Birthday for Two PV Group Finished

Today was the day! Oh Merlin, today was actually the day- It would be Willow's and Alan's birthday today. Mildred had spent hours before pacing around her dorm room looking back and forth at her gift, would Willow even like it? heck she didn't even know Alan! She wasn't sure on what to get him, however, she felt awkward if she were to show up with no gift for him. She realized her errors too late she should have at least asked Willow for gift suggestions for Alan. She sighed as she walked towards the card she wrote for Willow, inside it wrote-

Dear Willow,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
You're getting so old haha, can't believe you're already 12! Have a great day!

She looked back at it, tempted to rip it in half- it wasn't anything fancy or pretty but she did mean every word, plus she had ran out of paper before she could really write more words. Curse her huge handwriting, plus if anything- if she really wanted to write all her thought's Willow would end up with the world's longest card. Next to the written word part, she drew some simple flowers and a message saying "dorm mates for life" which she hoped would be true. Mildred was really thankful for her dorm mate and everything she had done for her in the year.

She walked towards her bed and bent down and pulled out her gift for Willow, a stuffed animal Alpaca- which was very similar to her own. She sat down and looked at it, "You better give Willow comfort alright?" she shook it, "You hear me??" Just what in the world was she doing? she placed it down and looked at it- she hoped Willow liked it. A few days prior she had owled her parents, which was something out of the norm. She had no reason to Owl them and they had no reason to Owl her, other than that one random time where they had owled her Pajamas. She decided to kill two birds with one stone and Owled them a quick thank you for the random gift kind of thing and asked for a few items, to her surprise they had sent the items she requested.

She had asked for her parents to send her one of her pet rocks, which was a little strange to gift someone but she had gifted Opeila a similar gift, and she hasn't heard any complaints yet. Inside the small box laid a rock which laid in a small nest- although she didn't want to gift him only rock she filled the rest of the box with all sorts of Scottish candy from home, it was a mixture of toffee and chocolate sweets. To her surprise, in the owl she received from her parents a packet of stickers had slipped out and she thought that it was a mistake but on a separate letter it wrote, "We know just how much you love these sorts of things, remember when you used to decorate your room in stickers?" It had been a long time since she used stickers she guessed they had stumbled upon them while looking for the pet rocks she had in her room, she decided to gift it to Alan as well as he could use them to decorate the rock.

Realizing the time- she quickly changed into her pajamas which resembled an Alpaca- her favorite animal. She took the box and slipped the packet of stickers in there before she closed it she snuck a piece of candy and hoped Alan wouldn't mind. She held Willow's gift in her other hand and began her trek to the Great Lake. As she walked, she wondered who would be there? Maybe Opeila? That was her only guess as they all had met together, she hoped there weren't too many strangers. She struggled a bit to understand why she had been invited, as well she didn't know Alan. She wasn't even sure what he looked like- her mind flashed to the scenario of her saying happy birthday to the wrong person when she actually thought it was Alan but it was not, maybe she could just... gift Alan gifts to Willow and ask her to give it to him?

Mildred was a little bit annoyed at her roommate was going to be older than her, but at least she was taller than Willow. As she neared the place of the party- she was amazed at the effort they had gone through, there sat a proudly lit Fireplace in the middle with comfortable looking blankets on the ground.

She quickly realized that the only person she knew there was... Willow. Of course, she has seen some of the other attendees here and there in the corridors or at class, however, she has never spoken to any of them. Sadly... it seemed Willow was preoccupied with two other people at some sort of food table, she looked around... where was the other birthday person? She looked back at the two boys near willow- almost recognizing one but she wasn't so sure? where has she seen him before... Jack? wasn't that their name- she shrugged it off she guessed it was one of them or the other boy who stood with another girl she didn't know. There was no time better than now to find out who the other birthday person was- She walked towards them carrying her gifts, She looked at the girl and smiled, "Hello! Name's Mildred Wilson." she looked at the boy- "Uhm... happy birthday?"

Interacting with @Alan Vanes @Willow Anderson and @Flash Holmwood

Mentioning @Scott Alexander @Lydia Cooper @Santario Martin @Mildred Wilson

Reducio

Outfit

Top

Shoes and Jeans

Upon receiving the birthday invite, Ruka's first instinct had been to just pretend like he hadn't gotten it.

The last birthday party he had been at had frankly turned out to be a bit of a mess, and social events didn't ever really seem to go his way in the first place, so wouldn't it have been much better to just... Stay in bed? However, in the end it had been Jack's voice in his head, saying "But birthdays are special, you know?" back at Opeila's birthday party, that made him decide that he should at least show up to give Alan and Willow his well-wishes.

While he didn't consider himself particularly close with either of them, he had held Willow through a panic attack, and he'd also spent quite some time with Alan throughout the past month, so he thought it was only decent of him to show his face and bring them a little something. He didn't exactly have the money to buy something, and he also didn't really own much of anything, so coming up with a present had been difficult, but in the end he had opted for the same solution he had also found for Opeila:

He'd made them both a birthday card that showed off his non existent artistic abilities in full glory.

He'd made Alan's card completely red with thick yellow lettering spelling out HAPPY BIRTHDAY. On the bottom he had managed to draw a vaguely recognisable lion in various tones of yellow and orange, and inside the card he had put some standard well-wishings as well as his signature.
Willow's card was done in yellow with pink letters and a drawing of variously coloured flowers across the bottom. The inside looked just about the same as Alan's, except that he had drawn some more flowers around the words. There was a failed attempt at his own signature, in which he had tried to turn the A into a flower as well, but in the end it ended up looking like he had signed his name as "Ruk" and then drew a black hole next to it, so he had abandoned that signature and put a normal one right beneath it.

Inside each of the cards he had also put a small, handmade present for each of them; Not knowing what to do exactly, Ruka had rummaged through his new trunk - the one that now stored all his old hand-me-downs - until he had found a few articles of clothing he had no use for anymore and had cut stripes of fabric off them until he'd had various thick threads of yellow, red, white and black.
With the memory of Willow's instructions on how to make friendship bracelets, Ruka had attempted his own little experiment until he had managed to tie the pieces of fabric together in a way they formed a lovely little pattern - One in Yellow and White, the other in Red and Black. The tied together pieces of fabric where about three inches long and an inch wide, and in Ruka's mind quite perfect to be used as bookmarks.

Surely both Alan and Willow could make use of a bookmark, right?

Hopeful that his little presents were enough to put a smile on the two birthday kids, Ruka had put himself into what he had hoped to be a suitable outfit that day: A red and green sweater that he had grown more than fond of since Jack got him all his new clothes, a pair of dark blue jeans that he had turned up by the ankles, and his new grey sneakers. 

It wouldn't occur to him until later that Alan had left him a note specifying the party as a pyjama party on his nightstand where Ruka must have clearly missed it.

Satisfied, for the moment, with his outfit choices, Ruka grabbed the red throw blanket that was usually draped over the foot of his bed, and threw it over his shoulder, just in case Alan and Willow hadn't considered that the temperature was going to drop during the evening, especially so close to a large body of water. Living on the streets had prepared him for these types of situations.

Before leaving, Ruka grabbed his winter coat, just to be extra safe, and then made his way down the stairs to get out to the Grounds relatively on time. Maybe it was a little bit after seven by the time he spotted the bonfire close by the Great Lake, but from afar he could already see that there were quite a few people gathered, so he doubted anybody really missed his presence anyway.

As he approached, cards in his left hand, there was one thing that hit him like Willow's fist had hit him in the face just about a month ago: Everyone was wearing bed clothes. 

Willow herself had gone as far as to put on a fuzzy pink bunny suit, which was... admittedly one of the warmest outfits he could see around the bonfire, but with absolute certainty also the most outrageously blinding.

Ruka stopped his step for a moment to compose himself. It wasn't going to be nice to show up to a party host and furiously criticising their outfit choice, so he just took a quick breath and tried to occupy his mind with other things. Like the fact that he was the only one wearing day clothes, and some of these people had gone with such ridiculously light garments that he gave them all about twenty minutes before they would break into violent shivers from the cold.

He could already see the angry letters sent by the parents of students who had frozen to death during a birthday party. 

Shaking his mind off the cynical thought, Ruka slowly moved forward, searching the crowd for more familiar faces.
Alan wasn't far from Willow, which was good since he was going to be able to give both of them their gifts at the same time. There was the girl who had shoved a dumpling into his mouth at Pei's birthday party, and quite a few people he didn't think he recognised at all. Deciding not to get himself into the unfamiliar crowd, Ruka walked straight towards the birthday kids, stopping for just a second as he crossed another person he knew.

Flash, it seemed, got the pyjama dress code, but had clearly put on day clothes underneath his night gown, possibly for the sake of warmth, or maybe because he wasn't comfortable showing himself in anything less than impeccable fashion, but either way Ruka had to commend him for it. Out of everyone he knew, Ruka had thought Flash to be the last person to weasel his way around a dress code like that.

After all, what would people think?

"Flash," he just acknowledged shortly as he approached the sort of snack table the birthday kids were occupying at that moment. There was another girl as well, but he didn’t pay her much mind as he instead lifted the hand holding the birthday cards in a small wave in hopes of either Willow or Alan to see him. "Happy Birthday," he would say upon being acknowledged, handing his cards to the birthday kids with a sheepish smile and waiting for both of them to open  them and find their little arts and crafts presents. "I've, uh, used your bracelet technique, Willow," he explained, rubbing the back of his neck a little awkwardly. "They're bookmarks, which... I was hoping you could both find some use for."

Jake had been shocked when the owl had deposited his invitation at breakfast. The invitation was colorful and festive, and though he would eventually admire the drawings something else had struck him first. His heart had swelled with some pride, and a bit of nerves. It was the first birthday invitation Jake had ever gotten.

What were you even supposed to do at a birthday party? What was he supposed to get them? That had taken some thought. It was important, he thought, to get them something that they were going to like. There were other concerns too though, like what to wear. Apparently it was a pajama party, and that raised a whole new bunch of questions. Jake had barely gotten sleep in recent days, and had spent most afternoons looking quite like a zombie...but the excitement and uncertainties swirling around this date gave him a burst of energy when it came time to attend.

