Chapter 8-

Rochie woke up a couple of weeks later and saw a notice up on the Ravenclaw board.

Attention all 7th years!

This being your final year at Hogwarts and while playing host to a number of new students we are holding a ball for only the 7th years and the transfers.

While you may think that this is a great event to take part in, you should also consider the customs of our guests and behave accordingly. You do not want to make a fool of Hogwarts.

It being a dance, you are incuraged to have a dance partner, however it is not completely necessary.
The dance will take place on the 31st of Octobre in the great hall at 8pm. It will end at 3am.

MINERVA MCGONAGAL

Deputy headmistress

Rochie's heart leapt. She loves dances. Rochie walked up to Cassie and without a word pointed at the notice board. She bounced up and down on the balls of her feet waiting for Cassie to turn around. She turned around and smiled and laughed. "You gonna ask Lukas?" Cassie asked her. Rochie's smile faded somewhat.

"No." She said softly "Do I ever? We just sorta…end up meeting there. And at any rate, I don't want to see him right now. A bit pissed, you know?"

Cassie frowned and shrugged. "You got anyone in mind?" Rochie asked her.

Cassie sighed. She figured now was as good a time as any. "Well, I was thinking of Luna Lovegood."

"You mean, Lukas's cousin?" Rochie asked, baffled.

"Well, yes. You see.." Cassie then told the whole story to Rochie from start to finish and by the time she was done Rochie's quizzical look was replaced with one of pure happiness "OH MAN CASS, THAT;S AWESOME!" She said "Oh, go for it!"

"But…I'm nervous!" Cassie said.

"This is where your faults come in. You have to get over that sacredness and just…suck it up. I've had to do it. "

"I suppose you're right…"Cassie said, and after that, said no more on the subject.

No one could pay any attention in their lessons that day, they were all excited about the dance. It was only 2 weeks away and Rochie thought that was totally not enough time. You had to find a date, and find out what they were wearing to it, then match them, and all of this other stuff. It was all Rochie could think about. The truth was, she had a person she wanted to ask, But Atsushi seemed so far out of her reach. He'd never go with her. But she had to try. She had to at least try out the advice she, herself gave Cassie. She wasn't a whimp. She could ask. It's just been years since she's had to ask anyone out.

As Rochie left Charms that day Rochie saw Lukas coming her direction. Her heart raced but she ignored him and to her relief he did the same. Well that's out of the way… she thought.

Cassie paced her and Rochie's dorm room. Any moment now Luna was going to walk in, and she was going to see Cassie and Cassie would have to ask her. She heard the dorm open and breathed. It was now or never.

She turned around and there stood Luna, beautiful. Her eyes widened in shock, she obviously didn't expect to see Cassie there. "Erm… Hi." Cassie said "Did you see the notice….?"

"About the dance? Oh, yes. I really want to go… but erm…" she seemed nervous too. Cassie had never seen her nervous before. Then all at once she said "Would you like to go to the dance with me?"

Cassie was so shocked she just sort of stood there, with her eyes wide open, not thinking. "Oh" Luna said blushing "Never mind…if you don't want to…"

"what?" Cassie's mind began to work again "OH! Yes, I would LOVE to go with you!"

"Would you?" Luna asked.

"Oh yes! I would!" and after that Luna smiled and departed. Cassie sat down on her bed, the happiest girl in the world at that moment.

Over the next few days she could only think about how she was going to go about asking Atsushi to the ball, though one night about a week later she finally got her chance. She was coming back from dinner late and he was as well . She got cold feet and started walking a bit faster. "Hey, Rochie-chan!" he called. "Wait!"

Rochie then had no choice but to wait. "Rochie I was wondering…" He blinked "I was … well…"

"Yes?" Rochie asked. She spoke in Japanese, hoping it would be easier for him to say whatever he had to say in Japanese rather than English.

"The dance is coming up soon." He said, switching to Japanese and a much more calm manner. Rochie looked at the floor not wanting to seem rude for looking him in the eyes.