IT'S NOT CHRISTMAS WITHOUT YOU TWO | KAYLEE & ZEN

[Deleted]

I can taste the danger but I don't wanna run
So pull me to the ground and I won't put up a
fight I'm a caution taker, but baby you're a
force of nature Baby you're a force of nature

24 DECEMBER 2025

It was weird to think that the Christmas holiday was upon the world in just a short time. It felt like her entire Summer vacation was ruined by Hag's Fever, but her siblings made it a little better. Though they couldn't travel, and thus, Ellie could not return to the States to stay with her parents - it was worth it. Traveling around London was worth it, at least, she believed. And it helped root her in the belief that she wanted to stay here after Graduation. Luckily, Ellie hadn't contracted Hag's Fever, but she knew of a few people that had.

Even though the travel ban was removed, Ellie had opted to stay in London with her siblings for the Christmas Holiday. Her parents were a little upset, but they agreed that it was worth it in the end. Flying from one country to another was pretty expensive. It also meant more time to spend with her brother and sister. But it also gave way to the option of attending the Windsor Christmas Ball, something that Zen and Kaylee were also attending.

The three girls had made plans to attend together, though they decided to meet up at the party itself. Getting dressed, Ellie put on as little makeup as possible while still making her eyes pop. Her long brunette hair was pulled back, styled in a bun, with a thick strand of hair framing her face. She decided to pair her outfit with white heels, bringing out the dark blue dress that she decided on, the sparkling blue cutting off at midthigh, but the overlay continued well onto the floor. Even with her heels, it dragged a little unless she carried it.

She entered the party, eyes going wide in awe at the sight of it all. And slowly, she made her way over towards the food table, finding it the best place to meet up. Plucking her phone from inside her white clutch, she sent a quick text to the girls on where to find her.

▶ NEW TEXT MESSAGE!
BESTIES

ELLIE SAYS...

I'm here.
By the Food.
Where you guys at?

Lowering the phone, eyes moved around the party in an attempt to locate both or one of her best friends.

kaylee māhealani mahi'ai & zenevieva mira novell ●
DRESS REFERENCE

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[zenevieva mira novell]

━ stop. what the hell are you talkin' about? ━

NOT EXPECTING AN INVITATION IN the mail for a Christmas Party at a location that was simply unknown to Zenevieva, the Novell vowed in herself that she simply would not go. She didn't really have the time to with her upcoming exams for the new year, as her minor slacking behinds had caused problems within her studying schedule. Though despite her...experience with studying, the moments she spent with Daniel and her friends and overall her major changes...Zen's aunt convinced her maybe one more party would be a good enough distraction to end the year.

With not enough convincing to drag Daniel to the party, Zenevieva was more than happy to receive various owls from Kaylee and Ellie, with mentions of the party. Relaying on the message to Daniel, Zen remembered how his response made her giggle as he mentioned she should 'have a girl's night'. Zen couldn't truthfully remember the last time she had giggled because of a boy. In the midst of her talking to Daniel and getting ready, Zen knew she couldn't kick her bad habit of smoking. Having the muggle like item in between her fingers simply felt right. But with her aunts complaints, Zen promised yet again, she'd find a way to quit and thus got rid of her first smoke of the evening. Although, Zen planned to stop without magic of course. Made the challenge ten times harder.

Wearing a deep blue dress to represent her favourite colour and Hogwarts house, Zen styled her blonde hair up in an up-do - that she now maintained with magic - and kept her makeup fairly minimal. It was a contrast compared to the rough like makeup she sported while studying at Hogwarts lately, but it also reminded the Novell of the person she once was. Timid and cute. With Zen's eventual arrival - she knew she was slightly late, especially as her phone buzzed with a message from Ellie, asking where they were. Sending a quick message to say she had just arrived, Zen picked up the skirt of her dress slightly, walking up the stairs in awe, taking in the decoration and the details.

