Magical Hogwarts

The move of the school had given Danielle so many different thoughts about the location. They went from living like Princes and Princesses to being suddenly overcrowded in a "manor". While it was quite big and exquisite to serve the entire student body, she couldn't help but feel like they were stuffed into an unkempt Bed and Breakfast with all of the locked doors, having to share a dorm with those of the same year and different houses, some rooms being locked, ghosts everywhere and odd professors, or in their case, their host, who just seemed a little....off.

Regardless of it all, Danielle kept close to her fellow Papillionlisse friends- especially Cinda and Lola, her two best friends. Dani had tried to paint her nails around school a couple of terms ago, but someone ALWAYS had to complain about the smell. She'd carefully find a secluded spot, and just as she gets started, someone has to walk by and open their mouth. Now she resorted to do them in her room. If anyone complained in there, she'd tell them to get lost. She was tired of the comments and wanted to enjoy herself without thinking about assignments or professors. She just wanted to relax and talk about girly things with her friends today.

Dani hadn't been able to find Lola, so she and Cinda were by their beds, thankfully side-by-side to each other, and were doing their nails. She had an entire kit laid out with a grand selection of colors and stickers and other tools to decorate her nails.

She sat on the floor leaning against her bed frame as she meticulously filed at her nails to smooth the edges and shape them into an almond-like shape. Her eyes flitted upward to watch as the last girl left the dorm. Now that they were alone, Dani smirked mischievously at her friend. "So, Cinda...." Her words were drawn out and dripping with curiousity as she gathered her thoughts. There'd been a question pressing on her mind for a little while now, but it was never a good time to ask with other students lurking about. She cared for her friends' privacy, too. She certainly didn't want to be the cause of rumors spreading around the school.

"Is Julien still your crush," she bluntly asked. "Or is it someone new now? I haven't heard you talk about boys in awhile. Are you still chasing after them without them knowing?"

@Cinda De Oliveira

Cinda held her hand out in the air in front of her, fingers spread apart, waving slightly like tall seaweed brushed by a gentle current. Or, perhaps she was just imagining the ocean because of the colour she wanted to paint them. She’d filed her fingernails down to a pretty coffin-esque shape, rounded-ish but flatter at the top, and was considering which shade of blue to embellish her with.

The girl curled her fingers into a loose fist, retracting her hand to continue inspecting. There was a pretty, subdued midnight blue-ish colour amongst Dani’s collection that she’d been eyeing earlier. Midnight blue. Lovely, she thought. The implied boundless expanse, the darker twist, visually evocative of night skies, deep, dark oceans, depth… Dani interrupted her drifting thoughts with a question.

“Hmm?” was the sound she made, her green eyes fixed on her fingers. Dani was being her usual lovely blunt self, and Cinda smiled a small mischievous smile, not looking at her. She liked being asked, honestly. Enjoyed other people’s interest in herself, her thoughts. She kept her gaze down, reaching for a dark blue and turning it upside down to check the name. She liked the other colour better, but if this one had a good name…

“Well, Julien remains his gorgeous self,” she started, ever the storyteller. "Truly a worthy Crush Of The Year," she added. Then, a sigh. "But no, I'm not leaving notes for him anymore if that's what you're asking." Chasing after them without them knowing was a bit unfair, she thought. She'd made eye contact with Julien, like, twenty times last year or something hadn't she? She'd intentionally sat near him and his friends in the library a few times — heard him speaking english once and found his accent so endearing, but that was unrelated — but the notes, especially were proof that she acted upon her feelings, from time to time.

She listened carefully to her friend as she blew off some dust from her filing and then carefully applied and massaged on cuticle oil. She smirked hearing the boy's name from Cinda's lips. Why had she stopped pining after him? Cinda worked so hard to gain his attention. Secretly, she hoped her efforts weren't in vain.

"That's a shame," she sympathized with her. The longing sigh from Cinda caused her to purse her lips as she thought in moment.  She knee, naturally, Cinda's attention floated between boys. She truly was crazy about all of them. Danielle didn't know what to say. "It's hard to think you're giving up, just like that," at least, that's how it appeared to her. Danielle was never the loud one to seek approval from others or to chase after boys in hopes of them becoming topics on her best pieces of poetry. "You could get any guy you wanted," a compliment to back up her statement and maybe provide some comfort for where Julien had been lacking.

"You're pretty, smart," she reached for a peonie-pink and gave it s good shake. "You speak your mind and go out of the way to get what you want. I think it's very admirable. Guys like a girl with confidence and control. You're very gifted with your words and can have a guy falling for you just by talking to him."

She'd unscrewed the cap now a d was carefully applying it in thin clean layers starting on her pinky finger. "So who us it now? Do you have a new C.O.W.? A Crush of the Week?"

Pretty, Dani said smart. Cinda glanced at her friend, but she wasn’t looking back. Pretty? Well, she didn’t always love how she looked but she knew she wasn’t hideous. And smart? That one she’d heard a lot when she was younger, but seemed a little more abstract now. Maybe it was because she wasn’t very studious, and was perhaps nearing the end of being able to coast by in most of her subjects because she was well-spoken and had a wide vocabulary.

Dani went on, and Cinda’s smile — at first small and curious — widened. “Dani,” she interjected towards the end, half-complaining and half pleased. “What, are you about to ask me out or something,” she teased, nudging her friend’s leg with one socked toe. Confidence and control, she like that. “Marriage proposal?” she continued. Dani was a very straightforward sort of person, she knew. Not the sort of person to lay on flattery just to get something she wanted. So Cinda was pleased, because Dani-compliments were always genuine.

“Mmmm,” she started, returning her attention to her nails once more. She picked up a buffing block and buffed a little more while she spoke, even though there wasn’t really any point to it. “There is someone,” she admitted coyly, “who has, oh — caught my affections. So to speak.” She was being deliberately dramatic (and a touch obtuse) here, but on the topic of boys… “But Dani, I want to ask you — what’s going on with you and Florian?”

It had come up semi-regularly — like, at least several times per year — but Cinda felt especially compelled to understand Dani’s feelings now, after her conversation with Florian last week. Dani would have to convince her there was 'nothing going on' at least one more time, she thought.

Dani listened quietly while her friend went on in her vague nature and Danielle began painting a single cost onto her nails. Cinda seemed to always love beating around the bush. Why couldn't she just say it outright? She raised an eyebrow waiting. At the mention- well, question- of she and Florian, her head shot up and she stared her friend down for a minute. Did Cinda catch feelings for Florian? Why was she asking her?

She felt her jaw lock as she became slightly defensive on the subject. Did she and Lola have a plan to set them up together? Dani had been asked by Lola already this week about her and Florian. She didn't know what to say, just like she was at a loss of words now. Lola had been vague, but Cinda was a little more to-the-point than her usual nature.  What's going on with her and Florian? Did she even know? No.

They were close friends, sometimes dangerously close physically, and she didn't want to ruin what was between them. They teased and laughed together, fashion and poetry could be discussed, they helped each other often with practice and homework, and any time alone together seemed to be a breath of fresh air. They were comfortable with each other playing a game of cat and mouse. They'd close the space between them, stare intently into each other's eyes, hold hands, rest against the other..... She didn't dare ask him what was going on between them.

"We're just friends," she snapped a little defensively and put her attention back on her nails. What if Cinda was asking because she wanted to date him? Not set Dani and he up. A feeling of dread washed over her at the thought. They weren't dating, though. They were, in fact, just friends. Just two friends who were comfortable being intimate around others, who could laugh at each other's jokes, and could make the most fun out of anything. Nope. Nothing special between them just friends.

A slight blush settled on her cheeks and she could feel it, but she kept her attention directed on her nails so she didn't reveal her reddening cheeks. "Why?" Her tone was a little calmer. If she got too defensive, it'd be appare the manoir on a clear spring day. "Is he your new crush?"

Just friends. Yeah, she’d heard that one before, Cinda thought. And though she didn’t want to do the thing where she just blatantly ignored her friend’s words and second guessed that she was telling the truth (that was bad, apparently — she quietly acknowledged her mental-health-expert dad, here), in this particular instance she (and Lola) had often continued to wonder well after the conversations and denial had finished.

