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.
Much like with Hallowe'en and Christmas, the Great Hall had undergone a decorative change to celebrate Valentine's Day. Unlike past years though, it wasn't a bombardment of pink and hearts. They could see why, as Headmaster Rickard wandered the hall to check the decorations were to his standards.
And thus, this year, it was kinder on the eyes. The colours were ever-varied -- mainly in the form of streamers on the walls / hanging from places or Never-Wilter Roses hanging on wreaths or in vases on the tables. The ceiling was further enchanted, with coloured confetti hearts snowing overhead -- yet evaporated several feet above the tallest person, as to reduce any mess or nuisance.
Overall, it was a much boarder and inclusive celebration of love itself rather than focused on couples and romance. Rickard felt that was much more appropriate for schoolchildren, but the students themselves found a whole range of reasons to appreciate the less pink-explosion and in-you-face celebration.
Including or despite this semi-holiday, school remained in session -- and there was a mix of moods around the hall today. The approach of exams, particularly O.W.Ls and N.E.W.Ts, had begun an time of frenzy and building panic for those who were behind or deep in their studies.
On the other hand, there was an excited buzz, as students made plans with friends or partners, and many devoured their meal as quickly as they could. For 3rd years and above (who had permission) they could come and go from Hogsmeade all day at their leisure. After breakfast was finished, of course.
All the staff were present, though some (like Professor Snape) appeared rather reluctant to be. Professors Rivera and Hathmore had their heads together, comparing notes and occasionally smiling at each other. Professor Fairburn was discreetly trying to put out a fire on her sleeve, while Hagrid eagerly asked her at least a dozen questions in as few breaths as possible. Professor Archerose poked at his food, disinterested in everything else.
Student schedules were magically assigned to everyone who sat at their house table (including detention slips sent to Gryffindor). During which, many 5th years made exclaims of dismay or groans of absolute dread. Today of all days...
Afternoon Classes 5th years -- Potions
Night Event Valentine's Dinner
Detention Tobias Twiggs & @saoirsevairea must meet Filch outside his office when dinner ends.
Owl Post will arrive soon with the Daily Prophet. Afternoon class threads will be available for posting in when time changes. If there aren't students in a particular year, that class won't occur; 2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 7th year classes aren't listed on the schedule.
Amelia had arrived back at the Common Room the night before happy and full from dinner, but disappointed. Once again, she had failed to be able to help Professor Sprout with any Extra Credit. She would just have to try again this morning. As she arrived at the great hall, she was quick to check her schedule and let out a groan when she saw Potions.
"What a great way to start off the morning," she said as she glanced towards the staff table. She found herself smiling at Professors Rivera and Hathmore. The two were engaged with one another and she wondered if they had a thing. The way they smiled at each other... It was the sweetest thing.
The great hall was in the spirit of the day and she found herself glancing at the doorways looking for a particular Hufflepuff boy. The day brought back memories of the summer, yet again and she bit her bottom lip. It was only breakfast after all, right? Maybe sitting with the Hufflepuffs wasn't a bad idea? She would wait for Luckett to make his appearance before she did anything.
For now, she gathered from fruit and oatmeal to enjoy.
Last Edit: Aug 1, 2022 15:36:50 GMT 10 by Lena: Fixed: bits of code left in :P
Post by Lindsey Bryce on Jul 31, 2022 22:26:41 GMT 10
A yawn escaped the lips of the Slytherin girl as she walked into the great hall and towards the Slytherin table. Though it had been an enjoyable night, it had been late with studying. William and Reena had been great study partners. Once they had finished, the even had gone far past curfew, but it had been worth the knowledge and theory that came withs study.
The beautiful decoration did not go un-noticed by Lindsey as she walked in and smiled at the lovely decorations. She mentally noted that it was not nearly as pink as the years prior and she was happy for that. Sitting down, she smiled when she saw her schedule allowed for some free time.
It looked like she would be able to get a few things done and maybe speak to Lucas about some ingredients? She would do that later, it would likely not be hard to find him, right? She gathered some food on her plate, which included some eggs and sausage.
Post by Lucas Mardling on Jul 31, 2022 22:27:52 GMT 10
Lucas was nervous. Not because he had three highly illegal potions in his bag while he waited to deliver them to MJ, but because it was Valentine's Day. And he now had a girlfriend. Amara Seabrook, specifically. She hated V-Day, with a burning passion. But did she still expect something from him? Sure, she'd approached him last night and set some clear boundaries about today -- no gifts, no fuss, no lovely-dovey nonsense.
