[mp] sell your soul. [magnolia]

october 2003

The music blasting through the haunted house speakers was loud, but Isaac couldn't understand any of the lyrics. Flashing strobe lights blurred his vision, but he didn't need to see to know what he was doing. They were supposed to walk through the house and exit, but Isaac never did what he was supposed to, and luckily for him, the sixth year witch he was with didn't either. His hands were around her waist, daring to move further when he heard a shrill scream he hated to recognize coming toward them. Someone was chasing her, the fright in her voice more than obvious, but Isaac was annoyed at the interruption. Breaking the kiss, he scowled as Magnolia came around the corner.

"Keep moving, Hawkins," he demanded, his raspy voice booming through the dark, even over the rock music that filled the air. "Nothing for you here," Isaac told her, pretending like she'd shown up here on purpose, just to annoy him. Ever since their conversation on the Hogwarts Express, things had been strained. Sometimes he saw her looking at him during classes, sometimes he realized he had been the one staring. He was still worried she would tell everyone about his mum, humiliating him, but she hadn't. And it confused and irritated him.

"Unless you want to join in," He smirked from where he was sitting. It was too dark to see his face, but the sneering tone of his voice gave his smile away.

@Magnolia Lane Hawkins

Magnolia had not meant to be separated from her friends but as luck (and this awfully complicated haunted house) would have it, the young witch took a wrong turn and found herself completely alone and filled with dread in some rabbit hole along the seemingly endless Halloween attraction. You’ll be fine, this isn’t real, take a deep breath, she reminded herself, extremely aware of how eerily silent everything suddenly seemed, a far cry from the screams of horror they had encountered earlier in their path. She thought about calling out for Mavis but decided against it, hoping that maybe she could silently slip back onto the main path without attracting the attention of any of the student volunteers. This was really a bad idea, she decided, one she definitely not be repeating next year.

Of course, all of that nice peace and quiet was short-lived as someone reached out for her arm and she screamed, taking off in a sprint and not bothering to look at what she was running from. The magical makeup was entirely too realistic, and Magnolia was almost certain it would give her nightmares for the next few weeks. She gasped when she entered one of the rooms, fully expecting to be attacked by an onslaught of more realistic-looking ghouls she screamed but only shortly, soon realizing they were students. There were two of them in fact, who did not seem to be hiding in the corner there but actually…she made a face, yuck. Who made out in the middle of a Haunted House anyway? Wasn’t that incredibly morbid? When the student called out to her, however she was filled with a sudden realization and somehow could not really looked away.

She blinked, momentarily at a lost for words. “What—” she started, thankful for the dim lighting that hid how dumbfounded she probably looked at that very moment, “Ew, no, you wish,” she retorted, “I’m trying to get out of here so if you’d two kindly move,” she said pointedly, though she had every intention of shoving past them if she had to, “I’ll be on my way,” she added, looking over her shoulder in case another scary student showed up.

Isaac laughed when she replied, amused that he had caught her more off guard then the ghouls haunting the place. She was incredibly fun to mess with because she always had something witty to say in return. Most girls just got embarrassed and ran away; some of them even cried, not that he particularly cared for that (or did anything to prevent it), but not Magnolia. He remembered how she had gone back and forth with him on the train. It was irritating, but at least it wasn't dull, which was saying a lot. Isaac was bored with everyone, including the witch he was here with.

Shrugging when she pointed at the doorway they had been standing in front of, he looked behind him. Honestly, he hadn't noticed, he'd been a little busy, but now that Isaac realized they were in the way, he just laughed again and shook his head. "We were here first," He told her, his hands tracing small circles on the back of witch leaning against him. He could tell she was getting impatient, fidgeting and sighing, but he ignored it. He was having fun; she could wait. "Go back that way if you want to leave so badly," Isaac nodded toward the hall she'd come from, a bit of his disheveled brown hair falling in his face as he did. He figured she wouldn't because she hadn't calmly walked in from that direction, and that amused him even more.

"Unless you are too chicken-shit?" He dared, thick eyebrows rising, she was a Gryffindor right, they couldn't say no to a good dare, right? At his words, the witch basically in his lap began to snicker, and she made no effort to hide the sound from Magnolia.

