Valentine's Day Masquerade Ball //... everyone

[Annelise Westerhof]

Annelise pretended to not notice the fact that Remus looked outrageously uncomfortable. She didn't think he would have felt that awkward. Her seeing him in his boxers couldn't possibly be any worse than seeing him in a bathing suit. Well, she knew it was different, but in her mind she was trying to think of it as not a big deal. She was sure she'd be a lot more uncomfortable being seen in her bra and panties than in her bikini. She didn't even mention his drop of trousers again, hoping they could just get past it.

She smiled about his comment. "It's alright, I'm not either. Let's just stay here and enjoy the privac-"

Annelise was cut off, for the Gryffindor common room door opened and in came a tall boy with black hair she quickly recognized as Sirius. He was dripping wet, and he was cursing under his breath. Annelise automatically blushed, for she knew that if would have came in any earlier, he would have come across a very suspicious scene. Sirius looked up from his wet self, and his eyes fell upon Remus. He grinned, although it wasn't completely due to joy.

"Back already?" Sirius asked, as he noticed that Remus was no longer wearing the trousers he originally wore. His first thought was that he got bored with nothing to do, and that he had never used his Gryffindor courage to ask Annelise to dance. "Look like you'll have company after all. I was sitting outside with that Ryan girl from Ravenclaw when some scorned girl came out, saw me, and sprayed me with water from her wand. Apparently she was a little jealous."

After he said that, he finally spotted Annelise standing there. He checked her out without realizing who she was immediately, due to the fact that she was in the Gryffindor common room. A smirk went to his face, before he glanced back at Remus, and then he knew. "Oh! Well, I see you already have company... I guess I'll just..." he paused for a second as he looked from the one to the other. "Go hide in the dormitory. Let me know if you need me to leave that later."

Annelise blushed heavily at his words, knowing exactly what he meant. She glanced back at Remus, not saying anything. She didn't even know what to say. If she agreed with him and told him to go away, then he would suspect the worse. However, she didn't exactly want him to stay. Was it impossible to hang out with Remus alone without one of his friends hanging around, and not be one of their tutoring sessions?

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[Remus John Lupin]

He was glad she did not bring up anymore, the whole thing was better left undiscussed, in his opinion. Remus preferred not to think of it, either, and thus, he didn't.
"It's alright, I'm not either. Let's just stay here and enjoy the privac-" Remus was about to smile, nod, and agree, but turned in his seat when someone entered the common room, effectively cutting off Annelise's words. He already knew, of course, that is was Sirius. He could smell Sirius as soon as his friend had opened the door, but he turned for pretense. He raised an eyebrow slightly as Sirius was.. soaked. And cursing, but then again that was nothing new.

"Back already?" Remus blinked a little, wondering if Sirius had not seen Annelise. Sirius wasn't usually one to overlook a pretty girl, and Annelise certainly was pretty - and not just in his opinion, he knew. "Look like you'll have company after all. I was sitting outside with that Ryan girl from Ravenclaw when some scorned girl came out, saw me, and sprayed me with water from her wand. Apparently she was a little jealous."
Remus couldn't help but grin as he commented. "It's exactly what you deserve, Sirius, for leading on all those poor girls," he teased. He almost found himself warning Sirius about Ryan and her temper, but stopped himself. It would be no good to talk behind her back, plus what was Annelise to think of him when he warned Sirius about another girl's temper? He'd have to tell the whole story and needless misunderstandings could arise. No, Remus was very much not in the mood for that.

Sirius was silent and Remus shook his head to himself, rolling his eyes, as soon as he noticed his friend was looking at Annelise. He could almost predict what Sirius was going to say, but it still made him blush.
"Oh! Well, I see you already have company... I guess I'll just... go hide in the dormitory. Let me know if you need me to leave that later." Remus blushed and shook his head at his friend's one track mind. "Sirius," he said, a little admonishing, but grinned in jest. "Don't ruin the surprise." He shot a look at Annelise to make it clear he was joking, then turned back to Sirius. "Maybe you should take a shower, though, Siri - your hair will go fuzzy?" He shot Sirius a glance that obviously meant 'please.. just go upstairs.. please?'. He thought it was obvious, anyway.. Sirius could be terribly dense when he wanted to..

