Romance Festival - Hogwarts Mystery

Rumors and Romance Abound

Sarah wasn't surprised to find the Hall abuzz with chatter when they arrived. As she and Charlie moved between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables, every excited conversation they overheard seemed to be centered around the upcoming festival.

"How could word have gotten around that quickly?" asked Sarah. "Hagrid's only just told us."

"That's Hogwarts for you," said Charlie. "No doubt Face-Paint Kid was hiding in the bushes the whole time we were gardening, and rushed up here to tell everyone before we could."

At that moment, Sarah saw Face-Paint Kid seated at the Gryffindor table, rummaging frantically through his kit and explaining to excited listeners how he could decorate their faces for the festival. 

Even the teachers seemed to have given up in their efforts to get students to be quiet and study. They stood at the head of the room wearing mixed expressions between exasperation and amusement. The warm weather seemed to have effected everyone, except for Snape, who glared about the room as if every person there had done him a great personal wrong. 

Sarah found Rowan and sat down next to her. Rowan had her nose buried in a book, and she appeared to be the only person in the hall who was even pretending to study. 

Rowan jumped when they sat down. "Good, you're finally here," said Rowan. "We need to quiz each other on antidotes to common poisons. "It's--"

"Bound to come up on our exam, you know," said Charlie and Sarah together, imitating the somewhat pedantic tone Rowan always adopted whenever she said it. Rowan made a rude face at them. 

"It's a bit noisy in here to study, isn't it?" asked Charlie, reaching his arms up in a stretch. 

"Yes, it is!" she said. "It's ridiculous! Am I the only person who comes to study hall to actually study?"

"Yes, you are," said Tonks, sitting down next to Charlie. She was breathless and flushed. "Thanks for the help with Filch, by the way," she said to the others. 

Sarah grinned. "We figured you could handle it."

Tonks rolled her eyes. "Any new information on this festival thingy?" she asked Rowan. 

Rowan jumped again. "Why are you looking at me?"

Tonks grinned. "Oh come off it, Rowan. You could easily choose to study in the peace and quiet of the library, and yet here you are. Why is that?"

Sarah jumped in. "Because you enjoy hearing the gossip about Hogwarts just as much as the rest of us," she said with a smirk. 

"Probably more," said Charlie. 

"Oh, fine," said Rowan, shutting her book, unable to hide a small smile. "So from what I've gathered--while also studying, of course..."

"Of course," said Sarah. 

"...is that the festival and dance will take place during the day on Saturday on the quidditch pitch. Also, we'll all be voting on two ambassadors to preside over the festival."

"Preside?" asked Charlie. "What, like be the king or queen of the festival?"

"I think it's something like that," said Rowan. "So far, Penny and Merula seem to be the two most popular choices."

"Why on earth would anyone vote for Merula?" asked Sarah. 

"She's actually become pretty popular among the Slytherins," said Rowan. "And she's been going around all day, persuading people to vote for her." She nodded to the Slytherin table. Merula sat on the edge of the table top, her chest puffed up as she talked to a crowd around her. 

"More like bullying people into submission," said Sarah. She frowned as she saw Barnaby standing next to Merula.

"I gather she doesn't have your vote, then?" said Charlie, amused. 

"No," said Sarah. "Penny does, or literally anyone else in the running. Merula's the worst."

"Why not yourself?" asked Tonks. "You've become quite popular as well."

Sarah considered. "I'd do it if it meant Penny didn't have to be ambassador with Merula. I wouldn't wish that on anybody." 

"Merula's not that bad." Sarah turned to see Tulip standing behind her. "She's mellowed out a lot this year. I don't understand why you're so still so harsh about her."

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because she literally tried to kill me when  we were eleven."

Tulip shrugged. "That's all in the past. Oh, I've just seen Devon. I need to talk to him about...something." She scurried off after a Ravenclaw boy in sixth year. 

Tonks rubbed her hands together. "Looks like things are going to get exciting around here again, eh?"

"At least none of our friends is talking about finding dates," said Sarah. 

Tonks let out a laugh. "They may not be talking about it, but they are all thinking about it."

Sarah frowned at her. "How can you tell?"

"How can you not tell? Look around."

Sarah did. She saw Talbott sitting on his own, looking troubled. Every now and then, he'd look longingly over at Penny, who was standing with a group of Hufflepuffs and giving sweet smiles to any bloke that passed. In the corner of the room, Badeea had set up her easel and was painting he scene, but she kept looking up as people passed with a shy expression Sarah had never seen her wear before. 

Shocked, Sarah wheeled about to find Jae, whom she was sure wouldn't care about romance, but she caught him attempting to catch Chiara's eye. Chiara was avoiding looking at him, but giving Liz a shy smile. 

Even Merula looked about uncomfortably, her hand rubbing her neck in embarrassment. She caught Sarah's eye and shot her a rude hand gesture before looking away. Then she saw Barnaby, who'd apparently been looking at her for some time. He jumped a little when she caught him looking, but he smiled and waved to her. She waved back. 

"See?" said Tonks. "You might want to change your mind about finding a date, Sarah, or this time, you might be the only person without a partner."

"Who's going to be the only person without a partner?" asked Penny, joining their table,

"Sarah," Charlie answered for her. "She's sworn off dating."

"But you can't!" said Penny. She couldn't have been more shocked and concerned if Sarah had announced she'd given up on saving Beatrice, Penny's little sister. "Everyone's got to have a date for the Romance Festival!"

"Romance Festival?" asked Sarah. "I thought it was the Celebration of the Magical Outdoors, or something like that."

Penny  scoffed. "Sure, that's what the teachers are calling it. The students have renamed it the Romance Festival. And to have a Romance Festival, you have to have romance. Which means you have to bring a date."

"Nope," said Sarah firmly. "I'm not going to be the only one fretting over a date and then the only one who shows up with a partner. Not this time."

"That won't happen, Sarah. I promise. Everyone who is going is bringing a date. I can help you find somebody. I'm already helping Rowan find a date."

Sarah looked at Rowan, who looked up from the book she'd reopened sheepishly. "I think it would be nice to have a date for a change," she said. 

"And Charlie and I will find someone to go with as well," said Tonks. 

Charlie looked at her in surprise. "We will?"

"Yes, we will."

They all looked at Sarah expectantly. "Look, I'll believe it when I see it," she said. "When you lot all have dates, then I'll consider finding one."

Tonks grinned. "Deal!" She stood up and started off. 

"Where are you going?" asked Charlie. 

"To get a date," she answered. "If that's what it takes for me to interfere in Sarah's love life, then so be it!"

She trotted off, unable to see Sarah roll her eyes.