Changing Rooms || Secret Blossom Ball Event Fin

@George Henry @Jack Warren @Alan Vanes



The mood in the room was tense. The fighting hadn't stopped. A girl hit George. Alan called the girl names. Jake could sense the storm cloud that had descended over George. A darker mood he had never seen until lately. The kind that made Jake worry whether or not he could speak to him. He had no choice though. They had to go. But his pleas fell on deaf ears. Jack said the bad stuff was over, even though Jake knew that it wasn't...and then George turned his head to face him and snapped words that Jake had never heard from him. Not like that. Not when he meant it.

"Shut up!"

The words cut like a knife and Jake flinched, his hand un-gripping the bigger badger's sleeve as if scalded. His pleas stopped, his eyes big with hurt at the rebuke that he should have expected, but hadn't quite.

The boy lowered his gaze. The tears in his eyes were now frustration. They had to leave - they had to run! But George didn't want to. Jake clenched his fists. He didn't KNOW how to change George's mind. If he was George he would have known what to say, or how to make him do it. The right words, a convincing argument, or even a lie - but he wasn't, he was just Jake and he didn't know what to do, didn't even have an idea, and if he cried he'd only make George madder, but he was too scared not to.

From the corner of his eye, Jake saw Jack punch George's arm. Now his friends were fighting. Jake closed his eyes, trying to think what to do or what to say. It was more important than anything he'd ever had to do or say before, but he couldn't think straight. He felt like he was going to throw up - wondered if George would change his mind if he really did, and was sure he couldn't help it anyway. Maybe Jack would listen...Maybe George would listen to Jack...But then he heard...nothing. Jake hadn't even noticed the music until it had stopped - but now that it had the quiet had never been so eerie. And when Jake opened his eyes, he found himself in total darkness.

He gasped when an arm fell upon his shoulder, but recognized the familiar hand, and the voice that muttered an apology. Jake couldn't remember for a moment what the apology was for. His bunkmate's grip remained tight on his arm - an anchor that tied Jake to sanity. A wand lit (probably) shaking him out of a terrified daze as the blackness descended heavy upon them. The quiet wasn't long-lasting...a voice soon returned - filling in the cracks of the silence.

"Jake..JAKE! Jake, RUN!"

The tiny badger let out a soft wail of resistance, his face screwing up terribly in the low wand-light. The voice wouldn't leave him alone. It wouldn't go away. He held Freddie but took no comfort. He COULDN'T run. He couldn't MOVE. It was happening again - when the school turned into his nightmares and he couldn't wake no matter how hard he tried. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't do it. Not again. Not again. He couldn't take anymore. He couldn't take it.

"They cannot see you. They cannot find you. This is your chance. Leave them and RUN!"

It wanted him to run - to get to his warm bed. There was nothing that Jake wanted more. He would have done anything in the world to be inside his bed. To pull up the warm occamy blankets of Scamander Suite surrounded by his stuffed animals. He wanted it so badly it hurt. But it was far...

And he couldn't go alone.

Was it fear? Maybe...but not just. If he went alone then the whatever-it-was would surely get George and Jack and Alan. They were brave and strong but it was stronger and the monsters didn't care how brave you were. If he left he would never see them again. They would get hurt. They would be dead.

Except...

You'd be but a burden to them if you stay

Jake swallowed - the words worming their way into his brain, even through his fear.

He thought of Jack punching George on the arm, George's shout, the yelling, the fighting, how much of it would have happened if he hadn't come? If he hadn't been there. And what was he gonna be able to do now? Nothing. He was scared and crying and he wanted his friends - wanted George and Jack and Alan to keep him safe - it was what they had always done before. But what if that made them die? What if his best friends died trying to save him?

He had to be strong. To let them go. He had to be strong.

But he wasn't.

His head went to George's side as he shook. His ears listened for sounds. He heard Jack's voice but couldn't see him in the dark. He wanted him closer. His eyes flicked to Alan. Alan was big. Alan was grown. But he wasn't grown enough. He wasn't Professor Browne.

He should have told. How badly had he wanted to tell Professor Browne as soon as he'd found out the ball was going to be a secret? But he hadn't. Because George had told him not to. But George hadn't known. And he had, hadn't he? He had known with certainty - just like he had known with certainty that something was about to happen now before it had. Where that certainty had come from he no longer was sure. He had just known. He had tried to believe that it would be ok. But his Mum would have told him that when you know what the right thing to do is it doesn't matter what anybody else does or says - you have to do it. He hadn't done it. Maybe it was his last mistake, and there was nobody here to scold him for it.

