Don't Waste Another Day [ AUBREY ]

[FRANK ALGIE LONGBOTTOM]

you said hey since that day you stole my heart and you're the one to blame- - -

Frank almost chickened out three times. Well, he didn't really think 'chickened out' was the right phrase. 'Gave up' would likely be better. The first had been when he had been trying to find a damned costume. He was sure some of the other guys were going all out... taking the whole 'protect your identity' thing to the extremes without outrageous costumes that didn't really come to mind when you first thought of a masquerade ball. He wanted to go for something simpler... right? A simple black tux and an incredibly simple black mask. He was told that that wasn't enough to hide his identity, that anyone would be able to tell who he was, so he'd tried out so many tacky masks it made his head spin. It wasn't really worth it, was it? This wasn't going to be a life changing evening, so what would be the issue if he skipped out on it and just went to bed early? No one would notice his absence.

The second time he'd almost given up was earlier this morning. The girls had begun to rush around getting ready an hour before he was even thinking about the masquerade and he caught a glimpse of Aubrey in the commons room. What was the point of even going? Some guys had their hearts set on the hope that this ball would give them a girlfriend, but that definitely wasn't the case for him... it'd be just another monotonous night with a person who, with his luck, would likely be of the same gender and a slytherin. Not a good combination.

But he'd sucked it up. He couldn't mope around all the time, right? About a half hour before the masquerade ball was set to begin he headed up to his dorm room, changing out of his wizard robes into a tux and placing the mask over his eyes. It was incredibly simple, but in the end he'd decided on charming it so that even his James wouldn't be able to recognize him while he wore it. Checking himself in the mirror he felt that his identity was secure... so he decided to join the trickle of students heading out to the Great Hall at that point.

Walking into the great hall he was given a number, 1. It wasn't exactly a hard table to locate, but no one was there yet. That was the third time Frank almost left. Before his partner arrived... they wouldn't even know who he was to know who'd stood them up, and this was probably his last chance to leave unnoticed. But, with a sigh, the seventh year sat down beside the table, not even summoning any sort of liquid to calm himself as he waited. One evening. He could manage that, even if it weren't with who he wanted it to be.

Mask and part of tux. You can figure out the rest of his clothing from there, I guess. XD)

TEMPLATE BY VIKA OF CAUTION.

[AUBREY LYNN MCNEAL]

Why had Aubrey even decided to go to the ball in the first place? It was simple, she needed to get her mind off of things and meeting someone new was something she thought could help her out drastically. It just had seemed that ever since the announcement of the eight champions Scorpius wasn’t around as much as he used to be. Aubrey felt lonely because it was also Quidditch season which meant her best friend wasn’t even going to be around her a whole lot lately either. So now to get her mind off of things she planned on dolling herself up and heading to the masquerade ball, besides who didn’t like hiding their identity from someone?

She had told her parents about the ball and the way her parents were, they always seemed to find the best outfit for her, but as Aubrey had the box on her bed and she began to pull out the beautiful white dress she couldn’t help but think that it looked a lot like a wedding dress. Were her parents trying to put that thought into her head early? No they wouldn’t do that to her, they would want her to figure out her future and get settled down in her career before any of that right? It was what her parents had done after all. But none-the-less the dress was beautiful and so was the mask that they had sent with it. It matched the dress perfectly, the simple yet elegant white mask and its little sequences on it. It was perfect; there was no doubt about that.

So the young Gryffindor girl slipped into the beautiful white dress and then picked her wand off of her bed and pointed it at her back to zip herself up. Oh how she loved magic, it truly was a wonderful gift that was given to her and she hoped to use it a lot in the many years to come. She then waved her wand over her hair, learning this trick from another girl as she tossed her hair around until perfect curls formed and fell down upon her shoulders. She glanced over at herself in the mirror before picking her makeup up and applying it so that it would bring out her eyes when she wore the mask. Then finally she picked up the mask and put it on, the final touch of her costume on and she was ready to head on out.

She descended the stairs down to the Gryffindor common room and then out the portrait of the fat lady before making her way towards the Great Hall where the ball was being held. There was already a light blush forming on her cheeks because for some reason she felt that everyone was staring right at her. They probably weren’t, but she felt like they were. Perhaps because of how much she loved her dress and mask was why she felt that way.

Soon she was entering the Great Hall having found out that she was at Table 1, she headed over seeing that her partner was already there. She had a bit of a strange déjà vu feeling, but it put it off as a possible chance she probably just walked by this handsome boy in the corridors one day. After all, there were a lot of students at Hogwarts. “Umm… Sorry to keep you waiting,” Aubrey said softly once she had gotten to the table where the young boy stood. She looked up at him as he was taller than her, and she really couldn’t hide her blush feeling a bit embarrassed to be so dressed up for someone she probably didn’t even know.


