Magical Hogwarts

"Very tough," Senna replied, her tone light and playful. "Don't know how you survive it," she added, her honey eyes glittering with amusement, but also a touch of understanding. She wasn't making fun of him, really, but she also knew everyone had their own trials and troubles. His and others like him were just a little more public.

She nodded once at the sound of her name. She liked the way he said it, a little rough but flowing, like the wind. She wondered if she could remember seeing him specifically flying on the pitch at the last game she had attended. The players had all melded together for her, just blurs of burgundy and black on the pitch, but now she was curious to see him flying. To see him in his element.

Senna's shoulders lifted in the slightest hint of a laugh as she surprised him with her request, but she was patient, nodding earnestly at his question and tilting her head slightly. Her brows lifted in delight and she bit her lip, watching as he pulled barstools closer, her midnight and silver dress swishing against her pale legs as she sat before pulling his palm closer to her, his big hand cupped in both of hers, still slightly chilled from the cocktail she had been holding.

"You want me to tell the world about your deep, dark secrets?" Senna asked as she ran her fingers lightly over his palm, coaxing his fingers flatter so she could see the lines better. She traced the head line with one finger, a featherlight touch as she hummed a noise. "Head line," she explained as she studied the shape. "Yours is long so it means you're smart, but see how it curves? Maybe you overthink too much. But see how it's separate from the life line? It means you're independent."

Senna glanced up at him briefly to see his reaction so far, but couldn't resist adding a few more details. "Uh oh," she commented as she noticed something else. "See this here? Where the three lines cross on the head line? It means you might suffer a head injury. Might want to be careful on the pitch, captain. How am I doing so far?" she asked with a grin as she traced another line before reaching up to tuck a piece of silver hair behind her ear.

"Want me to tell you how many children you'll have.. or how many marriages?" she asked, grinning impishly as she met his golden gaze.

"No," Harlan answered succinctly, his gaze flicking up from his hand back to Senna, holding her eye. "Just me," He was fairly certain the room hadn't noticed them?óÔé¼ÔÇØ there were bigger names than his on the private birthday party guest list, actual quidditch legends?óÔé¼ÔÇØ?á so the rest of the world was the least of his concerns. Despite the initial disbelief, there was a curiosity that she had sparked in him. And he was still trying to figure out what that meant.

As he settled into the chair he kept his eyes focused on her. On the one hand, he figured he was looking for any signs of bullshit, any indication that she was taking the piss, but on the other, he was genuinely intrigued. The truth was evident despite himself, and not that he would ever admit.

Harlan's gaze narrowed as she ran a finger lightly over the curvature of the inside of his palm, a shiver up his spine in return. He fought his eyes fluttering closed and instead focused intently on her question. His fucking lifeline. "Right," It didn't take a genius to ascertain his skepticism. It wasn't unlike astrology, he figured, people were desperate to find themselves in anything concrete. "Oh?" At her pause, a grin splayed over his features.

"Spot on..." He clicked his tongue, looking more closely to where she had traced his skin. If he were being honest, there were some truths to what she had said, but he was quick to remind himself that he was probably just lulled by the physical touch. "You can get all of that from the bloody lines on my hand?" He flexed it over her palms, clearly not convinced. "I don't buy it," He shook his head with a smirk.

Suddenly, he found himself after something stronger to drink. He nodded to the bartender for a beer after checking that Senna had a full one of her own. "Do I get to read yours, then?" He teased.

?óÔé¼?ôAlright,?óÔé¼?Ø she agreed easily, unperturbed by his clipped answer. ?óÔé¼?ôJust you then,?óÔé¼?Ø she reassured him. She imagined he had his share of secrets, but so did everyone else, and she wasn?óÔé¼Ôäót here to out him for whatever darkness he was hiding. She just wanted to get a peek at it for herself. She was intrigued by people in that way.

