put the books down, please {LOUIS}

[thea]

I FOLLOW THE NIGHT
...can't stand the light...

Life was so much better when people followed her example. Now, she wasn’t saying that she was perfect, or that she should be in charge of everyone—Thea might’ve been haughty, but she wasn’t quite that haughty—but every now and then, she was right. And seeing the other Ravenclaws actually putting down their beloved quills and sacred pieces of parchment was some kind of liberation. It wasn’t as if Thea was laboring under the delusion that this had any chance of lasting—that would’ve been stupid, and she wasn’t stupid. But for the moment, Thea allowed herself to smile lazily and soak up the atmosphere in Ravenclaw Tower, which was, miraculously, loose and even (dare she say it?) fun.

Eli, her favorite gangly sixth year, had somehow gotten alcohol supplied to the entire party. Granted, the party was only a chosen group of fifth, sixth, and seventh years who had the desire to put down their precious textbooks and liven up a little. Thea, of course, had been at the center of this movement, because when had she ever turned down an invitation to forgo seriousness? The answer, obviously, was “never”. And so she’d helped Eli gather alcohol from his mysterious stockpile and smuggle it up to the Ravenclaw Tower. Thea was rather a natural at smuggling, but she preferred not to think about the fact that it may run in her blood to be good at such things.

And now the party was going strong, if a bit subdued in comparison to some of the Gryffindor parties that she’d gotten to drop by on, courtesy of her brother. But the more studious Ravenclaws were getting there—a few were buzzed, being unaccustomed to any alcohol at all, and they weren’t slowing down. Thea predicted the party to get even livelier when they got bumped up from ‘buzzed’ to actually being drunk. It just needed a little bump on its way, she was sure. And what better person to help lighten the atmosphere than herself? After all, she was veritably the queen of light-heartedness. She barely ever got serious, and she had more than enough experience in the ‘wild’ department than most of her Housemates, which made her the perfect mentor for all those people who’d never set down their homework before.

Thea had been wandering aimlessly around the room, exchanging a few comments with whatever interesting-looking person she happened to come upon, then moving on when she ceased to be interested. She had a cup in her hand that she was sipping at occasionally—after all, she didn’t want to get drunk too quickly, then who would think about loosening up these dedicated students? This party didn’t seem to have any particular occasion, seeing as there was nothing much going on except the return from the Christmas holidays. And in Thea’s opinion, it did need to be celebrated, seeing as Christmas meant spending time with her extended family, and seeing them eye Levi and her like they were some sort of gifts made especially for them. It was uncomfortable, and she didn’t want to think about it.

Thea stopped her stroll to lean up against a wall for a moment, surveying the room through her thick lashes and letting a pleased little smile creep onto her face. Things were going quite well, and hopefully they’d only go up from here. Still, maybe a drinking game would help things along. Thea’s eyes lit on a group of older students sitting on one of the couches and the surrounding chairs, and she pushed herself off the wall, tossed her dark hair over one shoulder, and began to walk over. As she got closer she recognized a few of her classmates, among them the white-blonde head of Louis Weasley, and she allowed herself a slow smile as she dropped herself onto a couch arm. ”Hello, gents,” she purred, half-joking, crossing her legs in front of her. She still had on her uniform skirt, but she’d exchanged her white collared shirt for a form-fitting black V-neck. ”I thought I’d come over here and see what you were up to.” She rested a hand casually on the shoulder of the boy closest to her, and took another sip of her drink.

(so I really, really fail at starting, especially since I’ve never posted with her before >.< But it’s overdue, so here it is.)

[.LOUIS HENRI WEASLEY !]

The sun was barely visible behind the mountains that surrounded the secluded castle by the time Louis finally stole from the library. Classes had ended and dinner was finished, but still the air was filled with the scratching of quills on parchment, the hitching of paper rolled back into place, the turning of pages. The sounds were familiar to him, white noise in the background of his crowded thoughts. He wouldn't grace the sounds with any sort of endearing terms, like "comforting" or "the crescendoing descant in the symphony of his day." Sure, Louis liked studying and all that, but even that was too poetic for this birdie to stomach.

Who the hell falls in love with the sound of crumpling paper, anyway?

Louis shouldered his pack made his way back to his common room, not bothering to stop and chat with the classmates who hailed him. He was in no mood, right now. The holidays were over and Louis was still taking his time getting over his... encounter over the break. He grimaced slightly as he turned a corner and jogged up a staircase still making up its mind about where to move to. Luckily for him, it finally settled on the left platform, in the exact direction Louis was heading. Score.

Hardly a mood lifter, though.

One more spiraling staircase later, and Louis was face with the enchanted door knocker that guarded entrance to the Ravenclaw common room. There was a few moments of silence before Louis cleared his throat irritably, and the door knocker simply shushed him. Another pause, and then, dramatically...

What, Louis Weasley, is the meaning of life?

WHAT ARE YOU SERIOUS.

Louis stared at it blankly, his fingers itching to hex the horrible door knocker from its hinges. But it finally let out a creaky sort of laugh at Louis's expense, sobered, and asked something else.

"Half of your life you shall not see me,
the other half you dare not look."

"...What, that's it?" Louis asked skeptically. "Bit of a let down from your previous philosophical mind game. The sun. Now let me through."

The door swung forward and Louis walked quickly inside, set to haul off to his dorm and change out of his uniform so he could just relax for a change. His mind needed to find something else to dwell on... Oh, and look! What a perfect opportunity.

