The Frog Choir I PV Event frog choir

He would nod at @Ruthie Greer with a slight smile that he figured would help give off the impression that he did sort of want to be here, so as not to discourage her, sending all the little girls hopes and dreams plummeting into the metaphorical bermuda triangle. Perhaps national geographic would run a documentary on whatever monster thrashed her aspirations of frog-choir-dom so thoroughly, or perhaps he would just forever live with the guilt in silence.

"Frogs and toads, a whole assortment. Loud bunch."

Another little girl soon followed, someone that Griffith recognized but didn't quite have a name to ascribe to the familiar face. He wasn't even entirely positive where he had seen her before, but that was alright, because @Thora Larkston introduced herself soon after. As she was moving to choose a frog, he grumbled loud enough for her, and probably anyone in close proximity to hear.

"They can feel when you're not well, you know. Taking care of yourself is important."

She looked too pale, with bags. Like an emo. If she had been wearing different clothing, Griffith probably would have assumed she was just making a fashion statement, trying to stick it to the man. Or to her parents, maybe her friends, who knew who kids were trying to stick things to nowadays. For all he knew they were trying to stick to each other. Or maybe just to whatever gaming console they didn't have. Although, with wizards, that might just be broomsticks. Did kids still argue about which broomstick was better?

Another girl entered, who was entirely too enamored with the incarcerated amphibians for Griffith to have space to greet her. And besides, he was distracted by a sight that was entirely not welcome. Nico Shymane, prefect of Slytherin. The bundle of nerves and hormones that someone decided to give prefecture to. She had abandoned a fire, and students that had been very much in danger to flirt with a boy, because of her nerves. She had indeed apologized afterwards, but Griffith's memory was long.

He knew he was upset about it mostly because it was something that he himself would never have done. Or, perhaps, because he would have wanted to, and would have hated himself for it. Abandoning things that needed help, abandoning people, children, those that you were charged with protecting. But aside from the fact that the level of respect he had for the Slytherin was about as high as a worm in a wheel rut, he was a professor, and she was much too small and unstable to be handling any hostilities. So he just smiled, and nodded kindly.

His internal grumblings were quickly cut off by another Slytherin, this time one who introduced herself as @Persephone Barret, a first year. She looked a lot more on the excited side, which was something he appreciated. He was helping to run the event because someone was excited about it, and the more people were excited about it, the more reason he had to be there.

"Welcome to you, first-year. I'm happy you found your way to the frog choir."

A ravenclaw boy slipped in, who looked decidedly uncomfortable, but Griffith was pretty sure that was because he was the only boy so far in a room full of girls, and to make matters worse, he was in a choir. Being the only guy in a choir was grounds to be as uncomfortable as you wanted. The boy introduced himself as @Pericles Dralt So, maybe to compensate, Griffith tried to smile a little more when he greeted the boy.

"Hello to you as well, my name is Professor Griffith, happy to have you here."

He amended the hello to include the new arrival ravenclaw, @Cecily Quinn as well, with a simple

"And hello to you as well"

He heard the hufflepuff name her frog awkward, so that they'd match, and silently sent out a prayer for her social life. You didn't go around naming frogs awkward in order to feel better about yourself unless you didn't have any friends. But on the bright side, that situation was likely to amend itself, maybe even here at the frog choir.

"We'll wait just a little longer, but while we do, feel free to each feed your frog up to three bugs. Not any more than that, though, or they'll be too full to properly croak. Like a student after too much turkey. Still, no reason to not get to know your new friends some more. I'd also like you all to come up with some idea of where your frog would be comfortable. In a tree? In the mud by a pond? You can let me know, if you'd like, or just share your ideas among each other."

Interacting
@Ruthie Greer @Thora Larkston @Pericles Dralt @Serena Davies @Morfran Griffith

Mentioning
@Alan Noble @Persephone Barret @Nico Shymane @Cecily Quinn

Griseldis was amazed after hearing from Ruthie that she was able to convince the Care of Magical Creature Professor to bring back the Frog Choir in Hogwarts. She got to admit, the Ravenclaws sure lived up to their cleverness. When she was younger before enrolling in Hogwarts, her dad did tell her about the frog choir before but was canceled after the 2nd Wizarding War. And now, she truly got the chance to be part of a Frog Choir! Her good friend Alan told her a few days ago that he wanted to get more involved in other activities so surprisedly, he signed up to join the Frog Choir as well. So right now, the Gryffindor Prefect was super excited for this practice today. Not only she would get a frog as a singing partner, but she might also even find new friends. Certainly, it would be another wicked experience for her to gain this year.

