Multiple Settings Welcome to Hogwarts

[Wolfiee]

Years had passed since Harry Potter had left Hogwarts easier times settling as everyone rebuilt their lives after devastating times. Now Hogwarts was ran by new Professors lead by a new headmistress who tried to help keep the school protected and well maintained. It was time for classes and activities to continue the students having previously been sorted into their houses a few weeks earlier now lessons were under way each day. The headmistress sighed softly as she paced within her office an ominous feeling surrounded her. “The students will be fine everything has been set to keep them all safe. I’m sure this feeling will pass it’s just all the rumors getting to me.”she said straightening her robes and fixing her jet black hair. It was almost dinner time she would need to be heading down having a few announcements to make. Several of the announcements were bound to get the students excited and that brought a smile to her face as she left her office heading towards the dinning hall. She greeted several of the other professors as they headed towards the hall together heading up to the head table where they all sat watching over the students. “Congratulations again Professor Rose it’ll be a great honor to attend your wedding to Professor Black.”she said warmly to the blonde professor and giving a nod to the surly man sitting next to her which was her fiancé. “I’m sure the students have all been excited as well considering you two are heads of two of the houses.”she said with a small chuckle. Then her gaze flickered over as the students all began filing into the room taking their seats at the house tables. She watched them as they continued to file into the room once everyone had arrived she headed towards her podium. “Welcome welcome! I have a few announcements before we begin it won’t take much longer. The first is that this year we will be having a Halloween ball where you all may dress up in costumes or wonderful gowns. Older students will be in charge of helping with decorating and preparing fun activities for everyone. Now mind your lessons will still be going on until then so make sure to keep up with your studies or you may just end up not being able to attend.”she said her blue gaze scanning over the crowd of excited students. “Now for the second announcement another event will also be underway everything is being prepared for it however we can not fully disclose the details just yet. So keep in mind to be on your best behaviors as we continue on this year.”she said warmly before heading back towards her seat once there she clapped her hands causing all the food and drinks to appear along the table.”Let the feast commence!”she announced before sitting down.

 

[Letho]

Artemis... Didn't love balls all that much.

Oh, they could be perfectly fine social gatherings - and he had attended many with his family. Sometimes meeting new people there turned out to be quite interesting or at least amusing; on occasion, they even entertained him for a while. In the right company, he could always hear or see something that mattered, some rumour, a person's secret, a concealed gesture not meant for his eyes or those of the public... As long as he really listened or looked. Some people said knowledge was power; he honestly believed that to be the truth, but more than that he thought that knowledge was fascinating.

But balls also meant some less pleasant activities. Oh, the general socialising was fine, he could play nice when he needed to, especially with people that didn't understand sarcasm or teasing... Even though it did usually get exhausting relatively soon... And when the music was good, he truly enjoyed listening to it, too. But then there was the main point of balls... Dancing. And that... He wasn't a fan of.

So when the headmistress took a moment at the beginning of dinner to announce a ball, he was, understandably, quite sceptical.

Was it replacing the usual feast? Joining it? And... The costumes she had mentioned - costumes and wonderful gowns... It seemed she wanted to take more from the Muggle traditions this year, which was... Reasonable, to be honest - as yet another way to bring their cultures closer together... But at the same time he hoped more attention could be given to their own anniversaries.

That being said, he didn't terribly mind the idea of a costume.

With about one week left until Halloween, it sure was bound to get chaotic very soon, though - and Artemis was already glancing around with mild curiosity at the students gathered in the Great Hall, and not just those at his own table, judging their levels of excitement. Understandably, girls seemed more interested as a whole, though he could see boys talking hurriedly as well, quite possibly about the ball...

Or about the other thing.

Another event that was still being prepared... It was a secret, even if not a a great or important one, so - naturally - he immediately felt the familiar itch of needing to know. Whether it turned out to be something boring or not, he was planning to snoop around a bit. Or... Perhaps he had already dreamt about it and had some clues written down? That would have made things easier, though of course he had no way of accurately guessing which parts heralded that event without some more information. Maybe he could actively try to see more later?

For the time being, however, there was food... And quite a lovely set of arithmancy charts awaiting him in his dormitory.

 

[SomebodyElse]

Clairabelle was excited about a ball. Not that she was really interested in dancing with anyone, well she certainly knew how to dance being a pureblood and all but she never really quite understood romance, not that she minded. She did want to be involved in helping setting the ball up though, so where would one really sign up for that opportunity.

That being said she was hoping that her mother would never find out about the ball otherwise she'd recieve a million different attires in the mail. Her mother was a clothing designer and as such Clairabelle often recieved tons of outfits that her mother tried to dress her up in, again not that she minded. Clairabelle however didn't exactly want to be bombarded with clothing again so soon. Plus her father wouldn't want her dancing with someone that wasn't a pureblood. Clairabelle didn't really plan on dancing anyways, she simply wanted to help out with preparations.

