Valentines Day Dance!

Julia entered the Ministry building and went to the third floor where the dance was held. She opened the doors and looked around, there were so many people there already, her eyes scanned the room for Scorpius, but she didn't find him. He was the only reason she went to the dance, otherwise she would be curled up next to the fire in the common room, it was definitely what she'd rather do. She walked through the talking people to find him or someone she knew. Julia decided to go to the bar to see if Scorpius was over there, and he was. He was talking to a Ravenclaw she knew as Elizabeth. She, admittedly, looked great in her dress, Julia would never be able to pull a dress like that off, it was too pretty.
"Hey Scorpius, hey Elizabeth" She smiled to both of them.

Spoiler:

((Jess, just FYI, Remy does not have a hat or cane. I said that in front of the picture “sans hat or cane”))

The champagne was not of the highest quality – leave it to the ministry to spend money on frivolous things such as helping the needy and forgoing buying the good liquor – but Remy drank it anyway, quickly finishing her first glass and replacing it with another. With its relatively low alcohol content, the champagne would not affect her like straight liquor would, so she could stand to swig instead of sip. After finishing the first glass, though, Remy took it slower and swirled the gold, carbonated liquid around in its fluted glass as she surveyed the throngs of people.

It seemed a motley crew of suspects who had turned up to the Valentine’s Day dance. Students predominated the area nearest the food, while most of the ministry members and other graduated society goers had filtered off to the tables set along the side of the dance floor. The music had yet to begin, which left a gaping hole in the center of everything where the dancing would occur once the band got their act together.

For now, Remy would focus on the graduated population. Although students were far more impressionable – and therefore easier pickings – they did not tend to have the kind of influence or income that most appealed to her. It was true that some of them had very famous parents – she had spotted a few of those trickling in already – but Remy had found it was always better to go straight to the source. She had spotted several members of the Order of the Phoenix – whom she knew only by sight and not from ever having met them – but it wasn’t until he was standing immediately next to her that Remy’s eyes fell on the biggest fish from that tidal pool.

Well if it isn’t Jess Potter, Remy thought to herself, immediately recognizing the raven-haired man walking toward her, The head of the Order of the Phoenix himself.

It was an ultimate stroke of luck, for she had not even bothered with a pursuit yet, but it seemed this Potter was exceptionally apt at taking the bait. Of course, he couldn’t know now that Remy’s intentions were not exactly in the spirit of the holiday, but wasn’t that the point? Although his outfit was downright ridiculous, Remy coaxed from within herself an imitation of a flattered smile, one which reached her eyes and made her freckles stand in relief against her cheeks. It had taken much practicing in the mirror to smile this convincingly, but the imitation of natural human emotions was of the utmost importance in trying to blend in with the greater society.

“And yours as well,” Remy replied, allowing a hint of seduction to play in her voice. She would not push the boundaries too far too early, but in order to keep the attention of her sudden company, she needed to lay some foundation, “The purple suits you, if you’ll excuse the pun.”

Oh God… Remy thought internally, I can’t believe I am resorting to puns. But if it works, it works…

“I don’t believe we’ve met,” Remy continued after taking a sip from her glass, leaving just a hint of lipstick on the rim. Naturally, she already knew who Jess Potter was – she made a habit of knowing the most powerful men within a 100 mile radius by both sight and name – but formalities could never be forgotten in her line of work, “Would you care to honour me with an introduction?”

((Sorry, didn't read that bit, just saw the pic and though 'Hey, same outfit, different gender'))
Jess chuckled and gave her a nod. "Very good," he said with another chuckle, before taking a step back and letting his arms swing out in a sweeping gesture. "Well my lady, my name is Jess Potter, i work here at the Ministry," he told her honestly, "though some may know of me through other sources," he added, almost as though it was an afterthough. "Anyway, please, call me Jess." He said giving a small bow and looking at her. "And, if you don't mind my asking, would you return the favour?" he asked, smiling once again, he smiled too much, he really should stop doing that. "How may i address you?" Deciding to play it formally, for all he knew she was some senior top ranking official of the ministry, but then again, politeness was something required in all discussions

Elizabeth, whom was simply enjoying her surroundings at this point, was caught off guard when Scorpius appeared beside her. She smirked at his comment, "Ah, you know., a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do to make these sorts of events interesting," she teased. After taking another sip of her drink she offered him some, feeling as though she'd be rude if she hadn't. Besides, it had been quite some time since she and Scorpius had partied together. It was so out of the ordinary to see Malfoy here, all dressed up and ready to go at a Valentine's dance. "You do clean up nice, Scorpius. But where's your date?"

