The Arrival Tea Party Valentines 2025

Roleplaying as iNPC Quentin Gagné of Beauxbatons English | Français
interacting: @Linda Ramirez
open to other interactions

Quentin was feeling sluggish today. He was late to Valentine's tea.

This was the first event that he could remember that Beauxbatons hosted for the other international students. So love was in the air!—which he found to be fairly macabre given what had happened the last time the international schools had gathered. He was still mourning his headmaster. He was still mourning his naivete. It was not a festive occasion.

At the same time, he desperately wanted to see Linda. It was like they were two shooting stars never meant to quite cross the sky at the right time. He still dreamed of a whirlwind romance—which to a fourteen-year-old boy meant hand-holding and kissing. He thought there would have been much more kissing at this point. But the schools' chaos and the distance and the inexperience kept them from spending enough time together, and Quentin was growing frustrated.

Mixed with that frustration was a great sense of shame. He had spent last October moody and fixated on entering four little numbers into a lock. They had practically spent the whole night croched over that lock in the "haunted halls" of Hogwarts. He should have thrown the thing down and grabbed Linda's hand and just spent time with her.

Instead of dealing with this complex concoction of feelings—he was such an uncomplex person—Quentin pushed and kneaded the feelings down, down, down, until all that was left was pure sluggishness and apathy. He still went to tea time because he knew Linda would be there. If anyone could bring himself back to his old self, she could. Or least he would put on his best acting performance in front of him.

When he arrived, the party was well underway. Unlike other international gatherings, this one had a greater cacophony of French speakers. (If it all went downhill, at least his bed was not far away.) As he scanned the room for the familiar flash of red, he overheard murmurs of someone attempting murder, something else about spiked tea. Of course, Quentin didn't want this to be real, but it was once again incredibly insensitive to play games around the topic of death. His hand had turned clammy and he grasped his wand tightly.

But there she was. She was safe.

Quentin beelined toward Linda, wand still prominently in hand, not bothering to worry if he was bumping into anyone on the way. He didn't care to notice if she was already speaking to other people and let his words roll from him in a quiet exasperation.

"Linda! May I talk to you? Alone? Outside?"

Calming presence affecting no one

Mentioning: @- || Interacting: @Matthew Campbell @Ruth Fairchild

Date: 12/02/25

Word counts: 427

Jan suddenly raised his eyebrow when he heard the rumour. Slytherin students getting poisoned? Surely this Matthew boy was quite a mischievous kind, based on the context but there’s no way that he would do that to his own housemates… Right? Well, who knows. Once again, with this conversation, Jan was reminded how wild and eventful his wizarding school can be. Poison, arson, a cannon-like ball smashing your face hard, falling down from a high ground—At this point, he wondered how students survived throughout the years. As Matthew and Ruth were having their small bantering (sort of), a sudden blare of trumpets cut through the air, interrupting them and demanding attention.

Almost everyone in the room faced the direction of the stage, and paid their attention to the actors and background scene that came to the stage. Jan, of course, sighed as they came in. He wasn’t exactly a huge fan of romantic plays, but as the show went on, he realized how different it is to the romance cliché he was forced to watch. It has a lot of bittersweet moments for a Valentine event.

Needless to say, he wasn’t pleased with the play, even after the velvet curtains fell and some claps erupted. The pace was quite too fast for his liking, and the other lines were some cringy grand declaration to the heavens, arms raised, voices wobbling with the weight of words that should’ve taken half the time to say. “This is so ridiculous,” Jan uttered, “I would rather watch the Cats live action movie than whatever this is.” He could still hear the ridiculous phrasing in his head and complained about the play until Ruth, beside him, decided to slam something sweet into his mouth. Hard.

In an instant reaction, the poor Ravenclaw boy jolted and nearly choked as the dessert was shoved past his teeth with unceremonious force. His words died in his throat, but he knew that his friend didn’t mean to do that. Or maybe she is, since Ruth can be quite.. Ruthless. For a minute, all he could do was to stare at her with eyes wide as saucers before he managed to chew. It’s sweet, too sweet and overpowering. Her eyes met his as well, boring into him. As he swallowed the treat, he gestured to Matthew to pour some tea into his teacup politely, still staring at Ruth but with a narrowing eyes for shoving a treat unexpectedly—Even when he said his thanks to Matthew and drank the tea. Fine, Jan thought to himself. I’ll shut up.

