The party was in full swing with a veritable maelstrom of activity surrounding the pair of students in their little bubble together. Benedict found it quite easy to ignore the passersby in favour of focusing on his friend as she chatted, smiled and even took it upon herself to give his hand a squeeze in affection. He twisted in his seat a little more to face her as they continued.

”Yeah, turning into a cat and prowling around the castle does seem fun. Does make you wonder if anyone else has done it.” It would probably be best not to dwell on the fact that a cat sat on your bed while you sleep might be some Slytherin prankster. He laughed and gave a little “Oh crumbs” expression on his face, he liked that he could be himself with this young lady and he spent a few seconds just watching her face in silence with his charming smile on until he spotted her spotting him out of the corner of her eye. She looked back at him but he couldn't really tell what she was thinking, his encroaching body language had not been rejected in horror so at least there was that on his side.

With his heart racing Benedict reached over and placed his opposite hand onto Millie's knee which naturally turned them into each other. He felt like he should have some charming line to use, or perhaps just ask her how she felt about him, but instead, all that came out was ”I really like you Millie” in a voice which was almost entirely inaudible to anyone but himself over the sounds of music playing in the background. If only just for a moment she could read his mind and know what he wanted, just a small nod, or some indication that he wasn't about to throw away their friendship in a terrible error.

With him turned to face her now, their private bubble seemed to take on a conspiratorial mood. Millie's thumb rubbed over the side of the glass in an idle fidget, one that she didn't need at all. His hand felt warm through the layers of her dress, its pressure reassuring her enough for her lips to pull at their edges. The drink let her feel that this was the easiest thing in the world, the two of them just talking about nonsense. No one else might understand, and part of her enjoyed that about it. "Can you imagine? There must be so many places a small creature could find that we can't. Sometimes it's as if Houstonia can pop right out of the walls, so there must be far more to explore!"

He grinned, partly at her continuation of their discussion of feline mischief but also, he felt, that the small smile she kept even as he crossed into her personal space meant that she accepted him fully. "We shall have to find some way to ask him some time" he responded moments before making his final move. Benedict leaned in and placed his lips onto Millie's. He had thought what this might be like for a while now but perhaps it was the drink and the atmosphere that finally made him brave enough to do it. Of all the other crazy or forbidden things going on in tonight's celebration it seemed fitting that this would be the perfect moment. Millie didn't seem inclined to push him away so he drew his hand up from her knee to the side of her head underneath her hair and continued to share his first kiss with his best friend.