The Night is Young

[Elizabeth Chang]

Lizzy wasn't sure what possessed her to come to the Yule Ball but the fourth year decided to anyway, not wanting to miss out on school events. So what if she didn't have a date, she was sure she wouldn't be the only one going solo, right? The shy Ravenclaw had few friends at Hogwarts New Zealand since transferring from the Salem Institute last year but she still didn't let that factor discourage her from going to the dance anyway.

Lizzy dressed in a very bright pink and black dress that had an even odder silhouette, with its sharp edges forming its triangular shape at the bottom. It was very loud and bright and so unlike Lizzy but for some reason she found herself dying to wear it. She supposed it was the fact that she'd never wear a dress like this on any other day and the Yule Ball seemed like a good excuse to wear it for. The fourteen year old girl had styled her hair by pulling it back simply and wore no make up on her face as usual. She figured having a plain face and hairstyle toned down the dramatics of her shocking pink dress.

Once she was done getting ready the Ravenclaw girl left her common room and made her way down to the Great Hall, being extra careful and slow so as not to trip while wearing high heels. As she was surrounded by other ball goers she began catching their contagious buzz of excitement at what the night had in store for them. As she entered the magnificently decorated hall, Lizzy gasped with awe before taking a walk around the hall to better see the beauty of it all. Once she had taken a round around the hall, she made her way over to the punch bowl, carefully grabbing herself a small cup and sipping it quietly, her brown eyes observing the other students. As the music played she bobbed her head naturally, but since she was a dancer her hips also seemed to sway rhythmically without her notice.

 

[Olive Mayfield]

Olive tore her eyes away from her dormitory window, away from looking at the gorgeous stars that seemed clearer than ever. Dropping her wand into her small handbag, the Prefect smiled at the other girl in the room who was slow to get ready at the best of times, and trudged downstairs as well as she could in her heels. Tonight was the Yule Ball, and Olive was pretty sure there was a requirement for her to be there. Following a hoard of giggling, excited girls, the Prefect groaned a little. She hated events like this, anything where there were more than twenty people in one room was nothing less than torture.

Upon arrival to the Great Hall, Olive made sure her black dress hadn't mysteriously ridden up and nodded at a few classmates. The normally excitable Prefect felt more vulnerable, more self-conscious than she was accustomed to and therefore stood to the outside of the students, eyes trained on the dancers for anyone familiar, or even anyone misbehaving that she could lecture. Dances like this always had some sort of miscreant, right?

The Hufflepuff moved towards the punchbowl, reminding herself that food and drink were good. She picked up a cup and sipped at it with a sense of anxiety that she hadn't felt in almost a year before looking up to study the people around her. Spying one who seemed alone, Olive tried to relax into a grin and moved a little closer. "Hey hey!" Olive exclaimed, acting almost like herself again. She didn't know quite what to say, as usual, but hoped that the other girl wouldn't walk away in disgust at her poor social skills.

 

[Elizabeth Chang]

Lizzy continued to sway lightly to the music and just as she really getting into the song she heard someone say hey to her. The fourth year jumped in surprise just slightly but hoped the girl hadn't noticed. "Hi," Lizzy replied shyly, taking a sip from her punch to try to conceal her blush. Ugh why do my cheeks have to be so big and noticeable, she thought; it was actually a criticism of herself that she constantly thought of, but at times when she blushed she hated her chubby cheeks even more since it made her embarrassment even more obvious. She was embarrassed for having been jumpy at the girl's greeting when she was just trying to be nice. And as usual the Ravenclaw worried that she had just scared the girl away. In an attempt to salvage her chances she carefully said, "I like your dress," with a small smile.

 

[Jeremy Thorne]

Jeremy had been in the Great Hall for a few minutes waiting for Sapphire. He knew now that he should have made it a bit more clear where they would meet. He was new to this whole 'bringing a date to the Yule Ball' business, so he had completely neglected to realize that he should have planned a bit more. He'd even noticed a few of the guys bringing flowers and something called a corsage for their dates. Was he supposed to have done that? He and Sapphire were only coming to the Yule ball as friends after all, and there had to be different rules for something like that. After peeking outside of the doors and not seeing Sapphire anywhere, Jeremy headed back inside and walked around. He was a bit early so it was entirely possible that she was still getting ready.

Figuring that a drink and some Christmas cookies might ease his nerves a bit, Jeremy headed for the punch bowl and that was where he spotted another good friend of his. He'd never seen her in such bright colors before but it did suit her nicely. She seemed to be chatting with another girl, one he didn't know very well. He was pretty certain he'd seen her in class though, which meant that she was a fifth year like him. He smiled at both ladies as he grabbed a cup of punch and took a sip. When he was done, he spoke. " Hi Lizzy and..." he tapped his finger against his navy blue dress robes as he tried to think of the girl's name. "Olivia, isn't it?" he asked, hoping he was correct. "You two look really nice" he said pleasantly, as he turned back to the table and grabbed a gingerbread cookie.

 

[Olive Mayfield]

Olive took a deep breath, trying to make it noticeable. Her inner monologue was muttering Youshouldhavestayedinyourdorm repeatedly and Olive did not want to screw up the night. The Hufflepuff observed the other girl blushing but let it alone, feeling that she knew how the girl felt a little more than would be appreciated. Hearing the second comment, Olive smiled in relief at the chance to fix the situation. "Thankyou," she grinned back. "I like yours too."

Someone else came towards the pair, greeting them but getting Olive's name wrong. She recognized him from the Prefect meetings, but couldn't remember his name. The Hufflepuff offered a smile to him as well. "It's Olive, actually, but I can't remember your name?" she replied, as politely as she could with a little chuckle thrown in for good measure. Her smile grew a little wider again at the second compliment, feeling a bit more confident at having two people tell her the same thing.

 

[Elizabeth Chang]

Lizzy was glad that her small comment had seemed to salvage the chance at enjoying herself with someone else rather than standing around and dancing alone like a loser. Lizzy smiled and said, "Thanks," shyly as the girl complimented her dress in return, feeling so self conscious about the bright dress. For a moment she was happy that someone else thought it was pretty despite its odd silhouette, but as usual her pessimistic, worried side took over, convincing her that the girl was only saying that out of politeness. The Ravenclaw girl had finished her punch and was going to refill her cup when she saw Jeremy approach and get himself a cup of punch. For a moment Lizzy's heart sank, wondering if the girl she was chatting to was his date, but judging by his mannerisms she could tell he didn't know her well either.

He greeted her nonchalantly but Lizzy still couldn't help but smile like a fool, feeling her cheeks get red with again. Trying to hide her blush immediately she took that time to refill her cup as Jeremy spoke to the girl beside her. She heard him trying to guess her name and Lizzy tuned in, because she realized she didn't yet know it, and heard her say her name was Olive. Finally Lizzy turned around once she knew the butterflies in her stomach were under control. She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear as Jeremy complimented the two and said, "Thanks Jeremy," with a smile, unintentionally answering Olive's question for his name. She turned to the girl beside her and said, "Olive," as if testing her name out, "I'm Lizzy by the way," she officially introduced herself.