Why?

“Well I suppose, in that case he’s… A contender,” she said. A part of her was baiting her friend out; she wasn’t entirely convinced that Dani’s defensiveness was solely in response to being sick of the constant accusation. Was it a crime to want to know?? Another part of her, however… Well, it felt a bit disloyal to Séverin, (who probably hadn’t thought about her at all since their last encounter) to admit, but she had started wondering some things since her conversation with Florian.

“What do you think?” she asked, holding up a little bottle of nail polish, the colour a deep, night-sky blue. She gave it a little wiggle. Florian had told her that he hadn’t felt that pining, sparking, longing since they’d been together, and of course a confession like that — even sans the added element of him confessing being into her now — made her wonder what it would be like to date him. He was romantic, she thought. Not as mysterious as Séverin, for example, but she didn’t only go for guys who were at least partially unfathomable, did she? With some guilt, she wondered if she was only thinking about all of this because she’d enjoyed seeing his somewhat dejected, self-reflective self. Preferred it, even — at least in a romantic sort of way.

“Could you do mine? I can’t do both hands.”

He was a contender? Oh! She had a word or two to say about that, but she held her peace for now and sucked her tongue to the top of her mouth only tightening her jaw. It'd be best if she told her what she really thought about Florian. It could avoid so much unnecessary drama between them. Yes, they were just friends, but Dani couldn't promise she and Cinda would remain friends if she chased after him.

Then why didn't she tell her? The simplified answer: she was petrified her friends would meddle or things would go terribly, terribly wrong. Dani had always played it safe. She never took chances or put herself out there unless it was about poetry, looks, or music. Never had she been bold about a boy- that was Cinda's specialty. She'd think about telling her. Their friendship was in danger!

Cinda's question pulled her out of her stunned gaze and she focused back on her friend. Her eyes flitted down to the nail polish and Dani offered a kind smile burying her feelings deep. "I think that's a lovely color. It'll look good with your complexion." Maybe with some questions, she could gather her friend's interest in Florian and determine if she should inform her of what she really thought about the young man. 

"Sure," she scooted closer to Cinda taking her hand and the nail polish. She carefully held her fingers in her left hand while her right uncapped the polish, pulled out the brush, and gently rubbed it against the neck of the bottle to get the excess color off before she carefully applied the first layer. "So he's a contender now?" Dani quizzed. "What makes him a contender besides being a boy our age?" A slight, good-hearted tease was thrown in there. "Who else is on your list?" Painting her nails put her in an easy position to interrogate her a little and keep her head down without the attention being on her. She could hide her facial expressions a little more as she was bent over paying careful attention to the nails.

“Thanks. Here,” Cinda said, shifting so one of her knees was bent up. She rested her palm on her bent knee so she could be more stable as her friend painted her nails. She wiggled her fingers slightly in anticipation, then stilled as Dani got close. “Yes, I think so,” she replied airily, sensing and resisting the urge to wave her hands as she spoke. She leaned her head back on the bed lightly, her eyes flicking up to the ceiling. Her eyes followed the line of the old dusty wooden beams. Sigh, so much uglier here than their dorm back at the palace.

“Well you know we dated in the past,” she started hesitantly. Dated as in, for three weeks. In the past as in, in first year. They’d held hands twice (his hand had been sweaty). “We were walking the other day, and it sort of came up?” she’d had Lola break up with him for her, because that was what one did at the childish age of twelve. Now, though, at the mature and fully realised age of fifteen, she would do it herself. “He just said some things that made me consider the concept for the first time in forever, I suppose,” she said. The hand that wasn’t painting came up to rest on her cheek.

Cinda sighed a dramatic sigh. “Okay, okay, and the other one is Séverin,” she confessed. It wasn’t super new, but Lola was the only other one who knew at this point. “Derosiers,” she added, “In seventh year.” Quidditch captain on the Ombrelune team, that was. Telling Dani was different to telling Lola, she thought; Lola was just as bad as Cinda herself when it came to indulging in big, sweeping, romantic fantasies. The two girls could take a single hint, suggestion, idea, and run with it to the ends of the earth in one second flat.

