[welcome to:] WINTER WONDERLAND

[Professor Albus Dumbledore]

OOC: Main thread to post your character's entrances, so as to avoid confusion. Not obligatory, but yes, it would be nice. After posting here, you may branch out to your own posts. Thank you.

Key;

strikedthrough, posted in the Great Hall

Once upon a December...

G U E S T S

Females

- Isabella Swan / Hufflepuff / 6th | Dress and Hair

[/s]

- Ravenna Myraid / Slytherin / 5th | Dress View 1 Dress View 2 Hair[/s]

- Indigo Grace / Gryffindor / 6th | Dress Hair[/s]

- Narcissa Black / Slytherin / 5th | Dress Hair

- Mafalda Hopkirk / Hufflepuff / 7th | Dress Hair

- Anette Baker / Hufflepuff / 7th | Dress Hair

- Vivienne Schwartz / Ravenclaw / 4th | Dress View 1 Dress View 2 Hair[/s]

- Rita Skeeter / Ravenclaw / 6th | Dress View 1 Dress View 2 Hair

- Alecto Carrow / Slytherin / 7th | Dress Hair

- Kaelyn Coote / Hufflepuff / 5th | Dress Hair

- Gemma Avery / Gryffindor / 7th | Dress View 1 Dress View 2 Hair

- Aceline Perezz / Slytherin / 6th | Dress View 1 Dress View 2

- Marlene McKinnon / Gryffindor / 7th | Dress Hair[/s]

- Bella Evangeline / Gryffindor / 4th | Dress View 1 Dress View 2 Hair

- Alice Luna / Slytherin / 5th | Dress Hair

- Annie Black / Ravenclaw / 6th | Dress & Hair

[/color][/blockquote]


Males

- Ethan Cartier / Gryffindor / 7th | Tux and Hair

- Regulus Black / Slytherin / 6th | Tux

[/s]

- Drew Marino / Hufflepuff / 7th | Tux[/s]

- Edward Jameson / Gryffindor / 5th | Tux

- Kalib Hemlock / Slytherin / 7th | Tux

- Drake Valo / Ravenclaw / 7th | Tux

- Sirius Black / Gryffindor / 7th | Tux

- Edward Evangeline / Hufflepuff / 4th | Tux

[/color][/blockquote]


Couples

- Drew Marino / 7th / Hufflepuff | Isabella Swan / 6th / Hufflepuff

- Regulus Black / 6th / Slytherin | Indigo Grace / 6th / Gryffindor

- Ethan Cartier / 7th / Gryffindor | Anette Baker / 7th / Hufflepuff

- Ludovic Bagman / 7th / Ravenclaw | Ravenna Myriad / 5th / Slytherin

- Edward Jameson / 5th / Gryffindor | Mafalda Hopkirk / 7th / Hufflepuff

- Kalib Hemlock / 7th / Slytherin | Aceline Perezz / 6th / Slytherin

- Drake Valo / 7th / Ravenclaw | Gemma Avery / 7th / Gryffindor

[/blockquote]


*Guest list credit goes to E.

[vas]

OOC: Are we allowed to stay in this thread?


Vas smiled at her own reflection, spinning around once for good measure. Tonight was her night to be a little boastful – she had a figure and she was gunna flaunt it; she might get a little rowdy and she might disturb the peace: “Oh well,” she said in a cheerful tone, blowing a kiss to the mirror. With a satisfied giggle Vas waltzed out of her dorm and down the stairs. It felt good to be back in a dress. It wasn’t her cute little sun dresses that she so liked, it was better: black and satin, curving along with her small frame. The fabric ended at her knees and sides leaving her legs and back bear. It was a nice change from her school robes and she welcomed it fully. Really the only downside to the evening was the fact that she remained dateless.

She had thought she’d done a good job at flirting around with her guy friends lately, but the stupid thugs hadn’t gotten the point. The fourth year’s seemed clueless to how to reaction when a girl tried to get their attention. Boys just went about their business without any idea that you’re trying to give them a good shove in the right direction. Vas had been rather irritated over the whole ordeal for some time – basically until earlier that morning, really. When the knowledge that she’d just have to go alone and find someone – or steal someone, whichever came first – had finally set in, she decided firmly it wouldn’t ruin her night. She was going to go and have as much fun as all the couples unlike all the other dateless girls who were going to spend their night crying up in their dorms. How pathetic.

