Main Stage and Seating
 

Nigel basically had two duties at his station this time around. Actually play music with the band. Which was pretty cool because this was their first big time gig thing at school. Besides practicing in the Room of Requirements. And make sure nothing terrible happens on the stage or anywhere around it. Plus he was a student leader. So those responsibilities also.

What was nice is that they did not have to actually bring their instruments here. It was all on stage. Though he might have to tune it of course. Before they perform, whatever it was they were going to play. It was West's call in the end.

From the stage he could basically see all the people not having fun and had a fun, well fun to him at least, way of dealing with party poopers. Mo's idea of course.

This was most definitely going to be fun one way or another.

For Tessa and Sander's friends
 

Sander walked into the Great Hall and looked around nervously adjusting his tie. He had asked Tessa to be his date tonight and he was nervous that he would mess up on their first official date as a couple.

He breathed into his hand to check his breath and then combed his fingers into his greying hair. He had made a great effort to shave tonight. He didn't want any whiskers or beard to be in the way, when he kissed her.

This was going the best night of his teen life.

Hope wasn't exactly sure what side she was on in this whole thing. She didn't hate the holiday, but she wasn't jumping with joy for it either. Valentine's day wasn't really something she had celebrated since she was younger, and even then it was stupid little love letters and a box of candy hearts. However, that was when she was six. Now, she was eleven and he views had shifted slightly. If she had a date for the dance, she may be all for some of the coupley things, but that being said she was alone. So, she decided to not take a side and just take a seat for the time being. After all, she couldn't be the only person here alone. She was bound to have some friends that would come keep her company for the duration of the event.

There was a BALL. Why didn't someone tell Leah earlier? Leah had only heard about the Half-Hearted Ball a week before the very day and had to hurry to prepare. She wanted to look beautiful on Valentine's. Not that she had a boyfriend. (She hoped to make one though.)

Leah walked nervously into the hall. It had changed a great deal. Leah had a silent debate in her head whether to go dancing or eating first. Since it would seem weird if she danced or ate alone, she decided to sit down and chat with someone first.

There were only a few people, all of whom Leah did not recognize. She chose a seat next to a girl she knew was in her year. "Hi, it's Hope, isn't it? I'm Leah." The girl looked like she came alone too. "Do you mind if I sit with you? Only I didn't bring any dates." Please say yes! Leah did not want to spend the rest of Valentine's Day on her own.

A Valentine's Ball--awesome! It was even more awesome now that Sophie had a Valentine. She bet Caleb didn't even have one of those! Speaking of Valentine's, Sophie scanned the room for Adi. She guessed he would be her sort of, kind of date here, since they were Valentines now and all.

Sophie wasn't much for lovely-dovey Valentine-ish stuff, but she did like having fun. There was food, music, and...KISSING?! Ewww, she didn't wanna kiss THEO! He was...way older! And a friend! Or, maybe not a friend, but a teammate. SHEESH. Oh, and a Tunnel of Love. *GULP* She didn't have to ride ALONE with Adi, did she?! She was sort of nervous about that kind of stuff.

For Baek <3
 

Excitedly, Lux entered the Great Hall and looked around. She was really looking forward to being at this amazing event. with her friends. She was even loving her pink dress, heels, and the bit of make up that she had on.

Spotting Sander, she went up to him. "You look really snazzy! I am sure Tessa will love it!" Since clearly he had put all this extra effort in for his girlfriend, as any good boyfriend would. Where was Tessa though? And Bay? And Louis?

She had a Valentine that she didn't want to keep her waiting.

Sander smiled when a beautiful young Hufflepuff...someone he knew very well...walked into the Great Hall. Sander couldn't quite believe that this was Lux...his young friend. She was absolutely beautiful. He wondered whether Tessa had anything to do with helping her pick out her dress because if she did, she had made an excellent choice for their young friend.

"Hi Lux. I have to say that you look very beautiful. Me? I hope so. I don't want to disappoint her," Sander looked at his clothing again.

Then he looked down at Lux. "Have you seen the others? Who's your date for tonight, Lux?" he asked the younger girl.

Justine entered the lavishly redecorated Great hall with her anxiety riding high, she swallowed nervously as she walked through the throngs of students, students happily greeting their friends and loved ones with excited chatter, or at least some did.
Some like herself stood awkwardly to the side watching the rest.

Justine wobbled slightly in her high heels, it had been ages since she had worn anything over three inches and now she was walking around in these new uncomfortable shoes that were at least five.
With a huff of annoyance, the French witch pulled her wand from her hair and quietly muttered a quick transfiguration spell, changing her perilously high heels into a pair of simple, but pretty ballet flats. She smiled pleasantly at her handiwork before stepping to the table laden with the most delicious looking heart-shaped food items she had ever seen.

She squeaked in delight as her eyes fell upon her favorite of all pastries; colored macaroons! in every shade of pink and red in existence. The Ravenclaw grabbed a plate and eagerly began piling it high with as many macaroons as she could grab. Justine popped one of the light pink ones into her mouth and sighed at the deliciously sweet taste.
"Si magnifique!" She exclaimed.

He was late.

Hopefully not too late. But nonetheless, Jun was a tad late. He couldn't really go any faster since the aging was still progressing and now his joints were aching. It was going to be a painful adventure to get back up to the tower. Finally making his way to the great hall, there were too many people there already. At least he ask Char to come with him so neither of them would be in their common rooms, alone and with candy. Though thinking about it now, it didn't sound like such a bad idea. Maybe it was better than this little ball thing. Or they could watch Disney movies again and become stuffed on candy. The two would probably do that if they got really bored here.

Finally spotting Char, Jun made his way towards her and lightly bumped her hip. OUCH. EVEN THAT HURT TO DO. Jun groaned from the pain and rubbed his hip. No more of doing that to anyone. "Sorry I'm late. I was looking for your gift in my trunk," Which was true. He was also looking for the five chocolate boxes he had gotten for Lex over break. Digging into his candy bag, Jun took out a little red box and handed it to Char. She had better like it. No way was he going back to exchange it for something else.

By the time Jun was coming down the steps, Charlotte was annoyed and looking down at her wrinkly hands. Gross. What kind of a fifteen year old had to deal with looking like her grandma?? Why couldn't she have just been a normal muggle child who didn't have to deal with this? Granted, her life would have been extremely different but who cared? If she could have lived like Kai, Jun's brother, and not ever had to deal with being old, she thought it was a good idea.

Only about a minute later did she feel something bump into her and she looked up to see Jun wincing next to her. Charlotte would always assume it was Jun who had made her this way but at least she wasn't alone in it, right? She gave a small smile and waved once. "Hey, Giant." She had gone from extremely annoyed to just upset in general. Candy just sounded like such a great idea right now. Maybe in a bit she'd be able to go over to the food table and start munching. "It's fine, I'm not as mad anymore." She was actually kind of excited for her gift. She took the small box from him and just before opening it, added, "You look really nice, by the way." Not that he didn't always look nice because he kind of really always did.

Opening the box now, her mood almost completely changed when she saw what was sitting there. "Juuuuun." She was sure he hadn't tried very hard to get it but it was still the thought that counts. "It's so pretty! Thank you!" Carefully, she took it out of the box and examined it closely.

people can feel free to say hi, since they haven't started yet :D
 

West lightly licked the pad of his thumb as he made his way onto the stage and idly ran his thumb over his left eyebrow, ostensibly grooming but really it was an almost ritualistic gesture. It was almost go time, and while he wasn't nervous exactly, he was all filled up with this strange spark of energy that he felt might just burn right throug his skin. It felt good.

He headed over to Nigel and offered his mate a fistbump. Was he ready for this? Might as well tune up yeah? He picked his newguitar up and busied himself tuning it, and fiddling with the enchanted amplifier, sending occasional glances out at the Great Hall proper, watching for certain faces.

Ordinarily Andrew wasn't a fan of crowds, but he was feeling unusually collected as he strode confidently through the hall. He had always been most comfortable in formalwear, preferring suits and ties over the jeans and a t-shirt that some of his peers wore on a daily basis. He saw the evening as an excuse to not feel like the odd one out.

Andrew wasn't experienced with big events like this one, but he knew the universal rule of parties still applied: When in doubt, support the wall and hit the refreshments. Hard. Scanning the room, he calculated a quick route through the crowd to the refreshment table, and had begun to bite down on a biscuit when he was startled by an exclamation in French two feet from his ear.

"Woah!" He yelped, taking a step back. "Is everything alright?" He chuckled looking over at the familiar looking girl.

:P Question for West...
 

*casually throws some one liners at you guys*
 

West glanced up from fiddling with the amp and grinned. "Yeah you've got a good eye."

West chucked a salute in Delilah's direction, seeing her come in. Didn't miss much y'know.

Hope smiled up at the girl. "Yeah. Sure." She shrugged and looked around. "I didn't bring any either so don't feel bad." Not that she would have. She still wasn't sure how she felt about the concept of dating. It sounded fun in theory, but she saw a lot of people who had to deal with a mess of emotions. "So, how awesome is this? Do you think there will be one every year we're here?"

mention of Lux & Sander ^__^
 

Dressed as best as he could go for this occasion, Adi stepped into the Great Hall. Was he nervous? Not really. Though dressing in a shirt and tie made him a tad bit uncomfortable. Why couldn't it be okay to just turn up in sneakers, a t-shirt and casual pants? Anyway... adjusting his tie, the Puffer fish scanned the room for Sophie.

Not much students were there yet. But he did spot Lux and Sander whom he waved to. Then he caught sight of Sophie. Wow! She looked breath taking. It took Adi a moment to realise he was staring. Coming out of his reverie, he calmly made his way towards her. This was no time for nerves to get the better of him. Nope. He must remain cool. "Hi, Sophie. You look beautiful.'' Even more beautiful than usual, in fact.

Austin's here!
 

