feels like one of those nights [class of ’22 grads]

[Vivian River Jordan]

14 May 2027

So of course Vivian had assigned herself the task of hosting her five-year reunion. There were many things that could be said about the Hogwarts class of 2022 (hooligans, rabble-rousers, to name a few) but they weren’t a particularly organized bunch. Viv had always had a fairly public profile at school (considering her uncontested rule as the Quidditch commentator for several years running) so it had been easy enough to decide that she was throwing a party and everybody in her year was invited. The school had been an interesting playground in their final years there, and they’d all since gone their own ways. It felt odd not to list Hogwarts as the place to be for what was definitely going to be the most lit party of all time, and even a year later Viv heard an empty hollow ringing in her ears as she thought of the castle’s charred ruins. But that made these sorts of events more important than ever – something to celebrate instead of spending all their time morosely mourning what they’d lost.

She’d begged Harry to let them use his pub for the reunion, and Viv gleefully surveyed all the decorations she’d put up to make the place seem more festive. Since she’d listed seven o’clock as the official start time, Vivian wasn’t expecting anybody to show up before eight which gave her plenty of time to get ready. She’d created and enchanted the party favors herself, which were lined up neatly on a table by the entrance. The little statuettes of the four House symbols were animated to look realistic – little lions pacing on the tables, snakes hissing at the eagles while the badgers poked around and made little snuffling sounds. One might think it was incredibly complicated magic, but really it was all just an illusion. The moment you picked one up, it burst into glitter and launched the cloud right into your face. Viv hadn’t been sure which one Nova would pick up, so she’d loaded all the Ravenclaw eagles with extra glitter.

Viv bounced lightly on her feet and did a little dance as she poured herself a glass of Butterbeer, humming Camila Calderón’s latest hit single under her breath as she waited by the bar. Her back was to the door but she wasn’t afraid of missing her classmates’ arrivals – none of them had ever quite learned the practiced art of subtlety.

[Hi! This is an open thread for all Hogwarts ’22 grads! There’s no posting order, just toss in your character as often (or not) as you want. 😊]

[nova hypatia vector]

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Making up for lost time. That is what she considered the proposed five year class reunion, because her school years had been 'wasted' worrying about what her stupid father was doing and her grades. Because those had absolutely mattered when she already knew she was going to be working at the bakery after graduation. The mere realization that it had been five years already was wild to her. All of that time since had been spent perfecting her craft, which clearly showed in the business she now half ran. Not all of her classmates were in the same boat, but she saw enough of them around Diagon and Horizont working odd jobs. If Mina could get a job and keep it, anyone could (except Rue, who was probably better off doing their own thing). That reassured her that she was doing the right thing by working at the bakery, and would hopefully take over from her aunt when that day came.

Such an event had only come to fruition because Vivian had taken it upon herself and willed it into existence. Getting a location like the Hounds and Harriers for an event was a good idea, and it meant they wouldn't be disturbed by ransoms wandering in. Had it been at the Leaky Cauldron, they probably would have had greasy strangers and grouchy grandma witches whining about the noise. As much as she loved the shopping district, there were a lot of characters that inhabited it daily. Dealing with them as customers was bad enough. She didn't want something this ruined by them as well.

Arriving earlier than she expected most of the others to because she had a ton of baked goods, Nova popped up in front of the pub and used her hip to carefully open the door. In her hands were four sheets of cupcakes, one for each house. They were charmed to stack and be immovable, so they remained rigid in her hands until she decided to set them down. She thought she was being creative until she stepped inside and saw that Viv had done up the whole place in the same manner. And she had some kind of charmed animals on the tables to boot. "At least the theming is consistent," she called over to Vivian, who was at the bar with her back to the door, and also the only one there so far. Finding a table to put the cupcakes on, Nova swung the bag that was around her shoulder and unzipped it, pulling an additional serving tray out of it and an enormous bag of various cookies. Altogether it had taken her the afternoon to complete all of this. At times like this, she was glad she had magic to hurry everything up a bit.