Hopefully not too late for the practice, Griseldis arrived in the Great Hall and entered with a confident smile on her face. The red and orange tie, the Gryffindor crest and the Prefect badge showing her pride of her Gryffindor House and her role. She already saw there were a group of students with frogs in their hands up ahead. There were a few people she knew, Ruthie, Thora and Pericles, the Ravenclaw with glasses who joined her errand. But when she spotted a familiar Hufflepuff girl, she almost couldn't believe her eyes. It was Serena! She was one of the students she first met on the Hogwarts Express but after the incident in the corridor she hadn't been able to see her for a very long while but she did know that something happened that caused Serena to hold back a year. It wasn't really a bad thing though, in fact, she was a bit glad to see her again. Looking to the other side there was a Slytherin Prefect and a Ravenclaw Prefect, but Grisledis only seem them a few times during patrols before but she hadn't get the chance to really interact with either one of them yet. Then there was a younger Slytherin who was standing alone there looking at her frog than to the group.

Before greeting her friends and meeting the other new students, she first politely greeted the tall man with piercing blue eyes in front of her, "Hello Professor Griffith, I'm Griseldis Edelhardt, second year Gryffindor and Prefect. I'm very excited to be here and can't wait to start our practice soon." Then Griseldis noticed the crate full of different kinds of frogs and toads, "Oh, so these are the frogs and toads that will become our partner, they all look quite wicked." looking down at them, they all look unique, but one brown Rocky Mountain toad with light strips on its back was staring up at her silently and when it realized that it got her attention the toad made a few loud and low "ribbit" noises as if it was saying hello to her. "Hello there, little fellow. You want to become my singing partner?", Griseldis picked up the toad and held it gently in her hands, giving the toad a friendly smile. Although she couldn't yet tell the gender of the toad but the color of the toad and the fact they were going to sing together reminded her one of the Chinese traditional instruments, "Hmm...I think I will call you Pipa. What do you think?", The toad seemed to like the name and croaked back happily. "Alrighty, Pipa it is!"

After getting her own toad, she could finally meet up with the friends she knew first, "Hey, Ruthie! Thora! So happy to see you here.", then Griseldis turned to greet the Ravenclaw boy, "Also a pleasure to see you here again, Pericles. I'm still very grateful for your help last month, you did a brilliant job raking all those fallen leaves.", The Gryffindor girl was eager to get to know him more, he seemed like a very interesting person. Then she looked up at the Hufflepuff girl and smiled gently at her, "Hey, Serena...it's been a while, glad to see you again. I'm honestly surprised that you joined the Frog Choir."

Interacting
@Griseldis Edelhardt @ Morfran Griffith @ Serena Davies

Alan had heard from Griseldis a few days of a Frog Choir being assembled and apparently revived after so long. Wanting to get more involved with the school and the aim of making new friends. Having never held a frog before in his entire life Alan bucked up the courage as he knew his friend Griseldis would be there to accompany him. Although anxious at first he told himself constantly "There is nothing to worry about, you're just trying something new" Still quite nervous the young lad a little deep into his studies realised he may have been running late checking his pocket watch with a portrait of his family inside all the boy could hear was "Don't you have to be somewhere Al?" said the image of what appears to be his mother to which the young man replied "F..frogs? wait Frogs! thanks picture m...mum!" The portrait smiled as Alan pocketed the watch, immediately making his way towards the Great Hall.

Although flustered with the thought of being late for the first practice all Alan could think right now was "Have to make it...I kinda want to see what a frog feels like" Before reaching the Great Hall at the large entrance, Alan took a moment to straighten himself, dusting off imaginary bits of dirt and fastening his tie whilst adjusting his robe frantically leaving his necktie slightly crooked and forgot his shirt was slightly untucked. Brushing his fingers through his hair to slick it back, Alan entered the Great Hall with a mix of an eager but nervous smile.

