St Mungo's Charity Christmas Ball, 2016

Mackenzie nuzzled into Cameron a bit more and sighed happily. She felt content with him. She felt like nothing could hurt her in that moment in time “there’s not a girlfriend I’m keeping you from, is there?” She asked him softly and bit her lip, hoping there wasn’t. She didn’t know why she cared if he was single, but she was starting to get an idea of why.

Elysium was proud of herself for ignoring everything else around her, simply just wanting to be herself especially with Altair. He made her feel normal and that was a rare thing for her. With his warm hand resting on her hip and the crowd around them going back to whatever they were doing, she finally relaxed in his arms and allowed him to lead her into a dance. The way his lips teased her ear caused her to shiver and she looked at him surprised, her cheeks turning darker. "I'm the amazing one? You're the one who's defying social norms and dancing with the wicked. You're the one who's accepted despite my crimes. You're the one who's dancing with me and not whoever that was. You're the one who's made me feel normal." She spoke honestly, her breath dancing against his neck.

The man, Colin , was very kind, indeed. His compliment to Shinra even brought a timid smile to the girl's features. Shinra, hearing the man say he was a dashing fellow, made him perk up just a tad more than his usual perky self, which made his girl smile a little more. "He says thank you," she said softly. Following the man was relatively easy as he seemed to be extra careful in guiding her around any kind of obstacles that might cause her grief. When they all reached the table, Lacey put her hand out to feel it. Finding a cloth covering the table, she let her fingers slide over it to get a feel for what it was like. Taking her seat a little reluctantly when Colin offered for her to sit, Lacey found she was more than just a little relieved to be sitting down, out of the way. Feeling Shrina rest his head in her lap as he sat, Lacey stroked his head and sighed, feeling the unrealized tension fade away a little bit. Maybe this night will be nice, afterall...

The Headmistress' question made her jump slightly as she tried to think of how to answer the question that had so many answers. "Well... School has been fine. I'm enjoying my classes, and Cooper has been a big help with things that.....well....not being able to see makes difficult..." she answered honestly with a small shrug, not that the woman would see it. "I'm learning so much, Headmistress... Sometimes I'm still surprised that magic is real.... It's... It's truly amazing..." Lacey added, the awe and amazement very clear in her tone. Linking her hands on the table she added, "Shinra has been enjoying himself, too." Pausing for a moment, she furrowed her brow slightly as she tried to get the words for her question right so as to not offend her Headmistress. "Um... How has your year been?" she asked carefully. Lacey had been surprised to find that not only was she a witch, but the head of the school was unable to see, too. However, unlike Lacey, she had been able to see at some point. The Ravenclaw had just never asked what happened for fear of offending or making the woman unhappy at the memory of being able to see.

Altaïr could feel her breath on his skin and it caused him to shiver despite the warming charms perfecting the temperature of the ballroom. Her words, affected him even more so, and if they weren’t in the presence of hundreds of people who had no business in their business, he might have reacted a little differently. But instead, he simply pulled her closer and pressed a very subtle kiss to her hair. “You make me feel normal, too,” he muttered under his breath. They were complete opposites, but even Altaïr had been ostracised at one point. Until he started to pretend that he was constantly happy. But with Elysium, he had never had to pretend. She cared to listen when he wasn’t happy, but most of the time- when she was around- he was.

Anita thought that it was not surprising that Lacey was doing so well. In Anita’s class, the woman was pleased with her progress and thought she was very much on the right track. “I’m glad that you have someone around who can help you,” she said, thinking of how she sometimes had to rely a little heavily on her assistant, especially when it came to marking Potions that had to be a certain colour. “I can’t imagine what it must be like finding out something is real when you always thought it was a story,” the blonde acknowledged, “I’m pureblood, so nobody in my family has been surprised by our world. But I can’t imagine what the muggle world must be like.” She had only travelled very minimally, and now she wasn’t sure if she ever would really travel again. When asked how her own year was going, Anita shrugged and said, “it’s been.. a learning curve. I didn’t expect to adjust as well as I have, but there are some things that are going to take some getting used to. Otherwise, things have been going well. Especially at Hogwarts.”

Cameron’s eyebrow furrowed when she asked if there was a girlfriend she was keeping him from. After a moment of consideration, he chuckled and shook his head. “I assure you, that if I had a girlfriend, there is no way I would be standing her up most of the night, only to return and dance with someone else,” he said, wondering what kind of boyfriend’s she’d had in the past. It was okay to spend time with other people, but they’d spent most of the night together, and he’d never treat someone he cared for like that.

Mackenzie felt relief when he confirmed that he did not have a girlfriend. It made her smile which she quickly hid by resting her head back on his shoulder "I just wanted to make sure before I got... never mind." She said quickly closing her mouth, she didnt want to get embarrassed. When the song ended she frowned a bit thinking he would go off to someone else.

All Amber wanted was to dance with Baldwin, but it seemed that she wasn’t going to get the chance to do that yet. She heard a tiny voice calling out the nickname she hated most, but she didn’t show her impatience or annoyance as she turned to face the little girl. Instead, she had a bright smile, and really, she did enjoy Alice’s company. “Hi Alice,” she said, glancing around, “are you supposed to be out here?”