"I'm sorry," he croaked. as he held onto George. Sorry for what? For not telling a grown-up, for not running away, for the late nights and all he'd done to annoy and anything he'd forgot to say sorry about...The time for running away had past. He wasn't going to make it. The things that went bump in the night were on their way and he was just one little boy and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Actions: Consider running. Cry instead.

Interacting with @Jo Morgan, Jack Warren
Open to interactions

"Well...um. Hello, Slade!"

She was smiling, but something seemed off. He didn't want to push it right now, there was craziness ensuing and this just didn't seem to be a good time to be lolly gagging about. Looking out towards the pitch that was now covered in darkness, then back at Jo as she continued.

"I guess this isn't really the best time for making friends, but it'll do. Yes, I'm perfectly alright, and my name's Jo. Er...Jo Morgan. More importantly, it looks like all the lights have gone out - in the pitch, too, not just here. I wasn't paying attention, but before the lights went out there was a fight. Um, people were talking about Bludgers. Releasing Bludgers, I think. One of the girls was yelling something like, 'I thought we were gonna let the Bludgers go' or something. I don't really know." "I hope they don't actually do that - it might have been funny if the lights were on, but it's way too dangerous now. Besides, I'm not sure everyone brought their wand. I mean, it's a ball, after all. People don't expect to have to defend themselves, from bludgers or anything."

Slade took a moment to ponder this, "So this is all just one big prank someone is trying to play on everyone? Trying to set off Bludgers, popping off fireworks in the boys locker room, and shutting these lights off?" None of this seemed like it was funny, or remotely in good fun, his eyebrows furrowed, why would anyone think this was a good idea? People could have been hurt, heck his ears were still ringing a bit from the blast, and he was a bit relieved the lights had turned off as they still felt strained from the flash that went along with it. And releasing Bludgers on everyone, he saw what those things did in quidditch matches, taking a hit the wrong way could bring the hurt. He pressed his fingers on his temples, concerned with what was going on, and wondering who was up to this, he remembered the boy running past him really fast. He couldn't get a good look at him, he ran like the wind, he looked to Jo and was about to say. "I did see...." when she yelled out.

"Does anyone know what's happening?"

Slade saw the look of concern on her face as she stood there calling out to whoever would answer. There was a silence that encompassed the room, feeling frustrated that no one was answering right away, he decided to yell out as well reinforcing her question. "Does anyone here know what the heck is going on, and who is doing this?"

Things seemed to be getting tense here and it seemed like people were getting anxious, maybe he should suggest helping or tell a joke, to ease up everyone, before he could open his mouth to say something, Jo called out again to the room, but this time with what sounded like more concern and worry than anything else.

"I said, does anyone know what's going on? I won't be tattling to any professors. I think we're beyond that now. But if something's wrong, maybe I..."Maybe I can help, or Slade...if he wants to, that is."

Still no answer from the room, he looked towards Jo with concern, when he heard a boy call out.

"Honestly, I have no clue about what's going on, but knowing this stupid school- it probably isn't gonna be a surprise party with puppies and rainbows.

He looked at Jo, surprised that she had volunteered him for help, a person she barely knew. Yet it was the first time he felt involved, and it felt like someone was trying to make an effort towards him.
"Hey, looks like someone answered." He said with a crooked smile toward Jo, trying to lighten the mood a little.

"Exactly what she said!" He bellowed, "Jo and I are here to help, if someone is hurt or anything let us know. I don't know how much help I can be, but I'll do what I can!" Jo seemed much more capable than him, so he would follow her lead. " Hey Jo, lets see what we can do to help, or figure out, at least what is going on here. I'll follow your lead on this!" Nervous, but determined to help Jo along with anyone who needed it, he smiled at her with a big toothy, dorky grin and put his hand up motioning for a high five!

This is a Moderation Post.

Once @George Henry was able to be with his friend Jake again, he made sure not to overwhelm him, while at the same time comfort him, just as more people walked up to the little badger, between them yet another girl that had decided it would have been a good idea to walk into the boys' changing room. After Grace had slapped him, @Alan Vanes came to his defence, and just like George, he asked her to leave the room since she was not supposed to be there . When Jake started begging both his friends to go back to the castle, George snapped at him, asking him to shut up. @Jack Warren almost marched towards George at the sound of him snapping towards the little padawan, but his attention got caught by something else.

