9 Jul 2020, 00:09
The Great Conclusion
The Final Stop for @Hjørdis Jensen
Co-Written with @Annie Morgan
All the Hufflepuffs, Professors, and the Papa Badger himself had worked hard to lead Professor Jensen to this last moment in the Great Hall. It was poised to end between meal times so there would be no worry about other students coming in during this time. Well, except a horde of Hufflepuffs of course. There needed to be a grand finale, one that really showed their true appreciation for the Slytherin Head of House. One that would mean a lot to her, and the loyal badger dad knew just what that could be.
At her place at the Professor table was a cake that Willow, Annie, and Caradoc had made together. Apparently it was a special Norwegian cake, Kransekake, that Nora taught Caradoc to make. It was a little messy at first with the three of them making the cake, not that Willow didn’t have a lack of baking experience, but it seemed like Caradoc had forgotten how to start the cake at all. It didn’t seem like he took terribly good notes on it. They kept it simple and traditional, true to the original form. It stood tall, magnificently beautiful, and incredibly edible. Rings of 18 delicate ringed cookies were stacked one on top of the other from largest to smallest, golden brown and perfectly crispy. The icing gleamed a shiny white, piped onto each layer with a pattern that made it look like a tree. It was a feat that the chaos of the three were able to pull off such a majestic cake as this one. Especially since it was waiting to be accidentally knocked over by a clumsy child.
When Nora were to enter, Annie and Willow would be standing near the entrance. Willow was absolutely giddy with excitement, especially since she had the opportunity to coordinate all the friendship bracelets for the occasion. Including the one she had in her hands currently. It was a dark blue to red zigzag fade, as well as a charm with the letter A at the closure of the bracelet. It was a new pattern for Willow, and she let her intuition guide her with the colours. Usually there was specific intention with the colours but with how little she knew Professor Jensen, she had to just hope that she would like them.
As Nora was distracted by the cake, Annie and Willow would quietly re-open the doors to let the band of Hufflepuffs shuffle in to encapsulate her in some signature Hufflepuff love when she finally turned around. As they shuffled in, Annie and Willow approached with the final bracelet to bestow on her as the final gift of the journey. “You made it to the end of the hunt Professor Jensen! I hope you liked the bracelets!” She looked over at Annie with a smile. The usually loud Prefect gave a small smile towards the Slytherin head of house. “I take it you’ve figured out what it spells, sorry to take you on a wild goose chase!” The girl laughed before she glanced at the cool multicoloured pattern of the bracelet seeing Willow beam at her good work, and it was good work, amazing actually. “Now enough of all this lovely dovey stuff, we know you aren’t a huge fan of all this but go get yourself a slice of that cake.” She grinned and waved her hand over to the gorgeous cake Caradoc had shown the two girls how to make, with his help of course. “Hope you like it!” The brunette nodded her head eagerly for the professor to go try, a small smile formed on her lips.
Bracelet Reference ||
Reducio
"I don't know whether to cry or scream or do both. It feels like I've done more than enough of both. And it feels like I haven't done enough." - Mason Deaver
Stamina 12 ∴ Evasion 12 ∴ Strength 5 ∴ Wisdom 12 ∵ ArcPower 10 ∵ Accuracy 15
Stamina 12 ∴ Evasion 12 ∴ Strength 5 ∴ Wisdom 12 ∵ ArcPower 10 ∵ Accuracy 15
9 Jul 2020, 18:25
The Great Conclusion
She exhaled softly as she pushed open the door to the Great Hall. After the day she had, she was really unsure of what she would actually see - and if she could hold back her emotions from flooding her face. They had surfaced a little throughout the day but she was trying to hold them back. Years of experience - many many years as some of them had implied - in maintaining a mask barely helped at this point. The icy cold exterior was melting.
Whilst she had no idea what to expect, if she were to hazard a guess, she still would not have been close. Food was certainly an option - given the venue of choice. But... Her silvery eyes fell onto the large tower on the professor table, directly opposite the door. It caught her eye in an instance. It was located just off centre, by the very seat she had sat in for the past almost two years. "Kransekake..." The word muttered out of her lips without her realising. Her feet automatically moved her into the room without realising either. Yes, there were plenty of things that could have been in the room but this? This was not one that came to mind.