Her heels patted quietly along the hallway as Vas made her way down to the Great Hall where the festivities were to be taking place. Strictly speaking, she wasn’t supposed to have seen all the decorations beforehand but she’d managed to sneak a few peaks occasionally. It was like Hogwarts own little winter wonderland, all continentally located in a single room. She’d always been a fan of the season so needless to say when Vas started to hear the buzz of excited students and see all the fake snow falling about her spirits soared. Dateless or otherwise, tonight was going to be fun. After minor maneuvering through the crowd of students gathered in the Entrance Hall Vas emerged into the Great Hall. Immediately her face lit up into a careful smirk – fun indeed. With a quick sweep of the crowd, she headed towards the only familiar face…


OOC: Any takers?

[Marlene McKinnon]

ooc1: Yes, you may stay in this thread if you want

Marlene Sophia McKinnon was in a good mood. Not only was her favorite season of the year in full swing (finally), she had finally made up her mind. And you see, that was were most of her problems lay. In making the decisions. After that, life was easy again. With all it's shallowness and pretenses, now the only remaining problem had been what to wear to Yule Ball. Yes, she had decided to attend. Even if she would be flying solo (how was that possible, seriously?). Which was the main reason as to why she had doubted to make an appearance. She wasn't used to being unaccompanied in public events. It was not her thing, if you wanted to put it plainly. Frivolously put, though, she was used to being adored.

And flying solo?

So not her thing. She had wrinkled her nose at the thought, but thinking that she would be missing the social event of Hogwarts' Year was a touch too unbearable for her feminine pride. Marlene refused to fall behind. Sure, it was her last year at Hogwarts, but that shouldn't mean anything at all, except immesurable amounts of fun, piled atop each other consequently. So far? Yeah, those still had to happen. It was amazing how everything was going by so swiftly. Especially time. It was insane. And Marlene barely had time to keep up. That was the reason behind her sudden decision to make an appearance at the Ball. And as she entered the Great Hall, glittering snow flakes that disappeared as soon as they touched your skin greeting her, she knew she had made the right decision. It was that feeling, the one you had when you knew you had just done the right thing.

Her shoulders were bare, and as the magical flakes came in contact, she felt a small burst of energy as they desintegrated into a mass of pure sparkle, falling on the navy skirt of her dress. Squaring up her shoulders, her hazel eyes immediately searching for a familiar face, Marlene was the portrait of self-assurance and poise. Of course she had trained herself before a mirror countless times. For how long? Enough to assure herself that the natural slouch of her shoulders was eradicated once and for all. And now, she liked to believe that her posture was regal, even if it was lacking. But what was a girl without her pretenses?

Eyes flicking to and fro, a smile drew on her full lips as she spotted none other than Vas. An amazing Ravenclaw girl with whom she hadn't spent enough time as of late. Chiding herself internally, Marlene almost scowled (Merlin forbid). She had to cultivate her acquaintances, and her friendships? They had to be remembered at all times. But lately, she'd been drawn into a swirl of unproductive activities that only managed to drown her and effectively blind her as to her surroundings. Yes, a break was exactly what she needed.

"Vas!" she called softly, her earrings glittering against the lights as she lightly shook her head, turning to fully face her friend. "It's been ages. Where in Circe's name have you been?" She emphasized every word, her diction crystal clear as she turned on her socialite mood. Yes, training yourself wasn't so bad after all.

ooc: Hope you don't mind if Marlene joins you?

[vas]

It was during her little observation of the crowd did Vas feel her first wave of insecurity. She had sworn to herself that being without a date wouldn’t cloud her evening in any way, shape, or form. If she allowed it to, her evening would turn horrible. But this was her first year being allowed to even attend (not that she hadn’t tried to sneak in a few times in her previous years) – she was not going to have it be remember badly.

