[december mp] all wrapped up || isaac

"You sound like a ten-year-old-, take it back," Isaac made a high pitched voice, mocking her as she demanded he apologizes for what he said. No way was going to happen; she must have known that by now. She pelted another snowball at him, and he laughed as it hit him in the chest and scattered across his shoes.

"I thought you were the daughter of some fancy Quidditch player? That was weak?" He taunted her as he grabbed another handful of snow. Isaac didn't use all of his might to throw it at her, and he made sure it wasn't packed too tightly because he didn't want to hurt her, but he did aim it right at her.

"Maybe you should stop assuming that you know anything about me then?" Isaac asked her, stopping himself from picking up another ball of snow as he slid his hands into his front pockets. She called him fake, and he fucking hated it

“Oh, shut up, what do you even know about Quidditch players? I could take you on with no practice and I’d still be ten times better than you just from the principle that my father was the best Quidditch player on the team,” she said. It was a lofty thing to say from someone that avoided Quidditch and anything to do with it like the plague that she believed it was but at this point, Magnolia felt that the only way to fight the fire that Isaac was obviously trying to ignite out of control was to get upset. There it was all of her pleasant holiday cheer tossed into the rubbish bin and never to be seen again probably.

“Weak?” she approached him, “Really? That’s the best you’ve got?” she added, frowning as he hit her with a ball of snow but not deterred in the least. She picked up another ball of snow but walked even closer to him, no longer intending to toss it at him when she noticed him put his hands in his pockets. Sighing heavily, she let the snowfall back to the floor. Had she been more like Isaac, she might have shoved it down the back of his shirt and hoped he got frostbite but the Gryffindor in her told her that this was not the answer to what would Godric do. 

She might have relented in action, but she wasn’t going to give up just yet with her words. “Maybe you should stop trying to be someone you’re not and act like yourself all the time, what about that?” she continued, walking around him to pick up the box on her own.

"Okay, so tell me who I am then?" Isaac confronted her words head-on. He left the box where it sat on the ground and took the rest of the steps toward her. He met her halfway in the path. Standing closer than was technically required for a conversation, the Slytherin looked down at her. She didn't sort, not like most of the other girls, but she was short enough that he could loom over her. Or at least make it seem like he was.

"You seem to think you know who I am, so go on," Isaac wondered what she thought about him. He tried not to care, but of course, he cared. He had more than a few assumptions about her and where she came from, and he hadn't exactly been quiet on that front. He judged every little thing about her, and he told her to her face. Now it was her turn. He knew it was probably a mistake, but the wizard was inviting her to tell him anyway.

He ignored a group of students passing by them as he stared at her. Hogsmeade was probably going to be crowded when they got there if they ever got there, but Isaac wasn't concerned. Still staring at her, Isaac bounced a little on his feet; it was fucking cold, and he should have been back at the castle throwing things at unsuspecting students, not out here in the middle of a snowball stare-off.

“You,” she started, pointing a finger in accusation at him, “are a self-absorbed prick that only cares about two things (1) girls and (2) making people’s life hell with your mates,” she continued. Magnolia was saying far more than she would have normally said but only because he was constantly going out of his way to make her feel like an idiot and she had had enough. The girl was completely ignoring the fact that she had dragged him into doing something he didn’t want to do in the first place but all she could think about was how he had gone and stomped all over her happy, holiday cheer and replaced it with more reasons to second guess herself. She thought they were friends but apparently, they weren’t even that. At least when he asked for her to tell him who he was, she was prepared with fighting words.

“If the only way you can feel good about yourself is by making other people feel like shit then yeah maybe you do deserve to spend Christmas alone, sorry I asked to spend time with you, I thought that’s what mates did,” she continued, saying whatever came to mind without really considering the implications of her words or how he could just as easily twist them and send them back to her to make her feel even more stupid for inviting him over. It was just pancakes, for Merlin’s sake, and he was turning this into a bigger deal than it was. Or maybe she had because she was pissed off that he hadn’t just said yes like she so desperately wanted him to. Magnolia did not understand why he had to go and make things so complicated. Never had a song felt so accurate to a situation than that one had at that very moment.