Vivian River Jordan & others! ● 464 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[gehry benjamin ollivander]

its something unpredictable

but in the end is right

May 14, 2027
'22 Grads

Benny had received the message about this reunion from Vivian not long ago, though time flew, and suddenly it was the month of May already. Either his brain had disconnected from time, or he wasn’t paying attention much. It was more likely the latter. Thankfully, it wasn’t all that far from home. So he slept in until noon-ish, which was standard for his days off, and then got himself ready. But, as it so happened, Benny had bumped into Vivian in Diagon Alley not two days prior. She excitedly told him about her planned decorations and this, that, and the other. And he’d obediently nodded his head though he was only thinking of how many more feet it was to the shop where Nova worked, and his beloved espresso was served.

But then he heard ’glitter’, and one did talk much about glitter, so it caught his attention. So, considering his forewarning, he was determined not to be so late this time. And when Benny had a goal, his path was more of a straight line from A to B rather than A to C to E and whatever other random letter of the alphabet arose before finally reaching B. Walking through the doors, he saw that Vivian was there and Nova was organizing the baked goods she had prepared. The theme was very clearly Hogwarts, though he was already outnumbered by the two former Ravenclaws. ”These are cool. How’d you manage it?” The next thing he immediately noted were the moving effigies of their house mascots.

More faces were still missing, though Benny honestly felt he regularly saw his former classmates. He worked with Mina at the bookstore, and Rue was always with Mina. Nova worked around the corner in Horizont. Vivian was he probably saw the least but still on occasion. It didn’t always feel like that much time had gone by. ”It doesn’t feel like it's been five years.” Benny idly commented as he watched one particular badger try to make its way to the items Nova had just placed on the table. There was an obstacle course in its path of other decorations, cups, napkins, etc. Though he flinched slightly at a hissing to his left as he hadn’t noted the Slytherin-themed snake staring at him. ”Erm—ok.” Benny stood up and took a half step away. ”Do the Eagles fly?”

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[YASMIN ZARA EL FAYED]

Yas was by no means a graduate of 2022, nor was she actually invited to this party. But that had never stopped her before, especially not when Viv had been the one to organise it and Harry had agreed to host it at the Hounds and Harriers. They were heavily booked on staff tonight, so while Yas absolutely had to work, she could also enjoy the atmosphere of the reunion, and get a chat in. On a whim, Yas had invited Diana to the bar as well. She knew that Viv would be alright with it, and since they'd had such a nice time together last time, Yas thought Diana would like coming out again. And that Diana could use friends. And that Yas secretly really wanted to see Diana again. She couldn't quite place the strange energy that shifted between them over the years, but she craved Diana's company.

Predictably, Viv was the first to arrive. "Hey girlie! Yas squealed, wrapping her thin arms tightly around Viv. "You've made it look so gorgie in here, well done. Everyone's gonna be so impressed," said Yas, nudging Viv with her hip. She'd met Viv at Hogwarts years ago, and the pair had struck up a kinship at once. Their energies aligned, and Yas wasn't one to argue with divine energies. Besides, Viv was in the pub almost more than she was, which made for good chats. Viv poured herself a butterbeer and Yas pouted - she knew she couldn't get on the drinks yet, especially since Harry was upstairs. He would probably make an appearance later, as he absolutely adored Viv.

There was a sort of nervous energy to Yas as she bounced on the balls of her feet behind the bar and beamed at the former Hogwarts students who slowly trickled in. She knew Nova by face and name, but had never really spoken to her before. Benny, on the other hand, had been in Hufflepuff and was a close friend of hers. She nodded in greeting to the pair of them, before turning to force herself into some busy work to calm the hell down. "Merlin, I need to chill," she chided to herself, before turning back to the trio of older students. "Time really flies, doesn't it?" she commented, directing her dark gaze towards Benny, offering up a friendly smile.

diana eoina bainbridge
Vivian River Jordan
other grads and gate crashers xx

[Vivian River Jordan]

Oh yeah, her mates hadn’t changed a bit since graduation. Nova was so painfully and precisely on time, and Viv had lived in the same room as her for seven years, so she knew the girl must’ve set five alarms and planned her route to be the first to arrive…at the exact time that was printed on the invitation, and not thirty minutes late like was the polite thing to do. She had boxes of baked goods in her hands which she promptly set down on the table – another predictable Nova move, although Viv couldn’t complain about that one. In fact, she hadn't really ordered any food because she'd prayed that Nova would follow her usual playbook and work some magic for them. “Oh thank Merlin, now I can relax,” Viv teased with a sly grin as Nova noted the consistency between the cupcakes and the House mascots. Still, she had to admit -- the two Ravenclaws had planned well, and completely independently too.

