HOGWARTS GRAND OPENING BALL
Date: Saturday, 26 August
Time: 6:00 p.m. to Midnight
Place: Hogwarts Great Hall and Grounds
Characters Involved: Everyone! Don't forget to add your character's tag if you join the thread!
Rating: Hopefully not more than PG-13 - this is a public location, folks! Take your libidos 'home' for higher-rated stuff please! *grin*
( But first, before the dancing could begin, the Headmistress would address the crowd. )
Time: 6:00 p.m. to Midnight
Place: Hogwarts Great Hall and Grounds
Characters Involved: Everyone! Don't forget to add your character's tag if you join the thread!
Rating: Hopefully not more than PG-13 - this is a public location, folks! Take your libidos 'home' for higher-rated stuff please! *grin*
( But first, before the dancing could begin, the Headmistress would address the crowd. )
"I'm not sure. There weren't too many who're nice enough, I think. And they'd have to pass through Gran first." He couldn't recall how much Lavender knew about Augusta Longbottom, but he believed most Gryffindors knew enough about his gran's reputation from the number of Howlers he'd received over the years. "I appreciate you trying to help, Lavender, but really, there aren't that many to sort through."
His eyes widened at mention of Parvati and at the prospect of another girl to dance with. "You really don't have to do that, Lavender. I'd be willing to stay at the sides for now." How many more hints would he have to drop before Lavender understood? "Yeah, I tend to the medicinal plants at St Mungos, but I don't see how that's shutting myself in?"
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His gran, huh? She had to sort through the piles of owls... Lavender wondered what his gran would think about her dancing with him right now. She helped position his hands correctly for the dance, not moving much at first because she wasn't sure if he would be able to lead. She doubted that he would, but, figured that she ought to at least give him half a chance.
"You can't just stay at the side, Neville. That's not fair for all the ladies. They've gotten themselves all dressed up in hope of getting to dance with handsome, eligible men, and you most certainly qualify. Are you so willing to disappoint them?" She gave him a false frown, batting her lashes. "Now, I'm lucky because I know you and I'm not afraid to come and bully you into a dance. But you'll have to be nicer to the other ladies and go and ask them to dance instead of it being the other way around."
She wasn't going to pick up on any hints. She felt a bit bad for Neville, knowing that he probably still hadn't snogged a girl. Now that he was so popular, he ought to find a pretty girl who would like his bumbling ways. Of course, being so bumbling, he wasn't exactly one to go and try these things without pressure.
"It's shutting yourself in if you don't make time for anything else, Nev. When was the last time you went out and just had fun?"
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"D'you think the list, that Witch Weekly list...isn't it a bit of a joke? I mean, Harry's at number one, isn't he? And it's pretty much given that he's tops in everything. Besides, I...why'd..." His brow furrowed and he leaned in close to Lavender, whispering so only she could hear. "Why'd anyone think I'm handsome? It's only for giggles, right?"
He straightened up a little, his back stiffening and his shoulders drawing back. "I do have fun. Only..." Only sprawling on a sofa watching telly while Trevor hopped upon one's chest wasn't everybody's idea of fun. "It's just that I'm not that sort of bloke, Lavender. The dancing and the socialising? It's not me, y'know?"
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When he leaned in close and asked her that question, Lavender wanted to giggle and laugh and chortle out an 'Awww!' all at the same time, but she forced herself to keep a straight face. "It's not a joke, Neville. Harry can't help being the top" -- where was, Harry, by the way? She was going to make sure that she got a dance with him. "But, look at you! You've come along way. Order of Merlin, First Class." She winked at him. "Not a lot of blokes can claim that, now can they? And of course you are handsome, Neville. The Top 10 isn't a joke, and you deserve to be on there." Not that Lavender found him very attractive for herself. But she knew that someone, somewhere, would find Neville attractive. And Lavender had a lot of experience making other men feel good about themselves. All that flirting to get free drinks and her tendency to flattery made complimenting Neville easy.
