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Ariana Silver ([info]teases_muggles) wrote in [info]beyondthepages,
@ 2010-04-09 23:50:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:!complete, 2023 09, ariana silver, neville longbottom

RP: The Fake Date
Characters: Ariana S, Neville
Time/Date: Saturday Evening
Location: her room
Warnings/Rating: staff sno Idk? Probably none
Summary: Ari has Neville up for their "fake date"
Status: Complete



Ariana felt ridiculous for being as nerved up as she was. It was ... a silly little practice date between friends. She was going to coach him so he could ... ... go out and date other women. Funny how she kept overlooking that little flaw in her plan. He thought they were just friends, and of course they were just friends - so would this practice date sabotage any chance at perhaps becoming more than friends with him at some point?

Maybe ... in the course of coaching, she could find it in herself to be frank with him and to stop dancing around like a skittish foal when confronted with the idea of a relationship. Just because one bloke who thought with his cock more than his brain had screwed her over didn't mean every guy was going to.

Riding on the secondhand high of hearing about Ashley and Ben's new-found romance, she thought maybe this might go a little better than she dared hope.

She'd dressed nicely in what she considered to be Muggle date casual. She'd moved her furniture to the edges of the room to leave space for a transfigured table to serve as their practice area ... and now, there was nothing to do but wait.


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[info]trustingnature
2010-04-10 07:37 am UTC (link)
He... wasn't nervous. He kept telling himself that. Just because he'd left his office with plenty of time to get there, and was now wasting that plenty of time by going forward and then backtracking, and then forward again didn't mean anything. It was just... how he walked?

He was nervous. Fake or not, he was going on a date with a pretty girl that had no interest in him that wasn't falsified, and he was going to make a fool of himself, and he was nervous about it.

But in spite of all that, he knew that he trusted Ari not to make unnecessary fun of him, and to know where making fun would be funny, and where it would be hurtful, and it was those thought that kept him pressing forward until he reached her room, wrapping his knuckles against the door before he could change his mind.

There. Now he had to at least stay and hear about what all sorts of things he was doing wrong on dates.

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[info]teases_muggles
2010-04-10 02:54 pm UTC (link)
Ari smiled when she heard the knock to the door, nervous despite herself. She wondered if this would be as nerve-wracking if she didn't like him like she did. If she weren't sort of kind of wishing this was a real date. It was Neville, just a colleague. No different than a fake date with Steven or Faustus or something like that.

Except, of course, apart from the part where it was completely different.

Rolling her shoulders, she opened the door and stepped back to invite him in. "Good evening, Mr Longbottom," she greeted him with mock formality as she swept a hand to gesture him in.

"And not even a flower for me," she said before she sighed overdramatically. "Honestly, the Herbology professor can't bring me a flower?" She grinned. "Joshing, of course, but for a real date ... little tokens are nice," she coached. "At least for the first date."

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[info]trustingnature
2010-04-11 03:13 am UTC (link)
He facepalmed, and looked around him for something to transfigure into a flower for her, but when he didn't see anything, he decided that it was too late anyway and sighed a bit, offering her a wry smile. "I should probably take notes. I'm bound to forget for next time."

He looked around, thinking, "Should I go grab something now and we can pretend like this never happened?"

He didn't think that she'd let him though. It wasn't as though real dates got do-overs. He knew that all too well.

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[info]teases_muggles
2010-04-11 03:52 am UTC (link)
Ari laughed softly. "Oh, no. No fixing as you go along. I can't coach if I don't know what exactly is going on," she pointed out before she lifted her brows slightly. "I can get you some parchment and a quill if you wanted to take notes for real."

The idea amused her - outwardly, anyway. Inwardly, she found herself hoping he never found occasion to apply whatever he might learn tonight to any actual dates with women who weren't her. But that was selfish, and foolish. Pushing the thoughts aside, she nodded toward where she had the table set up. "But now you'll know for next time," she assured him as she moved toward one of the chairs.

"So what sort of woman should I pretend to be? What sort of woman would you want to be successful in dating?"

Part of her knew very well she could sabotage this, could make him utterly undatable, but ... well, that wouldn't be right, fair, or in the nature of their friendship. She wanted him to be happy - even if it wasn't with her.

