OOOOOh. THE HONOR. Ash smiled enthusiastically. yayyyyyy. She got to draw someone's boyfrienddddd. So cuteeee. For someone who acted like an angry twenty-year-old most of the time, Ash sure could be a child. "Don't worry. I'll make it extra nice." Nooo. She could not give Aboli a drawing of her boyfriend that didn't look totally awesome. That would be a travesty. She took out a nicely-sized piece of paper and started drawing the outline. She involuntarily muttered a little song as she worked.

"I am drawing
a color portrait
and it is cool
yay

and it needs
extra sparkles
at the end
yay"

Who knew it was so hard to subconsciously songwrite while drawing a VERY IMPRESSIVE picture of Someone's boyfriend. Speaking of which, was that Noah Nam? She had met him on the train once, and he was with Minjae. And that was basically all she could remember. Ooooh, he was dating Aboli? Adorable. She started the beginning of an outfit and hair. Still no facial features yet though. Ash looked over at where Quinn was sitting. She kinda wanted some knitted stuff. But she was too afraid to askkkk. Too bad. She went back to drawing. Focus. Focus. Focus. She was trying super hard, totally outdoing herself. Why? Ummm, because she was drawing somebody's boyfriend. It had to be the best. It was like, almost as good as her drawings of her best friend, which also needed to be the best. Ash was like, concentrating. Someone could have been ten feet behind her and she wouldn't have noticed.

He smiled at Aboli. "Sure! It'll go great along with the sweater..." Quinn thought out loud. He knew he wanted to knit a sweater for, ahem, one of his friends, and he thought it would be nice to have a card to go along with it.

Quinn's eyes widened, and he shook his head no. "No, I didn't know about that, actually. What does it do? Let you knit faster?" He would love to be able to knit faster.

Shreya had seen the posters around the school and was absolutely endeared that the students were taking it upon themselves to make the holiday season a bit brighter. She had tried to resist attending, figuring that the students wouldn't want a lame old professor crashing their party, but she couldn't resist at least popping in. So, with a tray of various holiday-flavored beverages (made from her intricate office coffee station, of course), Shreya made her way to the Entrance Hall, donning an elegant blue and gold salwar kameez. She usually didn't wear her traditional Indian fashions at Hogwarts, as they seemed a bit out-of-place. Not to mention that all her years living in the United Kingdom had inadvertently transitioned her wardrobe to mostly Western-inspired pieces. But the holidays were a special occasion, and she felt like paying a bit of homage to her culture today. Being stuck at Hogwarts had certainly caused some homesickness for Jaipur.

"Hello, hello," she greeted everyone with a wave, setting down the heavy tray on the table. "I come bringing some holiday cheer! Help yourself." Shreya gestured to the variety of steaming beverages: hot cocoa, peppermint mochas, caramel lattes, and cinnamon clove tea. She made her way over to the table of cards, beaming with pride at all the work the students were putting in. "Mind if I join you?" She could certainly make a few cards for her colleagues. But a part of her simply wanted to be there to supervise, just in case the Inquisitorial Squad caught wind of the gathering.

Disappointed as she was that they wouldn't be able to be home for the holidays, Ivy had expected that to be the case for awhile, and she had...not quite made her peace with it, but accepted it as the way it would be this year.

Still, even with everything, it didn't mean they couldn't find some way to celebrate or enjoy it here. And the posters she'd seen around? That was a great way to do something positive! And it'd be fun to find some gifts for her friends.

So here she was, and she was pleased to see a number of students here already and Professor Varma too! With warm drinks!

"Hi, everyone!" she said, smiling and grabbing a mug of hot cocoa. "If you still need people to help, I can do paintings." She had shrunk a few that she'd done recently, carrying them in the bag slung over her shoulder. They were mostly abstract type stuff, though there was a landscape one she was pretty proud of too. She figured it'd be useful to have a few examples to display in case that helped anyone decide if they wanted something like that.

She would've offered to do photoshoots too but...yeah, she was still wary of using her camera around.

There looked to be quite a few different and great gift ideas already anyway. She was already trying to decide what to get everyone she knew.

