The Freedom of Dance [FINISHED!!]

[daisy]

Cissa walked through the hallways, not completely sure where she was heading. As she walked, she exchanged hello’s with acquaintances and friends of hers, having to stop rather often so that she could talk to everyone. However, once she hit the seventh floor, where she had decided to go, Cissa found the specific hallway she was heading for thankfully was empty.

Walking three times past the stretch of wall that her dad had told her and her brother about, Cissa thought to herself I need my dancing room, I need my dancing room, I need my dancing room. She had basically designed the perfect dance studio, and now she didn’t even need to think anymore than what she just had to get it to appear for her. Entering the room with a grin, Cissa glanced around the familiar room before disappearing into the small walk-in closet in the corner that had her leotards, tights and ballet shoes. Pulling on a black ‘tard, sheer tights and black ballet shoes, Cissa slipped back into the main studio room.

Stretching before she began to dance, Cissa felt her muscles loosening and her thoughts flowing away. Dancing was her release from everything happening in the real world. As she began to dance, she thought of nothing but the steps. Plie, step, step, curve, up, side, back. She had choreographed the dance herself, and wanted to perfect it before moving onto another one.

[mgirl03]

Since before even the first Potter child made his trek to Hogwarts, their father had told them stories that made them anticipate going to the magical school even more. One of the stories was about a magical room that their father had used many a times. Harry had told his kids about how the room could be anything you wanted it to be--that you could use it to hide things or use it just to hang out. However, when James, Al, and Lily would pester for the name of the amazing room, or how to find it, their father would just shrug at them, grin and then escape as quickly as possible.

When James headed off to Hogwarts, he came home on Christmas holiday and informed Al and Lily that he had made it a mission to try and find the room. When Al went the next year, he began to help James in his search--two years later, Lily started to tag along. All three Potter kids would either go together when they could, or split up when they couldn't. It was James' last year, and the kids just wanted to find the room while they were all still at school.

However, as Al walked down the seventh floor corridor, searching floor wasn't on his mind. He was finding himself just thinking in general about Scorpius, and Rose--his mind would even drift to thoughts about Rory, and what she was doing, what class she was in, his mind working out her schedule so that he wouldn't wonder about it anymore. Letting out an irritated sigh, Al ran his hands forcefully through his hair, not wanting to think about anything of real importance.

He began to pace in front of the same spance of wall, unsure of what to do. Back and forth, back and forth, always thinking the same thing--I just need something to take my mind off of all of this rubbish. As he came to a stop and did a sharp turn, ready to start pacing back the other way, he was startled to see a door in front of him that definitely had not been there just seconds before. This couldn't be...no. Was it possible that he had finally found the room that he had searched for for years?

"Walk back and forth a few times thinking...what you want!" Al whispered excitedly--yes, it would make sense! He rushed forward, his robes billowing behind himself as he grabbed the handle, and then yanked the door open. He took two steps into the room and then froze, his face beginning to flush a bright pink color. He had stumbled upon somebody who was also using the room, and what was worse--it was Narcissa Malfoy.

He took a gulp, wondering if it was too late to run away now before the girl seemed to catch sight of him. Oh brilliant, he was horrible at talking with girls! Worse yet, the sister of the boy who wanted to date his cousin? And he had stumbled in on her when she was doing something she clearly didn't want others to see! Oh bloody hell...

[daisy]

When Cissa heard the door to the Room open quietly, she paused and turned to face it, finding none other than Albus Potter. She blushed a pale, pale pink as she noticed him watching her. There was a reason she went to the Room of Requirements to dance, and it wasn’t just because it could be turned into the perfect studio. Very few people knew about her dancing…her family and a random Ravenclaw who was now graduated who had caught her once…and now a Weasley-Potter knew. And not just any Weasley-Potter, it had to be Albus, the one she had a crush on…despite never having properly met him before. He wasn’t the only guy she liked, obviously, but he was pretty high up on the list.

Deciding she might as well be nice, since she didn’t have any reason not to be, Cissa gave the boy a small smile, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear as she did so. “Hey, I’m Cissa Malfoy, you’re Albus right? Albus Potter.”

Cissa felt like that was probably a stupid thing to say, who didn’t know Albus Potter and his siblings?, but she figured she might as well let him properly introduce himself…something she doubted he got to do often. Once again tucking the piece of hair that stubbornly kept falling into her eyes back behind her ear, Cissa gave Albus another smile, one that she had been told could stop hearts…though she didn’t think the source who said that had been a reliable one.

[mgirl03]

If anybody came up to you, looked you in the eye, and said Albus Potter was a great ladies man would be the greatest liar on the face of this planet. He was always awkward around all girls, except for family, and then the one exception--Rory. It was for that reason that Rory was his best friend--she was a girl that he could talk to and that was something that he found pretty amazing. However, Rory wasn't here, and this was Narcissa malfoy, who was a very cute girl--he had had to admit that to himself ever since he first saw here.

