[gravesend] a total eclipse of rationality || isaac

December 2003

Magnolia stared at the menu above the concession stand in deep thought, her eyes shifting from the popcorn options to the other snacks, trying to decide whether she felt more like eating popcorn and soda or if it was more of a nachos sort of day. Initially, the girl had picked up a bag of red licorice candy, much too excited with what was going on to really consider whether that would hold her over for the almost two-hour movie she had managed to drag Mavis too. Magnolia had never actually been to the movies before and thought it might make for a nice date, especially after hearing about it from her friends, but seeing as how uneventful her romantic life was turning out, it seemed like just the thing to do over break with friends. It would be a different sort of experience, she decided, but not all that different.

She pulled another string of licorice from the bag, nibbling at it absentmindedly as she wondered whether she had enough muggle money to get both things; she didn’t want to have to leave in the middle of the film, especially not considering how interesting the movie plot had sounded. But, at the same time, she wasn’t sure if she’d have the hands to carry everything anyway. Had she been able to use magic, it wouldn’t have been a big deal, to begin with. In the end, all of that hesitation ended with the witch just ordering both things, not really thinking about how currency was different here until the cashier gave her a total. A little under ten pounds. Right.

“Um—just a second, sorry,” she said apologetically, setting down the bag of candy to pull out the wallet she had stuffed into her black coat earlier, and looking through it for the muggle currency she had been certain she’d stuck in there. Or had she given it to Mavis? This was not looking very good. She should have just stuck to one thing. Magnolia glanced over at the door where Mavis and she had parted ways (she’d find their seat she had said) and realized that the line was getting shorter. Did that mean that she was going to miss the movie? Suddenly, this felt much more stressful than she had originally bargained for. “Eight pounds was it?” she clarified.

Isaac loved and hated winter break. He hated staying at his mum's flat, but he did enjoy the freedom that a break from Hogwarts provided—being able to come and go as he pleased and no classes to worry about made sleeping at home suck a little less. The teenager stayed out late and slept in most days, and tonight would be no different. He did what he usually did before hanging out with Duncan or the others: he went to the movies. Pureblood or not, Isaac had always grown up a little bit in the muggle world, and while he preferred to do everything the magic way (because he wasn't an idiot), he did enjoy their music and movies. Wizarding stories couldn't hold a candle to the action-packed moving pictures at the cinema.

Shrugging into the theatre's lobby, Isaac pulled the hood down from his plain black zip up sweater and shook off the December chill. It was cold and supposed to snow later, but that didn't stop him from wearing his black sneakers instead of boots. Gloves, scarves, and hats were not things Isaac owned, so the hood and the sweater's front pouch served those purposes. He purchased his ticket, some action film about a muggle war or other, and then got into the concessions line. The movie would start shortly, but he had enough time to grab a snack and maybe even play the arcade game in the corner before heading in.

"Oi, just fucking pick something," Isaac called ahead of where he was in line, assuming the hold up was because the pixie at the counter couldn't decide what she wanted to buy. He leaned out of the line, hands back in his pockets, and smiled at the long legs and short skirt at the counter. Maybe her holding up the line could be forgiven. He heard the cashier tell her the price, again, and something about stepping out of line if she didn't have enough to cover it, and Isaac moved up to stand next to her. "I can cover it," he started to say as he pulled his wallet from his back pocket. Maybe she would want to pay him back, he thought smugly, and then turned to catch her eyes.

"Fuck," He breathed, his smile immediately falling flat as he sighed. Of fucking course, it was Magnolia Hawkins. She was one of the very last witches he had expected to run into here, and the surprise showed on his face. "What are you doing here?" He asked, even though it was obvious, but what he wanted to ask was, 'What are you wearing?' Isaac had never seen her in anything other than school robes, jeans, or one of those obnoxious crimson Gryffindor sweaters; he was pretty sure. He knew for certain he had never seen her look like this, this good.

