Remember, Remember ~Ben

[VICTOIRE APOLLINE WEASLEY]

Victoire had been spending a lot of her time lately alone with her thoughts. It was by no means on purpose, it just worked out that she had nothing to do. She found that it was actually quite enjoyable. A girl who bored easily and was always active enjoyed time alone. Yes, that may be because at home privacy was very rare. If her brother wasn't trying to drive her inane or her sister wasn't needing her help in anything, then one of her cousins would be barbing in. Then, if it wasn't one of them it would be her mother or her father. And if it wasn't any of the above blood related family? Then it would be Teddy. She loved her family though. Sure, she was complaining now, but without them Toire didn't know where she would be. She didn't want to know.

She hadn't been able to sleep that night. Her own mind was so confused that every time she tried to grasp within her mind for a cause to the insomnia, it would confuse her. She'd never been the best sleeper. When she was young her mother would sing to her in French to get her to sleep. Now she began to recite one of the songs, but it just didn't have the same effect. Swinging her legs over to stand, she looked at the time. Four O'clock in the morning. Toire seriously doubted anyone would be awake. Running a hand through her messy hair, she threw on her robes and left the room, careful not to wake anyone up. She doubted her friends would be happy if she interrupted their sleep just because she couldn't sleep herself.

So, that's how she found herself by the black lake, throwing stones to skip along the water. She'd never been good at stone skipping, but it seemed kind of appropriate. It was the sort of thing people did when they were thinking wasn't it? Skip stones along the water? Either way, Toire found it pretty boring. Maybe that was the reason for what she decided to do next. Or, perhaps it was that Victoire realized she needed to let herself go and do something silly and dangerous... And the lake was right there. It only seemed appropriate. The blond had never swam in the black lake before. People very rarely did. What with the squid and other scary things beneath the surface, who would want to swim?Not to mention how cold it was. However, the lake was swimmable. It was with that thought in mind that she took off her gryffindor robe and plunged into the water in her under clothes

Merlin, it was cold. Really, it was fricking freezing! Toire took a couple of sharp breathes, treading water. With another, longer breath, she plunged herself under the water. Merlin! When the water hit her face she felt like she would freeze and swam quickly back to the surface. Torture! Bloody torture! But she'd wait it out. She was a gryffindor after all. That meant she was brave, right? She could. OH MERLIN, SOMETHING TOUCHED HER FOOT! She squealed thrashing around in the water before blting back to land. "Bloody damn magical Black Lake with it's bloody damn squid!" She muttered to herself through chattering teeth. She should probably go back to her dorm, after all she was freezing cold and soaking. So, didn't she need to get dry? Using her robe like a towel, she lay down rubbing her arms and legs, propping her head up on a rock. It was actually surprisingly comfy. Maybe she'd stay there for just a couple more minutes...

She groaned, hearing a voice calling to her. "I'm getting up, I'm getting up. Hold your horses!" She called, her voice muffled. Then, she felt something hard beneath her head and she jolted upwards, rubbing at her eyes. "Euhue?!" Her mouth made a noise of confusion before she opened her eyes properly and glanced around. "Aw, Merde!" Victoire had developed the habit of swearing in French from her mother. Then, her eyes focused on the boy standing above her. "Merde, merde, doubles merde!"Realizing she said that out loud, she tugged at her still wet bed head hair. Wow, she hadn't seen Ben since.. well, since the Christmas ball last year. They had been friends. Well, they'd talked. But after that little mistake that night they just hadn't seen each other. Whether it was because they avoided each other or they just didn't cross paths Victoire wasn't aware. "Ben? What are you doing here?" That was definitely a question that she should be asking herself. "Wha... What time is it?"

^{STARRING : VICTOIRE AND BEN
WORDS : 776
STATUS : FINISHED
NOTES : HOPE THIS IS OKAY <33333 THE FLASHBACK CAN START NEXT TIME ROUND
LYRICS USED : USE SOMEBODY - KINGS OF LEON
LISTENING TO : "FOREVER AND ALMOST ALWAYS- KATE VOEGELE
BANNER CREDIT : TANA
TAGGED : TANA}

[BEN APOLLO D'EATH]

It was a cold morning in November, and Ben was still happy. When you have an endless amount of time to life your life, each triumph makes a bigger impression, and each joy is more concentrated. He guessed that meant that it was more concentrated, in a sense, and he puzzled with that a bit. The nerdy part of him wanted to see if he could make an equation, or something. It had always been his ambition to quantify feelings, because that would make all these confusing things happening in his life boil down to something he could understand. He toyed around with a idea for a bit, but he had a very vivid vision of his older "sister" scolding him for not being able to live in the moment, always having to detach himself from things and make them as un-raw as possible. She was always trying to get him to plunge himself into life, but that was hard because it wasn't like he would ever die, so he had nothing to spur him on, no deadline that he had to do exciting things before. He couldn't wait to tell her about the whole Tori drama, because that might prove himself as a man in her eyes.

He glanced at the clock on his bedside table. Its silver hands displayed 4:13. Usually he didn't even feign sleep, studying obscure material in the common room until everyone else woke up. But he was a bit more paranoid these days, so that meant lying in bed, trying to control his breathing, and thinking, tearing apart every moment of his day, trying to find a hidden meaning in the patterns of his life. A few more nights of his and he would go insane. Being discovered as a vampire, though, would be terrible. If the girl he loved, who loved him back, had shunned him for a good week that could have stretched into eternity once finding out his "little secret", he could only imagine what the general student population would think. He imagined himself being burned at the stake, flames licking around his wrists, his pale skin not burning, but folding into itself. The headmaster with a look of grim determination on his face. And that was it, he knew that his imagination was too active when he was left to think too long. He needed to get out, without a thought where. He shrugged on a navy sweater over his undershirt, pulling on trousers and layering a wool blazer over for good measure. It wasn't like he would easily get cold, but again, eyebrows would be raised if he went traipsing around in a skimpy cotton t-shirt.

Kicking on his shoes, and nearly leaping out of the blue common room, he raced down the stairs, feeling his superhuman balance and speed kick in. Perhaps he would practice a little Quidditch, though he was hardly dressed for that. The game was coming up soon, and he knew for a fact that Gryffindor had some very talented chasers that he needed to guard the hoops against. But as soon as he stepped out onto the grounds, he knew he would not go down to the pitch. Although he was apparently good at it, good enough to get praise, he had no real passion for the sport, unlike the Weasleys that were jumping onto brooms every chance they got. He instead, like the lovesick teenager that he was, headed to the Black Lake. It was kind of pathetic, really. This was the place he had first kissed Tori, and the place they had reconciled after her freakout. When she agreed to be his girlfriend. He felt a warm spread over him that had nothing to do with the layers of clothing that he was wearing and a goofy grin plastered itself on his face. He had to physically restrain himself from skipping the rest of the distance to the pebbly shore, but he could not resist walking quickly, shoes padding against the frozen ground.

He was almost at the edge of the water when he noticed a figure curled up against a rock. After his initial shock, he bent down, trying to identify it. Merlin. Was it dead? The face was bluish and the body seemed frozen into place. With a jolt of realization, he recognized the girl as the famous Victoire Weasley. And it was fitting. She would do something as rash as this, falling asleep after diving into the Black Lake when it was already almost winter. "Victoire?

[/color] he asked tentatively, but that wouldn't be enough to wake her up, would it? What if she was permanently damaged because of this? "Victoire![/color]" he said more forcefully, and relief spread through him as she stirred, although she was disoriented. "Are you okay?[/color]" he asked, squatting down to her level. She seemed rather surprised to see him, and that was understandable. They were on awkward terms, ever since the Christmas Ball last year. And they used to be good friends, too.

"I'm here, saving you from an easily preventable, untimely death.[/color]" He gave her a small, restrained smile, and pulled off both his jacket and his pullover, piling them unceremoniously on top of her. Just before sunrise was the time when human body temperature was the slowest, and he could hear her heart laboring to work. "I think it's a few minutes before five, I'm not sure, I left my watch in the castle.[/color]" It seemed like an odd concern for her to have, the time. "I recommend that next time, you take your naps elsewhere,[/color]" he said, eying her closely to make sure she wouldn't drop dead. "How have you been, anyway, besides the whole freezing to death bit.[/color]"
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[VICTOIRE APOLLINE WEASLEY]

For a few moments, Toire pondered why he was asking if she was alright. Well, obviously she was bloody alright, otherwise she wouldn't be talking, right? Generally, when someone was swearing and awake they were okay. Plus, what reason did she have not to be okay? It all seemed so silly.... Then it came back to her. Shit! What a god damned idiot! "I.. I couldn't sleep. I jumped in the black lake and I fell asleep out here. Not in the water... obviously." Well, no shit Sherlock. She didn't even know why she'd really jumped in. She could blame it on a need for adventure all she wanted, but truthfully ever since what went down with Vi, everyone had been pretty messed up. During her short, painful period under the water, she'd listened. Things sounded so different under water. Muffled, dream like. It would be worse for Violet. There would just be silence. Victoire shook off the thought, chewing on her bottom lip.

She hadn't realized that she'd been cold. Her body had been feeling kind of a numb sensation. When the extra clothing touched her skin it felt weird, unfamiliar. She had been unbelievably idiotic. "I'm gonna have one hell of a cold, huh?" She would be lucky if she didn't get hypothermia. She'd make a point to go see one of the Hogwarts Healers later to make sure she was okay. For now, she simply curled her legs up under her, looking to Ben. "You see, I don't get how it could be prevented. Sure, some would argue that to jump in the lake in the first place was a bad idea. However, why the hell have a lake if no one swims in it? I've learned my lesson though. Something touched my foot. It plain creeped me out." Yes, that had been the patter that had scared her. Not the nearly dying part, noooo. "Ma mere used to tell me a story about the black lake. There, there be mermaids. Not Ariel and her flounder accomplice, but creepy, not so pretty things. Definitely not the way disney would portray them." Ben maybe didn't even know what she was talking about. It was only really because of inheriting her grandfathers love of all things muggle that she knew any of this herself. "She was in the Tri wizard tournament, Ma mere. She had to swim though the lake to save her sister, but she failed, so uncle Harry had to save my aunt as well as uncle Ron." She was rambling now, trying to fill the awkwardness with a story that he maybe even already knew.

A few minutes before five? She hadn't slept long then. She huffed pretending to be annoyed. "Dude, you completely wrecked my beauty sleep. Now I'm gonna have bags under my eyes. Girls can not work that look. Nuh-uh." He'd also saved her life so she was obviously entirely joking. Toire really couldn't care less about black circles under her eye, no matter how unflattering they were.

She cuddled herself up in the multiple layers and grinned. "Awh! But it's like camping. Except, you know, freezing cold, soaking wet, the threat of death. Actually.. It's exactly like camping." He asked how she was and the girl wasn't exactly entirely sure how to answer him. She'd avoided him for like a year, she couldn't go off and unload her problems on him now. "Thing's are.. Okay. It's complicated. Life is very Weasley-esque just now." He probably wouldn't understand, but she just meant that things were complicated. The life of a Weasley was never straight forward. Sometimes she was thankful for that, but just now? Not so much. In fact, right now she wished her family could be more normal. Who was she kidding? She didn't even know what normal was. "And how bout you? How's life going?"

Ben was being so nice. He'd always been nice to her. Toire felt a pang of guilt for avoiding him, though she knew it was two sided. She was pretty sure he hadn't exactly wanted to see her either. Looking back, that night had been so silly.....

