(1939-10-31) Halloween Feast 1939 - Pumpkin Carving
Details for Pumpkin Carving
Summary: Before the Halloween Feast there's time for students to carve their pumpkins for the Pumpkin Contest.
Date: Octuober 31st 1939
Location: Hogwarts - Great Hall
Related: Halloween Pumpkins 1939
Characters
AbraxasAliciaAnthonyBrockCaraColtonElspethGabrielHattieLeviMadelineMyrus

Great Hall


It is a fall night. The weather is cool and overcast.


Braziers that hang by chains from the beaks of griffin gargoyles that line the walls where they meet the high vaulted enchanted ceiling offer warm illuminating blazes. Four long tables are evenly spaced with the heads of the table at the north and south of the room. Each table has a cloth runner down the center and a plush rug underneath of the different House colors indicating to which house the table belongs.
The most westerly table is the Slytherin table. Beside them is the Ravenclaw table. The Gryffindor table is then between the Ravenclaw table to the west and the Hufflepuff table which is the most easterly table. One other table along the northern wall up on a dais for the Professors to sit at and look over all four of the other tables. Also on the dais is one lectern gilded in gold with an owl spreading it's wings at the top of the lectern. Candles line the tops of the owl's wings to illuminate anyone speaking at the lectern. A stool like protrusion comes out of the lectern as well as that's where the first years sit when they are sorted.
There are three sets of doors in the Great Hall. The main exit and entrance that leads to the Entry Hall is a large set of double wooden doors carved with vines and flanked by high stone pedestals each set with a small brazier above the stony 'H' carved in the pedestal. On the eastern wall is a much smaller door just next to the dais that's attached to the antechamber the first years come up from the lake through. Lastly one other door is set into the northwest corner behind the High Table.
As always high above within the obscured stone and wood cathedral like buttresses and crockets the outside weather is reflected in an illusion with all the sound and visuals of the weather, just without the actual effects of it.

SCENE: Before the feast begins a random pumpkin can be found at each place setting. It is not mandatory and those not wishing to participate simply put their pumpkin in the center of the table. A vast variety of carving tools are available along said center of the table, spells to carve and embellish the pumpkins are also allowed. The gutting process has already been done and roasted pumpkin seeds are found in bowls along each table to snack on during the contest.
Just before dinner begins everyone will secretly put names on a piece of paper and place them in pumpkins that are carved with the words befitting categories:
Scariest Pumpkin
Silliest Pumpkin
Sweetest Pumpkin


Anthony seems to be in the process of delivering a pumpkin. In the sense of putting it on a table, rather than in any bizarre herbological obstetric fashion. He turns, however, and gives the newcomer a grin, "Licia!"

Alicia looks around the room rather blankly, confused by the presence of pumpkins, but her face lights up as she hears her brother's voice, and she rushes over to hug him. "Happy Birthday! I couldn't find you earlier to give you your preent!"

Anthony returns the hug, "Thanks! And yes! Sorry! Professor Black had my nose to the grindstone. But it's some really interesting stuff. You'll LOVE runes once you get to them!"

Anthony is getting a hug from a Firstie.

Alicia nods eagerly. Of course she is going to love what Anthony does. She unslings her backpack, cushioning the violin case's fall to the floor with her foot, and takes out a carefully wrapped parcel, and hands it over to her brother.

Anthony oooohs, enthusiastically and takes the package, giving it the traditional slight shake. "Should I open it now?"

Alicia says, "Yes", she looks a little uncertain. "I hope it's alright..I know you wanted your own copy when Father said you couldn't take his from home.."

Madeline flounces in, an eager smile on her features as she takes in the pumpkins on all of the tables. She starts to wander around the room, rather than going directly to her table, peering at what various students are making with a curious expression. All the pumpkins were ever so interesting last year! She doubts this year will let her down.

Anthony gives his sister a smile, "I'm sure it will be brilliant." And starts to unfasten the packaging. To reveal…
..a rather large book, obviously antique with the titale gilded.The print is hard to make out, but seems to be 'Ancient Magical Practises of the Maya'.
And the conventional sounds of reassurance turn into a real cry of delight, "Oh, Alicia! This is amazing! You found a copy! You are wonderful!"

Madeline pauses near Anthony and his sister as he receives the book, watching curiously as it's unwrapped, an craning her head to try to see the title. "Do people usually give out presents for Halloween?" she asks in puzzlement.

Alicia blushes, though she beams happily. "It wasn't any trouble, really! I mean, trawling through bookstores is a /pleaseure/!"

Anthony grins, "I'm going to be lost in this for _ages_!" And Maddy gets a look, "Well, for me, yes, every year." A pause, "It's my birthday!"

Madeline blinks in surprise. "It is?" she asks. "You didn't tell me!" she exclaims - in a slightly accusatory tone. How come he didn't tell her?! "I don't have any- oooo! I know!" She slides her bookbag around so it hangs in front of her, and starts digging into it. Finally, she comes out with a piece of parchment in her hands. "You can have this drawing I did!" she suggests. "Because, umm, it's the only thing I've got that you might like." It's a drawing of a cupcake - with the shape of a skulled into the dripping frosting, and cherry and sprinkles on top. "What do you think?"
The Evil Cupcake Drawing

Alicia looks sideways at the female talking with her brother and presenting him with a drawing.

