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.
December arrived in a flourish by blanketing the castle grounds with a thick layer of snow, which surely explained how absurdly cold it was that morning -- which caused a sea of unusual colour throughout the school, from various sweaters and the house scarves or beanies being put to good use.
Snow continued to lazily fall, which made the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall further live up to its name.
There was a buzz of excited chatter though, as students gathered in haste to talk to friends or devour a warm meal. It was their last day before many would be headed home for the holidays, which also meant 3rd years and above (who had permission) could come and go from Hogsmeade all day at their leisure. After breakfast was finished, of course.
Though the new day brought a sense of panic for some older years, as the Founder's Ball was tonight and some still awaited dress robes being sent from home or were yet to ask someone to be their date. Only 4th years and above were invited, much to the relief or disappointment of younger years -- who didn't really know what was going on or what the ball was about, but knew they had no part in it.
Heads of Houses wandered along their respective house tables, parchment and quill in hand as they marked down anyone who planned to leave on the Hogwarts Express tomorrow. The holiday collection list was mandatory, though the Professors waited to be sought out rather than checking with each individual student.
Please check the Bulletin Board if attending the Founder's Ball. Or if you're planning to go home for the holidays, as you must be listed there to do so. This entire RPG day is free time -- have fun! If doing quests, these holidays at Hogwarts are the perfect opportunity to make a lot of progress.
Post by Lindsey Bryce on Oct 3, 2021 23:03:53 GMT 10
Lindsey had rushed out of the Dungeon Common Room to make her way to the Great Hall, but before she could go there, she had to check out the Snow of Winter. It was here and she smiled when she saw the white blankets that covered the highlands of her native homeland. It was beautiful, as always and she smiled brightly as her eyes searched the snow. Finding ingredients would be harder, but that could wait until later to worry about.
Her feet went along the stone halls and carried her into Breakfast, where everyone was in a whirl of either excitement of chaos. She found her place at the Slytherin Table and looked around for any friends. She hadn't seen Tom lately, though he could easily be busy. She just shrugged a little and decided if she saw him, they would attend together, other wise, she didn't mind going by herself or with friends.
Besides, while she was there, she might still find someone who wanted to spend some extra time with her. It didn't much matter to her, but it also meant he might not be able to go home with her for the Holidays. Whatever happened, she didn't mind either way, as she was excited to stick around if she did. What could she get done during the holidays? Likely a lot!
Amelia woke up to bright white coming into the windows of the common room and she pushed her bed curtains back, revealing the brightly lit window and the ball dress she had hung up the night before. For an older dress, it was still nice, but she had yet to find any one to go with her. Giving a shrug, she would just go alone and maybe one of her fellow fifth years would save her from dancing alone.
Pushing those thoughts aside, she pulled herself from bed and grabbed her clothes to get dressed. The shower was nice and warm and she quickly grabbed a scarf to protect herself from the cold once she was dressed. Joining a group of older students, she headed for the Great Hall and moved aside as a Slytherin scooted past them in excitement. Watching the red-head go to the Slytherin table she rolled her eyes before give a little smile.
Maybe Slytherin's got excited about snow too? Pushing the thought aside, she made her way to the Gryffindor table and sat down in her normal area.
Jamie had woken up to the brightness from outside and had pulled his legs up to his chest and sat in front of the window watching the snow fall. He had a blanket pulled over his shoulders and he watched with quiet excitement. He couldn't wait to get out in the snow.
The sound of others waking up made him realize it was time for breakfast and he got ready. As he walked out, he was quickly joined by several other Ravenclaw students, but once he made it to the great hall, he went to the end of the Ravenclaw table and saw down, glancing around to see if he saw his sister, Grace.
Maybe she was going to tell him if she was going home?
He didn't want to go home alone, but he really did want to go home.
Snow! Rylan liked snow. Snow was kind of fun, but that meant it was pretty cold too! The start of the holidays meant that classes were done with for now, there would be time to fool around to his hearts content later! For now, he had the whole Christmas holidays to make the most of!
He had meant to be going home for the holidays, but other arrangements had been made so that he could spend more time with his friends. At least, that was what his parents had told him. Really, they were going to spend the holidays with certain relatives who he knew would freak out if any accidental magic were to take place. Like last year. Not that it had been his fault...entirely.
Taking a seat at the Gryffindor bench, noticed that Bryce seemed particularly chipper this morning. Maybe she liked snow too? He supposed cold weather didn't bother the denizens of Scotland much, and he was from far enough up north that he wasn't too put out by the current temperatures. He would definitely need to wrap up, but the Great Hall seemed warm enough now that he shouldn't have to worry about that for a while!
