Winter Valentine: Opening Ceremony

The young witch wasn't at all surprised that she wasn't done dancing yet, how could she be when simply everyone wanted to dance with her? So sweeping away from Jake, she found herself in front of Squid Boy who looked... really weird for some reason. When he admitted that Miss Harrington had asked him to dance with her, the child simply grinned. "She's a smart cookie," Mimosa nodded, slipping into one of her exceedingly rare Americanisms now. Not having visited the States properly in almost three years and being around Jacques and the palace more and more was making her lose her original Californian accent a little.

"Please can... do you ask for a dance?"

"Well, a gentleman always does," the witch replied, clearly focusing hard on the question. "So I guess you don't have to," she concluded, reaching to take his proffered hand cheerfully before leading him into the dance. "Wow, you're a really bad dancer," she pointed out, readjusting his grip on her hand then her waist, showing him how to hold her just above the hip.

"But It's okay, I'm the best at dancing, I can teach you!" the girl moved closer to him, putting both arms around his neck and rising to her tiptoe to show him how the bodies had to be aligned before she moved back once more. Of course, she wasn't as tall as him and he didn't know enough to lean down properly but he was trying, and with Mimosa's tutelage, he would learn soon enough.

"Try to match your leg movement with mine,' she explained, moving her own feet in an exaggeratedly slow manner. The music was a waltz so they didn't have to go fast. "Look, like Loni and Sterling over there, try and follow what he's doing and how he's holding her."

As they danced, Ji Hyun passed by, trying to shuffle with Constance, then Charles who had Jia En on his arm and was clearly looking to exchange her with someone else. His eyes lingered on Mimosa and Squid Boy a moment, a moment in which the twelve year old subconsciously pulled herself closer to her partner, not wanting to be swung out to the Beaumont heir.

The only young pair dancing with any level of grace were Lilac Capulet and a second year Ravenclaw Mimosa couldn't name, and the young witch quickly averted her gaze from Lilac's perfect movements. She was a stupid servant who didn't know anything and was probably faking it.

"Do you know where Mercy is?" she asked presently, noting how Squid Boy's movements were definitely improving with each step. Not that she was surprised, she was the best teacher here after all. "She has to dance toooo," the little witch pointed out, not adding that the Gryffindor had to dance with her especially.

The Winter Valentine Affair. Apparently Hogwarts liked to embarrass all of it's students all in one night! A ball is one thing, but one that is al about love and all that gushy stuff is ridiculous. Especially because not all of them had dates! Not everyone was super popular and could get whatever they wanted when they wanted. But, life wasn't fair and a dance was a dance.

After all, there was no way Lyra could skip out on this night. Not even because she didn't want to miss it, but because her mother would never let her. "Live life while you're still young," she'd said, "or you'll regret it when you're older." Not that Lyra cared in the slightest. She would have rather stayed in her dorm room and caught up on study work for her classes, but her mom had volunteered to help chaperone the stupid dance, and there was no way she could avoid going.

But then came the question of who to go with. She knew Mary-Kate was going with Mercy and Squid Boy and a big group, but she didn't exactly want to get sucked into the crowd. But, at the same time it was better than going alone, and she hadn't been asked by anybody yet. The dilemma was still warring in her mind the day of, even as she started getting ready two hours before the dance would even start.

A shower with her favorite flowery scented body soap that smelled like perfume without having to use perfume (because her mother thought her to be too young for that.) Next came wrapping a towel around herself and staring at herself in the mirror, trying to decide what to do with her hair. Down or up, accessories or no? Her mother had sent an owl earlier in the week along with her dress, detailing exactly how to do her hair, what makeup she was allowed to wear, what shoes to flaunt, all to best show off the dress she had no doubt the woman had spent countless hours designing. But her mom wasn't here yet and she could do what she wanted. She wasn't eight years old anymore, and her hair was hers.

