Archive BlossomFest Bonfire

By the time Dymphna had made her way over to Phaedra, the prefect had discovered a small chocolate fountain to dip a few marshmallows in. The blond girl then spoke out to Phaedra and turning around to face her, Phaedra returned the acknowledgement in kind with a short and simple "Oh. Hello, Dymphna," her face void of expression. Holding the now chocolate covered marshmallows (and a few strawberries - she couldn't pass those up) over a paper plate to prevent any dripping onto her clothing, Phae took a few steps back so the other Ravenclaw girl could reach past and grab a few snacks of her own.

It wasn't that Phaedra hated the girl, truly she didn't; Dymphna had a clever mind and her hard work showed for it. Like minded individuals were always appreciated in her book. It was just... awkwardly tense around her, as if there were some unspoken agreement that they were competing with each other. Nonetheless, Phaedra was the prefect and the one with the O average, so she was certain she was winning. But she gave props to the Teague girl too, of course, who gave her a run for her money when it came to things like duelling.

Phaedra was surprised the girl had walked up to chat in the first place, but after she was asked about how she found her new job, she grinned and opened her mouth to reply honestly. "It's nerve-wracking," she began, arranging her snacks neatly on the plate so they wouldn't roll off. "But fun. I don't regret applying. I've learned a lot doing this - I like helping out the professors. And the pay and privileges are nice too, I suppose." The best privilege, in her opinion, was being allowed to roam the school past curfew. Phaedra didn't admit it then, and likely never would, but she always drastically pushed the boundaries of areas she was assigned to patrol. She was put to watching the Astronomy Tower that night? Well, one could bet on eventually finding the little sneak in the corridors as well. Phaedra didn't see why she couldn't check around both. She had stuck her nose into things the average student couldn't dream of, and she knew she would miss the feeling of being an elite when her term ended.

Phaedra shrugged and bit into a strawberry, chewing and swallowing before continuing. "Well, how are things for you? Are you excited for the events coming up? I personally can't wait for the ball."

Adam searched the crowd of black-and-blue robes in front of him frantically, trying to find his fellow Ravenclaw prefect, Phaedra Stavrou. He and Phaedra were both new to the job, and they'd never really talked, though he'd seen her before at the Sorting Ceremony and around their common room. He'd promised Professor Yornikovych that he'd help keep his housemates in line during the bonfire, and although he was pretty sure that most of them would do fine without supervision, it was the job that he'd signed up for. Finally, he caught a glimpse of the girl's black hair by one of the chocolate fountains. Trying to slide by his classmates without knocking anyone over (or getting knocked over himself), Adam finally maneuvered his way over to the fountain.

"Hi," he greeted her, smiling. "It's Phaedra, right? I'm Adam.
I'm -- " Suddenly noticing the blond girl standing already next to the female prefect, Adam felt his cheeks turn red and cut himself off abruptly, stammering out an apology. "I'm so sorry! Oh my gosh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were already in a conversation. I'll just, uh....I'll just be waiting over there, by the.....marshmallows." Giving a little wave, Adam retreated to a little table of marshmallows set up nearby and cursed himself. He hated people interrupting him, and now that'd he'd done it to someone else -- a stranger, even -- he felt worse. He was pretty sure that Phaedra would come find him after she was done talking, but for now, he'd just wait over here.

If nothing else, there was snacks, at least. Taking a handful of marshmallows from the table, Adam bit one of them in half and chewed it as he looked out to see all of the students that had gathered for the bonfire. There were lots of them present, from every Hogwarts house. He wondered if everyone in the school would be here by the end of the night. Putting the rest of his marshmallow into his mouth and scanning the crowd, Adam wondered if he'd run into anyone else that he knew. It was likely, wasn't it? He'd just have to wait and see.

Charo followed the Hufflepuff prefects towards the bonfire. It had already been lit and she could see the roaring flames from where she was. Charo was excited for the opportunity to sit down with the other houses and chat. She had already made some friends in Hufflepuff and a few from the other houses, too, but she would never turn down the offer to make more. The bonfire was such a magnificent idea, Charo was glad that someone had come up with it and the school had decided to carry it out, even with the events of the Hufflepuff Campout.

