Yule Ball

The night was speeding up around Jett. When he looked at Ella, dazzling shining Ella, time slowed to a crawl. He could clearly see her chest rise and fall with each breath, see the blink of her long eye lashes as they hit her skin. The moment he looked away, though, time sped it up. Flashes of the white room ran before his eyes and were littered with the hues of many colored dresses. To keep from getting dizzy Jett kept his arm around his date the whole time, focusing mainly on her. He didn't want to look away, anyway. She was purer and brighter than anything in the Great Hall.

His inattention to the world around him had its consequences, though. He was no longer keeping a firm hold on his veela aura. Instead it flowed out of him unchecked, washing over everyone that passed.  If it affected anyone Jett did not notice nor care. Tonight he did not wish to spend the amount of effort he had to keep his powers under control. He simply wanted to be himself and enjoy the night with all of his being.  

The effect was beautiful to behold. His green eyes shone with their own inner light; not reflecting but producing. The charming smile that never once left his mouth was formed so exquisitely he could have been a painting. Even his movements tonight were enchanting. He simply glided around the room with Ella in tow.

A loud bang during the champions dance shocked Jett out of his day dreams and drew his attention to the doors of the hall. A woman clad in a dress that left little to the imagination sauntered in, disregarding all in her path. He was instantly drawn to her like a moth; there was something commanding and regal about her. He watched as she spoke with the headmistress and the thought came to him that this was the absent Headmistress of Durmstrang. Jett made a note to watch out for her the rest of the evening and if the opportunity came to introduce himself.

The champions finished their dance, then, and Jett looked away from the alluring woman and back to his reality; brilliant Ella. He let his hand run through her golden hair before asking her to join him for a dance.

The last of the dying embers of Veronica’s red hair could be seen among the trees of the Great Hall. The decorative trees had not washed away completely the sinister appeal of the Forbidden Forest. The dark needles coating the tree, even under the ice sickles and glowing star lights, made them dark in comparison. Which most people would see the beauty in the ribbons, bows and spells layered on the tree, Veronica saw the beauty beyond it, in between the foliage where only where the tree remained a tree, and not tainted by human hands.

She swayed to and fro with the absent of any gentle breeze to the sounds of the music. She walked with living bubble as she moved in between the trees. Reds, whites and blues polka dots seemed to follow her where ever she went, shielding her from indecent exposure even in the private setting of her pseudo forest. She laughed and giggled, frolicked and played in between those trees, and still those bubbles followed her, moving so easily with her hips and her waist as if it was a second skin.

Veronica did not need to look up to see the sky. In between the trees, Veronica watched as purpled intermingled with blue, red intermingled with browns, white spiraling against black. Even colors she normally could not fathom that was in the hues of the setting sun swirled into one blur. She got misty eyed watching the breathtaking scene unraveled as brighter, festive colors, and dark, subtle colors join together at dusk.

People were moving to the dance floor and Timothy glanced at Clara- Claudia. Claudia.
"You want to?" He asked, nodding at the other students.

"Okay." Jackson held up their linked hands. "Your other hand goes on my shoulder, and mine goes on your waist. Just try to move the same way I do." He grinned. "We'll go slow, I'll try not to step on your feet."

Alex laughed and did as Jackson instructed her, placing her free hand on Jackson's shoulder. She tried not to giggle as he put his hand on her waist - she was very ticklish - so as not to offend him. She had no need for them to go slow - although she had never danced at a ball, Alex took ballet classes every summer back at home. She wasn't very good, mind, but she had learnt enough to make sure that she could pick up simple dances quite quickly. But she didn't correct Jackson. No one at Hogwarts knew that she learnt ballet, and she wanted to keep it that way. If people asked her, she would say no. It wasn't just this part of her self that she lied about - she didn't like to indulge information about herself to other people. Ever. It was sweeter this way anyway - the idea of him teaching her how to dance. She liked it.

It wasn't often that Alex learnt from people her age - she tended to spend her time with the staff or older students at Hogwarts. But Jackson was her first real friend in her own year.

"S-sorry." Jackson smiled, she jumped a tiny bit when he put his hand on her waist. Okay, right, forward, together, left, back, together. He didn't say the instructions since it would be opposite for Alex. "That's the basics." He smiled.

Alex grinned - this was easier than she had expected. "Thanks," she said, smiling and taking her hand off Jackson's shoulder to brush a strand of her hair back behind her ear.

Derek's voice had brought Eirina out of her thoughts, causing a bit of surprise from her. She hadn't expected for anyone to join her for the night, especially not Derek. Slowly Eirina tried to muster the correct words and she pulled her face away from her arm that rested frustratedly on the table, the surprise clear on her face until she spoke, which after her words was wiped away.

"Yes, yes go right ahead."

She nodded, to herself in a way, as if to tell her that it was okay for Derek to sit with her. She wasn't sure why he had wanted to keep her company, because it would be pretty obvious that she was fuming for a while now. Many had learned to stay away from her in those times, where she could be set off with only a word. But, perhaps Derek hadn't been here long enough or held enough interaction with Eirina for him to realize her...spark. Or bipolar anger, whichever you preferred.

*Watching as the people she surrounded herself with clear, she could not hide her amusement. How easily the most powerful witch, second to Aries, could be spun so easily in Aries web every time. Eirina lost her collective posed, and marched off flat footed and stiff to the back of the yule ball away from being anywhere close to Aries. Tall, dark and handsome followed on her heels, like the good pup he was, which delighted her even more. She had a new interest to play with, and his name was Derek Noble.

Instead of interrupting them once again, she turned on her heels and floated like a cloud capturing the last raze of light to the staff table still in place overseeing all. She placed her hand against each chair until she got to the middle one, the headmistress of Hogwarts chair. It was adorn with gold, intricate designs. It was quite beautiful. And so Aries took her place on the throne of Hogwarts, watching the festivities continue on.*

((apologies for absence!))
"Do you want to try faster?" He asked as Alex took her hand off his shoulder for a moment. She seemed to have picked it up, they didn't trip over their feet very much...