Open First Solstice Soiree

[Zelda Wigham]

Fairy lights stretched across the garden, strung from trees and bushes alike and Zelda smiled as a few tittered in a rosebush near by, grateful they seemed to be behaving. The spell she’d cast to keep the worst of the winter chill (and muggles) out was holding well, keeping the garden and its inhabitants warm and dry as more party guests began arriving with faint pops from apparition or friendly greetings. Waldo had helped her set up a small stage under the large pohutakawa at the edge of the garden, and they’d carefully unearthed the piano from their parlor to sit pride of place there, enchanted to play itself for now until the delightful young man Waldo had found to play for them was able to start.

Finishing fussing with a selection of snacks and drinks she’d managed to put together, all local of course, Zelda had her moved over to a garden table, her tarot spread out across it near a few other open tables she’d left for guests to mingle. Watching with an indulgent smile, Zelda felt lulled into a warm peace, gazing out at the garden light by the warmth of the lights and the crackling fire pits dotted about. The weather outside their little bubble might be less than stellar, but she hoped they could make a little haven here for any lost souls to share some mid-winter warmth with her and her’s.

Out of Character:

Feel free to join with any chars who may have been invited or seen the flyers around town, all are welcome. The Soiree will be open till the holidays end

 

[Waldo Wigham]

Zelda with her many magical talents, had successfully transformed their garden into an enchanting scene, creating the perfect atmosphere for their winter get together, and Waldo couldn’t be more proud. It had been a dream of his to host an event for magical folk of all ages to mingle and celebrate the winter solstice, accompanied by pleasant music, tarot card readings and the like, and to know this had become a reality would have had Waldo shedding tears of happiness, if he didn’t need to socialize and keep up appearances. Picking up a glass of butter beer from the drinks table, Waldo quickly walked up to his wife, standing on his toes to kiss her cheek. “This is perfect, it’s like a dream come true.” Waldo said, a wide smile on his face as the familiar sound of wizards apparating began. Now all they needed to do was welcome their guests and ensure everyone had an amazing evening. He couldn’t wait for the evening to begin, and was wishing everything would go smoothly.​

 

[Ernie Wilder]

Ernie was amazed at how the garden had managed to turn into such a beautiful space. Zelda and Waldo had been wanting to host this event for probably as long as Ernie had known them and it was exciting to see it all come together. He had helped in his own way, mostly by staying out of the way, and setting up tables before he went to work. “Wow, guys it looks great!” Ernie exclaimed as he entered the garden under a sky of fairy lights, fresh from work with Kriby perched on his shoulder. He felt weirdly emotional as he gave Zelda a hug and waited for the others to arrive. Zelda and Waldo had taken him in without question and gave him a safe space to get back on his feet, and he would be forever grateful. It was exciting to see them share that warmth with everyone else who might need it.

 

[Francis Ruis]

Frankie wasn't really sure what he was doing here, he just knew there was a party and free food so he was going to show up. Grabbing some butterbeer, Frankie loitered for a bit, circling the garden and enjoying warming up after the chill from outside. He hadn't really dressed for the weather, which he was grateful now, but had been miserable until he'd made it to the party.

There was a piano playing itself nearby, which while not as interesting as actually having someone play it, was still at least enjoyable, and Frankie found a sturdy enough looking tree near it to listen, taking a swig on his drink and just enjoying the atmosphere on his own for a bit until something more interesting came along.

 

[Corinna Rumblehorn]

The whole family had promised Sigurd one last family adventure before he left for his first year of Hogwarts, This event was the only one the family had heard about that was being held before the train left, but at the specific time the event was being held, Corinna was the only one in the household who was available to take the kids.

She knew music wasn't really what Sigurd would have usually enjoyed, but she knew her oldest nephew would still relish the opportunity to get out of the house. Her own daughter, Eugenia, was always excited to do anything Corinna herself was interested in, and as for her younger nephew Clarence, everyone knew how much he was going to miss Sigurd while he was at Hogwarts. Corinna couldn't pass up the opportunity to see them all just being children together, there weren't going to be many more opportunities, as they would all be at Hogwarts just over one year from now.

