The Summer BBQ Open Closed

She could not help but quirk an eyebrow as she spotted the Headmaster, making quite an entrance. He seemed to be okay - and more importantly, the student did not get squashed under his copious amounts of armour - so they were probably okay. Hjørdis plated several more burgers as Caradoc spoke about his daughter. She was pleased to hear that the man was actually going to be able to spend time with her now. It did worry her a little that he was working in the holiday instead of going back but she understood. These things had to be done. From his words, it sounded like Zahid could definitely supply a lot of books that might be of interest to the young girl. 

Hjørdis could not help but cough into her bottle of water, almost choking on it as the History of Magic professor mentioned the history of braids. She caught Caradoc's eyes. She returned his stare with a very innocent expression on her face. She had no idea what was going on, of course not. Luckily the Head of Hufflepuff was saved by a student who suddenly appeared to greet him. Hjørdis could not help but giggle at the whole situation, turning back to Zahid, "The History of Braids? Now that sounds like something I'd be interested in." She replied, her face returning to the blank expression she usually held on it. She did enjoy reading books and well, hairstyles. Understanding where certain hairstyles came from did not sound half bad. Hjørdis resealed her water bottle, placing it down onto the table.

"I think most of the students have grabbed something to eat, if you want to help yourself to some food," She mentioned to the other Professors. They could definitely take a break to eat something. She gazed over the table and helped herself to a halloumi burger, which she cut into quarters. Hjørdis was definitely not going to stuff her face with a messy burger in front of everyone but cutting it into quarters totally helped her to eat it cleanly. She could not help but quirked her eyebrow a little as she heard Halden introduce himself. A very Scandinavian name, like her own. But she said nothing.

Outfit of the Day | Hairstyle of the Day

inishing up with the potato salad by putting the left-over ingredients to the side (in case another batch would be needed later on), Zahid tried valiantly (and successfully, at least as far as he knew) to suppress a wince as Hjørdis declared her interest in the colouring book. Somehow he could not shake the feeling that this conversation would end badly.

He was about to comment how Caradoc's daughter was a girl after his own heart when the man was addressed by one of the future first years. Instead he ensured his work area was clean – he was a professor after all and as such had to aspire to serve as a role model. Even if his space was normally just as likely to be clean as it was to be drowning in manuscripts – not that he had taken any outside with him.

“Hmm.” Zahid looked at the food consideringly as Hjørdis mentioned grabbing something to eat for themselves. He wasn't particularly hungry but he supposed it would be a good idea to eat something now that here seemed to be a lull in activity at the food tables rather than to try to eat later when they were busy catering to the students again.

Hearing Mr. Frostulf ask about the cabins, he kept an ear on his colleagues' answer as he had not exactly thought about where the students were staying during the summer camp. That had probably been more the Heads of Houses' area to worry about and given that the other two were both a Head of House, he was sure that they would be able to answer the boy's question (and satisfy his curiosity on the topic).

“Is there anything specific you would recommend?,” He turned to ask the Slytherin HoH as she had been the one to propose that he'd grab some food for himself.

“Well, I must say I have to disagree. They sound like an interesting bunch.”

Interest is a matter of perspective. Even marvels become mundane from the right perspective. Erin looked around, tried to spy Geoffrey. Where was he? She strained her neck and with a sigh she returned her attention to Arc. She had not seen her brother in weeks, well it felt like weeks at the very least. He was probably in some broom closet with some floozy. At least that was her immediate assumption, but he, like so many other students just disappeared one day without notice. 

“But you know them better than I do, so… And I would love to meet your brother sometimes. He sounds hilarious.”

"He..." she glanced around again. "Should be somewhere?" There was the inflection of a question in her voice. Where was he? Then something clicked in her paranoid mind as the notion that he too might be missing. It was as if an invisible hand gripped her heart and lungs and squeezed. She took in a sharp breath of air and could feel her heart hasten. The color drained from her face and she felt a numbness as the color drained. "I-- uh--"

"Do you know the deal with...how small my class year is? Could have sworn we had, well... a lot more people than we presently have. It is as if they came in and snatched a portion of the student body away."

