The Grounds

Posts : 1364 Join date : 2015-12-20

Adelaide hadn't forgotten to transform the grounds of Hogwarts, either, with a 'Spooktacular' walk through to the Lake for those brave enough to head down that route. It was mostly for the kids, getting a good fright from the various ornaments that would jump out at them as they walked, but Adelaide wouldn't be surprised if some of the adults jumped out of their skin too.

The grounds were lit just enough for those who wandered out to see in their local vicinity, but not enough to lift the nature of the evening from the vibe created by the tomb stones, pumpkins and skeletons (amongst other things) that were on display.

Adelaide had been happy with that much as she turned back inside to stay within the 'safer' area of the main hall. After all, she didn't want to be caught jumping out of her skin by prospective money givers, did she?

Guest

Dimitri had been somewhat unsure about the Halloween Ball -- any one who was anyone knew that this was a fundraiser from the fact it had been opened to the masses, and not just students. Thankfully, Dimitri had convinced his parents that there was no need to come to the school, and that a simple donation would be more than enough to show their support for the school.

Dimitri, however, had not wanted to miss out on the fun of the evening. After investing his time in finding a fellow Ravenclaw with a flair for art, Dimitri had been made up like a skeleton for the evening. It didn't completely change his appearance, of course, but it did make him somewhat less recognisable than simply turning up in a suit. The Ravenclaw had put a suit on, though, unable to go all out for the event.

With a drink in hand -- there was some kind of charm on the table to stop the kids from stealing the alcohol, but Dimitri had sources elsewhere he could explore -- the boy had moved out in to the grounds. Supposedly they were scary, and perhaps from the squeals he could hear filling the air, this was true of some people, but Dimitri hadn't started to explore just yet. There wouldn't be much fun in walking around aimlessly on your own now, would there.

So, the Ravenclaw stood around by the exit from the main ball room, wondering where his friends had gotten to that evening, and eyeing the grounds with want, all the while sipping at the pumpkin juice in his glass as if he were still a wee first year.

Guest

Halloween. A time of fear and mischief. It also happened to Janet's all time favorite holiday. She had gone all out for the ball this year, doing her hair and putting together the perfect outfit, even adding a little makeup for flair. As soon as she had gotten ready she made her way to the ball... only to find most people were wearing ballgowns and suits and such. Looking down at her outfit with a scowl she huffed and walked off.

No matter. She had heard there was to be a sort of haunted maze almost on the front grounds that sounded like fun. Surely there, nobody would judge her for being dressed up. She nodded and headed on her way toward the front, stopping only for a moment to take in the decorated halls, before pushing open the great doors to stand and gaze in wonder at the front lawn. It. Was. Amazing.

Guest

Hearing someone moving closer, Dimitri looked away from the haunted walkway -- which, if rumours were to be trusted, headed down to the lake -- to come face to face with Janet Shinings. He'd met the witch over the summer, and they'd gotten on quite well. Dimitri should probably have taken the time to write to her over the summer to continue the friendship on, but he'd been busy shadowing his father.

"Hey Janet!" Dimitri greeted the witch, moving closer to her as he took in the outfit she'd decided on for the Ball. "You look great, if I may say so?" The young man complimented, leaving it as a question because he was a gentleman, gentlemen were not lecherous beings, and tonight would not be an exception to that much.

"Glad I'm not the only one who made an effort for the evening! We're you thinking of trying the haunted trail?" He asked, because he really did want to try this out. And, well, he didn't see why he couldn't do that with Janet.

Guest

Janet gazed at the lawn for a moment before she even realized the ravenclaw boy was there. She wrenched her eyes away from the halloween wonders to smile at the boy as he greeted her. "Why, hello Dimitri! Fancy seeing you here." She tugged her shirt down nervously. To be honest, she was showing much more skin than she was used to, and wasn't yet sure whether she was comfortable with it or not.

She grinned at Dimitri's compliment and looked down proudly at her work. "Costume? What cotume?", she asked, faking an offened face with perfection before breaking into a grin after a moment, "Nah, I'm just joking. Thank you. It took a while to get all the peices together but I'm quite satisfied with the way it turned out."

She looked back at the boy and studied him for a couple seconds. "Love the face paint by the way, it has such intricate details. Yes, I agree I'm also glad not to be the only one dressed up. It seemed like there were some in costume but most people seemed to be in more... dressier outfits." She, again, looked down at her costume slightly sheepishly. "And, as you can see my costume is not, by any means, fancy."