Corinna was very delighted by the set-up when she arrived with the three little Rumblehorns in-tow. She was happy to see a piano playing itself, an enchantment she had very much enjoyed ever since she had first encountered it as a young witch. She figured the children would bee-line for the food, so she tried to shepherd them in the general direction. She was looking forward to spending a couple of hours out of the house with the kids, and also hoping to just simply enjoy the music and perhaps mingle a little with some people her own age. She hadn't been out for a while.

 

[Aeon Summers]

Aeon owned a business in Obsidian Harbor, so the man had come across quite a few flyers around the cobbled streets throughout his day to day, advertising a winter get-together. It sounded like a fun affair, and he'd been lacking in social gatherings that weren't solely family or work-related. He'd intended to turn up with his husband and children, but with Ellie feeling under the weather that afternoon, he'd left his husband to take care of her and apparated in with their son, and his bird. The animagus shrugged off his jacket as he entered the much cozier bubble and draped it over his arm, heading for the event's hosts to introduce himself. They seemed like quite the quirky couple. "It's a lovely garden you have here." He began. He took great pride in his own at home. Aeon was the type to stop in front of houses with gorgeous gardens, just to take them in or gather inspiration for himself. "Aeon Summers. I own the Menagerie." The wizard continued, extending his hand to either one of the hosts, really. He could already recognise a younger man with them he'd seen around Eeylops. Keeping an eye on the competition was something of a hobby.​

 

[Lysander Summers]

The Winter Solstice was an important time of the year for Lysander, because it was always either on or around his birthday, so he'd been excited when he saw flyers around Brightstone and Obsidian about some kind of event for it. His father had told him he probably wouldn't enjoy it, that it would likely just be a bunch of adults sitting around chatting, but he knew he could always make his own fun if he needed to. He brought Fuzzfeathers along just in case there wasn't anybody else around to hang out with, and soon the view of his backyard was replaced with someone else's garden as his father apparated them to the location of the event. He quickly let go of his dad's hand and wandered after him, pointing out that there were some other children already around, in an I-told-you-so way. This wasn't going to be that boring after all.

Lysander could immediately recognise the soiree hosts. There was a guy with an owl he'd seen working at Eeylops during the Hooting Hour, and an eccentric lady who had turned up too. He enthusiastically waved at @Ernie Wilder, pointing between the man's owl and Fuzzfeathers as if to signal that they were totally in some cool owl club, and turned around to smile at the lady his father had introduced himself to. "I like your hair." He pointed out. It was very cool. His was too dark to change without magic, and he'd yet to learn any spells that would let him do it. His fathers definitely weren't about to start letting him chuck bleach into it. The boy glanced at a deck of tarot on a nearby table, and his eyes lit up further. "Can you tell the future?"​

@Zelda Wigham

 

[Professor Elvera Le Fey]

Elvera had had a poster for the winter solstice gathering up in her shop window for a while. She had contemplated if she should go or not as she had her own solstice festival to run this evening a summer solstice one. the interesting thing about living in new zealnd but running a circle in England meant that the year felt backwards. but she decided that the time zones were in her favour and she would have plenty of time. if nothing else it would give her a good excuse to leave. she appeared to the location and walked into the garden stepping from the cold new Zealand weather to the warmth of magic. she took off her cloak and looked around the place was beautiful and she had to smile at the tarot cards spread out across the table. not tonight, you are at a party not here to read tarot you do that every night" she told herself quietly as she looked around for the hosts. "hello, this place looks amazing, and what an awesome idea for an event" she said "i brought some gingerbread if you would like some" she said offering the host the gift. it was never polite to arrive at a party empty handed and it was perfect gingerbread making weather. when she saw the host standing and talking with one of her colleagues. "Hello Aeon" she said smiling. she smiled as the young boy asked the hostess if she could tell the future. "if you are interested in tarot you should think about taking divination" she said. always up for an opportunity to encourage students to enrol in her class. it was always more fun when she had larger classes as then students could practice readings on their friends.
@Zelda Wigham @Professor Aeon Summers @Lysander Summers

 

[Zelda Wigham]

Zelda beamed down at Waldo, graciously tilting her face in a practiced movement so Waldo could kiss her cheek. "Cheers, m'dears," Zelda said indulgently to Waldo and Ernie, raising her glass to her two boys in a quick celebration before more guests arrived.

