Rat in a Party Hat PV Finished

There was something about Saturday afternoons in Hogwarts that made everything special. The sun was always gleaming, and Mother Nature was always in a vivacious mood compared to a weekday. It was finally Saturday, and there wasn't a better way to spend the day than receiving an early lunch and socializing with other people. There was no homework to look forward to, though undoubtedly she did have a few assignments to complete no thanks to yesterday's lessons. Procrastination was unusual for her, she was likely to overlook about it, rather disregard it completely. 

Pushing the heavy mahogany doors open, she sauntered down to the grounds. The frequent breeze tousled her unsealed strands of hair. Her usual blue and black robes had been substituted with denim and a very rumpled bun that simply took one attempt to perfect. Emma, however, was still satisfied with the finished product. 

If there was anything to remember about the girl, it was she had a knack for giving gifts. Especially when they weren't needed. Inside the pocket of her jacket, a pentagon-shaped box stuck out somewhat. The pocket could hardly maintain her hand, more or less a box, it was something she got used to, however. It wasn't the most heartfelt gift, but it was more of the thought that counted. Besides she couldn't find a good present within her restricted boundaries. The unfortunate pet had no one to play with throughout school hours, at least when she wasn't roaming around the corridors giving wizards the fright of their lives. Now Pin-Pin would have a companion to run or hop around inside their dormitory. Perhaps she was making the situation worse, but if it didn't work out, there was always an obvious, edible situation. 

The party streamers flapping on a nearby tree seemed to radiate brighter than the sun itself. Not only the colors, but the wind picked up traces of food and blew them in her direction. For the first time in forever, she was finally on time for an event. She couldn't wait to catch up with Andrew. Even if it meant putting pointless feuds behind her. To be truthful, she still wasn't fond of his friend, but she was willing to put her relationship with him away and fake the entire scene if it meant Andy's pet wasn't assaulted with yelling and negative energy. 

"Hey, you mean I'm actually on time?" She quipped, looking back at the castle to check if anyone else had decided to join the feast. She extended an arm out, bearing the gift that had been painted a solid blue. From what she knew, it was his favorite color. "It's not much, but I figured if she couldn't get any use out of it, perhaps you could?"

Despite having neglected the larger bird for a week, inadvertently, of course, Aspen had still been cooing delightedly when Aurelia arrived up in the owlery that early afternoon to pick it up. Unfortunately, the owl was more of a tool than a pet in the aristocratic pureblood's eyes for in the wizarding world, they were meant to deliver letters more than anything else. Yet Great Horned Owls were especially independent and majestic creatures.

Perch atop her gloved hand, Aspen flapped her wings eagerly as if ready to take off with her massive wings anytime soon as Aurelia trotted down the spiral staircase, her shoes clicking rhythmically with every step. Most owls were hand-fed by their owners, it was a convenient way to keep the animal alive enough to do its job of delivering letters, but lucky Aspen was to have the privilege to go out and hunt for her own meals. Consider it a form of reward for delivering letters expeditiously. Afterall, the predatory instincts were existent in their blood and it was right in their nature to hunt.

Aurelia made her way across the dewy green grass before releasing the latch on the feathered creature's leg and she took to the skies instantly, soaring far over her head. It was quite a sight to see such a creature, although a domesticated one, commanding such freedom. However, Aurelia knew to keep a watchful eye, on previous occasions, Aspen had caught things she shouldn't. Aurelia was especially worried about the snakes. Sure, not all of them possessed lethal venom, but she could never be too careful.

The signs that the predator had found a targetted prey was evident through the decrease in her altitude, the majestic bird, inclining closer to the ground at a great speed in a matter of seconds. Aurelia noticed what it saw, how could she not notice the little colourful tea party, or rather, picnic? What might Aspen have found interesting in the picnic? A frown found its place in her expression as her eyes laid upon the face of Emma Hill. Aurelia might have been distracted with the presence of her arch enemy that she had not noticed the little critter until it was nearly too late. Nearly. A pale rat... with a party hat?

"Accendio!" the third year incantated, they consonants, sharply edged. The spell short forth from her wand, towards the small creature. The poor animal was propelled upwards in a matter of seconds but fortunately, away from the merciless grasp of its predator, instead, the owl's sharp talons digging into the vibrantly coloured picnic mat.

