Sinking Through the Night

[Rory Fergusson]

It was his first ever school yuleball, and boy had Rory heard a lot about these, they had become almost customary in his family to have the person's outfit tailor made and since most of the members of his family could sew this was not exactly a big deal, though they didn't make traditional kilts, Rory had decided to forgo such tradition, he didn't want to end up being called a leprechaun again by some idiotic person who didn't know the difference between Ireland and Scotland, instead, he had dressed rather formally, keeping to his own style while also being formal. The scottish boy had thought about a little bit of tartan but that too he had decided would be for another day, today was about blending in, well, as much as he could manage, Rory didn't particularly want to stand out, because standing out wasn't the best idea at such an event, though everything that he was wearing unlike probably everyone else, had been made specifically for him for this evening. After all, he only deserved the best he was better than pretty much everyone that was currently in this hall.

The scottish boy failed to spot anyone he knew though he continued to walking around searching for them, forcing a small amount of smile on his face, he knew that with the yuleball tradition and society said that he was supposed to ask people to the dance, but Rory thought of that as too much work, and after all, if he was going to attend the ball with someone they would have to be worth of it, not just some random nice person. Though as this thought crossed his mind he did think of Flavio, Annabelle and Alaska, all people he knew he would not mind spending time with. They were his friends, he was sure, none of them he thought were quite worthy of him, but they were his friends. It didn't matter that he got his homework off Flavio and Annabelle, or the rocky start to the friendship he'd had with Alaska. The yuleball to Rory was the best kind of time, he felt himself finally in something familiar, like his sister would've been included in. The scottish boy ran a hand through his hair and let himself stand at the edge of a table, making no motion to sit down or move into the dance floor, his gaze was just watching all of the people in front of him, for the first time since arriving at school briefly forgetting his annoyance and frustration over everything that had happened since arriving in New Zealand.
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[Flavio Morales-Tipene]

Flavio, unlike most of the other Ravenclaws he saw leaving the common room for the yule ball that evening, was not dressed in an extravagant outfit. Especially not dress robes or even a full muggle suit as he did not own one, let alone anything that fit him properly. All the formal clothes he owned were handmedowns courtesy of Ignacio so it sufficed to say that everything was at least five sizes too big. Not going to the ball seemed like the easier option in the end as Flavio felt self conscious because the dress shirt practically swallowed him whole and the problem only grew worse as he tucked the shirt into his pants and rolled up the sleeves in an attempt to rectify his appearance. This would be the second formal event he had ever attended and he didn't want it to be a bad memory because of what he was wearing, but he clearly had no choice in the matter so he sighed and let Pia knot his tie for him before he shrugged as she asked if he was nervous, then making his way to the great hall and being silently jealous of the rest of his year for wearing something that was the right size.

The jealousy didn't fade as he entered the great hall and made his way around, eventually seeing his friend Rory and approaching him. The other boy was much better dressed, with clothes that fit and looked formal enough for the ball which was the very least Flavio could say for himself. He was glad that at least his pants and shoes fit properly but that didn't distract from the oversized shirt. Though he tried not to let his jealousy, or insecurities about his appearance that night show as he greeted his friend. "Hello Rory." He said, before asking "How are you?" as he wasn't sure what else he could say. The yule ball was so different to anything else Flavio had experienced and he knew his clothes needed to be formal but he was clueless to if his behavior needed to be equally as formal.​

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[Rory Fergusson]

Rory easily spotted Flavio in the crowd, and let himself smile a little more upon noting that the boy was coming towards him, this boy was far different from anyone Rory might've wanted to hang out with, he could tell just by looking at the boys shirt that while those were fancy clothes they were not exactly new and the shirt didn't appear to fit, which seemed ridiculous to Rory why would you wear something that didn't fit unless it was meant to be oversized like his jumpers were, "Hey Flavio," he replied to him with perhaps the friendliest smile Rory had had since arriving at the school, his face usually sat in a bored, questioning expression. Though he didn't really think Flavio was quite on his level, the boy was not a muggleborn from what he knew about him, but he definitely wasn't the usual kind of kid that Rory would've hung out with at home, but he liked Flavio despite his lower status and he thought of the boy as a friend, he did do his homework for him, and do what he asked, Rory would definitely count that as a friend.

