Winter Sunshine (Open)

Aoife had mixed feeling about this Hufflepuff winter party. She was tired and kind of cranky, and she wanted to owl her family, read her book and then go to bed, but she knew she always ended up enjoying these events (excluding the dramatic bits, with fights and drunk best friends and stuff, obviously) so it would probably be worth her while. She had plenty of gifts for her friends to give out, too. The party would be a good opportunity, since she imagined most people would be gift giving there while everyone was together. Yeah. Everyone would be together. So Aoife had to go, right? She did kind of felt obliged to go, like she had to, partly because it was her last year and her last Christmas at Hogwarts and one of the last chances she'd have to spend time with all her friends. Also because she'd spent most of her free time this holiday sleeping or eating, and getting out would do her some good.

It took her a while to make her mind up, so by the time she decided that she was going, she didn't have much time to get ready. But what she wore wasn't as important as her family, so she threw on the first casual-ish dress she saw in her wardrobe and headed to the owlery to send her parents a letter before she went to the party. Once again, she wasn't returning home for Christmas, and she missed her parents and siblings and extended family like hell already. Hogwarts was stupid, like that. Being in Scotland. Ireland needed its own magic school. Aoife could totally just make her own one day. There would be sheep, and other animals, and a magical sorting glove, and really good food, and really fun classes. And she would be headmistress.

Once she'd posted her letter, Aoife headed back down the stairs to the hall, feeling more excited about the party now that she was on the way. When she was younger, winter had always been her favourite season - well after spring, with all the sunshine and baby animals and stuff - and Christmas her favourite holiday when she spent it with her family. It shouldn't be any different at Hogwarts. It was still cold, with presents and good food, and she imagined it would snow at some point in January or February. Fiddling with her hair as she walked, Aoife suddenly remembered she'd forgotten her presents. They were all stacked in a neat pile in the dorm. Oh well, she could get them later and give them to people then.

Her immediate impression of the hall as she walked in was that it was amazing - the Hufflepuffs weren't half bad at this decorating business. Obviously it was nothing on the place when she'd helped that girl Ella sort out the winter party, but it was still gorgeous. The red and white was pretty. Even more appealing than the decorations and effect of the place, though, was the huge selection of food she could see in the corner of her eye, turkey and cakes and sweets and everything else she loved in the world. Wonderful. But unlike usual, Aoife didn't rush straight over to the food to check it out, instead hesitating near the entrance and scanning the room for something to do or someone to go. She imagined she was a little early, since not too many people were here yet. She could see Victoria talking to some boy she didn't recognise, so she waved, but didn't go over, instead staying where she was for now.

It seemed that Hogwarts was too into parties and not enthusiastic enough about academics. That was just ridiculous, or so Sinead thought. Still, she had seen how crowded the parties often were, so it wouldn't hurt her to go and try to meet people outside of her house. After all, the only friend she had was Humphrey and he wasn't much to brag about. She didn't bother too much with the dressing up, figuring it was best to go comfortable, which is why she kept her blue jeans and threw an ugly Christmas sweater over her head. It might have belonged to one of her many relatives, she forgot which one, but it was Christmasy enough for this. Having spent most of her time unpacking, because after hearing about Aoife's stay at Hogwarts, Sinead had decided to do the same. If Aoife was doing it, it couldn't be bad. It wasn't until she was out of her dorm that she was glad she had decided to go.

Things could easily get boring when one spent their whole time alone, and since Sinead often found herself sticking close to her textbooks to feel less lonely,  it was a welcoming change to see something rather than the walls of her common room. When she arrived at the Great Hall, she noticed that everything was decorated in honor of Christmas and Winter. Everything was red and white and Sinead liked it, despite not liking the color red at all. Few people were there, some olders ones who she figured were the hosts, but there were also some closer to her age. She should talk to these young one, be friendly. But then the long strand of red hair caught her attention and Sinead forgot about being friendly.

"Aoife!" She grinned up at her aunt. "You look nice." Sinead hadn't realized they had to dress nice, she just....wore what she found. Of course, Aoife looked stunning as usual. It would be a lie to say that she wasn't a tiny bit jealous of the older girl, because she was. Whereas Aoife had fabulous, fun red hair, Sinead had a boring and common shade of dark brown. Aoife had pearly skin, and Sinead was a pasty Irish girl. Of course, Sinead didn't actually care. "What are you...doing?" She asked, glancing around and realizing that Apife was just standing by the entrance. She wasn't exactly talking to anyone, or even eating. Sinrad could always count on Aoife being around food, but not tonight.