Slowly she walked to where Ellie had mentioned she would be, but mainly took in the details of everything. "Ellie?" She called out rather nicely, uncertain if it were her friend or not. Zen felt fairly distance from both Ellie and Kaylee and was unsure if the two of them even knew of Zen's changes. Stutter gone, slightly meaner tone and no bullshit to ever be taken again.

| kaylee māhealani mahi'ai + @ellie |

dress reference | new thread lets gooo

[kaylee māhealani mahi'ai]

December 24, 2025

Being invited to a real royal ball might have been one of the most interesting things that Kaylee had had happen to her since she had transferred to Hogwarts. The best part was that she didn’t even have to worry about begging for time off from work at Honeydukes for it, since it was on Christmas Eve itself. Of course she still had every intention of celebrating Christmas with her parents and younger siblings, since she hadn’t had the opportunity to do that the previous year, but how could she say no to a ball? It was totally cool, and she had managed to find a used formal dress in Muggle London that hadn’t been very expensive at all. It definitely wouldn’t be the nicest gown there, but at least she wouldn’t stand out from the crowd for not having something on that was suitable for the occasion. Really, she didn’t think that she looked half bad: her gown, an ivory dress with metallic flowers on it with thin straps, had been freezing to Apparate there in, but she felt that it was worth it.

It was exciting, too, once she was there; she couldn’t remember ever having seen so many people so dressed up before. It was a little bit strange to remember that the Windsors really were Muggle royalty, but it was stunning. Even though she felt sort of out of place there, Kaylee was relieved that both Ellie and Zen had decided to attend the ball, too, so she knew that she wouldn’t be alone. She still wasn’t completely used to using a cell phone of her own, but it was helpful to keep track of things. That included her best friends, at least at a party as large as that one. Ellie sent a message to her and Zen, letting them know that she was over by the food. That was as good a place as any, thought Kaylee, shooting back a message to let the other two girls know that she would be right there.

Careful not to lose her footing in her heels as she made her way over, she saw that someone had already made their way to Ellie. Looking again, Kaylee realized that that was Zen all dressed up like that, and she beamed. “I guess I missed the memo that we were doing House colors?” she called towards the two Ravenclaws jokingly, though all three of them had swept their hair up.

@ellie
zenevieva mira novell
OOC: Outfit Reference

[Deleted]

I can taste the danger but I don't wanna run
So pull me to the ground and I won't put up a
fight I'm a caution taker, but baby you're a
force of nature Baby you're a force of nature

Ellie stared at her phone, waiting for a text to be returned from her friends. But she was left staring that it had only been delivered; no three littles dots appeared to reflect someone was replying. Maybe they hadn't brought their phones? Or perhaps they were going to meet her? She wasn't sure, but she took a deep breath and slipped her phone back into the little clutch. She needed to calm down and be patient; there was no way the girls would abandon her. In the last few years, they had been through so much, from the bullying that Zen received to moving to London and the transition to Hogwarts.

Slowly, her phone dung. Once then twice and a smile fluttered onto her face as she peeked into her clutch. Zen's message that she had arrived followed by a text from Kaylee saying she would be there. See Ellie, patience is a virtue, she thought to herself as she closed her clutch and ran her fingers down her dress to smooth it out. 'Ellie?' came the familiar voice of Zenevieva Novell that caused Ellie's eyes to moved up the deep blue dress up to her face. Her eyes widened, "Holy shit...you're dress...I love it, she beamed excitedly just as another person came into view.

'I guess I missed the memo that we were doing House colors?' A frown appeared on the brunette's face as she looked at Kaylee before she looked down at her dress, taking in the blue. She let out a laugh, "You know...I didn't even realize," she said, amusement clear in her voice. She smiled, "You two look amazing!"

zenevieva mira novell & kaylee māhealani mahi'ai ●
DRESS REFERENCE

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[zenevieva mira novell]

━ stop. what the hell are you talkin' about? ━

NOTICING THAT KAYLEE TOO HAD arrived, Zen's cheeks tinted pink while she grinned at her friends and down at her dress and over at Ellie's. "I promise...I didn't plan this." Zen objected, the corners of her lips turning up into a wide smile. "Did you guys forget blue is one of my favourite colours?.." She added with a quiet laugh, smiling as Ellie complimented the both of them. Zen's arms moved to both of their waists and she pulled them in for a slight group hug.