On a table opposite the entrance to the common room, crowded and shining temptingly in the firelight, was booze. Glorious, welcoming, much needed booze. And Louis remembered suddenly that, oh yeah, that party was tonight. Bless his good luck.

He smiled in spite of himself and headed off to his dorm, changing into jeans and a hooded sweatshirt over his white undershirt. Apparently the powers that be found Louis worthy enough to be invited to tonight's... whatever. Immediately fueled by that ego boost, Louis headed down stairs again to join a party that had already claimed the consciousness of one over-eager fifth year.

Louis promptly decided to have whatever she was having.

He made a beeline for the tall bottle of firewhiskey he saw earlier, navigating through throngs of writhing teenagers "dancing" to music pulsing through magically enhanced speakers. He poured himself a rather generous glass and took in the room, peaking over the rim of his cup as he took a sip. It felt like razors going down his throat, or, more aptly named, fire, and it felt good. It felt like exactly what he needed.

Spying a group of friends that had already claimed the sofas and chairs for themselves, Louis joined them. He squashed down his nerves from earlier, dead set on letting loose and having some fun tonight. By whatever means presented themselves...

"Hello, gents," a silken voice crooned nearby, over the top of his head. Louis couldn't see who the voice belonged to from his spot in the chair he'd stolen from his friend Chester Morran, and he wasn't about to twist about in an undignified manner just to find out. He didn't have to wait long anyhow, as a dark-haired girl with large eyes came and sat herself daintily on the edge of the sofa, her legs crossed tidily and a drink at her finger tips. "I thought I’d come over here and see what you were up to."

Hmph. What luck.

Instantly the once matured set of Ravenclaws Louis deemed to hang out with lost it over this girl, tripping over themselves trying to answer her. Louis cut in smoothly, his eyes aimed down to the drink in his hand and an effortless smile on his lips. Whatever means presented themselves, his mind reminded him, and Louis seized the opportunity.

"Nothing of importance," he said carelessly, waving the hand that wasn't holding his drink. He took a sip and his friends fell silent, a sort of loathing building up inside them. They knew what he was about to do... And if female veelas made boys crazy and girls jealous, it was only right that it should work in opposite form for Louis, yes?

Whatever means...

[thea]

Oh, the delightful sounds of clamoring, stuttering boys. The nervous ones were always sort of cute. Thea just kept her amused smile on her face as one boy’s “We were just waiting for a lovely girl like you,” was overlapped by another’s “I don’t know, but if you had anything in mind…” Thea was perfectly capable of understanding them both, but since the two boys didn’t know that they shot each other glares. It was quite humorous, really, especially considering that Thea hadn’t even come over here to pick up a guy—it was just a bonus that the party was so quiet thus far that she was some kind of delicacy to this group of young gentlemen. ‘Gentlemen’ being used very loosely, of course.

And then the tumult of clamorous boys was suddenly subdued, and, like everyone else in the group, Thea felt her eyes drawn to Louis Weasley. Odd, because he wasn’t even looking at her, and there was no particular reason that Thea found herself fixing her gaze on him. But then again, Louis had special…talents, she supposed she could call them. Talents that could catch the attention of every girl in the room if he put his mind to it. She’d seen him in action a few times: flirting with some girl who had stars in her eyes. How lucky was she to have run into him? She was sure those Veela tendencies of his would add an edge of true entertainment to this group. Maybe she wouldn’t have to do all of the livening up.

She raised her eyebrows curiously at his answer, and at the sudden atmosphere change in the group. The other boys seemed almost sullen now, as if Louis had ruined their fun. True, Thea found herself curling her lips into a small smile as he spoke—maybe this was that infamous Veela charm working its magic already—but it was no reason for the boys to get pouty. But of course, that was one of the side effects of the charm, wasn’t it? Of course it was. Thea didn’t forget facts she’d read about.

She took another sip of her drink, making no attempts to take her eyes off of Louis. ”Well, that certainly depends on your definition of ‘importance’, doesn’t it?” She kept her grin lazy and her voice soft, taking her hand off the shoulder of the boy sitting next to her and brushing some hair off her shoulder instead. Thea was perfectly aware that she was being difficult—being more challenging than flattering. However, she couldn’t very well help herself. When a game presented itself, especially one with a bit of a challenge to it, she always jumped in. And Louis Weasley was a bit of a challenge, a game that she hadn’t played yet, and one that might have some difficulty in gaining the upper hand. Not to mention that he was good looking, there was no denying that.

This was the perfect circumstance for a little fun. And maybe she could make the party more interesting at the same time—how nice!

She shifted off the couch arm, instead stepping in front of the couch and sitting on the edge of the coffee table, careful not to bump any of the bottles of alcohol. She’d worked hard enough to get those bottles here in the first place—she wasn’t about to knock any of them over. From her perch on the coffee table, she could see the group on the couches so much better. They were all facing her to some degree, which she found that she liked better. Expressions were much more visible from this vantage point, as were facial features in general. And yes, Louis was still good looking from this angle. She flashed him a special playful smile before addressing the group at large.

”I don’t know if any of you have noticed, but this party’s a rather quiet affair. The passed-out girl aside, of course. She made an honest effort, she just couldn’t handle her alcohol.” She waved a hand languidly towards the table where the fifth year girl had her head down and her mouth open. ”And personally, I think everyone would enjoy themselves so much more if we did something to lighten the atmosphere. Like…” She tapped her chin for a moment as if she had to weigh all the options. ”…a drinking game. Any suggestions?” She offered a smile, a flash of teeth, scanning the group and letting her eyes linger for a moment on Louis. She sipped at her drink again while she waited for the group to come to some sort of consensus.