Slytherin House Cup Party PV Closed

Isabella looked around, searching for a partner. She watched as a girl walked towards, seeming nervous. "Hi, Isabella, wanna pair up with me?" Taken aback, she stared at the girl in surprise. "I mean... for the boat." Smiling at the girl, she replied. "Of course, I'd love too. Please call me Bella though, Isabellas so formal." She finished, wrinkling her nose as she said her full name.

Turning around, she faced the three professors. She watched as students were told off, shocked when one was even sent back up to the school. She recognized him from the Blossom Fest Ball, having witnessed him setting some tables on fire using Incendio. She chuckled as she remembered her own Incendio incident, when she accidentally burnt half the common room before professor Scheinberg put out the fire.

She laughed as her Head of House explained the rules, it was obvious there was gonna be someone that didn't follow them. There was always one. And since they were at a school of magic it always seemed to be worse. Someone would find a loophole and something would happen. It always did. She just prayed that it wouldn't be her this time. It was usually her, and it was always unintentional.

Tuning back in as she heard her name being said by the professor, she was surprised. Did she really say that she was to sit with her? The professor who had a reputation for being cold, wanted her to sit with her? She had just assumed that professor Scheinberg would have a boat to herself, seeing as she disliked most people.

She turned back around to the Slytherin, an apologetic smile on her face. "I'm really sorry, but you heard professor Scheinberg. Next time, okay?" The words rushed out of her mouth before she ran off in the direction of the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Reaching her she gave an awkward smile, before looking down at her feet. She was obviously worried about this boat ride. And she hoped the woman wouldn't pick up on the fact that she was, actually, kinda scared of her.

Isabella agreed! Angela was overjoyed and impatiently watched Slytherins walking by, eager to hop into a boat already. Hearing prefect's comment about her name, she blushed a little. All right, sorry, Bella. I'm Angela, in case you forgot. Well, Bella probably never remembered that to begin with, but it was more polite to assume the prefect at least knew her fellow female students.

Suddenly professor Scheinberg's sharp and angry voice made everyone freeze and turn their heads to listen to her. Apparently she was yelling at some boy and sending him back to the castle. Whatever did he do?, wondered Angela. It was scary to see the professor furious like this. She focused on the instructions, just to be sure she doesn't incidentally do something to deserve such scolding.

In different circumstances maybe it would annoy her that the head of house stole the prefect from her, but at the moment she was almost glad that there was some clear wish she could comply with. No problem!, she assured Bella's back as she was running towards professor Scheinberg.

After all of this Syrah now sat alone in a boat, and Angela again considered joining her. Syrah's expression didn't look very welcoming, and Angela wasn't even sure anymore she wanted any companionship. But well, it can't hurt to ask, can it? In the worst case Syrah will refuse and then it'll be fine to fill in some other random boat or take a boat alone. Content with this decision, Angela came up to Syrah and simply said: Hi, Syrah, remember me? We met at your Magical Aquatic Animals Club. Can I join you?

Kyden was slightly taken aback when Professor Valtome said that Kyden was to be his consociate. However in one way he was relived that he know was not going to have to pair up with another student. While he loved his fellow students some of them liked to test the limits of his power as a Prefect and his loyalty as a friend. 

He watched the other students begin to pair up as he walked over to stand by Professor Valtome. He gave a half smile and nodded silently at him. He stood there watching his fellow students scrambling around for a parent. He smiled to himself for several reasons. The main one being he was thrilled that he didn't have to do it. He was quite nervous at the same time thought being paired with Professor Valtome. 

He glanced towards Professor Valtome for a brief moment. Professor Valtome was the one professor that Kyden felt that he needed to prove himself to. He had gradually become better at Potions and he was actually to the point where maybe just maybe he could see himself as a potioneer when he graduated from Hogwarts. He thought that maybe just maybe if he could prove himself worthy of Professor Valtome's assistance on this little adventure then maybe Professor Valtome would help him become even better at potions. 

He looked towards Professor Scheinburg and waited for her next set of instructions.

Blaze stood there as there head of house spoke but Blaze kept on fidgeting he was just so excited. "Rowboat rowboat rowboat," he chanted in a low whisper. He wasn't really sure why he was so excited usually we was the guy in the corner or the last to arrive so it was really strange. 

