Blossom Ball Dancefloor Event Closed

One could hear such wonderful gossip from underneath a table. The view wasn't very pretty, for she could only see the tablecloth, footwear that she would deem strange, and bits of cupcake that students spat out, but the gossip was juicy. He said she said, he likes she likes, who they don't like and who they do like. She could hear it all.

There was some shouting, a fight. Xailah winced, and turned her direction to a cupcake that had rolled dangerously close to her. She would bat the thing away. When the sounds of fighting cleared, and the people dispersed, she found herself staring at six ankles. Three people chose to linger around the tables for a bit longer. Or maybe it was one freak with six legs. You could never be too sure these days.

In any case they, for some reason chose to stay. So Xailah did the same. She lay on her belly like a snake, listening to the people talk. Interesting choice of footwear. Sneakers... The conversation was a bit strange to say the least. Why are they looking for someone that stands out? She furrowed her brow, and grimaced. Slim pickings? What do they mean slim pickings? This place is overrun with people. As she listened further she became concerned. The voices found a target. A redhead. One voice walked away. Oh dear. She thought about telling a professor about what she had heard. Professors don't listen. She would have to take matters into her own hands.

She reached into her bag, producing two glass bottles. One was empty, the other contained five wingless beetles with metallic shells. She popped the lid off of the one with the beetles. The last two voices were within arms reach, but the female one was closer; so she took the beetles and planted them on the girls boots. Tatty-Bye friends. She then crushed the bottle that the beetles were in, she used her skirt to muffle the noise. She selected a small, triangular piece of glass, and then rolled out from underneath the table. The House Elves were now the least of her concerns.

Making her way to the punch bowl she was disappointed to find that it was nearly empty. She kept an eye on the two people that she had been listening to earlier, while she scraped a few drops of the punch into the other bottle she had. When she was done, she put the bottle back in the bag. Then she took the piece of glass and rubbed it on the sides of the punch bowl, it was now tainted with the laced punch.

Placing the glass in between her middle, and ring finger; she made her way over to the two older children. She grabbed the boy tightly by the wrist, with her hand that had the glass. Nails digging into the boys skin. "Letssss dance." She would pull him into the crowd of dancers- that is if he would allow her to. Hopefully dragging the boy away from his group would disorient him, and the other members. If this boy were to pull away he could possibly get scratched by the glass between her fingers, allowing for the laced punch to enter his bloodstream. Theoretically. There were many ways that this plan could go wrong. She scanned the area looking for the other boy that had wandered away. Surprisingly matching footwear proved to be a tedious task, but she found him talking to a redhead. She pulled her umbrella close to her side. Xailah would not intervene, but she would keep an eye on the two of them. She could not save the girl, but she could possibly cause a distraction, or even get some answers.

INTERACTIONS: Eris Fawley & Cecily Quinn

Mentions: Kaegen Deathmote

Adam was glad that Eris took her time at the punch table -- it meant that he could properly continue kicking himself for acting so strange around her. When he'd actually opened his mouth, he'd sounded awkward and confused, like she was someone at a family party that he didn't quite know well enough to talk to. In reality, of course, she was pretty much the opposite: a good friend, his best friend, that he had known for almost an entire two years now, which was, essentially, forever. He had no business stumbling over his words, trying to cover up something that didn't even exist, and worst of all, leaving her alone at a party! The only thing he regretted more than speaking to her so uncomfortably was when he hadn't even answered her at all. When she'd joked about the temperature, all he was able to do was give a half-smile and a trailing laugh. It was haunting him.

And in addition to all of that, as if it needed another addition, the entire mess had derailed a perfectly good conversation between them. He'd been surprised and just a little bit frightened to hear that Eris was carrying around a knife, but it figured that she had gotten it from Kaegen. He hadn't talked to his bizarre housemate since last year (could that really be true?) but it didn't surprise him that Kaegen was still as...wild as ever. Despite all of their altercations, though, Kaegen and Eris still deserved to be friends if they wanted to be, and Adam didn't want to be the thing preventing that like Eris made him sound. He almost missed Kaegen, in a way -- but that thought might not hold true if he ever had to talk to him again.

