Closed Fall Ball 2023 Candle-Lit Banquet

Hera was walking towards the Great Lake, talking to herself. He couldn't stop thinking about this moment ever since Kat invited him to the Autumn Ball. Although she normally did not wear a dress unless someone forced her to, immediately after being invited to the autumn ball, she told her mother about the incident and sent an owl to send her a gray dress. 'God. This girl is changing me.'

"Hey Hay Head. Wow, I didn't believe my mom in last letter when she said my sister wanted a dress. You don't have a fever or anything, do you? Behaviors that are not expected from you."

She didn't see her brother Alex coming because he was lost in thought. He was wearing a tuxedo. Hera realized that her brother did not even know that he would attend the ball.

"You said places like ball were boring and unnecessary. And now you're going to the prom of your own free will."

"Yes, and it's still boring, but Vera liked them and it seemed like a good date idea. Anyway, I saw Vera, see you."

When her brother went to see a Slytherin girl, Kat came again and accelerated her steps, going to the Great Lake.

The sight of the beautiful Slytherin girl standing at the entrance caused Hera's heart to accelerate. She was wearing a fairy-tale pink dress and a princess crown. 'God, how can a person manage to be so sweet and beautiful?' she went to her, thinking.

"Hello, I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long. You look very beautiful.

'Was she really descended from princesses? Otherwise, no person could be this beautiful and sweet.'


"Uhm shall we go?"

Princess @Yekaterina Vladimir

Kat speaking English - x
Kat speaking Russian - x

Date: The Awesome @Hera Green

Reducio

Renelle had strongly mixed feelings on formal balls.

On one hand, she didn’t have anything against dressing up, having fun with friends, and enjoying a variety of free food- in fact, those were aspects of dances she quite enjoyed, the former in particular; as an eleven-year old girl, it was no surprise that she would jump at the chance to look through thousands of pretty dresses and giddily pair them up with an over abundance of accessories.

It was the more social aspect of these events that the Ravenclaw was more skeptical about- she was quite sure that just about the entire population of the Hogwarts student body would show up, which would no doubt mean navigating through seas of people the whole night. She didn’t get anxious or nervous in those kind of situations by any means, but she certainly wasn’t fond of them either.

It just so happened that Renelle was getting ready to go down to one of these events right now. The infamous Fall Ball, highly anticipated from what she had observed during her single month here at Hogwarts. As she headed down to the Great Lake, the designated location of the ball, the girl decided that she was going to do her best to enjoy her first ever formal ball- this was, without a doubt, going to be a night remembered for years to come.

Renelle thoughtfully patted her dress into place. Her outfit for the ball was quite nice, if she did say so herself; purple, with a pattern of paler-coloured flowers woven into the upper part. Luckily, it just barely reached the floor, or no amount of carefulness would save it from the fate of getting ridiculously dirty tonight.

Why was the ball taking place outside, anyway? The question suddenly crossed Renelle’s mind, causing her to frown to herself slightly. Not that it was particularly terrrible… But when the word 'ball' appeared, an image of an elegant room with a huge crystal chandelier, couples waltzing in neat formation came to mind. For her, anyway.

Maybe this was better, at any rate. The darkness could be fun, especially when it came to some very special things she had prepared with a particular someone….. A smirk slowly crept onto the dark-haired girl’s face. Oh yes. So fun.

A harsh slash of brightness suddenly caused Renelle to blink, temporarily blinding her with the all the light. With some difficulty, she squinted at the venue, taking in the scene.

They hadn’t been kidding. The decorations exactly mirrored the theme of the ball: Festival of Lights. Rows of bright blinking bulbs were hung everywhere, not unlike those on a Christmas tree. Tables were stacked to capacity with all sort of food and drinks, and there even seemed to be a spot at the lake, Renelle assumed for other activities. She might just check that out later.

But now, there was a more important task at hand. Finding my date. Luckily, she didn’t have to wait long, for it seemed that her date had been one of the earlier people to arrive, like her, making it much easier to catch sight of her. The bright red hair certainly didn’t hurt either.

Astra Norrick was standing there, close to one of the buffet tables, wearing the dark starry dress she had showed Renelle earlier, hair surprisingly pinned back neatly. That’s a first. The girl thought with some amusement. Normally, her friend’s hair was wild and messy, unable to be contained by normal means. All of them had really had gone all out.

