The Yule Ball

Amelia had been to the Yule Ball many times before, and to so many other formal galas and events with her parents, that they failed to impress her anymore. The decorations were beautiful, to be certain; the charms professor had really outdone herself with the enchanted snow that fell just far enough down to be visible from eye level, but it never settled itself onto the floor or the gowns of any of the girls who might squeal at getting their fine silks and ruffles ruined by the damp. Along the exterior of the dance floor were small round tables, covered in crisp white tablecloths and adorned with silver candles that burned with a blue flame. The lights in the hall were still bright, making the prospect of dancing too ostentatious for even the most brave among the students, and the lack of music also played a role in keeping everyone clustered around the outside of the room, waiting for what was to come.

The Ravenclaw watched as more and more students arrived. She saw Jaquellene standing near James Wake, but her date was not nearly as surprising as her appearance. Amelia had never before seen the Gryffindor troublemaker wear a dress, and if it hadn’t been for the combat boots, Amelia might not even have recognized her. She looked nice. And clean, which was equally surprising.

Her eyes continued to wander, resting briefly on Keith Nicholas, who had managed to put on something suitable for the ball. He nodded to acknowledge that their eyes had met, but did not move to approach her, for which Amelia was grateful. Making small talk at these types of events was usually very taxing for Amelia’s already limited social skills, and she hadn’t spoken to Keith since the debacle in the common room concerning a potion that could make people crazy. And besides, if she stayed far enough away from Keith tonight, she just might be able to avoid having to play Prefect.

The room was getting crowded, not because there wasn’t enough space, but because everyone seemed to be jostling to stand in the same part of the large space. Despite the wide open space of the dance floor, people were jostling among the tables along the side, so much so that several people had passed close enough to Amelia that they had brushed her as they walked. She heard snippets of their conversation as they came closer, and they trailed off as they moved away, but a moment later, Amelia heard a voice from just behind her, and this time she knew this scrap of conversation was meant for her.

“Oh, hello Peter,” Amelia responded upon turning around to see him standing behind her, his teeth on his lower lip preventing the grin she had anticipated seeing there. It wasn’t surprising that her mental image of him always involved a smile, considering how often he did just that, but tonight he looked different, like he wasn’t quite sure what to do with himself.

It was more than just his facial expression that was different, too. He had worn all black for the occasion, save for electric blue suspenders and sneakers that would have gone nicely with the DJ’s goggles. It was definitely a distinct look among the tuxedos and dinner jackets that mulled around them, and although his outfit might have looked out of place among the other ball attendees, it did not look out of place on Peter. Her mother would have hated it, but it suited him somehow.

“It is good to see you,” the Ravenclaw added, sounding slightly too rehearsed in her response. It wasn’t that it wasn’t good to see Peter – it was, in a way – but it wasn’t exactly genuine either. Amelia hadn’t exactly figured Peter out yet, which made him a puzzle she was still trying to solve. She had only seen fleeting bits of his personality, at least the part of it that didn’t involve making jokes and laughing with a group of adoring Beauxbaton’s students – she had seen plenty of that in the last few weeks – and she couldn’t yet see the whole picture. Combine that with the fact that Peter was acting strangely right now, and Amelia’s social awkwardness was elevated to the point of resorting to rehearsed lines her mother had made her practice until she could recite them perfectly for every last dinner guest.

“Are you meeting someone?” Amelia asked, looking over Peter’s shoulder for any date he might have brought. Knowing how popular Peter was among the students from his own school, Amelia thought it unlikely that he would have come alone. He was probably just filling time until his date arrived, and then he would leave Amelia alone, as she usually was at these types of things. But that too, although unusual, suited her.

Peter allowed for his suppressed, awkward smile to widen a bit, though it only revealed more teeth and more of the fact that he was a little nervous. Why was he nervous?! There was no reason for him to be at the present time. He did not plan on dancing unless things went all right, which knowing his own hopeless personality, was not likely. One of his Beauxbatons friends might have tempted him to awkwardly shuffle, but he would not accept such an invitation tonight.

Especially since Amelia would see.