While all of this was going on, @Jo Morgan had gotten back on her feet and snuck back into her corner, as the fight went on, only to make her presence known again to explain why she was, of all places, in the boys' changing rooms. @Slade Deol, after getting up from the floor where he had fallen when the fireworks exploded, walked up to Jo and the girl told him everything that had happened in the room, from the fight about the bludgers to the fireworks exploding.

But when the lights went out and the music stopped, almost everyone thought that the darkness wouldn't have brought anything good.

While Jo decided to check outside of the changing rooms, she saw that everything was pitch black there as well; in the boys' changing rooms the third year Gryffindor Alan Vanes and the first year Hufflepuff George Henry decided to cast Lumos in order to bring some light into the dark room.

As everyone appeared to want to fix the lack of light, the Hufflepuff Prefect @Quinn Healy turned his whole attention on one task: finding his date and make sure that she was safe. With that thought in his mind, the half-giant left the boys' changing rooms, as he made his way outside.

Warren immediately took out his wand once the darkness filled the room, and after saying that nothing good would have come out of that situation, he prepared to face whatever danger would have come his way, just as Slade agreed with Jo and told everyone that he would have done everything he could to help.

@Jake Morris in the meantime was struggling with panic and fear surrounding him; after his bunkmate had snapped at him, the little badger had tried his best to find a way to persuade his friends into coming with him back to the castle, but the moment that he had opened his eyes and realised that everything was pitch black, the voice had returned. This time though, it was telling the young kid to run back to the castle, the bludgers completely forgotten, and to leave his friends there, cause he would have been a burden to them. He ignored the voice as he cringed to his friends, tears rolling down his cheeks as he blamed himself for not having told anything to Professor Browne, a weak "I'm sorry," left his lips, even though he wasn't completely sure what he was sorry for.

George's attempt at casting Lumos
t!dice 1d20+8
The result was ---> 28
Successfully casted

Alan's attempt at casting Lumos
t!dice 1d20+5
The result was ---> 18
Successfully casted

George casted an incredibly strong Lumos, the light shining bright from his wand as it hugged everyone around his and his friends; Alan managed to cast the spell as well, adding even more light to the dark room, and hopefully bringing some peace to the panicked kids.

But as the first spells were cast, the buzzing sound coming from outside got louder and louder. If outside the Quidditch Pitch was full of Vampyr Mosps, it looked like only a bunch of them had made their way inside of the changing rooms: a purple one had managed to fly inside the girls' changing room, surprising whoever was left inside as it flew towards the nearest vase of flowers by the door, peacefully looking for some pollen; on the other hand, the the two mosps that had wandered inside the boys' changing room were red ones, way more aggressive towards whoever was in their path. The first red mosp set its eyes on the Hufflepuff Prefect Annie Morgan, attracted by the flowers in her hair, as the second one seemed to be heading towards the bright light coming out of George's wand, buzzing angrily.

Mosp #17, in the Girls' Changing Room On a flower vase by the door

Mosp #18, in the Boys' Changing Room Headed towards Annie Morgan

Mosp #19, in the Boys' Changing Room Targeting George Henry

Commonly Known Vampyr Mosp Faq

Vampyr Mosp bodies average 1'5" in length. Their stingers alone are half a foot long.

Classification: XXX Beast Temperament: Aggressive Status: Not Endangered Threat: Painful sting The Vampyr Mosp is a magical hybrid of wasp and moth. They are vicious creatures known to sting anyone unfortunate enough to come too close, striking with an attack which causes bleeding, sharp pain, and swelling. They are a local species and known residents of the Dark Forest. Mosps have two terrifying stingers, four wings, a long proboscis, and are red or purple.

The next moderation post will take place in one week (05/19).
If interacting with a Mosp, please specify which one.

Jake was everything that he thought he was not. Given the opportunity to run. Urged to run. At what consequence? None at all. His friends were not prevented from fleeing. It was on them if they chose to stay. Yet Jake refused to move, despite the disembodied voice urging him onward. Urging him away. Begging him to survive.

The boy would not budge, rather he would just cry. His default action, or rather reaction.

What sort of boy ignores such warnings. Has an utter hatred of surviving. a bit of a hero complex, even if they were not, could not and should not be the hero? A Gryffindor of course. Not that Jake Morris would be of assistance. Not that Jake would save them. In fact...



The voice remitted.



The darkness had come. It was there. If he would not run, he would have to stay and fight, or die.

Jake would have time to think of course. It was silent in his head, the white noise was gone. It was hollow and strange, this lack of something that seemed to always be there. While commanding and demanding, there was a comfort in the constant. The change. The chaos. The rejected option to escape.

