Hot Choco a la Magique! Locked

When Renelle found the note, she’d thought she was being stalked.

Anytime, finding a seemingly-appeared-out-of-thin-air note in your robe pocket was not pleasant in the slightest, and even less when it was late at night, all alone in the common room- which just so happened to be just about the tallest tower of the castle. It’d taken all her self-control not to scream and jump up, possibly causing a panic and making herself quite unpopular amongst most of the Ravenclaw population.

After some time and a sleepless night, though, the first year had settled down a bit. Sure, the note was creepy, but surely it was simply some harmless joke or prank- god knows she knew her fair share of those. And besides, she did like hot chocolate.

Which is how she found herself skipping lunch on this particular day, and instead making her way to the Small Hall, to meet this mystery person for, ‘snacks and a lesson.’ The second part sounded a tad threatening, but the first made up for it. Who would say no to free food?

Cautiously, Renelle entered the specified place. Her eyes widened. Woah…. This was certainly interesting.

The first thing she noticed were the tables set together, laden with a plate of treats, as promised. But the lack of other students there put her off from immediately going for the food- it would really be too awkward. The only other occupants of the room were two boys, one with white hair, and the other dark. A cat on the table caught her eye, reminding her of her ginger-haired friend- she really hoped Astra would show up soon as well. Things always felt better whenever she was around.

Still slowly, Renelle stepped forward another few paces. She wondered if there would be a formal announcement or speech, informing them exactly what they were doing here.

Interacting with @Colin McCoire | @Leon Richardson

december 22nd 2023; interacting with @Colin McCoire; open to interactions

For her final day at Hogwarts for the year, Alyssea thought it would go uneventfully. Just another day of lounging around and getting through classes before she could catch the Hogwarts Express back to London. Her brother already owled her saying he'd be on the next flight to England. It was always nice to see him in between school.

But then, as she walked down the halls one day, there came a little tug on her robes. She just caught a glimpse of white hair before it disappeared into the shadows of Hogwarts' corridors. She thought it would be like the Halloween party Colin hosted back in October, another hush hush party that would be breaking rules.

But nope, it was an unassuming hot chocolate party.

She didn't have to think too hard about going. Just before lunch came around, she followed the invitation's details to the study room and knocked before she opened the door. Alyssea's eyes widened seeing the small crowd that already gathered and bowed to greet them. She found Colin setting up like a good host and waved. "Colin, hey!"

Alyssea didn't know any of the current attendees. First years, probably, or third year and above. She looked at the invitation again and hummed. How was a wizard's hot chocolate different to regular Muggle hot chocolate?

This was going to be interesting.

Date: December 22 2023 Time: Lunch hour

Interacting with: @Colin McCoire, @Alyssea Brown, and everyone else Mentions: @Renelle Dalton

English | French Thoughts

Mahlioz did not know Colin McCoire very well, but that did not mean she didn't recognize the white-haired boy when she looked around after finding a piece of paper slipped inside the book she was reading at the library that morning. She had spoken to him at a certain Slytherin slumber party, and he had left quite the lasting impression. Curious about his little spell he was planning to teach, and what on earth the whole thing would entail, she decided to show up.

She hadn't been expecting quite so many people. Which was probably her own fault - of course Colin would invite loads of people, he was the opposite of her in terms of introvertedness. Perhaps she would stay a few minutes, find out what he was doing, and then leave. There were already quite a few people, and she didn't want to even imagine how many more would show up. That Halloween party was still fresh in her mind. But she was curious. And there were snacks.

She nodded in greeting at Colin. "Hot choco à la magique? Should I be worried?" Probably, especially about the fact that he would be teaching it to so many firsties. But she was feeling less shy today, slightly braver, so she was more curious than anxious.
Looking around, she started actually trying to recognize the people already there. Two people she didn't know, and two she did - Alyssea, the fellow Hamilton nerd, and Renelle Dalton. Ah. Perhaps there was more reason to leave than Mahlioz had originally anticipated. She focused on the first person, walking up to Alyssea.

She really was a lot less shy than usual, she realized. She had no idea if walking up to a random acquaintance was considered socially acceptable, but right now, she didn't really care. Alyssea was cool. "Hey," she said with a smile. "You have any idea what kind of lesson Colin is planning for us?" He really didn't seem like the teaching type. It was amusing to try and imagine him as a professor.

Mahlioz steered clear of Renelle. She didn't know what to think of her, really. She hated being like this, she wished they could just talk to each other and clear the air and understand why the Ravenclaw had been so cold at the Fall Ball. But this didn't feel like the time or place. And though Mahlioz felt braver than usual, she felt like she would never be brave enough to confront Renelle.