Oh dear Merlin's plaid Christmas pants. It was a Christmas handcraft workshop... except it was poorly placed. At the entrance hall, really?

Ilya wasn't a Christmas fan, his family did not really celebrate the holidays much. Yes, they would use the occasion to stuff their faces and to decorate but no tree or other festivities. It was probably why he stood to the side of the jolly group, judging watching with his arms crossed. Cards? Not interested. Painting? Not interested. Singing? Oh dear God, no. Blue and gold outfit? Heck yeah. It was a petty she was a professor, though. He had a thing against authority figures. Her outfit was amazing, though, and he WOULD know since he was a great fashion follower.

Ilya's cat slowly moved to curl up on one of the tables, interestedly watching the scenery.

ooc: I couldn't decide if pets are still allowed in the castle??? please ignore the cat if not XD

Oops? Perhaps she had chosen somewhat of a bad moment to speak with the older girl who she hadn't realized was working on making a card. Distracted or not, Aboli was paying attention to her so it was now or never.

Before she could change her mind, Lia pulled the container from her bag and opened it. Inside the container was a variety of paracord creatures, bracelets and flowers. Some were not perfect, a little lopsided or oddly shaped but these were display ones mostly, from back when she had first learned. In her bag were several books as well and she wouldn't mind giving anything in the books a try if someone choose something she wasn't sure how to do.

Aawww, lookit! There was a kitty on the other table. Hello, kitty! Dahlia couldn't keep from smiling brightly at it.

Lilith had seen the poster for this little event. Arts and crafts? Heck yeah. She was all for creative things that would take her mind off the holidays. Although, yeah, this was about the holidays, but it'd distract her from thinking too much about her family.

The Slytherin hurried her way down the halls. She was late. Lilith thought since they were sharing their materials with her, she'd share something. And that something was baked goods. She is the daughter of a baker, so she knew her way around that just perfectly.

Arriving, she smiled at the group of people. Mainly at Aboli's presence. Lilith admired something about her energy.

"I brought baked goods to share with everyone," she announced. Mainly (once again) to Aboli. She was the creator of this event, yeah?

Setting the box down on the table, she cast a warming charm on the box of cookies, muffins, all the sweet baked stuff, for if anyone wanted to grab some after they were done with their crafts. Now where was she going to start...

And there were more students gathering. The introvert in her wanted to shirk away to someplace with less hassle but he forced herself to snap out of it for two reasons: she wanted to help make cards and she was here for Aboli, whom Claudine always liked. It also intrigued her to hear just what hidden talents the others have. Quinn could knit? Interesting.

Anyway. There was an enthusiastic Ashley. It was a good thing the two had become friends {sort of}, wasn’t it? This meant they would get along nicely at today’s activity. Oh my. The Ravenclaw was super enthusiastic today. It was contagious. Claudine laughed. “Sure, we can be twinsies. Art twinsies at the same table.”

The fifth year resisted a snort when Ashley stated that she didn’t have to like the persons to draw them. Merlin. She and Ashley sounded alike in that way too. Once the two had gotten things set up, Claudine settled in, eyeing the growing group. Already Ashley had snagged her first request. “Going to give them starry eyes?’’ Claudine asked with interest. Then she announced: “I’ll be happy to draw whatever you guys like too!’’ In the meanwhile, she’d just be working on her card for Heath.

Not before complimenting Varma though. “I like your outfit, professor. Very colourful.’’ These were the clothing she’d been accustomed on their previous Astronomy professor too!

Ashley Fox was.........actually kinda' endearing. When she wasn't being completely stupid and reckless, that is. Aboli found herself smiling despite her judgments about the young Ravenclaw. "Can't wait to see the end result, all right?" she chuuuuuckled and turned to Quinn. With a few mutterings and waves of her wand, his card was finished. TOP SPEED. EXCELLENT MAGIC. MUCH SKILL.

