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.
October arrived with a refreshingly cooler morning, providing relief from the fading hot days of summer. House scarves were once again a regular accessory among students, though often discarded by the warmer afternoon. The weather seemed undecided until Breakfast began -- settling on a neutral cloudy day, with no hope of sun nor threat of rain.
The Great Hall was rather noisy this morning. Houses were mixed in eagerness to update friends or family on how Tryouts went the night before -- and offer congratulations to those who'd made it onto their house team. The air of Quidditch excitement lingered further, as two of the freshly-picked teams faced their first practice today... in preparation for the official start of the Quidditch season, in November.
The other hot topic that lured students from their sleepy states was the Gobstones Tournament, which took place throughout the day at everyone's own speed or interest. Avid players huddled together to talk strategy, and more than a few older students nearly met their sudden demise by tripping over random 1st or 2nd years -- who tried to get in some quick practice in the middle of the floor or walkways.
Despite the mingling, Slytherin house remained mostly the same -- not just because they usually kept to themselves anyway, but also following a rather rough night. First, it was Amara Seabrook being furious that only a few people showed up for Tryouts. A couple of would-be potential players got an earful, and the occasional chair or book was burned that night.
Secondly, Peeves had been waiting for them as they'd headed to their Common Room that night -- which was probably a precursor for Amara's bad mood that followed later on. Armed with an endless supply of water balloons, Peeves laughed gleefully as he tossed them at any Slytherin that tried to get by him to the entrance. A few 1st years were in tears by the time they escaped to safety. Based on Peeves' song, it seemed someone from Gryffindor had put the idea in his head.
As if the house rivalries needed fuel added to that fire -- especially as things had been mostly tame between them lately. Quidditch season brought out the worst in the competitive types, it seemed. Thankfully, Professor Snape came to their rescue and banished Peeves, with every bit of ire the students were glad not to have aimed at them for once.
It was over now, but some hadn't slept well -- either just stressed by the ordeal, or had struggled to stay warm that night. A few Slytherins emerged for Breakfast still in a bad mood, or keeping their distance from Gryffindors in general.
Professor Rivera challenged Professor Fairburn to eating Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans with her, which had them alternating between laughing quietly or pulling disgusted faces at each other. Professors Hathmore and Shaydwin weren't present, and Professor Sprout had propped herself up with her elbow and palm in an effort to stay awake.
Professor Traddles kept shifting various goblets, much to the confusion or annoyance of his colleagues who had to move them back. Professor Snape in particular sniffed his goblet warily each time it was moved, and refused to drink from it -- despite an embarrassed Professor Traddles trying to reassure him. Professor McGonagall ignored everything, busy fussing over what (at a glimpse) appeared to be Quidditch stats and player lineups.
Student schedules were magically assigned to everyone who sat at their house table -- which involved a lot of tracking down, with everyone so mingled. It was rather chaotic, which promised a busy and eventful day ahead. Especially for certain 6th years, who were startled / excited to notice they'd be leaving the school grounds today.
[All-Day Event] Gobstones Tournament
Morning Classes 4th years -- Herbology 5th years -- DADA 6th years -- Divination
Quidditch Practice [Slytherin]
Afternoon Classes 2nd years -- Transfiguration 4th years -- Potions 5th years -- Herbology 6th years -- DADA Field Trip
Quidditch Practice [Gryffindor]
The Gobstones Tournament is open to everyone. It makes use of the ACP (Game Pieces) Feature, thus takes place in the Alcove Courtyard. All standard rules and rewards apply, but every victory this RPG day is counted as part of the Tournament -- if the top two scorers (regardless of house) are within 3 victories of each other, they'll face off at time change to determine the Gobstone Master.
To enter, simply create / join a thread and play a game during free time this RPG morning and / or afternoon -- for the purpose of this Tournament, IC more tables are available as multiple threads are expected. Please only participate if you can maintain a reasonable response time, to keep the games moving. We encourage playing against as many different members as possible; staff will stop counting wins between a specific pair if they play more than 3 games together.
Prizes are revealed at the end of the event. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th places are determined by top scorer per house. This ranking isn't altered by the face-off bonus round (Gobstone Master), which awards an additional prize and 50 Galleons, if it occurs.
