We were just dancing in the dark. (Open)

[Deleted]

Jacob didn’t like hearing the rumors going around that there was going to be some big Valentine’s Day ball. It was just going to be another event he skipped out on. He was too nervous around people he didn’t know to enjoy anything like that. No, he’d just stick to hiding out in the kitchen. Yet days before Valentine’s Day he was interrupted from his cooking by another student, Gilderoy Lockhart. Jacob knew who he was and avoided him as there wasn’t much they would have in common. Gilderoy was about as opposite to Jacob as one could be, if just a little full of himself too. Still he was able to talk Jacob into cooking up a number of snacks for the craft table for the Valentine’s Day ball. One he made sure to keep repeating that he was the one putting together. Jacob didn’t really have a chance to say no with how much the boy talked. Still it gave his baking a purpose and Jacob liked that.

Arriving hours before the ball was to begin he dropped off the many heart shaped baked goods he had created. He did get a repeated thank for from Gilderoy which was nice and unexpected. Gilderoy asked for him to be sure to come but Jacob didn’t answer. There was just no way he could do that, too many people and too much of a chance he would embarrass himself. That’s just what his nerves needed, to do something silly in front of a room full of strangers and his fellow Ilvermorny classmates. Still he found himself reading the invitation as others got ready for the ball. Oddly enough Jacob enjoyed dancing yet wasn’t outgoing enough to do it in public. It was a such an ironic contrast, one that wasn’t lost on the young mans since of humor.

Minutes of fighting going on in his head had lead Jacob to nervously make his way toward The Great Hall. This was a Masquerade Ball after all even if he did something stupid no one would know who he was. At least that’s what the masks were suppose to do. Dressed in the nicest outfit he had and with the most minor of changes to his mask he entered The Great Hall. It was decorated in various pinks and purple lights along with many hearts and other Valentine’s Day items and music playing. It wasn’t terrible he supposed just a little... much for him. Yet this was all an attempt to be more outgoing, even if he was doing it behind a mask. Jacob got his courage up the best he could and made his way to the mostly empty dance floor. Ignoring the thought that people might be watching him he just enjoyed the music the best he could and started to dance.

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

Penelope Bainbridge had every hope that her sisters would join her at the Valentine's Day ball that Gilderoy had received permission to host, but it was extremely difficult to tell who was who underneath their enchanted masks. While she thought that the concept was fun, the Hufflepuff had to admit that she found it slightly unnerving. How was she supposed to tell who was around her unless they spoke to her? It wasn't as though she would be able to recognize most people's dress robes on sight except for her sisters', maybe…

As for herself, she had come to the ball in a dress that she had owned for far too long, but she also didn't have anybody to impress. She had put some effort into her appearance, nevertheless. If it turned out that she would be swept off her feet on Valentine's Day, Penelope didn't think that she would have minded it, really. It was Valentine's Day, and it would have made for a cute story someday.

The Great Hall looked completely different when bathed in pink and purple lights, and Penelope hadn't intended to camouflage herself so much in the mauve dress that she'd put on. It was early on in the night, before things could get really exciting—or wild, as was sometimes the case—and Penelope had half a mind to wait around until she recognized someone with any certainty. She gave up on that quickly, though; it was too stressful to figure out who was around her, and she was almost anonymous, too.

Making her way to the dancefloor, the Hufflepuff watched the few other students who had already gone off to dance. Whatever the opposite of being a disembodied voice was, that was how she felt about her fellow students. She could see them—their bodies, anyway—but couldn't easily place who anyone was.

Did she go in to dance while nobody knew who she was? She thought about it, though another part of her considered lifting her mask for her own comfort. At least people would know who she was, even if she couldn't tell who they were. Or was that worse?

Finally, with a deep breath, Penelope stepped onto the dancefloor for herself. She didn't think of herself as a fabulous dancer, but she could move to a beat. There was a masculine figure also dancing nearby her, so she figured that she would try to make conversation over the music. That wouldn't hurt anything.

"This sounds like that Camila Calderón song, doesn't it?" she asked. She couldn't remember what it was called, but she at least recognized the tune that was playing.

@jacob
Outfit reference:
Dress, mask (without the feather)

[Deleted]

Jacob was just enjoying being out in a crowd of people and dancing. There weren’t many dancing but that wasn’t the point. He was doing it, sure it was behind a mask and the feeling of being secure since no one knew who he was. Honestly not many people knew who he was to begin with as he kept to himself. Still even if he for some reason made a fool of himself no one would know it was him. It was more relieving than it should have been but Jacob was happy none the less. All Jacob really had to do was keep his legilimancy in check and to himself and just enjoy the music. A song he couldn't say he had heard before, it was nice but he just wasn’t up to date with music like many others were. He kept to what he always listened to rarely finding anything new.