Senna felt his gaze on her as she held his hands in hers and while it didn?óÔé¼Ôäót make her nervous or self-conscious, she did find herself shifting on the barstool. Uncrossing her legs and then crossing them the other way. But she could hear the skepticism in his tone and she wasn?óÔé¼Ôäót a stranger to it. ?óÔé¼?ôSo I?óÔé¼Ôäóm ?óÔé¼?£spot on?óÔé¼Ôäó but you don?óÔé¼Ôäót believe any of it??óÔé¼?Ø she asked?á as she gave him an indulgent smile. Had she just been lucky with her guesses or did he not believe her because she wasn?óÔé¼Ôäót wearing a seer?óÔé¼Ôäós bedazzled robe and sitting in front of a crystal ball? Thinking of it though.. she would look badass in a seer?óÔé¼Ôäós robe. She?óÔé¼Ôäód have to get one.

Senna patted his hand as she met his gaze before she gave him back his hand and reached for her cocktail. ?óÔé¼?ôYou know if I looked again at the center line, it?óÔé¼Ôäód probably say you?óÔé¼Ôäóre skeptical. Just saying,?óÔé¼?Ø she told him, giving him a little smile before she took another sip, the ice clinking against the glass like chimes in the wind.

His question surprised her even though she knew she shouldn?óÔé¼Ôäót have been. Goldens always had that effect on her but she nodded and extended her right hand toward him, palm up. ?óÔé¼?ôGo on then, do your worst.?óÔé¼?Ø

"Not even for a second," Harlan countered, his eyebrow raised as his mouth pulled up into a smile. Senna's classification had given something of a pause despite himself. Though she could have said the same to anyone and they might have found their own truth in it, as he had, forget the fact that he was well known to be hard-headed and a former Ravenclaw. It was much easier, anyway, to chalk it up good research and a bit of vague luck.

As if to further prove his point, the witch mentioned the trait he'd just displayed?óÔé¼ÔÇØ skeptical. What an astute observation, he figured "Oh, you think..?." He shook his head with a grin before bringing the fresh bottle of beer to his lips and pulling it back. He had been avoiding drinking over the last month but something in the air made him feel a bit lighter than usual. Like he was finally in a place for it.

He'd set his drink back down by the time that Senna had agreed, and at once Harlan was thankful he ordered it. "You sure about that?" He pretended to warn her as he straightened up, taking her hand and turning it over against his own to study it. Her skin was clear and soft, almost translucent under the light. "Alright, hmm," He took another sip for good measure, wiping his hand on the leg of his slacks before running it over her palm.

"You see this one?" Harlan lingered carefully over the most prominent crease that cut diagonally from below her pinky to the bottom of her index finger, using his thumb to run over it. What had she called that?óÔé¼ÔÇ£ a fucking lifeline? "It says..." He took a closer look for good measure. "Well it says you're full of shit," He teased, the grin pulling up at either corner of his mouth.

"Someone like me?" Harlan repeated, doing his best to be offended despite the grin on his face as he traced the lines of her palm in what had been a quiet concentration before his disruption. He would have dramatically placed his hand to his chest if he wasn't so preoccupied with her own in both his. The grey of his eyes flicked up to Senna briefly, darker than usual in the lighting, as he shook his head. She didn't know him at all, but could he blame her either way?

As his faux-reading carried on, Harlan weighed his options; he could either really try and trick her or just go with his instinct and catch her off guard. Eventually, the latter won out and her reaction was satisfying enough to know that he'd chosen correctly. The slap on his has hand was missed in the flurry of laughter and for a moment even he surprised himself with the lightness of it all.

It was one of the first times in the weeks leading up that he allowed himself that luxury.

"You actually believed that?" Harlan was amazed. For someone so well versed in the world of other worlds, had she really not seen that coming? "It did say it, just there," He tapped her hand, then paused at the change of topic. His eyes slid over to where she'd indicated?óÔé¼ÔÇØ the birthday cake. "I'm alright, thanks," He nodded with as much appreciation as he could possibly muster. Sweets had never done much for him. Most of them, anyway.

"I'm open-minded," she told him, giving him a bemused look before narrowing her gaze playfully. "Unlike somebody." She liked that he hadn't had any hesitation about it though, he was funny. Big, bad quidditch player who hadn't wanted to talk to her was funny. Senna glanced down as he tapped her hand and just shook her head at him, smiling widely. She flicked his hand lightly and slid off the bar stool. "And for that, I'm eating your cupcake," she said before she flitted away. She was going to have two cupcakes anyway whether he had wanted his or not, let's be real. Sen had always had her priorities straight: dessert first, then dinner.

