Open An Actual Ball?!

[Gregory Friend]

Gregory had never been to a fancy ball, he had never worn a suit before, and he'd never been fancy before. Gregory hadn't worn his glasses, they hadn't really suited, but he was struggling to see too much in front of him. Partly too, Gregory was worried that he wasn't supposed to be at it, that it was a ball for people who were better than he was. But he was there, at the ball. He glanced about the room, spotting the table with food, and rushed over to it. He could grab some snacks and then figure out what he could do. Gregory wasn't sure if he should dance, or if he should like, eat a whole dinner and then dance. or find a friend, maybe Dahlia was about.

 

[Dahlia Doherty]

Dahlia hadn't expected that they'd be having school dances already, but she was glad she'd brought at least something she could dress up in for the ball. The pink was a contrast from all the red, but it was a colour that suited her, she thought. And she was pleased to see that the ball was more of a summery Christmas theme. Which made sense for where they were, of course, and was what she was used to. But it meant that her shorter dress blended in well enough. She wasn't sure she was loving being at Hogwarts, and had to admit she felt a little homesick, but Dahlia wouldn't miss a party before going home. And the food here was really good, so she found herself wandering over to the food table, wanting to have a few snacks and see if she spotted anyone she knew. Sure enough, she ended up next to someone who looked oddly familiar, and she gawked for a moment before she realized. "Oh, Gregory! Sorry, I almost didn't recognize you without your glasses..." Dahlia admitted, feeling a bit bad about it. "I'm glad to see you!" she added, meaning it. She didn't feel like she really knew anyone here as well as she would have liked and was happy to see a friendly face.

 

[Gregory Friend]

Gregory glanced at the person who said his name, flinching in surprise and for a moment worrying that it had been Cassius or something. He gave a little quiet sigh of relief upon recognizing the voice and the person who it was. Dahlia. ”Oh,” he reached up to his own face, casually touching next to his eye as if he'd almost forgotten that the glasses weren't there. ”That's okay, I can barely see without them,” it was perhaps a mistake to not wear them when he was already usually so clumsy. ”Good to see you too,” he replied. ”Are you looking forward to the break?” ​

 

[Dahlia Doherty]

Dahlia tilted her head in confusion, giggling a little. "That's silly. If you can't see without them, why aren't you wearing them?" Despite that, her words weren't mean spirited, just thinking it a little strange. "Oh, do you have like, contact lenses or something?" Her mum often wore them, though she wore the glasses at work. She nodded vigorously at his question. "Oh yeah, I can't wait to go home," Dahlia admitted. "I even miss my sister, and she's so annoying. Are you looking forward to it?" She picked up a fruit mince pie, taking a bite out of it. It wasn't exactly a taste she loved, but it was a taste she felt nostalgic for.

 

[Anisha Khatri]

Anisha had thought Halloween was cool, but she wasn't entirely sure what to expect from a ball. She hadn't known what to expect and was kind of glad it wasn't too fancy. She liked the decorations and was certainly intrigued by the presents under the tree. Entering the great hall with her cousin, Anisha immediately looked for anyone familiar to hang out with. She spotted Dahlia talking to one of their classmates, Gregory she believed, and pulled Raafe over to talk to them. "Hey!" She called. "This is pretty nice, huh?"

 

[Raafe Khatri]

Raafe was happy to let Anisha tow him around the room as he took in the room around them. He was honestly going to miss all this over the break he figured, despite spending most of his break with Anisha being very likely, it just wouldn't be the same once they were back home and living in separate houses again. The ball itself seemed crowded, having the whole school squished in here, but it did make for interesting people watching, seeing how everyone was all dressed up.

"I'm half surprised there's no BBQ," he said mildly, taking a deep breath as if he could sniff out the smell of sausages grilling as they joined Dahlia and someone who was possibly Gregory but whose face looked all weird and different for some reason.

 

[Gregory Friend]

Gregory gave a little shy shrug, ”People in movies always take off glasses to make themselves look nicer?” he replied, feeling a little pathetic with each word that left his mouth. He knew it was silly, but it wasn't like his confidence had been high all semester, and he thought…it might just be nice. Gregory nodded in agreement. ”I can't wait to see my parents and my video games,” Gregory said with a little smile. He glanced towards the next voice. ”Yeah,” he agreed, there was another boy with the girl, who he had never met. ”Maybe the BBQ will be later?” he didn't know how these events went.​

 

[Dahlia Doherty]

Dahlia rolled her eyes, shaking her head in a good natured way. "You look perfectly nice with them on," she insisted. Dahlia liked fashion, and sure, Gregory's glasses weren't exactly chic, but they suited him and being able to see was always a good thing. "If you can't see too well let me know, okay?" She wasn't going to abandon him, especially as she vaguely knew that Cassius had been giving him a hard time. She'd even seen it. So she'd rather her friend have a good night. She turned around at the familiar voices, seeing Anisha and Raafe, and gave them a wave. "Oh! Anisha, Raafe, hi!" Mostly greeting them by name to help Gregory in his limited eyesight. "I feel like there should be a whole bunch of ham sandwiches on the go," she admitted. That was always a part of Christmas that stuck out, living off ham sandwiches for at least the next week.

 

[Anisha Khatri]

Anisha glanced at Raafe. “Maybe you should suggest it to the headmaster.” She said with a grin, wondering if he’d dare to do something like that. She turned to the Hufflepuff who she was fairly sure was named Gregory. “I doubt it, there’s already a ton of food here.” She said, gesturing to the tables. She smiled as Dahlia made a suggestion too. “You should go to the headmaster too, he’s still new to this, maybe he’d appreciate the help.” She teased.