[dorcas]

Dorcas smiled and tossed the napkins she was holding on the table. Adrian was such a bastard, why the hell did she like him again? Whatever the reason, he was starting to take things a little too far, what had Wally ever done to him? Nothing was the answer she would have been willing to bet, Adrian just had a knack for stirring up trouble wherever he went, and Dorcas had issues with ignoring him, but in her defence, how could anyone ignore someone so insanely hot that they made your knees want to buckle and the rest of you melt into the ground with just one glance? Dorcas would never tell Adrian she felt that way sometimes, after all, he'd get off on it, and she didn't want him having any kind of satisfaction at her expense, but back to Wally-Monster, her very wet and probably sticky date. Well, he wasn't any more because he'd used a spell. He was really quite the clever type, Dorcas could see why he was placed in Ravenclaw. He was smart and quick and completely adorable! What wasn't there to love about him? Shame he had quite a gay vibe other wise Dorcas was sure most of the girls would be all over him. Not that he was her type, but then again she probably wouldn't say no, if he made passes, he was pretty sexy and only if she didn't know him. Not because she didn't like his personality, no no no! It was because when you got to know him, he was like a brother and best friend sort of person, not any sort of lover for her.

Dorcas nodded her head. Adrian was the sort of jealous boyfriend. He wasn't her boyfriend and as far as she knew he wasn't anyone's boyfriend, but clearly from his display tonight, he was the jealous type, though why stumped Dorcas, after all, he had been the one to stand her up on their date, she'd been ready and looking downright sexy as hell! But no, he'd decided to stand her up and she ended up looking like a fool in front of her sister, something that was never good. Dorcas was just lucky she was good at avoiding her sister, it was usually a pretty easy thing for her to do because her sister moved onto a different target rather fast, though Dorcas was probably her favourite one to gossip about, regardless, Dorcas knew she loved her sister and that she'd do just about anything for her, she was family after all, but she wasn't sure how far her sister would go to protect her. Her sister was definitely more of a Slytherin than her, but they both had their traits that suited them well to the house of the snake, Dorcas just showed a few so called 'weaker' traits too. Pfft. Nonsense really, but she could see their point, them being her sister and mother. Family. What an awkward tie.

Dorcas sighed heavily and nodded at Wally, he was right, there was a very, very thin line between love and hate and she really wasn't sure what side of the line she was on when it came to Adrian. She'd always thought that she was very much on the hate side, but seeing him walk up to another girl made her stomach churn a bit and the jealousy kick in ever so slightly ... okay it kicked in a lot, but it wasn't like there was anything she was going to do about it, she was with her date and apparently he was with his, it made sense, this was a dance and so Dorcas decided that she should stop paying attention to Adrian and get on with having a good time with Wally-Monster. Surely she would forget about him eventually, it would just take a little time was all.

Wally was clearly a good friend to have, Dorcas thought, he knew what to say to a girl. It didn't make her feel better knowing that she couldn't help the way she felt, but it did help her to remember that she was human, that most people probably ended up at some point or another, having feelings for someone the utterly despised. It was physical attraction, that was what it was, and it wasn't something that Dorcas should ever have underestimated really. But never before had such a hot guy ever made her think about actually getting her act together and maybe, someday, having a relationship with said hottie. It had just never happened because Dorcas wasn't the relationship type, she was the sex and run type. No strings attached and never revisiting the same person, but since the beginning of this school year she'd not had sex with anyone. Not one weedy little runt, all because she was so focused on Adrian. That really had to change if she ever had any hope of getting over him. First thing tomorrow she was going to start looking for plenty of other guys to have meaningless sex with in order to get over Adrian.

Freinds were good people to have, true friends that was, and Wally was certainly a true friend and was really almost a best friend that she could talk to about anything, and what was even better about best friends, was they didn't mind when the spotlight shifted from you to them. Okay, so they may have been a little bothered from time to time, but really, Dorcas wasn't the type of person to press an issue unless she was involved or it simply just had to be pressed, though she wasn't sure what kind of situation that would be really. Still, She'd let Wally know about Ed, chucked in a tinsy warning too and the rest was up to him, though of course, as a friend, Dorcas would be expecting to hear of things that happen between the two, if ever, and she knew that as a friend, Wally wouldn't necessarily be forthcoming with all the information, so she might just have to convince him somehow, if anything ever happened.

"A dance? Sure, why not, that is the purpose of this evening after all, to have fun and dance." Dorcas drank a fair bit of what was in her drink, certain there were multiple types of alcohol in there as well as different fruit flavours, and then placed her cup down on a near by table. She was looking forward to a little bit of a dance, it had been a while since she'd got out on the dance floor, she wasn't great, but for now, it was all the formal sorts of stuff, later when the live band came on, things would be a lot more fun and easy going, though some of these dances were fun if you were quick enough to keep up with the pace, she supposed, but Dorcas wasn't exactly one for dancing with partners, but there were those rare exceptions like tonight when she had a date to a dance and would allow him to take her for a spin about the dance floor. Though it probably wouldn't be all that safe, Dorcas was the clumsy sort and Wally didn't look strong enough to her to support her weight when she fell. Not that she was all that heavy, just he didn't look all that strong, but maybe he was, who knew? But she was sure they'd probably find out.

