| Details for Valentine's Day Breakfast |
| Summary: | Golden boxes await the students at Breakfast on Valentine's Day. This is only part of a log as it was late for me and needed sleep. Please add the rest should anyone have it. |
| Date: | February 14th, 1939 |
| Location: | Great Hall, Hogwarts |
| Related: | Chocolate Plots, Dance Unannounced, Brewing Life, Kinda |
| Characters |
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St. Valentine's Day, breakfast time. As students start to filter into the Great Hall more murmurs than usual fill the air. The cause of these murmurs? Four large pyramids composed of many small, golden boxes; each pyramid set in the middle of the long table for each House. Another item causing quite a few murmurs and some speculation is a big roll of mostly pink fabric that has been tied up near the ceiling of the Great Hall.
Lucretia walks into the hall surrounded by a group of her fellow third years. Not all are Slytherin; there's a scattered representation from the other houses that peel off and head for their own tables. Lulu heads for hers, one arm snugged through the arm of a blonde girl's, heads tilted together in conversation. "Oh! Look at this!" "What do you suppose these are!?" "Does everyone get one?!" Voices start to rise around the Slytherin table as the students take their places, not least one of those being Lucretia herself. "Wait. Just wait… I'm sure they'll tell us!" Her eyes slip towards the Hufflepuff table, searching for one particular face. But its casual. So casual.
Leoric happens to be present, as it turns out. He's got a pair of the eponymous rose-lensed glasses tucked into the breast pocket of his dress shirt, and he keeps glancing at something tucked into the palm of his left hand, grinning to himself. He actually misses her casual glance over due to one such peek at his palm, though if she's willing to maintain it a little longer, he might look up in time.
Professors and staff seem to be as surprised by the display as the students themselves are. however, the person or people that planned this seem to have taken this into account. Once people get closer to the tables, visible at the foot of each pyramid are little white cards with print on them. They read, "Happy St. Valentine's Day Hogwarts. We hope our little surprises make everyone's day a little more special. Please take one box per student. Enjoy!"
Marcus enters the hall and makes his way over to the Slytherin table. There are a couple of upnods, 'how goes' and lazy salutes going around to different familiar faces, before he finds a place to sit down. He purses his lips. "Hopefully, this day will go very quickly," he mumbles to himself, exhales and shakes his head. He looks at the boxes and narrows his eyes.
Elizabeth, rather, slips between the tables by herself, rather than among a group of her fellow fourth years. Not that she really minds. She gives the Valentine-themed decorations a quiet look as she walks, her expression softening subtle, admiring the work that has been done, before her pale gaze glance up at the sets of gold boxes that have been organized at each of the Houses' tables. She lifts a brow at this. "Surprise." she murmurs. One box per student, hm? The bespectacled girl chooses a seat that the Ravenclaw table, passing the boxes when they come to her so that everyone has a chance to get one of the golden boxes.
Myrus steps into the great hall not long after Marcus, but he hadn't made his presence known to the other male (on purpose, anyway). He looks at a pyramid of boxes, making a face of bewilderment as he looks around for someone who knows what the heck is going on. "Anyone know what's in these?" And he reaches for one off the top, looking at it, peeeering at it. He'd sloooowly open it, wincing just a little waiting for some terribly planned heart-shaped confetti or something to explode out of it.. or glitter. Yuck.
Valentina ambled pleasantly into the Great Hall, with a pair of rose colored glasses atop her head like a headband. They complimented her attire, she thought where there might have, just maybe, been some slight modifications to the color of her uniform. The sight of all the little gold boxes made her grin and it stayed, until her eyes landed on Goyle at which point her lips pursed and her eyes rolled and if, maybe, as she was walking past him towards her table; the long way, so that she could just BUMP into the boy as he sat, well, it was because the hall was just so terribly crowded.
Excitement is evident in every angle of Lucretia's body as she settles herself down and stares at the golden pyramid. "It says take one," one of her friend points out, helping herself to one before nudging anotherin Lu's direction. The dark-haired Black appears a little distracted however, firstly by the repeated glances in Leoric's direction and secondly by the enormous basket with an animated teddy that an owl gently drops before her where she sits. That the thirteen year old turns a distinctly deep shade of pink is without a doubt, especially when she retrieves the card and reads it. "Its from…" she starts to say, then pauses, looking around for the sender of the gift before finally locating Angelus. "Thank you…" she mouths in his direction, grin on her face.
And the secret of the boxes is revealed! Partially at least. As the first few people, like Myrus for example, untie the red ribbons holding the boxes closed and open the boxes the smell of chocolate hits the people near them. And in Myrus' case a chocolate heart starts floating out of the box, its two little chocolate wings fluttering mightily to lift it up into the air.
While everyone is taking golden boxes for themselves, and while waiting for breakfast to begin, the morning's usual flood of owls delivering mail begin flying into the Great Hall like a wave. Owls carrying letters and even more noticeable, pink and red ribbons tied onto heart-shaped rose colored glasses. Owls swooping down, many students find the glasses dropped onto the table in front of them, hooting before they take off.
Marcus is about to sit down, when he feels a BUMP against him. "Hey, watch it," he snaps around, seeing Valentina, "… Baker," he narrows his eyes, but flashes her a forced grin. He uses the moment to go get himself a little box, might as well. With the box in hand, he sniffs at it, shakes it a little. He shrugs, and looking around, tries to find Valentina. Eyes are still narrowed. Seeing people untie their boxes, he follows their example. Thud. A pair of glasses lands in front of him. "What…?"
