* - - a private yule ball for two (lucy sanguini)

[DUNSTABLE VERNON DURSLEY]

The ball wasn’t quite over with yet, Dunstable had managed to sneak away a bit early to get up to the room of requirement. He knew that Sari understood, after all she looked like she was a bit ready to leave as well. He liked Sari, she really was a good friend, but Sari wasn’t the person he wanted to go to the ball with. No, the person he wanted to go with he couldn’t because for some odd reason she had decided to join Olivia’s little group and well Dunstable knew exactly how Olivia felt about Muggleborns, he just couldn’t figure out why Lucy wanted to join her so badly.

Dunstable sighed as he looked at himself in the mirror that was in the corner of the quite decorated room. The one thing that he always loved about the room of requirement, well it never took long to decorate it as all he had to do was think of how he wanted it to look as he walked in front of it three times until a door appeared. He was really glad that Albus had shown him the place, at least than this way Dunstable could have a mini Yule Ball with Lucy. He smiled lightly to himself as he adjusted his tie, maybe he could convince Lucy tonight that she shouldn’t hang around Olivia; he always did get a bad feeling from her after all. But he figured he’d wait until more towards the end of the night to talk to her about it, he didn’t want the evening to end early if she got upset after all.

He turned to look at the decorations he had managed to come up with. Candles were floating along the walls of the room as a soft snow fell from the ceiling to make it look like it was snowing, only the snow disappeared before it even touched the ground. There were a few decorated trees with candles and all sorts of light blue, white, silver and clear ornaments on them and a shining star of one of the colors on top of each tree. There was a small table against one of the walls that had some refreshments for them in case they were to get parched while dancing, and of course a soft Christmassy like music filled the air as it played a gentle tune to a Christmas Song. Everything looked perfect, or at least in Dunstable eye’s they did. He just hoped that Lucy would show up and not skip out on him.

[LUCY RAE SANGUINI]

Lucy waved her wand, and her long blonde hair began to curl itself into big thick curls, some of it being pulled back with a light pink flower clip. She smiled at it in the mirror, glad that it was coming out like she wanted it to. Applying some red lipstick, she rubbed her lips together, thinking that she would probably be kissing Dunstable by the end of the night. Good thing it was magical, and it wouldn't come off on him if she kissed him. She applied a little mascara and stood up from her vanity.

Stepping into a light pink dress, Lucy pulled it up over her torso, zipping it up the side of her body. It was tight until it hit her knees and had some flower gems etched into the side of it. Daddy's money really paid off when she asked him for a dress. She turned to look in the mirror at the finished product. She smiled and blushed at her own reflection, knowing that Dun would love it. So without another thought, Lucy tucked the wand into a secret fold of the dress and walked from her dorm room to go up to the Room of Requirement. It took her awhile to get there, since she had to go from the dungeons to the seventh floor, but she wasn't sweating when she got there, so that was a plus.

Walking up to the door, Lucy watched it materialize in front of her. Slowly opening it, Lucy walked in to see a beautiful sight. She knew that Dun had gone through a lot of trouble to get the room to decorate itself like this. She covered her mouth and gasped, so surprised with how amazing it looked. She saw Dun and stood there watching him, waiting to see what he would do. She was so speechless that she couldn't think of anything to do or say to him.

DRESS

[DUNSTABLE VERNON DURSLEY]

Dunstable was getting a bit nervous as he waited for Lucy. What if she stood him up? What if she only accepted this date only to stand him up just to please her new friend Olivia? Why did she even have to hang out with that girl? Perhaps tonight he would be able to convince her that Olivia was bad news. He could feel it, he was sure of it. He just hoped that it wouldn’t spark an argument between the two of them. He didn’t want them to argue, he wanted to show her that her blood didn’t matter nor did the fact that she was a half-vampire. He didn’t think there was anything wrong with being part-something else and those who made fun of those who were ‘tainted’ as they called him, he always felt that they were in the wrong.

And then, he heard the door open and he quickly turned to see a young blond Slytherin girl that was wearing a long flowing pink dress, she looked simply breathtaking that was for sure. “Lucy,

[/color]” he said with a war smile before stepping forward and softly taking her delicate hand into his. “I’m glad that you made it, I thought that perhaps something might’ve came up for you,[/color]” he said softly before pulling her a bit closer.

