BlossomFest The Learning of an Art

Dance was something Kaegen had learned only the very, very basics of. And he honestly didn't understand why grandfather had taught it to him. What was the point of impressing girls with something that didn't impress guys? Why would he even want to specifically impress girls. Thinking about it there was no reason at all. Boys and girls weren't even that different.
But still, the young ravenclaw had decided that he should probably get better. There was a ball coming up, and he had heard rumors that you were expected to bring a date. There was food at the ball, which meant he was going to be there, and to get a date you had to be good at dancing. dHe finally overcame the confusion of trying to determine how to bring a specific date, and if they meant that he had to pick one and then just cut the date out of the calendar, like june 2nd or something. It had been cleared up by some older kids, who had at first laughed at him, and then carefully explained to the boy what dating was. Although they had said something about him being a creepy kid from nowhere. He wasn't from nowhere, he was from the fens. So they may have been lying to him about the whole boys falling in love with girls thing.
The second reason he was here, was simply to get better used to the horrendously hard floors of hogwarts. It would be nice if he could walk on them as well as he could walk in the outdoors. They might be teaching footwork, and if they partnered up, he could learn to read his partner's body language. All in all it was a pretty good plan to show up for these lessons.

Dance class. That was something Reyna hadn't been to in a while. She had given up her lessons in order to come to Hogwarts, and the most that she was able to do, dance-wise, was sneak out at night with her tap shoes. However, this was different. Not for the sole reason it was ballroom dancing, and not even that it was an actual class. It was the fact that she was bringing a friend with her.

"Serena! Hurry up, we can't be late!" Reyna half said half shouted to the brown haired girl she had dragged taken with her to take the dance lessons. She had heard of Serena being in the hospital wing, so, naturally, as her friend and resident dancer, Reyna had tracked her down. There's no way in Hogwarts that I'm having her miss this, Reyna thought, determination filling her as she slid down the hallway, practically running full speed to the ballroom. She flung open the door and waited for Serena to enter, bowing as she did. "After thou, my lady," Reyna said in a posh, rich voice, giggling afterwards. After Serena entered, Reyna walked into the classroom, grinning.

I've never done ballroom before, but this should be fun, Reyna thought, smiling, hopeful that all would go well.

Serena was not much of a dancer. She enjoyed casually dancing to music but lessons? Definitely not. Her parents had sent her to a private primary school before attending Hogwarts. There, she was forced to do a few styles, including ballet and tap. However, they were more of a pain than enjoyment to her. The school held the dance classes during the lunch break. She could never understand why she would want to sacrifice playing with her friends in order to learn how to dance or worse, play a musical instrument - which they also made her do! Today was different though. 

Today, one of her friends wanted to go. Serena was pretty much dragged along to it with her. Reyna looked so excited about the idea - and she knew her friend enjoyed dancing - that she decided to go with her. Being stuck in bed for the past week or so was probably bad for her legs anyway. She ought to be moving... The nurse had given her permission to dance, as her body seemed to be fully healed of any physical damage now. 

Deciding to make an effort, Serena dressed up a little. She walked behind Reyna in a formal  cocktail style dress, that was just a little above knee length so it was not over the top for the occasion. The red bustier dress made a change from wearing hospital gowns and pajamas, to be fair. That was pretty much her usual outfit since the camp out... She had let her long hair down, sweeping it across one shoulder but had certainly brought a hairband in case she needed to tie it up when dancing. She had no idea. Pairing her outfit with the adjustable high heels she had purchased from Diagon Alley, she continued to walk to the ballroom. The adjustable height was great, it made them so comfortable - and easy to change if her feet got too tired! The Hufflepuff laughed softly, "Can't we? When am I ever early to anything?" She joked (well half joked, she probably was late to everything in reality too) in reply to Reyna as she picked up the pace a little to ease her friend's tension. There was no way she was planning to run there but she could walk a little faster for her friend.

Laughing at the bow that Reyna gave her, Serena rolled her eyes playing before curtsying, "Why, thank you, kind sir!" She joked, laughing softly, as she entered into the ballroom for perhaps the first time in her Hogwarts journey. Looking around, she noticed how big the room really was. Perhaps this was where the infamous Yule Ball was held... Serena looked towards Reyna and grinned, "So uhh, why do I have to do this again?" She asked, "You do realise that I'll be rubbish at this, right?" She continued. The idea of dancing in front of strangers made her a little nervous. It was worth it to see Reyna so happy though. She would happily make a total fool of herself if it entertained her friend, at the very least.

