RP: Second Annual Autumn Ball

[rar_andromeda]

Date: Saturday, October 14, 1999
Characters: Too many to name
Location: Ballroom, The Morgana
Status: Public
Summary: The Autumn Ball begins
Completion: Incomplete

Comments

[rar_dean]

Dean hadn't been to the flats at 47 South Vinewood since he and Katie broke up, and so it had been a little strange walking inside and heading upstairs instead of stopping on the first floor. While he'd decided it wasn't strange at all to attend the event with a friend, even if that friend was Angelina, it would have been strange to run into Katie outside of the event itself. Luckily, they didn't; he had picked her up and they made their way to the Morgana.

Adjusting his cravat a bit as they walked inside, Dean looked over at Angelina and grinned. He had a feeling this year was going to be more fun than the previous. No depressing awards, and he had a date, which pretty much guaranteed he'd have someone to dance with much of the night.

"The place looks great," he commented, nodding toward the area in front of them.

[rar_angelina]

Angelina had been slightly nervous minutes before Dean was supposed to arrive. Was she being a bad friend? What if they ran into Katie on the stairs? She had contemplated running across the hall to Cho's just so she could have someone talk some sense into her.

Instead, Dean had arrived, and once he smiled, she instantly felt fine about everything. She and Dean were friends, and that had nothing to do with Katie at all. She knew they were going to have a great time at the ball. Their friends would be there. There would be delicious foods, sweet drinks, and great music. When they left she was completely relaxed, and she was also excited.

Standing in the ballroom, Angelina nodded and smiled at Dean. "It's amazing, isn't it?" She glanced down at Dean's shoes. "Glad you wore your dancing shoes. The music sounds promising." She knew her dress moved well because she'd taken it for a few practice runs in her flat.

[rar_dean]

"But of course," Dean said, glancing reflexively down at his feet. He was glad his mum had insisted he buy the formal wear last year, because it had been really nice to just charm his waistcoat a different colour and go. Shopping was such a pain in the arse, particularly for clothes like this.

He tilted his head to one side as if listening and pretended to contemplate the music, unable to keep from smiling. "Hmm, not sure this is quite a samba. But I'm game if you are." There weren't many people dancing yet, but that was all the better reason to start now. Dean held a hand out to her. "What do you say? Dance now, then get a drink and see if we can hunt down some friends?"

[rar_angelina]

Angelina noticed the dance floor was fairly empty, but that was no reason not to have a quick dance or two. "I'm always game for a dance," she said and smiled. Angelina put her hand in Dean's and let him lead her to the floor.

"I think you're right," she said. "It's almost a samba, but I'm sure we can improvise whatever it might be. Let's dance a few," she agreed. "Then we'll see who else is here and we'll have worked ourselves up for a good drink."

[rar_dean]

He nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

Stepping onto the dance floor, Dean soon discovered that the music's beat was further from any dances he knew than he'd originally thought. Perhaps he should have attended lessons the last two weeks. Still, falling into a rhythm of some sort wasn't difficult, particularly since he was getting used to dancing with Angelina. After he'd righted them from those first few faltered steps, he said, "Did you talk to your friends about next weekend?"

[rar_angelina]

It took Angelina and Dean a few beats before they fell in sync together and with the music. They danced easily together, but the song was unfamiliar and definitely wasn't the samba. But the two of them managed to incorporate what moves they knew and use them to move around the floor in tempo. Others came out to the floor, too, which Angelina took as a positive sign.

She smiled at Dean. "Let's see, I've talked to Lisa Turpin. She said she'd pass it along to Terry Boot and Ginny Weasley since they're working together. Seamus, I assume would know because of you. Then I talked to Cho. She said she'd tell Stephen Cornfoot. And then Alicia. I think that's everyone so far. How about you?"

[rar_dean]

Dean counted the people in his head as she spoke. "Not a bad group so far. Maybe you don't need this as badly as I thought. You're a definite social butterfly compared to me," he teased, laughing. He shrugged slightly, though the movement wasn't quite as evident while dancing. "I told Seamus and Neville. Planned to mention it to Verity, but I haven't seen her. I figure we'll see other people tonight, yeah?"

