Closed Fall Ball 2023 Candle-Lit Banquet

Roleplaying as Nate Hawthorn from Ilvermorny

Date: 6th October Time: 7pm Location: The Great Lake

Mentions: Reducio @Amber Frost Hart @Reyna Evergreen

languages English: #056303 French: #073ad5 Thoughts: italics

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Nate was lost. He's been trying to navigate the maze that was Hogwarts in order to find the Fall Ball, but he had only so far succeeded in finding the Herbology Greenhouses and the Whomping Willow. He had hoped he wouldn't be late - he thought he had left enough time before the ball started but clearly he hadn't. Nate really didn't want to be late - what impression would that give, late to the ball you literally came from America for. He began to panic than stopped himself. panicking wasn't going to help. Action was. He began to look for lanterns or lights, something that would show him the location of the ball. Eventually, he spied torches in the distance at the base of the Great Lake. He had made it. And early too - the ball would start in a few minutes. Nate smiled nervously as he approached the lake, then took a deep breath. He was going to be more confident. He had promised himself. Nate gave his outfit a quick last check. He was wearing a smart, grey suit with a dark blue tie, his smartest shoes and a simple silver bracelet. He was also wearing glasses, although they served no purpose other than that they looked awesome. He felt that his outfit would help his confidence. After all - if you look good, you feel good. He stepped closer to the entrance of the banquet, waiting just outside to meet his friend and date, Amber.

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*.·:·.✧ ✦✧.·:·.*•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•*.·:·.✧ ✦✧.·:·.*

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Speech: Speech
Thoughts: Thoughts
Interactions: @Alyssea Brown@Landon Matthews
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*.·:·.✧ ✦✧.·:·.*•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•*.·:·.✧ ✦✧.·:·.*

It was finally the night of the fall ball. Helena was somehow convinced to join a few other Hufflepuff students to the Fall Ball. The golden haired girl was nervous questioning her decisions on why she even agreed was baffling even to the young girl herself.

Helena had gotten herself dressed and ready to head to the ball. Her golden blonde hair was neatly braided with a bit of pink roses nicely entangled with her soft cotton candy fluff hair. A few strands of her bangs hung loosely caressing her soft pale heart shaped face. Helena had no urge to really dress up too much. Her golden sunflower dress was layered in a few ruffled layers cascading down the girls back in little riplets of waves. Adorn on her feet were small low golden heels with sunflowers upon them.

The young girl sighed softly as she left the Hufflepuff common room. Making her way slowly towards the fall ball. Helena felt butterflies swell inside her stomach, sighing softly as the young golden haired girl tried to calm her breathing softly. Her sea blue eyes radiated uncertainty as her nerves seemed to drown her slowly.

Helena quietly made her way through Hogwarts heading out towards the ball. The young girl could not remember what the other Hufflepuffs had agreed upon. After all Alyssea was setting up the ball and was on the committee so the golden haired girl knew she would already be there. For the others that were supposed to meet up the young girl forgot entirely what the plan was.

Mainly because her nerves were extremely high and unsettling for her. The young girl took soft and easy breaths to try and calm down. After all, the best thing to do was to stay calm. Helena was used to big parties and events due to her families so this should not be any different correct?

Helena walked down the steps heading towards the area that ball was located at. As Helena moved closer towards the ball the young girl could smell the food wafting through the air. Making the young girl's stomach rumble slightly as her mouth watered ever so slightly. She was also extremely nervous to be surrounded by many.

Helena remembered that there would be students from the other wizarding schools attending the ball. Which intrigued Helena. She has not really met other students from foreign places so the young girl was extremely curious that is for sure.

The closer the girl got the ball the more she could feel the butterflies rummage rampant around her stomach. Her golden sunflower yellow heels seemed to click softly around her.

Once Helena approached the ball the young girl gazed around wondering exactly where to go to wait for her fellow Hufflepuffs that planned on meeting up together at the ball. Noticing a table that seemed to be a bit hidden. The golden haired girl grinned happily moving towards the table. The young girl felt it was an easy location to find the others and hopefully avoid certain little people.

Sitting down at the table by herself Helena gazed around wondering when the others will show up. The girl remembered Alyssea mentioning there were others possibly joining the other Hufflepuffs. Helena also was not sure if Remedy was still gonna come through and join the group. Though that seemed to make the young girl a bit unsettled. She knew Remedy was interesting to say the least.