Serena had never tried ballroom dancing but... it was definitely a skill her parents would approve of. So, getting some practice in would probably actually be a good thing. Her parents said she would have to start classes in the summer holidays, as it was useful for social gatherings apparently. They also commented it was disappointing that she had not learnt it already but let's not bring up their negativity on this fun occasion...

Oh my God.

Oh my God.

Anatole was ecstatic, mentally screaming. This was his chance, this was his chance to get one step closer to his dream by waltzing with another pretty girl across a dazzling floor. This was his chance not to trip over his feet and make a fool of himself, but to show up dignified, respected, and great.

Now, the prince dream seemed feasible.

Well, it was much less of a mental scream, more of burying himself in his scarf and screaming, muffled. Ha ha! How about that, boys! You might get remembered, but that could take years! He could already waltz...and since he had quote-unquote taught himself, he was sure he would stun them. The little Gryffindor boy, so passionate about this stuff is that good?

He was jumping up and down as he dashed to the room, shoving past much less anxious students and through hallway after hallway, flinging open the doors with a breathless, enthusiastic grin.

Everyone else in there...they didn't have the excitement. Their faces didn't read like his. They showed no strong desire, no instant passion for the dance. No real will.

"H...Hey!" He called, awkwardly. With his face red, he gave a little wave, hunching over from the sprint. This already wasn't what he expected. No one else was like him, and worst of all, Rosie wasn't here.

Would they think he was... weird?

Dancing. This was something Marissa only watched her parents do. What was the point of of it? Thinking about it there was no reason at all. Did they do it because they love each other? But if this was the reason, why are the first years doing this?

But still, Marissa had decided that she should probably at least try to learn to dance. There was a ball coming up, and she heard a rumor that you had to bring a date. That would be a total mess for her, there would be no way ANYONE would ask her to the ball. To get a date you had to be good at dancing. She never overcame the confusion of trying to determine how to bring a specific date, she only thought of one person. He probably had a date, knowing how popular he was. She would probably just stand in the corner whilst everyone else was enjoying themselves by dancing around and talking to their friends.

The second and final reason she was here was to see if anyone would ask her, hopefully she could impress the professors along the way. They might be teaching footwork, and if they partnered up, she would probably freak out like always. This was not going to be an easy ride.

She was wearing a red dress, to compliment her hair. And, because red was slowly growing to be her favourite color instead of green and silver. Which was a good sign for her, but maybe not so much for her parents.

Rhea had heard of a ball that was taking place, and at first had been hesitant to join. Of course she knew how to dance - she practically learned it before she knew how to walk. Actually that didn't make sense, but you get the point. The young redhead was a professional dancer. And it was because of this that she had high hopes that she would impress all the professors... and hopefully get someone to ask her to dance, but that was low on her list of priorities. She wanted to bedazzle and wow everyone with her dancing skills. 

She soon found the ballroom and opened the door, peeking in. Hoping that there was someone who she had the same amount of skill that she did, Rhea walked in and immediately scouted around the room. There were already a few others scattered around, but no one that caught her attention. Not yet, anyway. 

The redheaded girl had no idea how this would work; when she'd heard of these ballroom classes she wanted to see how they would be taught - and perhaps offer her services, if need be. But no one had started to dance yet, so Rhea was simply standing. In the corner of the ballroom. Just standing. 

Of course, she couldn't have that. She needed to be the center of attention, or at least talk to someone. It was unusual and rather unpleasant for her to not be talking to anyone. So, she took to looking around the room, hoping to find someone she could talk to. She found a young boy, standing awkwardly and waving to... no one it seemed. Rhea shrugged and decided to save him, walking up to him with a small hop in her step. 

"Hello," she started, waving a little. "My name's Rhea." Rhea noticed that he was looking around the room, perhaps for... a girl? Aw, that was cute. 

Looking around, she also saw a blonde girl standing in the corner. She looked lonely, and the redhead sighed. She couldn't have that. Rhea waved the blonde over and re-introduced herself. w

"Anyone know how to dance?" Rhea asked, hoping that someone would say no. Dancing was something she was good at, and, being a Bishop, she just loved to show off everything she was good at.

