Priya had briefly considered not going to the ball at all, however, she knew that wasn’t an option. Even if the idea of a haunted graveyard was far from her ideal ball theme, her parents would expect her to be in attendance and to socialize with the other purebloods in their social circle. She was expected to make a good showing, to wear the best outfit and to make sure that everyone knew the MacMillans were thriving. Priya felt incredibly out of her comfort zone as she picked a dress to wear that evening. But she finally settled on a black, lace dress that she had forever but had never worn. She paired it with a pair of her go-to back heels and had found a black mask in Hogsmeade that suited her well enough.

She made her way up to the Ballroom from the Hufflepuff commons with little expectations for the night. She hadn’t heard anything from her fiance since the Hogwarts term had begun, and it wasn’t like she could take another date even if there was someone that she fancied, so she would be attending this ball the same as she attended every other ball; alone. Though maybe it would be for the best that Hangyeom Hwang wouldn’t be in attendance; it was at the last ball that she had made an absolute fool of herself in front of him. That wouldn’t be happening again.

Priya navigated through the thick fog and past a woman giving out potions with mysterious side effects. She’d be staying far away from all of that, thank you very much. She found the normal refreshment table and poured herself a drink from the punch bowl before finding one of her pureblood friends and standing off to the side, chatting with her, completely unaware that her fiance was here and might be looking for her.

Outfit
Hangyeom Hwang,

Priya started as a man approached her from behind and set his hand on her shoulder. Of course Savtaj would recognize his twin, even with a mask on her face. “Try to have a little fun, aye Pri? Mom and dad aren’t here, you don’t have to be so uptight.” Her brother was gone again as quickly as he had arrived by her side. She rolled her eyes. She had seen who he brought as a date. Roxanne Weasley. That was quite a tricky way of getting around their parents ‘Pureblood Only’ rule, wasn’t it? The Weasley girl was a pureblood, and she was perfectly lovely from the little Priya knew of her, but she couldn’t imagine she was up to the caliber that their parents excepted.

“I’m fine, Savtaj.” she called after her brother. She hated that he pitied her. She knew that he did. He thought she was a pawn in her parents' game, like she didn’t know what she was doing, like she didn’t know what was expected of her. Maybe she wanted that life. Maybe she wanted to be a pretty housewife who never had to worry about anything other than raising her children and attending society parties. But that wasn’t a possibility to Sav or Sami, they hated the privilege they processed. Priya wasn’t going to be made to feel in the wrong for going along with the plan for her life. With a little huff under her breath of annoyance directed at her brother, she crossed the floor towards the punchbowl, needing something to drink.

Hangyeom Hwang,

Priya hadn’t been expecting her fiance to show up tonight. Nor had she been expecting him to seek her out at the punch bowl, so to say she was a little surprised by his sudden appearance was an understatement. Honestly if it wasn’t for his voice she wasn’t sure that she would have recognized him in his costume with his mask on. She supposed that was part of the concept of the masquerade party, though it made things a little more inconvenient than they needed to be. “Oh hello.” she greeted him with a small nod of her head. “I wasn’t expecting you to attend tonight.” she admitted. Not that she really knew what to expect from him ever. She rarely spoke to the man she was supposed to marry in a few years.

Though she had to admit, it was sweet that he asked if she was alright. He hadn’t checked on her like that before. She nodded. “Yes I’m just fine. My brother just knows how to get on my nerves.” she explained. Seeing him here, she couldn’t help but remember back to the fairytale ball last June when she had first met her fiance without knowing he was the one her parents were wanting to set her up with. “I’m sure you understand that having siblings of your own.” she added.

Hangyeom Hwang,

Apparently he wasn’t expecting to find her tonight either. But then Priya couldn’t help but linger on one of his words. He’d hadn’t expected to succeed in finding her, which meant that he was attempting to at least. He wanted to find her? Well that was kind of sweet. Or maybe it was just out of obligation. She expected that their families wanted them to be seen together, her mother surely commented enough on the importance of them getting to know each other and spending more time together. Though that was easier said than done while she was still a student.

However, her expression softened at his decision that since he hadn’t intended on coming and hadn’t given her any notice, she could go about her business and pretend that he wasn’t her partner, if she wished. She shook her head ever so slightly. “Oh no, that’s alright. There’s no need to pretend that we didn’t see each other.” she insisted. It wasn’t like they would even have that option for very much longer and Priya did hope to come to know him a little better as a person before she was wed to him.

Something about the little laugh that he gave at her brothers annoying display helped Priya to feel a little more settled in his presence. Maybe he wasn’t always as stuffy and serious as she had assumed he was. “Well I’m glad he’s good for something.” she smiled, echoing with a small laugh of her own. Savtaj had many good qualities, he just often chose not to show them. Priya hadn’t even thought about whether the punch had been spiked, she supposed she just had faith enough that it was safe to drink. She had already had nearly half a glass. “Oh goodness, I sure hope it’s not. It doesn’t taste like alcohol.” she insisted. She wasn’t opposed to drinking, but she wanted to be aware when she was. “I would tell you. If I knew.” she insisted. She would.

Hangyeom Hwang,