Errand Pumpkin Destruction Day

This was...an errand? It was the word 'destruction' that made her hesitate. Errands were usually about cleaning or making things make sense. Destruction was the exact opposite. It wasn't even just making a mess...it was violent. Her eyes lilted as she read the sign up sheet, unsure. Despite this initial confusion, there were chocolate frogs on offer so Maisie acquiesced. After all, she and Avis were collecting them now.

So, dressed once again in clothes she didn't mind getting dirty, Maisie made her way down from Ravenclaw tower and out onto the grounds. It was a crisp November day, unassuming. You'd hardly have known that something so intense was upcoming.

It took some walking, but eventually she spied a set of tables with orange pumpkins atop them like cherries on a cake. But this was no joyous occasion; these pumpkins were here for slaughter. As she approached, she stopped by the sign to read the instructions carefully. It wasn't particularly easy to read—the handwriting was a mess—but she could make out enough of it: 'fun...hammers...off limits...something.'

Wrinkling her nose, she walked gingerly over to the nearest table and passed the pumpkins. Her brown eyes glazed over each, as she tried to figure out which she would choose. At home, picking out a pumpkin to decorate the house was a careful decision. That was about giving it life and purpose. This felt different. This was about death.

She waited for an augurey to cry as she passed, but that sound did not come. But eventually, the table stopped. And there was one last pumpkin at the very end. It was round, except for one side that was flatter and perfect for carving. It was slightly discolored, but nothing that would stop her family from displaying it in the family home. There was nothing that merit this.

Maisie looked down at the hammer. Her finger tips grazed the wood before she dared to pick it up and place it between her fingers. Her eyes wandered to the pumpkin and its wrinkles. With a deep breath, she lined up the hammer with the rind. Biting her lip, she raised it. And then, she closed her eyes and lowered it quickly. It was more the sheer force of gravity than her willpower that brought the hammer down.

After hearing the distinct splat, she opened one eye and then the other. It did not look good. With a sigh, she did exactly the same thing again and again. It was only when she accidentally hit the table (though not hard enough to splinter it) that she decided to stop. This has to be destroyed enough for some frogs, right?

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It was a brisk, Autumn day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, as always, a bizarre one as well. Oliver had only stepped out of the castle for a brief moment of fresh air, planning to clear his head before resuming his studies, or catching up on on rest he so desperately needed. But then he saw it—a row of long tables outside, crowded with students, attentively watched by supervisors. And most striking of all, scattered across the tabletops were hammers, glinting in the light, ready for a very unique task..

"Pumpkin Destruction Day." Oliver shook his head with a huff, recalling how he'd thought that they couldn't keep thinking of more absurd days. He thought back to "Toilet Day"—a day he’d initially dismissed as pure nonsense but ended up enjoying, even if it had involved cleaning the grim grime of abandoned restrooms. This one, however: smashing pumpkins scattered across the school grounds like some strange, festive scavenger hunt with a satisfyingly destructive twist. How interesting, how wonderful.

A grin broke across his face as he worked up the courage, striding to the table and wrapping his fingers around one of the waiting hammers... It was time to smash some pumpkins.

Oliver hiked all across the Hogwarts ground, looking for un-smashed pumpkins to approach himself, many of the closest to the tables were already found and destroyed, but that was not an issue, not for Oliver, treating such long walks as a chance to really gaze the castle from the outside, enjoy the nature that wrapped around it and the subtle stone architecture that leaked out from the main Hogwart's castle. It was a brilliant way for Oliver to clear his mind, hammer in hand, keeping his eye out for the sight of those elusive orange squash.

His hike across the Hogwarts grounds led him to a large patch of grass dotted with untouched pumpkins, scattered haphazardly as though waiting just for him. With a bright, determined grin, Oliver tightened his grip on the hammer, raised it high, and dashed forward, smashing it down into the first pumpkin. Its orange shell burst open with a satisfying crack, seeds and pulp splattering outward in a messy spray. Juice splashed onto his trousers, but he barely noticed; he'd wisely chosen his old, comfortable pants for the occasion, having learned his lesson from "Toilet Day."

Each strike filled him with a strange, cathartic joy as he worked his way through the patch, pumpkins bursting one by one under his hammer. This was far better then any afternoon resting in the commonroom.

It was getting colder out, The shift from fall into winter was, Oliver couldn't lie, it sucked. He hated it, it was always either to cold, or to warm. Never that perfect in between that October and September seamed to have. One could say, Oliver really hated November. And the snow, though lucky for him it had yet to snow, unlucky for him. It was still cold.