Awaiting by herself Helena started to twiddle with her thumbs gently as she slouched over in her seat that she was sitting upon. Humming softly to herself.

The time had come. Through the low murmurs that turned into classroom disrupting conversations the fall ball was now upon the students of Hogwarts as Flynn was one of the many who had started his preparation for tonights celebrations.

as Flynn grabbed at the scruff of his collar to readjust his bowtie he took one last look at his outfit, a simple white shirt and black trousers paired with a freshly ironed black robe and black bowtie, by no means was he going to attract any spot lights but he certainly wasn't going to be taken for a boy who rushed his outfit. With one last polish of his shoe and spray of his cologne he started his journey down to the great lake to start his celebrations early.

Somehow he had gone the whole day without seeing his partner to the dance, and despite sharing a common room with her, hadn't seen her in his coming and goings from the cosy lounge, this didn't bother him as all it did was fuel his anticipation for the night, not only was he going to the first ball he was almost in a "first look" situation from a wedding as his first sighting of Hermione would be her dressed up unlike he'd seen before, he had manifested his excitement into a brisk walk as he navigated his way through the various halls of Hogwarts, while he was by no means an expert in the area he soon found his way to the grand doors that opened into the early evening sun casting everything it touched in a saturated light that made even the dullest object glow, Flynn even felt a sense of positivity from the usually looming forbidden forest.

as he reached the climax of the hill that separated him and the wonders of the ball he had to shield his eyes for a second as the evening light exposed the array of colours that were splattered across the makeshift ball ground. A warm seasonal palette of reds and oranges greeted him as his brisk walk of excitement turned into an awestruck stumble as he was bombarded with countless beautifully colourful objects surrounding the area, the two centrepieces of the event however stole the show, rows and rows of tables covered end to end in mouth watering confectionaries anything from chocolate frogs to pumpkin pasties, the only thing that could draw Flynns eyes away from the food was the lakes edge where boats lined the shore for rides and endless amounts of lantern supplies splattered the floor and tables.

In his haste Flynn had realised he was among the first group to arrive, seeing as he couldn't properly recognise faces he relegated himself to waltzing the rows of food looking at what he was going to sample later into the evening all the while patiently waiting for Hermione to grace him with her presence.

Mentions: @Harmony Hollins

Date and Time: October 6th 2023 7pm

Interacting with: @Alyssea Brown

Outfit: Dress Shoes Hairstyle

Madison was super excited because today was the day of the Fall Ball!! She double checked her dress, shoes, hair and makeup before heading down to the lake. She had on a silver necklace with a single pink diamond on it, along with a slim silver bracelet and very natural looking makeup.

Once Madi got down to the lake, she saw the lights from the tables, smelt the amazing food that was coming out and onto different tables, along with seeing all the amazing decoration. After looking around, she spotted Alyssea, waving at her and smiling as she walked over and gave her a hug.

"Oh my goodness Alyssea, this place looks amazing, you guys did an awesome job. And I have to say, I think you made the right choice with your dress, I told you that you'd look stunning" Madison said with a smile as she walked with Alyssea towards the decorations and the tables, with Madison sneaking a one of the lovely smelling cornish pasties and giggling with Alyssea.

She soon spotted a girl in a golden sunflower dress and smiled, tapping Alyssea on the shoulder "Hey girlie, I think that's one of the first years from Hufflepuff right, the ones you were telling me about yesterday, since it's pretty quiet still, maybe we should go say hi" Madi said with a smile, following Alyssea. Madison felt her dress flow with the breeze and smiled, tonight was going to be so much fun, she could feel it as the water in the lake flowed gently and the stars shone with the moon in the sky.

IC Date: October 6, 2023
Time: evening
Interacting with @Renelle Dalton and @Mahlioz Evethisawe
Astra speaking: #136323
Mahlioz speaking: #00a321
Renelle speaking: #00002b
Thoughts: Italics
Others: Bold

Astra couldn't believe it. Her first official formal event. She was so happy that she was able to find a good dress, one that she loved for obvious reasons: it had stars. It was also light and didn't get in the way, but the main reason was stars.

Her hair, which she had managed to wrangle back on her own, surprisingly, also had stars. Luckily, it had decided to fall in gentle waves on October 6th, this anticipated day, and there had been little humidity to ruin it for her. She had pulled back some of the front strands and pinned them back with some star studded hair thingies. If she was being honest, she had no idea what all this was, only that her mum had owled it and she had put it in and it had worked. Which, frankly, was enough for the girl.