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[info]trustingnature
2010-04-11 05:33 am UTC (link)
He grinned sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his head before he shrugged a little bit in a 'what can you do?' sort of way. "I did say that I was complete rubbish at this. Now you have proof."

He shook his head. "No I... don't actually want to take notes," he decided. Mostly because if he ever had another occassion where he was entertaining in his office, he would absolutely fall over and die of embarrassment if someone were to find said notes.

He stood awkwardly in place for a moment, before he started to follow her to the chairs. He had vague ideas about moving faster than her and holding the chair for her. Was that what he supposed to do? Hold... it? He'd seen that done before, he thought. But then he thought that trying to race ahead of her would just 'cause him to trip or something and... it was better to just stay at the same pace.

"What sort of..." he repeated, his brow furrowing slightly. "I... what sort of woman do you want... no," he said, shaking his head. "No, I... you should be yourself," he said hesitantly. "Unless you want to put on some kind of act, but... I..." he shrugged. He'd like it better if she was just herself, but he felt weird asking that of her. Maybe it would be difficult for her to separate it if she was being herself?

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[info]teases_muggles
2010-04-11 02:59 pm UTC (link)
"So you'd like to date me?" Ari said with a grin. Tease tease tease. Pretend pretend pretend. It was all fake anyway, right? They were friends, nothing more.

Settling into one of the chairs, she gestured him into the other one. "So what usually trips you up on dates? The conversations? The goodnight kiss part? Eating? Because if eating's a problem, I'd avoid dinner dates. Just do things like movies and walks or plays. Magic acts. Things like that. Then at least afterward you can talk about the show."

She had promised to make dinner, and she had. Granted, it wasn't much since she doubted either of them would actually be hungry after eating dinner in the Hall, but it was something to ... well, practice with. Slipping her wands out, she whisked away the covers over the dishes and grinned.

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[info]trustingnature
2010-04-12 04:13 am UTC (link)
"I... that's not... exactly what..." he was turning a really bright shade of red, not sure how to cover that one up. He hadn't meant that he wanted to date her, not exactly anyway. He'd meant that he didn't really need her to put on a show for him. But he didn't NOT want to date her either, and... that was just getting too complicated in his head, so he was going to stop speaking and trust that she knew where he'd been going with it and was just teasing him.

"Everything," he muttered when she asked what usually tripped him up. "It's probably more a confidence thing than anything, but once I get started on the failures they really just escalate. I forget to bring a flower, she gets annoyed, I don't tip the host so we get a table faster or didn't make reservations in the first place. I don't know she's allergic to shellfish and I practically force feed her a bite of my entree..." he waved a hand to indicate that he wasn't going to fill in the blanks any further than that.

He stared at the food as she whisked off the covers. Truthfully, he hadn't eaten much in the hall, but he still wasn't very hungry. "It looks delicious, but I think I ate too many butterflies in the greenhouse or something," he joked.

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[info]teases_muggles
2010-04-12 04:23 am UTC (link)
Ari grinned as he blushed and stumbled through an attempt at an explanation. "Well, we can see how this goes and if you'd like a second attempt at it, we can try a real date," Ari said breezily as if it was no big deal and her heart hadn't skipped a little when she'd opened her mouth to make the offer.

She did listen as he explained what he thought the problem was, and she nodded slightly. She supposed she could understand that, given what she knew about him. "Well, I probably can't increase your confidence overnight," she said. "But I could give you a book with a few tips." Reaching across the table, she took his hand in her own.

"You're a very handsome man, Neville. You're caring, and sweet, and kind, and if a woman doesn't take the time to see past the initial fluster and see that part of you, then she's not worth your time anyway."

Releasing his hand, she quirked a grin about the food. "It's mostly for show," she admitted. "Something to have to practice with. Or look at." She rolled her shoulders.

"So, first things first. Dinner conversations. I can't imagine you're the sort of guy who focuses all the conversation on himself, so that's probably not a problem. Women like it when you're interested in them, in what they do, in little facts they've dropped in prior conversations. So ask questions about them to show you've listened to things they've said to you. Ask ... intelligent questions that aren't just yes or no responses. Things that require explanation and could lead to follow-up questions."

