End of Year Feast

[Katherine Alicastell]

It was the end of the year, a final goodbye for some, but merely the start of a long, well deserved break for most. Students and staff alike could enjoy some quality time at home without the stress of exams and study looming over their heads. The castle would be uncharacteristically quiet with most of them gone, a reprieve from the antics and rivalries, but there was still work to be done over the course of the holidays for at least some members of the staff, and the house elves employed to ensure Hogwarts remained presentable for the coming year.

As the students filed in, the banners adorning the Great Hall rippled and changed to reflect the signature yellow and black colours of Hufflepuff house, signifying their outstanding victory for the year. They had taken quite the lead compared to the other houses. Rising from her seat at the staff table, Katherine slowly made her way up to the podium, waiting for everyone to settle into their own seats before speaking. "Welcome one and all to this year's final feast. Before we begin, I'd like to say a few words. First of all, a round of applause for the winners of this year's House Cup - congratulations to Hufflepuff!" The woman announced, producing the cup in question seemingly from thin air, to be presented to Professor Pratt. It was certainly a positive start to her tenure as their Head of House.

"Of course, we can't forget those students who's dedication and ambition earned the most points for their respective houses. Our top house point earners this year are - in first place, Elizabeth Chatwin of Ravenclaw, with a total of seven hundred and eighty points. In second place, with a total of seven hundred and sixty three points - Amber Chou Wilson of Hufflepuff. In third, Lilyana Hope of Slytherin, with five hundred and ninety five points. Last but not least, we have Madeline Walden of Gryffindor, with four hundred and forty five points. Congratulations to our winners." The Headmistress joined in the applause for each of them, commending their efforts and achievements toward their house.

As the applause died down, the woman moved to wrap things up and allow them to commence eating. "A quick reminder, as per the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, you are not permitted to use magic underage outside of Hogwarts. I do not want to receive any letters from the Ministry of Magic over this Winter break. Now, enjoy this feast and have a safe travel home. Until next year."
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[Kennedy Pratt]

Kennedy couldn't be prouder to be the Head of Hufflepuff House as she accepted the House cup from the Headmistress. She couldn't take any of the credit of course since it was all the work of the students, but she felt optimistic that this was a good sign for her new position. Hufflepuff had also won the Quidditch cup and the international game against Beauxbatons so the House was definitely on a winning streak she hoped to continue into the years to come with her guidance. Kennedy clapped politely when Professor Alicastell announced the top 4 point earners of the year, hearing a familiar name from her house and smiling. She was glad to note that each of the top 4 students was from a different House, which was something worth noting in her opinion. It was good for all the students to work hard in their own houses and have recognition as well. After the Headmistress was finished with her speech, she went back to enjoying the feast, ready for some time off as well.
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[Professor Faida Kaibryn]

Faida sat at the staff table looking out at the faces of the students all seated at their house tables, she couldn't help but remember the previous year when she had been sitting at Hogwarts in Scotland waiting to hear the end of year speech then and telling herself that she was due a long break from teaching. She had become disillusioned by it, had believed that children just didn't want to learn anymore, not the theory at any rate ... they wanted it easy and fast and everything handed to them on a silver platter instead of working hard for it. She had taken a sabbatical and decided to travel for a while and fate had brought her here ... to New Zealand and eventually to Hogwarts.

What she had discovered here at this school was that students were different the world over, they were hungry for knowledge here. They wanted to learn, they worked hard and she knew that someday they would all make strong formidable witches and wizards. She gave a small smile before turning her attention to the headmistress who got up to make her speech. Faida applauded when Hufflepuff were announced as winners of just about everything that year and applauded again as the head of house went to accept the cup. When the students with the highest points earned for their houses were announced, she applauded again and felt herself becoming more and more sombre each time she applauded.

Her time at this school was finishing, she had only been a substitute and had dearly loved it of course but it was almost time for her to move on. She felt the heavy tension in her gut and realised that she had become used to this place already, liked it here and it would hurt her more to leave here than it ever had to leave the other school.