In the end he made his way out to the lawn right on time, wondering who else was going to go and more importantly, whether Alan and Willow would like his presents. He had tried his best to wrap them himself. It had gone pretty well - Jake was experienced with arts and crafts - but nothing like how well his Mum would have made it. By his third try he got something serviceable though - along with a card for each with a drawing of a lion and badger respectively in a birthday hat blowing out candles.

He was dressed in his pajamas, like requested. They weren't his most warmest pajamas, which was too bad because he was probably going to be chilly. His warmest pajamas were not suitable for wearing out in public, though. Hufflepuff common room only. He had to be careful that he didn't wear anything embarrassing. It was hard to think of anybody mean being friends with Alan and Willow but that didn't mean that it couldn't happen. Plus, Alan was a teenager, and that meant there were going to be teenagers there. The whole evening would be ruined if he got called a baby. He feared it maybe more than he had to.

It was hard though, since most of his pajamas didn't seem like they were made for very big kids. And he still wanted to wear SOMETHING fun. After going through his wardrobe, he decided on his blue pajamas from the movie Coco - it was a Disney movie which he knew that Willow liked (or at least she liked one), it had an animal on it, which he knew Alan liked too, and Disney was for all ages, right? So there wouldn't be any problem there.

He made his way to the group, realizing that most kids had already gotten there. Maybe he had taken too long picking out his pajamas after all.

When he arrived, Jake stood outside of the main group for a moment, looking hesitant to approach. It felt weird being in his pajamas outside...being out so close to sundown..the whole thing had a bizarre air. But when he met Alan and Willow's eyes he waved and came closer. "Hi Willow, hi Alan," he said, giving Willow a hug first, and then after a moment's thought, giving one to Alan as well (He hoped that that was ok). He couldn't even believe that he was going to have a friend who was fourteen. It sounded impossibly old to Jake. A teenager and not even just barely anymore. Alan didn't LOOK like he was fourteen, but Jake knew that a lot of people said he didn't look like he was eleven. Maybe looks could just be deceiving sometimes. That was what people said, anyway...

"I like your jammies Willow," he said, pointing at her bunny onesie. He also gave a wave to the faces he recognized - Santario, and Ruka, and then Mildred. Noticing Mildred also in a onesie, Jake wondered if maybe he could have actually worn his footie pajamas after all - it was good to know for next time.

Jake looked down at the presents in his hands, and judging by the collection around the two birthday kids, they were being opened right now. Maybe that was better, though. If they didn't like it he'd know sooner. "Oh, um...theseareforyou," he mumbled, handing them out, suddenly feeling even shyer. "Happy Birthday...!"

First was Alan's, and he waited for the boy to open what would be soon revealed to be a sticker book, full of animals. When Jake had met Alan, his whole trunk had been covered in them, all of them creatures. It had been so cool. And then Alan had said he couldn't get any new ones. Well, it had only taken a letter home to sort THAT one out.

"It's a sticker book...! Of animals! Um, it's a lot of muggle ones, because...well I thought maybe there were ones you didn't have...and 'cause I couldn't get any magic ones, but I thought...maybe...well maybe you'd still like it." Jake said shyly. "But um, there's some really cool ones there," he said, pointing. "I was looking at them before. Some of them are kinda glittery even."

He felt a sudden anxiety. He didn't really know what kids got other kids for their birthdays. Since he'd made friends he hadn't even had a birthday...so he couldn't see what other people had gotten him. He really hoped that Alan was going to like it...but what if he didn't? It was important to Jake to get them something they'd like, especially because Jake felt like he'd been given a present just being invited to the party.

The present he had got Willow he was even less sure of, because it hadn't cost him anything at all.

When she unwrapped the very thin package she would find a large drawing - almost poster sized - meticulously created by colored pencil. He had thought of what to get her by thinking back to the first time they'd really met, when they had all talked in the common room with their stuffed animals...talked about Freddie, Chicken, and Gerald going to Atlantis together, where Gerald was from. Jake had had a dream about it that night...a vivid picture. When he had woken up he had known what he had to make. The drawing was colored in completely. In it, Freddie, Gerald, and Chicken were swimming above a bright underwater city. Freddie had an air helmet, like the kind he had seen Sandy wear on Spongebob. Chicken for some reason did not. All three animals looked very happy though. The description on the bottom in very careful print said "Gerald's Atlantis Adventures"

"I made you this, cause um..cause we talked about it so...so I thought maybe um...you'd like it?" He found himself staring down at his feet. Giving birthday presents was supposed to be a happy thing - so why was it so scary! "I had an older kid make the paper bigger 'cause I wanted it to be big."

The drawing had taken him ages, but it was only a drawing...Still, Jake had been finding since coming to school that people LIKED his drawings. He was good at it...it was the one thing he knew he could do. But would Willow like it? He really hoped so...He wondered if he should tell them that he could get them something else if they didn't. Both Alan and Willow had made him feel safe and he wanted to do something to show that he cared about them. He just didn't really know a lot about friendship, that was all...If he could, he would have got them exactly what they wanted, but he didn't know what they wanted, so he had just had to try his best. Now, the thought that he had got it all totally wrong occurred to him. It wouldn't have been the first time he had found out in an unfortunate way just how little he had understood. He just waited anxiously to see what they thought.

