Who: Angelina Johnson and Adrian Pucey What: A date! Where: Hogwarts kitchens after the kidlet's curfew ;) When: Backdated to yesterday, Wednesday, whatever Rating: Low
To be completely honest, Angelina was a bit nervous for dinner with Adrian. I mean, it wasn’t as though he made her uncomfortable or anything, actually it was quite the contrary. But for once she got the inkling she actually really liked him, as possibly more than just a friend and Angie had a habit of putting her foot in her mouth and ruining good things at the most inopportune times. She would literally roll over dead if that happened right now. Besides, the kiss she surprised him with at the memorial had been fleeting and small, but she couldn’t stop thinking of it, and Angelina knew that meant something.
True to her word earlier though, she made no attempt to dress up, and walked down to the kitchen in her bare feet (okay maybe not the most hygienic, but she was clean!), a cut off black tank top that only went down to her belly button, exposing the fact that it was pierced and well….that she had rather fabulous washboard abs. She also wore an unzipped hoodie, and sweatpants that rode rather low on her hips, if she were being honest with herself, and her long hair that she probably needed to cut was down and flying free. But she was comfortable! And this is pretty much what she wore to bed every night at home, except sometimes she didn’t wear the pants. She liked the feeling of her bare legs wrapped in sheets. Though going pantsless felt kind of weird now that she was back at school, sharing rooms with people all over again. She thought she was past this stage of her life...
And in her nervous excitement over everything, she must have arrived a little early, but someone had to, right? So Ange grabbed herself a pumpkin juice and leaned against a counter while she politely declined snack offers from the house elves as she waited patiently for Adrian to arrive.
She was happy that had decided on doing this so late the more she thought about it, so less students were likely to interrupt. It almost felt like she wasn’t completely trapped and under the thumb of the administration here. Almost. Man, she wanted this quarantine to be over. They could be having so much fun outside the walls! But alas, she wasn’t going to be picky right now. At least he agreed to spend time with her, and currently, that was enough.
----
Adrian was a little inordinately pleased that despite the quarantine, his dinner with Angelina was still on. Since Sunday, he couldn't stop thinking about the fact that she'd kissed him. Found himself touching his mouth with the tips of his fingers when he was lost in plans for the Quidditch season. The problem was that he had no idea how to flirt properly or be charming or do the whole dating thing as an adult. Not that he had any intention of bragging, because it was often as annoying as it was useful, women tended to approach him. Something about being a professional Quidditch player, he guessed. But Angelina? Angelina was different. It was two days, but the thought of her stayed with him. He'd been looking forward to dinner with her since they parted ways after the feast. Unfortunately, dating in the Great Hall didn't sound ideal. Mostly because of the bloody teenagers. Possibly also because of the professors who'd watched both Adrian and Angelina grow up over their seven years at the school.
The suggestion of sneaking into the kitchen seemed a perfect plan. Adrian was all too happy to meet Angelina there after the hallways emptied and it appeared everyone had retired to their respective rooms or dormitories. Keeping things casual left him relaxed and lent an easiness to the whole night. Impressing someone was great, but being yourself with someone? That was the stuff he thought good relationships might be built on. And anyway, they were trapped in the castle. Might as well be comfortable.
He showered and changed out of his robes into blue plaid flannel pants, a black Arrows t-shirt, and his favorite wool socks. The corridors were completely silent. His footsteps made no noise whatsoever. It was eerie, and he was glad when he finally reached the kitchens. The elves seemed to know he was coming, because portrait was already open. No tickling pears for Adrian. Instead, there was an elf bowing him into the long, warmly-lit room.
It was a moment before he actually noticed Angelina, since the elves were crowding around and asking if there was anything they could get him. The Puceys never had house elves, even when living in France. Adrian's mother did much of the cooking and cleaning, though she certainly would have preferred the alternative. In France, they managed a housekeeper due to an increase in his father's salary. Adrian found the elves a bit odd, but had nothing against them. Generally thanked them if he saw them about. Once he saw Angelina, however, the elves were an afterthought. He nearly dropped the bottle of pumpkin juice they pressed into his hand, because…wow. It was official: he'd take pajamas over fancy dress any day.
Adrian slid into the space alongside her, not quite meeting her eyes as he smirked. "I think I like this look on you."
