Julia walked down the empty corridor. Her steps were soft, nearly silent against the cold, stone floor. Under her cloak she wore muggle clothes. They were less worn than her robes, so they kept the heat better. She had changed into them after dinner. Her black hair was up in a bun held by a pair of chopsticks. A few wisps hung down, framing her face, bringing her bright blue eyes to the forefront. In one hand she held a heavy book easily, obviously out of habit.

A small yearning, she knew couldn't be sated, filled her. the urge to dance, to feel free of the problems of the world. To not have to sit up at night and hear her mother's screams, and of those of the many boyfriends, that Julia had seen her mother go through during Julia's short life. The screams of argument and the sick stupor of drink, were all Julia could think about in the middle of the night, when she lay in her bunk. All she could think of was home. Her thoughts turned in a full circle as they returned to the urge to dance, to be free.

She glanced around and spotted a door she had never seen before. She walked over, her brows drawn together lightly. The door was large, and made of a dark wood that she had only seen on the door of the Great Hall. It was, in truth, a double door like that of the Great Hall. Julia tilted her head slightly as she examined it. The door resembled that of the Great Hall very closely. The differences were small but enough to separate the two at a first glance. This door had designs covering it. Many of them appeared Celtic. Peering out of the many Celtic knots that covered the surface, were the faces of people and animals. In the center of each door appeared a pair of dancers.

The women wore long gowns, the type that every girl imagined a princess would wear. A long thing, with decorations that were represented perfectly in the rough grain of the wood. What caught Julia's eyes the most were the jewels that covered the women's body. In their hair a net of gems rested, gathering the woman's ringlets in a way that made her look all the more beautiful. On the women's neck and fingers rested chains and rings of silver and gold. Upon their hands, they wore long, silky gloves.

The men they danced with were just as immaculately represented. Their decorum wasn't as obvious, but just as beautiful and necessary in Julia's eyes. They wore dress jackets over stiff white collared shirts. Their pants were the perfect length. They both wore bowties that were carved almost playfully into the wood. On their heads were tall top hats.

Julia's fingers outlined each figure lovingly. Her eyes were wide with wonder. It was beautiful. She stepped away, feeling her own worn clothes clashing against the grandeur of the figures carved into the door. Yet, her breathe was still blown away at the door's intricacy and detail now that she had seen it up close. Her eyes gave the door another loving sweep when her eyes fell upon the golden door handles.

For a moment she hesitated. Fear grew in her and the feeling that she didn't belong in there. Something snapped in her. Julia reached out and grasped the handle. A voice in her head was telling her how anyone dare make her feel inferior. Her ice blue eyes scanned the corridor once more before she opened the door and slid into the room it hid within.

She heard the door close behind her but her attention was on the roof above. Elves danced across its painted surface. Some played music and others danced. Their' faces were all beautifully happy. Julia ached to be that happy, for once on her life.

She pulled her eyes away from the roof and scanned the room. The roof she had been admiring was the main sphere with other, smaller ones surrounding it, being supported by marble columns. The pinkish white marble also decorated the floor in designs of circles, squares, or triangles depending on where you looked.

Her eyes were caught by a glimmer in a corner. She walked over and found herself facing a massive mirror. Its surface was spotless. A perfect reflection of Julia rested upon its surface.

For a second Julia felt like she belonged there, that was until she saw the stitches on her cloak. In embarrassment she drew it off. She stood there in muggle clothes. She wore a pair of jeans, a belt, and a simple white tank. The cold air hit her like a blow, but all she had was the cloak to cover her self. She ignored the goose bumps that had rushed onto her skin the second it was revealed. She looked at herself in the mirror. It wasn't bad. The only real flaw she could see was the tear on the knee of her jeans.

She moved closer to the mirror to get a better look when she spotted something she hadn't expected. It was a muggle music system, and next to it were all her favorite CDs. She reached out and stroked it lovingly. She reached out and grabbed one of her favorites. She reached out and hit play. The music echoed beautifully throughout the room.

