Ornament Decorating Table Errand

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  ❛ PartVeela—Allure in Effect ❜
  Date: 19/09/2026| Words: 778| Dialogue: #aa5713| Look: ★
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Christmas began long before December arrived. It wasn’t an opinion she was prepared to defend in a court of law—there were likely more important matters to discuss—but it was a conviction that had been firmly planted in her mind for quite some time. To her, September 16th held perfectly reasonable significance: there were exactly one hundred days left until Christmas. One hundred days. A figure too round to ignore and, certainly, too close to pretend there was still plenty of time left. That was why, upon hearing that the Great Hall had been set up for the occasion, she didn't need any convincing to attend. The moment she stepped through the doors, Stelle looked up and stood motionless for a few seconds. Snow drifted down from the enchanted ceiling in tiny flakes that vanished before touching the floor. Lights shimmered across the tables, and in the center of the hall, a massive tree awaited its transformation, surrounded by ribbons, strings, and boxes brimming with supplies. It was still too bare for her liking, yet there was something exciting about that, too. It was like finding a brand-new notebook before deciding what to write on the first page. There was something particularly pleasant about arriving before everything was finished. She could envision the final result without yet having to settle for it. She made her way between the tables, letting the scent of gingerbread guide her path. It didn't take long to spot the hot chocolate; though she had the willpower not to stop right then and there, she promised herself she would return later. First, she wanted to see the decorations. The crafting table commanded her full attention. There were paints, inks, glitter, brushes, and small ornaments of various shapes—enough materials to allow an indecisive person to spend an entire afternoon without making a single choice. And she was perfectly capable of being that person. She picked up one of the white ornaments and turned it over in her fingers. It was simple, completely blank, and for some reason, she found that charming. It could become anything. A star, a flower, an animal, a little Christmas scene, or something that had absolutely nothing to do with Christmas—something she would ultimately defend as an artistic choice. The idea of ​​picking just one combination from all the options began to seem unnecessarily complicated. Stelle had a rather particular relationship with activities that allowed for a degree of freedom. When someone told her exactly what to do, she could follow instructions; when given too many choices, however, that part of her emerged which preferred to explore them all before settling on one. The same curiosity that led her to lose herself among bookshelves often landed her in minor predicaments of indecision. She brushed a golden curl from her face and looked at the tree again. Some branches already held colorful ribbons, yet there was still plenty of empty space. She thought she might create something that stood out among the other decorations without needing to be overly elaborate. Perhaps a little badger, a star, a flower, maybe a small castle, or something more festive like a Santa Claus? It was too soon to decide. Before starting, Stelle let her gaze sweep across the Great Hall once more. Students were approaching the various tables—some interested in the cookies, others in the cards, and some examining the materials with the look of someone who had just discovered that a free afternoon could be dangerously entertaining. She liked that. There was no need for everyone to be doing the same thing. Part of the charm lay precisely in discovering what would eventually appear on that tree once each student had left a small piece of their imagination there. Stelle returned to the ornament table and set hers down in front of her. She looked at the paints again, finally reaching out toward one of them and letting her intuition guide her. She didn't create anything particularly fantastical—just a sprig of mistletoe on one and a gingerbread man on the other, both accented with glitter. She hoped she might be allowed to keep the second one, though; she had intended it as a gift. As she looked for a couple of ribbons for her decorations, she glanced at the one her neighbor was making. She recognized the girl's face; she had seen her a few times in the common room. She smiled faintly, fascinated by the delicate craftsmanship evident in every scrap of the cat-shaped cutout. “Wow... and here I am making glittery cookies,” she joked softly to the girl, smiling at her. “I’m sorry—your paint is really good. I’m Stelle; nice to meet you.” English ‡Veela ‡ Russian ‡ Scottish Gaelic @Denisse De Vera@Ophelia Vanderbilt │sta 6✦ eva 6✦ str 5✦ wis 6✦ arc 6✦ acc 6│ Allure| Keen Eye | Y3 | Y4 | Y5 | Y6 | Y7

One. Two. Three. One. Two. Three.

