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Muggle World Inspired Costumes
Author: Majandra
Date: 11-29-14 20:55
With the Halloween Feast this evening Majandra was happy that her Friday schedule is relatively light with two morning classes, both of the third year sections, and an hour of official office time. The time after lunch and even sitting in her office from 2 until 3 gave her time to put a few finishing touches on the costumes for Miranda, Georgie, George, and herself. Having much of the afternoon and early evening also gave her time to get the children dressed, get her own costume on, and get George into his and away from the shoppe so they could put in visits to both sets of grandparents, Molly and Arthur, Eliza and Paul all wanting photographs.
When the subject of what to wear for the Halloween Feast first came up, the question was whether to simply dress nicely or go in costume? If in costume, what would each of them wear? Did they want to have a theme or be more individualized?
Maj should have known that costumes would be children's vote. George is always up for a spot of fun like that so he said he was game. At first, they thought perhaps costumes of a similar theme, as they'd done at times in the past. That idea soon fell by the wayside as each voiced opinions.
Having a Muggleborn grandfather in Paul Fine as wel as visiting his parents with some regularlty greatly influenced Georgie's and Miranda's suggestions. Georgie pushed for, and is now dressed as, Paddington Bear, right down to Paddington's old, somewhat battered suitcase.
When at great grandparents Winston and Tessa Fine, Miranda adores watching a movie called Mulan. It came as no surprise that over all the ideas Miranda had for a costume, her daughter rather quickly settled on being Mulan.
George had more trouble choosing. In the end, he too chose a Muggle world inspired costume. Another of the movies the children favor when at the great grandparents' is something called Toy Story. George has seen it with them a few times and chose to be a character from that movie, Buzz Lightyear.
While getting to work on those three costumes, Majandra thought a great deal about her own. When the George Weasley family arrives at the Great Hall, there is Paddington Bear, Buzz Lightyear, Mulan, and Jemima Puddle-Duck from the Beatrix Potter story The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck.
Maj had a feeling they might all well be explaining their costumes countless times tonight but that doesn't take away from the fun of it all, nor of seeing the costumes of the students, other staff, and their families who've chosen to wear them. It's highly possibly she'll be asking a few people who or what they are but, again, it's all part of the fun.
Miranda and Georgie roam around the Great Hall looking at costumes and speaking to some of the students they know before settling in at their own places to eat. Maj and George are nearby at the main staff table, keeping a watchful eye on their children but also enjoying the meal, the company, and the conversation while looking out at the variety of costumes in show tonight.
Bad Boys
Author: Marzipan
Date: 11-30-14 10:16
"That's enough, Vallon," said Marzi quite sternly to her son. He was dressed as a mandrake and insisted on shrieking every so often, the result of hearing his parents joke about whether he would take on the characteristics of the magical plant by wearing the costume. Every time he shrieked, Carter would fall over as if in a faint, only to burst into boisterous laughter. It had been somewhat adorable while still in the family's quarters but was bad behavior at the dinner table.
Carter was dressed up as a bowtruckle. His costume was made of faux wood panels and brown fabric. He could move freely at the joints, which probably explained why it was so easy for him to tumble out of his chair every time his brother shrieked and then get back up again.
Marzi and Weston decided to separate the boys to see if that would help calm them. Even with two parents between them, Vallon and Carter kept up their antics.
"And to think," Weston remarked to his wife, "they haven't had any sweets yet."
"At this rate they won't get any," Marzi said, frowning as Carter leaned over as if to fall out of his chair, only he was practically into Hagrid's lap.
"An early night, then," Weston said.
Carter sat ramrod straight when he realized he'd nearly landed on Hagrid and then exploded into more giggles. Marzi sighed and decided she better eat before her food went cold.
Like her children, she was also in fancy dress for Halloween. She was a flower, only instead of the petals being around her face, they made up her skirt. The petals were varying shades of pink and the long-sleeved top she wore was a complimentary green to look like a stem and a pair of leaves.
Weston was the only one in the family not to be a plant or creature. He was dressed as Merlin from the Chocolate Frog card.
The family had made a brief visit to see Weston's grandmother, who had wanted to give the boys special Halloween cauldron cakes as gifts for the occasion. She had not been very impressed with the costumes and bemoaned the fact that Hogwarts had taken on the Muggle tradition of dressing up. Her complaint had come as no surprise to Marzi, who had found it very difficult to keep her mouth shut. The only retort she'd not held back was the fact that at least the four had dressed up as wizards or things found in the magical world… though one could also argue her flower was mundane.
Marzi sighed aloud, and Weston, mistaking her weariness for the antics of Carter and Vallon again, told them both that they would be leaving the Halloween Feast if they didn't behave. Carter and Vallon pulled faces but complied, but only for a few short minutes.