Owl Post will arrive soon with the Daily Prophet. Morning class threads will be available for posting in once breakfast ends, and afternoon ones when time changes. If there aren't students in a particular year, that class won't be available; 1st, 3rd, and 7th year classes aren't listed on the schedule. 6th years COMC also isn't listed this RPG year, due to not enough students taking it.
Quidditch Practices are part of Free Time; the same rules apply, that you must first post in your class thread before attending. Practices take place in a private house-only area, to which only team players can use the Pitch -- and only students from the same house may spectate.
Benjamin was one of the first of his peers to arrive in the Great Hall, at least insofar as he could see. He nearly broke his neck tripping on an errant gobstone in the Entrance Hall, and it took all his power not to wring the owner's neck.
He was too excited to get to sleep right away, so Benji was truly exhausted. He sat behind the Slytherin table, somewhere in the middle, watching those already gathered with a mix of intrigue and disdain at some of the antics they displayed in public.
Benji checked his schedule and saw that he had two classes today, DADA and Herbology. He liked Herbology, mostly because of his grandmother, so Benjamin was looking forward to that. DADA, he could live without, mostly because the professor scared him.
His team had practice first thing in the morning. There was thing feeling of anticipation mixed with dread. While he didn't fail completely, his one saved goal was less than graceful. Shrugging, Benji figured he had to have had something that showed Madam Graysteel and his Captain that he was to be trusted on a broomstick.
Wondering whether his grandma got his letter last night, Benji piled some eggs and sausages on his plate, picking at it and eating, not in a hurry at all.
Last Edit: May 18, 2023 15:22:28 GMT 10 by Deleted
Post by Reena Ashworth on May 18, 2023 16:30:20 GMT 10
Bundled up in her green and silver scarf, Reena could only do so much not to drag her feet. Last night had been rough and she would be lying if she said she had gotten more than thirty consecutive minutes of sleep.
It hadn’t just been staying out late to support her brother’s decision to play a murder sport, or fretting about the fact that he had secured their dad‘s favored position and what that might do to their mother, especially considering it was Kody who had done so.
It had also not only been the tension in her own dorm that had her want to turn around and pass out in the Common Room instead (-though Amara had made sure that was inhospitable last night, so Reena had more or less fled to her dorm anyway). It hadn’t only been the conversation with Lindsey from yesterday’s morning replaying over and over in her mind.
No, to top it all off, Traddles had been quite on point with his prediction about a difficult night for Slytherins.
Reena muttered a few very unkind words under her breath when she almost tripped over some first year Hufflepuff before she sat down at her House table near Benjamin Haywood.
She was shivering despite wearing her scarf, likely more from being tired than actual cold.
“Recover from the balloons alright?“, she managed to say as she glanced at her schedule.
She had tried to shield some of the first years from the worst of it, which had resulted in her ending up rather wet and cold herself. Thankfully Snape had handled the situation, as she had been at kind of a loss on how to deter the poltergeist last night.
Had Lindsey been right?
Had she been the wrong choice for prefect?
Reena blew some air at her face as she reached for hot water to make herself some tea for warmth and comfort.
''I don't think I've ever used Tergeo as much as yesterday,'' Benji yawned as a reply to Reena Ashworth's question. He had half a mind to research if you can banish a ghost when Professor Snape did it for him. It was nice to see the rage and disappointment pointed at someone else rather than the students themselves.
''You?'' he asked and stuffed his face with some toast which he then washed down with a goblet of pumpkin juice. ''I swear, I was tempted to use Incendio. Whether on Peeves or myself, I haven't decided,'' Benji snorted, giving an involuntary shiver. October seemed to bring with it a chill that Benji thoroughly detested. He'd much rather see constant summer or late spring weather all year.
''Congratulations, by the way, I don't think I've said that already,'' Benjamin pointed at the prefect's badge. From the little interaction he had with Reena over the years, she seemed like a good choice. Better than him, anyway.
''I'll try not to cause too much trouble,'' he teased, knowing he was so forgettable that it was a wonder people from other houses even remembered who he was. Not really the type to make any trouble without trouble finding him first.
Benji winced as he moved his fingers, phantom pain from the blunder save last night. He looked from his fingers to Reena, narrowing his eyes.
''You got, like a lot of siblings, right?'' he asked her, looking around the Great Hall, recalling some of the Ashworths running around in other houses. ''Any other made it on their teams yesterday?''
Post by Amber Lloyd on May 18, 2023 17:27:25 GMT 10
As Amber entered the Great Hall, she noticed the buzzing of the students, being similar noisy like dinner yesterday.
