Hearing the song change a bit more color touched her cheeks. She hadn't expected a slow dance yet. Too late to turn back now. She smiled and trembled just a bit when he put his hands on her waist. She reached up and put her hands gently on his shoulders and stepped a little closer to him.

"It... certainly looks that way. Not that I can really complain", Rayven said as she looked up into his eyes. She pulled her eyes from his and smiled. "A slow dance is sort of hard to muck up, don't you think?"

She listened to the music a moment, then started moving side to side with him. She was careful to listen to the song so she -didn't- accidentally muck it up. She was a bit nervous after all. Yes, she had danced with some of her friends that night, but they had not slow danced together. He was the first to ask her that night. Then again... he didn't really ask did he? The song happened to come on as they were about to dance to a regular song.

With so many thoughts flooding her mind, Rayven could only think of one thing to do. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. There was no reason at all for her to over analyse the situation. She needed to just relax and enjoy the moment. After another deep breath, she stepped closer and laid her head against his chest.

"Thank you, Walton."

Walton almost panicked when Rayven moved forward and then laid her head on his chest. He hadn't been expecting that. Not that he particularly minded. Rayven was really pretty. And she was nice. And different. He liked that she was different than a lot of the girls here. And she was a Hufflepuff. Walt knew that Puffs were usually good people by nature- it was one of the qualities of their house, it seemed.

He was glad that she couldn't see his face, though. He was flushed bright red and had awkward readjusted the hands on her waist- moving so that his arms were around her instead.

She smelled good. He hadn't expected that. For some reason he'd just always assumed that dreadlocks smelled... bad. They didn't look particularly clean. But he'd obvious been wrong. And then, she thanked him. That was... a weird reaction to a slow dance. Thank you? Walton wasn't quite sure what the appropriate response was to that. He had a feeling that in this particular scenario you're welcome wouldn't do.

He swayed with her to the music. "I'm not sure what you're thanking me for," he said quietly. "But whatever the reason, I'm sure it's not necessary."

Rayven kept her eyes closed as she continued to dance with him. After his response, she realized how inappropriate her comment was. She stayed silent for a few moments trying to figure out how to explain herself. She knew why she was thanking him, but she didn't know quite how to put it into words. Well, without sounding absolutely insane at least. She bit her lip as she searched for the words in her head and tried to figure out how to get those words to come to her mouth and be coherent.

"Thank you... for tonight. For standing outside in the cold with me just to talk. For letting me wear your jacket when you could tell I was getting cold. For opening the door for me. For getting me hot apple cider, which happens to be my favorite. For dancing with me. Just... thank you."

She trembled just a bit, feeling his arms around her and she very lightly nuzzled against his chest. She liked the feeling of being this close to him. Being in someone's arms was something different for her. Sure she hugged her friends and her family, but this was something else. She wasn't expecting this tonight. She thought she was just coming alone and would spend the night in the company of all her friends. She thought at the very most, someone would ask her to dance and go their way when the song ended. She had no idea she would be spending this much time with someone and it be someone she actually -liked-. She lightly gripped his shoulders and swallowed hard, hoping she didn't sound like a total nut case.

Walton smiled a little. She was thanking him for being a gentleman. He didn't need to be thanked for that, but he was glad she was appreciative. He liked the way she was gripping him. It was catching Walt a bit off guard. He'd been having so much fun goofing off and enjoying his time at Hogwarts that he hadn't thought much about girls. Sure, some were pretty- and he'd had a girlfriend or two in the past- but it had never been much more than that.

Not that he was falling for Rayven or anything. They didn't know each other that well. But he could tell that he did want to get to know her better. Maybe after they got back from Winter Break they could hang out at Hogsmeade or something. He was busy- with NEWTs and his new Head Boy duties. But it was good to do other stuff you liked... And he wasn't always first string for quidditch so it didn't matter.

"I'm just glad I could make your night a little better," Walton finally said after a few moments of awkward silence. And he was glad for that. "Besides, I'd be a pretty crappy dude if I let you stand outside and freeze while I had a jacket on. I was raised better than that. My mother would have my hide if she thought I wasn't being a gentleman." Considering her obsession with chivalry, knights, and Arthurian legends his mother had taught him a lot about the way you ought to treat a woman.

"Well  that certainly isn't a worry tonight. You've been a perfect gentleman since you stepped outside. I'm... glad you did. We haven't really had an opportunity to hang out or anything. I... hope we can again sometime though."

Rayven was having a wonderful time. She liked dancing. Most of the time when she was dancing she was alone. She loved to go out in the rain or snow and dance in it. She was always alone when she did it so this was welcoming. Sure they weren't outside in the snow, but they weren't exactly wearing the right clothes to snow dance. This was perfectly fine for her.

