Makeover and Manicures Errand Open Finished

It was true that Jack did do his best to get ahead of his classmates and teach himself spells in the order he thought them most useful (as opposed to, say, learning the Dancing Feet Spell on one of the first Charms classes, only to have to wait until a class in year 2's curriculum to find out how to stop it). However, he worked twice as hard to conceal this fact, doing assignments on his own prior to the class they were taught and turning them in beforehand.

In this way, he was able to seem like a slacker and behave like a frivolous class clown during actual lessons themselves, allowing any of the more academically competitive students to underestimate him as someone who cared little for his own studies. It was only if they ever chose to cross him that they would find out what he was truly capable of - or, as in this case, if they were as sharp as the young Ravenclaw girl and noticed when advanced spells were put to use.

Jack mentally berated himself for having been so careless. He had become so complacent in the lack of his fellow students' observation and critical thinking skills up until that point that he hadn't suspected anyone might have recognized the Freezing Charm as being advanced, much less called him out on it. However, what he had told the astute Ravenclaw hadn't been a lie; he did also spend some time teaching and practicing second year charms to a certain second year he knew. It just wasn't the sole reason he knew spells he wasn't necessarily supposed to have learned yet.

"Heh. His name is Ruka Tân," Jack told her, not wanting her to think he was making the second year up. "And I'll be sure to do that."

He smiled at the girl's laughter and chuckled a bit more himself at her comment about studying stereotypical Gryffindors like magical creatures. "Believe it or not, I actually keep notes on quite a few for that very reason," he told her with amusement. "Rafael D'Spacito in particular is a fascinating specimen. He thinks he's all that due to his Quidditch Captain status, his good looks, and his many fans, but...somehow, at events like the Blossom Ball, he just manages to make everyone's opinion of him sink lower and lower." Jack paused. "Well...anyone with half a brain, anyway. And don't even get me started on that one third year, Alan Vanes." He rolled his eyes.

"But you know...there actually is one Gryffindor who I believe is at least as brave as he is intelligent. That second year I mentioned, Ruka Tân? Almost everyone who's met him and gotten to know him a bit thinks he should have been a Slytherin, including himself." He sneered. "D'Spacito went as far as to call him a 'snake in lion's clothing' and a traitor to his own house just because he stood up for me once. But despite his appearance, Tân can take care of himself pretty decently. I just keep forgetting he's a Gryffindor." Jack paused, thinking about it a moment. "I think it suits him, though. He's brave; braver than most people I know. And he's been fire-dancing since he was young, so he shares the fabled affinity with fire that Gryffindor is supposed to have."

Speaking of fire...the saturation of the orange that was picked for him was so bright it was searing his eyes. Jack grinned gleefully, not even aware of the idea that it clashed with the color of his hair. "Perfect!!" he proclaimed, already imagining the looks on his dorm mates' faces when they saw his nails - especially one in particular who seemed to hold appearances in higher regard than the rest. "Thanks so much!"

When his new conversation partner took the time to check his robes, Jack realized she must not have made note of his house to begin with as he had with her. That was interesting. Some people had preconceived notions they weren't willing to budge on regarding houses (like, it seemed, Rafa did despite his various exceptions) but it looked like this girl didn't think on them too much. Well...if she was poking fun at Gryffindors, maybe that wasn't the case, but at least she didn't seem to mind Slytherins, perhaps, which was something considering what a bad reputation that house tended to get among all the others.

"Hahaha! For a second, there, I was a little worried you were going to resort to 'Sly Snake'," he teased, uncapping the bright orange nail polish to begin painting his own nails. "And I completely agree about the novices thing. Best way to learn is to sink or swim. Weeds out the weak faster, too."

As he got started on his nails, finding it a little more difficult to keep the paint even and on his nails than he thought it would be, he wondered if part of the reason was because it was so bright to look at. Perhaps if he did two coats...? But the eagle's question caused him to look over once more.

"Huh? Oh, with the make-up and face paint? Heh..." he smiled nervously once again, returning his attention to the blinding orange paint so he didn't fall prey to those enchanting, bright blue eyes. "I mean...I've seen some stuff and know the theory behind certain techniques, but I haven't really had the supplies or reason to try them out before. There were things like how to make your face look more masculine or feminine, how to make your jawline sharper or your nose seem smaller, how to look like a cartoon character for things like costumes and cosplay..."