"Hey, I'm Cissa Malfoy, you're Albus right? Albus Potter." Al didn't buy it for a second that she didn't know who he was. But he appreciated the fact that she wasn't fawning over him and was giving him a chance to introduce himself like normal people. He forced his face into a smile, his heart beating loudly in his chest at the smile she gave him. Oh for the love of Merlin he was in a bad situation.

"Er..yeah. Al, actually," he said quickly after a few moments of silence. He took another step into the room and shut the door behind him, thinking that she might now want others to see her. "Nice to meet you." His face was still flushed as he stumbled over the words, running his hand through his hair again in a nervous habit. He watched her little war with her hair and had the insane urge to just tuck the dang thing behind her ear for her, but he forced himself not to. What was wrong with him?

"Erm, sorry!" he said quickly when he realized that he had just been staring at her and wasn't even supposed to be in there with her. "I-I didn't mean to walk in on you...stumbled in by accident." He shut his mouth, refusing his brain to make him spew out more nonsense. See, this was why he had never had a bloody girlfriend before.

[daisy]

When Albus corrected her, giving her a nickname instead, Cissa couldn’t help but smile again. “Nice to meet you too,” Cissa answered to his comment. Watching as he ran a hand through his hair, definitely not the first time she had seen him do so, Cissa resisted the urge to walk over and run her fingers through his hair herself. Mentally she shook her head to clear the thoughts, there was no way he would go along with her usual plan of action…and she didn’t really want him to. She actually like this boy, and she didn’t want him to be another of her ‘occasionally hook-ups’.

Focusing on him, away from her thoughts, at his words, she realized he had been staring and she felt herself grin. As he stammered out an apology, Cissa shook her head, telling him, “It’s fine, that’s how most people find this place.” He really was adorable, and his awkwardness (at least around girls) reminded Cissa of why she had started crushing on him in the first place (though she would admit…to herself at least…that she had originally started liking him because her mother wanted her to have nothing to do with any Gryffindor, let alone the Potters or the Weasleys). “I was just going through a routine…obviously, and I could actually do with a break.” As she said the words, a circular table with two chairs and some snacks appeared in the room, quite close to wear the two were standing.

Looking back at Al, Cissa asked him, “Care to join me?”

[mgirl03]

Oh merlin, she was grinning at him. He really hated it when most girls did that, because it usually ended up in them having some sort of thoughts on their mind, and then they did things that...that just normal girls did and then Al found himself tripping over his own feet. Why the bloody hell did he have to be so awkward around girls?! Especially the really cute ones! Mentally shaking his head, Al forced his arm back to his side, and then shoved his hand into his robe pocket.

At the mention of a break, Al felt himself flush a little more. Her invitation left him gulping frantically as two chairs and a table appeared just a few feet away, and he knew that it would be rude to refuse the girl and just leave. Besides, if he was going to start being friends with Scorpius Malfoy, then he would have to be used to dealing with his sister too. After a moment he found himself nodding, and smiled again at Cissa.

"Sure," he said, taking a step over to the table. He was mentally wishing that he had never found the room in the first place, so that he wouldn't be in this dang situation. Had it been any other girl, he still would have been awkward, but probably slightly less so. But this was Cissa Malfoy, who happened to only be a fourth year and yet at the same time was exceptionally cute. He especially was liking the outfit she was wearing....wait, what?! Oh for the love of Merlin....

Gulping again, Al pulled out a chair and gestured to it, waiting for Cissa to sit down before he moved over to his own chair and sat down. He had been raised to be a gentlemen, so to pull out her chair seemed only natural to him. He did that with every girl, no matter who they were--sometimes he would look down in vague surprise to see him holding out a chair for Rory to sit in. His mother would be proud. Al forced himself not to roll his eyes at the thought, as he kept his gaze focused on the girl in front of him.

[daisy]

[*giggle* I <3 Al!]

Cissa was a lot happier than she should’ve been when Al accepted her offer to join her for her break. She actually probably would have just kept going until her legs were too sore for her to continue if he hadn’t showed up. Rarely did Cissa take breaks unless it wasn’t just her alone dancing, whenever anyone else was with her, she felt the need to take a break and talk and let the other person relax too.

A smile crossed her lips once again when Al, seemingly instinctively, pulled out a chair for her and waited until she was seated to be seated himself. “Thanks,” She told him softly. Rolling her neck, Cissa kept her eyes on the boy, not sure why she seemed almost unable to look away. She really was crushing badly this time, wasn’t she?

Feeling like she should say something, so they wouldn’t continue to just sit there staring at one another, Cissa asked, “Unless it’s too personal, what were you thinking of that you ended up in here with me?” Biting her lip lightly, she added, “If it’s too personal, that’s fine, you don’t have to tell me.”

In the back of her mind, Cissa wondered if she had started off with a too personal question, but she figured she would just have to wait and see if he replied. Even if this question was too personal, Cissa knew their conversation would probably end up in one of those back and forth question asking things…that’s what seemed to happen to most of her conversations with people she just met (officially…she definitely knew Al before this…just not personally).

