[G.Hall] The Yule Ball 2105

[Prof. Jasmine Whiskeyjack]

I see Mr. Greg is making his rounds. She thought as a brief grin touched her lips, however it threatened to wither at the lack of her friend Leon's appearance. Perhaps he had decided against attending.. Though if he was back in Egypt without her this time she would surely have some complaints to present him with. Drawn back to the present at the headmaster's compliment and inquiry, Jasmine gave a pleasant nod of gratitude. "Thank you, and while I believe his jeans are a smudge too form-fitting they arent nearly that tight--" She paused with a quick grin, "I hope." Dan's eyes seemed to hover longingly over the dance floor, as if he were hoping he saw someone there but found himself wanting because of it. Deciding against coming to conclusions though finding the behavior a little odd to say the least, the professor took a sip of her drink before asking, "Where is Mrs. Hubbles? Perhaps I missed any news of her whereabouts but I havent seen her around lately." Either that or she was going crazy, she was usually more aware of things.

Clasping her hands gently in her lap and resisting the urge to feather her fingertips over the soft surface of her dress Jasmine sighed softly, finding the air to be almost identical to that of the first snow. The first time you stepped outside into that crisp, cool and fresh air only to have a blanket of sparkles presented to you, where it feels like time has stopped for but a moment or two. It seemed to open the chasms of her lungs even further, her love for the atmosphere making it even easier for her to breathe. Felt like home. Easing back into the present again--goodness, it seemed she was drifting off quite a bit tonight--Jasmine angled herself towards Ashton, asking politely, "Where is your Tyler tonight? I'm sure hes just taking his time to look handsome for you." She tried to soothe his growing nerves as to why his boyfriend wasn't there yet, though whether it worked or not she couldn't know just yet.

[Sarie Thimble]

She knew that the song was coming to an end. She couldn't believe had he really danced the whole song with her. Near the end he twirled her around. She loved the feeling of flying thought the air. She thought that he was just going to leave. She was about to thank him for putting up with her. He told her that he enjoyed it and wanted to do it again that night.

"Sure.." was all she could say before he left to talk to Ellie. She smiled and walked away. She went to something to drink. She could go home happy even with out the second dance.

[Tyler Monroe]

Sometimes it felt like he was going out with a small little puppy that would keep pestering and pestering you for attention until you put down your news paper and gave the dog a big old fuss. This was normally what Ashton did when it came to trying to get Tyler to do something, he would drop subtle hints and when it finally sank in that the Hogwarts healer was not picking up any of them the ex-Ravenclaw would just go on and on and on and on about it until the only way to shut Ashton up was to agree to what ever he wanted.

However, for once it did not take much pestering to get Tyler to agree to go to the Yule Ball. It was always one of is favourite parts of the Hogwarts schedule and when his invited landed on his desk he knew the answer would be a huge yes! Of course he enjoyed making Ashton squirm a little bit by not telling him he was going right away, but he could not hold the act up for long as the excitement took over.

The biggest problem for Tyler was arriving to the ball on time, as per usual there had been a few enchantments that had gone wrong and someone had sold loads of poor girl’s bottle of ‘spot removal’ cream that did the complete opposite! Finally however after removing the last boil off a 5th year Gryffindor Tyler quickly followed her out of the hospital wing and ran down the stairs. As a result of the students antics his rather tidy hair do and crease free suit had vanished and he did not look as well polished as he had previously. However Tyler was still happy with his outfit thinking that the silver shirt and silver tie combination was a good choice and his designer black suit finished it off. It was a very muggle outfit for him as he knew the traditional choice would be dress robes but then Tyler was never one to stick with tradition.

As Tyler entered the hall a wide grin spread across his face as he looked at the little ice palace he had just walked into. The room looked amazing and already from the noise and the amount of students on the dance floor they were all clearly enjoying their evening already. However he did not have time to look around at all the familiar faces, he needed to find one in particular and it was no real surprise to Tyler when he saw his boyfriend sitting at a table talking to the headmaster. The two of them had a strange relationship, but if it worked for them then who was he to complain.

“Evening handsome. Sorry I kept you waiting, I hope you have not been waiting for too long for me to turn up?” Tyler grinned and as he approached Ashton he ran his left hand through the boy’s thick black hair. As the last strand of hair slipped through his fingers he bent down and gave Ash a quick kiss on the cheek before flopping down on the chair next to him. He could feel the look of all three around the table on to him and his smile falter ever so slightly. “Sorry I am late Ash. It was been like bloody Kings Cross on the first of September up in the Hospital wing. Someone has been selling bogus spot vanishing cream and so I have had loads of girls, and the odd boy, coming with boils all over their face from using it.” He put his arm around the back of Ashton’s chair before continuing. “I think it is something you should look into Headmaster, I am clean out of boil cure potion. I will need to make some more up. Don’t suppose you have any nettles in any of your greenhouses I can use Jasmine?”