A Veritable Feast of Opportunities
Author: Abdul Hazrat AlGunud
Date: 11-30-14 17:07
Life was growing far too predictable. Feasts in the Great Hall were so boring. Students seated at the tables of their respective houses. Instructors gathered at the High Table. This meant that the task of livening up the proceedings fell to Peeves. Fortunately, the poltergeist felt up to the challenge. He skirted the Slytherin table just as the Bloody Baron was critiquing a student's poor imitation of a ghost. Under other circumstances Peeves might have been tempted to twist the Baron's tale, but now he was after bigger game. The High Table held the august personages of the professors and their families.
Swooping just above the table, the poltergeist passed by a hairy-looking Professor Kent. "Oh dear, it seems that darling Jolyon did not put a razor on this morning." For Peeves, the semi-rhyme might have counted as classical verse. Pausing to tip over a gravy dish, he spied Professor Marzipan dressed as a flower. "Marzi needs to eat more meat, she is as thin as a reed. Ah, but I see that she has sprouted a mandrake." He then proceeded then to shriek in unison with the youngster who was dressed as a mandrake plant. Peeves dodged a swat from the outstretched paw of Hagrid and blew a raspberry in the direction of Professor McGonagall, whose attention he had attracted.
Soaring up toward the rafters, he decided to pause and see what other possibilities presented themselves. With students and faculty dressed in costumes, there were unlimited opportunities for mischief.
A Range of Costumes
Author: Saffron
Date: 11-30-14 20:17
Ingrid Hyland and Rex Applewhite agreed that having siblings who already attend Hogwarts is a plus when it comes to the feast held on Halloween. Knowing about the costume optional aspect of the feast, each had had time to put together an outfit before school started, before each even know into which house they would be Sorted.
Rex's skin has a sallowed and grayish appearance. His clothes are dirty, worn, and tattered. In a few places he has what look to be bloody bite marks. He doubts his is the best zombie costume ever but he's pleased with the result and that's all that matters. From time to time he elicits giggles from those around him at the Hufflepuff table by making low groans and moans and chomping at his food as if ravenously hungry.
At the Ravenclaw table, Ingrid is dressed as a wallflower. Her outfit looks like a section of a wall with small, floral wallpaper with an outline around her body that makes it look like someone melted into the wall. She'd gotten the idea over the summer when a friend of her mum's was talking about how her newly single sister had become such a wallflower, preferring standing alone rather than socializing at parties and gatherings.
A little further down the table from Ingrid, her brother Bran sits with friends, among them Estella Finch and Kurt Blackwell. Bran and Kurt had decided to come as conjoined twins, made amusing by the fact that Bran would be pasty white if not for so much time spent outside while Kurt's skin tone is more of a café au lait. They made the conjoined portion spacey enough so as not to have to sit crammed against each other while eating. They also have all four arms free though even with the room they've given themselves, they have found it can be easier to maneuver at times if each drapes an arm over the other's shoulder.
They had initially thought that they could do conjoined triplets with Estella, going for that extra amusement factor of having a girl with the two boys. After deciding all that would be too bulky, Estella decided to be a color changing chameleon. The costume looks like one piece but is actually separates. Marion DeMarco's Aunt Saffron, otherwise known as Professor Sacheverelle, helped out by activating the costume's color changing charm.
Estella's sister Katheryn and her friends Marion, Hope Hyland, Savannah Applewhite, Lilith Balfour, and Callie Blackwell had all decided to dress as characters from myth and fable. Katheryn is the Gorgon Medusa, complete with a head of writhing, hissing snakes. Being in the same house, Ravenclaw, Hope thought it would be fun to dress as a stone statue, one of Medusa's victims.
At the Slytherin table, Lilith is Poseidon. She has a wig of shorter hair and a beard, has a trident, as well as having a horse and a dolphin depicted on either side of her costume. Callie chose to be Demeter. Her face make-up gives her an older appearance. On her head sits a crown and she came in carrying stalks of wheat, now on the floor so she can eat unhindered. Her draped ancient Greek style dress is adorned with images of cornucopias, winged snakes, more wheat, and even pigs.
Savannah is Cerberus, the three headed dog. Her headcovering and mask give her the look of a fierce Rottweiler type dog. The other two dog heads, one on either side as if coming off the same neck, are quite different. One is that of a oh so ferocious Yorkshire Terrier. The other is a pink beribboned standard Poodle.
Marion went with Athena. She's got on a long dress over which she wears an armoured shield. Like the Aegis Athena is depicted as wearing, Marion's has an image of Medusa on it. In this case it's Katheryn Finch as that particular Gorgon. Marion also wears a helmet and carried into the Great Hall another shield and what looks like a spear.
