Promenade PV S. Alexander Finished

"It is beautiful. You know, they should move some of the hospital beds and place them here. This place's also got tall windows, but it's much more exciting. And the sick can dance, too! Dance of the Damaged, remind me to write that one down."

Scott spun around once to "take it all in" parodically, before smiling around at nothing in particular.

"I can't even imagine how pretty it must've been this spring."

"Come on, Scott. I think I owe myself a dance."

Then he found himself being dragged by the hands towards the centre of the room. Ami was snickering, which pleased Scott because it meant she was no longer in pain. People sometimes laugh stalely with you to prove they're fine when they're not, but giggling is something you do naturally.

"No music, I guess? This is sure to be fun."

Well that wouldn't do. "Well that won't do!" Certainly not. Scott had her hands in his and waved them strangely side to side as he thought, stuck his tongue out and everything like a cartoon with a query.

"Sharon! The Irish. We like the Irish, we do, you and I, but all I could even think I know is Sinead O'Connor, because she's the only Irish besides my dad that my mother can stand. And that music is far too sad for today. So: the man you mentioned in the hospital wing. He who could both sing and rap.. Can you both sing and rap, like Sharon?"

"Sharon? You mean Sheeran? Ed Sheeran?" Ami laughed, her shoulders shaking as she shook her head in disappointment. Scott's mispronunciation of everyday names, in her mind, would never get old... well, maybe someday it would, but today was not that day. "I mean, to be fair, he's only partly Irish, he's actually British..."

Shrugging it off, she put a hand on his shoulder and took his free hand in the other. "Funnily enough," she said quietly, as the two began to settle into a waltz to no particular beat or rhythm, "He does actually have some slow-dance type songs, believe it or not. Mom likes to blast Perfect every morning, after his album came out last year- great for her, the song always gets her spirits up, but it annoys the hell out of the neighbors."

Letting go of one of Scott's hands, Ami twirled herself around, red hair flying. Joining hands once more with him, she tilted her head to the side, smiling cheerily. "I'm not that good of a singer, though," she admitted. "I mean, perfect pitch can help me tune a guitar without help, but... well, it does my singing absolutely no good."

Stepping in time to an invisible beat, Ami let the serenity of the room wash over her. The grand high ceilings, the dim light flowing through the curtains and lightly dusting the dancing figures in the middle of the room, the chandeliers still glinting in the darkness. It was absolutely gorgeous.

Scott smirked sheepishly to the ground. Maybe at this point his mispronunciations were just for show, and maybe she knew that already. "Yeah, yeah. Him."

Ami placed one of her hands on Scott's shoulder and he did the same over the centre of her back. It was actually all the way up between her shoulder blades, but Scott wasn't used to dancing with people shorter than him so it's understandable.

1, 2, 3.. 1, 2, 3..

He was smiling hugely, though never quite looking at her now. But this for no reason other than the fear of stepping on her feet. She wasn't wearing protective stiletto like his mother always would be, which now as he thinks about it sounds very much like a mother not trusting her son's dancing abilities.

He couldn't help but to hum the beat discretely, and then let her hand go as she twirled around.

"Good! That's one thing I can't do with my mother, my arms are too short. Tried it once and her hair got stuck in the silver cufflinks that she forced me to wear! It was at a wedding, I don't remember.."

He was straying, and as he realised this he laughed and met her eyes honestly as she returned back around. Counting, he realised now, was completely unnecessary.

"Do you just tune them, or do you play the guitar as well? My dad does. And Ben thinks he can, too, but that's not true at all. He can sing though. Somewhat. Yet another thing you can't tell him I said, I heard him in the shower once.. it wasn't perfect, at least."

Scott winked as he was quite proud of that one.

Ami seemed to be really enjoying herself, which he was also proud of. When he'd first come to the hospital wing she'd barely been able to sit up straight, and now she was dancing. Before he knew it she'd be climbing the walls. And she looked happy, too, which made him happy. That was pretty much the deal by now. It was fine by him, and so he started to take longer steps and moving them around the room more.

"But I bet you can sing. Guess who's mother had him practice with a choir from the age five to ten? I don't think I was every any real good, the conductor gave me compliments because she liked Silas, I think. As a singer, I mean! He sang with us in a section with older boys.. try and find something posher."