A few days ago, he had a birthday party. Were he was gifted some earmuffs. Just in time really, so on what might end up being one of his last willing trips outside, Oliver wore them with his outfit. Using them also as a small headband, to keep some of his hair out of his face, and to keep his ears nice and warm. A gift from Novalie, it was getting harder and harder to act like he didn't like her. He didn't, not fully. She was far to talkative. And way, way to nice.

It sort of made up for the talkativeness, sort of. Not fully. He didn't consider her to be a 'best friend' like she seamed to be thinking. The earmuffs were thoughtful, he couldn't deny it. He would deny ever wearing them ever. Couldn't fuel the delusion.

Oliver walked with his hands in his pockets, keeping them warm in there. He had vague plans for that day, nothing set in stone. At the very least he wanted to try and paint that day. Capture the shifting period of Hogwarts. So there he was, looking for the perfect place to paint. That was until he stumbled upon an errand that was. Looked childish, and messy. The fact that a rule had to be in place about not hitting anyone was just ridiculous.

Yet, somehow Oliver found himself standing in front of one of the pumpkin stacks, with a hammer. His bag with his supplies leaning on a nearby tree. And a hammer in his hand, looking at the stack. Sure, it was very childish. And sure, there was better things to be doing. But also, he didn't have a plan for that day. Might as well try to have a little fun, he felt like here he was always so, up tight. And hadn't been able to relax and be himself like he would be at home.

He could allow himself to have some fun, Not a whole lot of people there so far. And hey, it was for the good of things. Getting rid of pumpkins that were not really the right vibe for the upcoming holidays. That was the thinking that he let allow himself to bring the hammer up, and swing it right now. Smashing a pumpkin. He put some good effort into it, unsure of how much force he would need, he'd never crushed a pumpkin before. As it turned out, not a whole lot. As it crushed quite easily under his strength. 10 str

OUTFIT & INVENTORY Reducio Wand, bag with some water color painting set. And supplies for that.

OOC NOTE & STATS/ABILITIES Reducio Fearless - Oliver does not scare easily, not effected by terrible presence or unsettling aura { Stamina: 7 }{ Evasion: 5 }{ Strength: 10 }{ Wisdom: 3 }{ Arcane Power: 2 }{ Accuracy: 8 }

Interacting : @n/a |||| @Novalie Moon : Mentioning

Yes.
Absolutely yes.

The moment Novalie spotted the stacked pumpkins and hammers laid out on the tables, she needed no further convincing. She barely skimmed the nearby sign reading 'Pumpkin destruction day!' and casually dismissed the rest, assuming it was probably just a list of rules she had no intention of paying attention to. Rules were never that fun anyway.
Draped in her dark, oversized parka, a hand-me-down from her oldest brother, and red earmuffs that perfectly blended with her wild scarlet curls, Novalie dashed to the nearest table. With a gleam of excitement, she seized a hammer, ready to show those pumpkins who was the strongest.

Surveying the scene, the girl noticed some students already deep into the chaos, smashing away with abandon. Her anticipation surged!
She spotted her first target: a small, unimposing pumpkin on the ground.
It wasn’t much, but it was a start. Like leveling up from a little pumpkin minion to the big mob boss. With a mischievous grin, she walked over, raised the hammer high above her head and brought it down with all her might!
...
The result? Nothing. Not even a dent.
Novalie blinked in confusion, tilting her head. How was this possible? (str.1 life)
It wasn't like she had done this before, but surely pumpkins weren't this tough. People carved faces into them all the time - how hard could smashing one be?
Determined, she shrugged off her initial failure. This time with both hands on the hammer, the redhead tried again, slamming it down with even more force!
The pumpkin budged slightly but rewarded her with only a scratch.
“What the heck…”

Was this thing made of iron or something?
Novalie crouched, poking its smooth, orange skin with her slim fingers. Had she mistakenly picked the boss-level pumpkin on her first try? It was so small, so deceptively harmless-looking though..
That had to be it. It had played her, luring her into underestimating it. Damn ..

Sighing, the Ravenclaw glanced around, hoping to pick up a secret technique from the other students. Her eyes, however, landed on a familiar figure and an instant smile spread across her face.
Ollie, like a shining knight, was pulverizing his pumpkin like it was child’s play.
Bouncing to her feet, Novalie hurried over and silently stood by his side, eyes following his hammer as her head moved up and down like a bobblehead dog a few times.

