A View Of Heaven From A Certain Hell

[nicky]

Late was an understatement, but with no date there would be nobody at the dance who would have even noticed his absence. None the less Nicholas was rushing down the corridors, the Hufflepuff Cellar wasn’t exactly a great distance from the Hall but a rush was required. Why? Because Nicholas doesn’t want to miss anything. He’d be nothing short of gutted if he missed something interesting and he’d be kicking himself for weeks if not months if he missed something the Marauders have pulled.

Dress robes weren’t something that he found extremely comfortable, but still he wore one in which he’d made extra pockets within for all of the little bits and bobs he intends on sneaking into the ball. A flask of fire whiskey nestled within one of them, an alcohol kick that he had initially planned on giving himself before getting to the hall, but for now it lay forgotten in his haste. He just hoped to whoever the hell may be listening to his mind that things weren’t going to get riled up until after he was present. Mostly he hopes that maybe this time, maybe tonight he could lend a hand to those he looks up to, the four guys that everybody in the castle knew of. Ever since his first year he’s wanted to be one of them, but like most idolizations, you can never quite bring yourself to approach what you want.

A cat lounging in the corridor brought Nick out of his reverie and he bounced over quickly to avoid tripping and possibly harming himself and the fluffy slug sprawled on the floor. An indignant meow was pretty much all he got for not watching where he was going, that and a stumble in which bought him almost crashing to the floor. Grace is something Nick lacks in large quantities, but speed he has down to a tee. Bright eyes stared back at the feline for a moment, his cheeks flushed with exertion, hair the usual ruffled mess it always it. He looked just as breathless as he was, chest rising and falling rapidly in short, shallow breaths as his body struggled to repay the oxygen debt that his overworked muscles had built up. He looked very much energetic still though, there’s nearly always an aura of buzzing energy pulsating around him, his need to just do something or say something reflective in his entire demeanor. By no means does this boy come across as shy, nor lazy, nor particularly normal, but let’s ignore the latter. He lives in his own energetic bubble and it’s there that he’ll forever be staying.

After quickly apologizing to the cat he’d turned, feet one again thumping against the floor as he hurried towards the hall. His stop was abrupt, the towering Slytherin stalking from the hall making him just stop in his tracks in shock, he doesn’t often see people this angry and when he does he does try his utmost best to help. Watching the dark haired man approach he had to wonder exactly what had gone wrong within the hall, had the Marauders pulled something already?

“Hey! Hey mister!” Yes, he had just referred to a Death Eater as ‘mister’, does he particularly care? No, because in his mind everybody loves a nickname, “Are Sirius and James still in the hall? Did you see them? What about Remus and Peter?” Nick knows full well that the Marauders are at their best when all team members are present. “Hey, mister.. You don’t look so happy..” It wasn’t as if he’d just noticed and he was pretty sure that Rabastan was well aware of the way he appeared right now but even still, stating the obvious sometimes has to be done, “if you’re gonna curse me, can you not put me in a cupboard..? I got a spider in my hair last time, crawled all over my face it did, nasty..” His face creased into a little grimace, cheeks still mildly pinkened from his rush, his tone still ever so mildly breathless. “It’s the legs, y’know?” Emphasis had to be giving here, fingers wriggling like little spider legs for a visual aid to accompany his ramblings. He was so busy watching his own fingers that any reaction from Rabastan would have went very unnoticed.

Needless to say, Rab will be forgotten and bounced away from as soon as Sirius exits the hall, he’ll want to follow the Marauder. Sirius is no doubt this boy’s favourite of the four, he’ll be convinced that he’s up to no good, it’s just too intriguing for somebody like Nicholas to ignore.

[Lena Marie Becket]

if the clouds are just too high
I F I T O S S A N D T U R N A N D F A L L B Y T H E W A Y S I D E , J U S T F O L L O W T H E S T A R S

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T

HE conversation about his ego and its size was just amusing.“That it is,” she mused in answer to his question on if his ego was so large from a good reason or not. It was actually, as even then there were still girls glaring at her for being the lucky one to be dancing with him, being kissed by him, just being near him. Girls could be petty creatures, and Lena had no patience for them if they were like that. But she was not above rubbing it in their faces that he wanted to be with her and not any of the others. She wouldn’t go spouting it off or throwing it around. But she would enjoy the fact that she could show them that she wasn’t a stupid wallflower. Being friends with the Marauders left her open to a lot of attacks on her character by people who were jealous. And, normally, she just ignored them all because they weren’t worth her time. It was just nice to be able to enjoy a night with one of her best friends plus show the rumor mongers that Sirius was not with her because he lost a bet.