She tried to segue the conversation over to something that had been on her mind consistently for months. Her voice shook a bit as she said that. Shit!Shit!Shit! She fought to suppress the agitation and anxiety she suddenly felt. Erin was not one to feel anything, not naturally in any case. She experienced the world through proxy, a second hand, muted experience first felt by others. Was the Ravenclaw a part of it now, he was recently added into their ranks. Her was likely already indoctrinated. 

“Huh.”

Was he playing dumb or was he truly unaware? He, like so many of the other Prefects, found himself in a role at a time most would consider premature. His eyes were doing this weird thing. Why were they looking? what were they looking at? 

"That is…even more interesting.”
 
He was going to dismiss her like the others did.

“Are you sure, Erin? They are gone? Like gone gone? Not just, I don’t know, went home or something? They might also take different classes than you are.”

An excuse. There was always an excuse. "How often does someone disappear for months at a time? Reid Kovacs, Howard White and Marcus DeWynter all came back after months of separation. Ava Silver" a Slytherin he likely never heard of "Siege Bal, Anaïs Jones, Destrian Dayne, Daniel Weaver, Charles York, Ezekiel Wasek, Thomas LeStrange," she listed off several names primarily Slytherin or notable, absent students from other houses. "They have been gone a really-really long time." There was no numerical, statistical limit for how many people going away is too many, but she just named more third year students than there were in attendance at this barbecue. She took a deep breath, she did not even want an answer. No, the really wanted to know. But not really. 

Hugh Lowe was a dead end. Quinn Healy, a stand out and crazy person. Both suspicious. Howard, a changed man. Marcus, the same kind of guy he always was she supposed. The obvious guy who had problem written all over his face in permanent marker. Reid Kovacs, resident pretty-boy, popular with the girls and has a link to the masked boy. She did not trust their returns either. She did not trust anyone, especially now that her brother was missing. "I don't think this is normal," she admitted as if she was revealing some sort of secret as her voice lowered. She likely sounded like a crazy person. "There was this sickly boy in the bathroom before," she nodded down as her healing scar. "Said that there are these--" her voice trailed off, the name he gave for them was terrible.

"--death-witches?"

“Wait. Erin. If this was true, then this was something serious. Have you ever asked a professor about this?” 

She shook her head no, a look of shock when she realized that he might be taking her serious. She did not trust them, as far as she was concerned they are likely involved. "Pretty sure they noticed a bunch of students not showing," she muttered as she glanced over in Nora's direction. Slytherin Head of House, ambitious as any other snake. Ambitious women never settle and yet here she was playing babysitter for a bunch of kids in a magical school. She also seemed to have some interest in Kovacs, one of the formerly missing. "I... don't think I can trust them," she admitted. 

"They? Who is 'they'? Did-did you meet one of those half-giants as well?"

This would result in am miscommunication. "I did!" She exclaimed, before she realized what she had done. Stupid. Stupid. She was drawing attention to herself. They were of course talking about very different giants. "They keep playing dumb," she whispered, wishing to shrink a bit after such a loud declaration moments earlier. 

Interacting with @Marissa North & @Angellica Rowley

Another year gone, and another summer camp to persevere through. The only distinction was her cabinmates; people whom she actually remembered and could be comfortable with. She could vividly remember last year's attractions like the capture the flag match and werewolf, even if both didn't last as long as she expected. Needless to say, it wasn't going to be hard to surpass, especially with all the new students roaming around. After leaving her cabin, Emma made a beeline for the BBQ and gigantic table of food. She was tired of being the only one in the cabin at the time, and there was only one solution. 

The professors should cook more often, she thought to herself. Her eyes were trained upon the burgers as conversation and laughter rang behind her. The area was already filled with students, but she didn't mind. While tardiness wasn't something to be proud of, she couldn't recall one time she had been on time to an invite or perhaps there when others weren't. Her locks were tied in a loose ponytail she 'proudly' achieved without looking in the mirror, a stereotypical scrunchie instead of a hair tie to keep the mayhem from falling. The summertime weather had remodeled her wardrobe to mostly brightly-colored articles of clothing. 