She had met up with Mahlioz down at the Slytherin common room and the two had walked together. Mahlioz looked great, and Astra complimented her as they walked.

She wondered when she would see Renelle. Her Ravenclaw friend hadn't really been the most enthusiastic about going to the ball with two people instead of just Astra. Well, Renelle knows that she comes first, and I would've said no if she wanted it to be just us. We're best friends for a reason.

As soon as the two snakes entered the lanterned area, Astra's face lit up. Literally. And figuratively. She looked at the hard work and planning manifested into this beautiful scene. And the snacks! She thought, glancing over at the dazzling array of sweets, salties, and savories laid out for the ball attendants. Her stomach grumbled.

Astra saw Roderick with a group of Gryffindors. He waved and she waved back. "That's my brother," she supplied as explanation to Mahlioz. "So... do you want to get some food while we wait for Renelle?" She was kind of nervous, not really knowing what to do. I don't even know how to dance properly, she realized with a start. Ah, well, I guess I'm learning a lot tonight.

OOC: Astra and Renelle have standing consent to godmod each other, while actions between Astra and Mahlioz were agreed upon in previous correspondence.

Mentioning: @Opeila Winters

Apparently Aaron's brother Avery had dressed up as Flynn Rider last Halloween to appease their little sister's obsession with Tangled, so Aaron borrowed that outfit for today's ball. The lanterns were a pretty important element of that movie, and the ball's theme led Aaron to believe it was one of the organizers' inspirations. Light festivals didn't only belong to Tangled though, as Aaron was well aware of cultural ones like Yeondeunghoe in Korea. And of course the Chinese lantern lighting festivals were well known. But back to the task at hand - getting ready.

A spell to turn the vest black seemed more suited to the event rather than the original green, and he used the satchel for his wand and shrunken broom. Looking in the mirror, he messed with his hair perhaps a bit too much and for too long. His shorter hair this school year was much more manageable than the long hair from last term, yet he still took just as long getting ready. When an older Hufflepuff also getting ready in his dorm offered him some cologne, he accepted readily. He'd never worn cologne before, but it smelled nice and maybe Opeila would think the same.

Right. He had a date with Opeila Winters. A glance at the clock revealed he should get going, so he put on the black boots for the outfit and started making his way to the great lake where the ball was taking place.

When the Slytherin girl asked him last week, Aaron hadn't given much thought before saying yes. It had seemed like an obvious answer at the time, but he still didn't know why. He'd had plenty of time to think about everything in the days since - maybe even too much time - yet he was still left wondering what exactly tonight meant for them. He'd lost count of the number of times they'd spent in the Room of Requirement or in corridor cubbies making out, cuddling or competing in silly card competitions (and other games) that inevitably led to more making out and cuddling. Even in the week leading up to now they had done more of that, but not much talk of the ball itself.

This would be their first actual date - their first time hanging out romantically in public. No one knew what they'd been up to the last couple months together, so he did wonder if it would be surprising for others to see them here together, but more importantly - would they enjoy it themselves? Was it the secrecy of their relationship that kept them attracted to each other? They didn't delve deep into each other's worries, they didn't talk about their families and their home lives much at all, they didn't share deep dark secrets. It wasn't really a relationship at all, it was much more of a peers-with-benefits situation. But here they were, giving this a try. If that's even what this was - a try.

As Aaron approached the two areas down by the lake that had been setup for the ball, he took a moment to appreciate the decoration of it all. Every year the ball planners had great resources from faculty to make magnificent areas like this, and he tended to think the decoration was the highlight of the whole event. Especially considering the disasters that tended to befall them partway in. Maybe tonight would be different though.

Aaron paused near the entrance to the banquet area and started looking around at the faces passing by and approaching from the castle, hoping to spot his green-eyed date.

TL;DR: Getting ready, arriving at the ball and looking for his date
Action: N/A
Stats: STA: 10 | EVA: 9 | STR: 14 | WIS: 6 | ARCP: 3 | ACC: 15
Inventory: Wand, Broom (Moontrimmer)
Abilities: Martial Artist | Muggle Condition | CALMING PRESENCE (allies when in range: Opeila Winters, Jack Warren, Dealla Prince, Eun-ji Lee Hunt) | Beast Master | LOVELY CREATURE

It was funny how this ball was as nerve-wrecking as Opeila supposed past balls should have been. Already far before the start of it, Opeila had begun to do her hair and even tried her hand on applying make-up. It took her a few attempts until she was satisfied and when she was... other Slytherins had started to get ready as well. The dress she had already laid out on her bed was from France, her... sort of cousin Valérie had pointed it out to her when the two of them had been out alone for an afternoon.