Shoving all negative feelings aside, she focused on finding someone to talk to. Vas finally noticed Marlene, looking fabulous of course, but somehow offsetting. It took Vas a moment to realize she looked…out of place: Marlene was single as well. It was foolish, but her spirits soared – Vas wasn’t the only one. She would have never taken her Gryffindor friend to be coming alone though. Secretly she’d always been jealous of her looks, not that she’d ever admit it aloud. That fact alone made it hard for Vas to accept. Now, recently she hadn’t seen much of Marlene but even time couldn’t erase her easy ability to pick out emotions from ones expression – slight worry clouded Marlene. When she finally realized Vas was staring at her, her face lit up and immediately hurried over.

“I could ask you the same thing, Marls,” Vas laughed, easily falling back into her sociable habits. “It feels like forever. I’ve been fine, of course. Classes, homework; between that I haven’t had much time for anything else. You know same old same old.” She shrugged it off like nothing new, which – it wasn’t. She had made room for spending time with some of the guys she knew, but clearly all her efforts had failed in that department. “What about you? I can only imagine what the professors have you seventh years up to.” Vas supposed the trait of being able to deal with more work came with time, but as it was now she knew she’d drown if she had as much as the older students at Hogwarts. What made it worse was the fact she had to do it all perfectly, every answer complete and correct. There was a reason she’d been placed in Ravenclaw.

She took in on occasion all the other surrounding them, some couples already shamelessly dancing too close or kissing when they thought the chaperones weren’t looking. Vas grinned, happy for them, but still irked. Clearly trying to ignore the fact that she had no dance partner was going to be a bit harder then expected. “So where’s your date?” she asked, playing dumb. There was no need to assume what she already knew – luckily her question sounded truthful, the side-effect of lying too often. “I thought you might be coming with Amos or something,” Vas ventured, recalling what males she’d seen Marlene around with. Before she had to face the awkwardness of the same question, she added “I’m on my own tonight; all the guys I know were too shy to buck up and ask me out.” She smirked – the obvious case with most boys. Reality over the matter was that anyone she had wanted to go with already had dates. She wasn’t about to say that aloud.


OOC: Not at all. ;D

[Marlene McKinnon]

Marlene was unaccompanied and feeling almost in the fringes of desperation. Her carefully cultivated expression was so useful in times like these: in times where she wanted the Earth to open up and swallow her whole. Or something along those dramatic lines. Wasn’t she one little theatrical witch? She smiled, remembering how Ethan had mentioned that once, back when they’d been a bit closer. Licking her dry lips, in order to be able to speak without having them hurt, Marlene smiled at her approaching friend. There was some lip balm, somewhere, but she couldn’t sum up the effort to open her purse and fumble through it. She disliked not having things go her way. So why provoke it? There was no way she’d be able to find it without looking like a fumbling fool. Better let things be as they were, and just enjoy her friends’—Vas’ company. It had certainly been a long while, and she should be caught up in the moment. If only she could allow herself to do it, it could prove to be a tad more enjoyable. She had to stop looking like a troll hexed with an Immobility Jinx. For Merlin’s sake, she could almost shake her own shoulders in order to get her act back together.

“Oh well, you know. It seems like I’ve been everywhere at once,” Marlene said, her chuckle lighthearted and anything but reflecting her unexplained, and rather sudden desperation. The Great Hall was looking fabulous, and Vas, well, Vas was splendid as always. Sometimes, when she was feeling specially down, Marlene had the guts to admit that her Ravenclaw friend possessed a style that Marlene would never be able to recreate. Reckless, daredevil Vas. Oh, how she wished to be as free as her sometimes. No matter how much she liked to pretend there was no other person, witch or wizard, who lived life better than she did, the thing was, Marlene had too many fears to realize herself as a person fully. Oh, what a pain, wasn’t it? When your apparently one-dimensional character turned out to be not so plain after all. Life was joyful when you were shallow. “Apparently, just because we’re of age, we’ve developed the ability to multitask times three.” She shook her head, that small, innocent smile she knew so well lighting up her features just as she knew it would.