Hermione was standing with her husband, talking in hushed tones. They were reminiscing about the yule ball in their fourth year, as they often did when attending Christmas balls. There was a time where it had been something Hermione would’ve preferred to forget, but now they both laughed at their antics. Or Ron’s antics, if she were totally honest. When she heard her daughter’s voice, Hermione turned to face her. Rose was there with a boy, who Hermione didn’t know. Then her gaze took in the dress that Rose was wearing, and she raised an eyebrow, glancing over at Ron, who appeared to be at a loss for words. “Hi Rose. You look lovely,” Hermione said pointedly, trying to break Ron’s silence. The red-haired man simply nodded. It wasn’t something that Hermione herself would wear, but it looked nice on her daughter. And besides, she wouldn’t have Ron causing a scene at Astoria’s ball.

Alice smiled up at Amber and shook her head and when she asked if she was supposed to be out there "No. Mama left me in the day care. But I got bored and wanted to come and hang out with the grown ups. Have you seen my daddy?" She asked referring to Alex of course. "I wanted to see my daddy. I figured he would be with you." SHe said softly hoping she wasnt in trouble with the red head for escaping the day care center. 

Rose smiled at her mother and held Jaxons hand "Thank you mother. You look beautiful as always. And daddy, you look very handsome." She knew her father was at a loss for words and that her mother would not allow any kind of scene to occur at the party. "Mum, daddy, this is Jaxon Vice." Jaxon smiled and held a hand out to Rose's mother "Nice to meet you, Ms Weasley"

"At-at first I didn't know if he would be ok with helping me. But he's a very nice boy and takes good care of me without holding my hand the entire time," Lacey explained with a smile. She was more than grateful for the older boy's assistance, and even more so that he allowed her to push herself. She didn't know what she was going to do when she got to Hogwarts and found out that many classes were not geared towards the visually impaired. Thankfully, the staff had seen to that and quickly made it so Lacey was just another student. A tender smile spread across the girl's face at the memory of when she learned magic was real and not just in her story books. It was a truly amazing realization for her! "It was the most amazing thing ever!" she said, giving a glimpse of the Lacey that had been tucked away for so terribly long, before reigning her in returning to the quiet little thing she had become. "I never im-imagined that the things in my stories would be real... And now I'm a witch... It's amazing..." she finished softly. Of all the things that brought her happiness, Hogwarts was one big thing. It took her away from the dark and horrible life she had been living and gave her a chance to have a happier life. "Sometimes.... Sometimes I'm afraid it's all a dream," the blonde added very softly, dropping her eyes to her lap and stroking Shinra's head who gave a comforting whine in reply. Chuckling softly at the Headmistress' comment about this year and what it had been like for her, Lacey mused, "Guess we are both learning big new things." Bringing her gaze back to in front of her, there was a small twinkle in her eyes that hadn't been present before. "If, uh... If you ever need help, Headmistress.... Um.... I'd be happy to help.... If, uh, if I can," she offered with a shy smile. Lacey didn't know what all she could do to help the woman, but maybe there was something. If nothing else, maybe the Headmistress would appreciate knowing that someone, who understood what it was like, was there.

Danny stood in the corner keeping an eye on things. He hated these kinds of events. At least no one was approaching him about his brother here. He had yet to see Austin arrive, not that he cared too much. His brother was getting on his nerves alot of the times lately. It was good to have some time to himself. 

Harley entered the room and looked around. She did not like big events like these, she sometimes got over whelmed. But her head of house inststed that she attend and even helped her with a dress. So here she was, hiding in a corner trying not to draw too much attention 

Harleys dress:

Lorelei didn't like public events, preferring the sweet solitude but this event was something she couldn't avoid, mainly because her father really wanted her to go in order to make friends that weren't her brothers. She had dressed herself in a more floral attire, enjoying the way the bodice of her gown was like spider silk and the way the flowers smelled sweetly like real flowers was even more appealing. She kept her hands behind her, clasped together as she wandered around the room causing the light grey silk to move around her like mist. She spotted the Weasleys, causing her expression to brighten as she walked towards them, her favourite creature, the Occamy sliding up her arm and around her neck like a necklace, it cawing at her for being in a louder place than normal. "Mr and Mrs Weasley! Rose, you look fantastic." Lorelei was sure that Hermione wasn't pleased about her outfit but it brought out the maturity in Rose, something that Ron wanted to keep hidden as much as possible.

Lorelei's dress

Rose smiled as her child hood friend approached her and her parents "Hello Lorelie. You look gorgeous as well. I love your dress." She was thankful for the presence of a new person. She looked at the creature around her friends neck and raised an eyebrow "What is that?" She asked gesturing to it with curiosity

Lorelei faintly blushed at the compliment, quite oblivious to how beautiful she is and finding any comment about her appearance startling but she appreciated it nonetheless. Her hand landed by the Occamy, smiling at the comforting presence of her dear friend and as Rose questioned it, it flapped its small wings and curled more around her neck, hiding in her hair to sleep. "It's an occamy. We bonded a while ago and he hasn't left me since. I forget that they're quite rare..." She mused, feeling proud to have such a wonderful life filled with fantastic beasts.

Macey was looking around and wondering who she should go and talk. To be honest she actually just wanted to do leave this event and be somewhere else. This event was way too boring for her. She was never fan of balls or even dancing and this probably won't changes today too. There is just no way it could.