Some Fresh Air (Brooke)

Tess was always self-conscious in every aspect of her life except classes. There was where she shined, excelled and asked for a challenge only to try her hardest. But at this moment, the weight of school work, the idea of failure had all disappeared and for once she felt like...a girl. Being raised as a replacement, oftentimes created this inferior complex, always made her question every action. Now she felt pretty, and from the looks and compliments she felt that she was coming on her own.

She had helped create this beautiful ball. She was being noticed, not him and she had never felt calmer. Dancing around, no worries about dates, despite going stag, not worrying if she should eat, since no one that saw could judge her. She was enjoying herself and was happy. Never did she think she would get new friends, yes she called them friends and that was a rare thing to say.

All the exhaustion of twirling, dancing, moving around made her want to get fresh air. She squeezed herself past many people, trying to reach the balcony and get a good look of the gardens. Salem definitely had a lot to offer, and at the moment she wanted air. Immediately the breeze came towards her and she shivered in glee. Everything was quiet, and the lights glittered so wonderfully making her relax and let herself calm down. Closing her eyes for a moment she wondered how different it would have been if he had been by her side and if he had taken her for a spin in the main ballroom. She smiled softly and lowered her head. It was only in her dreams.

So far, the night had been amazing. From the very moment she had stepped out of the fireplace and into Salem, a school she had heard of, but she never imagined it would look like this! Of course, the place had been purposely decorated to look even more extravagant, and her eyes couldn't help but wander, taking in the different sights.

The night was still young, but she was already getting tired, for dancing had never been something she particularly enjoyed, mainly because she had never been to an event with a date. Usually she just sat at a table, chatting with different people and watching couples spin and twirl in their dresses and suits, and actually being one of these couples was different, but amazing.

Quietly, hoping that no one would notice, she made her way to the garden balcony, needing some time away from the noise inside. She knew that no one would miss her, for she wasn't going to take too long; most of her friends were inside, and her stomach was telling her that it would soon require refueling.

Halfway there, she paused, bending down and slipping off her shoes. Only Merlin knew why she had agreed when her mum asked her if she wanted to get a pair of heels. These damned things were absolutely killing her! As her bare feet continued down the path to the balcony, she sighed in relief, the heels held in her hand.

Stepping out into the cool night air, she took a deep breath and grinned as the wind played with the ends of her hair. Someone else was standing there, and Brooke recognized her as an older Slytherin.
Moving over to her, she leaned against the railing, looking out at the view.

"Hey," she said softly, not wanting to scare the girl, who seemed to be deep in thought. "Nice and quiet out here, don't you think?"

Her eyes were closed as she let the breeze hit her face. The twinkling of the lights made it seem so enchanting and leaned against the railing and sighed. Tess was glad that her hair was down, she had curled it softly so it had some kind of touch that was different. Her mother had been angry at how subtle her look was; Mrs. Holmes wanted something loud, something that screamed power, she wanted gems, and classic elegance. Instead she had compromised with her mother (who felt like she had completely lost) and chose white, not green. She chose small gold accents, not all gold pieces. and wore heels to please her mother. Her hair wasn't up but down, and as the wind blew her hair back, she was glad she did.

She would never be the social butterfly that she wanted to be. And she had come to accept that even though there were some exceptions, like this very moment. Mari and Mary. She chuckled lightly. They were kind and she felt that while she would always love Hogwarts, her parents had maybe made the wrong choice in schools. Maybe it was the fact that she missed talking to people without getting a grunt or a nudge, and got smiles in return. Maybe she was crazy.

"Hey," she said softly, not wanting to scare the girl, who seemed to be deep in thought. "Nice and quiet out here, don't you think?"

Tess immediately turned to look to see who had popped out of nowhere it seemed. She remembered the girl during the Prefect meetings they held: Walters. She didn't know much about the Gyffindor, other than she was a fifth year, and that she was bad at potions. She hadn't even noticed her until she'd talk to Ben and caused a scene. And even when they had the Herbology/DADA grouping she had gone with Ben. She would have thought something romantic, had Astrid not made a comment about the tension he carried with the younger girl.

"Walters...Brooke right?" she said finally remembering her first name. "It is nice out, I wanted some fresh air" she replied softly. "How's the ball for you? Having a good time?"

As the Slytherin turned towards her, Brooke was finally able to place her. It was during the DADA and Herbology combined class that they had met, but it was not a very good memory, what with the awkwardness between Joe and herself.

"Walters...Brooke right?"

She nodded. "Tess, wasn't it?" she guessed, not very sure. "Same here," she added in reply to the older girl's second statement.

The questions, although simple, made Brooke pause for a moment. In all honesty she was enjoying herself, even more so because of the person she was with. Finally being able to say that she was dating Joe Astrid was something she never quite got over. Quickly bringing her mind back to the present conversation, she smiled and nodded again. "I am! It's absolutely amazing! It's so nice to be able to meet students from other schools. What about you? Did you come with anyone?"