The dress was made of thin golden fabric, that seemed to softly glow whenever Opeila stepped near a candle, with long sleeves and falling into a flowy skirt, ending just below her knees. Perfect dress for festival of lights, it would harmonize with the warm light for sure. With this dress went plain black ankle boots with only short block heels that would still allow her to run if necessary.
She slipped the silver charm that she was still wearing every day since it had been delivered to her last fall ball, under her dress and ran her fingers through her hair one last time.

Opeila caught her own gaze in the bathroom mirror and took a deep breath. She could do this. Why even was she so nervous? It wasn't like Aaron and her had ever decided if this was a... date date or not. As long as they hadn't she could just be cool, this wasn't different from Alec and her going last year, right? This was... totally the same thing. Only had Alec and her not met up to make out in the Room of Requirement and numerous hidden corridor corners for months before.
Groaning, she would hide her face with her hands. It was going to be fine.

She was relatively collected again when walking down to the Great Lake, where the ball was set up, trying to silence the dark thoughts that someone would end up drowning tonight. Please let nothing bad happen. Please.
It didn't take her long to find Aaron among the entering students and smirked, when she recognized the outfit in a matter of seconds. A few years had passed since Opeila had seen a disney movie last, but she had always loved Tangled.

"Don't you look smart, Mr. Rider!", she would joke as she approached him.

Despite a small bit of her nervousness being swept away when Hera said yes to going to the Fall Ball with her, Kat is still nervous about how it will go. Will it be spectacular or will it be a nightmare, she wants every thing to go perfectly and to start it off is the perfect dress. Her mum sent her a beautiful ankle-length dress that has a bit of a train at the back, fortunately her mum somehow charmed it to not get dirty as it was dragged on the ground as Kat walked towards the Great Lake. Her head is slightly weighted down by her tiara that she thought would be a nice touch.

Everything will be fine is the phrase Kat keeps repeating over and over in her head, it's working a bit so she keeps repeating it.

The flyer didn't do the ball justice, the candles are burning bright and show the beauty that is the banquet. A perfect ball for a perfect girl named Hera, Kat thinks Hera will love it. The treats look delicious and they have an area for dancing, right under the stars and it's breathtaking.

She stops right at the entrance and turns, obviously waiting for her date. Her brother and sisters walk past her and give her the thumbs up while their dates say good luck to her. She just beams at them with pride and say thank you. For the first time tonight she actually thinks everything will go perfectly.

Date: The Beautiful @Hera Green

6 October 2023
Fall Ball

Where was he?
Harmony stood awkwardly in the common room as students bustled around, getting ready for the ball, calling to friends, leaving. She’d caught a glimpse of what might have been Flint’s hair disappearing through the door as she descended from her dorm, but had decided to not assume, instead choosing to wait like the excellent ball date she was. Only now she was realising she probably had seen her date disappear through the door.

“That’s it,” she announced to herself and spun on her heel, swishing rapidly towards the common room door with her cloak flowing very satisfyingly behind her. That was one upside of dressing up: it was so swooshy and dramatic! Her outfit swished behind her all the way to the Great Lake, where the ball had been beautifully set up and where her date was waltzing among the food choices. Harmony didn’t think he’d turn to sabotaging her chances at being the best ball date ever, but it seemed Finn felt threatened by her obvious expertise. It was flattering, but Harmony still felt a little salty as she swished her way down to the food table.

The ball looked beautiful and Harmony allowed herself a moment of appreciation for the decorations that unfortunately did not match her outfit’s colours before turning back to the task at hand, stopping before Finnigan with one hand leaning on the edge of the food table, the other on her hip, and both eyebrows raised in challenge questioning.
“Where did you-” she began, tilting her head. “Why did you leave? Without me? I was waiting for you” She stood there, leaning on the table as he responded. What a wild beginning to the ball.
“Anyways,” she sighed, a breath that introduced the combined smell of all the delicious foods surrounding her, “were you going to try some of this?” She asked, gesturing to the food with the hand previously on the table, suddenly feeling a bit awkward.

Interacting with: @Flynn Montgomery
Summary: Waiting for Flynn, entering ball, talking to Flynn