Headmaster Wilbur had, at the start of the semester, let it be known that the notice boards would be a wealth of knowledge for upcoming events. Folake wasn't interested in the 'employment gala' nonsense happening, she would be going into business with her father and had been sent to Hogwarts so she could make the necessary connections to create and maintain new relationships on the island. Still, she wouldn't dare pass up the opportunity to learn about British wizarding business etiquette as it would prove useful in years to come.

Folake strode in towards the Slytherin house table after a smile of acknowledgement to Professor Sayse and took a seat.

Between OWLs and the job fair, this term was shaping up to be Desiree’s most stressful one yet! She’d need all the help she could get to ace them both. As such, she was more than a little eager for today’s etiquette lesson. Somehow she thought business etiquette was going to be a lot harder than just filling out an application, like she did for her summer job, but maybe she’d do alright. Years of watching Disney princess movies had taught her a lot about etiquette already, and she usually did well in social situations.

In keeping with the theme, Desiree was channeling Queen Elinor, the Disney character who struck her as the biggest stickler for etiquette, with her outfit today. She wore a green dress and jacket, black shoes, a simple gold belt, and a matching headband. She’d taken a few liberties with the dress by shortening it to mid-length and ditching the bell sleeves for a simpler long sleeve design. Determined to put her best foot forward, she stood tall as she entered the great hall. “Hello, Professor Sayse,” she greeted with a smile and a polite nod. Another nod of acknowledgment followed for the younger girl who arrived before her (Folake).

There were no benches or tables out in the usual set up at the moment but there was water. Water happened to be Char’s favourite, especially after a long game of Quidditch. No doubt Sayse would find him at the pitcher multiple times during this ‘lesson’. “Hallo, professor,’’ he greeted in Swedish. Char gravitated towards his Housemate. “I see you’re all decked up as usual, Des.”

Char now took the time to observe the boxes. He could hardly wait to see all that today’s meeting would entail. For now, those gathered just needed to await the other students, and maybe some of the professors, to show up.

It was weird seeing the Great Hall with the house tables pushed aside like that. It made it look much bigger and emptier. Well, not quite empty because of all the boxes in the room. Alfie tried to take a sneaky peek at them to see if he could figure out what was in them. Clothes, was his guess, given the mannequins and the topic of the lesson. That would only make sense. "Hello Professor," he greeted cheerfully with a smile. Alfie was interested to see what they would be learning about today. He didn't know very much about etiquette. He moved toward two fellow Hufflepuffs, Charlie and Desiree and gave them a grin. "Hey."

Aurora wasn’t entirely sure what business casual etiquette meant but it sounded like something a member of the royal family would attend which had perked her interest completely. That and the idea that Rora would be involved in everything if she could and had major fear of missing out whenever an activity was posted even if it wasn’t aimed at someone of her age group.

Still, the twelve year old skipped her way into the Great Hall and offered a friendly smile to everyone that was stood or sat around. The room looked even larger with the benches pushed aside leaving somewhat of a dance floor in the middle that Aurora had to control her urges not to start boogieing in the centre of. She wasn’t familiar with any of the other students dotted around so she stood alone, fairly near to the Professor who got a little wave from the Ravenclaw.

Etiquette classes were something she'd taken during her pre-wizarding school years in France at her mother's behest, so the word itself did not intimidating Mouse. What did intimidate was the 'business casual' bit. Was this where they'd be learning how to dress for an interview? How to TALK in an interview? Perhaps even how to figure out if how to interview the opposite side? She'd yet to have a real job, so all of the things that had to be completed with a company prior to entering the workforce was... well, intimidating, so Professor Sayse's lesson sounded like one she would have to attend. Mouse doubted the etiquette they'd be talking about here was how to properly have tea or what forks to use.

... Unless their interviews later were being conducted over dinner. She'd save that to fret over later.

Entering the classroom, Mouse gave a smile towards all in attendance before gravitating towards Charlie and Desiree and their fellow Hufflepuff. Desiree got a wider smile then the others and an approving nod on her outfit - on point as always! But she was suddenly feeling a bit too anxious to verbalize so she hoped her smile was enough.

Business Casual Etiquette... now that sounded RIGHT up Remy Gaeltheos' street.

