"It is nice. Looks the same, for the most part." Teal grinned, it had been decades since the former-Gryffindor wandered these halls.

"You don't even want to know the year I graduated," he winked with a smile and slid a hand through her golden hair.

She tackled him and hung on his strong neck, letting him play with her hair. "I told you... I don't care. You are amazing and I love you, and that's all that matters. So hush about your age." She said and turned around taking his arms and wrapping them around her waist. "See that corner? I got caught kissing another Hufflepuff there. 5 points and detention." She said and turned her head up to him. "You ever get caught?"

It was sad that this boy didn't want her. He knew how it felt to love someone and feel that they didn't feel the same way. That they had someone else. "Well, there are other fish in the sea. And I think that there is someone out there for everyone. Maybe he's not really the one for you." It was hard to know at a young age, but when it happened... you knew.

He shrugged it off as she thanked him for the help. "Any time. No one should be unhappy at a ball." And yet he was. Hypocritical, but he didn't want her sad too.

too Twinnie and whooo ever else who wants to bother any charries of mine
 

Alexis's eyes were drawn all over the entrance halls, she hadn't know what to expect when she entered but she was GLAD that it still looked the same. Minus the pictures of past students and the decorations but those were obviously only there for the ball. The sound from the great hall could already be heard and Lex couldn't be more excited to see some of her old friends.

Of course she had to wear a dress here..but that was okay because she was more excited about everything else than to worry about the dress. As she noticed a glimmer of yellow Lex made her way past current and former students until she was behind her Hufflepuff friend. She was so glad that Vannah was wearing that it was SO much easier to spot. "RAWWRR" She yelled in her ear. Gryffindor pride!!!

Legend watched as his sister looked around in amazement, it always amused him how Alexis could always be surprised and just upbeat. He wondered if he'd be that way if he ever returned to Hogwarts. Pulling on his jacket he hoped he looked alright. It wasn't really the normal type of dress robe it was just....yeah. Legend really hadn't wanted to dress up.

Leaning agaisnt the wall he waved as Lex left. Now where were his friends?"CUUUUUBB- COME HEREEE." Yeah. That was the easy way.

He grinned, and it was not a pleasant one. There seemed to be something dark in his eyes. "Let's just say I was committed and haven't been back for very long. I left staff for a mental health break. But..." He leaned down and said very quietly to Marco, "some of my darkest moments were while you were still my student. Perhaps I should show you just how I can show Rin..."

Threads appeared around Armand and Marco, visible only to them, and one glanced over to Marco. An image appeared around the boy of a detention Armand had did where it looked like he was drowning one boy and setting fire to another. He cut the vision short and the threads faded away. Sure, everything in the detention was an illusion. They were his specialty. However, it didn't look like one so he let Marco believe whatever he wanted.

"Well, that's not my darkest moment either. But that one was fun. Aren't you glad I had someone else do your detention? I might have done something I'd regret. I did enjoy teaching there, after all. I couldn't go getting myself fired." Yes, he was still insane. But he was slightly bored, and he found it amusing to tease Marco some. The boy was just too easy to play with.

Adam was standing near the doors waiting for his special date to arrive. He looked handsome in his royal blue attire. Afterall he and Selena agreed that blue would be there theme color.

Selena shyly walked over to Adam. She was surprised at how handsome he looked, she smiled "wow! Winchester you look sharp" she said while still smiling. Why did Adam take her instead of Jen?

Selena looked breathtaking, he was speechless for a minute then regained his composure. "thanks,you look stunning Selly" he said while taking her hand to walk inside the ballroom.

Upon entering, Michelle was absolutely stunned at the way everything was decorated. The Entrance Hall looked beautiful. If this was just the Entrance Hall, how would the Great Hall look today? Grand, totally grand. Grander than what it usually is. Well, this was worth getting a look at. Isn't this exactly what Chelle was here for? She didn't have a date anyway. She wasn't all that popular in school, and she didn't have many friends. Out of the few that she did have, no one was willing to take her. Everyone had a date to the ball, apart from Chelle. `That makes me feel just great,' she thought.

So here she was, without a date, in a black strapless gown that fell to her toes in frills. No one had ever seen the pretty side of Chelle before. She, herself, had forgotten if she had a pretty side to her usual self. She was feeling nervous, and she didn't know what she was gonna do here. She had no one to dance with, so the best way is to examine the amazing decorations. She'd never get to come to such an occasion again, so it was time to make the most of this one. She took a deep breath, and proceeded into the Great Hall.

