A night for beginnings Closed

Simon shut up and followed as the girl took his hand and led him to the other end of the Ballroom. There was a long row of tables that had cups, refreshments, small items, candies, and something bigger for those that fancied a more substantial meal that evening. He stood there a moment, not really trying to decide what he wanted but rather liked holding this girl's hand so it gave him an excuse to keep it for another moment longer.

Still, she had said drinks, so to the punch bowl they headed.

Ah, it took it right back to his school dances back at his muggle school in London. The same red punch in the same sort of bowl. Simon looked at it, almost expecting the punch bowl to refill itself since Hogwarts was a school for magic but that wasn't the current case. Instead, there was one of the school's kitchen elves mixing up some more in another container.

He took one of the glasses and, like a gentleman, handed it out to her. Then he looked down at the others, all filled with the punch. "Excuse me. Sorry, I don't mean to be difficult," he spoke to the elf who glanced up and blinked. "Would you perhaps have any water?"

The elf responded that he had water, colored...with a lovely fruit taste, and once again looked to the glasses with punch. Simon glanced around, hoping to see some water but it seemed the elf had already used the last of it in his current drink that he was mixing. "Thank you," he said, taking a glass from where he had gotten Haley's.

Joy.

Simon forced a small smile to Haley and knew he was going to have to stomach at least a taste or two. "To...a night where nothing else matters but you and I." He held his glass up so the two could toast to it. Drama could go down if drama was going to go down, but Simon was determined to make this a great evening for himself and his date.

P.U.R.E BALL

Interacting with: @Simon Kincaid
Outfit

When the two arrived at the tables they didn't stop holding hands and Haley wished it would be that way all evening. They stood at a long row of tables with all kinds of different things and Haley looked at everything very carefully and could hardly decide what she wanted to try first. Meanwhile, she continued to not let go of Simon's hand and It took a few seconds before they released their hands from each other. She accepted it gratefully. Right drinks - that's what she asked for. Haley always had the problem of getting lost in her thoughts, but she especially had that when she imagined moments with Simon, even if he was standing right next to her.

Haley noticed that Simon was asking the elf something, but was too distracted to hear what exactly he was asking. She looked a little confused at Simon as he looked around like he was searching for something, but Haley didn't know what and before she could ask him he came up with a toast. Haley smiled as Simon made his toast and repeated "You and I" with a big smile and toasted him. Haley took a sip and looked at Simon curiously as she asked him about the elf "What did you want from the elf? Are you looking for something?"

Haley waited for Simon's answer as she anxiously looked around the large room and saw it filling up more and more as time went on and she was very happy that this ball was such a success. Since they both still had something in their cup, Haley had thought to sit down with Simon and talk a bit before moving on to the dancing, "Would you like to sit down and tell me about your week?"

Since school had started again the two of them didn't have too much private time even though they tried to see each other often enough they were both busy with many other things. That's why Haley always wanted to know how Simon was doing. Even if he would only tell her that everything is the same and that he is doing well, she would listen to him with full attention and be happy about his words and time.

Haley would take all the time she needed to listen to Simon but her body was also tingling because she still wanted to run with him to the dance floor to repeat what they had done in the corridor just after the vacations. But she had to be patient and for whom would she be if not for Simon Kincaid.

"Oh, I was just wondering if he had some water," he said just before bringing the glass to his lips and forced a drink. He was able to hide his disgust for the most part but there was probably a hint of the fact that he didn't like it. Many thought it odd how he didn't like things like this - sweet drinks, pastries, bakery items, candy. It just never had been his thing.

"Oh, this week was fun. I took all my old assignments and papers that I did poorly on from the first half of the year down to the Common Room and tossed them in, one by one, into the fire." His friend Alexa Mackenzie had helped with that. He also got to meet her new pet rat.

"Honestly I spent most of the week corresponding with my aunt Maggie so she'd order just the right attire for the Ball. I'd say she did rather well," he admitted. The blood red matched Haley's dress perfectly. "And I've been counting down the days until now. Maybe not so much excitement for the ball but rather to get to spend the time with you," and he'd openly admit that because it was truth. "Not a bad early Birthday present, huh?" His was the very day after the ball. February 14th - a Valentine's Day baby.

