Open Out With a Bang

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy always loved Halloween and was feeling a bit wistful and bittersweet about it being her last Halloween feast. She was quite proud of her costume this year even if it was basically a bedsheet tied around her to look like a dress but she had tried to get the hair just right. She walked around the hall taking everything, the activities and the food looked exceptional as always but she stopped when she spotted the grindylow piñata. Poppy had never tried that one before and figured there was no better time than the present. She only had to wait a few moments before it was her turn and she grabbed the bat. She tested the weight of in in her arms a few times before going for it. It was a clumsy movement and she only caught the corner of it which sent it spinning. She let out a slightly embarrassed giggle and wondered if anyone had seen her sad attempt.

 

[Estella Fuentes]

Estella loved dressing up for the events that took place at Hogwarts. Halloween was a little bit harder than the others however, as she couldn't just find a cute dress. Instead, she had to find a costume to wear, and this year she was running out of ideas. She wasn't sure how scary a milkmaid was, but it was the only costume she could find over the break, and the girl had to admit that it did look quite cute on her. She entered the Great Hall, immediately searching around for someone to talk to. When she spotted Poppy over at the piñata, Estella smiled before heading over to her. Poppy's outfit wasn't the best, but it was definitely scary in Essie's opinion. She chuckled as Poppy attempted to hit the piñata and completely missed. "You need to take your time. Keep your eyes on the prize I guess." Essie shrugged. She had never broken the piñata before and was yet to see it done, but was always happy to give her best advice.

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy turned and laughed at herself again as Estella commented on her less than impressive swing. "I'm out of practice I guess." she admitted and got a better grip on the bat. The last time she had done something like this was for her cousin's birthday years ago. She did her best to be patient and get the timing just right. When she swung again it was a better hit and sent the piñata swinging. It didn't break it but at least she wasn't embarrassed this time. "Do you want to try?" she asked, holding the bat out to Estella.

 

[Estella Fuentes]

Estella watched as Poppy had another go at hitting the piñata. When she managed to hit it successfully, Essie beamed. "Good job!" she exclaimed, knowing that a few more of those hits would break it. The Hufflepuff was a little taken aback as Poppy asked whether she wanted to have a go. She didn't think she would be any good at it, but perhaps it would be a nice thing to accept it, even if she missed. "Sure." she said, taking the bat from her. The bat was a lot heavier than expected, but Essie put it over her shoulder and swung at the piñata. Her strength could not muster it however and the piñata did not budge. "Do they make it this hard on purpose?" Essie asked. She was suddenly curious to what was inside it and just hoped they would be able to break it soon.

 

[Freya Song]

Freya had loved muggle fairy stories as a small child and wanted her final year's costume to be a subtle homage to her heritage. It had taken a lot of charmwork to put her costume together, but her conjured butterflies hadn't disappeared on her yet, so she counted it as a win. Her wings did make it awkward to move around, but Freya was inordinately pleased about the glittery footsteps she was leaving behind as she wandered through the hall. Seeing Poppy and one of the younger prefects failing at hitting a piñata, Freya went over to spectate. "Aw, you can do it. Give it another swing!" she cheered.

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy was glad to be free of the bat once Estella took it from her. It was a lot of pressure holding that thing. She grinned as the younger girl did her best to hold up the bat even though it looked a little harder for her. She held her breath as Estella swung the bat and braced for it to burst open but the pinata looked to be more sturdy than it appeared at first glance. “Good try!” she said encouragingly and turned quickly when she heard a similar shout of encouragement. Poppy's smile quickly faltered when she saw it was Freya. She wanted to tell the other girl to go away if she wasn't going to be mean, but she hesitated when she realized Freya hadn't actually said anything mean at all. She couldn't tell if she really meant what she said but it wasn't worth worrying about. "Let me try again." she said seriously and grabbed the bat from Estella. Poppy took a deep breath and focused on getting her timing just right. When she swung, the bat made contact and made a loud cracking sound. "Oh!" she exclaimed when she realized she had bashed a small hole in the side of the pinata.