Those seemed to be the magic words because it wasn't long until Julia showed up beside him. Julia's black gown was gorgeous - even Elizabeth had to admit that. She rarely paid other girls' compliments. After Julia's greeting Elizabeth flashed her a genuine smile, "Hey Julia." The Ravenclaw wasn't normally one to compliment someone else but since she had some drink in her, so cooed, "Your dress is absolutely gorgeous."

Landon chortled at Sophia's comment. "Couldn't agree with you more," he murmured in her ear, "I wish I was [i]anywhere[/ii] rather than here." From what he knew of his cousin, she was just as uncomfortable here as he was. She wasn't exactly a fan of the commercialized Valentine's day either. After rolling his eyes at her remark he retorted, "I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one here who has something against this holiday. What brought you here?" Protective instinct took over, a family sort of thing. "Do you have a date?" His left eyebrow shot up suspiciously. Anyone who dated in his family had to pass an inspection...his inspection. Especially for Sophia whom he was rather attached to despite their bickering.

Sophia had always been someone who could make him laugh and her next comment made him do so. "Believe me, single girls at a Valentine's dance aren't what I'm after. Too clingy," he added with a wink, of course only joking. His cousin probably knew him better than most, knowing that he was more than just a little too indifferent to go after girls. This was perhaps the principal reason that he had never dated a girl. When he looked back over at Sophia, she seemed to not be having all that great of a time. Landon pursed his lips as he tried to think of some way to cheer her up. He hated seeing her in a funk. In a formal manner, which he overexaggerated for a humorous effect, he extended his arm towards her, "Care to dance?" It really wasn't all that odd. A brother and sister might be kind of strange but cousins? Nothing weird about it in his opinion.

Julia smiled brightly at Elizabeth's comment. "Aww, thank you. Your dress is waaay more gorgeous though, I love it. She smiled again and gave Elizabeth a friendly hug. It wasn't often that Julia received nor gave compliments, but tonight was an exception, as everyone in the room looked wonderful. "Do you have a date?" She asked Elizabeth. Julia would find it surprising if she didn't, someone like Elizabeth was too beautiful to go alone to a dance, she admitted, or anywhere for that matter.

Julia turned to Scorpius and smiled to him. She never really saw him all dressed-up and whatnot, and he really did look great. His black dress robes stood out more than the black suits all the other boys were wearing. "You look great" She complimented him and gave him a friendly hug.

Matt looked up at Sophia and gave her a weak smile. He was trying his best, but he just couldn't enjoy the dance. He got up and walked over to Sophia, "I'm going for a walk. Don't wait up." he said winking at her. He moved away and began out the front doors of the ball. Turns out they had decked out the Ministry so it was like a little garden. Not to mention the charms that made it look like it was outside...

Gar came tentatively out of his hiding place, and ignoring Matt he went and talked to the two girls that he was sure he'd seen at Hogwarts before he dropped out.
"Hello!" he said brightly. "I'm just now realizing I don't have any friends here, I don't think. But I think I've seen you at Hogwarts! How's it there lately? Hasn't burned down since I dropped out?"

Scorpius laughed, then thanked her but refused the drink. Instead, he ordered one for himself. People always told him how alchohol was bad for you and all that stuff, but Scorpius didn't really care. He was quite careless most of the times, and he doubted that drinking a bit of firewhiskey would be especially harmful. Taking the drink, he took a sip. Scorpius wasn't seventeen either, but he doubted anyone would care to report him. "There she is," Scorpius said, not bothering to point, as Julia was coming over to the table.

Raising an eyebrow, Julia and Elizabeth seemed to know each other, they seemed to be friends actually, something Scorpius hadn't known. "Hey Julia," he said, smiling back. "You look amazing," he added.
He turned to Elizabeth when Julia asked her if she had a date. He had been about to ask her the same thing.

Elizabeth would have felt a little ridiculous complimenting her dress once again so she merely stated, "Well, to each their own. But you do look beautiful." A lopsided smile came onto her oval-shaped face. The firewhiskey was already starting to get to her. How long had it been since she'd drank? Far too long obviously. She was a little surprised by Julia's hug, she honestly didn't know her all that well, but she was intriguing. Elizabeth returned the hug, feeling a little awkward but trying not to show it. She normally wasn't the hugging sort of person.

Ah, now that question surfaced. She had really been hoping she could dodge around it all night but that didn't seem possible. "Nope, no date for me. I'm not a big Valentine's day person," she replied simply, adding a little laugh at the end. Honestly, she just didn't have anyone who struck her fancy. But she wasn't about to admit that. Now she was unsure of what to do. Should she leave the two of them alone? Should she stay? Elizabeth decided to stay put, sipping on her drink. If they wanted to leave, the could do so with ease. "Do you know if anything is going on after the dance?" she asked the two of them, hoping that some sort of party back at the school would be going on.