Toire, ran around the room, in a desperate attempt to get ready on time. She'd been playing around and lost track of time, so now she was running late. All of the other girls in her dorm were already gone. Her hair was in a loose bun, with strands falling down around her face. She looked herself in the mirror, eyeing the dress, getting a flutter in the chest when she thought of being seen in it. She could be more specific if she was being honest with herself. There had been one guy she had wanted to see it in particular. Yes, even back then Victoire might have had a thing for a certain metamorphagus. As soon as she was ready, the girl began to sprint towards the great hall. Well, sprint should maybe be replaced with totter. Toire's concentration was on not falling in her high heeled shoes. Right now she didn't really care if she looked odd running, she was just proud that she actually managed to run in those things.

The hall was made up prettily and Toire glanced around, spotting people she knew. There were a few familiar red heads in the crowd and she greeted them, before moving on, not quite sure what she was looking for. Then she spotted him. Teddy Lupin. She made her way across the sea of bodies, but when she was close to him, she realized that he wasn't alone. There was a girl sitting opposite him. Victoire put on an obviously fake sweet smile as Teddy disentangled himself to speak to her. Then things got pretty ugly pretty fast. Victoire commented on the girl, which angered Teddy and they were off. That was probably their worst fight that night and when Toire turned and walked away from him she felt smug for about a second. Then she just felt lonely.

The cure was simple: Find someone to occupy her attention. That was what Teddy did wasn't it? It seemed to work so well for him. So, she grabbed on to the first guy she could see. Ben. The two had been friends before this. In hindsight, she probably should have picked someone she didn't care about. Grabbing his hand, she pulled him into the crowd of dancing bodies. "How about a dance, Benny boy? Show me some of your mean skills?" She leaned up, whispering it in his ear, before moving close to him. For a second, she wondered whether Teddy was watching, before she pushed all thoughts of him from her mind. The boy in front of her was much more interesting than him now.

^{STARRING : VICTOIRE AND BEN
WORDS : 1173
STATUS : FINISHED
NOTES : LET THE FUN BEGIN XDD
LYRICS USED : USE SOMEBODY - KINGS OF LEON
LISTENING TO : "FENCES"- PARAMORE
BANNER CREDIT : TANA
TAGGED : TANA}

[BEN APOLLO D'EATH]

Humans were pretty fragile, he decided. Just a little dip in the lake and it was like she was comatose or something. Ben had never swam in it himself, but that was because he wasn’t really sure what he would find down there. He wasn’t a coward, he was just cautious. It didn’t seem worth the risk, swimming in the murky unwelcoming waters for a cheap thrill. But he couldn’t claim to know how Victoire thought. They used to be friends, or at least friendly, but now they avoided each other. Ben didn’t really know how to deal with the awkwardness surrounding what had happened at the Christmas Ball, but would prefer to wallow in it in a way that he had perfected. He had always been an awkward kid, not really confident of himself in social situations. And when girls acted like they were interested in him, they were definitely not. It was all rather confusing, and he had the utmost respect for anyone that could navigate the waters of flirting or hooking up or whatever.

He nodded at her words. “I know how that feels.

[/color]” He did of course, but she probably didn’t know that he never slept. “But couldn’t you find another outlet for your stress?[/color]” He couldn’t help it, an edge of sarcasm had crept into his voice. Sure, Toire wasn’t dumb, but she acted like it tonight, jumping into lakes and falling asleep with wet clothes on. He wondered what would have happened if he had not stumbled across her. She claimed that she was fine, but she looked oh-so-very-breakable, and maybe she would have gotten hypothermia or something. She probably wouldn’t have died, but who knows? He wouldn’t want blood on his hands, whoever indirectly. “Probably. I’ll carry you to the hospital wing, if it comes to that.[/color]” He hoped it wouldn’t, because even though he wasn’t one to read into things, that was a pretty romantic gesture. Or something. Tori may not be pleased, and that was the opposite of what he wanted to do.

He looked at her, perhaps more sharply than he intended. He, as a model Ravenclaw, valued rational thought. And while her argument masqueraded as sense, it wasn’t. Of course it was easily preventable, jumping in the lake. “Well, if you must submerge yourself into freezing waters, perhaps some better preparation was in order![/color]” he remarked, gesturing toward her thin undergarments. That he definitely, definitely wasn’t ogling. His mates had agreed that Toire Weasley was indeed a fine-looking specimen. Part-veela, and all. Ben always avoided those conversations, and always denied that he had ever more than talked to her. It was just all rather uncomfortable. She was going out with Teddy Lupin anyway. On and off, but still. Teddy was lightyears cooler than Ben.

“Who’s Ariel?[/color]” he asked, his childhood based upon stories of Beedle the Bard instead of Hans Christian Andersen. She was just rambling now, and Ben knew the story of the lake. It was in all the books about Wizarding Competition, not because it was especially compelling, but because the famous Harry Potter, headmaster of the school, is featured in it. His mates predictably enjoyed the pictures of Fleur, but no one really had any interest past that. “Maybe you would have preferred beauty-death?[/color]” Sure, she looked a bit tired, but it was nothing too drastic. She was born pretty after all, and a few nights of no sleep wouldn’t change that. “If it makes you feel better, you look like one of those high-fashion models on one of the glossy inserts in Witch Weekly. And it’s not like guys can work that ‘work that look’ either,[/color]” he said with a tentative grin.

She refused to put his clothes on properly, and just snuggled in them, looking like an enthusiastic child. He picked at his cotton undershirt. Of course he wasn’t really cold, but the wind rolling off the water struck his skin in unpleasant ways. “Weasley-esque.[/color]” He clucked his tongue. He was friends with Hugo, as they were in the same house, but he wasn’t close with the entire family, but they sure had a reputation. For shenanigans. He would believe it, if Fred Weasley and Toire were under the same roof. Toire had always been so lively. “I’ve been fine, it’s good to talk to you.[/color]” But he had kind of hoped he could avoid her indeterminately.

◊ ◊ ◊

He played it cool. Who wanted to go to one of these girly things anyway? Christmas Balls were a waste of time, and he’d much rather be at home. Too bad that they were doing renovations on the four hundred year old house. He didn’t even have a date, as he was too shy to ask Tori yet again. Adjusting his blue tie and sighing, he resigned himself to going. Perhaps he could get her to dance with him, or try to make her jealous, or whatever the kids were doing nowadays. He fairly stomped down the stairs to the Great Hall, glaring at the couples holding hands.

He leaned against the wall in the hall, watching people dance, sipping his cocoa petulantly. He hated himself for not being able to ask the attractive people to dance. What did he expect, that someone would come ask him to dance? No one wanted to spend the holidays with a sulky teenager vampire. Everything was so festive-looking, and he was just pale and boring and moody. He saw Toire Weasley bouncing in her dangerous shoes and her bright read dress out of the corner of his eye. He smiled slightly. She was odd, but she was nice, and they were friends. But now she was striding over to him and he had an incredible urge to hide. Didn’t she have Teddy Lupin to occupy her time? Ben would probably trip over himself and make himself a fool.

He felt her hand over his, and he felt himself being dragged onto the dance floor, too surprised to resist. “Uhh. I don’t have any skills, Toire.[/color]” She looked fabulous, and his friends were giving him appreciate gestures, like they were totally surprised they even knew each other. He awkwardly reached around her small waist, pulling her hesitantly towards him. If a friend wanted him a dance, he would dance to the best of his ability. He slowly smiled. He really needed to relax. “So, what spurred this on?[/color]”

[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[VICTOIRE APOLLINE WEASLEY]

And he thought she'd been stupid. Toire was in complete agreement with him over that. Stupid, immature, .. stupid. Sure, it had been very unlikely that she would really suffer a grave injury. Well, maybe, but it was unlikely that it would have been a fatal incident. Toire had no medicine knowledge what so ever, so how would she know? She did, however, know that she could get hypothermia. That would be plain irritating. No, she didn't want that one bit. Toire hated getting ill and being shunned to her bed. She was far too impatient and easily bored to enjoy lying there eating broth or whatever her mother fed her. Illnesses were for sissies. Toire hadn't found many that could keep her in her bed. Okay, so there had been quite a few, but that was only because whoever was with her forced her to rest. Kind of stupid considering forced restfulness is not resting at all.

She probably could have found another outlet if she'd tried, but this wasn't about finding something. This was about something finding her. "I just.. I was looking at the water and I needed to do something. To feel.. something less ordinary, you know? I wanted to feel weightless." She'd liked the feeling of being in the water.The feeling once out of it wasn't so great, but while she was in the water and before the thing that touched her foot, she'd liked it. Sure, it was utterly freezing, but it was definitely something different.

She chuckled. Yes, because him carrying her to the hospital at this early time wouldn't look bad at all. Putting on a southern accent (okay, so maybe she was slightly obsessed with muggle films,) she exclaimed; "Why, mr. D'Eath I do declare you to be my hero! What will the townsfolk say?" Gossip could be around hogwarts within minutes. "By the time you left the hospital wing everyone would be talking about how Ben D'Eath and Victoire Weasley had a romp out in the woods and she got hypothermia. Also, you'd have to run as you'd have all my male cousins and even my little brother attempting to castrate you." It may sound stupid, but people were really good at making assumptions. It was annoying as hell, but there was nothing Victoire could do to stop it. If she needed to go to the hospital wing, she would do it herself.

Ah, Ben. Why so serious? He was definitely being judgy. He may not mean it, but it was very obvious to her. She'd known him, after all. "It wasn't exactly planned. I didn't think "Hm, what shall I do today? I know! I won't go to sleep and at four AM I'll go down to the lake in my robes and jump in the freezing cold water. Come on, Sam. Life isn't planned out. Things very rarely go the way you think they will." Especially not when Hogwarts and her family were concerned.

He asked about Ariel and she giggled. Just like she thought. He hadn't heard about the muggle film or book. Toire had been lucky enough to learn about both muggle and wizard culture. Her grandfather had invested in a muggle television which Toire enjoyed watching. "Never mind." She told him, shaking her head. She stug out her tongue at his jibe about beauty death. "Hey, all I'm saying is that if my relationship with the fellas suffers for this I will have your head on a plate." Her relationship that was going soooo well. Guy's seemed to want her for a little while, but some part of her attracted the guys who would hurt her and/or were completely wrong for her. Maybe beauty sleep was the opposite of what she wanted, though she doubted the male attention had anything to do with her looks. Not her personality either. She was part Veela. Veela women had such an influence over men. That was the reason men seemed to be taken with her. What she was. Not who she was. "Actually, that makes me feel the opposite of better. How about you tell me I'm ugly instead? No! Tell me I'm plain. Say that there's nothing about me that attracts you to me. No weird supernatural pull." She bit on the inside of her cheek. Why was she being so damn crabby?

She noticed him pulling at his clothes and felt terrible. Damn! She was making the poor guy cold. She threw his jacket at him hoping he would catch it and snuggled closer to the pullover. An eyebrow raised skeptically of it's own accord. He was just being polite obviously. She severely doubted he was enjoying this little meeting. She decided not to comment.


He seemed reluctant. She had hoodwinked the poor boy into dancing with her. It felt amazing. He wasn't eager like other guys. For some reason that made her giddy. She chuckled as she examined him. "I don't believe that. You, dear sir, are being modest. I bet you're a great dancer!" Lifting his arm up, she twirled under it, while still moving further into the mash of bodies. Looking over her shoulder, his appearence made her chuckle. She turned and laced her other hand in his free one. "Cheer up, Ben. I'm not going to bite. I make it a point not to bit a guy until I've at least danced with him first." She teased.

