I’ll Make a Dancer Out of You [Winter Solstice Dance Lessons For Hufflepuff Students]

[Nigel Dextera]

Transfiguration Classroom
Friday, 9 December 2005
7:30pm
Though it was after dinnertime on a Friday evening, the Transfiguration Classroom was abuzz with activity.

A day after it was announced that Hogwarts would be holding the Winter Solstice Dance in December – the first school dance since the school’s reopening in 1999 – a notice had been put up in the Hufflepuff Common Room inviting students to come by at the Transfiguration Classroom the next week on Friday evening for a dance lesson. As a way to entice the students to turn up, there would be “good food”, and students were thus advised to have a light dinner beforehand.

While the note neglected to mention which professor would be conducting the lesson, it didn’t take a genius to figure out who it was based on the venue. And indeed, as the students streamed into the classroom, Professor Nigel Dextera was standing in front of his table waiting for them, decked up in full Highland dress. Under his black Prince Charlie jacket and waistcoat, he wore a crisp white shirt and a black bow tie. The highlight of his outfit was, of course, a red-and-green kilt – the clan tartan of his Scottish mother’s family – and completing the ensemble was a matching sporran, a pair of kilt hose (complete with a sgian-dubh tucked into the top), and a fine pair of ghillie brogues.

Apart from being magically expanded to accommodate all the Hufflepuff students, the classroom had been spruced up too. Numerous candles floated overhead in a manner akin to those in the Great Hall, and the tables and chairs that usually occupied the middle had been removed. Instead, two long tables ran down both sides of the classroom, and upon them were numerous metal cloches – presumably concealing the “good food” that was promised in the notice.

A couple of minutes before the start of the session, Louis Harrigan poked his head into the classroom. His eyes lit up when he spotted Nigel, and he waved enthusiastically as he jogged up to the front to join his friend. Having just ended his shift, the Auror’s attire was more function than form: a weathered tan trench coat over a rumpled white shirt, a pair of dark trousers, and sturdy combat boots.

“I thought you weren’t going to show up,” Nigel pretended to chide his friend. Having known each other for so long, their friendship was already known to the students despite the short time Louis had been posted here.

“Oh come on, Graeme,” the Auror replied, “you know I’d do anything for you.”

“For the food, you mean,” the professor countered teasingly.

“Is that really what you think of me? Not that it’s entirely baseless.” Good food was always a reliable incentive, as they had learnt during their time in the Ministry. Whenever there was a boring event and the organisers needed a way to encourage the Ministry staff to attend, all they needed to do was to lay out a feast and people would magically show up. It was a win-win situation for everyone: the organisers got what they wanted, the higher-ups would feel pleased to see the large number of attendees, and the attendees got a free meal.

“Speaking of food… where’s it from?” Louis asked. “You mentioned you didn’t want to add on to the house-elves’ workload.”

“That’s for me to know and you to find out,” Nigel said, acting all mysterious and enigmatic just to mess with Louis, who simply shrugged and rolled his eyes at the professor’s antics.

Turning his attention to the students, Nigel swept his gaze across the classroom. There were two types of students that he hoped would be present: those who couldn’t dance at all – the target audience for this evening’s session – and those who were skilled at dancing and able to help guide their peers along. He could see Thaddeus Egerton, one of the Fifth-Year prefects, chatting with some of the other students and presumably offering to help them; the Pure-blood boy was likely no stranger to formal parties. At the other end of the classroom, Nigel spied a mop of bright blond hair slowly darkening into a mousey brown as Leo Sakurai tried to blend into his surroundings. The boy noticed Nigel looking right at him, and instinctively he sidestepped behind another student and disappeared completely from view.

“Shall we?” Nigel asked in a low voice, to which Louis nodded. Clearing his throat, Nigel then addressed the students. “Good evening everyone, and thank you for coming. I trust that everyone present knows what we’re here for, right?”

“The food,” Louis interjected immediately, eliciting some laughter from the gathered students. If this initial exchange between the two close friends was anything to go by, the dance lesson would probably be more interesting than the students had initially expected.

“The dance lesson first, then food,” Nigel corrected, completely unperturbed by Louis’ disruptive behaviour as though it was a regular occurrence – which it was. “That applies to you too, my dearest assistant. No food for you until our work is done.”

Ignoring Louis’ melodramatic sigh, Nigel continued. “First things first: before we commence the lesson, I’d like all of you to pair up. We’ll be learning a gender-neutral dance, so feel free to choose whoever you’d like to dance with. If you’re good at dancing, I’d like to encourage you to pair up with someone who isn’t as proficient. Similarly, if you suspect that you might need some help, consider looking for someone more experienced.”

