Dance of a Lifetime {For All}

[Katherine Finnigan]

The brilliantly decorated Great Hall was already abuzz with the chatter of students all ready for the much awaited Snow Ball. Each table, covered neatly by a snowy white tablecloth, was arranged to uniformly line the sides of the massive room to allow for a brilliant and very open dance floor. A lovely arrangement of candles floated freely through the open air to give the Great Hall an almost heavenly glow. As well, candles and pure white flowers adorned the center of each round table along the side walls of the room. At the very front of the room, the large professors' table was covered, just like the smaller ones, but was set apart by glowing crystal orbs that were simply there to provide more ambiance.

At the very front and centre of the ballroom, a crystal podium decorated with lovely, aromatic flowers that matched the brunt of the snow-white décor. The headmaster had already used the stand to give his eloquently worded speech just before the feast but now it would be used by two students. First in line was the Hogwarts Head Girl. As Katherine Finnigan walked up to the front of the ballroom, completely uncomfortable in her yellow dress, she ran the wording of her speech over and over in her head. If it wasn't awkward enough just wearing a dress, she was not stuck in the very front of the entire student body in said dress. To be entirely honest, she hadn't felt like being here at all and the nauseous feeling in her stomach wasn't helping any.

Taking her place behind the crystal podium, Kat placed her hands on each side of the perfect glass and tried to get the wording right one last time. Swallowing back her nerves, she tried to pretend this was just like a Quidditch match and everyone was there to watch it instead of see her wearing some ruddy dress. Finally in the proper mindset, Katherine opened her mouth and said, "I was supposed to come up with some brilliant speech but, in comparison to that of our magnificent headmaster, I think anything I could come up with would simply pale in comparison. As such, I'll just go over a few quick things that are supposed to resemble rules...I think. The first being that this is a privilege we're being given...a chance to have fun and just be teenagers...so please be respectful to the Hogwarts staff and your fellow students."

At this point, Kat paused in her speech to have a quick look around at everyone. That nervous feeling was back again. Reaching for the glass of water set in front of her, she let the frigid water wash away the dry and scratchy feeling in her throat. As she set the glass down, Katherine went on, "The point of this ball is to have fun and promote house unity. I know it's not an everyday thing for everyone of all houses to come together but that's what we're here for, right? So, I hope that every single person in this room has a wonderful evening and...without further adieu, I'll pass this over to your Head Boy..." Glancing over toward the Head Boy, she gave a short sort of nod as his cue and stepped away from the podium so that James could give his speech.

[Katie]

The long awaited Snow Ball was finally here, keeping everyone's spirits high and cheery, even the old Caretaker. The gigantic Great Hall was covered in white, giving off the sense of pureness. The House tables had vanished, only to be replaced by a bunch of little tables that were covered with white tablecloths. The front of the Great Hall had been cleared off, and now held a very wide dance floor, with a stage on it. Everything about the Great Hall and how well it blended together made the feel of it very Christmassy.

The transformations of the Great Hall, whether it be for another dance or a special event, had never ceased to amaze James. He was currently looking around the Great Hall in awe of everything, admiring it greatly. Of course, he wasn't the only one. The crowd in the Great Hall was accumulating gradually; people were coming in, either dressed in their fancy tuxes or their beautiful dresses. The amount of couples was surprising-almost every girl was holding hands with a boy or had their arms linked together. James felt a twinge of sadness as he realized he was not going to be able to hold the hand of or link arms with the girl he came with, on account of the fact that she hated him at the moment.

The headmaster was finishing up his speech at the podium in the middle of the stage, where James and Kat, the current Head Boy and Girl, were situated. James hadn't been aware that they were going to have to give a speech and figured this was either because Kat hadn't told him on purpose or that she hadn't had the chance amidst all of the avoiding. Kat moved up to the podium in her beautiful yellow dress and began to talk, but James couldn't hear what she was saying, because he had gotten lost while just looking at her. She looked quite gorgeous, which made James feel even worse.

