BlossomFest The Learning of an Art

Adam was a bit startled by the speed at which everyone had found someone to dance with. It seemed like only seconds had passed after the professors' announcement to pair off, and yet looking around the room, couples were forming almost instantly. Anatole and a girl he didn't know had already gotten into "resting position", as Professor Barrows had called it, and he saw Kaegen offer Rhea a flower out of the corner of his eye. That was an unexpected move, but hey, good for him. Fortunately -- well, unfortunately for them, he supposed -- there were still plenty of people left without a dance partner. Adam would just have to find a willing companion.

The problem wasn't finding someone that could dance, because in all likeliness, none of them could. It was finding someone that would be able to put up with Adam's own awkwardness. He never liked to be the center of attention, and if he accidentally embarrassed someone else during this dance, he'd probably die. Just the thought of it made Adam want to shy away from the rest of the crowd, but he was here, and he knew he couldn't back out. That would be worse than actually messing up the dance in the first place. Looking around at some of the single students still waiting to find a partner, he saw a familiar Hufflepuff girl urge two other first-years onto the floor and then take a seat against the wall. It was Serena, right? Yes, Serena Towers, one of the Hufflepuff prefects. Adam recognized her from the snowball fight that had been waged over the grounds about a month earlier. In fact, there were rumors that she had been the one to start the whole thing. Adam didn't know her very well, but she seemed nice enough.

Walking over to her spot against the wall, and smiled down at her. "Hi," he said, a little shyly, but still trying to sound friendly enough. "I'm Adam. Want to practice?" Holding out his hand, he hoped that he sounded reassuring. It was good to take risks, wasn't it? He hoped that Serena would say yes, but all that was left to do now was wait.

Mariah watched as instruction began, children around her grabbing other children and awkwardly finding that shuffle that the professors thrust upon them. Mariah pressed back against the wall to allow the other children to have room to move as they would. After all, there was no one left to dance with.

But then again...

She had spent the better part of her day preparing for this thing. The perfect shoes, the perfect dress, the perfect hair, the perfect lipgloss? Why should she let this absolutely fabulous outfit go to waste by leaning against a dusty old wall and watching other people enjoy themselves? It would be a sin! Who needed boys anyway? They smelled funny and ate things off the floor and Mariah had caught more than one Huffleboy with his index finger so far into his nose she was positive it tickled the back of his eyeball.

So, without further wait, and feeling far more confident than she had moments before, Mariah stood, pulling her hands up as if to embrace a completely invisible individual in the throes of dance. She moved, stepping and twirling, imagining that her invisible partner was the handsome wizard on the front of the romance she was currently reading. He was a pirate, so he had a fancy hat with a feather and a white, unbuttoned shirt with sleek leather black pants.

Yes. This was perfect. Enjoying herself immensely, Mariah hardly cared that she probably looked like a buffoon, dancing with no one, but dancing none the less.

More and more people crowded into the ballroom, until soon there was practically no space left for dancing. But there was, so all was well. Rhea stood, waiting for someone to talk, when suddenly the two professors heading the event waltzed into the ballroom. Deputy Headmaster Ackerley Blackburn and Professor of Divinations, Matilda Barrows stood in front of the ballroom and demonstrated the proper way to dance. Rhea sighed, thinking that she knew exactly how to dance. Little did she know...

As Rhea waited for something to happen, looking around the ballroom, she didn't notice a Ravenclaw walking up to her, removing a leather case from the folds of his robe and opening it. She turned around swiftly once she heard the noise, and raised an eyebrow as the boy withdrew a small flower from within. She looked around, aiming to see who he was to give it to, but was ultimately shocked to find that he was giving it to her. She smiled softly and accepted the beautiful flower - although it was dried out, the color red stuck out more than anything. It was pretty, and so Rhea took it and decided to tuck it carefully into her hair. Her hair was thick, so she made sure to place it in a way where it wouldn't fall out, and the small thorns wouldn't poke her as she danced. 

Seeing that the boy was ready to get into the 'resting' position, as Professor Barrows called, she started to move her hand to the correct position. With all her might, Rhea tried to keep her blush under control and prayed with all her might that she wouldn't get cooties. Oh gosh, does dancing give you cooties? It can't, otherwise the professors wouldn't make us partner up... right?

