Hufflepuff Huddle Tesla Stone Aurora Griffith Isadora Everridge

"Yes, I must! I don't even want to think about missing my first ball at Hogwarts." Illusia's eyes lost focus for a moment as she tried to imagine a scenario like that. If she were to get sick or get detention on the evening of the ball, she truly would cry. A horrible thought! She shook her head violently before turning her attention back to the conversation and waving a hand in front of her face to indicate that she was changing subject. Getting distracted wasn't unfamiliar to her, but she would rather recondition that part of herself.

She jokingly cast a little provocative glance at Tesla.
"Ohhh, you're already buddying up with the older students?" She huffed a little good-natured laugh after. In truth it was just a compliment, being good at making friends couldn't be a bad thing. It was rather impressive to her, actually.
"Rita Su is a Hufflepuff, right? It'd be fun to spot you two at the ball, hope you make it!"

Illusia turned her attention to Isadora, who'd been asked if she was attending.
"Yes, I am to attend." Oh, that had Illusia's eyes glinting. Isadora seemed very rigid for some reason, but at least she wasn't opposed to attending. Something about Isadora's overall countenance from the moment Illusia had sat down with them had her a bit worried, though.

Illusia put her elbow on the table to cover her mouth with a palm when Isadora told about her faerietale research. Logical inconsistencies? It was funny how differently Isadora viewed magic. It was a given to Illusia that normal people wouldn't know what magic actually was. Then again, maybe as a muggle-born Illusia wasn't Isadora's 'normal.'
"I guess you wouldn't really expect some of them to be for children, that's for sure", Illusia admitted, referring to the gruesomeness of some of those tales.
"Let's hope that the upcoming ball is about the pretty stories, then, since we don't know whether the planning committee have familiarized with the darker versions. If that were the case I'd hope the theme of the ball isn't too foreshadowing, that would make for a pretty 'grimm' evening." Illusia bit her lip to not laugh at her own joke, and shoved a meatball in her mouth. She wasn't hungry, it was just that she was accustomed to eating to fill in the silences.
"It's taking place when the moon is almost full, that is the creepiest time of the month for sure!"

Illusia couldn't help how her little heart would pick up pace in excitement at the thought of having a bit of mystery and some sense of danger in her life, not like it wasn't a supervised event, after all. "Even more than the ball itself, I'm looking forward to the Petting Zoo. I've only seen like, Mandrakes and Bouncing Bulbs so far." Illusia added, once she got the chance.

_{Interacting with @Isadora Everridge @Tesla Stone @Aurora Griffith}

I had somehow found Illusia, Tesla, and Isadora in the Great Hall, but by a total coincidence. I had been meaning to get to the library, since when I’m in doubt, that’s where I go. I had seen the 3 girls at the Hufflepuff table. I waved, walked over, and said, ”Hey, guys!” I didn’t know what they were talking about at first, but when I caught on to their conversation, I learned that they were talking about the Fall Ball, that thing that I had been learning about all week. I was pretty excited. Everybody was talking about what they were looking forward to, but I really didn’t know. I was just wondering who I was going with! Some of the things that were mentioned sounded pretty cool; a petting zoo?! I couldn’t wait to go! That sounded very fun. Budding into the conversation, I asked, ”What’s the theme of this ball?” I was most definitely going to this ball, and I was excited to see what activities there were. I was also hoping if I could go with my friends, but I would ask that question later. For now, I had 7 days before the ball, and honestly, I couldn’t wait!

Interacting with: @@Illusia Bobich @Isadora Everridge @Tesla Stone

Tesla grinned sheepishly as Illusia teased her for going to the ball with Rita, explaining, "She's actually Isadora and I's roommate, and we were chatting in the common room one night and it came up. Maybe we can all hang out! Not to mention she's not the only older student I've met. There's also Colin, Bailey, and Quinn. They're all really nice, and have answered a lot of questions I've had," Tesla winked jokingly back, "Maybe you should be buddying up with older students more!"

Tesla had gotten more used to Isadora during the month they'd gotten to know each other, both from being in the same dorm and from occasionally interacting outside of it, so she took the serious nature of her preparations in stride. "You'll have to tell me about the stories! Muggles write about magic in such fun ways, and all because they don't think it's real. It's always cool to see what they come up with! I'm really just hoping they'll have really good food there." She giggled a bit at Illusia's pun, even if she didn't really understand where it was coming from, having not read the fairytales the two were talking about. Her mood plummeted a bit as Illusia brought up the full moon, looking down and stabbing the food on her plate with a little more aggression than normal and stuffing her mouth full of steak to avoid answering.

Her mood couldn't stay down for long though, as Aurora and her bright energy joined them at the table and Illusia's equally infectious excitement over the petting zoo caught up with her. "The theme is fairytales! You'll have to ask Isadora to tell you more, I haven't read anything those two are talking about, but it sounds fun! I am so excited about the petting zoo. I've met some pretty cool magical creatures, but that's usually from a safe distance. It'll be so fun to see what they have," Tesla's face was full of wonder, "What if they even have a unicorn or something! There's no way, so I guess we'll have to find out."

