Re: A Hidden Alcove

[Ravenclaw Mod]

Luna allowed her eyes to close again, not feeling any better about anything but Dean's humming and gentle touch relaxed her and kept her from breaking down again. That, and the fact that she was just too tired to cry anymore. She decided that she had told him all she was ready to say for the time being, and stayed quiet as she stayed nuzzled up next to her friend, enjoying his presence as she tried not to think about everything that had happened in the last 24 hours.

[Dean Thomas]

And now Dean doesn't know what to post since they aren't really talking. So I guess he just sits there and keeps rubbing her back while humming.

[Ravenclaw Mod]

And Luna will keep sitting here with Dean until she's ready to move...Which might be a while.

[Dean Thomas]

And Dean totally doesn't mind.

[Ravenclaw Mod]

As nice as it feels to be sitting here with Dean, Luna knows she can't keep her friend here forever and the longer she stays like this, the harder it'll be to leave. "I should probably go back to my common room soon," she says with a sigh, wondering if a hot bath would make her feel better. She doubts it but baths are always nice anyway.

[Dean Thomas]

Dean sighs too and pulls away to look at her. "Are you sure? I don't mind staying with you, even if you want to go somewhere else other than this place. He would do whatever she wanted to do, but would make sure he saw her more over the next few weeks.

[Ravenclaw Mod]

Luna really appreciates Dean, but she doesn't want to take a bath with him. That might be crossing some sort of line, or something. "I'm sure. I just...I want to be alone for a little while," she says, which is sort of a lie. She doesn't really know what she wants at the moment, but for some reason a bath and hot chocolate sounds nice. "But thanks for staying this whole time, Dean. It means a lot."

[Dean Thomas]

He stood and pulled her into a tight hug. "I'll be here anytime. If you decide you don't want to be alone, send me an owl or something. I'll come find you right away, no matter what time it is, okay?" He held her in the hug then pulled away and looked at her with a weak sort of smile, trying to show her everything would be okay.

[Ravenclaw Mod]

Luna hugged Dean back tightly, not wanting to leave but knowing that she had to let go eventually. She nodded and smiled at him, though it was a strained and tired looking smile. "Thanks, Dean. I know I can always count on you," she says, sounding grateful to have someone like Dean in her life. "I promise I'll send you an owl soon," she tells him, knowing that he'd probably want updates to make sure she was fine, and she knew herself that she would want to see him again soon. "Bye Dean," she whispers, hugging him one last time before walking out of the alcove to go sleep in her dorm or take a bath. Sleeping sounds good now that she thinks about it.

[Dean Thomas]

He nodded. "I'll see you soon Luna." He gave another weak smile. He watched her walk down the hallway and felt his heart break for her. He knew she'd be okay eventually, but he also knew how she was feeling in this moment. He tried to think of ways he may be able to temporarily distract her from the pain, but thought of nothing that would make those thoughts go away. When she disappeared from view he turned and headed back up to Gryffindor tower.

[Pansy Parkinson-Malfoy]

Pansy was still smiling at him as he led her out, until she noticed just how tight his grip was. She looked up at him once they stopped in the alcove. She glanced down and bit her lip, a little uncomfortable but she couldn't quite figure why. She met his gaze again, her hands resting on his chest, smoothing over his jacket. He looked quite handsome and he looked totally fine, which was a relief. Stressed, a little, but not beat up or anything horrible like that. When he spoke to her though she tilted her head at him. "What, dancing with Marco? We just didn't want to go alone."

[Draco Malfoy]

Draco wanted to roll his eyes, he wanted to shake her, he wanted to yell "What the fuck do you think?" but he did none of those things. Okay maybe his eyes tilted skywards for a second but it wasn't obvious. He kept them mostly on her as he replied, "You didn't want to go alone? Well what the hell happened to his girlfriend then? Finally get what was coming to her mudblood self?" All he had wanted when he got back was a quiet evening with Pansy and now here they were. Bickering again.

[Pansy Parkinson-Malfoy]

Pansy's eyebrows pressed together a little in reaction to his sudden anger. "Draco. Why are you so upset about this? It's not a big deal. It's not like anything happened and it's not like it was a date or anything. He hasn't seen Katie in ages and I didn't know when you were coming back..." She fell silent, her face in an unintentional pout. She couldn't understand why he was so upset about it. 

[Draco Malfoy]

Draco gave her a harsh look, "Why am I so upset? Because I got back from the worst week of my life to see you off dancing with some other guy. Of all the shit-" He stopped himself there. Closing his eyes and leaning back against the wall his hands dropped from her sides. After a moment he shook his head slightly, "Sorry Pans, it's been a long week." She of all people didn't deserve his sharpness.

[Pansy Parkinson-Malfoy]

Pansy had shrunk back from him a little, all the terrible memories from the beginning of the year flooding back when she saw how angry his eyes were. But when he stopped himself and leaned back and apologized, Pansy stepped forward. She stood close to him, her hands reaching up for his face. She brushed her fingers over the hair behind his ear. "Draco, I'm sorry. If I had known how much it would have upset you I wouldn't have done it. I... I'm sorry." Pansy looked up at him, feeling bad about it and knowing he'd just had a week of hell and hadn't exactly come back to the best of scenes. 