Soon enough they got to the bonfire and Charo stood, staring at the flames for a moment before looking around to see if she could spot any familiar faces. Charo saw Lucy O'Sullivan, a fellow Hufflepuff that she had met in her dorm. She also saw Phaedra Stavrou, a Ravenclaw girl Charo had met on the corridors. Charo also recognized Amadea Campbell and Verla Harness, more Hufflepuffs that Charo had met during her time at Hogwarts.

She smiled at the crowd of people, unsure about who she should approach and talk to or if she should even approach anyone at all. Charo noticed a girl who appeared to be from Gryffindor looked like she was... chocking? Charo couldn't tell if the girl was faking it or if it was real, but she decided to go and make sure. Charo reached the group of girls just as Rosie, another Hufflepuff, asked if the Gryffindor was okay. Rosie had called her Rhea so Charo figured that was the girl's name. "It looks like she might be choking... we should probably, you know, do something about that," Charo said.

Syrah sat as close to the bonfire as possible. Her roasting stick was held in front of her, with her other hand helping prop up her cooking arm since it got tired easily holding the stick up for so long. She sat, perhaps, too close to the fire - but she enjoyed the warmth and so the slight burn every once in a while did not bother her. She had a very specific way of roasting marshmallows. One that she would share with the girl who suddenly inquired. 

Syrah had not noticed the girl sit down next to her. She had been watching the flames of blue and green and orange as well as her sweets to make sure it didn't burn. She retrieved her stick and marshmallow from the fire before looking over at the girl. She was a very pretty young girl, and Syrah had an instant twinge of jealousy for a moment before she told herself off and smiled small at the girl in greeting. She looked down at her half done marshmallow and chuckled to herself at the girls question. 

"Ha. Uh, well if you ask my uncle, the way I cook marshmallows is a 'prissy way of doing so'." She grinned at the memory. Something she loved about her uncle was the sarcastic bullying he enjoyed inflicting on his children and nieces. "It seems like the rest of my family likes to burn them to death and apparently enjoys eating charcoal."

She looked at the girl one more time and them held up her roasting stick, the sweet still stuck on the end. "But if you ask me -  its all in the rotation." Syrah smiled a knowing smile. The bonfire brought out her somewhat playful side. Despite all the people roaming around, a scene that would normally make Syrah quiet, she was having a good time.

"I can show you if you want." She offered, "Welcome to Syrah's Marshmallow Cooking Lesson!" She exclaimed waving her roasting stick, marshmallow still stuck, in an arc in the air in front of her.

Cel edged around the back of the event, surveying the number of students attending the event. There had to be... fifty... seventy... maybe even a hundred people there. Why had she come, again? She could just be relaxing in her common room, alone for once, reading A Court of Frost and Starlight... freaking out over Rhys... sobbing over her ships falling apart...




Sighing, the girl turned her attention back to the bonfire, watching the cone-shaped inferno flicker and dance. Inferno. The word called to memory a certain book, as beautiful as its original language, magniloquently worded, even in translation. "A mighty flame followeth a tiny spark." "Heat cannot be separated from the fire, nor beauty from The Eternal."

The marshmellows were great - she had eaten about five already! Slow down her mind yelled at her but her stomach said otherwise. They had quite impressive meals for a school but it wasn't the same atmosphere as having a bonfire under the stars. Besides who didn't love desserts! The honest reply was expected but Dymphna was surprised she hadn't excused herself to chat with someone who was an actual friend. "You'll miss it then?" 

It was a position that the blonde had wondered about, one that she thought of having herself but then clubs had become busier and she had fallen behind in a class or two. Dymphna may be smart but she still had to study in certain subjects to maintain a decent grade. It was embarrassing but like her father had told her, everyone has flaws and weaknesses. She just had to make sure that no one noticed hers. "It seems stressful but I do agree that even from my point of view, I can see that it has it's perks. I'm sure you know the professors on a deeper level than we do too, which would probably come in handy with classes." There wasn't any hesitation when it came to questioning professors after classes but during, she liked to maintain her intelligent Miss Perfect image by answering any of the questions that she knew for a fact to be true.

