The Lost Pearl 2025 Fall Ball

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| Date: Autumn Ball, 10/04/25 | Word count: 409 | Outfit: Something like this |
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“You girls look lovely,” Fred said with an open smile, his eyes moving between Ally and Maisie. The shine of Ally’s pink dress seemed to catch even the floating lights above, and Maisie’s sailor outfit looked like it had stepped right out of an old pirate story. For a moment, he looked around, listening to the soft rhythm of the lake waves hitting the ship’s hull. It was hard to believe all of this was happening on Hogwarts grounds. Fred found himself thinking how the school seemed to change every week, and this time, the change had the taste of adventure.

Inside the ship, the group walked through a corridor lined with floating candles until they reached a wide hall, glowing with maritime lanterns. Fred led the way, with that look of someone exploring new territory, until, as they turned a corner, he spotted two familiar faces: Rosaline and Leo. “Hey, you two!” he called out, waving quickly. A mischievous smile crossed his face as he noticed they were sitting alone, and he couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle before moving on. It looked like one of those moments best not interrupted.

They soon found an empty table, not too far from a window overlooking the lake. Fred pulled out a chair and sat down in front of the magically appearing dishes. “Look at that, just like in the Great Hall,” he said, impressed. The menu shimmered with names he had never heard before, dishes with lobsters, shrimps, scallops, and other seafood that sounded far too fancy for someone used to nothing but fried fish back home. His stomach growled as if joining the conversation. “Guess I’ll do the honors, then,” he said with a laugh, serving himself first and letting the scent of great food fill the air.

As he ate, Fred’s eyes roamed the crowded hall, the lights danced across the windows, and the reflection of the lake made the floor seem to move. “This is wicked,” he said, voice full of excitement. Then, suddenly, he dropped his fork as something came to mind. “Oh, the card!” he exclaimed, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out the little paper given by the strange sailor and unfolded it, frowning slightly. Some of the words were fading, vanishing right before his eyes. He looked up at his friends, holding the card for them to see. “Hey… are yours doing that too? What do you think it means?”

Action: Trying to read the words that faded from the card
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| Stats: Sta-8 ⁞ Eva-6 ⁞ Str-4 ⁞ Wis-5 ⁞ Arc-4 ⁞ Acc-8 | Abilities: Evasive Maneuvers |
| Interacting with: @Maisie Fenwick Rose Williams @Ally Craig @Marcus Contarini Crawford |
| Mentions: @Rosaline Everhart @Leo Noxley |

A living thing full of silent magic, the violin's melody wiggled through the atmosphere. As if the lake itself had joined in the rhythm, the ship rocked softly as it moved in time with it. Soft ripples of light and shadow brushed over Avery's face as golden lanternlight flickered across the deck. Mikey momentarily lost all sense of where he was. It felt as though he was in a dream. His hand was a perfect fit for hers. He didn't even need to adjust it. Initially, he felt clumsy, but they simply fell into step, laughing each time one of them failed to keep up or missed a step. Avery simply giggled and spun him around after Mikey almost over the edge of her dress once and muttered an apology that turned to laughter.

The fact that they weren't flawless dancers didn't bother him. That somehow made everything even better. Her hair brushed against his cheek the first time she turned, and he thought he smelled her perfume, sweet and subtle, and that his heart was trying to get out of his chest. "You know," he said in a low voice with a smile, "I think we're creating a whole new dance style here." The "barely holding it together shuffle." Mikey's smile widened. Slightly tightening his grip on her hand, he led her in until there was hardly any distance between them. Everything else vanished in that instant as the violin continued above the faint murmur of voices.

He glanced down at her, a nervous smile tugging at his lips, but there was something softer there too. “You know, Avery,” he said, voice low, “I think this is my favorite night at Hogwarts. And it’s not the food, or the lights, or even the lake.” He stopped, just for a moment, his words almost sticking in his throat before he found his smile again. “It’s you.” The ship suddenly rocked, and Avery tumbled against him, both of them breaking into laughter. Without thinking, Mikey caught her by the waist and held her steady, cheeks turning a little pink as he did.

They kept drifting along, taking their time, not in any hurry. The song started to fade. Mikey bent down a bit, his voice just a notch above the hush of the waves. “Hey,” he whispered, “when we’re old and still stumbling around together, do you think you’ll remember this dance?” He smiled, just a little smile, but it reached his eyes, and the lanternlight flickered in the blue there. “I know I will.”





