Headmaster Brockert

December 06, 2014 1:34 PM
As far as Mortimer was concerned, the Midsummer event was nothing more than a chore, much like the Opening and Returning Feasts. It involved his least favorite part of his job, getting up in front of the students and giving a speech. Not that the man was afraid of public speaking but he loathed having to pretend to be pleasant and festive and the slightest bit interested in the social occasion at hand. Mortimer hadn't been here nearly long enough to perfect such difficult acting skills. Being friendly and personable went against the core of his very being. Just the fact that he was able to manage to keep himself from scowling or sneering was an accomplishment.

The only positive thing that he could say about the ball was that it was the easiest event to plan for. It was always the same whereas with other events people always seemed to want something new and different from what he understood. Of course, the ball also had the most potential for drama and misery. Thankfully, he kept his distance from the emotional states of students-something he had no idea how to deal with in the first place- and really only interacted with them if he had to step in as a disciplinarian.

The hall had been transformed into a real dance hall with a stage for the band the school had hired, one that played popular tunes. Not necessarily Mortimer's taste, but he supposed he once again had to make concessions. There was a huge dance floor with groups of medium sized tables surrounding it. The Hall was decorated in the colors of the winning house and flowers were the center pieces at each table. There was also a table with buffet much like the one at the Bonfire last year. Not the classiest thing but it wasn't like they could hire waiters, and a set menu didn't work either when you had a wide range of tastes in food. Besides, for those less than enthused about the ball in general, they could at least enjoy their meals.

Once everyone had settled in, he stood. "Good evening and welcome to this year's Midsummer ball. I have a few announcements before the festivities start. First of all, we are saying goodbye to Miss Jera Valson who is leaving to pursue other opportunities. Next, we have decided to save announcing Head Students for next year's Opening Feast." It really didn't make sense to announce them at the Midsummer Event then have to repeat it all over again for the firsties at the Opening Feast next year. "That is all. Go on and enjoy yourselves."

With that, he settled in for what was most likely going to be a boring evening for him. Mortimer had never been one for parties in general and ones meant for younger people were even duller.

OOC-The specific winners of the House Cup will be announced next week. Also, the yearbook should be out tomorrow.
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11 Headmaster Brockert Midsummer Ball 6 Headmaster Brockert 1 5

Wendy Canterbury

December 11, 2014 3:31 AM
There were five minutes until the appointed meeting time and Wendy felt only half ready. She should be rushing, she knew she should, but she couldn’t smear her makeup or ruin her curled blonde hair. Wrinkling her beautiful dress was absolutely out of the question—if she could live in this dress, she would. It was comfortable, perfect for the occasion, and had more than one splash of color, one of her favorite parts to it. It was sure to stand out just like she’d stood out during the last ball in her unique flower-on-peach-fabric dress.

It was all thanks to Charlie that Wendy looked halfway decent for tonight. After all of his help with her makeup decisions and his recommendations—not to mention tips on how to put makeup on in the first place—Wendy was looking pretty good and also a little different. It had taken an hour to put all of the eye shadow, mascara, eyeliner, and lip gloss on. Trying to keep the eyeliner even was the hardest part, but she had somehow managed. The sparkly gold eye shadow matched well with her blonde hair, and the lip gloss gave her lips a slightly tinted sheen, making them look a little redder. Her eyes were a little darker and accentuated her hazel eyes. Charlie’s tips and makeup choices had certainly made her face look beautiful.

More than five minutes had passed as Wendy finished smoothing down her dress and spraying a tiny bit of lavendar perfume her sister had sent her in the mail. She had grossly underestimated the time it would take her to get ready and now she had been keeping Rupert waiting for at least ten minutes. It was lucky she was going with someone in her house, and equally lucky that she had asked to meet a little earlier before the ball to walk to Cascade together. If she was late to the dance, that would be pretty embarrassing as a Prefect. Punctuality was important, and would be even more important as Head Girl.