Dear Merlin if this was about to be as interesting as the dance lessons were, Austin wasn’t sure if he would have liked it since really it hadn’t been much fun when it came to the fact that he hadn’t been able to dance with the one person that he wanted to or rather the one person whom did not entirely know the truth of the fact that he actually could dance after mentioning something close to a lie. That had all since been discussed and since Lily knew the truth now, there wasn’t any problems. At least I don’t think so. She hasn’t talked about that ever since I explained the reality of things. Thinking about how whether or not his girlfriend had been mad at him wasn’t entirely the most useful thing at the moment seeing as it was Valentine’s Day. Not exactly a time to be wondering if people were mad at him, instead it was a day where things were pretty much awesome.

Stepping into the area where the main stage was, he only looked around until he saw the person in question that he was looking for; obviously Lily would be here before him though at least this time there wasn’t a chance she would have come to the dungeons to make sure he showed up since there wasn’t a promise he would have shown up to begin with. Question now was how she would have ended up knowing that he was here. There were several idea that crossed the Slytherin’s mind but he simply came up beside her. “Well you look nice.” he commented, giving her a smile.

Sander & Lux
 

Alex had not entirely convinced herself that herself that going to the Half-Hearted Ball was a good idea. Then again, no one could be more half-hearted about this than she was. Alex was not entirely opposed to Valentine's Day, but going to a Valentine's dance dateless seemed rather pathetic. Nevertheless, she was not one to miss out on a fun evening she hoped. Wearing her best red dress with her hair freshly dyed, Alex entered the Great Hall. She was determined to have a good time....or else.

Alex spent a moment taking in the scene. The room had truly been transformed for the evening. Spotting Sander and Lux, she decided to say hello before checking out the other activities. Knowing that they had dates to attend to, she knew that she had better say her hellos quickly and headed in their direction.

Nigel was now just people watching. It was a lot more fun with so many people around the stage instead of just a couple like at the bridge. Nigel watched and waited for the remaining three that were bound to show up eventually. Which reminded him that sooner or later. Nigel would want go to the kissing booth and just laugh because why not. He would probably pay for it later. Knowing Theo and Lex. But it would be soooo worth it.

Now this was pretty funny. Being that Nigel was wearing basically a white suit and of course West would be wearing black. Nigel fist bumped him and said. "At least we will have some awesome contrast on stage"

Since West was tuning his what looked like to him a new guitar or Nigel just had not noticed before. It was probably that. But very nice regardless. This meant he should start tuning his also.

For Anyone
 

So apparently, love was in the air. She didn't feel it. But Caelen promised to take in as much as Hogwarts as she could, and so here she was. And she wanted to see what was going on. She didn't really understand love as an emotion yet, but she wanted to do something besides study and do some homework.

And there was supposed to be an awesome band. Or something like that. And she wanted to hang out. Even it was mostly alone. Because Valentine's day was supposed to be enjoyed, right? Even if you were just eating food and dancing.

And there was always fun to be had. And food to eat. And she kind of really really loved food. Even if she wasn't really sure WHAT this whole loved thing was about.

Well not not exactly. She did kind of understand. Because she watched a lot of eighties movies and they KIND of explained the whol point of love. It was all about the Breakfast Club, right? Dancing and stuff? Or like that movie with the motercycle or something? Something like that.

That seemed like a good understanding of love. the redhead was impressed with herself. That was probably one of the best explanations of love ever. She was like a love DOCTOR. Doctor love. Wait, that sounded funny. Never mind on that. Heheh. Yeah. She was going to have fuun tonight. And then write out a letter to Rockwell and then a seperate one to her mom explaining that she was doing a lot of studying. Her mom had high explanations.

But anyway, tonight she wasn't going to study or worry about grades or homework. She was going to part and have fun. Even if love was just a stupid concept to her that only belonged in eighties movies that she loved to watch for the corniness. Wait, she was repeating herself. Whatever.

Band peeps
 

Louis hadn't really given Valentine's much thought in the past couple weeks; actually, he had completely forgotten the special event until he found the Great Hall closed down earlier that day for preparations. And though he was feeling a little lazy about the whole thing now (the castle and the grounds were so wonderfully empty with all the students gathered in the Great Hall), he knew he couldn't bail. He had a lovely little lady counting on him, after all.

All dressed up in a black tuxedo with a bow tie, Swaggy!Lou walked into the overwhelmingly red-and-pink, heart-shaped-objects infested Great Hall.
Wow. Yeah, the lovey-dovey vibe was overwhelmingly strong in this place. The boy looked around the Hall for a moment, eyebrows raising with amusement over the pro-Valentine's and anti-Valentine's themes on the food tables, before he spotted two familiar faces at one of the tablecloth-covered tables. Lux and Sander were already here!

Smiling, Louis made his way over to his two friends. "Looking good, mate," he said, clapping the elegant Sander's back in greeting and flashing the boy a friendly smile. His gaze then traveled over to Lady Lux, who looked absolutely doll-like in her bright pink dress and straight red hair. He was a little surprised she wasn't in a more frilly dress, something more... childlike. She seemed unusually grown-up.

"M'lady." He bowed to her in greeting, as he always did since being assigned the role of squire. "You look beautiful tonight," he added as he straightened up, giving his friend a broad smile. His right hand disappeared into one of the pockets of his jacket and he proceeded to pull out a small square box with a bow on top. The box rattled a little as he handed it to Lux. "Happy Valentine's Day," he said with a smile. It was just a life-sized large chocolate frog he'd gotten from Honeydukes (its size proved it would be more challenging to catch and eat), it wasn't meant to be romantic or anything, just poked fun at Lux's and Lou's love for chocolate frogs and all things sweet.

yo band peeps
 

Hope looked around once more. She had one person to sit and chat with but there had to be someone else she could pull into her group. A singles group? Always a good plan, yeah? One more scan of the room she spotted a familiar looking boy. Ben, yes? The boy she had met over the summer.

"Hey!" She waved at him smiling. "Wanna join us?" Not like they were doing anything fun, but he was more than welcome to come sit and join them for a night of watching the happenings. Maybe they could all go play a game or something.

So, it was one thing that it was 'Valentine's day' not only was it the stupidest holiday that exploited every person not in a relationship, but it worshiped those who were. Not that he cared or anything, he was fine living the single pringle life. He just wished people wouldnt use a day to make their Significant others feel special cause they should do that everyday, so he thought anyway. So valentines day was Stupid, but he was told there was food and well, that's why he was here. no classes, free food, it was shoo in that he'd be here.

Minus the fact that he had to "dress up" for the event all was well, tough he hated this jacket more than anything else, ever, just hated it and well, did anyone know how to tie a bowtie? he looked down at the bowtie, still untied and hanging from his neck, maybe he should stuff it in his pocket? maybe he should leave it there, make a statement or something about he he wouldn't conform to this valentines day stuff! :whaa:

Maybe he should stuff it in his pocket. Wandering around the area he made his way to the food table and managed to grab a glass of lemonade before walking away to just see what else was going on , who else was here you know, he had to show his face and proved that he actually could be social, even if it killed him

Justine, who had been so wrapped up in sampling the various confections and delights, jumped as a slightly familiar looking boy (in a lovely suit and tie), yelped at her words, before politely asking her if everything was alright.

"Oui, I mean, yes, everyzhing is fine," Justine said, blushing at having been heard, she hadn't thought anyone was paying her any mind. "Zee macaroons are, very good," She added, with a small laugh as way of explanation.

As she took in the young man's features, she became even more certain that she had seen him before, they probably had classes together, maybe Potions?
"'Ave we met before?" Justine asked, with a small, thoughtful frown on her pretty features.

Hey.

Benny absently turned at the call and spotted a young girl about his age waving at him. Him? Asking him if he wanted to join her? It was only at a second look that he registered the previous meeting over the summer. Her name escaped him for the moment though and so he left his response vague for the moment.

"Might as well, I guess," he answered, walking closer to her and the table she was at. "I mean...hey," he added, not wanting to appear rude. She was being polite to him after all.

Come again? o_O

Lux was surprised when for the second time Sander called her beautiful; the first had been at the dance lessons. Turning slightly red, she was kind of flattered at the really high compliment. "You won't disappoint her. I look okay. I am sure it will be Tessa who looks truly beautiful." Especially in his eyes, because she had seen the way he looks at her many times over the month. And as she always looked back at him the same way, surely Tessa would find Sander every bit as handsome as he found her beautiful.

Had she seen the others? Lux shook her head. She had not seen Tessa yet, or Bay. She assumed he would be coming here with his girlfriend, which was why she had not asked him to be her Valentine. "My date for tonight is Louis." And yes, it was strictly platonic; just her asking her loyal Squire to be her Valentine.

Spotting Adi waving over to her and Sander, Lux smiled and waved back. He was looking quite dapper today. Wondering if he was going to come over to them and talk, she saw that instead his eyes were focused on a girl who looked about their age who she had seen before in classes. Awww, was she his Valentine? That was so cute. Deciding that maybe she would say hello to him later, she left them to it.

Oh, and there was Alex! She was looking good tonight as well. Everyone was, and there seemed to be a lot of happiness in the air - besides at the game centre at least. "Hey, Alex. You are looking very nice," she said as she made her way over to them. "Who's your date?" Curious and all that.

Again with the beautiful.

She was going to be as red as the heart decorations around the room by the end of the night if this didn't stop.

Smiling, she curtsied to him after he bowed. "You are looking very nice, Louis. Very handsome." She knew that he had made sure to dress very nice for his Lady.

Awww, he had brought her a present. She was not silly enough to imagine that it was in any way romantic; for all she knew he had stuck candy in it or something. "Awww, the loyal Squire is giving his Lady a gift. Happy Valentine's Day." Taking the box, she gave him a kiss on the cheek. As a friend. So people had better not get in a fit over it.

Happily, she opened the box and was pleasantly surprised to see a large Chocolate Frog wrapper. "It's amazing, Louis. Thank you. I will open it properly as soon as I get to my dorms." She was smart enough to know that if on the off chance her frog managed to get away before she could eat it, the people organizing the event probably wouldn't be too happy with her. Best to do it later on even if she really wanted chocolate right now.

Hope smiled and push out a chair for him so that he could join her and Leah for some single people night in? Did that make sense? Didn't matter. "Sorry." She was having issues with word vomiting lately. "I-I-..I mean. For the summer. I was a little rude." She had taken a good long hard look at herself and softened a bit.