Action: Dancing with Avery

STATS
Stamina ◦ 6 | Evasion ◦ 7 | Strength ◦ 4 | Wisdom ◦ 9 | Arcane Power ◦ 6 | Accuracy ◦ 8

ABILITIES
Sixth Sense
Evasive Maneuvers

date 04/10/25

word count 365

outfit ⁺₊ ☀︎ ⁺₊

speech #8C2626

mentions @Livia Machavariani

notes xxx

Lucille's eyes widened in pleasant surprise at what Livia called her. A mermaid pirate? How did she not think of that before? She looked down at her outfit; it made so much sense! The joy in Lucille's expression seemed to amplify tenfold at those words. "I am? I am!" she announced, as if she couldn't believe it herself. "Truth be told, I couldn't decide what I wanted to go for, so I went for both! I think being a mermaid pirate, however, sounds so much lovelier." For once, it wasn't Lucille with the contagious excitement. This was the most enthusiastic she had ever seen Livia be. Granted, they had only met a few times before, but it seemed with every meeting Livia was revealing more and more of herself, and Lucille was always eager to discover more.

Lucille raised an amused eyebrow at Livia's lament of not having a cutlass. "I doubt they'd let you in with a cutlass, but I suppose your wand shall have to suffice." Her own wand was tucked neatly under her skirt, invisible but always there. Lucille didn't typically cast spells outside of a classroom, but her wand felt like a safety net in every situation. It made her feel braver, and she wondered how she had spent the first 10 years of her life without one, even though she'd only had it for a few months.

When Livia offered her hand, Lucille took it immediately, but there was a slight pause before she answered, trying to find the right words. "Certainly... lass?" she said with a little giggle, unsure if that was the correct term. Livia had already used the most obvious one and, really, the only one she knew, but she hoped that was good enough. "Believe me, I came prepared to eat," she said, beginning to lead them towards one of the tables for two, glancing at Livia to see if she'd follow.

This newfound side of Livia intrigued her more, with Lucille tending to take a backseat in their conversations and interactions, all the more curious at what Livia's next words would be. The girl seemed to her an enigma, someone that was slowly revealing herself.

Lilith walked in the room, late, as usual. She liked to keep people waiting, it gave her a feeling of control. Sometimes illusory, yes, but still. Lilith lived on control.
Tonight, she was wearing a beautiful straight silk dress, the white fabric clinging on her lean body. A single row of pearls around her white neck drew attention on her delicate collarbone. Chin raised, she looked around for her date. She tried to hide her excitement, but she couldn't wait to see his reaction when he'd see her in the outfit he chose for her. The boy had quite an artistic eye, and Lilith had found an unexpected satisfaction in playing muse and letting him dress her as he pleased.

As she walked in the room, avoiding dancing couples and desesperate alone boys in suits too large for them, confusion appeared on her face. Where was he ? Her entrance was ruined. She wanted to walk into the room and see his eyes light up, her smiling mysteriously and him not able to talk because of her beauty. Instead, she was alone looking for him and nobody even talked to her.

She finally spotted him, and her mood got even worse. He wasn't waiting at all. In fact, he seemed to spend a superb evening, next to the most beautiful creature Lilith had ever seen. Delicate, with long drak brown hair framing her face, the girl Lilith watched seem to be very interested in what the boy was telling her. And he seemed very interested in return. Who could blame him ? The girl was absolutly gorgeous. She had to be a veela. Lilith felt her confidence falter. Maybe she had come too late, maybe he got bored of waiting for her and found someone else.

Shaking the feeling, she decided to walk up to him. She had planned for tha ball to be her time of glory, and no one, not even a veela, was going to stop that.

Round Four Moderation - During The Second Course

The night was slowing significantly, perhaps not in a bad way, but one that made the sheer anticipation start to abate into enjoyment. A couple, be it just friends or soon to be something more, got seated, all pink eyes and playful tones. Speaking to one another about scrumptious foods, as well as talk of pirates, all of which one might expect when faced by the beauties of the specially crafted evening. (@Rosaline Everhart, @Leo Noxley)

A duo talking near the rails about mermaid pirates, wands, and cutlasses, with smiles and giggles between. Complements were exchanged, in the comedian tone of hilariously cliche pirate speak. The two girls seemed to be getting along swimmingly, and just starting to get to know each other, and it was the perfect night to do so. (@Lucille Rosenhart, @Livia Machavariani)

A few tables off stood an encounter that seemed entirely confusing to the ill-informed @Avis Greymond. For why would someone capable of speech not use it? Alas, some wished to practice their communication skills in other ways without informing those present who did not know what was happening.

A young @Frederick Buckley would look at the card more closes, focusing on the fading words, and notice nothing spectacular, only the words fading and regaining their color like the waves shifting in the wind. A trivial matter, but a fascinating one nonetheless, appropriate to be deemed to simply add ambience and charm to the evening. Perhaps it merely needed to be seen in a better light.