---
Angelina couldn’t help but smile as she watched the house elves leave her side and gather around the new arrival. Though they were somewhat strange creatures in their own way, with their huge ears and tiny little arms and whatnot, they were incredibly sweet. Really, her only complaint was how fragile they looked, and being the klutz she was and the volume at which she broke things, she had an irrational fear of falling on one of them and killing it or something. The mere thought sent a small shiver through her spine, even if Angie probably wasn’t giving them enough credit in their own strength.
When Adrian finally moved near to her though, she couldn’t help but lean closer to him, taking in his appearance with a slight grin on her face. He looked rather adorable and she had to admit as well, pyjamas were certainly a good choice on both their parts. It also didn’t hurt that he smelled of soap and she wanted to lean in and learn more of his scent, but figured that would be really friggen weird. Instead she chuckled softly at his comment, reaching up to press her long hair behind an ear and giving him a sideways glace. “So sofa bum is a good look for me then? That’s a good piece of information to know,” she teased, though it was safe to say a small blush colored her cheeks at his compliment. Or at least, she was taking it as a compliment anyway. Angie thanked her lucky stars in that moment her skin was dark enough to hide a lot of those bodily reactions.
Turning to face him while still leaning against the counter, she tilted her head in a cute manner before adding, “You’re not looking so bad there yourself. Looks like bedtime chic is definitely our thing. Who would have thought?” Giggling again she took a drink of her pumpkin juice before setting it on a table and stretching her arms over her head.
“So… any preference on dinner? I’ve been assured since getting here nothing is out of the realm of possibilities. I forgot how bloody brilliant this kitchen is… I’m going to get fat if they keep us locked in here for too long,” she joked while poking at her exposed stomach.
“They also said they have beer for us, since we’re of age and all. Want one? I might partake myself.”
---
Banking on the excuse that any red-blooded male would've done the same thing, Adrian didn't feel quite so guilty when his eyes were drawn to the bared expanse of Angelina's midriff as she stretched. He'd been about to laugh or respond with some witty comment, but for the space of thirty seconds, his mind went utterly blank. Once he'd recovered, it was only to think that 'sofa bum' wasn't exactly how he'd describe her current appearance. One eyebrow raised in an I-highly-doubt-it sort of way at Angelina's mention of getting fat. Both of them were active people; Adrian had spent most of his life on the scrawny side. He'd put on muscle, but would always be shorter than most of his friends. He wasn't thinking about that now, though. Rather, he focused on their expectant audience and the fact that he'd had no idea what he was missing.
"I obviously didn't spend enough of my youth sneaking up here from the dungeons. Which is to say, I didn't spend any of my youth sneaking up here. I had no idea. I knew where it was and how to get in, just – " he trailed off, taking the opportunity to look around the room. "A beer sounds great. Funny, how thinking you can't have something makes you want it more." The comment was mostly off-hand, just an afterthought, but could apply to his Quidditch career as well as anything else.
"You know, I realized I never asked what you prefer. I can and will eat almost anything," Adrian admitted. His eyes brightened with his smile. He thought of asking the elves for their opinion, but given past interactions with them, realized that might not be the best idea. So, he tilted his head and issued a challenge: "Surprise me."
Curiosity overcoming him, he approached the four long tables as he waited for Angelina to pick what they would eat. "So, they just – huh. That's interesting." He was going over the workings of the kitchen's magic in his head, answering his own questions before they were fully formed. At one point, he held his hand out over the table, half-expecting it to disappear. Maybe an object had to be touching the surface? He wished he had a shoe suddenly, but the pumpkin juice would do. The bottle didn't go anywhere either. Magic was incredible, sometimes.
---
Raising her eyebrow in slight surprise at his admission he’d never been to the kitchens in his youth, Angelina gave him a playful sort of frown, tilting her head in his direction. “Your days at Hogwarts must have been unadventurous and filled with hunger pains,” she teased, turning to ask one of the house elves for two beers, and within seconds two elves had brought over bottles, already opened and chilled. “Thanks!” she said brightly, watching in amusement as her companion for the evening walked over to the tables, clearly intrigued by how it all worked. To be quite honest, Angelina had no idea herself and she didn’t question. It would probably be far beyond her pay grade anyway. Though she was smart when it came to life experiences and Quidditch, her skills in magic were sorely lacking. Except DADA and maybe Potions, but the former was thanks to Dumbledore’s Army and well.. the war. People were capable of incredible things when their own life hung in the balance, as well as that of their loved ones and friends.
