( * ░ &&. –– made in the am.

[lindsaypierce]

“I think you may have dropped this.”

[benniecam]

            Her eyes followed the other’s hand, brow raised just before she removed her hand to reveal the small object. Immediately her own flew to her collarbone, gasping. ❝ ─ how the bloody hell .... ❞ Shaking her head, Bennie fingered the clasp on the necklace, pulling her bottom lip through her teeth in frustration. It appeared broken. She took her wand and quickly corrected the damage, glancing at the other. ❝ Thanks, I’d lose my head if it weren’t attached to my body, ❞ she sighed, turning slightly. ❝ Do you mind? ❞

[zarahaisley-blog]

“I just got an owl that our grandmother will be staying with us over Christmas break. The first thing she will say to me is ‘Zara, darling, why haven’t you brought a boy home?’”

[benniecam]

                ❝ Ask her how she feels about younger men, ❞ Bennie joked, referring to the other’s misfortune at the ball. ❝ I don’t understand why their generation feels the need to push adolescent marriage on this one; ‘s mental how young some of these people are and they’re getting married fresh out of Hogwarts. No thanks.  ❞

[riley-caldwell]

“Some first year apparently thought it’d be a brilliant idea to try to hang mistletoe, except they had no idea what it looked like and ended up with poison ivy instead. My day has been made.”

[benniecam]

             ❝ From what I heard, it sounds like you don’t need mistletoe, anyway. ❞ 

[hqlumos-deactivated20191022]

“Oh, I feel like it’s been forever.”

[benniecam]

      Oomph! She’d been having a chat with one of the girls when he spun her around and crushed her to him. ❝ Can’t ─ breathe ─ ❞ She popped her head up, inhaling deeply. Her arms finally catch up to her brain and they wind around the taller boy. ❝ Oh, sweet boy, we just saw each other this morning. ❞ Who’s she kidding? Out-of-the-blue hugs are a gift and so is the adorable Hufflepuff. How can a man seventeen-years-old and seventy-billion feet taller than her make her feel like she has to protect him from the evils of the world? ─ Okay, longest hug ever record has officially been broken. ❝ Hulloooo? Did you fall asleep? ❞ Poke, poke, poke. 

[benniecam]

So I’m staying up late to do last-minute homework ... does anyone want to do some plots? Bennie is definitely in need of some connections :) 

[fmslater-deactivated20151214]

🐍 —- Derek reached into the inside pocket of his tux jacket, producing a handkerchief and presenting it to the other. ❝  pardon me — but you have something on the corner of your lip.  ❞

[benniecam]

          ── Oops. ❝ Is it icing? It’s probably icing. ❞ It is. She shook her head once his handkerchief caught her eye. It was just too lovely to waste on someone as frivolous as her, so she uses a napkin from a nearby table. ❝ Further proof that you can’t take me anywhere. Not that you brought me here; just that I should really consider eating cake in the safety of my natural habitat next time ── which is just another way of saying my bed. ❞ 

[remindsyouofinocence]

“It’s pretty intense writing about my own life, my own struggles.”

[benniecam]

E. FLINT

Evan was simply wandering around for the moment being but as he watched a girl fall in front of him, he stepped forward to offer Bennie his hand. “Are you alright?” He questioned, letting out a laugh at what she said next. “Well you’re in luck I don’t have a date so I don’t think she’d mind so there’s that. That was clever, I like it – I never would’ve thought of that I probably would’ve went for more of a ‘I saw you and you looked amazing, so I couldn’t help but fall for you tonight.’ But then again that’s just me.”

                   ❝ Oi, it was pretty good for on my feet ── or not-so-on-my-feet thinking, yeah? ❞ The young witch laughed, pulling her hand free from his after she realized he’d already helped her up. She kicked aside her useless shoes and noted the height difference right away with a bemused grin. ❝ Ah, so this is why I gamble the risk of breaking my neck. ❞

[benniecam]

Z. HAISLEY

              ❝ I wouldn’t say that I made their whole year — if anything it was a stupid bet. One of their little friends saying they couldn’t get a dance with a seventh year. ❞

         ❝ Then you’ve just made that first year the man; either way, good karma’s coming your way so relaaax and enjoy the fact that you’ve been a jolly, good fellow! ❞

[benniecam]

C. BAGNOLD

“My apologies.” Clara nodded her head in agreement about the warmer bit– very true, but she wasn’t truly paying attention to how cold it was outside. Besides, how cold it was inside her heart at the moment rivaled the frigid weather by far.  “I suppose I should be.” She chuckled faintly, a sad smile forming. “…Honestly, I do feel like I’m going numb.” The Slytherin reached her arm up, extending it towards the blonde. “How cold do I feel?”

