December 22nd, 1893 - Aurora Borealis Ball

Sadie felt a little out of place even if she had been eagerly anticipating the event all month. With Christmas fast approaching and her stay in Hogsmeade dwindling in time, Sadie was starting to try and figure out ways to stay a little longer. Heading home now left her feeling like her time here was incomplete and she was desperate to stay for as long as she could.

Tonight was another thing entirely and while it hadn't been explicitly stated, Sadie knew this was her formal introduction into the wizarding society she had long been kept out of. Her aunt and uncle weren't getting and younger however and Sadie knew she needed to make a good impression while she was here, so she let them fret and flutter about her, corset laced far too tightly, hair pulled back, dress a vision in a deep blue that shone iridescent in the candle light.

Her aunt was never far from her elbow, her dance card delightfully full as she tried her best to appear the bright, bubbly debutante she was supposed to be. It didn't come all that easily to her, but she was excited to meet new people, so was hoping she was doing a passable job. Her aunt reminded her that her next dance was coming up and as she looked around, forgetting exactly which gentleman it was that had written his name for the waltz, she waited patiently by the dance floor, gloved hands folded neatly in front of her. Her fist couple of dances had gone very well, despite the fact that she wasn't very graceful, hopefully this one would go well too.

---

Hurling please! UCAB 25ish+? Not super picky, but for my ~drama needs.

  

---

Earlier in the evening Jeremy had dutifully allowed his mother to make formal introductions to several ladies in attendance that he had not already met, such as Miss Sinclair. As expected he had signed their dance cards as well as the dance cards of others that he had known.
Over all the ball had been a pleasant enough evening, good conversation, enjoyable dances, nice decorations. As he approached the next young lady, a Miss Sinclair, he smiled winningly at her. “Good evening Miss Sinclair, I believe this dance is mine?” He bowed before her extending his hand for her to take.

  

If she were made of stronger stuff, Sadie might not have blushed as intensely as she did when Mr. Ashford smiled at her. This was all still so new to her, she forgot that he was just being a gentleman and fulfilling his duty to the dance card. Still, it was nice that she hadn’t managed to scare anyone away yet this evening. "Mr. Ashford, how kind of you to remember."

Taking his hand, Sadie was relieved it was only a waltz they were sliding into. The steps were easy, memorized, almost second nature. She wasn’t the most elegant of dancers, but she was graceful enough, it always felt a little effortless, her agility, so she rolled with it. The music began and she fell into step with Mr. Ashford was surprisingly easy. "Have you been enjoying your evening?" Sadie wasn’t hosting, but the event was sort of for her? She was glad that hadn’t been explicitly stated, but she knew her aunts were showing her off to the best of their subtle abilities. Regardless, it was important to her that people be having a good time. Casting a shy look up to him, she smiled slowly thinking she ought not to mess this up for some reason.

---

  

---

“As if I could forget such a charming young lady.” The words felt almost as if they were a verbal shrug, despite the charm with which they were delivered, but he hoped to see a smile on her lips. When he had met her at the beginning of the evening he had thought she had a pretty smile. But he also much preferred Smiles and setting people at ease.

He led her to the dance floor, remembering the pretty blush that stained her cheeks. She was new to this, no seasoned debutante yet, and yet she didn't have the same je ne sais quoi of spring’s fresh debutantes. It was refreshing and made Jeremy curious.

As she settled into his arms he realized just how small she seemed, petite and nearly a head shorter than him. But he didn’t mind. It added to her charm. “I have.” He assented. “Your family has done a lovely job.” The theme was tasteful, and, thankfully, given the time of year it was, not Yule themed. “More importantly,” He started, his body moving through the one, two, three step of the waltz with a practiced ease, “Have you been enjoying yourself?” His blue eyes meeting her gaze with a sincere intent.

  

She had to look down, that was the demure thing to do right? Sadie really was a little out of her depth. The whole point here was to test the social waters; she would officially debut this summer and though it was probably not the traditional way to do things, she wasn’t exactly a conventional debutante. "Thank you, I’ll be sure to pass along your compliments." Her aunt would be pleased to hear as such, especially for a gentleman like Mr. Ashford.

Chancing a glance up at him, she was pleased to hear he was having a good time this evening. The more he spoke, the more she relaxed. When she remembered to relax, she tended not to make a fool out of herself and had succeeded so far tonight. Mr. Ashford was making it exceptionally easy, both in the steps and the conversation. "Oh!" None of the gentlemen so far this evening had turned the question back on her so far. "Yes, surprisingly, it’s been a lot of fun." She smiled easily. "I was nervous." Why she had just admitted that to Mr. Ashford was beyond her, but she had been nervous and it had been sitting in her chest all evening. He had such an honest face, she felt like he wouldn’t hold it against her.

