i finished something!
ocs mentioned belong to @hphmmatthewluther, @beloved-bucky @endlessly-cursed, @unfortunate-arrow, @slytherindisaster, and @nightmaresart
actual fic is under the cut, but please reblog and comment if you liked this :)
since when did hogwarts have a ballroom?
the swell of violins from inside the perplexing chamber was most certainly real, though, and lillian brushed out a wrinkle in her skirt before making her way into the crush of people.
immediately overwhelmed, she pushed her way to the side of the ballroom, where she took a seat and waited to be asked to dance. just like she had been trained. the pinch of her corset made it hard to breathe, though it wasn’t even particularly tight. everything was loud and bright.
to steady herself, lillian decided to pick a dancing couple to watch while she calmed down. her eyes fell on her cousin noah, dancing with a girl lillian remembered as skadi otteson. though she couldn’t see noah’s face, the way he stood and the gentle way his hand rested on miss ottesen’s waist spoke of sheer adoration. lillian was happy for her dear cousin, of course, but an ache formed in her heart of hearts as she fretted about never being loved like that.
as she scanned the ballroom, eyes settling on other dancers, a soft tap to her shoulder made her jump.
a familiar pair of forest-green eyes and an expression she hadn’t seen on this boy’s face before…
atticus doherty cleared his throat and extended a hand, a dusting of pink across his pale cheeks. she hadn’t seen him speak to anyone except frederick graham so far, and yet there he stood.
“care to dance?”
————-
if damian maccarrick was going to be honest (which he always tried to be), he hated balls. he hated all the pretentious people who had never spent a day stealing to feed their siblings. he hated looking at his own shabby, frayed robes that aoife had patched a hundred times and knowing that he would never fit in.
he did like the free food, though.
he stood against the wall. he knew it was bad form, not dancing with any of the young ladies without partners, but. he couldn’t bring himself to dance with a woman.
his gaze was, instead, drawn to a classmate. one he had loved from afar for so many years.
lewis gallach.
lewis was also standing against the wall, arms crossed. damian itched to talk to him, to take him in his arms and kiss him until neither of them could breathe and say everything bubbling under the surface for so so long.
but he didn’t.
instead damian leaned against the wall with a glass of punch in his scarred hands and his shabby robes still too small and hoped, dreamed, prayed for a world where he could love lewis openly.
a world where he could tell him.
but not today.
so he stopped and hoped and dreamed and didn’t notice the rustle of robes as lewis moved closer and didn’t even notice until the smaller man’s shoulder was against his.
a hand slipped into his…
————
helen walsh had always known, distantly, that she didn’t fit into this high english society.
never was it more evident, though, than here.
her american-styled cotton dress looked plain with all the glitz and gold of the others in the room.
she pretended she didn’t mind, of course, being aloof would be her salvation.
but her difference was eating her alive.
she brushed a loose scarlet curl back and closed her eyes as she sat, desperate to get the night over with as fast as she could.
the ballroom - where had that come from, anyway? - was filled with people laughing and talking and dancing and usually helen would be desperate to be in the center of the excitement but now, now she just hid in the corner and begged that no one would notice her fraying hem or her shoes that didn’t fit right.
whispers of silk and hints of chiffon whisked by her and she smoothed a hand over her rough cotton gown, hoping they didn’t notice the way it stuck out.
a weight settled on the sofa next to her but she didn’t look up, only trying to hide the runs in her stockings.
a familiar voice spoke, then, and she jumped.
“hey, what’s wrong?” asked fred graham.
————
lady georgia coventry was fully in her element.
switching from dance partner to dance partner as she laughed and twirled and let her gold skirts float around her, this was the place she belonged.
as the song ended, she made her way off the floor to find her next partner, but was waylaid by primrose gray.
“georgia, have you seen-“ prim stopped for a moment to breathe. she seemed exhausted, for some reason.
“have i see what, exactly?” georgia asked, scanning the room eagerly. there went the kennedys…
primrose took another breath. “have you seen….have you seen laurent?”
georgia rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “i saw him by the punch not long ago, you might want to try there.”
a hint of a blush dusted itself across her friend’s cheeks as she excused herself, leaving georgia alone again and without a partner for the dance. just her luck.
as she turned to go sit down - her feet could use a break anyway - she ran into something.
rather, someone.
adam ellis’s familiar voice ran through georgia’s very core as he murmured “hello, lady.”
curse her petite frame! she separated herself from him and scowled fiercely, biting out an apology. she was the future duchess of coventry, for merlin’s sake, and she could not be caught-
oh. he was warm.
he offered her a smile, extended his hand, and whispered “might i have this dance?”
“that’s not the phrase, idiot.” georgia shot back, but nonetheless she took his offer.
————
lillian sat, frozen, for a moment. atticus seemed to take this as a rejection and made to leave, shoulders beginning to slump, but lillian caught his hand in her own.
“wait- i didn’t mean-“
he turned back, then, and lillian was rendered breathless.
“i…yeah. i want to dance with you.”
a hint of a smile made its way over his face as she took his hand and they made their way to the floor.
as they began the dance, lillian realized that she was home.
————
damian’s hands fisted in lewis’s shirt as he pulled him closer for what was not the first time. maybe he had too much champagne, but lewis wasn’t complaining either.
the other boy’s lips were soft and plump and everything damian wanted as one hand dropped to lewis’s waist and pulled him even closer.
damian knew he couldn’t have this forever. he knew that, in all likeliness, he could only have lewis for their school days before he lost him again.
but he has him now, their lips moving together and lewis’s hands on his shoulders and damian’s hands on lewis’s waist.
the chatter of the ballroom seemed to quiet as damian broke the kiss so both of them could catch their breath, damian still holding lewis close to him. both of them were rumpled and rosy, and lewis’s lips were as swollen as damian’s own felt.
damian felt a reflexive laugh slip from his lips as he ran a hand through his dark curls and pressed a soft kiss against lewis’s cheekbone.
the smaller man just let out a sigh and laid his head on damian’s shoulder, where he stayed.
maybe they would be all right.
————-
helen jumped as fred spoke and he raised his hands in surrender.
“sorry, i didn’t mean to scare you, but you seemed upset…”
helen sighed. “i dunno…i don’t fit in with any of these people, yknow? i ain’t ever fit in, and i doubt i ever will.”
fred smiled, though something lurked just behind his eyes. “yeah, me too, i guess. all these people come from everything, but i’ve got nothing, yeah?”
helen nudged him with her shoulder. “you’ve got me, though, hm?”
fred grinned, genuine this time. “yeah, i sure do.”
————
adam’s hand on georgia’s waist felt better than she had anticipated, in all honesty.
despite the fact they’d spent the previous few school years bickering, he was steady and gentle as they danced. she looked up at him, getting lost in his chocolate eyes as the steps to the dance ran through her mind.
a crescendo, then, and he twirled her and caught her close to his broad chest. she couldn’t help the way her breath caught at their closeness.
but no. she couldn’t feel this way for adam ellis. that would be preposterous. absurd.
and yet…
butterflies fluttered in her stomach in time with the music and, though it may have been her imagination, she could’ve sworn he pulled her closer.
the song came to an end and they bowed before georgia made her way to get punch and sit down. as she made her way towards the couch, a now-familiar hand caught her wrist.
“miss coventry….” he began. “would you…like to do that again?”
despite herself, a hint of a smile crossed georgia’s face.
“i would love to.”
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