But now wasn’t the time for such thoughts, and she walked over to hand him his beer, taking a small drink of hers before setting it down and looking lost in thought. “Hmm… surprise you, eh?” she said with a slight eyebrow waggle. “You do realize you’re playing with fire in that respect, right? I’m a sucker for all sorts of strange food. I’m one of those crazy people who eats whatever a street vendor in India is peddling,” she told him very matter of fact. “But we can always save the strange and exotic for later. Since we’re already in our lazy clothes, how about lazy food? I’m craving a burger and chips and maybe a side salad,” that last part was mostly a joke, and marked by a chuckle in her voice. “We can get the shitty pub experience without the shitty pub!”
Turning to the elves she gave them their request, and took a seat on the tabletop instead of the bench. Angie was all about nonconventional, after all. Why sit in a chair when you could sit on a table, right?
Taking another sip of her beer and leaning back a bit, she looked over at Adrian pointedly. “So, what should we talk about? I mean.. Quidditch, obviously. But maybe we should expand our horizons here so we don’t get too bored…” Trailing off she thought for a moment before her face lit up and she snapped her fingers. “Aha! Okay. So… I know you claim to not be the adventuring type, but what other places have you been? Like… I don’t even think I know where you’re from. I’m guessing you were born in England, but I could be wrong, yeah? Assumptions don’t make friends, after all. And what do you like to do besides Quidditch? Do you like animals? What’s your favorite color?” Okay, she was rambling now and she closed her mouth with an embarrassed smile. “There I go again… word vomit..” she shrugged a bit at that as though there was nothing she could really do about it.
----
Bored was a word Adrian doubted he'd ever use when it came to spending time with Angelina, even if they ran out of things to talk about. Which they might. His life was generally boring, especially now that he wasn't technically an Arrow anymore. The most adventure he'd ever seen was probably with the team. They were an entirely decent group. Signing on with them was the moment he pegged as the start of his horizons expanding. Yes, he'd still been living at home at the time, but plans were in place to find a flat and become someone other than who his parents expected him to be. Then, of course, the accident had thrown all that off track. On the other hand, if he chose to believe in fate, it had all led him here…to standing in the castle kitchen in his sock feet, talking to a girl he'd known for nine years, but never really gotten to know.
Which question to answer first? "Pub food sounds excellent." The elves scurried away at that, and thank goodness. It would give them time to talk. He laughed and hopped onto the counter opposite. Being close to Angelina was a bad idea, if he intended to carry on an actual conversation and not embarrass himself.
"Quidditch is kind of my life, but that's not the whole of it, you're right." He folded his hands together between his knees, back curved so that close or not, he was leaning toward Angelina. "I actually wasn't born in England. My mother is French, and since my parents were – are – purists until it comes to a fight, they chose to sit out the wars in her home town. Remoulins. It's in the southeast, near the coast. Most of her family still live there, or in Avignon. We traveled some, when I was very young, but I don't remember it. Came back to England by the time I was five. That's the extent of my globe-trotting." Adrian took a break to drink some of his beer. Then he grimaced a little. "As far as hobbies go, I have a bit of a gambling problem. It's not so bad that I stay broke, but I can admit to being an easy sell on a bet. I've only lost my shirt once, on a winged horse race. My pick ended up going ass over tea kettle – horse and rider – before they ever got off the ground. It was a good job I still lived at home."
He grinned. "Aside from that, I do enjoy wizard's chess. Yes, I like animals, though I've never had a pet other than an owl. If I ever get something else, it might be a dog. My favorite color is cerulean blue." Another drink. "Your turn."
--- Angelina listened silently, nodding where appropriate and frowning the slightest bit when he mentioned a gambling problem. But she wasn’t frowning because she was disappointed, but merely because she didn’t like thinking of Adrian in any sort of bad situation, ever. It was a rather strong reaction to have already, but she couldn’t exactly help it. When Angie liked something, she protected and worried about it fiercely, even if it happened to be another human being.
When he finished talking, she smiled brightly, getting into a position that mirrored Adrian’s so they were both leaning towards each other from opposite sides. “France is a beautiful place. I’m a little cliche and have to admit I’ve only been to Paris and skiing on the Alps, but fuck me if it wasn’t absolutely stunning,” she said, not even realizing the downward turn her language had taken. Angelina tended to let her colourful language fly without much afterthought, and she sincerely hoped Adrian wouldn’t mind. That was just a part of her personality.