Statistics: Stamina: 06 | Evasion: 08 | Strength: 01 | Wisdom: 09 | Arcane Power: 02 | Accuracy: 09
Abilities: i. the muggle condition
Action: Getting a treat shoved into his mouth (Godmod permitted by Ruth Fairchild) and drink tea

Openish to interactions - but be prepared for a curt Avis.

@Aamon Athanatos | @Linda Ramirez | @Meyra Lancaster

"Agreed." Harvey nodded along with Meyra's words. At first the foreign school had seemed all too fussy for the little goblin. He preferred darker colors. More natural and muted tones just like his room back home in London and much like the Scottish castle he dwelled in now. Perhaps it suited his personality as the loud and busy things of the world had always been a turn off for Harvey. However, now that he had spent most of the day here his opinion was starting to turn. The blinding white of the chateau had softened to reflect the light as if a shining beacon of magic set within the Pyrenees. The vibrant colors of the Beauxbatons gardens now felt more welcoming than obtrusive. "It all seemed a bit much when I first arrived, but now that I've sat with it I do believe it's growing on me. I can't say I prefer it over Hogwarts, but this all was surely worth the trip. By the end of the week?..." He simply shrugged at the idea.

Harvey's gaze flicked back to Linda as she questioned their artistic abilities. "Oh, not me. Not that I've tried much, but any attempt to even simply sketch has been nothing short of a disaster. The arts weren't an emphasis in my household unfortunately." That was an understatement really as his grandfather, Larnak, barely kept any paintings outside of portraits and those were of historical figures. A far stretch from what Harvey had witnessed at Hogwarts as the castle seemed set to burst with artistic talent. Linda would only offer minor details when he asked of her travels abroad, so he pushed it no further.

After the day's entertainment came to an end, Harvey shifted back towards Aamon and leaned in to hear the grand plan. Moving shoes, stealing socks, tampering with pillows. The diabolical plans of a true villain. "You think any of the dolts we're forced to bunk with will notice a missing sock? One of them can barely keep themselves bathed on a regular basis." It was no secret that Harvey was lackluster about many of his fellow Slytherins. The boy surely belonged to the house of snakes, but had yet to nab himself a true friend there. However, he did not want to turn down Aamon outright. It seemed juvenile for the old man trapped in the body of an eleven year old, but perhaps he should push himself. "But, maybe we will see which one of those fools is easily manipulated. You going to unleash your master plan while we're here in France, Aamon? What do you think Linda, Meyra? Have you ever pulled off a good prank on your housemates?"

Stats: STA - 5 | EVA - 5 | STR - 5 | WIS - 5 | ARC - 5 | ACC - 5
Abilities: Gobbledegook | Extra Income
Action: None

Date: February 12th 2025

There was a comfort born from the presence that Ruth and he shared, like his natural gift for calming was amplified by her ability to ease his soul. The girl saw him more than most and their shared bond from their background made him feel far more comfortable in her presence than most. Between them lay an aura of clarity and calm that stole away his suffering. Thus lifting his head from the table where a now fresh redder stain lay on his forehead he laughed along with her jest that he probably deserved it. Only this time his brain did furl with the probability that she was probably right.

Ruthless wouldn't leave him to float adrift for a second, grounding him firmly in reality as she leaned in and whispered her gentle invitation while some kind of commotion began to arrive in the doorway. A procession of actors moving through the crowd with a group of them forming some kind of performance Jan and the rest of the room began to watch on in varying degrees of amusement. Stifling his laugh at Ruth's deviousness as to not disturb those around him or signal Janosch himself he whispered in response, "Ruthless as always, that sounds sweet maybe I can join you guys at some point." As she moved away with pointed declaration of revelry he couldn't help but be bolstered by the spirit of the girl. Inspiration always came in the most unlikeliness of moments.

