7 Mar 2022, 20:39
"So, are you going to the ball?"
IC Date: Monday, March 21, 2022
"You guys go ahead! I'll stay behind for a bit," Avery waved to his teammates as practice was over. It had been another long, rewarding afternoon of quidditch practice: His adrenaline was pumping, his forehead was beading with sweat, and his breathing was rapid. All in all, it was exactly what he had been looking forward to after a full day of classes. Nothing like some good flight exercises, passing drills, and goal blocking exercises to break the monotony of the day and work out with his team.
It was late afternoon, but the sun was up for longer, now that it was spring. He figured that he would have a good full hour of sunlight left to do whatever he wanted on the empty training pitch, and he would certainly take advantage of that.
Swinging his leg over his broom, Avery pushed off, letting himself rise to greater heights to meet the gusts above. He found himself catching an anabatic wind, consisting of warm air rising above the surrounding mountainsides, and soared upwards. The pitch soon became smaller and smaller down below. He felt himself laugh at the pure speed and elevation he was able to obtain, feeling at once in control but free to float wherever the winds took him. This was pure joy. This, was living.
Once the winds got too nippy, he decided it was time for the next step. He hovered for moment, halting his progress skywards, and leaned forwards, angling his broom downwards before he plummeted back towards earth. He built momentum, green quidditch uniform flapping furiously in the wind behind him, and -- at the very last moment -- slammed the brakes while angling his broom upwards so that the bristles brushed the grass. Then he was off, speeding around the outer rim of the pitch at lightning speed, planning to make a full lap before slowing down.
If anyone were to walk onto the pitch now, beware.
@Samatha Salwis as Elizaveta Mikhailov
Last edited by Avery Chen on 31 Mar 2022, 20:24, edited 2 times in total.
8 Mar 2022, 13:12
"So, are you going to the ball?"
|
|
|
|
The grounds of Hogwarts were big, a lot bigger than Durmstrang, and they were the perfect place to spend your time according to Elizaveta. As soon as she had gotten the chance, Eliza had explored the grounds. She went outside almost every day and could be found walking and daydreaming somewhere. Sometimes she would be walking around the campgrounds and another time she would be staring at the water of the great lake making up stories about the merpeople.
Hogwarts may not have a wind spirit like Durmstrang did, at least according to the rumors Eliza believed in, but they had an awesome quidditch pitch. This was where the young girl could be found today watching some quidditch players practice. Her eyes followed the tiny students who flew through the sky. It didn't matter in which country you were, the rules for quidditch were still the same. Watching the students practice the game reminded the young girl of her brother, who also played quidditch, and she was sad to see that the team stopped practicing after a while. She had found it comforting to watch the students fly through the sky, it kept her mind off of the fact nobody had asked her to the ball yet.
Even though it was already late in the afternoon, one of the players continued practicing as the others left the pitch. The student reminded Eliza of her brother, determined to keep practicing even though the others left. A little smile appeared on her face as she decided she wanted to go to the ball with that boy. The boy reminded her of her brother and anything she knew was welcome in this big unknown place with all these unknown people. She slowly walked closer to the pitch as she thought out how he would ask her to the ball. Yes, he would ask her. There was no way she would ask him, she would only drop hints and he was supposed to ask her. He would apologize for not asking her sooner and ask her to the ball right after that. Yes, that was how it would go, Eliza was sure of it.
The blond quietly entered the pitch as she looked for the boy in green. Going undetected was a skill she had mastered long ago, so she could avoid other people. Sometimes other people would notice her, but a lot of the time they didn't. It became a habit for her to move as quietly as possible. She was slightly worried when she couldn't find the boy, did her future ball date just disappear? She stayed on the side of the pitch and looked up into the sky trying to find the boy, maybe he was flying around somewhere?
11 Mar 2022, 02:14
"So, are you going to the ball?"
He took a speed lap, hovering just a couple feet above the ground, tilting left as he made his turn around the ring of the pitch, elbow almost touching the grass below. The blast of cool spring air in his face and robes, adrenaline rushing throughout his veins... this was all that he had hoped for when he found out that he was a wizard: the ability to use magic as a means of freedom.
