Participation is strongly encouraged (tag: a guy) on Magical Arts Room and Sports

Virginia Bellrose

August 15, 2015 10:51 PM

Let the Party Begin! by Virginia Bellrose

The Dance Club had decided that the best way to recruit new members and get people excited enough with it to continue on with it after Ginny had graduated was to throw a party. The first half of the school year, the club members met once a week and went over the details. The first was that it would be a period dancing, most of which were taught to the members by Ginger and anyone else who happened to know the dances. Ginger also had lent them costumes to go along with the theme. Ginny wasn’t expecting their guests to dress in period costumes unless they liked the idea, but she did hope they came with open minds about joining in some of the dances.

The period dances were completely voluntary for the club members. She knew that not everyone really enjoyed having the attention on them and she didn’t feel right telling them that they had to participate in the dancing. She did, however, expect them to at least help out with the decorating and attend at least part of the celebration. This was meant to draw people in and she needed the support of the current members to make all of this happen.

The best time to throw a party, she felt, was just after the midterm holidays. People would still be in their haze and not quite ready to get back into the school regimen. It also wasn’t so close to exam time that the Fifth and Seven years (Ginny included) would be too busy studying for their CATS and RATS to bother with the party. Since it was just after the midterms, their school work would still be light enough for people to have a little fun (or so they were hoping).

They were lucky that the MARS rooms were designed to fit with what the person required. The Dance Room was probably one of the smaller rooms that were offered, but it still had plenty of space and it would work out well for the party, so long as the entire school didn’t decide to suddenly show up. Ginny had asked the Elves for help with decorating and with the food. They, of course, had graciously agreed to help and had loaded the refreshment tables with all sorts of goodies. The decorations were elegant red and gold drapes down the walls (mostly used to cover the mirrors) and tables with floating candles to give the atmosphere a little romance.

There was light music playing in the background that was meant for light heated dancing or to just fill any silence. However, whenever certain pieces of music came on, those participating in the period dances were expected to head to the dance floor and perform. If it happened to be a piece where they had the opportunity to pull in a guest to join in and learn some of the moves, they were encouraged to do so. This was, after all, the point of the whole thing. For the most part though, Ginny kept the music upbeat and comfortable in order to encourage people to dance.

Ginny, dolled up in her costume and makeup (her hair too short to do much else other than curl it), stood at the door and greeted the guests and club members as they entered. “Thank you so much for coming. Please have some refreshments and enjoy the entertainment.” She said to those around her. She was waiting for one particular member of her club to join her and despite the amount of nerves he often brought about in her; she honestly hoped he’d ask her to dance. He would likely never want to see her after Sonora, so if she could sneak in time with Adam before they graduated it might hurt a little less.

“You look wonderful, please enjoy yourself.” Ginny continued to greet, a smile easily worn on her face as she was excited to start the festivities.

Subthreads:

Participation is strongly encouraged (tag: a guy) by Ginger Pierce with Jake Manger

Looking for a dance. by Adam Spencer with Ginny Bellrose, Adam

It's about time by Diana Carey

We'll dance til the break of dawn. by Julian Umland

6 Virginia Bellrose Let the Party Begin! 0 Virginia Bellrose 1 5

Ginger Pierce

August 21, 2015 12:01 PM

Participation is strongly encouraged (tag: a guy) by Ginger Pierce

Ginger loved the dance club. This was in part because dancing was just fun in general, in part because it was both active and social at the same time, but she had to admit it was mostly because of the party they were planning for the whole school. The idea Julian had come up with had grown wings and Ginger had played a key part in helping it do so despite being merely a second year. It made her feel rather the opposite feelings of inexperience, frustration, and occasional overwhelmed hopelessness that Quidditch practices tended to inspire.

In short, teaching everyone how to do the period dances for the party was a major boost to her confidence and morale. She'd been sure to invite all of her Teppalus teammates personally to attend the party, if only so they could see she was actually good at something. (And, well, if she got to have a dance or two with Jake, that would be ~~amazingly awesome~~ a happy coincidence that she was totally not attempting to fix in her favor.)

