arrays | [ closed ] take just a little bit of time just to make you feel right

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[ closed ] take just a little bit of time just to make you feel right

The thing Leo has come to love most about being a half-blood and going to wizard school isn't the magic - it's the parties. Any normal teenagers can throw a decent party if given half a chance, but throw magic into the mix, and all bets are off. And, of course, he knows exactly the right way through the secret tunnels to get to Hogsmeade, and there is this one bar that'll give something a little stronger than regular old butterbeer to a bunch of underage kids, and then there's the entrance to the kitchens where Piper can talk the house elves into just about anything... Add all that together, and it's simple math, when you get right down to it.

The only thing to make your standard teenage wizarding party better here at Hogwarts is to bring in all the Houses in the Room of Requirement. The best part? Not having to sneak in anything from Hogsmeade, because the Room takes care of everything for them, and the supply is neverending.

It doesn't take much for these affairs to start getting out of hand, and Leo of course isn't one to let a good party pass him by. The Room is making sure he has a steady supply of his favorite drinks throughout the night, and the stereo he rigged up for a friend in third year is still going strong, playing some of the better tunes that both the Muggleborns and Pure-bloods can get behind. It's all to hang out before Christmas break, and to celebrate a great game of Quidditch - and there are even a good number of Hufflepuffs around, those that are too good-natured to hold a grudge against the Ravenclaw team for doing their jobs. All in all, it's a great shindig, and it's not until long after curfew that Leo even considers going back to the common room.

By the time he actually does go, the task turns out to be more difficult as he'd imagined it would be. The portraits are about ten times as entertaining as usual, especially that one knight, and even the ones that chastise him as he stumbles down the hall, trying not to laugh at how ridiculous some of them sound, ordering him to get back to his common room before one of the prefects or professors catch him.

"The prefects are still down the hall," he slurs, and Sir Cadar- Sir Cardigan? Whatever the name is, Leo doesn't care, but it's still funny that the guy thinks he needs an escort back to the tower. Like he's that bad. He's walking in a perfectly straight line, except for where the wall curves. And he's totally almost there, anyway. At least, he thinks he is.

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Those are the right words to grab his attention, and his eyes finally flick up to meet hers, intrigued. Even as far as they're going tonight, he's surprised that Natalie would say something like that, and now his other hand is wandering back down under the dress to brush over the elastic of her underwear. Is that blue, too?

Instead of asking, Leo settles for telling her, "You'll have to show me sometime."

"That one's black," she whispers, barely audible, forcing herself not to trap him between her legs again.

She doesn't budge from her spot much except to lean into him. "We should go soon." Leave it to her to remember to be responsible. It's definitely a blessing and a curse, mostly a curse when it comes to fooling around with her former nemesis.

"We can't go back to our rooms when dawn rolls around."

Irritation flashes through his eyes even as he tries to picture what that looks like underneath the dress. His imagination doesn't disappoint, and it makes the corner of his mouth curl in spite of himself.

"Tenemos que hacerlo?" he asks, leaning in to bite at her ear again, gentler this time. Sure, he's tired, and he'll definitely need to sleep off the hangover tomorrow morning, but leaving is the last thing on his mind. "We could stay."

"What, sleep here?" She snorts, pulling a shoulder up because of the attention he's paying to her ear.

"I've gotta maintain a measure of decency, Valdez, even if you've got octopus hands." Her eyes roll. "Not that I mind, I just - I really shouldn't... right here. Get one last look and grope before I fix myself, yeah?"

Something like that, he thinks, unable to help himself. She can't do this, can't say these things and not expect him to want to explore whatever this is a little more. For a moment, he considers how he might be able to convince her to forget about all that and stay, but this is Natalie Goodman, and she's clearly made up her mind.

"Te preocupas demasiado por las apariencias," he says with a sigh, leaning back give her another once-over like earlier. If nothing else comes of this, he wants to remember what she looks like and how she feels beneath his hands, though it won't be the same back in the dormitory.

"Fine," Leo says finally, stepping away to turn back towards the door. His mind's in need of clearing; they can worry about whatever happened tonight - in this room and outside of it - later, when their isn't so much liquor running through his bloodstream. What was he doing before she happened, again? "What time is it, anyway?"

It wasn't meant to be a test, telling him to back off, but he still passes, impressing her with his ability to accept the no. She's in a pleasant state of disarray and unfortunately has to put herself back together, sliding the straps on and fixing her skirt.

"It's past three."

Natalie slips ahead of him and leans against the door, smiling. "I said I'd still walk you," she reminds him, hopefully implying a deeper promise to consider their future. She holds her hand out for him to take.

Yep, he'll definitely be sleeping in tomorrow, and Merlin help anyone who tries to wake him up. Looking down at her hand when she offers it, Leo can't suppress a little tinge of suspicion, given everything they've put each other through up to now. But for once, he's inclined to trust her, and carefully takes her hand, still feeling a touch unsteady though at this point, not all of it is from the drink.