Anthony takes it, "Um… that's very kind, Madeline." He peers at it. And some more, "That's very….. inventive. Of you." A pause, and clearly a polite, "Thank you!"

Alicia's mouth relaxes into a smile once more at that.

Madeline doesn't seem to notice any hesitation in Anthony's tone - because who wouldn't like a drawing of an evil cupcake for their birthday?! She beams cheerfully at the much older student. "You're welcome! Have a very happy birthday, Anthony!" She peers past him at his pumpkin for a moment, then turns her attention to Alicia. "You're, umm, one of the new Hufflepuffs, right? I'm Madeline Evans!" She thrusts her hand out, giving the girl a friendly smile.

Anthony grins, and leans over to ruffle the hair of the new Hufflepuff, "This is my baby sister, Alicia. All growed up!"

Alicia wrinkles her nose at the word 'abay', but politely shakes the proffered hand, "Alicia Rowle, yes."

"Oh! She is? Gosh, I haven't been paying attention again, have I?" Madeline asks in surprise. "Hi, Alicia! I hope you're liking Hogwarts now that everything's alright again. I did alright in my classes last year, so if you need any help, you can always ask me if you see me," she offers cheerfully. "School's a lot better place when we're all helping each other."

Anthony gives a faint smile, "Maddy's a Lion, as you can see, but she's alright, mostly! And a hard worker! Even if she needs to work on her History Essays!"

Alicia sighs, "I wanted to be in Ravenclaw, like Anthony. I hardly ever see him now."

"Aww, but Hufflepuffs are great. My friend Adam's a Hufflepuff. Plus you have, umm… Erica! And Adorabella! And Rook!" Madeline replies, naming off other Hufflepuffs she likes. "You know, my uncle was a Ravenclaw, and he wanted me to be a Ravenclaw too, but I'm a lion! RAR!" She lets out her very best roar. It is delivered with an unusual level of cheer for a roar.

Anthony grins, and ruffles the hair again. "Hey, it's okay. You're seeing more of me than you did while you were still at home, aren't you? But yes. We three ought to try and get together for regular teas, or something!"

Colton is off at the Gryffindor table itching at one of his goblin ears, tongue poked out between pressed lips that twitch because the long black stringy hair that dangles from his nostrils is tickling his upper lip. All in all though Hodrod the Horny-Handed looks to be in deep deep concentration as he carves at his pumpkin, that if you ask him with the bit of warping at the bottom looks a great deal like former Headmaster Flints head and face. Each letter is given great dedication like it was his life's work.
Anthony gives you a cookie.

Alicia nods enthusiastically, as she starts to haul her backpack on again. She looks over to the HP table, and frowns slightly. Pumpkins. Why are there…"Oh! I'd forgotten. It's Halloween, isn't it ?"

"You forgot?" Madeline asks, giggling quietly. "But you remembered his birthday! You forgot his birthday was on Halloween?" She glances around the room - her eyes landing on the 'goblin' hard at work.

Anthony grins, "Well, we don't tend to celebrate Halloween at home, much. She's in her first year here!"

Alicia admits, "I'm still not clear on the whole Halloween thing. It seems…kinda silly."

Gabriel comes up behind Madeline just in time to catch Alicia's question. "Halloween? Its a holiday that the Christians evolved from Samhain harvest celebrations. People used to dress up in masks to protect themselves from spirits, ghosts, and other evil entities but now its all about the candy." Simplified, yes, but a lot quicker than a full explenation. "Happy Birthday, Anthony."

"Wait - how come you knew?" Madeline asks Gabriel - when he remarks on Anthony's birthday. "I didn't know! That's not my fault," she asserts.

Anthony gives a smile, "Thanks Gabriel! It's nice the School throws a feast for me! But I think there'll be cake too!"

Alicia ah's, "Oh, that sounds less silly, for muggles. Until it became about the candy, anyhow." Sher bestows a smile at the boy who answered her, and has the good taste to know of her brother's birthday.

Gabriel chuckles at Madeline, "I'm a Ravenclaw, of course. He's been celebrating his birthday around me for 3 years now. How would I not remember at this point?"

"Oh…" Madeline answers. "Well, yeah, I guess. But I didn't really know Anthony that well last year! I was still new." See? She has a perfectly legitimate reason for not knowing. "Did you know Alicia's his sister?"

Anthony gives a smile, and flicks open the book in his hand. Well. Yeah. New book.

Alicia says, "Next one down from Amber."

Gabriel shakes his head, "Well, no. She just got here. Its not like I spend my free time outside of Hogwarts at the Rowle house." His tone is kind of surprised, as if Maddie's asking questions she should know the answer to, if she just thought about it for a moment…

"Well, now you know!" Madeline says brightly. Does she seem pleased to have known before Gabriel? Surely not. "She seems pretty nice! Maybe we'll be friends."

Anthony looks up briefly from his new book, "Well, you _might_ have been paying attention to her name when they sorted her." And he goes back to reading about what would seem to be Mayan magic

Alicia's hand pauses on its way to her pocket as Madeline speaks, then continues on its way to the book there. She doesn't pull it out and read it, but hangs onto it, as if for comfort.