There were two other adults who were going to accompany them on the gurney one of which Blaze recognized as the astronomy professor. He had forgotten his name but Blaze doubted it would be a problem. Blaze had been forgetting a lot of things lately though he never took much notice of much of it as he didn't really see it as a problem. That reminded him that Ms.Schineburg had said to pair up. He looked around and spotted his house prefect Kyden he didn't know him personally but going out with a perfect wasn't a bad thing at all actually the contrary. 

At the same moment that Blaze opened his mouth to ask the boy to pair up with him, he heard the other woman call him to pair up with her. "And there's just my luck," he didn't really see anyone else except maybe Ava... but he didn't see her either and she was the only other Slytherin he had ever really talked to. "Well, I guess I'll just look around," 

Partners...

"Oh dear..."

The words escaped as Maisy looked around her at the many unfamiliar faces of her Slytherin Housemates. She had friends, sure, and a few of them were hanging about, but the small crowd was thick and with everyone clumped together, trying to snag their ideal partner first, Maisy was left in a bewildered panic.

She had been in a boat time and time again with her father and her older brothers, but rowing out across the Black Lake, with it's hidden creatures and deep, dark secrets, with a veritable stranger (who may or may not hate her based entirely on the fact that she came from a Muggle family) carried a note of overwhelming intimidation.

Sucking in a sharp breath, she carefully eased her way through the mob of black robes, until she could find a space that wasn't occupied by way too many elbows and shuffling feet and placing a hand over her brows, she scanned for anyone... anyone at all that would--

Stepping back, Maisy staggered into something solid. With a squeak, she spun around and stared wide-eyed at the dark haired girl she had very nearly trampled into, "Oh! I am so sorry! I was just... there were so many, and I wasn't... I didn't know... Are you alright?" Rubbing the back of her neck, she looked to the boats, then back to the girl again and her cheeks brightened to crimson, "...I don't suppose... Do you have a partner, yet?"

Sebastian glanced to the girl that approached him, giving her a quick once over. She introduced herself as Erin, and Sebastian had a feeling like something akin to the girl being a predator circling prey. Being part of a pure-blood family, which was immensely rich and played its part in subsequent social circles, it had been reinforced throughout Sebastian's life to assess and read people.

Generally, the eyes were the quickest method of gauging another, of getting a feel of their manner, and it was no different between some opulent ball or a Hogwarts classroom; save, perhaps, the rich elite tended to play the game more fiercely... and Erin displayed some of those traits, her expression not really giving too much away, and her brief greeting being quite formal and clipped.

Everyone I've met so far has either been introverted or overly friendly, Sebastian thought, as he turned to face the girl. And I've definitely heard some rumors about Erin... so, let's see if I'm right.

"I'm Sebastian," With a smile, Sebastian offered his hand, his expression now quite friendly. "It's good to meet you. I'm surprised you approached me, usually others are too nervous to say much of anything."

The boy paused, as he raised his eyebrows--

"Oh, I'm guessing you want to partner up for this celebration?" He asked, his manner mildly upbeat, even as the Professors began to prepare for addressing the gathered students. "I don't want to presume."

Turning to face Professor Sheinberg, Sebastian listened as she immediately sent Charles York away, hinting none to subtly at his prior activities at the Blossom Ball. Word had spread, the pure-blood elitist had been outed, and his position within Slytherin had plummeted due to his temper and recklessness. Sebastian was glad York was getting what he deserved, it saved him having to do it later away from prying eyes.

Imbecile.

The Head of House then went on to explain some of the expectations from the usage of boats. He noted several precautions put in place on the craft themselves, to deter certain individuals from doing anything stupid; whereas Sebastian would just as soon let them, to prove which ones deserved to be dragged into the lake by the underwater creatures out of sheer stupidity.

And then it was time to board the boats.

"After you, Erin," Sebastian said as he motioned with a hand toward the closest boat on the lake edge. He reached out, steadying it, and would hop aboard after she had done so. "I hope you're not too worried about water... or whatever is lurking beneath it."

