sortinghat_logs | You can dance if you want to

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You can dance if you want to

WHO: Everyone
TONE: PAR-TAY
RATING: PG-Rish?
WHEN: December 24th
WHERE: Hogwarts Great Hall
WHAT: The Yule Ball!
NOTE: The log is going up now due to the holiday season. We'll have a thread for the announcements of the winners for King, Queen, Prince and Princess. Dumbledore will start it off and you guys take it from there because he's going to go party on the dance floor. PS The train home will be leaving on the 22nd for those who want to spend Christmas with their family and 26th so students can stay for the ball, but we won't be doing a logs for the train.

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[She has her reasons for keeping herself away from these kinds of events but it's only once a year, and she can tolerate it. After all, she can always excuse herself if it becomes too distracting.

The nurse spots Rhys as he makes his way across the room and seems to anticipate that his attention is on her, straightening a little in her seat. A quiet chuckle escapes her when he offers his hand, and she slips her own into it, getting to her feet.

She's dwarfed by his height, and yet doesn't seem at all intimidated by it.]

Rhys. You are looking very handsome this evening.

Not near so much as you are looking lovely. I'm surprised to find you sitting down. You'll dance with me? [His hand swallows hers, but his grip is warm and light.]

You know I usually keep myself a stranger to these functions.

[She smiles up at him and steps up to his side.]

But of course I will dance with you.

[Ah, will walk with her out onto the dance floor, then, and take up a waltz position, before sweeping her into a stately dance.] I can see why, you might become far too popular. [lightly]

[She moves into it easily, and hums softly in response to his teasing.]

Perhaps, though there is only one person that I hope to attract the attention of.

[That does actually surprise him, a rare thing, and he raises his eyebrows.] If you tell me it's Donoghue, my impression of you as a sensible person will be forever destroyed.

[That draws a somewhat giddy, almost spluttering laughter that's far less elegant than usual and all the more real for it.]

Murdoc? Ah, he is an attractive young man but I am certain that his attention is fixed elsewhere.

Several different elsewheres. [Disapproving - Rhys may be a lot of things, but a cheater he is not, and he doesn't think much of it in other people. The whole affair with the fake marriage thing drove down his opinion of Murdoc quite significantly.]

I didn't know you were pursuing anyone at the school. [That laugh is exceedingly charming, he has to admit. He likes real laughter, messy and undignified and rarely pretty.] Who is it, then?

[It would have done the same for hers had she not been seated in the middle of it trying to gently persuade Murdoc that it was not the best of ideas. She had known then that it would leave no party truly happy.]

Pursuing.. Aah, I would not say that. But let us see if you can guess, mm? Ask me three questions.

[She smiles up at him.]

You enjoy games, don't you?

Three questions other than 'who is it?' I suppose? [smirks ... but he does enjoy games, and he can't resist]

[He's not a stupid man. He knows there's a possibility she's talking about him. But he has a hard time giving that thought too much credence, because he's fairly sure she knows that there are secrets he's keeping, plus she probably knows him a bit too well to consider him a very suitable romantic partner. Waking up in bed together aside.]

Is the person here tonight?

Yes, they are.

[That's true, she does know all that.. but ah, the heart does want what it wants..

She spoke truly, though - she's not pursuing him. That doesn't stop her being interested, however.]

[Well, that narrows the field somewhat, but most of the teachers seem to be already here. He's unsure of Dolores's sexuality, though he's seen her be more flirtatious with men than women. It's not Donoghue, and he refuses to believe that she'd be interested in Bro, and obviously it's not a student. He didn't think she'd be interested in (or admit an interest in) someone who was taken, either, so that left out Sal. Leaving only Carriedo, Sparrow, Fell, and Purple. He would put himself and the other female teachers as possibilities, but less likely.

Well, one question would narrow that field considerably, depending on how she answered it.] Are they English?

[Going to just give her a little spin, here, don't mind him.]

