Hufflepuff Pride Party! huffles only Closed

Maya had read something about a Hufflepuff house party in the ballroom and she thought why not go it’s not like she had anything better to do and maybe she would make some friends and even if she didn’t at least they will probably have some great food there

Like always she was running late there has never been one time where Maya has shown up to a place on time she was rummaging through her trunk of clothes trying to find a nice party outfit she wasn’t sure if it was a formal thing or something casual and simple but better to be overdressed than underdressed right ?

She finally found a strapless red dress it was a really pretty dress that her mum has bought her a few weeks ago in case they ever had a dance, maya wondered if she should keep looking for a yellow dress since it was a dance for Hufflepuffs but she liked the red dress so she wasn’t going to change now

She put the dress on and had some black heels on and her hair was naturally wavy so Shen just tied some pieces of hair at the front back and after a while she was ready,

Maya made her way to the ballroom and she heard people talking inside with a deep breath she pushed the doors open as she walked in she was in awe it was so beautiful and the decorations were amazing “Wow” she muttered out under her breath

She walked more inside and walked up to some other Hufflepuff girls “Hey”she said hoping to catch one of the girls attention

I'm new and I have NO idea if this is IC-hufflepuffs-only or OOC? I just thought it would be an interesting RP if someone from another house gatecrashed the pride party and disrupted everything, if it's really OOC hufflepuffs only (no gryffs are allowed to post), just send me an owl and I'll delete this post. 
Also, don't mind me using the pronouns they / them for Quinn. Quinn was born female, but identifies as agender (neither male nor female) and that's why. 

Quinn strolled through the corridors, stopping every now and then to chat to the people on the pictures - paintings come alive! It was genius - and looking around, displaying great interest in the magical and fascinating details of the Hogwarts castle. 

Only a few weeks had passed since Quinn had boarded the Hogwarts train and arrived at the wizard school - and yet so much had happened in these past weeks. They had been Sorted into Gryffindor and had tucked in to the delicious meals in the Great Hall. They had made new friends (and admittedly one enemy, but hopefully that would be resolved soon). They had rifled through schoolbooks, attended classes, learnt how to fly, cast spells and brew potions; they had sent their first letter by owl. 
They had had a great experience so far.
And now, that experience was going to be upped yet again.
As Quinn turned around a corner, they noticed light flooding from a huge door, strangely... yellow. The first-year stepped closer, when suddenly music blasted out of the room (I'm assuming you got the music going, I can correct it if you didn't) and laughs of joy rang in Quinn's ears. 
They curiously peeked into the room - a ballroom apparently. The first thing they noticed was yellow. Lots and lots of yellow, in lots of different shades, hanging just about everywhere. Upon looking closer, Quinn recognized a few people - they hadn't had any real conversations or actual encounters with any of them, but they knew they were Hufflepuff. Were all of those students Hufflepuffs? The yellow decor certainly suggested it - did Hogwarts have some sort of house party event? Why had no one told them? Where was the Gryffindor party, if it existed? Or was this simply a Hufflepuff idea?
Quinn carefully weighed down their opinions, before deciding to stay - they felt sure that they would enjoy a party, but why should they spend time searching this huge school for a Gryffindor gathering that might not even take place at all? 
They took off their school robes showing the Gryffindor coat of arms and their scarf, which was striped red and yellow - who knew how selective these Hufflepuffs were of their party guests? They didn't want to be thrown out because of their house - revealing black jeans and a beautiful top with planets and stars printed onto it. 


Then, Quinn quietly sidled into the room, looking around and - unusually shy for her standards - waiting for someone to approach her.

Interactions: @Marian Lynch
Mentions: Everyone else (but I'm just too lazy to mention all of you)

Annie nodded her head as Marian paused to start answering questions. She scratched the back of her head awkwardly as the girl was bombarded with questions. Marian had to stop and address everyone that it was everyone's part and to do what they wanted. Her eyes sparkled with amusement and how much of a Hufflepuff they were all acting. Alright, well first we need to move these big round tables and get some tablecloths on them. I will need help with the floating lanterns too, someone tall maybe.."

Annie started talking to herself, but loud enough that anyone nearby could hear the list she was beginning to make. She was the type of person to have a vision and start coming up with tasks to make everything look like her idea. Annie nearly jumped out of her skin when Marian turned back to her with a question about music.

