All the Kings Horses... [open!]

[adeline claire giovanni]

Books, so many books. Sometimes Adeline didn't know what to do with all of them, but she couldn't just disregard them. They're to precious! Soon they would find a way to the shelf of the library at her parents estate. After all it was her last year and she wanted to make it a good one. Addie has made many a friends at the school, even made acquaintances with a few quiet Slytherin members when ever they had study hall, or they needed her as a tutor. She sort of followed in the same foot path as Alice, but she wasn't nearly as timid, or shy for that matter, but that would be why the two of them got along so well.

Even though this individual was very hard on the books, she was rather outgoing, and fond of it. Friends were important, and having good connection with these friends was even more important. She hardly was ever on the bad side of teachers, and she managed very well even with educators who favored the other houses. Addie has learned that respect was extremely important no matter what your background, even though she was a pureblood she didn't frown upon muggle borns, or even the families that claim to be of the best blood, ie.: Lestrange, Black, Avery, Potter... yadda yadda. Those were the names that were most prominent at least, but she was okay with that.

Looking for love was something else. Even with so many known individuals, she has been sucked into the books so far that she cast her love life aside, and it seems this time of year it proves that it is really hard on the soul. Looking around she see's these young couples, and she's left alone sitting at the table, with her books. It's as if she has built up a fort around her, though her walls were of cardboard, leather and parchment. "Oh wow how long have I been in here?" She mumbled to herself not really realizing how long she was in here, but thankfully there were no classes today. That was a bundle of relief, there was no way she would let herself go if she missed a class, that would be horrible by her expectations. Tapping the tip of the quill in the upper right corner of her parchment she thought. There was a letter in her pocket from her father and she was actually trying to figure out what to write back to him.

But her fingers were itching for a brutal game of wizards chess, that was one thing that she would put everything down for. Her father was by for the best player she has ever come across, and from her standing she didn't know a single person who could beat him, even she couldn't beat that man. Crossing her leg over the other, her gaze wandered out to the rest of the hall, there were a few other witches and wizards mumbling about, but she wasn't aware that anyone of them would want to join her in a game, especially with this booky mess surrounding her.

{word count} :: 531
{clothes} :: Clickith
{tags} :: Anyone at all!
{comments} Le Gasp! Vel actually plays a girl!

[ian]

Ian sauntered into the Great Hall, twirling his wand between his fingers. He was honestly just wandering the school aimlessly, considering studying wasn't on his agenda (practically ever), and he had already eaten considering he was an early riser. Well, the early riser thing was pretty much due to his Quidditch games. The practices were always so early, so he just got into the habit of waking up early.

Regardless, Ian snatched an apple off of the Slytherin table and continued to wander. He wasn't really looking for anyone in particular. He bit into his apple, and at that moment did he notice Adeline sitting at the Gryffindor table. She seemed very distracted, and for that he took advantage. Honestly, she was one of the Gryffindors he didn't mind. He usually thought the lot of them to be ignorant and Slytherin-hating, and there was indeed a time where Ian thought the same thing of Adeline as well. Over the years, however, her actions showed that she believed no such bad things against Slytherins... well, as far as he could tell. The two weren't exactly friends, but they weren't exactly enemies either. It was sort of neutral ground. He decided to take advantage of this neutral ground considering there didn't appear to be anyone else of interest around.

"Talking to yourself, are you?" Ian teased lightly from behind her. "No wonder Slytherins think the lot of Gryffindors are nutters."

Ian wasn't exactly sure what kind of response he was hoping for, but he was ready for any. He was just sort of... bored and was up for anything.

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[adeline claire giovanni]

Caught by surpise when the gentleman approached her, she about threw a book out of fright. Though being careful she held onto the table as to not fall out of her seat, Addie could be clumsy, especially if spooked and caught off guard. Slytherin boy, her mind registered, Ian. She's spoken to him once or twice, but never on a regular basis, they shared maybe a couple classes together, but nothing to serious. Since rivalries in classroom settings were intensified ten fold, she kept to herself mostly, unless paired up, even then she attempted to play nice, and not provoke anyone.