"I've got iiitttt..." The girl exclaimed as she began a sprint, like baseball player catching a ball, Aurelia caught the falling rodent with two hands.

Dan walked out toward the gathering place. While putting those banners up had at first been a nightmare for the poor acrophobic boy, he found that the levitation charm did just as well.
He had sprinted back to the boys dorm to get his presents and special guest.

Now, Loki perched on his shoulder like he liked to be, he had returned, only to find that chaos had started already. Someone had had the brilliant idea to bring an owl to a rat's birthday party. Dan had his wand out ready to do something, when the third year already had it covered. By launching the poor rat skyward, instead of freezing the owl. At least she had managed to catch her, but the owl had ruined the picnic blanket.

"Oh fer f%*&'# sake."

He continued over, and Loki bounded off his shoulder and made a bee-line for Penelope as soon as he saw his friend. Having grown up with her, Loki loved playing with his bestest non human buddy. They often kept each other company while their owners were at classes, and he waited patiently for Aurelia to put his friend down so they could play.

Dan meanwhile, rolled his eyes and pointed his wand at the blanket.

"Reparo."

The blanket immediately repaired itself of the damage so rudely caused to it.
Dan leered at Aurelia. He had also grown close to Penelope, and was visibly annoyed.

"If yer gonna bring a bloody predator to a birthday party, could ye have her not try to eat the birthday girl, or ruin the decorations?"

Looking more, he noticed that Emma girl was here. The one that decided she would just walk up and start a load of needless drama like a muggle highschooler with nothing better to do. It took about two seconds, but Dan decided he could tolerate her presence and fake friendliness toward her for the sake of his best friend and the birthday rat.

He approached Andy, holding out a small box on top of a medium sized box, on top of a somewhat large one, about two-thirds the size of his head. Dan had found out that, being a somewhat prominent pureblood family, his parents had good relationships with a number of different places. Two of those places had come in quite handy for this occasion. It also explained how there was such an excess of one of the items in their house at almost all times.

He smiled. "Hope ye like 'em. And the birthday girl too."

Emerly had always been cut of shyer fabric than a lot of other kids his age. Depending on his mood, sometimes he could be more friendly, but that was largely dependent on what side of the bed he'd woken up on.
Today he'd woken up in a very timid state indeed.
He'd worked away at a particular gift for the party he'd been invited to. He hadn't remembered the last time he'd been invited to a party... even in muggle school, he had only had a single friend close enough to invite him to anything.
He wandered onto the grounds peering around, wearing one of the few grey shirts he'd brought along from home, as the icy weather was surprisingly already starting to thaw and look like a vibrant spring. He narrowed his eyes and shielded them from the sun rays that were cast over the Scottish greenery.
He started making his way over, gripping a small package behind his back a little nervously.
Well, maybe more than a little nervously. He slipped behind a tree and gathered his wits, steadying himself.
You'll be fine. You've come this far... just be normal, and friendly, and...
He opened his mouth and peered out from behind the tree to greet everyone, but his salutations were interrupted by a flash of feathers and a flying rat. One of the girls caught it like a baseball. Was this a wizarding game he didn't know about? Oh wait a moment... isn't that...
"Penelope?" Emerly straightened, waggling his hand to remove one of the streamers which had gotten caught in his ponytail, and was immediate coaxed out from the shelter of the tree out of concern. He watched a familiar face, one of Andrew's friends, Dan, comment on the save and offer a gift to Andrew. Having wandered over to the girl, and forgetting his shyness for a moment, holding his tiny gift close to his chest and peering at the equally tiny creature in concern inquired, "Is she okay?" He cast a momentary glance at the rest of the party, Andrew... Dan, of course, and two other females he'd never seen before, including this one. He straightened and wondered if more students would make a sudden appearance. That little owl debacle was already dangerously... eventful.
Just as that concerned thought crossed his mind, he registered a cat making a beeline in their general direction.
"Uh oh..."

The grounds were usually quiet, as it was viewed by the students as more as a place to pass through rather than a place to hang out. The green lawns were often empty during break times, apart from the odd student or so. But today seemed to be the exception.

It was hard to miss the colourful setup. It appeared to be of a picnic or tea party of some sort, with a boy lugging a basket behind him as he put down a checkered picnic blanket. Ivy observed the setup with an amused smile on her face, wondering the objective behind this. Perhaps the boy had a girl he wanted to impress? Indeed, another girl was making her way over. But Valentine's Day had passed already, and Ivy would have thought that from the disaster of the previous tea party (of which she luckily avoided) that no one would attempt to host one again.

A loud squawk alerted the Gryffindor to an owl overhead. By the determined way it was heading toward the picnic setup, Ivy assumed that it had found its target. She was a little confused as to what target this was - surely the owl wasn't so blind to think that the boy was a snake or a mouse, right? What was it hunting?

Her question was answered when an older girl, who Ivy assumed was the owner of said owl, pointed her wand at a pale rat wearing a... was that a party hat? So this was the reason of the picnic. The rat shot up into the air, moving away from the owl, and the other girl ran to catch it with her hands out. Ivy looked back over at the picnic setup. The owl had dug its sharp talons into the picnic blanket instead of an animal, much to her relief. She let out a breath she hadn't realised she was holding and ran over, grateful that that Owl-Girl had been able to save the rat.

Her sentiment was obviously not shared by another boy, whose ran towards the rat immediately, much to Ivy's alarm. Even when the cat greeted the rat by purring instead of hissing, Ivy kept an eye on it as she trailed behind Owl-Girl. In her experience, cats were not to be trusted.

-Boy mended the blanket with a spell before snapping at the owner of the owl angrily. Ivy frowned. It wasn't Owl-Girl's fault that her pet had decided that the rat would be a good candidate for lunch. Before Ivy knew it, she was defending her.

"Hey, it wasn't her fault that her owl decided to target the rat! You can't blame her for something she can't control," she snapped, slitting her eyes at his back as he turned to greet the girl she had seen earlier. Ivy looked back at Owl-Girl and offered a small smile in her direction as she tightened her hair bow. She moved towards the the owner of the rat, whom she christened Rat-Boy in her mind. "Hello, I'm Ivy. You're the one hosting this picnic, right?"

To quote Alice in Wonderland, one of Tyrannis more favored muggle stories, she thought to herself I'm late, I'm late! For a very important date! No time to say 'hello, goodbye,' I'm late, I'm late, I'm late! As she bound out of the Slytherin Common Room and approached the large doors that would lead her to the Castle Grounds, she took a quick moment to regain her composure. Best not to look is disarray.

When the invite arrived from Andrew for a birthday party for his pet rat, Penelope, she decided what better time to get to know Andrew better, and meet some others. Unfortunately, she found that homemade gifts were the best, and decided to make a present for Penelope. Underestimating how much homework she had, it took a while to get the project started. But she placed the gift in a small gift bag.

Expecting a slight chill to the February day, her outfit of choice was a black oversized sweater with leggings and black combat boots (Outfit reference). It was not hard to spot the part, with bright colored decorations in the area. There was already a conglomerate of students and animals at the party.

"Sorry I'm late Andy! Did I miss anything?" It seemed a silly question to ask, but already a commotion was occurring. "I brought something for Penelope." Handing the gift bag to Andrew, she looked around at the other guests. She recognized almost no one else, except for Dan, who was also standing next to their friend.

Turning towards Dan, she introduced herself. "You must be Dan. I have heard a lot about you from Andy, and I've seen you around the Common Room a few times. It's nice to finally meet, officially at least." Little did Tyranni know at this time, that she would soon be working beside Dan on the Quidditch team.

Speaking to: @Andrew Vance & @Dan Palmer
Mentioning: Everyone else

"Hey, you mean I'm actually on time?"

Adjusting one of the banners, Andrew glanced up in the direction of the familiar voice, and a big grin spread on his face. "Emma, you made it!" He greeted. Being in separate Houses and different years, plus homework, it wasn't often that the two of them got to hang out during the school year.

"Dan's here too," he told Emma. "He went back to the dorm for something, but he'll be right back."

