Where I feel at home [Open]

[ayannazabini]

A

[/i]yanna pushed open the Entrance Hall doors with a sigh, welcoming the bitter cold outside without looking around her. Her lesson's earlier that day hadn't gone as routine, the very thought of them giving her the sudden urge to write to her father and beg for a pensieve. It wasn't every day she got into a heated argument with Slughorn. Though, just in the past few weeks it sure seemed that way. He'd never complained about her technique before. The results she presented were always more than perfect, so the nerve of the walrus to speak up now of all times was infuriating. They were too close to their N.E.W.T.'s, she couldn't afford to change everything she knew now.

He'd given her detention that Saturday, pushing back her plans for Quidditch practice. The team would be overjoyed, of course. No practicing in the middle of harsh weather like this was a miracle. She'd work them twice as hard the next weekend, she knew it already. No mercy, the next match wasn't going to be a nice one. The end of the year was drawing to a close and they needed that cup.

Grumbling under her breath, she pushed passed an unsuspecting student with a quick "Sorry" and continued on through the snow, one destination in mind. The day had come to an end and the bag on her shoulder grew heavier and heavier as she continued to walk towards the lake. This was the only place she'd allow herself to retire to, every other part of the castle annoyingly occupied by bodies and noise. The Slytherin common room would be no place to go to if she really did want to be alone, though she knew it would only be a matter of time before she was forced back to the dungeons.

She reached the edge of the once luscious lake, looking down at the thick ice before sinking down into the frozen patch of grass. A small warming spell silently erupted from her wand, encircling her before she fully relaxed against the boulder behind her. Ayanna's bag slipped from her shoulders, joining her in the grass. This was truly heaven for her, the only thing missing was a rather large thermos of hot chocolate or a bottle of firewhiskey. Either would have hit the spot.[/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[ian]

With a cup of hot chocolate mixed with Firewhiskey in hand, Ian dragged himself out of bed. He had a head cold for a while now, and nothing seemed to make him feel better. He even got permission from Pomfrey to miss his classes for the day. So instead of waking up at some unGodly hour, he awoke at one in the afternoon. He looked out the window to see the snow falling and groaned. He liked to practice Quidditch as often as possible, even if it was just by himself. When it was snowing however... it always made things worse. Just the specks of snow against him in already the cold wind. It honestly chilled Ian to the bone. However, it was a good excuse to take the day off, if the cold wasn't a good enough excuse as it was.

Regardless, Ian decided he would use the afternoon to spy on whoever decided to practice at the Pitch. He got dressed, pulled on his peacoat and then pulled a comb through his hair. His nose was still somewhat red from his cold, but overall he was looking at least a little better. Ian left the common room without speaking to anyone. He wasn't a mean guy, but just wasn't a morning person.

Ian exited into othe field and drank slowly from his thermos. It burned on the way down but kept away the chill from the somewhat strong wind. Through the blinding white, however, he saw long dark hair blowing around. He raised an eyebrow to himself. Even at a distance, he could still recognize Ayanna Zabini. She was easily the best-looking girl in Slytherin house and was Quidditch Captain to boost. Honestly, if Ian wasn't always doing extra assignments to make up for poor marks, he would use his free times trying to tempt her to give him private practice on the field.

Forgetting all about the Quidditch Pitch idea, he made a beeline for Ayanna.

"Isn't it a little cold to be out here?" Ian asked without joining her on the ground as he sipped out of his thermos.

Ian didn't really know what else to say to her. They barely spoke outside of the field or when she was telling him when practice was. Besides, she always seemed so... busy. Or maybe that was just in Ian's mind. Regardless, he didn't mind being alone with her now. It was never a bad thing to be in the presence of someone so attractive.

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[ayannazabini]

O

[/i]ut of the corner of her eye, Ayanna watched as someone approached the lake from the Quidditch pitch. There were very few students out and about in the harsh weather and she wondered if this particular person was coming to talk to her or if their curiosity of the lake matched hers. Not many people usually spent time near the Black Lake. The squid kept up his reputation nicely. Moment's later, however, Ayanna recognized the figure as one of her own on the team. She'd known Ian Baxter since the first year she'd started school. They'd even shared a compartment for about an hour that very first journey to Hogwarts when she was eleven. After that hour was up, however, Narcissa had come by the compartment and swept her away to join her family.