Although his eyes were trained on the path ahead, a girl with blond hair seemingly appeared out of nowhere. It was only too late that Avery saw the form ahead of him -- how he hadn't noticed her sooner was exceedingly strange to him. "Watch out!!!" he hollered, braking and jolting left at the very last second, his quidditch uniform close to brushing hers. The boy was thrown onto the ground from the force of the sudden stop, rolling a little ways from where he fell, Slytherin greens tossed among the brighter green grass. Fortunately, the broom stopped on its own accord once it was able to, after noticing that its rider had gone missing, then laid itself onto the grass alongside him.
Thank goodness his new Silver Arrow was trustworthy enough to avoid a serious accident. Once he got up onto his elbows, he pushed himself off the ground and turned to look for the girl, grass stuck to his hair like a mess, dirt clinging to his uniform. "Oh my gosh, are you okay?" he asked hurriedly, rushing up towards her. "Are you hurt?" If she was also on the ground, he would offer her a hand to pull her back up onto her feet. "That was a close one!" he exclaimed. "I'm so sorry, I really didn't see you until the very last minute. Were you like, actually trying to sneak up on people or something?" he laughed here at his own joke. "Or am I just hopelessly blind?"
He studied the girl as he spoke, noticing that she wore a bright red uniform, indicating she was likely from Durmstrang. Somehow, there was an air of gracefulness about her that he couldn't quite place. He hadn't met many of the foreign students that had come during the fall, and the spring visit had only begun, so he decided he was eager to get to know them better. "I'm Avery Chen, by the way. What's your name?" he asked with a typical, friendly, Avery sort of smile.
@Samatha Salwis as Elizaveta Mikhailov
13 Mar 2022, 20:19
"So, are you going to the ball?"
|
|
|
|
She hadn't even stood in the quidditch pitch for more than ten seconds when heard somebody yell at her. Immediately, her head turned to where she had heard the sound come from and Elizaveta saw the boy flying her way at full speed. She tried to quickly take a step back, so he wouldn't hit her, but instead lost balance. She gasped when she fell to the ground and Eliza froze as soon as she hit the ground. Shocked by the sudden appearance of the boy, she stared at him as he rolled away from her. Still sitting on the ground, now leaning on her left arm, she looked at the boy like a scared puppy when he got up. He looked like a mess with bits of grass in his messy hair and dirt on his uniform. Still, the first thing the boy did was ask if she was okay. Her green eyes followed the boy as he hurried to her. He offered his hand and she hesitantly placed hers in his. She quietly got up with help of the boy whose hand was locked in hers. Once she stood again, she slipped her hand out of the boy's while looking down at the ground.
Before entering the pitch she had been certain everything would happen like she had thought out, but now she could feel herself getting nervous. What was she supposed to say? Elizaveta didn't answer the question the boy had asked earlier, she just looked at the ground doubtfully. She lifted her head and looked the boy in his eyes. His friendly brown eyes gave her a welcoming feeling and a tiny smile appeared on her face. When the boy talked about sneaking up on people, she tucked her hair behind her ear, something she always did when she was nervous. He had asked her a question, which meant that she had to talk. She took a deep breath, building up the courage to reply in the foreign language. "No, your eyes are good," she answered simply. "I am okay. I am not hurt," she added as she remembered his previous questions. "Are you hurt?"
When she noticed the boy studying her, she regretted wearing her uniform. She should have changed, that way she would have looked nicer and there would have been a bigger chance he would ask her to the ball. After all, who wanted to go to the ball with a girl dressed in an ugly school uniform? She had never liked her uniform, she preferred wearing one of her adorable dresses. Her worries about her clothes disappeared as the boy asked her name and smiled at her. "I am Elizaveta Mikhailov," she said as she gracefully extended her hand for a formal handshake just like her parents taught her. Falling back on the etiquette, which had been drilled into her by her parents, made it easier for her to interact with the unknown boy. "But you can call me," she took a moment to think. Which nickname would she tell the boy to use? The blonde had the habit to give everybody she met a different nickname to call her. She didn't know why, but she found the idea of everybody using a different name for her quite amusing. She decided to go with her favorite nickname: "Eliza." If this boy was going to take her to the ball, he better knew her favorite nickname. Besides, Avery and Eliza sounded pretty good together.