All of these worries and more had run on a continuous loop in Adam's head while he watched the other students on the dance floor and waited for Eris to return. She did, eventually, and greeted him in an unsure way that made him feel even more terrible. He had to do something to lighten the situation, restore the party mood. He was starting to feel terribly guilty -- there was a growing feeling in Adam now, kind of a compulsion to tell Eris everything he was thinking about and maybe some of the stuff he'd sworn to keep quiet even from her, stuff from the previous summer. The force of such a strong friendship, he thought. They'd experienced it before -- it was probably no different this time. He'd just have to divert it somehow, if he could.

"How about..." he thought, as Eris asked him what type of dance he wanted to do. He only knew of so many, and he only knew how to do one, the simple ballroom dance he'd learned last year. "...a salsa?" Spinning his arms around each other and stepping in some semblance of rhythm, he looked back at Eris and laughed. "I have no idea how to salsa. Do you think this is close?" Continuing to attempt the dance, twirling around in a circle, he grinned at his friend and started to suggest new styles. "What about a tango? Flamenco? Ooh, do you know the macarena?" He'd spare her from having to watch him try to model these other ideas, for both of their sakes.

While dancing, that strange, growing feeling in Adam stayed put, but didn't feel as bad anymore. Yes, he knew what telling the truth would do -- or at least, what he thought it would do -- but he'd been trying to keep secrets for such a horribly long time now. Just a few seconds ago, the idea of even broaching those sensitive subjects of his had been unthinkable, but now he started to wonder if maybe it wasn't such a heinous thing. Everyone always said telling the truth was good anyways, right? Right. In the back of his mind, Adam wondered again about his sudden change in philosophy. Maybe it was just being at the party that made him feel differently (maybe it was the punch, he joked to himself). Either way, he was pretty sure that he'd made up his mind.

It would have been an effective decision if he hadn't gotten distracted. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened. Halfway through a round of spinning in time with the music, Adam caught sight of a friendly face across the floor, positioned wisely by the food. She was alone, but didn't look sad to be, having occupied herself with a cupcake. He wouldn't have figured her to be a party person, but she had come in a nice dress, so she had to be here purposefully, right? Surely she'd want to be invited over to join in the fun. "Cecily!" Finding himself straining to be heard over the music, Adam raised his voice a little bit and waved his arms over his head in an attempt to get the other Ravenclaw's attention. "Hey, Cecily! Over here!"

This night was certainly looking up. He knew that the awkward bits with Eris hadn't just disappeared, but for a moment they had taken a backseat, and he certainly appreciated it. Maybe she could let them go for a little bit too. And if Cecily joined their duo, there was no telling what could happen -- a colliding of two parts of Adam's social life. It was bound to be exciting, at the very least. Although still unable to shake that feeling, both heavy and light at the same time, Adam could cover it up with the party. After all, the truth was a choice, right? He could make it any time.

And to tell the truth, he could wait one more night before finally explaining himself.

The boy could see there was a hint of…sadness? And ‘she was an actress’? ‘She fought for it’? What had happened to her…

“I’m sorry. Did something happen to your mom, Summer?” Arc lost control of his lips again.

Dang it, Arc! He really shouldn’t have said that. Even if he wanted to ask, he could have worded it better, or maybe worked into it in a smoother conversation. Gah!

After his performance, Arc also gauged his surrounding, especially the area around the punch. He noticed a familiar face. Raine Sage. She was one of his friends from wizarding primary school that he had attended every Saturday. They hadn’t got many chances to interact within Hogwarts, but he knew the girl pretty well and they were good friends. She already had a punch in one of her hands, but the girl promptly dumped it to the grass. Whether she had heard him or not, Arc didn’t know, but that was a wise decision.

The dark-haired boy also looked at the Headmaster again and he realized that the man hadn’t listened to what he had said. Or he had heard it and just acting coy for some kind of ploy or something. Or Professor Solomon Lear just didn’t care. Whatever it was, the armored-guy didn’t seem to have any intention to remove the punch from the ball. Should he just come to the professor and talk about it? Should he just stay? The punch was already dwindling, anyway. He could just let it be and the punch would be gone in no time. Maybe it would all just be harmless fun. Maybe that was exactly why the professor was not doing anything to it. Hm.

