Sophie was standing with the BEST posture she could and in the prettiest stance she could as she examined each and every person present, trying to make sense of things and piece together any bit of information about anything and relate traits to people and things, but... she was having no success, and it was VERY frustrating. She bet that charm had been Gabe's idea. He was a stinker like that.

Despite her frustration, she kept a small smile on her face as she analyzed everyone, wanting to look as princess-like as she could WITHOUT going overboard. She couldn't fool anyone into thinking she was a super pretty, dainty girl, but she COULD, at least, try not to look entirely unpleasant and unattractive. The glitter in her hair almost felt like too much, but... she wanted to catch people's eyes, okay? She didn't just want to feel radiant - she wanted to be radiant.

And it seemed that her strategy worked, for a boy who she hadn't even gotten to scrutinize yet was suddenly approaching her and saying hello. He was taller than her, which made her hopeful that it was someone around her age or older, which meant it COULD have been Tobes or Zander. The boy had blond, fluffy hair, and he was dressed... well, he DID look a little dorky in his mannerisms, and that personality trait was the only thing that she could associate with her best guy friends. Still, she wasn't certain just from a hello that the person approaching her wasn't someone awful like Newell or Gabe, even, so... she squinted at the boy. She could tell that he looked a little embarrassed to be in her presence - dazzled by her, even - and that was flattering. But it made her wonder: Tobes and Zander were the only boys in the school that she knew had ever liked her. Did this mean it was one of them, or... would other boys like her, TOO, if she dressed this way all the time and got all dolled up? Was she really that pretty tonight? COULD she have attracted the eye of someone else?

There was a long pause between when the boy addressed her and when she spoke up, as she was cycling through these thoughts, but when she finally brought herself back to the present, she flashed a pearly smile at the boy standing before her. "Hi. You look nice tonight. I like your mask. It makes you look like a superhero. And your suit's dapper." She reached out to brush a single, short blond hair from his shoulder, then casually leaned forward to give him a sniff, wondering if she could identify him from that - and while that scent actually DID smell familiar, she... wasn't sure WHOSE scent that was. She had too many guy friends - Tobes, Zander, Ethan, Paris, Kyroh, Dima, Cutty... sigh. It could've even just been a scent she recognized from sitting by someone in class. There was just no telling.

"...That wasn't weird, I swear. Just trying to see how this... charm thing works and if I recognize your scent and can figure out who you are. M'not a fan of this mystery thing. Though, currently," she hummed thoughtfully for a moment, pulling all over her wavy, glittery hair over one shoulder and stroking through it thoughtfully, "I feel like I must know you. You're cute." From what she could tell and all. "And I just have a feeling."

But there was still that worry in the back of her mind that she'd just said that to someone she detested. What IF? Bleh.

Merlin's Beard. Some of his fellow students really went out with their costumes.

He continued walking past all of the masked students admiring the costumes until he saw a beautiful young lady speaking to a masked handsome guy. Indeed, the two made a handsome couple. Pausing a little bit, he eavesdropped on their conversation to check if they were an item. Before he could really catch anything of the conversation, another person had joined so Simon thought that it would be more than okay to join this conversation. "Yes, their costumes are wonderful. It'll be quite a tough decision for me to make who I should vote for amongst all of you," he said, jumping in with this group as he masked his Australian accent with a proper British one. He had to emulate John Watson perfectly.

Puck just tipped her head at the other newcomer the one who had quietly listened before joining the conversation…whereas she’s just made a prefect-sized-gap in it for herself. See. Bold. She was bold even with a fogged memory.

“Some of the costumes are quite wonderful,” Puck agreed and grinned over to the guy. “Though…I feel sorry for…whoever has to count the ballots,” she admitted and sighed because really who was going to be voted for? How were they going to vote if they didn’t know who was who…wait did they had to wait until after the end of the party to vote? That made sense then maybe people would see just how different people could look.

“Nice mask yourself,” she grinned over to the guy.

Uh. Hi wasn’t all that bad of a greeting, was it? Maybe he could’ve thought that one through some more… Because clearly this girl—whoevershewas—was taking her time to think things through. Feeling a bit uncomfortable, the Gryffindor pretended to turn his attention back to the voting parchment, sparing a couple of quick glances towards the girl all the while. And a veeerry uncomfortable awkward pause later… He wasn’t expecting anything all too good either, what with all the thinking she was doing. Probably trying to find a way to tell him she wasn’t interested or something. Maybe coming up with a snarky remark or two? Normally took Zander quite a bit to think those up too though, so no judgment here.