Lucretia is so wrapped up in the basket that's been delivered to her, that she takes a moment or two to notice the glasses too. "Oh! Look at these!" She takes the glasses in one hand, even as she reaches for one of the boxes, an exclamation of delight as a chocolate heart rises from the girl's she's sitting with. "Don't you just love Valentine's Day?" she exclaims, unfolding the arms of her glasses before settling them on the bridge of her nose. "Everything's pink!" She's not looking anywhere in particular as yet, fingers deftly unwrapping the bow on her golden box even as the teddy tries to garner her attention.
Myrus finally locates a place to sit at a spot without any other students vying for boxes, and he's about to open his box slowly, and a pair of glasses land on the box, knocking it from his fingers and onto the table with a hollow clatter. He just blinks at it. Looking at them, through them, front and backward, and then he puts them on. "What do these do?" He narrows his eyes around, seeing if anything special happens. "Or is this just some joke to make people wear pink glasses?" He sighs, and ughs, so much pink.. he looks down at the box with his glasses, in case they are connected. Newp.
Elizabeth blinks with mild surprise as the pair of glasses drops onto her empty plate, blinking a second time. Pondering them only briefly, she reaches for it and unfolds so that she could slip the red glasses over the top of hers, making everything 'rose colored' for a moment. She pushes it up on top of her head instead, shrugging to herself and taking one of the golden boxes this time, her slender fingers gently pulling at the ribbon and undoing it.
Leoric catches one of the latter looks thrown his way and gives her a huge grin. He taps whatever's in his palm and lets the smile spread. When Lu's massive gift is delivered, the boy blinks. His surprise makes it clear that it wasn't from him, certainly. He looks about to try to catch who gave it to her, but doesn't catch the exchange, and is distracted by the delivery of the glasses. Those, he slips on and starts to glance around.
As more and more boxes begin to disclose their secret a surprising variety of animated chocolate animals start to populate the House tables. From some boxes chocolate puppies come out to cavort in circles in front of the people that gets them, from others chocolate kittens crawl out and stretch sleepily as if just waking from a nap. Other boxes release fluttering chocolate butterflies, chattering chocolate monkeys, or prancing chocolate ponies.
But the 'Piece de rsistance' are the house mascots. Selected boxes, always at the appropriate tables, have animate chocolate lions, eagles, badgers, and snakes. And the House mascots are flavored! The lions are filled with rice crisps, the badgers have a hint of honey infused into their chocolate, the eagles are raspberry flavored and the snakes, the snakes don't even have to be tasted, as soon as they are out of their boxes and slithering along the table its clear they will be mint flavored by the smell alone.
Myrus takes off his glasses, stuffing them in his pocket, a chocolate puppy leaping out from the box and little chocolate tail wagging as it seems to look at him. He smirks, and stands up, heading towards the large entryway of the great hall, down the center aisle and past just about everyone, with a little chocolate puppy following him along happily.
"A snake!" Lucretia, clearly delighted that she's picked a box with her house mascot in, smiles at the creature through her rose-colored glasses just as another owl arrives- a second basket deposited on the table before her. Its lucky the tables are large, because two baskets take up quite a significant amount of space. The snake slithers over the first basket and disappears into its depths, causing the teddy to scramble up the handle and perch on top. Disconcerted. 'Ooo's' and 'ah's' bubble from Lu's friends as the second basket reveals jellied slugs which are clustered over a package of chocolate hearts that are iced in black rose-flavored icing. So many of them too! A swat of her hand to friends that would pilfer some of the gifts from her baskets and she turns to look down the various tables, pausing as her eyes fall upon one person in particular.
"Shove it, Goyle," Valentine replies as she makes her way over to the Gryffindor table and sinks down amidst a group of others all too cheerfully plucking at boxes. The size of the pile has shrank rather considerably by the time she manages to capture one for herself and the sight of those pink glasses draws her eyes enough to make her stare, perplexed and then settle them atop her head, like a hairband. And though she hums, rather quietly to herself, it doesn't seem in theme with the day of pink, but regardless, there's breakfast to be and so she tucks into plate of scrambled eggs and sausage links; mindful that her feet, the slippers on them in a decidedly worn and faded state of disrepair, are hidden as neatly beneath her robes as she can manage.
Still yawning, Madeline slips into the Great Hall, looking around with an eager smile. She beams at the sight of the shrinking golden piles, and the students cheerfully tearing open ribbons. She runs to her own table, snatching up a box before starting to pile up her plate with breakfast foods. Displaying a great deal of self control for her eleven year old self, she digs into the meal first, while leaving her box just to the upper right of her plate.
Artemis has been up for some time already. In fact, when she heads to breakfast it's from the library, because obviously studies do not stop when there is a special holiday. Her bag is worn over her shoulder until she reaches her table, delighted and cheerful as she offers everyone around her a wave. "Happy Valentine's Day!" she wishes people energetically.
A certain Gryffindor arrives in the Great Hall with a pleasant little smile. There are already several girls that are twirling roses between their fingers, and the youth dips his head in response to their thank you's. "…I have plenty of more," comments the third year as wide smile slips over his face. Ooooh. The pyramid of boxes on the table grab his attention as he arrives, choosing a seat as he snatches one of these boxes. Nice. "Good morning, Baker," he greets his fellow housemate with a polite dip of his head. "A Happy Valentine's to you." A rose even drawn out of his robes to offer it to her. He does cast a glance towards the Ravenclaw table, in which a sweet, amiable smile flutters across his lips and then one over to Slytherin. His smile is delighted as he catches sight of Lucretia. A hand lifts to press his fingers to his lips before dragging his hand outward in response as he winks.