This visit was turning out a lot let horrifying than he'd first imagined.

Swaying along with Scott as they traversed throughout the Ballroom, Ami retreated into a palace of bliss as she relapsed back into something familiar, something that felt like home... like her mother's embrace, the smell of tea brewing in the kitchen... Snap out of it, Ami.

Blinking rapidly, she phased back into the world just as Scott began to inquire about her musical abilities, which she couldn't help but mentally scoff at. "Yeah, I play guitar," she admitted, trying her best to remain humble about it. "Piano, too, and cello if I really need to." Music was something that ran in her blood, something that came to her as naturally as breathing did. Without music... well, without music, she'd be completely lost.

Ami groaned light-heartedly as Scott made an attempt at a pun, getting back at him by squeezing his shoulder slightly, as a warning. As the two began to expand their path throughout the Ballroom, the Hufflepuff let herself relax a bit more in Scott's arms, trusting that he would catch her should she fall.

"Me? Singing?" Ami echoed in disbelief, laughing at the thought. "Sure, I mean, I can..." She was hesitant, though- the only people who had ever heard her sing were her parents and Thomas. Maybe Lettie and Drew, but she doubted that they would remember.

She smiled as Scott trampled through his anecdote about his choir experiences, before twirling herself into his arms, pressing her burnt back against his chest lightly, before unwinding once more- a classic flapper move, from the 20's, that her mother insisted that she learn. "You should sing," she said quietly, with another smile.

Gah! She just couldn't stop smiling around this kid. What was her problem? Was Scott just... magical? Well yes, he was, considering that he was at Hogwarts, but... there was something about him that could just light up her day like fire. Magic. 

"I found a love..." she prompted quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. "For me..." she trailed off, raising an eyebrow at Scott. Take it away.

Scott shook the shoulder she'd squeezed, not having her leave it, but only teasing her back as he felt that the groan had only been partly deserved.

"The Piano? And the Cello, too? Roll over Beethoven. I can't play anything. My mother's tried to get me into piano, of course, that's a mother's job.. but I never managed. Silas plays, of course.."

Scott winked, but then Ami made a pretty twirl on the floor, and had her back turn against him for a moment, so perhaps she didn't catch that. Her red hair flew around at the movement and then with the twirl back again, and though short as it was, it reminded Scott of fire more than any time it had before.



Now what was that? "Oh I don't know.."

Scott looked embarrassedly at the floor, and then he got embarrassed from being embarrassed. He realised it wasn't very him.. still, red as he was, he kept the big smile on. It made him wonder if now, maybe it was her grins that were contagious.

"I found a love.. for me.."

Oh she was singing now. Barely so, but still. Scott found himself leaning closer with his ear as they kept dancing, and his red face distorted into a mixture of glee from hearing his friend's voice, sheepishness from finding himself in the situation of song, and focus from trying to recognize the words.

He didn't, so much.. but he eventually did the melody. That's what came first.. then the memory of hearing it on the radio. Not at home, but rather everywhere else in London for pretty much the entire summer before.

"I still don't.. I suppose.."

Scott sighed. At least it was in triple metre, so he wouldn't have to think too much about his feet again.

"..Darling? Yes. Darling just dive right in,"

He shook his head and looked up and away again. His voice was not bad.. not bad at all, and he supposed he should take chances like these before puberty decides to hit for real and he ends up sounding like Ben did for three years.. Squeezing her hand with his leading one, he took some decisive steps forwards as he proceeded with the undetermined words in a very determined voice.

If this was going to be embarrassing, then he better give it a good reason to be.

"And follow my lead!"

Scott's voice slid over her like smooth honey, echoing around the vast space of the Ballroom and enveloping the two dancing figures in the middle of the floor. Shivering slightly, Ami could feel the tips of her ears tingle as Scott sang, his voice sure and smooth. Clearly, that whole choir thing had been fairly beneficial towards his sing capabilities.

As he squeezed her hand, Scott pressed onward with both the song and the dance, his voice still lingering in the air around them. With a laugh, Ami stomped her foot on the ground, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. While the action sent pain jolting up through her legs and spine, it would be nothing compared to the hurt Scott's head was about to experience.