Mentions: @George Henry & @Alan Noble Interactions: Open

Annie looked around but could barely see in the darkness. It was only a few seconds after the darkness had been cast upon them before George, a familiar Hufflepuff and a boy whom was unfamiliar cast Lumos. Both of the spells worked and it lit up the room. At first the girl had to scrunch her eyes for everything to adjust but as she glanced around the room a new panic settled in.

The room wasn't full of talking or crying, instead it was now filled with this weird buzzing noise. Before Annie could blink she saw two creatures flying in the room. She had never seen these sort of creatures before and didn't know how to handle them, but she had a feeling they weren't friendly. "How the heck did they even get in here, I hope everyone at the ball is okay.." The brunette spoke out loud more to herself than to anyone else.

Her heart stopped when one of the flying creatures started towards her head and she lifted a hand up to feel her flower crown. She glanced about to see the other creature fly rather quickly at George and she prayed for him. Annie noticed these stinger like things on the back of them and made a note to avoid those if possible. With a gentle toss she took the flower crown off her head and threw it into the corner of the changing rooms, away from everyone. Hoping that this caused a distraction she attempted to sneak past the doors and head into the girl's changing room.

Annie remembered that Saskia had told her that her broom was kept in the locker next to hers. If only she could get her hands on the Silver Arrow, maybe she could get out onto the grounds and see what was going on, she assumed maybe the same had happened at the main event. A look of determination swept across her face as she made a dash into the other area.

Action: Toss the flower crown to the floor as a distraction (for Mosp #18) and run into the girl's changing room as quickly and quietly as possible (as to hopefully not attract Mosp #17)

OPEN TO INTERACTIONS (both positive and negative LOL)

Currently Interacting With: @Slade Deol @Jack Warren

Attempting Interaction with: All in room.

"Honestly, I have no clue about what's going on, but knowing this stupid school- it probably isn't gonna be a surprise party with puppies and rainbows."

"Hey, looks like someone answered."

Slade responded as well.

"You're right about that." Jo said to both, since the answer worked for either boy. She turned towards the newer, more sarcastic voice. "It's a bloody mess - this whole ball was supposed to be our break from all the worrying and stuff. It was our one chance to get away from all this dangerous wizardy crap and just have fun. No professors, no constant monitoring; we were supposed to get to kick back and relax. Now it's ruined, I guess, so... hooray."

"Exactly what she said! Jo and I are here to help, if someone is hurt or anything let us know. I don't know how much help I can be, but I'll do what I can! Hey Jo, lets see what we can do to help, or figure out, at least what is going on here. I'll follow your lead on this!"

As friendly and helpful as Slade seemed to be, Jo blanched when the boy offered to give her a high-five. Considering that their safety had just been compromised through what was likely a deliberate attempt to reduce visibility and therefore cause confusion and panic, the gesture seemed out of place.

" Er... maybe later. At a more appropriate time." She gave him another smile, hoping that he would not mistake her refusal for callousness. "But thanks anyway. I appreciate you being willing to help."

"And I think the Bludgers were a prank, but what's the point of setting off fireworks in the room that you're in? If it was a prank, it definitely failed. But it would be impossible for a student to turn off all of the lights at once - at least, I hope so. To be honest, I'm not sure we're dealing with a prank, although I'd be glad to hear that someone was just messing around."

Just then, a buzzing noise that had been "bugging" the girl (pun intended) for a while slowly began to amplify as two horrifically large red-and-yellow insects entered the room. The creatures looked...evil. Undeniably so. In fact, they were the spitting image of crazy evil gigantic magical bug, in her mind at least.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!?" Jo screamed as the bugs came towards the light (courtesy of the Lumos spells) and she got a closer look at the creatures, realizing that the two hooks on their bottoms that she had previously assumed were legs were in fact distinctly separate from the six knobby appendages on its midsection, and therefore were definitely, without a doubt, absolutely, certainly...

"Stingers. Merlin." The things were massive.

"Hey Slade, I'll take you up on that high-five once we beat these ...things down, how about that? Then we'll both have earned it. "

Interacting with: @Alan Vanes and Mosp #19

Action: Running near the bug stupidly

When the girl threatened to slap him too he would let out a slightly annoyed sigh. Not like he actually felt threatened by her. She looked small and much younger, generally not much like a threat. She also did not seem like the smartest either, not if she rather antagonized her team rather than to focus on the actual threat. He did not even bother to respond to this.