“So same questions then?” she asked with an eyebrow wiggle, thinking on it for a moment before continuing down the line of questions she had already devised. “I’ve been a lot of places. Da worked for the Department of International Magical Cooperation, and when he went on business trips Mum liked to tag along, so I kind of grew up globe trotting. It was nice. I got to see Brazil, Egypt, India, Nicaragua, France, as I’ve mentioned, and a couple other places. I loved it, and I think it kind of fed into my need to constantly be moving and doing things. So when I’m stuck someplace,” she motioned around her absently as though mentioning their current predicament, “I get… anxious. Nervous. I sort of have a small anxiety disorder, which has only been magnified a ridiculous amount by the war. But… I sort of found my own therapy for that.” She shrugged absently, taking a moment to sip on her beer before setting it back down beside her and resuming her lifelong tale.
“So hobbies then? For me, I’ve never been one to gamble, but… I guess I do in some ways, if I think about it. I like… adrenaline? It makes me feel alive, in control. I’ve broken more bones than I can count at this point because I don’t really think before I act. Rock climbing without a partner? Okay. Intensive hiking trip without telling anyone where I’m going? Right-o. Surfing at night? That one was pretty fucking stupid. It’s led me to some pretty amazing experiences all in all, but also some not so amazing ones. But I guess it also doesn’t help that I’m a complete klutz when not in the air or doing some sort of sport, as you’ve already witnessed.” She chuckled to herself, thinking back to when she first met him in his quarters, and almost spilling herself backwards out of a chair. That was just one of many things.
“I myself like animals, but I’m more partial to dogs and lizards than anything else. And yes, lizards. Don’t ask me why. And my favorite colour? Damn… that’s a tough one, why did I even ask that?” she said with a small laugh. “I guess.. if you dare to believe it, my favorite color happens to be green. Followed closely by purple. Yellow is my least, which sucks since that’s team colors and all. I may or may not be a little ashamed of myself to admit that, but I love my team mates and the team itself, so if I find the colors ucky?” she shrugged then, “Eh!” Giving him a charming grin she looked down to a tugging at her sweatpants, seeing the house elves had brought them two piping hot plates piled high with one giant burger each and plenty of delicious potatoes.
“Excellent. I was just starting to hear my stomach grumble,” she teased, grabbing her plate and sitting it in her lap and munching on a still too hot chip.
“Fecking scalding, but who needs tastes buds anyway?” she joked, looking over at him. “So, next round of questions is on you, you know,” she said with a wink, pointing at him with chip still in hand.
-----
Adrian took the proffered food with a quiet 'thanks', and then it seemed they were to be left alone. He was grateful for that, too. The kitchens might not have been as comfortable as the sitting room of his suite, but he was enjoying himself. He even tried to be a nice guy and hide his laugh, a little too pleased that he'd waited to start eating as opposed to burning his mouth. Even if the food smelled amazing and he was starving, having skipped out on the school-wide dinner earlier in the evening. It was well worth it, given this as the alternative. Angelina's experiences left him wide-eyed and slightly in awe. The wizarding world was a truly magnificent place, full of all sorts of people and creatures and opportunities for adventure, but so many of its inhabitants – like his family – lived their lives completely unaware of what else there might be. He himself went years without realizing how much more. It seemed entirely possible to live with a foot on either side of the barrier separating the two worlds, if one was open to new things.
Granted, that was all a bit difficult when they were stuck at the school. He could only imagine what it must be like for Angelina or any of the others who'd been there for the battle, if not the weeks leading up to it. The quarantine didn't bother him so much; he had faith that the Healers would find some way to turn things around. Not so much in the Ministry, for enacting the bloody thing without warning, but hope, nonetheless.
"Bugger," he breathed, feigning disappointment. "Here I thought I'd gotten out of providing anything useful to the conversation." His smile was only interrupted by his taking a bite of the burger, which ended up being much better than anything he'd ever experienced in a pub. "Mmm," was hummed down at the rest of the food on his plate. "This is perfect." Train of thought temporarily derailed. Oops. "Right. Questions." Eating a few chips gave him a minute to decide what he wanted to ask. "Favorite subject in school, besides flying." If Angelina was anything like him, that might have been the obvious answer. He'd always hated that it was only available to first years. There was so much more to learn about being on a broomstick.
"Career choice if Quidditch wasn't an option." He held up a chip in Angelina's direction. "And that doesn't count as talking about Quidditch. Weirdest thing you've ever eaten. The next place you want to go, once the quarantine's lifted."