Upon entering the Great Hall he immediately noticed Griseldis, The Buns that kept her hair in place was quite distinctive as it reminded Alan of a certain muggle fiction mouse with large ears. As he approached the Young lad had noticed quite a fair few people showing up, immediately recognising Serena Davies offering the Hufflepuff a small wave and weak smile, feeling it's been a while since he's seen that girl around he said if the girl could hear "Uh...g-g-good to see ya again...S-Serena was it?" . Upon joining the group Griseldis engaged in he waved to all of them stuttering his words to those who could notice him as the young lad was a lot smaller than most of his peers including most of the first years as he said rather nervously and obviously lacking people skills as he blurted out "Hi...I-I-I'm Alan!..S-sorry but hi! a-am I late to j-join?".

After offering his greetings feeling he went a little overboard with his pleasantries the young lad walked over to the Care of Magical Creatures Professor and offered a nervous smile "A-A-Am I late? O-Oh I'm Alan Noble g-g-glad to finally meet you sir" Not realising he was near the crate a light reddish Toad with black warts leapt up onto the boy's shoulder. Startled at first Alan almost fell over his own feet having noticed the Toad finally he said softly "Uh...H-Hi I'm Alan...w-w-want to b-be my friend?" The Toad tilted its warted brown face, Curious about this nervous boy Alan held out his palms like a cup, it leapt into his palms and let out a croak. The Boys first instinct was to gently pet the toads head as he looked up to Professor Griffith "So...uh...can I borrow this Toad sir? Heh...I am late aren't I? Yes? No? Does this little guy like me?" Alan was still quite nervous as he seemed to be rambling a little. Alan pet the toad it felt rather odd compared to his Owl it felt more bumpy and rough to the touch but at least this creature isn't out to peck him to death unlike... the malicious pet Owl that nobody believes is mean to him.

Serena stood there, smiling at her new friend, Awkward, until she heard a familiar girl's voice, one she hadn't heard since her first month in Hogwarts. She looked up at Griseldis, a girl smile crossing her face as she excitedly jumps a little, almost dropping Awkward in the process, frightening the frog so he jumps on her head, making her giggle a little. "Hey Griseldis! Awkward look who it is! I know her from when I first came here." She placed the pillow on the counter before reaching up and pulling her frog friend off her head, smiling at him before turning him towards Gris, saying, "Griseldis meet Awkward, he's my new friend."

Serena kept her eyes on Gris, hoping they'd have a small catch up conversation, but the voice she heard next was something she wasn't ready for. She heard Alan's voice, the boy that had ran from her that day in the corridor. She was hoping it was just another echo in her head, but as she looked over to where she heard the voice coming from, she saw him standing right there. She was fighting back the tears that were welling up in her eyes, but then Awkward placed his head on her chest, as if being able to feel how she felt, and that made her tears start running. She turned around to the table, placing Awkward on the pillow, trying to hide her tears, hoping no one noticed how her shoulders were shaking or had seen her tears before she turned around.

Interacting with: @Alan Noble @Griseldis Edelhardt

Pericles had greeted the group in a more mild-mannered way than the norm, pleased and polite, albeit abnormally quiet. His inexperience with organized groups became all the more apparent when Professor @Morfran Griffith addressed him. The boy looked up with a start, seemingly surprised for the fact that their instructor would greet them individually at all. Having been privately tutored all of his life, professors were an authority figure which he had ultimately given a wide berth, from avoiding eye contact to being called upon in class. It was up to said teacher to decide if this was a mistake, as the odd lad looked up with wide eyes, looking like a deer on the verge of bolt, before a too-toothy starstruck smile spread into place. That weirdly wordless beam persisted a little longer than what was socially necessary before Peri was back to eyeing the other students, doing his best to commit their introductions to memory, lips closed but quirked in a contented way. There were few he knew on a first-name basis.

One familiar among them was the Gryffindor girl- the Prefect, @Griseldis Edelhardt. His smile was easier this time around, relaxed like his tone as he insisted, "It wasn't any trouble. I was glad for the opportunity, which is t'say, thank you. Again." Her choir companion was given a once-over followed by a tilt of his head. "I like your toad. How d'you suppose it works? That they can tell if we're unwell that is, like the professor said." Pericles didn't doubt the truth in this, but wondered whether or not the creatures could "smell" someone's health, or if maybe they were much more intelligent than they appeared. As for where their toads could have come from, he hadn't the foggiest idea. Usually he was excellent about researching a subject before approaching it, but in the choir's case, he had done more reading up on singing itself than amphibians.

