Great Hall

 

The Great Hall certainly seems to be the heart of Hogwarts, as every day the four houses of Hogwarts and professors alike join together in this magnificent corridor.  Even the elitist wizard or witch would be bedazzled by the sheer brilliance of this hall.

 

The room seems to be lit by an endless number of candles floating atop the five tables set up here.  Four of the tables are evenly placed beside each other, measuring at least a hundred meters each.  These polished tables seem to possess an endless number of golden goblets and platters, which are empty at the moment, but rest assured; any decent magical institution would fill them with many eats as breakfast, lunch, and dinner each roll around.  The walls adjacent with the four tables are decorated with elaborately ornamented flags of the four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin.  Of course, seated at these four tables would be the students of these houses.

 

At the front of the room is another table, identical to the other tables in the room except for the fact that the professors at Hogwarts dine there.  Above that table is the crest of Hogwarts, proudly displayed in all its glory.  The occasional suit of armor is placed around the room, as well as a few framed pictures, but it's not like the room really needs to be decorated by things such as those.

 

Above the tabletops is a magnificent ceiling, if it's a ceiling at all.  It seems to be the starry sky itself; the ceiling stretches upward so high, it certainly is hard to tell if there's a rooftop covering the room or not.  Although someone who has been reading his or her books about Hogwarts would tell you it's bewitched to look like the sky outside.  Nevertheless, the room as a whole certainly is a breath-taking place.

 

 

Ah, fresh air did her wonders. Or at least that's the appearance when Cho had returned into the hall just a little while ago. She went right over to the refreshments, smiling at Harry, poured herself a new drink. She plans to finish it before she starts to do anything else, like asking anyone to dance, or reinitiating open offers she left open when she stepped outside. (Since I still haven't figured out how to make my desc perfect, here's the basic.) She's dressed up in brilliant blue dress robes, bronze and gem encrested combs holding her hair up in an elaborate style (which she fixed a bit while she was out of the Hall). For now, she's stopped glancing towards the doors, apparently given up with the looking thing. It was starting to get old after all.

 

Harry slinked himself over to a table with some refreshments while Cho excused herself for a bit. He nearly chokes on his glass of juice as Miss Chang returns and she smiles his way. What a night! How'd he get so lucky this evening?

 

It's always just when they give up searching that whatever the person happens to be looking for ends up arriving or being found. He arrives with Aranea on his arm; it should be fairly obvious what he's doing, too. Draco leads the seventh year Slytherin into the Great Hall, and he isn't about to drop the act of courting, either, maneuvering his arm in order to take his evening date's hand with one skillful, perfected motion (And this is because he was probably forced to do it, over and over again, just so he wouldn't embarrass his father in any social gatherings due to lack of manners, etc. Sigh.). "Care to dance? Or shall I get you something to drink?"

 

Neville is hiding against some discreet corner of the hall. He's feeling rather miserable because he never worked up his courage to ask Ginny to the Yule ball after overhearing that one conversation once. "...." So he just hovers there in the background, trying not to be conspicuous - which probably makes it conspicuous in and of itself. ;o; He has over the course of the ball, finally worked up the courage to get himself a drink and now holds it closely, in fear that he might accidentally like... drop it.

 

Aranea immediately scans the room to see who's there as she enters with Draco. One Mr. Longbottom, how delightful, even better, there's Mr. Potter. Hmmm. This might be interesting indeed. However the main individual she is supposed to be keeping an eye on is still nowhere in sight. Draco, your father would be proud at the display of good manners. "Something to drink first, please?"

 

That is so true. So very true. Just like of you /do/ keep looking, when you find it, it's the last place you looked! (Of course, that's because you stop looking once you find it, but /still/.) Cho continues to sip on her glass of pumpkin juice and speaks friendly to a Ravenclaw who happens to be nearby and talking to her, thus, her eyes do not happen to see young Mr. Malfoy, or his date, or any approach they might make. (Did that sound funny to anyone else?)

 

Harry offers a wave in Neville's direction. Don't be such a wallflower. (Like he's one to talk.) Finishing his drink, he was hoping Cho would come back over this way, until he sees she's speaking with a housemate. Hrm. He gets up from his seat and walks over to Neville. "Hey, enjoy.." And he cuts off there as he happens to catch a glance at the door where Malfoy enters.. with an.. older student. Well, there goes the evening.

 

With a nod, a polite bow of sorts, acknowledging the request, he departs from Aranea's side, the tails of his dress robes fluttering momentarily behind him at the movement. Then, he heads over towards the drink stand, the icy blue eyes scanning over the crowd for Cho, but instead, they fall onto Harry, a rather malicious smile just slipping into place. He purposely detours, making it seem as though the crowd were in his way, towards the young Potter, ensuring that he has a chance to pass by. Draco would never give up an opportunity to drop a few snide comments if the chance to do so arises. Slowing down his pace to walk by, he calls a little over the music. "Looks like there wasn't anyone who was female that you could bribe into taking to the Ball this time, eh, Potter? I never would have dreamed that you'd become so desperate that you'd invite Longbottom to be your date, even Weasley might of been a better choice." >D

 

OOC Insert: Harry says, "I hate you Malfoy."

 

Neville can guess what Harry is going to say, and was going to reply, that is until he sees what Harry is looking at... Uh. Oh. Malfoy. It was probably too much to hope that Malfoy wouldn't show up. His knees do a little knocking of their own accord. He knows that he should stand up to Malfoy, but Slytherins in general terrify him. Then at Malfoy's words.... Neville's jaw drops and he grows pale. And yep... the poor glass of pumpkin juice drops from his now nerveless hands. Draco did NOT intimate what he THOUGHT he heard.

 

OOC Insert: Neville says, "I really hate you Malfoy ^^;"

 

OOC Insert: Draco says, "I hate me, too. *.* I'm so wonderful. *.*"

 

Aranea is more than happy to let Malfoy go about his merry little way. She moves herself further into the room, finding a nice place to stand unobtrusive while she observes for now. She's too far away to hear what was just said, but judging by the dropped glass and the jaw dropping reaction of Neville.. it was something deliciously mean, and unwarranted.

 

Prof Major enters the hall, dressed for the occasion.  His robes are of a dark bottle green velvet, perfectly matching his eyes, and highlighting his hair, which is worn down, not tethered in it's usual clasp. Silver scrollwork adorns his robes, and what he wears or carries underneath remains hidden.  He has an easy smile on his face, and greets the students he passes as he walks through the hall.  His eyes rest on Harry, and he smiles, tossing in a wink, then he continues on his rounds as Chaperone, pausing at the beverage table to pour a goblet of hot cider for himself.  He sips long from the goblet as he looks around the room, eyes surveying everything going on in his vicinity.

 

/Baaaaaad/ Draco. Bad! But Cho is too far away to see him, much less hear what he has to say as he passes by Harry. She continues to speak to the Ravenclaw student nearby, and is joined by about two or three others. See what being socialable gets you? She should have remained distant and sulky all night so she didn't have to do all this conversing. She's almost finished with her drink though, so soon she will find some way to disengage from the polite conversation.

 

Harry groans inwardly as Malfoy approaches. Luckily he was steeling himself for some nasty comment, however THAT he wasn't expecting. "Eat dung Malfoy." He's not about to tell the blonde git that his date has yet to arrive. Then again, if she were here, it would just give Malfoy more ammunition to see Harry with Ginny. Oh look, his godfather arrived! "Oh Professor Major! Over here!" Yes, he's not about to say anything else to Malfoy otherwise they end up in another fistfight, time to call on the professor.

 

He takes a step back, the glass shattering upon the floor just a few inches away, the pumpkin juice, as it splatters all over the floor, just narrowly missing his shoes. It only causes Draco's smile to grow even wider. Forget about you, Potter, he's found a new victim of his taunting. "With a date as clumsy as you, Longbottom, it's no wonder that Potter hasn't asked you to dance. You'd probably end up dropping him, too." ^.^ Oh, he's so witty, but he doesn't like the fact that a Professor is being called over, nor is he stupid enough to stick around, so the blonde-haired Slytherin might as well ship off. He steps around the spill and the broken glass, getting back to what he was originally planning, before, swiftly heading to the drink stand to fetch a drink for himself and Aranea.

 

Neville really isn't quite like Harry at all, and his response to Malfoy is quite a difference from Harry's. He turns from completely pale to an embarrassed red, trembling for head to foot like some bit of quivering oversized jello. His lower lip, most visibly quavers. Tears begin to well up in his eyes and then, almost predictably he stumbles past Malfoy and breaks into a run, hitching up his robes like a girl might with a long skirt and flees the Great Hall. Boy... would his gran really be disappointed in him.

 

Aranea is VERY curious now as to what is going on over there. Especially after Longbottom takes flight. Arching an eyebrow she crosses over towards Malfoy, meeting him halfway most likely. "What on earth did you say to them?" Oh this might even make the paper.. if she's feeling incredibly cruel enough.

 

Prof Major smiles wider as Harry calls him over, and after refilling his  goblet, and muttering a soft incantation over it, walks with sweeping grace toward The Boy that ... well.. you know the rest..  He nods to those greeting him and wishing him happy holidays as he passes until he reaches Harry.  "Good evening Harry. Enjoying the Ball so far I assume?" he says with a twinkle in his eyes.  He sips at his goblet again, waiting for Harry's answer.

 

The breaking glass drew some of her friends attention, but Cho's trying desperately to get away from the conversation, so she doesn't even look before she says, "I'm finished drinking. I think I'm going to go dance with--" This is when she turned around and happens to see a very distinctive white head of hair in the crowd. "Draco?" She finishes, though /not/ what she was intending to say, honest! The Ravenclaw girls all /look/ at each other, as Cho puts down her glass and starts off through the crowd towards the Slytherin Seeker. And boy does the whispering start as soon as she's out of earshot.

 

Harry eye twitches as Malfoy continues talking. "He's not my.." Then Neville takes off crying. Just give Harry another reason to hold back from slugging you right here and now. (Oh wait more points and detention.) Better swallow those nasty comments and stay far away from Draco the rest of the evening.  Thankfully Major comes over just in time. "... Well I was." A scathing glance is shot towards Malfoy, then.. another indescribably irritated look replaces that as Cho heads for the Slytherin git.