Given Emma's reputation of gift-giving, he shouldn't have been surprised that she would present something to him: A Chocolate Frog container, Andrew recognized.

"It's not much, but I figured if she couldn't get any use out of it, perhaps you could?"

Andrew's eyes lit up with gratitude as he took the gift in his hand. "Aww, thanks Emma. You didn't have to, but… Aw, who am I kidding?" He chuckled. Even though he wasn't expecting it, still, what would a birthday be without presents? He contemplated, "Well, I don't think I'd be able to eat it once it's on the ground, but we'll see if Pin-pin might chase it. Hey Pin-pin!" He picked up the rat to show Emma, as Penelope began sniffing the Chocolate Frog container in his hand. "Look, Emma got you something," he told Penelope. "What do you say? We say 'thank you'." He held up Penelope for her to blink those beady black eyes at Emma—what might be interpreted as a Thank You gesture—even though the rat knew nothing about the human concept of presents or birthdays.

He placed Penelope on the ground, and it was while Andrew was distracted in chatting with Emma, taking his eyes off the rat for but a moment, that Penelope began wandering towards the outer edge of the picnic blanket, oblivious to the Great Horned owl that had spotted the rodent's straying movement from afar.

"Accendio!"

Andrew didn't suspect a thing until he heard the nearby shout of a girl's incantation, followed by a loud crash which whipped his head around in time to see a large owl that had collided with the picnic blanket, scattering food and dishes as it tried to ascend, its talons snagged on the fabric.

He caught glance of a girl that streaked past—

"I've got iiitttt..."

—But Andrew had instantly charged toward the owl, letting out a terrified yell which turned into a ferocious war cry, waving his arms wildly in an desperate attempt to scare off the large bird with his size. He heard that this tactic worked with bears. But owls?

"Heyyyarrrr!" Andrew shouted, aiming to kick the owl away with his foot. "Get outta here! Go! Go!" He shooed. He wasn't an advocate of hurting animals, but to save his own, he would strangle this owl without hesitation.

He whipped his head around in a frantic sweep for Penelope, unaware that she had been blasted away from the owl's grasp in the nick of time, thanks to the girl's quick reaction with her spell. Instead the rat had gone skyrocketing through the air, which quickly caught Andrew's attention, when he noticed a small gray projectile descend and was caught by a girl some twenty meters away from the picnic site.

"Penelope?"

Emerly would poke his head around the oak tree in time to witness Penelope's airborne feat, as Andrew made a mad dash over to where the girl was. Returning from the Castle, Dan and Loki would also catch sight of the owl's ambush-attempt as they drew nearer.

"Oh fer f%*&'# sake."

"Pin!" Andrew called out as he sprinted over, skidding to a halt beside the girl. "Is that my—?"

A wave of relief washed over his face when he found his beloved rat stiffened but otherwise unscathed in the girl's hands. "Oooh, Merlin, thank you," Andrew quivered breathlessly in shock, directing a note of gratefulness at the girl as he swiftly scooped up Penelope, holding her tightly to his chest. With his pet now safe and secure, and the adrenaline wearing off, Andrew could process a second glance at Penelope's savior. That face… She was familiar.

Flashbacks of Aurelia B. etched into the gold band of the Remembrall he had recovered and returned to the girl at the Owlery at the start of his first year, resurfaced in Andrew's mind. His eyes widened in surprise.

"Aurelia?" He couldn't remember—much less even try to pronounce—her last name if he tried, although he was sure it came from some fancy language and was longer than three syllables. Why couldn't all surnames be simple? Palmer, Pine, Hill, Whitethorn. Those were short, practical, easy-to-remember surnames…

"Uh, hi. Again." He introduced himself sheepishly at Aurelia. "Andrew. If you remember me."

Emerly would make his way over to the pair, checking up on Penelope.

"Is she okay?"

"I think so." Andrew cradled Penelope for him to examine. There were no obvious signs of trauma or scratches, and the rodent seemed to have snapped back to her normal self. Andrew readjusted her party hat, which had been blown to the side from wind-force.

"Uh oh..."

Andrew glanced up, hearing Emerly's tone of concern.

