Expanding on a Traditon

[Drew Thornton]

For the seventh time in his Hogwarts career, Drew spent a warm June morning pacing the hallway in front of Barnabas the Barmy. For seven years it had been his habit to throw a pool party for his class and while past gatherings had included fights and trips to the hospital wing, the seventh year Ravenclaw was confident that this party would go off without a hitch.

At least he hoped so, as it was to be his last at Hogwarts. Every year he tried to add a little something to the event, and it was this year, the final year, that he decided to include some of the other years. He just didn’t feel it would be a proper party without the fifth and sixth years around.

As the third pass was made, he opened the door that appeared and grinned at the sight that met him. The first thing one noticed was, of course, the swimming pool, complete with two waterfall slides and a diving board. Of to the side was a hot tub, bubbles rolling the surface of the water. On the other side was the sitting area, with the barbeque grill, chairs, tables and lounges set up nearby. A buffet table was set up farther back to avoid getting splashed on and would soon be covered with spread of food and drinks, complements of the two ice chests he had pulled up from the kitchen. The house elves had been especially generous and had loaded the coolers up with just about anything the party goers could want or desire.

Drew pulled his t-shirt off over his head so that all he was wearing were his blue board shorts. Tossing his shirt and towel onto one of the chairs, he kicked his sandals underneath before beginning his set up. The snacks and drinks were laid out on the table, meat was slapped on one grill and veggies were set on the other. All he needed were the guests to arrive.

[Tianne Webster-Barrett]

Sionce recieving the invitation that had actually given something for Tianne to look forward to, something that she had jumped up and down on the spot at the time of opening, Tianne had looked forward to the pool party. It would have been her first, and she knew that it was Drew's last, so she decided that she had to go. The young-ish girl couldn't imagine leaving, the end of an era that had made you life the way that it is, Tianne was dreading graduating. True, the girl still had a good two years in her, but the thought of it scared her.

Tianne just knew she wouldn't be able to manage in the outside world. She didn't even know what she wanted to do as a career yet. But she'd wait for her scores on her OWLs to decide that. All she had to do was make it through the summer.

Knowing that the party started at 2:00pm, Tianne left it rather late to ready herself. Doing nothing except reading, writing, and sending a few letters, Tianne felt rather lazy, and was glad that this was going to give her a chance to be active. Dressed in a pair of denim shorts that reached to her knees and had ragged edges, as well as a shirt that was loose, white and slightly translucent, Tianne was wearing her classic beach-going outfit. Her swimming costume was underneath this, and to top the look off, Tianne wore a pair of flip flops, sunglasses, and a floppy hat.

At five past 2, slightly late, but still near to on time, Tianne found the room easily; she had been coming here quite a lot recently. Entering the room with a smile on her face, Tianne gave a wave to Drew and looked around the room. This was cool, she never had actually thought about turning it into a pool. "Hey!" She smiled quite happily, placing her straw beachbag next to the door. "This place looks really cool." Tianne spoke, looking around the decorated room.

[Drew Thornton]

He had just popped open a soda when his first guest arrived. A guest meant the party was on and Drew danced a little where he stood despite the lack of music. He considered the younger girl to be a Ravensister and she was a big reason why he had decided to invite the fifth years to begin with.

"Hey! So do you!" he greeted her with a wide grin and open arms, glad to see her and not afraid to show it. "I've got food cooking on the grill and snacks to tide us over until it's ready. You want a drink? Is Matty coming too?" The Hufflegirl was another big reason he wanted the fifth years around.

[Matilda Wentworth]

"Is Matty coming too?"

Well, that was her cue, if not anything else! Matilda Wentworth practically bounced through the door that stood slightly ajar from it's previous entry. Yeah, she was pretty pumped for this certain event. Those who knew the girl, knew that she simply adored social event. Many had even described her as a social butterfly, that meaning that she flew from group to group, event to event, her constantly bubbly personality making its impact here and there. So of course, she had been looking forward to this Pool Party of Drew's since she had been officially invited. Granted, it hadn't been the first time she had heard about it, but knowing that it was generally aimed at his own year, and not her own. She didn't have a problem with this in the past, but now finally being included as one of the guests, Matty was simply piping with delight.