Pushing her pale reddish hair behind her ear, she took a breath as he listened to him speak. Trying to regain control of herself, let alone her balance. Adeline had nothing against any of the other houses, her father, like his was a Ravenclaw, and they didn't really share house rivalries, so she never bought into the whole thing. Considering the fact she believes that she should be a Ravenclaw instead of a Gryffindor, but it wasn't worth arguing about. The lions treated her well, the snakes not to terribly, but on the occasion they did. "Usually talk to myself when I'm thinking," a smile creased her lips, as she kicked her foot under the table to a silent beat.

Slytherin's think that they are nutters do they? She shrugged it off with a grin and turned to look at him a little better. "That's alright, the majority of them are, though I'm not going to be pointing fingers, but I will for the sanctity of it, I would rather be excluded from that assumption." A laugh escaped from her lungs, and she wasn't expecting it, so her cheeks burned hot then she shook her head. "To be honest with you, I don't really know what to say or ask, er... let's try this one. How is the Quidditch team treating you? I normally watch you guys eat..." Suddenly she realized how awkward this was and she laughed nervously. "Oh my gosh, I didn't mean for that to sound creepy or anything, I'm sorry!"

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[ian]

It was one thing that the two had in common but didn't know: Ian's father had also been in Ravenclaw. It had been that reason that Ian hadn't known about House rivalries before showing up to Hogwarts. When all the Gryffindors had cast him aside as someone to not be associated with, however, that was when Ian's prejudice had bloomed. His mother was a Muggle, so she obviously knew nothing of Hogwarts to tell him.

Ian chuckled at Adeline jumping with surprise.

"Weren't Gryffindors supposed to be brave?" Ian continued to tease. He knew that being caught off-guard was nothing in comparison to actually having a situation in which one needed a backbone, but it didn't stop him from making fun of her regardless. He looked down at her silky blue dress as she tucked her hair behind her ear. It was kind of elegant looking, and not something he really expected from someone to wear this early in the morning. Ian couldn't deny that it was eye-catching.

"That was a lot of big words there," Ian commented. Ian wasn't intelligent, nor did he pretend that he was. As much as he wanted to be kidding, the whole first sentence that she had said sounded like mumbo jumbo to him. He wanted to know what it meant and possibly laugh, but the pace of her speech and the amount of large words in it made it near impossible.

"Watch me eat, do you?" Ian replied as he raised an eyebrow. He plopped himself down in the seat next to her without asking if it was okay, and then slowly bit into his apple in a jokingly seductive fashion. "Is this doing it for you, or is there some kind of other food you'd like me consume?"

Despite the fact that Adeline obviously felt awkward, Ian on the other hand actually felt, well, comfortable. That alone surprised him considering he was fully prepared for her to make some sort of snarky comment back at him now, which didn't happen. Usually he only joked with those from his House or his friends. It was rare in which he was able to just sit down with a Gryffindor and not feel strange kidding around with them. In that moment he was aware that he was actually sitting at the Gryffindor table, but tried to not be bothered by it. If Adeline wasn't bothered by his company, why should he be?

"Quidditch is fine. More brawny kids on the team than actual useful ones, but what can you do? Obviously I'm not one of them. Surprised I even made it as a Beater at my size. Usually they're... well, much bigger," Ian said. "How's, er, books, treating you?"

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[adeline claire giovanni]

Patience was something she learned, unfortunately at the same time she wondered why people couldn't be as smart as her. It wasn't a rude thing, well maybe to an outsider it was, but not to her. Brave? She about laughed aloud to that comment, but shook her head. "I can be brave when I want to be, sometimes I like to let my guard down, you know?" Truth be told, she was brave when put on the spot, she could speak comfortably in front of a large group, even teach a group if she wanted to, but when she was startled out of her skin, that's impossible. She knew he was kidding just by the tone of voice, though Addie couldn't help but defend herself.