"It's okay, he's a friendly," Andrew assured him with a chuckle, once he recognized the silver spotted tabby cat bounding up to them. Sure enough, Dan had returned. Unfortunately, Loki would have to wait a little longer to play, as Andrew maintained his firm hold on Penelope, not ready to set her down any time soon.

Andrew turned to Aurelia.

"Well, you did save Pin-pin here, so… Care for a cupcake? We've got lunch over there, if you like." He gestured to the picnic site. "Least I could do for you."

Walking back to the oak tree with Penelope, Andrew sidled up to Emerly. "Thanks for coming, Em," he said in appreciation. Lowering his voice discreetly, he leaned over. "Oh, and you don't have to stay for the whole thing if you want," he added kindly, not wanting Emerly to feel pressured to stay longer if being around too many people became too uncomfortable for him. Andrew would understand if he wanted to leave the party early.

"Reparo."

Andrew would return to find that the torn picnic blanket had been mended by Dan, and that all the scattered items had been assembled back into place. Perfect, now they could continue their celebration like nothing happened, Andrew hoped.

If only.

He would overhear Dan's snappy remark towards Aurelia about the owl.

"If yer gonna bring a bloody predator to a birthday party, could ye have her not try to eat the birthday girl, or ruin the decorations?"

It was then that another girl would appear, speaking out:

"Hey, it wasn't her fault that her owl decided to target the rat! You can't blame her for something she can't control."

What was going on? Andrew stared in bewilderment at the strange girl that had waltzed into their little gathering. Was she a friend of Aurelia's?

"Hello, I'm Ivy. You're the one hosting this picnic, right?"

"Yeahh…?" Andrew raised an eyebrow in confusion at Ivy. "How did you know?" He asked, unaware that the girl had been stalking watching him set up the picnic earlier.

A smile would once again spread on his face when he recognized the fourth and final of his invitees approaching. "Hi Tyr!" He waved her over.

"Sorry I'm late Andy! Did I miss anything?"

"Yeah, you missed a jump-scare," Andrew said, eyes widening in fright. His head was still spinning in disbelief from what had happened, how this close he could've been to losing Penelope and turning this birthday into a funeral. "And new guests, I suppose," he said, motioning over at Aurelia and Ivy.

Regardless of whatever tensions were unfolding, Andrew would try to quell them by swooping in and extending hospitality towards Aurelia and Ivy.

"So, anyway… Welcome to the party, I guess. It's for her, Pin-pin." He gestured to Penelope, whom he was still carrying in his arms. "Her birthday's today. So if you wanna grab some food and sing 'Happy Birthday' with us, you can," he said chipperly, before chuckling nervously. "Although I am debating whether or not this was such a good idea after all to be doing this outside and that we should probably go back inside in case another random creature decides to show up and attack Penelope," he rambled in one breath, more or less to himself. "Although, now that Loki's here… Loki! You better guard Penelope with your life," he ordered, before finally releasing the rat on the ground to scurry around with her best cat friend.

He would add Dan's and Tyranni's (and Emerly's) presents to the offering pile. Those would be saved for the gift-opening later, once the cupcakes were distributed.

"Well, we've got sandwiches, fruit, lemonade, soup. The House-elves put it together for me, so kind of them. And then we have cupcakes. But those are for later, after we sing 'Happy Birthday' and all that. Right now, let's feast!" He announced, attempting to redirect everyone's minds towards the food.

Watching as Andrew plucked up his pet from the picnic blanket, her grin simply continued to enlarge. If she was being honest, she wasn't too fond of rodents in general. They possessed an infamous reputation of carrying multiple illnesses, and Emma, being the germophobe she was, didn't want to take her chances. She had learned to love this one in general, trusting that there wouldn't be signs of influenza, or another disease, running around in Hogwarts. There were many students that opted to take one into their possession, so there was nothing to be cautious of, right?

As the guests became to arrive, the brunette gave a short wave to Dan, her eyes on the Lake behind him. It was much better than rolling her eyes or speaking in an overjoyed, sarcastic tone. Rocking back and forth on her heels, thoughts and opinions came flooding back to her. It was definitely difficult to retain her promise, but she sighed and sagged against the tree, pushing herself off every few seconds to give her something to do. No matter how badly she wanted to, it would be disrespectful to call him out and cause another disturbance. 

