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.
The Great Hall was warm and inviting; lush with the Christmas Eve spirit. Many were still dressed warmly, though admired the snowy ceiling -- which added to the atmosphere of twinkling Christmas trees around the hall, and the delicious scent of dinner. It wasn't a special feast, as some had hoped, but there were a few festive additions to enjoy.
As with breakfast, being the holidays, school attire was allowed for those who preferred it -- though even more chose to go with the holiday freedom of uniforms being optional. Not everyone celebrated Christmas or were in the mood to partake, but the warm food after a cold day was always appreciated.
Just like last year, there was an addition of bowls containing moon-shaped pasties. Each contained one of five random fillings: apple pie, pumpkin, caramel fudge, gingerbread, and custard.
The house tables remained, though those who'd stayed at Hogwarts for the holidays in the past would know that tomorrow night would be more special -- after last year's confirmation that Headmaster Rickard kept to that tradition.
Slytherin remained mostly the same, but there were notable gaps at the other three houses since many had gone home for the holidays that morning.
While most blissfully enjoyed their dinner, there was a bit of a commotion off to the side of the doors near the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables; Professor Hathmore was giving quite a stern lecture to 6th year Gryffindor, Duncan Babble, and two of his friends.
Those sitting nearby, or who'd just arrived to dinner, gave them plenty of space and didn't dare risk eye contact with the irate Professor or uncharacteristically apologetic Duncan.
Finley entered the Great Hall, her eyes looking around for any of her friends or acquaintances. It seemed that she was one of the first, so she just shrugged and sat at the Gryffindor table, closer to the staff one.
Strategically, Finn positioned herself before one of the big bowls that had those lovely moon-shaped cookies. Or were they cakes? Who cared, they were delicious.
She piled them up high on one of the plates, and pulled them closer to herself. Should anyone try to take any, they would be met with a hiss at best or lightly stabbed with a fork at worst.
Finn looked up to the ceiling, mouth opening slightly in awe. Even after all those years, it still managed to be just as amazing and beautiful. One would think she'd get used to it, but it kept on surprising her.
There was a commotion at the end of her table. Well, closer to the doors. Curiously, Finley stared in the direction, wincing when it was Professor Hathmore giving one of the older Gryffindors and some she didn't recognize a lecture. Or at least what Finn thought it was a lecture, going by the Professor's expression.
She wondered what that was about, but distracted herself with some hot tomato soup and toast. Nothing better for a cold day such as this had been.
Just in case she'd stay up later than usual, Finn pilfered an apple and some nuts off the table. One never knew when they'd come in handy.
Post by MJ Birdwhistle on Jan 7, 2024 3:36:10 GMT 10
MJ breezed into the Great Hall, spurred on by the delicious smells and eagerness to eat something so her belly would stop growling.
The Ravenclaw table was quite empty, but that would just mean there would be space for Thorne and Orla if they wanted to sit with her. MJ thought it would be okay to invite them to do so considering how many house-mates were missing.
She looked at the food on offers and hurried to add some steaming chicken and ham pie to her plate, along with a helping of mashed potato and some honey-roasted carrots. MJ spotted the desserts and added two of them to a smaller plate so she'd have them for after.
There was a worry they would disappear before she was done eating, so she'd keep them safe.
Looking around, she spotted Professor Hathmore scolding a Gryffindor student and some others. This only made her roll her eyes and she settled down to eat her dinner, her gaze on her plate instead.
After hurrying back from Hogsmeade and knocking off most of the snow from her clothes, freezing, Amber said goodbye to Sinead before quickly climbing the Ravenclaw tower. She put away her newly purchased sweets and slightly wet clothes, then descended the stairs again.
When Amber arrived at the Great Hall, warmth welcoming her, the stair workout had already did its deed and successfully dispelled the remaining cold in her body. But she wouldn't mind a warm soup now...
Amber made her way towards the Ravenclaw table, though noticed the commotion around Hathmore and a Gryffindor. Not wanting to get into their way, she steered clear of the group and quickly settled down on her house table.
A look down the table revealed what she searched for: pumpkin soup!
Amber filled a bowl with it, grabbed some slices of bread nearby as a side and dipped one end into the soup before bringing it to her mouth. For a moment, she closed her eyes, just savouring her bite. Delicious!
Happily she kept spooning her soup away, though noticed in the middle of it a familiar Ravenclaw across her.
"Hey MJ! Could you scratch anything from your to-do list?"
Amber grinned at her fellow teammate, remembering the plans she had listed at breakfast today.