Many thoughts ran through her head, but she ignored them and placed her hand in her partner's, her other hand on his shoulder. She made sure that there was distance between them, just in case they would get cooties. She felt the boy putting a hand around her waist, albeit a little awkwardly, and finally smiled. Realizing that she still didn't know his name, she asked, re-introducing herself in the process. 

"My name's Rhea, by the way, if you didn't catch it. What's yours?" Rhea looked around the room, her eyes darting about, the same time she asked the question. She saw others getting into partners as well, and smiled when she saw that she wasn't the only one at the danger of getting cooties. Maybe if she did, she could with others to the hospital. It wouldn't be too bad. 

As Cel saw her friend enter the room, her lips tilted upward into a smile and she left the wall that she had been leaning against to travel in Mariah’s direction.

“Hi,” she greeted, chuckling a bit at Mariah’s eager expression as she twirled in the air. “You certainly look excited.” Then two words that Professor Blackburn addressed to the entire ballroom of students-- including her, it seemed-- caught her attention, and her eyes shot away from the Hufflepuff and towards the front of the room, freezing up.



Well… that was to be expected, wasn’t it? This is ballroom dancing, after all. Ballroom dancing would have to be dancing with a partner, not alone. Obviously. But she seemed to be starting to recall why she never enjoyed dancing lessons.

In her own pre-Hogwarts dancing lessons, Cel had only danced with her teacher, something that was less than easy, since he was a foot taller than her. The girl sighed hopelessly. She’d have to find a partner… somewhere… yet it seemed that everyone had already been taken in the time it took her to unfreeze. Cel snorted, frustrated. Typical. Her eyes roamed the crowd, trying to find someone available, preferably someone she knew--ha, that wasn't happening--, but of course to no avail. Everyone, everyone, had been taken. Well, all the boys, anyway.

She could see Mariah dancing alone, but Mariah seemed content without a partner, at least for now. And there was... that was Eris, wasn't it? She'd heard that she had been fired from prefect duties some time ago, but Eris was still alone. Well, everyone else was taken.

Cel shuffled over to her, a little timid from having to approach someone, but not as much as if she'd had to ask a complete stranger. "Hey, Eris," she began with a smile. "I know there's nobody left to dance with, but maybe we can pretend to be Rhysand and Feyre... if you want? Or at least until we both get a Rhys of our own."

Reyna grinned as she saw Serena, all dressed up for the class. Then, more and more footsteps could be heard coming down the hall, and a multitude of people entered the room, prepared for dance. Then, another pair of footsteps. Uneven heavy footsteps that didn’t fit in with the pattern. The girl whirled around, her eyes narrowing as she saw Siege.

Honestly, it was although the girl was able to sense him when he walked into a room. For she held such a hate for him so passionately, simply because he had thrown a deadly snowball at her. She had always been the type to hold grudges. Long grudges, for that fact. Any seed of hate she could have for anyone seemed to plant firmly in her heart, the roots digging in deep and taking a long time to wither away.

She went over to warn Serena, but just as she made it to the Hufflepuff, the teachers started speaking. They demonstrated the general position for the man and the lady to be in while ballroom dancing. Upon them ceasing to talk, Reyna attempted to tell Serena about Siege and warn her. However, it was far too late.

Her friend was already dragging her towards Siege, who had this strangely... loving look in his eyes as he gazed at Serena. Oh hell no, not my friend, Reyna thought, about to unleash her fury upon the boy, but the Hufflepuff next to her was already talking to him, inviting him to dance... with Reyna. Opening her mouth to protest, Reyna attempted to tell Serena’s that there was no way in heaven, earth, or even hell that she would ever dance with this boy, but the Prefect was already attempting to make the two join hands.

Reyna recoiled her hand in disgust, but somehow her friend had found the strength to keep both their hands down and close to each other. She was then dragged off to the dance floor, and as Serena left to sit, Reyna wanted to yell out to her, tell her that she didn’t want this. But somehow, someway, she held her tongue. Do it for Serena. she urged herself, turning back to the boy whom she hated in front of her.

