A slight smile of contentment rested on Arabella's face as she enjoyed the simple luxury of the empty common room. The studious Gryffindors were probably somewhere studying for the upcoming exams, something she should probably be doing too, while the majority were outside taking advantage of the snow fall from the night before. More than once, she could've sworn it was a snowball that hit the frost covered windows of the Gryffindor Common Room. The room was in such a high tower, though, that she was amazed her classmates managed to throw it so high. They obviously used magic to help, but the aiming was still impressive. She absently wondered who cared enough to do such a thing.
The gentle crackling of the fire interrupted her musings very soon after they started and she smirked as her eyes landed on the brilliant glow of the flames. As much as she loved the snow and participating in the fun that followed, she honestly preferred sitting inside by the fireplace. There was something so cozy about it. Not to mention the Common Room's extravagant decorations and the soft playing of Christmas music created the perfect ambiance for the season. It was a very fond time of year. She had so many lovely memories of Christmas morning spent in the loving arms of her family. She genuinely wished they could get back to that one day.
Arabella released a slight sigh at that and shrugged. There wasn't any point dwelling on that. At least, not at the moment. For now, she was content to just sit in the empty bliss of the red adorned Common Room and relish the coziness. She sunk further into the cushions of the sofa and smiled, closing her eyes as she allowed herself to fully experience the serenity of the moment.
"I won't give up on us even if the skies get rough. I'm givin you all my love, I'm still lookin up."
Posts: 32
Blood Status: Pureblood Affiliation: Order of the Phoenix Occupation: Provider Age: 19 Relationship: Finally won the heart of one Miss Lily Evans ;)
Well...this day had been going just swell, hadn't it?
James released a quiet sigh, as he slipped his hands into his pockets, but the sound turned to an irritated grumble when the staircase he had been ascending suddenly changed its mind on him. It chose that very moment to not lead toward the Common Room, but, instead, the wing furthest from it. He had almost reached the top, too. Not really in the mood to try anything too fancy, like a levitating spell or making a quick leap for the edge before the stairs moved too far away from it, he leaned casually against the railing and opted to just wait it out. It was a whimsical thing, after all, and sooner or later, it would reopen that nice direct path for him. While it was true, he knew several alternate routes he could take to get him back to the portrait hole quicker, routes which were virtually nonexistent to most of his classmates—and, for that matter, most, if not all, of the professors here—they were all so roundabout, they required so much more effort from him, and he was feeling so lazy right now.
As he continued to rest his weight against the rail, he lifted his hazel eyes, to the many staircases, layered across the many levels of this old castle. He watched, uninterestedly, as they moved, sometimes here, sometimes there, but always somewhere. At first glance, it always seemed so random, their movements, but after awhile, you started to pick up on subtle differences between them. You could notice the distinct personalities they each had, and along with this, you could pick up on certain patterns they liked to follow. It was a pretty strange enchantment the Founders had chosen to place on them, and he couldn't help thinking this every time he got caught on one of these things.
Okay, yeah. This sucked.
He lowered his eyes and let out a somewhat bitter laugh at himself. Any other day, he wouldn't have hung around here, but, as it happened, he really didn't have anywhere else to be, so there was no reason not to waste time here. He slipped down to a sitting position on the topmost step and propped an arm up on his knee.
It was a shame Remus had so much studying to catch up on. On a day like this, literally the day after it had finally decided to snow, the poor guy had confessed he'd fallen behind on a lot of his work. It wasn't all that surprising, really, when he stopped to think about it. The full moon had fallen on a pretty inconvenient time of the month this year, but, as he'd told his friend earlier that day, at least Remus could take comfort in knowing that it could've been worse. Could've fallen on an actual exam day, like in their third year, and then he'd be forced to deal with the jealous looks from the rest of his classmates when they realized exceptions had been made for him, so he could make up the exams a few days later than the rest of them. They had it in their minds he got some sort of special treatment for being the star pupil, and Remus, being Remus, never said anything to correct them. Better that image of him than the alternative, as far as he was concerned.
And, as for Peter, well...they all knew how much he struggled in his classes on a good day, so he'd taken the opportunity to tag along right behind Remus, insisting that he needed his help. The little rascal was positively hopeless without them. James was convinced he would have failed out of several of his classes years ago, if they hadn't been there to help him out so many times.
