Locked ADULTS?! | Sweethearts Tea Party Event

The Ballroom was a very controversial place. So many horrors and so much beauty has happened in the walls of the room. From fires and injuries to events of love and dances. It was like a camouflage in itself. What is the Ballroom? Was it a room of hell or a room of peace? The first impression of walking into the room made it seem like it was a room of peace.

The room was decorated beautifully with red, pink and white roses with endless flower petals that graced the room in twirls through the air. Throughout the room, there were tables that were draped with white tablecloth. As cliche as it was, the room was magical. It really felt like America's "Hallmark" company came and designed the room. But she knew that it was designed by a small handful of students and professors.

Maya, wearing black long-sleeved top with black yoga pants was hidden behind her signature red cloak-- an article of clothing that matched an event only once a year. She walked through the tables and admired the floral patterned plates that were neatly placed. Every table was beautifully set up with proper seating arrangements of around four to six persons. It was detailed and very thought out.

At the center of the room there was a table for eight persons. From the looks of it, it was the names of some of the professors. She wouldn't be surprised if her name had also been a part of this group. Looking around and around the table, Maya found her name. She moved the chair out and sat down, awaiting her fellow colleagues to join her. She looked to her right to see the name "Kelsey" and on her left was "Kit". The school nurse and the caretaker were sitting on either side of her.

Maya looked around, watching students finding their tables in a hurry filled with excitement and worry. It was given that the professors would sit together, but when it came to the students, anything goes. Her eyes began to fade from the background and look straight at her plate. The floral decorations were stunning. But she could not help but to find a note next to her card. Maya took the note and opened it.

Dear Maya,

I wanted you to know that I very much enjoy your company. Your smile is one that could warm even the coldest soul. You have a joy in your heart that none could rival. I really would love to get to know you better. Perhaps we could take a trip to Hogsmeade and get a drink together?

Yours,
Mardi Tuesday Irons.

Maya had never made an effort to meet Professor Irons since he joined the faculty team. A note like this was a nice attempt on his part to connect. Perhaps she would take him up on it, but she was unsure of how to go about it. Does she just reply "sure" in person or does she write a letter back? How does this "Valentine's Day" event work? Perhaps it was good to get friendly drinks with other colleagues other than Caradoc Browne. Maya put the card down and waited patiently for her colleagues to come to the table.

Outfit: This for his top, black slacks, and black loafers.

Kit hadn't had much time to socialize with people as of late, much less with his fellow staff members. As students were everywhere, he found it much easier to communicate with them, but it was a shame he hadn't gotten to know much of the other adults. Everyone seemed so busy, but this event seemed like the perfect chance to get to mingle with some of his peers. Of course, other teachers had put together this event as well, and Kit couldn't stop admiring every minute detail of their work. It would have been a shame not to attend.

Hands in his pockets, the caretaker took a couple of lesiurely strolls around the room before finally settling down at the table with the place marked with his name. He coughed as he almost choked on a rose petal that flew into his mouth and then looked around to see who might have noticed. Catching sight of Maya Galim, the Professor of Muggle Studies, he gave her a sheepish smile and slipped into his seat beside her. Studying the variety of spoons placed at each of their table settings, he waited until she was finished reading a letter before attempting to start up a conversation.

"Greetings, Professor Galim!" he told her cheerfully, his ever-present grin radiating his delight. "I see you're matching the decor quite nicely. Is red your favorite color, if I might ask? Or are you usually wearing the same cloak for a different reason?"

@Maya Galim @Kit Paine @Nigel Read

@Kit Paine & @Kelsey Brumby

Maya leaned back on her chair and crossed both her legs and her arms. She began to people watch and saw children of all teen ages make their way to their tables as fast as they could. Just like her, they also had cards of their own that they read. Some looked puzzled while others looked flushed. It wouldn't be Valentine's Day without the latter, it seems.

Long and behold, both of her table neighbors had made it to the adult table. Kit Paine, the caretaker of the school, and Kelsey Brumby, the school nurse. Both of them had very strenuous jobs around the castle; Kelsey's being the most difficult of them all with what the children and adults go through in general. No doubt he had a lot to manage after the Fall Ball.

Looking at them both, she smiled. They were both characters of their own aside from what they did. Maya never really had much of a conversation with Kit, but knew Kelsey to be a very comical person.

"Oh it is a party," she said, confirming Kelsey's joke. It was then the comment about her cloak and its color that drained Maya instantly. Kit just crossed a line that he did not know was already formed. How could he? She wears a cloak everyday and not everyone knew the reason as to why. Her crossed arms tensed up a little and she still had a smile on her face.

"Red? No. This cloak? A mystery," she said, not giving him the answers he was probably searching for. Many were. Only she knew and that was how she liked it. Whether or not her cloak was thinning out or look tattered, she will always wear it because of its meaning from her past.