Elizabeth wasn't the most patient kid and started to get a little disappointed that the boy hadn't asked her to the ball yet. Her parents and brothers had always got her whatever she wanted, leading to Eliza being a spoiled and impatient child. Maybe the boy just needed a reminder. "So, are you going to the ball?" Eliza was quite surprised by herself, she had already talked a lot more than she normally did. Usually, she avoided any type of conversation, and even if she was forced to talk she answered with one or two words.
16 Mar 2022, 23:20
"So, are you going to the ball?"
The girl seemed quite stunned by the commotion, hardly having the opportunity to answer his question about whether she was hurt or not. Nevertheless, Avery reflexively offered a hand to giver her a boost up, which she took, seemingly in a daze. Was she normally this dazed, or did the fact that he narrowly missed hitting the girl stun her so badly? Avery supposed it was the latter. It was certainly scary to have a broom rider come at you with top speed. After all, he didn't suppose the graceful, more delicate-looking girl was on the Durmstrang quidditch team, where she would be used to accidents like this. From what he heard, that school was renowned for their strong, burly players. Hopefully, though, he didn't accidentally injure her and give her a concussion.
She was quiet at first, and Avery glanced on awkwardly, afraid that she had somehow been injured and was too hurt to respond. However, when he cracked a joke, she seemed to lighten up a bit with a tiny smile. "No, your eyes are good. I am okay. I am not hurt," she said a little hesitantly, and Avery sighed in relief. Thank goodness. For a brief moment, he thought he had somehow knocked her into a daze. "Are you hurt?" He quickly shook his head. "No, I'm fine. I might look like I just rolled in a salad, but I think I'm tougher than I look," he responded, slowly moving his right shoulder and then his left, and thankfully nothing seemed to hurt.
In response to Avery's introduction, the girl extended her hand and introduced herself as Elizaveta Mikhailov, who wished to be called Eliza. Avery took her hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you, Eliza," he responded. "You can just call me Avery, but some people call me Ave, it's whatever," he shrugged. "I respond to anything, really. One upperclassman even calls me 'Sir Nerd'," he said, before quickly stopping and realizing that it probably was an embarrassing fact to share with a stranger. People didn't really want to be called nerds by people they didn't like, did they? He didn't completely agree with Hanako's Tone nickname for him, after all, and didn't want Eliza to think he was some sort of loser.
After their introductions, her question about going to the ball seemed to come out of nowhere. To be honest, Avery was expecting more of the usual: "So, what house are you in?" or "So, how long have you been playing quidditch?" if she were to ask any question at all, given where they were standing. However, he assumed that the ball would be a popular topic, perhaps? That was one of the main reasons the foreign students were at Hogwarts, anyway. Surely, anyone who signed up for this trip would be excited for the blossom ball. And the Hexwizard Tournament, which Avery found to be more exciting, actually.
In response to her question, he merely nodded. "Yeah, I'm going to the ball. Are you? But, I'm actually more excited about the Hexwizard Tournament," he said, eyes gleaming as he mentioned the tournament, with an excitement that completely overshadowed any mention of the ball. "Champions and competitors coming together from various magical schools, battling it out in spectacular events using strength, wit, and magic... I wonder what kinds of challenges will be announced! Are you planning to participate or watch the tournament at least? What do you think of it?" he asked, his eyes snapping back to Eliza after a glorious reverie in which he imagined wizards and witches battling dragons on broomsticks.
@Samatha Salwis as Elizaveta Mikhailov
17 Mar 2022, 12:13
"So, are you going to the ball?"
|
|
|
|
She giggled softly when the boy joked about rolling in a salad, he was funny. In Eliza's opinion, the boy needed to look a little better if he wanted to ask her to the ball. Grass stuck in your hair and dirt on your uniform isn't the best look. "You have-," she hesitated, how did you call it in English? She wasn't sure and decided to go with the word the boy had used in his joke. "Salad in your hair," she said as her eyes switched from the boy's hair to his uniform. "And dirt on your clothes." With salad she had meant grass, but she hadn't been able to come up with the word in English so she hoped the boy would understand her.
"Oh," she said confused. What was she supposed to say to that? Nobody had ever told her their nickname was 'sir nerd', so she had no idea how to respond. She didn't feel like telling Avery about the nicknames the other kids gave her. He didn't have to know Charles called her loony and the other students used weirdo if they talked behind her back about her. Her green eyes drifted away from the boy, as she thought about the many mean names other students for Durmstrang had for her.