He knew that she was just being polite by saying so, but he was still glad she had even spoken to him. He really had not failed as bad as he thought he had, but he was harsh on himself and it was hard to feel good about embarrassing her and himself at their last meeting. Not only had he had the lack of tact to say 'booty' but he had also revealed a self-conscious part of his personality that his closest French friends did not even know about. And he was still not sure why.

Okay, he sort of knew why.

She asked if he had a date and proceeded to look over his shoulder. For a second, his eyes stayed on her face, surveying it while her attention was elsewhere and then he felt a small smile come onto his face, as though sharing a private joke with himself. He chuckled slightly, shuffling his feet slightly as he tried to mask the amusement he felt at these words.

Finally he looked at her, amusement written all over his face as he said, "No." He bit his lip and then said in a conceding voice, though his eyes twinkled with the joke, "You may not know zis, but I am sort of an idiot around girls." He smirked, because she would know better than anyone at this ball, besides Adam of course. Though not all girls... just the ones he liked. But he could not say that.

His eyes still trained on her face, he asked her the same question, "So what about you? Are you waiting for your Prince Charming?" He smiled politely, a part of himself preparing for the blow that may come.

Zhanna strode into the Great Hall, tilting her chin upwards and pricking an eyebrow to survey the social situation with a heavy look of disdain. Her entire appearance was designed to make her look both stunning and dangerous, a true ice queen. With the grey sweater dress and the flee grey gloves, and the tall, pointed grey boots, to the icing of her diamond earrings and necklace... She looked stunning.

Too bad she had not snagged a date in time. Never fear... She had passed that off by pulling on an act that said they were all too intimidated. The plan was too show up and prey on some unsuspecting Frenchie or Hogwarts boy who would never guess what had happened. She blinked her eyes, her porcelain doll face turning to squint to stare at the freak manning the DJ station. Well Danice was here... As well as something that resembled the ragamuffin redhead... They just needed that pretty little Frenchie for things to really heat up.

Salem timidly tip toed into the Great Hall, pausing as a mouse would and turning her head to the left and right before slowly creeping her way in. She felt like a deer crossing a highway in the middle of a wintery night, preparing for the attack of some great beast, be it metal and man made or alive and hot blooded. She swallowed and scurried on.

Her eyes darted this way and that as she pulled her black coat closer to her, her combat boots hitting the ground with small thuds. The purple and black dress was fitting, but rubbed her shoulder awkwardly. She had purple eyelashes attached and a small purple bow in her ratted hair. Her purple gloved hands reached up and nervously fingered her hair. She finally reached the other side and sat at a chair, unbuttoning her coat to reveal her full attire.

She was not sure why she had decided to show up today. There was always the chance of running into that terrible Divination Death Eater that had attacked her. But perhaps... Perhaps she would see someone who would be kind to her, like the Andrew boy who had always been so nice to her. She bit her lip and hugged herself, waiting for this thing to start to start her job as a wallflower.

Something about her greeting might have enlightened Peter to the fact that he was acting strangely, because he attempted a smile shortly after she addressed him. It wasn’t his usual, emanating grin, though; this one seemed like he was stuck in some kind of awkward family photo, forced to smile for the camera and then distribute widely the photo by way of family Christmas cards. Amelia tried returning Peter’s smile, but she was still a little sidetracked trying to figure out why he would be acting so odd that her closed-lipped smile was even more lacking in humanity than usual.

Maybe he is nervous waiting for his date, Amelia’s subconscious suggested as an explanation for Peter’s peculiar behavior.

As Amelia’s eyes searched the crowd over Peter’s shoulder, she noticed several new people arriving. One was a very attractive petite girl with a pixie cut and the highest cheekbones Amelia had ever seen, though she was wearing something Amelia’s mother would have found more appropriate for going shopping than for attending a ball. The girl that entered immediately behind her was wearing a long black cloak, purple and black gloves, and combat boots.

That is the third girl I have seen in combat boots, Amelia thought to herself, her eyes still scanning for a girl who might be headed in their direction to relieve Peter of having to talk to Amelia, Apparently Antoinette didn’t realize they were in fashion again.