Jake's Outfit:

Flash was satisfied with their response, doing Alan the service of putting the books on the table as well after he looked at them, offhandedly assuring him that he was giving them as a gift-- no need to return them. It seemed he hadn’t done anything wrong after all, so he could spend the rest of the evening relaxing. At least he thought he would, before Willow tugged him over to where a bunch of pies were sitting. They smelled nice, and he saw that she even grabbed a savory one as an example, but it made him uncomfortable when she presented it as some kind of game. There were more people arriving as they spoke, not to mention the already assembled group. He didn’t want to try to uselessly guess ingredients in front of a bunch of people only to fail miserably, how did Willow not know he would be terrible at that? That it would humiliate him?

”I’ll let the other guests have fun with that, I can wait for summer.” Flash smiled weakly, waving his hand to try to pass it off gracefully.

Alan encouraged Flash too, giving his own guess. Flash saw the opportunity and reached over Willow to fish for the card in the basket. Easily enough, he read through the little notecard and found the answer Alan was looking for. Now that he had seen all the answers no one would pester him to guess.

”Good job Alan, all you missed was the…” Flash squinted at the sheet, ”kumquat rind?”

What on earth… is a kumquat… is it even a citrus? Flash never felt more sure of his decision to not be involved. He smiled more confidently this time, putting the card back in its place. With the new guests approaching, they wouldn’t be able to make too much of a fuss about it.

The adorable little Mildred came by in a rush, only to start talking to another group of people quickly after, the boy that Lydia Cooper was talking to. Looking briefly over the guests so far, he saw he didn’t actually recognize that many people. He knew Santario Martin by nature of her being a first year Slytherin, but knew practically nothing about her. Lydia he had met in a mostly formal setting, and Mildred he had known as Opeila’s disastrous birthday party host. He was sure she didn’t even know his name.

That’s when he saw Ruka arriving next. Fully clothed, no less. He had not got the memo that it was a pajama party, but he doubted the hosts would be very irked. Even though Flash had been in a state of disarray the last few times he saw Ruka, it hadn’t passed him by that he had started cleaning up. No doubt because of his reunion with Burnett. Seeing the two of them interacting at Opeila’s party had given Flash a cocktail of suspicions. He had already had a long running list of things he was keeping track of as far as his roommate was concerned, but Ruka was still something out of his grasp. He had actually been actively avoiding talking to him at all. He almost… feared him. He wasn’t sure if it had been Ruka’s cutting, intelligent insight, or his own sense of unbridled guilt, one that had no outlet but in his own routine self-deprecation.

He was more surprised to even be greeted. It made him want to say something, but Ruka quickly moved on to the birthday boy and girl. Probably for the best, since his words weren’t likely to mean anything to Ruka anyway. Still, he watched with interest as they revealed what his present had been. A bookmark in the weaving style of the bracelets Willow liked to make. It was thoughtful, appreciated. Even though Ruka looked around at the crowd with apprehension, he at least cared enough to try to give them something meaningful.

Another boy had been shyly waiting his turn, stepping in and receiving his hug, one way to tell who was close to Willow and who was not. Still, Flash’s eyes stayed on Ruka. He stuck out like a gun in a toy store. His clothing, his expression, his body language, all spoke of some kind of otherworldly detachment from the situation. Without realizing how or why, Flash could relate. Now that his favor had been given, he also wasn't sure he belonged in this group. Guessing pie flavors and roasting marshmallows... it was a part of another world. He liked to come and visit, but he would only ever be that: a visitor.

Interacting with: @Willow Anderson @Alan Vanes
Mentioning: @Mildred Wilson @Ruka Tân @Santario Martin @Lydia Cooper

Interacting with @Lydia Cooper @Mildred Wilson
Mentions: @Alan Vanes @Willow Anderson @Santario Martin @Flash Holmwood @Ruka Tân @Jake Morris

The food was, as expected, delicious. Scott had no idea where Alan or Willow had gotten it from, but at the time it didn't so much as occur to him to ask them. Instead, he was focusing quite intently on the thin piece of pie he carried on the plate before him, turning slowly around and looking out over the rest of the scene between champs.

Willow seemed to have liked his gift, which pleased him a lot. She told him that she played keeper, and so he realised himself that a compass might not be of the biggest use to her right now- but you never know. We all get lost... Alan, too, seemed happy with his present. Though admittedly his had been much more of a safe bet. Candy never failed you. In fact, as he'd only put his bag aside- Scott just might assume the liberty to take a piece for himself, unless something sweeter would arrive.

"You're welcome, you're welcome. Great job with this, by the way..." Scott pointed to his plate and smiled to the both of them, busy as they were with setting everything up, and rejoiced at the sight of Alan stepping away from the blanket- implying that at least this, arguably the most important, corner of the party was finished.