Though what she said did take him by surprise. Again, he’d been expecting the worst, as he tended to do a lot actually. Oop. Always expect the worst and you can never really be disappointed, right? Eh, Sophie Brown would probably disagree with that. Anyways, he turned his attention completely to the girl now and abandoned his pretend voting parchment all the while. Merlin. All the compliments definitely got a small shade of pink out of his cheeks, but the superhero thing. THAT, is what he latched on to. He hadn’t actually thought about that bit. Superhero. Man, he should’ve come dressed up as Superman or something! Then he’d REALLY look like a hero. I-thanks,” he adjusted his mask a bit as he BEAMED at her.

Whoever this new girl was, she was absolutely brilliant. Kind of reminded him of someone… ”Your dress is really nice too,” and he wasn’t just saying that. This wasn’t one of those ‘you compliment me, so I’ll compliment you’ moments. It may have appeared that way, but it was clear that Zander was absolutely stunned by her looks, so the fact that he thought that much about her dress was probably evident from the moment he walked over. Besides, there had to have been a reason he walked over in the first place. Heh. ”And your mask is really—“ Uh.

… Was she… Sniffing him…? Uh. Okay, so Zander Adair wasn’t exactly the perfect example when it came to normal behavior, but that was definitely erm… Strange to say the least. The Gryffindor gave her a bit of a look, until the moment where she began to explain. Oh. OH, well that made sense. Sort of. If this girl really was new, then she’d be a good fit for Ravenclaw. Or if she wasn’t new… Then she definitely would be a Ravenclaw. He was about to say something too, to assure her that he sort of understood where she was coming from, but she started speaking again before he could—HEHE she thought he was cute?? AHEM, Adair, pull it together.

”Did the sniffing work?” he asked her with a small smile on his lips. He wasn’t quite sure if he thought it was funny or if he thought it was absolutely brilliant, but it was definitely something in the mix. But uh, this didn’t mean Zander Adair was about to walk around this party sniffing people. Just that he thought she was clever. ”Huh. Well, then I must know you too.” ‘Cause with that logic, y’know? He thought she was cute too. Matter of fact. Plus, she couldn’t possibly know him without him knowing her back. And if she had a feeling… ”I’d tell you who I am right now so that we could figure this out once and for all… But I think it might be against the rules?” Though he was very curious now. MERLIN. This mystery thing was the worst. Zander just decided. Sure all the girls looked SUPER FIT with this whole mysterious superhero masked thing going on, but STILL. He wasn’t exactly the patient type and apparently they had to wait until midnight and ugh. Zander Adair was not a fan anymore. NOT. A. FAN. Though he was a fan of this pretty girl. Ahem. Yes, still voting for her.

Walking away from the photobooth area, and away from that spooked girl, Ethan wandered towards the voting table and looked around him. Crossing his arms across his chest, he observed the people around him. Staying true to his ‘detective’ style, he examined each and every one of them based on their movements. They were all blind, figuratively at the moment, and he thought that it would be awesome to do a bit of people watching.

That blond boy over there was the most awkward, that Ethan saw in his short lifetime...definitely not Aegis. The girl he’s with could be Ethan’s female counterpart, what with the sniffing and all that jazz. She’s smart. A Ravenclaw, yes. That other guy over there was oozing with confidence as he spoke, definitely a Slytherin; the girl he’s interacting with is full of herself. Huh...maybe a Gryffindor? But she’s overly confident too, so she must be a Snake. Then there’s the Australian accent. Ethan felt that he should know that accent anywhere, anytime, but the cloud in his brain was preventing him to think properly.

Sighing in annoyance, the detective got his invitation out and fanned himself with it. He should at least cast his vote...the problem is, he doesn't know who to vote because he can't figure out who they are! Merlin, complicated much?

.

.

Oh, well...That was easily fixed if she had the right solvent....and Gabriel was about to go into a spiel about said solvents....buuuuuut then he remembered that THAT would surely give him away. Who else would rant and ramble about something like that?

Ahem.

Quick. What else could he say?

......."Culloden could help." YES. Good one. Professor Culloden was the person to go to for potions' related mishaps. General sense making! "...if it was put on by a potion." Any Ravenclaw would share similar advice...or anyone with common sense. So, he was covered there...

