Open Ten Million Fireflies

[Weston Stirling]

Weston had approached this year's Yule Ball with a couple expectations. He'd expected to attend the dance with another blind date set up by the Brotherhood. He'd expected the usual wintery decorations and fake snow. But circumstances had shifted, and he was quickly discovering that all the changes were definitely for the better. Now he had a chance to spend the whole night with his friends, enjoying a Christmas-themed dance that actually felt like Christmas.

There were so many new things to look at, and for a few moments, Weston just stood in silence, taking it all in with wide eyes. He was particularly entranced by the floating dots of lights. Having grown up in the city, Weston had never seen fireflies before. The lights were very pretty, but his skin itched at the idea that they might be actual bugs. One floated near his head, and he ducked with a small yelp. It flew away, and he shuddered. "Do you think they're real fireflies?" he asked someone nearby. Weston automatically disliked any creature with more than four legs, but maybe he could make an exception for these lights — if they were even real fireflies.

 

[Akihiro Chen]

Akihiro wanted to make the proper impression for his first dance. He was probably going to escort Aika next year, after all. He came into the room, looking around. It was nicely decorated, he could appreciate the aesthetics of the night. As he stood there, taking in the room, an older boy spoke. Akihiro turned, a little agitated that an older student would be worried over the lights. He kept his face carefully schooled, though, and smiled gently at the older boy. "Oh, not at all." He tried to be reassuring. He lifted a hand. "Here, see?" He reached for a light nearby, showing the boy how his fingers passed right through it.

 

[Weston Stirling]

Weston watched as one of the lights passed through the younger boy's hand. "Oh," he said, relieved that there weren't a million bugs just swarming the Great Hall. Though he was still curious what an actual firefly looked like. "I guess it would be hard to actually get a bunch of real fireflies for an indoor dance." He straightened up and glanced over the room, now fully able to appreciate the view since he no longer had to worry about something crawling over him. "They should bring the lights back for all the dances." The glowing dots made the room positively radiate magic. He glanced back at the boy, who Weston was pretty sure he'd never seen before. But that didn't mean he couldn't be his next friend. "What's your name? I'm Weston," he said with a friendly smile.

 

[Akihiro Chen]

Akihiro studied the older boy, considering what he had observed. Obviously the boy was an older student, and it was possible he was afraid of bugs? Deciding it wasn't quite enough to brush the student off yet, Akihiro gave him his best smile. He folded his hands lightly behind his back. "I'm Akihiro Chen," he introduced himself. "This is my first dance." He looked around at the decor. "Do you mean they do not always have these lights? That is a shame, it is pretty," he commented, actually meaning it. He always appreciated a good aesthetic.

 

[Weston Stirling]

Weston grinned. "Nice to meet you, Akihiro! Are you a first year then?" Sometimes it was hard for Weston to believe that he wasn't a first year anymore. The past two and a half years had really flown by. He shook his head at Akihiro's question. "No, usually Yule is winter themed. There's snow instead of lights, but it's fake." He paused before clarifying, "Like, actually fake since it's not cold and it doesn't reach the ground." After seeing Baron create a snowstorm in the middle of the castle with realistic magical snow that could be packed into snowballs, Weston had been hoping the professors would upgrade the stuff they used at the Yule Ball. But it seemed they'd taken a different approach entirely. "The snow was pretty neat, but it was also kind of weird since Christmas is a summer thing." At least that's how he'd always viewed the holiday having grown up in the southern hemisphere.

 

[Akihiro Chen]

Akihiro nodded at the question. "Yes, I am," He told the other boy with a shy smile. Akihiro wasn't going to admit he liked the thought of the aesthetic of a snowy yule, especially without the cold and wet of real snow. He nodded as the boy spoke. "I imagine a summer Christmas would be weird to those from the other side of the world," he mused. "Their holidays are in opposite seasons to ours," he gave Weston a smile.

 

[Weston Stirling]

"Oh, nice! First year's the best," Weston said firmly. Granted, he only had two and a half years' worth of experience, but first year was pretty high up there. Everything was new and classes weren't that hard yet. The only downside was you had to take every class. He nodded at the boy's comment. "It's like they're living opposite lives in a whole different world." It was fascinating to think about, and he couldn't wait until he was old enough to travel and see all those different worlds himself. "So how do you like Hogwarts so far?"

 

[Akihiro Chen]

Akihiro raised a brow, surprised by how the boy insisted that first year was the best. He supposed the boy might have a point about the opposite sides of the world. He thought about the question. "It's certainly an interesting experience," He settled on. "What's your favorite part?"

 

[Weston Stirling]

Weston thought "interesting" was a very understated way to describe Hogwarts. The school was grand! It was wonderful! It was incredible! He'd spent just about every moment of his life dreaming of the day he'd finally get to go to Hogwarts, and the school had exceeded all his expectations and then some. "Interesting" did not even begin to cover it. He gave Akihiro a curious look before getting caught up in his own answer. "Everything?" he asked before laughing. "Like, you can do magic, which is awesome. And the castle itself is pretty cool since it's so big, and it's always changing and it's got so many secrets." He thought for a second. "I guess I like the people the best. This place is so big, and you can meet someone new every day." Case in point, right now.

 

[Akihiro Chen]

Akihiro had been unsure of the boy before, but he had to admit he admired the boys passion. He smiled as he listened to him. Once Weston had finished talking, Akihiro spoke. "You make a very good point," he told him. "Perhaps you could show me around sometime? As an elder student you must have seen more of the castle than I have." He asked, smiling softly.