“Wow..”, she finally said, awe filling her voice as she surveyed the wrecked fruit.
The girl looked up at him, eyes wide with admiration, “You’re, like, the strongest person ever, Ollie.”
Her grin broadened when she noticed the red earmuffs he wore - the very ones she’d given him.
“Oh, look!”, Novalie pointed to his earmuffs and then to her own, “We’re matching! What a coincidence! Or did you somehow know I’d be here today? Ha, I knew you were my best friend! You know me too well!”
Giggling, she gave his shoulder a playful pat and then adjusted her own earmuffs, “I got mine as a present from a friend too! Right after your birthday party! Isn’t that awesome? They’re exactly the same!”

Eric was usually minding his own business whenever he was out and about either going between classes or just walking around the school. That was...until today. When "minding his own business" didn't really work. Normally....NORMALLY whenever he would see things like...a lot of students gathered in one spot, possible hammers, a lot of pumpkins around both smashed and not, he would just go right past and to the dorms, wondering what the hell was going on. But not today no...for a few reason. One he saw familiar faces such as Novalie and even Oliver. And second reason...it looked fun. It genuinely...looked fun.

So he did something quite uncharacteristic here but which might become more telling of how much a group of people can change each other slowly but surely as he approached Novalie who was looking at this point as if she was about to fight with the pumpkins. By the time he approached her though she was already off to go to Oliver. Frankly this seemed...like Novalie. Yeah that checked out. "Having fun?" Did her trying for the life of her to bludgeon that pumpkin to bits look like she was having fun? MAYBE. As far as Eric knew her this was...considered fun in her books. Then again this question may have been addressed to both her and Oliver since by now there was not...as much tension between them. To be fair there wasn't a reason to be, when the point here was to take out one's energy and possible frustrations, let their inner destructive self show up and just hit the poor pumpkins until they were a mess.

And once again another proof that he was changing his ways a bit was the fact that this same red-haired Ravenclaw who was at times far too energetic for what he was accustomed to, who was dragging him around places, and who was making him laugh and smile even more than he ever did, also influenced how he went right past the sign with the most probable rules of this game not even paying attention to it, having grabbed a hammer and tried his luck at making pumpkin mush apparently.

But just like Novalie, he had little to no luck (who would have thought I WOULD NEED STRENGTH ON SOMETHING LIKE THIS! crying in strength 1).
Once...twice...third times. By the fourth time he managed to at least break it a bit. NOT TOO MUCH THOUGH NOOO. There was still a long way away. "This is refreshing." BONK "Very refreshing." BONK His arm was hurting. But he was determined here to win against the pumpkin alright? And...it did get easier the more he was smashing it. It also got messier as pumpkin bits and pieces were flying all around. But well...it was not really the worst. Not to add that most of the others were likely not any less messy here. That was the point! Have fun, enjoy yourself and be a bit destructive. Just a bit.

After he was done with what now looked like a pumpkin crime scene he turned a bit to Oliver and Novalie the trio looking...awfully in sync with each other's fashion choices all sporting the same red ear muffs here which was not a detail that went unnoticed, at least by Eric (as...intrigued as he was by the game). "We can smash more right?" He had quite the mischievous glint in his eyes here as he said this in the happiest tone he ever showed. Ok who was this Eric and what did he do with the shy, reserved uptight Gryffndor first year?

He was, enjoying himself. Smashing pumpkins was rather fun for him, freeing in a way. Smashing his worries away. Not having to focus on anything other then bringing the hammer down, again, again, and again. The pumpkin was innocent, the pumpkin was not the thing that put him in Slytherin. It also was not the thing that caused him to not be good at spell casing. But, oh god was it good to smash his feelings.

It was sad that eventually every nice thing had to come to an end at one point or another. He had tried to ignore the red headed girl, and smashed another pumpkin. Yet, she started to talk again. Only this time, Oliver did not mind it. A complement. His lips quirked upward, if only slightly. A small hit of a smile, gone as quick as it came. The earmuffs. Damn it all. He looked at her, he almost didn't see them. They blended with her hair quite well. "Oh look at that, I guess we are" Oliver then had a strong desire to throw them as far as he could.

He shook his head though, holding the hammer in both his hands, it was very wrong to hit people. "Novalie, I didn't even know I would be here. How would I know you were going to be?" So. Someone had gifted her the same pair he had? Were they trying to make him humiliated perhaps. Sadly, she was in fact right. They were a seemingly exact match. "They do match, don't they..." And again, he shook his head.

He again swung the hammed down, smashing yet another pumpkin. He felt a little like a pumpkin lumberjack, ridiculous as it sounded. He heard another voices words, and looked up. Eric Kim. Just when he thought it was at his worst with Novalie having showed up, his not official yet also still rival, who Oliver wasn't sure if he could like or not, rival. "I was." He answered, not sure if he was talking to him or Novalie, perhaps both of them. Looking closer at Eric, someone kill him now, he also had some of the dreaded yet comfortable earmuffs on.

