[img align=left]https://avatar.subeta.net/544159.png?s=98689[/img] Several buildings east of Gringotts Wizarding Bank and next to the magical instruments shop was an old building. The bricks of it seems to glisten when hit by the golden light of the street lamps. There was an open doorway with a set of stairs that led down below ground level to a well lit corridor. At the end of the hall was another doorway that opened up into a larger space. The lighting and atmosphere was like that a club. The venue was packed. All around, guests were mingling as waiters and waitresses hovered around serving snacks and refreshments. At the very front was a large stage where currently a small orchestra was playing to keep the guests entertained. Suddenly, the music slowed to a halt as an elderly wizard appeared from backstage.

"Welcome, guests, to our annual benefit concert for the local orphanage. We really appreciate everyone for being here, having bought tickets to come and support us. All proceeds will go directly to buying necessities and Christmas gifts for the kids at the orphanage. Again, thank you. Special thanks to the Slytherin house of our very own Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for joining us this year. Also a thank you to our staff and servers, who are all around should you need anything. We have many great performances for you today and hope that you all enjoy yourselves. As a special thank you, we will be holding raffles every hour to meet one of the bands performing tonight! I hear they have some things they are willing to give away to each of our winners. Without any further delay, please enjoy the concert. Thank you!"

Raffle Rules

1. To enter the raffle, just participant ((anyone who posts will be automatically entered)).

2. Everyone will have their name entered once each hour ((each hour is each week in real life time. Names picked every Saturday night))

3. 5 names will be picked randomly each hour ((one hour in rp = one week in real life)) and winners can select from a pool of prizes.

4. Event will run for 3 hours ((3 weeks))

5. Have fun and be yourself. ((translation: Please stay in-character!))

"Hello, I'm Lizzy Lee, lead singer of Spellbound. If you're a raffle winner, you can select one prize from my pool. However, if you take a prize from me, you cannot take one from my bandmates."

"Hi, I'm Raul Cruz, bassist for Spellbound. If you're a raffle winner, you can select two prizes from my pool. However, if you select any prize from me, you can't select anything from bandmates."

"Hey, I'm Enzo Hayes, drummer for Spellbound. If you're a raffle winner, you can select three prizes from my pool. However, if you claim any prize from me, you can't claim any from bandmates."

((Note: Basically, you can only pick one tier to choose your prize(s) from.))

[img align=left]https://i.imgur.com/OuxOG0v.png[/img] "Hello, I am one of your servers this evening. I will also be keeping track of all the guests here and will be taking names to enter into our raffles. If you don't see you name here, please, let me know. Thank you."

[img align=left]https://i.imgur.com/SkGzeq1.png[/img] Poppy was looking forward to letting her hair down for the holidays. She had been working furiously on her grades in the last term, with little to no regard for socializing or even for Quidditch. To the chagrin of her parents she had declined being a prefect as well, but still hoped to make Head Girl one day. Truthfully, she had fallen into a bit of a black mood during her Fourth Term at Hogwarts.

"I hope this band is good, I spent a fortune on the dress robes for this gala," Poppy murmured wryly.

[img align=left]https://i.imgur.com/QQnz6j8.png[/img] Eros removed his jacket and handed it to one of the attendants to take to the cloakroom. As he walked hesitantly into the venue, he sighed. He wasn't a fan of crowded places or charity events. People always seemed more pretentious than they had to be. However, Eros was a fan of a band that would be performing later tonight, Spellbound.

Eros glanced around before noticing a familiar face (). She was the former prefect who stepped down, probably for reasons Eros came to realized this last term. Being a prefect definitely took time away from academics and extracurricular activities. However, the position did look good for his transcript. Eros hardly talked to Poppy before, but then again, he rarely talked to anyone, preferring to keep to himself unless he had to. He only knew who she was because she was previously a prefect and was the one to sort of set the standard for Merlin and him.

"Hello, Miss Blackwood," he greeted stoically and formally, hands in his pocket as he took notice of her dress. It was always weird seeing other students out of uniform. She look pretty, though, but Eros didn't say it out loud. "I haven't seen you around much last term." Although he was stating an observation, he was really asking about what she's been up to.

[img align=left]http://file.toyhou.se/images/2504822_dlc7D0YeI96VO1f.png[/img] The diminutive soon-to-be second year gratefully handed her heavy cloak to the attendants and sighed happily at the dimmed lighting inside. She'd walk away from today without a light-burn, gioia delle gioie! She took some time to carefully smooth down the scales on her dress, grumbling slightly over the colour. If her year-mates were coming, they'd surely make some comment on the gryffindor-ish colouring but how could she pass up those favoloso Chinese Fireball scales?

As she entered the crowded room, she had a passing look of extreme discomfort at the amount of live humans milling around but schooled her face quickly. It would not do for the sake of manners for someone to actually see a pure-blood such as herself with such a lack of control. Her eyes passed over the milling crowd, noting the rich burgundy of the last Slytherin prefect, Poppy Blackwood. She hoped to pick Signorina Blackwood's brain on Pagan Magics and the derivation of Ancient Runes in modern spell-work, a topic the both of them were at the very least somewhat passionate about.

