Halloween Night [All students invited!]

Sydney crumpled her face in frustration as Ryland approached them. She was kind of annoyed that he came over when she was trying to flirt…. Umm talk to Felix. But nonetheless, she smiled at him and gave him a quick hug. “Hey, Ry! Whats up?” She saw Wade smile at her out of the corner of her eye so she smiled back and waved. She also saw Lucy glaring at her so she simply smirked at her before turning back to the 2 guys she was with. “And Felix, Badgers are adorable. But everyone loves lions.” She added a quick wink before she grabbed another cupcake.

Wade gave her a slight grin, making sure to keep his emotions held back. It was easy to do so with Phoenix, but with Shah...

He simply watched as Shah thought, or concentrated, on something else. He wished she could just have been born into a noble family. He wished she was a Pureblood. Her words caught him by surprise. "Any special trick? Like what?" he asked, only to be answered a few seconds after. "No, that'd probably backfire. I'd be the one screaming out of the Hall." he picked up a glass of pumpkin juice and took a sip. "I'd like to talk to you, though. Sometime tonight."

Wade could feel the anger, disappointment and pressure building up in his chest. He turned towards the other students who seemed to be enjoying themselves without a care in the world. Maybe Sydney wasn't, as she was the only one that looked annoyed. Wade frowned as he saw her wave at him. She claimed to be a Pureblood, but because of her actions he doubted it. He ignored her and turned to Shah once again. "Are you planning any special tricks?" he finally asked.

When Jennifer arrived, it seemed like everyone had already arrived. Late again. She had planned to be early, but then Leila sent her an owl...then she couldn't find her necklace...then she just lost track of time. As usual. She loved Halloween. As a little kid, she'd always go trick or treating with her friends and collect loads of sweets, which, of course, any kid would love.

She looked down at her outfit, smiling. Jennifer had dressed as an angel, with a white dress, wings, a necklace and a halo, which she'd enchanted to float above her head.

Everyone was talking to one another and when she went through the door to the great hall so she didn't really know what to do. In the end, she found a table with some food on it and got herself a glass of pumpkin juice and a cookie in the shape of a pumpkin.

Well...this was awkward.

"You look as bored as I feel," Selwyn commented.

"This isn't much of a party. Everyone's just standing around."

Jennifer watched as some unfamiliar kid came up to her and spoke a few words. "I'm not..ummm...bored....justIdon'tknowanybodyandIdon'twanttobetooforwardand...." she trailed off, fiddling with a strand of her hair. So maybe she was a tiny bit bored.

Lucy approached Morgana and Aylee as soon as Ryland broke away from her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sydney look at her, and as much as she wanted to send the girl flying across the room she decided to be the better person.

Her eyes drifted from her friends as the big wooden door of the Great Hall opened swiftly and in came a crowd of ghosts. There were cavalier ghosts and others Lucy didn't recognize. Of course, the Ghosts of Hogwarts were also there. Lucy saw the Bloody Baron fly in, yet she quickly diverted her eyes to the last ghost who entered rather quietly and shyly. She recognized the woman as the Grey Lady, someone she'd heard about thanks to James and Aurora.

Ryland was suddenly hit with an unwelcome feeling. It obviously wasn't the first time he'd felt that way, but it certainly was he first time that feeling came from Sydney.

"Hmm." Ryland nodded, disappointed at the boy's lack of enthusiasm for being sorted into Gryffindor. "I'm Ryland. Fourth year." he smiled, again feeling uncertain about whether or not Sydney felt bothered by his presence. He glanced at Sydney for a second, until a gust of wind opened the heavy doors that gave entrance to the Great Hall. He soon recognized Sir Nicholas, the ghost of Gryffindor House, and smiled in greeting at the man.

Ryland had made talk various times with the ghost before while in the Common Room. Mostly, he helped him with History of Magic homework that Ryland simply couldn't understand thanks to him muggle background. However, after being adopted he didn't need much help as Phoenix had been tutoring him in his hardest subjects.

After Darcy learned that people were influenced by her Veela blood, she had deliberately tried wearing clothes that didn't stand out and even tried to keep a low profile by looking a lot more down and just trying to seem really unsociable. She had even succeeded, but when the party invitation reached her by owl... Well, she wanted to be more social again, whatever it took.

So, she decided to go like a medieval woman and took on an old, blue dress that tied around her waist with a broad brown belt. The dress itself fell to her feet. She walked around with her head held high, wanting to befriend her friends again. She didn't like being what she had been pretending to be at the moment. So she decided that people would just have to take her as she was.

When she entered the room, she was astounded by the decorations. She grinned widely, feeling really happy. And then she saw Kynan, Aylee and Ryland. Were those really the only ones she knew...? She sighed. That had to change. She decided to walk over to Ryland, as that was were the snacks were. She felt like she should eat something.

"Hey Ryland," she said kindly and then turned to the two people she didn't know. "Hey, I'm Darcy," she said softly, reaching out a hand for them to take.

Costume:

Ryland saw Darcy walk in and his face brightened right away. She was one of the few people he really liked. "Dacy!" he exclaimed. "Where have you been?" He asked, realizing he hadn't see her recently. He gave her a small friendly hug and the turned to the others, keeping an eye on Headless Nick who was now talking to a young hufflepuff.