As he mentioned the trail Janet's face lit up and she nodded enthusiatsically. "Oh, yes. I love haunted... well, anything really. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. Were.. you going to? We could go together.. if you'd like." She gave him a slightly shy smile.

Guest

Dimitri's eyes remained neutrally on the witch's face, to many this would be a feat of willpower from a young warm blooded male, but to Dimitri, this was second nature of being a gentleman. It would be unfair for Dimitri to make Janet feel self-conscious in any way, which was evident in how she was pulling at her clothes in an effort to hide herself.

"You're most welcome." Dimitri replied after letting out a soft laugh at her teasing of him.

Janet's compliment was one Dimitri took gracious, inclining his head a little before her offered her a soft 'thank you' in response to the compliment. "I must disagree that your costume is not fancy -- it is fancy dress, no?" Dimitri replied, the smile on his lips showing quite clearly that he was teasing her in return. "But, in all seriousness, I prefer your outfit for it's uniqueness than any of the fancy dresses in there." He said, motioning with his thumb back towards the Ball. He'd been a little bit disappointed with the turn out, in truth, but now he had Janet to talk to, things were looking up considerably.

"I was waiting for someone to go with, in truth. It seems kind of pointless being frightened out of your mind on your own. Shall we?" Dimitri offered, motioning to the path to allow Janet to lead the way. That way, he would have to fend off any jump scares that might come from behind him, whilst being behind the witch for any jump scares from the front.

OOC: Whilst Dimitri loves jumpscares, I as a writer am very scared of things like this xD Therefore, please can I ask that any pictures you may find necessary to be put in are included within (labelled) spoilers so that I don't poop myself? MANY THANKS <3

Guest

As the boy teased her back Janet chuckled. "Yes, well I suppose I forgot there was supposed to be adults attending. Of course most of them wouldn't be in costume. Though I did see a couple kids in costume, though.." She glanced down once more, "not in as much.. uniqueness as mine." She chuckled and shrugged, "but hey, that's fine. I didn't really expect anyone to be quite as into it as I am."

Dimiti mentioned he had been waiting for someone else to go with him. She nodded, "yes that does make sense. It might not be quite as fun by yourself. I, myself, am used to doing things like these by myself, for I don't know many people who like these kinds of things." Nor did she have many people close enough that she could ask them to do this with her, but that part she chose not to say aloud.

Dimitri motioned to the path and Janet smiled before starting down the path, eyes peeled for anything scary. within moments a girl jumped out at the two with a scream, causing Janet to yelp slightly as her eyes widened, before ginning. "Oh! Now, that was a good one." She gave the girl a high five.

The girl::

OOC: Ok, sounds good. I wouldn't want to be the cause of any accidents. As for me, I don't care whether or not you use spoilers fo both janet and I love scary things.

Guest

The thought of adults had occurred to Dimitri, but, quite honestly, he didn't care what people thought. Janet did, and he decided, in that moment, that he was going to try and make her see that being yourself wasn't a bad thing. "You know, standing out in the crowd is quite the feat of bravery, in my books. It's... quite awe inspiring, actually. So, please, don't worry about your outfit, you look amazing, like I said. And, I'm not the kind of person to lie to a girl about such things."

Cheesy, perhaps, but in a world where women were quite self-loathing, Dimitri hoped to give something back.

"Well, looks like you got yourself a scare buddy!" Dimitri said when Janet confessed she didn't really have anyone to do these things with. It was presumptuous that she would enjoy his company enough to make this more than a one time thing, but you had to have a little bit of confidence in these matters, otherwise you simply got blown off the time after.

Following Janet down the path, Dimitri stayed close enough to the witch as was polite and kept his eyes moving from side to side, trying to spot the jump scares before they appeared. However, they were very good, whether through the use of Concealment Charms, or simply pure skill, the first person to jump out made Janet jump before grinning and Dimitri jump quite a bit. He didn't scream, no, it hadn't been quite that good a scare, but he could feel his adrenaline pumping through his veins from that move.

Taking in the pale face for a moment longer, and the worked makeup of blood, and the additional contacts, Dimitri had to admit he was impressed with the costume. Especially those creepy blank white eyes, they made a shiver run up Dimitri's neck as he looked away.