Lia was skipping toward the Great Hall and counting her steps with much more enthusiasm than expected from someone who'd just started another year at Hogwarts. Her eyes saw the castle as much brighter than she remembered, and she was undoubtedly cheerful that she was back. This September was a bit warmer than last year's, in her opinion; "Global Warming" was what she'd heard her parents call it, and she didn't ask them to elaborate. It was the sixteenth, exactly one hundred days before Christmas. The Great Hall, which she reached just then, was... well, not anything close to September's vibe. The first thing she noticed was the snow. Artificial snow. Unreal snow. Fake snow. Magical snow. Yes, that seemed the more correct term to use for it. The snow was falling from the ceiling and failed to reach the floor, for whatever reason. Ophelia thought it'd be much cooler if they enchanted the snow to land on the floor; then it'd actually look like Christmas. Snow angels, snowballs, snowmen; did everything snow- and winter-related start with "snow"? How unimaginative. Although she supposed those snow-something things couldn't be done when there were tables with hot cocoa and such. And when there were people playing with the magic snow, the activity tables could be wrecked. The atmosphere would be more winter-like, but the place would probably be ruined.

Analysing the Great Hall, which now could have the honor of feeling even more great when so many people wanted to help and decorate it, she noticed two other tables other than the hot cocoa one. Ornament and card decoration. Man, all the activities sounded lovely, and Lia hoped they got enough time to participate in all. She recognized @Skylar Blue, a fellow Gryffindor she'd seen around who recently became a prefect. The blue-haired girl seemed to be very nice, even though Ophelia hadn't really talked to her, and Lia was sure she'd do great with the new responsibilities. So, walking toward that table, Ophelia took a medium-sized ornament in hand and sat down. Glitter, pain, and ink were all over the long table.

Pursing her lips and thinking of what to paint on the ornament -or just leave it as it is and see if anyone noticed-, her gaze fixated on the cardboard Sant- was that the headmaster? Okay, then, the cardboard Santa-Lear. If she were in an animation of her childhood, a yellow lightbulb would've appeared above her head; unfortunately for Ophelia's younger self, she wasn't in a cartoon, but the lightbulb appeared above her head nevertheless... only it was in her imagination. She decided to draw the outline of Santa-Lear, maybe with some ridiculous design, like various cats all over him, biting his red jacket; him holding a wooden snow sled; or mini Santa-Lears all over him. Another option would be to just paint multiple Santa-Lears, each hitting a different pose. Ugh, decisions decisions.

Peeking over at what her neighbours were painting, she overheard one of them talk to the other. "The other" turned out to be Denisse. Denisse and her had shared so many interactions, one being in the ride back to Hogwarts, and Ophelia saw her as one of the nicest people she'd met at Hogwarts; there were a lot of them, but Denisse was in the top five on her list. "Oh my, is that your cat? She's so cute," and, like recently, she joined in the conversation without being invited. Her eyes then drifted to the other girl's ornament. Glitter cookies? Ah, they looked, well, delicious. Did the wizarding world have edible glitters? Oh, that was a great idea. Ophelia hadn't looked closely at the hot cocoa table, but if there were cookies and edible glitters there? The blonde girl might be a genius, "Oh, hi! Sorry for meddling, I'm Ophelia! And, I must say, those glitter cookies you got there? Beautiful!" Now she couldn't stop talking. Yeah, maybe she should work on that part of her ways to socialize. If the newly eleven-year-old her had seen her now, she'd have a stroke.

location great hall date 16/09/2026 words 683

outfit boom english #570000 thoughts #753333

Credit to Skylar Astor

Date: September 16th, 2026
Location: Great Hall
Word Count: 614
Interacting with: @Skylar Astor

Christmas in September was strange, that was Zephyr’s thought as he went to the great hall. He stopped by the entrance and just looked around, taking in the tree, the garlands and the snow falling from the ceiling and disappearing before it reached the floor. He smiled to himself upon seeing that, the effect may be small but it didn’t feel September anymore. Christmas at home was nothing like this. There were no floating decorations or magical snowfalls at Aelwyd Vale. Their decorations were usually brought down from storage in the same battered boxes every year. Some were said to be older than him, and some his parents repaired many times that he was not sure what they originally looked like. His mum liked putting greenery around the house, while Zaria believed every available surface needed decorating. Last Christmas, she tied a ribbon around Scout’s neck and tried to do the same to one of the sheep.

Zephyr went further inside while considering the three stations. The first table he paid attention to involved cookies because of the smell. Gingerbread reminded him of home, though the amount of frosting and sweets scattered on the tables was a good reason to stop him. He liked sweet things just not when there’s too much sugar. Maybe later then. The card making table received a longer glance from him, he could think of several people he could make one for, his parents in particular and Zaria would definitely love to receive one too. He could already imagine the reaction of his younger sister. But it was the ornament table that won in the end.