Summer was apparently saying something, but the scrawny kid wasn’t paying attention. As he usually was when facing a problem or a dilemma, the boy could very much be entranced within his own bubble and dimmed out his surroundings. His father, Markus Zenith Perscivious, had always said that ‘evil triumph when the good is silent’…or something like that. He had multiple phrases along that line. Arc’s father probably didn’t remember the actual line. The point was, he needed to do something. But he couldn’t be rash. If it had been his father facing this situation, he would just walk straight to the bowl of punch and flipped it over like the manly man that he was. But Markus was Markus, and Arc was Arc. He liked to think things through. There might be things that he was not seeing. Like a good mystery, there were...

“I already know you,” Arc suddenly felt a bop on his head.

The bop completely derailed his train of thoughts and only then the boy realized that Raine, or Sage as he usually called her, was already standing next to him. He could have died if that was an assassin. Arc could hear that the girls was chatting, but the words didn’t really register into his head as he tried to analyze the situation again. Two particular things were interesting.

Three upperclassmen, boys, were huddling together, talking, taking their surroundings in. Their body language, the way they shift their eyes moving from one girl to the other like they were measuring something…they were probably up to no good. Like many boys were. But there was something about them that made them stood out. They were only interested in girls that had no partners and…already drank the punch? Woah. That was bordering an accusation, Arc!

But it was true. Even when a girl was like super pretty, if she hadn’t drunk the potion, they would just peek at the girl for a while before moving on to another girl. Like a predator searching for a prey. Arc had his fair share of hunting, as his father brought him to the forest many times. Too many for his liking, in fact. So, he knew the look of someone on a hunt. But. Why were they doing that? Did they know what was on the punch? They didn’t seem to be having one themselves. Another point that made them suspicious. How would they use a truth potion to get a girl, anyway? Unless, they didn’t really understand what was inside the punch. Or, it could be not Veritaserum altogether. One of the boys, the tallest of the bunch, walked to a girl that had just drunk the potion. Another point for Arc’s hypothesis.

Another interesting thing, though, another girl suddenly popped out from the table near where the three boys had been and moved closer the ‘punched’ punch…and did something with it. Intriguing. She was keeping a very tight eye on the two boys that were left behind as well. Arc reeled back from all of his musing and he realized that he was not alone in this case. He had been ignoring them for a while now, but maybe they didn’t notice.

“Summer, Sage, don’t suddenly move and try to act natural.” Arc suddenly prompted. “What do you think about that big guy at my two o’clock there?”

The boy was sticking like a sore thumb, with a height, like what, almost seven feet or so? Arc felt confident that the girls would find the boy easily. “Do you girls know him?”

Arc shifted his body a little before continuing, “ah, and do you know that girl with a frilly black blouse and bustle skirt on my one o’clock?”

The girl was moving closer to one of the two boys that were left behind and she was the only girl in that area, so Summer and Sage should be able to pinpoint her as well.

The two girls might know something he do not as he was not the most sociable guy. And they might find a piece of the puzzle that could shed light on the truth. Her brother always said that 'three heads are better than one' after all. He might be referring to a Cerberus or a Hydra, though. Arc couldn't be sure.

Interacting with @Arc Perscivious and @Raine Sage
Mentions @Xailah Alptraum & @Rosie Turner

The blonde's memories of her mother surfaced again as Arc asked the question, but she didn't blame him. He was under the influence of the Veritaserum anyway, and that was hardly his fault. She was glad for Raine's arrival in that moment though, because she was distracted from answering he question. She would probably tell him later on, but a party wasn't the right time. She hadn't known him for too long, but he seemed trustworthy and loyal, and Summer liked to trust her gut rather than what she heard or saw when it came to people.

She was having a conversation with Raine when Arc suddenly spoke again, his voice sounding a bit urgent and slightly hushed.

"Summer, Sage, don’t suddenly move and try to act natural. What do you think about that big guy at my two o’clock there? Do you girls know him? Ah, and do you know that girl with a frilly black blouse and bustle skirt on my one o’clock?”