---

  

---

It was unusual for a young lady to admit anything less than an affirmative response. Curiosity mingled in his gaze as he met her eyes, giving her a moment to explain. After a beat she did. With her admission he was reminded of his younger sister, of her own nervous energy the night of her debut.

With what he felt was an empathetic smile, Jeremy gave her a small nod and said, “I can imagine. I still get nervous before events and I've been attending them for a long while.” He chuckled at his own self depreciation. “This is your first ball?”

  

"Really?" Sadie was sort of relieved to hear that she wasn’t the only one who got nervous for these things. "Yes," she admitted. "I was supposed to debut last summer, but I had a riding accident, so it was delayed a year." Spilling out her sob story was probably also improper, but so far Mr. Ashford had been quite accommodating. "My aunt wanted to do a soft introduction to society this evening to see how I’m doing." She wouldn’t be allowed to receive callers or anything else just yet, but she supposed that was alright. It wasn’t as if anything was going to come out of tonight anyway.

"Does it get any easier?" Sadie had to hope it would, otherwise she would be a miserable failure. She couldn’t handle it if she always felt like this at events. Feeling like a prize on display was an uncomfortable sort of feeling, since this didn’t come naturally to her, nor did she feel like much of a catch.

---

  

---

He nodded in the affirmative. Likely he wasn't near as nervous as she was before events, but he always felt a bit of tension holding his body tight before events like these. Although once he started to talk to people he easily relaxed.

“That sounds terrible. Were you riding a broom or a horse?” Among this set one never knew. To have delayed her debut it must have been a rather serious accident. She didn't seem to have an injuries, but he still found his eyes skimming over her hairline and face involuntarily. “Are you alright?” There was genuine concern in his words.

Jeremy considered her question as he spun them around. “It does. My sister was terrified at her debut. Excited, but so nervous she was shaking like a leaf and almost burst into tears when it was time to leave her room.” And his sister would likely smack him with her fan if she knew he was sharing this story. “She had a wonderful time that night, of course. Now she never shakes before a ball and is usually the life of the party.” Glanced toward where his sister stood surrounded by a gaggle of men all vying for her attention.

  

Was that a look of genuine concern? Mr. Ashford had mentioned a younger sister, perhaps he was not entirely unfamiliar with the woes of young debutantes. It eased the nerves in her chest even further. "Horse, I was thrown and I hit my head." Sadie realized the waltz was slowly coming to an end and she was not ready to leave Mr. Ashfords comforting company just yet. "I am, thank you." Mr. Ashford’s sincerity was as comforting as his charming smile. "I get terrible headaches every now and then and my memory isn’t great, but it has been a while since either have plagued me." Which was a good thing and part of the reason her aunt had allowed her to attend the ball tonight.

"As selfish as it may be, it is nice to know I am not the only one who has felt this way." Well, the more she thought about it, the more she realized many young women must be some level of nervous for their debut, but most of them made it look so easy that she could hardly count herself in that lot!

The last few notes of the song sang out over the dance floor and Sadie nearly frowned. Eager to keep his company for a little while longer, she looked up at him, catching herself biting her lip. Smoothing out into a smile, she held onto his hand for a moment, "I’m terribly parched, would you mind accompanying me for some refreshment?" Sadie was no flirtatious mastermind, but she had read enough romance novels to at least have a few small tricks up her sleeve.

---

  

---

It was reassuring to hear that she was alright, enough so that it brought his gaze to settle on her own. But when she listed her symptoms his mouth tightened again in concern. “I am sorry to hear that.” He genuinely was, to be hindered from the affects of one accident was truly terrible, especially for one so young.

“I suspect you are in better company than you might expect.” He chuckled as he led them through the last few steps. He wouldn't be surprised if every young lady felt the same way at the beginning of their seasons.

He bowed as the last notes of music floated through the air. It would be a shame to leave Miss Sinclair at the edge of the dance floor now that their dance was over, he had enjoyed her company during their dance, in fact it was more enjoyable than most conversations he'd had this evening. But she didn't relinquish his hand. There was a small trickle of pride that ran through him at that realization. He smiled down at her, “I should be honored.” He offered her his arm to escort her to the table with a large variety of refreshments.

“What has been your favorite part of the ball so far?” Jeremy found himself asking, in hopes he might settle some more of her nerves before she was swept away by another eager gentleman.

  

Sadie exhaled slowly, blowing out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding in. Taking his arm, she settled into step beside him as easily as they had danced. His question brought an immediate answer to mind, but that would be entirely too forward. Surely she couldn’t tell him this had been the highlight of her evening and that anything else would pale in comparison. "Truthfully, the people watching." She mused instead, looking out among the other guests this evening, wondering if her aunt was watching too closely. "I don’t get to socialize much and this is my first time in Hogsmeade surrounded by other magical people. It’s quite fascinating and I love being here." Sadie was not remiss in admitting that. Hogsmeade was everything she had wanted it to be and more so far and she desperately wanted to know all that it had to offer.