Not soon thereafter, another student came walking down the grounds and towards them. Scott noticed her after the two hosts did (as it probably should be), but looked up with interest as he heard Willow's voice exclaim:

"Lydia! I'm so glad you could make it."

Now, Scott didn't recognise Lydia. She must've been a first year as well, that much was evident, but of anything other than that she wasn't a Gryffindor Scott couldn't be sure. Perhaps it was her red pyjamas that confused him. Truly Gryffindor colours, but no Gryffindor girl. Both Alan and Willow seemed happy to see her though, so Scott sent a smile and a toast of his plate her way, before she walked over towards him herself.

"Hi, I'm Lydia!"

"So I heard! I'm Scott. Designated fourteen year old, here to keep up the age average."
Scott laughed, and took a step to the side so that Lydia had the same access to the blanket of food as he did. In doing so, he could spot another girl, and then a boy, approaching the setting from over Lydia's head. Both of them clearly first-years as well.

"Although it does appear as though I'm not going to be enough... Not that it bothers me. First-years make the school, in my opinion..."

The dark haired girl that had just delivered her gifts to Alan and Willow was Santario, and she introduced herself as such to everyone. Then, just as he had with Lydia, Scott made a toast with his plate and smiled at his Headliner colleague- only to, a few seconds later, have to do it again towards the boy who'd arrived shortly after her.

The boy had brought cake. Scott liked the boy.

"Absolutely excellent." He informed him in passing, because he had gone to help their hosts by relieving them of their gifts and placing them on the table by which Scott and Lydia were standing. Willow had followed, and encouraged him to taste one of the pies which were apparently mystery flavoured... His plate not even empty yet, Scott quickly turned around to take one himself, and offered one to Lydia as well as he did so.

"Mystery can't be anything but the best flavour." He concluded.

So he stood there for a while, trying to figure the pie out. He felt a cool April breeze chill his skin between the top of his shoe and the bottom of his trousers, and shuddered. The food was excellent, he'd already discovered that, but he was still struggling to understand the idea behind the assigned attire. At least the boy with the cake, much like himself, had cheated in some way by wearing ordinary clothes underneath his robe... Maybe it was all an elaborate plan of Alan's to freeze them to death.

Standing there and pondering, all the while watching the host and the hostess walk from one end of the place and to the other, another girl suddenly came to stand right in front of him. A small, red-headed girl in.... a costume? Pyjamas. Animal pyjamas. ...Llama? Whatever it was, if someone was to survive Alan's plan to give them all hypothermia, it was her.

Scott stared at the girl for a while, not knowing just how to react, but decided eventually to smile and turn to hand this one a piece of pie, too. In that time the redhead had introduced herself as Mildred Wilson to Lydia, but when Scott turned back around she was facing him again.

"Uhm... Happy birthday?"

Scott felt bad for the girl, being subjected to his confused stare twice in one night.

What had she said? Happy birthday? Mildred was Scottish, so at first Scott figured that he had only misheard her. That happened sometimes.

"..I'm sorry?"

But as his eyes slid down to the box she was holding before her, reaching in his direction, amused realisation dawned on him. He wasn't the only one at this party who didn't know anybody.

"Oh." He breathed, grinning again. "Is that for me? Why thank you! Sorry, I thought I misheard you. And to think that this was just what I wished for! Please, please... have a seat on one of the blankets. Grab this plate, have a bite, and warm yourself by the fire! Not that that outfit of yours isn't surely doing that already. A real killer. Very stylish."

Laughing, Scott bowed his head theatrically to the poor girl. Then, with a strange feeling that he was acting just like another redhead he knew would, he sang: "I'll get that off your hands." Reaching forward, Scott received the box that Mildred had brought very gently, throwing an amused look over to where Alan was apparently preoccupied with the newly arrived guests (two boys, one of which Scott recognised to be a fellow Gryffindor- the other, impossibly small and shy-looking).

"Thank you so much for coming."

Lydia hugger Willow back, before giving her another bright smile. She really liked being around her, she just had a positive energy that made the red headed girl extremely relaxed. 

As the birthday girl opened her gift, Lydia felt a little anxious; what if she didn't like it? She figured she could have told her that she could have exchanged it for something else, but judging by the girl's excitement, that would not have been the case. "I'm really happy you like it!" she said cheerfully, "I would love to Willow! We could make them matching, or we could even put charms on them!"  Lydia smiled wide again, her heart feeling already a little lighter. She had missed all of this, hanging out with friends, chatting and just relaxing by the fire; since she had arrived at Hogwarts, Lydia had lost contacts with her friends back at home, of course her mother would keep her updated every now and then, but it was not the same thing. 
Lydia gave Alan a warm smile, and his reaction to her giving him his gift made her feel so happy, that she felt like she could cry; she always loved giving gifts to people, especially for their birthdays, and seeing the happiness coming from opening them. 

Lydia chuckled at Scott's words, her instinct telling her that she would have gotten along well with the boy. She didn't know if he was friends with Willow or Alan, perhaps both, or which house he belonged to, his blue trousers suggesting he might have been a Ravenclaw, even if she wasn't too sure about that; after all, she was wearing a red pyjama, with Gryffindor colours, even though she was a Hufflepuff. "Nice to meet you Scott!" she said, and then widened her eyes at the incredible cakes and food that was displayed in front of her. She still couldn't believe how they had managed to create all of that, it was simply amazing. 