Much to his surprise, someone else spoke his name. Pericles recognized @Ruthie Greer in passing: through shared classes, at the Ravenclaw table, from the errand Griseldis gave them. They had yet to speak directly, but from what little he had seen of the fellow Ravenclaw, she seemed a kind if distant (as of late) sort of student. That she had taken the initiative of gathering this group was a testament to her character, though he knew nothing about her beyond speculation. As happy as Peri was when Ruthie said she was glad he attended, the lad could not help but blurt "You are?" Her question about music made him perk. "I- yes, I suppose I am!" How had she known? Hopefully, word about him humming in the showers hadn't spread. Yet the moment Peri was presented the sheet music, he froze up. "This...." Had she meant his personal preference in the music? Whether or not it was well-written by the composer? What do you think was the sort of question he would get wrong on his homework for overthinking, incidentally jotting down an answer either abstract or over-fluffed. Peri looked at it blankly for several seconds before seeming to find himself again, blinking back to the present.

He looked up, smiled softly, and carried on as if he hadn't just suffered some crisis of identity: "I think it'll be fine so long as we start with something simple. That way we can gauge how familiar everyone is with sheet music, group them by voice type, and we'll have an easier time organizing for what the professor wants us to do next." For the time being, it seemed that simply entailed getting to know their frogs better.

In a panic, Santario gasped as she realized where the sun was positioned in the sky. “The frog choir!!! I can’t be late!” She exclaimed as she hastily packed up her camera equipment. She was easily found behind her lens and losing track of time while looking at the beauty around her through it was a habit. Though this habit normally didn’t make her late for important things, this was clearly an exception.

Santario ran causing her robes and raven tresses to flow behind her as she did. Holding onto her camera bag carefully as she took corners and dodged other students it wouldn’t take her long before she finally hit the corridor that would lead her to the great hall. Slowing her pace, now, she would run her hands through her hair making it fall normally down her back and she allowed a moment to catch her breath so they wouldn’t know she had just done a mad dash across half of the castle.

Turning the corner she would see quite a few other students already there some she knew and most she did not. She recognized Griffith immediately from Alan Vanes description of him and given what she had heard about his normally grumpy nature she was still a little surprised that he had been the professor to head up the choir, but then again, they did need the frogs and toads from him

Her sapphire eyes flitted from each person in term with a smile. “Hey everyone! I am so sorry I lost track of time taking photos. For those of you that don’t know me, I am Santario.” The colors that adorned her robes would place her as a Slytherin and it wouldn’t be something she stated because if you weren’t smart enough to figure it out then that was your problem. She noted other people had already picked out their little companions and most people had frogs. Santario was used to toads because her father had one that she helped care for when she was home. So, with that, she walked over to the toads and looked them over. She wanted to see if she had a connection with any of them and that was when one, in particular, seemed to stare her down. He looked haughty with his light olive-green skin speckled with black spots.

She extended her hands out to the toad because although she wanted to work with him that did not mean he wanted to work with her. She wanted to make sure they would both be happy, after all, the toad's happiness was the priority here. If felt like an eternity that she crouched there like that before the toad finally half crawled half hopped into her hands. He was a large boy that easily filled up both of her hands and some.

She walked over to Ruthie with a grin on her face. “Seems this big guy wants to join!” She giggled as she carefully set him on a pillow before picking it up. Now that she was finally settled with her new friend, she observed the room.

Interacting with Everyone and more personally with @Ruthie Greer

Griffith greeted the new Gryffindor arrival, @Griseldis Edelhardt with a

"Very nice to meet you."

And a courteous, if rather small, nod. Almost directly after that, an exceedingly nervous young man entered, introduced himself as @Alan Noble, and selected a frog. Why was it that of the two young men interested in the Frog Choir, both of them seemed so nervous to be there? Or maybe they just seemed nervous in general, but it was kinda sad however you sliced it. They should have more fire, more drive. Something to make them proud to be standing. Everyone should, for that matter, Griffith thought that the internal fire was essential. He was planning on teaching a little about it in class later.

