Holiday Gift Hunt!
Skylar sat alone with her overwhelming emotion, watching some students slowly walk past the door. Most of them went back to their home, spent the holiday time with their family. Instead, she decided to stay at Hogwarts, avoiding her family gathering, unlike the others.
As time went by, she got bored and felt so lonely, nothing to plant, nothing to play with. Even though she liked the quiet, but the atmosphere was too miserable for her.
“How can I survive being alone all winter?” She murmured.
Then, the idea popped up in her mind as she ran to her dorm to search for everything she could find. But it wasn’t enough. She used her fake permission form to find more stuff at Hogsmeade and then returned to her dorm again.
She put each present in the box carefully, covered with colorful gift wrapping paper, and attached the card with her neat hand writing.
‘To whoever finds this, may you have a wonderful holiday and a fortunate life.
Merry Christmas. From your little secret Santa.’
After writing down the puzzle in separate pieces, she put them in the Christmas ornament, including all the prank toys. Skylar wore her invisible ring to sneak out that night, heading to the Great Hall with a determined face. She randomly placed the ornament on the Christmas tree, then hid all her gift boxes with a Muggle tape tightly.
When all the hard part was done, she came back here again in the morning and sat down somewhere at the Slytherin table, waiting for someone to take the bait, so she could finally say that the hunt begin!
Let’s hunt!
Reducio
Let’s hunt! Merry Christmas
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Reducio
Merry Christmas
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code by Lucia Fox
@Rose Pearce @Zephyr Deakin @Wes Morrow @Maira Anderson @Taylor Price
Last edited by Skylar Astor on 2 Jan 2026, 13:38, edited 7 times in total.
| “To be misunderstood is not to be broken. It is to be rare.” | Poison Resistance / Statistically Relevant (wisdom) |
Ⓢⓚⓨⓛⓐⓡ Ⓐⓢⓣⓞⓡ |
┊ Sta: 6┊Eva: 6┊Str: 4┊Wis: 10┊Arc: 8┊Acc: 6┊ |
Holiday Gift Hunt!
Today Rose was finishing packing her stuffs. She would soon leave for the holidays yet not at the same time as the other students as she had to wait for her brother who were still busy with other things. She sighed as she wondered what she was going to do.
Everyone might have left back home she thought foreseeing how boring her day will look.
But she decided not to do nothing and to make her day a bit less boring. As she walked through the Ravenclaw common room she realised how empty it was. Oddly silent. Every usual noisy corners were going to be like this. Although she liked quiet places when it came from habitual crowded places she was finding it strange. As she was lost in her thoughts she had made her way up to the Great Hall which unsurprisingly was rather empty.
She looked around hoping to see a familiar face when she did spot her. Skylar, sitting at the Slytherin table. She headed towards her as she looked around and at the Christmas tree. It was really tall and beautifully decorated. As soon as she reached Skylar who might have not seen her she spoke.
"Hum...excuse me is this seat taken?" she tried to ask seriously as if she didn't know Skylar at all. Why was she even doing this. She had no idea. But before Skylar could even answered Rose was already sat.
"Ah nevermind. I was just trying to goof around as I'm bored. Everyone has left! I'm supposed too but I have to wait for my brother." she said on a complaining tone.
"Anyways what are you up to?" she asked her friend while smiling as she was wondering what Skylar was doing as it seemed she was doing nothing but waiting something or someone...?
Rose turned her head towards the Christmas tree as she spoke.
"The Christmas tree is really beautiful! Do you mind if we get closer? I wonder if there are some small hidden gifts in it." she thoughtfully said yet on a curious tone."For people like us who stays here" she jokingly added hoping Skylar wouldn't get offended and would accept to get closer to the big tree.
@Zephyr Deakin @Wes Morrow @Maira Anderson @Skylar Astor
Everyone might have left back home she thought foreseeing how boring her day will look.
But she decided not to do nothing and to make her day a bit less boring. As she walked through the Ravenclaw common room she realised how empty it was. Oddly silent. Every usual noisy corners were going to be like this. Although she liked quiet places when it came from habitual crowded places she was finding it strange. As she was lost in her thoughts she had made her way up to the Great Hall which unsurprisingly was rather empty.
She looked around hoping to see a familiar face when she did spot her. Skylar, sitting at the Slytherin table. She headed towards her as she looked around and at the Christmas tree. It was really tall and beautifully decorated. As soon as she reached Skylar who might have not seen her she spoke.