“So? You don’t own the doorway, Hackney,” she replied, putting a hand on her hip as if that would make him move any faster. She looked over her shoulder again when she thought she heard footsteps behind her, hoping he’d hurry up and move it before something wicked came this way. Never had she hated a person as much as she hated Isaac at that very moment for insinuating, she go back the way she came. He had heard her scream, Magnolia wasn’t stupid, she knew he was making fun of her and it didn’t sit well with the flustered witch. “The exit is that way,” she pointed in the darkness on the other side of the doorway though she wasn’t really sure it was. Who knew what was on the other side, if she was lucky maybe a couple of ghouls would trip over them.

“Can’t you stop being a jerk for two seconds?” she asked, the nervousness pooling in her stomach and making her fidget even more as she tapped a foot against the floor expectantly. Magnolia knew the two of them were not friends, it was a point she had made obvious on the train earlier in the year and something she intended to stick to. “It honestly isn’t that heard,” she insisted when he further dared her. The Gryffindor in her rose to the challenge but not nearly long enough before the coward in her reminded her that this was not the time.

Magnolia frowned down at the girl, who was this one anyway? Hadn’t there been a different one last week? She forced the thought away. It didn’t matter, she totally didn’t care or notice anyway (okay maybe she had been keeping track, but she wasn’t about to share that with him). She sighed heavily, taking several steps back, slowly leaning back to look down the hallway before walking back up to them again, “See, not scared, now move or else,” she demanded. 

"Is it?" He asked, pretending like he didn't know when they both knew he did, it was apparent. Being in her way was more fun than he had imagined it would be. Magnolia's question had him laughing again, and it filled the room. "One.. two.." He counted agonizingly slowly and then shrugged again. "Nope, I guess not," The witch with him giggled again, and he remembered that she was still there. He laughed with her when Magnolia said it wasn't hard, but that didn't mean he would do it. Being an asshole was hardwired into his brain, even when he didn't actively try to be, it was just his way, and he wasn't about to change. Or move. She turned to walk back down the hallway she came from, and Isaac was actually surprised. Sure she was a Gryffindor, but he hadn't even expected her to turn and leave; a little wave of disappointment washed over him.

But she didn't follow through, and he smirked again. Standing up from where he had been leaning against a table, Isaac was smirking again. Pushing the sixth year away from him gently, he watched as Magnolia moved back into the room they shared and laughed at her. Taking a few steps to stand next to her, Isaac peered down the hallway, expecting to see some creepy clown or an ax murderer. Was it wrong that he preferred his classmates in their costumes? At least then, he knew what part they were playing. His footfalls weren't quiet in any way, but the dark room was loud and smokey, so he wasn't sure if she noticed he was moving or not.

Not that sneaking up on her bothered him much. He leaned toward her, the movement pulling his hand away from the sixth year witch's. "Not, as brave, as you thought, huh?" Isaac drew out pointedly, his head closer to her than was typically appropriate. There was a change in the light down the hall, someone, or something, was moving through the artificial fog, but Isaac couldn't look away from Magnolia.

Magnolia momentarily wondered what terrible deed she had committed in her previous life that had led her to Isaac, to being (and for the moment, staying) on the fifth year’s radar. It wasn’t as if she had told anyone about his mum, she wasn’t intending to do that anyway, but somehow, they kept running into each other. The worst part was not the mean things he said or how he always found a way to make this particularly difficult for her but rather, the realization that he had left an impression. Now, the poor girl was destined to spot him in every shared space, to know it was him and to actively avoid him. Obviously, that was not working out for her as she had hoped. “You are literally the worst,” she muttered under her breath but loud enough for him to hear and to hopefully understand the frustration in her voice.

The witch would not have been as exasperated if she were not so afraid of the dark, misty space and the unknown. That whole this isn’t real thing wasn’t working out for her anymore and Isaac teasing her for it was definitely not helping, either. She could not help the way she jumped when she realized that he was much closer than she had expected him to be, he had obviously planned his attack when she had taken her own steps back, painfully aware of how close he was to her and how she wanted to lean forward to figure out whether the smell of cinnamon was coming from him or the girl he had his arms wrapped around earlier. Not that it bothered her, but she did want to rid herself of the image in her head.

“Wh-what?” she asked, she had heard what he said but she wasn’t actually listening to him, not with him so very close to her. Momentarily, she didn’t feel as scared as she did nervous. But only for a moment because it was not long before she remembered that the two (or rather, three) of them were in a haunted house, made apparent by whoever reach out to pull her hair. The action had caused her scream, rather loudly, squeeze her eyes shut, and wrap her arms around the boy in front of her in a plea for protection.

