Flash! Bam! Alakazam! (Thius)

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Sliding into the bathroom before she was due to meet up with Melanthius, she hurriedly ran her fingers through her hair and parted it properly, then stepped back a little, turning left to right, to check her dress was right. No - it wasn't tucked into her knickers, it wasn't creased, check. As she smiled slightly into the mirror, she stopped admiring herself when the reality of the matter sank in.

One - she had made an effort to change out of her uniform after classes. Two - she had spent some time selecting this particular dress, which was a rather simple black round-neck and short sleeves, that came in at the waist and out at her hips, and rested several inches above her knee. She'd paired it with her net stockings, her lace-up boots and neck ribbon. It was showing the swell of her chest.

Three - she had done all this, knowing she was going to meet up with Melanthius in particular.

Why had she gone to so much effort for duelling?!

The thing was, she knew that he had been looking at her in that way. As far as she was aware, no one had looked at her quite like that before. And after a series of rejections from various boys, including that Veela who had outright insulted her; Bellona would never admit it, but it had made her feel slightly insecure. Now someone was actually noticing her as a young woman!  

But it was... well... Thius. He certainly didn't look like the catch of the day, but he wasn't ugly. He wasn't ugly at all, actually. He was quite... handsome.

Exiting the bathroom and trying to pull herself together, she made way to the duelling chamber and decided to fire off a few spells just to push her mind away from Thius and onto the task at hand. After a short while, it was pushed to the back of her mind again.

@Melanthius Burke

"There's absolutely nothing wrong with black..."

Smirking, she took a seat on one of the benches and crossed her legs over, tapping her boot lightly on the side.

"Well - no - not necessarily... I always seem to have a problem with slacks or trousers, so I tend not to wear them. They will dig into my hips or feel far too tight on my thighs and--" Why was she telling him this? She didn't tell anybody this! Well, Jeneva probably made note of her issues and was very smug about it, as she had very few issues finding clothing herself. But except for that, she didn't like people knowing about her body being different to the average cuts. It was embarrassing.

So she could empathise a little with Melanthius.

@Melanthius Burke

His eyes trailed her as he finally got up and sat beside the bench.

"Have you tried wearing men's slacks?"

Sure, he disparaged Ptolemy for his Perdita alter-ego and crossdressing, but that was because he was being a hypocritical twat. It was satisfying seeing Potter so tormented, but there were other ways of torturing him. And the old Alayna did an impeccable job at that.

"They're tagged by their measurements, so it's much simpler to find what fits you," he explained. "It goes by your waist, hips, and inseam. Mine would be..." His would be too big otherwise he'd offer her a pair to try. "Larger than most..."

He laughed rather sheepishly before grabbing his water bottle for a drink.

@Bellona Lestrange

"I could try, but it's a little embarrassing to know I'm wearing men's clothes..."

She smiled at him, and pushed a piece of hair off his forehead to the side.

"You seem a lot better now."

From before, when he was turning pale...

@Melanthius Burke

"I heard the trousers girls wear aren't the most comfortable, so you may prefer them. We have plenty of pockets!"

There's a reason why you never see many guys carry bags around except during school hours; it was just too much of a pain to shrink and unshrink books multiple times a day.

Smiling back, his skin warmed with her slight touch. "Do I?"

It was as if all his worries had melted away. For now, anyway....

@Bellona Lestrange

"Yes, you do. And it feels good to be able to help you, even in a small way."

She didn't know where all this sentiment was coming from, especially since they hadn't really started talking until recently. There was just something about him that drew her in. She liked that he expressed his vulnerability, and that took a lot coming from a boy: they usually kept everything hidden away, and expressed themselves in the most abysmal ways. It meant that there was already a bond of trust between them, and she could count the amount of people she entirely trusted on one hand.

"Growing up in such a large family, you tend to melt away to the background very easily. Especially when it's made up of a lot of strong characters. So, that's really why I tend to be more vocal, I suppose."

She tucked her hair behind her ear.

"So it means quite a lot to speak so openly with someone else, if you catch my drift."

A light blush crossed her cheeks, and pronounced her freckles. Was she being way too soppy right now?

@Melanthius Burke

"And I'm grateful that you've helped me..."

He probably would've been even more pathetic if he hadn't been able to open up to her. Sure, he was rather smart and gifted at dueling, but that was about the only thing he had going for him besides being born in a well-off family. Thius never did many sports, he would've been ranked last of hottest guys in his class, and he was more introverted than the others.

For the longest time, his peers would just look at him as if he was one step away from joining his grandfather in the loony bin. Ptolemy was the closest he got to a best friend, but he was always a more assertive character. And most of the time, Thius wondered if Ptolemy merely tolerated him as he was closer to Hector. For the first time, he actually felt listened to, and it was a strange, yet wonderful feeling.

"Yes, I understand what you mean. I've never told anybody about why I count before. If most people didn't look at me as if I had horns growing out of my head, they acted as if it wasn't happening. Such as my brother, he's learned to tune it out."

In his mind, he was counting. Not in fives. Not up to 100. Not over one of those thoughts. Instead, he was counting her freckles. They were rather cute... Why hadn't he noticed them before?

"Am I the only person who's responded positively to your icy touch?"

@Bellona Lestrange

She quickly identified herself as one of those people who pretended it wasn't happening, except for the last time it happened, when he was sweating profusely in the common room. If they were classmates, she probably would have confronted him about it sooner, as it would be more obvious to her.

Then she was surprised by him referring to her special abilities. 

