Just Another Dance Closed

Ever since Lorelai discovered the ballroom after she got lost looking for the library, the massive room had become her reading place. After she went to the library (which she now knew was located elsewhere), she would plop down into the cool ground and open her book. It was much quieter in the ballroom, compared to the rest of the castle. It was almost always empty, unlike the rest of the school. She slipped into the room, holding a thick book in her hands, open somewhere in the middle. She knew reading while walking was dangerous but it has never stopped her. Her eyes were glued to the pages of the book. It was about the author's experiences observing Manticores in the wild, it was interesting, to say the least.

She was so absorbed in the book, she didn't notice the room had another occupant until she heard toes hitting the floor. She looked up from her book, stuffing a piece of parchment paper into the part of the book she had been reading, closing it silently. She observed a Ravenclaw girl, dancing. It looked like Ballet to Lorelai, but she was no expert in dancing. To be fair, this wasn't actually the first time she saw someone dancing in the Ballroom. 'People must really like dancing here'She concluded. She knew the room wasn't her's, but she couldn't help but be disappointed that it wasn't all her's. She shrugged, it was still quieter than the rest of the school.

She continued watching the girl for a few moments, impressed. She was pretty good! Eventually. she stopped and walked over to a bag, taking a drink. She decided not to talk to her. It was creepy to watch someone anyways, so the girl likely wouldn't have appreciated it. She opened back up her book stuffing the parchment into her pocket, crumbling it in the process. She sat on the floor, much louder than she had intended. The other girl probably just became aware of her presence. Her pale face turned pink, as she opened her book, not really reading the pages, pretended as if nothing had happened.

Odette had always wondered what would have happened if her mother and father hadn't died. Or if she had never gotten adopted. Did her mother dance? Was her father clumsy? Why was she clumsy every other time unless she was dancing? Would her mother treat her like a mother should or would she had been treated the way she is now?

Sighing, Odette put her water down and walked back to the middle of the ballroom. Just as she was about to begin dancing she heard a thud. Turning towards the noise, she saw a girl, a Gryffindor to be exact, sitting on the floor with a book in her hands as if she was reading it. Odette chuckled and walked towards the unfamiliar girl.

"Were you going to let me know you were in here?" She laughed. Odette wasn't usually so approaching towards others but dancing made her feel more confident. "I'm Odette Haven," she said, crossing her arms around her stomach and standing on her toes. She looked at the other girl before putting her hand out to shake the Gryffindor's hand.

She didn't mind if the other girl read while she practised. Odette just hoped that the Gryffindor didn't mind her dancing while she was reading.

Lorelai heard the girl chuckling, and her eyes shot up from her book. She still looked like a tomato. Why did she blush so much? She cursed herself for being so pale. Maybe if she was more tan she wouldn't always end up looking so red. She grasped onto the pages of the book as if they would float away if she didn't hold them down steadily. Finally the girl spoke. She introduced herself as Odette. Lorelai thought that was a pretty name. She hesitantly shook the Ravenclaw's extended arm, her grip was loose but steady.

"I didn't want to bother you. You seemed really into your dancing."]She said truthfully, pressing the book into her chest, and letting go of Odette's hand. "I'm Lorelai Brunelle."

There was a silence for a few seconds, and Lorelai scrambled to find words. She was better at introductions when they were planned, but this came as a surprise to her. Suddenly, all she wanted was to go back into her book, to follow the plights of the man and the manticores. But no, now was the time to stay in reality. If only to not look like a fool in front of the girl in front of her. The dark haired girl took a deep breath, straightening her posture, attempting to fake some sort of confidence.

"So you like dancing?" She asked, looking at nothing particular on the ceiling. She pushed up on her feet, and lowered them in a rhythmic sort of fidgeting. Usually, she wasn't like this. What had gotten into her?

The poor pale girl's face turned pink and Odette gave her a nervous smile. "I didn't want to bother you. You seemed really into your dancing," the girl said before pressing her book to her chest and then letting go of the Ravenclaw's hand. "I'm Lorelai Brunelle."

"It's nice to meet you! And you wouldn't have bothered me," Odette said giving the other girl a small grin.

"So you like dancing?" The Gryffindor girl asked after a few moments of silence.