But she was back at his shoulder a few moments later, nudging him. "Grab those and follow me? I want to show you something," she told him with a nod toward a couple of beers, a cupcake on two small white china plates balanced in each hand. She stopped in the doorway, partygoers circling around them, as she glanced back at him, brows perked, waiting with a smile. Senna nodded a bit before her smile grew as he followed her.

They winded through people, down hallways and through other rooms. Senna knew this place like the back of her hand, having spent so much time with Rheya here in her family home and while Mr. H had a room full of trophies and memorabilia that she knew the Captain might like, she wondered if it was a bit too on the nose for him. She instead she was headed here: the indoor pool. It was quiet and pleasantly vacant, the water sending ripples of light against the windows all around. In the daytime, it showed the Hawkinses perfectly manicured backyard, but right now it was just darkness and shadows. That was fine though because what Senna really wanted to show him was above them.

She sat down on one of the luxe lounge chairs by the pool's edge, crossing her feet at her ankles as she set one plate on her thighs and held the other in her hand as she started to unwrap the little paper around it. "C'mon Captain, look," she said as she nodded upwards. Above them was a living, breathing painting of stars and constellations swirling slowly through a night sky in deep blues and indigos and dark purples and it was beautiful. But of course, in Hawkins' fashion, there were quidditch players shooting across the sky like comets, wrangling stars like quaffles into their arms and flying with streams of stardust behind them.

"Nice, isn't it?" she asked as she took a piece of the cupcake and ate it and glanced over at him. "Thought you might like this," she added around a mouthful of sugary goodness. He didn't seem like the party type much, even if his aura was so golden.

He wasn't entirely sure why, but he followed without question, a beer in each hand, as Senna weaved through the crowd. His eyes narrowed when she glanced over her shoulder with a grin that he tried (and failed) to not mirror. The party was small enough, but there were enough people to create a bit of a sea as they made their way out of the sitting area where they had met at the bar.

The ease in which she ducked through the crowd, paving the way, was almost enviable. Harlan himself merely apologized, trudging after her like some kind of human giant who was sorry for his own presence that followed hers. "Alright, alright," He called over the hum of busy conversation. From what he knew of Senna, whatever she wanted to show him was bound to be interesting, at least.

"Hawkins will love this," Harlan commented as they moved through the halls with a purpose. He knew the man well enough to know that he was particular (not unlike Harlan). He was almost certain that Senna was taking him to that one balcony overlooking the grounds when she turned the corner toward an unfamiliar path. The corridor opened to a hall where a pool met them.

"Fuck," He breathed, not having noticed that she had already sat down. For a few moments, he was transfixed. The water was illuminated, dancing over the walls and leading to the ceiling he belated acknowledged her pointing out. It was a work of art.

"I've never seen this?óÔé¼ÔÇØ" Harlan handed over her drink, eyeing the plates of cupcakes but not taking a seat. It wasn't that he expected to have seen it, but he was still taken aback. "What, you aren't going to swim?" He half expected her to have jumped right on in given her previous impulsiveness. He crouched at the edge of the pool to test the temperature?óÔé¼ÔÇØ a comfortable warmth not too cool or hot?óÔé¼ÔÇØ his fingers lingering at the surface as he glanced back to Senna.

"He won't mind a bit, Mr. H loves me," Senna had said to him, throwing a smile over her shoulder as he trudged down the hallway. For someone who hadn't believed a word she said about palm reading, she was pleasantly surprised when he had followed so easily. She liked that. And she especially appreciated his reaction. She knew he would like it and told him as much. "See? I already have you figured out," Senna added as she snacked on her cupcake and smiled over at him. So the palm reading had been hit and miss, but his reaction here was obvious.

Her gaze trailed over him, studying his expression as he took in the ceiling made art for the first time. It reminded her of the first time she had seen it, and that had been the same night she had begged Rhey to stay over at her parent's house and have a little slumber party right here, floating air mattress and all, charmed so neither one of them rolled off and into the water by accident, but it had been magical. She imagined it was the equivalent to a muggle water bed. Merlin, she needed to get one of those. Still, she thought it sweet the way he was gazing at the ceiling and the stars smiled back at him as the ripples of light from the water danced across his broad frame.