Gabriel smiles at Alicia, "well, nice to finally meet you, Alicia. Have you decided which of the carved pumpkins is your favorite?"
Hattie has connected.

Talk about asking questions to which the answers are obvious. "Anthony's"

Madeline giggles at Alicia's answer. "You aren't gonna try your own?" she asks. "Maybe it'll be the best!"

Anthony points out, "But I haven't told you which one is mine, Alicia! You have to pick the one you like best!"

Alicia shakes her head, "I'm not very good at art, only music. And I couldn't do better than Anthony anyway" She pouts at Anthony, "That's not fair!"

Gabriel arches an eyebrow at Alicia, "That is fuzzy logic. There are three categories you may win and the three would be very hard to win together with the one pumpkin you can enter. So, that logically means that you have a two in three chance to be better than Anthony in at least one category."

"Ooo!" Madeline says cheerfully. "I really like music! I'm learning bagpipes, you know. Maybe we can practice together, sometime. Angus loans me his bagpipe when I want to practice. He's teaching me."

Anthony gives a slight look of pain. He may not be in Gryffindor, but he's had the 'pleasure' of listening to Angus at last Burns night. And if Maddie is learning from him, it means she's not even _that_ good.

Alicia says, "I'm..not sure how well the violin would go with bagpipes. But..are there music practice rooms here ? I haven't been able to find any." She pauses, "Of course, I haven't been anywhere much yet but to my House rooms and classes, and I still get lost going to them."

Gabriel mirrors Anthony's pained look and, since the conversation is revolving around one of those areas he really knows nothing about, he starts to wander around looking at pumpkins.

"Oh, any empty room is a practice room," Madeline says dismissively. "But I usually practice the bagpipes outside. People don't like it when I practice in the common room, for some reason."
Aren't you glad you're not lions?

Anthony winces some more, perhaps in sympathy for those poor studying lions. "I don't know if there's a string quartet, Alicia. Perhaps you might set one up?"

Gabriel from somewhere near Colton's pumpkin Gabriel calls out, "My cousin, Cathal Liam O'Toole, plays the violin as well. Quite nicely I might say. You could talk to him , he might be interested."

"Calista Flint plays the violin," Madeline adds thoughtfully.

Alicia says, "I suppose I could try." She glances back to her table. "I think I'm meant to go back there now. I'll see you later! Oh!" as Gabriel calls "I'll make a note of his name." She scribbles as she walks away, turning to wave again to Anthony after she finishes."

Anthony gives another wave, and closes the book around his finger, "Yes. Yes, actually, I should get up to the dorm to change soon."

"I'll need to get changed, too," Madeline agrees. "But I'm gonna go carve a pumpkin!" She beams brightly then adds in a cheerful tone, "Happy birthday again!"

Anthony hrms, "Yes. I should go and get changed, shouldn't I?"

"Then go! And when you come back you can guess which pumpkin was mine!" Madeline gives Anthony a playful push, and starts to move towards an untouched pumpkin.

Carolyn Goyle has been hard at work all this time on a pumpkin of her own, mostly ignorant of the conversations happening all around her. By now, she's managed to carve the two big children on opposite sides of her large pumpkin. She's even sliced a silhouette of their hands meeting on a third side, and crafted the big bags they hold on the fourth and last section. At present, she is finishing up with a bunch of little carvings of candies and confections collected between the children's halloween bags. At last, she decides to take her time, forming the itty bitty treats while glancing up to survey the work of others, "so…what're you all up to?" Hazel-green eyes glance about. Since the Great Hall is more than likely warmer than outside, she has long discarded her scarf and gloves beside her. This leaves her wearing her vest, shirt, tie, skirt, stockings, shoes, and even a pair of white headbands in her wheat blonde locks. She bends over to grab a few roasted pumpkin seeds from the communal bowl and chow down, kneeling there beside her work.

Madeline settles in at the Gryffindor table - her back to Cara, who sits just a see or so over. She glances over at the older girl, and shrugs. "Oh, figuring out what I want to do…" She starts sketching out a design on her pumpkin - one with BIG. JAGGED. TEETH. Yeeeeeah… That's the way to go!
Madeline's Pumpkin Inspiration

Sitting at the Ravenclaw table, Elspeth hasn't been there as long as she had wanted. Some make-up work in Herbology kept her, and so she's decided to go with something a little simpler. She cleans her pumpkin carefully, smoothing out the inside before she begins to sketch on the outside. She chews the side of her lip, then starts over again, with an arched row of spikes cut straight through to the hollow interior. Her braid gets flipped back over her shoulder as she works, glancing only occasionally around her.

Cara glances back over her shoulder at Madeline's pumpkin and elicits a bit of a giggle, "that pumpkin's going to look awesome. I hope mine doesn't look too sappy or anything." She cants her head to the side, "I don't think we've really met before. I think I've seen you in the hallways but…" She smiles, "I'm Cara. Cara Kothari." Turning towards one of the other Ravenclaws sitting at her own table, she plucks a roasted pumpkin seed to eat as she smiles at Elspeth, "spikes, huh? That looks like it'll be something unusual."
Elspeth drops Elspeth's Pumpkin.