James had only just heard of the ball that went along with the BlossomFest, and he loved dancing! So, it was no surprise that James was running as fast as he could down the hallways of Hogwarts, looking for the Ballroom. He had been there a couple of times before, in his first week or so of being at Hogwarts, when he was exploring as much as he could, so he had a general idea of where it was, and he hoped he hadn't forgotten and was going the wrong way.
James' feet echoed madly against the stone walls as he ran down the corridors, looking for the ballroom as he finished tying his tie. He must have looked ridiculous to anyone watching, but he didn't care... he just wanted to dance! Finally, he finished with his bright yellow tie, and let go of it, letting it flap behind him over his shoulder as he ran off towards his destination.
He got there sooner than he had expected, and he almost screeched to a halt when he came to the doors. He quickly smoothed out the front of his simple, short-sleeved, white dress shirt, and took a deep breath, the lack of finally catching up to him after running so fast. He fixed his tie and then entered as silently as he could, in case he was late, which he figured he was.
He was. But people were only just then getting situated with partners and getting out onto the dance floor.
Wait... James suddenly thought. Is this the kind of dance that we bring dates to?
James wasn't freaking out with that thought, because he knew this was only a rehearsal, or a lesson in dancing before the actual event, but he realized he might want to find the answer to that question sooner or later.
James closed the doors behind him and stepped in, trying not to be awkwardly noticed. He made his way to the side of the room, where some others were still standing. He had walked in when everyone had started moving around and talking, getting partners for the dance floor. He was thankful for that, because he was less likely to be noticed late, and he could slip in naturally and not so awkwardly. He didn't think of himself at awkward at these kinds of things, but if he ever was acting awkward, he would play it off and just joke around about it, making whoever he was with laugh, which erased any potential tension or nervousness.
James looked around, remembering that he should find a partner to dance with. Maybe he should just wait for someone else to ask him? He didn't usually do it that way, but he might wait for a bit, and if no one was approaching him, then he would go and ask someone.

Rhemu took the flower and put it into her hair. It blended in well, maybe a bit brighter, but not by much. Red hair was a mystery to Kaegen. Why would anyone have red hair, it was so easy to spot you when you were hiding. Why did anyone have it? He finally settled on the fact that it stuck out, and looked nice. Like a proud bird showing off it's feathers even though it increased the risk of being found by predators. Like a defiant torch, showing off it's light. "It looks nice in your hair. And nice to meet you, I think I'll call you flame."
He had followed a different train of thought this time. Rhea was a flame, and her brilliant red reminded him of a fire that didn't seem to know when to hide. The boy didn't much care about names. He had been the only one naming things he saw since he was born. He didn't really care what others called something. They were seldom right about the names anyway. He had much better ones, ones that fit, or made you think of that person for one reason or another. He looked at bird's dress, and then at what he was wearing. He was wearing his clothes, his straps and belts and bindings and containers underneath his normal robe, just like he always did. He would have thought more about that particular problem, but he quickly noticed the blush on the other girl's cheeks. Taking his hand from her hip, he touched her cheeks and forehead, to see if the had spontaneously gotten sick. He was going to ask if she felt alright, but that might cause a commotion, which he would honestly rather not do. If she wasn't sick, then she was just flustered or embarrassed, but there wasn't any reason for either of those. She knew how to dance already, it's not like a lesson was awkward,
Right?

Crap. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Wait- What was it supposed to be like? I mean, he didn't really expect to do anything here. He just wanted to get away from his responsibilities and staying here and pretending to be dancing seemed like the best option. This plan of just laziness was quickly dashed when a blur of crimson came to his fluttering view, as he slowly would almost drift into a not well deserved, but much wanted sleep. He couldn't see properly at this point, but he knew exactly who it was, it was Serena, the one person who he'd hoped wouldn't notice him. It was as if the fates were crueler here, rather than the myths, Siege needed an out he needed-

"Hey, you okay there? What are you doing here?" The girl in the red dress would ask who was, of course, Serena. He didn't really know how to respond to that or how to react. Here he was hoping to not get noticed, and he just did. By about the worst f****** person to notice him to, how does he act? Natural? Calm? Bored? Well, given those are the only reactions he really knows, but that's beside the point. "You haven't done anything stupid again, have you?" What stupid stuff? He hadn't done any stupid stuff, as far as he knew anyways.


