Closed Pretty, you

[Elsie Baros]

Elsie smiled at Agnes, already nervous despite the conversation. There was nothing specifically even happening as far as she could tell. She and Agnes had just been sitting under a tree talking, like they did every day, except, not for the first time, Elsie was fascinated by the way the younger girls hair moved with the slight breeze. It was hot out, and Elsie had slipped her robes off earlier in the day and tucked them under her, like a blanket, to sit on. Agnes had found her a short time later and they were just chatting back and forth like they usually did. Elsie had always like Christmas, though it was usually more for the presents than anything else, besides, what else did people like Christmas for? She knew some muggles had a religious attachment to the ceremony, but she’d never really worried about it herself. Well, despite sometimes turning something into a burning bush, not that she was allowed to do that with muggles around, shame. “Do you want to go to the Yule Ball with me?” Elsie suddenly found herself asking, going a little red in the cheeks as she realised she’d interrupted whatever it was that Agnes had been saying. To be honest she hadn’t been listening to her companion much at all in the last twenty minutes, so she was surprised the Slytherin hadn’t up and left her by now. “I just, sorry… that was a bit sudden.”​

 

[Agnes Baros]

It had been a long time since Agnes thought it was this easy to connect to someone, and she often found herself drifting towards Elsie in her spare time. For the time they were together, Elsie managed to distract the Slytherin from the drama going on in the rest of her year and she could just relax. She couldn’t do that at home either and she wasn’t looking forward to spending time with her family over the Christmas break. She had enough of them already at the school, but her mums side of the family apparently had a task for them so the Norgaards were holding an end of year briefing over a few days of festivities. She would have liked to take her friend home to meet them like a normal family, but Agnes knew things would not go well if she turned up with an outsider in tow. She was doing her best to describe to Elsie what a Christmas at the Norgaards was like. She hadn’t even realised it wasn’t the norm until she’d gotten to Hogwarts. “And then my aunt will lay out all these bowls and vials for ua to test. Only the approved ones though,” it sounded bizarre when she said it out loud. Sat on the ravenclaws robes with her arms round her knees, she lifted her gaze from the floor to look at her in surprise when she said something about the Yule Ball. Agnes didn’t go to those things. Her own cheeks began to mirror the girls as it clicked to understand what she’d said. She’d never been bashful around anyone in her life either, and the idea that Agnes wanted to do more than just be her friend was one she still hadn’t accepted. “Erm, why?” She asked, trying to keep the conversation light. Besides, maybe she just wanted to go as friends.

 

[Elsie Baros]

Elsie didn’t know quite what had overcome her to suddenly ask Agnes to the Yule ball, but she had a horrible feeling she might have made a mistake if the younger girls reaction was anything to go by. Elsie’s eyes widened and she thought about how she could reassure her that there was no pressure. As much as she liked spending time with the Slytherin, she didn’t want to scare her off. “Sorry, I...” she bit her lip. She liked Agnes a lot, she didn’t want her to get spooked but she didn’t want her to reject her either. She didn’t really know what to say, she hadn’t really thought about what she would say at this point and she hadn’t really thought about asking in the first place. She sighed and shook her head smiling. “Sorry, I don’t know why I asked, don’t worry about it, thought it might be fun is all.” She wasn’t sure what else to say.​