❛ see you met me at an interesting time ! ❜ act one . . . chapter eleven
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𝐈t was the end of the Transfiguration lesson and they just finished their work; the guinea fowl they had been changing into guinea pigs had been shut away in a large cage on Professor McGonagall's desk; they also had copied down their homework from the blackboard ("Describe with examples, how Transforming Spells must be adapted when performing Cross-Species Switches"). Azumi was itching to leave the classroom and go straight to the bathroom, but Professor McGonagall held them back, telling them she had something to say.
"The Yule Ball is approaching—a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament and an opportunity for us to socialize with our foreign guests. Now, the ball will be open only to fourth years and above—although you may invite a younger student if you wish—" Then she went on about the dress codes and stuff that the students weren't supposed to do at the event.
Azumi, for once, had no idea what to wear. She didn't even know how to get a date. Like does that come naturally? Do you just stand there and wait for someone to take you by the hand and ask if you want to go with them to the ball? Azumi had no idea. She'd never been asked out before, in anything at all. She didn't know if she should take it as a challenge or simply bury it in the back of her head.
A week had passed since Professor McGonagall announced the start of the Yule Ball. So many people had decided to put their names down to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas; including herself, of course. She didn't want to go home and face her mother and stepfather. Almost everyone around her kept talking about the ball in every corner of the castle—it was starting to get tiring to hear, but some girls were just so obsessed with the thought of going with some boy in their pretty little dresses.
Azumi didn't feel the same, because she had no idea what to wear. And second of all; no one had even asked her to be their date. It was stupid. Why are boys the only ones who can ask the girls? Shouldn't it be the same for girls? Incredulous.
All her life, she always had to skip parties and different events back at Mahoutokoro. Simply because her grandmother always excused her and told the school that she needed Azumi and that it was important. So instead of having fun like the other kids do, Azumi was stuck with her sick grandmother, getting poked with different needles and being forced to drink different potions, along with her crazy wand spells. God, she remembered how much she wanted to break free.
But now that she was free, she felt rather empty. Her grandmother had broken her. She made her someone—no, something different, dangerous, and monstrous.
Dean was with Seamus and Neville walking around the castle, whispering words with each other now and then, mostly about the Yule Ball and who they were going to take. Some girls would smile and bat their lashes at them, but none of them simply caught his eyes. After all, there was already one specific person in his mind.
