Quidditch Stands || Secret Blossom Ball Event

Entering the Quidditch Stands already in ball attire. Contemplated the Changing Rooms but too much drama so decided against it.

Most young girls were excited to be attending their first school dance, and a ball no less. The title was posh, implying a superiority to the average school disco she might have attended at her muggle school. Technology didn't work in Hogwarts, so obviously any music wasn't coming from any cds or vinyl. It puzzled the young girl who still had so much to learn about the world of magic she found herself enveloped in. Magic was all a little overwhelming much of the time, and while she wouldn't trade the group of friends she had formed since arriving here for anything she did wish classes would slow down. While she was accustomed to studying a topic for a few weeks before, now she was supposed to master a new spell or potion every single class! The workload was intense and this was only her first year. If she was finding it difficult now, how was she ever going to graduate and have a decent career doing anything? Thank Merlin for the smart friends she had made along the way. Aly was going to be her saving grace even if she did enforce strict Saturday classes which threw her sleep schedule into disarray.

At 11, she hadn't felt any pressure to rush around the school and find a date. She technically had a whole host of them if you included all of her friends. She wasn't sure how many would choose to attend, though she had seen Haven earlier deliberating over how to do her hair so presumed her friend would be appearing at some point. They had shared their dresses to ensure neither would clash with the other and found they perfectly complimented one another instead, as if the two had planned for it to happen that way. She had encouraged Reynolds to show his face though she knew her more reserved companion was likely to feel uncomfortable with all the people and social setting. That being said, he dormed with Kaden and Euphaustus so if those two had their way he would be there. It remained to be seen what any of the males would be wearing if they did show their faces. Hopefully at least Charlie would appear, since he had been the first of them to decorate cupcakes...plus, it was a chance to let loose and celebrate - how could the Ravenclaw turn that offer down?

Pale yellow chiffon billowed around her as she headed uncertainly towards the Quidditch Stands. She had intended on waiting by the Changing Rooms for any familiar faces but the elevated voices from that general direction meant the Hufflepuff decided to veer over to the stands instead. If she waited high up enough she would hopefully spot people and encourage them over before they got lost to the congregation already in the ball. Such was her intent anyway. Despite the time of year, the time of night meant there was a slight chill in the air and in her eagerness to arrive undetected by any authority figures she hadn't thought to grab a bolero. Liv reconsidered her choice of attire, not for the first time and wondered if perhaps she should have opted for something longer and with sleeves instead. Then again, she was at the mercy of her mum's selections based on the limited criteria the blonde had shared with her. School dance, need a dress, nothing too over-the-top. In return she had sent possibly the plainest dress she could have found but it was also pretty in spite of its simplicity. "Come on people, where are you?" she beseeched, rubbing her hands up her arm to keep herself amply warm and to distract from the silly heels she had donned to complement the outfit which she could not walk in properly and were not remotely comfortable.

Open for interactions

Interacting with @Arc Perscivious

"I freaking hate this," Raine muttered to herself as she exited the castle; her gown bunched up in her hands so she didn't step on it as she walked toward the field. She absolutely abhorred doing anything dealing with Hogwarts events these days as it seemed to be nothing but danger at each and every one of them. How could any sane adult possibly continue to provide students with events to get themselves hurt at when there was always that 90% chance that something would go horribly wrong? She remembered her first Blossom Ball where a Hufflepuff girl was lured away by some damned half-giant. They never saw that girl again and it seemed as if the Professors didn't even care about what happened to her. She then tried to attend the end of the year party for first years and even that ended horrendously. Multiple people ended up hurt and sent to the hospital wing. Let's not talk about late last year when Hogwarts had visitors from across the pond for Halloween and the Masquerade Ball happened. It was one thing for the Hogwarts staff and students to be subjected by the curse of Hogwarts, but to put other students in danger? Raine felt as if all events should have been canceled. The thirteen-year-old was just disgusted by this whole affair. She just wanted to go to school, learn what she needed to learn, and return home to her brother. Being the only family she had left...

