End of Year Feast!

[Katherine Alicastell]

It was the end of the school 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 blue and bronze colours of Ravenclaw 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 Ravenclaw!" The woman announced, producing the cup in question seemingly from thin air, to be presented to Professor Cliffeton on behalf of his 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, Flavio Morales of Ravenclaw, with a grand total of one thousand and thirty nine points. In second place, with a total of eight hundred and sixty two points - Amber Chou Wilson of Hufflepuff. In third, Lenore Harvelle of Gryffindor, with five hundred and seventy five points. Last but not least, we have Zared Katsaros of Slytherin, with five hundred and thirty seven 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 end of year break. Now, enjoy this feast and have a safe travel home. Until next year."​

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber's fourth year had brought her a lot of stress, but it hadn't only been bad. As she sat with Ainsley, she was grateful for the way their friendship had largely been repaired over the past school year. It was hard to believe it was nearly over and that she would be a fifth year fairly soon. It made her nervous but also excited. She felt a little sad to see everything decked out in blue and bronze, as she had hoped to see the second win for Hufflepuff in a row, but she was still happy for Flavio and Noemie, two of her friends in the Ravenclaw house. As the professor did her speech, Amber looked at her and listened politely. When she heard how many points Flavio had won for his house she glanced at him in amazement. No wonder they had won! But she was glad to hear her own name called too, smiling proudly at her achievement. She didn't know either of the other students mentioned, but clapped for them regardless. The speech ended soon after, and the professor told them to enjoy the feast. Amber was sure she would, as she was surrounded by good food and friends.

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo was clapping incredibly hard as the Professor finished her speech. She may have wanted Hufflepuff to win, but that didn't stop her being proud of Ravenclaw, and those who had contributed. She grinned down the table to Amber when her name was called out, amazed that getting so many points were even possible. Everyone had worked very hard this year, and it was strange to think that they would soon once again be on holiday, before things got even more difficult the year after. Geo had decided to spent the summer with Sara this year, as both girls were good friends but got very little chance to see each other properly around the school.

Once the feast had begun, Geo took herself from her spot beside April and Vil, and hurriedly jogged down the table to find Amber. "Hey" She smiled, wrapping her arms around her shoulders from behind. "Well done Amber." She added, glad that they'd ended this year on better terms than last. Geo wasn't going to hide her ability anymore, and although she wasn't going to repeat the mistakes made in her first year, she was more confident that it was also best not to hide. Not wanting to interrupt her friends sister too much, she turned to the table across from theirs, a smile appearing on her face as she saw another student she was proud of. "How did you do that!" Geo began, approaching Flavio and taking a seat beside him, legs still facing outwards as she squeezed her way into a gap, hoping he didn't mind too much. She didn't get to see much of the older Ravenclaw, but she admired him which meant she would seek him out whenever she could. "You must have worked like, non stop" She said, unaware that some people may have actually wanted to eat rather than talk at this feast.

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

Another year was coming to a close. Professor Kingsley could hardly believe it, though she was eagerly awaiting the opportunity to enjoy some much needed free time with her family. Clapping politely as a Ravenclaw victory was declared, the Professor was more eager to hear the top points earners. She clapped a bit more enthusiastically for those students, admiring their dedication to their studies. She'd been a good student but nowhere near earning top points honors. As the Headmistress finished her speech, Professor Kingsley began to enjoy food at the feast and speaking to the colleagues nearest to her about their vacation plans.

 

[Monty Pendleton]

Though Monty showed little bias where houses were concerned, he couldn't help feeling proud that his own had this year won the cup. He clapped along with the other staff and students alike as the cup was produced and given to Professor Cliffeton, and then again as the top point earners were announced. It had been a busy year, but in all a successful one, and Monty looked forward to returning after the holidays to begin the next. Unfortunately, he was going to have to get through the holidays, first. For that he was considerably less excited.

 

[Lady Helena the Brave]

Floating soundlessly above the Gryffindor Table, Lady Helena applauded with the rest of the room as the house point winners for the year were called out. She couldn't help but be a little disappointed, not for the fact that Gryffindor didn't place first, but that it fell so far behind the two leading houses. There was almost a five hundred point difference between the top students for her house and Ravenclaws, and even more of a difference between the overall points. No doubt Gladys was feeling extremely proud of her eagles right now. The gap in points this year was concerning, perhaps the Gryffindors needed more encouragement. There was always next year.
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[Flavio Morales-Tipene]