This freedom of just dancing was broken by a voice asking a question, he wasn’t sure if it was directed toward him till he looked around and found the source. The girl who had been dancing near by looking toward him. She was in a dress and like everyone else behind a mask. “W-Who?” He asked with a minor stammer, he wasn’t expecting someone to just come up and talk to him. Still he felt better behind his mask. “Sorry, I’m not sure who this is. Still it sounds nice.... also, hi.” Jacob got out, it was better than his normal interaction with a new person at least.

penelope raisa bainbridge

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

"W-Who?"

Penelope hadn't meant to startle whoever was dancing—the person to whom she had posed her question—but it seemed as though she had. It also sounded as though she had come upon one of the American students, something that was confirmed as the guy continued to speak.

"Sorry, I’m not sure who this is," he said, which really could have been applicable to both the music and the mask situation, come to think of it. "Still it sounds nice…" That was definitely about the song that was playing, then, unless he had a very weird way of complimenting her voice. "Also, hi."

The voice of the person with whom she was now conversing was familiar to Penelope. She was still puzzled, though, because it wasn't jumping out to her. Was everyone having the same dilemma, she wondered, or was she just really awful at this masquerade thing?

"Hi," she greeted the other student, listening as the tone of the song changed from what she had believed it to be. It hadn't been Camila Calderón's; it just sounded like it was. Regardless, she continued to dance to whatever it was that was playing at the moment. "The party's nice, isn't it?" she asked, mostly staying in one place as she danced so that she wouldn't get in anybody's way.

@jacob
Outfit reference:
Dress, mask (without the feather)

[Deleted]

The girl returned his greeting far less awkwardly than he had given it but that wasn’t hard with someone like him. Still it wasn’t all bad talking to someone like this. It was another way of trying to get used to talking to strangers all while being safe from looking silly. She didn’t sound familiar to Jacob but he barely talked to anyone so that wasn’t much of a surprise to him. with the mask and the charms on it Jacob doubted he could even guess who she was even if he had met her before. They both continued to dance in their own way while they talked. The girl commented about how the party was nice and Jacob nodded. “Yeah, I was expecting it to look just like a larger version of the tea place in Hogsmeade.” Jacob explained and while the great hall was close to it in some ways it also wasn’t as bad. “The masks are...” Jacob pauses for a moment, “fun too I suppose.” Was the best way he could put it. It wasn’t like he could say it was the only reason he came out to this crowded event. “How are you liking it so far?” Only after realizing she had already said it was nice and had asked him about the party first and feeling silly once more.

penelope raisa bainbridge

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

“Yeah, I was expecting it to look just like a larger version of the tea place in Hogsmeade,” the boy with whom she was speaking said. He added that he thought that the masks were fun, although his tone didn’t sound too convincing about that.

“Madam Puddifoot’s, you mean?” Penelope giggled. She could see where he would have gotten that idea. Madam Puddifoot’s was a little bit much for some people’s tastes, and its decorations—even on a normal day—would have fit nicely with the Valentine’s Day theming. “It’s a bit… much, isn’t it?” she smiled. Her eyes would probably have difficulty adjusting back to an environment that wasn’t so pink once the party was over, Penelope thought. She didn’t think that her mask (or any of the others) was too bad from an aesthetic perspective, but she still had mixed feelings about the way that they had been enchanted to work.

“How are you liking it so far?”

Penelope thought for a moment. “I sort of want to take the mask off, to be honest,” she admitted. It was already a little uncomfortable where it met her face. Still, she laughed, not wanting to seem as though she was trying to break the illusion they were under. “It’s already itchy.”

@jacob
Outfit reference:
Dress, mask (without the feather)

[Deleted]

After explaining what the Great Hall resembled and forgetting the name of the place in Hogsmeade the girl said it herself. Jacob just hadn’t bothered to go in or remember the name of the place besides the few seconds he opened the door just to see what the place was. Far too much pink and lovey dovey stuff for his taste. ”Yeah that’s the place, I was only there for a few seconds but that’s all I really needed.” Jacob said finally a small joke, he was mildly comfortable with talking to the girl as they continued. Still thanks to the fact he didn’t have to worry about looking like an idiot thanks to the mask. The girl commented that the place had been a little too much and Jacob nodded. ”Yeah, especially if you’re not going there with another person.”

