Bright Spot

[Sophie Wilson]

As Sophie entered the Great Hall in her dress, part of her wanted to turn back and run. She felt like almost like she would be less noticeable if she were on fire, and she wondered once again how she had let her mother talk her into packing this dress. Dresses weren't part of her usual look, and neither was the color yellow, so she didn't feel entirely at ease as she made her way to one of the larger tables in the corner of the great hall to observe the party. She hadn't thought the dress looked bad on her when she looked at herself in the mirror, just different. But maybe different wasn't always bad. Besides, she could always still leave if this turned out to be really boring, or terrifying, or both.

She scanned the hall for familiar faces, not seeing anyone she knew yet. Some students were already dancing, and the idea alone mortified her. If she were ever to date a boy, he would have to be okay with not dancing at balls or parties. The idea of everyone watching her and her poor sense of rhythm was terrible, though she quietly wished she was more confident. Not that many people would suspect just how insecure she could be, her armor was her attitude, and it kept most others at bay.

After the headmistresses speech, Sophie glanced at the presents underneath the tree. She wouldn't leave without one, she decided. She deserved a reward for coming out here at all and leaving her comfort zone. It felt odd not to wear dark clothes and layers, though even though the yellow was bright, she felt like she would have stood out more in her usual clothes. With a small sigh, she grabbed a candy cane from the food table and started eating it, ready to see what the night would bring her.

 

[Elizabeth Chatwin]

Since Elly didn't have a date this year, she didn't care about the look she was wearing. Last year she had asked her dad to buy a dress and deliver it to Hogwarts for her. This year she couldn't care less, she took an outfit from her pile of clothes and left to see what the Yule ball was about this year. With a cute dungaree and some white pointy heels she was ready for the yule ball. No dress, no fancy make up and she didn't even do her hair properly. She had asked some people, but she was let down or didn't want to go with said person. Elly her intention was to attend for a minute and then leave to lay in her bed and sleep. Sleeping without fellow Ravenclaws around was easy and very blissful.

Elly couldn't walk on heels so who was she kidding. She had flats in her bag, but didn't want to give up. When she entered the ball she found lots of people together with dates and Elly was all alone. That did suck, but she was above this. Elly walked in proudly in her dungaree and looked around to find a familiar face or two. She took some punch and took a sip from it. It tasted nicely, better than pumpkin juice. Elly couldn't dance or liked to dance, so she opted to walk around the dancers and find the spot where the students were that didn't dance.

In the end she spotted Sophie, which wasn't that easy. Sophie was in a brightly yellow coloured dress. I didn't look bad on her, but Elly wasn't used to Sophie in a dress. ''You look good Sop'' Elly looked at the dress, it did look really nice. Maybe she did under dress herself, but somehow she still couldn't care. Elly wondered if she came alone or if she also had a date and Elly was just intruding. ''Are you alone?'' Elly didn't even know if Sophie liked boys. She did know nothing about Sophie in that subject. What if she got a date and didn't tell her. What if Sophie kept everything secret and didn't want to share it with her.

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo stepped through the doors into the Great Hall, and was greeted by a beautiful, energetic sight. Clearly the ball had already begun, and Geo was very ready to meet up with her friends. She'd come down alone, ready to meet her date once they were here. Geo had no idea whether the others were aware of what had happened, but after this evening the news would certainly be in the air. Scanning the room quickly, her eyes found a bright yellow dress. Whoever that was, they were brave. Upon realising it was Sophie she hurried over in her black heels, careful not to slip on the way through. The second year certainly wasn't used to wearing this sort of attire, but her own appearance didn't shock her quite as much as seeing one of her best friends in a loud dress. "How's my favourite Ravenclaws" She shouted loudly over the music on her approach, each arm going round the girls in a group hug. Looking Elly up and down, she wondered why she was dressed as though she would soon be heading off out to tend the gardens. "You are sticking around right?" She asked her, hoping she wouldn't hear that she was leaving soon. Geo loved the Yull Ball. It gave the girls time to have fun outside of their usual lessons, not to mention it was just around the corner from her birthday.

Following Ellys lead, Geo turn to grab a glass of punch from the table, taking a sip and nodding in approval. She turned back to listen as Elly asked if Sophie was alone. Glancing between her friends, she considered how she would answer that question herself. Hopefully her date would be along soon and she wouldn't have to. "Sophie where did you get this?" Geo added when there was a break in conversation. She touched the bottom of the fabric, checking it out. "I mean it's great, but I wouldn't have taken you for a neon girl".