Being with her friend only made her more aware of the fact that they were both very much alone, and as much as Marlene was dreading it, the inevitable question popped up. Of course, her internal reaction was so, so different from the one she demonstrated outwardly. Somehow, she doubted that hyperventilating and breaking into hysterics would be well received. Even if she had just thought that it would be a good idea to pop in (and it still was, dang it, she was just having some last-minute panicking), she knew there would be looks and some questions regarding to her escortless state. She smiled alongside Vas’ smirk and shook her head. “Oh, please, Amos? Are you really serious?” Marlene waved her face in an exaggerated fashion, pretending to roll her eyes. “Please, that little wizard has played his disappearing act one too many times on me. Besides, we’re so into the friends stage that even thinking about asking each other out is totally insane.”

Lies. Marlene had been slightly crushing on her best friend for ages, but she’d be dead before admitting it out loud. She would have, if Amos had actually asked her out and she’d had the privilege of turning him down, triumphantly stalking away with her recently acquired date, but since he hadn’t (and she had remained very much dateless), it would be admitting defeat in that aspect, and Marlene was willing to do anything but.

The downside of pride, no?

“Oh, I totally know what you mean. I’ve been there, and it’s unbelievable. Gryffindor courage my hexes.” Marlene playfully rolled her eyes this time, shifting slightly in order to have more expanse of the Great Hall in view. Snagging a date, even now, was so not out of the question.

[vas]

The longer she stood there surrounded by all the couples the deeper her irritation ran. Here she was looking fabulous and knowing it yet all those ignorant boys had claimed their dates to be anyone but her and were now dancing about without any regards to her feelings. If they expected to greet her tomorrow and have her be all cheery they were sadly mistaken. It was time to pull out the good old silent treatment and teach them what happens to them when Vivienne didn’t get her way. Just standing there her features slowly turned somewhat malicious; like she couldn’t wait to watch the poor boys suffer. The thought, oddly enough, slightly cheered her and she was able to devote her attention back to Marlene.

And the surprise that she didn’t like Amos as much as Vas had been thinking. “Really?” she asked automatically before thinking it through. She quietly cleared her thought and side-stepped the awkwardness. “I would have thought you’d come with him for sure. Well, seems I’ve been absent in the gossip chains a bit too long.” Immediately her eyes strayed over the crowd, looking for anyone of her gossip girls and glaring at them when she spotted them like it was their fault for Vas not knowing Marlene’s latest crush. As far as she was concerned, it was their fault.

Vas giggled lightly as Marlene’s way to roll off both their true annoyances in a single joke. Neither of them was going to admit it, but they were both aware how stunned each of them were for being dateless. Vas was too prideful to admit that Marlene looks better then Vas herself did, but Marlene perhaps a close second. Vas had purposefully picked a rather daring dress and purposefully pulled her hair up for maximum skin exposure. Glancing Marlene up and down quickly she didn’t think the Gryffindor had such outgoing motives but she was still clawing for attention. Vas was thoroughly annoyed that she had to be talking to Marlene instead of a handsome boy; likewise, she was positive she was getting similar feelings returned. Pity.

[Marlene McKinnon]

OOC: Yes, you may post if you have signed up already. Your name will be added shortly, don't worry

“Yes, you have,” Marlene agreed firmly, resolute on not letting her know. They were friends, indeed. But to her, there was something that would always come first, no matter what. Feminine pride was a hard thing to beat, she decided. She half turned her face away, as if she was looking for someone, her earrings twinkling again. But the truth was that she was avoiding Vas’ gaze. Somehow, she feared that her lie would be lying in the open in her hazel eyes, and the last thing she needed was conflict with another girl. There was enough to last her a lifetime, even if they were petty and she wouldn’t have given them a second thought any other day. But then again, tonight was different, wasn’t it? It was certainly supposed to be. Marlene felt different. Did being dateless have anything to do with it?

Probably.

Quickly scanning the mass of people that had gathered in the Great Hall under the pretense of celebrating Yule, Marlene almost narrowed her eyes when she saw no other than her friend Indigo arrive with—Regulus. She almost shook her head in disappointment. She thought she had gotten across her friend during their last talk through notes, but apparently she wasn’t as convincing on paper as she was in person. Of course, she still had to manage to do something. But that could wait, for later. Although, what did she have on her hands right now? Did Vas know all the conflict that was going on with Indigo and Regulus and—well, Ethan? She hated being in the middle of it all. Being friends with two of them while slightly knowing the other one. Marlene averted her gaze, trying to forget all about it. If she started to think about “what was Indigo thinking” she would surely get a headache. That tree-hugger certainly liked to keep things spiced up for her. She was just so stubborn!

