[Alice's Flat] Shall we dance?[Alice]

The night was finally here. It wasn’t an especially important night, but it was a fairly big one, it was the night of the Ministry Ball. Normally Maddox Stanton went because he was required by his father, and it was considered a ‘family’ event. Usually he went without a date, and just enjoyed the social atmosphere and chatted up any pretty women he came across, always keeping his options open, it was the usual routine that he had had since he’d been old enough to care about girls or women. The fact that that would be different this year didn’t phase the Obliviator any though. He was looking forward to escorting his girlfriend of eight months, Alice Acelyn, to the ball this year. She had never been to one of these functions before, and Max was aiming to make it enjoyable for her, well at least as much as that was possible. Functions like these were generally made a little easier if/when attending you were able to point out who was who and make your rounds. But that wasn’t to say that they couldn’t do some of that together, particularly because that was something that he was expected to do, date or not.

It would be an enjoyable night, no matter what they had to do, or could do, with or without the expectations of others. Glancing at his watch, Max pulled on his jacket and grabbed his wand, tucking it neatly into his pocket before closing his eyes and apparating to the front door of Alice’s flat. They would be fashionably late, something he had picked up after years of attending the numerous functions like this one with his parents. The wizard quickly ran a hand through his hair, making sure it was presentable enough for his tastes before knocking on the door to her flat. While he waited he absently wondered if he should have surprised her with flowers, or something similar, but he had admittedly not thought of that with the ball on his mind. It really wasn’t a problem, he could make up for it later, easily. He could hear her shoes clicking their way down the front hall towards the door, and he wondered what she had chosen to wear tonight, although he knew whatever that was, it would be perfect for Alice and the ball.

Tucking his hands into his pockets he stood patiently while she opened the door, greeting her with a silly bow and “ Your chariot awaits m’lady” Okay, so he didn’t have a chariot, but they were wizards, they could apparate, that was enough, wasn’t it? He laughed at his own silliness and waited to see if the witch wanted him to come inside, or if she was ready to go, either way they had plenty of time before they had to be here or there, and Max wasn’t going to rush anything tonight, not for Alice. 

Keep it simple stupid. That's what Alice had in mind for this evening when she glanced at herself in the mirror. She'd never been to a ball before that was outside of Hogwarts, the November ball was something that she was glad to have not attended due to circumstances. From working that day and then studying for a big exam that was coming up, she couldn't afford to attend. Not when she was paying for schooling all on her own with only minimum help from her father. It felt so much like a waste of money to her.

She briefly wondered what her mother would think of the dress. She always went dress shopping with her. A little frown took over her face, then a smile appeared in the mirror. Alice brought herself to the realization that maybe her mother would like it. It wasn't cheap, that's what she knew. Alice saved up money for a dress for this event, given fair warning ahead of time since she was asked to go when Max heard the news. It made the witch a lot more excited about the evening because she took a lot of effort and patience into it before the day even came. She wasn't sure if it was in season, or in style. Purple was a nice color, one of her favorites, so she gravitated towards it. The witch wasn't sure if there was color coordination things or not when it came to stuff like this.

Alice kept her hair down, finding a fancy updo of some kind either difficult to do herself or she'd knew it'd fall halfway through the event. Even if Maddie tried to help her with it, she was afraid it just wouldn't stay and she'd have a disaster to deal with in the middle of the night. Simplistic but elegant, she did get it cut the day before just so every hair fell perfectly into place. The same went for her shoes that she may have worn to a few different events, but no matter at all. They looked new, she took care of them, and it wasn't like anyone would notice. She believed half or even most of them didn't know her. It was some fancy-dancy ball that had to be expensive in price, not only in ticket but in everything else. Lexi signed himself up to be a waiter just to attend after all. Oh her little brother will soon be a sixth year! She remembered when he was napping in his crib. Everything felt fast.

A knock on the door grabbed her attention and the young woman blinked up at the clock before letting out a grumble and whine. He just had to be here now. She wasn't really even ready yet. Rushing with little bare footed steps down the hall and down the flight of stairs into her small foyer she opened the door with a less than pleased look on her face. He was so sweet and gentlemanly. Witty and funny. Alice just had to be the buzz kill and ruin it all didn't she? "I'm not ready," she whined with a small childish bounce, though all she really needed was her shoes on, maybe it was nerves that lead her to believe she was hardly ready at all for the ball. There was ready and mentally ready. Considering the last ball that was held that she was aware of had a considerable amount of people get sick and some even died. There was a bit of anxiety associated with it. Would it be like a curse of some kind? That every ball would have something crazy and depressing happen? She'd like to think not, but it was uncharted territory, and she could only guess.

"Come in come in," she grabbed hold of his arm with a light tug, ushering him inside. "I um, I didn't know when you were going to come," she lost track of time, that's what it was. Even if he was early, on time, late - it was still early. Maybe this was indeed a female thing. She rarely found herself disliking time's pace. "So if you don't mind, make yourself at home, you can make yourself tea or anything you'd like. You know where it's all at," she shut the door before springing up the stairs. Sure anxious and nervous was written all over her expressions, but she did her best to cover it up with what ammo she had. "You look really nice today," she smiled before rushing to her room.

Shoes. Where were those shoes? Accioing them was pointless to her. Sure it would of made it more easier but she was positive she'd get the wrong one's in the process. Such a simple spell, so easy to screw up on because it was simple. With complex healing spells buzzing around in her mind, it was often the simplest of spells she had difficulty with, sometimes just using it too often didn't help either. The witch was growing more and more frustrated with herself. Did her bed eat them? It'd eat her socks sometimes. She looked under it briefly before it clicked in her mind. "Heh heh," she tutted, shuffling out to the hallway to pick them up. "Found them." Crisis adverted. Misplaced them. Phew. All was right in the world and it wasn't the end. She looked at Max for a second before staring at the floor. "Silly me. They were right here," she paused before continuing, "still want the tea?" Then they could go.