When it came to the kiss, Lena was just letting it all go. If he didn’t bring it up, she wouldn’t and would just treasure the memory. Personally, she would just rather things stay fine between them and she had a feeling that if she brought up the kiss and why he had done it, it might possibly rip apart their relationship because they would fight. And the two of them fighting were one of the last things Lena ever wanted to do. But if he ever brought it up, she would of course talk about it. She was actually hoping he would bring it up so she could tell him she had liked it and really wanted him to do it again. But that would depend on Sirius. Their whole relationship was just odd.

The offer for going outside for a while sounded great, it was really hot in there especially on the dance floor where body heat was making the temperature skyrocket, so she sent him a smile and said “That would be perfect.” And with that she slid her arm through his, being careful of the drinks, letting him lead her through the crowd and out the doors. Her gaze slid to the sky, feeling her mind relax as she looked up at the stars in the surprisingly clear sky. At least it wasn’t snowing so they would be able to walk around without too much difficulty. “It’s really nice out here. The stars look beautiful.” She spoke softly, not wanting to break the silence around them so much.

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WORDS && 460
TAGS && everyone
OUTFIT && click here
CREDIT && lyrics from "90% Gravity" by thebestbandintheuniverse Bridges I Burn, template by Madame Grimm of Caution.
NOTES && sorry it sucks so much. i didn't have much else yet.

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[Kaine Gates]

Kaine was only slightly late...only by a few minutes. He had been too busy faffing with his cuffs...they were annoying and in the way and just....too much work. Honestly, the effort he had actually put in tonight was a little bit crazy.

He stopped by yet another mirror in the Slytherin common room as he headed out, checking his hair was immaculate and removing the smallest of creases from his suit jacket. He adjusted the small blue flower he'd slipped into the top pocket. Addie had mentioned at some point that she would be wearing blue tonight. A snippet of that information had leaked into Kaine's very male-orientated brain and he had managed to do as much as get a flower to match. It would do. He could also give it to her when they met up to go in, which he figured she'd like as a nice gesture.

That was a good point actually....he really needed to go meet her!

He hurried out of the common room and walked briskly along through the dungeons. He actually felt very smart, with his dark trousers, crisp white shirt and dark suit jacket. The blue flower in his pocket was a nice contrast. He fiddled with his cuffs again as he walked, readjusting the cuff links for the millionth time that evening. Most fittingly for a Slytherin, he of course had snake cuff links at his wrists, each with a small gem in it's eyes. He had to wear something representative of his house...else he'd get lynched once they were back in the dungeons. Not that it mattered....he was going to get a severe talking-to at the very least, seeing as his date was a Gryffindor girl.

He shook off thoughts of those worries for the moment and concentrated on walking without bumping into anything or anyone. lacing one hand in his trouser pocket, he came up out of the dungeons, and instantly spotted Addie stood waiting for him on the stairs. He smiled widely, the gesture lighting up his whole face. He headed over to her, sub-consciously smoothing down his jacket as he went.

"Evening," he said calmly, standing before her and inclining his head ever so slightly. Taking the flower from his pocket, he stepped forward and gave it to her, somewhat shyly. "Thought this might match your dress," he said, the smile still fixed on his face. "Hope you like it."

There were people walking all around them, some heading towards the ball and others heading away. Some threw the pair some curious glances; Kaine was well known throughout the school, mainly because he had a younger sister in a lower year, and it probably shocked them to see him in such close proximity with a Gryffindor. Ah well...let them stare. He was determined for tonight to be a success.

{Word Count - 493}
{Comments - Heehee xD}

[integra echoes]

She stumbled a bit into the table and looked back at him as rage boiled inside her. What the hell was that for? She showed up. FOR HIM!!! She hadn't drank, and she looked nice not slutty. She wasn't being horrible to anyone. She was doing everything he asked. and for what? To be insulted and attacked. They were supposed to be following Rabastan's example. He was one of the highest standing pure bloods in the school. Probably the highest. But getting like that with her was something she didn't tolerate from anyone. And to see it come from someone who had the ability to be their leader... Integra found it irresponsible and reckless.