"Kothari's a nice name," Madeline remarks cheerfully. "I'm Madeline Evans." With the design sketched, Madeline starts to cut, choosing a little serated blade for the task. "I hope it comes out alright," she says of her pumpkin in a dubious voice. "They're hard to carve."

Cara ever so slightly archer a brow at Madeline's comment, but she still offers a cheerful smile right back, "thank you. It was my mother's name. A pleasure, Evans." She bobs her head, "I hope so too. You're right, pumpkin carving's not my forte either. I'd rather draw." She continues to make carve the tiny curves and ruffled edges of a bow-tied candy wrapper, careful not to accidentally poke it all the way through.

"It does not seem to be getting any easier each year," Elspeth says over her shoulder, hearing the conversation behind her somewhere. She gives a little yelp as her knife suddenly slides through, then expels a breath as she tries to be more careful pulling it back out and then continuing a little more slowly.

"I should have planned what I was making ahead of time, I think…" Madeline remarks as she continues to work with the knife, her gaze never leaving her pumpkin. "You like to draw? Me too! I just gave Anthony a drawing a made for his birthday. I think he liked it!"

Cara shrugs her shoulders, "but despite it all, I think it's only got more fun. I almost want to make another pumpkin. Besides, these pumpkin seeds are delicious." She nods her head to Madeline's words, "it helps to sketch the idea out first. That's what I did, anyway. And I think it's coming out nicely, if I do say so myself." On a flight of fancy, despite her pumpkin portraying two bags-worth of treats, she decides to carve out the silhouette of a cupcake, "oh, I love to draw. I do it all the time in class." She grins at the comment about Anthony, "that's wonderful! I spoke with him just last evening after classes, and he -did- seem happy." A flicker of mischief flashes through her eyes, "you know what else I do? I rarely use anything but sugar quills in class. So I can eat candy -and- draw while the teacher drones on about Arithmantic equations and other boring things like that."

Elspeth smiles to herself as she hears the others talk about drawing. Perhaps there's a hint of self-satisfaction in her eyes, but at this time, she doesn't draw attention fo her prediliction for sketching. The knife is making steadier progress through the hard, orange, shell, now and she blows a breath to sway wisps away from her eyes.

"They're not bad!" Madeline agrees while popping a few more into her mouth. "If he was happy last night, though, it wasn't about my drawing! I only just gave it to him! He was probably happy because it was almost his birthday. And he gets to go to the dance with Eibhlin." She struggles to get her knife around a tight corner - so she opts to attack it from the other side.
"Oh. Well. I'm learning the bagpipes from Angus - you know, MacMillan? And I work on training my raven sometimes. Stuff like that."

Cara giggles and bobs her head, "not bad? They're great!" She grabs a few more roasted pumpkin seeds and chows down on them just to prove her point, all while carving the remainder of that cupcake silhouette into her big orange victim. Two children, in addition to their hands and bags have already been completed, and she is currently at the finish line cutting little candies between them. She gasps, "it was his birthday? I didn't know! I should've set something! But I'm sure you at least were -part- of the reason he was happy. Judging by your pumpkin, I bet you're a great artist." She arches a brow, "the bagpipes? What a rare insrument to practice. You'll have to show it off sometime. I'm not very good with music myself, but I've dabbled with the violin once or twice. It's hard!" Another chuckle, "I've tried training my cat before. One thing I've learned? You can't train a cat unless they want to be trained." At present, she is sitting at the Ravenclaw table, near to Elspeth. Madeline is at the Gryffindor table, her and Cara's backs turned close enough to converse. Cara has her scarf and gloves resting on the table beside her, hardly needing it in the cozy warmth of the Great Hall.

Abraxas strolls into the Great Hall with a few other Slytherin's behind him. He finds a seat at the middle of the long Slytherin table, and then grabs a handful of pumpkin seeds as a snack while he considers the large pumpkin in the middle of the table. He glances around at the rest of the tables, nodding to a few people he knows.

The entrance of Abraxas and his cronies draws Elspeth's eyes for a slight moment as she rests her hand from the carving. The oval with the cat inside has been roughly cut out, although the face is still a solid shadow. It hasn't been cut into, yet, no features on the cat. She chuckles at the talk. "I think Neko has been training me," she responds when Cara talks about trying to train a cat. "She is being a smart one, that cat. She would be glaring at me if she was seeing what I am carving, I am sure."

"I'm pretty sure I couldn't train Mischief unless she wanted to learn!" Madeline answers with a giggle. "But thankfully - she reeeeeeally loves food. A lot. Really." She grins over her shoulder at Cara - then keeps carving out the big, maniacal grin of her toothy pumpkin.

Cara elbows one of the other girls and nudges her chin up at Abraxas when he walks into the Great Hall. She whispers and mutters, "look, there's that Slytherin boy. It's always shocking to realize his pet isn't actually a really tall horse. Would've been more fitting for him." The other girl, naturally, fails to stifle a giggle. To Elspeth, Cara replies, "right? If I'm not careful, it'll be -me- sleeping at my cat's foot and sneaking around in search of savory treats to eat." She shrugs, "…not that I don't do that last one anyway…" She bobs her head to Madeline's words, "right? I'm baffled that mine would rather eat green beans and asparagus than candy like me though. Thankfully, it seems we've come to a pleasant sort of arrangement…"

Abraxas doesn't look as if he hears in the heckle hurled in his direction. Instead, he's busily selecting a proper pumpkin for whatever carving he's decided to make. He looks at the selection of carving tools and then taps one against the pumpkin. Still thinking.