Taking a seat at the Ravenclaw table, very much looking forward to going home for the holidays. Not of all of her siblings were going this time, but it would be good to spend some time with the ones who were! especially Amy, whom she really hadn't spent nearly enough time with lately. True, they were in different Houses and had different groups of friends, but that didn't mean that their bond was any less solid! At least, she hoped that to be the case.
She wouldn't be the only one from her House who would hopefully be enjoying her mother's cooking over the holidays, as Toby had friends that had apparently been invited. Martha didn't really know many of the first years, but she had spoken to Joe after the game yesterday. She had yet to meet Ryan, but if they were such good friends of her brother already, then they must be good people, right?
As she reached for some breakfast, she realised that she did not yet have a date f or the ball. That is, if she could go. In a scatter brained haze, she had only posted the request yesterday, and she knew that Amy had already received dress robes. Could they afford for her too? She would soon find out, hopefully, although she half expected a Howler for her tardiness!
Jovian made sure to dress warmly before putting his robes on, wrapping a scarf around his neck as added protection before he ventured out of Ravenclaw Tower. The castle was chillier than usual, and he sighed at the sight of more snow outside the windows. He had been debating going down to Hogsmeade to look for used books, but he didn't relish the thought of walking through the snow.
The Ravenclaw table was decently crowded when he arrived, and he settled down in his typical spot. "Good morning," he greeted the students around him as he reached for some tea and food. Whatever his plans for the day, he wished to visit Professor Snape and see if he could get a Potion Kit. He was confident enough in his abilities that he wanted to try brewing outside of class lessons, and he hoped he could take the first step towards that today.
Post by Tobias Twiggs on Oct 4, 2021 8:24:09 GMT 10
Toby woke to the sound of muffled voices outside his dormitory. He pulled his duvet up to his chin and squeezed his eyes tightly shut in protest. It felt far too early to be awake, his whole body seemed to protest the very idea of leaving the comfort of his bed and the chill in the air made him reluctant to even step out of bed for fear of the cold air that would encompass his body the moment he left the sanctity of his blankets.
Frantic footsteps racing down the stairs was what persuaded him in the end. Sitting upright, eyes still shut as if that might somehow delay the inevitable. When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by a brightness that he was unaccustomed to at such an early hour in mid December.
Delicately stepping out of bed, he tip-toed across the room to peer out of the winter and what he saw made his heart begin to race and his brain whir with joyous ideas of what was to come.
Snow.
It was as if someone had popped a fresh battery into the boy as he stared down at the white snow that blanketed the castle grounds. Toby suddenly became a whir of activity, stripping out of his pyjamas and rushing to don his winter robes before the chill air could cause him to shiver. He had to find his friends and inform them of this latest development- it was almost like magic, how they were to have a white Christmas the first year he was able to have friends visit for the holidays.
Of course... He doubted magic was behind this.
Grabbing his scarf on his way out, he raced down the stairs and out of the common room and he didn't stop until he arrived at the Great Hall. A little out of breath but at least now he no longer felt cold and he was ready to take on the world.
First he sprinted over to Gryffindor's table "Amy! It snowed! Did you see the snow?!" he yelled to his eldest sister, eager to spread the news to everyone that would listen, despite how they'd all probably seen it for themselves already. "I gotta find Joe and Ryan!" not waiting to hear her reply, he then ran along the length of the Ravenclaw table in search of his friends.
They weren't anywhere in sight. This was unacceptable. It was snowing and they weren't there to share in his excitement and he still had to congratulate Joe on his win from the previous day.
Pouting, he was about to march off in the direction of Ravenclaw tower to search for them himself when he spotted the head of unruly red hair sitting amongst the sea of blue and suddenly he had a new target. "Martha! It snowed! There is snow!" he yelled at his other sister, much in the same way that he'd just yelled at her twin- only, Martha didn't have the relief of having him run off to somewhere else. She was sitting at his end destination.
"We gotta have a snowball fight! You are going down" pausing for breath, he glanced around the hall for a moment longer before kneeling on the bench beside Martha.
"Have you seen Joe and Ryan? I want to show them the snow!" it was as if he didn't believe his friends had ever seen snow before, but... They'd never had the joy of playing in it together. His stomach growling, he grabbed a plate and began helping himself to a variety of hot breakfast items, if Joe and Ryan were late then he would just have to wait for them to arrive.