While she would argue that she had the etiquette of a princess already, she saw no harm in brushing up on some skills and was curious to see how the other students parred up. Besides, that might not be relevant when it comes to business casual, and she certainly had to think about how to behave when it comes to upcoming career prospects. Dressed in prim and proper uniform, as always, and her hair in a plaited updo, Remy made her way to the Great Hall with her nose pointing to the sky, almost. Some would say she was being a little over the top about this...

"Hello, Professor Sayse. How are you today?" Remy asked kindly.

Why oh why had she told her dad's about etiquette class in her last letter? Maria regretted telling them as she very unwillingly entered the great hall with her dad's words ringing in her ears. It will be veeeeery good for you Maria to learn how to properly hold cutlery, and drink from a glass without spilling. Maria grumpily headed up towards the front taking in the boxes full of undoubtable props and who of her peers were already present. Maria was properly dressed in her badger uniform, and had also taken extra care to style her curly hair as her eyes met their professor, and greeted with a weak smile pursing her lips. "Hello Professor Sayse, will you teach us how to walk, talk, eat and dance like nobility today?" It was a fair question considering the title. Walking over to stand with the other badgers present eg Alfie, Charlie and Desiree she greeted "Hey guys!" Where was Vera or Kion? Maria feared that she'd need an ally to get support from before this class ended.

Business Casual Etiquette Class. Keighley wasn't entirely sure if she needed to attend this class but one could never really be too prepared for anything so here she was. Plus, she knew Charlie was going to be here which meant that if anything she was sure to get at least a good smile or laugh out of something.

Entering the Great Hall, the sixth year scanned the room noting the changes and the boxes up on the dais. "Hello, Professor." She greeted with her usual warm smile in place and a wave. Her feet were however trailing towards the boyfriend and her fellow housemate. "Hey you. Hello Desiree." Charlie got a gentle nudge from her as she stepped up beside him, her fingers briefly brushing against his affectionately.

Was it something she particularly needed to worry about just yet? Probably not, but Giselle was too much of a princess to not think anything with ‘etiquette’ in the name would be interesting. A self-styled princess, to be sure, but it was there. She found the idea more attractive than Fee, anyhow, or at least she thought that was the case. Xander was all for being a king, but etiquette didn’t seem like her brother’s thing either. It wouldn’t be the first time either of her siblings had surprised her, though. If they did show up.

Either way, she was lowkey pretending the ‘business casual’ part of the title. But she was familiar with the idea, from mum mostly but Dad probably counted as someone who knew the concept too. Fancy was more fun, though, but oh well. She’d take what was provided, and at least Professor Sayse was one of the better professors.

“Hi Professor Sayse”, she greeted the woman as the second year Slytherin arrived at the Great Hall, pointedly not commenting on the change in the room decor. It was weird, but there was probably a reason for it.

Once it seemed as though everyone had arrived who was going to, Marilyn decided she may as well get started. This wasn't a lesson, so technically people could come and go as they pleased. If they finished early, that was fine... But for now they ought to get started so that they had time to finish before the tables were needing to moved back for dinner.

"Right... Let's get started. So business casual etiquette, which in case you failed to notice the mannequins here... is specific to a style of clothing, which is less formal than traditional business wear, adding a more relaxed vibe, but also intends to give a professional appearance." Marilyn started. "Before we begin the activity, I'd like for you all to give me an example of something that might be considered business casual. Think of your clothes that you wear for school, versus when you're home for the summer. What might be considered more formal?"



Simple enough question I hope But give an example of clothing that's formal, business casual, or too casual. Make sure you specify which it is that you're giving an example of, for instance - swimsuit = casual. You only need to list one article of clothing and it's style.

“Hey, Alfie.’’ Char grinned. “Almost called you ‘alfalfa’.” This had not been the first time it had happened, honestly; it was as though his mind was determined to stick his dormie with that nickname. “Hi, Mouse.” She was another transfer student he had bonded with quite quickly. “Hey, Maria.’’ Yet another bouncy Hufflepuff; they really were sunshine-y, weren’t they? Friends. It was good to have friends. To think that he had been worried about fitting in at Hogwarts when he transferred last year.

But how could he not notice Keighley the moment she stepped into the Great Hall? Char nudged her in return to her nudge. “Hi, you. This is going to be an interesting lesson.” Not an actual lesson, so to speak but interesting all the same.

The topic made sense given the mannequins. Already Char was in love with said topic. He raised a hand, thinking of Quidditch activities he was sometimes required to attend, activities that weren’t always fully formal. “A plain white or dark tee shirt with a dark long sleeved jacket thrown over along with jeans could be semi casual. Oh, loafers got along swimmingly with that.”

