alll by myself `open

[grace saskia morgan.]

ron groaned for perhaps the sixth time that evening. he was in his dorm and attempting to put on his dress robes. he didn’t even want to go to the stupid masquerade ball, it’d just be another chance to see hermione dancing with other guys – not that he would ever admit that he liked her. the simplest way to see her was as his friend, and ron wasn’t going to confuse all those boundaries by admitting his feelings. the other reason he didn’t want to go to the ball was that even though it was a masquerade everyone would know it was him behind the mask; the trademark ginger hair was such an annoyance at times like these, and the fact that he had to wear his uncle bilius’ old robes AGAIN did not help either. the robes were easily distinguishable by the mouldy colour and frilly lace everywhere. he was going to look like an absolute fool, and there was no chance of him dancing with anyone. he would probably just end up sitting about on the sides, eating food, and watching people dance, whilst being laughed at from afar. sometimes he really hated being part of such a big family with no money.

he picked up the absolutely foul item of clothing from his bed, and slid the shirt on, quickly buttoning it up. black trousers next thank god. the worst part was yet to come – the lacy front part with bow tie. ron attached it as best he could, before putting on the dark brown-red over robe. he looked ridiculous he knew that but there was really nothing he could do about it. he tied the laces to his black dress shoes, and placed the simple black mask over his face. looking at himself in the mirror, he hung his head slightly, ashamed that he was going downstairs in these embarrassing robes. he was planning on meeting harry and hermione down there – the lucky two with there brand new robes and dresses, unfairly they could afford everything happily. ron vowed that he would make a difference to the weasley’s fortunes in the future, somehow, he was going to stop this stupid lifetime of second hand clothes.

ron wandered out of the gryffindor common room, and walked past lots of laughing first years who thought it funny to point at him. it was going to be a long night. he stopped in the entrance hall to check out whether he could see anyone he knew – the masks made it difficult to tell, he was just going to hope that anyone who wanted to talk to him would recognise him instantly and approach him themselves. a gang of slytherins standing just by the entrance to the great hall sniggered as he walked past, and said “what the hells that weasley? your mothers best dress?” ron resisted the urge to hex them, and hurried past into the great hall. it looked pretty great for the occasion, nice and warm and bright, and he could see that there were already people dancing. he glanced across at the dance floor hoping to spot hermione, but he couldn’t make out which girl she was if she was up there. he walked across to the food table, and got himself some punch, before heading over to some seats, and sitting down to watch the action.

[daphne cassandra greengrass]

Walking out of the shower with a fluffy white towel wrapped around her thin body, Daphne smiled. Besides quidditch, dressing up was probably her favorite thing to do. Especially in a beautiful dress for a special occasion. It was the night of the ball, and it was difficult for Daphne to quell her excitement as she dried her hair, arranging it in soft curls that fell around her face and to her pale, bare shoulders. Then it was time for her dress, that lovely dark red form-fitting dress that made Daphne feel on top of the world. She'd heard once that muggles got highs from smoking and injecting substances into themselves; well, she didn't need any of that to get her high. Finally, all that was left was the make up, done with a bare lip and smokey eye, her shoes, and lastly the mask. Of course, even with the mask it was mostly obvious who she was. But Daphne would pretend it wasn't, and maybe she could get away with some mischief.

Walking up the steps from the dungeons to the first floor in the heels she was wearing was certainly a task of olympic proportions. But she accomplished it, and now she was surrounded by the buzz of excited chatter from people all over. Some were by the steps, obviously waiting for someone to meet them, while others were in nervous groups, perhaps too chicken to dance or also waiting for someone to join them. Daphne however did not have to worry about any of that. No one had asked her to the ball, and it was all fine with her. She wasn't looking for any sort of organized fun that would tie her to just one person. No, she wanted excitement, something different. She had a mask on covering her face, so she felt free of some of the restraints she had to follow due to being a pureblood. A Slytherin pureblood.

Looking about, she saw that the Great Hall was dressed up quite beautifully as well, bright and inviting. Daphne smiled, glad to be doing something out of the ordinary. It was nice to put away the stresses of normal life for one glorious night and just have fun. Looking around, she saw there were couples already on the dance floor. She resisted the urge to simply grab someone and make them dance with her, but instead seated herself next to a shabby looking boy. Daphne could tell in an instant of quick observation that he was a Weasley, although she wasn't quite sure which one it was. It didn't matter much to her however. Although they went against her personal beliefs, and associated with mudbloods and the like, Daphne had a quiet respect for them. No matter what anyone said, they did what they wanted. Half the kids in her house who thought they were ten times better than anyone else because their parents served the dark lord only did so out of pure fear. It was intelligent, of course, but completely spineless.

Looking towards him again, Daphne simply let the words blurt out before she could catch them again. "Would you care to dance?" She asked him, with a little smile on her pink lips. She was the slightest bit afraid that he would be able to see right through that mask and know who she was, tell the school, and ruin her. But she quelled the silly fear; people only knew who she was when her face was visible and her colors were showing. Besides, no one else would have asked him to dance, if he didn't say yes he was a fool.

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tagged; vicky !
outfit; this !
notes; newp. (: