Max grinned. "Finally another Slytherin I thought I was the only one here. Are you enjoying the ball so far ??"

"Wow. Australia? What brought you to Hogwarts?" She asked Ernessa, meanwhile casting a sidelong glance at Max ( ) and sticking her tongue out. "Too many Hufflepuffs?" She said, jokingly.

[img align=left]https://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b174/theatticbox/morganBALL.png[/img]Professor Morgan stepped from behind the staff table to take a short break. When she returned, she cleared her throat again and immediately began telling another fairytale.

"It began on a stormy night when a poor young boy was on his last glimpse of the world and was surrounded by loved ones. His name was Oliver he lived as much as he could even though he was so young. When his final breath came from his lips as his eyes closed, he was greeted by an Angel in all white with wings. 'Hello my son, I am you guild to the Heavens above, I will help on your way there.' It was morning when the Angel arrived, the sun was shining and the birds were singing. Oliver got up wiping his eyes from the sleep, but he didn't feel the same. 'Can we visit some places before I leave the Earth and live in the Heavens?' Oliver asked. 'Sure that is not a problem, but on the way we must collect flowers to take with us to Heaven, so that we can plant them there.' The Angel proposed the deal to Oliver. Oliver was quick to comply with the rules and they were off to wonder the final places that Oliver wanted to go.

"The first place was the local playground where all the kids go to hang out and talk to one another. Of course the kids did not see Oliver and the Angel so they were free to walk around as if nothing was wrong. Oliver was admiring his friends and wishing he could play with them once more, but he couldn't as he was reminded when the Angel walked up to him 'We must find a flower so that this stays with you forever.' the Angel motioned to a nearby patch of growing wild flowers. Oliver ran straight to them picking the most beautiful of the red ones, it was a bright red and as soon as Oliver touched it, the flower faded into limbo where Oliver and the Angel were. Oliver waved goodbye to his friends as he and the Angel went to another location.

"Arriving at the local market where Oliver would spend some of his time with his father selling what they grew on their farm and the beautiful flowers that his mother would grow. He was very found of this place as it was where he met most of the town folk. He knew everyone that would come to buy his dad's famous tomatoes. They were the biggest tomatoes that Oliver had ever seen, but then again it was the only ones he had ever known. Oliver then turned to the Angel and told him 'One time a man from another town tried to get in on the Tomato business and tried to sell his tomatoes at a cheaper cost, but the town folk were not buying since they were loyal customers to my dad, and a few days later the other salesman was gone and never returned.' the Angel then smiled and pointed at the bouquet of flowers sitting next to his fathers tomatoes. Oliver understood and went over and pick a pink tulip out of the bunch and again the flower faded into limbo, but this time a replacement was put in its place, so that it didn't mess up anything. Oliver then waved goodbye the everyone at the market, leaving his parents for last as they went to another location.

"This time they showed up in a part of the town that Oliver used to go to when it wasn't so old and it use to be where everything went on at. Now it is an old section of the town where poverty and crime happen, Oliver looked at the Angel 'Why are we here, I haven't been here since I was about 5. There is nothing going on here and I don't feel safe.' the Angel just looked at him then pointed in the direction that went down an alley just a bit. As they drew closer they could see a glowing light from the alley. It was a homeless man when a fire, trying to stay warm. across from him was a trash pile which the man was using as fire wood. The man got up and picked out a few pieces of paper and some wood and threw it on the fire. As he moved things a flower was reveled, but this was unlike any flower before it was a dead field lily. Oliver knew now why they had come to this part of town, but didn't understand why they came to get a dead flower. The Angel then spoke up 'This flower here made a child very happy before they passed away.' Oliver thought of who it could be or if he even knew them, then asking 'Who was it?' the Angel replied, 'That little boy was you,' making the flower alive again and vibrant with color. Oliver then remembered that before he grew severally ill he and a few of his friends came here to get food and flowers to the poor. The homeless man was one of those people they gave them too. The boy grew happy again given the predicament he was in.

"The Angel then tapped Oliver on the Shoulder and pointed at a light coming from a store. They walked towards it and the closer they got the brighter it was. Standing in front of the store Oliver felt as if he had to squint. The Angle then opened the door for Oliver. They stepped through the door reveling Heaven."