As she combed through her long brown locks she found herself missing her friends back in America. She just knew they would have all been attending the dance together. If they were at Hogwarts they would have all gotten ready together in the one abandoned bathroom, and giggled, and talked, and Sunny would have helped her rebel and do something amazing with her hair. Instead she found herself staring at her reflection once more once she'd dried her hair, trying to work out how to style it in a way that would compliment her outfit but be different than what her mother had so rudely commanded. Seriously, she could have at least phrased it like a suggestion rather than an instruction.

She finally decided on a look that she knew would be amazing, but might not make her mother all that happy. But it was her hair, right? She could do what she wanted to it. She reminded herself as she threw on a t-shirt and jeans for the moment and headed out of her dorm room. Only to knock on the door of the sixth year girl's room. The door opened and out peered a witch she didn't recognize.

Lyra smiled sheepishly and raised one hand in a small wave. "Hi, is uh... is Addison in there?" The girl gave her a strange look but nodded and stepped aside to let her in. Her eyes scanned the room, searching for her quidditch captain and newly made friend. She'd let Lyra use some makeup to cover some of the worse bruises that had covered her face from the incident and Lyra hoped the older girl had some expertise in other styling techniques as well.

"Lyra!" she heard the squeal before her eyes had even landed on the older girl, and was being squeezed into a tight hug before she'd even processed that the one hugging her was the person she'd been looking for. Upon realizing this she slowly wrapped her arms around Addison in return, more for the other girl's benefit than for her own. She'd never been a huge touchy person, but people seemed to like to hug, and she had to say there was something comforting about it when you were upset. On a regular basis was a little much in the fourth year's opinion, but to each their own.

"Addison!" She said in response with a small giggle as the older witch finally let go. "I need a favor!" She went on to explain her situation, and the older girl immediately agreed, even roping a couple of the other girls in the dorm who were much farther along then her in their own processes of getting ready than herself.

Soon enough they were crowded in front of a mirror, Lyra surrounded by at least three or four older girls that were chattering to her and about her and musing over what would look best on her. And before she knew it small pieces of hair were drifting to the ground. She watched the mirror carefully, a mixture of nerves and excitement fluttering in her stomach as the older girls worked on her hair, cutting off a good couple inches before they were done. Her hair still fell below her shoulders, but the sense of pride that swelled in her chest was enough to make her beam at herself, the change noticeable enough for her and anyone who spent a fair amount of time around her.

Next came the slight curling, and some temporally added highlights that she was told would fade within the next few days. Her hair was then pulled into two loose braids that joined in the back. When they were all done both Lyra and the older girls stood still for a moment to look over her new hair style and make sure it was all perfect.

"Okay, what makeup do you want?" asked Addison, the first one to move things along as the dance drew closer and closer. The question made Lyra pause, thinking over her options. She really wasn't allowed to wear very much makeup, a bit of concealer and some lipgloss being the only usual exceptions. But... she was already rebelling, so what was the point unless she went all out?

"Whatever you think would look good?" She asked hesitantly, earning a few giggles from the girls around her. Addison took charge once more, instructing the others to grab  some items before getting to work on Lyra, turning her away from the mirror so the big reveal or whatever would be more dramatic later. She described her dress for the group, Addison saying it would help them coordinate the makeup or something along those lines. Lyra went along with their instructions, closing or opening her eyes, or holding her lips a certain way, doing her best to be helpful. The lipstick felt strangely dry on her lips, something she'd never dealt with before though the added gloss on top helped some.

She was grateful for the fact that they spoke about keeping her look "natural", which she assumed meant not too different from how she normally looked. She was even asked by one girl if she wanted her freckles covered! To which she of course responded with a no, because why would she cover them? They were a part of her, and she loved them. Her mom used to call them like... 'God's kisses' or something like that when she was little.

The chair turned back towards the mirror sooner than she would have expected and she gaped at herself, caught off guard by the girl she saw looking back at her. Her eyes sported a color just different enough from her skin to be considered adorable without drawing too much attention, her eyelashes looking long and dark with the added mascara, cheeks slightly flushed with the small amount of added blush. But most of all her lips were the perfect red that she just knew would match her dress perfectly. She looked... like another person in all the best ways. She looked grown up.