Marlene almost stomped her foot. In fact, he caught herself just in time, since she had already lift her right foot slightly, but sheepishly, she put it back down, turning to Vas with an indirect smile. “You know, one would think we’d be able to snag enough boys to be able to turn down at least one invitation,” Marlene said in defeat. Coming dateless to a Ball didn’t seem so thrilling now, did it? What a spoiled child. She was so used to getting her way that she had forgotten how it was to not have it. Unbelievable. She was marvelling over it when a thought occurred to her. “Hey Vas,” she paused, mulling it over and trying to decide if it was valid to bring it up now. Maybe it would dampen the Ravenclaw’s feelings if she mentioned her family. “How’s Leon these days?”

[Ack! I’m so sorry about this! There’s no excuse, really >.<]

[bellbell]

(ok, thanks ^_^)

Bella smiled warmly at her reflection as she spun around rather dramatically in her dress. It had seemed as though it took a millenia for december to come at last, and now here it was. The Yule Ball. The best of all dances, she had always thought. Tonight is going to be so wonderful, she thought excitedly as she ran from the gryffindor dorm not caring that she had no partner to dance with.

The silence was like a dream. A bad one. A nightmare in disguise.
All was quiet in the normally noisy halls except for the tapping of her heels against the floor. Silent as a graveyard, thought Bella, quickening her pace. It was almost like the graveyard she had went to see. Graves. Her parents graves. Bella swallowed, her throat feeling dry. She could almost hear the church bell tolling as the memories, ...We gather here today in the memory of Anna Evan......and Alex Evangeline.... the voice of the priest rang in her ears. Unable to take it any longer, Bella broke into a run. She ran from the memories. She ran from the pain. But most of all she ran because she knew that if she didn't, all would be for nothing.

Soon she could hear the sound of music and laughter as she neared the Great Hall. She slowed her pace, trying to look at ease and not as if she had ran the entire way (which she had).

At last reaching her destination, the sounds grew louder as she edged towards the doorway. Bella gasped, all thought of the too silent hallway and bad memories faded away. The Great Hall had been transformed from a dull place to a beautiful winter wonderland. In the corner of her eye, Bella spied Vas and Marlene talking together and looking lovely. "Vas! Marlene!" said Bella, tripping on her dress and practically flying to where the two girls stood. Thankfully, she landed on her own two feet with a small tap. "No dates?" she asked calmly, her purple eyes sparkling as if she hadn't just tripped (as usual). She scanned the crowds for other recognizable faces before turning back to them. "Are you two just going to stand here talking or are you going to go charm some hotties into dancing?" she asked, smiling her most devious smile. Afterall, just because she didn't have a date yet, didn't mean Bella couldn't charm someone. Charming was in her blood. But still, Bella couldn't help but notice how both girl looked. The damage of womanly pride was in both of their eyes and the dark auras that surrounded the two also suggested that they did want to charm some guys.

[vas]

Vas hid her shock easily enough at Marlene’s tense response. Someone was getting a little irritated, now wasn’t she? It was wrong, but Vas smirked anyways. The little Raven had a way of getting on people’s nerves unintentionally and when the offended tried to out do her well…Vas was rather competitive in nature. Hence why coming to the Ball dateless was mortifying – it was like she had lost. Loosing was simply not an option. Yet, here she was…loosing.

Vas stood there glowering in her thoughts. She was hardly aware Marlene was even speaking again – until the last phrase caught her attention: “How’s Leon these days?” Vas had hardly remember anyone else knew of her brothers existence. Here she had felt all alone without the other Schwartz sibling running about Hogwarts but he’d only graduated last year, and as far as she knew he still kept in contact with some of the seventh years here. Was Marlene really not one of them? Or maybe he’d just been joking about that – maybe Vas was his only correspondent. Either way, her brain was now stuck on Leon. “He’s fine,” she said distractedly, thinking she must have been imagining things. “He works at Gringotts now, does all the boring jobs – you know, deals with mail entries, sort papers, sweeps the floors…”

“Vas! Marlene!”