Raine sighed as she thought of her three-year-old brother as she walked down the path to the Quidditch Pitch. Being cared for by their father's sister, he must be having a blast right now.

Or is miserable with how much early learning the woman could be shoving down his throat at this very minute.

Speaking of her aunt, the woman was the reason why Raine was currently in this get-up. She had written home to her aunt, a bi-weekly ritual she had to adhere to, and accidentally mentioned the Secret Ball in her letter. For a semi-strict woman, Raine was absolutely surprised that she received a package three days later with this red and black Victorian-style dress with black and gray heels and a red hair comb to sit within a bun atop her head. Attached to the box were the words "Have fun and don't do what I would do at a secret gathering." Needless to say, Raine had shoved the box under her bed and was tempted to give the whole attire to a roommate. She didn't want to go and even if she did attend the Secret Ball, she would have just gone in her jeans and a T-shirt as it was easier to move around in should she need to cast spells to protect herself.

However, she didn't anticipate her friend to approach her one day while she was returning a book to the library. With his presence, the Ball shouldn't be too hard to bear, so she donned the outfit her aunt sent to her and did up her hair. But the tomboy in her insisted that she wear a pair of black shorts beneath the dress and carry a small black bag that would go over her shoulder. Inside that bag was a pair of sneakers that she would put on should she feel the need to change out of these dreaded heels.

If anyone could get Raine out of her constant gloomy stupor, it would be Arc Perscivious. He had this tendency to make her feel better about everything. But she never told him about what had happened to her over the summer. He had disappeared shortly after they returned to school in September and to be honest, Raine wasn't in the mood to discuss her parents...or lack thereof. Her focus was getting through the school year without an incident and so far, the only thing that happened that she was part of was the investigation of Harry Potter. That was a load of bull as well, but she wouldn't dwell on the hero of the Wizarding World.

No, her focus was on the boy she could clearly see now standing off on the side by a row of stands. He seemed just as alert as she was and Raine thought that maybe he shared her thoughts of hoping that maybe this would be a simple dance without any mishaps.

Fat chance that was. This was bloody Hogwarts. Something bad always happened here.

Awkwardly, she made her way over to the boy. She hated heels and her ankles were surely going to make her pay for wearing them later, especially when they decided to buckle beneath her. Just like they would do now just as she would reach Arc. With a sharp gasp, the young Gryffindor would fall forward in front of the boy. Maybe he would catch her as she fell or maybe he would allow her to fall on her hands and knees in front of him.

Haven quietly screamed all the while she was getting dressed in her dorm room. Why? She had absolutely no idea. But once she started, it was too late to stop, so she had to continue with it. That was how logic worked. One headache later, Haven had slipped into the purple, sparkly dress that her mother had sent her. It had a pattern that resembled mermaid scales, but not like the actual mermaids that were in the lake. Someone had shown her a picture of them, and they were SCARY. Haven would have much preferred for there to be magical ducks or something. Or, sparkly cats! The redhead had her own sparkly cat, at home, and she missed Merlin dearly. She was thankful for the pictures her ma had sent in the parcel, as well as the stapler. What her dear mam had thought Haven would use it for, she didn't have a clue. Decorating it to look like a cat and taking it to the ball was probably not the intention. But did Haven let that stop her? Goodness no!

Once Haven had brushed through her hair, she placed the pink, blue, and white flower crown atop her head. It was probably her favorite flower crown that she owned, plus it matched her dress! Well, mostly, anyway. Once the Hufflepuff deemed it looked good, she slipped into her light blue shoes, with flowers painted on. She had done them herself, one winter afternoon. She hopped from side to side and twirled around twice before grabbing the cat stapler, and carefully placing it atop her head. The stapler was the finishing touch, she couldn't afford to leave it out! After that, she was headed on her way down to the Quidditch pitch.