( OUTFIT. )

[FRANK ALGIE LONGBOTTOM]

you said hey since that day you stole my heart and you're the one to blame- - -

Frank wasn't sure how long he was sitting there. He gazed around the room at the happy couples for the night, or in some cases those looking not so happy, as they were paired up and began their evening. There was still opportunity for him to bolt... to return to the commons area, as mentioned so many times before, and forget this evening was ever supposed to happen, but he stayed glued to his chair. "Water," he commanded the table, and a mere instant later a tall glass of cool water appeared before him on the table. He had to marvel at all of the little enchantments in the castle. It seemed as though food, or drinks rather, were appearing out of thing air. Frank paid attention in class, and knew that food could not be created from nothing. The house elves probably had all sorts of drinks set up in the kitchens below the great hall, so a simple transportation spell was just set on the great hall, but it was still a cool effect.

His eyes scanned regularly over the couples sitting at their tables. Not all were of opposite genders. He saw many girls paired with girls, and guys paired with guys, though none of them seemed too pleased to be with a same gender partner for the evening. If Frank were in their situation he'd be pretty happy, actually. What was the point of ending up with a girl for the night? Odds were the said girl would have a boyfriend anyway, even if he did by some bizarre and impossible chance end up getting attached to her. At least if he were paired up with a guy they could just chat like normal... His eyes scanned over the crowd again, and again, and again, and soon he nearly hit himself when he realized what he was doing. He was looking for them. No doubt Malfoy of the second generation would have found some way to rig a supposedly random ball so that he'd end up with Aubrey... but why should Frank torture him like that just to see them together? He had to spend one evening forgetting about either of them. It was manageable, right?

Shaking his head he returned his attention to the table until he heard the ruffling of the material of a dress coming nearer, too near to be just another girl wandering by to another table. So his partner was a female... again, something manageable. He rose to his feet as she drew nearer, giving her a smile. She was gorgeous, but weren't most girls today? They'd probably been spending hours pouring over their appearance... well, it had definitely paid off in this girl's case. "It's no problem at all," he assured her with a slight shrug, pulling out the other chair at the table for her to sit. "I've only been here for a few minutes; not long at all." Oh god, this was awkward... what was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to say? Talking to strangers was too entirely awkward... this was going to be a train wreck.

Mask and part of tux. You can figure out the rest of his clothing from there, I guess. XD)

TEMPLATE BY VIKA OF CAUTION.

[AUBREY LYNN MCNEAL]

“It's no problem at all,” her soft rosy pink lips curled up into a bigger smile as the boy smiled at her. She was glad that he didn’t mind that she had him wait for a little bit. “I've only been here for a few minutes; not long at all.” oh good, she felt relieved to hear that he hadn’t waited long at all. She really would’ve felt bad if he had waited quite a while. But now the awkwardness had set in, two people not knowing who the other was, how did the staff figured this would work? They knew nothing about each other that they know of, so how do they know what to even start with? The only thing they knew they had in common was the fact that they both went to Hogwarts.

Then an idea occurred to her about what they could perhaps talk about. Quidditch. Everyone loved Quidditch right? She hardly knew anyone that didn’t love Quidditch. “So what’s your favorite Quidditch team?

[/color]” it seemed liked a stupid question to ask at the time, but really it was the only thing that she could think of at the time. She really hoped that he didn’t hate Quidditch, because that would only make the situation even more awkward than it already was. Her favorite team of course was the Holyhead Harpies, but apparently that was many girls’ favorite team so it wasn’t like just from knowing her favorite team he could figure out who she was. Besides, she wasn’t even sure if she had ever seen this boy before, even though she had an odd feeling she knew him, but he probably was just someone she happened to walk by in the hallways one day.

( OUTFIT. )[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify][/size][/blockquote]

[FRANK ALGIE LONGBOTTOM]

you said hey since that day you stole my heart and you're the one to blame- - -

”So, what’s your favorite Quidditch team?” It was kind of one of the last things that Frank expected to come out of the girl’s mouth. When there was a beautiful girl there, all dolled up and fancy and just plain gorgeous for a night of dancing and elegance, you didn’t expect for her to want to talk about something like sports. That was generally such an… ungirlish subject. Of course, Frank knew, nearly better than anyone else, that there were girls out there who went absolutely nuts over Quidditch… Aubrey was a huge fan of the Holyhead Harpies, like many other girls who looked up to the women on that team as their idols simply because they were women and a good team made up of them.