Instantly Vas froze. She had not yet forgiven her friend for running a perfect day with Regulus Black. Obviously that ill fated day played no part for Bella now, practically bouncing up and down in excitement. Vas put on a happy face and decided to ignore the little bubble of anger in the pit of her stomach. “Hey Bella,” she grinned, “You look marvelous. Don’t tell me you’re here on you own too?” There – took care of the question and saved Marlene from answering it again. Vas used that too frilly of a giggle and waved her hand dismissively at her next comment. “Bella, do you really think we’d waste an entire evening like this? We were just discussing which guy would be best to steal, weren’t we Marls?” She smiled genuinely, praying Marlene wouldn’t ruin her ploy. The last thing Vas needed was Bella thinking she’d planned on mopping all night. “Speaking of which, where’s your brother?” Vas realized she’d overlooked the obvious option of Edward. But they were best friends as it was – she didn’t want to ruin a perfectly good thing just because she got desperate at the Ball. “I imagined…he’d be…” Vas trailed off quietly, leaning onto her tiptoes to look over Marlene’s shoulder – there was absolutely no way on earth this could be happening.

“Evening ladies,” Leon grinned at her, looking amazing in his black tux. His brown hair had been eased back and he’d given his face a good scrub. The suit was ironed and the red tie placed perfectly. Vas stood dumbly staring at him until her mind clicked and she leaped forward to tackle him in a hug. “Oh my God, what are you doing here?! Leon, oh my God!” His familiar chuckle soothed her wild outburst. “Princess relax, I told you I’d come and visit right?” Vas never dreamed he’d actually been serious. “How’d you get in here?!” she gasped, quickly looking around like he’d be spotted and chucked out. Leon rolled his eyes, “Strictly speaking I shouldn’t be here, no, but I got unwilling permission, don’t worry.” Vas was still in awe, but finally wheeled back around to her friends. “Um, guys, we have a visitor,” she grinned in bewilderment.

[Marlene McKinnon]

Marlene could almost roll her eyes at the sound of a somewhat familiar voice. She couldn’t say she recognized it immediately, but after a moment’s thought, she nodded to herself. That had to be Bella. As in Bella the Gryffindor, of course. Isabella was probably too busy with Drew, somewhere. She cringed almost in second thought. The sound of her name, being carried across the Great Hall, who was full of people, was not something she enjoyed that much. She personally liked her self-imposed nickname better. Or Sophia. But nobody called her Sophia at Hogwarts. Who was Sophia? A reserved persona, only for Home. Totally different perspective, if she was being honest.

She closed her eyes for a second upon hearing that dreaded question, but grinned mischievously when she heard Vas’ answer. Perfect. How had she forgotten she could always count on Vas for a perfect alibi? She was amazing, that girl definitely was. She nodded coolly, following her cue. “I like to keep my options open,” she said in an understandable murmur, her eyes shifting. “And exactly, what about you, Bella?” Marls echoed Vas’ question. “Joining our solo duo?” she joked easily, feeling a bit more at ease now that there were three of them. It was easier that way, knowing that she couldn’t possibly be considered anything bad, now that she realized she wasn’t alone. How come she thought that? Silly her, always believing herself to be the center of the universe. But that was only rational, wasn’t it? Marls gave Bella’s attire a cursory glance before giving it her approval. Of course, she still thought her dress was better, but it was good to be in company of people who had good tastes.

And speaking of good tastes…

It was obvious; the lighting up in Marlene’s eyes gave her away as Vas squealed, only to announce her older brother’s presence at the Yule Ball. The smile that spread over Marlene’s lips would’ve disarmed anyone. Taking a step closer, Marlene peeked up at him through her thick eyelashes, almost in a sheepish manner. It was incredible how much she’d missed Vas’ older brother. They hadn’t been what you would call exactly tight when he’d been attending Hogwarts, but their light relationship, their banter and flirting was something that Marlene had come to realize was missing greatly. And for him to actually be there! During Yule, no less! It was the response to her silent please, honestly. She wanted to hug him as joyfully as Vas had, but she had to be patient, and subtle, of course. Demurely, she spoke up. “Hey Leon…” she let her sentence trail off, letting it hang for a moment before speaking up again. “It’s been ages.” And then, then, she flashed her winning smile, making her dimples show and her hazel eyes light up.