...and the fumbling around was kinda....SORTA....cute? Or...Well, not CUTE cute...but girls who weren't bothered about looking foolish were better than the other kind. The snobby, stuck up group, who always looked as though they'd just smelled something foul. Not that Gabe really liked any girls that weren't Coral Bay...As a species, they were a terrifying lot. Intimidating and insane...VERY insane.

When she stumbled with the hat, it'd been instinct to reach out and help the 'musketeer' to steady herself...but Gabe didn't keep a hand on her for long. It was strange touching someone he didn't know...Or...might have known but didn't recognize. Even with everyone being muddled and disguised...

He cleared his throat.

"So...are you enjoying the party so far?" It wasn't like Gabe to keep the conversation going...So, that meant he had to. For hidden identity's sake. Also, he was enjoying it.

Wow, it was starting to get crowded after here.

Eden made a faaaaace at the advice he offered. "I......don't think Culloden likes me much since....I don't take potions anymore..." Eden wasn't even thinking of keeping her identity secret. Well. It's not that she was shouting I AM EDEN MCGEE to everyone, but she didn't think she was freely giving away hints to her identity.

Ahem.

"I'll probably end up asking Gabe Banner...for help. He's nifty with potions." Was this another hint? Eden wouldn't have thought so. Didn't everyone use Gabe for their potioneering needs? Hmm. "So if you see a girl running around with a mustache...well..that's me." Heh. Maybe she would just...wear it for a few days. Might be fun.

And theeeen the gentleman was helping her keep steady. Oh. Nice. NICE. Eden blushed and grinned at him. "Thanks." Ahem. She was squinting at him now. Hmph. WHO WAS HE? She knew she knew...who he was. It was...all confusing and fuzzy, though. And so far, he was pretty good about not giving away ANY hints about who he was. So he was...smart. Hmph. Was he a....Ravenclaw? Eden didn't think only Ravenclaws could be smart though...hmm.

She'd try not to guess his identity, though. There was something quite exciting about the mystery.

"OH! Yes. Definitely. I think the whole idea is.....fun. I wish more people would have dressed UP, but I guess I misunderstood the dress code.......totally thought everyone would be wearing costumes." She shrugged and grinned a bit. "I don't miiiiind too much though. Everyone looks nice. You look nice. Have I said that?"

She thought she might have....

Oops.

His proud beaming was VERY endearing, and Sophie couldn't help but beam right back at him. "Isn't it?" she sighed in response to the dress compliment, gazing down at her dress longingly and swishing it back and forth a little in admiration. "I feel like a real princess, but also kind of a superhero," she noted, raising a hand up to feel her mask - she adjusted it a little, and even though she couldn't see it, she was envisioning it and its intricate dark pattern. "With the mask, I feel like a princess superhero. Like a hybrid. That's the best thing to be, I think. I wanna be a hero and look good doing it." Heheheheh.

He didn't seem to be entirely put off by her sniffing, which was nice. That meant he was a good person, the kind with a sense of humor, which meant... yes, he was absoLUTELY one of her friends already. Good-looking AND sweet AND had a sense of humor? Yeeeeep. Definitely one of her friends.

"Rules are just more like guidelines anyway. Or, at least, it's entirely boring to follow them all the time. Live a little," she grinned, absentmindedly reaching out to give his shoulder a gentle, playful shove. "But..." There was always a but. "Maybe it'd be more fun if we like... asked each other questions, and tried to figure out who the other person is that way. See if anything comes back to us and if we have any like... give-aways, like a telltale sign of who we are. How 'bout that? Unless you think you already know who I am, then by all means, I'd like to hear your guess." And if he guessed wrong, she would just laugh. But HIS guesses would also be a huge indicator of who HE was. So...

She just gave him a charming, enchanting smile, and noticed for the first time that he looked ready to write his vote down. She pointed at it, letting it flow into their conversation. "Who d'you think is the prettiest person here? Y'don't have to say me to be nice - this is just your first question." Hehehehe.

Zander nodded at her, pretty sure the question was a rhetorical one… But still. He agreed. He was also beaming back a lot wider at the sight of her beaming. Even though he couldn’t quite put his finger on exactly who she was… He hoped they were friends because he really liked this girl. Well, he liked this little window of her at least… ”Huh, I think you’d make a great hybrid princess superhero!” he nodded as if considering the idea. ”As long as you don’t accidentally trip on your gown or anything… You’d really impress all those other superheros. Bet none of them can save the world while wearing a dress.” Actually, maybe superman could, but he was the only exception. Zander was sure of it.