"The ball," she started with a sigh, "I know ballet, not ballroom." Plus she had skipped the dance lessons, not wanting to make a fool out of herself in front of all of the students there. It had looked fun but she couldn't get over the thought that everyone would notice if she had messed up. Normally she had no trouble jumping into something new but ballroom dancing had really stumped her. "Are you going with anyone?" She hoped to find a group to attend with. Boys were the last thing on her mind. "I'm more excited for the library lock-in if I'm honest." Who wouldn't enjoy an entire night with all of that knowledge just waiting to be read?

Her vision blacked out, but only for a moment. It seemed there was no end to her coughing as she attempted to cough out the parcel that had lodged itself inside her wind tube. Her legs failing her, Rhea found herself lying down on the ground with intense spasms running through her. 

She saw people approaching her, one of them being Rosie. Trying to attempt a smile, Rhea failed, instead switching to dry heaving instead of coughing. What was this stupid fluff? Was it some sort of murder machine? She'd been a good person, had she not? Why was this happening to her?

Well, maybe if she was gone, her parents would notice her existence. Although they might just use her death for publicity... Pushing all negative thoughts out of her head, Rhea focused on getting the piece out of her throat. Vaguely hearing Eris's words above her head, Rhea rolled her eyes. If she could, she would've laughed. Instead, she was stuck just lying there, coughing her lungs out. Because no one would help her. What kind of people just stood there and watched someone die?! Maybe if Sabrina was there she would save her. Unlike Eris who simply cared about the ball. (Although, to be frank, Rhea would do the same if she was in her position. Balls were so much more important than people, obviously). 

Still coughing, Rhea started to wave her arms and motion to people to try to hit the parcel out of her. She'd heard Eris was good at punching - why couldn't she just punch the stupid fluff out? Her breath starting to shorten, Rhea resorted to trying to save herself. Trying to hit her back, and mostly failing, Rhea started to feel the piece traveling up her throat. Squeezing all her throat muscles and coughing with all her might, as well as patting her back, Rhea finally, finally, got the bloody piece out and was able to breath. Breathing heavily, Rhea glared at the white fluffs in the bowl. She knew that from then on, any time she saw whatever they were, she would either trash them or burn them. Probably burn them, since she loved the spell Incendio ever so much. 

Deciding against taking out her wand and burning the bowl, Rhea turned around to look at the others who had gathered around. Her throat still hurting, Rhea only nodded and coughed softly. To dispel any worries about her well being, Rhea did the 'okay' sign with her fingers and looked around. What was there to do at this fire?

Lucy turned as a white haired girl approached and introduced herself. "Hi there! I'm Isabella Hills. I heard you say something about a roast off before? Is it ok if I joined?"

Lucy smiled, holding out her roasting fork to the Slytherin girl. "Of course it's okay! That is, I just made up the competition just now, and there's no actual prize except delicious marshmallow-y goodness, but I say the more the merrier!" She paused, feeling as if she were forgetting something. "Oh! My name is Lucy O'Sullivan, nice to meet you," she responded quickly, biting her lip. Introduce yourself first and then talk about things, she reminded herself, trying to train her brain with social etiquette.

"Well, let's get started, and we can see who decides to join." She cast a meaningful glance at Kyden, the first person she had issued the challenge to, but turned to smile brightly at Isabella. "I'm not very patient, so you'll probably do better at this than me. But, that being said," she paused, furrowing her brow and straightening her mouth so that she looked serious and a bit angry. "GAME ON."

She darted over to the marshmallows, picked up a new roasting stick since she had given Isabella her previous stick, and shoved a marshmallow onto the tip. She laughed a bit, delighted with this nonsense game. "I hope you're prepared to face the master!" she called to Isabella, brandishing her roasting stick like a sword and giving it a few swipes as she shuffled over to the bonfire.

Whew, this is still steaming hot! she thought, backing up a few steps. It was lucky that she hadn't gotten to close as she goofed off with her marshmallow stick. She squatted down a bit away from the fire and held out her roasting stick, turning it every so often.

A few minutes later, after eating far too many marshmallows in far too short of time, she decided to head back to the Common Room. She was feeling slightly sick after consuming so much, so she waved to her "competitors." 

