Oktoberfest Pumpkin Carving Competition Open

The smell of pumpkin was what made fall much more realistic. It was that, and cinnamon. These were two smells that truly brought the beginning of the cold and mysterious weather together. More and more events were taking place for the contest. Bloom, already partaking in the butterbeer tasting and mixing, the baking and trick or treating, decided that it was healthy to further prevent her studies with the pumpkin carving contest.

Before she was at Hogwarts, she would always carve pumpkins with her family. They would have friendly competitions of their own with yearly themes. The last time she carved with her family was two years ago and the theme was animals. Bloom's older sister, Claire, carved out a pig. Her younger sister, Bella, made a cat and Bloom carved out a wolf. Granted, they were not artists, but it was fun to try and imagine more than just a scary face.

Last year, unfortunately, there wasn't much of pumpkin carvings that were taking place during her first year at Hogwarts. The fact that they have them now is much more exciting for Bloom. She couldn't wait to feel the slime of the seeds and insides of the pumpkin. She was ready.

Making her way to the grounds, Bloom entered the pumpkin carving area where there were multiple tables and an array of pumpkins to choose from. Looking at each pumpkin, Bloom decided to choose the one that wasn't just all orange, but had a bunch of green splotches. She liked the fact that it had multiple different colors which can add to the scariness of the pumpkin.

Picking up the pumpkin, Bloom made her way to one of the tables where she found a lot of sharp tools. Some she did not even know how to use. It's best to just try... she thought to herself and took a permanent marker and began to draw up her pumpkin carefully. Bloom first etched the eyes to look intimidating and fierce. She then took the mouth and made it shriek of horror with an open mouth and thin, pointed sides. She hesitated on weather or not to draw a nose. She decided that it was perhaps best as what pumpkin doesn't have one. The nose was that of a triangle-- a traditional nose at best.

Bloom, putting her pen down accidentally nixed the pumpkin on the bottom. "Chocolate frogs!" she said aloud to herself. She tried to scrub away the marker, but it was permanently on there. Perhaps the judges would overlook it with the scariness of her pumpkin. She hoped.

Taking a second look at her pumpkin, she was ready to start carving. In a way, Bloom was disappointed that she did not have the chance to delve into its insides. She loved to cut the top open and reach her hands in to feel the seeds and get the slime between her fingers. But in this case, all the pumpkins were ready to just be carved without the hard work.

Bloom wanted the pumpkin to be perfect. Although it was already cleaned out, she grabbed the scrapper and began to scrape the inside of the pumpkin to make it smooth. As she was scrapping the inside edges of the pumpkin, she felt the slime that she oh-so missed. This process took about ten minutes that was unneeded, but to Bloom, it was worth it.

When finished, she put the scrapper down with all the insides in a pile on the table and she was ready to carve. She looked at her tools and saw a large knife and a small knife. She decided that it was best to start with the larger knife to get the larger pieces out and then the smaller one to help with the details. Bloom started with the eyes and then the mouth. She then went for the nose and decided that it needed eyebrows the last minute.

Bloom slowly could see that her pumpkin had come to life. She was excited to have her pumpkin be a part of the competition because she felt as though it was her best work. Bloom, finishing the details with the smaller knife, took a step back and smiled. It was ready.

Her hands smelling of pumpkin, she brought it to the judges table. She could not wait to see what others had made and who the winners were.

