Pride Event, 2045

Monty had attended more than one Pride event, not because he cared about his sexuality (or lack of it), but because he didn't. He felt no shame in turning up to support the students, nor did he worry that his sexual preferences might be questioned as a consequence. What did it matter? The spirit of the event was to be proud and confident in yourself, no matter who you liked or didn't like, and Monty hoped that his own lack of concern might in itself encourage the pupils - both those who were here to celebrate, and those who were here to support.

Keen not to stand around by himself, the Potions professor headed for the face-painting table, smiling as he overheard the end of a conversation between Tholomyes and Lilyanna. "If Lilyanna doesn't, then I certainly will," he said. "That is, if you haven't an upper age restriction."
 
Rose really enjoyed painting people's faces, but she didn't think she was as good at it as Tholomyes was. Still, she was very enthusiastic about it, so when Professor Pendleton arrived to get his face painted, she permitted herself to be slightly rude even though he was clearly talking to the older Ravenclaw boy, she jumped in eagerly. "Oh! Professor! I can do it! I have glitter! Or I can do a rainbow?" She said eagerly, jumping up and down a little bit in excitement. "Please?"
 
Lilyanna was happy to talk to Tholomyes and nodded as he answered her question, figuring that was a suitable answer. However, she was unsure why anyone would want to have something on their face or to touch someone else's face. It very much confused her, but Lilyanna hesitated when he asked her if she wanted a turn, especially as her former potions professor came over and decided he wanted his face painted by him instead. "Yes, errr... I mean no... I mean, yes the professor can..." Lilyanna stammered as she tried to come up with an answer and jumped when a younger Gryffindor started yelling something about wanting to do it herself. This made Lilyanna confused and she felt her palms begin to sweat, not really understanding what was going on or what was happening next.

At Tholomyes' next question, Lilyanna also did not know how to answer it, but was too shy to ask him to be more specific. She was too worried about everything that was happening around her and the ongoing noise that was beginning to become slightly irritating. However, she took a few breaths and did answer his question, figuring that she should tell him what she did that morning. "It was windy this morning, so I didn't go outside. I got dressed and ate some toast before debating coming here until I actually did. But it's noisy here." Lilyanna told him, her voice raised slightly over what she considered to be quite a lot of noise. Her eyes darted uncomfortably around the hall. "How have you been?"
 
Ellie was glad that Ares was good and she nodded at him saying he was busy. She knew what he meant as she was also busy herself growing roses for Valentine's Day, organising the event and all of her prefect duties and OWLs on top. It sometimes became overwhelming but the Hufflepuff refused to let it get to her. She was glad to be doing things for the school and so as long as she was happy doing that then she would be able to survive. "You're very welcome!" she exclaimed, blushing slightly as Ares thanked her for organising the event. She was happy to know that her efforts were not left unappreciated and smiled at her friend, glad that she was able to have a friend like him. "Did you hear about Lilyanna?" Ellie asked, hoping Lily would be fine with her bringing it up. "This is all because of her, really. I just feel like it's great for not only her but for other people to comfortably open up about themselves. Was it hard for you? Do you think these kind of events helped you?" Ellie was genuinely curious about how Ares felt and hoped that he wouldn't mind answering her questions.
 
Monty couldn't help but laugh at Rose's excitement at the prospect of painting her professor's face. "Excellent!" he said, taking a seat at the stall and offering Lilyanna a smile beside him. The Slytherin's anxiety had not gone unnoticed, but not knowing quite how to help, Monty decided simply to keep an eye on her. He thought for a moment about Rose's question, wondering whether he ought to go for something discreet, and then decided that since he was getting his face painted in the first place, he might as well have it painted thoroughly. "Would a glittery rainbow be out of the question?"
 
Rose was happy when Professor Pendleton seemed fine with her painting his face instead of Tholomyes. Especially as she knew he was probably aware of her lack of talent in comparison to the older boy. She waited anxiously for a response to her question, and beamed happily when the professor did answer her. "A glittery rainbow is so NOT out of the question, that it's in of the question." She said, not even caring that it made no sense. Gathering her materials hurriedly, she started on his cheek. "Why are you visiting the pride, professor?" She asked as she painted a red glittery line on his face. It was a little wobbly, but she was sure it would look fine in the end.
 
This was getting awkward. Ainsley wasn't saying anything. Amber was still being oddly passive-aggressive. Hayley glanced around the room, far more crowded now than when she'd arrived. She spotted Rose gingerly painting Professor Pendleton's face with something glittery. Now, that was a perfect diversion, and something she'd been meaning to do anyway. "Hey, I want you guys to meet my friend Rose, she's over at the face painting booth." Hayley began slowly weaving through the crowd in that direction, glancing back to see if Ainsley and Amber were following her.
 
Ainsley couldn't think of a single thing to say, looking back and forth between Amber and Hayley anxiously, mind swirling with thoughts. Amber and Hayley both looked happy, unphased, but the thought that they could have talked about things plagued Ainsley. What did they talk about? What did they say?! What if Amber thought she liked Hayley now after all? Ainsley's nervous worrying was interrupted by Hayley changing the subject to her friends. "Oh..." Ainsley said nervously and glanced at Amber uncertainly before following after Hayley, hoping Amber was going with her. She felt completely out of her depth in this situation and was relieved for the distraction.
 