But Valentine's isn't fancied by all. He wouldn't even be in the Great Hall today if he wasn't so hungry. Gaige just glowers at everything that has to do with the holiday, slumping at the Ravenclaw table as he keeps his eyes down. Alright, give him some REAL food so he can eat and get out of here.
Marcus doesn't seem all that crazy about the whole celebration. He looks at the animal sweets dubiously. His attention is mostly, on the glasses. Still, he shrugs and sets the glasses aside for now, putting them somewhere inside his robes as he looks at the food and it's time to put his plate together. Some eggs, sausage, some fruit and after a few moments, he's ready to eat.
Elizabeth barely opens her own golden box, trying to make sure that whatever moving chocolate creature inside wouldn't be able to escape. To her relief, it's a floating heart with a pair of angel wings. If it had been a teddy bear or another sort of animal, she doesn't think she would be able to bear eating the chocolate while it moved. She quickly closes the box and shakes her head to herself at that thought, setting it beside her orange juice so that she can begin eating breakfast proper.
The rolled piece of cloth above the table is pink, sparkly, and edged in silver. It's tied into place by bits of twine, but as one of the strings is cut by some unseen and magical force, the whole thing is unfurled. It reveals a large heart shape, with letters, puffy and silver, stitched onto the surface of it. The word read 'Happy Valentine's Day, Hogwarts!' Moments after fully unfurling, the bottom edge of the heart rips open and individually wrapped peppermint candies rain down on Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables, followed by slowly fluttering bits of paper, decorated with elaborate script. Each strip of paper offers warm thoughts, compliments, or well wishes. Generally of the sappy variety.
Gabriel straggles into breakfast, book bag all but dragging behind him. As he takes his place at the Ravenclaw table he knuckles one eye sleepily and uses his other hand to cover a huge yawn. Randomly he takes one of the golden boxes, sets it to the side of his plate then starts to fill said plate with actual breakfast foods.
"Look!" A fifth year Gryffindor girl twitters, "My heart's a flutter for you! And the paper still flutters! Isn't it just the most adorable thing!"
"Someone's put a lot of work into this," Valentina murmured, glancing sidelong towards the twitter, before she reached out to pluck up a few of those extra candies to tuck into the front pocket of her robes. The golden box disappeared in precisely the same manner.
"No one's going to be able to focus on classes today."
"Who's taking you out tonight?"
The conversation fluttered on a breakneck pace, all giggling girls and boys that sat too straight, preening with the kind of detached smugness that suggested they just knew they'd have company and snogging before the night was through while Val seemed to just, quietly take it all in.
Elizabeth blinks up above the Ravenclaw table as peppermints (among other things) fall like rain over her and the rest of the house. Students clamber loudly, becoming more excited as things seem to progress. A few peppermints, and the golden box, disappears into Elizabeth's knapsack without so much of a notice as she calmly pulls the glasses over the top of her everyday pair. She wears them, quite nonchalantly, as she eats eggs, sausages, and a buttery biscuit, all with a steady pace.
Leoric stops looking around with the glasses after a few moments, cheeks coloring as he grins again, glancing back into whatever little palmable object it is he's got tucked away in his palm. He closes his fist over it and flicks his eyes back up for a moment before beginning to work to demolish his breakfast in short order.
"What about-"
"No."
"Hey Goyle-"
"N. O." Marcus looks up, and glances at the next Fifth Year Slytherin about to ask him if he wants to do this or that, and he just flashes a grin. "No," he looks at the next, "and no." They're Slytherin, they don't stick around to see what's wrong with Goyle, they just move on. Marcus, however, eats. And he has a good meal at that. When he finishes, he pats his stomach and just leans back. He looks at his little box, and tucks it somewhere within his robes.
Gaige's plate is piled up with mounds and mounds of food. Keeping his eyes down he shovels heaps full into his mouth, as if he couldn't eat fast enough. He so badly wants to get out of here, his face already red despite it all. Stupid holiday. When a pair of glasses land by him he ends up choking on his food, lifting an arm to cough into it and tapping a fist against his chest. He glances around as he sputters, expecting someone to pick them up only for his face to suddenly heat up. He doesn't know how to handle that! And instinctively he turns his head sharply to the Hufflepuff table, a helpless glance towards Arevan before Gaige suddenly slinks, suddenly sliding underneath the table.
Lucretia eases the Valentine's gifts that she's received towards her friends. She, it seems, has no appetite for chocolate, eggs or bacon right now. Glasses firmly pushed to the bridge of her nose, she rises to her feet, easing herself into the gap between the Slytherin table and the Ravenclaws'. Ignoring the nudges and winks of her classmates, she takes a few steps down the aisle between the Slytherin and Ravenclaw tables and pauses at the end. That the glasses have something to do with her actions isn't in question, the girl peering over the top of them before tilting her chin back up to look through them once more. Its the Hufflepuff table that seems to be drawing her attention, and after a moment or two, she heads that way.
Once again, Val fell to humming, a quiet little tune as she pushed the all but empty plate away and settled one of the peppermint candies into her mouth. She'd just tucked it into her jaw, when the sight of a rather worn out looking owl swept in, a good deal later than the rest and dropped a neatly rolled up bit of parchment onto the table in front of her. "Scrawny?" It's a baffled look, before the girl reaches out to pet the bird, only to find her fingers snipped hard enough to have her yelping as it brings blood.