"I t's always too cold on the grounds during winter, Baxter," Ayanna retorted, glancing up at him for a moment with a smirk. He was right, the cold had been biting for some time now despite her warming charm. Flicking her wand lightly again intensified the heat a bit more and she felt her muscles relax. "I don't know what you're doing out here, if it's much too cold," she teased with a small smile.

Her eyes traveled from the top of his head to his feet before she adverted her eyes back to the lake. He'd filled up nicely since he'd first started school, remembering the other times they'd come in contact with each other. He'd been on the team for a few years now, just like she had and they'd both gotten physically superior because of it. In fact, just that year Ayanna had seemed to notice that a lot of the Slytherin boys had matured rather nicely and Ian was definitely on that list.

With a soft sigh, she slipped out of her heavy jacket, letting the warmth of the charm sink into her clothes and get through to her skin. "By the way, I'm going to have to cancel practice this Saturday. I really don't want to track everyone down myself, I have too much to do. You won't mind telling the other's for me, will you?" If honesty was the case, Ayanna didn't want to see the looks of pure joy from the other teammates when they heard she'd gotten herself mixed into some heavy detention. They'd never let her live it down.[/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[ian]

Ian didn't really usually make it habit to go to the lake. It wasn't that he hated it by any means; in fact, he found it quite peaceful. It just always seemed so overwhelmed by studious pupils and he just wasn't one of them. It was like the huge, giant, scary squid helped them with their studying or something. Personally, Ian didn't understand it. It was obvious that Ayanna wasn't studying, however. It looked as if she was simply just sitting. Simple, easy, but not the greatest conversation starter. At least if he had seen her on the pitch he could have made a comment or something about her flying.

"True," Ian agreed as he looked at her smirk. Was it just him, or did all Slytherins smirk? He knew that even he was guilty of doing such a facial expression on occasion. It was almost that due to their cunning they always felt one step ahead. Ian hardly ever felt one step ahead of anyone, but the smirk felt natural on his face nonetheless. "I guess that's what makes us Slytherins, Zabini," he continued, over-pronouncing her last name in an almost sarcastic fashion. "We're willing to do almost anything to get away from the clutter of people."

As much as he said it, Ian didn't really mean it. He didn't mind being around others, providing he was in the mood. He was in his last year of Hogwarts and still felt baffled that all of the other Houses ostracized him merely because he was a Slytherin. He could completely understand other Slytherins' hatred of other Houses. Slytherins were always considered the ones to be hateful towards others, but Ian fully believed after a while it was a defence against the other Houses picking on them.

Ian noticed Ayanna's eyes look over his body and he didn't know whether to feel uncomfortable or flattered. She didn't exactly look put off, but he averted his gaze for a moment anyways. Call him socially awkward. As intimidating as other members of his House could be, Ian wasn't very intimidating for the most part. Yes, he could be sarcastic; yes, he could be a bit spineless at times; but mean wasn't really built into him. The only thing he had going for him was that he could have a sharp tongue if irritated to such a point. It didn't happen very often as he actually had a lot of patience (outwardly), but when it did - well, he could get a little nasty.

When Ian looked back at Ayanna, he noticed that she had slipped off her jacket. He took a larger gulp than usual and hoped that she didn't notice. They didn't speak much, true, but that didn't mean that Ian didn't have eyes. Or the fact that he was fairly square when it came to girls anyways. He never actually even had a girlfriend or a first kiss which was extremely lame, especially considering he was a Slytherin. Well, he knew other inexperienced Slytherins as well, but they usually lied about it. Not that he was expecting anything about Ayanna, but certain thoughts he couldn't help enter his mind.

Ian also couldn't help his eyebrow raise at her statement.

"Too much to do? You're Quidditch Captain," he retorted. It didn't come out rude by any means and he actually sounded like he was joking around, but underneath the friendly demeanor he was a bit serious. If Quidditch was cancelled, he would have nothing to do and would be forced to focus on his studies. "I mean, sure I'll tell everyone, but if I get my ass kicked for being the bearer of bad news, I may as well have an explanation. So what do you have to get up to?"

Ian didn't even think about whether he was being too nosey with his questions - it was his socially awkward side showing. Besides, he felt like he deserved an explanation, which was a feeling that he didn't think would be mutual.

"When will the next practice be anyways? Can't you just bump it to Sunday or something? We have a match coming up, after all."

Figured it only took her to bring up Quidditch to get more than a short sentence out of him.