That being said many of the girls within her friend group had already begun to giggle and talk about partners for the ball and Clairabelle smiled while picking at her food. The conversation naturally eventually made it's way to Clairabelle and before she knew it every one of them had their eyes on her. "Well how about you? Any guys fancy your eye?" One of them asked Clairabelle.

"I haven't really thought about it." Clairabelle said shrugging. Well she didn't plan on being in the ball and it was true that she didn't really have any guys she paid attention to. With everything aside atleast the food seemed good.

 

[Cutiekat]

Slyvie was still feeling lonely, she was a transfer student with rumors surrounding her transfer. She sat towards the back of the table keeping to herself. It was more of a defense mechanism than anything to stay to herself. A small smile etched across her face as she thought about her first year at Beauxbatons, she had so many friends.

She wasn’t very popular but she seemed to know everyone in her year. Slyvie was always nice, so people liked to hang around her. She had friends she would stay up at night with giggling about random things at school. She misses the feeling of being a part of something.

As the headmaster made her announcements she found hope that this ball would give her the chance to make at least a friend. So she already started planning her outfit for the night. Mentally shuffling through her clothes thinking of a costume she could make it if she should wear her gown. Slyvie was so lost in thought she almost missed the food on the table.

 

[BoneBrain]

Everett~

The first few days at Hogwarts had begun much like any year. Everett had settled nicely into his dorm, taking time to place his things away and hang up the posters he had collected over the years. The introduction to classes had been nerve-racking as always, being in 6th year meant it was time to prepare even more for testing and thinking about what they would do when their time at Hogwarts came to a close. There was something quite terrifying about the idea of being on his own, but Everett knew he would have to get use to the idea. Hogwarts had been his home and now with its end looming even more closer to him he struggled to think of where he would go. Certainly not back to his mother...

Everett fiddled with the yellow tip of his Hufflepuff house tie and came back to the present as the headmistress made her announcement before supper. She spoke of a ball, and another event to be held later. At the mention of costumes and dancing the students around him happily broke into excited whispers. With the announcements out of the way the time came for supper, the plates bloomed with the arrival of the food. Tonight the house elves had outdone themselves with large roasts and potatoes. Feeling his stomach growl Everett reached over and began ladling food onto his plate. Across from him Everett finally noticed that there was a fellow 6th year that he had not been acquainted with yet. Her blonde hair shone in the candle light and there was something soothing about the dreamy smile she wore. He watched her for a moment wondering what she was thinking about when it seemed the hustle and bustle of the great hall finally brought her back to the present. He chuckled a little and took a great helping of food into his mouth. He chewed for a long while building up his courage. Professor Rose had given him permission over the summer to start up a book club, and Everett was struggling to find members. He wanted nothing more than to sit in a sunny patch of grass with a few friends and talk about books.

He had placed pamphlets over all the common areas and in the halls hoping for a bite or two but so far nothing. Wanting to give the club and his dream his best shot Everett finally swallowed the potatoes and opened his mouth.

"Uh hey there." He said, taking a moment to clear his throat when he didn't sound like himself. He prayed she could hear him over the cacophony around them. "Not sure if I've seen you around. I'm Everett, are you new?"

Professor McCoy~

Another year... yet another year... Mattias took in a deep drag from lit rolling paper between his fingers and let the feeling the herbs gave settle over him. He pondered the wolfsbane growing in front of him and wondered if perhaps he had given it a little too much water the other day. Hogwarts was back into the swing of things and he felt himself growing tired of the monotony. With a deep sigh Mattias finished and swept into his quarters. Plants of all shapes and sizes covered the walls and floors, and he smiled at the fresh scent filling his room. He gave himself a once over in the mirror, enjoying the way the burnt orange robes settled on him. Drawing his wand out Mattias made a complicated swishing motion and any smell the herbs might have left on him were replaced with a happy lemony scent.

He made his way then to the great hall thinking about how hungry he was feeling. With lazy steps he meandered on into the hall and found his place at the teachers tables. He gave his coworkers a grin and listened to the announcements. He chuckled at the excited faces of the students and tried not to laugh at a few faces of dread that he also noticed. He had volunteered to be a chaperone for the dance and enjoyed the young love, everything was so sweet and simple.

When the meal began Mattias dug right in, happy to fill his tummy.

 

[SomebodyElse]

Lorelei paid no care to the announcements. Last thing she could care about was a ball. She simply sat eating her food, What bothered her currently was how weird the staff had been acting. It was if someone was witholding important information from the students.