She held her breath leaning against the table and watching as he insulted her calling her a whore among other things. She looked away a little and squared her shoulders. Once he'd stalked away she straightened up and smoothed her dress and hair. "Disrespectful bastard." She muttered to herself before looking up at the rest of the room. A few younger students who had not learned to ignore a public outburst, were staring at her. "Go a way. OR would you rather I hex you into next week?!" If they were not mistaken her cheeks were rather red and had she been anyone else they would have speculated she was crying as she moved passed.

Integra took one glance at Alecto. The blonde's eyes were watching. Rabastan was friends with the girl. A theory she held for only certain people. Integra never disliked Alecto. She was one of them and she'd never bothered Integra or gotten in her way, but at that exact moment she was a woman Rabastan liked better than her and wasn't attacking for no reason. "What are you looking at? Her voice was snide and a little hurt. She could feel her chest tightening. Was this... embarrassment? It was pain! Good God the girl had feelings! And a heart!! And Rabastan Lestrange had just stomped on them.

Putting a hand to her chest, she shoved passed the people in the Great Hall and into the fresher air in the corridor. The air coming from all over the old castle cooled her cheeks. Breathing a moment, Integra gathered her dress in her hand and very quickly made her way for the dungeon stairs.

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[Annelise Westerhof]

What Alecto said to Annelise admittedly worried Annelise. 'Rumours can get out of control sometimes'... the phrase itself worried her. She bit her lip in an anxious fashion. She wasn't very good at controlling the emotions on her face, and it was occasionally her downfall.

"Have you seen Remus?" Annelise asked, not able to help herself think of what the Slytherins said earlier about Remus having some other girl on his arm. It was completely irrational, really, but the paranoid part of Annelise told her otherwise. Perhaps it was too much alcohol and too many Slytherins speaking to her, but it was almost as if everything was falling into place. Why else would Remus not be there when he had been nothing but punctual every other time that they were set to meet?

Not long after she spoke these words, however, did Remus approach both girls. Annelise didn't know what to think. Was she mad or relieved that he had shown up? She tried to not react the 'normal' way of a girl (which would be to grill him about it), but couldn't bring herself to be completely forgiving either. She glanced at Alecto and tried to not let herself be swayed by the Slytherin's words, but it was hard. Instead, Annelise smiled and merely said, "Where have you been?"

The whole situation was a lot more awkward than she was trying to make it. Usually her interactions with Remus weren't being taken under the watchful eye of someone else. In fact, before tonight, she didn't really think that anyone paid them much attention at all. Now all she could think about was the potential amount of people watching both of them.

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[adeline claire giovanni]

She didn't know what to say when he came around the corner into her view. He looked fine when he was dressed up all nice, but Adeline actually preferred the tee-shirt Kaine more. Not that she wasn't happy about him being here with her, she was ecstatic about it. Kaine Gates was her very first date to the Valentines Ball since she first attended this school and he would be her last date to this dance, seeing as it was both their last year at Hogwarts. She wanted to make it the best night she could for him. Her eyes scanned his features carefully with a bright smile, and mindlessly her hand went to her hair twisting the ends around her index finger, a nervous habit nonetheless.

"Evenin'," she replied with a smile, there was nothing to be nervous about, aside from the fact that they were from rival houses. The flower he handed her was nothing but extraordinary and she took it with the utmost satisfaction. "It is beautiful." Her eyes were alight and she looked up at him from the flower as she began fixing it into her hair. She didn't need to lie to him about anything, she was beginning to realize that this could go somewhere amazing and she didn't want to ruin it. If he didn't like her for who she was than she wasn't going to try. Hopefully that wasn't the case.

Stepping forward she looked down a little. "I did not bring you anything, I am terribly sorry." Looking back up at him she smiled calmly and nodded her head. "You are looking very good tonight though," shyness crawled up her spine, she had the nerve to ask him to accompany her to the dance in the first place, she didn't know why she could hardly talk to him right now. She didn't care about dancing she just wanted to spend the evening with him and not have to worry about a thing. Her heart was caught in her throat. Stares at her were hard to control and she didn't know if she could quite ignore them at all or not let them all through, but there was nothing that she could do about it.