However, a grand speech about how the calm fire within you warms and calms the hearts of the creatures around you probably wasn't going to do much aside from make the poor boy even more nervous, so Griffith decided to avoid his standard response about how none of the frogs really cared for the students as individuals and they were just feeling the energy put off by each of them based off of instinct alone, and went with the hallmark response of

"Yeah, know what? I'll bet he does."

Besides, they were frogs. Not like the kid had to calm down and be careful when handling a frog. That was a reason that had made it's way high on the list of reasons why Griffith liked frogs and mice and such as much as he did. Dogs, too. It was hard to go wrong with them, even if you had a woefully small idea of what you were doing, you were liable to be just fine.

"No, you're not late. We're mostly just seeing who's going to show."

The other boy, @Pericles Dralt, had wasted no time in being really, really weird. Griffith felt like facepalming, of course he should have expected this. Hogwarts was a refuge for the weird, a haven for the odd. Beyond a magical school, it was a sanctuary for those not quite right in the head. After all, it had been his own home for many long years. That sort of thing gave one an appreciation for the bizarre, but that appreciation only lasted so far, and Griffith only had so much energy to devote to weird frog choir space cadets.

"Alright, so to get things off, we'll have a few of you guys sing with your frogs. Your frogs will probably join in, or they won't. They'll learn with time, but for now I'm more worried about each of you individually. Just sing for a minute or so, whatever you feel comfortable with. Take turns, but if you want to sing with someone for whatever reason, groups of two or three are fine as well. Then we'll group you all by pitch and move forward with the frogs."

There were names for this sort of thing, weren't there? Soprano, alto, base? Weren't there more? Maybe Ruthie knew? The welshman's eyes wanted to dart to the little girl, but didn't. Calm fire, even if he didn't know what was going on, it would look like he did. Or at least it would feel like he did. He could hear pitch anyway, and given how weird all the kids here were, he'd be surprised if they weren't all some weird sort of super-singers. Super child model opera orphan star seemed to be one of the largest demographics in the school.

Who was even in charge of sending out those owls?

Go ahead and rp your auditions, feel free to rp the frog however you'd like, or rp getting ready and grabbing a partner or two as you pick your song, it's up to you. You can link to a video, or just let us use our imaginations. Just remember that lyrics don't count towards your rp word count!

Saskia didn't think she'd actually join something like Frog Choir. The general premise was interesting, however, and frogs were nice. Many people thought they were gross and slimy, but they weren't. They were adorable and tiny, and she always liked to play with them, even when she was younger. The frogs weren't the problem. No, it was the part where she supposedly had to sing.

Singing wasn't inherently bad. In fact, it wasn't even required for Frog Choir. Personally, Saskia wasn't very comfortable showing off her singing voice in front of everyone else. Yes, the Hufflepuff Quidditch Captain who took on bludgers from the sky, survived a hard hit to the head that almost knocked her out as well as having dealt with her lips bleeding (it was a long story), was afraid of singing in front of people. Well, maybe afraid wasn't the right word. It was more of embarrassment. What if people made fun of her singing? It might have been better if one or two people heard her sing, but she was dealing with a group of strangers. Her singing would be their first impression of her. They might have seen her in Quidditch, but it was different. She wasn't directly interacting with them. All she had to do was focus on the field, bat away the bludgers, and be on the lookout for her team. But here? She had an audience to worry about. Even if she focused somewhere else other than the audience, she could still feel their eyes on her.

But she didn't want some trivial fear to hold her back. She wanted to try something new, and forcing herself to audition would be a great idea to push herself out of her comfort zone. She wanted to prove to herself that she could do this. She could get rid of the uneasiness and potential discomfort, and even find some new friends. That's what she wanted from this, right? To find more people to connect with, make more memories, and do something that wasn't studying, or Quidditch. It was perfectly harmless. She would have assumed that the people there were decent enough, anyhow. They were taking care of frogs, for Merlin's sake. They'd at least have the competency to know how to deal with them if they were planning to do a choir with them. But would they actually be nice? She wouldn't have known.

And so, when the Hufflepuff looked at the time, her eyes widened. Merlin, she was late. Time went by fast, and she had already lost track of the minutes passing by. There went her first impression, she supposed. Not only did she have to deal with having to show off her singing, but she would also be the one who showed up late. This was just perfect.

