Happy Birthday! Finished

Interacting with: @Flash Holmwood & @Ruka Tân
Mentioning: @Willow Anderson & @Opeila Seilun

At Flash's two-word response to his question, Jack eyed him a moment longer, but didn't press the subject. If the other boy didn't want to talk about it, then he wasn't going to make him. However, he thought he had seen at least one of the bracelets that Flash wore on someone else previously. The colors were definitely the same as the ones on the bracelet that the Hufflepuff girl from the Great Hall had been wearing. Could they have meant something to have matching colors? And why did Flash have two?

He listened to what the blue-eyed boy had to say, nodding once in acknowledgement. However, he couldn't help smirking a bit at the statements that followed. "If you had asked me to enter the party separately, it would have cost you," Jack replied with a light, playful elbow nudge to Flash's arm. "So maybe it's not so bad that you've accepted your fate."

Even so, he wasn't sure what the other Slytherin boy was talking about. The redhead had mostly kept out of the other boy's way - at least directly, physically, and in-person - despite them sharing a dorm. The only people who probably associated Flash with Jack so far were Opeila and Ruka. Did that really make that much of a difference to Flash?

Without another word, Jack continued after his housemate at a leisurely pace, sticking his hands in his pockets while making sure the half-tucked card didn't fall out. He kept his distance in case it might have helped Flash to have his space. Moreover, if Flash wanted to avoid being associated with Jack any more than he already had, keeping a few paces behind the other boy might have helped. There was also something Jack wanted to check and he didn't think he would have been able to do it with Flash right beside him.

As the two Slytherin boys entered, one after the other, the redhead noticed the brunet glance in a particular direction and followed his gaze to see Ruka and the blonde Hufflepuff girl who seemed obsessed with friendship bracelets. Interestingly enough, what Jack wanted to look for - the girl's own bracelet - was not present. The Hufflepuff and Gryffindor seemed to have been working together to decorate tables and chairs, but neither appeared too happy. At least not until Ruka noticed Jack.

A smile lit Ruka's face, lighting up a grin of Jack's own as if it were a torch set ablaze by the fire-dancer's delight. The second year's gesture of greeting was returned with an enthusiastic wave, but then the labeled table of gifts caught the Slytherin's eye. Jack looked at it, then back at Ruka, gesturing that he was going to visit the table first and drop off his card before going to join the other young man.

When he got to the table, he set his card down among the other cards, flower bouquet, and wrapped gifts already present, briefly looking over them before noticing the table of snacks. Making his way over to that table next, he caught sight of the birthday cake, cookies, and some interesting-looking green dumplings of some kind. With only three things, the snack table looked pretty scarce, so Jack began to take out a couple of other things from his pockets. One was a tin of Sugared Butterfly Wings, another was a bag of Fizzing Whizzbees, and finally a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. They had all been purchased from Honeydukes Sweetshop, but no one there needed to know that.

Taking a second bag of Fizzing Whizzbees out of his pocket, Jack contemplated popping one in his mouth, but then decided it would be rude not to offer to share some first - especially to the birthday girl. He wasn't even sure why he had been invited to her party in the first place except for the fact that maybe he and Opeila had been seen together from time to time, but he doubted he was necessary for the girl to actually have a pleasant birthday. If anything, he might have been detrimental to it. Thus, it had initally been his plan to simply drop off his card and go, but now that he and Ruka had seen each other, that wasn't an option.

After having avoided Ruka for two weeks after the Valentine's Tea Party and then having had to recover for about a week after his and Selim's little 'session' in the Room of Requirement, Jack didn't want the Gryffindor to feel like he was abandoning him yet again. Even after they had made up regarding the Valentine's Tea thing and he had tried keeping in touch with Ruka through letters, the Slytherin had noticed with concern and disapproval that Ruka had neglected to eat and perhaps sleep again when Jack wasn't there by his side making sure he was doing so every day. At least now he was more available to keep an eye on the fire-dancer, but...he didn't want to think of what Ruka might relapse into if something happened to keep them apart yet again.