Now that it was finally the day that the party took flight, Ginger found herself just a little bit nervous. It wasn't stage fright or anything - she was perfectly comfortable with performing in front of both strangers and peers, and the pale green period dress she wore felt as comfortable on her as her school uniform - but more of a generalized worry that her 'students' might crack under pressure or that the guests wouldn't have fun.

She pushed the anxiety aside and put on a smile, welcoming people to the party and encouraging anybody who expressed concerns about their abilities to dance. Nobody was expecting professional level technique today, and the point of the party was to have fun, after all.

She nibbled at some of the food, and smiled warmly at Ginny when they crossed paths, giving their fearless leader a subtle thumbs up (or at least Ginger thought it was subtle) and an update on the party progress as she saw it, "So far so good!"

Then one of the dance songs began and Ginger gabbed the hand of a random male who happened to be standing too close when the opening chords played. "Dance with me?" she requested with a welcoming and encouraging smile. "I'll show you how," she promised.

1 Ginger Pierce Participation is strongly encouraged (tag: a guy) 302 Ginger Pierce 0 5

Adam Spencer

August 28, 2015 2:31 PM

Looking for a dance. by Adam Spencer

Adam thought he was going to die. He was not someone who could hide his feelings easily nor did he enjoy doing so. But things with Ginny since that fiasco however long ago had made Adam more self-conscious around her alongside other reasons such as a knotted stomach and an inconsistent heartbeat.

When the idea of a party came up for Dance Club Adam had been glad to support it more for Ginny's sake than for new members. He hadn't dressed ostentatiously for the occasion, but he'd attempted to match the theme in his modern dress. He never did much to style his brown hair on any given day, but today he'd tried to style it in a more fashionable way.

He was nervous as he always was whenever he was in Ginny's presence these days. He'd made a habit of making bets with himself: if he won the next Quidditch match he would tell her; if he received an O on his next Charms essay he would tell her; if the next day was sunny and warm he would tell her. It was a game he played nowadays, one that he never went through with.

Adam took a moment outside to prepare himself before pushing the door open. He came face-to-face with the witch in his thoughts who was doing her duty as hostess. He smiled at her greetings. He would miss these moments considerably when they parted. If he never had the chance to tell her his feelings, he would die. It just wasn't the right time. Not yet. "You look lovely, Ginny," he returned. "If no one's asked you to dance the first with them yet, would you mind giving me the honours?" He gave a short bow in playful formality.

40 Adam Spencer Looking for a dance. 257 Adam Spencer 0 5

Jake Manger

August 30, 2015 7:42 PM

I'm both the right and wrong guy for this tag... by Jake Manger

Jake looked long and hard at himself in the mirror. Fortunately, he was still able to do that. Maybe he didn’t necessarily like who he was becoming--a creeper who develops romantic feelings for hypothetical someones who, while not actually all that much younger than him, were practically still children--but scrutinizing his appearance was a necessity for today’s event.

He had gone back and forth a dozen times about if he was going to go or not. On the positive, he would get to see Ginger. On the negative side, shut up that’s creepy. On the positive side, Jake loved parties, especially dancing ones, because there were a lot of people having a good time. On the negative side, what if he did or said something stupid because apparently, fourteen was an age where controlling yourself around pretty girls was really, really hard?

In the end, he decided to go not for his own personal reasons but because Ginger had seemed so excited when she talked about the party. He couldn’t stand to disappoint her, especially on an event she had clearly worked so hard on. That would make him a bad friend, and despite everything, Jake wanted so desperately to remain Ginger’s friend.

He didn’t own anything “period” appropriate, and since he hadn’t decided until practically the last minute that he was even going, he definitely didn’t have a chance to acquire something. So instead, the Teppenpaw just wore dark blue dress robes and hoped that was good enough. He couldn’t imagine everyone in attendance would have perfectly styled clothes for the event, so he didn’t think too much of it.

The moment he stepped into the MARS dance room, Jake was glad that he came. The decorations, the attire, the people--it was all so beautiful. He felt very proud and happy on Ginny’s behalf; while he knew more of her from legend than from personal interaction (Marcus spoke very fondly of her), he felt a general kinship with nearly all his peers. He very much liked to see them succeed.