"Yes, I love dancing. And reading. Both are kind of tied." Odette bit her lip nervously. "What do you like to do, Lorelai?"

Odette sucked at making friends and she felt the confidence she felt earlier, disappear quickly. "I um-" She hugged herself and looked up, "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable if I did." Odette took a shakey breath and shook her head. She wasn't going to have friends if she kept acting like she was a snob. She didn't want to be like her adopted mother.

Out of habit, Odette stood in fifth position before raising to the tip of her toes. She knew that she had only just met Lorelai but she could tell that she already liked her.

"Oh, you like reading too?"The Gryffindor asked, relaxing her hands around her book and bringing it in front of her, looking at it. "Well, as you can probably tell I like reading too. Mostly about magical animals. Specifically the dangerous ones. I don't know what it is about them that draws me to them. Every so often I'll read a book about something else. But, only if I can't find any interesting books on something murderous."

Lorelai smiled, as she started to open up a bit more. "I guess I like exploring the school grounds too-I like going to the Great Lake. It's super pretty, especially night. But mostly I just read, sometimes in here. What kind of books do you like?"

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable if I did,"Odette said, making Lorelai smile reassuringly.

"No, it's okay. I was the one who got all awkward for no reason. It's entirely my fault."She said. Lorelai was starting to let her more outgoing side go.

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable if I did."Odette said, making Lorelai smile reassuringly.

"No, it's okay. I was the one who got all awkward for no reason. It's entirely my fault."She said. Lorelai was starting to let her more outgoing side go.

Evie walked into the ballroom. Eve didn't seem like she belonged in such a big room. She looked around and sat down on a chair nearby. There were people in here, and someone was dancing. Evie got up and walked over to a corner. Evie had taken contemporary classes when she was little, and still remembered a lot. Taking out her headphones from her bag she brought and putting them on, she played some contemporary music from her phone and started dancing, dancing helped Eve forget about everything going on. After dancing for a couple more minutes, she sat back down and checked her phone for any texts. Her mom had texted her about everything going on at home. Apparently her horse had been sick. She was ok now though. Evie was tired, and she was getting bored of some of the free time she had. She pulled a Herbology book out of her bag and read a couple of pages. She needed to study, and Herbology was her favorite subject. Closing her book and putting it away, she just sat and thought about home. She had too much on her mind to read. Evie opened her bag and starting to pack up. She got up, and started to slowly walk out.

Lorelai had been starting to enjoy the conversation with the Ravenclaw, when she heard a noise from the ballroom. Was there a third person? She turned to Odette. "Did you here that? I think someone else is in here too."

Lorelai turned away from the girl. And walked over to the corner where she heard the noise from. She wasn't all that surprised to see another student there. 'I guess this place is popular now, huh.'She thought to herself. More confident from having just met another girl, she approached the girl, noting her Hufflepuff attire.

"Hi there!"She said, standing in front of the girl. She looked like she had been leaving. How long was she in there exactly? "It's-um nice to meet you."

She became red again (and just after her pigment had gone back to normal too). Why did she act so weird? Who just approaches someone who is clearly trying to leave the room. Oh well, the damage had been done already.

"Me and this other girl were just talking in here...and I heard you and decided to say hi."She explained quickly. "Sorry to bother you. Er-you can join our conversation if you like...I mean if Odette is okay with it."She looked back towards Odette, asking for approval.

Reducio

"Me and this other girl were just talking in here...and I heard you and decided to say hi."She explained quickly. "Sorry to bother you. Er-you can join our conversation if you like...I mean if Odette is okay with it."She looked back towards Odette, asking for approval.

"Oh, thanks, I would love to talk! What are you talking about?" Evie asked the nice girl who came over and talked to her. Eve was glad this girl was friendly, she wanted to make friends while she was at Hogwarts. Evie glanced at the other girl behind her, (Odette) wondering what she would say. Eve turned her attention to the girl in front of her, "So do you like it here in the ballroom? It's kind of a nice, large, open room that I like to come in sometimes." The castle seemed closed in to her often, and the ballroom reminded her of home. Eve missed her home, and her family. But she was enjoying her time at Hogwarts, she was starting to make friends, Evie was in a nice house, and hogwarts just felt more like home every day. Eve was really going to enjoy the long years here during hogwarts.