Amelia’s mother had always been a slave to fashion, wanting to be in the best, the newest, and the most expensive. She would, however, likely have drawn the line at combat boots. Her mother may have liked the finer things of the fashion world, but the chance that she would ever send Amelia a pair of combat boots, especially to attend a dance in, was about the same probability that Amelia would ever get out of having to go to one of these tiring things.

When Amelia finally looked back down to Peter, she found that he was wearing a more fitting expression, one that suggested he found something funny, but what it was Amelia couldn’t have guessed. She hadn’t said anything particularly amusing that she could recall, and so she found herself looking quizzically at Peter, as if asking him to explain what was so funny.

He seemed to sense she was waiting for an answer, but the one he gave only answered her question of whether or not he had a date, not why he had suddenly brightened. This look was more befitting of him; now that he was smiling, he was glowing the way he had been the first day Amelia had met him, though Amelia couldn’t explain that glow. If she had been hanging upside down from a broom, she would have either been red from the blood rushing to her face, or green from being nauseated.

“I was not aware,” Amelia replied to Peter’s comment that he turned into a buffoon around women, though this time she did pick up slightly on the joke and was able to give a small smirk to accompany her words. She had seen some of Peter’s more idiotic tendencies, but as far as she knew, he was like that all the time. She had really only interacted with him for an extended period of time twice, three times if you counted this, so she was still building her image of him.

Amelia nearly laughed aloud at Peter’s suggestion that she would have a date to the Yule Ball. In her attempt to stifle her laughter, it came out more as a scoff, which she had not intended. It sounded more bitter than she was about it; she was not disappointed to be attending the ball alone. It actually made it easier, because she wouldn’t be forced into conversation with someone all night, as she would have been if her mother had arranged a date for her. The fact that Peter had even asked whether she had a date proved how much he knew about her, though; Hogwarts’ resident Ice Queen wasn’t exactly the person boys were beating down the door to get a date with.

“I think I’ll be waiting quite a bit longer than tonight’s ball is scheduled to last if I insist on waiting for Prince Charming,” Amelia replied, not in a unpleasant way, but in more of a matter-of-fact tone, “I don’t have a date, and you don’t meet a prince every day, at least not in the real world.”

“Speaking of fantasies,” Amelia added, segueing away from the subject of dates to the ball, “How did your sister like the book we picked out for her? Have you given it to her yet?”

At first, Peter thought the joke had gone past Amelia, even though she was pretty much the smartest person he knew; then again, it was a lame joke. But the smirk that immediately followed her words was enough for him to widen his smile and let out a small chuckle, his eyes lighting up a little more. Okay, he could make her smirk... A bit of his confidence was finally beginning to return to him. He was not sure where it had gone, but it was nice to have it back.

And it was about time, as well.

She let out a laugh when he asked if she had a date and said that she would be waiting a bit longer for such a prince. This perplexed him. He knew that she was rather intimidating- what with her intelligence and her honesty- but he found her so intriguing. She was someone independent from everyone else, strong but gentle in her own quiet ways, fiercely keen, and, well... Really pretty. Really, really pretty. And it was simply puzzling to him that he seemed to be the only one who knew it.

Zat is the problem with ze British... He thought to himself. Zey can be idiots.

At her words though, he felt he needed to say something to lighten the mood. She did not seem particularly put out about showing up without a date, but there was a slight edge in her voice that made him want to comfort her... However, they still did not know each other very well, so perhaps it was too early for a heart to heart. He defected to humor.

"Ah well, princes are overrated," he said, waving a hand as though he was well-versed on the status of princes. "Wait for a pirate, so much better." He laughed, since it was such a predictable statement from his mouth that it was rather humorous. He hoped she did not think he was referring to himself, because he was, quite honestly, not that smooth. And he had said enough awkward things to last him a lifetime.

In response to her question, he smiled, replying, "I wrapped eet and sent eet a few days ago, telling her to wait for Christmas to open eet. I also included some 'Oneydukes chocolate, but I theenk ze book will be her favorite."

