The previous weekend had been a productive one. Carys had found her dress for the yule ball, the appropriate shoes, and now all she needed was a date. Initially, Carys had been indifferent. She'd had little interest in finding a dress. Romance was not something that was ever on her radar, and going alone was preferable. However, on second thought, Carys had realized going dateless to the Yule Ball could very well be social suicide.

So the previous evening, after returning from Hogsmeade, Carys had made a list of possible dates. The pureblood boys at school. Then she had crossed them out- one by one. This one for having a girlfriend or already having a date... That one for being too incompatible... So on, until her list was quite small. Carys decided to start from Most Desirable and work her way down (if she had to). At the top of Carys' list was Erin Harper.

Though Erin and herself had very little in common, and their personalities would more than likely clash, he had more pros than cons. Erin Harper was the Slytherin quidditch captain. He was a champion. And, most importantly, Erin Harper was a pureblood. If Carys  could manage going to the Yule Ball with him, it could only boost her standing among her Slytherin friends and further her reputation. Though she was still a Hogwarts student, Carys was smart enough to know that going with Erin would be an important societal move. Being at Hogwarts didn't make the circumstances of social life any less important. It was just practice for real life.

It was incredibly taboo for Carys to ask him to the ball. But playing with Slytherins was a tricky thing. She couldn't trick Erin into asking her, and if she didn't pounce soon one of the other Slytherin girls would snatch him up.

After Transfiguration, Carys waited on Erin to come out of the classroom. She planned to intercept before the study break. The Ravenclaw fell into step beside him after she finally spotted him. "Harper," she greeted with a slight smile. It was better to try a bit of small talk before launching into things, right? "How was your weekend? Have a good time at Hogsmeade?"

Erin trudged out of Transfig, mind focused only on the pitch. He had been busy with Quidditch things lately - amazing how time-consuming the captaincy could be, but it was a happy kind of busy, the sort of busy he liked. It was mostly his own fault. When he wasn't out on the pitch he was thinking about being out on the pitch, and when he was out on the pitch he was thinking about the team's next game. He used it as an excuse to spend even more time in the air than before, heedless of the biting cold. Up there, life was uncomplicated. Up there, nothing mattered but instinct and skill.

Down here, there were classes. His skills weren't quite so honed at those.

He was barely scraping by in Transfig, and frankly he didn't care. All he could think about these days was getting picked for a professional team, even right out of school like Knight. Classes were a necessity but he didn't have to be good at them for that. He hadn't even thought about the Yule Ball, though someone had told him he'd have to dance. Whatever. It was less important than the games.

"Harper. How was your weekend? Have a good time at Hogsmeade?"

Whitman had fallen into step with him and for a moment Erin was confused. He looked at her as if surprised to find himself with company (much less polite, female company), then shrugged and adjusted the strap of his schoolbag where it pinched his shoulder. "Fine, yeah," he said absently, glancing ahead. What did she want? Merlin knew it wasn't his notes, not unless she was interested in little doodles of snitches and stick figures. "Sorry, you?"

Carys didn't miss the surprised look he gave her. "It was a pleasant weekend," she responded when Erin asked aout her weekend... It was an obligatory question, she knew, but it was a perfect lead in for the entire purpose of her approaching him. Her confidence was already faltering, and she began to question the reasoning behind her decision to ask Erin Harper to be her date to the yule ball. She had a strange feeling. She worried it would blow up in her face.

"I spent it preparing for the Yule Ball," Carys told him. "Purchasing a dress, shoes- all of those things. I'm sure the details would bore you." The Ravenclaw had learned early on there were subjects you did not discuss with boys. She had also been taught you did not bore your dates with subjects they cared little about. The perfect woman should be seen and not heard, after all. Which was why this was so out of her comfort zone. "I've almost gotten everything I need to make the ball a perfect experience."

And there- that was her launching pad. "I do need one more thing," Carys said as they continued down the hall. "I haven't a date for the yule ball. I know it is incredibly inappropriate and forward of me- but I have not heard about you asking anyone yet. I was wondering if perhaps you would be willing to accompany me?" There. The question was out. And as soon as it was out, Carys regretted it. It felt awkward, and she could feel her face flushing a dark red. Her mother would kill her if she could see this conversation.

But if Erin said yes, all of this humiliation would be worth it. Though the girls might have snide comments about her asking him, there was always the simple fact he had not asked anyone yet. And if he told her yes, then Carys could dismiss the snide by stating the simple fact- He said yes. And if he said no, then... She would not go to the ball at all. She would be too mortified.

Erin's look of baffled incomprehension lasted only so long as it took for Carys got to her point. He'd never had much use for manners, so he just stared at her as she talked about shoes and dresses and how that would probably bore him but wasted breath on it anyways. Wrenched out of his thoughts and therefore off guard, he didn't consider the real reason she was talking to him until -

She asked.

Erin studied Carys for another moment, his expression softer - or at least more willing to humor her - than before. Her blush helped; when she did that, Whitman was pretty cute. Well, not that she wasn't always cute, he just hadn't noticed before. Erin honestly hadn't thought about a date for the ball. He had to have one for the Champion's dance, she had to have one for like, girl purposes, or something. Her shoe and dress and ball accessory.