It was odd too to have a ball so early into the semester. Lorelei didn't like that. She always assumed balls were more of a end of the year kind of thing. Atleast that's what all the books she had been forced to read by her father during her childhood said. Sitting on her plate was mostly vegetables. She didn't enjoy meat so much. It wasn't that she was a vegetarian, she would eat meat from time to time, but it was just that it had to taste just right. Too much grease and she would pass, too little seasoning and she would also pass. Vegetables were inherently harder to mess up, atleast when they were raw.

 

[Wolfiee]

The Halloween ball was almost upon them only about a week left before the event took place. The atmosphere more charged then ever as girls giggled and planned what they would wear while also gossiping about who would ask them to the ball. The Professors were also being a bit more relaxed then usual allowing the kids to chat more then usual and showing off fun spells, potions, and plants for halloween. The headmistress was also seen more often helping the Professors prepare for the ball. She would happily speak with any student who approached her though sometimes it seemed like something else was on her mind. However no one questioned her as it would be rather rude and no one wanted to upset the headmistress.



Angelique was heading off towards herbology which Gryffindor currently shared with Ravenclaw. She wondered what today’s lesson would be maybe they’d get to learn about some kind of dangerous plant. Her long red hair was tied back into a neat braid that way it wouldn’t be in the way while she worked with the plants. Her warm brown gaze searched the group of ravenclaws also heading towards the greenhouse for their lesson. When she spotted the face she was searching for she headed over happily.”Hey Rhys I found that book you were searching for the other day. I had Madam Blue set it off to the side that way you could check it out.”she said softly to him. A warm smile upon her face she also wanted to talk with him about the ball but she figured after class would be the best time for that. “Also I wonder what Professor Rose is gonna show us today? Her last lesson was pretty great it was also fun seeing Professor Black bringing her that baby devil’s snare you’d think he had brought her a diamond.”she said with a happy laugh.



She walked with him more as they continued towards green house six which held some of the more deadly plants. Her gaze flicked up seeing Professor Rose waiting for the two houses to join them for their lesson. Once inside she waved to Rhys and then joined her fellow Gryffindor’s on their side. They would be able to intermingle once the lesson was put to the test however during explanations the two houses currently within the class were separated to make things easier. Angelique was currently having one of her good days usually she was tired from her curse but most days she could function just fine. She would need to speak with the potion Professor later to get her medicine from them. Since the full moon would be in about two days. She had to take it making sure to keep her fellow students and professors safe from herself.

 

[SomebodyElse]

Lorelei headed to herbology. She wasn't really a fan of the class, plants tended to bore her. The 5th year was agitated lately. Too many people getting too excited about the halloween ball annoyed her. She didn't like seeing everyone so happy all the time. She had been working later on her scrapbooks in order to keep her mental sanity intact. She had titled the current one, "Nightmares" in which she had been putting together art to make various beasts from the magical world.

Lorelei had made herself to the green house in which she blended into the group of people. She hoped she wouldn't have to do much. Her mind laid elsewhere today trying to think of her own art. Eventually her brain ended up thinking about her childhood in which she would constantly have to hunt deer in the forest. She remembered an event in which her father had been teaching her about skinning a deer.

You're going to have to cut around the hide like this...

 

[SomebodyElse]

Clairabelle sat in study hall. She had been bombarded with constant work lately between school work and helping setup the Halloween ball. Somehow through all the work she was able to keep her grades as good as they were before the cramped work. It definitely however made her feel quite abit more tired lately. She had played around with the idea of attending the ball herself but really had nobody to go with so she probably wouldn't. She didn't mind however she wasn't really close with any guys anyways.

Currently she sat reading about charms. One of the current book detailed the patronus charm, a charm she had wanted to learn how to do herself. There was something really beautiful about such a bright light protecting oneself that she always appreciated. Clairabelle was never particularly good at charms which kinda disappointed her. She was usually fine at everything but somehow when it came to charms she was really bad at them. She was able to get okay at them with enough practice but she didn't feel like she had any natural talent with them.

"The patronus charm is a difficult spell is a spell that produces a magical guardian, a spell consisting of all one's positive emotions" she whispered to herself.

 

[Letho]

It was amusing, in a way, how such a meaningless thing as a school ball could get so many people's attention, changing the atmosphere of the entire castle into something that oozed excitement. Artemis couldn't judge his peers too harshly, though; it was new, after all, and - as such - stimulating... And, for many, probably an excuse to focus on something other than classes and feel justified in it - since even the teachers seemed to have grown more lax.

He didn't hate it - not when it was an opportunity to learn a thing or two about unusual, though generally not very useful magic, thematic for Hallowe'en... And definitely not when it turned the students around him - and even some of the professors - much less subtle than they normally were.

And he lived to observe.

Take this one Gryffindor, for example, Angelique, currently entering the greenhouse that Artemis was already waiting in for the next Herbology lesson to begin. One of his own housemates accompanied her... Or perhaps it was her that accompanied him. Either way, Artemis was half-convinced she was expecting Rhys to ask her to the ball soon - only half, because another part of him took into consideration the possibility of her getting tired of waiting and actually doing the asking herself. Which was always good. He liked active people more than passive ones, personally.