Although he spent most of his time watching everyone else dance, Jake was no stranger to the dance floor. He was in the process of inching out, in fact, when a new song began and someone addressed him. “Dance with me? I’ll show you how.”

He turned around to see just who had spoken to him, although the familiar voice made it impossible to predict wrong. Jake could only hope he managed to keep his face from flushing red. It felt quite hot, but dear Merlin did he hope the heat wasn’t visibly on the surface. But what could he do? He couldn’t very well say no, because that would hurt Ginger’s feelings. “Oh, uh, yeah, sure,” he answered with a crooked grin, one half his mouth excited and the other terrified. His brain completely agreed.

12 Jake Manger I'm both the right and wrong guy for this tag... 280 Jake Manger 0 5

Ginny Bellrose

September 06, 2015 3:31 PM

You have found one! by Ginny Bellrose

The door opened and in walked Adam Spencer, the person with whom Ginny had been thinking salacious things about and daydreaming of a future with, with his usually handsome smile and greeting. Ginny tried not to blush, feeling guilty for the things that often ran through her head about him. She nervously tried to flatten the front of her dress, feeling self-conscious that she had decided on a costume instead of normal formal wear. Since the dance was all about a theme, Ginny had opted to go with one of Ginger’s costumes. They weren’t mandatory; it was just providing something a little extra for the party and the theme of it. Still, Adam looked rather nice in his wardrobe and Ginny was feeling a little foolish.

“Thank you.” She said, feeling a little better about how she was looking with his compliment. “You look quite dashing yourself.” She complimented back and then wishing she had chosen something more complimentary than ‘dashing’, she sounded like her parents when she used that term. He’s going to think she’s ridiculous.

Ginny gave a playful curtesy in return of his bow and giggled as she did so. “It would be a great pleasure to have you as my first dance of the evening.” Ginny stated, looping her arm around his and heading to the dance floor. She thought that this would have been the perfect time for something magical to happen between them, but she knew that wouldn’t happen. He was just being nice to her and dancing with her.

She could make wishes of Adam confessing his feelings to her and whisking her away from all the chaos and drama that her family was placing onto her, but she didn’t really think that was fair to wish for on her friend. “How was your holiday?” She asked him while they danced. She didn’t see Adam as much as she did Francesca and she wasn’t really sure if that was because she was avoiding him subconsciously or if it was just how their schedules were conflicting. She probably could have asked him about anything, but if his holiday brought about important life changing things the way hers had done, she would want to know what she was up against.

“Anything exciting happen for you while you were in England?” She asked. She remembered the first time she had gone to England for Adam’s family party. That was around the time that she and Francesca became best friends. They have all come such a long way since those days.

6 Ginny Bellrose You have found one! 0 Ginny Bellrose 0 5

Diana Carey

September 10, 2015 10:53 PM

It's about time by Diana Carey

When Diana had heard there was going to be a dance party, she had immediately decided that she had to go to it. There was simply nothing else she could do, even if it meant leaving some of her homework undone after her resolution to be one of the brainy, hard-working ones to emulate the sort of girls who currently stood some chance of someday being the leader of her branch’s wives. It was a dance hosted by a respectable member of society, which made it the kind of occasion Diana needed to attend. Romance wasn’t a consideration, but socializing was something she should always try to do when there was a good chance for it. There was no telling, after all, when her being friends with someone else’s wife could make all the difference in some deal between their families, or when she could find herself betrothed to someone she wouldn’t even know from his brothers if she just stayed in Pecari and talked to her roommates. Socialization was at least as important as homework.

A few hasty letters home had secured her something decent to wear – she suspected it had once been Theresa’s and had been hastily adjusted, but since nobody here would have seen Theresa in it even if she had worn it out somewhere, Diana didn’t really care as long as it held its shape until she went back to Pecari – and she felt she looked as good as anyone possibly could as she went to the dance room, smiling broadly at all she passed as though she was going to do something unimaginably fabulous. When she reached the room, she looked around at the drapes and floating candles in delight.

“Thank you,” she said to Ginny Bellrose when she was greeted. "I love your hair," she added, not quite tossing her own curly locks, which were currently half-up and half-down to her shoulders, to draw attention to them before she moved toward one of the gold drapes. She wanted to stand out, yes, but not to clash, and she had never seen aquamarine paired with red before. Usually, if a combination was a good idea, she had seen it before.