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[monoceros]

Monnie took another sip of her drink, not at all sure why this pure blood was talking to her. Perhaps she was mistaken? Perhaps it was one of those very rare moments where she was indeed wrong, and that this person standing before her wasn't actually a pure blood but a half breed or worse, muggle born. Monnie was wanting to ask out right, but she had no tact and did not wish to offend this person, just incase he really was a pure blood, but then the question still begged an answer, why was he talking to her? Of all people, of all the pure blooded girls that were here tonight, why was he speaking with her? For a fleeting moment, the foolish notion of a secret admirer flashed through her mind, a thought so ridiculous she scoffed out loud slightly.

"Don't be sorry, it is none of your doing, besides, perhaps it is time to relax a little and indulge in the refined tastes of spiked punch." She said, quite on the sarcastic side but in such a monotoned voice she doubted this male before her would get her exceedingly dry humour, so very few did, but maybe she had a point. Not about the punch being at all refined, good heavens no, but about drinking it and relaxing, alcohol was supposed to lower inhibition right well maybe tonight was the night for her to just let herself go a fraction. By her calculations she'd need a couple of glasses to let herself go a little and yet still be in control of herself if she needed to be. So raising the glass to her lip again, she took another sip, attempting not to scowl at the taste of the horrid mix of various flavours that clearly should never have been mixed.

The conversation was moved on and Monnie wasn't too happy about being here and it seemed, neither was this stranger. "Family, society, the usuals." She commented dully in response to him. She wasn't interested in being here, she didn't care about the social aspects of the pure blood life, but what she did care about, was a house to live in when she had graduated and in order to get what it was that she wanted, she had to play along with her parents silly little social games for the school year. It was something Monnie hated, but for once, this social gathering could turn out to be good in the eyes of her parents. If her siblings were to report back to her parents that she had spent a good portion of the evening talking to a fellow pure blood, well, her parents would probably drop dead of sheer surprise, either that or they would suspect monnie had paid her siblings off somehow, but she wouldn't, Monnie would never put that much effort into appearing social, especially when her mother knew every pure blood woman there was and expected to find things out from them too. No wonder her mother was having such a hard time finding a husband for Monnie, she drove them all away more so than Monnie did, she was sure of it.

"A pure blood with no date? Surely someone would have asked you to accompany them so why chose to come alone?" Monnie sipped some more at the vile drink the pure blood had brought her, it tasted even more shocking than the last sip, but she was determined to chuck it down, though so far it was having no ill effects what so ever, in fact she felt as normal as ever and was beginning to suspect alcohol had no affect on her at all. Shame, she could have done with letting go this evening, but maybe she just needed more drink, then possibly, it might start having some more influences over her.

"Partially correct I suppose. Honestly I'd just rather not be here at all, but I suppose some pure blood company would be extremely welcome considering I must be here. You will help in keeping the mudbloods away." Monnie smiled and finished off the last of her drink before standing. "I quite fancy another of these drinks. Why don't you come with me to keep all those half bloods and muggle borns at bay? I'm sure they're all very much intimidated by your presence, and while we're walking," Monnie actually cracked a real smile for the first time in ... well, possibly ever "You can clue me in as to whom this stranger behind the mask is." Little did Monnie realise, but the alcohol from the spiked punch was taking quite a hold of her and allowing her to speak her mind and attempt to flirt with the stranger that had brought her the first taste of alcohol that she'd had in quite a long time.

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[Amos Patroclus Diggory]

Nessa's teasing offer at another kiss had surprised Amos - she seemed to be full of surprises for him, that girl - but he grinned gratefully at her for it, glad that he didn't have to make any more bad jokes. Not to mention he was grateful that she wanted to kiss him again, which opened onto several possibilities for Amos. One, she must like him if she wants to kiss him again, two, his dancing and kissing abilities when more sober than usual musn't be as bad as he thought, and three, there was a possible (albeit slim) chance that further kissing might lead to sex with Nessa. Amos was getting ahead of himself again, naturally, but he really liked Nessa. He liked the weird anticipation and the excitement of not knowing whether his possibilities would materialise. He hoped they would though, of course.