Finally Wendy was satisfied when she looked in the mirror. She hardly recognized herself under all the makeup, but she liked it. She liked looking a little different and grown up. Now that she was older, she could see the appeal of wearing makeup to hide blemishes on her pale face or to accentuate some of her favorite facial features. Her curls bobbed a little as she twirled in her dress, and she couldn’t help but smile at her reflection. The thought of Rupert’s reaction when he saw her made her feel warm inside, a feeling Wendy still hadn’t figured out. It was the same feeling that Wendy had felt when Charlie had sprung the idea of kissing Rupert onto her, but this time it wasn’t embarrassment. It was hard to pin down, but she didn’t want to categorize it; she just let herself feel happy inside as she made her way down, ready to apologize profusely for being so late.

When she saw him, Wendy walked over gingerly, feeling just a tiny bit shy and not knowing why. It was true that she wasn’t best friends with Rup as she had been with Carter, her last date to the ball, but there was no reason to be nervous. “Hi,” she said, all smiles as she looked at him. While the last ball had felt like a fun party with one of her closest friends, this one felt a little more serious, like she was going to the same party as an adult. It was a strange but not unwelcome feeling.
19 Wendy Canterbury Running just a little late. 245 Wendy Canterbury 0 5


Rupert Princeton

December 13, 2014 4:02 PM
Rupert was incredibly nervous to be attending the ball with Wendy as his date. He waited anxiously in the Pecari common room, pacing and attempting smiles and greetings at his house-mates as they departed for Cascade Hall. He’d come down a bit earlier, hoping to beat her to the commons, but it seemed as though she was going to keep him waiting. The suspense was killing him. He was doing his absolute best to keep his hands from tugging on his shirt collar or touching his hair. It had taken him quite some time to style his blond hair just as he wanted it. After combing the front up and to the side, his slightly longer fringe had needed more gel to stick. He didn’t enjoy using gel on his hair, but it looked rather nice once it was finished. He just hoped it would last and Wendy would be at least a tad impressed by his outfit.

He had dressed up just as bright as his usual ensemble of choice. He wore yellow trousers, the colour of sunflower petals, and a tangerine-orange suit jacket over a blue-and-white chequered button-up. The colours were vibrant and would certainly make him stand out next to Wendy, and he was glad for it. He hadn’t dressed to match her; he’d told her to keep her outfit a surprise just as he’d kept his. There was something lovely about the two of them expressing themselves through clothing and arriving at the ball together. If they completely clashed, however, they would certainly be a sight for sore eyes. Whilst Rup believed Wendy had an eye for aesthetics, he enjoyed causing a bit of visual chaos for everyone. The usual dress-robes and the conservative dresses were all so tiresome after awhile. Some colour wouldn’t hurt anyone.

Waiting was becoming unbearable, so Rupert slumped into an armchair and sighed. Only five minutes had passed, but it felt like hours. When he heard a noise on the stair, he stood quickly, smoothing down his suit jacket. He was hoping she would finally appear, wondering why witches took so much longer to get ready, but his thoughts left him when he turned and saw her standing there. Rupert thought she looked lovely no matter what she wore, but seeing her so dressed up to attend the ball with him was something else entirely. The familiar butterflies in his stomach remerged and he smiled at her. “Hi Wendy,” he said, remembering to breathe. “You look—” His voice cracked and he cleared his throat. “You look beautiful,” he amended, still smiling like a fool. He extended his arm for her to grasp. “Ready to go?”

On the walk down to Cascade Hall, Rupert made some conversation, chatting about nothing incredibly important. The hall was beautiful, which he commented on, and they joined the other Prefects with their respective dates in the centre of the dance floor. They had barely made it on time, but Rupert merely smiled at her, raising his eyebrows in recognition of their smooth entrance.