His spell was a success, however not nearly as bright as the spell that George cast which illuminated most of the area. The buzzing sound grew louder and soon Alan was able to make out shapes and the shapes he saw had him grow pale. He knew exactly what they had to deal with. Mosps. He had encountered them before. Flowers, they would need flowers. Distracting them with flowers worked before, so it surely would work again! "K-Keep the spell u-up, George!", he muttered as a plan formed in his head. He wouldn't want to lose both sources of illumination.

When she saw the same girl that had slapped George and threatened him to do the same to Alan, suddenly run towards the mosps, his eyes widened in surprise and shock. "Wh-What are you d-doing, Grace?", he asked with his voice raised slightly. Quickly he would launch forwards to step between the mosp and its goal; George and now possibly Grace too.

"Orchideous!", he would cast, giving up one of the two sources of light that were in the room. He would do well on the incantation and the circle formed wand-movement. Transfiguration was about imagination, so he would picture the bouquet of flowers. Not just any kind of flowers, it was the kind of flower Flash and Alan had used to lure the vampyre mosps back into thee forest. If it worked back then, why shouldn't it work again?

If the spell turned out to be a success, Alan would take the bouquet of flowers and throw it to the opposite corner of the locker rooms so that they might have a free access to the exit of the changing rooms and could run out of it. Hopefully it would not be as messy out there.

↓ Moderation Aid ↓↓ Outfit ↓

Mentions: @Jake Morris @Grace Mint @Alan Vanes

George leaned back, dazzled as his wand lit up with the brightest lumos he had ever cast. He had no time to be proud, however. The mosps caught his attention as they buzzed in the room - spotting the light on his wand tip and making a beeline for him. The connection between the light and the mosps never occurred to him, as he frankly had no idea what those monsters were. In fact, he made that known as soon as he saw them, forgetting all the squabbling he had been doing with the others in the changing room when a more genuine threat appeared in the door.

"What the hell are those?!" he screamed, eyes wide as he examined the huge bugs and their massive stingers. Great. Not only was the ball ruined, but he was going to die in a kilt. Magical creatures had fallen out of fashion in his books, the young Hufflepuff choosing instead to educate himself on the organization of wizard society as well as some practical charms rather than brushing up on creatures which (he assumed) he would never have to meet. He was kicking himself now. How could he have been so foolish? He underestimated what this school was willing to throw at him when all he was trying to do was learn a little magic. All he wanted to do was study some magic and have a nice dance every once in a while - was that too much to ask? Really?

The girl that slapped him ran forward, moving between him and the terrifying bug. George was in shock, his mouth hanging agape - the girl ran, and Alan followed. He was surrounded by absolute idiots. When Jake was making the best decisions in the room, you knew you were in deep trouble. Still, he held his wand high, making sure the light filled the entire room so none of the combatants would be caught by surprise by one of the invading insects. He yelled at his would-be dancing partner, watching him summon flowers from the tip of his wand. What, was he trying to flatter them?!

"Alan, what are you doing?!" his voice cracked a bit from all the shouting he'd been doing, but he tried to keep his brave face on. One hand blindly patted around his side, searching for Jake and giving him a pat on the head to reassure him before grabbing him by the scruff and tugging the smaller boy behind himself. No time to be gentle - this time, the threat was coming right for them.

"Th-those are m-mosps; v-vampyr mosps and th-their stings a-are incredibly painful!", he would answer when George screamed a question. He was not sure whether his Hufflepuff friend simply was surprised, shocked or in panic but perhaps it was a mix of all those emotions because that was quite similar to the emotions Alan himself felt throughout the whole situation. He hoped this was enough, but decided to add one more mention of trivia to aid his friends with this situation. "W-Watch out for th-the red ones, th-those are the aggressive o-ones".

When he jumped into action to cast the Orchideous spell, George asked him what his plan was with a crack on his voice and Alan slightly gritted his teeth. George seemed scared but of course he was, this was a strange situation and he had no idea what those bugs were that went to attack them on a whim. Alan forgot that he was much older and the only one here actually able to really study magical creatures. "Th-They are attracted t-to c-certain flowers, s-something about the scent... S-So if you got a-anything flowery on you th-throw it away fast!," he explained and cast a little light on his plan. Creating flowers for a creature that would hopefully forget the humans once it got their treat. His second part, throwing the bouquet away into a corner still stood even though in his cocktail of mixed emotions he did not think about to mention it to the other students, his friends. He hoped he said enough however to give them enough knowledge to deal with the situation.

Free Action: Talk

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