The Feast

[Roman Ivo]

Roman Ivo walked in to the Great Hall in plain black dress robes, as he did not have Hogwarts robes and felt Ministry dress robes did not suit the situation. He had elected not to dress up and engage in the frivolities of the evening, though he understood them to be the tradition of the school. He had never been one for Halloween, and while he would allow the school to have its feast and the students have their fun, he was here as a supervisor, not a participant.

As a variety of ghoul and goblin dressed wizards and witches entered the hall, Roman inspected their costume choices, passing judgment on each one, and smirking at ones that were simply silly and nothing more. Very few costumes impressed him, but quite a number puzzled him as to what the person was supposed to be. He figured that these students were drawing on their knowledge of the muggle world for inspiration for their costumes.

When the hall was filled, and house tables were all seated, Roman rose from his seat behind the staff table and approached the lectern. He placed his hands on its edge, his scarred fingers grasping its edge as his aged eyes peered out over the crowd, appearing to pierce his gaze in to each individual before him as his eyes swept over them. "Welcome to the Halloween Feast of 2024. You all know the behaviour expected of you, and punishment will be in order for whomever feels that the expectations of you are unnecessary. With that said, let us feast!" With that, Roman clapped his hands and each house table filled with food. He smiled, eager to eat, and returned to the head of the Staff Table where he would enjoy his meal before supervising the rest of the feast.

 

[Roman Ivo]

Once the panel of highly trained judges had seen all the costumes toward the end of the evening, they put the results of the contest in an envelope and offered it to Roman who accepted it with a grave nod of thanks.

Roman rose from his seat at the head table and approached the lectern once more. He placed the envelope on the lectern, then grasped the stand in the same fashion that he had previously before coughing and commanding the attention of the entire room. "The results of Hogwarts New Zealand's costume contest have been determined. If I call your name, please come on to the stage to receive your trophy."

Roman then called out the names of five people and the categories they had won. First came Artemis Blackmoore-Yearling, for cutest costume. Then Sam Prince for funniest costume. Next, was Professor Savannah London for her original costume. When James MacMillian was called for scariest costume, the hall burst out in to laughs as James came forward to accept his trophy. Finally, the grandest of costume recognition: best costume. This award, after a dramatic pause, was given to Ella Palmer.