(OOC note: Thank you for the story! Just a quick update: since I was unable to post a story yesterday, one more will be chosen to be told tomorrow. Please submit your stories if you are hoping for extra points! You will be able to submit after the last is chosen, but will not have the opportunity to earn bonus points. Also another quick reminder, the ball has been extended until Tuesday, February 2nd at 11:59PM!)

Max bursted into laughing. "Maybe." He said challenging. "It´s great they extended the ball. What do you think of it ??"

"I'm really glad they extended it! I was just thinking of how sad it'll be to have to say goodbye to everyone. But now that's not so soon! Plus," Sauvage shyly looked away, chewing on her lip, then back to Max. "I promised someone a dance. But...I'm not so sure he's still interested in doing so." She shrugged, trying to play it off as no big deal. It's not like her feelings were hurt. It was just one dance. That's all.

Max cocked his head he felt a bit bad for her. "You can dance with me if you´d like." He smiled and offered her his hand.

Sauvage laughed and smiled up at Max. "Thanks, that's sweet of you. But you - " She was going to say that he didn't have to dance with her, but instead she took Max's offered hand. "Thank you."

Max winked at her and lead her to the dance floor. He put his hand on her waist and started to sway to the music leading her. "May I ask who promised you a dance ??"

Poppy was tired and hot from dancing. Her delicious drink had made her curious about the desserts at the party.

She accepted Beth's () invitation to take a break to eat something. Poppy selected some treats for herself and brought over a selection of things for sharing. Itachi () was already sitting with the Head Girl at the table where she was headed.

"I'm beyond happy to see you all here. Your costumes are amazing!" She delightedly greeted the Slytherins () () () who had arrived to liven up the ball on the way to her seat.

"Would you like to join us for dessert?" Poppy asked Fade () who was resting in a chair alone and looked like he was fading. "A sugar rush would definitely wake you up. That's why my plate is so full," she said with a giggle.

Wisteria smiled at Poppy () as she was making her way to the exit. She was pooped from all the interacting and dancing, and was making her way back to the common room. She stopped to say to her "Hello, Im glad I came. I am heading out though, pooped from all the action. " Wisteria waves bye and leaves.

Sauvage followed Max's lead, wrinkling her nose at his question. She smiled and said, "Oh, just another prince at the dance. I feel sort of lame for acting this way." She laughed nervously. "I honestly wasn't expecting anything from just dancing with him. It's just something fun to do." She smiled again; she she meant what she said. "I just feel...a bit forgotten. Is that weird?" She began chewing on her lip again. "Oh, I'm totally overreacting, aren't I?" She missed a step while dancing and took a deep breath. The act of physically doing something made her feel a bit better. "Forget me. How's your night going so far?"

Max sighed. "Ok if you say so but a prince shouldn´t make a lady wait. Just my thoughts. My night has been nice nothing too over exciting. My bf would be so proud seeing me dance." Max laughed and lead Sauvage to the table where Poppy () was sitting too. He turned to Sauvage. "Would you like a drink ??"

Paddy was concentrating so hard on her dancing, trying to mimic Magnus' movements, that she eventually managed to tread on her own toes. As the tune drew to a close, she gave a small slightly ungainly curtsy to Magnus. "Thanks for the dance," she said with a smile, "and those dancing lessons too. I was watching you and Sam dancing earlier, and each step looked perfect."

[img align=left]https://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b174/theatticbox/Persnickety2nd_1.png[/img]The groans that could be heard coming from the Forbidden Forest earlier seemed to grow louder as time went on. NOne of the staff seemed worried about it, so the students allowed their minds to relax and focus on the festivities.

It wasn't until the ground began to tremble that anyone started to panic. Professor Persnickety looked around the tent, frowned, and stood from her seat at the staff table. She sauntered out of the tent, but before the headmistress was able to make it outside, a loud roar sounded from the forest. A large mountain troll emerged from the trees, swinging a large branch above its ugly head.

"No one panic!" the headmistress yelled. She waved her wand and a shield charm jet out in front of the troll. "We all need to work together to knock the beast out! Anyone who brought a wand down to the ball, please stay behind me and cast your spells! Hopefully, we can knock this guy out before he destroys anything. Don't worry about him breaking through the shield, they are my specialty!"