 

[Gabriel Rosenberg]

Gabriel was going to the Yule Ball and he would go by himself. He was fine with it, he thought of girls as stupid right now. Sophie was the most stupid of them all and he managed to ignore her for the most of the first semester so he was glad. Though the changes of seeing her tonight were big and he would want to search his buddy Marcos more. Or Sofia or some other family members. Liam would be around somewhere too but he was sure he would bring some girl along. He just did that, and Gabriel didn't understood why. When he made his way in he looked around and tried to score some cake he was hungry. He heard a familliar voice and when he turned around he looked in the face of Sophie. Great, really great he thought. He looked at some other girls he didn't know that stood around Sophie and talked to her. Why did people want to talk to her? He looked to Sophie with his smirk and went on with eating his cake.

 

[Sophie Wilson]

Sophie wasn't on her own for long, as Elly soon approached which made her smile in relief. Elly's outfit made her somewhat jealous, it seemed incredibly comfortable. Still, wearing a dress for once wasn't bad. Even if it was brighter than the sun itself. She smiled wryly when Elly said she looked good. "You do too, I bet you'll get best dressed." She said with a nudge. "It suits you, though. You look nicer than half the people in puffy pink dresses here." She rolled her eyes when Elly asked if she was alone. "Obviously. Do you think I'm hiding someone under the table?" It wasn't likely that anyone would want to go with her. She knew she wasn't exactly the most approachable girl. Someone like Elly or Geo, or anyone of her friends really, was way more likely to have boys crushing on them in her opinion. "Are you?" She asked her friend curiously. "I figured you'd have a date."

Then something blue approached, and she soon realized it was Geo. She couldn't help a small grimace as she was pulled into a group hug, though she managed not to pull away. She enjoyed having friends, even if they had fewer boundaries than she had. She just shrugged when the girl asked if they would be sticking around. "I guess so." She muttered. "If it's not boring."

The focus on her dress made her slightly uncomfortable again, and she automatically straightened the dress as Geo touched the hem, clearly awkward. "My mother... gave it to me. She said it would look nice. I didn't think it would be this blinding, though." She muttered. Her parents were both in fashion, as they had a clothing store, so Sophie had sort of assumed her mother had known what she was talking about. "Is it too much? Maybe I should head back and-"

But then she noticed someone else, someone with eyes on their group. No, eyes on her. Her expression hardened as she took in Gabriel Rosenberg. What was he doing? Why was he just smirking at her? He looked smug while eating cake. That had to be some sort of talent. Unfortunately he didn't look bad or silly, and he definitely wasn't wearing bright yellow. This had been a mistake, she suddenly wanted to get away. She nudged Elly and hissed. "That's the guy I told you about. Don't look at him too obviously." She added hastily. Last thing she needed was for him to know she was talking about him.

 

[Elizabeth Chatwin]

Sophie did look good in her neon yellow dress. When Sophie joked she would get best dressed Elly smiled. ''Totally was going for that'' Elly laughed and looked at the girls in sparkly tight fitting dresses. ''Thanks for the compliment, so do you.'' Elly paused ''Yellow looks good on you'' Not that she meant hufflepuff colours, just yellow. Elly knew her sister was a hufflepuff so Sophie wouldn't be too happy to be compared to her. Sophie managed to make Elly laugh with the most sarcastic of comments. ''If you don't count my invisible friend Bob, I am alone'' Elly winked and smiled. She didn't have a date this year, but that didn't matter. At least she found Sophie and that meant she wasn't running away after two minutes to go get some more sleep.

Elly felt great in her outfit, but when she saw Geo walking towards them she was kind of shocked. Geo looked amazing in her vibrant blue dress. ''Depends if this party deserves my presence.'' Elly was in a good mood and she was probably staying. With Geo and Sophie around it was a proper party. Elly was a bit hesitant with Geo since she had turned her offer down, but she probably had a good reason for it. She wasn't angry or cross with her, but she was a bit sad. ''Stop fussing over it Sop, you look good in it''Elly smiled and took another sip of punch.