As she continued to wander around, giving perfunctory greetings to those who approached her, she violently cursed her best friend for leaving her to brave the night by herself, citing the overwhelming "slytherfest" as her reason for not going. In the distance, she noticed the ice king Eros Sigurd greeting Signorina Blackwood. Making note to greet the both of them when their conversation ended, she made sure to keep an eye on the duo as she snagged a glass of McSpratts. The vaguely unsettling taste of sparkling spell water had her wishing for a more fortifying blood-cocktail, although knowing England's ridiculous aversion to anything non-human (strange considering that witches and wizards were certainly not purely human but who was she to judge?), there would be no chance of a satisfying beverage this night.

"I wonder if Signor Sigurd will be more or less mysterious than he usually is?" She mused to herself, relishing the thought of having the honor of holding a conversation with him. After all, how many other people could claim that? Not many, that's for sure.

Fable walked slowly into the hall, looking about for anyone she might now. Though she knew she really didnt know anyone. After making sure it was a wizarding safe place, she dropped her illusion that masked her ears and tail. She hadnt been sure how formal the event would be, so she tried to look nice, yet festive. She was tired, the holidays were always exhausting to her but it was nice to get out of the house. ()

[img align=left]http://file.toyhou.se/images/2504822_dlc7D0YeI96VO1f.png[/img] She spied the introverted Fable Grimm out of the corner of her eye, and steeling herself, made her way towards her.

"Salve, Signorina Grimm. How are you this fine evening?" She internally winced as her native Italian accent came out a little stronger than it usually did, silently hoping that her fellow Slytherin would not comment on it.

Eirik walked into the crowded room and paused to one side of the door. The place was packed, with so many warm bodies and sights, smells and sounds that for a minute he had to close his eyes and compose himself. When everything had quieted down to a tolerable level, he opened his eyes again and surveyed the room.

Eirik had heard of this charity event from his Uncle, and had decided that it was a worthy cause to attend, especially since it had ties to House Slytherin, his mother's old house. She would have been able to easily mingle and schmooze with everyone here, but he was not his mother.

He glanced around and a few people stood out...a man and woman ( who he heard addressed as "Miss Blackwood") that were exchanging greetings, and a pale woman in a scale dress () who was working her way through the crowd, occasionally exchanging greetings with various people. Something about her seemed familiar, not her face, but the way she carried herself.

Eirik stared at her for a moment, and then his eyes caught sight of a woman dressed in white and soft gold. Something about her drew his attention as well, something very strong that he had never felt before. He blinked and chose his course of action.

Eirik made his way through the crowd, declining any drinks that the wait staff offered him with a wave of his hand. What was it about this girl in white and gold that made him want to be near to her, engage her in conversation..?

He finally made his way up to her, and as he towered over her he realized just how diminutive she actually was. He smiled at her, and said "hello. I'm Eirik. Are you enjoying yourself this evening..?"

[img align=left]http://file.toyhou.se/images/2504822_dlc7D0YeI96VO1f.png[/img] Ariette stiffened at the fair-headed man's () entrance, her senses started to scream out a rather large warning bell. !!Vampire!! It seems this evening will be interesting after all. Hm. This one is not from the Italian covens , this scent... a distinctly European one., she thought wryly to herself.

At his approach and subsequent dismissal of her presence, she shifted in slight annoyance at both the interruption to her conversation and to the lack of greeting. Obviously this one was from a respectable family given his fashionable attire, but either seemed to not care or not be aware of the traditional greetings. Either way, she made a note to herself to adjust her greeting in order not to seem overly-hostile (according to her best friend, she had a tendency to do this and the last thing she wanted to do tonight was to alienate any possible allies in her house).

Ah, so he has a name. Hmm Eirik; from the Old Norse Eirikr, eternal ruler. A strong and unusual name. Perhaps this one is from one of the Norwegian covens? Interesting, no last name offered. I wonder why? Perhaps a subconscious reflex. Or perhaps I'm reading too much into this, after all this is no pureblood ball, one cannot expect that level of formality. I doubt we have met in any official capacity or else I'd definitely remember those eyes. Gosh, how blue can someone's eyes be? Apparently that blue. If he were any older, I'd say that he was a young Signore Dumbledore who had somehow managed to somehow travel through time and sneak in to this gala.

(( just letting you know my character sheet is not up too date, but sense she has been a sneaky Slytherin for a bit her last name is Leidolf))

Fable turned to look at the lady who had greeted her and breathed in, taking in her scent, she gave a polite smile and in a Norwegian heavy accent spoke "Good evening," her eyes trailed down the ladies dress "What a lovely dress...I dont believe I have had the pleasure?"

Her tail gave a soft flick, to her surprise yet another person had approached her. Her eyes roamed over to him as he greeted her. His scent mingled in with the ladies. Fable carefully separated the two so she could tell them apart. Again with a polite smile she spoke

"Good Evening Eirick,()" she held her hand out to him, as she had been taught to "It is a pleasure, this is..." *she looks to and smiles. "Well, we havent had the moment to make proper introductions..."

Eirik smiled and kissed the offered hand. At the young woman's semi introduction, Eirik looked over, and saw the woman in the scale dress was standing there.