He smiled and she sighed. Finally. "You should smile more often. It suits you." It wasn't a forced compliment. It was entirely true. Ben was such a good looking guy, he just didn't seem to realize it. Men! What utter idiots. He asked her reason and she bit at her lip. She wasn't using him, was she? She cared about Ben. Plus, it was just a dance. If it made Teddy jealous?.. Well, that was hardly her fault. "What? You never want to ask a cute guy to dance?... Well, okay, maybe you don't... I just wanted to spend some time with you. Is that so bad, because if it is I guess I can go." She said with a puppy dog eyes pout.

^{STARRING : VICTOIRE AND BEN
WORDS : 1030
STATUS : FINISHED
NOTES : <33333
LYRICS USED : USE SOMEBODY - KINGS OF LEON
LISTENING TO : ... Nothing
BANNER CREDIT : TANA
TAGGED : TANA}

[BEN APOLLO D'EATH]

Toire, he remembered, was energetic. No, that was a gross understatement. She couldn’t keep still, and she threw herself with such vigor into things. She was odd, eccentric, whatever, and she didn’t seem to care what others thought of her, which was very refreshing. Ben was very socially anxious, he didn’t really do anything with his life because he was afraid of being judged. But she was, well, passionate, and he wasn’t surprised that she had taken a swim in the lake before graduating from Hogwarts. She was the type of person to do that. Ben was the opposite, cautious and an overthinker. He over-analyzed everything, especially with all the free time that he had. She had always been rather flighty, but that didn’t really sum it up properly. Ben promised himself he would decode her personality in more detail later, perhaps during breakfast break.

She really sounded like a teenager right then, talking about her impulses and feeling less ordinary. “I think we both know, Toire, that you aren’t ordinary. Not in the least.

[/color]” Every one was being so angsty nowaday, and they only had hormones to blame. Ben was an old soul, it came from being raised with four-hundred year olds, even though he was still only sixteen. Seventeen in a month. He wondered idly what his coming of age would be like. He didn’t really have any exciting friends to celebrate with, and he hoped that he and Tori could do something together during that general time. He imagined something pretty and romantic and knew that she probably had some rager in mind. Well, if it made her happy, he would do it. Seeing her happy made him happy. It was ridiculously corny, but it was true. Just seeing a smile on her face, even if he had nothing to do with it, made him want to break out into a grin. It was love, for sure. Being next to Toire confused him a bit though. Even if Tori was his love of his life, he had a bit of a crush on Toire. It was the veela thing, he assured himself. Nothing much, just biology.

Her American Southern accent was funny; he chuckled. She drawled damn near perfectly, she probably got tons of practice goofing around with her friends. But he couldn’t help but shudder at the mention of castration. That shouldn’t happen. “Miss Weasley, you know I would do anything for a damsel in distress. I’m not so sure about the romp, though. As you might know, I am currently attached.[/color]” There had been a good amount of drama involved in him getting together with Tori, between the vampire thing and the whole using other people to make each other jealous thing. They hadn’t really been telling people about it, with the whole social group discrepancy. It wasn’t really a secret, but it wasn’t like he had walked up his friends and told them. So he guessed that Toire was the first person who knew it from him. And that was weird, but appropriate, in a way.

“I like planning,[/color]” he said quietly. He had his whole life, all eternity of it, planned out to the minute little details like his bed side table forty five years from now. He narrowed his eyes in confusion. Was Ariel some sort of inside joke? He didn’t want to acknowledge that he was on the outside. He got progressively more confused as she got angry at him for complimenting her. He thought that girls liked that. “I’m sorry?[/color]” He felt himself blush, and he wanted to cover his face. This was rather embarrassing. Now he felt like a jerk. “I don’t find you attractive... at all.[/color]” The lie rolled hesitantly off his tongue. “And I don’t see why anyone would.[/color]” He gulped, and looked at her uncertainly. “Was that satisfactory?[/color]”

He threw his jacket back at her. She needed it much, much more than he did. He wasn’t even real, for gossakes. She was very real, but she wouldn’t be her own passionate self if she was sickly. “Are you sure you don’t need to be escorted to the hospital wing?[/color]” He raised an eyebrow, and walked a few paces over to her. “Put on the clothes, yeah?[/color]” She seemed a little petulant, a little babyish. He was sliding into his over-protective older brother role, natural with his myriad younger siblings, most of them milling around Hogwarts.

◊ ◊ ◊

He felt a bit numb, holding the objectively prettiest girl in the sixth year as he led her in a lame circle. “No, I confident in my position as a terrible dancer.[/color]” He bit his cheek, his blood filling his mouth as she twirled, holding up his arm. She was so at ease, and he was just, not. He shifted his weight from foot to foot, twisting his lips into an uncertain smile. This was all rather unexpected. He tried in vain to grasp onto a memory of Tori Abercrombie, sifting through their study sessions. But his mind wasn’t working properly. It was the veela. And it was silly to try to “stay faithful” to Tori anyway, as they were just friends, and not even very close ones. She probably didn’t notice that Ben was dancing with Toire, and if she did, she probably didn’t care. He slumped his shoulders, and squeezed her small hand with his cold one. “You look... nice,[/color]” he choked out, and immediately wanted to hit himself over the head. He was lame. Really, really, really lame.

He froze up a bit with a whole biting thing. Did she know? Was this her way of hinting at it? “Are you sure that they appreciate being bitten? That might be why Teddy Lupin is over there, chatting up that whore. [/color]” He was probably being a bit too defensive, and everyone knew that the best defense was a good offense. He squeezed her waist apologetically. “Really? Am I dazzling you with my rugged good looks?[/color]” He grinned, and twirled her again, enjoying how her red skirt flared out. Well, dancing with Toire Weasley was definitely giving him a bit of an ego boost, although he felt like an utter fool around her.

“No, I guess you can stay,[/color]” he said teasingly. “Friends don’t let friends dance alone.[/color]”
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[VICTOIRE APOLLINE WEASLEY]

Victoire studied him, her head tilted to the side. A bemused smile played on her lips. Merlin. He was so serious. "It must be exhausting being you. You look like your always thinking, always analyzing the world around you. How does your brain not explode?" Plus, there was something the guy didn't seem to realize. "You know, we'll never be able to figure everything out. It's only when you realize you know nothing that you can accept it and move on with living your life." Wow, how philosophical of her. She herself was more than willing to admit that she knew nothing. The world was this huge place that she simply didn't understand. It made things easier, knowing that it was out of control. It made it harder to blame herself for the bad things that happened.

Her head shook as she laughed silently. No, she wasn't ordinary. She puffed out her breath, her gaze going to the floor. "I dunno. I mean, yes, I know I'm far from normal. Truth be told, nothings been what you would call normal lately. Normal's not the right word. I wanted to feel something less demanding. The feeling of just lying in the water... I honestly don't know when I got so depressing, sorry. I'm speaking a load of woe is me drivvle. Ignore me."Sure, everyone deserved to be self indulgent from time to time. Toire didn't like it. She didn't like feeling like she was boring or annoying someone with talk of her silly teenage crap. Everyone was going through it, not just her. Her face tilted up to see him and she grinned. "You're doing it again. What do you think about? What goes through that head of yours, huh? I've rambled about my silly mind. It's only fair that you give me an insight into yours.

A sensation of pride filled her when he laughed at her accent. Toire loved making people laugh, it meant that she was a success of a Weasley. Plus it meant that he wasn't completely hating being here. That was definitely a good thing. She rolled her eyes. "Whoah, and here I was thinking that a romp was where this was leading."Was her sarcastic reply. She was aware that there was a girl. At least vaguely. She wasn't the biggest gossip, so she didn't really know that much information, but she knew Ben had something going with a girl in the year below. She wasn't really able to describe what that made her feel. It surely couldn't be jealousy? They hadn't been nearly close enough for her to be jealous. Maybe envious of the girl, but that was different. Ben was one of the good guys, and this girl had caught him. Toire only hoped she'd treat him well. "I'm happy for you." And she was. Right?

She saw the blush rise to his cheeks and felt like hugging him. Awww. He really was lovely. She cradled her head in her hands, ashamed that she had gotten angry at something so small. She was just damn cranky. " That was perfect.. I'm sorry. I'm only being difficult. It's just.. I'm part Veela. I get a lot of attention because of it. And, well, it's not fun. I dunno. You've just caught me on a bad day. I'll try to be less selfish from now on." Otherwise she would have to find a way to kick herself in the arse. She hated acting like this. Maybe she was just tired? Yeah, let's blame it on a lack of sleep.

She sent him an uncertain look, before taking the jacket. "I'm fine, honest. I'm not, however, fine with letting you freeze your ass off for chivalry's sake." She bit on her lip, looking at him amused. "Why? Is the sight of me in my underclothes far too distracting?" She teased, before regretting it. God, she was always saying inappropriate things. With that, she pulled the clothes over her, glad that the process could mask the blush that rose to her cheeks.. Chuckling at how fatherly he was being. "You make me feel so childish."


She doubted Ben was as bad a dancer as he thought he was. He was just shy. Utterly adorably shy. He looked so awkward at first, not quite sure what to do. Toire twined her arms around his neck. Obviously she was going to have to lead this one and she was fine with that. She snorted, caught by surprise as he called her nice. Usually, it was something that annoyed her. Strange, since she tended to dress to impress and all, still, the way he said it was sweet. "Well, I fear we are not well matched then as you, my friend, look heart stopping handsome. Far too lovely to be dancing with me." She swayed to the music, her eyes looking into his. It was odd. She had never been this close to Ben before. They were very much in the friendship boat. But this was just dancing. Friends danced together.

She noticed him freeze up, but before she could question it, she jolted back like he had slapped her with his comment about Teddy. She somposed herself quickly, biting at the inside of her cheek. "I really couldn't care less what Theodore Lupin does in his spare time or who he does it with. I'm just making sure he doesn't do something stupid as per usual." Why did Ben think Toire would care about Teddy and the girl in the first place? She kept dancing, trying to smile. Ben had just interpreted things wrong. It wasn't his fault. A smile tilted the corners of her mouth. Yes, he was definitely dazzling. "Oh yes." She said in mock seriousness. "In fact, I'm finding it very hard not to swoon and/ or faint in your presence."

An eyebrow raised as she looked at him quizzically. He guessed? Cheeky git. Toire couldn't help but grin. It was rare to encounter the teasing Ben. She felt like he was hinting there, though. Was he making sure she knew they were just friends? Either way, a part of her mind ( the self destructive part) took that as a challenge. One of her hands that had been around his neck, trailed it's way down to clasp his hand as she leaned in closer. "Well, I suppose, going by that logic, that friends don't let friends go far a walk on their own either?" Casting a quick glance at Teddy, she pulled gently on his hand and beckoned towards the door that lead out into the empty halls.