Well, I saw this old recorder in the back by the grand piano but maybe there are some speakers or something around here.." She bit her lip realizing she was using muggle terms and that Hogwarts might not even have or know what speakers are. Her eyebrows furrowed in annoyance and she sighed. I honestly haven't a clue but we can try no?" Annie glanced over at the old record player.

Interacting with @Libby Holmgren 
I wasn't quite sure if this was an open sub-thread (as in, you just approach a friendly-looking girl and anyone who sees your thread can be that girl) or if it was plotted out with someone else? If it's the latter (aghhh sorry in this case) maybe we could just have it like the person you were actually talking to is standing right next to Q and Quinn thought you were addressing them. Also, if you want some more information about how Quinn got here as a Gryffindor and what they're wearing read my first post in this thread  

Quinn wanted to stay in a corner for a while, merely observing before they actually came around to having social interactions. However, a party wasn't exactly the right place for this - and of course, as Quinn was always extremely lucky, a girl with flaming red hair tied up into two ponytails came in, made a beeline for the Doritos and was apparently now aiming for them. 
The Gryffindor nervously waved at them, now fully realizing what they were doing here. Gatecrashing a party? A party that seemed to be Hufflepuffs-only? What were they thinking, pulling off something as stupid and silly as this? With this stunt, they could make every Hufflepuff in Hogwarts dislike them for disrupting their beautiful party - or even get into serious trouble, if this thing was hosted by the Professors. 
Still, there was something that kept Quinn from leaving. As the Hufflepuff girl approached and looked at them with bright blue eyes and a speck of Dorito sauce on her top lip, they realized that they wanted to enjoy themselves. Have fun. Get to know people. Interact. Even if that meant gatecrashing a party. "I'm Libby - Libby - it's really just Libby though." While Quinn was still unsure to react to Libby-Libby-Just-Libby, the latter extended a hand partly covered with Dorito sauce. Quinn hesitated. They really wanted to be polite, and make friends - but did they have to touch a messy, dorito-y hand for that?
Libby quickly pulled back the hand herself. "Umm, my hands are messy" - what a surprise, Quinn thought, smiling to themselves - "so just hello." 
Quinn grinned at her, trying to conceal how fast their heart was beating, how anxious they were about this. What if Libby found out they were not a Hufflepuff, but in fact a Gryffindor, an intruder to the party who was probably not supposed to be here? "Uh, hi. I'm Quinn. Great to meet you! Hufflepuff is, uh, fantastic. I just had to attend this party! Yay! House pride!" The Gryffindor widened their smile and held up the left hand ready for a... Hufflepuff high-five? ... to make the tale more believable.

People were rushing around getting the ballroom all fixed up, maybe Maya wasn’t as late as she first thought, she wasn’t very strong so she didn’t think helping move tables would be her best bet instead she decided to make her way over to some other Hufflepuffs

The ballroom door opened again and Maya curiously watched as other Hufflepuffs entered they were all dressed up and everyone looked amazing. Then somebody in Gryffindor robes entered were they crashing the party before it had even started properly? She watched the Gryffindor curiously and noticed them take off their robes, probably so they couldn’t be pointed out as another house then they made their way over to a group of other Hufflepuffs

Maya followed her feet already starting to hurt from wearing heels and went over to a girl named Libby, she knew this was her name as when Maya came over she was introducing herself in a sort of nervous stutter, the Gryffindor introduced themselves as Quinn and to further suggest they were also a Hufflepuff Quinn said something about house pride and held up their hand for a high five

“Hey” Maya said cutting into the conversation “Nice to meet you Libby and Quinn ... I’m Maya” she sweetly smiled at them both

“So Quinn how are you liking the Hufflepuff party?” Maya asked putting emphasis on the word Hufflepuff, she was never one to stick to the rules so she wasn’t going to tell people that she knew Quinn was a Gryffindor but it could be fun to mess with them a little

Interacting with @Maya Hunter and @Quinn Prescott.


Libby gaped at the person before her.  She still had some Doritos in her mouth that was a little disgusting to look at but she didn't realize until the last second. She clacked her mouth shut and swallowed. She felt like there was something off about this girl. She couldn't put her finger on it right now because she was distracted by her pretty top.

“QUINN? THAT'S a cool name, I've never seen a—” Libby stopped abruptly. She stared at the girl and then looked to the side, and then back at the girl.

Libby eyes narrowed and she came so close, whispering into the girl's ear. “Are you a Slytherin, maybe?”