She yawned and shuffled to her house table, having even not the energy to look for her friends. She was just way too tired. How could all the others here have this much energy right now?
Maybe because not all of them had been part of the Tryouts yesterday. And had a good nights rest.
Amber hadn't been able to fall asleep yesterday right after Tryouts as the excitement from the Snitch hunt had her left quite awake. And the thought about playing Quidditch soon again had made her giddy.
She took a seat and tried to choose her breakfast half awake. She picked randomly some stuff and noticed only after that her plate was rather full now. But it worked well as her stomach intimated with loud growl that he needed some well-deserved fuel.
After a few bites, Amber started to feel a little bit more awake and she finally started to look at the schedule for today.
She really was looking forward to herbology which also got her reminded to look after her garden pot later. DADA ... was important but nothing which overly excited her.
Seeing the gobstone tournament announcement, she almost choked on a sausage. That was today?
Excitement started to push her fatigue aside. Her mind began raising about which student would be daring enough to challenge her and what strategies she could use. Maybe Joshua or Caine were willing enough to play a round later with her? Otherwise, there should be enough other competitors available.
Post by Reena Ashworth on May 18, 2023 17:33:37 GMT 10
Watching the hot water in her cup change colour as it turned to tea, Reena shrugged lazily to Benjamin‘s question. She hadn’t quite recovered. But she had used the cleaning charm a lot before.
Like that time Peeves had made her a target for inkberries.
“If you do set Peeves on fire, please give me a shout. I‘d like to see what happens,“ she managed a meek smile at the thought.
She wasn’t feeling particularly hungry, yet she still filled some cereal into her bowl and reached for a fruit yoghurt.
Hm?
She looked up when Benjamin congratulated her and traced his pointed finger towards her badge.
“Ah. Thanks,“ she said. “I‘ll be sure to keep an eye on you.“
It was meant as a joke, but she delivered it in such a dry tone that it could easily be mistaken for serious by someone who wasn’t very familiar with her.
“Your hand alright?“, she asked as she noticed him wince from some movement.
Had he hurt himself during Tryouts?
At the mention of her siblings, it was like a lever in her mind was switched on and she instantly felt more awake and alert, as she mustered his face in an attempt to figure him out.
The question sounded harmless enough however and she relaxed after eating a spoonful of cereal.
“No, Kody‘s the only one that’s interested in playing. He was up for Keeper with you last night. Congrats on making it, by the way.“
She gave him a smile and took a careful sip of hot tea. It did wonders to revive her tired soul.
''You. I like the way you're thinking,'' Benji played along with his revenge plot against Peeves. He closed his eyes, imagination running wild at some of the outlandish ideas he had planned if he ever got close to the poltergeist again.
Benjamin chuckled as he lifted his arms in a universal sign of surrender. He wasn't quite sure whether Reena was serious or not, but it was better to err on the side of caution.
''I'll be good, I swear,'' he said, giving her a small grin, before putting his hands down, grabbing some eggs, and placing them on his plate.
''I think I twisted my finger when I defended that last Quaffle throw,'' Benjamin answered her, surprised that she noticed such a thing. He was mostly overlooked at home, except by his grandmother, not to mention at Hogwarts. It was a terrifying ordeal, being known.
''I mean, I'm not a healer, so I don't know the term,'' he wiggled his finger. ''Like, not broken or sprained, just hurting from the hit?'' Benji shrugged and stopped his movements in lieu of taking a few more sips of his juice. ''It's gonna be ok in a few hours, I think.''
Benjamin frowned while he tried to recall events from the tryouts, stopping a fork near his mouth. It was mostly a blur of excitement, to be honest, and trepidation. He did recall a Gryffindor trying out at the same time as him. Probably the Kody Reena was talking about.
''Thanks!'' Benji gave Reena a smile, jumping up to straighten his back in some pride he allowed himself. Unfortunately, the jolted moved the egg from his fork, which then fell on his shirt.
''Oh, for the love of…'' he muttered, his face turning deep red from embarrassment. Can I talk to someone for five minutes without making a fool out of myself? Benji wondered as he took out his wand.
''Dang it,''he murmured and watched the evidence slowly slop down his shirt. Of course there also also a witness to keep in mind, but Benji just hoped she wouldn't say anything.