 

Aranea does indeed meet him halfway; her question causes another nasty smile to come to his lips. "Looks like Potter has decided that he's sick of female attention and took Neville Longbottom to the ball, instead. Big mistake, though. Longbottom's so clumsy that if you put him in a room made of rubber, he'd still probably be able to break something. Potter doesn't want to dance with him, probably because he'd get dropped just like that glass. Apparently, the truth hurt so much, however, that Longbottom ran away to cry about it." Just then, just as he's finished telling the tale to Aranea in a rather pleasant tone, that's when he spots Cho making her way towards him. Draco's sneer immediate gets wiped off his face and winds up replaced with kind of smile, but not quite. He slips a hand beneath his robes and reaches into the vest pocket beneath, removing a sheet of neatly folded parchment, then tucks it into his palm. This isn't anybody else's business, after all. He's got what you asked for, as promised, Cho. Tee hee. n.n

 

Aranea chuckles as Draco tells her what just transpired. "That was quite unprovoked, cruel, not to mention a low blow. I approve." Naturally. An eyebrow arches delicately as the sneer removes itself from Malfoy's face, she turns to see the source. Oh what have we here? For now, she quiets herself and just watches what may happen.

 

Prof Major follows Harry's gaze and look of ill will towards Draco, and he cocks an eyebrow slowly, "Ah... the Malfoy ...child..." he says in the same tone Snape uses when addressing Harry, like it leaves a bitter taste in one's mouth to say the name.  He then looks to Harry, "How have you been doing?  I don't know if you have heard yet or not, but I will be teaching a new subject next semester..." he says with a small grin, then sips at his goblet again. He glances down at the mess of glass and punch near his feet, pulls out his wand, and casually utters a charm cleaning up the mess, and returning the repaired cup to the table.

 

The fact that she happens to miss most of Draco's worst displays, means that Cho has no real reason to /not/ give the fellow Seeker a friendly and polite smile. He did do her a favor after all. (That's not what a certain group of Ravenclaws are whispering though.) She also gives a polite smile to his date, who she'd heard about already; if not sure she's met. Pretty sure she hasn't. Not many friends in Slytherin after all. "Good evening, Draco." She says pleasantly, politely nodding her head towards both of them. Just saying hello to a fellow Seeker. Nothing to see here! Move along!

 

Harry tears his gaze away from the walking eyesore. "Yeah. Alright.. I guess.. I can only get rid of these headaches temporarily." The dull thud he's actually getting used to. "It's just a mild one.. if it worsens I promise I'll tell someone immediately." That added quickly before he can get a reprimand or something. "Hermione's back from London don't know where she and Ron took off to. Oh yeah, with Hagrid back.. what class are you getting put in charge of?"

 

He's so happy that his date approves of the previously displayed nastiness. It'd give him a boost of confidence if it wasn't so high, already. He nods his head a bit to Cho, and then makes a gesture towards her for Aranea's benefit. "Aranea, this is Cho Chang. She's the Ravenclaw seeker." A bit of a pause, and then, he reverses the introduction for Cho. "Cho, this is Aranea Thomlinson. She's a seventh year student of the Slytherin house." And his date for the Yule Ball, but that much should be obvious, otherwise, why else would she be with Draco, other then to converse with him for a moment or congratulate him for sending Longbottom out of the room in tears. He takes the neatly-folded parchment from his hand and holds it up between two fingers, the writing on the outside looking as though it were some sort of love letter, addressed to the Ravenclaw from a nameless Slytherin. He even went as far as to getting someone else to write on the outside for him, just to make it all the more convincing, but she should know that the contents certainly aren't that. "I was asked to give this to you." His smile widens a itty-bitty bit. "I promised I would tonight, though I may be a little late, so."

 

Aranea flashes what could only be described as a tolerant smile. She's not pleasant by any means, unless she has reason. For the moment, she doesn't. After the introductions are made by Draco, she nods, "Nice to meet you." Or is it? Her tone of voice is neutral at best. If you want friendly, go talk to a Hufflepuff. As the paper is passed from Draco to Cho, she tries to get a glance of what it could possibly contain. Unfortunately, it's well concealed.

 

Prof Major keeps a casual eye on Draco, and whom he is talking to, he does not recall seeing his date before, but then, who wants to memorize the Slytherin Spawn?  He looks fully at Harry, and claps his hands together softly, grinning wide as he says softly, "The Study of Muggle Artifacts..." he whispers.  "Interesting, eh?" he says with a mischievous glint in his eye.  "I know it is an elective, so I am not expecting HUGE numbers of students.  I wonder if Hermione will sign up..." he muses.

 

When she said be subtle, that /isn't/ what she meant. But then again, she's not very good at it herself or she wouldn't have just walked up to him in the middle of the crowds. Cho stares at the letter, and then glances towards Draco. When he said he would think of some way to work it in, she was expecting... well... not that! No doubt gossip is going to build thanks to this little thing. x.x Sigh. After a moment, she reaches forward and takes it, putting it into the folds of her dress robe somewhere. "Thank you, Draco." She turns her eyes on Aranea, not disappointed of the fact that she's not anything above neutral, "Nice to meet you, Aranea."

 

Harry pointedly does not look over in Malfoy's direction. "Oh that should be interesting! Naah, Hermione dropped it after her third year. I'm glad Professor Dumbledore found another position for you here." No one wants to memorize who each of the Slytherin are. Certainly not him.

 

Well. How else was he supposed to go passing around notes? 'Here, this is from the teacher.' But the writing obviously belongs to him, so that wouldn't work. Plus, he didn't exactly want anyone to see, so he did the first thing that he could think of that would be sufficient: disguising it as a love letter. After all, Cho is a fairly attractive girl, so surely she must be accustomed to them, which is why it was so perfect. Draco folded it up the parchment all nice and neatly, even got a friend to sign it for him, although there was a bit of eyebrow raising because of it, some of the Slytherins starting rumors amongst themselves of a possible wild love affair. Bleh. He went through all that trouble. "I was just about to get a drink for Aranea." A pause for effect. "However, would you like to dance, afterwards? If it's alright with Aranea, of course. There are a few other things I'm supposed to say on behalf of the letter."

 

Malfoy has friends? Aren't they more like cronies? Aranea slips her hands behind her, clasping them at the small of her back. "I don't mind at all, as long as I get the first dance that is." Then hopefully she can flee to the sidelines lest she make herself ill with this charade.

 

Prof Major looks around a bit keeping an eye on the students, he IS a chaperone tonight after all, then leans forward to whisper something to Harry, and stands upright again, taking a sip from his goblet.

 

He could have always palmed it to her! Sigh. The damage is done, and she'll just have to make sure no more damage is-- What? Cho blinks. She is just about to say no, but then he adds that last bit. More to it? More that he couldn't put /in/ the letter? Well, did she really expect that Draco wouldn't want something in return? And a dance really can't hurt anyone, so it fits the arrangement. She nods after a moment, "All right. But you two should dance first." She'll try to stamp out some of these rumors among the Ravenclaws before they spread.

 

Harry exhales a breath of air noisily and forcefully enough to blow upwards at his bangs. At Sirius's question, he shrugs a bit. "Dunno.. she hasn't shown up yet." Which is a bit surprising given that it's Ginny. "Ron doesn't even know where she's at." Maybe he should just slink out for some air or something soon.

 

That's not a problem at all, leading Aranea in his first dance of the evening, he isn't going to complain. Instead, he gives Cho what could almost be a friendly smile, but certainly isn't, considering that it IS Draco and he just don't smile in a friendly fashion. He slips over to the drink stand and retrieves a glass, the group of Ravenclaw girls shuffling off to the side with a few giggles and whispers, which he ignores. As fun as rumors and gossip are, he's supposed to be acting like a gentleman *HACKCOUGH*, so when he pours a glass of pumpkin juice, he immediately returns to Aranea's side. And he will certainly wait patiently until she's finished it.

 

Aranea can only begin to guess and speculate over what's being whispered and giggled about. In her *cough* younger days, she was always eavesdropping then adding more fuel to any rumors. Hrm, that's no different than how she is today. Go figure. When Malfoy returns with a glass of juice, she flashes him a smile, "Thank you." Not wanting to be piggish, but also not wanting to stand around for too much longer, she drinks the juice as quickly as can be done while still appearing ladylike.

 

Prof Major gives Harry a sly smile, then says to him in a low tone, meant only for him, "Women, they like to make you wait..." he says with a resolved tone of voice. He then looks around the dance floor for several minutes, seeing what the students in his area are up too.  So far everyone seems to be behaving themselves. He watches Malfoy closely as he approaches the punch bowl, and makes sure nothing goes INTO the bowl while he is there.  Once Malfoy leaves the table area, he nods and smiles to Madame Hooch as she passes.  "Good Yule to you Professor," he smiles in his most winning of ways.

 

Chug chug chug!

 

Harry rolls his eyes, "This waiting business is ridiculous if you ask me." Girls.. still from another planet. "Where's the point in making a person wait? Did mum do this to dad?" Or does he even want to know? As Madam Hooch passes, he nods to her politely. He raises a hand to rub at his forehead, more out of habit and irritation than anything.

 

It's not in his style to 'spike the punch'. That's something someone without a proper heritage would do. In other words, he knows better than to do something like that, but obviously he doesn't know enough about what's right and wrong, since Draco insists on being a nasty arse to certain individuals, even without being provoked to do so. With Aranea finished her drink, he takes the glass back and sets it down with the others which have been used, returning to her for the second time to reach for her hand. "Ready?" It's time to dance, of course! n.n

 

Aranea hands her glass over to Draco when she's finished with it. Once again, she waits patiently for his return. Thankfully, she's not kept waiting for more than a few seconds. As Draco takes her hand, she has the good grace to flash him a small smile, "I'm ready, lead the way." Not that there is any doubt that he'll do so.

 

Prof Major gives Harry a smile and a look that perhaps answers his question in the positive.  Kane inhales long, and lets out a longer sigh as he looks around the room.  He seems lost in thought, memories perhaps as he surveys the students dancing, laughing, giggling to themselves.  He goes to sip from his goblet, and finding it empty, he frowns slightly.  Looking down at Harry, he says, "Shall we go for something to drink, or nibble on while you wait for your partner?" he asks in a quiet tone. He notices Harry rubbing his scar, and he knits his eyebrows in concern.  "Is your scar bothering you?" he asks in a worried tone.

 

Harry drops his hand to his side. "That sounds good." Major's expression in regards to his question about his mum and dad suffices. He's not going to ask about anything else in regards to his late parents tonight. There's enough going on to sent his spirits straight down into the doldrums as it is. ".. Just a headache."

 

Of course there shouldn't be any doubt that Draco would lead the way, as most real men should. Ha ha, Potter. Perhaps you should ask him for some lessons so that you don't wind up tripping all over your two left feet, or being lead about by your partner like the woman you are. n.n He escorts Aranea out onto the dance floor, takes her in his arms and... proceeds with the dancing, guiding her about the floor with ease and skill. Of course, this has all been pushed into his head, too, by his father to ensure that he doesn't make a fool out of the man at social gatherings. Whoop-de-doo.