“Why don’t you just go back to Allison, Duncan, and your lot of dumb friends?” she said finally, “I’ll go do this on my own like I intended to anyway,” she added. If he wanted to miss his chance at spending time with her then maybe it was his loss this time, and not always hers.

If Isaac cared about what she thought, Magnolia's words might have hurt him, but he didn't. The Slytherin smiled at her cruelly as she went on her little rampage. He was a jerk, he knew it, she knew it, hell, all of Hogwarts knew it, so why was she pretending like it was some great revelation. There was a damn good reason he hadn't landed in Hufflepuff or (merlin forbid) Gryffindor. They were nothing alike when it came to things like this. Magnolia wanted to give strangers gifts and invite the maid for breakfast, while Isaac wished to burn the whole holiday tradition to the ground.

"I spend every Christmas alone, so what the fuck is the difference," He spat back at her, revealing only what he wanted her to hear. It was a manipulative thing to say, but the teenager was nothing if not consistent. "But you did not intend to do it alone, did you?" Isaac's question surged toward her the moment she finished speaking. He ignored her words about his friends; he didn't care to protect them and skipped to the final thing that she had said.

Leaving the box behind, Isaac moved closer to her, invading her bubble as he often did. Even with his hands still tucked into his pockets, there was something aggressive about the way he was standing. Isaac was seething with anger, but he couldn't understand if it was pointed at her, or himself, or his mum, or the entire world. Sometimes it felt like it could be all of those things at once. His rage and disappointment were multifaceted. "You think you are so fucking charming, expecting me to help you with this stupid project, and then flipping out when things don't go exactly how you want them to."
Shaking his head at her, Isaac turned to walk back to her box; he was going to carry it to Hogsmeade just because she didn't want him to, and spoke again. "Well, you know what, tough shit princess,"

Magnolia hated him most when he was like this: distant, unapproachable, saying things that made her want to yell at him and hug him at the same time. Things that confused her. When she had said that maybe he deserved to spend Christmas alone she hadn’t actually meant it, in fact, she was sort of hoping he would show her any sign that her words had hurt him only so that she could take them back and apologize. At this rate, every conversation with him felt like she was trying to get a reaction out of him, but he would not budge.

In a way, it almost felt like he did not care because he did not see her as the close friend, she thought they were. On the other hand, everything he said to her got a reaction, mostly a negative one, and when he called her dumb or said she said and did dumb things it hurt her a little, made her feel even more of a square than she normally did in his company and she could not stand it. It made her wonder why she sought out his company at all, especially if all he was going to do was to treat her like this.

But he had been right about one thing at least. Magnolia had had no intention of carrying the box to Hogsmeade on her own, and a part of her, maybe one that she hadn’t wanted to acknowledge just yet had almost immediately gravitated to the excuse of making the box extra heavy so that she’d have a reason to go talk to him. Magnolia didn’t like it either but she wanted him to take her seriously, see her as more than just a girl he occasionally wasted time with, she didn’t want him to treat her like Allison but better, more seriously. And so instead of taking the Allison route in life, she was seeking him out to talk to him, spend time getting to know him.

But in the end, all they did was fight regardless. When he stood closer to her she looked up at him, even if he wasn’t overpoweringly tall there was something to be said about the height difference. But the girl stood her ground, looking up at him as if she was trying to find him the parts of him she did like, and waited for them to come to the surface. Eventually, he just went back to pick up the box again. She started walking, and after a few moments of silence she finally spoke up, “I shouldn’t have said that you deserve to be alone, no one deserves to spend Christmas alone, especially not you,” she added, her eyes focused on the road ahead. “If you feel that…strongly about it then fine, I won’t ask.”

Isaac knew he had been cruel, he could see it written all over her face, but he stood firm and pretended it didn't affect him. He didn't care what people thought of him; he didn't care if they thought he was rude or arrogant because he knew that he was. And he did it on purpose. Isaac was smart enough to know how to be kind, compassionate, and sympathetic; instead, he just chose to be antagonistic. It kept people from trying to get too close. It kept him in control.