It was very surreal being here, that was for sure. Amelia just only wished she could have shared the experience of returning to Hogwarts with Tancred; he would have loved it. After all, it wasn't like they got to spend much time here in their seventh year. Sniffle.

"Yes. Nessa. It just flows off the tongue like a double fudge cookie. Sweet and delectable." Mia nodded at her friend. And then her smile faded; a Lyra makeover?! As in Lyra Noir?! One of the few Hufflepuffs that didn't like her?! OH NOES! If Agie Brandywine was here too, Mia all of a sudden felt worried for what might happen. So much for surrealism. "Is she here?" Mia felt herself whispering, not sure why. "Lyra."

"Ah.... Eeylops?! Right in Diagon Alley!? Nice! I'm gonna have to visit." She nodded, regaining her voice and enthusiasm. "Healing is fun. If you're into it. It's great flexible schedule so I can spend time with my babies." And the pay? Hardly complainable.


Speaking of Vanessa saying she hadn't seen anyone since graduation, Amelia hadn't either really. Except for Tancred. But there - standing in the entrance hall - was one of her fellow graduates of the Class of 2066. The redhead did not know the girl particularly well, but she did know of her. And as they graduated together, that still called for a REUNION!

"Hermy Smythe?! Is that you?!" Mia said, eyes lighting up at the sight of the Ravenclaw. Of course it was; she did have some weird gift for remembering people.


More old friends incoming. "SAVANNAH MAE!!!!" Amelia exclaimed the moment she saw her prefect successor entering. With her younger sister, of whom Mia had the priveledge of meeting on one or two occasions. "Come hereee, you gorgeous Badger! I want a hug!" She stood there, well posed, pursing her lips together with one hand on her hip, the other down at her side.

She wasn’t stopping. Must not be her-

Ah! She stopped, stared and then called out her name.

So there was at least one person here she knew from school. Could Tobi have come then? Probably not.

“Valentine…” Her smile got bigger as she slipped away from the group she had been acclimated into. “You are probably the last person I’d expect to see here.” Pause. “That didn’t come out right.” Eyes cross a little as she tries to think of how to rephrase it. She shrugged. “How have you been? What have you been up to? What are you doing with yourself?”

Cameron had gotten out of the hall - hoping to avoid everyone. Slumping onto the steps of the entrance hall, she harshly wiped away the tears. That girl was insaaaaane. And she'd utterly ruined her night. She'd had suu much fun and now she looked like an idiot with make-up running down her face and her hair looking much like an atomic bomb had exploded. Taking out the pins one by one, she leant against the banister, the marble cooling her cheeks and wrapped her arms around her knees. What a disaster.

Emalyn returned the girl's wave before she walked out of sight. It always puzzled her how she could have so many fellow students in Hufflepuff and yet never really...officially meet them. Hmm. She must work on that.

Oh yes, it was DEFINITELY Vannah!! Ema beamed as Vannah, now really quite grown up, wrapped her in a hug. She squeezed her tightly and - what was this? She was not used to hugging her and not feeling like a midget. It was like a flashback...only with Ema wearing 7 inch heels. Hehe. Her first reaction was to say 'you look OLD', but assuming that might not go over the best, she stayed away from that comment. Only four years difference since she saw her last, right?

She let out a small squeal as Vannah released her and held her before her, the grin never leaving. She wiped her eyes conciously. No, she wasn't crying, but she was afraid she might. In joy, of course! "Well look at YOU, too! You're like..." Not Old, Ema. "...all...un-student-like? What are you, twenty one, twenty two?" she asked, excitement written plain across her face. So excited, in fact, that she forgot never to ask a woman her age. But that was just for guys...right? Heh heh.

"I've been..." she paused for a moment. There were a few crazy terms...actually all of them pretty much were...and home life was going just as crazy, but other than that - "I've been well." she nodded, the smile returning. "How about you? What have you been doing? Where do you live? Do you miss Hogwarts? ARE YOU MARRIED?!"

Ahem. It was a valid question.

Valentine laughed. "It's alright, I hardly know why I am here either."
She assumed that if she saw anyone else that she knew here, she would get the same reaction from them too. This exactly wasn't Valentine's elemant.

"I haven't really done anything exciting since I've left. Cleaned up my grandmothers house after she passed away and sold alot of the stuff. Then went back to Cuba with the money. I kinda job hopped around the muggle states for a while. Little things really, photography, toured with a couple of bands." Well Valentine did alot in the couple of years she left Hogwarts, she was just afraid that she was the only one who hasn't found their niche yet. "I found it alot easier jumping into the muggle world than the wizarding world after. But I've had a job for about a year at an art and photography studio down in Ireland, run by wizards."

