( H A P P Y E N D I N G )

[deidre andromeda black]

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[ EVERYTHING'S SUPPOSED TO HAVE A HAPPY ENDING ]
but the record keeps skipping and the needle keeps bending

<sup>deidre black was a rough, tough, quidditch playing machine. she got bruises, she broke bones, she got scars; she loved every single second of quidditch, really. yet, she also enjoyed being a girl. she wore makeup, she wore frilly clothes, she did her hair; she could be a real princess at times. because of her being the best of both worlds, she both loathed and adored the idea of a valentines ball. for one, it meant she could wear one of the many dresses stored in her closet and she got to look extra extravagant, and for two, she'd also have to lay off the quidditch and get rid of the scars on her arms, chest, and back. the second thing would be quite tasking, for when she got bored, she would just go out and play quidditch for the hell of it. not playing as hardcore as she normally would had absolutely killed her, but it left her arms smooth and clear.

when the day of the ball had arrived, dee was clearly ready. her date, a mister lysander scamander, has asked her about three days after the ball had been announced, and she couldn't say no to a face like that. her mother had sent her a dress, one that was custom made upon the lady blacks request, and sent matching shoes as well. her makeup and hairstyle was all picked out, and she even had her perfume ready. she had highly anticipated this ball, and she wasn't going to go to it looking like a barmaid. she might not be vain, but she was still a gaunt and she was still a black. she had expectations of herself, as well as others expecting the best from her. her brother had been constantly breathing down her neck about looking her best and 'not upsetting father'. frankly, dee didn't care about what her father thought, she was going to be herself and not her daddy.

deidre had been fully prepared as she started to get ready that day; she had hair potions, her wand, her dress, ready, and charms for her makeup to stick during the whole thing. she also had shoe pads for her heels, so that her feet wouldn't be killing her at the end. she had taken a shower already and magically dried her hair, she had also painted her nails and let them dry the muggle way, and she had applied her bases and other minor cosmetics. it was only a minor hour before the ball when she did the serious work. by the time it reached thirty minutes to the start, her hair was curled and bouncy, and her makeup was almost fully done, her lips the last thing to be done. by the time the ball had started, all she had to do was put on her dress and her shoes and she'd be ready to go; and that's just what she did. pulling the dress from it's bag, she handled it with care; it was a ball gown in all effects. it had the full, wide skirts, as well as the tiny waste and the breast accentuating neckline. it was a soft pink with lines of silvery white stones on it, and it was the epitome of 'valentines day'.

her shoes were also a soft pink, almost nude in color, and added three inches to her short height. as she began to leave the common room, deidre andromeda black couldn't help but smile vainly. she knew she was beautiful; she knew she was practically shining, and she knew damn sure that she was stare worthy. yes, it was vain of her, but she was still the child of a gaunt and a black, and her mother had raised her to be the belle of the ball, so why not flaunt it? she made a swift exit of the common room; her heels clicking softly as she floated through the corridors, the skirt of her dress softly swaying. she could feel her wand rubbing against her outer thigh, hidden in a pocket specifically requested to be well hidden in a seam of her dress. estelle black was a careful woman, and she knew her daughter would want know that she could reach her wand at any second, so she had asked the seamstress to add it in for her. dee could never thank her more than when she had realized it was there; it was a godsend.

her journey to the great hall was short lived; coming from the dungeons and all, it was a rather short trip getting to her destination. she thanked merlin constantly for putting her in slytherin; she didn't have to climb so many ungodly stairs like the ones who stay in towers did. as she reached the great hall, she smiled politely at people and waved, nodding her head and lip-syncing hello's across the entrance way to other people. she didn't see lysander just yet, so not wanting to step inside alone and not make a grand entrance, she stood off to the side and started to chat up a seventh year ravenclaw girl also waiting for her date. the girl was in a soft blue dress that reached her knee's and black pumps; dee approved of her, really. but it was a ball, hence ball gowns, not party dresses; those were for the after parties in the slytherin common room.

