Noelle had blocked out everything that was going on in the party because she was zoned in on her studying. She used to not be like this... at all. But she had taken on too much and had to prioritize. It was a good thing a lot of her friends understood. Next year she would space things out better. This year... was a learning opportunity.

It wasn't until Azura talked that Noelle actually looked up from her highlighting. She saw the tears brimming her purple eyes and immediately shut her book, with the quill inside. "What's going on? What's wrong/" She said in a hush whisper. She could be talking normally because the party was loud but Az had said that she didn't want anyone to see her crying.

Who knew crying happened at weddings?

Hmmmmmmmm! Why did Azura look so SAD? Or was Char imagining that? Or was she just SO happy that she was tearing up? That happened at weddings, right?

Char might've said something to see if the younger girl was okay but then MUSIC happened and OH that meant she needed to TWIRL AND DANCE and she was READY FOR THAT. Oh YES she was! Even if nobody asked her to dance she was ready.

This bridesmaid was all about enjoying herself!

Azura looked at her best friend and bit her lip a little as she shrugged.. What WAS wrong with her? She wasn't sure! She had just seen Jace with Liv and fully lost it. Why though? She was perfectly happy with Chris..

"I don't know what's wrong. " Azura whispered out as she tried to inconspicuously wipe at her eyes.. She didn't want Miffy and Peeves to see her crying! She was happy for them! She just had a rush of feels okay?

"Jace has a date and I saw.. and now I'm crying.. " Why though? Why was she so upset? Azura looked helplessly at Noelle as she tried to stem the water flowing down her face..

Fwoopers this was not the time nor place for this to happen!

Rula had been really surprised when Miffy had chosen her as her maid of honor - but she was also super excited about it! Being a bridesmaid at all, let alone the maid of honor, was SUPER awesome and special and important, and it was something she'd always hoped to be at some point in her life (as well as being a bride herself at some point too!). So this was like a dream come true!

Well, kinda. A wedding between two poltergeists didn't really require all the same duties and things for a maid of honor as a normal human wedding, but that was okay. Rula was still enjoying it. And she was determined to be the best maid of honor for a poltergeist EVER.

And so far everything seemed to be going great! The wedding was lovely, and now the reception looked like lots of fun from what she'd observed so far!

If only she could find Max and some of her other friends. They were surely around here somewhere, but there were lots of students and professors and ghosts and elves all around so it was easy to lose track of everyone. Standing by the food tables seemed like the best course of action right now. Staying in one place was the best way to let people find you.

But then...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toddles

POP!

Toddles comes helps. Yes Toddles does. Toddles likes parties. Toddles sees masters and mistresses and sees other elfsies. Toddles walks rounds. Toddles speaks, "Masters or Misses needs things from Toddles?"

Toddles sees cakes. Toddles loves cakes. Toddles walks to cakes and eats.

Toddles pulls on cakes and hears things....

CRASH!

Toddles covers face. Toddles sees pan down. Toddles is bad elf. Toddles is bad elf.

Toddles appeared - and suddenly something crashed to the ground. Uh oh!

"Toddles! Are you okay?" she asked, bending down to pick up the fallen pan. Nothing had fallen and hurt him, right?

Cal took a swig of his drink, not sure what to do with himself now that Nat was on stage. He scooted his chair away from the people dancing nearby. Didn't fancy an elbow to his face, did he.

He kept a steady stare on the stage as the Sirens played, only flinching when an over ecstatic ghost flew overhead. It slowly pent up. The feeling. The feeling of deserving absolutely nothing, not even someone as perfect as Nat.

Cal finished off his drink and stood up to leave. He was only going to the loo, he'd be back. He thinks.

Okay, so you should just know that Olivia was a sucker for anyone complimenting her looks. Well, that and simply being exceptionally kind to her, which was probably a thing for many people. It'd just been a hard couple of weeks being a teenage girl. She'd not escaped that unscathed. So, whether Jacen was being polite and a gentleman.... or whatever, his words were very much appreciated. In fact.... Blushing prettily at the compliment, Liv did a slow twirl for him. "It's hard to know how to dress for wedding things. I've never been to one." It was admitted with a mischievous gleam in her eye. One that Miffy would've commended, the blonde liked to think. For no reason, really. She was just in a playful mood. "You look very handsome, as well, Mr. Reed."

She'd just been about to accept his offer to dance when a loud CRASH! sounded nearby....Oh, her fellow wedding party!mate, Ms. Rula... Um, is that what one would call it? Wedding party!mate? Merlin, she was so new to this, it was borderline embarrassing. ANYWAY, Ms. Rula was helping the struggling house elf with his fallen pan. Ms. Rula was a lovely lady, and her boyfriend, Maxwell, was beyond gorgeous. Congratulations to YOU, Ms. Rula.