Dani listened carefully to her friend chime about Florian. Yes, she knew they'd "dated". It had been pretty serious and all of the drama in the Papillionlisse house for weeks. Okay, reminiscing and talking of the past was a normal thing. She felt her heart jump a little when it was mentioned that he said some key words or phrases to help Cinda think of the possibility of them again. What had he said? They weren't dating so he didn't ask her to be his girlfriend. Then what was sit? She was genuinely curious, but not necessarily for the gossip from Cinda, but to defend herself almost instinctively.

She had her own history with Florian. She had asked him to the 'girls' choice' dance a couple of terms ago and he agreed. They'd picked a new summer outfit for her when she was going to an art gallery with her parents the next week. She read him poems she dared not share with anyone else. They had the record of the longest running game of Cat and Mouse. It was safe to argue that their history was much more solidified than a three-week long relationship their first term of school and a brisk walk down the corridor.

She glanced up at her friend when she sighed and watched her think dreamily of Florian. Was she serious? One conversation and she was already head over heels?

At the mention of the other name, she relaxed a little and took her other hand to paint it. "Let that coat dry and I can do a second coat and a top coat." She wiggled getting into a comfier position to color the other hand. "Séverin is cute," she admitted. "He's older and mysterious. I don't know much about him," she admitted truthfully. "But I think if anyone can pick his brain, it's you. He seems to fit your type," and by type, she meant he was completely opposite from Cinda. Cinda was loud and boisterous and Séverin was reserved and soft spoken. The prospect reminded her a little of their friendship the girls shared. "He's older, musically talented so he can serenade you, captain for the ombrelume quidditch team... A gentleman in leadership seems to be much more your type. I don't know how to explain it, but your personas seem to match well with each other."

She casted a quick drying spell and then did a clear cost. "What do you think of him? What caught your eye? Have you talked to him yet?" It was becoming increasingly obvious to the blonde that it was easier to talk about dark and mysterious boys than the one she was enamored with. Anything to nurture the seed of Séverin in her mind and distract Cinda from Florian if she could help it.

Cinda swapped hands as (non verbally) instructed. “He has a sort of interesting face, doesn’t he?” she asked, frowning slightly and glancing at Dani to check that she understood what Cinda meant. He was sort of handsome, but not in the traditional way; all angles and lovely asymmetries.

Her gaze went back to Dani’s work on her fingernails, noting that the polish was applied nice and evenly. She was glad she hadn’t tried to do both hands herself; despite being rather good with both hands through pure force of will (she’d read that artists were more often left-handed, so had decided to ‘become left-handed’ in her childhood), she was, in fact, right-handed.

If anyone can pick his brain, it’s you.

Cinda decided to take that as a compliment, smiling a bit at her friend’s words. He did seem to fit her type, honestly. More than Florian, at least. “I feel like I’m getting my palm read,” she said. It felt like a fortunetelling sort of thing — I don't know how to explain it, but your personas seem to match well with each other. Still, Cinda could interpret that as Dani’s approval, so she went ahead and did it. Lola was already fully on team Séverin (they’d sort of picked him together, after all), so it was nice to have her friends’ support.

“We’ve spoken once,” she said, allowing a dreamy sort of smile to tug at her lips. Her voice lowered conspiratorially. “We shared a cigarette,” she added. Cinda leaned back again, more dramatically this time, causing her hand to move a bit. “Oops, sorry,” she said, glancing down sheepishly. Had she messed up one of her nails? “Um. Well Séverin is…” He was what, exactly? Of course she hadn’t known much about him before picking him, and she only knew a little more now.

“He’s deep, I think. Complicated. He definitely has a lot going on beneath the surface.” Plus, the angsty cigarette-smoking anti-authority vibe was just objectively hot, she thought.

She smirked with a raised eyebrow a the comment on Florian's looks. She'd gotten a good look at it regularly and knew just how interesting his face was. His cheekbones and jaw were beginning to fill in taking him from the 'little kid' look to a young man. She gave a subtle nod keeping her focus on her friend's nails. Was that all she had to say about him? Good. That was a relief.

