Chapter 4 - Yule Ball
Keiko was in a panic. What to do? What to do?
Today was the tenth of December. Today she learned something. Something that greatly impacted her. The Yule Ball. She, as a champion, needed a date for the ball. What was she supposed to do? How was she to go about getting a date? The closest boy to her age that she knew and was willing to go to the ball with was Kazuto who was dating Asuna. Both of them were her friends and she didn't want to upset them by asking if Kazuto would go with her as a friend. Maybe she could try for someone from Hogwarts? But who to pick?...
A week passed. Keiko was still had no idea who she wanted to go to the ball with. She had decided not to ask boys that were in the same house as the champions from Hogwarts, but that left two houses full of boys to chose from! A boy from Ravenclaw or Slytherin. Which one though? Ravenclaws were known to be super smart and obsessed with grades, something that she wasn't. That left Slytherin. There were five boys in Slytherin that were her age. Two seemed to be as good as bodyguards for another of the boys. That left three. The boy with the bodyguards was very vain and mean from what she could tell. That narrowed it down to two. Time for some reconnaissance.
Another five days passed. Keiko had roped her fellow Mahoutokoro students into gathering as much information on the two left over boys as possible. She learned that their names were Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott. Neither seemed as bigoted as the boy with the bodyguards. Both seemed nice enough. Keiko was having a hard time deciding on which one she wanted to go to the Yule Ball with. In the end, after communicating with Pina, she decided to just ask which ever one she saw next since neither seemed better than the other in any way.
Latter that day, that evening in fact, on her way from practicing her spells to the Great Hall, Keiko ran into one of the two boys, literally. Keiko could feel herself falling backwards, she braced herself for a rough landing. Instead of hitting the floor, an arm wrapped itself around her waist. Looking up, Keiko blushed as she looked into her savior's dark eyes. With a jolt, she realized that Pina was no longer on her shoulder. With a concerned expression, she looked up, hoping that her familiar had taken flight to save herself from the fall. Upon seeing Pina in the air, Keiko let out a breath of relief. Turning back to her savior, who still had his arm around her waist, she smiled brightly at him before thanking him for catching her and saving her from a nasty fall. Taking a deep breath, she centered herself in preparation for what she was about to do. Looking up at him, she timidly questioned if he would be willing to go to the Yule Ball with her. He blinked in surprise before replying with a quiet 'yes'. With a smile of relief, she made plans with him before departing to the Great Hall.
Three days latter, the day of the Yule Ball, Keiko and Pina were dolled up by the other girls from Mahoutokoro in preparation for the ball. After much primping from the other, older, girls, Keiko and Pina managed to escape their clutches. Knowing that she, hopefully, looked fine by now, the duo retreated to Keiko's room to mentally prepare her for the ball. Looking in the mirror, Keiko saw that she was dressed in blue dress robes, most likely picked out by Asuna. Her outer dress robes a brilliant blue with long sleeves, a high collar, and went down to her mid calf. The inner dress robes were a navy blue and only came down to mid thigh. She also wore navy thigh high socks with brilliant blue ankle boots. Pina, likewise, was decked out in brilliant blue and navy blue ribbons. The ribbons stood out from her sky blue scales.
Deciding that they were ready, Keiko and Pina left the room to go meet her date.
Arriving at the entrance hall, Keiko saw her date waiting on her by the doors to the Great Hall. Theodore Nott looked very handsome in his dress robes, she thought. They waited until they were called to enter. Upon entering the Great Hall, they took in all of the decorations and the people already seated. They made their way to the table set aside for the Champions, their dates, and the tournament's officials. They ordered their dinner. Once it appeared, they dug in and chatted. Soon it was time for them to start the dances. Keiko was a bit nervous as they had never danced together before. In the end, they had a very enjoyable time dancing the night away.