You are literally the worst, her words rolled over in his mind as he moved to stand closer to her; the phrase was amusing, especially coming from her. She was probably one of the most irritating witches in their year, if not all of Hogwarts, perhaps that he had ever met.  Isaac was aware of another student moving around in the room with them, it wasn't the girl, but one of their classmates working the Haunted House. He could see the shape of him, just barely, as he stalked around the corner toward Magnolia, but Isaac didn't say a word. He just waited and watched, finding her fear entirely entertaining.

Until she shouted and latched on to him in an instant, anyway. For someone who was continually invading others' personal spaces to make them uncomfortable, Isaac did not like it done to him. Her arms were wrapped around his waist, and he was caught off guard by it, and it made him grumpy. He moved to peel her hands away from him, but the moment grew more chaotic by the second. The witch behind him was whining again, jealous or bored, or both, and the boy who had pulled Magnolia's hair was still trying to scare her. Moving around, creepy breathing by her, and just being fucking annoying. Isaac's mood switched from amused to irritated in two seconds flat, and he scowled.

"Fucking stop, man, she's scared alright, so sod off," He told him, waving his hand toward the hallway and exhaling. When the other wizard began to retreat, Isaac realized Magnolia was still holding on to him, and he sighed. "Nola," he said softly, almost sweetly, but it wasn't meant that way. The witch behind them huffed, and Isaac could practically see her putting her hands on her hips in the back of his head. When he heard the door handle, he knew it was her leaving, and the light from outside the haunted house broke through into the room they were in. Turning his face back toward Magnolia he spoke again, a bit harsher this time. "Can you get off of me,"

Magnolia had only held onto him as long as she had as a means of self-preservation, half expecting for him to push her in the direction of the ghoul and laugh at her expense, it seemed like something someone like Isaac would do. At least it was what she was telling herself when she came to the realization that she was holding on to him, the anger in his voice causing her to flinch but feel equally protected in the same moment. Either way, she was grateful that he had said something to the boy behind her and that the boy had enough sense to back off. Not that she would have minded if Isaac had gone as far as to punch the boy in the face, he deserved it for being so incessant on scaring her.

It made no sense for him to stand up for her the way that he did but before the more sensible part of her brain could process all elements of the events that had occurred only moments prior, she had internalized it, confused it, and turned it into what she had wanted to hear. Isaac was protecting her, she decided, and maybe he had been teasing her relentlessly because of one very obvious reason: he actually liked her. All those books were starting to make sense. She looked up at him when he called her name, the beginnings of a smile on her face before his tone changed.

Well this was rather confusing.

“Sorry,” she muttered softly, pulling away from him slowly as she tried to further process what had just happened. “I um—” she looked away, running a hand through her disheveled hair to distract from the fact that this was an extremely embarrassing situation. “Thanks, Isaac for you know…” she trailed off, looking over in the direction of the exit before looking up at him again, “Being so nice about it,” she added further.

His eyebrows crinkled when she called him nice. Did she think that was him being nice? Had he been nice, he hadn't felt so. He'd told a dumb ass to get lost because he was irritating; it had nothing to do with her at all. And then he'd told her, in not exactly a friendly way, to get off of him. Puzzled, but less irritated, Isaac blinked a few times. "Just don't make it a habit," He told her, a mock disgusting look coming over his face as he pretended to brush something off of his plain gray shirt, right where she had been holding on to him. "My date is gone now, you know," He told her, standing up straight as the light from the door closing began to fade. It was still loud and smokey, and his heart felt like it was beating in time with the strobe light from being inside for so long, but he ignored it. Turning back to look at her, his eyes wandered up and down the silhouette of her frame.

"And it's your fault," He finished, his hands tucking into his pockets like he had just told her she owed him something. And he felt like she did. More than only her silence, she had stolen his fun too, and he wanted something in return. "I'll bet she thinks I'm in here snogging you now," He eyed her as he said it, smirking through the dark, "And word travels fast here," They both knew it. Magnolia was part of why it traveled so fast, he was sure of it, but he had no real proof. In Isaac's mind, all teenage witches were gossips and fakes. They spoke too much, all the time, especially when they shouldn't, but she hadn't told anyone his secret yet, and he was still confused by it.

For a moment, he let his mind wander to what it might have been like to kiss Magnolia in the haunted house, and then those thoughts faded to the rumors he'd hear about tomorrow and the things his buddies would say, and he pressed his hand to his temple. Not that he cared what any of them thought.

He had been so nice just a moment ago and now he was looking at her like as if he couldn’t get rid of her fast enough. Why were boys so utterly confusing?