"So you're saying you don't often drop by for pool parties with Mr. H?" she asked with an impish grin as she finished off one of her cupcakes. It was so good she could hardly wait to eat the second. She was already unwrapping the paper off the second when she glanced up at his question, her brows raised. "You want to swim?" She glanced down at her dress, thinking first that she didn't have a bathing suit. Then again, what was a little water when she could dry herself off in seconds with a drying charm. She placed the second cupcake on the lounge as she swung her legs over and stood, light on her feet, as she neared the edge of the pool.

Senna stepped out of her shoes, placing a hand on his shoulder for balance as he crouched near the edge, and dipped her toe into the water as it lapped gently at the side. "Ooh, forgot how warm it is," she murmured as the water felt warm and inviting, not a shock at all to her system. She slid down so she was sitting next to him and slipped both feet into the water, the hem of her midnight blue dress just touching the surface. She slowly kicked her feet out, feeling the water move beneath her as she leaned back on her hands and tilted her head back to look up at the starry ceiling again. She had always liked this room at the Hawkinses the best.

"Can I ask you a question?" she started, tilting her head slightly towards the Captain, waiting for his answer before she asked the question on her mind. Senna had always liked getting to know others, what they think, what they love, what their passions are. There were times at parties where she started chatting up the staff or the doorman rather than the band execs they were supposed to be impressing because she found outliers like her fascinating. The captain was hardly an outlier, but she was still curious. "Do you like being a quidditch player?"

"Hmm, the owl must've gotten lost..." Harlan flicked the excess water from his fingers as he looked sideways to where Senna was polishing off a cupcake and looking down at him, the hum of his thought deep in his throat. She must have had a close enough relationship with the family to speak about them so candidly, but he couldn't quite place her. A friend of one of the kids, no doubt, and not the one that he knew. Senna jumped up from her chair and he immediately regretted the question of a swim.

He watched as she kicked aside her shoes, the blues of his eyes electric and dancing under the fluorescents, turned up toward her. Vaguely, he was aware of the hand on his shoulder. In hindsight, he figured he should have known better than to tempt her, even in jest. To think he didn't even know her at all.

"You think?" Harlan's face gave away his skepticism, giving the water another touch with the tips of his fingers for good measure. His idea of warm as far as water was concerned was practically boiling, so the answer was a no. Senna dipped her legs in and he sat down in return?óÔé¼ÔÇØ one leg outstretched away from them and the other crooked at the knee so that he could rest his elbow easily atop to face her.

Taking a sip from his beer, he couldn't help but smile around the lip as her question met his ears. "I imagine you might ask either way..." He teased, nodding for her to continue. Did he like being a quidditch player? It wasn't a new question, but he was much better equipped to answer it when it came from a preteen fan after a match. And she meant it differently, too, he could feel it.

Harlan hummed a thought from somewhere in his chest and took another drink. "I do," He answered honestly. A lot of the time he figured he might have been better suited as some kind of scholar, but his physical nature preceded him. "Why do you ask that?" Harlan wondered, aware he couldn't return the question given he knew nothing about what it was that she did. Besides, he knew better than to give away too much up front.

Senna watched him openly, not afraid or bashful about her curiosity about him, but she did wonder if it was something he would notice being in the public eye so much or if it would make him uncomfortable. She didn't want that, but she couldn't quite help it. He had such an ease about him, a quiet, silent power pulsing around him. It really was magnetic. She knew he didn't believe her about the palm reading, but she wondered if he would be a skeptic about his how nice his aura was too.

She had smiled at his teasing before she had continued on with her question, turning a little to look at him as she kept moving her legs through the water. Her gaze drifted to his bottle and she had the sudden urge to slip it from his fingers and take a sip too like she did with Rhey or Jonesy or any of her other close friends, but she had learned the hard way that strangers didn't quite like that. She smiled a little at the thought as he answered and she felt the tremor of honesty in his tone.