"Your hair looks absolutely spiffing tonight, Neville," she said, reaching up and giving it a little brush where it wasn't completely in order. "And keep a smile on your face and you are a Grade A charmer."
They turned along the dance floor and she tilted her head to the side. "The dancing and the socializing comes with practice. Of course there are some people who take to that sort of thing more naturally. I'm not saying that you need to go out and start breakdancing at a club, Neville. When was the last time you went out to a pub for a drink? A Quidditch game? Dinner with a few friends?" He seemed to be very edgy in these sort of circumstances, certainly. Lavender would make sure she got a few other drinks into Neville's hand when they stopped dancing. He needed to relax.
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What had he done to his hair? Oh. He'd combed it. And still not very well since Lavender still had to fix it a bit. "Well, that's awfully nice of you to say, Lavender." The compliment did rise a grin out of him, even as his face turned near-red with embarrassment.
"I don't go out very often," he said, his lips tightening into a thin line. "It's just that I'm so tired from work, the last thing I'd want to do afterwards is go out and meet other people. That's always been a chore for me. Being 'round other people..." He stared warily towards the dancers surrounding them. "It's not fun. It wears me out. Always has."
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All that Neville was saying didn't quite make sense to her. She could cognitively register it, of course, but ... Too tired to be around people? Gods, she felt exhausted when she spent a day alone. "What?" she said, her brow furrowing in confusing. "Not fun? I mean, gods, Neviille, not fun to meet new people or not fun to be around people? What about your dorm room mates like... Harry or Seamus? They're nice blokes. Other people from St Mungos?" How could he just be alone all the time? Didn't it drive him mad? "Mabye you're just working too hard.. or.." she didn't know what else to say.
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"Don't you ever worry about whether other people really like you? Or...or if they're just trying to be nice to you cos they'll want something from you later on?"
He shrugged at Lavender's suggestions. "It's all well and good to be 'round the other blokes sometimes. I mean, they're brilliant and all, and I can relax a bit when I'm with them, but after a while, it stops being fun. I dunno. It's probably just me being the odd one out." Like always, he thought.
Oh, sod, he'd probably just brought Lavender's mood down a few rungs, hadn't he? Would he ever stop mucking about like this?
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"Well, everyone worries about that sort of stuff, Nev," she said, a smile forever plastered on her face. Maybe he was right. Maybe everyone did really just want something in return. But -- no, that couldn't be true. "It feels like that a lot," she admitted, not letter her smile drop one bit. "But, when you think about it, not everyone is like that. I mean, I've got Parvati. We don't care what the bloody hell the other does, as long as we are there for each other." She didnt really understand why it would stop being fun for Neville. "Well," she said, thinking very hard. "Maybe..." But maybe what? What did she say to someone who just didn't like being around people. "Well, why do you feel like the odd one out?"
The conversation was certainly getting low. Not at all Lavender's style. "Maybe we'll find you a nice girl. With just one on one, no one's the odd one out." She grinned and started giggling again. Oh, who oh who should she match up with Neville?
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"I don't know, really. And it's not as if I mind, most of the time. I rather like being alone. Less things to worry about, that way."
Ugh, he sounded like a somber old wizard, ready to die instead of a bloke who'd just turned twenty. What was the matter with him?
"But I suppose," he added, eyes lifting a little. "Having someone else about wouldn't be too bad. I'm not sure what I'd find attractive anyway." A slight lie; he'd garnered crushes on Hermione and Ginny in the past. The question was if Lavender ever noticed.