Oh. She fell silent not sure what else to say. This was her issue right here. She didn't know how to communicate. Probably another tally on to why she wasn't sure where she stood on this holiday.

Ellaaaaaa ♥
 

Theo had ditched his booth for a few minutes since it wasn't exactly booming with business. You could say he was scouting the hall for potential ladies to take back to the booth with him, but that really wasn't something he would EVER do. He was too darn SHY with girls if they weren't his friends, and they would almost always have to approach him first. No, his main reason for taking a much deserved break was because his best friend and his band mates were performing and it was EXCITING. Theo had heard them rehearse and stuff before, especially West, but he'd never heard a full performance.

And it was busy round here too! The Dead Kneazles were stealing his customers, clearly.

He gave West a big grin and a two finger salute, and Nigel received a nod. He'd definitely be at the very front of the crowd as soon as they started up for sure, even if the crowd was already making him feel a bit antsy. All up in his face and all. Instead of heading there straight away, he found a bigger space and loitered around, playing with his tie.

Awkward.

“You’re too kind m’lady, thank you,” replied Louis with a sheepish smile as Lux complimented his look. He was relieved to see that she approved, ‘cause it would’ve been really awkward if he had arrived casual while she was all dressed up and looking entirely too perfect. The squire had to live up to his Lady’s standards.

The boy received Lux’s gratitude kiss with a warm smile before proceeding to sit down on the empty chair beside hers. “That’s probably a good idea,” he said with a soft chuckle when Lux decided she’d properly open her chocolate frog at the dorms. Yeah, no, a life-sized chocolate frog hopping around the room when everyone else was trying to dance was probably not something he wanted to be involved in.

The Gryffindor allowed his blue eyes to scan the Hall absentmindedly for a moment, recognizing a few faces here and there, before turning back to Lux and Sander. “I imagine Bay will be here with his date soon, yeah? I didn’t see him in the dorms today,” he commented. He couldn’t help feeling like he hadn’t really seen or talked to his best mate much lately; the other boy was just so busy with Quidditch and all, it was hard to find a free moment to just hang out.

all you awesome peeps
 

Bay was looking around in the main area… where were his friends, stopping himself he started to listen, he could hear Louis anywhere…. and yup Bay heard him… turning to the direction of his voice, thats when he spotted the red hair…Lux he was so glad that everything between them was fine and back to normal, maybe one day he will tell her how he felt..but not yet.. he wasn't ready thats for sure..

Walking slowly over there to make sure that he wasn't seen he spotted Sander and others around him… he didn't see Tessa.. where was she, he did in fact see Alex…she was a very nice girl and he was glad to see her as well… Bay was now right behind Louis…. "LOUIS!!!!!!" he said while trying to scare him.

"Anything for my Squire." It made her happy that he had dressed up for her because it showed that he wanted to be a good friend to her. Placing her box down, she looked around. "I'm sure he will come here with Christmas soon." Since she was his girlfriend, it was natural to assume that she would be his date. "I haven't seen him too much lately either. I suppose he had been really busy with Quidditch practice." Which was totally fine in her books, as Quidditch was amazing.

Hearing someone shout Louis' name, she jumped slightly and felt like she was going to have a heart attack. "There you are, Bay. I was just wondering when you would show up." Turning towards him, she smiled. "You are looking very nice." Everyone was looking their best, and she loved it.

^__^
 

Things seemed to be going well.

Ella had been wandering around, figuring Alice and Dora were more than capable of manning the Game Center by themselves for a bit. They probably preferred it that way, actually. Best friend time and all. The blonde understood. Speaking of best friends, was Soph here? The eighteen year old stood on her tippy toes with some difficulty and looked around, hoping to spot the bouncy brunette. No luck, though. Shame. Now she'd need to find someone else to listen to the band with. Someone like...

Theoman!

"It looks nice." The tie did. He was fiddling with it quite a bit, did he know? Ella slowly inched her way closer and waved his hand out of the way, adjusting the tie so that it was straight again. "How's it going over there?" Kissing booth and all. She hadn't heard any screaming yet so she was going to assume that the snake and the lion weren't at each other's throats just yet. She was definitely relieved about that. Definitely.

Leah too
 

No trouble had been caused it seemed with his response, since the girl responded positively. "Thanks," Ben said with a nod as he took hold of the chair she had pushed out for him and took a seat. At least one positive thing for the evening...plenty of seating for the weary bones. "Hello..." the second year added noticing the other girl that seemed to possibly be with his companion as well. Well the young ones on their own could certainly stick together....right?

"Its okay," he said, allowing a smile to hopefully assure her that it was truly alright with him. It was such a while ago...several months before. "No real harm done." And he was, after all, still willing to be anywhere near her...HEATHER...he suddenly remembered her name, rather than just avoiding her altogether despite it meaning he would remain alone for the time being.

This wasn't fun. The band weren't playing yet, so he just looked like an idiot standing here on his own. Since when did Theo run out of friends to hang out with? His face lit up like a puppy when he saw Ella, but he didn't want to disturb her just in case she had better things to do, or better people to be with. His smile grew wider as she approached him, and she was... what?! TOUCHING HIS HAND? FIXING HIS TIE?

;_______;

Nar, he was good. He was okay.

"Oh, it's hell, of course." He smiled a little. Surely everyone knew that Theo would HATE everything about manning a kissing booth, which is probably why he was placed there. "Managed to get one kiss so far. From a first year. Go me!" If he really laid his failings on thick, she'd give him a sympathy kiss? A cheek one? Maybe? Anything? "You having fun? You're at the games part, right?" With Alice and Dora.

Yeah... rather you than him, Ella.

For MJ <3
 

Fern's date hadn't arrived yet, but that was okay. That was to be expected. He had a lot of responsibilities and business to attend to. The important thing was that he was going to come. She knew he would come. She hadn't received a reply, but they were each other's true loves, so Fern knew that when the music started, he would be there.

In the meant time, Fern would be a good future wife and save him a seat. The 12-year-old scouted for an empty table close to the dance floor (they were going to be doing A LOT of dancing), and upon finding one, immediately sat down and placed a napkin in the seat next to her. Then she patted the napkin once, nodded to herself, and pulled out her chap stick.

It wasn't the same as lip stick, but with her bejeweled compact mirror open before her and lips perfectly puckered as she applied the product, Fern felt very grown up and distinguished.

Ella smiled too, shaking her head at him. "Drama king." Truly. It couldn't be that bad. It must be weird though, kissing strangers. The Head Girl wasn't sure she'd ever be comfortable doing something like that. Her eyebrows raised slightly at the first year bit and she tilted her head, amused. "Bold first year. I'm not sure I'd have the nerve to do that." Kids these days did things a lot differently, it seemed.

Was she having fun? "Mostly." She still wasn't feeling one hundred percent but she was pleased with the way everything had turned out and she wouldn't miss this, especially because it was her last event her at Hogwarts. ...Sad days. "Yeah, turned out nice. I'm just hoping Alice doesn't destroy the pinata while I'm gone." She liked to hit things, Alice did.

Brynn had been vaguely aware that it was Valentine's Day after hearing some of the older, teenaged girls in her common room talking about love notes and secret admirers, but she didn't care much either way. In fact, it was really hard for her to care much about anything these days as tired and achy and cranky she was lately. The former redhead seemed to have lost her zeal for life lately, whatever was left of it.

One of the bad things about living in Ravenclaw tower was the very, very long walk to get to really anywhere, especially when food was involved. Sure, she hoarded her share of healthy snacks in her dorm, but what was a girl to do when she had to get her three squares a day? Overcooked vegetables were a must and she just couldn't escape going down to the Great Hall. And, as it seemed, the first year was hungry once again so she had no choice but to make her way slowly down to the Great Hall yet again, her bones creaking with every step down the moving stairs. Funny how once upon a time she was eager to explore where they might lead. Today she was just thankful they stayed put.

Once she shuffled into the Great Hall in her stylish-as-they-come orthopedic shoes, Brynn squinted at the sight in front of her. What was going on here? She looked around at the tables and decorations in mild confusion, then shuffled her way further inside, looking for a place to sit so she could get something to eat. She was able to pick out a familiar face in the crowd and she made her way over. "Hi Fern," she said, managing to give the girl a small smile. She started to pull out the seat next to her, stopping as she noticed a napkin on the seat. Mmk. Taking the seat next to that, Brynn carefully lowered herself, tucking a lock of grey hair that had fallen out of her bun behind her ear. "So.. what's all this?" Fern would probably know, she was always up on the news.

PFFT. Hardly!!!

"I'd like to see you have a go!" No seriously, he was offering up his position for like... 10 minutes at least? Theo cast a look back at the booth and sighed because there were people hovering around there. At least Alexa was still there. He'd leave them all to her for now, because he had a dance to claim. "You wouldn't have the nerve to kiss me? Aw, come on... I'm not that bad." He was half kidding, but half... not. He'd be lying if he said getting a kiss from Ella tonight wasn't his mission.

Theo nodded and looked around the hall. "Looks amazing." Oh, Alice was being annoying and violent again? "I thought the pinata was for the other students to beat up." And when Alice Fischer had a bat, no one else was likely to get a look in.

"Where's your date?" Theo hadn't seen him at all yet. Not that he was looking for him. Or maybe he was.

Jun frowned. Was she mad because he was late? Or because he convinced her to come to the ball? He just didn't want her to be bored in her dorm and all alone. Jun invited her on friend terms. Because that's what they were. Best friends, actually. "Are you mad that I made you come? Because we can leave if you want," Which is what he might do actually. He needed to drop off chocolate to Lex to survive the night and maybe enjoy himself a bit with Char here. Then they could both just be gone from this place and stuff their faces with treats somewhere. "Oh, thanks. You look really nice too," And she did. But when was a time she didn't?

Grin.
More like big grin.

At least she liked it. And thanks to his cousin, Kimberly, it wasn't too hard to find. Having a fashionista in the family paid off when getting girls gifts. Not that it happened too often. "You're welcome. My cousin spotted the shop where I bought, so I thought you might like it,"

"Not allowed. Besides, there wouldn't exactly be a crowd if it were me. You and Lex seem to be doing pretty well for yourselves over there." And she was glad. Now to see if they could get through the night without Alexa hitting Theo over the head with the sign for the booth. Fingers crossed. Wait, what? Ella smiled a little and shook her head. "Not what I meant, Kinsley." She was referring to a hypothetical older student, not him specifically. "I just wouldn't have had the nerve to go to a kissing booth in my first year, is all." Would he have? If she recalled correctly, the snake still believed in cooties back then.

