[mp] long live all the magic we made [ben]

"No way, you cheated!" Wini exclaimed as she playfully pushed her shoulder into Ben's, shielding her cards from his view as they sat round a circle with friends. While not a new thing to many of the students who had been here during the dome and other disasters Wini tried not to think about, the sleepover in the Great Hall for tonight at least felt fun and new and only a little melancholic. She wasn't sure if she was good with change as a general concept, but she knew by the amount of tears she had shed just this week alone that she wasn't handling it well. But like in all things, Wini was looking on the bright side. She had only cried twice tonight, mostly happy tears.

And right now, she was way too distracted by Ben's attempts to cheat at their game of exploding snap they had going. Wini couldn't remember the last time she had played. It seemed like something second years would do rather than seventh, but someone had brought them and Wini had agreed for ole times sake. It's not like there's was going to be another opportunity to play cards in the Great Hall again when they were all leaving tomorrow for the last and final time.

She tried not to tear up at the thought.

The boy next to her, whose sleeping bag she was currently sitting cross-legged on in her buttery soft Hufflepuff lounge pants and jumper, wasn't helping at all. She couldn't help the niggling thought that the timing seemed all wrong because she was just starting to get to know him more. Why couldn't she just have another year? She wasn't ready.

The cards exploded a second later, making Wini laugh as she tossed her cards back toward the pile so someone could reshuffle them and then turned her gaze on Ben with a smile. "What kind of example are you setting for the younger kids with that kind of behavior?" she teased, poking him in the side with her wand before her browns eyes turned devilish and she wordlessly cast a charm that would send a light zap where her wand poked at him. Charms was her best subject after all.

@Benjamin Danvers

"Me? You think I'd do something as dastardly as cheat? What do you take me for." he managed to protest with the most innocent look her could muster up. He relished the warmth that seeped into his shoulder even as he used his height advantage to glance down, smirking as he did. It wasn't cheating if you used the gifts Merlin gave you, was it? It was the Slytherin way, after all. A zebra couldn't change its spots, stripes. There was a certain level of nostalgic sadness he'd been battling all evening, though, as he spent time with all the people who'd soon be gone for good. The castle would feel bereft without them, actually, and it annoyed him that he'd somehow become sentimental.

Still, he was still very much a boy and wondered how he could get Wini to bend so he could appreciate the full effect of those bloody lounge pants. They looked soft and thin and it was just very distracting. He resorted to the aforementioned cheating in an effort to keep his eyes focused instead of ogling like a creep, not that he'd ever admit to any of it. He barely registered the crackle of cards before shoving them down himself, grinning, as his blue eyes sparkled. "I'm an excellent role model." he protested, laughing, as he recounted his admirable traits even as her wand poked his side. He yelped a little but didn't let such a thing deter him. "My grades are immaculate, I'm excellent on a broom, and a perfectly responsible prefect." he said, ticking the items in his hand as he leaned forward earnestly, ignoring the little zing in his ribs, in favor of making a point.

He also turned the other cheek during rounds sometimes (some people deserved to be cut a semblance of slack) and he had zero tolerance for the unwashed masses. He was probably way too violent during games, and, he was always in a crap mood when he was hungry. Impatient and overachieving, he was well-ware of his faults. He figured his charm sort of made those things blur along the edges, though, mostly. He knew he could be a jerk, after all, but Wini wasn't necessarily asking him to bear his heart out here. (She'd be disappointed by his response, anyway, he figured. He was usually brutally honest in the worst ways though it wasn't his words but the delivery of them that would be lacking). "Besides you like me." he accused, eyes glinting, as he shot a non-verbal tickling charm at her, making sure to pull back a lot of power so as not to send her in too much of an obvious fit.

A gentle caress as opposed to a full on attack.

Ben's innocent 'Me?' was quickly rebutted with a "yes, you!" from Wini as her smile widened at the look he was giving her. She didn't believe him for a second and yet maybe she didn't quite mind that much when he was sitting so close, their arms brushing against each other like that. She was very aware of how little time she had left so moments like this, here at Hogwarts, with him specifically, felt all the more special and important.

But she couldn't also help think that is was unfair how pretty his eyes were when they sparkled like that. And then she got distracted, losing track of her zinging charm, as she thought that his smile was just for her. Wini couldn't really argue with his list of excellent traits and actually, she had quite a few to add herself: always willing to help someone (or at least her), looked really good in his uniform with his broad shoulders, was quick to share his chocolate with her... The list went on, but she wasn't sure he'd want to know how cute she thought his butt was. Not that she would ever be able to utter those words aloud.

His next comment did a good job of distracted her though. Besides you like me. She felt her cheeks get hot and she tossed a card at his chest. "Do not!" she said in protest, a bold but playful lie that she was able to say just before she felt the tickling charm. Her brown eyes widened as it hit her, a burst of laughter bubbling up as she fell over, leaning against his leg with uncontrollable laughter.

"Ok, ok, fine, I admit it!" she said between her laughs. She sat back up and gave him a wide grin, pausing for effect. "You're just alright," she teased, her lips curling up.