This sounded important, so Summer turned ever so slightly, trying to be as subtle as possible. Her grey blue eyes searched the grassy festivities around them before she spotted a trio of people interacting nearby. At first glance, they appeared to be a normal pair. After the first glance, the petite blonde had a double take.

The girl was beautiful, but that obviously hadn't been what had scared her for a second. The only boy in the group of three was tall, built strong and muscled in a way that seemed unnatural to Summer. He had an air of confidence, and in a setting like a dance, that didn't seem too normal. He was asking a red haired girl something. The ginger looked slightly uncomfortable, and Summer wondered if this was what Arc had been pointing out.

Further off, the second person that Arc had pointed out- a dark haired girl -had her hands clutched tight around a boy's hand. Summer could only see the back of her head, but from the clothes she knew hadn't seen the girl anywhere around the dance so far.

"What the-" Summer whispered, her eyes narrowing. "I've never seen him before in my life. I know I would have remembered if I did. Something's definitely wrong. The ginger doesn't look too thrilled, if I'm being honest. I might just be seeing things, but...oh, and that other girl. She seems up to something, but I don't know if it's a good or bad thing." She paused, and it was obvious that some impulsive plan had come to the blonde's head.

"Only one way to find out. Act, natural, right? And how else do we act natural at a ball?" Summer offered her hand to Arc.

"Dance with me?"

She dropped her voice to a hushed whisper a few seconds later so her two friends could understand what she was up to. "Let's get closer. Raine, find a partner. Or if Arc's too scared to dance with me, you'll be my partner," She teased.

Raine smiled as Summer mentioned their little group needed a Hufflepuff to complete thier interhouse unity. She was quite surprised that Summer was in Slytherin. She definitely didn't dress like a Slytherin and her cheerful demeanor was endearing, which was not something a Slytherin would be. But she seemed extremely nice. Raine continued the conversation with the girl, but it was cut short when Arc suddenly said,

"Summer, Sage, don’t suddenly move and try to act natural. What do you think about that big guy at my two o’clock there? Do you girls know him and do you know that girl with a frilly black blouse and bustle skirt on my one o’clock?”

Since she was facing the same direction that Arc was, Raine only had to move her eyes at the correct locations to see who the scrawny boy was talking about. Taking in the scene, she watched as the girl Arc had mentioned moved closer to one of the boys. What concerned Raine was that she hadn't seen the girl before. Where had she come from? When she observed everyone at the Ball earlier, that girl wasn't there. Had she been in the area this whole time? She continued to surreptitiously watch the scene across the area unfold, making sure to glance around her so that she wouldn't be caught looking too hard. She was pulled from her observations, however, when Summer's voice breached her concentration.

"Dance with me?"

The blonde had asked Arc, and Raine could see the boy fidgit nervously. Inwardly, the gray-eyed girl chuckled as she knew her friend was not the sort of person to dance, let alone dance with such a pretty girl.

Oh, that poor girl's feet...

"Let's get closer. Raine, find a partner. Or if Arc's too scared to dance with me, you'll be my partner."

Raine quirked an eyebrow at the other girl's statement. Instead of blushing, Raine just took Arc and Summer's hands and grinned at them. "Why don't we all dance together? We'll look foolish, but at least we'll have fun and still be able to kind of hear what's going on. Besides, this is an upbeat song. It's better to dance with a group than as a duo and it'll save you two from being sprayed in the face by Headmaster Lear."

Raine released their hands and raced onto the dance floor. Whether her friends joined her or not was their choice. She began to dance off beat to the song playing throughout the campgrounds, laughing a bit as she willingly embarassed herself while having fun. She was originally going to push Arc into Summer's arms when the blonde had asked the boy to dance, but when she told Raine to grab a partner, the dark-haired girl's brain instantly fought against the idea of dancing with another boy. Dancing with her best friend and her new friend was a much better idea though, so long as they joined her. And as she danced, she strained to listen to the older students. Every time she twirled, she would look at their small group by the table they had occupied since she had arrived at the party and observe their movements and actions.