"Thank you all so much!" She said as she stood, watching herself in the mirror for a moment more before she did something to earn another hug from Addison? This time she wrapped her arms around the older girls neck and hugged her back tightly, unable to wipe the grin off her face. "Go get your dress on and I'll see you at the dance." The older girl said as she pulled away, shooing her out of the bathroom and towards the door.

She waved goodbye to the group and said her goodbye before practically running back to her own dormitory, excitement for the ball now almost overwhelming. She   pulled the box containing her dress and shoes out from under the bed as quickly as she could, throwing them on and standing in front of the mirror to admire herself. 'Mom will be so proud of how great I look' she thought to herself as she beamed at her reflection 'as soon as she gets over the fact I disobeyed'. She knew for a fact that she was making Amelia Fletcher's brand look good, and she straightened lifting her chin and posing like she would for a photoshoot.

A quick glance at the clock told her it was time to go and she slipped her wand and the tube of lipstick Addison had let her borrow into her matching handbag before hurrying out of the dormitory again to head to the dance.

But she still didn't know if she was going on her own or not. Damn it. She sighed, some of the excitement draining away as she was once more reminded of her dilemma. To go with the group or by herself?

Footsteps and chattering made her way towards her as she continued towards the dance, and the sight of Mimosa and Mercy caused her to freeze, taking in the younger girl's hair that was now brown once more. "OH EM GEE!" She cried, "Your hair look great Mary-Kate! I didn't know you were thinking of coloring it back!" And just like that, she was swept up with the Slytherin and Gryffindor, and her mind was made for her.

The group was looking fab if she did say so herself, and she was surprised how many of them she recognized. Granted, she'd been here for a while now, but she still was proud of how many of the people around her she could address by name. Mimosa fixed a number of suits of boys who clearly had no idea how to wear such apparel and off they went again, migrating outside to the festivities. As soon as the door opened Lyra felt a chill, but it was much less than she'd expected. Maybe an outdoor, winter ball wouldn't be so bad after all.

It wasn't long before a crowd formed around the dance floor, and both Jake and Professor Harrington started introducing the event and stuff. She was only half listening until Mimosa and Nikolai were called up. Who the heck was Nikolai? Mimosa grabbed Squid Boy's hand, dragging him with her onto the dance floor to stand in front f the two teachers, and judging by the fact that no other student tried to take the boy's place, she could only assume Squid boy was actually this Nikolai Kessler dude. Interesting.

She watched as Mimosa danced with Jake, frowning slightly in jealousy. Why did she get to dance with Jake? But she knew the answer to her own question, and it only made her more jealous. She shook her head, slipping toward edge of the crowd towards the end of the song, trying to avoid the couples that started to join in the dancing as another song started up.

"Lyra?!" Called a voice and she froze, heart suddenly beating a mile a minute. Her eyes scanned the crowd around her before catching sight of the woman staring at her. Her mom. She wasn't sure whether to run towards her or away from her, but she wanted to run. Instead her feet took her to the very edge of the crowd, leading the woman away rom the students who would no doubt mock her for having her mother at the dance if they knew. Once a safe distance away she turned back, watching her approach and trying to plan what she would say.

Amelia stopped right in front of her daughter, eyes scanning her face and hair with absolute shock. "You... cut your hair?" Lyra straightened, staring her mother right in the eyes bravely before speaking. "I did."

"And you're wearing makeup!"

"That's right."

"It... you..." She braced herself for a lecture, wishing she'd moved farther away from the other students. "You look stunning" The woman spoke finally, her voice cracking slightly and stunning Lyra into silence. "Very mature" She said with a nod, looking over her critically. "I didn't realize... how much you've grown."