As she skipped merrily along, Haven hummed a tune aloud- In the Hall of the Mountain King. The ground was slightly squishy, but that was no reason to sink her spirits! She continued on her way before she finally made it. The Quidditch pitch looked grand, but she couldn't see much of it due to her short stature. She huffed a bit, but nothing could wipe the smile off her face. Haven scampered over to the stands... and there she found a pleasant surprise.

"LIV! Liv Liv Liv Liv LIIIIIV!" Haven practically ran to her friend, but not too fast, due to the fact that she had to be cautious about the fact that she had a cat stapler on her head. Plus the added difficulty of trying to run in Quidditch stands... it wasn't a very great combination, but she made her way over. Once she was close enough, she squeezed her friend into a hug, still being careful about her stapler. Haven squealed in excitement and jumped up and down. "Liv! Hi! Ball... Stapler!" As she rambled on, the redhead couldn't help but wonder if there was candy somewhere on one of the tables. It would probably be best to stay away from them, but knowing Haven, she never would, and would instead end up in a candy coma and leave her friends to lug her back to the castle. Of course, that was a fun idea for a later time. Right now, she needed to focus on annoying her friend. "How are you Liv? You look so pretty!"

"I'll take it." Lamik said in response to her calling him handsome. Quickly after saying it, the boy noticed how nervous Elena seemed. It took him a while to come to a conclusion on what the source of her nerves was, but when he did it made complete sense. Yes- she was probably just worried about things going wrong, and who could blame her? The two had just finished speaking about past disasters, and she even tried changing the subject. That was definitely it, he decided. He would have to try and comfort her if things got any worse. For now, though, he would continue normally. "Yes, I'm clearly a daredevil for attempting this tieless feat."

As the subject changed to his abilities once again, Lamik couldn't help but laugh at her exaggeration. "Yes, it's one of the million." Every time he had explained it to somebody, Lamik felt like he sounded insane. In his eyes, it was such a bizarre talent, one that couldn't even be proven without a serious life long commitment. "So basically... I poke you or something. And then a symbol appears on your skin, and it lets us talk to each other with our minds. Also, it lets me know where you are at all times. Also also, it's impossible to get rid of, so we'd be bound together forever."

@Zykeal Lane

Ivy had not missed the quiet comment Zykeal had made about her appearance, and she smiled, evidently pleased. "You don't look too bad yourself," she teased, her hand resting for a moment on the valuable brooch pinned through the blue bodice before turning her focus back onto the conversation, unaware of the fact that the redhead's eyes were on her.

The older boy introduced himself as Dmitri before shortly making his exit, and Ivy acknowledged it with a nod and a polite smile. "I suppose I'll see you 'round, then," she said, her words overlapping with Zykeal's own farewell.

The young witch turned to look at Zykeal again at the sound of his voice. Her grey eyes dropped to the delicate corsage he had pulled out of nowhere, widening with delight. She held up her left hand, and just in case he didn't know, she prompted him gently, "You're meant to put it onto my wrist?" The roses were beautiful, and Ivy looked at it, smiling. "They're so pretty. You really didn't have to - where'd you get it, anyway?" Ivy wasn't really sure where one could find a wrist corsage in Hogwarts. Maybe the greenhouses - but it would have been suspicious if a flock of people were asking for corsages.

She leaned against the rail to look at the setup, eyes taking in the sight greedily. "They really fancied up this place, hm?" She grinned. Someone passing by would have never known that this was a Quidditch Pitch, had it not been for the stands stationed around it and the school brooms on a rack near a suit of armour. Plants were placed all around the sides, manning all entrances, the dance floor was already full of people, lively music filling the air.

She bounced slightly on her heels, eager to get down there and begin the night of festivities. Ivy smiled at Zykeal and raised an eyebrow playfully. "I hope you brought your dancing shoes. Shall we?"