“Whoever’s winning?” he joked with a small grin, deciding to at least try and enjoy himself tonight even if it wasn’t the ideal place, in his humble opinion, for the Gryffindor to be tonight. It wasn’t this girl’s fault that his eyes couldn’t seem to stay fixed to her, instead straying around at the other happy couples. Apparently they were intent on torturing him with the sight of Malfoy and Aubrey, though thank God he hadn’t yet noticed them. The girl with him was rather stunning, too. Her hair was much like the color of Aubrey’s, and she was probably in about the same age range… Ugh, why am I doing this? Hadn’t he told himself that he was going to enjoy the evening, and not pine over the girl who’d been oblivious to his feelings for months? It had seemed like a good plan. He should probably follow it.

“I’ve always been a bit of a Puddlemere United guy, myself. But really, I’d watch any game no matter who’s playing.” It as more the game that Frank loved above specific teams… when it came to the professional league, in general every matchup made for a good game. Sure, it was awesome when his favorites won, but he could enjoy a game no matter what colors were flying through the air. Frank wasn’t a Quidditch player himself, but everyone who knew him on somewhat of a personal level knew how much he enjoyed the game. “What about you? Do you fly much?”

Mask and part of tux. You can figure out the rest of his clothing from there, I guess. XD)

TEMPLATE BY VIKA OF CAUTION.

[AUBREY LYNN MCNEAL]

“Whoever’s winning?” Aubrey let out a small giggle as she could tell that the boy was probably joking, but it did make her laugh. Maybe he wasn’t the type to follow teams. Perhaps she should’ve thought of something else to talk about other than Quidditch teams. “I’ve always been a bit of a Puddlemere United guy, myself. But really, I’d watch any game no matter who’s playing.” or maybe not. So this guy liked Puddlemere United, well that was a fairly good team and they seemed to be doing well this season as well. Besides she should’ve figured that he wouldn’t have said Holyhead Harpies, after all it was usually girls that picked that as their favorite team. But she was glad to see that even though it wasn’t Scorpius that she was partnered up with, besides the fact that the two of them rarely got to hang out together to begin with, she could at least enjoy a good conversation with this boy.

“What about you? Do you fly much?” Did Aubrey fly? Not much, yet. She was working on it though with Rose and a bit with Scorp. Slowly she was getting over her fear of flying, hopefully it’ll be soon as she really wanted to be able to fly with her friends out in the pitch instead of being the one sitting in the stands and doing homework or reading a book. No this year would be the year she conquered that fear. “Well my favorite Quidditch team is the Holyhead Harpies of course!” she said excitedly as if they were the best team to have ever been created. “But as for flying, I’m kind of just getting into it. Or rather I’m learning..

[/color]” she said softly being careful not to mention her accident in her first year. She knew that would just give her away automatically when it came to the sixth and seventh years as that news had spread quickly during her first year after it happened. She was kind of looking down at the ground now, feeling a bit embarrassed. She knew there were only few in the school that were actually afraid of flying and the fact that she was in Gryffindor, did not help as everyone expected all Gryffindor’s to be brave and willing to try anything.


“I’m actually starting to get the hang of it,[/color]” she smiled happily as she looked back up at him again. “My best friend is really good at teaching me.[/color]” She hoped that he hadn’t noticed that she felt embarrassed for not really learning how to fly until now.

( OUTFIT. )[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify][/size]

[FRANK ALGIE LONGBOTTOM]

you said hey since that day you stole my heart and you're the one to blame- - -

There was something naggingly familiar about this girl, but Frank kept putting it off to a random encounter in the hallways, or a shared class or something of the sort… the damned masks did a good job of covering identities, though he normally wouldn’t think a few square inches could hide who a person was very successfully. Maybe she, or most of the students at the ball, had had the same idea as he and had cast a simple spell to help hide their identity more? Could be.

Even if he didn’t know who she was, though, he was happy that he could make her laugh. She had a cute laugh… again, awfully familiar. It was easier to make the best of this evening with a partner who actually found him amusing and whose company he could actually enjoy. It made the whole evening a lot easier to get through. Of course, the evening was no where near over yet, but that was his prediction and he hoped it followed through into truth. It would be good to just be able to relax tonight without any girl worries, despite the fact that this night was so girl based.