While she stood her ground, Isaac stared down at her; Magnolia was infuriating, she never backed down, but he supposed she shouldn't have had to. He knew he was a prick, and she was taking it in stride, but it didn't change his mood or relieve his temper as he stomped back to her box of fucking gifts for strangers. He sighed when he picked it up, not because it was heavy, but because he felt so. They walked in silence, and Isaac preferred it, but as all good things eventually came to an end, Magnolia broke the quiet first.

"Especially me? What is that supposed to me?" Isaac didn't want her pity, and he assumed that was what she meant. She might not have known much about his history, but she knew his mum worked multiple jobs, including the one cleaning up the Hawkins home, so she knew more than anyone else. And far more than Isaac was comfortable with. "Look, I just hate fucking Christmas, alright," He said, trying to push some of the weight from his chest, and it came out in his words, "I have never really had a good one, and seeing you all... well.. you, kind of set me off, I guess?"

Was this an apology? It was an Isaac-ology, which was halfway between saying sorry and insulting her, but it was a step in the right direction. He turned to look at her as they walked, expecting she'd have some aggravating thing to spit back at him but instead found himself fighting back a smile. Those reindeer ears were fucking ridiculous, but she pulled them off.

“Just, you know,” Magnolia shrugged in response, letting the sentence fill itself because she was unsure of how to continue it. Well she knew what she wanted to say but she was almost certain that Isaac did not want to hear it. It was an ongoing thing with them, where she would have to decide whether she wanted to risk him feeling sorry for her or worse, laughing at her for whatever feelings she thought she was developing.

The girl had not forgotten how hearing that he would never be interested in dating her (that no one at Hogwarts would be) made her feel, nor had she ignored the many little jokes and jabs he’d made at her expense. And though she could have predicted that she would end up in this situation months ago, Magnolia still liked to pretend that she was surprised by her own behavior. It made her feel a little less bad about falling for whoever paid her some attention, even if it was angry attention like this one.

“I’m sorry,” she said after a moment, feeling self-absorbed when he went on to explain that Christmas was not a good time for him. It would have been the perfect time to insist on doing something particularly amazing involving all the Christmas activities she could think of and more! Instead, Magnolia mulled over his words, the weight of what he was telling her (and her own mood turned sour by being reminded that she was undateable) made her keep all of those very joyful activity ideas to herself. She figured Isaac would appreciate it. “Guess Christmas has always been my thing, obviously,” she smiled a little, pointing at the reindeer ears to make her point as she walked beside him.

“But I get how you feel, that’s how I feel about Valentine’s Day,” she tried to relate, it was a bad connection but it was the only one she could come up with immediately, “I know it’s not the…same,” she clarified, “but I know what you mean so don’t worry about it, I won’t ask your mum.”

Isaac felt like he wasn't going to let whatever answer she had for his question, but when she barely responded, he shrugged in return. It was better than he calling him out for whatever she had assumed. Whether it was true or not, he'd hate it, and they would fight some more, but she hadn't said anything, and he appreciated it. Telling her hated Christmas was easy but trying to clear the air was more difficult. Isaac had never been very good at apologies; he was stubborn, selfish, and arrogant; so naturally, he rarely believed he should be the one to apologize. This half lead up to saying sorry was the closest he was going to get, and when she said she was sorry too, Isaac nodded; it was settled then.

"Yeah, I can tell," He half laughed as he said it, watching the little ears dance and jingle as she pointed at them. They were absurd, but he was starting to mind them less and less. If she liked Christmas, that was fine, he never meant to try to take that from her, but he was not okay with the invitation she had brought up. Magnolia seemed to understand that now, and the teenager was relieved, but there was a nagging feeling like maybe they weren't out of the woods yet.

"Why Valentine's Day?" Isaac knew he would regret asking, witches were fucking insane with couples-holidays, but he had asked it anyway.