soon, the older girls date came and left dee to stand there on her own. she then began to analyze; which was what she did best. she began to analyze couples, analyze friends, analyze those whom looked like they could be couples; she watched everyone. she scanned over girls dresses and hair, as well as their makeup. truly, what she was doing would be called 'checking out the competition' to some people. in reality, she was seeing if there was any fashion trends among others, any similar makeup looks, similar hairstyles, any exact replicas of the other person. there was really quite a few. some, like herself, were original, while others were flat out boring and would easily get lost in the crowd rather than be seen by everyone. shaking her head, dee began to pop her fingers in anticipation, looking for her date.

TALK TALK TALK TALK TALK TALK TALK TALK TALK
THINK THINK THINK THINK THINK THINK THINK</sup>

this thread is tagged for LYSANDER
word count is up to 1 0 4 7
lyrics are by BUTCH WALKER
my notes are: DRESS & accessories
credit goes to BROOKE FROM CAUTION

[lysander lee scamander]

Being the gentleman type, it wasn't often that Lysander was late.. but of course he was determined to make it fashionably late, and there was a reason for his tardiness. He had sent for a dozen red roses, which he would deliver, and some hufflepuff seemed to be taking their sweet time getting them to him. Finally they had arrived.. Of course a short while earlier he had been combing is hair, putting moose in it and making sure it looked okay. Then it was on to getting into his tuxedo, first the vest, then deciding between a tie or bow tie. He decided on a blue tie. His vest was white, his suite black and nicely fitted. Indeed, it did appear brand new. Lysander sighed softly as the roses came, half in delight and half in relief. Then he took them, hurried down the stairs, and towards the ball room.

Of course, the many stairs gave him a chance to look around.. Many girls in dresses running down the stairs, some with their dates and others without. Some that looked as if they had won a million galleons, others looking like they had just got wholloped by the whomping willow in spirits. He smiled sympathetically to those less fortunate date wise... He knew he was popular, and that many girls had pined for him... Or at least in his mind. He stopped just before the stairs started moving again, then hurried to the next stair way before it could change again.

As he walked down the stairs he thought of when he had first asked Dee to the dance. He had been bloody nervous, and had not told anyone.. What gryffindor in their right mind would let it be known they were planning on asking a slytherin? None, thats who! But he liked her, he saw her beauty and he liked it. He had been pining after her from a distance for some time now, and half regretted not asking her sooner.. The day he had asked her he had sent a card with a rose, asking her, to meet him in the night by the lake... When the midnight hour came, he had asked her to be his date.

Shaking out of the memory, he found himself smiling much like a fool. He found that the stairs had come to an end, and he had come to the marble floor below. Stepping foot hastily towards it, he looked around... There were some people who seemed like they were hiding their courtship, though not successfully, and those who seemed happy to snog all night. Others sat in a corner. It was then he spotted his date, Dee, across the room, and walked over to her, handing her the flowers.

It was then that he got a look at her, her pink shoes that were nearly nude colored.. Her dress, her hair, her make up.. All matching and all beautiful.. From the simple pinkness to her cheeks, to the curls of her blonde locks, he was certainly pleased to see her looking beautiful, though he was not so fond that she was turning bachelor heads at every corner.

"Dee, you look... stunning." He said softly, nearly speechless as he took in her beauty... He looked at her, then offered to take her hand to lead her into the ball room. "May I have the first dance with such a beautiful lady? Can't say enough how lucky I am to have you as my date. Sort of feels like I've won the muggle lottery." He said with a soft chuckle, looking at her in the eyes.

He met her eyes, reaching to brush some hair out of her eyes.. He smiled at her, then said softly, "You really do look beautiful. More so then any other girl here." He said softly, as he noticed her scoping out the competition, but he meant it. To him, she was the prize of the ball, the most beautiful catch.