Nova hadn't picked up one of the mascots yet, but…Soon enough, Viv promised herself as Benny popped up a moment later. He was unnaturally early, but that also vibed with who he was as a person – always late and easily distracted, unless something had caught his interest in which case he became a model student. Like Viv’s little plan with her figurines, which she’d hinted at in an easy-breezy tone that one day she’d run into Benny just before the reunion and which would be sure to capture his imagination. Viv’s smile gained a cheeky note at his question, and she turned her nose up so she could look haughtily at the laidback Hufflepuff. “Are you asking if eagles fly as a general rule, or do I smell a hint of doubt at my ace charms skills?” Viv would have kept going with a shit-eating grin but she was quickly ambushed by Yas, who as their bartender was about to become the most popular girl at this party.

Viv responded to her enthusiastic tackle by tossing her arms around Yas and accepting the tight squeeze. The girl was two years younger, so very much not a '22 grad, but she and Viv were still tight anyway. Vivian had spent so much time in Godric's Hollow over the years that she was likely their best customer. Because much like the rest of her profession, Viv was a rather relentless charmer who kept tight to the Boy Who Lived like a niffler that was chasing down gold. Unlike the rest of her profession, Viv did it less to catch HP in a scandalous lie and more to put out wholesome content that would get a good laugh. Speaking of… “Nova, why don’t you just show him one,” Viv said, carefully injecting a note of impatience into her voice like she didn’t have the brainpower to show Benny how she’d charmed the eagles. She turned casually away so she could chatter to Yas about the decorations (“Obv they better be blown away, I nearly blew myself up trying to enchant the banners for the party!”) although she kept a careful ear out for the inevitable sign that one of her toys had been picked up. Mini-Viv in her brain was already rubbing her hands together in glee and waiting for a faint popping sound.

nova hypatia vector
gehry benjamin ollivander
YASMIN ZARA EL FAYED
@anyone else!

[gehry benjamin ollivander]

its something unpredictable

but in the end is right

May 14, 2027
'22 Grads

Benny looked at Vivian, unsurprised by her quick remark. Some things simply never changed, nor had Benny ever expected them to. Moving away slowly still from the table, where the Slytherin snake was still hissing at him, Benny moved toward their host. However, a body flung herself at said host. When she pulled away, Benny grinned and recognized his former housemate. Two years younger but still a good friend. ”Yas are you bartending for us tonight?” His tone was friendly and excited, and he meandered over to the bar, where he took a seat on the stool and leaned back, so his elbows were on the bar.

”Flying enchantments are tricky.” He mused lazily. ”But I seem to recall an incident from sixth year involving a desk.” NEWT level Charms was a popular class, and Benny had watched the ever-inventive Ravenclaw attempt a new spell. While he laughed until his stomach hurt along with other students, their Professor was less than pleased. And to add the cherry on top, Benny had actually managed to perform the spell correctly on the second try. Not that the youngest Ollivander was ever at the top of his class, but charms had always been easy for him. ”I think you were sitting behind us, right?” Benny directed at Nova, who had finished organizing the baked goods—which he was planning to visit in a few short minutes.

”Can you bring me one of the badgers too?” Benny requested, glancing back at the only other former Hufflepuff in the room. ”It does, probably unlike Vivian’s enchanted Eagles, however. “ Benny glanced at Vivian, who moved closer to the bar. She’d probably say something about how time doesn’t actually fly, which was expected from a Ravenclaw and so much that Benny would have bet a Galleon on it.

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[nova hypatia vector]

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The last of the trays of goodies was unloaded onto the table and Nova made all of the excess stuff she didn’t need disappear back into her back. One of these days she was really going to have to clean it out good, because there were always crumbs finding their way to the bottom of it. Nothing beat buying a new book just to pull it out a few hours later and finding it covered in crumbled chocolate chip cookie. The fact that it had happened several times now and she had yet to fix the root of the problem only spoke to her cleanliness with baked goods. If her cooking had been any worse, she could have started a magical cleaning business because she’d somehow also become an expert at those since graduation. Another two voices had popped up as she heard the door to the pub open behind her, one which was distinctively Benny, the other she didn’t really recognize. Turning around to face the newcomers, she realized that she really didn’t know who the woman was. Had she already forgotten who some of her classmates were?