"I wish there were special allowances for us. You know, you have classes with your house, sit with them at meal times, and have the Common Room where you can spend a little bit later in, but if you want to be close with someone from another house then you're just plain at a loss. Like when we played in the snow. It was brilliant but then when it was time to go inside to warm up we had to part ways." It was rather unfair. He understood the house system and all, but sometimes it felt like something that separated students more than strengthened them.

"Maybe it's a good thing," he continued, "maybe it's good because otherwise I'd be wanting to spend all my time with you." He hoped that Haley was realizing that he was trying to say that he liked her.

P.U.R.E BALL

Interacting with: @Simon Kincaid
Outfit

Haley found Simon's behavior a little odd and as she drank she continued to watch him and it seemed like something didn't sit right with him. "So you don't like punch that much?" She thought it was cute that if he really didn't like it, he still tried to drink it and not let anybody know. She was curious but wouldn't keep bugging him about it if he didn't want to talk about it.

"Oh too bad you didn't invite me." She started laughing, thinking it was a brilliant idea "I've got a bunch that would like to be burned too." She thought of the fireplace in the common room and maybe she would imitate Simon and really do that someday too.

"Oh give my regards to your aunt. Please tell her that she really did a good job." Haley lightly ran her hand over Simon's suit and smiled. It really did match her dress perfectly. Haley's smile grew even bigger at Simon's words. If only he knew she felt the same way. "I'm glad I'm not the only one counting the days" she winked at him, hoping he would understand that she felt the same way he did. Birthday? Had he just said birthday? Oh damn. Haley didn't know when Simon's birthday was and immediately felt bad.

"Please tell me it's not your birthday today?" She crossed her fingers that the answer would be no. If only she had known that beforehand, she would have put more thought into getting a present. But she wasn't Haley Rose if she couldn't come up with something personal at the last minute. Still, she hoped she would have a little more time for a gift.

Haley could understand Simon's feelings, she had felt the same way and wished it would be easy for the houses to spend time together in the common rooms as well. "Yeah I know what you mean." She looked at him a little wistfully, "I've already been thinking about how to sneak you into the Gryffindor common room ." Of course she was joking but actually she had really thought about it once. "Oh, I wouldn't mind if you wanted to spend all your time with me." She smiled at him now, "I'd feel the same way." Haley's cheeks turned slightly pink and she looked down at her hands in embarrassment.

She took a few deep breaths and then gathered all her courage to be honest with Simon, "you know..." she started but paused for a moment "I couldn't imagine anything better than spending my free time with you." She smiled sheepishly and hoped for a positive reaction from Simon but didn't dare to look him in the eyes again.

"Tomorrow," he told her. "Tomorrow's my birthday. What can I say, I'm full of so much love that I was born on Valentine's Day?" and he smiled. Well, could one really be full of love without their father not only there when they were born, but there for the pregnancy or anywhere else. Simon's dad didn't even know he existed and for Simon, it was as if he didn't either but he knew that wasn't the case. Everyone had a father.

Their conversation was getting a little heavy, at least in first year standards, and he looked down to the glasses that sat on the table before them. His had more liquid than hers but he didn't want to go into the conversation because it always made him feel like an outsider. Sometimes he thought there had to be something wrong with him for him to not like foods the way he did. Some people didn't like vegetables or some people didn't like to eat fish, but no one was as picky of an eater as he was.

"You shouldn't admit such things," he said, getting on the topic of her saying that she couldn't imagine anything better than spending her time with him. "Because that's a transition right into the next segment of our night." He stood up and held his hand out toward her, hoping she'd place hers in his. "Would you like to dance?"

He wasn't nervous for the dancing. She had come with him to the dance to dance and they had even gotten in some practice. If she accepted, he would lead her out onto the dance floor and they would be one of the first couples to start things off. He was eager to do so.