When Sophie started talking about the guy they had talked about in the common room Elly tried to search for him without making it to obvious. Finally Elly spotted someone that fitted the description Sophie had gave her. He did look like a douche and Elly could totally relate why Sophie didn't like him. She was going to beat him to a pulp with the next Ravenclaw quidditch match against Gryffindor. ''He fits your description perfectly'' Elly smiled and tried not to stare at his face. Because Sophie told her about him, Elly felt angry without even knowing the guy.

 

[Sara Benivieni]

Sara hadn't necessarily planned to go to the Yule Ball this year, it wasn't exactly her thing to go to dances unless it was with her friends whom she hadn't seen or spoken to in a while. So as she dressed up for the dance this year it was mainly on the mission to find her friends and hang out with them, if they didn't have dates. The Slytherin certainly hadn't been asked by anyone nor did she ask someone so she could easily leave if things got boring or lonely. She finished getting ready and soon she was making her way down to the great hall where most people would be. Hopefully from which dress she picked, one of the very few she had, she would not look out of place.

At first she didn't spot anyone she knew, but then she saw her good friend Geo, and another friend and housemate Elly. She only recognised the other girl from classes, Sophie, but hadn't yet had a proper conversation with her. Sara considered a friend of a friend as amiable and a possible friend, so it couldn't hurt to walk up to them and greet them. She missed the last part of the conversation, though. She grinned when she finally arrived to where the trio were. "Hey guys," she said, smiling at them, before glancing around the room. Sara did not miss the look Sophie seemed to be giving another boy in their year, someone whose name Sara didn't know. She raised an eyebrow, because he was smirking at one of them and the second year had no idea why he would be looking at her friends like that, it was weird. "Who is that guy and why is he looking at you like that?"

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Sophie seemed to have been distracted by someone, but not turning to take a look at who had arrived as to avoid drawing any suspicion, she frowned curiously at her friend. "Who is he?" She asked, not knowing what had happened between the two, not that it took much for Sophie to make an enemy. Geo had felt lucky that she was finally considered her friend, and had already been on the opposite end of the line last year. As Sara joined the group, Geo was quick to get in there once again with a friendly hug. She'd not seen the Slytherin for a while but they got on well whenever they did spent time together. "Here," Geo offered her a glass of punch from the table beside them. Glad that she wasn't the only person to be without context, she looked back to Sophie in hope of light being shed.

Jess and Leila still hadn't turned up yet, and no doubt would arrive from the Gryffindor common room together, but as Geo turned to see who the boy in question was, it crossed her mind as to whether he was friends with them. She'd seen him in class, but never needed to put a name to the face. After taking another sip from her glass, "Sophie, don't keep all the gossip to yourself" She added jokingly. Elly had clearly been updated and she wanted to know if it was something serious.

 

[Leila Walden]

Leila Walden had mixed feelings about the Yule Ball. She was excited to go to the dance with Ulrich, a boy that she had been getting on incredibly well with, but it would be the first dance that she wasn't officially going with Jess. The two girls were usually inseparable but Leila couldn't help but feel like there was a bit of distance between the two of them recently. They had discovered different hobbies that meant that they didn't spend as much time together as Leila would have liked but she still loved her friend dearly nonetheless. As their compromise the girls decided to arrive at the ball together and then meet their dates once they were inside; that way they had a little bit of time together before they were unfortunately seperated.

The Gryffindor girls spent the best part of the afternoon and much of the evening helping each other get ready for the ball between chatting and laughing. It took a few hours but they were finally ready and made their way down to the ball, hand in hand. Leila looked around the room, looking to see if she could spot either Ulrich, or any member of the IC. She first spotted Sophie in a bright yellow dress and Leila smiled to herself, she knew Sophie would hate what she was wearing but she looked beautiful in it! She was talking to a fellow member of the IC, Elly; who seemed to be dressing very casually for the evening. Leila squeezed Jess' hand and nodded towards their friends before making their way over to them.

Before long, Sophie and Elly were joined by Geo and Leila's heart sank. She almost forgot that she wasn't at the Yule Ball with Jess and looking at Geo brought all those strange feelings of jealousy back to her. She looked at Jess and felt her stomach do somersaults as they walked closer to the group. She forced a smile as they approached the other girls and squeezed out a little "Hi!" still holding on tightly to Jess' hand. Leila smiled at Gabriel, she didn't know the boy that well but they were in the same house and he seemed nice enough, although Leila couldn't help but feel the tension in the group. It wasn't long before the Slytherin girl turned the talk to Sophie's apparent hatred for Gabriel and Leila momentarily dozed out of the conversation as she looked around the room hoping to spot Ulrich among the other dancers.