Aboli was too proud of herself sometimes

"Ummmm yes. I just don't remember the charm off the top of her head. It may come to me soon, though. BUUUUUT.....there's something nice about knitting by hand, I suppose," and yes, she chose to use the word 'by hand' rather than 'the muggle way.' In case there were any ears listening. "I'll let ya' know if I recall it, yeah?" She winked and passed the finished pop-up card over to him. The turnout was getting even larger, and that was SUPER NICE. Had a professor even shown up?! Wow!

Wowowowowow!

Professor Varma looked amazing! Aboli was a little *HEART EYES* at the outfit. "Your kameez is so pretty, Professor!" she beamed. "My grandparents are Indian," she explained quickly. Thus, her name being Aboli. She didn't want to seem like a show-off smarty pants or anything even if she really was both of those things. She shouldn't take credit where it wasn't due? Or, at least, that was what she thought currently. She changed her mind depending on the situation. She didn't want any hot cocoa, but she appreciated the effort! How sweeeeeet!

Ivy, some bloke, and Lillith all arrived at once, and Aboli sent them waves. "Ivy, if you want to set up shop at one of the tables, go right ahead!" she beamed some more, her face actually hurting from the amount she was doing right now. It was more than she had smiled in months. Even her time with Noah weren't really smiley occasions lately. They mostly discussed their fears............

Which was a fun killer, for sure.

"Thanks for the baked goodies, Lillith," she shot an appreciative thumbs up at her. "I'll be taking some for friends, of course." It looked good, and she was certain any baked good right now would be a much needed pick-me-up for these DARK AND SOULLESS TIMES.

But the BLOKE'S CAT suddenly jumped on a table and Aboli EYED the cat. "If your creature ruins anything, I swear, I will hex it AND you," she spat out without thinking. On second thought, she probably wouldn't hex a cat. Maybe just the bloke. "I'm not even sure I remember your name," she said snootily as she suddenly began to make ANOTHER card, this time with red and white paper. There were some candy cane vibes going on. Once she was done, she handed it over to the cat-owner bloke. "Merry Christmas. Now make sure your cat is behaved."

Dahlia's bracelets caught her eye. "Can I request some in Slytherin colors?" she asked curiously. Royse and Fiona were good candidates for those. Friendship bracelets, almost.]

And of course Claudine would get some requests soon. The girl seemed to have her own fair share of talent!

"Yeah, of course." Ash looked up at Claudine. "I think love is sparkly." But she needed a breakkkkkkkk. She went over to the professor. "I like your clothes professor. Thanks for the drinks." She snagged a cocoa. Yum. And she nodded at Lilith. "Thank you?" And she took some cookies, and set it all down by her workspace. She got back to work, muttering some things under her breath. "crazy child, broken pyromancer. Surfer artist, singer-dancer. Muggleborn fighter, can't shut up. Cookie lover, almost-writer, she just wants love. And stuff." Anddd that was her new theme song. She paused to eat her food. It was almost time for sparkles. But first, kitty cat. She walked over to Ilya. "Can I pet your kitty cat? Maybe? No? Okay." Well actually, he hadn't said no yet. YET. She looked at him hopefully. But also disappointedly, as if she already knew the answer. That was a fun contrast, wasn't it? Child Ash who hoped for the best and reality Ash who'd only seen the worst. And she just stood there, unsure of which Ash she wanted to express. And waited.

Dahlia smiled brightly, nodding her head without hesitation. "Sure! I can get started on them right now." It had occurred to her that Aboli hadn't given an exact number on how many bracelets she wanted but that was okay. She could worry about that later.

Closing the lid on the container that held some of her word, Lia turned away from the table to find a place to set up her things. "Hello, Professor," she greeted Varma. "You look really nice, I love the colors." Blue and gold went nicely together and it was super shiny looking! The first year took one of the hot drinks from the tray. "Thank you for the drink." It would definitely help keep her warm and focused while she worked.

On her way to an empty spot at one of the tables, she flashed both Ashley and Quinn a friendly smile. Settling down onto a chair, she placed the container holding some of her sample crafts onto the table. Quickly she took out a few of the books she had with her for anyone to look through and all of the different colors/styles of paracord that she had.

Once she had her little area set up, it was time to get to work. Green and silver were selected with black to be the undertone. Each bracelet was going to be a little different even though the colors would be the same.