Sebastian continued to act relatively friendly, though he suspected Erin wouldn't know any different from their lack of communication up to this point, hoping to catch a reaction from his partner. And while it was only a very brief first meeting so far, it would be a good starting point to begin unraveling what made Erin tick, and how Sebastian could use that to his advantage; especially since he had missed that opportunity with Charles York, much to his annoyance...

It would have been so easy with York.

Her teachers were now pressuring them all to enter the boats, what Marcia tried to ignore. She heard the small boats splashing in the water every time someone stepped in them. Surely Edric would have another partner by now, but she was too afraid to look. She had only eyes for the soothing grass and the firm earth under her feet. The earth and everything living and growing in it was her friend. Water, however, was always a deep pond with nothing but horror in it. She would just go, she decided. Nothing her teacher had planed for them could be worth it to stay and to climb yet again in those boats.

"There are a few rules to cover before we begin", she heard her Head of House shout and she glanced up to her. Most of the students were listening what she had to say, although some seemed intimidated and frightened to look at her for longer than a few heart beats. For Marcia Professor Scheinberg was the least frightening concern right now, so she watched her instructing those who had already taken their seats.

"One, do not try to tip the boat over. It is enchanted to stay the right side up, and you won’t have even the slightest chance of doing it from your position inside." Enchanted? Enchanted! The small but shocking word slowly reached her mind. All she ever saw had been normal boats, used by Muggles. Of course the boats in the magical world would be enchanted to make them safer. She picked her robes nervously while she stepped a little closer, her eyes searching for Edric. He still sat alone, listening to what Professor Scheinberg had to say.

"Two, don’t even think about jumping into the lake." Now Marcia had to surpress a dry laugh. She could see that some might would want to do something reckless like this, but Marcia would be quite happy to just sit there, unmoving. In the boat. God, what am I doing?

She reached the shore, the waterline only a few steps away from her, and she could feel her heartbeat rising. Three students had to take her into the boat at the evening of her arrival, although she suspected the grounds keeper accompanying them had cast a spell on her to keep her calm. Never did she come this close to water on her own will. A small success that gave her strength to do the next move.

She braced herself for what she was about to do, while she looked for Edric's gaze in search for help. "Nothing will happen to you. All will be fine", the voice of her mother echoed through her mind when she remembered the day of her departure, only a few hours before the infamous boat ride. Words that now were helping her facing her deepest fear more than ever.

Eyes closed she made a big step, her foot fishing in the air for something solid, until she found what she believed was the floor of the small boat. It felt unsteady and she almost withdrawed when she thought about how the water made the boat moving under her. The longer she stood with one foot in the boat and the other still on land, the more insecure she became. It took her a few seconds till she finally jumped away from the safe ground and into the boat, making it wiggle a little under her. She quickly grabbed the side of the boat with both hands and waited unmoving till the cockleshell was laying still once again.

It was only then that she had the courage to look at Edric, who seemingly had watched her climbing into the boat. She quickly smiled at him embarrassed about her display. Her smile froze when she realized that she sat now in the boat about to row over the lake.

She didn't feel safe, but she didn't feel like she was in mortal danger either. Edric didn't seem to be the type to play with the boat trying to make it tip over, or who thought it would be quite hilarious to threaten her to push her into the water.

With a cough she asked for Edric's attention. "I," she began, her voice only a whisper. "I can't swim."

She would accept his hand into her own, her pale skin as cold as ice in an unnatural seeming manner. It was the sort of cold that one could feel through gloves, a chill that would seem to almost greedily consume any warmth in his hand. Still her grip was firm, not tight. Some people like to show their physical prowess in their shake, an intimidation factor perhaps or an attempt at demonstrating dominance. She had other ways of showing who was in charge and they hardly required feats of strength.

"That must be lonesome," she commented with feigned sympathy. "Friends will be hard to make," she tested the waters with a toe as her statement had more than one meaning. She was granting him the opportunity to chose the type of boy he wanted to be -- a proud pureblood Slytherin that made his initial statement more as a commentary on his intimidating presence due to his pedigree and status OR if he was a young man that was lamenting over the fact that he truly felt isolated in a house of elitists in a school of juveniles that had no interest in him. Hubris or Envy, they were just as fun.