But right now Amos was trying hard to focus on the present and not get ahead of himself so much. So, still grinning in what he hoped was a charming way, Amos took hold of one of Nessa's hands and tried to steer her through the now more crowded dancefloor. The slow number had ended now and a more popular faster tune had followed, enticing groups of tipsy looking teenagers to bounce in groups nearby. It wasn't a kissing atmosphere by Amos' standards. So, he quickly spotted an empty table near the edge of the dancefloor and made for it, trying to keep pace with Nessa - he didn't think she would like to be pulled along very much. The table was more dimly lit, like the dancefloor had been, and Amos grabbed two more cups of punch from a bowl nearby on his way. Setting them on the table he made an awkward show of pulling out a chair for Nessa (he still couldn't get rid of this habit which had proved to be a great pulling technique in the past) and sat himself down smiling a little more coyly at the redhead in the dimlight.

"So." He smiled with less awkwardness this time (in fact it might have been erring on the lecherous side, though he hoped not) "About that kiss then?"


[ -- This is my brainmush!revision posting. D: It's bad and not in a good way.]

[ed]

There.
Now they had a real song to dance to. And he was going to show off. [[start at 24]]

Making his way back onto the dance floor with a bit of a shimmy and a shake as he went. From here his dance partner looked a little drunk, but that wouldn't matterif she got too problematic he could hold his own with the original stenwick slide, or a bit of breakdancing...That always got people's attention...and he got a decent view of all nearby dancers' behinds....

Well..that was for later...for now..he had a willing tipsy...maybe more than tipsy actually...well then, willing, tipsy, hot and attention grabbing dance partner so he wouldn't blend away into wallflower obscurity like the tall guy with the huge nosed comedy mask.

Approaching his dance partner, he shed his jacket and tossed it over one of the chairs with a carefree attitude, treating her to what looked like the beginnings of a striptease as he unbuttoned the top of his shirt. He held out his hand then started to lead her towards the centre of the floor as they danced, so as to be seen better. A brief pause to push back his hair and grin roguishly because yes he was devilishly handsome and they'd all be proud to say they'd slept with him. and then....Begin!

AC: OH dear god...the amount of youtubing i had to do must be illegal...but yeah..here we are... you can probably imagine well enough if you use those as guides. *sits down to have a cup of tea*

[Annelise Westerhof]

Sirius was rather surprised that Remus looked so, well, bemused at his presence. Looking from Annelise to Remus, he thought that him being there was a good thing. As far as Sirius was aware, Remus wasn't one hundred per cent, well, savvy with the ladies. He barely registered that his mate had raised an eyebrow to him. However, after he had finished speaking, Remus was grinning.

"Amused at my misfortune, are you?" Sirius asked. He shook his head like a wet dog, causing water to be sprayed everywhere. Annelise frowned a little bit. She had wanted this time to be spent alone with Remus. Was that too much to ask around here? Sirius continued however with, "It's not what I deserve! I treat them with nothing but the best of manners. I make it very clear I'm not looking for a relationship. It's their own fault, really, a smart bloke like yourself must realize that."

Annelise felt a little flustered. She hoped that Remus wasn't one to follow in his mates' footsteps. He wasn't just leading her on, was he? He did admit to liking her, and did ask her on a date, so that surely meant that he was interested in something a little more meaningful than what Sirius obviously always had in mind when speaking to girls? She bit her lip a tad worriedly, but didn't say anything. She wasn't going to put up a random guard that hadn't been there before for the simple reason that Sirius was like that. No, that would be stupid. She was just being paranoid because she had never gotten so close to a guy before.

Annelise couldn't help but laugh at Remus' remark. She knew he was kidding, for it was quite clear. The thought never really occured to her before. She was honestly somewhat grateful for Sirius' arrival, for it distracted from the fact that only moments previous she had seen Remus in his underwear.

Sirius shrugged at Remus' comment about his hair. He knew his mate had a point. He ran a hand through his hair. He could just as easily dry it with his wand, but without the proper shampoo, it would indeed get fuzzy. He didn't get the hint whatsoever, but merely said, "I suppose you're right. Don't want Skeetbag to see me and start a rumour about the real reason for my scruffy hair."

Sirius winked at Remus as he disappeared up the stairs and then called back, "Have fun!"

Annelise blushed without meaning to. 'Have fun' could only mean one thing in Sirius Black's mind. She pretended not to hear it, and watched as Sirius disappeared up the stairs. She turned back to Remus, feeling suddenly quite awkward. Now that Sirius was gone, what was she to say to him? On the one hand, she was hoping that Sirius would stay so that they'd have a conversation piece, but on the other hand... what? What did she expect here? She looked at the time to discover that the Ball would no d0ubt be over somewhat soon, and she was worried about being caught in the Gryffindor common room.