“Well my favorite Quidditch team is the Holyhead Harpies of course!” He had to grin and chuckle at her enthusiasm to her favourite team, much like the enthusiasm of so many other girls who supported the all-female Quidditch team. It was kind of ingenious, really. Create a team with all women figures to break the gender stereotype boundaries and, in the process, get the girls of the country flocking to their games and buying their memorabilia and just supporting them in general. The team was a damned gold mine. “But as for flying, I’m kind of just getting into it. Or rather I’m learning..” That was a bit unusual… how old was this girl? His age? Maybe a year or two younger? Still plenty old enough that she should know how to fly thanks to lessons from when she was younger, right? There were plenty of kids he knew closer to his age who were afraid of flying, but they generally just gave up on it altogether, they didn’t bother trying to learn. But then… he did know of one girl around his age just getting into flying agan…

“I’m actually starting to get the hang of it, My best friend is really good at teaching me.” Just like that, it all kind of clipped into place for the seventh year. Rose Weasley. Aubrey’s best friend. She was teaching Aubrey how to fly again, slowly working on her confidence to get her back into the skies despite her age… Holy sheet, this was Aubrey. His partner for the ball was the very girl he’d wanted it to be…

His mouth suddenly felt dry. Very, very dry. He was pretty sure that if he tried to speak it would come out all hoarse and choked… but he couldn’t just be silent. No, then she’d think he was a boring partner and she’d leave… That couldn't happen. Speak, dammit! "I'm sure you'll get the hang of it soon, as long as you have good support for it... having friends help you with a goal makes all the difference." Did that even make sense? It didn't, did it? No, probably not. Oh god... he was doing so well until he realized who she was!

Mask and part of tux. You can figure out the rest of his clothing from there, I guess. XD)

TEMPLATE BY VIKA OF CAUTION.

[AUBREY LYNN MCNEAL]

Aubrey felt her cheeks become warmer as she blushed some more while silence fell between the two of them. Did he perhaps think she wasn’t that great of a partner to be with for not being able to fly? Oh why did she have to let out that bit about her? She knew her friends were okay with it, but that was because they were there or heard not too long afterwards, of the incident in her first year. They all knew how she felt and why she had been afraid to touch a broom afterwards, but she never thought of how a complete stranger would react to it. “I'm sure you'll get the hang of it soon, as long as you have good support for it... having friends help you with a goal makes all the difference.” His voice brought her back to reality and she smiled, glad that he didn’t mind at all that she wasn’t great at flying and was only now just learning how to. “Yeah it is great to have friends that support me. But lately… the one friend I really want support from… or rather my boyfriend… he’s been a bit distant really and I’m not really sure why,

[/color]” she blushed a deep crimson red, why was it so easy to talk to this guy? She felt like she could reveal all her secrets to him for some reason. Maybe, the two of them could be friends after the Yule Ball was over.

She then looked down at the floor, feeling a bit embarrassed about what she was saying. She fiddled with her fingers some before she continued on. “I mean we fought on our last date, but we made up before we even left Hogsmeade… I suppose I might just be over reacting… I mean with the tourney and all I guess I can understand why he’s been too busy to really hang out with me… But still…[/color]” she blushed some more as she turned to look up at the boy. “Do you think I’m wrong for wanting to be around him more?[/color]” she asked curiously. Maybe if she got another guy’s view on it, it could help her look at things a different way. She waited patiently to hear what he had to say, she just hoped that he didn’t think she was babbling too much. She glanced over at their table they were standing next to and looked at the menus that were on it. Perhaps she should order something to drink? That might help a bit, if only she could order some alcoholic butterbeer… but she was sure the school wouldn’t offer that to them. So she figured she’d settle with Butterbeer and wait until after her partner replied before she ordered it.

( OUTFIT. )[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify][/size]

[FRANK ALGIE LONGBOTTOM]

you said hey since that day you stole my heart and you're the one to blame- - -

He felt like such an idiot unable to speak properly all because he knew her identity… why did he have to recognize her? Why wasn’t her mask better at hiding identities? Yeah, the night would be amazing whether he knew her identity or not, but he had a sinking feeling that the night was going to be cut short because he wasn’t going to be able to hold up a conversation with her, too paranoid of her reaction to anything he might say.

“Yeah it is great to have friends that support me. But lately… the one friend I really want support from… or rather my boyfriend… he’s been a bit distant really and I’m not really sure why,” Wait, trouble in paradise? A moment later Frank felt bad for such a cynical thought, but… he couldn’t help himself. Scorpius had been with Aubrey for almost a year, and all the while Frank had allowed himself to be tormented by their ever-so-happy relationship, worried with the thoughts that he’d forever lost his chances with her based off of how happy she and Scorpius appeared to be whenever he saw them together. To hear that things might not be as idyllic as they appeared to be, though maybe a selfish thought, was something Frank was kind of pleased in. He did feel bad that it probably made Aubrey upset, but… what could he say? He was a selfish guy sometimes.