"Of course," she replied as she attempted to mimic Sebastian's smile. It was a simple act of moving the right muscles in conjunction to create the desired expression, but the devil was always in the details. She understood the upward curvature of the lips, the slight raise in the apples of the cheeks but the placement of the jaw, the exposure of teeth, the set gaze and the tiny muscles that were required to comply created a complex riddle for the young girl to solve as she emulated his expression as she had none of her home. "Pureblood I would hope?" Her tone left an inflection of a question as she said it, of course he was. Most Slytherins were but sadly not all. Still she needed to not only verify but continue to dig. "Purebloods should stick together," she added fuel to his hubris. There was something about racial and social supremacy that was core in most people, this sense that they were 'better' than others being necessary to feed their ego as they lacked value from anything beyond a vague concept of birthright. People were, for the most part, inherently shallow. She was no exception of course, she had the depth of a puddle as she lacked for almost everything less a physical form and autonomous thought. Perhaps she lacked that spark, that hidden wonder, that intangible concept we most often refer to as a soul. It was hard to say because she was hard to define, she only knew the consequences of her existence not that actual pathology.




York would be sent away, Erin would look in his direction with that same mimicked friendly expression. It would seem stilted because it was. The only thing that betrayed her sentiments were her eyes, strange things they were as they had a strange glimmer and they always have. Like grey clouds where the heavens were roiling before they unleashed a storm. There was a change, the shadows in her iris would seem to forcibly change, her quarry was escaping.  Indeed, York was her target because he was as easy as a drunk girl on prom night when it came to bursts of emotion.

F'ning lovely...

The rest of the students gathered here lacked in a similar regard as her even if they failed to realize it. Hi, I am -like totally- a new student... We should be like super-bestest friends. Do you like sexy guys like 10 years older than you? OMG I like so do too! Let's talk about how sexy the fact of this guy I never met is that I took out of a muggle magazine. It was F'ing painful, there was no emotion not really but they faked it. Everyone was fake, there was no passion, no desire. What could have been a banquet she realized was nothing more than muted shades of beige and flavors of vanilla.

Rage was easy to draw from some -- especially York. It was delightful, it send shivers down her back at the memory. 

Dejection and Sadness -- an elementary task to draw from some Hufflepuffs, especially the girls. Perhaps she understood them better.

That was about it of course, there were a few that displayed other sentiments -- 'happiness' and 'love' abstract, eluding concepts often spoken of but never felt. Not really. At least in her experience statements of 'love' are often lies. Happiness is simply wrapping paper over an empty gift box, there was nothing else inside. This would prove true with Mr. Leeds of course, his smile meant nothing but it was an important social convention. Was he happy to make her acquaintance -- no. She knew that, even if he claimed otherwise. She made no effort to hide her shenanigans. Why would she? She felt nothing from him, not happiness, not sadness, not fear or pain or anything really.

With York gone it left her to wonder: how deeply could Mr. Leeds feel?

It was time to board, she would look at the bobbing vessel in the dark water. She did not fear the water or the monsters that might lurk beneath. She did not fear them because she did not fear anything. Fear, like all other sentiments was something she naturally lacked. What was fear but the biological prerogative to protect oneself from danger. Did she have posses such a trait? Yes, she did not actively seek her own death nor was she indifferent about the concept of being safe, intact or alive in concept but it was entirely logical for her -- a lack of life means she no longer exists. There was no emotional attachment for her. She knew that other people felt fear, many times it was an irrational representation of a terror that did not exist -- of the dark, of rejection, of thunder. Things that did not represent an actual risk to ones homeostasis but rather representative uncertainty but their minds and bodies correlated it was danger and therefore fear. It was uncanny really how people were and how she envied them.

Was she human? She was not registered as anything otherwise.  Of course she was human, at least in the biological sense. She had nothing more than the average child, but rather she had something less.

"It would be a dream," she replied. It was the plan from the star of course, to share a vessel with Leeds. Oh the things that could have gone wrong when she encountered the unstable Slytherin and involved two others in whatever drama she stirred up. "I would not want to ride with anyone else," she looked him over again. He was tightly buttoned up, potentially in the physical sense with his garb but this was more in the emblematic. Beyond a smile he was giving nothing about his nature, not as many lies as the rest. Not yet in any case.