She stared at the woman across from her who couldn't possibly be her mother. Her mother was tough, and strong, and never ever let a tear slip down her cheek like she did right now. Her mother didn't pull her into a hug or pet her hair. Her mother didn't tell her how proud she was? Not unless something was wrong. When her grandfather died Lyra remembered her mom being... overly affectionate, but nobody was even sick right now?

"Mom? What's wrong?" She asked quietly, wrapping her arm around her mother in return and speaking into her shoulder, her words slightly muffled. "Nothing," came the reply, "Nothing you need to worry about, go enjoy the dance. I'll be helping at the fashion mermaid princess competition thing." She stepped back, giving her daughter a small smile and wiping her eyes. "I love you, go have fun with your friends."

Lyra gave her mother a skeptical look before nodding slightly and going to find someone she knew. She wished she'd remembered to grab her phone so she could text her gals in America, but it was down in her dorm room and she had no desire to be away from the dance just yet. She went to find Addison and her friends to show her her dress, or maybe find Mimosa or Mariah or Dominique or something. She was going to have fun, partly because she had a feeling she was about to be receiving some not so fun news later...

Things had been good until the ball was announced. Mercy and Mimosa had gone back to being inseparable like old times, the two of them spending every available moment together. Mercy had made good on her promise to take the Slytherin out for ice cream, and then she'd continued to accompany the other girl wherever she wanted to go, happier than she'd been in months.

And then the Valentine's Ball had been announced, and suddenly their alone time wasn't so alone anymore. Boys Mercy had never even seen before flocked to Mimosa in hoards, interrupting every quiet moment they had together. It seemed every boy in the school wanted to stake some claim to Mimosa's attention, and for some reason they believed she might give it to them, even though the young Slytherin had never expressed any such interest whatsoever. Mercy was more than a little annoyed.

Who did these people think they were? Most of them barely even knew Mimosa. Why would they expect her to want to go to the dance with them? The thought of her best friend being whisked off by some boy made her inexplicably angry.

She was calmed somewhat by the fact that Mimosa herself seemed equally exhausted by the offers. And the fact that, when she wanted to escape from the annoying boys, it was Mercy she turned to first.

But then there was Squid Boy. Mercy had no idea what was up with him. When Mimosa told Jason she was going to the ball with Squid Boy, Mercy's brow furrowed in confusion. She hadn't heard that. She didn't even know the boy had asked. Why hadn't Mimosa told her?

She kept her thoughts to herself as she realized she had no right to be angry. If Mimosa wanted to go to the ball with Squid Boy, that was her choice. It wasn't like Mercy had asked her herself. It was just...well, she supposed she had simply assumed that they'd be going together. They did everything else together, after all.

The conversation with Bushrah in the bathroom hadn't really clarified things. On the one hand, it seemed like Squid Boy asking Mimosa hadn't been a big deal. On the other hand, she had rather offhandedly mentioned sharing a bed with him, which Mercy found alarming as well as confusing. How close were Mimosa and Squid Boy? She knew they spent time together, but she didn't think they were close enough to have sleepovers. What was Squid Boy doing in her bed?

Did Squid Boy like Mimosa?

The thought left an unpleasant taste in her mouth. Squid Boy, of all people! He wasn't even nice, or interesting, or good at Quidditch. He just sat by the lake and watched the squid all day and read stupid books and made stupid comments. She didn't understand why Mimosa liked hanging out with him at all. Why had she agreed to go to the ball with him?

As the ball approached, Mercy's mood soured the more she thought about it. The whole group was bursting with excitement, and she couldn't help the annoyance and frustration she felt with all of them. Why couldn't everyone just leave Mimosa alone? She just wanted to spend Valentine's Day together with her best friend, exchanging gifts and eating sweets, like they had last year. The ball was stupid, the boys were stupid, and Mercy briefly wondered if she herself was stupid for not just outright asking Mimosa before Squid Boy got the chance.

But it was too late now, so she decided Squid Boy was the stupid one because she'd rather be mad at him than at herself.