At the staff table, Aunt Saffron, Uncle Aaron, Brandon and Niccola are all dressed as some sort of primate. Brandon is a cute little Emperor Tamarin, complete with white "mustashe." Nic is a Lemur with striped, ringed tail of black and gray. She's loving the soft feel of the fur making up her costume to the point she's stroked and rubbed it so much it's starting to show streaks of food. Uncle Aaron is a character called Curious George. Curious George is from a series of popular Muggle books and though he's called a brown monkey, Uncle Aaron can give reasons why George may not be a monkey but may be more of a Chimpanzee, which is a type of ape. Aunt Saffron is a Wanderoo, otherwise called a Lion-tailed Macaque.
Looking out over the Great Hall, Saffron finds herself smiling at the effort put into so many of the costumes. Others that are obvious last minute also bring a smile as the ingenuity some have shown. Her attention is pulled to Brandon who has decided to see if some of his food will dye his cute mustache different colors.
Coffee
Author: Nathaniel Ross
Date: 12-01-14 12:56
This was the very first time Nate attended a party at St. Emrys. The idea had come from Tim, who had been invited by Imogen. Not wanting to leave his best friend behind, Tim had insisted on Nate to come as well. It would be a chance to meet new people. According to Tim, Nate was spending too much time locked at the Ministry of Magic working, and he needed something exciting happening to his life that had nothing to do with a Muggle related crisis.
Almost everyone was wearing costumes. Nate was invited to dance by a witch dressed as a mummy. He was still wearing the robes from work, so he just told her he was portraying a Ministry of Magic worker. Once the music ended, the witch turned her attention to another man, dressed up as a troll. Probably she would rather dance with a troll than with Nate, whose dance skills were very poor. He had stepped the poor witch twice.
Nate didn't mind being dismissed. He looked around in search for Imogen and Tim but they were missing. He guessed they had gone to Imogen's dormitory. Jenny probably might be at a party as well. As if knowing someone was thinking about her, Jenny appeared in front of Nate. She was wearing a white set of robes that sparkled and reminded Nate the effect of snow and ice in the sun. They greeted each other.
"I didn't know you were coming to this party," Jenny said.
"Tim insisted. But I'm ready to go back home. It's been a long day."
"Me too," she agreed. Only then he noticed the sad look in her face. The make-up around her eyes was ruined. Jenny had been crying.
"I wouldn't go back to your dorm right away," he warned. "Your brother and Imogen…"
"Oh Merlin! I guess I'll have to linger around here for a while, then."
"Would you like to have a drink or something? Are there any quiet bars around here?"
"I doubt so. At least tonight."
"The let's go somewhere else," he suggested.
Nate took Jenny to a Muggle coffee house nearby that was open during the evening. Most of the Muggles didn't think there was something wrong with their clothes. Some Muggles also dressed up for Halloween after all, and people thought that they were going to a party next. Nate asked for two coffees. The drinks came and for a moment they both stayed in silence. He decided not to ask Jenny why she was upset. He had seen her discreetly cleaning her eyes with the sleeve of her dress, trying to disguise the state of her face. Obviously she didn't want him to notice something was wrong.
"Any news from the auror?" Jenny asked, warming up her hands in the hot cup.
After the incident with Ferne, Nate had been forced by his mother to report the situation, and an auror had been in charge of tracking Ferne down. Nate was told not to do try to find her on his own. She was unstable and was armed with a wand and she could be dangerous. He wanted to ignore the auror's orders and go after Ferne but his mother made him promise not to.
"As a matter of fact, yes. He passed by my department last week. He had caught Ferne and came to give me my wand back. The wand has been examined and she has not done any illegal curses with it. Ferne was found wondering around the area of Bath, at a Muggle shopping center." He took the cup of coffee to his lips and tasted the coffee.
"Where is she now?"
"At St. Mungo's. You have seen her state when you went to my mother's house. Since she didn't harm anyone or revealed her witch condition to the Muggles, they didn't open a case against her. But they were worried about her mental state so she was sent to St. Mungo's."
"Poor Ferne. I hope she gets well soon. "
"Me too. I think it is for her best, but Phyllida got mad when she found out I called the authorities. I was supposed to look after Ferne while she was away and she thinks I failed. She made it clear she does not want anything to do with me ever again," he sighed and put his cup down.
It was pretty clear Nate still had some feelings for Phyllida. Even if he knew he had to get over them once and for all.
"I know what it is to like someone and the feelings you have are not corresponded," Jenny shared. She sent Nate an obvious look and he felt his cheeks burn, in shame. "But you have to move on. Try to find someone else."
"Like you did with Colin?"