As more people started to arrive, Lydia turned around, still standing by the food, and gave the new people a bright smile; she didn't know the girl, but she recognised Flash from when they had met previously during March. She introduced herself to Santario, and only then  noticed that Flash had brought another cake, and her eyes light up a little: if there was something that she loved, that was cake.

Her attention got back on Scott as the boy offered her a slice of a Mystery flavoured cake, accepting it before studying it for a second. "I'm both intrigued and slightly scared, I have no idea which flavour to expect," she said and then took a bite. Immediately, her tongue was hit with an amazing flavour, making her widen her eyes in surprise. She wasn't exactly sure what it was, but she didn't care too much, it tasted absolutely delicious. 

As Lydia munched on her slice of cake, she turned back towards Willow and Alan, to see who else  had arrived. After Santario and Flash, another girl walked towards the group, and Lydia recognised her from the International Women's day. She was going to greet her, when Mildred introduced herself to both her and Scott, leaving Lydia confused for a second, but she decided to reintroduce herself as well. She would have never dared to say anything to the fellow Hufflepuff that might have embarrassed her. "Hi! I'm Lydia! I really like your pyjama!" she told her, her typical smile on her lips. 

When Mildred handed her present to Scott and wished him a happy birthday, Lydia got confused. Was it Scott's birthday as well, and she had completely embarrassed herself by not wishing him a happy birthday? She looked at the older boy, and noticed his confused expression and she realised that it was not, in fact, his birthday, and that Mildred probably thought he was Alan. She didn't say anything though, since she didn't want to make the other girl feel bad, and saw that Scott had done the same. 

As all of this was happening, Lydia managed to see two more boy arrive. She didn't know the red haded one, he looked like he could have been a first year, but if that would have been the case, she would have at least seen him around a couple of times. Lydia also noticed that he wasn't wearing a pyjama, and that he must have been particularly sensible to the cold, since he had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. The other boy that arrived was Jake, a fellow Hufflepuff. Even though they had only talked a little bit while decorating some marzipan, Lydia had a really good feeling about the boy. She smiled at both of them, waving her hand to greet them, and the took another bite from her slice. 

Interacting with @Scott Alexander, @Willow Anderson, @Alan Vanes, @Mildred Wilson, @Santario Martin, @Flash Holmwood, @Ruka Tân,@Jake Morris  

Directly Interacting with @Willow Anderson and @Alan Vanes
Passively Interacting with @Lydia Cooper, @Santario Martin, and Other Attendees

The idea of a pajama party was new to Aaron. He had been to sleepovers with his muggle friends before, but never a pajama party where you didn't intend to actually sleep. Despite his inexperience, the black-haired boy was down for it. If that's what the birthday people wanted, that's what they would get! The only problem was that he generally wore mismatched shorts and short-sleeved tops when he slept. Since he would have to go outside tonight, he had to dig around in his trunk for the only thing that might provide some real warmth: a long-sleeved flannel pajama set that he had yet to wear here at Hogwarts. It would be perfect for this party.

After changing, Aaron looked at the clock in his dorm and saw that it was already eighteen past seven, but he wasn't all that surprised. Over the course of the school year, he had quickly realized he was bad at time management. He found that if he didn't have Lydia or Sean around to drag him to class or whatever they had going on, he would easily lose track of time.

With renewed energy, the twelve-year-old boy rushed around the dorm grabbing the presents he had scattered. The one for Willow was up on his bunkbed, and the one he had for Alan was down below the bed platform, haphazardly placed on a bar stool. Once he had both presents, he placed them carefully on top of a crate of Yoohoo collected from the Diggory Diggs bar, then he hefted all of it out the dorm.

The journey down to the Great Lake wasn't anything special. He did get excited when he saw the bonfire, though, and he could make out several figures standing and sitting around it. Wow! The Great Lake made a really good backdrop to the party. Once he had reached the blankets, it wasn't hard to deduce where he should leave the crate of Yoohoo - by the rest of the food! There was easily enough Yoohoo to go around. Surely someone would try it and love it as much as he did! It wasn't an easily accessible drink here, since it was an American drink. It would probably be an opportunity for everyone to try it for the first time!

Once the crate had been set down, Aaron grabbed a bottle of it and headed off to find the birthday girl and boy. He recognized a few faces (and he offered a big smile and wave when he noticed Lydia), but it wasn't hard to spot Willow. She looked incredibly cozy, and very much her, in the pink bunny onesie. She and a couple others were stood near the food too! He couldn't believe he'd missed them upon first arriving!

"Willow! Happy birthday!" Aaron said, giving her a hug in greeting. One hand still clutched the gift he had for her, and he was excited. As soon as their embrace ended, he handed over the gift. He had forgotten to ask for wrapping paper, so both presents were quite visible to the recipients.