“I mean we fought on our last date, but we made up before we even left Hogsmeade… I suppose I might just be over reacting… I mean with the tourney and all I guess I can understand why he’s been too busy to really hang out with me… But still…” Any doubt that this was Aubrey disappeared with mention of the tournament. Of course perfect handsome Scorpius had gotten in much to the joy of all swooning fangirls around the school who melted over his blonde hair and looks. But there were side effects to any glory, and apparently Scorpius’ side effect was a strained relationship with Aubrey. Frank didn’t let himself think to the point of hoping the ultimate side effect would be them breaking up. He didn’t want to give himself false hope.

“Do you think I’m wrong for wanting to be around him more?” Well, truthfully Frank thought she was, but that was on an entirely different selfish train of thought than what Aubrey was speaking of, so he couldn’t really mention it. Relevant to what she was thinking of, he had to honestly say… “No, of course not.” He shrugged slightly. ”You’re in a relationship… you deserve to be priority. He’s had you before he got involved in the tournament, so… maybe he should have been prepared to put you ahead of it and anything else he’s involved in. If he can’t… he doesn’t deserve you.” He was sounding too sappy… it was way too obvious, to Frank at least, that he had some connection to Aubrey… but maybe she’d just think he was some honest sweet stranger? Yeah, he was going to hope for that instead of her yelling at him for his dislike of Scorpius.

Mask and part of tux. You can figure out the rest of his clothing from there, I guess. XD)

TEMPLATE BY VIKA OF CAUTION.

[AUBREY LYNN MCNEAL]

Aubrey was looking at her partner and kind of felt it odd that they were just standing there. She looked out onto the dance floor noticing that many people have started dancing. She wonder if perhaps her partner would want to. She wouldn’t mind it if she asked her, after all it wasn’t like anyone knew who she was right? “No, of course not.” She turned to look at him again as he shrugged slightly. “You’re in a relationship… you deserve to be priority. He’s had you before he got involved in the tournament, so… maybe he should have been prepared to put you ahead of it and anything else he’s involved in. If he can’t… he doesn’t deserve you.” She nodded lightly. He did have a point; relationships shouldn’t get pushed to the side right? Just because other things were happening didn’t mean that they shouldn’t get put on hold and Aubrey just wasn’t one to wait. “I guess that’s kind of why I came here tonight. I haven’t been able to be with him lately so I figured I could come here and enjoy a nice night with whoever I got partnered up with. I don’t think he signed up, but then again I haven’t really looked around to see if I can find him amongst all the masked students,

[/color]” she said softly before gazing out onto the dance floor again.

The decorations were really quite nice she liked how it was decorated to look like it did back during the renaissance time. She had seen many pictures in books of how it looked back in those days and had always wondered what it would be like to actually live in it. Her parents had gone to a renaissance festival before, but that was usually after Aubrey went back to school. So she never got to go with them. “I know usually the guy asks… but I was wondering… would you want to dance?[/color]” she asked quietly as she felt her cheeks flush out again and she dipped her head slightly hoping that he didn’t know she was blusing. She figured dancing wouldn’t hurt right? It was a dance after all so it wasn’t something Scorp could get jealous about right?

( OUTFIT. )[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify][/size]

[FRANK ALGIE LONGBOTTOM]

you said hey since that day you stole my heart and you're the one to blame- - -

“I guess that’s kind of why I came here tonight. I haven’t been able to be with him lately so I figured I could come here and enjoy a nice night with whoever I got partnered up with. I don’t think he signed up, but then again I haven’t really looked around to see if I can find him amongst all the masked students,” ”Don’t worry about him,” was Frank’s instant advice, though he felt it might be a little bit too obvious why he didn’t want her to worry about her boyfriend. ”Just enjoy yourself. You’re allowed to have a bit of fun, even when you’re not around him. Truth be told, he was worried about Aubrey’s conscience getting the best of her or for her to spot Scorpius and leave him for her boyfriend just because she wanted to spend more time with the Slytherin. Wouldn’t that just be the perfect end to this evening? Why was he letting such paranoias get to his head? Let Malfoy steal her away. Let Aubrey think he was an idiot. Let the evening end in unfortunate disaster. All he could do was live in the moment and be himself, and at the moment living in the moment involved Aubrey, so it would be all too easy to enjoy it.

“I know usually the guy asks… but I was wondering… would you want to dance?” Well… didn’t Frank feel kind of stupid. It should usually be the man asking the woman to dance, right? But no, of course he’d been so caught up in the fact that this was Aubrey, or before that moping because he thought he hadn’t been with Aubrey, that he’d forgotten to be polite. Wonderful. She probably thought he was some idiotic loser… but hey, as long as she’d asked, it wasn’t like he was going to turn her down for the sake of his damned pride. So he just smiled, rising to his feet and reaching out a hand for hers to draw her out to the dance floor. So what if Malfoy saw them and recognized Aubrey? As long as she was around Frank tonight, he was going to enjoy their time together even if she didn’t actually realize who she was with. “It would be my pleasure.”