When the day arrived, Mercy spent a good part of the afternoon fuming silently in her dorm as she watched the other girls busy themselves with makeup and jewelry and other girly things. She hadn't made that much effort, really, since the ball was probably going to suck anyway. She would have matched Mimosa, except that the Slytherin was being secretive about her outfit, so in the end she had simply opted for a gray-scale ensemble that could match anything. She slicked her hair back with some pomade, then sat down to sulk for a while as she imagined Mimosa surrounded by her admirers in the Slytherin common room.

Her phone buzzed. She looked down to see a text from Mimosa and her heart skipped a little. She wanted to meet outside the Room of Requirement?

Did that mean she was alone?

Mercy immediately jumped to her feet and dashed out the door, half-running down the corridor until she came to the tapestry and slowed to a stop, looking around for Mimosa.

The witch in question strode into view, the picture of dazzling perfection.

Mercy's jaw dropped open and she forgot to breath for a second as her heart picked up its pace and all of the fluttery butterfly feelings that she had slowly trained herself to ignore came back with a vengeance and took up residence below her ribcage. She felt heat creeping up her cheeks and she knew she was blushing but she didn't care because wow. Everything about the younger girl was gorgeous, from the way the diamonds sparkled in her newly-restored brunette locks, to the glitter dancing across her eyelids accentuating their natural shine, to the dress which had clearly been made just for her because nobody could pull it off as perfectly as Mimosa Harrington.

And Mimosa had chosen to show her first.

She tried to say something, but she could think of no words that would do her best friend justice. "You look..." Amazing. Beautiful. Incredible. None of them were good enough. In lieu of words, something else escaped, halfway between a sigh and a laugh.

All qualms about the ball were forgotten as Mimosa slipped her hand in hers and Mercy suddenly felt like the luckiest girl in the world. Her face split into a radiant beam as the two of them descended the stairs together. Mimosa hadn't gone to Squid Boy. Mercy was the one who got to escort her to the ball. Mercy was the one who had earned Mimosa's attention. Mercy was ready to show all of the stupid boys that she didn't have to be one of them to walk hand-in-hand with the most beautiful girl in the school.

They greeted Lyra on the landing and she tagged along with them as they walked all the way down to the Slytherin dungeons.

When they entered the common room, Mercy felt Mimosa's hand slip from hers and she suddenly felt bereft as she watched the younger witch join the crowd that awaited her. Mimosa spent way too long fixing people's coats before she finally rejoined Mercy in the doorway, and Mercy quickly linked arms with her once more before anyone else could decide to butt in. Together, they made their way to the ball, and with Mimosa at her side she could almost forget about the giant crowd that followed them.

Almost.

She didn't fail to notice Squid Boy flanking Mimosa's other side, annoyance briefly shooting through her at how close he was.

Mimosa chose me first, she reassured herself as they walked. It helped.

When they finally made it to the ball, they settled down to watch Jake and Professor Harrington give their opening speeches. Mercy honestly wasn't paying much attention, until she heard Mimosa's name. Before she could process what was happening, she felt the witch's arm slip from her own and watched as she vanished through the crowd, pulling Squid Boy behind her.

As the music started and she watched Mimosa dance, she suddenly felt very alone. Her fears from earlier began to creep back in. Now that the ball had started and the rest of the school was here, Mimosa would forget about her as all the others clamoured for her attention.

The first song ended, and everyone around her began to move, pairing up with their own dates and shuffling onto the dance floor. Mercy stood still, watching the crowd flow around her. Her eyes followed Mimosa as the Slytherin turned away from Jake, only to come face to face with Squid Boy.

As soon as she saw them take up their positions for the next dance, she turned around, pushing her way through the throngs of people until she came out on the other side, near the frozen lake. She kept walking, quickly making her way down the frosted shore and away from the party. She didn't want to watch them dance.

She didn't want to join the other couples dancing either. What would be the point? She didn't have a partner.

The only person she wanted to dance with was currently with someone else.