"You never said how you know where the Ravenclaw tower is," he says suddenly, eyes following the trail of her arm up until they meet her own.

"That's right. I didn't," Natalie dances around answering him.

The door swings itself open, into the corridor, and out they go. It occurs to her how funny this all looks, how strange she's been acting. For all that she is logical in her education and organization, she sure as hell knows how to be the exact opposite of that in her personal relationships. The erratic behavior is normally forcibly dormant, suppressed until she's pushed, and he certainly knows how to do that, only to have her push back harder.

"Well, this has been quite an evening," Nat yawns casually.

"So how do you?" he presses. All Hogwarts students who pay the least bit of attention have heard the story of the Marauder's Map, but that hasn't been seen int the castle for years, so... "Don't tell me you've been following me?"

Any chance to tease her.

"Maybe I'll tell you someday."

Definitely not following him. It probably won't be interesting in retrospect but she does like to rile him up.

"It's got nothing to do with the famous map."

"Why do you always do that?" Leo groans, frustrated again for an entirely different reason. At least this time, it's more on the friendly side of things. "You always say something like that and never explain it. Did you read too many mystery books when you were a kid?"

"Read quite a bit of Poirot and Miss Marple, yeah, bit of Sherlock," she admits, enjoying the slight air of mystery. "A little Nancy Drew, too." So, yeah, quite more than a bit.

She gives his arm a tug, bringing him closer to her. "Are you surprised?"

"What's Poirot?" Sherlock and Nancy Drew he's heard of, but that...?

It's step forward, but Leo is still a bit wobbly, and it shows. Closer, he gives her a scrutinizing look. "Not at all."

"Muggle author Agatha Christie wrote about a very sharp French detective, Hercule Poirot. Very proper, but very dark, that woman. 'Course there are the Wizarding mysteries but I've recently discovered that it's fascinating how Muggles solve their crimes," Natalie prattles on, "The modern technology is brilliant, being able to scan bodies like that."

She's said a little to much and falls quiet, slipping her hand out of his. "On that note, this is where I leave you."

He looks amused as she goes on, listening with a smile and a quirked eyebrow. Now if they could have nights like this more often, things might be alright. Sans the row, of course.

"Speaking as someone who grew up with Muggle technology and fully intends to go back to it after school, yeah, it is pretty brilliant," Leo agrees, every bit the cocky half-blood he acts like on a regular basis, "but it's not all roses, y'know. Books and movies don't exactly tell everything like it is." Says the one who doesn't read so much, or watch much television, but that's beside the point. "It's not so hard, getting by without magic."

Any other day, and he might actually vocalize the dare that could so easily follow. Not today.

Coming to a stop, he stares up at the statue in dismay, waiting for it to spit out whatever dumb riddle is on its mind tonight. "And yet, you're still here."

"I never thought that. Never grew up with asinine blood prejudices in my family," Natalie mumbles. Her dad has a bit of a fascination himself. He barely pursued it, but it sometimes made him a tiny bit charming during dinner conversations, getting excited over smartphones.

"You want me to leave? I'll go."

It's a tiny threat, as Natalie's already stepping away from him as the statue finally gives him a riddle.

"When you do not know what I am, then I am something. But when you know what I am, then I am nothing. What am I?"

"Your bloody face," he spits at the statue, crossing his arms and staring up at it in irritation. "Tienes que hacer esto cada vez?"

Glancing back at Natalie, his expression softens a little and he says, "I don't want you to, but you're not going to stay, are you? That's the entire reason you brought me back here, so you could go back to your own dormitory."

She chuckles. "Answer the riddle, Leo."

Prompted by the look in his eyes, she steps forward again, brushing a kiss against his cheek. "In English, if you please."

"A ghost," he guesses, certain that he's wrong. "An idea. A dream. A bloody riddle, I don't know - just let me in!"

He's half a mind to kick the stupid statue until it moves aside, though he knows it won't do that. The kiss only helps soothe his annoyance with it a little.

"Oh, that last one is right," Natalie observes as the statue steps aside.

"Now, I really should go."

Her smile is uncertain but she waits for him to turn away and enter the common room anyway, being a proper... date, of sorts.

"En serio?" he asks incredulously, watching the statue move. "That was a total guess."

Still, he hesitates before stepping inside, giving Natalie a look that's somewhere between exhaustion, confusion, and curiosity. A glance at the statue, patiently waiting on him, and Leo moves before he even fully realizes what he's doing, pressing a light kiss to her lips and turning away just as quickly to retreat to his common room.

"Buenos noches, Goodman."

A grin, a dopey, stupid grin, spreads across her face at that kiss and she nods, arms folded again.

"Sleep tight. You'll have a fair good hangover tomorrow, Valdez," she sings after him, spinning on her heels and strolling all the way back to her dungeon.

The next phase for their tumultuous duo should happen soon. For now, she'll anticipate good dreams after a cold shower.

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[ closed ] take just a little bit of time just to make you feel right

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