He watched her carefully, trying to figure it out. Who was she? Ravenclaw, he was sure of it. Well he was sure of it until she started going on about rules simply being ‘guidelines’. That was something a Gryffindor would say, he’d know because he was a Gryffindor. Duh. But he was SO sure. And now he was just very confused. Forget princess superhero hybrid, were there such things as GryffinclawRavendor?hybrids as well?? But… But there was always a but. ”Give-aways?” Did he even have give-aways? More importantly, could he pick up on other people’s give-aways?! Uh. ”I don’t think I’ve got any give-aways, but… Alright, let’s do it!” He totally had give-aways. Anywaaaays. He wasn’t going to guess yet though because uh Gryffindor or Ravenclaw? He wasn’t entirely sure. Though… There was always the possibility that she wasn’t either of the two. Slytherin, perhaps?

Before he could say much else though, the new girl had already moved on. Pointing to the quill in his hand and—ASDF WHAT? Uh. WHAT? To say the Gryffindor was caught off guard would be a major understatement. Had she just??? Uh. After a few moments of awkward blinking and profuse blushing (probably), he just uh. Ran a hand through his hair?? ”I-uh-I think everyone looks nice,” NICE SAVE, ZANDER ADAIR. Totally. ”But I was-uh-actually thinking about voting for you.” okaynextquestionplease.

Though that was utterly embarrassing… It did sound like someone he knew, that much was undeniable. His turn to gracefully change the subject though ha ha ha. Um. ”So, for your first question… What do you like to do in your free time?” Okay. That was a terrible first question. Merlin. When would he ever learn?

She'd had a good look at the different outfits by this point so Ruby felt like why not vote now and get it over with and then she could focus on the fun things? She felt like not enough people had seen her, because surely her own outfit was kind of amazing, right? It wasn't exactly the sort of look that was invisible by nature but not having her identity out there made her feel weirdly invisible and irrelevant, which she found unsettling. It shook her confidence, like the total opposite reaction to this whole situation from Gabe who seemed to be freed up by people not knowing who he was under that mask.

... and yes she remembered which one he was, thanks to that note thing when they'd arrived and her own complete horror at the idea of accidentally flirting with him. Gross. It was weird though, knowing it was him didn't mean that she recognized him, just remembered the outfit was the one he was wearing. Strong spell.

Ruby smoothed her dress against her legs and looked around.

... wellll there were a lot of people trying to beg for votes around here, weren't there? Classy. Wait. Should she be doing that? She considered it seriously for a moment and then decided no, she felt good, she was confident that what she was wearing was definitely up there in the top, not too tacky, not to gaudy, and she'd clearly gone to some effort. So for herself? She was content. And that was what counted, right?

But who would she vote for? Hmmm. That was a good question. Which boy was the hottest?

Simon listened to the pretty young lady agree with him about the awesome costumes. He nodded, giving her a smile and a quick thumbs up. "So do I...Perhaps they'll just read off the ballots. The guy with the white mask or something like that," he said, giving her a very friendly wink. He chuckled at her compliment. Well this girl was rather sweet and friendly. He liked meeting sweet people, they always seemed to make his day a little better. "And thanks."

"Are you enjoying the ball, Miss?"

Charming, he was. Soph's cheeks were beginning to grow sore from smiling so much, but all things considered, that was the best kind of pain. "None of 'em except for me." Hehe. And she was sure she wouldn't trip on her dress. Probably. She was lucky to be pretty poised and balanced. Not too many clumsy mishaps around here, though... she also didn't wear a big poofy dress like this all too often. So, maybe she shouldn't have been too confident.

He didn't think he had any give-aways, hm? Curious. If this WAS one of her boys, they were being dumb because both of them had very distinct mannerisms. Though... she wasn't entirely sure of what they were. Hmmmmm.

His embarrassment was endearing, though, and he made her smile spread all the way across her face. "Thinking about it? That's awfully sweet of you." Pause. "Did you make that decision based solely on... my dress? General looks? Or once we started talking?" Curious minds wanted to know these kinds of things, okay? Just what had almost won him over so far?

What did she like to do? Easy. "Run. Spend time with friends and go on adventures. Have fun. Brew potions. Bake. Eat. Laugh. Poke fun and people and give them funny nicknames and prank sometimes. All harmless fun, the kind that's to get other people to smile." She let her eyes examine his features carefully as she spoke, noticing how his eyes sparkled and how nice the color of his hair was and how nicely-shaped his lips were -

Merlin. She hoped this was Tobes.