As she entered into the room, one she had used to often, the interior never ceased to amaze her lush green eyes. A swimming pool filled with exotically blue water, along with two matching waterfalls and a diving board. Chairs and and barbecue area. And even a bubbling spa. Suddenly, this sight had added to the list of favorite scenarios of the room at provided for the girl. Oh how she loved magic.

Spotting her two favorite Ravenclaws, the teenager noted on both their cool and casual gear. Matty herself wore a green modern-lace dress that fell a bit above her knees, th sleeves coming down to her elbows. Underneath she wore her swimmers, and on her head she had a stylish hat as well. In the cotton beach bag over her shoulder, there was a pair of short boardies in case she wanted them, and a bright red towel. The girl approached the two other students, the small of the food cooking filling her nose. "Well, well. If it isn't my two favorite birdies?" she grinned at them before adding to Drew "Everything looks fantastic!"

[Jason Williams]

Jason walked in behind Matty with a large case of soda and one hand and another box that contained butter beer that he had hidden in the Ravenclaw house since the Valentines day dance. "who's gona do this next year when you leave Drew" Jason said with a rather large grin walking up to him. "o by the way I got some extra soda, and butter beer" he gave a evil grin "helps to have friends in Hogsmede, where do you want this?" he asked putting one of the boxes down. Jason looked around the room and at the pool.

[Sophia Crawford]

Sophia listened to the bells chime twice, indicating that it was time to go. The girl was super excited to be attending a pool party; hopefully the outcome would be better than her encounter at The Lake. She threw on her white flip flops and her favorite bathing suit. Over this she put on her dress that looked like an oversized hoodie. She liked it though; it was warm and cozy. Her bathing suit peeked out from underneath, a splash of color. Her hair was tied in a side ponytail and she wore what her best friend Ava called 'stunnas', making for the ultimate laid back look. She grabbed a towel before leaving the Gryffindor dormitories and then rushed through the halls, up the levels of the castle to the Seventh Floor.

She finally saw the door to the Room of Requirement, and her stomach did a flip. What was waiting behind this old door? What could Drew have possibly thought of? Actually, a better question, what would Drew NOT think of? She opened the door hurriedly and entered, blown away by the sight. A swimming pool equipped with two slides and a diving board? Amazing.

Sophia made her way to Drew, who was surrounded with other semi-familiar faces. "Hey Drew! This is rockin'! Nice job!" She smiled happily, still soaking in everything. She spied Jason with a bundle of boxes. "Did you need any help or anything?"

[Delilah Morine]

A pool party eh? Delilah's face went into one of thought, as she tried to think of who this Drew character was. Obviously he was an older student, but hey, she was happy to have yet another party to go to. It would seem as though people did like her. She was super thrilled, and had just the thing for the party. Delilah put the invitation down gingerly on top of her bed, and rummaged through her belongings. She put on a green tankini, the one she had for a while, and slipped on a white sleeveless t-shirt over it, and white board short with blue flower print on it, and she let her already natural beach curls bounce down past her shoulders. She smiled and grabbed her grey towel, sprinting out the door with white flip-flops on her feet. Boy was the small girl co-ordinated today.

As she reached the seventh floor, she paced across the appropriate spot, and opened the door, seeing people she knew, and others she didn't. She watched as others approached a rather tall boy, addressing him as Drew, and giving him things... Crap, she forgot to bring something of use. She sighed and shrugged, having already entered the room, she'd feel stupid for leaving now, for no reason, so she waltzed on in, approaching the boy and smiling, taking note of those she knew.

Delilah looked at Jason and grinned, "Could I grab one of those before you put them away?" She asked, teasing, yet serious at the same time. She looked up at the taller boy known as Drew now and smiled yet again, "Hey man, thanks for the invite!" She said, looking over at both Tianne and Matty and her smile grew brighter, "Apparently the party has arrived!" She said, laughing lightly, remembering the surprise party thrown for Tianne, which only happened about a month ago. Man, time flew. Delilah then turned to Sophia, whom she considered to be her best friend. Delilah hugged the Gryffindor, "Fancy seeing you here girlie." She said, a small laugh excaping her lips, as she pulled away from the surprise hug. Delilah usually wasn't so touchy.