Interacting with @Erin Ryan

He was perfectly fine, minding his own business in the process of devouring his chocolate cupcake at the dessert table, when an abrupt tug on his arm caught Andrew off guard. With a startled reaction, he turned his head abruptly to face an indigo-haired girl that – according to his wide-eyed, blank stare – Andrew had never seen before.

His mouth was half-full when the girl announced her presence. Who, me? Freezing mid-chew, Andrew stiffened and glanced around wildly at the other students, wondering if the girl had mistaken him for someone else, but before he even had the chance to respond, the girl was already yanking him by the arm, away from the table. Stumbling forward, with one hand still clutching the remaining half of his precious cupcake, Andrew flailed his free arm wildly, realizing with horror what the girl’s intentions were, as he found himself being dragged towards the dance floor.

Gulping down his mouthful in a hurry, Andrew exclaimed, “Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa! Hey—! What’re you doing, lady?!” He dug his heels into the ground as the girl’s masculine strength pulled him along, with Andrew looking about as terrified as if he were being kidnapped.

Reaching the edge of the dance floor, Andrew managed to find release from the girl’s grasp as he squirmed and yanked his arm away from her, distancing himself a few feet from the girl, where he stood, his heart pounding with alarm, as well as petrified by a wave of stage fright, self-conscious of the surrounding eyes that were upon him. Andrew had not made any plans of becoming a dancer that night, and this random girl had literally dragged him out of his comfort zone to dance with her. Andrew didn’t know whether to feel flattered or freaked out.

“S-sorry, I-I’m not a dancer,” Andrew sputtered with a sheepish grin. He didn’t want to hurt the girl’s feelings by refusing to dance with her, but he certainly didn’t want to hurt his pride by making a fool out of himself on the dance floor. He couldn’t risk the odds of being embarrassed in front of, well, everyone.

His price was already assaulted when the young girl dragged the unfortunate first year out onto the dance floor. While he should have been honored being singled out, his reaction was more akin to stranger danger or the risk of injury from a dangerous creature. Yet Erin was just a girl. He would break free of her grip, deny the Slytherin her demand. He made a bit of a ruckus, his heels dragged but the girl was simply stronger. Her mate had failed to escort her to this dance or to show up consciously to any social gathering come to think of it. Their relationship was one of tolerance more than passion or love. She was not capable of more than that and Paracelsus probably would not have cared either way, their affiliation has likely saved him from her wrath these past few months.

Andrew Vance had no such benefit.

“S-sorry, I-I’m not a dancer.”

He stammered. Fine, have it your way. No dancing. She would stop dragging him into the dance floor. She was not going to tackle the boy in the middle of the dance, even if she was certain she could force him to the ground. After she had him down there would no means by which to dance and it was likely the Headmaster would break-up the scuffle after she forced him to punch himself in the face a few times. It was not worth the violence. Also, she was more cerebral than physical.

"Sorry?" She repeated. "You're not sorry," she accused. He was nervous, twitchy. She would start to circle him like a shark. "Are you truly filled with a sense of regret or penance?" She knew he was not. He had no reason to feel that way. "That had you had the opportunity to be a dancer and change this situation that you would?" He was a liar. Her mouth cocked to the side. 

Fine no dancing.

Let's have some fun.

She was not paying a great deal of attention to the people around her. To the Headmaster looking like a massive nerd spraying students in the face as if they were cats sharpening their nails on the furniture. She did not seem to notice or care about the group of older students that were evaluating those that remained. "Why did the non-dancer come to a dance?"

Interacting with @Erin Ryan, @Andrew Vance.

Elijah wouldn't necessarily consider himself social, by any means, but he figured he could still nip down here to grab some food, spin in a circle and call it dancing, and head back to his dormitory. He was, by no means, properly dressed for this particular function- in fact, his mother would've considered it extremely rude and out of line that he wasn't more dressed up. However, he was only here to grab a cupcake before moving on with his life, so he decided that he wasn't disappointing his mother too much. He was simply wearing his school uniform without the robes, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and his silver-and-green tie replaced with a simple black one.