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[info]trustingnature
2010-04-12 05:04 am UTC (link)
His grandmother had a muggle friend who used to sit him sometimes when he was growing up, and she had a muggle television set that she used to let him watch cartoons on.

Neville thought, that as Ariana was speaking, if he had been a character on one of those cartoons, that his pupils would have become big, red and heart shaped, while his heart shooted out of his chest and pounded loudly. He could certainly hear his pulse roaring in his ears, and his heartbeat echoing there.

He didn't think anyone - except maybe Luna - had ever said anything so nice to him like that. He swallowed heavily, knowing that his face was turning even redder than before, and nodded his head. "That's... very... thank you, Ari. That's... I'm not sure what to say. Thank you."

He wondered how serious she was about having a second date. But he supposed he would have to get through the first one if there was any chance at having a second one. Maybe he should reconsider taking notes.

"Intelligent questions," he said carefully, his face scrunching up. "You... took some time to live as a muggle before taking this position, right?" he said. Though maybe that was something that he'd imagined. "Out of a sense of... knowing the profession? Or just because you could?"

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[info]teases_muggles
2010-04-12 05:18 am UTC (link)
"Well, it's true," she said simply, as if she could simply shrug it off. But it was true, at least from where she was standing. He was adorable and caring and considerate and kind.

A little surprised by the question, she grinned and decided to just go with it. Maybe if she pretended she was dating as well, rather than coaching, this might go a bit better.

"Every summer, I take a month to live strictly as a Muggle in the Muggle community, yes. It helps me keep in touch with the non-magic side so the new class of Muggleborns doesn't come in with any surprises that are going to bite me in the arse in class. So I'm up to date on all the new fads and technologies and the latest games and what new changes have been implemented in laws and theories and whatever else I plan on covering through the term.

"I also run a camp for my 7th year students over the summer to give them a full Muggle experience for a couple of weeks. Take away their wands and everything," she added with a grin.

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[info]trustingnature
2010-04-12 06:12 am UTC (link)
He felt himself easing into more of a... friend frame of mind, and wondered if that was a good thing. Shouldn't he feel all tense and awkward since they were on a date? But she'd told him to relax, hadn't she? So... well. He'd go with it for now, he thought, and... follow her lead. Or something.

"But there are easier ways, aren't there?" he asked curiously. "I mean, you could... live in a Muggle community, for sure, and still use magic? Why go completely cold turkey like that?" he grinned a bit. "It's it a go broke or go home sort of thing?"

He nodded a bit - he knew of the camp, of course - and grinned. "It's a wonderful idea, to be sure. The kids always have a great time." He knew that her original take on how to teach Muggle Studies was a big part of the reason that the program had become so successful and popular in recent years.

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[info]teases_muggles
2010-04-12 06:35 am UTC (link)
"Easier, sure. But I like the challenge. Magic is the easiest way to do a lot of things - most things, honestly - but it's also nice to remind myself what life without magic is like. Helps me relate a little to the under seventeens, to have a more thorough experience. And, so I have something to fall back on when the kids try to use the 'you don't remember what it's like without magic' line."

Absently picking at one of the rolls, she studied him curiously. "What about you? What sort of things do you go out of your way to do to make your classes better for the kids?"

Ari did remind herself then that this was just make-believe, that she and Neville weren't actually on a date, and this ... really should stop feeling like an actual date. If they did have any sort of goodnight physical contact, it ... wouldn't be real.

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[info]trustingnature
2010-04-12 06:44 am UTC (link)
"What gave you the idea to start?" he asked, genuinely curious. "Did you just wake up one morning and say to yourself, 'for the next month I'm going to live with no magic because I like the challenge?'"

He grinned, and he was half joking, but part of him wondered if it did just happen more or less like that.

"I do nothing as dramatic as that," he admitted. "A lot of the kids respond to my own passion on the subject, and relate to and agree with things that I find interesting about the plants. I like to play to their strengths a lot - I'll admit that I'm not above pitting the students against each other if I've got a couple of competitive students in the class, and the others tend to respond to them. Having them work in pairs is sometimes useful too. Giving them options..." he shrugged his shoulders. "As I said, nothing as dramatic as living as a muggle. Perhaps I should transfigure myself and live as a plant for a few months over the summer," he grinned.