"So what now?" she asked, smiling gently at her companion. "I'm kind of expecting someone to burst in and demand what I'm doing here at any second... but I don't want to leave."

Annelise was being a bit forward, but didn't care. She wanted to make it clear to Remus that she wasn't looking to get rid of him so quickly.

OOC: Sorry if it's blah... but yay for a post!

[/i][/size][/justify]

[Remus John Lupin]

Remus really hadn't expected Sirius back so soon and although he usually was glad for it (as he tended to be back early from parties as well, really), this was just not a good timing. He wanted to spend time with Annelise now, and he knew how oblivious and demanding Sirius could be when he wanted company.
"Amused at my misfortune, are you?" Remus just smiled as a confirmation and pulled a face as he felt droplets settle in his hair and clothes. Speaking of clothes.. the rags from his previous set of trousers were still on the floor. Muttering something under his breath, he flicked his wand at it to send them flying into the fire. There. Evidence removed.
"It's not what I deserve! I treat them with nothing but the best of manners. I make it very clear I'm not looking for a relationship. It's their own fault, really, a smart bloke like yourself must realize that." Remus sighed. "We've had this conversation before, Sirius. As far as I was told by, well, virtually anyone, going out with girls is a way to work towards a relationship - not away from one." Although he said it with a smile on his face, there was a hint of seriousness in his voice. He didn't mind, speaking so directly about it with Annelise there. He would be a lot less eloquent when he had to say it to her, but technically, this was him talking to Sirius and she just happened to hear - it may not seem a big difference, but to Remus, it was. "But it is your life, so you do what you want, and I'll just.. stay dry." His smile grew a little more amused and he crossed his arms. Oh, Merlin, nothing personal, but he wanted Sirius to leave..

He grinned lopsidedly at Annelise for a moment as he could hear her laugh. Oh, good, at least her mood was not spoiled - that was a relief.
"I suppose you're right. Don't want Skeetbag to see me and start a rumour about the real reason for my scruffy hair." Remus almost rolled his eyes; was his friend this oblivious? "Yes, absolutely, I'd get into that shower as fast as I could," he said, not sure whether to be incredulous or amused. Sirius, king of sexual innuendo's, somehow still managed to not realise the fact Remus just wanted him to go, because he was here with what he hoped would be his future girlfriend.
"Have fun!" And he was gone.

Remus flopped down on the couch. "Oh, thank heavens for that - I thought he'd never leave." He smiled at Annelise a little, noticing she was blushing, and he guessed it was the comment. He was used to Sirius' forward way of saying things and was a little less effected than she was.
She glanced at the clock and Remus feared that was exactly something he should fear. Did she want to leave? He was about to ask her if she was tired or anything, but she beat him to it.
"So what now? I'm kind of expecting someone to burst in and demand what I'm doing here at any second... but I don't want to leave." Remus smiled a little, that had been the answer he had been hoping for. "Well.. if we leave together, would that make it up for it?" he asked, smile growing wider in the process.

[waldemar]

Waldemar had already pushed the incident with Adrian to the back of his mind. Of course, it was unpleasant, but at least this party was more alive than the ones his parents organised. Merlin knew their parties would not stand out in a necropolis, with their faked interest and politeness and light violin music etc.
He smiled back at Dorcas, who seemed to be checking if he was alright. Or maybe she was just staring at him. He didn't know, but he took another swig of a random drink on the table, wondered what the alcohol policy was here, decided he didn't care, and turned to Dorcas again. "Quite alright now," he said with a slight smile, although she hadn't asked anything and probably sounding more British than ever before in his life.

"A dance? Sure, why not, that is the purpose of this evening after all, to have fun and dance." Waldemar smiled at her and downed the rest of his drink. "Good. Let's get to it, then," he said, holding out a hand towards her and grinning. He glanced at the dance floor and again the Hufflepuff boy that was his age caught his eye. At once, he turned back to Dorcas. Even if he had been genuinely interested (which he was, but he was very much ignoring it), he was here with Dorcas, she was his date and he had the obligation to stand by her for the evening, not run off with some guy - even if he was absolutely gorgeous and just look at his moves.
"You ready?" he asked Dorcas with a slight grin as he led her onto the dance floor. "I can't dance to save my life, you know that, right?" Although he said so, it wasn't quite true. Waldemar was a decent dancer. He stuck to the rhythm, didn't make himself look like an idiot, but he was not 'Stenwick Sliding' fabulously or showing off - he knew he couldn't , so he didn't.


