To Dance or Not To Dance [Reserved for Collete and Nathaniel]

[Emily Collins]

Emily was nestled in the Ravenclaw common room. She sat in one of the armchairs by the fireplace, draped in a light blanket, and, of course, holding a book. Several more books were arranged on the side table beside her, along with parchments and writing materials.

The room seemed quieter than usual today, as many of her classmates were preparing for a dance class. Some of the more enthusiastic individuals had already left. Emily had contemplated attending the lesson for a while, but dancing didn't hold any appeal for her, and she had no intentions of going to the upcoming dance. No one had invited her, and the dance wasn't her idea of a social event. Not to mention the fact that she didn't have a dress for the occasion. She could write to her dad for one, but he would either send her something dreadful, or she'd have to endure an interrogation about her intended dance partner, most likely both. Additionally, winter had always been a rather somber time for her. Christmas was approaching, an occasion she hadn't celebrated since her mother's passing. Without it, she was left with the unwelcome cold, prolonged darkness, and a somewhat melancholic mood.

Curling up in the chair with a book, therefore, sounded like the perfect plan. The only thing missing to make it perfect was a good cup of tea or hot chocolate. She also hoped that none of her friends would try to persuade her otherwise. In hindsight, she should have probably hidden in the library and come here after the class had begun. But it was too late to move, or rather, she didn't feel like moving. So, she buried her face in her book and hoped no one would take notice of her.

[Nathaniel Wright]

Nathaniel was making his way through the common room, looking for his siblings who were trying to escape the dance practice, when he spotted Emily in the chair, "Come on then, Collins," he said, snapping his fingers, "Going to the ball or not, a dance lesson is useful for future purposes," he told her as he walked over to her, "No need to be hiding in here."

He knew that half of this event was going to be about appearances. And he knew their appearances were important being on the quidditch team. He hated that fact, but he knew it was a thing, it had been a thing in the years before as well. When he reached her, he tapped his foot against the leg of the chair, making it clear he wasn't going to take no for an answer, he was just giving her a chance to find a bookmark.

[Colette Descoteaux]

Colette had not intended to go to the dance class, indeed she already knew how to dance. Admittedly, the styles she was familiar with were probably not commonly practice at Hogwarts. But such was the fate of ballroom dances. Despite this, she happened to be curious as to what exactly the lesson would be about, besides dance. Certain ones, which she did not know might be fun to learn, assuming of course they were to be the subject matter for the lesson. Although, her enjoyment of it may be somewhat lessened if she already knew it, but the instructor might find it useful having someone who could dance among the number of students. Hopefully, Colette would not be the only one as the last thing she fancied doing was showing off.

Colette had been lost amongst her own thoughts, as she sat on a comfortable armchair, her legs tucked up underneath her as she stared serenely at something which only she could see. Hardly an unusual circumstance for her, Colette tended to tune out at the best of times unless a topic or event interested her.

The snapping of fingers brought her focus flooding back, she gave a small start and blinked slowly, as she gazed about her with deep brown eyes clearly wondering how long she had been zoned out for. Colette recognized two of the students, both being a part of the Quidditch team. She suspected if they knew that she had once been a chaser in Beauxbaton, then they would try to make her a part of the team too. Unfortunately, Colette firmly and fervently believed in the omen that if she flew again she would meet her demise, she utterly refused to take flight ever.

"Oui, he is right." Colette chimed in having listened to him trying to convince the girl to come to the dance lesson. "Dance is among the great heights of sophistication, of passion, of love. It is about freedom and personal expression." She beamed happily at them both. "There is the various different kinds of Waltz or I quite enjoy the Pizzica Dance from Italy."

[Emily Collins]

The moment she spotted Nathaniel, she attempted to conceal herself better behind her book and refrained from so much as batting an eyelash or making a sound, lest she attract unnecessary attention to herself. When her efforts proved futile, she let out an exasperated sigh, stopped hiding behind the book, and directed her gaze towards him. "It's good to see you too, Wright," she uttered with a touch of sarcasm, offering a wry smirk. "Assuming, I have no intention of attending the dance, could you kindly enlighten me on precisely how a dance class could be of any use?" She raised an inquisitive eyebrow. Maybe there was some reason she didn't know of, but she required a more thorough explanation. Just saying something should be done was never enough for her. "I'm not in hiding. I'm reading and doing my homework," she corrected him and pointed at the book and the parchments lying next to her.

At that very moment, Colette joined the conversation. I really should have waited in the library instead. She sighed inwardly but remained determined not to give in easily. "If it's about freedom, shouldn't one have the freedom not to dance?" she mused aloud. She had her own thoughts on the subject of sophistication, passion, and love, but she saw no need to voice them. After all, attitudes towards dancing were highly personal, and it wouldn't be right to be unpleasant or derisive just because her own perspective was different. "Well, I hope you both enjoy the lesson," she said with a polite smile, settling even more comfortably into her chair. Her body language clearly conveyed to Nathaniel that she had no intention of moving from her current spot.

[Nathaniel Wright]

Nathaniel looked over towards Colette as he heard her pipe in, nodding in agreement to her observation before looking back at Emily, "You can have the freedom not to dance, but if you've any desire to make yourself seem impressive to people outside of these walls, being able to not be a wallflower at your choosing would do more for you than book smarts alone," He said, "You can only impress the dull-minded so much with facts before you have to dangle something interesting and shiny in front of them, in this case, dancing like you know what you're doing and not like a child who can't find the rhythm much less the groove," he said, crossing his arms.

