(Untitled)

[playswithboys]

Date: December 5, 2000
Status: Semi-private to start [Complete]
Setting: Doorway between lobby and bar
Summary: Mistletoe!!!

Comments

[grimsirius]

"I've never heard that one before," remarked Sirius, watching Pepper attempt to hang the mistletoe from the door frame. He figured it was probably a muggle one, judging from the ridiculous way she was trying to hang things. Sirius wasn't so bad with muggle tools ever since he'd decided to fix up an old muggle motorbike years ago, but hammers were still enough to send him into fits of laughter.

"Did you want some help with that?" Amusing as this might be, mistletoe was always a handy thing to have about.

[playswithboys]

Pepper firmly reminded herself that whipping about the way she normally did would not be a wise move, the way she was currently situated. She turned around to face... someone she hadn't met yet. "Never heard it?" she said incredulously, smiling. "What planet are you from, then? Or are you Jewish or summat?"

She looked at her current progress and cringed. Help would be good at this point. Before she brought the whole ceiling down around them. "Actually, if you could hold the mistletoe and keep the ladder steady, that would be fantastic. I'm Pepper, by the way," she added, holding out a hand.

[grimsirius]

"I'm a wizard, actually. We have some songs in common, but not all of them. I knew that one about the reindeer already."

He stepped out of the doorway and crossed the room to take her hand, shaking it firmly. "Sirius Black. Nice to meet you. And if you don't mind, I have a better idea."

Leaning against the ladder, he took out his wand, eyed the mistletoe, and squinted. "Wingardium Leviosa," he muttered, almost to himself. The mistletoe levitated out of her fingers, and, spinning about in midair, floated upwards until it rested on the ceiling. With a sharp jab of his wand, Sirius sealed it with a slightly modified Permanent Sticking Charm. It would be impossible to remove* until January.

"How's that?"

*To Sirius' working definition of possible, at least. The concept of angelic and demonic powers hadn't fully realised itself to him yet.

[playswithboys]

Wizard? He was a -

Oh. He was.

"Cor," Pepper breathed. "I mean I knew you were all around here, but I never met... what a great name. It looks perfect. And how'd you do that? I mean, are wizards born with magic, or do they have to learn it? And do you need the wand to do it? How come I've never seen you around here before?" Stop asking so many questions. "Er, I mean... sorry. I just get a little chatty when I.... I never met a wizard before. Just angels and demons and the usual around here."

[grimsirius]

Sirius laughed good-naturedly at her response. "It's all right. I remember the first time I ever had a friend from a muggle-- er, that's what we call non-wizards, people like you-- background, I felt the same way. Do you have any idea how amazing things like telephones and motorbikes and escalators are

[playswithboys]

"Escalators?" Pepper repeated amusedly. It was hard to imagine anyone being amazed by an escalator, but she supposed if she'd never seen one before.... "I could see how a motorbike would be amazin'," she mused aloud. "Always thought it would be fun to ride one of those." Pepper had a suspicion that her father had driven one. Her mother had hinted at it once or twice.

"Must be fun to go to school for that 'nstead of what all the normal people have to learn. I'd much rather 'ave studied that," she confessed. "You're lucky."

When he charmed the mistletoe, she laughed and raised a hand to catch the random scattering of snowflakes. It took her a moment to realize exactly what he'd done. "It's real...." Her eyes widened in awe. "That's incredible." She raised her face to it, catching the powder on her cheeks.

When he offered his hand, she took it and carefully descended down the step ladder. "Cheers," she said on reaching the ground, still grinning joyfully.

[grimsirius]

"I used to have one. A motorbike, I mean, not an escalator. Lovely, too. Much better than cars or whatever it is muggles use to get around these days." He shrugged. "School is school. But yeah, I prefer magic to maths in general, but there are subjects for all types. Arithmancy is about as boring as can be, frankly."

Her reaction to the snow pleased him. It was always nice to be appreciated, especially by pretty young girls. And she was young, it startled him to realise. He sometimes forgot that he was hardly twenty anymore. She had to be about Harry's age, come to think of it. Still, her attention, even if it was more on the magic than on him, was not bad for his slightly bruised ego.

He grinned the way he might have if he were twenty years younger when he helped her down the ladder and then, once she reached the last rung, slipped a hand behind her lower back to steady her, swung her to the ground, and then dipped her. He paused for a second to say, with a smirk, "Whoops, mistletoe," before adding a dramatic kiss to the equation.

[playswithboys]

He used to have a motorbike? Well, then.

She made her way down the steps with caution, and was so focused on her feet that when he swung her around, she had no means to counterbalance. She spun off the last step easily and looked up at him in puzzlement, hands reaching out to clutch his shoulders so she felt steady. This wasn't something that happened to her often enough for her to guess what was coming.

Until she saw that smirk. "Whoops, mistletoe."

She opened her mouth to protest, which in the end was exactly the wrong thing to do, of course. And then when his lips met hers, she figured... why not? It was in the Christmas spirit after all, and he seemed like a nice enough fellow. Wasn't bad at kissing either. So she kissed back.

The snow was still falling. It was rather nice, actually.