[vas]

Leon was here, in the flesh! Right there, a mere couple feet away! It was so incredible that he’d even managed to get here at all – but he was, and it was enough to put the biggest grin of her face. Vas had forgotten how much Leon’s mere presence could do for her. Thinking back on it now, she could recall why sometimes walking through the hallways alone had irked her. Or why when at night she couldn’t cuddle with her brother and tell him about all the bad things that had happened that day and wait for him to make her feel better. She needed him; they were sibling, they had blood ties – it wasn’t any odd coincidence that he should make her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. She had really missed him, and he’d missed her too!

So, why was it then, that Leon seemed more interested in Marlene?

A wild flash of bubbling anger and jealously pricked at the bottom of her stomach. There was no way she was going to give up her brother to her when he’d come here specifically for Vas – he had, hadn’t he? She couldn’t help it – it was naturally reflex: just like she always had, she hugged one of Leon’s arms and looked up expectantly, grinning for attention. “Leon, I can’t believe you’re here!” she gushed, all to excited and using their family ties to a complete advantage. If Marlene wanted him well then good luck trying. Vas wasn’t about to let go even for a second. “Bus fair and a tux is all it took to get in here,” Leon teased, but she could se the mild confusion in his eyes. He had never been one for ‘my little sister always make be look foolish’ so to see the silent pleading in his gaze startled her but Vas kept her expression smooth. She laughed a little too late at his joke and glanced away, pretending something caught her eye. Vas tried to ignore what came next.

“Marlene I couldn’t help but overhearing,” Leon said conversationally, but Vas wasn’t stupid – she could hear the smirk in his tone. He clearly had more interest in Marlene then in her, which deeply irritated Vas. She clung tighter to her brother’s arm, but of course hadn’t returned her gaze – no, she was being casually distracted. “I find it hard to believe a beauty like you could be unaccompanied,” he continued smoothly. Vas was still ignoring the entire conversation. But then Leon carefully disentangled himself from her grasp and instead offered his arm to that back-stabbing Gryffindor, an all too eager grin on his smug face. “So, could I interest you in a dance? I’d hate for you to put the effort into of dressing up and not even be able to break-in the dazzling dress…”

Traitors, all of them.

[Andromeda Black]

ooc: mind if i join?

Annie glanced at herself in the mirror with a twinge of pride. She looked alright. A wider grin broke over her face. Screw modesty she looked pretty damn drop-dead gorgeous, knew it and loved it. Her vivid green dress fit her perfectly in all the right places and the cut looked amazing against her semi-pale skin. The large curls in her hair, so different from it's everyday straightness, made her hair as a whole appear much shorter and also, for some unfathomable but much appreciated reason, darker. She swiped on one last coat of gloss, fixed her eyelashes for the zillionth time and bounced lightly out of her dorm room and onto the stairs. It was a shame she was going alone but that alright. The plus side was that it meant she could dance or flirt with whomever she wanted tonight. Yesm being single at a large ball could be quite to one's advantage, however the others might have seen it.

As she approached the hall, Annie felt a twinge in her stomach. Yes perhaps, being single has its advatnages but it also meant you had to enter alone. Oh well, its not like anyone would really be paying attention. Still, it would have been nice to be with someone. To have that automatic partner for slow dances instead of worrying about being left to the side. She clenched her jaw, sending her brain messages to stop worrying. She was going to have a great time tonight and screw anyone who she might have been hoping to be asked out by. Which wasn't anyone, of course, she thought firmly.

She paused outside the hall, glancing at her reflection in one of the mirrors. When she had deemed herself perfect she tilted her head slightly to side, let one hadn dangle at her side while the other almost rested on her waist and entered. It was beautiful. The decorations and grandeur of the atmosphere was splendid and the music was pretty hot too. Keeping her expression deadpan with a slight smile, Annie slowed, swivelling to find someone she knew. The first to be spotted was fellow Ravenclaw, Vivienne, who also appeared to be alone. With a sigh of relief that she wasn't the only one here 'single' followed by a tad bit of regret she was happy one of her friends hadn't secured a date, Annie made her way over, flashing the younger girl a smile.

