Open Y39 Yule Ball

[Katherine Alicastell]

The Yule Ball this year was quite different than it had been in prior years. Gone were the usual Winter themed decorations. There was no magical snow falling from the enchanted sky, nor hot cocoa one might expect had it been a much colder night. In the midst of Summer, it was anything but. To many of the New Zealand students, the Great Hall was perhaps a more familiar sight, one they might have been more accustomed to while growing up at home. It had been Professor Josephs vision that made the hall was it was that night, and Katherine was more than happy to oblige. The Headmistress and Ravenclaw's Head of House had worked tirelessly to get it prepared in time.

Katherine took up her position behind the podium to address the students gathered at their tables. "Welcome, all of you, to another Yule Ball. As you can see, this year will be quite different from Hogwarts' usual traditions. While this school's origin stems from the United Kingdom, it is important to remember our own roots, here. Now, I'd like to invite Professor Josephs up to talk more about the hall's decor, and the value of a traditional New Zealand yuletide. Please welcome her to the stage." The woman said, stepping back from the podium to allow Josephs room to come up and speak.​

 

[Professor Kahurangi Josephs]

After working behind the scenes with Katherine for some time, Kahurangi was beyond excited for the fruits of her labour to be unveiled today. She knew taking on more responsibility while she had a near one-year-old to care for was silly, but she had never been one to back down from hard work. And this project had been a particularly fun one. The walls of the Great Hall were lined with bursts of bright colour from the Pōhutukawa flowers and blue and gold streamers lining the walls, reminding Kahurangi of many a family Christmas spent at the beach. The light streaming in from the enchanted ceiling, rather than the usual outside weather, was a low orange sunset, bathing the room in just enough golden light to feel inviting, and the room was pleasantly warm, though not so warm as to make dancing uncomfortable.

The traditional pine tree stood tall, adorned with tinsel, glitter, and surfboarding kiwi ornaments in place of fake snow, and parcels of neatly wrapped chocolates and lollies for all the students sat underneath. Above the dancefloor, small softly glowing lights like fireflies drifted slowly through the air, creating an air of magic and wonder. The tables pushed to the side of the hall were well laden with summer Christmas food too - pavlova and warm barbecued sausages alongside more traditional treacle tarts and cauldron cakes. Fresh-squeezed feijoa juice sat in jugs next to the usual pumpkin juice, and all around the room looked and felt like home at Christmas. Kahurangi couldn't have been prouder. She also couldn't keep the smile off her face as she took to the podium when Katherine invited her, beaming at the assembled students listening.

"Tēnā koutou katoa, and Meri Kirihimete Hogwarts*." She started, her smile bright as she looked out over all the faces gathered in the hall. "Katherine summed it up beautifully, but I just want to say a bit more about this year's decoration theme. We are so lucky to live in this beautiful country, to live the beautiful lives we have here in Aotearoa New Zealand, and this year's decor is all about celebrating the things that make us special. I know that for some of our international students sunshine and barbecue at Yuletime is a bit of a departure but for me and a lot of students here, this is home." Fondness crept into her voice as she spoke, thinking of her favourite summer memories growing up. "It's Christmas cricket on the beach with our whānau*, barbecues round at auntie and uncle's house, collecting pōhutukawa flowers with the cuzzies to put on the table for dinner. The summer yule is really special and tonight we're gonna celebrate a little bit of home. So enjoy some kai* but keep it off the dancefloor, there's a present for each of you under the tree, enjoy the last of the sunshine and party until midnight!" She beamed, ending the speech on an energetic note to let the students get to partying.

*Tēnā koutou katoa, and Meri Kirihimete Hogwarts - Hello everyone, and Merry Christmas Hogwarts.
*Whānau - Family
*Kai - Food