I Am Sorry

[Thaddeus Miller]

Thaddeus fixed his bow tie for one last time before making his way from the Gryffindor common room down to the Great Hall where he waited for his Yule Ball date to show up. He felt guilty for knocking Clementine off her feet when she allowed him to practice one of the spells on the list on her so had asked the girl if she wanted to be his date for the event tonight as a way for him to say that he was sorry for what he did. Thaddeus wasn't sure if he really wanted to go through with this because he was not sure whether she would actually like going to the Yule Ball with him or not, but he really wanted to let her know that he was sorry for hurting her. He stood still when he reached the entrance hall and turned around to face the stairs so he could see Clementine walking down the stairs, fixing his bow tie again because he was feeling more and more nervous as he waited for her.

 

[Clementine Pratt]

When Clementine had first asked Teddy to let him practice her spells on him, she hadn't expected to be asked to the Yule Ball at all. She usually kept to herself and enjoyed these events on her own, just people watching and striking up a conversation with whoever caught her interest there. So now that she had a date, she felt pressured to make sure it would be a good night. Clementine decided to be a bit festive for the holidays and wore a shiny red dress. Her sister had tried to put lipstick on her but it was just not Clementine's thing so once she felt ready she went down to the great hall where she knew the Gryffindor would be waiting. As she took the last few steps down, she spotted Teddy at the entrance and smiled brightly at him. "Hi there," she greeted him once she was in front of him. "You look nice, I like your bowtie," she said approvingly, smiling at him again. She gestured towards the open doors to the ball and said, "Shall we?"​

 

[Thaddeus Miller]

A smile appeared on the young boy's face when Clementine approached him in her shiny red dress and bright smile. He ran his hand through his dark brown hair in the hope that it would be less messy as he thought it was. "Thank you," Thaddeus said and fixed his bow tie once more when she mentioned it. "You look really pretty," he added returning the compliment to her and could feel his cheeks turning a red colour. He knew that all of them had to look nice for the Yule Ball because it was traditional, but he hadn't expected Clementine to look this pretty in a dress. He offered Clementine his arm when she turned and suggested that they should go in. Thaddeus hadn't made any friends in his two years at the castle so was happy to finally have met someone he thought he could call a friend.

 

[Clementine Pratt]

Clementine smiled when Teddy complimented her and said, "Thank you!" giggling a little as she noticed his blush but didn't point it out because she didn't want to make him uncomfortable. She liked that he had blushed but for the first time she wasn't going to say that thought out loud and instead kept it to herself. Clementine took his arm as he offered it and did a little skip in excitement as they walked into the great hall together. She looked around at all the beautiful decorations and the crowd of people dancing or chatting together by the table of refreshments. "What should we do first?" she asked, looking over at the Gryffindor boy, letting him lead the way for the night. "I've never been here with a date before, have you?" she wondered innocently.​

 

[Thaddeus Miller]

Thaddeus smiled when Clementine took his arm and guided her towards the Great Hall where his mouth would open up slightly when he laid his eyes upon the decorations and the huge trees standing at the sides of the room. Seeing how beautiful the Great Hall looked with all the bright decorations made him regret not going to the Yule Ball last year. He turned his head sideways to his date and shrugged when she asked him what do to first, ''Let's dance first, there's a nice song playing.'' He had never actually danced before in his life but this was a special night so figured that he might as well try. Thaddeus shook his head as he led them towards the dance floor, ''I didn't go last year,'' he told the Hufflepuff girl. ''I was going to, but chickened out at the last minute. Spent the night in the common room instead, reading a book about these creatures called Hippogriffs.'' The boy said with a nervous chuckle, hoping that she wouldn't think he was some kind of boring loser who chose to miss out the whole event so he could read a book.

 

[Clementine Pratt]

Clementine smiled and nodded approvingly as Teddy said they should dance and let them to the dance floor. She liked that he was the type to dance and not just stand in the sidelines watching everyone else and at least try to join in the fun. She listened as he told her about his yule ball night the year before and nodded in understanding. "That sounds fun," she said honestly, not at all judging him for his choice. "But you shouldn't have chickened out!" she added, laughing lightly. "I went last year and it was nice but I will say so far it has been much funner with a date," she said as she took his hand and twirled around, laughing lightly. "Oh! I have a confession to make," she said, suddenly remembering something and looking a little guilty.​

 

[Thaddeus Miller]

He was relieved to hear that she thought that his night staying in rather than getting all dressed for the event was fun, it definitely lifted the negative mood he was in before because he was uncertain whether she would actually like being here with him. Thaddeus chuckled at Clementine's comment and shrugged his shoulders slightly and said, ''Oh well, nothing I can do about it now. I am glad that I'm here this year, specially with you as my date.'' and smiled once more. He held his hand up in the air so she could do a twirl and moved his head to the beat of the song currently playing. The Gryffindor tilted his head to the side and looked at her with curiosity, waiting patiently for Clementine to tell him the confession she had to make while beginning to move more as the beat went faster, hoping he wasn't making a fool of himself

 

[Clementine Pratt]

Clementine nodded as he said there was nothing he could do now about the year before and he was right. She smiled when he said he was glad she was his date and said, "Now I'm even happier to be your date knowing it's your first yule ball!" Clementine took his hand and twirled again, continuing dancing with him. As he waited for her to tell him what she wanted, she laughed a little, mostly out of nervous guilt, and then said, "My Defense Against the Dark Arts exam was all a written exam, I didn't have to perform any of the spells." She looked at him with wide eyes for a moment, wondering if he would understand what she was trying to say but then said it out loud anyway, "Which means I practiced all those spells on you for nothing," she explained, smiling at him guiltily. "I'm sorry!"​

 

[Thaddeus Miller]

Thaddeus smiled shyly and let her do another twirl, ''Thank you for going with me.'' he said and took both Clementine's hands to do one of those silly dances he saw couples do on television when the music changed to a slow paced song. Thaddeus listened to her and a grin grew on his face once she was finished, ''It's okay! We sort of had fun, right? And we wouldn't be here if you hadn't practiced those spells!'' the boy said with a bright smile to reassure the girl that he was totally fine with it.

 

[Clementine Pratt]

Clementine smiled and allowed Thaddeus to take both of her hands once the music slowed down for a slower type of dance. She laughed when he said they had had fun practicing the spells because she didn't think having leeks sprout from his ears or being tripped was too much fun for him, but he had a point. "You're right," she agreed nodding. "Would you have come to the yule ball anyway or stayed in again?" she wondered. Perhaps if they hadn't met before they might've met at the event tonight. Clementine liked to believe in the chances of such things.​

 

[Thaddeus Miller]

Thaddeus slowly moved back and forth with Clementine, smiling while looking at her. He was not sure he did the same as the famous people on television, but since she did not say a word about the way they danced it must have been close to it. ''I hadn't decided whether I would go or not until I asked you,'' the boy said truthfully. Thaddeus thought about staying in again and play with his football in the common room but there was also a part of him that really wanted to check out the yule ball because everyone around him seemed to be really excited for it.

 

[Clementine Pratt]

Clementine smiled at his response and nodded. "Who knows, maybe I would've asked you," she said playfully, though there was no shame in her face at the thought. Clementine was used to being shooed away or ignored whenever she wanted to talk to people; it wasn't out of malice but her family was always so busy, they didn't have time for her. She wasn't the youngest so she wasn't doted on, and she was certainly not the oldest so he had learned to fend for herself. She had developed the habit to ask or say whatever was on her mind right away without holding back because if she had limited time to get an answer, she was going to ask it straight. "What would you be doing right now if you weren't here instead?" she asked curiously, wondering what Teddy did for fun.​

 

[Thaddeus Miller]

Thaddeus smiled shyly and his cheeks turned a reddish colour once more. It was something they had done a lot since meeting the girl he was dancing with, and the Gryffindor did not know what to do about it, it just happened every time she said something nice. He shrugged his shoulders at Clementine's question and said, ''I thought about practicing my ball skills.'' he hadn't done any ball practicing since the exams so figured that he if he wasn't going it'd be the perfect time to start again, but being here with her tonight was so much better than being cooped up in the common room.

 

[Clementine Pratt]

Clementine tilted her head to the side at his response and asked, "Ball?" For a fleeting moment she thought he meant something like ballroom dancing, but that could not possibly be it so she had to ask for clarification. "What sport exactly?" she wondered. There were too many sports that involved balls for her to try and narrow it down. Whichever it was, the idea intrigued the Hufflepuff because she had not been allowed to do things that were going to get her dirty while she was growing up, something she found absurd. Perhaps Teddy could teach her a thing or two just like how she had tried to teach him some jinxes, even though that technically didn't count since he had failed his attempt.​