Mask and part of tux. You can figure out the rest of his clothing from there, I guess. XD)

TEMPLATE BY VIKA OF CAUTION.

[AUBREY LYNN MCNEAL]

“Don’t worry about him,” Aubrey nodded, he was right she shouldn’t worry about Scoprius tonight while she was in a way trying to be someone else, or rather herself, just hidden behind a mask. Perhaps this guy was the same way. He wanted to be himself without the other person knowing who he really was. So he could have a person like him for who he really was. “Just enjoy yourself. You’re allowed to have a bit of fun, even when you’re not around him.” and she hoped that enjoying herself would involve the two of them dancing the night away together, not thinking about their problems just having fun. That’s what this night was supposed to be about right? But this boy, it was so easy to talk to him, to tell him how she’d been feeling lately. Why was that?

She watched as her partner stood up and then softly took her hand. “It would be my pleasure.” She blushed, feeling the warmth of his hand as he took ahold her hers. It really was a nice feeling, like their hands were meant to hold each other’s. Wait, what was she thinking? She was dating Scorpius; she shouldn’t have thoughts like that right? And so she pushed it from her mind. “So Mr. Mysterious,

[/color]” she giggled lightly figuring that was a good name to call her partner for the night until midnight when she found out who he was. She just hoped that he didn’t mind it. “What made you decide to go to the Masquerade Ball tonight?[/color]” she asked curiously as she allowed him to lead her out onto the dance floor. She lightly rand a hand through her soft blond hair before she placed it on his shoulder gently and waited for him to lead them off on a dance.

( OUTFIT. )[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify][/size][/blockquote]

[FRANK ALGIE LONGBOTTOM]

you said hey since that day you stole my heart and you're the one to blame- - -

Frank didn’t think that he would ever get tired of that adorable little blush of hers, or the soft giggles, or anything about her, really. He wondered how she would react if their little meeting reached midnight when the masks would be moved away from their faces and identity revealed… he, of course, wouldn’t be surprised by her identity. He was actually kind of surprised that it had taken him so long in the first place to recognize her. She was only the girl he’d been pining after for god knew how long by this point in his life. What would her reaction be when she discovered who he was, though? Laughter? Gentle amusement? It was doubtless she would get anything close to what he’d get out of by this meeting… her heart was firmly stuck with the Malfoy boy, and she would probably just laugh off their dance and conversations as those between any two friends. But he could deal with that, he’d been dealing with it for years, as long as he got to enjoy that cute little smile for a little while longer.

“So Mr. Mysterious, what made you decide to go to the Masquerade Ball tonight?” He couldn’t hold back a grin, of course he couldn’t, at the nickname as he gently pulled on her hand and led her out to the dance floor. He was purposely ignoring the feel of her tiny palm in his, not wanting his mind to read into it too much. He couldn’t spend this evening feeling sorry for himself… he just had to enjoy the moment as it happened, because at midnight this little spell would be shattered and he’d be just back to being the friend, not even ‘Mr. Mysterious’.

“It’s my seventh year,” he explained, deciding that that information was safe to give without breaking the spell of his ‘mysteriousness’. There were countless amounts of seventh years in the school, too many for her to know them all… she wouldn’t be able to pick out his identity with just that little tidbit of info. “I figured I’d better take advantage of everything the school has to offer this year, including the anonymous company of a pretty girl.” He didn’t really mean that to say Aubrey, though he of course did… more he was referring to the fact that he could have ended up with any pretty girl tonight, it just so happened to be her, and of course he wasn’t complaining. A new slow song was starting up, perfect timing for the pair. Almost hesitating because of the pure close contact, he gently moved his arms to her waist and they began to dance to the slow beat among countless other couples. Having her in his arms… It felt so right, despite the fact that she had a boyfriend… he’d always known it would feel right.

Mask and part of tux. You can figure out the rest of his clothing from there, I guess. XD)

TEMPLATE BY VIKA OF CAUTION.

[AUBREY LYNN MCNEAL]

She could hear a song coming to an end and knew that a new one would be starting. It was like they knew a new couple was about to reach the dance floor, it was perfect in Aubrey’s eyes. “It’s my seventh year,” she heard him say as he led her out to the dance floor. So she was dancing with someone a year older than her, there was nothing wrong with that she probably would’ve found it awkward if the boy happened to be younger than her. She didn’t really know why she would’ve just that was just how she felt. “I figured I’d better take advantage of everything the school has to offer this year, including the anonymous company of a pretty girl.” and then she felt his hand softly take a hold her side, it sent a small shiver down her back. Not one of those shivers that you get when you were cold or it felt eerie, no, it was the kind you got when you felt happy, or like something was right about the situation. She tried to push that thought of her head as the song changed and Mr. Mysterious began to lead them into a dance with the new song.