Yet... it felt wrong, almost. To give her nothing. Do nothing at all to show he cared. She explained why it was such a waste of time, because someone should show this kind of care all the time not on the day it costs the most Galleons. She tried to free him of that pressure.
He'd peeked into the Great Hall though, glad it was no longer an eyesore, and spied the roses on the tables. He smirked, a plan forming. But for now, he had to wait on a Ravenclaw 1st year who had better not be sleeping in this morning...
The excitement from the day prior had faded when she couldn't get her plants harvested. Though, she told herself it was fine. The adventure down to the Great Hall for Breakfast wasn't rushed since she had no classes for the day. She could do things to learn more! Her time with learning with her hands was soon going to come to an end, she doubted her parents would allow her to do anything like they did here.
As she neared the Great Hall, she slide past a Slytherin boy who was standing to the side and entered without a word. The decorations caught her off-guard and she looked around at them. It was yet another example of a holiday that she didn't understand.
Of course, she had heard about Valentine's Day, but she didn't quite understand it, but that was with several holidays. Maybe it was just the way the school celebrated compared to her own family? She tried to remember valentines day last year, when she was home alone.
After a moment to compose herself gawking expression, Charlotte headed towards her normal place at the Ravenclaw table and sat down to a bowl of cereal. She collected some apples and nuts as well to add to her bag. As she opened her bag to put the apple and nuts away, she realized that she had forgotten to put things back in her trunk, though she didn't know why they had been in there.
Well, it was the one time that her brother and sister were in the same area, she had been thinking about asking them about them. The odd bits of parchment and few photos had been forgotten about in the bottom of her trunk. Why had they even been put in there before she left for Hogwarts?
She couldn't recall why and thought back to when she had packed her things away... Or when they were packed away.
Last Edit: Jul 31, 2022 23:57:13 GMT 10 by Deleted
Post by Jade Arwell on Jul 31, 2022 22:40:50 GMT 10
Jade headed down the Grand Staircase, too busy fussing with her hair to notice the atmosphere -- having forgotten what day it even was. She arrived at the Great Hall, then froze on the spot to take in all the dectorations.
'Valentine's Day?' She pulled a face of absolute disgust and regret for having left her dorm today. 'Oh, gross. That's just what I need...'
Grumbling, she made her way to the Gryffindor table -- avoiding as many couples or gift-givers as possible. As if anyone would dare give her something. It'd just be a prank, anyway. Rolling her eyes again for good measure, and making sure the love snow wasn't touching her, she considered what to have for breakfast.
At least they still served normal food. She wasn't particularly hungry now, so reached for her schedule instead -- having never made an attempt to memorise it on her own time.
'Potions?' Jade huffed loudly, scrunching her schedule to toss it away. 'What a bloody nightmare.'
Not even the idea of taking a trip of Hogsmeade lightened her mood. Groaning, she slouched to rest her hand on her palm and moodily poke at her cereal. She'd spotted Amy nearby but wasn't in the mood to chat, too busy sulking about stupid Valentines Day. And besides, she was probably drooling over Langford again so what kind of conversation would Amy be capable of on a day like this?
Personally, she didn't get what she saw in the guy.
Accidentally, she glanced towards the Ravenclaw table before reminding herself to cut that out. So what if Nyx was there or not? She probably had plans with her boyfriend anyway. Not that Jade cared. She'd have to find some way to occupy her day though. Never had her OWLs looked so appealing.
Last Edit: Jul 31, 2022 22:59:02 GMT 10 by Jade Arwell
Saoirse sleepily wandered in to the Great Hall, moving at a glacial pace. She'd been reading about herbology the night before, and had stayed up later as a result because she wasn't used to not having free time in the evening. On top of which, not being able to swim due to her healing hand meant she didn't have an icy swim to wake herself up. She wished desperately for a pot of her father's horrible black coffee.
She was taken aback by the state of the Great Hall when she entered. Saoirse's interest in Valentine's Day was exclusively limited to chocolates, and she had forgotten it was coming. She groaned, expecting to see older students cuddling and snogging everywhere. Would she be able to keep her breakfast down?
However, it wasn't so bad inside. It seemed fear of upcoming exams was a real romance killer. On top of which, the Great Hall had some nice flowers in many colours as opposed to eye-burning hot pink. Saoirse reached out to stroke the petals of a rose, admiring the colours. Maybe today would be a normal day after all.