Well, that was a matter for another time. There were more pressing issues afoot at the moment - the matter of Flash and the girl who appeared to have spurned him, for instance. How had Jack known she spurned him? Because of the fact that Flash was wearing two identical friendship bracelets, one of which the Slytherin was almost positive had formerly belonged to the Hufflepuff girl. Perhaps she had returned it to him like a woman returned an engagement ring to a man once she learned something about him that caused her to call off their future marriage.

Normally, Jack might have been amused and fascinated by this development, eager to tease and taunt both Flash and the Hufflepuff girl about it for valuing friendship and other such positive relationships when - as he had known and preached all along - all they brought was misery. However, they both seemed to be making a valiant effort to keep themselves together, presumably for the sake of Opeila and her birthday celebration if nothing else. Jack couldn't help but respect that.

And so the redheaded Slytherin made a decision. Eyeing Ruka, he cast the other boy a sly wink and meaningfully nodded toward their nametags at the table labeled #1. Simultaneously, he began ambling toward the blonde Hufflepuff's table - Table #3 - and discreetly snagged the nametags of an Ivy and a Fyriel, neither of which he knew. As most of the girls in the room were ones Jack was more or less familiar with, he doubted either nametag's namesakes were there and thus that their placement change would go unnoticed.

Even if they were there, most of the birthday guests' attention was focused on the newly-arrived birthday girl, so few had the attention to spare for anything else. Yes, the friendship bracelet girl was already seated at her own table, but perhaps she would be too wrapped up in her own despair and sorrow to see or care what Jack was doing. The way she kept looking at Flash gave Jack confidence that her mind would be too distracted to pay attention to his minor movements.

Casually holding the tags behind his back, he walked over to Table #1, turning to Ruka as he subtly placed the nametags of Ivy and Fyriel next to those of Ruka's and his own.

"...Care to join me at the table of the Death Sentencer?" he asked the second-year in a low whisper, nodding toward Table #3. "If you'd rather not, though, Table #4 is also open."

Ideally, if he'd had to stay for the party, he would have preferred to take over the mysterious Table #4 with Ruka as said table supposedly hadn't been assigned to anyone. Well, no one who seemed like they planned to show up, anyway. With the situation as it was, however, Jack had a different plan in mind.

Interacting with @Jack Burnett
Mentioning @Willow Anderson, @Opeila Seilun @Flash Holmwood

Interacting with: @Opeila Seilun @Ruka Tân @Jack Burnett
Mentioning: @Sean Hearth @Griseldis Edelhardt @Alan Noble @Willow Anderson


"And... that takes care of it" Mildred thought to herself, she had just owled the letter to Opeila in which would bring her here. Stepping back into the room- she could say that she was proud of the turnout, the room was practically full of people and it looked a lot less bare did it before. The banner she had made now hanged proudly nearby the mirrors, the tables were decorated with streamers plus they had numbers to help the guests- and someone had blown balloons. One day, Mildred would have to repay everyone that helped her- but for now, she would celebrate Opeila's birthday. She scanned the room for any newcomers and noticed two new people sitting at table three, they both appeared to be working on cards which was nice- Mildred would have to greet them later she supposed as well she didn't want to interrupt them... although she didn't want to be a bad host- should she say hello to them? In the end, she decided she would greet them later.

Mildred just hoped that her letter to Opeila was enough for her to come, it would be a shame if she threw a birthday party for no one. "Hmm... let's see.. what else do I have to do?" Suddenly, Mildred remembered she had wanted to help Willow with decorations she hoped that Willow wasn't upset at her. She did dump a random stranger with her- She looked for willow and what she saw confused her, she saw Willow wiping her face. Mildred looked a little closer and noticed she had been crying. She immediately looked at the kid she asked to help Willow and he seemed nice enough- she noticed that he also wore of something similar to... guilt? just what in the heck happened while she was gone? she was only out for a few to deliver the letter...