“I’ve got it, I promise,” she lamented, feeling a little bad for holding the line up but also feeling very mature for doing it on her own. The Gryffindor was big on group activities, and in situations like these, where she felt so out of her element, she often found comfort in taking her girlfriends along to ease her little bouts of anxious thoughts. Right before Magnolia had resolved to just dump the contents of her wallet on the counter and pretend she didn’t notice if the muggle pointed out her strange wizarding currency, someone from the line yelled in her direction, only to appear at her side moments later. Well, she decided after the stranger had offered to pay on her behalf, maybe the stars had aligned and tonight she’d finally meet her knight in shining armor, muggle edition. “Thank you so—” she started, looking up to properly thank her savior.

Just kidding. The universe was just playing a massive and cruel trick on her. Her heavy sigh said it all. “It’s you,” she switched her tune almost immediately, the bright smile on her face transforming into one of sheer unhappiness. Out of all of the people she might have hoped to run into during winter break, it simply had to be Isaac. Great.

Magnolia knew deep down that she really had no reason to get defensive or upset. After their last conversation, she had actively avoided him, huddling in with her friends every spare moment she had in order to keep her distance. It had been weeks and she figured she was all but recovered, the sting of his rejection not as blatantly obvious as it had been on her sixteenth birthday.

But, the pettiness within her couldn’t help but rise to the occasion. “Watching a movie, obviously,” she rolled her eyes for good measure, why else would she be here, anyway? “Sorry,” she held her hands up defensively, “Didn’t know the movie theater was part of your territory,” she added, looking around to see if she could spot one of his friends. But more accurately, wondering if he had come along with some girl on a date, unwilling to accept that he could have very well come to the movies with his best mate like she had done when she had brought along Mavis. “Don’t you have a wall to tag or something?” she grumbled, her own non-linear way of asking why he was at the movie theater. “Or let me guess, on a date with Allison?” she continued. Okay, she hadn’t meant to sound so bitter but at this point, she had a difficult time hiding her feelings. Now it was only a matter of hoping that he hadn’t noticed.

"It's you," Something about the way she said it cut into Isaac like she was even less pleased to see him than he thought he was to see her. He didn't like the feeling. Rolling his eyes at her obvious response, he waited to speak. "It is a muggle theater," He said sharply, adding to his previous 'what are you doing here' because he had not expected to find her outside of the wizarding world. Sure she said she liked muggle music, but he was surprised to see her here instead of the perfect little magical world he was sure she grew up in. He watched her look around, were her friends here too? Isaac groaned; he'd have to find a new theater if running into the loud gaggle of Gryffindors, was going to become commonplace.

"Yeah, I am on a hot date; that is why I offered to pay for your candy, which, by the way, you still have not paid for," He reminded her, his harsh tone matching hers as his brown eyes trailed from the sickles in her hand to the poor muggle in a pinstriped shirt behind the counter. Isaac pulled out his wallet and produced a few muggle notes, and set them on the counter. "For all that, and a large popcorn, extra butter," He said to the man behind the counter without a please or thank you. He was irritable, it wasn't the cashier's fault, but he was in the wake zone.

Turning back to Magnolia, Isaac waited for his popcorn and let his eyes wander over her not-Hogwarts-uniform outfit. She was pretty, far prettier than any of the other witches in their year, and when she wore things like this, Isaac was shocked that she didn't have wizards lining up after her. Sure she said annoying shit, but she was brilliant and funny and liked music; Magnolia was a catch. Fuck, he internally cursed himself as he realized what he had been thinking about, and then did the only plausible thing: insulted her.

"Let me guess you and your loud friends are here to watch some stupid romantic comedy?"

I know it’s a muggle theater, jerk, she thought to herself, trying to make sense of what he was trying to say but coming up blank. Just because her family was pureblood and pretty involved in the magical world did not mean she was oblivious to the existence of muggles and muggle things. In fact, Magnolia probably knew a little more than the average witch considering how involved she was in muggle music, but there were obvious holes in her knowledge, some of which Isaac had (on more than one occasion) pointed out rather blatantly. She figured he must’ve been a muggleborn or something to care so much about her showing up to the movies. Even if it was her first time there, she wasn’t about to tell him that now, he’d just use it to make fun of her. “I know,” she said instead, rolling her eyes at him in the process.