He looked into her eyes, those beautiful emerald orbs that she had, he could easily loose himself into them. “Would you care to dance?[/color]” he whispered softly and if on cue some soft music started to play and he stepped backwards, bowing softly before kissing her hand softly on the back of it. He looked up at the young blond, his brown eyes shimmering in the candlelight as he awaited her answer.
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[LUCY RAE SANGUINI]

Lucy blushed as Dunstable took her hand and complimented her. She batted her eyelashes and walked towards him, her free hand clutching at her dress to make sure it didn't drag on the ground. Smiling, Lucy tried to push aside the thoughts of Olivia and Chun and just be glad that her and Dunstable could be here together. "No no, I'm fine. Nothing kept me." she allowed him to lead her to the dance floor, where she placed one hand on his shoulder and left the other in his hand, dancing in the old time fashion.

"You look so handsome Dunstable. It was very kind of you to set up our own Yule Ball." Lucy twirled around in his arms, a big smile set upon her features. This night couldn't be better than it currently was. Dunstable was such a great guy to set up this little Yule Ball for them. He obviously knew about how Lucy was hanging around with Olivia, and he wasn't happy about it, but Lucy didn't know what to do. She was caught up in Olivia's web now, and she didn't think that even Dunstable would be able to save her now. She was in too deep....

Lucy's light pink dress floated around them as they spun around the floor. Her eyes sparkled with adoration and love as they did so, and she couldn't believe that she was here. Nobody had ever cared enough about her before to do things for her. Nobody had ever put on a special ball just for her. She couldn't wait to give him his present for Christmas, because even though he didn't know it, she had one for him. He was going to love it...

[DUNSTABLE VERNON DURSLEY]

“ You look so handsome Dunstable. It was very kind of you to set up our own Yule Ball.” Dunstable smiled at Lucy as he twirled her lightly again, it seemed like she liked it when he twirled her so he had decided to do it again. Soft fake snow fell around the both of them to make it look like they were in a magical wonderland. He was definitely enjoying his time with Lucy and wished they could do it more without having to hang out in secret. “I’m glad that you’re enjoying it. Just…” should he say it just yet? He didn’t want the night to get ruined just because of something that had been bothering him.

“It’s just that I really wish that we didn’t have to do this in Secret Luce. I wish I could hold your hand as I walk down the hallway to class with you without fear that Olivia would hurt either of us. Why are you with her, when you’re not even like her?[/color]” he frowned lightly as he brought her back in from the twirl and dipped her lightly. He just wished so much that Lucy had never became friends with Olivia in the first place. She was just too mean of a person to others, especially to those that were either muggleborns or tainted. Or she just used them. “How do you know if she really likes you? What if she’s just pretending…[/color]” he said lightly as he held her close and then dipped her lightly.

[LUCY RAE SANGUINI]

Sniffing, Lucy tried to fight back tears. He was right. Olivia wasn't a good person to hang around with. She was evil. She manipulated people, and Lucy hoped she wasn't one of those people. Closing her eyes she sniffed, still trying not to cry. As he twirled around with her, fake snow fell from the ceiling, making the mood even more romantic. Two glistening salty orbs fell from her face, only to be whisked away as he twirled her around. Dipping her low, Lucy looked into his warm brown eyes and knew what he was saying was true. But she couldn't escape Olivia's grasp now that she was in it.

She was lifted back up and twirled once more, and she loosened her grip on him, her fingers sliding from his hand and his shoulder. Spinning away from him, her short blonde curls bobbed and her pink dress caught up in her feet. Standing there, she let her arms hang limply at her side. "I don't know Dun. The old me was like her. I hated muggleborns. I hated blood traitors. I'm pureblood Dun, but I'm tainted. I'm part vampire. And when Olivia sent me the note to join her, I thought I was finally being accepted. But then I met you..." Lucy sniffed and turned around, her face wet with tears.

"I met you and my whole world changed. You didn't care what I was, you accepted me. You showed me kindness, something even my own mother couldn't do." She lifted her eyes to meet his, trying to understand what he was thinking, but failing. He'd already said what he wanted to say, and that was it. They both disapproved of her being one of the Dark Knights, but it was too late. Her fate was sealed with a deadly kiss.