Face bright with glee he couldn't help but audibly laugh as she almost made herself complicit in his crimes. Wordlessly mouth "Thank you" across the table at her he settled in to the performance himself but he wasn't much for their theatrics head still too full of, well too many things to be honest. Group settings had never been particularly helpful for easing his burdens and even with the reassuring spirit of a close friend nearby he could feel himself losing the battle, slipping away. Losing himself in his tea he watched as the swirling milky liquid formed recognition, the light hazel reminding him of hours spent losing himself in his father's eyes as he would drift off to sleep. The young boys longing to be held by his father was unparalleled, their bond was such a staple to his very being and the growing pains of not seeing him in so long was draining him.

Slowly Matthew felt as if he was beginning to lose a part of himself, the part he shared with his father, his moral compass. The boy was having to discover what was right and wrong for himself and in truth he was almost certain he was messing it up. The whole start to this year had bordered on catastrophic and he hadn't even had the reprieve of his fathers at the start of the year to make up for it. In spite of it all though, his fathers were happy, they were seeing parts of the world and thriving in their professions while he stewed in a boiling point of emotion. Once when the boy was young he had heard a quote in a film that you could judge a person on whether they were more or less than the sum of their parts and at present the young snake felt significantly less.

The need for some kind of relief was itching at his skin until he remembered the ivy in his pocket and the plan he and Gideon had concocted. While his feelings towards the blonde pureblood were complicated the idea of a good prank always boosted his spirits after all Ruth had just said that it was far from over. While the idea would no doubt have bad repercussions and leave him feeling worse than he already did the glint of devilry ha already possessed him once more and he was unable to resist its wiles. Unfortunately unbeknownst to the boy this reckless behaviour was the exact reason he needed his father and while it served as a temporary cure it only reinforced the issue.

Just as he was about to stand and excuse himself Janosch began choking breaking his almost trance like concentration on his own tea as he stumbled to pour the boy a cup. Accepting his thanks Matthew dusted off macaron crumbs from his lap and stood addressing the pair, "I'll be back soon but I've got something I have to do." Flashing a malicious wink at Ruth for good measure he smirked as he said, "Business as usual, don't get up to too much fun while I'm away." Then shifting his features back to their usual friendliness he looked upon the other boy and shooting him some painfully embarrassing finger guns said, "Nice to meet you mate, don't let her get into any trouble without me!"

Interacting with @Ruth Fairchild & @Janosch Dehoff

Interactions are open
Beginning of interaction with @Della Barfield as Quentin Gagné
@Meyra Lancaster, @Aamon Athanatos, and @Harvey Barrows, Linda left your group, but feel free to reply to her questions or ask something else before she went to Quentin

sta 8☆eva 8☆str 7☆wis 9☆arc 7☆acc 8
Fearless✿Comprehend Languages (Parselmouth)✿Healing Sage

gorgeous banner by Aurelia Valentine

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BEAUXBÂTONS
2025-02-12
@Aurelia Valentine