"Wha?...So...Uh...Fancy seeing you here?...Erm..." The voice that came out. What was that? Was that even his voice? Where's that trademark confidence of his? It seems to be missing, but he certainly not missing any blood in his face, considering it was beginning to turn red a bit.  *Christ...What the hell am I doing? I need to get away from here quick I need to-*


"Hey Siege, would you like to dance?" She would interrupt his train of thought, which was in itself was good, he didn't wanna think that long, but then things would turn for the worse. That one question prompted his brain to keep on thinking thoughts he wasn't used to.  To be completely honest he didn't even have a clear idea as to what "Fancied" meant, but he really did feel that way towards Serena, and he's been feeling something else, something that he doesn't like, but he's never experienced it before.

"Hmm?...Erm...Uh...Wha-Er, Sure?" Siege would just instinctively say, not even thinking, probably why his language was broken. He wasn't thinking, his mind has completely went on shut down. He didn't wanna think, why'd he wanna think? He didn't wanna think, especially not when she's here...Most definitely not, not with Serena there. 

"Reyna here loves dancing, why don't the two of you partner up? It will be fun!" Said Serena pretty dang enthusiastically. "Reyna here loves dancing, why don't the two of you partner up? It will be fun!" 

*Hmn?...What? What just happened? Did she...just...But I thought, I thou- Crap! I shouldn't be thinking like this! This isn't like me...But I wonder...Do I look bad or something? My hair? Is it too messy? My shirt's pretty not-clean?...Why am I even wondering about this? Why?*

"Erm...What...Okay?" Siege would say quite unsure, he wasn't sure of anything anymore. For a moment, he'd had a glimmer of hope to dance with Serena, but now, well not so much. He didn't even know the name of Serena's "friend", a friend he's never seen before...At least as far as he can remember. But for some reason, the girl in front of him, who now held his hands by the courtesy of Serena, glared at him, which kind of snaps him back to reality from the dreadful limbo he was in earlier.

"Well at least you're passionate about it, I like your look." Siege would innocently say, thinking that she was just that passionate about dancing. He guessed he was better with someone he can learn with easily, someone serious enough to make up for his non-seriousness? Yeah? Maybe? Totally. "Well since you know how to dance guess you'll have to teach me." Siege would sound much more like himself now, not a voice that was quite unheard of from him, like earlier, but now with a backbone of confidence backing his voice, strangely coming back, now that Serena went away to sit somewhere.

He was feeling sleepy and lazy once more, till his eye caught something...Something worth to be awake at. A boy, who was he? Siege had no idea, blonde and curly haired, he was now standing looking down at her, and good thing Siege was scratching the back of his head while dancing, because he would have locked Reyna's hand with an Iron grip if he was still holding her with that hand. Instead it was his hair that he grabbed, although luckily none were torn off.

"I'm Adam. Want to practice?" Adam? Where had he heard of that name before? Nowhere it seems, as he couldn't remember a single clue as to who the boy was. His whole gaze landed on the boy, now it wasn't his bored gaze, it was more of "I'll kill you" gaze, a gaze he's given to countless kids back in Glasgow, at least the people who got in is way. 

*Practice? What practice? Practice getting punched you mean? What? Why am I feeling like this...Why? Why does it hurt? But feel good too?...What's going on with me? And what's up with that boy? My fist is itching to pummel his face...If she just wasn't there...*

Serena quirked an eyebrow at Siege. He seemed to be shuttering a lot. Was he sick? She furrowed a little, wondering what was going on. Perhaps he just did not want to be here and was hoping no one danced him to dance... He seemed out of place, to say the least and lacked the usual confidence that she knew so well, despite the fact it made her roll her eyes and get irritated by it. This reaction was a little unexpected. She had no idea what was going on in his head, of course. He seemed unable to say many words - or even formulate any sentences. His face was slightly red too. Perhaps he was not well. Serena sighed softly, hoping he was okay. If he was sick then surely he would have said so, and refused the dance. 

