24 Sep 2020, 05:41
It's for Research
Even before those infamous Save the Date cards littered the halls of Hogwarts, it seemed like everyone was murmuring about the Autumn Ball. And ever since the event had been confirmed, hopeful whispers of speculation turned into anticipatory glances and cheeky banter. Felicia couldn't believe that the great witches and wizards of the future would neglect their studies for a night of debauchery. She was disgusted.
Upon entering the library, Felicia searched for a place to write a letter to her Aunty Grace. It didn't take long for her to claim a table. She spread out a few pieces of parchment and reached into her bag to grab a quill.
"I know it's in here" Felicia thought to herself as she jostled her belongings around. After a significant amount of time passed, Felicia acquiescently ended her search. It was frustrating to have left her quill in the Hufflepuff common room. She dreaded the idea of walking all the way back to her room. It was difficult enough scaling the enchanted staircase, but the added layer of seeing people lounging around and directing all their attention to a stupid Ball, made the trip seem even more cumbersome. As she contemplated returning to the common room, Felicia's eyes drifted towards a shelf filled with history books. If she could find a book that outlines the history of balls at Hogwarts, maybe she could see what the hype was all about.
Felicia halfheartedly skimmed the pages of books that outlined the various aspects of a Ball. Apparently, ball were a complex array of codified courtship behavior, etiquette, and traditional dance steps. Historically, they played a significant role for social life in both the muggle and wizarding worlds. She quickly became enamored by books that illustrated various dance steps. The men and women looked regal and elegant as their enchanted sketches danced across the pages of Felicia's books. As she made her way back to her table, she imitated some of the steps drawn in one of the books she plucked from the shelf. When she returned to her seat, she quietly look over her shoulder. It would have been awkward if someone saw her stumbling through a traditional dance she read about.
She still found it obnoxious how people seemed to lose all sensibilities when it came to the upcoming Autumn dance. But she finally began to entertain the idea of sharing her excitement with others. Perhaps in the future, if the conversation of the Autumn Ball ever came up she wouldn't be so harsh on all the young witches and wizards striving to have fun.
Upon entering the library, Felicia searched for a place to write a letter to her Aunty Grace. It didn't take long for her to claim a table. She spread out a few pieces of parchment and reached into her bag to grab a quill.
"I know it's in here" Felicia thought to herself as she jostled her belongings around. After a significant amount of time passed, Felicia acquiescently ended her search. It was frustrating to have left her quill in the Hufflepuff common room. She dreaded the idea of walking all the way back to her room. It was difficult enough scaling the enchanted staircase, but the added layer of seeing people lounging around and directing all their attention to a stupid Ball, made the trip seem even more cumbersome. As she contemplated returning to the common room, Felicia's eyes drifted towards a shelf filled with history books. If she could find a book that outlines the history of balls at Hogwarts, maybe she could see what the hype was all about.
Felicia halfheartedly skimmed the pages of books that outlined the various aspects of a Ball. Apparently, ball were a complex array of codified courtship behavior, etiquette, and traditional dance steps. Historically, they played a significant role for social life in both the muggle and wizarding worlds. She quickly became enamored by books that illustrated various dance steps. The men and women looked regal and elegant as their enchanted sketches danced across the pages of Felicia's books. As she made her way back to her table, she imitated some of the steps drawn in one of the books she plucked from the shelf. When she returned to her seat, she quietly look over her shoulder. It would have been awkward if someone saw her stumbling through a traditional dance she read about.
She still found it obnoxious how people seemed to lose all sensibilities when it came to the upcoming Autumn dance. But she finally began to entertain the idea of sharing her excitement with others. Perhaps in the future, if the conversation of the Autumn Ball ever came up she wouldn't be so harsh on all the young witches and wizards striving to have fun.
Stats: Stamina: 6 | Evasion: 9 | Strength: 1 | Wisdom: 7 | Arcane: 5 | Accuracy: 7
3 Oct 2020, 02:30
It's for Research
Interacting with @Felicia Gatling
“Have you asked anyone to the ball yet?” Norina overheard two of the third years talking amongst themselves in the Common Room. Whispers had been circling since the announcement of the ball, and she couldn’t seem to escape the topic of conversation.
Is this all everyone is going to talk about? She thought to herself as she started to gather her things. It would be impossible for her to complete her studies in an environment like this. After all, they were there to study after all, not worry about who would ask whom to a silly dance.
With a sigh, she left the Common Room and followed her all too familiar path to the library. It was starting to become her favorite place, and these days it almost acted as a hiding spot. With the other students arriving at school and the topic of the ball floating around, she appreciated the quiet escape the library was able to offer.
Entering the quiet safe haven, she headed towards her usual spot when she noticed a fellow Hufflepuff also had the same idea as her. Recognizing her from their first night after the sorting ceremony, she realized she might have a study buddy after all and approached the table that she was sitting at.
She briefly paused when she noticed that she began dancing. Oh, she thought to herself, maybe she isn’t studying but is a fan of the ball and came here to practice. She moved into a nearby row of books and pretended to be searching for something as the student whipped around to look over her shoulder. Peeking around the edge of the row, Norina noticed that she had returned to her seat and felt like the coast was clear to introduce herself.