[OOC: mention of Sinead with permission]
Last Edit: Jan 7, 2024 3:49:30 GMT 10 by Amber Lloyd
Post by MJ Birdwhistle on Jan 7, 2024 18:47:22 GMT 10
"Hi Amber!" MJ said before she took a sip of her juice.
She nodded and then shrugged, "Kinda? I got some ingredients collected that I needed and then..."
MJ looked around them and leaned in, trusting Amber with what she said next, "Me and some friends went into the Forbidden Forest to get an ingredient together. It was a bit scary but I had to pretend I was fine so they wouldn't be scared!"
In the end, everything had worked out okay. Thorne got his Lariwort and MJ had a piece of Windroot in her Potions Kit now!
"How about you? What did you end up doing?" After she asked this, MJ took another few bites of her dinner. She was interested to know how a student like Amber would spend her free time.
Wasn't she old enough to go to Hogsmeade too? MJ tried to remember if they talked about that in the morning...
Amber leaned over to MJ as well and listened, though blinked surprised at her confession. She took a quick look around, hoping no one had heard them and Hathmore still occupied with the Gryffindors. She then whispered back with a grin.
"Your secret is safe with me!"
However, it reminded her that she would need to venture into the Forbidden Forest too if she she wanted to gather those ingredients for the Extra-C... Perhaps she should ask Rivera about that, or...
"It seems you were the bravest of them all then!" Amber praised MJ with a warm smile.
Helping her friends and pretending not to be scared for their sake as well? Sounded like a great friend to her. Amber would be proud to have a friend like MJ.
"But if you need help next time with... ingredient hunting, you're free to ask me too!" Amber proposed, keeping the task vague on purpose.
It didn't sit well with her having second years running around in the Forbidden Forest completely alone, she'd rather have an older student with them, just in case something did happen.
Although, knowing MJ so far, she guessed her group of friends would be able to estimate what they could handle. Then again, if Amber compared them to her and her own friends being at the same age, she wasn't so sure anymore...
"Hm, seems I wasn't as productive as you, but I had fun! I managed to track down Zack Mercer to show me the Prefect Room! Did you know one can use it as Captain?"
Amber took a spoonful of her soup before continuing.
"But I have to say, it was quite the ordeal to find that Head Hog. The whole thing took me all morning, hough it was worth it!"
Amber grinned though grimaced upon remembering the minstrel's song. How long would that haunt her?!
"Oh, I went to Hogsmeade too! Actually, my parents allowed me to upgrade my broom, so did just that!'
Amber's grin went wider.
"Got myself a nice Thunderstrike! You have one yourself, right?"
Finishing her soup, her gaze fell onto the moon-shaped pastries near her. They looked a bit like the star-shaped ones from breakfast...
Wondering if they had the same fillings or just a different shape, Amber grabbed one and took a bite.
Gingerbread! That was at least different to the stars... Or she hadn't caught this filling in the morning... Time to find out what was correct!
Post by MJ Birdwhistle on Jan 8, 2024 5:44:10 GMT 10
MJ had made sure to whisper, so the noise of the Great Hall would cover up that little part of the conversation. She was glad when Amber did the same and nodded, "I just wanted to help my friend out. I'm glad it worked out for us."
It wasn't something she would be in the habit of doing -- once in a blue moon was more than enough for MJ.
"Woah, I've heard of a room for Prefects! You're so lucky you get to use it, but you definitely deserve it too. Is Zack in our house too...?" MJ thought she vaguely recalled something about Head Hogs at the start of the year.. However, she wasn't entirely certain.
"Sounded like you had a whole adventure." MJ smiled. She missed doing little adventures around the school herself but had decided to focus on her classes this year. Getting good grades was important too, after all!
MJ ate her dinner slowly as she talked with Amber and dropped her fork in excitement when she talked about her new broom, "Aw ace! We match now!"
She wriggled with excitement. If people saw MJ using the same broom as the Ravenclaw Captain, then they'd know she meant business! "Will you try it out before out next match?"
Maybe they could convince Joe to get a Thunderstrike too...
Seeing that Amber had moved onto her dessert, MJ hurried to finish her dinner so she could enjoy her own pastries she had set aside. She poured herself a glass of ice-cold milk as well, "Are they good?"
Judging by the look on Amber's face, they were! So MJ picked up one and took a big bite.
"Mmm! Abbel!" She tried to talk with her mouth full, which just made her laugh at how stupid she sounded. At least she made sure to cover her mouth so she didn't accidentally spray Amber with crumbs or pieces of apple.
Post by Amber Lloyd on Jan 8, 2024 20:02:52 GMT 10
Amber shook her head.
„Nah, the Head Hog from our house is Bernadette. Zack is Slytherin. He was… quite something.“
She shrugged while grinning. It was difficult to describe the boy. He had been kind enough to take his time showing and explaining everything to her, though there still was something cheeky and mysterious about his manner.