Some of those would be difficult for him to answer, if she turned them back around on him. Mostly because he'd really have to think before responding, even though he'd sort of fallen into an alternate career already, by necessity. Adrian would tell anyone who asked that yes, he planned on playing again. Preferably the next season. In the meantime, he was perfectly happy to be right where he was, and didn't mind Angelina's language at all. Not like he wasn't guilty of the same thing rather often.
---
“You’re not getting off that easy, Pucey,” she said with a slight laugh, popping another chip in her mouth before taking a bite of her own burger, which was fucking excellent, she might add, as he asked his own questions. Damn, he was much better at this than she was . His questions seemed to have a bit more substance, and she liked that. Putting down her plate and brushing her hands together, she put a hand under her chin and balanced her elbow on her knee, a thoughtful expression on her face as she thought about several of her answers.
“Favorite subject… that’s actually kind of difficult, to be honest. I was never a very study oriented person, if you can believe it,” she said, an air of joking to her voice. Because obviously, most people believed that. Angie wasn’t some walking encyclopedia and she was basically the furthest thing from a Ravenclaw as one could get, but she supposed she wasn’t stupid either. “I’d have to say Defense. Though at the same time, my education in that was pretty horrible up until…” she trailed off, unsure if she wanted to mention Dumbledore’s Army. After all, the people who did know about it probably didn’t think the group was still active, and there had been a recent journal conversation about the want to keep it private. So it wasn’t exactly her place to go announcing something like that.
“Until my last few years, I guess. Mostly because of the fluctuating teachers. Lupin was pretty excellent…” again she cut off, a frown passing over her features and pain creeping into her eyes. Professor Remus Lupin, another life lost. That one tore deep with a lot of people, and his wife… Fuck, she hated showing sadness. Pushing on though she smiled, even if it was a bit strained, “I guess knowing how to protect myself from magic is important, and I enjoy learning about it. I’m not the best but I’m decent enough to still be standing here, yeah?” And to have killed people, whether intentional or not. It’s not as though she used unforgivables, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t flung some nasty curses or blew Death Eaters from frightening heights.
But now wasn’t the time to dwell on such things. So instead she took another bite of her food, chewing slowly before picking up on his other questions. “Quidditch not being an option? Right in the heart, Adrian…I guess I’d want to do something that involved traveling. I want to say some sort of international relations like my Da, but let’s be realistic here, I didn’t exactly inherit his calm and collected demeanor when it comes to stressful situations.” Her most recent journal blow up after the Quarantine was a perfect example of that very fact. “Maybe… a travel agent!” she said with a dramatic shrug, giving him a cheeky smile. “I can plan all kinds of crazy vacations for people, I think I’d be pretty good at that. And as far as weird foods go? Shite, how much time do you have?” she said giggling. Speaking of food, she took another couple of bites of her own since it was cool enough now to basically stuff down her gullet. She was trying to have some self control. This was, in essence, sort of a date after all. She really didn’t want to scare Adrian away with her terrible table manners but damn, she was hungry.
“I’ve eaten deep fried grasshoppers. Those weren’t as bad as you’d think. Uh… I’ve tried cow tongue, chicken feet, whole baby squid… few other things here and there.” She smiled, proud of herself at the accomplishment. The bugs were actually the best thing, to be honest. Filled with protein!
At that last question though, Angelina got a faraway look on her face, like she was daydreaming of places far away from here. Which she sort of was, but she’d also really, really like it if in that faraway place her mind was wandering too, Adrian was too.
“I want to go to Japan so bad it physically hurts my soul. And I want to try Fugu. There isn’t adventure like eating an exotic meal that could literally kill you,” Angie said with a wink, knowing he must think she was mental at this point. But it was true! There were so many things in Japan she wanted to see. The people, the culture, the landscape, the food, everything. Just thinking about it made her nearly vibrate and she had to busy her hands with food to keep from shaking a bit. Although, that might have also been a bit of anxiety from the fact they were still trapped in a bubble. Everytime she thought about it her breath caught in her chest.
“Let me see… I kind of want to make you answer the same questions, but since we’ve established I’m a little more of the crazy risk taking traveler type, maybe something different?” Tapping her chin she smiled, finally hitting on something. “What kind of music do you like? Would you rather be invisible or be able to read minds? If you could time travel 100 years in the past or the future, but not both, which one would you choose and why? Would you rather… never have sex again, or never find someone you really love?” Okay, her questions were wandering into the realm of playful and weird, but she figured that was alright.