She was pleased to see a few of the local shopkeepers around, happy to have a few notable community members about and smiled warmly at Aeon Summers as he introduced himself, shaking his hand. "You're very kind, it's wonderful to have you here," She said, smiling down at the young boy with Aeon. "I like your owl," She said to the boy, giving her hair a little fond toss at the compliment. "I don't know if I'm good enough to tell the future, but it's definitely good for a little life advice. Would you like to draw a card? See what your year might hold?" She offered him, shuffling the cards and fanning them out for him. It wasn't anything like a proper tarot spread, so the accuracy wouldn't be great, but it was enough for a small bit of insight.

Looking up from her cards, Zelda felt a little flustered when Ms Le Fey from the Inner Eye joined them, accepting some of her offered gingerbread. "Thank you, darling, how sweet of you. I thought the neighborhood was due a little get together," She said, beaming at the assortment of neighbors and friends already scattered around the garden. This was exactly what she and Waldo had been hoping to accomplish tonight. "You should listen to Ms Le Fey, she knows all about fortune telling." Zelda said, leaning down to Aeon's boy and whispering conspiratorially when Ms Le Fey offered him some advice about his schooling.

@Professor Aeon Summers @Professor Elvera Le Fey @Lysander Summers

 

[Sigurd Rumblehorn]

Sigurd and his father had seen the posters while buying his school supplies in Obsidian Harbour, and although Sigurd wasn't hugely into music he thoroughly enjoyed getting out into the world, especially magical events and public displays of magic of any sorts. Both his mother and father were busy working on the night though, so Sigurd's aunt Corinna had offered to take the kids. The group of Rumblehorns arrived at the event looking forward to whatever the night had to offer.

As soon as they arrived, his aunt tried to usher the children towards the food, but the small gathering of people nearby caught Sigurd's attention, as they were surrounding somebody who was using tarot cards. Sigurd had read a little bit about tarot cards, but his only real life experience so far had been when he had ventured into a local muggle fair once, and had been given a very questionable reading.

Sigurd wandered over to be closer to the action. He recognized the man who had sold him his golem at the Magical Menagerie. He stood next to him and gave him a polite nod and a smile, and listened in on the discussion going on around him.

@Professor Aeon Summers

 

[Eugenia Rumblehorn]

Gen had been looking forward to going out with her cousins. With Sigurd leaving for Hogwarts soon, Gen was hoping her mother wouldn't mind if the kids found their own thing to do at the event. Gen loved her cousin Sigurd and she knew him very well, but a part of her worried that when he came back from his first year at from Hogwarts, he will have grown up beyond wanting to play outdoors with herself and Clarence. So she wanted to make the most of the now. A garden party sounded like the perfect idea.

Gen followed her mothers lead over to the food table, and took a look at the different snacks on offer. Before she could decide what to eat, in the corner of her eye she noticed Sigurd had already managed to wander off to investigate something going on among a small group of people. The girl skipped over to her cousin, forgetting all about snacks for now. If something interesting was going on, Gen wanted in.

Unfortunately, they were just divination cards of some sort. Gen shrugged, and decided to go and find something else to do in the meantime. She decided to go back to grab herself a snack, and wandered a little closer to the stage to listen to the music from the piano. She stood and listened, and admired the pohutakawa tree- one of her favourite trees. Gen looked around the garden, which was very lovely, she thought, but she wondered what to do with herself. She hoped Sigurd wouldn't spend all night just looking at cards.