Thankfully the girl didn’t pick up on or care that Jacob had just asked how she was liking the part after she was talking about how she had found it so far. It did serve to ease the momentary awkwardness he had begun to feel. The girl made a comment about wanting to take the mask off before adding that she found it itchy. That made sense even if Jacob was enjoying the comfort of being behind his mask. ”I suppose you can take your mask off if you want. Gilderoy said it was required or whatever but.. I mean what can they really do and I’ve seen a few people take it off for a moment or two.” Jacob explained having noticed a few others who weren’t too excited about the masks either. Jacob just liked that no one could notice who he was. ”I can cover for you and say it just fell off if it is some crazy party rule.”

penelope raisa bainbridge

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

"Yeah," answered the guy about Madam Puddifoot's, saying that that was the place he was thinking about. He had only been there for a few seconds, he said, but that had been all that he had really needed. Especially if you weren't going to Madam Puddifoot's with another person, as he agreed, it could get slightly lovey. It probably wasn't the place where most guys cared to go alone, Penelope thought, but the tea there really wasn't bad.

When she commented about how itchy she was already finding the mask, the guy said that he supposed that she could take it off. Even though Gilderoy had said that it was required, he didn't really know how anyone was going to enforce that rule. Besides, he said, he had seen a few people take their masks off for a moment or two.

Penelope Bainbridge wasn't exactly someone who liked to live dangerously. Her preference, really, was for the opposite of that, so she was glad when the guy said that he was willing to cover for her if it did turn out to be a rule that she had to keep her mask on at all times.

She nodded, not wanting to force him to take the fall for her, but she did momentarily remove her mask from her face, pushing it up to the top of her head as best she could without having it fall all the way off. "Thanks," Penelope spoke, rubbing her face where the mask had been itching. It wasn't much easier with her mask off unless others removed theirs en masse, but she appreciated the break.

@jacob
Outfit reference:
Dress, mask (without the feather)

[Deleted]

The girl took off her mask as Jacob had said it would be already to. Even willing to say that it had fallen off and cover for her. Now seeing her face without the charms of the mask she did seem a little familiar. Jacob thought he might have seen her around the common room. Hard to say as he spent so little time just hanging around the common room instead of the kitchen where he felt more comfortable. She rubbed her face where the mask once was and thanked him he assumed for covering for her for a little bit. “No problem, I doubt anyone is going to kick anyone out over a silly mask.” Jacob explained not really needing to be thanked as he didn’t do anything. “Unless Gilderoy is really that obsessed with this party. Then again he wouldn’t take no for an answer when he asked me to help with the snacks.” Jacob laughed a little as he spoke of his interaction with the Ravenclaw. Jacob enjoyed baking anyway so it worked out.

penelope raisa bainbridge

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

The guy who was dancing with her—and now covering for her in case she ran into any criticism for not wearing her masquerade mask—didn't say anything about who she was when she removed the mask from her face, so Penelope wasn't sure if she knew him already. It was clear by his accent that he must have been one of the Ilvermorny transfer students, so that probably explained it. Anyway, he said that it was no problem helping her out and that he doubt anyone would get kicked out of the party over the masks. Unless, of course, Gilderoy really was that obsessed with the party.

Penelope laughed. If whatever Gilderoy's plans were after he finished school didn't work out, he would probably make a good living for himself as an event planner, she thought.

"Then again," added the young man in the mask, "he wouldn’t take no for an answer when he asked me to help with the snacks."

"Did you make them?" Penelope asked, wondering if the help had been with acquiring the snacks or actually preparing them. She was leaning towards the former, only because the school's house-elves were usually very happy to make what was requested of them. "Or just buy them from Hogsmeade or something?" Unless they had found a way to keep some snacks from getting stale since they had last been permitted into Hogsmeade, they wouldn't be back in the village for another week, so maybe they just hoped that everyone would be too busy to touch the food. That, or they would have had to have had some sort of arrangement in place, though Penelope didn't see Gilderoy as someone who would go out of his way for a smuggling operation.

@jacob
Outfit reference:
Dress, mask (without the feather)

[Deleted]

The blonde asked him if he had made the snacks and he smiled for a moment. She added asking that or getting them from Hogsmeade. It was reasonable to believe something like that, or the house elves made them. Not many wizards or witches cooked much when magic was around or a bakery around the corner. “Oh no, I made them actually.” Jacob explained more excited to talk about cooking than if someone would recognize him for it. “I was in the kitchen cooking away when Gilderoy came in looking for the house elves to make a few things.” Jacob laughed for a second recalling the event. “He-He didn’t really give me a chance to say no once he found out I was the one baking at the time. Yet I like doing it so I didn’t have that much of a problem with it.” He shrugged as it just worked out Jacob supposed.

penelope raisa bainbridge

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

Despite Penelope's thoughts that maybe the guy with whom she was conversing had simply purchased the snacks, he answered that he had actually made them himself. Admittedly, it was impressive. She didn't know of many teenage boys who actually had an interest in cooking or baking. They tended to think of that kind of thing as emasculating for some reason, which was disappointing. Maybe it was the Hufflepuff in her, but Penelope liked being in such close proximity to the kitchens.