Amazing. This earned the sixth year a big grin. It was nice to hear, especially since she'd been stressing out about things not going as planned. "I'm just glad people showed." Ella glanced over towards the pinata and then back to Theo, shrugging. "It's for any student and since Alice is one, she's free to play. She does get a bit swing happy though, yeah? Wouldn't want to be on the wrong end of that bat."

Alec? Ella glanced over towards the photo booth and smiled a little. "Probably talking hair with Mo." And really, it wasn't fair to put the two of them together in one place. Distracting, y'know? "I'm probably headed there next. Making the rounds and all. Where's yours?" Just curious.

Hope smiled and just leaned back in her chair looking around. Well, it wasn't too hard to apologize. She would have to try that more often. She took a deep breath and flexed her fingers. The joints were killing her and she would give anything for it to stop. "Crazy stuff this year, right? What with a majority of the school population aging." Herself included, not that anyone would be able to tell. A box of hair color and a small potion for the wrinkles soothed everything...except the joints.

She looked down at the blue nail-polish chipping of her fingers. "So...do you dislike this holiday, not mind it too much, or feel like it's the greatest thing on the planet?" After all, he was here alone, yes? No date in sight yet.

Still looking around for Adi, Sophie thought about how she still hadn't really told anybody (but Caleb) that she'd said yes to being the Hufflepuff boys' Valentine. Well, she hadn't really even told Caleb, so to speak. He'd just been sitting there when it happened. There were still so many reactions the different Greingoths would have upon discovering this.

Then she heard him...

He sounded so cool, calm, and collected, that she felt her own nervousness plunge dive into pretty much nothing at all. Besides, why was she even nervous in the first place? This was ADI! She'd been friends with Adi since...well, when she started Hogwarts!

She looked beautiful? Normally, Sophie would grin and say, 'I know', but this time, she thought she should actually give him a decent answer. "Thank you, Adi. You look..." What was the word? Ahh... "Handsome," she replied. She glanced across the Great Hall. "Pretty cool, huh? The Ball, I mean. Hmm...where to go first..."

Tessa brushed back her loose hair over her shoulder. Despite the grey hair, she had strengthened the colors, but had faded all of the colors to a purple that matched her dress.

She hated to admit it- after all, she and Sander had been dating for a few months now- but she was nervous about tonight. Their first Valentine's day together, there was bound to be pressure. She took a breath and entered the hall. She looked around and as soon as she saw Sander, all of her worries and nervousness dissipated.

"Hello there," she said, moving up to him and slipping her hand into his. "You look absolutely dashing," she said, before kissing his cheek.

She looked around and saw that their friends had already beaten her there- that was fine. She was moving slower nowadays. "Hello everyone!" she said with a bright smile. "Everyone looks wonderful!"

Sorry for the delay. Mentions of Adi, Lux, Alex, Louis, Bay and TessaA
 

Sander waved over at Adi in greeting wondering who the younger Puff had for a date. Sander didn't have to wonder too longv as he saw Adi approach a beautiful girl whom he recognized to be a Slytherin. Sander smiled to see that his young friend had a date to the ball tonight.

But wait here was his bestie, Alex.



Sander smiled at Alex when he saw her come over to join both Lux and him. "Hey Twin. You look gorgeous tonight. You need to promise me a dance. I can't guarantee you I won't step on your toes though," Sander grinned over at Alex. He wanted to ask her who her date was for the evening, just in case he had to ask him permission to dance with her. But decided not to. He hoped that when the time came to dance with Alex, her date wouldn't object.

....and then came along Louis. He wondered who he was taking to the dance tonight.



"Hey Louis. You're looking really sharp tonight...Who's your da..." Sander stopped in midsentence when he saw Louis bow to Lux. Sander smiled. He was glad that both his friends would be accompanying each other tonight. He hoped that Louis would be able to prevent Lux from randomly kissing every boy who said that she looked nice tonight...of which Sander suspected there would be many.

"You think I look okay, Louis? I don't look like a walking eggplant do I? I've never worn lilac before, but Annie told me that I look nice enough." he grinned at the mention of his sister. She had somehow managed to find out from Claire what dress she would be wearing at this event tonight and had suggested he wear accompanying colors. Sander quite liked the sound of that. Matching couples.



....and Sander smiled when he saw Louis give Lux her valentine's gift. Sander too had bought Tessa a gift. He was holding it nervously in his hand, and hoped that by the time he got to give it to her, it wouldn't be wet with perpiration.

"Are you sure I look okay, Lux? You're not just saying that just so I won't get my feelings hurt. I want to look just right for Tessa," Sander nervously asked Lux again. He adjusted his tie one more time as he looked out for his sweet Valentine.





Sander's eyes spotted Bay coming over to join them. He was going to call out a greeting but then he noticed Bay sneaking up behind Louis and held his tongue until the younger Gryffindor called out Louis' name right behind the boy. Sander laughed and slapped Bay on the back.

"Well Louis...you've got your answer. Bay has decided to join us. Looking good, Bay. Can I assume you're going to dance with Lux over here at least once tonight?" He teased both his friends. Sander looked behind Bay,"Who's your date, Bay? I actually thought you were going to bring Lux. Too bad, Louis beat you to it." he winked at Lux and then back at Bay.



"I agree everyone looks nice tonight. Both ladies and gentlemen," Sander agreed in unison. Everyone was here except Tessa. Sander smiled. He woulcn't want for Tessa to make her grand entrance. He was sure that she would make a stunning one.

....and there she was....HIS VALENTINE!!....and she was absolutely breathtaking. Everyone in the room paled in comparison to her beauty. In his eyes, Tessa was hands down, the Belle of the Ball.



Sander smiled at lovingly at Tessa and took her hand, "Hi gorgeous...and you are you know. You look absolutely breath taking in that gown. Happy Valentine's Day, Tessa," Sander kissed gently on the lips before pulling out his present that he had held behind his back.

"I hope you like them," Sander smiled down at her. He had finally decided to buy her a heart shaped box of chocolate cauldron cakes.

Andrew couldn't hold back a grin at the familiar girl's surprise. "The Macaroons are lovely." He agreed with a smile. "I'm very sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." he then added. It had certainly not been his intention to frighten her. It was rare for him to reach out to people he didn't know, and on this rare attempt at human contact, he'd managed to scare her.

Andrew wasn't sure whether or not they had classes together, but after getting a closer look at her and placing her accent, he was certain he had seen Justine somewhere before. "I think we may have." He answered her question thoughtfully. He knew for sure he wouldn't have forgotten such a pretty face, and certainly not one that had also been sorted into Ravenclaw!

"Perhaps I've seen you around the Common room?" He suggested. He was unsure of just how long the familiar girl had been going to Hogwarts. She'd obviously transferred recently, but just when was impossible to know without asking. "I'm Andrew, by the way." He added with a smile and an outstretched hand.

Tessa couldn't help but feel warm at the smile Sander was giving her. It was as if she were the only other person in the room... and honestly, she hadn't noticed her friends until after she had come beside him.

She laughed as he spoke. "Speak for yourself," she said, taking a step back to appreciate how he looked. However, that was until he brought out her present. "Oh Sander! You shouldn't have..." she trailed off as held it in front of her. Taking it gently, she opened it a bit to see what was inside. "Oh goodness- you have no idea how tempted I am to eat all of these now," she told him so that only he could hear. "Thank you," she said, leaning forward to kiss him on the lips once again.

"Would you like yours now?" she asked, bringing out his gift with a grin. "Happy Valentines day," she said, handing him the gift wrapped Maple Fudge.

"Really? Nothing can compare to your beauty though. I love the way you did your hair. I'm glad Annie didn't steer me wrong with my color combination. She hinted that you might be wearing something similar in color. I just hope I don't look like an eggplant next to you," he grinned sheepishly at her, awkwardly adjusting his tie again.

"You on the other hand look like the Swan Princess in that Swan lake ballet. So graceful and stunning," Sander smiled down at Tessa.

Sander waited with abated breath as he watched Tessa open the present he gave her and then blushed when she leaned over to kiss him.

....yes that kiss alone made his heart do that funny little dances again. Something that he was now getting used to. He really loved that feeling a lot.

"I'm glad you love your present....and feel free to eat them now if you want. Maybe we can feed each other like we did before," Sander winked at her and then it was his turn to be surprised.

"Oh Tessa you didn't have to do that. Yes I would love to have it now," Sander thanked Tessa as he took his present from her and opened it. His eyes opened wide with surprise when he uncovered what she had given him. Sander found himself tearing up and quickly blinked back the tears. Tessa's gift reminded him of home. He gently traced the the Fudge.

"Let me guess. It's Maple Fudge isn't it? Thank you so much, Tessa. I love Maple fudge because it reminds me of home," Sander leaned over to kiss Tessa gently on the lips.

"Thank you again, for agreeing to be my Valentine," he whispered to her as he leaned back from the kiss.

Then he began to grin devilishly. "Would you be interested in taking a ride with me on the Tunnel of Love," he whispered in her ear, so that no one else would hear him.

Sophie's compliment made Adi grin and made him feel even more confident. Even the annoying gray hairs could not put a damper on his spirit which seemed to have soared ever since Sophie had said yes to being his Valentine. So, yep. No need to be nervous.

"Indeed it is,'' Adi replied, casting another sweeping glance around the Hall. Games, maybe? Tunnel of Love? Er...maybe later. "How about the photo booth?'' he suggested. He'd like to have this memory forever, please! Hehe.

Oh! And he almost forgot even though he'd been holding the small box in his hands all along. Adi had brought along a gift for Sophie. He held out the box. "I hope you like it, Sophie. Happy Valentine's Day.'' And without thinking, Adi leaned forward and brushed his lips against her cheek.

After applying her second coat of chap stick, Fern pocketed the tube and compact and fluffed her skirts. The only bad thing about sitting at a table was that her legs, and more importantly, her shoes were under the table skirt, and she couldn't admire how sparky they were.