 

[Chalcedony Michaels]

"Oh dearie me." Chal hadn't attended a social function in ages. But James had mentioned he needed to get out of the house, and for the first time in what felt like years, Chal had listened. With conditions, of course. He followed his nephew into the gathering. He froze on the spot as he took in the gardens. "Oh. My. Lord!" He declared loudly before making a beeline away from the people and a bit more towards the foliage. "Look at these gardens, James, it's exquisite, the color of these roses, the-" He stopped and gasped, turning to take in the beautiful tree. "James," He breathed, stepping closer, "Look at this pohutakawa, have you ever seen anything so marvelous?" He couldn't help but stare up in admiration. The entire night was worth it just to see these gardens.

 

[James Michaels]

James had left Sapphire in charge of the boys, deciding that this garden party was the perfect chance to get his uncle out of his gardens and out into the public for a long overdue appearance in public. Besides, he had lived near brightstone far too long without actually meeting any of the neighbors. He sighed as his uncle immediately made to adore the gardens. "That's brilliant, Uncle Chal," He came up and clapped his uncle on the shoulder. "Why don't we go looking for one of our hosts and you can tell them how gorgeous you find their garden?"

@Waldo Wigham @Zelda Wigham @Ernie Wilder

 

[Waldo Wigham]

Waldo leaned over to Ernie to reach and give the man a pat on the back for his hard work. Each of them had played their own part in putting the night together and it had worked out perfectly, Waldo couldn’t rid the wide grin from his face, and his smile somehow became even wider as the first few guests approached and greeted them. “G’day, the name’s Waldo, nice to meet ya Aeon.” He said, extending a hand for the Menagerie owner to shake after Zelda had greeted him. He watched as Zelda talked to the young boy who arrived with Aeon about the bird on his shoulder, but couldn’t help but chime in. “What’s yer bird’s name?” He asked, curiously. Children were always endlessly creative in naming their pets and he wondered what glorious name this boy had given the bird on his shoulder. Waldo wanted to ask more questions about the animal, though he was quickly distracted as another guest arrived, offering gingerbread. It would make the perfect pairing with his butter beer, so Waldo eagerly took a piece of the gingerbread. “Don’t mind if I do, thanks!” He said. “The name’s Waldo, you teach divination at Hogwarts do ya? That’s great!” Waldo exclaimed, shifting the gingerbread to the same hand that carried his butterbeer, so he could also offer this guest a handshake. With everything going on, Waldo was a bit frazzled but he was alternately too excited to care, happy to see magical folk of all ages mingling together and enjoying themselves.​

​

@Professor Aeon Summers @Lysander Summers @Professor Elvera Le Fey​

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander gave his owl a little ruffle under his chin as Zelda complimented him. "Thanks! He likes you too." He lied. His owl didn't really like anyone, but he'd learned that it was nicer to not be honest about the fact. "He's called Fuzzfeathers. I named him in a competition and it won!" He continued proudly when the older man asked. It was no longer a fitting name to match his description since the bird had changed a lot, no longer the fuzzy little owlet it once was, but he was still happy with it nonetheless. The boy almost knocked his unimpressed-looking owl from his shoulder in his excitement to take one of the cards Zelda had offered. Any opportunity to have his fortune read was a good opportunity. He believed a lot in fate, which had lead him to get Fuzzfeathers in the first place, and he was eager to know more.

Before he had a chance to turn the card over, Lysander was almost startled by Professor Le Fey popping up. He hadn't expected to see other teachers outside of school! He grinned between the professor and Zelda. This was the coolest. "Yeah, I'm definitely gonna! I just have to wair until I'm older." It was disappointing to know there were so many classes at Hogwarts that he was missing out on until his third year. He didn't really need to be knowing about Astronomy, did he? He wasn't very good at it, and would have gladly replaced it with one of the electives. "My cousin is a seer, so I might get lucky and be one too! I think it runs in families." He told them. He didn't know how high his chances were, or which family it had come from, but he had his hopes. If he ended up being a seer and learned to be an animagus like his dad, then he could definitely become some sort of wizard superhero. Like an X-man.