Zephyr headed there and found an open space among the crafting supplies. He grabbed one of the blank ornaments and checked the materials. He wished he brought his carving knife but he doubted bringing a knife to a Christmas activity was the most sensible idea. He checked the available supplies and chose the green ribbon, a darker pot of ink and a quill. His first thought was to draw the farm, but that idea lasted until he realised there was just not enough room. Instead, he drew a small hill at the bottom, outline of a fence and a tiny barn behind it. A couple of tiny trees were added followed by sheep. With little space he had, they could be mistaken as white blobs. He reached for the ribbon next and threaded it into the small opening at the top. He tightened it, tested it and adjusted the ends. He lifted the ornament to inspect it, but his attention went beyond it when he noticed someone.

That someone was scratching her head as she stared down at something with such concentration that he found himself watching her for a while out of curiosity. Skylar. Not surprised to see his friend there at all. He put his ornament down just as she scratched her head again. A couple of nearby students started looking at her strangely, causing him to get more curious. People really did notice the oddest things. He returned his attention to his ornament, but curiosity soon got the better of him. When he glanced at her again, Skylar was bringing something out of her pocket, and several leaves were poking out from between the pages. His half finished inspection of his own ornament was forgotten. Before he could think better of it, he picked it up and moved closer to his friend. “Need help? You seem to be having a bit of a dilemma there. You’ve been scratching your head, I’m starting to feel concerned.” He was only teasing her but he genuinely wanted to help if she needed it.

@stelle mims @ophelia vanderbilt.mentions

great hall .place

9.16 .date

344 .wc

^{15th September}

On the night of September 14th, it was a 3.

Hah, get it? Christmas 3hree!. But Demo's scale rating did have any effect on the fact that it was 100 days before Christmas. He did- wanted to run straight into the cardboard cut out standing there, hoping to be transported somewhere else like he did in the magic platform. Perhaps the Northpole? He had stood dangerously close to it, temptation in the squint of his dark eyes that was only lost on himself. And at the very last minute- he pulled away. The event organisers were lucky Demo was a fan of crafts.

Ornaments though, he wasn't too sure about. His household celebrated staffs birthdays more than they did Christmas. Usually people just had a day off. Perhaps there were early moments in his childhood where they might've celebrated with a tree, and present exchange. But from his memories, his questions about Christmas and the functionality of it was louder than the carols one might have the urge to sing during a festive event like this. Eventually before he knew it, most simply preferred to celebrate outside. On the rare occasion that an event room was used as a family gathering, Demo felt more comfortable in his own room. Squawking about preferring to do his own things. And the staff, even his family had learned that when Demo wanted to be alone, no one should impede on it. For their own sakes perhaps. No one liked a blabber that questioned the point of all this at what was supposed to be a lighthearted joyous event. No one wanted someone that couldn't even tell if he was feeling joy or not.

But crafts? He could do crafts. Back when his legs weren't working well, he pushed himself to the limit to make sure that his hands could make up for his legs uselessness. One may not think that Demo was an artsy kid. He himself wouldn't call himself such a thing. He liked to describe himself as a recorder. Recording - the faces of people he'd forget. Recording - the instructions to a textbook copy paste of electronic fundamentals. Recording - pg 127 of someone memoir. Recording - the components of the 1974 Magenta Rodger Dodger.

So making ornaments? He told himself might as well. He's been skipping class and running around too much anyway. So much so that when he gets back to his dorm, he would just collapse against his own wished. Darn this bloodied meaty vessel that requires sleep to function! Regardless, he made his way to the great hall and stopped by the ornament booths first.

When arrived, he didn't think much about which type of ornament he was doing. The instructions from the loud living meat blob ( Skylar ) was pretty much in one ear, out the other. This was ornaments, what instructions did they need really?. He could relate that perhaps, some find comfort in someone giving them a vocal instruction the way he did when he was given a manual for lego builds. And he LOVES manuals! But this wasn't a manual he needed. In fact, he was grateful it was as short as it was. Knowing part of him might've accidentally snoozed if it was unnecessarily longer than it already was.

He sat and picked up 3 round sphere shaped ornaments, and quickly starts scribbling on it.

1st Ornament: A sketch of a Pine Chopper broom, and around it - was what Demo could remember of it. Filling up the whole sphere. Those who look at this ornament may find themselves info dumped.

2nd Ornament: A rambling of words that seemed like it was nonsense due to its lack of space, commas and end sentence dots. If one was REALLY determined to read what it was, they would find themselves reading how to play quidditch and what positions is for what.

3rd Ornament: Blank.