Selene stepped into the Great Hall, late, but not really caring. She wore a rather simple dress, blue, but pretty. Small delicate jewelry, with a nice stable platform for dancing in. She strode into the Entrance Hall and glanced around, looking for Simon. Not seeing him here, she stood and watched the crowd part for her, and smiled slightly. Is this what it was like to be famous? If it was.. she wouldn't mind forever being known as the person who won the Tri-wizard. People stared at her in what she supposed was awe. She supposed this because first off she had never been shown awe before, and second off their mouths were open, and there was no other reason for them to be staring in such a way, she had checked her appearance right before entering the hall.

As far as Selene was concerned, Headmistress wouldn't be disappointed in her behavior at this ball. She would prove herself worthy to be the tri-wizard. Even though the first task hadn't gone so well. Selene walked through the hall, and into the main dance room, still looking for Simon. It hadn't been easy, finding a date. Which was rather surprising, but it wasn't shocking. People didn't like her, and she didn't like people, but Simon had understood her need for space, and accepted on being her date for the evening. Mostly because she had needed one, and he didn't have one.

Selene continued to search, craning her neck, looking for him. At one point she saw Peter, and Jack, Danica, and other people she recognized, and finally she made it to the dance floor, deciding to wait where he could see her, and come to her, instead of her having to find him. It was all very confusing having to go look for your date before hand, because everyone was from other houses, and other places. And you had to somehow meet up somewhere, and she hadn't actually set a place to find him before the dance, it had just been. "lets go to the dance, okay!" And that was it. Selene kept her back straight, her eyes scanning the crowd, watching others snicker at her as she waited for Simon.

Simon had been absolutely terrified of showing up the ball without a date. It was not too bad. He could always hook up with some girl there if he went stag. But that also meant that he would show up without a girl, indicating no girl asked him or said yes to go, indicating he was bad with women, and THEREFORE a loser.

Okay, he had a bit of an overactive imagination. And anyway, it was not a problem. After an incredibly awkward conversation that had strangely included Elijah Krum and the Deputy Headmaster, he had become acquainted with the pretty Beauxbatons champion Selene. And luckily, they had both needed a date so...

Wait until his father heard he was escorting a champion!

He had dressed in a presentable black suit and brushed his hair and sprayed on some cologne before hurrying down from Ravenclaw tower. He made his way to the Great Hall and slipped inside, passing some Ravenclaw and a redheaded girl, seeing Amelia and some French kid, nodding at people he knew.

Selene looked amazing and he realized how lucky he was for having run into her and how smart it had been for him to side with her when Elijah had picked a fight. He pushed his hands in his pockets and made his way over to her, stopping and grinning at her widely. “Hey. You look amazing!” He rocked on his heels slightly.

Marki received her cue, realizing that it was, indeed, time to start this thing off and she set about tinkering with her equipment before putting the first song on. She spoke into her microphone, saying, “Okay ladies and germs, sugar and spice and puppy dog tails... Let's get this thing started. Custom says our champs get to start this shindig off and all you other hormone crazed hooligans can jump in. Let's start it with a personal favorite of mine... Meet Me on Diagon Alley by Ministry of Magic! Enjoy... But not too much!” And she turned on the song.

Matt strolled into the Great Hall ready for the Yule Ball. He was very happy at the moment, they were one step closer to getting the twins potty trained. The twins had just went a whole day without using the washroom. He didn't know if that was bad or good, he only knew Emmy shoved him out of the house before he could say "I can help". He had just got his hair cut so it was shorter now. Emmy loved it but he kept running his hand through it. It felt really weird having short hair. He hadn't gotten his hair cut in a while. He straightened the tie on his fancy suit and strolled some more.

But he continued his stroll right over to some snacks layed out for the picking. He picked up what looked like a mini hot dog and sniffed it. He dropped it in his mouth and licked his fingers. He grinned and followed the scent of punch to a larger than needed bowl full of it. He shrugged and poured himself a decent sized glass. He turned around and leaned against the table watching the few young couples dance. He couldn't find Jack or even Khaat, he knew nobody right now.