He shrugged, glancing at her briefly as he waited for the paint to dry before starting on the next nail. "But uh...sure, I mean...if you don't mind being a test subject to my amateur attempts, I'd be happy to try showing you. It'd be easier to try it on someone else than myself anyway, I think." He tilted his head. "...And, maybe if you wanted to try it too, you could use my face back. What do you think?"

@Dealla Prince

Interacting with : @Ethen Emrys | @Atlas Reid

Open to interactions

Makeup :

Reducio

Manicure :

Reducio

WC met for errand completion.

Word count: 1038

Percy continued on about the other benefits that might have proved themselves to be more useful to Hanako, to which he responded with a small laugh. “ Both which I still don’t need much help with. Have you seen my face? Just look at this youthful-looking beauty~!” He slightly pushed up his checks to emphasize his point as he smiled innocently. He didn’t understand that bit about balancing his skin but he assumed his face didn’t need any. It was no mystery that he did look younger than his age-mostly feminine to which he still held conflicting feelings about but no one else needed to know that. “ But still, this mask thing is something I’d like to try”. He admitted, his eyes glued to Percy’s brush as it swiped gracefully on Professor Jensen’s face, completely covering her in blue mud-like substance. It looked rather silly on the usually stoic professor. He tried his best to conceal his snickering as he watched the process go on but the moment he realized he’d too, would be a fellow blue mud faced human- he stopped laughing.

Percy stopped a while to tell him that he was the best at being carefree ( translated directly to a sentence that gives the best results to his ego ), he grinned cheekily and dramatically swiped away part of his hair smugly. “ Heh~. Can’t argue about that~” he agreed without another beat, clearly mistaken that his habit of using sleep to fix his mistakes and problems is a trait to admire. Once his face was done painted- he decided to acknowledge the odd sense of childish joy that bubbled up in him when 3 people decided to make themselves look like someone pushed their face into blue mud all for the benefit of their skin. It was silly yet- surprisingly comforting. He’ll be older one day, and never fail to crack a smile at the remembrance of this day.

Percy then grabbed his attention once more with a delicately decorated card of some sort, to which Hanako tilted his head at. His roommate then explained about a family members birthday and asked Hanako to be his plus one. “ A chance to attend a super fancy pureblood family party to celebrate a baby I never met before? “ He skeptically took the invitation and observed it further. Percival should know Hanako wasn’t a party person- or even a people person. Sure he may have the confidence to chat but his lack of interest in meeting anyone new without a proper requirement is a well-known trait of his. How Rainwood would rather invite him than another wizard that would fit in more at somewhere as fancy as the Rainwood Manor, both flattered and puzzled him.

Despite the boy’s doubtful looks, it seemed like it was just another farce to worry Percival as not a moment later, his signature mischievous grin showed. “ Of course I’ll go, Parshal~. Consider it a payback for dragging me here. Somewhere I surprisingly enjoyed~” He tried to admit nonchalantly like it’s no big deal, but the barely visible tints of red on his checks gave it away. Genuinely admitting his feelings on things was quite a fret to do for him. Most of the time sarcasm laced in his answers like it was part of the language he spoke. Speaking the truth about him felt like he was purposely allowing people to see his sides that didn’t matter to the world, leaving him feeling slightly vulnerable. Especially if he liked it. And truth be told, today was fun. Getting dragged here was fun. Seeing Professor Jensen face covered in anti-stress mud was fun. Somehow, he felt brave enough to admit to Percy that. Just that, nothing more.

w/c: 626 +656 = 1282

Errand Complete

Interacting with: @Percival Rainwood @

MENTIONING/INTERACTING: @Amara Dragamior

After a few moments of being enveloped in darkness, the haze inside Icarus' mind cleared. His eyelids felt heavy as sandbags as he reluctantly opened them like a rusted shutter to look up at the pale sky above and the strong boughs of the tree he had fallen asleep beneath. His brows scrunched up as the gentle dew pattered on his face from the leaves above, a deep scowl line forming between his brows. It was evident to him now that his snooze had turned into a several hour nap. His once-neatly pressed sweater vest had become crinkled in the boy's awkward sleeping arrangement, which was a ninety degree angle against the tree with his head lolling off towards his right shoulder. The Slytherin's back ached as he sat up, finding that he had passed out on a rather inconveniently placed rock that prodded against his mid-vertebrae. Damn it. . .if I don't find myself being pranked by those annoying lions, I'll catch my death from being sopping wet. He lifted an arm to brush the dew from his face, only for his face to twist up in disgust as he found it was also soaked through the fibers. He clicked his tongue in disgust, ringing out his sopping wet coat before slipping it off his shoulders and folded it neatly beside him in a patch of dry grass. Similar to a lazy cat, the boy stretched and twisted around until a satisfying crack! emitted from his spine.