Claudine paused for a minute, watching Aboli and the cat. In truth, she wanted to laugh so much at the interaction, even if she was half afraid the cat might jump on Aboli’s face and claw the older girl. But a rescue for her wasn’t necessary and at least in the end, kitty got to hang around. “I got your back if you need some help with the cat, Aboli.’’ Actually, it was nice to have the little creature among them. She wished that she had brought Samm along but the rat was fast asleep, curled up on her bed in her dorm.

Now, Claudine busied herself with her first request. Could she manage to sketch a clutter of pine trees? Duh. Anyway. Was love sparkly? The Snakette eyed Ashley thoughtfully and guessed that the Ravenclaw might be referring to what she thought love might be - being on cloud nine and all. “Have you ever been in love?’’ Claudine asked, neatly tracing out the first pine tree top.

As war rages on both sides continue to fight, but the order and supporters have pushed further into the castle. With the castle being hit by both sides trying to defended it. The alliance not ready to end this war and furious at the ones taking over the Great Hall are fighting to keep other's out and to take down as many as the order as possible.

Much to his mate's (Minjae's) dismay, he and his girlfriend had slipped out of the spare office and had gone to join the fight. This was their school - their home. And it felt so right to be taking a stand. He quickly cast a protective ward over him and Aboli as they made their way down the corridors, staircases, and to the main floor. The people they ran past... The cries.... The... He had to block it out of his mind and continue moving forward. If he thought about it more.... that wouldn't be helpful. He was running on pure adrenaline.

This was CHAOS. Absolute chaos. All wants of Gryffindoring had quickly exited this boy's mind as he readied his mind for whoever was coming near them. Now they just had to survive and watch each other's back as best as they could. He bit his lip, wondering how his mate was doing.... and hoping that all in the Spare Office were okay...

Amidst the chaos, he found a bizarre calmness within himself as he fought beside Song. He hid, watching for who was coming. He quietly cast a shield charm over the two of them before readying his wand.

Julien Primeaux had been fighting the good fight and his was showing it. Blood and bruising all over, but that wasn't stopping him. The old charms professor was not going to stop he was going to help the students of Hogwarts as well as his own two sons get out of there.

Finally getting into the castle he looked around wand up and ready. "You kids okay?" He shouted from the noise as he noticed a few, but before he could hear an answer he was throwing up a few shields as spells came near.

They weren't giving up yet even if they had lost a few along the way. After the bridge fell many of the followers headed towards the castle hitting the entrance hall and seeing the order coming in. With loud chants and wicked laughter the Neo-Alliance started sending spells every which way.

One sent a spell to blast toward the staircase while another sent a few curses towards some students. Putting up their own protective spells they continued to push their way further in and sent a few killing curses out as well.

Shaking, Tucker Schultz had FINALLY made his way into the castle. His mind was still reeling from what he'd seen just before he'd fled the wooden bridge. Professor Truebridge had been dropped - by a student! He tried not to think about it, but it was...very unsettling to him. True, she'd been trying to murder people but...it made him sick. Quite literally, he might get sick...

Nope, no time for that. No sooner had he stepped foot in the Great Hall did a swarm of Alliance followers bust in. Come ONNNN. He just wanted to find his mum! Becoming frustrated, he turned and spotted an iron candle stand nearby. He waved his wand, putting out the candles and levitating the heavy iron frame, before waving his wand and sending it flying into the crowd of Alliance followers like they were bowling pins.

His patience - already pretty non-existent - was gone and now, his goal was to take these goons out as fast as possible.

Avalon was exhausted.

Physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. Her legs felt like jelly—and not from a jelly-legs curse. They simply ached from the sheer amount of running and spell-casting she had been performing. The Ravenclaw had just departed the Great Hall, where she had gotten a particularly nasty gash on her arm (thanks to a rogue Neo-Alliance member catching her with the back end of a spell) mended by a healer. Her feet dragged as she made her way through the Entrance Hall, prepared to head back out to the grounds to help her classmates.