"As I had my brother and Mother with the same talent, growing up was an education of tolerance to all my other siblings. They may have teased me sometimes, but it wasn't humiliating. At Hogwarts, as I'd more or less mastered controlling it, there were a few occasions of spite from peers, but that's all."

She kept it vague. Although he had told her one of his greatest setbacks, she didn't think anyone was ready to hear hers. If she did uncover absolutely everything, he would run a mile.

So she pretended to check her nail beds as a way to remain nonchalant.

@Melanthius Burke

"At least you didn't have to deal with it alone," he said softly, finally joining her on the bench. "My family is much smaller. My parents wrote my counting off as some quirk so it wouldn't damage our reputation. It already had enough of a hit with my grandfather."

Thius watched her hands before asking, "How long have you known that you could just do that? I know you were born with it, but was it apparent at birth?"

He found her ability rather fascinating; it wasn't every day that you met somebody that could control some kind of element.

@Bellona Lestrange

"More or less. If any other Mother found their sleeping baby cold to the touch, they'd think the worst. I can still feel cold though, and shiver, just like anyone else. It's a very strange thing. I suppose the best way to look at it is the ice that I can produce doesn't affect me."

Some people had asked her these questions, but it was normally done in spite. She knew Melanthius was just curious about it.

"How do you think your family would react to someone with my abilities?" Seeing as they were an extremely traditional family, she had a feeling that anything slightly outside of the norm was put at arm's length.

@Melanthius Burke

How would his family react to it? Hmm.

"They'll have to learn to deal with it," he said with a sigh. "On my father's side, they only learned to tolerate his brother as he kept his same-sex relationships as affairs. As long he married a woman and kept to his responsibility of continuing the bloodline, they were fine with it."

Unlike the Notts, his family at least had a relatively more accepting approach to homosexuality.

"My parents can deal with differences better than our ancestors. They only care about if you're pureblood, not a blood traitor, and, in my mother's case, that you're not a Daphne..."

@Bellona Lestrange

"Not a Daphne?" she questioned, wondering if she had heard that incorrectly and wanting to address that before moving on with their conversation.

@Melanthius Burke

Ah, Daphne Nott.

"Why wouldn't they allow it, had he been the eldest?"

@Melanthius Burke

"I see."

She supposed that wasn't something he really wanted to be advertised, so she probably wouldn't mention it again.

"So," she said, smirking, "If you're saying how they would have to get used to it, does that mean you would want me to come to your house?"

She grinned wickedly at him.

@Melanthius Burke

He smiled, relieved she didn't have an issue with it. Thius was well-aware of how strict the Lestranges were about keeping the blood pure. It was probably a hidden blessing that most of them died off so her father could diversify the gene pool.

"Why, yes, it does." If he wanted to court her, it was important for her to earn his parents' approval.

@Bellona Lestrange

"My, how incredibly forward of you," she teased, enjoying the idea of torturing him. "I suppose it makes sense that we should interact, given both of our backgrounds. So that probably means coming over for tea, too. I assure you that our family home isn't as intimidating as it seems."

@Melanthius Burke

He was being quite forward, wasn't he? His heartbeat quickened as he cracked his hands, not wanting them to just lie around idly. "Yes, we'd have to arrange that as well. I'll have to send an owl to my parents. They wouldn't like if I asked them through informal means like crystals..."

This was getting quite serious, wasn't it? He was beginning to sweat again...

@Bellona Lestrange

He was very eager, and it was definitely showing. Merlin, he needed to tone it down...

"Though I suppose it would be of use to find out what days my parents have free. They do travel for work and various social events."

Sticky toffee pudding? He was paying attention!

"Hmm, our house elf makes a splendid Wagyu steak with roast vegetables. Dessert wise? Hmm, I have to go with Black Forest gateau. Mippy always strikes the right balance between the chocolate and the cherries..."

@Bellona Lestrange

"I can guarantee that I'll always be more interested in the desserts than the main course."

The things she used to do to her poor Mother when vegetables were presented to her plate. She wasn't so bad now, but there were a lot of times where her Mother just gave in. 

"It sounds lovely. I'm going to be very nosy and look around your bedroom, so you better get to hiding anything you don't want me to see."

She grinned mercilessly at him.

@Melanthius Burke

His bedroom?! She had zero mercy, and it was making him more wound up. Thius shifted himself on the bench to keep up his gentlemanly composure.

"I can assure you I don't have much to hide."

Other than all of his dueling-related betting cards from the Christmas holiday. Frankly, he thought his room was quite boring, but he was sure there was something for her to find that he forgot existed.

"Can you say the same about your room?"

Hopefully she wasn't stuck with some of her many siblings?

@Bellona Lestrange

She put her tongue between her teeth, and narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. 

"Hmm..."

When she asked him about her room, her mouth tightened a little. She put a finger up to his chin. 'If you so much as peek in one of my drawers, I'll see that you drink shrinking solution and become a bedside ornament for the entire duration of your stay."

Gripping his chin, she waggled his head a little, laughing, before releasing him. 

@Melanthius Burke

"A bedside ornament?!"

Not that he'd mind... But he'd rather not be the size of a mouse!

Thius grinned at her quite stupidly. "You don't have to worry about me peeking!"

It wouldn't stop him from getting curious though.

"But would I need a map to find your room?"

@Bellona Lestrange

"No, you'd have me. I'm your map. Because I definitely wouldn't have anyone going to my room unsupervised."

There wasn't anything in particularly embarrassing in there, just journals and things. Exactly what she imagined may be in Thius's room that he'd want to keep out of sight.

@Melanthius Burke