[Draco Malfoy]

Draco opened his eyes and looked down at her, putting his arms back around her again. "Yeah, I guess I reacted badly but you know how I am." he pulled her closer and kissed her temple, "I hate seeing you with other guys, I've never been a good sharer." He tightened his arm around her and held her, glad to be back, safe and with her again.

[Pansy Parkinson-Malfoy]

Pansy was quiet, just holding onto him, resting her head on his chest. She stood there a while, just leaning into him, listening to his heartbeat. "It's okay to share sometimes, but you know I'm always only yours in the end." After a little while longer she looked up at him, trying to read his eyes. "How was it? You alright?" She was nervous to hear about it but insatiably curious and she couldn't not ask him about it. It didn't yet occur to Pansy to what degree of importance this meeting could have been, she wasn't yet wondering if he'd gotten the Mark yet or anything like that. She was only concerned with knowing if he was okay. 

[Draco Malfoy]

Draco stood there for a moment, trying to decide what to tell her. So much had happened and he didn't want her exposed to it all. Bellatrix had been right in saying that she was too innocent for all this, regardless of what she read or practiced out there with them it was all so different. He stayed quiet for a moment, looking at her before he spoke, "It was... it was worse and better than I had thought. The things they do there, and they enjoy them. But physically I'm okay, it was a long week." There was so much he wasn't allowed to tell her, so much he wouldn't.

[Pansy Parkinson-Malfoy]

Pansy watched him sympathetically as he spoke, her hands sliding down from his neck to rest on his chest again. "Well I'm glad you're alright. I was so worried and I didn't get to tell you goodbye and," she stopped. Her face fell. Suddenly it dawned on her, the worst thing that he might have returned with. Her fingers shook and she was afraid to look. She glanced down to his left arm. Slowly she moved her hand down to grasp his, biting down on her lip an she looks up at him again. "Did you? Tell me you didn't. Please tell me you didn't." Her breathing sped up with nervousness. She didn't wait for him to answer, instead trying to pull his sleeve up, to look at his forearm. She was praying it would still just be his pale skin, blank, pure. 

[Draco Malfoy]

Draco wished that they had gotten to say goodbye, that their parents hadn't ripped them away and he hadn't left so early the next day. He was worried when Pansy stopped talking but suddenly knew when she looked down at his arm. He shook his head but she wasn't looking at him so he pulled back the sleeve of his jacket and undid his cuff. Rolling it back slightly he showed her his forearm, bare and free from any black marks homemade or real. "No, there's a whole process you have to go through to get approved for it then it takes time after that. Approval depends on the person though, some get it faster than others."

[Pansy Parkinson-Malfoy]

Pansy let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding when be pulled his sleeve back to show her his arm. Pale. Perfect. Just as it had been before. Her fingers moved up over the smooth skin, resting on his arm as she looked back up at him, listening to him explain. She secretly hoped that for some reason he would not take the mark, that maybe he wouldn't have to or they wouldn't let him. But she knew that was stupid. He would take it eventually, and there was nothing she could do about that. She was just so happy that it wasn't there right now, that at least there was a little more time before they would have to deal with that. She reached for his face with the hand that wasn't on his arm, leaning up to kiss him again, just happy he seemed to be okay for the most part. "I missed you. I wish you never had to go again."

[Draco Malfoy]

Draco gave her a small smile. "I missed you too." He looked around the dark hallway and pulled his sleeve back down. Leaning down he gave her a kiss and slid his arms back around her. He had missed being around her, missed having someone to hold and someone who actually cared about him. Glancing around again he kept her close, "Shall we head somewhere else?" The drab corridor wasn't conducive to snogging, snuggling or really anything.

[Pansy Parkinson-Malfoy]

Pansy smirked slightly at him as he suggested they go elsewhere, and truly she thought that was a great idea. Mostly because the hallway was cold and her dress wasn't exactly the warmest, but also because people kept sneaking out of the great hall and into the other little alcoves to make out, and they'd nearly been walked in on a time or two. She took his hand and led him out of the little niche, moving down the hallway until she reached a flight of stairs. She reached down and took her shoes off before hurrying up the stairs, sometimes two at a time, still holding onto Draco's hand as she dragged him along behind her, not that he had trouble keeping up. Finally up on the seventh floor and out of breath, she walks past an empty space of wall, pushing the small door open when it appeared and going inside to catch her breath.

[Ginny Weasley]

There is an alcove...and it is hidden...so Ginny is sitting on a bench in the hidden alcove and reading a book.

Informative post right there.

[Lucius Malfoy]

Lucius is walking down the halls like he owns the place, when out of the corner of his eyes he notices that fiery red hair. He froze at first, wondering if he should keep walking as if he didn't see her. After their last encounter he had gone to his dorm, feeling confused and angry. He didn't know what he was thinking when he admitted to her why he treated her like dirt, but there was no way to take it back now. But he couldn't keep walking. Not after he had made all that noise with his pimp cane. He'd pretend that nothing happened. Yes, excellent idea.

"Oh, you read?" he asked with a cold laugh as he ripped the book from her hands. "Funny, I don't see any pictures in this book. Not sure how you're able to understand a word of it."

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