Before he knew it, the beautiful Head Girl was stepping down from the podium and handing over the spot to James. He cleared his throat and stepped up, giving off the air that he actually knew what he was going to say. With a grin at all the smiling faces in the hall, he started, "Thank you, Katherine." He winked over at the girl after finding the courage to do so. "Let's give your Head Girl a round of applause for that wonderful speech she just gave." He began to clap and watched as everyone followed in suit. Once it died down, he started again. "Well, let's see...first i'd like to welcome everyone to the 10th Annual Snow Ball Dance!" This earned another short round of applause. "I'm sure everyone is excited to be here, I know I am. Second, I would like to advise you all to listen to the rules your Head Girl gave you, those who don't will regrettably be punished, and I mean, c'mon. Who wants to be punished on such a fun night? So everyone dance till your feet hurt, eat till you can't eat no more, and just have FUN!" He began clapping again, grinning widely.

[Skye Caine]

Lucinda walked into the room a little late to hear the end of the speech and rolled her eyes slightly. She was wearing a light, flowy, floor length white dress with no straps that had a gold band around it. Her blonde hair was braided and had white and gold ribbons running through it.She wore the bracelet Damien ha bought her and a pair of silver hooped earings and a silver chain choker. Her silver stilletto heels were hidden bit clicked as she walked.

[Katherine Finnigan]

Only half paying attention to the speech that her supposed counterpart was giving, Katherine let her eyes wander the flocks of students in search of a familiar face. She hadn't wanted to be here and she'd vowed to not show up but threat after threat from friends and the fact that the Headmaster had more or less made it mandatory resulted in the exact opposite of what she wanted. As such, her big brown eyes looked carefully through the crowd in hopes of finding someone to socialize with for a brunt of the evening rather than be stuck completely and entirely with the very boy who had strung her along and led her to believe things were better than they actually were only to practically kill her silly little childish fantasies.

Unfortunately, she'd also been condemned to start off the ball by sharing the first dance with said boy. Katherine hoped, beyond all hope, that his speech would last so much longer such that she wouldn't have to go through with this. Maybe she could play ill. It always seemed to work for people who wanted to get out of classes. It was times like right now that she wished she'd actually bought one of those ruddy skivving snack boxes from the Weasley's shop. As she debated her options, she heard everyone clapping...usually signaling the end of a speech.

Inwardly groaning, the brunette Hufflepuff listened as music started. She could always run for it, right? As this thought hit her, she was urged, via a small hand gesture from her head of house, to go out onto the dance floor. If she ran now, she'd make a fool out of herself AND out of Potter in front of the whole entire school. The latter part didn't sound so bad since he'd pretty much done the same to her, just not so publically, but the notion of making herself look worse than she already did just didn't seem like an option at the moment.

[Katie]

James fixed his bright yellow tie that matched so well with the Head Girl's dress, and cleared his throat a little as he tried not to think about what part was coming up next. The dreaded Head Girl and Boy dance. It was tradition for them to dance before everyone else started, and James would actually be looking forward to it if he didn't think it would be incredibly awkward. He knew that Katherine was probably dreading it as well, which pained his heart thinking at how much he must've hurt her.

I shouldn't be even allowed to dance with her. He thought to himself, trying to keep a calm face as he watched the crowd. He saw a lot of familiar faces, mostly friends but some enemies as well. It appeared that Ms. Lucinda Malfoy had just walked in at the end of his speech. Now, James, being a guy and all, couldn't help but notice how good she looked in her dress. She cleans up nicely. He surveyed the crowd again, spotting a blotch of red hair here and there, signifying a cousin of his. He waved at a few friends, and winked at a few girls, while waiting for the music to start.

Finally, it did, making James jump a little. Oh, God. Here we go... He shook his hands a little to keep them from shaking as he held his hand out for the beautiful Head Girl to take it so he could lead her out to the dance floor. He eyed her as he waited, trying to figure out her course of action. Her frightened look made it seem like she was going to take off running out of here but James fully hoped she wouldn't. Not only would he be crushed, but quite embarrassed. He wouldn't know what to say if she did start running away from him. With a soft voice, he leaned a little in and asked, "You ready?"