There was something about the way he danced with her, like he knew how to dance with her. But she had never danced with anyone before, not even Scorpius. She blushed feeling a bit embarrassed at the fact that her first dance was stolen by Mr. Mysterious instead of by Scorpius, but why would she blush over that? It wasn’t like he stole her first kiss right? “You got a point, I would want to do the same if it was my last year at Hogwarts. I really love this place; it’s like a home away from home. It’ll be sad once I leave after next year,

[/color]” she said lightly knowing that she pretty much just gave away that she was a sixth year. She hoped that Mr. Mysterious didn’t mind being with someone younger than him.

For some reason she felt a bit compelled to rest her head on his shoulder but she knew that would be out of line, or would it? Something inside of her was telling her that it was okay, but at the same time she was trying to fight it and tell it that it wasn’t. It was just a dance after all, nothing more right? She glanced up into his deep hazel eyes smiling up at him and letting him know that she was enjoying the dance. “I think I’ve asked most of the questions for the night, why don’t you ask some?[/color]” she giggled playfully.

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[FRANK ALGIE LONGBOTTOM]

you said hey since that day you stole my heart and you're the one to blame- - -

“You got a point, I would want to do the same if it was my last year at Hogwarts. I really love this place; it’s like a home away from home. It’ll be sad once I leave after next year,” Frank understood exactly how she felt, and knew the way she felt, too. Of course, she didn’t know that all this information was old news to him. Would she be so relaxed around him if she knew who he was, or would she be all awkward about dancing with him just because he was someone she knew, and not a total stranger? There would be connections continued after this night, and not just a ‘bye’ once the masks were off without ever glancing at each other again. …But he was getting way too ahead of himself. Why would they be awkward? As previously noted, Aubrey would take this as time spent between two friends. It didn’t have the potential or meaning to her that it did to him. ”Yeah, it’s going to get kinda depressing towards the end of the year… but hey, life outside of Hogwarts has to be pretty cool too, right? And once you’re out of Hogwarts, you can always come back to visit for events or Quidditch games or stuff like that.”

“I think I’ve asked most of the questions for the night, why don’t you ask some?” There was that cute little smile again and that giggle that made his mouth go dry again. He angled his head downwards so that he could look into her beautiful hazel eyes, trying to hold on to her gaze and not look away nearly immediately as he usually would. He was never able to keep her gaze for very long on most days, always too paranoid of what she might see in his eyes or something cheesy and pathetic like that, but… hell, she didn’t realize who he was, so what did he care?

He smiled slightly, still leading them around as he tried to think of a good question to ask. “Aw, that’s no fun, I’m no good at coming up with questions…” he chuckled a bit. The thing was, she was going off of the assumption that he knew nothing about her and therefore would have things to ask… so he just had to act, or pretend, like she was right and he was completely clueless to everything about her. That couldn’t be too hard, right? ”Hm… what are your goals once you’re out of Hogwarts?”

Mask and part of tux. You can figure out the rest of his clothing from there, I guess. XD)

TEMPLATE BY VIKA OF CAUTION.

[AUBREY LYNN MCNEAL]

“Yeah, it’s going to get kinda depressing towards the end of the year… but hey, life outside of Hogwarts has to be pretty cool too, right? And once you’re out of Hogwarts, you can always come back to visit for events or Quidditch games or stuff like that.” Aubrey listened intently to her partner and nodded in agreement. The life outside of Hogwarts should be pretty cool especially since they’ll be full witches and wizards and could use magic outside of Hogwarts. Aubrey couldn’t wait to go home for the Easter Holidays and show off her magic to her parents finally since she had turned seventeen about a month ago. She knew her parents were looking forwards to seeing more than just the potions she could brew as that was pretty much the only thing she could do outside of Hogwarts when she was underage. It also meant that she could apparate and knew that the sixth years would be having lessons throughout the year. She couldn’t wait to take her apparition test then she could easily apparate home whenever she wanted during the Hogsmeade visits. After all, no one could apparate in or out of Hogwarts.