 

But it's such good training. Aranea hasn't any /real/ complaints at the moment given that she's gotten her own self into this mess. "You dance quite well Draco." Well that was a pitiful start for small talk with the young man. "Might I ask what that was about with that girl earlier?" If you don't wish to divulge any information, well that's fine. She supposes.

 

Prof Major follows Harry to the food tables, loaded down of course with the most delicious of treats. He refills his goblet with the hot cider, and then once again repeats the same incantation over it before taking a sip.  He glances down at Harry giving him an inquisitive look, and as a reply gives him a sly grin that can only come from a Marauder, and offers him a plate of cookies shaped like Snitches, "Cookie Harry?" he offers after taking a couple for himself.

 

Among the throngs of Ravenclaws, Cho is attempting to disarm as many of the whispers as she can. With out much effect. For one, they ask what the note /really/ is if not a love letter, and she changes the subject; they ask to see it, and she changes the subject. And then one nearby Slytherin goes as far as to whisper not far enough away not to be heard about how Cho seems to have a thing for Seekers and how she was even dancing with Gryffindor's earlier. /That/ girl earns probably the first nasty look that Cho has given in a very, very long time (no doubt it was also to cover the real reaction to that). And it's the reason she finally breaks from the crowd and goes to stand against one of the side walls to be alone for a few minutes. That did /not/ improve her mood at all. If it wasn't for Draco's mentioning of needing to tell her about something involving the mysterious letter, no doubt she would have left. And at least it looks like he can dance! After the incident with the chair she was beginning to wonder if he lacked balance or was just too smug.

 

Harry shakes his head both at the sly grin and the offering of cookies. He helps himself to a glass of juice, he just wants something to drink. That's all. His appetite has been a bit down as of late. Taking a drink from his glass, he looks over the rim in Cho's direction. He gives himself a mental kick for sulking. He drains his glass with another drink and sets it down. "'scuse me Professor.." And he's walking away, crossing the room towards Cho. Once again, he steels himself as he approaches the Ravenclaw student, "Doyoumaybewannadanceagain?" Could he say that any faster?

 

Prof Major looks up as Harry quickly departs, and he smiles when he sees him talking to the Ravenclaw Girl. "You go for it Harry.." he says under his breath, and stakes out a watch post near the table.  He muses how easy this is going so far, rather dull actually.  Sip, watch, sip. Lather, rinse, repeat.

 

And boy, can he ever dance. Easily moving with grace around the dance floor with Aranea, occasionally lifting his arm to have her sweep out into a spin and then back again, but he mostly doesn't seem to bother to do anything overly fancy. A bit of a chuckle, to acknowledge the compliment, then the hints of a faint smirk. "A friend in the Slytherin house asked me earlier that if I was attending the Ball, if I'd be able to drop off a note that he had written to Cho. Seeing no reason not to, I agreed. I'm also supposed to ask her to meet him a bit later." The boy lies with about as much ease as he puts into his movements, he'd tell the truth, otherwise, if it weren't for the fact that he's getting something out of it, and, it was requested of him to keep his mouth shut. Eventually the steps of the dance, while it leads the two around the floor, bring Harry into sight as he goes to ask Cho to dance... And the gears start turning inside Draco's head. His eyes light up in a strange fashion. The smirk grows malicious, once again. "Looks like Potter's trying to cover up for his mistake of asking Longbottom to the Ball." Looks like he'll have to intervene sooner then planned, because of this new development.

 

Cho glances up from her moment of silent composure regaining. "What?" It takes a second for her to decipher exactly what he said. It's difficult, but the dance part stands out a bit. Dance, dance. Oh! She was supposed to dance with him again, wasn't she? She glances to make sure that the Slytherin and his date are still enjoying their first dance, then she nods and manages a small smile, "Of course." Instead of taking his hands this time, she raises both of hers out. She'll have to break the news about her impending dance with Mr. Malfoy when they get out there. c.c

 

It takes a liar to recognize another liar? Aranea smirks as Draco easily sends her into a spin and brings her back, "So in other words, none of my business? I understand perfectly well." She glances briefly over in Potter's direction, "Now now.. be nice towards /Mr./ Potter. I'm sure he tried hard to find another date." That jab ought to satisfy Malfoy.

 

Harry grins a bit surprisedly. She said sure! Gingerly, he takes Cho's hands in his, leading her out onto the dance floor. He murmurs to her, "Sorry, I'm not very good at this.. I'll try to not step on your foot or something." He's fine if his partner steers.. Well here goes nothing! He slowly and a bit awkwardly leads Cho in a dance. Breaking that news to him is not going to go over well at all.

 

Draco blinks as innocently as he can. "Who knows. I have no idea what was written on it, just merely doing what I was asked to." Indeed, it does take a liar to recognize another, so perhaps the lies can be considered a sort of code between the two: 'What's in the note?' 'I'm going to make up some lie because it isn't any of your business.' 'Now now, that's not very nice.' 'Well, serves you right for asking.' But, anyways. Satisfy him? No, it certainly did nothing of the like, it just added more fuel to the fire. "Oh yes, I'm sure he tried very hard. Doesn't take much to blubber like an idiot, after all. He probably did the same thing to Longbottom in order to charm him into attending the Ball with him." Off again, he takes Aranea on the dance, pausing every once and a while to cast a glance out of the corner of his eye over at Potter. UGH. YOU'RE SO TERRIBLE. He's going to have to go over and insult you some more just for being a disgrace on the dance floor. c.c;

 

Aranea flashes Draco a sickeningly saccharine sweet smile. Of course she deserved the lie for prying. It's never stopped her before, as a matter of fact, such little blocks only seem to egg her on. "I'm certain that they make a lovely pair. It's not surprising given Potter's background." He puts the fun in dysfunctional? The pauses and glances made by Malfoy are duly noted, "If you'd like to go over there and cut in, be my guest. I'll be more than happy to just stand back and watch the fun." How nice of her.

 

Cho smiles as reassuringly as she can manage, following into the... slightly awkward dance, but she casts an eye towards the Slytherin couple and then looks back at her current partner. She knows that him and the Slytherin don't get along well, and... well, it's going to happen eventually. "I can only dance with you until Draco comes over. I have to dance with him. He... needs to explain something to me." That's probably as far as she can get before feet get stepped on or something of the like.

 

Prof Major wanders over to chat with Lupin, they bow their heads and engage in a quiet conversation. Soft laughter comes from both men a while later.

 

Harry tries to boost his own confidence in his dancing ability, or lack thereof.. "Sorry..Never really had much call for learning how to dance. Last year was the first time.." The only things he really does well are getting into trouble and playing quidditch. And he nearly steps on his own feet at that.. "What..? Alright then.." He's not happy about this mind you, but he really doesn't have a say in the matter and it's quite obvious, as much as he tries to mask it. He really doesn't want to get into anything with Malfoy in Cho's presence.

 

Prof Major is chaperoning the Yule Ball, and is now is pretty much idling after talking to Harry. He currently is now "talking" with Lupin and sipping from a large goblet of Hot Cider.  He is dressed in NICE bottle green robes, his hair is down from the usual ponytail.

 

"Certainly not." Draco fakes an offended look, but he won't pause right in the middle of the dance because he knows better than that, too, so he keeps moving, leading Aranea about the dance floor, even going a bit out of his way to make Potter look more like a fool by transfering some of the spins that he guides his partner into around the front and back. Still nothing too flashy, but enough that it serves its purpose. "Besides, if I interrupt, it means that Potter will be saved from a few moments of humiliation. I'll head over when the song comes to an end." And it does, eventually, after probably a minute. He steps back from his 'date' for the evening, goes as far as to sincerely thank her for it, before turning, the tails of his coat doing the dramatic Batman-cape thing, again, and heading over in Cho and Potter's direction. Step aside, Boy-Who-Lived. He's going to show you how it's done. *smirk*

 

Aranea laughs at Draco, "Very well then." Having Malfoy as a dance partner isn't all that bad as he's quite good. "Now now.. you know he's quite deprived.. or is that depraved according to the papers?" Of course it is, especially if she wrote it. As the dance ends, she even curtsies to the boy, "Thank you for the dance." Letting the young man go cut in with Potter and Cho, she retreats off the floor, leaning against a wall to watch.

 

"Sorry," Cho apologizes as soon as he has a chance to respond. At least she went ahead and told him instead of him finding out when the smug Slytherin steps over and interrupts them. That probably would have gone over less well. As they continue to dance during the song, she tells Harry, "You just need some more practice." Can't be good at everything right away. As the music stops, the dancing no doubt slows and she glances to see that he is indeed heading this way. Hopefully he'll be as refined to not make a big scene as Harry is.

 

Harry nods to Cho, "It's alright.. Thank you for the dance." When the music stops, he reluctantly lets go of Cho, "I'll have to practice then.. just in case we have another dance or two next year." Malfoy's approach is noted, "I better walk away before he comes over. Thank you again." For giving him the time of day! He offers a smile at Cho before turning and walking away in the opposite direction from Malfoy's approach. He's going to try and keep as wide a berth away from the guy as possible.

 

Prof Major finishes talking with Lupin, and with a soft smile, watches Hagrid and Snape as they enter the Hall and wander around.

 

Snape stalks around the edges of the Great Hall, his black velvet and silver-trim robes whispering about him but unfortunately doing nothing to offset his highly disgruntled expression.  Good grief, it has been a trying night, and he's ready to just get this over with.

 

That's good. Your stench is rather intolerable, Potter. Draco approaches Cho with a relaxed, easy pace, not particularly in a hurry. Once he's there and the other gone, the act of being a gentleman comes into play once again and he even goes as far as to bow deeply to her, before straightening, with a hand outstretched. "Shall we dance, then?" Cue the music! Well, it has already started the song a bit faster then the one done previously. That means it'd probably be a lot easier to show off to. Peeerfect.

 

Aranea changes her mind about watching, and quietly slips out through the main doors.

 

Hagrid stands against one of the walls, his long, dirty robes hanging behind him. He has a gruff smile upon his face, barely visible behind his scruffy beard. His beady eyes look kind, though some would think he's not, if they judged solely on appearance. He has on his chest a large, novelty button, which he purchased in Hogsmeade a few days ago. It reads, "Happy Christmas!" and is bewitched to have a very small, but very real looking Santa and his reindeer flying around the circumference of the button.

 

Prof Major lifts his Goblet to Snape as he moves by, an easy smile on his face, "Good Yule to you Professor Snape," he says in a low, smooth tone.  "How are you this fine evening?"