Interacting with @Sean Hearth

The sun was finally departing and Margo smiled slightly at the decorative lighting around the pitch. The moving bodies on the dance floor were lit spectacularly, and she’d never tell anyone, but this was an occasion where she didn’t mind being another face in the crowd. She shivered slightly in the cool breeze, suddenly thankful for her long sleeves, and turned to look at Sean. Had her hearing completely forsaken her or had he just avoided her compliment? Were her valiant efforts at politeness being overtaken by Sean’s need to be modest? Margo couldn’t quite decide to be awed or affronted. The thing she knew for sure? He would not be getting away with it.

“I was talking about you, ya know?” She nudged the boy playfully. Her tone hadn’t been nearly as stern as she’d planned, but perhaps it was for the best - she was complimenting him, after all. “I don’t have any other kind, hardworking friends... well, not amongst the organisers anyway.”

Had she really just said that? Gosh, maybe they had swapped personalities for the evening. He’d put effort into organising a rule-breaking, secret party and she was here smiling and complimenting him. She felt a little like running into the Forbidden Forest to insult some trees so that she could ensure that she was still Margo White - stupid ‘fearless’ and sarcastic. Not that she’d waste a perfectly good gathering like that. No, she was at the ball to have an excuse to talk to Ruby and have fun. It didn’t matter if people judged her.

She decided that didn’t care what Sean thought of her when she held up her ‘burger’ (for that was what it was called). Nobody could be expected to be knowledgeable about the entire wizarding and muggle worlds at the same time, surely... then why was Sean looking at her strangely? She was certain she could detect a distinct amount of peculiarity in his gaze. Maybe it was because she’d been so strangely nice. But no, that couldn’t be it. She was always weirdly non-spiky when around him. He was probably just hungry, Margo decided as she looked down at the burger, her stomach grumbling loudly. She took a big bite, and could honestly say that she did not care what Sean thought... this time. Some people had an issue with consuming large amounts of food, and whilst Margo didn’t want to undermine their problems, she didn’t really understand the need to seem a delicate eater. Everyone ate food, no exceptions... so what was the big deal?

“It’s surprisingly good, the strange meat sandwich.” She told Sean happily. Unfortunately, one small burger was not enough to satisfy a hungry Margo, and she started to stand, stretching her arms skywards. ”I’m gonna go sample some more muggle foods.” She told the boy, too afraid to state the invitation in her eyes. Hopefully her open amber gaze would make it known that she would not be averse to company, should Sean wish to replenish himself as well. A second scary thought in the way of the jewellery pouch in her boot scratched dauntingly at her calf as she walked. Onwards! To the food!

Left thread towards Main Area

Reducio

Margo’s outfit

Dances were stupid, he was certain of this. Granted, Charlie Cutting had never actually attended one before, but he knew they were dumb. A group of kids making complete fools of themselves as they swayed awkwardly to repetitive music while teachers watched from the corner? Where was the fun in that? That's why at his old school, he always elected to sit out on dances - not that there were many - and instead stay home to play video games. And while there were no video games at Hogwarts, he had planned to find something else to do instead of attending the Blossom Ball. Perhaps he could learn how to play that marble game he saw kids playing, he surely couldn't have been the only Ravenclaw who would rather not attend. This was all before learning that the Ball was to be a secret that professor's wouldn't know about, and this new knowledge was all it took to turn him right around on the idea. He still hated dances, but he loved breaking the rules.

There were plenty of students already at the Quidditch Pitch when he arrived, and Charlie adjusted the straps of his suspenders awkwardly before filing in behind a group of older students in much fancier outfits. There were six of them in total, three couples, arm-in-arm with their dates. Charlie didn't have a date, being barely the age of twelve, but it didn't mean he wouldn't necessarily like to have one. There were plenty of pretty girls at Hogwarts, but the thought of dating made him a bit uneasy. The couples in front of him split off in different directions. The first, a blond boy and his even blonder girlfriend, went straight off to the dance floor. The second couple, two girls with matching pink dresses turned in the direction of the snacks. The third and final couple chose to sneak away into the shadows, leaving Charlie alone. Of course, he had technically been alone the whole time, as he wasn't with them. They were all older than him, and therefore cooler and more mature, but that didn't matter to the young Ravenclaw, as he had his own group to find that night.