Talking about Severin put her at ease. It was easier to talk about a boy that she didn't have feelings for. Danielle barely looked at the elder Ombrelune. Yeah, he was dark and mysterious, but she had no pull towards him to figure him out. He was too evasive for her. "I cannot read palms, ask Lola. I tried that and failed," she jested wiping at a little bit of excess polish on the side of her nail.

She sighed again and Dani had to do all she could to keep herself from rolling her eyes to the back of her head. This girl was struck with cupid's bow and she wasn't sure there was a remedy for it. "Cinda!" Dani was surprised and looked quickly around the room to see that no one else had heard. Dani had moved her hands just in time when Cinda adjusted herself. Crisis adverted! "You're okay. A cigarette?" She almost spoke it all in one breath. Danielle had never smoked, not like she'd been offered to. Her father smoked some cheap cigarettes in the evenings. The faint scent of cigarette from the Honore brothers was a little nostalgic and reminded her of home. She wasn't upset at her friend, she was more curious about it all.

Boys. Cigarettes. What was next?

"You know, he'd make a good model for photography practice," she chimed in. She couldn't recall Cinda being into photography, but it was definitely worth a shot. "If you really wanted to get him in a space to talk, I bet you two could find a secluded room, one where he could smoke during the day, and then as he poses, you get him talking. Would he do it? I don't know, but you're definitely the one to convince him to." She picked up her wand again and cast the drying spell again leaving her nails flawless.

Dani retrieved a pillow off her bed and tucked it behind her back as she began to pain her own. "When's the next time you're going to talk to him? I think she should go for it. Really get him into a conversation. Notes are cute and they let the guy know you're thinking about him, but like you said, he's complicated. Simple notes and gestures wouldn't do you any good if you're trying to date him. I could ask him if you'd like," She casually offered. Danielle glanced up to see what her friend's reaction was.

“A cigarette,” Cinda confirmed seriously. She’d had, like, one puff at a party (the only “real” party she’d been to) last summer and nearly coughed her lungs out. She and Lola hadn’t even had a single drink; they’d been in bed by nine o’clock. Still, it was the most daring night she’d ever had.

“Do you think?” she mused, “No, I don’t think he’d be interested,” she said. Séverin, as a model? Well, he had the bone structure, that was certain. And his face had a touch of that weirdness that some particularly striking models had. An interesting look.

“I don’t know,” Cinda answered honestly. When would she see Séverin again? Would they ever actually hang out? He talked a lot, didn’t like poetry, was exactly her type of handsome, and didn’t seem put off by her… There was a lot to consider. “It’s a new thing,” she said, waving one of her hands airily. “Needs time to cook,” she added. In reality, she was teetering between besotted and enjoying the distance between her and her crush. Sometimes one simply needed someone to admire from afar, and the afar-ness of it all was a positive rather than a negative.

“You know who would love to have their photo taken?” she said, straightening her legs out in front of her. “Célestin.” She gave her friend a well, duh sort of look; Célestin was the sort of boy who loved being at the center of things. “Or Florian, actually,” she added after a beat.

Dani made a mental note about the cigarette. She didn't judge her friend for it-there was certainly worse things she could do and probably has done. Cinda was a "walking party" she liked to describe her. She was always seeking adventure and fun everywhere she went. It was hard to be around her and not want to be involved in all she did. Everyone was drawn to her and she couldn't blame them for it. Cinda was charismatic, pretty, flirty, talented, and happy to share and talk about herself with anyone who listened. Her personality fit that of Beauxbatons phenomenally. She was just compatible with everyone here.

Celestin and Florian. She couldn't help but laugh at the truth in all of that. Celestin loved being the center of attention. Florian did too and wouldn't hesitate to show off his style for the camera. His necklace would probably out of his shirt instead of tucked in like usual and he'd probably spice up his look just a little more.

Did she dare tell Cinda how she felt? She didn't mind talking about boys. Not talking about Florian made it kind of tricky to jump in conversations about their crushes. So far, she'd manage to have a crush on a student when she was in her first year- but he graduated that same term. When Lola and Cinda would talk about boys, Danielle would shrug, shake her head, and just let the girls talk on and on. Sometimes, she wished she joined in on it too.