He allowed himself a couple of seconds to glance between them with mild interest, mostly to keep his mind occupied with something before the class started, but then his gaze slid to the side, following the other faces already gathered in the greenhouse. He knew them all, more or less - he had been living in the same castle and learning with them for the last six years, after all... And though he couldn't say he was close with any of them on a personal level, he knew things about them. He liked to watch - and see people change or react to certain events.

Most of them, of course, looked either excited - about the ball or the class or something else entirely - or already focused on what they were about to hear from the teacher. A bored expression greeted him here or there as well, someone not interested or perhaps simply tired... Ah, and there was Lorelei, looking as lovely as ever, by which he meant something between distracted, neutral, and outwardly emotionless, perhaps with a touch of annoyance sprinkled in there, too. Though... Wasn't she a year lower?

Tilting his head to the side, Artemis focused on the teacher for a change, waiting for her to start the lesson - and, in his mind, entertaining himself with trying to guess what they would be doing that day, perhaps not completely seriously. At that point he wouldn't have been surprised if they had been given actual knives and told to carve pumpkins the Muggle way - as if the Severing Charm wasn't precise and accurate enough... But, as amusing as that thought was, he didn't truly believe that was the case. Hm, perhaps they would be dealing with magical pumpkins of some kind instead...

 

[Cutiekat]

That night at the feast Sylvie made a new friend, with her award winning, “I’m Beatrice but everyone calls me Sylvie.” She excitedly joined Everett’s book club excited for the chance to make new friends. She didn’t feel so lost and alone anymore. As she was sitting in the courtyard reading The Hobbit. She casually looked around for familiar faces. When she saw Everett she waved happily with a soft smile. “Hey!” She called out to him.

She stood up memorizing her page as she walked towards him. “Where are you headed? I don’t mean to be a bother, you can tell me to go away if you want.” She giggled honestly. She really didn’t want to be a bother but she was really excited to have friends again.

 

[BoneBrain]

A shout from his new friend had Everett pausing his steps in the courtyard, spotting Sylvie he broke into a crooked grin at seeing a club member. Lifting his arm in hello he waited for her to get up from her spot under a tree and join him. He enjoyed the bright bubbly exterior she put forth and Everett found he wished he could walk around with that same sort of joy inside and out.

"Hey Sylvie." They moved into step together, taking the long way out of the courtyard. "I was on my way to the lake. Professor Greenwood has a paper due on Dugbogs and I thought maybe if I wrote about them while they were near I could do better." He chuckled a little at his antics and held up a few books he had taken from the library on the subject of magical creatures. "These should help too." As he was moving the books the one on the top of the stack fell and landed at Sylvie's feet. The book had landed spine down and opened to the pace Everett had marked with a bookmark. It was a collection of poetry of a darker more emotional nature.

"Ah sorry." Everett made a move to bend down to grab the book but the stack of books in his arms hindered him. "I would certainly be happy for the company." He added. He enjoyed spending time with Sylvie, they had spent a few nights late in the common room together reading and chatting quietly about chapters they had just finished.

 

[Talathel]

Auburn hair flashed as Taenya moved elegantly through the school hallways out towards the forest. Her piercing blue eyes focused on the viper wrapped delicately around her arm as soft hissing exchanges were barely heard. Now, the sixth-year slytherin was well-known for being the Winter Queen of Slytherins. Her parseltongue ability... well she definitely wasn't shy about using it for certain. Her footsteps were soft along the ground as she took a glance around, a book on magical creatures tucked under one arm as her snowy owl perched on her other shoulder. She could make out two figures near the lake and easily decided to skirt around the duo. Not really one for attention the girl easily headed into the dark forest. Her safe place away from prying eyes and it was so much easier to get homework done.

Tae, you know you could make friends this year. The soft hissing came from her arm, where the African Bush Viper curled in all her orange, and purple scaled glory. A fond roll of the eyes caused a soft hissing laugh to escape from Taenya as she shook her head. Zircon, you know I never make friends for a reason. Tae scolded lightly, her fondness for her snake seeping into her tone easily. Together, the unlikely duo set up near the edge of the forest but within the safety of the trees. The Slytherin taking off her robes to sit down and study. Revealing the unique outfit she wore. A skirt embroidered with delicate patterns swirling in almost floral-like shapes in gold threads which shimmered against the deep unique turquoise fabric. She wore a lovely form-fitting tank top of sand gold with small sparkles within the fabric. Her legs folded delicately under her as she sighed and opened her book, enjoying the feeling of her two familiars by her side. The beak running through her hair from her owl soothing the winter queen gently.

Mentions: Sylvie and Everett
Cutiekat and BoneBrain