Don't Feel Like Dancing

[Landon Dalton]

The Great Hall looked amazing in all its glorious detail. Many students were dancing or talking or laughing. A few were enjoying the refreshments. Landon sat in silence on one of the provided benches, watching a group of girls as they pointed to some roguishly handsome seventh year, and giggled when he smiled at the lot of them. Landon had never been like that. He had never been able to just smile at girls and have them melt at his feet. No, he didn't want that. That was what he would tell himself. He held no interest in being some dandy flaunter who found a new love every week. It was for the simple fact that Landon was still in love.

His eyes turned to focus on two young people as they began, what was obviously, their first dance together; the boy was trying to lead, though he was clumsy and awkward, while the girl, with her fair curtain of hair and fragile skin, danced as elegantly as she could. Landon felt his stomach tense. Memories floated back to haunt him. The ghosts of his past boasted something magical, something that had been thrown away through misunderstanding. He liked Artemis. He cared about her. She was his greatest friend. But now he finally doubted whether or not he actually loved her. The seventeen year old's woes, showed on his paling face, and someone else had noticed.

 

[Beth Titus]

Beth had been stood by the refreshment table in her anemic-green dress. She had even taken the time to fasten her hair back into a wavy ponytail. In all honesty, the Yule Ball felt vacant of any inviting life, this year. Maybe it was the fact that the absence of her notebook and quill was making her feel empty. She smiled as she overheard a passing couple discussing dragons. She liked the environment, however lacking she felt without a page of notes heavily scraped into fresh parchment.

And then Beth's eyes managed to pick someone out from the crowds of laughing, chatting, and dancing people; an older boy was sat on his own, a pale face that suggested he was about to be sick. It was in her nature to be curious, and she moved through the hustle and bustle until she managed to reach the boy she recognised as a prefect. "Hello," she said gently, smiling down at him. "Mind if I join you?" There was a moment in which he glanced up and seemed to recognise her face. It suddenly occurred to Beth that maybe the prefect knew her from the Hogwarts Monthly. "I'm not here to interview anyone," Beth added quickly, hoping he wasn't getting the wrong idea. She just didn't like to see anyone looking being unhappy at such a wonderful time of the year. "I just wondered if you're alright."