Even the sight of her best friend caused the Ravenclaw’s lips to curve up into a small smile, despite her attempts to seem casual. She couldn’t help it- she and Astra had known each other for so long, it was impossible to imagine a life without the redhead. Renelle and Astra- two names and fates intertwined forevermore. Spirits soaring, she positively skipped toward her friend.

Which was why Renelle was not pleasantly surprised when she caught sight of the girl next to Astra. Still a few feet away, she came to a sudden halt, the smile on her face wiped off as quickly as it came. Peering closer at the scene in front of her, the Ravenclaw saw that the girl was pretty tall, even more so than herself, thus most likely one of an older year. Her dark skin and equally dark curly hair contrasted sharply with pale Astra, who… seemed to be talking to her.

The sharp jolt of anger that slashed across her body came out of nowhere, and came as a shock to the eleven-year old. Why was Astra talking to some random girl? Hadn’t she been as excited to see Renelle as she herself had been for her? Or did she simply not care?

Woah, that was unexpected. Renelle shook her head, as if to clear her thoughts. Nothing was certain. She couldn’t just make assumptions like that. Pasting a smile onto her face, she took the last few steps toward Astra, trying her best to appear nonchalant. Astra was probably just bored from waiting for her so long. Her fault, not this strange girl’s.

“Hey Astra!” Renelle called, voice forcibly cheery. Despite her efforts to conceal it, her words shook slightly. “I’m here!” Finally arriving in front of her friend, the girl grinned. “You look so nice!” She didn’t talk to the other girl. Maybe if she pretended she wasn’t there, she would really just disappear.

Interacting with @Astra Norrick | @Mahlioz Evethisawe

Mentions: @Astra Norrick (Elias Travers)

English | thoughts	Date: 10/06/23
Outfit: Reducio	OOC note: Reducio Lorem ipsum Abilities: ______ | _______ Stats: ___________

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Ruby had just arrived at Hogwarts, all the way from her school Beauxbatons and she had already made her way to the banquet. She immediately grabbed a random treat off of one of the tables, not even looking at what it was. It was delicious, so she shoved it in her mouth and grabbed another one. She finished that second treat off quickly and went to grab a drink this time. Ruby filled up a cup, she only had a few sips before setting it down near the speakers. She walked away and took in the sight of all the beautiful lanterns, they all looked so nice floating there together. Hogwarts really did a good job, it was her first time here, and she got great first impressions! She walked back over to the treat table, this time grabbing a brownie. It was also delicious, but not nearly as good as the tart from a few minutes ago, so she grabbed another tart. Just as good as the other two she thought. Selectively, Ruby chose one last treat before making her way onto the dance floor. She wasn't ready to dance yet, but it just looked really nice, so why not. Ruby took in the view again, patiently waiting for it to get dark, she couldn't wait for how lovely things would look, and they were already great now!

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Word Count: 217?/200

Date: 6 October 2023 Time: ~19:00

Interacting with: @Astra Norrick, @Renelle Dalton Mentions: X

English | French Thoughts

It was the night before Mahlioz's birthday, and she was at a ball. Unfortunately, this ball wasn't for her birthday. She didn't mind that, though. What the ball was for was... well, she wasn't quite sure, but it had something to do with it being fall.
Mahlioz was in her second year and had gone to one ball before, but never to the Fall Ball. And never with a date previously agreed upon. So although she was a year older than her date, she did not have any more experience than her. She was just as nervous as she'd been at last year's Spring Ball, but thankfully, this time she had someone to stick to. Thank the stars.

Who that person was? Astra Norrick, a fellow Slytherin, though a first year. They'd met in September, and had decided to go to the ball together. Astra had also invited a friend of hers that Mahlioz did not know, Renelle. Though the second year didn't love crowds or people most of the time, if Renelle was a friend of Asa's, Mahlioz would be happy to meet her.

The two Slytherins made their way from their common room to the Great Lake. It seemed Astra had decided to go with the same kind of vibe Mahlioz had - stars. Constellations, night skies, moons, you name it, it was on Asa's dress. And in her hair. She looked amazing.
Mahlioz had arranged her outfit in a way she hoped made some sense. She'd never been very interested in clothes (although now, seeing everyone all dressed up, she regretted that slightly), but she'd made an effort. She didn't like long, formal dresses at all, but she'd felt like being flowy, so she'd gone with a skirt (starry, of course) and pants.