"Looks like some of you have cards like mine. Any secret admirers?" she asked, her eyebrows lifted in wanting to know who wrote to them. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours," she joked, tapping her card that was slightly under her plate.

Outfit: This for his top, black slacks, and black loafers.

The head nurse's merry voice perked Kit's attention when Kelsey came around, jubilating that he was Maya's neighbor. Kit's grin broadened, especially when he was recognized next and greeted as 'sassy Zassy', which made him laugh. Certainly the three of them were enough to make this a decent party, but the thought that more would be coming was even more exciting. Theirs was bound to be the livliest table at the party, what with how many were seated to sit there.

"Hey there, Kels!" Kit answered, giving a casual wave of his own before he noticed something in the man's other hand. "Oh - what'cha got there? Mind if I see?" Was that an animal? He thought he'd caught a glimpse of green.

Before he could get a response, though, Kelsey had exclaimed upon seeing the name of the person who was supposed to be seated next to him and Kit's brows rose in curiosity. Luckily, he didn't have to be in the dark for long, as the nurse quickly informed them that even just the smell of tea made Nigel sick. The caretaker blinked in bewilderment. If that was the case, what was the man going to do at a tea party? Was he even going to show up?

"Nice of you to be considerate of that," Kit commented, though of course Kels would have been sensitive to that sort of thing. That was just the sort of guy he was. "I hope Nigel will be okay. Or...maybe he'd prefer me to call him Professor Read." The caretaker could never be sure of such things, especially since he himself wasn't a professor. Scratching the back of his neck quizzically at Kelsey's question, Kit pondered aloud, "Maybe someone invited him without knowing his thoughts on tea...?"

Perhaps without even thinking, Kelsey's groans and stretches seemed to prompt Kit to get up from his seat and go over to place his hands on the other man's shoulders. The reaction seemed to be automatic, because as he began to try to massage the nurse, his conscious attention shifted over to Maya seated nearby, noticing the way she relaxed in her chair.

He smiled at her as she smiled at them, but his smile became a tad tight as he realized he must have said something he shouldn't have. Maya's reaction was far too tense and for someone who made a hobby of people-watching, particularly to draw them, this did not escape Kit's notice. His smile became apologetic and he nodded when she told him that red was not her favorite color and the reason for the cloak was a mystery. Clearly it wasn't a mystery she cared to reveal; at least not just then and not to him. He could respect that.

When Maya mentioned the cards on the table, Kit's gaze drifted over to them, but he didn't move from where he stood behind Kelsey. He himself didn't seem to have any letter of his own anyway, but there was a single piece of parchment in the middle of the table that had him curious.

Chuckling softly at the Muggle Studies Professor's question and comment that followed, Kit shrugged. "Kels seemes to have a letter, but I don't think I do unless that one at the center would be for me. I think it's open for anyone to read it, though. Maybe it's a guessing game?"

SOMETHING HAS HAPPENED!

As the students settled into their seats and confusion began to take over as they scanned the contents of their 'letters', some might notice several pale pink roses start to descend seemingly from the ceiling. The same hue as the petals floating through the air, these roses would gracefully glide downwards and land in front of someone at eight different tables;tables; 2, 3, 4, 8, 10, 11, 13, and 15.

Tables 1, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12, 14, and 16 would not receive any roses (yet), but they would not go without entertainment. It was from his position at the teacher's table that Orion would stand up and clear his throat, "Welcome students, thank you for attending our tea party! I have hopes to make this an annual event." If only the French man was aware of the chaos he had rained down upon the crowd of youngsters. He had not slept the night before after scrambling to try and correct his errors. The dark circles under his eyes might have been noticeable to anyone sitting close enough to him. "I'm sure you've noticed the roses by now. If you've received a rose that means you are now a bachelor or bachelorette, which means you get to help spread a little love around." His face broke into a smile as if this were a simply sublime idea. With the romantic heart Orion possessed, he likely believed it.

"If you did not receive a rose, do not worry mes amies (my friends), you will get an opportunity soon. Until then we are going to offer you an opportunity to show your love. This means that you can ask us to dedicate a song to a special someone in the crowd, or make an announcement to your peers. The choice is, of course, yours to make." The students received a playful wink before Orion sat back down at the table.

The students might notice the soothing sounds of the harp starting to play from the back corner of the ballroom. There was a shutter that blocked the view of who or how many people were playing. Whilst they would not see her, they could hear the Slytherin head of house, Hjørdis Jensen, had started to strum a harp to help set the mood.

Until people started to request songs, she would simply play random songs that she was pretty sure that the children would enjoy on the harp. Honestly, what did children listen to these days? She had no idea. But she was evidently trying in the fact that she had bothered to learn how to play all of these, specifically for this occasion.