Mildred watched as Willow moved away and started working on the tables again, she would leave her alone for now but when they were both back in the dorms- she would ask her what had happened. It was that moment when Mildred noticed someone had opened the door, and it was the birthday girl herself, Mildred face lit up ready to say Happy birthday to her. "HAPP-" Mildred stopped herself when she saw that Opeila had opened and closed her mouth in shock, she mentally facepalmed herself, it was in that moment that perhaps... just perhaps- her way of bringing Opeila wasn't the smartest. Watching two others rush to Opeila- she wasn't sure if it was the best idea to talk to her although she was the one who brought her so she approached Opeila- "Opeila- ah crap" Mildred struggled on how she would explain herself- she started pacing around in a small circle, "Uhm well you see- Uh my stuffed animal yeah recently he died"... crap wait no- "NO I mean my stuffed animal is fine not that you know him, he's really cute though you know? willow can vouch for me" she yelled at willow " WILLOW YOU AGREE MY STUFFED ANIMAL IS CUTE RIGHT?" she looked at Opeila, "I mean if you want to meet him you totally could-" Mildred wished a big black hole would just swallow her up, she paused and tried to regain herself taking a few deep breaths. "Sorry Opeila, Happy Birthday! I wanted to throw a surprise birthday party for you haha although, might have not been the smartest..." she nervously laughed- yeah she probably would never host a party again.

Mildred decided that she would perhaps calm herself down at the snacks table, she looked at the varity they had- it appeared someone else had brought something else... some sort of squishy green dumpling? Mildred picked one up and decided she try it. She didn't know what exactly was inside the dumpling dessert although it was sweet and she immediately liked it- in her nervous act she began to eat more... although she didn't think Opeila would mind, While she ate she noticed some newcomers,,, "hWEY thawank you-" she realized a little bit too late that she should swallow her food before talking, "you so much for coming" she wasn't sure if they heard them though.


Mildred watched them both seat themselves at table three, which was a tad strange, as well- if she remembered correctly table three only had one male sitting there- which was supposed to be sean. She shrugged it off, perhaps they had forgotten where they were supposed to sit. Remembering the green dumplings she brought one with her they were really good, and well she was still in a brain frizz she then walked over to table three. As she approached closer she noticed heard the kid she placed willow with say, "Most of the day I wasn't even sure I'd show up." Huh apparently they knew each other

When she reached table three, she picked up one of the green dumpling things someone had brought and placed it into the kid who was talking mouth- "Take this would you? really good huh?" she wanted to share how tasty these were, "anyways I think you two are sitting at the wrong table, just wanted to let you two know" now with that done she would perhaps check up on willow, she wasn't sure.

Do i notice willow crying- t!dice 1d20+8 (rolled a 10 so yes! ) do i notice jack switch name tags- rolled a 9 so no. F in chat boys

Interacting with @Mildred Wilson @Ruka Tân @Jack Burnett
Mentioning @Flash Holmwood
Color Code: #259986

Even though Mildred heard her call out her own name while talking to Opeila she couldn’t summon up the effort to go and see what was happening. If Mildred really needed her she would yell again. She felt bad as Opeila was swarmed with people trying to check in on her and wish her a happy birthday. Maybe this would be the perfect opportunity to slip out? No. She needed to stay. If not for Opeila, for Mildred who she knew put a lot of work into putting together this birthday party for her. She lounged at the table, her gaze ultimately stuck on Flash. While her thoughts never stopped swirling in her head, ultimately she felt numb looking at him. She had burnt herself out, and for once she didn’t miss him. But she couldn’t help but wonder if her missed her at all. She was so in her own head she didn’t even notice that Ruka had walked away to join the Skytherin boy she despised so much. Until they returned.

Ruka asked if she would mind if her joined her, she had grown to tolerate him, and maybe this would be the opportunity to get to no him better. “Uh, no feel free.” She had a delayed thought about how this would affect the seating because he was definitely at table one, but maybe he was trying to escape something by not sitting with the birthday girl. She turned back to face the table and she was quickly yanked back to reality when her eyes focused on a certain snake. “I know Ruka isn’t supposed to be at this table, but I feel like you definitely aren’t either. Maybe you should return to your own.” A disgust filled her eyes as she took in the cocky attitude that she perceived on his face. Just earlier today he had to catch her off a broom and her pride still hadn’t quite recovered. But then Ruka started... talking to him? “Sorry, Ruka do you know this Slytherin?” She couldn’t believe someone she had just started to like was once again shot to the bottom. She really had to stop with this whole friendship thing, it seemed to turn out worse and worse the more people she met.

Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Mildred approaching, seemingly on a mission with something tasty in hand. Willow really hoped it was for her, she could use a dessert right now, but she was ultimately disappointed and surprised when Mildred stuffed it in Ruka’s mouth instead. A pout came over Willow’s face as she looked up at Mildred chastising them for being at the wrong table “I want whatever he had! They looked good!” She couldn’t believe Mildred hadn’t brought one for her yet made sure to grab one for the newest adversary in her life. She tried to played to Mildreds soft spot for her to get Ruka to stay but the Slytherin to leave. She wanted to know why he would associate with him in the first place. “Ruka is helping me with... stuff. I don’t know who the other guy is but can Ruka stay at my table? Please?” She batted her eyelashes and tried to summon the cutest puppy dog eyes to win Mildred over.

Interacting with: @Ruka Tân, @Willow Anderson, & @Mildred Wilson

Beaming as Ruka seemed to approve of his suggestion, Jack glanced behind him as the other boy tried to decide which seat he wanted to go to next. While he did so, the Slytherin picked up a pair of name tags from Table #1 to replace the ones he had taken from Table #3. When the Gryffindor gestured to the table with the Hufflepuff girl, Jack's grin broadened and he followed the second-year over, the replacement name tags held behind his back along with his extra bag of Fizzing Whizzbees.

"Can always switch to the other table if she tries to put a bracelet on you, right?"

"That's right," he chuckled softly at Ruka's comment, recalling that Ruka probably knew the girl from when Jack had seen him making friendship bracelets at the table a while ago. The sight of the older boy had immediately caused the Slytherin to cease his attempted shrinking of all bracelets on that occasion as he tried to make a swift retreat. He had still been avoiding Ruka at that time, after all.

Still, they couldn't have been friends. If they had, the Hufflepuff girl wouldn't have let Ruka almost die by starving himself and keeping himself from sleeping as Jack had noticed when he'd come across him on the second last day of February. Furthermore, Jack noted Ruka wasn't wearing a bracelet whether he had made one or not. He would have to ask the other boy about that later.

In the meantime, he watched and listened as Ruka sat himself down, slipping the former pick-pocket his own name tag to put at the new place he had chosen that had formerly belonged to either Ivy or Fyriel. While the Gryffindor spoke to the Hufflepuff, Jack used the distraction to drop the remaining nametag he held at the other blank place and pulled up the chair there to seat himself. Confidently leaning forward onto the table and holding the bag of candies, he smirked at the pair of other students next to him. Hmm...up close, it looked like the blonde girl's eyes were rather red.

When a different girl in a white dress who was talking to Opeila turned in the direction of their table and began to yell at the Hufflepuff girl, Jack glanced over at the speaker and then at her addressee. 'Willow', was it? Yes, that's what her name tag read. Well, that was good to know. As Jack tried to listen in more on the conversation with Opeila, he thought he heard enough to deduce that the one speaking with her at the moment - the ginger in the white dress and her hair up - must have been the very person who had sent out the invitations. What had she signed her name as again? 'Mildred Wilson'...?

"I wasn't sure you'd show up," Ruka spoke up, lightly rubbing the back of his neck in what Jack took to be a sheepish gesture. "Most of the day I wasn't even sure I'd show up."

"Yeah...I know what you mean," he told Ruka with a broad smile. "But birthdays are special, you know? Even if I get kicked out, I figured I might as well at least try to show up with a present to make her day better. Makes me wonder who organized this whole thing in the first place, though. I doubt whomever it is must know the dynamic between Seilun and I very well..."