Distracted by the chattering, Lysander finally flipped the card he'd held over to read it. "I got the...five of swords. Woah! Am I gonna get five swords?" He asked. He already had one, albeit plastic sword he took with him whenever he wanted to sneak off into the Forbidden Forest. Five were definitely better than that.​

@Zelda Wigham @Professor Elvera Le Fey @Waldo Wigham

 

[Ernie Wilder]

Ernie immediately grabbed a butterbeer and started to watch the guests as they arrived. He raised his eyebrows when the owner of Menagerie arrived, he nodded toward the man in greeting. Ernie waved to the kid that seemed to be with him, he recognized him from the Hooting Hour the shop hosted a while ago and gave him a double thumbs up when the kid pointed at his owl. He was immediately distracted when was offered some gingerbread by one of the other shopkeepers he had seen around. “I would love some!” he said enthusiastically and grabbed a cookie, immediately taking a bite and taking another one before walking away to see who else was around.

He spotted a young girl who seemed to be hovering by the snack table and he walked over to her. “Hey, you like owls?” Ernie asked with his mouth still full of gingerbread. He motioned to the owl on his shoulder. “His name is Kirby. He’s a bit if a jerk but if you give him snacks he’ll be your best friend.” he said and dug some treats out of his pocket and offered them to the girl. (@Eugenia Rumblehorn )

 

[Zelda Wigham]

"Oh how silly of me and I'm Zelda," Zelda announced to the group as Waldo and even the owl were introduced. She'd been so caught up in all the excitement she was forgetting her manners. "Fuzzfeathers is definitely an award winning name, I can see why," She said, interested to hear the young boy had a seer in his family. "Well, I'm no seer," She said, nodding in deference to Ms Le Fey, "But I love my tarot," Zelda watched happily as the boy drew a card, humming and hawing, mostly for show, when he revealed the Five of Swords.

"Let's see, the card doesn't mean you're going to get any swords, but that doesn't mean you won't, seize the future you want, darling," Zelda said encouragingly, trying to decide how best to describe the young man's card without making his upcoming year sound too bleak. "The Five of Swords means you're going to face some competition this year.. There will be conflict and it will be important you take time to pick your battles and know when to apologize. Winning isn't everything," She settled on, focusing on the wisdom the card had to offer rather than the more upsetting implications and adversary he might be facing. @Lysander Summers

 

[Vivian Brackenstall]

Vivian couldn't quite believe what he was doing. How had he even gotten here? Music had only been a hobby until recently, something he did in privacy and solitude. Even since he had begun performing at open mics, he had never thought of music as anything more than a way of blowing off steam. Open mics were good for building his confidence, and getting out of the house. It had never really occurred to Vivian that anyone would want to hear his music enough to actually request him.

But here he was. Vivian had never really expected the guy from the bar to follow up on their conversation, but he had, and Vivian had needed to explain to his mother very quickly that she was now also his manager, if she wouldn't mind. Luckily, she had been excited at the prospect, and Vivian's mum and Waldo had ironed out the details of his employment for this party. It felt surreal. People were already gathering and enjoying the party as Vivian headed over to the piano, and he tried to keep his head down and think of this as just another open mic. Some of his old teachers were here though, and that sent a fresh shock of nerves through Vivian's body. He hadn't even thought about Professor Summers or Le Fey since leaving the magical world, but here they were, like he had never left Hogwarts. Vivian determinedly didn't look at either of them, setting up at the piano with his music on the stand in front of him. He could do this, just like any other open mic. Easy. He halted the auto-playing enchantment and shifted his fingers to the keys, heart thumping in his throat as he began to play. As Vivian tapped through the familiar melody his nerves finally relaxed and he began to sing, voice soft and clear. He didn't want to interrupt anyone's conversations or distract people from otherwise enjoying the party, sticking to songs with even tempos and relatively light lyrics. Background music, he could do this. Long as nobody was paying any attention to him, this was just fine.

 

[Eugenia Rumblehorn]

Eugenia had just decided she needed to convince her mother to help her look into whether she could get either some Pohutakawa seeds, a seedling or a cutting for their back yard. She would have to promise to tend to it herself, but she was sure her mother would help her get started and find the information she needed. She was about to turn back and head over to ask her mother, when a man with an owl approached her, and offered for her to feed his owl a treat.