Eh hem. "What about you?"

Oh Merlin, she asked a lot of questions. Not even the easy kind of questions either because hers were the kind that made him go red. Though that did narrow things down a bit. Not every girl was bold enough to ask these things, but maybe it had to do with the anonymity factor? Zander couldn’t really be all too sure, so it wasn’t like he would make a decision based on her curiosity alone. It did have him thinking along the Gryffindor/Ravenclaw lines though. OR uh, were Slytherins a courious bunch? Uh. This was a lot harder than he had been hoping.

”Well…” he absentmindedly played with the end of his tie. What was the selling point exactly? ”Well a mix of things, I guess… I thought you looked really nice before we started talking. And then once we did, well, you’re really nice too. So that’s um, like a bonus.” He grinned pretty stupidly, too. ‘Cause that girl on the dance floor was really pretty too, but she wasn’t all too friendly and that—well, y’know whoever this was, she had it all. ‘Course he’d never say that out loud though.

She had the looks, the personality, AND she could answer questions right off the bat. Like Merlin, she didn’t even have to think about it! He nodded his head slowly which each detail, trying to put it all together. Run. Lots of people liked to run. Eden liked to run and Sophie Brown and—Adventures? Pretty Gryffindor-sy. Potions? That made him raise his brows though. Potions, huh? He knew a few that liked potions. Lux, Puck, Sophie Brown. Funny nicknames. Cinna, Sophie Brown. Prank. Puck, Sophie Bro—There was a common theme here, wasn’t there?

If it really was Sophie Brown… It would make sense. This girl had it all. And Sophie Brown had it all. IT WAS SOPHIE BROWN. Had to be. He was sure of it. Now that he thought about it, it started making more and more sense. Her petite features, the dark, long hair, the mannerisms. She had Sophie Brown written all over. How come he couldn’t come up with it before? It was strange not being able to recognize someone he normally would’ve been able to recognize from miles away. Insanely strange. Actually, he was a bit disappointed that the charm had been able to pull one over on him like that. If it was Sophie Brown, he should’ve known right away, y’know? ”Hm, interesting,” he tried his best not to grin, yet his stupid lips were curving at the corners, giving her an easy smile. AH. HEM.

What did he like to do though? Uh. Of course he wasn’t as well prepared as she was, but now that he was absolutely sure that she was Sophie Brown, there was no use in trying to be embarrassed about it. They both knew that she had the superior intellect. Everyone knew. ”Well… I like to sit out by the lake or up in the treehouse… Sometimes I’ll head to the kitchen because if I’ve got free time, why not eat some pizza or something? Seeing friends, of course,” he gave her a goofy smile at that one. ”I don’t like studying, but now that it’s OWLs year I’ve got to— WIDE EYES.

He had said too much.

Merlin, what an amateur mistake. "I've ruined it, haven't I?" Well not all of it. There were plenty of Fifth Year boys. But still. Sheesh.

Hmmmmm. His thought process was very interesting. So she was pretty, and that's what caught his eye, and then... she made him like her even more once they started talking? Hehehe. That was a nice sentiment, and her glowing smile showed her approval of his word choice. "Well, for what it's worth, I thought you were handsome. And you're nice now, talkin' to you. A little nervous, I can tell, but it's endearing and sweet. Like you." Her confidence in this being one of her friends was showing now, she was certain, and she reached over to give the boy a gentle, playful shoulder-shove.

There was a period of time where the boy seemed to be considering something, or perhaps he was trying to rattle his brain and figure out who she was - his grin and declaration of 'interesting' confirmed that, and she figured she must have said enough to give herself away and trigger his memory. Her interests were powerful enough to GET AROUND THE CHARM. WOOP.

She still wasn't sure if it was Tobes or Zander, though, so she listened intently as he started talking about what he liked, trying to jog her memory for something - both of them... well, she knew she spent plenty of time outside with both of them, and pizza... a birthday party came to mind, and she grinned massively as he said it, knew he was getting closer and closer to breaking the barrier there -

OWLs. That did it.

Tobes was not in her year, she REMEMBERED that, and Zander absolutely was. And HE was the one she had gotten the pizza for his birthday! And... ohhhh. ZANDER. "You have ruined it. But that's good, 'cause I could tell you knew who I was and I hadn't quite figured it out yet - whether you're Tobes or Zander. But now, with all that information, you broke the charm barrier and I know, of course, that you're Tobes."