Colin was daydreaming of Clair. And flying! And fighting evil wizards!! And! Fighting evil wizards with Clair whilst flying with their armada of broom flying spell slinging good wizards!! Colin sighed. There were so many awesome things to dream of that he didn't even realise that other kids had come into the place! He heard a voice as one kid entered, then others came in after. Lunch must be starting downstairs, he thought.

Colin looked up from his daydream and shook himself like a dog. Several kids were around the table! Good! Colin smiled, showing off all his fangs. One kid caught his eye in particular. The young Gryff. Probably a firstie. The one who reminded Colin of someone. Kim Aoki. He stared into the boy's eyes as if to ascertain some hidden quality. "Come on Gryff! Come closer!"

Before he could say any more to the Gryffindor, two other girls came in. He knew them. Aly and Mahli! Aly shared his love for broom sports. Mahli shared his love for choco and the chaos of Slytherin! He smiled at them both. Aly greeted him by name and Mahli said: "Hot choco à la magique? Should I be worried?"

Colin smirked.

Should she be worried?

Wasn't the answer obvious!?

Colin's smirk broadened and his eyes twinkled in mischief.

He stood up suddenly! Hopping up onto the chair, he folded his Slytherin robes around his tall thin frame. His brilliant green eyes gazed out over his fellow students. He wondered if this what it felt like to be a teacher. "Hot Choco a la Magique," he intoned, his voice low and gravelly. He had planned this lesson carefully, reckoning that not many would know the magic they were learning could do things like this. "The deep secrets of magic! Wonders beyond the imaginings of mere eleven year olds! These things I shall share with you today!"

Colin hopped down from the chair gracefully, his bare feet making almost no sound as they lightly contacted the carpeted floor. Still wrapped in his robes, he strode about the room. "Magic, we shall see, is not just about spells! No, no, my learnèd colleagues in the arcane sciences! Spells are but the first step!"

Colin came back around to where he was at first, and throwing his robes back dramatically, he crouched down on the chair and beckoned them all to come in closer. "I introduce: Hot Choco a la Magique!" Colin flicked his right arm a bit and reached into his sleeve with his left hand. In the twinkle of an eye, his wand was in hand. He carefully and deliberately set it down on the wooden table with a sharp clack!

"Lumos is the key, my dear ones." His eyes, narrowed, focussing on each student in turn. "Surely, it is one of the first spells we learn! Observe!" Colin, still crouching on the chair, crossed his arms and spoke but one word, said with intention: "Lumos." His wand, still lying some distance away, came to life and the end of it began to glow with a soft whitish light! He reached out then and took it up in his left hand. "This most curious artefact, the wizard's wand, whether made by Ollivander or Gregorovitch or Cephalapos, this is the key to our kind of magic, and that spell I just cast is one of the most useful you can know whilst here at Hoggys! This little spell can lead those of you without a keen sense of smell or those of you who don't your way by your toes yet into nocturnal adventures and explorations of the castle! It can ward off ghosts and gytrashes alike! Stronger versions of the spell can blind as well as illumine!"

Colin hopped down from the chair again, flicking his wand to extinguish the light. "And it has a nother great power for these chilly Scottish winter nights! The power to make hot choco!" Colin's eyes light up at the thought of a nice warm mug of chocolate. "Before you, you see a number of ordinary mugs and an ordinary pitcher of cold water! There are also a variety of bog standard muggle hot choco sachets. Me Seanmamó sent them me! Some are milk choco, others have marshmallows, others are mint!"

Colin looked from one expectant face to another. He dumped the contents of one sachet into his own mug and poured some cold water into it. "Not much to look at right? Certainly nothing to drink! Remember, the key is in the spell lumos. Remember that you have to get it just right for your wand to light! Too little magic and it'll fizzle like a muggle torch. Just right, and you get light! But, I ask you my dear friends, have you ever considered what might happen if you use too much magic!? Ahh! That got my brain to thinking during those first lessons in my first year! I remember I almost let me own wand on fire when I first tried this! Now, observe closely. I'm not using a different spell, even though I know a spell that can easily warm this entire pitcher of water. You lot don't know it yet, which is why I'm teaching you this!"

With a dramatic flair, Colin raised his wand up high! He brought it down towards the mug of cold powdery water! "LUMOS!!!" he cried, and instantly the end of his wand burned a baleful red! Like a dying star, convulsing in on itself, the glowing orb was plunged into the murky dark water! PSHSHSH! "Nox. The key there is balancing the burn and the extinguishment! Leave your wand too hot for too long and ye'll burn it! Extinguish it too quick and yer choco will remain cold!" Steam rose from his mug. Colin smiled and stirred his choco with his wand. The delicious aroma of warm chocolate and mint arose, enticing all who dared to try the magic for themselves!