She sat at the Gryffindor table near some fifth years who were whispering and hissing at each other, trying to eat while also studying. There was a lot of fruit juice dangerously close to spilling on the books. Saoirse helped herself to some plain crepes and spread some raspberry jam on them as she waited for her friends to arrive.
Last Edit: Jul 31, 2022 23:18:52 GMT 10 by Deleted
Post by Reena Ashworth on Jul 31, 2022 22:45:23 GMT 10
Reena had braided her hair this morning and put it in a bun. Not because of Valentines day, in facts she had almost forgotten about it until she entered the Great Hall. This year's decoration was at least tasteful and she admired the heart snow that evaporated above her head. The ceiling bore such beautiful enchantments.
She gave Lucas a curious look before smiling at him in greeting as she passed him, no doubt about to make a deal. He looked sort of suspicious, which amused her.
Reena stifled a yawn as she joined Lindsey at their table and poured herself some hot water for her tea.
"Morning. I think I dreamt about the Dragon-Clawed Viola last night," she said with a hint of a chuckle in her voice. Last night's study session had been longer than anticipated but she was happy they had done it.
Even William Doren had turned out to not be as weird as initially thought. He was still weird, being a Doren came with that label, but she figured he was alright.
Reena cracked her knuckles as she linked her fingers together in a stretch before she choose her breakfast for the day. She settles for a yoghurt which she filled with cereal and fruit as she checked the schedule, which left her with a whole day of free time, so no unexpected changes.
Amelia had returned to her breakfast, thinking mostly about what her plans were for the day. She was not looking forward to class and the comment from Jade made her look up to realize her dormmate was there. It seemed they were in agreeance with that class.
"At least it is only one class," Amelisa said before she wiped her mouth with a napkin and looked over at her friend with a smile. "It could be a full day of classes." Amelia made a face at that. It had been a day of running around a lot and she was happy for just one class.
"Hey, want to go to Hogesmeade with me later?" Amelia hadn't exactly been asked by Luckett to go to the village and they aren't exactly a couple, though she wished they hadn't broken it off before school. Maybe there wasn't any hope for them, but she didn't like that either. For now, she had friends to focus on too.
Last Edit: Jul 31, 2022 22:54:12 GMT 10 by Deleted
Post by Ryan Barrow on Jul 31, 2022 22:48:27 GMT 10
It should be known that, on this particular morning, it was a miracle that Ryan survived long enough to see Breakfast -- as he had his nose in a book the whole way from his dormitory, down the stairs, through the castle, and into the Great Hall.
He gasped, heart racing, as someone knocked the book from his hands. Gaze darting at the older year, he relaxed in realising it was an accident -- the 6th year even apologised, having been telling a story to his boyfriend with animated gestures.
Ryan nodded, then retrieved his book from the floor. He straitened, and his eyes went wide as saucers. What happened? Everything was all... weird. Frowning, confused but not particularly concerned, he made his way to the Ravenclaw table and propped his DADA textbook up against the side of a large bowl. He tried to work out the least messy breakfast to have, and settled on some fruit.
Eating while trying to keep reading, Ryan suddenly remembered the schedules went around. He snatched his, and was so relieved to see he didn't have anything on today at all. And he didn't have to worry about Hogsmeade stuff either, whew. So he munched his apple slices, re-reading passages in his book while waiting for his friends to show up.
Oh, maybe not Toby though. After yesterday, he wondered if Gryffindors were even allowed to sit with them right now?
Post by Lindsey Bryce on Jul 31, 2022 22:53:24 GMT 10
Lindsey looked up at Reena as she joined her, taking notice again of the lovely decorations and the melting snow hearts above them. She found the whole hall a magical place during holidays, but after four years, she tried not to gawk like a first year. A bit of laughter came from her lips as her friend commented about the plants.
"Aye, I think I had one in my own dreams as well," Lindsey admitted, though her dreams had been blurry and she wasn't sure if it was a mixture of memory and dreams. One thing she did remember was a note on her bedside table, which she had fished out this morning. The sender had been unknown, but she had gotten it after one of her matches before the game.
Tha an àm ri teachd agad gealltanach. That is all the note had said. Your future is promising. That is what it meant and she had brought it out of her trunk this morning after she woke up. She tried to push the thoughts out of her own head to focus on breakfast and the day. She would deal with the note later.
Post by Sophia Rhynhart on Jul 31, 2022 22:53:46 GMT 10
Yawning, Sophia stretched her arms high as she casually wandered into the Great Hall. She took it all in with a smile, finding this style of decoration much more to her liking. She enjoyed mocking the past ones with Lucky though, but was sure they could find something else to laugh about.