 

He's... bowing... Cho can't help but continue to smile. She shakes her head a little bit though and has to say to him, "I just spent about ten minutes trying to convince half my house.. Nevermind." She doesn't know why she even bothered since they would be dancing together anyway. She takes his hands and lets him lead her out, ready to get dance, though not intending to show off. (Though, she's good enough that the two of them dancing together will look rather nice...) "So what did you have to tell me exactly?" She asks, still smiling, glancing around and hoping that those whispers aren't starting back up again (alas...).

 

Snape stops upon hearing his name, but as he turns to regard the person who uttered it, he wishes he had pretended not to notice.  "I'm wonderful, Major," he says, not bothering to make his face or tone match the words, and most certainly not offering a 'How are you?' in return.  Bloody wonderful indeed.

 

Harry finds himself a corner far from the dance floor to hide in. He keeps his back to the dance floor so as to not accidentally look in the direction of Cho and Draco. With the way his mood is spiraling downward, there could be disastrous results.

 

Prof Major is undaunted by Snape's cold retort, God if only James was here... "I see you changed robes for the occasion. Very striking. " he says as a genuine sounding compliment.  "I take it your end of year exams all went well?"

 

Hagrid spots Harry, being tall enough to see over everyone. He makes his way down towards Harry, noticing the upset look on the boy's face. He hopes to offer a little bit of help if he can; he looks up to Harry, of course.. as strange as it sounds.

 

Normally, he would've stayed up in the Common.. -normally-, had it not been FLOODED by chocolate frogs that had accidentally gotten free from some body's pocket. But that was an entirely different subject! It had nothing to do with the dreadlock boy in any way! And it is rather difficult for one to concentrate on one's sleeping when a large mass of live confection is crawling up your bed sheets, and melting into a interesting pool near the fire. You'd think they'd be smart enough to stay away, but no. Lee, thinking these thoughts, coughed lightly as he re-entered. It looked almost the same, save a few new people joining. With an exasperated sigh, Lee sat back down at the empty table he had before and fiddled with silverware on the table. Well, perhaps he'd see the person whom he was looking for the other night...

 

Hagrid gets close enough as to be in Harry's hearing range. "All righ', Harry?"

 

Snape sighs.  Major's going to be pushy, of course.  Ignoring the gracious compliment, he replies, "They went well enough," keeping his expression more or less neutral.  Actually, Valeth passed just about everybody in the classes he subbed for.  How depressing.  "Yours?"  The question is gruff but not precisely impolite.  Severus will play along for the moment.

 

Prof Major cants his head to the side, smiling softly as he sets his goblet down, and pours a cup of hot cider for Snape, handing it to him without asking if he even wanted some.  He KNEW that answer, "Mine went quiet well.  The students were quite bright, quite inquisitive.  Have you heard that I will be teaching a new course next semester?" he says, not stopping long enough to let Snape interrupt. "Since Hagrid has returned.. He will resume the teaching of Care Of Magickal Creatures, and I shall take on a new subject..." he pauses, to see if Snape will reply in some manner or other.

 

Snape accepts the proffered cup and takes a large gulp as he listens to Major speak.  Well, was that the reaction you were expecting?  "Oh, really?" he murmurs as Kane trails off.  Why should he say anything?  At the moment, he's just waiting for you to shut up and leave him alone.

 

He leads her back into the mass of people, but ensures that there will be more than enough room to move about, not to mention give Potter a clear shot of them dancing together, if he does happen to look over. The dance begins and Draco immediately takes charge in skillfully guiding Cho about the floor, with the intentions on gauging her skill-level, not to mention get accustomed to the new partner, just so he doesn't end up making a fool out of himself by doing something too difficult. A bit of a faint sort of 'smile' slides across his lips. "I did some research into the potion for you, asked Professor Snape a few more questions about possible side-effects. It was the best that we could." Keeping his voice low, practically just above a soft murmur, "I didn't have a chance to write them down, however, so this seemed like the best way to tell you." Which is bull. He rewrote the potion onto a new sheet of parchment and deliberately left it out. "You don't mind, of course?" And if she does, well, it's a little too late as of now.

 

Prof Major nods, smiling proudly as he refills his goblet, and picks it up again, "The Study of Muggle Artifacts..." he says with a wide grin,  "I will get to tinker with all sorts of Muggle items and whatnots...." he pauses to sip at his cider, "It should be fun indeed," he says with a smile.

 

Hagrid looks to the entering students from his place against the wall, the gruff, but friendly smile still on his face. Though he doesn't recognize the students, he assumes they're just some of the ones transferred from Japan.

 

"Hurrah," Snape replies sarcastically, looking away from Major with a disgusted expression.  Dangit, you're wasting his time.  Never mind that he wasn't actually doing anything anyway, he'd rather be prowling around the Hall than standing here having to listen to the inane prattle of a person he can't stand even more than most.  "I'm sure it will be just lovely."

 

Prof Major stops talking and just watches Snape over the rim of his goblet as he drinks. What to do, what to do next...

 

How in the WORLD did Harry miss Hagrid's presence? He looks up at the giant and grins, "I'm alright." He will be at any rate. "I'm glad to see you back Hagrid! How was your holiday?" He continues to pointedly NOT look in Cho and Draco's direction.

 

On the plus side, at least she's shorter then him, so the dancing isn't too awkward. Cho is quite good, and follows his movements perfectly. She continues to smile in a semi-friendly fashion and nods to what he says, "Of course I don't mind." She actually believes him? Sad, huh? Though, Draco is the one doing her the favor, so she isn't going to argue too much about it. Of course he could have found a better way to do this... "So what all are they?" she says in a soft voice.

 

Hagrid grins at Harry. "It was great! I went ter visit some old friends in Ireland. We had some good times. Yeh would like it there, Harry" he says, fiddling with his beard. He pats Harry on the head, which, with his size, he has to be careful when doing. "How come yer avoiding everyone?" he asks, with a curious intonation, but also hoping not to pry so far into Harry's business that he gets mad at him. Hagrid is the type of person who doesn't feel right when one of his friends is mad at him.

 

Yukito walks in with the lovely Miss Sakura and the equally lovely Miss Tomoyo. He turns to the both of them with a smile. "Would you two like some pumpkin juice?" he asks oh-so-politely.

 

Lee, looks around at the usual cliques of the second-year girls, huddled together and giggling something awful as the other house boys peered over at them from the other side, looking fearful. Whether it was due to the proposition of asking them to dance or just of the girls in general wasn't distinguishable. Lee mentally booed as his eyes fell on the Slytherin Seeker and his older companion. Where'd Harry get off to, anyhow? Shouldn't he be fighting off the smug looking boy? Well, whatever their affairs wasn't his business, and returned to scanning the crowd then the teachers table. He gave a half waves to the Potion's master, whom he noticed wasn't looking at all to giddy about talking with Professor Major.

 

Snape, expending all his concentration on glaring at Kane S. Major, doesn't notice Lee's wave.  Yay.  n.n;

 

Orin stalks into the Great Hall, looking a bit miffed. Imagine, getting one's paw nibbled by a miniature marshmallow with teeth! He sits down right there and sees about getting his fur in order.

 

Snape sees Lee waving at him from nearby, and decides now is the perfect time to exit this highly irritating conversation.  "If you'll excuse me, Major, there are other people I need to talk to," he says, and before Kane can give any reply, the Potions professor sweeps off through the Hall, walking close to the walls and taking a roundabout route toward his godson's location.

 

Sakura nodnods with a soft wai to Yukito-san, "Hai!   I'm glad to see you're feeling a little more awake, ne, Yukito-san?"  She says, taking hold of his hand as she walks along side him.   Faint red blushes cross her cheeks.

 

Prof Major watches Snape scurry off like a bug, and chuckles to himself.  Tonight is turning out to be a bit better than expected after all. He continues to watch the students and their dates as they dance and talk.  He nods to the ones passing by the table to gather refreshments.

 

Hagrid glances in Major's direction, and, not having met him formally yet, decides this would be a good time to do so. He walks over to the Professor, his robes dragging behind him, the edges caked with mud. Hagrid obviously doesn't care much about appearance. As he reaches Major, he extends a large hand, and grins a very Hagrid-ish grin, large, toothy, and half hidden by his scruffy beard, which takes up almost all his face.

 

Ack. Harry was being obvious? He's not really avoiding everyone. Ron and Hermione are busy dancing; his date's nowhere to be found. Cho's dancing with .. Malfoy.. "It'd be nice if I was allowed to travel. I'd love to visit Ireland." But that won't happen as long as he lives under the Dursley's roof. "Glad to hear your holiday went vey well." Harry is going out of his way to avoid Draco so he doesn't get into another fight which might get him into the most trouble he's ever been in, aside from facing Voldemort. As glad as he is to see the half giant, he's got to get out of here for some air. "Excuse me Hagrid, I'm going to step out for a bit."

 

Tomoyo giggles madly and sneaks behind Sakura, her camcorder necklace very very very protectively held against her chest. "Sakura's Yule Ball date! Waii!" Tomoyo runs over to lean against the wall, hoping to get her subject as natural as possible.

 

Well, he didn't expect the Professor to walk over, but from the looks of the conversation he was having with the other Professor, Lee might have been the exit route. Offering a light smile, he briefly glances past Snape to the frolicking Japanese students, who seem particularly giggly. It might have been contagious, since half the other couples here seemed to enjoy the nervous giggling and flushing of cheeks. "I wouldn't think this your kind of thing, Severus," Lee said in his humorous tone.

 

People. Orin flicks his ears, apparently just realizing that the Great Hall is *very* occupied. Mmm, and where people are, is attention. And food!

 

It seems as though he's grown quickly accustomed to dancing with his new partner, Draco moves to guide her out into an easy spin. Still keeping his voice barely above a whisper, "There's only one, really. It was probably the best out of them all, better than the ones in which you happened to locate, or, at least it was in my own opinion. The problem is that it gives the user a decrease in their tolerance for pain. The effects fade after about a day, if the use is discontinued. If an individual uses it for longer then just one night, for instance, it won't continue to decrease, luckily. It will remain at about the same level during the duration that it is used. When the user stops, the level of pain tolerance will return to normal. The only problem is, it partially depends on the natural level pain tolerance. If it is low, already, then there shouldn't be much change, however, if it is high, then there's a good chance that it may drop low enough to become noticeable. It also, finally, depends on the person and, of course, the amounts of certain ingredients, how well it's been brewed. The usual stuff." His report is thorough, and he makes sure not to miss anything. After all, the more he has outdone himself on assisting, the more he will be able to demand in return, but that will come later. Draco certainly isn't demanding anything at the moment. The dance was merely a request, not a favor that he needed.