The cake itself was kind of a special one to her. It was a showpiece that was often consumed at Christmas. Long before she became 'Nora', she would help her grandmother every December. Together, they would prepare the cake. The first few years, Hjørdis was pretty sure she was making the preparation take longer by constantly eating the batter or getting the almond powder everywhere. There were some pictures from her childhood, where she literally had more powder on herself than in the bowl. In her teenage years, she actually started to learn how to make it. Her first attempt at it was... sloppy. Some bits were a bit burned, other bits were kind of uneven and the tower was definitely not straight. It was more like a wonky tower of rings. But eventually she managed to make it herself, with her grandmother's supervision. It pretty much became tradition for there to be a giant red and white Kransekake every Christmas for as long as she could remember.
But that was not why there was a giant cake in the Great Hall right now. She stared at the cake. It looked... good. This was their first attempt? It was far better than her own. It instantly screamed 'Caradoc'. Well, it was either him or a very lucky guess by the two girls standing near the entrance. The look of surprise on her expression made it very clear that she did not expect this. Apparently, since last year, Christmas was no longer the only time to make this cake. Because of the Hufflepuff Head, she had baked one at the start of the academic year. And now... because of him again, she was having one at the end? It seemed fitting.
Hjørdis looked down at the ground, her mind wondering for a moment. Tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear, she composed herself and turned back around towards the girls - Wait no. Her eyebrow quirked as her gaze fell onto the badger army that had constantly attacked her icy walls with so much love and kindness. They were... going to swarm her in love, weren't they? Oh lord. Too much love. These little rugrats... She smiled softly, despite her best attempts not to smile. It was either that or cry. Because she was relatively speechless at this point in time.
Luckily only two of them - the two girls that were in the room already - shuffled closer. Her gaze fell onto Anderson's giddy face. It was heartwarming. The last time she had spoken to the first year, it was about the girl's fears on the Quidditch pitch. The time before was the night of the Hufflepuff attack. Every time Hjørdis actually got to see Anderson, all she saw was constant fear, anxiety or nervousness. Different levels of the same emotions. But for the first time, there was excitement - in abundance.
"I love them, thank you," She replied to Anderson, as she took the last bracelet. It was beautiful. They all were. Hjørdis placed the last bracelet on, completing the phrase. Her forearm was pretty much covered in bracelets now - they had certainly gone past the 'wrist' area, at the very least. Running her fingers over the bracelets, a small smile tugged on her lips. Each of them contained a very special memory - each connected to one of the rooms and a part of the journey.
Hjørdis nodded as she heard Morgan speak. The prefect was certainly right about Hjørdis not being a huge fan of all of the lovely dovey stuff but... she was kind of making an exception here. Well, she was trying. It was pretty hard. She was not exactly a lovey-dovey sort of person. She chuckled softly. A wild goose chase seemed appropriate. Her mind wandered back to the start of this whole thing. There had been no instructions, other than to listen. She had done that. The storytelling trio had explained the quest to her. Well, somewhat. Three imps dancing, yes. Made sense. The Great Cavern. Right. That was... this. Made sense. She had to defeat a monst- a Kraken. Kraken. Ohhh... It finally started to click. Right. "Sure, but there's plenty for everyone so... you're coming with me," She replied towards Morgan, offering the ladies her hand if they wanted it. Regardless of whether or not they took it, she was going to cut them some cake and offer it to them.
Making her way over to the table, she mentally questioned why she was doing this but... either way, she removed the sword that was placed by her hip, put down the levitating box of belongings she had gathered and approached her usual seat. Since it was very important to clean in dangerous times... And this - defeating the Kraken - was perhaps one of the most dangerous tasks, it seemed appropriate... A quick scourgify over the sword ensured it was clean enough - though she could have also used the cleaning potion that she had apparently brewed earlier. Everything seemed to suddenly start making sense - or coming together.
Carefully, she started cutting up the cake in slices. She had no idea how many rings they were going to get through but... they sure as heck had enough to work through, "It smells good..." She said as she cut up some slices, offering them to anyone who approached.
This is my former staff account.
I also play: Serena Towers (Graduated PC), Arjan Oberoi (Graduated iNPC), Xiomara Torres (Current Student)
I also play: Serena Towers (Graduated PC), Arjan Oberoi (Graduated iNPC), Xiomara Torres (Current Student)