Adeline felt more forward than she had been before and she took his hand carefully in hers, and took a step off the stair above his, stood on her tiptoes and planted a small peck on his cheek. A smile on her lips. "I'm glad you said yes, I wouldn't want it any other way." Pushing a curl of hair behind her ear and looked up at him, her pearly whites showing like no other, she was so full of glee she had no idea what else to do.

{word count} 480
{comments} squueeeee

[Remus John Lupin]

Had Remus known the thoughts on Annelise's mind, he would definitely have been more worried. As it was, though, he couldn't read minds and maybe it was just as well that he couldn't, because he felt guilty enough already. Worried too, for that matter, because as he spoke to Annelise, he couldn't quite put his finger on her reaction. Was she angry with him (and rightly so)? Was she glad to see him?
She smiled and asked him where he'd been, but there was something behind the smile, something held back which only sufficed to make Remus more uneasy (not to mention Alecto being an audience to their conversation!).

"I'd forgotten it was today," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck and looking away briefly before forcing himself to look her back in the eye - the least he could do. "Was in the library, reading up on something." Talk about obvious information - what else would he be doing in the library?
He didn't like this, he didn't like all these people here. Remus' eyes wandered off to the exit Sirius and Lena had just gone through, disappearing out of sight. He sort of wanted to do the same, just leave the party and spend time with Annelise only, without all these other people - but that would be unfair of him. He had already made Annelise wait for him and it would be stupid and rude to take her away from the party the moment he arrived. Sure, he wasn't in a very festive mood, but that didn't mean he had to ruin her evening any further.

Looking back at Annelise, he tried to still look sorry without looking desperately pathetic, and his eyes strayed to her empty cup. "Can I.. get you a drink, maybe?" he asked, nodding over at the table where the punch bowl was. He really hoped Annelise would say 'yes', he just wanted to be away from Alecto, he didn't like her.

[zeke]

Zeke was really quite entertained by the amount that she spoke. It’s unusual for him to really engage in conversation with somebody, especially in such a crowded area, this was a new phenomenon entirely and he honestly had no idea how to handle it other than to smile and simply listen. Given the amount that she was chatting away there wasn’t really much chance for him to get a word in edgeways, but he could quite happily wait and just pipe up in the short silences between her little outbursts.

“I didn’t know, no,” if he had then there would have been no chance that he’d have even picked up a cup of the punch. Ezekiel doesn’t particularly like having a drink, he’s a being of rationality and reason, in his mind alcohol just completely and utterly drowns out anything that makes him him. The loss of inhibitions is not a welcome thing to him, so really he was quite grateful for her removing it from his grasp. Though, to be fair, after one sip this boy would have been all too aware that the burning sensation in his throat wasn’t what he was expecting and it would have been put down pretty quickly, “you’re not disappointed in me, are you?” If she were then he’d try his very best to fade into the background again, maybe try to strike up a conversation with another Ravenclaw.. Not that he could see anybody from his house currently present.

We are the alphabet? He couldn’t suppress the quiet laughter that came from him, he really didn’t have the heart to tell her that his name was actually Ezekiel. ‘A’ to ‘E’ wasn’t nearly as impressive as the entire alphabet, he’d let her have her moment. A light pink hue brushed across his cheeks as he was called cute, compliments don’t really go down too well with Zeke, he just doesn’t know how to take them without becoming a stuttering, withdrawn and rather shy mess. Giving compliments is almost as awkward for him, his social skills are lacking a little, he spends far too much time in the library and not enough time with real people. He’d never been told that he makes somebody smile before, it was a nice feeling, a warm fuzzy feeling that just made him want to make her smile even more. Not that he’d know how the hell to go about doing that. He’d stick to just attempting to be charming.

He was spending the night with her now? There was no complaints from him, with the amount of candy in her bag he doubted that she’d be sleeping until the early morning, she’d be bouncing off of the walls for hours. And he was going to be able to witness it, he was actually quite excited, somebody wanted to spend time with him. Him. “I’d love to try some, thankyou.” Though he wouldn’t be reaching into her bag himself for the sweets, that’s rude, isn’t it? “And m’glad that you’ve chosen me.. You’re very pretty.” To his own ears he just sounds beyond awkward.