She didn't have anything against 'intruders', really, but it why would anyone want to be in a party celebrating something they weren't even apart of? She wondered if Quinn were trying to get spy information from Hufflepuffs. At least that sounded more exciting than anything else.

Libby was about to ask them more questions when another Hufflepuff came over. She vaguely recognized her she didn't seem to at all. Libby thought it was rude though for her to cut into their conversation like that, which is why she made a face, but she smiled anyone because she didn't feel like being mean at the moment.

Maya put an emphasis on the word 'Hufflepuff', which made Libby stiffle a giggle. She probably wouldn't join in with fun, since it was a bit mean, but she had to admit that it was funny how they had a 'spy' amongst them. Maybe she would in fact join in.

Coming in a little closer to the group, Libby whispered loudly, “WE—I mean, we have crucial information, but they said we can't tell anyone..” She didn't even know where she was going with this yet but she was already bouncing on her toes giddily. “UM you have to—you have to prove yourself worthy, though—I mean, though.” Libby wasn't at all nervous, she was the exact opposite. She just talked that way because she talks fast and messes up all the time, changing volume and putting emphasis on the wrong things. But she always fixes herself.

She shoved more Doritos into her mouth.

Interacting with: Most people, but mainly @Libby Holmgren @Maya Hunter and @Quinn Prescott

Duna watched as more people arrived, and with each new face her excitement grew a little bit more. There were so many Hufflepuffs! Duna knew her house was large, but she wasn’t used to seeing everyone together like this. Even in the common room Duna spent most of her time in her dorm doing homework, drawing, or asleep. She’d seen them all in the dining hall, but this was different. That was the whole school, this was just puffs!

Duna’s attention snapped back to Annie once she began talking. Duna recognized her and knew her name, Duna had tried her best to memorize the names of everyone in her house. Duna nodded as Annie spoke about setting up.

After a moment of looking around, trying to decide what to do, Duna decided to go help set up tables, as she would most likely be spending most of her time sitting at one anyway. After pulling out chairs and laying tablecloths for a while, Duna looked up to see a few more students had entered.

Duna decided to look and see if anything else needed set up, or if anyone needed help. She noticed a group of three students standing by the snack table. New friends?

Duna straightened her dress and approached the three. ”Hello! I’m Duna. Do you sign?” Duna signed to them. Duna realized that they had been in the middle of a conversation. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. Sorry!”

Interacting with @Duna Nixis, @Quinn Prescott, @Libby Holmgren, and @Maya Hunter  

Piérre was making a beeline for the ballroom, having known of a certain celebration which was going to be happening there beforehand.  He was fairly certain that many individuals could have known him, so he came prepared for this aptly named ‘Puff Party’.  He was dressed in rather formalwear for a casual meeting, but he thought it looked rather nice.  At least he would look at least partially the part of Hufflepuff while letting his heritage shine through.

Reducio

Finally, Piérre found himself in front of the ballroom doors.  He could hear the chatter within.  A party was just what he needed on this Sunday.  His homework was turned in and graded, and while he hadn’t done too hot on his first defense against the Dark Arts homework, he intended to owl Romeo and ask for a little help for later lessons.  He should probably be working on charms....  Naw, party now, work later.  That was the only way to live.

With a deep breath, Piérre readjusted the cufflinks on the suit and pushed open the door, entering the party.

It was almost immediately and painfully evident that Piérre had overdressed.  Many people hadn’t even shown up in more than a pair of sweatpants and a casual shirt.  Oh well, it was better to make a good first impression than to look like garbage anyways, wasn’t it?  Besides, being flamboyant was part of Piérre’s nature.  He was almost too Italian for his own good.

Piérre could see a lot of clustered individuals chatting quietly and enjoying the food and each other’s companies, but Piérre was almost immediately attracted to a small party on the far side of the room.  Piérre’s eyes lit as he beheld Duna.

A small jump of excitement coursed through him as he planned the best way to go in and say hello.  Spoke to Duna through owl, who gave me permission to godmod the following It had been Duna who had accidentally let the word slip about the Puff party.  She had been excited about something, and, knowing Duna well enough, Piérre had guessed that something exciting was going on.

The conversation had gone something like this:

“Duna!  What’s up?  Why are you so excited?”

Duna quickly pulled her pencil out from behind her ear and retrieved her notepad from the pocket of her robes. Writing as fast as she could Duna scribbled down what she could remember from the flyer she had seen in the Hufflepuff common room.

