The ball begins

[maliciousmillie]

Millicent twirled the fake tail of her cat costume around in a circle, waiting for Percy Weasley to step out of his private bathroom. She'd allowed him to pick his own costume, but made sure he would spend the entire evening occupied with various other Ministry personnel

Comments

[be_like_mike]

Mike's lip curled up distastefully as he and his date, Susan, made their way to the ballroom. "Nothing like being at the office during your time off," he complained. It wasn't so much that he didn't want to be out with Susan, just that it was at work.... with work people.

His free hand played with the zipper at the end of his destroyed letter jacket, the other was held tightly by Susan, in case he decided to run. He was dressed as the dead captain of the football team, come back to life. His dark hair stuck up in clumps and contrasted sharply with the white make up on his face. He was pretty impressed with the costume though he wouldn't admit it; Susan had come up with the idea after he had shot down all her other suggestions.

[huffle_sus]

Susan tugged his hand as she tried to keep her cheerleading skirt from riding down her hips.

"Come on," she said, cocking her head to the side. "It'll be fun. As long as people don't stare at us all night."

[be_like_mike]

"We're gonna find Boot and Entwhistle and hang out with them," he directed, not wanting to be trapped talking about work and having to introduce Susan to his co-workers. He had yet to tell her about the Hit Wizards. "If Boot ever makes it...," he added with a sigh. Terry Boot was attending the Ball as Lisa's guest and she had chosen their elaborate costumes. He was still getting ready when Mike left to pick up Susan.

He looked down at Susan's attire. "You look good," he said, then added with a smirk, "For a killer cheerleader."

[huffle_sus]

"Are you trying to get into my nickers?" she asked, arching a brow.

[assuesco]

Lisa and Terry arrived at the Ministry of Magic approximately thirty minutes late. It was alright, at an event like this it was appropriate to fashionably late. They had to go through the visitor's entrance since Terry wasn't an employee of the Ministry, and met quite a few people on the way. Their costumes were a bit generic, some were dressed as muggles, others dressed in their old Hogwarts robes. It was obvious that eyes were on Terry and herself, they were dressed in costumes that no one would have an idea about, including Terry.

Lisa led the way into the ballroom, playing with the gauntlets on her hands. "Terry, come on. Stop whining about the leather, and watch your sword, you're poking people."

[got_smarts]

Terry's boots made loud clomping noises against the smooth floor as they hurried. "Poking people? That's the least of my concerns, Lis." He fidgeted with a strap across his chest. "This sword's way too big. It's heavy and I can barely fit in this hallway."

[assuesco]

Lisa turned her head back to look at Terry, her eyes bright through her now dark hair. "What are you talking about? Just turn sideways, you'll be fine. You're not ditching the sword, it's what makes you Cloud. Mike should've dressed up as Sephiroth, you guys could have some epic sword fight."

[got_smarts]

Terry grabbed the handle of his sword and moved it so the sword was parallel with the wall as they walked. "I thought I was Strike. St-Strife, I mean. Whoever. Who's Cloud?" He continued on, frustrated that it was all so confusing, "And don't bring another name into this. I'm lost as it is."

He went to brush a hand through his hair and soon realized it was rock hard, gelled up into thick spikes. Not to mention, dyed yellow-blond.

[assuesco]

"Okay, so Jason's a no. Terry doesn't have a girlfriend... yeah, let's not go there. Gonna introduce me any of your coworkers at all? Did you even have Susan meet them yet?" She saw that the answer to that question was a clear 'no'. "Here's an easier question for $1000, did you tell your girlfriend that you're a big shot Hit Wizard yet?"

[be_like_mike]

Mike reacted quickly, turning to her and taking a hold of her arm. "Do you need a loudspeaker for god's sake?" Alright, that was a little dramatic, but no, he hadn't told Susan yet because he couldn't find a moment in which to do so. That, or he was chicken.

When he noticed Lisa's rather large eyes he released his grasp on her.

[got_smarts]

"......Everything ok?" Terry asked as he stood in front of them, carrying three drinks. He held one out to Mike. "Thought you'd need a refresher at this point. Line's pretty long." He then held a glass of champagne out to Lisa giving her a questioning look.

[assuesco]

"Thanks." She took the champagne flute and took a sip, "Mike's having man issues, maybe you can translate. He hasn't told his sweetheart about his job. See, I can't tell mine because he's a muggle so I have to break up with him, but Susan's a nice understanding witch with great bedside manners. She'll understand. Am I missing something?"

[x_camille]

Camille wandered into the ball room slightly later. Her idea to dress as a bat was last minute, her invite to the ball lost in the internal mailing system. She looked around, trying to find someone familiar, even though she had been working at the ministry for a year she still didn't know a lot of people. "That's what happens when you work in the DPMC department." She said aloud, sighing. She forced a smile.

[assuesco]

Lisa broke away from Mike and Susan's painful conversation about Mike's promotion, it was like watching a badly written, awkward drama. As much as she loved watching Mike under pressure, Lisa was courteous enough to let Mike dig his own grave.

She walked around mindlessly, exchanging pleasantries with people she knew and liked. She avoided people she wasn't particularly fond of with a fifteen feet distance, it caused her to bump into harmless bystanders... including one young woman. "Oh, hey, I'm sorry."

[x_camille]

"No problem." Camille turned, catching sight of the woman who bumped into her. "Although I think I am just as much to blame for standing in an awkward place." She laughed nervously, Camille hadn't ever associated with members of other departments before.

"I'm Camille." She said, before clapping her hand over her mouth, unsure why she just introduced herself. "Sorry."

[assuesco]

Lisa recognized the girl's accent right as she spoke, it wasn't obvious but she could still catch it. So, she's French, huh? An ambassador? She didn't seem any older than 20... but then again, that's the exact same thing Lisa hears when she goes on business to other Ministries.

She gave a smile, "Don't apologize, I'm the one who bumped into you. I'm Lisa Turpin, Department of International Magical Cooperation... liaison to the Asian Ministries." Lisa still felt awkward, introducing herself as if she's reading off a business card. "Or, just Lisa. All that title stuff is too fancy for my tastes."

[sir_weasley]

Ron groaned as he reached for another glass of champagne. He had no idea why he had come, he and Percy didn't exactly talk all that much, and junior auror's weren't even supposed to have invites. He took a large drink of his champagne before setting off at a slow pace to circle the room, thinking af the halloween party he was missing at Chinawhite

[got_smarts]

Terry approached Ron cautiously, remembering he didn't exactly look like the Terry Boot that Ron possibly recalled. "Ron," he called as he stepped towards him. "It's Terry. Boot." He pointed at his own hair, "Pay no attention to the dye job," he smiled, hoping Ron's expression would turn a little more welcoming.

[harry_hpr]

Harry spotted Ron and hurriedly made his way over. "Oi," he said, tapping him on the shoulder. "Where've you been, Mr. Bigshot?"

[sir_weasley]

"Thank God your here! Been looking for all over. Can you believe Percy invited me to this stupid thing?" Ron sighed, downing the rest of his champagne. "Missing a bloody good Halloween party in muggle London, with supermodels. At least there's a free bar here." Ron stoped talking long enough to look at Harry's costume. "What the bloody hell are you?"