With two gentle taps, Colin knocked the droplets of hot chocolate from his wand back into the mug, then wiped it on his robe sleeve. Tucking his wand back into its sheath strapped to his right arm, he said: "Go on you lot! Give it a try! Warning! First years will almost certainly fail, but fear not dear Leon, fellow snakeling! Keep practicing it over the next few months, and you'll soon be scalding yerself with hot tea and choco like a champ! Second years! Some of you might actually get it to work!"

Colin, his lesson done, collapsed back into his chair, legs dangling over the arm rest, bare feet waggling in time to some inner music. He waited to see if anyone would take up the challenge of trying a deeper magic!

OOC Note: Feel free to flee in terror from Professor McCoire's baleful glare! Or, if you know lumos, give the magic a try! I will be asking Tatsu to determine which of you will be enjoying a nice cup of hot choco with Colin and which of you will be limping off to hospital! My next post will include a moderation section so you can see how well you did!

@Leon Richardson | @Renelle Dalton | @Kaito Asano | @Alyssea Brown | @Mahlioz Evethisawe

───── Mentioning - @Colin McCoire ───── Reducio Hexcodes: English: #490085 Spanish: #fb098a Action: casting Lumos Date: 22nd December Time: lunch

❅

That morning, Estelle had been on her way to the library, when she'd felt someone brush past her, dropping something into her pocket. She'd recognised the white hair of the boy, but was too curious about the contents of the note to stop him. Estelle had unravelled the note. It was an invitation of some sort, to a Hot Choco a la Magique!, whatever that meant. She decided she'd check it out, but she wasn't about to miss her lunch. Hogwarts food was truly the best. Later, after her first lessons were over, Estelle sprinted to the Great Hall, wrapping up her sandwich in a napkin, before heading to the classroom on the note. She figured she was definately late, but the sandwich was worth it. Also, she got grouchy when she hadn't eaten properly, and Estelle wanted to enjoy the mysterious event. Es entered as Colin stuck his wand into a mug of hot chocolate. She doubted that the Lumos spell would do more than just light up the chocolate, but to her amazement it actually heated it. Estelle quietly sat down as Colin continued to talk, before going to grab herself a mug. She had to try this! "Lumos"

Date: December 22 2023 Time: Lunch hour

Interacting with: @Colin McCoire and everyone else Mentions: @Estelle Nyx

English | French Thoughts

Mahlioz knew things were about to get chaotic when Colin, instead of answering her question, just smirked. She took that as a yes. But to be honest, she didn't feel too anxious at all - she was ready for whatever mischief Colin was planning to cause (which probably had something to do with the fact that hot chocolate was involved). So she didn't leave. Not yet.

She watched with curious awe as Colin lit his wand, explaining how handy lumos could be, and how too little magic wouldn't work. He was making a whole show of it too, and Mahlioz was rather enjoying it. Especially the bit when he said he'd been wondering what too much magic did all through his first year... and how he'd nearly burned his own wand when he first tried the spell he was about to teach them. Well, that wasn't reassuring, but it definitely sounded like Colin.

She couldn't help but jump back when he cried out his spell, making a hot red (terrifying) light appear on the end of his wand. It definitely looked like fire - and he plunged it into his cold hot chocolate, before extinguishing. Mahlioz blinked a couple of times, surprised she was still alive. As he kept explaining, she realized he had actually meant to do that, and now he wanted all of them to do it too.

Oh, no way. There was no way she was risking her life and the lives of those around her just for a hot chocolate. No no no no no. So then why did she find herself taking her wand out of her pocket with the others?
A blonde girl, one of the last to come in, had already gone to get herself a mug, and was just about to try Colin's spell. Mahlioz had no idea what to do. Of course, she trusted Colin - or, well, she trusted that he didn't want them all to die. She wasn't sure whether she trusted him to actually keep them alive.

But she'd never know if she didn't try, right? And she was really in the mood for a hot chocolate. And she'd gotten this far into his 'lesson'. Reluctantly, she went and got herself a mug of her own. She said lumos normally a couple of times, just to get herself ready - her wand turned on and off like a lightbulb a kid was flipping the switch of. Then she was ready. Sighing, and preparing herself for whatever injuries and chaos she would be causing herself, she cried out "LUMOS!!" as energetically as she could. If she ended up still being alright, she would plunge her wand into her cold hot chocolate (wistfully thinking of the damage hot cocoa could do to a stick of wood) and after a second or two, extinguish it with a nox.