Closed Got Me Spinning Like a Ballerina

[Celia Vuong]

When Celia was much younger, she'd assumed her last big high school dance would be prom, complete with a limo, corsage, afterparty, the works. Well, she would not be getting that, would never get that, but she found she didn't really mind. She had a date with Seamus tonight, and it surprised her how much she was looking forward to it. It was a dangerous game getting her hopes up since the last seven years had taught her that every good thing eventually came with a catch. But between being named head girl and getting accepted into her dream school, her life had been not completely terrible lately, and she just hoped this tiny run of luck would last one more night.

Seamus had asked her relatively last minute, and maybe if Celia had known she would have a date to the dance, she would've chosen a more traditional gown. But she had been working on her dress for weeks, having wanted something completely unique for her last dance. Besides, she figured that Seamus had seen her in way worse conditions, thanks to all their brutal Quidditch practices. After one last check in the mirror to make sure that her hair and makeup were absolutely perfect, Celia made her way to the entrance of the Great Hall and scanned the crowd to see if she could spot Seamus.

 

[Seamus Reid]

Seamus had been glad when Celia had said yes to the dance. He hadn't been sure she would, he'd sensed that she liked him, but after the yuleball and not asking her to that, he hadn't been sure he'd get this dance. But she'd accepted, and he was ready. He had made sure to put on a sharp suit, one that fitted him well, he had tidied himself up, pushing his hair back, and making sure that he was presentable.

Seamus arrived to the dance with plenty time and didn't have to wait too long before he spotted Celia walking to the entrance of the great hall. She was beautiful. He'd seen her in a manner of different ways, but she was beautiful. He moved over to her with a smile. "Hey," he greeted, as he got close. "You're beautiful," he complimented. "Certainly this dress is quite a change from the quidditch gear,"​

 

[Celia Vuong]

It didn't take long for Celia to find Seamus, and she smiled at the sight of him. They'd spent some time together at the last Valentine's Dance, so she knew he usually put some effort into these events, but that didn't change the fact that she was glad that he was both dressed up and on time. "Hi," Celia said, moving to meet him. Seamus's compliment set off a warm fluttering in her chest, and it delighted her that he'd said she was beautiful, not just that she looked it. "Like it?" she asked, pulling slightly at the fabric of the skirt so that she could better show it off. "I made it, but I can go change if you prefer the Quidditch gear," Celia said with a bit of a smirk before pausing, her expression softening into a sincere smile. "You look handsome too."

 

[Seamus Reid]

Seamus nodded at her question, "Oh really?" he then said, surprise in his tone. Perhaps he should've expected Celia who was good at a good many things to also excel at making dresses. He laughed. "I think this suits you better," he said. "And I had no idea you were so proficient with making clothes," Seamus added, wanting to express that he found it cool. Very cool. "Thank you, I did not make this suit," he replied. He offered out an arm to her. "Can I interest you in a dance?" he asked, figuring that it would be a good way to start the evening.

 

[Celia Vuong]

Celia nodded, unsurprised by Seamus's surprise. After all, it wasn't like she saw him in the arts room often. "I wouldn't say proficient," she said, thinking of all the seams she'd had to rip and redo over the past few weeks, "but thank you." Celia laughed a little at his comment. "I'm not surprised, suits are a lot harder than dresses," she said lightly. She'd never attempted to make a suit herself, but she'd watched a designer at EVELYN work on one and remembered being overwhelmed by the sheer complexity of the sewing patterns. At the offer of a dance, Celia smiled and took his arm. "I'd love one," she said, allowing him to lead them to the dance floor.

 

[Seamus Reid]

Seamus raised his eyebrow a little. "Well, it seems like you are very proficient," he said, of course he had no idea what it took, and didn't interest himself much to those things, so it wasn't like he was seeking the information out. Seamus laughed lightly, though he had no idea if she was teasing or not. The slytherin let her take his arm and began walking to the dance floor, moving at the pace she wanted, since he was pretty sure walking in heels was tricky. He found them a spot, and moved to stand in front of her, letting his hands move to her waist but did not touch, instead, waiting for her to allow him to.

 

[Celia Vuong]

Celia followed Seamus to the dance floor. Once they were there, she gently placed her hands on his shoulders. His hands, however, hovered next to her waist — a hesitation she couldn't recall the last time they'd danced. She wasn't sure if it was due to nerves, politeness, her dress, or something else. "You can touch me, you know," she said softly. And then, in a lighter tone she added,"I'm not going to curse you or anything." Celia had meant it as a joke, but she had no idea if Seamus would take it that way, if that was a genuine concern. She knew she had a pretty terrible reputation, and she was sure that the rumor mill had churned out some awful stuff about her over the past year. She just didn't know what Seamus had heard or what he thought of it all. If Celia was being completely honest, she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

 

[Seamus Reid]

Seamus felt a little silly for hesitating, but did put his hands on her waist. "I didn't want to assume," he said, though he knew he had in the past, perhaps it was just that this was a date rather than just a dance. But he put his hands on her waist and just laughed at her joke. "I think I could take it," he said, boastfully, knowing full well that one could not take a curse in this world. but he was joking with her, or attempting to. "For all we know, I'm the next boy who lived," Seamus was smiling easily, he had found Celia's company to be good. Certainly he heard things, but he didn't much care.

 

[Celia Vuong]

Celia nodded at Seamus's explanation. "Well, I did agree to a dance," she said with a smile, hoping to reassure him. She'd thought that had been permission enough on its own, but she did appreciate him wanting to be considerate. He placed his hands on her waist, and Celia started to sway to the music, relaxing a bit when he went along with her joke. Maybe she'd been overthinking things. "I'd forgotten about your hero complex," she said, remembering a past conversation they'd had about him playing the hero. Celia knew it was all in jest, however, and that was one of the things she liked about him. Seamus had surprisingly little ego, unlike a lot of people at this school. "Sounds like a theory we'd have to test out sometime," she said with a bit of a smirk.

 

[Seamus Reid]

Seamus laughed lightly. "It's part of the master plan to get me out of the dungeons," he replied, referencing back to that other conversation they had had. He in reality didn't find the dungeons to be the worse place to be, but it had more faults. "Do you think it's working?" he asked her jokingly. Seamus was always glad how easy it was to talk with Celia, to just be able to joke with her about the things this school didn't do well. "I'd say it's a pity you won't be here next year for us to test it out, but I bet you are looking forward to be rid of this place,"

 

[Celia Vuong]

Celia pretended to think about his question. "Well, you are smiling more. Keep that up, and I'm sure everyone will fall for it." At Seamus's next comment, she laughed. "You have no idea," Celia said, deciding to be honest even though the polite thing would probably be to deny it. She'd been looking forward to leaving ever since her sorting, and while she knew a lot of her classmates were nervous about life after Hogwarts, she felt nothing but excitement. "We do have some time before then," she said casually, trying to push away her nerves. Celia knew Seamus liked her, but she wasn't sure if he was looking for anything beyond this one date. She also knew that even if he was, she would be graduating and moving across the world in a few months.

 

[Seamus Reid]

Seamus laughed lightly. "I'm going to need to learn how to smile, when I'm talking with other people. You make me smile too easily," he teased but there was a truth in it. Seamus didn't have that many people he liked, those were like Celia, his brother and Avery. Not many. "Yeah we do," he said. "Can I take you on a date? The next brightstone weekend is coming up," he offered with a little smile. he didn't know how long this would last, but he was willing to just go through the motions until she left.

 

[Celia Vuong]

Although Celia was generally allergic to such cheesiness, Seamus's teasing set off a warm thrill, and she laughed. "Such a terrible problem to have, I'm sure," she joked. She was a little surprised when he outright asked her on another date. She'd mostly made her comment to gauge his interest and lay the groundwork in case she later decided to ask him on a second date. But Seamus's straightforwardness was refreshing, and maybe it was just the romantic atmosphere getting to her — the music, the falling petals, the way he was smiling at her — but Celia found herself wanting to say yes. "Are you sure you don't want to first be certain that this date's not going to end in disaster?" she asked with a playful smirk, raising her eyebrows slightly.