Lucy exits the thread.

 A vibrant smile had made its way onto Matilda's face as she watched the girl who had tugged on her sleeve walk away, though her eyes didn't follow her too far, so she didn't quite catch sight of the coughing redheaded Gryffindor that she had approached. In events like these, it was a pleasure to see everyone coming together and community. It was joy, harmony and everything in between all at once. Slytherins conversed with Hufflepuffs, professors with students, and it was just simply happy. It filled her heart with a sense of warmth, one that wouldn't be diminished all-too-easily.

 Not three minutes passed before she was approached by another student. This was mildly surprising, because honestly, she didn't think she would have a conversation with many of them, unless they were in her classes. But these were first years, and Matilda hadn't even introduced herself to many of them. The only one she knew was Reid Kovacs, who had stolen her cat and insulted it insanely. It was a bother to her, but now that he was in the hospital wing, she felt more worry than irritation towards him. Though she believed once he was fully recovered, she too would recover that irritation.

 The girl offered out a flower grown with a lovely array of flowers, ranging from black to white to violet. Matilda took the opportunity to crouch down to the girl's height - she wasn't too tall, being 5'2", but she was still taller than the girl. "Thank you, would you mind putting it on for me?" She asked, placing her hands on her knees to try and keep balance in this position. She was impressed with the kindness these children obtained. Having a strong belief in just simply being nice will improve the world, she almost felt some sense of pride as well.

 Perhaps this bonfire was a great idea, despite the unfortunate events of the Hufflepuff camp-out. Matilda was supposed to attend, but had gotten held back up at the Scottish castle instead. She felt relatively guilty for the events that took place. If she had gone, maybe she could have prevented it. But now she just knows for next time. She snapped out of her thoughts, looking from the fire that she had zoned out on to the little girl in front of her. She grinned once more, awaiting her crowning.

The thought of a chilly night near a crisp fire had sparked Bloom's interest. She had a lot going on for the past week with trying to keep her grades up with immaculate study sessions. The ability to foster all information learned within one week and grasp onto it for a lifetime is difficult for a twelve-year-old. It is perhaps the reason she asked to not be Prefect anymore--although her family needed her to be. The money she was getting was enough to support her wages in school without her parents needing to chip in. Bloom sighed at the thought, but as she was walking towards the large bonfire, her negative thoughts disappeared.

The fire was absolutely beautiful. The orange, red and yellow flames were dancing in the dark. It was priceless to watch for Bloom. Actually, it was watching a fire that got her to connect with Ben after a hard day. Speaking of Ben, where has he been? Bloom thought, realizing that she had not seen her boyfriend in quite some time due to her studying. Perhaps he was being very respectful of her need to raise her grades.

Arriving at the bonfire, she saw that there were not a lot of Hufflepuff's to be around. Most were hospitalized in the hospital wing. Some were pretty beat up while others were unscathed. It was a tragic event when they had all gone camping. Bloom, wondering about Reid, thought if it was the right time to go and see him. She noticed that he had been very close to the red-headed Gryffindor. As much as she has deep feelings that are hidden away for him, she did not want to overstep boundaries.

Bloom saw Dymphna, an old acquaintance, but she seemed to be in a deep conversation with others. In a way, she felt a bit misplaced. Looking back at the castle, she had this feeling of not wanting to go, but needing to go visit her friend. If Sabrina was there, she would back out immediately. She looked back at the bonfire and saw some of the other students roasting marshmallows.

An idea sparked in her head. If he couldn't be at the bonfire, she will bring the bonfire to him--well the food part of it all. Bloom grabbed a skewer and placed a large fluffy, white marshmallow on top. She placed the marshmallow into the fire and twisted the skewer so the fluff would be burnt on all sides. When she took it out, there was a piece of marshmallow that was on fire. Bloom blew it out and looked around for graham crackers. When she found them, she placed the marshmallow on one half of the graham cracker and closed it off with another, pulling the skewer out from inside the marshmallow.

Voila!

Her heart fluttering for her friend, she left the bonfire and back into the castle, with a melting marshmallow sandwich in hand.

[EXIT THREAD]