"A really tall horse?" Elspeth asks, her brow furrowing at Cara's comment, then chuckles at the sneaking around for treats. "Are you sure you are not being a Hufflepuff in disguise? I am not being sure why I am not having to peel you off the ceiling at night to be putting you in bed." She glances back to Madeline. "Then we are needing to be finding a way to make Mischief want to be learning, yes?" She grins and takes a smaller knife to begin smoothing out her rough cuts.

"You have a raven too?" Madeline asks Cara with some surprise. She hadn't noticed any others hanging about the school! Her attention then shifts to Elspeth, as she giggles. "She learns just fine! For food. She'll do aaaaaaaanything for food if you can make her understand what you want! Which is hard, sometimes."

Cara bobs her head enthusiastically to Elspeth, "soooo tall a horse." She climbs onto the seat and waves her arms in the arm, stomping and lurching like she was riding a high horse, "something like this, through the halls and classrooms and even in his high tower." She glances around, deciding it prudent to hurriedly climb back into her seat lest any grownup see her like that, "oh, don't be silly. I might run around the girl's tower every other night before bedtime, but I could never actually run -up- it. Not unless there was a reeeaaally good trick to play if I did it." She shakes her head at Madeline, "no raven, just a very lofty little kitty. Almost as bad as a Slytherin. Almost. Too lovable for that though." She waves a hand, "but never mind about that." She leans forward conspiratorially, "I heard? That that Malfoy over there is actually the leader of the Magijugend, and is trying to bring back SCUMS to the classroom."

Abraxas has a self-satisfied smirk all of a sudden as he begins carving his pumpkin, a selection of gooey pumpkin bits gradually forming into a pile of debris at his elbow.

It seems that this Hufflepuff has for once been keeping to himself for the moment at least or perhaps he's waiting, Levi's looked at many of the entries and some of the other students once he's done he'll move to join the others here either finishing their pumpkin's or just talking and hanging out. He spots at least a fairly familiar group moving over towards them though still a bit away within the main hall here.

The really tall horse reference leaves Elspeth perplexed, but then she laughs. "No, it is being a muggle saying, I am guessing, now," Elspeth says. "When someone is bouncing around after having a lot of sugar, it is being said that they are being stuck to the ceiling." She frowns slightly at the disparagement of Slytherin, but it's relatively mild compared to what she has been hearing, so she ignores it and goes back to smoothing the edges of her pumpkin carving. "Yes, that is being the thing. When Mischief is wanting food, and if you are having enough," the girl smiles good naturedly as she discusses the Raven. "SCUMs are being gone, he can be studying them if he is wanting," she adds mildly.

"Besides - he's not the leader. That's Alphard Black," Madeline answers matter-of-factly. "If they still have a leader. I mean - they aren't a real club anymore, so…" She shrugs her shoulders. "I aaaaalways keep a little food on me for Mischief! Incase she does something stupid and I need to stop her. 'cuz that happens!"

Abraxas glances over at the other table, as if he heard the Magijugend being mentioned. He smirks again and displays the Eye of Truth on the side of his pumpkin before he goes back to carving.

Cara taps her chin thoughtfully to Elspeth's comment about muggle sayings, "is it? I'm not sure. Just picked it up while growing up, I guess." She nods her head in understanding to her explanation of then other idiom however, "ahhh." She shrugs, grinning lightly, "well, for me? Hardly a saying at all. More like…close to fact." She chuckles then, "sure, SCUMS are gone. But they were here in the first place, right? They could always have a comeback. And boy, do I bet Malfoy hopes it's so." She shakes her head to Madeline, "why -wouldn't- they still exist? You saw how fervent their members were. Bullies don't stop just because they've been told to." Just then, she notices Abraxas shift his pumpkin to show what he's working on. Her eyes widen and she elicits a little gasp. She nudges the girl next to her and attracts the attention of everyone nearby, pointing in the boy's direction, "did you see that? Did you see that?! He's making the Eye."

Elspeth shakes her head slowly, bending a bit to look inside her pumpkin as she smoothes the lower edge of the oval where the cat feet perch. "Not with Professor Dumbledore being Headmaster it will not be coming back," she murmurs, half to herself. "It is being balance. If there is being a Mud Club, there is no reason there should not be a club for purebloods as well. Let them be having their club." The prefect's voice is mild as she works, unthreatened by the continued 'band of bullies'. Shifting her head back and forth to stretch her neck, she glances over to the Slytherin table. "It is being fine. He can be making it… and Pringle will be smashing it." Surprisingly, there is no satisfaction in her voice, there is only the statement of how things go.

"Evening Evens, Rosen." he looks to the other trying to place the name "Goyle, sorry." Levi comes up with it after a quick moment the seventh year will look the the pumpkin being carved "That's quite good." he speaks to Elspeth before looking to each a moment "Looking foward to the feast and all?" he asks after the moments silence where he's taking in the Great Hall again before back. If he glances towards the pumpkin with the eye of (so called in his oppinion) truth he doesnt make note of it.