He wasn't ashamed; Ari had a unique persepctive on teaching that they could all learn from and admire, but he was proud of the work that he put into his lessons, even if they weren't the most creative. Maybe he would take a page out of her book and try something new in the next couple of months, see how it worked out.

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[info]teases_muggles
2010-04-12 06:57 am UTC (link)
She laughed softly. "Honestly, I don't even remember. Probably something Steven or Randy got me started on. Sparked the idea, and me being me, I ran with it. Could well have been one of my seventh years giving me lip about doing things without magic that planted the seed."

Grinning at the unintentional metaphor, Ari shrugged one shoulder before popping the bit of roll into her mouth. Listening to him, she nodded slightly.

"Each class is different, different parameters, different sorts of interest, different mindsets. What's going to work for one isn't going to work for another. Randy joked about running a charms camp for a bit, but ... it's different," Ari pointed out. "Though admittedly, if you did transfigure yourself into a plant, you'd like be the first ever plant animagus on record."

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[info]trustingnature
2010-04-12 07:58 pm UTC (link)
He nodded, and smiled. "Well, it's admirable, certainly. And I don't think you get enough credit for that," he said, genuinely. "I mean, 'professor' has always been an underrated and often thankless profession, but when you go above and beyond the call of teaching..." he wondered where all this praise was coming from. Was it all sparked by her earlier compliments, or was this something he'd always felt and just hadn't expressed? It felt more like the latter really. He shrugged, "Well, I'm sure the students appreciate it."

He nodded, and laughed a bit at being the first plant animagus on record. "They'll likely have to devise a new name for it, assuming I manage," he grinned. "Plantamagus or something equally silly. The problem will likely be transforming back," he grinned. "Maybe I'll get the Mauraders to assist me," he joked.

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[info]teases_muggles
2010-04-12 08:17 pm UTC (link)
"It isn't even about credit. Not really. It's for them - the ones who have parents who pushed pureblood ideals especially. Muggle and Muggleborn prejudice isn't gone ... they just keep it quieter. My theory is that as they understand Muggles and the way they do things more, and perhaps have an opportunity to appreciate the other side of things, they'll shift their views a little ... and every little bit helps, right? We have to share the world with them, the least we can do is try to understand them. They're people, too, despite what some of the older families would have you think."

She paused, and grinned. "And now I'll hop down off my soapbox ..."

Chuckling softly, she rolled a piece of the bread between her fingers before she pitched it toward him. "That would be a trick. But if you're still you, just plant-formed, I imagine the magic would still be there. Hopefully. Unless it only worked if you transfigured yourself into a magical plant."

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[info]trustingnature
2010-04-13 06:40 am UTC (link)
He chuckled, "It's a good soapbox to be on, though. We are in a new age, people should learn to be more tolerant of old things they used to be prejudiced about. Maybe they'll go home and teach their parents a thing or two."

He made a move like he was going to catch the piece of bread in his mouth, lost his nerve halfway through the action and simply let it fall onto his plate while he grinned kind of sheepishly.

"Best go that route, just to be safe. Magical plant," he frowned. "Unless it works like animagus, and you don't get to choose what you're going to become..." he shrugged, and wondered when he began to seriously consider this impossible situation. He grinned widely at himself in Ariana's direction... and then started to remember this was a fake-date, and his face started to turn red and he started to overthink it again.

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[info]teases_muggles
2010-04-13 06:52 am UTC (link)
Ari chuckled as he flustered again. She really didn't understand why more women didn't find him as charming and attractive as she did. Maybe it was born of being his friend and getting to know him as a colleague first, but if that was the case, why weren't there other friends of his chasing after him? Katie had been just a year or so above him if she recalled ...

But then, Katie did seem to prefer a more adventurous sort of man.

"Right, there is that. You might turn into a pygmy cactus, or a butterfly bush, and you might get stuck like that," Ari agreed with a slight nod.

Balling up another small piece of bread, she arched her brows in a 'ready?' sort of expression before tossing the bread ball a little more deliberately to see if he'd try to catch it again.

This ... was definitely more fun than coaching.