Blank. Nothing's coming to Demo's mind. Which is odd, its more rare to have nothing in mind than too much. Fuel! Im losing brain fuel. And when a tank is empty, you need to fill the car with oil. Except, instead of food - Demo was looking around form his table for that 'fuel'. Then he found it.

@Emris Hortensia
"THREE BUSH!" He points to the one across him. Could he have only noticed him because he was the closest person that didn't look like your average hogwarts students. Demo had heard enough people comment how much Hogwarts was a place of kids who could make it to the modelling industry, with appreciation for conventional beauty standards. So what- Demo usually couldn't tell the difference between one beauty to another - if they even were 'beauties'. But this one was unique in a way that caught even Demo's attention.

Dark green, in braids. Sticks and leaves poking out of the strands as if she had just come from an actual tree bush. Which was great! " I want you, Tree bush" A pause. " I want to draw you on this ornament. Permission? Yes or no. You have 5 seconds, I'm on a time limit. 5, 4, 3-" he would continue to slowly count down until the person said anything or choose to sat near him.

w.c: 867

for you are fearfully and wonderfully made, woven with timeless elegance. an old soul with a heart full of love, you are.

FIRST YEAR | HUFFLEPUFF

Once she was done at the cookie decorating table, Elara looked around the Great Hall. She had already been to the card table and the cookie table. That left one more. The ornament table was closest to the Christmas tree. Boxes filled with blank ornaments covered most of the surface, along with paints, ink, brushes, glitter, ribbons, and several other things. Elara walked over and looked through the boxes. There were several shapes and sizes to choose from. Some were round. Others were shaped like stars and little bells. She picked up a small round one and turned it between her fingers. It was plain and white. Perfect. She took a seat and placed the ornament in front of her. Elara looked at the glitter for a few seconds. Then she moved it slightly farther away. She didn't want glitter all over her hands. Instead, she picked up a small paintbrush and reached for the brown paint. She wasn't sure what she wanted to draw at first. Her eyes wandered towards the Christmas tree, looking at the ornaments already hanging from its branches. After a moment, she started with a few thin branches. They stretched across the bottom half of the ornament. She added small holly leaves next, followed by a few red berries. It was simple, but it looked festive enough.

Elara added a few more leaves, making some smaller than the others. She paused whenever the paintbrush made a line she didn't like. A few times she almost reached for another brush, but decided against it. It doesn't have to be perfect. She added a few tiny white dots around the branches, making them look a little like snow. Elara frowned at one of them. It was slightly bigger than the others. She left it alone. After all, it was only an ornament. She put the paintbrush down and leaned back to look at her work. It was simple. There was nothing particularly impressive about it, but she liked it. She glanced at the other students around the table. They were busy with their own ornaments. Elara smiled a little. Everyone seemed to have a different idea. She picked up the ornament again and waited for the paint to dry. Elara reached for a piece of string after it had dried completely. Tying it took longer than expected. The string kept slipping through her fingers, and after the third attempt, she quietly sighed. She finally managed to secure it and held the ornament up by the string to make sure it wouldn't fall apart. It stayed in place. Good enough. Elara looked towards Skylar and walked over. "Excuse me, Skylar?" She held the ornament out once she was close enough. "Could you hang this one for me?” Elara let her take it and stepped closer to the tree. She watched as the ornament was lifted towards one of the empty branches.

The little holly leaves and red berries looked quite at home among the Christmas decorations. She liked that. When it was finally hanging, Elara looked up at it for a few seconds. The small ornament wasn't very noticeable compared to some of the brighter ones, but she could still see it. She looked at the three tables around the Great Hall. The card and the wrapped gingerbread man were safely tucked inside her bag. Now she was finished. Elara glanced back at the ornament table. There were still plenty of blank ornaments left. For a moment, she considered making another one. Then she noticed the glitter scattered across the table. Maybe one is enough. She picked up her bag and made sure the cookie was still safely inside before standing. Elara took one last look at the little ornament hanging from the tree. The Great Hall was still busy, with students carrying their creations around and adding them to the Christmas decorations. It was still September. Christmas was still a long way away. But after spending the afternoon writing a card, decorating a gingerbread man, and making an ornament, Elara had to admit she had enjoyed herself. Maybe celebrating Christmas a hundred days early isn't so bad after all.

mention: n/a word count: 692 interaction: dialogue ; thoughts ; reply date: 09 - 16 - 2026 location: great hall notes: none

stamina [5] evasion [4] strength [4] wisdom [7] arcane power [8] accuracy [7] — perfectionist - ability - ability ability - ability - ability - ability

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