The night shows stars and women in a better light (Cue Aden)

((OOC: For the title of this thread I owe credit to Lord Byron, who first wrote the line in Don Juan. Also, this thread is continued from the main Masquerade ball thread.))

When the tall blond boy swept her off her feet - literally instead of figuratively this time - Amelia immediately clung to him, holding on for dear life so she wouldn't come crashing down. She was rather accustomed to having her feet planted firmly on the ground and she would usually have objected to any change in that. This time, though, she found that being cradled in the boy's arms was surprisingly secure. He didn't waver for a moment at taking on her weight, and she found she could relax her arms and not fear falling. The shock of the action did not wear off as quickly, but it was not a shock which provoked anger or fear, but instead made her stomach feel as though tiny winged pixies had inhabited it.

The small groups of students that had formed at the ball moved out of their way as the boy carried her toward the door. Her feet swung precariously close to a gawking group of third year boys, but the boy swung her away from them to avoid a potential collision. The whispered wonderings of who the dancers were combined with the raised eyebrows at the girl being carried from the hall and became slightly difficult to ignore, but Amelia merely tucked her head closer to the boy's chest and tried not to make eye contact with any who gawked as they exited.

Clear of the great hall, Amelia was carried by her charmer into the gardens which had been specially prepared for the evening's events. The staff had gone all out this year, decorating with lights of every color, a few exotic birds roaming about shrubbery, and what appeared to be a gaggle of live pixies flitting from flower to flower.

Here, Amelia could raise her head to look around, the terrace being as quiet and free of spectators as it was. The scene in the garden was surely enchanted, but it dulled in comparison with the night sky. The clouds that had shrouded part of the sky earlier had dissipated, leaving nothing but inky black pierced through with thousands of stars. No magic, no matter how great, could ever replicate what nature did so effortlessly.

In the arms of her companion, Amelia was guided through the gardens, taking in the overwhelming amoung of stimuli. The cooler night air made an attempt to shock her back to reality, but her body still buzzed with the heat of the dance and the warmth which radiated from the boy's body, enough to keep her from second guessing her choice, at least for now.

For the happiest life, rigorously plan your days, leave your nights open to chance. The quote rose unprompted from her memory, stored away from a book she had read by Mignon McLaughlin. She smiled at how apropos the saying was for the way she had been behaving this evening, taking it as a sign that her mind had finally given in to whomever had taken control in the past hour. Though her thoughts moved on to other things, the smile remained painted across her lips long after it had first arrived.

This was siren for Aden has he had not seen Torie in a long time, and well a real person was hard to come by. Now that he was champion and prefect it was even harder for him to find something that he felt was great pure, and true. This was true of course by the nature of the events no one could tell who he was in the mistque of the night.

Aden's brain was absolved in the fluidity of the beauty of the outside. It took him away to exotic, and rustic places through out the world. Aden of course had visited the majority of these places. it was a nice change of pace from inside where the ever curious eyes of the masses had followed him. His plan would never have worked if she had pulled away a few moments ago, because after the spectacle he had made of his feet. nothing would be real just like it wasn't in real life.

Aden patrolled the maze the Gardens were tonight searching for something exotic to fit tonight's events, but the silence he did it with was bewildering yet prevaricated. ADen rejoiced inside when he found the spot he was looking for, but remained calm and sexy on the outside.

"Here Athena take a seat and prepare for your breath to be lost." Aden said as he pulled at his wand, and pointed it up towards the sky. Aden created a clear sheet in the air, then mimicked the sky on it. You could not tell that he had done this, and that was all a part of the trick. Aden gave her a nod as to say this is the part where the magic happens. With all that done Aden began to rearrange the stars in the sky to portray two people dancing, as it went on it became apparent the two star dancers were them. The stars danced the Walts that the duo had moments before.

Apollo was not only the keeper of the sun, but the stars as well. By that logic it would only be logical that a man going by Apollo could rearrange the stars in the night sky before you very eyes. Aden had used this trick on muggles before when they were star gazing to increase the amount of shooting stars.

Amelia enjoyed what was left of her lofted journey through the enchanted gardens, taking in the sights and sounds of both the scenery around her and the boy who held her carefully in his outstretched arms. He smelled line pine needles, Amelia thought, and another scent she couldn't quite place. It was a natural smell, not something that could be bottled or bought.

When the boy spoke again it was to give her warning that she would soon be in contact with stable surfaces again. He lowered her gently onto a stone bench, ornately carved with images of various magical birds. Amelia arranged her dress lightly around her feet, checking to ensure that nothing had gone askew on the ride over. She could feel the cold of the stone bench through the silk of which her dress was made, but her attention was too focused on her companion to pay it much mind.