"Hey what is that?"
But Val wasn't answering. Her expression had turned somber as the parchment was unfurled her eyes scanned the page and that sinking feeling swept the color from her cheeks. Like an impending omen of doom. "Happy Birthday," the tune had taken on all the zest of a funeral march now. "…to me." She was going to be sick.
Leoric rather firmly excuses himself from his compatriots and breakfast for a moment, swinging his legs free of the benches to stand on his own and work away from the crowd, towards the clearer walkways at the ends of the tables.
While wearing the rose colored glasses on top of her own, Elizabeth hadn't really reacted to anything out of the ordinary. Everything was just a shade of rose. If they were enchanted, she doesn't see anything strange. Still. The corner of her lips tugs with a small smile, enjoying herself despite having no one really. It was a season of love after all. And secretly, she's a romantic. A small chuckle escapes her as she glances down, only to blink as she sees Gage. She pauses in her chewing and tilts her head. "What are you doing down there?"
Artemis doesn't eat much. She's usually a light eater though, so it's not that unusual. But Artemis lets out a giggle as she reaches for the rose-shaded glasses, her chin lifting as she looks towards the Slytherin table at first glance. Her next glance is shot towards Ravenclaw. Looking for her two friends, a beaming smile flashing across her face. It pleases her as her eyes sparkle when she notices that Noalan got a pair of glasses. "That would be /so/ perfect!" she exclaims before looking sheepishly around her, offering a smile to her housemates. As she holds her own pair up close to her face, she tilts her head a little as her face drops. Wait, why does only one of her friends have glasses? She purses her lips pensively, slowly donning her own shades - which she will totally keep on until something happens!
Its that moment in time when time itself skips a beat. Thud. And so it is for Lucretia when Leoric stirs from his seat. Attention is drawn to him and, perhaps aided by the glasses, remains on him. Everything else apparently just fades at the edges as the Hufflepuff boy gets ringed by floating, dancing, obscenely pink hearts. She doesn't even hear the murmurings about it being someone's birthday, though she's stood quite close to the the Gryffindor table. A tentative smile is given Leo, her cheeks sucking in as she purses her lips before she offers her friend the smallest of smiles.
Madeline cheerfully pockets peppermints, and picks one of the fluttering pieces of paper at random. When rose glasses appear, she frowns at them in confusion. What are these? She turns them over and over in her hands - before slipping them on, and glancing around the room.
Marcus looks around and around, and around some more. He looks annoyed, and is about to stand up when something catches his attention. At the Gryffindor table, he spots Valeria and her scroll and he looks curious.
There's a bit of a shrug, and while he remains curious, he's not curious enough to try and go find out what it is. Not that he expects her to tell him. But, Marcus does reach for the glasses kept inside his robe and holds them in front of him. "Might as well see what these are about," he muses, as he shrugs and… puts them on.
The food on Angelus' plate is probably half eaten, but he's not about to be hungry because, seriously, there other more yummy treats to eat. While his eyes scan the hall, a part of him watching and gauging people's reactions, the other side of him laughs, bobs his head, and chatters among his housemates. But there's a quirk of a brow as blue eyes lock on Valentina, and a soft hum escapes him as he tilts his head. "Is something the matter?" asks the youth, his concern almost seeming genuine.
Leoric stops just about when Lucretia does, his eyes flicking to the air around her for a few moments, clearly amused by the garish display. They float back to Lu in short order, however, and leave him with a self-conscious grin. "Hullo, Lulu. Did you like the surprises so far?"
Lucretia nosecrinkles at Leoric, the young witch pushing her glasses up atop her head with the nudge of one finger. "I knew which were from you," she says, pulling a rose from within her cloak. She twirls it a moment in her fingers before lifting it to her face and tapping it to her chin. "Only you would think to send a black one. Black for Black, its very clever." Despite the fact that students are still seated and segregation at mealtimes is usually observed, she takes a step closer to the Hufflepuff boy, reaching for his hand with hers. "Thank you." Two words; though after the week she's had with Ignatius, completely heartfelt.
"It's uh," Valentina began and then, stopped, frowning again at the parchment that was slowly being rolled up again, only to disappear into the pocket of her robes. "D'you ever have one of those moments where, yer all excited because something wonderful happens, but knowing it happens means something terrible happens too? It's kind of like that," the fifth year explains to Angelus, for his concern. "But it's nothing you should fret over." Nor likely would, if his club affiliation was any indication. "Anyway, I should be going. 'Scuse me."
No! But Gaige does not wish to be noticed! As he slide down there's a sudden jerk of his head as it thuds against the edge of the table, and the boy swears out loudly. Ow! His hands are clapped over his messy haired head as he twists, his tall body awkwardly bent as he attempts to hide, looking up at Elizabeth's voice. With a heavy shake of his head he looks away, reaching up so that his fingers curl around the edge of the table so that he can simply peek over. Would anyone notice him if he just… ran from this insane-ness?
Marcus frowns. "Everything just looks pink." He smirks, amused, but shaking his head. "What a waste of time. Everything is just—" He looks around and then suddenly blinks. He frowns, takes the glasses off, then puts them back on. Then he frowns some more. Off, back on. His eyes narrow and he suddenly stands up. He doesn't excuse himself, or says farewells. He spins around and is ready to head out of the hall.
Madeline shrugs, taking off the glasses. Maybe they're not magic. Maybe they were meant for someone else. She nudges them towards the student sitting beside her, and eats more of her breakfast.