Mara wanted to stomp her foot just a little in when Professor Sayse told her that they weren't going to be learning how to be like nobility, then what was this for? She didn't stomp her foot as Charlie's greeting disctracted her enough along with looking at Desiree's costume. When the first question was asked Maria raised her hand after Charlie to give her suggestion to the mix. "A more formal attire would be a nice flowery blouse and a pretty matching skirt and high heels whereas a more casual look would be a white and blue striped t-shirt and pair of blue shorts along with black sandals." Just because Maria was a bit dissapointed it didn't mean that she wasn't going to do her part to get house points.

Well that was an extremely disappointing start to the lesson.. or seminar? Or whatever it was that this was supposed to be that Aurora most definitely didn’t need to be attending but here she was anyway. The second year resisted the temptation to pout as she realised they wouldn’t be waltzing their way around the Great Hall like she had imagined but it was much better suited towards job interviews which quite frankly the twelve year old was not thinking about quite yet.

But here she was and as a well behaved (most of the time) and overeager student, she was going to do her best to participate in the activities anyway. She quickly raised her hand to the question, waiting for the older students to give their suggestions first. “A beautiful Cinderella ballgown?” she beamed. She wished she was in possession of one of those but her Ma would probably look at her like she was crazy if she sauntered into the house wearing one. “That would be extremely formal! You’d wear it to the most fanciest of balls to meet your future Prince or Princess and you’d twirl about in it all night long and everyone would be looking at you.” Not that the Professor had asked for as much detail as Aurora was providing but alas when she got started it was very hard for her to shut her mouth again. The Ballgown didn’t have to be specifically Cinderella either. It could be Sleeping Beauty for obvious reasons.

That was easy. Charlie had his back to her when she entered the Great Hall and he had been chatting with the fellow housemate. Or at least she believed so. So she would let it slide that he hadn't noticed her right away. He's welcome. The gentle nudge back made her smile. "I hope so. I'm sure we'll learn at least something new." She didn't see any reason that they wouldn't.

Keighley listened to the question and thought about it for a minute or two before raising her hand. "A simple black blaze over a solid colored blouse with black dress pants and flat shoes is usually a nice combination." Sometimes keeping it simple but best. Not everyone likes tons of color like her.

Remy was SUCH a goody two shoes when it came to classes. “I’m glad to hear that, Professor. Yes, I’m well.” Stressed about NEWT examinations? One billion, million, trillion, thousands of one hundreds percent. But nobody needed to read that on her face or hear that from her mouth. Yet…

An example of business casual clothing. She tapped her chin and thought for a moment, suddenly doubting every ounce of style inside her. “A jumpsuit is something I think is more formal than regular trousers and a top… but less formal than a suit or a dress, in my opinion.” She was feeling a little stumped about suggestions of shoes and jackets to go with it, though, although the professor wasn’t necessarily asking for all of that.

She couldn’t help but smile as the younger one (Aurora) mentioned a Cinderella ball gown. Such a sweet answer.

Desiree didn’t have to wait long for other people to show up. Charlie’s greeting got a big smile. “Hi, Charlie,” she replied, giggling slightly. “Of course! Is there any other way to go?” It looked like Charlie wasn’t the only person to notice her outfit. Between Professor Sayse’s compliment and Mouse’s approving nod, Desiree was practically beaming. She couldn’t resist a little twirl and princessy curtsey to show off her outfit from all angles.

“Hi, Mouse,” she greeted, returning the smile with one of her own, but her expression soon changed. Was it just her, or did her Ravenclaw friend seem a bit… anxious? “Everything okay?” she whispered.

Desiree was all smiles as more of her fellow Hufflepuffs joined. “Hey, Alfie. Hey, Keighley, Hey, Maria,” she greeted each of them with a wave. More waves soon followed for the other students she didn’t know as well (Aurora, Remy, and Giselle). There was no reason not to be friendly, and this was etiquette class after all. First rule of etiquette: ignoring people was rude!


Desiree listened carefully as Professor Sayse began the lesson. That question was easy! She was quite literally a walking example of a business casual outfit… or at least, she tried to be. The accessories she added might be a bit much. Her hand went up, and she said, “Might be on the dressier end of business casual, but what about a simple mid-length dress and blazer in a color that doesn't draw attention to itself?”