However, he seemed to agree to the dance - and Reyna did not seem to object either. So she married the two hands together and ushered them away before leaving them to dance and heading back to the side of the room alone.

The Hufflepuff sat down, gazing over the room. People were partnering up left, right and centre. It was sweet. Glancing back at the pair of Gryffindors she had just set up, she noticed they looked good together. Siege seemed to be back to his usual self. Hopefully they would get along and play nice. Only time would tell for that one. Serena's gaze then fell onto a Hufflepuff she recognised, Mariah. She smiled softly to herself, admiring the girl. 

In all honesty, Serena wished she had the guts to do what Mariah was currently doing. She wished she would have the confidence to dance alone and not care much for what other people thought. However, she massively lacked the confidence to do such a thing. Besides, a few of the people in the room knew her family - and the reputation of the Towers was of utmost importance. Dancing alone was something her mother would not approve of, sadly. She also did not want to draw any more attention to herself. Everyone in Hufflepuff, at the very least, knew about the campout incident. It had been published in their house newspaper. That was definitely a sure fine way of getting too much attention. Admittedly, it was out of love, care and concern for her wellbeing. But she still felt a bit awkward with people looking at her and watching her.

Serena must have looked pretty sad, deep in thought, or quite lonely at that moment in time. She had paired two of her closest friends together, so they did not have to dance alone. However, she was now sitting by herself thinking of sad moments. 

Luckily, she did not have to wait long until the knight in shining armour came! Well, without the armour... or the title... But anyway, a Ravenclaw came to her rescue. Glancing up as she heard his voice, she looked at him with a curious expression at first. "Ah!" Her eyes widened a little before returning back to normal shortly after. She recognised him, they had somehow managed to have each other's backs during the snowball event - did they not? She had no idea what his name was but she recognised helping him out and being helped by him a few times. As his words sunk in, the smile on her face grew. Beaming up at him, she nodded gratefully, "I'd love to," She replied as she slipped her hand into his and stood up, "Thank you."

The girl introduced herself as she led Adam back onto the dance floor, "I'm Serena, by the way." She was a bit nervous, in all truth. Serena had seen people dance but had not done it herself. She really hoped she would not make a fool of herself. "Have you done this before?" She asked Adam, wondering if they were both beginners in this. Taking his hand in hers, she placed her other hand on his shoulder, as they had been instructed to do so by Professor Barrows earlier. Once Adam had placed his other hand onto her waist, they stood there in what Matilda had called the 'resting position' waiting for further instructions.

It was probably a good thing that Adam had come along and distracted Serena from certain other people in the room. The death stares coming this way were definitely not something she wanted to witness. They were certainly not warranted either. If anything, she was the one who deserved the glares in the first place, not Adam. He had done nothing wrong in this situation. As they stood there, she decided to confirm her previous thought, "You're the one from the snowball fight, right?" She asked him with a smile on her face before laughing softly, "Thanks for having my back several times, it seems," She continued gratefully, recalling that he had attempted to hit a few people who had attacked her. This was not the first time he helped her out, after all. Adam seemed like a great guy in these few moments she had met him - certainly not one that deserved the horrible stare he was receiving. 

Michelle watched as Professor Blackburn and Professor Barrows addressed the crowd of students but found herself zoned out by the end and when everyone slowly began to partner up she realized that she wasn't paying attention. She anxiously chewed her fingernails and surveyed the room students were awkwardly asking others to practice and she felt her stomach drop. She frantically looked around for someone to pair with but as far as she could see there was no one.

What was she going to do now? Practice by herself? She shook her head that would look utterly ridiculous. Maybe she could dance with a mannequin on wheels or something, like in the movies when a princess is describing what she hopes her prince will be like through song, no even weirder. Maybe she was supposed to pair with a teacher? Embarrassing. She had no idea what to do so she inched farther out to the side and observe. She would be fine just watching right, dancing wasn't that hard all you did was move your feet and twirl, she could do that in her sleep.

Michelle pulled at her sleeves and paid attention to the teachers who demonstrated what was expected. When the time comes at the dance she'll be ready, hopefully, all she has to do is place one hand on her partner's shoulder and the other holds their hand, piece of cake, right?