Magnolia pretended not to care that he said he was on a date, even if the sarcasm in his voice and phrasing told her that he was not, he was just teasing her. But for good measure, she glanced around once again, wondering if she’d see Allison somewhere or some other girl that would rush protectively to this guy’s side. “Thanks, Isaac,” she said with a big grin on her face, picking up the candy from the counter and shaking the box in his face before turning to the boy behind the concessions stand, “isn’t he the sweetest no wonder he’s got all the girls lining up to date him,” she said sarcastically, and loudly, in hopes of embarrassing him. She had absolutely no intention of paying him back now that he demanded it but would probably give it back to him later, when he least expected it.

She turned back to him just in time to notice his eyes wander, “Hey, my eyes are up here,” she said, stomping her foot for good measure. Magnolia wasn’t angry at all, in fact, she took great pleasure in knowing that he had taken a look, she hadn’t actually dressed like this for Mavis. Well, she did tend to dress up when she and her best friend went out on the town, the fact that she always looked like this when she was with Mavis was just a coincidence.

“We’re not here to watch that stupid B-rated action film, that’s for sure, whoever told Tom Cruise he can act was obviously blind…probably deaf too,” she noted, it was the name of one of the actors on a poster she’d seen on the way in. Magnolia had not actually known or seen anything he was in before. “So, where’s your hot date, Isaac?” she made a big deal of looking around, this time more obvious, “Or did she bail out on you already?”

Isaac considered going further down this line of questioning; she wasn't a muggle or muggle-born, so why was she here? But neither was he, so he knew she'd turn it around on him as quickly as she gave him the opportunity. Instead, he just shrugged until he began to pay for her candy. "Really?" He asked her, shaking his head as she tried to make a scene and embarrass him. He wasn't here with anyone, and even if he were, he wouldn't have been humiliated. Annoyed, sure, he was already that, but not embarrassed.

Isaac's grin turned smug when she called him out for staring. "I know where your eyes are," He told her, letting his gaze drift over her one more time, objectifying her and trying to embarrass her the way she had tried to do to him moments ago. "Unlike you, I am not failing my classes. And I happen to be ace at anatomy." He gave her a smirk, considering winking, but turned away instead just as she slammed Mission Impossible # whatever. "You know that wanker is like five feet tall?" Isaac said, amused, and tossed a bit of buttery popcorn into his mouth.

Magnolia was always asking so many questions, making assumptions, and it was like she had to attempt to push every one of his buttons. Like it was some game: how annoying can I be in the next five minutes? And Isaac sighed. "I got what I wanted from her before the movie, so I told her to go," He lied, and he barely even put any effort into it and then chuckled. He was here by himself because he actually wanted to watch the movie he'd come to see. It wasn't like he never brought dates here, but not tonight.

"So, what are you seeing then?"

Magnolia should have known that he’d find one way or another to one up her and as he spoke, so when his eyes started to tread along her short dress, she pulled her black coat tighter around herself though it didn’t do much of anything anyway. Magnolia had chosen the dress herself, that much was true, but hadn’t expected to run into the Slytherin boy either. Now she felt like she could’ve done better, not that she wanted him to look or anything, but she wanted to prove to him that she wasn’t a square as he’d insisted for the better part of the last three months.

 â€œYeah well I didn’t dress like this for you to gawk at me!” she replied, it wasn’t easy to keep her cool when he stared at her like that, especially when he didn’t say anything about what he saw. Not that she wanted him to say anything but also, it was weird. “And for your information, I’ve turned it around, I’m not failing anymore,” she lied. She was in the process of turning it around though, but Magnolia was always the type to think positively.