The music began on cue and Rupert took her in his arms and began to lead her in the dance. Holding her in such an intimate way was thrilling, but Rupert still felt the knots in his stomach despite his years of ballroom training. He wanted to impress her, not step all over her feet. He’d have to get some punch afterward to try and calm his nerves. “This is a lovely song,” he said, attempting conversation. Rup was usually adept at it, but now he found words difficult to find. “One of the few classical pieces I actually enjoy.” He had a bit of trouble meeting her eyes straight on now that their faces were so close together. His hands were beginning to shake slightly as well, he could feel it. “Do you attend any balls when you’re home?”
40 Rupert Princeton You were certainly worth the wait. 248 Rupert Princeton 0 5


Wendy

December 15, 2014 3:41 AM
Rupert's outfit was more than Wendy could have asked for. An orange suit jacket? Yellow pants? She was in love. With the outfit, of course. It wasn't everyday that someone with Rupert's style popped up in her life. "Thank you. You look amazing!" Wendy replied enthusiastically. "I love all the color. It takes a brave man to pull all of it off, and you definitely do." She smiled back at him, wondering if it was normal for her pulse to pick up a little at the sight of such a beautiful outfit on a really good-looking date.

His smile was charming and Wendy took his arm gently, feeling unusually self-conscious as they walked to Cascade Hall. The night air was slightly chilly as expected of the desert, but Rupert's body provided some warmth and she stuck close to him. Half of her wanted to rush into Cascade Hall, hoping that the Prefect's dance hadn't started without her, but the other half wanted to continue listening to Rupert talk as they walked together arm-in-arm. When they arrived at Cascade Hall, she had to remind herself that they were here as dates. He wasn't going to disappear to hang out with his Quidditch friends, and even if he did she wouldn't mind. At least, she didn't think she would mind.

Everyone looked so pretty and Wendy wanted to do several things at once: she wanted to go dance and fulfill her duty; she wanted to approach Charlie and thank him for all of his help and also seek his approval with the final result; she wanted to stare at everyone's dress robes and gaze at all the beautiful decorations that still struck her with awe; and she wanted to twirl around and watch her dress rise around her kind of like the Whirling Dervishes. But all of her plans would have to wait until the Prefect's dance was finished. Thankfully Rupert got them to the dance floor right before it started. Even though she had danced ballroom-style before with Carter, that was years ago and this wasn't Carter, it was Rupert putting his hands on her. Wendy could feel herself growing warm as their hands touched and she couldn't understand what was wrong with her. She had come in feeling a little cold, but now she felt like she was on the brink of sweating. She was grateful for the really helpful Anti-Sweat Charm that she had found in a girly magazine. Otherwise who knew how she would be after three consecutive dances with her date.

It looked like she wasn't the only one feeling nervous, but while Rupert couldn't find many words to say, Wendy could only think to run her mouth in response. "It is really pretty," she said as they danced. "I've never heard it before, but I don't listen to much classical music. I feel like I should because it's so pretty in an understated way, like, powerful without needing words or an electric guitar. I like to sing pop songs, muggle pop songs, that is. It's the contemporary music in the non-magical world. I'll have to show you sometime." He hadn't asked about her taste in music, and Wendy had to physically shut her mouth to keep herself quiet.

It felt like his hands were shaking slightly and it made her even more self-conscious. Was he nervous because he liked her? Did she feel flattered? Should she say something or just ignore it? She could actually feel his hands shaking. Wendy was about to burst and she still didn't know why. "No, I don't," she said, attempting to be as normal as possible. "High schools in the magical world have dances, but they're not fancy dress-up type balls like these ones. I mean, people dress up, but nobody dances ballroom anymore. I didn't even know how to waltz until the last ball. I'm sorry if I step on your feet at all." So far, so good. "Do you go to a lot of balls when you're at home as a pureblood?" she asked. The longer they danced, the more she was able to convince herself that this was okay, that she was just talking to Rupert, that she and Rupert were just friends. But if he thought otherwise...

Feelings were too complicated, Wendy decided. She would just have to let her emotions carry her without trying to sort through them, permitting that they didn't cause her to make a fool of herself. Trying to pinpoint how she felt only made it more complicated.
0 Wendy You're turning out to be a great date 0 Wendy 0 5


Rupert

December 24, 2014 2:00 PM
Wendy’s enthusiastic reaction to Rupert’s outfit made all of it worth it. No matter what anyone else thought of his ensemble, Wendy liked it. He gave a mock bow. “Thank you. Your opinion matters to me over everyone else’s.” He wasn’t sure if he was brave, necessarily, but he offered her his arm and they went on to Cascade. She stayed close, holding on to him in a way that made Rupert want to lean his head against hers, but he didn’t.