Last Edit: Oct 4, 2021 8:24:43 GMT 10 by Tobias Twiggs
Post by Oscar Tinkle on Oct 4, 2021 9:33:04 GMT 10
Oscar had woken up wrapped up snuggly in his blanket, having apparently rolled about enough in the night to turn himself into a toasty burrito of warmth. He was full of regret that he had ever left that warmth by the time he had reached the Great Hall and tugged his beanie down on his curls more securely for the fifth time. Sure the snow was beautiful and all that but did it have to be so cold?
Normally he would have been fine being up and about early - in the summer he was no stranger to going for a swim in the early hours of the morning - but there was just something about the cold that sapped him of his ability to want to do anything but curl up under a blanket with his mamma's hot chocolate.
Naturally, having been so distracted lamenting on the cold, he had completely forgotten what day it was so he paused in the doorway to the Great Hall as the excited chatter registered. Surely the snow could not have people that excited? The little first years he could understand but it snowed every year so why were the older years buzzing? ... Oh. Oh no.
The ball! He had forgotten all about that even after his mamma had owled him the tailored dress robes that the grandparents had forced on him over the summer. That meant that she was obviously expecting him to attend... Why couldn't she have stayed ignorant on the whole thing and he could have avoided the whole embarrassment? He was just going to end up as the awkward weirdo sat in a corner, he knew it!
Oscar groaned as he slumped down onto the Hufflepuff bench and dropped his head down onto the table in defeat. There was going to be no getting out of it all, was there?
Post by Jonathan King on Oct 4, 2021 20:25:22 GMT 10
Joe had thought about skipping breakfast and just stay in bed all day, being sore all over. He had gotten up to use the bathroom however, feeling like an old man, when he had taken a glance out of the window- and like a sip from the fountain of youth he was eleven again.
He had excitedly woken up Ryan and hurried to throw on some clothes. He made sure to grab his mittens, his house scarf and a woolly hat before he more or less dragged his best friend to breakfast. Still being sore however, Joe joined Ryan in his dispair over the many, many stairs down Ravenclaw tower.
“Whoahh would you look at that!“, Joe pointed at the enchanted ceiling as they entered the Great Hall.
“We‘re so gonna build the biggest snowman ever- oi Toby!“ Joe flung himself at the third member of their little trio who had already been waiting at their table.
He greeted Martha and Jay too as he sat down, already filling up his plate with whatever sweet stuff he could find.
“Did you see the snow? This is gonna be the best day ever!“
[ooc: mentions of Ryan Barrow done with permission]
Last Edit: Oct 4, 2021 23:43:40 GMT 10 by Jonathan King
Post by Reena Ashworth on Oct 4, 2021 20:41:39 GMT 10
Reena had dreamt last night. She had dreamt of an endless basement. She had started out in a grey corridor with many closed doors, no windows and stairs that led down. She would take it to be on a lower level, turn around and find the stairs would not lead up but instead down again. She would repeat that again and again, the lower corridors getting darker and more unnerving with each step she took down until she found herself surrounded by suffocating darkness with a low sense of foreboding. The only escape was waking up.
Now that hadn’t been too pleasant and she slowly sipped her tea at the Slytherin table, close to Lindsey, as she let go of the memory. Reena’s gaze wandered towards the enchanted ceiling once in a while and while it was a pretty sight, she felt quite neutral towards snow. It was mainly cold and wet but she had some fond memories of playing with it too.
She wondered if she should go and find Jax to go to Hogsmeade with today, as their mum had requested, or just go with her friends. Part of her wanted to defy her mum but part of her really wanted to spend some time with her brother.
Perhaps they could go in a larger group and she could then later slip away? Yeah. That sounded good.
“You going to Hogsmeade, Linds?“, she asked as she put down her tea cup. She wondered whether Levi or Tom would join them.
Last Edit: Oct 4, 2021 20:50:05 GMT 10 by Reena Ashworth: can’t write
Sunlight broke in Levi's eyes as panic set in with adrenaline rushing through his little body. Oh no, I'm late for breakfast! He thought as he quickly finished rubbing his eyes as he brushed his teeth and made his way out of the bathrooms and got changed into his Slytherin house robes. He quickly gazed over at the common room before running out only to pause in front of the entrance to the common room.
He paused at the entrance as he looked down to see that yes, indeed he was changed but he was still wearing his sleeping attire. "Ladies... how are we? " He greeted embarrassingly as he watched a group of Hufflepuff third years walk past him. Embarrassment and redness went through his face and all over his body as he ran back in to quickly get changed.
After doing not just two but three checks, he finally made his way to the Great Hall only to find out that he wasn't late at all. He was rather glad for this instance that he wasn't late. One thing we was glad for was that the Common Room was closely located towards the Great Hall. It made it so much easier to traverse from different areas.