"Esmond," Madeline answers Levi, before looking towards Elspeth. "Well - but they need a Professor, right? If they're going to have a proper club. It was Professor Flint before, and now he's gone. Otherwise it's just friends hanging about with each other."
She looks back at her pumpkin as she cuts out another large section of the mouth. "Eibon - Angelus - he kept telling me it's about culture. But if it were - well, if there was a wizarding culture club, I'd wanna join that. Listen to music written by wizards, and stories by them, and celebrations, and things like that! But there's not. I think it'd be nice."

Abraxas finishes carving his pumpkin, using the back of a spoon to work out the hair, and then carving the runes beneath the pumpkin and then picking up his finished product and moving it to its final place. He looks inordinantly pleased with himself, though in honesty the carving is probably no better than a solid 'not bad'. He cleans off his hands, and then heads back towards the Slytherin table.

Cara frowns, "it's not just a club for snotty pure-bloods though. It's a gathering of bullies and mean people. Who wants that?" She glances over to Abraxas' table again and sighs, "I hope he smashes it. I'd almost do it myself…" She trails off as Levi approaches, offering him a small nod, "it's fine. Goyle, right. Kothari too, either way." She cants her head, "and you're…Esmond, right? Hufflepuff Quidditch team?" She beams, "I'm excited to fight you when the match comes around. I hear you're pretty good." She giggles, returning to the conversation at hand, "a culture club would be awesome. We should start one!"

And Hattie? Hattie Wilkins is just in it for the seeds. Here and there as she comes and goes from the hall, she will stop by the scooped out pumpkin innards, and choose a few seeds to tuck into a handkerchief. Her own pumpkin is clean, and shiny, and unmarked at her place at the table, where she left it.

Myrus enters the great hall, a little late, but still, he's ready, armed with simply a small spoon that might be better meant for gouging and scraping rather than cutting deep. And the handle has a point to it, good for getting fine lines and detail to a moderate degree.
As he sits, he looks at the pumpkin for a minute, looking at where the stem was broken, and points that to the side, and starts carving out a face.. around the stem? A little strange.
He's sitting near the group talking about a pure-blood group. And at least he gives his fellow Ravenclaw beater a silent nod. But she's only the first to recieve it, as everyone in that group would get a similiar greeting. A wave here, another nod there. Maybe a faux salute with two fingers of the hand holding his spoon-ish tool.

"And if we are smashing their pumpkins, who is being the bully, then?" Elspeth's voice remains that quiet, mild tone. "Esmond," she greets, looking up to the Hufflepuff. "Thank you." She concentrates once more on her work, smoothing the pumpkin flesh she's gouged out. "To Eibon it is being about culture, to some others it is being about better." She stills, her little knife poised, then she puts it down. "That is being a good idea, Evans. Maybe we can be finding a Professor … perhaps Professor Burke would like to be taking charge of such a club. I am sure there are many that would be liking that club."

"He might," Madeline muses. "What I really think there oughtta be is a class," she asserts. "For folks raised with Muggle families, they study Wizard culture. And for folks raised with Wizard families, they study Muggle culture. You see? For the two years before we start electives. I think it'd help everyone."

Levi listens to the conversation "Hm a culture club would be cool but maybe introduce many different cultural things into it so it's not just wizard focused and draw more people to it." The seventh year says well his thoughts on it anyways. He turns back as he's spoken to again and gives a small shrug "I do my best is all, i'm sure it'll be a great game." He answers clearly not convinced of the hype his house tried to give him last year. He looks back to Elspeth "Quite welcome." he says in answer.

Cara offers Hattie a cheerful little wave when she arrives nearby, happy to see another Ravenclaw of the same year around, especially since they share the same love for pumpkin seeds. She proves her adoration by grabbing a small handful and feeding herself with her other hand. A hand which rises to offer a crisp salute when Myrus strides in, "Lowe! How're you doing? What sort of pumpkin are you making?" She turns to Elspeth and shrugs her shoulders sourly, "it'd only be right to do it. How else do you take care of bullies?" She arches a brow at Madeline's suggestion then, "that…would be exciting! I know so little about the Muggles, it's strange. I mean sure, I used to live around them when I was really little, but I could do with a few more lessons about them." To Levi, she says, "it'll be awesome! The best game in all the history of Hogwarts. I'm sure of it!"

Myrus looks at those talking about clubs, then to Cara when she addresses him directly in return to his greeting. He looks at his pumpkin, then back to her. "Something unusual, sans the fact that it's just going to be a face." He halfheartedly shrugs, and keeps shaving bits off of the rind. It's looking like the eyes and mouth are taking shape already.. with large teeth for the mouth, and the stem appears to be a slightly sinister downturned nose.

Hattie puts the handkerchief on the table in front of her. She lifts a hand toward Cara, and begins to incise a squarish shape into her gourd, regretfully, at the midline, or slightly above, like the mouth of a man-made cave.