Then she very casually pulled him close and planted a gentle kiss on his lips, lingering briefly, then pulled away and tried not to laugh as she kept her face calm and cool, anticipating a wonderfully hilarious reaction.

.

.

Gabriel had the grace to blush (somewhat?). This mystery girl had absolutely just name dropped him...for potions needs. Maybe...this was Coral Bay? But then again, CB wasn't......Well, she gave off a different vibe. Gabe felt confident he'd KNOW...if it was her...but then again, how could he be sure? Asking outright was against the rules. He didn't want to be that guy that 'couldn't handle it' and jolted the surprise.

......Would his girlfriend even wear a mustache to a fancy dress party? Gabe felt ashamed that he didn't know the answer to this question.

Whoever the girl was, she was being super sweet...and it was that alone that made him wonder. Coral Bay was a lovely person. Very friendly, loving, sweet...Super sweet just like this girl. But she was also poised...unlike this girl.

The sudden rapid thought process + too much of his calming draught made the Ravenclaw's head hurt.

......."Would you like to dance?" A dance was innocent enough...and he could maybe tell if he got a bit closer. Magic wouldn't alter body chemistry, would it? And if it did turn out to be Coral Bay, Gabe would be completely okay at midnight. If not...Well, he'd worry about that when the time came.

...or maybe he would...if he COULD worry about it...As it was difficult to fret over anything in his current state.

A girl who smirked was obviously a girl he got along with. Uh huh! It meant a lot of things, a smirk did, and he half wondered what the reason behind her smirk was. Instead, he opted to wink at her. Just because.

LOLOLOL! "A girl with a sense of humour... I like it!" She was ticking ALL the boxes for him. It kinda made him wonder if he had somehow been able to find Ruby in this madness and was currently chatting her up. Wouldn't be surprising, would it? "You certainly said that with an air of confidence." SMIRK. "Though, between you and me, there's no one else I'd rather vote for."

Award winning nights, huh? "We could make this an award winning night," he said in his smoothest, silkiest voice. Notice how he said 'we'? Because while he was sure that she could handle it on her own, he also kinda wanted to play a part in it. For his own ego and all.

Grayson couldn't help but smirk when she looked him up and down. "Like what you see?" C'mon, give his ego a boost. You know you wanna.



Oh jeez, there were people. He was trying to chat up a good looking girl. Couldn't they leave them alone to get very well acquainted? Shoo!

Or not.

SMIIIIIRK! If they were gonna keep on shooting compliments their way, they could stay. Grayson was ALL up for being complimented on on his outfit. Granted, he went for the tux and mask option to fit into the masquerade theme but it still counted, mkay? So yes, smirking was happening.

"Thanks a bunch! he said, straightening his tie in a oh-so-smug way. "You guys don't look bad yourselves." Yo, why did the guy sound so posh? Not that it mattered but he sounded very proper, you know? And Grayson was trying to place where he'd heard an accent like that before but nothing seemed to be coming to mind. "If they're gonna hand out King and Queen awards for Best Dressed, I definitely know who I want to make my Queen." Another saucy wink for you, gorgeous.

Wait. Dementia? Ageing thing? "What ageing thing?" What was this girl talking about?

"I wasn't joking." Agatha said casually. She waaaas too so very nice. Pffft. And yeeaaah, she was confident, so she just waved a lazy-feeling-supperior-keep-complimenting-me hand at him and smirked again when he said there was no one else he'd rather vote for. "I don't think I've met you before. Not many guys here know what they're talking about." And this one certainly did. Who was that? Probably one of those new older Slytherin kids she didn't know yet. There were a few new boys in her house that year, weren't there? ....Or... there weren't?

She didn't really remember.

Whatever.

Oohhh? "And what do you mean by that?" Because SHE wanted to win an award. Like the best dress one. Her dress was SO the best one there, clearly. Aaand what? He wanted her to compliment him back? Haaah, no. Agatha Hapgood received compliments, she didn't give them out. "I like what I hear." Agatha said casually juuust in time she heard someone else complimenting the both of them.

The girl was saying the both of them looked awesome. Of course they did! "Thanks." She responded, because she was polite, after all. Smug Agatha was smug. And yet another handsome guy joined them. Could she ditch the girl and have the two guys complimenting only her? Since that other one that had been looking at her all that time was snogging someone else now. Pffft, people.

Hypocrite Agatha was a hypocrite.