She saw other people, she assumed more club members, in costume and tried to let her eyes skip over the refreshments. Stuffing her face with chocolate in public wasn’t a faux pas on par with running around with someone else’s fiancé, but nor was it very smart. Instead, she looked for someone else alone and who looked approachable. “Hello,” she said, smiling.

0 Diana Carey It's about time 294 Diana Carey 0 5

Adam

September 16, 2015 5:42 PM

I'm very pleased! by Adam

Ginny seemed to be acting normal which both encouraged Adam and discouraged him. He was glad that they were back on friendly terms, but he wanted some sort of sign that she fancied him. But they’d never even talked about it; she had Max, he had, well, no one at the moment. Her compliment was one he was sure she’d relayed to every wizard that had passed through these doors. Still, when she accepted his dance he felt foolishly pleased. It was funny how a simple remark could affect him so when he’d hardly thought twice about it just a few years ago. Everything had weight to it now, which tended to drive him mad in an attempt to discover hidden meanings.

Adam could at the very least rely on his feet to support him as they danced despite his head being in the clouds somewhere. “My holiday was pleasant,” he told her. “Saw my cousins in the country for Christmas, showed my face at a few social balls with my family – the usual.” Sharing these sorts of things with a fellow pure-blood was comforting; they could understand on a level which another witch or wizard couldn’t. Though Adam didn’t discriminate outwardly, he did find himself preferring fellow pure-bloods purely because he could relate and understand them better.

“Lily’s looking forward to coming to Sonora. She and my mum got into a row about the Christmas dress she soiled when she fell off a broom she wasn’t supposed to be on. I feel sorry for her, being alone in the house. Lily’s stubborn and nothing like Charlotte; she and my mum get into rows all the time.” Adam quite often found himself talking about his siblings, especially Lily, and he stopped himself before he went on to explain Lily’s complicated and unique personality compared to the other Spencer children.

“Sorry to talk about my siblings so often,” he said, feeling foolish. Parading his siblings around when Ginny had none wasn’t exactly attractive. “How was your holiday? Anything interesting happen?” He paused, but the question pressed passed his lips anyway: “How’s Max?” His tone sounded forcibly pleasant with the last question, but he hoped Ginny wouldn’t pick up on its false pleasantry.

Tonight. Tonight Adam wanted to tell her before he burst or regretted his last year at Sonora. If the right moment came about, that is. Otherwise it was back to playing games. But Adam didn’t want to play games. He didn’t want to force it either or burden her or ruin their friendship. Despite the raging war that had once again resurfaced in his head, he tried his best to listen to what Ginny was saying. Thank Merlin for those years of mindless dancing lessons.

0 Adam I'm very pleased! 0 Adam 0 5

Ginny

September 17, 2015 9:07 PM

Me too! by Ginny

Ginny listened carefully as Adam talked to her about his holidays. It was important for her to know if anything had changed for him. She needed to know if all her hopes and dreams about him were dashed away because he found love in someone else. But all he had discussed was seeing his family and making social appearances. There was no mention of another female. No mention of possible betrothals. Nothing for Ginny to really concern herself with for the time being. She felt a little relief with knowing that.

Unless he wasn’t telling her everything….

But she stopped herself from thinking too hard along those lines. Adam wasn’t the sort who would purposefully withhold things from people. No, that was something that she did because she was too ashamed to admit to anything or too full of fear, depending on what it was that she was hiding. She really needed to work on having for trust in her friends and less so in her family.

As Ginny listened to Adam talk about his little sister, she gave a pleasant smile. Siblings were something she was still trying to understand. Her friends all had younger siblings with whom Ginny was casually getting to know and she had even been given a chance to meet Barnabus over the summer break. She still didn’t quite understand the closeness of the relationships, but she could respect the fact that there were people in her friends’ lives that were extensions of them and that she could in no way compete with them.