 â€œI don’t care how tall he is, if he can’t act, he can’t act,” she insisted, though she wouldn’t be surprised if that was exactly what he was going to see. He seemed the type to not appreciate good things like good actors, or finely scripted movies, or her. Whatever. “Is that what you’ve come to watch? Typical,” she rolled her eyes, already irritated by him but not in a rush to get back to Mavis either. Though she should be because Mavis was actually her friend, Isaac was not. “Ugh,” she made a disgusted face when he told her he had gotten rid of his date, “would it hurt you to be like decent once in a while?” He was literally a textbook asshole and had no shame in his game, Magnolia wasn’t sure whether to be appalled that he’d become like this or to sort of expect it from someone like him.

 â€œLove Actually,” she said finally, “It’s got this guy, Colin Firth, I hear he’s a pretty good actor,” she shrugged. Magnolia was only there to see the cute guys but he looked a little old. “But if you’re lonely, you’re welcomed to join Mavis and I,” she teased.

"Well, you wore it so someone would," Isaac countered, even though he knew she could wear whatever she wanted for whatever her reasons were. Regardless of whether she wanted the attention or not, Isaac was having a hard time keeping his eyes off of her. This was a very different version of Magnolia than the one he had seen in the last few months. And he was not complaining about it. "Suuuure," Dragging the word out as his eyes were tempted to slip across her form again, Isaac nodded slowly. Maybe she did pull her grades up, perhaps she didn't, but he was far from focussed on the topic of academics right now.

Pulling himself out of the trance, Isaac laughed when she insulted Tom Cruise again, not that he disagreed, the American was annoying, but it was how she said it that had him smirking. "Yeah, I am not seeing that shit," Isaac shot out quickly before she asked for the hundredth time where his date was, and he gave her a typical answer. It was a lie, but the way she pulled her face at the thought made it entirely worth it. Smug as ever, Isaac shrugged his shoulders, "It might?" Isaac knew how to be decent, but being deplorable was more fun, especially when squares like Magnolia found the need to judge him for it.

Love sounded like a grammatical shit show. Who would name the movie that, and who was Colin Firth? Isaac's features showed off his confusion and disinterest, but he shook his head at the offer. "No, thanks, I am seeing the Leprechaun movie, bet it will be as fucked as the last one." Awful horror movies were sort of a guilty pleasure for the wizard, and even though the muggles had no idea what real Leprechauns were like, he enjoyed watching their assumptions. And the gore that typically followed. They thought all creatures were so evil and sometimes they were right.

"I can sneak you in if you are not too scared?" Did he think she would skip out on her friend? No. Did he think she liked horror movies? Nope. Did he hope she would agree anyway? Yes.

Of course, Isaac would assume that she had gotten dressed up to get noticed by boys, she rolled her eyes at the thought. Well, technically that was true but she wasn’t going to sit here and agree with that jerk, especially not when he had just stared her down like she was a piece of meat. “Well enjoy it because it’s gonna be the last time you see me in something like this,” she threatened.

Magnolia would never wear anything like this at Hogwarts, not because she was too shy to do it but mostly because she was too lazy to dress up just to walk around the empty corridors of the castle. On the occasional outing to Hogsmeade, she would put forth the effort but did not like feeling like the odd one out if she was going out with her friends. Magnolia was supposed to be keeping things casual, not trying too hard or they would get the impression that she was dressing up for some boy she liked.

“It won’t,” she insisted, wondering if a decent person even existed deep down under all that arrogance. She could not imagine Isaac ever doing something that did not have an ulterior motive, but as a Slytherin, it fit his house perfectly. That did not stop her from thinking it though. She had seen the trailer to the movie she was watching with Mavis advertised as they walked into the muggle theater, but she could not even begin to imagine Isaac ever being like that, like romantic and doing sweet, little things for his significant other. Or better yet, understanding what a date was supposed to look like. Maybe whoever that girl had been (probably Allison) had been better off.

When he retorted to her comment regarding his choice in films, the corners of her mouth pulled upward just a little, pleased that he had felt compelled to insist that it was not that movie he had come to see. But the movie he had actually come to see sounded much worse. “The Tom Cruise film sounds better, to be honest,” she added. Magnolia did not care for horror films, especially not the leprechaun variety, if that thing looked anything like the horrible little creature she had read about in class once.