"Hum...excuse me is this seat taken?" she tried to ask seriously as if she didn't know Skylar at all. Why was she even doing this. She had no idea. But before Skylar could even answered Rose was already sat.
"Ah nevermind. I was just trying to goof around as I'm bored. Everyone has left! I'm supposed too but I have to wait for my brother." she said on a complaining tone.
"Anyways what are you up to?" she asked her friend while smiling as she was wondering what Skylar was doing as it seemed she was doing nothing but waiting something or someone...?
Rose turned her head towards the Christmas tree as she spoke.
"The Christmas tree is really beautiful! Do you mind if we get closer? I wonder if there are some small hidden gifts in it." she thoughtfully said yet on a curious tone."For people like us who stays here" she jokingly added hoping Skylar wouldn't get offended and would accept to get closer to the big tree.
@Zephyr Deakin @Wes Morrow @Maira Anderson @Skylar Astor
“She looked towards the dark, starry sky wishing she could drown in its vastness, the way one drifts in the deep, endless ocean.”
Holiday Gift Hunt!
Zephyr was halfway down the hallway when he stopped. Something felt missing. He couldn’t quite remember what, but he knew it must be something important he left in the Great Hall that morning. Perhaps it was one of his notebooks or the small herb samples he had collected for Herbology. Sighing and grunting that it's very wrong timing to forget something. He's ready to go back to his common room and finish packing.Mention: @Wes Morrow, @Maira Anderson, @Skylar Astor, @Rose Pearce
Most of the students were ready to leave the school; some had already left for the holidays. The hallways were quieter now and empty. It was actually weird to see the hallways empty at this time of the day. He didn’t mind being alone most of the time, but he was excited to get home, too. He could already smell the fresh air of the countryside, feel the cold morning wind on his face, and hear the low mooing of the cows. His sister, Zaria, would probably run to him as soon as she saw him. And his dog, he hoped, would remember him.
He went to the Great Hall and saw the same thing as in the hallways, it was empty. Tables that had been full of laughter earlier in the day were now almost bare. He spotted a familiar face at one of the tables, Rose, and another girl he recognised from his classes, though he couldn’t remember her name.
Zephyr walked over to where the two girls were, feeling a little shy at first. He was not good at starting conversations, but he didn’t want to be rude. “Hi Rose..." and turned to the other girl, "Um... hi." The two looked as though they were not in a hurry to pack or leave the school. “I… uh, I just came back to get something I left here this morning."
Even as he spoke, he thought of home. Soon he would be running across the fields, helping feed the chickens and gather eggs. Maybe he would even get to climb a tree or play ball with Zaria. He could almost smell the kitchen and the stew cooking on the stove. That was the part he was really excited about coming home, being with his family, doing simple things that made him feel happy and content. He looked back at the table and tried to sound casual. “So, what are you two doing here all by yourselves? Everyone else went home for the holidays. Aren't you two going home?”
Calming Presence | The Muggle Condition
Sta: 7 | Eva: 8 | Str: 7 | Wis: 5 | Arc: 8 | Accu: 5
Sta: 7 | Eva: 8 | Str: 7 | Wis: 5 | Arc: 8 | Accu: 5
Holiday Gift Hunt!
| Outfit: Reducio  | Wc: Reducio 256 |
Skylar was enjoying her time watching people walk past the Christmas tree, yet her gift was still touched by no one. When Rose came to greet her, she immediately knew from the start that Rose was going to be her first victim.
It seemed her friend was really bored, and that was what she wanted to hear. Then Rose asked her.
"Anyways what are you up to?"
It made Skylar think if she looked too suspicious or if she expressed too much smirk without realizing.
“I’m just chilling.”
She said with her professional bare face mode on. When Rose admired the Christmas tree, that was when her opportunity came to play.
“I think there was something weird about that white ball on the top of that tree.”
Skylar watched if her friend will take the bait as her heart thrilled inside. Then, a boy with brown hair interrupted them with just a simple word, ‘Hi’, and she smiled back at him.
“Hi…”
Her plan failed since it hadn’t even begun. She had to wait for what the conversation was going, so she could put a second try on them. The boy looked so casual with people, even Skylar hasn’t knew his name yet.
“So, what are you two doing here all by yourselves? Everyone else went home for the holidays. Aren't you two going home?”
The question itself just put her delightful eyes away.
“I just… don’t wanna see my family.” She glanced somewhere else like she didn’t want to tell, but her answer was genuine.