Magnolia considered that she might not be as festive the following year should she find herself in a similar situation, especially not if it was going to bring up bad memories for Isaac. It was a little weird to think that far in advance; Magnolia never did well with planning for the future because everything was consistently in the air. But it was hard to picture Isaac as her friend that far in advance, it might have been why she thought about it because she was secretly wishing it would be the case. She’d never tell him that, though, because Magnolia just knew he’d make a big deal of it and thought he could probably use a good laugh at her expense, she still did need to answer his question.

“All my Valentine’s Days have been the worst days of the day,” she explained. Magnolia was naturally being dramatic but seemed to vividly remember something always happening that reinforced the idea that maybe, “I must be cursed,” she finished out loud. It went far beyond just the no boyfriend situation. Not only had the sixteen-year-old never had a date to do anything Valentine’s Day-like with, the previous year she’d thought to ask Roderick, and that had been a disaster.

To make matters worse, every year she had lost something, failed at something, did or said something stupid, gotten in a huge fight with her friends, the list seemed meaningless but it did go on an on. “I guess everyone’s got a bad day, mine just comes every year and it feels like the gods or whatever is supposed to be out there are just taking the piss,” she explained, her eyes focused on the ground for a moment before turning to him again.

“Otherwise it’s my favorite holiday, ultimate day for couple things,” she explained though she figured he’d expect as much, “it’d be fun to like wear matching things and hang out in Hogsmeade or something,” she added, “you think Horus’ll be into that? What’d you do last Valentine’s Day?” she teased, not wanting to keep the conversation on the topic of her sad relationship history. 

All of her valentine's had been the worst day? Isaac scrunched his nose up at the thought; he believed that she thought they were all awful but doubted they had been all that bad. She was dramatic, he knew this, so when she claimed they were the 'worst,' he was skeptical.  "Cursed... right," The wizard did very little to hide the judgemental disbelief in his tone as he spoke. Unless someone had died on Valentine's, he imagined she was overemotional. Then again, no one had passed on Christmas, but Isaac still felt his feelings were validated. Being hypocritical was part of his charm.

"So.. wait," Isaac blinked a few times, replaying what she had just told him, and then continued. "It is your favorite holiday, but you also hate it?" Isaac was a relatively intelligent young man, but Magnolia was confusing as all get out. "You know that makes no sense? Pick a different holiday?" He had no right to demand such a thing, but that never stopped him before. Pulling a disgusted face, Isaac was both irritated and horrified by what she said next. He felt pity for whatever future boyfriend had to suffer through the wrath of Valentine's with Magnolia Lane.

"Yeah, I am sure Horus will love that," He said between gritted teeth, hating everything about what she had said but finding it difficult to pinpoint exactly which part was the most aggravating: the matching sweaters or the mention of Horus; it was a toss-up. "Make sure you order his sweater in extra extra large," He said with a chuckle, ignoring her question, and pulling the hood of his sweater up to block out the snowy wind that was picking up around them. Luckily Hogsmeade wasn't too far; another five minutes and they'd be at the entrance, but a thought occurred to him.

"Where are we going exactly?" Isaac asked, wondering where she planned to wrap and ultimately donate these gifts and if she would get lunch with him after.

Magnolia got the sense that he wasn’t believing anything she was saying which really wasn’t fair considering how very honest she was trying to be with him at that very moment. It obviously was no tragedy of the Isaac variety, but it had been a sensitive topic to the girl, especially as she got older only to realize that her opportunities for dating were getting slimmer and slimmer. Magnolia had decided quite some time ago that by the time she was seventeen, she’d be a proper adult in all aspects of the word, that included having her first boyfriend, her first kiss, her first everything by that time. Sure, the girl had never been any good at following strict deadlines or anything like that, but this was a completely different situation, it felt like a matter of life or death (social death, that was). What was the point of an apparition license if she wasn’t going to be using it to sneak into her boyfriend’s dorm at three o’clock in the morning for an after-hours makeout session anyway? Magnolia wasn’t actually sure if that was a thing, but the point had been made, she needed to get on with it asap.

