RP: Something Wicked

[bth_theodoren]

Title: Something Wicked
Date:  31 October
Time of Day: 7:00 pm
Characters: Theodore Nott, Luna Lovegood, Katie Bell, Oliver Wood, ? 
Location: Hogwarts
Status: Public
Brief Summary: Halloween is the festival of lights. One crazy night with buckets of fright. (Adam Sandler reference, anyone? Oh dear..I'm in a rather corny mood.)
Completion: Incomplete

Dear

Comments

[bth_theodoren]

Glancing around Theo noticed the Clark Kent and Butterfly conversing. It pleased him that he recognized the comic book character costume, mostly because back in France his friends had been shocked about his lack of knowledge about the world. Of course now there was no one to brag to about his discovery, no one who would listen to a snarky comment about x-ray vision. Instead he was silent, eyes moving away from the pair.

He hardly recognized anyone from his school days. To tell the truth he'd rather tried to forget them. Finally his eyes latched onto someone he recognized, good old Loony Lovegood. He watched her for a while with a smile. She'd impressed him for a time, he had thought them alike. Outcasts in their own House, he'd admired her independence. But then, then she had joined up with Potter and the Potter-ettes and he couldn't help but knock her down on the chart of people who Theo actually considered interesting. How could someone so independent and intelligent ever conform to a group so clearly prejudiced as that? It was as like Theo joining in with Crabbe and Goyle at licking Draco's shoes, impossible. But it had happened, so Theo didn't move from the wall to approach her.

He did leave the wall though, it was time to go group hopping. A game that Theo had invented for boring affairs such as this. You tag onto a group, just in the peripheral and slowly edge your way in. If they make room for you in the circle that's ten points, if you make a comment and they don't notice that's twenty and if you start a conversation without them realizing they don't know you, that's thirty. Smiling he made his way through the crowd looking for the proper group, he had just spotted one when he accidentally bumped into Luna without noticing. He was so focused on making his way over he didn't even glance at her but rather muttered an apology and tried to continue his way through the sea of people.

[bth_lunal]

Luna hadn't really been paying much attention to the crowd. She was tapping a foot in time to the music (but thankfully not humming), and didn't even noticed the figure pushing through the sea of people until he bumped into her.

Persephone, still positioned around Luna's neck, hissed in protest, and Luna's mask slipped down so that she couldn't actually see the figure even as he apologised.

One hand soothing Persephone, and the other adjusting her mask, she smiled at him just as he tried to disappear again.

"It's quite alright," she said brightly, not actually realising who she was speaking to, "It's rather crowded in here, isn't it?"

Which, she hoped, was the reason that she hadn't seen any of her friends all night. She was beginning to feel rather worried. This new year at Hogwarts was supposed to be a chance for them to pick up from where the war had forced them to stop, and instead things seemed to have gone back to how they were before the DA.

[bth_theodoren]

Theo turned to look at her, surprised at the elongated reply to his brusque apology. "Uh, yes..it is rather tight,"he said awkwardly. She obviously didn't recognize him, which was no surprise. Not only had he kept to himself all those years at school he also looked different now. He wasn't as weedy, he'd filled out thanks to his training. Plus he was dressed up. Theo wondered perhaps if he should introduce himself, but that would probably only worsen the awkwardness of the whole moment. Then she might have to be embarrassed that she was talking to a Slytherin.

Theo often wondered if he thought too much about things.

[bth_lunal]

Luna wouldn't have been particularly embarrassed about talking to a Slytherin, even if she had have known. It took an awful lot to embarrass Luna Lovegood.

She didn't even seem to notice he wanted to escape and avoid any further conversation, sticking out her hand once her mask was fixed properly.

"I'm Luna," she said, in case there was even one person in the school who didn't know about 'the Loony Ravenclaw girl'.