"Thats just hurtful." he quipped, blue eyes dancing, as he shot her a lopsided grin in response to her smile widening just a bit further. He much preferred her smiling over her leaking sadness everywhere. Best to make sure he didn't accidentally bring up the whole Potions thing, else she was bound to get mopey. Anti sad Wini had been his number one priority for the last few months and he wasn't sure what he was supposed to be doing with himself once he didn't have that to worry about anymore... or, actually, he'd just loose his damn mind thinking about it when he couldn't actually do anything about it.

Merlin he was going to live in a state of high anxiety, wasn't he? He'd have to figure something out, he was sure, because contemplating wether Wini was off blubbering somewhere and wallowing in graduation sadness when he couldn't ply her with chocolate was... not an acceptable state of being, actually.

He was distracted by that train of thought a moment later, however, as her cheeks started to get all rosy. Pretty, he thought, a little distracted himself, even as her words registered. "Oi!" he protested, even as the sound of her laughter registered. Also, well, quite pretty. He really shouldn't have been so damn distracted by the bloody sound but, well, he couldn't really help it. "Just alright?" he asked quietly, eyes roving over her features, as a grin broke out, dimples prominent as he leaned over, a challenge on his face. In the back of his mind he made a note, because he was very close to her and they were very much not alone.

Not that he ... wanted ... well ... maybe he sort of did.

She laughed again at his protest. Playful Ben was always fun and she liked the way his dimples flashed when he smiled at her like that.

Just alright? Ben had asked, but he had leaned in and Wini's eyes widened, her smile getting bigger. With the way he was looking at her and how close he was and she could smell the soap or maybe cologne on his skin and it was safe to say, she quickly lost track of the plot. She wasn't sure when it had gone from the cute boy who gave her chocolate when she cried to something that felt like.. more, but he was certainly on her mind more and more these days. The giddiness of being around him closely followed by the wondering and the doubting when she wasn't. But maybe...

Oh wait, he was still waiting for an answer. "What?" she asked, forgetting what the question had been.

Are we playing another round or what? Belinda asked from across the circle and started shuffling the deck. Wini blushed as she pulled back a little, dropping her gaze and hoping he couldn't hear her heart beating this loud, but she didn't move away.

Then as they played the next hand, she felt her stomach flutter as she casually tried to lean into him and take a page from his book by trying to take a peek at his hand of cards.

Reel it in Danvers, for merlins' sake.

He swallowed slowly, allowing himself the satisfaction of her nearness and the way it made his brain fuzz before focusing. It was frustratingly easy to get carried away but they were in public, he reminded himself strongly. He'd never even kissed a girl in public before (real kissing, anyway, because light pecks and hand holding didn't count) and he wasn't really sure what his brain was doing because it was failing him. Merlin and Morgana when had his brain even made the bloody jump to kissing, anyway? (Obviously because its what he did when he got quite that close to a witch. All he could look at was her blond hair and the way her mouth was moving which instantly made him aware of the last time he'd started getting this distracted. His mind flashed to Orli and his insides instantly cooled)

Fuck. He wasn't going to compare because comparing meant there was ... a comparison to make in the first place. Parallels and he just was not ready to unpack all those thoughts right now, bloody hell. Best to keep his hands and his lips to himself till his brain could manage to parse through everything. Which, it seemed to be exceedingly hard, when the object of your distraction was cozying up and being a general temptation. He had asked her a question, though. "I wondered if you really thought I was just alright." he murmured, bright blue eyes fixated on her face before someones voice broke his focus. He glanced back up at Belinda, blinking, as a smirk settled against his lips. He took a glance around, and shrugged a little, before turning his attention back towards Wini. He was toe'ing the line of rudeness, he knew, but everyone knew what to expect from him for the most part. Benjamin Danvers was selective over who he bestowed kindness to and people he didn't know well tended to get the brunt of that in group settings.

The sight of her flush made him want to reach with his fingertips but he resisted, determined to sort his thoughts before he let impulse take control. He couldn't help but grin when he felt her lean into him, though, and a bubble of laughter left him once he figured out what she was doing. "You're bad at that you know." he whispered. "The whole point of cheating is to not get caught and you're at a bit of a height disadvantage here." he pointed out, amused by her antics.

Luckily (or really unluckily) for her, he had kindly repeated his question. And Wini, while she had a million answers flicker through her mind. The coy 'maybeeee' with last syllable drawn out. The reciprocity clause of 'Well, depends on what you really think of me'. Merlin forbid the truth of 'No, of course not. You're more handsome than Rupert Hartwood'. And that one hurt a little because A) it was the truth and B) Poor Rupert. But all of those response options were lost as Belinda called to order another game and gave Wini a knowing look. She looked away from her friend, her cheeks hot, and murmured a "Oh stop it," to Ben.

She very much hoped he wouldn't listen to her though because she didn't want him to stop it and she wasn't going to move away either. So when she started to feel the shake of his laughter, leaning in to him the way she was, she glanced up to meet his gaze, his whispered breath close to her ear and sending flutters through her. "Yeah, yeah," she whispered right back "Height disadvantage isn't anything new," she muttered. Of course, all the boys in her life had to be freakishly tall. Marin, Lip, William, Harlan, and now Ben.

"Besides, you already cheated so isn't it my turn?" she asked, giving him a smile and letting herself lean into him more because it was fun and easy and felt good and she wasn't quite sure when that had happened with Ben, but on tonight of all nights, she wasn't going to question it.