Plopping a hunk of potatoes on her plate, she turned to face the mass of chattering students and no way was she going to speak to anyone she didn't know. Instead, the brunette scanned everywhere for a familiar face. There was Marissa, but she seemed oddly preoccupied with the wildflowers. Finally, she found someone a few feet away. "Angieee!"

Instead of running over, the plate of food commanded her to do otherwise. "Uhm, I'm bored." She stated, fingering the brim of her plate. "Wanna find somewhere to sit down?" Emma gestured to the Hufflepuff and gave her a slight wave.

Emma's Outfit

Interacting with: @Erin Ryan

The dark-haired boy could see that something was bothering the pretty girl in front of him. Something unsettling. Was it him? No, no, no, it was not always him when someone was scared or anxious. Well. It mostly was. But probably not this time. He should not think that way! Anyway, her voice shook a bit and there was agitation in her body language that was not that before.

"How often does someone disappear for months at a time? Reid Kovacs, Howard White and Marcus DeWynter all came back after months of separation. Ava Silver, Siege Bal, Anaïs Jones, Destrian Dayne, Daniel Weaver, Charles York, Ezekiel Wasek, Thomas LeStrange,” there were many names, some he did not even know. “They have been gone a really-really long time."

Arc started to ponder. As he did so, the boy could feel the hair on his nape rising. What was this all supposed to mean? How should he interpret this? Had those half-giants done this for a long time? It was not just a one-time thing? If those people truly were taken away by them… How could they do it without anyone noticing? Without any party rising a concern? Friends? Families? If Arc had never met the half-giants and gone to the cabin himself, he would never have taken this seriously. He might indulge the girl somewhat and be as polite as he could, sure. But he would not think too much about it. But now... This was not nor-

"I don't think this is normal," Erin finished his thought. That was spooky. All of this was. “There was this sickly boy in the bathroom before, said that there are these--" --death-witches?"

With that word, his rising hair turned into a full-blown goosebumps. He could feel some kind of electricity running through his whole body. Death witches? Was that what he thought it meant? Were they the mastermind of the kidnappings done by the half-giants?

“De-death witches? Can you describe them to me?” Arc did not want to jump to conclusion. And he did not want to believe that such dangerous and creepy existence existed. Especially in plural. But deep within his heart he could feel the he believed it.

“Wait. Erin. If this was true, then this was something serious. Have you ever asked a professor about this?”

"Pretty sure they noticed a bunch of students not showing," she answered, "I... don't think I can trust them.”

“Um, what…are you saying, Erin?” The boy moved even closer as he lowered his voice almost to a whisper. “Are you implying that they are in on this? Like, they let this happen? Or there was a mole among them?” As much as the kid did not want to believe what he was saying, that it was preposterous to even think that way, he could feel his doubt growing. As capable as they were, they were never truly there when the students needed them most. Where were they when Rosie was kidnapped? It was almost like, like...they truly let them did it. “Wh-Who can we trust, then? If the professors are compromised?” He almost could not believe that he said it out loud.

Arc almost jumped back when Erin suddenly shouted when he asked about the half-giants. “I did!” She quickly rectified her voice and turned it into a whisper herself. “They keep playing dumb."

“I see. So, you have met them as well," he nodded with a grim look. "Yeah, I know what you mean. They kept playing dumb with me as well.” The way they used aliases and tricked a girl to follow them really annoyed him. Tch. Calvin Klein! Who would believe that was a real name?! “You…should be careful around them." Arc seriously said to Erin. "Don’t let them take you somewhere alone. Even as charming as they are. Even when you think you can handle them. I am not sure what they were trying to do by taking a lonely, drugged girl into the cabin, but…the point is, don’t do anything rash.”

He remembered his best friend, Raine, when he said that. That girl could be stupidly fearless sometimes. And somehow Erin gave off the same vibe. Arc hoped she would not try to follow or catch them alone if she ever meet them again.

Arriving to a party well after the main events had long gone wasn't quite appealing to Jay, but he had certainly had enough experience on being drastically late to refrain from allowing himself to worry too much about the matter. Of course, this wasn't a party, per say, and he supposed the said "main event" at a barbecue was... well, eating.
And on the positive side of things - he noticed as he approached the gathering - there was virtually no one left in line; no one to stop him from immediately rewarding himself for the impeccable feat that his nose had accomplished in leading him there.