“No, it doesn’t work like that,” she explained, of course, Isaac would never understand where she was coming from. “Just because something is difficult doesn’t mean it’s not enjoyable,” she explained, trying to come up with an easy example but falling short. “Like…” she started, really trying to think of something that someone like Isaac could relate to, “Like…” she tried again, “school, no one likes it, but it’s not always awful, is it?” she offered. It left out all the key points she had thought of only prior, but it would have to do. If discussing her non-boyfriend status had gotten her labeled a desperate, undateable weirdo then she could already picture what he’d do with knowing that she had absolutely no experience in the other departments as well. Those were Mavis conversations.

“Don’t be rude,” she remarked, hitting his arm a little harder than she intended but he certainly deserved it. Horus had no personality, but he was still adorable, more in a cute little kid way. “Plus, I’d rather wear matching couple sweaters with him than you,” she said almost immediately, assuming that his jab had been a little deeper than what he was letting on. She was projecting again, of course, but then was suddenly distracted by the way in which he had just ignored her question that she couldn’t help but focus in.

“The community center, it’s at the center,” she explained absentmindedly, not really that invested in talking about that as much as she was in talking about what he had failed to answer. “Wait, don’t ignore the question, did you get your heartbroken last valentine’s day or something? Allison reduce you to a hookup? Some other girl put you in the friend’s category?” she giggled at all of these thoughts, a girl could dream he’d been knocked down a few pegs in the past. Do tell,” she insisted, walking a little closer to him, “I know how to keep a secret,” she added in a whisper.

Isaac turned to look at her when she shot back that it didn't work like that. He didn't understand. If you hate something, why would it also be your favorite things? Magnolia was confusing, but what else was new? The puzzled look on his face displayed how silly he thought her explanation was, and with a shrug, he responded, "I like school?" It was mostly right. He hated the rigidity of Hogwarts, but he did enjoy learning magic, and if he were a muggle, he'd probably have been kicked out and on the streets by now. Tilbury did not have a very high graduation rate. Especially for intelligent and bored trouble-making boys.
"Ow," Isaac mumbled, though it didn't hurt, but smiled at her. Magnolia had started hitting him lately, and he wasn't entirely sure how he felt about it. On the one hand, it was kind of cute, flirty even, but on the other, he didn't appreciate her thinking she could get away with it whenever she wanted. "That is great because if you thought we would ever wear matching couple sweaters, your off the toss," Isaac knew how she would take his statement, but he said it anyway. He was simply stating that he would never wear a couple-sweater, regardless of who he was with, it had nothing to do with Magnolia specifically, but he had said it precisely that way on purpose. It was his way of hitting her back, he supposed.

That made more sense at the community center, especially considering the bits of clothing he saw in the box. She was going to donate them as well, of course do-gooder Magnolia was going to donate clothing. He wondered if he should tell her that no one was interested in her fluffy pink sweaters covered in glitter. He doubted she would believe him.

"You?" He laughed outright, "You might know how to keep some secrets, Magnolia, but everyone knows you are a gossip." She had kept the secret about his mum, but as time went on, and the more he learned about her from their classmates, the more Isaac believed it was merely an economic decision. There was very little to gain from that parcel of information, but if she found out, he'd had his heartbroken on Valentine's, that would be a whole other thing. Not that he had, the teenager made it a point not to date all year, and especially on holidays.

"The friend category is more fun than dating," All the good stuff and zero responsibilities; the Slytherin preferred to have his cake and eat it too. "Do you think I would take some pathetic witch out for valentines? And deal with all of those expectations? I'm not daft, Magnolia." Isaac laughed again, throwing his head back and pretending not to see the look on her face. "I did absolutely nothing last Valentine's, and it was bloody brilliant." His eyes found hers again, smirking, and he left her with one more judgment. "But I hope you and Boreus have loads of fun," He didn't.