^{STARRING : VICTOIRE AND BEN
WORDS : 1102
STATUS : FINISHED
NOTES : <33333
LYRICS USED : USE SOMEBODY - KINGS OF LEON
LISTENING TO : BAD INFLUENCE- P!NK
BANNER CREDIT : TANA
TAGGED : TANA}

[BEN APOLLO D'EATH]

He sat on the pebble-y beach next to her, feet solidly on the ground, hands resting on his knees. The sun was beginning to creep up behind them, casting Toire with an orange-y glow. It was difficult to comprehend that the world was still revolving, time still passing, and that in just a few hours he would have to attend classes, raise his hands and answer questions. He wanted to freeze time, not that this was particularly pleasant, with the awkwardness -could it even be called tension?- between them. It was just so peaceful, waves lapping up on the shore, and the lightening grey sky. He felt his brain go offline, kind of blank out, and it was nice. He sunk his fingers into the rocks, feeling their rough textures on his skin. He focused on absorbing only that, and pushed away any memories of the night he spent here with Tori. Even though they didn’t have sex, it was very intimate. But it felt a little indecent to be thinking about that with Toire around.

He felt scrutinized by her searching look, and he gave her a nervous smile. “Not really.

[/color]” He knew he thought a lot, but he never thought it was a problem. He was definitely a look-before-you-leap guy, and he wasn’t really ashamed of it. It had gotten him good grades and a beautiful girlfriend. But maybe he would be able to live more fully, like Toire if he just did things like she did. His father always said he might as well get an education so he could have fun with the rest of his life. Having a job wasn’t really necessary, Ben wasn’t sure where all his family’s money had originally come from, although he suspected he might have noble ties, but he knew there was a lot of it. Some called him stuck up, or a snob, but so what if he valued the finer things in life once in a while? He just hated crassness, but that shouldn’t be confused with zeal. “How knowledgeable you are, Miss Weasley,[/color]” he teased. She had a point, of course. The world was huge, but Ben wasn’t going to give up on figuring it all out.

Nothing was normal. She was right again. Was there anything really “normal”? Normal, technically, was an average, a mean. “You’re not being depressing. Wanna talk?[/color]” He shifted a bit closer to her, leaning in. He didn’t want to let her be sad. He didn’t really want anyone to be sad. “If swimming in the lake is so freeing, maybe I’ll try it sometime.[/color]” He grinned. He shrugged off her request to know what was going on in his mind with a sheepish gesture. Her knowing any more about him would only make them friends. Or something. And that was definitely what he didn’t want to do. Why? He wasn’t sure. It would just feel kind of wrong. It was the right thing to do, but it would feel gross, and kind of sticky.

Maybe it was awkward of him to bring up the whole girlfriend thing, but Ben wasn’t really good with social cues. Maybe he should of just laughed off the whole romp thing, instead of going all nitpicky on her. Kids joked about sex all the time, he should have just let it go, perhaps chuckled. “That would be perfectly indecent, Victoire,[/color]” he said in his poshest accent, trying to keep her sarcastic tone. “Thank you. That means a lot.[/color]” He bit his tongue. Was that even a thing? It wasn’t like he and Toire had a relationship. He didn’t need her permission.

Ben wondered what it would be like if he was part-veela. If he was some sort of weird thing that wasn’t as easily hidden as vampirism. Toire drew a lot of attention, that was for sure, but a lot of females envied her beauty, and grace - when she felt like being graceful, that is. “I don’t mean to be rude, but there are plenty of girls that would kill to be as beautiful as you are.[/color]” He had learned to deal with his “condition” the best way he could, because it wasn’t something that could be reversed. He opened his stance a bit to try to be more comforting. It wasn’t as if Toire could accidentally kill someone because she was part Veela. But he could understand how it could be annoying. Likewise, he had learned to appreciate his heightened senses and reflexes. “You just have to make the best of it.[/color]”

He watched as she pulled his clothes on. “You wish,[/color]” he teased. He helped her fumble with the two small buttons on his blazer, smiling down at her. He was much more at ease now that she was properly clothed, and was definitely not going to die. Maybe she would have a chill for a couple of days. If you asked Ben, he would say that total freedom for a few seconds was not worth getting sick, but Toire was probably sick of him telling her what she should do. It wasn’t as if he should have that much input in her life anyhow. He was much too boring for passionate Toire.”Well, I’m used to taking care of people.[/color]” He shrugged, and brushed her wet, blonde hair from her face.

◊ ◊ ◊

Her arms found his neck, and he fought the inexplicable urge to shrug them off. Damn, she was persistent. Her waist was small, and soft, and so far, the dancing was going surprisingly well. He had to thank his father and mother for that. Balance is inherent in vampires, after all. The music was slow, and much to romantic for his comfort, the kind with swells and flowery accents. He looked around nervously, and saw, to his alarm, couples gazing longingly into each others eyes, and started when Toire was looking into his. Was this supposed to be something? Was he not reading the proper social cues? It definitely wouldn’t be the first time. He colored when she called him handsome. It was a joke, of course, but one he wasn’t prepared for. “I mean, you look beautiful. Nice was the wrong word.[/color]”

He had felt instantly terrible as she reacted to his sharp comment. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean, I mean, that was mean.[/color]” He was so foolish, and he felt like he was letting down Rowena Ravenclaw herself with his stupidity in front of some girl. Some girl that was his friend, and nothing more. “It’s just, I thought you two, you know...[/color]” God he was pathetic. She and Teddy were the favorite couple-that-wasn’t-actually-a-couple of their year. Sometimes they seemed as if they were going to get married in a week, and other times as if they wished they had never met each other.

“Swoon away, Toire, I got you.[/color]” He tightened his grasp on her waist. He grinned back at her, realizing that this would not necessarily mean social suicide. He just had to keep his cool and not throw up. Before he fully got a grasp on himself, she was pulling him away from their little circle on the dance floor, and he involuntarily gasped. “Er, no, not at all.[/color]” What was happening, and just when he was getting comfortable too. He let himself be led out into the hall, mind utterly blank. A thought fluttered past his mind: was he going to die? Was she going to kill him? They were completely alone in the hallway.
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[VICTOIRE APOLLINE WEASLEY]

Toire leaned back with a sigh. She had the feeling she'd made him feel uncomfortable and that had definitely not been her intention in the slightest. The two of them were so different. He had such an amazing mind. He was always thinking, always pondering his options before doing anything. Toire's brain was pretty busy too, but with nonsense thoughts that couldn't in a million years be described as smart or wise in any way. She didn't think before doing things. Sometimes, she wished to be more mature. Less flighty and silly. She envied Ben his ability to think things through. She pondered where she would be if she was like him. She would have avoided a lot of troubles no doubt, but she also would have missed out on a lot. The blond wondered how much Ben had missed because he was just too scared to make the jump. Toire wouldn't give up any of her experiences. Not even the bad ones. Maybe one day she would get Ben to make a few fun memories, to loosen up a bit. Everyone deserved fun and excitement after all.

The girl stood quickly, before dropping into a low bow, giggling, before dropping back down to where she had been sitting. "I know, I am far too wise for my own good." A lot of the time she felt the opposite. She was a teenager after all. Teenagers very rarely had the occasion to be wise. And yet, Ben was wise. No one would argue with that. He just didn't seem to be the normal teenager. But what was normal anyhow? No one at Hogwarts, that was for sure.

He was moving closer, comforting her, yet all Toire could think of was the fact that he was in fact moving closer. She could blame it on the way she was feeling. After all, Toire had a tendancy to use relationships as pain medication. It was self destructive really, but while a relationship lasted, it helped her. She'd become used to relying on a knight in shining armor in times of hardship. God! How weak minded was that? Victoire liked to think of herself as a strong, independent girl, yet there was obvious evidence to the contrary. She shook her head. Did she want to talk? Yes. With him? Ehhhh. Things were too complicated with him. Were they even friends? Toire liked to think so, but she got the feeling he didn't feel the same way. "Things just happen. Things happen to the people you love and you just stand there, watching as their lives go... quiet.No time turners, no re dos. Just.. trying to accept it all. Guilt, anger, the whole shebang." She had shook her head, yet she told him the gist of it anyway. It had just slipped out really.

Her face brightened at that idea. Him? Swimming in the lake? It was a funny picture. "You should. Why not right now? That way, we could go to the hospital wing together when we both get hypothermia! We could go in the beds beside each other! It would be like a sleepover!" She was entirely teasing and the excitement in her voice gave it away. It was a funny picture, to imagine them both in the hospital wing all ill, having a sleepover-esque time. And then, there it was. She noticed his reluctance to say anything and she began too chew on the inside of her cheek. Oh. She felt like a wounded puppy at that point. Was it that he didn't trust her, or that he didn't even want to trust her? Toire figured it was probably the latter. She could understand if she tried hard enough. It was okay. Disappointing, but it wasn't as if Toire was going to go crying into her pillow over a lost friend that wasn't even really her friend to start with.

At his jibe about indecency she snorted and rolled her eyes again. "You know, sometimes you're just no fun." Was her teasing reply. There was a slight awkwardness what with the whole his girlfriend thing, but it passed quickly.

Beautiful. She just couldn't take him seriously when he called her it. She got the unbearable temptation to laugh. With an over dramasized hair flip, she began to chuckle. "Oh yeah, I'm a fox!" She figured that now was probably not the right time to say that coincidentally her patronus was a fox. What he was saying was entirely valid, though. It was silly for her to moan when other people were jealous of what she had. "You probably think I'm being a bit.. moan." She didn't feel comfortable saying bitch around Ben. It was like he was too pure for cussing in her eyes. "And I am. I should be delighted to be what I am. Any other girl would. I just don't like manipulating peoples emotions. I don't.. I don't like not knowing whether it's me people like, or the veela."

She felt so daddied as he helped her button up the coat. It was almost laughable how nurturing he was. But he was also teasing her back which was an unbelievable relief. It was nice that he was loosening up again. Maybe they could get to a point where it was like that night never happened? Yeah, and maybe she was delusional. Ben wasn't the type of guy to forget things easily. "Yeah well you do a great job of taking care of people. I have to take care of Louis and Dom and you put me to shame!" Toire liked to hope she was a good older sister. "I'm so different around them. When I'm taking care of them I can almost qualify as mature. I guess, I understand when's the time for fun and when it's best to be serious." She wasn't just a party girl prankster. Sure, she was energetic, passoinate, but her passoin extended to her family and when she needed to she was good at playing the older sister part. She had it perfected to a tee. "Hey, I can't always be a silly girl who jumps in freezing cold lakes at four AM. I need to have some normalcy in my life.

Her head tilted as she observed him. The way he moved, his expression. The obvious horror? disgust? when she wrapped her arms around him made her smile falter and she moved her arms till her hands were just wrested on his shoulder. Really, she should have listened to the type of music before pulling someone up to dance. This definitely wasn't the easy type of music. Toire's mother had taught her how to dance obviously, but she had never loved slow-dances. They bored her. When she complained about this to her mother, the woman said that she just hadn't found the right partner yet. She claimed that Victoire would soon find slow-dancing to be very fun. The girl figured it was probably because of the being close to guy things, but her mother was delusional if she thought that would make the dances much more fun to her daughter. Maybe it made them a bit more fun, but not enough for her to actually willingly dance a slow-dance. At least most of the time. She'd blame this one on temporary insanity.

She noticed his color change and the smile returned to her face. That was pretty damn adorable. "Why, thank you, kind sir." She said with a grin, only half joking. Usually she didn't really feel anything when she was called beautiful other than annoyance or distaste, but he was just so sweet about it.

Her head shook, hard enough to injure her neck. "Look. I really don't care, okay? Nothing to be sorry about." Teddy was her friend, he was like family. That was all there was to it. He really seemed to be beating himself up about this! God, didn't that make her feel like the worst person alive. "Teddy and I.. We're like siblings. It's all purely platonic." She swallowed, not liking the feel of those words upon her lips. It was like the had an odd taste, though words didn't taste of anything. It was as though they tasted of lies.