[She can lean either way but tends to be more openly flirtatious with men, and more subtle when dealing with a woman she finds attractive. As he spins her, she chuckles.

Rhys, that's cheating.]

No.

[Oh, hm, excluding the women, that leaves only him and Carriedo. Well, there's more than one way to play this game, and for his third and final question, he asks] What is it about this person that you find attractive?

Aah, that is a complicated question.

[Her skirts spin about her ankles as she twirls, moving gracefully in time with the music and his own movements.]

This person.. challenges me. I think that is what attracts me the most.

[Well. That's certainly not Carriedo. He's silent for a few moments, just leading her through the steps of the dance with practiced grace.]

Complicated, indeed. [He says finally, because he's not sure what else to. Dolores is beautiful, charming, intelligent, someone who would make an ideal partner ... for someone who isn't him. She's too sane, too kind to understand or condone what he does, too clever to lie to, and too responsible for him to ever trust completely. Though really, there's no one at all who holds that honor, never has been. The few times he'd tried, he frightened them off.] One might say that someone like that isn't a sensible choice.

Many might say that.. but I have never been one to listen to the warnings of others when it comes to my own heart.

[She spins to a stop against him and slips one hand up to his shoulder, letting her arm rest against his chest.]

Nor has my heart ever been one to listen to what my mind tells it. It is a foolish thing.

[Dolores smiles, and looks up. Ah, who put that sprig of mistletoe over their heads?]

[He follows her glance upward ... ah. It would be stupid to heed a poisonous sprig of berries and leaves, but he wants to. And despite the control he's had to show, Rhys is, at heart, a capricious person. He may have just warned her off him (if not in so many words) and thought to himself that he couldn't risk trusting her, but that doesn't actually have any impact on his desire at all.

He could probably get away with a simple peck on the cheek, too, to satisfy tradition, but he's not going to do that, either. So he bends her backward, just a little, supporting her with his arm behind her back. And then he kisses her, properly. It's not lewd or full of tongue, but nor is it a brief brush of lips. If he's going to kiss her, he's going to do it right, and as befits someone he respects the way he does Dolores.]

[She hadn't expected him to actually go along with it. Maybe to smile and move them away or just shake his head and ignore it.

It surprises her, and it's a pleasant surprise that catches an unneeded breath in her throat as she moves her hand from his shoulder to rest it against his cheek. Her eyes close at the kiss, fluttering open again when they part.]

Mm. [She murmurs, a pleased smile lighting her expression.] My, Professor Rhydderch..

I wouldn't look so happy, tomorrow you're going to have to field at least two other irate professors who'll want to know how I coerced you into it. [But despite his words, he's smiling, too. It was a very, very pleasant kiss, after all, and it's been quite awhile for him.] I'd wager a few galleons that one of them will have challenged me to a duel over your honor by the end of the week.

If you are talking about Murdoc and Strider, allow me to handle them.

[Dolores draws a lock of his hair between her fingers, wrinkling her nose in amusement.]

I can defend my own honour.. unless you are going to insist upon rising to the challenge.

I think you can probably defend most things about yourself. [snorts] I personally always find it amusing to deny either of them a proper fight when they're spoiling for it. It drives Donoghue, especially, mad.

[pulling her back up and into a waltz again] Unless you enjoy seeing two men dueling for you - I understand some people find that titillating. [grins]

You are a terrible tease.

[She lets out a soft 'oh!' as she's pulled back up and into the waltz, and she lets herself rest closer to him, letting out a pleased sigh.]

I might enjoy that.. but I do not relish the idea of having to patch up the loser.

No, and he whines terribly when he's been bested. [settling his hand warmly at her back again] I'll spare you the experience - I'm a gentleman, after all.

How very kind of you to think of my wellbeing. [She smiles sweetly. No doubt there will be questions.. there's a very low chance that no one saw that.. but she can handle them when they happen.] You truly are a gentleman.

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higherthaneverybody - 2013-01-07 11:48 (UTC) - Expand

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