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[info]trustingnature
2010-04-13 08:19 am UTC (link)
He felt awkward about it, but she'd tossed it more deliberately this time, so he did make an effort to catch the piece of bread. This time he caught it, grinning triumphantly at her with the piece of bread between his teeth before he swallowed it carefully, half considering sticking out his tongue to prove to her that he'd swallowed it.

"I wonder if I could still teach as a pygmy cactus," he mused thoughtfully. "I mean, Binns kept on when he became a ghost. Why couldn't I keep on when I became a plant?" he knew it was a completely different situation, but as long as they were playing the hypothetical game...

"I've got most of the lesson plans set for the year," he grinned. "Maybe I could just sit up at the front and one of the students could read it for me. I could poke them whenever they attempted to deviate from it."

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[info]teases_muggles
2010-04-13 03:43 pm UTC (link)
Ari laughed quietly when he caught and swallowed the bread, and she tried very, very hard not to repeat that particular trick. But it was amusing, and if life didn't stir up any laughs, what was the point of it?

Still, they were on a pretend date, and just because she would pitch breadballs at her date didn't mean other women would. In fact, most other women probably wouldn't do anything of the sort.

Huh.

Shrugging off her thoughts, she listened as he went on about teaching as a cactus, and she grinned and not for the first time wished this wasn't a fake date. Silly, she knew. He was a friend, a colleague, nothing more. "No reason that wouldn't work. Unless the student wised up and moved out of poking range. Then you'd have to find some way to scoot closer to keep up the poking."

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[info]trustingnature
2010-04-14 04:30 am UTC (link)
"I'd have to set up a system where moving out of poking range caused points to be deducted from your house," he said with a grin, before he realized what a silly conversation subject this was, and shook his head at himself.

"See? Hopeless on dates. I have somehow managed to turn a reasonable discussion about your unique teaching methods into some strange unrealistic talk about becoming a plantamagus."

Really, he didn't know why she'd put up with the conversation as long as she had. Maybe she'd wised up and given up on him as the hopeless cause he was and was just having fun with him. He supposed he could deal with that.

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[info]teases_muggles
2010-04-14 04:37 am UTC (link)
"I don't think it's so hopeless. Maybe you were just dating the wrong kinds of women if they didn't find a hypothetical discussion about plantamagi entertaining and engaging."

She shrugged, and said as off-handedly as she could, "maybe we should actually date each other."

A sly grin tugged lightly at her lips as she gazed down at the plate of food. She imagined he'd reject the idea, and she could play it off like it hadn't been a serious suggestion, and that would be that, tra la la.

Ari very nearly launched into an explanation to backtrack, but managed to hold her tongue on the matter until she saw how he took her ... suggestion.

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[info]trustingnature
2010-04-15 12:51 am UTC (link)
For a second, he thought that she was joking. She was a strong, confident woman who could have anyone she wanted, he thought. She wouldn't seriously consider tying herself down to someone like him.

But on the very off chance it wasn't, he didn't want to play it like it was a joke and miss out on an opportunity... however unlikely said opportunity was.

"I... I'd like that," he offered, face flushing and trying to decide if it would be more or less embarrassing if it turned out to be a joke. "I mean, if you're serious. If you're not then, I'll just... uh. Chalk it up to confusion of actually managing a halfway successful fake date and... getting confused?"

If he didn't think that she would be good about brushing off his awkward stammering right now even if it was a joke, and alleviating the awkward, he wouldn't have said anything.

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[info]teases_muggles
2010-04-15 01:07 am UTC (link)
"I thought it was more than halfway successful," Ari said softly. "I had a good time." She lifted her chin, hazel gaze playing over his features before she offered him a little smile. "So, shall we try it for real then, next Saturday? We can even go somewhere that isn't one of our rooms," she teased lightly.

She was curious if he was just teasing or not, but ... she supposed they'd find out. Maybe he'd be different on a 'real' date instead of one of their fake ones.

She was also a little nervous, and wondered if she'd be a little different herself on a real date. There was no reason to be, of course; they were still who they were, regardless of dating status.

But he'd agreed and she wasn't going to stumble back out of it because of a little flutter of nerves.

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[info]trustingnature
2010-04-15 06:02 am UTC (link)
He grinned, looking away vaguely sheepishly before he half peeked back at her. "I'm glad," he admitted before he looked up fully and nodded his head. "I'm free next Saturday. Did..." he trailed off, wondering if they should make plans right now - did they want to go to Hogsmade? - or if he should wait and see if she had ideas right off the bat.