With him as a current contender for Cinda though, that made things a little tricky. "About Florian," She took a deep breath as she carefully found her next words. "We are just friends...." Her words trailed on. How was she supposed to say this without being a fool. "I think he's pretty cute, too. I wouldn't say no if he asked me on a date." Her polish was dipped back into the bottle, wiped, and continued being applied to her other nails. "I don't think he knows I like him," she admitted pausing to look up at her friend. "But then I'm almost certain everyone knows? You ask me about him all the time. Surely, you see it too. I'm not discreet like I thought I was."

Cinda’s eyes were on her fingers as she wiggled them a little. The dark blue didn’t really go with her house colours, but that was sort of the point. She wondered if Séverin liked the Ombrelune blue. Her nails weren’t very long — years of playing guitar and piano had meant that they generally stayed pretty short, and even when she went through periods of not-playing it felt weird to let them grow much past the end of her finger. Maybe he’d see them next time she played piano for him. Her stomach twisted at the thought, in a way that was mildly devastating but not quite unpleasant.

I wouldn't say no if he asked me on a date.

“Same,” Cinda replied absentmindedly, her eyes on her fingers. A date? Sure. She might balk if he asked her to be like, his girlfriend or something — at fifteen, her friends all had highly varied levels of experience with boys, and different expectations, but Cinda, personally, had outgrown the girlfriend-at-first-ask thing. Girlfriend meant more, now. Still, a date with a cute boy? Sure, why n—

“Wait.” Cinda’s eyes flicked up to her friend without her moving head. She gave her a look. “You mean you like-him-like-him?” Had she missed something? Hadn’t she just asked about this, and been dismissed — same as ever? Had Dani just lied to her — used the just friends thing again, just ten seconds ago — just to get Cinda to share her own feelings on the boy first? How devious! Oh, Lola would be hearing about this.

Dani made a comment about everyone seeming to know. “Well, boys and girls can actually just be friends, even if everyone seems to think otherwise,” she said, matter-of-fact, as if she hadn’t been assuming feelings on Dani’s end for years now. As if Dani was arguing otherwise, somehow. Cinda drew herself up straighter, straightening her legs in front of her and folding her hands in her lap. "If he knew do you think he'd ask?" She said. She was already wondering if this was all happening because she was destined to play matchmaker here. Cinda could help things along, surely? There was one quick way to find out what Florian wanted...

Now she had Cinda's attention and she wanted to shrink away. Oh! "Yes, okay?" How had she not gotten the hint yet? Why did she keep asking if she liked-liked Florian? "I don't know what else you want me to say. I know boys and girls can be just friends. I'm friends with plenty of boys," the statement wasn't wrong. There was Phil, Celestin, but most of her time, when she wasn't with Cinda or Lola, she was with Florian. "It's different with him than others."

Danielle watched her friend carefully her gray eyes studied her friend as she sat upright on the edge of the bed. Cinda was getting oddly confident as she continued on about their "friendship". Then it dawned on her. "Cinda, no," she warned carefully. Rather than answer her question, she tried to convince her to do the opposite of what she could tell was brewing in the witch's mind. "Please don't try to play matchmaker and set us up on one. If he asks, he'll ask. I don't want to ruin what we have because some silly girly crush I have got in the way of it. I don't want to make things awkward between me and him, okay?"

Cinda was her own person. She had no control over what her friend did. Having Cinda as her friend did give her some help though in it all. Dani was too shy to be outright about her feelings with him. Perhaps, however, Cinda could use her charm and pick at Florian's brain for her. There was a part of her that was convinced he did like her. They were both just barely fifteen. Did they even know what they were feeling? Did he even notice her when she'd show him she cared for him? Did he notice how she tried to wear his favorite color when they would hang out? Did he even notice her? "But," she contemplated bouning her head from side to side. "I don't know... Maybe... Could you secretly ask him if he likes me? Don't tell him I like him, please. I'll die if you do! But, just see what he thinks of me. If he doesn't, I don't want to keep chasing him."