"Plus, I'm sure most of the other quidditch players are going to be going to their dance lessons, do we really want Ravenclaw the ones getting shown up for a lack of class?" he raised a brow. He was more or less warning her she had a few more moments to make the choice herself before some force might be involved. It wouldn't be the first time he carried someone to where they needed to be.

[Colette Descoteaux]

"Surprise invite to the Ball by a handsome Prince or Count?" Colette suggested, though despite the airy nature of her tone her eyes sparkled with mirth at her own little joke. Though from the sound of things so far, it appeared certain to her that the other woman had no desire to or interest in dancing. A fact which confused her for Colette loved to dance, among singing and generally acting in a manner which others considered weird or quirky. If she did not wish to go because the girl wanted to do her homework instead, then that was either a valid reason not to go or a valid reason to not have to attend.

She smirked at that, looking thoughtful as she considered it. "Oui I suppose so though it does mean closing off one's self to an aspect of life, of passion, of love. Just as literature is food for the brain, then music, dancing and song are food for the soul."

Colette eyes flashed excitedly at the mention of Quidditch. "Oh yes we cannot be having that. It would be a most... Er unfortunate?" She appeared to consider the word before confirming, to herself at the very least it was the correct one. "Oui unfortunate state of affairs no? But how is the team doing? Last I heard you still needed more members. I would offer to play as I was a Chaser at Beauxbaton..." She shrugged her shoulders in apparent resigned defeat, she had never flown since the vision of her own end. "But enough of that, you could go to support the team? You might even have fun? And if you do not then you can say I told you so at the end?" She beamed at them both as if this was the perfect solution to the whole issue of dancing.

[Emily Collins]

"Now that would be definitely a surprise," Emily let out an amused laugh. Handsome Prince or Count inviting her to a ball. She couldn't imagine a world where something like that would happen. "I'm afraid that would be realistic only in a dream." She smiled before narrowing her eyebrows in a frown. "Not that I'm dreaming about any of that." She just had a feeling she needed to clear that out. She definitely wasn't one of the girls that would dream about similar things. She sighed.

She heard a very similar speech from her father several times. He would use a bit more crude language and usually wouldn't forget to tease her about the one time she accidentally kicked a ballet teacher in the face after her grandma forced her to go to that lesson. Nonetheless, the message was the same. She always hated it and considered it unfair that being talkative and social was very often more important than being smart and hard-working. She was thinking really hard about how to get out of it, but Nathan somehow knew which strings to pull. Her future career was important to her and her main worry was impressing the dull-minded as Nathan called it. "I can be social when I need and want to, just prefer not to." That was a fact, she was not shy, though she could be a bit socially awkward from time to time. But when she needed to voice her opinion she could do that with ease. "Well, I still believe and hope there are better ways to impress them than with dancing, as that is something very situational." Not the best counter-argument, but she couldn't figure out anything else. For a second she was thinking about telling him that the real reason she doesn't want to go is female problems and that she doesn't feel well. But she didn't really want to lie, though she would love to see his face at that moment.

"I understand, I just think there are other ways to express yourself and provide food for the soul. In my case, karate and meditation do the trick." She explained. In some sense practicing a kata wasn't too far from dancing. It was choreographed, and all the moves needed to be precise and perfectly timed, so the kata would be smooth.

"You are not going to drop it, are you?" She looked at him a bit weary under the amount of arguments coming at her. None of it would stand on its own but it was tough to withstand both of them. She really believed dancing could be avoided and since it's a voluntary class no one will care whether the quidditch players are present. Nevertheless, she placed the book she was holding the whole time on the table next to her. "Quite ok. Though it's true we are still looking for a chaser and for a beater. We could definitely use your services then. What do you think, Wright?" Talking about quidditch she sounded way more at ease than before. And she was hoping they would maybe forget about the whole dancing thing. Though she knew it was just wishful thinking as Colette's words almost instantly prove. "If I had a guarantee no one would make me dance, I would take you up on that offer." Sitting in the corner and watching others dancing or attempting to do so definitely sounded like fun.

[Nathaniel Wright]

Nathaniel had snorted a little at the comment about the surprise invite, crossing his arms as he listened to Emily's response. He raised a brow at her attempt at a counter-argument to him and debated for a second whether he should just pick her up and carry her. When she gave him the weary look, he gave a tight smile to say that no, he was not going to drop it. He stepped back as she started to get up from the couch, "I wouldn't mind helping to recruit more so we can actually put those loud-mouth teams in their places," he mused.

"C'mon," he said, putting a hand on her back, though up between her shoulder blades to be respectful, and gave her a little push towards the door to the common room, "And I assume since you were doing all that smooth-talking yourself that you're coming as well?" he said, raising a brow and looking over at Colette, "You can help me make sure she doesn't slip out when I turn my back."

[Colette Descoteaux]

"I shall let you know if I see one in my dreams." Colette promised airily, though wondering if she did see something of the sort, would such information ruin the chances for Emily? Would doing nothing also lead to the same result? Something to ponder on and ask her professor later. "I do. I dream about many things." She responded on, mistaking Emily's attempt to clear it up as a question to communicate what she in turn dreamed about.

"I'm not one for flight ever since I had a vision of falling to my end off of a broomstick, I've been talking it over with the Professors as it might have a different meaning to the one I have taken from it." Colette explained, trying to back out of having to turn up at the Quidditch Pitch.

"I already know how to dance." Colette informed them, sounding oddly pleased despite her unfocused gaze, staring off into the distance. "But it might be fun to see the others learning." She said, slowly standing and stretching out the stiffness from her back as she did so. "Do you not know how to dance? I am familiar with the nineteen different styles of Ballroom dances." She smiled at this revelations as if this was a normal thing to bring up.