Halloween Costume Party! ((Ravenclaws))

[Theo Darke]

((The Halloween Costume Party has officially begun! Please post here before 7 November for your character's costume to be considered in the competition. Remember to send your votes to Celia Richmond, not me. Good luck!))

It was party time!

The drinks were flowing, the food was out, the music was blaring through the Common Room and the Ravenclaw students were dressed fabulously. It was an amazing night. Theo grinned to himself and chugged a whole glass of lemonade down his parched throat. He'd spent the last few minutes dancing and talking with several girls from his house, all lining up to be his partner even though everyone knew by now that he was gay - the queue was neverending! Theo would always be amused and flattered by how much female attention he still received; he was sure the other boys were very jealous. He was dressed in his Grim Reaper on Vacation outfit, which was basically a Grim Reaper outfit but with a twist: a bunch of plastic bright pink flowers that screamed Hawaii and summer hung around his neck, along with a large tourist's camera; his long black cape hid a pair of flourescent orange and lime green shorts, and in his hands he held his scythe, which was decorated with ribbons, bright blue in honour of Ravenclaw; his feet were adorned with flip-flops with silver skulls on them and his wrists jangled with golden bangles. Yes. Theo was pretty pleased with his costume.

"Lori!" Theo exclaimed, crossing over to his best friend looking flushed and excited when he caught sight of her familiar blonde hair. Evidently the enthusiasm had swept him up, along with the many drinks he had had - albeit all non-alcoholic - getting to his head. In his normal sober state he would not be as open as he was being with Lori right now. Oscar and Scott niggled at his night most of the time - especially Oscar, thinking of his boyfriend in the other Common Room with some annoyance - but generally Theo had let go tonight and was just having fun with his friends. It was just a shame his closest friends beside Lori were not in Ravenclaw. He wondered if August had come, but was too caught up with laughing with Lori to think about it any longer. "C'mon, dance with me," Theo enthused, taking Lori's hand and pulling her to where some other Ravens were laughing and moving to the music. "Don't you just love Halloween?" Theo chuckled as he swung Lori around the floor, vague deja vu attacking his mind, images from last year's Winter Ball, where Lori and Scott's relationship had first changed for the 'better'. Brushing them aside roughly, Theo's hand tightened around Lori's arm, and he smiled brighter than ever. Prefect duties were all but forgotten for the time being.

[Lori Leigh R6]

Lori spun around happily as she eyed her costume in the mirror. “Perfect.” She nodded surely. Who didn’t love Halloween? Lori couldn’t think of anyone. Sure some people in the muggle world weren’t thrilled with the holiday, but they didn’t completely understand it. Oh well. They were defiantly missing out. What Lori loved about Halloween most was the functions Hogwarts put out every year specifically for the holiday. Lori remembered how much fun Fright Fest was as well as the Costume Balls and such they had in previous years. Really Lori just loved a good excuse to dress up but she liked to see her friend’s costumes as well. At last year’s Winter Ball, Theo and Lori went as Romeo and Juliet from the movie. They really were a hit. Everyone thought they resembled the characters quite well. But this party wasn’t about pairs. Lori had to stand out on her own. It wasn’t really hard for her to do. With her light blonde hair, gleaming blue eyes, and long legs, Lori didn’t exactly fit in. But Lori wasn’t consumed with her looks. She never had been. But she did like to present herself well and tonight she was doing just that. Lori smiled brightly as she smoothed out her dress and headed out of her dorm room.

Tonight it was just Theo and Lori. Lately, this wasn’t a common thing, not like it used to be anyways. Ever since Theo met Scott, things had changed. And then, Lori and Scott started to date and everything completely changed. But Lori knew that Theo would always support her no matter what and she was thankful for that. He was just glad that she was happy. He was, right? Lori shook her head to remind herself again not to doubt her best friend. She sighed and headed down the stairs. She did wish that she could dance with Scott tonight, but she didn’t mind having some time with just her best-friend. Ever since Lori started dating Scott, it was easier to not think about loving Theo. Maybe it was going away. Yea that was it. Or maybe Lori was just ignoring it. Well it didn’t matter. Lori was with Scott and that was the important thing, right?

Lori walked down the steps gracefully. Her long blonde hair moved with her. The beautiful curls seemed to gleam as she walked. Lori wore a beautiful, sparkly silver crown that Florence had helped her pick out. Her gown was lovely. It was of course, pink, Lori’s favorite color. It was cut very old-fashioned but it still looked beautiful on her. The sleeves were puffy but in a pretty way. The dress went out a bit and then hit the floor gracefully. The dress was a pale pink with sparkling gold beads sewn all over it. Lori smiled as she walked over to Theo. “Glenda the Good Witch is here to save the day.”She smiled and tapped her fake fairy wand on his nose. The little fake crystal wand changed colors every few minutes and small purple sparks came from it whenever it touched something. Lori smiled as Theo’s nose had little purple sparks engulfing it for a second. They weren’t hot though, just fun to look at. Lori had tried out the spell a few times before using it. Lori loved the Wizard of Oz and even if it was a muggle movie, it was classic. She knew people would recognize it. Lori giggled at Theo’s costume. “I love it.” She said between giggles. At once Theo asked Lori to dance with him. She laughed know that she didn’t really have a choice. Theo whisked her onto the dance floor as she giggled some more. She nodded. “Yes I do as a matter of fact.” She said wiggling her nose. “It’s almost as much fun as Christmas in Essex, but not quite.” She shook her head. “Halloween however does come in a sturdy second.” She nodded as she glanced around at the other students for the first time. Some were staring which was normal but some were whispering as they stared. Lori didn’t know what that was about nor did she care. She just wanted to have fun with her best-friend.

[Lynne Collins]

Well, the skirt was shorter than what even she was used to, but the orange-beaded chain fit perfectly around her waist. Lynne had to admit that she had been slightly worried about that, having bought it in a hurry and without trying it on. Unhurriedly, Lynne straightened her sailor collar, smoothing the fabric down, and twisted the large orange gem in the middle of the blue bow attached to her white leotard. Turning to see her back in the mirror, she checked that the yellow bow connected to her blue skirt was still in place before nodding with satisfaction. The solid orange choker with a star sewn onto the middle was fastened around her neck quickly and Lynne’s hazel eyes gleamed with satisfaction. Her costume for this year was possibly her favourite ever. She was nearly ready and, although she could hear the music drifting up from the common room, she was in no hurry to get downstairs. Not so long ago, she would have been the first down there, dragging Danny with her and making plans to sneak into the Hufflepuff common room to see her brother. She had dressed as Alice from Alice in Wonderland the year before Danny had left, Lynne reminisced fondly. But she would look better this year.

Forcefully, she roused herself from thoughts of the past and grinned cheerfully at her reflection in the mirror. Translucent orange earrings were quickly clipped onto her ears before Lynne picked up the last piece of her costume. Using the mirror to place it in exactly the right position, Lynne pressed the golden headpiece, complete with orange gem in the middle, onto her forehead and used to sticking spell to ensure that it would remain there until she cast the counter-spell. Disconcerted, Lynne tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at her reflection. Something was missing. Something very important. Determined to identify the missing element, Lynne glanced down at herself analytically. White leotard with white-striped orange sailor collar – check. Blue bow and orange gem – check. Orange chain, orange skirt and yellow bow attached to the back of the skirt – check, check, check. White elbow length gloves with orange trim at the top – check. Heeled orange pumps, complete with ankle straps to make her footing more stable – check. She could feel the tiara resting on her forehead so she knew that it was still in place. With a scowl, Lynne crossed to her bed and examined the picture she had based her costume off then abruptly smacked her forehead in exasperation. “The bow!” She knelt to root through her trunk, groaning when it remained hidden from her and then letting out a triumphant noise when her hand grasped the red fabric that made up her bow. Without looking, Lynne fixed the bow to the back of her hair carefully and then nodded in satisfaction. She was finally ready.

“Jupiter,” Lynne called coaxingly, tapping her fingers invitingly and capturing her white kitten when she jumped out at her from under the covers on the bed. “You, my dear, are receiving a new name for tonight,” she informed her kitten merrily. “So come along...Artemis,” she laughed cheerfully, scooping up the kitten before striking a pose at the top of the staircase. Dutifully, Jupiter mewed loudly, making her laugh and pet her kitten consolingly. “Just be glad I didn’t make you wear the crescent moon on your forehead. Now then, ready to make our entrance?” Jupiter didn’t reply but Lynne returned to her pose anyway. “Soldier of Love and Beauty, Sailor Venus!” Lynne announced to herself and her kitten quietly. Abruptly she shifted, mimicking the original Sailor Venus’ position. “In the name of the planet Venus, I’ll punish you!” Stifling a giggle, Lynne jumped down the stairs and then paused, staring around aimlessly as she realised that she no longer had Danny to automatically gravitate toward before shaking her head and joining some of her other friends at the edge of the dance floor. She was Sailor Venus, soldier of love and beauty. She didn’t need Danny or Kael to make her feel normal. That didn’t mean that she wouldn’t be sneaking out later to steal her brother for a while though. It was tradition and besides, their costumes almost matched.