---

  

---

A surprised grin cracked over his lips for a moment. He too enjoyed people watching, but the rest of her comment stopped him from the joke that almost came over his lips.

“Truly? I am surprised to hear that.” Although if her injury had been serious enough he supposed this did make a degree of sense, although it was surprising that she had rarely spent time around the wizarding community.

He paused at the refreshments table and gestured toward the crystal bowl of lemonade before them, “Lemonade?”

Then without breaking stride in the conversation he continued, “Where are you from?” It seemed politer than asking how she’d been so removed from the wizarding community all this time. Although given her age he was surprised it was her first time at Hogsmeade, most Hogwarts students didn’t miss Hogsmeade weekends and he doubted her family struggled to afford schooling. “Did you attend Hogwarts?” He knew it was terribly impolite to ask, but Sadie seemed the sort who wished to share such things with her open face and manners.

  

Pleased with herself for making him grin like that, Sadie rather thought maybe she wasn’t terrible at this after all. "Champagne?" If she was pretending to be an adult tonight, she may as well have some bubbly. One glass couldn’t hurt, certainly. She might regret it tomorrow, with her easy tendency towards headaches, but one flute would be fine.

"Unfortunately no," Sadie sighed wistfully. "I was ill as a child, I didn’t get the chance." What she wouldn’t give to see it though. She was not affronted by his question at all, as embarrassing as it was. Though Sadie didn’t remember her childhood at large, she was sorry she didn’t get the chance to attend Hogwarts with her peers. "I assume you did though? Will you tell me about it?" She smiled sweetly at him, hoping he would indulge her.

---

  

---

“As you wish.” Jeremy took a flute of champagne from the table and presented it to her before turning and grabbing himself one as well. It did not do to let ladies drink on their own. Indeed, somehow he rather thought he’d feel like a cad if he had lemonade to her champagne.

It was not unheard of for those among their ranks to keep their children home from illness. He remembered hearing his parents speak of the Bellchant daughter, Nimiane, who was of an age with him, being kept home from school for illness as well. Jeremy gave her a sympathetic look. To miss a chance at going to Hogwarts was any child’s nightmare, or so Jeremy imagined.

Between the look she was giving him and her curiosity there was no way Jeremy would be able to deny her anything, let alone to talk of his school days. “I did.” He confirmed, “And I will be happy to tell you about it. However, promise me something first. The moment you begin to find it dull you tell me.”

  

Sadie took the champagne, holding it to her lips for a moment to hide the blush that ensued at the casual brush of fingertips. She was being silly, flighty, but she was enjoying herself. That Mr. Ashford was humoring her was just a lovely bonus. "I would never." No tale of Hogwarts would be boring. She had gathered quite a bit of information from her conversations around town, but she wished to see it, to know what it was like to walk the halls.

"Was it as much fun as I’ve heard?" She urged instead, knowing she would hang on every word until she was hauled away for the next dance on her card. "I’ve been allowed to study herbology and some other theories, but nothing with a wand." That she wasn’t allowed a wand was a practicality, she knew, but it was a dreadful bore when learning about magic with no true way to cast.

---

  

---

“You never know, I could be an awfully dull individual. Especially in my school years.” Again he found himself chuckling, the self depreciative joke easily flowing from his lips. He took a sip of his champagne and listened as she spoke.

It surprised him that she had not been allowed to study the practical side of magic. Those were the only classes he had ended up taking the final years he had been in school. But he was careful not to let his surprise show on his face.

“It was. I made some of my closest friends while I was in school.” There had been a certain freedom to the potential for the future when he had been in school, it had trickled into his friendships and strengthened every memory he had of those days.

“I particularly enjoyed my practical magic courses.” He didn’t want to make her feel bad about not having had any lessons in wandwork though so he decided to move on, considering what she might find interesting. “Herbology was interesting, although I rather enjoyed Care of Magical Creatures more, once I was allowed to take it.” He smiled ruefully.

“There was one time when we were studying demiguises. In the middle of class the creature disappeared entirely. The professor was entirely unphased and continued to talk about the care of demiguise. Back in the common room that evening a friend of mine’s bag suddenly began lurching about. At first we thought one of the first years had been practicing a charm and had hit the wrong thing. Instead out comes the demiguise. It took one look at us and went invisible again. We didn’t find it again until we left the common room the next morning and smelled the vinegar on it. It’d tried to break into the barrels vinegar outside the Hufflepuff common room.” Jeremy chuckled at the memory. “The smell was the only reason we were able to find it and return it back to our professor. I’m not sure they study live demiguises at school any more. That one got into quite a few particularly memorable escapades over the years.”