[Katherine Finnigan]

Another fleeting look toward the exit, Kat once more weighed the pros and cons of running out of there without looking back. If there had actually been a clear path from where she was standing to the sanctuary of the surely empty corridor just outside the ball room, she'd have taken it in a heartbeat. Alas, people, some who she knew and others who she didn't, were blocking her only exit. Swallowing whatever pride she had and putting the cork back into her bottle of repressed feelings, Kat glanced over at Potter to see his offered hand. Her heart kept telling her to run away as fast as her legs could possibly carry her but her mind said What the hell...we're stuck here anyway.

"Indeed," she answered with as little emotion as humanly possible. Taking his hand, she mentally slapped herself for even allowing things to get this awkward. Katherine couldn't help but feel as though things might have been fine if they'd never spoken a single word to each other up until this point. Perhaps she'd be okay with it if she hadn't let her own silly thoughts get in the way. Despite the cogs in her head turning insanely, Katherine kept her composure. She even managed a fake smile, the same one she always used when around her mum's friends, just for the sake of appearances. After all, the Head Boy and Head Girl were supposed to set the example, right?

Avoiding eye contact, Katherine found herself focused on the bright yellow tie that he'd chosen to wear. For some reason, the thought of it almost made her want to burst out laughing. Gold might have gone well considering he was a Gryffindor...but bright yellow?! Biting her tongue, she pondered what in Merlin's name he'd been thinking or what sort of bet he'd lost that got him stuck actually matching her. Then she was hit with another thought, something even more entertaining. A short, very soft giggle slid out, against her own wishes, as she thought about what Lucinda had planned.

[Lauri Ylönen]

Lauri had walked into the Ballroom just before the Headmaster had started with his speech. His hair this evening was a little wavy, but looked nice. Usually, he had it straight al lthe time. Lauri looked around the elegant room in full detail. His eyes wandered over everything from the ceiling all the way down to something that someone had dropped on the floor.

Lauri was excited and sad at the same time, but more so excited. He always loved to go to the Snow Ball; it was probably one of his favorite events of the school year. He got to see almost all of his friends at once, listen to great music, and meet new people. The reason why he was feeling a little down was because this year, like last year, no girl had invited him to go with her.

The last time he had a date was when he was 14, and now he doesn't even remember her name. Lauri scoped the room carefully to find people that he knew. Everyone was dressed their best; fine tuxedos and graceful dresses. When Katherine and James were making their speeches, Lauri clapped along while squeezing his way near the front. He apologized to people if he bumped them.

Finally, he got up to the dance floor just as Kat and James began to dance. He clapped along with some of the other students, but saw something in both James' and Kat's eyes that was pretty unsettling. Something must have happened between them that he did not yet know about. He wondered if he should even ask either of them what happened. He figured it would just be best if he let it go. As they danced, Lauri looked around the ball room once more to find people he knew.

[Katie]

James was completely lost in his thoughts and was completely surprised when he felt Kat take his hand, pulling him back to reality. He managed to give her a small smile before gently pulling on her hand to take her to the middle of the ballroom. He could see mny of his friends standing on the edge of the dance floor, clapping their hands and wolf whistling as they made their way out. He spotted his long time friend, Lauri, in the crowd and gave him a small smile.

The music was still playing softly as Kat and James finally reached the middle of the dance floor after what seemed like forever. He hoped that his hand would stop its shaking so Katherine wouldn't see how nervous he was. Its just dancing! You've danced before! One part of his brain argued. Yes, but you've never danced with the most beautiful girl in the school in front of everyone before. He shook these thoughts from his mind as he awkwardly put his hand on her waist and waited for her to put her hand on his shoulder. He lifted their joined hands and looked at her, as if waiting for her to tell him it was okay to start moving.

Then, James heard something that crushed him a little inside. A giggle. James usually loved to hear girls giggle, but this was different. Yes, it seemed almost as if she was making fun of him. He made sort of a pained face, trying to forget that little noise that had escaped from her lips before it completely messed him up and embarrassed him in front of the whole school.

[Katherine Finnigan]

If there was one thing that Kat pretty much couldn't stand, besides dresses and dress shopping of course, it was wolf whistles. At her, about her or around her, she simply could not stand them. As she heard people doing exactly that, she was remined of a moment in her fifth year when she'd punched an arrogant prat for trying to demean her by whistling. Made for a bloody good show but she ended up with a busted knuckle and the threat of detention if he tattled on her. Luckily, no guy would willingly admit to being beat up by a girl. As these thoughts flooded her mind, Katherine actually found herself smiling sincerely. That was, of course, until she felt Potter's hand on her waist and she was snapped back to what was going on.