 

[Jessica Cade]

Jess was nervous as she prepared for the Yule Ball, she had an actual date with Geo and while she was excited her stomach had been in knots all day. The Gryffindor stood in front of her dorm mirror trying to smooth out her dress. It wouldn't do, it wasn't right, she didn't look right. "Leila I can't do this, the dress doesn't look right," She said to her fellow Gryffindor as she tugged at the fabric trying to make it look better. "I don't look pretty enough," She whispered so Leila couldn't hear. Jess knew that Geo would look amazing and she was nervous that she wouldn't look good enough for her date. After Leila managed to calm her down, as she always did, Jess managed to relax and enjoy getting ready with Leila. It was good to spend quality time with her best friend as they had seen less of each other lately as they both began to find themselves and their places at the school. Leila had also been spending more time with the Slytherin boy Ulrich. Every time Leila mentioned the boy's name it stirred up a feeling of jealousy in the pit of her stomach.

Once Jess was ready and calm she made her way down to the Great hall with Leila. She was quite sad that they weren't each other's dates as it was the first time they were attending a dance with other people. Jess felt Leila squeeze her hand on several occasions and it made the blonde blush every time. Having her fellow Gryffindor in such proximity was always a comfort and she was so happy she would have some time with her at the dance before they parted to see their dates.

They both entered the Great hall and Jess began to look out for Geo. The first person she saw was Sophie, she was hard to miss in her bright yellow dress. She and Leila made their way over to Sophie and the rest of the group. Jess beamed at the sight of Geo, as expected Geo looked breathtaking. Jess let go of Leila's hand and went over to her date. "Hi," She said shyly, leaning over to kiss the girls cheek. Jess didn't think too much about the face she had just kissed Geo in front of their friends if she did she would run away.

 

[Gabriel Rosenberg]

Gabriel was enjoying his cake and this view. He know knew why girls were stupid, most of them than. They were always gossiping and acting like they were better than everyone else. He noticed Sophie saw him and it was funny to see how her face changed. He really knew how to irritate her he thought. He just thought of it as funny right now, because she started being so unkind at first he was just responding honestly. He would not be lying about what he thought of people. He put some pumpkinjuice and took a sip of it and hang a bit on the table next to him while looking at Sophie and the girls around her. Gabriel didn't understood why so many girls were around her, who could ever like her? She was as boring as a blank paper, nothing was happening and she was always surly. He saw Sophie hissing something to some other Ravenclaw girl who he didn't knew. It was just stupid and he frowned for a second. Than the Slytherin girl was joining too and they looked at him very strange.

When Gabriel was thinking of what he could do more, he thought of going to the girls but he saw two gryffindor girls arrive and he was glad when he saw it was Jessica and Leila, he had met with them in the kitchens once but didn't spoke much, though they seemed nice. '' Hi Jessica and Leila. Looking for some more cake?'' he said with a smile referring to their adventure in the kitchens.

 

[Sophie Wilson]

Sophie never knew what to do with compliments, so when Elly told her she looked good in yellow she just shrugged awkwardly. The comment about her invisible friend made Sophie snort in amusement, it was such an Elly comment. Being with Geo and Elly was nice, it felt like they actually wanted her around. Geo looked so nice in her blue dress, and Sophie felt a little plain beside her. She snorted again when Elly said Gabriel fit the description she had given perfectly. Part of her thought she had probably given her a somewhat unfair view of someone she didn't even know, but if anyone deserved that it was Gabriel Rosenberg.

But before she could say anything on the subject, another girl approached. Sophie recognized her from some lessons, but didn't know her name. It seemed like she was friends with Geo, though. Unsurprising, Geo seemed to have the baffling ability to befriend almost anyone. She hugged the unfamiliar girl, and Sophie waited until they were done until she answered them both. "It's not gossip really, he's just a jerk. He's really rude and arrogant. I met him on the train to school in our first year. Instantly hated him." She shrugged. "Not that surprising, I know, but he's only proven himself as a horrible person ever since. He's empty-headed, only cares about quidditch, has no substance and he is just... just infuriating." She shrugged. It sounded sort of weak, as she didn't really have good reasons to dislike him so much. Someone as friendly as Geo would probably not understand it. Still, she didn't think someone as unpleasant as Gabriel would be of interest to her either.
Then Leila and Jess arrived, together of course. They both looked beautiful, like they actually belonged in dresses. But Sophie scowled when Leila greeted Gabriel. Of course they would know each other, and of course Leila would be friendly, but it had been so nice to seem like a united front against him. Why did Leila have to ruin it by being so annoyingly sweet? But then she was quite startled to see Jess let go of Leila's hand and kiss Geo's cheek. Sophie's gaze moved between the two blonds, eyebrows raised. "So... what's happening here?" She asked.