As they danced and Rupert approached the topic of the song, he was unsure what had triggered Wendy’s verbose response, but he was glad to hear her voice. It was difficult to keep up with what she was going on about, but he caught classical music and her partiality towards Muggle pop songs. Rup had never listened to Muggle pop or any Muggle music, for that matter, but her invitation to show him ‘sometime’ gave promise for a future rendezvous. “I’d like that,” he replied.

As she talked about high schools, he was reminded that she had a life outside of Sonora. She lived in a world he had never experienced and was most likely popular among her Muggle friends. She could have a secret Muggle boyfriend and no one at Sonora would know or care to ask. He’d simply assumed everyone, Muggles and pure-bloods alike, only experienced life within the magical world when that was not the case. At times, Rupert realised how narrow-minded he was, but it the result of being raised in such an exclusive estate with hardly any experience with the Muggle world. He was suddenly afraid that his interest in Wendy was solely because of her blood, and wasn’t that a sort of prejudice in itself? Rupert began to search himself internally, inspecting his emotional reactions towards her to test if they were based solely on his attraction to her or to her upbringing.

“I do,” replied Rupert, now feeling sorry for asking a question about ‘her’ world. He had been asking her quite a bit about the Muggle world whenever he met with her. If he never mentioned it, would he still find things to talk about? “It’s part of the culture, and my parents are mad for it. They’re part of the socialites of Western Europe, meaning they attend loads of balls and have met almost every important European family worth knowing. I’m always impressed when I see them make their way around the room.”

Rupert really wanted to ask how Muggles danced at balls then, if high schools often had dances like these, but he refrained. He wanted to get know Wendy, not only her Muggle world. “Do you sing often at home, or do you find time to practise here?” he asked, returning to their previous conversation. “Do you take vocal lessons?” He remembered her saying that her mum was a baker as well as a songwriter, but he wasn’t quite certain.

OOC: Sorry for the delay!
0 Rupert Good things are in our fate. 0 Rupert 0 5


Wendy

January 04, 2015 12:14 AM
There was something very pleasant about dancing with another person like this. Ballroom had class and style to it and required two people to dance together. If one person didn't care about the dance, then both people would suffer and visa versa. Dancing back home wasn't the same. Nobody she knew had taken ballroom lessons, and Wendy was pretty sure she never would have known herself if she hadn't discovered her magical heritage. If there was a ball going on all the time, however, she wasn't sure she'd like it as much as she did right now.

Rupert's parents sounded pretty cool. He didn't talk about them very much to her, but she imagined them to be cool pureblood parents to have a son like him. From what Wendy knew of him, Rupert was pretty open-minded and didn't really care what other people thought. She liked telling him about her non-magical upbringing just like she enjoyed hearing about his magical upbringing. Being a muggle-born was something she could be proud of. After all, in her opinion she lived the best of both worlds and was able to keep both magical and non-magical friends close.

As they danced, she caught a glimpse of a friendly face over Rupert's shoulder. Aria was standing there and Wendy wished that she could spend more time with her friend before she left. Wendy wanted very much to visit Aria's compound in the near future and see what life for her was like. There was always something very beautiful to be found in different cultures, especially when a culture was as natural as Aria's seemed to be. A heaviness settled over Wendy's heart at the thought of the friends she would eventually have to part from. She would really miss everyone when she graduated.

The conversation went from their cultures to singing, and Wendy shook her head. "I don't practice that much here," she said, "and I don't take vocal lessons at home. I just like singing with my mom. I don't want to make a career out of it or any--whoa!" There was an especially slippery piece of floor and Wendy slipped forward right into Rupert's arms. She really hoped he didn't slip backwards himself, but the piece of what felt like ice had come out of nowhere. Rupert smelled really nice.