----
Yet again, as he ate and listened to what she was saying, Adrian thought how fantastic she was. Even when she spoke of things that obviously made her sad or brought shadows back to her eyes. The darkness didn't linger, because she was off on another tangent moments later, and had him making all sorts of disgusted faces. Cow tongue? He shook his head rapidly and eyed his burger, before quickly deciding he wasn't that squeamish. It wouldn't be long before he finished his food. The whole meal was delicious and completely appropriate for what he was already labeling in his head a first date. After all, if they'd seen each other at their most casual and still wanted to give it a go? He was okay with that. Also apparently with surprising himself right and left, lately.
Adrian wasn't the type to make friends easily. To forge the kind of connections he saw in other people. He thought sometimes that there might be something to the nature versus nurture argument, his own upbringing leaving him as a bit of a lone wolf. Sure, he had friends, and those friends were important to him. They were the people he'd do anything for, if asked. But being friendly didn't come naturally. He'd been accused of being tactless, on more than one occasion, as he preferred getting right to the point of things. It was one of the many reasons he didn't date often. Not enough of a reward at the end to put forth the effort, he'd found. It was all about the chase to some. He had a feeling that wouldn't be the case with Angelina.
Which was why he wasn't shocked to find that talking with her seemed so different. He wanted to know things about her. Things she liked or didn't. Things that made her laugh especially, because there wasn't enough of that in the world. In turn, he was letting her see past the gruff exterior he wore like a suit of armor. Let the universe look at him and think small all they wanted. He knew better.
"I don't mind the Weird Sisters, but they're a little – " he held one hand out and dipped it back and forth, searching for exactly what he wanted to call the group. "It's funny. In spite of my parents, I managed to develop a taste for muggle rock music. It's kind of how you describe your death-defying stunts." Here he smirked at her. "It's – energizing and loud and just fun. I also – don't laugh – I love the violin. There's just something about it that's just lovely and haunting." Adrian almost snorted at himself. Lovely and haunting? Thank goodness Angelina couldn't read his mind. Merlin. "I think I'd rather be able to read minds, but only if I could turn it off somehow. That would be awful, having all those voices in your head at all hours. People don't censor themselves in their minds. And the imagination on some! I don't think it would ever be dull. Problematic, though, in any case."
The next question, whether he would travel forward or back in time, was interesting. Adrian could list off reasons for both, but in the end, it was simple. "I think I'd go to the future. To see if the next generations learned anything from our mistakes. Who knows, they might even figure out that whole house unity thing someday."
He swallowed the last morsel of his burger, leaving a few chips to be eaten once he was done talking. "As for the last bit, I think I could live without sex. They say everyone deserves a chance to find that person who's meant for them." He wasn't sure he believed in that sort of thing, having never been terribly sentimental. Didn't have a lot of experience to draw on, either, since he'd never once seen his parents kiss or hug or show any kind of physical affection. Their marriage had been arranged – someone's cousin knew someone else's in-laws or something equally ridiculous – as his was originally meant to be.
"I'm going to be really unoriginal and ask you the same things."
---
“Aw come on, Adrian, you can do better than that,” she teased, giving him a playful smile before running a hand through her hair. It had gotten really long recently, and it wasn’t long before she caught a knot and worked it out rather quickly with an annoyed huff.
In all reality though, she didn’t mind the repeat questions. It was nice to get both sides of the same question, just to see their difference in answers. Angelina realized quite early on that they were as different as night and day, but somehow that made this that much more fun. They brought different experiences to the table and more importantly, in a way, she liked that he wasn’t a loud, over the top Gryffindor like many of her mates. It wasn’t as though that didn’t appeal to her, hell that’s all she’d ever really known for a long time. She loved her friends, her house, her family, but there was just something… something that drew her in when it came to the man sitting across from her. Because while Angelina tended to wear her pain and heart on her sleeve, Adrian didn’t so much. He was a mystery in many ways, and one she was dying to unravel. She wanted to know about his family, his trials, everything, even if they were painful or happy. It was quite obvious the things Angie had been through in her life. Hell, most of them were public knowledge, but it wasn’t the same with him and that made getting to know him all the more enjoyable.