Having retrieved his white tank-top after his little "swim" in the lake, he now wore it along with his bathing suit, which still retained a small amount of dampness.
He had led Annie here by way of tugging on her hand, which she had so graciously allowed him to hold. Still enjoying the feeling of her supple hand in his own, he harbored no particular wish to relinquish the hold just yet.

Casting his azure eyes around the people scattered about the area, he once again realized how significantly small his knowledge of the faces around him really was at this point in time. While this was always a bit daunting, he also rather enjoyed the prospect of meeting new people, undertaking the task of convincing them that it was not a bad idea to befriend his peculiar self.
He now turned his gaze to Annie, a smile on his lips and a gleam of anticipation showing in his eyes.
"I'll be darned if that food doesn't look spectacular," he said in a chipper tone, gesturing a hand toward the long table bearing various mouth-watering goods. "I could go for a hot-dog, some chips," his eyes strayed back to the table. "Oh, those burgers look good..."
Ultimately, he would wait for Annie to make a decision on where they should head first, but that certainly didn't stop him from daydreaming about the food that he was going to consume within minutes.

Interactions: @Jay Azul Open to others

Annie had followed Jay to the party, their hands interlocked all the while. Her swimsuit was just about dry so she excused herself by squeezing Jay's hand to go change. Once she found her way to a bathroom, she quickly changed into her fresh, warm clothes which included blue Jean shorts, a white flowy tank top and light brown sandals. Annie then put her swimsuit back into her small bag that was placed over her shoulder and hung by her side. As soon as she excited the bathroom the overwhelming smell of BBQ food hit her senses.

"I'll be darned if that food doesn't look spectacular," Annie laughed at Jay's comment, seeing his eyes twinkle with anticipation to try everything laid out on the table. "Looks good doesn't it? Yeah the food is pretty good at Hogwarts, just wait tell school starts up again, they have the best breakfeast options.." Her stomach growled at this at made Annie become flustered before laughing at herself. "Have at it, but don't stuff yourself right after we went swimming, I'll go find a bench for us okay?" She waved at him before turning around and weaving her way to an empty bench.

There were plenty of people around even after the BBQ had been going on for a few hours. She heard a few rather intense conversations going on and decided it was best to not eavesdrop. Instead, Annie started humming to herself as she gazed off into the cloudless blue sky.

Jay hadn't personally felt the need to change out of his swimsuit; nothing was going to take him away from that food until he was finished. He came to a rather strange realization as he saw Annie returning from the bathroom: seeing as he had only just met her at the beach, he had never actually seen her in regular clothes. Studying her lightly now, he decided that she looked even prettier in this outfit than she had before.

Annie laughed at his comment, then proceeded to inform him that Hogwarts had wonderful food. He grinned blissfully at that; he was coming to like this place more and more.
"Have at it, but don't stuff yourself right after we went swimming, I'll go find a bench for us okay?" Annie told him before waving and setting off to hunt down an unoccupied seat.
He watched her go for a few moments, then turned back to the food-laden table, making a b-line for it. He worked his way through the crowd, determination on his features, as though this was some important mission, upon which the lives of all those attending the barbecue depended.

He reached the table, grabbed a plate for both himself and Annie, then proceeded to perform a mental facepalm. He hadn't even bothered to ask his newfound friend what she would like to eat. Curse his brain for failing to work in the midst of food deprivation...
Casting his eyes in the direction Annie had gone, he searched in vain for a few seconds before spotting her sitting on an otherwise empty bench, apparently studying the blue sky above them.
He suffered through a bit of an internal struggle. Should he traverse through the crowds, all the way to Annie's position, ask her what she wanted, then make the journey back here to retrieve the food? He scanned the different selections offered on the table in front of him, spotted the hot dogs and came to a decision. He would simply bring Annie a hot dog or two- who wouldn't be happy with that? And if she were to inform him that she, in fact, did not feel like eating a hot dog, then he would return for whatever she requested and happily consume the extra hot dogs himself.