@Rose Pearce @Zephyr Deakin @Wes Morrow @Maira Anderson @Taylor Price
Last edited by Skylar Astor on 4 Dec 2025, 16:17, edited 3 times in total.
| “To be misunderstood is not to be broken. It is to be rare.” | Poison Resistance / Statistically Relevant (wisdom) |
Ⓢⓚⓨⓛⓐⓡ Ⓐⓢⓣⓞⓡ |
┊ Sta: 6┊Eva: 6┊Str: 4┊Wis: 10┊Arc: 8┊Acc: 6┊ |
Holiday Gift Hunt!
Wes entered the Great Hall not too long after the others. The sandy haired boy, with freckles that lightly peppered just under his eyes and a bit of his nose, took a few steps in looking over all of the decorations with some amazement. Honestly, he had not expecting many to be around, but was pleasantly surprised when noticing a redhead amongst two other people that he had never met unless it was just a passing glance.
Not wanting to just be by himself in such a large room, the Gryffindor made his way toward the trio and tree. “Hey Bookworm,” Wes said in greeting to Rose before giving small wave to the others and putting his hand back in the front pocket of his red jumper. “You lot staying too?” The way he said it had a bit of a cheerful tone to it.
His attention did however, turn to the tree and he looked it all over. Seeing the ornaments, stars, and tinsel, Wes’ eyes then filtered down to the gifts and his eyes focused on a red box. “So are these real gifts, or just part of the decorations and stuff?” For a second it looked as if he might have bent down and picked it up, and he almost did but he stopped himself to look back to the other two he had not met before.
“I’m Wes by the way, nice to meet you two.” The Gryffindor boy had said it with a smile though his eyes would appear to be drifting back to the red gift box he had focused on earlier. Though Wes looked back to the group, he was still curious, and if one had been looking at him they could swear they would have seen the freckles on his face slide closer to the middle of his nose.
@Rose Pearce @Zephyr Deakin @Skylar Astor @Maira Anderson
Not wanting to just be by himself in such a large room, the Gryffindor made his way toward the trio and tree. “Hey Bookworm,” Wes said in greeting to Rose before giving small wave to the others and putting his hand back in the front pocket of his red jumper. “You lot staying too?” The way he said it had a bit of a cheerful tone to it.
His attention did however, turn to the tree and he looked it all over. Seeing the ornaments, stars, and tinsel, Wes’ eyes then filtered down to the gifts and his eyes focused on a red box. “So are these real gifts, or just part of the decorations and stuff?” For a second it looked as if he might have bent down and picked it up, and he almost did but he stopped himself to look back to the other two he had not met before.
“I’m Wes by the way, nice to meet you two.” The Gryffindor boy had said it with a smile though his eyes would appear to be drifting back to the red gift box he had focused on earlier. Though Wes looked back to the group, he was still curious, and if one had been looking at him they could swear they would have seen the freckles on his face slide closer to the middle of his nose.
@Rose Pearce @Zephyr Deakin @Skylar Astor @Maira Anderson
Holiday Gift Hunt!
Rose was sitting in front of Skylar at the Slytherin table as they were talking about the Christmas tree ornaments Rose was curious about and wanted to get closer to. However they got interrupted by someone's voice. A really familiar voice to Rose that she didn't even have to look up to know who it was. She widened her eyes while looking at Skylar as her cheeks slightly turned pink. She was not expecting to see Zephyr here as she thought he had already left for the vacation. However it seemed he was surprised to see them as well as he asked them if they were not going back home. Skylar answered Zephyr's greeting and question as she looked away.
Rose then remembered what Skylar had told them about her family relationship and she felt a twinge of sadness for Skylar as she didn't want her to spend her holiday alone but Zephyr could not have known it and asked the question out of curiosity.
She remembered she had to answer as well or it would look weird.
She cleared her throat.
"Oh, hi Zephyr. Yes I'm supposed to go home but I'm waiting for my brother." she said slightly turned towards him yet without looking at him.
"Didn't know you were still there too.." she added quietly as she turned back towards Skylar.
Despite her attitude towards him she was happy to see him but she felt so shy not really knowing why that she couldn't clearly look nor speak at him.
She stood up and was about to suggest going closer to the Christmas tree to look at the ornaments when another familiar voice and her new familiar nickname -Bookworm- came from behind.
She couldn't help but smiled as she turned around to see Wes.
"Hi Wes! You're here too!" she enthusiastically said.
"As I was saying I'm waiting for my brother before leaving back home. What about you?" she asked him.
When Wes talked about the gifts in the Christmas tree she wanted to thank him for having brought up the topic again before he introduced himself to Skylar and Zephyr.