Realizing he left that question hanging, he filled it with another one as he thought of it. "Did you want to finish the... fake date first?" he said. "Or are you going to leave me to fend for myself?"

He did wonder how weird it would be, for her to coach him so that he would be ready to go on a date with her next week, and he had to laugh really, at the irony of that. But he'd asked the question for a reason. Maybe she'd be okay with it.

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[info]teases_muggles
2010-04-15 01:56 pm UTC (link)
"I don't know about that. Seems a little bit like cheating now if I coach you on how to date me," Ariana pointed out, brows elevating. "So where do we think we should go on this date of ours next weekend?"

Part of her was still sort of expecting him to back out of it. Part of her wondered if it would make things weird between them if the date went badly and crashed and burned. She didn't think it would; she could handle the awkward and overcome it. She was sure he could, too.

She was curious to hear if he had any date suggestions. She knew she'd be fine venturing to the Broomsticks or even just roaming around Hogsmeade some evening. Granted, if she heard about Muggle magicians in a reasonable radius, she would definitely drag him out to see one.

She might actually behave herself, too.

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[info]trustingnature
2010-04-17 04:22 am UTC (link)
He grinned, and shook his head. "Leaving me to my own devices sounds like a risky decision. You might change your mind about wanting to date me when you see me without instruction," he paused, thinking about places they could go. "Hogsmade? Unless you wanted to venture into London proper, or... had any suggestions on Muggle establishments."

He shrugged again. "I'll admit I haven't ventured far away - if my profession was any indication - and I'm open for suggestions if you have any. Otherwise, you know, we'll wind up at the Three B's getting our usuals," he chuckled a bit, though it was probably true.

Maybe he'd ask the other professors if they had any suggestions for better, smarter places they could go. Assuming Ari wanted to go somewhere other than the Three Broomsticks.

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[info]teases_muggles
2010-04-17 04:37 am UTC (link)
"Haven't you been pretty much without instruction most of tonight? I think you could date me fine without instruction," Ariana assured him.

She grinned as he sought suggestions. "If there's a magician nearby, we should do that. I can check and see, if you'd like. Not sure you're interested in Muggle magicians, but I find them fascinating."

Leaning back in her chair slightly, she lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug. "But I am perfectly content venturing into Hogsmeade," she assured him. "Whichever you think would suit our first real date better."

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[info]trustingnature
2010-04-17 06:50 am UTC (link)
"Whichever I think will suit our first date?" he said. "I barely know what suits..." he waved a hand. "If you're sure, I can probably come up with something," he decided. With help. With a very lot of help.

He grinned. "I... haven't actually seen a magician before," he said. "Aren't they muggles who think they can do magic?" Or something. He wasn't really sure what they were, he hadn't done a whole lot of looking into the subject.

"I wouldn't mind seeing them. I'm sure that if you find them fascinating..." he shrugged. "Well, I'm sure it won't be dull."

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[info]teases_muggles
2010-04-17 07:09 am UTC (link)
"They are Muggles. They don't actually think they can do magic. It's mostly illusion, sleight of hand, and lots of flashy costumes. How they imagine magic to be. I like to screw with them," she admitted with a grin. "But only the ones that can ... handle it. Not the amateurs, not the ones who are acting nervous, but ... the confident ones more likely to roll with it when their dove becomes a rabbit."

Ari wondered sometimes if the Muggles thought they had actually done magic, or if they were simply going to blame their assistants for setting up the display wrong.

"It's pretty interesting. The acts are usually part comedy, part magic, so it's a good laugh either way." She gazed across the table at him and smiled softly. "So I'll look, see if there are any in the area. If not ... we'll come up with something else on the fly. Maybe venture into Muggle London and see a movie or something."

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[info]trustingnature
2010-04-17 09:08 am UTC (link)
"Do the folks in the audience think they actually can do magic?" he asked, genuinely curious. "Do they think they're... you know... Hogwarts graduates who are just sellouts, trying to make a quick..." what was the muggle term for it? "...pound? Or do they know they're being fooled?"