She picked a spot in the middle of the Hufflepuff table, and served herself a stack of pancakes with butter and blueberries. She glanced around, wondering where her friends were. Sophie hoped Lucky or Oscar at least would be around so she had someone fun to hang out with over breakfast.
Hearing some of her classmates groaning over the schedule, Sophia decided not to touch hers just yet or it'll probably ruin her mood too. Instead, she over-analysed that moment in the common room yesterday afternoon with Lucky. Then chuckled at the whole Jacob stuff that followed. She'd love to join them, but the two of them together was a bit chaotic even for her. It seemed like Jake needed his buddy today, anyway.
'I'm bored,' Sophia declared to her house. 'Someone talk to me, please.'
Post by Jacob Thatcher on Jul 31, 2022 22:57:14 GMT 10
Jacob fidgeted at the end of the Gryffindor table, right where anyone coming or going would likely see him. Thankfully, the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables were beside each other -- and he'd just seen Sophia come in, so kept an eye on where she sat. He needed an answer from Lucky before he could make any plans for his day.
Assuming he survived Potions class this afternoon, of course. He was so mad, because he wanted to spend the whole day in Hogsmeade, but now he and Lucky had to make sure to trek back for boring old class in the cold and smelly dungeons with old grease-face Snape. Of course the git would schedule them a class on a Hogsmeade day when probably no one else had classes. UGH.
But back to Lucky. He scanned the incoming crowd again, while shoving strips of bacon into his mouth like a starved lizard.
Killed by Devin Kudosen by act of the Killing Curse. June #24, RPG year 1 -- he was a 5th year Gryffindor. Jacob died to save his best friend, Luckett Langford.
Kassia looked radiant as she entered the Great Hall, mainly because she was smiling. She wore a white ruffled shirt and had done her hair in a bun, showing off her cheekbones. Long dark pants and ballet shoes finished it off.
It was one of her favourite days of the year. Not for herself, of course. She wouldn't entertain any relationship unless it served a purpose. Marriage was a business decision, after all, so why bother with anyone at this ridiculous stage of life? No, she was excited for the drama.
One year, one Ravenclaw had found out her Gryffindor boyfriend had a Hufflepuff on the side, and had thrown her drink in his face before running out snotty and sobbing. Another year, two Gryffindor boys had started fighting over a girl who turned out to not even like boys. Kassia hoped something equally entertaining would happen this year.
And even if there wasn't a huge fiasco, she still enjoyed the subtleties. The side glances, the soft blushes, the leaning in for a whisper or gentle touch. Kassia would need a fan at this point. She particularly noticed the two professors keeping their heads together. Kassia would have to keep a closer eye on Professor Rivera.
Kassia saw that potions was today, and looked forward to it. Maybe Professor Snape would teach them something relevant to the day's activities. The man looked absolutely miserable. Kassia practically skipped to the Slytherin table and sat herself next to Reena Ashworth and Lindsey Bryce. She reached for the fruit bowl and looked at the younger girls inquisitively.
Post by Jonathan King on Jul 31, 2022 23:01:36 GMT 10
"Ryann!", Joe placed both his hands onto the blond boy's shoulders. That they ever managed to miss each other bordered on a miracle, with them sleeping so close together every night. But for some reason Joe had been really knocked out last night and must have fallen asleep long before Ryan had even come to the dorm. Or if he had come in, Joe had certainly forgotten.
Even now, Joe portrayed a serious case of bed head, with his curly hair bouncing all over the place, yet pressed flatly against his skull at the back on the left. This was unbeknownst to him of course but he had misplaced his comb and hadn't caught Ryan in time to ask for his.
He looked left and right, making sure there were no Slytherin Quidditch players nearby or even looking in his direction before he sat down next to his best friend and laid his head on the table to get a look at what book he was so caught up in.
Eww. A textbook.
It was too early in the morning for studying, Joe was certain his friend must have woken up with a fever.
"You're not gonna spend all day glued to your textbooks, are you?", Joe asked as he warily turned to pick some plain ciabatta and some fruit for him - the least bad food to get his face pushed into.
"Toby and I wanted to have a picnic... Oh! But you can bring your books!" Great idea. Day saved. Unless Ryan was going to make him study all day instead of enjoying this one free day.
Last Edit: Jul 31, 2022 23:04:47 GMT 10 by Jonathan King
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