“Oh, it’s alright.” Ginny answered, surprised that Adam would stop himself from discussing his youngest sister. It was weirder for Ginny to sit with Adam and Francesca and listen to the two of them discuss their siblings than it was for just one of them to discuss them to her. Even though she couldn’t contribute to understanding the relationship between siblings, she didn’t want to be excluded from the conversations either.

Ginny had asked once a while ago why her parents never had any other children; after being told it was impolite to ask such personal matters, both her parents had admitted that they had tried but had not been successful. Ginny had not been their first born and that had honestly shocked her. She didn’t ask them any questions after that.

Ginny paused, unsure on how to answer his question. She supposed he had no idea that she and Maxwell weren’t anything more than friends as he was not a topic of conversation between herself and Adam, but it was still a bit strange to talk about what Maxwell was to her to her friend. “Maxwell is alright, I believe.” She said plainly. “I saw him briefly over the holidays, but that was about it.” Ginny shrugged. “He’s back at his university now and I believe his current lady of choice is Juanita.” Or maybe it was Shannon, she couldn’t really remember. Every time she received a letter from him since he began school, he was always discussing a new girl to her. She stopped trying to keep up with it.

“I also made appearances to the required holiday parties, but other than that, my holiday was rather uneventful.” Unless you counted Grandfather deciding to disinherit me if I don’t find a husband by his deadline. She thought bitterly, still not really ready to tell anyone about that out of fear that they would tell her that she would never be able to manage it and that they wouldn’t be her friend once she was disinherited. She knew in her heart of hearts that they wouldn’t want to drop her as a friend, but the Pureblood traditions were strict and sometimes that mattered more.

“Anyway, thank you so much for coming tonight. It really does mean a lot to me.” She told him, closing the little distance between them and hugged him as they danced. It was a little awkward all things considered, but she didn’t really care for the moment.

6 Ginny Me too! 0 Ginny 0 5

Adam

September 25, 2015 5:32 AM

Now for something more. by Adam

There was something terrible about competing for one's affections. Adam hated the way it made him feel, what with the ups and downs of his emotions and the constant struggle to be her friend whilst keeping his feelings at bay. At the mention of Maxwell's name, Adam felt the jealous monster creep out from its cage, but Max was at university and dating someone who was decidedly not Ginny. Adam's heart swelled before his duty as a friend kicked in. He hummed in sympathy, as her friend, though he was not at all sorry that Maxwell had his eye on other witches. Adam only hoped that Ginny herself wasn't upset about it.

Uneventful holidays at Ginny's house usually seemed to be safe. Adam had imagined more than once how Ginny would react upon seeing the chaos taking place in his home, but it was a fantasy he kept a secret to himself. He hardly spoke about Ginny at home these days; he didn't think he'd be able to stop himself if any of his family members asked about her. He didn't think even Charlotte knew about his feelings, though that wasn't really a surprise given how wrapped up she was in her significant other. Lucky lad.

When she leant in to hug him, Adam had to fight the urge to squeeze her to him. It was a bit awkward, given that they were dancing, but he didn't care. His heart was pounding and he felt as though he would burst forth with the words. If she attended university here and he moved back home to England, he might never see her again in this capacity. And once she were gone, he'd never have the opportunity to tell her how he felt. And if she never knew how mad he'd been this past year...

Adam didn't want to do anything to risk their friendship, but if he never gave it a go he would never know and that was worse than seeing their friendship fade away over time. Maybe it would be worth it. Maybe she wouldn't turn away in disgust. He had to try. He had to know.

Suddenly determined, Adam pulled away to meet her eyes, his hands still around her. "Listen, Ginny, I know you're running this show, but do you..." He swallowed, mustering his courage. "Do you want to take a quick step out?" It was a ridiculous excuse; after all, the dance had hardly begun and already he was asking to take a step out. In any case, he hoped she would acquiesce without asking too many questions.

0 Adam Now for something more. 0 Adam 0 5

Ginny

September 26, 2015 12:23 AM

Everyone likes more things. by Ginny

Well, she had said it. She had told him that Maxwell was dating someone else and all she received in return was a sympathetic noise. Did that mean that he didn’t really care that she was not seeing him? Ginny had been so embarrassed about the fact that Maxwell only saw her as a last chance for wife material and not as the first choice for his future. She hadn’t wanted to tell anyone about it but had eventually admitted everything to Francesca. Ginny wasn’t really upset about the idea of not having a Forever After with Maxwell because by all accounts he turned out to be a jerk; she was mostly just upset because it was just more proof that no one wanted her. Her grandfather had chosen such a challenge because he knew that Ginny would fail.