She smiled to herself as she listened to the others' answers, especially the younger girl who mentioned ballgowns and princesses (Aurora). Ooh, was she a Disney fan too? Come to think of it, did it have to be Cinderella's ballgown? If she was going to wear a Disney ballgown, she'd much prefer Belle's!

Professor Sayse nodded in agreement with Charlie, Maria, Aurora, Remy, Keighley, and Desiree. Although what Desiree and Keighley mentioned brought an extra wide smile.

"A smart looking blazer is definitely one of my favorite accessories and go-to wardrobe staples. It honestly never seems to go out of style." And it works regardless of gender identity.

Opening up the box to fully reveal the contents, Mari removed one of the mannequin figurines. "So these could be enlarged using the engorgio spell if you'd like a larger canvas to work with... But ultimately we're going to be playing a little dress-up game. That is to say we'll be using some various charms and spells to aid in designing an appropriate outfit for an important meeting."

With a flick of her wand, a portable board appeared with a list of likely spells.

Change hair/eye colour (Ristaris)
Change hair style/length (Felintas)
Cloth into a hat (Tectum Caput)
Shirts, vests, jumpers, jackets etc (Summus Vestis)
Pants, skirts, shorts etc (Summitto Vestis)
Turns beetles to button (Bruchus puga)
Turns leaf to vest (Folium induant)
Turns fabric into long dress (Vestis fluens)
Turns fabric into short dress (Seges habitu)

"If you have any questions or need assistance on any of these, please let me know... and if you think you need a different spell, let me know that too. Happy designing."




ooc: sorry we dropped the ball on this if you'd like to casually play around with the activity, you can do so but need to unfortunately wrap things up .. but i'll leave the thread open for a few days longer for those who wanted to play around. Ultimately the activity was to use charms to turn various rags into more appropriate wear for their mannequins.

It was funny how he never really paid a second thought to clothing when he threw them on for whatever event or even on a daily basis. It was as though he was going through a motion each time. The activity for this lesson already piqued his interest. Eyeing the board, Char saw some spells he was familiar with, some of which he would say that he had already mastered.

The Puff took one of the mannequins and decided to enlarge it just a bit. Okay so… Sayse said they were to dress this as though it were attending an important meeting. Um, what did he want this mannequin to wear? Maybe a sleek green pants suit? With a crisp white shirt below? Nude heels? Hair in an elegant bun?

Hmmm.

So many possibilities there were.

Desiree couldn’t help but notice that her answer got an extra big smile, and she practically beamed when Professor Sayse confirmed her answer was correct. What could she say? SHe knew her stuff when it came to fashion! Her mood instantly brightened when she heard the directions for the activity. Did someone say dress-up? That was the magic word!

Rifling through her bag, she took out a pen and notebook to jot down the spells written on the board. She had a feeling those would come in handy for a future fashion project! She tilted her head to one side as she approached the nearest dummy. What kind of outfit should she make? Something Disney-inspired for sure, but which character to use for inspiration? After a few minutes’ thought, she decided to go with a Merida-inspired outfit to match her Elinor one.

A design formed in her mind… a beige shirt to match Merida’s underdress, a blazer in the same dark teal shade as her dress, and… Desiree’s first thought was to make a skirt to match the blazer, but she decided against it. Merida was the tomboy of the DIsney princesses, so if she wore modern career wear, she’d probably prefer trousers instead. Gotta stay true to the character!

Visualizing her concept, Desiree picked up a rag and brandished her wand. “Summitto Vestis!’ she cast, and the cloth transformed into a pair of dark teal trousers. Getting the trousers on the dummy was a bit awkward, but she eventually managed. Now she had to make the shirt and jacket, which required a different spell. She picked up another rag and glanced at the board. “Summitto - no. Summis Vestis!” she cast. Okay, those two spells sounded way too similar! This was going to be confusing!

In an instant, the rag turned into a simple beige button-down shirt. Desiree dressed the mannequin, doing up all except the top button and tucking the shirt neatly into the trousers. She picked up one more rag and cast again, “Summis Vestis!” The rag was gone, replaced with a blazer, the exact dark teal shade of the trousers. She placed the jacket on the mannequin and took a step back to admire her work. This was a simpler look than her usual designs, but she kinda loved it! It just needed shoes and maybe a belt to complete the outfit.