„Yeah, you definitely could call it that!“ Amber laughed.
She already missed going on more adventures, she should search for more. Though maybe she should focus on classes first, being in O.W.L year and all…
Amber liked MJ’s enthusiasm regarding her broom and hold up her hand for a high five.
„Woo!“ She laughed, then grinned. „I’ll try to get a chance to try it before the match, although I know I will love it. Tried one at the Flying Refresher after all.“
With a full mouth Amber nodded at the question regarding the pastries and was happy MJ thought the same. She took a bite from the next one.
„Oh, something with caramel!“ She exclaimed excited after swallowing.
„But of course would be nice to train a bit more before the next match. Against Slytherin, huh? That will be something… I’m really curious how their line-up will be this time.“
Amber poured herself a cup of lemon beebrush tee and carefully took a sip to avoid burning her tongue. The tee greatly complemented the pastries!
Post by MJ Birdwhistle on Jan 8, 2024 21:06:17 GMT 10
MJ liked learning something new and liked knowing about the school and other things. It was fascinating to hear that Head Hogs belonged to different houses, "So they're kind of in charge of Prefects then?"
She took another bite of her delicious pastry and added a moment later, "Do they have say over Quidditch Captains too, or are you a separate entity?"
It was hard to know how the hierarchy sometimes worked and since she was only a second year, MJ didn't think she had to worry about that kind of thing just yet. The idea of being Captain for Ravenclaw did appeal to her. She hadn't asked Joe if he was interested.
Would suck to fight with a close friend about something like that!
"Yes, but this is your broom now. You need to get used to its quirks and stuff! Make sure you treat it well." MJ said with a laugh because it seemed so silly that she would give advice like this to an older student.
Amber knew what she was doing, after all!
MJ nodded, "Caramel? Lucky, maybe my next one will have caramel. This one tastes like apple pie! It's so flaky and buttery and delicious."
Almost as good as something her Granny or Great Auntie would bake. Nothing beat home baked goods and with that thought, she glanced at the teacher table. She wondered if Professor Snape had liked his home baked shortbread this year.
The conversation drew her back in, however, and she nodded at Amber's statement, "Amara is no joke. She kicked me in the stomach last time, and it hurt until I got it healed! They like to play dirty, and they get away with it, somehow."
She said all of this and shoved the rest of her first pastry into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully as she wondered how their match-up would go this year. MJ felt more experienced, so she hoped they would have an easier time dealing with Slytherin.
Since Amber was a fith year, she had plenty of time to acquire her knowledge regarding the different student positions; and it was always good to know to whom one could go for help or from whom to flee – not that she or her friends ever had to do that…
Amber smirked thinking about it, but nodded at MJ’s question.
„Yeah, the Hedgehogs… eh Head Hogs oversee the Prefects, though also manage students as a whole. However, they aren’t directly involved with the duties of Quidditch Captains. Like, I make the decisions regarding practise, players and their positions, not anyone else.“
Once again Amber was made aware of the responsibilties which now came with her new role. She really hoped her decisions would be well received and hopefully would lead her team to victory.
„So, the Prefect Room is actually there for the Head Hogs and Prefects, Captains are just… allowed to use it too. Lucky me!“
Amber grinned and took another bite from her pastry.
„True. What quirks does your broom have?“ Amber asked curiously. Maybe her Thunderstrike had the same one…
„You always have to treat your broom well, after all it is like an extension of your body!“ Amber nodded solemnly, though then had to grin again.
„Apple Pie? Sounds yummy!“
She glanced at the bowls with pastries in front of her, pondering over getting a third one or being done with her taste adventures for today… A minute later the pastry had won and ended up in her hand. She grimaced at the mention of Seabrook.
„Yeah, I can imagine… On one side, I don’t want to have her play as Chaser again, don’t want you two to suffer from her… On the other side, having her as Beater would be horrible as well. Blutchers are already a force to be reckoned with on their own…“
Amber thought more about the possible positions of the Slytherin Captain.
„Hm, I don’t think she will be Seeker or Keeper though, not enough possibilites to play dirty. At least to cover it up easily.“
The Ravenclaw Captain really hoped they would cope well against Slytherin. Though she had full trust in the skills of Joe and MJ. If anyone could beat Amara as Chaser, it surely was one of them!
Amber's glance fell onto the bowl with pastries again, reminding her to eat the one in her hands. After a bite, she shrugged, a tiny bit disappointed.