"Precisely we wanted to take a closer look at it to check them!" she said smiling while glancing at Skylar.
@Zephyr Deakin @Skylar Astor @Maira Anderson @Wes Morrow @Taylor Price
Rose then remembered what Skylar had told them about her family relationship and she felt a twinge of sadness for Skylar as she didn't want her to spend her holiday alone but Zephyr could not have known it and asked the question out of curiosity.
She remembered she had to answer as well or it would look weird.
She cleared her throat.
"Oh, hi Zephyr. Yes I'm supposed to go home but I'm waiting for my brother." she said slightly turned towards him yet without looking at him.
"Didn't know you were still there too.." she added quietly as she turned back towards Skylar.
Despite her attitude towards him she was happy to see him but she felt so shy not really knowing why that she couldn't clearly look nor speak at him.
She stood up and was about to suggest going closer to the Christmas tree to look at the ornaments when another familiar voice and her new familiar nickname -Bookworm- came from behind.
She couldn't help but smiled as she turned around to see Wes.
"Hi Wes! You're here too!" she enthusiastically said.
"As I was saying I'm waiting for my brother before leaving back home. What about you?" she asked him.
When Wes talked about the gifts in the Christmas tree she wanted to thank him for having brought up the topic again before he introduced himself to Skylar and Zephyr.
"Precisely we wanted to take a closer look at it to check them!" she said smiling while glancing at Skylar.
@Zephyr Deakin @Skylar Astor @Maira Anderson @Wes Morrow @Taylor Price
“She looked towards the dark, starry sky wishing she could drown in its vastness, the way one drifts in the deep, endless ocean.”
Holiday Gift Hunt!
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G I F T |
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H U N T |
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Reducio ACTIONS + MENTIONS @Skylar Astor @Rose Pearce @Zephyr Deakin @Wes Morrow |
Reducio OOC NOTES ~ |
Reducio STATS/OTHER Coded by Cirrus Nam |
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Maira Anderson ───•⋅⊰༻༺⊱⋅•─── Ambitious ₊ Intelligent |
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make it happen ───•⋅⊰༻༺⊱⋅•─── ⊹ Sta 6 ┊ Eva 4 ┊ Str 3 ┊ Wis 9 ┊ Arc 5 ┊ Acc 8 ⊹ |
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Holiday Gift Hunt!
| Outfit: Reducio | Wc: Reducio 230 |
Skylar was still in her silence, then she saw one more person walk to the group, calling Rose by her nickname. It seemed her friend knew more people than she thought, compared to her. She felt a little bit lonely in the situation, but she put her mind into her game.
“I’m Skylar,” She said after a blond hair boy introduced himself as Wes.
He seemed to he couldn’t take his eyes off something beneath the Christmas tree, and that’s a good reaction she wanted.
Skylar tried to say something to encourage him out, but another girl from Slytherin walked in, a fimilar face that she’d seen a few time. She didn’t manage to get the girl’s name yet. But she surely walked past her sometime.
Wow. This must be my lucky day. She said it in her head. Even though she wasn’t comfortable with the crowd, she still thought positively. Maybe the more people, the more fun it could get.
“Ahem!” She cleared her throat loudly to get everyone's attention.
“Well… Since everyone here is interested in this Christmas tree.” She expressed her little smirk as she added.
“I suggest we should pick something from it.” She shook her shoulder a bit and looked at Wes.
“Do you dare to do it?”
Skylar had never been this much mischievous in her entire life, but she felt excited about it.
@Rose Pearce @Zephyr Deakin @Wes Morrow @Maira Anderson @Taylor Price
| “To be misunderstood is not to be broken. It is to be rare.” | Poison Resistance / Statistically Relevant (wisdom) |
Ⓢⓚⓨⓛⓐⓡ Ⓐⓢⓣⓞⓡ |
┊ Sta: 6┊Eva: 6┊Str: 4┊Wis: 10┊Arc: 8┊Acc: 6┊ |
Holiday Gift Hunt!
“I’m staying here. Long story, short… some passport stuff.” He answered Rose and did not seem disappointed that he was staying.
Wes then arched a brow at the Slytherin, the one who had been so eager for them to look at the tree and the things on and under it. He smirked at her and shrugged before looking back at the red box he had been eyeing. No better time than the present.
So like the brave Gryffindor he is, Wes courageously kneeled down and picked up the box. Holding the box up to his ear, he shook it but was not able to tell anything by the sound of it. “What do you think it is?” He asked the group as he placed it on the table so he could begin opening the odd package with care. Well as much care as an 11 year old boy opening a Christmas gift would have.