And HAH. One of the handsome guys was saying he wanted Agatha to be his queen. That was TOTALLY what he was saying, so Agatha smirked.

But that girl was talking about dementia and ageing and Agatha raised one suspicious eyebrow. "All I know if that I look amazing and that I should win this thing." And really, that was all that mattered.

Hair flip.

Eden thought the guy was being...really sweet and cute and shy and rfheuirhlig. He almost reminded her of her COLEY. Cole Upstead...but...was it him? Hmm. It DID make her wonder. This guy was being shy and cute like Cole..but did Cole have such the strong JAWLINE that this bloke did? She couldn't recall....Cole's features at all...it was so fuzzy and WEIRD.

Hmph.

And then....he asked her to dance.

Eden almost died.

Turning CHERRY RED, she smiled all BIG and giggled, holding her hand up to her mouth. Whoever this guy was---he was SMOOTH and sweet and HEHEHE. "Oh--um--s-sure--I--YEAH--" she said, taking her hat off and bowing LOW and DRAMATICALLY at him, giggling away...hehe.

She had never been asked to dance before...sure, she'd been to a total of ZERO dances in her life, BUT STILL THIS WAS NICE AND MADE HER FEEL REALLY NICE, OKAY?

She stood up straight again, placed her hat back on her head, and beamed as she held out her elbow for nameless!Man to take. "What should I call you?" she asked softly.

If he hadn't already been turning a light shade of pink at the entire conversation, he would've certainly turned it at the mention of his being 'nervous'. Well, despite the fact that his identity was a complete secret, it wasn't super easy talking to girls. 'Cause for all he knew, they might've been someone he already knew and well-- You know... But anyways, he reached to grab for the back of his neck, rubbing it as she spoke. "I-- Thanks," he gave her an embarrassed smile as he quickly looked away for a second. That was all real nice of her to say.

Even though he was 500millionpercent sure that this was Sophie Brown, he still couldn't feel entirely secure in the fact that it was. His head was telling him that all her interests sounding like Sophie Brown, yet he was still having a difficult time connecting that idea with the girl in front of him. Except, once she admitted to trying to figure out whether he was 'Tobes or Zander', it HAD to be Sophie Brown. No one else called Toby, 'Tobes'. Or at least, no other girl that Zander knew did. How she was even to narrow it down to the two of them was beyond his level of understanding.

Though, now she HAD to know it was him since Toby wasn't in his OWL year anymore and--WHAT?

The kiss was EXTREMELY unexpected to say the least.

And as she pulled away, he took a few steps back creating a bit of distance from what she had just closed off by pulling him in. He had his brows raised in concern and his eyes were wide and looked rather panicky. Ahem. "I-uh-no, you've got it wrong. I'm not him. I'm not Tobes. I'm--" .... Wait a minute.

He came to an abrupt stop, letting his brows fall back down and he wasn't looking all flustered anymore, so much as just deadpanning at her. There was no possible way that the charm had made her forget that Toby wasn't in their year. And Sophie Brown was by far the smartest person Zander knew. Meaning... SHE KNEW?!? Merlin, she was going to be the death of him. He was sure. And now his stupid cheeks were getting all pink again. "Gosh, Sophie." He gave her light, playful shove. Yes, this was definitely Sophie Brown. He was absolutely sure of it.

Sophie Brown anticipated a few reactions from Zander - if he was REALLY on his game, he would realize right away that she was just teasing and would maybe play along and tease her right back, or... she anticipated the reaction that she got. Cute confusion, then understanding and a darn you, Sophie Brown where he would try to seem a little frazzled, but he couldn't keep the smile from creeping onto his face.

And she giggled.

"Knew it was you." Which meant she voluntarily kissed him, which... well, that was old news, really. Zander was just very kissable. "Made you smile, though. Hi, Zanderpander." She reached to hold one of his hands between them and swing it. "And you do look very nice tonight. Very princely. Very royal. Like you should be crowned king of the ball or something." She hummed briefly to herself, peeking around at all the unfamiliar faces, glad she had figured out who one person out of... everyone in attendance was. "I was hoping to find you or Tobes. So... one down, one to go." Sigh.

"Have you found anyone else?" She hadn't.

Yes, okay he WAS smiling. But he was trying to look very disapproving, just so you know. He was trying incredibly hard. How did she always manage to pull one over on him? Even when he had no idea who she was? Sophie Brown was absolutely impossible. And he was STILL struggling to hide the stupid smile in finding out that it actually was her. He was relieved to know, actually.