Late to breakfast. But not extremely late! Variel leads the way, a certain young Selwyn with her morning's first surprise in hand just behind. He glances between his house's table and hers, then towards the imposing piles of golden boxes and the varied students with their rose glasses. "Hrm. Do we sit with yours or mine?"
Elizabeth arches a slender brow at Gage for a longer moment. "Aren't you exaggerating a little bit?" she asks, "No one is going to attack you. Just what are you hiding from?" she asks, reaching to the rosy glasses and pushing them up to rest on the top of her head, returning everything to their normal colors. "Are you hiding from the girls?" Elizabeth couldn't help but grin a little bit. Just a little.
"Hey Val, hang on just a…," second. Except the girl was already retreating, up and onto her feet with poor timing, because she bumped into one of the newly arriving Gryffindor's and earned herself a proper jostling. Glasses slipped in the process; a hand rising up to catch them before they could slip off and break, she righted them atop her head. "Toldja you shoulda waited."
"Oh stuff it," the girl grumped and plucking up one last cupcake for the road, made to retreat.
Marcus continues on his way, not even realizing that he still has his glasses on, as he storms out of the hall.
Ilsa gently twirls a silk rose between her fingers, a smile resting upon her lips. She casts a curious glance over the decorated great hall and the students gathered. "Hmm. Yours is fine. I might as well take the opportunity to get to know some of your housemates a little better," she decides with a grin to Variel.
"Works for me." Variel picks their way through the various classmates, pausing as Val makes her way out abruptly. "Well… there went one of them, anyway." He plows their way to the Gryffindor table in short enough order, snagging a couple golden boxes from the greatly diminished pile as he does. "Well, cool! We all get presents, on top of whatever else. Neat!"
Madeline waves cheerfully to Variel and Ilsa when they join them at the table. "Hello!" she calls brightly. "There's chocolate!" she declares brightly. "And peppermints!" Of course, she knows /noooothing/ about them. Right? Right.
Lucretia waits for Leo to respond, and when he doesn't, (perhaps its the glasses), she dots a kiss to his cheek and leaves.
A thoughtful hum escapes Angelus as he watches Valentina curiously. He shows a generous amount of concern for someone who shouldn't care. "Shouldn't be fretting today. And happy birthday," he offers with a smile. He lifts a hand to salute to her when she excuses herself, and as he glances along the table he shakes his head, smirking. With his gift tucked into his robes, and a bunch of candy, Angelus rises up from his seat as he glances down the table and strolls along behind Madeline. A rose is slipped out from his robes and placed down directly in front of her, offering her a smile. "Every girl gets one." And he continues to walk along the table, his gaze scanning around, his destination obvious when he spies Lucretia and Leoric. His head lifts, but he approaches slowly. But he'll stop when he's near Lucretia. "Hey," he says softly, leaning close enough so that he doesn't have to raise his voice over the volume of the hall. "Thanks." And to Leoric he offers a nod of his head and a smile. "Hey Selwyn."
Leoric maintains his grin, unable to resist the question. "So who sent the others? Prewett? Seems a little out of character." The play Black does with the rose spreads his smile, as does her compliments. "I've got clever going for me, I suppose. Or just a world-wise older brother." He reaches out and takes Lu's hand, lifting it to brush his lips through the air above her knuckles. "You're very, very welcome." Angelus' approach earns a returned nod and smile. "Hey, Eibon. How goes?"
As a rose in dropped in front of her, Madeline looks uncertain - but she remembers what Ulysses said. She forces a smile into place. "Thanks, Eibon." When he's gone - well. She'll just give it to someone else. She doesn't want it.
"What's up with him?" Ilsa murmurs as she catches sight of Marcus storming out. It's instantly forgotten, however, too many distractions present to catch her attention. Settling into a seat next to Variel, she picks up one of the golden boxes and studies it curiously. "Gifts? That's so neat. It's shaping up to be a fun day already - and it's only breakfast! Hi, Maddie the Magnificent." She casts the Gryffindor first year a grin in greeting
A grunt escapes from Gaige as he shoots a look towards Elizabeth. Is he exaggerating? The boy snorts and glances around as he peeks over the edge of the table. Slowly he rises up, trying to be subtle as he takes his place again. His face heats up again and his mouth gapes as he starts to stutter out a response to Elizabeth. "Wh- No- I- Um-" Ack! He snaps his mouth shut and growls instead, grumpily taking up his fork and jamming the last of the meal on his plate into his mouth before he stands up from the table. The glasses are snatches in a swift, quick motion and jabbed into his pockets. No one saw that! /No one/ saw that! He glances around. And then dashes towards the exit.
Talk about a lot late, as Tarquin hurries his way into the great hall and makes a beeline for the Hufflepuff table. One of the students there brings him up to speed on what's going on, and he offers in return a smile and nod in gratitude. Searching for familiar faces, he reaches for one of those golden boxes just as a pair of glasses are suddenly dropped on his lap by an owl.
"Hrm. Okay." He shrugs, puts the glasses on, looks around, frowns, shrugs again, and takes them back off.
Elizabeth couldn't help but smirk oh so slightly at Gage's flabbergasted reaction. She chuckles once and reaches up to lightly tap the rose colored glasses from on top of her head to rest on her tiny nose again. "You know, eventually you'll realize that girls like boys that aren't scared of them. Tends to be a, what's the phrase, a 'turn off'?" Of course she's teasing. Elizabeth glances up in time to see a familiar face, one of her newly acquired friends, Tarquin. She offers him a smile and lifts a hand to wave in his direction.