Eyes, she could feel them on her, ignoring that fact she stacked her books a little more neatly. It wasn't impossible, her room at home was spotless, and she kept her dorm room as clean as she could with the other girls around. Even though the sight of her made it appear she was a disorganized person, she was studying, and blindly she could pull a correct book out of her pile. When she wasn't studying, all the books would be stacked perfectly and not as messy, but that wasn't now and it didn't reflect it. "Er, sorry, I'm not used to talking to people normally." Then he suddenly sat down next to her, catching her by surprise again, but she was getting familiar with the feeling, and calmed down relatively quick.

Ian joked about her watching him eat in the morning and she could feel the burn in her cheeks escalate and move to her ears, they felt as though they were as red as Lily Evans hair and Addie shook her head nonchalantly. "I didn't mean it that way!" A quiet giggle cracked and she listened to him carefully. " Though now that you say something, no that doesn't do it for me, here...." Adeline reached around a stack of books and pulled a medium sized basket of baked goods toward herself. "Pumpkin scone, this'll be better, they're my favorite." Not even aware of the people around her, she didn't even know if other Slytherin's or Gryffindor's came into the great hall, but she didn't care, she was actually laughing, and it was about time she took a break from studying.

Placing one of a napkin and pushing to toward him, her shoulders finally began to relax, and she found her voice again, able to actually talk without surprise. "I'm not really a fan of Quidditch, it's to barbaric. My father used to be a chaser, along with my uncle, but I've never really gotten into it. I think you're a fine beater, especially that last match you guys had against Hufflepuff, I don't think it matters how big you are, skill is all that matters." He asked her about books and her world lit up. Addie loved to talk about books and learning, it was her own personal goal to learn at least something useful each day. Though for the most part the things she learned were only useful if you were her. No normal person would need to know how to defend themselves against a Lethifold. "My books are good, most of them are in prime condition, they take great care of me." She looked over at him then let out a true giggle. It was her honest response to his question, but it was a joking one. "I'm only kidding, they're amazing to say the least, I could read for hours, especially if I'm sick and don't really feel like doing much, curling up with a book is where you would find me."

Talking to him was nice, it wasn't hard to do either, not since they got past the awkward barrier and she was calmed down a little more. "I didn't really mean I watched you eat in the morning, I meant to say that I'm usual up and down here before you guys get here so I see you eat in the morning before lessons, goof," she spoke smoothly and with a brilliant smile. "Anyway, all that aside, you planning on asking anyone to the ball?" Her tongue was uncontrollable, that one sentence came out without any warning, and now she couldn't take it back. It's not like anyone was going to ask her anyway, she usually met up with someone going stag at the function instead of having a pre-planned date.

[ian]

To Ian, it seemed like Adeline seemed rather taken aback by the fact that he didn't quite catch what all the words she said meant. It didn't really surprise Ian. Most people with any sort of intelligence always seemed to think that everyone around them had the same sort of vocabulary or grasped the same difficult concepts. He was never offended if someone realized that his intelligence was below-par. It was like someone being offended if someone noticed that they were rubbish at Quidditch. What was the point? Everyone was good at some things, and terrible at others. It was a fact of life.

"Yeah, yeah..." Ian replied to her comment about being caught off-guard. He didn't want her to actually take his comment literally. It wasn't like she had literally flown off her chair. He didn't really say more because he felt like the topic might be a little... sensitive for her. As far as Ian could tell by Gryffindors, many of them were rather sensitive. Look at how Sirius flew off the handle on a regular basis over such small matters.

For some reason, Ian believed that he was putting Adeline on edge. He wished that she would relax. He wasn't intending on causing harm by any means, he was just looking to have some fun or be entertained for a while before classes.