“Good for her,” she retorted venomously, “Probably knows she’s better off far away from the likes of you,” she added, intent on hurting his feeling though at this point she was almost convinced that he didn’t have any feelings at all, maybe all of the Slytherins were this soulless. She didn’t like his tone, or the way he looked at her like he fully expected her to volunteer to take the runaway date’s place. Not that she hadn’t thought about going on a date with Isaac before but in her fantasy, he was much nicer. Actually nice, not fake nice like he had been only moments earlier. What game he was playing at she would never know but it didn’t make her any less upset that he was playing it with her.

Magnolia felt her cheeks redden when he talked about snogging because she had been entirely too aware that it was exactly what he had been doing with that other girl and it wasn’t something she wanted to think about. Not when he said like as if he were mocking her about it. “Spread all the rumors you want, nobody’s going to believe you,” she insisted, only concluding that he was teasing her about it because he intended to say something to embarrass her. Good thing she didn’t like him at all, she thought to herself, her eyes traveling down to his lips for a second before returning to his eyes, Focus, Nola she reminded herself. “Even if you were the last boy in the world, I wouldn’t dare,” she added. The expression had been entirely childish, but she had felt good saying it.

“Anyway—” she started, taking a step back to ease this weirdly awkward tension between them, “Are you going to help me find my friends or what?” she offered. He was right, word traveled fast and the best way to avoid that was to find some people as soon as possible to dissuade suspicion.

Was she better off far away from him? Isaac considered Magnolia's words, probably? He was smart enough to know he wasn't good for anyone. The teenager wasn't a good friend, and Isaac had no intention of being that girl's boyfriend. The wizard was even mean to people like Magnolia, not because he had to be or because she was threatening (even though she tried to be), but because it was easy. And fun. Though he'd honestly thought about what she had said eventually, his face turned back into a smug smile. Isaac felt; differently; he thought they would believe him because it was him saying it. But he'd much rather find a witch who actually wanted to than makeup stories about one that didn't. Or convince that one that she did.

"So you've considered it, then?" He said slowly, his thick accent emphasizing every break in every word. Isaac knew that wasn't what she meant, but if she opened the door just a crack, he would kick it wide open. He liked to embarrass her, he wasn't sure why, but putting her on the spot back on the train had been more fun than he'd had in a while. She was fascinating, infuriating, but exciting none the less. "Alright, miss bossy," He tilted his head to the side and let out a chuckle, his hands rising in front of him like bumpers. He enjoyed it when she got all Gryffindory and full of herself. It seemed to come in waves like every so often she remembered she didn't have to take his crap and annoying as it was, he kind of admired it.

"You should probably exit the haunted house, already, then," He teased her, knowing he was the reason she hadn't been able to go through the exit until now. Helping her track down her gaggle of girlfriends wasn't exactly high on his priority list. He'd probably just go in the other direction as soon as they left the house. To go find someone cool to be around, something fun to do, but somewhere in the back of his mind, he considered hanging around her a little longer. It was an odd thing to think about. Besides, his date was gone, what else better did he have to do. "Or I could walk you back to Hogwarts?" He offered, one because it was the simplest solution to her problem, and two because he wanted to see how she would react to the idea, even if he had no plans to actually do it.

“Of course not,” she scoffed at his question, hoping that the nervous energy with which she had answered it had not given away the fact that she might have actually given it a little thought. But not seriously. If he hadn’t been sitting there snogging with that girl for the entire world to see it might not have crossed her mind at all. Isaac was not the sort of boy she was supposed to be wasting her emotional energy on, after all. Before she had even realized it, Magnolia was almost two months into school and no closer to going on her first proper date. Maybe she would reconsider the advice her friend Killian had given her over the summer, maybe there was a reason she was still single. Maybe she had a problem. “Not everyone thinks about you as much as you think about yourself,” she retorted, sighing as she did to drive her point home.

It was not the best defense but it would have to do for now; the girl realized that she’d feel much safer when she was out of this terrifying space and somewhere more familiar. And just as she might have expected, he continued on with the insults, but the name made her smile more than it made her angry (Yes, maybe she did have a problem after all). But he had laughed when he said it and though she wasn’t about to laugh lest she give him the wrong idea, it did feel much friendlier than before.