"Yes. But he turned out to be the wrong choice," she revealed, looking at the window. Her expression hardened and combined with her costume Jenny reminded Nate an ice queen, for a moment. "I recently discovered he has been cheating on me with other girls from the campus. When I confronted him, he admitted his faults and told me he was very sorry and that he would not do so again. I forgave him but he..." Jenny's next words died in her throat.
"But he did it again." Nate guessed.
"I told him I was going to stay in my dorm for the night. But then I changed my mind and decided to go to the party. I found him making out with another girl. I've seen her before with him. I think her name is Mabel. I didn't want to make a scene in front of everyone and I was about to leave when I saw you."
Jenny pushed her cup of coffee away. Nate reached for her hands and held them, hoping the gesture would give Jenny some comfort. They stood like this for a long time without speaking. The waiter interrupted the moment, asking if they would want to drink anything else. They both said no and stopped holding hands. The rest of the night was spent talking about trivial things such as the weather, Jenny's classes and Nate's work. Later he escorted her back to her dormitory in St. Emrys, making sure she would arrive home safe.
Wenlock Cousins in Costume
Author: Aaron Miller
Date: 12-01-14 19:30
Lauren had thought to wear the tartan of Clan MacDougall as her Halloween fancy dress. Overhearing a sister considering the same costume, she didn't give voice to a claim of having the idea first. She hadn't known if that were true and she'd not said anything out loud about what she was thinking for Halloween at Hogwarts so she knows it wasn't a matter of a sister hearing her then talking about the same costume just to annoy her.
Shifting her thinking from a tartan dress to some other pretty outfit, Lauren found pictures in a book at her Gran AnnaMarie's. The style of the flowy, feminine dresses was called Regency. After showing some of the images to her mum, Madeline was able to find a dress of the same style in a vintage fancy dress shoppe and for practically nothing. The dress of medium purple with patterned cream lace over the purple and a high waisted sash matching the purple is so lovely that Lauren wishes she had more reason and opportunity to wear it. She practiced doing her hair in one of the simpler styles shown in those same book images and spent a little of her allowance in another vintage shoppe on some antique looking jewelry and hair decorations. By the time she left Gryffindor House to come to the Great Hall for the feast, Lauren was extremely pleased with the result.
At the Hufflepuff table, Marlow has tried much of the evening not to send envious glances towards her little sister. Marlow loves her tartan plaid dress with matching tam o'shanter. She'd had the idea during summer holiday to wear this really great dress she has, and her sisters each have one as well, in Clan MacDougall's tartan. Their family might be MacDougal, one L, but their father has traced back to where that other L was dropped from their branch.
It was only this morning, talking a few minutes with Lauren that Marlow learned her sister had briefly considered also wearing the MacDougall tartan. Now, seeing how great Lauren looks, Marlow wishes she were the one who'd thought to look at old styles of dress for costume ideas.
Cousin Eden, sitting next to Marlow, went older style of dress as well, but only turning to the late 1960s and early 1970s for inspiration. She's dressed robes of such many swirling colors as to be called psychedelic. Eden's hair is braided with equally colorful daisies twined throughout. Her jewelry has both flower symbols and the peace sigh. Throughout the evening she's even used such phrases as, "Far out, man," and, "Right on," and, "Groovy."
Eden's brother Jasper is sitting just near enough to her that he can usually hear her when she's using this hippie speak. If she used it more than just here and there, he'd have had to lean over and pop her on the back of the head to get her to stop.
Jasper hadn't given much thought to what his costume would be until a couple of weeks ago. Truth be told, time snuck up on him. At least he didn't wait until the last minute like some did. Not that his is so great or anything. Jasper is wearing the lime green robes of a St. Mungo's healer and has a little leather case with crossed bone and wand symbol on it that matches the one on his robes. The little case is like the one a healer might carry filled with potions and unguents when having to make a house call.
Over at the Slytherin table, the only Wenlock cousin with the actual surname of Wenlock sits enjoying the pudding course. Amorica is having some of both apple cake and a pie with tropical flavors. Amorica is dressed in black but her clothing has many twinkling lights as the night sky viewed on a clear night. If one looks closely, several constellations can be found.
Liannah MacDougal sits at the Ravenclaw table wearing a school uniform. It is not, however, the Hogwarts school uniform. Liannah doesn't know if it's the current one in use but she's wearing one that Beauxbatons has had in the past.
Sitting a few seats away from Liannah is Heather Rabnott. Heather turned to professor, and cousin, Aaron Miller for assistance. Looking through a stack of materials he loaned her, Heather picked a character called Poison Ivy who is considered to be a villainess. Heather's outfit is ivy green with ivy crawling up legs and arms, and wrapping her torso. Her vivid red hair for tonight is also adorned with ivy.
Selecting some strawberry rhubard crumble, Heather thinks it's a shame that another Halloween feast with so many great costume ideas is nearing an end.