And she also had to admit, she was pleasantly surprised to find out he liked muggle music. “That’s wicked awesome, you know. Muggle rock is my jam. But also soul music, jazz, even some bluegrass when I’m feeling up to it. I kind of have an eclectic taste,” she said with a slight shrug. “And it’s not that I dislike music here in the magical world.. but there’s just.. so much more out there to experience? I feel like there’s so little here, and so much still out there. I mean don’t get me wrong both my parents were magical, but I grew up in a muggle neighborhood. I had non magical friends. They thought it was important I knew both worlds, so even after Hogwarts, I could decide which felt more comfortable.” It was also why she was so against everything Voldemort and the Pureblood ideals stood for. Sure, there were plenty of bad muggles, but there were a hell of a lot more good ones. The same went for the magical world as well. Angie liked to believe that people were inherently good, with just a few bad cases scattered throughout. Though that worldview might have become a bit skewed most recently, taking a darker turn. But she was still trying to hold onto that bit of optimism she had left.
Her eyes brightened a bit though when she caught his comment about the violin. “Do you play it or do you just like the music? And I wouldn’t laugh. Unless you liked the piccolo or something. And mostly just because I think it’s a funny name.” She shrugged. Angie’s sense of humour could be childish sometimes.
But she moved on then to the rest of the questions quickly enough. The only thing really separating her answers was bites of food and a sip or two on her beer, which was at least half gone at this point. Damn, she was going slow tonight. But she figured that was okay. She was drinking more for the enjoyment than anything else, and she was definitely enjoying herself.
“I think I’d rather be invisible, actually. I mean I totally get where you’re coming from with the mind reading thing. It would be kickarse, but..” she shrugged, giving him a semi serious look for a minute, “Sometimes I don’t know if I’d like to hear what other people think of me. Or really, what they think of other people, and the world. The mind.. it can be a cruel and dark place sometimes because for the most part, it’s a safe space, you know?” Shrugging a bit she took another bite, chewing slowly before expanding a bit more on her answer. “Now if I’m invisible, and this is on the same vein as yours, I’d like to be able to switch it on and off at will because being invisible forever would totally blow, but I could do all sorts of things! Sneak into crazy events. Play pranks. Hide away when I don’t want anyone to find me. Could be interesting.”
Her food was half gone at this point and the house elves seemed to be settling in for the evening, and she wondered how much time had passed without actually caring at the same time. She could stay here all night. She almost wanted to at this point. She had the weird feeling she could talk to Adrian for hours, if not days on end and never really get tired of it. But at the same time… silence was okay too. It was comforting.
“I think… I think I just want to be a pain in the arse and go opposite of you again, because it’s fun. But while you want to see if we’ve learned anything, or how far we’ve come, I’d want to go back and see if I could… I don’t know, change something? Like the idea of muggle inferiority or maybe how we should all stop fighting among our houses. Or maybe just to see if develop.. where it all came from. Take that knowledge and stop it from repeating in the future. I don’t know. I have dreams of grandeur, obviously,” she said in a very dramatic fashion, jokingly throwing her long locks over her shoulder in a high fashion manner before giggling at herself and moving on to the final question.
“Honestly? The last one is the most difficult, which seems stupid. I like… physical things. I like to feel good. I’m a pleasure seeker, in many ways. But…” she trailed off, looking up at the ceiling for a few moments before eventually settling her gaze back on Adrian. “But pleasure still leaves you empty without love. So I guess I’d have to say the same as you. I’d like to find someone who.. accepts me for all my crazy and loves me anyway. But sometimes I also wonder if that’s just made up fairy tale stuff they feed into your brain as a child. Really, I’d just settle for someone I can hang out in a kitchen with eating burgers and talking about bullshite.” Okay, her eyes twinkled playfully at that one, and she gave him a mischievous wink before taking a rather long drink of her beer.
“I’m glad we did this you know. Like… really glad. I don’t think I’ve been on a date in like..” she thought on it for a moment and remembered the last legitimate date she went on, and somewhere in her chest her heart felt like it tore open at the memory. Because it had been with Fred, and now he was… “A long time,” she finished softly enough, leaning back on her elbows.
“So, more questions, or more beer?” she said then, with a lot more of her usual cheerfulness back instead of her momentary lapse. She felt so bipolar sometimes, and she felt bloody awful about the fact Adrian had to put up with that. She didn’t want him to think badly of her.
----
"Merlin, no," Adrian said, interrupting her for a moment. "I don't have a musical bone in my body."
As she went on, he polished off both chips and beer, content to sit and watch the expressions accompanying her words, because if there was one thing he'd noticed about Angelina so far, it was that she didn't hide anything she felt. A long time ago, he'd seen people like that as weak. As asking to be hurt, vulnerable to the vices of society. He'd looked down on them. It was easier to hide things. To keep them bottled up and be stoic. The trade-off was that it kept him alone, same as it did for a lot of his former housemates. Some were at least trying, he would give them that.