“I’m thanking you for being my date.. Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do?” He didn’t really have much time to think about much before his hand was in hers, her other hand upon his shoulder. He had never danced before in his life and right now he wasn’t entirely sure whether or not he could do this without making a complete and utter fool out of himself. She was so close to him, he could feel a line of warmth between their bodies, a distance he closed by just a few more centimetres as he placed his hand upon her waist, his fingers gently lacing with her left hand. He’s not so used to touching people, especially not cute girls and definitely never this close, “I’ll try not to stand on your feet.. and.. I think you’re a lovely height,” she was small enough to make him feel at least a little masculine.

Awkward turtle moment.. Shyness wasn’t a trait that was doing all too much for him right now, he was very, very aware that there were other people around.

[Sirius Black!]

Sirius had no idea that Lena had any desire whatsoever to gloat that she was the object of Sirius' affection - in fact, the only object of Sirius' affection as of yet. Well, not that she would be too pleased to be considered an 'object.' Regardless, he would no doubt feel arrogant about the fact that she was proud - although knowing Sirius' mentality, he would also get a little scared off by it. Chasing someone was all the fun for the seventeen-year-old, and the fact that she always let him chase her was the reason why Sirius believed that he hadn't lost interest.

One thing he was aware of, however, was other girls' jealousy towards her. He didn't like that one bit - why be jealous if he wasn't interested in them? It didn't make sense. Then again, he knew what jealousy felt like ... he felt it whenever he saw Lena and Kettleburn interact. He couldn't help but wonder if the only reason why his interest in Lena had sparked again was because he felt as if she was flirting with the Professor and therefore slipping away. If that was the case - well, he didn't really want to think about it.

Sirius allowed Lena to slip her arm through his as they went outdoors. The cold picked away at his face a bit uncomfortably, but it was mainly due to him being used to the heat indoors. He pulled away his wig and then ran his hand through his now flat hat-hair. He didn't know what his intention was bringing her outdoors, really. Maybe it was the alochol getting to him, but whatever the case he just didn't want to be in the middle the crowd anymore. He saw a stone bench nearby and led her over to it. She made a comment about the stars and Sirius let out a low chuckle.

"The stars?" Sirius repeated in a jokingly mocking tone. "Since when are you about the stars?"

He may not feel comfortable enough teasing other girls about stars, but he certainly was with Lena.

"I think the thing that's a little more interesting is that centaur lurking creepily in the Forest," Sirius noted, nodding his head to the dark Forest. He wasn't sure if it were a centaur, but he definitely noticed something shadowy moving through the trees. He hadn't seen James at all that night, so he was beginning to assume that James may have had a night to himself, transformed and the whole bit.

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[Annelise Westerhof]

There was something in Remus' eyes that told Annelise that even he thought something was wrong with her. Was there something wrong with her? She didn't really know what had happened her in the past year. She used to be so trusting, and suddenly she felt herself distrusting the only person who had never given her a reason to. Remus had been nothing but good to her throughout their relationship, but the wicked tongue of another immediately littered her mind with doubts. She had never been in a relationship before, so she had absolutely no reason to have fears of cheating.

"How did you forget?" Annelise wondered with a harsher tone than she had intended. It was a legitimate question. "You never wondered why there was no one in the entire school outside of the Great Hall, or wondered why people were running around doing their hair all day and being dressed up, or the constant talking about it? When did you think the Valentine's Dance would be - on St Patrick's Day?"

It was the most Annelise had ever even came close to lashing out at Remus. It was probably due to the fact that he had been so good in their relationship that she took his goodness for granted, so the only time he slipped up it suddenly seemed like there was something wrong or out of place.

"Yeah, sure, I'll take a drink," she mumbled. She didn't really know what had gotten in to her, other than the fact that she felt extremely annoyed. If it weren't for the entirely bad crowd around them, she doubted she would have thought any of these bad thoughts to begin with considering she knew deep inside Remus was a good guy. Maybe part of her was merely offended that Remus forgot about her, even if she knew he wasn't with someone else.