As if summoned by their conversation, the girl Jack thought might have been Mildred paid their table a visit after coming from the snack table - just to stick a green dumpling in Ruka's mouth. The redheaded Slytherin had to snicker at that, shaking his head slightly in pity. Poor Ruka. Well, it wasn't as if Jack wasn't shoving food in the smaller boy's mouth all the time; he was probably used to it by now. Besides, if anyone needed more food, it was Ruka. Still - who did this girl think she was making the Gryffindor eat when she probably didn't even know him? Did she know him? He tossed the fire-dancer a questioning smirk.

As Jack had suspected, Willow, at least, seemed to. She didn't appear to mind Ruka's seating himself at her table, but her and Jack's encounter earlier in the day during flight practice apparently hadn't warmed her up to him much more than when they'd initially met. The Slytherin wondered if Willow had had anything to do with the party-planning or seating chart herself since she seemed to know the girl Jack guessed was Mildred pretty well - well enough for her to be called out by name across a room of other kids, anyway. Not that it mattered much in the long run. Jack's plans were already in motion.

"I know Ruka isn’t supposed to be at this table, but I feel like you definitely aren’t either. Maybe you should return to your own," the Hufflepuff known as Willow was telling him. Jack could only grin at the look of disgust she threw at him before she turned back to Ruka. "Sorry, Ruka do you know this Slytherin?"

"What are you saying, Willow?" Jack asked, adopting a look of hurt briefly. "You're acting like you don't know me, now. Not even referring to me by name; just my house."

"Anyways, I think you two are sitting at the wrong table," the supposed party-planner was saying. "Just wanted to let you two know."

"I want whatever he had! They looked good!"

Smile springing back onto his face, Jack casually got up from his seat to go get a green dumpling from the snack table, only to return and sit back down so he cold hold it to Willow's lips. If Mildred could put food in the faces of people she hardly knew, why couldn't he?

But Willow had something else to say to Mildred first. "Ruka is helping me with... stuff. I don’t know who the other guy is but can Ruka stay at my table? Please?"

"Again pretending not to know me?" the Slytherin sighed, his voice tinged with disappointment and pain. "Come on, Willow. I'm right where I'm supposed to be. See?"

He turned his name tag to make sure it was visible to both Willow and Mildred. It read 'Flash Holmwood'.

"Right next to you. I know you're mad at me, but...can't we play nice? At least for Seilun's party?"

Interacting with @Jack Burnett @Willow Anderson and @Mildred Wilson
Mentioning @Flash Holmwood @Opeila Seilun

Interacting with @Jack Burnett @Ruka Tân @Mildred Wilson
Mentioning @Flash Holmwood
Color Code: #259986

There was something building up inside her that she wasn't used to. Anger was a new emotion that she didn't show often, that she didn't let exist that often. But lately everyone seemed to be adding their own ingredient to the 'Make Willow Angry' potion that for some reason had a high success rate. She was trying so hard to keep her calm, especially for Opeila, but she just didn't know how to control her anger. She wanted to let it out. Her own ingredient added to the mix was the most powerful of all, feeling like she was back home. Like the boys were pushing her around and playing around with her once again for their own enjoyment, rather than caring about her feelings in the first place. This became especially apparent when Ruka just... sat there. Not five minutes ago was he apologizing and trying to see how she was doing. But obviously it was a lie and he probably told Jack what was going on and this was all some part of a big elaborate plan to get her to ruin today.

She wasn't going to let that happen.

A lot of things happened in quick succession that she wasn't exactly prepared for, how exactly does one prepare for a birthday disaster like this. As least she had Mildred, her roommate seemed like one of the last people she could trust in this room. There was an inkling of mistrust that begged to enter into the potion, but Willow was able to push that away as Mildred was too sweet to ever hurt a fly. Ruka seemed to be... cooperating? No... corroborating the Slytherin in whatever he did. At first she thought she would have to warn Ruka about what the sneaky boy was like, but it wasn't hard to tell that he was just like him and needed no warning. Perhaps Ruka was sorted wrong, his backhand manipulation seemed to disprove his placement in Gryffindor who didn't seem like the type to do this.