[Ryan Lovet]

Ryan walked into the classroom, feeling a bit nervous. He knew Zeke didn't plan on going to the ball, but that didn't mean he couldn't take these lessons just in case he got to dance with someone. He had never had any formal dance lessons, it was never a situation his muggle parents could have predicted being a thing for him, and he never mentioned it because he didn't want to make things more difficult for them. He took a deep breath and tried not to stand out too much but a lot of people knew who he was from being on the Quidditch team and being the captain. The Ryan on and off the pitch were two different people, but he figured he needed to channel some of that other self for this. He noted the new sixth year hadn't come, but he wasn't surprised. She was just getting to know people, it would be weird to come to an event where people would be hanging out with their friends. That being said, he spotted Nova's bright red hair from across the room.

Nova was sitting on the far side, sitting up on one of the desks, her sketchbook open on her lap and she was sketching something, lost in her own world. She was so into whatever she was doing, that she did not even realize others had arrived or that Nigel had started to speak. Being from the family she was in, she was more than an expert in dancing and had mostly come for the reason Nigel was hoping. She was ever eager to help others learn, knowing this whole affair could be awkward... he just had to bring her back to reality first.

Ryan shook his head and looked at Nigel as he spoke. He smirked at Louis's behavior but listened to Nigel. He looked around, feeling his heart leap a bit. He was supposed to pick someone??? His mouth gaped a bit like a fish out of water before looking back to the instructor, looking like a deer in headlights.

[Theo Delacroix]

At that very moment, Theo entered the room. He hadn't originally planned to attend this dance lesson or the ball, but he thought it was a good opportunity to try and ease himself into participating in the social norms of his peers. His mom also wrote to tell him that she was looking forward to seeing how lovely he looked in his dress robes. Naturally he wanted to make his mother happy, so that was what pushed him over the edge. To justify it, he told himself he could probably manage to snag some good snacks and slip out to the Pygmy Puff nest near the quidditch pitch to share. His little friends were growing quickly and though it wasn't good for them to have that sort of food all the time, there was no harm in a little taste once in a while, depending on the treat.

But now they had to find a dance partner and any sort of idea he had about this being a fun experience was triggering a new sort of feeling in him. He swallowed as a knot seemed to form and then he cleared his throat a little more loudly than he'd intended. A rush of heat appeared in his cheeks and his eyes immediately darted to the floor. "I can do this....I can do this..." He whispered quietly to himself.

The truth of the matter was that it wasn't a matter of him wanting to be a wallflower or someone who didn't have friends. He wanted to fit in. Growing up in such isolation though, he wasn't sure how exactly that worked. Theo took a deep breath and scanned the room quietly. Without thinking, he stepped backward toward a corner. He could probably get away with hiding behind some furniture in the corner if he was quick enough.

[Thaddeus Egerton]

“Very well then. I’ll leave you in his good hands then.”

With a bow, Thaddeus excused himself and stepped away from the student he had been talking to. She had seemed a little ill at ease and uncomfortable when Professor Dextera asked the students to pair up, and thus he had approached her to offer his aid. She declined his kindness, however; as it turned out, while she was unfamiliar with ballroom dancing, her dance partner being late had been the true source of her distress.

His unfulfilled sense of noblesse oblige drove him to seek out another student in need of help. Instinctively he checked the sides and corners of the room, and sure enough, he caught sight of a rather lost looking Theo right there. Like him, Theo was a fellow Fifth-Year and shared his interest in Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology, but for some reason they hadn’t really spoken much.

Cutting through the other students smoothly, he approached Theo. “By any chance, do you need a dance partner?” he asked, extending his hand to offer a handshake as he flashed a charming smile. “Thaddeus Egerton, at your service.”

[Leo Sakurai]

Sensing that Professor Dextera’s eyes weren’t on him anymore, Leo stepped out from behind the student he was using as a shield. Still, there was no running away from the fact that he’d need to find a dance partner. Searching the room for a familiar face, his gaze soon fell on Ryan Lovet, who was looking at the professor with his mouth agape.

Presuming that Ryan hadn’t found a dance partner either, Leo swiftly slipped through the crowd until he reached his Quidditch captain. “Ryan-kun!” he called cheerfully but softly enough so as to not draw too much attention towards them. “May I pair up with you for the dance lesson? I’m not familiar with ballroom dancing, but I think I can keep up with whatever Professor Dextera will be teaching us.”