“Aw, that’s no fun, I’m no good at coming up with questions…” she giggled lightly at him, she was sure that he could think of something after all. There were hundreds of thousands of questions that people could ask someone that did know. “Hm… what are your goals once you’re out of Hogwarts?” she thought for a moment. What did Aubrey want to do? Well that was actually quite an easy question. “Well I really want to do something with archeology, probably be a curse breaker and an archeologist, it seems really cool! And it’s what I’m best at,

[/color]” she said thoughtfully. It was something that she had become interested in one she started taking Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. “Plus I think Egypt would be a neat place to be in, there’s so many cool pyramids![/color]” she said excitedly. In a way, she really couldn’t wait to get out of Hogwarts just so she could go off and do that. “What about you?[/color]” she asked curiously as she tilted her head softly to the side, smiling at Mr. Mysterious. He really was a nice guy to be around so far. She just hoped that when masks came of that he didn’t turn out to be a Muggleborn Hater.

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[FRANK ALGIE LONGBOTTOM]

you said hey since that day you stole my heart and you're the one to blame- - -

There she was, giggling again. He wasn’t really so amusing, was he? No, of course not… it was probably the highs of the ball that were making her all giggly. Most girls were probably like that, tonight. To girls, weren’t balls like this magical? (Yes, he did get the pun there while he was within the walls of a magic school). To guys they could be pretty cool too, if you weren’t afraid of having your sexuality questioned and everything worked out for you, but he knew that so many girls had been looking forward to the Masquerade Ball and the upcoming Yule Ball for months. Dances and balls were just so… such a female thing to look forward to. He wasn’t sure what it was about it, maybe the romanticism dating back to medieval balls that stayed in feminine blood through the years… something about dances just got them going in excitement and acting different than they normally would. That would be why Aubrey happened to find him so amusing. Once the ball was over, the spell would be broken…

“Well I really want to do something with archeology, probably be a curse breaker and an archeologist, it seems really cool! And it’s what I’m best at,” Of course the girl who had been doing extra homework for the ancient runes professor, Professor Rhodes, within the first few months of school would want to go to something in that field. Frank was still rather amused and miffed that she’d been doing an extra assignment in the courtyard that day when there was no need for her to do so. She was an excellent student, clearly, in that class and others. ”A girl like you… you could probably do whatever you want. I’m sure you’re great at many things, but it is best to do what you know you’d enjoy.” “Plus I think Egypt would be a neat place to be in, there’s so many cool pyramids!” He found himself chuckling again at her enthusiasm. Egypt was a popular vacation place for many wizards and their families… Frank wouldn’t mind going there himself once he’d graduated and saved up a bit of money for the trip. There were some pretty awesome magical artifacts buried among the sand.

“What about you?” How safe was this to answer? If Aubrey made the connection… nah, she wouldn’t. She’d been oblivious to his identity so far, how would one more simple fact give him away when there were so many kids who set their eyes on the same course each year? It wasn’t as common a target occupation as being an auror or healer was, but it was common enough. ”Dragon tamer. Or… well, anything that relates to magical creatures, but a dragon tamer would be ideal. Care of Magical Creatures is my best subject and I’ve had a fascination with the beasts since I was young.”

Mask and part of tux. You can figure out the rest of his clothing from there, I guess. XD)

TEMPLATE BY VIKA OF CAUTION.

[AUBREY LYNN MCNEAL]

Why was there something oddly familiar about the guy in front of her? She wasn’t entirely sure, but she knew she wouldn’t know the reason why he seemed so familiar until their masks came off. But none-the-less, she liked how well he lead the two of them into a soft dance. He really was quite a good dancer, at least in Aubrey’s opinion he was. “ A girl like you… you could probably do whatever you want. I’m sure you’re great at many things, but it is best to do what you know you’d enjoy.” Aubrey blushed feeling a bit embarrassed at what he said. A girl like her… maybe he did know her, or knew of her type. But she really did like the compliment, it did make her feel like she could do anything.

The songs changed and it was still a slower song, the mood seemed to be setting for those who had managed to be paired up with someone of the opposite gender. She noticed that many of the ones that had been partnered up with the same gender were sitting down and chatting rather than actually dancing. At the same time Aubrey couldn’t help but notice that as they were dancing they seemed to move in closer together, a light blush formed on her cheeks and she tried her best to hide it while not trying to move away from her partner. “ Dragon tamer. Or… well, anything that relates to magical creatures, but a dragon tamer would be ideal. Care of Magical Creatures is my best subject and I’ve had a fascination with the beasts since I was young.” Aubrey smiled at him, it seemed like a wonderful dream. “That sounds pretty cool, I think that’d be an awesome job,” she said happily.

What else could the two of them talk about? She partially wanted to ask him if it felt like they knew each other and if there was something else he felt, because she felt something else and couldn’t figure out what it was or what it meant. Maybe, by the end of the night she’d figured it out, but at that moment she couldn’t help but look up in her partners eyes and for a moment she was even lost in them, spacing out with a bit of a dreamy look on her face, unaware that her partner would probably notice.

( OUTFIT. )

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