He was babbling and he knew it but he could not help it. When he was thrown into a situation like this where the atmosphere was amazing and the people he was surrounded by where all so nice…it just seemed wrong to be sat there in silence and not add to the noise that was filling up the Great Hall.

[Alfie Baxendale]

It had been a while since Alfie had really made an effort to socialise, he had really been focused on his studying recently and he did not want any distractions from achieving the top grades in his class. His work meant a lot to him but after over hearing some of his fellow 4th year Ravenclaw’s talking a reality hit home to him. This was the final year when they could truly enjoy themselves and not worry about major end of year exams loaming in the summer. And this made the Ravenclaw think, maybe he should enjoy himself for once, maybe he should leave the library every once in a while and spend time socialising.

The first step in his new life of his way to attend the Yule Ball and to make an effort getting to know new people and even reacquainting himself with some old friends. As a result he dressed up in his best black dress robes and strode down to the Great Hall in an attempt to enjoy himself. As he stepped into the amazing hall his mouth dropped open slightly as he wondered what he had been missing all this years when he had gone home to stay with family.

Making his way into the hall Alfie looked around trying to catch anyone he knew, he recognised many of them however no one jumped out at him, and that was when he saw Sarie Thimble standing by herself on the edge of the dancefloor. She had the widest smile on her face and Alfie could not help but wonder why.

“Hey Sarie.” He greeted her in a happy manner and smiled widely at her. It had been a long time since they had sat at the side of the lake together and just talked but Alfie had never forgotten her. “You look very beautiful this evening. Are you here with anyone?”

[Sarie Thimble]

Sarie hadn't been standing there long when a fellow forth year walked over. His name was Alfie. She had a crush him for a very long time. She wasn't really sure what to do. She wasn't sure if she felt the same about him but it would be fun just to dance.

"No I'm not here any one." She said. She couldn't think that some one would actually want to go with her. She smiled. "Thank you." She said happily. She couldn't believe that he thought she was pretty. "You look wonderful too."

She didn't know what else to do. The music had started up again. She felt shy around him, not normal like Harrison but she never knew what she would end up. She was ready to find out.

[Professor Ashton Laurent]

Ash looked up with a big smile as Tyler finally arrived and placed a kiss on his cheek; when the older man sat down, Ash immediately leaned into him. He didn't want to be corny and say that there was a magnetic attraction between them, but it did see that when Tyler was in the room, Ash immediately gravitated towards him.

The ex-Ravenclaw rolled his eyes good-naturedly at Dan and Jasmine as if to say "Here he goes again" as Tyler started apologizing and rambling as he was prone to do.

Finally, after letting the Healer ramble on for a couple minutes, Ash sighed and leaned towards Tyler placing a short but sweet kiss on his boyfriend's lips. "Hush." he said with a smirk as he pulled back, just enough so that they could still look eachother in the eye.

[Ellie Rook]

Ellie waited patiently for the song to be over, and she beamed as she saw Harrison whirl around Sarie. Even though Sarie was no longer a little girl, Ellie would always see her as the shy little eleven year old she had first met on the beach. Ellie could see her smiled in Harrison's arm and it almost made Ellie sad to see the dance come to an end.

Almost.

Ellie could now see Harrison say his goodbye and make his way toward the headgirl. He took her hand and Ellie blushed as his lips touched its softness. She beamed as she met his eyes again. "Why Mr. Greg, I would be delighted." She curtsied gently and placed her hand on his shoulder. Before they moved to the floor Ellie stopped and said: "Under one condition. You may not, under any circumstances, break my heart tonight." Ellie said with a grin waiting for his answer before allowing him to take her out onto the floor.

[Harrison Greg]

It was a strange feeling for Harrison, the fact that being so close to a girl made his heart pound quicker, his palms to grow sweaty and his brain to doubt every move and thing he said. Of course Harrison had felt this way once before for a certain Ravenclaw but that did not end well and the Gryffindor took that as a bitter experience that he did not want to have to face again. And that was something he hoped would not happen with Ellie, he got this vibe from her, a feeling that she was suffering from the same issues and concerns that he was…maybe there was a bit of hope for them.