Still, there was the smallest bit of nervousness. For in his mind there was something that, if it all played out right, that would be happening behind just a dance.

P.U.R.E BALL

Interacting with: @Simon Kincaid
Outfit

Tomorrow - Shit. But better than today. How could Haley not know when Simon's birthday was. "I think we forgot that point on our questionnaire." She grinned at him but it was not convincing. Haley felt incredibly bad at that moment. But evenif she felt bad she know she would think of something by midnight to give him at least a little suprise - at least if Simon could stick it out with her that long. She knew she wasn't supposed to be out of the dorm at that hour, but where there's no complainer there's no judge, Haley thought, and let her plan stand.

Haley cringed at his first statement and her heart stopped short. Had she now said something wrong? But before she could get angry with herself, Simon held out his hand and asked her to dance. She smiled broadly at him and put her hand in his. "I thought you'd never ask." She laughed out loud now as she got up from her chair and walked closer to Simon.

She looked at the dance floor and it was almost empty but every beginning was small. As they walked onto the dance floor Haley's eyes were only on Simon. She put one hand in his and the other hand on his shoulder and they started to dance. It was like their first dance a few weeks ago, as if they had been dancing together for years their movements matched each other.

As the two continued to dance to the music, Haley couldn't get out of her smile. She only had eyes for Simon and was caught up in the moment. She blanked out everything around her and didn't care if someone was watching them or not. The most important thing in this moment was them. She looked up at Simon and looked into his eyes and whispered with a smile on her lips "I've been waiting for this for so long."

Kara was curious of how Cassie would answer, so when they did, she was intrigued. Cassie was silent, but only for a moments notice, till they finally answered.

"Well, in wizarding world there are 3 type of blood titles. They are Pureblood, Half-Blood and Muggle-Born" They paused slightly before continuing. "Some Pureblood might think Half-blood and Muggle-Born are inferiorities"

Let's just say, Kara felt slightly more insecure then before. There could be some people in here that know of her blood status, and are judging her right now, which made her feel at slight unease.

"Some, like me for an example, I am a Pureblood." They said the word "pureblood" with such spite against it. "In my own opinion, I do not care which title you hold but some others might care."

Kara was quite glad about the fact that they didn't care, but she was still curious of others, wondering if there was some set social status according to blood.

"Is there some superiority complex? Uh.. umm-To be honest, yes there are but I did not hold that kind of superiority and view" Cassie seemed a little uncomfortable with Kara's questions, so she had decided to change the subject, which Kara accepted.

Cassie got up and offered their hand to Kara, asking "Fancy a dance, Miss Capricorn?"

"Why of course, my beloved Ironwoods." Kara said fancily, almost in a mocking tone towards the pricks who think their better than Halfbloods and Mugglebloods.

As the two were drifting to the dance floor, the two got stopped by a tanned girl with a very tight skin dress. Everything about this woman said "powerful", but it also said "cocky bitch" which would be an interesting interaction.

"Well hello there Cassie and from what it looks like it Cassie's date, must I say you look completely astonishing tonight the pink is a good colour on you, sorry I'm Cassie's friend Katherine, Katherine Labrouder and you must be..." Katherine glanced at Kara with a look of almost disgust, which made Kara glare at the girl with a death stare.

"Kara Capricorn. Nice to meet you, I guess..." Kara was now looking at her, a thin lipped forced smile on her face. She already knew that this "Katherine" girl was an absolute bitch.

"Well no need to get jealous you also look wonderful in this Greek outfit, who knows it might end with a Greek tragedy at this point I'm starting to think your psychic cash" Katherine devilishly grinned and glared at Cassie, and that's when Kara had it.

"Alright Miss, just what the hell you think you're saying to us. I know you're trying to mock and spite us at the same time, and I swear if you don't shut up, I'll give you a matching scar on your pretty skin." Kara said, glaring at her, pointing to her on large burn scar. Kara may be insecure about the scar, but she sure as hell wasn't going to let some stuck up lady try to mock her, and she especially didn't like the fact that she was mocking Cassie at the same time.

"Well I'll stop bothering you wonderful couple and by stop bothering you I mean Cassie's partner, but other than that enjoy your evening in whatever this is" The girl started walking away, and now Kara was really pissed.

"That's it. Wasn't planning on beating someone up, but I'll make sure her face is all the same shade as her lips." Kara was about to storm after Katherine, but Cassie luckily still had a grip on her hand, pulling her back.

He wondered how he had gotten so lucky. There were some great people already in that room (and some that just THOUGHT they were the best thing ever to walk the Earth) but Simon fit here. He took her hand and placed the other on her waist and there was just something about that that seemed right. There was something about the way her hand perfectly fit into his own. There was something about the way that the two danced together.

Something about Haley Rose just felt right and felt like it was where he belonged. Some could say that he was too young to feel anything towards a girl but this was a boy who had been crushing on girls since the age of eight and none of them had even come close to the redhead with him.

"And here I made you wait all of twenty minutes. My apologies, Miss Rose," he smiled to her. That's how long the two had been in the Ballroom, approximately twenty minutes. Time always felt longer with her and yet when the moment was over, it felt like the briefest moment in time. A contradiction and yet somehow it seemed to be that way.

The two danced to the one song which ended far too quickly as they entered into it halfway through. Another came on. Still slow dances - still his preference for the moment.

Simon had heard stories about dances at Hogwarts. The events tended to end in a troll in the dungeon, hags invading the school, disaster, and destruction. Would Michael's ball end the same? Surely he hoped not, but all those occurrences did tell him one thing and that was that to make this the evening he wanted it to be he couldn't procrastinate. Still, no need to rush.

So he waited.

He waited until another slow dance came on and her head came to rest against his chest and he could feel her warmth against him. For someone colder as he, it was like the fire of her hair mimicked her physical warmth, her emotional warmth, her caring and her passion. Simon closed his eyes as he took that in and the two moved to the music.

"Hales?" he finally said softly. He knew that his voice would cause her to look up to him and when her eyes rose to meet his he smiled and gathered up his nerves. The polite thing to do would be to ask but then again it would take away any bit of surprise in the moment so he hoped she would forgive him for not asking and he leaned down until his lips came to her own.

P.U.R.E BALL

Interacting with: @Simon Kincaid
Outfit

Haley's skin tingled again at the places where Simon placed his hand, just like in their first dance. She smiled to herself and quietly enjoyed the moment. She remembered her first ball at Hogwarts and her first date, but nothing compared to this. Haley had never had a crush on a boy before, but she had had her first crush since the first day she met Simon. She didn't want to admit it to herself for a long time, but no one could be that blind do not see that Haley fell for this boy.

She knew from the first day that Simon was something special and the two were on the same wavelength from the start. She noticed that in their conversations, whether funny or serious, as well as in this moment, as their hands seemed as if they would fit perfectly into each other. She couldn't explain it, but she didn't have to. She knew she felt more for Simon but even if he didn't return those feelings it was something she would have to live with because she would never want to lose him as a friend.

"You know twenty minutes can be a bloody hell of time." she joked, inwardly shocked that they had only been here twenty minutes. She always lost her sense of time around Simon. On the one hand, it always felt like they had been talking for hours, even though it had only been five minutes, and on the other hand, three hours flew by in five minutes.

Haley didn't want to rack her brain any further and turned off her thoughts for this dance. At least that's what she tried to do and while they were standing there dancing and then moving on to the next song and the one after that, her thoughts only circled around the boy who was holding her hand at that moment. Lost in the moment, Haley rested her head on Simon's chest and the two continued to slowly dance to the music. She could now clearly pick up his scent through her nose and took one deep breath through her nose before focusing on the slow beating of his heart.

Haley inwardly startled briefly when Simon softly said her name. She felt as if she had woken up from a beautiful dream. She slowly lifted her head from his chest and tilted her head slightly to look up at him. Her eyes met his and she smiled at him. She waited for him to speak, but he did not. Before Haley could ask, she noticed Simon's face coming closer to her. She knew what would come next and at that moment panic rose in her. Not because she didn't wish it. In fact she did. But more because it would be her first kiss and she was afraid that she would in some way ruin this moment.