Slowly over the course of the year, Charlie had begun making friends. It started with Lilia and Aly, and slowly expanded to Kaden, Liv, and a few others. But where any of them were, he wasn't sure. There were too many people for him to make anyone specific out of the crowd, so he decided he needed higher ground. Climbing the stands higher and higher, he found smaller groups scattered about in the stands, until finally lying his eyes on two girls: Liv and Haven... and Haven's stapler cat.

"Well don't you two look beautiful," he smiled as he approached before clearing his throat. Had that been a dumb thing to say?

Interacting with @Haven Bohannon and @Charles Cutting

What did a person do at a ball, anyway? This entire thing was confusing and all she had gathered thus far was that balls were designed for people to shout at one another - at least, the interactions she had overheard in the changing rooms led her to believe that was the case! Also lots of waiting around and twiddling her thumbs. It was distinctly not fun in the slightest. Liv was cold, bored and wondering why she hadn't waited for Haven and come down together. The chances were, if she had they would've been caught by a teacher just waiting to send them back to the Common Room, and throw them in detention. She managed enough detentions for losing focus in classes and forgetting to do homework assignments. The last thing she wanted was to accrue a detention for something she wasn't trying to shirk, especially when there was an opportunity to have a night of presumed fun with her friends. At least, she anticipated having fun. Assumedly they couldn't make too much noise so as to not alert any professors, though it hadn't stopped those people earlier.

It was impossible to miss her friend even if she had wanted to. Haven was a vision, in a periwinkle blue, a flower crown affixed to her head along with something big and black. It wasn't til the redhead came closer that she could see the thing she had adorned her hair with. A stapler? A plethora of questions came to mind as she tried to find a reason for the chosen attire, though she knew posing them to the other girl would result in a lengthy conversation consisting of a thousand different topics and likely no concrete response. Or it would be a simple, 'why not?' which still brought her no closer to answering the question at hand. "I'm not sure I got a memo about adding stationery to our outfits!" she smiled, hoping she hadn't upset the other girl It was just, she had never seen an item of stationery fashioned into a hair accessory. Maybe she was behind the curve and she would encounter lots of others endorsing this trend too? So far it was just the other girl, unsurprisingly. Haven did like to put her own twist on a look.

Rather than throwing her arms around the other girl she stood back and admired the overall look, though was unprepared when her fellow Hufflepuff pulled her in regardless. "Oh my goodness, Haven, you look amazing. I didn't know people wore staplers these days! You even dressed yours up." she exclaimed, admiring the pretty flower crown while she was already staring at her friend's head. "You'll have to teach me to make those crowns one of these da-- Charlie!" While she had hoped to see the Ravenclaw tonight she wasn't sure a formal dance was truly his scene however much he might try to pretend otherwise. Still, he might have a lot of fun with their friends and dance to some good music however that was happening without muggle technology and without raising it to a level that might alert their professors. "Don't you both look amazing! I'm so glad we complement one another with our outfits and don't clash. Can you think of anything more embarrassing! What do you think it'll be like once we go in there? I'm surprised no teacher's rumbled us all yet! Do you think they can do a mass school detention if we're sprung?" Liv was choosing to believe that it would be too many students to discipline all at once should they be caught, but she didn't know whether or not there was a precedent for this sort of thing. "Do you think there's ever been a secret ball before? How have we gotten away with it thus far? Do you think the others are coming?"

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Interacting with @Ivy Bellamy

A light smile rested on his features as he looked upon Ivy once more as he held out the corsage. "I suppose it does go there," he said as he let his hand slip the band over the wrist that she had held to him. "Actually, when I owled' my moms' to tell her of taking you to the ball after I rushed off the other day, she sent this over," a blush once more coming to his face, "She thought it'd be nice... as did I" he relented after he had placed the roses upon her wrist. Dropping his hands to his side he offered a small shrug and a slightly more embarrassed smile as he gazed upon her.