Amelia calling her Nessa really reminded her of just one person; Erik, and it really made her miss him. Poutty. But her friend from aggees ago was here, and that made her happy too, and she knew that she was going to see Erik after the ball, so she didn't really need to miss him that much, because she'd be seeing him later. Yeey. She'd probably take Grace as well. She was sure Erik would like that. "I like it...." She smiled at Mia. She liked Nessa a lot hehe. "And....i like fudge as well." She winked, before giggling a little. Maybe she would get some fudge for Gracie later hehe.

"Yup...Lyra's here." The brunette nodded with a smile, as she looked behind her. Well Lyra was around here somewhere. "Mmm...she's my best friend." She mused with a smile. She really loved Lyra with all her heart hehe. She had basically set Erik and herself up, so she had to love Lyra hehe. But what she could sense from Mia really didn't like Lyra. "Don't you two get along?" She asked, although maybe she was regretting it a little bit.

"Mhmm." Vannie said with a big smile. She loved her shop. "Oh you better come see me girrl." The brunette beamed, because she adored her friend. "Oh...I just take my baby into work with me." That was what the brilliant thing of owning your own shop allowed you to do. Although she had a feeling Gracie was going to grow up speaking owl and not English.

Vanessa smiled at Evangeline. "I miss it sometimes." Her smile faltered a little. She had loved healing, but she didn't regret leaving, in the slightest. If she hadn't left she probably have never meet Erik...or reconnected with Lyra, so it was all good. "I do love Eeylops though....so I dont really regret leaving." Although she missed Evangeline like crazy. "Eeylops is fantastic..." She mused with a big smile. Her shop was brilliant. "And not much....although I've been on a couple of dates." With the same guy but that didnt really matter. "You know...we need to see each other more often." Because she didnt want to not see Evangeline for ages agaiin!

Now this wasn't on. Cameron had, like, vanished... into thin air! Oliver of course was stressing that he might have opened that motormouth of his and said something offensive... or more offensive than usual and unintentionally hurt the girl. But she had seemed fine; more than fine while they were together.

Thinking back on it, it was just after a request for another dance that she had vanished. Oh maan. He should have just taken no for an answer.

Wandering into the entrance hall with the intention of going out for some air, he spotted her.. sitting on the steps and.. crying? :blink: He gulped and looked around nervously before wandering over and sitting beside her. “You could have just said 'no'.” He said softly, his face full of concern for her. He placed a hand on her back. “It's not like I would have forced you to dance with me. We could have gone and sat, had some food and a chat. I didn't mean to upset you, Cam.” He pouted a little. He felt guilty as hell – they'd been having a brill evening and he was unaware that Cameron was upset. "I'm sorry." He muttered. Stoopid lack of perception.

Awww! HE feels bad!?
 

Cameron felt something move beside her and blinked away the tears clouding her vision to find Oliver beside her. She went to reach for him when he spoke. No? NO? Raven wouldn't have taken 'no' for an answer. She would've hurt her - more! She went to speak - probably a blubbery, stubborn retort when Oliver continued and she frowned. Forced? To Dance? What was he on about?
Then she understand. He thought.. she was sitting here like the crazed mare she was crying because he'd forced her to dance and to make it worse he felt sorry? The Gryffindor bit her lip and half-sobbed/drew breath. Crawling into Oliver's lap, she curled up, leaning against him.
"This has nothing, nothing, to do with you." She mumbled clutching him. "It was the insane Slytherin girl.. the one that went spazoid at me last summer.. she went into killer mode tonight.." She tried the lame attempt to fuel humour into the conversation. She didn't like tears (unless it was dramatically necessary) and neither did Oliver - she'd noticed. She hugged him but the tears wouldn't stop.
"She r-ruined it Oliver. She RUINED my whole bloody night. I w-was looking forward to tonight.. with you.. and she ruined it!" Mumbling into Oliver's shirt, she kicked off her heels and pouted. Why did he look sad? She pulled the sides of his lips up in a smile like a child trying to mould something it wanted into playdough. "Y-you didn't do anything.

Oliver automatically moved in towards Cam when she reached for him, the intention to wrap his arms around her comfortingly but she moved, instead into his lap and leaned against him. Woah. Blinking away any bad bad baaad thoughts that were going through his twitchy mind and were totally inappropriate for a time like this, a hand moved up to stroke her hair tenderly as she sobbed against his chest.

This was bad. Very bad.

Cam was a total wreck and it had nothing to do with him. He frowned, confused. They'd been apart for no more that ten minutes - what the hell could have happened to cause.. this in that space of time?