Setting about his work, he grabbed four hot dogs - two for him, two for Annie - placed them on buns, then spread generous amounts of ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise on each one.
It did occur to him that he also had no idea what Annie might prefer on her hot dogs, but that was a problem he would deal with if, and when, it came up.
Protecting both plates jealously, he waded back into the crowd and made his way toward Annie. Reaching the bench, he presented her one plate with a flourish.
"Your food, madam," he said professionally. An apologetic tone then immediately entered his voice. "I didn't know what you would want. I can eat these and get you something else if you'd like."

Interactions: @Jay Azul

Annie turned her attention from the blue sky back to Jay. He had a slightly confused expression as he approached the food tables. She thought he was probably having a hard time picking food for himself. Annie smiled at this thought.

She finally saw Jay headed back towards the table. Her stomach growled loudly as a plate was set down in front of her. Annie saw why Jay was having a hard with the food, it's because he didn't know what she liked. "Your food, madam," Annie giggled at Jay addressing her that way but saw that he looked guilty. "I didn't know what you would want. I can eat these and get you something else if you'd like." Annie shook her head. "It's fine your perfect-" She paused ag that sentence rethinking her words. "Er.. it's perfect your fine." Her head was spinning. Had she just complimented him on accident? I mean not that it's a bad thing but be careful nothing else slips out!" She scolded herself.

Annie looked back up to meet the depths of Jay's blue eyes and a small smile once again appeared on her face along with that all so subtle blush. "I'm not picky with food, so thank you." She turned to her plate, staring intently at the hotdogs. "Let's eat!" Annie motioned to the food in front of them and enthusiastically took her first bite of the hotdog and she did admit it was to her liking. She paused in the midst of eating and swallowed her bite of food before saying in a hushed tone, "I saw you checking me out earlier and you ain't too bad yourself." Before he could respond she took another bite of her hotdog to stop herself from laughing.

She prattled on about the students that had gone missing, the names she listed disproportionately male. Some of them she knew, some she knew of such as Reid or Seige. Some she knew better, like Thomas. Some came back, like Marcus, Reid and Howard. There were missing students and the Slytherin was noticing them, the problem was she was making connections in her brain where there was none. Reid was not a mastermind, he was fortunate to wear his shoes on the correct feet. Howard was not swapped out for a bad-ass version of himself. Marcus was not lying. The half-giants were not kidnapping students, well at least not the half-giants that she was blaming at least. 

Arc was entertaining the notion, she was not entirely sure why. Everyone else was either brushing her off or trying to insert a contrary logic to end the madness of her conspiracy theory. 

“De-death witches? Can you describe them to me?” 

Erin's eyes widened. She shook her head no. "I have never seen them," she replied. She in fact had, but they were not death-witches as Kaegen had called them but they were a coven of hags that had made a residence in Hogwarts. Erin was partially at fault for their continued presence. "The uh -- sickboy" Kaegen "mentioned them." 

“Wait. Erin. If this was true, then this was something serious. Have you ever asked a professor about this?”

"Pretty sure they noticed a bunch of students not showing. I... don't think I can trust them.”

“Um, what…are you saying, Erin?” 

"I--" her voice trailed off as she matched Arc's lowered volume.

“Are you implying that they are in on this? Like, they let this happen? Or there was a mole among them?”

She wondered if he was digging, trying to find out how much she knew. She had trusted Howard to his care and he had helped her out when he did not need to once before. "I-- don't know," she admitted with a tone of defeat in her voice. "I am still trying to make sure that you are not a part of this," Erin added with an uncharacteristic honesty. Normally she would have obfuscated her uncertainty but over the past few weeks a lot has changed for the girl. Her fearless demeanor prevented her from feeling the fearsome aura that the  nerdy youth exuded. Had she felt it, she would not have opened up to him as much as she had. Something would have warned her, told her that he was dangerous. "I think the half-giants are," she mumbled "but I am sure they have some normal people in their ranks." She was studying Arc, not entirely sure how much more she wanted to share, she was spooking easy these days.