Haley closed her eyes as Simon's lips met hers and in an instant all fears were gone. How could she have ever thought that this moment could not be great. As they kissed, Haley felt the butterflies in her stomach. This feelind was already familiar to her since the first time she had it was when she turned around in the hallway and caught sight of Simon calling out to her and and on every other day the two of them have met. The kiss felt like it wasn't going to end but after a few short seconds their lips parted again and Haley looked a little surprised but happy into Simon's eyes. Her cheeks had turned pink and a wide smile formed on her lips as she briefly looked down at her feet.

She looked back up into Simon's eyes but she was at a loss for words. So she stood there and whispered softly, "wow." She thought it was the stupidest thing she could have said at that moment, but nothing else came in her mind.

Open to Shenanigans
@Juniper Yu

The inevitable beginning of yet another year paved the way for a rapid flurry of new experiences. Subjectively, a year really wasn't a long time at all. With that in mind, one often found themselves wondering how so much could happen in so little time. This year had been one hell of a roller-coaster, emotionally, mentally, physically...In any way, the word could apply really.

Seemingly, Jackson Valentine was already prepared for the evening's festivities, dressed formally in a black suit boasting some awkward yet pleasing embroidery of some sort. His handkerchief folded perfectly into his breast pocket trimmed with streaks of red, and his black tie accented with its own design of velvet embroidery. His slacks matched the pattern of his suit jacket, and his shirt matched the tone of each respectively as well as the darkness of the tie. Hugging his feet were a pair of grey dress shoes that could only fit him perfectly, topped off with a straight-laced fashion. In his right hand, he held by its stalk a black petaled rose of no small importance. His brown waves of hair were "styled" to his usual preference, slightly ruffled and unkempt; left to hang naturally of their own accord. One might have seen the serene calmness that radiated from his complexion had it not been for the argent opera mask that rested on the bridge of his nose. Its silver metallic glare offered a new kind of aura, one that took his confidence on the dance floor and hoisted it onto a pedestal for all to see. There were few things that Jackson Valentine took pride in, but of these few passions and gifts, he readily embraced with all the pride his young spirit had to offer. Beneath the surface of his mask, his steely grey eyes shimmered with newfound life.

The arrangement had been for him to meet his date at the venue. Although neither had met the other, it was this thrill of dancing with a faceless individual that took away all outside distractions, focusing one and the other's efforts entirely on the act of the dance itself. It was a beautiful concept and the reason for his choice of dressing. Briefly, he played with the thought of revealing the face behind the mask when it was all over and done.

Half an hour had passed. Valentine was no longer boasting the same aura of confidence which he had once borne so proudly. His chest was sucked inward, deflated, his excitement all but depleted over the course of the thirty-minute wait.

Had his date ghosted him?

He considered briefly that this was some sick joke by a rival student who wanted to waste or ruin his time at the ball, or simply a lack of accountability? Who knew? It was hard to tell with how weird kids were these days, and the ferocious happenings of Hogwarts only seemed to exacerbate that weirdness.

He wandered aimlessly across the dance floor, watching with a mellowed dejection as couples swayed together in improvised harmony. An outward smile seemed to grace his lips briefly, an expression of joy for others who were enjoying themselves. It was fragile; a lie. Inwardly, he was miserable, and no amount of joy for others would overcome the heavy thoughts of being abandoned by his ball date.

He was about to leave the establishment, host, guests, and all. He wouldn't even stop to say goodbye, for he didn't know these people, and they hardly knew him. It was by pure chance that on his hasty exit, he encountered a fellow First Year wandering around just as he was.

He hadn’t seen her before, and underneath his cold, silver visage, he doubted she would recognise him either. Wait. What on earth was she doing?

And now suddenly his head snapped in the direction of the Slytherin girl whom he had chanced across, almost comically halting in his path as he eyed her with confusion.

“. . . ?”