"Merlin, I've missed you guys. Even if I saw you both like last week." Things hadn't been entirely different for the three of them but Zen in herself felt they didn't hang out enough. "You both look really good..Maybe I should've put some more time and effort in.."

| kaylee māhealani mahi'ai + @ellie |

dress reference

[kaylee māhealani mahi'ai]

December 24, 2025

Ellie laughed, saying that she hadn't even realized that she had gone with a dress that also matched her Hogwarts House, and Zen also promised her that she hadn't planned it. It was a pretty funny coincidence, Kaylee thought, though she wasn't disappointed that she wasn't wearing green, either. Of course, she probably could have found a green dress—if they had been going for that—but she did really like the one that she was wearing.

Zen asked if they'd forgotten that blue also happened to be one of her favorite colors, and Kaylee shook her head. She hadn't forgotten that detail. The blue looked really good on Ellie and Zen both, and Kaylee kept smiling as Zen was the one to pull them into a group hug.

"Merlin," Zen told her and Ellie, "I've missed you guys. Even if I saw you both like last week." Kaylee knew the feeling. "You both look really good… Maybe I should've put some more time and effort in…"

"Noooo! Oh my gosh, no." Kaylee reassured her, though she tried not to make her voice too loud, considering where they were. "You look so good!" She really did. If anyone would have told her that that was the same Zenevieva from Ilvermorny, the shy, mousy girl who stuttered and kept to herself, Kaylee wouldn't have believed them. "Plus, like… Can you believe this?" she told both of her friends, still amazed by where they were. "That we're at a real ball? We've gotta ask somebody to get a picture of us."

@ellie
zenevieva mira novell
OOC: Outfit Reference

[Deleted]

I can taste the danger but I don't wanna run
So pull me to the ground and I won't put up a
fight I'm a caution taker, but baby you're a
force of nature Baby you're a force of nature

Zen was quick to agree with Ellie, saying that she had not planned the dress color. But then, she added the question about them forgetting that she adored the color blue. Ellie shook her head, "I didn't," she said matter-of-factly, smiling brightly at the to, "I don't mind blue; I just liked the fabric if I'm honest." She let out a laugh seconds before Zen pulled them both into a group hug, one that she quickly returned. Though it hadn't been long since they had gone on Christmas holiday, Zen was quick to state that she missed them. "We'll were together again! We'll have to make sure to spend as much of the holiday together, so you don't miss us as bad," she said teasingly.

The blonde was quick to say that they looked good, adding that she should have put more effort and time into her appearance, and Ellie frowned deeply. What the hell was she talking about? Zen looked gorgeous and had absolutely grown into her looks as the others had. Ellie nodded her head in agreement with Kaylee's statement, "You look beautiful, and anyone that thinks or says otherwise is just wrong."

Plus, like… Can you believe this? That we're at a real ball? We've gotta ask somebody to get a picture of us.' The brunette nodded her head, tucking strands of hair behind her ear. "I agree. We definitely need a picture to remember this moment!"

zenevieva mira novell & kaylee māhealani mahi'ai ●
DRESS REFERENCE

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[zenevieva mira novell]

━ stop. what the hell are you talkin' about? ━

AT HER FRIEND'S REASSURANCES, ZENEVIEVA found herself smiling small, the pink tint across her cheeks turning to a dark crimson and ultimately becoming more noticeable. "Thanks guys.." She murmured, getting all shy to herself before letting out a small laugh at both of her friends excitements. Kaylee was right though, the fact they had all been invited to a real ball was a surreal experience, especially since what had happened in the last few months, or generally the last few years. At the suggestion of a photo though, Ellie also joined in, in agreement and all Zen could do was groan. She still hated photos above everything.

"I know I've gotten rid of my stutter, gotten confident and all, blah blah, but...Guys...That doesn't mean I still don't hate pictures." She added, smile widening before she broke out in laughter. "But maybe for you two I'll take a couple." And only a couple.

| kaylee māhealani mahi'ai + @ellie |

dress reference