Picking up the book that had previously laid on his chest, Icarus glanced around his surroundings as he slowly gathered his bearings. A commotion from across the Courtyard piqued the boy's interest enough for him to momentarily forget about the sour mood he was in. Reluctantly, he gathered up his bag and tossed wrung out sweater vest inside while his book was stashed in a side pocket away from the danger of water damage. The last time he followed his curiosity, it had landed him in the middle of a secret ball that literally went up in flames. Nevertheless, the boy strolled across the grassy hill to the entrance of the courtyard to find himself at a gathering of some sort.

A makeover party? Icarus thought with a scoff, almost tempted to turn on his heel and drag himself back to the Slytherin common room for a proper sleep and dry clothes. And yet, he couldn't take his eyes off of the plethora of nail polish colours and makeup that was laid out on several tables. In truth, he hadn't seen so many shades, going off of what his very traditional mother wore which was hardly the neon green nail polish that seemed to call out his name. With a glance to either side of him to make sure no one would catch him fawning over nail polish, he found himself a seat and for the first time in several days, felt genuinely excited. In his eagerness, the boy almost splashed neon green across his shirt as his unscrewed the top of the nail polish, barely saving himself from looking as if he bled radioactive ooze. Having little experience in nail painting, it took him several frustrated tries and LOTS of nail polish remover until he was satisfied with the first nail. Afraid of his nails looking too garish, he decided on a matte ebony colour to bring a balance to his hand. After a few minutes of meticulous painting and intense scowling at the polish as if it would magically correct itself at his glare, the boy held out his hand for an inspection. For the time-being, he was satisfied with result. It was the first time he attempted to paint his nails, but it certainly wouldn't be the last. Perhaps if he bat his eyelashes at his house mum...er, Nora, and an accompanying pout, she would let him scour through her collection of nail polish again.

Now the makeup was a whole other story. The boy still had his mother's golden eyeshadow tucked away in his trunk and as far as he could tell, she didn't miss it from her lack of mentioning it. Of course, she would throw a fit if she knew her son was dabbling in makeup. Still, there were no mothers around to scold him, except for Nora of course, but she was more encouraging than his steely biological mother who hardly spoke to him except for official family matters. His brows knit together, not in a scowl this time but in crippling worry that he was doing something forbidden. He was half-tempted to flee the scene and got up to do so, but paused when he looked at himself in the mirror. He could almost picture the makeup he had worn to the secret ball and the confidence he radiated in a clash of peacock green and blue eyeshadow. Icarus felt it was silly that a little bit of eyeshadow and eyeliner could instill such a powerful emotion, but he longed to feel it even for a fleeting moment. For most of his life he had been Icarus Sable, a pureblood boy with a sarcastic tongue and a desire to live up to his parent's impossible expectations. But now, he was...free. Free to reinvent himself and let his true colours paint his face instead of hiding them beneath. With a curt nod to his mirrored reflection, he sat himself back down and giddily began to chose amongst the vast choices of makeup. This time, he chose a soft golden-toned eyeshadow that accented the golden flecks within his eyes of sea green. It wasn't as bombastic as his other creations, but it served it purpose of reflecting the pride he felt on the inside.

While he got up from the chair to take a break from being hunched over in a chair, he spotted a girl washing her hair in a small bowl that was hardly big enough to soak a handtowel in. He stifled a snicker, but immediately stopped when he realized the girl had bleached her hair and failed to use toner to save her from looking like a walking advertisement for Hufflepuff with the brassy tone that was sure to emerge if he didn't save her. He shook his head in bemusement, crossing his arms over his chest as he approached the newly blonde lass with his nose crinkled in disgust, "What did you do to your hair?" The Slytherin boy's lip twitched upward in the beginning of a smirk. "If you're planning on matching your hair with the Hufflepuff commonroom, you've done a swell job. If not, you're in luck because I'm here to save you. Consider me your knight in shining armour, but you can call me Icarus." Icarus hummed matter-of-factly as he took a seat without asking the poor girl first. He dug around in his bag and pulled a purple bottle from tangle of clothes and books. It belonged to a friend of his who had tossed it in his bag on accident after their own hair colouring adventure. He dangled it in front of her, "You'll need half of the bottle at this point. I could spare some out of the goodness of my heart."