But that was okay. Once she and her date were on the dance floor, everyone would be saying, "WOAH! LOOK AT FERN QUIMBLEY WORKING THOSE KILLER HEALS!"

Fern was giggling in delighted anticipation of this when Brynny arrived. The 12-year-old turned in her chair at the sound of the Ravenclaw's voice, a huge smile on her face that quickly turned into a frown. "Brynny," Fern began tentatively but stopped to possessively grab the back of her date's chair when the first year tried to pull it out.

Drama was avoided when her friend took a seat in the other chair, and Fern let go of her grasp on the chair to rearrange the napkin. There. Perfect. Everything needed to be perfect. And it was - almost.

The chair was perfect. The table was perfect. The decorated Great Hall was perfect. Fern was perfect.

But Brynny.

Brynny was not perfect.

"It's the Half-Hearted Ball," Fern answered slowly. How did Brynny not know this? And what was she wearing? The Ravenclaw's pajama pants were cute, but they were pajama pants. And her shirt. "No Boyfriend. No Problem."

Ummm, more like BIG problem!

"Where's Kace!? Didn't he ask you!? Sure Brynny's hair was grey now, but if you looked at it just right, it could almost pass for silver. And anyway, it wasn't her fault. It was Tora Gallaway's (Fern still needed to have a talking with that girl). AND, AND, LOVE WAS BLIND!

Lux, Sander with a mention to Louis, Bay & Tessa
 

Alex finally reached her friends and smiled at how nice they looked all dressed up. "Hi Lux", Alex said. Hearing Lux's compliment, Alex replied, "You are looking very lovely yourself". "I love your dress.". And then the question she knew would come up sooner or later. "Date? Oh, I'm flying solo tonight.". Alex gave what she hoped was a convincing smile. You know, that smile that said...Yes, I'm here alone and I'm just fine with that. Not really, but I will never admit it.



Then Alex turned to her name twin and said, "Hi Sander". "You are looking very dapper tonight." She couldn't help but blush a little when Sander said she looked gorgeous. "Thanks twin, but I bet you say that to all the girls." Alex laughed and said, "I'll promise you a dance, that is if Tessa will let you out of her sight.. She doubted that she would and would not blame Tessa one bit for wanting her valentine to all to herself, especially tonight.

As the room started to fill, Louis, Bay and Tessa joined the group. Alex greeted the newcomers. "Hi everyone, you all look great." She watched as everyone started to pair up with their respective dates. Ahhhhh, it was just about time for Alex to make her move.....go and whack the piñata or something. No being a fifth wheel for her, no sir.

Catching up to Lux, Sander, Bay, Tessa & Alex!
 

Louis tried not to look TOO relieved when Lux confessed that she hadn’t seen much of Bay lately. Good, so this meant he wasn’t the only one who hadn’t seen the Gryffindor in a while; so it wasn’t like Bay was avoiding specifically him or anything.

Lou turned his attention to Sander as the young man complimented him, something to which the Gryffindor responded with a smile. “Thanks, mate.” But as he went on to ask for reassurance that he didn’t look like a walking eggplant, Louis laughed aloud. “An eggplant?!” he repeated between chuckles, holding back the tears of amusement that were threatening to fill his blue eyes. “Don’t worry mate, you look great. I like the outfit,” Lou assured him with a nod of his head. He really did, though. Sander had nothing to worry about.

And then, out of nowhere — ”LOUIS!!!!!!!”
Louis jumped in his seat, eyes wide and face pale with surprise when someone screamed directly behind him. He felt his heart in his throat as he turned around sharply, only to find THE ONE, THE ONLY — BAY! At the sight of his best mate, Louis’s expression lit up with the widest of grins.

“Bay!” He jumped up to his feet and greeted his friend with a hug, as if he hadn’t seen him in seven years, rather than just a few days. He couldn’t help it, though; he’d really missed him. “Where’ve you been, mate?!” he asked, shoving the other boy by the shoulder playfully, as if upset to have been abandoned without warning. “You’ve been missed, y’know.” Louis looked around Bay for a moment before returning his gaze to the boy, “Where’s your date?”

It was then that Tessa arrived, as well as Alex, who he remembered from spending Christmas break at Sander’s mansion. “You look lovely, girls,” he said, giving them a polite smile, and trying not to look too amused as Sander and Tessa quickly went on lovey-dovey couple mode. Mann. Good thing he wasn’t going to have to witness all the love by himself and Lux was there to suffer along with him.

all you lot, Tessa, Sander, Lux, Alex, Louis..if i missed anyone I'm sorry <3
 

Bay tired to hold back his laughter as Sander saw him coming and said nothing… he made a note to thank him later… for the reaction of Louis was so funny.. "Ha…" he said… "I haven't been feeling well… but I'm okay now…." he told his best mate… "errr I don't think I have one..just going to hang out with you lot if thats okay?" he responded..

Joining the full group now Bay looked at everyone…they all looked so great.. "Sander that outfit is awesome man…you should pick mine out for the next event if there is one" he said returning the clap on his back.. "Wheres???" he started to say wheres Tessa but she joined the group then as well.. phew he wasn't the last one to arrive.

"Tessa….wow…you look…" he looked over at Sander "your a lucky man mate…" he said laughing… then there was the two other girls.. and they both looked amazing.. and it was great to see both of them.

He bowed in their direction.. "Lux….Alex….you ladies look amazing as well…very pretty indeed" he bent back up and gave each of them a wink… "hows everyone doing.. i've missed you all so much…" he continued.. he hated to be away but when ones sick they really don't want to do much.. Bay had been in bed most of the time.. except for the Quidditch match..he couldn't miss that.

Taking a quick peek again at Lux when she wasn't looking he thought to himself. "wow…she's really growing up…nice little pink dress" thank goodness no one could read minds, he would have to defiantly dance with both Alex and Lux…and maybe Tessa if Sander would give her up.. if…….

For Annalee :3!
 

Kace never really went to balls like this. Especially when the theme was like Valentine's day. But apparently Annalee asked him to go with her and he couldn't refuse. He thought it would be fun to go with a friend. As he made his way into the great hall, he realized it all changed. It was amazing. It was really decorated for valentine's day. It was all red and had the candies on the tables. Annalee said for him to wait here. She would be there shortly, she was just getting last minute things done to her outfit.

He just wore his causal attire and was waiting to dance. He was hearing the band play and he thought their music was kind of awesome. He spotted an open table and put his coat on it. He sat down and waited for his date to arrive. He even noticed some of his friends made it here too. He even had a little gift for her since he didn't repay her back during christmas. He hoped she liked it.

For all you amazing people
 

Was she ever really mad at Jun though? She did get annoyed easily and she would get upset often but she always got over it once he told her he was only joking or whatever. Basically, no, she wasn't actually mad at him because he was her Giant and staying mad at him for more than five minutes seemed close to impossible at this point. Charlotte smiled a bit at him and shook her head. "Just moody, sorry. I'm not mad. But if I get too bored, can we leave?" She didn't think being in her room would be much fun at this point but from the looks of things, she didn't think she'd enjoy being here either? People just /weren't/ her forte. "For an old person?" Really though, she knew she looked weird but it was nice of Jun to compliment her anyhow.

By the look of his grin, she knew he was happy that she was happy with it, at least. It really was such a nice necklace though. If she ever happened to get the chance to meet whoever this cousin was, she'd have to make sure to thank him. She'd also have to make sure never to lose it but she figured wearing it all the time would help with that. "Can you put it on for me, please?" Since it had multiple colors on it, it matched what she was wearing anyhow so this was really perfect. Jun really was such a nice boy.

Everyone is here <3 Tessa, Alex, Louis, Bay and Lux
 

Sander grinned as he looked down at Tessa and then over to Alex and then winked,"Thanks. I think once I'm convinced I don't look like an eggplant, I'll believe all of you. As for dancing with you, I'm sure Tessa won't mind. I'm sure Bay and Louis will want to dance with her too, and you and Lux too. So don't go too far," he smiled gently down at her.

.....and then it was on to Louis...



Sander chuckled along with Louis as he looked down at his suit again. "I'm glad that you find my analogy funny. You look great too. You're definitely not a walking eggplant. Nope not at all. If you did, I'm sure Lux would be the first to tell you," he grinned at Louis looking knowingly at Lux.

...then he shared a knowing look with Bay.



Sander stepped forward to join both his friends, once Louis had been sufficiently surprised. He burst out laughing when Bay asked him to help him pick out his next suit. "Are you sure man? Could end up looking like the Pepto Bismol man," Sander laughed looking pointedly over at Lux's beautiful pink dress. "Or maybe like an Omelette. I hear that Lux likes the color yellow too."



Sander blinked in surprise when Lux asked both and Tessa the exact question he had just whispered to Tessa. Then he quickly recovered. "Oh we don't have to go there. This hall is one gigantic tunnel of luuuvvveee. I won't be surprised to find you in there myself," Sander grinned down at his young friend.

....yes he was teasing her, but after hearing about her latest fad for kissing boys randomly, he hoped that he wouldn't find her there.

Then he turned to congratulate Bay as he slapped an arm around the younger man's shoulders.

"Yes Bay. Congratulations on a game well played. I'm sorry I wasn't on the stands to cheer you on. I have been feeling sick the last couple of days myself too. But like you, I couldn't miss this dance....and I'm glad I didn't," Sander told his friend even as he looked down at Tessa and squeezed her hand to tell her that she was reason he was here now.

....and he was loving every minute of it.

West, Austin and Penelope at the end.
 

Even though she was still half-distracted by wanting to ask if she could try out the guitar, since she wasn’t about to leave the ball just to go get her own guitar from up in the tower, Lily had still returned the grin West had given her in response to her question. Of course she knew guitars, but then he probably didn’t know that. “Thanks. Actually, I play. I have my acoustic up in my dorm…,” she began, only to be distracted as others had walked over. A pretty blonde, who had gotten a salute, followed by someone who was definitely familiar to her. Someone who actually made her feel a bit self-conscious as she seemed like she’d sort of not dressed up as much. It had just felt more comfortable to only sort of dress up. She hadn’t work her jeans and boots, like she’d done pretty much all term aside from that time in the dance lesson. Nothing had made her really feel like this was a formal occasion, even if it had been called a ball. Student Wizarding rock bands usually didn’t play at a formal ball.