"Well, who do you talk to, normally? Owls?"

Ian was rather relieved that nothing he had said thus far had actually irritated her. He was not trying to be rude by any means, it was just the way he spoke. Being in a certain House occasionally made you like the others in the House. Speaking in jokes or taunting was just the way it was usually done in Slytherin, even amongst mates. Ian felt as if sometimes the other Houses didn't like Slytherins as they didn't understand their humour.

Without initially realizing it, Ian realized the corners of his mouth were somewhat upturned into a small smile at the hint of red on Adeline's cheeks. He chuckled when she grabbed pumpkin scones and offered them to him since an apple wasn't doing it for her. He willingly grabbed a scone and said, "Anything for you, love."

Ian ate the scone and he admittedly found it delicious. He was also a very picky eater and wasn't usually a particular fan of scones as he found them too bland. This on the other hand... was supreme. He finished the first and moved onto the second.

"Well, this has to be good enough for you. This is practically food porn," Ian said as he dug into his third. He acknowledged her napkin with a slight nod, although he didn't use it. He couldn't help but feel flattered on her complimenting him on his Quidditch skills, although he found it peculiar that she claimed she didn't like Quidditch, but then watched the games, especially on a game where Gryffindor wasn't playing.

"Well, Quidditch isn't barbaric if you know how to play. It only seems barbaric when there's someone out there who is utter rubbish and them get in the way of even Quaffles being passed around," Ian rolled his eyes in memory of the one Beater that the Slytherin team had temporarily let on. The kid actually got knocked out from a Quaffle being tossed between the Chasers. A bloody Quaffle. "The Hufflepuff team is never really good," he continued on, modestly. "They usually pick friends to be on the team instead of good people. I mean, Slytherin may usually only let on the brawniest, but being brawn can still make up for some lack of skill. Not all, mind you, but some."

Ian saw Adeline's eyes light up at the mention of books. He should have figured, considering to him, she always seemed to be studying. It was never before that Ian had noticed that her eyes were blue until that moment, however. He didn't know why it mattered, but he felt silly for not noticing before considering how shockingly blue they really were. He felt a bit of happiness at her enthusiastic smile. There was nothing Ian liked better than something they were passionate about. He may not like books whatsoever, but at least she had something. She obviously didn't like Quidditch, but it didn't stop her from listening to him talk about it. He laughed at her comment about her books taking care of her, although he didn't exactly know how to reply. Curling up with a good book was the opposite of what Ian liked to do. If he wasn't having a good day or needed to relax, he would be more likely either training for Quidditch or staring out a window. But to each their own.

"What is it about books that people find so relaxing? Don't take it the wrong way or anything, but it's just words on a page," Ian said. It was a genuine question, as well. He just didn't really understand how someone could become so involved with a book. To be fair, he had never tried it, but he doubted that Adeline had tried Quidditch, either.

"Excuses, excuses," Ian replied when it came to her explaining about not actually watching him eat in the morning, although he let it slide. What came out of her mouth next was sort of unexpected, and actually caught him off-guard.

"No, I didn't really think about it. Wasn't even sure if I was going. Who're you going with, then?" Ian didn't really make it habit to have small-talk about girly things like dances, but it was a harmless conversation. Besides, it was hard to talk to anyone without the topic of the Valentine's Day Dance coming up. He wasn't really for those sort of things, not that he could dance anyways.

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[adeline claire giovanni]

Her eyes followed his movements sharply, but she stayed as relaxed as possible. It was in her greatest interest that she stay involved in a conversation, and even though he wasn't nearly as smart as she was, she wasn't going to harp on that at all. Everyone is born with different doses of intelligence. Though she did make the analysis that he was more relaxed than she was, by far. Addie wasn't used to cracking jokes, but she could dish them out, occasionally, after all she does have a twin brother, even if she doesn't see him alot. Him asking her if she talked to owls made her smile. "On the rare occasion yes." She laughed it off quickly as a joke and smiled brightly at him.