Once they got to the ball, though, Mahlioz's mind no longer cared in the least about her outfit. It was definitely a festival of lights. There was a place where you could make lanterns, and loads and loads of tables with amazing looking food and beautiful candles, and the whole place was lit up beautifully. Mahlioz couldn't help but gape for a few moments. Astra waved at someone, explaining it was her brother Roderick, and then asked if she wanted to eat some snacks while waiting for Renelle. The Slytherin grinned. "You just read my mind."

As they made their way to the tables, though, the Renelle in question arrived. She was a fair-skinned, dark-haired girl, and she looked just as pretty as Astra. Even though Mahlioz disliked wearing dresses, it didn't mean she didn't love seeing people in them. They were still beautiful.
The girl had gone straight to Asa, saying she looked really nice. Mahlioz smiled. "You must be Renelle?" she said, deciding introductions were probably in place. "I'm Mahlioz, it's nice to finally meet you. I love your dress." There was something sort of off in the girl's voice, but Mahlioz didn't pay attention to it. After all, they were here to have fun, right?

Stamina: 6 | Evasion: 6 | Strength: 4 | Wisdom: 9 | Arcane power: 7 | Accuracy: 8
Wandmaker | Perfectionist

october 6th 2023; interacting with @Rodney Hughes and @Madison Bennett; mentioning @Helena Rose and @Landon Matthews

Outfit Reducio

As soon as the tables were set and lanterns were hung, Alyssea rushed back to the Hufflepuff commons to put on her dress, brush her hair, put on some lip gloss, and get in her heels. She'd prepared everything with Madison the night before, so the only stress that got her heart racing was getting there on time. Luckily though, she managed to find Rodney in the commons and they walked down together towards the banquet.

She was delighted to see more people had showed up since she left. Everyone looked amazing in their fits and, what was that? Someone actually dressed as Flynn Rider! While the ball had initially been an idea of combining various festival of lights' around the world, the Rapunzel theme stuck with the team as part of the discussions. She grinned. The guy looked good.

A pink dress caught the corner of her eye and Alyssea jumped. "Madi!" She picked up her skirt, jogged towards Madison, and gave her a hug. "I knew that dress was going to look stunning on you."

Madison then pointed towards a girl with a bright yellow dress. Alyssea knew exactly who she was. The dress looked stunning on Helena, too! "Yes! That's Helena. And the guy beside her is Landon. Why don't we go say hi to them both?" Alyssea asked, directed at both Madison and Rodney.

Interacting: @Opeila Winters

TL;DR: Greeting his date with a kiss and conversation
Action: N/A
Stats: STA: 10 | EVA: 9 | STR: 14 | WIS: 6 | ARCP: 3 | ACC: 15
Inventory: Wand, Broom (Moontrimmer)
Abilities: Martial Artist | Muggle Condition | CALMING PRESENCE (allies when in range: Opeila Winters, Jack Warren, Dealla Prince, Eun-ji Lee Hunt) | Beast Master | LOVELY CREATURE

Interacting with: Ruby Angélique @Delainie Silverwing
Elias signing: #84774d
Elias writing: #6591ad
Thoughts: Italics
Others: Bold

Elias followed the people. He adjusted his yellow tie, yellow like a duckling or a female mallard. Or a rubber duck! His suit was white, contrasting his dark hair but highlighting his blue eyes. On his lapel was pinned some sort of flower thingy, also yellow. His mom had sent it to him before Ilvermorny left for Hogwarts. He glanced down at his side, where his satchel hung, and checked inside one last time to make sure his notebook and quick notes quill were still in there. Satisfied, he set off.

As Elias neared the designated dance area, three of his four senses were assaulted. His eyes drank in the lanterns and beautiful decor, as well as the natural beauty of the lake. Whoever planned this did a lot of work. His skin prickled with the dichotomy of warm and cold air, as well as the steady, pulsing vibrations of music combined with the breeze of conversation. His nose detected the scent of caramel and apples and pretzels and chips and salsa. Spicy salsa, too, and- Is that queso?

Elias eagerly approached the food-laden tables, preparing to overload his fourth sense with the bounty before him. He sat down at a table close to the music, enjoying the feel of it while he savored a salty chip dipped in creamy queso.

Looking around, he saw lots of people. He recognized one boy waiting off to the side from Ilvermorny, a fellow Thunderbird. A group of three girls was lingering by the food, and an older couple seemed to be having a... nice conversation. Elias shoved another chip in his mouth and looked away. There was a glass of water beside him, quite close. I wonder who's that is?