The formality of the question shook Rory a little, "I'm good thanks, you?" he took more care to pronounce things properly, or at least those few words, "I dinnae 'hink they'd actual have a ball, I mean, it no winter but ah like it, I bet the wan in Hogwarts Scotland would be far better but this isnae tae bad," he then continued, forgetting about all formality as the heavy accent came back once more, dancing with each of the words he spoke, "Ye dance Flavio?" he asked the boy before just shaking his head, "Nah, come on, let's go dance," he took the boy by the sleeve and then dragged him out to the dance floor, he didn't mind dancing with the boy especially since in the crowd no one would see who they were really, he turned to him once more when he'd picked a spot to dance, and just then letting go of the boy and beginning to dance to the music, he didn't care about whatever this meant, but he was sure it was going to be fun.
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[Flavio Morales-Tipene]

Flavio nodded as Rory said he was doing well. "I am good too." He responded before turning his head so he could further observe the room around him. The decorations were perfect, the prettiest mix of summery and Christmas to depict both the holiday and regular seasons. A small smile appeared on his face as he saw Pia and Kylie on the dance floor and waved to them. He then moved to turn his head back towards Rory to continue their conversation but was silenced when he realized the other boy was dragging him towards the dance floor by his sleeve, closer and closer to his sister and her best friend and furthermore closer to being the center of attention in his dramatically oversized shirt. It made Flavio want to run and hide under one of the tables so he wasn't seen and laughed at but he swallowed the fear for the sake of having fun with Rory. He began to dance in time to the music with his friend, gaze trained on his shoes so he didn't lose his footing and slip up. It was then that Flavio noticed Rory's bright yellow shoes. His smile suddenly grew wider as a laugh escaped his lips. The shoes were perfect. "Your shoes are like baby ducks!" Flavio exclaimed, forgetting the word 'yellow' in English but hoping his words could be understood all the same.
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[Rory Fergusson]

Rory didn't noticed that dragging his friend to the dance floor seemed to make him more nervous, Rory who'd only ever attended house parties danced like he always did, for once forgetting that he needed to be better than everyone else and just let loose. It wasn't like they were going to be doing a ceilidh which he thought was a massive loss to this party but he knew that it probably was just because none of these kids would even know what one was. The young boy was in his own little world until Flavio spoke and he then glanced at him and down at his shoes, remembering then that Flavio had an obsession with ducks, and he couldn't help but laugh slightly at the statement, "Aye, ah guess they do," he replied jovially, perhaps on any other day, with any other person Rory might have bitten their head off, but this was his friend asking, on a day when Rory was actually feeling pretty good. He moved his feet, and made a very small quacking sound just so that Flavio could hear, before breaking into small fits of laughter, it wasn't really that funny, Rory knew this in his head but he couldn't stop himself, the little chortles of laughter escaping his lips, "Ye can have the shoes when ah'm done, if ye want," Rory had no use for the shoes really after this night and he could get a new pair if he wanted, perhaps flavio would enjoy such shoes more than him.
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[Fleur Worth]

Fleur was unsure of going to the ball, her parents thought it would be a good idea and even sent a new dress and shoes along claiming it as an early Christmas present. They even had it made as a green dress so no one would forget she was a Slytherin. Walking into the Great Hall she was surprised by how much a few decorations could change the large room. It really did look like a winter wonderland now. Her green dress sparkled in all the lights coming from the candles and she felt like the Princess she knew she was. If only she had someone to go to the ball with. Her first semester had been a little rough and she just ended up palling around with a few Slytherin girls that weren't really friends with each other. They all kind of pretended to be friends. She hoped tonight she'd make a few more friends that were more interesting than those girls.

Looking around, the young Slytherin spotted a face in the crowd she knew from the beginning of the year. Though she didn't remember seeing him around the Common Room very often. She decided it was worth a shot and headed over to him and the other boy that he was standing with. "Rory, good seeing you up and out of bed," Fleur said to him with the nicest smile she could manage. She was cold type of person even though she was trying her hardest to have a friend in the castle that actually cared about her feelings. "Hi, I'm Fleur Worth, Slytherin First Year," she said holding her hand out to the boy that was standing with Rory. It was only then did she realize that they had actually been dancing and she probably looked rather odd going to the dance section and just standing.