''I heard he made it,'' Benji tried to continue with the conversation. He would usually follow the statement up with an empty congratulations, but he was still ticked off about yesterday what with Peeves and the rumors about a Gryffindor setting his mind to it.
''Seems people are all up in a tizzy because of the gobstones tournament,'' he commented, nodding his head towards the younger years. ''How much do you think the common room is gonna stink by the end of the day?''
Last Edit: May 18, 2023 20:06:46 GMT 10 by Deleted
Post by Kody Ashworth on May 18, 2023 18:19:58 GMT 10
Kody had plonked himself at the Gryffindor table. He didn't pay much attention to his schedule for the day since it didn't have his favourite subject -- he could look at it after he had some food.
He put beans, bacon, eggs, sausages and mushrooms onto his plate and then grabbed some toast to butter. A feast for a hungry boy who had worked hard to earn a spot on his house Quidditch team last night!
Pleased with his lot, he poured some milk into a glass and started eating.
It was only when his mouth was full that he allowed himself a moment to look around and assess the Great Hall.
Apparently there was some kind of tournament today? Kody heard someone mention Gobstones but he had to admit it wasn't something he played very often. Maybe he could give the tournament a go, regardless... It sounded fun!
His eyes fell into his schedule once again and he nearly choked on his food when he noticed something he had missed the first time -- Quidditch practice! Kody wriggled excitedly about being able to fly again in the afternoon!
Post by Martha Twiggs on May 18, 2023 18:24:16 GMT 10
Wincing at the noise as she entered the Great Hall, Martha looked around with a slight wrinkle in her nose. She sat down at her house table, looking for the porridge to dish some out to herself. Her schedule was placed next to her bowl and she studied it carefully.
So she had Divination this morning and then a DADA field trip in the afternoon? She looked at that detail with a curious gaze -- What would a DADA fieldtrip entail? Martha was glad she had continued the class since it seemed like it was going to be adventurous and exciting.
She added some jam to her porridge and swirled it in, forgoing a drink for now. Maybe she would make herself a cup of tea after the owls had been by.
Martha started on eating her porridge, watching the teacher's table as she ate and thinking about her classes for the day. This was also going to be her first time being taught by the new Divination Professor. Her gaze landed on him as he moved around goblets. The teachers sitting closest to him didn't seem very impressed by this behaviour.
What did that mean for how he would teach their class...?
Post by MJ Birdwhistle on May 18, 2023 18:27:58 GMT 10
Today was a new exciting day of school!
MJ had been confirmed for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team (along with Joe! Long Live Kingwhistle!), she had no class in the morning so it was totally free, there was a Gobstones tournament happening all day and -- Well, just being at magic school alone was pretty darn exciting for MJ.
She was a bit jealous that Gryffindor and Slytherin had their practises today but she knew it would be Ravenclaw's turn soon enough.
Looking at the offerings before her, MJ settled on making herself a bacon sandwich and slathering it with brown sauce and ketchup. She took a big bite while she looked for the apple juice.
Why was it always a pain to locate?
She noticed the older girl who had been made seeker for their team and waved at her, what was her name again? MJ knew it began with an A... "Hey, is the apple juice near you?"
The morning had come after a night of minor celebration in the Common Room, though she did managed to finally get into bed at a reasonable hour. It had been lovely seeing all of the new Quidditch Players and she had finally forced herself away from the common room after watching the younger students for a bit.
She had managed to get out of bed in a good mood, though she wasn't a very talkative morning person, so she readied herself in silence, but was pleasant enough with her dormmates. She arrived to the Great Hall feeling the glares and looked over at Slytherin with a look of just weird confusion. 'What the bloody-hell was their problem?' Amelia thought to herself as she found her place with several other fifth years.
"Any idea what has a stick up their bum this morning?" She asked as she motioned with her thumb over her shoulder towards the Slytherin Table. As she settled her bag at her feet, she looked at her schedule before she went to putting food on her plate.
Post by Jaxen Ashworth on May 18, 2023 18:59:33 GMT 10
The cooler weather that morning was a welcome relief from the summer heat that he'd grown used to, but Jax could not help but feel resentful of the reminder that winter would soon be upon them. Autumn always seemed so fleeting, always over too soon before harsher weather arrived.
Christmas was just a few short months away, and he wondered if they'd all be expected to return home this year. Unlike last year when his younger siblings were granted permission to remain at school- he hoped that their mother didn't have some grand plan to drag them out on a walk again, he felt sure he'd lost five years off his life from the last time.