With that swooning permission, she began to fan herself, before putting a hand to her head and fake fainting into his arms with an exaggerated gasp. Standing back firmly on her feet, she grinned. "And the award goes to.... Victoire Weasley! Thankyou! Thankyou!"" She got a few odd looks as she began blowing kisses at those dancing around them and pretending to thank them. He didn't seem all that comfortable when she began taking him away from the throng of bodies, yet Toire decided not to say anything for now. Skipping out into the hallway, she turned on the balls of her feet to look at Ben. What she saw made her begin to giggle. "Oh Merlin! Do you trust me at all?"

^{STARRING : VICTOIRE AND BEN
WORDS : 1498
STATUS : FINISHED
NOTES : <33333
LYRICS USED : USE SOMEBODY - KINGS OF LEON
LISTENING TO : JUST TONIGHT- THE PRETTY RECKLESS
BANNER CREDIT : TANA
TAGGED : TANA}

[BEN APOLLO D'EATH]

ooc; longest post evarr. I got carried away, don't feel any pressure.

He smiled bemusedly and clapped politely as Toire leaped up and took an exaggerated bow before sitting back down next to him. See, that was a perfect example of something he would never do. Not that it was particularly stupid, or dangerous, or rash, or bold, but it was just one of those little spur of the moment things that Ben would think through too much to execute. It must be nice, he realized, to have a body that responded as quickly as the mind, and he wondered if all humans were like that. It would be like being able to write as quickly as your thoughts, handy, but not necessarily critical. Ben would rather compulsively edit, anyway, making sure every sentence flowed into the next, picking out the exact right words to try to convey an exact feeling. It was a weird analogy, but it clicked in his studious brain. The corny metaphor with your life as a book actually did work, with that “starting a new chapter” bullshit. A new chapter of his life definitely started when he asked Tori to be his girlfriend, but was it possible that the chapter previous started with a kiss at the Yule Ball? He shook his head slightly, trying to get rid of the thoughts. Whatever happened to the calmness he had felt sitting on the lake’s edge had disappeared like the rolling mist, having been hit by the sun.

“Far wiser than your years, that’s for sure,

[/color]” Ben joked. He believed that there was an innate wisdom in everyone, based on their life experiences. Therefore, it didn’t really matter how old you lived, it was how much you experienced, although sometimes those things were the same. Hogwarts knew Toire as the sheltered daughter of two war heroes, living a comfortable life. But Ben thought that she should be given a little more credit. After all, she was not afraid of new experiences, like he was. That swim in the lake today certainly was an experience, and one that she would probably not easily forget. She could have died, after all. How many near-death experiences could you forget? But deep down Ben knew that he was being selfish, and wishing that she would remember this because he had saved her, not some other ruffian.

His face fell when she shook her head, and he gave her an exaggerated pout. It usually worked on Tori, who thought his boring brown eyes were pretty. But if Toire coudn’t share her feelings, that was definite evidence that they were not friends. Ben had figured out a definition of friendship in the third year, when he had a particularly bad falling out with one of his best friends. And sharing feelings was a big part of it. She looked so, so small, even though she was only a handful of inches shorter than he was. She just looked disheveled despite her still lively personality and his layers of clothing and he wanted to make her feel good. That was why he was so surprised when all her feelings started pouring out. He really did feel bad for the Weasleys, the werewolf turned deaf by that git Avery. Even though werewolves and vampires traditionally didn’t get along, Violet was in his year and house, and although they were not close, she was nice. She definitely didn’t deserve being maimed, and her family didn’t deserve the heartache, either.

He couldn’t figure out anything appropriate to say, so he made a sympathetic noise in his throat, moving still closer to her for support. He was shocked again when her face brightened. This girl was nearly bipolar, the way her moods swung. She babbled jokingly about hypothermia and sleepovers, and Ben wondered if he could smile, or if that would seem insensitive. Although he supposed he could swim in the frigid lake without any harm to himself, vampires have survived much worse. And it was definitely not right to make a sex joke, though it would be laughably easy. “If you wanted a sleepover with me, all you would have to do is ask.[/color]” He felt his neck get hot, and he cursed himself for letting it slip out. It was one of those things that he as a sixteen year old boy always thought of, but the traditional vampire never let come out. Except now, when it was the worse possible time with the worse possible person.

He felt guilty, now, not sharing his feeling with her when she had shared them with him. But there was really no going back now. He had made a decision, and he would definitely, definitely stick to it. Anything else would be a sign of weakness, now that he had make a stupid sex joke. “Oh really, Toire? Is that a direct attack on my personality?[/color]” he teased. In truth, he was hardly ever fun, and he knew it. But he didn’t need everyone and their widow thinking that he was some crotchety old man. Even though he definitely was. He still chuckled, though, at her hair flip, which she thought was just a joke but as actually very stunning. If he was a human, he would barely be able to resist her, but vampires had more common sense, anyway. “But you are the veela, Toire,[/color]” he said, softly. He added in his head “Just like I am the vampire that drinks blood for sustenance.[/color] He could understand her insecurities, but it wasn’t something she could change, anyhow. She would get used to it.

Squeezing the last button into the whole, he smoothed down the lapels, not wanting her to be wearing wrinkly clothes. He prodded her sopping wet robes experimentally with his foot, and asked, “Want me to dry these for you?[/color]” She must have not have her wand. He had a very cringe-worthy vision of a wand sinking slowly down into the watery depths of the lake, and he shuddered. “I’m not, really,[/color]” he said modestly at her compliment. In truth, he really wanted to settle down and take care of his wife, and eventually kids. It made him feel important and useful, like he was actually making a difference in someone’s life. “Louis and Dominque are very lucky to have you as their sister,[/color]” he sad, honestly. He had seen her mother hen them, and it was apparent how much she loved them. Unease twisted in the pit of his stomach. Was it his fault that Brandy had gone missing? No one had seen her since October. And what about Jakoby? “Normalcy? What normalcy? I thought we decided you were too good for normal.[/color]” He faked a smile. It was hard thinking about his little siblings, though they were not genetic, running away.

◊ ◊ ◊

Her hands rested on his shoulders and he relaxed a bit. He could do this. He wouldn’t trip on his feet, or her feet, and he wouldn’t accidentally steer her into another couple. Looking her in the eye, he wondered if she had considered the song selection before dragging him out to the dance floor. She wasn’t coming on to him, right? They were just friends, she basically told him herself! But everyone would think they were a couple, and that was kind of the point, maybe. His friends were still being prats and ogling them. He wanted to shout at them, tell them that nothing was going on and he was absolutely fine with that but that might shock Toire, just a little. Seriously, they could get their own super-attractive part-veela dance partners first, and then they would talk. Ben couldn’t help wondering though: why him? Toire had plenty of male friends that were probably more suave and better company than he was.

He gave her a frown, and joked “Are you mocking me, young lady?[/color]” doing a rather spot-on impression of their Transfiguration professor, Kent. He breathed deeply, struggling to calm his nerves. When he got nervous he either froze up or got really silly, and now he was doing both, and it was confusing himself. She claimed that there was nothing between her and Teddy, but Ben wasn’t quite sure he believed her. Maybe she wasn’t even aware that she was lying. Life could be like that, sometimes. It wasn’t even his business anyway. She could fool around with whomever she wanted to, he wasn’t going to stop her. “Okay.[/color]” His voice came out more weakly, more softly, than he had planned, and he bet like he sounded like a little kid, kind of lost.

He supported her as she pretended to faint in his arms, ignoring the weirded-out looks that they were getting from the surrounding crowd. She really was quite silly, and it was endearing. “That was magnificent, Toire,[/color]” he joked, “But it wasn’t all acting, was it? Of course I had something to do with it.[/color]” He grinned, and lightly pinched her waist. Now that they were in the hallway, all that confidence was gone, and he wanted to disappear into the walls. She was still so gleeful, though, she was skipping. He wondered how she could be so cheery with this depressingly gloomy vampire following her.

He stopped in the hallway, calling after her, “Maybe if you would tell me where we were going and why, I would be a bit more comfortable.[/color]” He loved Hogwarts castle, but there were so many places he had not yet explored, and apparently the Weasleys knew every nook and cranny. If Toire had somehow succeeded in killing a vampire, his body would be there for weeks before the caretaker finally figured out the stench of rotting flesh. His stomach churned, and he wished that she would give him some answers.
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[VICTOIRE APOLLINE WEASLEY]

He seemed amused by the bow, making Toire feel pretty smug. To entertain some stranger off the street was a mild accomplishment, but to amuse Ben was a pretty tall order. Every time Toire made him smile, made him laugh, she took extra pleasure in it. She enjoyed making him laugh far more than she did most people because it was such a challenge. Still, when they had been friends, she often managed to entertain him. She liked talking to him. Yes, it was partially because of how good a guy he was, and how interesting, even though he seemed to think himself boring. A big reason Toire loved spending time with him was the challenge to please him.

He agreed, albeit teasingly, that she was unbelievably wise. Hah! Though there was a joking tone in his agreement, she got a feeling that he still didn't think she was unwise. Wouldn't he ever learn? "Hmm, you know, there's a octopus ridden lake that begs to differ." That definitely hadn't been her wisest idea, but it was by no means her worst. Toire tended to contradict and disagree with herself a lot. She knew she wasn't wise and she was pretty certain that was a good thing, at least in her case. Ben was wise, but it suited him very well. Sure, he overthinked things, but he was also unbelievably sweet and caring. That may not come from being wise, but knowing what to do to help people was definitely in the "wise person" category.

His reaction to her decision not to tell him was baffling. What had he expected? Had he expected her to just tell him. She'd practically done so anyway, but had he expected her to do it willingly? They hadn't spoken in a year for crying out loud. Surely he didn't think that he had her full confidence. He would't trust her with something like that, would he? He probably wouldn't even have told her anything when they were friends. And yet there he say, stricken. He seemed upset that she didn't want to tell him. He seemed physically hurt by her response and Toire really didn't understand why. He wasn't confused when the words began to flood from her mouth.Startled that she had decided to actually tell him what was going on inside her mind? Probably. But confused by what she was actually saying? Her gut was telling her no.That meant he knew. And why wouldn't he? It was probably common knowledge. It was just so weird.This made it feel all the more real, the thought that it was well known. At least before she could pretend people didn't know, but it was pretty obvious that was a lie now.

He didn't reply in the traditional way and Toire was grateful. Another "I'm sorry about your cousin." Would make her want to scream. People meant well, they just... she didn't know what it was that irked her so much about people saying sorry. It just seemed so fake to her. I'm sorry? Vi wasn't any less of a person now, just because she was deaf. They hadn't lost the girl. It was hard to see Violet struggling with her new reality, but she could make it. So, Toire didn't want or deserve sympathy. His silence seemed more sincere, more comforting than any words. And then he moved closer again. That movement definitely didn't go unnoticed. It was a caring gesture, but it put her entire body on alert. What the hell was wrong with her? She must be starved for companionship or something.

Her jaw dropped, before her head fell into her lap. Oh god. Laughter ricochet through her body, making her shake. She hadn't expected it from him. Some other guy, sure, but not Ben. Practical Ben didn't make that kind of joke. Well, apparently he did. Sitting back up, she looked to him, her eyes shining with laughter. "If only I knew you were that easy." She sighed, as though she'd missed her chance. And maybe she had.