        Bennie let out a short laugh, huddling her knees closer to her chest in an effort to conserve warmth. Damn her kind heart or she could be nice and toasty while dancing her arse off at the ball. She reached forward, pressing her small digits against the other’s freezing skin. ❝ If I didn’t know any better ─ I’d say you were one of those ice sculptures they have by the punch bowls, ❞ she teased, smiling ruefully. An idea struck her then; the pretty blonde removed a flask from her coat pocket and offered it to Clara. ❝ It’s no cozy fireplace, but it’s almost as good. ❞

[benniecam]

F. DELACOUR

Frederic hadn’t been paying the slightest bit of attention as he left the tent, scrubbing a hand over his now worn out looking face. After the run in with Lina and his sister and Antioch and Clara earlier, the night had pretty much been ruined. With people whispering and looking at him pointedly as he passed, muttering the words evil and supremacist loud enough for him to hear and some were just openly glaring. It was safe to say that the evening hadn’t gone as planned. Since he didn’t know any better, he’d thought he’d been the reason that the poor girl had ended up on the floor. “Merlin, I’m so sorry.” The French Gryffindor apologised quickly, bending over immediately to help the girl up and carefully help tidy her dress without ripping it. Completely missing a pun that would have usually made him laugh louder than anything. “Are you alright? Not hurt are you?”

              ❝ No, don’t do that! ❞ Bennie interjected immediately, straightening her glove over her elbow. ❝ That wasn’t your fault; it was gravity. And my hopeless optimism that I could rock these pumps. ❞ She grinned, showing him the broken heel with a pitiful shrug of her shoulders. Her hands radiated a dull pain and that didn’t even compare to the sting of her knees. All in all, however, the fellow Gryffindor would live to see another day. ❝ Nothing a little punch ── ❞  ( she uses air quotes with, stifling a knowing giggle ) ❝ couldn’t fix. I was actually about to grab some before ─ do you want a cup? Just a little thank you for ── well ── not laughing at my misery. ❞

[benniecam]

R. UNDERWOOD

“Yeah, but once they come off I’ll be short again, and I’m not ready for that.”

❝ Now, now ── being short has its perks, too! ❞

[benniecam]

A. DELACOUR

Aurora couldn’t help but let out melodic laugh at that, nodding in agreement. “Very true. That does make me feel a lot better about being on punch duty.” The French alumni replied before glancing at her companion. “Your dress is gorgeous, looks lovely with your eyes. Where did you get it?”

         Bennie returned the smile, glad she could make light of her situation. She poured herself a cup, nearly dropping it the moment the question was posed. She recovered quickly with a sip of the punch. ❝ I, uhm .... ❞ made it myself? It sounded so pathetic, so she snapped her fingers, feigning forgetfulness. ❝ Merlin, I just can’t remember that cute boutique in the village. The one that’s always busy ..... ❞

[benniecam]

D. MARKMAN

    ❝ I think if I even tried to dance the way you were it would kill me. ❞

                     ❝ What? Can’t keep up, pretty boy? ❞ Bennie joked, twirling for dramatic effect, her elegant dress following suit. ❝ Blimey, if you’re going to try that, make sure you steer clear of the punch before you do. ❞ She laughed, using his arm to keep her balance. 

[benniecam]

E. CHOI

     ❝ I do! ❞ She smiled brightly at the other. How could she not? The other girl had made a joke and didn’t take it too hard when she fell. ❝ Now that would be a spectacle! ❞ Eunji laughed as she tried to imagine how that could work. Hearing that Eunji gave an awkward smile as she shrugged her shoulders. ❝ I know I heard fighting but I wasn’t close enough to know exactly what was going on. ❞ She gave an apologetic glance. ❝ It might be better to stay out of fights now though. Would just make things worse.

                  Bennie smiled, her gaze sweeping across the room again. ❝ I hate thinking someone might be having the worst night of their life tonight. All of this is supposed to be enjoyed, you know? Some people can’t help but turn a perfectly fun evening into chaos, ❞ she sighed, shrugging her shoulders. ❝ Well, how’s your night going? Did you get to dance much, yet? ❞

[benniecam]

T. NORTON

Tristan put his wand away and allowed Bennie to lead him into the tent.  “Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

                                      Bennie led him towards the center, where most of the dancing occurred. ❝ You can’t be that bad! ❞ As if on cue, Love is a Battlefield blared throughout the tent and a brunette girl yelled something before toppling onto her arse, causing her to wince. ❝  ─ See? Your dancing couldn’t be any worse than that, right? ❞

[benniecam]

E. CHOI

 Hearing that Eunji smiled a bit as she nodded her head. ❝ I’ll be looking forward to it really. I think that you’ll make everyone less nervous and you seem to have the adorableness down. ❞ She said honestly as she was happy to see the other not too worried about what happened. ❝ No problem. I wouldn’t want to make a big deal about it. If I could’ve I would’ve fallen in style with you, but you were too busy sweeping me off my feet. And pride can always heal. I think I probably was the only one who saw it. ❞ She reassured the other.

               ❝ You think ‘m adorable? ❞ That’s new. Others would say ... weird? ❝ There’s always next year. You, me fireworks ─ plan on it! ❞ Bennie did a quick assessment of the room and the other was right; no one seemed to notice as they were too busy discussing other matters in excited tones. She got the sense she missed something and faced her companion again. ❝ Did something happen before I decided to literally drop by? ❞