"Which is coming first," Elspeth muses. "The chicken or the egg?" She finally moves to that solid orange part that is the head of the cat. Taking the knife, she carves into the hard shell, but not all the way through the meat, the large eyes slanted and almond shaped. "If we are being bullies back they are being bullies more, and it is never ending." She shrugs and glances over to Maddie. "You should be asking him, Evans. About the club, that is. Maybe we can be writing a letter to the Board of Governors with your suggestion. Hullo Wilkins." She tips her head to look at Myrus's pumpkin. "That is being creative, Lowe. I am liking it."

Abraxas has seen Gellert Pumpkinwald off to his place for the judging, and now stands, apparently deciding it's time to go off and get ready to get into costume. A few of the other Slytherins fall in to join him, and he spends a moment chatting quietly with some of his fellow Magijugend, including the charismatic Brock Bletchly.

Cara gives Myrus a nod, making a bit of a face, "I'm sure it'll be more than just that. But I suppose it's better to not spoil the surprise." She eats another pair of roasted pumpkin seeds from her cupped hand, shrugging her shoulders wryly at Elspeth, "who can say? Maybe the egg, but that's beside the point. He's a bully, and so are all his Magijugend people." She nods, "perhaps what the problem is, is they think they can just be mean with no repercussions. You can't just turn your back on them. You've gotta do -something-, you know?" As Abraxas stands to leave, she notices his departure and gives him a meaningful glare, "we should tell Prickle what Abraxas carved."

"Well. Dumbledore makes the curriculum, right? Just like Flint did. He if likes the idea, he could start the classes," Madeline answers Elspeth. "I mean, I think so…" She finishes pulling out the last of the hunks from her pumpkin's mouth - and smiles at it in satisfaction. "Now for the eyes!"

Levi grins at the talk of the best game ever. "I can hope so, its my last year afterall. It'd be something to play in the best game ever seen." he chuckles though knowing the games will likely be exciting but much like any other he's played in he'll still enjoy them in his final year. "The rest of the year will be interesting no doubt, but I look forward to it now."

Hattie lays the squarish piece aside, and from her satchel removes a roundish bit of short, mossy turf which she trims with a knife to lay in the bottom of her pumpkin. In a short break in the trimming process, her brown eyes slip over toward the Divine Brock and fellows… not staring, quite, but enjoying the view, certainly. Hattie goes "Hrmmm-what? Oh! Hello, Rosen." She begins to use her knife to scrape away at the interior back of the pumpkin, removing only a long bit of flesh here and there, never cutting through to the other side.

Setting her pumpkin in front of her, Els pulls out her wand to charm the eyes green, then looks at her finished work. Cara's reasoning receives a sigh, and a slight shake of the head. She's not going to keep going the circles there. She turns to look at Hattie, and a little smile curves her lips as she follows the girl's gaze, then back to her. "Well, I am going to be working on my costume, it is almost being finished. Enjoy your carving," she smiles to the rest around and picks up her pumpkin to take it to the table, setting it in the 'silly' section.

Cara nods to Madeline, "right? Just because the SCUMS class is gone now, doesn't mean it couldn't come back. And that Malfoy over there is probably trying to do just that." She shrugs, "that's what I heard, anyway." She scowls Abraxas' way, just to show her teeth. Still, when Levi speaks, she is brought back to the conversation and idly replies, "oh, I'm sure it will be." She glances towards Elspeth in mild surprise when she starts to leave as well, "you're going too?" She sighs, "I should work on my costume as well. I just don't know what I'll be. If I can get the spell just right though, I could turn my costume into almost anything." She smiles faintly, "see you up at the tower, Els."

Hattie cuts away a section section of the pumpkin dome, and then a third— fully half the top of her pumpkin is gone, nothing remaining but little arching ribs that connect to the top. She uses the extra space to get her hand into the pumpkin, and begin to fill out what seems to be a sort of pumpkin topiary. A little tea-light is tucked down into the middle, front, and she spends what seems like a long time arranging little bits and bobs of greenery from her bag into the miniature secret garden alcove she has forming up. She carves a sortof pedestal birdbath out of pumpkin. She makes a little bench. "You haven't finished it yet?" she asks Cara aside.

Abraxas sweeps his robes around him, and announces to his housemates, "I'm going to finish my costume and get ready for feast." He gives a little nod, and then turns to leave the hall, glaring at the other house tables as he does.

The eyes are simple - just two slanty triangles. It doesn't take Maddie long to carve one out. "I'm glad I got my costume done already," she remarks cheerfully. "Can't wait to see your costume, Elspeth!"

Myrus smiles when he's given the compliment about his pumpkin inginuity. "Thank you. I'm liking it, too." Now the mouth is looking like large, squareish teeth, and the shape of the mouth looks like a sinister ear to ear grin. The eyes slightly turned downward toward the middle, adding to the angry look, with the pupils large and cut all the way through.
At the talk of SCUMS class coming back, he almost snaps at the younger Ravenclaw. "Only if someone teaches it right. The census on that whole class and the books used in it were written with the hatred of Muggles in mind and completely debase of any real knowledge and information." He sighs, "But, teaching non-muggleborn students about Muggle norms would be.. at least helpful if we ever find ourselves stranded in Muggle society at some point. BUt I shudder at the thought. Not because I hate muggles, because I don't. Just because I feel naked without my wand." He just shakes his head, never looking away from working on his pumpkin while he speaks.