Hmm... Also, she noted Char and her twirling...and Noelle and Princess Azula sitting at a table. She obviously couldn't see the girl's distraught face from all the way over here, but their presence had been noted all the same. Liv even waved in that direction, thinking the gesture polite given that both were such good friends of Jace's. And she was his date. Couldn't step on best friend toes. She definitely knew about that rule, having the same in place for a few of her own friends.

Hmm. Anyway. Back to this dancing business and THE FRIGGIN' SIRENS PERFORMING!!!!

Ms. Nat looked beautiful up there with the other girls and Liv felt compelled to wave stupidly at the stage, feeling all sorts of things about there being an all girl band at Hogwarts. WHO RUN THE WORLD? GIRLS!

"Yes....can we please?" Sorry for all this inner monologue and such, Jace. Olivia's attention span wasn't the best at times. Curious little lady she was and what have you. And there was also absolutely no need to be awkward, even though that was easier said then done. Looping her arm through his easily, as was her way, she lead him out onto the dance floor.

#SelectiveFeminism

Gaston kept his gaze fixed on the floor, ignoring everything that was going on around him... until out of the corner of his eye, he saw Miffy's bouquet go flying by. That wasn't what he thought it was, was it? He glanced up, and the look on Miss Lynch's face told him it was. He scoffed; he knew it was only a matter of time before something like this happened! The thought crossed his mind to rush to the girl's side and offer his assistance, but somebody else beat him to it. Instead, he aimed his wand at the poison ivy bouquet, making it vanish. Now if he could only make two other things in this room disappear so easily...

Then Peeves was screeching for speeches and entertainment. Gaston applauded politely for the speeches that were given - Sir Nicholas's had been particularly touching - but kept silent. The poltergeists didn't need to know what he had to say about them. He sighed dejectedly. Why did they deserve love when they'd done nothing but cause others pain, while he went out of his way to be kind to everyone who crossed his path and was still alone? It just wasn't fair!

An unexpected voice caused the brooding Frenchman's head to jerk up, and he saw Kay standing there. He nodded in acknowledgement of the muggle studies professor, though he avoided her eyes. He hadn't had much interaction with her, but it was awfully nice of her to come and talk to him. That, and he was grateful to be distracted from his sadness...

But the distraction was short-lived. Gaston started to answer Kay's question, but his heart skipped a beat as he saw someone else... Rosalyn! Oh no, not her! Anybody but her! He couldn't let her see him in this fragile emotional state! He stood frozen to the spot as if someone had just put a full body bind on him; only his eyes moved, darting from Rosalyn to the newlyweds and back several times as all the bad feelings came rushing back to him.

It was only when Rosalyn spoke that Gaston forced himself to look back, wounded blue eyes rimmed in red meeting those of the two women. He wanted to assure them he was perfectly fine, to lie to them, but he decided against it. They'd been kind enough to ask about him; they deserved his honesty. "Those two..." he said, casting another sidelong glance at the poltergeists. "They're just a bad reminder of -" His voice broke. He blinked several times, biting his lower lip to keep it from trembling. Merlin, he wasn't going to cry again, was he? A few moments passed before he'd regained his composure enough to speak."- of something I'll never have."

He sighed, pinching at the inner corners of his eyes. "Please, don't let me spoil your fun," he said, "I'll be fine." Though right now, he didn't think he would be...

The grey lady could always use a lesson or two on having fun. This was what Miffy always thought. Miffy grinned impishly with a loud *GIGGLE* “Thanks, Grey Lady!!!!! Peevesiepoos and my marriage will last foreverrrrrrrr!’’


CRASH! A crash meant chaos!!!!! Miffy looked down to see a house elf causing the chaos. “FEEL FREE TO BREAK SOME PLATES! BANG THE PANS!’’


*GIGGLE* If it didn’t have to be Nick that spoke first. Miffy hovered excitedly. OOOOHOOOOO! PIFFY! Miffy was in love with the name. Miffy did not miss the tone Nick used with that word settled. She *GIGGLED* mysteriously Miffy wouldn’t say she and Peevesiepoo would be settled ever. “THAAAAANKS NICK! WHO’s NEXT?”



OOOHOOOOHOOOO! The Sirens were performing!!!!! Miffy started dancing. She swayed and spun and looped-the- looped over the heads of the crowd and close to her polterman. “Keep the music coming, girlies!!!!’’