But that wasn't the worst part about today. Nah, that was all pretty typical. Even Sirius somehow landing himself in detention without him, devastating though it was, had only put a minor dent on his fine winter funtime. What had really put him in such a downy mood on what had turned into a rather lonesome afternoon was when the object of every last one of his fantasies, that beautiful, fiery redhead, had not only shot him down, again, and refused to take him as her date to that stupid Slug Club Party, again, but had gone a step farther and actually invited Remus as her date. And, once again, Remus being Remus, James couldn't very well find it in himself to refuse to give his blessing when his friend had done him the decency of asking for it in the first place. If she had to go with someone else, he supposed there were worse alternatives. In fact, all things considered, Remus was probably the best choice—he could hardly even blame her for wanting to go with him! That didn't mean he wasn't still a little upset about it, though.
Needless to say, spending the day outside in the snow hadn't been as fun as he would've liked, so he decided to just head back up to the Common Room and wait for tomorrow or something. Whenever his mood picked up, anyway, but that shouldn't take long once Sirius was released from his detention and Loopy and Wormy from the library.
He was pulled from his thoughts when he felt the staircase shift underneath him, and he managed a small smirk at the sensation. Yep. Just like always. It never took too long for it to get bored and want to try something new.
Before long, he found himself standing in the front of the portrait hole, offering a casual greeting to the Fat Lady along with the password, and then slipping inside the Gryffindor Common Room. He took a brief moment as he trudged inside, to take a measure of the place, picking up on the quiet Christmas music that was playing in the background, and he wasn't too surprised to find it almost entirely deserted. In fact, it's kinda what he'd expected to come back to. What he was surprised by, however, was when he spotted Arabella Figg, resident squib, lounging on one of the comfy sofas this room had to offer, with her eyes closed. He wondered if she might've fallen asleep there. From the looks of it, though, she was, quite literally, the only person in here.
Apart from himself, of course.
James grabbed a wooden chair from one of the writing desks against the wall and brought it over to where she sat by the fireplace, setting it directly in the center of the little sitting area there, and then comfortably seating himself on it backwards. He leaned forward against the chair’s back, folding his arms lazily across the edge of it, and he gave his head a slight tilt as he regarded the blonde.
The familiar sound of the common room entrance opening roused Arabella from her comfort slightly. For a moment, she wondered if everyone had decided to cut their outside fun short because of the cold or something silly like that, but that idea was shot down when she only heard one pair of footsteps walking around. Now, who could that be?
When she heard a chair being placed in front of her, she was pretty sure she knew who it was and it was entirely confirmed when she heard that all-too familiar voice, dripping with its usual humor. Her mouth twitched slightly as she wondered why he was inside on a day like this, alone, but she was certain he would let her know soon. If it was something to complain about, she would definitely hear it. Not that she minded. She enjoyed spending time with James and his ragtag group. They lived in the drama spotlight, but there was never a dull moment with them. Not to mention, they were some of the first people to accept her despite her magical handicap.
Shifting her smile into a smirk, Arabella slowly slid her eyes open and tilted her head until she met his gaze. Those hazel eyes were always such a mystery to her. There was so much constant mischief in them, but a seriousness that lurked beneath the surface. His serious moments were very rare, of course, but they showed a hidden side to him that she could really appreciate. "You're lucky I was awake, James, or it would've been very rude of you to come in here making all that noise. I would've been very upset with you."
"I won't give up on us even if the skies get rough. I'm givin you all my love, I'm still lookin up."
Posts: 32
Blood Status: Pureblood Affiliation: Order of the Phoenix Occupation: Provider Age: 19 Relationship: Finally won the heart of one Miss Lily Evans ;)
His question was answered before a single word ever left her mouth. That smirk was all the reply he needed, and he could feel one of his own forming to match hers, even as she lifted her eyes to meet his. What a snarky person, this Miss Squib was.
He first glanced down at the chair beneath him, to the so-called "noise" she must be referring to, before returning his gaze to award her a good-natured, but all-around chastising look. "You call that noisy?" he asked. A single brow was arched. "Miss Figg, how do you ever get to sleep at night, if something like that is all it'd take to wake you up?"
Arabella arched a brow at that, her gaze first landing on the chair her housemate occupied before rising once more to meet his. "Mr. Potter," she began, purposely slow, "do I need to remind you that your little chair wasn't the only thing making noise?"
The Squib lifted a hand to point at him, her smirk widening. She could enjoy a good banter with just about anyone, but she was especially delighted when James Potter was involved. He was very skilled at it and had a very good attitude when it came to harmlessly making fun. He kept things light.