As she bobbed low as a response to his bow Harrison could not help but smile at the formality of the situation, it felt like something that did not happen often these days, good manners seemed to have gone out of the window with the last millennium and that was something that also annoyed the young Gryffindor. It did seem however that Ellie was not going to make it easy for him; he had to promise first of all that he would not break her heart. A wry little smile pulled at the corner of his lips as his blue eyes locked onto the brown ones of Ellie.

“I would never hurt you.” He gently raised her hand to his lips and planted a tender kiss upon it. “I know I have a bit of a reputation Ellie but for you…” He broke off trying to think of the right words to say, not wanting to blow this moment but he could not do it, he could not be serious and to be serious it would leave him vulnerable and so instead of the truth he went for the jokey response. “For you I will only see two other girls on the side.”

He poked his tongue out slightly to show he was only joking as he did not want to cause any offence to Ellie, he could only hope he had not gone too far and she was still going to let him hold her close as they dance around the ballroom floor.

[Zachary Maxwell]

Zachary was not the kind of person to go to these sorts of things, or if he did he would more likely be the one who spiked the punch and then got into a fight at the end of the evening. However today he was meant to be on his best behaviour, or at least that is what he had been told to do anyway. So dressed up in his finest dress robes (a simple black outfit that seemed to have a strange white stain down the leg that would not come out) Zachary stood waiting in the entrance hall impatiently tapping his foot on floor and nervously fiddling with the tight colour of his shirt. He hated something being this tight around his throat and he would give anything to pull the top few buttons loose, but he did not think Brooke would appreciate that. His orders where to be smart and tidy, despite not combing his hair or trimming his facial hair he thought he looked pretty good for a guy who had only gotten out of bed half an hour ago.

Students seemed to be rushing past them, everyone was dressed up and excited about what was about to happen. The music was already blaring out of the grand oak doors that lead to the great hall and already Zachary was itching for either a strong drink or a smoke. He guess a little bit of a drink would not do any harm and like any true addict he always had a little hip flask on him full of his favourite spirit. Rummaging around in his trouser pockets Zach pulled out a small, very battered looking silver bottle and with a small grin his flicked open the lid and raised it to his lips, letting the honey coloured liquid trickle past his lips, over his tongue setting his taste buds on fire and then sliding down his throat burning as it went.

“So good.” He mumbled to himself as he slipped the hip flask back into his pocket and returned his gaze back to the stairs waiting for Brooke to appear. Why did women have to take for flipping long?

[Brooke Kennedy]

Brooke smiled at herself in the mirror as she finished applying her makeup. She stepped back and admired her laced champagne coloured prom dress that was more elegant than princessy and her nude coloured heels. She grinned at herself and grabbed her clutch bag before almost stumbling out of the common room.
The truth was, Brooke was insanely excited about the Yule Ball. She's never been so excited about it before because usually she would end up ditching the guy in favour of her friends, but this time it felt different. Zach seemed to bring out a different version of herself, a different side. She was always on the wild side but this sort of wild was just different some how. She felt more alive than before, even if she was doing more stupid things than usual, but she was okay with it.

Stopping abruptly at the top of the stairs, she smoothed down her dress and felt her hair one last time before walking slowly down the grand staircase, her heels making a slight clicking as they his each step. She was grinning the whole way down and her eyes searched frantically for his. She grinned even more when she saw him taking a hit from his flask.
"Ahem" she said, clearing her throat as she reached him. She flashed a toothy grin at him and swayed cutely before reaching for his hand and playing absent-mindedly with his fingers in a teasing way.
"It looks like you're starting this party without me, Mr. Maxwell."

[ooc}:[x]Brooke's outfit (:

[Zachary Maxwell]

More and more girls seemed to be coming down the stairs and non of them where Brooke, this was stupid! Maybe she was inside already laughing at him as he was stood there looking likely a lonely hairy penguin. The swig of his drink seemed to do nothing for his nervous however the slight distraction from the staircase as he looked down to make sure he put the hipflask back in his pocket seemed to have been enough for Brooke to appear at the top of the stairs and make her way towards him. It was only the fake clearing of her throat that made the Gryffindor raise his gaze and look to where the sound had come from.

“Oh my god.” Zach’s mouth dropped open as he stared and the blonde haired beauty that was standing before him. If they had not come to the ball together ‘just as friends’ he would so have been sucking her face off right now. She looked drop dead, bloody rushing to wear it shouldn’t gorgeous. He had to try and distract himself and his thoughts of that dress lying on his dorm room floor…

“W-want some then?” he slurred as he was just thankful Brooke could not see what thoughts where rushing through his head and how the last thing he just said really did not sound good. Almost to prove to himself he did not mean anything rude by it he quickly shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out his hipflask, fumbling with it as the silver bottle tried to escape from his grasp. With a nervous smile he finally handed over the bottle to Brooke not knowing if she will take it or not but from what he had learnt about he so far was the changes were she would have a small sip.