All that was registering in her mind was the poison ivy bouquet that was now on the floor at her feet and the need to get rid of it. Even the loud shouts of Peeves demanding entertainment and Miffy floating up overhead congratulating her on catching the bouquet was hardly heard.

A small nod of her head and a confused mumbled 'thanks' was said to Miffy in reply. She had to clean herself off and get rid of the thing at her feet before anyone else touched it. That was most important. Her wand was already in her hand when she heard someone telling her to do exactly what she had been planning to. "I know...I'm alright Nat," she nodded her head at her friend. A quick 'Evanesco' cast at the poison ivy happened first followed by a casting of 'aguamenti' at her hand. It wasn't easy switching hands and keeping the charm going but she managed it. Both hands were cleaned as well as her face. She was now rather wet and her hair was slightly messy from the water splashed at her face but it was okay. Another quick charm was cast to get rid of any water on the floor before anyone could fall.

Letting out a quick breath the Head Girl slid her wand back into it's holster. All she could do was hope that the water had been enough for now. She was needed on stage with the rest of her band...a trip to the healer would have to wait a bit.

A quick glance was sent towards Frankie along with a tiny smile and a whispered, "I'll be right back," before she headed up onto the small stage. Taking a seat on the stool behind the drums she grabbed the drum sticks tapping it out in time with Nat counting them in. As their singer began to sing Hady went at the drums as she always had, with everything she had in her despite any discomfort from the poison ivy. She nodded her head in time with the singing and her own drumming fully into the song as she always did whenever she played.

Her eyes scanned over the crowd moving over those that were dancing and swaying to the music. It appeared Miffy was enjoying the song and that was a huge plus for them. Hazel eyes landed on the blue ones of a certain blonde and she tried to hold his gaze a few moments. Was he upset that she had caught that silly thing? He did know she hadn't meant to catch it, right? Even with her eyes on him she maintained her drumming skills to complete the song.

SPOILER!!: Gaston and Rose! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy

Text Cut: Kay & Rosalyn

Gaston kept his gaze fixed on the floor, ignoring everything that was going on around him... until out of the corner of his eye, he saw Miffy's bouquet go flying by. That wasn't what he thought it was, was it? He glanced up, and the look on Miss Lynch's face told him it was. He scoffed; he knew it was only a matter of time before something like this happened! The thought crossed his mind to rush to the girl's side and offer his assistance, but somebody else beat him to it. Instead, he aimed his wand at the poison ivy bouquet, making it vanish. Now if he could only make two other things in this room disappear so easily...

Then Peeves was screeching for speeches and entertainment. Gaston applauded politely for the speeches that were given - Sir Nicholas's had been particularly touching - but kept silent. The poltergeists didn't need to know what he had to say about them. He sighed dejectedly. Why did they deserve love when they'd done nothing but cause others pain, while he went out of his way to be kind to everyone who crossed his path and was still alone? It just wasn't fair!

An unexpected voice caused the brooding Frenchman's head to jerk up, and he saw Kay standing there. He nodded in acknowledgement of the muggle studies professor, though he avoided her eyes. He hadn't had much interaction with her, but it was awfully nice of her to come and talk to him. That, and he was grateful to be distracted from his sadness...

But the distraction was short-lived. Gaston started to answer Kay's question, but his heart skipped a beat as he saw someone else... Rosalyn! Oh no, not her! Anybody but her! He couldn't let her see him in this fragile emotional state! He stood frozen to the spot as if someone had just put a full body bind on him; only his eyes moved, darting from Rosalyn to the newlyweds and back several times as all the bad feelings came rushing back to him.

It was only when Rosalyn spoke that Gaston forced himself to look back, wounded blue eyes rimmed in red meeting those of the two women. He wanted to assure them he was perfectly fine, to lie to them, but he decided against it. They'd been kind enough to ask about him; they deserved his honesty. "Those two..." he said, casting another sidelong glance at the poltergeists. "They're just a bad reminder of -" His voice broke. He blinked several times, biting his lower lip to keep it from trembling. Merlin, he wasn't going to cry again, was he? A few moments passed before he'd regained his composure enough to speak."- of something I'll never have."

He sighed, pinching at the inner corners of his eyes. "Please, don't let me spoil your fun," he said, "I'll be fine." Though right now, he didn't think he would be...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squishy

Immediately after she had entered, Rosalyn spotted her uncle. Seemed like he had followed right behind her. "Hello, Uncle Art. You look very good tonight." It was nice to see that he was feeling more of himself lately. Whatever Joy had given him to help with his knees had done wonders. It made her happy to see.