She’d still given Austin a smile, though. “You look better. I didn’t think we needed to really dress up,” she admitted honestly, keeping her hands entwined behind her back, where they’d been ever since she’d first noticed the guitars up on the stage. At least he could stop her from asking if she could play something. She hoped he would. He had gotten her attention mostly away from the boys up on the stage, anyway. Enough that she’d started looking around at the other students nearby. It kind of seemed like everyone had different ideas as to what the appropriate attire was for the event, but that only made her feel less awkward. The blonde who had gotten the salute from West and then asked about going up on the stage hadn’t dressed really formally. Looking at Austin closer, he wasn’t massively dressed up either. It wasn’t really a proper suit, just a lot c loser than her dress and denim jacket was to a gown. Like the one the other girl who had approached the stage was wearing, but she still nodded in her direction, along with returning the smile. “Hi.”

snobby Austin mention in here too sort of lol And Lottie
 

"Who doesn't these days, right?" West was lucky not just that he had a certain natural intuitive skill with his music, but that he had the sort of charisma to pull off fronting a band. Or he'd not be much distinguished from everyone else who had a guitar in this place. "Maybe we could jam some time."

And... now she was talking to the snobby new dormmate who never spoke to any of the rest of them. Her boyfriend, West was pretty sure. He shrugged. "Well I hope you both enjoy the show." Yes, we're right here bro. Could say hi rather than be rude and ignore everyone else. But whatever, no skin off West's nose.

"Well hi, Dels." Grin. West leaned down "Oh really?" She wanted up here? "We'll see, you might think we suck." Nah. She wouldn't. They didn't.

"I'm glad you've come."

And of course Loppy went for the pizza. West cracked up. He HAD thought of her when he'd suggested it, honestly.

"Thanks for coming, Loppy." Even if it was mostly for Ascanius, West liked to think it was a bit for him too.

And his best BRO! West saluted back and did an air!brofist, but didn't try to interrupt since Ella appeared and was being all friendly or whatever. He grinned and went back to getting himself situated, and generally waiting for Scan and Ves.

"You look classy." West was a fan. Nice suit that Nigel was wearing and all that. "Contrast, sure. You look all angelic and whatnot." Grinnnn. West's own choice of black and red was certainly rather... rock and roll.

Oh hey and there was Lottie! West waved at her. He liked her shoes. Suited her.

"Is Blue coming?" West asked, and then promptly put a pick between his teeth, just holding it there while he continued to tweak the tuning.

Waiting for Lily to acknowledge that he was here definitely was interesting though not entirely unexpected as Austin noticed the guitars on stage and knew that she had wanted to ask if she could play one, that was pretty obvious by now but it mean that his timing had been pretty perfect since distraction methods needed to be put in place immediately so that someone ended up forgetting about the guitars entirely. Of course, not exactly something that was easy by any means but hadn’t exactly meant that he wasn’t going to try at all seeing as that would have been pretty pointless. Before he even had the opportunity to consider what to do, it appeared that she finally seemed to notice him. “I wanted to dress up though. Not many times you’d get to see me wearing a suit. But I still think you look beautiful.” he said before moving over slightly to kiss her cheek. Wasn’t every day that he saw his girlfriend in a dress so whenever he did, it wasn’t like anything he could explain. Like there were no words in the English language that could properly articulate what he tried to be able to say.

He quickly took a look around the room to see who else was there right before his attention was right back on the Ravenclaw since he wasn’t about to suddenly stop paying attention to her, at least for no reason. “So, maybe this ball means that we can actually dance together. Wasn’t much fun the last time, then again I had a dance partner who appeared to think I didn’t know what I was doing which was more than irritating. Plus I mean I would have rather danced with you anyway.” he commented, while realizing that he had a gift for her in his suit jacket. At least he thought he put it there, what would have been fantastic was if the box was sitting back in the Slytherin boys dorm but after a check of the picket right inside of the jacket, he managed to find the white box and handed it to her. “Happy Valentine’s Day Lily.”

Anna walked in quickly, she knew she was running just a tad late but she’d decided last minute to change her dress, and shoes… and hair… and well, everything. At least she got it done quickly and she didn’t have to leave Kace waiting too long. She smiled thinking of him, and how excited she was to know she was here to go with him. She straightened her dress one last time hurriedly before going in. She glanced around the hall and smiled slightly. She thought it all looked amazing, of course, it would look better once she was with Kace, maybe she’d get lucky and run into Romulus too.

And there he was. Annaleecia went over and gently tapped him on the shoulder with a small smile, “Mind if I join you?” She looked up at him, fighting back the butterflies in her stomach that she’d always got around him. She smiled and gently twisted the small package in her hands, and showed him the cupcakes, “If you’d like some… I made two for each of my friends here.” She nodded.

West & Nigel; AND OTHER PEOPLE
 

I'm, you know, with the band. Rawr!
 

Vesper was definitely taking her time in showing up to the party. It was Valentine's day; the most stoopid...POINTLESS DAY to ever exist...ever. Luckily for her, though...Ves didn't have to worry about couple-y activities like dancing...or snogging...or anything else they did. Nope, she'd be safely on stage, behind her keyboard, doing the music thing with her guys. Guys that annoyed her to no end, yes...but they were hers. So, what could she do?

BEAM.

...And no, despite how public this party was, the Ravenclaw wasn't nervous. In fact, she was probably the most peaceful she'd been since arriving at the school. There was something about losing herself in the music that caused an amazing adrenaline rush. She'd been anticipating it for weeks; inspiration (via anticipation) hitting her at odd times like quidditch practices and lessons. To quell the growing excitement, Ves had been back and forth with her mum about clothing and the gig...(which her parents were so proud about....shockingly.) Unlike the golden disaster from the Quidditch Awards banquet, this dress was plain black, simply cut...It showed more skin that she would have liked...but she was refusing to think about it. Also, heels...There were heels!...and no, she wasn't upset about them.

It'd taken hours to get ready, of course...a large portion of the time spent on the 'tattoos' littering her skin now. Up and down the outside of her left leg, red flower petals were carefully sketched in clusters, centered by silver gems; a sticking charm being awesomely useful for the occasion. It was so good that Vesper rocked the charms...as it was making this easier without a Dora's help this go 'round. The red flowers were also scattered sparsely on her right forearm and then her right shoulder, one on her collar bone...and then the cheek.

There were reasons for the effort, of course. The main one, though, was that all eyes would be on her...THEM soon...and she HAD to look like an awesomely bad-butt chick. There was no getting passed it. The boys would look awesome. She had to try. And if people DIDN'T know...It was NOT easy for any girl to stand next to them, gosh. Stoopid male models, they were. At least Vesper brought talent to the table.

...And with that singular thought in mind...HER TALENT...she stepped into the Great Hall, attempting to exude all the confidence. She was still peaceful...but the adrenaline was already started to wriggle its way into her veins. Could she just...get on stage already? She wanted to start yesterday. A Nigel and West were already there, of course...and fangirls...Vesper grinned, trying to hide it as she approached. "Seriously, the both of you should know better than to wear suits. These girls stand no chance." Yes, that was playful, wasn't it?

As she stepped up to the stage, she beamed at those assembled. There was a girl...who Vesper thought was named Delilah...Penelope...."Lottie!" She was so PLEASED to see the Hufflepuff girl here...Oh, and there was Ascanius coming in, too. Vesper gave him a rather BRIGHT beaming look...and she might have been bouncing in place...

EXCITEMENT, OKAY?!...but also, STARE. STARING AT BAND MEMBERS. Male models, you know? There was legit reasons for staring. Aheeeem. Charms must have been in place because they didn't look old and stuff.

ALL you guys <3
 

Theo snorted. "There would. And I'd be at the front." He grinned wide. Sure, he was kidding, but he really WOULD be at that booth straight away if Ella was fronting it. It was like a childhood dream. Whatever, though. Wasn't meant to be. Him and Alexa were doing well???! "Mmmm... she's being unusually nice. And she gave me a chocolate so if I keel over and die it is because she poisoned it." He giggled and nodded. "Me too." 100%.

"Course they did." As if these people could resist a big soppy event like this for valentine's. The bunch of soppy... buggers. "This school is bursting with couples." Made him sick. Theo followed her gaze over to the pinata again, and shrugged. Yeah, he really didn't wanna talk about Alice Fischer on valentine's day, thanks. "Too right." He shuddered at the thought.

LOL.

Talking hair. Talking about grey hair?

Theo chuckled, and hoped Ella wouldn't notice. "Well, before you do, you owe me that dance, remember?" That was pretty much why he hadn't let her escape already. Were the band gonna start playing soon, orrrrrrrr? Oh. His date? Hm. Theo's grin faded to a regular one, because he wasn't bothered exactly, just a bit bummed. "Don't have one." He said, fiddling with his tie once again.

Justine couldn't help but return the young man's grin, he had an air of intelligence about him, and he certainly seemed more comfortable in a suit than most of the other boys, and Justine found herself filled with curiosity about the young man.
She nodded pleasantly as he easily agreed with her about the pastries, hmm, the boy seemed impervious to silliness, interesting.
"It's okay, I should 'ave been paying more attention," Justine said. Taking a petite bite of a burgundy colored macaroon that tasted a bit like elfin wine, Hogwarts certainly had outdone herself, the pastries, drinks and other snacks so far were spectacular and imaginative.
Justine held out her plate to him, silently offering the pastries to the young boy with a small smile.

She was still trying to place the young man, even as he said he thought he might know her, she still couldn't think on how, or remember anything about the well-dressed boy before her.
And then he said it.
The Common Room? Oh yes! The boy was a Ravenclaw! She had often seen him reading in the Common Room, whether for pleasure or for profit Justine wasn't sure, but anyone who read as much as the boy did was interesting in her book.

Justine smiled as she shook the boy's-
Andrew's hand.
"Justine, it is a pleasure to meet you," The young girl happily said, she was a naturally friendly girl, and loved meeting new people, especially since transferring to Hogwarts.

