All Eyes on Me

[April Ward]

April missed ballet, more now that she had talked about it again with Syrus. It wasn't necessarily ballet itself that she missed so much, but dancing. She spent a lot of her time doing things like handstands and cartwheels and running around, but she hadn't let herself dance much lately. So today was the day she would dance, outside in the sun. April never cared much about being seen or laughed at, and she knew she was good at what she did. She found a nice place on the great lawn without too many students nearby but still enough for a decent audience, and got started. First she stretched and warmed up, just like she used to do before a ballet class. But after she was done she didn't do the exercises she used to do in ballet, she started improvising. Closing her eyes and imagining music, April started to spin. A grin appeared on her face and she lept to one side, before turning her momentum into a cartwheel. She loved moving like this, feeling how her body reacted. It was a bit stiffer than it used to be, as she really needed to practice more. She swung her arms as she spun again before coming to a standstill. She wasn't done, but needed to think of what she wanted to do next.

 

[Dominique Malone]

After being cooped up in the basement most of the time, Domi was desperate for some proper fresh air. Making her way out onto the lawn, she looked around for someone who looked interesting to talk to. It didn't take long at all for the girl to spot clearly the most interesting person in this area. She was spinning and twirling and cartwheeling all around, and Domi watched for a long moment, trying to think of the best way to involve herself in this. After a moment she grinned and rushed in, cartwheeling over to the girl while she was taking a break. Domi's cartwheels weren't quite as tidy, dance not so much of a focal skill for her, but it was passable, and this would certainly involve her in the action. "Hi! What are you dancing for?" She asked brightly, trying to size up the other girl without dropping her bright smile.

 

[April Ward]

April had just decided to start spinning around again, trying to see if she could do it elegantly for long enough without getting dizzy, when a girl approached by doing a cartwheel. While April appreciated her style, she did have to admit her own cartwheels were better. Which made her happy. The girl was unfamiliar to her, but looked younger. She was probably a first year, though April wasn't sure as she hadn't paid that much attention during the sorting ceremony at the start of the year. April grinned and hopped closer to the other girl twirling around her once. "Just because I want to!" She said happily before doing a handstand and grinning up at her. "Do I need a better reason?" She asked before standing up right again and giving her a little bow.

 

[Dominique Malone]

Dominique sized the other girl up quietly, never losing her cheerful smile. "Not at all! That looks like fun!" She said happily, trying to keep the sourness out of her voice. The other girl's handstand had been better than anything Domi could do herself. Clearly, the other girl was trained. "Do you do dance lessons? Or gymnastics? I'm an actress, so I do lots of performance myself." She said with a bright smile. She wanted to know the other girl's strengths before deciding whether she represented any kind of competition, or someone who would be useful to know.

 

[April Ward]

April looked at the other girl and shrugged. It was a little strange to be questioned like this. She started stretching as the other girl talked to her. "I used to take ballet lessons before Hogwarts." She said with a small shrug. "That's fun, are you a real actress?" She couldn't imagine how, but figured the girl wasn't lying. "Like, in plays? Or maybe even muggle commercials?" April stretched her hands up into the air and sighed. "Do you dance as well?" She had noticed the girl's cartwheels hadn't been as good as her own but she knew not everyone could even do that. "Like, as part of your acting or something?" She shrugged, she didn't really know anything about acting, but figured it wouldn't be any fun if you couldn't dance at least a little bit.