Variel shrugs as Goyle works his way out. "I dunno. It's Valentine's, he's not long past a break up- probably not that great a day." The redhead pops open his box and groans as a teddy bear made of chocolate totters out and wobbles around. "Aw, man, I wanted one of the lions. Open yours, maybe you got one, Ilsa." He is promptly bombarded by arial glasses drop, and he eyes them a moment, squinting. "I dunno if I want to put these on. What if they're like all black inside and just yell "YOU DIE ALONE AND IN CLASHING COLORS." It'd almost ruin the day!"
The world is so rosy and pretty and, ooooh! Artemis giggles as she looks around the hall. A hand lifts to wave exuberantly towards the Slytherin table, for a few people who are sitting over there. She does the same for the Ravenclaw table. When she sits back down she reaches to her muffin to break off a small piece that she places into her mouth to chew onto.
"Hi Ilsa the Illustrious!" Madeline answers, before digging into her food some more.
"Good point. It's probably not an enjoyable reminder to have, particularly so soon after a break-up," Ilsa remarks. Her eyes are alight with amusement as she watches the chocolate teddy bear. "Almost too adorable to eat." Almost. She reaches for a golden box, but is entirely sidetracked by the delivery of glasses. Lifting a pair to study them, she laughs softly at Variel's comment. "I should hope not. It would be terribly wrong. And I just can't see you wearing clashing colors," she teases. Spotting Tarquin's arrival, she turns from her stolen spot on the Gryffindor bench to wave to her cousin.
Tarquin sits down, putting his glasses away somewhere in his robes. As he glances around and catches sight of Elizabeth, he smiles in her direction and waves. Oh, there's Ilsa, Tarquin waves in her direction as well. And then, well, it's time to have breakfast, considering he is a late. The little box will have to wait. He grows a little thoughtful as he eats.
Variel throws a wave to Tarquin when he waves towards Ilsa, who's seated at his table, the traitorous harlot. Ahh, who're we kidding? She's too nice to be a harlot, she's just a traitor. Variel seems as interested in chattering with her and introducing her to EVERY Gryffindor who hasn't met her before as he is in his food, the bear trying to climb up and find a home next to his black pudding.
It's morning. Ish. Strictly speaking the sun had been up for a while now but Luke has to make sure his broom is spotless before heading out to begin the day. It's the little things in life. He strides for the Hufflepuff table with a smile and a genial wave to those about before taking a seat with a flop.
Ilsa is only part-traitor, apparently happy to still conduct a conversation with those at the Hufflepuff table - the table where she's supposed to be. She glances over the room to watch for anyone who might object, before leaning back and calling to her cousin. "Hey, Tarquin. How's the day treating you so far?" A silly question perhaps, given that it's only breakfast time. She grins and then glances back to Variel, showing obvious interest in his conversation and the introductions being made.
A wave is offered in return to Variel, as Tarquin now takes care of eating breakfast. As Luke approaches the Hufflepuff table, he also nods in his direction, before his attention goes to his cousin, Ilsa as she calls out to him. He looks amused at her question, makes a bit of a face, and shrugs. "Uhm… breakfast is good?" He offers with a grin. Then there's a small shrug. "So far is going well, how about yours?"
Elizabeth faintly chuckles as Gage literally dashes towards the exit. As if he was running from a fire. She gently shakes her dark head to herself before glancing towards the Gryffindor table. For a moment, her amused smile fades, her mirth lost before she forces her gaze away. Half of her breakfast finished, chocolate and mints tucked away and rose colored glasses on top of her ebony head, the strap of her cloth knapsack slipped over her shoulder as she rises to her feet. It's better to slip out now, unnoticed.
"Morning everyone. How are the muffins today?" It's a simple enough question but then he's also trying to find them amidst the various explosionary pink.. things. Gotta love Valentine's day. "So did anyone get anything crazy? I mean aside from a love potion spiked in their pumpkin juice." He snorts a laugh and looks about for anyone having the googly eyes.
Artemis breaks off another small piece from her muffin and brings it up to her mouth. Her eyes wander around at the lively hall, her cheeks tinged with colour the same shade as the glasses she wears. As she looks along her own table a bright smile grows and a hand lifts to pull off the glasses. "Oh, hi Luke!" she offers out cheerfully. "Happy Valentine's Day!" Her cheeks are already pink though.
"Going well, I hope," Variel offers for Ilsa, grinning cheekily. "And breakfast IS- HEY!" He shouts, reaching down to shove the bear gently away from his breakfast. "No black pudding for chocolate bears! I don't care how dark y'are! shoo! Off y'get!" He makes a point of rushing a few bites while the bear is distracted with climbing back onto the plate.
Madeline giggles as a chocolate bear assaults Variel's breakfast - and pushes her own plate away. She reaches for her own golden box now, pulling off the ribbon, and peeking inside, only to squeal happily. "I got one of the lions!" she declares. She dumps him out onto her hand and watches him strut about, and periodically let out a silent roar. "Aww… Tiny guy."
Ilsa laughs, nodding in confirmation of Variel's response as she glances back to Tarquin. "Very well, yes. I think it's shaping up to be a good day. At least we can hope!" Her gaze slips back to the chocolate bear, eyes bright with amusement. "Heartless. How can you resist such a cute little face?" she teases Variel though in truth she has no intention of letting the edible animal get close to her food either. "Ooh, nice! Where did these come from anyway?" she wonders aloud, watching the antics of the bear and the lion.
