spending a whole summer where Adeline could help him with the reading materials - then returning to Hogwarts and getting thrown into the deep end on his own, was making for a difficult re-adjustment.
He was an OWL student now. He should be better at this. It wasn't as if he couldn't do it, just that it took more effort to focus on boring things like pages of text and trying to absorb it. He was certainly more of a physical learner, but that just wasn't an option all the time.
Realising Nyx might have said something he missed, Mathias muttered and apology and quickly prepared himself some dinner. He poked his steamed vegetables and sighed, turning to give Nyx another smile though this time it didn't fully reach his eyes. It didn't occur to him that she might pick up on it by now, after the time they've spent together, as Mathias was used to being a bit of an outsider no one really bothered much with in terms of getting to know him.
'So uh, how was the training thing?' He tried to start a conversation, pausing to sip his pumpkin juice. 'Are the Crystal Daymoths as scary as people say? I did a bit of research but...' Mathias shrugged, looking away again. He couldn't tell if the Great Hall felt different tonight or if it was him.
"Yeah" He said to Grace as they were approached by the Deal guy.
Nodding to the him, he put the stuff in his bag and quickly went to take it up to his Room. It being Dinnertime, he knew Ryan and the Others probably won't be in there, but he was still being careful with it. His slow pace wasn't helped by having to walk up so many flights of stairs though.
Eventually, Gerald managed to return, and smiling to Grace when he saw her, went to the Ravenclaw table. Hopefully the others were there. He hadn't seen too much of them today. He even missed them a little.
Rubes wandered into the Great Hall and made herself comfortable at the Hufflepuff table. She glanced up and down, checking out what food was available. What did she fancy? Scanning the table a second time, Ruby settled on a chicken breast with some chips and vegetables. She wasn't always a healthy eater, but she made sure to have a serving of vegetables with every evening meal.
As she ate, she wondered what, if any, surprises that particular evening would bring.
Post by Grace Babineaux on Dec 4, 2019 21:31:12 GMT 10
Grace listened to what the deal kid said. She agreed that it was probably best not to have them on her person, so when he left, she also went up to her dorm to hide the potions away. She tucked them carefully, so none of the girls she shared the room with would find them. They were all, it seemed, at dinner as well.
She jogged down the stairs, and all the way back to dinner, where she noticed that some of the Professors were missing. Ah, they must be busy grading papers, she thought. But Hagrid didn't have to grade papers, did he? Grace pondered this for a while as she munched on some chicken and vegetables. Well, he must have chosen to just stay in his home, she decided.
Post by Luckett Langford on Dec 5, 2019 0:27:24 GMT 10
It felt good. In fact, it felt really good. Lucky was confident nobody accumulated the same amount of dueling wins the last however long he spent in the chamber. He felt untouchable, invincible. A remaining few people congratulated him on his victories as he entered the dining hall. He puffed his chest unconsciously, thanking them just slightly louder than usual. Lucky expected a celebration, though. His voice and demeanor deflated when there wasn't one. Everyone seemed too busy eating and talking among themselves. He gave a shrug.
He meandered over to his usual spot, expecting to see his normal crew. But there was no Sophia. Where was that girl? He hadn't seen her since Herbology that morning. He did notice Elara and Ruby, though. He swooped in beside them, tucking his robes behind him. He didn't wait and began to pile food item after food item onto his plate. He leaned up and hovered over the table to grab his food, not bothering to ask people to pass certain things. That would've taken too long. He ended up with a lot of protein, but a reasonable portion of veggies too.
Lucky inhaled a bite of his beef, the end dripping with sauce as it hit the corner of his mouth. He wasn't normally this messy of an eater, but he was famished. He spent a good deal of time blasting Gryffindors in the Duelist Chamber and needed to rebuild his strength. He didn't bother looking at the girls, too busy eying his own dinner as he ate it. 'How was everyone's day? Do anything exciting?' He decided to start a conversation because the air of the dining hall felt.. different. Lucky couldn't explain it. So anything he could do to cut that seemed right.
Hanna ran her fingers down her uniform, well she couldn't really say that since it wasn't hers; it was Elaras and it felt awkward to wear. All though it wasn't a perfect fit for her you wouldn't be able to tell she wasn't a Hufflepuff without already knowing she wasn't.
She ran her hands down the uniform one more time before looking up to see who was here, a couple of people from each house were already sat down and eating but she was glad to see Lara was already here. Hanna quickly moved to sit next to her in hopes not many people would notice she wasn't wearing her uniform.
"Hey Lara" she greeted her friend before turning to those around her "Captain... Uhh Ruby??" Hanna hadn't met the other Hufflepuff that was sat nearby but she thought that was her name. As the young girls eyes ran over everyone she noticed ow messily Lucky was eating and couldn't help but giggle before it was cut short by her stomach rumbling.
She quickly grabbed a few things from the table to eat as she took another look around, something was different almost wrong and it wasn't her uniform.
The chatter of the Great Hall was interrupted by a huge explosion somewhere on the grounds. Being closest to the windows aimed in that direction, Ravenclaw house had the best view of the billowing smoke and sparks of spells. Gryffindors hurried to look as well, though the other two houses hesitated in confusion. As the moment was brief, it was clear that something had gone awry rather than Hogwarts being under any form of attack.
A moment later, Professor Hathmore burst into the room - panting, and his wand gripped tight. 'Headmaster,' he said, addressing Rickard who joined several others in hurrying to find out what happened. 'A herd of Braxorn have broken free of the Beast Reserve. They're running rampant on the Expansive Lawn.'
'Very well.' Rickard nodded, then raised his voice to address the students. 'If anyone here would like to volunteer their efforts to assist in rounding up the Braxorn, you may head to the Expansive Lawn with Professor Hathmore. Everyone else, please remained calm and seated. We are in no immediate danger, as I trust Professor Fairburn has taken necessary measures to ensure they don't breach the castle.'
Hathmore nodded, gesturing to some older students in particular who he knew were skilled in Care of Magical Creatures or Defence Against the Dark Art, yet younger years would still prove helpful as there were more than a few things to handle before the situation is back under control.
Once the small group of volunteers left with Harthmore, though a few more quickly finished their dinner and rushed to catch up, the rest of the students simply resumed their dinner. The chatter was loud at first, but Rickard got that under control. Professor Sprout, Madam Pomfrey, and Professor Rivera rushed off to assist in the situation outside.
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