"Well, I knew it was you first," he said it more to make himself feel better, actually. So yes she had managed to absolutely freak him out. BUT he had figured out her identity first and well... No she was still the winner here. Darn you, Sophie Brown. "Yeah, yeah," he mumbled, STILL trying to look all disapproving but failing miserably. It was a curse. His very own kryptonite. "Hi Sophie Brown," ah, and the goofy smile wasn't even remotely hidden now. He had taken it for granted actually, how nice it was knowing you had a familiar face around. Really made all the difference. "And I-uh-I meant what I said, you look amazing, Soph." His eyes happily gleaming as he said so too.

Ugh. Darn you, Sophie Brown. x3.

"Not a single person, well, other than you." It was incredibly frustrating actually. Also why he had chosen to pretend that everyone around here was a new kid. Made him less angry about the fact that he couldn't figure it out. He was also just being stubborn. "I thought I could figure it out... But it's a lot harder than I thought." His face fell a little as he voiced his frustration. Made him feel real small, not being able to crack the charm on his own. He was used to the feeling, especially when he was around smart people, but it still didn't mean he wasn't thoroughly disappointed about it.

"You did." She knew he knew it was her first, which was clearly a testament to how well he knew her and how distinct her traits were. So they both won, really. But his compliments? No, they needed to stop. He was being far too nice to her, and she was starting to blush this time - she was the one who was supposed to make HIM blush. "I think 'amazing' is going a little too far, but the sentiment is appreciated, thank you."

There was a thoughtful hum, then she added on, "I picked this attire 'cause I wanted Tobes to appreciate how princessy-superheroy I looked. The gown's like somethin' out of one of those Disney movies, and my mask is super cool." She reached up to feel it again, running her fingers along the intricate design, then offered him a glowing smile. "Y'think it's good 'nuff to win? I was thinkin' Tobes might vote for me, even if I don't find him, 'cause we're connected, like, by the heart and whatever, and hoped you would, too. But I figured you'd be the only two. Though..." She swung their hands some more. "Your votes are really the only ones I need anyway. Who needs everyone else when I've got you guys?"

It was hard to find everyone, she agreed, and let out a frustrated sigh. "I hate this charm. With you... like... we broke it gradually, but like... I still can't remember a thing about what Tobes looks like. I just wanna find hiiiim," she whined gently, her gaze drifting around to everyone again. "I wanna dance with both of you, too." Life was so hard, Zander.

Was he still smiling? Why YES. Gabriel was still smiling. This girl, who he STILL didn't know or recognize, had bowed in a very...princely fashion and he laughed. An actual laugh. It was completely foreign and strange...but who was questioning it? Not him, just to be clear. There was just something about this night. He felt different...and that was okay.

Gabe needed a little 'different' in his life at the moment.

.......and yes, the potions were to blame. 95%.

When she asked for a name, it was nearly all blown as his first instinct was to say 'Gabriel'...but he caught himself...just as the G-sound left his mouth. "G....ahem, Gellert.".........Gellert? It was a legit name...according to history. So, nice save, Banner.

When in doubt...What would Grayson do? Fake a name? Gabe thought 'yes'.

Trying to push through his awkwardness, he carefully hooked his arm in hers, and began walking towards the dance floor. Now, TO BE FAIR, Gabe wasn't much of a dancer. He'd never properly danced with a girl before...besides his sister. When she'd barge into his room and FORCE him...Due to that, he'd kinda been put off the entire idea of it. So...this was big. HUGE.

"I apologize if I step on your feet."...because that COULD happen.

From the stage area...

It'd been an evening filled with unearthly music and living interaction...but it was nearly time to disperse for sleep and dreams.

Midnight drew near.

Lifting his bow off the cello strings, Bergerus moved forward; indicating that a hush fall over the captivated crowd. The other members of the Quartet also ceased in their playing.

"It's been a pleasure playing for you all this evening." They weren't quite finished yet...but they had been asked to remind the party-goers of a bit of business in the back. "Do remember to vote for your 'Best Dressed' choices...A dashing boy and a lovely girl each, please."

...and just like that, the music began once more.

OOC: PM this account with your votes!

DING-DONG!

Hear the clock strike midnight;
it's time to see if your guess is right.
The Cinderella spell has been lifted;
now you can see to whom you drifted.
Unmask yourself and look around.
The best costume will win a crown!