Reaching to pile her plate with desserts she asked everyone, "Do you all have dresses picked out yet? It'll be easier to find each other if we know what to look for."

Tesla also seems to find the Muggle faerietales interesting, her enthusiasm putting Dora a bit more at ease. Her excitement for the food is also endearing, as it wasn't something Dora had thought about. The Fall Ball will surely have a decadent and delicious menu.

"Let's hope that the upcoming ball is about the pretty stories, then, since we don't know whether the planning committee have familiarized with the darker versions. If that were the case I'd hope the theme of the ball isn't too foreshadowing, that would make for a pretty 'grimm' evening."

Dora nods at Illusia's wordplay, recognizing the word 'grim' being a reference to the Grimm Brothers she read about. Then she mentions the upcoming full moon, and Dora pauses mid-bite. She hadn't remembered that, but it's true. The moon will be almost full on the night of the ball. Dora remembers her family's warnings about dangerous werewolves. Her Uncle Harris said it would be safest to stay inside those nights. Dora wonders worriedly if the party will be safe. Tesla looks slightly upset as well. Perhaps she is also worried?

'Maybe I'll write my grandmother about this.' Dora thinks to herself, 'She may let me skip the ball altogether.'

Another girl from the Welcome Feast, Ro, joins the table as Dora experiences some deja vu. She's never felt that comfortable in large groups, but at least she knows Tesla better now.

”Hey, guys! What’s the theme of this ball?”

"The theme is fairytales! You'll have to ask Isadora to tell you more, I haven't read anything those two are talking about, but it sounds fun!" Dora grits her teeth, hoping Ro ignores Tesla's suggestion. She really doesn't know that much, she just read a few of the muggle stories in order to better understand the theme. If she tries to explain them, she'll probably come off looking foolish.

After some talk of the Petting Zoo, the one thing that Dora thinks she may actually enjoy at the Ball, the conversation turns to wardrobe.

''Do you all have dresses picked out yet? It'll be easier to find each other if we know what to look for."

Dora swallows thickly. Her dress is a nightmare, and how can she possibly tell them that? She wishes she didn't have to go to the ball at all and save herself the embarrassment. But Tes is looking at her, waiting for an answer. "I-" Dora starts, clearing her throat, "I'm sure you'll be able to spot me." She tries to hide any of the dread she feels and keep a neutral expression.

_{Interacting with @Aurora Griffith, @Illusia Bobich, and @Tesla Stone
Isadora Ramona Everridge - Word count: 327 - Color: #631679}

"Hold on, there's a petting zoo?!" The words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them. AURORA! My mind screamed. Whoops! Well, I really liked animals, and back home, any type of place where there were animals was my go-to place to be. I felt myself turning red. "Er, sorry. You said that there was a petting zoo? That sounds fun..." I amended. I thought about what Tes had said about the theme. Faerietales... I liked faerietales, but I didn't think I had any clothes that were faerietale-themed. Except for a nice black silk dress that was packed into my trunk. That was close enough. "Faerietales? That does sound fun! Are you guys already prepared?" I asked, 'cause I sure wasn't. It sounded extremely fun and amazing, and like something I would definitely want to do. But it also sounded a little scary, to be honest, since this was all so new to me, and I wanted to be ready. However, how could I prepare for something so...unpreparable? I could either go with the flow, or just have everything planned out. Maybe I should just go with the flow. But I was excited about the ball. I couldn't wait to go with my friends!

Interacting/Mentioning: @Tesla Stone @Illusia Bobich @Isadora Everridge
Speech/Writing color: #ba9826 Thoughts: Italics

Tesla was so excited by Ro's similar enthuiasm about the petting zoo, and even Dora seemed like she'd enjoy the event. She didn't miss the way Dora seemed stressed by the mention of the full moon, and couldn't help but wonder if maybe the girl had some of the superstitious fears some wizards had about the chance of a werewolf being around in the days even before a full moon. She really liked her, so she certainly hoped not! Maybe she'd just have to go to the ball and pretend she wouldn't be spending the next night in the shrieking shack and not the dorm.

"I am so excited for the petting zoo! Maybe we can meet there later in the evening since I promised Rita I'd dance with her first," Tesla said, smiling brightly. "I'm sure I'd recognize you either way Dora! I guess I'll just have to be surprised by your dress when I see it. I already have a dress my mum sent me, she said she found it shopping in the muggle world and it reminded her of a fairytale dress so I'll get to wear that. If you need any help preparing Aurora let me know!"

Tesla pushed her plate to the side and stood up, stretching. "Well, I guess I'll see you two at the ball then! I'm gonna go ahead and get some homework done before I get too excited about going."