"Oh, thank you!" She grabbed a treat, and offered it to the owl. "I've always wanted an owl, but mum says I have to wait until I start Hogwarts! He's soo cool!"

@Ernie Wilder

 

[Tristan Collins]

Tristan honestly couldn't say why he was here. Something had drawn him to this event, was he just bored? Did he miss the events at Hogwarts? Did he want to experience more of the magical world than just being at work or at a bar? Probably a bit of everything, but Tristan chose not to examine it too closely. He told himself he would just walk around for a bit, see if he could meet anyone interesting. He spotted a few of his old professors, but decided not to seek them out. He sighed at the sight if young kids running around, but supposed he should have expected that. But as he looked around, he spotted a welcome familiar face. Frankie had been nice enough company in the past, there was no reason he couldn't be today. With a confident smile, Tristan started to head over to the younger boy. He was trying to think of a good opening line, when a familiar singing voice made him stop in his tracks. It was like the sound of it struck him as an arrow, straight through the heart. Slowly, Tristan turned in place to face the source of the sound. Even though he knew what he would see, the sight of Vivian by the piano felt like a punch in the gut. He was transported back to a yellow dormitory on a rainy night, lying on his bed while he could hear Vivian's soft singing voice from his own bed. He remembered closing his eyes and just enjoying the sound, but this time it was impossible for Tristan to close his eyes or even look away. Rooted to the spot, he stared at one of the few people he was sure he had loved. He felt his heart breaking all over again, as even though he was only a few steps away, he was impossible for Tristan to reach.

 

[Francis Ruis]

Frankie hadn't been expecting anything crazy tonight, but the party had still been pretty tame. Thankfully there was free food and drinks around, since the self-playing piano had gotten a bit dull after awhile. He was glad when someone finally began to set up on stage, smiling more when he recognized the musician from the open mic night. New Zealand really was such a small world sometimes Frankie mused as Vivian began playing. It was as good as he remembered and Frankie wandered a little closer, wondering if he could catch Vivian's eye and they could pick up where they'd left off last time. He was distracted however when he spotted another familiar face in the crowd, grinning and making his way over to Tristan. Tristan had been fun and definitely still owed Frankie a drink his memory served. He looked a little off though, staring stock still while looking at Vivian and Frankie gave him a gentle nudge. "You look like you've seen a ghost." He said, just loud enough to be heard over Vivian's playing. @Tristan Collins

 

[Ernie Wilder]

Kirby ate the treat eagerly but was surprisingly polite and didn’t keep pecking at the girl’s hand looking for more treats like he tended to do when Ernie fed him. "Why are you never that nice to me?" He complained and eyed the old bird suspiciously. Eventually Ernie turned back to the girl and handed her some more treats. “Owls are a big responsibility.” he said reflexively the way he did to all kids looking to get their first owl. “When are you starting school?” he asked. “They’re really good for students so you can keep in touch with family and your friends.” he said, trying not to go into a sales pitch. He glanced over to where the music was starting and considered going to check it out but he was oddly invested in this conversation with this child. “Anyways, this old guy is great to keep around even if he isn’t good for deliveries anymore. If you look close, he’s missing an eye.” he said pointing to the left side of Kirby’s face.

@Eugenia Rumblehorn

 

[Vivian Brackenstall]

As Vivian played he slowly began to relax, able to focus on the melodies and lyrics rather than the crowds around him enjoying the party. This wasn't so bad if he could just fade into the background. After days of stressing and panicking at the thought of actually being requested to play at an event, he was almost shocked at how... painless the whole thing was. Finishing one song, Vivian finally dared to glance up from the keys as he began the next, unable to avoid the curiosity about whether people were watching him. At first glance, things looked fine, the party just going on all around him. When he spotted two people paying attention to him though, Vivian's heart turned to ice. Of course Tristan would be here. This was exactly why he had left the wizarding world in the first place. His fingers stuttered on the keys for a moment and he looked down at his hands again, trying to carry on as if nothing had happened. The song he was playing was an adaptation of a poem he had written in his final year of Hogwarts and it was hard to keep the bitterness from his voice as he sang about how Tristan had hurt him.