Emerald Solstice, a Solitary Dance

[Laguna Lestrange]

The mirror reflection showed the handsome sixth year as he titled his head slightly. Laguna scanned over his reflection carefully, accounting for every detail of his outward appearance, inch by inch until he was satisfied. An eyebrow perked a bit as he actually found himself quite pleased with how his appearance turned out. Despite his usual crimson garments, even he had to admit that the black with accents of dark emerald suited him well, complimenting his best features in all the right ways. His parents were fond of the choice of color, too. The suit was measured and customized for him, of course. Only the best for a Lestrange.

It was a bit strange to think that the suit was designed with a counterpart it was meant to match. But the matching dress was nowhere to be found leading up to the night of the ball. Many of his classmates probably would've hidden in the confines of their own common rooms, humiliated to arrive alone. The whispers and gossip would surely be heard throughout the Great Hall as he arrived alone. But Laguna would not hang his head tonight, despite his inner struggles to just go hide out in the quidditch pitch. His namesake demanded otherwise. In the mirror, his blue eyes scanned again as he held his head up, confidence radiating in the way he carried himself.

He strode toward the dance on his own. Most of his housemates were probably already there and Zeke...well, who knew if Zeke would actually show up? He didn't value these sorts of affairs in the same way that Laguna did. In fact, he was probably off thinking up some way to have fun or get into trouble that didn't require a dress code. Last time he'd spoken to his friend, he didn't have any plans to attend. There was just a hint of desire to sneak off and see exactly what he'd planned in the absence of his attendance at the dance, but Laguna couldn't ditch. At least not yet.

As he approached the ball, he took the opportunity to straighten his suit out and run his fingers through his hair one last time, then took a breath. "Head high..." He muttered to himself, his posture mimicking his words. With that, he walked into the dance, ready to take on whatever the night would throw his way.

[Miral Valtoris]

Miral looked over as she saw someone new come in and saw Laguna. She smirked seeing what he was wearing, but raised a brow seeing he didn't have someone with him. She gave a hum, but turned and walked in his direction, slipping between the crowd until she was within ear shot of her childhood friend, "Well, well," she said, "Who knew you could pull off a suit?" she teased as she stood beside him, "And of course, you're fashionably late," she tutted, "Did you make your poor date wait for you?" she asked, looking around, expecting to see someone matching him.

She looked back at him, clearly not about to believe he didn't have one—she was sure he had a line of options. She reflexively reached over and adjusted his collar, smoothing it out. "How'd you miss that?" she teased, smirking. "You gotta get better about that if you're going to be paraded about when you get famous from playing Quidditch," she said, putting her hand on her hip.

[Laguna Lestrange]

Though he gave her a slight eyeroll, it was accompanied by a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "Some of us are just so naturally blessed that we have to save the formal attire for special occasions to give the other people a fair chance. But thank you for noticing the exquisite tailoring of my suit." He perked a brow and turned towards her. "Better late than never, right?" He commented, noting that her dress complimented her perfectly. That didn't seem surprising though, Miral always made sure that she was put together perfectly for every occasion, as was demanded from their type of families. "You don't look too bad yourself," he added.

"As for my date," he paused, "Perhaps she was so overwhelmed by how good I looked that she fainted before we even arrived." He grinned in her direction, teasing her. "Or perhaps I decided to come alone and explore where the night takes me." His eyes scanned the room, a sea of students twirling among them before his gaze settled back on Miral.

A softer gaze peeked, appreciation at her gesture. "Well now I know I look my best." Laguna responded, giving Miral's arm a slight nudge. The room was filled with music from the band that was playing on the stage. It was dim, but there were brilliant colors cascading on the walls that made it feel like nothing short of magical.

As he continued to take in his surroundings, he was equally curious about the arrangements she'd made for the night.

"You didn't bring one of your daft minions along tonight?" He was curious to know if she'd end up bringing a date from her own house, figuring that was the only way she'd end up with a date here tonight.

[Miral Valtoris]

Miral snorted at his response about giving everyone else a shot, looking at him as if she didn't believe that for a second. "Thank you," she said to his compliment, brushing her hair over her shoulder. "It's ridiculously snug, but I'm coming to understand that's a sacrifice often made in fashion. " She looked down at herself, smoothing her hands over her skirts.

When she said his date might have passed out, she rolled her eyes. "Hoping to catch your prey here definitely seems more your style," she said, shaking her head, glancing out towards the dance floor as well, though with a different kind of scrutiny. When he nudged her, she nudged back, but when he asked about her own date, both hands ended up on her hips, and she was glad she'd set her drink down on the way over, "Minions, huh?" She raised a brow at him, "Here I compliment your charisma, and you make me into some kind of monster," she put her hand on her chest in mock offense. "I'm pretty sure most of my house is afraid of me, so no, no daft minions here," she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Honestly, I'd rather be out at the pitch flying and practicing than this charade, but I know if my mother finds out I just left and got this gown even slightly crinkled because I was on a broom, she'll have my head. At least you have a shot of some fun. Everyone just assumes I'll be a fun killer," she sighed dramatically, showing she really didn't care if no one in this place liked her, "I guess I won't crap your style," she hummed, assuming he probably wanted to go hang out with people, "I think I'll go retrieve some wayward 6th years I think I saw slipping out a few minutes ago. Oh. Guess I am a fun killer," she scrunched her nose in distaste before going towards the door with another dramatic sigh, "Try not to be such a stranger, I hardly see you these days, though I am about to make that friend of yours hate me that much more I think cause that hair of his is rather distinct," she said to him over her shoulder as she walked, indicating that Zeke was among the ones she saw slipping out, "I'll make sure he makes it back to you, go have some fun."

[Laguna Lestrange]

"If it's of any consolation, your sacrifice hasn't gone unnoticed." Another acknowledgement that she looked nice this evening without outright stating it. "Fashion suits you well."

Her comment about his prey gave way to the first genuine laugh from him this evening, "So that's what you truly think of me?" His eyes lit up from the humorous moment. "Hit me with a compliment of charisma and then follow up with that." His face was filled with amusement still, not taking any offense in the slightest. "They're not scared of you, they're just...intimidated by you." He wasn't sure if that came out comforting as he'd meant it. "Their loss. Just proves how daft they really are."

"Well if I haven't found my prey by the end of the night, maybe we can slip off and have a little snitch race, fun-killer." He half-joked. If this dance turned out to be a bust, he was more than happy to replace it with something that he found to actually be fun. But giving this night a shot was important too. For his reputation and because he always remembered how much nights like these were brought up among the many alumni that came and went from his parents gatherings over the years.

"Do try to be gentle with my wayward friend," he called out after her, "He's rather sensitive lately." That was true. "I'd hate for both of you to miss out on all the fun tonight." Finding that she was disappearing into the waves of students, he turned toward the refreshment table, both tempted by the sweets and by the conversation starting up between a couple of his classmates.