Jennifer Moss wrote:

Jennifer watched as some unfamiliar kid came up to her and spoke a few words. "I'm not..ummm...bored....justIdon'tknowanybodyandIdon'twanttobetooforwardand...." she trailed off, fiddling with a strand of her hair. So maybe she was a tiny bit bored.

Selwyn grinned.

"What century were your parents born in? There's no such thing as too forward anymore," he assured her.

"But here," he extended a hand, "how about if I ask you to dance. Then we've followed the proper protocols and I'm sure some other boy will be so dazzled with your skills he'll be along to steal you away the moment we're finished."

The Grey Lady:

Lucy felt a slight touch on her shoulder, and though she wasn't sure whether or not ghosts could touch humans, she figured it was the fact that she was unconsciously waiting for the Grey Lady to call out to her. Turning around, she saw exactly who she expected to see: Helena Raven law.

"Lucy Malfoy?" The Grey Lady spoke. Her voice was much more powerful t than Lucy expected.

"Can I help you Miss Ravenclaw?" Lucy inquired, glancing back at Morgan and Aylee.

Helena flinched at the sound of her last name. "Call me Helena." Her hair fell down to her waist, and Lucy couldn't help but be fasinated by her beauty. The girl felt a small hint of jealousy spread through her. "I've seen you before. With Aurora and James. Do you happen to know where they are? I haven't seen them in the Common Room lately. "

Lucy glanced back at her friends again. Sure, Headmaster Gray had made the announcement of the sickness that was going around, yet she had never told anyone that James and aurora were the first people at Hogwarts to become sick. Nervously, she walked out of the Great Hall with Helena following close behind.

"Okay." Lucy began, placing her hands on her hips and looking down at the floor. "Aurora left about two terms ago. She fell I'll, terribly I'll. Same thing happened to James on the last term. It's something Mister Connington couldn't cure as he had no idea what it was, so they are both at St. Mungo's right now." She said everything a bit too quickly that she sn't sure if Helena had understood, however the Grey Lady nooded.

"I suppose you're my last option then." The Grey Lady said. She, too, looked away as she spoke. But she looked down into the corridors. "As you should know, I would never have chosen to speak to anyone but Aurora. And I am not fond of your kind, but given the circumstances, you'll be close enough to the great witch Aurora was."

Lucy almost slapped the woman. "With all due respect Miss Ravenclaw, I'd like to inform you that I am much better than Aurora in many subjects, and I am also more confident and goal-oriented than she. However, she was one of my best friends."

"Helena." The Grey Lady pressed. "And yes, so much of a friend you were that you fell in love with the boy she liked. Nonetheless, this is important. What I am going to tell you, you must tell no one. They're coming, Lucy." The Grey Lady came closer to her, and Lucy noticed that she was actually rather intimidating.

"They?" Lucy wondered out loud.

Helena stepped back. "Dark Wizards. They're looking for something powerful, something dangerous. I have yet to figure out what it is they want, but I have a few a ideas in-" Helena was suddenly interrupted as the wooden doors to the Great Hall opened once again, and there stood the intruder.

Selwyn :

Parents. Hmmm. Nope, she was over it. But Jennifer didn't reply to that comment. She'd probably end up bursting into floods of tears. Which would be embarrassing.

She couldn't help but smile when he asked her to dance. Yeah, people would probably stare if they were the only ones dancing, but what did she have to lose? Giggling, Jennifer grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the dance floor. Not in a romantic way or anything. Ick. He was probably just a firstie, anyway.

At least she could have some fun.

With Shah's suddenly leaving, Wade wondered if she had figured it out. But as she Came back, he sighed. "I've never liked this song, actually." He half-smiled.

A few moments passed and he could fell the tension between them. Either that, or he was imagining it. "So, I hear your brother's back." He said, wondering why the boy wasn't ever where Wade was.

Selwyn was surprised at the way the girl took up his offer so eagerly.  He found himself dragged onto the dancefloor just as the music changed.

"I don't know your name!" he shouted over it.

Darcy was really happy about the way Ryland received her. She had considered him her first friend, as she hadn't gotten in touch with anyone before that meeting in the common room. So she was pretty happy by the simple hug.

"I've been a bit ... busy," she said, suddenly feeling very embarrassed about the way she had decided to handle herself lately. She really could be a bloody fool. Now, however, she was back.

"But I'm really good at the moment. I think I need this sort of a party," she said happily. She looked at him, and frowned. "What happened to you?" she asked, finding the way he held himself a bit off, as if he had a stomach ache or something.

Morgana looked on as Lucy was approached by the ghost of Ravenclaw. Rowena Ravenclaw's own daughter. She didn't say anything as the two of them left the Great Hall, but she felt her curiosity spiking. What was it that the Grey Lady would want to tell Lucy that couldn't be said in front of more people? What would a ghost at all want to say that was secret?