Emma's posture stiffened, and her eyes widened slightly as she witnessed the bird that had recently dart past her to retrieve a quick meal. It was none other than Penelope herself. Whether the bird belonged to the owlery or a student, she didn't mind it and glanced at Andrew to see how he handled the situation. Despite the circumstances being severe, she sniggered to herself and patrolled, questioning who would be next to show up as she drew her wand. She hadn't intended on using it, but just in case matters grew out of hand she would be there. There was something familiar about the girl's voice, however. Her head whipped back to see a face she remembered well. Just when things couldn't get any worse. 

Once the rat had been saved, the Ravenclaw approached the two and concealed her hands inside her jacket's pocket. Fidgeting with the denim material, her words were limited. In some universe, Dan was right. Penelope could have been hurt, or digested for that matter. The damage that had already been afflicted was effortlessly resolved with magic. In reality, however, she sided with the Gryffindors. She was too obstinate to admit it. The girl wouldn't even glance in Aurelia's direction for the concern she might do something ludicrous. "What's done is done, can we please eat? And maybe go back to what we were doing?" She added a somewhat subtle hint, shaking her head. Maintaining a conversation with Aurelia proved to be rather troublesome. After all, it was uncommon for them to get words out in place of punches or spells.

Making her way down to the mended blanket, the teenager sat down on her knees. She was the first to reach for the pitcher of lemonade and pour her a glass, temptation nearly bringing her to knock it over. It was finally time to dig in. Maybe things would begin to run smoother, but she profoundly doubted it. Reaching for a sandwich, she glanced at Andrew and immediately disregarded her thought. Today was Pin-Pin's birthday; it would be improper to strike up a discussion about another birthday. Then again, what did she know about being prudish and elegant?

A sigh of relief escaped her lips when the little rodent landed into her hands unscathed. However, her pet owl, on the other hand, could not be more aggravated not only that it lost what could have been her lunch but also the boy's act of aggression which barely missed her. Nevertheless, though much smaller than the human, Aspen was not fazed at all and even dared a snarl. The same boy who was vaguely familiar to Aurelia, came running up to her.

Undoubtedly the owner of the very ball of fur which she had just saved from he merciless grasp of Aspen. "Apologies, Andrew, Aspen was only hungry. She hasn't gone hunting for quite a while." She explained whilst handing the Slytherin boy the small shivering grey critter.

The aristocratic pureblood could not help but take offence to another boy's use of language nor the blame being entirely swung in her direction. She had tried her best to keep her eye on the owl but it was not easy when the feathered creature was the one with a bird's eye view. However, Aurelia had not the need to rebut as someone else, piped in before her, defending her with much vigour. It was unexpected, given that she had never met the girl before.

Aurelia was not one for cupcakes, but it would be impertinent to reject the boy's genuine offer. However, the only thing was the company. There was Emma Hill of all people she despised. Moreover, the seer unnerved her, the way she seemed to have pried into her own future into a less pleasant scene during their encounter in the study room. With much reluctance and a feigned smile, Aurelia replied,"Definitely. I'd love nothing more than a good picnic,"

Aspen pitched atop her shoulder when she sat on the mat. Cawing like the little hungry brat she was. Picking one of the sandwiches, Aurelia plucked a few pieces of the cooked chicken and waved it right in front of her beak. But the massive bird only kept on with its relentless cawing. Aurelia was well aware that Aspen's diet only consisted of fresh kills and nothing more.

Pulling her wand out once more, Aurelia pointed to the sandwich in her hand. "Avifors," the sandwich slowly morphed, pretty grey feathers sprouting from the bread and soon in her hand was now a small grey dove. Pretty, aurelia would say. Aurelia had barely less than a few seconds to admire her work when her famished owl pounced on its prey, suffocating the creature within seconds. The owl began to feast, so did Aurelia as she took another sandwich from the basket. To the monster hunter, Aspen's hunts were perfectly normal to her for she had witnessed the massive bird kill countless of times. But from the others around her, it might have been quite a gruesome sight to see the massive bird devour a smaller one.