"You only think it's silly because you don't know how to do it properly," Mimosa explained patiently as she spun with the boy, guiding his movement with light touches to show him what to do. It was a weird experience, leading a boy into the dance. Usually boys did the leading. But maybe that was a gentleman's thing too so Squid Boy didn't really have to follow the status quo. "Don't worry though, I can teach you! I'm already teaching you Potions, and Quidditch, and Runes, and DADA, and Magical Creatures, so I can teach you how to dance too."

At his guess that Mercy was off having fun somewhere, the young brunette firmly shook ehr head, her side ponytail bobbing over her shoulder with the motion. "Non," the child began, slipping into French without realizing it. " Mercy ne peut jamais- I mean, Mercy can never have fun anywhere without me!" The logic was iron clad in her mind, just as she could never really have proper fun without the Gryffindor.

"And neither can you," seh added with a mischievous grin, only for that grin to drop a mere second later as wonderment filled her sparkling eyes. Of their own accord, her hands fell away from Squid Boy's tall frame and without a word, she pulled away from him, her body drawn to the sidelines where the most welcome sight stood quietly watching her. "My Jacques!" she breathed, cutting her way through dancing couples as the song was still going on, but the young model didn't care. She had finally found who she'd been looking for since the start of the event.

Squid Boy was a distant memory, left forlorn on the dance floor in clear sight of all their classmates and housemates.

Her feet prepared to do their usual launch as she neared him, speeding up until they slid gracefully on the smooth floor, not even caring if they would stumble over the small step separating the dance floor from the standing area because she knew her Jacques would never let her slip. And he never did. Before she knew it, the girl was being picked up mid glide off the ground and being spun around to a litany of happy squeals before the Frenchman sat her down once again.

"You made it!" she exlciamed loudly, hugging him close now that he was down to her level and taking in a whiff of the subtle aftershave he wore, something she had been allowed to pick out all by herself last summer. It smelled way better than whatever all the boys were wearing.

"I did, and I brought you a little something too."

Mimosa's eyes grew wide as he pulled out the dahlia infused diamond sprinkled corsage from its box, attaching it gently to her left wrist with a soft "May I?" The young witch couldn't stop smiling as she took in the delicate arrangement that smelled like Grandmere and reminded her of the palace she was missing just minutes ago. But of course Jacques had known, he always knew everything!

"Merci, c'est la plus belle chose qui soit," she replied, watching the tiny diamonds sparkle in the soft light. The Frenchman merely raised an eyebrow before leaning closer and asking erh another question, one that mad her go completely pink with joy.

"Oui, toujours oui," she responded with a giggle, letting him lead her back to the dance floor where the previous song had just ended and a new one was about to begin. Now that h was here, Mimosa had no worry in the world about being sapped out or handed over to someone else.

With her Jacques, she was perfectly safe.

Mariah considered not going to the ball. She hadn't been asked by anyone (not that she expected to be), she wasn't part of a group, and parties were never really her thing to begin with, but she was worried she might miss out on something if she didn't go. Besides, a lot of people don't have dates. Just because it's a Valentine's ball doesn't mean it has to be romantic. It's just supposed to be a fun school event.

So she'd sent a message to her mothers asking them if they could send over the dress she'd worn to her 8th grade dance last year. Nobody had asked her to that either, but she'd wanted to experience a school dance at least once while she was still in America, so she'd gone by herself. She'd only stayed for about an hour before she'd gotten bored and texted her parents to pick her up.

This one should hopefully be more fun. She might at least have one or two friends to talk to.

She didn't see the point in making a huge deal about the ball. She wasn't trying to impress anyone, so she kept things relatively simple, only taking about an hour to get ready. She borrowed a curling iron from one of her dormmates and loosely curled her hair, applied some mascara and some lip gloss, and filled out her eyebrows a little with a pencil, then decided she was done. She spent the rest of the time helping others get ready, happy that they all seemed excited for the event.