As Laurel asked about the house elves, Rosalyn momentarily turned her attention to the little creatures as they bobbed about doing this or that. "I wouldn't be surprised. They really are wonderful. I don't know what we would do without them." Such great helps with preparing food and doing clean up duties. Plus they were sweethearts. She shook her head. "Can't say that I have though this might be the kind of theme I would go with if I got married." Something that wasn't going to happen in the foreseeable future since she was single. "What about you? What's the most interesting one you have been to?" Look at her asking all these questions.

Seemed like Jordan was back to teasing her. Rosalyn didn't mind in the least. "I'm not sure where he is," she admitted. Hopefully he would show because on top of enjoying talking to him, it would be good for him to get out and celebrate with everyone else even if it was at a wedding reception for two poltergeists. Apparently they were going by the couple name of Piffy? Weird, but she was rolling with it. "Oh gosh, I don't think I am going to get married any time soon," she added with a laugh. No matter since the Head Girl had caught the bouquet... before quickly dropping it.

"...Was that poison ivy?" Seemed so, judging by the girl's reaction and the appearance of the plant.

Head shake. Fortunately for Hadleigh she was at a magical school. Joy shouldn't have any trouble clearing up the rash quickly.

Unamused by the most recent revelation, Rosalyn ignored the newly weds and their demand of entertainment - though she did think Sir Nick's speech was quite sweet. Instead she joined Kaysha in the attempt to cheer up Gaston, who had just arrived looking rather despondent. "Is everything okay?" she asked, not sure what was wrong. Like Kay, she was wondering what the eye roll had been about.

It was hard to keep from bobbing her head along with the music as The Sirens began to play. They were just wonderful!

Kay started to move towards Hady but she and her friend seemed to have it under control. Truthfully, there wasn’t much the woman could do. Not for the lack of knowledge but because there wasn’t some of the ingredients around for remedies that she had learnt in the Muggle world. When she turned her attention back to Gaston, she realised Rose had joined them. Kay smiled again. “I’m trying figure out what’s wrong with him.’’


Her gaze turned to Gaston again. Before she could speak up, he was offering his reason. “Oh… Gaston, I’m sorry to hear you feel that way. But you should know that nothing happens before its time. You’ll find her.’’ Or him. Whichever way Gaston swung. She put a comforting hand on Gaston’s arm. She knew exactly how he felt. She hadn’t been lucky with relationships and the one guy she had gotten a crush- Viktor… it turned out that Laurel liked him too.

"Don't be silly! If I'm going to dance, you and Rose are dancing with me.'' There was no way she was leaving Gaston. Not when he was so down.

WHEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! Peeves squealed with glee, bouncing in midair. Let the fun begin!

First to speak was Nearly Headless Nick. Sheesh, what a windbag! Somewhere in the middle of the speech, Peeves turned to Miffy, moving one hand up and down like a mouth talking. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah...

"BORING!"he shouted. He grabbed a chicken leg off the nearest plate and hurled it at the Gryffindork ghost. "What else you got?"
Then the Grey-hair Lady spoke. Aw, she was no fun either! "BOO!" Peeves jeered as he sent another chicken leg flying at her.

The band was starting to play. Now that was more like it! Peeves grabbed his sweet polter!wife's hand and pulled her to the middle of the room. "C'mon, Miffy! Let's boogie!" he said, and he floated over the guest's heads doing the Macarena.

"CROWD SURFING TIME!!!" he hollered as he dive-bombed the guests in the front of the room, gliding on his back over their heads all the way to the other side.

"WHOOOO!!!!!" he cheered, clapping his hands and cackling wildly as the song ended. He even threw in a raspberry or two for good measure. But he wasn't done just because the song was. "MORE ENTERTAINMENT!"

And it had better be good...

This was so much fun. Nat loved to be on the stage. The stage was her home, the one place she felt the most confident and the most happy. So a huge smile was on her face as she sung and danced around. Going close to Lily and dancing and singing close then back to the front. Her eyes looked around as she did and she saw Liv waving, so of course she waved back. Char got a smile as she sang to.

"You drive me crazy (you drive me crazy, baby). I'm so excited, I'm in too deep. Oh crazy (you make me feel alright). Baby, thinkin' of you keeps me up all night."

Seeing Miffy and Peeves dancing even made the sixth year excited to see. Her eyes landed on a cute fifth year that had been sitting with her until she got up from the table. The down fall of being the band you couldn't really just dance with the boyfriend. She'd make it up to him later.... .though he was getting up? As she ended the song she grinned and even laughed at Peeve's raspberries.