Great! Avery went to the ball as well. Okay, now he needed to ask her. Her hopes came crashing down when the quidditch player started to talk about the Hexwizard Tournament. Why hadn't he asked her yet? Maybe he wanted to be sure she went to the ball? Eliza started to make up excuses in her head why he hadn't asked her yet, trying to hold on to the idea that he would go to the ball with her. Avery seemed extremely excited about the Hexwizard Tournament, his twinkling eyes drifted away from her as he talked about his idea of the Tournament.
"I think it is cool and I am going to join," she said confidently. Elizaveta wanted to prove to Charles she was no embarrassment to her school. She needed to prove he was wrong. On top of that, she was sure her parents would be proud of her. At least her father, her mother would probably be really worried, but that was okay. Elizabeth was sure she wouldn't get hurt, she would win the whole thing without a scratch. Having conversations wasn't something she did a lot, so where a normal person would ask Avery if he would participate she stayed quiet. Waiting for the smaller boy to ask her to the ball, she looked around the quidditch pit.
21 Mar 2022, 20:31
"So, are you going to the ball?"
He had what in his hair? Her words startled him for a bit, and he raised a hand to his hair in confusion, fully expecting to pull out some lettuce and cheese drizzled with salad dressing. "Oh no, salad? Again?" he moaned. "I'm a very messy eater, so sorry about th-" he began apologizing, but stopped in his tracks as his hand only met some stray strands of quidditch pitch grass. He looked at the grass and flicked it back onto the ground, then combed his fingers through his dark hair for any other items he might find, but his fingers only met grass, which he shook from his head. Somehow, there was no salad from lunch, as the girl seemed to suggest.
"Oh, you mean grass! Not salad," he said in relief and revelation. She must've forgotten the word for 'grass', and simply used the word he had used to describe his dirtied appearance. "Or do you put grass in your salad?" He supposed grass could go in salad, depending on one's preferences? Did students from Durmstrang eat grass salads?
He supposed he did look a bit of a mess right now. He nonchalantly patted some dirt from his uniform. "I kind of look like this on a regular basis, though, so don't be alarmed," he said. "Fall from the skies enough, practice in the rain and mud enough, and you'll somehow forget how to look normal," he explained, as if that made sense. To be honest, there were quidditch players often better-dressed than him. After all, he was the boy who went around with his shirt untucked, a messy bird's nest for hair, and shoelaces often untied. He supposed it complemented his laissez-faire attitude.
As he thought, Eliza didn't know how to respond to him sharing the fact that he was also called 'Sir Nerd' by someone. He offered a sheepish smile and moved on. He supposed he wasn't all that offended when Hanako called him that, though. It was almost hard to take anything Hanako said seriously, with his dramatics.
He supposed Eliza shared his enthusiasm for the Hexwizard Tournament as well, since she was actually going to join it. "Oh, that's so cool!" Avery exclaimed, eyes wide. All of a sudden, she seemed more like a hero in his eyes, and not just some girl he had knocked over on his broom. "You're like, not scared at all?" he asked, incredulous. "I totally would've wanted to join, but I'm just a first-year, after all, and I was hoping that I'd submit my name once I'm older and I know more magic. I've heard it can be a dangerous event to participate in. My roommate Henry keeps on saying how someone might die, because of how scary the events were in the past. It sounds like a glorious adventure that I'd definitely sign up for in a few years, though. I just don't think I'm ready yet, but it's so cool that you are!" He gazed at Eliza with admiration, wholly surprised that this delicate-looking girl was actually so strong and braver than he was in his current state. "What year are you, by the way?" he asked, curious. Was she actually much older than him, despite the way she looked? His enthusiasm for the Hexwizard Tournament had completely overshadowed any idea of the ball at this point.
@Samatha Salwis as Elizaveta Mikhailov
26 Mar 2022, 15:17
"So, are you going to the ball?"
|
|
|
|
A messy eater? Horrified she looked at the boy, wondering if he seriously ate grass or she misunderstood what he meant with messy eater. She wasn't sure if she still wanted to go to the ball with him if he ate grass. Other kids may think she was weird, but eating grass was way too strange for her, she didn't want to have a date who ate grass. The boy was faster in realizing what had gone wrong and told her she had meant grass. Now that he said the word, she realized grass had been indeed the word she was looking for in English. "No!" she quickly answered the boy's question, disgusted by the idea of grass in a salad.