Flavio's fourth year had been stressful in both a personal and academic sense. It weighed him down enough that he genuinely felt relieved to return home for the holidays, see the rest of his family and relax, rather than feeling empty about the idea of not having classes to attend everyday or a general goal to work towards. He knew classes in his fifth year would be a whole other level of intense and that he would need to study even harder to maintain the everything he had worked towards that year, so a break before another year started seemed completely necessary and was the only thing truly on Flavio's mind as he sat down to attend the end of year feast. He looked towards the headmistress as her speech began, clapping with the rest of his house as it was announced Ravenclaw won the cup. However the celebration was short lived and his happy expression faded to one of shock when his own name echoed throughout the hall as the top points earner of the entire school. Flavio stared doe-eyed towards the headmistress not having expected results of his hard work to show anywhere separate from his grade point average. Top points was not on his radar and what he had expected was an older student to get top points earner instead, but this was clearly not the case. Though he managed to compose himself, clap, and smile for the rest of the names that were called, happy that Amber and people from other houses had also managed to get awarded lots of points during the year.

When the feast began Flavio returned his attention to the food on the table, pouring himself a glass of pumpkin juice after a sudden loss of his appetite. He sipped from the glass slowly, thinking over the points in his head trying to make rational sense of how he had managed to get so many of them. But he was soon interrupted when someone squeezed to sit in a spot next to him. Flavio placed his glass on the table and smiled politely when Geo asked how he had gotten so many points. He simply shrugged in response, unable to figure it out himself in his surprise let alone explain it to someone else. "I did work a lot, but that is because I want to learn everything I can while I am here at school." He said. One thing he did understand was that he had worked hard during the year, regardless of the fact he did not expect any recognition, and that was what he could explain.
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[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo knew exactly how Flavio felt when he said he wanted to learn as much as he could. That was after all, the whole reason they were here. "Well I'm so proud of you, and you should be too!" She grinned at him, an arm finding its way round his shoulders as she planted a kiss on his cheek. As quickly as she'd done so, she retracted herself from him, glancing around the table at the food. She really wasn't that hungry at all, and much more excited at the event that was unfolding around them, but nevertheless she leaned back to grab one of the chocolate profiteroles, taking a bite out of the sugary dessert while bypassing any of the main menu. She looked down the table and spotted one of her other best friends, giving a wave to Elly as she caught her eye. She knew she hadn't spent too long with her second year friends, since she'd been so busy with classes, and she hoped that would improve during the following year.

She considered going to find Leila or Ursula, but she realised she was quite content where she was. She loved the girls like members of her own family, but her family circle was widening as she came to find others around the school that she could be herself with. It seemed to be the benefit of having celebrations such as these with the mix of students from all years, that everyone was free to mingle with those they wouldn't usually see. "So, what are you doing for the holidays?" She asked eagerly, another topic of which she was excited for. This year she was going to be spending the summer with Sara, and while she was sure she was going to miss all her friends during the weeks they were away, she was looking forward to not having to worry about studying for a while. As she waited to hear what his plans were, she reached back across the table to help herself to a second treat from the eagles table.

 

[November Albertson]

November of course was really happy for Flavio, he had taken so many courses this year and always tried his hardest. She couldn't help it to feel a little jealous of him however. She had helped him prepare for exams both semesters and helped him to understand the Muggle Studies topics they had covered in previous year he still didn't know. But she hadn't gotten to share in all the extra house points he received in those classes for being the one to really teach him the material as the Professor had clearly failed Flavio on that point. She wasn't surprised Amber had more point than her. She thought she might have been able to get closer but throughout the year Amber was typically quicker to raise her hand to answer questions and do daring things in classes like be controlled by an unforgivable curse. November would have never signed up for that, even if it meant extra house points. Of course the names and points of the other students were annoying to her. She had more than both of those students in house points yet she and other students from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff who had higher points wouldn't even be acknowledged. She thought it was a terrible system to just say how great the very top person in each house was. Sure Flavio had more than 1000 points but other in his house were sure to have a lot of points to. Slightly fuming the girl set to eating the meal in front of her planning to buy next year's books on her way home to look them over during the summer to get a head start for the next year. She had perfect O's this year and she wanted to keep it the same next year. Looking up from her food she saw a younger Hufflepuff make her way and sit next to Flavio. Then she saw the girl put her arms around the boy and kiss his cheek. Her own cheeks turned bright red. She couldn't believe it, was this the friend Flavio had been talking about when he had asked for advice on feelings from November? Not wanting to let any tears well up in her eyes November averted her gaze back to her food and quickly finished and moved on to dessert. She was glad this year was finally over.
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