"Thanks everyone! Peeves seems to want a variety of entertainment if anyone else wants to do something for them. We could always play something slower if you wanted to have an official first dance as husband and wife." It was an offer, but if he wanted others to do something for him that was fine to. She turned to the girls and couldn't help but beam, "That was awesome girls."


Turning her eyes back to her table....

Cal was not there? Did he leave?

SPOILER!!: Gaston and Kaysha

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy

Gaston kept his gaze fixed on the floor, ignoring everything that was going on around him... until out of the corner of his eye, he saw Miffy's bouquet go flying by. That wasn't what he thought it was, was it? He glanced up, and the look on Miss Lynch's face told him it was. He scoffed; he knew it was only a matter of time before something like this happened! The thought crossed his mind to rush to the girl's side and offer his assistance, but somebody else beat him to it. Instead, he aimed his wand at the poison ivy bouquet, making it vanish. Now if he could only make two other things in this room disappear so easily...

Then Peeves was screeching for speeches and entertainment. Gaston applauded politely for the speeches that were given - Sir Nicholas's had been particularly touching - but kept silent. The poltergeists didn't need to know what he had to say about them. He sighed dejectedly. Why did they deserve love when they'd done nothing but cause others pain, while he went out of his way to be kind to everyone who crossed his path and was still alone? It just wasn't fair!

An unexpected voice caused the brooding Frenchman's head to jerk up, and he saw Kay standing there. He nodded in acknowledgement of the muggle studies professor, though he avoided her eyes. He hadn't had much interaction with her, but it was awfully nice of her to come and talk to him. That, and he was grateful to be distracted from his sadness...

But the distraction was short-lived. Gaston started to answer Kay's question, but his heart skipped a beat as he saw someone else... Rosalyn! Oh no, not her! Anybody but her! He couldn't let her see him in this fragile emotional state! He stood frozen to the spot as if someone had just put a full body bind on him; only his eyes moved, darting from Rosalyn to the newlyweds and back several times as all the bad feelings came rushing back to him.

It was only when Rosalyn spoke that Gaston forced himself to look back, wounded blue eyes rimmed in red meeting those of the two women. He wanted to assure them he was perfectly fine, to lie to them, but he decided against it. They'd been kind enough to ask about him; they deserved his honesty. "Those two..." he said, casting another sidelong glance at the poltergeists. "They're just a bad reminder of -" His voice broke. He blinked several times, biting his lower lip to keep it from trembling. Merlin, he wasn't going to cry again, was he? A few moments passed before he'd regained his composure enough to speak."- of something I'll never have."

He sighed, pinching at the inner corners of his eyes. "Please, don't let me spoil your fun," he said, "I'll be fine." Though right now, he didn't think he would be...

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

Kay started to move towards Hady but she and her friend seemed to have it under control. Truthfully, there wasn’t much the woman could do. Not for the lack of knowledge but because there wasn’t some of the ingredients around for remedies that she had learnt in the Muggle world. When she turned her attention back to Gaston, she realised Rose had joined them. Kay smiled again. “I’m trying figure out what’s wrong with him.’’


Her gaze turned to Gaston again. Before she could speak up, he was offering his reason. “Oh… Gaston, I’m sorry to hear you feel that way. But you should know that nothing happens before its time. You’ll find her.’’ Or him. Whichever way Gaston swung. She put a comforting hand on Gaston’s arm. She knew exactly how he felt. She hadn’t been lucky with relationships and the one guy she had gotten a crush- Viktor… it turned out that Laurel liked him too.

"Don't be silly! If I'm going to dance, you and Rose are dancing with me.'' There was no way she was leaving Gaston. Not when he was so down.

Oh.

It was worse than what Rosalyn had thought; she had felt that Gaston maybe had disapproved of the marriage. Turned out that he was feeling lonely. That was something that she could relate to even if she didn't let it get her down - it was always nice to immerse herself into the things that she was passionate about. Besides, a lot of people didn't find love until later in life. It was perfectly normal. Kay was another example; they had both been single for some time. "Kay is right. You're great and any woman would be lucky to have you." Nod. Lack of confidence wasn't very nice but several of people were like that and it didn't stop them from finding the right person. "I'm single too and so is Kay. A lot of us on Staff are single." Didn't mean that they couldn't have fun and enjoy life.

"Yes, we both want to dance with you!" Rosalyn said as she ignored Peeves and Miffy. They were yelling way too much for her tastes. Still she kept an eye out just in case they got too out of hand and students ended up in danger. Best to be careful.