"I have seen you in the Common Room! I zhink we are even in the same year," Justine said thoughtfully, taking another small bite of macaroon.

Louis, Bay, Lux & Sander
 

Alex smiled at Louis' compliment. "Why thank you kind sir", Alex replied. How have you been? She had met Louis during the Christmas holidays, but hadn't seen him since then. "I can't wait to hear the band play. Have you heard them before?"




Wow more compliments. Alex thought maybe she should dress up more often. "Thank you", she said to Bay. "It's nice to be out of school uniforms every now and then." "everone looks amazing. I'm glad I decided to come to this ball. I almost didn't come because.......I......didn't want to come alone. So who's your date for the dance Bay?". Alex didn't mean to blurt out that she was here alone. Not so smooth change of subject.



Alex saw that brief look of sympathy?, pity? in Lux's eyes when she said she was at the ball alone. The last thing she wanted was anyone feeling sorry for her. Then Lux said that they could all have fun together, as friends. It was so sweet of Lux to try to keep her from feeling uncomfortable. She was trying to include Alex and keep her from feeling left out. Alex was so grateful to have such a great group of friends. "Thanks Lux, I'd like that. I just don't want to get in anyone's way."



And another sweet and considerate friend.....everyone was going out of their way to include her. "Oh I'll be around., Alex said. "And I'll be waiting for my dance, so don't you forget! Alex was feeling better and better. She wasn't at the dance alone, she had her friends.

*is forever embarrassed*
 

A STATEMENT! someone got it! he wouldnt admit to not knowing how to tie it, he was a guy he toooootallly knew these things, yup. some guidance wouldnt hurt though he looked down at the fabric hanging from his neck and debated losing it now, though it was a nice statement huh? "kinda both." statement, relaxed, i dont know how to do this look. She got that yeah, "you look nice by the way." see, he could compliment a girl, he knew how, and he didnt almost die things were looking up today he could tell

"Im fine though, thanks." you know for asking ad all, yeah how did this social interaction thing work again? help! "oh, you know the band?" whoever they were. Jeremiah had no idea and didnt know any of the kids in said band that was playing, didnt even know kids still did band things, was that a thing, band things, whatever. who was in the band though he didnt know, he looked at the stage though it was a nice setup, that was good.

asdfghjkl

She just had to point out Delilah. Jeremiah turned to look in the direction she was mentioning, towards the stage, and sure enough there she was, Delilah.




Yeah, that was a Delilah, she looked pretty, then again he thought she always looked pretty to be honest, ever since he met her, she just... did. he shook his head, slightly as he looked away and back to Lottie, they were going closer to the stage, yeah? he was all set to go over with her untill he heard Delilah call them over to where SHE was, HER, SHE, DELILAH!

this was obviously a big deal, though he didnt break a sweat or tremble cause he was rather good and keeping all his flaling and freaking out internal and didnt let things show. Clearing his throat he pointed over to where she was and smiled at her, "over there." yeeah, there, that's where he wanted to be/ where they should be cause that's where Lottie wanted to go and well, he supposed he was hanging with this crowd now, though he just wanted the food table.

Seeing Delilah and getting to hang around with her was a good plus though, yup a plus he was very very much ok with.

you lot again <3
 

Bay laughed as Sander told him that he could be bright pink.. "if it looks good why not right?" he winked at his friend.. nothing wrong with a man wearing pinks or purples right… they brought out his eyes.

D'awwwwww Alex was too cute.. "No I'm not here with anyone.. just came to hang out with your friends…" he looked around where was this pretty girls date… surely Alex would have snagged a boy… and the boys who didn't ask her were surely missing out.

"wheres your date??" he asked her quietly for he knew that if she didn't have one he didn't want to upset her.

Kace was sitting enjoying the music, when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and noticed it was Anna! He smiled and got up from his seat and hugged her. "Of course not, have a seat..." he said pulling a chair out for her. The least the gentlemen could do. "Wow you look amazing tonight.." he said nodding towards her dress.

Then he saw a package from her and it was cupcakes. But not ordinary cupcakes...they were valentine themed. He loved them. His sweet tooth was watering. "Oh do not mind if I do..." he said taking the gift and placing it on the table.

Then he thought of his gift. "Oh i have something for you..." he said turning around and picking up the gift he had for her. "I hope you like it." he smiled. "The least i could give to you since you gave me all those gummy worms for christmas." He wanted to be nice and plus who didn't like candy?

Blushing was happening. Compliments, y'know? And because they were doing the not awkward thing, Ella simple beamed back and nudged him gently in the shoulder. "Thanks for saying that." She wasn't buying it though. Just saying. And Lex was being nice to him? "That is a bit odd. Be careful." Because he might have been kidding about the poison stuff but who knew, yeah? "And you're not allowed to die, didn't you know? Head Girl's rules and all." Power had its privileges. And that giggling? N'aww. Cue more grinning from the eighteen year old.

"I guess that's true." She hadn't really noticed to be honest. Spent most of her time in the library these days, or out on the pitch. Who had time to keep up with the love lives of Hogwartians? And the shuddering? Ella shouldn't be so amused by it but she let out a soft laugh before shrugging her shoulders.

If he was laughing at Alec, which Ella was hoping wasn't the case, she was going to ignore it so that no fighting happened. Arguments with Theo were the worst and they'd spent too much time not talking, yeah? So play nice, Theodore. "Mhm, I remember. You want to dance now or?" The music from the sound system was nice enough but she was sort of keen to wait for the band to start up. Wanted to listen too and all. As for him not having a date, Ella smiled a little and raised her eyebrows. "I know your game, Theodore Kinsley." Grin. "You're just here solo so you can sneak in and ask Bellaire to be your Valentine."

Heh.

She'd pay to see that, did he know?

"Yeah. Just have to find her once this is over" Which will be a lot fun considering all the people she knows at each station. Nigel said hi to Delilah and Penelope.....And even Lottie was here. Which was probably for the other three in the band.

99.9 % for them.

Never be one hundred percent. But close enough. Finally they were all here. "Ready as a i will ever be. " Though surprisingly not that nervous. Really now Vesper teasing about suits. Suits were awesome. "I always wear suits to things like this."Nigel said grinning.They were just about done tuning and the only thing left to do was do on stage. Then the real fun starts.

No more practicing with a couple of people watching. Now a whole audience.

"I think we are about ready to start this"

She smiled and blushed taking the seat that he offered her, “Thanks.” She nodded and the blush quickly deepened at the compliment, “I’m really glad you think so.” She looked up at him, “And you look extremely handsome.” Not that was anything new to her… but it was hard to be anything but adorable to someone who had a crush on you.

She smiled and nodded, “Glad to hear it.” Annaleecia twisted one of her curls, “They took a long time to make so you better like them too.” She gave a small wink and giggled. She looked at the box he offered and smiled as she opened it.

“Kace, you really didn’t get me anything.” She smiled at the candy hearts though, thinking they were really sweet, not to mention one of her first actual gifts since her parents had sent her to the orphanage, “Thank you so much.” Anna hugged him tightly and smiled, “I haven’t had any gifts from anyone since I was sent to the orphanage… I really appreciate it.”

Bay
 

Whaaat? Alex was surprised to hear that Bay didn't have a date either. She felt a little better knowing that she wasn't the only one going solo. Apparently he hadn't heard her mumble that she was alone because he asked about her date. "Oh, I'm not here with anyone either. I'm just lucky to have friends who don't mind me tagging along. Besides you don't necessarily have to have a date to have a good time, right? At least she hoped so.....so far so good anyway.

Bay was shocked.. this couldn't be a pretty girl like Alex should have had a date.. "no.. you don't need one im… just surprised…" he said.. then LIGHT BULB… he had a great idea.. since they were both here with just friends…

He stepped back and bowed to her "it would be my honour to escort you around tonight at this dance.. i'll be your designated dance partner..if you want" he quickly added, hopefully that was okay with her.

"No, no, the fault was entirely mine, I'm very sorry."
Andrew had to admit it himself: He was absolutely intrigued by this girl. He had never met anyone like her, and certainly never at Hogwarts. She was so friendly, and she practically oozed intelligence. In a word, she was 'refreshing'. As far as he could tell, she hadn't been put off by his formal fashion sense, or the way he tore into the macaroon she had offered him. "Thank you." He just barely remembered to add as he accepted it.

Andrew adjusted his tie once more, having suddenly become self-conscious of his appearance in the presence of the radiant young woman. He remembered very clearly having seen her around the common room, but it was also awfully clear that they hadn't actually spoken before the Half-hearted Ball.
"Justine!" He nodded enthusiastically. "I knew it was something with a J! It's very nice to met you!" He laughed. "You have a very interesting accent." He commented. "It's beautiful. Is it.. Normandy? No, wait, don't tell me.. Roussillon?" He added, fancying a guess at which french province Justine had grown up in. Chances are he was wrong, as he was no actual expert on France, but he was somewhat of a linguist.

"Go on, tell me. How wrong am I?"

Benny, Hope, & Leah acknowledged here
 

And then there was Cutty. Wrinkly, wrinkly Cutty, who was looking quite the turtle and carrying a camera around his neck and who out of the corner of his eye was keeping up with his payment for Pro-Quidd information from a former Harpy. Payment. It should've been thought of more as a duty or even a promise, but Cutty cared nothing for such things. At least, not as of that day and the days leading up to.

This was the Dead Kneazles, the snippets of guitar licks he'd heard in his common room gave him enough insight to understand that this would be worthwhile. He'd be getting a good seat once the band began to start, but for now he was content to hover keeping Hope Evans in his sights.

Ana had always liked Valentines Day. From when she was little she thought it was pretty great to have a day to celebrate being in love. A day when you could act all lovey dovey with your partner and not get looked at as if you were a pariah for doing so. Although ironically over the past few years she hadn't been all that excited about Valentines Day. Maybe because she was in a relationship and knew that having an attentive and loving boyfriend on one day of the year didn't make up for all the other days when that person broke your heart? This year though she was happy about Valentines Day again all because of Terry. She knew he didn't really see the point in celebrating it but he was doing so for her and so far he was attentive and kind every day since they'd met.