The hug was nice though. Years before, hugging Adam would have only been natural in that of two friends sharing a moment. But these last couple of years, the idea of hugging Adam had caused her face to flush and her heart to pound painfully in her chest. She had been too nervous to do such a thing. It had all been so confusing for her. She hadn’t even known she had liked Adam until their fifth year when suddenly the idea of going to the dance with him and meant the world to her (and then he crushed her heart when he had made it blatantly clear by asking another girl to the dance that he did not have feelings for Ginny). After that, everything had been different for her.

Adam pulled out of the hug and Ginny tried not to feel bad about it. He was, after all, only her friend.

Confusion flashed over her features when he started to speak. He seemed nervous and that was making her nervous. Had he figured her out? Did he know that the initials on the tree were about her feelings for him? Was he upset with her? Did he think that she had done it? Was he going to try to put her down gently all over again?

Ginny just couldn’t stand the very thought of that humiliation all over again. Especially not in her final year at Sonora and with the looming threat that her grandfather had placed onto her and her parents. She couldn’t handle that sort of rejection so soon.

“Oh, sure.” Ginny said, trying to keep her smile on her face even though she thought her heart had stopped beating and the end of her world was approaching. “I don’t think they will notice if I’m gone for a couple of minutes.” That part was true. The Dance club knew what they were doing and wouldn’t need her to keep watch.

Ginny linked her arm around Adam’s and led the way out of the MARS room and into the corridor. “Is everything okay?” Ginny asked even though she wasn’t sure she really wanted to hear the answer to the question.

6 Ginny Everyone likes more things. 0 Ginny 0 5

Adam

September 28, 2015 5:44 PM

Even if it's overwhelming? by Adam

Ginny looked confused and Adam found his stomach knotting in the most uncomfortable ways. Of course it didn't make sense to take her out of the room when she was the hostess of this event, but he waited for her to speak. When she agreed to step out with him, he just nodded. He felt so nervous he couldn't even smile to reassure her that everything was fine. Clearly, from the knots in his stomach and his palpitating heart, things were not exactly 'fine'.

She linked her arm around his and Adam thought he was going to die. He couldn't take the affection without telling her how he felt. It was unfair to her if she didn't fancy him that way. If she only saw him as a friend, this entire friendship was going to get very awkward. But Adam couldn't take it anymore.

As soon as they were out in the corridor, the thankfully empty, quiet corridor, she asked if everything was okay. Adam was going mad and he knew his pale cheeks were flushing. He pulled his arm from hers and ran his fingers through his brown hair. "Things are fine," he said, shuffling his feet and attempting a smile. He took a couple of steps back and turned his face away. "Merlin, no, nothing is fine," he blurted out.

"I'm sorry if you don't want to hear this, Ginny, but I've got to say it." Adam took a deep breath and fiddled with his buttons. "I, uh, this past year, that is, I mean, for a couple of years, I've been...I've been...the reason I didn't ask you to the ball all those years ago was because I didn't want to choose between you and Francesca, but now it's inevitable because I have chosen between you two, that is, I, um, I--" Adam stopped himself short before he made an even bigger fool of himself and took in a deep breath. He couldn't meet her eyes, didn't dare look to see her reaction. "I like you, Ginny," he told the wall behind her, "and it's made me blooming mental this entire year and we've got our RATS to prepare for, but the thought of not seeing you after graduation and not being able to tell you has distracted me from everything else."

The reminder that Ginny most likely didn't see him in the same way flooded his mind then once he'd said what he'd kept bottled up, and sudden fear gripped his heart. "But I don't want to ruin our friendship if you don't feel the same way," he said, finally meeting her eyes. "I know this is a lot right at the end of our schooling. If you want to stay just friends, I...I would go along with it if that's what you want." That was the furthest thing from what Adam wanted, but he wasn't going to force her to do anything. He'd rather be her friend than lose her completely.