A hand flew to her chest and she gaped at him in mock offence. "I say! Surely you don't think you are boring? Hell to the no. You're bloody crazy. You know, that's your nickname. Bloody crazy Ben." She teased. Her tongue pressed against the roof of her mouth to stop laughter. He seemed to think he was dull or what have you. Sure, he wasn't a crazy guy, doing stupid, albeit fun, things. But he definitely wasn't boring. "Trust me though, I know boring. My uncle Percy? That's the definition of boring... Though, don't tell him that. By comparisson, you're wild. Just because you're serious a lot of the time doesn't make you dull. You've never bored me." A smile tugged at her lips. It was true, Toire had never found him boring.

"But you are the veela." Was she? Was it her that attracted people or something akin to a love potion? She really wasn't sure, but she appreciated what he said nonetheless. She bit on her lip, before simply smiling. There was no use dwelling on things that couldn't be changed. He was seriously daddying her. What with the buttons, and smoothing down the coat. She tried not to think about his closeness and instead concentrated on her nails, playing with them. When he offered to dry her clothes, she looked up from her nails and raised an eyebrow. "Oh dear lord, you're serious aren't you? Thank you, but you've already saved me from my own idiocy. There's no way I'm letting you be my parent and my knight in shining armor. Trust me, you've done enough for one night. Or, should I say morning?"

Something seemed to change in Ben, though Toire couldn't be sure what. She bit o the inside of her cheek, her gaze scanning his face. His smile seemed strained, but she couldn't quite be sure what had happened. Had she said or done something bad? She decided not to comment, deciding that he probably wouldn't tell her what was bothering him anyway. "Oh yes, I'm far too good for normal, but I figure I ought to slum it sometimes."

Okay, shoulders. Shoulders were good. He didn't seem to be shrinking away from her hands placed there. That was definitely a good sign. She could feel eyes ion them and turned, seeing a group of guys in their year. Ah, Ben's friends. "Friends of yours? She asked, before purposefully planting a kiss on his cheek and waving at them. They seemed startled and Toire turned back to Ben, grinning. "Hey, maybe dancing with you was a bad idea. It gives me far too much male attention. I'm just not used to it!" Unfortunately, she was very very used to it. She'd kind of learned to just ignore guys unless she was in the mood for romance. God... that sounded shallow or something. Maybe it was. It was just, she was fine with having friends who were male. Actually, she had a lot. The problems came when there were guys flirting with her. A lot of the time, she just wasn't in the mood. She knew it was her allure, as there were many prettier girls who didn't seem to get much attention. That was just the way it was.

She snickered, catching the impression of their teacher. "Me?! Mock you?! Nooo!" The sarcasm was evident. Yes, she would mock him mercilessly. She snorted as he congratulated her on her magnificent acting. Of course he'd had a part to play in it. She'd be lying if she said she didn't find him attractive. He definitely had swoon potential. "Oh yes." She pretended to clear her throat."I'd like to thank my mum, my dad and last but not least6: I would like to thank Ben D'Eath for being so bloody irresistible that he made it easy for me to faint in his presence."

Ah, he'd been so confident, suave, yet now i was all gone. He looked utterly terrified. He asked where they were going and Toire simply smiled. She moved closer to him, taking his hand in what she told herself was an entirely non romantic way. "But surely not knowing is the best part of the journey. Or, is that just for me?"Ben wasn't that type of guy, but tonight he'd have to be. Toire was still trying to figure out where to go. Do you really think I know?" Her smile widening, she went behind him and put her arms around his head, her hands covering his eyes. "No peeking!" With that, she lead him out of the catle, into the grounds. They decended the steps and she removed her hands from his eyes to reveal they were standing outside the groundskeepers hut. The groundskeeper would be at the ball, supervising, so Toire moved to the logs specifically for making a fire. "Do you have your wand?" She asked, hoping they could use it for firey purposes, before sitting down, looking around. "Everything looks so different at night. I like it, it's eerily beautiful. Even here where you maybe wouldn't expect it to be."

^{STARRING : VICTOIRE AND BEN
WORDS : 1533
STATUS : FINISHED
NOTES : <33333
LYRICS USED : USE SOMEBODY - KINGS OF LEON
LISTENING TO : NOTHING...
BANNER CREDIT : TANA
TAGGED : TANA}

[BEN APOLLO D'EATH]

The sun was coming up in earnest now, making the lake sparkle like a piece of glass. He preferred not to be in to the light of day, but it wasn’t like he could scurry inside. It didn’t damage him, but it was uncomfortable, like the itch of a scab. The chill and the wind had eased somewhat, but the pebbles were still cool against his fingertips. Perhaps it was despicably cheesy to say that the weak rays of the sun were pathetic in comparison to Toire’s easy smile, and it was much more pleasant for the undead, that was for sure. He wasn’t a jokester himself, and he usually was too reserved to laugh at other people’s pranks. Besides, it all seemed so trivial, so inconsequential. Sure, hexing your friend while he’s sleeping might be funny in the moment, but who’s going to care six months from now? But there was something about Victoire. He suspected it was the Weasley blood. They were all rather charming, as far as he knew. Perhaps his standards were too high, but it did take a bit to entertain him. Because, of course, he was a classy gentleman, born into the wrong era. Too bad he still liked sex jokes.

“Really?

[/color]” he said dryly, arching an eyebrow, “I thought you of all people would know that it’s a squid.[/color]” He beamed at her. He couldn’t in fact, tell her the difference between octopus and squid if both were looking him right in the eye. Care of Magical Creatures was never a subject he had any interest in, like Herbology. If it had to be done outside, chances are he didn’t like it. This was fine though, of course. He liked company, as long as the company liked him as well. Ben was far from easy-going, but no one could run full-speed all the time. Being wise was all good and well, but it was more fun to be all philosophical with a friend. And Toire certainly wasn’t some vapid airhead. It was definitely interesting, talking to her, because they were so different, but so alike. They approached the world in different ways, her with open arms and him with cautious skeptism.

Ben was sad because even though they weren’t really friends anymore - or did this little meet-up make them friends again? - he trusted her, and that was pretty big, coming from him. He wasn’t the most popular, not by a long shot. Trust was something he believed people had to learn, not some given state. He was sad that his trust wasn’t reciprocated. Could they ever be friends again? He didn’t really deserve it. He preferred distancing himself from people because he was convinced that way they wouldn’t be in danger. Sure, he had never bitten a human before, feeding solely on the blood provided him by the school, but ever since Tori caught him doing that, he realized that he was in fact a monster, whether he want it or no. It was because of Professor Potter’s generosity that he could even be here, along with his whole family and the Bludds. Werewolves too, although they felt it only once a month, and could be tamed with wolfsbane.

It made Ben sad that he couldn’t hug all the Weasleys. They were a tight-knit, genuine family, and in some ways, their family reflected his. Many different personalities, all managing to work together. Toire was so brave in the face of tragedy, and it made Ben wonder what emotions she was hiding behind her joking mask. Of course, it wasn’t Toire who needed care and support, but Violet, and Ben had every intention of stretching beyond his usual social borders and get to know her better. They were on the Quidditch team together, and he hoped that they would crush the Gryffindors in the match coming up. “You’re going to the match this weekend? We’re going to whoop your asses.[/color]” He grinned, and nudged her with his shoulder. It wasn’t that he wanted to distract her, it probably just wasn’t wise to let her dwell on things that upset her.

Her reaction to his quip was priceless; the initial shock, then the raucous laughter. He laughed along with her, aware of the ridiculous nature of his joke. She laughed with her whole body, and he felt awkward, so he let his shoulders quake in his cotton undershirt. He liked making people laugh: it wasn’t a common occurrence at all. Even if he was witty enough to think of a joke, he was usually too self-conscious to say it. Like, what if it was just a flop and everyone laughed at him? He wasn’t one for putting himself out there. “Well you never asked,[/color]” he said, rather softly. It felt like it hit too close to the heart of their problem, the reason they were no longer friends. “And you’re right, I am bleeding wild.[/color]” He grinned, happy that she was willing to play along. He might be boring, but he liked a compliment as much as anyone. “I think I rather admire your Uncle Percy, actually,[/color]” He chuckled.

It was weird, all these illusions to their previous friendship. “I find it hard to believe that I have never, not once, bored you,[/color]” he said, happily raking his hands through the pebbles. He felt like a little kid, playing with the sand. He never really got much time to do it when he was little because his family understandably hated the beach. Toire made him feel like doing something reckless. Like parading around the school in large, multicolored glasses, or polka-dotted pants. “Well, I guess you’re going to have to suck it up because I’m not letting you carry this sopping robe back to school.[/color]” He smirked, and snatched the clothing from her legs. Pulling out of his wand, he used to it run of current of hot air over the material. She was playing with her nails, which Ben had decided was what girls did when they had nothing else to do. “Just try not to develop some sort of weird Oepidus complex, all right?[/color]” He grinned at her, tossing the Gryffindor robes back at her.

“Us normal people are glad that you’re willing to play with us sometime,[/color]” His mind won’t stop wandering to his family. He was a natural worrywart, and his first reaction to seeing Toire curled up on the beach was that she was dead. Now that he had determined that she was very much alive, his overactive mind decided that it needed to be anxious over something else. He tapped her on the shoulder, and asked, “We should head back to the castle, yeah?[/color]”

◊ ◊ ◊

He blinked furiously. He felt her lips on his cheek and it was so weird and so new. The only women who had basically ever touched him were his mother and his sisters. Everyone had decided he was a leper or something. He smiled sheepishly. “No. No, not anymore, no,[/color]” he said, embarrassing by their flustered reaction. He looked down at their feet, hers in elegant heels, his in leather oxfords. “It’s getting me a lot of attention as well,[/color]” he noted. He was pretty sure he didn’t like it, but he might as well make the best of it, right? He twirled her around again.

“Bloody irresistible, hmm?[/color]” He smirked. “I could get used to that,[/color]” he drawled. All of that bravado had escaped him, and it didn’t make him feel better that she was holding his hand. The kiss on the cheek, and now this? Did he agree to something by dancing with her that he didn’t know about?
No, friends danced together all the time. It was nothing romantic, just Toire being a little more touchy than usual. She tried to reassure him, but he still dragged his feet reluctantly. “I’m afraid that’s just you.[/color]” He felt her small warm hands cover his eyes, and he somehow felt safer, like she was protecting him. Which was silly, as he could probably bench press her with one hand.