WORD COUNT: 1206/1000

Dee gave him a half-smile for the promise of forwarding her thanks to its intended recipient, not fully convinced he would actually do it, but not minding either way. If it were her, she would probably forget about it in approximately five minutes.

The Ravenclaw's eyes lit up with both amusement and curiosity as the boy responded to her teasing about studying Gryffindors by admitting that he actually did keep notes on them. Maybe she should try to get him to show them to her. "I don't think I've met either of them," she replied, grinning. "The only Rafael I've met doesn't really sound like it's the same person - honestly, I don't remember him much at all, except that he folded a badger at the Origami event."
She frowned, her lighthearted mood settling a bit at the memory of the disastrous Ball event two weeks ago. "I wasn't at the Blossom Ball for very long, either, so I wouldn't know what happened there. When I came, everything was burning, and I left again shortly after to escort someone who was badly burnt back to the castle. Did this Rafael cause the chaos there?" She'd done her very best not to think too much about the few minutes she had spent there, and her memory was a haze of smoke and the smell of burning flesh. She didn't recall many, or really any faces she'd seen there, and she hadn't tried to.

Listening to the Slytherin boy talk about this Ruka Tân person brought an easy smile back to her face, maybe a little softer than before. Although she wasn't the most intuitive person when it came to people and emotions - one might call her rather dense in that aspect - the respect and admiration speaking from the red-head's words were plain to hear. "I'd prefer being called a Slytherin over being called a Gryffindor," she said matter-of-factly. "Although, maybe I shouldn't be prejudiced, since I have met plenty of less than impressive Slytherins at this point." She shrugged. Her parents would tell her not to have prejudices against any House, but she'd always been drawn to Slytherin, her father's House. And it wasn't like she judged people up-front on their House, she just wasn't above poking fun at Gryffindors, either.
"This specific Gryffindor sounds like an interesting character, though! You seem to think very highly of him, and fire-dancing? Not sure what that is, but it sounds fascinating."

The turn of the topic had brought the sparkle back into her eyes, and at his enthusiastic approval of her terrifyingly blinding choice of colours her smile morphed into a bright peal of laughter. "Glad you like it." Dee pushed her bottle of nail polish next to his, delighting in the contrast. "Looks like we share an, uh, impeccable sense of fashion."
She snorted at his teasing, and took back her bottle of nail polish as he uncapped his. "It did come to mind, since I was a little pressed for time," she replied without a trace of self-consciousness. "But I haven't sunk that low. So it was between shrewd, sassy, or scrupulous. Maybe the last would have been a better choice." She thought for another second, then lit up. "Oh! Scintillating or sagacious would have been great, but I did my best in the time I had."

Done with her left hand, Dee moved on to her right, which was decidedly more difficult, but she'd inherited her mother's steady hands. She looked up again at his explanations about makeup, watching him as he spoke, although his focus was directed towards his nails.
She felt more intrigued by the topic with each second. There were potions to change your looks, she knew, charms that did similar things, and Metamorphmagi were born with the ability without needing any tools, but to do so, no matter how minuscule the changes, with completely ordinary, non-magical tools?
"I wouldn't mind you trying it on me," she replied honestly. "As long as you promise not to poke my eyes out." She grinned mischievously. "I'll try to do the same for you. After our nails are dry, of course."

@Jack Burnett

Interacting with Alaric Equinox and @Alan Vanes
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Mars smiled fondly at their Head of House's praise. They set his hand gently on the table, carefully to avoid the drying polish, and gave him a grin.

"Thank you," they replied. That feeling of warmth—pride, really—spread slowly through Mars' chest. It was nice to know that all those dreaded hours had actually paid off into some kind of skill. They set about tidying the workspace, recapping all the bottles, and arranging them neatly in rainbow order.

The sun was cheerily illuminating the Courtyard, but many of the participates had already trickled out and a few more had entered. It was fascinating to watch the different skill levels of the students. It seemed everyone in Hogwarts had their own strengths and weaknesses; a chess match in that sense, directing pawns with certain abilities to and from a target. Maybe all society was like that.