Flavio looked up from the flower crown he was weaving as someone spoke to him. A smile appeared on his face when he realized it was Sara, one of the people that delivered roses to him on valentine's day. He remembered her being kind and friendly and he was more than happy to speak to her again. "It is important to show support to everyone. I like this event too." He said, continuing to smile as he agreed with the girl. He then looked back to the half made flower crown in his hands and placed it on the table in front of him. "Oh actually, I have something for you." He said, moving to pick up one of the roses that was left over from valentine's day and holding it towards her. "Here, I felt bad that you are so friendly and you did not get a rose, so this can be your rose from me." Flavio hoped the gesture would be appreciated despite how late it was. "That is, unless you want this flower crown I am making instead? It is made of left over roses so you can have more than one. I would need to finish making it first but you are welcome to have it." He moved his free hand to the unfinished flower crown and also held that towards Sara, wondering which she would pick. It seemed a little awkward to talk to her about sexualities despite being at a pride event, since he knew that not everyone who attended pride events were sure of their sexualities and willing to talk about it. Talking about flowers and valentine's day instead seemed more appropriate.​
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Monty laughed, and then quickly assumed a neutral expression to make Rose's job easier. When he replied to her question, he tried to do so without moving mouth too much. "Er, moral support, I suppose," he said. Rose's brush tickled his cheek. "I don't think anybody should be afraid to express themselves - or, indeed, to be misunderstood. And it would be quite reprehensible of me to believe such a thing but to be afraid to offer support at this event, don't you think?" He smiled ever so slightly. "How's it coming along? I hope you're using plenty of pink."
 
Phoebe enjoyed the atmosphere at the Pride event, even if it was a little silly and flower-y. She wandered around, taking it all in, and grinned at the sight of Rose painting Professor Pendleton's face with a rainbow. She headed over, hearing the professor's last comment and feeling unable to resist. "Actually, professor, pink isn't in the rainbow." She said with a superior tone of voice. It made her happy to know something a professor didn't. "But that didn't stop Rose, apparently, she did use plenty of pink." She grinned at her sister. "It looks good, though. I'll take a turn soon, okay?" She knew it would make Rose happy to see Phoebe participate in the events, even if face painting and flowercrowns weren't her cup of tea exactly.
 
Rose was having fun painting the rainbow on Professor Pendleton's cheek, and added some clouds as well. When her sister walked up she gave her a smile, and good-naturedly rolled her eyes when she said something smart and nerdy as usual. She didn't care that it was apparently not in the rainbow, it was on Professor Pendleton's cheek. "It looks so good, Professor. I'm done!" She said with a happy grin. She held up a mirror to show him her creation. She noticed Hayley walking over with two vaguely familiar girls in tow. Older Hufflepuffs, unless she was mistaken. "Hey Hayley, who are your friends?" She asked curiously.
 
Amber frowned when Hayley told them she wanted them to meet her friend. Why should they go meet someone because Hayley wanted them to? She was here for Ainsley, not Hayley. But Ainsley apparently wanted to follow and meet this person, so she put up her smile and bore it. The girl Hayley wanted them to meet was apparently painting people's faces. Amber was glad to see Professor Pendleton there, and giggled at the rainbow on his cheek. "Hi Professor, you look nice." She said with a smile. Then she looked at Hayley's friend, who was talking to Hayley and asking about them. "Hi, I'm Amber." She said with a small smile, waving at the girl. She really didn't get why Hayley wanted her to meet this girl, aside from perhaps proving to her she had friends besides Ainsley.
 
For Geo, attending the Pride Event had been a last minute decision. She hadn't even realised it was on until she walked past the Great Hall to see a crowd of people in there. As she made her way through the students, she spotted a number of people she recognised. "Hi Rose" She smiled at the Gryffindor, before glancing down to the work she was doing on one of the Professors. It didn't surprise her that Professor Pendleton was joining in on the fun, he did seem to be one of the most friendly teachers they had at this school. Her blue eyes scanned the area and found Amber and Phoebe, and not for the first time, she made the connection that maybe Phoebe and Rose were sisters. Since they seemed to be in a conversation with another student, she left them to it, focusing her attention on the Professor who seemed happy to have his face painted. "You'd think more Professors would turn up to event like this" she noted out loud, wondering where everyone else was. At least someone cared about the equality for the students.
 
Ainsley seemed relieved by the distraction, which was Hayley's primary aim, although she wondered why her friend had seemed so anxious. She noticed Amber's frown, but she did follow, and if two out of three of them approved of this diversion that was good enough. As she passed the stand with pamphlets on it Hayley took a couple randomly and stuck them haphazardly in her pocket to peruse later. Then, finally, the three of them were standing in front of Rose, and Amber was already introducing herself. "Hi Rose!" she said, grinning back at her. "This is Ainsley, the other friend I mentioned." She hoped that Amber didn't read anything into the fact she'd told Rose about Ainsley. She hoped Rose didn't mention anything about the circumstances in which said conversation had taken place. Her friend was probably sensitive enough to realise that would be a bad idea, but shot her a subtle warning glance anyway.
 
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