"oh, do forgive me, " he said to vibrantly dressed woman. " I'm sure I have interrupted your conversation. I don't know how I could have missed you standing there."

Fable smiled at the man. "A pleasure, My name is Fable Leidolf. Regarding your previous question...I fear I have not been hear long enough to assess how my evening is going. Are you enjoying yours?"

Fable gave a sidelong glance to the lady. She was analyzing the material of her dress. Then gave her a small reassuring smile.

Eirik gave Fable a smile. " I have just arrived, I am afraid I cannot answer that question either. But" he said turning to look at the other woman, and then back to Fable " I will say that if you two lovely ladies are any indication of how enjoyable my evening will be, I look forward to being here."

Fable tilted her head slightly and gave a smile. "Well arent you a sweet talker. You said your name is Eirick...do you by chance have Scandinavian heritage?"

(OOC: whooops im about to head off to sleep, just sort of imagine my chara listening in the the convo and making the socially-acceptable verbal agreements)

[img align=left]http://file.toyhou.se/images/2504822_dlc7D0YeI96VO1f.png[/img] With a small chuckle and a quick flash of her fangs, Ariette made a motion with her hand that universally amounts to something along the lines of it's fine "Not a problem Signore, and thank you Signorina. The name is Ariette Latimer, it is a pleasure to make both your acquaintances."

She returned the reassuring smile tentatively and ducked her head in response to the smooth talking Eirik's charm. She thought quietly to herself that the new year would be very interesting indeed with the presence of at least one Norwegian Slytherin on the chessboard.

"Indeed, it appears Venus has blessed this night."

((OOC thanks for the heads up, and of course we will :) ))

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Latimer, and yes I would agree with you. She certainly has," Eirik said.

With the quick flash of her fangs, suddenly he understood why she seemed so familiar. He had not expected to meet another creature such as himself, and one who would be so..open...about her condition. He felt anger surge through him..he wished he had his sword on his hip. Her scaled dress and metal accessories would not save her neck from being separated from her shoulders.

Eirik forced his anger to bend to his will, and he pushed it behind a door, locking it tightly away. The emotions had run through his face in a split second, and now he appeared quite calm and charming again.

He turned and smiled at Fable. "Why yes, Miss Leidolf, I do. I was born and raised in Sweden, but my Father is...was...from Norway." His eyes darkened for just a moment at his correction, then cleared. "What brings you to the event this evening...? The music, the atmosphere.. or " he added quietly in Norse "Venus Herself..?"

(( Thanks for the heads up! I hope you sleep well :D and just catch up when you can!))

Fable watched as Miss Ariette flashed her teeth with her smile and then she smiled. Fable had always been careful not to open her mouth to much when in her natural form, be it talking or smiling, as not to...disturb anyone...so she was surprised that this lady was so willing to show hers.

"My my...what lovely teeth you have." she blinked slowly and smiled her small smile. "I believe I do detect that you have..an Italian accent is it? Are you recently arrived? Perchance is that where you acquired your lovely dress...dragon scale...isn't it? Should duel as armor as well...a wise purchase."

Fable turned her attention back to Eirick and listened as he spoke. Noticing his eyes darken. "I am sorry for your loss...and beg your pardon once more for bringing up bad memories. It is never easy to loose a loved one." She gave a sympathetic look then smiled. "I hear Sweden is very beautiful. I myself come from Germany, though I am Norwegian, have you ever been?" she gracefully picked a drink up off a tray from a serving waiter. "To be honest, I thought a night away might be nice. At home all I am seeing seems to be things I must do. December...while I love the season...I hate the stress and the chaos." She raised a brow to his norse and again smiled gently and replied in Norwegian back "Iv'e never had a close relationship with Venus..." tilts her head looking up at him. "but perhaps Freyja..." Fable brings her glass to her lips and sips it. "Aside from that...it is for a good cause. Helping orphans."

Inwardly, Eirik was amused. This Fable had some sharp wits about her, and he liked that.

Erik nodded. "Thank you, it wasn't too long ago, and you didn't, " he said, smiling reassuringly. "Sweden is lovely, and no, I haven't been to Germany, but I have been to Norway...beautiful land. My Father had inherited his family homestead, and he would take me on excursions up there for a few days at a time. He wanted me to know my heritage."

Eirik nodded. " I can understand wanting to get away, and for a good cause as well. It's starting to get a bit..festive..at my Uncles home, and I am just not quite ready to get in the mood for it. Although this, " he waved his hand, "was not quite what I was expecting."

He smiled at her comment about the goddesses. " I could see that."

[img align=left]https://i.imgur.com/SkGzeq1.png[/img] "Mr. Sigurd (). Good evening," Poppy replied, stiffening under his steady gaze. "I haven't been around others much," she mused as she accepted a glass of wine from a server. "I wanted some solitude. It was a good respite after the commitments of prefect duties."

I hope that's enough of an answer, Poppy thought furtively. "How did you find the post last term?"

She returned the glance of a man () who seemed entranced by a dainty young lady in white furs. Another woman in a fabulous dragon-scale gown attracted her attention as well.