At any rate, Mars gave a glance to the Gryffindor boy still seated near Alaric. Well, he could certainly use the practice. It would probably turn out alright, right? Shaking their head, Mars resigned to simply let Alaric deal with the consequences. One way or another, the dhampir would end up with a full set of nails or acetone to his long claws. Nothing was permanent.

Mars stood and stretched, feeling their shoulder crack slightly. They gave another grin to their professor, waving a farewell.

"See ya, Alaric! Thanks for setting this all up and being my canvas. I had fun. Good luck with him," they nodded to the other wizard. Their single painted nail flashed as they waved to him as well.

And with that, Mars turned, shoes clicking as they hit the stone flooring of the Entrance Hall, leaving everyone else to finish their own makeovers.

Thread Left.
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When the Ravenclaw girl mentioned not thinking she hadn't met either of them, Jack nodded in acknowledgment - right up until he discovered that she did claim to know a 'Rafael' after all.

"'Don't think you've met either of them?'" he repeated with an incredulous sneer back. "Just how many 'Rafaels' do you know? And if you 'don't remember him much at all', then how can you be confident enough to say he doesn't sound like the same person?" Jack scratched his head, looking both amused and perplexed. "What part of what I described, exactly, doesn't seem to fit what you know of him? Because now it's just starting to sound to me like his looks might have just been blinding you like they do everyone else upon meeting him." Jack cast her a teasing smirk. "Ever heard of the 'Halo Effect' from Muggle psychology?"

He sighed. "Granted, he is pretty good-looking. I try not to be influenced by appearances, but Rafa's fooled a whole lot of people, including me. I'd like to think it was because of his initial actions rather than his looks, though," Jack explained. "Truth be told, I actually thought he was someone entirely different; that he had some hidden intelligence under that tough-guy act and brawn. I'm still not sure if he changed his behavior toward me because of a misunderstanding, a change of heart for him, that maybe he had just meant to deceive me from the start, or what, but he's too hard-headed to discuss it with me."

The Slytherin shrugged. "Even if it was different before, these days he'd rather punch my face in on sight instead. So I just ignore him for the most part." The redhead finished up painting all the nails on his left hand, holding them up to examine them. "It's a shame, really. For a little bit, I thought I might have just underestimated him as a typical, hot-headed jock bully."

When the other first year frowned, Jack inclined his head, curious, until she opened her mouth to speak again and the answer became clear. In fact, a change came over the redhead as well, his eyes growing dark and distant as he stared off into the past, recalling the night of the secret, student-run, bloody Blossom Ball.

"Oh...yeah," he murmured vaguely, as if lost deep in thought. Scenes of that evening still flashed before his eyes; none of them pleasant to relive. "I can't blame it all on him, but from what I understand, he was responsible for a good deal of it." His brows narrowed. "Nearly killed someone, too."

It took a moment, but the Ravenclaw's words sunk in and he blinked, realizing what, exactly, she had said about her own actions during that crisis. "Wait...'someone who was badly burnt'...?" Hazel eyes lit up again and he pointed the searing orange nail polish brush in the girls' direction.

"Wait, you're right! I remember you! You were there helping Victor after Tân covered him with his burn salve, weren't you? And that awful woman of a teacher forced his unconscious, charred body to walk back to the castle instead of just levitating him and making sure he got to the Hospital Wing safely!" Anger flashed in his expression momentarily before he realized who he was with and what he owed her.

"I...I was a bit out of it at the time, being worried about everything but...I wanted to thank you," Jack told the girl seriously. "If it weren't for you, he might have fallen apart on his way back to the castle. Is there anything I can possibly do to repay you? You might be the main reason he was able to survive."

Realizing he must have been acting a bit odd considering the girl probably had no idea what his connection to Victor was, Jack tried to calm himself, replacing the nail polish brush into the actual polish so he could start on the nails of his right hand. It would be tricky given that not only would he have to use his left hand to paint them, but everything was still tumbling through his mind about that night and the roles people played in it. He wondered how Victor was doing now and where he was; if he was still in St. Mungo's or if he had become well enough to be released already.

Either way, it would have been rude and pointless to dwell too long on things he had no way of knowing while ignoring the girl before him, especially after he realized he owed her so much."Ha...it's hard to change one's opinion when you meet so many of them that are a certain way," Jack agreed with her when she mentioned prejudice against particular houses. "I had really started to lose hope that Ravenclaw was truly a house that valued intelligence, given that I've only met one or two aside from you that I thought matched my idea of it. Still, doesn't mean they aren't intelligent in ways I'm just not aware of or that mean much to me."