“Puff party tonight! I’m invited!!! So excited!”

Her handwriting was messy and hard to read but her expression could clearly convey how overjoyed she was to be sharing this with someone, even if Pièrre wasn’t a Hufflepuff.

After worming out of her where the location was, Piérre had almost immediately congratulated Duna and let her go on her way to the rest of her classes.  The second she was gone, he had bolted to his common room and rifled through all his clothes, looking for the best, most flamboyantly Hufflepuff thing he could find.  Yes, Duna hadn’t invited him, and yes, Piérre was far from being a Hufflepuff, but for heaven’s sakes, when had he ever respected the school uniform?  As far as he was concerned, he was technically every house at the same time!

Smiling, Piérre ran a hand through his hair again, messing it up more than ever, before walking over the the group and putting his hands in his black slack pockets.  The group was engaged in conversation, but Piérre gently waved, smiling demurely in his yellow and gold swirled coat.

“Um... hi guys!  Hi Duna!  How’s the party?.”  Piérre began the grand jest.  He knew that Duna knew he was a Gryffindor, and it would be even funnier when everyone else found out as well.  He looked about the party.  He was pretty sure that three of the individuals around him were actual Hufflepuffs, that being Duna, the girl with bright fire red hair done up in two  puffy ponytails, and the girl nearby with gently curled brown-blonde hair.

That left the last individual, one who had their hair up in an extremely short pixie cut.  At first glance, they almost looked like a boy, but Piérre had never seen them in the boy’s common room.  However, he had been fairly sure that they, like him, was a Gryffindor.

Intrigued that someone had beat him to the party, Piérre turned to the person he suspected was a Gryffindor.  “Hi there!  You enjoying the party too?  The Hufflepuff colors look really nice in the ballroom, don’t you think?”

The way that Piérre smiled was a sort of sly one, the kind of smile that says without words that he knew that something was going on.  In a way, Piérre admired the individual.  Maybe he could teach them a few things if they really wanted to cause mischief with their wanderings.