Saskia immediately made haste towards the Great Hall. Maybe if she was fast enough, she wouldn't be too late. Maybe a few minutes late? Who was she even kidding? She was still late. There was no way around that. Hopefully the other members weren't waiting for too long. She'd hate to have to hold everyone up thanks to her stupidity.

Thankfully, she managed to reach the room soon enough. Now she just had to deal with the awkwardness of being the tardy newcomer. Ah, yes, that moment in time where she would be the one person walking in the room while everyone else looked on to see the idiot who didn't even bother to show up on time. Wasn't that just a pleasant experience?

Stepping into the room, she walked a little further into the room so she could introduce herself. "Hello, everyone. Sorry for the delay. I got caught up in Quidditch practice. I'm Saskia, by the way. She gave a little wave and a smile to everyone else in the room. Then after that was done, she managed to catch a bit of what the professor had been telling everyone else. Alright, so she just had to find a frog and practice her singing. That wasn't too difficult. At least she'd have the time to practice before anything else happened.

The girl immediately headed towards the frogs. She wasn't very familiar with everyone else in the room, and as much as she wanted to socialize, she still wanted time for herself to practice with the frogs. She wasn't very picky with frogs, and so, she picked out the first one that caught her eye. He seemed cute enough, and from the look alone, he looked like someone she would definitely have gotten along with. Either that, or she was just not in the mood to contemplate on her decision for too long. "Hi there. Hopefully you're fine with me stealing you away. Well, at least for now." She smiled at the little frog who seemed perfectly content to sit on both her hands. If she was friendly enough with the frog, then maybe it'd be easier for both of them to get along.

Singing was nice. So were animals. Obviously, Frog Choir was a great idea. Even if they were a little - no, more than a little - slimy. Koko had decided that this was the best way to get out there, to get used to people. She was shy, yes. She was also scared. So she could get over her fears by facing them, right?

Nah. This would just be covering them up.

She had decided that being early would be very good in this situation. Dressed in a dark green sweater and jeans, her blonde hair pulled out of her face with an emerald scrunchie, and walked at a very fast pace from the Slytherin Dugeons

Besides, she was interested in Care of Magical Creatures as an elective next year, and that professor would be superivising this. Of course Koko wanted to hop into the club. And the frogs. They were just like snowflakes, all special and unique. Koko's initial repulsion to touching a frog faded as she gazed at the tub that Professor Griffith had pointed out. She had noticed the other two girls, but it was only her and the frogs in the room from the moment she set her eyes on the tub. A squeal escaped her lips and she ran over to the tub, a grin on her face. For someone who hated dirt and loved preppy things, Koko certainly had quite the affinity for reptiles. She knew which frog she wanted to partner up with immediately.

Koko didn't have to talk to the people yet. But she could at least admire the frog. He had the most beautiful amber eyes as well as skin the colour of fire. He was perfect. At least, she assumed it was a he. He looked like a he. Koko squinted as she gazed at the frog in the bin, and then she leaned over to pick him up. He was beautiful. His name would be Jeremiah. He seemed like a Jeremiah. And calling a frog Jerry... That just sounded adorable.

Realising that she had, in fact, neglected to introduce herself, Koko turned to face the others. At first glance, she noticed that she knew quite a few of them. Not that she knew their names. "Hullo, everyone. I- I'm, ah, I'm Koko. Second year, Slytherin." She didn't elaborate. A simper rested on her small face as her amber eyes glittered with excitement - this would be fun.

Reducio

Jeremiah says hi.

Mentions everyone but mostly @Ruthie Greer.

If it weren't for her fellow blonde Ravenclaw [Ruthie], Dymphna wouldn't have signed up to join the Frog Choir. She had a love for the arts, once playing piano in the former Hogwarts orchestra, working alongside Bloom Silverton on a school play, and joining the On Pointe Dance Club where she met Rosie Parker. Despite these clubs and her activity with them in the past, Dymphna found herself drawn more towards Quidditch and her work on the newspaper. Alongside her studies, these took up more of her time, but she was starting to miss the previous clubs, the ones that she felt she had a talent for, even before Hogwarts.