That was why she was glad to get dressed up, even happier that Terry had decided to match with her since she hadn't been expecting it, and walk into the Great Hall on his arm. Everything looked great, even the side for the Anti's looked good. The prefects and captains had really outdone themselves and she was slightly in awe of everything. Ana nodded in agreement when Terry commented on how crowded the hall already was, although she'd been expecting that, and allowed him to lead her over to the side. It seemed like most of the school was here, which was probably because this ball was promising to have something for everyone.

"Do you want to grab something to eat?" Ana asked as she looked up at Terry. She could smell the food from here and it was making her just a bit hungry. It might be a little early to start eating but as the food was out she was sure no one would actually mind. Besides, she figured they could maybe find a seat and have something to eat before she dragged him onto the dance floor.

rearranged a tiny bit
 

Penelope smiled at the other girl and nodded at Delilah. "Definitely. You?" For both of them. And they probably were. This was definitely something to be excited about in her opinion, whether you liked Valentine's Day or this Ball thing or not. They were gonna be awesome.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tegz (Post 11559456) And of course Loppy went for the pizza. West cracked up. He HAD thought of her when he'd suggested it, honestly. "Thanks for coming, Loppy." Even if it was mostly for Ascanius, West liked to think it was a bit for him too.

Was West laughing at her or at something else? Well either way, she grinned at him. "No problem. I wouldn't miss this for anything." 'Cause she wanted to be there for their first performance. And hopefully all the future performances that she was sure would come.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fanficfanatict (Post 11559513) And look at all the people there. They got smiles too.

What, no hi for her? Silly boyfriend. But at least there was a smile. She really liked his smile, y'know? So Penelope still smiled and moved to stand next to him, nudging him gently with her elbow. "Hey. You owe me a dance later." Whenever the band took a break from playing. She hadn't gotten to dance with him at the lesson, and she'd seen him dance with a first year. So no 'I don't dance in public' was gonna be accepted tonight. Heh.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Govoni (Post 11559520) As she stepped up to the stage, she beamed at those assembled. There was a girl...who Vesper thought was named Delilah...Penelope...."Lottie!" She was so PLEASED to see the Hufflepuff girl here...Oh, and there was Ascanius coming in, too. Vesper gave him a rather BRIGHT beaming look...and she might have been bouncing in place...

And there was Vesper, who was looking very happy and unique. Those tattoos (or whatever the word for them were?) looked really neat. Very different from what anyone else was wearing tonight, but a good different. "You look really nice, Vesper," Penelope pointed out matter-of-factly with another smile.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lady of Light (Post 11559541) ... And then the rest of the band were on the stage now. Vesper got a smile and a nod before she turned to look at the other band member. Ascanius.. he was so nice-looking. Goodness. He got a wink, though. A small wink.

And because she was standing next to Ascanius, Penelope noticed the wink Delilah sent his way. Would it be rude if she laughed? Probably. So she bit her bottom lip a little to make sure she didn't, but she was still smiling, almost sorta smirking but not quite. She was amused, okay? Heh.

Bay
 

Alex was surprised when Bay offered to be her escort for the evening. Well why not? With a smile spreading across her face, Alex gave Bay a curtsy. "It would be my pleasure", she said. Who said Valentine's Day couldn't be about two friends hanging out and enjoying each other's company? This night was getting better and better. "Thank you for coming to my rescue. I know we'll have fun.". Here's to redefining Valentine's Day!

Everyone and the last part because he's going Awww xD
 

Sander placed his hands to his heart, pretending that he had just been hit there, "You have just shot an arrow through my heart, name twin. How could you ever think that I would forget you. I'm deeply saddened," Sander feigned sad puppy dog eyes as he looked over at Alex before breaking into a grin.

"Now you're going to have to owe me two dances, and I'll make sure you pay up before the night is over," he winked at her.

Then he turned his attention to Bay.



"I guess you're right. Besides Tessa's always beautiful no matter what she wears, so I don't really mind wearing accompanying colors. I'm just happy to be with her," Sander told Bay even as he leaned over to kiss Tessa on the forehead.





Sander could help but smile. He was glad that Bay had asked Alex to be his date for the night. Now both his friends had someone to dance with....when he wasn't dancing with Alex and Bay wasn't dancing with Tessa and Lux.

"I 'ave an idea, instead of each of us blaming ourselves, we blame something else entirely," Justine said coyly, laughing lightly as the boy claimed the fault much like she herself had before. Now that Justine thought about it, all the people she had met had been happy accidents, that was a bit worrying as she usually made friends with relative ease, but then, she couldn't much blame herself, she'd had a hard year and was still recovering from the divorce and moving to England with her father.
Justine smiled in amusement as Andrew devoured the macaroon with gusto, ether he didn't care about table manners or he was starving, ether way, it didn't matter to Justine, she just found it kind of funny. "You're welcome," She said.

At the boys enthusiastic response to her name, Justine had to laugh, it was rather adorable, even more so because he didn't seem like the enthusiastic type. She shook her head, her earrings twinkling with the movement. "Oui, it does definitely start with a J, and it's very nice to meet you too," Justine said.

She smiled as Andrew complimented her accent, really she found her voice rather annoying, it was a little deep and tended to occasionally sound too sincere for her liking, not at all soft or sweet like the other girls at Beauxbatons had sounded. "You are very sweet, thank you," She said, before listening as he attempted to place her accents origin. "Ah, you are not very wrong, no, just a little.... Paris, though I spent some time in Giverny, it might be why you 'ad trouble with it," Justine replied. She was impressed enough that he had tried, or that he understood the difference between the dialects, as most people had no idea.

"You were close, do you study language?" The young woman asked.

Bay laughed when she curtsied. D'awww she's to cute… "No problem..and we will have the most fun" he said while sticking out his arm for her to take.. "I won't leave you all night.. you want some pumpkin juice and i'll go running for ya" whats the harm in treating a girl like a queen for the night.. Alex was one of the nicest girls he knew and she totally deserved it. He gave her one of his famous winks. "and defiantly let me know when you want to dance..i might forget" he laughed.



Bay couldn't help but help but blush.. they were way to cute of a couple.. he's even just started calling them "Sandessa" for they are normally together. "you awesome man" he told him… he noticed when Sander smiled at him and Alex going to have fun together, he gave him a big smile right back.

Absolutely anyone
 

It was a given that Dora wasn't going to watch her friend's band from waaaaay back at her stupid booth, yeah? Because she wasn't. Not when it was their first gig, and not when she was never a back seat girl. The sixteen year old had a hold of Alice's hand as she made her way through the crowd that'd already formed, not really saying excuse me so much as parting them where needed with looks and hand gestures.

Very polite of her.

"I want two dances. And I can't let you dance on my toes unless I take off my heels." Which she would if she had to but Alice would be fine dancing on her own two feet, yes? Yes.

When she got to the stage she waved at EVERYONE up there.

Even Ascanius.

Hi friends. Hiiiiii.

They all got grins too.

Sander
 

Alex smiled at Sander's sad face. "Well I am pretty unforgettable", she said laughing. "Two dances though, that's a pretty steep price.......but for you, I'll make an exception. Now go on, have fun with your date and later.....we dance."

Aww. She made him smile. See, Aunt Sierra. Hufflepuffs aren't so bad after all. They were so easy to please, unlike trying to date a Slytherin, who would have just expected way too much. Truth be told, Sophie wasn't sure how she'd like being a Hufflepuff's Valentine, but so far it was actually turning out to be good.

She saw him glance toward the Tunnel of Love and gulped. What was that thing anyway? What happened inside the tunnel? Would she have to kiss him? She was just about to mildly panic, when Adi suggested something completely different. "Oh, there's a photo booth? Cool! Let's go make some memories and document this night!" she replied. Hee hee. It was pretty much her first date, after all. She wondered if it was his first date, too.

She turned and started to walk in that direction, but Adi surprised her by having a gift for her. She smiled at him and took the box. Opening it, she revealed a pretty heart bracelet. "Oh, I love it! Thanks, Adi," she said. But then--... "You've gotten me so many gifts already, and i haven't you anything yet." She frowned. "Next Hogsmeade weekend, you have a free box of candy--my treat."

She was casual about things until Adi changed the WHOOOOOOLE atmosphere in the next second. He kissed her on the cheek. She froze and her face turned a light shade of pink. "Errr..." She blinked, trying to compose herself. "Thanks, Adi. I, err..." She smiled and finally said, "Sorry. That was sort of...my first kiss and all."

Anyone/ Band peeps!
 

Kace smiled and was glad he gave her the gift. "Oh it was nothing to it. It was just a little something anyways." he grinned towards her. He really did like her dress, it did compliment her figure. Plus she commented on how handsome he was which he liked. He even saw her blush. He knew she liked him, but he didn't wanna call her out on it.

"Well enough of this gift giving bonanza, let's go out and dance. I mean this band is playing really good music." he said his foot tapping. He got out of his seat and offered her his hand to take her out on the dance floor. "Would you care to dance with me Ms.Anna?" he asked all proper like.

She let Dora drag her without complaint, mostly because these shoes had no proper grip and she couldn't resist anyway- see why she needed sneakers? But Alice's submissiveness was also due to the fact that her eyes were glued to the stage. Why were Vesper and West MATCHING? Surely black and red attire wasn't band dress code, as Nigel was decked out in white and Ascanius was wearing Merlin knew what.

..... and usually, dates were the ones who color coordinated their outfits. Ahem.

"I promised you one and only one dance," Alice stated seriously, directing her gaze back to Dora and trying to look as if she hadn't been staring up there. No questions, please. "You're gonna get stepped on, then. And I'm gonna trip. And stumble. And probably fall over." Weren't best friends supposed to save her from the embarrassment, not advocate it?

"I want to get food." Yeah. Clearly. That was why Alice had come over here, unlike all the other Dead Kneazles groupies. Food and just food.

Maybe for the band a little, but mostly for their lead guitarist and stuff. He was pretty.

Bay
 

Alex took Bay's arm when he offered it and said, "Thank you kindly sir". "We will have a fun time tonight." Bay was so sweet and quite the gentleman. "I am a very lucky girl, she added." She was very lucky indeed. Let the partying begin.