But it seemed she was not alone. Ducking instinctively at the noise and the sight of the followers infiltrating the castle, she made to crouch behind the staircase, but was blown back by the explosion instead.

Eyes stinging from the debris, she managed to find her wand. "PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" she shouted, flicking it pointedly toward a particularly mangy-looking follower. While she was at it, she put up a quick shield charm around herself and sent nonverbal expelliarmus toward one of the followers—winking at Aboli after she did so. Thank goodness they had practiced nonverbals earlier in the term. They had definitely come in handy for Avalon today.

They had to keep them from getting too far into the castle. There were too many vulnerable people in here—those in the Great Hall, her younger classmates in the upper part of the castle. Merlin, she hoped that more would be coming to help, because by the looks of it, there weren't enough of them in here to hold off the Neo-Alliance group.

Aboli stayed close behind Noah as they ran what felt like for their very lives. She could hear the battles taking place all around school, outside and in, around them. It made her heart quicken, her hands sweat more intensely inside their gloves. She wanted to hold Noah's hand as they continued, but that would be stupid. Can't fight holding hands. Now was not the time!!!!!

Her wand was raised, and the adult who approached them. She didn't trust ANYONE, but it soon became apparent who was with the alliance....sending killing curses and other hexes their way.

Aboli groooowled lowly, under her breath. "DEFODIO!" she spit at one of the alliance members, all of the anger, rage, and HATRED she had felt for so many months brewing to the forefront of her mind as she envisioned what her spell could potentially do. One of those green spells has just nearly missed Noah! And she was supposed to be RATIONAL? Play nicely? Aboli gritted her teeth, broke off from Noah, and stepped forward more. "SECTUMSEMPRA!"

"We're bloody brilliant!" she snapped at the man, her eyes flashing.

...everything was in chaos and somehow, unsurprisingly, Bernadette Ophelia Grantham had found her way through the muck and mire, slipping down to the Entrance Hall on her way out of school. Being in Room for so long had meant that she'd successfully evaded anything and everything meaningful all term, including, but not limited to, a lot of homework.

So here she was now, in the Entrance Hall, cloaked in a longgggg black robe she'd picked up along the way, (and hemmed, briefly, before she took off at a run). She was all set to march out the doors of Hogwarts forever. She had her wand back and it was OUT, in her hand in defense mode, ahem, it was NOT in her boot. She'd wanted to see School Dad one last time before leaving, but it was now apparent to her that she'd best just abandon all hope and flee the premises before anything worse happened. She could tell SOMETHING worse was about to happen, so she was going to get the heck out before it could occur.

Bernie paused as she spotted Noah Nam and Aboli Song ahead of her. Should she... er, do a spell to escape? Her heart was pounding. She couldn't even THINK STRAIGHT RIGHT NOW.

Fighting had actually reached just outside the Great Hall. Torrance could hear the erupting spells and the shouts from just outside and while he could stay and help those injured the other way to help those who were injured or for anyone in there trying to grieve was to come out fighting to protect them.

He stepped out and saw a few others already tossing spells toward the Neo-Alliance followers. Some even looked like students. Older students...too old to be his cousins. And there was Uncle Julien! He knew some more of his family would be here. It was obvious they would be. Elias and Elijah were his two youngest from Uncle Julien's newer marriage . He stepped to his back and threw up a shield to block an oncoming attack coming his way. "I got your back Uncle Julien!" The Wanderer's Healer said through gritted teeth, turned and threw some of his own spells toward the enemy. Petrificus Totalus, Expelliarmus, Bombarda.

Nemesis had been revitalised. Was that insensitive? Probably. Whatever.

Having fled from the collapsed wooden bridge, Nem had taken a different route back across the ravine, one which mostly required getting a decent distance from the wreckage, scrambling down into said ravine, and then back up to the top on the other side. Running on that last rush of adrenaline was all well and good, but Nem had had to stop several times all the same, when the world started to spin around them, threatening to launch them back to the bottom. They never stopped for long, though, not for long enough that the rush passed them by. They wouldn't waste this. They would not.