Eliza was disgusted by the idea of forgetting how to look normal and looking like that on a regular basis. She would never leave her room looking like that, it was horrible. "Hopefully you look better at the ball," she would never be his date if he looked like that. Shit! She had said that out loud! She quickly covered her mouth with her hand and took a little step back, she wasn't supposed to say that! "I mean-" she mumbled, but stopped as she realized she had no idea what to say.
Why would she be scared? She wouldn't get hurt, after all, good always won. She had read enough fairytales to know that. While the boy was rambling on, Eliza just stared at him, only partly listening. He wasn't talking about the ball, so she wasn't interested in anything he had to say. What could be more important than the ball? When the boy finally stopped talking, she just nodded. "Yes," she said, having no idea what she was agreeing to. Not that it mattered a lot to her, since the boy hadn't been talking about the ball.
After she awkwardly watched him gazing at her with admiration, he started talking again. Why couldn't he just ask her to the ball already, so she could be alone again? "Third, but second for your school," she answered shortly. Elizaveta had no idea why the boy found this information important, maybe he wanted to make sure that she wasn't too old to be his date? That would be the only thing that made sense. He probably wanted to know how old she was before he asked her to the ball. Yes, that was it. Like a real gentleman, he hadn't directly asked for her age, because that was rude. Avery had found another way to make sure that they were close in their age before he would ask her to the ball. She gave the boy a little smile, he was very creative. "What year are you in?" she asked, totally unaware he had just told her that when he was rambling and she hadn't been paying attention.
Okay, so now that he knew her year he should ask her to the ball. He also knew she was going to put her name in the goblet of fire, so what was he waiting for? Extremely unsatisfied with the time the boy took to ask her to the ball, Eliza decided to give him a little reminder of the ball. "This will be my first ball here at Hogwarts. I have been to a lot of other balls before at home." She hoped it was enough to remind Avery what he was supposed to ask.
29 Mar 2022, 02:33
"So, are you going to the ball?"
Eliza's resounding "No!" was so forceful that Avery was a little taken aback. Well, of course no one ate grass salads, dumb-head! What in the world was he even thinking? Durmstrang was another elite school -- surely, they didn't feed their students like cows. "Oh, haha, I wasn't sure if that's what you meant, but I don't know, grass is healthy, isn't it? Lots of fiber, from what I know," he rambled on with a sheepish smile, figuring he sounded dumber with every word. "Some people grow wheat grass on their windowsills," he noted, hoping to redeem himself. "You crush it into juice or put it into smoothies. It's supposed to have lots of ant-oxidants." Really, he was just spurting trivia at this point to make up for his embarrassing assumptions about grass salads. Maybe he should stop.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, the conversation migrated to clothing. "Hopefully you look better at the ball," Eliza began, looking at his dirtied quidditch outfit with disapproval, before clamping a hand over her mouth. At first, he was surprised that she could have such a strong opinion of what he wore to the ball, but then it seemed to make more sense. She really wanted to look out for him, didn't she? She was nice enough to think to warn him that he should look presentable, so he wouldn't be embarrassed. How nice of her. "Oh, no don't worry about it!" he said hurriedly, rushing to reassure her that it was fine. "Thanks for caring! You know what, how about I'll show you my ball outfit sometime, and you can see if it looks okay?" he asked, hoping to get some advice from a girl who seemed to know more about fashion than he did. "I could really use your advice and feedback."
Wow, so Eliza really wasn't scared at all. She was simply so fearless! Avery decided that he admired her for her bravery. "Really, if you were at Hogwarts, I think you'd be a Gyffindor," he said, quite sure that he was correct. "Gryffindor House is known for their bravery. They're very daring and also chivalrous, like you are," he pronounced. "Do you have different houses in Durmstrang?" he asked, curious as to how students there might be separated or grouped.
So, Eliza was the equivalent of a second-year at Hogwarts, which was only a year older than he was. "Oh, I would've thought you'd be older," he mused, speaking aloud, since he had guessed that an older student with a higher mastery of spells would be more confident about entering the Hexwizard Tournament. "I'm a first-year at Hogwarts," he repeated, wondering why she had forgotten what year he was in already. Maybe she really did get knocked in the head as she fell? He hoped not, but she did seem a little out of it and dazed, still.
Somehow, the conversation went back to the ball. Eliza was certainly very excited about the ball, huh? Avery figured it was because it was her first ball at Hogwarts, like she said, but he wasn't sure why it would be relevant for her to mention that she'd been to many other balls at home in the past. She really was a bit strange, wasn't she? It must be because of her injury, making her loopy. "That's great. You know what? I think we should both go to the Hospital Wing," he suggested, breaking away from the ball conversation, because health came first. "I think I actually hurt my wrist a bit when I fell," he lied, trying to come up with an excuse as to why they should head there. "Do you think you could come with me?" he asked, hoping that she would accept, so she could get her head checked for a concussion.
@Samatha Salwis as Elizaveta Mikhailov
29 Mar 2022, 18:54
"So, are you going to the ball?"
|
|
|
|
Confused, Elizabeth looked at the boy as he talked about fiber, smoothies, and ant-oxidants, never having heard of the latter. Sure, she knew what smoothies and juice were, but the boy could have made up the other words on the spot and she wouldn't have known. Even though she had no idea what the words meant it made Avery seem smart to her. She didn't want the boy to think she was stupid so she just nodded agreeing as he rambled on.
She was extremely relieved when Avery told her not to worry about it. She wasn't sure if he meant not to worry about her saying such a thing out loud or if he meant she didn't have to worry about him dressing this bad at the ball, but both were fine to her. Of course, she cared about what he was wearing at the ball, after all, he would be her date. The only thing he needed to do was ask her to the ball and all would be well. When Avery said he could show her his ball outfit a little smile appeared on Eliza's face. That would be great! She could make sure his outfit matched hers and they would be the best-dressed couple on the ball. "Yes, that's a good idea," she told him happily.
Would she be a Gryffindor? The way Avery explained it sounded pretty cool and she wouldn't mind being one of these brave people. Almost every character in her story was brave and Eliza would love to be like them. "We don't have houses," she said doubtfully. At Durmstrang there was only a castle, no extra houses to live in. The blonde didn't fully understand the idea of these houses and believed them to be extra buildings in which people with certain personality traits lived. Avery seemed interested in how things were at Durmstrang and Eliza liked to keep him on her good side, so she decided she would tell the boy a little more. "There is only a castle," she told him wisely, thinking they were talking about buildings. "We don't have whole houses to keep students apart. We have two towers. One for girls, one for boys. If you are good student, you sleep on top. Bad ones sleep on bottom of the tower. " After finishing talking she nodded proudly, she had explained that well in English. "So no houses, just one building."
Did Avery want her to be older? Was she too young to be his ball date? Telling her he thought she was older wasn't a thing a gentleman would say. Pure disappointment could be seen on Eliza's face as she looked at the boy. He needed some lessons on what was acceptable to say to a lady. He also needed to hurry to ask her to the ball, she didn't have all day. Okay, she did have all day, but that didn't mean it was nice of him to wait for so long to ask her. Avery told her he was a first-year, which meant she was older than him. So she wasn't too young to be his ball date? Confused she looked at the boy, who was supposed to have asked her to the ball 10 minutes ago, and she wondered his brain had been hurt when he fell off his broom.
After he didn't pick up on her oblivious reminder to ask her to the ball, she was sure there was something wrong with his brain. What else could explain the fact he hadn't asked her to the ball already? When the boy started talking about the hospital wing she became annoyed, which was clearly visible. Did Avery try to use his wrist as an excuse not to ask her to the ball? Maybe he wasn't the gentleman she had thought him to be. Elizaveta didn't answer the boy immediately when he asked her to come with him.
She was fine, she didn't need to go to the hospital wing. Why couldn't he just ask her to the ball here? What was in the hospital wing that was so important? Yes, he may have hurt his wrist when he fell, but he had seemed fine a minute ago, so why couldn't this stupid hospital wing wait for a minute? Maybe, he needed to get something from the castle so he could ask her to the ball? Yes, that would make sense. He probably had a huge banner waiting for her inside which two of his friends would hold up while he gave her a rose and asked her to the ball. Eliza was sure of it, that must be it. The annoyance disappeared from her eyes as soon as it had come. "Yes, of course," she said sweetly.