Laurel had just opened her mouth to reply to Jordan when the newlyweds Miffy and Peeves made their grand entrance. In unison with her colleague the blond seer raised her glass and called out to them. "Congratulations lovebirds, I wish you many, many happy prank filled centuries together!" Because poltergeist couldn't die right? It was something she'd had to look up later. Focusing on Jordan she leaned in and whispered "I know right, they aren't exactly the most traditional couple. A crystal ball doesn't fit either. Maybe we should give them a prank?"
There was no time to say anything else before Miffy in her usual loudness decided that it was time to throw the bouquet.



"Thanks Kay. I thought the dress fit for the festive occasion." First Jordan and then Kay nudged her forward towards the bouquet with her arm. Shaking her head Laurel giggled. "Okay, okay I'll try to catch the bouquet but it should be caught by one of the students. If I catch it and get pranked i count on you to help me Kay." Because that was what friends were fore, right?



Turning her attention to Rosalyn she nodded in agreement. "Hogwarts wouldn't function without our beloved house elves." It was simple fact. They could never get any better helpers with both cooking and cleaning. Thoughtfully Laurel said "The most interesting wedding i attended recently was my cousins wedding, she got married on a boat in the middle of a swan pond and all her bridesmaids wore swan dresses myself included." She still sneezed at the sight of feathers.

Laurel was going to go for the bouquet but as it seemed Miffy hadn't waited and the head girl had caught it. Unfortunately for her it wasn't roses but poison ivy and it was evidenced by her reaction and the bad rash that sprouted out on her hands. Looking to Rosalyn she asked "Should we send for Joy to come and help her?"



Peeves was just too loud for her taste and she would have ignored him if it wasn't for the fact that Sir Nicholas and the Grey Lady on his request made speeches. Laurel thought it was big of them to do that considering that they hadn't exactly been accepting of the union in the first place. Peeves thought they were boring, unsurprisingly but the band that got up on stage and played got his liking. Laurel couldn't help but giggle at the sight of Miffy and Peeves dancing the macarena.

The dive-bombing that came after caused her to duck her head and call out in irritation "Watch it! We are all here to celebrate with you two."

Gaston was surprised when Kay touched his arm. He stiffened a bit but made no effort to pull away from her. But it was Rosalyn's words that had him paralyzed with shock. Did she really mean -? And he couldn't help but wonder if there was some meaning behind that nod. No, of course not! He was being ridiculous... she was only saying those things to make him feel better. What would anybody see in him?

He managed a halfhearted smile, though his eyes were still just as sad as ever. He appreciated what they were trying to do, he really did, but they didn't understand. He wasn't after just any woman...

Gaston shook his head at their words, and a few stubborn tears escaped his brilliant blue eyes."That's the thing, I have found her..." he said, fixing his gaze on the floor, the buffet table, the band, even the poltergeists... anything but the two women beside him, lest his eyes betray his true feelings. "...but she has no idea." And she never would. Nothing would change if she did. He didn't stand a chance...

WHAT?! Gaston blinked. Both Kay and Rosalyn were offering to dance with him... well, that was unexpected! Usually he couldn't even find one dance partner at functions like this, let alone two. This had never happened to him before! He was so flabbergasted that he completely forgot all about his love life (or more to the point, his lack of one).

"Y-you don't have to-" he stammered, nervously running a hand through his dark hair. "I don't - really, I'm a terrible dancer! The last time I tried -" Well, the last time had been at his Beaubatons graduation ball. He ended up stepping on the hem of his date's dress and ripping it, and she slapped him in the face. But they didn't need to know that! "Never mind."

Somehow he had an idea these ladies weren't going to take no for an answer, though, and he laughed a little in spite of himself. "Fine, you win."

*SNIFF, SNIFF* Noooobody loooves poooor olllllld miserrrrable moooooping moaaaaning Myrtle! Those nasty poltergiests found each other, but who did Myrtle have? NOBODY! No one had even noticed her floating at the back of the room, pearly ghost tears streaming down her cheeks. [B]"I-IT SHOULD'VE B-BEEN MEEEEE!" [/B]Myrtle sobbed, wailing over the band. "I w-wanted to get m-married, but I c-can't because I'm DEAD! N-now I'll n-never get the chance1 W-who would ever l-loooove pooor ugly faaaat miiiiserable moaaaaaning Myrtle?"

And she sped away with another ear-piercing wail.

Kitty hung in the back watching everyone else. True, she hadn't brought any gifts for Miffy and Peeves. If she had thought about it she MIGHT have...nah she wouldn't have. She liked that they were getting married, but she wasn't about to forget all the stuff they had done to her and her friends over the past few years.