She looked at Aylee and said: "Excuse me for a moment." Then she walked into a crowd of people, hopefully succeeding in drowing into them, so no one could pay attention to where she was going. She kept her hood down, figuring the green cloth would be exposing. She then stood by the doors, and, luckily for her, Lucy and Helena were standing close enough to the door so she could hear them.

First it was just a bunch of gibberish about an Aurora who was a splendid witch, bladida, and so on. Then, just as Morgana figured it wouldn't get more interesting, she heard three words that caught her attention. "They're coming, Lucy." At the mention of Dark Wizards, Morgana considered standing there to listen to more, or to interrupt and get to know what they were talking about.

She opened the door to the entrance hall and kept her face like stone as Lucy and Helena looked at her. She raised an eyebrow and then slipped through the gap, closing the door behind her. She looked from the ghost to the student. She then casually leaned against the wall.

"What are they looking for?" she asked calmly.

Spoiler:

Sydney looked around the room for more familiar faces but was greatly disappointed when she found none. She started listening to the music that was playing and started tapping her foot. She smiled to herself and turned to Ryland. “Hey, Ry. How about instead of a flower you give me a dance?” She smiled as she recalled their time at Hogsmeade when he transfigured a candle into a yellow rose. She smiled and blinked innocently at him.

Sparkle entered the Great Hall as a completely black cat. Evan used Colorus Changus spell to make her a "Halloween costume". He also made her a small bow tie that really annoyed Sparkle.

Evan had a headache, so he stayed in the common room, probably laying on a couch and reading something. He couldn't come to the party, nevertheless he sent Sparkle, most likely to demonstrate everyone that he mastered Colorus Changus spell, had a good taste in costume design, and could make small bow ties.

Sparkle thought for a moment about getting some fresh air instead of visiting the Great Hall, as Halloween party was a good distraction and no one would probably pay attention to a black cat walking in the castle all by herself. But Evan wouldn't be satisfied by her mission if he didn't hear from his few friends how brilliant the black cat costume was. Of course, Sparkle understood all this more with her intuition than with her reasoning. As a cat she was limited in her thinking process, but as a cat that was bred to be a wizard's assistant she was intuitively smart.

Looking around, Sparkle spotted two familiar students, Darcy and Aylee, and Aylee seemed to be unoccupied at the moment. Sparkle came close and looked up at the girl.

Ickle Firstie:

Jennifer had nothing else to do, did she? She really liked dancing. Even though she may not be the best dancer, it was fun. She found she could just forget everything and have a great time. She danced a lot. That's why she was so eager to dance with this kid.

Just about able to hear him over the incredibly loud music, she grinned. "Good point! I'm Jennifer! Great to meet you!" A little bit delayed, but better late than never. Jennifer loved meeting new people and making new friends!

Lucy's eyes widened as she realized the intruder was Morgana. Her grey eyes turned from her housemate to Helena. It was the ghost that spoke first.

"This is none of your business." Helena spat.

"For Merlin's sake, Helena." Lucy interrupted. "I never knew you were this defensive about everything." Pushing past the Grey Lady, Lucy motioned for Morgana to move away from the door so she could pass.

"I'll be back, but we need to talk. All three of us." She said as she rushed into the Great Hall again. Hey eyes quickly spotted Ryland, who was standing next to Darcy, a girl Lucy hadn't met yet but had heard enough about. She smiled at her brother and, standing on her tip toes, she whispered to him. "I have to go, but don't let Wade do anything stupid." It sounded more like a warning, as if he were to fail he'd have to face her.

"And don't do anything that I wouldn't do." She said again, this time more loudly and free for anyone to hear. She turned to Darcy. "You must be Darcy, I've heard great things about you." She smiled at the girl. "I'm Lucy. Ryland's sister." She made a face only to break it with a smile; Lucy couldn't be mean to her family. "We must make arrangements to meet later. I'll send you and owl as I'm in a hurry at the moment."

With that, she turned back the way she came from, keeping an eye out for Selwyn, though she found him dancing with Jennifer. Letting out a laugh she decided to fill him in later.

As she walked out again to meet Helena and Morgana, she apologized. "I'm sorry, I had to let someone know I would be leaving." She walked away and into the hallway. "We'll talk in the Room of Requirement." Lucy announced.

"Well, I got beat up." Ryland gave Darcy half a smile then leaned in a bit closer, "Plus I feel unwelcome." And he did. With Sydney trying to flirt and Felix trying to eat and ignore them, Ryland couldn't help it.

At the change of the music he thought about asking Darcy to dance. He hadn't seen her for a while and he wanted to catch up. Sydney seemed to have gotten ahead of him as she was now asking him to dance. Ryland shifted uncomfortably. Was it acceptable to dance with Aylee's best friends? Probably not.

"Um, I actually..." he was about to say he didn't know how to dance, until Lucy saved him by walking over to them. She told him she was leaving, and though he wanted to ask why she was already warning him not to do anything stupid. Like he could. He was the most well behaved of the family.

"Yeah..." Ryland said to Darcy as Lucy left. "That's my lovable sister." It was a playful compliment, though mostly true. He had yet to meet someone, apart from Sydney, that didn't like Lucy.
"Anyway, I really don't know how to dance. And I already sent you those flowers I promised!" He pointed out to Sydney.