"If she's just pretending, then what happens? If she pretends to like me, what does that do for her? Besides give the rest of the school another thing to make fun of me for. Poor little vampire, not even Olivia would want you as a friend...." Lucy's face started turning pink, embarrassed by everything that was going on, embarrassed for crying, embarrassed for being so naive when it came to Olivia. She would just have to try and grin and bear it when she was around the other Slytherin. Walking slowly to a window in the corner of the room, she looked outside at the grounds. The white snow covering everything reminded her of a blanket, only a cold one. "Dunstable, would you still love me if Olivia ruined me?" she asked, her voice a whisper in the night. Once again her cheeks flushed red as she realized she'd asked him if he'd still love her. She had just revealed her feelings for him without meaning to...

DRESS

[DUNSTABLE VERNON DURSLEY]

Dunstable listened to every word that came out of Lucy’s mouth and most of it caused him to frown. So what if she had vampire blood in her? She was still a good person despite what everyone else thought, there was just too many prejudice people there. “Dunstable, would you still love me if Olivia ruined me?” Dunstable froze for a moment, did she really say those words? What if Olivia had ruined? No. There was just no way he was going to let that happen. He could never see why Olivia wanted to be Lucy’s friend in the first place. Dunstable had heard what she’s like, how she hates ‘half-breed’ and muggleborns. So why was she so suddenly wanting to be friends with Lucy?

No, there had to be some other reason why she was wanting to be ‘friends’ with Lucy, and Dustable was determined to figure it out there was no doubt in that. “Listen to me Lucy, I’ll never let Olivia ruin you, but you have to promise to be careful around her. I just don’t trust her, do you understand?[/color]” he asked her as he stopped their dancing, he was holding her in his arms. If it was his choice, he wouldn’t let her go and keep her away from Olivia forever, but he knew that he couldn’t completely control that.

[LUCY RAE SANGUINI]

Lucy twirled in Dunstable's arms, her heart aching for all it was worth. She had so many feelings for him, and yet she couldn't bring herself to leave Olivia's group. In one way, she felt like she finally fit in. The Princess of Dark finally wanted her! She felt like it was an honor. Then she spent more and more time with Dunstable and now she felt like it was more of a burden. She knew that she should leave Olivia. But how could you just revoke your membership to a group like that? They would all skin her alive. Leaning her head on his shoulder, she closed her eyes and calmed her breathing, hoping that it would steady her beating heart and stop her tears.

After a few seconds of calming breaths, Lucy began to feel a little bit better. He pulled away from her though, and she lifted her eyes to his. He would never let her go.... He would never let Olivia ruin her. She smiled a little and blinked back some fresh tears that threatened to overflow onto her cheeks. "Dunstable. Promise me you won't let me go. Pull me back if things get to far," she said, trailing off. In all truth, she wasn't sure if she would know how far to go with Olivia. She had a tiny feeling in the pit of her stomach that said she would get in too deep and lose Dunstable forever. And she knew that she wasn't going to know when that was. She just knew that someday she was going to be in real trouble if she didn't leave that gang.

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[DUNSTABLE VERNON DURSLEY]

“Dunstable. Promise me you won't let me go. Pull me back if things get to far,” Dunstable heard the soft words escape her lips as he dipped her. He would never let her go, no in fact he hoped to get her out before she was in too deep. Oh why oh why had she have to join Olivia and her gang of friends? They were all evil, he just knew it with the way they hated on Muggleborns and Half-breeds. Which came to why in the world would they want Olivia? He knew that they did not like half-vampires, there had to be some other reason.

“Keep on your toes around them, don’t go in too far, but I promise to try and pull you back out.[/color]” he said softly before standing her back up. He glanced at the clock, it was getting late and he was sure that if it was found that they weren’t in their dormitories soon, they would be in quite some trouble. “But now we should probably head on back to our common rooms. I rather that neither of us get into trouble because we’re out past curfew[/color]” he said softly as he let of her and then headed on over to the door, waiting for her to come as well before he would decide to open the door.