She clapped at the end of all the speeches, most especially Lady Helena Ravenclaw's. It was annoying but expected to see Peeves mocking them afterwards. Kitty determined to clap louder than ever to make up for Peeves rudeness.

Oh dear. "I like you Myrtle!" Kitty called out to Moaning Myrtle as she passed. "Come back!" She would have told her that she believed there was another ghost who would love her to, but she wasn't sure if Myrtle would be able to hear that speeding away.

“DANCE BABY DANCE!” Miffy floated and swayed close to Peeves. Sometimes she would dive at the guests then pull up at the last minute. Miffy would then perform loop-the-loops. “THIS IS THE BEST DAAAAAAY OF MY LIFEEEEEEE!’’


Miffy’s loops and swaying continued on until she was bored. "PEEVESIEPOOOOO! I DEMAND CAKE!!!! I’VE HAD ENOUGH ENTERTAINMENT!” Miffy zoooooomed over to her new hubby. “CAAAAAAAAAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

The beloved wanted cake?

"LET THEM EAT CAKE!" Miffy's demand only made Peeves want to do one thing:

Throw. The. cake.

SPLAT

The cake made contact! And then Peeves was throwing more, cackling madly as he blew raspberries. This was his wedding! The entertainment wasn't being entertaining, so he had to do it himself, of course!

SPLAT......SPLAT

"Miffy, aim for Myrtle!" he grinned with wicked glee. "HA-HA! Moping Moaning UNWED MYRTLE!

So she wanted cake which meant singing was done, yes? Nat set the mic down and turned to the band. "Shall we go back to the table or maybe dance ourselves?" Flipping her wand out of it's holster she flicked her wrist and charmed the keyboard keyboard to keep playing music. It wasn't them playing but at least there was some music going on for students to keep dancing to if they wanted. Turning around to hop off the stage and figure out where the boyfriend went she had just went to look around when...

SPLAT

SHE WAS HIT WITH CAKE IN THE FACE! IT WAS IN HER HAIR!!! Natalia gripped her wand tightly ready to hit Peeves with the same charm they did in Divination, but she took a deep breath. Seriously she hated these two. Could they never not be annoying? Hopping off the stage she went to the table and grabbed a napkin.


"I'm going to go find Cal" She half said to anyone that was really listening and headed out to find the boyfriend.

Poor Gaston. Kay felt sorry for him. "I know how it feels,'' she told him and patting his arm for comfort. Then her eyebrows were slowly raising. "You have? Is it anyone I know? If it is, I can help...'' She was not going to stand by and let Gaston be heartbroken. Not if she can help it!

"Really, single life isn't half bad.'' Kay had gotten used to it, honestly. She had resigned to the fact that her love life was nonexistent. "Come on! Let's dance.'' Kay was about to pull Gaston and Rose to join in with the others when Miffy announced she wanted cake. "Looks like we're out of luck but- duck, you two!''

Peeves was throwing cake all around!

Wasn't that the truth. Rosalyn nodded at Laurel. "I definitely couldn't function without them. Their food is amazing." Seriously. She had missed it after graduation and it was really good to be able to eat it again. Plus they were wonderful company. Sweetest creatures ever. Thinking about food was making her hungry, though the swan story snapped her out of it. "You mean you guys wore dresses made out of swan feathers?" That was... interesting. And possibly uncomfortable?

"I definitely think we should get Joy," she said in agreement.

------------------------------

Gaston was making her sad.

She didn't like seeing him so down. Rosalyn wanted to give him a hug, so she did just that while hoping that he didn't mind. Was she crossing some sort of boundary? "I too know what it's like," she added a moment later after she had pulled away. They were all in it together, weren't they? It wasn't so bad though; she herself got wrapped up in reading and other pastimes and it really DID help. Also she had her wonderful friends with her. And yes, she wanted to help him too! That was if he wanted help...

At least they could dance, though it looked like Piffy was going to put an end to THAT before they could even begin. Hearing Kaysha's words, Rosalyn got ready to duck, but it was too late. A piece of cake hit her in the face with a loud SPLAT!!!

"UGGGH!!!"

As a Ravenclaw, Jace of course knew about wedding dress codes, however...a poltergeists’ wedding? He wasn’t too sure. If he’d shown up in his pyjamas, he was sure Peeves and Miffy wouldn’t mind. However, he didn’t like the idea of being accidentally undressed should the party go that far. “Well...you look great...even better than Miffy.” Of course the last bit was spoken in a whisper, audible enough for Liv to hear. Jace was taken aback however, at the compliment. He looked...handsome? He thought that word was only reserved for his dad and brother. As far as he knew, he wasn’t good looking compared to the other men in the Reed family. “I...uh...thanks.” he said tucking his hands behind him and stared at his feet, a shy grin plastered on his face. Who knew Liv would find him fetching?

