All Fancy and the Like

[Derek Tahana]

Derek had been looking forward to this event since the beginning of the semester, he was looking forward to anything that wasn't exams and lessons, and this was the event that had neither. He loved the yuleball, probably more so than any of the other celebrations that the school had. He liked wearing a suit and he liked dancing with people. He could always find something to enjoy himself with in this event. Valentines was fun but it had a little more pressure, though he hadn't bent to that when he'd Emilia to that dance. The young slytherin had thought about asking her to this, but had in the end decided against it. He would see her here, and maybe go talk to her, but he also figured she had more friends and he'd be happy with just one dance with her, since they were friends. Derek walked into the great hall and took in all the people around. The boy walked through the room and headed towards the food table, he was careful to not get any of the food he ate on his white shirt, and he was perfectly happy watching others and digging into a snack, he'd find someone to spend the time with, he was sure of it. The semester had been good too, he was pretty happy with it, and this was the perfect way for it to end.
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[Emilia Manning]

Emilia wouldn't miss any of the balls or dances at Hogwarts for anything. They were the closest she would ever get to being in a fairy tale story, and as she entered the great hall in her white dress she really did feel like a princess for a moment. It was so beautiful, and if she wasn't so scared of the headmistress she would have considered finding her later to tell her so. But like most adults, the woman intimidated Emilia. Especially because she was in charge of everything, and probably had no time to talk to a second year about decorations.

The last two dances she had been with Derek Tahana, a boy in her year. He had helped her dance and enjoy herself, something she was very grateful for. But she wouldn't always rely on him for that. It would be unfair to demand his time and attention at every dance. She didn't need to dance and feel like she was in a story, sometimes it was enough to be a spectator to other people's stories. So many older students looked so happy and in love as they danced together in their beautiful clothes. It was really wonderful. She wandered around for a little while, but froze when she spotted him. He was at the food table, and she stared at him before quickly averting her gaze. Somehow, she had wandered over to Derek after all, without meaning to. Her resolve not to seek him out was useless now, as she was here anyway. Would he think her strange? Some sort of stalker? She felt her cheeks heat up. Maybe there was still time to get away. As much as she was embarrassed about it, she knew deep down she was starting to maybe... maybe sort of like him. But he didn't need to know that. He had simply been friendly to her at the last dances, though he had really behaved like a gentleman. The way he had eased her mind and danced with her had made her think of a prince in a storybook, though that was too embarrassing to ever say out loud. She would just... go. But before she did, she glanced at him once more. He looked really nice tonight.

 

[Derek Tahana]

Derek's gaze shifted around the room as he snacked on the lovely food provided for this event. He didn't have nearly as many friends as others did, and was really just hoping that he would run into someone he knew or have the opportunity to get to know someone new. It would be good fun. He finished off what he was eating and wiped his hands upon his suit legs, perhaps not the smartest idea but it didn't matter too much, it would be cleaned off with magic. It was as he was looking around that he spotted his friend, Emilia. She didn't appear to be with anyone and she appeared that she had been close to him though, now perhaps walking away, why hadn't she come to say hi? Maybe she just hadn't noticed him. He liked her, would want to spend the time with her, so despite the fact that he had considered not doing so the boy walked towards her, "Emilia!" he called out as he got closer, she looked lovely, he had liked her dress from the last two events but this was an equally lovely dress. "Emilia, wait up," he added as he got closer, hoping that she woudnl't mind seeing him at this event, if she was waiting on others, or spending time with another person, maybe she even had a date a platonic one or not, he didn't want to interrupt anything, but Derek thought it would be wrong to not at least say hello.
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[Emilia Manning]

Emilia's heart froze when she heard Derek call her name right as she was starting to walk away from him. She was sure her face was incredibly pink, but she knew she couldn't ignore him. It was obvious she had heard him from this distance, so she turned and saw him approach. "Oh!" She said, smiling nervously and waving at him. Maybe it would be best to pretend she hadn't noticed him yet, though she wondered how believable that was. "Oh. Um. Hi." She said, her heart pounding fast as she was now face to face with her first crush. "How... how are you?" She asked, twisting her hair around her finger nervously as she smoothed down her white dress with her other hand. She tried to think of how Evelyn would talk to a boy she liked, but she was sure her cousin would be all confident in that situation. Emilia hardly ever felt confident, and definitely not right now.