The bow was tossed to the side and the wrapping discarded in a few pieces in just a few seconds. When it was open, Wes’ nose scrunched some when he saw what was inside. The present was odd indeed. He let out a gasp of a laugh and pulled out the gift. It was yellow. And a chicken. “A rubber chicken!?” Wes proclaimed with a laugh as he held it up looking it over. “I’ll say, this is the best gift I think I’ve ever gotten.” The tone was obviously sarcastic, but in a way where they could tell he thought this was hilarious.“Do you think one of the professors might playing a prank on us? Maybe they hid some more of these around?”
@Rose Pearce @Zephyr Deakin @Skylar Astor @Maira Anderson
Wes then arched a brow at the Slytherin, the one who had been so eager for them to look at the tree and the things on and under it. He smirked at her and shrugged before looking back at the red box he had been eyeing. No better time than the present.
So like the brave Gryffindor he is, Wes courageously kneeled down and picked up the box. Holding the box up to his ear, he shook it but was not able to tell anything by the sound of it. “What do you think it is?” He asked the group as he placed it on the table so he could begin opening the odd package with care. Well as much care as an 11 year old boy opening a Christmas gift would have.
The bow was tossed to the side and the wrapping discarded in a few pieces in just a few seconds. When it was open, Wes’ nose scrunched some when he saw what was inside. The present was odd indeed. He let out a gasp of a laugh and pulled out the gift. It was yellow. And a chicken. “A rubber chicken!?” Wes proclaimed with a laugh as he held it up looking it over. “I’ll say, this is the best gift I think I’ve ever gotten.” The tone was obviously sarcastic, but in a way where they could tell he thought this was hilarious.“Do you think one of the professors might playing a prank on us? Maybe they hid some more of these around?”
@Rose Pearce @Zephyr Deakin @Skylar Astor @Maira Anderson
Last edited by Wes Morrow on 5 Dec 2025, 14:48, edited 2 times in total.
Holiday Gift Hunt!
Zephyr felt a little awkward at first. Seeing Rose, a familiar face, helped him. He didn’t expect to run into her again before the holidays, but her shyness didn't go unnoticed. He smiled shyly in return when she explained she was waiting for her brother. “Ah, I see then, I'm going home for the Holidays. I didn’t expect I would still see anyone here. I thought, well, everyone would have gone home already.” He looked at Skylar briefly, noticing how she didn’t want to talk about her family, so he didn't press. Her tone said everything he needed to know.Mention: @Wes Morrow, @Maira Anderson, @Skylar Astor, @Rose Pearce
Another boy came into the great hall, and this one was familiar to him from classes. Wes, isn't he? He had seen him around before in passing, but this was the first time they were all here together. He nodded politely. “Hi, Wes. Uh… nice to see you, I'm Zephyr, Zephyr Deakin.” His gaze drifted to the tree when they mentioned gifts. His smile widened as he liked small mysteries like this, simple puzzles and surprises.
He looked back at Rose and Skylar, then took a careful step closer to the tree. “Yeah, maybe we should check it out.” Eager despite himself. “It sounds fun. I like surprises.” He reached out gently to adjust a slightly dangling ornament, careful not to disturb the decorations too much. Zephyr looked up as another voice joined the group. He hadn’t seen this girl before, but she seemed friendly enough, and she was talking about staying for the holidays too. He gave a small nod and a quiet smile. “Hi, I’m Zephyr,” he said softly. He didn’t feel like being loud or overly chatty, but he wanted to be polite.
He glanced at the Christmas tree again. His eyes went to the gold and red boxes she mentioned. He didn’t notice that. Maybe someone put them there recently? Skylar cleared her throat like she was making an announcement, “Uh… pick something from the tree?” He was not used to being suddenly dragged into a big group plan like this, but Skylar's smile told him it was supposed to be fun, not scary. He peeked down at the ornaments and the gifts below. “I can try.” A small smile tugged at his lips. The boy, Wes, started it, and what he saw made him laugh. “A rubber chicken?” he repeated with a chuckle. "I didn’t expect something like that at all." Turning to Skylar, “So… uh… are there more gifts like this hidden around?” It was thrilling to be searching the tree for more surprises.
Calming Presence | The Muggle Condition
Sta: 7 | Eva: 8 | Str: 7 | Wis: 5 | Arc: 8 | Accu: 5
Sta: 7 | Eva: 8 | Str: 7 | Wis: 5 | Arc: 8 | Accu: 5