“Shall we head in then? The party had already started.”

[Ellie Rook]

Ellie's lips were parted in a wide smile as her hand was lifted and another kiss placed upon it. Ellie giggled slightly. A bit of a reputation. Harrison Greg was one of the biggest players at Hogwarts. But the sentiment that Ellie somehow changed this made her smile disappear. It slowly faded from her face as she watched Harrison try and think of something to say.

For something that Ellie had sort of meant as a joke, the conversation had taken a serious turn. Ellie could only imagine what Harrison was about to say. Ellie wasn't sure that she wanted him to say anything of meaning. It might ruin the night and moment. Ellie wished he would joke, break the silence, say something obscene. Ellie wished he would just be himself.

Ellie got her wish. Harrison never let her down. She sighed a sigh of relief that nothing serious was going to take place between them in that moment. Ellie would like atleast one dance with him before that took place. Ellie laughed. "Only two!? Harrison Greg you must really like me, that is such a sacrifice."

Ellie felt herself snuggle in closer to Harrison as then began to spiral around the dance floor. She couldn't help but smile as he held her. She felt his hand on her back and it seemed to tingle as he held it there. The silence between then wasn't bad, it left room for anticipation, but Ellie felt like she needed to fill it.

"So how is being head boy treating you? I bet the power has gone straight to your head?" It was a pathetic attempt at a conversation and Ellie wished she could kick herself for even saying anything.

[Brooke Kennedy]

Normally, Brooke would have taken a lot longer to get ready and even gone to the trouble to arrive fashionably late and keep her date waiting. It was a girly secret that usually on dates, girls were already fixed up for their date hours before, they just liked to keep their men waiting. It was a little game they loved to play, and Brooke wasn't an exception to that status. But she was giving an exception to this rule.

She had come down from the common room in a gaggle of students, attempting to manoveur her way through the giggling horde of younger years who were enthusiastically debating what the night had in store for them all. Apparantely they believe that this would be the most epic Yule Ball at Hogwarts to ever remember, but with Brooke going to five of them already and now attending her sixth, the novelty usually wore off.

Full of pardons, she thrust herself through the crowd nearing the grand staircase and the thoughts running through her head almost made her overload, she didn't even realise she was grinning like the cheshire cat. She said hello's to the people she knew and the ones who tried so hard to be her as she opened her ears to the sound of clicking heels and whispers behind pale hands. She smoothed down her dress and pushed herself a little nearer towards Zachary as couples began swarming into the Great Hall.

Her eyes twinkled as his jaw almost dropped at the sight of her. She suddenly became a little shy and blushed slightly, looking downwards before he offered her some of whatever was in his flask. She glanced around quickly before taking a quick sip, wincing as it sent a line of fire down her throat.

"I love how you always come prepared" she smirked before entwining her fingers in his and leading him into the hall. Twirling herself around and grabbing his hand with her other one, she looked at him with a mischevious grin plastered on her lips. She pulled him closer, so close that her lips were at his ear. The noise of the music was already almost deafening but the closeness would be fine for him to hear her whispering her evil plans.
"You know what I think we should do?" she asked softly, her raspberry coloured lips mere inches from his ear.
"I think we should spike the punch bowl with your little friend here." she said, her arm snaking it's way towards the flask in his jacket and tapping it with her fingers.

[Professor Ashton Laurent]

Ash looked around the Great Hall/Ballroom as he leaned against Tyler, his arms wrapped around his boyfriend's waist. He spotted many people he knew or at least recognized; and a few he didn't.

There was, his eyes scanned the room again, Ellie Rook, Harrison Greg, Brooke Kennedy, and of course his Sarie. Yes, his Sarie. Ash had long since thought of Sarie as his little sister. There was also a Ravenclaw he didn't recognize as well as a Gryffindor.

He watched the people around him dancing or milling about and decided that he was quite comfortable where he was. He wasn't much of a dancer anyway. More of a singer. Actually, truth be told, he could dance. Very well in fact, he just really didn't like to.

Turning back to his group, he gave a mischievous smile, one he knew Dan Hubbles had seen far too often and therefore knew that Ash was up to no good. "Did Dan ever tell you guys about the food fight here a few terms ago?" he asked Tyler and Jasmine. He could still picture Dan with food all over him and started snickering.