[Oh, this is terrible - sorry! Waldemar is annoyed with me because all he wants to do is, well.. Ed xP]

[nessalaurentius]

The way she was behaving sort of surprised Nessa as well, but she wasn't complaining. For years she had hoped for a little courage when it came to these things, and now she was in her final year at Hogwarts plus, she was getting thoroughly sozzled. The result? Well what did she care if she made an arse out of herself? She would only be here for a few more months and couldn't she have fun for once, let herself go? She really liked Amos - he was worth the risk. No one could blame a seventeen-year-old for getting drunk and kissing a guy, right? It seemed pretty normal, anyway.
As for sex, well, Nessa was a virgin. She knew how everything worked, she was not oblivious, but had never gotten further than kissing - and that first kiss had been minutes ago. She was not someone to suddenly sleep with a boy. Then again.. she really liked Amos, very much, really, and I already explained the factors of alcohol. Who knows.

She followed where he lead her with a slight smile, and sat down when he stopped and pulled out a chair, blushing slightly. Nessa had always insisted on being such an independent woman, but being treated so nicely really did get to her, even if she hadn't wanted to admit it at first. "Thank you." She smiled at Amos a little wider and accepted the cup of punch he offered her.
"So.. About that kiss then?" Nessa took a sip of her punch, then put the cup aside, leaning towards him a little. "What about it?" she asked teasingly, already quite close. A voice in her head just said 'less chatting, more kissing' and she guessed that was a fairly good idea, so she closed the distance between them without waiting for his answer, pressing her lips to his.


[Ah, it's not that bad (: And no worries if the muse won't work *hugs* I'll wait ]

[ccole]

Although Finola guessed she had “scrubbed up pretty well” as her charming sister put it, she couldn’t help feeling very uncomfortable. She did ‘do’ dresses or fancy hair and make up, she would have turned up in jeans and a shirt if she would have got away with it. Luckily no one except Peter seemed to be paying attention to her, which was good; but Finola still felt terribly embarrassed. She wished that they were alone without the deafening racket of the rest of the school dancing and socialising, but she wasn’t sure if that would make it more awkward or not. Peter wasn’t saying much, she wondered if he was ill or something. It was probably the punch. No doubt someone had spiked it and everyone who drank it would wake up tomorrow with more than just a splitting headache. Or maybe he couldn’t hear her over the noise and the music. Finola made a mental note to speak up next time.

Fortunately Peter began to speak again, but he wasn’t really making much sense. She could tell he was nervous by the way he dithered about with his words and she smiled encouragingly at him. Surely it couldn’t be that bad? “What is it?” It was at that point, to Finola’s horror he started coughing. Glancing around she wondered if she should help him out. She hesitated, and as she went to move forwards to pat him on the back or something Peter seemed to recover herself. Finola tried to look as if her extended hand was supposed to be there before withdrawing to clasp the other hand and rest it on the front of her dress and acted like nothing was wrong. Although she knew inside she was making a complete dogs dinner of this and Peter would never want to see her again because she was a blundering, shy idiot.

Luckily Peter started talking again and although Finola didn’t let her poker face drop, inside she felt a deep sinking feeling. Dancing. Of course, what else were they supposed to do at a ball? But she was useless at dancing, she would probably tread all over his feet and embarrass them both so much she would never have to show her face at another ball again. Peter continued to stumble on in his speech in an almost endearing way; like he knew he was going to be rejected for asking. If only she could tell him she hated dancing, and not him; or the fact she never danced with anyone because of the complete embarrassment she caused. But then again, he said he didn’t like it either, but it was the done thing, you go to a ball and you dance with someone. Perhaps she could persuade him that seeing as neither of them actually liked dancing they could do something else, but what? Also, looking at his face semi-crumpled with a sort of sadness, she couldn’t say no.

Mentally prepared for what horrors lay on the dance floor, Finola smiled at him. “Of course. I would really like that.” She said honestly, because if she thought of it as spending time with Peter, it sounded a whole league better than plodding cautiously about the dance floor. “Just to warn you though, I’m not a very good dancer either.” She said and giggled nervously. “Come on then.” She said, before shyly sticking out a hand for Peter to take, she hoped, before turning in the direction of the dance floor. It was already packed, and somewhere in the middle she caught a flash of chestnut hair and saw (with disdain) Christina had found herself a good dancer for a partner. Deciding the edge of the floor was safest, that way she could make a run for it if she really messed up she found a spot in a corner of the Hall and turned round to face Peter again. “Ready?” She asked, wondering if she was ready enough herself. But at least she wouldn’t have to lead the dance.

words; 686
tag; peterr
muse; flux - bloc party
comments; wooah sorry about the lateness! exams got to me -dies-

[Deleted]

Christina had meandered through the dancing crowd. Everyone seemed to liven up as more upbeat music was put on and it didn’t take her long to find her dance partner on the floor. Moving to the music, she decided to wait until he was finished doing whatever it was he was doing before moving in again. But watching him, he did have some pretty impressive dancing skills. Christina watched appreciatively, smirking as he threw his coat over a chair and approached her, watching him as he unbuttoned his shirt at the top. She slid towards him willingly, licking her lips in a seductive manner and tossed back her long flame coloured hair. If she could keep up, this would be one killer of a dance.