He felt like walk down steps and over a reasonable distance, and then she uncovered his eyes. He blinked a few times to get his eyes adjusted to the dark. They were outside the groundkeeper’s hut, standing around a fire pit. Toire was moving logs. “Oh, definitely,[/color]” he said, pulling his wand out of his pocket. He cast a quick “incendio!” and lit the wood, now crackling merrily. He sat down on a log, gesturing Toire to sit next to him. “You’re right, of course,[/color]” he almost whispered. The fire was giving their skin a healthy gold glow. “Know what else his beautiful?[/color]” he said, only half-jokingly.
[/blockquote]
TAG victoire weasley
WORDS 1493
MUSIC your face is dumb
NOTES real dumb stop it
ALSO this is ben’s 100th post![/blockquote][/justify]

[VICTOIRE APOLLINE WEASLEY]

Her eyes narrowed in a mock glaring that was entirely nonthreatening. Honestly, sometimes he was just too damn smart. Then again, it was something they were told in class. The creatures of the black lake being something they kind of wanted to know about since the lake was so close to school. Toire had listened to the lectures, she'd even made I point to remember most things, which in itself was a miracle. At least that's what people who knew her thought. She was so easily distracted and always daydreaming, so people probably thought she did terrible in school. Sure, she wasn't as good as Ben, not even close, but she made it a point to force herself to listen in classes. However, she got the feeling she would never need to know what creatures lived in the black lake. As it turned out, she was seriously wrong. But how could she know she'd end up jumping in that very. as it turned out squid-ridden, lake. "Wow, I am so very sorry to confuse the two. How could I?! I mean, they're just so different. An octopus is a weirdly shaped icky scary sea creature with icky scary tentacles and a squid is.... A weirdly shaped scary icky sea creature with scary icky tentacles. Really, the idea that I would confuse the two is utterly insane." Her voice was rich with sarcasm as she continued to glare.

He asked about the quidditch match and she grinned, before thinking it through. Ravenclaw against Gryffindor. Vi had been a member of the Ravenclaw team. Toire had been so proud of her cousin for it. She herself was possibly the only member of the Weasley/Potter clan who sucked at Quidditch. All of her family were great. Each time they went out to play she was mesmerized by their skills. Toire wondered if Violet would play and she bitat her lip. Would the girl ever be able to play again. Sure, it was only her hearing she had lost, not her hands, but healing was important. In a game like uidditch you needed to be able to hear what was going on around you, hear if there was something heading towards you. Vi could no longer rely on her hearing.

The blond forced a grin. "Ah yes, I shall ve there in all my dryffindor finery, shouting like a woman posessed. I love Quidditch, even if I can't play. Heck, I was raised around it. Pretty mucheveryone in my family has a talent for it." Except her. When she was younger and realized she couldn't play the game, Toire was devastated. Now, she just loved to watch it. "But, you know, it's hard for me. I have a family member in every house. I tend to alternate y support depending on whose playing. This week I'll be split in two. Should I cheer for Beau and Dani and Fred and Rose, or should I cheer for Violet? Plus, there's you to consider. I'll probably end up cheering for both sides and being walloped by a fellow Gryff for a lack of pride in my house." She shrugged, as though she was used to it. The Weasley did have a tendency to not make a choice and just cheer for both of the playing teams. It was a habit that the likes of Beau or Albus or any of her family really, tended to laugh at. "Don't be so sure you'll beat Gryffindor though. No matter who I decide to support, they're one hell of a team this years. I think it's cause of the vast amount of Weaseys. We are pretty spectacular." The word she was more prone to use was crazy, but she figured spectacular was probably better.

Whoah. The words could have been so innocent and flirty, but Toire couldn't help but feel there was an undercurrent. Maybe it was just because she was looking too far into it. Could something have happened between them if they hadn't both been too damn scared to try? But there was Tori. Even back then, Toire was pretty sure the guy had liked the other blond gryffindor. Even if they had got together, he would always be crushing on Tori, wouldn't he? Of course he would. They were like soulmates. Toire would have just ended up with another failed relationship. How was it that the likes of Teddy could go through so many girls without getting attached or hurt? If there was one thing Victoire envied about the metamorphagus, it was that. She realized she hadn't replied as she'd drifted off into thought. "Ah, damn me and my foolishness!" Was the only reply she could think of, wanting to stay away from anything that would make the conversation awkward.

She snorted, shaking her head. "Oh Merlin! I love my uncle Percy, but he's pretty dull. Apparently, he used to be worse. Uncle George and uncle Ron used to make fun of him. He's probably the family member I admire the least." It was a terrible thing to say. She was just being honest. Truth be told, their family had been entirely honest and open about pretty much everything. They had to be. After all, their children would learn most of it in school anyway. So, they knew that their uncle Percy hadn't stayed with his family throughout it all. When the stories were being told, their parents tried to skate over that part, but the kids were just too damn inquisitive. Eventually, Uncle Percy decided to tell them, stating that they should know the truth. Toire possibly admired him for that, but when the young ones heard that Percy had abandoned his family, they all looked at him like he was crazy. That must have urt him, but he didn't show it. Sure, Toire's father and his siblings were quick to point out that Percy showed up for the final battle, but it still didn't sit well with Toire. Growing up knowing how important family was, it baffled her to know that her uncle had just left his, not believing or trusting them. What was a family without trust? She still looked up to him. She just couldn'tas much as she did for the others. Family was too important to her for her to completely let it go, so her view of him was tainted. Plus, he really was pretty boring.

An eyebrow shot up involuntary. "I'm very easily bored. I'll admit it. I think it's a Weasley trait really. However, for some unknown reason I have never been bored around you. You challenge me to think. I love my friends, I really do, but I can't say that they ever really challenge me. I've missed talking like this." Not just with him. She missed it in general and he was one of the few people she was like this with. Them avoiding each other hadn't been fun.

Her eyes took him in as he played with the pebbles. He was so lovely, and he looked so at ease now. It was a good feeling to know he was relaxed around her, at least for now. She made a move to protest when he snatched her clothes, but simply sighed. "Men! You're all so damn stubborn!"She caught the robes with a grin. Oedipus, really? " Merlin, Ben. You reall seem to be making a lot of hints. Do you think that I am going to fall madly in love with you because you are my knight in shining armor, like girls do in fairytales?" She was a lover of love, bu Toire was growing skeptic. She had started to believe that it just wouldn't work for her. So many people didn't find love. The fact that the whole previous generation of her family did probably didn't bode well for her. There was only so much luck and love one family could have. "Sorry to disappoint, but I make a point not to swoon over unavailable men." She wouldn't mention that Ben had a way of making her swoon. That piece of information would not work in her favor.

He called himself normal, and Toire couldn't help but giggle. "Honey, you are not normal either. You're far too nice to be normal." He suggested the go back to the castle and she frowned,shaking her head. "As soon as we go back this'll all be over. We'll go back to avoiding each other and all things will be normal again. Can't we please have a little while longer without the awkwardness? Without going back to our own friends and lives. Please?"

Toire's smile widened at his embarassment. She had a way of attracting self assured ass holes an this was refreshing. Ben was utterly lovely. Sure, she knew that already, but it was just so obvious dancing with him. It was nice. It was really nice. He pointed out that he got attention too and Toire hoped he didn't find it awkward. "I learned a couple of easy ways to embarass onlookers a long time ago." There were a couple of people clumped, glancing over at them, trying to be sly. Toire smiled sweetly and waved. The guys turned away sharply and began talking to ach other as though what they were saying was unbelievably interesting and Toire shook her head with a smile. "It's pretty easy, though you could get creative and start acting like your crazy. However, I've realized that though this makes those already watching turn away uncomfortably, it also makes other people watch you in amusement."

Was he flirting with her? Guys had different ways of flirting and Toire figured Ben's style would probably be the subtle kind, the kind that mostly went unnoticed. Toire preferred that kind to the type of guy who spoke to women like they were meat. "I find it hard to believe that no one has ever told you how devastatingly handsome you are before. I bet girls say it all the time. You just like hearing it!"

Yeah, he didn't seem to love not knowing. He looked pretty awkward and unwilling to go with her. What did he think was going to happen? "Stay cool Ben. I'm not going to have my wicked way with you." When she placed her hands over his eyes, he seemed less scared and reluctant. Okay, this would be okay. As long as she didn't trip and hurt either or both of them, this would be fine.

Toire sat, snuggling into him to stay warm,the front of her body tingling from the heat of the fire. She jolted up, looking at him, shocked, when he asked what else was beautiful. Realizing, she'd probably reacted kind of oddly, she snuggled back down. Her head on his shoulder. "Fine art, A sun rise, puppies, babies.. Though, I suppose they're more cute. Really, you're going to have to narrow i down a little." She was pretty sure she knew what he was hinting at, but still she tried to calm herself. Breathe, Toire, your heart shouldn't be beating that fast. This is only Ben. No reason to react this way.

^{STARRING : VICTOIRE AND BEN
WORDS : 1858
STATUS : FINISHED
NOTES : <33333 YAY FOR BEN'S 100TH POST!
LYRICS USED : USE SOMEBODY - KINGS OF LEON
LISTENING TO : NOTHING...
BANNER CREDIT : TANA
TAGGED : TANA}

[BEN APOLLO D'EATH]

He grinned, caving under her reproachful glare. She should know that if she was going to do something stupid with him as witness, she would never live it down. He wasn't one for forgetting, and it was easier to drag out an old joke rather than putting himself at risk thinking of a new one. It wasn't as if he was particularly sensitive to a good ribbing, either. He had both dealt and received a good deal of teasing in his six years at Hogwarts. It was a tricky science to master, because he had to be just mean enough to mildly embarrass his "victim". Too much and he would lose a friend. He had learned quickly, especially because his little sister, Nora, was very sensitive. He had to make sure that he didn’t hurt her unintentionally, but he didn’t mind, because he knew that she had a strange past. Most vampires did, but he was one of the born ones. Boring, yet again.

Laughing off her sarcasm, he exclaimed, "Why Victoire Weasley! Might you be scared of the big bad icky things? I thought you were a proper Gryffindor.

[/color]" He smirked. He always found house stereotypes amusing. Not every Slytherin was evil, not every Hufflepuff is wimpy. But it was still fun to generalize and laugh at the little discrepancies. The Weasleys were an old Gryffindor family: he knew that Hugo felt insecure about being placed in Ravenclaw. Toire was pretty much the closest thing to a Gryffindor anyone was going to get, with the possible exception of her cousin, Beau, captain of his house team. Sonetimes he just expected the guy to outright turn into a lion, fatally faithful to his own, and rather intimidating.

She grinned, and he relaxed against her shoulder, but her face fell and was quickly replaced by a more forced smile. Ben supposed that he had unknowing triggered thoughts of Violet, and he felt terrible. When he asked Felix, the captain told him that the injured girl would still be playing. Ben didn't want to doubt the brave girl, but Quidditch without hearing would be extremely difficult. He knew that he relied pretty heavily on his ears when he was guarding the goal posts, the wind usually watered his eyes. "I look forward to that display," he said, struck by a fierce mental image of Toire, decked our in scarlet and gold, brandishing a magical banner with the words "GO TEAM WEASLEY" embroidered on it. "I'm sure you're just being modest. You must be great on a broom.[/color]" She had so much energy that it was hard to imagine otherwise.

"I hope you'll cheer for me," he continued, pouting slightly. His family was not big on Quidditch, they would rather sit around and read books. Or have an intellectual conversation about historical patterns, all of which Lorcan could personally remember. He wondered what it would be like, being part of a normal, albeit huge, family. "Well, we'll definitely bring it.[/color]" He wiggled his eyebrows as if to challenge her. She was really bringing out the silly side in him. It was always there, daring him to crack a joke, but he convinced had himself that it would get in the way of his studies. Now, just talking with a person that was indeed very silly, he was laughing and joking like a dork. It was much easier to be cold and aloof than vulnerable and open.

It was weird to think what could have been, if he wasn't head over heels in love with Tori. Mia Selwyn, for one. They were so alike, and they could relate to each other so easily, both being quiet, bookish people. But now apparently he had to add Toire to that list. He felt a little bad, but couldn't pinpoint exactly why. It wasn't like he had been leading her on, in fact it was mostly the opposite. He reassured himself that she was meant to be with Teddy, just like he was meant to be with Tori. Deep in his heart, though, he knew it wasn't that black and white. Everything, especially when it came to matters of love, was shades of gray. "Perhaps you'll have to replace me with a fool like yourself.[/color]" Maybe he was stepping into a more awkward realm for them, but he thought it would be even worse to just let the conversation drop. "Unless you've already found one?" he asked, keeping his tone light, not sure how he would react if she said she was seeing someone.