Her delight at the idea of Ruka and his fire-dancing brought back a little of Jack's smile, but it was a melancholy version at best. "Yeah...he's definitely interesting," the boy agreed. "And I do think highly of him. When I first met him, I thought how interesting it was that he would practice something like fire-dancing without any protective magic or even any magic at all. It didn't seem like something any wizard would think of, much less be entertained by." He sneered a little.

"Fire-dancing is when you do a dance routine or tricks while playing with fire, whether it's with torches or a torch-ended staff or hoops on fire or any number of other things. He's been doing it since he was very small, but he just recently started to teach me this year. We even got to perform a little bit together for the talent show." His smile waned as he stared at the ridiculously saturated orange nail polish, finishing up the last of his right hand's nails without too much of a mess. "I think...he's been avoiding me for a few days, but...I'm sure he'll come around eventually."

Not wanting to be a downer, Jack tried to lighten up along with the girl's amusement and comment on their nail polishes, saying they seemed to share an 'impeccable sense of fashion'.

"Haha, for sure. Impeccable and insufferable. I'd say it definitely goes with my personality," he added, smiling smugly as he bat his eyes and splayed his hands with his drying nails next to his face as if to show how they went so well with his look.

He continued to listen and laughed a little at her comments regarding the process of her choice for his nickname. "You did fine," he assured her. "Love the alliteration for all of them. And at least 'shrewd' is clever - both as a choice of adjective and as a synonym - but not so high-brow that the majority of our peers would have to look it up in a dictionary."

Closing the bottle of the polish he was finally done using, Jack blew on his nails gently while admiring how much more careful and better the eagle was painting her own. Perhaps he had been a little hasty in his work, but he'd really hoped to get to the make-up while he had the chance and he wanted his nails to dry as soon as possible. It was why he'd ended up deciding against a second layer, especially if the Ravenclaw was willing to be his test subject. Jack was eager to attempt the techniques he'd only watched others perform up until then. At the very least, even if he didn't get them quite right, he hoped it would take his mind off the more depressing thoughts that had recently been unearthed in his mind.

"I promise," he assured her with a grin. "Not on purpose, at least. Haha, just kidding; I'll make sure I'm extra careful. You have very pretty eyes." Jack paused a second before realizing what he had just said and what it sounded like. Immediately, blood rushed to his face to heat up his cheeks and darken his complexion considerably.

"Er...not that I meant it as a compliment, because I don't really care about peoples' looks. Uh, not that I'm lying either. It was just...an observation, I guess. But it doesn't...it has nothing to do with my opinion of you," he assured her awkwardly.

Turning back to the supplies that were available for them to use, Jack quickly busied himself picking out a few things that he thought would be necessary for what he hoped to do. Meanwhile, he continued to talk, hoping the familiar pastime would calm him and allow him to gradually regain what confidence he'd lost in his thoughtless blunder.

"Funny how some things just go under wizard kind's radar, like fire-dancing and makeup. It's like they don't know about or forget even the most simple muggle methods and solutions for things like changing their appearance. I mean, I know that there's magic out there that can detect even the most powerful illusions, enchantments, and spells, but if you can fool the eye with something as fundamental as face-paint or make-up, it's crazy how easily you can fool the mind connected to that eye. Wizard, witch, or muggle, it seems like they all tend to rely too much on what they see, so few ever think to question their trust in their own sight."

@Dealla Prince

-

By SK

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Dee bristled at the derision in his voice, her blue eyes narrowing just a tad. "Yes, I don't think I've met him," she retorted, her temper rising. "This is a school with what, over a thousand students? Rafael isn't that unique a name. And I didn't say that I know that he's not the same person, just that it doesn't sound like it, with which I meant that the guy you described sounds like someone who would leave an impression, one way or another. The one I met was just..." She wrinkled her nose and made a dismissive gesture. "Kind of bland, I guess? I don't have much of an opinion on him." Had he been good-looking? She supposed so? She'd recognize him if she saw him again, but that was really all she could say. "Should I just assume that every person that carries the same name is the same person?"
She took a slow breath, already regretting a little that she had, well, not really snapped at him, but it had been a close thing. There were really two safe ways to make an enemy out of her, and condescension was one of them.
After closing her eyes for a second, she focused them back on the boy next to her, her temper gone, although her gaze was still maybe a little more intense than before. It didn't keep her curiosity from taking back over. "I haven't heard of the 'Halo Effect', actually. What is that?"