Once he had made sure she was situation, the mystery man pulled his wand from the inside pocket of his suit coat. Although he flourished it grandly, Amelia could not see that he had done anything remarkable as of yet. At his nod, Amelia followed his gaze to the stars which had captivated her as soon as they stepped foot outside.

Aden's wand now moved with greater purpose and the spears of light which interrupted the blanket of blackness rearranged themselves, slowly forming discernible figures. At first, Amelia was too stunned by the display to comprehend what picture the stars had formed, but when they began to move as a pair the pieces fell into place.

"A quite literal interpretation of Dancing with the Stars," Amelia quipped, smiling as she made reference to a show muggles had begun to favor on their television stations. Although she joked lightly at his display, she was truly impressed by it. She knew it must have been some trick of magic, but because her attention was so galvanized by the beauty of both the star dancers and her companion, she did not bother to wonder how it had been accomplished.

"It's beautiful," Amelia breathed a few moments later, having been enraptured by the dancers who gracefully twirled their way across the night sky. She hesitantly turned her face toward his, a genuine smile spreading unprompted across her porcelain features. She could not remember the last time she had smiled so authentically, nor could she exactly pinpoint what had made her so elated on this night. For once, she was not analyzing and rationalizing it all. She was just... happy.

Aden watched her as she watched his spectacle he could tell she was fooled, but the best part of the tick was her face. Joy is probably the most beautiful emotion, and that shined through in her face, because she was more amazing now then he had seen her all night. She looked up at him and he quickly looked away and acted like he was really concentrating on the spell he was using.

Her comment to a muggle T.V. show was completely lost on him. While Aden enjoyed muggle fiction books he did not like most their other forms of media, or entertainment. Music he found enjoyable as well, but the list did not go much past that. Of course though Aden was frequently force by his parents to pretend like he enjoyed the monotony that he found to be the Muggle life. It wasn’t just the muggles it was more like the muggle adults there life’s were the most sever crime against humanity’s quest for happiness.

Her words it’s beautiful were exactly what he was thinking, but of course the star trick was not what he thought was beautiful it was here. Aden took a seat next to her and was imeadetly chilled on the lower half of his body. Dress pants were not the thickest or most insolated leg wear. “Oh I am sorry it must be really cold for you in that silk dress.” Aden said with a sincere look on his face. He truly felt bad because he was getting the chill she had to be getting it much worse.

“So Athena you seem well to be like me in the fact that you can dance, and our well read in muggle books. Tell me then what is your favorite book?” Aden ask beaming what for him was a genuine smile, but he had been informed it look fake. Aden of course did not like that because it felt disingenuous and that was not an appearance he liked to give off.

When the boy sat down next to her, Amelia suppressed the urge to move closer to him, have him wrap her in his arms again. For someone unaccustomed to human contact, she was quickly growing to need it in the way most others did from birth.

Her companion seemed to take greater notice of the chill from the bench than Amelia had, but when he mentioned it she gained greater awareness of the fact that her legs were becoming a bit numb against the stone. His concern for her made her blush, trying to shrug it off, but knowing that the fact that her arms were covered in goose flesh must be giving her away.

Not one to be outdone when it came to magic, Amelia reached for her wand which was held to her leg by the straps of her heeled sandal. Raising the strip of holly, Amelia touched the wand to the bench upon which they both sat.

Mitis estus she whispered, tapping twice and feeling the warmth spread from where her wand tip had touched. The spell took effect quickly, gently warming the atoms in the bench until they radiated enough heat to compensate for the cold night air. Satisfied that this would allow them to remain outside longer without being forced inside by the chill, Amelia returned her wand to it's place along her calf, shaking her dress down to hide it once again.

As Amelia sat upright once again, she heard the boy pose a question of her favorite book. To Amelia, this question was one of the most impossible he could have proposed. Amelia read books like most people drank water; magical or muggle, it made no difference to her. The magical texts contained within the library quenched her thirst for knowledge while the novels of the muggle world allowed her to escape to a world where everything always turned out the way it should.

After giving herself a few minutes to ponder, Amelia finally settled on an answer. Turning her face toward the man sitting next to her, she began her explanation.

"Love in the time of Cholera," she said, hoping he wouldn't be too judgemental of her choice, "By Gabriel García Márquez. The book has always enraptured me because it tells the story of a love so strong, it can and did last a lifetime."

"And yours, Apollo?" she asked, trying to make the most of every moment she was afforded tonight, for the first time in her life wishing she could magically slow time and preserve herself in the moment in which she currently existed. Though not usually a romantic, the evening had brought out yet another side of Amelia she could never have predicted could even exist.

As she awaited his response, Amelia wished for the first time tonight that the mask which obscured her companion's face did not exist. Surely a result of the fact that the ball was coming to an end, Amelia was now coming to the realization that all of it - the dancing, the magic, the connection she felt with this boy - all of it would disappear with the morning light.