I'll Keep Turning Up

[Seamus Reid]

Seamus always came along to the halloween feast even if he didn't think he would have much fun at it. There was nothing else for him to do. He hadn't put on a costume, deciding to really not bother with anything like that, there was no need for him to. He grabbed a plate of snacks and then found a table to sit at to be able to eat what he'd grabbed. If his brother was about and not busy he was going to likely speak to him. The other people he knew and liked were perhaps not the types who'd come to this or many other celebrations.

 

[Celia Vuong]

The Halloween Feast had long since lost its appeal to Celia. Sure, the decorations were impressive, but she had zero interest in the carnival games, which were the same every year and geared towards the younger students. Still, she usually made it a point to go, if only to people watch. Plus it was a good excuse to wear a fun outfit that she'd never be able to get away with any other day of the year. This year, she'd found a wonderfully excessive pink dream of a gown. Celia had considered going darker and finding an outfit more fitting for a holiday dedicated to all things scary. But she was very conscious of her reputation, and she could already imagine the comments if she dressed as some villainous figure.

The only downside to this dress was its very long train, but Celia had cast an imperturbable charm on it to hopefully prevent anyone from stepping on it. As she strode into the Great Hall, it floated an inch above the floor, hopefully adding to the ethereal look. Celia surveyed the room. Usually she spent these feasts with her friends, but those were in short supply these days. She drifted towards the tables and spotted Seamus sitting at one. He didn't exactly look thrilled to be here, but he never seemed to be at these events, which did make her wonder why he bothered showing up. She was glad he had, however, and she joined him at the table. "Need someone to put you out of your misery?" she asked with a bit of a smirk. "I'm sure they've got a scythe or knife around here, somewhere. Maybe in the haunted house," she joked.

 

[Seamus Reid]

Seamus glanced up from his table, as Celia joined him and he just looked at her dress. She was beautiful, the dress was beautiful. "Please," he agreed, going with her joke. "I always think this'll be more fun than hanging around the dungeons, and then it's not," he said, almost explaining what he was doing at this event. "...you clearly went all out, not sure what it's meant to be, but you look beautiful," he complimented, watching her almost carefully to see how the compliment went down, if she appeared to hate it, he'd never do it again.

 

[Celia Vuong]

Celia thought she saw Seamus' gaze linger on her dress, and her smirk widened. She'd been hoping to turn heads, to almost dare people to look at her after her many months of hiding, and it seemed her dress was having the desired effect on at least one person. "Who would've thought," Celia said, feigning surprise, "the peaceful dungeons are more pleasant than a hall filled with a bunch of twelve-year-olds running around and screaming." She actually preferred the feast (and most things) to the dungeons, but she definitely did not enjoy the presence of all the younger students.

Even though Celia knew she looked good, beautiful even, it was different hearing those words directly from Seamus. "Thank you," she said, giving him a genuine smile as she ignored the flutter in her stomach. "Ballerina, princess, fairy, fairy floss—" she was pretty sure that was what they called cotton candy here (or maybe that was Australia) "—take your pick for what I'm meant to be," Celia said with a shrug. "I just wanted an excuse to wear this dress," she admitted, knowing that her outfit was a pretty flimsy costume for any of those options. But it wasn't like she planned on entering the contest. "What are you supposed to be?" she asked, raising her eyebrows slightly. Seamus had sort of explained why he was here but not why he'd shown up without a costume.

 

[Seamus Reid]

Seamus laughed lightly at her joke. "I just have such a terrible memory from all those bludger hits I need reminded every year," he teased back. But he knew it was just better than being in the common room. He might've guess candy floos or marshmallow, but he made a point of appearing like he was thinking about it and then said. "I think I'll go with Princess, it suits you," he told her with a little smile. "Oh me, I'm just dressed up as my brother," he said, though he really wasn't. It was just in theory a decent costume. "Or maybe I'm a prince looking to speak with the common folk,"

 

[Celia Vuong]

Celia smirked. "Maybe next year you'll finally be able to remember not to go." She had a feeling that the injury rate among the Slytherin Quidditch players would drop next year once she was gone. In fact, she wouldn't be surprised if some of her teammates were counting down the days until she graduated. "Princess it is then," she said. "I'm not sweet enough to be fairy floss anyways, she added with a sly smile. Celia knew she was a lot of things, but sweet was definitely not one of them (nor did she want it to be). She wondered if Seamus's mention of being a prince was intentional. Some of their recent conversations had taken a lighter bent, but this one felt a little different from those. Or perhaps she was just imagining it. "Let's go with the latter, although I'm not sure why you'd want to speak with the common folk," Celia said with a slight smirk, gaze deliberately sweeping over all the other people in the room before settling back on him.