But before she could forget about Gabriel, he reminded her of his presence infuriatingly. Sophie snorted and crossed her arms. "Hey, Gabriel. Can't you talk to your own friends instead of mine?" She asked him. Then she looked around in an exaggerated fashion. "Oh wait, you don't seem to have any." She smirked back at him, feeling confident surrounded by girls she knew would have her back.

 

[Sofia Rosenberg]

Sofia was still working out some issues and didn't felt home yet on Hogwarts. She had talked to Rose and Rory and they seem to be okay little by little and she tried her very best to act normal to girls but it wasn't easy. It wasn't easy at all living with Thantophobia. She wanted friends desperatly, but got afraid when they came to close. And that almost always happend. Sofia became tired of it that she just gave up and spend her first years on hogwarts being somewhat alone. Though she liked the attention of boys and she searched for different boys so that nobody could ever come too close. The Swedish blonde went on her own to the Yule Ball and was sure she would run into someone if it weren't Rose and Rory it would be some of her family, since they were spreading on Hogwarts. When Sofia entered the great hall she smiled at the decoration, it was always nice to walk in here. But she didn't felt that comfertable being here. When she walked a bit further she noticed her brother Gabriel standing close to the drinks and food table. Ofcourse there he would be, it seemed like he was there by himself but he stood close to a big group of girls. When she came there she heard a girl talking to her brother and it didn't sound nice. She decided to stand next to him. '' Hi Gab'' the blonde Gryffindor said. The girls must be people from Gabriel his year, since she didn't knew them. Only two Gryffindor girls she ever saw passing by in the common room. Sofia heard when she came here what a chinese looking girl said to her brother. What was she acting all confident? Sofia looked at the girl in the yellow dress and frowned. '' He's got me! And don't be such a icequeen to my brother. Why do you even care?'' Sofia said mean to the girl. This was a reason why she hated hanging out with girls. They could be so underhand and dramatic, she didn't knew what was going on between these two but when she looked at Gabriel it didn't seemed that good.

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo took a sip from her glass, urging her friend to tell them what was going on, when a familiar pair arrived. "Leila, Jess!" She grinned at them both, throwing her arms quickly around her brunette Gryffindor before turning to Jess. She blushed slightly as she kissed her cheek, but she returned the gesture, and slid an arm around her waist. "You look so beautiful" She said quietly, close to her ear. She was glad Jess had asked her to be her date for the Yule Ball, and she was certain they were going to have a good evening.

Geo's heard turned back to Sophie as she began to explain her trouble with Gabriel. Rude and arrogant were the words she used, and even if Soph was known to find trouble, Geo still trusted her opinion of others, especially if they had remained the same since first year. As if on cue, Gab called out to Jess and Leila, and Geo's arm instinctively tighted a little around the girl. They were here to enjoy their night, not to start arguments. Geo let out an accidental smile at Soph's retort to the boy. She didn't mean it, afterall it certainly came across a little petty, but the idea that Sophie was standing up to herself delighted the Hufflepuff.

Her eyes shot towards the direction of a new voice. A few feet away stood another blonde who had introduced herself as Gabriels sister. Geo was beginning to get angry now. This was not how it was meant to go. Releasing her arm from Jess, she took a step forward in Sophie's defence. "Perhaps you should spend more time worrying about why he feels it necessary to butt in where he's not wanted. And at least she doesn't have to rely on her sister to be her date" Geo scoffed, surprised at how easy it had been for the words to come out of her mouth. She'd never been rude to anyone before, but her annoyance at the situation was growing and she wouldn't take anyone saying a bad word to her friends. "They're probably the kind of family that believe Quaffles need syrup" She murmured, turning back to Jess. She scowled towards the pair, as she tried to guide her friends towards the dance floor. "Come on, they're not worth it" They had time as a group together and should really make the best of it.