She followed him almost obediently to the centre of the dance floor, completely confident as she spun round and into a dance that she vaguely remembered learning the steps for when their strict ballroom teacher had been on holiday and a young woman from Columbia had taught the class of shy thirteen year olds salsa in the summer holidays. It wasn’t as technically good as she had remembered watching the teacher doing it, lack of practise and alcohol would be the main reasons but Christina didn’t care. She was dancing much better than most of the others here she thought in a tipsy way to herself, spinning around mid-dance. She didn’t really pick out anyone she immediately recognised in the crowd, it didn’t help that they were wearing masks. She grinned, glad she had found a partner who liked to show off as much as she did.

The lively music slowed slightly at an interlude. She turned round to face her partner, letting her hips sway with the music as she rested one hand teasingly on the newly exposed skin at the top of her partner’s shirt; breathing slightly heavier than when she had first set out on the dance floor. “Hmm, you’ve got some moves boy.” She said so that no one else could hear. “For a dance like that I might have to kiss you again.” She said with a smooth smirk, her icy eyes meeting his through their masks as the beat went on.

words; 389
tag; eddie!
muse; frisky - tinie tempah
comments; thanks for the vids, kinda helped me visualise, though i hope this one helps, start it about 0:15 seconds xD

[Amos Patroclus Diggory]

Had Amos been telepathic and able to decipher Nessa's new 'less chatting more kissing' mantra, he'd have been very grateful. The punch was more potent than he'd expected, and Amos was entering the lightheaded, tipsy phase of his usual drunken partying. It was a nice feeling, being slightly tipsy with Nessa, different from the way he got drunk with his friends at least, when it was about downing as much alcohol as possible to chants of 'chug, chug, chug'. Plus, he guessed she was enjoying the punch too, which helped him feel less self-concious about himself getting drunk. He didn't want Nessa to think he was a wimp or a lightweight (being thought of as wimpy was a particularly sensitive subject for the Quidditch player). Nor did he want Nessa to get irritated with his drunkenness, he had heard about her date with Jacob Kirke which had gone awfully partly down to his drunkenness - and he was secretly quite smug that he was one'upping Kirke in the success he was having with Ness.

Plus, the punch was making Amos' tongue pleasantly looser, along with Nessa's personality, which was easy to get on with. It meant that, thus far, they had not had any awkward silences on their second date, well, arguably their first proper one. Perhaps that was because they were kissing an awful lot though. Not that Amos was complaining. She felt like a better kisser this time, and he was less nervous, helped by the fact that it wasn't their first, awkward kiss, and also that Nessa had taken the first step this time. He grinned into her kiss, leaning across the table and letting his fingers graze her neck and her cheek. He was glad that as of yet the alcohol hadn't made him particularly clumsy, or so he hoped. Pulling away for air, Amos smiled slightly blearily at the redhead across the table. He was still trying to be a cool, enigmatic partner to this Ball, and not some drunken fool making eyes at her across the table. So he was mortified when drunken, uncool, certainly not enigmatic words tumbled out of his mouth before he realised it.

"IreallylikeyouNessa" Amos blinked, slightly bashful, trying to ramble to make his statement seem a little more acceptable, or at least a little less pathetic. "I mean, I er - I think you're really pretty, and nice, and er - I'm glad you decided to come with me tonight." He pulled back slightly from where he had been rambling close to her lips and idly played with her nimble fingers across the tabletop (mostly because he was too embarrassed to look at her now - but also she did have nice hands). "I'd like to go out again sometime, like.. a time that wasn't a Ball, if you'd like"

[nessalaurentius]

The punch was certainly potent, no doubt about that. Although Nessa felt slightly intoxicated, she had the feeling she could still think clear enough, really, and she wasn't too concerned about the drinks. Should Amos prove to be a bit of a lightweight, she'd probably laugh (or, actually, in her current state: chortle) it off, as she wasn't quite sober herself as well and she was not used to alcohol at all really - she had no right to mock him when it came to that. As to Amos' worries whether Nessa would be irritated by his drunkenness, the crucial difference was that this was a party and drinking was normal, while her date with Jacob had taken place in the morning, and the boy had ordered a bottle of whiskey for himself to start with!
Really, Jacob Kirke was the last person on her mind, and it was not very difficult to guess who was in her thoughts. The punch was certainly loosening her up and that was probably for the best, as she was a very pleasant sort of person once she was relaxed enough to do so. Nessa was not one of those girls who do all the wrong things when drunk, it just made her more spontaneous. If that meant she thought things through a little less.. well, that was a sacrifice that wasn't so bad.. right?