If their houses hadn't been any indication of how different they were, it came across loud and clear in her answers. Still, different didn't mean bad. Adrian believed his outlook had a lot to do with how he was raised and the things that were expected of him for so long. It took time to erase eighteen years or so of a certain mindset. He was working on it, though.
Then Angelina was winking at him and he was frozen for just a moment, caught staring at her in open wonder. That was quite possibly the nicest thing anyone had said to him in a while. By the time he was ready to respond, he thought he glimpsed sadness in her eyes again. "I'm sorry," he finally said, and there it was, only a week or so late. Was it so bad that he already hated to see anything less than a smile on her face? People like her should always be happy. They tended to lend their brightness to everything around them. "To be honest," and now he was getting serious, "I've wondered the same thing, about love being a story. But there's times when I'm almost certain it's possible. I'm not trying to compare it to the way I feel about Quidditch, but – if you can feel it for an animal or a sport or a place, you can feel it for a person, too. One person, who makes you better and challenges you and is your best friend."
Someone you could hang out in a kitchen with, indeed.
"More beer and more questions," he suggested. "Or we call this a good night, and I walk you to your door, leaving me to wait for your owl."
It wasn't that he wanted to part ways just yet; he was pretty sure he could talk to her – or rather, listen to her talk – all night. But part of him was afraid if he revealed too much right away, she might do the opposite of what she threatened - she would get bored with him. Would figure out that there were much more interesting people trapped in the castle with them, as well as outside it.
---
Adrian’s apology was sweet, that was for sure, but not necessary at all so she shrugged and waved it away easily enough. “There’s nothing to be sorry for. Unless you’re apologizing for life and reality as we exist in it now. And something tells me you don’t quite have any power over that,” she said with a slight tease, a smirk playing just barely on the corners of her lips. “But maybe you do. Maybe you’re secretly Merlin or something. I’ll never know, will I?” Alright, now she was just being ridiculous but she couldn’t really help it. Ridiculousness was easier than bad memories, even if he did get serious with her again right after that.
Angelina nodded then, knowing full well exactly what he meant when he spoke. She loved Quidditch intensely, almost an unhealthy amount. She loved flying, playing with her teammates, the rush of winning, and even the heartbreaking crush of defeat. Because how could you truly appreciate the wins if you never lost anything? Of course everyone would rather win, but the idea of being undefeated was almost not a fun one for her. Where was the challenge in that? The challenge was in finding an equal, a team that could give you a run for your money in every way possible and push you to your limits. To the fullest extent of your ability and talent.
She smiled softly then, looking up at him, “I think it would be great to fall in love with a friend. A best friend. Or really… anyone who can see the good in you, even when you can’t see it in yourself.” She wasn’t trying to be creepy by saying that, but she got the distinct impression that Adrian was hard on himself, and carried a lot on his shoulders. It wasn’t easy to fight in the war, to see people die, to hurt people, to get hurt yourself, but she also realized it wasn’t easy either to be on the other side of the playing field either. A Pureblood family who didn’t want to fight for Voldemort, but who had to turn their backs on everything just to survive. Angelina wasn’t sure she could handle something like that, and she most certainly couldn’t handle something like that and come out with a half decent personality and attitude like Adrian seemed to have. Sure, he might not be perfect, but she certainly wasn’t. Not one bit. Besides, imperfections were what made people interesting. Fun. Beautiful on the inside and out.
“More beer,” she agreed with a nod, looking over at the house elves but it seemed like one had already heard, scurrying over in their direction with two more bottles in hand. She thanked the female elf profusely, watching in an amused fashion as she hurried away again, noticing there were far less elves milling about, probably because they were doing various chores around the school a student never really managed to see.
“But maybe less hard hitting questions. We can save that for next time, yeah? Instead, how about an equally horrible and embarrassing round of would you rather.” Waggling her eyebrows she chuckled, taking a long drink of her beer before clapping her hands together and rubbing them dramatically before delving into a variety of strange and ridiculous questions that there was no good answer too. Such as, would you rather swallow a mouth full of hornets or bathe in scorpions? Among equally trashy and hilarious things. Because why the hell not? It was fun! And it wasn’t serious by any means,
This was nice. She could do this all night. Or at least into the wee hours of the morning. And she knew without a doubt there would certainly be a next time…