He thought that he wouldn't mind seeing a show sometimes, and he laughed as he thought about how she messed with them. "How do they react? Do they just keep going like it was part of the show?"

He thought that if someone messed up a performance of his, he'd freak out and give it away. Maybe muggle magicians were made of stronger stuff than that.

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[info]teases_muggles
2010-04-17 09:12 am UTC (link)
Ari shook her head. "The audience knows it's just a show, an act. They're mystified as to how the tricks are done, but they know they're just ... tricks. Most Muggles don't genuinely believe in magic, but a lot of them like to pretend things like magic shows are real."

Grinning, she shifted her eyes to the side in an expression of innocence. "I've only ever misjudged once and had the magician freeze up and completely throw his act. Most of them seem to take it in stride with only little hitches and slightly confused expressions."

A contented smile rested on her lips as she contemplated the next weekend. She rather hoped she could find a magician or some sort of stage act ... but if not, maybe they'd try to catch a movie and dinner. Either way, it was bound to be fun.

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[info]trustingnature
2010-04-17 10:38 am UTC (link)
"How strange," Neville mused thoughtfully. "And they just... go along with it? Pretend that it's magic and real?" he wondered if that was sad, that Muggles were reduced to that kind of entertainment, but he decided that he would wait and reserve judgment until he'd seen an actual magician perform. Maybe they would be really entertaining, and he'd forget that it was all slight of hand. He didn't know until he saw it, right?

He chuckled a bit. "I pity the poor performer who is stuck with us in the audience," not that he really planned on doing anything, but... well. Maybe he'd be encouraged when he saw how interesting it was.

"So... you'll take care of that, and I'll... take care of dinner? Or is dinner provided at these events?"

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[info]teases_muggles
2010-04-17 05:32 pm UTC (link)
Ari grinned. She tried to think of an apt parallel for it before she shrugged. "It's no worse than ... immersing yourself in a book. While you're reading, the characters and the places are real. So the Muggles want to believe they're really seeing magic ... so they believe." Cocking her head slightly, she winked. "It'll be fun," she promised him.

"Sounds good," she agreed. She resisted the urge to drop hints that there were a couple of places she liked nearby some of the theaters that were usually host to the magic acts. She'd let him figure it out once she figured out if there was anything to go see, and where it was.

Maybe she'd settle for a comedy act if it was one she knew.

"So are we calling it a night then?" She inquired, brows elevating. "Do you feel you learned something tonight?"

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[info]trustingnature
2010-04-18 12:41 am UTC (link)
He nodded, "Suppose not," he agreed, recognizing the truth in that. It just seemed strange to him to let yourself be tricked like that. But maybe once he saw it, he'd understand it better. And it could just be because he knew actual magic that his opinion was swayed that way. Maybe if he didn't believe in the existence of magic, he'd better appreciate false magic or... something.

"I've learned I have to bring flowers or something to the next date," he said with a nod. He was half teasing, really, but it was true. He had learned that and he intended to remember that, even if he had to carry his Remembrall around for the rest of the week in order to do so. "Though if it would be cheating for you to teach me anything more, I guess we... must be done for the night," he said, his tone conveying his disappointment. Though he reminded himself that they'd be going on a real date next week, and that was a more cheerful thought. "Unless you've changed your mind and wanted to give me a few pointers on how to, uh, end the date?" he said.

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[info]teases_muggles
2010-04-18 01:00 am UTC (link)
"Actually, I'm not really a fan of flowers," Ari admitted. "I was coaching you on how to date ... women who were more typical than I was. If you're going to bring me anything ... flowers aren't going to be it. So I'd definitely go with the 'or something'," she suggested with a grin.

Lifting one shoulder, Ari half-shrugged before she eased back from the table to stand. "Well, I could definitely show you how I'd like to end the date," she offered as she tilted her head slightly to indicate he should stand up as well.

If this was the end of the evening, she'd at least show him out, and ... see where things went at the door.

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[info]trustingnature
2010-04-18 03:02 am UTC (link)
He was still focusing on the 'or something' aspect, and trying to think if he could think of something that fell into that category or if he was going to have to get help for that too, so it took him a minute to clue in to the fact that she was encouraging him to get up, which he did, stumbling over to where she was in a way that was entirely awkward.