 

[Minerva Khulik]

She had done it! Minerva had actually made it to the end of her school year! She glanced about the table and found herself smiling at how different everything was now. Beside her was her best friend in the entire universe, Norton and when she looked over at the Ravenclaw table she could just make out Elizabeth, her second best friend. She gave her a wave wishing not for the first time that the sorting hat had put Elly into Hufflepuff instead of Ravenclaw but she was exceptionally clever, so the hat obviously knew what it was doing. It just would have been wonderful to have shared a dorm with her.

Turning her head she looked down to the Gryffindor table, she couldn't see him but she knew that Alexander was there somewhere and she found herself giving a small smile, she had finally been able to bury her own insecurities about her musical abilities and they had begun talking like the first time, relaxed and enjoyable. Her head turned again to try to view the Slytherin table, she caught a glimpse of Sara who had helped her to fly, she saw Ulrich who had helped get her down out of a tree and then she saw Alistair, a bare glimpse of him but she smiled. They had spoken with mermaids together, had made plans to thwart a poltergeist, practiced a hex together and had actually made an attempt against Vex. Minerva found herself grinning before turning back to the headmistress who was speaking, congratulating Hufflepuff on their great year.

Minerva applauded as loudly as the rest of the table, beaming from year to year as their head of house accepted the House cup. What she wasn't expecting was the headmistress calling out those who had made the most points for their house. When Elly's name was called out, Minerva was beside herself with delight. 780 points that was amazing! She cheered for her friend enthusiastically before waiting to hear who had won for Hufflepuff. She didn't really expect it to be herself as she had only made 752 and if the scoring was as high as Elly's then she really didn't stand a chance. Minerva applauded the girl from Hufflepuff who did get it and found herself looking at Tristan as she clapped.

If there were trophies for this kind of award then she definitely wanted one of those and knew it had been her wretched flying that had let her down this year. She recalled the conversation that she had with Tristan who had thought that a trophy for a halloween costume had been silly that academic ones were better and now ... she knew he was right of course. Her competitive streak was in full gear now and she knew that when she returned the following year, it would be to excel in all her classes even if it killed her. She gave Tristan a small smile and a shrug before turning back to applaud the other winners.

She promised herself that next year she would do better, try harder, she had accomplished so much already this year but the best part of it all had been meeting her bestie. Smiling at Norton beside her, she tucked into the end of year feast laughing and chatting with the others about them as if it were the most natural thing in the world for her to do.

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber was delighted that Hufflepuff had won the house cup this year. It was the first time she had seen it, and the decorations were beautiful! She was sitting at the Hufflepuff table, looking around and grinning widely. She had definitely helped her house this year, and she was proud of herself for how many points she had managed to get. She listened to Professor Alicastell's speech, blushing when her name was mentioned as the most points for her house. It was the third time in a row she had managed it, and she was quite proud.

She looked around after the speech, when it was time to eat. She wasn't very hungry and sought out her friends in the Great Hall. She gave Flavio a smile at the Ravenclaw table and waved at Wyatt at the Gryffindor table. From the corner of her eye she looked at Ainsley, hoping things would be better between them next year. Her third year had been a hard one for her, as much as she was enjoying herself now, and the fight with Ainsley was a big part of it. She gave her friend a careful smile, not sure if she noticed or not. Then she finally started eating, not surprised the food was as wonderful as always.

 

[Syrus Stilinski]

Syrus couldn't believe it, the year was finally over. It went by so fast, the days had slipped by him. Before he took notice everyone was already packing. On their way back home. Apart of him felt happy, because he'll get to see his mom. Maybe travel back to Ohio to see some family members on his mom's side. Perhaps his dad's for once, if they weren't so busy with their own lives. It would've made his dad delightful to see everyone get along. On the other hand, he was sure Silas would need help at the shop. So much more testing to do, inventions to brew. It would be a busy summer at the shop. A very busy one, yes sir indeed.

Syrus clapped for the winning house, clapped even louder for those individuals announced. Even though Gryffindor lost, there was no reason to be a sore loser about it. He didn't care much about winning, well at least not this year. Summer already had him thinking of everything he could do at the shop, or all the old places he could visit back in Ohio. Next year will be their year, year of the cubs! Maybe he'll tryout for Quidditch too, and they'll take home the win as well. So much potential, he so sure of it! For now though, he celebrated with his fellow housemates and enjoyed one final feast.

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