Another odd pair might be dancing about, surprisingly not on the designated area for dancing, but right where they were, without a care in the world other than the person in their arms. No one seemed to mind, though, @Avery Gray and @Mikey Forville seemed to be far enough away from the rest of the attendants so as to not spark any attention.

And yet, it appeared that The Lost Pearl's charm was not enough to keep everyone aboard, some being far more drawn to commotion than niceties. @Jarden Ardelis was quickly off towards The Weeping Shore in hopes of something more exciting than entrées or drinks.

WELCOME TO The Lost Pearl.

OOC INFORMATION ;
1. To participate, you must be indexed. If you are not indexed yet, please apply here.
2. Moderation will occur every week, with the first few weeks describing the three courses. {One Every other week with a general moderation post in between, till the three courses are done, then we will just have the normal ones}
3. Your character is allowed one moderated action per round. Please specify your moderated action somewhere OOC in your post. 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. There are two other threads in this event, The Weeping Shore (dance floor) and The Drowned Palace (escape game). IC speaking, your character would enter through The Lost Pearl to reach The Weeping Shore. You are not required to post here to access The Weeping Shore. The location of The Drowned Palace, as well as an additional clue to the treasure hunt, are hidden in The Lost Pearl. Your character doesn't need either to access or play the game, these are options adding to the atmosphere.
6. You can directly enter either threads without needing to post in this thread, but if you already have, please specify that you are leaving this thread for either one of the other two.
6. Please follow all usual HIO rules.
7. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer, beware of the bewitching siren's chant, but most importantly, enjoy !

Delicate fabric and lace tore easily beneath her skilled wand's tip, a Diffindo cast coming as easily to the seventh-year as breathing. After an eventful summer magic-wise, Aly had become more confident in her abilities with a wand, finally beginning to understand why more capable wix referred to it as an extension of one's own self; it definitely felt as though it was simply her fingers cutting away the threads, forming ragged layers and ruffles of the outer lace and the under-skirts. The extra fabric was kicked away by a deft foot into a corner; if some stray first-year wanted to dress up as a ghost for the remainder of the evening, they would certainly find cloth aplenty with which to decorate their person. "There we go," she sighed in relief, shaking out one leg at a time much like a wet cruppy. "Merlin's beard, I feel lighter already. Remind me never to accept fashion advice from my grandmother ever again." Aly shot a half-grin at her new companion, who had stolen her old companion's drink and was now helping himself to it. "And hey, you'd best hope I didn't put anything in that goblet. Maybe I was planning on sending old Barny to sleep so I could go dance the night away with my mates."

(The Ravenclaw would let him panic or worry or think about if she would really do that for a moment, however Theo reacted, and then jokingly let him know that she had been teasing and the drink was fine. All his, now, really.)

She stretched out her arms, unwilling to unclasp the pearls from her ears or around her neck - a dress was one thing, but priceless family heirlooms were disown-worthy if lost or taken off, and though Aly might not have agreed with all of the Livingston family practices thus far, she also wasn't quite willing to completely cut herself off from them (yet). Still, the bun in her hair felt so... stuffy now that her dress was more light and free, so she reached up and pulled from her curls the singular linchpin hairpin that had so carefully kept in the shape of the bun; golden-brown ringlets tumbled round her shoulders, as if they had been caged and simply awaiting a chance to shine. A few of them had been bent at odd angles by the pin, but Aly didn't mind. Her hair had never really been one to cooperate anyway.

The final piece of the puzzle, or rather impromptu self-makeover, came from none other than Theo himself; even as he offered to allow her to spend the evening with the "much better option", the Ilvermorny boy untied one of the red sashes from his own costume and offered it to her. It was only at this moment that the Ravenclaw realised he might have been more... coquettish than he had been during their first meeting back at camp; that wink earlier when he had picked up the drink, and now the smile on his face as he handed her the ribbon... well, Aly was certainly not impartial or immune to a good heap of charm.

Her face flushed slightly, pink dampening her freckled cheeks as she graciously accepted the strip of red cloth and tied it about her waist, a sash and a dash of colour alike to her previously rather spectral outfit. "Why, thank you, Privateer Theo. Now, where's that 'better option' you were talking about? Is he around here somewhere? I'd love to go have a dance, if he's available." She tried to feign peering over his shoulder, but he was over a foot taller than her, so she had to settle for peering around the side of him instead. After a moment of the joke, she chuckled and grinned up at him. "Only kidding, of course. But seriously, we really ought to make ourselves scarce just in case old Barny decides he wants some dame on his arm after all."