Adeline thought he was a good speaker, it's not every day you come across someone who is intstantly relaxed into a conversation, atleast not in her house. That is of course, if you're with a group of good friends, but that hardly was the case. His lack of tension made her ease up quite a bit and it felt good to actually let her hair down. At home, it was always high tension, her father was very busy, as was her mother. They both expected top marks from both her and her brother, even if Oliver was in a muggle university, the twins had high expectations. Even though most wealthy parents would force their children to excel and do things that weren't normal in an average society, Roderick and Avona Giovanni did not expect that out of their kids. Adeline chose to play the violin at a young age, and continued to play and relatively got better, her brother was superb on the piano. It is the classic rich kid scenario without the, 'you have to do this and this to please me,' attitude. Even if her parents expectations were high, she was never forced to do something she didn't like.

'Anything for me huh?' She thought to herself as he ate without regard, and she smiled. Still, Addie was uncomfortable to eat infront of someone she hardly knew, it was the normal 'girl-meets-boy-I'll-have-a-salad' moment. Even if she already ate while she was scribbling out her homework. "Maybe you'll want something to wash that down, they can be rather dry at times. Especially if there isn't enough glaze on top," she spoke calmly and placed a goblet of apple juice in front of him.

Food porn? He was a whimsical little bugger wasn't he? She laughed from the heart and shook her head. "Boys..." It was odd for her to be caught having a casual conversation when it appeared she was studying, but everyone was entitled to a break now and then right?

Catching her self relax a bit more, she made sure her posture was perfect, and was beginning to realize how aware she was of her appearance. Yes she was wearing a blue dress, yes she was wearing heels of staggering heights, and it was only morning, but coming from the family she was, she always had to have her appearance proper and not to revealing. Ian went on about Quidditch, and went into a similar conversation she had with her Uncle Vincent. The reason she was at the last match, was more because her Father wished to watch a game with her while her brother was out of the country. It wasn't rare that he showed up, since he was an auror and a member of the order, he liked to keep his watch on the school as well. Not only that, but he was a huge fan of Quidditch, even if he didn't like to admit it, she just went along. Even if she wasn't really into the game, she still understood the mechanics and some tactics.

"I just find it a way to get lost and not have a care. Lessons always come first and that's how it always will be. Picking up a muggle fantasy book has its benefits, since they're not fully aware of our world, it's fun to see what it's like through their eyes, and what they believe in. Even though some critics say books are, spell-binding or even magical, I find it amusing and interesting how they see our world, especially if they haven't a clue what it's like," she said, aware of the words she was using so it didn't go over his head completely. "I don't really know how to describe it, other then the fact of, sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be a muggle, and not have to worry about everything that is going on." That was the truth though, Adeline sometimes wished she followed her brother's footsteps instead of remaining in the wizarding world, but there was always one thing pushing her forward. She wanted to be just like her father, becoming a powerful Auror for the ministry.

It surprised her when he said he wasn't even sure he was going. There was one guy she would of loved to go with, but wasn't even sure he was going to accept her offer considering the house rivalries. Kaine had an air about him, that he wasn't quite Slytherin, and he wasn't rude like the others, but neither was Ian, and she sort of got in a fluster. Yes, it would be nice to go with someone, though she wasn't sure she wanted to. Every year has been the same, she's gone by herself or a group of friends who were solo as well, and it bothered her, if not just a little bit. "I plan on going, but I don't know what I want to do yet, I'm not sure I want a date, but at the same time..." At the same time this was her last year here and she wanted to make something of it before going off and working for the ministry like her father. "I'm not sure yet to be honest," She was sure a little bit, and yes she would go with Kaine, even though she hardly talked to him, and maybe if that fell through she would see if Ian wanted to go. Besides, all the decent Gryffindor boys had dates. She sighed and looked up at the ceiling for a moment. "I suppose we will see how things pan out."