 

[Derek Tahana]

Derek smiled and waved back at her when she noticed him and waved at him. The slytherin wasn't too sure if she had seen him before, it had felt like she'd maybe been heading towards him but perhaps he had been wrong about that, perhaps he'd read a little too much into that and she hadn't actually been heading towards him in the slightest. He grinned happily at her as he stood in front of her, Derek did not spend nearly enough time with a girl he considered to be one of his closest friends, which she was of course, "I'm great! Even better now seeing you!" he was smiling with ease at her, an easy expression on her face as he did so. he always found it so easy to talk to her, and she still seemed a little nervous which he was always keen to have her feel less. "How are you?" the boy asked, "You here with someone?" he asked, hoping to gage as to whether he was distracting her from others and would probably therefore need to keep the interaction short. he both hoped she did and didn't, did because he wanted her to always have a great time and didn't because then he could spend more time with her.
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[Emilia Manning]

Emilia was glad Derek didn't seem to have noticed she had been looking at him for a while. Nor did he seem to mind talking to her. In fact, his words implied he really liked seeing her here, which made her heart flutter a little as she looked at him. His eyes were a beautiful shade of dark brown, she couldn't help but notice. "I'm glad to see you too." She squeaked out, averting her gaze with a small smile. She shook her head at his question. "I'm not here with anyone. Just... looking at all the beautiful dresses and enjoying the decorations." She said quickly. "Oh, and I'm fine!" She suddenly had a thought. "Are you here with anyone?" Her gaze darted around at any nearby girls. Maybe Derek was just waiting for his date to return. It would make sense. Someone pretty and confident surely would ask someone like Derek to the dance. Or maybe he had asked some girl. That was even worse.

 

[Derek Tahana]

Derek grinned easily at her, as pleased to see her and she appeared to be to see him. He hadn’t spent nearly as much time with her as he might’ve wanted over the term, so it was nice to spend the time, however little with her now. Derek felt a little conflicted when she said she wasn’t with anyone, he didn’t think people should be alone at such a celebration, but it did mean he could spend time with her. He hadn’t thought to really ask her again, the first time had been a sort of novelty. Her further points were true too, he could enjoy the same, ”Your dress is pretty too, it’s as nice as the black one you wore last time,” he liked the dress on her, and thought that she should include herself in the category of looking at nice dresses. The slytherin nodded, ”Nope, here all on my own-some too,” the boy replied with a grin, ”Maybe you’d be interested in a dance? We can make sure you haven’t forgotten what I’ve taught you in the past,” he held out a hand to her, a bright expression on his face, neither of them had anyone, so why not have at least one dance together. It would make the event a little more interesting, and Emilia was one of the better dancers in the room in Derek’s humble opinion.
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[Emilia Manning]

Emilia's heart was beating quickly in her chest as the conversation continued. It was really quite special to talk to Derek at another ball, and she really hoped he wasn't with anyone. A slight smile touched her lips when he complimented her dress, and she automatically moved one hand to smooth it down. "You think so?" She asked, wondering if he meant that. He had remembered the color of the one from last year, that had to be promising. It was a relief to hear he didn't have a date who would be angry with Emilia for talking to him, and she felt a tiny bit hopeful. Maybe he wouldn't mind spending this evening with her? Her eyes widened slightly when he went even further than she had dared to hope, asking her to dance. For a moment, she was tongue-tied. It took her longer to respond than was normal, and when she did she stumbled over her words a little. "Taught? You mean- dancing. Um. Yes!" She said, blushing as she put a hand over her mouth to stop more words from leaving her. "I mean... Yes, I would like to." She said after another moment, though she was sure her face was very pink by now.

 

[Derek Tahana]

Derek gave an excited nod, ”It suits you,” he repeated with a smile, he liked this dress a little better than the other one, but he would’ve thought either dress was lovely on her and he had grown to really like the black dress on her. He watched and waited as she took her time to respond to his offer of a dance, but he could understand why she was perhaps a bit tentative. Maybe she hadn’t actually wanted to spend this time with him, or was still mostly unsure about dancing in it’s entirety, but no matter her decision Derek would respect it. He liked Emilia, she was a good friend, a lovely person, he would respect if she didn’t want to dance with him. He’d be happy if she didn’t want to dance with him but did with others. Derek had always been raised to respect other people’s choices and still appreciate when they gave attention to him. However, the worries that she might not agree faded when she agreed to it. He grinned happily, ignoring the blush on her cheeks and just being happy that she would want to dance with him. He gave an over exaggerated bow to her and held out a hand, ”Then, let’s,” he would certainly keep them where they likely stood, knowing that Emilia hadn’t been too confident before to want to be too much in front of others and they could dance wherever really. The slytherin liked spending time with her and he was sure that she liked spending time with him too, ”We should hang out more Emilia,”
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[Emilia Manning]

Emilia didn't know what else to say in response to the compliments about her dress. At least, until she realized she hadn't actually thanked him for his kind words. "Thank you," she said quickly, hoping he wouldn't mind how long it too for her to say that. His grin in response to her saying yes made her heart flutter all that much more, and for a moment she wondered if this wasn't all a little too overwhelming. What if she messed up? But she didn't want to go, especially not once he bowed and held out his hand. A small laugh escaped her and she took his hand, feeling ready to dance with him. "I would like that... to spend more time together" She said as he told her they should hang out more. Because of how embarrassed she was of her crush, she had sort of been avoiding him. But it really was nice to spend time with him.