“But I’m with Mavis,” she answered, pointing at the room they had entered a while ago as if to establish her point, not really considering that he would take that as a I would if I hadn’t come with my best mate and while that was true, she had to deny it. Obviously. “Not that I’d go with you, ugh, don’t try to replace your missing date with me, never going to happen,” she scoffed. “Plus I hate horror movies.”

Hearing that she was with one of her friends made Isaac rethink his offer momentarily. He had not wanted to hang out with her loud little squad. How Jae hung around them, he did not understand. But then again, he supposed one more girl wasn't that bad; after all, the ratio was certainly in Isaac's favor. "Whatever she can come too," He began, like he was so generous by half-ass inviting Mavis to come along too.

And then she had to go and say she'd never go with him, regardless, and Isaac frowned. "Suit yourself," Isaac said with a shrug as he tossed some popcorn into his mouth. A piece hit the corner of his lip and fell to the ground, but was he going to bother picking it up? Nope. Of course, she hated horror movies, Isaac was not surprised by this, but maybe a bit bummed. Part of him hoped she would join him, but he already assumed she wouldn't. Not with her friend around and not instead of whatever chick-flick she had lined up.

"Leprechaun is playing in theater four when you realize whatever shit you picked sucks," Isaac's words contradicted his thoughts as he pretended her joining him in the horror movie was a certainty.

Because Magnolia had grown accustomed (paranoid) to Isaac and his games, she had gotten into the habit of telling him no before she took his offers into full consideration. It was a never-ending game with him. If she accepted readily, he assumed that she liked him or that she was eager for his company. If she said no, well, she only got about a minute or two to enjoy her victory before he would tease her or twist her words into something they were not. But here, he was doing neither and once again, she was confused by his intentions. What did he mean when he said that she could ask Mavis to join them.

“Mavis doesn’t know—” she started before she could think her words through, which only made it sound like they were in the middle of some sort of torrid affair they were keeping secret from everyone which was a completely different thing to the reality of the situation: they were just sort of friends that took pleasure in teasing each other mercilessly until one of them walked away, gave up, or got upset. Were they even friends though? Probably not. But regardless of what they were, Magnolia was keeping him a secret not because it didn’t mean anything but on the contrary, because she felt that it might mean something and she didn’t want it speculations to take flight within her group of friends.

But he hadn’t seemed as affected by the entire thing as she had, but at this point it often felt like nothing she said bothered him at all. And that, in turn, bothered her greatly. “Sounds like you’re scared to watch it yourself,” she said with a laugh, pretending like her head wasn’t going haywire with all these extra thoughts about them. “If you wanted to go to the movies with me all you had to do was ask,” she said boldly, “maybe next time though, if you’re not too intimidated by me that you can’t manage the words,” she said with a smile.

"Mavis doesn't know what? Finish that sentence," Isaac asked as he gave Magnolia a confused look. What was there to know? Was she talking about him? A hundred possibilities swirled around in his head about what her friends might have known or not known or what Magnolia might have made up about the two of them, and if she didn't say something, he would assume the worst. They didn't call her the gossip Queen for nothing, right? He shifted his weight from one side to the other, waiting but impatient.

Talking about the movie made him realize it was nearly starting; Isaac's brown eyes read the clock on the wall behind her and knew he'd need to get inside soon. And he had to stop eating the popcorn in his hand if he wanted any of it during the actual show. "You are so full of yourself," Isaac told her as he shook his head. She was always saying things like this, pretending like she intimidated him or like he was chasing her, and mostly he thought it was not very pleasant, but it was also kind of cute.

"All I did was invite you to a movie that does not suck, and you turn it into this big thing," He shook his head, pretending to be disappointed, and then shrugged. "Whatever, it is your choice; see you later, Hawkins," The wizard said, turning to move away and speaking the last bit over his shoulder. Isaac headed to his movie, but he couldn't help but wish she had taken him up on the offer. The film was halfway over, and he was pretty disenchanted by it, but he thought it would have been more fun if Magnolia was sitting next to him.