Back up in one piece on the other side, Nem had run for the castle. Still shrouded in darkness, they paused, heeding a moment of sudden intuition, and rapped their wand (their original wand, having swapped the cherry for their usual elder) sharply on top of their head. When they were sure the Disillusionment Charm had worked, Nem sprinted onwards.

They found themselves, now, in the midst of another skirmish. Excellent.

Nem was ready to dive in once again, to fight, yes, still on the side of the Neo-Alliance. Probably. Maybe. At this point, they didn't really care, a fight was a fight. They stayed on the edges of the duelling at first, keeping half an eye out for stray spells to duck and dodge around, and looking for an opportunity. Plenty of those, as it turned out, but instead they fixed their sights on Bernadette Grantham. Looking slightly out of her depth, too. Couldn't have that.

They slipped through the hall, ending up by her side. "It's Nem," they murmured, reaching to grab her non-wand hand, ready to dodge away if she panicked or, for whatever reason, intentionally attacked. "Coming?" As in, out of here, right now. Nemesis Upstead was not done with Bernadette Grantham, and letting her Gryffindor her way into a battleground death was not on tonight's agenda.

MAY DAY MAY DAY. He dodged that curse in the nick of time. Thank Merlin for his quick reflexes... if that had been any closer... He'd have been a goner. He shot back a few spells at the goons before noticing the area becoming more and more crowded by the minute. Avalon had joined them and he felt a smile come to his lips. There was no time to talk- however- they had to keep moving!

There was an older man approaching them and he saw Aboli raise her wand. He was about to reach out to stop her from casting something when more goons showed up. "Diffindo!" he cried, pointing his wand out towards the goons before turning his attention to his right. Yes. There was an ally? He thought an ally there. Noah looked to his right and saw an older man (Primeaux) asking if he and Aboli were okay. He flashed him a brief smile and then Aboli curtly answered him. He stifled a chuckle and coughed before nodding in agreement. He cleared his throat, deflecting a few spells from the Neo goonies. "Mhmm... Like she said.... uh...... bloody brilliant." He couldn't put it better himself. He nodded, biting his lip, turning his attention back to the Neo Alliance peeps. "Thanks for asking. You.. uh... okay... uh, Sir?" he asked, unsure how to call this stranger.

He saw another two men (Tucker and Torrance) join the fight and then Aboli went .... well... He stood there for the briefest of seconds, admiring how attractive and incredibly strong his girlfriend was. Dayuumm... was what he thought and dared not to say at this precise moment. He joined her. "Stupefy!" he shouted before moving his wand and casting a few non-verbals. A smirk snuck onto his lips as he whispered, "Melofors..." His wand pointed right at the Neo-Alliance. Heh. He'd love to see a few of them as pumpkin heads.

Out of the corner of his eye, he swore that he saw someone or something in a hood moving. He twirled around, ready for whoever was behind him (hood or friend) and then paused when he saw... Bernie? What was she doing?

Bernie was feeling her nervous heartbeat in her ears now. Just look at all these spells flying back and forth! Was that Avalon out there?! She had nearly raised her wand arm to join the fray, because OF COURSE she was going to join the fray, when... she felt someone grab her free hand.

She tensed up, of course, the fear and anxiety and general ball of nerves starting to show on her little face. Then, the words sank in.

Oh. Nem. Nem! NEMESIS UPSTEAD! They... what? What were they doing? Did she care?

Nah. Bernie led with her heart, not her head.

"Let's." She nodded to confirm, somehow looking right at the disillusioned Slytherin, and giving said hand a tug. Out the door for more adventures. Not these... stupid life and death ones. Hogwarts was beyond salvation at this point, in her mind.

Though their numbers stood greatly diminished by fire, falling, and the eventual collapse of the Wooden Bridge, the dozen smoldering inferi who had made it across the bridge relatively unscathed stumbled into the entrance hall of the castle. They would not give up until each and every inferius had been defeated. Or until their enchantress was dead.

A pair of inferi, still with flames flickering on their extremities, separated from the pack, bumping into walls and anything in their way. They were trying futilely to escape the fire on their own limbs.

The other ten inferi, no longer actively burning, lumbered towards the students fighting in the hall.