Now that he'd said his piece, he felt brave enough to look into her eyes and attempt to figure out what she was thinking. Probably thought him mad, at the very least.

0 Adam Even if it's overwhelming? 0 Adam 0 5

Ginny

September 28, 2015 7:17 PM

Yes, even then. by Ginny

Her stomach plummeted when he admitted that things were not fine. What did that mean? What wasn’t fine? She thought that they were going okay, weren’t they? They were back on track and working out everything. They were having fun and laughing together. That was the point, wasn’t it? Was she missing something?

”I’m sorry if you don’t want to hear this, Ginny, but I’ve got to say it.”

Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no! He knew that she had feelings for him and he was going to tell her that he didn’t share them. He was disgusted by her and that’s why everything was not fine. He was mad at her because of the initials in the tree had embarrassed him and he just hadn’t had enough time in his schedule to tell her off quietly. This was her worst nightmare. It was happening. He was rejecting her (again) and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

As Adam talked, the more horrified Ginny became. Oh Merlin, he was going to tell her that he had feelings for Francesca! FRANCESCA!!! How could this be? How could she have it all and Ginny nothing? Was she destined to always be jealous of her best friend? Oh no! What if Francesca liked him too and Jay was just a cover story and then Francesca and Adam ended up getting married and Ginny was forced to watch it all happen and pretend to be happy for them even though she was really breaking apart on the inside?

”I like you, Ginny.”

Every thought in her head went blank. Adam had just said that he liked her. Did he say that or did she just make it up in her head to feel better about the crushing rejection he was trying to give to her? Ginny focused in on what he was saying and what she was hearing was making her feel like she was floating in the air with giddiness.

He had feelings for her. Real Feelings!

She didn’t know how to react. She had been so hopeful for this moment for so long that now that it was here, she didn’t know what to say or do. She must have looked like an idiot in front of him, gawking and uncertain of what to say or do. He had just confessed his feelings to her and she was just standing there like a moron.

And then she wasn’t just standing anymore. Ginny had practically ran at him, her arms wrapping around him, as she planted a kiss on him. It was awkward, an ambush, and probably not at all attractive to Adam, but she needed to have it. When she pulled away, she began to giggle uncontrollably. She must have looked like an utter crazy person. “I have liked you since we were fifteen.” She told him, trying to stop the giggles (a nervous habit). “That’s why I was so upset with you when you chose Anne.” Ginny confided.

6 Ginny Yes, even then. 0 Ginny 0 5

Julian Umland

September 30, 2015 8:28 PM

We'll dance til the break of dawn. by Julian Umland

Julian had not known much about medieval and Renaissance dances besides the names of a few of them when they settled on a theme for the party, but she did know the music fairly well and had picked up on the moves more quickly than she’d expected. She doubted she would do to present at a king’s court, but she was good enough for one last round of dress-up before she went out into the adult world.

Once she was actually dressed up in front of everyone, of course, she felt a little foolish, but she ignored that because she always found something to feel foolish about. Telling herself it was all in her head didn’t fix the problem, but it did help sometimes. Her dark hair was twisted up under a surprisingly light headdress, which was pinned on securely enough that she was more worried about losing the detachable sleeves of her gold-trimmed dark green dress than about it. She was also more than a little nervous about stepping on and damaging the long, full skirts, though not as much as she would have been if she’d been in genuine period shoes. Since the skirt was so long, though, she had felt comfortable insisting on her own pumps, which looked a bit more 1943 than 1439 but were at least brown, had about an inch of heel, and were, most importantly of all, a pair of shoes she had worn often enough that she wasn’t worried about them causing her too many problems.

She just hoped the same could be said of her brother, who showed up in his now quite old and out-of-fashion dress robes. She knew he would be made fun of (how in the world had he learned to modify them to make them fit, and how in the world had he come to care enough to do that without learning that it wasn’t good to wear the same non-uniform thing to three events in a row? Forgetting which shirt he’d worn to church last week was one thing, but…), but she…well, she thought she could play deaf this time. He could have at least changed the color or something, or even asked for a new set at Christmas like a normal person instead of developing a sudden and intense interest in the origins of Potions ingredients and acting like he’d never have another chance as long as he lived to fiddle with them. She made a note to see to it that he got something decent to wear over the Easter holiday and prayed nobody would mock him to his face.