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Some salvation that play turned out to be. Mamori's éclair-wielding hand froze midair, elbow resting on the table as the pastry suddenly lost all appeal. He hadn't seen it coming, though he really should have, and now they were here again. Aurelia had launched into another one of her one-person performances, ruthlessly dissecting plot holes so minor that Mamori wouldn't have noticed even if someone paid him to. His initial sympathy for the fictional party guests rapidly shifted to the poor playwright who, if currently lurking anywhere nearby, would probably need therapy after this. The story was ridiculous, he'd give her that much. But watching the other tables' animated chatter and bright expressions, plenty of people seemed to genuinely enjoy it. The actors got their spotlight, the audiences got their entertainment, and the playwright could afford dinner — a perfect little ecosystem. In his book, entertainment value beats logical perfection any day of the week; having both would be nice, but the world needed its mediocre playwrights just as much as the brain-empty normies who'd appreciate their work. That's just how things balanced out. Besides, wasn't she almost twelve? How had she made it this far without grasping the basic concept of dialogue? The whole point was taking turns, like a chess match: I move, you move, back and forth. Not a five-minute solo performance where she'd claimed every turn while her opponent sat stuck in spectator mode. If taking turns proved too difficult, maybe try the revolutionary concept of not speaking? But of course, all of these thoughts remained firmly locked in Mamori's head, partly because Aurelia's turn seemed to have no end in sight, and partly because he was born with an anti-confrontation charm permanently stuck to his personality. Not to mention arguing would just double his torture time. Setting down his now-unappetizing éclair, Mamori propped his chin on his hand, feigning attentive listening complete with occasional blinks while his consciousness drifted far, far away. 'Tis a skill he'd picked up since his first day at Hogwarts and nearly perfected — which was inevitable, really, given how many History of Magic lessons they had to endure per week. Right now, he would trade his father's entire secret savings stash for a time-turner. He'd zip back to before this cursed tea party and spread rumors in the actors' dressing room about the show being canceled. Or better yet, rewind all the way back to their arrival in France, skip the cabin entirely and go straight to exploring Beauxbatons until he dropped from exhaustion. Or maybe travel back to that fateful moment in the Hufflepuff dorm when his genius self decided to chug five mysterious potions at once, and knock some sense into that pink-haired idiot instead, then Aurelia wouldn't have this perfect excuse to — ...Wait. The potions. That's it. Plan D had been staring him in the face this entire time. "Sorry to interrupt..." Mamori pressed his fingers against his temple, summoning his most pitiful expression. "But I'm suddenly feeling rather dizzy. Must be some aftereffects from the potions." He paused for effect. "Wonder what triggered it? Could be too much info hitting my brain at once..." If there was any actual pain, it was definitely from her endless monologue assault. "Not just headache now, my heart's racing too. Oh Merlin, is that nausea? And now my throat feels a bit off." He punctuated this with a few strategic coughs, then suddenly realizing he might have oversold it a bit. Too many symptroms might backfire. Time to backtrack. "It's probably nothing major, just need to lie down for a bit. The professors already showed me where the infirmary is, and you're clearly enjoying yourself here. Id feel terrible dragging you away when I can make it there just fine on my own..." Please, for the love of Merlin, just let him go. Alone.

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STA 5 | EVA 8 | STR 5 | WIS 7 | ARC 3 | ACC 7
Action: attempting to finish the éclair he'd set aside when the performance began
giving up on the éclair, leans back in his chair & ready to flee

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xxxxx The first-ever international event in Beauxbatons was going in a calm way so far. However, soon, those who were immersed in chatting could hear the play. An unexpected journey that Célestine knew nothing about. However, she wasn't that much surprised. After all, was it really a surprise that Emery organized something more than simply drinking tea?

While students and attending adults were immersed in the play, no one noticed someone making their way to spike the drinks and snacks.

Reducio

From 1-10, didn't notice; 11-20, noticed something
@Harvey Barrows

d20: result 4, didn't notice

@Aly Salinger (keen eye)

d20: result 9, she didn't notice anything

Astrid Olsen @Anastasia Blackwood-Varney (keen eye)

d20: result 5, didn't notice anything

Célestine was aware of this part but allowed herself to listen to the play. Could there be more meaning to it? Everything was possible. She didn't know much about Emery, but one thing she was certain of. There wouldn't be a play without more purpose to it. She doubted there would be an actual murder. After all, Emery wouldn't help with organizing Valentine's week just for killing a student? And generally speaking, he wouldn't kill anyone, right?

Would they even notice when something else happens? Célestine looked curiously around. Students were chatting, leaving the tea party, and changing tables. It was a new opportunity for them to meet and make new friends. Célestine smiled. It was a great idea to invite other schools. She was glad to see students from her school and other schools. If she wasn't mistaken, she even saw Headmistress Mori. As for what was waiting for them this evening, soon it will be clear. If only anyone could notice.

OOC Information

GOAL: PREVENT "MURDER" OF THE POOR ASSASSIN VICTIM
Drinks are now spiked as no one noticed or prevented it.
Welcome to the Arrival tea party!
1. To participate, you must be indexed. If you are not indexed yet, please apply here for Hogwarts students and here for iNPC.
2. Moderation will occur every other week on Saturdays.
3. Your character is allowed one moderated action per round. Please specify your moderated action somewhere OOC in your post.

Reducio

Moderated actions are those actions that requires rolls like casting a spell on someone, physically fighting (like punching) with someone, surprising someone etc. Rolls are not needed for pre-decided or consented actions, like asking someone for a dance.

