Open Solo Seventh Year

[Juniper Zumwalt]

Juniper had been painstakingly working on her dress since the beginning of the semester, adding each jewel by hand until the piece finally came together. While they had one more dance to go, this was truly the pinnacle fashion event of the year. At least, in her eyes it was. Not necessarily missing having a date, the seventh year made her way over to the snack table, per usual, and daintly picked up a piece of fudge and a glass of sparkling juice as she watched the other students enjoy themselves. It was wild to believe this was her last ball, but after Adorah left, she felt half out the door anyway. Things were weird, and while she still had plenty to accomplish next semester, "seniorities" had definitely kicked in.

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy was feeling rather wistful as she entered the great hall. It was her last Yule ball and she was tempted to wallow in the bittersweet feeling that came along with that thought but she held her chin high and joined the rest of the crowed. It didn't help that Shale was gone and it felt like she was lonelier than usual. But she spotted her roommate next to the snack table and greeted her eagerly. "Wow!" she said as she took in Juniper's finished dress. "That came out amazing!" she gushed and walked in a circle around the other Ravenclaw to get a better look.

 

[Juniper Zumwalt]

Juniper was just minding her own business when she saw someone stunning in red gracing the floor. It took her a moment to realize it was her roommate, and Juniper hoped the warmth in her cheeks was just from the heat of the room and not her blushing. Embracing the moment, Juniper through in a few vogue poses before giggling. "Thank youuuu! And look at you!" the Ravenclaw gushed. "You look like literal magic. Where did you get it?" she asked curiously. Not many people she knew could pull off the whole red hair/red dress vibe, but Poppy was definitely embracing it.

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy was delighted as Juniper indulged her excitement and even threw in a few poses. She started laughing and clapped when the other girl struck her final pose. Then it was her turn to blush as the compliments started flowing. She did a small spin herself and laughed as the fabric floated up around her. "Thank you." she said feeling her face turn just as red as her dress when Juniper said she looked like magic. "It was actually my grandmother's." she explained. "She made some alterations and gave it to me when I visited her over the break." Poppy knew it wasn't uncommon for people to really put on their best for the ball but she had still been a little worried it had been too much.

 

[Freya Song]

Freya was a little down that she couldn't spend her last Yule Ball hanging out with Connor and Kas, but she had a feeling she might get in the way of their emotional nonsense if she didn't keep her distance. Freya had dressed up enough to blend in amongst the formalwear and, without anything more interesting in mind, decided to continue her accidental tradition of bothering Poppy at events. She saw her target with Juniper, who Freya didn't really know but helped further her theory that all the Ravenclaw girls were part of some plant-name conspiracy somehow, and wove her way through the crowd towards them. "You both look really cute," Freya hummed, getting herself a drink from the table as though that was her original goal in coming over here.

 

[Juniper Zumwalt]

Juniper couldn't believe the dress had been her grandmother's. Maybe she should be looking into some older fashion. "Well, you look stellar! I'm very jealous by it. I love the flowy dresses," the Ravenclaw continued as she took a sip from her drink. It was only a moment later before another one of her classmates showed up in their conversation. She didn't know Freya very well other than from having class with her over many years, but it was never too late to make friends with people. "You're so sparkley, Freya! I love it," she continued, admiring her effortlessly the Hufflepuff's hair looked. "Can you all believe it's our last ball?"

 

[Poppy Perkins]

The last person Poppy was expecting to run into was Freya but they did seem to have a habit of running into each other when she least expected it. She had gotten so distracted by the Hufflepuff's arrival that she quickly turned back to Juniper. "Thanks, it's been really fun to wear so far." she said but stood a bit straighter. Poppy couldn't tell if Freya had been sincere or not but for now she had no reason to doubt her so she smiled. "You look nice." she said and it was true. The dress Freya wore was a pretty pink that went well with her blonde hair. "Not really." she answered with a sigh when Juniper brought up it being their last ball.

 

[Freya Song]

Freya thanked both of the girls, feeling a little odd at the perfectly normal polite compliments. Her brother had given her the dress after Freya had emphatically insisted that yes, of course, juvenile delinquents have formal events. The increased merging of her muggle and wizard lives was something she'd have to face eventually, but not tonight. She gave an exaggerated wince at Juniper's mention of their last ball. "Hard to believe, yeah. I'm sure we were all tiny baby firsties a minute ago?" Freya laughed, thinking back to her first ball and how new it had all been to her.

 

[Juniper Zumwalt]

Juniper was enjoying just conversing with classmates and friends for the first time in a while. No weird rivalries or anything. It did take her out of the moment to think all the way back to her first year. It seemed like a lifetime ago, and so much had changed since then. So much time wasted. This year, Juniper wasn't going to worry about that. "Not really. They're so tiny and clueless. I'd rather ignore that ever happened." The Ravenclaw took another sip of her beverage before seeing one of the Accio photographers ask if they could get a picture of the girls. "Shall we?" she questioned, striking a pose with her left leg out a little.

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy smiled faintly as Freya seemed genuine with her answers. She wasn't used to seeing this side of her and honestly she liked this version much more. She considered what Juniper said and watched some first years on the other side of the hall hovering together, not too dissimilar to the way they were standing now but they did look young. "They are rather small." she said without thinking, then laughed. "Well you had to be them to become you. It's all part of the journey." Poppy shrugged. She knew she was being needlessly philosophical but she couldn't help it. Constant introspection wasn't something anyone had warned her about seventh year. "Yes, lets!" she said excitedly when Juniper suggested getting their picture taken. It seemed like a perfect way to capture the moment.

 

[Freya Song]

Freya laughed at Juniper's comment. She almost missed being that small and full of potential future, though she felt clueless still applied to her today. Poppy's response made Freya roll her eyes out of habit, however she thought it was a sweet sentiment. "Aw, that makes my heart hurt," Freya joked, hoping to shake off the reminder of the existential crisis that all the seventh years were undoubtedly going through. At the suggestion of having their photo taken, Freya's instinct was to bid her goodbyes and disappear back into the crowd, but then she realised she wanted to stay. Whether it was misplaced nostalgia or the strange liminal space that was the Yule Ball, Freya felt like doing something different and it was easy for her to summon up a smile for the camera.