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[Remus John Lupin]

He didn't mean to give Annelise the idea something was wrong with her or her reaction, it just happened. He felt like nothing was solid anymore - he had forgotten something he wouldn't usually forget, Annelise didn't seem to be quite okay, either. Something was off, something wasn't quite right and that made it feel as though everything was wrong.
"How did you forget?" Remus barely stopped himself from wincing at her tone, though he did look increasingly more guilty as she asked if he hadn't wondered why the whole school was empty apart from here and how he could possibly have missed girls fussing over make up and hair and things. She probably had a right to be angry with him and snap like that - but that didn't mean he had to like it.

Remus opened his mouth to explain and then closed it again, suddenly realising that he could hardly talk about the real reasons for him forgetting. And even if he could - should he? No matter what excuse he came up with, it was just that - an excuse. His friends had hinted that he hid behind his Problem a bit too often sometimes (even if Remus insisted he hadn't, that he had no choice but to be careful - it wasn't that simple, he couldn't just live a normal life all the time) and he didn't want Annelise to think the same. Besides, he didn't want her to feel guilty. Nah, he'd take the blame.
"I'm sorry," he just said again, eventually. "I suppose it just- I suppose I'm just an idiot." He half smiled, still apologetically, and offered her his arm. "I'm here now, though?"

Walking her to the punch table again, he filled up her cup and handed it to her. "I really am sorry," he said again, quieter, and deciding that this would be the last time he said it, too, because it was bound to get annoying after a while. "But I'm glad I'm here and you were still here when I got here - you look gorgeous, I might've easily lost you to someone else." He was trying to joke. Not that he was joking about her looking gorgeous, because she did, and he meant it.

[Annelise Westerhof]

Annelise hardly even gave the thought that him forgetting had anything to do with his furry little problem. She seemed to always forget. Perhaps it was because the basis of their relationship hadn't been built on the fact that she knew he was a werewolf made her forget. To her, he wasn't really a werewolf. He was just a boy who had an issue that he couldn't control. She also didn't understand what it was like, either. Annelise didn't seem to be fully aware of how painful the whole thing was, and how very exhausting. Ignorance was really bliss in this case, but at the same time it hindered her ability to be understanding for once.

Remus was so apologetic that she had a hard time staying outwardly angry. Inside she was still annoyed, yes, but it was just that... thing that Remus did to her that made her forget about how stupid she felt standing there alone with practical devils in her ear.

"You're not an idiot..." Annelise said, her voice returning to the soft tone that it usually was. She honestly felt a little guilty for pulling a tone on Remus anyways. Of course, she didn't feel as guilty as he did about the entire thing, but it was something. "Can't say the same for most of the people still here, though..."

She wasn't sure whether she should tell him what they had said to her. Annelise couldn't help but think Remus would be a bit annoyed if he found out that she somewhat believed what they had said for even a moment. Would he believe them if they told him that she was with someone else? She highly doubted it, and it caused the pit of her stomach to feel much larger.

Remus' comment right after he question caused Annelise to quickly choke on her drink for a second. He couldn't read minds, as well, could he?

"You can't lose me that easily," she replied with a smile, although her eyes were still teary from the choking. "But thank you. What were you studying in the library that was so fascinating?"

Annelise noticed that the crowd was becoming gradually thinner. It wasn't the greatest turnout for a dance, and maybe people obviously felt the same way. She couldn't help but wonder why the Slytherin turnout was so high compared to any of the other Houses.

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[alecto mileena carrow]

Alecto enjoyed watching Integra getting worked up, her brief little comment showed how embarrassed the poor girl was and nothing more amused Alecto, it seemed that the night hadn't been a waste of time after all. She had had the chance to mess with Annelise's feelings but maybe she would some day, Alecto had already planted that little seed of thought that actually, for a Slytherin, she wasn't so bad and that was something Alecto enjoyed doing, gaining peoples trust and smashing it a thousand different ways in the most agonising of situations. She wouldn't have Annelise as a friend yet but maybe some day soon, clearly her relationship with Remus was a little rocky but the girl decided to give him another chance. How very lucky for the marauder ... this time around.

Leaving the two alone in their conversation Alecto headed towards the door of the dance. This night was not meant for her it seemed and so she left almost silently, just nudging into a few people on her way out that had foolishly crowded near the entrance of the hall. Such stupid people, Alecto despised idiots above all others, they were just so annoyingly frustrating, pure blooded or not, though blood state did help her overlook some people's stupidity, their nbood after all was valuable and it didn't mean their off spring would be entirely as dumb as the parents.