[mgirl03]

[[ *grins* Yeah, I get that a lot ]]

There was something about the human mind that always seemed to make people process soft spoken words in a different way than words said at a normal volume. Or, at least that was the way it had always been for Al. So when Cissa thanked him, he found himself gulping again, because of the soft way her voice sounded. Almost as if she was whispering in his ear....he mentally shook his head again, refusing to even think about anything along those lines. What was up with him? Even around other girls he wasn't this spacey and awkward.

He found himself jumping slightly when Cissa spoke again--he had been so wrapped up in thoughts that the sound of her voice again startled him. Flushing about the neck, he lifted a hand before he could stop himself to run through his hair, thinking about whether or not he would answer her question. He could always just give her part of the answer, and leave the rest shut up in his mind. Telling her about all of his problems would be stupid and way too personal for him.

Clearing his throat, Al half shrugged as he let his hand fall back down onto the table. "Oh...I just had a lot on my mind," he said, making sure that each word was said clearly. If he stumbled over words more she would probably think he had some sort of mental problem. "So I was just pacing...and er, thought about needing a sort of distraction...so I guess the room thought you would distract me."

Al reviewed over quickly what he had just said and blushed again, trying to hastily make sure that he hadn't offended her in some way. "Not a bad distraction, of course!" he said quickly, folding his hands together on the table. "Just...something different than my thoughts." Oh wow, now he just sounded like an idiot. Again, his hand went through his black hair, and he wondered for a moment if sometimes people found that habit annoying.

He smoothed his hair back down, his hands folding back together as he instead began to bounce his leg. If he sat completely still, he felt he would probably explode from embarrassment and pent up energy. A silence had overtaken the two of the, so he figured that he needed to say something. Clearing his throat again, he gestured one handed to the dance studio and asked her, "So...do you dance often?"

[daisy]

Cissa noticed Al’s slight jump when she spoke again and wondered what he had gotten so caught up in in his mind, but didn’t question him as he began to answer her previous question slowly. She was curious whether he was just trying to decide how to say what he was thinking or if he was making sure he didn’t let slip anything he didn’t want to say…but as she had told him, if it was too personal that was fine with her and she wasn’t going to pressure him into telling her anything.

Cissa couldn’t help the giggle that escaped when he said the Room might have thought she would distract him, but managed not to giggle again when he hastily added that she wasn’t a bad distraction. Tucking the once again loose piece of hair back behind her ear, Cissa told Al, “Don’t worry about it, with a brother like mine, I don’t take offence to much easily.” Hoping he hadn’t taken her the wrong way about what she said, she added, “You know what older brother’s can be like.” She hoped that would be enough to show she didn’t mean that Scorp was a bad brother, he was far from it, but he was just that, her older brother…meant to reek havoc in her life.

There was a bit of a silence, where both of them fidgeted, though in different ways, until Al ended it with a question that made Cissa smile. However, this time the smile was directed more inward. “Yes, I dance every other day. I’d probably dance everyday if it wouldn’t completely kill my leg muscles. Dancing is what I love to do, it’s really very calming, at least for me.” Cissa realized she had started rambling a bit and stopped talking. It really wasn’t her fault, she just really loved to dance and it always made her talkative…though the boy she happened to be talking to probably didn’t help the issue of talking too much.

[mgirl03]

I am in so over my head it isn't even funny, Al found himself thinking as he bounced his leg more vigurously. He heard Cissa giggle and he practically choked. If there was anything worse for his nerves and awkwardness than a girls grin, it was their giggle. And Cissa, of course, had to have an exceptionally cute one that made his heart pound more vigorously. He took a deep breath, hoping it wasn't noticable as he listened to her comment about not being offended easily because of her brother. Yes, he certainly knew what big brother's are like.

"Yeah, having an older brother and being one myself, I know exactly what you mean," Al assured her, the words still rushing out quickly. He had given up any hope that he would sound like a normal person when speaking to her. The only hope that he had left was that he wouldn't be trapped embarrassing himself too long--it wasn't the girl that he minded so much as his stupid inability to talk to the other gender.

He listened with interest to her slight ramble about dancing, and couldn't help but smile in slight relief that at least he wasn't the only one doing things slightly out of the norm. Also, he found he could relate to her--while dancing was calming for her, he found the same thing to be true about Quidditch for him. As he tapped the fingers of his right hand along the table, he decided to tell her as much--at least then they wouldn't be sitting in awkward silence.

"Quidditch," he said with a slight nod, and then realized that the one word wouldn't make much sense. He added quickly, "I mean, Quidditch is the same way to me. The calming part. That's why I love it, and play it a lot and...everything." He shut his mouth again, glancing down at the table embarrasedly. He was going to suffer and he could tell as much. Not wanting to be rude however, he forced his gaze back to her and saw that same strand of hair get loose again.

Before he could rationalize a thought, Al stuck his tongue between his teeth in concentration and reached across the table, plucking her hair from in front of her face and sliding it behind her ear firmly. After a moment he realized what he had done and jerked his hand back quickly, flushing the most yet that day.

"Er...sorry 'bout that," he mumbled quickly, not caring now that his gaze was focused at the table. He couldn't think when he looked at her, dangit!

[[ haha that was a bit of a power play...hope you don't mind XD ]]