[Drew Thornton]

Drew did a little more grooving, excited at the number of people coming. Sure, his own classmates hadn't shown up, yet he really liked everyone who had shown up so far. Even the Slytherin girl who had walked through the door. She had seemed pretty cool at Tianne's party.

In his excitement, he gave Matty a hug. She wasn't a Ravenclaw, but he still looked at her like a little sister and was glad he could invite her to one of his parties... the last party. It was a depressing thought, but not one he was going to allow to ruin the afternoon.

"Dude! Go ahead and throw them in the ice chest," he told Jason. The House elves had hooked Drew up pretty well, but one could never have too much food or drinks at a party.

"And I think everythings under control," he answered. "Food will be ready soon, and the pool's ready to go. If you want to sun, a spot usually shows up near the shallow end. Seriously, just enjoy!" He was itching to go into the pool, but would wait a little longer to see who else showed up.

[Tianne Webster-Barrett]

Grinning at Drew as he welcomed her with open arms, Tianne couldn't believe that she had once thought that this wouldn't be fun; it wouldn't be her scene. But no, Tianne was having fun already, she was excited, she had a smile on her face and she could not ask for anything more. She was expecting the place to fill out fairly quickly, and that excited her all the more, she couldn't wait to mingle and meet some new people. Hopefully, the girl wouldn't stay to herself, but she'd have to wait for the guests to establish that.

"Yes, please." Tianne grinned as she took a drink that sat on the table, and taking a sip. She was still taking in the surroundings, she couldn't believe her eyes. Drew was just so... so thoughtful. "Yeah, Matty should be, last time I heard s-" Tianne began, before she was interrupted by the entering of another guest, a guest that she just happened to be talking about. "Matty!" She smiled, offering the girl a cute wave and grinning all the more.

Happy that the party had been joined by one of her friends, Tianne couldn't have been more excited when the next three entered. She knew Jason, yes, and Delilah, but she wasn't really sure who the second person to have entered was. "Drew... Was I meant to bring something?" She asked, a slightly worried look wiping the smile that had once taken the spot on her face where the creases from a frown now were. She was a caught a little off-guard by the attendance of Jason and the things that he had brought, but she was happy nonetheless.

Dancing as she caught Delilah's eyes, Tianne offered a smile, remembering the day that they had both met, when they had been wearing outfits that both seemed funny to one another. "Hey." Tianne exclaimed, nodding in the direction of the other two girls. Wandering over to the girls, Tianne let a small laugh escape her lips. "How are ya, guys?" She said, nodding at the pair.

[Lachlan McCormick]

The boy strolled casually down the corridors of Hogwarts castle. He was humming quietly to himself, an old tune, that was stuck in his head. He checked his watch before smiling slightly to himself. For the second time, in less than a month, Lach was headed towards the room of requirement. And once again, it was for a party. Though this time it was a bit different, Lach was on time, instead of being ridiculously late like he had been for Tianne's birthday party. He had made the mistake once of turning up late, he wasn't about to make it again.Lachlan reached the room and stepped inside. The pool and hot tube caught the boy's attention right away. He made a mental note to jump in as soon as he could. Lach also noticed a barbeque and sitting area and he suddenly realised he was rather hungry. He couldn't wait to get his hands on some food. Drew certainly had gone all out for that party, he knew what he was doing.

Lach had been rather suprised when he recieved the invite for the pool party. He wasn't really friends with Drew, they were only just acquaintances. That isn't to say Lach wouldn't want a friendship to develop between the two. He just had never really had the chance to get to know the boy better.

Strolling over to where the group of 'party go-ers' had gathered, Lach kicked off his flip flops. Apart from them all the boy was wearing was a pair of black boardies and a light blue t-shirt. Knowing it was a pool party, Lach had gone for the casual look and it appeared, everyone else had too.Lach gave a small smile when he noticed Matty and Tianne were there but apart from them, Lach only really knew a few by their faces. Today was a chance to change that. "Hey, looks like we're all set for a good time" Lach smiled, addressing everyone.

[Sophia Crawford]

Sophia smiled as she watched a hoard of people swarm into the room. She was thrilled to be at a party with so many people she wouldn't otherwise meet, like the Fifth Years. She watched as Delilah entered the room, greeting everyone. "Oh hey, Delilah!" She hugged her bestie and smiled. "Nice seeing you, too! This is soooo cool!" Her voice rose with excitement. She looked at the pool, wondering what it would be like to jump off the diving board. Diving boards were always so fun, so bouncy...