A small smile settled on Julia's lips as she turned away, and for once in her short life, felt true happiness rest on her shoulders. She closed her eyes and just stood in the center of the room, with her face turned upwards, listening to the music and imagining herself dancing through the clouds that she could never reach.

*Ian had been having an extremely hard time as of late. The students who supported The Family had been hard on him to the point that they would even resort to muggle violence. The teachers were even worse, because they had the power to cause him real suffering.

He noticed that it seemed to be getting better, though. He didn't know if it was mere optimism or what, but fewer and fewer people seemed to be cursing him, and more seemed to be helping him.

Still, there were more people doing it than not. He needed a break from it all, and there was only one place where he could feel entirely safe.

The Room of Requirement.

He was in such a daze that he didn't even gather that the door was already there when he arrived. He walked past it three times asking for somewhere where he could relax and be safe, so imagine the shock he got when he opened the door and found what had come from Julia's imagination.

He saw a girl standing in the middle of the room and heard bizarre music blaring. This definitely wasn't what he had asked for.*

Ian:"Hello?" *Ian asked warily, afraid that he would bother her, but wanting to enter the room all the same.*

Julia's head snapped around, her hand grabbing her wand as the other reached out to grab the stereo controller that flew towards her. Julia turned off the waltz that had been flowing through the room with a press of the button. Her wand hand held her wand pointed directly at the small boy's heart. She stood sideways, her eyes glared at him from over her arm. The lean muscles, that had developed over the summer from hard work, showed easily in her arms. Her manner was the complete opposite of that of the music that had been playing only a few moments before.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice icily cold.

*Ian started to have a mild panic attack. Oh God, she was going to hurt him, too.*
Ian:"I just came here so I could get away from people, please." *he begged, not taking his eyes off of her wand. He took hold of his wand as well, but didn't hold it up to her. It was only for self defense...very weak self defense.*

Julia eyed him up and down. She could almost sense his fear from where she stood. Slowly the tip of her wand lowered till her arm rested gently at her side. Julia turned to face him, her eyes assesing his.

"Let go of your wand. I'm not going to hurt you," she said, her voice the same as before, but her manner had relaxed.

Julia's eyes never left his, but her wand motioned for her cloak and it landed lightly on her awaiting arm. She slid it over her shoulders, making herslef look more like a witch rather than the muggle she had resembled before.

"Do you know how to dance?" she asked, one eyebrow arched questioningly.

*Now Ian was in shock. How did she go from pointing her wand at his heart to asking him if he knew how to dance?*
Ian:"Not really, I mean, I can fake it well."

*Why was she asking anyway? What did knowing how to dance have to do with anything?*




~Mel

She could see his confusion and laughed. The bell like sound echoed through the room.

"Well, which dance can you fake?" she replied, the light twinkling in her eyes.

"Is it the waltz, tango, cha-cha, swing, or club dancing?" she asked though she could guess that it would confuse the poor boy even more.

Ian:"Well um." *He looked around the room, as if it would offer some sort of clue.*"I can fake..um...slow...dancing. Slow dancing." *he answered her stupidly*"If there's more than one kind...just take that as my answer, please." *he begged.*

"Ah, so stand there and sway side to side. Well, then this room," she said gesturing at the walls around them, "will be of no use to you. It being a ballroom."

She eyed the kid. He begged more than she liked. He needed a bit of a spine, and he was a gryffindor. Aren't they supposed to be brave?

"Unless, of course, you would like to learn," she added with a second thought, her head tilting slightly to the left, giving her an air of questioning and assessment.

Ian:"I guess I'll learn...in case I need to know it in the future. It's supposed to impress girls but...that's never actually been proven or anything."

*He was clearly embarrassed now, too. He didn't take too well to dancing with girls in the first place, let alone girls who were older than him. He was 12, he would be considered crazy if he wasn't nervous.*


OOC: Sorry I took so long to post.