 

"It's not."  Snape's voice is dry, and the slightest bit of good humor returns to his face as he regards Lee.  "If I didn't have to chaperone, I would be off doing something constructive."  Of course, we won't mention that it was his own choice to chaperone, nor will we delve into his motives.  Severus says nothing further, merely waiting to see if Lee has anything else to say before he goes back to his circuit of pacing around the room.  He's feeling restless tonight.

 

Sakura turns an even deeper red, hoeeeing weakly as she looks over her shoulder at Tomoyo.  "Ano.. Tomoyo-chan---.."  Embarassing!  '.'  She's already nervous being with Yukito-san, she doesn't need more nervewrackingness.  "H-hoeee."   she says, squeezing onfo Yukito's hand.

 

He really is good at Potions. At least now we know it isn't just Snape's particular liking of this student that keeps him making decent grades. Cho listens to all the instructions that he has to say as they continue to dance around the floor. "If that's all then, I think I'd like to leave." She was never fond of coming to this Ball in the first place and... plus... her other potential dancing partner has already left. Unless she wants to go snag Lee for a round or two, but she'd honestly rather leave now she got what she came for. "Thank you for your help, Draco." Too bad saying a simple 'thanks' to a Slytherin is not going to cut it... c.c; "And the dance. You're an amazing dancer." It's the truth, he /is/ an amazing dancer. And she's still dancing with him as she says this, since she has to wait til he stops properly.

 

Stella, looking quite pleased with herself, helps herself to a cup of pumpkin juice, then nearly pours it down the front of her dress robes as she sees Cho dancing with...Draco?!

 

Lee really had nothing in mind for a conversation due to the fact he didn't expect his godfather to walk over, otherwise he might have had a more interesting conversation starter. "I see. This thing is rather drull, and I know Professor McMongoll broke down and ran off." He wouldn't mind doing something constructive, as well.. also know as SLEEPING! But it's not fun to de-frog the Common, so he really just needed to keep awake a few more hours. :P

 

Orin slinks about between human legs and table legs. Mmm, food, attention, food, attention...such choices. He finally compromises by rubbing against Professor Major's leg, and giving him a plaintive mew. 9_9

 

Yukito squeezes Sakura's hand back as they make their way to the drinks. He carefully lets go and pours three glasses. He figures he might as well act gentlemanly to Tomoyo too...even though she's slipped away. o_o;;

 

Hagrid helps himself to a large goblet of pumpkin juice, gulping it down very quickly, traces of it dripping from the lower parts of his beard @_@. He seats himself in his rather large chair, which he has always sat in, near the teacher's table in the Hall. His novelty 'Happy Christmas' button still blinks on and off, very annoyingly. x.o;

 

Prof Major looks down as a cat rubs against his legs, "Hello there puss, where did you come from?" he smiles.  He sets down his goblet on the table, and scoops up the cat, holding it in his arm and petting it with his free hand.

 

Orin purrs deeply. Ooooh, attention and pets, yes those are the things he likes. Now the food if you please. See, I'm cute. Food now, thanks. The cat purrs even louder, eyes half closed.

 

Snape nods to Lee.  He's never much liked dances either.  Not that anybody expected him to.  "I agree wholeheartedly," the Professor says with a disdainful glance around the Great Hall.  Yeah, people having fun annoy him so much. ;p  Not having anything else to say, he just stands in what might or might not be considered a companionable silence, watching the dancing students and so on and so forth.  Well, he is chaperoning, sort of.

 

Prof Major continues to pet and stroke the cat, what else does he have to do anyway. He stands there thinking, then whispers to the cat, "If I give you some crab cakes, will you make a mess in a certain person's room?" he whispers with a wicked grin.

 

Sakura takes and sips one of the drinks with two hands, "It's really delicious!"   she says, then catching a glimpse of the towering giant as he takes his goblet. 9.9  "H-hoeeeeeeee!"  she screams out, jumping back at Tomoyo.  "It-- it's a monster!"

 

Hagrid looks down at Sakura, startled himself that he scared the girl. He scratches his beard and gives a big grin in order to seem less threatening. He bends down a bit, and extends his rather large hand. "Yeh don't need ter be scared of me!"

 

Orin turns his eyes to regard Professor Major. If one didn't know better, they might think he was considering it! "Mmmrrow." Nah, maybe later. Isn't cuteness enough? Purrr...

 

Prof Major grins at the cat and when no one is looking, he snags one of the crab cakes and feeds it to the cat, "Here ya go... Can't bear to see anything go hungry," he says quietly, reflectively almost.

 

 

Both the lack of twins and the fact he really wasn't in the mood contributed to this dance being dull. It wasn't that he was a party booer, because Lee was one to enjoy parties, it was just that this tended more to lean towards puppy-like romance.. It was like a really bad, black and white romance he'd seen sixty or odd times. Even de-frogging the Common sounded randier then this. "I might as well leave, since nothings happening," he says with his planted smile. "Good night, Severus."

 

Tomoyo squeaks. "Oh, Sakura-chan is blushing! They look so cute together!" Tomoyo happily stands quietly, until Sakura practically jumps on her. "Daijoubu...ohh hello ...sir. My name is Daidouji Tomoyo, pleased to meet you!" she beams up at the towering Hagrid.

 

Snape nods to his godson, though his attention seems elsewhere at the moment.  "Good night, then, Lee," he says before departing back into the crowd.  Time to go back into 'swooping around like an overgrown bat' mode.  n.n;

 

Hagrid grins down at the camera-toting girl. "The pleasure is all mine! Name's Hagrid. Yeh'll probably be seein' me around a lot. I teach Care of Magical Creatures. Are yeh enrolled in it this year?"

 

Orin sniffs the offering. Food! He hasn't eaten in like...ages. Since he left the Gryffidor dorm. Major's last words are totally lost on the cat it would seem. His purrs reach new heights.

 

Sakura h-hoeees.  Hagrid's hand is practically size of her head. o.o  "I'm sorry, it's just..  you're really... big."  she says, trying to shy back a little.   He's still a little scary.

 

Prof Major makes sure not to lose fingers to the cat's sharp chomping teeth, and resumes petting him while watching the students frolic.

 

Hagrid looks puzzled at Sakura. "Yeh think I'm scary just cause I'm big?", he asks, "Yeh'll soon find out that there are much smaller things ter be feared more than me!".

 

Tomoyo anous. Wow, a booming voice. "Aa, hai Hagrid-sensei.." Tomoyo is so awfully dwarfed by Hagrid..but then again who isn't, really? Eyes widen. "Smaller things? Scaryyy..."

 

Hagrid grins, as if he was joking. "But.. yeh don't have ter worry about them. Hogwarts is very safe. Yeh won't see too many thing try ter get in here, I'll tell yeh that. Did you two transfer from Japan?"

 

Yukito extends his free hand to the new fellow enganging in conversation with his two friends. "Hello, my name's Tsukishirou Yukito, it's a pleasure to meet you, Hagrid-san!" he says, handing a goblet to Tomoyo.

 

Angelina slips into the Great Hall. Her mood's improved at least...but no sign of Fred. Oh well. Where is...ahh, now she spots him. She makes her way towards Professor Major, and her dining cat.

 

What? Is dancing with Draco some sort of horrible, evil crime? Is it so wrong to look so good? *.* Oops. A bit of the ego got out there, again. Normally, he probably would of at least finished the song, but doing that is very hard when the other partner is unwilling to do so. With one last spin to end it all, just so he can take a look around for Aranea who is just not there, the dance comes to a close and he ends it politely, even being a proper gentleman and thanking Cho for it, though a bit of a smirk slides momentarily across his lips once his head is out of sight due to the fact that he bows, once more. Yes indeed, Draco Malfoy has noticed that young Potter has also left. Perhaps Harry got so fed up with seeing the blonde dancing with his 'crush', or whatever, that he ran away to cry like Longbottom. Straightening, smirk gone and replaced with a faint 'smile', again, he offers. "Well. Looks like I've been abandoned here, so there's no point in myself sticking around, either. Shall I escort you back to your common room?"

 

Hagrid shakes Yukito's hand and grins at the boy. "Nice ter meet yeh too!"

 

Sakura nodnods to Hagrid.  "H-hai!   We came from Japan, with Yukito-san and my big brother."  she points to Yukito-san to indicate who he is.  "My name's Sakura Kinomoto! "  she bows respectfully.  She's still a little scared, but he's nice at least. n.n

 

Hagrid doesn't dare bow at the girl, because knowing him, he'd knock all of the students over, as well as the table. He just pats Sakura and Tomoyo on the head lightly. "Well, welcome ter England, even though that's a bit belated.."

 

Orin notices Angelina headed his way. Whoops, busted. The cat leaps out of Major's arms and heads for the first new face he sees...which happens to be Malfoy, oddly enough. He's not begging Angelina, really. He weaves around Draco's legs, mewing.

 

Prof Major is a bit surprised at the sudden exit of the cat, but heck, just like women, they get what they want and leave.  Not loyal like a dog.  Ahem.  He brushes the fur from his robes, and resumes sipping at his mead.. err.. CIDER... Yeah.

 

Tomoyo bows as well. "I came shortly after Sakura-chan!" She beams! "Ariga..anou, Thank you Hagrid-sensei, it's nice to meet more teachers here!"

 

Hagrid grins at the transfer students. "Do yeh miss yer homes a lot? Or are yeh all righ' here for now?"

Snape continues to lurk around the fringes of the mob in the Great Hall, looking about as happy as the Grim Reaper and dressed to match.  He stops his pacing for a few moments, eyeing someone from across the Hall--if anyone was observing him, they'd see his eyes are focused in the general direction of Hagrid and the Japanese students.

 

Angelina reaches Professor Major only to have her cat run off. She gives an exasperated sigh. "Sorry about that, Professor, Orin's insufferable." Not to mention a bottomless pit.

 

Glancing towards the Ravenclaws, Cho knows she's never going to hear the end of this. It'll take weeks, but maybe they'll forget about it by the time the new semester starts. At his offer of escort, she nods after a moment, "Why not." He's already gone and done about as much damage as he possibly can, and it certainly wouldn't hurt /more/ to have him walk her back. Besides, she hopes to get a look at the particular thing that he gave her while she's still in his company so she can ask any questions she has about anything. Limits her having to ask him later, yes? Yes. And... as they start to leave the dance floor... Draco's found an admirer. Hmm.

 

Yukito smiles politely, then sighs. "Well, I do miss back home, but I've met so many wonderful people here that I would feel sad to leave them! But I like Hogwarts very much, I've had a pleasant experience so far," he says, beaming, and remembering. Alright, so not everyone is incredibly nice, but the good outweighs the bad.