She let out a soft cough as she approached the fellow classmate who had made her way back to a seat, hoping it would announce her presence and not scare her new friend study buddy.
“Do you mind if I join you?” she tried to contain her smile as she sneaked a peek at what the girl was reading. While the ball was something that made her want to crawl under her sheets in her dorm room and never leave out of fear of embarrassment, maybe it would be fun if she made some new friends.
Stamina: 5 | Evasion: 7 | Strength: 5 | Wisdom: 9 | Arcane Power: 4 | Accuracy: 5
3 Oct 2020, 23:59
It's for Research
Images of the many balls and formal events held in the Great Hall filled the pages of one of the books Felicia pulled off the shelves. Heedlessly, she allowed herself to imagine the splendor of the ball to come. Felicia was so wrapped up in her "studies" that she barely heard the light introduction from another young Hufflepuff.Interacting with @Norina Evans
“Do you mind if I join you?” The girl asked as she apprehensively approached Felicia's table.
"Not at all! Feel free to take a seat." Felicia quickly moved to clear a spot on the table, intently concentrating on hiding the embarrassing content of her books. Without making eye contact, she methodically continues to go through the typical First Year pleasantries. "I'm Felicia! I remember seeing you around the common room, but can you remind me of your name again?"
"Busted," Felicia thought to herself as the other girl briefly glanced down at her reading materials. She bashfully smiled and gestured to the seat next to her. Even though a constant flow of people loitered around the castle, it was far too easy to feel isolated. Felicia quickly discovered that the epic glamour of Hogwarts could feel like a grandiose facade, and it felt nice to actually start connecting with other students. In an effort to not appear like a complete dweeb, she begins to blab about the one topic she couldn't seem to get away from.
"So what are your thoughts about this Autumn Ball? All of these cards are driving me absolutely mad!" She furrowed her brow at one of the Save the Date cards while making her last remark. Apparently, each table had at least two cards to advertise the two separate areas that would be set up. Her fingers lazily traced the masquerade masks that decorated one of them, and she groaned before gently picking it up."Seriously. They're everywhere!" Felicia jerked her head around and made a silly face. She chuckled at the absurd promo material.
Stats: Stamina: 6 | Evasion: 9 | Strength: 1 | Wisdom: 7 | Arcane: 5 | Accuracy: 7
24 Oct 2020, 02:46
It's for Research
Interacting with @Felicia Gatling
Norina took the seat offered to her and started to pull out her materials as she was listening to the kind housemate. She let out a small laugh over her reaction to the ball. “It’s nice to officially meet you, Felicia! I’m Norina.”
She felt a wave of comfort wash over her as she realized that she was in the company of a similar opinion. Although Norina had no interest in attending the events and thought it was causing a lot of fuss, she was still intrigued by the idea of getting to dress up with other students and have some fun.
In fact, being at school was starting to make her feel rather homesick. Her letters, she feared, were falling on uninterested or busy ears. She expected her parents to be excited about each letter that was delivered from their gifted child, but she was only receiving half-interested responses with mentions of life on the farm and the latest childhood development of her two brothers.
She quickly shook the thought of her family out of her mind and picked up the announcement for the costume-themed event. “It is a little bit much, in my opinion,” she laughed. She turned her eyes back to the books Felicia was looking through, “At least we aren’t the only students that have had to experience this distraction from studies. Find anything interesting in your reading?”
Stamina: 5 | Evasion: 7 | Strength: 5 | Wisdom: 9 | Arcane Power: 4 | Accuracy: 5
31 Oct 2020, 18:53
It's for Research
Interacting with @Norina Evans
“Nice to meet you too” Felicia said as the other girl sat down and introduced herself. “At least we aren’t the only students that have had to experience this distraction from studies," Norina chimed in. "Find anything interesting in your reading?” Felicia glanced down at her library books to respond to Norina’s quesion.
“Well, apparently balls tend to attract some really fancy people. The highest-ranking elites of both muggle and wizarding societies would hold them to gain political influence. Though nowadays they’re mainly just social events held for fun.” Felicia cringed, imagining that the upcoming Masquerade Ball would be filled with students clad in outlandishly sophisticated outfits, touting their social status. “My mother is obsessed with standing out from the crowd and being the center of attention. She used to drag me to fancy events like this when I was younger to try and impress some arrogant pureblood families. Those people are sooo boring!”
Felicia laughed as said that last part in a snobbishly posh voice. It was nice having someone to listen to her rants. She had fallen into a rather mundane lifestyle since she began her time at Hogwarts. Wake up. Fight with the enchanted staircase on the way to classes. Pay close attention to her professors (many of which were very hard graders). Study in her room. Quickly grab a bite to eat from the great hall between these daily activities. And finally, get a good night’s rest to repeat everything the next day. Felicia was always on her best behavior as she kept to the rigid schedule she made for herself. This left little time for her to mingle with others and get to know her peers. But talking with Norina today was an exhilarating change of pace.
“So, how are you enjoying Hogwarts so far Norina?” Felicia asked. “Is it living up to all of the hype?”
Stats: Stamina: 6 | Evasion: 9 | Strength: 1 | Wisdom: 7 | Arcane: 5 | Accuracy: 7