Open Fairy Tales

[Harper Alston]

Harper had decided that the giant school-wide events were some of her favorite parts of Hogwarts. She loved how the school went all-out on the decorations, completely transforming the Great Hall. Even the food was better. This would be her second Yule Ball, and she had no doubt it would be just as much fun as the one last year. Things were already looking up when she entered the Great Hall and saw that the room had been enchanted once again into a snowy wonderland. Even though the decorations didn't make much sense seasonally, they were pretty to look at. And it meant that she could enjoy the "snow" without freezing in her red sundress.

The room was already packed, and Harper started to wander through the crowd, dodging dancing couples while she kept an eye out for one of her friends. Or someone she knew. Or really anyone who looked like they might make decent company. A lot of her friends had dates through Heta Omega, so she hadn't been able to make plans to meet up with them. She wasn't too concerned, however, and she was sure she'd find someone to hang out with eventually.

Harper was walking past the large Christmas tree in the corner when some movement between the branches caught her eye. She stopped and peered more closely at the tree. Scattered between the leaves and baubles and lights were strange winged creatures — strange winged creatures that were alive. Her eyes widened and she took a quick step back. "Are those fairies?" she asked a nearby person, barely pausing to see who it was. She was too busy staring at the tree, which was decorated with dozens of the magical creatures.

 

[Padme Hume]

Padme had been moving around the room looking at different things, she was enjoying it. She was just looking for anything that she could, without Jace she didn't really have anyone to speak to but was always still looking for things. Perhaps she should take a gap year next year, taking a bit of time to explore the world a little. It wasn't like she had Vader to watch out for, so it would maybe be easy to just take a bit of time outside of school, explore the world a little and spend a little time just finding herself outside of New Zealand. As she approached the christmas decorations she heard a young girl commenting on the decorations, "Probably fairies, or animated fake fairies," she replied. Since it was likely not real creatures but also likely not not real ones. ​

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper glanced over at the other person, noting that the girl who answered her question appeared to be several years older and likely knew what she was talking about. So fairies were real. Someday she'd force herself to crack open a Care of Magical Creatures textbook and figure out what muggle legends actually existed in the magical world. That way she wouldn't have to constantly be taken by surprise every time she ran across a new creature. Her gaze returned to the tree as she considered the other possibility that the girl had mentioned. "They don't look fake..." she half-murmured.

Then again, chocolate frogs looked and behaved a lot like real frogs, so Harper supposed the fairies could also be fake. She edged closer to the tree and cupped her hands together, wondering if she could capture one. Eyeing one resting lazily against a candy cane, she slowly lifted her cupped hands up. Before she could dart forward, however, the fairy gave a high-pitched buzz and flew at her, forcing her to duck with a small yelp. Harper looked back at the other girl, hoping the fairy hadn't gone after her as well. "That probably wasn't the best idea," she admitted sheepishly.

 

[Padme Hume]

Padme watched as the younger girl leaned in towards the tree and the fairies, reaching for one. Padme had been about to suggest that this was not the smartest way to be doing it, when it seemed to anger the little creature. Padme ducked out the way and just reached out quickly managing to just grab the creature by the legs, it wriggled in her hand and she had to look in some shock at it. It was just weird to hold. "It is probably real by the looks of it," Padme was peering at it and then held it up towards the girl. "Kinda worried if I let it go it'll go back on the offensive,"​

 

[Lenore Howell]

Lenore really just liked to use the ball as an excuse to wear more eyeliner than she could get away with in class. She'd brought a book with her because she already knew that dancing wouldn't appeal to her. She just didn't see the point of moving around and getting a fancy outfit all sweaty and gross. Lenore chewed on her lip as she heard two girls discussing the fairies lighting the tree, and then decided to step in. "Obviously, they're real fairies," Lenore scoffed. She'd lived with a Squib her whole life, and even she knew what fairies were. "They like it when you tell them they're pretty," she said in a more friendly tone to the older girl, watching in amusement. A couple of fairies had taken interest in Lenore's hair and she pasted on a smile as one started tugging painfully at the pink strands.

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper froze when she saw what the older girl was holding. "You caught it," she said, too surprised to do anything but state the obvious. After a beat, she stepped closer to get a better look at the winged creature, nodding at the other girl's assessment of the situation. The fairy looked less than pleased to be trapped, its wings fluttering rapidly.

At the sound of another voice, Harper glanced up to see a girl who she vaguely recognized from her classes. "If it can understand us, then hopefully it knows we didn't mean it any harm?" she said, directing the last part of her question toward the trapped fairy. A couple of other fairies flew over, causing Harper to tense for a second, but they went after the new girl instead and started to pull at her hair. "They're a lot more aggressive than I expected," she observed. Harper wasn't really into muggle fairy tales, but from what she remembered, fairies usually just flitted from flower to flower, occasionally granting wishes.