Very hesitantly, she placed her hand almost delicately atop his shoulder. Had this been weeks ago, Katherine Finnigan would have been practically glowing and thought herself nearly the luckiest girl in the world but she knew better than that. It was only obvious that James Sirius Potter wasn't much better than his friend. There was no point in getting her hopes up when he clearly had his eyes out for all sorts of other girls and was likely shagging at least half of them. Though they were currently dancing and she was trying her best to keep up appearances, Kat felt like she either wanted to punch James or burst out in tears. Luckily she'd caught glimpse of a familiar face: Lauri Ylönen. Giving him a warm smile, she continued to avoid any and all eye contact with Potter.

Perhaps when this song was over, she would go ask Lauri or one of her other guy friends to dance and the whole tension of this ball thing would be over. As she glanced over in the other direction, she's just barely noted the look on her current dance partner's face. He looked...sick? No, that wasn't it. There was something off but she figured it was all due to him wish he could be dancing with someone else...anyone else.

[Katie]

James moved with Katherine, quite glad that she was actually dancing with him and not off crying somewhere. However, he noticed that she was looking everywhere BUT him. He didn't want people to know how bad he hurt her, because he was so embarrassed by it and it made him feel really sad. So softly, but still loud enough to be audible over the music coming from the stage, he whispered, "Katherine?" He hoped that she had heard him, so she would look up at his smile, maybe making her smile back at him. He knew the chances of that were slim to none, but he hoped it would work.

After a few more steps, the guilt was starting to rip at James's heart, so he leaned in inconspicuously, and started to talk to Katherine in the same soft whisper he had before. "Listen, Kat, I'm really sorry. You have no idea how bad I've felt these past few days. Not talking to you and having you avoid me has been making me feel so terrible. So please, just know that I am completely sorry, and that if you don't want to talk to me, well, I won't be okay with that but I'll give you your space." He moved his head so people wouldn't notice that he had been talking to her, but he was sure they had. He kept dancing, and now it was his turn to not look at Katherine.

[Sirius Lupin]

Sirius wasn't phased about the fact that he was comming to a dance dateless. He hadn't ever actually gone with anyone, but he had most definately always left with someone. Let's just say that if a girl got dumped or ditched by her date than Sirius was there to lend support.

So it was no surprise that he walked into the transformed Great Hall all on his lonesome. He was in a black tux with a deep red shirt underneathe. Gazing around the hall he spotted a few friends, more enemies, and a large number of pretty girls he was sure to be hitting on by the end of the night. Moving farther into the hall he grabbed himself a drink from the table and moved to stand near the dance floor. He wasn't shocked to see one of his best friends James dancing with Katherine. They where the head boy and girl ater all, it's what they had to do.

Smirking he at first laughed to himself at how awkward James was looking out there. But then apon a closer look, he discovered that James really looked upset, and was looking at Katherine almost appologetically. As he saw James bend a bit closer and start whispering in Katherin's ear Sirius silently cured the fact he couldn't read lips. Mentally making a note to ask his buddy what was up later on he scanned the room again perhaps looking for Remus, or Jason or Roxy.

[Katherine Finnigan]

If things weren't already awkward enough just dancing with James, she heard him address her. For the longest moment, Katherine debated if she even wanted to look at him. She could always just pretend she hadn't heard him over the music. It wasn't like there was much to be said between them anyway. He'd made his points very clear that day in the Great Hall and Katherine's pillow and every single one of her muscles felt the full wrath of her point once she'd finished with her crying that afternoon. What was the point in using up words when they had no meaning behind them in the end? That was something she'd learned from one of her dearest friends and hadn't forgotten it over the years.

As her mind wandered over and over her options, she heard him talking again but his voice seemed just a little bit closer than it had before. Her stomach felt uncomfortably ill and she wanted to cry all over again. Kat wasn't sure why she felt the need to cry but she did. As he finished with his soliloquy, she finally found herself looking straight at James. He actually looked apologetic and, as his words repeated in her head, he seemed sincere enough. In a rather disheartened yet very soft tone, she said, "I couldn't see why you had to avoid me in the first place but you did make your point pretty clear, James. It's fine really. I thought I'd make it easier on you by just keeping to myself rather than coming between you and your friend or you and your girls."