It just so happened that occasionally, another instrument - such as a fiddle or guitar - could be heard in the background too, randomly chipping in. The sound of notes hit the air. It was not too loud but it could easily be heard throughout the ballroom if one stopped to listen for it. It almost complemented the chatter. [Click the music note for the actual playlist]

Confession Time!

Characters at your table have the ability to step beneath the spotlight and make a confession or dedicate a song to someone this round. To make a spotlight speech, simply have your character announce they wish to confess. You can lightly godmod Orion casting Lumos Duo on your character. Have them say what they wish to announce in your RP post, and make sure to tag the mod in charge of your table. Staff will post the confession into each thread (so keep in mind the entire ballroom will gain IC knowledge of what you are saying).

To request a song, simply owl the moderator of your thread with the song title, who it is going to, and what the message is. You will need to roleplay your character doing as much (you can simply say they took time to write a request down). Please keep IC rules in mind as if your character insults someone there could be IC repercussions.

Valentine's day wasn't exactly a day that Tuesday looked forward to, for the events of the day tended to bring along bad memories that were hard to repress. Of course, thoughts of his late wife were never far away, but it was always an unpleasant time when the memory of her caught him like a bear in a trap. Nevertheless, Orion insisted that he come to the event, being the man he is. It wasn't like Tuesday could say no to his friend, plus it wasn't like he anything else super interesting he had to do for the day... besides taking care of his plants, which he loved to very much.

The Herbology professor entered the ballroom only to be met with flowers, cupcakes, and love letters galore. But, of course, professor Irons hadn't sent out any letters to anyone, considering he felt that nobody would be exactly missing out on his very insightful ideas on love and whatnot. He much instead preferred face-to-face talks and honest conversations. Love letters tended to have overextending platitudes about feelings that the majority of times were unwarranted or unexpected. The man figured that the hundreds of chocolate frogs he had sent Orion over the past few months would be enough.

"Sorry I'm late, I didn' miss anythin' too crazy, have I?" The man spoke as he pulled out his chair and lazily took a seat. Tuesday made sure to make eye contact with everyone at the table in greeting.

Interacting with everyone at the table
Mentioning @Orion Lecuyer

DATE: The Night Prior, February 13th.

While it was relatively well-known that Orion was an insomniac, he often did not let others know how bad his lack of sleep could get. Between instructing students on how to craft intricate designs using the provided tubing, the professor kept nodding off before jolting awake mere seconds later. Unfortunately, this pattern did not end once he had carried his share of the letters up to his office to review. The crackling of the fire was far too tempting for the poor Frenchman, and he dozed off, face first in the pile of letters.

A half-an-hour passed, and the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor groaned as he woke up with a sore neck. Great, it would likely be like that for a few days. He was a man who had faced many a-terrifying beings but apparently bending his neck the wrong way would be his downfall. He gathered the letters into his arms and pushed back from his chair. It was his intention to place them securely inside one of his filing cabinets drawers. Still fighting through the fog of his exhaustion, the man turned too quickly and tumbled downwards. He released the letters to catch himself before he hit the floor, causing the parchment to flutter around his office. Not only were the letters in his possession no longer in order, but a fair amount of them managed to land inside the fireplace and were promptly devoured by the hungry dancing flame. "Zut! (Damn!)" The Frenchman swore as he watched the papers burn. He could have put out the fire, but the letters were past the point of repair. What was a professor to do...? Try to extinguish the fire and rewrite any letters that were burned beyond repair? How foolish, it was so simply ludicrous that it just might work. After all, Orion was a true romantic at heart. Surely he could examine the students' personal lives and craft together the songs they had hidden in their hearts…

DATE: Present Day, February 14th.

Most of the students had finally made an appearance and Orion could finally rest. As the roses found their rightful owners and the Frenchman finished his speech, he would walk over to the teacher's table and slump backwards into a chair. The man looked like he hadn't slept a wink, with the usual dark circles he wore under his eyes seemingly deeper than usual. His head was also pounding in part thanks to the firewhiskey he had consumed while trying to rewrite some of the letters. That would likely explain a few of the odd ones the students had received. Truthfully he did not remember the night in its entirety.

As for those around him, Orion took a half glance at the faces of his co-workers. Despite his tired state, he wasn't the type to give up an opportunity to flirt. "Well, all the work was worth since I got to see your lovely faces, mes amies (my friends)." He shot his co-workers a playful wink.

"Mardi!" Orion greeted his friend with a happy smile, already slinging an arm around his shoulders. "Non, non, viens t'asseoir. No, no, come sit down." It was possible he did not even realize he had switched to French. Wait, Tuesday wasn't standing. Was he standing? Hm. He couldn't remember. "Oh good, you're already sitting down!" How long had he gone without sleep? It felt like days. Was he still intoxicated from the night before? Merlin, he hoped not.