She circulated at first, looking for people she knew and occasionally encouraging someone to try some of the food, secretly glad to at least be in something like the color she was most used to wearing around school and thus less conspicuous, before the first mandatory dance started. She smiled, hoping it wasn’t too apologetically already, at the first mostly appropriate-looking partner she saw. “Care to dance?” she asked.

16 Julian Umland We'll dance til the break of dawn. 254 Julian Umland 0 5

Adam

October 06, 2015 4:27 PM

That's wonderful news. by Adam

The moment of silence that followed felt very awkward for Adam. There he was standing in his dress robes, at first feeling content that he'd shared his piece, then wanting to run away and hide or change the subject. There was the crippling possibility that Ginny would reject him and the terrifying words, "I don't like you in that way," would echo in his ears and in the corridor.

But before the silence stretched long enough for Adam to despair, Ginny jumped on him and landed an awkward kiss that he was not prepared for in the slightest. Dumbfounded, he watched as she giggled, relaying words he also wasn't prepared to hear. She'd liked him since they were fifteen?

"Good Merlin, no wonder you were so angry with me," burst Adam. Now it all made sense: why she'd reacted the way that she had, why their friendship had taken so long to rebuild, and why Adam could never quite understand how upset she really was about the ordeal. As friends, asking another witch to the ball wasn't unheard of, but having someone you fancy ask someone else was a harsh blow. "I was a fool," he said mournfully.

It came to him then that she'd kissed him and he thought he was going to lose his marbles over it. He'd never kissed a witch before and it made him nervous to try. Eventually he would get there, he conceded, but until then he'd try to be himself. He held out his hand and smiled at her, his brown eyes sparkling. "Would you spend the rest of the evening with me as my date?" he asked, remembering the dance they'd left just a few minutes ago.

There would be time to think about the future, about his return to England and their respective family situations, about the possibility of a pure-blood marriage and meeting relatives and their vocations, but right now Adam simply wanted to soak in the evening with just Ginny, feeling less afraid of sharing his feelings and thoughts with her.

0 Adam That's wonderful news. 0 Adam 0 5

Ginny

October 17, 2015 7:38 PM

It is! by Ginny

Ginny face felt very flushed. She was so embarrassed for having admitted that, but it had needed to be said. Back then, Ginny had felt completely alone and absolutely crushed because of what had transpired. She had made herself physically ill over the stress of it and had resulted in her parents needing to hire a nutritionist to get her back to a healthier weight. She didn’t blame Adam what had happened to her (she might have back during the whole ordeal, but anyone who was hurt and angry would have blamed the other party involved). He hadn’t any idea about her feelings despite her having felt rejected.

She smiled at his response over it. “It’s ancient history.” She replied. Of course, if he had known back then and actually hadn’t had feelings for her at the time, it would have made everything incredibly awkward for them. Then again, if he had liked her back then, then these last couple of years would have gone a whole lot more smoothly for Ginny. For instance, she wouldn’t have gotten involved romantically with Maxwell. And she doubted that her grandfather would have used her in his vengeance against her father by demanded that she either find someone to marry or become disinherited.

Ginny thought about maybe telling Adam about the whole thing because he might not want to be involved with her if he only had a year to decide if he wanted her to be his wife or not (that was a lot of pressure for anyone to agree upon at their age), but then he smiled at her and held his hand out to her. Ginny’s features soften at the request and she slipped her hand into his. She gave a playful curtsy, “I would be delighted to be your date for the evening.” Ginny agreed. She wasn’t sure if this meant that they were actually dating or not, but she thought it was at least going in the right direction. She couldn’t help but feel a little giddy that after such a long time of wishful thinking, Ginny had actually heard Adam tell her he liked her. After such a terrible midterm with her family, things seemed to be looking up for her. “I hope you have your dancing shoes on.” Ginny commented as she led them back to the party. She was the Hostess, after all. She would need to join in on some of the dance numbers.

6 Ginny It is! 0 Ginny 0 5