He took a deep sigh as he made his way over to the Slytherin Table to join the others already there. "Hey everyone. How are we all? I thought I was late! " He said as he made himself comfortable only to realise that he never brushed his hair and he still had a really messy bed hair look with an added cow lick to the side.
Post by Sophia Rhynhart on Oct 4, 2021 23:34:00 GMT 10
Sophia yawned widely as she stumbled into the Great Hall, her hair its usual purple though mostly tucked under her Hufflepuff beanie. She hugged her robes to herself, grumbling that she'd forgotten her scarf, and made her way over to her house table.
'Ugh. Same.' Sophia dropped onto a seat across from a boy a year or two younger than her, who had his head on the table in what looked like defeat. She normally loved snow and the fresh fun it brought, but she was still very crabby about the Quidditch match.
Her life was basically over, and she'd let her team down. Knocked out? Ridiculous.
Post by Lucas Mardling on Oct 4, 2021 23:49:55 GMT 10
Lucas was perfectly content in his warm bed. He'd have gladly remained there for as long as possible too, had Levi not turned into a panicked whirlwind of noise and activity. He left, and Lucas closed his eyes again, only for Levi to rush back in. By then it was done; sleep had escaped him.
Growling, he sat up in defeat.
It was so bloody cold though. What complete and utter moron decided Slytherins had to live in the cold and damp dungeons, in a place where winter happened with such vengeance? Lucas refused to part with any warmth he had, and thus his blanket went with him to the bathroom. He pulled a face at the disarray of things and bits of toothpaste, which he decided to blame Levi for on principal -- regardless of if it was his doing or not.
Once showered, dressed (even with how cold it was, Lucas neglected his robes), and properly groomed... he eyed his blanket piled nearby. Wrapping himself back in it, he returned to his bed. He wore his uniform pants, though chose a black shirt to go with it instead. He looked like he was in mourning. And he was -- mourning the warmth sucked from their stupid dungeons.
With a sigh, Lucas shed his bed blanket and searched his trunk for a smaller one -- yet much thicker and with all the comfyness money could buy. He bundled himself in his scarf, pulled all the way up to his nose, then wrapped himself in his new blanket. It was dark blue and so soft you knew magic was involved.
That was how Lucas arrived at the Great Hall; scarf up to his nose, slippers and socks on his feet, and wrapped so snug in a blanket it was hard to confirm if he'd gotten dressed. He did not give one single damn what others thought, as he grumpily sat at the Slytherin table and shot Levi a glare. He frowned at the activity, and tilted his head back to see the enchanted ceiling and its snowy display.
Oh. Well, that explained why it was so bloody cold.
Impressively, he was able to serve himself hot pancakes while remaining bundled in his blanket. How he was going to eat with his scarf like that was anyone's guess.
Hundreds of owls swooped into the Great Hall -- delivering not only the Daily Prophet and any letters or packages from home, but also flakes of snow shaken loose from their feathers. It was a considerably busy event, with many last-minute holidays confirmations / cancels and frequent deliveries of dress robes either from home or tailors.
Many were shocked by the front page or the Daily Prophet, causing the lively chatter to his a somber note. Professor Hathmore read through it then left the hall, soon followed by Professors Fairburn and Rivera. Headmaster Rickard didn't glance at the newspaper, focused only on his large helping of oatmeal.
I have signed your Hogsmeade form and attached it. I should say something about leaving this until the last minute, but we both know I'd have forgotten my own head a few times if it wasn't attached. Even so, we're trusting you to take this responsibility seriously and be on your best behaviour. Your mother asked me remind you to set a good example for your brothers.
As Amy may have told you, with four of you now at the age of attending the Founder's Ball, we haven't been able to purchase any new dress robes. We'd reached out to family for some hand-me-downs, and did the same for you -- just in case. We hope you like the ones we picked for each of you. Your mother made some adjustments; they should fit quite well. Have fun tonight!
We look forward to seeing you over Christmas, along with Martha and Toby -- and his new friends, I've been told? We'll be waiting at King's Cross to pick you up, as always. I have to get to work now; we have several raids to conduct this morning, and I'm sure you've seen the awful news in the Daily Prophet about Blogge? All hands on deck, as the Muggles say.
Be seeing you soon. Take care, love.
From: Dad
The letter, and her signed form, came with a box that took two owls to carry. Inside was a set of slightly frayed but otherwise teal blue dress robes, with white trims and bust area. It was a bit outdated in style, with frilly bits and ruffles, but still in decent condition. It wasn't too long, though still similar to a ball gown. It came with white, wrist-length gloves to match -- each adorned with a pale blue bow. No shoes though, so she'd have to figure those out on her own.
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