Was it what she had expected? She wasn't sure. Senna hadn't expected him to say one way or the other, but it was nice to know that he liked what he did. She knew from what Rhey said about the Griffins that he must be good at it, considering they had won the championship, not that she really followed the sport though. She knew a lot of people who hated what they did and had no passion for it. She couldn't imagine living like that. She shrugged at his question and gave him a light smile. "I'm curious," she answered simply before she turned back to the water, tilting her head after a moment. "It always amazes me that people can spend so much of their time doing something they hate or that makes them so unhappy. That's why I chose music. I know at least if I'm doing something I like, it won't all be a waste even if we don't make it, you know?"

She shrugged again, quiet for a moment, before his earlier idea struck her and she went with it because the water felt so warm and inviting and maybe because she very much liked the idea of swimming in her fancy dress for a reason she couldn't quite explain. "I wanna swim," she told him just before she pushed herself up on the edge of the pool's ledge and let herself slide into the water. Her dress floated up as she sunk down further, moving her arm's through the water as she sucked in a breath at the temperature change, it was pleasant but still different. The ends of her hair dipped into the water as her toes touched the smooth surface of the bottom and she turned back to face him. "Well?" she asked expectantly, waiting for him with a small smile, perking her brows.

Harlan's eyes were fixed on the water, the way that it ripped under the gentle kicks of her legs. There was a subtle undercurrent there that only just breached the surface. When she spoke about how she couldn't imagine people doing something that hated a smile broke out over his features. "People do things that make them unhappy all the time..." He glanced over at Senna thoughtfully. It was a deeply nuanced thing, why people did the things they did.

More than anything, as he got older the more he realized the privilege that came with being able to do something he loved, professionally.

Senna said she wanted to swim and in the blink of an eye was already in the pool, not bothering to think twice. Harlan let out a chuckle as he leaned away from the waves that lapped against the side of the pool. He watched her as he took a drink from the bottle of beer he'd set on the concrete beside him only moments before. For whatever reason, he hadn't expected her to take him seriously. Even if that seemed exactly like something she might do.

"Well?" His brow quirked, mirroring her own as she waiting in front of him. The fluorescents of the pool danced over her features and made her look more whimsical than on land if that were possible. There was an intoxicating weightlessness that she carried, though he was desperately trying to avoid it rubbing off on him for some reason.

"Oh, I have no intention of getting in there," Harlan declared with a shake of his head, not budging from their little game of chicken.

"That's what I mean," she said agreeing, stressing the last word to make her point. "How do people live like that? Isn't life messy enough without adding the misery of hating what you do for work?" She wanted to shrug, but she didn't. Senna simply rested her chin on her shoulder. She could've worked at her parent's herbology shop for the rest of her life, filling orders, bagging up herbs, pruning things? Merlin, she wanted to die of boredom from just thinking about it and yet she knew that the tedium would quickly turn into soul-sucking.
She didn't ever want to think about music being such a drain on her like that, but she couldn't help fear the idea as well as it lingered in the corners of her mind. So many people got burnt out in this industry from the drugs and the women and the press and the utter bullshit that went along with 'fame' and while she wasn't the frontman and they weren't that successful yet, it wasn't something she knew how to avoid altogether. She wasn't sure how to put it into words either, especially to a stranger who seemed to have it all together or at least wanted to appear that way, so she simply gave the captain a serene look and a quiet smile with a small shrug of one shoulder.

But in the water it was different. She felt lighter for obvious reasons, but the physical movement of her limbs in the weightlessness also helped. As if she could float above everything. As if she could escape the fear and the doubt for even just a few moments while in the water. It was a temporary reprieve and she knew that and the captain was a nice enough distraction, amusing at the very least. She gave him a bemused smile as she shook her head. She should've known better. This was the second time she had taken him at his word, but she didn't hold that against him. It wasn't in her nature.