Jace was too busy in his own bubble to even notice what was going on. He would have approached the best friend and Noelle if he knew they were there. But before he could offer his arm to Olivia, the Gryffindor girl already looped her arm with his, and was lead to the dance floor. This made the Ravenclaw chuckle, and somehow...he felt relaxed. It was as if the awkwardness was left behind the moment Olivia whisked him away to where they stood now.

The Ravenclaw started to do some side to side dance moves...dorky ones of course, but he was at least dancing to the beat. Maybe exchanging his study time for something as...crazy as this wasn’t so bad. He was having fun!

...

Well, it looked like the fun part was over since bits and pieces of cake were being thrown at them? “Oh no...oh my---”

SPLAT!

Good thing he wasn’t wearing a suit. In fact, he was wearing his usual casual clothing meant for escaping. “OLIVIA WATCH OUT!” Jace’s fast Kendo reflexes deflected the other cake that was aimed towards his date. He swatted out the cake out of Olivia’s way and accidentally hit someone with his caked hand. “S-SORRY!”

Gaston sighed, wiping his eyes. He couldn't believe he'd fallen apart in front of Kay and Rosalyn! He needed to do what his father had been telling him practically all his life and stop wearing his heart on his sleeve. "I'm so sorry about this," he said, his mind silently berating him for dragging the two women into his personal problems like this. "I'm sure there's a million other things you'd rather be doing than comforting a sentimental fool like me..."

At the sound of Kay's voice, he forced himself to meet her eyes, though her question caught him off guard. She hadn't guessed, had she? And what if she did? Would she tell? He had no idea how he should answer that question! His first instinct was to deny everything, but he decided honesty was the best policy. "Yes," he replied with a slow nod. "Thank you for your kind offer." Her desire to help touched his heart, but realistically he didn't think there was anything she could do... Kay was still patting his arm when Rosalyn hugged him! Did that really just happen? Certainly not... Gaston froze for a split second, still half convinced he was dreaming, before wrapping his arms around Rosalyn. It was okay to hug her back, right? All too soon, she pulled away, and his heart sank. But her words caused him to gape at her in disbelief.

"Y-you do?" he stammered incredulously. She knew what it was like? How was that possible? Did she not know how amazing she was? "B-but, Rosalyn - Rose-" He hoped she wouldn't mind him using her nickname! "You are so smart and funny a-and you're one of the kindest people I've ever known..." His voice trailed off as he thought back to his first days at Hogwarts. "When I got here I had nobody, but you were the first to show me kindness, and - and I'd give anything to have even a ghost of a chance with you."

Gaston's azure eyes were suddenly wide and panic-stricken. What had he done? He meant to say "with someone like you" but instead... Nice going, Gaston, a nasty little voice in the back of his mind taunted him, Now she thinks you're some kind of creepy stalker! And it was just a matter of time before everybody found out... How would the students react? Oh Merlin, there'd been enough disruptions this term without him causing another one! How would the staff react? How would...? His heart dropped as his thoughts turned to the headmaster. Had he just cost one - or Merlin forbid, both - of them their jobs? He couldn't allow that; he'd insist he be given the brunt of whatever punishment might be coming!

And how would Rosalyn react? He didn't even want to know! It was taking every bit of resolve he had not to run away from her like a frightened bunny. Instead he stood with his head bowed, refusing to meet her eyes, resigned to the fact that he was about to have his heart broken. There was no way she'd ever want to dance with him now... but luckily, Miffy demanding cake had spared him from that rejection.

Gaston was jerked out of his thoughts by Kay telling him to duck, but before he could react, a piece of cake hit Rosalyn in the face and another grazed his head, streaking his black hair with frosting. So the poltergeists were starting a food fight? Why was he not surprised? He supposed he should just be grateful it was cake they were aiming at him instead of knives this time!

Gaston instinctively stood between Rosalyn and Peeves to block him from hitting her again. "Here, allow me..." he said, making the cake on her face disappear with a quick flick of his wand. the back of his jacket was covered with cake and frosting by the time he was able to cast a shield charm to protect him, but that was the last thing on his mind right now. The important thing was keeping her out of the poltergeists' line of fire!

In the middle of all the chaos, you feel a rain drop hit your face. And then another one. Looking up at the enchanted ceiling, you see the sky obscured by grey clouds. That's right; it has started to rain inside the Room of Requirement.

Better grab some wedding cake and head for cover because it's really coming down now.