() Garrett hurried out and didnt slow until he reached the quiet of the dungeons. He heard someone following him, and knew it was Fable. "Please, stay away from me right now...I just need a few minutes..alright..? I will be back soon." He kept walking, his tail thrashing back and forth, and headed for the door to the common room.

Fable sighed and stopped, sitting down against the wall in the dungeon hallway

He laughed, "Yes, I love your wit, Kat." Puns are great," he said distractedly, forgetting to thank her for the lei. his attention was fixed on Garrett.

"Fanks," he said to but his eyes were on . Suddenly he felt another predator. Oh dear, he thought. But he wasn't sure what kind of predator. "Sorry," he said, "er, its the full moon and I'll be shifting soon but I've got time to enjoy some o' the ball. I'm a werewolf you see. We've got an ex-auror waiting in the dungeons to watch over me after I take me potion. No offense or anything..." He moved on the balls of his feet wondering if the people around him would gasp in horror or run away from him--the ones who didn't know what he was anyway.

Millie stood quietly while Magnus watched Garrett leave the room. She was starting to feel uncomfortable. She turned to Aria and pulled the camera from her hat. "Would you take a couple of pictures so I can send one to my parents and another to Emmett? He is always begging for pictures of our events."

() Garrett watched the self proclaimed were-wolf leave...he was surprised at his candid words, but it didn't stop the feelings of animosity and aggression that were building inside of him. It was then that he turned his attention to the dwarf that was introducing itself...

() Some 20 minutes later, Garrett emerged from the common room. He appeared to be in better spirits, and walked up to her with a slight smile. He extended his hand, to offer assistance in getting up.

"Have you been sitting out here the whole time..?" he asked. His wings were in a neutral position and his tail flicked easily, like that of a contented cat. "We should get back to the party, and don't worry..." he patted the pocket of his pants "I brought my flask. I can't believe what a strain on my self control this whole affair is."

Magnus was out, had been basically since his first day. He was lucky in that his father and their auror friend where willing to do things like come and sit in the dungeon on 'call" so he could go to the ball. Still the boy felt awful for making the older boy need to leave. He saw him come back later and resisted the urge to go and appologize again. if wanted, he could come to him. It was tough since Magnus was a social butterfly and now his wolf-yness was making it harder. His head was low, as he tried to get back to his own centre. He noticed Millie was unsure what to say, but then so was he. Anger boiled inside of him a little. Why couldn't he enjoy this ball without his damn wolf getting in the way. With a very clipped voice he said, "Kat, could... could you get me one o' the calmin' draughts in me bag?" His anger was in danger of spilling over. He didn't even trust himself to move.

() "Yes...Im glad you feel better...are you sure you want to return?"

She walked back with Garrett "Gimme a moment.." She said approaching Magnus () she gave him a smile. "There is nothing wrong with what you are. I actually find werewolves to be quite beautiful creatures though not many agree with me. I cant speak for Garrett, but I meant no offense. Im just not the best at social events." she gave a nod to him and returned to Garrett.

She picked at her costume again. "Maybe I should have come as something more obvious then a wolpertinger..." she sighs.

The tension between Magnus and Garrett concerned Kat. She knew her friend was out of sorts because the of the time of month, but what was going on with the boy from Slytherin? Even the mention that his extra appendages had been crafted in the other country she called home brought no more than a faint flicker of interest. The girl watched him go, wondering if perhaps she should ask him later if everything was alright.

Millie interrupted her musings with a gift. "Oh, thank you." Kat took the lei (thanks !) with a smile, though it took her a few moments to figure out where to put it. She ended up handing it to Magnus. "Fading flowers are for the woodsy elves," she proclaimed in her best dwarf voice. "A dwarf puts his faith in solid stone! -- but you better give it back later."

Even a while later Magnus was still troubled by the interaction, and when he asked for one of the potions Katsumi nodded. She could see his bag sitting in the corner, and all it took was a summoning charm to fetch one. She held it out wordlessly, but once he took it the girl put an arm around his shoulders. She might not be entirely comfortable staying that way for long, but it would probably help him.

() Garrett took Fable's hand. It felt warm and alive, but there was only a tiny desire to consume her, and it was easily pushed aside. "yes, I want to return. I have this beautiful creature by my side, and I haven't even sampled the snacks yet. Garrett smiled, "Besides, I have to learn to ...behave myself...at social events, or I should just go ahead and start looking for dreary old castles, or getting my passport to travel to New Zealand... I understand they have some lovely flats there for rent."

They walked back up and into the Great Hall. Garrett immediately scanned the room for Magnus () and felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down, fingering his moonstone necklace. It seemed to help.