Cara's eyes more than likely meet Abraxas' own, and they both end up glaring at one another. She sticks out her tongue and gives him an evil eye for good measure. That'll show him. And then she turns her back to him and answer's Hattie's question with a casual shrug, "nope. Not at all. I was thinking an angel, but I don't really know anymore." She sighs and mutters, for yet another time that week, "am I the only girl without a date to the dance?" She flinches ever so slightly at the sharp tone in Myrus' voice, but she calms to hear the words contained within it, "you're right. The book and the class were horrid and ridiculous. It was a joke. And insult, even." She grins, "I don't know where I'd be without my wand as well. Me and it have had a long history together, and I intend to put it to good use when I'm older, as a Curse-Breaker." A bit of mischief flashes in her eyes, "I've been thinking, actually. If there was some way to learn Gobbledegook, I could certainly make an impression during the interview, I think. But I have no clue how or where I'd learn it…"

Hattie says to Cara, "I don't think… I mean, there are lots of students without escorts. Thats why no one will notice unless one DOES show up on someone's arm." Hattie directs her big eyes back to her topiary, and points her wand at a wilty-looking sprig of greenery she is fooing up to look like a tree. "Herbivicus," she says, mending the damage. Things begin to look a little less "dead of autumn" inside the pumpkin, and more 'secret garden'. "I don't think you'd find it like the heart of the Forbidden Forest, to be out there. You might look a little funny, but I think by and large, the muggles just want to look away and get on with things."

Myrus looks at Cara. "A beater without a date to the dance? Oh this can't do, Goyle. What about that one kid in your year… 'L' something.." he wasn't the best with names sometimes. That and Myrus being the older of the two beaters, and she being newer to the team than most, he felt it a reason to help her where he could. "We'll find some guy who'll learn he can't say 'no'.." he starts looking around very obviously. "C'mon, pick one.."

"I don't have a date," Madeline supplies. Then again - she's not going. She's only a second year! "I don't think it'll be a problem. Just have fun! Dancing can be real fun. I wish I could stay for the dancing." She lets out a melo-dramatic sigh.
"You know. I might be a Curse Breaker, too. I dunno."

Cara finally returns to actually working on her pumpkin, carefully carving the rest of the candy silhouettes into her overlarge orange fruit. As she does so, she offers to Madeline, "you'll be a Curse-Breaker too? That would be wonderful. Then I could work there with someone nice I know." Then she says to Hattie in response to the fact many go without escorts, "true. But it still feels that way…" She smirks, "I'm sure -you- have a date. Some super cute boy or the…l-like?" She trails off as Myrus teases her, cheeks turning faintly pink to his words, "eh…'L'" She shakes her head slowly, furrowing her brow in confusion. She glances up at him suspiciously, then back down. Of course, he just has to make her feel even more embarrassed, which is why her lower lip gets a good chewing out and she guides a few stray blonde ringlets past her pale ear. She splutters out, "p-pick one? But who should I pick?" She thrusts her chin at him, "what about you? Who are -you- taking to the dance? Didn't I hear someone…" She scratches her brow thoughtfully, "with the name…" A sigh, "'G' something, I believe…"

Levi had gone quiet as people trailed off looking at a few of the pumpkins again though he'll move to follow the conversation once again "Curse breakers tough work, but I bet its rewarding in its own way." he speaks though taking the few steps so he can at least lean against a table lightly.

Hattie plugs little pumpkin marzipans amongst the scenery. In the birdbath, on the bench, behind a clump of mossy "weeds". But Hattie seems to feel she's done enough poking about in dead vegetable outside Herbology, and carries the lit piece away to the sweet section. "Its 1939, by Merlin's beard. A witch of good fashion can take herself stag if she wants, and still cut a rug." She comes back for her things and says, "I mean to. Don't let him bully you. It's not like the boys are interchangeable."

Myrus looks at her when she becomes all flustered. Oh so amusing. Then she turns the accusations at him some way, asking who he's taking to the dance. "Not 'G' something. 'A' something. Abernathy. Melody. So I can't take you, sorry kiddo." More teasing, even if she didn't want him to take her, he'd still mess with her. Quidditch teammate banter, of course.
"Now.. pick a boy. We'll bludger some sense into him. And-" to Hattie, "Sometimes we are. Like for instance, some of us never learn. So there's that. Some of us stink. I'm an exception to that one. And some can't see pretty girls right in front of them without the aid of a bludger to the head." He's still looking out over the sparce crowd here carving pumpkins. His own already done. "Now.. find one and I'll inform him there is a girl who would like a simple question asked of her." His tone at the end was still the ribbing kind. Team mate jibes, of course.

"Not as tough as being an Auror, I bet," Madeline says with solemnity - before popping the second eye out of her pumpkin. "There! Done!" She beams at it, reaching for some pumpkin seeds to eat. "And I dunno that I'll be a Curse Breaker for sure. But maybe. I think it'd be fun."

Hattie says, "Only some of you stink?" Hattie asks, with a wide and dubious grin, very good-natured in her teasing. She winks and puts her satchel on her shoulder, preparing to go away and wash up. "Esmond, Evans do you think it would take a bludger to make some bloke notice Goyle? I don't think so.""

This is all the log Boo had. If someone can post the rest of the scene here, it's appreciated!

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