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[ayannazabini]

A

[/i]yanna scowled at the way he'd said her name but the expression quickly slipped off her face, her eyes finding the lake again. Though Ian had been on her team as long as she could remember, they hadn't exchanged too many words in the past. Ayanna didn't know whether it was because she was intimidating or if Ian just felt no interest in getting to know her better. Aya just hadn't noticed enough to take the time, usually she made it a habit to get to know her teammates better.

"The clutter of people just grow more and more ignorant. It's right of us to want to stay away," Ayanna said, a rather bitter undertone emerging through her words. It had been too long that she'd seen unfair treatment towards the people in her own house. Not only did the other houses not want anything to do with them, but they were the target for all of their prejudice. There wasn't a doubt in her mind why Slytherin rebelled.

At the thought of Ian distributing her news, she couldn't help but feel a little relieved. Not too many of her housemates would have agreed to help her, though his need to know more than necessary was irritating. "To be perfectly honest, I hope you do get your ass kicked for being the bearer of bad news. Merlin knows I haven't seen a fight in much too long. I don't have to tell you anything," she said stubbornly, throwing him a sideways look. It seemed fair though, by any means, but she really didn't want to put herself in that situation. If Ian didn't give her crap about it, Colle sure would.

"Sluggy gave me detention," she admitted begrudgingly, not speaking loud enough with the hopes that Ian hadn't heard her at all. "I know we have a match coming up, the walrus shouldn't have messed with my Saturday. I was planning on making it Sunday anyway, but Reg has things to do and one of the Chasers has detention with McGonnagal. I think we're just going to have to stick with Monday after classes. It's tedious, but we'll make it work."

Ayanna gave him one more look over before settling back against the rock, rolling her sleeves up to her elbows due to the warmth surrounding her. She appreciated the help and she wanted to let him know that. "Thanks, Ian," she said with a small smile. "I owe you one."

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[ian]

Ian smiled at the way Ayanna scowled. It actually amused him. He wasn't smirking or grinning, he legitimately smiled. For some reason when he bothered people mildly, he took great joy out of it. Maybe it was because he got a reaction out of someone other than pure boredom. Besides, he found Ayanna's facial expressions amusing as well.

Ian wasn't exactly sure what Ayanna meant by 'ignorant' but he decided to go along with it. He didn't want to be awkward and not reply or agree. In all honesty, Ian wasn't the smartest guy around and when someone made a comment like she had, he always felt like there was something going on that he wasn't aware of.

"No one ever really gives us a chance," Ian agreed, hoping that he was accurate on his assumption that she was referring to the way others treated their House. "I wonder what it would be like to attend Durmstrang. I'm sure none of this would happen. Probably have more ... erm... interesting lessons than what is taught here."

Ian was pretty much talking out of his ass. He didn't actually mind Hogwarts that much. Yes, the whole House rivalry was annoying, but for him it was simply that: annoying. It was nothing that actually made him angry deep down within him. In fact, not much really riled him up. Well, sometimes jealousy did, but that was uncontrollable. Everyone feels jealousy anyways, he wasn't alone.

Ian raised an eyebrow at her comments about him getting beat up. "Well, nice to know you don't think I could take them on," Ian joked with a pretend irritated tone. "Come on, you see those pack of boys take the piss out of Snape every day. Guess that's not as good as a fist fight, though."

"Monday?" he repeated, this time actually not sounding pleased. "Come on, you're the Captain. Why can't we just practise despite everyone else's stupid schedules? As long as you're there, it's all that matters. I mean, unless we're missing half the team or something... but even then, we could make it work. Wish we could have practise every day."

Ian honestly meant it, too. He wasn't good at his studies, but Quidditch was his passion. If only he were better friends with more of the players, he would have been more than happy to take a couple of them out multiple times a week for private practise. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, and unless he wanted to go out alone, he was shit out of luck.

With Ian's mind, when she said 'I owe you one', all he could think of were dirty things. He kept them to himself, but a smirk broke through anyways.

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[ayannazabini]

Ayanna sent another scowl his way at the cheeky smile he gave her, picking up the jacket she had slipped off and standing from her spot on the grass. Ian had said something about Drumstrang and she nodded, remembering her talk with her father more times than she could count. "I practically begged to be sent to Drumstrang, but father thought it best to attend Hogwarts like my brother. He didn't want to show favoritism," she smirked, knowing, out of his children, Wayne truly did favor his daughter. In her own opinion, she was brighter with a much better chance at owning up to her family name. "They do take the dark arts pretty seriously and I'd like to think that would be far more interesting than the less than adequate teachers we've had in this school so far. The ones that can stay more than a term, that is."