"Well, he was head boy, which is no small accomplishment.[/color]" Ben had memorized every name on every trophy or mural in this school, and Percy had been a big academic achiever. "He probably thinks you are completely not serious enough,[/color]" he said, diplomatically. He was a firm believer that everyone was allowed to make at least one major mistake in their life. Percy might have made his, but he deserved to be given another chance. And for the most part, he had been. He didn't see Toire being mean to his children. "Don't worry, every family has someone like that. The black sheep, you know.[/color]" Giving her a crooked smile, he leaned back so his weight was on his hands, his arms supporting him. He would definitely not mind if this became a regular thing, although he'd rather not Toire drown herself. The scenery was beautiful, and the company was engaging and interesting.

Describing Toire, easily bored was an understatement. From what he remembered, she had the attention span of a flobberworm. "Frankly, Miss Weasley, I'm flattered,[/color]" he said in his best presumptuous voice, holding his hand over his heart. "I missed being able to talk to you like this.[/color]" Wait, did he actually say that out loud? It was true, but he felt like the awkward in the conversation would now multiply by ten. No more easy freedom, he predicted. He was just speaking the truth, though, and Toire was one for the truth. None of his friends were as free-spirited as Toire, and it was nice to have a conversation that wasn't about last night's homework or gossip about people that he didn’t know, but were “Hogwarts royalty”. That was all. “If I knew that you held me in such high esteem, I would have taken more advantage of that.[/color]” Grinning, he flicked a pebble at her, aiming for her collarbone.

“I have sufficient evidence to prove that women are much more stubborn,[/color]” he retorted playfully. She was the one that had jumped into a lake, after all. And in the middle of November, too. If she wasn’t going to be responsible, he was going to be doubly responsible, for both of them. “You falling in love with me wasn’t part of the original plan, but I suppose I could figure something out if that happened,[/color]” he said playfully. He chuckled lightly, and continued “Hm, really, are you sure of that? I’ve heard that your type is unavailable men.[/color]” Maybe it was a little mean, but it was true. Toire was infamous for picking out the exactly wrong guy, either he was using her just as a rebound, or he was not being completely telling of his “extra curriculars.”

Too nice to be normal? Was that even a thing? Ben didn’t consider himself nice, but he didn’t think anyone really did. Because... that would be the opposite of nice. It would be arrogant. And while many students at Hogwarts thought that Ben was stuck up because he really didn’t like talking to people he didn’t know. He wasn’t normal, but not for the reason that Toire thought. He promised himself that he would do everything in his power to make sure that she never figured out he was a vampire, ever, even if it meant cutting her clean out of his life again. “All right, fine,[/color]” he said, mock-reproachfully. In fact, he was glad that Toire had suggested that. He could certainly be too afraid to. “It makes me sad that awkwardness is expected, though,[/color]” he said honestly, with a sigh. If they could only be just regular friends. But it was really her fault, this whole mess.

◊ ◊ ◊

“You caught me,[/color]” he said, throwing his hands in the hand in an act of submission. “I do just like hearing it.[/color]” Which was a joke, of couse. No girls seemed to be interested in him, and the only time they asked to hang out with him was when they had been dared to, or something. And he was too wimpy to ask Tori out, and the idea of seeing someone else was terrifying. It would be, like, messing with fate. He wouldn’t want to ruin everything he’d worked so hard this past year and a half for. “Go on,[/color]” he encouraged, “Inflate my ego a little more, please. [/color]” He smiled widely. It was good to have a female friend that was down for some casual flirting, if that was what this was. Mia was a great friend, but she wasn’t a flirt, not at all.

He felt her snuggle into him for warmth, and he wrapped his arm around her. For some of his classmates, this was a signal of romantic feelings, but he didn’t really view it that way. He did this all the time with his siblings. He was just trying to protect them by literally shielding them with his body. The fire jumped and hissed, and he tossed another log upon it, watching as the embers glowed a deep orange. He was scared of fire, burning was the only sure-fire was to kill a vampire, but it was controlled enough that he wasn’t in a panic.

Her reaction to his words was definitely weird, and he looked at her with narrowed eyes, trying to decode her thoughts. “Well, I was going to say, yet again, that you look very beautiful tonight.[/color]” Platonic friends complemented each other on their looks, right? Maybe. “I mean, you look very nice always.[/color]” He adjusted his tie, it seemed to be getting very hot. He wasn’t drunk, he hadn’t even taken a sip of the alcoholic punch that his friends had, giggling, smuggled in. But his inhibitions were lowered by the party atmosphere, and he pulled her closer to him and brushed his lips against her forehead. Again, something that he would do to Nora. It was different, though, somehow.
[/blockquote]
TAG victoire weasley
WORDS 1754
MUSIC not in love by crystal castles
NOTES ugh sorry this is so late ;; and your posts are so goood
[/blockquote][/justify]

[VICTOIRE APOLLINE WEASLEY]

That gained him a scowl. Yet, still Toire felt insanely happy, very giddy. She folded her arms across her chest defiantly as she watched him. "Oh yes, because I'm not scared by anything. I laugh in the face of danger! No, I'm a giant fradey cat. Scared of everything. A total failure of a gryffindor. I'm scared of creepy crawlies, quietness, squid and octopus are not my friend. I'm not scared of the dar. Obviously. Maybe that's one point in my favor? I remember we were all home for the holidays and I went in the bathroom and saw a GIANT spider. I screamed for a whole minute as I ran to find my cousins and jumped into Albus's arms. I'm a total girl." She was good under pressure and okay with blood, but she didn't think she was brave.

Her on a broom? That wasn't really that scary a thought. She could do the broom thing easily. She could go fast and whatever. It was when you involved quidditch that it got hard. "Honestly, do you know me at all? Here's an example of how much I suck at quidditch: My family, they play it a lot, right?So, when I was a kid I played with them and stuff. Problem was, I'd get distracted. I was daydreaming while I was supposed to be paying attention. Long story short, I got a quaffle to the face, fell off my broom and ended up at St. Mungos. I was not a pretty kid at that point in time." Her mother had compared her to a monkey. The woman wouldn't take pictures at the time of her beaten face, though apparently one of her uncles decided to after they got over the initial shock. So, there was a picture of her looking like a monkey hidden somewhere out of her mother's sight.

She chewed on her lip as though deep in thought. "And why should I cheer for you huh?" Was she flirting? Probably. Actually, most likely, but it wasn't a big deal. Toire was a flirt. It wasn't just because this was Ben.

She didn't understand him, then. Replace him with a fool like her? Okay Toire, think it over, but not too much. Don't over think. Okay, so They had been joking about the two of them. She didn't really understand the line though. Maybe it didn't mean anything? "We're all fools in some way." Toire was a fool when it came to relationships and, well, a lot of other things. Then, she noticed what he said next and did a double take. Was he hinting? No, he was in a relationship. He was in love. There was just no way. " Umm.. I.. My life is very fool-less at the moment. I've had too many fools in my life." She was kind of starting to give up on men in general. "Maybe I'm supposed to be a lone fool? I mean, if I find some worth.. worth it all then maybe, but we don't all have our own Ben D'Eath. Tori's a lucky girl." Di she really just say that? There was a hint of jealousy in her voice that she hoped he didn't catch.

Yes, Toire's uncle was head boy. She did love him. She may have sounded as though she didn't, but she cared about him like she did all the others. She just didn't have as much in common with him. She had a lot more in common with his children though. She loved Molly and Lucy like they were sisters. She just hadn't spent as much time with her uncle Percy. Plus, they were completely different. " I think I may be one of the few Weasleys not to recieve perfect status. I'm just far too badass." Or, you know, clumsy and silly. "I'm a bad influence."

She grinned as he told her he was flattered. "You should be. That's not something I tell all the fellas. Just the pretty ones." She teased. So, she wasn't the only one who had missed this. The fact that he had said he specifically missed talking to her didn't escape her attention, but she wouldn't make something of it. He was just being nice and friendly. "Oh really? So why'd you stay away so long, huh?" It had really sucked. She wasn't entirely sure how to reply, so she leaned towards him. "You would, huh? And here I was thinking you were all innocent." She whispered, before chuckling. She was playing with him, she told herself. She didn't think about him that way at all. At least she didn't want to. He was her friend. Those sort of feelings just complicated things.She ducked the pebble, falling to the side with a laugh, her hair sprawling over her face. "Hey, hey. Ease up on the weaponry! Don't you know it's improper to hit a lady?" Flicking her hair back out of the way, she nudged him playfully with her shoulder.

Hah! She had a feeling that he thought she was stubborn. "Really? Is that a hint? I'm not stubborn at all! That's crazy talk!" Lie! Obvious lie! She was definitely the stubborn type. She snorted and began pretending to fan herself. " Oh yes, Ben. I'm so in love with you. You are my prince charming after all. However, I guess I'll just have to admire you from a far. Polygamy is unfortunately illegal. Unless we move to Vegas. Everything's legal in Vegas." She began to chew on the inside of her cheek. So he'd noticed. "Okay, so my taste in men isn't all that great." Wasn't that the understatement of the year. "I don't... I don't actively try to find guys who are arse holes. They're just the type of guy's that tend to like me. And what does that say about me?" Her voice became purposefully muffled at the end. She was pretty much speaking to herself. This wasn't to Ben. Not really.

She clapped, excited when he agreed to stay. " Good, cause otherwise I would have to break out the handcuffs, and I'm not entirely sure whether I could keep you here against your will." Well, she hated the awkwardness too, but she was glad it was over. It was over, right? She hoped that when she saw him next, it wouldn't be awkward in the slightest. "Yeah, it sucks."

Toire grinned as she wen't along with her joke. For some reason, Ben hadn't gotten so much attention. It baffled her. He was handsome, he was kind, he was funny. Girls on the whole could be utter idiots. Toire could too. She understood the temptation when it came to the bad boy and the likes of Ben usually weren't her type, but there was just something about him that interested her. Inflate his ego, huh? "But then you wouldn't be yourself. The compliments would go to your head. I think you'll just have to wonder what it is I really think about you, because I'm not telling."

She nuzzled her face into his neck as he put him arm around her. This was nice. She wouldn't let it be anything other than plain nice. After all, she snuggled with her cousins and that was DEFINITELY innocent. Why couldn't this be just as platonic? She wrapped and arm around his stomach. "You are faar better than a quilt." He was actually quite cold, yet he felt cosy to her. It was odd.

Her breath caught in her throat. Wow. Calm yourself, Victoire! "You're just trying totrick me into complimenting you again, but I won't do it. No surree. I will not tell you how utterly lovely you are or how good you look in formal wear." She leaned her head to look at him, grinning. "Always? Puhlease. You've never seen me in the morning. Bed head,no make up, pyjamas. It's terrifying."

^{STARRING : VICTOIRE AND BEN
WORDS : Dunnnoo
STATUS : FINISHED
NOTES : <33333
LYRICS USED : USE SOMEBODY - KINGS OF LEON
LISTENING TO : NOTHING...
BANNER CREDIT : TANA
TAGGED : TANA}