A summer's worth of etiquette training taking over, feeling rather like she was being possessed by the faraway spirit of Lady Prudence herself, Aly extended a hand gracefully, palm down, as if she was waiting either for a kiss or the hand of another equally.

"Feel like a dance with a first mate, privateer?"

Action: Inviting Theo to head to the Weeping Shore for a dance

Closed to other interactions | October 4^th, 2025 | outfit in banner, | #C47DDB
lovely & charmer affect everyone | paragon allies: theo, peri | sta 10, eva 14, str 5, wis 19, arc 7, acc 16
inventory: knife, wand, hardanger's cosmetics, murtlap essence, welcome card | @Theodore Duncain

Edit: Please note that Theo and I have moved to the Weeping Shore.

Maurice would never get used to the peculiar English wizards and their peculiar English ways.

The first ever magical ball that Maurice had attended had been in his first year with some strange girl he hardly knew. They had exchanged few words and even fewer glances, going only as far as a bit of blush and awkward conversation. Maurice had retired to his quarters not long after it had begun. All he remembered was the extravagance of the venue and the numbness of its payoff.

Now, in his third year, Maurice found that the bubbling sense of dread and the aching pit in his gut would never really go away. As he stepped across the rickety plank and entered onto the hauntingly decorated ship that served as the ball's entrance, he was immediately struck with a feeling of great lonesomeness. His sisters were not here, he knew hardly any students from both his school and Hogwarts, and he was dressed like a drunken rock star. That last bit was subjective, he supposed. He thought he looked quite nice, all things considered, though half of his outfit had been stolen from his eldest sister.

The one thing keeping him afloat (har har) was the chance at finally being acquainted with the mystery student he had grown so fond of over the past few months. They had begun sending owls back and forth the spring prior, and since then he couldn't get them out of his head. It was both frustrating and exhilarating, to have his mind so entirely occupied with one person. He felt as though he had known them his whole life, thought he hardly knew them at all. Only through ink on a page. He hoped that perhaps tonight would change that.

He scrubbed a hand over his flushed face. He needed to get his head on straight. Adjusting the black bandana he had fixed in his hair (artfully messy, he called it), he assumed a position of nonchalance, resting against the railing and watching the gentle waves lap against the side of the boat. Here, he would wait. And wait. And wait.

Harvey's gaze slipped away from the dark haired beauty that he had struck up a conversation with as the buzz and bauble of it all seemed to distract them both. The grandeur of it all had him feeling in an unusually festive mood this evening. For the most part he was quite the serious boy and frill was fun to look at, but often just a waste of time. Something was changing with him though. Something he still could not pinpoint. The flash and pizzazz of the ball was calling to him and even a rare, genuine smile crossed the boy's lips. Perhaps he could leave all of the scheming and calculating aside and just enjoy the evening for what it was. Good old fashioned fun. Until his eyes fell on her...

Lilith Darcy. The angel and demon that sat on either side of his head. Harvey had never felt so drawn to and driven away from the same person this strongly before. As confusing as it could be, it was also quite intoxicating. A slight smirk would catch the corner of his lips as he made eye contact with the girl. He thought he could detect a bit of annoyance as Lilith looked to the other girl he had struck up a conversation with. What was he supposed to do? Wait at the entrance all night like a good boy? Harvey knew she loved to keep him waiting when he was always so prompt. A way for her to make him squirm with annoyance and anticipation. So, a chance to annoy her right back? Too good to pass up.

However, when Harvey took in the rest of her his eyes would betray him. While his expression remained still his gaze would flash with delight at the sight of Lilith. She looked absolutely stunning in the dress he had chosen for her. A simple elegance of white silk and pearls, but she was a timeless beauty and what better way to adorn her? Harvey was out of his seat and excusing himself before he even knew it as his eyes stayed transfixed on Lilith. "Darling, you look a dream." His smirk shifted to his rather charming smile. If she allowed it, he would take her hand and offer it a kiss.

Either way he would look her over one more time, maybe even coax her into a spin so that he could see the effect of the dress in full. Harvey was nearly bursting at the seems to think that he had dressed such a beauty. Lilith was far more to him than a doll, but it would be a lie to say that a part of him didn't feel that way. His own special thing to play with and dress as he pleased. Not that she would ever allow herself to be just that, but Lilith was not the only one that had a few control issues. "What can I offer you? Would you like a drink? Or maybe you'd like to dance? Just imagine the way they'd look at you." Harvey couldn't wait to show her off...


Actions: Interaction with @Lilith Darcy
Stats: Stamina - 5 | Evasion - 6 | Strength - 5 | Wisdom - 7 | Arc Power - 6 | Accuracy - 6
Abilities: Extra Income | Gobbledegook | Perfectionist
Outfit:

Pendant: