Open Keeping Company

[Emily Madison]

((Open after Daphne))

Emily didn't know why she looked forward to the Valentines dance, really. She hadn't, her first couple of years at Hogwarts, but as she was getting older she was starting to feel a little thrill in the air about the whole thing. People dancing and having fun and falling in love, what could be more exciting than that? Even though Emily didn't have a date of her own, she couldn't wait to see what the night had in store. Hopefully she'd find someone to dance with, maybe Alice, or Vader. She had enjoyed goofing around with her sister at dances before, but Charlie seemed entirely distracted with Phoebe, and so Emily was contented to wander by herself, looking around for something to do. Stopping at one of the tables to grab a snack, she was relieved to quickly spot a familiar face, beaming as she made her way over to Abian. "Hey!" She said happily, hoping they'd be able to hang out for a while. "You enjoying the dance?"

 

[Abian Hunter]

Abian always enjoyed being at the events at Hogwarts. He had told Jacob that he mostly went for the food, and while that was true, he also just enjoyed the happy atmosphere around when they were celebrating something. Valentine's day had always seemed a bit of a foreign concept to the boy, but this year he had started to imagine what it would be like to go... on a date to the dance. The problem was that he had imagined this with more than one person, and he wasn't sure if that was entirely normal. One of the people was Jacob, who had told him he'd gone to the Yule Ball with another Hufflepuff boy. Another person was... oh. She was approaching him. Abian felt his face flush as Emily headed over and greeted him. Their last encounter had ended in an embarrassing way for him, and he had imagined she wouldn't want to be associated with him anymore. But here she was, looking very pretty. "Oh uh, good." He said, thinking she had asked him how he was doing. Then he realized that hadn't been her question at all. "I mean, yes! You?"

 

[Emily Madison]

Emily giggled slightly at Abian's stumble, but didn't point it out to him. He seemed a bit awkward, and Emily didn't want to make him nervous to talk to her. Instead she smiled and nodded happily. "Yeah, dances are so fun! Did you come here with anyone?" Emily asked curiously, glancing around. If Abian had a date Emily didn't want to keep him, but privately she thought his nervousness was a bit cute, and wouldn't mind if she got the chance to dance with him herself.

 

[Abian Hunter]

Abian was glad when Emily didn't comment on his stumble. If she hadn't giggle,d he could almost have believed she didn't hear it. But instead he was grateful she simply moved on. He smiled and nodded when Emily said dances were fun, feeling the urge to agree with her on anything. Then he shook his head. "Just with myself. I asked my toad, but he said no." He said, trying to joke about it. "What about you?"

 

[Emily Madison]

Emily laughed at Abian's joke, both glad that he seemed a bit more comfortable talking to her, and that he was here by himself. "Do you really have a toad?" She asked with a curious giggle. Emily shook her head when he asked if she was here with anyone. "Nah, I was just hoping to run into people to hang out with." Emily said, and smiled cheerfully. "And now I have! Do you want to dance?"

 

[Abian Hunter]

Abian felt a bit of pride as Emily laughed at his jokes, and preened a little. He nodded at her question. "Yeah, his name is Angus." He said with a fond little smile. "He's the best toad." He added. "Do you have pets?" He was oddly relieved when he heard Emily wasn't here with anyone and had been hoping to run into someone. He was surprised when she asked him to dance, but agreed after only a moment of hesitation. "Sure! I'll warn you, though. Not a great dancer." He said with a small shrug.

 

[Emily Madison]

Emily smiled when Abian told her about his toad. "That's so cool!" She said brightly. "Angus is a cute name, and a toad sounds like an awesome pet." Emily shook her head when Abian asked about her pets, shrugging slightly. "Nah, I dunno if I'd remember to take good enough care of a pet. Mum says maybe when I'm in fifth year, but I dunno if I'd trust myself yet." Emily shrugged slightly. She beamed when Abian agreed to dance with her, holding a hand out and pulling him towards the dance floor. "I bet you're great!" Emily said brightly, and started to bop to the music with him.

 

[Odette Madison]

((oops. Odette's watching you Abian))

 

[Abian Hunter]

Abian smiled shyly as Emily said it was cool to have a toad. He knew not everyone thought toads were good pets, but Abian knew from experience that they were. Angus was the very best pet in the world, after all. "Do you wanna meet him sometime? He knows how to sit on my skateboard when I skate around." Maybe skateboarding wasn't the best topic to bring up after he had embarrassed himself last time, but he thought it was pretty neat that Angus could do that. "Aw, toads are pretty easy." He told her. But then she pulled him towards the dance floor, and he immediately felt nervous. It felt a little bit like how it felt right before he had to play in a Quidditch game. He started to follow her movements, moving to the music as well. "I'll just try something." He said with a small shrug. Emily didn't seem the type to laugh at him even if he was looking a bit silly.