4. Please include your abilities and stats in your post.
5. Please follow all usual HIO rules.
6. Enjoy the tea party!

AULIS VOROZHEYKIN.
KOLDOVSTORETZ. DIRECTOR OF STUDIES.
Russian. | English.
Spoken. | Thought.

Motif The disapproval of cowards is praise to the brave.	Languages German English Russian French Spanish Japanese Swahili Samoan	Age 44
Mentioning/Interacting @Aulis Vorozheykin	Location Beauxbatons	IC Date February 12th

The Arrival

xxxxxWith a twinkle in his eye, Emery watched as the drinks were spiked with a bit of love, matching with the theme of this event. Although would find themselves falling asleep, if they were unlucky. He looked around with a strange mischief in his heart and caught the Headmaster of Koldovstoretz entering his first foray into the international world. The younger man seemed to be avoiding directly talking to Albrecht which perhaps was reasonable in this political climate. However, Emery was never the one to follow society's rules at certain times like this if it did not harm anyone. He wanted to see the other's reaction, so Emery turned, stared at the other, hoping to catch the other's eyes, tilted his head to the side, and beelined it straight towards the other headmaster of the east. He wondered if this interaction would cause rumors of perhaps animosity or scheming.

xxxxxEmery delighted often in the rumor mill of international politics and with his connections, he had great deal of news surrounding every look, glance, or choice that occurred between the high society of the world. There was no lack of information floating around the abyss of the interactions of countries after all. Emery made his way with a goblet in hand, pouring himself a drink and preparing one for Headmaster Vorozheykin. A bit of firewhiskey could do anyone good and a little imbibing of alcohol during work hours hurt no one. Although there might be chaos that occurred if the spiked drinks had a terrible effect. Well, at that point Emery might cause himself to fall in love or have diarrhoea also, so no one would suspect he knew of this anyway. With the two drinks in had, he made his way towards the other and offered a gentle, "Why, hello, Aulis, I heard of you taking over for Korotkin, so it is wonderful to see you in attendance. Perhaps you would like to enjoy this drink with me? After all, it is a party."

xxxxxHe slightly smiled and nodded. Emery wondered once again what rumors would spread with the events that would occur today between them. Perhaps they would be painted as great enemies or the best of friends. Perhaps there would be terrible affair. Emery was dressed in a black suit with a crevat as well as a simple top hat and thus he painted an elegant but imposing figure. He was an unknown factor in any situation, with a propensity to surprise anyone at any moment. There was a wildness to him, and he could terrify you and be enchanting to you in the same breath. He was a wild spirit, often untethered to anyone except one person, though now that person had gone into then next world. He wondered if Aulis would find him unsettling, enchanting, or terrifying, what his first impression would be of Emery. Perhaps like Korotkin, Aulis would know of Emery's connection to secret intelligence, or perhaps Aulis would be blissfully unaware of Emery's previous life. Emery himself had seen few Durmstrang students and Koldovstoretz students so perhaps his sole interactions would be with his counterpart of the eastern schools of magic.

xxxxxHe spoke again after a moment, "I am pleased to encounter you in person, after all, our schools represent the eastern realms of Europe." He was charming and anyone in his presence could be swept up in his loveliness, if Emery so chose to, and in this moment, he had chosen to. If the other allowed, Emery would hold Aulis' gaze, drawing the other into his almost supernatural beauty, the blue eyes that refracted the light around them like light refracts in a muggle pool, almost too blue they felt like they glowed. His voice was honey and deep, sweet, melodious, yet manly. There was no doubt he could seduce anyone he desired to if Emery desired, romantically, though usually he used his almost otherworldly beauty to escape from tight spots in his previous life before Durmstrang. "How was it that you took over for Comrade Korotkin?" Of course, Emery knew the answer, but he loved to poke the bear, provoking people to see their true reactions in life. Emery gently spoke these words, showing a warmth and genuineness that would possibly mask the attempted provocation, as Emery did care for others. He would never do anything that genuinely hurt others after all.

Action: Walking towards Aulis

Abilities: Charmer, Lovely Creature, Perfectionist, Impartial, Wandless Magic, Occlumency, Legilimancy, Imperio

Stats: sta 10 ◦ eva 8 ◦ str 8 ◦ wis 20 ◦ arc 10 ◦ acc 9