It was time to go, the Professor had said so. It seemed almost a bother to be rewarded to a boat ride but she was going to make it into an opportunity. After you, Erin. She had no qualms entering the boat first so she did so. The boat would rock in a more reckless manner as she entered and she would back away from the edge. "Shame I cannot swim," she lied. Give them a weakness they think they can exploit, their guard will lower. She could swim very well. "Thankfully all those rumors about lake monsters are probably lies." She actually believed that one. The children commonly played in that lake, if there was something dangerous, the devastating legal battles that would ensue for Hogwarts would be legendary. "Does the water bother you?" That would have been too easy of course, but she had to give it a try because she was not too good for the low-hanging fruit. "You look like the sort that has no fear," she was bullshitting him of course as she fed into his pride.

She would wait for the Prefect (unless you are going to assume this was before your Prefect status) to enter before she continued. If she could she would even wait until they were several meters from shore. It would be less likely that he would abandon ship if he had to soak his clothes or face a denizen of the deep in the process.

"Tell me about yourself Sebastian." Erin would eventually announce as a segue into the part where things got more interesting. Her eyes would dart back to shore, how fast could she get there if she needed to? It was an important consideration when she takes someone into isolation. She planned to maintain control but there was a distinct chance she might get into something that is over her head. "Pureblood families fascinate me," she lied again. "Who is your father?" She chose the present tense and the father on purpose, there was commonly a domestic issue in most families. "What did he do?" Past tense. "Is that what you wish to do?" Families were like minefields, a great place to start. Even if it does not cause anything to surface, her inquiring nature would make him apprehensive, suspicious. She wanted to stir at his paranoia. Her questions could be taken in so many ways, how he took them would say much of his personality. Much of his ideals and ambitions.

Onto him some more...

"How did you become a Prefect?" Assuming he is a Prefect at this present time. If not disregard. Slytherin is a unique house in that it celebrates ambition in ways the others do not. They embrace the less that desirable natures seen in young people. How is it that he is the 'greatest' or at the very least the 'best representation' of their House. She knew he had to be far from mundane for their Head of House to see something in the first year. So what was it?

"Stop that!"

Glen flinched slightly and spun towards the voice. He sighed in relief, thankfully Ms. Scheinberg was yelling at someone a bit further away. It wouldn't have been the first time he drifted off and got yelled at because of it but it seems he was lucky.

He watched as she said something else to the boy that made him trudge back to the castle. What the heck had happened at the Ball?

“Welcome to the first official Slytherin House Cup party, everyone. Tonight we will do something simple, but it is all in good timing. The boats will take us to the centre of the lake, and we will release the lanterns that some of you might have found when you wrongly entered the boat without instruction."

Oh thank Merlin he had stopped short of entering the boat earlier. He'd been about to when he noticed that the others paired up in front of the boats. Speaking of pairing up... He took another look around. There had to be someone else he'd seen before that didn't have a partner yet, right? He wasn't particularly keen on pairing up with an upperclassman. He was sure they were mostly perfectly alright people as well but he would prefer someone his own age.

As Ms Scheinberg went over the rules he wondered why someone would think that it was a good idea to capsize their boats. Surely it was too cold to want to take a bath in the lake. And then there was talk of a giant squid inhabiting it... not particularly welcoming in his opinion. Sure in summer it might be nice to swim there - during the day that is. But as it was night...

“You may now find a partner and get into your boats. Bella Hills, you’re with me."

A partner, yes. For a moment he almost envied the two that were called on by their teachers. At least they didn't have to worry about finding someone. Then again, sitting with a teacher the whole time (especially the scary one) wasn't how he imagined fun.

He looked around. Ah! There was another boy looking around and presumably searching for a partner. He waved at him.
"Hey, do you have a partner yet? If not, do you want to pair up? I'm Glen." He smiled hopefully at the guy.

If the boy said no he would just enter the boat on his own and see what happens.

Action: ask Flyte Blaze to pair up