Had there been a sale or something? Why was everyone, everyone wearing them? Oliver watched with wide, shocked eyes. As Eric, meekly brought the hammer down over and over. Making hallow sounds, splattering the 'guts' of it everywhere. He could almost believe his words about it being 'refreshing'. If he didn't see just how much effort Eric was putting into this. It was taking far more hits to break Eric's, then it had Oliver's.

And thinking about it, Novalie made the comment on his clearly superior strength. So she must have not much luck either. Eric again spoke, "I'm sure I could, I don't know about you two." With how much effort it took them to smash one. Oliver brushed some of the splatter off of his coat, with a hump sound. This, it could not be Eric. The same one pointing out his mistakes when they studied. He could expect this from the Ravenclaw, Oliver had thought the Gryffindor was more refined then that.

Of course, Oliver was just being himself. He was sure that you could smash more. So he rolled his eyes. "I don't see a reason why we couldn't smash more." He looked around, there was a very good amount of pumpkins, almost to much. Was there ever a reason to have this many? "There's plenty to be smashed." And as if to prove his point, Oliver brought the hammed down on one that had a face carved into it. It was easy for him. He didn't understand how Eric and Novalie couldn't do it in one blow like he could.

OUTFIT & INVENTORY Reducio Wand, bag with some water color painting set. And supplies for that.

OOC NOTE & STATS/ABILITIES Reducio Fearless - Oliver does not scare easily, not effected by terrible presence or unsettling aura { Stamina: 7 }{ Evasion: 5 }{ Strength: 10 }{ Wisdom: 3 }{ Arcane Power: 2 }{ Accuracy: 8 }

Interacting : @Novalie Moon, @Eric Kim |||| @n/a : Mentioning

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2024-11-10
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Mamori stood before the pumpkin-laden table, absently flexing his writing hand. The muscles still protested from yesterday's study session — the one he'd dragged Joseph into, only to end up writing far more inches on HoM than he'd bargained for. He'd never worked so hard on homework in his life, and the thought of spending another day of his weekend hunched over books made him want to hex himself. Hogwarts was oddly quiet for a weekend, though the Exeat timing explained that. Most of his friends had jumped at the chance to head home, leaving the castle feeling a bit empty. Which was precisely how he'd ended up here, staring at what was clearly some prefect's attempt to turn post-Halloween cleanup into entertainment. Getting roped into these activities wasn't usually his cup of tea — a single house point and a chocolate frog for all this work? Might as well call it free labor, Mamori thought, but he had to give them credit for creativity, and honestly, anything was better than another date with his textbooks. Grabbing one of the provided hammers, Mamori sized up his target: a particularly smug-looking pumpkin perched on the edge of the table. He raised the hammer, channeling all his History of Magic-induced frustration into what should have been a devastating blow. Should have been. The pumpkin cracked under his strike, but remained stubbornly whole, sitting there almost mockingly intact despite the spiderweb of fractures across its surface. "Come on," he muttered, trying again. And again. His cramping fingers weren't helping his grip on the hammer, each swing adding to the network of cracks but still not enough to finish the job. Just then, as if to add insult to injury, a smaller pumpkin rolled off the edge of the table, hitting the ground with a satisfying splat and shattering into perfect pieces. Mamori stared at the mess, then back at his web-cracked victim that still refused to properly explode, letting out a quiet scoff. Great. Even gravity was doing a better job at pumpkin destruction than he was. Then his eyes caught the rules on the messy sign again: nothing about pumpkins having to stay on the tables, just that they were the only things allowed to be destroyed. And cleaning up? Well, that wasn't mentioned either. A grin spread across his face as he hoisted himself onto the table. He made his way to one of the pumpkin "snowpeople" arrangements, carefully stacking smaller pumpkins — his writing hand might still be stiff from yesterday's essay marathon, but at least he could put his other hand to good use — until he had a tower nearly as tall as himself. Physics was about to become his best friend in pumpkin destruction. With theatrical flourish, Mamori leaned his whole body into the tower with a decisive push. The cascade of pumpkins created a symphony of destruction as they crashed to the ground, most exploding on impact. A few of the larger ones survived with impressive dents, but the overall effect was exactly what he'd hoped for — maximum carnage, minimum effort. "Now that was satisfying," he declared to no one in particular, admiring the sea of orange chaos below. Maybe he should feel a bit guilty about making such a mess, but considering how these pumpkins were destined for destruction anyway... well, he'd just helped speed up the process, and that had to count for something.

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