"Hey!" She grinned. "How's it going? Nice dress, by the way." It was true. The dress looked quite nice on Vivienne, Annie wasn't lying when she complimented her. Her eyes ran over the others, Bella and Marlene. Marlene was a year above her, she knew and she was pretty sure Bella was in Vivienne's year or perhaps one above. She smiled. "Hey." No dates? She kept the comment by herself though she allowed herself to feel a twinge of pride she had chosen the right group to hang out with right away. Or was Marlened with that guy there? Annie didn't recognize him. No matter. "Hello there," she said smoothly, flashing him a smile. "And who might you be?" Perhaps it was better manners to give your own name before asking for someone else's. Too late. Plus she wasn't really trying to start off an amazing conversation and introduce herself. Nah she just wanted to know who this guy was. Though he was cute and most definately not younger.

[Marlene McKinnon]

Ecstatic.

Finally, something to do. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate Bella or Vas. After all, Vas was great company, as well as Bella, but Marlene's world was not righted until she had the full attention of at least one boy. It didn't matter the quantity, so long as there was one at the very least. Which had been the root for all her awkwardness just a few seconds ago. But that was smoothed over and forgotten now. Now that Leon was in the picture. It was unbelievable for him to be here, heaven-sent. And he fit to her like a glove. Oh yes, she could picture see it. Now, he wasn't a student anymore, and that was always a plus. More freedom. But she would be the problem, wouldn't she? With all the restrictions Hogwarts had lately, it was a wonder they were still having balls and normal things, when "threats" were starting to become more obvious.

If Marlene were honest, she believed them to be utter fools. She didn't see anything out of the ordinary going on in the wizarding world. Granted, she was limited to the school grounds, and the occasional Hogsmeade trip, but what she had seen didn't seem that important. The Daily Prophet headlines didn't claim anything baffling occurring out there, and if something of extreme importance were going on, the Ministry officials wouldn't keep quiet, would they?

And why was she thinking about the pitiful going ons of the world when she had one gorgeous wizard in front of her? She mentally shook her head, freeing her thoughts instantly of anything but flirting with Leon. Sure, he was Vas's sister and normally, flirting with friends' family was against the rules, but how did the saying go? Desperate times call for desperate measures. And boy, if this wasn't an emergency, she certainly didn't know what qualified as such. Still looking up at him through her eye lashes, Marlene giggled shamelessly, Vas' behavior going by unnoticed as she focused strongly on Leon. "Oh well, see, apparently boys around here forgot to pack their guts with them. So here I find myself, suddenly dateless," she said, feigning distress. Of course, at the mention of dancing her eyes lit up. Perfect. At least she wouldn't be standing around like a fool anymore. Well, not like a fool, since she was accompanied, but still, Marlene was not used to being ignored by the opposite gender. It wasn't right. Not in her universe. Not in the universe that spun thanks to her. So flashing her pretty, and very practiced smile, she spoke up enthusiastically (but not overly so, mind you), "Oh, definitely. Couldn't say no to Hogwarts' personal guest, could I?"

She had to be charming, and classic. Unreachable, but not overly so. She had to tread carefully. Keep him interested. As she hooked her arm through his, she shot Vas a look, seeing how tightly she was holding on to her brother, even if her attention seemed to be elsewhere. What was going on here? Marlene glanced around, trying everyone's reaction to Leon's attention being focused on her. Walking in the middle of a group of dateless girls while being a handsome, single, and of age wizard wasn't perhaps the best idea. Well, not the best idea when Marlene wasn't there to take advantage. The other girls could whine all they wanted. For now, she had secured a dance. After that, it would be so easy to secure the next one, and the next one after that. Oh yes, Marlene could already see it. Perhaps nothing that would last. She could already see that wouldn't please Vas greatly, but for tonight, he was more than perfect. She decided then, to ignore Vas' attitude problems, and focus on Leon. He would be able to deal with his sister, wouldn't he? Even if they were close.

"So, care to share the details of your visit?" Marlene questioned conversationally as they walked towards the dance floor, shooting the recently-arrived Annie an apologetic look, though really, she was anything but. How could she? She was no longer a wallflower, thank you very much.