The Ravenclaw followed his further explanations thoughtfully, more focused on him than on her nails at this point, but there wasn't much insight she could offer him. "Maybe there's more to the story," she said, but shrugged at the same time. "Maybe there isn't. I can't tell. I don't know him, I barely know you at all, maybe he's just a twit. Although if he's likely to get people killed, it's maybe better I don't know him." She pulled her face into a lopsided grimace. "Personally, I always prefer it when people tell me directly why they have a problem with me, but not everyone does. People do strange things."

She blinked when he suddenly pointed at her, her eyes following the colour of his nail polish unconsciously. It really was impossible to ignore.
"Oh," she said, frowning. "Did we meet that night? I don't really remember - wait, the boy with the Burn-healing Paste was your second year friend? Victor, is that the boy who was on fire?"
She flinched slightly, bile rising in her throat at the memory of her trip back to the castle. It had been part of her nightmares more than once since then, walking half behind the charred body of that boy, trying to guide him in the right direction without touching him, terrified to make things worse. "I didn't do much," she replied quietly, unwilling to meet his eyes, focusing instead on her nails although her hands weren't moving. "I just..." She shook her head, but then grasped onto his next words. "He survived - you're sure? I went back to the Hospital Wing the next day, but the nurse wouldn't tell me much. I didn't even know his name, after all."
Dealla shivered, suppressing the urge to rub her arms for warmth, suddenly cold even in the light of the sun. Might as well... "I was the one who went to get Professor Karr," she admitted, knowing full well that this information might change his entire opinion of her. "We didn't have any good options of moving him, thought she might. So... I don't want thanks for that night. Any of it. And why would you owe me, anyway?"

She stared down on her nails, feeling sick, her giddy joy at the ridiculous polish long worn off. Maybe she should have put more effort into finding out what had happened to the boy after she'd delivered him to the Hospital Wing. She looked dimmed, somehow, as if the clear, vibrant energy she usually exuded had turned muddy. There was so much she'd done wrong that night, and, as it seemed, afterwards as well.
Dealla wasn't usually the type to dwell on things past - they were done, couldn't be changed, the only thing to do was to do better in the future - but there had been this curling, niggling thread of doubt in her stomach ever since the ball, and it was only getting worse.

The change of topic offered to take her mind off things, and she took it gratefully. Maybe she should feel more offended at his dismissive opinion of her House, but instead, it made her snort. "I'm not going to disagree that I'm a stellar representative of Ravenclaw, but have you ever thought that maybe you just met the wrong people?" Her eyes softened a little. "I wasn't very happy to be there myself in the beginning but... They're a strange bunch, for sure, but there are a lot of brilliant personalities among them." She shot him a teasing smile. "I suppose they just don't fit your specific criteria, but maybe you should open your mind to more than your definition of intelligence. You might be surprised. People who see the world differently than you do... There's a lot of value in their thoughts." She gestured between the two of them. "I'm pretty certain we have differing views, but you seem to respect my thoughts, don't you?"

The talk of fire-dancing easily succeeded in cheering her up a little more, put the light back into her eyes. "That sounds fascinating," she said excitedly. "A little stupid, maybe - you're literally playing with fire, after all - but also really cool. I wasn't at the talent show, but do you think you could show me some day?" When his smile faded, for a second, she wondered whether she'd said something wrong - but no, it was something else on his mind. It bothered her more than it probably should, in someone she'd just met, but she did want to cheer him up.
She reached out hesitantly, the tips of her fingers only grazing the back of his hand for a second before she pulled it back. Usually in a situation like this, she might not have hesitated to just take the other person's hand, but with the abrupt turns this conversation had taken, she felt a little off-balance, unsure. "You seem close," she said softly, not knowing what to say to reassure him but trying anyway. "You'll figure it out."

Dee was a little relieved when he took up her attempt to steer the conversation into a more lighthearted direction again, and laughed at his antics. The nail polish was really almost impossible to look at straight, especially in combination with his hair. "Perfect," she agreed. "You don't seem that insufferable to me so far, but I have been called impossible more than once myself, so maybe we make a good match."

His reassurance about her adjective choices received a quick, brilliant smile before she turned back to her nails. The conversation kept distracting her - the nails on her left hand would be completely dry before she was done with her right. "I think I'll stick to 'sagacious'," she countered, still smiling. "Won't hurt them to have to open a dictionary, or any book, every once in a while. But I'm glad you approve of my choices."