“Ugh, of course, you do,” Magnolia rolled her eyes in response, not because she didn’t believe him, it certainly didn’t fit the image of him that she had invented in her head but now that she considered it, it did seem very on-brand for him to battle all of the stereotypes within an inch of his life. But more realistically, Magnolia was simply miffed that she couldn’t quite read him correctly, not even after all of the time they had spent together, and it made her feel like there was so much about himself he was hiding from her. Magnolia didn’t really care for any of that nonsense. But she had seen his notes, had seen how he always got in trouble for everything else except for his academic performance and how much he teased her for being dumb. He had never said as much but the witch was going to interpret what he said, however, she wanted to. At least that was something that still had control over.

Of course, while she was still very much in her own head, he had to go and ruin any of the cute images she might have concocted of the two of them wearing cute, couply things. It was near Christmas time anyway, and once again she found herself single and very much in the red when it came to dating prospects, at least her overactive imagination could remedy that for a few moments. Well, never mind that now. “Right, right, ‘cause I’m the last girl you’d ever date, etcetera, etcetera,” she argued in return, meaning to sound like she was poking fun at him but rather sounding like she was hurt. But she wasn’t, not entirely. She had options now, she had Horus. Sort of.

“I’m not a gossip,” she insisted, even though it felt like she was lying to herself when she said it. She took pride in the database of information that she and Mavis maintained, and otherwise would have proudly taken the word to mean she was being complimented. But in this case, his words only felt like an insult, like she couldn’t be trusted. Not only would he never date her, or like her, or find her attractive, but he’d also never trust her with anything because they could never be friends because she was a big gossip. Even though the pathetic witch he was talking about hadn’t specifically been her, it didn’t stop her from imagining that he was calling her pathetic instead and so she grew a little quiet, not sure how she felt about being so insulted in the span of three seconds. She should’ve known better than to ask him for his help, now she was regretting it.

“Good for you, if Allison’s the best you can do then it’d be rude to expect any better,” she scoffed, very aware that she sounded jealous. “Anyway, Horus and I will have loads of fun, we had a fascinating conversation about his parents, they spend their whole year traveling around Egypt, Horus can speak like four languages, he’s terribly intelligent, a Ravenclaw, too,” she added. There hadn’t been a conversation as much as it had been a one-sided speech of her listing things, she knew about him and he more or less nodding or shaking his head to confirm or deny it. It was the best that they could do for now, surely things would get better the more she tried at it. Everyone knew her and Isaac were a lost cause. 

Isaac turned to look at Magnolia, judgment clear in his eyes, as he frowned. She was absolutely a gossip, and if she denied it, she was only lying to herself. Isaac was learning more about her every day, but even before they started being.. whatever they were now, he had known about her reputation. It was why he had thought she would tell everyone about his mum working as a maid for her parents. She hadn't, but that had done little to sway the assessment he had of her. "Yeah, sure,"

On more than one occasion, Magnolia had tried to get Isaac to weigh in on hypothetical romantic situations with students she didn't give him the names of; she read those girly magazines, and she knew way more about their classmates than she should have. If he did a little digging (a.k.a. if he cared enough to know), Isaac was sure he could have followed her breadcrumbs and figured out which one of her friends was in some dramatic love triangle. Everything added up to a simple truth: Magnolia was a gossip.

In the end, though, it really hadn't mattered because Isaac didn't have any information for her. Nothing noteworthy anyway, he had been boring last Valentine's and stayed in the castle. Duncan had gone to Hogsmeade to pick up witches left unsatisfied by their lackluster dates, but Isaac was bored by low hanging fruit. He hadn't even seen Allison that day. "Oh, fascinating," He mocked her words, rolling his eyes as they reached Hogsmeade and Isaac stopped to face her. "Is he as dull in all four of them, then?" The Slytherin probably wouldn't have minded Horus as much if Nola wasn't trying to throw her relationship with him in his face.

"If you two get on so well, why is he not carrying this shit for you?" Isaac challenged her, his sour face turning smug as a chilly wind blew through the village, "Isn't that the sort of thing boyfriends should be doing?" While he understood the implication that he was the one doing it, which might make her think, somehow, that Isaac was, in fact, boyfriend material, the Slytherin thought it was worth the risk to insult Horus a little more.