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"That's the spirit, Neville!" She said, laughing as the music ended. "I knew you had it in you." She gave him a hard pat on the back and grabbed his arm, leading him back towards the drinks. She picked up two things off a house elf's tray and handed one to Neville. "Let's scope out the scene then, shall we?" she said, taking a long quaff. There were lots of nicely dresses witches roaming the floor of all sorts of ages. Lavender wouldn't even try to fix Neville up with someone older: she didn't think that'd work out well at all. "So do you like blondes or brunettes? Don't worry -- you won't hurt my feelings, Nev," she said, running and hand through her short brown hair. "I know I'm your favorite sweetheart deep down, right?" She gave him a wink. "Now... There's lots of beautiful women here. We just need to find someone with charm, class, sweetness and a nice body. It might prove simpler than you think."
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Luna Lovegood wandering around. Loony! she though. A bit vapid, yes, but certainly sweet. Things had been rather odd around Lavender, Seamus, and Luna... But she had always been a sort of a nice girl, right? In the DA with both Nev and Lav. "What about her?" she said, giving Neville a poke and pointing at Luna. "She's very sweet."
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"Um, I hadn't thought about hair colour being that important, really. Does it matter?" He blinked, a little unnerved at Lavender's energy. What had he said about socialising tiring him out? "Well, I think your hair's nice." Was that the correct thing to say? It was nice, in that he didn't recoil in horror from it, and it did frame her face prettily. But he didn't think that was enough to help choose a girl.
At the very least, Gran would be pleased that he was making the effort to meet young women.
"Luna?" Neville's eyebrows raised considerably. "She's nice, but I can't imagine dating her. I mean, I'm sure she's brilliant and everything but..." He tilted his head slightly. "I don't know if I'd be able to keep up with her." He meant to completely understand her, but who could completely understand Luna Lovegood anyhow?
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"Luna! Luna!" she called, waving her arm that wasn't around Neville's side to keep him from running off. She had a feeling she might have to pin him down.
"Don't be so shy, Neville. I'm not asking you to snog her or anything. Dance with her, try to keep a conversation going. You're gorgeous and she knows it," she told him. "Any girl in this room would consider herself very lucky to be dancing with you. Okay? It's not a date. It's a dance. That's what happens at dances. You dance with a few blo-- well, ladies for you, and then if you like them enough than you exchange addresses. You don't need to owl her in the morning just because you danced with her. Don't worry. Just, pluck up." She said, grinning at him.
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Well, might as well go find out. Clasping her hands in front of her, Luna walked over with a look of utter bemusement and intrigue.
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"Erm," his eyes darted from Lavender to Luna, almost begging for silent cues on what to do next. He rubbed at the back of his neck nervously, attempting to chase away the troubling stress-knot that was starting to bundle up his nerves.
"Hullo, Luna," he began, a confused grin settling on his face. "Um..." Right, at least Lavender chose a girl that Neville had known for years, someone he wouldn't be too anxious around. That was good. At least he had some information about her to settle the small talk on. "Um, I was just wondering..." He scratched at the side of his head, his gaze settling everywhere but on Luna. When he finally plucked up the strength to say something to her, all he could come up with was: "Have you seen Seamus about?"
Thinking back on it, that was probably the wrong thing to ask.
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Of course, then Neville spoke, and his anxiety took on a whole new meaning.
The words bit much more deeply than they should have; though on the outside, Luna did little more but blink in a very slow and half-conscious way. It was Seamus's name that inflicted the wound, but then her memories from school threw salt all over it. Now the unexpected summons and the shifty glances looked much like a conspiracy. But why would they tease her? She didn't know Lavender, so she couldn't expect anything from her... but Neville?
Luna's shoulders dropped subtly. "Not recently, no," she replied with an attempt at even calm--because it might have been just an innocent query. This was Neville, after all.
Her voice might have seemed a bit cool, all the same. Her eyes moved to Lavender, then back to Neville. "Is there anything else?"
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"Uhm," she said, blinking. "Luna, you just talked to Seamus an hour ago. I was there."
When she asked if there was anything else she gave Neville a nudge and tried to communicate with her eyes that he should say something nice to Luna. "Ask her to dance," she said in a very quiet hissed voice, trying to disguise it by taking another sip of her drink.
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