He cleared his throat, blushing a little, attempting to hide the discomfort before he gave up on that and just smiled. Yes, all right, he was a trainwreck on dates, but she didn't seem to mind all that much.

He felt the vaguest fluttering of nerves, not sure where exactly they were coming from or what he was nervous about, but he knew enough about how typical dates ended to be concerned about what would be expected of him now, but he tried to calm that. This was still a fake date, and he was still being taught, nothing was really expected of him... yet. He could be nervous about it for next week.

"Okay. Ah. Should I...?" he made a move as though he were going to inch forward into her personal space.

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[info]teases_muggles
2010-04-18 03:41 am UTC (link)
Ari watched his stumbling with a fondness born of their friendship and the blooming 'maybe something more' that was sprouting between them. She reached out a hand to steady him, brows lifting slightly.

"Only if you want to," she replied to his question. "I certainly wouldn't want you to kiss me because you think it's the expected ending of a first date. Only if you wanted to kiss me," she assured him. She hoped he did want to kiss her, but she'd rather he be comfortable than anything else.

If he just wanted to scoot off to his own quarters without anything physical, she'd be all right with that.

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[info]trustingnature
2010-04-18 05:55 am UTC (link)
He thought about that. Did he want to kiss her? Absolutely. Did he think he could? Maybe. Not nearly as sure about that one. He swallowed heavily, and awkwardly managed to mumble out. "I want to, if that's, if it's okay," before he awkwardly shifted his weight from foot to foot, hands moving from behind his back to in front of him as he tried to decide what to do with them.

Deciding that she had already said it was okay if he kissed her, he swallowed again and took an awkward step forward, settling his hands lightly on her hips, almost nervously, wondering if that was okay before he leaned in sort of awkwardly, pressing his lips gently against hers in a chaste kiss.

At which point a lot of the stress he was feeling sort of relaxed, and he stopped being so rigid in front of her, realizing that the sky wasn't going to fall down if he wasn't the greatest kisser in the world, and he pulled back carefully, offering her a shy smile that asked the question, 'was that okay?'

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[info]teases_muggles
2010-04-18 06:05 am UTC (link)
She was surprised that he went for it, and she had to remember that she did actually have restraint. Her eyes half closed as she returned the kiss as gently and chastely as he gave it to her. She was reluctant to break the kiss, and she made a mental note not to invite him in after their date next week - especially if she'd had anything to drink. Her restraint only went so far, after all.

Returning his smile, she leaned back in to press her lips to the corner of his mouth; her way of answering his unspoken question. "Have a good night, Neville," she said quietly. "I'll let you know as soon as I've figured out anything for next weekend," she promised. The more time he had to plan his end of things, the better. Or so she assumed.

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[info]trustingnature
2010-04-18 06:28 am UTC (link)
He nodded, clearing his throat a few times to try and find words. He'd used to know lots of words, know how to speak them too. "Ah. Hm," he nodded his head, his eyes widening briefly as he tried to trick his mouth into remembering to form words. Really. He had been able to do this one.

"G...goodnight," he managed finally, and he was ridiculously pleased with himself for managing that, so he tried again. "Thank you, very much, for this... for dinner," he finished. For teaching me how to date you, for agreeing to go out with me next weekend, for a lot of things that he couldn't put into words right now but which seemed accurately summed up in 'for dinner'. "I had a nice time," he was managing whole sentences without stuttering now.

He turned, trying not to trip over his own feet as he moved towards the door, wondering if he was going to be able to make it back to his own room with his current giddy state of mind, an almost half trying to walk backwards it seemed, not really wanting to take his eyes off her.

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[info]teases_muggles
2010-04-18 06:46 am UTC (link)
Ari pressed a hand to her mouth as she watched Neville's retreat, attempting to stifle the giggle which was reflected in hazel eyes. "Goodnight," she said quietly.

Once he'd successfully left her room, Ari slipped out her wand to clean up the dinner dishes and to lock her door. It was a habit she was trying to enforce on herself; if some Death Eater crept back in the middle of the night, she wasn't horribly inclined to have that sort of rude awakening.

With that taken care of, Ari allowed her less restrained smile to pull at her lips as she retreated to her bedroom. So she was going to go out with him next weekend ... and she'd see where things went from there.

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