As he made his way down to the grounds where the ball was being held, he tried to avoid eye contact with everyone there. He remembered the last time he had gone to one of these 'dances', shuddering at the horrendous memory. No way was he going to talk to anyone this time. Talking just complicated things that didn't need to be complicated; he just had to focus on nicking a cupcake and then getting away safely. Bent on his mission, Elijah almost didn't notice his surroundings as he snuck around the edge of the dance floor, trying to take the most discreet path to the food table.

What the hell was Lear playing at? Wasn't he supposed to be a professional? Elijah shook his head wryly as he caught sight of Hogwarts' esteemed Headmaster running around with a spray bottle, apparently on some sort of quest to rid the dance floor of couples that were getting a little too frisky. A few of the older students were whispering, too, eyeing the younger students with strange glances that unnerved him. What were they doing? Plotting something? Whatever. He didn't care enough to ask.

He supposed that the venue itself wasn't all that ugly, although he had certainly seen much better balls than this. It was the burden of traveling in higher circles, being dragged to dinner party after party, wedding after wedding, forced to plaster on a smile and socialize with strangers that he didn't know at all. Plus, all of the dancing! Who actually like dancing that much? Not him, that was for sure.

He heard an angry voice, however, and his purposeful stride slowed slightly as he craned his head, trying to find the source of the accusatory voice. Wasn't this supposed to be a fun dance? Obviously, other people weren't as strange as he was- other people liked to have fun, to actually socialize with other people. They weren't supposed to be mad at each other. Finally catching sight of a girl with violet hair, he slowly approached her, as well as the boy she seemed to be yelling at. Wasn't he in Slytherin, too?

Now completely distracted from his original intent of retrieving food, Elijah listened to her words carefully. It was clear that she had asked the boy in front of her to dance, and he had apologized and refused- and now, she was blowing her lid and accusing him of... well, just exactly what she was accusing him of was unclear, but he figured that he could satisfy his mother's complaints with a quick little dance. Just one dance wouldn't hurt, right?

He had already admitted to Rosie that he knew how to ballroom dance quite well, his mother having made him learn when he was younger in order to become a 'proper gentleman', whatever that meant. Taking a deep breath and steeling his nerves, Elijah shuffled his feet loudly to warn them of his presence and prepared to casually insert himself into their conversation. It was probably a little bit rude, but he figured that if he could save his fellow housemate from the spitfire, he would be in the clear. Dance with someone and he'd appease his mother; save a kid from an awkward situation and he'd earn some gratitude.

"To eat the food, of course," Elijah said, answering the girl's question without waiting for the other boy to answer for himself. Rather rude, but he figured that it was the fastest way to end up in their conversation. "Pardon me," he said, directing this at the squeamish-looking boy, "But you wouldn't mind if I steal her away for a dance, would you?" 

He inclined his head at the violet-haired girl, extending a hand in her direction and offering them both a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. The message in his eyes was clear, though- Dance with me. Dark, soulless eyes met her grey ones, his eyebrow arching upwards as he waited for their answers. "... unless I'm interrupting something?" he added as an afterthought, as if he had just realized that they had been talking together before Elijah had inserted himself into their conversation.

@Dinara Lucey
The first-year typically had no time for balls and formal events. The last time he had been anywhere formal was his sister's wedding about a year ago, where he was the ring-bearer. It was about as fun as yanking his teeth out.

But as long as the ball came with food, it was all a-ok.

His mane of dark curls unrulier than ever, Isaac had little care for appearing presentable. From the rumpled state of his cloak, it appeared as if he had just rolled out of bed. Sneakily, he glided over to the refreshments table, grabbing one of the chalices left out. He filled it quickly with punch, and tipped back his head, drinking it as quickly as he could. It was cool, refreshing, and tasted peculiarly of vanilla and peppermint; the flavors reminded him of something he had drank a long time ago.

Over his cup, he glanced about to realize that most everyone was already dancing, or talking, or fighting...except him. Until he looked around to see another girl, dressed just as casually as he was, wearing plain black school robes, sweatpants and a white tee. Deciding that she was interesting, he asked, "Are the cupcakes any good?"

He was pretty sure he had seen her by the desserts earlier, clutching a colorful treat in her hand. But now, the cupcake was mysteriously gone.