Erin was a realistic bloke, and what's more, he was in Slytherin. Even if he wasn't the smartest or most cunning of the bunch, he understood necessity. This was an easy, understandable bargain. He was unlikely to get a better one, since now that he'd thought about it, most people'd probably already asked their dates, yeah? Whitman was fit and she wanted to go with him. So. There was that out of the way.

"Brilliant," he said, the corner of his lips tugging up in a small, crooked smile. "Yeah, I'll take you."

Carys breathed out a sigh of relief when he'd agreed to take her. "Do you suppose it would be alright to lead others to believe that you invited me?" Carys asked. "I'm sure it would do neither of our reputations justice if word got round that I had done the asking." It would damage hers more, but it could also make Erin seem desperate if he went with the first girl who went out of her way to ask.

But she did have her reputation to protect. And if she were a Slytherin girl, that request wouldn't seem a bit out of place. Carys was, for all intensive purposes, a Slytherin who had simply been misplaced into Ravenclaw. At least, that was the persona she tried to project to others. How successful that was varied from individual to individual.

"I doubt anybody would ask," she added. "But I would be very much indebted to you if you could do me that small favor." Carys didn't see why it would be a problem. She was an appropriate date for Erin to take. She was well groomed, pretty, of the appropriate bloodline, friends with most Slytherin girls, intelligent, and well respected in pureblood society.

Erin shrugged. "Sure." He himself had stopped caring what others thought of him about the time that he'd publicly dated a Hufflepuff boy, if not long, long before that. His reputation hadn't been good for very long. But girls could be sensitive about this sort of thing, and it was no skin off his back to do what Carys wanted. He was familiar with his female housemates, who would never want to show their hands.

"D'you want to match?" He ran a sheepish hand over his cropped hair. "What - what kind of flowers do you like?" Corsages were a thing, yeah? If Erin was going to do this, he might as well do it right. Now that he was paying her proper attention, Erin liked that Carys had asked him. He knew it was probably just for his position but any bloke would feel a little special about having the pretty Whitman want to go with him. Left to his own devices, Erin would've probably asked Georgie and they would've spent the whole time mocking everybody else. Though that would've been fun too, it wasn't anything like a proper date.

"I would like to match," Carys said with a slight smile. Good- it seemed that Erin Harper was going to take this seriously if he was asking her questions like that. "My dress is a champagne color- so golds and whites would likely look best with it. Appropriate colors for the holiday season, as well." Without having to deck herself out in green and red. Not that Carys particularly minded the color green- in reality, she quite liked it. Her strong desire to have been a Slytherin had a lot to do with that, however.

"As far as flowers are concerned, I prefer something simpler and more understated. Something white... Like a peony or a hellebore." Carys was particularly fond of peony flowers. She thought they were beautiful and elegant. And if she remembered correctly, white peony and hellebores were more associated with winter than other seasons. "Anything white in color would do, however," she added. White was a symbol of purity, after all, and Carys was nothing if not pure- in every way.

Carys smoothed out her skirt, and cast him a more judgmental glance. "You know how to dance, I presume?" she questioned. Most purebloods were taught that as children. Carys herself was quite the lovely dancer- if she managed to find a partner of appropriate height. She rather enjoyed the activity. And a grand ball always made her feel elegant and sophisticated.

Golds and whites. "All right." Erin didn't own anything so nice as that... well, he had some dress robes at home, maybe. He'd have to owl his mum. As much as he hated the way she nagged she was ace at shite like this, though she'd probably send him one with a collar that absolutely choked.

He committed her flowers to memory, or tried. He'd have to owl off for a corsage too. Good thing he still had a little time before the Ball.

"Sort of," he said, then quickly corrected himself under her judgmental stare. "I mean, yeah. It's just been a while." Erin had had lessons as a kid - lessons he'd tried to escape from whenever possible. The stiff boring movements and carefully timed steps were completely mind-numbing, and it wasn't like he'd needed to use the knowledge since. He didn't remember much at all, but he'd rather figure something out than tell Carys that now that he had an actual date. Someone in Slytherin had to know how. Maybe there were going to be dance lessons or something.

"As long as you do not step on my feet, I will be satisfied. That is more than many other boys your age will have to offer their dates." Carys smoothed her skirt again, and as they moved down the hallway she realized that the staircase she needed as coming up on the left soon.

"Well, I certainly look forward to the ball, then. Thank you for agreeing to be my date. I promise I will do my best to make it a painless for you as possible." Which was true. Carys did not have any particular feelings for Erin, the ball was more about being seen than having a good time. She would probably spend most of the time gossiping with her girlfriends and making fun of the other girls in attendance. She had no doubt many of them would have some... interesting fashion choices.

"I hope you have a good day, Erin. And if you have any other questions or need any kind of help in preparing for the Yule Ball, please let me know. I would be more than happy to offer my guidance." Especially considering the fact that if she did help him, then he would be less likely to embarrass her. With that, Carys split off from him and took the stairs up to the next floor.