Sitting in his usual place at the Ravenclaw table, he tried to ignore how much louder the hall seemed that morning. Tugging his house scarf a little tighter so it kept the draught of his neck, he scanned his class schedule. Eyes alighting with intrigue when he saw what was planned that day, the gobstones tournament... Which he was unsure if he'd even participate in, but also Divination and a field trip?
Jax buttered some toast and began to eat as he wondered where this field trip would take them and what the purpose of it was.
The excitement of the Quidditch Pitch had been a new feeling for her, especially when MJ had been accepted onto the Team for the year. Though she had been quiet during and after the try-outs, she had expressed her excitement for her friend in the common room and dorm. It had allowed her to forget about the nightmares prior to that and she had slept soundly that next night. She had awoken early and showed before many of her dormmates.
She arrived at Breakfast with MJ, though she was quiet as they walked, her body still waking up after a long night. She was smiling though as she entered the Great Hall, dodging a few other students who were talking about a silly game before she sat with MJ. While her friend prepared her own breakfast, Charlotte took the time to look over the morning schedule and smiled when she saw that they had a free morning and transfigurations that afternoon.
"What are you going to do this morning, MJ?" Charlotte asked as she put a few sweet pastries on her plate, along with some eggs, sausage and fruit to help make everything a little more rounded for Breakfast. The juice around them seemed to have been stolen by others and she also searched for the Apple Juice. When MJ asked an older student, she turned her head in the general direction.
Post by Lindsey Bryce on May 18, 2023 19:08:07 GMT 10
Lindsey had taken her time the night before going through her stuff and reorganizing, which included removing pictures from her bedpost that obviously didn't matter anymore. Pictures that had been cherished were discarded into the bottom of her trunk, though not thrown away. Hidden from sight. If she could throw them away, she would have, but a piece inside her just wouldn’t allow her too…
A few years were spared as she tossed one of her favorites into the trunks… Angry tears… hurt tears… It was about the time Reena had arrived in the dorm and she slammed the lid closed before she put up a few new pictures from the summer of her, her family and Sinead. At least she had something to distract her from her dormmate.
She had heard some of the commotion in the Common Room, but had kept to herself the rest of the night, focusing on preparing for the new morning and going to bed shortly after putting her books on her trunk. When morning had arrived, she had taken to the showers and dressed in silence before she left for the Great Hall.
The tension in the air could have been cut with the knife, but the whole thing with Slytherin Students had happened mostly after she had gotten to safety. Though it had been unintentional, she sat near some of the other fifth years, closer to Benjamin and took to her plate while the conversation started. It was about the time he mentioned a twisted finger and she turned slightly.
“Can I take a look, Benjamin? At ye finger, I mean,” It was the need to help as she put her fork down from eating and turned slightly towards him.
“I’ve helped my ma a few times back home with jammed fingers… it sounds like ye likely jammed it.” It was something muggles did normally, but in a mixed community, her mother dealt both muggle and magical injuries all the time. Her highland accent hadn’t thickened over the summer, though it certainly hadn’t lightened either.
Last Edit: May 18, 2023 19:25:15 GMT 10 by Lindsey Bryce
Benjamin turned at the sound of a new voice and smiled at Lindsey, another of his classmates. He gave a slight wave to her with his fork and discarded his plate of savory food for a fresh new plate of sweet things. He usually wouldn't eat so much, but with the morning practice, he figured he'd need the energy.
''Uh, sure?'' Benjamin shrugged and offered Lindsey his hand. ''It smarts a little, but it doesn't feel broken or otherwise hurt,'' he explained, wiggling his affected finger again.
He didn't quite understand her, or rather, what she thought the problem was, but he often didn't. Lindsey looked like she knew what she was talking about and it wasn't like he had an open wound. It wouldn't harm for her to look at it. Maybe it was a Muggle thing?
''Are you gonna kiss it better?'' he chuckled, joking about something his cousin once mentioned when she talked about her job at St. Mungo's. How Muggle's parents tried Muggle remedies before finally contacting the magical hospital.
It took longer than usual for his brain to decipher what he said to Lindsey. When the neuropaths connected, Benji's eyes got wide and he once again went red to the face. He was afraid that his mouth would rebel against him again, so he just kept his lips shut and coughed awkwardly.