Willow's gift is a white shadowbox resembling [this one], but the decorations are pink and yellow (no blue). The two magical photographs inside the shadowbox are of the recent Hufflepuff vs Ravenclaw game. One shows Willow expertly blocking the goal at the beginning of the game, and the other shows Willow rescuing the Hufflepuff Quidditch captain from a nasty fall towards the end of the game.

"It's a shadowbox," Aaron said, almost as soon as he handed it to her. "My mom likes to make them, and I wanted my sister to help her - you know, since you helped me make that bracelet for her birthday. So I asked, and they decorated this and sent it to me… And the photographs are from Santario!" When he said this, he looked around the party and spotted the Slytherin nearby. He gestured and waved at her, happy that their collaboration had turned out well. "My only real contribution was the idea," he further explained, turning back to Willow with a smile. He didn't want to take all the credit, preferring to give credit where it was due.

Aaron turned to look at the others by Willow's side and offered a grin. "You must be Alan? I'm Aaron! Super great to meet you, and happy birthday!" he said, turning to the oldest looking one. After getting confirmation of his identity, Aaron handed the rest of the things in his hands to Alan: a bottle of Yoohoo and a box of sweets. "Santario said that you like sweets - well, specifically chocolate - so I hope you like these! Um, this is Yoohoo, it's an American drink and it's super chocolatey and it's really great! I brought enough for everyone.. And these are a really good korean snack my mom gets all the time - they're like mini chocolate cakes with cream inside," he explained, beaming at the older boy.

Interacting with @Mildred Wilson @Alan Vanes @Aaron Jones @Santario Martin @Ruka Tân @Flash Holmwood @Jake Morris

Willow spotted Mildred approach and the urge to run over and say hi was almost too much to resist, but she needed to greet everyone properly. She was sure she could scream and greet Mildred in just a little while. Returning to the conversation at hand, Flash had dismissed her offer to try and hand pies and shrugged, making them together would be a lot more fun anyway. Flash fished out the sheet from the basket with all of the answers, and she tried not to look at the card. "Kumquat rind? Wow. That's actually one of my favorite fruits but they're so hard to find in England. They're these tiny little oranges type things, but are shaped like grapes. They're so weird. Incredibly tasty though!" Remembering a bit late that her brother didn't know much about cooking, she tried to slip in what a kumquat was without calling him out for not knowing.

Her attention was drawn from thinking about kumquats, something that honestly occupied her mind far too often, when she heard Ruka's voice. Honestly shocked that he came, especially after the pool party fiasco the day before. He was dressed in normal clothes but didn't think much of it. Maybe those were his pajamas, she couldn't judge him for that. She set down her uneaten pie on a plate, she would probably just have to eat after everyone had arrived. Hands graciously reached out and opened the card, barely catching the bookmark that had started to fall out of it. Her favorite colors and item of nature littered the card and she was surprised once again that Ruka put this together. She really had so much to learn about the fellow short boy standing in front of her. Her smile somehow got bigger and she gave Ruka a quick hug as a show of appreciation. "Ruka I love it, I have a ton of books that will now be saved from being dog-eared thanks to you."

There wasn't too much time to continue to praise Ruka when another similarly sized boy came up, Jake. She returned his hug before noticing his pajamas were from one of her favorite movies. "Thank you for coming Jake, I love your pajamas too. Coco is one of my favorite movies. I honestly cry every time I watch it." Not that it was hard to make Willow cry, but Coco was one of those heavy hitter Disney movies that usually destroyed her. The thin package that Jake gave her laid in her arms as she waited for Alan to open his first, eyes going wide at the amount of stickers he received. Which reminded her that she needed to stock up on stickers soon.

Once she felt like it was appropriate she started to open hers and delicately pulled out the amazing piece of art Jake had done. Her mouth dropped open and just stayed there. Speechless. It was one of the most beautiful pieces of art she had ever seen, done just for her of Gerald, Chicken, and Freddie. It was absolutely spectacular and she didn't know how to put her appreciation into words. Instead she just handed it off to Flash to be put onto the present table and pulled Jake into a massive hug. "Jake, it's absolutely amazing. I love it so much. I wish I could put it in our common room, but it will be proudly displayed in Plant Palace I promise." She quickly wiped a stray tear that had managed to get out as she pulled away from Jake. Honestly, her expectations for how her birthday would go were way lower than how it was going, and she was surprised with how much warmth and love she was surrounded with. Even by people she didn't know.

But there were still people she did know arriving, and she smiled wide at her Hufflepuff Quidditch pal. She quickly returned his hug and accepted the gift in her hand. She didn't even know people had been taking pictures of the Quidditch game, but of course they did. It was one of the final games of the year, and honestly? She looked incredible. In her first game she had two amazing plays, the block and the catch and now she could show her parents and get to remember that game forever. The shadow box was pulled to her chest as if she was hugging it. Her head turned to find Santario in the group of minglers and shouted out to her. "These pictures are amazing Santario, thank you!" Her attention returned to Aaron, "And thank you Aaron, you still contributed and you obviously know me well with this idea."