With her eyes closed, she started to relax a bit more. She was listening to the music and moving with him. She took another breath, enjoying the way he smelled, and sighed a happy sigh. She smiled as she felt herself getting lost in the moment. She was happy that the semester was ending like this. If her last days at school were enjoyable, it was going to make winter break that much better.

"I would like to at least."

Walt smiled. "Yeah, for sure. I'd like to hang out. If you live anywhere near London, maybe we could hang out over winter break?" he suggested. "My parents and me, we live in muggle London. If it's not too far, there's always the train," Walton added. Sometimes it was nice just to hang out and not worry about being a wizard. It was fun, Hogwarts. He wouldn't trade the experience for the world, but he really missed being a normal kid sometimes.

And he and enjoyed hanging out with Rayven tonight. He had always really liked Hufflepuffs. They made great company. There was something more genuine about the people in that house. When he'd been sorted, the sorting hat had considered putting him into Hufflepuff. But Gryffindor had won out, and he was glad for it these days. He fit in well with his house.

"If nothing else, maybe we can ride the train together tomorrow," Walt suggested. "I mean, I gotta patrol and stuff- part of being Head Boy, but I'll have time to hang out between rounds back and forth on the train." He hadn't made plans to hang out with anyone else the following day. After he got off at Kings Cross he was just going to muck about Diagon Alley and then head on home.

"The train ride sounds like fun. I haven't made plans to sit with anyone else yet or anything. As far as visiting goes, I would really love to but where I live is about four hours away. If I have a day at home that's rather uneventful, I could maybe make the trip though. I do love London."

Rayven and her family had made a few trips to London before. She loved the city and how bustling it was. She loved all the attractions there and was particularly fond of muggle London. Since she was raised as a muggle, things were comfortable there. They  had been to see the sights and to vacation a bit, but going to hang out with a friend would be a different experience. She would be able to see more than just the sights and would get to see the local scene. It sounded like a lot of fun, but she was also wary of going on a four hour trip to visit a guy. She didn't want to seem like she was crazy about him or anything. A thirty minute trip or so wouldn't seem that bad, but four hours? It still sounded like a lot of fun though.

When the song ended, she lightly gripped his shoulders again and slowly pulled away. She didn't really want the song to end, but it was probably best. She didn't want to get too lost in the moment or read too much into it. It was, after all, just a dance. She looked up at him and smiled, he hands still on his arms.

"That was fun. Thank you for dancing with me. Do... you want some more cider or something?"

Walton nodded. He understood. That was a long trip just to hang out for a couple of hours. He wasn't sure the train ride would be worth it for Rayven- just to putter about London without any sort of a plan in mind. He'd hate for her to waste the time and the money on such a trip when they didn't know each other as well. "If nothing else I can owl you," he said with half a grin. "If you don't mind, of course. I know some muggle parents get kind of weird about that kind of thing." The first time an owl had arrived at his home, both his mother and father had a fit about it... But that had more to do with the bird soiling on some priceless artifact than the arrival of the bird itself.

He felt the same pang of disappointment as the song ended. And he, like Rayven, decided to try not to read too far into it. "I should probably do a quick round to make sure everyone is behaving," he said with a slight frown. He'd rather have another dance, drink some cider, and have a good time. But as Head Boy he was expected to do certain things- like keep students out of trouble. Especially at an event like this one. There were too many important people here to have Hogwarts students running about acting like fools. And with the entire school in attendance- first years and up- it was more likely than he'd like to think.

"But save me another dance, yeah?" he asked. "And I'll come and find you after I get done with a couple of rounds- shouldn't take too long. Assuming everyone is behaving." Hopefully they would be. He'd rather enjoy the Yule Ball than go around having to police it.

Walton offered her another charming grin then lifted her hand, giving it a quick kiss. There was something to be said for gentlemanly behavior, and his mother had told him that girls like that kind of stuff. (Then again his mother was obsessed with romance and Arthurian legend...) "Have fun," he told her. "Get your boogie on and I'll be back in a little while. Promise." With that, Walton went in the opposite direction to do a quick round of the ball to make sure that everyone was on their best behavior.

Rayven watch Walt as he walked away. She looked at her hand and smiled and pulled his jacket close to her again. She turned and walked back to her friends and they talked and giggled. As promised, Rayven waited for Walt and saved another dance for him, losing herself in the moment again, but this time being more relaxed and less awkward.  She talked with him and had cider with him and was sure to give him his jacket back at the end of the night, though she was a bit reluctant. It had been the best Yule Ball she had attended thus far.