He had been first to the lessons, had smoothly walked in and then done nothing useful for about a minute or so until the others came. He knew some of them, others not so much. The nice girl that came in dragging her friend's name was scarf. He had met her down at the lake, but didn't know who her friend was. And then that corridor kid showed up, looking excited and then crestfallen even though he hadn't even asked anyone yet. The blond girl who screamed nervous shyness in everything she did, from the way she held herself, to her arm positions, had a name he had heard once before, in the corridors. But he couldn't remember, and didn't work very hard trying to.
The next girl that entered the room had red hair and a red dress and introduced herself as Rhea. Like the bird grandfather had told him about, the emu! Wait, what was her name? Emu? Or was is Rhea? Which bird was she named after? In a clever move, the young boy decided that she was named both, and dubbed her rhemu. Assuming he could even remember that name.
Rhemu asked if anyone knew how to dance, and Kaegen had to think about it. He knew the basics, but that was it. He knew a little about rythm, a little about stepping, although he wasn't sure where. So he decided to just shake his head no.
"no"
Was he supposed to be doing something? He could ask one of the girls to dance, one or two of them looked pretty nice. No, nice wasn't the word. It was cute. But not exactly like a puppy cute. Kaegen thought briefly about the possibility of a different word he didn't know about existing to match this particular feeling, but soon gave up. He would read through a dictionary or something later.

The more shy and timid member of the Slytherin didn't wear anything fancy to the lesson. At the same time, he didn't look too casual either. He chose to wear a simply white, button up shirt with blue pants. He thought it was simply enough for the lesson.

Maybe he should have worn his cloak or a hoodie to the lesson instead. It wouldn't have been appropriate, but at least he could have a better time of hiding himself from his peers. He was forced to simply stare at his feet to avoid everyone's gaze seeing as he didn't have the luxury of a hoodie.

Saying that he was nervous was probably a huge understatement. It was more like he was embarrassed to the point of wanting to pass out or hide away in a dark hole. A very deep one where no one could find him.

He was probably overreacting. It's wasn't like it's weird for a guy to want to learn how to dance. However, he knew there would be a few people who would make fun of him for it. That thought made him want to leave right away and forget about going to the dance at the end of the festival.

Still, the chances of someone dragging him to be more social were too great. He would have to learn to dance acceptably well if he didn't want to be totally embarrassed during the dance.

Jason didn't say anything after entering the ballroom. He only stood in the corner waiting for the lessons to begin.

“Ah what a drag…" Siege would mutter dragging himself from the Lake all the way to the Fourth Floor Ballroom. It was bad enough that he woke up badly on the lakeshore, but he also had responsibilities to do as prefect, responsibilities he’s been eulduing since becoming prefect mind you. He’d been using his ”Patrolling” hours to get a nice nap in, maybe some time to himself to think, other than that he’s still the lazy devil-may-care boy that came to Hogwarts months ago. He wore a wrinkled dress shirt, his backside somewhat stained by the dirt he had been laying on, though not so much so to cover it altogether. He also wore his simple black pants, as well as black skating shoes, definitely not something to wear to a dance or even at a practice for dancing.

Walking towards the room, he didn’t know what to expect. His steps echoed a bit, until reaching close proximity to the room itself. The shuffling of feet from those who wanted to come learn to dance or even learn how to move right with what they know. Siege...Well he knew next to nothing when it came to dancing. Sure he might get caught up in some nice 2000’s hip hop music, but that was about it. His body was surely and probably the most rigid in the room when he entered. When he entered…

Well, when he entered there were already a lot of people there, but one of which caught his eye or both of his eyes for that matter. A shade of red, perhaps the crimson caught his gaze? Or maybe it was the pretty face that donned the dress in itself.

-Uh...Serena? Wha-What’s she doing here? Shouldn’t she be back in the Hospital? Shouldn’t she? And what’s with that dress...It looks so...good.-

Siege’s eyes couldn’t help but land on her over and over again, and without his realization he was a blundering fool walking the edges of the room, hoping to not get noticed. He wasn’t sure why he was hoping to not get noticed, nor did he know why his eyes were glued to her and not knowing was something he always hated. He didn’t like the feeling but couldn’t get enough of it, as if his minds and emotions had become two separate states working miles apart.

She was with a friend. A Friend? Yes a Friend, someone he’s seen before, someone that had thrown something at him, someone he threw another something back. Was it the Snowball fight? Yes it must’ve been, he hit her right in the side with a pretty painful bludger-snowball. Siege never knew that she was a friend of Serena’s, eh well, the more you know.

Siege didn’t really want to get noticed, and hopefully he’s hugging the wall enough, enough so that her and her friend won’t notice him...Hopefully...Cause god only knows what kind of stupidity Siege is gonna pull off in front of the red-dressed girl he fancies.