Tarquin listens to Ilsa and as he finishes breakfast, he reaches for his little box and pockets it. He didn't really have a lot to eat. "I'm glad things are going well," he says to his cousin, along with a genuine smile. "You still owe me some dancing classes too," he reminds her, amused before he stands up and looks towards the exit. "I think I'll get going for now. Late for breakfast, but hopefully early for classes," he grins. With that, he offers a small nod to those still at the Hufflepuff table and makes his way out.
Angelus tilts his head lightly, smiling out at the tables he stands by as he offers out a wave. "See you in class," he addresses to his year mates. The wave turns into a flourish as he bows towards his own table, a wide grin flashing across his face. "See you later, Lions. Raaawwr!" He exclaims as his fist pumps up in the hair. Then he turns, and heads out for the exit, another rose pulling out to drop down in front of another girl as he passes.
"Aw, who said you could get a Lion, squidge?" Variel grumps good-naturedly. "You obviously stole my box. How could you. I thought… I thought we were FRIENDS." Variel fakes a sniffle around a mouthful of mashed potatoes and sausage. He keeps an eye on the wandering chocolates, working his way through a good, Scottish breakfast.
Madeline glances up at Ilsa at her question, beaming brightly, and offering a shrug, before looking over at Variel. "You're not getting my lion, Variel!" she answers, then turns her attention back to her lion. After a few moments roaming, it plops down and starts grooming itself. "Oh that's too cute!" she squeals! Wow. She's going to have to compliment Gabriel on his really stellar work, later. This is just great!
"Anytime!" Ilsa calls fondly toward her departing cousin. As Tarquin slips out the door, she returns attention to the chocolate creations and grins at Variel's teasing of Maddie. Setting her fork down, she reaches for a box of her own. "I'm hoping for a badger. Think this'll be the lucky one?" she asks, giving the box a very gentle shake as if able to recognize its contents from the sounds coming from within.
"Pretty sure not. All the badgers are showing up at the Hufflepuff table. Want me to grab you one?" Variel squints at Madeline as she defies his expert logic. In revenge? He puts a daub of mashed potatoes on her nose. That'll teach her. He hops up to fetch golden box before she can retaliate!
There's just a little bit of her muffin left when Artemis pushes the plate away. Grasping the rose coloured glasses in her hands, she smiles around at the table and offers energetic waves. "Everyone have a lovely day, okay?" A hand lifts to brush a few blonde curls from her face as she slips out of her seat. "I've got to go prepare for class." A beaming smile is offered towards Luke, wiggling her fingers at him, much the same way as offers a wave and a bright smile towards the Slytherin and Ravenclaw tables. She should have done something to make the tables in a heart shaped for today. That would been GREAT! Anyway, hefts her bag and is off towards the exit.
"Hey!" Madeline squeaks, rubbing her nose clean. She sticks out her tongue at him, then says towards Isla, "He's right, though. All the badgers are at Hufflepuff." And they're honey flavored, instead of crispy rice. "I almost don't want to eat it…"
"Oh, you don't have to get up," Ilsa begins to answer Variel, only to find him already out of his chair. It doesn't seem to be too much of an inconvenience, at least, since it provides him the perfect reason to dart away after the exchange with Madeline. The Hufflepuff shakes her head in mock disapproval, although mischief dances in her eyes. "Is this what happens at the Gryffindor table?" she grumps in exaggerated fashion. "What will be next… a full-fledged food fight?" In truth, she appears to be enjoying herself quite well at this table. Traitor, indeed.
Variel returns before long with a Hufflepuff box in tow, and reclaims his seat to find… king Bear of Bangers and Mash town. "Oh, come ON. You sneaky little confection, I oughtta eat you right now. You're lucky that I'm banking on Badger reinforcements!" He hands the box to Ilsa. "Come on! Get me some badger power." Madeline, he pretends to ignore, with her awesome lion. Jerk Lion.
"Oh I hope so!" Madeline answers brightly, beaming at Ilsa. "That would be fun!" When her lion gets up to start padding around on her hand again, she picks him up between too fingers. "Sorry, little guy. You just look too delicious," she announces, before biting him in two. Mmm… Crispy rice.
"AUGH! NO! My lion! You ate my lion!" It was definitely Maddie's lion, not Variel's, but he complains anyway. "How could you?!" He reaches down and plucks up the teddy and pops it whole into his mouth. "The Weasley Lands will not take this offense lying down! I hope you didn't like your ambassador much!" Munch munch.
Ilsa gasps, a hand flying to her mouth as she watches the pair gobble down their chocolate animals. "Terrible, both of you. The valiant lion and the cuddle teddy bear, condemned to such a sad fate," she laments. It's the theatrical Selwyn side coming out, apparently. She can't resist a grin, turning attention to her own box as she opens it and triumphantly lifts out the chocolate shape. "Just what I wanted!"
"Very easily. He was delicious!" Madeline replies brightly, before popping the rest of her lion into her mouth. "Mmm. Though-" She glances towards the Slytherin table, on the other end of the room. Did they have any boxes left…? The snakes were /mint/ chocolate… Hrm.
Her attention is pulled back to Ilsa. "You got a badger? Great!"
Variel gives a grin when Ilsa raises her hand, triumphant. "That's fantastic! I knew I picked a good one." It's not super clear if he means Ilsa or the box in question, he's smiling big either way. "Maddie, how've classes been? First year's a rough adjustment, even for those of us who grew up around magic."