She quickly pulled her face away from his chest, cheeks pink, a little rumpled but otherwise unhurt. There weren't any makeup marks left on his pretty shirt, thank goodness. "Sorry, that was weird. The floor just got really slippery all of a sudden." Wendy raised her eyebrows at Rupert and shrugged.

The waltz soon ended and Wendy was surprised to find that she didn't want to step away from Rupert. Did that mean she liked him or just the warmth of his body? She smiled at him and stepped back, feeling just a very tiny bit awkward. "Thanks for dancing with me," she said. "It was a lot of fun. Do you want to get punch first before dancing again? I always like trying the snacks that they set up for these events. The prairie elves work so hard."
0 Wendy Things that we shall create. 0 Wendy 0 5


Rupert

January 05, 2015 3:36 PM
Rupert was just thinking that he’d like to hear Wendy sing for him sometime in the near future when she fell forward. Falling forward meant she fell right into him, which meant her face was in his shirt and her hair was in his face. His heart went careening against his chest, beating rapidly as his pale cheeks flushed. He wasn’t embarrassed, or perhaps he was; he couldn’t decide whether he was embarrassed or pleased or nervous. He wanted to hold her, but she pulled away much too quickly. He cleared his throat, embarrassment creeping over him as she apologised. “No need to be sorry,” he said, taking her back into his arms and finishing the waltz.

When the dance ended, there was a moment where Rupert lingered in her presence before she stepped away from him. Part of him hoped desperately that she felt the same way about him, but he couldn’t tell from her actions. She was a very nice witch, nice to everyone. Just because she had agreed to attend the ball with him and had dressed up so didn’t mean that she fancied him.

He wanted to dance another, but Wendy seemed to want a drink. Her reasoning was so kind-hearted Rupert felt like a selfish buffoon next to her. “They do, those prairie elves. Let’s try the snacks,” he said warmly, daring to hold out his hand for her to take. “Just so we don’t lose each other in the crowd,” he coughed, averting his eyes for a moment before tentatively glancing at her. He didn’t want to be presumptuous and take her hand without permission, after all.

Whether she had taken his hand or not, he made his way through the crowd to the table of refreshments. He poured a glass of punch for himself and for Wendy. When he looked up, he spotted Leo sitting alone at a table and he hoped his brother would find a partner to dance with. Sometimes he worried about him, but Rup knew better than to meddle in Leo’s life. “Here, for you,” he said, handing the glass to his date. “Cheers!” The punch tasted lovely, but as he finished the glass he found the world to be a bit more pleasant and relaxed. Whatever the prairie elves had put into the punch was very nice. “They did a good job,” he said, picking up a cauldron cake and breaking off a piece. “Would you like a piece?"
0 Rupert I'm out of rhymes. 0 Rupert 0 5


Wendy

January 06, 2015 5:44 PM
Wendy hadn't really come into contact with the prairie elves at Sonora, but they did so much behind the scenes. It was only right to enjoy the work that they did and thank them for it when she saw them. Maybe in the future Wendy would think about doing something with prairie elf rights, but the whole legal issue was something she wasn't all that interested in. She mostly just wanted to get to know them as friends.

Rupert was a good sport and held out a hand for her to take. Wendy didn't know what he meant by it, but she had promised herself to simply go with her emotions and not think too much about any of it. So she put her warm hand into his and smiled at him. "Of course," she replied and let him lead her through the crowd to the refreshments. Everything looked so nice and pretty, but it had been made to be eaten. She took the glass of punch that Rupert handed her. "Cheers!" she said, smiling as she clinked her glass against his. But with one little sip she knew she didn't really like it. She took another small sip before mournfully putting the glass down. She wanted to like it, but her taste buds weren't for it.

"Yeah, they did," she said, ignoring the glass she had put on the table. Maybe Rupert wouldn't notice if she never picked it up again. Hopefully he wouldn't. "Sure," she said, thinking a piece of cake would be better than juice. It was nice and chocolatey, just how Wendy liked it. "Yum, this is really good." She dusted her fingers off before picking up a cookie. "Here, try this too," she said, breaking it in half and handing the half to him.
0 Wendy We had a good run 0 Wendy 0 5