Willow watched the snake slither away from the table and go on a journey to the... snack table. She heard Ruka talking but it was like a mild buzz in her ear as he seemed to be addressing Mildred rather than her. She watched as he plucked a green dumpling for the table and immediately she felt dumb for watching him, obviously he just wanted a snack. She turned back to the two in front of her, speaking to Ruka before he got back. "How do you know him?" Her voice thinly veiled the strong dislike that she felt for the other boy. She was grasping for information, she wasn't made to play these games and investigate. Normally she just let things happen around her but Hogwarts had changed her in numerous ways, including becoming an active player.

Her eyes widened as the nameless boy returned and positioned the dumpling in front of her mouth. He kept saying that she knew him and his name, but she didn't. She knew he was a Slytherin, knew he was a pretty big jerk, a jerk that also didn't let her fall and break her legs, scratch that thought, but she still didn't know his name. She decided to play into it for now, she had time since there wasn't much else happening. Why not see what exactly he was setting out to do?

She relaxed her face, something she had years of experience doing in grounding herself before spells in her muggle witchcraft. Willow leaned forward slightly and ate the dumpling out of Jack's hand, it felt incredibly vulnerable and stupid but she kept her poker face in check. She was happily delighted with the treat, incredibly chewy but still tasty and nice. Willow hadn't eaten much over the last 24 hours, except before her Quidditch game, so she made a note to fully visit the snack table later.

Her poker face did heavily falter when the new 'Flash' turned around his nametag. What is he getting at? What is he trying to do? She was incredibly confused, she was ready for anything but this. Was he also working with Flash? That would make sense, with her recently shattered picture of Flash she wouldn't be surprised if he was working with this kid. A small panic mixed in with the anger as she realized this boy was like a more clever Xavier, a boy back home who was the ring leader of all those who tortured her in school. Rather than just destroying her physically, this Slytherin was out to destroy her mentally. Typical of a Slytherin, a perception quickly growing that she didn't have of them up until recent events.

She was struggling to get the stupid dumpling out of her mouth to question him, but the struggle gave her an extra few seconds to rationalize and calm down again. Her eyes narrowed and fixated on the hazle eyes in front of her, searching for answers that may lie within them but came up with nothing. If he wanted to pretend to be Flash, she'd treat him like Flash.

"I wouldn't play nice with you even if we were the last kids on a kindergarten playground." A weak start, but she kept going. "I should've known that you could shapeshift too with how fake your personality was to begin with. It's not too far off of a change for you is it?" She reached up and booped him on the nose before sitting back, she was quickly losing her ability to retain a calm facade but it also felt really good to let out the anger... "Of course I'm pretending to not know you, for all the hours you wasted in my life you don't deserve a second more of my time." Her hands began to shake so she gently folded them in her lap to try and cover it up. "The place you're supposed to be is far away from me, as if I didn't make that clear last time we talked." Her eyes flashed over to Ruka, hoping he would get the last part that she didn't want him near her ever again. "Your poisonous personality had a sparkly outside but it's not hard to watch it crumble one the first piece chips, is it?" Hopefully she had gotten enough information out of her about Flash at this point and switched to call this boy out directly.

"I don't know how you take fun in games that are just for one player, since it must be awful lonely sitting at the top and watching all your pawns be used up. Please, don't hesitate to throw this pawn completely off your table. This pawn bites back, and Ruka can tell you all about that." Her glare settled on Ruka, suddenly regretting not punching him harder the last time. She tilted her head as she looked at the Gryffindor boy she was already beginning to like. "False kindness doesn't look good on you Ruka, probably best to stick away from it from now on. Your anger suited you better. Stick with it next time so I can give you another taste of what I'm capable of." With that she stood up and walked away from the table. She stopped, laying a gentle hand on Mildred's shoulder. "I'll be right back, I just have to run to the bathroom real quick. Don't worry about me." Her walls nearly cracked up then, looking at someone she thought might be the last to care about her. The only thing to stop her from fully walking out with be a physical grab.