(OOC note: Your challenge is to choose TWO SPELLS ONLY to shoot at the mountain troll. Don't worry, the headmistress's shield will hold until the troll is knocked out or the ball is over, whichever comes first! You will be graded on which spells you choose, so choose carefully and thoughtfully! Please bold your spells so they are easier to find. If you'd like to explain why you chose the spells you did, please do so in OOC comments. Each spell will be graded out of 10 points each for a maximum of 20 House Points. If you'd prefer not to partake in the roleplay but would like to participate in the challenge, please sMail your spells to ! Even if the troll is knocked out before the ball, you will still be able to sMail your spells to me before the ball ends Tuesday, February 2nd at 11:59PM. Good luck!)

Aderyn gasped as she heard a tremendous noise from behind her and she whirled around, yelping as she caught sight of a large mountain troll just outside of the shield surrounding the ball. She grabbed onto Emmy's hand and stepped back, listening as Headmistress Persnickety instructed them to take out their wands. She was infinitely glad she'd managed to hide hers in a small, charmed pocket on the inside of the top slip of her dress and she withdrew it as the other students milled around, many of them doing the same thing. She thought back to their defense against the dark arts and care of magical creatures lessons and remembered information about certain spells not working particularly well on trolls. Putting those to the back of her mind, she pointed her wand, choosing a spell more appropriate instead. Aiming her wand high up at the troll's face as not to injure anyone too close to it, she called out the incantation.

"Confringo!"

An explosion thundered through the air, creating a bright flash and clouds of smoke in front of the troll's face. It wasn't good enough to knock the troll out or to even knock it back, really, but it was something. Thinking on her feet, hoping for a spell that might weaken the troll to make others' spells more effective instead, she aimed her wand again. Glancing over at Emmy, who had had the same idea, she nodded.

"You count down!"

She held her wand up next to Emmy's, waiting until the girl had counted before firing off the spell together.

"Diffindo!"

[img align=left]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y273/LostDani/fairytaleHA.png[/img] Emmy, who had been dancing with Aderyn, looked around when she heard the grunts and groans of the troll and gasped when she spotted it. She grabbed Aderyn's arm and spun her around so she could see it too, gaping towards the entrance of the tent where it was.

"LOOK!" she gasped in horror, pointing. They backed away a bit, behind the headmistress, both pulling out their wands from enchanted pockets in their dresses. Before she could even contemplate the amusement in her from them both having concealed wand pockets, the troll was right in front of the group.

As Aderyn shouted her first spell, Emmy aimed at the troll's hand that brandished the large tree branch and shouted "Relashio!", hoping to force it to drop its crude club.

She didn't have a chance to even see if it hit her mark before she turned her head towards Aderyn and said "Shall we use diffindo?" The girl nodded, and Emmy aimed back at the troll again. "On three... one, two, three: DIFFINDO!" they shouted together, hoping it would work better with two of them instead of one.

Aderyn squeezed Emmy's free hand as the girl's relashio jinx hit the troll, causing it to drop its makeshift club.

"That's brilliant, that is!"

She worked alongside the other girl, hoping their diffindo charm worked well and helped in the overall efforts of the students. Glancing around her, she encouraged others as they jumped in with spells of their own, too.

Millie had just gotten a refill of when the ground started shaking. She dropped her drink down the front of her dress. "Ughhh!" she yelled. She began to withdraw her wand to clean herself up when she heard everyone yelling and the headmistress cast a shield charm in front of a giant mountain troll. "Ohhhh" she said but wasn't sure how loud." She quickly withdraw her wand and yelled: "Petrificus Totalus" She watched the troll freeze in place. She took a huge sigh of relief because she knew it would be easier for other's spells to hit the troll. She knew she needed to help with the offensive move so she shouted: "Diffind" right after Aderyn had cast it. She hoped it would increase the damage done to the troll.

Poppy had just finished saying goodbye to Wisteria () when the mountain troll appeared.

She was relieved to have such a competent headmistress. Her own wand had been tucked away all night in the pocket of her white fur cape, which she had draped over the back of her chair. Retrieving it, Poppy moved quickly and stood next to Aderyn () and Emmy () who were already shooting spells at the troll.

"I should have kept up with my Dueling Club meetings," she thought. "I can help slow the troll down at least so someone else can get a good hit in."

"Impedimenta! Immobulus!" Poppy shouted.

"Trolls are naturally resistant to the Stunning Spell," she said to the students around her. "Stupefy won't do anything!"