However, just as she had confided in Ruthie, Dymphna had concerns about singing in public. Especially now that she was getting older and seeing obvious signs of enchanting others, such as Oliver Hart. Would he have helped her out of the ball if she didn't have Veela blood? It was something she had been pondering since she learned of those who jumped in to help. If it was because of the Veela blood running through her veins, she was grateful that it had assisted her this one time. It was something to take advantage of, her grandmother Eithne told her, but she didn't want to use it in that way. She just wanted to have fun singing like she used to, that was all.

"Evening, Professor," She greeted him upon entering the Great Hall. She spotted Ruthie right away, already paired up with another familiar face [Cecily]. There were quite a few people she knew already, but some she did not. It wasn't the time to introduce herself. Instead, she picked a toad. There was a moment where she thought she should've asked Reid if she could hang out with Scully during Frog Choir, being the only reptile she handled before. She chose a nice looking toad all the same, one that sort of looked as if it were smiling. What sort of name suited a toad? She would have to think on it.

Looking around at the few who had decided to group up, she thought about it for a moment. Dymphna worked well in groups but what if something went wrong? No, she would audition alone. Less damage that way if something were to happen. Perhaps she should've brought her concerns to Professor Griffith beforehand. It would have been the smart thing to do. If it came down to it, she would let him know but for now, she moved to a corner of the room and awaited her turn to audition. Some of them seemed nervous, not wanting to go first? That was fine with Dymphna, she would prefer to get her audition out of the way as fast as she could. Not wanting to work herself up into a bundle of nerves, she stepped forward and cleared her throat. "I'd like to go first, if you all don't mind."

No one seemed to have any objections, the first years least of all. Dymphna felt that they may be the most nervous out of everyone, perhaps joining a club for the very first time. She had some experience with performing. It wasn't that she was nervous about being in the spotlight at all, she just preferred not to be but with the way things were shaping up the last few months, that seemed to be the way of things. Spotlight on her because of what happened at the ball but she had to keep occupied with the few things that still mattered to her. With a deep breath, she began. Her high-pitched singing echoing off the walls in the large Great Hall.

[LISTEN]

"Green finch and linnet bird,
Nightingale, blackbird,
How is it you sing?"

The blonde chose this particular song for a reason. Dymphna was usually content, happy with life, albeit stressed sometimes but who wasn't? Her failing marks in Potions and Herbology used to be the worst thing that ever happened to her. After the ball, she realized that there were more important things to worry about. The safety of her fellow students, her loved ones and herself.

How can you jubilate,
Sitting in cages,
Never taking wing?
Outside the sky waits,
Beckoning, beckoning,
Just beyond the bars.
How can you remain,
Staring at the rain,
Maddened by the stars?

Despite her friends visiting her during recovery in the Hospital Wing and the copious amounts of work there was to catch up on, the wasn't much to do other than spend time in bed. Recovery wasn't that quick of a process, even with the help of magic. By the time she was released, she had memorized more constellations than she thought possible with the help of her father's old telescope, and was bursting to get back on her broom again to practice for Quidditch. So that's exactly what she did, spending most of her time down on the pitch or holed up in the girl's dormitory revising for the Headliner.

My cage has many rooms, damask and dark
Nothing there sings, not even my lark
Larks never will, you know, when they're captive
Teach me to be more adaptive
Green finch, and linnet bird, nightingale, blackbird
Teach me how to sing
If I cannot fly
Let me sing

Whatever it was, Dymphna didn't want to feel it anymore. Sad. Tired. Uninterested in most activities that she used to enjoy. The only thing keeping her going was the strong bonds she had made over the years, friends that kept her laughing and talking, having a cuddle with her pygmy puff, Celestina. Chocolate seemed to help too. Even still, it was a struggle to reach out to others and even more so to meet new people, something that she used to love to do. The matron in the hospital wing had stopped giving her Sleeping Draughts. She may not remember what happened but somewhere deep down, it was there as though her mind had decided it was safer to forget. But she wouldn't be able to forget, not with the scar. Her hand held the scar on her abdomen where the spear entered and as she hit her last note, higher than all the rest, she realized she was crying for the first time since the ball. Except this time, she had a smile on her face.

Note: For all Frog Choir threads, any Veela abilities that Dymphna possesses are inactive.