"I won't give up on us even if the skies get rough. I'm givin you all my love, I'm still lookin up."
Posts: 32
Blood Status: Pureblood Affiliation: Order of the Phoenix Occupation: Provider Age: 19 Relationship: Finally won the heart of one Miss Lily Evans ;)
As that accusing finger turned on him, James let his mouth drop open in feigned appall. "Surely," he began, bringing a defensive hand up to his chest, "you don't mean me. Why, I could have been much louder."
"Oh, you don't have to remind me," the female Gryffindor chided, an amused glint in her eyes as she regarded the man resting comfortably against the back of his chair. "I am well aware of how loud you can be."
He was naturally a rather talkative and charismatic individual, but when he was around his friends, the ever-dependable entourage at his side, the volume was significantly increased. His wild side was given free reign to flourish in the presence of his most trusted companions.
That noisy, attention provoking nature was such an endearing quality in the infamous prankster of Hogwarts.
A fond smile curved at the corner of her red lips a moment, before she adjusted it into her signature smirk and another arch of her brow. "However, should I take that to mean the antic with the chair and your subtle inquiry were your attempts at being quiet?"
"I won't give up on us even if the skies get rough. I'm givin you all my love, I'm still lookin up."
Posts: 32
Blood Status: Pureblood Affiliation: Order of the Phoenix Occupation: Provider Age: 19 Relationship: Finally won the heart of one Miss Lily Evans ;)
"They most certainly were," James insisted, as though it could not possibly be more obvious. "It isn't as though I dragged the chair across the room, or was yelling your name. No," here, he gave a decisive nod of his head, "all things considered, I would say it was a perfectly reasonable volume. If you had been asleep, I'm certain it wouldn't have been enough to wake you."
The smirk taking its place at the corner of his mouth, he added, "Now, that isn't to say that if you did turn out to be asleep, that I wouldn't have resorted to some arguably ruder antics. Louder volumes, so on and so forth," he trailed off with a nonchalant shrug.
Depending.
He wasn't really sure what he would have done. In all honesty, with the mood he was in, he might have actually just gotten right back up and left her alone. He supposed he might have walked on to his dorm, then. That was, more or less, the destination he had in mind when he had headed back this way, in the first place. Not really sure what he would have done in there, but...either way, that didn't really matter. She had been awake, and it was a welcome alternative.
Arabella shook her head at him, her blonde curls moving with the subtle motion. "It isn't arguable, James. That would have definitely been rude of you."
She pictured that hypothetical moment in her mind, of James Potter dragging the chair unnecessarily across the ground and screaming at her. It wasn't difficult to imagine, but not under their circumstances. For all his faults, rudeness wasn't exactly one of them. Well, not to people he considered his friends, at least. He could pester and push like no one else, but it was only ever good-natured. If she had really been asleep, that considerate side of his would have probably kicked in and he would have left her alone.
"I won't give up on us even if the skies get rough. I'm givin you all my love, I'm still lookin up."
Posts: 32
Blood Status: Pureblood Affiliation: Order of the Phoenix Occupation: Provider Age: 19 Relationship: Finally won the heart of one Miss Lily Evans ;)
"I disagree," the Gryffindor waved his hand casually in the air. "I wouldn't say it's necessarily rude to try to wake up a friend who's only napping. Or otherwise, for that matter. If I had resorted to calling your name, for instance," James then lowered his hand to gesture toward the blonde, "and it had woken you, or maybe if I'd given you a little nudge, does that automatically have to get pegged as rude? Beyond any argument?"
Here, he arched a single, knowing brow, the same, confident smirk in place on his lips. "I think there is definitely an argument to be made there."
Hermione Granger: Ironically, the same thing happened to me. I'm glad you brought it up
May 24, 2016 2:50:37 GMT -5
Hermione Granger: It looks wonderful, though, doesn't it?
May 24, 2016 2:50:49 GMT -5
Draco Malfoy: It does I've been so excited for it since I first heard about it. Always been my favorite, after all. Combine that with you and it's nothing short of perfect. We definitely need to see it together.
May 24, 2016 2:53:18 GMT -5
Hermione Granger: Oh, we absolutely do! It's always been my favorite, too, but I know how much it's always meant to you. You've always sort of reminded me of how the prince was before he became the Beast, haha!
May 24, 2016 3:10:37 GMT -5
*
Draco Malfoy: Ha! Yes, and then somewhere during that whole transition...I became my father
May 24, 2016 3:20:39 GMT -5