❝ AND WHILE WE'RE ON THE SUBJECT OF HALLOWEEN, can we take a minute to talk about what's happening up at hogwarts this week ? if any of our listeners aren't in the loop, headmistress mcgonagall has given permission for the graduating class of 2014 to use the great hall for their 'ten year reunion' - an event long expected not to be happening given the, well... everything of their final school year. i mean, it's a little gauche, isn't it ? i understand the sentiment, and i think we can all agree that this is better than the alternative, but are any of them even in the celebratory mood ? perhaps they should've contented themselves with mikaela karkaroff's entry to awestriking halloween parties - hers at least comes without a side of survivors guilt ! ❞
WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE :
HOGWARTS : though there is a long standing tradition for graduates of hogwarts school of witchcraft & wizardry to reunite ten years to the day of leaving school and celebrate with a blowout sort of party, it's long been accepted that the graduating class of 2014 would have to go without for fairly obvious reasons. the anniversary of the battle of hogwarts lies much too close to the date where students usually sail across the black lake for the final time, and most would agree that it would be in poor taste to celebrate leaving school for good around the time when so many of their classmates lost their lives. with that being said, however, there have always been those few among the 2014 class group who felt like it would be unfair to miss out on such an important milestone - ideas for how to throw their party in a classy way have been thrown around for years, usually by pansy parkinson and friends, but it was actually professor mcgonagall who came up with the bright idea of celebrating around halloween and extended the invitation to her ex students. the hogwarts owls delivered invites scrawled across heavy parchment exactly two weeks before the 31st of october, 2023 - on them she had written plainly enough that they were, in a sense, owed this event. no previous school year had missed out so completely and the heroes of the battle of hogwarts deserved their chance to reminisce without feeling the heavy weight of that day pulling them down. she said that the great hall ( already decorated for the halloween feast that current students would attend earlier in the night ) would make a perfect setting for a halloween themed reunion, and promised the bloody baron would be kept on a tight leash for the duration of the night. it came together rather perfectly.
MIKAELA KARKAROFF'S HOME : mikaela karkaroff doesn't really care about the record, but if she did, she'd probably want it known that her 'blowout halloween party' had been in planning for WEEKS before the class of '14 got their special set of plans. minister karkaroff might have a habit of stealing the thunder of the boy who lived, but the same just can't be said for her. as always, she tried to keep her guest list exclusive with invitations written across parchment dyed black, but her brothers loose lips have led to it being another one of those 'word of mouth' sort of things she hates - a lot of money has been sunk into the event to make sure that it's a night to remember, and she's loathe to share that with any of the more unsavory types. the overall theme is a classic haunted house, her london abode transformed into a creepy set dimly lit by melting candles, thick fog layered over expensive carpet. she's outdone herself in the design of each individual room, going for an obvious 'less is more' sort of strategy - everything is covered in heavy red and black velvets, cobwebs and dust placed to give the impression of neglect, but the 'scares' are well placed & just right. she mightn't have covered a room in fake blood or placed fake skeletons where they might get a jump, but hired ghosts of various periods have made her home their own for the night and have promised a perfect performance. kaela's bar is run by ned weasley and a few of his staff, an intentional annoyance she gleefully arranged, while the same prestigious catering company who deals with the menu of the ministry gala has provided appetisers for guests to enjoy. she even hired an up and coming wixen band - the ghouls - to play for the duration of the night, though she probably didn't expect them to arrive with an actual ghoul in tow.
OUT OF CHARACTER:
happy halloween, nox ! this very special two - in - one event has been in the pipeline for a while, and i hope that you're as excited as i am about the lore implications of it all. i always knew there could be no true 'ten year reunion' for the golden trio characters - it'd just be in poor taste, considering the boh - but i was also aware that i couldn't let that opportunity slip is by, and with halloween being so important in the world of hp ... this idea was born, instead. i couldn't just cater to them for this event, but i can't disguise how hyped up i am for that half !
the event begins as soon as this is posted and continues for two weeks ! the galleon system will continue to run throughout and end the same time, so don't worry about missing out on earning more coins to spend as you wish !
as always : no character is required to attend either event, nor are you required to take part though you are highly encouraged to do so ! the reunion party is, of course, intended to be the smaller of the two events - there's only so many characters in that specific year ( especially thanks to, you know ... the war ) but mikaela's party is much more open, invites spreading by word of mouth thanks to niko !
this event was envisioned as being a discord & dash combo, mostly because i didn't know how many people would be getting involved in either or ! any event specific posts should be tagged with nox.event038 on dash, and the locations for anyone who tags them are hogwarts & london !
if you have any questions or concerns, please just send them to the main ! and please comment your favorite scary movie once you’ve read the post !
𝙻𝙾𝙲𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽: mikaela karkaroff's home ( specifically her back garden ), london !
he doesn't go out of his way to make them aware of his presence before they set off the automatic light in mikaela's back garden, even if he did hear the door sliding open and know that they were coming. he's not hiding, per se - let it not be said that niko karkaroff is a creep, hiding in the shadows for when you least expect him - but since he hasn't been allowed inside all evening, he figured he might as well get comfortable. the light went off on its own, and though he'd made a dent in his packet of cigarettes, that little movement hadn't been enough to set it off again. if they jump when the garden chair he sits in is suddenly illuminated and he appears as if from nothing, well, they can't be blamed. "the party is behind you," he tells them, his voice lacking any emotion, "and the host would prefer it stay there."
EVENT : the class of ‘14 ten year hogwarts reunion.
LOCATION : great hall, hogwarts.
STATUS : open. ( @startertms )
" do you ever miss it? " lavender doesn’t actually mean to voice the question out loud. it started as nothing more than a silent musing, meant to stay hidden, but the longer solemn eyes stared at the great hall set - up? ⸻ the harder it was to swallow down all that nostalgia. memories hover around every corner. images that flash through mind in a vivid sequence, reminding her of everything they used to be. hogwarts had been the HAPPIEST time of her life, until it wasn't. " school, i mean. before all the death eaters and the war, and people dying. do you ever just miss school? i feel like back then the only thing we really had to worry about was what to wear to the next hogsmeade trip. " lips rub together thoughtfully, taking a moment to consider that last sentence before adding on. " well, that & giant snakes controlled by the heir of slytherin. "
"excuse me," and before she - or anyone else, for that matter - can take another step into the familiar great hall, she reaches out to touch their elbow and bring them to a stop. it's an attention drawing movement that screams pulling aside a member of staff over starting a catch up conversation with a one time peer, and the friendly smile that pansy turns onto them is equal parts dazzling and false. her other hand motions towards the dozens of tables and chairs which have been arranged around the room in place of the four house tables, and there is somethig... careful to the cluelessness with which she asks, "perhaps you might be able to direct me towards the slytherin area of this little soiree... ? i'm a tad confused on the... boundaries, here."