She didn't know exactly what to expect. She knew there would be dancing, of course, but she wasn't much of a dancer herself. She'd also heard there would be games and competitions, and maybe a skating rink, which sounded fun. None of the competitions sounded very appealing to her personally, but she'd be happy to cheer on her friends if they decided to participate. All in all, she was really just going to the ball to see what it was all about. She didn't think she would personally be very involved.

So she tagged behind a group of other Hufflepuffs as they made their way out to the grounds, and she stayed near the edge of the crowd, watching from a distance as the party kicked off. With some surprise, she watched as Nikolai was called up to the stage to start the first dance. He didn't seem the type to enjoy that sort of thing, and she could practically feel his discomfort as he was dragged onstage in front of everyone. She wondered if anyone had asked him first if he wanted to participate, or if they'd just picked on him because he was the headmaster's son. She suspected it was probably the latter, since she didn't think he would have willingly agreed to this otherwise. It didn't seem quite fair that he was expected to do these things simply because of his father's job.

Still, he seemed to do a decent enough job with the first dance, and soon the next song was starting and the rest of the crowd began to converge onto the dance floor. Mariah remained where she was, content to simply hang back and observe. She didn't have anyone to dance with, but she didn't really know how to dance in the first place, so she wasn't bothered.

She looked around at the rest of the grounds, appreciating the work that went into decorating the place. The school really did look gorgeous with the wintery display, the fading sunlight bouncing off the snow and making it sparkle. She wondered if there would be food anywhere.

With a final glance toward the dance floor, she scanned the crowd for any familiar faces. Finding no one who wasn't already occupied, she decided she might as well take the time to explore before the rest of the grounds filled up with people. She set off at a leisurely pace toward the Quidditch pitch, having heard a rumor about reindeer and hoping to get a closer look before the crowds showed up.

When Jacques confirmed what she'd always known, that she looked amazing when she opened the dance with Jake, the child flushed with pleasure. She had so wanted her Jacques to not miss the big moment and he hand't. He'd seen her dancing with Jake and probably seen Squid Boy with Miss Azalea too-

Oh, where had Squid Boy gone to? The witch took a quick look around mid spin but didn't see him anywhere. Well, that was rude. he should have at least stayed to say hi to her Jacques. But then again, he wasn't a gentleman so she supposed he didn't have to. The child's mind quickly flew into another direction as her Valentine swung her gently back in, waiting for her to step on his feet so he could carry them through the next moves.

"Jake is awesome,' she nodded, switching back to English in her enthusiasm. "He always has classes in interesting places and lets us cast spells on each other. He has never ever made us read a book in class," she clarified, making it clear that this cemented his position as her favorite teacher at school. When her Jacques asked of the Potions Assistant, Mimosa frowned slightly. No, she supposed she hadn't spoken of Miss Azalea, but only because Miss Azalea wasn't interesting enough to speak about when she talked to Jacques or write back home to America, Furz Croft or France.

"She's okay I guess," the brunette admitted, holding on to Jacques' middle as he navigated them both through the choreography that came so naturally to him. "I didn't like her at first because she stole my last name. So I got really confused when I heard "Professor Harrington" because I thought I had to start teaching the whole class now." Of course, Mimosa would not have been surprised if she was asked to, she was a great teacher after all. But to think no one had asked her permission first had greatly miffed the little witch.

"But she explained that she liked me so much, she wanted to borrow my name, so she's cool now," Mimosa elaborated. 'Oh, and she wears pretty dresses, so I guess she can't be all that bad." As the dance continued, Mimosa proceeded to elaborate how Miss Azalea wasn't really a Professor, just an Assistant but how the actual teacher had been AWOL since the beginning of term and Azalea was running classes instead.

The song came to an end but their dance did not, moving effortlessly into the next song as she then continued to tell him about the Quidditch practice she had been working on. Their next match was soon and Mimosa intended to win this time even though some silly people said Ravenclaw had a better chance because of something called "odds" and probabilities". But logic had no place in a match, the young model was quite convinced that as long as her team did everything she instructed, they would win the cup!