He released Angelina's waist and twirled her around a little, grinning.

[rar_angelina]

Angelina laughed. "I'm hardly a social butterfly," she said as she and Dean did a complicated turn on the floor. "I simply have three close girlfriends who know people who people who know people," she teased.

Dean spun her around and she laughed again. This had definitely been a good idea. "Sure, the more the merrier, as they say." When the song ended, she was pleased to find that the charm she'd placed on her shoes was keeping her feet snug and comfortable.

"Should we get a drink? Or would you like to dance another?"

[rar_dean]

"I wouldn't mind sneaking in another dance," he said as the next song began. It was another more upbeat number, perfect for dancing. "But if you see someone you know, that's good, too."

Dean looked over his shoulder, scanning the ballroom for familiar faces, but he didn't see anyone. But then, it was starting to get a bit more crowded, so that wasn't terribly surprising. And maybe Angelina knew some of them.

[rar_angelina]

"No," she said, "one more dance is good. I recognize this song." Dean and Angelina moved as one to the song. Now that they had their steps worked out, they moved across the floor with practiced ease. She was already enjoying herself, and any doubts she had earlier were long gone. She focused her energies on enjoying herself--not on vague possibilities or on what others might be thinking of her and her date.

Angelina looked around the room as she and Dean danced. She recognized a few faces but not many. "After this song we might recognize more people, but I don't see a lot of familiar faces yet."

[rar_dean]

"Yeah, I was thinking it sounded familiar, too," he said as they got back into a dancing position. Maybe an instrumental version of something he'd heard on the wireless, he wasn't sure.

"Seamus should be here soon, if he isn't already," Dean said, scanning the room. He was pretty sure he'd caught sight of Neville with Pansy, too, so he'd have to be sure to say hello. "If he gives you the cold shoulder, it's only because you stole his date," he added jokingly.

[rar_angelina]

Angelina leaned her head back and laughed. "Is that so?" she teased. "Suppose there might be a fight for you later. You could have warned me though. I would have worn different shoes. I hate to hurt Seamus, too. He's a decent enough bloke."

They danced through the song, and when they were finished, Angelina let her eyes scan the room. She saw more people she knew now. "George is here," she said quietly. "Oh, that's brilliant." She didn't want to point, so she leaned a bit closer to Dean and said. "He's talking to Al. Oh, and Cho and Stephen are here, too."

[rar_dean]

Dean couldn't help the laugh that burst out of him, though he quickly closed his mouth, hoping that it hadn't been too loud. But the thought of an actual fight between Seamus and Angelina was too funny not to laugh. "Well, let's hope it doesn't come to that. I can be very diplomatic if I need to be. Though, between the two of you, it'd be hard to say who'd win. I think I'd rather see you both on my side than fighting each other, though," he added, grinning. "Pretty formidable team, that."

When Angelina said George was there, Dean turned for a quick look. "I didn't expect he would be," he said, looking back at her. "Good for him. I'll have to say hello later. Or, you know, we can say hello." He laughed a little. "I can't remember the last time I talked to Cho. Hannah's birthday party, maybe? Anyway, it's been awhile."

[rar_angelina]

Angelina grinned. "Okay, I suppose Seamus and I can share you," she said playfully. "I should have known a guy like you has a lot of admirers."

Angelina nodded. She had to agree--it was great to see George was there. She didn't want to crowd him or interrupt his conversation with Alicia, but perhaps she'd have a chance to say hello later.

"Want to go say hello to Cho and Stephen then? We can grab a drink on the way."

[rar_dean]

"Right, admirers," Dean said, still chuckling. It actually felt really good, knowing that he'd get to spend the evening with his friend-date and best mate and any other friends they came come across. Fun and relaxing, just the way he liked things.

"Sure. That's good for me." The song was wrapping up, the musicians hitting the last long notes on their instruments. "A drink sounds great right now, too."