If she was allowed to step out of the party she would frantically look for somewhere to have yet another breakdown which was growing quite tiresome. She found a vacant room, one she didn't know that Flash had had his own breakdown in just a few minutes prior. She immediately went into a corner and curled up. She wanted to be small and unseen. For a few moments she was quiet, the walls putting up a resistance to breaking down. Until they fell and crashed around her and heavy sobs and inability to breathe took over her body. She wasn't made for this fight and these games and she didn't know how much longer she could survive trying to play them.

Willow has temporarily left the thread.

Mentioning @Mildred Wilson, @Ruka Tân, @Griseldis Edelhardt, @Jack Burnett, and @Opeila Seilun

A glance down at her watch indicated that Evelynn was late to the party. Under normal circumstances, this tardy fact would have irritated her beyond belief. Ever one to arrive well ahead to class in order to settle and prepare for the lecture, she generally looked down upon those who skirted around the social expectation of punctuality.

Perhaps a small part of her did actually feel guilty as her steps echoed lightly on the corridor floor well beyond the rehearsal room. In reality, however, she (and apparently many, if not most of the other attendants) hadn't expected to be walking this way at all. The invitation she had received by owl had come as quite a surprise. For one, she didn't even know whoever Mildred Wilson was beyond a vague acknowledgement of having heard her name in classes shared with the Hufflepuff first years. To add to that, however, it was a request to attend the birthday of Opeila. Granted, Evelynn at least did know who that was, but only barely.

The Slytherin girl had come to the lioness' aid at the Tea Party, helping her to tend the wounds in the abandoned lavatories. They'd exchanged a few words, introduced each other, but beyond that…nothing, really. She was quite convinced, then, that the letter had been sent to her in error. There wasn't any possible way that her presence could be wanted for something so personal as a birthday celebration. So she assumed, anyway, until she saw the table assignments. There, as she confirmed once again with downcast eyes, was her name, clearly printed, at Table #2. She didn't know any other Evelynn's at the school, and besides, the owls seemed uncannily capable at delivering their messages to the intended target. Even still, she'd considered declining out of principle.

So why was she then treading steadily towards that very same revelry? It was a question she asked herself often during the trek down from the Gryffindor tower. Every time, however, she came to the same two conclusions: it would be a good opportunity to properly thank Seilun now that the acute humiliation had faded; and she generally conceded that any opportunity to expand the acquaintance network was a good opportunity.

Eventually, Evelynn pushed her way quietly into the appointed room. Already, the party seemed to be in full swing. Some of the attendants were familiar to her in some respect, particularly the two fellow Gryffindors, Edelhardt and Tan. And there was Burnett. Again. Evelynn chuckled under her breath, head shaking slightly with the coincidence. Regardless of where her feet carried her, they always seemed to cross his path one way or another. He was like a curse upon her, a shadow she couldn't escape. Not that she particularly disliked his company. On the contrary, she actually found him to be one of the more enigmatic individuals of their year. Still, it amused her to no end.

Peeling her gaze away from the Slytherin trouble-maker, she allowed them to drift over the rest of the room and its inhabitants. Faces and clothing, she committed to mind, and kept an ear out for snippets of conversation, listening in particular — at the moment anyway — for names to populate her growing pool of data. As she did, she spied the Gift table and made her way there to deposit the wrapped box of Exploding Snap and Chocolate Frogs (she hadn't known what Seilun enjoyed, but couldn't think of anyone who didn't like chocolate, or at least the collectable cards contained within).

That task done, she made her way over to the conveniently labelled "Table #2" to take a seat. Perhaps it was a little unconventional, but the birthday girl had seemed a little overwhelmed with those who had flocked to give her their well-wishes. Preferring to observe for the moment, and attempt to gauge exactly what it was that she hoped to get out of this gathering, Evelynn resolved to greet Seilun a little bit later when the crowd had dispersed.

Outfit Reference: Reducio

Gift: Reducio Box of Chocolate Frogs Exploding Snap

Rolling to eavesdrop on distant conversation (Wisdom):
DC (challenging) = 20
1d20(16) + 8 = 24 (success)