"I did," Ilsa confirms, watching the badger amble its way along the table. She flashes Variel a grin, impulsively leaning in to kiss his cheek. "Seems like you have a knack for choosing well." Attention turns to the first year as she nods in agreement with Variel. "Lots of changes to adjust to."
"Oh, it's all weird, alright," Madeline agrees brightly. "But it isn't lonely like it was, so I think everything's great!" She beams at the pair. "Well, I mean - Transfigurations is still pretty hard, but Adam's helping me with that, and I've actually been learning /loads/ by helping Chastity with her work, not that she needs it so much anymore, which is great of course."
Variel flushes as Ilsa's lips find his cheek, clearing his throat. "Well, I'm not the only one. MAddie here's just waiting for Adam to pop up so she can go teach him how to kay eye ess ess." He winks big and grins, preparing for the inevitable counterattack as he returns Ilsa's favor, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek when he can get away with it.
There's a loooooooong nooooote being played on sweet sounding pair of pan pipes and coming from the direction of…under the Gryffindor table.
Ilsa casts Madeline a genuine smile as she listens. "I'm glad things are going so well for you. Seems like you're settling in without too much trouble." She captures her badger before it can wander too far and pops the chocolate in her mouth. "Mm, delicious." Stifling laughter, she manages to swallow the morsel before speaking, a wide grin in place. "You think? It's probably inevitable," she teases lightly, sneaking a glance toward Maddie to catch her reaction. But then there's music playing and her head swivels as she tries to identify the source.
"We're not gonna-!" Madeline protests, and kicks at Variel underneath the table. Hopefully there aren't any pirate captains accidentally between her foot and her intended victim. "We're just friends!"
"Right now, just friends! That's what the holiday is for! And the kissing!" Variel grins and swipes a lingering sausage from Maddie's plate in revenge for his sore shin. "Now- heyyyy. I know those pipes. OY! Where are you, ya scamp of a sea slug?!"
Cillian giggles and shakes his head, crawling further down under the table to where Variel is sitting, idly tucking something in his sock before fidgeting about to find the time to stick something else in Madeline's sock.
"Friends can easily turn into something more," Ilsa warns, although her tone is light and teasing. "The best relationships are those based on trust and common ground." She glances sidelong toward Variel, her cheeks suddenly tinged slightly pink as she offers a smile. "But we're teasing. You've plenty of time to worry about all that. And - which scamp of a sea slug would that be?" She continues peering about curiously.
"Probably the Cap'n," Madeline says brightly. "We're gonna get a boat and go sailing this summer. I think. I hope." Trying to slip something into her sock is going to be made all the more difficult by the way she swings her feet idly in her seat.
"Yeap. That'd be Cillian, AAAGH! What the- Cillian, you rotten little punk, if you stuck a jellied slug down my sock, I'll- … is that parchment?" Variel screws up his face and fishes about under the table until he can produce the candy and its heart. "Oh! Well. Ah. Cheers, Captain, wherever thou may be!"
"Oi! Madi Maggy!" Cillian hisses from under the table as he's having a /little hard of a time/ tucking that darn peppermint. "If ye dun keep ye feet still, ye won't be 'avin any peppermints!" He declares in a whisper before he hesitates. "Do ye /want/ Jellied Slugs!?"
"Huh?" Madeline asks, her feet suddenly stopping. "Oh. Yes! Both, please!" she requests cheerfully. "Though I already got some of the peppermints that fell out of the heart, Cap'n," she girl points out, looking up at sign hanging about them.
Ilsa arches a brow, craning her neck to peek under the table. "Is that his usual mode of operation, whoever he is?" she asks curiously. "Sticking gifts in random socks?"
Ilsa casts the group an apologetic look, rising from her seat as she pushes away her now-empty plate. "Oh! I need to run finish an assignment before class. Good to see you all," she calls with a cheery wave before slipping out the door.
Cillian crawls out from under the table to squeeze/wiggle up on the bench beside Madeline, leaning in to brush his lips against her cheek ala brotherly affection if allowed and then to laugh and shake his head. "Yer banner is just lovely luv, ye did a brilliant job of it."
Madeline beams at Cillian as he joins her - though her cheeks redden at the kiss. "Yeah? Variel taught me how to do the seaming, you know. Made it a /lot/ faster and easier - using magic." She looks up at the banner above her. "You think we'll be able to get it back down, later? I'd like to keep it. Maybe take the lettering off, but…"
Cillian hmms softly and shrugs a shoulder, tugging a bar of chocolate out of his robes and unwrapping it thoughtfully. "Oui…we'll get it. Even if they be takin' it down, we'll get it back for ye." He winks and smiles. "How do ye like bein' a pirate so far?"
"What's not to like?" Madeline asks brightly. "This kind of stuff - it's great. It's tops. Here, want a rose?" She offers it to Cillian. "Eibon gave it to me - and I don't want it." She really, /really/ dislikes Angelus.
"Ah…" Cillian accepts the rose and peers at it curiously before smiling. "What ye do is leave it in his seat." He taps the side of his nose and offers it back to Madeline. "Or I'll do it later on, okay?"
"Don't know that he'd necessarily know it's from me - he was giving them out to loads of girls," Madeline remarks uncertainly. "He isn't as nice as he pretends, you know. At least - not when it comes to people like /me/."
- **Log ended here for me as I went to bed. Please add the remainder if anyone has more. I've also added what was in my buffer (Gabriel). **