Interacting with @Maya Hunter @Libby Holmgren @Duna Nixis @Piérre Marchonné

Quinn was startled by the growing group of people that suddenly seemed to crowd around them. Hadn't it been just Libby they were speaking to? And now, three more people had joined the conversation, meaning there were four people in total Quinn had to deal with. Which was too much for a (partly) socially inept person like them - even though Quinn could be bubbly and extrovert-like around friends, they were really not that much into leaving their comfort zone - in this case, chatting to a bunch of strangers.
Libby, on the other hand, seemed to be the complete opposite of Quinn in this area - the red-haired, talkative, bold and confident Hufflepuff that had started this... thing in the first place by walking over to the corner where Quinn had been standing. They were still alone together two or three minutes before the third person would come. "Quinn?!", she now repeated the name the Gryffindor had just introduced themselves with, her loud voice almost a shout. "That is a cool name, I've never seen a-" She abruptly broke off, and Quinn spent some time wondering about what Libby had wanted to say, before it suddenly occured to them that maybe they should focus their attention on what had actually stopped the girl from saying it. 
Libby inched closer to them and moved their mouth in close proximity of Quinn's ear. Very close proximity. They couldn't help but lean away, not wanting their ear to be sprayed or smeared with dorito sauce. "Are you a Slytherin maybe?" she whispered, appearing eager and sly at the same time. Quinn stared at the Hufflepuff in disbelief. How on earth had she jumped to that conclusion? They knew they should probably be glad that Libby was entirely on the wrong track and hadn't found out they were a Gryffindor - but at the same time Quinn felt more than just a little offended at such a suggestion. A Slytherin, of all houses! Of course, it was possible that they were just biased and unreasonable, but honestly, a bad reputation like the Slytherins' couldn't entirely be a figment of imagination, could it? So many Dark wizards and witches had emerged from the Slytherin house, one of the most prominent ones of course Voldemort. 
Quinn opened their mouth to clarify that they were most definitely not a Slytherin, that they loathed the snobby, conceited purebloods of this house, but before any words came out, a second Hufflepuff started speaking, who had apparently been listening throughout the conversation. "Hi! Nice to meet you, Libby and Quinn. I'm Maya." "N-nice to meet you", the Gryffindor stuttered back, overwhelmed by this unexpected encounter. "So, Quinn, how are you enjoying the Hufflepuff party?", Maya asked, her tone sweet, but the emphasis on the word "Hufflepuff" startling Quinn. Did she know anything about how they'd gatecrashed the party, how they weren't actually a Hufflepuff? She couldn't possibly, Quinn tried to reassure themselves, you undressed in the corridor, right? The dimly lit, shadowy corridor. No one saw you. And you hid the robes away behind a coat of armour, why would anyone look there? Still, they scooted away a little from the blonde Hufflepuff girl. 
However, not allowing them to calm down, Libby moved even closer to them, a huge grin on her face, that somewhat confused and intimidated Quinn as they couldn't define a reason for the redhead's expression. “We have crucial information, but they said we can't tell anyone... Um, you have to—you have to prove yourself worthy, though—I mean, though.” 
This statement fired a plethora of questions in Quinn's mind - how were they supposed to prove themselves "worthy"? What was this crucial information? Who were they? Was this a simple Hufflepuff pride party or some kind of secretive meeting? However, the young Gryffindor didn't dare to ask, in case all true Hufflepuffs knew and their lie would be uncovered.
An uncomfortable pause stretched out, and Quinn's worries increased that they were actually expected to answer something, when a third Hufflepuff appeared and introduced herself as Duna. Grateful for the opportunity to change the topic of the conversation, Quinn turned around and smiled at the girl, extending a hand for her to shake it. "Hi! I'm Quinn. What's up? Are you enjoying yourself at this great Hufflepuff party?", they asked, as Duna seemed most likely to not know about the eleven-year-old being a Gryffindor, and they wanted to cement that impression by socializing with the Hufflepuff and talking about the Hufflepuff party - like a real member of the house probably would do. 
While they were waiting for Duna's answer, another student casually ambled over. Had Quinn missed something? Was this the official meeting point for conversation or why were they suddenly confronted with all those people wanting to talk to them? 
The boy was barely recognizable in his black suit, with swirly golden patterns printed all over the coat, but as he came closer, Quinn realized where they had seen them before.
At the Sorting. 
Somehow, this student had remained in Quinn's memory: the name Piérre being called out, Piérre Marchande, Marshall, Macanné, something like that; the Sorting Hat placed on his brown hair, its loud voice ringing out: "GRYFFINDOR!"
Oh, sheesh.
Of all people which could have gatecrashed the Hufflepuffs' party alongside with Quinn themselves, it had to be a fellow Gryffindor, someone who would be likely to recognize them.
"Hi! Nice to meet you! I'm Quinn", they hurried to say, accompanied by a (hopefully) discreet wink that would (hopefully) persuade Piérre to keep their secret instead of telling on them, and would (hopefully) signal to him that they were also intent on keeping his own secret of his true house origin. "Hi there", he said, they smiled nervously. "You enjoying the party too?  The Hufflepuff colors look really nice in the ballroom, don’t you think?” Quinn nodded, attempting to copy the sly smile on his lips to cause a feeling of bonding. Like partners in crime or something in that direction. Even though they had no idea (or just the vaguest) what he actually meant by that smile. Did he know who they were? Was this just his natural expression? Was he thinking about something else, and the sly smile didn't actually relate to them? 
Quinn hoped their confusion wasn't too obvious. 

SUMMARY
Whew! This was a looooong post, so maybe a summary would help as you could have all the loose threads in one place? 

Libby: Quinn is outraged when Libby assumes they're a Slytherin, but they don't get around to answering because of Maya joining the convo. Later on, when Libby hints at some "crucial information", Quinn appears (and is) extremely confused and doesn't reply to this either.
Maya:  When she walks over and introduces herself to Libby and Quinn, the latter, startled, stutters "Nice to meet you". Next, when Maya emphasizes the word "Hufflepuff" Quinn, although they don't know, is afraid that Maya knows that they are not a Hufflepuff and move away to avoid talking to her.  
Duna: When Duna appears, Quinn's rather grateful, as it gives them the opportunity to escape the conversation with Maya. They greet her heartily and enthusiastically, and ask her if she's enjoying herself "at this great Hufflepuff party", emphasizing the words "great Hufflepuff" to cement Duna's assumed impression of her as an actual Hufflepuff student.
Piérre: Quinn instantly recognizes him (from the Sorting ceremony) - and isn't very happy to see him, as they are in the same house and, probably knowing this, he could easily give them away. They try to get him on their side, being extra-friendly and even winking at the boy to silently communicate.