As she stood to her fullest height, she remembered why she had chosen Ian for the position he was in. He wasn't short, but a bit shorter than the rest of her chasers, stocky build and good upper body strength. Brute strength and agility. Perfect. "Oh, I'm sure you could take them, though why you'd want to beat down the rest of your team so close to another match is beyond me. One beater can be replaced, but three chasers, another beater and a seeker would be a bit more difficult," she teased, knowing Ian would get the joke. Ayanna was well known as a fair captain, tough on the Quidditch field when needed to be. Her team was disciplined enough to know when fucking around was acceptable and when it wasn't. The subject of Severus came up and she frowned instantly, shaking her head. "Sev needs to learn to hold his own, I hate that he lets those illiterate baboons take the micky out of him," she said bitterly, crossing her arms in front of her.

A bit of the cold had seeped through her warming charm but she embraced it, loving the small chill in the midst of the heat that encircled her. The sleeves she'd rolled up staying where they were as she draped her jacket over her arm and unbuttoned the first button of her shirt absentmindedly. Hearing the distress in his voice caused her to actually smile this time. It pleased her to know her team loved Quidditch just as much as she did. "Alright, alright. I already booked the field for the entire day Saturday. I'm pretty sure Sluggy's only going to take over my morning and, to be perfectly honest, I know you guys usually have plans Saturday evening. Tell the others to wipe their schedules, we practice on Saturday until nightfall," she said with a small nod.

Glancing back at him for a moment as she prepared to go back inside the castle, she caught the mischievious smirk on his face and rolled her eyes, punching his arm playfully. "Wipe that stupid look off your face, I don't owe you that badly," she smirked.

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[ian]

Ian was almost about to burst out laughing at all of her scowls, but didn't care. Unless most people in other Houses who seemed to fear Slytherins, he highly doubted that Ayanna was going to curse him for something as little as grinning because she scowled. He didn't put it past her to attempt to curse him for something a little more severe, but he was currently doing nothing other than just simply annoying her. It was hardly a crime, and he doubted she saw it that way either.

"I didn't even have the option to go," Ian remarked, mournfully. "We live here so I go here. Besides, carrying on family tradition and whatnot. I don't know, if I have kids one day I bellieve I'll send them to Durmstrang. Start a new family tradition. Not one that centers around a wishy-washy school."

As much as Ian wasn't as much of a 'bad guy' as a lot of people in Slytherin, he did believe in all his years at the school that it was wishy washy. It seemed to lack a lot of focus, unlike many of the other wizarding schools. Yes, he would rather attend Hogwarts than no school at all, but it wasn't until he reached his mid-teens that he realized that perhaps Hogwarts wasn't really the best school, despite what many others said.

"You have siblings?" Ian said with a blank look on his face. His brain quickly went through the students in Slytherin, but Ian's memory was subpar at best. They could potentially be in other Houses, but he doubted it with the last name 'Zabini.' He was really hoping there wasn't something like she was a twin and that he was completely oblivious.

"Psh, you could never replace me," Ian joked before he even meant to. Did he believe it? Sort of. He wasn't good at well, anything really. Quidditch was the only thing he really had a knack for. Beater he was best at. He believed he could probably work any position other than Beater except Seeker, but he honestly believed he was probably the best Beater at Hogwarts. He could be wrong, but he highly doubted it.

"Maybe you should give Severus some lessons on how to hold his own," Ian suggested. To be honest, the only reason why it bothered Ian that they were bullying Snape was because Snape was a Slytherin. Honestly, Ian didn't care much for the boy. Why should he? He never expressed these feelings, however, and merely kept them to himself.

Ian noticed that she had unbuttoned the first button on her shirt but pretended to not. He wasn't sure if she was doing it intentionally or not. Really, he didn't care either way. Okay, that was a lie. He did care. Especially because if she was doing it intentionally... well, that would be kind of hot.

"Thank God," Ian said in response to her booking the field for all of Saturday. "Just until night fall? What, we can't put some fires into jars for some light and continue onward to make up for lost time?"

As much as many might say that Ian was pretending to be so enthusiastic about it, he really would play that long. He didn't have anything else going for him, so why not?

"Can't blame a bloke for trying," Ian replied, unusually flirty.

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