Finally done with the last nail on her right hand, she looked up to laugh at his joke and reply that yes, indeed, she did have very pretty eyes, but frowned when she saw how red his face had become. A little concerned, she leaned forward towards the Slytherin to get a closer look. "Are you okay?" she asked, eyebrows drawn together. "Your face is really red? We can move somewhere into the shadows if you want to."
At his following words, she straightened back up, still smiling. "What's wrong with compliments?" she asked, shrugging, without a hint of self-consciousness. "I think you have very pretty eyes, too. I got my mum's eyes - who did you get them from?"

The Ravenclaw girl put the cap back onto her nail polish, screwing it shut before spreading her fingers out on the table to admire them. The boy had started rummaging through the provided makeup things and she turned her wrist to look at the smiley face she'd drawn there earlier. She hadn't expected in the slightest that she'd come into contact with more makeup than that today, but she had to admit she was excited for it. The way he'd described it really made it sound tempting - borderline magical without any actual magic. It should prove interesting, if nothing else.
"True," she agreed to his words, and looked back up to watch him, her gaze clear. "There's really a lot wizards could learn from Muggles if they wanted to, but they don't. It sometimes feels like wizardkind hasn't really developed much in the past few centuries at all, don't you think? Wizards rely so much on their magic, it seems like they've given up on making progress, on discovering new things. I think wizards tend to underestimate Muggles just because they don't have magic." She chewed on her lower lip in thought. "I mean, I've grown up in a wizard family, but my mum's a Muggle-born, and there were no other wizards in our neighbourhood. But kids who grew up in wizard communities, they know basically nothing about Muggles at all." She scrunched up her face in distaste. "I've met more than one who completely dismissed Muggles for their lack of magic, but the things they can do without it are sometimes much more impressive than what magic can do."

@Jack Burnett

Makeup is not a mask that covers up your beauty; it’s a weapon that helps you express who you are from the inside.

Hjørdis had no idea how she ended up in this situation. Well... she did. She just was not sure why she had bothered to agree with it. Sigh. Hogwarts was changing her. That much was clear from the moment she agreed to such things. But somehow, she seemed to be losing her reputation of being scary. Perhaps that was a good thing. Perhaps it was not, who knew.

She quirked an eyebrow towards @Hanako Tone, who appeared to be full of cheek today. She smirked a little, "I do not even think it is possible to look as stress-free as you, Mister Tone," She teased him back a little. He seemed anything but stressed, in reality. It was actually rather pleasant to see. Because most students looked far too stressed and she did not like that. They should have been stressed about upcoming exams or homework, or how to make friends... Sadly, they seemed to be plagued by other - far more severe - matters and that filled her with too much dread.

It was genuinely rather pleasant to see someone happy, calm and stress-free - even if it was only for a few moments. It was beautiful. @Percival Rainwood seemed to be enjoying himself too. The grin on his face as she agreed was very telling. Luckily for her, he painted her face very quickly. The actual experience of getting her face covered was relatively pain-free. The downside, however, was that she now looked like a smurf with her rather blue face. Welp. Twenty minutes. He claimed she had to leave it on for a full twenty minutes?! Oh how she wanted to facepalm. But unfortunately, she could not do that - she had a face mask on now! "R-right. Twenty minutes... " She replied. Hopefully it would dry faster. Perhaps she should just use magic. Or was that cheating?

She was so tempted to... Waiting for the face mask to dry, she scanned the group to see how everyone else was doing. Most people seemed to have gotten the hang of their tasks, having a bit of fun. Some completed their activities and headed off. A few had rather interesting nail paint on now - including some rather bright choices or fun designs. Others went with filling their face full of make up. Everyone was different. It was rather nice to see what colours or styles people went for. Some changed their hairstyles, others went with something more subtle.

She quirked an eyebrow as she saw a few people became models that were tested on. There were some rather amusing things happening all around. Well, there was one amusing thing - other than the fact that she looked like a total smurf. And that was that the other professors seemed to be getting the same treatment. Lots of students decorating them. Alaric seemed to have done the best out of the trio.

As soon as her face mask was dried, she quickly washed it off with a good cleaning spell, she could relax. Moving around, she started to gather up the supplies people were not using and began what she loved to do: cleaning. As people felt, she cleaned up their areas.