The more the guy went on to explain that he had been in the kitchen, already in the process of cooking, when Gilderoy came in, Penelope had to laugh. Apparently, this guy hadn't been given much of a choice but to accept the task of making snacks for the entire school, though he also said that he didn't mind it.

"Alright. You've got to be in Hufflepuff," Penelope said decidedly, having worked out that much. She might not have known which other member of her House he was, but what Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin would be found in the school's kitchens to cook with the house-elves and incapable of saying no to anyone's requests of them?

Assuming that she was closer to figuring out who the masked young man was, Penelope thought that she would just have to keep trying to figure it out. She had narrowed it down to some of the people whom she knew best out of all of Hogwarts. Even dealing with an American, it couldn't be so hard. Besides, he would probably get a good laugh out of her determination; she, Peyton, and Persephone were all three Hufflepuffs, and it wasn't easy to forget triplets.

If he turned out to be someone who actually knew who she was, Penelope thought that she would probably feel silly for it, but at least she hadn't done anything embarrassing (yet).

"Sixth-year? Seventh-year?" she hazarded a guess with a nervous laugh. She didn't think that he was younger than she was, which left only her year or the one above.

@jacob
Outfit reference:
Dress, mask (without the feather)

[Deleted]

Jacob let out a nervous laugh as the girl explained that he had to be a Hufflepuff. Probably just from how he explained his interaction with Gilderoy had gone. He wasn’t sure just what it meant to be a Hufflepuff, only become one this year. Still it would seem about right, the hat put him in Hufflepuff for a reason. It might just be where he belonged and more people were like him, he never really took the time to figure that out. Preferring to be alone in the kitchens any chance Jacob got. “Y-you win. I’d say you get a prize but I well.. don’t really have anything.” Jacob got out as his night of going unknown was starting to fall apart. Still he didn’t completely mind as the girl seemed alright so far anyway.

The girl then asked his year giving him the option of Sixth or Seventh. He guessed this was the game they were playing now where she was trying to figure out just who he was. He doubted she would be able to guess it as he hadn’t been around many people but she was free to try. “Seventh, So-so are we playing guess who now?” He asked with an awkward laugh. “Do they even have guess who in Europe?” He asked now thinking out loud about the muggle board game.

penelope raisa bainbridge

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

The guy with whom she was dancing began to sound more nervous when she pinpointed him as a Hufflepuff. Penelope partly understood why, because sometimes their House did get treated poorly by their fellow students. She hadn't made the comment out of any ill intent, however; he just certainly fit the bill of being one of her own. He confirmed as much to her, too, and hesitantly said that he would have given her a prize if he had one.

When she asked him for his year, he answered that he was in his seventh. She didn't know the Hufflepuffs in the year above her as well as she knew her own year—or even the Ravenclaws in seventh year because of Kinsey—but Penelope knew enough to know that she and whoever this guy was couldn't have been total strangers.

He continued to hesitate, however, asking something about something called "guess who" and whether or not they had that in Europe. Of course people still had to guess who other people were when they were under enchanted masks, Penelope thought, although she didn't quite understand what the seventh-year meant. That, and she also wanted to assure him that she meant him no harm.

"Sorry, um…" said Penelope, shaking her head. "I don't quite understand what you mean?" she asked him, still puzzled. "But I'm in Hufflepuff, too," she smiled. "In sixth year."

@jacob
Outfit reference:
Dress, mask (without the feather)

[Deleted]

The girl seems confused about what he said and he figured they either didn’t have the No-Maj board game here or she just never played it or had known any No-maj children that had. “Oh, sorry.” Jacob apologizes for not real reason besides he had confused the girl. “It-it’s this No-Maj... muggle board game. You get these little pictures of drawn people and you have to ask the other person questions. As you rule out people you are left with just one and you guessed who it is. I mean I guess you could guess who earlier than just getting to the last one... S-Sorry, I was rambling there.” Jacob said finally shutting up, the only time he was good at talking to someone new was of course when he was rambling about non-sense.

The girl explained she was a Hufflepuff as well and a Sixth year at that, a year below him. As he had all been figured out Jacob just figured there wasn’t any point to remaining hidden and lifted up his mask over his head. “I’m Jacob,” he smiled finally introducing himself. “Hopefully I didn’t ruin the surprise too much.”

penelope raisa bainbridge