June 21st was a terrific day in many ways, but the thing that made it better than all the others was mainly the Midsummer Masquerade that was to take place that night in the cavernous dance hall of Hogwarts. The dance would kick start the new term hopefully with fond memories and smiles on the faces of the students.
The hall was decorated to look like a jungle or forest of sorts with vines covering the walls and floors and a canopy of leaves obscuring the ceiling. Only a small section of the room was clear for dancing, the rest was set up with tables that looked like they were simply continuations of the overgrown floor. The major color theme was green and brown, but here and there large exotic flowers gave a splash of color such as blue, orange, and yellow. The light was given mostly by golden orbs that floated around the room, but some blossoms on the vines also seemed to glow around the edges.

At the far end of the hall from the main doors sat the stage. Where the band would stand was clear of foliage, but the rest was overrun. Even the curtains were walls of leaves instead of fabric. Over all of it sat a sparkling coat of silvery dust that was subtle, but easily caught and reflected the dim light and made everything appear ethereal and fairy-esque.

Tonight was a night for magic, more so than any other night - despite that magic was a common occurrence at Hogwarts.

As the hours ticked on and house elves finished setting up the Sorting Hat, sitting idly on a stool at the stage, cleared his throat on cue from the Headmaster. The doors swung open to allow hordes of eager students to filter in and the Sorting Hat began the opening announcements. "Good evening lads and lasses! Welcome to the Midsummer Masquerade! There's not much to say. We've got the ever charming vocal stylings of Poisoned Veritaserum with us tonight to set the mood of magical and mysterious. You've got the masques and the dancing shoes. So, without further ado - let's get this party started!"

At the last word more light seemed to spill onto the stage and five very handsome, mysterious, and dangerous looking men walked out onto it. Fangs flashed momentarily as they grinned at the audience and then picked up instruments and microphones.

"Darling, dear
I smell your fear
But don't you know
This is right tonight?

Love can give you quite a scare
But always know that I care.
I won't hurt you.
I won't leave you.
I'm telling you that this is right tonight.

You and me.
Right here.
Right now.
We are right tonight."

The sultry tunes of the band drifted over the room and so began the Midsummer Masquerade.

It was a clear, warm evening. The sun was setting outside and casting a warm golden light around the Slytherin girls' dormitory through the enchanted windows in the walls and the four girls she shared the room with were bustling around, practically out of breath, trying to get ready for the masquerade ball that night. Meanwhile Tierney was sitting on her bed, unperturbed by the looming dance. What did she care if she showed up a little late? It wasn't like she had a date or anyone to impress. In fact she didn't even have anyone to see really. She'd probably scoot off to find Tristise if the lycaness even made an appearance, or she'd just mosey around being bored.

To be honest she didn't even know why she was going. Maybe just to have something to do. Maybe just to dress up. Tierney did love to dress up... She let out a long sigh of relief as the girls in her dormitory finally exited. The air in the room automatically seemed lighter and easier to breathe. Maybe that was because the open door let some of the perfume diffuse out of the room.

Standing, Tierney walked to her trunk at the end of her four poster and opened it. She dug around in it's depths for a moment and then pulled out a long blue Grecian style gown with three silver bands under the bust, at the waist, and on the hips. Lazily she undressed and redressed in the silky number before slipping on silver pumps and then grabbing her wand to put up her hair. She chose a complex up do of knots and twists with a few pieces hanging on either side of the face. Makeup wasn't so much her thing. She dusted her cheeks with blush, lined her eyes with kohl, and slid on some shimmery lip gloss. She finished off with a very light coating of glitter on her shoulders and collar bone.

Once she felt satisfied that she looked dressed up enough without looking like she actually spent time on it she pulled out a sparkling blue and silver mask and tied it around her face comfortably. Finished with her preparations she checked the clock, saw she'd arrive 'fashionably' late according to most, and with a nod of approval she set off out of the common room and into the halls to make her way to the dance.

Sure enough the Dance Hall was already quite full and the band was playing. People were dancing, laughing, flirting - all the lovely things that go on at a dance. Tierney sighed lightly, braced herself, and then entered the fray. She made her way to an empty table and plopped herself as gracefully as possible into a chair there where she decided to wait out the initial start-of-dance rush.