Leaving the hall Alecto did not head for the common room, instead she made her way to the grounds, it was a beautiful enough evening out though a little chilly. It was February after all so what could one really expect?

[ashlin o'mara]

She beamed up at him and shook her head. "No I'm na gonna be disappointed in ya! Ya 'ave a super cute face an' I can't be mad at ya fer not knowin!" That was the truth and she would stick with it, her hair bounced and she giggled and looked up at him. With the height she stopped growing at most would think she was nearing her fourth year, but the only thing that gave her away was her bust, not that she cared about that she hated being called short and it would only get worse with time, once people grew even taller she would stay the same give or take an inch.

Digging into her purse she looked up at him as he said he would like some flavors and she sighed. "I dun know wha' ya be wantin' go on! Dig!" She held her bag out wide and waited until her arms began to go numb. "Righ' now there's gonna only be sweets from the previous nigh' I 'ave not 'ad the time ta restock. I'm sure ya understand." Giggling she realized how nervous he was so she reached in and pulled out a handful and pushed it into the pocket of his pants. "No need ta be fickle, there tis more where tha' came from." Winking at him she found a safe place for her bag and set it down. "You're glad?! Well ya best be, don' wan' a sad date now do ya? An thank ya, me mum picked the dress out, tis me favorite color, wouldn' wan' anythin' other than this." She waved her arms around a bit and spun in a circle as the skirt frilled out.

Tilting her head she smiled at him again. "Well, than ya be welcome! I s'ppose tha' be the righ' thing ta do, but there not be a need fer thankin' we're 'ere ta 'ave a good nigh' an tha' is gonna 'appen like it or not!" Then it all started, sparks flew like fire the instant he had his hand around her waist, butterflies were aflutter within her stomach and she couldn't help but smile. So this is what love felt like. "So this is wa' Da felt when 'e met mum." She said it outloud without really meaning to and she looked up at him again. "It's not gonna hurt me, steel toes, I won' even notice tha ya did if ya do!" He liked her height and that made her stomach roll even more, she beamed up at him, she could feel herself calming down a little, she wasn't so chatty, instead she was trying to figure out what she was feeling inside. "Thank ya."

"There is no need ta be shy, jus' think tha' we're tha only two 'ere an let go," it came out quieter in one of her more serious tones, she was here to have fun and not a single person would take that away from her, not a single person would take him away from her, not now. The song had slowed down and she found herself resting her head on his chest, the music was gone, even though she was leading she found time to listen to his heart, and that made the smile spread even further across her lips. "The cards, they were righ' again."

{word count} 617
{comments} ooohhhh noooes!!!!

[Remus John Lupin]

Remus didn't mind Annelise not thinking about his lycanthropy. Because she didn't focus on it a lot, it was easier for him to ignore as well. As much as he'd been angry with his friends for suggesting he used his condition as an excuse, they had a point in that it shouldn't control his life. He didn't mind that Annelise didn't quite understand all the implications, he didn't want her to have to, and they were doing fine, weren't they? Well. Sort of. This was just a blip, right?
He could see the tension in her expression lessen a little and relaxed slightly. She seemed to be less angry, that was good, right? Either way, no second guessing now - he was here, she was here. Good.

He half smiled when Annelise said he was not an idiot. Maybe he wasn't, but it had certainly been stupid of him to forget, that couldn't be denied. "Can't say the same for most of the people still here, though..." That came as a bit of a surprise to be honest - Remus had seldomly heard Annelise saying something judgmental like that. For a moment he wondered whether to ask her about it, what was wrong with the other people then, what they'd done, but he didn't want to focus on the negative, so he kept his mouth shut.
Remus didn't get the opportunity anyway, because Annelise seemed to choke on her drink and that diverted his attention from the comment at once. "You okay?" he asked once she had her breathing back under control, but then smiled slightly when she said he wasn't going to lose her that easily. Good, he replied, pulling her closer for a moment. "I wasn't planning to."

As for what he had been reading about in the library? Remus didn't want to lie to her, but he didn't want to avoid the subject either. "Something for Defense," he said - which was technically true, it just hadn't been mandatory per se. "Nothing important enough that it should keep you waiting." He felt the need to stress this, but it was the last time he was going to speak on the matter. They were fine now, right? No use lingering on the subject of his tardy arrival.