“I would have left if you and your girlfriend didn’t insist on being in the way,” she retorted pointedly, hoping that he’d feel a little responsibility for his terrible deed. Magnolia could have just shoved passed them, but for whatever reason had chosen to stay. “Who snogs in a haunted house anyway!?” she exclaimed, probably a little bit more passionate on the subject that she needed to be, but she wanted it to be said. It wasn’t like she was jealous or anything. Whatever. 

Magnolia looked at him suspiciously, not really sure if she should believe what he was offering. Was he turning a new leaf? Seemed unlikely. Instead, she placed a hand on her hip and nodded towards the exit. “Shouldn’t you go after your date?” she suggested.

Isaac didn't believe her, or he didn't want to when she said she hadn't thought about kissing him before. It wasn't like he expected every witch in Hogwarts wanted to, a wizard could dream, but he wasn't that inflated. But after she'd walked in on what she had, and they'd mentioned it now, he found it unbelievable that she hadn't at least considered it. Feeling dismissed but keeping it off of his face, the Slytherin moved. Taking a few steps from where he was standing and toward the door that led to the outside. He had no idea what time it was, not wearing a watch, and not particularly caring about the curfew tonight.

He laughed at her again, turning when she accused him of being in the way before and taking a side step to be in the way again because it amused him. Shrugging his shoulders smugly, Isaac's hands were still in the pockets of his dark jeans. She brought up his choice of snogging locations and he chuckled again. "You have a better place in mind? We could go there," He asked her, tilting his head to the side, an eyebrow raised. Hating that he had to speak louder than usual for her to hear him, Isaac realized he too was ready to leave this place.

Standing in front of the door, once again blocking her path, he looked behind him and then back to her, like he was seriously considering the options, but he wasn't. His date, Allison, had probably already caught up with other friends or found someone else to bring through the haunted house, and it wasn't like Isaac was broken up about the thought. "She can fend for herself," He informed Magnolia distantly like he couldn't be bothered to spend another moment thinking about that witch. And he probably wouldn't.

"You haven't answered my question, Magnolia,"
 

“There is no we, Isaac, get over yourself,” she responded to his question, though naturally her mind immediately offered a few suggestions, primarily one particularly dark corner on the way up to the Astronomy Tower. But he didn’t need to know that, or any of the other thoughts she had had about him between now and the time they encountered each other on the train. Her friends would surely be proud of her for not falling into this trap.

Magnolia had half-expected him to go after the girl, not because he actually wanted to but because he’d get much satisfaction in leaving there on her own and terrified. The girl figured it was plenty dark out and the walk back to the castle would be eerie without the company of her own friends but she was willing to go at it alone if it meant she leave with the last word. The last few times they had spoken to each other had felt more like a competition than anything else, the goal (and prize) to leave the other befuddled and unable to response. Unfortunately, thus far, Isaac always had something to say.   

“You can walk me back to Hogwarts,” she said decisively, though she was not really sure if he was referring to that question or the one about her having thought of kissing him. But Magnolia figured that if she asked, he’d assume and there was no need for that. “But I swear if you try anything, I’m not above hexing you,” she threatened, and just to prove her point. Magnolia hadn’t actually brought her wand a long, something she realized when she patted the pocket on the inside of her robes, but she pulled her hand away, hoping he hadn’t noticed in the darkness. “Shall we, then?”

There is no we, Isaac, get over yourself, He smiled, like he was accepting some kind of challenge, but said nothing. There was a confident look in his eyes. Moving in front of the door, he waited for her to figure out what she wanted to do. Growing impatient as always, and rocked on his heels. When she made the decision, he put his hands back up again, playfully, "You are being bossy again," And then he let out another howl of a laugh. "Bossy and violent. You and Allison have more in common than I thought," he said, speaking the name of his date for probably the first time, but assuming Nola would catch on by context.

Stepping back fluidly, Isaac pushed the door open with his shoulder and held it open for her. The light from the streetlamp outside poured into the room, making the scene inside even stranger. Without the cover of darkness, he could see that two of the walls were unpainted, and there was some kind of spellotape all over the floor, marking where things were supposed to go. It ruined the facade a little, but he hadn't been interested in the first place. He watched Nola and tapped his foot at the door.

"I haven't got all night," He told her impatiently before turning to move out of the room, whether she had caught up or not. Isaac looked around the street, mostly for his own friends, but partly for her's too. After a moment of quiet walking, Isaac spoke again, thankful to talk at his usual husky volume again, despite the ringing that persisted in his ears. "Why go into a haunted house, if you are a chicken?" Isaac asked her, smirking, not very Gryffindor of you, he thought.