Reducio

Nico threw on her apron, tightning the straps around her waist. It was a black apron, with a catpaw shaped belly pouch. She had been hiding in her dorm all day. Everyone was out having fun at different events and here she was, just letting social anxiety eat her up. Not today, she said. And here she was, at the Pumpkin Carving Contest. It wasn't an event where socialising was key so she could just put her focus on this... Pumpkin, yeah.
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She rolled up her Slytherin green sleeves, her hairband keeping her hair out of her face. This was her time to shine. She'd always been the craft/creative type so this should go easy. Her gaze landed on the big, sharp cutting tools. Scary. Hesitantly, she reached for a small knife. The big knives were a little too much for her to handle. With one hand she held the pumpkin tight against her hip, with her other hand she gently stabbed a few key points. They would be her reference points to cut the shapes out of.
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'Alright, here goes nothing.'
With those words she started to steadily jab the knife into the first referencepoint. Nico wasn't very strong so she had to put some more pressure on it. Her being afraid of cutting herself didn't help either.
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After awhile, she had succesfully cut out the shapes but they seemed a little bit rough on the edges. Nico switched the small knife with an even smaller knife to even the edges.
'Ah yes! It looks.. not too shabby.'
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Satisfied, she cleaned up her working station, leaving it spotless. With a huff and a puff she picked up her creation and carried it over to the judges table. So... Heavy...
'Haa..Haa- H-Here it is..' With a grunt she gently put her pumpkin down, turning the carved side to the front, putting her hard work on display. She smiled softly and folded her arms. Slowely fighting anxiety. She set a few steps back, carefully looking around wondering what would happen next.

Pumpkin

     The familiar scent of Autumn air was pleasant as Frost walked over to where Delilah, a girl she had met once or twice before. Pumpkin being one of the many things associated with the time, she wasn't at all surprised to find herself at a pumpkin carving contest. 

      It was true, she didn't really come for the prizes or for winning, but merely to just enjoy herself. But should she be the winner, it would just be a bonus. Frost smiled and waved a small wave to Delilah. Usually, it was just her and her family who did this together and it certainly wasn't a competition. And to make it just a little more difficult for her, she had close to no knowledge on how to use a knife. 

     She grabbed an orange one that wasn't too big for her, still having no idea what to actually make from it. Maybe she should go with something a bit more 'cute' instead of scary. Pumpkin carvings didn't always have to be scary, did they? The redhead laughed to herself, knowing that she wanted to carve the cute little 'derpy' face that she could've sworn she saw on a muggle meme or something of the sort. 

      All of the squishy orange guts and seeds from the pumpkin didn't really bother her. A little pumpkin gut on the hand never hurt anybody. Her plan really was quite simple. All it required were three little holes. It was very simple and didn't need a lot of work, but it made her happy at least. And after a few minutes and scoops of guts later, her masterpiece was finished and there for all to look upon it.

     With a proud smile on her face, she placed her small pumpkin where it was supposed to be and beamed at the others who had also had their very own beautiful pumpkin artwork. She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, getting a little pumpkin in it before giving praise to the other's pumpkins. 

Reducio

A pumpkin I carved myself! Lovely isn't it? I've named him Florence. It looks a lot cooler when it's lit up too xD

[font=Bodoni monotype] Aurelia simply had nothing to do on that cold Autumns day so she had decided to pay a visit to the pumpkin fields. Aurelia didn’t think it was possible to magically grow plants, maybe hey just cast engorgio onto the pimokins to make them grow in order for them to become to heavy for anyone to steal. But when the girl came to think of it, who in the right mind would want to steal pumpkins of all things in the first place. Perhaps, they were just growing it so they’d have something to feed the students in the cold winter. But she swore she would throw up if they planned to serve them pumpkin stew for the 3 meals Everyday.

Aurelia picked one that wasn’t too heavy for her to handle. She heaved it up and placed it at a spot where it wasn’t so crowded. She picked a few carving tools. To be honest, Aurelia wasn’t artistic at all. Still, she could try and get some prizes.

She took a knife and began carving the eyes. However, ended up with too huge circles that didn’t look like eyes at all. So instead, she carved a line to connect the circles so it became a pair of glasses. That would do. The jagged lines of the typical Halloween smile was a bit challenging but the girl manage to complete a decent one.

Aurelia held it an arms length away from her inspecting her so-called master peice. A smirk formed on her lips, she just had to add one more tiny detail. Aurelia did so in a minute or two. Ah, evil Harry Potter was the result. He did after all, murder someone.

Reducio

I was drawing with my finger on mobile, forgive the bad artwork. I also forgotten to light it up.