Tess made a noise of agreement as the girl guessed her name. It was interesting how despite the constant prefect meeting she lead her name wasn't too memorable. She shrugged it off, knowing that she wasn't the most social creature in the world. She preferred books, swimming, being on her own to cope with being alone. Alone had such a bad connotation sometimes but for her, it was an escape.

The girl before her seemed so very....gryffindor. She seemed perky, happy and had that cheery disposition that she never understood how people had. It was by no means unappealing, certainly more appealing than that grey cloud she had over her own.

I am! It's absolutely amazing! It's so nice to be able to meet students from other schools. What about you? Did you come with anyone?"

Tess chuckled at the girl's enthusiasm, definitely had the gryffindor aura from it. She was glad that people were enjoying themselves, especially from her school, it meant that she had done her job.

"I'm glad you are, you brought Astrid right?" it was so obvious from the way they acted in the class that they had something awkward happening that caused tension. Joe had apologized for it, bringing it forward for Tess to study it. Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs confused her more than anything. "No, I didn't bring a date, it didn't even cross the line with all the planning"

That was a lie. She wanted a date, she wanted one person to take her hand at the end of the stairs, call her pretty and dance a few slow dances with. She wanted one specific person, that was probably in bed now getting better. She would never push him into something like this, especially since they weren't anything. Nothing. That's what she kept telling to herself. Honestly this was supposed to help her forget, now she kept thinking about how if life was easier everything would work out better.

"Salem isn't so different from Hogwarts is it?" she asked.

"I'm glad you are, you brought Astrid right?"

A small laugh escaped from her, and she blushed slightly. Thinking back to the first time she had properly met Tess - in the combined class - she wondered what the older girl thought. The relationship between Joe and herself had not been good at that point of time, and their behaviour towards each other had been, for lack of a better word, cold.

For her to now be able to say that yes, she had come with him was beyond her wildest dreams, but she also knew that it might cause confusion for those who had witnessed their tense dispositions back when things were rocky. There was no way she would be able to explain what happened to someone she had just met, and even then, she had not been asked to. So instead, she smiled and jokingly said, "Well, I'd say he brought me, but yes, I came with him."

"No, I didn't bring a date, it didn't even cross the line with all the planning"

There was something about the way Tess had answered that told Brooke that the Slytherin was thinking way more than what she was sharing, but she shrugged it off. Some people, she knew, were not very comfortable about being too open. Although she herself was not one of those people - instead believing that transparency was a good thing - she respected their choices. "You did a really awesome job at that, too!" she supplied, motioning back towards the hall which she had come from. "I doubt I'll ever be able to forget this ball."

"Salem isn't so different from Hogwarts is it?"

"Currently it seems more beautiful to me," she said in a serious tone, but her eyes sparkled and she grinned. "No, you're right. I don't know why I thought it would be completely opposite." She chuckled to herself. "But I still prefer Hogwarts. How about you?"

The blush was enough for Tess to see that she had been right. People were very transparent when it came to romance. The soft smiles, the blushes, the longing looks at one another. And those were just the subtle ones. The more obvious were the part where they clung to one another, or couldn't bother to separate from one another for a minute. That always disgusted her.

"Well, I'd say he brought me, but yes, I came with him."

Tess chuckled at her joke.

"Yes I suppose how that's supposed to be isn't it?" she said smirking, "In all seriousness, I'm glad you look...right together"

And they did. Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors did end up together didn't they? It was a trending coupling that made her curious as to why. Maybe the shyer demeanor of a Hufflepuff to a more extroverted gryffindor was it. She wasn't going to over think it.

You did a really awesome job at that, too!" she supplied, motioning back towards the hall which she had come from. "I doubt I'll ever be able to forget this ball."

Tess let out a soft, but genuine smile. That was something she couldn't help but be relieved about. Mary, the professors, everyone had worked so hard for it to look nice, and it did. She wanted it to be memorable she supposed. A good memory before....she shook her head. She hoped it wouldn't happen.

"I'm glad you like it, it was definitely worth taking exams early" she replied.

As Brooke spoke about how Salem looked all the more beautiful she chuckled softly. The way Brooke's eyes glittered it was so similar to the way Rhian's eyes would shine when she was trying to tease her. She understood that expression and shook her head at the question.

"There's no place like home right? Isn't that how the muggle saying goes?" she had heard it from an old friend of hers in her house. "To me Hogwarts is so much more than a castle, it's a haven. Teaches you more than just classes, but life."

Without Hogwarts, she wouldn't have gotten a taste of what life could be, if she ever had the opportunity to happiness. Even with her brother leading the school, people knew her for her accomplishments not so much her breeding.

"Are you happy that summer is coming? Getting away from it all just...relaxing? Or sad Astrid might be so far away" She asked amused.