 

Sakura seems to have loosened up a lot, now.   He's really nice!   "Sort of, I miss my father a lot.. but Yukito-san, Tomoyo-chan and oniicha--- big brother are here with me so I don't feel so bad all the time.  I write him a lot!"  And Mizuki-sensei, too.   "But I've never spent a Christmas away from home before..."

 

Prof Major just grins at the attractive Chaser, "No harm done my dear.  Enjoying yourself this evening?  You look radiant." he says with a smile.

 

Snape looks away from the exchange students and keeps on walking, shooting glares right and left at whoever happens to catch his eye.  Wonder if this was how he spent most dances in his own school days?  x.o;

 

Angelina blushes a deep crimson, not unlike the color she just saw on Neville a moment back. "Err well...thanks, Professor Major. You look nice tonight as well." It's the polite thing to say, right? "I actually wasn't feeling too well earlier, but Neville and some Pocket sheep happened to cheer me up." She grins.

 

Stella glances about the room in disbelief as Cho and Draco walk off the dance floor. It's not her place to ask though. She drains the rest of her juice and tries not to stare too much.

 

Hagrid gives a solemn look at Sakura, feeling bad that the girl misses home. He has taken a liking to the transer students, even though he doesn't understand all they say -- not being a very learned man -- and not ever travelling outside the UK. "Well, yeh'll find that Christmas at Hogwarts is quite special fer everyone. I'm sure yeh'll have a good time." He beams at Tomoyo and Yukito, and then bends down almost on his knees to be at Sakura's eye level. He beams even more as he takes his novelty pin off of his robes (which says 'Happy Christmas' is bright, blinking lighted letter, by the way) and pins it onto Sakura's robes. "Maybe this will make yeh feel better!"

 

Prof Major gets an odd smile on his face at the mention of the sheep, "Pocket Sheep eh?" he grins. "They didn't cause TOO much trouble did they?" he asks her as he pours her a cup of juice and hands it to her.  Just call him the punch man.

 

Orin continues to accost, errr...ahem, try to get Malfoy's attention. Blink blink, rub, aren't I cute? Pets? Attention? Come on boy, you know what to do.

 

Angelina takes the juice and sips it, still grinning. "I think they frightened Neville out of his wits, and of *course* they caused trouble...isn't that what Fred and George's inventions do?" She chuckles. "But they didn't break or eat anyone, if that's what you're asking. They took a nip at Orin's paw though."

 

Stella shifts from one foot to the other. She's not ready to call it a night just yet though if things get much stranger, she just might have to. She sticks her tongue out the corner of her mouth at Snape as he sweeps past then affects a stare of complete innocence and walks off to make conversation.

 

Draco makes a bit of a strange face, as something weaves around his legs. Luckily, he hadn't begun to go anywhere, otherwise, he might of ended up falling flat onto his face and.. making more of a fool of himself then he already has in the past few weeks... what, with running through the hallways with a broken nose because Harry decided to crank him one right in the face. O.o; Shoo, kitty, shoo! He doesn't have any food for you! Get lost! He'll kick you! o.O; Well, if were as mean and DENSE as Crabbe and Goyle, he might of kicked the cat away, but he knows that if he kicks the cat, there will be repercussions for doing so. Bending his knees, lowering himself to the ground in a crouch, he extends his hand to the animal, half expecting to get biten. Is it cats that sense evil or dogs? c.c; Well. He's not trying to hurt it, only give it a pat on the head, maybe a little scratch under the chin, too. "Sorry, I don't have any food for you." He'll be just a second, Cho. o.o

 

Luckily for Stella, Snape doesn't notice her moment of impudence as he continues to sweep about the room.  His gaze, every so often, keeps returning to the direction of Hagrid and those three students.

 

Prof Major tries to stiffle a laugh, but fails.  "They ARE a handful aren't they?  I will have to round them up and get them back outside where they belong.  Thanks for letting me know, Angelina." he says.

 

Tomoyo nods a bit. "I kind of miss my mother..." she shakes her head and nods toward Hagrid. "I've had a wonderful time.." and suddenly lets out a squeal! "Aaa! Kawaii!" she beams and adores the oh-so-festive and lit up pin!

 

Sakura pikus as the giant reaches out and is pinned.  She looks down at the pin, reading what it says aloud.  "Happy Christmas!  Can I have this, Mr. Hagrid?  A Happy Christmas to you, too!"   she says, showing the pin off to Yukito-san.  "How does it look?"

 

............. Draco is... talking to the cat. Just watch Cho stare as she sees a side of him she certainly never expected to ever see. She's so stunned that she says not a word. Not a syllable even! Not a sound at all. She didn't think he would be an animal person, much less one to talk to them. (Wonder if he's doing this just because he knows she has a cat? -- certainly wouldn't put it against the little schemer).

 

Hagrid grins. "Of course yeh can have it! I just feel bad that I dun have anything fer yer friends!". He then brings his voice down to a whisper, "If yeh can get away from the school on Christmas.. yeh can come and have tea with me in my hut.. it's just outside.. but don't tell anyone I invited yeh.. oh, and yeh might even catch some of my other friends there too. Harry like ter stop by sometimes." He grins again and stops whispering. "I hope yeh'll enjoy yer Christmas here!"

 

Orin gives Malfoy a look. Well its about time! But no food? A crime. Hmmm, what's this? Maybe he doesn't want you to touch him after all. Nevertheless, he stands still and allows the petting to commence...beggars can't be choosy. Now pick me up, nasty boy. More pets please.

 

Yukito smiles kindly at Hagrid. "Ah, don't worry Hagrid, Sakura-chan's happiness is good enough for me!" Awww. He hears Hagrid's whispering and smiles. "Ah, I'd love to come!..Potter-kun? He's a very nice boy!" he smiles brightly, some more. "Ah, I hope you enjoy your Christmas too, Hagrid-san!"

 

"Oh no need..." Angelina takes another sip of her drink. "We managed to get them outside. So was that particular batch yours? I know Fred and George have been trying to sell them...but to be honest I wasn't sure if anyone would buy them! I mean...I would, but Orin would probably eat them."

 

Prof Major takes the opportunity to pat Snape on the shoulder on one of his laps around the hall, and smiles at him, "It looks like you have things under control Severus, I think I will go for a walk outside..." he smiles in a smarmy way.

 

Snape just gives Major a very cold glare before continuing his circuit around the area.  Do go outside, yes please, then you will be that much further away from him. ;p

 

Prof Major looks to Angelina and winks, letting her know he DOES in fact own a herd of the sheep. "Well, thank you my dear for sheparding them out, I owe you a favor..." he smiles.

 

Angelina grins at Professor Major's wink, and finishes off her juice. Oh err...hello Snape. She winces a bit and hopes he doesn't bring up her recent Potions grades...they've been falling off terrible, and she knows it. "Where's that cat got to now...?"

 

Hagrid pulls the three students in a large, tight group hug, all of them fitting into one of his arm's lengths. "I'm sure I'll have a good Christmas! Anyway, I think I'd better go. I have some gifts to wrap.. and I have ter feed Fang -- my boarhound -- before he rips into my Christmas brownies!". Usually, this would seem like a very nice though, warm, chewy brownies fresh out of the oven -- but, actually, they look more the lumps of coal.. stale and crumbly. But, none the less, Hagrid is proud of them, and will be sure to serve them if the students come over for tea. He lets go of them after a few seconds and then gives a wave, and makes his way out of the Great Hall, his robes dragging behind him.

 

Prof Major nods to Angelina and with a swoop of his own robes, departs.

 

Sakura erps.  Big tight hug, constricting to death!  "H-hoeeeee.." x.x   After Hagrid releases them and heads off, she fixes the pin on her robes and comments to Tomoyo-chan.  "Ne, he was really nice, wasn't he?"   she says, her glance passing the Potions professor.  Unlike him.  "I think we should take Hagrid up on his offer?" she says up to Yukito-san.

 

Tomoyo eeks! Big group hug from a big guy! Like hugging Santa Claus almost! Nods to Sakura. "Hai hai Sakura-chan! I definitely think we should!"

 

-.- You're on thin ice, cat. He doesn't exactly WANT to be nice to you, but he can't exactly light the animal on fire right in front of everyone, now, can he? That shall be saved for later. n.n Well, if he was actually the type of person to do such a thing. Draco doesn't have a problem with animals, he was raised around them, owls at least, a cat is entirely new to him, however. It's not a big, huge animal that gets offended if you say the wrong thing, for one. It's good that his hand wasn't removed for reaching out to pet the creature, however. It gives him a little bit more confidence then before, and he's also making sure that keeps all the nasty things that could escape from his lips all bottled up. The incident with Buckbeak was certainly enough to teach him to be wary of offending animals. But... but... damn! He doesn't want to exactly shower affection on the cat at the moment, nor does he have the time, not to mention that he doesn't know exactly what to do to keep the animal happy. And... and... ;.; He doesn't want to lose his arm, either. ;.; So he picks the cat up, still scritching under its chin. o.o Save him, Cho. ;.;

 

Yukito wais! Group hug! He waves to Hagrid goodbye and nods. "Hai, he's very nice!" Mou, he likes Snape. Maybe just cause he likes to see the good in everyone. But then again, there's not a lot of good in Snape-sensei ^^;; He nods again. "Ah...ah..hai, Sakura-chan. We should take him up on his offer. He seems like a very good host." Indeed.

 

Orin rewards Malfoy with a half-hearted purr and thumps his tail. That's better. But being this close to the boy makes the cat think he wants even more to get away. It's almost as if he can sense the underlying tension in Malfoy's manner. He regards the boy with slitted eyes.

 

What a big baby. Cho sees that he looks a little uncomfortable with the cat like that, so she starts to search through her robes. She often keeps a few scraps of dry meat for her own cat, but she doesn't know if she put any in her dress robes. Low and behold, she seems to have. Guess she figured she'd sneak out of the dance and go feed some stray animals. She pulls out a paper wrapping and opens it up. Inside are about two or three strips of dried meat. She hands one of them over to Draco and says, "Here."

 

Angelina leans against the table, glancing around at everyone else, now that Major has made his exit. Looks like the party is beginning to wind down. She wanders away, not yet noticing Malfoy and her cat. Hey, there's Hermione...and some of the exchange students. She heads their way.

 

Sakura finishes the rest of her pumpkin juice, setting the empty cup down.   "Ne, uhmm.. "  the evening is quieting, but not over!  And Sakura-chan is too embarrassed to ask Yukito-san to dance again.   Add to that she has no idea how to!  o.o

 

And here comes Hermione through the entrance, returning to the ball, still clad in the same silvery-blue dress robes she was wearing yesterday, her hair still defuzzed and treated with care.  She scans the room for Ron, seeing they said they'd meet here and go back to finishing off that dance from last night, but alas, looks like he isn't here yet.  Sighing a bit, Hermione retreats over to one of the tables near the floor, taking a seat and idly watching the others in the room.