In a flash, in one extra step, Ami had suddenly turned a placid waltz into a lively two-step. Her musical brain already switching gears automatically, Perfect no longer was in the correct time signature to continue on. It just wouldn't do! So, the only solution would be to switch songs, of course- there was no use in singing a waltz song when they weren't waltzing.

"Mamma Mia," she cried triumphantly, glad she had managed to turn the tables on Scott. "Here I go again..." Twirling somewhat dramatically, she let go of Scott for a brief moment to spin by herself, on the glamourous floor of the Ballroom, enjoying the short-lived freedom she got before having to clasp back onto Scott once more.

"My my, how can I resist you?" With an entirely fake pout, Ami accompanied her words with an appropriate expression, complete with puppy dog eyes.

"You can't just do that!"

But she could, and she did. Scott groaned as his friend changed the pace- having him stumble over her toes about four times before figuring the new one out with reluctancy.

"And I was doing so well.."

But then he smiled. The new song was, though unfamiliar to him, upbeat and precise in everything she sang. The sound, of course, echoed in the empty room- but it didn't lose its jumpy rhythm. She had a fine voice, too, but it was the fact that it was no longer a whisper, and that she made a show of it, that really had him grinning. She even let go of him for a while to spin for herself.

"Bravo!"

"My my, how can I resist you?"

Ami pouted when she returned to him, and Scott scrunched up his nose at her teasingly before winking. He didn't exactly know what it was for, it had just become a habit of his to do so from time to time.. and he was more than aware of how ridiculous it looked, Ben had made sure of that.

Though with a closer look at her his smile authenticated.

Whoever it was that passed on spending a whole night dancing like this with her, sure did miss out.

Ami couldn't help but giggle at Scott's silly expression, the pure joy lighting up her youthful face beautifully. How could she not smile at the boy holding her in his arms? He was essentially the only thing that stopped her from collapsing on the ground, both mentally and physically.

How was she to continue? Scott was making absolutely no effort to sing, and what had seemed like an endless well of energy was slowly dwindling, making Ami slightly fatigued. She didn't want to stop, ever, but she was beginning to feel a dull ache in her legs and lower back once more.

She was sure that the pain was beginning to show, but her enormous smile stretching from ear to ear still remained utterly genuine. Slowing, and pausing at the appropriate time, she effortlessly switched their steps back into a 3/4 time signature, and the two loped back into a lazy waltz around the room, leaving ABBA behind them.

"What's the best thing about Hogwarts, do you think?" Ami asked quietly as they spun through the room. "I'd say the lack of politics, definitely." Honestly? She was only partly joking- Hogwarts truly was a good break from the real world and its all-too-real problems. 

"You have no idea how often my mom talks to me about politics- and it's not even the British ones! She throws in stuff from America, too, and that's just a whole other mess I'd rather not touch. Like, ever."

What's the best thing about Hogwarts, do you think? I'd say the lack of politics, definitely.

You have no idea how often my mom talks to me about politics- and it's not even the British ones! She throws in stuff from America, too, and that's just a whole other mess I'd rather not touch. Like, ever.

Scott laughed, and though he was as oblivious as most bairns regarding world politics- he could agree with her on this one.

"Well at least you're American! My dad gets furious about it, too, sometimes. He reads all these muggle newspapers.. But I don't know too much. If it's that bad then, yeah, I suppose it's one of the better things about this place."

Their pace was slowed down and back to three fourths.. Scott was happy about it, even though the roaring forth had been great fun this more conversational tempo fit him well. This, and he couldn't help but notice some little strains in Ami's face. She didn't look unhappy, not at all, just discomforted.

"You doing well? I'd say the best thing here is the classes. I know, it's not a popular answer, but we're learning magic! I don't often see students excited about it, unless they're muggle-born.. But I can't help it. It's a shame some of our teachers are leaving, though. They really did things around here better than it already was.. Who's your favourite?"

Scott smiled and swung a bit back and forth now, stopping the tracing of the room and turning to in-place rotations. He was getting dizzy, he realised, and might as well try not to fall flat. Not before Ami, at least. You don't prostrate before the wounded soldier.