Benny was going on about enchantments that could make things fly, apparently in reference to the house animals, and happened to bring up a time in Charms class their sixth year. Yup, she absolutely remembered that one and really didn’t want to get into it today. “I don’t really want to be messing with the decorations before everyone gets here…especially because Vivian did such a good job,” she responded to his inquiry about grabbing one of the badgers. Plucking one of her own cookies off a tray, she shuffled towards a table that was themed towards Ravenclaw and took a seat. Watching the eagles hop around was sort of amusing, and she was sure there would be classmates drunkenly trying to mimic it later. “Were you afraid if you charmed them to fly they’d just up and leave?” Nova posed the question towards Vivian, half of the cookie hanging out of her mouth, as she stuck a finger out to poke at the closest eagle decoration.

Vivian River Jordan gehry benjamin ollivander YASMIN ZARA EL FAYED ● 355 ● Thinking of Japan by Roo Panes

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Vivian River Jordan]

“Look,” Viv began with a teasing smile and a stern finger as she pointed it at Benny, “The spell technically worked. I just…hit the wrong target. It happens, okay!” She’d meant to enchant the toad sitting on the desk, but she’d waved her wand with a bit too much gusto and accidentally sent the entire thing flying – toad, desk, textbooks, everything. She’d gotten assigned extra reading from the disgruntled professor, but it had almost been worth it to see the looks of glee on everybody’s faces. Viv wished she could say her aim had gotten better, but that would just be a bald-faced lie. It was one of many reasons that she’d decided her talents were better in the commentating stand than on the Quidditch field.

At Nova’s compliment for her decorations, Viv gave a triumphant grin and crossed her arms in satisfaction. “I knew it,” she announced, “Nova secretly likes me. And thinks I’m a genius.” It wouldn’t last long, even if it was true, because Viv could remember the exact look of murder in Nova’s eyes the last time she’d set off a glitter bomb nearby the other Ravenclaw. That time had been an accident at least, which meant this time Nova would finish the deed and actually strangle her. But it would be worth it. Viv smiled to herself as Benny asked that Nova pick up one of the badgers too, which actually made her gracious enough to ignore his jab about her enchanted eagles.

For two seconds, at least. “I could’ve if I wanted to,” she said, turning her nose up and her back to Benny. Nova was somewhere behind her, so Viv sneakily brought out her phone like she just wanted to check her texts while she opened up the camera app instead. One small swipe set it to video, and Viv’s fingers itched with the knowledge that it could happen any second now. “Well-“ Viv began in response to Nova’s question, but she cut herself off as she heard the faint pop that meant Nova had finally touched one of the eagles. She quickly whirled around and started a video as they lost all sight of the other Ravenclaw – now undoubtedly in the middle of a thick glitter cloud that shone a bright gold. Great peals of laughter escaped Viv as she cheered, “Glitter! Glitter!” She stopped recording after ten more glorious seconds, than escaped to the other side of the bar to hide behind Yas before Nova could react.

gehry benjamin ollivander
nova hypatia vector
YASMIN ZARA EL FAYED
@anyone else!

[JOHN ELLIOT CLARK]

Jack was late. He'd gotten caught up thinking through a song that he'd wanted to submit to a few record companies. The tune just hadn't been right. He'd spent two hours going over the same two lines, but hadn't been able to come to a conclusion. He realised with a jolt that Viv's party had long since started, and she was a bit frightening when it came to being late. Jack was certain she would rip him a new one - not that he was scared or anything.

Hoping Benjy would be there, Jack apparated to famous Potter's pub after having brushed his teeth and tugged on a fresh shirt. He entered the pub to a cloud of glitter. "Merlin's tit, what is going on?" mumbled Jack, looking about bewildered. "Viv, think it's a bit early for glitter, aye?" said Jack with a smirk. He went right to the bar, shooting a grin at the pretty bartender that Viv hid behind as he ordered a rum and coke. He would move onto the firewhisky eventually.

To his great relief, Benjy was there with Nova, who he recognised but had never really spoken to. Jack inclined his head in greeting. "Alright?" he asked the pair of them, his eyes darting between them. "Well, she's not yet set the place on fire, so I'll give her that," he added after a moment, moving to stand next to Benjy. He wondered where the night would take them all.

nova hypatia vector
gehry benjamin ollivander
Vivian River Jordan