 

You want him to WHAT? O.O Draco has to feed the thing? But what if it bites his fingers off? Can Madam Pomfrey fix that problem? o.o With his free hand, well, the one not supporting the animal, but the one that was scratching under the cat's chin, extends to accept the piece of dried meat from Cho, then offers it to the cat... o.O In the only way he knows how, which is holding it a little before the animal's nose, looking completely clueless while doing so. @.@;

 

Angelina reaches Hermione just as she takes her seat. The Gryffindor Chaser looks a bit bored. "'Lo there, Hermione. Looking for someone?" She takes a seat next to the girl, un-invited. "You're looking nice tonight."

 

Snape looks up at the entrance to the Great Hall just in time to see Hermione come through the doors.  It seems now's the time.  Continuing on his circuit, he slows slightly as he approaches her and--oh, LOVELY.  A student.  What's he going to do now!?  Turning, he cuts through the crowd and continues elsewhere, trying to think of some way to get rid of Angelina.

 

Orin thumps his tail once more. Yes much better, you're learning. Or at least, your female friend knows cats. But now those fingers are right next to his nose, and he doesn't like the smell. He pulls back a bit, scrunching up his nose, whiskers twitching, and doesn't touch the meat.

 

Well, she regrown bones before, and even Muggle medicine can reattach fingers if you get them there fast enough, so probably. Cho watches Draco handle the cat and looking clueless as he does. "You really don't know much about cats." She thinks it's a little bit surprising. "Just relax. It won't bite you unless it thinks you're a threat." Well, sometimes it'll bite you even if it doesn't, but hey! She's trying to help him relax, not freak him out. She notices the cat doesn't seem to like his smell and says, "I don't think the cat likes you very much."

 

Yukito watches the scene. He looks at Sakura, who looks kind of antsy. He turns to her. "Sakura-chan, would you like to dance?" he asks cutely.

 

Sakura blushes!  "Really?  I'd love to!"  she exclaims, taking hold of Yukito-san's hand, displaying a big cheerful smile to everyone about.  She glances back at Tomoyo-chan, hesitating.  She doesn't want to leave Tomoyo behind alone, though.  "Ano..."

 

u.u What happened to 'beggers can't be choosers'? And it's the meat that's close to the cat's nose, not his hands or fingers. So there. Neener. Draco lets out a little sigh, his expression growing slightly annoyed. Maybe dropping the animal would probably be all around better for him. Then he wouldn't have to look so foolish. "..." Not that he cares whether or not the cat happens to like him, but he isn't going to say anything nasty (which are the only things he can think of saying at the moment), just because he doesn't want to end up having another issue like the one with Buckbeak on his hands, again.

 

Hermione looks up as Angelina takes a seat, and smiles at her fellow Gryffindor. "Hello there Angelina!  Thank you, you're looking very nice yourself." n.n "I'm waiting here for my -- err, Ron, I mean.  How about you?"  She glances around to see if she can spot the Weasley, but someone else catches her eye.  Snape.  Eep.  And there he goes. o.o "Ohh..." Hermione mutters under her breath, and quickly turns her attention back to Angelina.

 

Tomoyo waiis! Footage! Footage! "Kawaii! Sakura-chan, go dance with Tsukishirou-kun! It'll be fun, don't worry about me!" Tomoyo waves her camcorder a little and beams. "Dance naturally though, so it'll have a more smoother look." She smiles!

 

Nope, Orin doesn't like you very much, Malfoy, you smell stronger than the meat! Drop him, eh...there's a reason he's Angelina's cat. Still ignoring the meat, he reaches out a paw. Sproing! Hello there, Mister Malfoy's nose, meet sharp, un-clipped kitty claws!

 

Angelina smiles. "Oh, I came looking for Fred, but he seems to be off...prolly getting into more mischief." She doesn't seem like she has any problem with that either. She notes the momentary lapse in Hermione's expression. "Something wrong?"

 

Ron reenters the Great Hall, tugging gently on his robes. He had a bit too much pumpkin juice, so he had to pop out for a bit. Alright, dance vs. Weasley; round two. o.o He glances around the massive room, looking over the heads of fellow students to find a familiar face. Preferably his date, but Harry would be good to talk to right now as well. Frowning when he doesn't see his male best friend, he settles for the female n.- He slips into a seat next to Hermione and waves to Angelina before setting his elbows boyishly on the table. Wow, that dance seemed to cool his nerves. And, well, now that the whole flower thing worked he feels a lot of stress off his shoulders, "'ello."

 

Orin cackles evilly. He's a cat, he's allowed to be temperamental.

 

Yukito takes Sakura's hand and gently leads her to the dance floor. He waves to Tomoyo and begins to dance. Ah, Sakura-chan is such a good dancer despite the immense height difference. ^_^;; "You dance wonderfully, Sakura-chan!"

 

Cho shakes her head at Draco. No, he really doesn't like cats, does he. She is just about to attempt to rescue him when the cat makes it's move. o.o Guess he has good reason to not like cats now, huh? Wonder who's cat it is any way. She certainly wouldn't bring little Kaui Hua to the Ball. She'd probably get stepped on. "Oh! Are you okay?" She calls out, looking to see how badly the cat hurt him, if at all. Well, looks like she might have to take him to the infirmary. . . Though if he hurts the poor creature too badly she may tell him to fend for himself.

 

Sakura h-hoeees.  She should've known Tomoyo-chan would've said that, but it still doesn't change the embarrassment.  "H-hai!  I'll try my best, Tomoyo-chan.."  she is led over to the floor and is swept away by Yukito-san!   "I'm not really a good dancer, you don't have to say false things..." she answers.

 

Yukito frowns at Sakura. "Sakura-chan, I'm not saying false things. You dance very well. Perhaps you should enroll in some sort of dance class or something?" he rethinks that. "I don't think they offer that at Hogwarts, but maybe when we get back to Japan, whenever that may be?" He smiles warmly at the girl. Not that he wants to leave Hogwarts. He absolutely loves it here. Lots of nice people. Lots. ^_^

 

Hermione grins as she spots Ron, greeting him as he sits down. "There you are, Ron!"  She then blinks a bit at Angelina, shaking her head and offering her a friendly smile. "What?  Oh... no, not at all, I was just thinking about something."  She looks down at the table for a moment, and suddenly stands up. "Here, let me get us all some punch.  I'll be right back, and don't worry, I can do it," she adds, as if she's expecting Ron to get up and help her, or shoo her back to the table and get drinks himself, being the gentleman he is.  With that, Hermione wanders over to the punch table and begins to serve herself the drinks.

 

Angelina frowns after Hermione, but shrugs. She's been jittery lately, right? Prolly just more of that. She turns slightly and grins at Ron, a teasing tone in her voice. "So, you asked Hermione to the Ball?"

 

This is what he gets for actually being NICE?! Indeed, he was expecting to get clawed, but when they come to greet his face, Draco isn't QUITE SO EAGER to meet them, which means that he leans back. However he's not fast enough to avoid injury, completely. The claws catch his lip, slicing into it, then marking a trailing down his chin. And if that weren't bad enough, only after he's cut does he realize that he's off-balance with only one arm free. The boy ends up toppling right over, and instead of just throwing the cat away, which probably would have been more wise, regardless of whether the animal likes him or not, he wraps that free arm around it. Moments later, after crashing into the ground on his back, Draco Malfoy stares up at the ceiling in a bit of a daze. Hit head. Head hurt. Really. What's up there, though? Ooo. Pretty stars. *.* @.@; But he's still got the cat. He could have thrown it. He could have twisted around and fallen in a position that would have absorbed the impact better, but no, he fell straight backwards, and whether intention or not, it should of been at least enough to protect the animal... just not himself. @.@ Lookit the cloud! Hee! It's a big elephant! @.@ Lookit it gooooo!

 

Snape is watching like a hawk, and he sees his opportunity.  He steers his circuit toward the refreshment table and sets down his glass there, reaching over to refill it with cider.  As he is doing so he murmurs, "Find Kinomoto and come outside to the entry hall; there's something important I need to tell you two," before rising and turning away.  He sips his cider and returns to making laps around the Great Hall, taking care not to watch Hermione or Sakura too much... and... what was that?  Okay, he's just going to ignore the crash as Draco falls to the ground.  No, really, he was busy elsewhere, he didn't see or hear that.  n.n;

 

Sakura blushes.  Compliments from Yukito-san make her feel so warm inside!  "I don't know.. maybe!"  she says, beaming.  She smiles over at Tomoyo-chan when they glide past.  Behind Tomoyo, she sees Snape-sensei making nice at the punch bowl.  She tugs away from Yukito-san quickly.  "E-excuse me!"   And she sneezes.   "Ah-aah---chooo!  .. Gomen nasai."

 

Ron doesn't know about gentleman.. but he does get halfway up out of his seat to stop her before she waves him back. He sighs, but smirks and nods at her. Shaking his head.. That's a -man's- job, sheesh -.- n.- Sitting back down he hears Angelina's question and his cheeks pinken a bit. "Well.. well, I guess that's obvious, now isn't it?" He looks indignantly at the Quidditch player before grinning his goofy Weasley grin, "Sorry my brother's not here. I'm sure he'd be tossing you around the dance floor by now." At the crash Ron's head jerks up and he's just in time to see Draco sprawled on the floor after being attacked by a kitty cat. Oh, how the redhead laughs.

 

Orin squirms. He didn't intend the kid to fall with him! Leggo! Okay, perhaps this wasn't too smart. With a wrench he frees himself from Malfoy's arm and streaks under the nearest table. Really! One would think even a boy like Malfoy would have better manners than to just fall over! He flattens his ears and hisses his displeasure at you from his place of 'relative' safety.

 

Angelina is about to reply when she too hears the crash. And if she's not mistaken, that little black streak with a white tipped tail is the culprit. "Orin!" she yells, trying not to laugh...okay well, Malfoy had it coming after what he said to Neville, but he *was* trying to be nice. "Orin, get back here this instant! What did you do?"

 

Cho kneels down beside Draco and shoos at the cat, but it's already scurrying off. She looks at the blood on the Draco's face and the way he's staring at the ceiling. Man... What is it with him falling backwards in her presence? Is he /trying/ to knock himself unconscious? (And if he is, could he do it in a Quidditch game instead of the Yule Ball?) She shakes her head and says, "Draco, you need to get to the Infirmary. Come on, I'll help you." She'll actually support his weight even if he can get up enough to let her. She'd do the same for anyone, so those giggling Ravenclaws can just... *sigh* She's never going to live down this night. She /knew/ it would be a bad idea to come to the Ball.