She turned her head to see a girl walking towards them, a girl that knew Delilah. She was sure that this girl was a Ravenclaw, but what was her name? She racked her brain but nothing was coming.

"How are ya, guys?"

"Fantastic. This is incredible!" she said to the girl without reservations, looking around at the glittering pool again. "I'm Sophia, by the way."

[Drew Thornton]

Drew hadn't expected people to bring stuff other than a swim suit and towel, and even then Hiro always had the magical room provide those for him. It had been really thoughtful of Jason to contribute, but Drew didn't want his other guests to feel unthoughtful. "You brought the cookies," he told Tianne, leaning in and giving her a wink. Besides, there wasnt much she could have brought that Drew didn't already have.

A Huffle he didn't know very well came in and while Drew was pretty sure he knew the guy's name, he wasn't sure the boy knew his back. He went over and offered his hand and a wide grin. "Lachlan, right? You were at Tianne's birthday party. I'm Drew. Glad you could make it!"

[Charlie Jones]

This last year Charlie was determined to get herself a swimsuit. For the last couple of years she hadn't thought even twice about it because as soon as you could see the frost clear from the fields, Drew was bound to have a party. This time she made sure to have one beforehand, making sure that no matter what traumatizing event occurred that year, that she could have at least this new bathing suit.

And she sauntered into the place like she owned it, giving the cordial nod as she passed by and showing off her basic, athletic swimsuit covered at the bottom with no longer-ill-fitting boardshorts. "Yo, what's up?" Charlie said to Drew, giving him the same nod before heading over to inspect the grill. "Hope they're actually good this time," she said before giving him a smirk to show she was just kidding.

[Delilah Morine]

Delilah grinned, smiling at everyone. She shrugged, seeing as she didn't know a few of the people here, she decided to introduce herself, "For those of you who don't know, I'm Delilah, if I don't know you go ahead and introduce yourself." She said, in a light, mock cocky tone. She didn't want to give off the impression that she was full of herself, rather, she was just wanting to save on time, this way, the ones who knew her could laugh at her, and the ones that didn't, could have the chance to introduce themselves.

The small Slytherin girl had only arrived at Hogwarts at the beginning of the year and already she was beginning to feel like home. She thought that maybe most first years felt this way their first year. It was a great environment. Delilah glanced over to the pool, itching to just jump it. Wasn't this supposed to be a pool party?

[Felicity Hjort]

This was the second year Felicity had been invited to the pool party thrown by Drew, but she really hoped this year went much better than the previous. Last year there'd been some bad things between she and Drew, and Alexander got involved by accident, and things didn't go very well, though they did get better, but this year the blonde wanted things to just be better overall. There was no need for arguments, no need for anger, nothing, instead it was just a time for fun and nothing else, besides having fun with everyone Drew invited. She had thought it was awfully nice of her boyfriend to invite so many people to join in the fun this year and she was thoroughly enjoying the thought of so many people being at the party, though she really hoped her history with Drew and parties had finally ended and they could have a new beginning.

Dressed in her royal blue swimmers, the same she'd worn the year previously, a pair of yellow cloth shorts, flip flops, and a tie-dye tank top, Felicity climbed down from the Gryffndor girl's dormitories and left the common room, taking her time getting to the party. She was looking forward to it and had no idea who all was actually going to be there, but she hoped Celina would be, and Dante, and Connor, and a few others. Of course, she knew Drew wouldn't miss his own party, not when he had a chance to swim.

Pushing open the ajar door, Felicity looked around at a few of the familiar faces, and the not so familiar ones with little interest. Rather, her focus was on Drew, where he was, and how the pool was directly in front of her. Normally she wasn't a fan of swimming, not like Drew was at least, but she couldn't help but notice no one was actually in the pool at a pool party. Taking a couple of steps back out of the room, the blonde paused and took a deep breath. Time to make an arrival.

Running into the room, she jumped from the ledge of the pool directly into the water, cannon balling it to make the biggest splash she could, figuring if someone didn't like being splashed they shouldn't be at a pool party to begin with. After sinking far into the water, she slowly, slowly, came up for air with a big grin.