She moved to place it on the present table and grabbed one of the mysterious chocolate drinks from the crate, as well as her discarded hand pie. She was getting hungry. She took a bite of the savory pie and could identify the special ingredients of zucchini and cilantro but nothing else, she'd have to consult the card later with Flash. For now she took a second to appreciate the warmth and love that surrounded her.

She figured this would be a good moment to break off and go greet Mildred, politely excusing herself from the group she was surrounded with and coming up behind her and hugging her. "Mildred! I'm so glad you're here. I mean, I knew you would be here but still. I always love seeing you.." Mildred, herself, Chicken, and Gerald were all incredibly close and it was a friendship that she thought would last her all of her Hogwarts years and beyond.

At first, Mildred thought that perhaps this kid just wasn't Alan due to the confused stares he was sending her way, just maybe she had started talking to the wrong person. She cringed in the mere thought of that... how embarrassing of her. She awaited his response- she grew more nervous with each passing second when he had said, "..I'm sorry?" That's it... she was seconds away from running back into her dorm room when suddenly "Alan" had spoken again.

She carefully listened to him, and then beamed with happiness- who knew Alan was such a nice kid? "Whew" she breathed a sigh of relief, "I'm sorry also! I completely thought I had the wrong person! I just wanted to say it's so nice to meet you Alan! Thank you so much for inviting me and of course, happy birthday!" She looked at the blankets and food as he gave her directions, she nodded, "I'll make sure to do that! and thank you very much!" she looked towards the amounts of food they had gotten- they really did outdo themselves this time. The place truly did look absolutely beautiful, "I must say, you and Willow definitely outdid yourself this time! the whole place looks amazing, oh-" She laughed nervously, "Silly me, terribly sorry that I never introduced myself to the birthday boy- Name's Mildred Wilson, and I'm Willow's dorm mate!" That was probably why she was invited, but then again- Willow has probably told Alan about her before right? of course, they both had sent out the invitations- so therefore, she must have been mentioned? she quickly added, "Of course, you probably already know that information already."

She easily let go of the box containing the gifts for Alan when he had taken it, she smiled- "No thank you for inviting me! I wasn't really sure on what to get you... I hope you still like it!" With that, she turned towards the other girl when she had introduced herself as Lydia, "It's very nice to meet you, Lydia! and thank you so much, alpacas are my favorite animal! I really like your pajamas too!" She couldn't help but feel as if she has seen Lydia before... somewhere, perhaps they had seen each other in the corridors? she shrugged it off, maybe she would remember another day. She asked Lydia, "Do you have a favorite animal?" perhaps- if they talked a little bit more, then she would remember where she had met Lydia before.

Eventually- a loud grumble erupted from none other than her stomach, all this talking made her hungry. She walked closer to the food table and picked up a blue muffin- it was then she realized that Jack flash was there, near the basket containing a bunch of papers- she smiled and waved at him, "Hello Jack! It's nice to see you here, I didn't know you knew Alan or Willow" She wasn't exactly sure if he and Willow interacted at Opeila's birthday... she wasn't sure, but she doesn't remember it.

She stood there eating her muffin when suddenly, she was hugged from behind- she looked back and saw that it was Willow hugging her- she smiled and found herself hugging Willow back. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" She screamed at Willow, it was truly a happy moment! wasn't every day you turned 12, "Aw, thank you for inviting me! I wouldn't have missed it for the world," She pointed to Alan Scott "You never told me Alan was such a nice person! You two truly put in so much effort- it's absolutely amazing. Oh!" how could she have forgotten? she handed the stuffed animal and card to Willow, "I hope you like them! I wasn't really sure on what to get you... but we can have matching stuffed animals now!"

Flash was handed more presents to put away. Many of them were small, childish things that both Willow and Alan enjoyed. Stickers, chocolates… then there were deeply thoughtful ones, such as the shadowbox memorializing one of Willow’s greatest achievements so far.

Flash, despite the good mood he was ostensibly in, felt his heart drop when he looked at it. A monument, a memory, a good friend. That didn’t exist for him. A present like that for him wasn’t even possible. A strange hollowness went through him, like a cold static. He couldn’t even comprehend its source.

Enough... He admonished himself for becoming so self-centered in his thoughts, but it didn’t diminish the feeling. It was welling up inside him.

Then, Miss Mildred looked him dead in the eyes, a rosy chipmunk smile, and called him Jack. His face didn’t move, but his mind was overwhelmed with apathy. He was watching from somewhere else, wondering why he had thought anything mattered. It was all a joke.

Mildred and Willow began to speak to each other. Flash suddenly felt too hot, as the physical sensation of his body returned to him. He looked to his side and saw they ever-helpful Alan. He needed to rely on his understanding yet again.

”Alan, I need to get some air. I’ll be right back… okay?” Flash looked at him seriously, a bit tense.

Without waiting for an answer, Flash walked off into the darkness surrounding the dim, reaching glow of the friendly fire. After he was a ways away, he tossed his nightwear to the ground, needing to escape the warmth that was burning him alive.

Flash leaves the thread for now

Interlude: Appoggiatura (with Ruka Tân)
Interacting with: @Alan Vanes
Mentioning: @Willow Anderson @Mildred Wilson