Post by MJ Birdwhistle on Jan 10, 2024 2:31:36 GMT 10
MJ made a mental note of everything that Amber told her. If not for any future reference (because who was to say if she would end up with any kind of responsibility like that), it would be useful to know if someone else asked.
Or if she had to stay out of trouble for whatever reason.
She was glad Amber hadn't scolded her about going into the Forbidden Forest, or hadn't seemed keen to tell a teacher about it. MJ wouldn't even entertain the idea that she had kept quiet for now and would tell all later.
No, Amber was a good person who could be trusted.
"It's quick to start when I kick off the ground, more so than any other broom I've tried. It's like it's eager to get into the air, so I have to make sure I have a good grip, or I'd fall off." She chuckled and then wondered if brooms were like their wands. Not quite alive but with some kind of sentience there...
Remembering how her wand reacted that one time at the fireplace, MJ had taken care to treat it well and praise it often now. She hadn't had another incident since.
"Amara as Chaser would be ideal, actually. It means no directed Bludgers from their side and she would be up against me and Joe. We can handle her." MJ said with confidence.
She would have smiled too, but she had finished her pastry and was keen to try another.
MJ washed it all down with a gulp of milk before she picked her next one, "I can't see her playing Keeper as it is too passive. Seeker... Perhaps? She might shift that other girl to Seeker so she can have the chance to be Chaser and try to 'sort us out'."
So to speak.
It was hard to tell what the Slytherin Captain was thinking at times, and MJ thought about her recent run in with her... Well, it hadn't been all bad. Not entirely pleasant, of course, but not the worst.
"Mmm, this one is Caramel!" MJ wriggled happily -- she had been eager to try this flavour and was glad she had picked it from the bunch.
In anticipation of Christmas tomorrow, many students had already left to have an early night. As per most meals during the Christmas holidays so far -- once dinner ended, tea or hot chocolate appeared at the end of each house tables as a treat on behalf of the house elves.
Professor Hathmore shot a curious yet otherwise unreadable look in MJ's direction, then headed out of the hall. Duncan and his friends were well-scolded, and proceeded to eat their dinner quietly, before taking their leave early as well.
Post by MJ Birdwhistle on Jan 10, 2024 17:45:32 GMT 10
"Oooh! Hot chocolate!" MJ had forgotten it would be provided since it was the holidays, and she gratefully took a mug. She whispered a thank you, just in case any House-Elves would be listening.
She was so distracted by the delicious treat that she didn't even notice the look Professor Hathmore shot in her direction,
Ignorance truly was bliss for once.
But MJ didn't hang around either. She finished up her hot chocolate and smiled at Amber, "See you in the common room maybe?"
Yes, MJ was a little tired, but she wasn't sleepy just yet. She had a few books she wanted to read over the Christmas break and would definitely have one in her hands tonight.
She smiled at the older girl, picked up her things and left the Great Hall.
Post by Amber Lloyd on Jan 10, 2024 18:27:48 GMT 10
After hearing the quirk from MJ’s broom, Amber chuckled. An eager broom? Sounded a bit like owner, like broom. Having this in mind, she really wondered now which quirk her own broom had… She hoped she could find out soon.
“That’s true,” Amber nodded and smiled warmly at MJ when she heard her Chasers could handle Seabrook. As if the girl had read her mind…
“I know, you both can!”
Last match had just proved that.
Amber finished her pastry while still thinking about the Slytherin Quidditch team.
“Yeah, it will probably happen that way,” Amber agreed. “Well, either way, we will see it on the pitch! Can’t wait!”
She grinned and was then distracted from the topic by MJ detecting the hot chocolate.
“Good idea!”
Amber poured herself a cup of it and took her time enjoying the drink, though looked up as MJ headed back to the Common Room.
“Sure!” Amber gave her a wave and a smile as goodbye and continued with her hot chocolate.
She let her gaze wander through the Great Hall. It felt kind of weird to see the unusual empty house tables (except for Slytherin). But that would change soon enough again.
Having finished her drink and no one else to talk to, Amber got up and headed back to the Ravenclaw Tower.
Finn was mostly quiet during the meal. Most of her friends or classmates seemed to be gone, or couldn't be found anywhere, like Hawke. She wondered what happened to him.
The Gryffindor took one last half-moon, before it disappeared and bit into it. Nougat. She scrunched her face, not her favourite, but a sweet was a sweet.
Most of the people in the Great Hall already left, either for an early night or to cause trouble elsewhere. Finn thought she might as well do the same.
Standing up, her pockets heavy with her pilfered prizes, she stopped by the end of the Gryffindor table to take some peppermint tea. Best for digestion, as her mother used to say.
Giving the house elves a silent thanks, Finley hurried on her way to her house's common room. Maybe there would be someone to talk to there.