Snowy Laughter

Carlie was excited for the winter dance. She was too young to go to any dances when she was at her first school. And she wasn't really into dressing up at the time. But now, she was aware of the ways to dress formally and stay within the realms of her style.

So she chose a floor-length, spaghetti-strapped, black and white dress. The cloth itself was white, but there was black netting over the top of it that was a unique mix of flower shapes and spider shapes. It was too elaborate and probably too expensive to wear to a school dance, but it didn't matter to her. She was excited to wear it. Carlie even let her roommate put her hair up in a bun, instead of wearing it down like a normal day.

But Carlie quickly realized that she'd much rather sit on the side of the Grand Hall than actually participate in the dancing. She smiled at the group of brave souls on the dance floor. They looked like they were having fun.

"This is nice," she said. "Kind of a joke, but still nice. Are you excited for holiday break?"

Andrea knew of the Valentine Ball held for the sixth and seventh years from last year, the unwanted information passed onto her by another first year.  Dances didn't hold any interest for her so what the oldest students got to do didn't bother her one bit.  Thus it was a bit of a shock to learn that this year there was to be another dance, this one at Christmas time, which included all years.  

Even worse was the fact her aunt had been informed and thus made sure to take Andrea shopping in Zurich for something suitable for a twelve year old to wear.  She had sort of hoped to get out of it by feigning overdue homework to her fellow Cerisiers, something which in her case would be perfectly plausible.  She didn't want to go but knew Aunt Lisa, muggle though she was and far away from this school, had an uncanny way of finding out if Andrea did what she was supposed to do.

The second year thus stood somewhere near the dancefloor, pulling at her long lacy black dress and trying not to tap her shiny black low heeled shod foot in time with the music.  Her hair was loose around her face, her one rebellion against her aunt's instructions.  "This stupid thing is itchy," she grumbled to herself as she pulled at the skirt of the dress yet another time.  

"A joke?" she asked and looked up at her fellow Quidditch announcer. "Sorry. I fail to see the punchline.  Why are they letting in first and second years? I could have been up in the commonroom coming up with excuses for why my transfiguration essay wasn't finished."  The question though was something far more interesting than the dance.  She smiled and nodded. "The holidays are always great."

"Oh! Hi Andrea!" Carlie said. "Maybe that's just a thing we say in the United States. It's not an actual joke. Just so bad that it's sort of funny," she explained. "Your dress is beautiful, by the way!"

"I'm not sure. Maybe they wanted the younger students to have a dance, too. At my old school, we didn't have dances until third year. And I left before my third year there. So I'm really excited to be here. Though I've realized that I'm a bad dancer," Carlie said with a short laugh. "Try 'my rat ripped it up.'"

"Aren't they? Are you returning home? Where are you from again?" Carlie asked, realizing she didn't know hardly anything about the girl.

"Oh right," Andrea replied. That might have explained why she'd never heard of it before. She didn't know any of the Americans who went to her old school. Most of the students with English as their first language were English. "I suppose it does look kind of weird," she agreed. Thought that might have had something to do with the age range from eleven to seventeen or eighteen. She looked down at the dress and shook the skirt. "I suppose it is but I wanted this pretty blue dress I saw. Aunt Lisa said it was too short for a formal dance." And her aunt was all about what was suitable and what wasn't for the occasion.

Andrea shrugged. "Years were different at my old school because it goes all the way from Kinder to their age." She pointed to a couple of seventh years with her uncertainty of how to describe the final years of the International school to Carlie. It was different to Beauxbatons. She shook her head at the suggestion. "I don't have a pet. I guess I could say someone else's rat ripped it up." It would have been an interesting excuse. Nothing she tried last year had worked and she didn't have Aunt Lisa or Dominick here to make sure she didn't have to come up with an excuse.

She nodded eagerly. "I wouldn't miss out on going home for anything. I mean Aunt Lisa may question me on how I did this term and lecture me but I get to see my cousin and Uncle Erik's good when he isn't grumbling about how much children cost." Though in her own case she was pretty sure her expenses were covered by her trust fund. "I'm from Zurich in Switzerland. Do you live in America?"

"Hmm... maybe there will be another thingy you can wear a dress like that to. Maybe they'd do some sort of Quidditch Cup Dance or something in the springtime. I would participate in one of those," Carlie suggested. She thought about maybe pitching that idea and seeing it through. How hard was it to plan an entire dance? "But maybe it would run too close to the Valentines Day Dance. You could definitely wear it to that. You have some time, though. What, four years minimum?"

"Huh. I've never heard of that. We have Kindergarten for five-year-olds, then first grade, all the way to twelfth grade. But it's three different schools. Well, Muggle school, anyway. My old school's grades were like Beauxbatons. But that is really all that is the same," Carlie explained. 'Seventeenth year' or 'Year seventeen' sounder odd to her. "Maybe a roommate? Or you were in the Student Common Room? Normally, I wouldn't help you lie, but I don't want you to get a poor grade all because you were at a dance in a dress you barely like."

"The grumbling just about sums up my dad," Carlie joked. He never liked anything that the fifteen-year-old did. "Cool! I actually don't know that much about Switzerland, but I'm sure it's cool. I do live in America. In Texas. It's basically corn and flat land. No snow, but it gets pretty cold. I've never actually had a white Christmas."

Andrea made a face at the idea of having to wear it again. "I hope not. Aunt Lisa can donate it to charity or something." She shook her head. "I'm only thirteen now. By the time I'm a sixth year it'll be too small." Besides she was debating whether or not she'd want to go to something so sappy sounded as a 'Valentine Ball.'

"Oh. That sounds less complicated. My school was a little different. International school. Private. The top form were called Sixth form. And you have to learn to speak four languages from Kinder. German, English, French and Italian. If I stayed there I would have had to choose another language to learn as well in fifth form." She grimaced. "I hated that school." Though it wasn't for the language part of it but for reasons she did not wish to divulge.

She shook her head. "I couldn't let Stephanie get the blame. Far better to use some unknown pet." One which didn't exist was much fairer. Either that or one of an enemy, something which she hadn't managed to make at this school. She sighed. "I think Professor Walker wouldn't believe me anyway." No. She was going to have to admit the truth. At least here she would be believed.

"It's the best place," Andrea replied. "I love Lucerne better than Zurich but we get to visit my grandparents there so I can live with that." Her eyes widened. "No white Christmas? That's...that's...wow. I couldn't imagine that. It'd be like coming from somewhere like ... Australia only without summer." She would hate to live anywhere that didn't get snow at Christmas. It sounded all wrong.