Nessa was brave and loosened up enough to attempt to deepen the kiss a little, smiling as she felt his touch, and still doing so as they pulled away. This wasn't going bad at all, it was going pretty well, actually, even if she felt a little lightheaded.
"IreallylikeyouNessa." Funny how Amos thought he sounded pathetic, whereas Nessa actually though it was sweet of him to say that. It was especially the way in which he said it, really - it sounded genuine, not macho. "I mean, I er - I think you're really pretty, and nice, and er - I'm glad you decided to come with me tonight." Nessa blushed slightly and smiled at him. "I'm very glad you asked me, and I'm even more glad I accepted." She looked down at their hands as well, moving to lace her fingers with his.
"I'd like to go out again sometime, like.. a time that wasn't a Ball, if you'd like." She laughed softly - she couldn't help herself, he sounded so insecure about her answer, for some reason. She hadn't laughed at him, but his insecurity had taken her by surprise. "Of course I would like to," she answered, immediately and without hesitation. "What makes you think I would refuse that offer?" Nessa smiled at Amos a little coyly, which had probably something to do with the alcohol, but mostly because she was feeling increasingly comfortable around him. He hadn't ditched her for some hotter-looking girl, which was basically the only thing she'd been worried about, so all was well and good, right?



[It's a titsy crappy >.< Nessa is just going 'get me knocked up!' in my head xD]

[Amos Patroclus Diggory]

The whole tongue-loosening business was undoubtedly a positive side-effect of the punch (well, for now at least) but there were of course negative side-effects to being tipsy for Amos as well. One of which was that he appeared extra-sensitive to Nessa's touch. Every time he grazed her bare arm or allowed their fingers to intertwine was like a short-electric current shot through his body, cheesy as it sounded. Perhaps it was because the potent alcohol was teamed with how much Amos liked the girl opposite. Whatever it was, when Nessa leaned in to deepen their kiss Amos had to exercise more restraint than usual to prevent himself from closing the gap between them and either flinging her onto the table or pulling her under it. Normally, he didn't bother with this type of restraining himself. Not that he ever forced a girl into anything she didn't want to do, he hoped not anyway, but usually Amos' dates to these types of soirées were not the types of pairings that he intended to pursue in the long term (the 'long term' being anytime after the next morning once his hangover kicked in, which meant his only usual contact with these girls after the dates were awkward 'Hello's in the corridors). So he didn't need to worry much usually.

But he wanted to pursue seeing Nessa, so, stifling a small noise of impatience Amos sat back in his chair and occupied himself instead with lightly tracing his date's fingers instead, very glad that the music was loud enough to conceal the noise. Panic set in a little when he heard Nessa's tinkling of laughter across the table. Usually making girls laugh was a good thing, but he hadn't been trying to be funny this time! Did that mean he was being pathetic? As soon as the panic had arrived however, it subsided. She wasn't being spiteful. Amos reminded himself for what seemed like the umpteenth time to remember that Nessa had given him no reason to believe she was particularly nasty at all, actually. Perhaps the drink was making him a little paranoid. Setting his glass down on the table Amos told himself that he didn't need anymore dutch courage, he'd stick to Pumpkin Juic for the rest of the night. He was pretty sure he'd manage to enjoy Nessa's company sober as a judge anyway - after all they'd had fun before in Gladrag's.

Grinning again (a bit stupidly, the punch had made him a bit bleary-eyed) Amos shrugged in answer to Nessa's question. "I don't know really.." Unable to think of a witty enough response, the Hufflepuff quickly tried (as quickly as possible having ingested three or four glasses of the punch by this time) to come up with their next date instead, even though he'd never been great at organising. "We could go out for a meal or something if you'd like?" He half-called across to the redhead, frowning and repeating himself over the din of the music. He was sure it had gotten louder by this point, and where it had helped him out before with the dancing, now it was just getting in the way of his talking to his date. "Would you like to go somewhere quieter?" He suggested, having scanned the Great Hall to find that there were no other tables further away from the source of the noise. Surprisingly, the question had no ulterior motives apart from talking without the music (well, just yet anyway).

[Same here. I think Cedric!Foetus is invading my muse xD]