He was surprised when Fable walked up to the elf, and even more surprised at her words. How could she stand so close to such a dangerous being, who even now looked like he was ready to wolf out and slaughter the whole crowd...? His eyes took on a dreamy look. Of course, then there would be blood everywhere, and he could feed at his leisure....

Garrett was brought back from his reverie with Fable's return. "there is nothing wrong with your costume..maybe people just aren't aware of what a wolpertinger is..hmmm? He smiled at her, but kept his eyes fixed on the potential danger from the young elf.

He managed a stunned "thank you" to He'd never heard anyone speak so positively about his other form like that. Well there was something. He found her comment making him feel better.

Then Kat have given him the calming draught and he took it readily. It shot down him as if it was a patronus and his anger were a dementor. The anger quelled and he calmed--even more so with Kat's contact. She knew he did better with physical contact. It was his nature. "Fanks, Katli," he said smiling. "Sorry, I--I am okay now." He put the lei's on a chair. "Would you oh fair dwarf, care for a dance?"

He wondered what was... Because he could feel there was something there... something that neither one of them seemed to like. Or maybe it was his imagination... no... it couldn't be that... could it?

Aderyn had spent so long putting the finishing touches on her Tinkerbell costume that she was running supremely late for the ball. She was anxious to get down to the great hall to be with her friends, and she was also excited to see what Emmy was dressing as. The girl had refused to tell her what her costume was going to be, and she couldn't wait to see it. Putting the last stray curl into place, she glanced one more time in the mirror in the prefects' bathroom and nodded happily, turning on her heel and rushing out of the room.

Sprinting to the staircases, Aderyn leapt over one of the railings and fluttered gracefully down to the entrance hall, her wings keeping her from faceplanting into the ground. Straightening her dress out upon landing, she headed for the hallway that housed the Hufflepuff dormitories, waiting outside the door for Emmy.

()

Garrett watched the exchange between the elf and the dwarf, and sensed that there was no immediate danger from him now. He saw them head out to dance like 'normal people' and let down his guard a little, but he still kept some of his attention on them.

() "New Zealand is pretty...." Fable smiled

Garrett was happy to see Fable () smile. She seemed so uncomfortable at the ball tonight, and he wasn't making things any easier for her. Perhaps he should take a page from others and ask her to dance, but he really didn't want to dance. Instead, he gently took her hand and led her away to a corner where they could sit, and snuggle, and watch the merriment ( or otherwise) unfold around them. He had a feeling this was going to be a long night.

Of course, his attention strayed back to the elf ()...he felt better knowing just where he was in the Hall.

() She easily let him lead her away, she wasnt feeling too well for some reason but dealing. Sitting would be nice.

When he seemed a bit calmer, Kat dropped her arm. The other girl had helped a little, it seemed, before returning to what Katsumi could only guess was her date. She turned away from them when Magnus asked her if she wanted to dance. "I'd love to," she answered, taking his hand. "And then if your sister still hasn't come say hello, we should go over to her. I wonder where Fade is, I haven't seen him yet. I thought he'd come for a while, at least...."

Got out of the Slythering room and saw and all dressed up in their costumes. "Oh God, is that today? I totally forgot! I'll see what I can do for a costume. See ya there! Have fun!" Merlin had no idea what to wear and since he had never been on a party, much less a costume one he really didn't know what to do. "I think I will cry in a corner and wait till it ends."

They stared to dance and Magnus relaxed a little but he found himself looking back over to . Prickles of engery ran down his spine. "That bloke is definitely keeping an eye on me. 'E seems okay... but there's somefing about 'im, somefing that makes me uneasy--or the wolf uneasy... i don't know." He frowned. "Anyway, 'ave you ever been dipped? Cos if not, we 'ave to tango."

"Maybe he just doesn't like crowds much, and he's anxious and on edge. That could be what you're picking up," Katsumi said. "And if he's not okay with you being a werewolf, well, too bad for him. Because you're not going anywhere." Having Garrett watching them so intently was making her a bit uncomfortable as well, but she wasn't going to let it ruin the party for her. "Dip? I'm sure there's some somewhere, I saw crisps...huh?" Magnus had her completely confused. "I don't...what's the connection?" It couldn't be eating and dancing at the same time, she was pretty sure, because that seemed a bit silly.

Magnus chortled. "No, that's not what I mean." He changed stances and twirled her so she spun, careful to keep his eyes on her because she did not expect it. When she spun back to him, he pulled her close and dipped her body towards the ground, then drew her back up. "That's a dip." His eyes shinning.