Partway through the show, Isaac ran out of popcorn; he shouldn't have eaten so much of it before the start, which frustrated him. The teenager got out of his seat, kicked a couple of feet on his way to the aisle, and headed back to the concession stand. The Leprechaun sequel story all that invested, so he doubted he would miss much. Leaving the dark cinema, the teenager squinted when he got out to the corridor, and when he saw her again, he smiled.

"Your chick flick sucked, right?"

“Nevermind,” she said instead, not wanting to give him the ammunition to stomp into the theater and tell Mavis just what had been going on between the two of them. It was nothing in the sense that she had sort of been spending a lot of her free time with him by telling her friends she had other things to attend to. As in the sort of nothing that would probably get her banned from the squad for life or at least make Mavis mistrust her or judge her for spending her free time crushing on someone like Isaac. It felt so typical for her and it was the reason it made her so upset.

“I’m not!” she insisted, a little offended that he would call her full of herself but also almost immediately losing the confidence with which she had said it. This was a thing with him where he never replied the way that she wanted him to but rather in a way that completely defied the pattern she had subscribed him to in her head. Magnolia wished she could read into his mind to better understand exactly how he planned to play this game or if it was a game at all. Thinking that she was making the whole thing up in her head felt increasingly possible and very frightening at the same time. Had she really grown that desperate so quickly?

And just as her mind spiraled a little, here he was weirdly agreeing to what she had just thought up in her head. Strange. She didn't want him to leave when he did but if she kept him she needed a good reason to. Unfortunately, she had none.

Once she made it back to Mavis and the movie,however, she could not really focus, her mind too preoccupied by Isaac, his offer, his earlier comments and what it was all supposed to mean. If anyone thought women were confusing, they obviously hadn't met this bloke. Deciding she'd go to the bathroom then for some more snacks, she left asking Mavis to update her upon her return. When she heard his voice as soon as she walked out of the theater it almost felt as if she had thought him into existence. It was a little romantic. Oh no.

"Not trying to be weird but it feels like you're stalking me," she teased, trying to keep the topic off of her for as long as possible. "The movie is fantastic, I thought that leprechaun movie was supposed to be great and yet you're out here, feeling a little lonely?"

Scoffing, Isaac didn't bother to keep the frown from moving over his face. Of course, she would jump to some insane conclusion about him being out here because of her. Magnolia had an absurd amount of confidence, and even though it was ridiculously annoying, it was also refreshing. She wore it like armor, and Isaac respected that. "You caught me," He said flatly, clearly being sarcastic but wondering if she would take that the wrong way too. After a second thought, he realized she probably would and corrected himself.

"I ran out of popcorn," Isaac informed her with a shrug, it wasn't a big deal, but in reality, he was also pretty fucking bored of his movie. The first Leprechaun was a train wreck, and the sequel made train wrecks look good. "Why are you out here?" He asked; the idea of her ditching her friend to come to find him in a dark theatre popped in his mind, and he smiled at it. Isaac knew that probably wasn't the case, but it didn't stop him from imagining it for a moment. Being around Magnolia outside of Hogwarts was allowing him to see her in a different light.

“I knew it, I’ve got a sixth sense about these things,” she said in reply, the smug expression on her face only one meant as a joke for she didn’t actually think he was stalking her (she hoped not) but instead figured that he might have thought the movie was just as bad as she had thought it would be when she saw the poster for it in the lobby. But she didn’t care about that movie, all that really mattered was the fact that once again the two of them sort of ended up in the same place at the same time and that fantasy-obsessed world of hers sort of chalked it up to fate. Whether it was a bad one or a good one was yet to be determined.

“And I’ve run out of candy,” she defended herself, pointing at the concessions stand before smiling, “And you’re going to buy me some, right?” she didn’t expect him to do but Isaac had a thing about always doing what she didn’t expect so she figured it was the right time to try her luck. Magnolia still needed to find the muggle money she was confident she had taken with her to the movies but had also assumed that it had fallen into the abyss of her purse or had slipped out of the almost nonexistent pockets of her dress. “Anyway, figured you might need the company since you’re “apparently” alone,” she added with a grin, air quotations and everything.