It wasn't his idea, but, he was pleased to have something to offer to someone like Ivy, she was kind to accept his invitation to the ball, and he was still a little embarrassed from the last time they had met and he'd rushed off. Looking beyond her for a moment he still saw the gathering of the others in the direction that they had come from and he was quite keen on getting out of this area before it became more populated.

As she looked over the railing, he peered over once more and looked over the scene that lay below them. Eyes slid back over to the girl beside him and he felt extremely lucky at the moment and couldn't help but become a tad bit more excited for what the rest of the night held. "Brilliant it is, hope they play some killer music to dance too," he'd reply to her. Turning back to her then, he'd hear the suggestion and gave a firm nod, "If you can keep up, I'd be impressed." he teased, a little wink coming from him in a playful manner.

Moving to the girls' side then, he'd let a hand out in front of him and did his best to be polite, as his mother had taught him to be. "After you." he'd say as he would allow her to lead them. As he'd let her lead, he'd look over his shoulder so he could see if he'd spot the boy, Dmitri, who had decided to stick within the stands for a bit longer. Unfortunately, the area was too dark where he had moved and Zyk wasn't able to give a final farewell before he and Ivy exited towards the festivities.

Outfit

Exiting the Stands to Pitch with @Ivy Bellamy

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interacting | n/a, but open!

mentioning | Cecily Quinn

Cel never really liked balls all that much. In fact, you could go as far as to say she violently disliked them—something always went wrong in gatherings of people, for some reason. That was the reason she hand't attended the Masquerade Ball, and the reason why she had been thoroughly considering not attending this one, especially considering that it was held under the professors' noses—and even with the professors here, at least some of them had suffered injuries that they weren't able to protect them against. Who knew what could happen now that it was only students here?

Unfortunately, Cel also really sucked at resisting bribery and also telling herself it was okay to disappoint someone, so when Cecily begged her to go with her and said that there would be cupcakes, how was she supposed to say no?

She'd walked down the Ravenclaw tower with Cecily, but then Cecily had to run off to find Adam somewhere on the dance floor. Now without anybody to awkwardly follow around, Cel had resolved to climb the stairs to the Quidditch Stands, where there seemed to be fewer people and less loud noises, if you discounted the wind.

She hadn't stopped by the changing rooms. Changing rooms sucked in general. No, she'd simply chosen to wear a more casual-looking dress, dark blue with a simple bow on the waistline, to avoid being noticed. The hemline had been a little too long for her liking, but some scissors, thread, and a bit of bias tape did wonders for shortening the skirt to mid-calf length. She had made up for the formality with accessories, easily put on after she'd gotten out of the castle: a gold arm band decorated with leaves but no flowers, unfortunately, and a matching anklet. Shoes—not really her thing, especially heels. If nobody made her wear formal shoes, she wouldn't wear them. Instead, she'd gone for a pair of comfortable slip-ons, definitely a little out-of-place, but it was too dark to see anything anyway and she honestly just did not care at the point.

Sighing, she propped one of her arms up on her elbow, leaning over the edge of the rail to stare at the tiny people below. Cecily had promised to bring her cupcakes later, which was the only reason, of course, that she was still there. Not a week after she'd returned to Hogwarts, and there was already a ball! Classic. She hoped her brother was all right back at home... there was so much potential mischief he was missing out here.

She hadn't even been allowed to bring a book, and now she was bored. Fiddling with her wand in her hand wasn't quite entertaining enough to take up her time, and neither was worrying about professors catching her. A year ago she would've been worried out of her mind, yes, screaming at herself for even being here, but she'd just gotten back from a year of sickness, and frankly, there were better things for her energy to be spent on than fretting. She was already here, after all. Might as well get cupcakes.

didn't go to the changing rooms

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