Oh. My. God. That crazy Slytherin girl who attacked Cam on Diagon Alley! Last time, it was all a merry joke to the Captain but this was different: Cam was distraught. “HER!?” He said struggling to keep his voice calm and level. “That CRAZY wench had did THIS to you!? But.. but why?” He felt his muscles tense, his jaw clench and the feeling of anger wasn't much helped by Cameron pushing his mouth up into a stupid smile. If she hadn't been upset, he would have slapped her hands away.

That chick hadn't just ruined Cameron's night, she had ruined his too. He leaned down and kissed the top of Cam's head. “...It... it's not ruined.” He said in a controlled calm fashion, trying to convince himself as well as the sweet redhead in his arms. “This can be fixed.” He rubbed her back trying to get her over the hysterics. “When you feel up to it, you're going to go to the bathroom and fix your hair and make up and then we're going enjoy the rest of the evening.” Right after Oliver had had a wee word with Evil!Wench!Psycho!Girl that is.

Maybe if he just.. held her it would all be fine. Then again, that was utterly ridiculous and it wouldn't work. She remembered slapping the stupid Snake and also throwing her wand away.. and she actually felt bad. GUILTY that she'd done it.. because now she was out there searching for her connection to magic, in the dark, in her pretty dress, because of Cameron.
Squashing those feelings into a deep, dark hole, she bit down on her lip, hard, trying to stop the tears. It was all futile.

Nodding numbly at Oliver's indignant response, she shrugged. Who else had a crazy vengenace for Cameron? She shrugged again at his question. How was she supposed to know? "I don't have a sodding clue. I was out on the b-balcony thing and she just appeared with her ruddy bagpipes which I felt like s-stuffing up her.. well you get the d-drift a-and then she incarcerated me and I fell.. but then let me go with some stupid ultimatum of her's and t-then I slapped her and t-threw away her w-wand.." A sadistic smile graced her watery features. Got what she deserved, she did! "Maybe I shouldn't have g-gone that f-far.. The Gryffindor conceded after a long pause, the guilt resurfacing.

He looked positively livid when she tried to make him smile so she flapped her hands into her lap and looked away. Now hee was angry at her toooo! Well, that was great. Just.. icing on the cake.

But perhaps.. he wasn't. She blinked at him when he told her it wasn't. That was what people said to people when things were bad - they always tried to look on the bright side. But Oliver was serious. She felt like crying all over again because he was being so sweet and here she was looking like Chenobyll. She wrapped her arms around his neck and squeeeeezed tight before she pulled back and kissed him lightly. She hadn't wanted it to be like this, but it seeemed the right moment.
"Fankyou," She mumbled and slipped back into her shoes. She smoothed down her hair, wiping her cheeks, brushing out her dress and smiled at him stupidly, "No one will think much of it if I walk back in there like this." Crazy Cameron didn't have a rep to uphold.

Merlin's granny knickers! The bagpipes? AGAIN? Oliver shook his head and sighed. “You didn't say that to her, did you?” He asked slowly, thinking he better check that this wasn't a provoked attack before he went and confronted the girl. “That you wanted to shove her bagpipes up her.... mnmhm.” Fill in the mumble – baaaad word.

Meh.. but even if Cam had said that, it didn't warrant a magical attack. Again. “What is her bleedin' problem?” The Slytherin asked incredulously. “I honestly think that chick has a screw loose. She's... unhinged.” He crinkled his nose, the anger subsiding. He even managed to let out a wicked laugh at the thought of Cameron slap slap slaaaaaping her and then chucking her wand away. “Serves her right. I think you were well within your rights. Who knows what else she could have done.” Cos psychos were unpredictable weren't they? But now Cam was going to have to watch her back because that girl would be out for revenge.. no doubt about it. But he kept schtum about that. Best not upset her more right now.

“What is her obsession with that god-awful instrument anyway?” The captain screwed up his face. “I mean I'm half Scottish and even I think it sounds like a kneazle being strangled.” Bleh..

But that thought was quashed the moment Cameron hooked her arms around his neck and squeezed him. It made him smile.. and then her lips were on his and he closed his eyes and returned it. His first proper kiss (proper as not whilst in a duelling arena in the middle of the forbidden forest taking part in a death match – merlin) and it was so soft and sweet. He blinked when she pulled away, missing the sensation already. He swallowed and nodded to her thanks quite unable to string together any words in that moment.

He smiled softly at her words. She looked fine – really.. no one would know. “I still think you look beautiful.” He whispered.. and this time there was no hint of embarrassment whatsoever.