Month 28th, 1895 — Hogwarts Great Hall
Coming Out Ball
Gown Inspo | Hair Inspo

Samantha Lockridge had descended the steps without incident. There had been no major incidents so far (at least that she'd observed personally), and she was confident. She had no reason not to be, after all. So here she stood, taking a brief moment to herself, sipping at a glass of champagne. Her dress was a confection of lace, elegant and playful but not too girlish. At least, in her eyes. The neckline, hemline, and silhouette should have been enough to convey the image of womanhood, at the very least.

Looking at what the other new debutantes had chosen to wear, Samantha suddenly wasn't so sure.

"I don't look strange, do I? Not too childish?" she asked of the person standing beside her. "You wouldn't mistake me for one of the younger students, right?"

  

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wanna stand up and scream, what do i care?

No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings

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Nico was sad to be leaving Hogwarts, it had been home for so long, but equally he was eager to move on to other things. What those things were, he admittedly didn't know yet. Well, there was the tour of course but after that, he was unsure. With all luck, he'd return from the tour an animagus though. For now, he had to get through the Coming Out ball. 'Get through' was perhaps an exaggeration, he hadn't exactly been dreading the evening but he could think of other things he enjoyed doing more. It was interesting to see all of the girls in his year so dressed up though. Of course he'd seen them attending the ball for the last two years but that wasn't the same, they hadn't made this much effort last year.

Probably he should ask someone to dance so he could at least say he'd danced that evening but that suddenly made him feel uneasy. He suddenly remembered that his little sister was currently at large and felt a twinge of anxiety in the pit of his stomach. Hopefully she was on her best behavior. Erm... Nico turned around to face the other Ravenclaw. No, no definitely not. He wasn't really sure how her dress could look childish, children didn't wear things like that at all and obviously he knew she was a seventh year, he couldn't possibly forget that after seven whole years of school with her. You look very normal, not strange at all! He smiled reassuringly, feeling a little awkward but eager to please all the same.

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Outfit | Tag: Samantha Lockridge | Notes:

  

"I just worry I overdid it with the lace," Samantha admitted softly, fussing with the lay of her skirt for a moment. "But thank you, Mr. Zabini. Your reassurance helps greatly." It really did. Samantha looked a touch more confident in herself, holding herself in a bit more of a dignified manner (if such a thing was possible).

If it weren't someone she knew so well, perhaps she wouldn't dare to comment. But given that she'd known Mr. Nicodemus Zabini for so long, she felt confident being a touch daring. "You know — I've not seen you on the dance floor yet tonight. Feeling a touch nervous?" She kept her tone concerned, yet light, not too deeply inquisitive. He could easily brush her off if he didn't want to answer.

Nicodemus Zabini

  

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wanna stand up and scream, what do i care?

No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings

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Nico was glad he wasn't being asked to comment directly on the lace as he'd momentarily suspected he would be. Lace was detailed and pretty looking but it all looked more or less the same to him. Now if she'd been sporting feathers on her dress, that would be another matter. He was glad he'd been able to make her feel better with what little he had been able to say otherwise.

Nervous? Now this he hadn't been expecting for even the briefest of moments. No, no I wouldn't say nervous, he bluffed, not realizing how much of a lie it was until he said it. The attention is all on you this evening really. You girls. He was now starting to wonder if her question had been some sort of subtle hint - did she want him to ask her to dance? Maybe she didn't, probably she didn't. Have you danced much so far? He regretted this question once he'd said it, it didn't seem like the end of the world but probably he should've phrased it as though he assumed she'd been dancing constantly. Hopefully she wasn't feeling insecure about it.

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Outfit | Tag: Samantha Lockridge | Notes:

  

He was right.

Tonight wasn't an announcement of the young gentlemen entering society — it was the young ladies, entering the marriageable spheres of society. She hadn't forgotten, of course. She was just trying to make conversation, be friendly. At his question, Samantha smiled. "My dance card is as full as I'd like it to be," she said honestly. She didn't want to overdo it on her first night in society, make herself seem desperate. She wasn't.

Her elder sister had already seen success, and her younger sister's debut wouldn't be for a few years. She had time to find the perfect match for her. "May I ask, what are your plans, now that we're adults?" Samantha hadn't paid much attention to her male peers' planning efforts, but she was genuinely curious what he had planned. He was a fellow Ravenclaw. Surely he would have some sort of successful position.

Nicodemus Zabini

  

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wanna stand up and scream, what do i care?

No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings

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Was that confirmation she didn't want to dance then? He decided it was safer to assume so. He probably ought to be offended or something but he was relieved not to feel like he had to ask her.

I'm going on a tour with Black and Crabbe, he announced proudly. He was really quite excited for it and not just because he expected to see dozens of birds he'd never seen before. He'd become an animagus before the year was out too. As for a career, he wasn't too sure yet. He liked the idea of quidditch, but he'd have to try out for that and he might not qualify. If he could draw birds for a living he'd obviously do that, but that wasn't a 'proper' career, was it? I'll probably join the Ministry after that. Which department, he had no idea. Magical Games & Sports, perhaps? That was probably the most interesting department to him, but he wasn't sure it was quite as fun as the name might suggest. What about you? He realized this was a stupid question as soon as he said it, but then again sometimes girls like her did seek out careers.

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Outfit | Tag: Samantha Lockridge | Notes:

  

Samantha sighed wistfully as he mentioned going on tour. "I'd like to see the continent at some point," she confessed — but this was unlikely to be news, not to Mr. Zabini. He had probably overheard her lamenting about how young men of status were encouraged to travel, while young women of status had to remain home and enter the marriage market in the common room once or twice in the last couple of weeks. But it was her lot, and she would play it.

"There's no career on the horizon for me — none that comes with financial compensation, at least. I might volunteer somewhere at some point. Not sure where, though," she admitted. "But for now, my focus is the season. Do you know where you'll be going first?"

She wasn't asking just because she was jealous. No. Certainly not. She was.

Nicodemus Zabini

  

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wanna stand up and scream, what do i care?

No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings

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It was a pity girls didn't get to go off on tours but then it probably wasn't safe for them, was it? There'd be all sorts of scandal as well if they went unaccompanied. It was probably for the best, he supposed, he couldn't imagine Zenobia going on a tour and that ending at all well. Not that all girls were like his sister, thank Merlin.

We're supposed to go to Rome first. Should he say more or would that be insensitive of him? Maybe it'd be better to downplay it somehow? But how could he downplay a grand tour? The name said it all. He really should say more though or she'd think him rude or standoffish or something when he was actually just trying to be considerate. It suddenly occurred to him that he just needed to distract her from the subject. Do you like art? He wondered if this was something he ought to know after seven years of school with her but then it wasn't as if they were particularly close.

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Outfit | Tag: Samantha Lockridge | Notes:

  

It truly was a pity, but Samantha didn't let her disappointment show; she'd always been good at keeping her emotions to herself. Mostly.

"I suppose I like art as much as the next person," she hummed. She wasn't much of a visual artist, herself — and she was especially hopeless with watercolors. But she thought other people's work was nice enough. "And you? Do you like art?" This probably was something they ought to know about each other, but, alas. And besides, it wasn't as if they'd ever had much time to talk like this.

Oh, well.

Nicodemus Zabini

  

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wanna stand up and scream, what do i care?