With her honest words out, Katherine let out a soft sigh and continued the dance. She was surprised he was even permitted to dance with her at all considering he wasn't allowed to talk to her in the first place after that deal with him asking her out for Black. Very quitely, and mostly to herself, she bitterly whispered, "Don't even bloody know why I said yes." Katherine frowned but went back to letting her eyes scan the faces of everyone in the room as she was turned and swayed to the song. Oddly enough, she started to wonder why more people hadn't started to dance yet. It wasn't as though they were banned from sharing the dance floor with the Head Boy and Head Girl. They were entitled to dance just as well as Kat and James.

[Cooper Weasley]

Cooper entered the ballroom, fashionably late. He missed the speeches, and a good portion of the Head Boy and Girl dance. He showed up alone, which was a first. Well, he was really waiting for Lizzie. It took a lot of coaxing to get her to come. Coop wasn't going to let his little sister miss a fun time. He promised he would stick close to her and leave with her whenever she wanted to. Now, he hoped that she would hold up her promise and arrive.

He found a back wall to lean back against. His dark eyes moved from the door, to the dance floor, to the other people around him. Coop stuck his idle hands in his pants pockets. He had decided to be fashionable. He wore a white dress shirt, black pants, and black jacket. He wore a red tie (which was tied loosely) and black converse shoes. He hated wearing dress shoes, they were awfully uncomfortable on his toes.

While he waited, his eyes wondered. All the girls looked pretty all gussied up. He couldn't even tell who was in which house. It didn't matter, they were girls anyway. It didn't really matter to him what house they were in. As long as he could have a good time, make them giggle, smile, and be merry, he didn't give a hoot. He generally loved the females. They a warmth about them you couldn't get anywhere else. He sighed, looking toward the door. She better show up, he thought. Cooper determined that this dance would be Lizzie's cure to getting back to being herself.

[/blockquote]

[Evelyn Thomas]

Evie walked into the Great Hall and looked around slightly. She saw Katherine and James dancing and she smiled a little. She sighed a little then sort of moved behind the huge ice sculpture. She groaned as she felt cold air hit her back. "Damn this backless dress..." she muttered. She had chosen a beautiful green dress that was backless. But when James had seen it earlier in the day, he yelled for her to change the color. So she did, regrettably, change it to red. But she brought her wand with her because she had every intention of changing it throughout the night.

She turned and saw all the copules together and dates swaying a bit to the music and she sighed. She searched the crowds for Remus, her date. She spotted James again, saw Sirius.... But no Remus. She shook her head and began to play with her silver necklace. She hadnt even seen Gabriel, so it sort of ruined her night. She sighed again and pulled herself together then put on her smile and snuck up behind Cooper. "Hey Mr. Weasley! Enjoying the ball, I hope." She said smiling broadly.

[Remus-James Black]

Remus seemed to take much longer than any girl to get himself ready because the ball had already begun, and he knew he was missing precious time to see Evie or sit with Sirius and make fun of James' dancing. So, rushed out of the dorm with his black suit and slicked back hair. As soon as the doors opened, and he slid in, he saw James and Kat, awkwardly dancing all by themselves. He partially felt bad, no one else was joining the dance and it probably made things even more awkward, even though he didn't know why they were awkard at all. His eyes scanned the crown further, hoping to find the beauty he called his date.

And that was his cue. As soon as beautiful Evelyn had stepped in, in the most gorgeous dress, he managed to trott himself in, sticking his wand away after matching his tie with the color of her dress. He came up behind her quietly, snaking his arms around her waist and twirling her around to face him as he began to dip her slowly. He smirked, his hand on her bare back was giving him the chills. Almost all his focuse was on Evie, but he couldn't help watching out of the corner of his eye the dance between Kat and James. "Hello Eviekins, you look wonderful and we shouldn't let James and Kat have all the fun now?" his bark of a laugh sounded, pleased with his spontaneous entrance.