“Wh-Who can we trust, then? If the professors are compromised?” 

As far as she was aware, there was nobody that she could trust and when she thought about it logically Arc was not someone that she could fully trust either. It was a bad idea to share with him the names of the very few people that she could find herself allied with. 

“I see. So, you have met them as well."

Was he just trying to get Erin to trust him? She looked at him doubtfully, waiting for a micro-mannerism, some sort of indication that he might be lying. 

"Yeah, I know what you mean. They" the giants "kept playing dumb with me as well.” 

He agreed with her. Was he just mirroring her or was she just being paranoid. Things had a habit of never going the way that she wanted or intended. This was going to well for her. Something had to be wrong. Of course there was, the girl was utterly and completely self-destructive. She shifted restlessly as she looked around to see how far she was from the rest of the barbecue in case she needed to make a break for it.

“You…should be careful around them." 

Arc concluded. That was not the answer that she expected. She expected him to either dismiss the concern, explain it away or tell her to talk it out with them. 

"Don’t let them take you somewhere alone. Even as charming as they are. Even when you think you can handle them. I am not sure what they were trying to do by taking a lonely, drugged girl into the cabin, but…the point is, don’t do anything rash.” 

"What?" She coughed, she swallowed her spit the wrong way and let out a series of hacks. "They have drugs too?" They were already bigger than her and quite possibly stronger, they had the advantage of height, reach and weight on her. They did not need drugs too. He probably was not in with them having warned her of that. 


"I--" she needed to find the right way to phrase this "think Quinn Healy, the Hufflepuff Prefect is in with them." Them being the half giants she believed were congregating. Of course she and Arc had different run ins with half giants, hers were actually harmless unlike the ones Arc had encountered. 

We need a canonical ending here so I am going to copy this in both places so we know something.

Arc and Raine see a short, stout, rotund woman waddle about the Keeper's Cabin. She had wild salt and pepper hair, sallow, blotchy flesh with dim, dead-looking eyes. She wore ragged clothes that appeared to be ornamented with the bones of vermin. She looked like a very old, ugly woman. There were a total of four part giants in that cabin as well. Fire was somehow set to the cabin, be it your fault, Raine's or a random act of god. In the chaos of putting the fire out, Rosie escaped. The part giant that had kidnapped her actually opened the door and let her out but he did not escort her to freedom. His act was unnoticed by his allies (you would be aware) and would not be known to Rosie because she was in the dark. Covered in spiders she would escape the burning building. Three of the giants would come running after her, she would escape possibly to interventions provided by yourself and Raine. Distraction, minor spell use to slow them down, etc. If you came back to the cabin later, you would see a damaged, partially burnt building the next day but nobody residing in the cabin any longer. The doors locked, you would be unable to enter.

"And that other big boy, Hugh... Lowe," the name somewhat ironic. "Probably some others," she admitted shaking her head. "There is something wrong with that big ginger," she was referring to Quinn. It was like a switch went off in him when she tried to get something from him regarding the disappearances. Once she started to big, he just went mad. "I need to get one of them," she confided out loud. "Any of them," she sighed. "They are just... strong," she groaned. She looked around again. "I am going to start smaller, maybe." That was what she determined although it might not work as well for her as she would have liked. 

Erin had a plan, she was going to go after one of the recently returned people. Howard was getting dangerous, mostly due to her terrible nature rubbing off on him. He was likely a lost cause, otherwise she would have pursued him back to his home town. She knew where she was from thanks to a chance encounter a year earlier. No, she could not go for him. There was Reid, that Hufflepuff with an uncanny connection to some of the Professors. He was tough, she could feel it when she hit him. She might be able to take him down but there was a chance she might lose. She would not be able to engage him in a fair fight if she desired certainty. Then there was Marcus, his father had allegedly died and he was gone to deal with matters of his estate. Allegedly. She did not believe him, She planned to hunt him.

"I will be leaving Hogwarts on the next train," she was going to get away from this castle sooner rather than later. "Italy seems like a good place to spend the remainder of my summer," she was from Ireland. "What do you know about the drugs the giants use?" She would rather be prepared in case she encountered some when she faced off against Marcus.