 

Yukito frowns his brow as Sakura tugs away from him. "Anou..where are you going, Sakura-chan?" he hands a tissue. "Someone is talking about you, Sakura-chan!" Where is she going? Should he follow? Nevertheless, get off the dance floor, you look weird standing alone.

 

Tomoyo happily records Sakura and Yukito dance wonderfully. "Aaa, sugoi footage!" She says to herself. She has slowly moved herself to a little bit behind the table now. She can't help but notice out of the corner of her eye Granger-san, and begins to say hello to her but stops when Snape-sensei approaches. Nani, where is Sakura-chan going to? Wail!

 

Sakura takes the tissue and gently blows her nose, afterwards shaking her head. "Iie, iie.  I just didn't want to sneeze all over you, Yukito-san."  That'd be gross.  "I'm not going anywhere!"  she says, tossing the tissue in the trash and going back to stand with Yukito-san.  She giggles.  "Hai, I guess someone was talking about me!"   Just an old Japanese wives' tale, though!

 

Damn, ungrateful animal. He just saved you, took a hit and this is how he's repaid for it? It would probably safe enough to say, now, that Draco hates cats. And... and... you're so dead, Weasley. He's going to put about fifty million hexes on you once he's in his right mind, again. @.@ Whee! Connect-the-dots, played with stars! *.* O.O HOLY, CHO! When did your face get so big? Oooo! He gets to be CARRIED? *.* What? No? Damn. ;.; Slowly, Draco returns back to reality, then winces, a combination of the coppery taste of blood in his mouth as well as the pain from whacking his head on the floor. He doesn't go around trying to knock himself out; bad luck just seems to follow him around as trouble does for Harry. If he tried to reply, he'd probably gurgle something that would be hardly understandable. Even the sound of his own breathing is enough that it makes his head ache, talking would just making it all the more painful. So, instead, he starts moving to get up, the movement of his head /barely/ a nod of sorts. Back to the Infirmary! For the fourth time! He's visited that place more times these past two months then in his previous four years at Hogwarts. x.@; Oi vey.

 

Hermione nearly misses the goblet while pouring punch as Snape approaches the table and leaves an instant later.  She looks up to reply, but doesn't have the chance as the professor is gone.  Her?  And Sakura?  Well, the part about Hermione makes sense, but not Sakura.  Shaking her head and sensing some urgency in Snape's voice, the bushy haired girl returns to the table with three goblets full of punch, and hands them out accordingly, but still holds her glass.  She then turns to take her seat, and as she's going to sit, she 'accidently' tips her goblet a bit, spilling some of the punch on her skirt. "Oh, no..."  And despite the fact that a more than simple charm could take the punch out, Hermione fusses over it. "Oh, these robes are new too!  Could you two excuse me?"  Without waiting for an answer, the witch turns on her heel and walks over to Sakura and Yukito, smiling casually. "Hello there, you two!  Sakura... do you think you could help me out?  I've spilled some punch on my dress, and Tomoyo tells me you're really excellent at cleaning things up..."

 

Tomoyo breathes a sigh of relief! Only to sneeze, nothing more. Demo! That might mean someone is talking about her..but it being Sakura, Tomoyo is sure that it can only be good things. Back to recording! "Sugoi." She looks over towards the door, seeing a small girl carry Malfoy-san. Anouuu..poor Malfoy-san, he's been in the hospital a lot it seems.

 

Yukito smiles at Hermione. "Ah, hello Hermione-chan!" he hears her plight and nods to Sakura. "Go ahead, Sakura-chan. I'll wait with Tomoyo-chan!" he walks off towards the girl.

 

No, no carrying! She's tiny and only 5'0! Yeah, Draco's not a big guy, but he's a little much for her. She still puts an arm under his and supports half his weight though. She walks him towards the Infirmary though, supporting his weight. She'll also bandage him up. Not exactly the way she wanted to end the evening, but... *sigh* Oh well.

 

Ron's laughter dies down as Cho helps the lousy blond git up. Man, what does Cho Chang see in that kid? Ron wouldn't help him up if Malfoy paid him -.-; And you just bring it on, Mr.Four Times to the Infirmary! He'll make it five! :p Ron's just glad Harry's not here to see this all happening. He smiles when Hermione returns, taking the cup from her and nodding, "Thanks.." He takes a sip and is about to begin some insightful small talk when the girl rushes off again. Argh, they'll never see each other at this rate! ._. He watches her go, luckily not even thinking about how easy it is to clean that spot. Though, he does stare curiously as she runs up to talk to Sakura. Uhhh. okay.. o.O

 

Angelina might've considered it odd, Snape talking to Hermione and then Hermione suddenly spilling something and coincidentally heading out the same way...but of course she doesn't even notice, nor hear Hermione's excuse, cause she's about to let loose on her cat. She stops at Malfoy though. "Draco, I'm sorry." She looks like she means it too. Well sorta. A bit. "Stupid cat...I don't understand why he acted like that. Usually he's just begging for attention." From anyone she adds silently. "Need any help, Cho? This is my fault, I shouldn't have let him out." Bad Orin. I'll give you a cookie later.

 

Sakura h-hoees in confusion, looking down at the Hermione's dress.  "Ano...  oh, I know what could clean it right away, hai!  I can help!"   she nodnods to Yukito-san and Tomoyo-chan.  "Ne, I'll be right back, ok?  Save me the rest of this dance, Yukito-san?"  Her eyes pick up on someone watching her, and she scans the room to find Ron's eyes looking back at her.  She gives a little wavie and then off she follows Hermione.

 

Orin hisses once more for good measure. Do you think he's going to come right out all obedient like? Noooo. He slips a bit further back under the table.

 

And they're off.  Snape waits several minutes after the girls leave the Great Hall; then, hopefully not too suspiciously, he sets his now-empty cup on the nearest table and heads around and out into the Entry Hall.  Here goes nothing.

 

Hermione smiles at Sakura's company, "Hope you're having fun at the ball, I'll see you two later."  Don't worry, I'll have her back by midnight. n.-  She begins to walk out towards the hall, her stomach turning at the thought of what Snape would want with them.  Please not that... anything but that... don't ruin the ball, especially for Sakura.  Once the two are outside, Hermione waits, looking like her pensive would be overflowing if she had one.

 

Oooo. Now people are apologizing to him, and... and... he doesn't get the satisfaction of watching as Snape gets Hermione and Sakura in 'trouble'. He's going to roast that cat, but for now, Draco manages to get out a, "Don't worry about it." He's just bleeding, cut and his head hurts like hell. "Is that cat alright?" He never knew whether or not if it was, because the thing was gone by the time he 'came to'. With Cho's help, he gets to his feet, slowly but surely, swaying a little as the world starts to go round and round. @.@; Can he have a couple minutes to being used to standing, first, before he's made to walk?

 

Ron blinks.. and.. waves back slowly to Sakura o.o; He abandons his pumpkin juice, then.. watching the girls leave. He stares at the door for awhile, frowning and becoming a bit irate. She's late and she keeps running off. It's just not fair ._. Okay, and there goes Snape. What? o.O Well.. maybe Snape just had to leave, but.. didn't Ron see Snape talking to Hermione at the punch bowl..? No, no, he was just refilling his drink.. Ron doesn't think he said anything.. Ugh. Leaning his chin in his palm, he elbows the table and waits. Again. Woohoo. Party hearty.

 

Cho shakes her head, "No, it's all right. I'll take him. I work in the Infirmary a lot. If Madam Pomfrey is busy I can at least get started on the bandages and any remedies he needs for his head." She's already made headache medicines for one fellow Seeker this week... "Thank you for the concern though." After hearing some laughing she was beginning to wonder if anyone had any empathy for their fellow students. It is kind of funny though, he was going to take her back to her House Common like a gentleman, and now she's going to be half-carrying him to the Infirmary. Yes, this night was definately doomed. And yes, she'll let him get used to standing for a few moments. As long as he keeps his eyes open and aware.

 

Angelina glances over to where the guilty party is trying to hide...and sniffing for crumbs. "Yeah, I think he's fine," she says with a smirk. "Hoi, Orin! Get your scruffy tail over here! What's with you?" She takes a step towards Orin and frowns at a twinge of pain in her stomach...uh oh. That's what's wrong with him. The girl looks around desperately...and bolts for the exit, mumbling something like, "Sorry...bathroom..."

 

Angelina watches Angelina leaving in a hurry, but doesn't seem to make any immediate move to follow her. That's odd too, if anyone knows his habits. The cat creeps from under the table and takes a few steps towards Malfoy, swinging his tail. Hey there...

 

Orin watches Angelina leaving in a hurry, but doesn't seem to make any immediate move to follow her. That's odd too, if anyone knows his habits. The cat creeps from under the table and takes a few steps towards Malfoy, swinging his tail. Hey there...

 

Draco just... looks completely baffled, but that's mostly because his head is just pounding. Uh huh. o.o; Well. Um. Take him away! He seems alright enough to head up to the Hospital Wing with Cho, so once he has his wits about him, slowly but surely, mostly because his head feels as though it were about to fall off, he takes a step and then glances down. It is the e-ville kitty. Are you planning on tripping him now, or shredding up his pants and leg? He can't even look annoyed or angry, mostly due to sucking on his lower lip, just so he doesn't bleed all over place, like he did when his nose was broken.

 

Orin mmrrow's. Boy does he have nerve. Or not...the cat dodges away from Malfoy as soon as he starts moving, almost teasingly. Kick him. He deserves it.

 

Tomoyo notices Sakura leave with Hermione and Snape. Sah. She sees Yukito alone and waves. Yawning a bit, she makes the motions to him as she tells him she's going to bed. He waves back and comes toward her. She wails, however. No more footage!

 

Yukito watches Sakura off and waves to Tomoyo. What the heck is she doing? o_O;; Yawning himself, he makes his way over to her. Might as well walk back to the common room with her.

 

Draco probably wouldn't be able to deny the fact that he'd like to kick the cat, directly at Weasley so it can tear up HIS face sounds even better then just getting the satisfaction of dishing out punishment to an animal. He ignores the cat, scowling the best he can, before leaving the Hall with Cho to head up to the wing, for the fourth time. Sigh. x.x

 

Orin darts away from Malfoy as he continues moving. Gosh this party died fast. Oh Ron, hey Ron. I'm a cute cat, see? You smell better than Malfoy. Purrr...he rubs against Ron's legs.