"She was good!" Dimitri agreed with Janet, composing himself for the next one as they moved further in to the pathway to the lake. Their next fright came from the left. This time a young man, with torn up clothes, blood all over his hands, that was wielding a machete. The man had waited until Janet had passed, before jumping out in between them. His left hand had moved to brush Janet, whilst his right lifted the knife at Dimitri.

The Ravenclaw ducked away, with a small incoherent sound, before letting out a ripple of laughter at the play. It was a good jump, one that had caught Dimitri off guard despite his eyes scanning all the time. "Jeez..." The Ravenclaw exclaimed after the man had retreated, shaking his head a little. "Wasn't ready for that one!" He admitted, not ashamed of doing so, either.

Guest

Janet blushed slightly as Dimitri said his part and grinned. "Well I appreciate that. It's not that I care if they don't like it.. but it also is.. I don't know. I'm not afriad to be myself but lately it doesn't seem like people like who I am, I suppose." She sighed and shrugged. "But, oh well I guess."

Janet grinned and nodded. "Looks like I do. As long as you're not a guppy about it that is." The idea of doing something like this again made Janet grin at her friend, her eyes sparkling.

As the girl jumped out at them Janet noticed she wasn't the only one who jumped, only making her grin wider, though she didn't say anything about it. She was just glad that she at least wasn't the only one.. well, she wouldn't say scared, but surprised.

Janet nodded, agreeing the girl had been very good. The pair continued their walk and at this point Janet was.. twitchy? nervous? jumpy? full of anticipation? However you put it, she was aware of every crunch of grass under thier feet, the possibility of someone else at every turn, she was on edge, adrenaline pumping, though all the while she had a wide grin on her face and excitment in her eyes.

Out of nowhere someone jumped out behind Janet, right in between her and Dimitri. The guy's hand brushed over Janet's shoulder and she gasped,whipping around to grab his wrist, twisting it behind his back in reflex, enough to be annoying but not yet enough to hurt. Janet, of course, dropped his wrist a second later and took a step back, a blush coming over her face.

"Heh heh, sorry man. Nice scare." The man went back to his hiding spot with a slightly amused glance at Janet. At least there were no hard feelings. Dimitri spoke up, admitting he hadn't been ready for that one. Janet chuckled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her neck. "Yeah.. apparently I wasn't either." Brushing it on she turned back around and continued on thier way, feeling slightly less jumpy knowing at least she could handle herself.

After a while (just enough time for Janet to relax again) someone dressed as a clown jumped out of a bush a little ways away and came running at them, reving an old, rusty chainsaw. At this point Janet flat-out screamed and jumped back, straight into Dimitri. She reached back and caught hold of his arm, not sure how hard she had impacted him, but not wanting him to fall.

The clown:

OOC: Azalea said too scary for you Jake, but in case someone else is reading. Someone will be able to give you a description but I'm tired and am ready for bed.

Guest

Dimitri simply let out a soft laugh as Janet told him not to be a guppy about it. He was quite sure he could manage that much, but he didn't bother with a response. There wasn't really a necessity for that much.

As Janet all but took the guy out with the twisted wrist that stopped him from coming any closer to Dimitri, the Ravenclaw was somewhat relieved. He had not been ready, and the impromptu stopping of the person advancing his way had made it easier to deal with.

After Janet's apology, and their continuation, Dimitri was keeping his eyes peeled now. Taking each step cautiously and trying to find the next jump scare.

It came in the shape of a clown, something that Dimitri was definitely not a fan of. It wasn't a morbid fear like many people had of clowns, oh no, it was not that severe, but he definitely did not like the thing that was coming at them, revving the chainsaw in its hands with a manic smile in place. Dimitri felt a shiver run down his back, but not before Janet had jumped back in to him with a scream leaving her lips.

Putting an arm around her protectively, Dimitri turned the witch away from the clown, and hurried them both past the person who'd created the jump scare. After a number of steps, Dimitri let the witch go, looking back with apprehension at that one. His heart was pounding against his chest, and he couldn't help but let out a soft laugh. They'd set themselves up for that one.

"Merlin that one..." He said, shaking his head slightly as he tried to steady his breathing. "You okay?" Dimitri asked, because Janet had had the worse reaction to that scare, not that he could blame her.

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