[bth_theodoren]

Well here it was, no avoiding it now. Theo briefly contemplated lying but it could prove messy later if she figured out that he'd lied. So he offered an awkward smile and scratched the back of his head tilting the cowboy hat a touch forward, "We've met, I'm uh..Theo..Theodore Nott." He took the proffered hand and instead flipped it to brush a kiss across the back of her palm, he smiled as he rose, "Lovely costume by the way. Although I don't think your kneazle likes me." He recognized it as a kneazle easily, having taken a few classes on magical creature identification back in France.

[bth_lunal]

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Luna politely, "I didn't recognise you with your costume and things."

She attempted to remember what she'd known about him from his time at Hogwarts, and could only recall that he'd been able to see Thestrals, according to Harry, anyway. That was enough to make her like him already, even if Persephone was being less than friendly.

If she was surprised that he kissed her hand rather than shaking it, she didn't show it, and merely smiled.

"Oh, she doesn't like anyone very much," she said, stroking her pet on the head, "She's rather bad tempered. I don't know why..."

[bth_theodoren]

"Most kneazles seem that way,"he said with a quirk of his lips, "Or perhaps they all dislike me in particular." He remembered one particularly bad evening with an old woman who had five of the things for some reason.

Unlike Luna Theo didn't take well to magical creatures. It was a mutual dislike he often thought. Perhaps it was lingering resentment over the thestrals. He'd been able to see them since arriving at Hogwarts, those in his boat had thought he was barking. It hadn't been the best way to start out a year, terrified by strange looking beasts that no one else could see. The next week his owl had bit him and flown home to never return.

Later on his dislike had only grown, Theo didn't think that Hagrid's lessons had been good for any of the Slytherins. The blast ended skrewt debacle had left him without eyebrows and in the infirmary. Bottom line was that Theo just stayed away from most magical creatures as a rule.

[bth_lunal]

"I'm sorry," said Luna, as if it was her fault, and only her fault, that he didn't get on with magical creatures. She lifted Sephy, very gently, off her shoulders and placed the kneazle on the dancefloor. Immediately, her pet disappeared between the legs of the other guests and disappeared out of sight.

"Is that better?" she ventured expectantly.

[bth_theodoren]

Theo laughed, "It's not your problem. I hope your kneazle won't be too put out." Theodore wondered where the little beast had dissapeared off to and hoped they wouldn't be meeting up later, he'd rather not be the idiot who got in a fight with a kneazle thank you very much.

The band was striking up a new slower song and Theo knew that if the moment got any more awkward he may just have feign amnesia. Though he didn't feel that Luna was particularly put out, he himself was rather mortified at the whole situation. Slytherin's loner talking to Ravenclaw's. Well, there were few choices left so he pasted on a smile and offered a hand, "I suppose I should dance at least once, would you mind being my partner?"

[bth_lunal]

"Me?" Luna's eyes widened even further than usual, two huge silver orbs in her pale face. "Really?"

She simply couldn't believe that anyone, especially a Slytherin, who was, as far as she was concerned at least, 'cool'. The smile on her face spoke for itself, really.

"That would be wonderful!" she enthusiasitcally. "I've never been able to dance at something like this before, ever. I'd be very, very happy to!"

[bth_theodoren]

Theodore blinked in surprise, "I...well I hope I don't dissapoint any expectations of yours." He had always admired the Ravenclaw's unfeigned happiness and there was something charming about the eager excitement that crossed her face.

He hoped he wasn't encouraging something he'd later regret. Theo tipped the hat and offered a half bow, "If I may, then?" Flourishing the proffered hand, "Let's make history, shall we?"

There was something infectious about people like Luna. They somehow stoppered up even sarcastic bastards like Theo. There was something there that prompted lighthearted quips from the so often sarcastic Slytherin.

[bth_lunal]

"Yes, let's," she agreed eagerly. The expression on her face suggested that she was still unable to believe this was really happening. She took his hand, and followed him onto the dancefloor, looking for all the world like someone waiting to wake up.