She simply turned in the water so she could float on her back, her eyes on the magical ceiling, the shooting stars mesmerizing as she tried to steady herself in the water to keep her face and chest on the surface. It wasn't as easy as she thought so it was a few moments before she mentioned to him, "I wonder if you ever let yourself go," her voice echoing softly around the pleasingly acoustic room. She thought of recording a song in here, it might sound very nice. "Or if you keep yourself so locked down all the time." It was an odd thing to say to stranger, she knew that, but she wasn't as afraid as she used to be of rebuke. And besides, when was she ever going to see the captain again. The words 'why not' floated around her as she stared up at the starry sky painted above her.

Harlan followed her gaze to the ceiling. The artwork moved subtly at first, then less so, a new detail catching him in every place he sought. After a moment of studying in quiet appreciation, his eyes flicked back down to Senna, floating, fingertips light on the surface of the water that had settled?óÔé¼ÔÇØjust. There was a comfortable silence between them that he hadn't expected. A far cry from her reading the palm and offering her drink to an otherwise perfect stranger.

As if she could read his mind?óÔé¼ÔÇØ fucking ironic, he thought?óÔé¼ÔÇØ she spoke a question that called out his contemplation. Did he ever let himself go? What a loaded question that was. Harlan narrowed his thoughts on her, a faint, thoughtful smile on his face. Too often, he thought. And as of late it had been getting him into more than his share of trouble.

"You don't think I'm capable?" Harlan ventured smugly, getting to his feet. If there was one thing that motivated him it was doubt.

Harlan nudged the shoes he'd kicked off away from the pool as he adjusted his sleeves tightly pressed at his forearms. "Surprised you didn't read that on my palm..." He couldn't help himself, his smile as evidence of the fact. He wasted no additional time in talking and instead dove in. The water was warmer than he anticipated, but refreshing all the same. As he breached the surface he pushed his hair back, glancing over at Senna as if to challenge her.

His voice, quiet and strong, echoed around the pool room. The acoustics were good here. She liked the sound of it, of him, his voice, sure and smooth with a hint of challenge and mystery and something else altogether that she couldn't name and maybe didn't want to. She liked not knowing. She let her legs sink as she turned to look back at him, treading water gently, her arms out to her sides as she shook her head, her dress swirling around her, pale legs and all. "I didn't say that," she told him quietly, curious as he got to his feet.

It had just been a question. Maybe rhetorical, maybe not. It was all how he responded. And she blinked up at him as he did. Her brows lifted in surprise and delight as he toed off his shoes and she dared to hope even though a little voice warned her he was a bit of a trickster. Not malignant necessarily, but still. Her honey colored eyes caught on his strong, muscled forearms as he adjusted his sleeves and then she barely had time to look away as he dove in graceful and fierce.

Senna let out a delighted laugh as he hit the water, spraying her and she wiped the water from her eyes as she turned to face him as he surfaced. "Full of surprises, I see," she said with a wide smile that showed off her dimples too. She swam a little closer to him, blinking droplets of water off her lashes, as she moved through the water like a nymph. "Did you do it because you wanted to though or just because I thought you weren't going to?" she asked playfully with an impish smile, the delight and surprise making her feel more open.

"So I've been told," Harlan replied earnestly with a twinkle of a smile in his eyes as he pushed the water from his forehead and his hair back with both palms. His upper body was securely above the surface, his legs moving with precision under the surface in strong, solid strokes. He was better in the air (he figured) but had always enjoyed being in the water?óÔé¼ÔÇØ more when he wasn't fully clothed.

Senna swam closer but Harlan didn't immediately put the distance back between them. For an otherwise perfect stranger, she was surprisingly easy to feel comfortable around. And in general, that didn't come easy to the man. Maybe the water had shocked his system, he thought darkly.

Though, it was easy to imagine that they existed on a different plane there in the middle of the pool under the dazzling moving ceiling.

"Because you thought I wouldn't," Harlan stated plainly. He was a lot of things but a liar was not one of them. In fact, for the most part, he didn't even bother to sugarcoat his delivery?óÔé¼ÔÇØ that often rubbed people the wrong way. Briefly, he worried that Senna seemed sensitive enough to go down that path, but figured he would cross that bridge if and when they got there.

A grin still painted on his face, he half-shrugged, studying a droplet of water that fell from her long eyelashes down her already wet cheek. "Something about proving people wrong..." He mused thoughtfully. Doubt was his greatest motivator.